It's called Home - Ch. 1
Title: It’s called Home.
Pairing: YunJae
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Life, Romance
Length: 1/7
Summary: A boy called Jaejoong at the tender age of 17 stays with his drug dealer cousin, Yoochun next to a shed at the side of the railroad tracks. Homeless and deprived of nurturing parents, Jaejoong must put up with his cousin’s abusive ways and deal. One day, he meets a high schooler named Yunho…
A/N: All these child funding commercials for poor children in poverty….seem to be showing on the TV a lot lately and I cry on every single one of them. I’d always planned to write this but these CMs are telling me to write it sooner than expected…
P.S. - Un-beta-ed again....will check later to fix mistakes myself.
CHAPTER ONE
“Yo, Jae! Wake up! We have a place to sleep tonight.”
The 17 year old teenage rolled in his sleep, groaning when a stick stabbed him in the side. His hand came to one of his eyes to wipe the sleep from it only succeeding in leaving dirt there instead. Leaves that had attached themselves to his hair while sleeping clung in his tresses as he pulled his weak body up from the bedding of leaves and the torn quilt; a quilt his aunt had given him before she fell ill years ago. Unfortunately, she passed away a month later from that day.
Jaejoong would always remember her warm cookies they loved to bake together since he was a mere 4 years old. She always said there was a secret ingredient she’d sneak into the dough when Jaejoong wasn’t looking. When Jaejoong, his parents, and his eldest cousin, Yoochun, visited her, Jaejoong would beg for her to tell him the secret every time. She took that secret to her grave.
Jaejoong grabbed up the worn quilt, its green color faded, and corners torn and ragged from the years of rock and stick abuse from the ground. He folded it and stuffed the material into his patched-up brown backpack, zipping it closed and having trouble with that one spot that always refused to zip properly.
The older male laughed at the boy on the ground, “You should fix that, you know.”
“You said we had a place tonight, Yoochun?” Jaejoong yawned. He’d been trying to sleep all day but to no prevail. The weather was rather cold and the nearby railroad track was quite busy that day.
“Yeah, but it looked like you were sleeping all day!” Yoochun chuckled again, taking a long puff of his cigarette.
“Not really…” Jaejoong patted down his torn pants and took his long sleeve to wipe the dirt from his eye. His long-sleeved grey shirt was very large over his thin form; the sleeves where gapping and loose, hanging far passed his fingertips.
“Anyway, one of the guys said we can crash at his place tonight. Said he’s got some friends over anyway but there’s an extra room we can use.” Yoochun exhaled the smoke heavily. The 23 year old pulled a silver chain from his black jacket’s front pocket to reveal a chipped pocket watch.
“We have to hurry though, got a time limit he said.” Yoochun said, looking at the time and puffing smoke again.
“Ok…” Jaejoong breathed, relieved to get a nice, quiet place to sleep for once, anything to escape the constant trains’ whistles and engines.
“Yo, I said lets hurry! Get yer ass up!” Yoochun yanked at Jaejoong’s free arm, pulling him roughly from the ground.
“I’m sorry…wh-what did you do today, Yoochun?” Jaejoong stuttered, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders and rubbing his hands together for warmth. Yoochun rushed ahead, puffing more deeply as he closed his jacket tighter around his shoulders.
“I made some pretty sweet deals at the shack over downtown!” Yoochun said proudly, stepping his way over the large cracks in the sidewalk.
Jaejoong tried to quicken his step to stay close but his hungry body just didn’t have the energy it needed. A little bit of hope lit in his chest at Yoochun’s words, despite the means Yoochun used to get that money.
“Really? D-Did you get us any food then?” Jaejoong asked, his hope evident in his voice. That bit of hope gave the boy a boost of energy to catch up with the other.
“Sure I did. Here.” Yoochun tossed a small pack of peanuts back to Jaejoong without looking back. Jaejoong’s little bit of hope he felt for a second disappeared as fast as it had come. Yoochun was a drug dealer and made some good money if the deal was big. Most of the profit went to Yoochun’s boss, if that was what you’d call him. Even after this, Yoochun would always have a bit of profit left. The eldest rarely spent it on the younger one and spent it very unwisely; on smokes and beer. He should have known but he could only hope…that was all he had.
