Fic: Searching For... ... - Chapter 8A
Title: Searching for... ... - Chapter 8A
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, anything, except for the plot.
Characters: Super Junior + Henry, Zhou Mi, DBSK
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Archive
Jaejoong was back in the library during his break. They had spent most of the days after school practicing for the competition such that Jaejoong had not found time to continue with his search. Looking at the shelves filled with the newspaper archive, he swore that he would never do a research project which required him to be in this dingy corner of the library. Luckily for him, the music course did not have such a project that would require such articles.
Jaejoong dropped his bag at a desk, heading towards the shelves. He knew that he should be concentrating more and be more concerned over the whole music competition for the composing of the song was part of his final year project and how well they would do in the competition had an impact on his grades. However Jaejoong could not ignore the news weighing heavily on his head. His parents would not be happy to know that he was once again searching about the orphanage.
He walked towards the row which he last stopped at, fingers running across the cd covers as he read the date on each one. He was glad that it was not shelves filled with newspapers. He shuddered at the thought of having to flip through all the newspapers. He never knew how many different types of newspapers were published in Korea before now. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed a missing cd. Jaejoong corked his head to the side, wondering who could have taken it, for he had not seen anyone when he approached the area. Shrugging, Jaejoong reached for the next cd.
He was looking for news within the week stated from the article he read from the internet. Jaejoong was not quite sure if he was searching for a confirmation, or hoping for the news to be one of those internet hoaxes. Placing the cd down on the desk, Jaejoong spotted a familiar figure sitting by another computer not far from him. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he sneakily moved towards the figure that had his eyes glued to the screen.
Jaejoong quietly approached the figure from the back, with the other remaining clueless about his impending scare.
Jaejoong leaned in, lowering his voice and whispered.
“Boo.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hankyung entered the library after his classes. Today was his one free day, without any practice for the competition schedule for most of them had lessons that ran late for the day. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted his dongsaeng’s best friend - Kibum - sitting at one of the tables, completely absorbed in his book. Hankyung smiled, though he whispered a silent prayer in his head that Donghae would never find out that Hankyung was the one who introduced his beloved dongsaeng to the wonders of this particular school library. Donghae was always complaining that his younger brother should interact more outside of Ryeowook and should not spend his whole life buried in books. Sometimes I really think that Donghae has a brother-complex. Hankyung shook his head ruefully at the thought.
He strode quickly to the section that caught his attention, failing to notice Jaejoong by the tables near the shelves. He only had one purpose in mind, and little time for he had to meet Heechul later. He swiftly found the date he was looking for and removed the cd from the shelf.
Placing himself at a desk, Hankyung inserted the disc into the drive. Engrossed in finding the article, Hankyung did not notice the shadow sneaking up upon him from behind.
Hankyung jerked up in shock, yelping when he heard the ghostly whisper by his ear. His reflex action was to shoot a hand out at the person, but caught himself when Hankyung realised that it was only Jaejoong.
“Jaejoong! What are you doing?”
The two of them were lucky that the librarian had just left for a short tea break. If not, they would have been thrown out of the library.
Jaejoong smiled innocently at Hankyung, whose eyes narrowed slightly at that expression. After years of hanging out with a bunch of guys who excelled in puppy eyes (Donghae) and innocent looks (Heechul), Hankyung was somewhat good at spotting them - although he was not completely immune to the looks. Besides, only Jaejoong and he were present at that section. There was no other suspect, unless the famous stories revolving the library were true - ghost.
“What are you doing Hannie?”
Jaejoong asked, as if he had just chanced upon Hankyung at the library. Turning his attention to the computer screen, Jaejoong’s smile fell from his face as he caught sight of the black bold words on the computer screen.
Jaejoong rushed towards the computer, pushing Hankyung away abruptly, almost literally shoving Hankyung from his position in his hurry. Taken by surprise, Hankyung fell backward, knocking over the chair he was previously sitting on, but he managed to stop himself from ending up in the same state as the chair.
The loud crash of the chair brought Jaejoong out of his mad rush towards the computer, only to see Hankyung staring worriedly at him.
“Hankyung! Are you alright?”
Jaejoong reached over, grabbing Hankyung’s hand, giving him a look-over to check if Hankyung was injured.
