(for lowislane) The Other Side of Time [2/2]
Jongin left Jongdae’s with a prep in his step. He unlocked his phone and dialed Sehun’s number.
“Sehunaaaa,” Jongin said.
“Jongin?” Sehun answered. “Sounds like you just got laid.”
Jongin just laughed, as he narrowly avoided a hoverboarder.
“Wait, did you?” Sehun asked. “Details, Jongin, I want details.”
“That’s disgusting, no,” Jongin said. “Where are you?”
“Home.”
“Okay, I’ll there soon, then let’s get some ramen,” Jongin said and then hung up the phone before Sehun could protest. Jongin continued his journey down the street. The hoverboarders that would usually annoy him, didn’t. The hustle and bustle of the streets didn’t even bother him. Everything felt brighter to him. He felt as if someone had repainted his world and damn, did he love it.
“Jongin,” a voice he never wanted to hear again, caused him to stop walking. Jongin turned and saw Kris and Tao, walk out of a cafe. Both help coffee in their hands.
Jongin didn’t respond as he clutched his phone tighter to his chest. Instead he looked around his surroundings to make sure there was no kidnapper vans in the area.
“You don’t have to worry,” Kris said. “We just want to talk.”
“About what?”
“Maybe we should talk somewhere...quieter,” Kris nodded his head back to the cafe. Jongin peered past their shoulders. It looked busy enough, for Jongin to deem it safe. So, he nodded his head and followed the pair indoors.
“You look very happy,” Kris noted.
“Because I am,” Jongin said. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Jongdae.”
Of course, they wanted to talk to him about Jongdae.
“What about him?” Jongin was suddenly very conscious of his actions. He didn’t want to make any sudden movements and anything that would make him look like a suspect. But at the same time, he needed to be as casual as he could.
“We want to know what he does,” Kris said.
“He helps me,” Jongin shrugged his shoulders.
“With what?”
“Funny, but I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business,” Jongin said. Being snippy with some agents that could kill him instantly was not in Jongin’s best interest--but Jongin knew that he had done nothing wrong to warrant them to take him anywhere.
Kris pursed his lips. “Listen, I just need to know if he has been using magic, that’s it. A simple yes or no from you and you’ll never see us again.”
“No, you listen,” Jongin said. “He doesn’t practice in magic. We all know that it is outlawed. He wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“How much do you know of Jongdae?”
“As much as I need to,” Jongin turned his head and looked out the window. He needed to get out of here.
“Jongdae is registered as a magic activist.”
Jongin turned his head and made eye contact with Kris. Now, that was something Jongin didn’t know. Maybe, Sehun didn’t either.
“Just because he supports the idea of bringing back magic doesn't mean that he practices as well,” Jongin said carefully. “I support a lot of things but you don’t see me doing any of it.” Jongin’s phone started ringing. It was Sehun. “If that’s everything, I’ll be on my way.”
Jonign didn’t wait for their response as he got up and answered his phone.
“Hey, yeah, sorry, I know...I’m coming” Jongin spared them one last glance before leaving the cafe.
Jongin met up with Sehun not long after that. But throughout the rest of the evening and even the rest of the week, Jongin couldn’t help but worry about the entire situation. Jongin hadn’t been able to get proper sleep as he kept dreaming of Kyungsoo. Both good and bad dreams. The good ones were when Jongin always woke to Kyungsoo sleeping beside him. There was no magic, no past or future, just them basking in happiness. The bad ones were Jongin’s nightmares. They would be forever on the run and each and everytime one of them would get caught. The ending would always change. Sometimes Kyungsoo would die, other times it would be Jongin.
No matter the dream, Jongin always woke more confused than he was the day before.
----
Jongin rolled onto his side and reached out his arm. His fingers made contact with Kyungsoo’s body. Slowly, Jongin crept his fingers along Kyungsoo’s side and over his stomach until he was able to cuddle up next to him. Jongin started to press lips against Kyungsoo’s shoulder and the slowly up his neck to his cheek. He had only recently discovered that one of his favourites things was to wake Kyungsoo up with kisses.
