Title: Together Forever? Vanity Fair Interviews Jaeho.
Length: oneshot
Author: pet_shop
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Summery: Michael Haze interviews Korean pop- band DSBK’s Kim Jaejoong and Jung Yunho two months after they were caught kissing by paparazzi
Comments: I always wonder what an American magazine article with DBSK would look like, because I’m weird like that. I’m new, and this my first DBSK fic, so comments would be beauty wrapped in hope and love. This is one of the few comms that have managed to make me stop lurking, and the only com/fandom that has inspired me to write a fanfic. So thank youuuuu!!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own DBSK, Jaejoong, Yunho, Vanity Fair, perezhilton.com, the band Garbage, or any other products mentioned in this MADE-UP article, and I am not doing this for money. Michael Haze is a made-up name.
Together Forever? Vanity Fair’s Michael Haze interviews “Jaeho”.
When I entered the studio the Korean management agency SM Entertainment is renting as exclusive space for their artists while they are in LA, Jung Yunho and Kim Jaejoong were already there, waiting for me, looking every inch glossy pop stars, all name-brand clothes and rock star sunglasses. They looked odd and misplaced in the sparse studio, which resembled more of a garage, without the cars or equipment. As soon as we got close enough to each other, Yunho snatched off his sunglasses and confidently strode up to me, offering his hand. Jaejoong, whose smile seemed a bit too bright, hung back and waited for his implied boyfriend to finish introducing them. When he was finished, my escort, manager of the two men’s pop band, DBSK, quietly exited out the back door, leaving me alone with the recently outted lovers and their Korean-English translator.
As soon as the door closed, Jaejoong turned to me, and motioning to the four sturdy chairs and table at the far wall, said in perfect, accented English, “Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
I must have looked quite surprised, because Yunho chuckled. “He is very good at English.” Yunho’s English was much more accented, but still passable. We made our way over to the table and chairs, which looked like it belonged on someone’s lawn somewhere, and indeed, waiting on the tabletop was a pitcher of pink lemonade. We all sat down and the translator began pouring drinks while Yunho and Jaejoong crossed their legs and fussed with their hair. The translator finished pouring, and we all jumped to get our drinks. No one spoke.
Don’t worry. It was only about eight times more awkward than I’m making it sound. I am not a rookie, but my two interviewees were not making this easy. Yunho watched me politely, looking for all the world like he was here to listen to ME speak, and Jaejoong sat there, smile still too fake, sunglasses still on. I, meanwhile, was very aware that this was one of, if not the most anticipated celebrity magazine interview this year. Two pop stars, at the height of their American success, talented, beautiful, with legions of female fans, exotic, foreign, and suspected of being in a homosexual relationship? In the two months since the shit had hit the fan, so to speak, SM Entertainment had kept their idols under a virtual house-arrest, only letting them out for performances. The hype had gotten so bad that, in the week it was announced I was to be the one giving this interview, I had to change my home and cell phone numbers to insure my own peace of mind.
Out of desperation, I opened my mouth to ask the question everyone from LA to Shanghai has been dying to hear the answer to for two months now, and then noticed that I recognized the music playing in the background somewhere.
Do you like Garbage? I asked, motioning with my chin toward wherever Shirley Manson’s voice, currently singing “Only Happy When It Rains” was emanating from.
“I do,” answered Jaejoong, again in English, without waiting for the translator to finish speaking. “It’s a mix.”
There was a pause in which Jaejoong finally took off his sunglasses.
“I made it. For Jaejoong.” Yunho said.
I love them too, I told Jaejoong. Played them at my wedding.
Yunho nodded politely, but Jaejoong wasn’t even looking at me. He was gazing, quite raptly, at Yunho’s face.
Much has been made of the so called “passionate” looks Jaejoong seemed to only bestow on his fortunate lover, on fansites, tabloids and even, when the news first broke, on American Entertainment television. But being here, and seeing it up close, the moment seemed to so closely border on intimate that I was embarrassed enough to discreetly turn my eyes away, and focus instead on Yunho, whose gaze was still on my face.
Another moment of silence was all it took for me to figure out neither was going to help me out and I decided to just dive in.
Alright! I said loudly, and Jaejoong nearly jumped out of his seat. Let’s do this then. So we can get it on the record. Are you, Jung Yunho, in a romantic, sexual relationship with Kim Jaejoong?
The translator translated, and then there was a moment where the only sound was Ms. Manson’s voice.
“I only listen to the sad, sad songs, I’m only happy when it raaaaaaaaains.”
Then, and here you are world!, “Yes, I am.”
That was in English. Yunho then said something in what I assumed was Korean, because the translator repeated “Yes I am.”
Then, “ Hai. Jaejoong wa boku no koibito da.” Yes. Jaejoong is my boyfriend. Japanese.
Then in Chinese, for good measure, I suppose.
I turned to Jaejoong, who looked a little shell-shocked, and said, feeling absurdly like I was conducting a marriage ceremony, “ And Kim Jaejoong, are you in a romantic, sexual relationship with Jung Yunho?”
“Yes, I am,” and he repeated it in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese as well. Then, “Si, oui,” and here we all began to giggle like children, translator included. Suddenly, Jaejoong was really smiling at me, and if I were a less well-adjusted man, I may have begun doubting my sexuality, such was his beauty.
