second part
so apparently.. the stupid thing... said that the post was too large.. rofl..
so yeah.. this is the second part even though technically speaking it's just one long thing... sorry now your reading is being disturbed... ><
Irene threw her shoes angrily at the floor. Then, seeing as her apartment hadn’t managed to clean itself while she was gone, her frustrations built up, causing her to scream at no one in particular. She turned toward her bedside table and saw the picture of the five boys and her in the middle, right in between Yunho and Jaejoong. A picture taken five years ago before Yunho left to America.
She lifted the frame and gazed upon the fake expressions of the six individuals gazing back at her. That’s how she feels nowadays. Fake. Unconsciously, she began to trace her finger on the male face next to her. Jaejoong… She gasped in surprise before slamming the frame down on her bed and dashing toward the bathroom to take a long, hot, shower.
Under the hot water, Irene simply stood there with her head leaning against the wall, a few drops of tears flowing down her face. However, still unable to understand what had caused her to be so upset, she simply gave out another shrill cry before furiously scrubbing herself clean and stepped out of the bathroom.
Sighing loudly, she started to tread her way through the messy apartment, picking up articles of clothing along the way. Repeating the steps several times, she managed to make the apartment look… well, habitable.
“Good enough,” she whispered tiredly to herself before slamming her body onto the mattress.
He saw her shadow looms across the curtains covering her windows. He clutched his chest. Now that the effect from the alcohol was starting to wear off, the pain he felt earlier had come back. He started the engine, cursed bitterly, and sped off into the darkness.
He woke up the day after with a splitting headache and loud ringing by his ear. Grunting grumpily, he picked up the phone.
“What?” He said venomously.
“Well, someone’s definitely cranky this morning. It didn’t go so well last night?” Yunho’s smooth voice came from the other side.
“Oh… it’s you,” Jaejoong replied, trying hard to keep his mounting anger at bay while simultaneously pushing away the throbbing in his head enough to hear what his friend is saying. “What’s up?”
“Now that’s much better… I’m having a party tonight at my house. You know, kind of like a welcome back party.”
“Aren’t you being full of yourself for having a welcome back party…for yourself? And didn’t we have that yesterday?” He heard Yunho laugh.
“Well, you know me. I like parties. Besides, last night didn’t count. You went off somewhere by yourself and Irene went home not long after that.” At this, Jaejoong sat up abruptly from his head, causing his head to swoon. Nice move, Jaejoong. He scolded himself.
“What? Irene went home? How come I didn’t know this?”
“Maybe because you went off with a couple of girls to the dance floor. Nice moves by the way. She saw you and then stormed out of the club. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. I think she’s angry. At what precisely, I’m not so sure. Anyways, are you coming or not? I have a gazillion other people I have to call.” Jaejoong barely registered what Yunho was saying and simply muttered a word of consent before hanging up the phone.
So she went home early? Why would she do that? I thought that she couldn’t wait to meet Yunho after all this time? They were looking mighty cozy last night. And what’s this about her seeing me? He couldn’t help but wonder. Irene isn’t the type of person who got angry easily. Something must have really pissed her off to cause her to leave like that.
He stared at the clock. It was 2 o’clock. He cursed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot since yesterday. With that, he set his alarm for 5 o’clock and closed his eyes once again.
Irene was complaining to Aveline and Debra again. It was only yesterday that she had to dress up and now, barely a day later, she’s doing the same thing all over again, except with a different outfit given to her by her friends.
“Yunho said it was your fault in the first place that he’s having this. You stormed off early. What happened by the way? Yunho mentioned something about you being angry,” Debra asked while trying to get rid of a persisting knot in Irene’s hair.
“It’s not my fault. It’s that stupid Jae…”Irene coughed violently to cover up her mistake. Unfortunately for her, her friends didn’t buy it one bit.
“Jae? Jaejoong you mean? He never did come back. I saw him on the dance floor though. He was with some…” Aveline’s words were cut off by a nudge from Debra. They both turned toward their friend, who was no longer listening.
Irene was no longer paying attention to any of the things her friends were saying after that. She simply nodded at what seemed to be the appropriate times and mostly kept to herself, thinking about what Jaejoong could have been doing with the girls to make him not come back to the room for the rest of the night. The simple suggestion that Jaejoong might be drunk was enough to make her blood boil. It irritated her. He was her best friend damn it. She has no control over what he does or doesn’t do.