Kyungsoo started to stir in his sleep. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Jongin said in reply. “Let’s get up, we’ve a long day ahead of us.”
Kyungsoo hummed and used the blanket to cover his face. Jongin chuckled quietly as he got up to get ready for the day.
They had been getting closer and closer to opening the portal and Jongin was sure that today was going to be the day that they did it. He felt it in his bones, down to his very core. Today was going to be the day.
The pair had sat crossed legged on the living room floor after Sehun had left for work. They had been working on it for hours, that Jongin started to wonder if today was going to be the day. Jongin held out his hands in the air and Kyungsoo automatically joined them with his own. They had discovered that it came easier to them if they joined their hands, like they were joining their energy or something. Jongin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Okay, next we’re going to need to feel the earth moving around the sun and reverse it,” Kyungsoo said quietly, mostly to himself. They both needed to focus. “Ready? Together now.”
Jongin used all of his energy to reverse the rotation of the sun. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it was going to be, but maybe that was because he had Kyungsoo there with him. Suddenly, he felt a breeze beside him. He was already used to this breeze. Ever since they’d been practicing this breeze appears, like it was the pre-stages of the portal forming. But they had never gotten further than the breeze. This time, however, the breeze felt different. Jongin slowly opened his eyes and turned his head toward the breeze.
“Holy shit-- Kyungsoo,” Jongin said quickly. “Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo opened his eyes and saw what Jongin saw. It wasn’t that big, probably just the size of Jongin’s head. It had a purple hue to it, with random stripes of blue. The portal itself, had a spiral of sorts the went inside of it, like it was ready to draw in the whole world. Both Jongin and Kyungsoo look to one another. Jongin wasn’t sure though, who was the person to move their hands first. What he was sure of, was that he was too damn happy and he wanted Kyungsoo’s body to bare the marks of his happiness.
He had pushed Kyungsoo down to the ground and made sure to push his shirt up as well, as he kissed his way down his body. But before Jongin to get to his destination Kyungsoo pulled him up so they could lock lips. Kyungsoo had shifted his legs so Jongin was between them. Jongin grinded his crotch with Kyungsoo’s and pulled away from the kiss. Jongin ghosted his lips over Kyungsoo’s skin. This time as he made his way down, Kyungsoo didn’t stop him. Jongin undid Kyungsoo’s pants and stripped him of the clothes at covered his lower body. Jongin locked eyes with Kyungsoo as he reached his hand out and grabbed onto his dick.
Jongin bent down and gave Kyungsoo one last brief look before he took Kyungsoo into his mouth. Jongin started to bob his head up and down. He used his tongue on the tip and occasionally brought it down along the protruding vein on the underside of Kyungsoo’s dick. Kyungsoo had one of his hands in Jongin’s locks. The other was stretched out, as he tried to grab the carpet.
Jongin didn’t slow down nor did he get any faster. Going at this pace was torture for Kyungsoo and Jongin loved it.
“J-Jongin, ah,” Kyungsoo moaned. “I-I’m going to come.”
Jongin brought his hand to the lower portion of Kyungsoo’s dick, while he kept his mouth at the tip.
“J-Jong-- ah--”
Kyungsoo’s grip in Jongin’s hair tightened as he came. Jongin made sure he swallowed everything before he made his way back to Kyungsoo’s face.
“Fuck, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, pulling Jongin to his lips. Jongin gasped into their kiss when he felt Kyungsoo’s hand rubbing his crotch. “I want you to make me feel so good with your cock.”
Jongin smiled when he brought two fingers to Kyungsoo’s lips. “I’ll make you forget your name.”
Jongin woke to a knock on the door. At first he thought he was hearing things, so he didn’t move. Sehun could get the door. When he heard the knock again, his mind started to clear at the same time, he heard shuffling on the other side of the bed. He opened his eyes in confusion. Was he back home? He looked around the messy room and saw that it was the bedroom from his past life. He rolled over and saw Kyungsoo making his way to the bedroom door, nearly hitting a stack of books by the door.
The knock came again.
