The Tortured Spirit
Title: The Tortured Spirit
Pairing: Yoochun/Jaejoong
Rating: PC-15
Disclaimer: Maybe in my next life I can be their master.
Summary: Yoochun's life is perfect until he loses what is most important.
A/N: This fic is part of the Yoochun!Medium verse that includes Meddling Spirits and The Newbie Spirit. You do not have to read those to understand this one though you should anyway. This fic is darker than the other two.
A/N 2: Forgot to mention - there are some religious themes in this and some blending of beliefs.
Yoochun snapped awake.
It took a moment for him to realize that their bed was shaking violently. He sat up, arms to his side for balance. He kept the fear way until he looked down at his lover.
Jaejoong’s eyes were wide open, his mouth gaping. He wasn’t breathing. His skin was white, practically glowing blue in the dark room.
“Jaejoong!” Yoochun reached for him.
Electricity shot up his arm, zapping him and throwing him backwards. He tumbled to the floor, hitting his head on the nightstand. The room swam and he fought the dizziness while scrambling to his knees. The shaking of the bed sped up. The room darkened beyond what was considered darkness.
A deep, growling voice pulsed, “Mine” in the waves of darkness.
Jaejoong’s arms suddenly shot to the side. His back arched and he slammed back to the bed and Yoochun heard something snap.
Yoochun shouted his name again and tried to get to him. Again, an unseen force kept him back, fingers just short of Jaejoong’s bare skin.
“Mine. My light now.”
Something swirled around him. Something positive. Calm.
“He’s ... we don’t know. We can’t do anything.” The voices continued around him. “It’s too powerful. We don’t know what it is.”
Yoochun kept his eyes on his lover, his best friend. He wasn’t religious in the normal sense of the word--he was still on the fence about heaven and god--but every good had an opposite bad. If there was something this strong and evil in the afterlife, that had to mean there was something equally as strong and good.
Yoochun gripped the crescent necklace around his neck and started talking to the only person who might listen, “Dad. Please, help me. Dad. Please. Go it away. Make it go away, please. Help me. Help him. Please. God, please.”
The bed jolted, knocking Yoochun to the side again.
“Mine.”
He stayed on his knees, curled up and prayed to whoever was there to listen.
The sudden silence was deafening.
Yoochun almost jumped onto the bed. Light suddenly bathed the room, and Yoochun fought back tears at the site of his lover, unconscious.
But he was breathing. His face was still very pale, but his chest rose and fell.
Broken. Something broke.
“Jaejoong!” Yoochun touched him softly. His skin was so cold. He pulled the blanket over him and reached for the phone to call an ambulance. Just as his fingers closed around it, deep purple and blue marks blossomed on Jaejoong’s neck.
They looked just like fingers. Like someone had been choking him.
Yoochun tried not to panic and dialed a different number instead. There was no answer, so Yoochun called again, and again, until finally, a very sleepy Junsu answered the phone.
“Su. Yunho. I need. Yunho. Yunho.”
“Yoochun? Calm down. Yunho’s right here.”
“Please. Please. Jaejoong ... Jaejoong ...”
“Yoochun?” Yunho said.
Yoochun whimpered and couldn’t say much besides, “Help. Please. Jaejoong. Come. Our place. Please. Please.”
“I’m on my way. Take a deep breath. Come on. Deep breath.”
Yoochun inhaled.
“Where’s your inhaler? Do you need it?”
Yoochun shook his head. “Jaejoong. Hurt. Please.”
“I’m coming. I’m in the elevator. I’ll be there in ten minutes, okay? Call an ambulance if he’s hurt.”
“Can’t ... can’t. Oh god, Yunho. It almost killed him. Please.”
“Yoochun, you need to call an ambulance. If it’s serious, you need to call an ambulance. Junsu, call 911.”
Yoochun swallowed. “But ... but ... he ... I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it! Yunho. I didn’t.”
“I know you didn’t, Yoochun.”
The muffled sound of a siren filled the air.
“Five minutes,” Yunho said. “Five minutes. Tell me what happened.”
Yoochun kept his eyes on Jaejoong. “He ... something ... I don’t know. He wasn’t breathing. The bed was shaking.” The comforting feelings from the other spirits embraced him again, and Yoochun was able to finish telling Yunho in more coherent words what had happened and the voice that still echoed in his brain. He heard sirens and he wasn’t sure if it was Yunho or the ambulance.
“There ... there are finger ... marks on his neck. Like something was strangling him.”
“Which is why you called me.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m here. Is your door unlocked?”
“I don’t ... I don’t know. I don’t want to leave him.”
“I’ll get it,” Changmin’s voice suddenly said next to him. “It’ll be open.”
“Changmin says he can unlock it.”
“Good. We’re in the elevator. Twenty seconds.”
Yoochun nodded and the next thirty seconds were quiet. He jumped when someone moved his phone and arms wrapped around his waist. Yunho leaned over Jaejoong, checked his pulse and made sure he was still breathing. Yoochun warned him about the break he heard, so Yunho didn’t move him.
Yoochun leaned back against Junsu’s body.
A minute later his room was bombarded by EMTs and more police officers. It was chaos for a little while, but Yunho kept control. Kept the other officers away from Yoochun, and even managed to get Yoochun in the back of the ambulance with Jaejoong.
Everything blurred together. Yoochun stopped functioning, fingers clenched around the necklace.
What the fuck had happened?
---|---
Almost three hours later, Yunho sat next to him in the waiting room chair.
Yoochun lifted bloodshot eyes and took the proffered cup of coffee with a muttered thanks.
Yoochun hated hospitals. So crowded. So many spirits. And when they found out he could see them, they tried to bombarded him with requests for help. Fortunately, Changmin, Jessica and the old ahjumma kept them away from him.
“Jaejoong is out of surgery. His arm was set and casted. His ribs aren’t broken, but they are bruised. His throat will be sore, but the doctors say there won’t be any lasting damage. He won’t be able to talk for a few days.”
Yoochun nodded, swallowing the steaming, bitter coffee. “Is that the good news or the bad news?”
Yunho tried to smile. “The good news.”
“And the bad?”
“They want to take you in and ask you some questions.”
Yoochun nodded again. He figured as much. It was why he called Yunho first.
“You don’t have to worry though. The cops can’t technically do anything if Jaejoong doesn’t press charges, and he won’t.”
“When can I see him?”
“He won’t be awake for a few more hours, but I’ll go see if you can sit with him. We’ll work on writing your official statement that doesn’t make you sound too crazy. You’re lucky the police force is familiar with you.”
Less than ten minutes later, Yoochun was sitting next to Jaejoong’s hospital bed. Jaejoong was still as breathtakingly beautiful as he was when Yoochun first met him. Even with his skin a ghostly shade of pale. His hair was black now, dyed after a fail job at bleaching it blonde, and he’d taken to wearing brightly colored contacts. The swirling lines of his tattoo were just visible above the wrap around his chest. Yoochun could see the word “My” but his name which followed it was obscured.
Mine. The scraggly voice echoed in his mind again. Mine.
Yoochun tried to focus on Jaejoong as his eyes droopped shut. He kept his fingers loosely in Jaejoong’s hand that didn’t have an IV in it. His body curled up, folded down in the chair. Despite the whispers around him, his body sagged and the energy drained and he fell asleep.
In a terrifying sense of deja vu, Yoochun snapped awake to Jaejoong shaking and whimpering. He sat up, blinked his eyes clear and turned to his lover. His smile froze.
Jaejoong’s eyes were looking at him with terrifying fear.
“Jaejoong?”
“No, no, no. Don’t hurt me. Please. No.”
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun said again and reached for him.
Jaejoong screamed, as loud as his sore throat could.
Yoochun slammed the nurse’s button and a moment later a nurse was there, and Jaejoong was screaming and trying to move away from Yoochun.
Yoochun put his hands up and stepped away from the bed.
Jaejoong turned his head away. There were tears on his cheeks. Yoochun’s heart ached to go to him. The nurse checked his vitals and asked him if he was in pain.
A moment later, Yunho came into the room.
“Yunho, don’t ...” Jaejoong coughed.
“You shouldn’t be talking,” Yunho said.
Jaejoong breathed in deeply, wincing and the nurse tutted at him and said she would be back with a bit more morphine.
“What happened?” Yunho asked.
Yoochun shrugged. “He ... he started ... he thinks I did this to him.”
“You did,” Jaejoong muttered. “He tried to kill me. Are you going to arrest him?”
Yunho was quiet for a long time and then he said, “Yoochun did not do this to you.”
Jaejoong’s voice wavered. “He did. He did!”
“Why don’t you tell me what you remember?”
Jaejoong did not look at either of them, but in a quiet voice he said, “I don’t know. I woke up to him on top of me and his hands on my neck and he said he was going to kill me and no one would believe me. He said he would kill me!”
Yoochun’s throat tightened and he shook his head. Yunho held up a hand.
“You were attacked by an unseen force. Yoochun isn’t sure what it was. A really, really strong demon or poltergeist.”
Jaejoong actually laughed. “You believe that? He’s saying a ghost did this?”
Yoochun met Yunho’s eyes, and asked, “You don’t believe in ghosts?”
“No! Are you crazy? He’s crazy. He’s going to kill me.”
“Yoochun is not going to kill you,” Yunho said. “You really think he could?”
Jaejoong’s breath hitched. “He tried.”
Yunho took a very deep breath and asked, “Jaejoong, how long have you been with Yoochun?”
Silent tears continued to drip down his cheeks, and Yoochun started crying too.
After a moment, Jaejoong whispered, “Eight years.”
“And has he ever been anything but obsessively devoted to you and in love with you for eight years?”
Jaejoong shook his head.
Yoochun whispered, “I love you. I could never, ever hurt you.”
“You did!”
“I didn’t.”
“You ... you ...”
“It wasn’t me. I promise.”
“A ghost? A demon?”
“Jaejoong,” Yunho said, giving Yoochun a look that told him to shut up, “do you remember when you first met Yoochun?”
“Of course. He made up a lame line about the cafe being full even though we were the only ones there.”
“Do you remember what else he told you that first time you met?”
Jaejoong finally turned his head and looked at Yoochun. “No.”
Yunho huffed.
“Something is really wrong,” Changmin said next to Yoochun.
Yoochun nodded. “I know.”
“What?” Jaejoong demanded.
“Just Changmin.”
“Who?”
Yoochun felt his mouth open in surprise.
“Yeah,” Changmin said and moved toward the bed. “He can’t ... it’s like he’s blocked or something. Like whatever did this put a block on all his memories about you being a medium.”
Yoochun took a very deep breath, but did not say that out loud.
Changmin ran his hand down Jaejoong’s arm, something that always got Jaejoong to jump or react in some way. But Jaejoong just stayed stoic, calm.
The nurse finally returned, apologizing about the delay. “You need to rest more.”
Jaejoong nodded and asked for some ice chips.
Yoochun wanted to go to his bedside, but he stayed put and it was Yunho who fulfilled the request.
“Are you going to press charges?” Yunho asked.
Jaejoong met Yoochun’s eyes for only a second.
“Think about it really hard because if you press charges, Yoochun is going to go to jail. And for a long time. He can’t defend himself against this. He didn’t do it, but with you saying he did, and him saying a demon did it. Well, who do you think the courts are going to believe?”
