[fic] right where he belongs; jaejoong/yoochun, ot5
right where he belongs
~4,200w, two-shot
ot5, jaechun, yoochun/everyone, PG
drama, romance, friendship, au
Summary: a man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.
an: god, i forgot what a pain in the ass it was to post on lj! anyhoo, this is a sequel to my jaechun one shot, just remember to come home. i recommend reading that first or else you'll be thoroughly confused. i tried to make it read as a stand alone, but i don't think it worked. the first part is completely jaechun (with some smut) but i ended up turning the sequel into an ot5, kind of. i just couldn't help it what with all the drama lately. but i hope you enjoy!
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It’s been five months, two weeks, and four days since Yoochun left. Not that Jaejoong was counting, consciously anyway. But there was always just a sense of loneliness around since he left. Like he was the sun that filtered through the curtains in the morning, filling the household with it’s natural light and then leaving everything dim and grey as soon as the evening set in. But Jaejoong could still see, just not as clearly. He still thinks of him though. Every morning as he comes down to make himself a pot of coffee he would see the last thing Yoochun said to him.
“Yoochun loves Jaejung. See U!”
He smiles at the refrigerator door every morning and mumbles an “I love you too” to himself before going on with his everyday routine. He’d work, he’d clean, he’d cook, he’d socialize; all like nothing has changed, only being able to go on knowing that he’ll return one day.
“See U!” And he believed it.
Though there was a time soon after Yoochun left where Jaejoong felt as if he could barely go on. Every day without him begins to feel meaningless and empty, like there was no point in it. He’d stay up late wondering if he was okay, if he was eating, if he was someplace safe and warm, and if he still thought about him. It was hard for him, but eventually he found support in three people whom he had never met, but soon felt like he’d known them for an eternity. And it was all thanks to Yoochun.
---
Exactly two months after Yoochun‘s departure, Jaejoong came home to another man standing on his front porch. He had stopped in his tracks just before reaching the front steps as a wave of nostalgia washed over him. The stranger’s back was towards him, and for a split second in his excitement, he almost thought it was him. He had barely managed to gasp out his name before the stranger turned around.
It wasn’t Yoochun. And Jaejoong’s shoulders sagged as he let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. The new stranger looked startled for a moment at noticing him and Jaejoong cocked an eyebrow as he watched the young man bite his lip and begin to look nervous and just a bit embarrassed. He noticed the small yellow paper being fisted in the man’s hands with his address scrawled across it before looking back up at his face.
“I-I know this seems a little weird, but I’m… I’m Junsu.” The young man stuttered slowly before giving a small bow. “And I was wondering if… if you remember a man named Yoochun?”
Jaejoong’s eyes widened. “Yoochun? How… how do you know him? Is he okay? Where is he?” The panic in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by the stranger; --Junsu-- and he quickly waved his hands in front of him.
“No, I-it’s okay. He’s fine… I guess. I met him last month; he stayed with my family and me for a few weeks. He… he talked about you…” Junsu trailed off uneasily, not knowing how to go about this situation.
Jaejoong visibly relaxed just at knowing Yoochun was okay for the moment. The man in front of him seemed genuine and Jaejoong had to wonder if Yoochun was drawn to him just as he was beginning to. “Would you like to come inside? I have coffee.”
The young man broke out into wide smile, almost rivaling that of Yoochun’s before saying, “I’m not allowed to have coffee. But if you have apple juice, that’ll be great!”
Jaejoong smiled back. It was the first genuine smile he managed in months.
---
“So, Junsu, was it? Where are you from?”
“Gyeonggi,” Junsu muttered matter-of-factly through the bite of his PB& J sandwich.
“Gyeonggi?” Jaejoong questioned with a small smile as he rested his cheek against his fist. “I wonder how Yoochun got there.”
Junsu shrugged before taking a gulp of apple juice. “Don’t know. Sometimes I think he has magical powers or something.”
Jaejoong laughed and glanced back at the refrigerator door. “I wouldn’t be surprised. He was a strange one.”
The two of them lapsed into silence. Jaejoong’s mind wandered as Junsu finished up his snack. It wasn’t until moment’s later that Junsu spoke again. He set down his glass of apple juice and glanced at the words on the refrigerator door before looking quietly out the kitchen window.
