Lost Boys [5/?]
Title: Lost Boys
Character: Changmin-centric, but everyone's going to appear in it.
Length: 5/?
Rating/Genre: PG in general; it's AU haha.
Summary: “…Jaejoong hyung may be sneaky, but he’s fair. He has his reasons. Wait ‘til you get to know him. The others too.”
A/N: Will be updating next after New Year's! Everybody enjoy the rest of the holidays!
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FIVE
He wakes up to someone holding his hand and a cool cloth resting on his forehead. Everything is dark and there’s the sound of soft breathing. Changmin is almost frightened, his mind not yet fully awake or fully able to comprehend anything, but he is soothed by someone humming a soft tune. His heart skips a little beat at the sound. His mind is a tangle of faces, voices and emotions, but he remembers she used to sing that song.
“Go back to sleep.” A voice says. It is gentle and concerned, but it’s most definitely not her. Changmin squints.
“...Who…?”
“It’s me, Junsu. You’re in our apartment.”
With the statement comes a great wave of disappointment and sadness that weighs on his chest. He remembers. Junsu. Jaejoong. Yoochun. Yunho. Their apartment. Not her. Not home.
“Oh.”
He hears a little snore from the person beside him. He’s in the bedroom once again, and the even breaths all around him tell him he’s sharing the room with the other men he’s met. Immediately uncomfortable, he sits up, groping around before he finds a more secure position. Junsu doesn’t restrain him.
“Easy. You’ll end up waking everyone,” Even in the dark, he knows Junsu is smiling at him.
“Yunho? He…he’s all right, isn’t he?” His voice is small in the darkness. He feels as Junsu shifts. “Is he all right now?”
“He’s okay for now. His stomach fucks up from time to time.”
“That’s good,” he says, because he really does feel relieved. He remembers the scene earlier and shudders instinctively.
“We share a bedroom because it’s warmer this way. I hope you don’t mind. We have no heating here. It’s quite obvious you’re used to…better places.”
“I don’t mind,” Changmin lies, because he doesn’t want to hurt Junsu’s feelings, but he shivers. There’s a draft in the room that the combined power of their body heat hasn’t seem to overcome. A quiet falls between them, but it’s neither tense nor awkward.
“You must love her very much.” Junsu states.
“Who?” The comment surprises him.
“Your mother. You were crying in your sleep. Is she why you ran away? Did she die?”
The sudden onslaught of words stun Changmin and he’s silenced. He bites his lip.
“…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“All right,” Junsu doesn’t push, but his tone gives Changmin the permission to still speak (only if you want to). “Look, I’m sorry for…Jaejooong hyung’s behavior. For today…he’s not normally violent…and your camera…I didn’t know.”
“I just hope I can get it back.”
“…Jaejoong hyung may be sneaky, but he’s fair. He has his reasons. Wait ‘til you get to know him. The others too.”
I don’t want to get to know him, Changmin thinks bitterly, but he forces a smile, even though he knows Junsu can’t see it in the darkness.
In the morning, the sunshine bathes the apartment yellow. Jaejoong’s nowhere to be found (much to Changmin’s exasperation) and Changmin discovers a working bathroom (albeit there’s a complete absence of hot water but he clenches his teeth and bears it rather than feeling so utterly disgusted at himself). He is invited by Yoochun and Junsu to sit in the ‘bedroom’ (because, he quickly learns, it’s the warmest room) for ‘breakfast’. Junsu is constantly apologizing for their lack of everything, but Changmin makes sure to assure him it’s all right (even though it’s not; if he misses anything about home it’s the meals, where breakfast isn’t comprised of just bread and a little bit of milk and sugar, but beggars can’t be choosers).
Yunho is awake and looks a bit better than he did last night. “Hey, Changmin is it? Look, sorry for…well, absolutely everything last night.” An embarrassed flush tinges the tips of his ears. “If no one’s introduced me yet, I’m Yunho, for future reference.”
