Diamonds [1/2]
Title: Diamonds [1/2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: KrisHo
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Kris always got what he wanted. This time, it was Junmyeon.
Author’s Note: This is very confusing and uninteresting T^T I’m so sorry. Thank you for my beloved vidox_d for the wonderful poster ;u; and please, no translations allowed!
Shine bright like a diamond
Shine bright like a diamond
Find light in the beautiful sea
I choose to be happy
You and I, you and I
We’re like diamonds in the sky
You’re a shooting star I see
A vision of ecstasy
When you hold me, I’m alive
We’re like diamonds in the sky
Kris looked over his shoulder when he heard the song. His eyes were soon fixed on the television screen on the diner.
It was a popular song lately and it had been aired a lot both in the televisions and radios. There was just something about the lyrics that caught his interest and he didn’t even know what. Kris spaced out for a minute at the female singer before finally turning his attention back at the table when Minseok made a sound beside him.
“Another murder,” Minseok sighed grimly as he folded the newspaper and put it away. “They can’t find who did it.”
“Is the victim a famous person or something?”, Yixing asked in curiosity while he snatched the newspaper to find out.
“Didn’t seem so. They’re mostly homeless, poor people, thugs. The killings seemed random.”
“Hmm...”, Yixing hummed. His face was hidden beneath the layers of papers but they could hear him snorting. “Sloppy.”
Minseok made a face at his comment but then decided to wave it off. He let Yixing read the news for a moment before pursing his lips at the empty seats and nudged Kris. “Where are Zitao and Jongin?”
“Outside,” Kris replied nonchalantly.
“What are they doing? Have they eaten?”
“Smoking, I guess.”
“But they’re still so young! You should tell them to quit the bad habit.”
Kris stared at Minseok in amusement. “I thought Yixing is the umma.”
Minseok rolled his eyes in response. “He still is. I’m just being the big brother. The good, big brother.”
“Good luck with that...”, Yixing’s voice was muffled under the newspaper. “Those two are trouble.”
“You know, they’re always together. What if they suddenly announce that they’re in a relationship or something?”
Kris gave him a look. “...Jongin’s not single, remember?”
“What is this thing about their whereabouts, though? We’re enough,” Yixing snorted for the umpteenth time that night as he tossed the newspaper offhandedly to the empty seat beside him. “Or do you not believe in me?”
“I’m just asking, geez Yixing, you don’t have to snap at everything I said,” Minseok groaned in disbelief and casted a glance at his wristwatch. “It’s already this late. Shall we leave, ge?”
The question got the three of them to look around. It was almost eleven. The diner was nearly empty and the sound from the television was the only thing accompanying them. People had already left due to the late hour.
Kris nodded as he straightened up in his seat, ready to stand up but the chiming sound made him stopped and turned his head to the entrance.
Two men walked in with amused laugh and went straight to the counter. The waiter looked up from his administration book and he grinned knowingly at the two. They must be his friends or at least someone he knew. If not, he would probably politely ask them to leave because they were closing. The other waiter flipped the sign on the door so that no other customers would come in. He gave an unreadable look at Kris and the others, it was probably something like ‘it’s late already and we’re tired and why the hell are you guys still here’.
Kris stared with interest. He sat still in his seat, eyes at the counter and Minseok and Yixing quickly followed his gaze. One of the men glanced at the table that Kris and the others occupied while the other one was still engaged in a conversation with the waiter. His eyes wandered across the room and raised his brows tentatively when he spotted them.
“Do Kyungsoo,” Yixing muttered under his breath.
Kyungsoo seemed amused and winked at Kris before turning his attention back to his friends.
“Did he just-“
Kris mentally facepalmed.
Kyungsoo then ended the cheerful conversation between his friend and the waiter by saying thank you and made a gesture to leave. The other male seemed to take the hint as Kyungsoo tugged his arm and then bade the waiter goodbye. As they made their way to exit the room, the other male probably made a mistake by glancing at their table-and caught Kris’ eyes in the process. The gaze only lasted two seconds, and as much as Kris didn’t want it to break, the other male looked away first. They finally exited the place, once again making the door’s bell chiming as it closed. Minseok and Kris had their backs facing the entrance so it was only Yixing who noticed that Zitao and Jongin also had their eyes at the men who had just left the diner.
