COINCIDENCE - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The next thing she knew, she felt the cold hard floor in contact with her skin, surrounded by familiar faces. “What… what happened?” She stuttered.
“Omygosh… thank goodness you’re okay. You just fainted all of the sudden. Good thing Jaejoong was quick and caught you in time. Otherwise, you would have hit your head on the lighting posts and died.” The guys were staring at Adelle as if she grew three heads which she ignored. She immediately took her place beside Aveline, massaging the younger girl’s temples to get the blood flowing to her brain. It was awhile before Aveline readjusted to her surroundings and regained her sense of gravity. When she did, she was aware of the close proximity between Jaejoong’s concerned face and her own blushing one.
Blushing, she rose abruptly from his arms. Bad move. She wobbled and her dizziness returned. Once again, Jaejoong’s arms circled her waist as support.
“Don’t get up too fast. Your equilibrium is still not stable.” Changmin piped up. “Here, drink some water.” She gratefully snatched the bottle from his hands as a way to take her minds off of the arms around her. She politely moved away from the grasp in order to reach one of the chairs. In the next second, she found herself hoisted up from the ground, much to her surprise.
Jaejoong lifted her from the ground, one arm under her legs and the other safely propping her back. “Put your arms around my neck.” He ordered her firmly.
“But....” Aveline squirmed in protest.
“Just do it. Unless you want me to lose my grip and drop you on the floor…” Aveline gasped and immediately snaked both arms around Jaejoong’s neck, holding on to him for dear life. Jaejoong smirked. “Good girl.”
The photographer, who by this time was beyond frustrated, finally yelled out “Take five!” When death glares surrounded him, he cowered slightly. “Umm…ten?” The members nodded in approval.
They all migrated from the middle of the set to the chairs near the snack table. All of the faces surrounding Aveline were contorted in worry. Each person was trying to make sure that she was indeed alright by either checking her forehead, her pulse, or simply by gently squeezing her hand for comfort.
“Has this ever happened before? Does she faint like that often?” Yoochun turned to Adelle.
“Well, she did have anemia for awhile back in junior high and she did have a history of random fainting spells. But it hasn’t happened in a couple of years now…” Adelle felt very guilty for asking her cousin to do the shoot. She had forgotten how fragile Aveline’s body could be. It had been awhile since she had to accompany Aveline to her doctor’s appointments and blood tests every week. “Mei… I’m really sorry. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I’ll take over.”
“But… but wouldn’t your parents get angry?” Aveline squeaked out. Every time after she regained consciousness, she was always physically and mentally exhausted.
“By now I don’t even care anymore.” Adelle spat out spitefully. The younger girl said nothing. She knew that aside from Adelle’s birthday wish over the answering machine in Malaysia; her parents had not bothered checking up on Adelle. This was the reason why she was so eager to go to Korea in the first place.
Adelle noticed the look of regret in Aveline’s face and she softened immediately while holding both of Aveline’s hand in hers, smiling. “I’ll be okay. You know me.” Aveline grinned weakly back.
When the pacified photographer returned to the set, Adelle approached him, dragging Yunho to translate. Five minutes of begging, explaining, and wild hand motions later, the photographer agreed to replace Aveline with Adelle. With a smug look implanted on her face, Adelle marched down to the dressing room to change. Aveline and the other members chuckled. Adelle had an amazing persuasion skill.
Half an hour later Adelle emerged from the dressing room, properly dressed in the same uniform Aveline was wearing and ready to do the shoot. Her presence alone attracted the attention of all the staff members that worked there, especially the males. Usually, when a person went inside the dressing room for hair, make up, and clothes, they remained inside for at least 2 hours. This was why the photographer was reluctant in having Aveline replaced. Adelle had convinced him that she would be done in half an hour and she was true to her words.
“Wow, you got your make-up and hair done in half an hour? We have short hair and we can’t even do that!” Yoochun gaped at her.