The two of them passed under the street overhang, the late hour brought the busy traffic of husbands and wives going home to their families for the night. The murky creek ran underneath the overhanging road, cans and plastics running down with the water.
Jaejoong spotted Yoochun taking something like yellow paper from his pocket and tossing it into a nearby trash pile that lay in the shadows. The youth didn’t take notice of it until he began passing the trash pile. Stopping in his tracks, his eyes quickly looked at Yoochun’s back then at the yellow material on the cement ground. Bending down and taking hold of it, the boy unwrinkled the paper to see a fast food logo, and small bits of fresh lettuce within. Jaejoong’s chest hurt at Yoochun’s selfishness but only for a second then he quickly gathered up the small remains of the burger and raced to catch up with his cousin.
Yoochun turned around as Jaejoong got close just in time. He gave the boy a long stare before turn back around wordlessly. The two turned a corner of a rundown building and passed through a tight alleyway. Jaejoong covered his nose from the smelly liquid that dripped from the garbage dumpster. Rats were squeaking happily as they had their fill of rotting Chinese pork and noodles.
“Please tell me we’re close…” Jaejoong panted, his hunger ridden legs felt like jelly. He’d decided to save the peanuts for later but this was as far as the boy could go without something in his stomach. Taking out the peanuts from his pocket, Jaejoong began eating them quickly.
“Yeah yeah, we’re almost there.” Yoochun answered. Jaejoong could hear the beginning of annoyance in his voice. It wasn’t good when his ears picked that up, it meant danger. Jaejoong shut up.
After a few more travelled pathways in the maze of alleys, they came upon a small building hidden behind several others. It looked like an old abandoned apartment building. Its fire escapes were rusty and the bars looked like they’d give way if anyone dared lean on them. Several of the windows were shattered on all four floors; most of them covered with black trash bags. The windows that weren’t broken were spray painted black.
Jaejoong did not want to go in there. His feet stopped as Yoochun went up to the tall, bulky man that seemed to be a guard. After a few exchanged words, Yoochun looked back at Jaejoong and waved him forward. The large man had sunglasses hiding his eyes but he stared at the 17 year old. Even without seeing them, Jaejoong was scared. Yoochun finally just grabbed at his cousin’s hand, missing it in all the loose cloth of the boy’s sleeve. That didn’t stop Yoochun from just tightening his grip on the sleeve instead, dragging Jaejoong through the windowless door. The sleeve ripped up the seam a little from the force.
It was as dark inside as it was outside in the black of the night. It was only about 9:20pm. The inside of the building looked no better than the outside. Trashy and dark, neon lights flashed as the strangers danced to the loud rock music with beers in hand and smokes in mouth. People were passed out on the torn couches the boys passed by to get to the narrow hallway that led to the back stairs. Reaching the second floor, Yoochun led his cousin to a vacant bedroom that smelled of weed smoke. Yoochun sat down on the large mattress that lay on the floor to take his jacket off and black gloves, hanging them on the nail that protruded near the trash bagged windowsill. Jaejoong stood near the door.
“What are you doing? Get over here. Bed’s got a few pokey ones but it’s fine.” Yoochun motioned toward the sharp springs that stabbed through the mattress material.
Jaejoong walked over and dropped his backpack at the side of the frameless bed. He said nothing as he collapsed, curled up on the very corner and closed his tired eyes. The world seemed to fall away so quickly as colors whirled in his eyes to darkness. He was asleep almost instantly. Jaejoong did not see Yoochun leave the room nor the strange man that smelled of alcohol that came in an hour later.
Jaejoong woke slightly to something silky and long in the palm of his hand. Another hand held his wrist in position around this object over the side of the bed. It was hot and Jaejoong thought he could feel a pulsing movement but his mind was still groggy. Body deprived from proper sleep, Jaejoong tried to roll around to continue sleeping but his hand was not released.
