A Learning Process [6/?]
Title: A Learning Process
Pairing: Yunho/Jaejoong
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Humor
Summary: Jung Yunho was supposed to be the mysterious, indifferent, student council president. While he’d never stolen any minute of Kim Jaejoong’s attention before, he certainly was now.
“Jihye, we weren’t -“
“You’re terrible! Lock the door next time!” Jihye yelled before she stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her.
Jaejoong rolled off Yunho, laughing. He covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to stifle his giggles so he could say something before Yunho ran out of the room to catch his sister.
“You should put a shirt on Yunho -“
Yunho threw a pillow at him and stumbled off the bed, “Stop laughing!” he yelled as he pulled a shirt out of his closet and threw it on before he ran out of the room to talk to his sister about what she’d seen.
Jaejoong sat up and got off the bed slowly. He walked out of the room and followed the direction from where all the noise was coming from. Jaejoong caught sight of Taepoong lying down in front of the door and took a detour to pet him for awhile before he resumed making his way to the kitchen.
“God Yunho, if you’re going to be making out with your boyfriend -“
“He’s not my boyfriend -“
The Jung siblings stopped arguing and took note of Jaejoong’s presence in their kitchen. Jihye pointed accusingly at Jaejoong, “You suck! You said that you two were just friends!”
“We’re not friends -“ Yunho began after he’d decided to stop glaring at Jaejoong from his spot in the kitchen.
Jihye turned her head and glared viciously at her brother, “What are you two then?” she asked as she looked between the two of them irritably. “Jesus, do you know how hard it’s going to be for me to get the image of you two out of my head?”
“I told you, we weren’t doing anything! If you would just listen to me -“
“We’re not dating.” Jaejoong commented, interrupting Yunho in the middle of his sentence. “We’re...” he glanced at Yunho and remembered what the latter had said earlier and pouted. “Hey, I thought we were friends.”
Yunho glared at him, “Not anymore.” He crossed his arms and glanced Jihye, “You’re not going to tell -“
“No, I’m not going to.” Jihye muttered as she took a knife out of a drawer and began to slather peanut butter on a slice of bread. “Please think of other people next time and lock the door before you engage in -“
“We weren’t engaging in anything!”
She shot him a disbelieving look as Taepoong trotted into the kitchen. “Right. Okay, fine.” Jihye motioned to Taepoong, “I believe you as much as I believe that Taepoong’s actually a cat in disguise.”
Yunho sighed in annoyance while Jaejoong smiled in amusement. Yunho walked up to Jaejoong and took hold of his wrist, “You’re a bad influence. You have to leave my house. I don’t know what kind of ideas -“
“But -“
“Bye Jaejoong!” Jihye called out as he and Yunho were leaving the kitchen.
Jaejoong turned his head and waved at Jihye before he stopped resisting and allowed Yunho to bring him to the front door. He glanced at the taller student, “For your information, I didn’t give your sister any ideas. This is your fault. It was your state of half nakedness that led to this misunderstanding.”
“You should’ve knocked!” Yunho argued back as they walked out the front door and were beginning to make their way to the front gate. “I’d just gotten out of the shower and it’s not like I knew you were coming. Not to mention the fact that you -“
Yunho stopped dead and Jaejoong raised an eyebrow.
“That I what?”
“Nothing.” Yunho muttered before he opened the gate and pointed for Jaejoong to get out. “Now leave. I’ve had enough of you for the day.”
“No goodbye -“ Jaejoong took note of the murderous look on the taller boy’s face and shut his mouth. After a few seconds, he pouted and turned away. “Fine. Be difficult.”
Perhaps Yunho would kiss him again after he cooled down a bit.
o-o-o
It was Tuesday, and Yunho hadn’t talked to him yet.
Jaejoong frowned in his seat as he watched Yunho talk to everyone in the volunteer committee that wasn’t him. He huffed and crossed his arms.
He wasn’t pleased.
Every one of his attempts to talk to Yunho ended in failed one word replies which were then followed by Yunho’s sudden departure. It made him feel repulsive, and he didn’t like feeling repulsive - especially since Ara was always around Yunho lately.
He tried to stifle his jealousy by continuously reminding himself that Yunho was gay, but it didn’t really help. Not when Ara was being ridiculously gorgeous and inhumanely nice all the time.
Jaejoong was also fairly sure that she was currently fluttering her eyes at his Yunho.
“Why isn’t he talking to me?” Jaejoong muttered to himself before he stood up and began to make his way over to Yunho, taking Ara’s brief absence from Yunho as a good opportunity to strike up a conversation.
As soon as he was halfway across the room, he stopped in his tracks.
Yunho was talking to someone else - someone new, and this new person was male, he was laughing cheerfully and he was acting like he knew Yunho rather well. They were standing in front of each other, and from the way the conversation seemed to be going, it seemed like Yunho genuinely liked his present company.
Jaejoong’s eyes widened.
“Who is that?” he asked aloud, attracting the attention of the person next to him - a girl he vaguely remembered being classmates with the previous year.
She smiled brightly at him, “Oh, that’s Kim Junsu. He’s currently on an exchange student program, just to experience what it’s like in our school. He’ll be here for the rest of the week. He’s wonderful. He’s the head of his school’s chorale group. He has such a lovely voice and he’s handsome too.”
Jaejoong paled.
His new competition was male and he looked like rather handsome in an innocent sort of way - a fact Jaejoong noted disdainfully, and he had the voice of an angel too?
