Sweet Revenge, Sweet Love, Sweet Irony, Ch. 9
Title: Sweet Revenge, Sweet Love, Sweet Irony
Author: kissthecoffin
Pairing: Jaemin, YunJae, JaeSu and more ^^;
Summary: When a bitter Changmin finds an unconscious and almost dead Jaejoong, a headstrong delinquent, gets in over his head in a fight and ends up unconscious on the brink of death in between the apartments owned by Shim Changmin, the son of Korea’s richest man and a member of one of the most famous bands in Asia. When Changmin recognizes him from their school days, he decides to take him in and nurse him back to health, but not for free, of course. Changmin’s revenge for Jaejoong’s treatment of him in the past? Of course, Jaejoong will become his personal [s]sex[/s] maid.
Warnings (for now and later): Rape, sadistic Changmin, language, male-cross dressing, smex(later) and a newbie writer. :P
Story rating: PG13 to NC17
Here he was, stuck cleaning that stupid floor again…however, this time Changmin had given him three helpers and a mop each. He had to admit, he’d been much nicer ever since the news had been let out about it not being Jaejoong's fault. That certainly didn’t mean he had any kind of friendly feelings towards him, it just made him feel slightly safer knowing that Changmin wasn’t going to keep attacking him.
“I’m going to take a quick break guys!” Jaejoong called, intending to head to the bathroom as an excuse to rest. Two hours earlier he’d taken a seat and had nearly had his head bitten off by a grumpy maid who spoke to him in broken Korean and something that sounded like Russian to Jaejoong. So all he ended up hearing was: “useless, blah blah, lazy, blah blah blah, never do anything for yourself!” Jaejoong had just nodded his head like he’d understood perfectly. Needless to say, he hadn’t taken another rest. His legs were killing him and he could feel a few blisters on the palm of his hand. Even with four people working on the floor, it took hours to get done, especially when the other three maids just kind of moseyed about acting like they were doing something when really all they were doing was watching him.
Jaejoong hadn’t exactly received the warmest welcome from the house staff, in fact, now that he thought of it, all of them seemed to go out of their way to be mean to him. Just the other day one of the many foreign maids Changmin had in the house, tripped Jaejoong while he was walking by with a large stack of towels. Of course, when Jaejoong had stood up and gotten angry with her, she acted like she didn’t understand and just walked away.
“Stupid maids.” Jaejoong growled as he walked towards the restroom, flexing his sore arms as he went.
“Hey, I'm not doing this because I want to, you know. It's because my mom asked me to.”
Jaejoong paused and glanced up, hearing a girls voice drifting from the a large room down the hall. “It’s a little early to have any female friends over…” he trailed off, creeping closer to peer into the slightly ajar door.
“But it’s you that’s asking me for a favor.”
Jaejoong snuck in, his eyes drifting towards a large-screen TV which featured Changmin and a younger woman. “Whoa! You’re nose comes out huge on screen.” Jaejoong breath, forgetting about trying to be sneaky.
Changmin jumped from his place on the couch, quickly turning to see him, “What are you trying to do?” He breathed, still looking a bit scared although he seemed more embarrassed.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Jaejoong trailed off, his eyes pinned to the TV screen. “I never knew what you did. You're an actor? You seem so nice there…I guess yoru a pretty good actor then..”
“I'm not an actor, I’m not supposed to appear nice, and my nose is not big.” Changmin growled, his ears turning a light pink.
“Well, compared to what I know of you, this is like angelic behavior.” he muttered, gesturing towards the screen before turning to face him. “And you’re really wrong about the nose…it’s huge. Bye!” he gushed, turning on his heel and dashing from the room. He could practically hear Changmin boiling over with anger.
“Jaejoong, get back here!” Changmin yelled across the hall, striding towards him in an angry sort of fashion, a fashion Jaejoong knew all too well.
“Would a lion’s prey ever jump into its mouth just because the lion demanded it to?” Jaejoong called back across the hall, a smirk sitting on his face.
“It would be much easier than what the lion will do if he has to chase the prey.” Changmin growled across the hall, quickly closing the distance between them.
“The lion would get fat if he never did any work…and from what I can see, he could stand to lose a few pounds.” he called back, beginning to quicken his pace into a trot.
“Jaejoong!” Changmin yelled across the hall, breaking into a run.
Jaejoong let out a yell and dashed from the hall, rounding a corner he ran straight into the person he’d been avoiding for a whole week. “Jaejoong, what are you doing…?” Yunho asked, extending his hands to steady Jaejoong.
“Playing a game of cat and mouse.” Jaejoong replied, removing himself from Yunho’s grip.
“Goodbye.” he turned to leave and found himself face-to-face with Changmin. “Crap!”
“Thank you, Yunho.” Changmin growled as he rounded the corner and grabbed Jaejoong by the collar of his shirt. “Looks as if the lion got his prey.” He shot at his as he began to drag him towards the main hall again.
“Wait! Changmin, can’t we make some kind of deal here?” Jaejoong pleaded, trying to break free of his grip.
“The lion would starve if he had pity on his prey.” Changmin cast over his shoulder, his voice smug.
“What are you going to do…?” Jaejoong questioned, feeling slightly surprised that he wasn’t more anxious about what he was going to do to his. Changmin really didn’t seem to be angry at him, no, Jaejoong had seen him when he was really mad. Right now, he wasn’t angry. He figured he was probably just playing along with him.
“If I said I was going to eat you, what would you take that to mean?”
