A Promise of Forever Chapter 25
Title: A Promise of Forever
Pairings: Yunjae, Yoosu, Junki/Jaejoong, Changmin/GaIn
Rating: PG-13 (for boy to boy pairing)
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Drama
Chapter 25: Investigate
The next day, which was Friday, was the day of Jaejoong’s departure from Earth. He started his day just like any ordinary day. He woke up, got ready for work, and made breakfast. Jaejoong, along with his three friends, acted like that Friday was just an ordinary day. All of them were very lively during breakfast. Although YooSuMin were hurting inside, they didn’t want to show it to Jaejoong and it was the same for him.
“Jae, we’re going first.” Changmin said. The three of them always went to work first before Jaejoong.
“Okay, take care.” Jaejoong responded.
“Uh, Jae, won’t we be seeing you later?” Junsu asked.
“Uhm, no Junsu. This will be the last time that we’ll see each other.” Jaejoong answered with a low voice. He didn’t tell his friends where he would be once the sun sets. He didn’t want them to be there when he enters the portal back to his world.
As soon as he heard Jaejoong’s answer, Junsu immediately ran to Jaejoong and hugged him.
“Jae, we’ll miss you.” Junsu said and broke their hug.
“I’ll miss the three of you too.” Jaejoong said. Yoochun went next to hug Jaejoong, then Changmin.
“Take care of yourself Jae.” Yoochun said as a last word to Jaejoong.
“Goodbye Jae.” Changmin finally said.
“Goodbye.” Jaejoong said back. Their goodbyes had two meanings. One, goodbye for YooSuMin were leaving for work. Two, goodbye for Jaejoong leaving Earth.
******
Jaejoong still went to work for the very last time in Siwon’s restaurant. He wanted to say goodbye and thank you to Siwon. He didn’t want to just leave Earth and abandon his job without saying a word.
“Siwon, can I talk to you privately?” Jaejoong asked as he approached Siwon who had just entered the restaurant.
“Sure. Let’s talk in my office.” Siwon led Jaejoong to his office upstairs.
“Siwon, I’m resigning my post.” Jaejoong went straight to the point. He handed his letter of resignation.
“You’re resigning? This is so sudden.” Siwon said, quite shocked.
“I’m sorry if it’s very sudden. Something just came up and I need to leave.” Jaejoong apologized.
“Where are you going?”
“Uhm, I’m going back to Japan.” Jaejoong lied. He couldn’t possibly tell Siwon that he was going back to the genie world because Siwon doesn’t know that he was once a genie.
“Oh. When are you leaving?”
“This afternoon.”
“That early?”
“I’m so sorry for telling you all of this just now.” Jaejoong said with his head hung low.
“It’s alright Jae. Thank you for telling me about this. I understand about your situation.” Siwon said and gave an assuring smile to Jaejoong.
“Thank you so much Siwon.”
“But you’ll still come to my wedding right?” Siwon asked with a hopeful expression.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll try my best to come back.” Jaejoong lied again. It hurt him to lie to Siwon but he had no choice.
Jaejoong left the restaurant with a heavy heart. Saying goodbye was extremely painful, especially when you knew that you wouldn’t be able to see the people that you said goodbye to anymore. All that he needed to do was wait for his moment to leave.
******
Jaejoong decided to stroll around the streets of Seoul after leaving Siwon’s restaurant. He felt that it was a good time to take a walk alone and appreciate for the last time what he called “home” for a few years. The human world would always have a special place in his heart. No matter how painful his experience was, Earth would always be important to him.
He walked slowly while glancing at his surroundings and taking in the beauty of the human world. Knowing the fact that he wouldn’t be able to come back once he returned to the genie world, he tried his best to remember everything about Earth.
Unconsciously, Jaejoong suddenly stopped walking and stared at the sun that was shining brightly above. He didn’t mind the blinding light emitted by the sun and continued looking at it. The sun was his signal that day, telling him when his time in the human world was over. Once the sun sets, he would be back in his own world. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice someone calling him.
“Jae!” the voice called for the third time. Jaejoong finally noticed the voice and tore his gaze away from the blinding sun. He saw the owner of the voice and it was the person he least expected to see that Friday.
“Heechul?” Jaejoong let out, his eyes wide with surprise. “Is that really you?”
“Of course it’s me! Who else would it be?” Heechul said and smiled. He immediately wrapped his arms around his friend whom he hasn’t seen for a long time.
“Wah! I really missed you Jae!” Heechul said happily.
“Same here.” Jaejoong responded and hugged on to Heechul even tighter. He had the sudden urge to hold on to his friend. Being in Heechul’s arms, who has been his friend since they were little and someone that he trusted with his life, was very comforting.