“I’m sorry, Hannie.”
Hankyung shook his head, indicating that he was alright, though he was worried about Jaejoong.
“What’s wrong?”
Something unrecognisable by Hankyung flashed past Jaejoong’s eyes as the question was voiced. It made Hankyung take that step closer to Jaejoong, tentatively placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. Jaejoong had turned back to the screen, his eyes widening as he read the article, sucking a breath as the picture of the familiar building came into view as he scrolled down.
It was true.
Hankyung stole a glance at the screen, knowing fully what the article said. However, he did not know what in the article struck Jaejoong.
“Jaejoong?”
Hankyung called out again, his fingers tightening slightly around Jaejoong’s shoulder.
Slowly, Jaejoong turned around, his face pale, saying words that resonated within Hankyung’s heart.
“I’m from that orphanage.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hyung.”
Zhou Mi broke the silence between the two of them. Both of them were sitting in a restaurant near the window, carefully watching the movements in the café across the street from them. The glass window was slightly tinted, obscuring people from outside to spot them easily. They had homework papers lay out on the table, half-pretending to do their work.
Sungmin glanced up at him from his work, wondering what it was about. Catching the seriousness on Zhou Mi’s face, Sungmin felt a dread in his stomach.
“Hmm?”
Sungmin pretended that he had no idea what Zhou Mi was going to ask him, even though he knew deep within clearly.
“Sungmin-hyung.”
Zhou Mi’s eyes bored into Sungmin, patiently waiting for Sungmin to crack.
Sungmin averted his eyes, turning his attention to the figures across the street. He wished Shindong was here. Shindong protected him from these questions, allowing him to continue to run from facing the events that happened.
“Sungmin, look at me.”
The restaurant was bustling with students talking and no one was paying attention to the tense atmosphere in their booth. Zhou Mi knew it was not the kind of place to be confronting Sungmin, but it could not be done in the comforts of Sungmin’s room for Sungmin would hide behind the comfort.
Reluctantly, Sungmin turned. He worked up the courage to stare at Zhou Mi in the eyes. If I’m confident, then maybe Zhou Mi would give up.
“Min ah, tell me what happened when I was gone?”
Sungmin stilled, fingers clenching tightly around the pen. His eyes blanked out as a dark figure appeared in his mind.
“Why do you want to know?”
Sungmin whispered, once again staring out of the tinted windows, hoping that the movements of those outside could distract him.
“Because I care.”
Zhou Mi replied, face full of concern, together with pain at Sungmin’s question.
Sungmin’s eyes fluttered shut as the honest answer sent shivers down his body. Shindong had never asked him the question before - because Shindong knew what happened. He might not have the exact details, but Shindong knew the basics. Here was Zhou Mi, his childhood friend as well, but who had not a single clue about the things that happened. Because you begged Shindong not to breathe a single word.
When Sungmin opened his eyes once more looking at Zhou Mi, Zhou Mi struggled to hide the shock at the pain that etched Sungmin’s face.
“I was going to town to buy a present for Shindong…”
Sungmin skipped out of school, happy for once that no one was following him around outside of the house. It was not that he disliked Shindong's company, but one would get claustrophobic if more than three quarters of the day was spent with the same person every day of the week. Sungmin understood the need, but it did not mean that he liked it.
Today, because Shindong had a remedial lesson to attend for failing for the third time consecutively his mathematics test, Sungmin got the chance to wander into town alone. He made a compromise with his father that he would go to town only and head home immediately. It was the first time Sungmin had requested anything from his father ever since the death of his mother. His father agreed, unable to find within him the urge to reject his precious son.
It was a decision that the boss came to regret a day later.
Sungmin envied the students who were strolling down the streets in groups. He watched the couple interact with each other, the middle school girls giggle over the recent popular boy band as well as the group of boys swoon over the latest computer game. He watched yearningly at them.
He had many acquaintances but two friends - Shindong and Zhou Mi. He understood his position. Being friends with people outside of his father's gang could mean death for either party. It would only serve to harm the innocent. Sungmin learned that from his mother's death, but it still hurt to watch from afar and not being able to participate.
“Heechul-hyung! We're here! Don't walk away yet!”
