Into The Dark Night (9/?)

Dec 02, 2011 07:36

Title: Into the Dark Night
Author: ms_awkward
Genre: AU, Fantasy, Angst, Romance, Drama, Adventure, Fluff?
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): HyukHae(main), KyuMin, HanChul, KangTeuk, YunJae, ninja!YeWook

Summary: All they needed was light.



Into the Dark Night
Chapter 9

Donghae wasn’t sure about the rest of his body, but he was sure there was a band of drummers banging on their percussions inside his head.

He whimpered softly as he tried to blink away his sleep, gingerly lifting a hand to his temple.

“Ow…”

He slowly sat up, his eyes roaming the room and bed sheets, recognizing they were his.

“Hae!”

Sungmin scrambled to his feet, messily landing on the bed before cupping Donghae’s face with his hands.

“You’re awake!”

Donghae blinked before smiling widely, his eyes going a bit cross-eyed at Sungmin’s sudden proximity. “Sungmin hyung~”

Sungmin squealed and crushed Donghae into a hug.

“What he really meant to say was: No shit, Einstein.” came Kyuhyun’s retort despite the obvious smile tugging at his lips. “You scared us there, kid.”

Donghae pouted, not liking how Kyuhyun still referred to him as a kid when he’d already finished growing a week ago. He was about to voice his thought before he whimpered at his apparent migraine.

“What’s wrong, Hae? Headache?” Sungmin cooed.

Donghae whimpered again, nodding his head slowly, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“You’re bursting with ideas today, Einstei-ow! What was that for?”

“For being such a smartass.”

“Your fault for stating the obvious.”

“At least my ass isn’t huge!”

“Love the connection, Einstein.”

“Why you-“

Thus, the bickering ensued. Donghae tuned out Kyuhyun and Sungmin’s voices, already used to their noise, as he tried to remember what exactly happened. He knew he was able to sneak out again yesterday, the voices in his head proving too much for him…he remembered sitting by Minho…waiting for…he was supposed to meet…

“Hyukjae!”

Kyuhyun and Sungmin turned to face Donghae, their eyes wide as if they’d forgotten he was there.

“Huh?”

“Hyukjae!” Donghae exclaimed, “Where’s Hyukjae? Kyumin, how did I get here?”

They shared a look, before Sungmin stood up (he was trying to strangle Kyuhyun without getting kissed because he was mad like that) and dusted his clothes, clearing his throat, “This ‘Hyukjae’ of yours, how does he look like?”
Donghae hadn’t expected the question, “Ah...U-uhm…he’s very…” He didn’t know why his cheeks started tingling again.

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow, “Does he have red hair?”

“Oh yes!” Donghae’s eyes lit up.

“Pale skin?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Plump lips? Strong jawline? Handsome aura? Black clothes?” Sungmin breathed, while Kyuhyun’s eye twitched at how accurately his partner remembered the ‘creepy redhead pedophile’.

Donghae’s nodded vigorously, “Exactly!” he beamed.

“This is the same Hyukjae you’ve been mumbling about meeting these past weeks?”

“Mm-hmm!” Donghae smiled widely, his headache forgotten when talking about his redhead friend.

To his surprise, Sungmin broke into a fit. He paced around the room, his head in his hands, mumbling something that sounded like I knew it I knew it I knew it.

Donghae looked at Kyuhyun, clearly confused and hoping for some sort of explanation.

Kyuhyun sighed, sat beside Donghae and placed a hand on top of his head, stroking the brown locks, “Your friend Hyukjae brought you here last night. Min found him kneeling beside your bed, you were out cold.” Kyuhyun took a moment to stop himself from laughing as he remembered his partner’s outburst.

“He said he was a friend, said his ‘mission was not to hurt us’.” Kyuhyun quoted, imitating Hyukjae’s tone, “then he just left.”

“O-oh…” Donghae fumbled with his fingers, his eyes downcast and cheeks red. “Hyukjae’s always so nice to me. I’m so glad I met him!” With that, he smiled brightly. “And I’m glad you’ve met him now too!”

Sungmin, who had stopped from his mumbling to watch Donghae’s reaction, landed messily on his bed for the second time, “Hae, what do you know about Hyukjae?”

