Because of You [Chapter 14]
Title: Because of You [14/?]
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]
[A/N]: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everybody ^__^ I sincerely apologize for the late update, but here it is: Chapter 14~ Enjoy~! ^^
He opened his mouth, but closed it again, his jaw clenched tight as he left Min, grabbing his things as he walked out of the room.
Shaking, Min slid down, rubbing his wrists, his body heaving. Maybe I did push him too far, maybe I said something I shouldn’t have.
Maybe.
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Chapter 14
“And the reason you didn’t say anything when I asked for another night is because….?” said Tablo, as he settled the crate of wine glasses over the bar. Jae grabbed the handles and set them down on the floor, taking out a clean rag as he began to pile the glasses on the shelf underneath the counter. The club was empty, as Seung Hyun (TOP) and Eru down turned the chairs, pushing the tables towards the sides to clear the dance floor.
“Someone’s got to pay the fucking rent,” Jae replied back, no emotion in his voice as he began cleaning each glass, from shot glasses to martinis, to regulars, to wine. Tablo slid underneath the counter and began to help Jae, reaching out for another rag.
“Really?” he said, as the two men faced the empty club, Jae looking down at his glass. There was slight skepticism in his voice, as Tablo knew there was more to Jae’s story than he was letting on. He stayed silent, letting the other man come to his own terms as he waited for the real reason, the real explanation why Jae had agreed to come in without complaints, without question. Tablo was constantly asking Jae for more shifts, as Jae was one of the best bartenders he’s ever had, but even after working over a year with him, there was little he knew about his younger employee.
Jae looked up, “I had time. You asked me to fill in, and I came.” His words were blunt, eyes unreadable as Tablo looked into them. As Jae returned to working, Tablo began to remember the previous nights, his eyes thoughtfully watching Jae.
“Does this have anything to do with your brother?” he said at last, recalling when the younger student had come in that one night at the club, nervous as he asked around for Jae, a letter clutched in his hands.
“Yeah,” Jae said, throwing the rag away as he reached for another one. “He invited me to our parent’s anniversary.”
“I see.” Tablo said, letting Jae decide whether or not he wanted to continue the conversation. He didn’t want to pry and although he wanted to get closer to one of the few employees he considered as a true friend, to know more about him, Tablo left it up to Jae.
There was no feeling in his voice when Jae continued, his voice monotone, as though he was speaking about someone else’s life. “I’m adopted, so when my dad realized he had his own son, he no longer needed me, and I left the house,” Jae shrugged, “another fucking sob story.”
“And now your brother wants you to come back?” replied Tablo, carefully keeping his voice even, as to not voice out his thoughts, his feelings.
“Yeah, something like that.”
Tablo continued to look at the glasses thoughtfully, thinking his words through before speaking them out loud. “You know, a lot of kids come through these doors. Kids who want to escape their lives for one night, one hour. I’ve heard too many stories of children gone through physical, sexual or even mental abuse, kids who were neglected, ignored or thought of as inferior to others. Runaways, or even younger adults like you, who decided enough was enough and left. You’ve heard them too, I’m sure.”
Jae said nothing, knowing the truth of Tablo’s words.
“Five more minutes ‘till we open!” Gong Yoo stuck his head through the doors, voice ringing through the club. Tablo nodded to his bouncer, before turning back his attention to Jae. He put down the glass he was holding, the rag sliding on the table.
“Listen. I’m not your father, I’m not your caretaker and I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions. But all I’m saying is…go back. If it’s just one day, one day to show that you’re willing to be their son, then go. I know your brother isn’t asking to come back forever, but rather just to show up, to care,” said Tablo. He slid from underneath the counter, moving to face Jae.
Jae looked up at him, and at that moment, at that time, Tablo knew exactly what the younger man was feeling. “These kids…they’re out here because they have no one to bring them back. They’re left they way they are because they don’t have anybody to call them, to go to their workplace and try and find them, to try and take them home.”
“So you’re saying that I should just-” stated Jae, but Tablo interrupted him.
“This entire time, this conversation, you said you were adopted, that you left. Yet you refer to him as your brother, you refer to them as your parents.” Tablo turned around, walking away from Jae. He took one final turn before going towards the exit, as Gong Yoo opened the doors to the club.
“Go back. I’m saying this because if you don’t, you’ll end up as a 27 man who yes, followed his dreams and opened up a club, but lost something so much more precious in return.”
Jae was left to his thoughts as the people began to pour in, the loud and chaotic music matching the feelings inside of him.
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The kitchen was silent, the clanking of the plates on the table loud against the stillness. Min’s mother was unusually quiet, slightly pale with visible bags underneath her eyes. Min was lost in his own thoughts, confusion and worry etched on his face as he automatically put food into his mouth.