Sungmin turned his head at the loud exclamation, only to see a figure zoom past him with another following at a more sedate pace. He watched the pair interact, sensing the closeness between the three despite one looking angry at the pair, and he felt his heart clench. He turned his head away, suddenly missing Zhou Mi's presence.
Mi, why did you have to go to China?
Sungmin continued on his way, the laughter echoing behind him.
Exiting the shop, Sungmin patted his bag, satisfied with the gift he bought for Shindong. He had wondered previously how he was to get Shindong's present for it had always been Zhou Mi who had accompanied him on all these trips. It was a good thing that Shindong had to stay late in school today. And Sungmin savoured the freedom of being alone.
Stepping out onto the pavement, Sungmin looked up at the sky, the sun rays shining down on him with the gentle breeze blowing his hair. Umma…
Sungmin started walking down the street, knowing that he had to get home soon before his father panicked and sent out troops of people to search for him. Sungmin hummed a song, bouncing along happily. Suddenly he halted. His eyebrows furrowed as he listened more attentively. Moving back a few steps, Sungmin turned facing a small road.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Sungmin shouted as he swung his bag to the bag, dashing towards the man who was pressed down against a much smaller figure. The man looked up and smirked.
“Hello. Would you like to join in?”
The man slowly released his grip on the smaller figure, turning and advancing towards Sungmin. As he walked closer, Sungmin tensed; waiting and praying that those self-defence lessons that his father forced him to attend would finally come into use.
His body reacted when the man pounced towards him. His arms struck out, gutting the man in the stomach, causing the man to stumble back. Sungmin spun around, kicking the man in the head. The man flew, crashing into the rubbish piled at the side of the street, seemingly losing conscious.
Glancing at the man, Sungmin rushed towards the smaller figure on the floor. As he got closer, his anger grew when he spotted the state of the clothes of the man - no, boy.
“Are you alright?”
A timid nod answered him as the boy tried to wrap his jacket tighter around him. Sungmin took off his bag and removed his school jacket. He draped the jacket around the boy, trying to smile reassuringly. The boy looked at him with a pained look, before whispering, “I’m sorry.”
Sungmin’s eyes widened as he felt a twinge of pain by his neck before everything turned black…
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Part B
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, anything, except for the plot.
Characters: Super Junior + Henry, Zhou Mi, DBSK
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Archive
Jaejoong was back in the library during his break. They had spent most of the days after school practicing for the competition such that Jaejoong had not found time to continue with his search. Looking at the shelves filled with the newspaper archive, he swore that he would never do a research project which required him to be in this dingy corner of the library. Luckily for him, the music course did not have such a project that would require such articles.
Jaejoong dropped his bag at a desk, heading towards the shelves. He knew that he should be concentrating more and be more concerned over the whole music competition for the composing of the song was part of his final year project and how well they would do in the competition had an impact on his grades. However Jaejoong could not ignore the news weighing heavily on his head. His parents would not be happy to know that he was once again searching about the orphanage.
He walked towards the row which he last stopped at, fingers running across the cd covers as he read the date on each one. He was glad that it was not shelves filled with newspapers. He shuddered at the thought of having to flip through all the newspapers. He never knew how many different types of newspapers were published in Korea before now. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed a missing cd. Jaejoong corked his head to the side, wondering who could have taken it, for he had not seen anyone when he approached the area. Shrugging, Jaejoong reached for the next cd.
He was looking for news within the week stated from the article he read from the internet. Jaejoong was not quite sure if he was searching for a confirmation, or hoping for the news to be one of those internet hoaxes. Placing the cd down on the desk, Jaejoong spotted a familiar figure sitting by another computer not far from him. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he sneakily moved towards the figure that had his eyes glued to the screen.
Jaejoong quietly approached the figure from the back, with the other remaining clueless about his impending scare.
Jaejoong leaned in, lowering his voice and whispered.
“Boo.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hankyung entered the library after his classes. Today was his one free day, without any practice for the competition schedule for most of them had lessons that ran late for the day. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted his dongsaeng’s best friend - Kibum - sitting at one of the tables, completely absorbed in his book. Hankyung smiled, though he whispered a silent prayer in his head that Donghae would never find out that Hankyung was the one who introduced his beloved dongsaeng to the wonders of this particular school library. Donghae was always complaining that his younger brother should interact more outside of Ryeowook and should not spend his whole life buried in books. Sometimes I really think that Donghae has a brother-complex. Hankyung shook his head ruefully at the thought.
