[bap] drabbles; daehyun/jongup
a series of drabbles written for the lightning drabble round at thebrowniebunch. original post can be found here. i was working off of the prompts zoo, poker, periwinkle, charm, space.
up the ante; daehyun/jongup; 998 words; pg; space exploration!au
prompts: space + poker
Daehyun shoves a pile of plastic chips towards the center of the table, and then watches in a state of hazy detachment only achievable through the consumption of many alcoholic beverages as the chips shudder and start to float.
“Dammit,” Youngjae slurs off to Daehyun’s right. “The gravity simulator must be acting up again.”
Daehyun just nods, his eyes never leaving the chips hovering a few inches above the tabletop. If he thinks about it, Daehyun supposes that he feels lighter as well, but that could also just be a side effect of the alcohol. Youngjae stands up and drops his cards face down onto the crate he’d been sitting on before staggering somewhat unsteadily towards the door.
“Do you want me to come take a look too?” Jongup asks. He’s sitting across from Daehyun, looking completely unruffled despite having had just as much, if not more, to drink than Daehyun has. Youngjae waves him off before stumbling out of the doorway. A few seconds later there’s a crash that has Yongguk throwing down his cards and running out the door with a cry of, “my ship.”
Ignoring the chaos, Jongup smiles at Daehyun and asks, “Is that all you’re gonna bet?” Daehyun squints at the chips. He’d signed up for the space exploration mission because he’d thought it would be interesting. I can be a real space cowboy, he’d thought. Just like the characters in all those old comic books. I can go on an adventure. He hadn’t realized that it would also mean straight weeks of boredom while the ship rumbles through space on autopilot. It had finally gotten so bad that he had suggested breaking into their alcohol stash during one of their bi-weekly poker game. And, well, here he was.
Daehyun decides to add another stack of chips to his bet, and places them in the center with great concentration. They also float slightly above the table. He lets out a satisfied “ha!” and looks up smugly towards Jongup. Jongup, as always, is smiling placidly back at him. The entire crew had quickly found out that Jongup’s smile was in fact the perfect poker bluff, and was possibly one of the reasons why he was the champion three weeks running.
While Jongup considers his move Daehyun glances over towards Himchan and Junhong. Junhong is snoozing with his head in Himchan’s lap, having passed out after the second round of drinks. Himchan had copped out of the poker game entirely, citing the need for at least one person to be sober, and is watching from across the room. He meets Daehyun’s gaze and quirks an eyebrow.
Somewhere behind the alcohol Daehyun actually has the decency to feel embarrassed. Someone (probably Daehyun himself) had suggested that they switch to playing strip poker. To be fair, Daehyun had been at least six shots deep at the time. But as a result, Daehyun is now sitting with a pile of his clothes at his feet under the table, wearing only his boxers. He’s suddenly quite glad that only the gravity simulator is acting up, and that the temperature control still seems to be fine.
Jongup places his chips and uses his foot to nudge Daehyun’s ankle. Jongup is still completely clothed, and Daehyun glares at him resentfully. “Okay, let’s reveal now,” Jongup says with another smile.
“But what about Yongguk and Youngjae?” Daehyun asks, shooting a look at the abandoned cards. Jongup shrugs.
“They’ll probably be gone for a while. Let’s just finish up without them.”
Jongup puts his cards down face up on the table, so Daehyun follows suit. Daehyun’s vision swims a bit, but he manages to read the cards with some difficulty. Jongup’s smile stretches into a grin. Himchan cackles.
Daehyun lost.
“No!” Daehyun wails in horror. “All I have left are my boxers! I’m not taking those off, you can’t make me!”
Himchan laughs so hard that he disturbs Junhong, who mumbles incoherently and rubs at his eyes. Himchan immediately quiets, running a hand through Junhong’s hair. “We’ve already seen you naked before, what’s the big deal?” Himchan asks. Despite his apparent calm, his eyes are twinkling in a way that only spells trouble for Daehyun. “But if you’re really that upset, then you can opt for another punishment I suppose.”
“Sure,” Daehyun says. Anything seems better than having to strip completely naked.
“In that case,” a slow smile spreads across Himchan’s face and Daehyun realizes he’s made a grave mistake, “in exchange for keeping your boxers you have to kiss Jongup.”
Daehyun gapes at Himchan, his mouth flopping open and shut in a fair imitation of the holograms of fish he had seen in school. He whips his head around to look at Jongup. Jongup also seems surprised, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. They lock gazes, neither quite daring to move.
“Come on. Are you too chicken?” Himchan taunts, finally spurring Daehyun into action.
“No, I’ll do it!” he shouts, standing up. “I’m not, I’m not chicken, dammit. I’m a brave explorer!” He stomps around the table to Jongup, mustering all of his drunken dignity. He ignores Himchan’s gleeful laughter and squares his shoulders. Jongup stares at him with round eyes. “I’m sorry, Jonguppie,” Daehyun says. Then he leans forward and plants a kiss right on Jongup’s lips.