Jaejoong paled slightly, “I hope it means you’re a cannibal.” he replied weakly, other possibilities running through his head.
“I’ve already given you one bite, what’s a few more?” Changmin asked, trying to hide the smile on his face.
Jaejoong paused his struggle to get away, his hand coming up to rest on the spot the mark had been. He was sure Changmin knew that he hadn’t been responsible for the bite but what if he’d been wrong.
“But…you…I…don’t you hate me…?” Jaejoong reminded him, praying that he was joking.
“Emotions are a fickle thing, Jaejoong.” Changmin growled as he turned and pulled him into his arms, “Now that I’ve had a taste, there’s no going back.” He whispered, letting his lips whisper across his skin.
“Whoa, Whoa! Changmin, you do know it’s me…Jaejoong, right?” he whispered, ignoring the tingling sensation that was running across his whole body at his touch.
“How could I forget someone that has driven me crazy for weeks now?” He sighed, his arms tightening around him.
“Happy to say the feelings not mutual…so let me go.” Jaejoong pulled himself from his daze and pushed his arms against his chest.
Changmin stepped back, a forced smile pulling at his face, “You really are an idiot it you think I would ever be attracted to something like you.” He laughed, letting his eyes run over his body as if he were looking at something amusing. “I guess I’ll be going then…go get back to work.” He muttered as he turned and began to walk away from him.
“Wait a second.” Jaejoong shot at his back, a look of indignation on his face, “What do you mean I would be an idiot it I thought you were attracted to me? Are you trying to say I’m ugly?”
Changmin paused, a smile tugging at the tips of his mouth as turned back to look him in the eye, “In a word, yes.”
“I am not ugly!”
“Would you rather I called you beautiful?” He whispered, pulling closer to him.
Jaejoong quickly put some distance between them. “No!” he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Then I’ll call you ugly.” He stated simply, turning to walk away.
“So it’s either ugly or beautiful there’s no ‘okay looking’ ?”
“When people say someone is okay looking, the usually mean that they don’t find the person attractive which, in turn, would make them ugly. But if it would make you feel better. I think you’re okay looking.” He called back, tossing a smirk over his shoulder.
“You’re such a pig, Changmin!”
“There’s just no satisfying you, is there?” He sang back, his laugh filling the large hall.
“What was that about…?” Yunho asked as he walked towards Jaejoong, a stormy look on his face.
“Changmin was just saying that he thought I was okay looking.” Jaejoong stated easily, turning his back on Yunho.
“So he called you ugly?”
“Does everyone think ‘okay looking’ is ugly?” Jaejoong growled as he strolled away from Yunho, not really wanting to see him.
“Usually.” He replied walking after him.
“Please don’t follow me.” Jaejoong requested, tossing Yunho a slightly angry look. “I don’t really want anything to do with you.”
A pained look washed over Yunho’s face as he stilled his feet, his eyes following his as he started to walk away. “Is there no way I can get back in your good-graces?”
“No. So don’t try.” he snapped, true anger flaring in his eyes. “Did you really think I could just shrug off attempted rape?” Jaejoong placed his hands on his hips, turning around to face him fully, “That's why you and I can never work-out, Yunho. No matter how hard we try, there’s a distance between us…and now it’s only gotten bigger.”
“I tried to close the distance, Jaejoong! But it was you that didn’t let me get close!” Yunho cried, a pleading look in his eyes.
“Yunho, I’ve been in this house around five weeks…two of which you and I weren’t really together. In another three weeks, you pressured me, became jealous, and then attacked me. It’s like you expected me to return your feelings just because you felt something towards me.” Jaejoong replied, ignoring Yunho’s sad face.
“Am I to take that to mean that you’ve never loved me?”
“Yes. I never loved you! There wasn’t enough time for me to fall in love with you…and I’m certainly glad I didn’t! It would have made separating myself from you a lot harder.”
“So you didn’t love me, but you didn’t hesitate to have sex with me?”
“You make it sound like some sacred act, Yunho.” Jaejoong scoffed, his eyes turning cold. “You know full well that you don’t have to love someone to sleep with them.”
“I suppose you out of everyone would understand that, seeing as everyone has had a piece of you.” Yunho bit back, his eyes brimming with tears. He really had loved Jaejoong, even though he wasn’t usually one to say love was something that came on quick, he couldn’t explain the way things were with Jaejoong. It was like he controlled his body and soul.
“If you really had any kind of love for me, Yunho, you wouldn’t use that against me.”
“If you had any human emotions you wouldn’t have accused me of being a rapist! You're the one that killed a boy's childhood!”
“That wasn't my fault!” Jaejoong shouted at him, pure anger boiling in his eyes.
“It’s not a surprise you'd deny it. I knew you were the type to never take responsibility. I could tell by the way you are. Your happy front is false, isn’t it? This show of emotion,” he motioned towards the tears pouring down his face, “it’s all just to make people believe that you’re like them…that you feel things just like everyone else.”
As the words left Yunho’s mouth, it was like a switch clicked in Jaejoong’s head. The tears ceased flowing and his eyes turned stone cold, his face was an emotionless mask. “I should have guessed you would find out about me, but I figured you were just like everyone else…not really wanting to see what is under everyones' happy front. They’re all just blind idiots happily accepting what they see of people never getting closer to see the wolf that resides in every person.” Jaejoong spat with disgust as he pulled closer to Yunho. “I learned when I was shoved onto the street that life wasn’t some happy thing. I had to do what it took to stay alive, there was no one I could depend on or run to when I wanted to throw off my emotional baggage. I drew a crappy card when it came to life, and I hated everyone that got the better end of the bargain.”
