unbreakable
unbreakable
junhong insists on going back to the past.
implied bang/zelo
au+angst, pg
+
When Junhong learns that Himchan can travel in time, he knows this is it. His only last chance. Daehyun knows what he’s up to, and he is definitely not pleased with it.
“You’re being ridiculous, you know that.” It’s a harsh statement, not a gentle reminder. Daehyun watches with intense disapproval burning in his eyes. Junhong easily ignores him. “Choi Junhong.”
Junhong sighs heavily, stops walking around the lab and turns to Daehyun. “I know,” he simply replies. Himchan stays quiet sitting on his stool, fingers impatiently tapping on the table and eyes averting from Daehyun back to Junhong and then back to Daehyun again. He looks restless, and bored, as he takes a glance at his watch.
“Are we doing this or not?” Himchan asks. “I have other things to do.” Daehyun glares at him, and that effectively shuts him down again.
“It’s not worth it,” Daehyun presses his lips into a thin line. “Himchan has never brought someone else to travel in time with him before. What if something goes wrong? What if you get stuck over there?” he tries to reason. Junhong shrugs.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s not like I have anything worth living for now. Might as well go back and die there.”
“Choi Junhong.” Daehyun’s voice is suddenly low and dangerous, and it sends a small shiver running down his spine. Junhong pretends it doesn’t affect him. “Whatever it is you’re trying to do, you can’t change the past, and you will not.”
Junhong gives an empty stare. “I just want to see him again.” Daehyun’s eyes soften a little at that. He sighs in resignation.
“This is stupid,” he says. “Don’t do anything funny,” he continues. “You know what to do. Don’t spend too much time there, else they will track you down.”
Junhong offers a small smile. “I promise.”
Himchan grabs Junhong’s outstretched hand and they bothdisappear from the present.
+
“Wow, everything looks the same,” Himchan says. “Who are we meeting again?” Himchan is new to the pack, and he doesn’t know much about what had happened before he joins them. It doesn’t seem like he was interested anyway, so no one bothered to tell him. Junhong tsks loudly, walking down the hallway.
“Me,” Junhong corrects him. “Not we. I will meet him alone, by myself,” he clears it up. Himchan furrows his eyebrows.
“Then what am I supposed to do? I don’t know anyone around here. Well, actually I know them, but they don’t know me,” he says. Himchan, Junhong thinks, sometimes talks a bit too much once he starts opening his mouth. It’s times like this where Junhong suddenly appreciates the quiet and uncaring of other people’s business side of Himchan. Why must he be such a nuisance now when Junhong has other things playing around and worrying his mind?
“Just stay quiet,” Junhong stops abruptly and Himchan bumps onto his back. “Wait me at the rooftop. I’ll be there soon enough before they notice us.”
Himchan clicks his tongue, but starts heading towards the stairs to the rooftop area anyway. “You have 20 more minutes,” he reminds Junhong.
“I can’t believe I wasted 10 precious minutes with you,” Junhong shakes his head in disbelief. “Be careful of young Youngjae. He might beat the crap out of you thinking you’re an intruder. And please avoid getting your memories erased by Daehyun. We need to get back to the present.”
“I know, I know,” Himchan waves his hand dismissively and disappears around the corner. Junhong continues walking towards the garage again, his heart starting to beat faster as he gets nearer and nearer to his destination.
Junhong goes out of the building and hides himself behind a tree, craning his neck to see the situation in the garage. Junhong sees his younger self comes into view, and frowns. Yongguk comes into view soon after and Junhong inhales a sharp breath, automatically hiding himself back behind the tree. They both were a little younger back then, Junhong was a little shorter with his hair short and jet black and he dressed exactly like Yongguk did. Back then he followed everything Yongguk does because he looked up to Yongguk the most in their pack. He was his friend, his brother, his family, his everything. Maybe a little more than that.
Junhong feels the back of his eyes prick, seeing that face again after so long makes him feel so nostalgic. He can’t hear what they were fighting about but the memory of that day is still clear in his mind. He remembers every single thing he said to Yongguk that night. Junhong sees his younger self throwing his arms in the air in frustration and then storming out of the garage without bothering to turn back even when Yongguk was calling his name out loud. Junhong watches until his younger self is gone from the scene and carefully walks towards the garage.
“Hyung…” he timidly calls out, threading his fingers together nervously. Yongguk turns around when he hears Junhong’s voice.
“Junhong, good God, you came---” Yongguk’s stops midway into his sentence and widens his eyes when he sees Junhong. “Junhong?”
Junhong gives a nervous smile, partly because he hasn’t seen or talked to Yongguk for so long, and this whole experience is just too weird and nerve wrecking, but mostly because he can’t keep his mind from racing and he knows Yongguk can listen to his thoughts. He needs to be careful.
“Hi hyung,” he says.
“Junhong, you look----- different,” Yongguk eyes Junhong from head to toe. “Oh. Oh,” he says when he finally grasps what’s going on. “You came from the future?” he asks to make sure. Junhong nods his head slowly. “Did we really find ourselves a time traveler?” Yongguk perks up. Junhong looks at the clock on the wall and realizes he doesn’t have that much time left Yongguk’s grin turns into a frown. “What’s wrong? Do you have to go soon?”
“Hyung….” Junhong calls out, his voice on the verge of breaking. He’s not ready to leave yet. I’m sorry Dae. Junhong approaches Yongguk, grabs his hand and freezes the time. Yongguk moves his eyes around, noticing the sudden silence and stillness of the moment, before averting his eyes at Junhong.
“You’re doing so much better now,” Yongguk says, impressed.