Kris slowly released his breath, blinking in confusion because he had no idea since when it was held.
“Shall we leave?”, Yixing voiced out, snapping Kris back to life.
Minseok looked at Kris questioningly. “Something wrong?”
Kris didn’t say anything as he stood up and left a few bills on the table. The other two followed his move and made their way to exit the place, to where Zitao and Jongin’s had been standing (Jongin flicked away a cigarette the moment they stepped out and Minseok pouted disapprovingly).
As they walked back to their car, Kris couldn’t help but feeling strange.
He swore he saw something emotional in the male’s eyes and he didn’t know what.
(Kris scrolled down the pictures with unreadable expression chiseled on his face. There were lots of snapshots showing in his computer screen. His eyes were fixed on a specific picture and it wasn’t even the man he was supposed to look at. Kris pressed a finger against his lips thoughtfully before licking them.
“I want him.”
Everyone turned to look at Kris with a disbelief stare.
“Him...?”
Yixing narrowed his eyes to get a closer look at the male in the picture.
“Are you out of your mind, ge?” Zitao’s voice was laced with dislike.
Kris only needed to say it once. He looked very determined with what he had just said.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you like this...”, Luhan quietly told him after a moment of silence. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been this sure before.”
Zitao was the only one who groan. The others glanced at each other in silence before finally deciding that they would do whatever their leader told them to. It was Luhan finally who spoke.
“...very well. Then let the operation begins.”)
***
They say when you hated a song, it would stuck in your head like it was your most favorite song in the world.
Kris frowned. He didn’t hate the song. He didn’t exactly like the song, but he didn’t hate it. Kris found himself humming the tone as he took a shower and growled inwardly. The song stuck in his head like a mantra without him wanting it. It was just a song, Kris told himself. He’d be forgiven. Eventually the song would be gone when everyone got bored. It would be kicked out of top forty charts and immediately be replaced with a new one.
It was not a big deal.
The big deal was the male that came along with the song.
It just happened.
Kris couldn’t forget about their two seconds eye-locked and how the male seemed to shine bright in his eyes when he passed by that night. Imaginary, of course. Two seconds might not mean anything but it changed Kris’ life. Or so he thought.
The image of the male was carved in his mind. In his brain, perhaps. The image probably couldn’t be removed unless Kris’ brain was shot. Even with the cold droplets of endless water on his entire body, Kris still couldn’t forget. His eyes. His lips. His smooth, milky skin cheeks.
The male stuck in his head for what seemed to be an eternity while in reality, it was precisely just eight hours ago (Kris counted since he couldn’t sleep). He let out another low growl before turning off the water.
“Good morning,” Minseok greeted a little too cheerfully when Kris stepped out of his room, neatly dressed for work. Minseok had the newspaper in his hands, clearly not paying attention anymore as Kris heard him mumbling. “Hm. Good. No murder last night.”
Yixing frowned as he poured a glass of orange juice for Kris. “Really? It would be scary if another killing had happened.”
“I know. Such a scary environment. It’s not even safe anymore.”
“...you said the killings were random.”
“That’s why I’m just making sure,” Minseok sighed. “I mean, they could be someone we know and murdering people without reason is just...”
“...inhumane.”
“...inhumane.”
Zitao and Jongin said the word in unison and three pairs of eyes turned to look at them.
Zitao carelessly plopped himself on his seat and brought the toast to his mouth. The boy rarely talked. He creeped people out just by his eyes (Yixing had always joked that Zitao needed to have more of his beautiful sleep so the bags would vanish) and the fact that he was a master in wushu supported it more. No one in their sane mind would want to mess with Zitao.
Jongin was more ‘I don’t give a damn’ type. He didn’t talk unless it picked his interest and if he was ever asked. Unlike Zitao, his tanned skin and his (badass) smirk failed to creep people out, no matter how hard he tried. People got attracted to him easily and Jongin would only sigh in exasperation at everyone who would try to be his friends.
