(always faithful.)
kyuhae | pairings will come and go as they please | au | pg-13 to nc-17 | interlude i
written for harroween. and xxxsasuchanxxx. because you guys wanted opera!vampire!kyuhae.
Interlude: Memory Lane
"one, two, my heart. three, four, my breath. five, six, baby steps."
It wasn't as if he was particularly biased, but Sungmin didn't really want to go back to that school again. It was a waste of his time, and whatever he had decided to pursue in the first place (he remembered - psychology, god) was not worth his efforts anymore.
Well, that was what he told himself. But still, he found himself ignoring the dawning sun and putting on his clothes, like his body was working for him while his mind fought to catch up. He looked at the fridge blankly before leaving, his stomach reminding him that he needed to eat to survive, but he just didn't feel like it. Sungmin still felt sleepy, like he was still getting over morning grogginess.
Absentmindedly, he tugged off the yellow-post-it note on the fridge door that said to call Donghae and Eunhyuk to tell them that he would be visiting home soon; he couldn't go for long without seeing his brothers again. His parents he could avoid; they never talked to him much anyway, even if his father was nice enough (in Donghae's words).
The sky was overcast even as the day wore on, and Sungmin walked all the way from his small apartment to the campus, pushing past rushing studies with their notebooks and laptops, entering the psychology and other mental studies building with nothing on him except a small yellow post-it. As if he was in a dream, he walked to the classroom that he had been in before; sat down in the same seat as yesterday, and then he blinked, startled, looking around with confusion in his features.
'Hey,' someone tapped his shoulder. 'You forgot to bring my umbrella.'
It was the foreigner for yesterday. He was smiling brightly, as if someone had taken the sun out of the sky and pasted it on his face. Sungmin blinked dumbly, finally getting his bearings. 'Umbrella?'
The foreigner's smile waved, and he took a good look at Sungmin, who stared down at his hands, wondering if he was still sleeping. 'Hey, are you okay? You look pretty out of it. I mean, where's your notebook and stuff? Mister, I know some people have great memory and all, but you should really get a book to write in. You can forget the tiniest things.' The foreigner nodded wisely, as if he understood the thought behind his words.
'What?' Sungmin looked at the smooth wood of the table in front of him. 'Oh, that...I didn't want to take this class anyway.' He would have to find a way to sneak out before the professor saw. What the hell inspired him to take psychology of all classes? He didn't want to get inside someone's brain.
'Really?' the foreigner looked amused now. 'Neither did I.' He kept standing, bag slung on one shoulder, before holding out a hand. 'Henry. I'm from Canada and I'm Chinese, before you ask.'
Sungmin was taken aback for a second, staring at the hand in his face before smiling, amused, and shaking it. 'Sungmin. You...really don't know a lot of Korean customs, do you?'
'Nope,' Henry said cheerfully. 'But a lot of people reacted the same way you did, looking at me like I was an idiot. So I guess I must be doing something wrong and I should correct it but I like how everyone looks at me like I'm insane. They should try doing it too, it's fun.'
Sungmin stared. 'You talk a lot for someone who's not fluent in Korean, you know that?'
Henry grinned. 'I can talk faster in English, if you want.'
'No, I'm good,' Sungmin said quickly, causing Henry to laugh. Slowly, the older male began to smile, feeling a warm feeling bloom. 'Do you really want to stay here? Because I don't.'
'Hot chocolate and buns?' Henry offered, pointing at the door. 'You're paying, because I'm cheap.'
Sungmin found himself not minding, even as he rolled his eyes while walking out the exit, his mouth just beginning on the long speech of respect and Korean terms he was going to give to Henry.
/
Kyuhyun opened his eyes blearily, feeling pain shoot up his arms and back as he raised his head and tried to sit up. His head felt heavy when he was finally upright, and his wrists flared in pain whenever he tried to move his hands. His eyes fluttered open and close many times to get used to the sudden darkness. The air smelled like metal and blood, and he tried not to throw up.
When his vision cleared, his eyes opened wide to see Ara on the seat beside him, her head slumped, hair falling in her face. Her skin was pale in the brief flashes of light that he got; and suddenly, Kyuhyun realized that they were in a car, driving by on a highway. And then everything came back to him with startling clarity.
His hand reached up to his mouth, where, surprising, the duct tape disappeared. He expected it to still be there from when these men had taken him and his sister from their mother, but it wasn't. He looked at his sister and felt his gut wrench; the thought of his mother, too, made his throat go dry.
'Oh look,' one of the men in the front said, his voice grumbling, 'One of the brats woke up.'
The other man was quiet, almost eerily so, before saying, 'Of course. We need at least one of them up for the transaction. You're taking them to the next checkpoint.'
'Kangin,' the other man snarled, 'What're you doing, going around saying this while the kid can hear?'
'It's not like he can do anything,' the man named Kangin said carelessly, and Kyuhyun found himself agreeing. 'And call me Kangin again, and I'll have your head pinned to the wall.'