“I think I understand now you’re not capable of loving, are you?”
“Love is overrated. Loving someone is just for weak people who can’t support themselves.” Jaejoong growled, hate boiling in his dark eyes.
“Do you say that because you believe it or do you say that because you’re incapable of feeling love?”
“I say it because it’s true. The last time I had someone say they loved was a rapist that left me for died in an alley way, naked.”
“What about Changmin, didn't you love him?”
“I envied him, I wasn't in love with him.” Jaejoong growled as he turned and walked away, never glancing back to look at Yunho’s cold face.
Perhaps he had said too much this time.
----
Kim Jaejoong was lying on his bed, eyes locked on the ceiling, cold and utterly devoid of any emotion.
Thoughts of Yunho were currently running through his head, making his angrier and sadder with each passing second. There was no way he was going to give up a relatively safe place to stay just because Yunho was in the house. He meant nothing to him and Yunho knew it so hopefully he would stop being a baby about it and move on.
A frown cut across Jaejoong’s face as he thought of the look of sorrow and pain on the pitiful man's face when he’d informed him that he didn’t and couldn’t love him. The very thought of love almost made him sick, yet seeing Yunho's face in his mind, Jaejoong couldn't feel anything other than sorrow. Why the hell does Yunho always do that? he thought.
“Is there a reason you’re giving the ceiling such a cold look?” Changmin asked as he strolled into the room, his voice sounding disinterested.
Jaejoong flinched slightly and quickly felt his friendly mask reappearing, “Does it concern you if I want to glare at the ceiling?” he snapped in a sassy manner, his chin lifting as it always did when he was in the mood for an argument.
“No. What concerns me is when someone who works under me is slacking off.” he replied without missing a beat, his arms crossing over his torso. He had noticed the cold, emotionless look Jaejoong had been casting towards the ceiling, it was almost enough to give him chills.
“I don’t work under you, I simply clean the house. You don’t hold any control over me.”
“Is that so…?” Changmin questioned as he moved forward. “Get off the bed.”
“No.” Jaejoong replied evenly, flopping back onto the bed.
“Fine then, I’ll just have to make you.” Changmin purred as he crawled onto the bed, hovering over him with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
Jaejoong quickly rolled off the bed, his cheeks tinting with embarrassment. He’d dealt with players before, and he’d seen people of Changmin’s caste, but somehow Changmin always managed to make Jaejoon's cheeks flush, “If you don’t stop making advances on me, I’m going to start assuming you having something more in mind for me and you.” Jaejoong breathed, turning away to hide the disgusted look on his face.
“You have a very high-minded opinion of yourself if you think that I would seriously make an advance on you.” Changmin shot back, a chuckle preceding his words.
“I think we had this conversation yesterday” Jaejoong breathed in an annoyed tone, walking over to look out the window.
“You still sore about being ugly?” Changmin called as he crawled off the bed.
“I’m not ugly.” Jaejoong snapped, turning around and giving him a dark look.
“I see…so you’re in denial?”
“Just shut up, you overgrown monkey.” Jaejoong snapped, giving him a glare before turning back to the window.
“Monkey?” Changmin growled, a dark look coming over his face. “Are you seriously looking to go to your grave so early?”
Jaejoong turned and locked gazes with Changmin, a defiant gleam in his eyes. “It you’re going to make a threat, make one that actually scares people.” he retorted with a smirk.
“It would seem that I’ve been too lax with you.” he muttered as he gave his a calculating look.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, just that if you’re not scared of me I must have done something wrong…” he trailed off and strolled towards him, his calculating look still on his face.
“Why do you find it necessary to get close to me when threatening?” he asked, extending his hand to keep him from moving closer.
“Because I’ve noticed that it’s what works best to get you flustered…” Changmin trailed off, a thoughtful look coming to his face, “I wonder if this could have anything to do with you falling for me.” he turned a smug look on his, waiting for his answer.
“You’ve never flustered me, Changmin.” Jaejoong sneered, turning his face away and pushing a blush across his face. “And I am certainly not in love with you.”
Changmin stepped back, his face looking rather serious, “What happens if I say I love you?”
“I'd say this is one of your best scare tactics ever.” Jaejoong bit back, raising his eyebrows slightly.
“Jaejoong…” Changmin took a slow breath, letting his eyes flutter closed for a brief second. “I’m sorry for what happened in high school. But you can’t say that I wasn’t punished for what I did. After all, my mother died and I was left to be raised by my emotionally sitressed father and half-brother. It wasn’t exactly all fun and games for me.”
“So now is just the question of when you will get punished for what you did to me while under the misconception that I killed said mother.” Jaejoong shot back in an icy voice, his eyes gone cold and emotionless.
“I’ve been meaning to apologize for that as well.”
“Get out.”
“Are you just going to harbor a grudge against me?” Changmin asked, not moving from his spot.
“I don’t want to hear your lame excuses, so get out.” Jaejoong shot back, pointing towards the door.
“If I say no?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a movement that seemed a lot like something Jaejoong would do.
“Then I’ll leave.” he muttered, turning on his heel and walking form the room.
----
Two hours later, Jaejoong was strolling through the entrance hall when he stopped dead in his tracks, his cold eyes watching a figure in the corner of the room. Chagmin? He was moving along the floor with the same brush he’d given his the first time he’d been made to clean that floor.
“I suppose I should address this.” Jaejoong sighed, placing a shocked look on his face as he moved hesitantly towards him. “Are you seriously doing this…?” he breathed, watching in wide-eyed-wonder.
