“No, I’m not doing this.” Yoochun said once the four friends walked into the salon. He turned around to leave only to be stopped by Boa and Yunho who were immune to his outbursts.


“Park Yoochun, you’re doing this.” Boa said as she turned him around. Yoochun groaned inwardly as a young woman approached them.

“Boa-ssi, it’s been a while.” She said as she hugged the President’s daughter. Boa hugged her back before the two separated.

“Unnie, it’s good to see you.” Boa replied with a smile. She motioned to the three boys she brought with her. “Today, I've brought you a challenge.” The hairdresser eyed each boy carefully before looking back to Boa.

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” She said with a smile.

“Great. Shall we get started then?” She asked. The older woman nodded and led the four students to the back to wash their hair.

“She has that look on her face.” Yoochun noted as the boys followed behind Boa apprehensively.

“I don’t trust her.” Yunho agreed. Jaejoong remained silent but nodded.

“Don’t worry. The stylists here are very good.” Boa said as all four of them sat in front of different sinks.

“We’ll see.” Yunho said.

~~~

“Wow.” Yunho exclaimed as he looked in the mirror. Even though his hair was still brown, it was longer than he had expected it to be. He played with the ends where they rested in line with his Adam’s apple.

“Do you like it?” The now black haired Boa asked as she looked at him through the mirror. The young prince met her eyes before smiling.

“I like it.” He said before his smile faded. “But my father is probably going to scold me.” He said. Boa sighed before slowly rubbing a circle between his shoulder blades.

“Don’t worry Yunho, at least your hair colour isn’t dangerously bright.” Yoochun said as he inspected his hair in the neighbouring mirror. His hair was much shorter, resting comfortably at the back of his neck. He now had a fringe that hid his wide forehead as well as his eyebrows. He looked over to the mirror that Jaejoong was hiding behind, Yunho and Boa did the same.

“Come on Jaejoong, its not as bad as Yoochun makes it sound.” Boa said, hoping to coax Jaejoong from his hiding place. Slowly, he revealed himself to his friends.

Yunho couldn’t believe his eyes. The fair skinned boy’s once black hair was now platinum blond and trimmed slightly. The prince found himself making a double take – Jaejoong looked like an angel. The fair skinned boy looked at his friends apprehensively from under his fringe. Yunho smiled when the blond met his eyes.

“Jaejoongie, it looks great.” He complimented. Boa nodded from where she stood beside Yunho.

“It suits you.” She smiled brightly before nudging Yoochun.

“It looks fine, Jae, even though it’s super bright.” He said. Boa sighed in defeat as she released her head back.

“Thanks guys.” He said with a more relaxed expression, his lips curving up into a tiny smile. Suddenly, the woman who had greeted them upon their arrival appeared with a smile on her face and her hands clasped together underneath her chin.

“Look at all of you!” She exclaimed. She walked to stand behind them to get a better look at them in the mirrors. “You three look so handsome.” She noted. Boa laughed to herself before turning to face the other woman.

“Thank you so much Unnie.” She said with a smile, causing the older woman to wave her off.

“Not a problem, my pleasure. How often do I get to have this many attractive young men in my salon?” She laughed to herself as the three boys just stood there, unsure of how to react.

“Thank you, Noona. You worked hard.” Yunho said with a bow, which immediately brought colour to the excitable woman’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but I think our rides home have arrived.” Yoochun said as he gestured to the street-facing window. The other three turned to see what he was talking about. Three black vehicles were parked outside, waiting for them to finish. They politely thanked the staff and paid them before stepping outside. Once they had left, the four said their goodbyes before getting into their respective vehicles and heading home.

~~~

After eating dinner with his siblings, Yunho found himself in Jaejoong’s room, sitting with the blond on his bed. They had been watching anime in an attempt to help Jaejoong in his mission to learn Japanese. After they finished their third episode of the night, Jaejoong took the remote and changed the channel to a music station, letting the music play. Much to Yunho’s surprise, Jaejoong adjusted himself so that he was lying on the young prince’s lap. Yunho looked down at him as he began to feel his heart beat faster. Unable to resist the urge, Yunho reached out and started to play with Jaejoong’s golden locks.

“Tired?” He asked softly, hoping that the other boy would stay in his position. Jaejoong nodded.