Don’t think I can’t hear you rolling your eyes, dear straight male readers, but you weren’t there. I tell you it’s true!
So, when did it start?
I turned to the translator when Jaejoong didn’t answer in English. Yunho, who hadn’t stopped laughing, laughed even harder at whatever Jaejoong was saying.
“May 2004, the 15th, at 2:02 pm.” I made a face at Jaejoong, and he grinned coyly back at me.
When did your band members find out? Do your parents know?
Yunho leaned forward. “ Yes, our parents know. And the band…they got us together, and kept us together. They’ve been so supportive.”
“I’ll cry if I talk about it. They really believe in us. They are truly…” and here Jaejoong honestly choked up, so I switched topics.
What was your first reaction when The Picture came out?
Anyone bothering to read this article knows exactly the picture I am referring to. Snapped two months ago by a paparazzi sharing a heated kiss, Yunho’s hand down the back of Jaejoong’s pants, the candid was eagerly picked up by Perezhilton.com, the owner of whom, openly gay self-styled “Queen of all Media” Perez, once wrote below a previous picture of Jaejoong posted on the site, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you God’s boytoy,” garnering such a backlash that for the first time in the site’s history, Perez was forced to apologize for his pottymouth. There would be no apologies for this revelation, however, and below the picture were simply the words, in capital letters, italicized, and with an overabundance of exclamation points, “I knew it!” The picture got 12, 678 hits and 598 comments in just under an hour, and was featured on that evening’s Entertainment Tonight.
There was a pause in which Jaejoong once again glanced at Yunho, a habit I was beginning to notice was quite frequent. This time, however, Yunho glanced back. Both paused, and then Yunho spoke first.
“We panicked.” He admitted, shifting around in his seat, the only gesture of uneasiness I had seen from him yet.
“We knew,” Jaejoong continued. “Management was always telling us, ‘Make sure you don’t slip up, don’t do perverted things outside, near a window, where the are cameras.’”
Did they say it like that? I asked, surprised. Perverted?
Jaejoong looked back at me for a moment before answering.
“Is that bad?”
Perhaps the word perverted does not carry the same negative connotation it does in Korean that it does in English. Indeed, it must not, as same sex- pairings seem almost encouraged in Asian pop-stars, especially boy-bands. The term “Jaeho” was coined long before the “Asian invasion” that brought JE and SM artists to America so successfully in the summer of 2008. Every brush of skin, every comment, every look the two share is dissected by legions of teenaged girls desperate for evidence of such a “dangerous love”.
So why couldn’t this picture simply be passed off as another marketing tool, as more fanservice? It couldn’t, because the picture was taken from a video. One minute and thirty-seven seconds of what was quite clearly not an act.
“One of the staff turned on the news,” said Jaejoong, pouring me some more lemonade. “ It was in English, so we couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they kept showing this clip of us kissing over and over and over.” He cocked his head to the side like he was listening for something. “ It was…I didn’t feel that-”
“Those people had no right to be where they were, to have filmed such a thing.” Yunho interrupted, looking rather menacing, but Jaejoong laughed as the translator was speaking and leaned toward him as if for a hug, but both suddenly stiffened and sat up straight in what I was sure was a long-ingrained habit by now. You’ll have to learn to cuddle in public, now, I teased, but both pop stars shook their heads in embarrassment.
Are you willing to talk about your sex life? I asked, feeling like an ass for even going there, but a job’s a job.
There were no glances, no hesitation this time, as both got rather angry-looking looks on their faces and snapped out a “No” at the same time. I ducked my head and gave them a sheepish smile, but neither so much as cracked a grin. I got the definite feeling this was not a scripted answer from SM Entertainment (I had not gotten any list of forbidden questions and so assumed the two must have been coached before this interview), but the exasperated reply from two people who were desperate for at least that part of their life to remain private.
Privacy, however, has been appallingly hard to come by for these boys the last two months. The paparazzi, of course, is everywhere, hoping to catch another slip-up. Fangirls, often with encouraging posters, have camped outside the hotel the boys are staying in. And everyone from Paris Hilton ( “God Jae is so pretty! Of course Yunho’s doing him!”) to Paula Abdul (“I want wedding pictures, damnit!”) to Colin Farrell (“If he didn’t I would”) has had something to say about them.
Has this influenced your relationship with other gay artists?
“Not really,” said Jaejoong. “We don’t want to be known as the band with the gay couple, you know? But…”
“But Elton John called the other day,” Yunho said with an incredulous look. “ I have no idea how he got our manager’s number but he did. I don’t know what he said though, he was speaking English.”
“Elton John,” Jaejoong called out, while I laughed in disbelief. “If you are reading this, call again, talk with me! My English is better!”
What many want to know, however, is will Jaejoong’s English have the opportunity to get even better, or will DBSK be leaving the States sooner than previously anticipated. If DBSK’s recent concerts are anything to go by, the Korean pop sensation will be in America for a little while more.
“ I was so scared going onto the stage that first time,” said Yunho, referring to their first after- The- Picture performance, a week later at an outdoor arena in LA. “I was shaking. I’ve never been that scared in my life. I felt maybe this was the last time. ”
“We thought there would be jerks there, and there were, but... continued on page 302