Fic
Title: Over the years
Rating: PG 15
Characters: Kangin, Yesung, Leeteuk, Kibum
Pairing: KangTeuk
Wordcount: ~3390
Disclaimers; Not mine! I would love to claim the plot, but I'm not so sure about that either. ^_^
Summary: A few glimpses into Kaning's life since his and Yesung's parents passed away in the car accident. A bit of a backstory to Helping Hand.
A/N: My plan was to write a couple of short drabbles and this is what happened. :D I mainly wanted to establish the relationships between Kangin and the others. There will be some jumps in time, I hope you won't have a hard time following them and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. ^_^
Leeteuk couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of Kibum sputtering and glaring around a piece of carrot, dipped into what Kangin called the sauce from outer space. A concoction of different spicy sauces and other things, which Leeteuk didn’t want to think about, curtsey to the local pub they frequently visited. He watched in amusement as the red-faced younger man, with tears streaming from his eyes, spit out the carrot and grabbed onto a glass of water which he downed in an alarming speed.
“Kangin.” Kibum said in a hoarse voice. “You are so dead. I’ll kill you!”
Kangin snickered and was about to answer when his phone rang.
“Yeah, sure you are, do you mind waiting until after I’ve taken this call?” Without waiting for Kibum’s reaction he answered the phone.
“Yes?”
Leeteuk shook his head, Kangin really needed to a better opening phrase but he had answered the phone that way as long Leeteuk had known him so he guessed that the 16 year old would continue doing it. It wouldn’t stop Leeteuk from nagging Kangin about it, especially since he knew it annoyed the younger.
“No!”
Both Leeteuk and Kibum looked at their friend when they heard his cry. Kangin had turned white and he was squeezing his phone with so much force that it threatened to break it. Leeteuk and Kibum exchanged worried glances, there weren’t many things that could affect their friend like this and the two of them were getting a bad feeling.
“I. Yes, I’ll go right away. Grandpa?”
The hand that wasn’t holding the phone in a death grip Kangin put over his face and hid his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m at the usual place. Ok.”
Kangin put the phone down on the table and now he was using both hands to cover his face.
“Kangin, what’s wrong?”
Leeteuk reached out a hand and gently rubbed his shoulders.
“There was a car accident.” Kangin’s voice was muffled. “Mum, dad and little Jongwoon were in it. Grandpa said it’s very serious and if he says it’s very serious” Kangin’s voice broke, after a couple of seconds he continued. “Daehyun-shi is on his way to pick us up.” Kangin looked up at his friends, tears were running down his face. “You’ll come with me, right? I don’t, I don’t want to go alone.”
Kibum reached over and gripped Kangin’s fist. “Of course brother, of course.”
Leeteuk didn’t say anything, instead he put his arm around Kangin’s shoulder in silent support. When he saw the old retainer entering the pub Leeteuk gently pulled his friend up and helped him towards the door.
Kangin sat on the hard plastic chair and stared down at his hands. Dead. His parents were dead. Only this morning they had laughed and teased him for being such a sleepy head and that his future spouse would have her hands full just waking him up. Jongwoon had told him that he loved his hyung just before Kangin had rushed out the door.
Little Jongwoon, who was currently fighting for his life, Kangin pulled at his hair and he couldn’t suppress the pain filled noises that were making their way out through his mouth. Kangin wasn’t aware of it but he was keening and swaying his body from side to side. His grandfather, Kyungsam, who looked like he had aged decades over the last couple of hours, pulled his grandson into his arms and nodded at one of the nurses who came and gave Kangin a shot which immediately put him to sleep.
“It’s not the best way.” Kyungsam said to Leeteuk and Kibum, “but at least it’ll give him some peace and hopefully when he wakes up there will be some good news about Jongwoon-ah.”
The two teenagers nodded and huddled up to each other for comfort. They might not be blood related to Kangin but they had been best friends since preschool and the Kim’s were almost as dear to them as their own families.
Kangin stared down at the casket, this was the second funeral he attended in two years. The difference was that the first time he had had the comfort of holding onto his grandpa’s strong, confident and supporting hand. This time he was the one who had to be the strong one, he looked down at the crying 5 year old child who was standing by his side and holding onto his hand as if it was a lifeline. Without thinking about it Kangin picked the child up and let him cry against his chest.
