The Artist (01/02)
Title: The Artist
Length: TwoShot.
Pairings: Yongguk/Zelo
Rating: PG13
Genre: fluff, romance
Summary:
Junhong meets an artist who changes his view on life.
Junhong rested his head against the window of his mother's luxury car. All he wanted to do was go home and go back to sleep. He held back a groan when she pulled up to a church, frowning deeply when he saw a group of people talking outside. He didn't want to do this; he had better things to do than clean up after a bunch of homeless people. It was either this for a couple weeks or the juvenile detention center. The only thing that made this a little better is that at least his friend had to do this too.
He slung the door open and got out when Jongup's mother pulled into the parking lot. Junhong waved to his friend before turning around to grab his bag out of the car. He met his friend halfway and sighed. “This is bullshit.” The younger teen complained.
Jongup sighed and nodded his head but before he could say anything, the two were being pushed towards the building by their mothers. They stepped inside and Junhong heard his mother ask where a 'Mr. Kim' was and when the two saw the cop who would be in charge of supervising them, Jongup was nudging his friend. “He's hot-” Jongup whispered into the younger teen's ear.
The two watched as the man spoke with both their mothers, promising he'd take good care of them and then Jongup was nudging him again. Junhong couldn't help but roll his eyes. He didn't care how good looking this guy was - he was still a cop and in Junhong's opinion, cops sucked. Mrs. Choi turned to face them, her voice stern. “Behave.”
Junhong rolled his eyes. The teens mothers said a quick goodbye before leaving them alone with the cop. Mr. Kim stared at the two for a moment before holding out his hand. “I'm Himchan.” He said. The younger teen nearly laughed when Jongup eagerly shook his hand and introduced himself.
Himchan let go out Jongup's hand before looking at Junhong, who quickly avoided his gaze. He didn't want to be here and he wanted to make that clear to him. The cop shook his head. “You must be Junhong. . .” He trailed off a moment. “Come on, I'll introduce you two to the other staff.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Yongguk held his belongings close to his body as he pushed through the people chatting in front of the entrance of the church gym. He quietly greeted the woman at door and she handed him a tray. “How are you doing, Yongguk?” The woman asked.
“The same.” He sheepishly smiled. “I've had a few interviews but. . .” He trailed off and the woman's smile faded ever so slightly. Yongguk shrugged. “It's okay though. I'm not going to give up yet.” She smiled sadly and he walked forward, getting in line for food. He picked up a styrofoam plate and placed it on the tray.
He made his way down the line, thanking each server as they placed some food on the plate before turning and going to one of the long white tables and sitting down. He let his eyes roam the gym as he ate, his eyes immediately stopping on two people he'd never seen before. He raised an eyebrow at the bitter expression on one of the teens faces as he picked up dirty plates and threw them into a garbage bag the other was holding.
Yongguk pursed his lips, wondering why he was here. “What do you want to drink?” Himchan's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked over at the older man and smiled. “Water.”
“Like always.” Himchan smiled back and filled the empty cup with ice water before sitting the pitcher on the table and sitting next to his friend.
“Who are they?” Yongguk couldn't help himself. He normally didn't pry but he was interested. It wasn't often there were new volunteers at the soup kitchen.
“Trouble makers.” The younger replied after a moment.
Yongguk nodded his head, suddenly understanding they were here as a punishment. He chuckled when his friend sighed and quietly complained about having to babysit the two teens. “How long do you have to watch after them?” He asked after he had finished his food. The man pushed his empty plate aside and went digging through his bag for his most treasured items.
“About two months.” Himchan replied. “Jongup, the shorter one is kind of cute though. He behaves better than Junhong.”
“Junhong?” The older repeated the name, looking towards the taller teen before putting his sketch book and colored pencils on the table. “How old are they?” Yongguk asked, his eyes still on Junhong.
“Jongup is seventeen and Junhong is sixteen.”
“I like Junhong's hair.” Yongguk said, admiring the unique blue color and how it contrasted with the boy's fair skin. Yongguk thought the teen would be a lot more attractive if he was smiling and not scowling at everything. Junhong really didn't belong here and everything about him screamed that. From his perfectly styled hair to his expensive clothing, he was totally out of place.
“I think I need to have a quick talk with Junhong.” Himchan stood up from his seat and went towards the scowling teen.
