Title: Running
Pairing: Yoosu, ChangKi, Yunjae
Rating: PG-15
Genre: Angst, Comedy
Quotes:
"There is no such thing as [running] forever."
Yoochun had locked up and returned the keys to the landlord. He made Changmin bring Kibum back to their apartment and keep the shorter man busy. Letting Kibum follow them downstairs and to the taxi would only cause a huge crying scene.
Before leaving, Yoochun had reminded Changmin and Kibum of their promise to hold back, to not come after Yoochun and Junsu.
Now they were driving away in the taxi. Junsu was staring out the window, trying hard not to cry. Yoochun wrapped an arm around the younger man. He positioned Junsu’s head on his shoulder and whispered, “Go ahead.”
Junsu burst into tears, hiccupping and sniffling like a cute child. Yoochun was prepared with soft tissues to wipe away the tears.
“Where to, sir?” the taxi driver inquired because Yoochun only told him to drive straight.
“Actually, I forgot the paper that had the address on it. Why don’t you stop here for me?”
The taxi driver found it weird that the young man didn’t ask him to drive back to the apartment complex. It was one street away, but maybe they didn’t have enough money either. So he dropped the two men off on the sidewalk.
Junsu was too busy crying to care. He missed Kibum and he missed Changmin. But at least he still had his Hyung.
“Junsu, stay here, okay?”
Junsu wiped the tears from his eyes and saw that they were standing in front of a park’s entrance. Across the street were some houses. Had they arrived already? But they’re still really close to the apartment.
“Hyung?”
“Stay here.”
Yoochun was busy scanning their surrounding. He kept turning away so Junsu couldn’t see his expression. Junsu took a hold of Yoochun’s hand, “Hyung…”
“Listen to me and stay here,” Yoochun spoke in a stern voice, pulling his hand free of Junsu’s hold.
Junsu had never heard that tone before. He remained quiet and watched as Yoochun started to walk across the street. When he reached the other side, Junsu still couldn’t figure out what was happening. Where was the taxi? Where were the luggages? Why had they stopped at the park near their previous home?
“Hyung!” Junsu shouted to the older man who stood too far away.
Yoochun clenched his fist and told himself that he couldn’t turn around, couldn’t look back at Junsu. But he did. And when he turned around, he saw Junsu taking one step onto the street.
“Stop! I told you to stay there! Just stand right there!”
“Hyung! Where are you going? I want to come with you,” Junsu pleaded.
Yoochun wouldn’t look at Junsu. His heart was being torn into countless pieces and the pain was his only source of energy…that and his Love for Junsu. “Stay there. I’m just…going back to the apartment to get something. I forgot something important there. Don’t follow me.”
“Hyung…” Junsu was starting to sob again, but Yoochun wouldn’t allow himself to look. He had to run, fast, before Jung Yunho arrived to take Junsu away. He had to run and he didn’t want Junsu to run with him. He would be left to run away on his own from now on.
“Stay there,” Yoochun repeated before turning his back to Junsu again. He took one step before the combination of Junsu’s voice and a car’s honking horn tackled his senses.
On impulse, he turned around to see Junsu running across the street and a speeding car driving towards him! The driver was honking, but he wasn’t stopping!
“Hyung!” Junsu only cared about reaching Yoochun.
“Junsu!” Yoochun ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He leapt forward and pushed Junsu out of the vehicle’s way. Both bodies rolled onto the rough texture of the street, causing scars and burns.
The back of Junsu’s head made contact with the cement of the sidewalk. Breathless from the Fear, Yoochun quickly examined Junsu’s head, hating the painful expression on the angel’s face. He found blood on his hand the second he touched the wound.
“Junsu! Junsu! Are you okay? Open your eyes! Open your eyes and look at me!” Yoochun felt his heart speed and his breathing was heavy. His eyes moistened and his throat was painfully dry. He was scared, really scared.
People who were in the park were starting to walk out to see what the honking was about. They were shocked to see two men on the street, one bleeding and the other one crying.
Junsu couldn’t open his eyes. He wanted to shut out the pain and he wanted to shut out…shut out…something else. What was it? What was he feeling? What was he seeing when his eyes were still closed?
He heard Yoochun’s voice, shouting for him to respond. His body was being shaken and his head hurt. He released a cry of pain when a sharp pang hit his temples. His whole head felt like it wanted to explode.
“Junsu!”
“He’s bleeding!”
“Junsu! Open your eyes!”
“Oh, my gosh, is he all right?”
“Junsu!”
“Hurry and call the ambulance!”