Daehyun isn’t a good kisser, even at the best of times. He’s had very little practice, having gone straight from his all boys academy to an intensive training program. Now, in his inebriated state, his lack of experience is even more obvious. After a second Jongup pushes him away with a laugh, using the back of one hand to wipe the excess spit off his face.
“Stop, stop,” Jongup giggles, and Daehyun pulls back. “You proved yourself, you can keep your boxers!”
“Oh,” Daehyun says. He blinks at Jongup; the room is spinning again. “Okay.” And then he passes out.
The two remaining weeks until they reach their destination really can’t pass quickly enough.
everyone's alright; daehyun/jongup; 995 words; pg; space exploration!au
prompts: space + zoo (vague continuation of previous drabble)
Daehyun shivers, the cold of the metal floor seeping through his clothes and into his skin. He knows that if he opens his eyes he’ll see the pattern of sunlight and shade caused by the bars of their cage stretching across his body. There’s a rustle of fabric next to him that he knows is Jongup, and from farther away he can hear Junhong mumbling softly. But louder than either of his crewmates, Daehyun can hear the ever-present hiss and slither coming from just outside the enclosure.
Now well over two years into their exploration mission, Daehyun has become a lot less idealistic. He still lives for the thrill of finding and documenting new planets, but he can feel the happy naivety he used to possess slipping further away with each log he writes. He has survived situations that the crewmembers won’t even -- can’t even -- discuss with each other, and come out on top of struggles that honestly probably should have ended his life. But this, this is by far one of the worst scenarios he could have ever imagined.
From space this planet that looked like pretty swirls of purple and green, but in fact it’s a miserably humid world covered in rain forests and oceans of indigo algae. The native inhabitants, reptilian creatures towering at twice Daehyun’s height, live in bustling cities that Daehyun’s crew tried their best to avoid. The data collection mission had been going going well, with the ship hidden well out of sight in the deep of the jungle, when Daehyun had headed out to collect plant specimens with Jongup and Junhong a week before.
But instead of mushrooms and ferns, about an hour in they found themselves face to face with a group of the local version of lumberjacks. They had tried their best to escape, but were overpowered by sheer numbers and hauled back to the city. Now they were being kept in what seemed to be a zoo. Enough people certainly had access to it, stopping by constantly to see the strange new creatures from the forest.
Something hits one of the cage bars, causing it to clang loudly. Daehyun flinches, and curls further into himself as he lets out a whimper. Jongup’s hand immediately finds the nape of Daehyun’s neck, rubbing comforting circles. Daehyun relaxes a little under his touch, but it does nothing to stop the small tremors that have been rocking his body all morning.
In the true spirit of science, their captors had been running all sorts of tests on them, drawing blood and injecting serums Daehyun can only guess at the identity of. And as if Daehyun’s already substantial fear of needles hadn’t been enough, his body had also reacted badly to whatever they had given them today. The shaking started almost immediately, along with a fierce pain behind his eyes and intense nausea. Even Jongup’s presence, usually a surefire way to calm Daehyun down in just about any situation, is doing little to comfort him.
“Hey,” Jongup says softly, his fingers continuing their rhythmic motion against Daehyun’s neck. “We’re gonna be alright. Junhong got through to the ship. They’ll figure out a way to get us out of here, you know they will.”
Daehyun doesn’t respond, afraid that if he opens his mouth what little remains in his stomach will come out. Jongup doesn’t seem to mind, though, carrying on talking quietly. “Do you remember when we were just starting out on the ship, and you were so excited about everything? We all were, but you kept talking about how you were a real space cowboy, an unstoppable explorer.”
Daehyun wants to laugh. That time seems so far away now, the days of anticipation and boredom bad enough to induce drunken games of strip poker nothing but a distant memory. He, in typical Daehyun fashion, had been so high on the idea of space exploration that he’d been unable to shut up about it. The rest of the crew had gotten so fed up with him that they started threatening to abandon him on the first planet they reached. Even that had done little to curb his enthusiasm, and looking back on it all Daehyun can think is that’d been so --
“You know, when you said that stuff everyone else would just groan or laugh,” Jongup says, interrupting Daehyun’s thoughts. Just from the tone of his voice Daehyun knows that Jongup is doing that thing he does it whenever he’s thinking something over and trying to come up with the best way to phrase his thoughts, where he smiles and tips his head to the side. “But honestly, I never once doubted it. You’re a true explorer, one of the bravest people I know. Everyone brushed you off, but you were telling the truth.”
Daehyun’s eyes fly open involuntarily, and the repercussions are instantaneous. Pain flashes through his skull and he retches, the taste of bile creeping up the back of his throat. Squeezing his eyes back shut, Daehyun rolls onto his back and puts an arm across his eyes for good measure. Jongup moves his hand so that it’s carding through Daehyun’s hair, brushing sweat-sticky bangs away from his forehead.