‘I can sense that something is wrong with Jae.’ Heechul thought as he felt the urgency in Jaejoong’s embrace.
“Jae, I know that you miss me but I can’t breathe anymore.” Heechul joked and acted like he couldn’t breathe. Jaejoong released Heechul and gave a pout.
“You haven’t changed a bit Heechul.” Jaejoong commented to his friend.
Heechul laughed heartily and said, “Let’s talk somewhere quiet Jae.” He was determined to know the truth.
The two of them entered the nearest coffee shop and sat near the store’s window.
“Jae, I want you to tell the truth. What happened?” Heechul went straight to the point, not wasting any time. Jaejoong thought deeply before answering. He decided there was no point in keeping the truth from Heechul. Heechul was his friend and deserves to know what happened.
“Alright, but first, promise me that you won’t react violently when you hear this. I don’t want people’s attention drawn to us.” Jaejoong stated his conditions.
“Okay, I promise.” Heechul said, slightly scared of what Jaejoong was about to tell him.
“I’m going back to our world.” Jaejoong said, looking straight into Heechul’s eyes. It took Heechul a few seconds before everything registered to him.
“What?! What the hell are you saying Jae?!” Heechul shouted as he stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table.
“Yah! I told you to not react violently!” Jaejoong hissed as he looked around him. Of course, the other customers in the coffee shop glanced at the sudden commotion. He grabbed on Heechul’s shirt and forced him to take a seat.
“Sorry about that.” Jaejoong said to the other customers and bowed in apology. He then regained his composure for he had more pressing matters to attend to. Heechul was staring intently at Jaejoong and his face showed mixed emotions; surprise, anger, fear, and curiosity.
“Jae, would you care to explain everything to me? What’s this about you going back to our world? You have got to give me a good explanation.” Heechul demanded, his voice back to normal.
“For now, that’s all that you need to know Heechul. Please, trust me. I’ll tell you everything when I’m back in the genie world.” Jaejoong said without looking at Heechul. Heechul on the other hand wasn’t able to argue. He saw extreme sadness in Jaejoong’s eyes and couldn’t bear to insist with making his friend tell him what happened.
‘What really happened Jae? What would make you this sad? What would make you want to go back to the genie world after your sacrifice to become human?’ Heechul thought and the answer suddenly popped in his head.
“Alright Jae. I’ll respect your decision. I won’t ask anymore, if that’s what you want.” Heechul agreed.
“Thanks.” Jaejoong whispered.
‘If you won’t tell me Jae, then I’ll just have to find out for myself.’ Heechul said to himself. He was determined to know everything.
******
Friday was also the day that Yunho had to leave. He had to go back to Japan for his work. He was busy packing his things when Mrs. Jung entered his room.
“Yunho, someone’s looking for you.” Mrs. Jung said.
“Who is it umma?” Yunho asked and was about to leave his room.
“He said that he was your friend from work. It’s my first time seeing him, and what a pretty boy he is. I could have mistaken him for a girl.” Mrs. Jung answered and smiled. “His name is Heechul.”
‘Heechul? I don’t remember anyone by that name. Maybe he’s mistaken, but, he knows where I live. This is a bit strange.’ Yunho thought as he went to the living room with his mother.
“Oh, here he is Yunho.” Mrs. Jung said brightly.
“Thank you for calling him Mrs. Jung.” Heechul said politely.
“It’s nothing dear. What would you like? Coffee? Tea? Juice?” Mrs. Jung asked her guest.
“Uhm, I’ll just have juice. Thank you.” Heechul answered and smiled.
All the while that Mrs. Jung was talking with Heechul, Yunho had been observing him. No matter how hard Yunho tried, he couldn’t remember ever meeting Heechul before. His face was unfamiliar to Yunho. What was bothering him was the fact that Heechul knew him and he didn’t have the slightest clue who Heechul was.
“Yunho, I have some things to ask you.” Heechul’s friendly expression turned into a serious one. Mrs. Jung was already gone and was busy in the kitchen.
“I was going to say the same thing.” Yunho responded.
“Can we talk some place else where no one can hear us?” Heechul asked.
“Sure.” Yunho agreed even though he was a bit suspicious. Both of them went out of the house and ended up somewhere a bit far from Yunho’s house. The place that they were in showed no sign of the presence of other people.
“What happened between you and Jaejoong?” Heechul asked. He didn’t bother to have small talk with Yunho and asked straight out what he wanted to know. His face was so serious that it was very far from his normal, smiling, cheerful self.
“Wait a minute here.” Yunho said, trying to calm himself. “Who are you to ask about that? I don’t even know you.”
‘You don’t know me?! What the hell was that Yunho?!’ Heechul thought angrily but restrained himself from throwing a punch at Yunho. He had no time for jokes. He needed to know the truth, fast.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Heechul said, trying to read Yunho’s expression.