“It’s ok Jongwoon-ah, we’ll be alright, I promise.” Kangin whispered into his little brother’s hair. “Hyung is here and I’ll never leave you.”
The child looked up at him through tear filled eyes and without saying a word he threw his arms around Kangin’s neck and hid his face against him. Kangin took a deep steadying breath. His grandfather had suffered from a heart decease, long before Kangin’s and Jongwoon’s parents had died he had already been diagnosed and it was a miracle that he had managed to live as long as he had. Kangin was grateful that his grandfather had been such farsighted man and taken precautions for the day when he wouldn’t be able to there for his grandchildren any more.
Leeteuk and Kibum, together with Heechul and Han Geng walked up to Kangin. Kangin looked up at them and he felt grateful for these friends of his. They had supported him when his parents had died and he knew they would support him now when his grandfather was gone. Leeteuk gave him a small smile and Kangin smiled back through his tears.
“It’s Yesung! Not Jongwoon!”
Kangin thought that there would be no court in the country that would condemn him for strangling his little brother. They might even reward him. Kangin gritted his teeth.
“Your name is Jongwoon, Jongwoon! I’ve called you that since you were in mama’s belly, why do you want to change your name? You have no reason.”
Usually his little brother was one of the kindest and most well behaved kids Kangin knew, but lately he had turned into a little monster. A monster with attitude.
The little brat glared at him and stuffed his hands down in his pockets, that particularly pair of pants that Yesung was wearing had been a thorn in Kangin’s side for a long time. The younger one snorted in a disdainful way.
“You should talk. Youngwoon.”
Kangin winced, the brat did have a point.
“Speechless are you? You really can’t cope on your own, can you? Just because Leeteuk isn’t here ”
“Time out.” Kangin said through clenched teeth.
Kangin picked the boy up and put him inside his room and shut the door. Gently. It took all his willpower not to slam it shut.
“Not a word Daehyun-shi. Not. A. Word.”
The old retainer bowed and promptly ignored him.
“Kangin-shi, have you tried sitting down with the young master and talked to him?”
Kangin gave the old man a wry look.
“If you haven’t noticed it, Jongwoon doesn’t really want to talk to me these days. He glares, he pouts, he screams and he kicks.” Kangin sighed, “At least he hasn’t tried biting and he’s rude to my friends. Especially to Teukie which I can’t understand since he usually idolizes him. ”
Kangin sighed again, he had no idea what to do with his 7 year old brother, he was 20 years old and he felt more like 80 these days and wished for the umpteenth time that their parents would still be alive. The old man came up to him and put a comforting hand on Kangin’s shoulder.
“Think back. When did he start behaving like this?”
Kangin gave him a suspicious look.
“You know something?”
The old man who had basically raised two generations of Kim’s smiled gently at the young man whom he regarded as a beloved grandson.
“I’ve raised three daughters and one son. I’ve helped raise their children and I’ve helped taking care of the two of you. I know that if you consider it, the reason for Jongwoon’s tantrums will come to you.”
Kangin pouted, if the old man knew why his usually adorable brother acted like this, why couldn’t he just tell him? Channeling Yoda wasn’t helpful. Kangin frowned, Jongwoon’s attitude problems had all started a couple of months ago when he came back with his ears pierced and that had led to their first really big fight. A couple of months ago. Kangin’s eyes widened in realization.
“No! That can’t be it!”
Daehyun nodded sagely.
“But, but just because Teukie and I decided to date, I” Kangin looked helplessly at the old man.
“Why? I can’t see how it should matter to him?”
“It changes everything for him Youngwoon. For better or worse you are not just his brother, you’re his mother and father too. You dating Leeteuk-shi make him doubt his place at your side, it scares him since you are the only one he has and he’s afraid that you’ll decide to leave him.”
Kangin stared at Daehyun in horror.
“I would never leave him! Never!”
The old man nodded and smiled gently at his protégé.
