Lies (They Were All Lies) Chapter 19
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|| Chapter 16|| Chapter 17|| Chapter 18|
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Chapter 19: Closer To You
“So Jae, where do you want to go?” asked Yunho as he turned his head towards Jaejoong who was riding in his car next to him.
---------------------------------------------- Flashback ------------------------------------------------
Yunho walked into Sorriso Trattoria and was greeted by a waiter who politely said, “Sorry sir, we’re not opened for business yet.”
“I know. I’m here to see the manager.” replied Yunho with an air of confidence.
Hearing the seriousness of Yunho’s tone, the waiter gave a troubled expression before he hurried away to find the manager.
As he waited for the manager, Yunho took in the surrounding of the restaurant.
'So this is where Jae works.' He thought, for he had not paid attention the last time he had stepped foot into the restaurant.
“How may I help you sir?” came the manager’s voice, which brought Yunho out of his thoughts as he turned to face the man.
“Manager Lee, I presume.” started Yunho.
“Yes, how may I assist you today?”
Yunho took out his business card and handed it to Manager Lee while saying, “I would like to reserve the restaurant for the entire day. Please send all the workers home and take the day off yourself.”
Manager Lee’s eyes widened as he saw the name on the business card in his hand: Jung Yunho.
'How can I not agree to this? This man’s father is the most well known entrepreneur throughout Asia and Europe.'
“I can take care of that for you Mr. Jung,” he said as he accompanied Yunho to the door.
After exiting the restaurant, Yunho headed for his sleek black car to plan what he and said person could do since they would have all day to themselves.
He drummed his fingers on the dashboard.
'Hmm ...maybe I could bring him to the shopping district or maybe he wants to go to the park or maybe he would want...'
Yunho's mind was filled with some many different possibilities but he didn't know what said person would want to do.
Yunho snapped out of his daze when he saw a beautiful man with raven-black hair walk down the street with his head slightly down.
"Jae!" called Yunho as he rolled down the car window.
Jaejoong’s head snapped up at the sound of someone calling his name. He looked around and was met with a smiling face; the face of someone he had unknowingly began to trust.
“Yunho, what are you doing here?” questioned Jaejoong, completely oblivious to the fact that Yunho had been waiting for him to arrive.
"I was going to go eat at the restaurant where you work but apparently someone booked it for the whole day so it’s closed. So now I’m just deciding what to do with the rest of my day."
Yunho hoped that Jaejoong would get the drift of what he was implying but seeing that Jaejoong remained motionless, he asked, "Since you're not working today, want to hang out with me?"
"Um...sure." came Jaejoong's uncertain voice.
"Well then get in," motioned Yunho as he reached over to push open the door for Jaejoong.
--------------------------------------------- End Flashback -------------------------------------------
Jaejoong glanced at the handsome man sitting next to him and thought about the question he was just asked. He couldn't figure out why Yunho would want to spend the day with him. He had Heechul and Yoochun. Why doesn't Yunho hang out with them?
“Why don’t you decide since you’re driving?” replied Jaejoong keeping his eyes fixated on Yunho who had turned back to look at the road.
Realizing that he was staring at Yunho, Jaejoong quickly straightened up in the passenger seat and looked down at his hands. He didn't know why he kept staring at Yunho. He worried that Yunho had noticed but Yunho's reply was normal when he said, "You're my guest today. You decide, Jae."
Jaejoong remained silent for a while but slowly turned and said in a soft voice, "Do you think we can go to ... Saint Mary’s Orphanage? I haven't had time to go there in a while."
Jaejoong hadn't been there in awhile because between balancing school and work, he hasn't had any spare time. Plus, he had no way to get there for it was rather far.
When Yunho had pictured hanging out with Jaejoong, it hadn’t been at an orphanage but he would agree to anything just to spend time with Jaejoong. "Sure. Just tell me the address."
Jaejoong hadn’t expected Yunho to agree so quickly. “It’s rather far… are you sure it’s okay with you?”
“It's no big deal. I don't mind driving.” Yunho reassured Jaejoong.
'This means I get to spend more time with Jae.' smiled Yunho to himself as he punched into the navigator the address Jaejoong had just told him.
“Thanks.” said Jaejoong as he leaned back into the seat.
After this exchange, a comfortable silence fell between the two in the car. Only the soft music playing in the background could be heard.