“Thank you,” Daehyun manages to croak out. The hand on his forehead stills, and even with his eyes closed Daehyun can perfectly picture the helpless look on Jongup’s face. They lapse into silence until there’s a quiet thud of footsteps walking across the enclosure and Junhong plops down next to Jongup.
“Youngjae’s got a plan,” Junhong whispers excitedly. “Yongguk says that he thinks they can get us out tonight.”
Daehyun can feel himself sag with relief, even as another tremor wracks through his body.
“See? I told you,” Jongup says, and even though he’s been acting strong for Daehyun, it’s obvious from his voice that he’s every bit as glad to hear the news as Daehyun is. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
the (hair) color of magic; daehyun/jongup; ~700 words; g; somewhat hp!au
prompts: periwinkle + charm
Jongup can’t help the giggle that escapes as he watches Himchan’s face change from shock to horror to outrage. Jongup knows that it’s not in his best interest to be laughing at a prefect who is probably about to give him detention for an indeterminate amount of time, but the way Himchan’s jaw had dropped when he saw Daehyun was just so funny.
“Jung Daehyun,” Himchan finally manages to choke out. “What on earth did you do?”
Daehyun at least has the decency to look sheepish. He shuffles his feet and puts on his most winning smile, the smile that can usually get him out of just about anything. They all know that it no longer has any effect on Himchan, but Jongup figures that Daehyun just automatically does it out of habit at this point.
“Well,” Daehyun starts, “Jonguppie was having trouble with his charms homework. He didn’t understand the mechanics of it. So I decided to make it fun and explain while also demonstrating by making our own new charm.”
“So you ended up charming your hair periwinkle.”
“Yes?” It comes out more as a question than a statement, and Daehyun rushes on before Himchan has a chance to interrupt. “But I had to do it for Jongup’s sake. It needed to be done! For science!”
“For sci--? What are you even talking about?” Himchan asks, thrown off track. He gives Daehyun a perplexed look that Daehyun returns with a blank stare.
“I have no idea, honestly,” Daehyun says with a shrug. “But it’s something that Jongup says a lot.”
Jongup can’t help it. He bursts into full out laughter, doubling over and clutching at his stomach. Himchan and Daehyun both turn to stare at him in confusion, and it just makes Jongup laugh harder. Even though Jongup loves this school, loves learning about magic, sometimes it’s hard being one of the few members of his group of friends with a fundamental knowledge of the side of the world that doesn’t know magic even exists. The jokes and pop culture references that come naturally to him fall flat on his friends’ ears. So when someone, usually Daehyun, picks up on Jongup’s mannerisms, it never fails to both please and amuse him.
“Don’t think that because I’m scolding Daehyun right now you aren’t also in serious trouble, Moon Jongup,” Himchan threatens, throwing Jongup what is probably supposed to be a stern look. Jongup takes a few deep breaths and muffles his laughter with a hand. “Sorry, hyung,” he mumbles from behind his knuckles.
“I’m going to have to talk to Yongguk about this before I decide on your final punishment,” Himchan continues, turning back to Daehyun. “Really, what were you thinking?”
“I dunno, I think it’s kind of cool,” Jongup cuts in. He reaches up a hand to poke Daehyun’s hair, making Daehyun duck and swat at him. “It’s like that Violet girl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But with only the hair.”
“Please do try to make sense, Jonguppie,” Himchan pleads with another bewildered look. “Anyway, for now you both have one week of detention for magic experimentation without appropriate supervision. Report to Professor Jeon after classes finish on Monday.”
Jongup and Daehyun both murmur confirmations and Himchan sweeps out of the room. Once he leaves, Daehyun and Jongup are the only ones in the dorm common room. They had been trying to sneak back while everyone else was at dinner, so that they could hide in Daehyun’s room until the charm wore off. Unfortunately, they had walked straight into Himchan, who had come back to grab something before getting dinner.
The room is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. With a sigh Daehyun flops down onto one of the couches and runs a hand through his now light purple-blue hair. Jongup settles down next to him. He tries to touch Daehyun’s hair again, and this time Daehyun lets him. Jongup grins.
“Hey, hyung,” Jongup says and Daehyun hums in response. “Wanna have a movie night tonight?” Daehyun, formerly bummed out over the detention, immediately brightens up. He straightens and shifts his weight so that he can look Jongup, positively beaming.
“A movie night? Using your laptop thingy?” Daehyun is more or less bouncing in place now.
“Yep,” Jongup replies, trying to remember if he has Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saved to his hard drive. “I’ll even let you play around on the laptop afterwards.”
“Awesome,” Daehyun says. Jongup laughs, grabbing Daehyun’s hand and standing up.