Jaejoong’s breath hitched again and more tears fell down his cheeks. But finally he shook his head, “N-no. But ...”
Yunho waited and then had to prompt, “What?”
“I can’t ... I can’t live with him. I can’t ... even ... he’ll hurt me.”
Yoochun opened his mouth to protest, but Yunho beat him to it. “I can promise you that Yoochun will not hurt you, but something in that house will. Something that you used to believe in.”
“That’s crazy.”
“But true. Will Soonli let you stay with her for a little while? Or you can stay with Junsu and me.”
“I’ll ... I’ll call Soonli.”
“Okay. I’ll call her for you, alright? And your mom. You’ll be here for a few more days. I know it’s hard, but you have to trust Yoochun right now. Just a little. He won’t hurt you.”
“I love you,” Yoochun said, voice breaking.
Jaejoong gasped and nodded, and turned his head away from him.
Yoochun felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. It was silent in the room until the morphine put Jaejoong to sleep.
Yunho sighed and stood up. He rubbed his thighs. “It’s pretty common for a victim of abuse, especially when their breath is cut off, to forget things. But his memory is too selective. And the fact that he doesn’t remember anything about the supernatural is just a bit too neat.”
“Changmin says he has a block in his mind. He didn’t even react when Changmin touched him earlier.”
Yunho shook his head. “Jaejoong loves you. I don’t think even the demon could make him forget that. What are you going to do now?”
Yoochun shrugged. “I don’t know. But I don’t want him to be afraid when he wakes up. I’m going to go home, pack some things for him. See if I can figure this out. All I saw was darkness. And that voice. I’ll never forget that voice. It was scary. It was so powerful. I’ve never encountered something like that before.”
“I’ll write up an official statement with Jaejoong when he’s calmed down. We can’t make it seem like you did this.”
“What about the nurse?”
“We’ll talk to her. Don’t worry. You aren’t going to go to jail.”
Yoochun nodded. “Thanks.” He took a very deep breath and moved to the side of the bed. He smiled and moved the damp hair off Jaejoong’s pale skin. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his pliant lips and then his forehead. “I love you, Jaejoong. I will find out what did this to you.”
Swallowing another wave of tears, Yoochun turned around and left the room.
__|--|= 8 months later - Jaejoong =|--|__
There was something in his apartment.
Something that Jaejoong wasn’t quite ready to admit actually existed. He’d lived there for only two months. He’d stayed with his sister through the six months of his recovery, but he didn’t want to stay. He wanted his own place.
Partly to prove that he wasn’t an invalid, and partly to prove that he could survive without Yoochun in his life. Even if his heart ached every time he thought of his ex-boyfriend.
His heart ached, but his breath sped up in fear.
Yoochun’s face, mouth sneering down at him, hands tightening around his throat, still plagued his nightmares. Sometimes he woke up with the feel of fingers on his neck or over his mouth or squeezing painfully around his arm or leg. He woke up with bruises a lot.
Had Yoochun been telling the truth? Were there demons and ghosts in the world? Had he been attacked by one?
Yunho and Junsu had told him about Yoochun’s abilities, but Jaejoong had a very hard time believing it. Or the stories about him when he had lived with Yoochun.
He understood that he could have selective amnesia, but he’d undergone hypnosis and seen nothing but black. The hypnotist said his mind was pure. Nothing wrong.
Eight years. Eight years with a man who was two separate people in his head.
Jaejoong felt like he was going crazy.
There was a noise in the living room.
Jaejoong had stopped going to look. There wasn’t ever anything there.
At least, not that he could see.
Jaejoong curled up on his side, alone in bed, and waited until sleep came in the wee hours of morning. The feel of fingers in his hair or on his side, a weight around his middle, and breath puffing on his neck kept him awake. He wasn’t sure if it was real. Or if he only missed Yoochun.
In the waking moments before sleep finally tugged him, Jaejoong heard ragged laughter and felt breath on his ear. But he couldn’t move and even as his heart sped up, his body went slack.
Whispers of “mine” echoed through his dreams.
Jaejoong snapped awake, body frozen, but he knew he was still dreaming. He had to still be dreaming. The room was dark, too dark, and his eyes were open and all he saw was gray and black weaving mist. He screamed but the noise was ripped from him and swallowed. He tried to move again, and pain laced up body. Fingers closed around his neck, but there was no one above him. Nothing. Weight, heat, pain. He screamed again, and then again, and the mist twisted and formed a face that didn’t look human.
That laughter that had been whispering around him for weeks filled the room, and Jaejoong tried to move, struggling and screaming.
The face faded and morphed into a face that Jaejoong still loved, and it laughed at him.
Pain, more than Jaejoong had ever thought he could bear, ripped across his chest and stomach, and he screamed Yoochun’s name, begged Yoochun to stop it. Stop the pain, just like he had last time.
Jaejoong wasn’t sure how long the dream lasted until the room was suddenly quiet and filled with the noises from the city around him.
Everything swam. His stomach hurt. Jaejoong rolled over, entire body aching. His mouth was dry and full of a foul taste. Jaejoong did not want to get up.
Slowly, he lifted his head. The morning light twisted and twirled, and he swallowed back nausea. He gave up moving and let himself sleep for a little bit longer.
When he finally did wake up and managed to move without being sick, Jaejoong sat up. His body still ached and there was a sting across his stomach, like someone had scratched him. It itched a bit, but touching it made the pain flare. After a deep breath, Jaejoong stood up. He swayed, but walked carefully across the hall to the bathroom. He needed a shower. He brushed his teeth, wincing when the skin of his stomach was pulled tight.
“What the fuck?” he muttered. He tightened the hold on the toothbrush with his mouth and lifted up his shirt.
Jaejoong stopped breathing. His eyes went wide and the toothbrush fell to the sink.
In angry red welts, still dripping blood, carved right across his stomach was the word, “MINE”.
Jaejoong screamed, heard it echo around him, full of mocking laughter. He spit in the sink, spun around and flew down the hall. A door slammed behind him. Footsteps followed him into the living room.
Jaejoong whimpered, slid on a ratty pair of flip flops that weren’t actually his but the only thing of Yoochun’s he had allowed himself to keep. He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the apartment. And down the street. He didn’t have his keys or his phone or his wallet. But it wouldn’t have mattered. Jaejoong ran and put as much space between him and that ... thing ... as he could.
Eventually he had to walk. His stomach was on fire. Blood seeped through the thin white shirt, and Jaejoong hastily zipped up his hoody to hide it. His body ached even more, but he kept going. It took almost an hour to walk to the place he had called home for eight years. He was gasping and his mind was swimming again.
The door code hadn’t changed, and Jaejoong sighed in relief, already feeling safer, even if this was where he’d been attacked.
Yoochun could tell him. Yoochun could help him. Jaejoong didn’t really believe it, but he knew that he hadn’t scratched a word into his own body.
Jaejoong practically collapsed against Yoochun’s door and managed to lift a hand to knock.
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun gasped, and Jaejoong looked up. When had he fallen? He didn’t know.
“Help, please. Make it go away.”
Yoochun dropped next to him and reached for him and Jaejoong jerked away from his touch and then winced.
Yoochun frowned, and Jaejoong didn’t want him to frown and he shook his head and said, “Please, please.” He tried to push up his sweater and his shirt, and this time when Yoochun reached for him, he didn’t flinch away.
Yoochun pushed the clothes up and gasped. A moment later, he was helping Jaejoong to his feet and pulling him into the apartment.
“What happened?” Yoochun asked.
“Make it stop. Please.”
Yoochun pulled him to the couch and sat with him, arms around his shoulders and Jaejoong cried into his chest, somehow managing to tell him about everything that had happened to him and the words and the laughing.
“So scared, Chunnie-ah. I’m so scared all the time.”
Yoochun put his hands on Jaejoong’s cheek lightly and lifted his head. He wiped at his tears and tried to smile. “I will do everything I can to protect you. I promise. I had this place protected and blessed when the darkness didn’t go away. I’m sorry that it found you, that it’s been tormenting you.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”
Yoochun swallowed and his eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I ...” Jaejoong bit his lip against the L-word. His emotions were too out of whack to be confessing that. Especially when Yoochun’s face still appeared in his nightmares.
Yoochun hugged him and said, “Let’s go to the bathroom and I’ll put some ointment on your chest. And then you can sleep. You look like you haven’t slept well for months.”
Jaejoong wasn’t sure he could sleep, but if what Yoochun said was true, he was safe there. Safe from that thing anyway.
But safe from Yoochun?
He looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the same look of love and devotion that was always in his eyes and had been in his eyes since the second day in the cafe.
“I trust you,” Jaejoong whispered.
Yoochun smiled. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.”
Jaejoong slept in the guest room, and slept for hours. When he woke up in the dark, he started to panic, but Yoochun was there, asleep in a chair, and Jaejoong calmed down. He was able to move and breathe, and he hadn’t had any nightmares.
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun mumbled, voice deep with sleep.
“I’m okay.”
“Good. Are you hungry?”
Jaejoong nodded.
“Do you want to cook?”
Jaejoong thought about that and then shook his head. “No. Help me sit up?”
Yoochun rose and moved to the bed. And when he reached for Jaejoong, Jaejoong didn’t flinch. He shut his eyes and leaned into Yoochun’s body for a moment.
Yoochun still smelled the same. He looked a bit tired and worn out.
Jaejoong understood. He wasn’t the only one who had lost their other half of eight years.
Yoochun moved a couple more pillows behind him and made sure he was comfortable. “Jjigae?”
Jaejoong smiled widely and nodded. “From Jangdokdae?”
“Of course. They’re the only ones that are almost close to the perfection that is your jjigae.”
Jaejoong laughed and pulled Yoochun close for a hug. Yoochun stiffened for a moment and then relaxed.
“I miss you,” Yoochun whispered.
Jaejoong nodded. “I miss you, too.”
---
Three days later, Jaejoong saw someone out in the corner of his eye that wasn’t Yoochun. He gasped, spun to look, but the image was gone. He had seen something. He knew he had. His breathing sped up and he dropped the book he’d been reading and ran to the bedroom.
Yoochun’s. Where he felt safe when Yoochun wasn’t home.
He buried himself in the blankets and the faded smell of Yoochun and the cologne he loved, and Jaejoong tried not to go back to that dark place in his mind that doubted Yoochun.
Jaejoong stayed there until Yoochun came home a couple hours later. He said he had to go talk to Yunho about something.
He heard Yoochun call for him, once calm, a second time panicked. And then he was in the room, sitting on the bed. He put a careful hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I am now.”
“Changmin says that you saw him earlier and freaked out a bit.”
“Changmin?”
Yoochun nodded. “You don’t remember?”
Jaejoong shook his head. Yunho and Junsu had told him about Changmin, about how the boy had died and his funeral when they had all first met Junsu. They talked about this rivalry and the way Changmin liked to tease him by moving his spatulas and spoons when he was cooking. Jaejoong couldn’t remember any of that.
Yoochun cleared his throat. “I’d like you see the Wiccan priestess that cleansed this place. See if she can take the block off your mind.”
Jaejoong swallowed and thought about that. As much as he wanted to stay in his bubble of denial, he had a healing wound on his chest that no one had put there. He had tried everything else practically.
Jaejoong nodded. “Okay. I ... I want to remember. I do. I want ... I want the fear to go away.”
“Yeah, I know. Are you hungry?”
