[CHAPTERED] Boomerang's (CH.20)

[jaejoongism]

Title: Boomerang's
Rating: G-PG13-R-NC17
Pairing: YunJae
Summary: What if fate wasn’t a red string, but a boomerang instead? Yunho's first memory of being in love was when he was 7 years old. Meeting Kim JaeJoong was the start of a nearly 20 year long love that spanned many separations. After being unexpectedly ripped apart at 7, they meet again 10 years later as soccer players on opposing high school teams. On a tragic night, they are pulled a part once again only to find each other 11 years later as adults working at the same hospital. This time, their new complication resides in JaeJoong's memories; or the lack there of. The complications don't stop there. Yunho's fiancé, Song Hyun Gi, is less than pleased to have Yunho's first love back in his life and will stop at will stop at nothing to keep them a part. Will the boomerang return a 4th time, or will the distance finally become too far?



CHAPTER 20 - Memories

The sound of rain pelting against JaeJoong’s bedroom windows was the perfect soundtrack for his current state of emotions. Since getting home a little over an hour ago, he had done absolutely nothing except lay in bed, stock still while he stared unseeingly at the ceiling. He wasn’t entirely sure if his melancholy was entirely linked to the day’s events or to the fact that the dumplings Yunho bought him for lunch hadn’t tasted as good as they had when he had eaten them with Yunho all those months ago. He sighed and turned over in bed making his doctors coat rustle loudly. He pushed himself up in bed and took the coat off and then did the same thing with his t-shirt before getting out of bed and leaving his room to head to the bathroom he shared with Ji-Yoo.

Her side of the sink was a mess as usual, but JaeJoong smiled at the disaster instead of getting angry. His best friend was a scattered brained dreamer and he wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. He actually felt bad for turning down her offer to go out for drinks with her and some of her co-workers at the restaurant when he got off work. But he truly hadn’t felt like socializing tonight. The rain and impending thunderstorm didn’t help either.

Stripping out of the rest of his clothes, he turned on the shower water and waited for it to get hot. After about 3 minutes, the large bathroom was filled with steam. He got in and relished the feel of the hot water washing down over the top of his head. He let out a contented moan as he felt the tension slowly seep from his shoulders. It felt as if the last 3 days were being washed right down the drain. God, how he wished that was actually true.

Behind his tightly shut eyes, he could see Yunho’s warm smile and ridiculously handsome face. He was staring at JaeJoong like he was looking at something he loved more than life. JaeJoong bit his lip when the scar on his forehead tinged with pain. But instead of opening his eyes, he kept them closed and kept thinking of Yunho. The handsome doctor who had lied and made JaeJoong so angry. The man who he had been drawn to almost instantly. The man he had foolishly started to let himself love.

Love.

His eyes snapped open as soon the realization hit him. Fuck. He quickly grabbed for his body wash and began to scrub his body before starting in on his hair. He didn’t love Yunho. Like him? Sure. In lust with? Absolutely! But love? Nope, not at all.

“Why not?” The voice in his head asked, sounding exasperated. JaeJoong paused his furious scrubbing to think about it. Despite not knowing anything about who they were to each other in the past, JaeJoong was still clearly had an interest in Yunho that went way beyond friendship. Given everything that had happened, he shouldn’t even be thinking of Yunho in anyway other than disgust. But here he was saying that he was in love with the man.

“Shit!” He cursed as shampoo slid into his open eyes. He groaned and quickly rinsed his eyes and then finished his shower before he could hurt himself any more. When he got out, he quickly dried off and went back to his room to get a pair of sweatpants. The rain outside had picked up and now there were deep rumbles of thunder rattling the windows. He shivered and went to the kitchen in search of something to drink. After a brief search, he came up with his oldest bottle of red wine. He grabbed it and left the kitchen without bothering to get a glass.

Back in his room, he took his cellphone out of the pocket of the pants he was wearing earlier and tossed it on the bed. He paced back and forth in front of the bed as he opened bottle of wine.

“I could call Yunho.” He said out loud to himself, but quickly shook his head no. What the hell would he say? Hey, I still think you’re an asshole for not telling me you were engaged before shoving your tongue down my throat. But that’s okay cause I love you. Busy? Come over and fuck me if you’re not. It’s okay because you’re single now, right?”

Now that he had gotten the bottle of wine open, he took a long drink. He felt like a lunatic. There was a distinct lack of logic that he was missing when it came to Yunho and it was maddening. Sighing, he took the bottle and walked over to the double doors that led out to the balcony from his bedroom. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle, but the thunder and lightning were still going strong.

