Mozart Rocks Like This [Chapter 12]
Title: Mozart Rocks Like This
Chapter: 12
Pairings: JaeMin, onesided!YunJae, past Changmin/OFC
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Eh.
Genre: Drama/Angst/Fluff
Summary: A rookie rocker who runs away from classics and a classical music prodigy who runs away from rock. They bump in the middle.
A/N: I don’t know how I managed to write this in the midst of school schedule, lol. Anyway, the story almost ends. Next chapter would be the last. I’m so emotional right now :’)
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Mozart Rocks Like This
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“Say, can you hear me?”
He already predicted the answer, already braced himself for the worst. But still when Changmin slowly shook his head, fear palpable in his tearful eyes, Jaejoong felt like dying.
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OOo---Chapter 12---oOO
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Yunho woke up to shards of light filtering through curtained window. He wasn’t on the veranda, nor was he in the living room where he had waited for Changmin barely 24 hours earlier. After few seconds of hazy examination, he concluded that he was in a storeroom. A really dusty one with unused furnitures scattering on the floor. If he were allergic to dust mite, he might as well collapse from a bout of really bad rhinitis.
As he dragged himself into sitting position, body aching all over, a dusty quilt fell from his shoulders. Someone had graciously covered him when he was knocked out cold, saving him from what could be pneumonia. There were so many diseases could occur in such dirty place.
Memories from the day before slowly filled him in. Seungri-hyung. Changmin. Ruthless beating up. Jaejoong. Head snapping at the thought of his best friend, Yunho barely recognized the sting on his head as his eyes frantically scanned the small space. His gaze met a pair of legs first, curled on the floor as the owner was lying down. The legs connected to a lean body and a familiar face.
Changmin.
The younger man was fast asleep, head resting comfortably on pair of thighs-Jaejoong’s stretched legs-half his face buried into the folds of the older man’s shirt.
Jaejoong was sleeping in sitting position, leaning against baby blue wall near an old dining table. An arm was hanging limply on his side, the other arm protectively slung across Changmin’s shoulder. He was forming a seemingly-but-not-quite embrace, apparently to keep the younger man warm since he gave the only quilt there to Yunho.
Yunho stared at the scene for God knows how long-or maybe just a full minute. His brain stopped working for several intakes of breath. The warmth from the blanket was gone, as was the one from shy stream of peeking sunlight. He remembered himself in pretty much same position yesterday, when he was lying hurt on the porch and Jaejoong was leaning in to protect him from Seungri.
Fire of jealousy ignited in his inside, before it died as soon as it lit up. Somehow, the scene didn’t shock him the way he thought it’d be. If anything, he felt only fatigue in its wake, mixture of aching and longing and, perhaps, wordless surrender.
Jaejoong stirred. Yunho waited patiently as his best friend slowly came to consciousness, pair of black black eyes greeting the universe with their brilliance. Yunho waited patiently as the slightly older man frowned. Yunho waited patiently as the music prodigy tried to catch up with their surrounding. Yunho waited patiently when his best friend turned his neck to look at him.
And when their eyes met, Yunho made sure to give him his very best smile, full of love and patience and acceptance like he always, always did. Not hoping for reciprocation, but rather to assure that whatever happened, Yunho would stay. As a best friend, as a brother, as someone Jaejoong could lean on. They could make it through this situation together.
Those dark eyes widened, pretty midnight hues Yunho always loved to stare, as Jaejoong caught his meaning right away. No barrier of words could get in the way they understood each other. Jaejoong eyes flickered, an unspoken question. Yunho assured him with a smile so bright it could blind Jaejoong, blind him perhaps enough so he wouldn’t have to see the tears, the unshed misery Yunho carried behind his eyelids.
“Where is he?” The slightly older man mouthed as he glanced at the locked door. Where is Seungri-hyung?
I don’t know, Yunho shrugged, taking a hesitant step before stopping again. May I?
Jaejoong replied his unvoiced request with a smile, so earnest it could break Yunho’s heart (or, what was left of it). Yunho scooted closer to the two and took a spot, sitting down beside his best friend, his love that would never be a lover, but his love nonetheless.
