baseCODE 7/?
Title: baseCODE 7/?
Pairing: Jaejoong/Junsu, Changmin/Yunho, Donghae/Eunhyuk, Heechul/Yoochun, Leeteuk/Kyuhyun, Siwon/Ryeowook
Rating: NC-17 for this chapter
Disclaimer: Not mine to rate track or own. I really wish I could order them to have sex with each other and let me tape it, but ... yeah, can't do that.
Summary: Junsu is a normal twenty-three year old. He has retired from Duty to the People and he's content to spend the next two years relaxing before his Date of Expiration. His biggest fear is that the love he carries for his roommate will be discovered. But Jaejoong is not who he says he is, and Junsu finds himself in a race to save not only Jaejoong's life, but ultimately his own.
This fic is first person from Junsu's POV and it is written in present tense. Chapter titles are quotes from "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare.
Poster credit goes to yceam!!! It's awesome, darling! ♥
Part 7: Fortune, fortune, be fickle fortune, but do not keep him long but send him back.
... for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
From Romeo & Juliet
“You practically said you didn’t care if he died,” Changmin shouts. “And you’re surprised that he took off?”
Leeteuk stares at him. “Kyuhyun is logical. He understands.”
“Kyuhyun is logical. Love is not logical. You might as well have just told him that you’re only using him for brilliance. Oh wait, you did say that.”
“I did not. And I do not.”
“Then pray tell, what the hell was that you said earlier about there being other brilliant scientists that can do what we do for you, huh?”
Leeteuk sighs. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Well, that’s how he took it, and I don’t blame him. If you love him, then let yourself love him, Leeteuk. Do not treat him like he’s expendable, because that’s no different than how the rest of the world treats him. If he’s the light in your darkness, then you sure as hell better treat him like that.”
Leeteuk turns half way through Changmin’s lecture and heads upstairs. Changmin sighs and turns to Jaejoong and me.
“You tell Yunho I said any of that, and I’ll castrate you both in the name of science.”
Jaejoong smiles. “You’re such a softie,” he says.
On Changmin’s way past, he punches Jaejoong’s shoulder really hard.
Jaejoong laughs and then hugs me tightly. I hug him back. This will be the first time I have not had him with me since we left. It feels like it’s been more than three days.
“Just listen to Yoochun, okay? If he says run, run. If he says to shut up, shut up.”
“I will, Jae, I’ll be okay.”
“The main reason why I’m worried is that if you two get separated, you don’t know your way back here.”
“I’ll be okay,” I whisper. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good. If you’re scared, you’ll be observant.”
I chuckle. “My soccer coach used to always say ‘if you fear losing, you’ll be observant.’ He was right.”
“Just think of this as a very important soccer game.”
We stand in silence, waiting for Yoochun. Heechul dragged him upstairs right after they filled my head with visions of Jaejoong preparing me and toys, and then they’d shared this look and been gone before I could process them leaving.
Jaejoong leans away from me and kisses me. It’s hard to keep the kiss chaste. It’s hard to not shove my hands under his shirt or into his pants. I’ve never had such a difficult time controlling myself. Without fear, one becomes reckless. And I want to be reckless with this man.
“Love you,” he whispers.
I smile against his lips. “Love you.”
“So much sappy love,” Heechul says above us. “Get a room.”
“Can’t,” I say. “Want to, but can’t.”
Heechul scoffs. He and Yoochun are holding hands. Yoochun’s eyes are red, almost like he’s been crying, but he’s grinning.
Jaejoong rolls his eyes at them. He reaches to Yoochun and touches his face, finger coming back with white on it. “You missed some.”
“Thanks,” Yoochun says and sucks Jaejoong’s finger.
Heechul slaps Yoochun’s arm, and like a jealous lover, I slap the other one.
“Hey, what?”
“You’re such a bitch,” Heechul says and pouts.
Yoochun nuzzles his nose. “Your bitch.”
Heechul smiles.
“Take care of him, please,” Jaejoong pleads.
Yoochun rolls his eyes. “I will, Jae, god. Junsu is not a teenager anymore.”