He pushed the doors open and sat down in a chair near the far back corner. The chair next to him was empty like it always was, but in this moment, it really bothered him. Once again, he closed his eyes and thought of Yunho and all the time they had spent together as friends these last few months. Even though he had Ji-Yoo, JaeJoong still felt lonely sometimes. And Yunho had unknowingly inched his way so close to JaeJoong that now the idea that they wouldn’t be as close as they were before made him ache. He was in love and lonely.

“Pathetic.” He mumbled before taking another pull from the wine bottle. This was a bad idea, he knew it, but it was the only one that he had right then, so it was going to have to do. He curled his legs up into the chair and wrapped his arms around them. Resting his head on his knees, he closed his eyes and let the warm heat of the wine fill him.

~~~

JaeJoong frowned when he felt the unfamiliar press of cold metal against his cheek. Groggily, he opened his eyes and found himself leaning against the metal leg of a desk. He looked down and saw that he was dressed in the same sweatpants he had put on after his shower, but that’s where the recognition stopped. He was on the floor in a room that definitely wasn’t his. He began to stand but stopped when he noticed that he wasn’t alone. In the corner of room was a little boy, curled up between the far wall and small bookshelf. He was shivering like he was cold, and his tiny bare toes were clenching and unclenching the carpet beneath them.

JaeJoong opened his mouth to say something to the little boy, but before he could, the door to the room came open and hit the wall behind it with so much force it nearly bounced back. There was another boy there now who looked slightly older than the boy who was hiding. He looked like a tiny terror, his eyes wide and way too menacing for someone so young.

“JaeJoongie, come out and play!” The boy shouted and hustled into the room right past JaeJoong who still sat on the floor next to the desk. The bigger boy grabbed the smaller boy from the spot on the floor. His grip looked punishing, forcing the smaller boy to crumble to his knees.

“P-please Hyung, no more!” The small cried out, but the taller boy ignored him and dragged him out of the room. JaeJoong chased after them with no hesitation. His legs felt funny, but he knew it was because he had drunk too much, so he pushed himself to keep up.

“Let go of him!” JaeJoong shouted as he ran, but then he realized that he wasn’t actually moving. It was like he was running on a treadmill. Helplessly, he watched as the crying little boy was dragged away down the hall and behind the door of another room.

JaeJoong kept yelling, but then the sensation of falling came over him. The sensation became real and suddenly he was falling black hole. When he landed, seemingly seconds later, he was on a bed in the same room. Instead of looking like a child’s room, it was more mature; books lined the wall and the walls were painted dark gray.

He sat up and watched as a teenager looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair. He gasped realizing that it was 17-year-old him. The younger version of himself sat down on the bed, scrolling through his phone, when he heard a loud knocking at his bedroom door.

“Jae, open this door.” His younger self looked up at the door and didn’t move. JaeJoong didn’t recognize the voice, but it sounded angry. It made his head hurt. The knocking continued, getting louder every minute it went unanswered. His younger self finally got up and pulled a mouth guard out of his desk drawer and slipped it into his jean pocket before opening the door.

The angry voice matched the face of the man on the other side of the door. JaeJoong stared at him, his stomach flipped. He knew that face. Hong Do shoved his way in, looking incredibly angry.

“I thought I told you to leave before dad gets here.” He snarled, invading the younger version of JaeJoong’s space. The teen version of JaeJoong didn’t back down.

“I just want to have dinner with him. I promise to leave after then.” From the bed, JaeJoong watched as Hong Do crossed his arms over his chest, looking down his nose at 17-year-old JaeJoong.

“And what makes you think he wants to have dinner with you?” JaeJoong sat up the bed recognizing the look on face of the younger version of himself. That face meant he was about to say something he shouldn’t.

“Because I’m the son of the woman he loved.” Present day JaeJoong winced. Before the first blow landed on his mouth, he pushed the mouth guard in and fell to the ground. He rolled over to escape Hong Do’s next punch. JaeJoong started to get off the bed but remembered that he wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, he settled back on the bed and closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up.

When he opened them again, he was in a kitchen, of what he assumed to still be his house with Yunho. They were wrapped around each other, lost in a deep kiss. JaeJoong walked around the dream version of himself and Yunho to get a look at Yunho’s face. He put his hand on his chest over his heart. Yunho was handsome even when he was young. He reached out to touch him, but before he could, the younger version of themselves broke down like shattering glass in front of him. The pieces crumbled down and turned into a cloud of smoke that made JaeJoong cough. The force of his coughs sent him reeling backward and when he fell, he landed on a carpeted floor.

