The Secret Code Ring 1

This is for Ate Sue and Azura, I promised a Yunbo and though it took so long, I hope you are happy. This is a 3 or 4 part series, I got KHJ's POV out of the way, YH is next, then it's HB, I'm still thinking if I'll put an ending as the 4th part or if I'll just let it hang, we'll see...


KIM HYUN JOONG

Yunho Hiding a Secret?

The netizens are buzzing about TVXQ's leader, Jung Yunho, a rumor about him hiding a secret is spreading like wildfire. Photo above is just one of the pictures posted in his cafe, it was said to be taken by his ever-dedicated fans while he was enjoying a little me time. The other photos were taken on different dates but all were of him having a break from his busy schedule. You wouldn't know what the fizz is about with just one snapshot but the fans who had seen the series of images are oh so curious as to why he's always wearing the silver Swatch secret code ring on his index finger during his personal time. The members of his cafe are so eager to find out what the ring means to their idol and what could the code be. What is the secret behind the ring? I, just like you, would love to know, too :)



Kim Hyun Joong reread the article and looked at the picture once more, at the glinting silver ring on Yunho's finger and at his blissful smile. It was his rest day and as a habit, he turned his notebook on and surf the net, and what did he get, a news about the lucky bastard and his secret code ring. Is this the right time? Is it finally the time? Will he, now, be free from anguish... longing... and envy?

Should he be happy?

He could still remember the day it all started, the filming of Boys Over Flowers was halted because the lead girl was involved in an accident and was confined in a hospital, and as he has never had a day on his own for a long while, he decided to visit his close friends, Jaejoong and Mickey, thinking that a few bottles of soju between them couldn't hurt. TVXQ was practicing a new dance routine at that time so he was forced to go and pick up the two in the studio... and his road to Calvary begun.

He was awestruck as he watched the five-member group do the complicated choreography without a hitch, he's also a member of an idol group and they also do their own dance moves, but as most people know, he's not really a dancer, he dreamt of being a rockstar, and seeing Yunho bust a groove makes him wonder more how awkward he looks when he dance.

"Hey bastard, you're already here? Why aren't you saying a word," Jaejoong unceremoniously shouted.

"He's admiring our footwork and our grind," Yoochun teased.

He laughed and played along, "It would be nice if I can groove like that but as I know I can't, I'll just let your comment pass. Yah, Yoochun, you're not even the best dancer in the group and you're talking almighty."

They all laughed, he and his best buds greeted and body slammed each other, while he smiled and bowed at the rest. They did the customary how are yous and some chitchats before the boys hit the shower, their leader was the first to emerged, dressed casually with just a single accessory - a silver Swatch ring. He approached Hyun Joong and asked for a moment, of course he obliged.

That was when and where he found out...

He and Hwangbo Hye Jung were in a reality show as a fake husband and wife for about six months, he'll be a liar if he claims to be unaffected, with her charms, who and what kind of man can resist but he didn't take it a step further, when they ended the show, they ended everything else, he admits that his heart was aching but what can he do, they were six years apart, he was just climbing up the ladder of stardom and he's a freaking idol, he didn't have that much to offer. That is why it hurts even more when Yunho told him his part of the story.

The black secret code ring that she was wearing since December of 2008 was given by none other than him, Yunho, Hyun Joong has this habit of calling him the lucky bastard ever since then. He had been pursuing her in a non-obtrusive way since he found out that she broke up with her long-time boyfriend, but when We Got Married aired and he saw how loving a wife she can be, he worked harder to get her, he was scared that more men will fall for her and the line will get longer and longer, so he worked double time. His efforts paid off as she said yes on February of 2009, a very special birthday gift, they were together for almost a month already when Yunho told Hyun Joong. And why the hell did he have to tell him? Because the former needs the help of the latter to protect her.

During their stint as a couple in WGM and even after their run, they had acquired a number of fans, and as time goes by, people became more lenient and in favor of their tandem, Yunho was well aware of that fact, he even knew that fans were connecting the black ring that Hye Jung casually wore to his silver Swatch ring, which he had way before she had hers. So, the lucky bastard's idea of protecting her was him being quiet, never declining nor confirming what is his relationship with Hwangbo Hye Jung, thus keeping the fans and netizens guessing. His idea, though he hates to admit it, was good, and as he wants to protect his noona, too, he decided to partake in the plan, all that was needed was his silence and he's all for that, he's never been much of a talker anyway.

And so he begun to act in the play, play in the game, and game with their fate and the world.

But he was not prepared for the anguish that their treaty brings, because the fool that is Kim Hyun Joong was never able to let go of his feelings for his buin and worse, as every little details of their lives are interconnected by fans, he fell more deeply. Everytime he remembers their time together, everytime he reads something about them, everytime he sees a picture of her, and everytime he thinks of the chance he let passed, he hurts a little more. The solace, contentment and happiness that is evident on the real couple's faces are the opposite of his, he is heartbroken, suffering and wretched.

He was not prepared for the longing that he would feel, how he miss her smiles, her laughter, her beautiful eyes, her perfect nose, her beautiful lips, her fun and weird ideas, her jokes, her utmost concern; her usually fierce look that turns into warm stares when they converse, her touch, her slaps, her outpouring care for him; the food that she lovingly cooked, the clothes the she wholeheartedly created, the house that they together made a home of, the company that they had, the love that he knew blossomed, the time that they spent together. Oh, what he would give to have it once more! He has his string of women, he thought that they could fill out the void that one woman left, sadly, their presence just makes him numb for a while but they can never make him forget.

And the envy, the envy that keeps on growing, that keeps on tormenting, the envy that now rules him. How can you not envy the man, the lucky bastard, who have her? There were times when Jaejoong will tell of stories that involved them, of the food that Hye Jung sent on the studio, of the gifts that she sent when she came back from out-of-country works and business, of the handwoven scarf she had gifted them, of the donations and charities that the couple do, of the love that encompass the lovers, those were the times when the claw of enviousness was at its fiercest. He drowned himself with work hoping to surpass whatever wealth and fame that Yunho has. He started to do charity works to be able to reach out to her, to equal what her current partner can do. But everytime he thinks that he's nearing the distance, he'll always be rebuffed by the thought that he is too late, and he'll envy the lucky bastard even more, of how consistent and brave he was to take the plunge.

The thoughts drifted and the screen came clear, will the secret be finally revealed, will he be free from his ties, will his non-existent connection with her be sever? What will happen to them, will they be the happy couple in public and he the outcast and the looser?

With the news blaring at his face, should he be happy?