Changmin reddens. He’s also embarrassed himself, puking all over himself then passing out. He’s also still a little bit afraid of Yunho. “It’s no problem, Yunho…sshi.”
“Drop the sshi. Hyung sounds better. They all do it anyway,” Yunho shrugs, looking much more pleasant than he was yesterday. Dumbly, Changmin nods.
“Where are you from?” Yoochun is perpetually curious and his eyes are wide as a child’s. “I heard Jaejoong hyung call you prince.” He stuffs the last piece of the baguette he’s holding into his mouth. “Are you rich? Oops, sorry, Su,” and he reaches over to help brush away the crumbs he’s managed to spit at Junsu’s face.
Changmin frowns. “He doesn’t know me. He probably just said that because of the camera, but someone bought that for me as a present. I’m not rich.” Not anymore, at least.
“So tell us a bit about yourself. So we know we haven’t taken in a serial killer or something,” Yunho says, drinking a bit of weak tea from a metal cup. Junsu and Yoochun nod. Changmin’s eyes drop to the piece of bread he’s holding.
“I’m just a runaway, nothing more,” he says quietly, even though his father’s face is burnt into his mind, and his mother’s sweet smiles still a vivid memory he keeps tucked away in his heart. Suddenly his appetite is gone and he merely toys with the food in his hands, making little balls of dough with his fingers from the crumbs he pinches off.
“Just a runaway. Nobody’s ever just a runaway.” Yunho comments, and Changmin finds the strength to look up. “Anyway, I won’t pry. As long as you can assure me you’re not going to be killing us in our sleep or anything, you can stay.” His face turns serious. “We run on trust here. We’re the only things we’ve got. Go against that and I can assure you there’ll be trouble.”
“I’m not a murderer, or a rapist or anything, I swear.” He’s never been threatened before, but he guesses Yunho has every right to. He’s the one in their territory, after all. “And…thank you for allowing me to stay.”
“You were very clever hiding out under the Hangang bridge,” Yoochun is teasing, rocking back on forth in his spot merrily. “Nearly all runaways we know just use that place to jump off from.” He laughs and is swatted by Junsu (“Chun!”). “But seriously, hyung,” he turns to Yunho, “Jaejoong hyung looks like he’s not going to like you allowing Changmin to stay…”
“He’s guilty as hell for what happened last night so he’s bound to do whatever I tell him to do.” A smug look passes over Yunho’s face and Yoochun just goes “aahhh yeah”. “Where is he anyway, hyung?” Junsu asks for him, and Yunho replies with a “Out doing things that a Jaejoong would do” which doesn’t make much sense for Changmin at all. When Junsu laughs and Yoochun follows, Changmin starts feeling out of place, but Yunho catches his gaze and consoles him with a smile.
“Ah, don’t worry, you’ll catch up on us bit by bit. There’s always room in our family for one more little brother,” His smile, Changmin discovers, is the complete opposite of his glare: warm, compassionate, affectionate. He finds himself wanting to smile back as he soaks up Yunho’s words (brother, he likes the sound of that), but can’t. “Don’t worry about Jaejoong; he’s just very territorial. And I’m sure your camera’s unharmed. We’ll just have to wait for the right time.” He’s surprised when he finds Yunho’s hand on his shoulder. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good, now stop playing with your food. God knows we only have very little of it.”
Changmin encounters Jaejoong in the evening when he slips out of the bedroom quietly so he can go somewhere to gather his thoughts. The scarlet coat is gone and a long black overcoat has taken its place, making the man look like some overgrown bat hunched over the bare plastic table that’s set in the middle of the small living (or is it dining?) room. Jaejoong turns at the sound of the door closing and immediately glowers at the sight of Changmin.
“I suppose by now Yunho has told you that he’s welcoming you with open arms,” Jaejoong’s voice is silky smooth, but Changmin isn’t an idiot. He keeps his composure and says nothing, which appears to irk Jaejoong.