Jaejoong watched jealously as Yunho chuckled at something the other student had said. They walked off together, and he stared at them leave the gym.
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
Yunho would be snatched away by the ridiculously angelic new student, and they would fall passionately in love, adopt twin girls, buy a house with a picket fence, get a minivan, have a Golden Retriever and -
“Jaejoong, where do I ask the guys to put the boxes?” Ara askied as she pointed at the piled up boxes on the gym floor. “They’ve been there for awhile and they’re taking up a lot of space, making it difficult to -“
“I have to go.” Jaejoong interrupted before he walked off.
He needed to talk to Yoochun.
o-o-o
““You have to help me.”
Yoochun glanced at Jaejoong from his spot in front of his piano, “And what am I supposed to do?” he asked before he turned back and resumed playing his latest composition. “It’s not like I’m an expert at stealing boyfriends - I don’t even want one.”
“They’re not dating.” Jaejooong muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow was holding tightly. “I refuse to believe so.”
“If they’re not dating then what are you so worried about?” Yoochun asked as he lowered the volume of his piano. “Stop being stupid and jealous, go talk to Yunho or something if you want things clarified.”
“Yunho’s not talking to me.”
Yoochun stopped playing, “Why?”
Jaejoong rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling of Yoochun’s room. He sighed and shut his eyes, “Because we got caught by his sister in a rather suggestive position. I mean, it’s not my fault he was half naked -“
“He was half naked?” Yoochun frowned, “Jaejoong, what were you doing in Yunho’s room when he was half naked? Were you two -“
“Well, we were kind of making out at first, but then we fell onto the bed, and then Jihye walked in on us.”
“Oh.” Yoochun turned back to his piano and flipped the page of his composition notebook. “Well, what happened next?”
“Awkwardness on Yunho’s part I suppose.” Jaejoong replied as he rolled over onto his stomach so he could look at Yoochun properly. “It was cute to see him so flustered though. You should’ve seen him Chun. His brows were furrowed and -“
“Seeing Yunho in a flustered state would not turn me on Jaejoong - that’s just you. I don’t find Yunho cute at all. Seeing him in a flustered state would not have any effect on me whatsoever.”
Jaejoong rolled his eyes.
“Well, anyway, it was cute. Yunho was acting cute. Then he got upset with me for not helping him clear up the issue, and after, he accused me of corrupting his sister. He then proceeded to kick me out of his house.”
“I probably would’ve done the same.” Yoochun replied as he fiddled with the volume of his piano before he flipped the page, “You tend to have a negative effect on people -“
“You’re supposed to be cheering me up, not bringing me down.” Jaejoong snapped before he threw one of Yoochun’s pillows at his head. “Anyway, I want to know why Yunho’s not talking to me.”
“Ask him.”
Jaejoong mulled over Yoochun’s words. He blinked. “Do you think I should?”
“Well, I always think asking things directly is the best option.” Yoochun suggested before he turned his head and looked back at Jaejoong, “Besides, it’s not you’re good at being subtle. If you ask me, I’m fairly sure Yunho already knows you like him.”
“No he doesn’t.”
Yoochun shrugged, “If you say so.”
Jaejoong rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He hugged one of Yoochun’s pillow close to his chest and let out a small sigh. “What do you think Yunho would say if I confessed to him?”
“I’m sorry Jaejoong, but your ass isn’t tempting enough. Have you taken a look at -“
Jaejoong threw the pillow at Yoochun’s head and rolled off the bed. “Fuck you. I’m out. I’m going home.” He muttered as he picked his bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder, “I was being serious.”
“I love you Jaejoong, walk home safely!”
Jaejoong slammed the door.
o-o-o
The next day was supposed to be the day of the confrontation, but his head was throbbing and his body was burning.
Jaejoong let out a heavy sigh and tried to concentrate on the words on the board, the letters twisting and turning until they became indecipherable lines and curves. He squinted and tried to make sense of it all, but he failed completely.
When class ended, he swore he could hear the hallelujah chorus in the background.
He stumbled out of his classroom and ignored the concerned comments from his classmates. He had a task at hand - the task being to confront Yunho with his feelings and to ensure that he didn’t get stolen away by a certain exchange student with an angelic voice and an ass that people wouldn’t stop talking about.
“Jaejoong, you look really sick.” Yoochun said as he caught Jaejoong from failing down the stairs, “I think I should bring you to the clinic -“
Jaejoong steadied himself and blinked furiously. “I have to -“ he felt like throwing up, and he immediately turned away from Yoochun in fear of the possibility of vomiting on his best friend.
As soon as he’d gotten his nausea under control, he faced Yoochun again.
“Okay, let’s go to the clinic.”
Yoochun stared at him for a few seconds. “You felt like throwing up?” he asked calmly, unmoving from his position.
Jaejoong raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, I did. Now let’s go before -“
“Are you sure all you did with Yunho was make out? I once saw on the television that some guy got knocked up -“
Jaejoong glared, and Yoochun promptly shut up.
“Okay, let’s go to the clinic now.”
o-o-o
“Jesus Jaejoong, stop going to school if you don’t feel well.” Yoori muttered as she walked around the kitchen, “You always liked staying home before, I really don’t see why you’re acting like some kind of honor student nowadays.”
Jaejoong huffed, “I’m feeling perfectly fine -“
“Right, and let’s pretend I didn’t have to cut my work shift in order to pick you up from school.” His sister replied sarcastically as she reapplied her lipstick in front of a mirror in the kitchen. “Anyway, I’m going out.”