This finally woke Jaejoong enough to open his eyes, widening to the sight of the man standing at the side of the bed above him. Fingers kept Jaejoong’s own hand firmly around the drunkard’s pulsing erection. Yanking as hard as he could, Jaejoong succeeded in his hand’s escape. The drunken man didn’t even put up a fight. The force pulled him upon Jaejoong’s lap, fast asleep. Panicking, Jaejoong quickly pulled his body out from under the stranger. Breathing hard and eyes wide, the youth ran to the bathroom down the hall, slamming the paint-chipped door. Nearly falling at the sink, he searched for hand soap, nothing. Anything would do, just to clean this disgust from his skin. Ripping the shower curtain aside, he found a shampoo bottle. Squeezing it until the entire bottle sunk in on itself, Jaejoong finally got the last drop, literally, into his hands. Even though he scrubbed and nearly scratched his hands bloody, the dirty feeling would not leave.
Splashing his face with cold water, Jaejoong ran back to the room. He needed to get out of there. Sneaking around the snoring drunk, he grabbed his backpack and slipped out the bagged window onto the rusty fire escape. It creaked angrily under his feet. He dropped his bag over the edge and began down the rust-sharpened ladder to the ground. Just as he thought he’d been spared from an ugly tumble, a ladder bar snapped out from under his foot. No matter how light the boy was, the aged ladder just couldn’t handle it for long. Jaejoong fell the rest of the way down, catching himself on hands and knees. Luckily, it hadn’t been that far a fall but that didn’t stop the blood from soaking into Jaejoong’s long sleeves.
Jaejoong was quick to grab his bag and run to the alleyway before that guard decided to come around the corner, not even knowing if the man was still there or not, he didn’t wait to find out. Only when the boy ran a ways down the narrow paths did he stop to examine his wounds. Pulling his sleeve back, Jaejoong went to get pieces of dirt and cement from the bloody scrapes but pulled back with a loud, painful hiss.
“…Maybe Changmin is still at work…” Jaejoong hoped to himself, leaving his pain stricken hands to drip their blood freely.
Jaejoong arrived in the main street, iron light posts ablaze in the darkness. Cars blared passed in the city’s nightlife as Jaejoong tried to figure out where his cousin at brought him. Deciding to simply walk until he could notice anything familiar, he searched his surroundings. Jaejoong tried to find his way back to the railroad tracks. His body was still weak from hunger and with only an hour of sleep, very tired.
The buildings all seemed to be night clubs and strip joints with all their tacky names in neon lights. Bars were alive with customers in the early hour of the night. The night had just begun as the clocks hit 11pm.
There was a wooden bench at the side of a glass building. Jaejoong sat upon it for a rest, his legs fighting not to give way. After minutes of rest, he continued until he saw a familiar sign that said “EAST HIGH SCHOOL.”
“The place Minnie works is near there.” Jaejoong thought.
After about forty minutes, the exhausted youth arrived. The white lights of the 24 hr convenient store shined in the dark. Sneaking a peak through the glass window, Jaejoong saw Changmin helping a customer by the packed lunches. Jaejoong curved to the side of the building to wait for the customer to leave. After about another ten minutes, the customer left without even buying anything from what it looked like. As Changmin waved the customer good bye, you could tell he was annoyed until he spotted Jaejoong at the corner of the window, he smiled. Pointing to the back, Changmin disappeared through the back door behind the cashier counter, leaving it agape so he could still greet customers if they arrived. The two met up behind the store, back door ajar with Changmin standing there to greet Jaejoong.
“Hey, haven’t seen you in a while! You look like a tornado spit you out.” Changmin smiled, giving the youth a tight hug.
“Gee, thanks.” Jaejoong drawled sarcastically, truly smiling for the first time that day; hell, for a few weeks now. One would have heard the creak his jaw would have made if it were metal. Changmin held the teenager at arm’s length and looked him up and down. As he did it, Jaejoong’s stomach gave a sickening growl.
“I know one thing you need.” Changmin said with a smirk. Disappearing for a minute, Changmin returned with 3 jelly-filled bread packets. Jaejoong took them gratefully.