There was also Sehun who didn’t talk as much as them both, but he lived in a different house. Whenever the three of them were lined up, they would have this scary and gloomy aura clouding them, which never failed to amuse Luhan and Yixing. It irked Chanyeol to no end when all of them hang out because their grim personalities had an effect on his cheer, bubbly personality.
Jongin and Zitao took different majors in different universities, but they had always left home together at the same time everyday, even though they didn’t have the same schedules on most times. It was something that had become routine ever since they lived together. Minseok asked them once but Jongin only shrugged it off. It was probably something akin to ‘we’ve got each other’s backs’, the older male translated roughly from the shrug.
Kris gave them a gentle smile. “So killing people with a reason is humane?”
Zitao’s face stayed still while Jongin’s lips twitched.
“Alright, off you go,” Minseok shooed them with a wave of hand. “Be extra careful on your way. Yixing’s gonna cook meatball spaghetti for dinner tonight. I’m gonna go and buy the ingredients first. Whatever you do, go back before dinner time.”
“I’ll be late tonight,” Kris downed the rest of his juice. “If I don’t come back at dinner time, just eat without me.”
Everyone stopped moving. Zitao looked up from his toast and Jongin halted as he tried to tie his shoelaces. Yixing pressed his lips into a thin line while Minseok stared blankly at the blond male. Kris stared back in confusion, as if to challenge him to say something, but Minseok only gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder.
“Be careful,” was the only thing Minseok said.
***
Kris glanced up in surprise when he noticed some of the lights had been turned off.
He looked around in confusion. One of the waiter flipped the sign on the door before making his way toward him. Kris only stared at him dumbly when he arrived at his table. He thought he was going to get scolded but then the waiter tilted his head to a side. His expression was unreadable.
“We’re closing,” he said cooly. His nametag said Jongdae. “But you can still stay. At least until we finish cleaning.”
Kris’ shifted his eyes uncomfortably from Jongdae to the ticking clock on the wall. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize time had passed. His appointment was supposed to be half an hour ago and his friend hadn’t showed up.
Kyungsoo hadn’t showed up.
Maybe he should wait for a few minutes-no. This was unusual, Kyungsoo was never late. He was usually on time and even if he would be late for the appointment, the other male would definitely inform him. The tall male checked his phone, just in case Kyungsoo had sent him something. Nothing. Something rose in Kris and it began to make him worried. He rapped his fingers on the table for a few seconds before standing up.
“You’re going?”, Jongdae asked nonchalantly. His tone was flat with a hint of impatience.
“Yeah,” Kris replied and was about to put on a few bills on the table when Jongdae stopped him.
“It’s on the house. It’s on me.”
Kris frowned at him. Jongdae only shrugged his shoulders in reply. The blond haired male hesitated for a while before finally putting his wallet back into his pocket. “...thank you.” He grabbed his coat and was heading toward the door when he heard Jongdae’s light footsteps following behind him.
“You didn’t bring your car tonight,” Jongdae muttered quietly. It was obvious since there wasn’t a single car parked in front of the diner.
“...yeah.”
Kris stopped walking when he reached the entrance. He was starting to get really worried because it was late and there was so sign of Kyungsoo. He couldn’t wait anymore. He needed to find him.
“He’s late,” Jongdae said in a barely audible voice as he leaned slightly forward. “Be careful.” He made it sure that no one else could hear it beside him and Kris.
Kris only nodded as a reply before stepping out. The bell chimed as usual and he heard the door was being locked as soon as he got outside.
The chilly breeze of the night welcomed him.
He observed his surrounding for a moment with a sharp gaze. The sound of a barking dog could be heard somewhere in the distance and nothing more. Kris then fished his hands into his pockets before started walking. The environment was really quiet and most stores had closed up.
Maybe Minseok was right about the environment. It wasn’t safe anymore-especially at night, and with all those random killings that happened, it did feel like a ghost town when it was almost midnight.