“Come on, since we got busted already let’s go get some dinner.”
he's a pirate; daehyun/jongup; ~1k words; pg; pirate!au
prompt: charm
Jongup knows this is a bad idea. It’s a very bad idea that could possibly lose him his job. But somehow, despite knowing this, he finds himself opening the door wider and letting the man standing outside slip through.
“Thank you,” the man says, slightly out of breath. “I really appreciate it.” He gives this smile, the same charming smile that had convinced Jongup to let him into the mansion in the first place, and Jongup nods. As he closes the door, Jongup tries to figure how much time he has until Lady Sunhwa and her maids return from their shopping trip. He thinks that he should have enough time to at least hide this stranger, if he hasn’t been able to send him on his way before his the lady comes home.
When Jongup turns back around, the man is standing in the middle of the entryway staring around at the sleek mahogany woodwork and ornate decorations. There’s a poorly concealed glint of greed in his eyes that Jongup recognizes well from his own childhood on the edge of the slums. Uncertainty about his decision to let this stranger inside is weighing heavy in Jongup’s stomach, but Jongup also knows that he probably had the same look the first time he was allowed inside, so he decides to allow the benefit of the doubt. Besides, the man is dressed well enough. Nothing as fancy as anyone living in this area, but his clothes are clean and well cut, if also obviously well worn, and he has sturdy leather boots. Which are currently shedding mud all over the floor. Jongup sighs.
“You said that you were trying to get away from someone?” Jongup prompts gently as he leads the stranger towards the kitchen, careful to give a wide berth to any rugs that could be stained. The cook had gone out shopping with the lady, and Jongup is glad that his boss is only a minor lord without enough wealth to warrant a full kitchen staff.
“Yes,” the man says with a nod. His eyes light up as the enter the kitchen. “Some ruffians tried to take my money, so I ran away.” Without asking, he walks over to a bowl of rolls the cook had prepared earlier and takes one. Jongup prays that the cook won’t notice, or it will be his hide that receives a thrashing.
Jongup hums and watches as the stranger practically inhales the roll and moves to grab a second one. His mouth full of bread, the man suddenly says, “My name is Daehyun.” It’s out of the blue, and honestly Jongup is confused because it’s not like he needs to know his name. He’s just providing temporary shelter. But Daehyun is swallowing and giving that smile again and without even realizing it Jongup finds that he’s smiling in return.
“I’m Jongup,” he replies. “How long do you think you’ll need to stay here? The lady will be home soon and if she or any of the other staff find you here it’ll be trouble.”
Daehyun hums. “This is Lady Sunhwa’s house, is it not?” he asks and Jongup nods. “Then no need to worry. She won’t be mad at you, although she’ll probably box me about the ears.”
Jongup opens his mouth, perhaps to ask how this Daehyun is on such close terms with the lady, or to make some sort of protest about his lady’s education and status and how she would never do something such as boxing someone’s ears, but just then there’s a knock on the door. Daehyun’s eyes go wide, and it’s comical when combined with the way his cheeks are stuffed with bread. “Don’t answer it!” he begs, spraying bread crumbs.
“I’m the butler, answering it is my job,” Jongup answers stiffly. He ignores the further protests and walks back to the front entrance. He opens the door, bowing and giving the person standing outside a bland smile. “Hello, how may I help you?”
“He’s here, isn’t he?” the visitor asks without preamble. “That bastard Jung Daehyun is hiding here.” Taken aback, Jongup glances up. The man facing him is finely dressed, clothes immaculate, every inch a nobleman. His hair is carefully styled, and he seems like he would usually have a friendly demeanor. At the moment, though, he looks positively thunderous. Jongup recognizes him -- he used to come over quite frequently right after Jongup was hired on. His name is Yoo Youngjae, and he is a close friend of Sunhwa’s. Or was, before he joined a pirate crew and his face was plastered all over wanted posters.
“Um,” Jongup starts to say, but Youngjae is already brushing past him and into the mansion. Jongup frowns and follows helplessly as Youngjae beelines to the kitchen. Daehyun is trying to slip out the back door, only to stop dead when Youngjae storms in. “You!” Youngjae says, pointing at Daehyun. “Jung Daehyun you son of a bitch, I told you that we were only in port to pick up supplies. Why did you have to go and start a fight?”
“It was just some gambling!” Daehyun protests. “I won it fairly!”
“Winning a fixed game does not count as being fair,” Youngjae replies coldly. “Now the entire port knows we are here and the navy is on high alert. Himchan is going to have your head.”