So why was she so upset?
The three of them arrived at Yunho’s large mansion at 7 o’clock sharp, even bringing along a cake that the three of them had slaved over a few hours ago. Both Debra and Aveline gasped while Irene simply strolled through the door like she owned the place. And true enough all the servants simply bowed slightly at her before letting her pass. Irene simply nodded while the two girls were starting to bow profusely at the immense number of people in white uniform, overwhelmed by it all.
“Debra!!”
“Aveline!”
In seeing their boyfriends approach them, they sighed in relief and immediately stood by their side. Junsu and Changmin simply smiled.
“Surprised?” They nodded. “Yeah, Yunho’s family is uber rich. Oh speaking of family. Here they come.” Junsu and Changmin pulled their girlfriends over toward the parents.
“Ahjumma, Ahjusshi.” They all greeted simultaneously, except for Yunho, who obviously called them umma and appa. They smiled at the youngsters, especially toward Irene.
“Irene! What a wonderful surprise. I haven’t seen you here in a long time. How have you been? How are your parents? Still in Europe?” Yunho’s mother addressed the female.
“Yeh, ahjumma. They’re doing well. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come here to visit you all. The last time I came though, you were in the U.S.,” Irene replied politely, slightly bowing her head.
“Oh, right! The servants did say that you came once in awhile. We were visiting Yunho. How sweet of you dear,” Yunho’s mother beamed at her.
“I’ve always wanted a daughter. Much more thoughtful than this brute of a son I have,” Yunho’s father patted Irene while slightly frowning at his own son. “Although… there IS a way you can be my daughter.” He then glanced meaningfully at his son.
“APPA!!!” Yunho and Irene reddened causing his father to chuckle.
“Yobo, let’s go and leave these youngsters to enjoy themselves. Oh by the way, where’s Jaejoong?” Yunho’s mother looked around but was unsuccessful in locating the fair boy. “Well, if he comes, tell him we send our regards to his parents.” She paused for a moment before adding, “all of yours too of course. Nice meeting you Debra, Aveline. Any friends of these boys and Irene are always welcome in our home.” She smiled gracefully once more before gliding with her husband to meet other seemingly important people.
Debra and Aveline were left speechless, which took a while to cure. “They’re… so nice! Yunho, your parents are so nice!” Aveline exclaimed. Yunho grinned.
“What did you expect? That they’d be ogres?”
“Well, it’s just that… okay don’t get offended but I’ve always thought that rich people are snobs and condescending. But they are so… NICE!!” Debra joined in. “Actually, it wasn’t really until today that I really realize that all of you are… well… rich! I mean, I’ve always known that but I guess today I finally… realized it! None of you needed to work or anything.” Aveline nodded beside her.
The boys and Irene laughed. “I guess you could say that we’re the exception to the rule. Anyways, look! He’s here,” Yunho called to him. “JAEJOONG! Over here!”
At the sound of his name, Irene stiffened. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed him. He looked dashing in a white long-sleeved buttoned down shirt that opened slightly at the chest with dark-washed jeans that fit perfectly against his lean but built form. Finishing it off, he wore semi-formal shoes. She also noticed that he did nothing to his hair but left it plain, which she preferred.
He was beautiful. And she was shamelessly staring.
“Irene… IRENE!!! Earth to Irene!” She gave a start and looked around at giggling faces, except for Jaejoong, who seemed to be… blushing?
“What?” She regained her composure.
“Have you stared enough or would you like a camera?” Yoochun teased which landed him a brief but strong shove of the elbow to the stomach. He almost doubled over if not for the support of Junsu beside him.
Irene said nothing but simply marched off, saying something about the bathroom. Everyone but Jaejoong seemed to be smiling, leaving him confused. It was like there was a secret that all of them knew except for him.
Albeit curious, his prideful nature refused to ask. Not long after, Irene returned to the table. He was too busy avoiding her gaze earlier to really appreciate her appearance tonight. And boy did he appreciate it. She was wearing a simple red dress that hung about the ankles. It was not decorated heavily but it accentuated her figures nicely. Her hair was also not tampered with, which he loved. He briefly thanked whoever created that dress for the way she looked that night. It was simple, but beautiful.
