Because of You [Chapter 17]

[sum3r]

Title: Because of You [17/?]

Author: Sum3r

Pairing: JaeMin

Rating: R (Lemon)

Warning: Delinquent!Jae and Uke!Min = Smex / Language

Disclaimer: Plot is mine. Characters aren’t.

Summary: Min is a simple boy who was rejected by his first love. However, when he agrees to tutor a delinquent, his life turns upside down in ways he never wished it would.
Previous: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6A] [Chapter 6B] [Chapter 7] [At a Glance - YooSu SideStory] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11A] [Chapter 11B] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14][Chapter 15A] [Chapter 15B] [Chapter 16A] [Chapter 16B]

[A/N]: It’s been a while ^^;;; But yay for short chapters! (I think long ones are getting me) XD But here it is: chapter 17 ^^ Enjoy~!

[Click for the awesome banner made by PinkFluffies <3]

It continued through the night, as Min slid down to the floor, on a sitting position as he frequently wiped Jae’s warm skin with the towel, hours passing by before he felt his eyes beginning to drop, head sinking into the bed. Let me be your friend. Min curled his fingers against Jae’s warm hand, closing his eyes as sleep came to him.

Let me love you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 17

Changmin slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the streaming sunlight shining from the windows as he moved his head. He winced, putting a hand on his neck as he felt the cramps from last night, sleeping at an awkward angle.  As Min turned, he noticed Jaejoong and he immediately remembered last night, remembered the fever, the lost dreams, the silent cries. Quickly reaching forward, Min put his hand on Jae’s forehead, only to find out that Jae was doing no better than last night, his fever continuing to be unnaturally high. The pit of his stomach dropped as he felt his uneasiness rush back, the worry that things may not go too well.

Min chewed his lip as he stared at Jaejoong, hand still unconsciously clenched with the older man’s motionless one. His wounds are healing, he looks better, but his fever is…his fever is still high. I tried wiping it away, but it’s not going down and I don’t know what else to do-

He leaned forward, brushing a sweaty lock from Jae’s face, the older boy’s hair sticking to his feverish skin. His skin was unnaturally warm to Changmin’s touch and after a few minutes passed by, Min nodded, agreeing to his decision as he grabbed his cell phone, flipping it open and dialing a familiar number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“-sure that it’s warm, but not too warm that it might burn- Ah, Jaejoong, you’re awake! How do you feel now?”

Jaejoong slowly got up, propping his body on his elbows as he tried to get his blurry eyes to focus. His head was still dizzy, aching as he tried to focus, to think.

“S-should I let i-it cool down first…?”

“Yes, just on the counter.”

A warm hand felt Jae’s forehead as the older boy looked into the eyes of Changmin’s mother. She was smiling, and as Jae opened his mouth, she slid in a thermometer, closing off any words the older boy had to say.

After a few minutes, she pulled out the thermometer, checking the temperature. “Your fever’s going down, so that’s a good thing, but make sure you rest now and take it easy. My son told me you work during school hours? Well now, I don’t recommend high school students working but it’s important if you take a leave here and there.” She smiled wider, winking with her eyes bright as she continued to talk, Jae staring at her and barely listening. What the fuck? What the hell is she doing here?

“Overworking isn’t good for your health, but don’t worry now, just lay down and we’ll take care of you-Minnie-ah, just put it on the side, Yes, there.” Jae turned his head as he saw the younger boy walk into his room, holding a steaming pot. His eyes narrowed, as he realized the reason for why she was there.

“Now then,” Min’s mom got up, patting her knees. “The porridge is good for filling you up when you’re sick and so you should eat a bit before you rest again, but now really, look at the state of this apartment.” She walked around, touching the tables as she slid a finger across the wood, dust sticking to her fingertips. “It looks as though it hasn’t been cleaned for years, and I think now would be a wonderful opportunity to clean things up a bit…”

She was still talking as she walked towards the kitchen, leaving behind an irritated Jaejoong and a nervous Changmin. As soon as she walked out, Jae turned to Changmin, growling, the voice weaker than it usually is, as he said, “You invited your freaking mother? Your mother?!”