Who the hell… Jongin thought to himself. He decided he should get up and see who was at the door, instead of Kyungsoo, since it was his home.
“Hello, my name is Junmyeon and this is my partner Yixing. We are from SM,” a voice asked at the door. Jongin slowly shuffled his feet to the door but stopped when he heard who they worked for. What the hell were they doing here? Jongin thought. Kyungsoo was standing at the door, he had a hand resting on his hip. “Are you Kim Jongin?”
“Does it matter who I am?” Kyungsoo asked.
“It does,” Junmyeon said. Jongin wasn’t able to see what he looked like, but he knew that he should get Kyungsoo away from there fast. “We are currently investigating a case about people using magic.”
Kyungsoo laughed at that. “You are investigating people who use magic, don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”
“We know, of course, there are different...levels of magic that people practice,” Junmyeon said. “For example, your roommate, Sehun, seems to be able to manipulate air.”
Jongin’s heart dropped when they mentioned Sehun’s name. Jongin looked to Kyungsoo’s face and he didn’t look too pleased. Why wasn’t he telling them that, he wasn’t me? Jongin thought to himself.
“You have no proof of anything,” Kyungsoo said. “And I don’t appreciate you knocking on my door in the morning questioning me about things that I know nothing about.”
“You’re right, we don’t have any proof, yet,” Junmyeon said. “But just know that we will be keeping an eye out on the situation.”
Kyungsoo gave him a fake half-smile and shut the door on them.
“Kyungsoo…” Jongin said quietly causing the other to turn to face him. The expression that Kyungsoo wore made Jongin question if they should continue what they were doing. Jongin felt that empty feeling come back to him again as his surroundings started to fade to black.
----
Jongin woke to Jongdae’s apartment, he wasn’t sure what came over him, but he started to cry.
“Shit, Jongin,” Jongdae said rushing to Jongin’s side. “What happened?”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do?” Jongin covered his face. “SM arrived there too. They threatened Sehun, Jongdae.”
“Jongin,” Jongdae said, helping him sit up. Jongin could help but cry, but at least he wasn’t a sobbing mess, yet.
“How am I supposed to fix this?” Jongin said. “I thought this was supposed to bring me closure? Instead, I’m feeling like I’m digging myself a deeper grave.”
“It’s hard to say what you should do,” Jongdae said. He looked around the room as if something in here would give him the words to help Jongin. “It happened in the past, so whatever you decide to do, won’t be able to change the life you’re living now. Maybe...what were the names of the men who came? I could probably search up their names and find out information about them that could help.” Jongdae turned to grab the notebook and pen that rest on the coffee table.
“You’re already on their radar Jongdae, I won’t ask you to do anything else that could cause you to get arrested.”
Jongdae smirked at Jongin, who was wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. At least the tears stopped. “Don’t you worry about that, Jongin. You should be worried about how you are going to protect Kyungsoo.”
Protect Kyungsoo. The only way that Jongin knew to do that, was the only thing that he didn’t want to do.
“Maybe I should end things with him,” Jongin said quietly. “Make him go away, then that way SM can’t accuse him of anything. They wouldn’t be able to hurt him, because I would be the one dealing with the magic.”
“Are you sure that’s something that you want to do? Something that Kyungsoo is going to be okay with?” Jongdae asked. He took a seat on the coffee table.
“Of course, I don’t want to do it…” Jongin said. He ran his hands through his hair. “It’s the only thing that could potentially save him from the mess that I brought him into.”
“Just sleep on it, okay?” Jongdae said. “Then next week, you can decide what you want to do.”
It was the middle of the night and he couldn’t sleep. Jongin rolled over onto his side and stretched out his arm. The other side of his bed was cold. It wasn’t warm like the last time he woke up in the ‘other world’. He slowly opened his eyes and started at the empty space before him. It was back again, that feeling he had grown so accustomed to. The feeling of emptiness. As much as it was a blessing to discover that Kyungsoo was everything he needed and wanted. It was also a curse because he knew that there was never going to be a chance for the two of them to be together in the present. Not only that, but Jongin and Kyungsoo faced a threat that he didn’t know how to deal with.