“Is he alright?” Yunho asked quietly, watching as Jaejoong’s arm tightened a bit on the youngest’s slender shoulders, the other hand moving to skim through thick brown hair.
He could see no trace of physical abuse on Changmin, surprising himself when a surge of relief washed his mind. The positive feeling was short-lived, however, when Jaejoong turned to look at him, eyes full of regret, of guilt.
“I took it away, Yunyun-ah…” the voice was broken when it spoke. Yunho was more than startled, reply stolen as clear liquid trailed easily from those dark eyes. “I took it from him.”
“Jaejae-ah…” Yunho lifted a thumb to catch those tears. They kept escaping, as Jaejoong’s sobs turned apparent. Without words, Yunho made to grab the quilt he abandoned earlier, offering it to his best friend. Jaejoong smiled gratefully amidst the tears, assembling the cloth into some sort of pillow and, gently, placing the bundle below Changmin’s head, freeing his own legs in the process.
Jaejoong stole a glance as the sleeping figure snuggled into the quilt, undisguised tenderness in that gaze left Yunho’s skin tingling. Slowly, the two older men moved to another spot in the room, knowing they needed to have this conversation. Body aching considerably, they had to literally lean on each other just to cross the room.
“What did he do to him?” Yunho pressed again, carefully, once they settled down under the window. He let the classics prodigy lean on his shoulder. Jaejoong buried his face into the lapel of Yunho’s shirt, trying to muffle the sudden onslaught of despair. Yunho swallowed as he felt wetness seeping into the fabric, but waited patiently for the other man to answer.
“I took it away…” Jaejoong managed to say in between sobs, trembling as he let his heart out. “I-I took…”
“Took what away, Jaejae-ah?” Yunho asked gently, threading lean fingers among silky black locks. Jaejoong was never this fragile. He had taken care of Jaejoong all the time like he did prized porcelain, but inside he knew Jaejoong was strong. But not now. Now his best friend needed him even more than before.
“His life…” The answer had Yunho frozen, but Jaejoong continued. “His life, his passion… Yunyun-ah, h-he can’t….”
“Jaejae, wait,” Yunho patted his best friend’s head, willing him to calm down. “I don’t get it. What happened?”
Jaejoong unglued his face from Yunho’s shirt. He swallowed hard, voice faltering as he said. “He lost his hearing, Yunyun-ah. Seungri-hyung...” Stuttering the rest of story out, Jaejoong reached for the black radio. Yunho peered at the gadget, frown marring the space between his brows.
“This is…”
“Radio player. Music player. I don’t know, Yunyun-ah.”
Yunho examined the black square object, mind whirling with endless suggestions. He was law student and all, but he wasn’t dumb in general science. For all the basic knowledge he managed to retain, he knew extreme loud noise could damage one’s hearing. Still, he couldn’t believe Seungri had planned it this far.
“S-Seungri-hyung… said he would take away the most precious thing from my… f-from him,” Jaejoong swallowed the bitter taste on his tongue. “If we couldn’t get him out of here soon, his hearing might be lost for g-good.”
Yunho could only stare mutely at his best friend before darting to the sleeping figure who, much to his surprise, was no longer asleep.
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---oOo---
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Changmin was soundlessly watching from where he was sitting, hair disarrayed but eyes focused, as he strained to listen. Changmin could sense the older two talking in whispers, could faintly recognized words, but the progress stopped there. The sentences were barely audible, as if coming through deep water or from a stadion away.
The thump of his own heartbeat was the only clear sound Changmin could hear. No more music, his mind enchanted. Flashes of extended practices in 4x4 studio, adrenaline rush on the stage, gentle flow of the piano. Gone. What about the newest single Junsu just finished composing? Didn’t they have to record it? The song was really cool. He wanted to sing to it.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
If his hearing were gone, a big part of him might as well die along with it.
Changmin slowly stood up, eyes alternating unsurely between the two older men. He still hadn’t fully understood their situation. He only recalled the way Seungri smirked at him, thrusting those earbuds with blaring music into his ears, volume so loud it actually caused physical pain on his part.
The pain wasn’t even that bad. But, my hearing-
He took deliberate steps to the two older men. It pained him how Jaejoong looked at him with absolute remorse in his glistening eyes, as if all of these were his fault. The look in Yunho’s eyes weren’t much better, similar guilt painting his visage, along with concern and perhaps even pity.