Daehyun wails and says something back, but Jongup isn’t listening anymore. His head is spinning, contemplating what he’d possibly done to deserve such poor luck. Even if he wasn’t going to be fired for letting a man in for shelter, he most certainly was going to lose his job now. Because he is currently standing in the kitchen with not just one, but two members of one of the most notorious pirate crews in the entire Caribbean. With a sinking feeling, Jongup realizes that he’s in so, so far over his head.
up the ante; daehyun/jongup; 998 words; pg; space exploration!au
prompts: space + poker
Daehyun shoves a pile of plastic chips towards the center of the table, and then watches in a state of hazy detachment only achievable through the consumption of many alcoholic beverages as the chips shudder and start to float.
“Dammit,” Youngjae slurs off to Daehyun’s right. “The gravity simulator must be acting up again.”
Daehyun just nods, his eyes never leaving the chips hovering a few inches above the tabletop. If he thinks about it, Daehyun supposes that he feels lighter as well, but that could also just be a side effect of the alcohol. Youngjae stands up and drops his cards face down onto the crate he’d been sitting on before staggering somewhat unsteadily towards the door.
“Do you want me to come take a look too?” Jongup asks. He’s sitting across from Daehyun, looking completely unruffled despite having had just as much, if not more, to drink than Daehyun has. Youngjae waves him off before stumbling out of the doorway. A few seconds later there’s a crash that has Yongguk throwing down his cards and running out the door with a cry of, “my ship.”
Ignoring the chaos, Jongup smiles at Daehyun and asks, “Is that all you’re gonna bet?” Daehyun squints at the chips. He’d signed up for the space exploration mission because he’d thought it would be interesting. I can be a real space cowboy, he’d thought. Just like the characters in all those old comic books. I can go on an adventure. He hadn’t realized that it would also mean straight weeks of boredom while the ship rumbles through space on autopilot. It had finally gotten so bad that he had suggested breaking into their alcohol stash during one of their bi-weekly poker game. And, well, here he was.
Daehyun decides to add another stack of chips to his bet, and places them in the center with great concentration. They also float slightly above the table. He lets out a satisfied “ha!” and looks up smugly towards Jongup. Jongup, as always, is smiling placidly back at him. The entire crew had quickly found out that Jongup’s smile was in fact the perfect poker bluff, and was possibly one of the reasons why he was the champion three weeks running.
While Jongup considers his move Daehyun glances over towards Himchan and Junhong. Junhong is snoozing with his head in Himchan’s lap, having passed out after the second round of drinks. Himchan had copped out of the poker game entirely, citing the need for at least one person to be sober, and is watching from across the room. He meets Daehyun’s gaze and quirks an eyebrow.
Somewhere behind the alcohol Daehyun actually has the decency to feel embarrassed. Someone (probably Daehyun himself) had suggested that they switch to playing strip poker. To be fair, Daehyun had been at least six shots deep at the time. But as a result, Daehyun is now sitting with a pile of his clothes at his feet under the table, wearing only his boxers. He’s suddenly quite glad that only the gravity simulator is acting up, and that the temperature control still seems to be fine.
Jongup places his chips and uses his foot to nudge Daehyun’s ankle. Jongup is still completely clothed, and Daehyun glares at him resentfully. “Okay, let’s reveal now,” Jongup says with another smile.
“But what about Yongguk and Youngjae?” Daehyun asks, shooting a look at the abandoned cards. Jongup shrugs.
“They’ll probably be gone for a while. Let’s just finish up without them.”
Jongup puts his cards down face up on the table, so Daehyun follows suit. Daehyun’s vision swims a bit, but he manages to read the cards with some difficulty. Jongup’s smile stretches into a grin. Himchan cackles.
Daehyun lost.
“No!” Daehyun wails in horror. “All I have left are my boxers! I’m not taking those off, you can’t make me!”
Himchan laughs so hard that he disturbs Junhong, who mumbles incoherently and rubs at his eyes. Himchan immediately quiets, running a hand through Junhong’s hair. “We’ve already seen you naked before, what’s the big deal?” Himchan asks. Despite his apparent calm, his eyes are twinkling in a way that only spells trouble for Daehyun. “But if you’re really that upset, then you can opt for another punishment I suppose.”
“Sure,” Daehyun says. Anything seems better than having to strip completely naked.
“In that case,” a slow smile spreads across Himchan’s face and Daehyun realizes he’s made a grave mistake, “in exchange for keeping your boxers you have to kiss Jongup.”
Daehyun gapes at Himchan, his mouth flopping open and shut in a fair imitation of the holograms of fish he had seen in school. He whips his head around to look at Jongup. Jongup also seems surprised, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. They lock gazes, neither quite daring to move.
“Come on. Are you too chicken?” Himchan taunts, finally spurring Daehyun into action.
“No, I’ll do it!” he shouts, standing up. “I’m not, I’m not chicken, dammit. I’m a brave explorer!” He stomps around the table to Jongup, mustering all of his drunken dignity. He ignores Himchan’s gleeful laughter and squares his shoulders. Jongup stares at him with round eyes. “I’m sorry, Jonguppie,” Daehyun says. Then he leans forward and plants a kiss right on Jongup’s lips.