Donghae blinked, a bit stunned, “Know about him? Hyukjae is my friend.” He said, as if it explained everything.

“No! I mean, what do you know about him?”

Donghae tilted his head, “He’s…he may not say much but he’s really nice. He helps me a lot, teaches me things, shows me places and catches butterflies with me.” Donghae paused and smiled almost sadly, “Hyukjae also saved my life. I owe him so much, I like him so much.”

Kyuhyun and Sungmin were entranced by the sparkle in Donghae’s eye, too entranced to take notice of the momentary pause of rain outside. They’d know the look anywhere.

Kyuhyun slapped his forehead, “Oh dear God, he’s in love.” He muttered under his breath.

Sungmin, on the other hand, was long gone by now.

He had stars in his eyes, the idea of a forbidden love exciting him because, after all, Lumici were not meant to fall in love with humans. It simply wouldn't work out-the mundane were fickle beings, love with a Lumiciant was short-lived. Feelings of inferiority got in the way, not to mention the countless times humans tricked Lumici into thinking they loved them, but had only used them as trophies and display-proof to the world that they could own something so beautiful. That, or the high possibility of being sold off to the government for experimentation.

Few were the sincere humans, who truly loved a Lumiciant, yet even their sincerity did nothing to guarantee happiness. In the end, time was against this love.

Lumici could live for years on end, their life span and beauty almost endless. Humans, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky.

But what they didn’t know was that as nature slowly dies, Lumici slowly die as well. Thus, the sacrifice of the Solis-their center, their light. The reason why they are able to live on.

Love between a Lumiciant (the next Solis nonetheless) and a Rife (the only thing Lumici ever truly fear, human but not quite) enthralled Sungmin. Enthralled him, and scared the shit out of him at the same time-almost like how Kyuhyun makes him feel.

Unfortunately, Donghae didn’t know what he was getting himself into, what Hyukjae really was. And Sungmin was determined to change that.

“Hae,” Donghae looked up at him, “there’s something you need to know…”

- - -

“He’s going to die?” Eunhyuk scoffed and cocked his gun, “Don’t get dramatic on me, Kim Heechul. I don’t do drama.”

Heechul frowned, “You don’t believe me.”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes. “I’ve had many of my targets trying to wiggle their way out of this, but I have to say, you’re going a bit too far.” He didn’t find it funny, or amusing. It was a sick joke, and it was really starting to piss Eunhyuk off.

Heechul abruptly stopped, a firm grip on his handcuffs almost got Eunhyuk tumbling backwards had he been a normal person. Something within Heechul had changed.

“You think this is about me?” He growled, the ground seeming to shake slightly at his words, “You really think I’d serve myself to you on a platter then try to ‘wiggle my way out’ because what? I was fucking bored and thought that saying Donghae was going to die would be a great way to kill time? I thought you were smarter than this.”
Eunhyuk clenched his jaw. He knew it was stupid, but he didn’t like what Heechul was saying about Donghae. He hated it, loathed it, but deep down inside, he knew he wasn’t lying.

“I wouldn’t joke about this.” Heechul continued, venom lacing his every word, “I love that kid. And quite frankly, I thought you did too.”

They stared each other down, one accusing, the other analyzing. Unsurprisingly, Eunhyuk saw that Heechul meant business.

“Oh, stop looking like a jealous girlfriend. I don't love him that way. About you though, clearly, I was wrong.” He continued, “You wouldn’t-”

“Tell me.” Eunhyuk spoke firmly.

“Oh, what’s this?  Change your mind already? Who knew Rife could be so fickle.” Heechul laughed bitterly.

Eunhyuk grit his teeth and inhaled deeply to calm himself. “Just tell me. What do you mean he’s going to die?”

Heechul growled before closing his eyes, a frown still set on his face. “And if I tell you, if, what are you gonna do about it? Quit? Save him then ride into the sunset? Would you do all that for Donghae, a boy you’ve hardly met?” He slowly opened his eyes, scrutinizing Eunhyuk. “I don’t think you can.”