-gone.
“What happened?” Changmin asked in cautious whisper, since he couldn’t measure his own voice right. The uncertainty broke Jaejoong’s heart, so much that he abruptly stood up and enveloped the younger man in a fierce hug.
“H-hyung?”
“I’m sorry…” The apology was muffled. Wet patch was forming already on Changmin’s shirt. Changmin didn’t understand-why was Jaejoong crying? What had the three of them-he, Jaejoong, and Yunho-had to do with Hyunyi-noona’s husband? He meant, of course they were all related to Lee Seungri, but why did the businessman go this far to torment them?
Confusion blatantly wrote itself on the youngest’s face. He was in perhaps the weirdest situation of his life. He had been sedated and kidnapped. He had woken up in a rented villa he used to visit with his ex, to his ex’s husband’s face, given blasting music to the point of fainting from the noise. He had woken up again at some point in the evening, to Jaejoong’s worried face and diminished hearing. He had been sleeping through the night on the other man’s lap, unconscious Jung Yunho on the other side of the room. Finally he had woken up again in the morning to Jaejoong’s crying face and Yunho’s remorseful gaze.
It was such a sick, twisted scenario. He managed to get away from Jaejoong’s desperate embrace, eyes full of queries. He lifted his hand and watched as Jaejoong closed his eyes, as if ready for a blow. As if Changmin would hit him. As if Changmin would hate him.
A brush against tear-damped cheek. Crystal drops caught on delicate fingertips. Changmin frowned, because while he couldn’t hear Jaejoong’s sobs correctly, he could see and feel the pain. There was only one time he ever saw the older man this fragile, crying this openly.
That nightmare…
The younger man didn’t want to relive it, even if he was dying to know what the hell happened. Slowly, unsurely, he retracted the fingers, leaving damp trace of liquid on the span of porcelain cheek.
Dark eyes reopened, surprise evident in glassy black orbs. Jaejoong had been fully expected a punch, even a heap of crying Changmin, but the tears were not there. The brown eyes looked blank, as if the owner were too confused to react properly.
It scared Jaejoong worse. Roll of turmoil thundered in his inside, but he couldn’t voice it. Because by the time Changmin’s head was clear enough, he’d demand an explanation. He wasn’t sure he was ready to tell. Even though he knew, one way or another, Changmin and Yunho would know. He would have to tell them.
But everytime the thought of these two people, these two men who meant more to him than words could tell, the thought of their looking at him with disgust upon learning his horrible past-it scared him. The thought of Yunho, his ever-gentle best friend, peering at him with distrust. The image of Changmin, the person who had taught him not to run away, who had trusted him in his weakest moment, looking down at him with disbelief.
Just the thought of it pained him. He wasn’t ready.
Before he knew it, his body had been engulfed in warmth. Changmin had reached out for him first, tentative arms around his trembling body.
“Don’t,” the younger man whispered in his ear, voice soft and timid. Uncertainty, fear, confusion; emotions clashed in that single word-but along with them, Jaejoong caught understanding. Understanding and trust. “Don’t cry. Tell me when you’re ready. It’s alright. We… we’re gonna be alright.”
The shake was evident in the younger man’s voice. Jaejoong couldn’t help but leaning into the strong chest, gripping the other’s upper arms in weak hold as he attempted to still the sobs. Funny, he berated himself. I’m the one who caused this. Why am I being comforted instead? Do I even deserve this?
Changmin hadn’t known about his past. The younger man had been dragged to this place, having his hearing broken, having all the reasons not to trust him. Yet the younger man chose to believe in him openly. Jaejoong couldn’t figure out why, but he wasn’t letting this go. Whatever this is.
“I know,” Changmin said, as if sensing the hidden question. “There are some things in our past we’re not willing to share. I know.”
Jaejoong breathed, finding his answer just like that. He had forgotten how achingly similar their past were. The stories might be different, but the way it affected them, the way they coped with them-Changmin had experienced too, and he was the closest person to ever understand Jaejoong’s feeling.
“I…”
Those warm brown eyes lured him in. It was unforgivable-he wasn’t supposed to indulge in the comfort they provided. Changmin ought to hate him, ought to distrust him. Jaejoong couldn’t take advantage of him like this.
