Chapter sixteen

Come Monday, things with them were a little akward once more. Well, atleast on Jaejoong’s side. _____ was quite oblivious of Jaejoong’s attraction to her and found it strange that everytime she came close to him, he would take a step back.

She made him breakfast and sent him off to work. Jaejoong would spend 9 hours in the office and then head straight home. He would be greeted by _____ at the door and their dinner would either be on the table or nearly cooked. They would spend the rest of the evening playing with Yumi or watching tv together and then go to sleep separately. This was their routine the whole first week of Jaejoong coming home. Surprisingly, not a shadow of Shae was seen this week.

Waking up Saturday morning, Jaejoong felt great. Actually, he felt great every morning. Breakfast has become his favorite meal of the day. But surprisingly, he did not find his girls in the kitchen as he expected.

“Hey. What’s going on?” Jaejoong asks from the doorway of Yumi’s bedroom.

_____ was trying to balance herself on the ladder as she tried to reach for the toy Yumi threw the day before. She wouldn’t have bothered with it, especially at this time of the day but Yumi kept crying for it, and now that Yumi has finally fallen asleep, she can get the toy.

“Yumi kept crying for her toy. I can’t believe she threw it up this high. How the heck did she do it? Do you think she’ll be a pitcher or something?” _____ asked as she kept trying to reach the toy at the end of the top of the shelf.

“Do you need my help?”

“No. I’m fine.” And as soon as she says that she nearly loses her balance. Thankfully, Jaejoong sprinted towards the ladder and held it stable before it could topple down.

“Are you ok?” he asked as he looked up. Bad idea Jae, he thought to himself when he realized that that position gave him a perfect view up her nighty.

“Yupyup! I’m all right. I nearly got it.” She says as she stands on her tiptoes and tries to wiggle and reach for the toy.

Lacy black boyshorts…her cute behind is wiggling. “Yah! Stop wiggling, you’re giving me a hard…time. A hard time keeping this ladder stable.” He says quickly and starts looking at anything else beside the view above him.

“I got it!” She squeals happily.

“Good. I’m going to the kitchen. I’m thirsty.” He says grouchily and heads out of the room.

She has lacy black underwear…would that mean she has a lacy black – “Crap!” he exclaims and slams the glass on the counter. “Don’t think about that man.” But it’s so cute how deep down underneath all that cuteness is iness. “Yeh, who would have thought she owns a pair of lacy underwear.” He smiled. “Oh Gawd! I’m having a conversation with myself. Oh gawwd! Seriously? Body, control yourself. You’re not a hormonal teenager anymore. Gawd I need to get laid.”  Jaejoong says to noone in particular. Suddenly he felt arms wrap around his waist.

_____ came just in the kitchen to prepare Yumi a botte when she heard Jaejoong say the last sentence; she decided to get bold. “I can help you.” _____ says timidly, as she laid her cheek against his back.

Jaejoong quickly unwrapped himself and took a step away frm her, his back still to her. “I’m just…gonna go…take a shower.” He said awkwardly and then sprinted towards the master’s bedroom leaving _____ to ponder whether she smelled bad.

Throughout the day, Jaejoong has tried to put as much distance between him and _____. He believed that because of them living in close quarters they’ll end up like each other. He thought that it would be better if he kept his distance and that they not be in the same room without Yumi in it. He was adamant about it. At first he was all cold towards _____, but when she gave him a hurt look over their dinner that Saturday night, he felt bad…very bad. It not like it was _____’s fault that Jaejoong was having thoughts on cheating on Shae. Well partially it was _____’s fault, Jaejoong thought. The next morning, he decided to be kinder to _____ yet still keep his distance.

_____ now felt bad. She thought that Jaejoong giving her the cold shoulder was his way of rejecting her. I should never had made that offer why would he need me to get laid when he has Shae, she thought sadly. So she decided to make it up to him. To show her that for now his friendship was enough to get her through the day. That evening, when _____ went to the supermarket, she bought a dvd for sale “28 weeks later” along with her groceries. She had a love-hate relationship with suspense movies, especially movies with zombies, but the only other alternatives were “Dirty Dancing” and “Titanic” After dinner and putting Yumi in her crib, _____ came knocking on Jaejoong’s door.