“Sorry I can’t give you more. Last time, the boss got suspicious. I can’t lose my job you know.” Changmin’s face grew sullen. He fidgeted at the white apron he wore loosely.
“No, I’m so grateful for your help all the time. I wouldn’t know what to do without you, Minnie.” Jaejoong replied happily. As he packed two of the breads into his bag, he began to greedily open and devour one of them. The sweet raspberry jelly filled Jaejoong‘s dry mouth until it watered painfully from the sharp sugar. It was heaven for a moment in time until it was interrupted by Changmin’s loud gasp.
“What happened to your hands?” Changmin practically shouted. The older male by two years, grabbed the jelly bread from Jaejoong’s bloody sleeved palms. Jaejoong had almost forgotten the bloody scraped due to the heavenly bun he now reached for.
“I fell down a ladder…can I have my bread back please?” Jaejoong whined. Grabbing it successfully, Jaejoong quickly ate the last bit, licking his lips clean.
“Clumsy as always,” Changmin rolled his eyes, “Time to clean you up then, come in quickly.”
Once inside, the store employee led the other to a back sink with a medicine cabinet above it. He pulled down the First Aid box and took some bandage wrappings, gauze, and antiseptic from his compartments.
“Wash your hands first, you have jelly mixed with your blood, silly.”
Jaejoong did what he was told. He always did what Changmin told him to do, almost always. The older male was more like his brother he never had than Yoochun was a cousin. They’ve known each other since Jaejoong’s parents died in a freak fire. The authorities haven’t solved how the fire started yet and it’s been five years. When the fire happened, Jaejoong had to drop out of middle school where he’d had no friends anyway. After his parents’ death, Jaejoong had no more relatives alive except his Uncle and Yoochun. Yoochun’s father was an alcoholic and he up and one day disappeared, leaving Yoochun and Jaejoong homeless and guardian-less. Changmin met the youth soon after when Jaejoong tried to steal a jelly bread one night.
“Here, let me see. Sit.” Changmin held out his hand for Jaejoong’s as the boy sat on a leather office chair. The teenager gave his wet hand over to the older boy who dabbed it with gauze as gently as he could be. Despite that, the boy couldn’t help but hiss. Changmin was quick though; both hands were soon wrapped in bandages and cleaned.
“Be more careful, Jaejoong.” Changmin said firmly, packing up the rest of the materials. He glanced back at the other's disarranged, dirty hair, "You know what, bend down!" Changmin didn't wait, he grabbed Jaejoong head and dunked it into the deep sink to wash out the dirt and pick out the remaining leaves and twigs.
With the teen’s stomach settled for the rest of the night, his body reminded him that it needed rest NOW. It hit Jaejoong like a ton of bricks, almost making the boy pass out right then and there.
“Jaejoong! What’s wrong?” Changmin caught the boy from falling off the chair.
“Just so…tired…” Jaejoong murmured, his eyes droopy as if on a drug.
“Gods, don’t scary me like that!” Changmin gave a sigh of relief.
“Sorry Minnie” Came a slow reply.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep there.” Changmin held Jaejoong up. A knock came from the front at the cashier’s desk.
“Hey, is anyone here? This IS a 24 hr, right?” A confused voice came through the cracked door.
“Oh yes! My apologies, I’ll be right with you, sir!” Changmin said loud enough for the customer to hear. Changmin dragged Jaejoong to a leather recliner and gave him his jacket from the back of his chair.
Jaejoong’s eyes opened to that deep voice for a split second before they closed again for the next few hours.
“Is he alright?” The customer asked, worry clear in his voice.
“Oh yeah yeah, he’s just really tired.” Changmin said truthfully, waving his hands in the air.
Jaejoong slept there in the store and jacket’s warmth, in silence, and safe until Changmin had to get him out so his boss didn’t see him.
Jaejoong wrapped Changmin’s jacket he’d given him, tighter as he tried to find his way back to Yoochun. All Jaejoong could remember was that boy’s face with his deep voice that lolled him to sleep instantly.