The moment she sat down, their friends began to evacuate the table in pairs, either for a drink (which they refused to give to Irene when she also asked for one) or to dance, or even to go to the bathroom. The last suggestion was given by Yoochun (being the last to leave and having no other excuses) and a girl he had brought along to be his date. Even Yunho had left with a girl that he had introduced as a good friend of his from the states.
Irene was surprised to find that she wasn’t even the least bit jealous of the girl. Despite Yunho’s insistence that she was just a good friend, she was able to see the way he glanced at her. She was even more shocked to find that she was truly happy for him.
Jaejoong and Irene looked at each other briefly when they left and laughed. It has been awhile since they have been able to be that comfortable with each other.
“Being in this house brings back memories, doesn’t it?” He nodded.
“Yeah… you remembered when we were all playing in backyard and then you fell and hit the rock? You cried so much that day, even though there wasn’t even much blood. What a cry baby,” he teased her. She slapped him. At his surprised look, she giggled once again.
“But did you remember what you said to me?” Irene stared off dreamily.
“Yeah…I told you not to cry anymore because from then on, I’ll always be there to protect you and to never let anything bad happened to you,” he said. Irene nodded.
“Yep. And from then on, did you know that I’ve never cried? Not even when my parents said they’d be leaving for an indefinite amount of time to travel the world?” Jaejoong smiled at this.
“You actually became somewhat of a bully after that. Always hitting me even if it’s not my fault. Like before. It hurts, you know!” he pouted jokingly.
“That’s because you’ve always deserved it. Just like before.” Irene looked at him sadly, which surprised him more than the slap did. Never once did she ever look at him like that. She didn’t tell him that the slap was not for calling her a cry baby. It was for making her one. Before he recovered from the shock, she had stood up and left the table.
gah... so this is like the 5th or so times I'm fiddling with lj.. I swear.. it hates me right now... guh
anyways... had a much longer spiel before.. but now I'm just going to get to the point.. lol
happy birthday, my dear!
it's been an awesome year knowing you.. I hope that it'll stay that way for years to come... truly appreciate all you've done for me... and I'm really grateful for the friendship.
You are an awesome person and you deserve all the good things in life (as in me.. LOL i'm kidding.. JUST KIDDING!!! XD )
Have a great one.. maybe we can talk online.. hoho
so yeah.. this is the second part even though technically speaking it's just one long thing... sorry now your reading is being disturbed... ><
Irene threw her shoes angrily at the floor. Then, seeing as her apartment hadn’t managed to clean itself while she was gone, her frustrations built up, causing her to scream at no one in particular. She turned toward her bedside table and saw the picture of the five boys and her in the middle, right in between Yunho and Jaejoong. A picture taken five years ago before Yunho left to America.
She lifted the frame and gazed upon the fake expressions of the six individuals gazing back at her. That’s how she feels nowadays. Fake. Unconsciously, she began to trace her finger on the male face next to her. Jaejoong… She gasped in surprise before slamming the frame down on her bed and dashing toward the bathroom to take a long, hot, shower.
Under the hot water, Irene simply stood there with her head leaning against the wall, a few drops of tears flowing down her face. However, still unable to understand what had caused her to be so upset, she simply gave out another shrill cry before furiously scrubbing herself clean and stepped out of the bathroom.
Sighing loudly, she started to tread her way through the messy apartment, picking up articles of clothing along the way. Repeating the steps several times, she managed to make the apartment look… well, habitable.
“Good enough,” she whispered tiredly to herself before slamming her body onto the mattress.
He saw her shadow looms across the curtains covering her windows. He clutched his chest. Now that the effect from the alcohol was starting to wear off, the pain he felt earlier had come back. He started the engine, cursed bitterly, and sped off into the darkness.
He woke up the day after with a splitting headache and loud ringing by his ear. Grunting grumpily, he picked up the phone.
“What?” He said venomously.
“Well, someone’s definitely cranky this morning. It didn’t go so well last night?” Yunho’s smooth voice came from the other side.
“Oh… it’s you,” Jaejoong replied, trying hard to keep his mounting anger at bay while simultaneously pushing away the throbbing in his head enough to hear what his friend is saying. “What’s up?”
“Now that’s much better… I’m having a party tonight at my house. You know, kind of like a welcome back party.”
“Aren’t you being full of yourself for having a welcome back party…for yourself? And didn’t we have that yesterday?” He heard Yunho laugh.