Kris sighed as he threw a glance almost helplessly at his wristwatch for the umpteenth time that night. It was too late to take a bus or train in that time of night, and he wasn’t sure if he could find any taxi nearby. Kris wondered if he should probably called Jongin to pick him up somewhere later. The option sounded good although Jongin could be asleep or worse, locked in his room (Minseok was a bit skeptical when it came to curfew and sleeping hour on college days).
He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and his heartbeat dramatically increased-it could be Kyungsoo. When he was about to take it, Kris heard a faint scream somewhere. He deadpanned for a second. The phone kept on buzzing, but he ignored it as another scream was heard, a bit louder this time. Kris gritted his teeth and started running even though he was confused of which direction to take. He heard pleas of ‘stop’ and ‘please’ and the screaming sounded a bit near-that meant he had taken the right path. Kris quickened his steps and finally, he met the source of voices.
It was a very common view in this kind of neighbourhood. Three men had surrounded their victims against the wall. The road seemed to be a dead end as Kris saw no way out except from the way he was coming. The alley was dark and full of trash cans. Kris walked as quiet as possible-even though without him trying, they still wouldn’t hear him because it was already loud enough with the excited laughs from the attackers and screaming from the victims.
Kris found himself almost stopped breathing.
Kyungsoo’s arms were held by two of the three as he stared in horror at his friend. “Junmyeon-hyung! Don’t hurt him!”
Junmyeon, Kris unconsciously informed himself and he felt anger built in him. Junmyeon cried weakly as a hand was shoved against his throat, choking him. The one who had Junmyeon in his hands seemed to be the leader, because after that, one of the men followed their leader’s movement to choke Kyungsoo and the other one pressed his hand against Kyungsoo’s thigh.
“Don’t touch me!”, Kyungsoo shuddered in disgust.
The only light that covered them all was the street lamp. The sky was dark, the alley was dark, but Kris could see something-a shadow lurking in the darkness. Kris squinted his eyes as the shadow was making its way toward the light dangerously and he found himself screaming to no one in particular.
“Wait! I said wait!!!”
The shadow stopped moving. Everyone stopped moving.
Kris was breathless.
The group leader turned his head to Kris with a wry smile as he pulled his hand off of Junmyeon’s neck. The latter gasped as he breathed for air and slid off of the wall. The men who held Kyungsoo also did the same but Kyungsoo managed not to fall onto the ground as he scooted to Junmyeon’s side.
“Kangin-hyung, what are we going to do?”
Kris stared at them blankly. He didn’t know whether saying their boss’ name was a good thing or a really stupid thing to do. Nonetheless, it got Kris to know the leader’s name (strangely, Kangin seemed proud as he flashed his smirk).
“Playing a hero, are you?”
Kris opened his mouth to retort, but Junmyeon beat him first.
“Wait,” Junmyeon said weakly. “Don’t hurt them. Please let them go. I’m enough for you, right?”
“Hyung!”, Kyungsoo looked at him in disbelief.
Kangin looked over his shoulder with a bored expression and sighed dramatically. “Well I guess one is enough,” he grabbed Kyungsoo by the arm and pushed the latter roughly to Kris’ direction. “Because you know, you can’t run away from me.”
Kyungsoo stumbled forward with a yelp and Kris caught him easily. Kris inwardly sighed in relief as he spotted the shadow retreated back to its place now and the dangerous feeling had gone. Kyungsoo was still trembling in his arms.
“Are you alright?”, he asked.
Kris widened his eyes the moment his instinct told him something was coming. He stepped aside, wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo to protect him and his hunch was right. Just as Kris took a step, a knife flew past him, merely inches from his face. It landed sharply onto the wall behind them.
Kyungsoo looked shocked at what happened and he curled his fingers against Kris’ coat.
Kris’ jaw clenched.
“Nice reflex you got there,” Kangin applauded slowly in awe. “Say, I kinda like you.”
“I don’t like you,” Kris replied somewhat indignantly as he checked Kyungsoo’s condition. The poor male was okay, he was just a bit shaken. Now that Kyungsoo was safe, he only got one priority left-Junmyeon.