“A little bit.“ He replied simply. Yunho smiled as he continued to absentmindedly play with Jaejoong’s hair.

“Jaejoong, can I ask you a question?” The young prince asked. Jaejoong felt a shiver of worry run up his spine. Trying to keep calm, Jaejoong took a deep breath.

“Well, you didn’t give me much of a chance.” He replied cheekily. Yunho chuckled.

“You know what I mean.” He replied. Jaejoong laughed to himself.

“What did you want to ask?” Jaejoong answered, anxious to hear what Yunho would ask him.

“I’ve never seen your mother around. Is she-“ Yunho stopped himself, hoping to avoid asking the wrong thing. Worried, he stopped playing with the blonde locks between his fingers. He felt Jaejoong breathe a sigh of relief as his breath brushed against the fabric of his jeans.

“She lives in Gongju with my sisters and her new husband.” Jaejoong spit out the last words bitterly. “My mom left my dad just before he was hired here as head chef.” He explained to Yunho. Glad that he hadn’t said the wrong thing, the young prince smiled.

“How many sisters do you have?” He asked. Jaejoong chuckled before answering.

“Eight, all of them older than me.” He said, still smiling even though Yunho couldn’t see him.

“Seriously?” Yunho asked, astounded by the number. Jaejoong nodded. “Wow.” Was all the young prince could say, pulling a chuckle from the fair beauty.

“What about your mom?” Jaejoong asked without thinking. Yunho felt himself stop breathing for a split second. The only people outside of his family who knew about his mother were Yoochun and Boa. He had never talked about her to Jaejoong before.

“She passed away just after my eighth birthday.” He answered sadly. Jaejoong immediately sat up and turned to face Yunho, sitting crossed-legged across from him.

“Your Highness, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean— I didn’t know.” Jaejoong sputtered, trying his best to repair the damage. Much to Jaejoong’s surprice, Yunho smiled kindly at him.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind telling you.” He said. Jaejoong felt tears beginning to prick his eyes – he felt guilty regardless of how much the young prince assured him. Yunho took a gentle breath before he began to talk about his mother.

“From what I remember about her, she was a very kind and gentle person. She would always be around my siblings and me, playing with us and laughing with us. When she was still alive, I could swear my father used to smile.” He stopped and looked down at his hands. No matter the subject, Yunho wasn’t comfortable talking about his father. When he looked up, he looked into Jaejoong’s eyes before continuing.

“I was seven years old when she had gotten sick but I didn’t know at the time. All I knew was that she wasn’t home anymore. Hyung told me that she was visiting her family in Gwangju, a lie our father had told us. It wasn’t until months later when her condition worsened that any of us found out the truth.

“Jihye had overheard my father on the phone one week after my birthday. He was speaking with a doctor at the hospital. She told my brother and I as soon as she had and we begged our father to see her. Even though he refused, one of the staff had told us that they would take us to see her the next day without my father finding out.” Yunho stopped again as the words began to catch in his throat. Jaejoong rapidly reached for his hands and gently held them in his own.

“Your Highness.” He cooed gently. Yunho looked into Jaejoong’s eyes, his own glossy from the memories he was recalling. Jaejoong’s heart sank at that moment. He could tell that recalling this was painful for Yunho. Although he didn’t want him to continue if it made him uncomfortable, Jaejoong felt that if he could tell someone about it he might feel better.

“I’m sorry. You’re the first person I’ve talked to about this in a very long time.” Jaejoong offered a comforting smile as he gently caressed the young prince’s hands. Yunho smiled back, feeling much calmer with Jaejoong comforting him.

“You can stop if you want to.” Jaejoong said, going against his thoughts. Yunho shook his head.

“It’s fine.” He said. Jaejoong nodded and Yunho continued. “When we went, she looked so sick. She smiled when she saw us and that was the one thing that kept me together. We talked to her for a while, telling her about how things were going at school and what we had been doing with our friends.” Yunho took another deep breath. Jaejoong had a feeling that the atmosphere was going to become much heavier than it currently was.