It felt as if Heechul was looking down on him and quite frankly, Eunhyuk didn’t like it one bit. But honestly speaking, he really hadn’t known what he was going to do. He did know one thing though-the only person who ever appreciated him was in danger, and he needed to know why.

It was Eunhyuk’s turn to growl, “I’m beginning to lose my patience with-“

“Heechul hyung?”

Their heads snapped to the direction the small shaky voice came from. Heechul’s eyes widened.

“Ryeowook?”

- - -

Hangeng scanned the streets, his gaze weary. It had been two days since Kangin had given his orders on the search party, yet he still hadn’t come up with anything concrete. Hangeng was beginning to doubt his qualifications as head officer.

He sighed dejectedly as he yet again came out of a building empty-handed. Briefly, he wondered where Zhoumi was. The guy was usually by his side, after all. He shrugged it off, assuming Kangin had given him separate orders, before stalking off again.

Who would have thought that looking for a kid would be this troublesome? He figured that at least since it was a kid, it wouldn’t know any better and end up giving away its location. Hangeng ran a hand across his face.

He was missing something, something vital. He knew that the kid would probably be under protection of the Rogue Lumici who stole him from the reserve. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find three Lumici in this dark city.

He knew that they had this special technique in camouflage; he had learned it from…Hangeng shook his head, trying to erase his memories of him. Of all people, he promised himself he wouldn’t think about…

That’s when he stopped.

Hangeng’s eyes widened. How could he have been so stupid? He should use the little information he learned from Heechul to find this kid.

Now, what did he say about camouflage…Hangeng scrunched his eyebrows in thought. He remembered Heechul saying that whenever they go out, they had to wear this…

“Just when I hadn’t brought my cloak.”

A cloak! Yes, Heechul said they always wore one when outside. He was onto something now, finally.

What else? He shut his eyes tight; trying to remember moments he’d always been trying to block.

“Growing old, huh?” Heechul examined his arm, “I wonder how my skin would look. Probably terrible,” he blanched, “good thing I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why not?” Hangeng couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Physically, we don’t age.” Heechul smiled somewhat sadly, “It’s handy at times. Though I’ve always wondered how it would feel…to grow old and die happy.”

Hangeng planted a chaste kiss on his lips. “Yeah? Well you’d be the hottest wrinkled geezer in the world.”

He couldn’t help but smile slightly at the memory. He really was such a sap.

Hangeng shook his head again, cursing at himself to focus.

“I’m sure.” Heechul replied and laughed loudly, “But hey, at least we don’t stay too young for long either. At least without your kind’s damn experiments.” He scoffed, “I hate being a kid.”

Hangeng’s eyes snapped open. That was it!

Heechul said that without human interference, they grow quickly, and stop completely when they reach this certain age.

They’d been looking for the wrong thing all along-a kid, when they should have been searching for a guy who looks at least like he’s in his early twenties! He cursed under his breath and was about to send out new orders when he caught sight of a small building near the barricade to the forest.

It looked common enough, decorated with bricks and the occasional plants climbing up the walls. What was odd about it was that while it was raining everywhere, this building suddenly wasn’t covered in rain.

It was as if there was some force field slowly forming around it. It was subtle, but as Hangeng got closer and closer, the rain really did stop. He thought he was imagining things.

But just as he was about to knock on the door, another hand getting ready to knock as well got in his way. He raised an eyebrow at the man who interrupted him.

“I’m sorry, I’m here on official-“

“Hangeng, right? Chief of Police?” the man had an odd aura, his gaze piercing. “I’m Kibum, and I would like to pay my friend here a visit.”

He smiled, and Hangeng didn’t know why but it made him shiver. He frowned.

- - -

“Perhaps you have something you should tell me?” his voice and the tapping of their shoes bounced off the walls of the dark corridors, “Yoona?”

She twitched slightly before replying, “No, nothing.”

“That Lumiciant seemed to know you, though.” Kangin raised an eyebrow, “Who is he?”

Yoona closed her eyes.

She remembered running through the trees, feet only slightly touching the ground. Laughter echoed through the forest, the hand in hers firm and reliable as she followed her brother wherever he wanted to go. The sun was warm.

“No one.” she replied, “He’s no one.”