Jaejoong shook his head. “I can’t eat right now.”
“I’m going to go see if Ailee can come tomorrow, but that means I have to leave again. You’ll be alright?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I’m not leaving this room.”
Yoochun smiled and ran his hands through Jaejoong’s hair. “Okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”
That night, Jaejoong didn’t move any further than the side of bed, giving Yoochun enough space to slide in beside him. He reached behind himself, found Yoochun’s hand and gripped his fingers.
“Thank you,” Jaejoong whispered.
Yoochun cleared his throat. “For what?”
“Being ... you. Just ... Being ... I tore your heart out, and you’ve already forgiven me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Jaejoong nodded in the dark and scooted back enough to press against Yoochun. It was a hint, and one that Yoochun took. He turned on his side, slipped his hand around Jaejoong’s waist and pressed a shaky kiss to the back of his neck.
The real thing felt much better than the whispers and ghostly fingers of his tormenter.
And this time, Jaejoong didn’t try to stop the words. He tightened his hold on Yoochun’s fingers and whispered, “I love you, god, Yoochun, I still love you so much.”
Yoochun’s breath hitched and he took a deep breath. He nuzzled against Jaejoong’s ear, and in a deep voice that sounded nothing like the one that had haunted his dreams, he said, “I have always loved you so much.”
Jaejoong turned around in Yoochun’s hold, and it was almost as if the last eight months hadn’t happened. Their lips sought and found each other easily, and Yoochun’s lips still felt the same though they were shaking. And so were Jaejoong’s.
“I love you,” Jaejoong gasped into the next kiss. “I love you.”
Yoochun nodded, and when he started crying, Jaejoong smiled and then laughed. “So emotional.”
“Shut up,” Yoochun grumbled and then pulled Jaejoong tightly against him and kissed him again, and then again. “I love you. You’re my heart and my light.”
Jaejoong smiled widely and twisted his legs up and around and his arms over until he was in his favorite position that Yoochun always called the octopus. Jaejoong didn’t care. He took another deep breath and relaxed in his lover’s arms.
__|--|= The Very Next Morning - Yoochun =|--|__
Yoochun woke up to an icy douse of air on his legs. He blinked a few times and groggily lifted his head from the spot where it’d been buried against Jaejoong’s back.
Changmin was smirking at him.
“What?” Yoochun muttered.
“Can’t wait until you two fuck again. I’ve missed watching.”
Yoochun groaned. “Oh, god, Minnie. Fuck you.”
Changmin chuckled. “So Yunho had a brilliant idea after you left his house yesterday, and he’s been up all night at the station trying to figure it out.”
Yoochun very carefully sat up. Jaejoong whimpered in protest and his arms wrapped around Yoochun’s stomach. Yoochun ran his fingers along the deep scar that marred his arm. Jaejoong did not wake up.
“What idea?”
“He’s pretty sure that you pissed someone off,” Changmin said. “One of a cop’s biggest worries is that someone they put in jail will come after them in revenge. Yunho’s been going through the cases that you’ve helped them with.”
“Revenge? Great.”
“Also, it followed Jaejoong here. We can all feel it, but I can’t tell you exactly where it is. The protections are strong, but if even one area weakens, it could get in.”
Yoochun nodded. “I’ll have Ailee reinforce them when she gets here.”
“Not too strong,” Changmin said with another smirk, “or do you want me to go away?”
Yoochun chuckled.
And Jaejoong woke up with a muttered whisper of his name. “What ... what? Who’re you talking to?”
“It’s just Changmin.”
Jaejoong made a face. “Tell him to go away. Sleeping.”
“Well, it’s time to get up. Ailee will be here soon.”
Jaejoong’s face scrunched in a pout that Yoochun had never been able to resist and he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his mouth. The pout turned into Jaejoong’s beautiful smile.
Changmin made gagging noises. “I can handle the fucking,” he said as he floated toward the door, “but not the sickeningly sweet lovey-dovey shit.”
Yoochun ignored him and resettled with Jaejoong, their lips still together in soft kisses.
“God, missed you,” Jaejoong muttered.
“I missed you, too.”
“Love you so much. Love you. I’m so sorry. I love you.”
Yoochun nodded, throat tight against words and kept kissing his beautiful soul mate. At least for a little while. “My light,” he whispered. “You are my light.”
“Well, your light needs to pee.”
Yoochun laughed and brushed their noses together. He rolled away and then helped Jaejoong up. After another kiss, Jaejoong went to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. Yoochun checked his phone and had a confirmation from Ailee that she would be there in an hour. Yoochun started coffee and then moved to the fridge to start preparing breakfast.
Jaejoong’s arms wrapped around his middle and Yoochun smiled, leaned against him and then turned around for a kiss.
With a smile, Jaejoong reached between and gripped the crescent necklace that always hung around Yoochun’s neck (well, sometimes they took it off when they were fucking and knew they’d be getting really messy).
“I really ... I just realized,” Jaejoong said and met Yoochun’s eyes. “In what my mind is telling me is a memory, you aren’t wearing this. It’s not the main reason why I should have known something was wrong, but it is a pretty big clue.”
Yoochun cupped his cheeks and kissed him. “It’s not your fault. Possession and suppression are common when it comes to demons.”
“This is so weird. It’s like ... I feel like I believe it, but every time I think that, I feel stupid.”
“You saw Changmin yesterday, right?”
“I ... I think so.”
“Changmin,” Yoochun said, “go stand by the door.”
Jaejoong turned his head to look and Yoochun used his finger to turn it back. “Changmin was smart in life, and he’s getting smarter in death. He’s learning how to present himself without stealing energy from the living. Don’t focus on it, just look at me.”
Jaejoong smiled and touched his cheek. “Can’t keep my eyes off you.”
Changmin moaned and the sound echoed through the kitchen.
Jaejoong jumped.
Changmin laughed. “It’s like the first time all over again.”
This time it was Yoochun smiling at Jaejoong. “Yeah. It really is.” Their lips met.
“Ugh, hyung. Gross with the lovey dovey kissing again.”
“What really is?” Jaejoong asked with their lips still together.
Yoochun explained, complete with Changmin’s distaste for the kissing. Jaejoong smiled, eyes still on Yoochun and not the fuzzy man-shaped thing in the corner of his eye. He held out a hand, middle finger in the air, and used his other hand to pull Yoochun down for a kiss. Again, Changmin groaned and Jaejoong shivered.
“I’ve gotten used to that, right?”
Yoochun smiled. “Yes. You have.”
Yoochun put his forehead against Jaejoong’s. He loved how much they fit together. The hole in his heart the last eight months was finally stitching shut.
“You’re going to burn breakfast,” Changmin said.
Yoochun smiled and kissed Jaejoong’s nose. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t need anything else right now.”
“I love you,” Jaejoong said.
Changmin said something else scathing as their lips met again.
Reluctantly, Yoochun pulled away and stayed next to Jaejoong, their hands touching, smiles distracting, but still he helped his lover make their first breakfast together in what felt like years.
Jaejoong seemed a little nervous when Ailee showed up, but he was more than willing to let her lead him through a series of mental cleansing and personal protection rituals. Jaejoong panicked only once during a moment when Ailee created a shield for him. Yoochun watched and saw a grey mass twist and spiral from Jaejoong’s head. It slammed against the shield, and Ailee wavered for a moment, called upon a spirit and then it was gone.
Ailee met Yoochun’s eyes and nodded and finished the ritual. She warned Jaejoong not to move and opened the circle enough to sit next to him. She helped him breathe and relax and then the two of them thanked the great spirits for their help. When the final offerings were given and the candle snuffed, Ailee helped Jaejoong to his feet. He stood there for a moment, wavering and then turned and bowed, whispering words that Yoochun did not hear even though they were only a few feet apart.
And then he turned around, met Yoochun’s eyes and smiled.
Yoochun smiled back and held out his arms, and Jaejoong flew into them. “God, I love you. I love you. I’m so sorry.”
Yoochun pressed a kiss to his head. “Stop apologizing for something that isn’t your fault. Do you feel better?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I feel like myself again.”
“And your memories?”
“All there.”
“Good.”
“Thank you,” Jaejoong said, turning just his head to face Ailee.
She smiled. “Any time. I can still feel the presence though.”
Yoochun nodded. “Changmin says it’s in the building.”
Ailee frowned. “I can’t do protections spells for the entire building without upsetting someone. I’d need my coven for it, too.”
“I understand,” Yoochun said. “We’re working on figuring out who or what it is and why it is targeting me. Maybe I can reason with it if I know what it wants.”
“If it proves too much for you, call me.”
“I will.”
“Thank you so much,” Jaejoong said again, and reluctantly let go of Yoochun so they could help Ailee pack up her things.
After Ailee had left with a promise to call and make sure Jaejoong was okay, Jaejoong pulled Yoochun down the hall toward the bathroom. Changmin’s disembodied laughter followed them.
Jaejoong slammed the bathroom door shut, pushed Yoochun against it and attacked his mouth and shoved his hands into the front of Yoochun’s sweats.
Yoochun yanked his head away from Jaejoong’s lips, slamming it against the door. Jaejoong protested but moved the harsh kisses to Yoochun’s throat.
“Jaejoong, stop wait, just ... hang on.”
Jaejoong glared at him. “I haven’t splattered come all over the bathroom counter for eight months. Almost nine. I want you inside me. I want you to fuck me.”
Yoochun moaned and with surprising steady hands unbuttoned Jaejoong’s jeans.
“Yoochun!”
Yoochun moaned again, and then realized that the voice calling his name was not Jaejoong.
“Yoochun!” Yunho’s voice echoed through the apartment.
“Fuck him,” Jaejoong muttered. “Fuck him. Didn’t we lock the door?”
“Changmin has learned to unlock it whenever he wants.”
“Fuck that stupid ghoul, too.”
“Yoochun!”
“Oh my god what?” Yoochun shouted back. “This better be important.”
“It is!”
Yoochun thunked his head to the door again, eyes open and on Jaejoong. He hoped that the look showed Jaejoong just how much he wanted him. The answering smile and smolder showed him that he succeeded. Jaejoong reached up and tangled his hands in Yoochun’s long hair. He pressed their lips together for a slow kiss that made Yoochun glad he was leaning against the door.
“I love you,” Jaejoong said.
“I love you, too.”
Their lips lingered for another moment, and then Changmin came through the door, half through Yoochun and Jaejoong’s body.
Jaejoong shivered. “Fuck that was weird ... and cold.”
“That was Changmin.”
“Yunho is awesome,” Changmin said. “Come on. He thinks he’s figured it out.”
Yoochun sighed, but nodded.
Jaejoong let him turn around, but he kept his hands on his arm, and then his back and then around his waist. They entered the kitchen entwined and Yunho smiled at them. He sat at the table with a fresh cup of coffee. Yoochun headed to the pot for his own. He felt that he was going to need it.
Yunho’s smirked. “Kiss bruised lips and erections. I take it things are back to normal.”
Jaejoong snorted. “I guess, if having some weird demonic thing after you is considered normal.”
Yunho motioned to the manila folder on the table. “That might put things into perspective.”
Yoochun sat down and Jaejoong sat as close to him as possible, keeping his arms around his neck and face pressed to his shoulders.
Yoochun opened the manila folder and almost spit his coffee out all over it. “Baekhyun? He died?”