“Minnie-ah, if you continue to eat like that, you’ll never finish dinner,” said Min’s mom with a slight smile, looking at her son as he put the chopsticks into his mouth without food for the third time. Changmin looked down, noticing his chopsticks as he slid them out of his mouth with a small apology.
Reaching out, Min’s mom covered her son’s hand were her’s, squeezing gently. Meeting his eyes as Min looked up, she said gently, “Something happened didn’t it? And don’t tell me ‘nothing,’ because I know you too well Minnie-ah. So go on…tell me what happened.”
Min’s eyes displayed the confusion inside of him as he opened his mouth, the words slowly coming out. “I-I think…I think I pushed him t-too far. I said s-something…something I don’t think I should have s-said.” He looked down, hands clenched underneath his mother’s, eyes downcast. “I didn’t mean to…I just…I just wanted him to go back, I didn’t want him to be alone,” he said, voice breaking apart, hesitant.
Min’s mother reached over again, gently cupping the sides of her son’s face, “Well now, if you said something you didn’t you should have said…then there’s only one thing to do, right?” She smiled, kissing the top of Min’s head. “Apologize Minnie-ah. I believe an apology would be enough.” Leaning back, she began to gather the dishes, Min standing up from his chair to help her.
“It’s the thought that you want to get across. So we’ll do it a simple way so the person you want to apologize to can understand,” she continued as Min continued to gather the dishes, cleaning the table.
Apologizing…is the only thing I have left to do. I hope that somehow….somehow he understands.
Please let it work.
Please.
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It was past midnight when Jae parked his car in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Making sure to lock it, Jae walked around the corner, reaching the gates and walking past the security guard, as his hands went to his back-pocket for his keys.
“Mr. Kim!” Jae turned his head around, noticing the guard who was running towards him. Turning his whole body around, he waited until the guard reached him.
“There was someone who came for you. We let him in since he said he was visiting, but it appears he left after some time. Quite a few hours I believe, a high school kid, taller than average height, brown hair, light brown eyes.”
Jae kept his surprise hidden as he listened. Changmin? Here? ….Why? He nodded to the guard as the guard left, Jae turning around to walk inside the building, reaching the elevator. Why the fuck would he come here and wait for me? What the…? He walked over to his apartment door, slowly becoming frustrated with things he no longer had a control over, that he barely noticed the box until he accidentally kicked it while walking inside his apartment. Reaching down to grab it, Jae opened the box, continuing to be aggravated with the questions he had no answer to.
It was slightly crooked, a one layer cake with the icing dropping on one side. It was messy, looked as though it had been smoothed over countless times, and was done simply, with the words ‘I’m sorry’ written in uneven icing in the middle.
Jae stared at it for minutes, the seconds passing by as he imagined a younger boy with soft brown eyes and clumsy hands trying to messily ice a cake, waiting for him outside his door for what it seemed like hours, a box clutched in his hands. Closing his eyes to let his feelings pass, Jae slowly closed the box, taking off his shoes, as he stepped into his apartment, closing the door was a slight smile forming on his lips.
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Changmin sat in the library, book opened, mind absorbed in the world the book created. He sat in the corner, the sunlight illuminating the pages and he slowly turned each page one by one. He was so caught up in the words that he didn’t notice Yunho walk over to him.
“Changmin,” he said. Min looked up, smiling as he saw Yunho. “I’ll drop you home after school.”
Changmin continued to smile as he said, “okay, I-I’ll meet you in the back…t-thank you.” Yunho merely nodded at Min before exiting the library, thoughts on what he was planning to say to the younger boy.
The day passed by rather quickly as Min waited for Yunho at the back of the school, facing the school parking lot. He didn’t have to wait long, as Yunho drove in in-front of Min, opening the front seat of the car. With a smile, Min slid into the car seat, buckling up as the car began to move.
The car ride was pleasant as the two talked, Min laughing at what Yunho had to say, both talking about school, about work, about anything in general. The atmosphere was comfortable, as Yunho knew most of his meetings with Min would be. As the car rolled in in-front of Min’s house, the younger boy thanked Yunho and bowed his head, unbuckling his seatbelt. But before Min could open the car door, Yunho grabbed one of his wrists.
“Wait.” Min turned back to face Yunho, waiting for the older boy to say something. Yunho said nothing for a few seconds, looking straight at Changmin.
He opened his mouth, the words slipping through against the silence in the car. “I know about Jaejoong.” Min’s eyes immediately widened, a gasp in his throat, as he opened his mouth, frozen.
“I know, but I don’t know the details. And I’m not going to ask.” Yunho decided this last night, decided to let go of whatever knowledge he sought between the two of them. To him, now, it wasn’t necessary to know about some other guy. “If it’s serious, I want you to tell me, to come to me, because I can do more than you think,” he continued, smiling a bit nervously. Min closed his mouth, eyes silently searching Yunho.