He was in another room this time, but it wasn’t his. On the bed across the room from where the present-day version of himself stood, was him and Yunho again. They were laying side by side, their fingers locked tightly together. The 17-year-old version of himself was naked except for a towel.

“Can I tell you something?” Young Yunho asked. JaeJoong pulled the towel around his waist closed as Yunho climbed back up to lay next to him. Once they were face to face again, Yunho rested his head on the same pillow as Jae’s.

“Anything.” JaeJoong responded sleepily. JaeJoong covered a small yawn with his hand.

“I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. Your face is the only face I’m wanting to see every morning when I wake up and every night I go to sleep. I don’t wanna do another thing without you by my side.” Present day JaeJoong felt his breath catch in his throat at Yunho’s words. He remembered this! He remembered this feeling of being so in love without and without worry of ever being alone. He had never felt alone when he was with Yunho. God! How could he have forgotten such an important thing?

“That sounds a lot like a proposal, Jung.” The teenage version of JaeJoong replied and Yunho nodded his confirmation.

“Because it is. Do you accept?” JaeJoong found himself nodding. He laughed and shouted across the room.

“Of course!” Present day JaeJoong yelled out despite knowing he wouldn't be heard.

“Yes.” The teenage JaeJoong finally responded as he held Yunho’s face between his hands and leaned into to kiss him. They shared a long, slow kiss before parting. Present-day JaeJoong felt the warmth well up inside of him.

“I love you.” Young Yunho said before closing his eyes.

“I love you more.” Both the present JaeJoong and teenage JaeJoong responded at the same time. Hesitantly, JaeJoong of the present closed his eyes and as expected, the feeling of falling overwhelmed him again. This time his landing was exceptionally soft and leathery feeling.

He put his hands down next to him and opened his eyes. Once again, he was in a new place, but this time it was the backseat of a car. The car was now driving way too fast for what looked to be a side street, but it looked to be late so no one else was out. In the front seat, his 17-year-old self was driving with one hand and holding Yunho’s who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“Trust me you’re not going to want to eat anything I make.” Yunho said with a big smile which faded quickly when the younger version of JaeJoong jerked his hand away and gripped the steering wheel. “Jae, what’s wrong?” Yunho asked with a frown wrinkling his handsome face.

“My brakes! They’re not working.” His younger self shouted and present day JaeJoong brought his hand up to his mouth as he watched the scene play out in front of him. The accident. His brakes were failing, and they were about to crash.  Yunho pulled on the parking break. Present day JaeJoong watched in horror, knowing exactly what was coming next.

“Put it in neutral.” Yunho suggested and when he did, as present JaeJoong remembered, did nothing to slow down the car. Present day JaeJoong shook his head no. He didn’t want to watch this. This was the one memory he didn’t care if he ever got back.

“I can’t stop Yunho. You have to get out.” He watched Yunho shake his head no. 17-year-old JaeJoong swerved closer to someone’s front yard, trying to give Yunho a chance to jump out safely.

“I’m not leaving you.” Yunho persisted and present day JaeJoong wanted to punch him in the face. What had he been thinking!

“Get out!” His younger self shouted nearly in tears. Present day JaeJoong glanced away, distracted by the oncoming headlights of the approaching semi-truck. The impact was hard, and the sound of screeching tires and metal was deafening. He covered his ears and tucked his face between his knees. When he raised his head again, he could smell smoke. He slowly reached forward to touch his younger self, but his fingers slipped right though him. He helplessly watched as his head poured blood from the large gash in his forehead.

Even though he was afraid to look, he looked over at Yunho whose right leg was completely pinned under the dashboard. Part of the door was also pushing against Yunho’s arm forcing it to stretch to the point it was putting stress on his collar bone. Despite that, he reached over and was trying to apply pressure to JaeJoong’s bleeding forehead.

“Jae! Baby please wake up.” He was crying. JaeJoong felt like his heart was breaking. He palmed at his bare chest, the ache so strong he thought he was going to be sick from the pain.

“I’m here sweetie. I’m going to be okay. Just stay still until help comes. You’re hurt too so just stay still.” He soothed, but of course Yunho didn’t hear him. The sound of the approaching ambulance and fire truck made the scar on his forehead pulse in pain so harshly that he screamed. He doubled over on the seat and gripped his head. He kept screaming, feeling like his head was going to pop open.