Changmin glanced up, a blush creeping across his cheeks. “You once told me that I couldn’t be forgiven until I was put through everything you had suffered at my hand. So I’m going to go through all of it…and then you have to forgive me.”
“As shocked as I am that you would do this, I hardly think you’ll be able to make it.” Jaejoong sighed, knowing Changmin wasn't raised to clean. “Besides, I never said that it was a set deal, the whole forgiving you after you’ve been through everything.”
“So you’re saying you’ll never forgive me?” he asked quietly, scrubbing away at the floor slowly.
“Let’s just wait and see how this turns out.” Jaejoong muttered, turning on his heel and walking away from him, totally convinced he would last another three hours.
----
Three hours later Jaejoong peeked into the room, a slight look of shock running through his eyes. He’d never seen someone go this far for forgiveness before. Yet here was Changmin, looking tired and in pain but still scrubbing away at the floor. He watched as he leaned up and flexed his arms. Jaejoong could remember how bad his arms and legs had hurt after working for just a few hours. He couldn’t help the slight pang of pity shooting through him.
No matter how many times he left the entrance hall, he almost always found himself wondering back to it, just so he could make sure he hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. Yet every time he came back Changmin was still working away. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore, he was going to lock himself in his room and not come out until morning. Jaejoong wasn’t going to let himself feel pity towards him.
When he’d finally reached his room, he plopped down on the bed and let out a sigh, “Let him crawl around the floor all night. It’s stupid of him to do something like this just to get my forgiveness.” he growled as he turned a blank stare towards the ceiling. “Besides, you know that he isn’t serious.” he sounded as if he were trying to convince himself rather than just stating fact. “Just remember, you hate him. That’s all you need to remember in order to shrug off this stupid feeling of pity. Remember how you were attacked…remember how they humiliated you and then forced you to clean the floor all over again. Just remember the bad things.” he intoned, letting out a slow breath.
“Jaejoong?”
His eyes fluttered open, forcing all emotions lurking within his pupil out, “Yes, Changmin?” he responded, cold eyes locking with his in the growing darkness.
“Could I get you to come with me?” Changmin asked in a voice that seemed highly hesitant.
“What?” Jaejoong growled, getting off the bed despite himself.
“Just follow me.” Changmin led his back into the entrance hall. The floor was gleaming from corner to corner, and in the middle of the floor was five jars of jelly. “Go on.” he said, walking over and handing his a jar of jelly. “Finish it.”
Jaejoong snatched the jar away from him, a true look of shock coming to his eyes. “Are you trying to get my pity?”
“No. I’m trying to earn your forgiveness.” Changmin replied simply, his tired eyes flickering up to lock with his gaze.
Jaejoong’s emotional barriers wavered slightly. He really was willing to go through everything to get forgiveness? “Idiot.” Jaejoong breathed, his hand poised to drop the jar.
“Maybe I am but this is what I did to you, and it’s what I have to do to get forgiveness.”
Jaejoong turned his gaze towards the jar, telling himself to let it crash to the floor, yet his fingers wouldn't loosen their grip. What are you doing, Jaejoong? Just drop the freaking jar of jelly and get it over with so you can go back to sleep. he berated himself mentally, his teeth coming out to capture his bottom lip as he debated.
Just remember, he told himself, still not letting the jar fall.
“Here.” Changmin muttered, handing his another jar, a pained look in his eyes.
Jaejoong’s fingers curled around the second jar's lid, a chill going up his spine. He let out a slow breath, his eyes round as he put one of the jars on the ground, unscrewing the lid of the first, and walking towards Changmin. Tears formed in his eyes, falling into the sticky jelly. His hands started shaking, rapidly. He couldn't do it. He just coudln't do it.
“I hate you!” he cried, setting down the jelly jar on the floor next to the capped jar, not allowing himself to just smash it.“I hate you because you got the better end of life. If anyone deserves to take revenge, it should be me but even after all you did to me, I can't do it to you.” his breathing came in short gasps as teared flowed in torrents down his face.“I've finally realized you were right; I’m dirty and no better than the trash people throw in the gutter.”
Through all of this, Changmin had stood there without moving, taking everything he said to him and not saying a word back. He’d never understood, nor had he tried to understand, exactly how hard Jaejoong's life had been. Was this what was under his cheery attitude? Under that stong man that defied hima ny time he had the chance? An emotional wreck that was angry at the world? It was enough to give Changmin goosebumps.
“Say something!” Jaejoong's voice rose, slapping him across the face. “Open your worthless mouth and say something!” he shouted, Changmin taking his attacks, putting up no defense when he kicked him to the ground.“Don’t sit there and make me feel like the bad guy!”
“I’m sorry.” he muttered softly, turning watery eyes to look up at his. He arose and embraced Jaejoong's shaky figure, “I’m sorry for everything I did to you, I’m sorry that I never came to your rescue, I’m sorry that I contributed to making your life so bad.”
“I hate you so much, Chagmin...” he cried, tears brimming in his eyes, soaking Changmin's shirt, “You don’t know anything! So don’t act like the understand!”
Changmin muttered Jaejoong's name, making the latter pale slightly before turning and running away, anger and sadness still boiling within him. “I'm sorry.” Changmin sighed softly, a look of pain on his face as he moved to his knees and began cleaning the floor again. “I'm sorry.”
A/N: You have no clue how many times I rewrote this chapter. .______. I wanted Jaejoong to smash the jelly, but I decided against it. Ahh, we're almost done, I guess. Maybe one or two more chapters left.
