Kaleidoscope - Chapter Two 1/2
Song: Kaleidoscope
Singer: BunniesOnTheMoon
Time: 2.0/?
Rating: Overall pg-15 (for crude language)
Inspiration: YunJae
Chorus: Yunho wasn't one to like school, but he attends his college anyways to make his mother happy. He also feels guilty, seeing that his mother slaves away to pay for his tuition. When his GPA drops dangerously low, he is given an unexpected chance at earning extra credit points to save himself. That puts him and Kim Jaejoong to close proximity, and Yunho finds himself falling for the other as Jaejoong struggles with a rare condition. Yunho has to be Jaejoong's 'constant' and he waits for the terrifying day when Jaejoong no longer needs him.
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Beta-ed by supersonicjaz <3 Thank you love!
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Yunho awoke in the most uncomfortable state in his life. His back ached, seeing as how his tall, lanky form was scrunched in such a confined chair. It was as if tiny sparks of flame had been flung onto his shoulders, paralyzing them and burning the skin. His muscles were stiff, and when he made to yawn and stretch his hands and legs, his whole body screamed bloody murder.
He instantly regretted his decision to sleep separately from Jaejoong, but he had thought it was the right thing do. And, well, he wasn't gay. He had slept in the same bed with many men before, all of them his friends, but he had known them all. Jaejoong was different, he barely knew the other. It was also best if they drew some boundaries. There had been almost zero space in between Jaejoong and him last night, and though he didn't seem to mind the closeness before, the awkwardness of how connected they were made him frown.
Peeling his back skin away from the leather, he winced as his back continued to defiantly stick to the chair. He pushed harder and found himself lurching forward, his whole frame pivoting forward into night stand by the bed. He groaned, pushing back and landing with a 'pat' on the chair.
"Good morning," came a little greeting from Jaejoong, and he startled as he saw how obscene their situation was. He was half naked, his jeans hanging on his hips loosely, while Jaejoong had his hands tied above his head. The raven was looking at him through unreadable eyes, and he twitched as he dug deeper into the crook of the chair. This really was not how he wanted to wake up in the morning, and he hoped to god this was not going to be a daily ritual. There was a reason why he preferred sleeping with all his clothes on.
He scrambled around and grabbed at the recliner's blanket, trying his best to cover his bare chest; he succeeded in looking awkward instead. Glancing around, his eyes met with the time. 3:21 A.M, he had barely slept four hours. His mind mentally frowned at how little the number was, he his eyes began to droop in defiance. How he could stand to wake up with so little sleep fuelling him was beyond his comprehension.
"Morning..." he said back, trying to be courteous. He wasn't sure what he should be doing in this situation, and so he just sat on the chair --wishing with all his might that the chair would just engulf him. Or maybe the chair would just whisk him to another room.
He watched as Jaejoong grunted and pulled at the shirt holding his hands together. "Yeah... what I mean is, I'm awake and I don't like the fact that my hands are tied," Jaejoong corrected. He stopped struggling, finding it futile, and laid still. He raised an eyebrow at Yunho and lifted his bounded hands from over the pillow. "Can you get them off? They hurt."
"S-sorry," he stuttered, the episode from last night coming back to haunt him. He suddenly felt drained and emotionally exhausted, but he stumbled over to Jaejoong's side anyways. He worked hastily at the complicated knot, sighing when one layer opened. He was actually quite proud of his handiwork, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud.
"You should go back to sleep," Jaejoong told him after he was released. He rubbed at his hands and messaged them, acting as if last night didn't happen at all. Yunho found himself irritated. He had helped the other; he had even been scratched by the other. No 'thank you'? Did he not deserve a bit of gratefulness for helping the dude? He suddenly felt victimized.
"I plan to do just that," he snapped. He got up and stomped to the door, slowing as he got closer to the white ivory print of wood. He took slow steps, his ears perking. A part of him waited for Jaejoong's thanks, but when the other remained silent, he stomped the last several steps and exited --slamming the door to show his anger. He stormed to his room and once again banged the door, not caring that this was not his house. House be damned, when it came to his pride. "Fuck you, Kim Jaejoong," he cursed, his fist balling and clenching till the nails created crescent indents in his palm. "I'll be the worst constant ever," he mumbled, yawning from exhaustion. He didn't realize how tired he was, and for some odd reason his muscles ached.
"I'll be the worst constant ever," he swore again while lying his head down onto the comfortable pillow.
He must have slept for an hour, because soon his mental alarm clock was blaring at him to wake up. He didn't know how it was possible, but he went from groggy restless sleep to a sober mind when he awoke to the sounds of crying. His first thought was one of alarm as he remained still in his bed, trying to maintain the silence as he strained his ear. He heard shuffling movements, and he cringed when the sound of a chair being pulled reached his ear.