“Actually…they didn’t do anything to my hair, except let it out of the bandana and brush it. And all they did is put a little mascara and lip gloss over my lips. Voila! Here I am.” She grinned happily while simultaneously giving Aveline a wink. Even with the minimalist make-up applied on her face, the change in her was astounding. She truly looked like a model.
The shoot resumed smoothly afterwards. Adelle took group shots with the five dong bang members comfortably. Aveline gazed at the six of them having fun with a hint of jealousy. She wished that she could be as confident, stunning, and beautiful as Adelle. While she was immersed in her thoughts, a hand grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the set. Too shocked to respond, Aveline soon found herself in the middle of the set, bright lights blinding her vision. She squinted at a smiling Adelle in confusion. DBSK’s Rising Sun started to play on the sound system and the guys automatically danced in perfect unison with the song. The girls laughed, joining in during the chorus and dancing randomly along.
Without Aveline noticing, Adelle gestured to the photographer to take shots of Aveline interacting with the boys. The photographer’s eyes lit up and nodded. Adelle tried to move away from the group but Changmin, not understanding her plan, pulled her back in to join with them.
A few minutes of laughter later, it was time for Adelle to take individual shots with each of the members. First up was Junsu. Aveline returned to her seat and watched them with a wide grin on her face. They were making weird dorky poses with Adelle pretending to strangle Junsu while Junsu put on a comical expression. Soon enough, it was Yoochun’s turn. He resorted to a simple combined heart pose with Adelle. During Yoochun’s shoot, Junsu approached Aveline and sat next to her. Aveline replied with a nod and a smile.
“So…are you and Adelle best friends?” Junsu started up the conversation. Aveline took her eyes off of her cousin and nodded.
“Yeah…since we’re the same age, we went to the same school and ended up in the same classes in high school. She comes over to my house and sleeps over a lot. Her parents are never home. She’s more like my sister than my cousin really.” Aveline looked at Adelle fondly. Junsu’s head bobbed in understanding.
“Yeah, sometimes I think of the guys as my family too. I mean… we see each other every minute of everyday…literally. We even sleep in the same room. We see each other the instant we wake up. It’s crazy. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Junsu giggled. His laughter was contagious.
“That must be nice too. Yeah… in school, she wasn’t well liked. Adelle’s parents are very well known and prosperous. Our classmates expected her to be snobby and conceited. But she is one of the most caring people I know… well, once you get past her violence. It’s just that she keeps aloof from other people. She’s afraid of putting her heart out there and getting hurt again.”
“Oh! I noticed that she’s very reserved too. Sometimes I think that the cheerful side that she lets us see in Malaysia is just a front. Wait… what do you mean ‘getting hurt again’? She’s been hurt before?” Junsu’s curiosity peaked.
“Oops, not supposed to say anything.” She smacked her forehead. “I can’t say more than that. But…I can say this. The cheerful side that she shows in Malaysia… that is her real side and it isn’t a front. You guys make her happy. The five of you are probably the only five males her age that she will place inside her circle, aside from all the people in her house who took care of her when she was little.” Junsu nodded thoughtfully, thinking of everything she said. “You like her don’t you?” He whips his head up in an instant, facing a grinning Aveline.
“Wh…WHAT? What makes you think that?” he stuttered before looking away, turning beet red.
“I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at her. And the fact that you approached me to ask me whether we are “best friends” is just a ploy to get me to talk about her. Am I right?” She smirked gleefully.
“Well, if you were so smart, then why did you go along with it?” Junsu’s tone took a whiny turn.
“Because I think that you would be good for her, Junsu.” She answered with a serious look on her face. “I think you can make her happy.” Junsu, who wasn’t prepared to receive a serious answer, blushed in happiness. “BUT… she won’t realize it. She likes you, no doubt. She likes all of you. So do I. But she will be very confused about her feelings. I can tell she’s starting to warm up to you though.” She grinned at him.
“But…I know for a fact that she likes Jaejoong hyung. She tells me herself.” He sighed dejectedly.