“You think I’m joking right now?” Yunho said, looking incredulously at Heechul. “Why would I joke about something like that? Look here, I’m sorry, but I really don’t know you.”
‘He really doesn’t remember me. What is happening here? First Jaejoong tells me that he’s going back. Now, Yunho doesn’t remember or even recognize me?’ Heechul said with wide eyes. He was convinced that Yunho wasn’t lying.
“Alright, you don’t know me. Fine. But you certainly know about Jaejoong.” Heechul started.
“Barely.” Yunho cut off.
“Barely?” Heechul repeated the word, wanting to confirm if he heard it right.
“Yes, I barely know Jaejoong.” Yunho said and waited for Heechul to speak. Heechul on the other hand was very confused with everything that he was hearing from Yunho. He was stumped that he didn’t know what to say next. I took him a while before he opened his mouth to speak.
“Okay.” Heechul said, once he survived the blow of everything that Yunho said. “You don’t know me and you barely know Jaejoong. Fine.”
“But Yunho, I need to know what happened between the two of you. Please.” Heechul said with pleading eyes. Yunho saw the sincerity and urgency in Heechul.
“Why do you need to know about that?” Yunho asked with a soft voice.
“Jaejoong is one of my closest friends. I saw him earlier and he said that he was going back to our world.” Heechul explained.
“Wait, did I just hear you say ‘our world’?” Yunho asked suspiciously.
“Yes, Jaejoong is going back to the genie world.” Heechul said bluntly.
“The genie world? Are you crazy? There’s no such thing as genies!” Yunho said while laughing.
‘He doesn’t know about genies?’ Heechul thought.
“Yunho, I’m a genie.” Heechul confessed with a serious face.
“You know what, let’s just stop this conversation. I don’t have time to play around with you.” Yunho said and was about to walk away.
“Stay right there.” Heechul ordered in an ominous voice as he flicked his fingers. Yunho tried to move but he couldn’t. He was literally rooted to the ground.
“Don’t waste you energy on trying to escape Yunho because you won’t be able to. I won’t release you until you tell me everything. Sorry for doing this but my patience is almost over.” Heechul said in a lighter tone.
“Yah! What have you done?” Yunho said with a slightly frightened voice.
“I just proved to you that genies are real. I’ll show you more.” Heechul said, starting to enjoy himself. He made everything that was lying on the ground float in midair.
‘What the? He’s real. He’s really a genie.’ Yunho thought. “Alright, I believe you already, so could you please stop that and release me? This is freaking me out.”
Heechul stopped from levitating the things on the ground and everything dropped back to their original position. He then stopped the spell that was preventing Yunho from moving.
“Now are you ready to listen?” Heechul asked with a slight smirk.
“Yes.” Yunho answered, which was the right and logical thing to do at the moment. He was speaking with a genie after all.
“I’m not playing around here Yunho. I’m here to know the truth. As I was saying earlier, Jaejoong is planning to go back to our world. He didn’t tell me what his reason is so here I am trying to know what happened.” Heechul said.
“And what has that got to do with me?” Yunho asked.
‘Seriously???’ Heechul said mentally, trying to fight the urge to hit Yunho in the head.
“It has everything to do with you Jung Yunho. Jaejoong gave up being a genie to become a human just for you! God, what’s happening with you? Why can’t you remember any of this? Do you have amnesia or something?” Heechul said in frustration.
‘Jaejoong gave up being a genie for me?’ Yunho said to himself, bewildered.
“And why I’m right here in front of you is because you are the only reason that Jaejoong would want to go back to the genie world after sacrificing being a genie just to be with you. You are the reason why he’s here on Earth so I’m assuming that his decision to go back has something to do with you. What happened?” Heechul said, his patience already running out.
“We’re no longer together, obviously. I don’t even remember having a relationship with him in the past. Everything about him is just so strange. I don’t remember anything about him. No matter how hard I try, nothing comes to me. And everytime I try, a sudden pain shots through me.” Yunho answered. “Look, I don’t want to have anything to do with Jaejoong anymore. I have already decided to move on with my life. So if he wants to go back to your world, just let him be.”
When Yunho took a glance at Heechul, his face was very pale. His eyes were wide with fear, surprise, and from Yunho’s observation, anger.
“I’ve got to go.” Heechul said with a very low voice and disappeared in front of Yunho.
******
Hi everybody! Here's another update! I'll try to update soon, but first I have to review for my exam on Tuesday...^-^
And I'm so excited that FT Island is going here in the Philippines on March 6!!!!! I really hope that I get to watch them!
Heechul is also back! Did you miss him? ^-^