Catch Me 10
Jaejoong was a type of person who spent his time in the mall happily. He loved shopping. Amber understood that the man bought designer bags and branded shoes and expensive clothes.
But he was contemplating to buy Hello Kitty calculator.
“Put it down.” Amber tried so hard not to raise her voice.
“But it’s so fucking cute.” Jaejoong’s hands were still attached to the calculator.
“It’s fucking not and you’re a fucking man, Kim Jaejoong.”
“It’s Hello Kitty!”
Amber shook her head.
“You said you don’t want to change me. You said I can be the way I am.” Jaejoong widened his eyes, tried to look cute to the woman but of course it didn’t work.
Amber folded her arms and sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you want.” She left the shop.
Jaejoong quickly ran after her, put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s so sweet of you to accept me the way I am.”
Amber scoffed. “I said do whatever you want. It’s not like-“
Jaejoong gave a kiss on Amber’s cheek. And quickly ran for his life, afraid that Amber would hit him. He looked back and saw Amber’s shocked expression that didn’t see what was in front of him.
Jaejoong crashed to a tin trashcan and it rolled away, spilled its contain and the loud, shrilly sound could be heard from faraway. Sure he was one person who rarely could and would let himself to feel embarrassed but fuck. It was the mall. Trashcan. Amber.
While Jaejoong was busy apologizing, bowing to the people around, Amber’s stomach was hurting from laughing so hard, her knees went weak and she had to lean on the nearest wall or else she would fall to the floor and laugh until the tears came out from her eyes.
“Can I be your boyfriend?”
Sure, Jaejoong was straightforward. But he wasn’t the only one.
“No.”
But Jaejoong smiled. And Amber smiled too. He expected her to close the door in front of his face when he leaned closer to kiss her. Again.
It was Mrs Park behind him. And oh. Oh. Park Yoochun.
“What’re you doing here, Hyung?” Yoochun asked, brought bags of groceries behind his mother.
“I just… want to play. Didn’t know you’re not home.” Jaejoong said after he greeted Mrs Park.
“You should’ve called me. Come in,” Yoochun said.
Jaejoong walked after Mrs Park and Yoochun, and he could hear Amber almost cursed.
“What the heck-“ Amber quickly closed her mouth when she noticed her mother coming. “Umma!”
“Amber! What’s with that mouth…” Mrs Park reprimanded her.
“Sorry, I thought-“ her eyes widened as she noticed Jaejoong came in with her family. “Oppa?!”
“Yeah, so I was kinda messing with the bell and she must thought that I’m some kind of creep or something,” Jaejoong offered his best smile to Mrs Park.
Amber once said that his smile did creep her out, anyway.
Yoochun chuckled and helped his mother to arrange the groceries. “You came alone, Hyung?”
“Yeah…” Jaejoong could take his eyes off Amber. He just couldn’t when Amber was also staring back at him.
“What’s with you two?” Yoochun asked when he noticed the two of them.
Amber quickly looked away. And Jaejoong wiped the squeaky clean table with the closest cloth.
“Oh, Mrs Park, did you have your hair cut? It looks lovely!”
*
One of his Hyung opened a new Korean meat restaurant in Hongdae, and Amber wanted to eat soondae and topokki, so they ate them all. They made a bet about who could finish the spiciest jjampong and Jaejoong won in the end. Amber wiped Jaejoong’s sweat with her hand and Jaejoong almost die in happiness.
“The bowl is bigger than my head!” Jaejoong said when they came out from the restaurant.
“Bigger than our heads combined.” Amber corrected, offered the ice cream she bought to cool her tongue to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong ate it, not because he wanted to, but because it was Amber’s.
When they were walking from shop to shop, hunting cheap bags and shoes, Jaejoong realized that Amber wasn’t with him anymore. He quickly got out from the shop and found the girl outside, leaned on the brick wall.
“What’s wrong?” Jaejoong could see Amber’s face scrunched in pain.
“Oppa…” Amber bit her lip. “My stomach hurts.”
Panicked, afraid that Amber had an allergy or sick because of the food, he brought her to the nearest clinic and let the doctor checked on her. Just to find out that…
“Um… you are fine, Amber-sshi. It just seems like you had eaten too much.”
Amber’s face turned red.
After made sure that the girl really was alright, Jaejoong had to bite his tongue to prevent him laughing out loud.
“Thank you, doctor,” Jaejoong bowed to the doctor when the man left the bedroom, and walked near Amber’s bed. “Aigoo~ you’re really cute,” he pinched Amber’s cheek.