“Jae…are you sleeping?” _____ asked through the door.

Jaejoong’s new strategy to keep himself away from _____ was to only go out of his room when a) it was for Yumi and b) if it was for food. And if he was to eat with _____ then he would just gulp down his food as quick as possible so that no conversation was possible.

“What is it?” He asks from behind the door.

“I bought a dvd. Let’s watch it together.”

“Is it a soppy, romantic movie?” he asks suspiciously.

“No. It’s a suspense movie. I thought you’d like it.”

Jaejoong slowly opens the door and tells her to go prepare some popcorn while he sets up the dvd. Jaejoong quickly inspections the movie to see that there is no way it could lead to them getting or talking about their feelings. After he approves of the movie, he puts it in the player and sits in front of the tv. _____ comes in shortly with a bowl of popcorn and sits beside Jaejoong. He quickly gets up, gets the popcorn and moves to a one seater, far away from _____.

As the movie progresses, _____ starts sinking in more and more in the couch as she cowers from fear. Jaejoong doesn’t notice this until he hears a shrill scream as a face of a zombie about to attack is flashed on scream. Jaejoong quickly turns the player off along with the TV. He turns the light on to see _____ with her eyes closed counting from one to ten then breathing deeply. A few minutes after _____’s scream was heard, Yumi started crying. Jaejoong went to Yumi to calm her down. Once he was able to make her stop crying and make her fall asleep he laid her gently on the crib once more.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to wake her up.” _____ says from the doorway of the room.

“If you can’t handle those movies you shouldn’t watch them.” he says.

“Sorry. I thought it would be fun to watch.”

“_____ there are dead people surrounding the two main actors and a biochemical sign on the cover of the dvd. How is that fun?” he asks exasperated. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Goodnight.” She says to him as he passes her.

Seeing her down and sad made him feel bad, so he thought he’d a bit. He gave her a serious look and said “Goodnight _____. Don't let the zombies bite.”

It was one in the morning when Jaejoong felt knocks on the door.

“Jae…jae? Wake up please.” A tiny voice pleaded.

“_____?”

“Of course it’s _____. Who do you think it is?” she hissed through the door.

“What do you want?” He asks groggily.

“Jae…can I sleep with you?”

“What?!” he asks with a startled. “I…I turned you down for that offer of getting laid…right?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m scared something is going to bite me and turn me into a zombie. I’m scared.” She says as a sob escapes her.

Jaejoong quickly opens the door after hearing her quietly sob behind the door. “Let’s go.” He took her hand and brought her to bed.

“I can sleep on the floor if you prefer.” She says as she stops from getting in under the covers.

“If you sleep on the floor and I sleep on the bed, I’m an . If you sleep on the bed, and I sleep on the floor, it’s going to hurt. So let’s just sleep on the bed ok. It’s not like we didn't ever do this before.” He says as he tugs her on the bed.

“Ok. But…let’s have a divider.” She says as she starts putting pillows between them.

“What the heck are you doing?” He says as he starts to break down the wall she constructed.

“I don’t want you to wake up feeling awkward around me. So let’s just sleep like this. Goodnight.” She says and gives him a light peck on the lips before she lays down and shuts her eyes.

“yeh..goodnight.” He says as he took all the pillows on his side of the bed and built up the wall between them.

After 30 minutes, Jaejoong was still wide awake, listening to _____’s breathing and soft snores. Jaejoong couldn’t sleep. Somehow _____ managed to destroy the wall and bring herself closer to Jae; her chest against his back her arm around his waist. He turned to face him, he hugged her closer to him and tried to sleep. Fail. Somehow he feels bad about this although he loves the way they fit together. Out of the blue he hears his mobile phone vibrate on his bedside table. He reaches over to find the reason why he was feeling so guilty.

SENDER: Liu, Shae

Oppa! Sorry, I haven’t been around this past week.

I’ve been out of the country for a project, just landed from Shanghai.

I’ll swing by your office for lunch.

See you tomorrow.

Miss and Love you.