“I miss him sometimes,” Junsu said absently as he continued to stare out at the setting sun. Jaejoong turned to face him. “He didn’t talk much, but he smiled and laughed a lot. He used to play soccer with me and Junho-- my twin brother. He was really clumsy and bad, but it was always fun. When my brother went off abroad, he still played with me everyday. I guess he knew I was lonely without him… He was really observant like that. He became like another brother to me. Even though he didn‘t talk much-- he told me I talked enough for the both of us-- we still shared this… this connection. Like we‘ve known each other for years.” Junsu trailed off here and paused as he took another gulp of his juice.
“He used to play the piano down in our basement too. My mom bought it years ago and we used to take lessons as kids. I tried to show off to him one day by playing the only song I knew-- I can’t remember what it was called, but I played it the best I could remember. I asked him if he wanted me to teach him how to play it, but he just sat down and ended up playing it even better than I did! I was jealous and told him that he sucks at soccer, and just laughed and played another song I didn’t know.” Junsu made a slightly annoyed face and Jaejoong smiled fondly as he imagined what it must have been like with those two. And then Junsu frowned; Jaejoong decided it wasn’t a good look for him.
“When he… when he left without a word one day I was really worried. He used to disappear for a whole day, but always came back by dinner time. When he didn’t come back I started to panic and my mom told me he would be okay, that he can take care of himself. But I was still worried. He ended up being so apart of my life that I didn’t know how to handle it. But when I went to bed that night, I found a note on my pillow that said “Susu”-- he used to call me that. I hated it. The note was short, but I wasn’t surprised. All he said was ‘Bye-bye, I’ll see you around!’ And then he left your name and address and told me to say hi for him if I meet you. He talked about you before. In fact, you were mostly what he ever talked about. It was kind of annoying, actually. But you must have been really special to him, so here I am now… He says hi by the way.”
Jaejoong chuckled at Junsu’s story. It was almost like Yoochun had never left. The way Junsu talked about him sounded so much like him and it made him smile. Just knowing that he was safe and happy with people like Junsu was enough to make him feel lighter and happier.
“Thank you, Junsu. I’m really happy you came.” Jaejoong smiled.
Junsu gave him another killer smile and nodded. “It’s no problem. Any friend of Yoochun is a friend of mine!”
Junsu ended up staying late for dinner that night. Jaejoong called for take-out and they watched a couple of movies until Junsu fell asleep on his shoulder. Jaejoong had asked when the other man needed to be home and Junsu only shook his head sleepily and told him it was the weekend so it was okay. Jaejoong smiled and let the younger man fall back asleep. He ended up staying till morning and promising he’ll visit again in a few days.
With Junsu around, the constant shroud of loneliness that seemed to hover around him had lightened; as if the blanket had thinned and the sun could peak through the threads once again. And it was only going to continue to lighten.
---
It’s been almost a month since Junsu came into his life. They’d talk and hang out and watch TV. It was fun, but it still couldn’t replace the hole that Yoochun left. Junsu often reassured him that he would see him again. ‘He said so, after all. And Yoochun always kept his promises.’
Jaejoong would smile and nod, knowing he was right.
But Jaejoong had never expected he would encounter someone else along the way. He had just returned home from the grocery store when he noticed Junsu standing on his front porch. He was about to greet the younger man when he noticed someone else with him. Jaejoong had learned not to get excited when he sees someone on his porch, but he couldn’t help the wave of nostalgia that washed over him again.
“Jaejoongie,” Junsu called. “You’ve got another one.”
The tall stranger turned to Jaejoong and smiled. His eyes crinkling and mismatched with a boyish charm that had Jaejoong smiling slightly before the boy bowed low and respectfully.
“Hi, I’m Changmin,” he introduces. “Shim Changmin. You must be Jaejoong, right?”
Jaejoong smiles and nods because he has a feeling what this is going to be about. “That’s right,” he says. “Would you like to come in? I can make lunch.”
Another wide boyish grin, “Lunch would be great! I’m practically starving to death. I haven’t eaten in like two hours.”
Jaejoong chuckled and ushered them all inside.
---
“So neither of you know where Yoochun actually came from?” Changmin had asked as the three of them settled into the kitchen. Junsu nodded as he poured himself another glass of apple juice while Jaejoong continues to prepare lunch.
“Nope, he just appeared in both of our lives,” Junsu explained. “Wasn’t it the same for you?”