Yongguk watched Himchan scolding Junhong and he couldn't help the small laugh he let out when the younger gave the most sarcastic smile he could muster. He shook his head, feeling sorry for his friend. Himchan had been his friend since the very first time he'd come to the soup kitchen. Yongguk liked him because he didn't pity him. It was refreshing to talk to someone about something other than his current living situation.
Yongguk picked up a colored pencil to finish a sketch he'd been working on since early that morning. The sunrise had been so beautiful that morning and the man thought maybe that was one of the perks of living out on the street, to be able to wake up to something beautiful after such a long, harsh night. He looked up in surprise when he heard someone asking him if he was done with his plate or not. “Yeah.” Yongguk nodded, meeting eyes with Junhong as he picked up the plate and threw it into the trash bag he was now carrying by himself. “Thank you.” Yongguk said quietly. Junhong looked at him before sighing and nodding his head.
“I like your hair.” Yongguk said as the younger started to walk away. Junhong stopped and subconsciously reached up to touch his hair, unsure if Yongguk was teasing him or not. “It's a pretty color, how did you do that?”
“I went to the salon and had it done.” He replied and walked away. The man pursed his lips before chuckling. What a brat. He wasn't mad or annoyed, he was used to people thinking they were more worthy than him.
- - - - - - - - - -
“I really like Himchan.” Jongup said as they sat down on the steps of the church, waiting for their mothers to come pick them up.
“I don't.” Junhong scrunched up his face. “He's annoying and bossy.”
Jongup shrugged and looked forward at Himchan speaking with one of the homeless men. “It's kind of your fault he's riding your ass, you know.”
The younger teen rolled his eyes. “I thought you were on my side.” He rubbed his bare arms and sighed. “I feel so dirty, so many hobos in one place. Ugh.” Junhong shivered. “Hey, are you sneaking out tonight?”
Jongup looked at him in surprise. “No way, man. If I get in anymore trouble mom will kill me.”
“Boring.” Junhong muttered and watched as the man who complimented his hair left the gym building. He shivered, that man had been staring at him the whole time. He couldn't see past the man's dirty hair and his old, torn and ragged clothing. He rolled his eyes when the stranger looked in his direction and politely smiled. Creep. He thought and stood up when he saw his mother's car pull into the parking lot.
Himchan promptly told him to sit back down so he could speak with his mother in privacy. Junhong groaned, knowing the man wasn't going to tell her good things. He just didn't think he should have to do this, all he did was get a little drunk. Jongup was the one who was driving, not him. He still blamed the older teen for all of this.
He saw his mother shoot him a disapproving look and he groaned again. She called him over and he hesitantly stood up again. Junhong waved bye to his friend and started towards his mother. “Junhong.” Mrs. Choi hissed before turning back to Himchan. “Thank you again.”
Himchan nodded and said a quick goodbye before Mrs. Choi grabbed onto Junhong's ear and he yelped as she pulled him towards the car. “You do realize if you don't straighten up your act, you're going to have to go to the juvenile detention center, right?”
Junhong looked at her in surprise. “What? But, I'm doing this!” He nearly shouted. There was no way they could do that; he was already being punished! Mrs. Choi shook her head and let go of his ear to get into the car. Neither said anything until they were on the road and headed home.
“The whole point of you doing community service is so that your attitude and view on life changes.” Mrs. Choi said, the exhaustion apparent in her voice. She knew it was her fault Junhong was acting like this. She'd babied him, given him too much freedom and never punished him for things.
“I shouldn't have to change myself -” Junhong said through gritted teeth. “I'm not hurting anyone.”
The woman looked at him in annoyance. “So, you think that drinking and driving isn't dangerous? You and Jongup could have killed yourself or someone else had you not been pulled over!” She finally snapped, her voice raising.
“I wasn't the one driving.” He muttered and rested his head against the glass window. He was so sick of everyone trying to change him. Junhong was happy with who he was. In his opinion, he wasn't a bad person and he didn't need to change.
Junhong had never felt so happy to see home. He couldn't stand to stay in such a small space with his mother any longer as he quickly got out and stomped up the stairs, unlocking the door with his own keys. He slung the door open and headed towards his bedroom, slamming it behind him. Junhong flung himself onto his bed, sighing softly as he sunk into the expensive tempurpedic mattress.
