Round 1, Challenge #1: "Photogenic Beauty"
Title: Photogenic Beauty
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 780 words
Summary: Jaejoong recalled the memory of being sent away to Hawaii by his family disguised as a photo bride because of his feminine features. He meets Yunho, and unexpected feelings played into his life.
Warnings: Cross-dressing, light swearing, and slight religious references. There might be a slight error in the timing of history or with the actuality of Jaejoong being able to look feminine in the late 1910s due to the culture of Korea at that time.
A photograph could articulate at least a thousand words.
For Jaejoong, they were not necessarily words; they were fragments of his haunting memories that were conjured by an old photo. It was one picture that molded his future, his pride, and his current happiness.
The sweet, appalling memories he has were given in sequences of contentment, deception, wretchedness, and surprisingly, pleasure.
If his family never forced him to become a fake picture bride, he would have never met the man he was still together with. Jaejoong cannot say that he regretted any decisions going to the islands, but he always imagined what if he had kept fighting?
What if he didn’t go to Hawaii to meet Jung Yunho?
What if he never got to experience everything he had with the man?
Would he still be Jaejoong of today?
It had been more than fifty years since he had met Yunho. He will always remember the date of getting out of Korea and into a whole, new world: June 7, 1918. [1]
-----
“Is your name Jae-Hwa? [2] Nice to meet you, I’m Jung Yunho, your appointed fiancé.”
“Wow, I cannot believe you’re older than me by only a week!”
“Are you that embarrassed about yourself? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
“Your voice is beautiful. Please, sing me a song tonight.”
“Thanks for the food. I love your cooking.”
“I am not like those guys. You are more than what I ever expected. [3]”
“I wonder something about you, Jae-Hwa. Are you born with an abnormally low voice? I could have you checked out.”
“I am happy to be with you.”
“Jae-hwa…I never thought I would appreciate you in the beginning. My parents forced me to do this as much as your parents. The funny thing is, I don’t regret anything. I don’t regret giving up the fight against this engagement because I met you.”
“We’re finally an official, married couple.”
-----
“What’s wrong, Jae? We knew each other for over a few years now. I don’t want any secrets between us.”
“You’re hiding something from me, I know you are.”
“Wait, what are you doing? I know we never made love because I thought… and-an erection?? You’re a guy??”
“I really don’t know anymore. I’m sorry. Jae-hwa…I mean, Jaejoong.”
“We have to get a divorce…it’s not right.”
“Only for your sake to stay here, I will not divorce with you. This is my last favor to you.”
“I cannot forget about you. This is against everything I had ever believed in.”
“I don’t give a shit about your business. Give me alone, please.”
“I’m moving out. I am giving this place to you as my last gift.”
-----
“You know what? Fuck the testimonies against being with you. It has been more than few years since I saw you; I lost count already. But one thing for sure, I never stopped loving you. You may be a guy, but no girl can ever compare to you.”
“Jaejoong, what do you believe in?”
“Do you believe in fate? I think the stars can tell you everything if you know how to read them.”
“Do you think I’ll be condemned for being happily in love with you?”
“I think…no matter what, you were always meant for me.”
-----
“What do you think about adoption?”
“Sometimes, I wish that you were actually a girl.”
“You have six sisters?? Tell me about them.”
-----
“I’m sorry, Jaejoong. I have to stay working at the hospital. They just bombed Pearl Harbor.”
“Thank you for visiting me. I needed your food; at this rate, I thought the hospital food is going to give me food poisoning.”
“Have I ever told you how much I enjoy your company?”
“The world ended, Jae. I’m back home for sure.”
-----
His recollection of distinct things Yunho said to him was interrupted as the slightly younger man held him in a hug.
“Hey love. Thinking again?” Yunho greeted and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Yeah, about you. About us.”
“About us…it has been a long time since we met, hasn’t it?”
“It has. I still remember the day I met you, the day you found me out…the day you decided to stay…those days gave-”
“But don’t you think it’s unhealthy going through all of the cheesy things I told you?”
“But it’s the cheesy things that got me to you.”
And it was the cheesy moments in which love binds together these two men unexpectedly.
Honesty, forgiveness, courage, love, and devotion were the formula of Jung Yunho and Jung Kim Jaejoong.
Jaejoong knows, he would never give up anything from the past to be in the arms of his lover today.
-----
Footnotes:
[1] - This is a randomly-picked date between the first wave of Korean-Americans coming into the United States and Hawaii (which wasn’t a state of the United States till 1959) and before the Immigration Act of 1924.
[2] - Jae-Hwa, according to this means respect and beauty. I wanted a name with Jae in it and had something to do with being a photo bride.
[3] - “Many of these "wives" coming about a decade after the first Korean immigrants came to Hawaii were "Picture Brides." A great majority were also prostitutes who would be sexually abused and then dismissed. Immigrant workers sent their photographs to a matchmaker in Korea, who then matched his photo with a photo of a young woman. The woman's family and matchmaker would work together to select a suitable mate, and the bride-to-be would be sent to Hawaii with a legally binding contract to her new husband once she landed on Hawaiian soil. Because many of the immigrant workers hadn't had photos taken of themselves since their immigration to Hawaii, and photographs were quite expensive, many immigrant men sent Korean matchmakers "false" or out-of-date photos, thus making the grooms appear to be much younger than they actually were. The picture brides, upon arriving to Hawaii and discovering this deceit, had no way of backing out of their contracts.” Source
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 780 words
Summary: Jaejoong recalled the memory of being sent away to Hawaii by his family disguised as a photo bride because of his feminine features. He meets Yunho, and unexpected feelings played into his life.