“HAH!!! I was right wasn’t I? You DO like her. Otherwise why would you be sad?” Junsu eyes widened at his blunder and covered his crimson face with both hands. Aveline giggled. “Yes, he is her favorite member. But I noticed that they are very alike. She’s always attracted to someone who is similar to her… and then she always ends up getting hurt. Even when she tries to pull away from you, please don’t give up on her. She deserves someone great.” She patted Junsu’s arm. He smiled gratefully. He still wanted to know more but decided to take it slow.
“I’m glad you approved. I will have to come to you constantly for advice then. Well, what about you, huh? What happened between you and Jaejoong hyung this morning? He’s unusually chirpy, it’s scaring me.” Aveline blushed for the hundredth time that day.
“Nothing.” She replied, her high pitch tone not left unnoticed. “When did this become a conversation about me? I thought it was about Adelle.”
“About me what?” A voice popped out in front of them. Adelle, as well as the other members, were approaching the two.
“About how good you are at posing in front of the camera.” Junsu answered quickly. Too quickly. Adelle squinted in suspicion but Aveline confirmed it by nodding her head.
“Hmm, you guys look too immersed to be only talking about that….”
“LUNCH!!!!” The delivery man arrived. Adelle perked up and ran toward the man in excitement, her suspicion forgotten. Aveline and Junsu sighed simultaneously in relief and followed the hungry female to get their food.
While eating, Jaejoong sat next to Aveline. She acknowledged him shyly and went back staring at her food intently.
“You’re going to burn a hole in your noodle.” Jaejoong spoke up. This elicited a small laugh from the shorter girl. “Finally! You laughed. I missed it. You’ve been avoiding me all day today.”
“No I haven’t.” She replied indignantly.
“Oh yeah? Not looking at me, not speaking to me, moving away when I go near you, getting out of my arms when I saved you - I haven’t received a proper thank you by the way-, not dancing with me during the photoshoot, and need I say more?” Jaejoong listed while counting in his fingers, his lunch forgotten beside him. His head was now cocked to the side, waiting for her answer. She cursed her cheeks for not being heat-proof.
“I… I wasn’t avoiding you. I was just…” She could not say that she was self-conscious around him. She could not say that she was starting to like him as more than a friend. She could not say that she felt like jell-o when he looked at her and like a boiled lobster when he whispered in her ear with his husky voice. She could not say that she thought he was the sexiest man alive. So she let her voice trail and sighed.
“See? There it is again. You’re not looking at me. Do you not like me or something?” He frowned. Aveline snapped her head toward him with a look of horror.
“NO!! I DO like you! I really really like…” She immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, wide-eyed and embarrassed. Jaejoong, on the other hand, was grinning madly to himself and picked up his previously abandoned meal of rice and beef. Yet, as he was eating his cold food, he felt nothing but warmth in his heart. He glanced back at Aveline, whose face remained a deep crimson and was picking on her noodle. His mischievous side emerging, he poked his chopstick into Aveline’s plastic bowl, grabbed a sizeable bite of noodles, and ate it right from her hand.
Her eyes widened once again for the umpteenth time that day before puffing angrily, quickly taking a chunk of beef from his bowl and put it in her mouth in satisfaction, chewing violently. The mild food fight continued briefly before the two were once again comfortable with each other, ending in Aveline completely eating the rest of his rice and beef while he ate the rest of her noodle.
“Thank you.” Aveline broke the silence.
“For what?” He cocked his head to the side again.
“For catching me back there.” She blushed when she thought about the various times that she had been in uncompromising positions with the man next to her.
“Anytime.” He extended his arm for a side-hug. She returned it easily. “Hmm…” She was self conscious again.
“What’s wrong?” They both pulled away. Jaejoong shook his head.
“Nothing. It’s just that your hair smelled familiar.” Realization hit his face. “Oh! It’s the same shampoo I use!” Aveline smiled sheepishly.