The other man was silent for a moment before he turned, facing Kyuhyun with unnaturally red eyes. 'Try not to scream, kid. We did you a favour by taking that thing off your mouth. Don't be like your sister.' He glanced at Ara's crumpled form, and Kyuhyun was disgusted at the amount of satisfaction that was in his eyes.
'Ki,' Kangin said quietly, 'Shut the fuck up. We're almost there.'
The man, Ki, turned around with one more pinning stare at Kyuhyun. The young boy was afraid, cowering into his seat, trying not to wince from the pain. He didn't want to see how his sister was faring; his voice was stuck in his throat, and he doubted that he could even talk, forget call out for help.
Unbidden, his mind travelled to his mother's face, her desperate eyes that reminded him so much of his sister's. She had enough trouble without him or his sister bringing theirs on her back, so they tried hard - so hard - to keep some burden away from her. And look where it had gotten them. He thought of his stepfather and his body began to shake - he felt the expected flare of panic shoot up through his chest and electrify his nerves.
At the same time, he forced himself to calm down, taking deep breaths, even as something hot prickled the back of his eyes. He wouldn't cry, he thought to himself. Not here, not now, even though he was so scared, so terrified out of his own skin.
One slipped out anyways as the car halted to a stop.
/
This is the thirteenth day, a part of his mind supplied helpfully. Thirteen days that you've skipped that same class.
Well, what he didn't regret he still won't in the future, right? Sungmin hated the class anyway.
What he doesn't hate, though, is Henry's smile, his half-moon eyes and squirrel cheeks. He liked how Henry's hair refused to stay flat - Sungmin reached out to do the customary pat as always - and he liked how the other always ordered the same thing - Sungmin had it ready on the table for him by the time he came - and he liked how Henry always fiddled with the edge of the table - Sungmin slapped his hand and told him to stop it even though he smiled the next time he did it.
'You're late,' Sungmin noted as he traced a ring around the edge of his cup. 'What happened?'
Henry's face was bright and happy as usual, but Sungmin was able to tell the difference now. He was hiding something. 'Oh, I just sort of maybe slipped? Down the stairs...again.' Sungmin glared at him exasperatedly and Henry laughed. Sungmin had seen the klutziness of Henry's firsthand twice, and he had no doubt in his head that the other was capable of slipping again. 'But I didn't get cut!'
'You're bruised, aren't you?'
'Shush, it isn't that bad.'
Sungmin clucked his tongue and took a sip of his iced tea. It was cool down his throat, but lately, he was always feeling hungry. Like a parched spell in his throat; it lowered at these times, and then it increased tenfold as he and Henry separated ways. The blood bags that he had been getting weren't enough, and Sungmin was antsy because he didn't know what was.
'Getting hurt all the time is bad,' Sungmin snorted. 'You should get your house redone in a bounce house or something.'
Sungmin didn't notice Henry's smile waver, despite his better than average vision. In fact, Sungmin didn't notice anything except the feeling of happiness that he usually started to form whenever Henry came by. He figured that he knew what it was by now, and for some reason, he was as scared of it as he was thrilled.
'Hyung,' Henry started quietly, sitting down near the window. His face was clouded over and he stared up at the sky, where Sungmin followed. Quietly, he looked at the flash of lightning that appeared before a roar of thunder hit his ears. He heard Henry's breath pick up steadily.
Then Henry stood up, ignoring his drink and stepping outside the cafe that they frequently visited, away from the small roof that was over their heads and entrance before stepping out into the downpour. The sky was alight with blue, jagged streaks, highlighting the rain. Sungmin felt as if he was being pulled along by an imaginary string, almost as if he was supposed to follow. But his feet stopped him before he could reach out and step into the rain.
Henry looked up at the sky, eyes still cloudy, and then looked toward Sungmin. His whole being was drenched, hair sticking to his face and running down his face. His eyes were unreadable, but clear.
'It's just a little water.' he breathed, 'No big deal.'
Sungmin opened his mouth to answer when Henry's words rang clear through his head, like an old memory that he couldn't place.
'Hyung,' Henry said again, pleading, 'What are you so afraid of?'
And then Sungmin stepped out.
Rain water pounded on him like bullets. They hit his skin and rolled off his hair but he didn't stop staring at Henry's eyes, even as the the other pulled him closer, closing his fingers around Sungmin's wrist. They were the same height, standing face to face, looking each other in the eye. A foot apart.
Closer. And then closer. And neither was stopping.
It was like little prickles on his skin, Sungmin thought. Burning fire that dug deep and flared in pain. Zaps of electricity than ran with the beads of water down his arms. It hurt. It hurt a lot.
And it felt exhilarating.
Closer, and closer, and closer. An inch apart.
Then, a cautious hand on a wet cheek. 'Can I?' Henry said, his eyes alight.
/
Choking to hold back the pathetic sounds starting at the back of his throat, Kyuhyun gasped as the door he was leaning on opened and someone grabbed his arm, pulling him out and hurting his wrist even further. The pain made him blackout for a moment before he heard someone yelp - his sister. Kyuhyun raised his head to see that he was slung over someone's shoulder, most likely the Kangin man, because he saw Ki pushing his sister to walk on the other side.