“Jihye had left with Taeho hyung to go to the bathroom. I was sitting with my mom on her bed. She was starting to close her eyes so I figured that she was feeling tired since we had been there for most of the day. But then one of the machines at her bedside started beeping. I remember looking around frantically before I started yelling for her. I tried shaking her arm but nothing happened. Before I knew it, Hyung had run back into the room and pulled me away when the nurses and doctors came into the room. I didn’t fully understand what had happened until my father arrived.” Yunho stopped. He felt his entire body begin to tremble at the memory. He closed his eyes and looked down as he willed himself to calm down. Panicked, Jaejoong grabbed Yunho’s face and gently tilted it forcing the prince to look into his eyes.

“Yunho.” He whispered as Yunho let a few stray tears fall from his eyes. Ever so gently, Jaejoong used his fingers to wipe the tears away. He could hear the young prince swallow thickly.

“That’s why I was so scared when you fell into the pool, Jaejoong. I didn’t want to lose someone that I love. Not again.“ Yunho confessed as his, tears were falling harder and faster from his almond shaped eyes. Jaejoong absently kept his hands on Yunho’s face, trying to absorb what the prince had said. Did he say he loves me? He thought to himself.

“Yunho.” Jaejoong whispered as he tried to find the words. Yunho locked eyes with Jaejoong just before the blond realized that actions speak louder than words. With the prince’s face still in his hands, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Yunho’s. When Jaejoong felt the other’s arms wrap around his waist, he felt tears roll down his cheeks. When they separated, Yunho kissed away each of the tears that had fallen from the beauty’s brilliant brown eyes.

“I don’t know what I would do without you.” Yunho whispered as he pulled the blonde closer. Jaejoong felt butterflies fly around in his stomach as he released Yunho’s face, his hands finding their way to his own lap.

“Yunho.” Jaejoong said again, his voice quivering and his tone longing. Yunho looked into his eyes with inquisition as he carefully unwrapped his arms from around his waist.
“What’s wrong Jaejoongie?” He asked, the gravity of the situation settling upon his chest. Jaejoong looked away from Yunho briefly before returning his gaze to the brunet.

“Do you know why I always call you Your Highness?” Yunho shook his head. “I know I always say it’s because it feels weird or because I know it bugs you, but—“ He stopped, wishing that he hadn’t said anything.

“You can tell me.” Yunho whispered, hoping to assure the blond that what he had to say was important to him. Jaejoong took a deep breath.

“I’ve liked you ever since we entered high school. Because of that I started to think that I didn’t deserve to call you by name. It isn’t natural for one guy to like another guy.” The older boy confessed, averting his gaze from Yunho’s eyes for a second time, afraid of what he would see. The young prince felt his heart swell and drop all at once. Even though he was beyond happy to hear that Jaejoong had feelings for him, the fact that they were both male made everything much more complicated. But at that moment, Yunho could care less.

“Me too.” Yunho said, pretending that the other boy didn’t even bring gender into this. Jaejoong immediately returned his attention to the boy sitting in front of him, hardly believing what he had just heard.

“What?” He asked, his voice hardly a whisper. Yunho reached out to hold Jaejoong’s hand.

“I love you.” He said. Jaejoong could only sit there, completely in a daze until he felt soft lips pressing against his. The fair-skinned boy wrapped his arms around the tanned prince’s neck as he intensified the kiss, his tongue lightly scraping Yunho’s lip. Happily, Yunho brushed his tongue against Jaejoong’s and they were immediately reaching for every corner of the other’s mouth. Yunho lightly skimmed Jaejoong’s hips as he put his hands underneath the blond’s shirt, rubbing up and down his sides. As their tongues dueled for dominance, Jaejoong shivered as he reached for Yunho’s hands and took them in his own, intertwining their fingers as he did so. When Yunho felt his heart skip a beat, he begrudgingly separated from the other boy, the two breathing heavily. Yunho looked at Jaejoong and smiled before placing a caring kiss on his forehead, fringe and all.

“You should get some sleep.” The prince whispered back as he looked into the eyes of the boy he loved. Jaejoong nodded as his eyelids flickered shut and opened again.

“You should too.” He replied. Yunho grinned as he squeezed the hands he held.

“Good night.” He said as he placed one final kiss on Jaejoong’s lips before he got up from the bed. Jaejoong watched his retreating figure as laid on his pillow, mulling over those three words the young prince had spoken to him.

I love you, too. Jaejoong thought to himself, drifting to sleep as Yunho turned off the lights and silently closed the door.