“Do what you want.” Jaejoong replied as he hopped off the kitchen stool and turned to the cupboard to rummage for baking ingredients, “I’ll be fine on my own.” He added as he took out a box of instant brownie mix.
Yoori crossed her arms, “Brownies? What are you, a hormonal teenage girl?”
Jaejoong twitched irritably, “I am not a girl, and I am not hormonal.” He set the box down next to a mixing bowl and shook his wooden spoon at her, “Just because you’re jealous of my culinary skills, don’t start insulting me. I’m very much a man, and -“
“I’m going now! Make sure to return my copy of Sixteen Candles as soon as you’re done fawning over how hot Jake Ryan is, and don’t forget to place my nail polish back in my room.”
His sister left the kitchen with an irritating wave, and Jaejoong sighed in defeat. It was an unfortunate trick of fate to be trapped in a household with eight sisters, and he would never understand why he was forced to endure their endless teasing concerning his masculinity.
The fact he was gay didn’t help either - it only further convinced them that he was actually a girl in a guy’s body.
Jaejoong finished the batter quickly, it was instant brownie mix after all, and placed it inside the oven after he’d put in a pan. He walked around the house aimlessly, channel surfed, tried to read, but he was still completely bored.
He hung around by the oven, impatiently waiting for the brownies. As soon as it was finished baking and cooling, he dug in - he didn’t care to leave anything for his sisters, they didn’t deserve any and he was so hungry and -
“You should slow down a bit.”
Jaejoong nearly dropped his spoon in shock as he stared at Yunho, who was standing by the kitchen doorframe. He swallowed hard and blinked, finding it hard to believe that Yunho was in his kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Jaejoong asked nervously as he fiddled with his spoon and tried to make himself look more presentable. “I...I thought we weren’t talking.”
Yunho walked up to him and placed a folder down onto the kitchen counter. He pushed it toward Jaejoong, “I brought your homework.” He paused, “And why do you think that I don’t want to talk to you?”
“You’ve been giving me one word answers, and you pretty much pretend like I don’t exist.” Jaejoong mumbled before he shovelled more brownie into his mouth, wishing he didn’t sound as depressed as he did.
Yunho stared at him blankly.
“But that’s how I always treated you before.” Yunho replied calmly as he shifted in front of Jaejoong. Yunho stood awkwardly for a few seconds before he finally decided to sit down across Jaejoong so that he’d be in a better position. “I never really talked to you before our sessions started, and other people -“
“Does it matter what they think?” Jaejoong asked, lifting his eyes off his food so that he could stare at Yunho questioningly. “We’re friends...aren’t we? I’d like to talk to you. After what happened with...” he trailed off and bit his lip, “I thought you were mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Jaejoong replied irritably, “I still don’t believe that you aren’t. Not to mention you’ve been spending all of your time with that new student, who I’m beginning to wonder -“
“You mean my cousin?”
Jaejoong paused. “What cousin?”
Yunho laughed, “You’re jealous of anyone, aren’t you? Junsu’s my cousin.”
“Oh.”
Jaejoong blushed and wanted to disappear at that exact moment. He was too careless around Yunho, too nervous, and always lacking in charisma. It was like whenever he was within a certain proximity to the student council president, all his charm evaporated completely.
He hated the feeling of being so unhinged by another person’s presence, but he liked Yunho too much to care. As irritating as it was to be so nervous and flustered all the time, the fact that Yunho was around made him much happier than when he was away.
In short, his feelings for Yunho had gotten a lot stronger than he’d thought they would, resulting in his flustered behaviour and the ridiculous butterflies he felt in his stomach.
Yunho waved his hand in front of Jaejoong’s face.
“You’ve kind of zoned out.”
“It’s a lot of information to digest.” Jaejoong replied weakly before he shovelled more brownie into his mouth, hoping desperately that the fudge flavour would make everything a bit better.
Yunho tilted his head, “Have you been upset with me for the past few days?”
“Yes. I thought you were mad with me for going to your house, so I got mad too.” Jaejoong placed his spoon down, “It’s not like it’s completely my fault! You were kissing me back, and you -“
“I’m sorry.”
“For what? Kissing me back, or for letting things go back to the way they used to be?”
Yunho raised an eyebrow. “For letting things go back to the way they used to be. You’re...you’re nice company.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled in a way that Jaejoong read off as sheepish. “I should’ve started treating you as a friend.”
Jaejoong blushed, giddy on the inside. He was one step closer to becoming Yunho’s boyfriend, because boyfriend was just the word friend with an added bonus of -
“I like you.”
Yunho’s eyes widened, and Jaejoong dropped his spoon in shock. He hadn’t meant to say that, not at all. Jaejoong stared at Yunho in horror before he bolted out of the kitchen within seconds.
o-o-o
Jaejoong stopped to calm down as soon as he reached a playground. His face was red, due to his humiliation caused by his utter stupidity and the fact that he’d sprinted out of his kitchen as fast as he could go. He walked over to the swing set and sat down, completely unsure of what to do next.
He was fairly sure that Yunho had heard him because of the shock that registered on the student council president’s face, meaning that his confession must have come as a complete surprise.
He believed Yoochun when he had said that Yunho had probably already noticed his feelings, because it would have made it much easier for things to progress without unnecessary awkwardness. Jaejoong sourly noted that as usual, his best friend was once again wrong.
