Chapter 10

“Jaejoong, you heartless moron! How could you trap your own best friend like that?” Hyukjae opened the window & let in the much-needed cool air. The room was stifling hot. At least for him. The air had been stiflingly hot ever since the night before, ever since he had proposed to Tiffany.

Jaejoong, who was sitting behind his desk, working on his design, tuned in after hearing his name being mentioned, “Why are you cursing me? You have been muttering & cursing ever since you entered my apartment. What’s going on?”

“You still have the nerve to ask? You told me that Fany wants to get married.”

“You mean she doesn’t?”

“It’s neither here nor there. The point is, you are the one who put the idea in my head. We are at the point of making up from that fight when I said the wrong thing. She got mad & in my panic, your words got into my head & I blurted out my proposal. She was stunned & then accepted it. I’m now engaged to be married because you put the idea of Fany wanting to get married in my head.”

Jaejoong burst out laughing. He laughed so hard his stomach was in the verge of a huge cramp. Clutching his stomach, he tried to control his laughter & in some air, “You...You put the shackles yourself? This is a riot.” Then he continued his guffaw with renewed strength.

The combination of embarrassment, helplessness & guilt made Hyukjae grab Jaejoong’s neck & started to shake him. He shouted while Jaejoong choked, “I can’t take back my words! Fany would leave me for sure for lying to her!” Seeing Jaejoong’s purplish face, he took away his hands & started pacing around the living room, “Now, you have to help me to undo the mess you made.”

After coughing a couple of times, he was able to get some rasping sounds that resembled his voice out of his mouth, “What do you mean? I have never forced you to propose to her. You did that by yourself so you solved it yourself. Damn, but you made my neck all bruised up!” Jaejoong went to the kitchen & kept dabbing the red marks with ice-cold water, trying to lessen the damage.

Hyukjae gave Jaejoong an evil glare but he couldn’t deny what Jaejoong had said.

It was an unusually hot day in Korea. Jaejoong tugged his navy super-t turtleneck shirt to let some air touched his covered up milky, white skin. He was sweating like crazy but with Yuri by his side, he couldn’t just pull his shirt off & fanned himself. She would think he was a ert or something. Or trying to seduce her by showing off his upper body. Jaejoong sighed & prayed for some rain.

“Oppa, are you okay? You are sweating profusely.” She touched Jaejoong’s forehead. Finding it was normal, she frowned & shook her head, “If you are not unwell, why are you wearing a turtleneck shirt in this weather? There’s a shop over there; just go & buy some t-shirt. I will wait for you here.”

Jaejoong laughed nervously, “I’m fine. I don’t feel the heat at all.” As soon as he uttered the lie, droplets of sweat began to fall off from his face. He tried to wipe them away as quickly & quietly as he could. Once again, he tugged his shirt away from his overheated skin. Yuri, who was observing Jaejoong from the corner of her eyes, suddenly caught the sight of two big red marks on Jaejoong’s neck. She gasped out loud & started to tug on Jaejoong’s shirt to see more clearly.

Jaejoong groaned & waited for the explosion. He had been trying to hide the red marks because he didn’t want people to jump to conclusion. Especially not Yuri. He’s aware of what the marks looked like. His rubbing & the ice he put there had made the marks looked very much like hickeys. Two big, purplish hickeys. When Yuri didn’t say a word, he peeked at her. Her face was blotchy red & steam seemed to be coming out from her nose. Not saying anything, Yuri started walking away. Panic, Jaejoong quickly chased after her & pulled her hand, “Yul, I can explain. It’s not what you think. Really.”

“Then why are you hiding it, Mr. Kim Jaejoong?”

Yuri had never called him by his full name. It wasn’t a good sign. He could actually feel ominous storm coming his way, “It’s not hickeys. I wasn’t with other girls. I swear. I was with Hyukjae last night. Hyukjae did this.”

The blood drained out of Yuri’s face. She stood still & looked at Jaejoong in disbelief.