Author: kissthecoffin
Pairing: Jaemin, YunJae, JaeSu and more ^^;
Summary: When a bitter Changmin finds an unconscious and almost dead Jaejoong, a headstrong delinquent, gets in over his head in a fight and ends up unconscious on the brink of death in between the apartments owned by Shim Changmin, the son of Korea’s richest man and a member of one of the most famous bands in Asia. When Changmin recognizes him from their school days, he decides to take him in and nurse him back to health, but not for free, of course. Changmin’s revenge for Jaejoong’s treatment of him in the past? Of course, Jaejoong will become his personal [s]sex[/s] maid.
Warnings (for now and later): Rape, sadistic Changmin, language, male-cross dressing, smex(later) and a newbie writer. :P
Story rating: PG13 to NC17
Here he was, stuck cleaning that stupid floor again…however, this time Changmin had given him three helpers and a mop each. He had to admit, he’d been much nicer ever since the news had been let out about it not being Jaejoong's fault. That certainly didn’t mean he had any kind of friendly feelings towards him, it just made him feel slightly safer knowing that Changmin wasn’t going to keep attacking him.
“I’m going to take a quick break guys!” Jaejoong called, intending to head to the bathroom as an excuse to rest. Two hours earlier he’d taken a seat and had nearly had his head bitten off by a grumpy maid who spoke to him in broken Korean and something that sounded like Russian to Jaejoong. So all he ended up hearing was: “useless, blah blah, lazy, blah blah blah, never do anything for yourself!” Jaejoong had just nodded his head like he’d understood perfectly. Needless to say, he hadn’t taken another rest. His legs were killing him and he could feel a few blisters on the palm of his hand. Even with four people working on the floor, it took hours to get done, especially when the other three maids just kind of moseyed about acting like they were doing something when really all they were doing was watching him.
Jaejoong hadn’t exactly received the warmest welcome from the house staff, in fact, now that he thought of it, all of them seemed to go out of their way to be mean to him. Just the other day one of the many foreign maids Changmin had in the house, tripped Jaejoong while he was walking by with a large stack of towels. Of course, when Jaejoong had stood up and gotten angry with her, she acted like she didn’t understand and just walked away.
“Stupid maids.” Jaejoong growled as he walked towards the restroom, flexing his sore arms as he went.
“Hey, I'm not doing this because I want to, you know. It's because my mom asked me to.”
Jaejoong paused and glanced up, hearing a girls voice drifting from the a large room down the hall. “It’s a little early to have any female friends over…” he trailed off, creeping closer to peer into the slightly ajar door.
“But it’s you that’s asking me for a favor.”
Jaejoong snuck in, his eyes drifting towards a large-screen TV which featured Changmin and a younger woman. “Whoa! You’re nose comes out huge on screen.” Jaejoong breath, forgetting about trying to be sneaky.
Changmin jumped from his place on the couch, quickly turning to see him, “What are you trying to do?” He breathed, still looking a bit scared although he seemed more embarrassed.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Jaejoong trailed off, his eyes pinned to the TV screen. “I never knew what you did. You're an actor? You seem so nice there…I guess yoru a pretty good actor then..”
“I'm not an actor, I’m not supposed to appear nice, and my nose is not big.” Changmin growled, his ears turning a light pink.
“Well, compared to what I know of you, this is like angelic behavior.” he muttered, gesturing towards the screen before turning to face him. “And you’re really wrong about the nose…it’s huge. Bye!” he gushed, turning on his heel and dashing from the room. He could practically hear Changmin boiling over with anger.
“Jaejoong, get back here!” Changmin yelled across the hall, striding towards him in an angry sort of fashion, a fashion Jaejoong knew all too well.
“Would a lion’s prey ever jump into its mouth just because the lion demanded it to?” Jaejoong called back across the hall, a smirk sitting on his face.
“It would be much easier than what the lion will do if he has to chase the prey.” Changmin growled across the hall, quickly closing the distance between them.
“The lion would get fat if he never did any work…and from what I can see, he could stand to lose a few pounds.” he called back, beginning to quicken his pace into a trot.
“Jaejoong!” Changmin yelled across the hall, breaking into a run.
Jaejoong let out a yell and dashed from the hall, rounding a corner he ran straight into the person he’d been avoiding for a whole week. “Jaejoong, what are you doing…?” Yunho asked, extending his hands to steady Jaejoong.
“Playing a game of cat and mouse.” Jaejoong replied, removing himself from Yunho’s grip.
“Goodbye.” he turned to leave and found himself face-to-face with Changmin. “Crap!”
“Thank you, Yunho.” Changmin growled as he rounded the corner and grabbed Jaejoong by the collar of his shirt. “Looks as if the lion got his prey.” He shot at his as he began to drag him towards the main hall again.
“Wait! Changmin, can’t we make some kind of deal here?” Jaejoong pleaded, trying to break free of his grip.
“The lion would starve if he had pity on his prey.” Changmin cast over his shoulder, his voice smug.
“What are you going to do…?” Jaejoong questioned, feeling slightly surprised that he wasn’t more anxious about what he was going to do to his. Changmin really didn’t seem to be angry at him, no, Jaejoong had seen him when he was really mad. Right now, he wasn’t angry. He figured he was probably just playing along with him.
“If I said I was going to eat you, what would you take that to mean?”
Jaejoong paled slightly, “I hope it means you’re a cannibal.” he replied weakly, other possibilities running through his head.