His feet were sore and he let out a whine when he remembered he had to do community service tomorrow too. He quickly sat up and looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was only one in the afternoon but it felt so much later than that. Junhong kicked off his shoes and closed his eyes, deciding he would go ahead and go back to sleep since it was too early to sneak out.
It wasn't until ten at night when Junhong woke up and was crawling through his bedroom window and towards what he considered freedom.
- - - - - - - - - -
Yongguk yawned softly, leaning back against the building he'd built his makeshift bed in front of. He was tired, really tired today. He looked back down at his sketchbook that the lamppost in front of him was illuminating, trying to focus on finishing his drawing but all he could think about was the teen and his blue hair. He had tried drawing Junhong more than once since he'd left the soup kitchen but it just wasn't coming out right.
Yongguk thought maybe it wasn't coming out right because he'd only seen Junhong's beautiful face twisted in anger. He had tried to draw the teen smiling but it didn't seem quite right. He felt somewhat annoyed because even if he was inspired by something, that need to draw Junhong was far stronger and taking over his thoughts. The man sighed softly, deciding he'd go back to the soup kitchen tomorrow. He didn't like to go often, mostly because of his pride. It was embarrassing to sleep on the sidewalk in a nasty part of town but at least everything he had - he hadn't been given.
Everything he had with him, he'd bought with money he'd earned from doing various jobs. From his old sleeping bag to his most precious sketchbooks and colored pencils. They weren't the nicest things but they were his things and he took pride in them. He finally gave up trying draw for the time being, putting the sketchbook and colored pencils back into his bag.
He watched as people drunkenly stumbled around and sighed softly. This wasn't his favorite area but it was okay. People like him weren't bothered or harassed too much here; most people were just looking to get wasted and have a good time. He raised an eyebrow when he heard someone shouting for someone to leave them alone. Yongguk eyes widened ever so slightly when he realized the one who had just shouted was the kid he'd seen in the soup kitchen.
Yongguk watched as a much older man tried to put his arm around Junhong and he had no doubt the kid was totally wasted. He didn't like to get involved or start things but he wasn't going to let Junhong get hurt. The man quickly put on his book bag and headed across the street. “Leave my brother alone or I'll call the cops.” Yongguk didn't actually have a phone to call the cops and he was thankful he was intimidating to other people; it had always come in handy living on the street.
The man stared at him before holding up his hands. “Sorry, sorry.” He muttered before quickly turning away and hurrying off.
Yongguk looked at Junhong right as he fell forward, too wasted to stand any longer. He quickly caught the younger, sighing heavily. “You shouldn't be out here.” He murmured before moving to pick up the teen bridal style. The man crossed the street and gently sat the passed out boy down on his sleeping bag and silently debated on what to do.
He momentarily thought of calling the police but he knew Himchan was off duty now and he didn't know the cop's phone number or where he lived. Yongguk didn't like the other cops at the police station - they wanted trouble and to ruin someone's life. The man chewed at his chapped lips before sighing and sitting down beside Junhong, deciding to just watch after him tonight.
Yongguk pursed his lips as he moved to face the teen. He poked Junhong in the side. “Hey.” He called out and the kid groaned. “Hey, where do you live?” He asked, poking him again. Junhong shoved his hand away without ever opening his eyes and Yongguk knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of him. He sighed heavily, knowing he would have to stay up all night and watch the kid.
Yongguk watched as the teen's face relaxed before smiling and pulling out his sketchbook and pencils again. Junhong looked so relaxed and peaceful; the scowl which Yongguk had thought was permanently etched onto his face was finally gone. “Much better.” He murmured as he began drawing the sleeping teen in front of him.
It took three tries until Yongguk was finally satisfied with his drawing. He had taken his time which each and every little detail of Junhong's beautiful face, admiring his sharp jawline, red pout and long eyelashes. “Your mother must be so worried about you.” He thought out loud, knowing Junhong wasn't going to reply. The man yawned loudly, thankful the sun was finally coming up. He gently shook Junhong, trying to wake him up.
Junhong's eyes suddenly flew open and he let out a loud scream before pushing Yongguk away. The man didn't know exactly what he had been expecting when Junhong woke up, but this certainly wasn't it. “Did you kidnap me?!” The teen cried.
“Um, no.” Yongguk shook his head. “You were wasted and some guy was trying to take you home. . .” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as Junhong stared at him in disbelief.
“What did you do to me?!” Junhong hissed.