Yuri raised her hand to slap Jaejoong. Seeing Yuri’s murderous expression, he cringed & waited for the sting on his cheeks but it didn’t come. Instead, Yuri slowly let her hand fall down & closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. When she opened her eyes, they looked like two infernos trying to swallow him whole, “Why did you have to make me fall for you? I should have known from the start. You are trying to use me to cover yourself up, aren’t you? I should have known it was Hyukjae Oppa all along. Why did you lie to me? I have told you this before & I will tell you again, now. I wouldn’t judge you by your ual orientation. So, you are gay. Big deal but don’t play around with my heart & you even went as far as to ask me to marry you. You have gone too far this time. Kim Jaejoong, I don’t want to see you anymore. Get out of my life.” She huffed & stomped away while trying to pull her engagement ring off.

Jaejoong stood with his mouth wide opened, ‘What is she talking about? Who’s gay?’ Realizing Yuri’s meaning & the fact that she was futher & further away from him, he pulled himself together & ran after her, “Yul, wait. Yul.” He grabbed her slim waist from behind & pulled her close while she struggled to break free from his hold, “Listen to me. I’m not gay. I have told you before that I like girls, not guys. Especially not Hyukjae. I thought I have proven that fact to you. Do you want another demonstration?”

Remembering Jaejoong’s kisses, Yuri went still & got even more confused. Jaejoong turned her around & looked expectantly at her, “So, you are flexible? You could go with both sides?” Jaejoong gritted his teeth & growled in frustration, “No, I’m one sided only. I’m not interested in guys, not even a tiny little bit.” He decided to convince Yuri in the most enjoyable way & leaned towards her. One inch away from her face, she pushed him away, “But you said it wasn’t caused by any girls. You said that Hyukjae Oppa did that & yet you said you are not attracted to guys. I don’t understand.”

Reining his sudden need to taste her light pink lips, he sighed & straightened himself up, “What girls? No other girls but you. Hyukjae gave me the marks. He proposed to Fany a couple of nights ago.” Yuri forgot about her wrath for a moment & squealed in surprised, “What?! Really?! Oh, that’s why Fany looked so dreamy today but what does it have to do with you being gay or a playboy?!”

Jaejoong took her hands & continued his explanation, “Then don’t interrupt me. Hyukjae proposed to Fany. I about being shackled & he got mad; he grabbed my neck & choked me. The two red marks are his thumbs mark.” Noticing Yuri’s skeptical look, he grinned bashfully, “I tried to minimize the bruises but they got worse. They looked more like hickeys than ever. So I tried to cover them by wearing turtleneck but the weather isn’t cooperating with me by being so hot today. You do believe me, don’t you?”

Jaejoong’s puppy look worked like magic. Yuri started to blush, embarrassed by her action. She peeked shyly from underneath her lashes & hid her smile, ‘I can’t believe I let Oppa witness my spectacular show of jealousy.’ She stood on her toes & pecked Jaejoong on his cheek, whispering “Sorry, sweetie. I let my temper get the better of me. You are not mad, are you?” Jaejoong pretended to think it over & then grinning wolfishly, he kissed her with a lightning-quick move & stole the breath out of her. People around them, who had seen the run & chase drama, smiled indulgently.

A week later, Jaejoong & his parents went to Mr & Mrs. Kwon’s house to formally ask for Yuri’s hand in marriage. They got together a couple of times to choose the date for the wedding. After a long discussion, they agreed to hold the wedding in five months. It was to be a grand wedding for both of them are an only-child, although, Jaejoong & Yuri personally wanted a small intimate ceremony.

So, the next five months were very busy months. Yuri asked Tiffany to be her maid of honor. Likewise, Jaejoong asked Hyukjae to be his best man, after making sure Yuri was okay with the idea. He didn’t want another showdown about being gay or flexible.

The wedding preparations were proceeding very nicely. Except for one thing. The wedding dress. Yuri had harassed, threatened & cajoled Tiffany & Yoona to accompany her finding the perfect dress but even in the city of Seoul size, perfect wasn’t easily obtained. After trying out countless of wedding dresses, Yoona & Tiffany decided that they would collaborate in designing Yuri’s wedding gown. Either that or spending eight hours a day, three days a week, trying to find the dress Yuri deemed perfect for her.

One day, Yuri had just entered Tiffany’s boutique for the last fitting a week before the wedding when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around & shouted in joy. In front of her was the person she had thought about so often. She ran to Leeteuk & leaped into his arms. He grinned from ear to ear seeing Yuri’s reaction.