~~end of dream sequence~~

The sound of glass hitting the ground had JaeJoong nearly falling out of his chair. Dazed, he looked down at the wine bottle that was now in pieces on the concrete of the balcony. The rest of the wine bled out and mixed with a puddle of rain water. He slowly brought his hand up to his head and pressed the palm of it against his scar. The excruciating pain wasn’t there. Instead he was now focused on the marathon of thoughts running through his head. His memories. Every missing piece of his childhood and beyond was now filled in and the pains and pleasures from his worst and happiest times were all meeting for the first time.

Stumbling to his feet, he gingerly made his way back into his room. After rummaging around in his dark room, he was able to find a heavy hooded sweatshirt. Pulling it on, he grabbed is wallet and phone and headed to the front door. Nearly tripping, he worked his feet into his sneakers and left the apartment. When he was outside, he ran out close to the street and started waving his hand to get the attention of a passing cab. After a few minutes, he was finally able to get an empty one. The driver glanced back at JaeJoong, his brows raised. He was probably wondering why JaeJoong had been standing out in the pouring rain with no umbrella.

“Seoul Memorial please.” JaeJoong said to the driver, his voice rough in his ears. Calling Yunho wouldn’t be enough. He needed to see the other man right away. He just prayed that he hadn’t gone home yet.

-

Yunho sighed as he entered his office and immediately collapsed onto the couch. His entire body ached as if he had been through a rigorous workout and his feet were sorer than he could ever remember them being. He glanced down at his legs that were still in his scrub pants. As much as he had wanted to call it a day earlier, emergencies didn’t take breaks for emotional turmoil. After bringing JaeJoong lunch earlier in the day, he had been immediately called in to perform two emergency surgeries. They had been successful, but hard and now he was completely drained.

He moved his gaze to the watch on his wrist and frowned at the time. It was only 7 o’clock in the evening, but it felt so much later than that. He forced himself to sit up so that he could stretch and get a move on. The plan tonight was to go home and start packing his things in preparation to move out of the apartment he shared with Hyun Gi. He was well aware of how quickly things were coming to an end for them, but he knew that any more prolonging would be the demise of them both. Besides, he just didn’t have the patience to deal with Hyun Gi any more now that he had revealed his true and grudge-bearing childish ways.

After one more stretch, he was finally ready to stand. As he walked over to his desk, he was distracted by the knock on his office door. He bit his lip and looked down at his scrub pants again. He needed to change.

“Just a second.” He called out before he quickly changed out of his scrubs and back into the dark blue jeans and dress shirt he had worn earlier in the day. Not bothering to tuck the shirt in or button it fully, he went to the door to answer it. Soaking wet and in nothing but sweatpants and a sweatshirt was JaeJoong. His black hair was dripping into his face and down his chin. The look on his face was unreadable, but there was a level of recognition in his eyes that Yunho hadn’t seen since they had met again.

“Jae, what are you-” Yunho began to say but was cut off when cold, damp lips met his own in a fast and hard kiss. He moaned and stumbled back from the force of it. Holding onto JaeJoong’s shoulders, he tried to catch his balance. JaeJoong was the first one to end the kiss. He stepped back and continued to stare at Yunho with wide eyes. Yunho was afraid to speak, but he secretly wanted to just in case JaeJoong decided to cut him off with another kiss.

“I remember, Yun.” JaeJoong’s husky voice like silk as it filled Yunho’s ears. Yunho blinked at him, trying to process the words. After a full minute, they finally clicked.

“Y-you remember? Like…everything?” Yunho asked in with a voice that was nearly a whisper. JaeJoong nodded in response causing more water to drip off his face and onto his already soaking wet sweatshirt.

“It was like a dream. Just bits and pieces, but then when I woke up, it was all there. All 11 years. All the bad, but all of the good too.” JaeJoong said, his eyes softening when he mentioned the last part. Yunho didn’t know whether to shout with joy or cry. Both would be appropriate right now. Instead he settled for getting closer to JaeJoong. He inhaled the scent of rain and the unique one that was all JaeJoong and fresh soap.

“You must be so overwhelmed. How do you feel?” JaeJoong reached out and took Yunho’s hand and pulled him towards the couch. They sat down next to each other, their knees touching. Yunho watched as JaeJoong looked down at their clasped hands.