Amber slapped Jaejoong’s hand. “It’s because of you, Oppa…” she whined.
After Amber felt better, they walked together to the river and watched the sun set.
“I’ve always want to do this,” Jaejoong said, looked at the girl sitting beside him.
Amber looked back at him, and smiled.
She looked so sweet and Jaejoong leaned closer, his left hand palmed the back of Amber’s head and brought their heads together.
Amber pushed his chest.
He just couldn’t say he was sorry.
*
“There’s something weird with you, Hyung.” Yoochun said when they went out together in a bar with Yunho, Junsu, and Changmin, who bought Julien. They went outside for a smoke. “Lately…”
“What’s wrong with me?” Jaejoong asked back. “Do I look… happier?”
“It’s... more like otherwise.” Yoochun looked at the older man warily.
“Do I?” Jaejoong asked emptily.
“What’s wrong?”
Jaejoong took a deep breath. “Yoochun-ah, I don’t want to lie to you.”
Yoochun felt horror. “What is it?”
“I like your sister.” Jaejoong said. There was no way back. “I like Amber.”
Yoochun’s gaze turned a bit vicious and Jaejoong thought whether he should hold Yoochun’s fist so he couldn’t punch him.
“Say that again?” Yoochun asked through clenched jaw.
“I like Amber.” Jaejoong said again. “It had been a while. From the beginning of this semester, actually. About… five months.”
“So?”
“We’ve hung out like, three times. And I swear we haven’t done anything.” Jaejoong said, clear and calm, though it was a bit hard with Yoochun’s cold gaze pierced through him. “I’m telling you this because you are her brother. And I want to ask your permission to date her.”
Yoochun threw the rest of his cigarette and lit a new one.
Jaejoong almost offered him the fire but in the end just watched him. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship, Chun. But I-“
“Then why do you do this?!” Yoochun cut him.
“Because I really do like her! Maybe I love her a little bit. I am serious about this and that’s why I’m telling you.” Jaejoong explained.
Yoochun scoffed, just realized something. “Ahh… so this is what you guys had been talking behind my back, huh? Junsu, Changmin, and Yunho knew about this… fuck, I know it just now…” Yoochun rubbed his forehead. “What am I suppose to say now?” he said. “What should I say?”
“I know that I’m no good, Yoochun.” Jaejoong said. “But please, let me try.”
Yoochun put a new cigarette between Jaejoong’s lips and lit it. “You’re a dead meat.”
It wasn’t a no.
*
Amber was ironing when Yoochun was looking for her.
“Can you pass me that hanger?”
Yoochun gave her the hanger and Amber hung the shirt Jaejoong bought him for a job interview. “Jaejoong Hyung told me.”
“Told you what?”
Yoochun didn’t expect Amber to be this calm.
“That he likes you.”
Amber’s hand stopped working, but then she glided the iron again on her mother’s dress. The silence went for a while, and she really hoped her brother would say something. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“Do you like him?” Yoochun asked. Whether Amber said yes, or no, he was still afraid of the answer.
Amber turned off the iron and sigh. “ I don’t know,” she whispered, looked at Yoochun helplessly.
But Yoochun was just as lost. “I won’t let him breaking your heart.” He said. “But I don’t give you the permission to break his heart either.”
*
“Why did you tell him?!” was the first thing Amber said when they met.
Jaejoong smiled happily. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
“What’s good about it?!”
Amber’s gaze reminded Jaejoong of Yoochun. Her brother gave him the same look last night. “We can… date each other.” Jaejoong said slowly. Amber’s stare was scarier than Yoochun’s and it made him wavered a bit.
“Are you fucking sure about it?” Amber asked coldly. “Can you keep your word? Because if you’re not, can you imagine what will happen?”
“Amber, calm down. I-“
“I think you forgot who you are, Kim Jaejoong.” Amber said. “You, despite of quantity of the girls you’ve slept with and the alcohol you drank every night, is my brother’s bestfriend.”
Jaejoong blinked. “What are you trying to say?”
Amber closed her eyes and gulped. “If you mess this up, it’s not just about you and me. But also you and Yoochun. And me, and my brother.”
*
“It’s hard to find you lately, Hyung. What are you up to?” Hyunjoong asked when they met up in a club.
“Lot of things happened.” Jaejoong ordered his drink to the bartender. “What about you?”