The younger boy looked away, blushing as he nervously replied, “Y-you were s-sick and I didn’t know w-what to do…” He looked up, meeting Jae’s aggravated eyes with his own worrisome ones, the two staring deep into each other, time stopping.

“Minnie-ah! I need your help!” Eyes breaking contact, Min jerked as he heard his mother’s voice, pushing the steaming pot closer to the older boy’s table as he bowed, leaving him. Jae watched the younger boy leave as he leaned against the headboard of his bed with an annoyed sigh, closing his eyes against the wave of dizziness that hit him.

He looked outside his door as Changmin and his mother stood talking, his mother holding tissues and her car keys while the younger boy nodded to what she was saying. Jae reached for the steaming pot, taking the wooden spoon out and licking the remains. His eyes grew drowsy as he relaxed against the wood, eyelids slipping down and jerking close as he slowly stopped eating. By the time Min tentatively stepped back into Jae’s room, the older boy was sleeping, head towards the side.

The younger boy reached over, sliding Jae’s covers on top of him as he tucked the older boy in. He took the spoon and set it back into the pot, but as he was about to step away, a hand caught his wrists, stopping him as the younger boy turned, meeting Jae’s eyes.

“Next time I wake up, I want you and your mother gone, hear me?”

“B-but-” Jae leaned over and cut off his words with a kiss, grabbing the back of his head as his feverish lips touched Min’s. But as fast as the kiss came, Jae pulled back, eyes dark before he laid himself back into the bed, turning over and away from the younger boy.

Min stood there, watching Jae’s back as he put his fingers to his lips, feeling the remains of Jae’s burning kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Jae awoke a second time, it was nearly the mid-afternoon and it was because of warmth that encased him and the noise that carried over to him. His eyes snapped open as he heard the loud voices, irritation creeping in as he realized that the both of them had continued to stay, continued to be inside his apartment. He quickly threw off his covers as he walked into his living room, stopping in his tracks as he saw Min’s mother on a chair, dusting the tops of his windows while humming to herself as Min had taken out his forgotten playstation 2 and was cleaning it, carefully wiping the years of dust already placed upon it.

Walking towards the younger boy, Jae yanked the disoriented boy up as he said, “Didn’t I tell you to leave?”

Min fumbled, glancing at his open bedroom door and taking a minute to realize that Jae was wide awake and wanted answers. “S-she didn’t w-want to leave, s-so…”

Then Min’s mother noticed him from the corner of her eyes as she stopped dusting, stepping down from the chair to begin walking towards Jae.

“Thank you for your help, but I can manage just fine, really, so if you would please-” Jae spoke stiffly first, as Min’s mother smiled, reaching out to feel his forehead again. Jae automatically closed off his mouth, years of getting yelled at for talking while his own mother took care of him, as he went silent.

After she seemed satisfied and began talking, did Jae realize that she wasn’t his mother, wasn’t the wife of the man Jae called his father, didn’t stay silent when Jae walked out of her life.

“-cleaned most of the rooms, only the kitchen left, and as I was going through it, I noticed that all you had were some unhealthy items and convenient store lunches left behind. I did taste some of your kimichi and it was wonderful, I have to say you are an accomplished cook, so I do believe that only time and the lack of food material is stopping you from cooking yourself. Now,” she continued as she laid a hand on Changmin’s shoulders, “I’ll be going out to get vegetables and such, but from now on, I’ll occasionally send Minnie-ah over with a pot or two of home-cooked meals so I can be sure you’re eating right.”

“No really, it’s not necessary, and I would like it if you would just-”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Min’s mom waved her hands, “I’m going to become worried if such a grown man such as yourself doesn’t get the proper nutrients he needs, and,” she smiled, the smile reaching into her eyes as Jae stood immobile, “home cooked meals from a mother doesn’t sound bad once in a while, right?”

Jae opened his mouth to retort back, but Min’s mother was already moving towards the kitchen, “-only few dishes left I think, so maybe I might need to get a few more plates and forks and such when I go out. Minnie-ah, could you make a list love? I’ll probably forget to get them-”

And then Changmin was moving towards the kitchen too, but Jae pulled him back.

“I appreciate your concern, but I think it would be better if you just leave and handle it to me!” he called out, beginning to get frustrated at the lack of control, frustrated at the fact that he couldn’t do anything, couldn’t get them to stop, couldn’t get them to leave him alone. Changmin slipped away from Jae’s hold, a soft smile on his face as he grabbed a pen, walking into the kitchen as he began to start a conversation with his mother.