“If someone who I loved was in danger because of something I did, then I would do everything in my power to get them away,” Sehun had said when they had been camping on the couch, “whether or not it’s the right decision is up for debate, but it is one of the better options you have.”
He had brought up his concern with Sehun and though his friend wasn’t prone to giving good advice, he knew he could rely on his friend in a time of need. But the one time that Sehun did give good advice was the one time that Jongin had wished, Sehun gave him one of his stupid answers instead. Something like using the portal to jump through time to escape. Jongin laughed to himself in the dead of the night. Now that was a stupid idea, but he knew it wouldn’t work. They had only just managed to get the spell to work. There were some many rules that they needed to figure out. It was too risky.
----
Jongin was set as he let Kyungsoo inside. Jongin had asked Sehun to hang out in his room as he spoke with Kyungsoo. With the recent events that had been happening, here and in Jongin’s present, maybe it was best for them to stop. It’ll just hurt Jongin more when the time actually comes to an end, when he knows that he’s going to fall more in love with Kyungsoo.
“Kyungsoo,” Jongin said softly as the pair were sat on the couch. Kyungsoo looked at him concerned. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but Jongin continued. “We can’t be together anymore.”
Jongin watched as Kyungsoo’s face twitched. First it was his eyebrows, they scrunched up in confusion. Then he saw his nostrils flare, as they took in a shape breath. Last, were his lips, his bottom lip stuck out, ever so slightly that Jongin saw the corner’s of Kyungsoo’s lip pulled down.
“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo said just as quietly, if not quieter. “Why not?”
“I-It just...It’s not…” Jongin wasn’t sure what to say. Looking at Kyungsoo now, he wanted to take it all back. He wanted to crack a smile and say April Fool’s. But no, he knew he couldn’t do any of that. “I’m so sorry.”
Kyungsoo abruptly stood. Everything thing from that moment on, seemed to go by in slow motion. When Kyungsoo had stood to his full height, he only managed to take a step, when Jongin heard the shattering of glass and a jolt through Kyungsoo’s body. At first Jongin wasn’t sure what had happened, but it slowly processed as the blood started to seep through Kyungsoo’s shirt.
He was shot.
“No, no,” Jongin said as he caught Kyungsoo in his arms. “No, no, no, please, no.”
He heard Sehun open his door, and Jongin heard another window shatter, when he tried to look over the couch, Sehun’s body wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
“God, no,” Jongin whispered again. But then everything went black.
Jongin opened his eyes and he saw Jongdae’s concerned faced.
“Jongin,” Jongdae said immediately. “What was happening? You were starting to freak out.”
“Jongdae, I need to go back.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“No, Jongdae, I have to go back,” Jongin gripped Jongdae’s arms. “I have to go back and try. He doesn't deserve to die like that. Please. Let me go back...let me...try, anything. Please.”
“Die? Who died--” Jongdae must’ve realized the answer to his question was written all over Jongin’s face.
“Please.”
“Fine, but,” Jongdae took a deep breath. “Give me five minutes, I need to set up a better barrier. Don’t want anybody knocking up a storm.”
When Jongin woke again, he was in Kyungsoo’s room. He right away where he was because of the cleanliness around him. He felt his heart drop. It had been a couple days since Kyungsoo and Sehun were killed at his apartment. He managed to escape after Kyungsoo, with broken breaths, convinced him to leave.
He sighed as he rose to sitting position. He could feel the tears building, it took him a couple minutes to will them away. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and noticed his small notebook rest on the nightstand. He picked it up and held it in his hands. Maybe...
There was a loud crash that caused Jongin’s heart to race. He strained his ears to hear for anything.
“Baek--” It was Chanyeol’s concerned voice, but it was muffled. Jongin could hear glass pieces being pushed around. Jongin placed the notebook back on his-- Kyungsoo’s -- nightstand.