“I’ve already given you one bite, what’s a few more?” Changmin asked, trying to hide the smile on his face.
Jaejoong paused his struggle to get away, his hand coming up to rest on the spot the mark had been. He was sure Changmin knew that he hadn’t been responsible for the bite but what if he’d been wrong.
“But…you…I…don’t you hate me…?” Jaejoong reminded him, praying that he was joking.
“Emotions are a fickle thing, Jaejoong.” Changmin growled as he turned and pulled him into his arms, “Now that I’ve had a taste, there’s no going back.” He whispered, letting his lips whisper across his skin.
“Whoa, Whoa! Changmin, you do know it’s me…Jaejoong, right?” he whispered, ignoring the tingling sensation that was running across his whole body at his touch.
“How could I forget someone that has driven me crazy for weeks now?” He sighed, his arms tightening around him.
“Happy to say the feelings not mutual…so let me go.” Jaejoong pulled himself from his daze and pushed his arms against his chest.
Changmin stepped back, a forced smile pulling at his face, “You really are an idiot it you think I would ever be attracted to something like you.” He laughed, letting his eyes run over his body as if he were looking at something amusing. “I guess I’ll be going then…go get back to work.” He muttered as he turned and began to walk away from him.
“Wait a second.” Jaejoong shot at his back, a look of indignation on his face, “What do you mean I would be an idiot it I thought you were attracted to me? Are you trying to say I’m ugly?”
Changmin paused, a smile tugging at the tips of his mouth as turned back to look him in the eye, “In a word, yes.”
“I am not ugly!”
“Would you rather I called you beautiful?” He whispered, pulling closer to him.
Jaejoong quickly put some distance between them. “No!” he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Then I’ll call you ugly.” He stated simply, turning to walk away.
“So it’s either ugly or beautiful there’s no ‘okay looking’ ?”
“When people say someone is okay looking, the usually mean that they don’t find the person attractive which, in turn, would make them ugly. But if it would make you feel better. I think you’re okay looking.” He called back, tossing a smirk over his shoulder.
“You’re such a pig, Changmin!”
“There’s just no satisfying you, is there?” He sang back, his laugh filling the large hall.
“What was that about…?” Yunho asked as he walked towards Jaejoong, a stormy look on his face.
“Changmin was just saying that he thought I was okay looking.” Jaejoong stated easily, turning his back on Yunho.
“So he called you ugly?”
“Does everyone think ‘okay looking’ is ugly?” Jaejoong growled as he strolled away from Yunho, not really wanting to see him.
“Usually.” He replied walking after him.
“Please don’t follow me.” Jaejoong requested, tossing Yunho a slightly angry look. “I don’t really want anything to do with you.”
A pained look washed over Yunho’s face as he stilled his feet, his eyes following his as he started to walk away. “Is there no way I can get back in your good-graces?”
“No. So don’t try.” he snapped, true anger flaring in his eyes. “Did you really think I could just shrug off attempted rape?” Jaejoong placed his hands on his hips, turning around to face him fully, “That's why you and I can never work-out, Yunho. No matter how hard we try, there’s a distance between us…and now it’s only gotten bigger.”
“I tried to close the distance, Jaejoong! But it was you that didn’t let me get close!” Yunho cried, a pleading look in his eyes.
“Yunho, I’ve been in this house around five weeks…two of which you and I weren’t really together. In another three weeks, you pressured me, became jealous, and then attacked me. It’s like you expected me to return your feelings just because you felt something towards me.” Jaejoong replied, ignoring Yunho’s sad face.
“Am I to take that to mean that you’ve never loved me?”
“Yes. I never loved you! There wasn’t enough time for me to fall in love with you…and I’m certainly glad I didn’t! It would have made separating myself from you a lot harder.”
“So you didn’t love me, but you didn’t hesitate to have sex with me?”
“You make it sound like some sacred act, Yunho.” Jaejoong scoffed, his eyes turning cold. “You know full well that you don’t have to love someone to sleep with them.”
“I suppose you out of everyone would understand that, seeing as everyone has had a piece of you.” Yunho bit back, his eyes brimming with tears. He really had loved Jaejoong, even though he wasn’t usually one to say love was something that came on quick, he couldn’t explain the way things were with Jaejoong. It was like he controlled his body and soul.
“If you really had any kind of love for me, Yunho, you wouldn’t use that against me.”
“If you had any human emotions you wouldn’t have accused me of being a rapist! You're the one that killed a boy's childhood!”
“That wasn't my fault!” Jaejoong shouted at him, pure anger boiling in his eyes.
“It’s not a surprise you'd deny it. I knew you were the type to never take responsibility. I could tell by the way you are. Your happy front is false, isn’t it? This show of emotion,” he motioned towards the tears pouring down his face, “it’s all just to make people believe that you’re like them…that you feel things just like everyone else.”
As the words left Yunho’s mouth, it was like a switch clicked in Jaejoong’s head. The tears ceased flowing and his eyes turned stone cold, his face was an emotionless mask. “I should have guessed you would find out about me, but I figured you were just like everyone else…not really wanting to see what is under everyones' happy front. They’re all just blind idiots happily accepting what they see of people never getting closer to see the wolf that resides in every person.” Jaejoong spat with disgust as he pulled closer to Yunho. “I learned when I was shoved onto the street that life wasn’t some happy thing. I had to do what it took to stay alive, there was no one I could depend on or run to when I wanted to throw off my emotional baggage. I drew a crappy card when it came to life, and I hated everyone that got the better end of the bargain.”