But he was so desperate to be believed in. Because soon, soon-those eyes wouldn’t look at him with same acceptance. Once the story tumbled to the open, every eye would look down at him with derision. He was a sinner. Son of a murderer. Sinner.
Those lips seemed closer than he had remembered. Maybe it was him who reached out first, or was it Changmin? The younger man’s breath was warm on his face. He forgot the dusty storeroom, forgot Yunho, forgot Seungri; all he could focus on was the warmth in twin doe eyes, soft chapped lips that spelled forgiveness, a heart that understood.
BLAM!
The door was slammed open. They quickly pulled apart, so fast that they both staggered dangerously backwards. Flustering, they remembered where they were, what situation they were in.
On the doorway, stood none other than Lee Seungri.
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---oOo---
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Three pairs of legs were running towards a grandeur house. Up on the sky, warm sun shone on their backs. They were skipping morning class, but at this rate they didn’t really care.
“Something is… very wrong….” Eunhyuk gasped out once they stopped in front of the gate. Damn rich people with their cars. Why should the residence be this far from the train station?
“Just hope Jaejoong-hyung is alright…” Junsu added, voice raspy through clenched teeth.
Kibum pressed the doorbell, all the while trying to steady his breathing. The three of them were stunned when instead of a maid, a very beautiful lady answered their ringing.
“You are…”
“Hyunyi-noona,” Kibum greeted. Being Changmin’s best buddies since their first year in university, of course they knew this lady. The couple was never really outspoken about their relationship, but they had seen the woman enough to be familiar with her.
“Kibum-sshi, Junsu-sshi, Eunhyuk-sshi,” Hyunyi replied, confusion adorning her face. From the creases on her brow, it was clear something was also plaguing her mind. Perhaps, she was expecting someone else.
“Excuse us. Can we talk to Jaejoong-hyung?” Junsu glided out. “We still talked to him until yesterday afternoon, but after that we could no longer contact him.”
“Jaejoongie?” Hyunyi bit her lower lip restlessly. “My little brother is… missing. Since yesterday afternoon.”
“WHAT?!”
“I don’t know. The maids informed me this morning. He didn’t come back last night. Dashed out of the house after receiving a weird letter…”
“Why is everyone missing?!” Eunhyuk hissed in frustration. “Could it be, he knows where Changmin is? He couldn’t have possibly known what H-29 is, right?”
Fleeting look of surprise painted Hyunyi’s face. “H-29?”
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---oOo---
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As expected, Seungri was standing at the doorway. However, he was not alone. Behind him, at least five other men were looking grimly at them.
“Got a good night sleep?” The young businessman asked. He was still wearing last day’s clothes. “I see you three are well awake. Have you told them your story, Jaejoon-sshi?”
Yunho got up two his feet with some difficulty, joining the other two as they glared hard at the older man. The act was painfully childish, even in their own perspective, given it wouldn’t get them out of this situation. Not even to deter Seungri at the slightest.
“I’d love to help you relay the story, Jaejoon-sshi,” Seungri mock-emphatized at his brother-in-law. “Bet you’re also itching to tell them, no? They must have bombarded you with questions. But taking in Changmin-sshi’s condition, it’s gonna be a little difficult I guess.”
Jaejoong clenched his fist. Really, if only they two were alone, he wouldn’t object to whatever Seungri did to him. But now that his two friends’ safety was the bet, he wouldn’t give in just like that.
Seungri hadn’t missed the way those three men glared daggers at him. “Oh, scary. I’m only trying to help.” Another snort escaped him. Taking a piece of folded paper from his suit pocket, the businessman crushed it into a ball and threw.
The ball of paper rolled near Changmin’s sole. Hesitantly, the youngest man bent to pick it up, unfolding the paper. It turned out to be an article from yellowing newspaper, issued almost fifteen years ago, about a murder of husband and wife.
There was a big picture in the middle. It was in grayscale and severely crumpled, but they could still make out an image of a tribunal. A pair of defendants was looking at the direction of a small boy, surprised expression frozen in capture. The little boy looked every bit out of place in the law court, staring straight back at the pair. On the caption, they read:
‘DRAMATIC COURT TAKES PLACE: PARENTS SENTENCED TO DEATH, 8-YEAR-OLD SON WITNESSES.’