“No, he’s very much alive, still rotting away in prison. He won’t be getting out unless it’s in a casket.”
Yoochun glared at the smug look reflected in the mug shot photo. The man had kidnapped, raped and murdered three girls, the oldest was ten. There was no evidence, until Yoochun got involved. Everything against Baekhyun was circumstantial and to the day he was sentenced he claimed he was innocent. It’d been the worst case he had ever worked on, and Jenna, the sweet thing, had helped the three girls find Yoochun so they could lead him to their bodies, and then to the place where a fourth child was being held. A building that Baekhyun rented. Baekhyun still said he hadn’t done it, and there was absolutely no physical evidence. His computer and phone had been confiscated and there was some information about two of the girls, but Baekhyun swore it was just a coincidence.
And then the girls had led him through Baekhyun’s house. In a dream. He’d called Yunho the next day and said they had to go look again. In the baby’s room, in the closet, behind a panel. Physical souvenirs from each victim. Baekhyun still said he didn’t do it. The defense tried to blame Baekhyun’s friends.
The case almost drove him crazy. It was the first major case since he had started dating Jaejoong.
He still saw the girls every now and then, playing in the living room. He left teddy bears out for them.
“His wife committed suicide. Killed their six year old son and slit her wrists.”
Yoochun’s eyes widened and he stared in shock at Yunho. “W-when?”
“Almost a year ago.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s on a vendetta.”
“What is her name?”
“Kwon Yuri.”
Jaejoong sat up. “Yoochun’s involvement in that case was never revealed to the public. How would she ...” He trailed off. “Fuck. She found out after she died, didn’t she?”
“Probably,” Yoochun said and pressed a kiss to Jaejoong’s temple.
“So how do we get rid of her?”
Yoochun sighed. “I don’t know. If she found out I helped, then she could find out that Baekhyun did rape and kill those kids.”
“I don’t think that would matter,” Yunho said. “What’s the phrase, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’.”
Jaejoong snorted. “So now what?”
Yoochun leaned back in his chair, fingers trailing over Jaejoong’s thigh. “I’m going to go talk to her. Changmin, do you know where she is?”
“I’ll go find out,” Changmin said and winked out just as Jaejoong demanded, “Right now?” with his voice rising in protest.
“Good time for it, after Ailee’s reinforcement of the protection spells.”
“She’s in the basement,” Changmin said, right next to Yoochun’s elbow.
“Of course she is,” Yoochun muttered. At their questioning looks, he explained, “She’s in the basement.”
“Probably doing laundry,” Jaejoong said with a smile. “The afterlife is probably really harsh on fabrics.”
Yoochun laughed and rubbed their noses together. “God, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this.”
“Me, too. Be safe.”
Yoochun nodded and gripped the cross around his neck. “I will be.” He grabbed his phone and his inhaler.
Jaejoong stopped him at the door and kissed him deeply. “You owe me.”
“Eight months worth. I know.”
Jaejoong smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll be back.”
“I know.”
Their lips touched one more time and then Yoochun turned and left the apartment. He took a deep breath to stabilize himself and headed down the hall. He bypassed the elevator and took the stairs. Both were dangerous with a spirit after him, but he could hang on to a handrail all the way down.
He thought about what to say, and with each step, knew that nothing he could think of would be enough. This woman lost her husband, and then her mind, and her child. Yoochun had no idea how to help a spirit so broken.
Yoochun felt the energy change the further down he went. At the bottom, the power behind the door was almost stifling. He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths, said a silent prayer for strength and help from whoever (or whatever) was listening.
“Don’t worry,” a voice said next to him. “I got your back.”
Yoochun spun around, eyes widening and mouth opening.
His father stared back at him, smiling. “Hey.”
“D-dad?”
“On this earth I was your father, yes.”
Yoochun stepped forward and the image wavered and he tried to keep the anguish from his face. He wanted to hold onto his father and never let him go. “W-why? Wh-where?”
With a chuckle, his father nodded at the door behind him. “Just because you can’t see me, doesn’t me I’m not there. You ought to know that by now.”
“But I ... you ... what?”
“I know you wanted to see me before,” he continued, “but I wanted you to understand that you’re strong enough to be on your own. Not completely, of course, because of the gift you have. Some are not a lucky as you. Yes, it feels like a curse some days, but it’s also a blessing since you understand what comes after this life.”
“I don’t understand. Why now?”
Yoochun’s father raised his eyebrows and the image wavered again with his amusement. “Because now and almost a year ago, the person you love the most was threatened. I like Jaejoong. He’s good for you, balances you. You need help. Love is a universal emotion. It’s difficult to explain love in the afterlife. Think of it as a balance. Or the force.”
Yoochun laughed.
His father smiled. “It surrounds us and binds us to those we’ve been close too. Or will be close to. You won’t be fighting evil behind that door, just deep, misunderstood love.”
“How? How do I do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s go find out.”
Yoochun stared at him for a bit longer, nodded and turned around to open the door. As soon as he stepped into the laundry room, heat and darkness enveloped him. There was a scream that felt like it was torn from his brain. It took a moment for everything to clear and Yoochun found himself on his hands and knees, gasping.
But love, support, strength stood around him. The darkness swirled beyond him.
“Yuri, stop,” Yoochun whispered.
“Mine!”
Yoochun shook his head. “No, not yours.”
“You took what was mine!” A woman stood in front of him. A pale blue dress stained with blood covered her. Both of her wrists were bleeding gashes.
A baby cried, and she screamed again, arms lashing out. Yoochun felt his skin burn and then the entity was across the room, screaming at him.
“Perfect, perfect. Everything was perfect.”
Yoochun tried to get up and more pain lashed over his back.
“How could he ... he wasn’t ... how could he do that? He couldn’t. He was perfect. You lied. You lied.”
Yoochun focused on keeping his mind his own and then said, “Have you gone to see him?”
The oppressive feeling settled more deeply around him.
“Go talk to him,” Yoochun gasped. “Go ask him if he did it. You don’t even need to ask.”
The wailing returned and cold lashed at Yoochun’s skin. A different force buoyed him up enough that he could push up to his knees.
“Your baby is safe,” Yoochun’s father said. “He is safe and happy where he is. You can see him when you want. When you remember--”
“I suffer! He will suffer!”
“You know that isn’t how it works. You cannot mess with the balance. You place blame with the wrong person.”
“Yuri, please,” Yoochun said. “You know the truth. You do.”
The darkness swirled around the woman’s image and she screamed again and again. A burst of energy knocked Yoochun to the floor.Yoochun fought for breath. Chanting filled the room. A language that Yoochun had never heard. The darkness contracted. Everything was so hot. An intense pressure filled his head and he screamed.
Laughter echoed around him.
“You are not stronger than us,” Yoochun’s father said.
“Strong enough to destroy him. Strong enough for that!”
Yoochun struggled to his knees again. He gripped the necklace tightly, thought of Jaejoong and added his voice to the chanting. He had no idea what he said, but the darkness billowed and weaved, and the screaming from the ghost turned to shallow echoes.
Slowly the oppression lessened. Slowly the air cleared.
Slowly Yoochun learned to breathe again.
“You are not welcome here,” Yoochun’s father said, “and you will be forcefully removed if you return. Go and find your answers. They are not here.”
Yoochun was able to push up to this knees again and he lifted his head. The laundry room looked normal besides the churning mass of gray in a corner. The pain in his heart hadn’t lessened, but it wasn’t his own pain, but hers.
“Be at peace, Kwon Yuri,” Yoochun said. “Find your peace.”
The mass stilled and then shattered. There was no noise outside of Yoochun’s mind. Each jagged piece hit the ground and evaporated. Yoochun watched and controlled his breathing. His hand was still clenched around the necklace.
“You okay, son?”
Yoochun nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” Yoochun closed his eyes and focused saying thank you beyond his father and this room.
This entity was too strong for him.
“You shouldn’t have problems with her. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Yoochun finally stood up, using the wall to support himself. “I don’t know what would have happened without you here.”
“She would have destroyed you.”
Yoochun glanced at him. “While true, not comforting.”
His father chuckled. “You asked for help when she first attacked Jaejoong, and you received that help. You probably will whenever you truly need the help and you truly ask for it. You’re connected to both worlds. It makes you special, but also vulnerable. But you aren’t arrogant. I like to think I raised you well.”
Yoochun smiled. “You did a great job. Thank you for helping before. I don’t know what I would do without Jaejoong.”
“This was beyond your control, and Jaejoong has always been yours to protect and love.”
Yoochun pondered his father for a moment. “Always? To you that word means something different than it does to me.”
His father laughed. “Yes, it does. This isn’t your first lifetime together. It won’t be your last, but you’re not supposed to know that.”
“So reincarnation is right?”
“Right?”
“Yeah. That’s how the afterlife works.”
“Son, haven’t you learned yet that no one is right and everyone is right?”
“What?”
“Heaven is what you make of it. The afterlife is there, as you well know, but if you are tormented on earth, you will be tormented in your own version of hell, unless you change. If you’re happy, then there is heaven. You told Yuri to find her peace. If she finds her peace, then she can be happy. She can have another chance at life.”
“So is there a god?”
His father smiled and then laughed. “Perhaps.”
Yoochun smiled back.
“Go back to your lover. I’m going to go find Yuri and help lead her to her peace.”
Yoochun’s smile fell. “Will I see you again?”
With a small smile, his father moved toward him, wavering, almost see through. “Eventually, yes. But again, just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not right here.” His hand sank into Yoochun’s chest, right where his necklace was. Yoochun looked down, and then up, and his father was gone.
Yoochun’s chest tightened and he gripped the necklace tightly. He took a very deep breath and left the laundry room. His body was completely weak, and just walking took it’s toll on his energy. Feeling safe, he took the elevator up to his floor.
Jaejoong was waiting for him with the door open. He smiled widely though Yoochun saw the worry in his eyes. He smiled in return and let Jaejoong help him inside and to the couch.
“You’re so beautiful,” Yoochun said.
Jaejoong nodded. “I know.”
Yoochun laughed and curled up against him.
“What happened?” Yunho asked.
Yoochun kept his eyes shut and tried to explain everything.
“So we’re safe?” Jaejoong asked.
Yoochun nodded.
“Until the next one.”
Yoochun moaned. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“I’ll still be here,” Jaejoong whispered and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Yoochun smiled. “I know. Apparently you’re stuck with me forever.”
Jaejoong looked at him, face confused.
“Do you remember that day when I started joking about us being soul mates?”
Jaejoong smiled widely. “Of course.”
“Well, we are. My father says this is not our first life together, or our last.”
Jaejoong hugged him tightly. “Good. Thank god. The thought of ... I just ... sometimes I think of what would happen if you died or I died and how we would meet again. Or if we would. I never want to be separated from you again.”
“Same here.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two to your love fest,” Yunho said and headed for the door. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
Jaejoong chuckled. “Bring Junsu over for dinner tomorrow. I definitely owe you this time, not just Yoochun.”
“He owes me, too.”
“True. Guess I’ll be making japanese food tomorrow.”
“You know me well.”
As soon as Yunho was gone, Changmin materialized on the other side of the room. “So are you two going to fuck or what?”
Yoochun burst out laughing and had to explain to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and turned Yoochun’s face to his. Their lips met for a moment. “No fucking until he feels better. Just love and sappiness.”
Changmin’s groan echoed around them.
