CHAPTER three

Our Start

“Just because I tagged along, DOESN’T mean that I am happy about it!” Boa shouts as she clutches onto Jaejoong’s white leather jacket, trying to hang on for dear life, but her words only get eaten up by the fast wind.

“WHAT? I can’t hear you!” Jaejoong muffles through his helmet and professionally swerves past a car that almost cut him off.

“AH!” Boa screeches, shutting her eyes tightly, and shamelessly embraces Jaejoong’s waist until he loses his breath. “I AM GOING TO DIE! I AM GOING TO DIE TONIGHT!”

“IDIOT! WE ARE BOTH GOING TO DIE! RELEASE YOUR GRIP, WOMAN! I CAN’T BREATHE!”

“Oh.” Boa loosens her hold on Jaejoong when she realizes that he’s gasping for air. He coughs a few times. “Sorry~”

There is no more conversation until they reach Jaejoong's part of town.

“This is where you live?!” Boa exclaims out loud in the quiet neighborhood of rows and rows of high-rise luxury apartment buildings.

“Excuse me, princess, for not living in a castle,” Jaejoong retorts as he makes a nod towards the entrance. “Come on, let’s go up.”

“No, no. I’m… I’m actually surprised! It looks like a pretty nice neighborhood!” Boa chirps, skipping along behind the man. “I mean, judging by your character-”

Jaejoong throws her a hard glare, and she quickly seals her lips with a sheepish smile.

“Let’s. Go. Up.” He repeats through gritted teeth and starts walking towards the front door.

“W-wait!” she yells again, and Jaejoong turns back, charging at her with a finger pointed at her nose.

“Listen here, princess! We are not to make a ruckus in this neighborhood at this hour. I don’t want people gossiping about how I am arguing with a woman in a wedding dress at midnight.”

“But-”

“Unless you want me to kiss the life out of you again, there shall not be another word out of that pretty little mouth. Now. Come here,” Jaejoong warns with a hiss and pulls her along.

Boa has half a mind to state her case about how she can find a hotel to stay at rather than at Jaejoong’s apartment but thinking back to his kiss… his kiss… his kiss...

Before she could blink, they’re in the elevator, heading up to the thirty third floor.

Ding!

“We’re here.” Jaejoong casually steps out of the elevator and Boa follows along without much of another thought, “Look and pay attention.”

He tells Boa to watch him carefully as he enters the passcode number to his apartment. He gives her a serious look, the first one she’s seen from him all day. “Got it?”

She nods with obedience and then follows him in, unaware of the future ahead of her.

Jaejoong chuckles when he puts his helmet on the mini bar counter and swings off his white leather jacket. He brushes his blonde bangs aside and drops his weight on the sofa, arms stretched out along the top of the furniture.

“By the way, did you ever hear of the threshold rule, princess?”

“Huh? What is that?” she questions, taking short steps around the massive marble-floored space that Jaejoong calls an apartment.

She is fascinated by the modern design of the place and how this mysterious man can possibly afford all of the quirky items hanging on the walls and shelves- what he would call art. She is so amused that she doesn’t even quite notice that he’s calling her “princess” anymore.

“The threshold rule,” Jaejoong repeats with due patience, and straightens his back in his seat. “I’m talking about how when you enter a guy’s apartment, you’re giving him permission to do whatever he wants with you. You do know about that, don’t you, princess?”

“Wow…” Boa mutters, and Jaejoong, curious, goes to where she is standing, about to make a move when she speaks ever so timely.

“Is this a picture of you as a kid? Ha!” Boa giggles and points to the portrait of a tiny half- Jaejoong in a diaper on a swing with mud on his cheeks. “Surprisingly adorable.”

Jaejoong inhales. And exhales. His eyes closed shut. And slams the picture frame flat down on the shelf.

“Patience, Kim Jaejoong, patience…” he grumbles and Boa perks up at hearing his airy voice so close to her ear.

“Ah~ your last name is Kim, is it? Kim Jaejoong?” Boa smiles. “It sounds nice, actually.”

“Hey! Did you not listen to a word I was saying?!” And the ticking bomb explodes. “THE THRESHOLD RULE. YOU ENTERED MY APARTMENT. I GET TO DO WHATEVER I WANT WITH YOU! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

Boa looks at him, somewhat endearingly in fact, and Kim Jaejoong loses it.

His cool. So lost.

“I don’t think you will,” she says confidently and skips away to see more of the place.

Jaejoong talks to himself aloud, which he normally never does, because it was just too difficult to contain the amount of disbelief. “I don’t get it. Wasn’t she afraid of me? Didn’t I have the upper hand just a few minutes ago? This woman.”

“Hey, Jaejoong! Is this my room?” Boa yells from down the hall, and Jaejoong drags his feet towards her door.

“You’re actually going to stay here?” Jaejoong inquires with a bit of surprise, and crosses his arms as he watches her make herself at home. Literally. “Weren’t you crying at me to leave you alone earlier?”

“Yeah, but…” she pauses and Jaejoong notices the way that Boa’s eyes light up as she takes a gaze at the simple bedroom. “I think I like it here.”

Jaejoong raises an eyebrow, not having a clue of what she’s up to but he decides to call it a day. He will definitely need to rethink his strategy later.

“So?” Boa beams at Jaejoong with eyes that remind him of the shape of the beautiful white moon in the forest. “Can I? Can I stay?”

“Do what you want,” he grumbles at her and walks away. And although Kim Jaejoong doesn’t admit it, he felt his heart pound against his chest like an engine when she smiled at him like that.

In what seemed like a very long time.