The Killer's Nightmare - SNIPPET
Hello to you, my dear readers.
This is a little gift from me to you, because I am well aware that my jaeho-fan readers have been waiting too long to see some solid relationship between the Jaejoong and Yunho characters in my story, TKN. So, here is a little snippet that I've written, in order to somewhat compensate for the wait. A heads-up to let you know where exactly the Jaeho is going, mm?
And for those who don't know yet, I am rewriting the story, and as I do that, the revised chapters will replace the older ones.
Well, that said, I hope you enjoy this.
SNIPPET
Jaejoong huddled closer to the sleeping figure beside him as another thunder roar ripped through the atmosphere. Pupils dilating as he panicked, Jaejoong’s mind began to whirl, as his heartbeat picked up an erratic rate. It felt like his chest was crumbling, cramping and collapsing into his heart. Whimpers found their way up Jaejoong’s throat, and unintentionally roused the other man.
“Holy shi - ” said Yunho as he turned around, voice still raw and cracked from sleep. “What on earth?”
Turning on the lamplight by his side, Yunho saw a Jaejoong he’d never seen before, and hence later rubbed his eyes to ensure that Jaejoong was really there - in his bed. And crying.
Baffled, Yunho sat up as he tried to make sense with the situation. “Jaejoong?” he said, as he shook him by the shoulder. “Is that you? What’s wrong?”
No response.
A quick check on his phone told Yunho it was 3 into the morning. Then, through the vast expanse of his ceiling-to-floor windows, he incidentally caught a streak of lightning in the sky, and the answer hit him.
Why Jaejoong was there.
Quick to act, Yunho hopped off the bed and moved to the windows, and hastily covered them with the night curtains. It wasn’t much of a difference, for Yunho’s room was already set in pitch darkness, but since it prevented Jaejoong from seeing the lightning, Yunho did it anyway. Next, grabbing around his desk - and successfully knocking a few things over - Yunho found a box of tissues, and left it by Jaejoong’s side.
Standing a distance away from Jaejoong, Yunho really didn’t know what else he could do. Stifling a yawn, he realized what he needed was a clear head to think, to figure out how on earth he was going to handle the situation.
Once Jaejoong heard the door open and close, he knew that he was alone again. Memories tore his mind apart, and his hands began wandering about the too-much space on Yunho’s bed. He couldn’t find anything to hold on to, anything to grab or pull. Soon, as his hands moved closer and closer to his own body, he found himself scraping the skin along the sides of his face to his neck. Red streaks gradually appeared where Jaejoong had clawed himself.
With his mind caught up in events from 10 years past, Jaejoong didn’t know what harm he was dealing to himself. Just moments after, spasms found their way into the killer’s nerves, and soon he began to thrash in his abyss, forgetting to breathe.
Choking, heaving, suffocating - Jaejoong’s almost refusal to breathe was about to lapse him into a quick asphyxiation.
The end was near.
Freshened, Yunho gingerly turned the knob to his own door, a cup of lukewarm water and some mild sleeping pills in his hands. This was the best solution he could think of within two minutes, but he promptly dropped the items as soon as his eyes fell onto Jaejoong’s form.
Immediately running forward, he came to eye level with a distraught Jaejoong, backed up against the headboard and clawing at his neck. His legs were thrashing about, knees pressed into his chest one moment and knocking into Yunho’s thigh in the next.
Yunho was helpless. Hands held out without command, he could only stare with his mouth agape. “Shit, shit, what am I supposed to do?”
Giving into his instincts and ignoring all other concerns, Yunho climbed onto the bed, and grabbed Jaejoong’s hands, forcefully prying them away from his neck, before holding them tight in his own. “Breathe, Jaejoong, come on, breathe!”
It wasn’t working. Jaejoong was still shaking violently, and for a moment looked like he might vomit. His chest was rising and sinking at an inhuman rate, as his ribs threatened to break through the thin membrane that was his skin.
As the thunder roared overhead, Jaejoong soon broke free of Yunho’s grip, and his arms began to flail about. Seeing his restraining methods fail, Yunho quickly maneuvered over the other, and attempted to grab one of Jaejoong’s pale wrists. The latter jerked his hand away, and with a loud anguished cry, sent a flailing hand towards Yunho.
Here, Jaejoong truly reminded Yunho of an animal. His movements were uncoordinated and jerky, while his eyes reflected fear, vulnerability and helpless defense. It was something Yunho never dealt with before, and that made him even more afraid, afraid of losing Jaejoong.
However, physically, Jaejoong proved to be a lot stronger than he’d ever anticipated. Each time Yunho succeeded in catching one of Jaejoong’s limbs in place, he would soon lose it to Jaejoong’s sheer strength.
After more powerful struggling from the older man, Yunho finally subdued the other by holding the other’s wrists together over his head. With his free hand and out of impulse, he touched Jaejoong’s face, and waited in anticipation for another violent reflex.
Miraculously, his touch seemed to stop everything. Jaejoong’s legs slowed down to a stop, and Yunho felt the tension in Jaejoong’s arms disappear. His choking reduced into a labored breathing of short wheezes, which Yunho soothed by running his hand down the curve of Jaejoong’s muscular chest again and again.
Jaejoong wasn’t fighting anymore.
“There, there,” muttered Yunho, as Jaejoong’s shaking seemed to subside. “Come back, Jaejoong, breathe and come back… Come back to me.”
When Jaejoong was finally at peace, Yunho felt his heart release itself, as with the tension that had been constricting his chest earlier. He also found himself in sweat.
“You scared me,” whispered Yunho, as he held Jaejoong’s ashen pale face in his hands. Jaejoong’s skin had become clammy with sweat and tears, but it didn’t stop Yunho from gently brushing the damp clumps of hair away from Jaejoong’s face, which was now bearing a dazed expression.
Glazed over, Jaejoong’s eyes were still distant and unfocused, but Yunho knew some part of Jaejoong was back. After allowing himself one last glance at Jaejoong, Yunho made to get off the bed, but Jaejoong had lurched forward and stopped him by the wrist.
His glimmering eyes were enough to make Yunho stay.