.
Pairing: Yoochun/Jaejoong
Rating: PC-15
Disclaimer: Maybe in my next life I can be their master.
Summary: Yoochun's life is perfect until he loses what is most important.
A/N: This fic is part of the Yoochun!Medium verse that includes Meddling Spirits and The Newbie Spirit. You do not have to read those to understand this one though you should anyway. This fic is darker than the other two.
A/N 2: Forgot to mention - there are some religious themes in this and some blending of beliefs.
Yoochun snapped awake.
It took a moment for him to realize that their bed was shaking violently. He sat up, arms to his side for balance. He kept the fear way until he looked down at his lover.
Jaejoong’s eyes were wide open, his mouth gaping. He wasn’t breathing. His skin was white, practically glowing blue in the dark room.
“Jaejoong!” Yoochun reached for him.
Electricity shot up his arm, zapping him and throwing him backwards. He tumbled to the floor, hitting his head on the nightstand. The room swam and he fought the dizziness while scrambling to his knees. The shaking of the bed sped up. The room darkened beyond what was considered darkness.
A deep, growling voice pulsed, “Mine” in the waves of darkness.
Jaejoong’s arms suddenly shot to the side. His back arched and he slammed back to the bed and Yoochun heard something snap.
Yoochun shouted his name again and tried to get to him. Again, an unseen force kept him back, fingers just short of Jaejoong’s bare skin.
“Mine. My light now.”
Something swirled around him. Something positive. Calm.
“He’s ... we don’t know. We can’t do anything.” The voices continued around him. “It’s too powerful. We don’t know what it is.”
Yoochun kept his eyes on his lover, his best friend. He wasn’t religious in the normal sense of the word--he was still on the fence about heaven and god--but every good had an opposite bad. If there was something this strong and evil in the afterlife, that had to mean there was something equally as strong and good.
Yoochun gripped the crescent necklace around his neck and started talking to the only person who might listen, “Dad. Please, help me. Dad. Please. Go it away. Make it go away, please. Help me. Help him. Please. God, please.”
The bed jolted, knocking Yoochun to the side again.
“Mine.”
He stayed on his knees, curled up and prayed to whoever was there to listen.
The sudden silence was deafening.
Yoochun almost jumped onto the bed. Light suddenly bathed the room, and Yoochun fought back tears at the site of his lover, unconscious.
But he was breathing. His face was still very pale, but his chest rose and fell.
Broken. Something broke.
“Jaejoong!” Yoochun touched him softly. His skin was so cold. He pulled the blanket over him and reached for the phone to call an ambulance. Just as his fingers closed around it, deep purple and blue marks blossomed on Jaejoong’s neck.
They looked just like fingers. Like someone had been choking him.
Yoochun tried not to panic and dialed a different number instead. There was no answer, so Yoochun called again, and again, until finally, a very sleepy Junsu answered the phone.
“Su. Yunho. I need. Yunho. Yunho.”
“Yoochun? Calm down. Yunho’s right here.”
“Please. Please. Jaejoong ... Jaejoong ...”
“Yoochun?” Yunho said.
Yoochun whimpered and couldn’t say much besides, “Help. Please. Jaejoong. Come. Our place. Please. Please.”
“I’m on my way. Take a deep breath. Come on. Deep breath.”
Yoochun inhaled.
“Where’s your inhaler? Do you need it?”
Yoochun shook his head. “Jaejoong. Hurt. Please.”
“I’m coming. I’m in the elevator. I’ll be there in ten minutes, okay? Call an ambulance if he’s hurt.”
“Can’t ... can’t. Oh god, Yunho. It almost killed him. Please.”
“Yoochun, you need to call an ambulance. If it’s serious, you need to call an ambulance. Junsu, call 911.”
Yoochun swallowed. “But ... but ... he ... I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it! Yunho. I didn’t.”
“I know you didn’t, Yoochun.”
The muffled sound of a siren filled the air.
“Five minutes,” Yunho said. “Five minutes. Tell me what happened.”
Yoochun kept his eyes on Jaejoong. “He ... something ... I don’t know. He wasn’t breathing. The bed was shaking.” The comforting feelings from the other spirits embraced him again, and Yoochun was able to finish telling Yunho in more coherent words what had happened and the voice that still echoed in his brain. He heard sirens and he wasn’t sure if it was Yunho or the ambulance.
“There ... there are finger ... marks on his neck. Like something was strangling him.”
“Which is why you called me.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m here. Is your door unlocked?”
“I don’t ... I don’t know. I don’t want to leave him.”
“I’ll get it,” Changmin’s voice suddenly said next to him. “It’ll be open.”
“Changmin says he can unlock it.”
“Good. We’re in the elevator. Twenty seconds.”
Yoochun nodded and the next thirty seconds were quiet. He jumped when someone moved his phone and arms wrapped around his waist. Yunho leaned over Jaejoong, checked his pulse and made sure he was still breathing. Yoochun warned him about the break he heard, so Yunho didn’t move him.
Yoochun leaned back against Junsu’s body.
A minute later his room was bombarded by EMTs and more police officers. It was chaos for a little while, but Yunho kept control. Kept the other officers away from Yoochun, and even managed to get Yoochun in the back of the ambulance with Jaejoong.
Everything blurred together. Yoochun stopped functioning, fingers clenched around the necklace.
What the fuck had happened?
---|---
Almost three hours later, Yunho sat next to him in the waiting room chair.
Yoochun lifted bloodshot eyes and took the proffered cup of coffee with a muttered thanks.
Yoochun hated hospitals. So crowded. So many spirits. And when they found out he could see them, they tried to bombarded him with requests for help. Fortunately, Changmin, Jessica and the old ahjumma kept them away from him.
“Jaejoong is out of surgery. His arm was set and casted. His ribs aren’t broken, but they are bruised. His throat will be sore, but the doctors say there won’t be any lasting damage. He won’t be able to talk for a few days.”
Yoochun nodded, swallowing the steaming, bitter coffee. “Is that the good news or the bad news?”
Yunho tried to smile. “The good news.”
“And the bad?”
“They want to take you in and ask you some questions.”
Yoochun nodded again. He figured as much. It was why he called Yunho first.
“You don’t have to worry though. The cops can’t technically do anything if Jaejoong doesn’t press charges, and he won’t.”
“When can I see him?”
“He won’t be awake for a few more hours, but I’ll go see if you can sit with him. We’ll work on writing your official statement that doesn’t make you sound too crazy. You’re lucky the police force is familiar with you.”
Less than ten minutes later, Yoochun was sitting next to Jaejoong’s hospital bed. Jaejoong was still as breathtakingly beautiful as he was when Yoochun first met him. Even with his skin a ghostly shade of pale. His hair was black now, dyed after a fail job at bleaching it blonde, and he’d taken to wearing brightly colored contacts. The swirling lines of his tattoo were just visible above the wrap around his chest. Yoochun could see the word “My” but his name which followed it was obscured.
Mine. The scraggly voice echoed in his mind again. Mine.
Yoochun tried to focus on Jaejoong as his eyes droopped shut. He kept his fingers loosely in Jaejoong’s hand that didn’t have an IV in it. His body curled up, folded down in the chair. Despite the whispers around him, his body sagged and the energy drained and he fell asleep.
In a terrifying sense of deja vu, Yoochun snapped awake to Jaejoong shaking and whimpering. He sat up, blinked his eyes clear and turned to his lover. His smile froze.
Jaejoong’s eyes were looking at him with terrifying fear.
“Jaejoong?”
“No, no, no. Don’t hurt me. Please. No.”
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun said again and reached for him.
Jaejoong screamed, as loud as his sore throat could.
Yoochun slammed the nurse’s button and a moment later a nurse was there, and Jaejoong was screaming and trying to move away from Yoochun.
Yoochun put his hands up and stepped away from the bed.
Jaejoong turned his head away. There were tears on his cheeks. Yoochun’s heart ached to go to him. The nurse checked his vitals and asked him if he was in pain.
A moment later, Yunho came into the room.
“Yunho, don’t ...” Jaejoong coughed.
“You shouldn’t be talking,” Yunho said.
Jaejoong breathed in deeply, wincing and the nurse tutted at him and said she would be back with a bit more morphine.
“What happened?” Yunho asked.
Yoochun shrugged. “He ... he started ... he thinks I did this to him.”
“You did,” Jaejoong muttered. “He tried to kill me. Are you going to arrest him?”
Yunho was quiet for a long time and then he said, “Yoochun did not do this to you.”
Jaejoong’s voice wavered. “He did. He did!”
“Why don’t you tell me what you remember?”
Jaejoong did not look at either of them, but in a quiet voice he said, “I don’t know. I woke up to him on top of me and his hands on my neck and he said he was going to kill me and no one would believe me. He said he would kill me!”
Yoochun’s throat tightened and he shook his head. Yunho held up a hand.
“You were attacked by an unseen force. Yoochun isn’t sure what it was. A really, really strong demon or poltergeist.”
Jaejoong actually laughed. “You believe that? He’s saying a ghost did this?”
Yoochun met Yunho’s eyes, and asked, “You don’t believe in ghosts?”
“No! Are you crazy? He’s crazy. He’s going to kill me.”
“Yoochun is not going to kill you,” Yunho said. “You really think he could?”
Jaejoong’s breath hitched. “He tried.”
Yunho took a very deep breath and asked, “Jaejoong, how long have you been with Yoochun?”
Silent tears continued to drip down his cheeks, and Yoochun started crying too.
After a moment, Jaejoong whispered, “Eight years.”
“And has he ever been anything but obsessively devoted to you and in love with you for eight years?”
Jaejoong shook his head.
Yoochun whispered, “I love you. I could never, ever hurt you.”
“You did!”
“I didn’t.”
“You ... you ...”
“It wasn’t me. I promise.”
“A ghost? A demon?”
“Jaejoong,” Yunho said, giving Yoochun a look that told him to shut up, “do you remember when you first met Yoochun?”
“Of course. He made up a lame line about the cafe being full even though we were the only ones there.”
“Do you remember what else he told you that first time you met?”
Jaejoong finally turned his head and looked at Yoochun. “No.”
Yunho huffed.
“Something is really wrong,” Changmin said next to Yoochun.
Yoochun nodded. “I know.”
“What?” Jaejoong demanded.
“Just Changmin.”
“Who?”
Yoochun felt his mouth open in surprise.
“Yeah,” Changmin said and moved toward the bed. “He can’t ... it’s like he’s blocked or something. Like whatever did this put a block on all his memories about you being a medium.”
Yoochun took a very deep breath, but did not say that out loud.
Changmin ran his hand down Jaejoong’s arm, something that always got Jaejoong to jump or react in some way. But Jaejoong just stayed stoic, calm.
The nurse finally returned, apologizing about the delay. “You need to rest more.”
Jaejoong nodded and asked for some ice chips.
Yoochun wanted to go to his bedside, but he stayed put and it was Yunho who fulfilled the request.
“Are you going to press charges?” Yunho asked.
Jaejoong met Yoochun’s eyes for only a second.
“Think about it really hard because if you press charges, Yoochun is going to go to jail. And for a long time. He can’t defend himself against this. He didn’t do it, but with you saying he did, and him saying a demon did it. Well, who do you think the courts are going to believe?”
Jaejoong’s breath hitched again and more tears fell down his cheeks. But finally he shook his head, “N-no. But ...”