He made his way over to the bedroom door. He didn’t open it. Not yet. After he came here, he had locked himself in Kyungsoo’s room and refused to speak. The only words he had spoken to either of them was that both Kyungsoo and Sehun were dead. Though, hearing the news that one of their best friends had been killed, seeing a bloodied Jongin in front of them, gave them a list of priorities. Later on that night, when Jongin had been laying in Kyungsoo’s bed, he heard the news playing from the living room. He knew that the pair had wanted Jongin to hear, the confirmation. Two bodies found. Both deceased.
With a heavy heart, he made his way to the kitchen, where he could hear the shuffling of feet. He wasn’t sure how he was going to feel see the pair, nor how they were going to react.
It was Chanyeol who saw Jongin first. He was just putting away the broom, while Baekhyun was seated on the counter. He head was down.
“Jongin,” Chanyeol said. Baekhyun slowly turned his head toward Jongin. “We were just about to make breakfast. Anything, in particular, would you like?”
“I’m not hungry,” Jongin said with a hoarse voice. It was true. He wasn’t. He was past hunger. He just felt an empty stomach but he knew that if he ate, he would want to vomit.
“You’re not hungry?” Baekhyun said. Jongin could hear the anger in his voice.
“You need to eat something, Jongin,” Chanyeol said. Jongin shook his head.
“Then why the fuck did you leave his room?” Baekhyun asked. He hopped off the counter and crossed his arms. “If you want to stay here, you’re going to eat. Three times a day. And you’re going to leave that damn room. And we are going to figure out the details for their funeral…”
Baekhyun trailed off to take a breath.
“I’m going to bring them back,” Jongin said. He knew that the pair knew what Jongin meant. “I’m going to fix this.”
“This isn’t your fault,” Baekhyun said as uncoiled his arms to clench his fists.
“All this fucking happened because of me, Baekhyun,” Jongin yelled suddenly. Of course it was his fault. “Kyungsoo died because of me.”
Jongin could see the anger pass over Baekhyun’s face. Chanyeol must’ve noticed it too, because he placed a hand on his lover’s arm, but Baekhyun shrugged it off.
“Boo-fucking-hoo, Jongin,” Baekhyun said. “Kyungsoo is fucking dead, so is your best friend. Do you think either one of them wants you fucking around with magic to maybe get them back? How are you going to live with yourself knowing that they died in another life? That you failed in another life--”
“Baek--” Chanyeol tried to stop Baekhyun.
“--if you do this Jongin, you could be lost forever,” Baekhyun continued. But his voice wasn’t as harsh. “In some fucking messed up timeline or...whatever, “ Baekhyun’s voice started to crack. Jongin could see the tears starting to form in Baekhyun’s eyes. “I-I can’t lose another friend…”
“Y-you won’t,” Jongin’s voice cracked as well. “But I need to try.”
He truly did. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least try to save Kyungsoo and Sehun. He knew how to do it, Kyungsoo and him figured it out together. And Jongin didn’t want their hard work to go to waste. As he looked at Baekhyun and Chanyeol standing before him, it gave him a stronger motivation to want to bring them back.
“You act like you're the only one who's suffering,” Baekhyun mumbled.
“I need to try,” Jongin whispered, looking down at the ground. He saw footsteps fall into his line of sight. He only managed to get a quick look at Baekhyun’s tear stained face, before the latter wrap his arms around Jongin.
This was the first physical interaction Jongin had with another person since Kyungsoo passed. Feeling Baekhyun’s ragged breaths and the rubbing on his back from Chanyeol, brought Jongin closer and closer to the tears he had been trying so hard to push away.
But the longer the three of them were huddled, Jongin started to cry.
The next day, after breakfast, Jongin went back to Kyungsoo’s bedroom to grab his notebook. The trio agreed that Jongin was going to do this with them present, just in case something went wrong.
Baekhyun had made sure that Jongin ate something. If he was going to do this he needed energy.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol were seated on the couch with tight expressions on their faces. The news was playing softly in the background.
“Do we need to do anything?” Chanyeol asked.
Jongin shook his head. “No.”