Jaejoong let his face fall into his hands, frustrated with himself. He always said the wrongs things, did the wrongs things, all because of stupid, irritating and unnecessarily poker faced, Yunho.
“You run fast.”
Jaejoong tensed up and refused to look up. “How did you know I was here?” he asked, his voice muffled by his hands. He pulled his hands away and instead chose to grip the swing’s chain instead.
“One of your sisters, the one who let me into the house, told me you probably ran over here.” Yunho replied as he stuck his hands into his pockets and looked down at Jaejoong expectantly. “You didn’t have to run away from me Jaejoong.”
“I thought you knew.” Jaejoong muttered before he raised his eyes to look at Yunho. “I thought you had some small idea about how I felt.”
“I didn’t think you treated me any differently from how you treated other people.”
“Well, I do.” Jaejoong sighed and covered his face, “What did Ara do when she confessed to you? Was it this awkward? Please tell me something that’ll make me feel better. Or leave maybe? This is so -“
“She came into the student council room last year, asked me to sit down, and confessed. It was short, and she asked me if I felt the same - I told her no.”
Jaejoong removed his hands from his face and looked at Yunho, “And what did she say afterwards?” he asked, his curiosity winning out.
“She asked me not to tell anyone and that my rejection wouldn’t prevent her from having feelings for me. She then left.” Yunho held his hand out, “Come on Jaejoong. Let’s not do this here, okay?”
Jaejoong bit his lip, “Are you rejecting me?”
“I -“ Yunho looked taken aback, “I...I don’t know.”
Jaejoong pushed Yunho’s hand aside. “I’m not leaving. I don’t want to be left hanging. If you feel the same, say so. If you don’t, then say so.”
“You’re being difficult -“
“You’re always difficult!” Jaejoong argued back. He crossed his arms and shook his head childishly, “I’m not leaving until -“
“Don’t I get time to think?” Yunho asked. “I didn’t think you had feelings for me. Before Ara confessed to me, I already had some sort of idea -“
“Stop comparing me to her.”
Yunho’s lips twitched as he tried to fight off a smile. “You really dislike her, don’t you? You’re so possessive, and I’m not even yours.”
“I’m consistently worried she’ll convert you into heterosexuality.” Jaejoong replied honestly before he realized Yunho was attempting to change the subject. “Now tell me, do you like me too?”
He raised his eyes off the ground and forced Yunho to look at him properly. He refused to shift his gaze, and it was Yunho who broke their eye contact first.
“I’ll tell you...” he trailed off, “This Friday.”
Jaejoong pouted. “You’re forcing me to wait?” he sighed and gave in immediately. “Fine. I’ll wait. You’ll tell me on Friday - at Yoochun’s party. You have to go. You’re going to go and tell me how you feel there.”
Yunho met his gaze, “Fine.”
“Okay.”
If there was one thing Jaejoong was sure of, he could wait. The fact Yunho hadn’t rejected him outright meant that the other student was most likely seriously considering having him as a boyfriend - and that was a good thing.
Yunho once more offered his hand, and Jaejoong took it, feeling much better than before. He left the swing and they walked away from the park.
He glanced at Yunho, “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” he asked curiously, “I just can’t really picture you with someone...aside from myself.” Jaejoong added playfully as he elbowed Yunho.
Yunho shook his head, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the friendliest person out there...and I’m not so close with a lot of people.” He glanced at Jaejoong, “I’ve been on a two or three dates though - with girls, but that was a long time ago.”
“Oh.”
“I shouldn’t be worried for their lives, should I?”
“I’m not that possessive.” Jaejoong replied as they began to near his house. He turned around sharply, “Hey, you promised. Friday is the day.”
Yunho nodded, “Yeah, sure.”
“If you reject me, don’t think I won’t be capable of kicking your ass -“
Yunho reached out and brushed something off the corner of Jaejoong’s lip with his thumb. He then proceeded to lightly brush something off his hair. “Stop thinking so negatively.”
Jaejoong’s eyes widened. “Was that...” he blushed and pushed Yunho away with his hand, “You’re so...” he blushed even harder and turned away, “You’re so difficult, stop toying with me!”
He faced Yunho again and didn’t bother to hide the obvious red tint in his face. “You’re going to show up at the party on Friday, right?”
“I will.”
“Okay.” Jaejoong turned away and left Yunho. He went inside his house, and as soon as he was inside, he was cornered by several of his sisters, and all of them were asking the same question - Joongie, who was that boy?
Yoori poked him in the cheek, “Most importantly though, is he your boyfriend?”
Jaejoong shrugged, sending his sisters into irritated rants about how it was so annoying that he was being so secretive.
He would have to wait until Friday before he could properly answer that question, but based on gut feeling, he had a feeling his answer for it would soon be a yes.
< >
Author’s Note: Feeling...not so great about this chapter. I don’t feel like it’s that funny or amusing. :\ Thank you so much to all those people who commented in the previous chapter, and I really hope you guys enjoy the progression of Yunho & Jaejoong's relationship in this chapter! Whoever comments first in this chapter will get the tentative title & a short snippet from the upcoming sequel to Suppress! I’m not too sure of what I’m going to update next, and I’m too lazy to fix my percentages on my master list since the format’s all whacked out due to the new editor. I’ll fix & update my master list sometime soon. I dislike the new LJ editor. >.< Anyway, please do leave a comment about how much you liked this chapter, and I must say, I’m really excited to write the next chapter - I will ensure that it’s awesome! XD Once again, thank you for reading! ♥
Pairing: Yunho/Jaejoong
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Humor
Summary: Jung Yunho was supposed to be the mysterious, indifferent, student council president. While he’d never stolen any minute of Kim Jaejoong’s attention before, he certainly was now.