"So that was what happened..." he heard Mrs. Kim say, her voice barely registering. “Honey, it wasn't your fault you ruined his party. He wasn't even supposed to be having friends over." Mrs. Kim comforted. Yunho cringed at the fact, and felt remorse fill him. Was Jaejoong blaming himself for ruining Yunho's party?
"I don't know why, I thought I could handle their voices. They weren't bad people, but then the music started..."
Jaejoong's voice cracked, and a new louder rack of sobs pierced the still air. "I-It was so terrifying a-and sudden. I didn't know what to d-do," came an anguish cry. "And this morning, I think I m-made him mad."
"What did he do? Did he hit you?" Mrs. Kim asked, her voice dropping dangerously low.
"No! He slammed my door when he left my room, he didn't harm me. He must hate me. I ruined his p-party..."
Yunho gasped at the words, realizing how foolish and childish he had been. All he had wanted was a thank you. No, Jaejoong was wrong! Oh god, what had he done?
"Nonsense," Mrs. Kim said, much to his relief. "Now you will go to sleep, and forget about this rubbish. You are never to blame yourself for what you can't control. Me and your dad will take you to the doctors tomorrow to get your ears checked for damage."
There was a pregnant pause, and the image of Jaejoong pouting came to his mind. Jaejoong must have said something, because soon after he heard Mrs. Kim chuckle at his words. Then he heard soft thuds of footsteps as Jaejoong ascended the stairs and into his room.
He heard the footstep stop in front of his door and he stiffened as he listened for the door to open. Instead, the soft padding of feet continued and into the door next to his.
Letting out a breath he wasn’t sure he was holding, Yunho rolled over in his bed, sighing as his mind ached. He mentally berated himself at his ignorance, and then at how low he was to think of being a bad constant. How much had Jaejoong suffer, how bad was this condition that the other had to physically harm himself? How low was Jaejoong's confidence that he instantly blamed himself for Yunho's anger? How laid back and chill Jaejoong was this morning compared to how he was now. The other was broken. Jaejoong was undoubtedly insecure, and that thought made something in Yunho's head pang.
"Ugh," he let out, frustrated as sleep eluded him. He got up and softly opened his door to come face to face with Mrs. Kim. He saw the look of surprise flash onto her sad face, and then it turned back to sorrow. For the first time, he thought she looked old.
"Hi..." he whispered. His hand dropping from the doorknob and hung limply by his side. “I heard" he began, but couldn't bear to finish the sentence. He was so consumed in emotions that just wouldn't leave him alone.
"He is such a wonderful child, isn't he?" she said. A faraway look flashed behind her eyes, and she let out a small smile. He nodded, but he wasn't sure where this was going.
She shook her head, her eyes returning to normal. She looked at him and gave him the eye. "You weren't supposed to have friends over," She chastised, the sorrow shredding from her voice --replaced by a slight onslaught of anger.
"I'm so sorry," he apologized, his head bowed. "They came over unexpectedly. They don't mean any harm," he tried to explain.
She sighed. "I'm sorry; I sound like a bitch right now." She patted his shoulder and gave him an apologetic look. "It's my fault we didn't explain to you how bad it could be. But we don't know nearly enough information about Synesthesia. The only person who has the upper hand is Jae, but he refuses to talk about it most of the time." She chuckled bitterly, "that child could be as difficult as he is wonderful."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, and they both shifted as it prolonged. "C-can I ask you of something?" he asked, feeling surprisingly daring.
"What?"
"I'd like to take Jaejoong to the doctors," he requested. He saw with alarm the look of suspicion cross over her eyes, and found himself gaping. He couldn't believe this woman!
"I know what you're thinking! I'm not using this excuse to ra-" he added quickly, but was stopped by the smiling face of the lady's.
"I know, I was joking. You and me think alike; it's scary," she laughed. "Do what you wish; I'm tired from the lecture. Yoochun won't be home until tomorrow with his daddy, and it'll be best if his ears get checked sooner. I'd rather go to hell then let Jaejoong drive." She laughed and gently pushed him into his room. "Go back to sleep, you look tired," she said gently.
"I feel tired," he restated and yawned. He didn't know what was wrong with his system. First it was awake and alert, and then it was sagging towards the closest warmth. He wasn't usually like this, and it baffled him.
"Go," she laughed, pushing him again and closing the door. He stood there in the middle of his room, deep in thought. Shaking his head, he let out a deep breath and climbed into his bed. Tomorrow, they would talk. Now, all he needed was some sleep.