Jaejoong frowns and turns to me. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re worried.”
“It’s because I love you.”
“I know.”
“Keep your filthy hands off of him,” Jaejoong says and points a finger at Yoochun.
“I shall strive to be chaste, but his ass is amazing. You can’t blame me if my filthy hands want to take a squeeze at it.”
Jaejoong sighs and kisses me softly. “Tell me if he gropes you so I can castrate him.”
“What if we’re about to die?” Yoochun suddenly asks. “What then? He shouldn’t die a virgin.”
Jaejoong shuts his eyes in irritation.
I smile and kiss his lips. “He’s just kidding,” I say.
“No, he’s not. I’m going to go drink myself into a stupor until you get back.”
I laugh. “Okay. Share some with Leeteuk. He sounds like he needs it.”
“Such a bitch,” Heechul mutters.
I open my mouth to remind him that he called Yoochun, ‘just a fuck’, but I know it’s not my place.
Heechul kisses Yoochun briefly. “Don’t get killed,” he says, and then cups Yoochun’s crotch. “I’ll miss parts of you.”
Yoochun smiles. “The sound of you screaming my name is enough to keep me alive.”
Heechul pats his cheek like he’s a puppy and then heads up the stairs.
Yoochun grins at us. “You done saying goodbye?”
“Yes,” Jaejoong says. He kisses me, and we say I love you again. I sigh as he turns and heads into the kitchen.
“Sappy love,” Yoochun says.
He walks by me and disappears through the hologram. I have to shut my eyes as I step through what looks like a bookshelf.
“What about you?” I ask.
He goes right to the red Audi. “What about me?”
“Does Heechul really love you?”
Yoochun doesn’t answer me, and I don’t really blame him. It’d been rude. He starts the car and puts on his seatbelt. I follow his example. He doesn’t say anything until we’re on the road, traveling in the dark with no headlights.
“Heechul loves me. He doesn’t say it in front of people, because that’s how Heechul is. But he shows me and he tells me when we’re alone. Don’t think ill of him for what he says, because you don’t know what it means.”
“He called you just a fuck.”
Yoochun laughs. “Yeah. He always does. It’s like a code for him, because when I tried to first get him to admit he loved me, he told me that over and over and over again. I would say, ‘I love you’ and he would say, ‘yeah, you’re just a fuck’. I know he loves me.”
“What about Jaejoong?”
His smile widens. “I love Jaejoong. Of course I do. We’ve been friends for a long time. We run to each other when we can’t handle our lives and if we were still at the base, I’d be getting drunk with him.”
“So where are we going?” I ask.
“The city.”
“What?”
“Don’t be so surprised. Both of our baseCODEs are still green. We can get away with it pretty easily. Did they give you a cell phone?”
“No.”
“Fuck.” He opens the glove box and then stops, stares and swears again. He slams on the brakes, and then pulls out a black cell phone.
“Fuck,” he says again.
“What?” I ask.
He takes out a red cell phone from his pocket and taps in a text message. A few minutes later there’s a return text and he nods. He throws the car in gear and speeds away, throwing the black cell phone out the window.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know. A bug, a tracking device, something … we only use red cell phones.”
“How did it get in the car?”
“You think I know that?”
I shrug and settle back into my seat. There is a light glow along the horizon in the dark, but nothing else. No mountains or trees or bushes. Everything is gray from the moonlight.
“I hate making runs on full moon nights,” he mutters.
“Why?”
“Because we can be seen.”
“Doesn’t that mean you can see too, though?” He turns the car around a curve and my breath catches because I hadn’t seen it.
“Yes. But I’d rather both of us be blind.”
His phone beeps in his lap. He hands it to me. I flip it open and read out loud: we found another one in the blue car, be careful
He nods.
I shut the phone. “Do you think one of the others is betraying you?
Yoochun glances at me. “No. Do I think you are? Maybe. I trust the others.”
I open my mouth to protest and then shut it. “You’re right, I guess.”
“You show up and suddenly there are strange cell phones in our car and Yunho gets shot.”
I’m silent.
“No protest?” he says.