“I think I understand now you’re not capable of loving, are you?”
“Love is overrated. Loving someone is just for weak people who can’t support themselves.” Jaejoong growled, hate boiling in his dark eyes.
“Do you say that because you believe it or do you say that because you’re incapable of feeling love?”
“I say it because it’s true. The last time I had someone say they loved was a rapist that left me for died in an alley way, naked.”
“What about Changmin, didn't you love him?”
“I envied him, I wasn't in love with him.” Jaejoong growled as he turned and walked away, never glancing back to look at Yunho’s cold face.
Perhaps he had said too much this time.
----
Kim Jaejoong was lying on his bed, eyes locked on the ceiling, cold and utterly devoid of any emotion.
Thoughts of Yunho were currently running through his head, making his angrier and sadder with each passing second. There was no way he was going to give up a relatively safe place to stay just because Yunho was in the house. He meant nothing to him and Yunho knew it so hopefully he would stop being a baby about it and move on.
A frown cut across Jaejoong’s face as he thought of the look of sorrow and pain on the pitiful man's face when he’d informed him that he didn’t and couldn’t love him. The very thought of love almost made him sick, yet seeing Yunho's face in his mind, Jaejoong couldn't feel anything other than sorrow. Why the hell does Yunho always do that? he thought.
“Is there a reason you’re giving the ceiling such a cold look?” Changmin asked as he strolled into the room, his voice sounding disinterested.
Jaejoong flinched slightly and quickly felt his friendly mask reappearing, “Does it concern you if I want to glare at the ceiling?” he snapped in a sassy manner, his chin lifting as it always did when he was in the mood for an argument.
“No. What concerns me is when someone who works under me is slacking off.” he replied without missing a beat, his arms crossing over his torso. He had noticed the cold, emotionless look Jaejoong had been casting towards the ceiling, it was almost enough to give him chills.
“I don’t work under you, I simply clean the house. You don’t hold any control over me.”
“Is that so…?” Changmin questioned as he moved forward. “Get off the bed.”
“No.” Jaejoong replied evenly, flopping back onto the bed.
“Fine then, I’ll just have to make you.” Changmin purred as he crawled onto the bed, hovering over him with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
Jaejoong quickly rolled off the bed, his cheeks tinting with embarrassment. He’d dealt with players before, and he’d seen people of Changmin’s caste, but somehow Changmin always managed to make Jaejoon's cheeks flush, “If you don’t stop making advances on me, I’m going to start assuming you having something more in mind for me and you.” Jaejoong breathed, turning away to hide the disgusted look on his face.
“You have a very high-minded opinion of yourself if you think that I would seriously make an advance on you.” Changmin shot back, a chuckle preceding his words.
“I think we had this conversation yesterday” Jaejoong breathed in an annoyed tone, walking over to look out the window.
“You still sore about being ugly?” Changmin called as he crawled off the bed.
“I’m not ugly.” Jaejoong snapped, turning around and giving him a dark look.
“I see…so you’re in denial?”
“Just shut up, you overgrown monkey.” Jaejoong snapped, giving him a glare before turning back to the window.
“Monkey?” Changmin growled, a dark look coming over his face. “Are you seriously looking to go to your grave so early?”
Jaejoong turned and locked gazes with Changmin, a defiant gleam in his eyes. “It you’re going to make a threat, make one that actually scares people.” he retorted with a smirk.
“It would seem that I’ve been too lax with you.” he muttered as he gave his a calculating look.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, just that if you’re not scared of me I must have done something wrong…” he trailed off and strolled towards him, his calculating look still on his face.
“Why do you find it necessary to get close to me when threatening?” he asked, extending his hand to keep him from moving closer.
“Because I’ve noticed that it’s what works best to get you flustered…” Changmin trailed off, a thoughtful look coming to his face, “I wonder if this could have anything to do with you falling for me.” he turned a smug look on his, waiting for his answer.
“You’ve never flustered me, Changmin.” Jaejoong sneered, turning his face away and pushing a blush across his face. “And I am certainly not in love with you.”
Changmin stepped back, his face looking rather serious, “What happens if I say I love you?”
“I'd say this is one of your best scare tactics ever.” Jaejoong bit back, raising his eyebrows slightly.
“Jaejoong…” Changmin took a slow breath, letting his eyes flutter closed for a brief second. “I’m sorry for what happened in high school. But you can’t say that I wasn’t punished for what I did. After all, my mother died and I was left to be raised by my emotionally sitressed father and half-brother. It wasn’t exactly all fun and games for me.”
“So now is just the question of when you will get punished for what you did to me while under the misconception that I killed said mother.” Jaejoong shot back in an icy voice, his eyes gone cold and emotionless.
“I’ve been meaning to apologize for that as well.”
“Get out.”
“Are you just going to harbor a grudge against me?” Changmin asked, not moving from his spot.
“I don’t want to hear your lame excuses, so get out.” Jaejoong shot back, pointing towards the door.
“If I say no?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a movement that seemed a lot like something Jaejoong would do.
“Then I’ll leave.” he muttered, turning on his heel and walking form the room.
----
Two hours later, Jaejoong was strolling through the entrance hall when he stopped dead in his tracks, his cold eyes watching a figure in the corner of the room. Chagmin? He was moving along the floor with the same brush he’d given his the first time he’d been made to clean that floor.
“I suppose I should address this.” Jaejoong sighed, placing a shocked look on his face as he moved hesitantly towards him. “Are you seriously doing this…?” he breathed, watching in wide-eyed-wonder.