From the corner of his eye, Yunho saw Jaejoong’s head starting to bob. He took a quick look at Jaejoong and saw Jaejoong struggling to keep his eyes open. Yunho couldn’t help but chuckle at how hard Jaejoong was trying to stay awake. Jaejoong looked so childish but also very adorable. “Hey Jae, if you’re tired, take a nap. I promise I’ll wake you up when we get there.” Yunho quietly said.
“Ok…” Jaejoong’s voice trailed off. Hearing these words, Jaejoong finally allowed sleep to overtake him. He used his right hand to support his head as he leaned towards the car window and quickly fell asleep.
Several minutes of silence ensued until all Yunho could hear was the light sound of Jaejoong's rhythmic breathing. He stole a glance at Jaejoong's sleeping form and was mesmerized by Jaejoong's beauty.
The golden rays of sun, which made him appear angelic, accentuated Jaejoong’s features. Yunho had never thought that he would fall for someone, nonetheless a guy, but some things in life just can’t be predicted. He wished that they could remain like this forever, with him watching over Jaejoong and keeping him safe.
Yunho returned his focus to driving. He wanted them to make it there in one piece so they could get to know each other better.
After two hours of driving, Yunho finally pulled up to St. Mary’s Orphanage and parked the car.
Seeing Jaejoong sleeping so peacefully, Yunho did not want to startle him so Yunho gently shook Jaejoong's shoulder to wake him up. “Jae, we're here. Wake up.” he whispered softly into Jaejoong's ear.
Jaejoong's eyes slowly opened and squinted at the sunlight flooding in through the car window. Then he noticed the face that was inches away from his. He blushed at the close proximity between him and Yunho and quickly pulled away.
“How did I fall asleep?” thought Jaejoong to himself. He had felt so safe and warm sitting beside Yunho that he had unconsciously fallen asleep. Yunho's presence made him think that everything would be okay and had erased all the stress he had been feeling. With all his worries out of his mind, Jaejoong had drifted into a dreamless sleep for the first time in years.
Yunho noticed the slight blush Jaejoong had tried to hide but he continued to stare into those eyes. As Yunho remained leaned over Jaejoong, their eyes still on each other, a voice came from outside the car.
"Is that you Jaejoong?" came a middle-aged woman's voice, which startled Yunho and Jaejoong. They immediately moved away from each other and looked towards the direction from which the voice came from.
Yunho recovered first and opened his door to get out with Jaejoong quickly following him.
“Jaejoong, you haven’t been here in a while.” greeted the middle-aged woman as she approached them with a smile on her face.
“I thought you forgot about us.” she joked as she took Jaejoong within her arms for a motherly hug.
“I’m sorry Sister Catherine,” replied Jaejoong when he was finally released from her hug. “I’ve been busy. You know I would never forget about you and the kids here.”
Sister Catherine knew that Jaejoong had his reasons for not being able to visit so she nodded her head in response. Her gaze then shifted to Yunho who was still standing beside Jaejoong.
“And who is this lovely young man beside you?” inquired Sister Catherine.
“Oh, this is Yunho,” replied Jaejoong as he introduced Sister Catherine to Yunho who looked at him with a warm expression on her face. “Yunho, this is Sister Catherine.”
“Nice to meet you Sister Catherine.” Yunho said politely with a bow. He could tell by the way Jaejoong interacted with Sister Catherine that she was an important person in Jaejoong’s life.
The three of them stared at each other for several seconds until Sister Catherine spoke. “We can’t stand here all day. The kids are inside. I’m sure they’ll be excited to see you two. Let’s go in.”
“The kids have really missed you Jaejoong. They kept asking me where you were.” said Sister Catherine as they walked up the cobblestone pathway to the orphanage.
Before they even reached the door, cheerful laughter was heard coming from within.
Entering through the old wooden doors, little kids were seen running around and chasing each other. They looked so carefree and happy. One kid stopped running when Sister Catherine, Yunho, and Jaejoong entered and a brilliant smile immediately broke out on his face.
“Jaejoong!” He screamed as he ran towards Jaejoong’s standing figure in the door with his arms out.
“Hey there Hwan Jin.” Jaejoong said as he squatted down to take Hwan Jin in a hug and then proceeded to pat Hwan Jin on the head.
“Where have you been Jaejoong? Everyone’s missed you. Especially me!” said Hwan Jin with the goofy grin still on his face.
“I’ve been busy Hwan Jin, but I’ll try to come to visit you more often, okay?”
“All right, promise?” he asked as he stuck out his pinky and made Jaejoong pinky-promise him.
Jaejoong did not like to make promises because he knew what it felt like when a promise was broken. He knew how much it hurt and how hard it made it to trust again.