“Of course you wouldn’t. I know that, but Jongwoon doesn’t. From his viewpoint he is contending right now with Leeteuk-shi about your love and attention and since you’ve been going on plenty of dates with Leeteuk-shi, Jongwoon is probably feeling like he’s loosing. He is trying to get your attention in every way possible, and unfortunately he feels he gets it the most when he is acting out.”
Kangin groaned, he had to admit that he had been spending a lot of time with his boyfriend. Leeteuk and he had been friends since forever but being in love was something new to them and although Kangin knew Leeteuk very well, but whenever they met now it was like he was meeting someone new, someone he really wanted to get to know very well. The truth was that Kangin probably had neglected Jongwoon quite a bit.
“I didn’t mean to.” Kangin whispered. “I honestly didn’t mean to neglect him. He must have felt so abandoned. I” He looked helplessly at Daehyun.
Daehyun squeezed his shoulder before pulling him into a brief hug.
“Child, you are doing a fantastic job with your brother, and you have found love.” The old man smiled serenely at him. “You have no idea how glad I was when you told me that you thought you had found your significant other, it lifted a huge burden from my old heart. Now you know what’s bothering Jongwoon, you shouldn’t have too much trouble making things right between the two of you. Off you go.”
The old man made some shooing gestures with his hands. “Go talk with him.”
“You think he’ll listen to me? He’ll probably just kick me again.”
“You have my full confidence.”
Kangin gave him a cynical smile.
“Yes, that will be a great comfort to all of my bruises.”
“You are a sturdy fellow, I’m sure you will survive your bruises. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go overlook dinner.”
With those words Daehyun started making his way towards the kitchen, leaving an amused Kangin behind him.
“Overlook dinner my ass, he just wants to go there and harass the chef into giving him some tasty pastries.”
Kangin took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He had a brother to reassure.
Kangin sat behind the big fancy writing desk, which he didn’t really approve of but since it had belonged to his grandfather he didn’t have the heart to get rid of it, in his office. His office lay on the top floor of the Kim Enterprice building and the view from the panorama windows was breath taking. Although when Kangin had been a child he had had nightmares of the windows breaking and him falling out of them. He remembered how his mother had held him, the soft soothing noises she had made and how she had smelled when she had comforted him after his nightmare. His dad hadn’t been allowed to take Kangin with him to work for a long time after that.
Kangin shook his head and was just about to start working again when the door opened and Yesung walked in. Kangin wondered why the teenager promptly wanted to dress in black. He was no fashionista in anyway but even he could tell that all the black made him look sickly pale.
The teenager came up to him and pushed a little bit on Kangin’s thigh to show him what he wanted and Kangin obliged by slightly pushing his chair back. Kangin was a bit surprised that the fourteen year old sat down on his lap and put his head onto Kangin’s shoulder. Kangin’s brow wrinkled with worry and he quickly raised his hand to Yeshung’s forehead.
“Is your fever back? I told you it was too early for you to go back to school.” Kangin frowned, the skin under his hand felt cool to his touch and he wondered why his brother suddenly decided to be all cuddly, in his very public office of all places!
“I’m fine.”
The door opened and Kibum entered without knocking as was his usual habit.
“Aha! There you are!”
Kangin rolled his eyes, because it was so very strange finding him in his office on a workday.
“Yes Kibum, is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes, you could actually drink this horrible cup of something that is supposed to be coffee but in my opinion is so disgustingly sweet that I wonder if you actually have any taste buds.”
Yesung opened his eyes and looked over at the smiling man who put down a mug on the desk.
“I’m sorry Yesungie-ah, I didn’t know that you’d be here or I’d have bought you something too.”
Yesung smiled and took the mug that had been put in front of him.
“It’s ok, I’ll just take this one.”
“Hey! Kibum gave me that!”
Yesung ignored his outraged brother and took a sip from the coffee mug and then he looked at his brother, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“White chocolate flavored latte hyung?”
Kangin glared and grabbed the mug from his giggling brother and took a deep swig from it and practically hummed with contentment.
“I like it brat, and be happy that it puts me in a good mood or else you’d be over my lap, face down.”
“Sure I would.” Yesung murmured, put his head back on Kangin’s shoulder and closed his eyes again.
“And you!” Kangin nodded towards Kibum. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Kibum serenely pressed a couple of buttons on his phone before hitting the sent button and putting it away.