I shrug. “I don’t know what to say except that I just followed Jaejoong.”
“The only reason you came is because Jaejoong trusts you. Because Jaejoong trusts you, the rest of us have to, but it’s a little too circumstantial for my tastes. The only reason why I don’t think it’s you is because both of these cars have been into the city the last few days. Anyone could have put those phones inside them.”
I never thought myself a suspect. But based on the evidence, Yoochun is right. The circumstances look bad.
“I’m surprised you’ve stayed hidden for so long,” I finally say.
He snorts and says, “It’s not because we’re clever. People have died to keep our secret.”
My thoughts travel back to Leeteuk’s speech about death and love. It did make more sense if Leeteuk had lost a lover before.
“I’m assuming you don’t know how to shoot a gun?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Fuck.”
An hour later, the tops of the buildings break over the hills. Yoochun weaves around corners too fast. I’m dizzy and getting slightly ill.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a crazy driver?” I ask, hand gripping the door.
He laughs. “Crazy lover, yes. Crazy driver … well, yeah. Both require tight control, Junsu-ah, and if you don’t have it, you lose it. Don’t worry. I have it.”
He slides easily in with other cars, traveling where they had to be.
It’s only been three days, but I feel antsy. This is my city. My town. I’ve walked the streets and traveled all over it playing soccer. Nerves crush though me.
“It’d be a good idea for you to not be nervous,” Yoochun says.
“Can’t help it.”
Yoochun smirks. He drives through the darkened city for a little longer, and then pulls into a parking space. “Come on,” he says, and unfastens his seatbelt.
“Y-your hair,” I say as I catch sight of the short hair of those around us.
Yoochun stares at his hair, and sighs. “Well, I either risk it, or I throw it under a hat.”
“Either way you may get questioned,” I say.
“Yes, but less likely if I’m wearing a hat.” He turns in the seat and lifts one of the pads off the back seat. His eyes widen, and then he swallows. “Oh, fuck.”
“What?” I ask and turn.
In the seat are a few things, like a hat and a jacket and it looks like food and a gun. But there’s also a black box. A black box with a green and a red and a blue wire coming out from it.
We meet each others eyes, and then Yoochun grabs everything else in the compartment, and we leave the car. Yoochun immediately pulls out his cell phone and types in a frantic message.
I follow him, eyes on the ground, avoiding people’s gaze.
“Fuck,” he whispers and I gasp, because that word is forbidden on the streets.
“Your hair,” I say quickly as two people turn to us.
Yoochun puts the cell phone away and tucks his hair under the beret that had been in the car.
“Any idea on when it will explode?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Nope. Glad we got out of it though. This changes nothing.”
We traverse the streets silently. It’s getting late, almost time for curfew. I’m nervous, but Yoochun isn’t, so I throw my trust in him and try not to think about the fact that there was a bomb in the car and that there may be one in the car at the compound.
He discretely pulls out his cell phone again. “Hello? … Yes, we’re both fine. … Nope. Not yet. … That’s good. You’re sure? … Check the engine, and the compartments? … That might be too late. … I know … I know. Okay. … Yes. I will.”
He hangs up and turns to me with a smile. “Nothing in the other car, or so Hero says.”
“Hero?”
Yoochun smirks. “Your man. Hero. That reminds me. You know my name is Micky right?”
“I do now.”
“God, Hero molests you and forgets to tell you something important.”
“Sh,” I hiss as we pass a couple.
He waves it away. I follow him deeper into the city. It’s not a place I would have come on my own. It’s a place that the government doesn’t control as harshly as other places. I wonder if there is a hidden group of people over twenty-five around here. Yoochun stops and yanks me into an cubby hole as a squad car heads down the alley we’re in. They don’t patrol often, but they still do.
We wait until the car passes, and then with silent cues, Yoochun shows me how to use the narrow space between walls to clamber up to the fire escape. I’m not sure I can, but I do as he did, putting my arms and legs on each side of me and using my body weight to climb. By the time I fall to the metal cage, I’m gasping.
Yoochun smirks. “Not bad, Ass-ia.”
“What?”