“I feel angry and happy and sad all at once. You were the first person I needed to tell. I had to see you and tell you. I needed to tell you that I…I missed you.” JaeJoong said as he brought their linked hands into his lap. Yunho sighed, soaking in the feeling of JaeJoong’s fingers being brought together as one again after all this time.

“I’ve missed you for so long. I don’t know if I ever went a day without wishing you were with me again.” Yunho said before bringing their hands to his lips and kissing the back of JaeJoong’s. “I looked for you and I couldn’t find you and it broke my heart.” He finished saying, overcome with unspeakable amounts of sadness. JaeJoong’s eyes matched his feelings.

“How long did you look for me, Yun?” JaeJoong asked. Yunho looked down at their hands.

“For 6 years. As soon as I was able to get out of bed on my own, I asked where you were. One of the nurses said that your family took you to America before you woke up. They didn’t know where, so I started in all of the cities with the best trauma centers. Then I did public record searches and spent money on a private investigator. Every penny I had went to finding you. But it was like you were a ghost.” Yunho recalled and the memories of his search came back to him like it was yesterday. When he finally looked up, he was met with JaeJoong’s surprised eyes.

“Oh, baby. I never left Seoul. My family moved me to a private hospital for the six weeks it took for me to recover. They probably told that doctor to lie to you. As soon as I woke up, they shipped me out to Japan where I went to college.” JaeJoong explained as Yunho felt his heart constrict. He knew that JaeJoong’s family were monsters, but that was cruel. He fought against the sting of tears in his eyes. The damage was done and over now. Well, nearly all of the damage was over.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure there is anything to say other than your family are fucking bastards.” Yunho cursed harshly. JaeJoong nodded.

“I couldn’t agree more.” JaeJoong said with downcast eyes. Silence fell between them before Yunho decided to break it.

“I’m sorry for so many things, Jae. I’m sorry for giving up my search for finding you. I’m sorry for thinking that I could tuck you and my feelings for you away. But mostly I’m sorry for lying to you. And I’m even sorrier for hurting you.” All the words he had been holding finally spilled out of Yunho in a frantic rumble. JaeJoong shook his head no, still not looking at him.

“Now that I remember everything, I get it. I’m not saying it was right because you’re not a stupid person and that by far was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. But I know that if it were me in your shoes, I would have an extremely hard time letting you go, 11 years or not.” JaeJoong replied. He unlinked their fingers and reached up to cup Yunho’s cheek. The intimate touch had Yunho sighing. He loved this man with every fiber of his being. From his voice to the way his fingers felt pressed to Yunho’s face made Yunho feel so much love and happiness that it was too big to measure.

“Thank you.” Yunho heard himself say. JaeJoong’s fingers continued to stroke his cheek lovingly.

“For what?” He asked and Yunho opened his eyes. JaeJoong’s warm brown eyes looked like brown pools of chocolate melted together with honey.

“For not hating me. I don’t think I’d be able to stand it.” Yunho answered, his throat tight. JaeJoong shook his head no.

“My memories here or not, I could never hate you, Jung Yunho.” JaeJoong said softly. He leaned in and pressed another kiss to Yunho’s lips. This one was soft, and he withdrew a lot sooner. “How do you hate the person you’ve fallen in love with?” He asked a few moments after the kiss. Yunho could feel his heart rate triple.

“That’s a very good question, love. I don’t have the slightest idea, but I’m glad you don’t either.” He finally was able to say after clearing the lump in his throat. JaeJoong gave him a gentle smile.

“Yunho?” JaeJoong whispered Yunho’s name. Yunho tilted his head.

“Yes?” He watched as slow gradient of pink filled JaeJoong’s cheeks.

“Will you come home with me?” JaeJoong’s question nearly stopped Yunho’s heart. If he weren’t a cardiologist, he would have thought it possible.

“Absolutely.” He responded and was rewarded with one of JaeJoong’s sunbeam smiles. Yunho knew that he’d follow JaeJoong anywhere. All the other man would have to do is ask.

...

A/N: IT HAS HAPPENED! YunJae has reunited and Jae's memories have returned. As promised, we're getting to the YunJae time and there will be more of it in the next chapter. But we've got one more thunderstorm to get to before the clouds clear for our couple completely. Stay tuned! Really quick, I wanted to apologize for any awkward typos or misspellings you may find in this chapter. University just started back up for me and Tuesday snuck up on me before I could edit the chapter like I usually do. So please excuse me this time. ALSO, the dream sequence may be a bit confusing for some, but basically is a compilation of scenes from earlier chapters and JaeJoong in the dream is experiencing them as himself of the present. So yeah...that might be a little strange. Any who! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will be anxiously waiting for Chapter 21 on Sunday. Love you all and talk to you soon. BYE!