Daehyun isn’t a good kisser, even at the best of times. He’s had very little practice, having gone straight from his all boys academy to an intensive training program. Now, in his inebriated state, his lack of experience is even more obvious. After a second Jongup pushes him away with a laugh, using the back of one hand to wipe the excess spit off his face.
“Stop, stop,” Jongup giggles, and Daehyun pulls back. “You proved yourself, you can keep your boxers!”
“Oh,” Daehyun says. He blinks at Jongup; the room is spinning again. “Okay.” And then he passes out.
The two remaining weeks until they reach their destination really can’t pass quickly enough.
everyone's alright; daehyun/jongup; 995 words; pg; space exploration!au
prompts: space + zoo (vague continuation of previous drabble)
Daehyun shivers, the cold of the metal floor seeping through his clothes and into his skin. He knows that if he opens his eyes he’ll see the pattern of sunlight and shade caused by the bars of their cage stretching across his body. There’s a rustle of fabric next to him that he knows is Jongup, and from farther away he can hear Junhong mumbling softly. But louder than either of his crewmates, Daehyun can hear the ever-present hiss and slither coming from just outside the enclosure.
Now well over two years into their exploration mission, Daehyun has become a lot less idealistic. He still lives for the thrill of finding and documenting new planets, but he can feel the happy naivety he used to possess slipping further away with each log he writes. He has survived situations that the crewmembers won’t even -- can’t even -- discuss with each other, and come out on top of struggles that honestly probably should have ended his life. But this, this is by far one of the worst scenarios he could have ever imagined.
From space this planet that looked like pretty swirls of purple and green, but in fact it’s a miserably humid world covered in rain forests and oceans of indigo algae. The native inhabitants, reptilian creatures towering at twice Daehyun’s height, live in bustling cities that Daehyun’s crew tried their best to avoid. The data collection mission had been going going well, with the ship hidden well out of sight in the deep of the jungle, when Daehyun had headed out to collect plant specimens with Jongup and Junhong a week before.
But instead of mushrooms and ferns, about an hour in they found themselves face to face with a group of the local version of lumberjacks. They had tried their best to escape, but were overpowered by sheer numbers and hauled back to the city. Now they were being kept in what seemed to be a zoo. Enough people certainly had access to it, stopping by constantly to see the strange new creatures from the forest.
Something hits one of the cage bars, causing it to clang loudly. Daehyun flinches, and curls further into himself as he lets out a whimper. Jongup’s hand immediately finds the nape of Daehyun’s neck, rubbing comforting circles. Daehyun relaxes a little under his touch, but it does nothing to stop the small tremors that have been rocking his body all morning.
In the true spirit of science, their captors had been running all sorts of tests on them, drawing blood and injecting serums Daehyun can only guess at the identity of. And as if Daehyun’s already substantial fear of needles hadn’t been enough, his body had also reacted badly to whatever they had given them today. The shaking started almost immediately, along with a fierce pain behind his eyes and intense nausea. Even Jongup’s presence, usually a surefire way to calm Daehyun down in just about any situation, is doing little to comfort him.
“Hey,” Jongup says softly, his fingers continuing their rhythmic motion against Daehyun’s neck. “We’re gonna be alright. Junhong got through to the ship. They’ll figure out a way to get us out of here, you know they will.”
Daehyun doesn’t respond, afraid that if he opens his mouth what little remains in his stomach will come out. Jongup doesn’t seem to mind, though, carrying on talking quietly. “Do you remember when we were just starting out on the ship, and you were so excited about everything? We all were, but you kept talking about how you were a real space cowboy, an unstoppable explorer.”
Daehyun wants to laugh. That time seems so far away now, the days of anticipation and boredom bad enough to induce drunken games of strip poker nothing but a distant memory. He, in typical Daehyun fashion, had been so high on the idea of space exploration that he’d been unable to shut up about it. The rest of the crew had gotten so fed up with him that they started threatening to abandon him on the first planet they reached. Even that had done little to curb his enthusiasm, and looking back on it all Daehyun can think is that’d been so --
“You know, when you said that stuff everyone else would just groan or laugh,” Jongup says, interrupting Daehyun’s thoughts. Just from the tone of his voice Daehyun knows that Jongup is doing that thing he does it whenever he’s thinking something over and trying to come up with the best way to phrase his thoughts, where he smiles and tips his head to the side. “But honestly, I never once doubted it. You’re a true explorer, one of the bravest people I know. Everyone brushed you off, but you were telling the truth.”
Daehyun’s eyes fly open involuntarily, and the repercussions are instantaneous. Pain flashes through his skull and he retches, the taste of bile creeping up the back of his throat. Squeezing his eyes back shut, Daehyun rolls onto his back and puts an arm across his eyes for good measure. Jongup moves his hand so that it’s carding through Daehyun’s hair, brushing sweat-sticky bangs away from his forehead.