“Well if we like each other, we’d be in a relationship by now,” Kangin laughed mockingly.
“Hyung,” Kyungsoo whispered behind Kris. “Please save Junmyeon-hyung. Please...”
“So any last words before you die?”, Kangin asked and gave them a lazy stare.
Junmyeon went pale at the said words as he gazed at the blond male in fear.
Kris caught Junmyeon’s fearful eyes and he felt his anger slowly dissipapted. He was surprisingly calm. Kris’ eyes softened for a second, as if to assure Junmyeon that everything was going to be alright before he closed them with a snort. “Before I die? Interesting. I’d like to see you try.”
“Just because I’ve missed last time, doesn’t mean I will miss my next hit.”
“I’ll challenge you with a prize.”
“A prize?”
Kris pointed at Junmyeon without even looking. “If I win, he’s mine.”
Kangin took a good look at Junmyeon before burst out laughing. “You-you want him? Oh my goodness, he’s not even worth it. You can find someone like him within min-“
He didn’t get to finish his obnoxious sentence, because the next thing he knew was that a knife had already been stabbed into his chest, a few inches above his heart. Kangin couldn’t even scream because everything happened too fast. The two men were too stunned on their tracks to even react. Kris gave him a cold stare as he stabbed deeper into the skin. Kangin choked and dropped on his knees weakly. With the rest of his strength, he clutched on his wound and the other hand at the knife. His eyes widened at the sharp thing. It was his knife. The very same knife he had just thrown onto the wall. Kangin slowly looked up in pain. “How did you...?”
“Let’s just say I have a good reflex.”
Kangin chuckled and shook his head in awe. “You are really something...”
Kris heard the sound of tires screeching somewhere near. He let out a tired sigh as he stook a step back.
Kyungsoo quickly went to grab Junmyeon who was still dazed at what had happened and took him someplace safe, far from them.
“By the way,” Kris reminded. “He’s mine.”
“Of course. I am a man of my word. You can have him.”
“B-but hyung-“, his two men stuttered at the same time.
The sound of the screeching tires was getting near and a car suddenly appeared at the end of the street. Kyungsoo jumped in surprise as the car halted abruptly and the window was rolled down.
“Hyung,” Jongin called out.
“Get in,” Kris said and Kyungsoo nodded obediently. He immediately ran to the car with Junmyeon. Junmyeon hesitated for a moment as he looked at Kris, but then Kris spoke again. “That includes you, too.”
“Will you come...?”, Junmyeon asked in a worried tone.
The innocent question got Kris to smile, even though Junmyeon wouldn’t be able to see because he had his back on him. “He wouldn’t leave without me.”
“They’re safe,” Jongin muttered the moment Kyungsoo and Junmyeon got into the car. “Come on, hyung. Come on.”
Kangin groaned painfully as he tried to pull the knife out of his chest, but Kris shook his head disapprovingly as he slowly ,but surely stepped backward toward the car.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Kris clicked his tongue. “Unless you have a doctor waiting the moment the knife comes out.”
Kangin cackled in pain. “I’m gonna find you then.”
Junmyeon brought a hand to his mouth at Kangin’s words. His whole body trembled and Kyungsoo quickly pulled him into a hug.
“Come on,” Jongin gritted his teeth.
“I’m gonna find you,” Kangin slammed a fist on the ground.
“Good luck with that. Because you know what?”
“What???”, Kangin snapped angrily.
The moment you find me, you won’t be alive anymore.
“Just because I’ve missed,” Kris paused and his tone turned cold. “Doesn’t mean I’ll miss my next hit.”
With that, Kris got into the car and Jongin sped up.
Within seconds, the sound of Kangin screaming could be heard echoing in the neighborhood.
(“I heard Junmyeon’s doing well.”
“Yeah, he’s alright.”
“But you need to be careful.”
“I know. ...did he survive?”
“It seems so. I can’t find his whereabouts, moreover his body. He’s definitely still alive.”
“I see. Thank you, Kyungsoo-yah.”)