Kangin scoffed, but decided to let it slip. He had no business with Yoona’s matters, so long as she stayed by their deal. He had more pressing matters at hand.

They arrived at a door, their halted footsteps making the hallway deathly silent.

Kangin took in a breath, “Just for a while, okay?”

“A while is all I need.” Yoona almost rolled her eyes.

Kangin inhaled deeply again and went to open the door, but hesitated over the knob. Yoona tapped her foot impatiently.

“You promised, Kangin.”

Finally, they went in with Yoona mumbling under her breath about how Kangin was such an overly protective fool.

And there, almost exactly how Kangin had left him, sat Leeteuk in all his glory. His back was straight, his features luminous.

“Leeteuk-sshi…” Yoona breathed, the presence of her Solis, no matter how dim and dismal it was compared to the old days, still overwhelmed her.

To Kangin’s surprise, Leeteuk had responded to Yoona’s presence as well. He blinked the slightest, his pale hand slowly reaching out. It reminded Kangin of the painful fact that the connection between a Solis and its fellow Lumici had was powerful.

Yoona approached him slowly; despite the furtive glances Kangin kept sending her.

She held Leeteuk’s hand in hers, almost scared that she might break him with how fragile he looked. Slowly, she felt her energy coming back. Her eyes grew brighter, skin glowing as it did back when she still lived in the forest with everyone else.

Yoona smiled, feeling as though she’d finally been given water after a year’s worth of thirst, but quickly let go. She stepped away, her eyes downcast and hands fumbling with the hem of her dress.

“Alright,” Kangin spoke quickly, almost shoving Yoona out the door, “time’s up. Bye, Yoona.”

It clicked behind her none too softly, and Yoona stood outside the room with wide eyes. The rain banged against the windows, almost as if it were demanding her attention, yet all she could think of was how Leeteuk looked in her eyes.

As if he understood. As if he forgave her.

- - -

“Ryeowook?” Heechul almost screamed the name, not sure whether to feel relieved, bewildered or worried because Eunhyuk was-

In a matter of seconds, Eunhyuk had Ryeowook’s hands behind his back and a knife at his neck. Heechul cursed himself for showing the Rife vulnerability.

Ryeowook whimpered. “H-hyung, what-“

“Now tell me. Or…” he dug his knife into the frail neck, but not quite wounding it.

Heechul narrowed his eyes, seething. “You wouldn’t.”

Eunhyuk applied just enough pressure for a small bead of blood to trickle down. Ryeowook whimpered loudly, tears running down his cheeks.

“Stop it! I’ll talk! Just let him go, you fucker.”

Eunhyuk loosened his grip on the knife, but kept the tiny Lumiciant in his hold. He raised an eyebrow, urging Heechul to continue.

He muttered something about this was why he hated Rife, but took a shaky breath to calm himself for Ryeowook’s sake. “They want him. People want him, not just that bastard Youngwoon and your almighty ‘boss’. There are people out there willing to risk everything to get him, because of what he is.”

Ryeowook’s eyes widened as he realized who Heechul was talking about.

“This is why we’ve always kept them hidden, away from society, from you humans. Because you don’t understand what it means to be the Solis. He’s not ready yet. You humans can’t hurry things up for your personal gain, that taking shortcuts will only…there are consequences Donghae would have to face.”

More than he’s already facing, Heechul though bitterly.

“Leave him this unprotected and he’ll surely fall into the wrong hands. Are you really okay with that?”

Eunhyuk’s mind raced, as he tried to absorb what Heechul was saying. Was he explicitly telling him to quit SM Corporation, being a Rife, his whole life, and stay by Donghae’s side? Were his words even true, or were they just a pack of lies? Heechul looked sly, he could probably make up a convincing story in a flash. Maybe he was trying to trick him, teamed up with one of SM’s many rivals and plot this to lure one of the corporation’s best Rife.

But...no. Eunhyuk knew when a person was lying; he could detect that small fact a mile away and this guy meant what said. But what consequences? He wasn’t new to the concept of equivalent exchange, nothing was free, and there was always a catch. His hard life as a child gave him the abilities he had now. He knew what it meant to pay a price.

This time though, it bothered him. Was it because Donghae is involved? Because Donghae is the one who as to pay?