“You. Ass-ia. Best ass in Asia. Ass-ia. Your new name.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it is now. Better get used to it.” He climbs and I follow.
“Yeah, this isn’t suspicious,” I mutter. “Close to curfew, climbing fire escapes in the dark. Sure. Nothing weird about this.”
“Or about a guy muttering under his breath. Shut up, Ass-ia.”
We climb all the way to the roof. And then Yoochun stops. He looks around, and then nods. He heads across the roof, sits down by the edge of the roof and motions me down next to him. I sit and stiffen when his arm goes around me.
“Not flirting … yet,” he said, laughter in his whisper. “Just have to get out of sight.”
“Why?”
“Scouting the drop spot. He has about an hour before the drop. From here I can look and make sure no one else comes first.”
I feel his phone vibrate against my side. He fishes it out. He uses his hand to block most of the glow from the screen.
“Siwon is already on his way to pick us up,” Yoochun says. “If all goes well, he’ll be here right after we pick up the drop.”
“Something tells me all is not going to go well.”
“It rarely does.”
Silence settles around us. Yoochun told me to look this way while he looked the other way. Our bodies are close, and as the temperature drops, I’m glad for our proximity. I wish it were Jaejoong for a moment, then realize that if it was Jaejoong, that we wouldn’t be very observant.
I have no idea how much time goes by.
“Fuck,” Yoochun suddenly says.
I turn my head. There are three men on a balcony about four stories down.
“Yeah, things aren’t going to go well. Keep your head down. Crawl across the roof.”
I swallow and do as he says. He stays behind me. We scuttle quickly.
“Yeah, definitely best ass,” he says.
I smile despite the fear running through me.
“Try to stay low,” he says as he moves by me. We’re on the other side of the roof, by another fire escape. He lifts just the top of his head over the concrete railing. He watches for long minutes. He lifts an arm and then a leg and rolls over the edge. I hear him land on the fire escape. I emulate his example and he reaches up to steady me as I almost fall on my ass.
We make our way down the fire escape. It’s about an eight foot drop to the ground and I swallow before letting go of the ladder.
“Stay close. Stay quiet,” he whispers.
It’s even closer to curfew, and I’m very, very nervous. We’re the only people on the streets that I can see. We have no papers, no proof of who we are. Only the color of our baseCODEs would keep us from being destroyed right away. The hair is standing up on my neck. I know we’re being watched. But by whom and with what purposes is unknown.
“Waste of a night,” Yoochun mutters.
I jump and squeak as a blue car suddenly pulls in front of us.
“Get in, fast, I had to lose them,” Siwon said.
“Then I’m driving. Xiah, get in the back.”
I almost tear open the back door. Siwon slides over the console and Yoochun is in the driver’s seat peeling away before Siwon is situated and his feet are in the window and I’m trying to get my seatbelt on. Yoochun turns a corner and we’re blinded by the headlights of another car. Yoochun yanks the wheel hard, throwing the e-brake and we slide around, and then we’re gone. The lights dance around the car. Yoochun turns, and then turns again, and then turns again. I’m so lost, but Yoochun’s face is the picture of concentration. Utmost control.
I caught a glimpse of this face earlier, watching him dominate Heechul.
“Tight control,” I say. “In the bedroom, behind the wheel.”
Yoochun laughs.
After another turn, there is a bright flash of light, the reverberations of an explosion, and a ball of fire shoots into the sky.
“Twenty bucks if you can guess what that was,” Yoochun says and turns another corner. The lights following us decide we are no longer worth the chase. Something exploding in the middle of the city is definitely more important.
I hope.
Yoochun doesn’t slow down. We only have a few minutes, and he speeds through the city. A few corners and turns later and we’re on the highway, speeding away through the brightly, moon-lit night.
Part 8: we shall not scape a brawl; For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring
Part 6: For exile hath more terror in his look, Much more than death.
Part 5: These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die.
Part 4: Not mad, but bound more than a mad man is
Part 3: Prick love for pricking and you beat love down.
Part 2: O, teach me how I should forget to think.