***
Jongin drove the car and Kris just let him took them wherever he wanted.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Kyungsoo and Junmyeon’s condition, but Junmyeon had already fallen asleep in the backseat. Everything was probably too much for the beautiful male (Beautiful? Kris blinked and kicked himself mentally). Kyungsoo realized his stare and gave him a simple smile. Kris smiled back and turned his attention back at the road. It was a little past midnight and he just needed to make sure Jongin wasn’t going to kill them.
Eventually Jongin stopped at a neighborhood and Kyungsoo carefully slid off of the car. Kris didn’t even want to know how Jongin knew Kyungsoo’s address without asking and pretended not seeing anything when Kyungsoo came up to Jongin’s window and they kissed for almost a minute.
If it was only Kris, he would tell them to stop (like a father telling his teenage son), but because there was a sleeping Junmyeon behind, he hesitated.
The kiss finally stopped (Kris was mentally grateful for that), although Jongin seemed to be reluctant to let Kyungsoo go.
Kyungsoo smiled and pecked Jongin one more time before whispering, “Thank you.” He also gave Kris a smile and a soft ‘please take care of Junmyeon-hyung from now on’. Kyungsoo disappeared within the darkness and Jongin started driving again.
“Is he going to be alright?”
“It’s his territory,” Jongin said with a suppressed grin, but it was clear in his tone that he was somehow proud with the fact. “So, where to?”
Kris dragged a hand down his face and tiredly glanced over his shoulder. Junmyeon stirred in his sleep and something clenched within the blond male.
“Let’s bring him home.”
Jongin hit the gas deeper now that he knew their destination.
***
They finally made it back home a little (forty five minutes to be exact) past midnight.
Kris thought everyone would be sleeping by the late hour, but when Jongin unlocked the door, Minseok’s high pitched voice was the first thing he heard.
“Where have you guys been? We were so worried-“
“Jongin, you disappeared after dinner,” Yixing looked disappointed. “You should’ve told us.”
“Yes, and don’t think you won’t get grounded, young man-“
Minseok stopped flailing his arms when Kris appeared with a sleeping Junmyeon in his arms. His mouth was slightly gaped at the view, because he had never seen Kris with such a soft look before (at Junmyeon, but glowered at him). Jongin closed the door and the sound snapped Minseok back to life.
“He’s...”, Yixing whispered in disbelief as he observed Junmyeon keenly. He glanced at Minseok to see his reaction, but the latter seemed dazed, too.
He’s beautiful.
Kris looked down on the sleeping male in his arms and just then, he realized what state Junmyeon was in. Back in the alley and in the car, there wasn’t enough light so he didn’t really notice. Junmyeon’s cheek was red (that Kangin bastard probably had slapped him hard). His lips were covered in dry blood and his bangs were hanging haphazardly on his forehead. In other word, Junmyeon was a mess.
Jongin didn’t say anything as he went straight to his room. Just before he managed to open the door knob, it was opened and revealed a very confused Zitao.
Zitao threw everyone a look before finally stopping at Kris and the stranger in his arms.
“What...is the meaning of this?”, he asked quietly, but his tone showed that he was angry.
“Just let it go,” was what Jongin said before he disappeared into the room.
“No, we-we can’t afford another one!”, Zitao said in disbelief. “You-you said so yourself, ge!”
“Keep your voice down,” Kris stressed each word slowly.
“Zitao,” Minseok shook his head. “We can’t just leave him out there. We can arrange him to stay at Luhan’s but-“
“No, no ge, we haven’t got any room!”
“He’ll sleep in my room,” Kris tried to keep his voice as low as possible. Junmyeon started to stir in his arms.
“B-but-“
“Zitao,” Yixing said warningly. “This can be discussed later. Go to your room.”
Zitao stomped his feet on the carpeted floor in frustration. He held his hands in the air for a moment as a sign that he gave up before slamming the door. Kris heard the younger male cursing in Chinese and closed his eyes tiredly. He just didn’t need any of this right then.
“You must be tired,” Yixing said softly. “Have a good rest.”