“That’s because it is your shampoo. I borrowed it this morning. I didn’t know it was yours, though. I just chose the nicest bottle,” she blurted out. Aveline cursed herself for lacking so much grace, unlike her cousin. She added again, slower this time,”I hope it’s okay.” Jaejoong grinned and shook his head.
“It’s fine. I like it on you.” This time, the swelling of her chest distracted her cheeks from a blush and she smiled brightly at him.
----------------
Meanwhile, Changmin was sitting contently with a wide array of food that he had ordered. There were noodle, rice, dumplings, soup, and basically everything that was available in the menu. Next to him sat Yunho and Yoochun, who looked at the youngest member with a dumbfounded expression on their faces, their mouth hanging and their food forgotten. Even after almost 3 years of living with the bottomless pit, his ability to literally inhale his food still amazed them. Changmin noticed his hyungs’ expressions, glanced up at them briefly, and shrugged indifferently.
Adelle laughed. Watching others, while keeping attention away from herself had become both a habit and a skill for her. She enjoyed the silence and privacy. The peaceful atmosphere was suddenly broken when an unmistakably familiar voice pierced through her ear.
“Annyeong Adelle. Can I sit here?” She turned to the dolphin boy and smiled. As much as she enjoyed the silence, she preferred his company more and it unnerved her. He had successfully breached the wall she had worked so hard to keep up at such a short amount of time. She nodded, smiling. “What are you eating?” He peeked over her shoulder. “OH…noodles! Me too!” he presented the content of his almost empty bowl to her. “Or rather… what remains of my noodles.”
She giggled. He was elated. It did not matter too much who she liked as long as he was the only one who could bring out the laughter in her.
“You know, you should really consider a career in modeling or something. You were really good out there.” Adelle snorted.
“HAH yeah right. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly tall. That’s one. AND my parents won’t let me do it. That’s two. Additionally, I don’t think that being a model is a good life career. I won’t be able to model once I’m like… 25.”
“In that case, you should just do it part time… or you can be our model and only work with us exclusively.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Somehow, it made the idea sound more like a joke to her and she laughed hysterically. Trying to be sexy did not work as well for Junsu as it did for the other members, except possibly Changmin. Junsu pouted.
“That expression suits you better Junsu.” Adelle wiped tears away from her eyes. Junsu pouted once more for her sake but soon joined her in a giggling fit.
“What’s so funny?” Yunho asked, approaching the two. He had just finished his food and was ready to head back home. Junsu and Adelle looked at Yunho briefly before doubling over in laughter once again. Adelle had to lean on Junsu’s shoulder in order to keep her balance. Yoochun and Changmin approached them with befuddled expressions, asking Yunho what was happening. Yunho shrugged and dragged the others away from the laughing maniacs.
“I think we better leave these two alone for now. Anything we say or do might extend their spasm even more.” Adelle and Junsu’s laughter intensified as the three moved a safe distance away. It took about fifteen minutes before they were able to control themselves.
“But no seriously… what was so funny?” Junsu inquired.
“You didn’t know but you laughed anyway?”
“Your laugh was contagious! And then once I started I couldn’t stop.”
“Actually, it wasn’t all that funny. The fact that you started to laugh with me made it funnier. I guess… it’s like the momentum that kept us going.” Junsu grinned.
A comfortable silence surrounded them, with Adelle still leaning on Junsu. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks Junsu.” He turned toward her, but saw only her hair on his shoulder.
“What for?”
“I haven’t laughed like that in…forever. I forgot how good it was to just let go and lose control sometimes.” She lifted her head from his shoulder and placed a small peck on his cheek. They both blushed. “Umm… well… I’m going to go find Aveline now.” She leapt out of the bench and was gone in a second.
Junsu, who was still in shock of what had happened, looked dumbly at her receding form with his hand placed on his cheek. Five seconds later, an inane grin replaced his flabbergasted expression and remained there for the remainder of the day.