“Jihye, we weren’t -“
“You’re terrible! Lock the door next time!” Jihye yelled before she stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her.
Jaejoong rolled off Yunho, laughing. He covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to stifle his giggles so he could say something before Yunho ran out of the room to catch his sister.
“You should put a shirt on Yunho -“
Yunho threw a pillow at him and stumbled off the bed, “Stop laughing!” he yelled as he pulled a shirt out of his closet and threw it on before he ran out of the room to talk to his sister about what she’d seen.
Jaejoong sat up and got off the bed slowly. He walked out of the room and followed the direction from where all the noise was coming from. Jaejoong caught sight of Taepoong lying down in front of the door and took a detour to pet him for awhile before he resumed making his way to the kitchen.
“God Yunho, if you’re going to be making out with your boyfriend -“
“He’s not my boyfriend -“
The Jung siblings stopped arguing and took note of Jaejoong’s presence in their kitchen. Jihye pointed accusingly at Jaejoong, “You suck! You said that you two were just friends!”
“We’re not friends -“ Yunho began after he’d decided to stop glaring at Jaejoong from his spot in the kitchen.
Jihye turned her head and glared viciously at her brother, “What are you two then?” she asked as she looked between the two of them irritably. “Jesus, do you know how hard it’s going to be for me to get the image of you two out of my head?”
“I told you, we weren’t doing anything! If you would just listen to me -“
“We’re not dating.” Jaejoong commented, interrupting Yunho in the middle of his sentence. “We’re...” he glanced at Yunho and remembered what the latter had said earlier and pouted. “Hey, I thought we were friends.”
Yunho glared at him, “Not anymore.” He crossed his arms and glanced Jihye, “You’re not going to tell -“
“No, I’m not going to.” Jihye muttered as she took a knife out of a drawer and began to slather peanut butter on a slice of bread. “Please think of other people next time and lock the door before you engage in -“
“We weren’t engaging in anything!”
She shot him a disbelieving look as Taepoong trotted into the kitchen. “Right. Okay, fine.” Jihye motioned to Taepoong, “I believe you as much as I believe that Taepoong’s actually a cat in disguise.”
Yunho sighed in annoyance while Jaejoong smiled in amusement. Yunho walked up to Jaejoong and took hold of his wrist, “You’re a bad influence. You have to leave my house. I don’t know what kind of ideas -“
“But -“
“Bye Jaejoong!” Jihye called out as he and Yunho were leaving the kitchen.
Jaejoong turned his head and waved at Jihye before he stopped resisting and allowed Yunho to bring him to the front door. He glanced at the taller student, “For your information, I didn’t give your sister any ideas. This is your fault. It was your state of half nakedness that led to this misunderstanding.”
“You should’ve knocked!” Yunho argued back as they walked out the front door and were beginning to make their way to the front gate. “I’d just gotten out of the shower and it’s not like I knew you were coming. Not to mention the fact that you -“
Yunho stopped dead and Jaejoong raised an eyebrow.
“That I what?”
“Nothing.” Yunho muttered before he opened the gate and pointed for Jaejoong to get out. “Now leave. I’ve had enough of you for the day.”
“No goodbye -“ Jaejoong took note of the murderous look on the taller boy’s face and shut his mouth. After a few seconds, he pouted and turned away. “Fine. Be difficult.”
Perhaps Yunho would kiss him again after he cooled down a bit.
o-o-o
It was Tuesday, and Yunho hadn’t talked to him yet.
Jaejoong frowned in his seat as he watched Yunho talk to everyone in the volunteer committee that wasn’t him. He huffed and crossed his arms.
He wasn’t pleased.
Every one of his attempts to talk to Yunho ended in failed one word replies which were then followed by Yunho’s sudden departure. It made him feel repulsive, and he didn’t like feeling repulsive - especially since Ara was always around Yunho lately.
He tried to stifle his jealousy by continuously reminding himself that Yunho was gay, but it didn’t really help. Not when Ara was being ridiculously gorgeous and inhumanely nice all the time.
Jaejoong was also fairly sure that she was currently fluttering her eyes at his Yunho.
“Why isn’t he talking to me?” Jaejoong muttered to himself before he stood up and began to make his way over to Yunho, taking Ara’s brief absence from Yunho as a good opportunity to strike up a conversation.
As soon as he was halfway across the room, he stopped in his tracks.
Yunho was talking to someone else - someone new, and this new person was male, he was laughing cheerfully and he was acting like he knew Yunho rather well. They were standing in front of each other, and from the way the conversation seemed to be going, it seemed like Yunho genuinely liked his present company.
Jaejoong’s eyes widened.
“Who is that?” he asked aloud, attracting the attention of the person next to him - a girl he vaguely remembered being classmates with the previous year.
She smiled brightly at him, “Oh, that’s Kim Junsu. He’s currently on an exchange student program, just to experience what it’s like in our school. He’ll be here for the rest of the week. He’s wonderful. He’s the head of his school’s chorale group. He has such a lovely voice and he’s handsome too.”
Jaejoong paled.
His new competition was male and he looked like rather handsome in an innocent sort of way - a fact Jaejoong noted disdainfully, and he had the voice of an angel too?