“Well, I saved you from a man trying to take advantage of your wasted ass, thought about calling the police but then decided I didn't want to get you in trouble-” He paused and took in a deep breath, keeping himself calm and collected. “Gave you my bed and stayed up all night to make sure you would be safe.”
Junhong blinked and looked down at the sleeping bag before letting out a loud 'ew' and covering his mouth. “I'm gonna puke.” He groaned.
“Please don't do it on my bed.” Yongguk quickly spoke. “You know, your parents must be so worried about you right now.”
The younger quickly got up from the bed and went towards the trash bin to throw up. Yongguk reached into his book bag, pulling out the water bottle he'd gotten from the food kitchen. He sighed softly, getting up from the ground and walking towards Junhong. “Here.” He held it out and the teen stared at it for a moment before groaning and taking it.
Yongguk turned around and began packing up his things, the teen watching him as he downed the water bottle. Junhong's eyes went wide when he remembered his community service. “What time is it?” He asked in a panicked voice.
“Um, probably about seven or something.” Yongguk replied and the teen let out a sigh of relief. He still had an hour before he needed to be at the church. “Are you alright getting there by yourself?” The man asked as he pulled on his backpack, holding his sketchbook closely to his body.
The teen rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”
“Anyway, I need to get going. The early bird gets the worm, right?” He sighed when Junhong stared at him in confusion.
“What?”
“I'm looking for a job.”
“How did you end up like this?” Junhong asked and hurried to reach the older man before he could walk away. “Do you do drugs? Are you an alcoholic?”
Yongguk looked at him with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment before simply shaking his head. “I don't do drugs and I don't drink alcohol.” He replied. “And you shouldn't either.” The man added before walking away.
“Then how?” The younger asked, quickly catching up with him.
Yongguk simply smiled and ignored his question as he opened his sketchbook. “I made this for you.” He said as he carefully tore a piece of paper out from the book. He held it out and watched as Junhong furrowed his brows before hesitantly taking it. “See you later.”
Junhong frowned deeply, not liking how Yongguk ignored his question. He watched as the man walked away before looking down at the piece of paper he'd been given. His eyes widened ever so slightly when he realized it was a drawing of him. He glanced up again right as Yongguk disappeared around the corner. He felt himself heating up in pleasure and slight embarrassment as he looked back down at the drawing. He'd never had anyone draw him before - not counting little stick figure drawings of him being eaten by alligators.
He gave the drawing on more glance before carefully folding it up and sliding it into his pocket.
- - - - - - - - - -
It was safe to say, Junhong's parents were pissed off when he got home but that wasn't anything new. He felt tired, sick and annoyed as he walked around the church gym, serving water. He wasn't comfortable talking or just simply being around all the homeless people and he couldn't understand how Himchan could easily speak with them or even hug them. It was gross - what if they had lice or something? He held back a shiver at the thought. Junhong glanced at the door when he heard it opening and sighed when it wasn't Yongguk. He didn't even know why he was disappointed. The man was just some dirty, hobo but he found himself a little interested in the man.
Junhong walked towards Himchan and awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. “Does that creepy guy come here often?” He asked and the man raised an eyebrow.
“Who?”
“The one who kept staring at me yesterday.”
A look of realization flashed across Himchan's face before he laughed. “No, he doesn't.” Himchan shook his head. “He's as stubborn as a mule and doesn't come until he absolutely can't stand it anymore.”
“Oh.” Junhong rubbed the back of his neck.
“Why?” Himchan looked at the younger in interest. “Did he make you feel uncomfortable? He's an artist and probably wanted to draw you.”Junhong started to say the man had done just that but he quickly stopped himself. He had a feeling if he showed Himchan the drawing Yongguk had given him, he would have to explain how and where he'd gotten it from and that was a can of worms he wasn't willing to open. “Yongguk is kind of awkward though so I understand if you felt uncomfortable but he's not a bad guy.”
Junhong shrugged. “Why is he homeless?”
“Because he doesn't have a home.” Himchan replied, raising an eyebrow.
The younger rolled his eyes; it wasn't often he met someone who was just as sarcastic as he was. Himchan irritated him. “I mean, like, why? What happened?”
The cop sighed softly. “I honestly don't know why either.” Himchan couldn't help but wonder where this sudden interest in Yongguk was coming from. “He's a very private person and he doesn't like pity so we don't talk about things like that.”
Himchan's answer only made Junhong want to know Yongguk's story even more.