Yunho waited and then had to prompt, “What?”
“I can’t ... I can’t live with him. I can’t ... even ... he’ll hurt me.”
Yoochun opened his mouth to protest, but Yunho beat him to it. “I can promise you that Yoochun will not hurt you, but something in that house will. Something that you used to believe in.”
“That’s crazy.”
“But true. Will Soonli let you stay with her for a little while? Or you can stay with Junsu and me.”
“I’ll ... I’ll call Soonli.”
“Okay. I’ll call her for you, alright? And your mom. You’ll be here for a few more days. I know it’s hard, but you have to trust Yoochun right now. Just a little. He won’t hurt you.”
“I love you,” Yoochun said, voice breaking.
Jaejoong gasped and nodded, and turned his head away from him.
Yoochun felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. It was silent in the room until the morphine put Jaejoong to sleep.
Yunho sighed and stood up. He rubbed his thighs. “It’s pretty common for a victim of abuse, especially when their breath is cut off, to forget things. But his memory is too selective. And the fact that he doesn’t remember anything about the supernatural is just a bit too neat.”
“Changmin says he has a block in his mind. He didn’t even react when Changmin touched him earlier.”
Yunho shook his head. “Jaejoong loves you. I don’t think even the demon could make him forget that. What are you going to do now?”
Yoochun shrugged. “I don’t know. But I don’t want him to be afraid when he wakes up. I’m going to go home, pack some things for him. See if I can figure this out. All I saw was darkness. And that voice. I’ll never forget that voice. It was scary. It was so powerful. I’ve never encountered something like that before.”
“I’ll write up an official statement with Jaejoong when he’s calmed down. We can’t make it seem like you did this.”
“What about the nurse?”
“We’ll talk to her. Don’t worry. You aren’t going to go to jail.”
Yoochun nodded. “Thanks.” He took a very deep breath and moved to the side of the bed. He smiled and moved the damp hair off Jaejoong’s pale skin. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his pliant lips and then his forehead. “I love you, Jaejoong. I will find out what did this to you.”
Swallowing another wave of tears, Yoochun turned around and left the room.
__|--|= 8 months later - Jaejoong =|--|__
There was something in his apartment.
Something that Jaejoong wasn’t quite ready to admit actually existed. He’d lived there for only two months. He’d stayed with his sister through the six months of his recovery, but he didn’t want to stay. He wanted his own place.
Partly to prove that he wasn’t an invalid, and partly to prove that he could survive without Yoochun in his life. Even if his heart ached every time he thought of his ex-boyfriend.
His heart ached, but his breath sped up in fear.
Yoochun’s face, mouth sneering down at him, hands tightening around his throat, still plagued his nightmares. Sometimes he woke up with the feel of fingers on his neck or over his mouth or squeezing painfully around his arm or leg. He woke up with bruises a lot.
Had Yoochun been telling the truth? Were there demons and ghosts in the world? Had he been attacked by one?
Yunho and Junsu had told him about Yoochun’s abilities, but Jaejoong had a very hard time believing it. Or the stories about him when he had lived with Yoochun.
He understood that he could have selective amnesia, but he’d undergone hypnosis and seen nothing but black. The hypnotist said his mind was pure. Nothing wrong.
Eight years. Eight years with a man who was two separate people in his head.
Jaejoong felt like he was going crazy.
There was a noise in the living room.
Jaejoong had stopped going to look. There wasn’t ever anything there.
At least, not that he could see.
Jaejoong curled up on his side, alone in bed, and waited until sleep came in the wee hours of morning. The feel of fingers in his hair or on his side, a weight around his middle, and breath puffing on his neck kept him awake. He wasn’t sure if it was real. Or if he only missed Yoochun.
In the waking moments before sleep finally tugged him, Jaejoong heard ragged laughter and felt breath on his ear. But he couldn’t move and even as his heart sped up, his body went slack.
Whispers of “mine” echoed through his dreams.
Jaejoong snapped awake, body frozen, but he knew he was still dreaming. He had to still be dreaming. The room was dark, too dark, and his eyes were open and all he saw was gray and black weaving mist. He screamed but the noise was ripped from him and swallowed. He tried to move again, and pain laced up body. Fingers closed around his neck, but there was no one above him. Nothing. Weight, heat, pain. He screamed again, and then again, and the mist twisted and formed a face that didn’t look human.
That laughter that had been whispering around him for weeks filled the room, and Jaejoong tried to move, struggling and screaming.
The face faded and morphed into a face that Jaejoong still loved, and it laughed at him.
Pain, more than Jaejoong had ever thought he could bear, ripped across his chest and stomach, and he screamed Yoochun’s name, begged Yoochun to stop it. Stop the pain, just like he had last time.
Jaejoong wasn’t sure how long the dream lasted until the room was suddenly quiet and filled with the noises from the city around him.
Everything swam. His stomach hurt. Jaejoong rolled over, entire body aching. His mouth was dry and full of a foul taste. Jaejoong did not want to get up.
Slowly, he lifted his head. The morning light twisted and twirled, and he swallowed back nausea. He gave up moving and let himself sleep for a little bit longer.
When he finally did wake up and managed to move without being sick, Jaejoong sat up. His body still ached and there was a sting across his stomach, like someone had scratched him. It itched a bit, but touching it made the pain flare. After a deep breath, Jaejoong stood up. He swayed, but walked carefully across the hall to the bathroom. He needed a shower. He brushed his teeth, wincing when the skin of his stomach was pulled tight.
“What the fuck?” he muttered. He tightened the hold on the toothbrush with his mouth and lifted up his shirt.
Jaejoong stopped breathing. His eyes went wide and the toothbrush fell to the sink.
In angry red welts, still dripping blood, carved right across his stomach was the word, “MINE”.
Jaejoong screamed, heard it echo around him, full of mocking laughter. He spit in the sink, spun around and flew down the hall. A door slammed behind him. Footsteps followed him into the living room.
Jaejoong whimpered, slid on a ratty pair of flip flops that weren’t actually his but the only thing of Yoochun’s he had allowed himself to keep. He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the apartment. And down the street. He didn’t have his keys or his phone or his wallet. But it wouldn’t have mattered. Jaejoong ran and put as much space between him and that ... thing ... as he could.
Eventually he had to walk. His stomach was on fire. Blood seeped through the thin white shirt, and Jaejoong hastily zipped up his hoody to hide it. His body ached even more, but he kept going. It took almost an hour to walk to the place he had called home for eight years. He was gasping and his mind was swimming again.
The door code hadn’t changed, and Jaejoong sighed in relief, already feeling safer, even if this was where he’d been attacked.
Yoochun could tell him. Yoochun could help him. Jaejoong didn’t really believe it, but he knew that he hadn’t scratched a word into his own body.
Jaejoong practically collapsed against Yoochun’s door and managed to lift a hand to knock.
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun gasped, and Jaejoong looked up. When had he fallen? He didn’t know.
“Help, please. Make it go away.”
Yoochun dropped next to him and reached for him and Jaejoong jerked away from his touch and then winced.
Yoochun frowned, and Jaejoong didn’t want him to frown and he shook his head and said, “Please, please.” He tried to push up his sweater and his shirt, and this time when Yoochun reached for him, he didn’t flinch away.
Yoochun pushed the clothes up and gasped. A moment later, he was helping Jaejoong to his feet and pulling him into the apartment.
“What happened?” Yoochun asked.
“Make it stop. Please.”
Yoochun pulled him to the couch and sat with him, arms around his shoulders and Jaejoong cried into his chest, somehow managing to tell him about everything that had happened to him and the words and the laughing.
“So scared, Chunnie-ah. I’m so scared all the time.”
Yoochun put his hands on Jaejoong’s cheek lightly and lifted his head. He wiped at his tears and tried to smile. “I will do everything I can to protect you. I promise. I had this place protected and blessed when the darkness didn’t go away. I’m sorry that it found you, that it’s been tormenting you.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”
Yoochun swallowed and his eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I ...” Jaejoong bit his lip against the L-word. His emotions were too out of whack to be confessing that. Especially when Yoochun’s face still appeared in his nightmares.
Yoochun hugged him and said, “Let’s go to the bathroom and I’ll put some ointment on your chest. And then you can sleep. You look like you haven’t slept well for months.”
Jaejoong wasn’t sure he could sleep, but if what Yoochun said was true, he was safe there. Safe from that thing anyway.
But safe from Yoochun?
He looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the same look of love and devotion that was always in his eyes and had been in his eyes since the second day in the cafe.
“I trust you,” Jaejoong whispered.
Yoochun smiled. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.”
Jaejoong slept in the guest room, and slept for hours. When he woke up in the dark, he started to panic, but Yoochun was there, asleep in a chair, and Jaejoong calmed down. He was able to move and breathe, and he hadn’t had any nightmares.
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun mumbled, voice deep with sleep.
“I’m okay.”
“Good. Are you hungry?”
Jaejoong nodded.
“Do you want to cook?”
Jaejoong thought about that and then shook his head. “No. Help me sit up?”
Yoochun rose and moved to the bed. And when he reached for Jaejoong, Jaejoong didn’t flinch. He shut his eyes and leaned into Yoochun’s body for a moment.
Yoochun still smelled the same. He looked a bit tired and worn out.
Jaejoong understood. He wasn’t the only one who had lost their other half of eight years.
Yoochun moved a couple more pillows behind him and made sure he was comfortable. “Jjigae?”
Jaejoong smiled widely and nodded. “From Jangdokdae?”
“Of course. They’re the only ones that are almost close to the perfection that is your jjigae.”
Jaejoong laughed and pulled Yoochun close for a hug. Yoochun stiffened for a moment and then relaxed.
“I miss you,” Yoochun whispered.
Jaejoong nodded. “I miss you, too.”
---
Three days later, Jaejoong saw someone out in the corner of his eye that wasn’t Yoochun. He gasped, spun to look, but the image was gone. He had seen something. He knew he had. His breathing sped up and he dropped the book he’d been reading and ran to the bedroom.
Yoochun’s. Where he felt safe when Yoochun wasn’t home.
He buried himself in the blankets and the faded smell of Yoochun and the cologne he loved, and Jaejoong tried not to go back to that dark place in his mind that doubted Yoochun.
Jaejoong stayed there until Yoochun came home a couple hours later. He said he had to go talk to Yunho about something.
He heard Yoochun call for him, once calm, a second time panicked. And then he was in the room, sitting on the bed. He put a careful hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I am now.”
“Changmin says that you saw him earlier and freaked out a bit.”
“Changmin?”
Yoochun nodded. “You don’t remember?”
Jaejoong shook his head. Yunho and Junsu had told him about Changmin, about how the boy had died and his funeral when they had all first met Junsu. They talked about this rivalry and the way Changmin liked to tease him by moving his spatulas and spoons when he was cooking. Jaejoong couldn’t remember any of that.
Yoochun cleared his throat. “I’d like you see the Wiccan priestess that cleansed this place. See if she can take the block off your mind.”
Jaejoong swallowed and thought about that. As much as he wanted to stay in his bubble of denial, he had a healing wound on his chest that no one had put there. He had tried everything else practically.
Jaejoong nodded. “Okay. I ... I want to remember. I do. I want ... I want the fear to go away.”
“Yeah, I know. Are you hungry?”
Jaejoong shook his head. “I can’t eat right now.”