“Yuri, how are you? You look incredible.” He said in awe. He looked at her up & down, searching the similarity & the changes in the girl he had loved for so many years.

“I’m good, very good. Leeteuk Oppa, look at you. All grown up. How have you been all these years? Man, I miss you.” Yuri said in a rush. Leeteuk had gone to Harvard for his medical degree & they hadn’t met for five years.

“Let’s grab a cup of coffee so we could catch up.” Leeteuk started to pull Yuri’s hand to go to the Starbucks across the street.

“Could you wait for a minute? Fany would kill me if I left without telling her.” Seeing Leeteuk’s blank expression, she laughed, “Fany is my best friend in college. This boutique here is hers.” She pointed to the elegant boutique behind her, “I’m here for my last fitting. My wedding gown is ready for me to wear in a week time. All I have to do is watch my food so I could still fit into it.” Yuri grinned & patted her flat belly. Suddenly, Tiffany called out to Yuri. She sent an apologetic look to Leeteuk & rushed inside. Leeteuk just stood there, numb. His dream girl was getting married. Yuri was getting married. Tremendous pain rapidly bombarded his whole being. He felt weak all of a sudden. Closing his dark brown, almond-shaped eyes, he tried to compose himself, ‘I can’t let Yuri see me like this.’ He thought repeatedly to himself, amidst the pain. After he felt a little steadier & he could feel his feet again, he took in a deep breath & walked into the boutique.

He saw Yuri standing in the middle of the room in her wedding finery. Her hair was adorned with cream-colored flowers & semi-transparent veil. She had almost no makeup on but she had never looked more beautiful to him. Two women were bustling around Yuri, trying to find a fault with the ivory ball-gown one-shoulder sweep train satin tulle wedding dress with a ruffle bow. Leeteuk forced on a smile & approached the ladies, “Well, Yuri, if I knew you could look like this, I would have snatched you back in high school & take you to with me.”

Yuri beamed at him & asked, “What do you think of the dress? Isn’t it great? Fany, Yoon, I would like to introduce you to Park Leeteuk, my very best friend from high school. Oppa, the girl with pins in is Tiffany Hwang & the pretty one is Yoona Lee, Fany’s primary designer.”

“Hey, what do you mean by saying Yoona is the pretty one?! I’m pretty, too!” Tiffany jokingly complained. Yoona grinned while rolling her eyes at Yuri.

“Yeah, yeah.” Replied Yuri, smirking at Tiffany & winking at Yoona.

Leeteuk, feeling the pain intensify, cut in between the two girls’ banter, “Yuri, I should go. I will call you later & we had get together some other time. Nice to meet you, ladies.” He walked as fast as he could, trying to escape from the agony of heartbreak.

Yuri could only stare at his back, wondering what was bugging Leeteuk.

“Oppa, Kim Jaejoong. Jaejoong Oppa, Park Leeteuk.” Yuri made the introduction then looked with interests at the ice cream shop nearby. Jaejoong glared at Leeteuk, sensing threat from the other guy. Leeteuk scowled at Jaejoong, assessing him to be worthy of Yuri or not. When she didn’t hear anything, not even a nice to meet you, Yuri looked at both guys in amusement. She slapped her hands on both their chest & pushed them away, “Do you two have a staring contest or something?” She lifted her eyebrow.

Both looked away unwillingly, ‘Darn!’ Jaejoong thought, ‘I had hoped he would turn out to be a hideous man with warts & pimples all over his face but no. Leeteuk has to turn out to be almost as good-looking as me. I have got to be careful of this guy. He’s, after all, Yuri’s first love.’

At the same time, Leeteuk thought, ‘Shoot, he’s almost as attractive as I am & that’s the highest compliment I could give someone, look-wise but my informant said he used to be a playboy. Humph, once a playboy always a playboy. Hurt Yuri & you will wish you are six feet under the ground.’

Yuri, not noticing the tension, pulled their hands & walked towards the ice cream vendor, chattering about vanilla & banana flavor ice cream. Both guys gave each other deadly stares, puffed their chests out & growled.