Changmin nodded and took a sip of his tea. Jaejoong watched him from over his shoulder as the young man gazed down into his mug of dark liquid. It seems Yoochun affected another person, he smiled to himself.
“So how did Yoochun invade your life?” Junsu asked.
Changmin’s shoulders shook with laughter as he continued to stare into his tea cup. “Invade… that’s a good way to describe it. I had my suspicions he was some sort of alien.”
Junsu squealed in excitement as he tapped the table with his hands. “I know! I know! Like he had magical powers or something, right?”
Jaejoong approached the table and placed the sandwiches down between the two young men, smiling softly. Changmin had looked at Junsu as if he was crazy, but nodded at his excitement with a grin anyway. Junsu had already started on his first sandwich by the time Jaejoong sat down at the table.
“Yoochun was strange,” Changmin began as he took a huge bite from his own sandwich. Junsu made a face. “I met him one afternoon outside of the old library about a block away from my house. He was sitting under the large oak tree. Not doing anything, just… sitting there, staring up at the sky. I don’t know why I noticed him; people sit there all the time and I barely give them a second glace. But for some reason I walked up to him. He didn’t even notice me until I said hello and then he just looked up at me and… and smiled…”
Jaejoong grinned and chuckled into his coffee cup. “Yoochun’s smiles did have that effect on people.”
Junsu hummed quietly in affirmation and Changmin smiled that eye crinkling smile that Jaejoong was beginning to find extremely endearing. He wondered if Yoochun thought so too.
“He didn’t say anything, but I took his smile as an invitation to join him. I don’t know why, because I had a lot of studying to do but I sat with him anyway. I even shared my lunch! And that’s a pretty big deal to me. We ended up talking for hours. Well, I talked mostly. He just listened… He was a really good listener. Like he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.” Changmin paused for a moment and took a small sip of his tea, as if deciding on if he should go on, but he licked his lips and continued.
“I… I didn’t do much socializing back then. I pretty much just kept to myself, either studying or working. So it was weird for me to suddenly open up to some stranger I met under a tree, but I couldn’t help it. There was just something so… open and trusting about him. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. Reason one why I suspected he was an alien. But before I knew it, the sun was setting and I had to get home. I knew my parents wouldn’t be back until the next morning and my sisters were out for the night too, and before I even knew what I was doing, I had invited him to come over… He ended up staying with us for almost a month.”
The three lapsed into silence for a moment. Each of them thinking about their own experiences with their elusive friend when he came into their lives unexpectedly. Jaejoong couldn’t help but smile faintly as he hears about the little adventures he’s been on. All the people he must have met, all the things he must have seen, but then he had to wonder what exactly he was doing this all for. He’s never really thought about it, always just letting Yoochun do as he pleased because that’s just the way he was. But he couldn’t help but be curious.
“Did Yoochun ever say anything to you about himself? Like where he’s from or what he’s doing?” Jaejoong asked.
Changmin looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyebrows creasing as he leaned back into his seat. “He didn’t speak much in general.” He began, “But when he did talk, he often spoke of you. Not in very much detail, but he always smiled when he mentioned you. When I asked him why he left and if he was lost or something he just smiled at me and said-- and I’ll never forget this-- that… ‘not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves,’ …Henry David Thoreau.” Changmin chuckled, “Yoochun was smarter than I ever gave him credit for.”
Jaejoong hummed absently into his coffee cup as he gazed at the words on his refrigerator door. “To understand himself, huh?” Jaejoong said quietly, more so to himself. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
“George Moore,” Changmin muttered absently into another bite of his sandwich.
Jaejoong chuckled, “That’s right.”
“So what brought you here?” Junsu finally chimed in.
Changmin finished up his sandwich and reached for another. “Well, he never did speak much about himself, so I couldn’t help but be curious as to whom he really was. I came home one day and he was just gone. I already knew deep down that he would leave one day. He just didn’t seem like the type of person to stay in one place for too long. But when I came home I found a note in one of my text books. All it said was ‘Bye, Minnie! I’ll see you around!’ Of course I was worried, but I knew he was smarter than he seemed. But when he left, my curiosity piqued. I looked up on Jaejoong, hoping to get some answers, so here I am. He also told me to say hi for him if I ever meet you.”
Another silence passed between the three young men until Junsu spoke up. “It’s official. Yoochun’s an alien.”
