The Cry of the Silent Ones (Yunho x Jaejoong) - Chapter Twenty-Three
**Note: The picture is a resized wallpaper that I DID NOT make and for which I take no credit.**
Promotional Video
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Cry of the Silent Ones (Chapter Twenty-Three)
Pairing: Yunho (DBSK) x Jaejoong (DBSK).
Category: K-Pop.
Length: Multi-chaptered.
Genres: Angst, drama, humor, romance.
Rating: PG-13.
Warning: Homosexuality, light swearing, sexual implications, violence, war situations.
Summary: Yunho is a journalist from Hyemang who goes to Eodum, a backwater country where a tyrant leader is repressing the population with the aid of the military. There, a huge inner conflict is raging and a civil war threatens to break out at any time. Little does he know that news coverage isn't all he's going there for... He might soon become more deeply involved in the crisis than he had first planned.
***
[Yunho’s POV]
I, Jung Yunho, am a man of my word.
If there is one thing that I hate doing to people, it’s making a promise I know I won’t be able to keep… Right now, although I did tell Jaejoong that I would find a way to my apartment, I’m starting to question the very possibility. Without a phone to contact the boys or a car to drive to them, I guess you could say that I’m in a bit of a tight spot. The fact that I don’t have my wallet with me - and so, no money, no credit car, no proof of identity - truly does not help, either.
The situation could be better; that goes without saying, of course. But even if the chances are quite low, even if this won’t be easy… I’ll find a solution. Get us to safety.
Give he who has lost everything a place to call home.
I straighten up Jaejoong on my back with a little hop, since he keeps slipping due to his being unconscious. His body is completely limp as his legs dangle against my sides, unanimated. Despite my anxiety, I’m relieved to know that he can still sleep with everything that happened to him.
The road to recovery will be long for him. He has to undo all the damage the past years have dealt him.
Once I’ve managed to walk around the lighthouse without alerting anyone - at least that’s what I think - I take the asphalt road in hopes that a generous soul will stop for us. Hopefully, this route will lead us back to civilization, which is where we’re heading to… But at any rate, at least an hour elapses during which no car passes us by. It’s no surprise, really, seeing how early it is…
By that time, I can barely stand on my feet anymore, exhausted that I am.
And then I spot a rest spot, a mirage located smack dab in the middle of all that wilderness. I have to blink a few times to make sure that I’m not dreaming, but after doing so, the building remains. My luck might not have run out completely, in the end… Because if I remember correctly (and a quick search in my pocket confirms it), I have a bit of spare change with me.
A smile tugs at my lips as hope comes running back at a rapid speed. As quickly as that, all my lost energy surges from inside my body like some sort of second breath and suddenly, my love feels lighter than ever before. Confident, I head straight for the oasis, feeling my heart thump furiously in my chest.
But I’m no longer worried, only eager to be home at last.
Once I reach the deserted resting area, I make for a telephone box and gently put down Jaejoong on a close-by bench to make the call. Now that my hands are free, I enter the cabin while keeping a close eye on him. After putting in the necessary change, I dial Junsu’s number, not surprised when Yoochun is the one to answer. [H-Hello…?] He half-yawns, half-says, proving that one thing for sure hasn’t changed: after all that time, he’s still not a morning person.
“Did Junsu keep you up all night?” I sneer with an underlying meaning to my words, feeling my usual mischievousness returning to me as I speak to my beloved junior. As expected, Yoochun’s voice is incredulous when he exclaims the following. […Yunho… hyung? Just what are you talking about? Honestly, what cave did you just crawl out of? We thought you were dead!] Under the emotion, he even adds a little scolding to his speech. [You could have at least called! Aish!]
I feel a small smile creep upon my face at those words.
Although I feel a little sorry to have worried everyone… It makes me happy.
That kind of reaction is unlike Yoochun, who is usually so calm… except in such extreme situations. When the life of someone close to him is threatened, he becomes a wholly different person. “Listen, I’m in a situation where I can’t talk to you very long. Let’s just say I could use a ride right now, if you don’t mind coming to get me… but don’t be surprised: there’s someone else with me.”
Although he seems curious as to whom it is, he agrees right away and I proceed to give him the directions thanks to a map hanging off the wall of the building, outside.
When that is done and Yoochun hangs up quickly after promising me to get here on the double - without getting into an accident, I make him swear - I join Jaejoong on the bench, my heart finally at peace after weeks of risk and uncertainty. Then and there, I feel good.
I close my eyes and let sleep claim me.
***
When Yunho calls, he turns three men’s lives over.
Yoochun is the first one to know. He tells Junsu, who calls Changmin, who rushes over, and within minutes they’re on their way to retrieve their survivor of a friend. Yoochun offers to drive, seeing how Junsu’s been crying nonstop ever since he heard the news, but soon he follows after his lover and the youngest of the trio has to assume the task of transportation by himself.
Whether they shed tears of grief or relief, no one could say...
They drive in (almost) silence for what seems like an eternity, until they reach the more recluse place.