“Well, you know me. I like parties. Besides, last night didn’t count. You went off somewhere by yourself and Irene went home not long after that.” At this, Jaejoong sat up abruptly from his head, causing his head to swoon. Nice move, Jaejoong. He scolded himself.
“What? Irene went home? How come I didn’t know this?”
“Maybe because you went off with a couple of girls to the dance floor. Nice moves by the way. She saw you and then stormed out of the club. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. I think she’s angry. At what precisely, I’m not so sure. Anyways, are you coming or not? I have a gazillion other people I have to call.” Jaejoong barely registered what Yunho was saying and simply muttered a word of consent before hanging up the phone.
So she went home early? Why would she do that? I thought that she couldn’t wait to meet Yunho after all this time? They were looking mighty cozy last night. And what’s this about her seeing me? He couldn’t help but wonder. Irene isn’t the type of person who got angry easily. Something must have really pissed her off to cause her to leave like that.
He stared at the clock. It was 2 o’clock. He cursed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot since yesterday. With that, he set his alarm for 5 o’clock and closed his eyes once again.
Irene was complaining to Aveline and Debra again. It was only yesterday that she had to dress up and now, barely a day later, she’s doing the same thing all over again, except with a different outfit given to her by her friends.
“Yunho said it was your fault in the first place that he’s having this. You stormed off early. What happened by the way? Yunho mentioned something about you being angry,” Debra asked while trying to get rid of a persisting knot in Irene’s hair.
“It’s not my fault. It’s that stupid Jae…”Irene coughed violently to cover up her mistake. Unfortunately for her, her friends didn’t buy it one bit.
“Jae? Jaejoong you mean? He never did come back. I saw him on the dance floor though. He was with some…” Aveline’s words were cut off by a nudge from Debra. They both turned toward their friend, who was no longer listening.
Irene was no longer paying attention to any of the things her friends were saying after that. She simply nodded at what seemed to be the appropriate times and mostly kept to herself, thinking about what Jaejoong could have been doing with the girls to make him not come back to the room for the rest of the night. The simple suggestion that Jaejoong might be drunk was enough to make her blood boil. It irritated her. He was her best friend damn it. She has no control over what he does or doesn’t do.
So why was she so upset?
The three of them arrived at Yunho’s large mansion at 7 o’clock sharp, even bringing along a cake that the three of them had slaved over a few hours ago. Both Debra and Aveline gasped while Irene simply strolled through the door like she owned the place. And true enough all the servants simply bowed slightly at her before letting her pass. Irene simply nodded while the two girls were starting to bow profusely at the immense number of people in white uniform, overwhelmed by it all.
“Debra!!”
“Aveline!”
In seeing their boyfriends approach them, they sighed in relief and immediately stood by their side. Junsu and Changmin simply smiled.
“Surprised?” They nodded. “Yeah, Yunho’s family is uber rich. Oh speaking of family. Here they come.” Junsu and Changmin pulled their girlfriends over toward the parents.
“Ahjumma, Ahjusshi.” They all greeted simultaneously, except for Yunho, who obviously called them umma and appa. They smiled at the youngsters, especially toward Irene.
“Irene! What a wonderful surprise. I haven’t seen you here in a long time. How have you been? How are your parents? Still in Europe?” Yunho’s mother addressed the female.
“Yeh, ahjumma. They’re doing well. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come here to visit you all. The last time I came though, you were in the U.S.,” Irene replied politely, slightly bowing her head.
“Oh, right! The servants did say that you came once in awhile. We were visiting Yunho. How sweet of you dear,” Yunho’s mother beamed at her.
“I’ve always wanted a daughter. Much more thoughtful than this brute of a son I have,” Yunho’s father patted Irene while slightly frowning at his own son. “Although… there IS a way you can be my daughter.” He then glanced meaningfully at his son.
“APPA!!!” Yunho and Irene reddened causing his father to chuckle.
“Yobo, let’s go and leave these youngsters to enjoy themselves. Oh by the way, where’s Jaejoong?” Yunho’s mother looked around but was unsuccessful in locating the fair boy. “Well, if he comes, tell him we send our regards to his parents.” She paused for a moment before adding, “all of yours too of course. Nice meeting you Debra, Aveline. Any friends of these boys and Irene are always welcome in our home.” She smiled gracefully once more before gliding with her husband to meet other seemingly important people.