Hyunjoong hummed. “Nothing new.” He looked at the older man. “You looked frustrated Hyung, you know that?”
“I don’t know if it’s shown.” Jaejoong shrugged.
Hyunjoong laughed. “Good thing you came with me. I won’t let you down,” he winked.
Jaejoong just chuckled when Hyunjoong introduced him to a beautiful lady in a tight black dress.
Her long hair swayed on her back and Jaejoong could smell her sweet perfume. Her pale skin matched with his and he could feel her breast pushed against his chest when they were dancing together. Jaejoong could feel the sticky lipstick on his mouth when they were making out and before he knew it, he drove them to the nearest hotel.
*
“What kind of man I am?” Jaejoong asked.
Nayoon looked at him deeply, eyes piercing. “A jerk.”
“Fuck, I know.” Jaejoong buried his face in his palm.
Nayoon scoffed. “You realized it just now?”
“I just slept with a girl last night.” Jaejoong said, voice muffled as he still covered his face.
“I bet she’s not your wife. Wow. A statement that prove you as a total jerk.” Nayoon said flatly. “Nothing new, Jae.”
“Why do I keep doing that?”
“Maybe because it’s you. It’s what you do.” Nayoon sighed, and finally paid some attention to her friend. “What’s the problem anyway?”
It’s because I like a certain girl, Jaejoong wanted to say. “Do you think… I’ll… ever get a girlfriend?”
“Do you think you can keep one?” Nayoon asked back. “Can you keep only one at a time, Jae?”
*
“You were right.” Jaejoong said as soon as Amber arrived in the warehouse. He texted her to meet him there.
“About what?” Amber asked confusedly. Everything happened too sudden for her.
“Me.” Jaejoong couldn’t see her eyes. He was staring to her sneakers which they bought together. He picked the color for her and she picked for him. Maybe… he had gone too far. “Let’s end it here.”
“But you’re the one who want to-“ Amber’s breath hitched and Jaejoong looked up, didn’t expect the girl’s reaction would be like this. She looked away and her lips trembled.
Fuck. He messed up big. But if he didn’t do this, the situation would be worse.
Amber closed her eyes to prevent any tears coming out and tilted her head up.
Jaejoong didn’t know what to do.
“Yeah… I was right.” Amber said, her voice vulnerable. “You. Fucking. Lie. To me.”
“Yes.” Jaejoong whispered.
But he was contemplating to buy Hello Kitty calculator.
“Put it down.” Amber tried so hard not to raise her voice.
“But it’s so fucking cute.” Jaejoong’s hands were still attached to the calculator.
“It’s fucking not and you’re a fucking man, Kim Jaejoong.”
“It’s Hello Kitty!”
Amber shook her head.
“You said you don’t want to change me. You said I can be the way I am.” Jaejoong widened his eyes, tried to look cute to the woman but of course it didn’t work.
Amber folded her arms and sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you want.” She left the shop.
Jaejoong quickly ran after her, put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s so sweet of you to accept me the way I am.”
Amber scoffed. “I said do whatever you want. It’s not like-“
Jaejoong gave a kiss on Amber’s cheek. And quickly ran for his life, afraid that Amber would hit him. He looked back and saw Amber’s shocked expression that didn’t see what was in front of him.
Jaejoong crashed to a tin trashcan and it rolled away, spilled its contain and the loud, shrilly sound could be heard from faraway. Sure he was one person who rarely could and would let himself to feel embarrassed but fuck. It was the mall. Trashcan. Amber.
While Jaejoong was busy apologizing, bowing to the people around, Amber’s stomach was hurting from laughing so hard, her knees went weak and she had to lean on the nearest wall or else she would fall to the floor and laugh until the tears came out from her eyes.
“Can I be your boyfriend?”
Sure, Jaejoong was straightforward. But he wasn’t the only one.
“No.”
But Jaejoong smiled. And Amber smiled too. He expected her to close the door in front of his face when he leaned closer to kiss her. Again.
It was Mrs Park behind him. And oh. Oh. Park Yoochun.
“What’re you doing here, Hyung?” Yoochun asked, brought bags of groceries behind his mother.
“I just… want to play. Didn’t know you’re not home.” Jaejoong said after he greeted Mrs Park.
“You should’ve called me. Come in,” Yoochun said.
Jaejoong walked after Mrs Park and Yoochun, and he could hear Amber almost cursed.
“What the heck-“ Amber quickly closed her mouth when she noticed her mother coming. “Umma!”
“Amber! What’s with that mouth…” Mrs Park reprimanded her.