Jaejoong watched jealously as Yunho chuckled at something the other student had said. They walked off together, and he stared at them leave the gym.
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
Yunho would be snatched away by the ridiculously angelic new student, and they would fall passionately in love, adopt twin girls, buy a house with a picket fence, get a minivan, have a Golden Retriever and -
“Jaejoong, where do I ask the guys to put the boxes?” Ara askied as she pointed at the piled up boxes on the gym floor. “They’ve been there for awhile and they’re taking up a lot of space, making it difficult to -“
“I have to go.” Jaejoong interrupted before he walked off.
He needed to talk to Yoochun.
o-o-o
““You have to help me.”
Yoochun glanced at Jaejoong from his spot in front of his piano, “And what am I supposed to do?” he asked before he turned back and resumed playing his latest composition. “It’s not like I’m an expert at stealing boyfriends - I don’t even want one.”
“They’re not dating.” Jaejooong muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow was holding tightly. “I refuse to believe so.”
“If they’re not dating then what are you so worried about?” Yoochun asked as he lowered the volume of his piano. “Stop being stupid and jealous, go talk to Yunho or something if you want things clarified.”
“Yunho’s not talking to me.”
Yoochun stopped playing, “Why?”
Jaejoong rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling of Yoochun’s room. He sighed and shut his eyes, “Because we got caught by his sister in a rather suggestive position. I mean, it’s not my fault he was half naked -“
“He was half naked?” Yoochun frowned, “Jaejoong, what were you doing in Yunho’s room when he was half naked? Were you two -“
“Well, we were kind of making out at first, but then we fell onto the bed, and then Jihye walked in on us.”
“Oh.” Yoochun turned back to his piano and flipped the page of his composition notebook. “Well, what happened next?”
“Awkwardness on Yunho’s part I suppose.” Jaejoong replied as he rolled over onto his stomach so he could look at Yoochun properly. “It was cute to see him so flustered though. You should’ve seen him Chun. His brows were furrowed and -“
“Seeing Yunho in a flustered state would not turn me on Jaejoong - that’s just you. I don’t find Yunho cute at all. Seeing him in a flustered state would not have any effect on me whatsoever.”
Jaejoong rolled his eyes.
“Well, anyway, it was cute. Yunho was acting cute. Then he got upset with me for not helping him clear up the issue, and after, he accused me of corrupting his sister. He then proceeded to kick me out of his house.”
“I probably would’ve done the same.” Yoochun replied as he fiddled with the volume of his piano before he flipped the page, “You tend to have a negative effect on people -“
“You’re supposed to be cheering me up, not bringing me down.” Jaejoong snapped before he threw one of Yoochun’s pillows at his head. “Anyway, I want to know why Yunho’s not talking to me.”
“Ask him.”
Jaejoong mulled over Yoochun’s words. He blinked. “Do you think I should?”
“Well, I always think asking things directly is the best option.” Yoochun suggested before he turned his head and looked back at Jaejoong, “Besides, it’s not you’re good at being subtle. If you ask me, I’m fairly sure Yunho already knows you like him.”
“No he doesn’t.”
Yoochun shrugged, “If you say so.”
Jaejoong rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He hugged one of Yoochun’s pillow close to his chest and let out a small sigh. “What do you think Yunho would say if I confessed to him?”
“I’m sorry Jaejoong, but your ass isn’t tempting enough. Have you taken a look at -“
Jaejoong threw the pillow at Yoochun’s head and rolled off the bed. “Fuck you. I’m out. I’m going home.” He muttered as he picked his bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder, “I was being serious.”
“I love you Jaejoong, walk home safely!”
Jaejoong slammed the door.
o-o-o
The next day was supposed to be the day of the confrontation, but his head was throbbing and his body was burning.
Jaejoong let out a heavy sigh and tried to concentrate on the words on the board, the letters twisting and turning until they became indecipherable lines and curves. He squinted and tried to make sense of it all, but he failed completely.
When class ended, he swore he could hear the hallelujah chorus in the background.
He stumbled out of his classroom and ignored the concerned comments from his classmates. He had a task at hand - the task being to confront Yunho with his feelings and to ensure that he didn’t get stolen away by a certain exchange student with an angelic voice and an ass that people wouldn’t stop talking about.
“Jaejoong, you look really sick.” Yoochun said as he caught Jaejoong from failing down the stairs, “I think I should bring you to the clinic -“
Jaejoong steadied himself and blinked furiously. “I have to -“ he felt like throwing up, and he immediately turned away from Yoochun in fear of the possibility of vomiting on his best friend.
As soon as he’d gotten his nausea under control, he faced Yoochun again.
“Okay, let’s go to the clinic.”
Yoochun stared at him for a few seconds. “You felt like throwing up?” he asked calmly, unmoving from his position.
Jaejoong raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, I did. Now let’s go before -“
“Are you sure all you did with Yunho was make out? I once saw on the television that some guy got knocked up -“
Jaejoong glared, and Yoochun promptly shut up.
“Okay, let’s go to the clinic now.”
o-o-o
“Jesus Jaejoong, stop going to school if you don’t feel well.” Yoori muttered as she walked around the kitchen, “You always liked staying home before, I really don’t see why you’re acting like some kind of honor student nowadays.”
Jaejoong huffed, “I’m feeling perfectly fine -“
“Right, and let’s pretend I didn’t have to cut my work shift in order to pick you up from school.” His sister replied sarcastically as she reapplied her lipstick in front of a mirror in the kitchen. “Anyway, I’m going out.”