Yunho gasped, finally recognizing the boy. He first met Jaejoong when they both were eleven, but the resemblance was still too clear. Suddenly he remembered those names, Lee Hongju and Lee Dabyul, why those names sound distantly familiar. His father had once mentioned the case years ago. He couldn’t recall the details, but he knew who they were. A quite successful businessman and his wife, killed by robbers who broke into their house. Leaving behind two young sons with a family company that suddenly edged towards a downfall.
The little boy… Yunho promptly paled as he put two and two together. He knew Jaejoong was not related in blood with the Kim family. But other than that, his background was completely hidden from public view.
“T-The robbers…” The law apprentice stuttered, eyes automatically seeking his best friend. The black-haired head was bowed low, dark eyes looking pointedly at the tiled floor. Beside him, Changmin had finished reading the whole article, face aghast, having come to the same conclusion himself.
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---flashback---
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Jaejoong was on the verge of hyperventilating, and Changmin was afraid for a second that the black-haired man might have trouble breathing. Without further thought, the younger man shook the restless body, trying to get it awake.
“Hyung, wake up!” Changmin grabbed holds on both of Jaejoong’s shoulders, shaking him firmly but gently. The older man’s body was shaking badly, tears escaping a pair of tightly shut eyes, mingling with the cold sweat.
“… no, they aren’t murderer… don’t bring them away… no! DON’T BRING THEM AWAY! NO!!!”
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“Dramatic indeed, isn’t it?”
The taunting smirk had disappeared from Seungri’s eyes. Cold fire burned in his eyes, anger and disdain and downright hatred kept for more than a decade.
“These people,” he made a gesture towards his men. “They are not bullies. They used to be our employees. Because of the recess my parents’ death brought, also when Seunggi-hyung passed away, they lost their jobs. Hadong-sshi lost his baby daughter because he couldn’t afford her diarrhea medication. Dongguk-sshi’s four children cannot continue their education. Minshik-sshi’s wife left when he no longer had a job. Bongsam-sshi has to do several rough jobs to make ends meet. Jinki-sshi is the brother of Seunggi-hyung’s lover. She hung herself shortly after my brother’s death,” Seungri growled low.
“For you, who are now basking in the Kim family’s wealth, maybe they mean nothing. Their payment hadn’t been big. They were not losing an empire of a corporation. But say, Jaejoon-sshi, how are you going to pay for the suffering they go through? A father who lost his daughter? A brother who lost his sibling? A husband who lost his wife? Children who lost their future? ANSWER ME!”
Silence rang long after Seungri finished his outburst, chest heaving with a flood of emotions. The older man was panting. He was also a brother losing his brother, a son losing his parents, a boy losing his childhood. He was a victim. He would never forgive those murderers nor any descendant they might have.
Jaejoong kept his head down, unmoving, unspeaking. He couldn’t meet Seungri’s eyes, nor Changmin’s, nor Yunho’s. The past he longed to bury resurfaced full force, reemerging in waves of storm as his deepest secret untangled into the open. The images of people he loved flashed in his mind. His father and mother-the kind couple who had adopted and taken care of him with unquestioning affection. His sisters, eight newfound siblings who had welcomed him as if he belonged in the first place. Yunho, his best friend since they were barely teens, who treated him with unparalleled care even as years passed by.
Changmin, the man who left classics and pursued the music Jaejoong feared the most, who taught him to look inside himself and gave him strength to move on, who made his heart flutter and his mind go frenzied with just simple piano playing at midnight.
How would they look at him after this? It wouldn’t be the same. They would judge him with accusing eyes, like those street bullies did several years back, mockery and plain disgust blasting at the mere sight of his existence.
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------flashback------
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“What,” the punks only scoffed. “Soon there would come a time when everyone in lower part of this city rejects his presence, no matter how great of a rocker he is, how much he resembles his father’s talent. We’re kind enough to let him know the reason.”
The guys turned their backs on him, walking away from the store. “Accept it, Han Jaejoon, you’re a son of a sinner. Rocker. Sinner,” the guys spat tauntingly right before disappearing from his sight. “You’re doomed to this fate. Forever.”