“Not going to say anything about your precious camera? What are you staring at? Fucking rude kid.” The older man shakes his head and takes a step to the side. Changmin sees that there are three shiny apples set at the center of the table, one each, he supposes, for Yunho, Yoochun and Junsu. “Just stay the hell out of my way and maybe I won’t find any reason to hurt you.”
Changmin takes in a deep breath. He has never met a more uncouth person his entire life. “You…are exceptionally rude.”
“Anybody ever tell you that like repels like? I like you as much as I like foot blisters. Besides, I’m not the one who’s most unwelcomely gracing me with his presence, am I?”
“At least I’m no thief.”
“O-ho! Who’s being rude now?” Jaejoong is mocking him, and Changmin has never felt more riled just engaging in a conversation (as uncivil as it may be). He has underestimated Jaejoong, and the realization leaves him speechless. Jaejoong snorts disgustedly at him. “You are a child. I suggest you grow up first before you start calling names.”
He starts to stalk past Changmin and into the bedroom where Yoochun, Yunho and Junsu are, finishing the last of their meager dinner (bread again, and three cookies which they divided into five pieces “to be fair” according to Junsu, even though they’ve ended up with crumbs more than actual pieces), but Changmin stops him, using his body as a blockade. Hot fury crawls up his neck and squeezes his chest and he fights the urge not to strangle the man in front of him. He wants to say something, anything to convey to Jaejoong just how angry he is, but no words come out, only harsh-drawn breaths.
“I thought so,” There’s a smug look on the older man’s face. “Look at you. You’re fucking scared. You’re a runaway but you have no idea what to do, do you? You have no idea how to survive.” Jaejoong bares his teeth at him. “This isn’t boarding school, little boy. In this world, people starve and freeze to death. If you think your luck is going to hold out long enough for you to outlive us all, think again.”
Changmin growls. “You have no right to talk as though you know me.”
“I probably know you more than you think you know yourself. Now get out of my.fucking.way!”
He pushes Changmin roughly to the side and leaves him there, and Changmin watches as he disappears into the bedroom, his heart racing and his chest heaving. A tear rolls down one of his cheeks unbidden and he wipes it angrily with the back of his hand.
TBC
Character: Changmin-centric, but everyone's going to appear in it.
Length: 5/?
Rating/Genre: PG in general; it's AU haha.
Summary: “…Jaejoong hyung may be sneaky, but he’s fair. He has his reasons. Wait ‘til you get to know him. The others too.”
A/N: Will be updating next after New Year's! Everybody enjoy the rest of the holidays!
---
FIVE
He wakes up to someone holding his hand and a cool cloth resting on his forehead. Everything is dark and there’s the sound of soft breathing. Changmin is almost frightened, his mind not yet fully awake or fully able to comprehend anything, but he is soothed by someone humming a soft tune. His heart skips a little beat at the sound. His mind is a tangle of faces, voices and emotions, but he remembers she used to sing that song.
“Go back to sleep.” A voice says. It is gentle and concerned, but it’s most definitely not her. Changmin squints.
“...Who…?”
“It’s me, Junsu. You’re in our apartment.”
With the statement comes a great wave of disappointment and sadness that weighs on his chest. He remembers. Junsu. Jaejoong. Yoochun. Yunho. Their apartment. Not her. Not home.
“Oh.”
He hears a little snore from the person beside him. He’s in the bedroom once again, and the even breaths all around him tell him he’s sharing the room with the other men he’s met. Immediately uncomfortable, he sits up, groping around before he finds a more secure position. Junsu doesn’t restrain him.
“Easy. You’ll end up waking everyone,” Even in the dark, he knows Junsu is smiling at him.
“Yunho? He…he’s all right, isn’t he?” His voice is small in the darkness. He feels as Junsu shifts. “Is he all right now?”
“He’s okay for now. His stomach fucks up from time to time.”
“That’s good,” he says, because he really does feel relieved. He remembers the scene earlier and shudders instinctively.
“We share a bedroom because it’s warmer this way. I hope you don’t mind. We have no heating here. It’s quite obvious you’re used to…better places.”