“Do what you want.” Jaejoong replied as he hopped off the kitchen stool and turned to the cupboard to rummage for baking ingredients, “I’ll be fine on my own.” He added as he took out a box of instant brownie mix.
Yoori crossed her arms, “Brownies? What are you, a hormonal teenage girl?”
Jaejoong twitched irritably, “I am not a girl, and I am not hormonal.” He set the box down next to a mixing bowl and shook his wooden spoon at her, “Just because you’re jealous of my culinary skills, don’t start insulting me. I’m very much a man, and -“
“I’m going now! Make sure to return my copy of Sixteen Candles as soon as you’re done fawning over how hot Jake Ryan is, and don’t forget to place my nail polish back in my room.”
His sister left the kitchen with an irritating wave, and Jaejoong sighed in defeat. It was an unfortunate trick of fate to be trapped in a household with eight sisters, and he would never understand why he was forced to endure their endless teasing concerning his masculinity.
The fact he was gay didn’t help either - it only further convinced them that he was actually a girl in a guy’s body.
Jaejoong finished the batter quickly, it was instant brownie mix after all, and placed it inside the oven after he’d put in a pan. He walked around the house aimlessly, channel surfed, tried to read, but he was still completely bored.
He hung around by the oven, impatiently waiting for the brownies. As soon as it was finished baking and cooling, he dug in - he didn’t care to leave anything for his sisters, they didn’t deserve any and he was so hungry and -
“You should slow down a bit.”
Jaejoong nearly dropped his spoon in shock as he stared at Yunho, who was standing by the kitchen doorframe. He swallowed hard and blinked, finding it hard to believe that Yunho was in his kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Jaejoong asked nervously as he fiddled with his spoon and tried to make himself look more presentable. “I...I thought we weren’t talking.”
Yunho walked up to him and placed a folder down onto the kitchen counter. He pushed it toward Jaejoong, “I brought your homework.” He paused, “And why do you think that I don’t want to talk to you?”
“You’ve been giving me one word answers, and you pretty much pretend like I don’t exist.” Jaejoong mumbled before he shovelled more brownie into his mouth, wishing he didn’t sound as depressed as he did.
Yunho stared at him blankly.
“But that’s how I always treated you before.” Yunho replied calmly as he shifted in front of Jaejoong. Yunho stood awkwardly for a few seconds before he finally decided to sit down across Jaejoong so that he’d be in a better position. “I never really talked to you before our sessions started, and other people -“
“Does it matter what they think?” Jaejoong asked, lifting his eyes off his food so that he could stare at Yunho questioningly. “We’re friends...aren’t we? I’d like to talk to you. After what happened with...” he trailed off and bit his lip, “I thought you were mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Jaejoong replied irritably, “I still don’t believe that you aren’t. Not to mention you’ve been spending all of your time with that new student, who I’m beginning to wonder -“
“You mean my cousin?”
Jaejoong paused. “What cousin?”
Yunho laughed, “You’re jealous of anyone, aren’t you? Junsu’s my cousin.”
“Oh.”
Jaejoong blushed and wanted to disappear at that exact moment. He was too careless around Yunho, too nervous, and always lacking in charisma. It was like whenever he was within a certain proximity to the student council president, all his charm evaporated completely.
He hated the feeling of being so unhinged by another person’s presence, but he liked Yunho too much to care. As irritating as it was to be so nervous and flustered all the time, the fact that Yunho was around made him much happier than when he was away.
In short, his feelings for Yunho had gotten a lot stronger than he’d thought they would, resulting in his flustered behaviour and the ridiculous butterflies he felt in his stomach.
Yunho waved his hand in front of Jaejoong’s face.
“You’ve kind of zoned out.”
“It’s a lot of information to digest.” Jaejoong replied weakly before he shovelled more brownie into his mouth, hoping desperately that the fudge flavour would make everything a bit better.
Yunho tilted his head, “Have you been upset with me for the past few days?”
“Yes. I thought you were mad with me for going to your house, so I got mad too.” Jaejoong placed his spoon down, “It’s not like it’s completely my fault! You were kissing me back, and you -“
“I’m sorry.”
“For what? Kissing me back, or for letting things go back to the way they used to be?”
Yunho raised an eyebrow. “For letting things go back to the way they used to be. You’re...you’re nice company.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled in a way that Jaejoong read off as sheepish. “I should’ve started treating you as a friend.”
Jaejoong blushed, giddy on the inside. He was one step closer to becoming Yunho’s boyfriend, because boyfriend was just the word friend with an added bonus of -
“I like you.”
Yunho’s eyes widened, and Jaejoong dropped his spoon in shock. He hadn’t meant to say that, not at all. Jaejoong stared at Yunho in horror before he bolted out of the kitchen within seconds.
o-o-o
Jaejoong stopped to calm down as soon as he reached a playground. His face was red, due to his humiliation caused by his utter stupidity and the fact that he’d sprinted out of his kitchen as fast as he could go. He walked over to the swing set and sat down, completely unsure of what to do next.
He was fairly sure that Yunho had heard him because of the shock that registered on the student council president’s face, meaning that his confession must have come as a complete surprise.
He believed Yoochun when he had said that Yunho had probably already noticed his feelings, because it would have made it much easier for things to progress without unnecessary awkwardness. Jaejoong sourly noted that as usual, his best friend was once again wrong.