“Instead…” Yunho said, wanting to reach out and grasp the younger boy’s hands, but choosing not to do so. “…I wanted to say…actually, I wondered if you wanted to go out with me. As in, more than just friends.” Silence greeted his words, the same words Changmin had spoken to him many, many weeks before.
“I-I’m s-sorry but I-I don’t…I-I d-don’t…” Yunho saw the answer in Min’s eyes before the younger boy’s mouth moved, and although he was still surprised Min to see it, a part of him knew, knew it and it made the anger inside him rise up, rise up and take over.
“What? That you what? That you don’t love me anymore?” Min’s eyes looked away from him, showing the truth. Leaning forward, Yunho was a mere breath away from Min’s lips before Min’s hands covered his mouth, his eyes looking up and deep into Yunho’s.
“D-Don’t,” he said quietly, knowing that this wasn’t supposed to happen, that this wasn’t the way Yunho wanted it to be. Backing up his head, Yunho took a deep breath to try and control his anger, to try and be calm.
“What you…what you told me on the rooftop weeks ago, was that a lie? That you-”
“It w-wasn’t a l-lie-”
“Really? Because now that I knew more about you, now that we’ve gotten closer, I’m saying yes. I’m saying yes to a relationship I’ve never been through, saying yes to someone I never thought I’d be with-” The anger was rising up too quickly again, rising up too fast for him to control, as spiteful words left his mouth.
“I-I c-can’t…I d-don’t feel the s-same w-way-”
“The same way…for how long? You said you liked me for a while and now, in a space of just weeks you go to some stupid punk who can’t even graduate-”
“E-Enough!” Min’s face was red, body flushed, tears forming at the corner of his eyes as his voice rang through the car. He had been trying to make Yunho understand that they couldn’t be together, that he didn’t love him, that he was sorry, that he was so sorry. And he took it, he took the harshness, knew he probably deserved it for making it seem as though he still wanted to be with him…but Yunho had no right to judge Jae. No right to bring him like that into this conversation, their conversation.
“I-I’m s-sorry, but I-I can’t b-be with you. I-I can’t. A-and it w-wasn’t a l-lie. I d-did love you. Y-you were my f-first love, and w-will always be. But t-there’s s-someone else i-in my l-life that I-I want to be w-with right n-now. S-someone I n-need,” he said, ending it softly. Min took one last look at Yunho, looked at the confused, at the hurt, at the angry eyes, before tightly closing his own, the tears slipping down his cheeks.
“I-I’m s-sorry…I-I’m so s-sorry…” Without any other hesitation, Min opened the car door, leaving Yunho staring after him as he left the older boy, walking, and then breaking into a sprint towards the front the door of his house. Yunho’s hand was reached forward, the place where Min’s cheek was meant to be, frozen in mid-air as replayed everything in his mind over and over again, trying to understand what had happened in the space of mere minutes.
For it seemed like the last time, Yunho saw Min’s retreating back, saw it again, but this time, this time Min was walking out of his life.
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[A/N]: And the story moves along~ In the next chapter, the JaeHo-ness will be coming up, and well…you’ll see ^^ *is excited for the next chapter* I won’t be back on regular updates yet (I’m sryy ><;;;) so the next chapter will also be an irregular update (sryy!). I’ve also been very sick lately, (it’s so cold~) so for those who live in the north…bundle up! ^__^
And now, introducing the employees of Eden-
Name & Age: Gong Yoo, 28 Name & Age: Seung Hyun, 20 Name & Age: Tablo, 27
Occupation: Bouncer Occupation: Bartender Occupation: Owner of Eden
Real-Life: Drama Actor Real Life: Rapper (Big Bang) Real Life: Rapper (Epik High
Extra: If he thinks you're cool Extra: Constantly fights with Jae, and Anyband)
than you get in, if not, you get but has his back in every bar fight; Extra: Owns the hottest club in
kicked out. Martial artist; taught dreams of becoming a professional Seoul; Cares for his employees,
Jae most of his moves rapper. treats them like his family.
and now.....
Name & Age: Eru, 24 Name & Age: Jaejoong, 19
Occupation: New Bartender Occupation: Bartender
Real Life: Ballad singer Real Life: Singer (DBSK)
Extra: Shy, but knows his drinks; Extra: One of the best bartenders;
willing to work hard. doesn't deal with shit and is used to
getting into fights; the hero of our
story.
I'm really sorry for not checking my messages, i havent been on LJ for weeks T^T so i'll get on my messages, friend-adding, fic reading, as soon as i can ^^
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pinkfluffies thank you so much! <3 ^^