He strode quickly to the section that caught his attention, failing to notice Jaejoong by the tables near the shelves. He only had one purpose in mind, and little time for he had to meet Heechul later. He swiftly found the date he was looking for and removed the cd from the shelf.
Placing himself at a desk, Hankyung inserted the disc into the drive. Engrossed in finding the article, Hankyung did not notice the shadow sneaking up upon him from behind.
Hankyung jerked up in shock, yelping when he heard the ghostly whisper by his ear. His reflex action was to shoot a hand out at the person, but caught himself when Hankyung realised that it was only Jaejoong.
“Jaejoong! What are you doing?”
The two of them were lucky that the librarian had just left for a short tea break. If not, they would have been thrown out of the library.
Jaejoong smiled innocently at Hankyung, whose eyes narrowed slightly at that expression. After years of hanging out with a bunch of guys who excelled in puppy eyes (Donghae) and innocent looks (Heechul), Hankyung was somewhat good at spotting them - although he was not completely immune to the looks. Besides, only Jaejoong and he were present at that section. There was no other suspect, unless the famous stories revolving the library were true - ghost.
“What are you doing Hannie?”
Jaejoong asked, as if he had just chanced upon Hankyung at the library. Turning his attention to the computer screen, Jaejoong’s smile fell from his face as he caught sight of the black bold words on the computer screen.
Jaejoong rushed towards the computer, pushing Hankyung away abruptly, almost literally shoving Hankyung from his position in his hurry. Taken by surprise, Hankyung fell backward, knocking over the chair he was previously sitting on, but he managed to stop himself from ending up in the same state as the chair.
The loud crash of the chair brought Jaejoong out of his mad rush towards the computer, only to see Hankyung staring worriedly at him.
“Hankyung! Are you alright?”
Jaejoong reached over, grabbing Hankyung’s hand, giving him a look-over to check if Hankyung was injured.
“I’m sorry, Hannie.”
Hankyung shook his head, indicating that he was alright, though he was worried about Jaejoong.
“What’s wrong?”
Something unrecognisable by Hankyung flashed past Jaejoong’s eyes as the question was voiced. It made Hankyung take that step closer to Jaejoong, tentatively placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. Jaejoong had turned back to the screen, his eyes widening as he read the article, sucking a breath as the picture of the familiar building came into view as he scrolled down.
It was true.
Hankyung stole a glance at the screen, knowing fully what the article said. However, he did not know what in the article struck Jaejoong.
“Jaejoong?”
Hankyung called out again, his fingers tightening slightly around Jaejoong’s shoulder.
Slowly, Jaejoong turned around, his face pale, saying words that resonated within Hankyung’s heart.
“I’m from that orphanage.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hyung.”
Zhou Mi broke the silence between the two of them. Both of them were sitting in a restaurant near the window, carefully watching the movements in the café across the street from them. The glass window was slightly tinted, obscuring people from outside to spot them easily. They had homework papers lay out on the table, half-pretending to do their work.
Sungmin glanced up at him from his work, wondering what it was about. Catching the seriousness on Zhou Mi’s face, Sungmin felt a dread in his stomach.
“Hmm?”
Sungmin pretended that he had no idea what Zhou Mi was going to ask him, even though he knew deep within clearly.
“Sungmin-hyung.”
Zhou Mi’s eyes bored into Sungmin, patiently waiting for Sungmin to crack.
Sungmin averted his eyes, turning his attention to the figures across the street. He wished Shindong was here. Shindong protected him from these questions, allowing him to continue to run from facing the events that happened.
“Sungmin, look at me.”
The restaurant was bustling with students talking and no one was paying attention to the tense atmosphere in their booth. Zhou Mi knew it was not the kind of place to be confronting Sungmin, but it could not be done in the comforts of Sungmin’s room for Sungmin would hide behind the comfort.
Reluctantly, Sungmin turned. He worked up the courage to stare at Zhou Mi in the eyes. If I’m confident, then maybe Zhou Mi would give up.
“Min ah, tell me what happened when I was gone?”