“I’m going to go see if Ailee can come tomorrow, but that means I have to leave again. You’ll be alright?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I’m not leaving this room.”
Yoochun smiled and ran his hands through Jaejoong’s hair. “Okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”
That night, Jaejoong didn’t move any further than the side of bed, giving Yoochun enough space to slide in beside him. He reached behind himself, found Yoochun’s hand and gripped his fingers.
“Thank you,” Jaejoong whispered.
Yoochun cleared his throat. “For what?”
“Being ... you. Just ... Being ... I tore your heart out, and you’ve already forgiven me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Jaejoong nodded in the dark and scooted back enough to press against Yoochun. It was a hint, and one that Yoochun took. He turned on his side, slipped his hand around Jaejoong’s waist and pressed a shaky kiss to the back of his neck.
The real thing felt much better than the whispers and ghostly fingers of his tormenter.
And this time, Jaejoong didn’t try to stop the words. He tightened his hold on Yoochun’s fingers and whispered, “I love you, god, Yoochun, I still love you so much.”
Yoochun’s breath hitched and he took a deep breath. He nuzzled against Jaejoong’s ear, and in a deep voice that sounded nothing like the one that had haunted his dreams, he said, “I have always loved you so much.”
Jaejoong turned around in Yoochun’s hold, and it was almost as if the last eight months hadn’t happened. Their lips sought and found each other easily, and Yoochun’s lips still felt the same though they were shaking. And so were Jaejoong’s.
“I love you,” Jaejoong gasped into the next kiss. “I love you.”
Yoochun nodded, and when he started crying, Jaejoong smiled and then laughed. “So emotional.”
“Shut up,” Yoochun grumbled and then pulled Jaejoong tightly against him and kissed him again, and then again. “I love you. You’re my heart and my light.”
Jaejoong smiled widely and twisted his legs up and around and his arms over until he was in his favorite position that Yoochun always called the octopus. Jaejoong didn’t care. He took another deep breath and relaxed in his lover’s arms.
__|--|= The Very Next Morning - Yoochun =|--|__
Yoochun woke up to an icy douse of air on his legs. He blinked a few times and groggily lifted his head from the spot where it’d been buried against Jaejoong’s back.
Changmin was smirking at him.
“What?” Yoochun muttered.
“Can’t wait until you two fuck again. I’ve missed watching.”
Yoochun groaned. “Oh, god, Minnie. Fuck you.”
Changmin chuckled. “So Yunho had a brilliant idea after you left his house yesterday, and he’s been up all night at the station trying to figure it out.”
Yoochun very carefully sat up. Jaejoong whimpered in protest and his arms wrapped around Yoochun’s stomach. Yoochun ran his fingers along the deep scar that marred his arm. Jaejoong did not wake up.
“What idea?”
“He’s pretty sure that you pissed someone off,” Changmin said. “One of a cop’s biggest worries is that someone they put in jail will come after them in revenge. Yunho’s been going through the cases that you’ve helped them with.”
“Revenge? Great.”
“Also, it followed Jaejoong here. We can all feel it, but I can’t tell you exactly where it is. The protections are strong, but if even one area weakens, it could get in.”
Yoochun nodded. “I’ll have Ailee reinforce them when she gets here.”
“Not too strong,” Changmin said with another smirk, “or do you want me to go away?”
Yoochun chuckled.
And Jaejoong woke up with a muttered whisper of his name. “What ... what? Who’re you talking to?”
“It’s just Changmin.”
Jaejoong made a face. “Tell him to go away. Sleeping.”
“Well, it’s time to get up. Ailee will be here soon.”
Jaejoong’s face scrunched in a pout that Yoochun had never been able to resist and he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his mouth. The pout turned into Jaejoong’s beautiful smile.
Changmin made gagging noises. “I can handle the fucking,” he said as he floated toward the door, “but not the sickeningly sweet lovey-dovey shit.”
Yoochun ignored him and resettled with Jaejoong, their lips still together in soft kisses.
“God, missed you,” Jaejoong muttered.
“I missed you, too.”
“Love you so much. Love you. I’m so sorry. I love you.”
Yoochun nodded, throat tight against words and kept kissing his beautiful soul mate. At least for a little while. “My light,” he whispered. “You are my light.”
“Well, your light needs to pee.”
Yoochun laughed and brushed their noses together. He rolled away and then helped Jaejoong up. After another kiss, Jaejoong went to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. Yoochun checked his phone and had a confirmation from Ailee that she would be there in an hour. Yoochun started coffee and then moved to the fridge to start preparing breakfast.
Jaejoong’s arms wrapped around his middle and Yoochun smiled, leaned against him and then turned around for a kiss.
With a smile, Jaejoong reached between and gripped the crescent necklace that always hung around Yoochun’s neck (well, sometimes they took it off when they were fucking and knew they’d be getting really messy).
“I really ... I just realized,” Jaejoong said and met Yoochun’s eyes. “In what my mind is telling me is a memory, you aren’t wearing this. It’s not the main reason why I should have known something was wrong, but it is a pretty big clue.”
Yoochun cupped his cheeks and kissed him. “It’s not your fault. Possession and suppression are common when it comes to demons.”
“This is so weird. It’s like ... I feel like I believe it, but every time I think that, I feel stupid.”
“You saw Changmin yesterday, right?”
“I ... I think so.”
“Changmin,” Yoochun said, “go stand by the door.”
Jaejoong turned his head to look and Yoochun used his finger to turn it back. “Changmin was smart in life, and he’s getting smarter in death. He’s learning how to present himself without stealing energy from the living. Don’t focus on it, just look at me.”
Jaejoong smiled and touched his cheek. “Can’t keep my eyes off you.”
Changmin moaned and the sound echoed through the kitchen.
Jaejoong jumped.
Changmin laughed. “It’s like the first time all over again.”
This time it was Yoochun smiling at Jaejoong. “Yeah. It really is.” Their lips met.
“Ugh, hyung. Gross with the lovey dovey kissing again.”
“What really is?” Jaejoong asked with their lips still together.
Yoochun explained, complete with Changmin’s distaste for the kissing. Jaejoong smiled, eyes still on Yoochun and not the fuzzy man-shaped thing in the corner of his eye. He held out a hand, middle finger in the air, and used his other hand to pull Yoochun down for a kiss. Again, Changmin groaned and Jaejoong shivered.
“I’ve gotten used to that, right?”
Yoochun smiled. “Yes. You have.”
Yoochun put his forehead against Jaejoong’s. He loved how much they fit together. The hole in his heart the last eight months was finally stitching shut.
“You’re going to burn breakfast,” Changmin said.
Yoochun smiled and kissed Jaejoong’s nose. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t need anything else right now.”
“I love you,” Jaejoong said.
Changmin said something else scathing as their lips met again.
Reluctantly, Yoochun pulled away and stayed next to Jaejoong, their hands touching, smiles distracting, but still he helped his lover make their first breakfast together in what felt like years.
Jaejoong seemed a little nervous when Ailee showed up, but he was more than willing to let her lead him through a series of mental cleansing and personal protection rituals. Jaejoong panicked only once during a moment when Ailee created a shield for him. Yoochun watched and saw a grey mass twist and spiral from Jaejoong’s head. It slammed against the shield, and Ailee wavered for a moment, called upon a spirit and then it was gone.
Ailee met Yoochun’s eyes and nodded and finished the ritual. She warned Jaejoong not to move and opened the circle enough to sit next to him. She helped him breathe and relax and then the two of them thanked the great spirits for their help. When the final offerings were given and the candle snuffed, Ailee helped Jaejoong to his feet. He stood there for a moment, wavering and then turned and bowed, whispering words that Yoochun did not hear even though they were only a few feet apart.
And then he turned around, met Yoochun’s eyes and smiled.
Yoochun smiled back and held out his arms, and Jaejoong flew into them. “God, I love you. I love you. I’m so sorry.”
Yoochun pressed a kiss to his head. “Stop apologizing for something that isn’t your fault. Do you feel better?”
Jaejoong nodded. “I feel like myself again.”
“And your memories?”
“All there.”
“Good.”
“Thank you,” Jaejoong said, turning just his head to face Ailee.
She smiled. “Any time. I can still feel the presence though.”
Yoochun nodded. “Changmin says it’s in the building.”
Ailee frowned. “I can’t do protections spells for the entire building without upsetting someone. I’d need my coven for it, too.”
“I understand,” Yoochun said. “We’re working on figuring out who or what it is and why it is targeting me. Maybe I can reason with it if I know what it wants.”
“If it proves too much for you, call me.”
“I will.”
“Thank you so much,” Jaejoong said again, and reluctantly let go of Yoochun so they could help Ailee pack up her things.
After Ailee had left with a promise to call and make sure Jaejoong was okay, Jaejoong pulled Yoochun down the hall toward the bathroom. Changmin’s disembodied laughter followed them.
Jaejoong slammed the bathroom door shut, pushed Yoochun against it and attacked his mouth and shoved his hands into the front of Yoochun’s sweats.
Yoochun yanked his head away from Jaejoong’s lips, slamming it against the door. Jaejoong protested but moved the harsh kisses to Yoochun’s throat.
“Jaejoong, stop wait, just ... hang on.”
Jaejoong glared at him. “I haven’t splattered come all over the bathroom counter for eight months. Almost nine. I want you inside me. I want you to fuck me.”
Yoochun moaned and with surprising steady hands unbuttoned Jaejoong’s jeans.
“Yoochun!”
Yoochun moaned again, and then realized that the voice calling his name was not Jaejoong.
“Yoochun!” Yunho’s voice echoed through the apartment.
“Fuck him,” Jaejoong muttered. “Fuck him. Didn’t we lock the door?”
“Changmin has learned to unlock it whenever he wants.”
“Fuck that stupid ghoul, too.”
“Yoochun!”
“Oh my god what?” Yoochun shouted back. “This better be important.”
“It is!”
Yoochun thunked his head to the door again, eyes open and on Jaejoong. He hoped that the look showed Jaejoong just how much he wanted him. The answering smile and smolder showed him that he succeeded. Jaejoong reached up and tangled his hands in Yoochun’s long hair. He pressed their lips together for a slow kiss that made Yoochun glad he was leaning against the door.
“I love you,” Jaejoong said.
“I love you, too.”
Their lips lingered for another moment, and then Changmin came through the door, half through Yoochun and Jaejoong’s body.
Jaejoong shivered. “Fuck that was weird ... and cold.”
“That was Changmin.”
“Yunho is awesome,” Changmin said. “Come on. He thinks he’s figured it out.”
Yoochun sighed, but nodded.
Jaejoong let him turn around, but he kept his hands on his arm, and then his back and then around his waist. They entered the kitchen entwined and Yunho smiled at them. He sat at the table with a fresh cup of coffee. Yoochun headed to the pot for his own. He felt that he was going to need it.
Yunho’s smirked. “Kiss bruised lips and erections. I take it things are back to normal.”
Jaejoong snorted. “I guess, if having some weird demonic thing after you is considered normal.”
Yunho motioned to the manila folder on the table. “That might put things into perspective.”
Yoochun sat down and Jaejoong sat as close to him as possible, keeping his arms around his neck and face pressed to his shoulders.
Yoochun opened the manila folder and almost spit his coffee out all over it. “Baekhyun? He died?”