Jongin flipped open his notebook to his notes on the spell. He didn't need to look at them. He knew the rules. But it was more of a comfort thing than anything else. It made him feel like Kyungsoo was here with him.
Jongin took a deep breath before he focused his energy. He reached out his magic and felt the faint rotation of the axis and how the earth swung around the bright star. Slowly Jongin started to reverse the rotation. He closed his eyes so that--
Next we’re going to need to--
Jongin heard Kyungsoo's voice in the back of his mind. It caused him to lose some focus.
Ready? Together now.
Jongin shook his head. And did his best to regain his focus. The rotation. He needs to slow it down and reverse it.
This time, he did it. It was a lot more challenging to do with just one person. But, he managed.
He could feel the hole opening before him. He opened his eyes when he heard a gasp. Jongin had managed to open the portal. Good.
He thought of the time and place he wanted to go to. To Kyungsoo.
What he wasn't expecting though, was to see images of Kyungsoo's flashing before him. Every moment he had spent with the other kept coming and going. He mind was on overload. He couldn't focus on the moment. He couldn't… he just wanted Kyungsoo back.
Jongin wasn't sure if Baekhyun and Chanyeol could see what Jongin saw. But when Jongin started to cry again. He had lost his focus and he watched as the portal started to fade. The images of Kyungsoo started to disperse. And again Jongin was left without him.
Jongin fell to his knees. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were immediately at his side.
“I can't do this without him,” Jongin said.
“Oh, Jongin,” Baekhyun said quietly. no other words were spoken except the voices from the TV.
It wasn't until the news reporter brought breaking news.
“We have recently received more information regarding the death of Do Kyungsoo and Oh Sehun,” she said. “We go live to Minseok, a captain of the organization that deals with the inappropriate use of magic.”
The TV cut over to Minseok.
“Recently, as you are all aware. Two men were found in their home dead. This, as improbable as it sounds, was because of their use of magic. These two victims were attempting at opening up a portal which incidentally caused their deaths. It is unfortunate that we lost two people; however, due to the danger that magic poses, the Prime Minister has created a new law, outlawing the practice of magic.”
“So you’re saying that magic is real?” The news reporter asked. “Aren’t you worried that people aren’t going to believe you?”
“Frankly, I don’t care whether people believe me or not. There are those out there who practice magic, they know who they are. And we will always be watching.”
There was a knock on the apartment door, that drew the attention of the trio away from the door. Jongin instinctively knew who it was. Angrily, Jongin snatched his notebook and stormed to the door. He threw it open and he was right. It was SM agents. More than likely, they were Junmyeon and Yixing.
“What the fuck more do you guys want?” Jongin said. He heard Baekhyun and Chanyeol approach. “You already took my boyfriend and my best friend away. Now what? You want my spell book? Well, here you fucking go.”
Jongin threw his book at the two agents standing in front of him and then proceeded to slam the door shut. Jongin sank to his knees as everything around him faded to black.
----
Jongin opened his eyes and just started at the ceiling. The colourful tapestries seemed in comparison to the brightness of Kyungsoo’s eyes. And the sturdiness of the couch seemed flimsy compared to Kyungsoo solid chest. The heaviness in Jongin's chest was a lot worse than the emptiness he had felt weeks ago.
“Jongin?”
“I think this is going to be my last session,” Jongin said as he started to get off the couch.
“Wait, Jongin, let me explain something to you,” Jongin sat back down. He didn’t hear the words, only the command. He was too numb too really think for himself. “I never said anything till now, I wasn’t even sure if you realized it yourself, but everything you went through with Kyungsoo actually happened.”
“Well, obviously,” Jongin sighed. “That was a past life.”
“No, you, the you right here in front of me, actually lived that life,” Jongin wasn't sure what he had meant. “That spell you and Kyungsoo were working on, actually works. I was the one who stole your book and mastered the spell, which allowed me to send you back in time. So technically, yes it was a past life, but at the same time, by me sending you back there, it kinda set in stone, that forever and always in all the timelines of the universe, you will be sent back in time and you will live through that situation. Kyungsoo and you will meet, fall in love, create a spell and then ultimately you will lose him, which is what resulted in you of the now to feel a sort of emptiness.”
