Chapter 4

In an elegant restaurant in downtown, a blissful & loving couple was holding hands & whispering love words. A man wandered around the restaurant, playing a soft strain of violin. A uniformed waiter brought a bottle of superior red wine to the couple’s table. Next to the couple’s table, sat a sad-looking guy who looked as if the sun would never come out anymore. Jaejoong was very depressed that he couldn’t feel even a sliver of attraction towards his date tonight. He slumped in his seat in a daze; he didn’t even realize that his date had made an excuses to go to the ladies’ room an hour before & had never come back, ‘This is it.’ He thought repeatedly, ‘I’m finished.’

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw Hyukjae walking towards him with two ladies in tow. One of the ladies had eyes sparkling with optimism & joy. She had the same eyes that had haunted him day & night. She had the same smile, same sharp, pointy nose & everything. Hyukjae grinned widely & waved his hand in front of Jaejoong’s face, “Jaejoong, buddy, why are you looking at me like that? I’m still alive, you know, not a ghost.” Hyukjae laughed heartily. Jaejoong, still mesmerized by the view in front of his eyes, ignored Hyukjae & stared with his mouth wide open at the young lady standing beside Hyukjae. Noticing Jaejoong’s expression, Hyukjae introduced the girls that came with him, “Jaejoong, you remember my lovely Fany, right? This exquisite creature is Tiffany’s neighbor, Kwon Yuri. Yuri, this dumb looking guy is Kim Jaejoong.”

Yuri & Tiffany laughed out loud seeing Jaejoong’s expression, ‘Hey, it’s that gay guy from the club.’ Yuri thought. She looked closely at Jaejoong & remembered about the guy whose shoulder she had drooled on, on the plane from Taiwan more than a month ago. She smiled at him in greeting, “Hi, I’m Yuri.” Jaejoong showed no sign that he even heard what Yuri said.

“Why do you keep staring at me like that? You sure have this strange habit. We have met before remember? You sat beside me on a plane from Taiwan about a month ago.” Yuri said, trying to be friendly to Hyukjae’s weird friend.

When Jaejoong kept gawking at her with his idiotic expression, Yuri turned to Hyukjae & rolled her eyes. Hyukjae suddenly realized what she had said. His eyes widened a little & he grinned widely as he slapped Jaejoong’s shoulder & whispered, “Holy cow, Yuri’s the one you have been thinking about, isn’t she? You should be ecstatic with the fact that Yuri is a girl, not a transvestite. Damn, but you have great taste, buddy! Now, wipe that drool off of your chin. You look so gross. You want to impress the girl, not disgusts her.”

Jaejoong jolted hearing Hyukjae’s words & felt as if his body came alive after a month of hibernation. He felt like shouting out loud, singing on the rooftop, jumping cartwheels around the restaurant & laughing maniacally but he settled for his heart-melting smile & looked deeply into her eyes, “Ah, of course, you are the one from the plane. I’m sorry. It took me a minute there to remember why you look so familiar.” He said, trying to salvage his pride.

He could hear Hyukjae’s laughed & feel Tiffany’s questioning looks but he ignored them. His full attention was riveted to this girl standing in front of him, “I’m Jaejoong & I’m sorry that I stared at you like a fool for the second time now. It’s just that you took my breath away.” Jaejoong said smoothly, pulling out his never failed weapon, his born-with & honed charm.

To his surprises, Yuri didn’t turn into a blushing stuttering putty like the way all the other girls had been when faced with the same weapon. She just chuckled & batted her eyelashes, “Oh my, I’m so sorry. I wish I could give your breath back. It’s just that I want to add it to my collection.”

Jaejoong grinned widely. He really liked this girl. She’s so feisty, charming, not to mention, strikingly beautiful & she didn’t melt under his masculine appeal; she, in fact, could right back. He had never encounter such a girl before. He looked at to the ceiling & inwardly said, ‘Thank you for making x a girl & thank you for not making me gay.’

‘Wow, this guy sure is nice. Maybe those sayings about gay guy makes a woman’s best friend is true. I already feel close to him.’ Yuri thought. Glancing at her bulova diamond accent stainless steel bracelet watch, she nudged Tiffany’s arm & tilted her head towards the door. Tiffany nodded & said to Hyukjae, “Yuri & I have to go. I will see you guys later. Bye, honey.” She kissed Hyukjae on his cheek & walked out with Yuri.

Hyukjae distractedly waved to Tiffany. For the first time, he didn't pay much attention to her peck on his cheek. He was staring at Jaejoong, feeling a sense of foreboding seeping into his heart as he noticed Jaejoong’s interested gleam on Yuri.