The next thing she knew, she felt the cold hard floor in contact with her skin, surrounded by familiar faces. “What… what happened?” She stuttered.
“Omygosh… thank goodness you’re okay. You just fainted all of the sudden. Good thing Jaejoong was quick and caught you in time. Otherwise, you would have hit your head on the lighting posts and died.” The guys were staring at Adelle as if she grew three heads which she ignored. She immediately took her place beside Aveline, massaging the younger girl’s temples to get the blood flowing to her brain. It was awhile before Aveline readjusted to her surroundings and regained her sense of gravity. When she did, she was aware of the close proximity between Jaejoong’s concerned face and her own blushing one.
Blushing, she rose abruptly from his arms. Bad move. She wobbled and her dizziness returned. Once again, Jaejoong’s arms circled her waist as support.
“Don’t get up too fast. Your equilibrium is still not stable.” Changmin piped up. “Here, drink some water.” She gratefully snatched the bottle from his hands as a way to take her minds off of the arms around her. She politely moved away from the grasp in order to reach one of the chairs. In the next second, she found herself hoisted up from the ground, much to her surprise.
Jaejoong lifted her from the ground, one arm under her legs and the other safely propping her back. “Put your arms around my neck.” He ordered her firmly.
“But....” Aveline squirmed in protest.
“Just do it. Unless you want me to lose my grip and drop you on the floor…” Aveline gasped and immediately snaked both arms around Jaejoong’s neck, holding on to him for dear life. Jaejoong smirked. “Good girl.”
The photographer, who by this time was beyond frustrated, finally yelled out “Take five!” When death glares surrounded him, he cowered slightly. “Umm…ten?” The members nodded in approval.
They all migrated from the middle of the set to the chairs near the snack table. All of the faces surrounding Aveline were contorted in worry. Each person was trying to make sure that she was indeed alright by either checking her forehead, her pulse, or simply by gently squeezing her hand for comfort.
“Has this ever happened before? Does she faint like that often?” Yoochun turned to Adelle.
“Well, she did have anemia for awhile back in junior high and she did have a history of random fainting spells. But it hasn’t happened in a couple of years now…” Adelle felt very guilty for asking her cousin to do the shoot. She had forgotten how fragile Aveline’s body could be. It had been awhile since she had to accompany Aveline to her doctor’s appointments and blood tests every week. “Mei… I’m really sorry. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I’ll take over.”
“But… but wouldn’t your parents get angry?” Aveline squeaked out. Every time after she regained consciousness, she was always physically and mentally exhausted.
“By now I don’t even care anymore.” Adelle spat out spitefully. The younger girl said nothing. She knew that aside from Adelle’s birthday wish over the answering machine in Malaysia; her parents had not bothered checking up on Adelle. This was the reason why she was so eager to go to Korea in the first place.
Adelle noticed the look of regret in Aveline’s face and she softened immediately while holding both of Aveline’s hand in hers, smiling. “I’ll be okay. You know me.” Aveline grinned weakly back.
When the pacified photographer returned to the set, Adelle approached him, dragging Yunho to translate. Five minutes of begging, explaining, and wild hand motions later, the photographer agreed to replace Aveline with Adelle. With a smug look implanted on her face, Adelle marched down to the dressing room to change. Aveline and the other members chuckled. Adelle had an amazing persuasion skill.
Half an hour later Adelle emerged from the dressing room, properly dressed in the same uniform Aveline was wearing and ready to do the shoot. Her presence alone attracted the attention of all the staff members that worked there, especially the males. Usually, when a person went inside the dressing room for hair, make up, and clothes, they remained inside for at least 2 hours. This was why the photographer was reluctant in having Aveline replaced. Adelle had convinced him that she would be done in half an hour and she was true to her words.
“Wow, you got your make-up and hair done in half an hour? We have short hair and we can’t even do that!” Yoochun gaped at her.