Jaejoong let his face fall into his hands, frustrated with himself. He always said the wrongs things, did the wrongs things, all because of stupid, irritating and unnecessarily poker faced, Yunho.
“You run fast.”
Jaejoong tensed up and refused to look up. “How did you know I was here?” he asked, his voice muffled by his hands. He pulled his hands away and instead chose to grip the swing’s chain instead.
“One of your sisters, the one who let me into the house, told me you probably ran over here.” Yunho replied as he stuck his hands into his pockets and looked down at Jaejoong expectantly. “You didn’t have to run away from me Jaejoong.”
“I thought you knew.” Jaejoong muttered before he raised his eyes to look at Yunho. “I thought you had some small idea about how I felt.”
“I didn’t think you treated me any differently from how you treated other people.”
“Well, I do.” Jaejoong sighed and covered his face, “What did Ara do when she confessed to you? Was it this awkward? Please tell me something that’ll make me feel better. Or leave maybe? This is so -“
“She came into the student council room last year, asked me to sit down, and confessed. It was short, and she asked me if I felt the same - I told her no.”
Jaejoong removed his hands from his face and looked at Yunho, “And what did she say afterwards?” he asked, his curiosity winning out.
“She asked me not to tell anyone and that my rejection wouldn’t prevent her from having feelings for me. She then left.” Yunho held his hand out, “Come on Jaejoong. Let’s not do this here, okay?”
Jaejoong bit his lip, “Are you rejecting me?”
“I -“ Yunho looked taken aback, “I...I don’t know.”
Jaejoong pushed Yunho’s hand aside. “I’m not leaving. I don’t want to be left hanging. If you feel the same, say so. If you don’t, then say so.”
“You’re being difficult -“
“You’re always difficult!” Jaejoong argued back. He crossed his arms and shook his head childishly, “I’m not leaving until -“
“Don’t I get time to think?” Yunho asked. “I didn’t think you had feelings for me. Before Ara confessed to me, I already had some sort of idea -“
“Stop comparing me to her.”
Yunho’s lips twitched as he tried to fight off a smile. “You really dislike her, don’t you? You’re so possessive, and I’m not even yours.”
“I’m consistently worried she’ll convert you into heterosexuality.” Jaejoong replied honestly before he realized Yunho was attempting to change the subject. “Now tell me, do you like me too?”
He raised his eyes off the ground and forced Yunho to look at him properly. He refused to shift his gaze, and it was Yunho who broke their eye contact first.
“I’ll tell you...” he trailed off, “This Friday.”
Jaejoong pouted. “You’re forcing me to wait?” he sighed and gave in immediately. “Fine. I’ll wait. You’ll tell me on Friday - at Yoochun’s party. You have to go. You’re going to go and tell me how you feel there.”
Yunho met his gaze, “Fine.”
“Okay.”
If there was one thing Jaejoong was sure of, he could wait. The fact Yunho hadn’t rejected him outright meant that the other student was most likely seriously considering having him as a boyfriend - and that was a good thing.
Yunho once more offered his hand, and Jaejoong took it, feeling much better than before. He left the swing and they walked away from the park.
He glanced at Yunho, “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” he asked curiously, “I just can’t really picture you with someone...aside from myself.” Jaejoong added playfully as he elbowed Yunho.
Yunho shook his head, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the friendliest person out there...and I’m not so close with a lot of people.” He glanced at Jaejoong, “I’ve been on a two or three dates though - with girls, but that was a long time ago.”
“Oh.”
“I shouldn’t be worried for their lives, should I?”
“I’m not that possessive.” Jaejoong replied as they began to near his house. He turned around sharply, “Hey, you promised. Friday is the day.”
Yunho nodded, “Yeah, sure.”
“If you reject me, don’t think I won’t be capable of kicking your ass -“
Yunho reached out and brushed something off the corner of Jaejoong’s lip with his thumb. He then proceeded to lightly brush something off his hair. “Stop thinking so negatively.”
Jaejoong’s eyes widened. “Was that...” he blushed and pushed Yunho away with his hand, “You’re so...” he blushed even harder and turned away, “You’re so difficult, stop toying with me!”
He faced Yunho again and didn’t bother to hide the obvious red tint in his face. “You’re going to show up at the party on Friday, right?”
“I will.”
“Okay.” Jaejoong turned away and left Yunho. He went inside his house, and as soon as he was inside, he was cornered by several of his sisters, and all of them were asking the same question - Joongie, who was that boy?
Yoori poked him in the cheek, “Most importantly though, is he your boyfriend?”
Jaejoong shrugged, sending his sisters into irritated rants about how it was so annoying that he was being so secretive.
He would have to wait until Friday before he could properly answer that question, but based on gut feeling, he had a feeling his answer for it would soon be a yes.
< >
Author’s Note: Feeling...not so great about this chapter. I don’t feel like it’s that funny or amusing. :\ Thank you so much to all those people who commented in the previous chapter, and I really hope you guys enjoy the progression of Yunho & Jaejoong's relationship in this chapter! Whoever comments first in this chapter will get the tentative title & a short snippet from the upcoming sequel to Suppress! I’m not too sure of what I’m going to update next, and I’m too lazy to fix my percentages on my master list since the format’s all whacked out due to the new editor. I’ll fix & update my master list sometime soon. I dislike the new LJ editor. >.< Anyway, please do leave a comment about how much you liked this chapter, and I must say, I’m really excited to write the next chapter - I will ensure that it’s awesome! XD Once again, thank you for reading! ♥