“Sorry, I thought-“ her eyes widened as she noticed Jaejoong came in with her family. “Oppa?!”
“Yeah, so I was kinda messing with the bell and she must thought that I’m some kind of creep or something,” Jaejoong offered his best smile to Mrs Park.
Amber once said that his smile did creep her out, anyway.
Yoochun chuckled and helped his mother to arrange the groceries. “You came alone, Hyung?”
“Yeah…” Jaejoong could take his eyes off Amber. He just couldn’t when Amber was also staring back at him.
“What’s with you two?” Yoochun asked when he noticed the two of them.
Amber quickly looked away. And Jaejoong wiped the squeaky clean table with the closest cloth.
“Oh, Mrs Park, did you have your hair cut? It looks lovely!”
*
One of his Hyung opened a new Korean meat restaurant in Hongdae, and Amber wanted to eat soondae and topokki, so they ate them all. They made a bet about who could finish the spiciest jjampong and Jaejoong won in the end. Amber wiped Jaejoong’s sweat with her hand and Jaejoong almost die in happiness.
“The bowl is bigger than my head!” Jaejoong said when they came out from the restaurant.
“Bigger than our heads combined.” Amber corrected, offered the ice cream she bought to cool her tongue to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong ate it, not because he wanted to, but because it was Amber’s.
When they were walking from shop to shop, hunting cheap bags and shoes, Jaejoong realized that Amber wasn’t with him anymore. He quickly got out from the shop and found the girl outside, leaned on the brick wall.
“What’s wrong?” Jaejoong could see Amber’s face scrunched in pain.
“Oppa…” Amber bit her lip. “My stomach hurts.”
Panicked, afraid that Amber had an allergy or sick because of the food, he brought her to the nearest clinic and let the doctor checked on her. Just to find out that…
“Um… you are fine, Amber-sshi. It just seems like you had eaten too much.”
Amber’s face turned red.
After made sure that the girl really was alright, Jaejoong had to bite his tongue to prevent him laughing out loud.
“Thank you, doctor,” Jaejoong bowed to the doctor when the man left the bedroom, and walked near Amber’s bed. “Aigoo~ you’re really cute,” he pinched Amber’s cheek.
Amber slapped Jaejoong’s hand. “It’s because of you, Oppa…” she whined.
After Amber felt better, they walked together to the river and watched the sun set.
“I’ve always want to do this,” Jaejoong said, looked at the girl sitting beside him.
Amber looked back at him, and smiled.
She looked so sweet and Jaejoong leaned closer, his left hand palmed the back of Amber’s head and brought their heads together.
Amber pushed his chest.
He just couldn’t say he was sorry.
*
“There’s something weird with you, Hyung.” Yoochun said when they went out together in a bar with Yunho, Junsu, and Changmin, who bought Julien. They went outside for a smoke. “Lately…”
“What’s wrong with me?” Jaejoong asked back. “Do I look… happier?”
“It’s... more like otherwise.” Yoochun looked at the older man warily.
“Do I?” Jaejoong asked emptily.
“What’s wrong?”
Jaejoong took a deep breath. “Yoochun-ah, I don’t want to lie to you.”
Yoochun felt horror. “What is it?”
“I like your sister.” Jaejoong said. There was no way back. “I like Amber.”
Yoochun’s gaze turned a bit vicious and Jaejoong thought whether he should hold Yoochun’s fist so he couldn’t punch him.
“Say that again?” Yoochun asked through clenched jaw.
“I like Amber.” Jaejoong said again. “It had been a while. From the beginning of this semester, actually. About… five months.”
“So?”
“We’ve hung out like, three times. And I swear we haven’t done anything.” Jaejoong said, clear and calm, though it was a bit hard with Yoochun’s cold gaze pierced through him. “I’m telling you this because you are her brother. And I want to ask your permission to date her.”
Yoochun threw the rest of his cigarette and lit a new one.
Jaejoong almost offered him the fire but in the end just watched him. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship, Chun. But I-“
“Then why do you do this?!” Yoochun cut him.
“Because I really do like her! Maybe I love her a little bit. I am serious about this and that’s why I’m telling you.” Jaejoong explained.
Yoochun scoffed, just realized something. “Ahh… so this is what you guys had been talking behind my back, huh? Junsu, Changmin, and Yunho knew about this… fuck, I know it just now…” Yoochun rubbed his forehead. “What am I suppose to say now?” he said. “What should I say?”