“Actually…they didn’t do anything to my hair, except let it out of the bandana and brush it. And all they did is put a little mascara and lip gloss over my lips. Voila! Here I am.” She grinned happily while simultaneously giving Aveline a wink. Even with the minimalist make-up applied on her face, the change in her was astounding. She truly looked like a model.
The shoot resumed smoothly afterwards. Adelle took group shots with the five dong bang members comfortably. Aveline gazed at the six of them having fun with a hint of jealousy. She wished that she could be as confident, stunning, and beautiful as Adelle. While she was immersed in her thoughts, a hand grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the set. Too shocked to respond, Aveline soon found herself in the middle of the set, bright lights blinding her vision. She squinted at a smiling Adelle in confusion. DBSK’s Rising Sun started to play on the sound system and the guys automatically danced in perfect unison with the song. The girls laughed, joining in during the chorus and dancing randomly along.
Without Aveline noticing, Adelle gestured to the photographer to take shots of Aveline interacting with the boys. The photographer’s eyes lit up and nodded. Adelle tried to move away from the group but Changmin, not understanding her plan, pulled her back in to join with them.
A few minutes of laughter later, it was time for Adelle to take individual shots with each of the members. First up was Junsu. Aveline returned to her seat and watched them with a wide grin on her face. They were making weird dorky poses with Adelle pretending to strangle Junsu while Junsu put on a comical expression. Soon enough, it was Yoochun’s turn. He resorted to a simple combined heart pose with Adelle. During Yoochun’s shoot, Junsu approached Aveline and sat next to her. Aveline replied with a nod and a smile.
“So…are you and Adelle best friends?” Junsu started up the conversation. Aveline took her eyes off of her cousin and nodded.
“Yeah…since we’re the same age, we went to the same school and ended up in the same classes in high school. She comes over to my house and sleeps over a lot. Her parents are never home. She’s more like my sister than my cousin really.” Aveline looked at Adelle fondly. Junsu’s head bobbed in understanding.
“Yeah, sometimes I think of the guys as my family too. I mean… we see each other every minute of everyday…literally. We even sleep in the same room. We see each other the instant we wake up. It’s crazy. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Junsu giggled. His laughter was contagious.
“That must be nice too. Yeah… in school, she wasn’t well liked. Adelle’s parents are very well known and prosperous. Our classmates expected her to be snobby and conceited. But she is one of the most caring people I know… well, once you get past her violence. It’s just that she keeps aloof from other people. She’s afraid of putting her heart out there and getting hurt again.”
“Oh! I noticed that she’s very reserved too. Sometimes I think that the cheerful side that she lets us see in Malaysia is just a front. Wait… what do you mean ‘getting hurt again’? She’s been hurt before?” Junsu’s curiosity peaked.
“Oops, not supposed to say anything.” She smacked her forehead. “I can’t say more than that. But…I can say this. The cheerful side that she shows in Malaysia… that is her real side and it isn’t a front. You guys make her happy. The five of you are probably the only five males her age that she will place inside her circle, aside from all the people in her house who took care of her when she was little.” Junsu nodded thoughtfully, thinking of everything she said. “You like her don’t you?” He whips his head up in an instant, facing a grinning Aveline.
“Wh…WHAT? What makes you think that?” he stuttered before looking away, turning beet red.
“I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at her. And the fact that you approached me to ask me whether we are “best friends” is just a ploy to get me to talk about her. Am I right?” She smirked gleefully.
“Well, if you were so smart, then why did you go along with it?” Junsu’s tone took a whiny turn.
“Because I think that you would be good for her, Junsu.” She answered with a serious look on her face. “I think you can make her happy.” Junsu, who wasn’t prepared to receive a serious answer, blushed in happiness. “BUT… she won’t realize it. She likes you, no doubt. She likes all of you. So do I. But she will be very confused about her feelings. I can tell she’s starting to warm up to you though.” She grinned at him.
“But…I know for a fact that she likes Jaejoong hyung. She tells me herself.” He sighed dejectedly.