Part 1: I must be gone and live or stay and die.
.
Pairing: Jaejoong/Junsu, Changmin/Yunho, Donghae/Eunhyuk, Heechul/Yoochun, Leeteuk/Kyuhyun, Siwon/Ryeowook
Rating: NC-17 for this chapter
Disclaimer: Not mine to rate track or own. I really wish I could order them to have sex with each other and let me tape it, but ... yeah, can't do that.
Summary: Junsu is a normal twenty-three year old. He has retired from Duty to the People and he's content to spend the next two years relaxing before his Date of Expiration. His biggest fear is that the love he carries for his roommate will be discovered. But Jaejoong is not who he says he is, and Junsu finds himself in a race to save not only Jaejoong's life, but ultimately his own.
This fic is first person from Junsu's POV and it is written in present tense. Chapter titles are quotes from "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare.
Poster credit goes to yceam!!! It's awesome, darling! ♥
Part 7: Fortune, fortune, be fickle fortune, but do not keep him long but send him back.
... for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
From Romeo & Juliet
“You practically said you didn’t care if he died,” Changmin shouts. “And you’re surprised that he took off?”
Leeteuk stares at him. “Kyuhyun is logical. He understands.”
“Kyuhyun is logical. Love is not logical. You might as well have just told him that you’re only using him for brilliance. Oh wait, you did say that.”
“I did not. And I do not.”
“Then pray tell, what the hell was that you said earlier about there being other brilliant scientists that can do what we do for you, huh?”
Leeteuk sighs. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Well, that’s how he took it, and I don’t blame him. If you love him, then let yourself love him, Leeteuk. Do not treat him like he’s expendable, because that’s no different than how the rest of the world treats him. If he’s the light in your darkness, then you sure as hell better treat him like that.”
Leeteuk turns half way through Changmin’s lecture and heads upstairs. Changmin sighs and turns to Jaejoong and me.
“You tell Yunho I said any of that, and I’ll castrate you both in the name of science.”
Jaejoong smiles. “You’re such a softie,” he says.
On Changmin’s way past, he punches Jaejoong’s shoulder really hard.
Jaejoong laughs and then hugs me tightly. I hug him back. This will be the first time I have not had him with me since we left. It feels like it’s been more than three days.
“Just listen to Yoochun, okay? If he says run, run. If he says to shut up, shut up.”
“I will, Jae, I’ll be okay.”
“The main reason why I’m worried is that if you two get separated, you don’t know your way back here.”
“I’ll be okay,” I whisper. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good. If you’re scared, you’ll be observant.”
I chuckle. “My soccer coach used to always say ‘if you fear losing, you’ll be observant.’ He was right.”
“Just think of this as a very important soccer game.”
We stand in silence, waiting for Yoochun. Heechul dragged him upstairs right after they filled my head with visions of Jaejoong preparing me and toys, and then they’d shared this look and been gone before I could process them leaving.
Jaejoong leans away from me and kisses me. It’s hard to keep the kiss chaste. It’s hard to not shove my hands under his shirt or into his pants. I’ve never had such a difficult time controlling myself. Without fear, one becomes reckless. And I want to be reckless with this man.
“Love you,” he whispers.
I smile against his lips. “Love you.”
“So much sappy love,” Heechul says above us. “Get a room.”
“Can’t,” I say. “Want to, but can’t.”
Heechul scoffs. He and Yoochun are holding hands. Yoochun’s eyes are red, almost like he’s been crying, but he’s grinning.
Jaejoong rolls his eyes at them. He reaches to Yoochun and touches his face, finger coming back with white on it. “You missed some.”
“Thanks,” Yoochun says and sucks Jaejoong’s finger.
Heechul slaps Yoochun’s arm, and like a jealous lover, I slap the other one.
“Hey, what?”
“You’re such a bitch,” Heechul says and pouts.
Yoochun nuzzles his nose. “Your bitch.”
Heechul smiles.
“Take care of him, please,” Jaejoong pleads.
Yoochun rolls his eyes. “I will, Jae, god. Junsu is not a teenager anymore.”
Jaejoong frowns and turns to me. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re worried.”