Thinking about these thoughts, a frown started to form on his lips; however, seeing Hwan Jin’s innocent smile in front of him, he could not deny the little boy and agreed. He complied as he stuck out his own pinky and a small chuckle escaped from his mouth.
Yunho laughed at how easily this little boy could make Jaejoong smile when it had taken him weeks before Jaejoong even managed a small grin for him.
After making sure Jaejoong was going to stay around for awhile, Hwan Jin asked, “Jaejoong, who’s this?” as he pointed at Yunho.
“Oh, I almost forgot. This is Yunho, my friend from college. He gave me a ride here today so you guys should be nice to him. Okay?” said Jaejoong as he signaled Yunho to introduce himself.
Yunho had immediately taken a liking to the little kid in front of him. Hwan Jin was happy even though his parents were no longer with him. This was a happiness that he himself had not felt in a long time. Sometimes he wished he could return to being a little kid, free of worries.
“Hi Hwan Jin,” Yunho said as he bent down to eye-level with Hwan Jin. “I see that you and Jaejoong are close.”
“Uhuh, Jaejoong always comes to visit me and the other kids here even though he doesn’t live here anymore. We all love him,” Hwan Jin said as he turned to look at Jaejoong.
Jaejoong just patted Hwan Jin’s head in response.
'Jae was an orphan?'
While Yunho was still deep in his thoughts, Hwan Jin grabbed Yunho’s left hand in his right hand and Jaejoong’s right hand in his left hand and dragged them to the back of the orphanage where the other kids were.
“Jaejoong and Yunho, come play with me.” he said as he pointed towards the playground in the back.
Yunho just smiled at Jaejoong and followed him and Hwan Jin who had already started running to the swing set. Jaejoong started to push Hwan Jin and looked at Yunho to make sure he was okay. Yunho gave him a thumb up and Jaejoong proceeded to push Hwan Jin higher and higher while Yunho watched with a content expression on his face.
Yunho finally understood why Jaejoong wanted to come here. It was at this place where Jaejoong could freely express himself and just be himself. Jaejoong played with the kids and they all adored Jaejoong like a big brother. Jaejoong’s head never hung low because at this orphanage, he was who he wanted to be. He would not be judged and he need not be afraid of what would happen. It was a safe haven that Jaejoong could escape too.
“Jaejoong, can you give me a hand in the kitchen?” asked Sister Catherine from within the orphanage.
Jaejoong stopped pushing the swing and said," Hwan Jin I'll be right back, okay?"
Before Jaejoong could take a step Yunho stopped him. "Jae, I'll go help Sister Catherine. You stay here with Hwan Jin and have fun."
"Are you sure Yunho?" Jaejoong questioned but Yunho just gave him a quick smile and headed towards the kitchen where Sister Catherine was waiting.
Arriving at the kitchen, Yunho looked around and finally found Sister Catherine in the back.
"Oh Yunho, where's Jaejoong?"
"He's still out playing with Hwan Jin, I told him I'd come help you out."
"Oh, that’s sweet of you.”
“It’s not big deal. I thought I’d let Hwan Jin and Jae catch up.”
“Well since you’re here, do you mind helping me with the dishes?”
“Sure.”
Yunho rolled up his sleeves like how he’d seen people on T.V. do it, grabbed a sponge and begin washing the big pile of dishes in the sink.
As he was washing the dirty dishes he thought to himself, “When was the last time I washed dishes?” But he was smiling nonetheless because he got to spend time with Jaejoong. Plus he rarely got the chance to help others with his own hands. It was usually just donating money or something along the lines of that.
While he was washing, Sister Catherine moved next to him to help him dry the dishes with a towel.
“So Yunho, how did you and Jae meet?”
“Oh, we met at college. We have a lot of the same classes together.”
“You two seem awfully close. Jaejoong has never brought anyone here before. He’s such a sweet child.”
“Really?” said Yunho with a smile. He didn’t know that such a trivial sentence could make him so happy. Being the only one Jaejoong ever brought to the orphanage made him feel special.
“I don’t mean to pry, but was Jae an orphan?”
After a slight hesitation, Sister Catherine answered, “Jaejoong’s lived a tough life. He lived here for six years before his stepfather, Joon Yoonhan, adopted him. He needs someone to care for him. He deserves it.”
“What happened to Jae’s parents?” asked Yunho.
“He lost both parents at a young age. Jaejoong's dad was abusive and one day his mother just couldn't take it anymore and snapped." Sister Catherine stopped to see how Yunho was reacting to the news.