“HAH!!! I was right wasn’t I? You DO like her. Otherwise why would you be sad?” Junsu eyes widened at his blunder and covered his crimson face with both hands. Aveline giggled. “Yes, he is her favorite member. But I noticed that they are very alike. She’s always attracted to someone who is similar to her… and then she always ends up getting hurt. Even when she tries to pull away from you, please don’t give up on her. She deserves someone great.” She patted Junsu’s arm. He smiled gratefully. He still wanted to know more but decided to take it slow.
“I’m glad you approved. I will have to come to you constantly for advice then. Well, what about you, huh? What happened between you and Jaejoong hyung this morning? He’s unusually chirpy, it’s scaring me.” Aveline blushed for the hundredth time that day.
“Nothing.” She replied, her high pitch tone not left unnoticed. “When did this become a conversation about me? I thought it was about Adelle.”
“About me what?” A voice popped out in front of them. Adelle, as well as the other members, were approaching the two.
“About how good you are at posing in front of the camera.” Junsu answered quickly. Too quickly. Adelle squinted in suspicion but Aveline confirmed it by nodding her head.
“Hmm, you guys look too immersed to be only talking about that….”
“LUNCH!!!!” The delivery man arrived. Adelle perked up and ran toward the man in excitement, her suspicion forgotten. Aveline and Junsu sighed simultaneously in relief and followed the hungry female to get their food.
While eating, Jaejoong sat next to Aveline. She acknowledged him shyly and went back staring at her food intently.
“You’re going to burn a hole in your noodle.” Jaejoong spoke up. This elicited a small laugh from the shorter girl. “Finally! You laughed. I missed it. You’ve been avoiding me all day today.”
“No I haven’t.” She replied indignantly.
“Oh yeah? Not looking at me, not speaking to me, moving away when I go near you, getting out of my arms when I saved you - I haven’t received a proper thank you by the way-, not dancing with me during the photoshoot, and need I say more?” Jaejoong listed while counting in his fingers, his lunch forgotten beside him. His head was now cocked to the side, waiting for her answer. She cursed her cheeks for not being heat-proof.
“I… I wasn’t avoiding you. I was just…” She could not say that she was self-conscious around him. She could not say that she was starting to like him as more than a friend. She could not say that she felt like jell-o when he looked at her and like a boiled lobster when he whispered in her ear with his husky voice. She could not say that she thought he was the sexiest man alive. So she let her voice trail and sighed.
“See? There it is again. You’re not looking at me. Do you not like me or something?” He frowned. Aveline snapped her head toward him with a look of horror.
“NO!! I DO like you! I really really like…” She immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, wide-eyed and embarrassed. Jaejoong, on the other hand, was grinning madly to himself and picked up his previously abandoned meal of rice and beef. Yet, as he was eating his cold food, he felt nothing but warmth in his heart. He glanced back at Aveline, whose face remained a deep crimson and was picking on her noodle. His mischievous side emerging, he poked his chopstick into Aveline’s plastic bowl, grabbed a sizeable bite of noodles, and ate it right from her hand.
Her eyes widened once again for the umpteenth time that day before puffing angrily, quickly taking a chunk of beef from his bowl and put it in her mouth in satisfaction, chewing violently. The mild food fight continued briefly before the two were once again comfortable with each other, ending in Aveline completely eating the rest of his rice and beef while he ate the rest of her noodle.
“Thank you.” Aveline broke the silence.
“For what?” He cocked his head to the side again.
“For catching me back there.” She blushed when she thought about the various times that she had been in uncompromising positions with the man next to her.
“Anytime.” He extended his arm for a side-hug. She returned it easily. “Hmm…” She was self conscious again.
“What’s wrong?” They both pulled away. Jaejoong shook his head.
“Nothing. It’s just that your hair smelled familiar.” Realization hit his face. “Oh! It’s the same shampoo I use!” Aveline smiled sheepishly.