“It’s because I love you.”
“I know.”
“Keep your filthy hands off of him,” Jaejoong says and points a finger at Yoochun.
“I shall strive to be chaste, but his ass is amazing. You can’t blame me if my filthy hands want to take a squeeze at it.”
Jaejoong sighs and kisses me softly. “Tell me if he gropes you so I can castrate him.”
“What if we’re about to die?” Yoochun suddenly asks. “What then? He shouldn’t die a virgin.”
Jaejoong shuts his eyes in irritation.
I smile and kiss his lips. “He’s just kidding,” I say.
“No, he’s not. I’m going to go drink myself into a stupor until you get back.”
I laugh. “Okay. Share some with Leeteuk. He sounds like he needs it.”
“Such a bitch,” Heechul mutters.
I open my mouth to remind him that he called Yoochun, ‘just a fuck’, but I know it’s not my place.
Heechul kisses Yoochun briefly. “Don’t get killed,” he says, and then cups Yoochun’s crotch. “I’ll miss parts of you.”
Yoochun smiles. “The sound of you screaming my name is enough to keep me alive.”
Heechul pats his cheek like he’s a puppy and then heads up the stairs.
Yoochun grins at us. “You done saying goodbye?”
“Yes,” Jaejoong says. He kisses me, and we say I love you again. I sigh as he turns and heads into the kitchen.
“Sappy love,” Yoochun says.
He walks by me and disappears through the hologram. I have to shut my eyes as I step through what looks like a bookshelf.
“What about you?” I ask.
He goes right to the red Audi. “What about me?”
“Does Heechul really love you?”
Yoochun doesn’t answer me, and I don’t really blame him. It’d been rude. He starts the car and puts on his seatbelt. I follow his example. He doesn’t say anything until we’re on the road, traveling in the dark with no headlights.
“Heechul loves me. He doesn’t say it in front of people, because that’s how Heechul is. But he shows me and he tells me when we’re alone. Don’t think ill of him for what he says, because you don’t know what it means.”
“He called you just a fuck.”
Yoochun laughs. “Yeah. He always does. It’s like a code for him, because when I tried to first get him to admit he loved me, he told me that over and over and over again. I would say, ‘I love you’ and he would say, ‘yeah, you’re just a fuck’. I know he loves me.”
“What about Jaejoong?”
His smile widens. “I love Jaejoong. Of course I do. We’ve been friends for a long time. We run to each other when we can’t handle our lives and if we were still at the base, I’d be getting drunk with him.”
“So where are we going?” I ask.
“The city.”
“What?”
“Don’t be so surprised. Both of our baseCODEs are still green. We can get away with it pretty easily. Did they give you a cell phone?”
“No.”
“Fuck.” He opens the glove box and then stops, stares and swears again. He slams on the brakes, and then pulls out a black cell phone.
“Fuck,” he says again.
“What?” I ask.
He takes out a red cell phone from his pocket and taps in a text message. A few minutes later there’s a return text and he nods. He throws the car in gear and speeds away, throwing the black cell phone out the window.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know. A bug, a tracking device, something … we only use red cell phones.”
“How did it get in the car?”
“You think I know that?”
I shrug and settle back into my seat. There is a light glow along the horizon in the dark, but nothing else. No mountains or trees or bushes. Everything is gray from the moonlight.
“I hate making runs on full moon nights,” he mutters.
“Why?”
“Because we can be seen.”
“Doesn’t that mean you can see too, though?” He turns the car around a curve and my breath catches because I hadn’t seen it.
“Yes. But I’d rather both of us be blind.”
His phone beeps in his lap. He hands it to me. I flip it open and read out loud: we found another one in the blue car, be careful
He nods.
I shut the phone. “Do you think one of the others is betraying you?
Yoochun glances at me. “No. Do I think you are? Maybe. I trust the others.”
I open my mouth to protest and then shut it. “You’re right, I guess.”
“You show up and suddenly there are strange cell phones in our car and Yunho gets shot.”
I’m silent.
“No protest?” he says.