“You subconsciously or consciously, without realizing, made decisions,” Jongdae continued, “basically, even when you were talking to me about things that were happening, you’re only thought process was to fix what was happening. You didn’t realize that it was the past or anything along those lines.”
“Okay,” Jongin said. To be honest, Jongin didn’t really care what the truth was. All he knew was that he lost someone he loved, loves, and he wants him back. “Can I--”
Jongin voice was cut off with a knock on the front door. Jongin blinked and the room went from the craziness that it was to the modern, sleek look from when Kris and Tao had appeared.
Jongdae got up and answered the door.
“What do you want?”
Jongin turned his head and saw Kris and Tao. Jongin sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. He was so tired. So, incredibly, tired.
“We just wanted to let you know that we found the person who was using magic,” Kris explained. “It was your neighbour, actually. He used it to bring drugs into the country. We’re sorry for disrupting your business.”
“That’s quite alright,” Jongdae said. “Have a nice day.”
Once Jongdae shut the door, the room went back to its bright colours. Jongdae walked over and took a seat next to Jongin.
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry?” Jongdae said. Jongin looked over at Jongdae a bit confused. “I knew he was dealing drugs. I didn’t want that kind of a neighbour, so what better way to get rid of him than to have him use magic.” Jongdae winked.
Jongin smiled a little. He was sure that if he wasn’t so heartbroken that he would’ve laughed. But he just couldn’t find it in himself to do so.
“Why don’t you head on home and get some rest? I’ll let Sehun know, you’re on your way.”
Jongin was walking around the streets of his city. Lost in his mind. Lost in the streets. He was supposed to be heading home, but he needed some time to himself right now. He reached a bridge and walked along it until he hit the center. The highest point. He looked towards the horizon. The sun still had a couple hours before it set. He rested his head on his arms that were on the railing.
Closure. Wholeness. That was what Jongin had wanted when he decided to continue with the ‘sessions’. Yet all he was left with was a heaviness in his chest, he wasn’t sure he would be able to heal.
“Hey,” Jongin felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to the owner of the tap. “Are you okay?”
Jongin was really sure how to process who was standing in front of him. It felt like only yesterday, that he was standing in his apartment crying. Yet here he stood.
“What’s your name?”
“Jongin.”
“Jongin,” he repeated. “I’m Baekhyun. I’m going to be meeting up with my boyfriend. Did you want to join me for the walk? I don’t really like be alone, so I would love the company.”
Jongin opened and then closed his mouth. But Baekhyun, clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer, instead he hooked arms with Jongin and dragged him along. Baekhyun waited until they were off the bridge to ask his questions.
“Is everything okay, Jongin?” Baekhyun said walked on. They were heading in the direction of the park. “It looked pretty serious back there.”
“I, uh, I lost some people who were very close to me,” Jongin said without a second thought. Technically, Baekhyun and him were strangers in this life. But Jongin couldn’t help but think of this Baekhyun as the Baekhyun from his past. The one who welcomed him with open arms.
Baekhyun hummed. “I’ve been lucky enough never have experienced anything like that in my life yet. But if you don’t mind some unsolicited advice, then I would say that do what you need to cope with their loss. But don’t forget about the other people in your life.”
Jongin looked down to watch their feet walking along the sidewalk.
“Because let’s be honest, you’re going to need them more than you know,” Baekhyun slightly nudged his arm. “And...I know we literally, only just met, but, I would be sad to know if something happened to you.”
“Baekhyun!” Jongin lifted his head at the sound of a deep voice. It was Chanyeol. He was standing by a tree, at the entrance of the park. They were several meters away from him now. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Jongin,” Baekhyun grinned. “We just met, but I feel like we could be quite good friends.”
“What? I want a new friend too,” Chanyeol whined. Baekhyun, who still had his arm hooked with Jongin’s lightly tapped his forearm.
“I found him first,” Baekhyun stuck his tongue out. Jongin found himself smiling at the pair and Baekhyun caught sight. “I knew you would have a pretty smile. Make sure you do it more often!”