His eyes met hers, and Ara's face crumpled. She mouthed a shaky, 'I'm sorry,' to her brother. Kyuhyun only felt his eyes water up; there was rain beating on his back as they walked, drenching them in the short distance. That was when he was put roughly down by Kangin, and Kyuhyun realized how cold he was. The boy shivered, huddling into himself at the front of the door as Kangin held on his pained wrist, Ara being the same.
Kangin pounded on the door harshly, once, twice. It opened with a bang and someone growling from the other side. Kyuhyun heard a foreign language being shouted - Chinese? - but his ears hurt from the decibels. Thunder roared and for a moment, the sky lit up in an electric, terrifying blue.
'These are the new ones?' the man seethed, staring at Kyuhyun as the younger realized that he was in front of a large building in the middle of a busy street, and yet no one paid attention to him or his sister. The people walking by acted like they didn't even exist, even though he saw them turn their heads for a quick glance before continuing on.
'Look at them!' he yelled in a thick accent. 'They're so thin, and they're injured too! Didn't I tell you not to hurt any of the merchandise?'
Kyuhyun felt his blood go cold.
'They're not hurt,' Ki said frostily. 'One's got a bruise from being an idiot and waving his hand everywhere, and the other is just a ditz.' He sneered toward the girl, though Kangin stayed surprisingly quiet. 'You wanted them, you got them.'
'Hwang sold them to me,' the man said reproachfully. 'Bastard's always ripping me off.' There were loud sounds coming from inside, almost like music and the sound of people screaming. It sounded horrible, screeching, like harpies or something equally bad.
The man suddenly grabbed his face and held his chin in between two fingers, looking at him carefully. Kyuhyun didn't try to resist the hold even though he wanted to, but the man's half-scarred face disgusted him into shock. His head was turned side to side as the man said under his breath, 'Good skin, nice eyes, small enough...' He looked up at Kangin and Ki, and then at the girl. 'They'll do.'
Ki shoved Ara over as Kyuhyun was let go and thrown into the room, which smelled of perfume. It was dark and the air was heavy with cigarette smoke and the distinct smell of alcohol. Ara hugged Kyuhyun to her chest tightly and Kyuhyun was briefly eased for a second before he was ripped away from another boy, the man from before yelling, 'Go quickly you idiot! He'll be just the perfect thing for our new customer. Go, go!'
'Ara!' Kyuhyun choked out, the first thing he said all day. His fingers reached out for her but the last he saw was her hopeless expression and dawning horror, as the man from the door grabbed her arm and smiled sickly.
The boy that was holding him shoved him quickly into the hallway, whispering, 'Shut up, shut up! Listen, I know you're new, but - ' the guy grimaced, and Kyuhyun was horrified to see that he looked only a few years older. 'Just get in there and get over it, okay? All of us did. So just - keep quiet, unless he wants you to make noise, and shut your eyes through it.'
'T-through w-wha-' But the guy shoved him inside and closed the door.
Kyuhyun turned around and saw that there was already someone in there, sitting on the bed. It was a middle-aged man who was still in a suit and tie, looking like he was prepared for a business meeting. His face was dangerously flushed, and Kyuhyun understood the signs of a drunk man. His eyes were dark and shining, and Kyuhyun felt himself back up against the door, his back shooting with pain.
The man quickly made his way over to Kyuhyun, and reached forward to pat his cheek. 'They gave me a nice one,' he slurred. He leaned down, his breath smelling like rum, and Kyuhyun felt utterly trapped as the other's hands roamed - down, and further down, and he felt wrong so wrong this should stop -
'No,' he choked out, 'N-no, no-!'
'Shush,' The man almost snarled, his whole persona changing. 'Shush, little boy. Have some fun with ahjussi tonight.'
Kyuhyun understand why Ara looked the way she did. 'No, no, please don't - no, no, no no no no don't touch me!' He was practically screaming by the end, hitting the man with all his strength - his chest, his arms, everything, until the man held on to his broken wrist and squeezed, causing him to gasp in pain.
'You dun really have a choice,' the man said again, his words slurring together. He smelled horrible, and Kyuhyun felt the waves of pain flood through him one after another. He collapsed on his knees, unable to stand straight, and the man knelt down to his level, smiling lecherously.
'No,' Kyuhyun whispered, but he knew that no one could hear him.
/
'Yes,' Sungmin barely got the words out before he pushed away all the stings, all the thoughts running through his head. He pressed forward the same time as Henry did, felt soft lips under his own, warm and substantial. And he smiled.
/
Kyuhyun didn't get a chance to say more as the man attacked him, holding one hand and kissing him drunkenly, down his neck and his shoulders. He felt sick, dirty, disgusting. He felt as though it was someone else in his own skin, and as it continued, he didn't stop himself from the silent tears running down his face, not able to even scream.
...i'm sorry.
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