Changmin glanced up, a blush creeping across his cheeks. “You once told me that I couldn’t be forgiven until I was put through everything you had suffered at my hand. So I’m going to go through all of it…and then you have to forgive me.”
“As shocked as I am that you would do this, I hardly think you’ll be able to make it.” Jaejoong sighed, knowing Changmin wasn't raised to clean. “Besides, I never said that it was a set deal, the whole forgiving you after you’ve been through everything.”
“So you’re saying you’ll never forgive me?” he asked quietly, scrubbing away at the floor slowly.
“Let’s just wait and see how this turns out.” Jaejoong muttered, turning on his heel and walking away from him, totally convinced he would last another three hours.
----
Three hours later Jaejoong peeked into the room, a slight look of shock running through his eyes. He’d never seen someone go this far for forgiveness before. Yet here was Changmin, looking tired and in pain but still scrubbing away at the floor. He watched as he leaned up and flexed his arms. Jaejoong could remember how bad his arms and legs had hurt after working for just a few hours. He couldn’t help the slight pang of pity shooting through him.
No matter how many times he left the entrance hall, he almost always found himself wondering back to it, just so he could make sure he hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. Yet every time he came back Changmin was still working away. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore, he was going to lock himself in his room and not come out until morning. Jaejoong wasn’t going to let himself feel pity towards him.
When he’d finally reached his room, he plopped down on the bed and let out a sigh, “Let him crawl around the floor all night. It’s stupid of him to do something like this just to get my forgiveness.” he growled as he turned a blank stare towards the ceiling. “Besides, you know that he isn’t serious.” he sounded as if he were trying to convince himself rather than just stating fact. “Just remember, you hate him. That’s all you need to remember in order to shrug off this stupid feeling of pity. Remember how you were attacked…remember how they humiliated you and then forced you to clean the floor all over again. Just remember the bad things.” he intoned, letting out a slow breath.
“Jaejoong?”
His eyes fluttered open, forcing all emotions lurking within his pupil out, “Yes, Changmin?” he responded, cold eyes locking with his in the growing darkness.
“Could I get you to come with me?” Changmin asked in a voice that seemed highly hesitant.
“What?” Jaejoong growled, getting off the bed despite himself.
“Just follow me.” Changmin led his back into the entrance hall. The floor was gleaming from corner to corner, and in the middle of the floor was five jars of jelly. “Go on.” he said, walking over and handing his a jar of jelly. “Finish it.”
Jaejoong snatched the jar away from him, a true look of shock coming to his eyes. “Are you trying to get my pity?”
“No. I’m trying to earn your forgiveness.” Changmin replied simply, his tired eyes flickering up to lock with his gaze.
Jaejoong’s emotional barriers wavered slightly. He really was willing to go through everything to get forgiveness? “Idiot.” Jaejoong breathed, his hand poised to drop the jar.
“Maybe I am but this is what I did to you, and it’s what I have to do to get forgiveness.”
Jaejoong turned his gaze towards the jar, telling himself to let it crash to the floor, yet his fingers wouldn't loosen their grip. What are you doing, Jaejoong? Just drop the freaking jar of jelly and get it over with so you can go back to sleep. he berated himself mentally, his teeth coming out to capture his bottom lip as he debated.
Just remember, he told himself, still not letting the jar fall.
“Here.” Changmin muttered, handing his another jar, a pained look in his eyes.
Jaejoong’s fingers curled around the second jar's lid, a chill going up his spine. He let out a slow breath, his eyes round as he put one of the jars on the ground, unscrewing the lid of the first, and walking towards Changmin. Tears formed in his eyes, falling into the sticky jelly. His hands started shaking, rapidly. He couldn't do it. He just coudln't do it.
“I hate you!” he cried, setting down the jelly jar on the floor next to the capped jar, not allowing himself to just smash it.“I hate you because you got the better end of life. If anyone deserves to take revenge, it should be me but even after all you did to me, I can't do it to you.” his breathing came in short gasps as teared flowed in torrents down his face.“I've finally realized you were right; I’m dirty and no better than the trash people throw in the gutter.”
Through all of this, Changmin had stood there without moving, taking everything he said to him and not saying a word back. He’d never understood, nor had he tried to understand, exactly how hard Jaejoong's life had been. Was this what was under his cheery attitude? Under that stong man that defied hima ny time he had the chance? An emotional wreck that was angry at the world? It was enough to give Changmin goosebumps.
“Say something!” Jaejoong's voice rose, slapping him across the face. “Open your worthless mouth and say something!” he shouted, Changmin taking his attacks, putting up no defense when he kicked him to the ground.“Don’t sit there and make me feel like the bad guy!”
“I’m sorry.” he muttered softly, turning watery eyes to look up at his. He arose and embraced Jaejoong's shaky figure, “I’m sorry for everything I did to you, I’m sorry that I never came to your rescue, I’m sorry that I contributed to making your life so bad.”
“I hate you so much, Chagmin...” he cried, tears brimming in his eyes, soaking Changmin's shirt, “You don’t know anything! So don’t act like the understand!”
Changmin muttered Jaejoong's name, making the latter pale slightly before turning and running away, anger and sadness still boiling within him. “I'm sorry.” Changmin sighed softly, a look of pain on his face as he moved to his knees and began cleaning the floor again. “I'm sorry.”
A/N: You have no clue how many times I rewrote this chapter. .______. I wanted Jaejoong to smash the jelly, but I decided against it. Ahh, we're almost done, I guess. Maybe one or two more chapters left.