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“Stop it.”
Everyone looked up. Changmin glared defiantly, not bothering to lower his volume. Perhaps partly because his voice sounded quieter in his ears, but mostly because he didn’t care to.
Seungri crinkled his nose. “What, kid, don’t butt in where you aren’t needed to. Could you even hear what I was saying?”
“Yes, I could hear you, loud and clear. Well, not really, but I caught your words enough,” the brown-eyed man countered. “I don’t get why you want him to pay for what his parents did. It’s not like he had choice. His parents were sentenced death under his nose, isn’t it punishment enough?”
Jaejoong was still staring at the floor, mind a broken rewinds of old memories. His early childhood, in a plastered four-walled home and cheap plain shirts. His father, his real father, with an old guitar and tales of rock music. His mother, with gentle smiles and a bowl of rarely earned chicken soup.
Tears spilled from his eyes, falling one by one onto the tiled floor. His chest clenched around a heart, the pressure so tight that it hurt physically. He wanted to be anywhere but here. Not because of Seungri’s threat, but to escape the feeling of being eight years old again, too helpless to undo a damage so big. Too small under deprecating stares everyone casted upon him.
“What do you want his to pay you with, exactly? It’s not like things can reverse to how they were,” Changmin asked, defiance clear in his stance.
“Well, you’re pretty brave,” Seungri retorted smoothly, looking only mildly amused. “I believe watching him get what he deserves is award enough.”
The businessman flicked his fingers. Before anyone could react, the men had moved to grab Yunho and Changmin, twisting both men’s arms behind their own backs.
“ARGH!” Yunho groaned out loud as two men handled him without compassion, uncaring of his injuries from the day before. Beside him, Changmin was struggling with other two, kicking and punching where he could reach.
Jaejoong stood dazed in the middle of this unexpected commotion. The one remaining man had held him captive, forcing him to kneel down his both arms pinned behind. He yelped in horror as one of the men struck Yunho on the back of his head, knowing full well there was a bump from earlier hit. His best friend let out a last grunt of pain before collapsing in the men’s hold.
“YUNHO!” He was struggling with all his might, but his own injury restrained his movement. He tried in vain to swat, to elbow, to punch. His captor retaliated with harsh kneeling on his side, his injured side, and he collapsed with guttural groan.
“Careful, I told you not to knock him out. He has to watch,” Seungri said poisonously. “He may have cracked a rib or two, I believe. Chill down. Let him enjoy the show.”
The businessman walked calmly, dainty swagger tracing his steps. Passing by Jaejoong, he gave his brother-in-law a mocking pat on the head as he trudged farther, stopping before Changmin.
“You’re holding on pretty well,” he complimented, towering over the kneeling younger man. Brown eyes glared up at him. “Tho if you want my advice, watch out that snarky tongue of yours. Sometimes it doesn’t help you.”
“Shut up,” Changmin bit back. He was sporting his fair share of bruises, but at least he didn’t go down without a fight.
Seungri raised a single eyebrow. “Apparently your hearing is still working nicely. Or it’s recovering gradually over the night?” he remarked. “In that case, we need to level-up.”
“NO!” Jaejoong shouted from his spot, eyes wide in fright. “Please, he has nothing to do with this. You can’t hurt him again!”
“Ohhh, touché,” Seungri cooed. He turned to Changmin, “Your princess is really sweet, isn’t he?”
Changmin tried not to flinch away when Seungri came closer, bending to meet him eye to eye. “Wha-?”
“Say, do you love him?” Mischief laced the older man’s voice, mouth close enough to Changmin’s ears so he could still listen.
“W-What?”
“Do you love him?” He repeated, waving a hand at Jaejoong’s direction. “Or is he just a temporary substitute for Hyunyi-noona?”
Big brown eyes widened at the careless words. “How dare you-“
“Oh, yeah, of course I dare,” Seungri threw his head back as he laughed in false good nature. Changmin secretly prayed he would get a whiplash. Luck wasn’t on him, unfortunately. The infuriating smirk came back into view. “I was surprised you didn’t come running to H-29, thinking the message is from noona.”
The younger face looked genuinely confused. “Message…?”