Left alone while the two talked about the state of his apartment, Jae walked swiftly into the kitchen, coming in-between of them. “I feel better now, so I think it would be good if you left me for a little while at least-”

DING. DONG. The sound echoed throughout the apartment. DING. DONG.  “-a few minutes if you could all just leave my apartment and me alone-”

DING. DONG. “I want to be just left by myself now, thank you very much, so if you could-” DING. DONG.

“I’M COMING!” Jae yelled out angrily, frustration getting the best of him as he pushed past the two, cursing all the way to the door as he yanked it open, “Listen, I don’t fucking want whatever you’re selling-” Jae stopped as he noticed who it was, “What the fuck is this? The lets-all-visit-Jae-today?”

Junsu stood outside his door, smiling despite Jae’s angry reply. He held brown grocery bags in both hands as he said, “Well, since you left early at the party last night, I came here to make sure you were all right.” He eyed the various bruises and bandages, “Which I can see now the reason why you left,” he stepped in, pushing the door wider, “and it’s been a while since I’ve been here so-”

“You think that since I went to the freaking party last night that you can just come in here whenever you want?” said Jae growling, but Junsu merely stepped in further, as he noticed Min’s mother coming to him.

“Ah! I was just about to go grocery shopping, but I’m glad I met you instead!” Junsu’s confused eyes met Jae’s for a second, before he was swept up in a hug, the bags leaving his arms and into Min’s mother’s.

“S-she’s my mother…” said a quiet voice in the back, as Junsu turned to Min. The two immediately recognized each other and began to grin, Min blushing slightly as he met the same boy he had seen weeks ago in his school, the same beautiful boy with the wide smile and sincere eyes.

Pushing aside Jae, Min’s mother pulled Junsu into the house as she balanced the grocery bags, Junsu looking down rather than meeting the eyes of the gorgeous woman’s. “I’m guessing you’re his…”

“Brother,” Junsu looked up, as she smiled, “My name is Kim Junsu, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” He grabbed one of the bags as it nearly tipped over, holding it still as the three began walking towards the kitchen, talking nosily.

“-the pleasure is all mine, you must be a year or two older than Minnie-ah?” “A year I believe,” with Min’s nod of acceptance, “and I go to-”

“I’m his adopted brother!” said Jae as the three barged into his apartment, into his life, “adopted!” Min’s mother stopped talking as Min immediately turned to face Jae, surprise written on his face. He looked at Junsu for confirmation, but as the other boy confirmed it with a nod, Min’s mother broke through. “Brother, adopted brother, what’s the difference these days? I don’t think that it matters now.” She waved her hands as Jae stared at her, “now where were we? You go to the prestigious-”

In a mere second, Min’s mother had waved away the reason Jae had left his home, had left his family, the three accepting it as though it didn’t matter, as though being an adopted son didn’t mean anything to them, didn’t have any difference. He stood there, frozen, frozen and confused of what to say next, of what to do as his anger began to ebb away, losing his sense of thought as the three dismissed his adoption without a pause.

He stood in the middle of his living room, feeling something stir within him, the slightest brush from deep inside him, something he wasn’t too sure about, something he didn’t think he would feel.

As Junsu and Min walked out of the kitchen, leaving Min’s mom to unpack the groceries, Junsu’s eyes fell on the playstation and lit up. “You have a playstation?” he said excitedly, he turned to Min, “Do you play?”

The younger boy nodded, “yea, I-I just finished Z-Zelda last week…”

“Me too! It was hard though, because after the third level, with Link-”

Jaejoong watched with serious eyes as his tutor and his brother started talking animatedly about the games they had played and after a slight pause, he strode back into his room, closing the door with a SLAM behind him.

Several hours later, when the noise began to die down, a quiet knock sounded on Jae’s door, but the older man merely closed his eyes, sinking further into his bed. His anger was completely gone, leaving behind slight irritation in its wake from the voices he had heard. The door creaked open as Changmin cautiously walked into Jae’s room, reaching the bed where Jae was pretending to be asleep.