“Thank you,” Daehyun manages to croak out. The hand on his forehead stills, and even with his eyes closed Daehyun can perfectly picture the helpless look on Jongup’s face. They lapse into silence until there’s a quiet thud of footsteps walking across the enclosure and Junhong plops down next to Jongup.
“Youngjae’s got a plan,” Junhong whispers excitedly. “Yongguk says that he thinks they can get us out tonight.”
Daehyun can feel himself sag with relief, even as another tremor wracks through his body.
“See? I told you,” Jongup says, and even though he’s been acting strong for Daehyun, it’s obvious from his voice that he’s every bit as glad to hear the news as Daehyun is. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
the (hair) color of magic; daehyun/jongup; ~700 words; g; somewhat hp!au
prompts: periwinkle + charm
Jongup can’t help the giggle that escapes as he watches Himchan’s face change from shock to horror to outrage. Jongup knows that it’s not in his best interest to be laughing at a prefect who is probably about to give him detention for an indeterminate amount of time, but the way Himchan’s jaw had dropped when he saw Daehyun was just so funny.
“Jung Daehyun,” Himchan finally manages to choke out. “What on earth did you do?”
Daehyun at least has the decency to look sheepish. He shuffles his feet and puts on his most winning smile, the smile that can usually get him out of just about anything. They all know that it no longer has any effect on Himchan, but Jongup figures that Daehyun just automatically does it out of habit at this point.
“Well,” Daehyun starts, “Jonguppie was having trouble with his charms homework. He didn’t understand the mechanics of it. So I decided to make it fun and explain while also demonstrating by making our own new charm.”
“So you ended up charming your hair periwinkle.”
“Yes?” It comes out more as a question than a statement, and Daehyun rushes on before Himchan has a chance to interrupt. “But I had to do it for Jongup’s sake. It needed to be done! For science!”
“For sci--? What are you even talking about?” Himchan asks, thrown off track. He gives Daehyun a perplexed look that Daehyun returns with a blank stare.
“I have no idea, honestly,” Daehyun says with a shrug. “But it’s something that Jongup says a lot.”
Jongup can’t help it. He bursts into full out laughter, doubling over and clutching at his stomach. Himchan and Daehyun both turn to stare at him in confusion, and it just makes Jongup laugh harder. Even though Jongup loves this school, loves learning about magic, sometimes it’s hard being one of the few members of his group of friends with a fundamental knowledge of the side of the world that doesn’t know magic even exists. The jokes and pop culture references that come naturally to him fall flat on his friends’ ears. So when someone, usually Daehyun, picks up on Jongup’s mannerisms, it never fails to both please and amuse him.
“Don’t think that because I’m scolding Daehyun right now you aren’t also in serious trouble, Moon Jongup,” Himchan threatens, throwing Jongup what is probably supposed to be a stern look. Jongup takes a few deep breaths and muffles his laughter with a hand. “Sorry, hyung,” he mumbles from behind his knuckles.
“I’m going to have to talk to Yongguk about this before I decide on your final punishment,” Himchan continues, turning back to Daehyun. “Really, what were you thinking?”
“I dunno, I think it’s kind of cool,” Jongup cuts in. He reaches up a hand to poke Daehyun’s hair, making Daehyun duck and swat at him. “It’s like that Violet girl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But with only the hair.”
“Please do try to make sense, Jonguppie,” Himchan pleads with another bewildered look. “Anyway, for now you both have one week of detention for magic experimentation without appropriate supervision. Report to Professor Jeon after classes finish on Monday.”
Jongup and Daehyun both murmur confirmations and Himchan sweeps out of the room. Once he leaves, Daehyun and Jongup are the only ones in the dorm common room. They had been trying to sneak back while everyone else was at dinner, so that they could hide in Daehyun’s room until the charm wore off. Unfortunately, they had walked straight into Himchan, who had come back to grab something before getting dinner.
The room is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. With a sigh Daehyun flops down onto one of the couches and runs a hand through his now light purple-blue hair. Jongup settles down next to him. He tries to touch Daehyun’s hair again, and this time Daehyun lets him. Jongup grins.
“Hey, hyung,” Jongup says and Daehyun hums in response. “Wanna have a movie night tonight?” Daehyun, formerly bummed out over the detention, immediately brightens up. He straightens and shifts his weight so that he can look Jongup, positively beaming.
“A movie night? Using your laptop thingy?” Daehyun is more or less bouncing in place now.
“Yep,” Jongup replies, trying to remember if he has Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saved to his hard drive. “I’ll even let you play around on the laptop afterwards.”
“Awesome,” Daehyun says. Jongup laughs, grabbing Daehyun’s hand and standing up.