“I don’t mind,” Changmin lies, because he doesn’t want to hurt Junsu’s feelings, but he shivers. There’s a draft in the room that the combined power of their body heat hasn’t seem to overcome. A quiet falls between them, but it’s neither tense nor awkward.
“You must love her very much.” Junsu states.
“Who?” The comment surprises him.
“Your mother. You were crying in your sleep. Is she why you ran away? Did she die?”
The sudden onslaught of words stun Changmin and he’s silenced. He bites his lip.
“…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“All right,” Junsu doesn’t push, but his tone gives Changmin the permission to still speak (only if you want to). “Look, I’m sorry for…Jaejooong hyung’s behavior. For today…he’s not normally violent…and your camera…I didn’t know.”
“I just hope I can get it back.”
“…Jaejoong hyung may be sneaky, but he’s fair. He has his reasons. Wait ‘til you get to know him. The others too.”
I don’t want to get to know him, Changmin thinks bitterly, but he forces a smile, even though he knows Junsu can’t see it in the darkness.
In the morning, the sunshine bathes the apartment yellow. Jaejoong’s nowhere to be found (much to Changmin’s exasperation) and Changmin discovers a working bathroom (albeit there’s a complete absence of hot water but he clenches his teeth and bears it rather than feeling so utterly disgusted at himself). He is invited by Yoochun and Junsu to sit in the ‘bedroom’ (because, he quickly learns, it’s the warmest room) for ‘breakfast’. Junsu is constantly apologizing for their lack of everything, but Changmin makes sure to assure him it’s all right (even though it’s not; if he misses anything about home it’s the meals, where breakfast isn’t comprised of just bread and a little bit of milk and sugar, but beggars can’t be choosers).
Yunho is awake and looks a bit better than he did last night. “Hey, Changmin is it? Look, sorry for…well, absolutely everything last night.” An embarrassed flush tinges the tips of his ears. “If no one’s introduced me yet, I’m Yunho, for future reference.”
Changmin reddens. He’s also embarrassed himself, puking all over himself then passing out. He’s also still a little bit afraid of Yunho. “It’s no problem, Yunho…sshi.”
“Drop the sshi. Hyung sounds better. They all do it anyway,” Yunho shrugs, looking much more pleasant than he was yesterday. Dumbly, Changmin nods.
“Where are you from?” Yoochun is perpetually curious and his eyes are wide as a child’s. “I heard Jaejoong hyung call you prince.” He stuffs the last piece of the baguette he’s holding into his mouth. “Are you rich? Oops, sorry, Su,” and he reaches over to help brush away the crumbs he’s managed to spit at Junsu’s face.
Changmin frowns. “He doesn’t know me. He probably just said that because of the camera, but someone bought that for me as a present. I’m not rich.” Not anymore, at least.
“So tell us a bit about yourself. So we know we haven’t taken in a serial killer or something,” Yunho says, drinking a bit of weak tea from a metal cup. Junsu and Yoochun nod. Changmin’s eyes drop to the piece of bread he’s holding.
“I’m just a runaway, nothing more,” he says quietly, even though his father’s face is burnt into his mind, and his mother’s sweet smiles still a vivid memory he keeps tucked away in his heart. Suddenly his appetite is gone and he merely toys with the food in his hands, making little balls of dough with his fingers from the crumbs he pinches off.
“Just a runaway. Nobody’s ever just a runaway.” Yunho comments, and Changmin finds the strength to look up. “Anyway, I won’t pry. As long as you can assure me you’re not going to be killing us in our sleep or anything, you can stay.” His face turns serious. “We run on trust here. We’re the only things we’ve got. Go against that and I can assure you there’ll be trouble.”
“I’m not a murderer, or a rapist or anything, I swear.” He’s never been threatened before, but he guesses Yunho has every right to. He’s the one in their territory, after all. “And…thank you for allowing me to stay.”