Seeing that he was handling the situation rather calmly, she continued. “His mother ran away with Jaejoong after she committed the murder, but she was mentally unstable. Then the police found them."
“So she’s in jail now?”
“No, when the police arrived at the house, they discovered that she had committed suicide, in front of her own child.”
Sister Catherine didn’t go into the details. The sight in the house was a scene she would never forget.
She could clearly remember walking in with the police and seeing Jaejoong sitting in a pool of his mother’s blood covered with his own. His hands and face were smeared with streaks of his mother’s dried blood and his tears never stopped falling from his eyes. What was deeply imprinted in her mind was the blank look in Jaejoong’s eyes. They were completely lifeless as he sat there in shock. He kept shaking his mother saying “Mommy, mommy…wake up..." until the police arrived and led him away.
She had been the one that had informed the police because she had spotted Jaejoong and his mother.
'Jae saw his own mother and father die in front of his eyes?'
Yunho couldn’t believe something like this actually happened in real life.
As he listened to Sister Catherine talk about Jaejoong’s past, Yunho felt a pain growing in his heart. He didn’t know Jaejoong had gone through all of this at such a young age when he himself had lived a sheltered life.
He felt angered towards himself. He kept complaining that his life was difficult but it was nothing compared to Jaejoong’s. Jaejoong had been thrown into a world where he was alone and in darkness while he was surrounded by people who cared for him, like Heechul and Yoochun.
Coming to the orphanage had definitely changed how he looked at Jaejoong. He knew for certain now that he wanted to protect Jaejoong and never leave him.
“Jaejoong, I’m hungry.” came Hwan Jin’s voice as he walked hand-in-hand with Jaejoong into the kitchen.
Yunho looked up from the pile of dishes that he had stopped washing halfway through Sister Catherine’s story and gave Jaejoong a smile.
“Hey Jae, you guys all done playing outside?”
“Hwan Jin got hungry so we decided to see what you guys were up to.”
“Oh, we’re practically done here. Yunho, why don’t you go with them outside to eat?” said Sister Catherine as she handed Yunho a tray of sandwiches.
Yunho gladly followed Jaejoong and Hwan Jin outside. Hwan Jin sat in between Jaejoong and Yunho as they ate the sandwiches. After eating their fill, Jaejoong and Yunho played with Hwan Jin and the other kids until the sun started to set.
As Jaejoong and Yunho got up to leave, Jaejoong felt something grab onto his leg. Looking down, he saw Hwan Jin’s sad eyes looking up at him, silently pleadingly for Jaejoong to not go.
Jaejoong let out sigh and said, “Hwan Jin, it’s okay, I told you I’ll be back soon.”
“Well that’s what mommy said too but she never came back.” said Hwan Jin on the verge of tears.
Hearing these words, Yunho felt unwanted emotions resurface. He knew what it felt like to be abandoned.
“Hwan Jin, I promise you that I’ll bring Jae back to visit you soon, okay?” promised Yunho as he knelt down to look Hwan Jin in the eyes.
Reluctantly, Hwan Jin nodded his head and let go of Jaejoong’s leg.
Jaejoong and Yunho sadly parted ways with Sister Catherine and the kids at the orphanage. They agreed that they would come back to visit as soon as possible.
Getting into the car Yunho tells Jaejoong, “Jae, I’m really glad you wanted to come today. I really had a great time hanging out with the kids. Hwan Jin’s an amazing kid. He’s been through so much yet he still manages to smile everyday.”
“Hwan Jin has a special place in my heart because I took care of him the first year he came to the orphanage. I’m glad you had a good time. I didn’t know you were so good with children Yunho.” Jaejoong said jokingly as he put on his seatbelt.
“I get lots of practice hanging out with Heechul.” said Yunho with a laugh.
Until this line, Yunho had completely forgotten about everyone else. He had been absorbed in his own little world with Jaejoong.
Jaejoong settled into his chair and closed his eyes. He felt bad about leaving Yunho to drive by himself but sleep was once again overtaking him.
Looking over and seeing Jaejoong sleeping, Yunho placed his jacket on Jaejoong’s sleeping form and went back to driving. During the entire drive home, Yunho had one thought in his mind.
He wanted to hold Jaejoong closer when he felt sad.
He wanted to hold him closer when he tried to hold his tears back.
He wanted to hold him closer when he cried.
Jaejoong needed a hand to hold, someone who would never let him go.
Yunho wanted to be that someone who would never let Jaejoong go.
( Chapter 20)