Junsu tried to open his eyes again and when he did, blurry visions became clear. But he wasn’t seeing the physical vision in front of him (of a desperate, crying man). He saw more, visions that had once been lost.
Darkness. Wet. An alley.
[F.l.a.s.h.b.a.c.k]
“Stay quiet! No matter what, stay quiet and stay hidden!”
“Who are they? What are they going to do to you?”
“Xiah, if you love me, you have to promise to live! You have to save yourself! No matter what happens, no matter what you see, you have to stay hidden! Promise me!”
[E.n.d.F.l.a.s.h.b.a.c.k]
“Junsu!” Yoochun shouted his name again.
Junsu realized that he was lying on his back. He was looking up…at Yoochun. But…it wasn’t Yoochun.
His head hurt even more and he closed his eyes again. When he opened them a second later, his vision was blurry again, but he thought he was seeing the person from the flashback. His soft lips murmured, “Junho.”
=====
“Junho.”
Yoochun’s eyes widened and it felt like his heart had stopped. His face paled and his whole body tensed. He saw the pain on Junsu’s expression and he wanted nothing more to take it away. But he couldn’t. Not now, not ever. Not anymore.
Then he looked up to see two men fighting to get through the crowd.
“Xiah!”
Jung Yunho grabbed Yoochun’s shirt and pulled him up. The blond man who was with Yunho took Junsu into his own arms. Junsu was still murmuring incoherently.
Yoochun only took one last look at Junsu before using all his strength to push Yunho away. He ignored the pain on the shoulder he had fallen on and untangled himself from Yunho’s grip. Like last time, he had to push another innocent bystander in order to escape.
He ran and ran and ran. He couldn’t get another look at Junsu, wouldn’t know if the younger man would be okay.
But he would be. He would have his friends back. He would have his old life back. He had his memories back.
And Yoochun…had nothing.
=====
“So we’re just going to coop ourselves up in this apartment?”
“I’m surprised I don’t have to chain you down,” Kibum drawled. He glanced at the remote, but didn’t feel like watching T.V. He didn’t feel like doing anything at all. “I hate this.”
“I know,” Changmin sighed. Kibum had cried in his arms for a good while before calming down. Then they’d sat in silence, silently fighting the urge to go after Yoochun and Junsu.
But Yoochun was right. What could they do? They could only help with so much and they wouldn’t be able to help with what mattered most…no one would. And Yoochun knew…that following them, seeing them would only make Kibum and Changmin more depressed, upset, guilty. They would constantly feel guilty for something they can’t control. Yoochun didn’t want that.
And maybe he just wanted that alone time with Junsu.
Changmin had given him some money and wished him the best of luck. He told Yoochun to call him, if he ever needed anything. Although Changmin kept glancing at his cell phone, he knew that Yoochun wouldn’t call.
“Let’s just go to sleep,” Kibum suggested.
Changmin looked out at the sunset. It was too early to sleep.
“Okay,” he agreed, watching Kibum stand up to walk into his room. “Kibum…”
Kibum stopped walking and turned around to look at Changmin. “Hmm?”
“I noticed that you might be catching a cold. Take some medicine before it worsens.”
Kibum nodded. “Thank you.”
For the rest of that day and the rest of the night, both lied in separate rooms, staring up at the ceiling and praying for their best friends.
=====
“Xiah!”
Junsu opened his eyes and saw the familiar face.
Xiah? Junsu? What is his name? Xiah. It’s ‘Xiah’.
“Yunho,” Xiah murmured. He tried to sit up and the older man helped him.
“Perfect timing,” another person walked into the room.
“Jaejoong.”
The blond man grinned and hugged Xiah. “You remember me! I’m so happy!”
Xiah returned the hug and felt reluctant when Jaejoong pulled away. He wanted to be hugged. Just…hugged. Because he felt cold and empty.
“I brought food. You need to eat,” Jaejoong uncovered three bento boxes from the brown bag.
“Thank you,” Xiah accepted the box. The three ate in silence. The atmosphere was awkward, different. But a lot has happened since the last time they had sat down together, conversing and laughing.
“The doctor said that your shoulder might be sore for a couple of days. X-ray shows that your head is fine though,” Jaejoong explained. “Overall, you’re fine.”
“If you were hurt, I would kill…”
“Yunho,” Jaejoong stopped him. “I don’t think Xiah wants to be reminded of that person right now.”
Xiah placed a piece of carrot into his mouth and chewed quietly. No, he didn’t want to be reminded of Micky Park…at all.
Chapter 23 // “What should we do with this stuff?”