During the next few days, Jaejoong & Yuri had gotten very close. They jogged together every morning & sometimes went out to lunch together. They chatted about everything & would forget about the time until the waiter reminded them that the cafe would be closed shortly.

One day, Yuri was telling Jaejoong about her high school best friend, “His name is Park Leeteuk. He was my tutor. We became best friends after he consoled me when I broke up with my boyfriend. Nichkhun was two-timing me & seeing me cry, Leeteuk went looking for Nichkhun & got into a fight with him. He got beaten badly of course, for Nichkhun was with his thug friends when Leeteuk shouted at him but afterwards, we became the closest friends. We even went to the prom together. When he drove me home, we made a pact under the stars that we would get marry to each other if by the time I’m thirty & I haven’t gotten married yet, we had each other’s safety net.” Yuri smiled, reminiscing about her teenage year. Jaejoong, on the other hand, wasn’t that happy, ‘This Leeteuk could be trouble. I hope he wouldn’t enter the picture until I get her safely in my arms. Otherwise, old Leeteuk would probably get beaten up again.’ He thought, praying that Leeteuk wouldn’t turn muscular after high school.

Yuri, eyes sparkling, continued sheepishly, “To tell you the truth, I had a huge crush on Leeteuk in high school. He was the coolest boy, the kindest soul & the most understanding guy. I was just too afraid that he wouldn’t like me back & our friendship would get ruined so I kept it to myself. Otherwise, you would be calling me Mrs. Park by now.” She burst out laughing. Jaejoong got cold sweat, ‘I have to move fast if I don’t want to be left in the dust.’ He thought determinedly.

“Yul, where is Leeteuk now?” He tried to ask casually.

“After high school, he went to Harvard. I heard he had graduated already & would come back here for his specialization. He should be in town shortly I think. I will introduce you to him but don’t fall for him, you hear me?” Yuri teased Jaejoong.

Upon hearing that Leeteuk would be back in town shortly, Jaejoong panic. He didn’t hear Yuri’s last sentence. He asked hurriedly, “Yul, are you free tonight?” Giving Jaejoong a questioning look, Yuri nodded, “Great, I will pick you up at seven.” Jaejoong smiled confidently.

“Are you going to introduce me to your boyfriend?” Yuri winked at him.

“What? What boyfriend? What did Hyukjae say about me? Don’t listen to him.” Jaejoong freaked out.

“You don’t have to pretend in front of me, Oppa. To tell you the truth, I saw you before at the club with a girl. You were yelling at her about finding some guy & losing him because of that girl. I think everybody heard you but relax, I won’t judge you based on your ual orientation.” She said soothingly.

“That guy was you!” Jaejoong shouted in desperation.

“Come on, Oppa. You don’t have to be ashamed of yourself.” Yuri frowned, irritated with Jaejoong’s denial. Frustrated beyond belief, Jaejoong suddenly grabbed Yuri & kissed her hard. Shocked, Yuri let Jaejoong kiss her. The kiss soon turned soft & persuasive, enticing Yuri to reply. After a while, Yuri pushed Jaejoong away & stared at him in disbelief. Her pink plump lips were still tingling from his. Her hourglass body felt like it was immersed in fire. Her long legs suddenly turned to jelly. Yuri grabbed the table for support & stammered, “What...What...How?”

“Do you think a gay guy could kiss a girl like that? Do you think a gay guy would want to kiss a girl that way? I will wring your neck if you say something about me picturing a guy in my mind while I was kissing you.” Jaejoong said passionately. He took in a deep breath & explained more calmly, “Yul, I like you. I really like you. I admit I thought you were a guy when I first met you. I got so freaked out when I thought I was attracted to a guy. You could ask Hyukjae about that & it was really you I was looking for at the club. Because of Hyoyeon, I lost sight of you & that’s why I yelled at her.”

“But...But.” Her head suddenly felt full like its stuffed with cotton candy.

“Do you need another demonstration? I had be glad to do that, you know?” Jaejoong grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

Yuri felt her head spinning & holding it in her hand, she stretch out her other hand at Jaejoong to keep him from getting near, “I have got to go.” She rushed away from the cafe & was out of Jaejoong’s sight in a second. He watched her leave the cafe. He knew that Yuri needed time to accept the truth so he didn’t try to run after her. Even after Yuri’s long gone, he was still staring at the door, his mind in turmoil. Only when his iphone 4s rang did Jaejoong snapped back to reality. He settled the bill & trudged back to his office miserably.