I shrug. “I don’t know what to say except that I just followed Jaejoong.”
“The only reason you came is because Jaejoong trusts you. Because Jaejoong trusts you, the rest of us have to, but it’s a little too circumstantial for my tastes. The only reason why I don’t think it’s you is because both of these cars have been into the city the last few days. Anyone could have put those phones inside them.”
I never thought myself a suspect. But based on the evidence, Yoochun is right. The circumstances look bad.
“I’m surprised you’ve stayed hidden for so long,” I finally say.
He snorts and says, “It’s not because we’re clever. People have died to keep our secret.”
My thoughts travel back to Leeteuk’s speech about death and love. It did make more sense if Leeteuk had lost a lover before.
“I’m assuming you don’t know how to shoot a gun?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Fuck.”
An hour later, the tops of the buildings break over the hills. Yoochun weaves around corners too fast. I’m dizzy and getting slightly ill.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a crazy driver?” I ask, hand gripping the door.
He laughs. “Crazy lover, yes. Crazy driver … well, yeah. Both require tight control, Junsu-ah, and if you don’t have it, you lose it. Don’t worry. I have it.”
He slides easily in with other cars, traveling where they had to be.
It’s only been three days, but I feel antsy. This is my city. My town. I’ve walked the streets and traveled all over it playing soccer. Nerves crush though me.
“It’d be a good idea for you to not be nervous,” Yoochun says.
“Can’t help it.”
Yoochun smirks. He drives through the darkened city for a little longer, and then pulls into a parking space. “Come on,” he says, and unfastens his seatbelt.
“Y-your hair,” I say as I catch sight of the short hair of those around us.
Yoochun stares at his hair, and sighs. “Well, I either risk it, or I throw it under a hat.”
“Either way you may get questioned,” I say.
“Yes, but less likely if I’m wearing a hat.” He turns in the seat and lifts one of the pads off the back seat. His eyes widen, and then he swallows. “Oh, fuck.”
“What?” I ask and turn.
In the seat are a few things, like a hat and a jacket and it looks like food and a gun. But there’s also a black box. A black box with a green and a red and a blue wire coming out from it.
We meet each others eyes, and then Yoochun grabs everything else in the compartment, and we leave the car. Yoochun immediately pulls out his cell phone and types in a frantic message.
I follow him, eyes on the ground, avoiding people’s gaze.
“Fuck,” he whispers and I gasp, because that word is forbidden on the streets.
“Your hair,” I say quickly as two people turn to us.
Yoochun puts the cell phone away and tucks his hair under the beret that had been in the car.
“Any idea on when it will explode?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Nope. Glad we got out of it though. This changes nothing.”
We traverse the streets silently. It’s getting late, almost time for curfew. I’m nervous, but Yoochun isn’t, so I throw my trust in him and try not to think about the fact that there was a bomb in the car and that there may be one in the car at the compound.
He discretely pulls out his cell phone again. “Hello? … Yes, we’re both fine. … Nope. Not yet. … That’s good. You’re sure? … Check the engine, and the compartments? … That might be too late. … I know … I know. Okay. … Yes. I will.”
He hangs up and turns to me with a smile. “Nothing in the other car, or so Hero says.”
“Hero?”
Yoochun smirks. “Your man. Hero. That reminds me. You know my name is Micky right?”
“I do now.”
“God, Hero molests you and forgets to tell you something important.”
“Sh,” I hiss as we pass a couple.
He waves it away. I follow him deeper into the city. It’s not a place I would have come on my own. It’s a place that the government doesn’t control as harshly as other places. I wonder if there is a hidden group of people over twenty-five around here. Yoochun stops and yanks me into an cubby hole as a squad car heads down the alley we’re in. They don’t patrol often, but they still do.
We wait until the car passes, and then with silent cues, Yoochun shows me how to use the narrow space between walls to clamber up to the fire escape. I’m not sure I can, but I do as he did, putting my arms and legs on each side of me and using my body weight to climb. By the time I fall to the metal cage, I’m gasping.
Yoochun smirks. “Not bad, Ass-ia.”
“What?”