---
Changmin became part of Jaejoong’s life much like Junsu did. They both attended the University in the area and spent most of their time over Jaejoong’s where they talked, laughed and bonded. It soon began to feel as if they were becoming their own little family. They shared a bond deeper than most knew of, and they all knew deep down that they were brought together for a reason. It was as if Yoochun was collecting his own little family and bringing them together; someplace he could return to.
Jaejoong was already beginning to feel less lonely with those two around. His days were filled with laughter and Junsu and Changmin’s childish bickering. It was as if his circle was almost complete. He never would have thought there was another one about to join in their world. But this time, he didn’t meet the stranger on his front porch. He hadn’t even been sought out like he had been with the other two. It happened all by chance really.
A windy autumn afternoon found Jaejoong sitting on a wooden bench in the center of the local park as he watched people walk by. He was waiting for Changmin when he noticed a tall man in grey sweats and a hood over his head begin to jog past with his large black and white dog. When he heard his name being called, Jaejoong looked up and saw Changmin jogging towards him before flopping down on the bench beside him.
“Miss me much?” Jaejoong joked with a grin as he straightened Changmin’s scarf.
“Yeah, right. And you treating me to lunch has nothing to do with it.” Changmin countered with smile.
They bantered back and forth for a few more moments until a familiar black and white dog began sniffing at Changmin’s leg. Jaejoong looked up at the owner now standing before him looking a bit sheepish. Jaejoong cocked his head to the side questioningly as he recognized him as the jogger he just saw moments ago. Said jogger finally pulled off his hood to reveal a handsome face.
“You… wouldn’t happen to be Kim Jaejoong, would you?” he asked.
Jaejoong nodded slowly, “That’s me. Do I know you?”
“Um, no but I… this is probably really strange--”
“Probably not that strange,” Changmin murmured as he scratched behind the dogs ears. Jaejoong glance at him questioningly for a moment before he realized what this could be and looked back up at the handsome stranger.
“Do you um… know a man named Park Yoochun?”
Jaejoong tried to stifle his laugh for all of two seconds before it burst through loudly as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand. It left the stranger looking confused and nervous and Jaejoong couldn’t help but think it was a cute look on him. He must have looked crazy and hysteric to the man, but he couldn’t stop laughing.
“I’ll call Junsu,” Changmin announced with fake exasperation as he pulled out his phone.
When Jaejoong finally regained his senses, he apologized. “Yes, I know Yoochun, he was a-- wait. Did you say Park Yoochun?”
---
Three blocks from the park was a local café that Junsu worked part time at. This was ironic considering he didn’t drink any type of coffee, but he got his friends discounts so it as okay. But at the moment, he put himself of break when he got a message from Changmin stating ominously, “another has been affected.” Junsu shook his head and 15 minutes later his two friends arrived with another stranger and it was only then that he realized what Changmin meant.
“Well my story’s pretty similar to all of yours,” The man named Yunho began. “He stayed with me for about three weeks, and then he left. And in just those three short weeks, he ended up becoming my best friend--”
“Yoochun is like everyone’s best friend,” Changmin interjected. Junsu kicked him from underneath the table.
“He as mine before he was yours,” he stated childishly. Jaejoong chose not to point out that Yoochun was his before any of them and looked at Yunho to continue.
“I guess you’re right. Yoochun just seemed like the type of person who liked everyone. He was just so open and friendly even though he didn’t talk much. He would never judge anyone and always had a smile to share… but he was such a crybaby sometimes too. I remember one day I came back to my apartment and saw him in front the television sobbing. It was the first time I had seen him cry so immediately I rushed over to him to see if he was okay. He just sniffled a few times before looking at me and then back at the TV. That’s when I noticed that the Lion King was on… Mufasa had just died.”
Junsu was the first one to burst out with his loud, unique laughter and soon everyone joined in; each sharing their own similar stories about their own little crybaby. Jaejoong quieted suddenly as he remember the new information he just found out.
“So how did you find out Yoochun’s full name? Did he remember it on his own?”
“He did,” Yunho began as he placed his coffee down on the table. “I helped him along the way because I really thought it would be good for him to remember. I majored in psychology in college and I went through a bunch of different exercises with him during his stay. Eventually he began to remember things. The first thing he managed to remember was that people used to call him Micky. At first I didn’t think that would help, but that eventually lead him to remember more things. When he finally managed to remember his full name, I did a little research… and I found a family member…”
“You found someone in Yoochun’s family?!” Junsu had asked the question that Jaejoong was too shocked to voice himself.
