Chapter 6

Yunho was so taken aback when he saw the hatred, fury & unspeakable agony in Tim’s eyes that he could only stand there frozen as Tim came flying at him. He was just barely alert enough to dodge the knee aimed at his private area but not fast enough to block the short jab to his nose & the perfect uppercut that had made him fell back on his .

“You bastard! You are not even worthy to be called human!” Tim spat at him, looking down at him as if he was the lowest form alive, “Now, stand up & fight me!” Yunho noticed that his fists were still clenched tightly. It was really surprising that such a frail looking guy could do this to him. He wiped the blood trickling down from his nose & looked at the livid guy in front of him with a mix of emotions.

He had wanted to see his defeated face, to see the pride he had carried everywhere with him crumbled so when the idea had come out of nowhere, he had acted on it impulsively & today, he had finally gotten what he’s after. He had seen his pain, his total devastation but why didn’t he feel pleased? Instead, he felt an enormous guilt weighing his heart & mind that he had put that look on his face & he had never meant to make Tim cry. He had only wanted to goad him, to see that flash of annoyance & irritation in his eyes, to see his indignation but he had never thought that tears would ever come out from them & he had never expected to feel the inexplicable tug in his heart as the crystal-like drops fell from those glorious eyes, albeit unnoticed by the eye owner! Something that had made him wanted to wipe them dry & do anything he had to do to make it up to him & now, seeing the furious challenge in his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel his respect for the guy climbed a couple notches higher.

Yunho stood up wobbly & whistled a short, yet distinct note. A moment later, two little fluffs came running, yipping delightedly as they bounded to Tim’s side happily. They were perfectly unharmed, except for their terribly whacked coats. Yunho could see the look of disbelief, wonder, joy & delight clearly as they shone from his face. Taking the ice offered by one of his servant, he compressed it to his nose to keep the swelling down as he watched Tim cuddle his babies & whispered words he couldn’t hear to them & for the first time, he noticed the torn dark rocco slim fit straight leg jeans, the dried blood on her knees, the scratches on his arms, the slight bruise on his left cheek & felt his guilt escalating in an alarming rate.

He cleared his throat & rasped as it was still painful trying to speak, “What happened to you? What’s with the bruises & torn jeans?” He turned his head to Taepung & looked questioningly at him but Taepung only looked back at him innocently & barked as if to tell him that he only did what he had been ordered to do.

Tim carried his babies with him & hobbled from that place, his head held high & his spine as ramrod straight as possible under the circumstances. Yunho sighed & looked down at his bandaged hand, the courtesy of the scissors he had used to cut the fluffs’ coat. He gestured to one of the maid to clean the droplets of his blood & the hair on Taepung’s mouth. Watching Tim limp away, an idea suddenly popped into his mind, instantly brightening his glum face. He quickly dashed to his room.

In her room, after cleaning herself from Taepung’s so-called accident, Tiffany started to pace & stomp around her room, not caring that the action made the wound on her knees throbbed badly. She needed to let her emotions out or else, she would probably bash Yunho’s head for playing such a prank on her. Feeling the energy still bubbling inside of her, she picked up a pillow & pummeled it to release the pressure in her chest. How dare he did this to her? Didn’t he know whom he was dealing with? But her conscience chose that moment to sneer at her & asked back, ‘& who are you now? You have given everything up remember? You are a nobody now.’ Feeling the anger & indignation drained out, she slumped down onto the floor. She picked up the abused pillow & smoothed it. Her conscience was absolutely right. She’s a nobody now. She had given everything up when she had ran away from home & for what? A little bit of freedom, a taste of friendship & a sense of normalcy? But even away from home, the things that she craved for were still out of her reach.

“Should I go home?” She asked herself unhappily, “Should I just give up & listen to daddy?” She imagined herself at a debutante ball, dancing waltz with a faceless & nameless guy, making some boring, yet necessary chitchat. Or walking on the red carpet in an extravagant dress for an award ceremony, under all the media & people scrutiny & judgment & shuddered automatically. Shaking her head resolutely, she straightened her shoulder. No, there must be something more than all these unpleasantness in this world & there must be something more to friendship than the ones she had experienced. She just had to find it in the right place, in the right time & she would, she thought determinedly, when her slavery ends. Besides, although it was true that Yunho had been too much, it was her fault too, to jump to the conclusion he had set for her.