Warnings: Cross-dressing, light swearing, and slight religious references. There might be a slight error in the timing of history or with the actuality of Jaejoong being able to look feminine in the late 1910s due to the culture of Korea at that time.
A photograph could articulate at least a thousand words.
For Jaejoong, they were not necessarily words; they were fragments of his haunting memories that were conjured by an old photo. It was one picture that molded his future, his pride, and his current happiness.
The sweet, appalling memories he has were given in sequences of contentment, deception, wretchedness, and surprisingly, pleasure.
If his family never forced him to become a fake picture bride, he would have never met the man he was still together with. Jaejoong cannot say that he regretted any decisions going to the islands, but he always imagined what if he had kept fighting?
What if he didn’t go to Hawaii to meet Jung Yunho?
What if he never got to experience everything he had with the man?
Would he still be Jaejoong of today?
It had been more than fifty years since he had met Yunho. He will always remember the date of getting out of Korea and into a whole, new world: June 7, 1918. [1]
-----
“Is your name Jae-Hwa? [2] Nice to meet you, I’m Jung Yunho, your appointed fiancé.”
“Wow, I cannot believe you’re older than me by only a week!”
“Are you that embarrassed about yourself? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
“Your voice is beautiful. Please, sing me a song tonight.”
“Thanks for the food. I love your cooking.”
“I am not like those guys. You are more than what I ever expected. [3]”
“I wonder something about you, Jae-Hwa. Are you born with an abnormally low voice? I could have you checked out.”
“I am happy to be with you.”
“Jae-hwa…I never thought I would appreciate you in the beginning. My parents forced me to do this as much as your parents. The funny thing is, I don’t regret anything. I don’t regret giving up the fight against this engagement because I met you.”
“We’re finally an official, married couple.”
-----
“What’s wrong, Jae? We knew each other for over a few years now. I don’t want any secrets between us.”
“You’re hiding something from me, I know you are.”
“Wait, what are you doing? I know we never made love because I thought… and-an erection?? You’re a guy??”
“I really don’t know anymore. I’m sorry. Jae-hwa…I mean, Jaejoong.”
“We have to get a divorce…it’s not right.”
“Only for your sake to stay here, I will not divorce with you. This is my last favor to you.”
“I cannot forget about you. This is against everything I had ever believed in.”
“I don’t give a shit about your business. Give me alone, please.”
“I’m moving out. I am giving this place to you as my last gift.”
-----
“You know what? Fuck the testimonies against being with you. It has been more than few years since I saw you; I lost count already. But one thing for sure, I never stopped loving you. You may be a guy, but no girl can ever compare to you.”
“Jaejoong, what do you believe in?”
“Do you believe in fate? I think the stars can tell you everything if you know how to read them.”
“Do you think I’ll be condemned for being happily in love with you?”
“I think…no matter what, you were always meant for me.”
-----
“What do you think about adoption?”
“Sometimes, I wish that you were actually a girl.”
“You have six sisters?? Tell me about them.”
-----
“I’m sorry, Jaejoong. I have to stay working at the hospital. They just bombed Pearl Harbor.”
“Thank you for visiting me. I needed your food; at this rate, I thought the hospital food is going to give me food poisoning.”
“Have I ever told you how much I enjoy your company?”
“The world ended, Jae. I’m back home for sure.”
-----
His recollection of distinct things Yunho said to him was interrupted as the slightly younger man held him in a hug.
“Hey love. Thinking again?” Yunho greeted and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Yeah, about you. About us.”
“About us…it has been a long time since we met, hasn’t it?”
“It has. I still remember the day I met you, the day you found me out…the day you decided to stay…those days gave-”
“But don’t you think it’s unhealthy going through all of the cheesy things I told you?”
“But it’s the cheesy things that got me to you.”
And it was the cheesy moments in which love binds together these two men unexpectedly.
Honesty, forgiveness, courage, love, and devotion were the formula of Jung Yunho and Jung Kim Jaejoong.
Jaejoong knows, he would never give up anything from the past to be in the arms of his lover today.
-----
Footnotes:
[1] - This is a randomly-picked date between the first wave of Korean-Americans coming into the United States and Hawaii (which wasn’t a state of the United States till 1959) and before the Immigration Act of 1924.
[2] - Jae-Hwa, according to this means respect and beauty. I wanted a name with Jae in it and had something to do with being a photo bride.
[3] - “Many of these "wives" coming about a decade after the first Korean immigrants came to Hawaii were "Picture Brides." A great majority were also prostitutes who would be sexually abused and then dismissed. Immigrant workers sent their photographs to a matchmaker in Korea, who then matched his photo with a photo of a young woman. The woman's family and matchmaker would work together to select a suitable mate, and the bride-to-be would be sent to Hawaii with a legally binding contract to her new husband once she landed on Hawaiian soil. Because many of the immigrant workers hadn't had photos taken of themselves since their immigration to Hawaii, and photographs were quite expensive, many immigrant men sent Korean matchmakers "false" or out-of-date photos, thus making the grooms appear to be much younger than they actually were. The picture brides, upon arriving to Hawaii and discovering this deceit, had no way of backing out of their contracts.” Source