“I must do this. I must try,” Junhong mutters. Yongguk tilts his head in askance. I need to try to stop this. To stop you from using too much of your power and getting tracked down, and killed by those fuckers. Yongguk rises his eyebrows.
“Killed…? I died?” Yongguk asks. Junhong locks his gaze on their sneakers and nods his head.
“But we can change that, right?” Junhong looks back up at Yongguk with innocent eyes. “I can stop you, I can stop you from getting tracked and killed.” Yongguk looks kinda lost for words, for everything. “Hyung,” Junhong calls out for his attention.
“But we can’t change the past,” Yongguk tells him. “It’s going to alter the future.”
“I don’t care, if it means you will be there.” Junhong is suddenly desperate. Hopeful. Selfish. Yongguk looks at him with an unreadable gaze.
“No,” Yongguk slips his hand off Junhong’s. Junhong can feel the tears swelling his eyes now.
“Why? Hyung, why? Don’t you want to live? Don’t you want to be with me?”
Yongguk smiles. It’s blinding and loving and Junhong wishes he can stay in this moment forever. He reaches his hands to Junhong’s cheeks and wipes the tears he doesn’t even know are there.
“I know why you came back. It’s not that you’re here to stop them. And honestly, you don’t have to feel oblige to. I know you’re here for another reason.”
Junhong sobs. Yongguk can read people’s mind and be so understanding of them. He loves and hates that part of him. “I didn’t mean it when I told you I hated you, and then stormed out on you like that,” Junhong whimpers.
“Tch,” Yongguk gives out a teasing grin. “You’re just a kid. I don’t take anything you say to heart,” he says, lightly punching on Junhong’s shoulder. “Maybe I should have listened to you and spend more time with you and the others instead of staying all night planning moves to get into the enemy’s base.”
“Hyung…..”
“I love you too, kiddo,” Yongguk pulls him into a hug. “Maybe I didn’t say proper goodbye the other time, but now I can do so.”
“Hyung…” Junhong buries his face onto Yongguk’s shoulder.
“You’ll be okay,” he pats Junhong’s back.
“Junhong, what the fuck?!” they are interrupted by Himchan entering the garage in a huff. His cheek is swelling and there’s blood trickling down from his nose.
“Himchan, how did you?” Junhong asks dumbly. “But I stopped the time….?”
“You dickhead, did you forget you can’t control your power when you’re emotionally affected by something?” Himchan glares at him and Yongguk. “Fuck, Youngjae hit me hard,” he spits on the ground.
“You guys have to go,” Yongguk lightly pushes Junhong to Himchan.
“But, hyung,” Junhong sniffs and looks at Yongguk.
“Go, go, go,” Yongguk urgently waves his hand at them. “They’re coming.”
Junhong widens his eyes. “Hyung. No.”
“Shit, shit, shit,” Himchan curses at the same time. “We’ve stayed too long!”
“….What?”
“Just go!”
“Hyung!”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Thank you for coming to see me.”
Yongguk’s smile and the sound of marching steps are the last thing Junhong sees and hears before Himchan grabs his hand and brings him back to the present.
+
“Fuck!” Junhong throws everything that is in his sight, tears running down his cheeks and he is a sobbing mess. Daehyun and Himchan stay at the side and watch him silently. Youngjae and Jongup come into the lab when they hear the sounds of shattering glasses and things.
“What the hell is going on in here??” Youngjae shouts amidst the chaos, demanding for explanation.
“Junhong, what’s wrong?” the usual, cheery smile on Jongup’s face is gone and is replaced with a worried frown. Junhong stops, breathing heavily as he wipes the tears with the sleeve of his hoodie.
“You want to know what’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” Junhong’s lips quiver. “Know how we all think they got Yongguk hyung because he uses too much of his power to read people’s thoughts and see into the future to strategize things? We’ll guess what? It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t his fault at all! It was me! ME!!!” Junhong flips a table and kicks the stools. “Yongguk hyung died because of me! I insisted to go back to the past, broke my promise to Dae not to stay long, and fucking stayed until they located us but the one who got killed was Yongguk hyung because I wasn’t there to accept my punishment even though it was my fault and, and,” Junhong cries and laughs hysterically. “Fuck I am the reason Yongguk hyung died!!” he continues to shout and screams incoherently. Daehyun stares and then signals Youngjae to hold Junhong still. Youngjae does so without any complaints, because he is too shocked and speechless.
“What the fuck?! Let me go Youngjae!” Junhong trashes around, but it’s nothing against Youngjae’s incredible strength. Daehyun approaches Junhong and presses his palms onto Junhong’s temples and covers his eyes.
“Dae, what are you doing?” Jongup asks in horror. Youngjae has his eyes widen as well and Himchan only watches in shock.
“What the fuck Dae!!” Junhong tries to break free from Daehyun’s hold.
“This is for the best,” Daehyun tells them, and nods with determination.
“Oh no. Oh, fuck no Jung Daehyun. Don’t you dare! Don’t you fucking dare!!!!” Junhong screams. Before he can freezes the time (moreover it’s hard to use his power when he’s in an emotional wreck like this), Daehyun quickly presses his thumbs on Junhong’s head.
Junhong sees flickers and flickers of memories going through his head at once; the time when he first met Yongguk, the time when he Yongguk saved him and brought him into the pack, the time when Yongguk introduced him to ghetto music and taught him how to rap, the time when they cooked together and failed badly, the time when Yongguk slipped into his bed and held him close, Yongguk’s smile, Yongguk’s quiet laughter, Yongguk’s husky voice, Yongguk this, Yongguk that.
Junhong sees everything Yongguk before everything stops and dissolves into a black abyss.