“Yeah,” Yunho began. “A cousin… in the states.”
A silence fell over the four young men squished into the small booth. The only sounds heard were the quiet chattering of the other patrons and the clicking of the old grandfather clock at the back of the café. No one knew what to say for the longest moment. It felt as if they had just solved a puzzle, yet didn’t know what to do now that it was finished. Jaejoong gulped quietly before he asked his next question.
“So… where is he now?” Jaejoong asked hesitantly.
Yunho licked his lips as if stalling, “I contacted the cousin. Yoochun went to go visit him in the states. He left a week ago…”
If possible, every thing fell even quieter after that. Junsu and Changmin looking on worriedly as Jaejoong slumped back into his seat, speechless. As if sensing the atmosphere, Yunho slumped his shoulders, “I’m sorry…” he said.
Jaejoong shook his head. “No, it’s alright. I’m happy for him,” he reassured.
“Yoochun loves Jaejung. See U!”
He still believed it.
---
Jaejoong didn’t ask anymore about Yoochun’s relative in the states. He could have, but he didn’t. He didn’t need to know. He knew this would be a great experience for Yoochun, and Jaejoong would never take that away. He could go on his little adventure of self discovery and still have a place to come home to rest his weary feet and he knew that. And Jaejoong will continue to wait, just like he’s been doing this whole time. Only now, he had people to keep him company.
Yunho had been a great addition to their little family. He fit in just perfectly with the three of them. He was the clam, sensible one that balanced out their crazy, yet still childish enough to hang with the rest. He was almost like everyone’s father. Junsu had even taken to calling him dad jokingly, and it just stuck. Not that Yunho seemed to mind the name.
But as of late, Yunho has been acting strange. Jaejoong noticed it one night when Yunho came over to join the rest for dinner one Sunday night. Jaejoong had opened the door and Yunho just smiled at him. It was a soft, secret smile and Jaejoong just had a feeling something was up, like he had known something no one else did. Jaejoong didn’t question it then, only raising an eyebrow as he let Yunho inside to greet the other two shouting in the kitchen.
The suspicion only escalated from there when Jaejoong started to receive those small, knowing smiles every now and then from Junsu and Changmin. He could tell they tried to hide it, but it was almost impossible with they way Junsu would giggle for no apparent reason and Changmin would shush him and tell him to shut up. But Jaejoong still didn’t ask questions. Whatever it was it would come out eventually.
But eventually, Jaejoong didn’t have to wait for it to come out. He slowly began to understand when one week the smiles became a little less secret and a lot more excited and the glances sent to him on the sly became full blown grins. Junsu was even more bubbly than usual, practically bouncing off the walls as if he was given a pound of chocolate and finished it in a gulp. Yunho had been visiting more, smiling and asking Jaejoong if he needed anything. Even Changmin had been smiling more and bickering less with Junsu.
If Jaejoong didn’t know any better he would have thought he was pregnant. But as the excitement and eagerness of his friends grew throughout the week, he didn’t need to be told who was at the front door one Friday evening.
Changmin and Junsu were already setting the table when the doorbell rang. Junsu practically squeaked with excitement and Yunho gestured towards Jaejoong with a smile to go answer the door. It felt like it took an eternity to get from the kitchen to the front door, but when he finally did he paused. His hand hesitating just before he reached the doorknob and pulled it open slowly.
Time seemed to slow down as the door finally opened and Jaejoong had to fight to hold back his tears…
“I’m home,” Yoochun smiled.
And that’s all it took. Jaejoong pulled the other man into his arms and clung to him as if he could disappear any moment. “Welcome back,” he breathed.
Yoochun clung back just as tight and the two stayed like that before they heard the pattering of bare feet across the living room floor. Junsu practically tackled the two to the ground as he clung to the both of them. It didn’t take long for the others to join in. Changmin wrapped his arms around them all and Yunho ruffled Yoochun’s hair as he began to sniffle.
“Right on time for dinner,” Yunho said.
“It took you long enough,” Changmin teased.
“You still suck at soccer I bet,” Junsu laughed.
“I’m home,” Yoochun mumbled again.“
"You’re home,” Jaejoong replied.
END.