Debra and Aveline were left speechless, which took a while to cure. “They’re… so nice! Yunho, your parents are so nice!” Aveline exclaimed. Yunho grinned.
“What did you expect? That they’d be ogres?”
“Well, it’s just that… okay don’t get offended but I’ve always thought that rich people are snobs and condescending. But they are so… NICE!!” Debra joined in. “Actually, it wasn’t really until today that I really realize that all of you are… well… rich! I mean, I’ve always known that but I guess today I finally… realized it! None of you needed to work or anything.” Aveline nodded beside her.
The boys and Irene laughed. “I guess you could say that we’re the exception to the rule. Anyways, look! He’s here,” Yunho called to him. “JAEJOONG! Over here!”
At the sound of his name, Irene stiffened. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed him. He looked dashing in a white long-sleeved buttoned down shirt that opened slightly at the chest with dark-washed jeans that fit perfectly against his lean but built form. Finishing it off, he wore semi-formal shoes. She also noticed that he did nothing to his hair but left it plain, which she preferred.
He was beautiful. And she was shamelessly staring.
“Irene… IRENE!!! Earth to Irene!” She gave a start and looked around at giggling faces, except for Jaejoong, who seemed to be… blushing?
“What?” She regained her composure.
“Have you stared enough or would you like a camera?” Yoochun teased which landed him a brief but strong shove of the elbow to the stomach. He almost doubled over if not for the support of Junsu beside him.
Irene said nothing but simply marched off, saying something about the bathroom. Everyone but Jaejoong seemed to be smiling, leaving him confused. It was like there was a secret that all of them knew except for him.
Albeit curious, his prideful nature refused to ask. Not long after, Irene returned to the table. He was too busy avoiding her gaze earlier to really appreciate her appearance tonight. And boy did he appreciate it. She was wearing a simple red dress that hung about the ankles. It was not decorated heavily but it accentuated her figures nicely. Her hair was also not tampered with, which he loved. He briefly thanked whoever created that dress for the way she looked that night. It was simple, but beautiful.
The moment she sat down, their friends began to evacuate the table in pairs, either for a drink (which they refused to give to Irene when she also asked for one) or to dance, or even to go to the bathroom. The last suggestion was given by Yoochun (being the last to leave and having no other excuses) and a girl he had brought along to be his date. Even Yunho had left with a girl that he had introduced as a good friend of his from the states.
Irene was surprised to find that she wasn’t even the least bit jealous of the girl. Despite Yunho’s insistence that she was just a good friend, she was able to see the way he glanced at her. She was even more shocked to find that she was truly happy for him.
Jaejoong and Irene looked at each other briefly when they left and laughed. It has been awhile since they have been able to be that comfortable with each other.
“Being in this house brings back memories, doesn’t it?” He nodded.
“Yeah… you remembered when we were all playing in backyard and then you fell and hit the rock? You cried so much that day, even though there wasn’t even much blood. What a cry baby,” he teased her. She slapped him. At his surprised look, she giggled once again.
“But did you remember what you said to me?” Irene stared off dreamily.
“Yeah…I told you not to cry anymore because from then on, I’ll always be there to protect you and to never let anything bad happened to you,” he said. Irene nodded.
“Yep. And from then on, did you know that I’ve never cried? Not even when my parents said they’d be leaving for an indefinite amount of time to travel the world?” Jaejoong smiled at this.
“You actually became somewhat of a bully after that. Always hitting me even if it’s not my fault. Like before. It hurts, you know!” he pouted jokingly.
“That’s because you’ve always deserved it. Just like before.” Irene looked at him sadly, which surprised him more than the slap did. Never once did she ever look at him like that. She didn’t tell him that the slap was not for calling her a cry baby. It was for making her one. Before he recovered from the shock, she had stood up and left the table.
gah... so this is like the 5th or so times I'm fiddling with lj.. I swear.. it hates me right now... guh
anyways... had a much longer spiel before.. but now I'm just going to get to the point.. lol
happy birthday, my dear!
it's been an awesome year knowing you.. I hope that it'll stay that way for years to come... truly appreciate all you've done for me... and I'm really grateful for the friendship.
You are an awesome person and you deserve all the good things in life (as in me.. LOL i'm kidding.. JUST KIDDING!!! XD )
Have a great one.. maybe we can talk online.. hoho