“That’s because it is your shampoo. I borrowed it this morning. I didn’t know it was yours, though. I just chose the nicest bottle,” she blurted out. Aveline cursed herself for lacking so much grace, unlike her cousin. She added again, slower this time,”I hope it’s okay.” Jaejoong grinned and shook his head.
“It’s fine. I like it on you.” This time, the swelling of her chest distracted her cheeks from a blush and she smiled brightly at him.
----------------
Meanwhile, Changmin was sitting contently with a wide array of food that he had ordered. There were noodle, rice, dumplings, soup, and basically everything that was available in the menu. Next to him sat Yunho and Yoochun, who looked at the youngest member with a dumbfounded expression on their faces, their mouth hanging and their food forgotten. Even after almost 3 years of living with the bottomless pit, his ability to literally inhale his food still amazed them. Changmin noticed his hyungs’ expressions, glanced up at them briefly, and shrugged indifferently.
Adelle laughed. Watching others, while keeping attention away from herself had become both a habit and a skill for her. She enjoyed the silence and privacy. The peaceful atmosphere was suddenly broken when an unmistakably familiar voice pierced through her ear.
“Annyeong Adelle. Can I sit here?” She turned to the dolphin boy and smiled. As much as she enjoyed the silence, she preferred his company more and it unnerved her. He had successfully breached the wall she had worked so hard to keep up at such a short amount of time. She nodded, smiling. “What are you eating?” He peeked over her shoulder. “OH…noodles! Me too!” he presented the content of his almost empty bowl to her. “Or rather… what remains of my noodles.”
She giggled. He was elated. It did not matter too much who she liked as long as he was the only one who could bring out the laughter in her.
“You know, you should really consider a career in modeling or something. You were really good out there.” Adelle snorted.
“HAH yeah right. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly tall. That’s one. AND my parents won’t let me do it. That’s two. Additionally, I don’t think that being a model is a good life career. I won’t be able to model once I’m like… 25.”
“In that case, you should just do it part time… or you can be our model and only work with us exclusively.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Somehow, it made the idea sound more like a joke to her and she laughed hysterically. Trying to be sexy did not work as well for Junsu as it did for the other members, except possibly Changmin. Junsu pouted.
“That expression suits you better Junsu.” Adelle wiped tears away from her eyes. Junsu pouted once more for her sake but soon joined her in a giggling fit.
“What’s so funny?” Yunho asked, approaching the two. He had just finished his food and was ready to head back home. Junsu and Adelle looked at Yunho briefly before doubling over in laughter once again. Adelle had to lean on Junsu’s shoulder in order to keep her balance. Yoochun and Changmin approached them with befuddled expressions, asking Yunho what was happening. Yunho shrugged and dragged the others away from the laughing maniacs.
“I think we better leave these two alone for now. Anything we say or do might extend their spasm even more.” Adelle and Junsu’s laughter intensified as the three moved a safe distance away. It took about fifteen minutes before they were able to control themselves.
“But no seriously… what was so funny?” Junsu inquired.
“You didn’t know but you laughed anyway?”
“Your laugh was contagious! And then once I started I couldn’t stop.”
“Actually, it wasn’t all that funny. The fact that you started to laugh with me made it funnier. I guess… it’s like the momentum that kept us going.” Junsu grinned.
A comfortable silence surrounded them, with Adelle still leaning on Junsu. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks Junsu.” He turned toward her, but saw only her hair on his shoulder.
“What for?”
“I haven’t laughed like that in…forever. I forgot how good it was to just let go and lose control sometimes.” She lifted her head from his shoulder and placed a small peck on his cheek. They both blushed. “Umm… well… I’m going to go find Aveline now.” She leapt out of the bench and was gone in a second.
Junsu, who was still in shock of what had happened, looked dumbly at her receding form with his hand placed on his cheek. Five seconds later, an inane grin replaced his flabbergasted expression and remained there for the remainder of the day.