“J-Jaejoong hyung?” he said quietly. But as Jae made no reply, Changmin reached forward, slightly touching his cheek. Jae’s skin was cooler this time, color returning to his face as the younger boy looked on. “There’s m-more porridge in the fridge,” Jae head Min say, hearing the boy talking but making no move to respond back. The younger boy sat on the side of Jae’s bed talking to himself rather than Jae, his hand still unconsciously stroking Jae’s cheek. “And I-I left the extra b-bandages on the table, s-so make sure you change them regularly. There’s a-also more f-food, just in c-case you want to eat s-something s-stronger, since mom threw a-away everything else.”

Changmin quietly laughed, “I-I’m s-sorry for all the trouble we caused, and I-I’m also s-sorry for bringing h-her here. I-I think…” he paused slightly, “…I think I-I became so s-scared I didn’t k-know what to do, and c-calling for help, calling for h-her seemed natural.” His voice grew softer, “I-I’m not going to s-stop you from fighting, o-or tell you not to d-do anything, b-but I’ll be t-there whenever you n-need me. I’ll come and I-I won’t, I promised myself, I-I won’t question or s-say anything.” The younger boy turned to the wall opposite from Jae’s bed.

“J-Jaejoong hyung, do y-you know…that w-whenever I see you get hurt, whenever I s-see your s-scars or wrap your w-wounds like last night…” His voice hitched and Jae completely froze with Min’s next words. “It h-hurts me too? I don’t…I d-don’t understand why, don’t understand how it could hurt me too. A-and…and it was, it was l-like I was at your club a-again, I was s-scared, I was alone and it…it hurts. I-I wonder…I wonder w-what you feel e-every time you get sick and n-nobody takes care of y-you, nobody takes your t-temperature, nobody makes y-you porridge…”

He was speaking like a kid, confused, with his words soft and to himself, thoughts shaped into sentences. “I-It doesn’t matter to m-me if you’re a-adopted, or what you d-did, or what happened b-between you and your family, I-I was happy when y-you called me l-last night, because…because I-I was able to help y-you, and I like, I w-want to help you, because I-”

Changmin stopped, stilling for a second as his voice faded away. He turned back to Jae, gently picking up his bandaged and kissing it softly.

“-I-I want to be your f-friend.” He said, voice quiet. Jae nearly twitched, restraining himself from moving or doing anything noticeable. “I…I-I don’t want y-you to be alone. But t-though you c-can’t hear me, and y-you probably w-won’t tell me to come back a-anymore, I want y-you to know,” Changmin leaned forward, brushing back Jae’s hair from his forehead, “that y-you have me, and s-so many more p-people in your life, J-Junsu-hyung, your family, my m-mother, the people y-you work with, who w-will be there when y-you need them.” He kissed Jae’s forehead, lips soft before quietly got up from his bed and left the room, door shutting behind him.

Jae opened his eyes slowly, the silence deafening as he heard his apartment door close shut. It’s finally quiet. Getting up, Jae walked into the living room, eyebrows raised at its obvious cleanliness. He went to the kitchen, opening to door to see it stacked full with fruits, vegetables, juices, and more. Prowling through every room in his apartment, Jae heard Min’s voice ringing through his head as he felt the silence getting to him.

“Whenever I see you get hurt, whenever I see your scars or wrap your wounds like last night… It hurts me too / It doesn’t matter to me if you’re adopted / I was happy when you called me last night / I want to help you / I want to be your friend”

It’s too quiet. The older boy put on the music loud, trying to forget the nosiness, the talking, the laughing. But as he settled in at night, closing his eyes, Jae dreamed about Changmin’s worried eyes, his anger at him getting hurt, the way he fussed over him, his gentle hands. Jaejoong dreamed of Changmin last night, and woke up the next morning with the same words ringing in his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[A/N]: Chapter 18 will (hopefully) be up by the end of this week. After that, as you guys have noticed from my lack of comments and completely random updating, my fic and I will be on Semi - Hiatus until mid March. LJ won’t let me explain until next chapter because the post is too long D: Also, a lot of people have been asking, and yes, Yunho will have a lover, and you’ll find out who in the last or so chapters. The person/setting/how will be revealed then. ^_______^ <3 <3 <3 for all the support~!