Baekhyun removed his arm from Jongin’s and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He handed it over to Jongin after he pressed a couple buttons on it.
“Let’s exchange numbers,” Baekhyun said. Jongin looked at Baekhyun and Chanyeol once before he put in his phone number and hand Baekhyun’s phone back to him. But Baekhyun held out his other hand expectantly. Jongin smiled a bit again as he put this phone into the waiting hand. After the number was inputted, Baekhyun gave Jongin a quick hug. “I really do hope everything will be okay. Feel free to text or call me, if you ever need someone to listen. Or to hang out with.”
“You’ll be okay getting home?” Chanyeol asked. It was like he knew something was wrong with Jongin.
“I’ll be fine, thanks,” Jongin said as he waved goodbye to the pair, feeling ever so slightly lighter.
When Jongin arrived at his apartment, after the days events, he wasn’t sure what to do.
“Hey,” It was Sehun. He must’ve been waiting for Jongin to come home. “Jongdae told me what happened. Are you going to be okay?”
Jongin walked forward and hugged Sehun. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
Sehun rubbed Jongin’s back. “I have no plans on leaving you.”
----
“Man, we clicked so easily,” Chanyeol said. “It’s almost like we already know you.”
“Maybe we were friends in another life,” Jongin said. It had been about ten days since he had his last session with Jongdae. And slowly, he was getting better. He’s spent a couple days, here and there, hanging out with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. At first, he was hesitant to text Baekhyun to hang out, but he found once he did, it made him feel better.
“You know, you would get along with our other friend too,” Baekhyun said. “He’s going to Jongdae’s barbeque tomorrow, you better show up so we can introduce you guys.”
Jongin had, also, recently discovered, that Jongdae was friends with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. The second day the three of them hung out they ran into Jongdae and he invited all of them to his barbeque. Though, Jongin wasn’t one for parties something in his gut was telling him to go.
“I’ll be there,” Jongin said.
“Good,” Chanyeol said. “He’s been going through some hard things right now, so it’ll be good for him to be around good company.”
Jongin smiled softly to himself. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had no trouble making Jongin feel welcomed. He was so thankful to have them in his life, once again.
----
Jongin and Sehun walked through the park's entrance and saw Jongdae’s small get together., just ahead of them. The pair walked towards them and Jongin could already see Chanyeol’s mop of hair. But it was Jongdae who greeted them first.
“Jongin, I’m so glad you came,” Jongdae said, ignoring Sehun.
“Wow, thanks cousin,” Sehun said. “Feeling all the love.”
“Yeah, nice to see you too, brat,” Jongdae said. Sehun rolled his eyes. “I wanted to catch you before you saw for yourself--”
“What are you talking about?” Jongin started to look around. What could he possibly be talking about? There was a little bit of hope that rose in his chest. He scanned the area and then he eyes were almost drawn to a figure standing with Chanyeol and Baekhyun.
Much like how he was when Jongin met him in his past life, his back was facing Jongin and he had short hair, but it was still long enough that a bit went past the tip of his ear.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jongin hit Jongdae on the arm.
“I couldn’t because Kyungsoo was behind a couple sessions,” Jongdae said. “I couldn’t have you guys meeting until after or you could’ve messed up the entire timeline. You know how fragile time is, Jongin.”
“Wait-- he?” Jongdae nodded his head.
Jongin looked over at the boy he had lost, who was still focused on his conversation with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.
“Does that mean he remembers then?”
“Yes, he remembers,” Jongdae said. “He will know who you are.”
Jongin took a couple steps in his direction. That somehow caught Chanyeol’s attention, who called him over.
“Jongin, this was who we were talking about,” Chanyeol said when Jongin was close enough.
Kyungsoo slowly turned around and made eye contact with Jongin. Jongin couldn’t help himself, he started to smile as he looked at Kyungsoo. He could still see Baekhyun and Chanyeol in his peripherals, and that alone made Jongin want to laugh. The three of them were here now and Kyungsoo… Kyungsoo was alive.