As her anger & unhappiness left her, she suddenly realized how hard she had punched Yunho in his nose & the blood that had gushed from it. His painful grimace. Squashing down the guilt, sympathy & regret rising inside of her, she muttered sulkily, “He deserved it. It’s his own fault anyway. I refused to feel bad for it. I refused.” After talking to herself for a minute, she convinced herself that she felt a whole lot better, even though her conscience continued to wage battle with her logic. Indulging in a sulk, she flopped onto the bed & yelped as she noticed the blood starting to seep from the re-open wound. All of a sudden, all the aches all over her body made themselves known & she started to whimper. She had just decided to crawl & looked for a first aid kit when she heard a knock on the door.

Groaning, she pushed herself up & walked to the door like a frail old granny. Then she suddenly scowled & started to growl, ‘Must be that jerk, trying to taunt me some more! Hah, let’s see who would beg for mercy, mister! Those karate classes had better paid off now!’ Feeling the fresh burst of energy, she jerked the door open & opened , ready to snap at him but found nobody there. Instead, in front of her doorstep was a first aid kit, new pair of jeans, a bottle of brandy & a slab of chocolate, all wrapped up in a sloppy big green bow. Attached to it was a note that said, “Even an idiot should know what to do with the kit & jeans! The chocolate is for you to bite into when you cleaned your wounds with the brandy.”

Tiffany could feel the remaining blaze in her heart starting to die one spark by one spark until only the warmth remained from it. As she hugged the present close to her & shut the door softly, a reluctant smile forced itself onto her lips.

Yunho was roaring as he put a drop of alcohol into the wound in his hand when someone pushed a bar of chocolate into his wide opened mouth, “For you to bite on.” Tim said nonchalantly, although Yunho could see that he was enjoying the fact that the brandy was burning into his flesh. Munching on the chocolate, he gazed at the guy standing in front of him. He was wearing the new dark indigo rocco slim fit boot cut jeans he had given her. One of his arms was dotted with antiseptic. He couldn’t see his other arm since he kept it behind his back but he wouldn’t be surprises if it was holding a hammer to finish the job he had started. Although the bruise on his face was more noticeable than ever, all in all, he looked much better & when Yunho looked into his eyes, he felt much better himself. Maybe because the hatred he had seen on his face before was gone without any trace.

Tim seemed to fidget a bit under his inspection & then asked grumpily, “What happened to your hand?!”

Yunho looked at the slash wound on his hand then at Tim & mumbled warily, “Scissor cut when I whacked the fluffs’ coats.”

The unfeeling guy only sneered at his misfortune & said, “Serves you right.” ‘Not even a dredge of sympathy.’ Yunho thought crossly, & looked down at his poor hand but a bag of ice was suddenly shoved in front of his face, “For your nose.” Tim said grudgingly, but Yunho could feel the warmth that’s starting to seep into his heart at the veiled offer of friendship, “I have been acting like a jerk! A spoiled jerk!” Yunho mumbled, so softly that he wasn’t sure if Tim would even hear it but it was the closes to an apology that he had ever made but Tim had apparently heard it for he nodded vehemently in agreement & Yunho could feel his breath caught in his throat as a smile wreathed on his face. He had never seen Tim smile so sincerely. Usually, he was either scowling or growled at him & what that smile had done for his face. Why, he could see in his mind a great number of pretty girls lining the street, swooning as they caught the sight of that smile, ‘This guy is really too pretty.’ He thought, that he had to always remind himself that Tim was a guy & he, Yunho, was as straight as an arrow. He looked at the flat chest, the boyish figure, no small waist there, the thick bushy eyebrows & the beginning of a moustache above his upper lips, ‘He’s a guy alright.’ He thought. Realizing that he was still staring open mouthed at him, he immediately coughed to cover up his misstep. Grumbling, he nodded to the seat in front of him & said, “Help me bandage my hand, will you?”

Tim sat down & started to pick up the alcohol, antiseptic & bandage, “& you know what? My bottom is so sore from falling. Attend to that, too.” Yunho , waiting for him to fluster & get indignant & yet, ready to roll over if he decided to pound on him.

Tim’s head snapped up & he grinned wickedly, “Sure. I will call Yoona to attend to you. I’m sure she would be delighted to see that part of yours.”

Yunho looked at him suspiciously, “Which one is Yoona?”

Tim grinned & said, “The one who always s her s to your face & looked as if she would like to start nibbling at you.”

Yunho immediately rolled his eyes & made a puking & disgusted gesture while Tim made some kissing noises. It wasn’t long before they started to laugh & tease each other some more & for the first time, the afternoon was spent without anybody shouting, cursing or getting hurt. Peace had finally settled in the Jung’s residence.