“You. Ass-ia. Best ass in Asia. Ass-ia. Your new name.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it is now. Better get used to it.” He climbs and I follow.
“Yeah, this isn’t suspicious,” I mutter. “Close to curfew, climbing fire escapes in the dark. Sure. Nothing weird about this.”
“Or about a guy muttering under his breath. Shut up, Ass-ia.”
We climb all the way to the roof. And then Yoochun stops. He looks around, and then nods. He heads across the roof, sits down by the edge of the roof and motions me down next to him. I sit and stiffen when his arm goes around me.
“Not flirting … yet,” he said, laughter in his whisper. “Just have to get out of sight.”
“Why?”
“Scouting the drop spot. He has about an hour before the drop. From here I can look and make sure no one else comes first.”
I feel his phone vibrate against my side. He fishes it out. He uses his hand to block most of the glow from the screen.
“Siwon is already on his way to pick us up,” Yoochun says. “If all goes well, he’ll be here right after we pick up the drop.”
“Something tells me all is not going to go well.”
“It rarely does.”
Silence settles around us. Yoochun told me to look this way while he looked the other way. Our bodies are close, and as the temperature drops, I’m glad for our proximity. I wish it were Jaejoong for a moment, then realize that if it was Jaejoong, that we wouldn’t be very observant.
I have no idea how much time goes by.
“Fuck,” Yoochun suddenly says.
I turn my head. There are three men on a balcony about four stories down.
“Yeah, things aren’t going to go well. Keep your head down. Crawl across the roof.”
I swallow and do as he says. He stays behind me. We scuttle quickly.
“Yeah, definitely best ass,” he says.
I smile despite the fear running through me.
“Try to stay low,” he says as he moves by me. We’re on the other side of the roof, by another fire escape. He lifts just the top of his head over the concrete railing. He watches for long minutes. He lifts an arm and then a leg and rolls over the edge. I hear him land on the fire escape. I emulate his example and he reaches up to steady me as I almost fall on my ass.
We make our way down the fire escape. It’s about an eight foot drop to the ground and I swallow before letting go of the ladder.
“Stay close. Stay quiet,” he whispers.
It’s even closer to curfew, and I’m very, very nervous. We’re the only people on the streets that I can see. We have no papers, no proof of who we are. Only the color of our baseCODEs would keep us from being destroyed right away. The hair is standing up on my neck. I know we’re being watched. But by whom and with what purposes is unknown.
“Waste of a night,” Yoochun mutters.
I jump and squeak as a blue car suddenly pulls in front of us.
“Get in, fast, I had to lose them,” Siwon said.
“Then I’m driving. Xiah, get in the back.”
I almost tear open the back door. Siwon slides over the console and Yoochun is in the driver’s seat peeling away before Siwon is situated and his feet are in the window and I’m trying to get my seatbelt on. Yoochun turns a corner and we’re blinded by the headlights of another car. Yoochun yanks the wheel hard, throwing the e-brake and we slide around, and then we’re gone. The lights dance around the car. Yoochun turns, and then turns again, and then turns again. I’m so lost, but Yoochun’s face is the picture of concentration. Utmost control.
I caught a glimpse of this face earlier, watching him dominate Heechul.
“Tight control,” I say. “In the bedroom, behind the wheel.”
Yoochun laughs.
After another turn, there is a bright flash of light, the reverberations of an explosion, and a ball of fire shoots into the sky.
“Twenty bucks if you can guess what that was,” Yoochun says and turns another corner. The lights following us decide we are no longer worth the chase. Something exploding in the middle of the city is definitely more important.
I hope.
Yoochun doesn’t slow down. We only have a few minutes, and he speeds through the city. A few corners and turns later and we’re on the highway, speeding away through the brightly, moon-lit night.
Part 8: we shall not scape a brawl; For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring
Part 6: For exile hath more terror in his look, Much more than death.
Part 5: These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die.
Part 4: Not mad, but bound more than a mad man is
Part 3: Prick love for pricking and you beat love down.
Part 2: O, teach me how I should forget to think.
Part 1: I must be gone and live or stay and die.
.