“I know that I’m no good, Yoochun.” Jaejoong said. “But please, let me try.”
Yoochun put a new cigarette between Jaejoong’s lips and lit it. “You’re a dead meat.”
It wasn’t a no.
*
Amber was ironing when Yoochun was looking for her.
“Can you pass me that hanger?”
Yoochun gave her the hanger and Amber hung the shirt Jaejoong bought him for a job interview. “Jaejoong Hyung told me.”
“Told you what?”
Yoochun didn’t expect Amber to be this calm.
“That he likes you.”
Amber’s hand stopped working, but then she glided the iron again on her mother’s dress. The silence went for a while, and she really hoped her brother would say something. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“Do you like him?” Yoochun asked. Whether Amber said yes, or no, he was still afraid of the answer.
Amber turned off the iron and sigh. “ I don’t know,” she whispered, looked at Yoochun helplessly.
But Yoochun was just as lost. “I won’t let him breaking your heart.” He said. “But I don’t give you the permission to break his heart either.”
*
“Why did you tell him?!” was the first thing Amber said when they met.
Jaejoong smiled happily. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
“What’s good about it?!”
Amber’s gaze reminded Jaejoong of Yoochun. Her brother gave him the same look last night. “We can… date each other.” Jaejoong said slowly. Amber’s stare was scarier than Yoochun’s and it made him wavered a bit.
“Are you fucking sure about it?” Amber asked coldly. “Can you keep your word? Because if you’re not, can you imagine what will happen?”
“Amber, calm down. I-“
“I think you forgot who you are, Kim Jaejoong.” Amber said. “You, despite of quantity of the girls you’ve slept with and the alcohol you drank every night, is my brother’s bestfriend.”
Jaejoong blinked. “What are you trying to say?”
Amber closed her eyes and gulped. “If you mess this up, it’s not just about you and me. But also you and Yoochun. And me, and my brother.”
*
“It’s hard to find you lately, Hyung. What are you up to?” Hyunjoong asked when they met up in a club.
“Lot of things happened.” Jaejoong ordered his drink to the bartender. “What about you?”
Hyunjoong hummed. “Nothing new.” He looked at the older man. “You looked frustrated Hyung, you know that?”
“I don’t know if it’s shown.” Jaejoong shrugged.
Hyunjoong laughed. “Good thing you came with me. I won’t let you down,” he winked.
Jaejoong just chuckled when Hyunjoong introduced him to a beautiful lady in a tight black dress.
Her long hair swayed on her back and Jaejoong could smell her sweet perfume. Her pale skin matched with his and he could feel her breast pushed against his chest when they were dancing together. Jaejoong could feel the sticky lipstick on his mouth when they were making out and before he knew it, he drove them to the nearest hotel.
*
“What kind of man I am?” Jaejoong asked.
Nayoon looked at him deeply, eyes piercing. “A jerk.”
“Fuck, I know.” Jaejoong buried his face in his palm.
Nayoon scoffed. “You realized it just now?”
“I just slept with a girl last night.” Jaejoong said, voice muffled as he still covered his face.
“I bet she’s not your wife. Wow. A statement that prove you as a total jerk.” Nayoon said flatly. “Nothing new, Jae.”
“Why do I keep doing that?”
“Maybe because it’s you. It’s what you do.” Nayoon sighed, and finally paid some attention to her friend. “What’s the problem anyway?”
It’s because I like a certain girl, Jaejoong wanted to say. “Do you think… I’ll… ever get a girlfriend?”
“Do you think you can keep one?” Nayoon asked back. “Can you keep only one at a time, Jae?”
*
“You were right.” Jaejoong said as soon as Amber arrived in the warehouse. He texted her to meet him there.
“About what?” Amber asked confusedly. Everything happened too sudden for her.
“Me.” Jaejoong couldn’t see her eyes. He was staring to her sneakers which they bought together. He picked the color for her and she picked for him. Maybe… he had gone too far. “Let’s end it here.”
“But you’re the one who want to-“ Amber’s breath hitched and Jaejoong looked up, didn’t expect the girl’s reaction would be like this. She looked away and her lips trembled.
Fuck. He messed up big. But if he didn’t do this, the situation would be worse.
Amber closed her eyes to prevent any tears coming out and tilted her head up.
Jaejoong didn’t know what to do.
“Yeah… I was right.” Amber said, her voice vulnerable. “You. Fucking. Lie. To me.”
“Yes.” Jaejoong whispered.