Xoxox

-the day after-

“Argh! I’m so tired.” Jaejoong said as he stretched in his office.  Last night, he could barely shut his eyes. He experienced such a sweet torture of the senses. The dark room gave him no sight, which enhanced his other senses. He heard every breath she took and her soft snores which made him laugh. His sense of smell was overwhelmed with her smell. After receiing Shae’s message he tried to get back to sleeping with _____, but he just couldn’t. So he decided to take a pillow, and try sleeping on the couch in the livingroom. It wasn’t much to a bed. By 6.30am, before _____ woke up, he was out of the house. Hence his now tired aching body.

After spending the morning reviewing various reports and papers, he was now tried to relax in his quiet office room. He rubbed his eyes and then tried to relax. Breathe in..and out. In…and out.

“Crap! I need to go buy soap. I can’t take this anymore.” He says. “I can’t use her soap anymore. It’s driving me crazy.” He says exasperatedly and to breathe deeply. The air around him smelled of citrus and flowers and summer, of her. To him it was a pleasant torture; he was in that zone between pain and ecstasy, just like his relationship with her, bordering love and hate.

“Hello Mr. Kim Jaejoong. Your twelve noon appointment is here.” A smiling Shae greets him from the doorway.

“Hey. You’re alive” He greets her as he finally opens his eyes.

“My oppa looks tired.” She approaches him and plants himself on his lap. “Woah! Seems like someone’s happy to see me.”

At first he was confused but then he realized…he was hard. Who knew the fragrance of oranges and sunlight could turn someone on. This was bad, he thought. He hugged her tightly against him. He closed his eyes, buried his head on her nape and inhaled….and inhaled and inhaled.

“Oppa, what are you doing?” She asked him confused.

“You smell like…lavenders.” He states sadly.

“My new perfume. Don’t you like it?”

His response was just…taking another long deep breath.

“Oppa. Let’s go eat.” She says as she pulls him to his feet and drags him out of his office.

Lunch wasn’t going the way Shae wanted. By the time their orders we brought, they have yet to talk to each other. Somehow she feels as if Jaejoong has distanced himself from her. Was he mad because she didn’t tell him about her trip to Shanghai?

“Look Jae, talk to me. Are you mad because I haven’t contacted you this week? We were on lockdown. This project we’re working on now was like a secret- ”

“I’m living with _____.” Jaejoong blurts out.

“What?! Why? When?” she asked confused, in denial.

“Since after the family dinner at my parents’ place.”

“Omg. Does this mean we’re…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, her food now looking unappetizing to her.

“No. No no no Shae.” Jaejoong says as he reaches to hold her hand on the table. “Us, it’s still the same.” He lied.

“Really?” She asks him insecurely.

“Yes. _____…is an awesome person, yes. She cleans the house all day and when I get home it’s all clean and organized, delicious food is on the table and Yumi loves his mom.” He says dreamily with a smile on his face. “Let’s not talk about that.” He said trying to chang topic. “This food is good.”

“Yeah it is. This is one of my favorite restaurants.” She says with a smile.

“You like Italian food? _____ makes the best. You should come over for dinner one time. _____ makes the best pasta. The pasta is freshly made and the sauce is homemade too.”

Shae laughed lightly and only with a smidge of sarcasm. “Hahaha. You’re lucky, going home each night after long hours slaving over reports and financial statements and finding a nice warm dinner and a clean house. Gawd, I need a maid too.” She says and gulps down some wine.

-after two hours-

*dingdong dingdong*

“I’m coming, wait.” _____ called out to empty apartment. She quicly made her way to the intercom and see who her unexpected guest was “Shae?”

“Hi _____. May I come in?” she says with a smile.

***

Dun dun duuuuunnnn.

Hi guys!

Hope you like the update. That's what i came up with while waiting for my graduation to be over (hahaha).

First off, i'm sorry I put Shae back in the equation. Actually the first part...the movie thing, wasn't in my plans but i thought i'd add one more 'happy' scene before i put Shae back in the story. Please don't hurt me *cowers behind Yunho* LoL!

I'll reply to your comments now...Thanks for all the love!

BTW! For those who don't know what "28 weeks later" is. It's a movie where the whole world's population has turned into zombie like creatures. They bite humans and infect their blood with a substance that turns them into zombies. After 28 weeks, London in now habitable again. It has become a close city which is heavily guarded. However, something happens and the people start becoming zombies again. Anyways...yah. That's it. check it out. it's nice.