“Come on, since we got busted already let’s go get some dinner.”
he's a pirate; daehyun/jongup; ~1k words; pg; pirate!au
prompt: charm
Jongup knows this is a bad idea. It’s a very bad idea that could possibly lose him his job. But somehow, despite knowing this, he finds himself opening the door wider and letting the man standing outside slip through.
“Thank you,” the man says, slightly out of breath. “I really appreciate it.” He gives this smile, the same charming smile that had convinced Jongup to let him into the mansion in the first place, and Jongup nods. As he closes the door, Jongup tries to figure how much time he has until Lady Sunhwa and her maids return from their shopping trip. He thinks that he should have enough time to at least hide this stranger, if he hasn’t been able to send him on his way before his the lady comes home.
When Jongup turns back around, the man is standing in the middle of the entryway staring around at the sleek mahogany woodwork and ornate decorations. There’s a poorly concealed glint of greed in his eyes that Jongup recognizes well from his own childhood on the edge of the slums. Uncertainty about his decision to let this stranger inside is weighing heavy in Jongup’s stomach, but Jongup also knows that he probably had the same look the first time he was allowed inside, so he decides to allow the benefit of the doubt. Besides, the man is dressed well enough. Nothing as fancy as anyone living in this area, but his clothes are clean and well cut, if also obviously well worn, and he has sturdy leather boots. Which are currently shedding mud all over the floor. Jongup sighs.
“You said that you were trying to get away from someone?” Jongup prompts gently as he leads the stranger towards the kitchen, careful to give a wide berth to any rugs that could be stained. The cook had gone out shopping with the lady, and Jongup is glad that his boss is only a minor lord without enough wealth to warrant a full kitchen staff.
“Yes,” the man says with a nod. His eyes light up as the enter the kitchen. “Some ruffians tried to take my money, so I ran away.” Without asking, he walks over to a bowl of rolls the cook had prepared earlier and takes one. Jongup prays that the cook won’t notice, or it will be his hide that receives a thrashing.
Jongup hums and watches as the stranger practically inhales the roll and moves to grab a second one. His mouth full of bread, the man suddenly says, “My name is Daehyun.” It’s out of the blue, and honestly Jongup is confused because it’s not like he needs to know his name. He’s just providing temporary shelter. But Daehyun is swallowing and giving that smile again and without even realizing it Jongup finds that he’s smiling in return.
“I’m Jongup,” he replies. “How long do you think you’ll need to stay here? The lady will be home soon and if she or any of the other staff find you here it’ll be trouble.”
Daehyun hums. “This is Lady Sunhwa’s house, is it not?” he asks and Jongup nods. “Then no need to worry. She won’t be mad at you, although she’ll probably box me about the ears.”
Jongup opens his mouth, perhaps to ask how this Daehyun is on such close terms with the lady, or to make some sort of protest about his lady’s education and status and how she would never do something such as boxing someone’s ears, but just then there’s a knock on the door. Daehyun’s eyes go wide, and it’s comical when combined with the way his cheeks are stuffed with bread. “Don’t answer it!” he begs, spraying bread crumbs.
“I’m the butler, answering it is my job,” Jongup answers stiffly. He ignores the further protests and walks back to the front entrance. He opens the door, bowing and giving the person standing outside a bland smile. “Hello, how may I help you?”
“He’s here, isn’t he?” the visitor asks without preamble. “That bastard Jung Daehyun is hiding here.” Taken aback, Jongup glances up. The man facing him is finely dressed, clothes immaculate, every inch a nobleman. His hair is carefully styled, and he seems like he would usually have a friendly demeanor. At the moment, though, he looks positively thunderous. Jongup recognizes him -- he used to come over quite frequently right after Jongup was hired on. His name is Yoo Youngjae, and he is a close friend of Sunhwa’s. Or was, before he joined a pirate crew and his face was plastered all over wanted posters.
“Um,” Jongup starts to say, but Youngjae is already brushing past him and into the mansion. Jongup frowns and follows helplessly as Youngjae beelines to the kitchen. Daehyun is trying to slip out the back door, only to stop dead when Youngjae storms in. “You!” Youngjae says, pointing at Daehyun. “Jung Daehyun you son of a bitch, I told you that we were only in port to pick up supplies. Why did you have to go and start a fight?”
“It was just some gambling!” Daehyun protests. “I won it fairly!”
“Winning a fixed game does not count as being fair,” Youngjae replies coldly. “Now the entire port knows we are here and the navy is on high alert. Himchan is going to have your head.”
Daehyun wails and says something back, but Jongup isn’t listening anymore. His head is spinning, contemplating what he’d possibly done to deserve such poor luck. Even if he wasn’t going to be fired for letting a man in for shelter, he most certainly was going to lose his job now. Because he is currently standing in the kitchen with not just one, but two members of one of the most notorious pirate crews in the entire Caribbean. With a sinking feeling, Jongup realizes that he’s in so, so far over his head.