“He didn’t get the text,” Jaejoong said warily from the side. “He left his phone in the studio.”
“That explains why I had to get into trouble kidnapping him,” the older man mused thoughtfully, lower lip jutting out. “Fortunately I’m a man of back-up plans. Never mind. Maybe I’m supposed to do things to you as well, Shim Changmin. Han Jaejoon’s most precious boy. Even my wife’s favorite.”
Changmin’s eyes were blazing as he greeted his teeth. “If that’s the way you think and do things, you certainly do not deserve noona’s heart. Not even her attention.”
Seungri was stunned for a few moment before he gritted his teeth. “You little-“ Without warning, his arm flew and slapped Changmin in the face.
The force was so hard that Changmin’s neck was practically whipped to the side. Copper tasted bitter in his mouth and Changmin thought his eyes saw stars. Head buzzing, he could only close his eyes as pain assaulted him, waiting for it to subside. It didn’t however. This kind of pain shouldn’t come from a strike alone, no matter how strong. It took him few moments before realizing where the pain centered, incessant ring blasting in his ears.
“Stop…” He managed to free both arms from the men’s captive, palms grabbing the sides of his head as the buzzing increased, increased, increased, leaving him breathless because it felt like the noise physically sliced his head open. Vision swimming, the ringing exploded inside him, reducing him to a whimpering mess on the floor, curling into himself. “Stop! Stop!”
“SEUNGRI-HYUNG! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
Jaejoong broke free from his captors. The men were stunned in their place, as well as Seungri, seemingly not planning this turn of event. Jaejoong kneeled beside Changmin, taking the younger man onto his lap, gently cradling his head. Changmin looked as though a rock concert was playing in his head, blaring noise only he could hear.
“Well…” Seungri said after a moment of stunned silence. “Guess it’d teach him to watch his tongue.”
“HOW DARE YOU?!” Jaejoong forgot all the guilt he felt for the older man. “He didn’t do anything to you! You know that for us…”
“Yes, I know. Hearing is your most prized possession,” Seungri shrugged, appearing nonchalant.
“Why…” Jaejoong lost his words. To see Seungri inflicted damage so heartlessly… He knew how it would wound the younger man. Hearing is a musician’s most precious treasure. What remained if he couldn’t listen to music anymore?
“Because I want you to watch,” Seungri replied ruthlessly. “Your beloved is robbed of his biggest treasure, the meaning of his life. I rob him of music. Watch, Han Jaejoon, and tell me how you think I felt when I had to watch Seunggi-hyung suffer.”
The pained writhe from Changmin seemed to have subdued as the younger man fell into semi-unconsciousness. Jaejoong was pressing gentle circular massage on his temple, trying to rid some of the ache.
“I did my research,” Seungri said. “You two foolish musicians. I thought hard of what could hurt you the most. Even going through the science of decibels and everything. The music boxes, the codes, your cell phone, Jung Yunho’s jealousy… I used them all to plot this day. I spent so much into this plan, simply because I don’t want you to fall easy. I want you to fall on your knees with your everything crestfallen. I want this day to be epic. And epic it is!”
Seungri then laughed, laughed real hard until his head tilted back and tears formed at the corners of his eyes. He laughed in victory, voice bouncing from one wall to another. His men joined him after a while of hesitance. The laughter sounded maniacal, every bit of sanity flying out of the window.
“I have some scenarios, Jaejoon-sshi. I’ll be nice and let you pick,” Seungri walked closer after his laughter subsided, glint of insane mirth dancing in his eyes. Jaejoong warily bent over Changmin, trying to shield him from the oncoming man.
“One,” the 29-year-old said. “I’ll make you all fall unconscious and dump you all over kitchen with some alcohol, making you seem like thoughtless teenagers caught in party when the gas stove leaked and you died from the poison.
“Two,” the smirk went wider. “I’ll dump you all into a bedroom instead, making you seem like horny teenagers caught in an orgy when fire took down the villa.”
“Three,” Seungri had arrived right beside Jaejoong, the latter still cradling Changmin protectively. Jaejoong glared at the older man, refusing to back down anymore. Not when Seungri had gone so far.
Circle of metal met Jaejoong’s temple.
“We can end it simply, here, now.”
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TBC
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