“You were very clever hiding out under the Hangang bridge,” Yoochun is teasing, rocking back on forth in his spot merrily. “Nearly all runaways we know just use that place to jump off from.” He laughs and is swatted by Junsu (“Chun!”). “But seriously, hyung,” he turns to Yunho, “Jaejoong hyung looks like he’s not going to like you allowing Changmin to stay…”
“He’s guilty as hell for what happened last night so he’s bound to do whatever I tell him to do.” A smug look passes over Yunho’s face and Yoochun just goes “aahhh yeah”. “Where is he anyway, hyung?” Junsu asks for him, and Yunho replies with a “Out doing things that a Jaejoong would do” which doesn’t make much sense for Changmin at all. When Junsu laughs and Yoochun follows, Changmin starts feeling out of place, but Yunho catches his gaze and consoles him with a smile.
“Ah, don’t worry, you’ll catch up on us bit by bit. There’s always room in our family for one more little brother,” His smile, Changmin discovers, is the complete opposite of his glare: warm, compassionate, affectionate. He finds himself wanting to smile back as he soaks up Yunho’s words (brother, he likes the sound of that), but can’t. “Don’t worry about Jaejoong; he’s just very territorial. And I’m sure your camera’s unharmed. We’ll just have to wait for the right time.” He’s surprised when he finds Yunho’s hand on his shoulder. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good, now stop playing with your food. God knows we only have very little of it.”
Changmin encounters Jaejoong in the evening when he slips out of the bedroom quietly so he can go somewhere to gather his thoughts. The scarlet coat is gone and a long black overcoat has taken its place, making the man look like some overgrown bat hunched over the bare plastic table that’s set in the middle of the small living (or is it dining?) room. Jaejoong turns at the sound of the door closing and immediately glowers at the sight of Changmin.
“I suppose by now Yunho has told you that he’s welcoming you with open arms,” Jaejoong’s voice is silky smooth, but Changmin isn’t an idiot. He keeps his composure and says nothing, which appears to irk Jaejoong.
“Not going to say anything about your precious camera? What are you staring at? Fucking rude kid.” The older man shakes his head and takes a step to the side. Changmin sees that there are three shiny apples set at the center of the table, one each, he supposes, for Yunho, Yoochun and Junsu. “Just stay the hell out of my way and maybe I won’t find any reason to hurt you.”
Changmin takes in a deep breath. He has never met a more uncouth person his entire life. “You…are exceptionally rude.”
“Anybody ever tell you that like repels like? I like you as much as I like foot blisters. Besides, I’m not the one who’s most unwelcomely gracing me with his presence, am I?”
“At least I’m no thief.”
“O-ho! Who’s being rude now?” Jaejoong is mocking him, and Changmin has never felt more riled just engaging in a conversation (as uncivil as it may be). He has underestimated Jaejoong, and the realization leaves him speechless. Jaejoong snorts disgustedly at him. “You are a child. I suggest you grow up first before you start calling names.”
He starts to stalk past Changmin and into the bedroom where Yoochun, Yunho and Junsu are, finishing the last of their meager dinner (bread again, and three cookies which they divided into five pieces “to be fair” according to Junsu, even though they’ve ended up with crumbs more than actual pieces), but Changmin stops him, using his body as a blockade. Hot fury crawls up his neck and squeezes his chest and he fights the urge not to strangle the man in front of him. He wants to say something, anything to convey to Jaejoong just how angry he is, but no words come out, only harsh-drawn breaths.
“I thought so,” There’s a smug look on the older man’s face. “Look at you. You’re fucking scared. You’re a runaway but you have no idea what to do, do you? You have no idea how to survive.” Jaejoong bares his teeth at him. “This isn’t boarding school, little boy. In this world, people starve and freeze to death. If you think your luck is going to hold out long enough for you to outlive us all, think again.”
Changmin growls. “You have no right to talk as though you know me.”
“I probably know you more than you think you know yourself. Now get out of my.fucking.way!”
He pushes Changmin roughly to the side and leaves him there, and Changmin watches as he disappears into the bedroom, his heart racing and his chest heaving. A tear rolls down one of his cheeks unbidden and he wipes it angrily with the back of his hand.
TBC