Situated close to the beach, as indicated by the saline air that blows, the rest area is swarming with few early-risers, but for a moment, the returner and his “someone else” are nowhere to be seen… that is, until Junsu spots them close to a phone box, isolated from the rest, as if they were in their own world.
On a park bench, they find the two lovebirds collapsed against each other.
One, they recognize as their friend Yunho, thought to be dead but miraculously saved from harm… The other, however, they have never seen in their lives before, but seeing how Yunho is intimately snuggled up to him, they see no reason not to bring him to safety as well. The stranger reminds one of an angel with his luminous skin and fragile features… The kind of person with no real malice.
What ill deeds could such a pure being possibly cause?
“I didn’t think he’d bring back a sweetheart…” Junsu sniffs miserably while wearing a smile on his lips, caressing his sleeping friend’s cheek as he sleeps. Yunho’s relationship with the foreigner seems pretty obvious and sure enough, as Junsu shifts his gaze, he catches sight of their entwined fingers, which is a solid proof that there is more to them than simple friendship.
Somehow, despite all they must have been through together…
“They look happy.” Yoochun comments as he slips an arm around Junsu’s lower back, nestling his face between the other’s neck and shoulder. “…And I’m relieved, so relieved.”
Junsu couldn’t agree more.
As for Changmin, he approaches the pair and starts gently hauling Jaejoong on his back, motioning for the other two to go for Yunho. “Let’s get back quickly, so they can rest properly. Be careful not to wake them, though. They look exhausted... and they must be, for obvious reasons.” Together, they carry the boys to the vehicle and place them on the back seats. Changmin squeezes himself next to the sleeping men, while Junsu gets in next to Yoochun, in the front.
When they’re all set, the latter starts the engine and begins to drive everyone home.
The survivors wake up two days later.
***
[Jaejoong’s POV]
Strange… I haven’t felt this comfortable in such a long time.
As a matter of fact, I don’t even think I’ve ever been so cozy in my whole existence. Somehow, it feels like my body is resting on a pile of feathers, light and soft… or that it’s floating one foot over the floor.
Before I even open my eyes, the gears are already turning in my head. I feel so at ease that I seriously have to ask myself if I’m not just dreaming all this… Last time I woke up, I was on a boat heading for the land of hope, where I was expected to forget about my past life and start a new one… But seeing how I’m no longer being rocked from side to side by the waves, I conclude that I’m on solid ground.
Fearing the worst, I slowly crack open one eye… and then the other…
Only to find a handsome face looking down at me, not even two inches away from my face.
Without me being able to help myself, a yelp of surprise escapes my mouth and I sit up in a start, backing against the headboard of the… bed? Why am I suddenly lying on a bed, instead of the floor? Why is there a good-looking stranger spying on me as I sleep? Not that he looks threatening, but…
How did I get here in the first place? And where is here, anyway?
The tall brunette seems puzzled by my reaction, as if he thought that finding oneself in a foreign house upon wake was a completely normal occurrence in itself. Well, I don’t know about him, but as for me, it’s not something that’s part of my everyday routine, so if he’d calmly move out of the way-
“Whoa, whoa! Calm down… Where are you going-?”
The man finally speaks up as he lifts graceful hands to prevent me from running away quickly. “Hey, don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.” That’s what he pretends to be his intention, but I’ve heard those words too many times in my life before and I was a fool to believe them. Disregarding his effort to soothe me, I make to jump off the bed, but he grabs my arms and holds me back.
An icy vice of fear closes around my neck when he touches me and I’m violently thrown back in my horrible memories - those which I’d rather bury deep inside my mind and lock away forever.
It’s going to happen again. For sure. I can feel it…
Another voice makes itself heard - a little deeper than the first one, followed by a low chuckle that is both reassuring and a little troubling. “I knew you’d scare him, Changmin! You should have let me be the one to wake him up…” Following the origin of the sound, my eyes shoot to the right, where another man is standing next to the doorframe, arms crossed. Shorter, he seems to be quite slim… almost frail.
A pair of pretty eyes adorns his perfect doll face.
“Shut up, hyung.” Says the one closest to me, who could very well be - what do they call them?
A model, right. A male mannequin.
Startled by so much unfamiliarity, intimidated before such beauty, I move to the other side of the bed, but in the process my feet tangle in the sheets and I suddenly make acquaintance with the wooden floor.
Alright, so that wasn’t necessary. I could have done without.
The two unknown males rush over to the spot where my butt so graciously landed, asking me whether I hurt myself or not. I shake my head no, perking up my ears and looking around for any sign of Yunho. But despite my attempt, I fail to spot him: he’s nowhere to be seen. It’s as if he had completely vanished, or worse yet… as if he had never been there at all.
Where has he gone to? Why isn’t he here with me?
Thankfully, around that time, I hear his voice coming from the corridor, getting closer as he approaches the room and eventually comes in. “Guys? Is Jaejoong awake?” I’m so relieved to know he’s close by that I scramble back on the mattress, quick enough to see he’s now standing in the middle of the room. Wherever he was before, he must have been alerted by the racket I made.