Kris nodded grimly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Minseok shook his head. “Diamonds, remember?”
Kris found himself smiling at the word and after saying goodnight to the other men, he went to his bedroom. Junmyeon was still sleeping soundly in his arms.
(“So are you saying that Kangin is the one who’s been killing people lately?”
“I’ve had my suspicions,” Kyungsoo said tiredly. “But what I don’t understand is how he managed to lure the victims. You see, there was actually a witness but she was given protection by the cops. From what my sources told me, the witness said that just before the last killing happened, she swore she heard someone screaming for help.”
“And that means...”
Kyungsoo gave Kris a look. “He’s using Junmyeon as a bait. He acted like Junmyeon was hurt and he probably told him to scream.”
“So these people...”, Kris pressed his lips into a thin line. “...were killed because they tried to save Junmyeon?”
Kyungsoo didn’t say anything after that. But they could hear Yixing snorted from the end of the room.
“Sloppy,” he muttered. It had been his favorite word lately.
Kris paid no attention. “Do you think you can try and approach Junmyeon?”
“I will try, hyung.”
“I don’t like it,” Kris said darkly. “How did he end up with Kangin, anyway?”)
***
Junmyeon was slowly pulled out of his dream as he felt the wind breezed gently on his cheek.
He hummed softly and snuggled closer to his pillow. It felt nice and Junmyeon hadn’t felt like this in a long time. The warmth from the blanket, the softness of the sheet, the faint scent of perfume... He felt comfortable. He felt safe. He felt like he was home.
Home.
Junmyeon frowned as his chest fluttered at the word.
Home was something he didn’t have.
So if he felt like he was home, it was probably just a dream. It was just a dream and he needed to wake up.
Junmyeon inhaled through his mouth and slowly cracked his eyes open. He saw the curtain moving-caused by the wind, apparently someone had left the window opened. He saw the plain ceiling with a little crack in the corner. Junmyeon was in a room. In a warm, cozy bedroom. He blinked his eyes a few more times to adjust with his surrounding and rolled to his side.
Where am I...?
He sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Junmyeon cautiously scanned the room. The room was covered in white as far as his eyes went. Even though it was cozy, but something was off, like someone needed to add more furnitures. There were only a bed, a wardrobe and a loveseat by the window. Junmyeon tilted his head to a side before finally realizing that it was his clothes that were folded on the seat and quickly looked down. He was only wearing an oversized black colored tee with nothing underneath.
Junmyeon crawled off of the bed in slight panic, his mind was still trying to work. He wasn’t so bright whenever he just woke up-it was like his brain took forever to load like those crappy, out of dated hard drives. Junmyeon was still reaching for his clothes when someone had opened the door and he froze. His brain suddenly worked fine.
He had seen the male before.
Familiarity rushed in to Junmyeon at the sight of the blond male. His mind traveled back to a few nights ago when he was with Kyungsoo and they had walked into the diner to greet Taemin. Then it did a fast forward to the scene where he was again, with Kyungsoo, falling into stupid arguments and they somehow ended in the alley.
They stared at each other for a moment before the taller male’s gaze dropped to somewhere between his thighs or his legs-oh dear God, Junmyeon gasped inwardly as he tugged the shirt down as an attempt to cover his thighs. He failed, of course.
“How are you feeling?”, the male asked gently.
Junmyeon blinked as he stared into Kris’ eyes. Strangely, he felt calm. He remembered that the man had saved him and Kyungsoo from those thugs, and Junmyeon had a naive feeling that he wasn’t going to hurt him. “I...I feel okay.”
He saw the man’s lips curved into a small smile. “That’s good.”
“K-Kyungsoo...?”
“He’s alright.”
Junmyeon brought a hand to his chest and sighed in relief. “Thank you... I’m really glad to know that,” he said and bit his bottom lip hesitantly. “...where are we?”
“Home.”
“Home...?”
“Are you hungry?”
“You’re-you’re cooking?”
Kris looked amused. “No. Yixing does.”
“Yixing...?”