“Nothing, just sending Leeteuk a pic of how cute the two of you are together. He’ll probably put it up as his new wallpaper.” Kibum winked at him. “Well I just came by to give you the cup of coffee. Oh and don’t forget to go through the report I gave you this morning, it’s important that you know all the details when we present it to the board.”
Kangin groaned, Kibum looked a bit too happy in his opinion when he left Kangin’s office. Some days he thought Kibum lived to give him work.
Leeteuk stretched his arms above his head, took a quick look at his clock and decided that it was time for him to stretch his legs for a bit. He glanced down at his phone and smiled fondly at the picture that Kibum had sent him earlier. Leeteuk decided it was time to check in with Kangin and see how much longer he wanted to stay or if they could make their way home soon.
Leeteuk entered Kangin’s office and was surprised to see that Yesung was still there, he’d have thought that the teenager would have gone home by now but the brat, as Kangin fondly called his little brother, was fast asleep upon his brother’s lap. Kangin looked up and gave Leeteuk a welcoming, if a bit worried smile.
“I think he’s exhausted. Do you think it was too early letting him go back to school today? Maybe we should make him stay home tomorrow?”
Leeteuk put a comforting hand on his lover’s shoulder and with the other he put on Yesung’s forehead. Yesung had given them both a fright when his simple cold had developed into a serious case of pneumonia. Without thinking about it Leeteuk gently pushed a couple of stray hairs away from Yesung’s eyes.
“He doesn’t seem to have a fever, and you know how stir-crazy he was being locked up at home, but maybe he did overdo it today.” Leeteuk frowned. “We could always ask Han Geng about his opinion but remember that he did say that Yesung would probably tire very easily and quickly for the next couple of weeks if not month.”
Kangin nodded.
“I know, but I’m just not used to seeing him this tired or dependent. Not that he would ever admit to the dependent part but you know what I mean.”
“I do, love, I do.” Leeteuk nodded. “What do you say about us taking him home? I’m finished for today and I think we all would benefit from a nice home cooked dinner.”
The three friends had gathered together at their favourite pub, the same pub that they had met at for over the last 15 years. In the beginning they had only been able to order soft drinks and food, but that was long ago. At this pub Kangin had received a phone call that had changed his life, here he and Leeteuk had told Kibum the news that they had gotten together, here the three of them had gotten drunk for the first time, here Kangin and Kibum had drunkenly written and signed a contract together which never would hold up in court but which the two of them honoured and here the three of them made important decisions for the future, be it personal or business related.
“So it’s ok that we’ll do this?” Leeteuk looked worriedly at Kibum, “It feels a bit like we’re leaving you hanging here.”
Kibum shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his beer.
“We’ve planned this for a long time now, and all the necessary preparations have been done and it’s not like you’ll do this forever. Besides, the two of you really want to do this and I can’t see why you shouldn’t. Besides without you and Kangin I will finally be able to get some work done!”
Kibum grinned happily at Kangin and Leeteuk, the smile looked more like a sharks grin and wasn’t really very reassuring. Kangin gave Kibum a suspicious look.
“You’re planning on something, aren’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about hyung, but don’t be too surprised if some of the board members will send you complaints.” Kibum gave him an innocent smile. “Are there any particularly ones of the old coots that you want to keep?”
Kangin decided that he was better off not knowing, although if revolutionary things were about to happen with the board members he’d be bound to get dragged in eventually.
“You already know which ones I don’t want to lose, the rest could go burn as far as I’m concerned but Kibum, there are procedures you know. “
“Don’t you worry, it’s going to take a year or so but since you and Leeteuk are going to be busy with your shelter project for at least two years there won’t be any bigger need for you to care. You’ll just have to help me come up with some suitable substitutes.”
Leeteuk just shook his head, he just hoped Kibum wouldn’t start something that would come back and bite them in the ass later. Kangin snorted.
“You will undoubtedly have chosen the candidates when the time comes, but that’s fine. I trust you after all.”
The three friends grinned at each other and toasted with beer. Kibum popped a couple of fries into his mouth and spit them out almost immediately.
“Hyung! I’ll kill you!” He screeched reaching for his beer.
Some things never changes.