When he catches sight of me, his whole face lights up instantly. “There you are!”
A blond guy is on Yunho’s heels and he enters the room right after, claiming that the latter didn’t get sufficient sleep just yet. “You have to rest, hyung! You’re in no condition to-”
But Yunho’s eyes are on me only.
As he kneels down on the bed and pulls me in a tight embrace, I let him do so, burying my face in his strong chest. Finally a little bit of familiarity… After staying there with my eyes closed for a few seconds’ time, I look up over his shoulder, only to find that the blonde is observing us curiously.
It seems like these men are acquaintances of Yunho’s. Does that mean we arrived at destination safely?
“Jaejoong… These are my friends: Junsu, Yoochun and Changmin.” He informs me while pointing at the blondie, the doll face and the model respectively, in that order. And then he makes the announcement that I was waiting for but that was already quite obvious to me, according to the current situation playing out in front of my eyes. “We’re in Hyemang, baby... We made it.”
Along with the prospect of being somewhere safe at last, the use of the pet name makes me happy, but understandably, it doesn’t go unnoticed by the friends…
They must be wondering where the hell I just came from. And that, with reason.
To them, after all, it’s like I suddenly fell off the sky.
Feeling a little self-conscious and shy, but no longer threatened, I spare each one of them a look and smile meekly to apologize for reacting so violently upon wake. All three of them return the expression and I must say that they don’t look too dangerous to me now. If they are people that Yunho holds dear in his heart, then there’s no way they can be something other than good.
“So, Jaejoong… I guess we didn’t give off the best first impression, did we?” Changmin trails off before correcting himself after Yoochun sends him a knowing look. “I mean… I didn’t.”
I shake my head no, offering them a tentative smile. “Not at all. I was just a bit startled.”
“So did you come all the way from Eodum? Is that where you used to live?”
Eodum… The city of darkness…
Various events surface in my mind at the same time: the discovery of Eunhae’s corpse, the death of my best friend Chohee, the countless abuses of my boss… All the people who were left behind. Those who are still suffering that tyrant’s wrath… and those who were robbed of their lives by him. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of anything that doesn’t evoke sorrow.
The happy memories that I had of that country, the people I love took with them in death.
There’s nothing holding me there anymore…
However, I would rather not stir up those haunting recollections so soon. Were it not for Yunho, I might have had no choice, but his sudden intervention saves me from having to dig into… unpleasant memories. “Can we not talk about Jaejoong’s past? I’m sure he has a lot on his mind right now… What’s behind him doesn’t have to be told; at least, not yet. But did you receive news of the situation?”
That’s right… What happened after we managed to get away?
Yunho’s friends look at each other and from their expression, I can tell it’s not good.
Do I really want to hear this?
Yoochun sits down on the bed, making the mattress sink. “It was… a real massacre. A great deal of people was killed, both guilty and innocent, regardless of their opinion and position. It’s horrible.” Shaking his head to disperse the sadness gathering in his eyes, he shifts his attention to me. “In the end, the Traitors’ attempt was a complete failure. The Great Leader is still in power… stronger than ever.”
Eyes clouding over, Junsu addresses Yunho, who looks up at him from his spot next to me.
“We really thought you hadn’t survived. If only you knew how worried we were…”
Upon closer inspection, they do look like people who haven’t had a good night’s sleep. Their eyes are puffy and red, as if in addition to not sleeping much they had wept until there were no tears left in them. Getting a tangible proof that Yunho has good friends who care for him fills me with joy and relief, yet... Although I’m ashamed to admit it, maybe I’m a little envious of him.
Perhaps he senses it, but Yunho turns his head in my direction, looking at me fondly. “…It’s all thanks to him that I’m still alive, though… You guys don’t know how often he saved my skin.”
I withstand his intense stare, drawn by his eyes, but I feel the red go up to my cheeks.
“Don’t make it bigger than it is…” I protest, aware of the subtle giggles.
They don’t even know me… They must be wondering just where the heck I came from.
“By the way… You’re not telling us everything, are you?” It seems like model Changmin is the one to have spoken up, this time. “About Jaejoong and you.” He adds when Yunho appears to be confused by what he’s implying - but really is making a fool of him, because how subtle can we be, honestly? What’s more, Changmin seems to me like a clever man, or so do his sharp intelligent eyes say to me.
The man I love tries to play innocent… but not for long.
“What do you mean? Why would we-” He starts explaining, intent on clearing up the imaginary misunderstandings. When he notices that the others are not buying his story, Yunho resigns himself and tells the truth. “…Alright, so maybe we’re kind of going out. What of it?”
Junsu takes over the teasing. “Nothing. We just think it’s damn adorable.”
“Oh, for the love of-“
I too stifle a giggle, feeling myself relax more and more around the good buddies. I don’t know why, but they don’t make it hard to be around them, nor do they make me feel like I don’t belong. I feel perfectly wanted here, although we’re but strangers to each other. That makes me want to put aside my reservations and make an effort for them... Who knows where that could take us?
We could very well become… friends.
Chapter Twenty-Four