Sungmin stilled, fingers clenching tightly around the pen. His eyes blanked out as a dark figure appeared in his mind.
“Why do you want to know?”
Sungmin whispered, once again staring out of the tinted windows, hoping that the movements of those outside could distract him.
“Because I care.”
Zhou Mi replied, face full of concern, together with pain at Sungmin’s question.
Sungmin’s eyes fluttered shut as the honest answer sent shivers down his body. Shindong had never asked him the question before - because Shindong knew what happened. He might not have the exact details, but Shindong knew the basics. Here was Zhou Mi, his childhood friend as well, but who had not a single clue about the things that happened. Because you begged Shindong not to breathe a single word.
When Sungmin opened his eyes once more looking at Zhou Mi, Zhou Mi struggled to hide the shock at the pain that etched Sungmin’s face.
“I was going to town to buy a present for Shindong…”
Sungmin skipped out of school, happy for once that no one was following him around outside of the house. It was not that he disliked Shindong's company, but one would get claustrophobic if more than three quarters of the day was spent with the same person every day of the week. Sungmin understood the need, but it did not mean that he liked it.
Today, because Shindong had a remedial lesson to attend for failing for the third time consecutively his mathematics test, Sungmin got the chance to wander into town alone. He made a compromise with his father that he would go to town only and head home immediately. It was the first time Sungmin had requested anything from his father ever since the death of his mother. His father agreed, unable to find within him the urge to reject his precious son.
It was a decision that the boss came to regret a day later.
Sungmin envied the students who were strolling down the streets in groups. He watched the couple interact with each other, the middle school girls giggle over the recent popular boy band as well as the group of boys swoon over the latest computer game. He watched yearningly at them.
He had many acquaintances but two friends - Shindong and Zhou Mi. He understood his position. Being friends with people outside of his father's gang could mean death for either party. It would only serve to harm the innocent. Sungmin learned that from his mother's death, but it still hurt to watch from afar and not being able to participate.
“Heechul-hyung! We're here! Don't walk away yet!”
Sungmin turned his head at the loud exclamation, only to see a figure zoom past him with another following at a more sedate pace. He watched the pair interact, sensing the closeness between the three despite one looking angry at the pair, and he felt his heart clench. He turned his head away, suddenly missing Zhou Mi's presence.
Mi, why did you have to go to China?
Sungmin continued on his way, the laughter echoing behind him.
Exiting the shop, Sungmin patted his bag, satisfied with the gift he bought for Shindong. He had wondered previously how he was to get Shindong's present for it had always been Zhou Mi who had accompanied him on all these trips. It was a good thing that Shindong had to stay late in school today. And Sungmin savoured the freedom of being alone.
Stepping out onto the pavement, Sungmin looked up at the sky, the sun rays shining down on him with the gentle breeze blowing his hair. Umma…
Sungmin started walking down the street, knowing that he had to get home soon before his father panicked and sent out troops of people to search for him. Sungmin hummed a song, bouncing along happily. Suddenly he halted. His eyebrows furrowed as he listened more attentively. Moving back a few steps, Sungmin turned facing a small road.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Sungmin shouted as he swung his bag to the bag, dashing towards the man who was pressed down against a much smaller figure. The man looked up and smirked.
“Hello. Would you like to join in?”
The man slowly released his grip on the smaller figure, turning and advancing towards Sungmin. As he walked closer, Sungmin tensed; waiting and praying that those self-defence lessons that his father forced him to attend would finally come into use.
His body reacted when the man pounced towards him. His arms struck out, gutting the man in the stomach, causing the man to stumble back. Sungmin spun around, kicking the man in the head. The man flew, crashing into the rubbish piled at the side of the street, seemingly losing conscious.
Glancing at the man, Sungmin rushed towards the smaller figure on the floor. As he got closer, his anger grew when he spotted the state of the clothes of the man - no, boy.
“Are you alright?”
A timid nod answered him as the boy tried to wrap his jacket tighter around him. Sungmin took off his bag and removed his school jacket. He draped the jacket around the boy, trying to smile reassuringly. The boy looked at him with a pained look, before whispering, “I’m sorry.”
Sungmin’s eyes widened as he felt a twinge of pain by his neck before everything turned black…
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Part B