Eunhyuk felt like tugging at his hair, wondering he why he cared so damn much. Instead, he ended up loosening his grip on Ryeowook.

In no time, the shaking Lumiciant was hiding behind Heechul, sneaking glances at this red-haired stranger who seemed to know his Donghae hyung.

Heechul eyed him meaningfully and almost scoffed.

This was easier than I thought.

“Think it through.” Heechul said with finality before they disappeared with a flash.

Hyukjae made no move to follow.

Little did they know, there was a figure watching them from the shadows, Eunhyuk too far gone into his thoughts to notice.

He stood at a corner, his back pressed up against the wall. Rainwater dripped down his bangs.

He watched as the two Lumici fled the scene, yet the Rife was motionless and did not so much as try to follow. That was, until he suddenly jerked his head up and ran lightning fast in the opposite direction.

“Why…hello,” Key smirked, “What do ya know? Things really are getting interesting around here.”

- - -

Donghae’s panting came quick as he ran down the streets, his form shabbily buried under cloak and practically shoved out their back door. He didn’t even know where he was going, his mind only half processing when Kyuhyun and Sungmin said that they heard noises outside and told him to just run.

He mindlessly obeyed, still mulling over what Sungmin had told him about Hyukjae. He was…Hyukjae was…a Rife. At first, he wasn’t surprised, not that much. Hyukjae seemed to have that aura and quite honestly, Donghae thought it was kickass cool.

But when Sungmin had said that being friends or anything more with Hyukjae was going to hurt and that it wouldn’t work out, Donghae didn’t know what to think.

Why would it hurt? Was being friends with a human really that wrong? Donghae puffed his cheeks, deciding that he liked Hyukjae and he wanted to be with Hyukjae, and that’s all that really mattered. Besides, he still needed to thank the redhead for last night and he needed to ask him some…questions.

Kyuhyun and Sungmin looked as if there was more they needed to tell him, but the noises they heard outside worried them. It unnerved Donghae a little bit, what more did they have to tell him?

Unconsciously, his feet brought him to a familiar lamppost and Donghae smiled up sweetly at it.

“Hello, Minho.” He pat the red surface, “Do you know where Hyukjae is?”

Obviously, Minho didn’t bother to reply. Donghae sighed, but just as he was about to sit down on the sidewalk, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

- -

Hyukjae ran and ran, his feet almost hovering over the concrete ground. He was still confused, still didn’t know what to do, but he knew he wanted to see Donghae.

Something felt wrong. Very wrong.

- -

An excited gasp escaped Donghae’s lips.

“Hyuk-oh. Hello.” He stared curiously at the stranger.

“Hello.” The man smiled, a dimple showing. “You look lonely.”

- -

Hyukjae almost ran into a fruit cart on the sidewalk, muttering an apology and cursed as he tried to run faster.

- -

“Just a little. I was hoping to meet a friend.” Donghae smiled.

“Oh? He doesn’t look like he’s coming though. Why not come with me instead? I passed by these lovely flowers you might want to see.”

There was something about the way the man spoke that Donghae found himself nodding, despite Kyuhyun and Sungmin’s order against strangers.

- -

Hyukjae caught sight of a red lamppost and sprint like a madman.

- -

“I’m Donghae.” Donghae felt the need to introduce himself to such a nice person.

“Hello, Donghae.” The stranger smiled, “I’m Siwon.”

- -

Hyukjae skid to a stop in front of Minho and looked around the area only to find it…empty.

He frowned, and moved to look around the area a bit more when he received a message from his fellow Rife, almost as if Siwon were taunting him.

Hyukjae read it once, twice.

“Damn it!”

He shouted in frustration and punched the nearest wall, the bricks cracking slightly under his knuckle.

‘Mission Accomplished.' -- ♦

- - -

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A/N: Sorry for the long and boring explanation chapter. I'll probably update on Wednesdays. Probably. Oh, and let's pretend it's Wednesday today, mehehehe.

length:chaptered, pairing:hyukjae/donghae, fic:intothedarknight, pairing:kyuhyun/sungmin, genre:drama, genre:angst, genre:fantasy, fandom:superjunior, pairing:heechul/hangeng

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