“How about,” Kris walked into the room and Junmyeon took a step back by instinct. He was definitely tall, the latter thought absentmindedly as the blond haired male searched for something in the wardrobe before finally holding a pair of sweatpants. “I introduce you to my family?”
“Family...? You live here with them?”, Junmyeon’s face paled as worry and fear were showed all over his face. “I-I’m just a stranger, I don’t think it’s a good idea, I mean what if they wouldn’t accept me and they get angry...”, he trailed off. “I mean, I... I don’t know them-I don’t know anyone, as a matter of fact. Including...you...”
Kris trailed his fingers along Junmyeon’s jawline thoughtfully. “I want to know you.”
Junmyeon’s eyes fluttered at the touch. Something bubbled in him, a sudden strange yet exciting feeling.
Kris’s hand dropped to his arm and tugged Junmyeon closer to his chest. Junmyeon found himself obeying, his chin lifted up at the face of the taller male, his naked feet were completely forgotten. Kris leaned closer, his lips almost touched Junmyeon’s ear.
“Will you allow me to...?”
Junmyeon closed his eyes bashfully as Kris’ breath ghosting against his ear. His heart thrummed against his ribcage so loudly like it was going to run out free any moment. It was beating fast, but the feeling was different than the fear he felt when that Kangin guy had shoved his hand on his neck. It was definitely different... He held on to that feeling, and Junmyeon’s lips trembling slightly before he managed to utter a coherent answer.
“...yes...”
“Then stay...and meet my family.”
***
Kris’ definition of family was totally different than Junmyeon’s.
He expected to meet parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, nephews or nieces, but was met with a few youngsters instead-whom he believed were his age or even younger.
Minseok and Yixing welcomed him with the warmest smile Junmyeon had ever known. Minseok got quickly attached to him, asking all kinds of things like was he hungry and how was his condition and everything (Junmyeon felt Minseok was cooing himself to be a good older brother). Yixing didn’t talk much because he was still quite busy with his cooking, the smell wandered flavorously throughout the room.
There was Zitao who only shot him a glance-or a glare? Junmyeon wasn’t sure-and didn’t talk to him at all. Junmyeon noticed Jongin and the boy nodded at him with a lazy smile. Then he was dragged to the dining table as all of them gathered for lovely meals. He could only stare in amazement at how many words Minseok spat out of his mouth at the dinner and how many food Yixing shoved into his plate-told him he needed to eat more.
Junmyeon chewed his food slowly as he tried his best to remember where he had seen all of them before.
And it just struck him out of nowhere.
They were all in the diner that night.
Junmyeon remembered distinctly that he glanced at Kris and the male stared back. Something jolted in his stomach at the strange sensation and he hurriedly gulped his broccoli for a distraction. He also remembered Kyungsoo muttering something about ‘don’t look at him, don’t look at him’ when they had stepped out of the diner. Junmyeon wondered if his friend was talking about Zitao back then (he was terribly scary, afterall).
But something about the ‘family’ got Junmyeon to smile.
It felt warm. His heart felt warm, and it was something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Again, Junmyeon felt like he was home.
He blinked when Zitao muttered something in a foreign language and it got Minseok and Yixing to laugh. Jongin seemed as lost as him because he yawned at the cheerful conversation. Junmyeon’s brows slightly furrowed at their chitchat and felt a nudge on his feet. He peeked down to see the owner of the socks and found himself blushing when he realized it was Kris.
Kris gave him a calming smile and Junmyeon smiled back before fixing his attention back to finish the food.
That moment, he realized that he hadn’t known the blond male’s name.
(“Oh, Jongin-ah.”
Jongin stopped walking and stared lazily at his hyung. “Yes?”
“The other night. When I was with Kyungsoo. How did you find out?”
Kris had expected Jongin to say something like Kyungsoo accidentally spilled it out. Not that he would blame Kyungsoo, his relationship with Jongin had been going on for a few months and they both seemed serious with each other. It was also obvious that Jongin was head over heels for the older male.
“Lover’s intuition,” Jongin replied shortly.
Kris made a face.)
[2]