“No, he’s very much alive, still rotting away in prison. He won’t be getting out unless it’s in a casket.”
Yoochun glared at the smug look reflected in the mug shot photo. The man had kidnapped, raped and murdered three girls, the oldest was ten. There was no evidence, until Yoochun got involved. Everything against Baekhyun was circumstantial and to the day he was sentenced he claimed he was innocent. It’d been the worst case he had ever worked on, and Jenna, the sweet thing, had helped the three girls find Yoochun so they could lead him to their bodies, and then to the place where a fourth child was being held. A building that Baekhyun rented. Baekhyun still said he hadn’t done it, and there was absolutely no physical evidence. His computer and phone had been confiscated and there was some information about two of the girls, but Baekhyun swore it was just a coincidence.
And then the girls had led him through Baekhyun’s house. In a dream. He’d called Yunho the next day and said they had to go look again. In the baby’s room, in the closet, behind a panel. Physical souvenirs from each victim. Baekhyun still said he didn’t do it. The defense tried to blame Baekhyun’s friends.
The case almost drove him crazy. It was the first major case since he had started dating Jaejoong.
He still saw the girls every now and then, playing in the living room. He left teddy bears out for them.
“His wife committed suicide. Killed their six year old son and slit her wrists.”
Yoochun’s eyes widened and he stared in shock at Yunho. “W-when?”
“Almost a year ago.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s on a vendetta.”
“What is her name?”
“Kwon Yuri.”
Jaejoong sat up. “Yoochun’s involvement in that case was never revealed to the public. How would she ...” He trailed off. “Fuck. She found out after she died, didn’t she?”
“Probably,” Yoochun said and pressed a kiss to Jaejoong’s temple.
“So how do we get rid of her?”
Yoochun sighed. “I don’t know. If she found out I helped, then she could find out that Baekhyun did rape and kill those kids.”
“I don’t think that would matter,” Yunho said. “What’s the phrase, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’.”
Jaejoong snorted. “So now what?”
Yoochun leaned back in his chair, fingers trailing over Jaejoong’s thigh. “I’m going to go talk to her. Changmin, do you know where she is?”
“I’ll go find out,” Changmin said and winked out just as Jaejoong demanded, “Right now?” with his voice rising in protest.
“Good time for it, after Ailee’s reinforcement of the protection spells.”
“She’s in the basement,” Changmin said, right next to Yoochun’s elbow.
“Of course she is,” Yoochun muttered. At their questioning looks, he explained, “She’s in the basement.”
“Probably doing laundry,” Jaejoong said with a smile. “The afterlife is probably really harsh on fabrics.”
Yoochun laughed and rubbed their noses together. “God, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this.”
“Me, too. Be safe.”
Yoochun nodded and gripped the cross around his neck. “I will be.” He grabbed his phone and his inhaler.
Jaejoong stopped him at the door and kissed him deeply. “You owe me.”
“Eight months worth. I know.”
Jaejoong smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll be back.”
“I know.”
Their lips touched one more time and then Yoochun turned and left the apartment. He took a deep breath to stabilize himself and headed down the hall. He bypassed the elevator and took the stairs. Both were dangerous with a spirit after him, but he could hang on to a handrail all the way down.
He thought about what to say, and with each step, knew that nothing he could think of would be enough. This woman lost her husband, and then her mind, and her child. Yoochun had no idea how to help a spirit so broken.
Yoochun felt the energy change the further down he went. At the bottom, the power behind the door was almost stifling. He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths, said a silent prayer for strength and help from whoever (or whatever) was listening.
“Don’t worry,” a voice said next to him. “I got your back.”
Yoochun spun around, eyes widening and mouth opening.
His father stared back at him, smiling. “Hey.”
“D-dad?”
“On this earth I was your father, yes.”
Yoochun stepped forward and the image wavered and he tried to keep the anguish from his face. He wanted to hold onto his father and never let him go. “W-why? Wh-where?”
With a chuckle, his father nodded at the door behind him. “Just because you can’t see me, doesn’t me I’m not there. You ought to know that by now.”
“But I ... you ... what?”
“I know you wanted to see me before,” he continued, “but I wanted you to understand that you’re strong enough to be on your own. Not completely, of course, because of the gift you have. Some are not a lucky as you. Yes, it feels like a curse some days, but it’s also a blessing since you understand what comes after this life.”
“I don’t understand. Why now?”
Yoochun’s father raised his eyebrows and the image wavered again with his amusement. “Because now and almost a year ago, the person you love the most was threatened. I like Jaejoong. He’s good for you, balances you. You need help. Love is a universal emotion. It’s difficult to explain love in the afterlife. Think of it as a balance. Or the force.”
Yoochun laughed.
His father smiled. “It surrounds us and binds us to those we’ve been close too. Or will be close to. You won’t be fighting evil behind that door, just deep, misunderstood love.”
“How? How do I do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s go find out.”
Yoochun stared at him for a bit longer, nodded and turned around to open the door. As soon as he stepped into the laundry room, heat and darkness enveloped him. There was a scream that felt like it was torn from his brain. It took a moment for everything to clear and Yoochun found himself on his hands and knees, gasping.
But love, support, strength stood around him. The darkness swirled beyond him.
“Yuri, stop,” Yoochun whispered.
“Mine!”
Yoochun shook his head. “No, not yours.”
“You took what was mine!” A woman stood in front of him. A pale blue dress stained with blood covered her. Both of her wrists were bleeding gashes.
A baby cried, and she screamed again, arms lashing out. Yoochun felt his skin burn and then the entity was across the room, screaming at him.
“Perfect, perfect. Everything was perfect.”
Yoochun tried to get up and more pain lashed over his back.
“How could he ... he wasn’t ... how could he do that? He couldn’t. He was perfect. You lied. You lied.”
Yoochun focused on keeping his mind his own and then said, “Have you gone to see him?”
The oppressive feeling settled more deeply around him.
“Go talk to him,” Yoochun gasped. “Go ask him if he did it. You don’t even need to ask.”
The wailing returned and cold lashed at Yoochun’s skin. A different force buoyed him up enough that he could push up to his knees.
“Your baby is safe,” Yoochun’s father said. “He is safe and happy where he is. You can see him when you want. When you remember--”
“I suffer! He will suffer!”
“You know that isn’t how it works. You cannot mess with the balance. You place blame with the wrong person.”
“Yuri, please,” Yoochun said. “You know the truth. You do.”
The darkness swirled around the woman’s image and she screamed again and again. A burst of energy knocked Yoochun to the floor.Yoochun fought for breath. Chanting filled the room. A language that Yoochun had never heard. The darkness contracted. Everything was so hot. An intense pressure filled his head and he screamed.
Laughter echoed around him.
“You are not stronger than us,” Yoochun’s father said.
“Strong enough to destroy him. Strong enough for that!”
Yoochun struggled to his knees again. He gripped the necklace tightly, thought of Jaejoong and added his voice to the chanting. He had no idea what he said, but the darkness billowed and weaved, and the screaming from the ghost turned to shallow echoes.
Slowly the oppression lessened. Slowly the air cleared.
Slowly Yoochun learned to breathe again.
“You are not welcome here,” Yoochun’s father said, “and you will be forcefully removed if you return. Go and find your answers. They are not here.”
Yoochun was able to push up to this knees again and he lifted his head. The laundry room looked normal besides the churning mass of gray in a corner. The pain in his heart hadn’t lessened, but it wasn’t his own pain, but hers.
“Be at peace, Kwon Yuri,” Yoochun said. “Find your peace.”
The mass stilled and then shattered. There was no noise outside of Yoochun’s mind. Each jagged piece hit the ground and evaporated. Yoochun watched and controlled his breathing. His hand was still clenched around the necklace.
“You okay, son?”
Yoochun nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” Yoochun closed his eyes and focused saying thank you beyond his father and this room.
This entity was too strong for him.
“You shouldn’t have problems with her. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Yoochun finally stood up, using the wall to support himself. “I don’t know what would have happened without you here.”
“She would have destroyed you.”
Yoochun glanced at him. “While true, not comforting.”
His father chuckled. “You asked for help when she first attacked Jaejoong, and you received that help. You probably will whenever you truly need the help and you truly ask for it. You’re connected to both worlds. It makes you special, but also vulnerable. But you aren’t arrogant. I like to think I raised you well.”
Yoochun smiled. “You did a great job. Thank you for helping before. I don’t know what I would do without Jaejoong.”
“This was beyond your control, and Jaejoong has always been yours to protect and love.”
Yoochun pondered his father for a moment. “Always? To you that word means something different than it does to me.”
His father laughed. “Yes, it does. This isn’t your first lifetime together. It won’t be your last, but you’re not supposed to know that.”
“So reincarnation is right?”
“Right?”
“Yeah. That’s how the afterlife works.”
“Son, haven’t you learned yet that no one is right and everyone is right?”
“What?”
“Heaven is what you make of it. The afterlife is there, as you well know, but if you are tormented on earth, you will be tormented in your own version of hell, unless you change. If you’re happy, then there is heaven. You told Yuri to find her peace. If she finds her peace, then she can be happy. She can have another chance at life.”
“So is there a god?”
His father smiled and then laughed. “Perhaps.”
Yoochun smiled back.
“Go back to your lover. I’m going to go find Yuri and help lead her to her peace.”
Yoochun’s smile fell. “Will I see you again?”
With a small smile, his father moved toward him, wavering, almost see through. “Eventually, yes. But again, just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not right here.” His hand sank into Yoochun’s chest, right where his necklace was. Yoochun looked down, and then up, and his father was gone.
Yoochun’s chest tightened and he gripped the necklace tightly. He took a very deep breath and left the laundry room. His body was completely weak, and just walking took it’s toll on his energy. Feeling safe, he took the elevator up to his floor.
Jaejoong was waiting for him with the door open. He smiled widely though Yoochun saw the worry in his eyes. He smiled in return and let Jaejoong help him inside and to the couch.
“You’re so beautiful,” Yoochun said.
Jaejoong nodded. “I know.”
Yoochun laughed and curled up against him.
“What happened?” Yunho asked.
Yoochun kept his eyes shut and tried to explain everything.
“So we’re safe?” Jaejoong asked.
Yoochun nodded.
“Until the next one.”
Yoochun moaned. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“I’ll still be here,” Jaejoong whispered and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Yoochun smiled. “I know. Apparently you’re stuck with me forever.”
Jaejoong looked at him, face confused.
“Do you remember that day when I started joking about us being soul mates?”
Jaejoong smiled widely. “Of course.”
“Well, we are. My father says this is not our first life together, or our last.”
Jaejoong hugged him tightly. “Good. Thank god. The thought of ... I just ... sometimes I think of what would happen if you died or I died and how we would meet again. Or if we would. I never want to be separated from you again.”
“Same here.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two to your love fest,” Yunho said and headed for the door. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
Jaejoong chuckled. “Bring Junsu over for dinner tomorrow. I definitely owe you this time, not just Yoochun.”
“He owes me, too.”
“True. Guess I’ll be making japanese food tomorrow.”
“You know me well.”
As soon as Yunho was gone, Changmin materialized on the other side of the room. “So are you two going to fuck or what?”
Yoochun burst out laughing and had to explain to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and turned Yoochun’s face to his. Their lips met for a moment. “No fucking until he feels better. Just love and sappiness.”
Changmin’s groan echoed around them.
.