Lies (They Were All Lies) Chapter 16
Title: Lies (They Were All Lies)
Length: Chaptered
Author: allwerelies and jennykim319
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: YunJae (main), Heechul/Jaejoong, Yoosu, Seul Gi/Yunho (one-sided)
Genre: Romance, angst, drama
Summary: Jaejoong, the new student with a secret of having an abusive stepfather. Yunho, the rich man who constantly hides under a mask. Yunho's childhood best friend, Heechul, begins to have feelings for Jaejoong, but it seems that Yunho has romantic feelings for Jaejoong as well. Seul Gi, an admirer of Yunho, begins to notice Yunho's attraction to Jaejoong and is out to destroy their relatioshop...what will ensue for Yunho and Jaejoong when so many barriers stand in the way of their love?
| Prologue|| Chapter 1|| Chapter 2|| Chapter 3|| Chapter 4|| Chapter 5|| Chapter 6|| Chapter 7|| Chapter 8|| Chapter 9|| Chapter 10|| Chapter 11|| Chapter 12|| Chapter 13|| Chapter 14|| Chapter 15|
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Chapter 16: Silently Hurting
Hoping for a dreamless night of sleep had not worked.
Jaejoong’s nights were always filled with reminders of his past, the past he desperately tried to forget yet never succeeded in doing so.
He dragged his aching body out of bed and went to check if his stepfather was home. He slowly crept down the stairs, careful not to make any noise. He took a peek into the living room and then into his stepfather’s bedroom.
He let out a small sigh of relief when he noticed that his stepfather had already left or had just not come back.
He proceeded to walk down the hallway to the bathroom with his left leg still carrying a slight limp.
He stood staring at his reflection in the mirror and thought, 'Maybe no one will notice this bruise.'
He scoffed at his own comment.
'How could anyone not notice this?'
Lifting up his shirt, the large black and blue bruises on his stomach became visible. He mentally winced as he recalled what had happened three nights ago.
'At least it looks better than it did yesterday. I guess I was lucky that he didn’t break anything this time.'
Jaejoong let go of his shirt and started to brush his teeth.
Upon finishing, he walked back to his room. He grabbed his black sweatshirt and blue faded jeans and put them on even though it was an oddly warm autumn day.
After dressing, he grabbed the rest of his things, including his pencil and lunch, and hurried out the door as he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up.
Walking down the street Jaejoong noticed that the people on the streets kept giving him odd glances. They probably thought he was a delinquent with the bruise on his face and having his hood up on a sunny morning didn’t help the situation.
Jaejoong hung his head lower so that his hair would cover more of his bruise. He quickened his pace, as much as he could with his injured leg, and headed towards the school.
Arriving at his first class, Jaejoong quickly glanced around and saw that Yunho, Heechul, and the rest of the guys were not there yet. He sat down in his seat and pulled back his hood but he made sure that his raven-black hair concealed the bruise.
'Maybe they’re all sick?' thought Jaejoong but that was just wishful thinking as he heard a familiar voice approach him.
“Jae!”
He turned his head a little towards the voice as he saw Yunho hastily walking towards him.
When Yunho reached Jaejoong, he threw his hand around Jaejoong’s shoulder as he sat down beside him. Normally, this would’ve been okay but with the bruise on Jaejoong’s shoulder, he winced in pain. He hoped Yunho had not noticed his action and tried to act normal to distract Yunho from focusing on his face.
“Hey Yunho, where’s everyone else?”
“Oh, Heechul’s probably skipping school. Seul Gi is at some family thing and Yoochun and Junsu are probably…actually…I don’t even know where they are but they’re definitely together.”
Jokingly, Yunho moved his face closer to Jaejoong’s and whispered, “So I guess it’s just the two of us, huh?”
Jaejoong flinched away as Yunho breathed into his ear and the hair that had been concealing his bruise shifted and revealed the bruise.
Yunho pulled away, which caused his arm to leave Jaejoong’s shoulder, and gasped in shock at the bruise.
“Jae, what happened?” He reached out and gently traced the outline of the bruise with his left hand. Jaejoong attempted to back away but the warmth from Yunho’s hand drew him closer. It had been so long since someone had shown concern for him.
“Did someone hurt you?” Yunho questioned in a quiet whispered. Each word expressed how concerned he was.
Jaejoong stared at the sincere eyes in front of him that were watching him with worry yet he did not know what to tell him. All he could do was stare back into them. He couldn’t tell him that it was his stepfather that had done this to him. He didn’t even know where to begin.
“I fell…” he answered lamely. He dared not meet Yunho’s eyes as he suddenly found his hands to be the most fascinating thing.
“Jae, you’re telling me that you fell…on your face?” questioned Yunho disbelievingly.
All Jaejoong could manage was a weak nod. He looked up and a silent pleading look could be seen in his chocolate-brown eyes that were asking Yunho to stop questioning him.
Yunho wanted to ask Jaejoong what had really happened but he did not want to push Jaejoong on a topic that Jaejoong did not want to talk about.
Seeing those eyes, Yunho decided to stop asking questions because he knew Jaejoong was not going to tell him what had really happened. Even though Jaejoong did not want him to worry, he decided that he would keep an eye out for Jaejoong.
“Jae, if you ever need anything or are in trouble, here’s my address and number.” Said Yunho with a warm smile as he handed Jaejoong a neatly folded piece of paper.
Jaejoong hesitated before accepting the sheet of paper in Yunho’s hand. When their hands meet, Yunho did not immediately let go. He stared deep into Jaejoong’s eyes saying, “Jae, I promise that I’ll be here to lend you an ear or a shoulder whenever you need it.”
Hearing this made Jaejoong’s heart flutter and he couldn’t help but smile. Although Jaejoong knew that this may just be another lie, this was going to be a lie that he chose to believe in.
Though Jaejoong did not say anything, his eyes spoke volumes to Yunho. Yunho was captivated by the small smile that graced Jaejoong’s lips. He was amazed at how beautiful Jaejoong looked and hoped that he could make Jaejoong smile more often in the future, for him.
Coming back to earth, Yunho noticed that his hand was still on top of Jaejoong’s and he quickly removed his hand and cleared his throat.
After this moment of unguarded emotions, Yunho and Jaejoong’s conversation shifted onto other topics. Yet, unconsciously, they moved closer and closer while talking.
While Yunho and Jaejoong were happily in their own world, someone else was silently hurting.
Watching from outside the classroom door, Heechul leaned against the wall and dropped the bag that he held in his hand.
He had brought breakfast hoping that Jaejoong and he could share. He was pretty sure Jaejoong had not eaten and he had wanted to surprise Jaejoong.
As he stared at the scene in front of him, Heechul couldn’t help but feel something tug at his heart. Somewhere in his heart, he felt slightly angered at how close Jaejoong and Yunho were.
Sighing, he picked up the bag, dropped it into the trash, and quietly turned and walked away.
( Chapter 17)