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The eerie silence between them as they rode to the doctors was making his hand twitch. They barely managed a small greeting this morning at breakfast. That was much better than this. At least Mrs. Kim was there to talk on and on about stuff, now it was just silent, and he didn't know what to talk about. There was a reason he was failing Speech/Social 101, and it wasn't because he was lazy.
Sighing, he turned the volume up on the radio and found bliss in the electric guitar solo being played. His head banged slightly to the onslaught of rhythm and he hummed to the notes. He was about to turn the song louder, but Jaejoong's hand reached the volume knob before he did. To his annoyance, Jaejoong pressed the power button, and the solo riff was instantly silenced.
He spared a quick, strained glance at Jaejoong and scrunched his nose in irritation at the other's apathetic stare ahead. He tried to calm his raging anger. He pressed at the power, and the sound of heavy drum beating blasted from his car speakers. Jaejoong flinched, quickly pressing the power button off.
"My car," he gritted out, not wanting to give up, "my rules." He pressed at the button again and realized that he had won, seeing that Jaejoong wasn't moving to turn the music off as he parked into the hospital's driveway. His victory was short lived when he had to turn off the engine, and then all reason came back to him. Fuck, he was being such an asshole! He looked over worriedly at Jaejoong and saw the other clutching at his head, his jaw muscles tightening as he grinds his teeth.
"Jae! I'm so sorry, I was being stupid! Are you okay?" he exclaimed. His hand came and overlapped the other's hands, worried that Jaejoong would start hitting himself again.
"Headache," Jaejoong coughed out, pushing Yunho's arms away from him and getting out of the car. "Hurry," Jaejoong bit out, obviously mad at Yunho.
They walked into the hospital in silence. It was quite the sight, two fuming young adults walking side by side, not bother to look at each other. Jaejoong was pissed at Yunho, and that in turn made Yunho pissed at Jaejoong.
He savored the idea of turning back and leaving Jaejoong, but he was pulled out of his dark thoughts when a high pitched squeal reached his ear.
"Jae!" a male nurse yelled, bounding towards them. "Welcome back!" the man said. The two exchanged hugs while he stood to the side, shuffling from one foot to the other. "Why're you here? Your next appointment isn't due till the end of this month!" the nurse asked.
"Haha, well, I kind of..." Jaejoong tried to explain. He trailed off and stared at the floor in shame. "My ear," he said.
"Oh..."
There was a sticking silence, and then happy-go-lucky piped up. “Never mind! Let's check the damages this time!" Jaejoong was pulled like a rag doll down a hallway. He shot Yunho a look before his body disappeared behind a corner.
Yunho, not knowing what to do, sat down on one of the waiting chairs and thought back on the conversation. The man had instantly known what Jaejoong was talking about, and the overwhelming thought that Jaejoong had already harmed himself before left him breathless.
He didn't know the extent of Jaejoong's condition, and he assumed it wasn't that bad. Jaejoong wasn't hooked up to any beeping machine, and he wasn't lying on a yellow bed looking sick, so Yunho had thought that whatever the other had was okay. But this... this was horrible.
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"So, where's pretty boy?" Changmin asked, his shoulders straining from exertion as he turned a wrench. Yunho stopped what he was doing and sighed, wiping car oil from his hands.
"I took him to the hospital to get his ears checked, and you think he would be grateful. As a matter of fact, he didn't say thank you this morning either," he mumbled. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he took off his shirt and wrapped it around his waist.
"Okay... random shit I don't need to know. So where's pretty boy?" Changmin continued, his gaze never leaving the bolt. Yunho snorted at the rude comment, and walked closer to the open garage doors, sighing as his lungs dispersed car chemicals and taking in fresh air.
"At home. I dropped him off and then sped over here." He prodded at Changmin's protruding butt and laughed when the other reached his leg back and kicked at him. It felt nice being back in Changmin's house, which also doubled as a mechanics place. He missed the sound of engine turning, and he missed the smell of burnt rubber as the tires were tested.
He sniffed, his nose expecting a heedful of gas only to be met with the actual burn of rubber. He shifted over as a red motorcycle rushed in, heaving with energy as it skidded to a stop in front of the garage. The rider looked at Yunho through helmet-ed eyes, head shifting as they sized him up.
He felt himself stiffening, his shoulders straightening out and his frame stretching to his formidable height. He stared at the newcomer, his eyes also scanning the other's physique. To his disappointment, the over armor the person wore covered most of his stature, and Yunho found himself reduced to the way the person stood.
He nudged at Changmin and motioned his head towards the masked stranger.
"That's my distant cousin. Say hi," Changmin grunted, not at all willing to dispatch his sight from the motor.
"Hi," he let out, sarcasm dripping from his voice. A laugh sounded out from behind the helmet and he was almost knocked off of his feet when a hand pounded at his back good heartedly.
"Lee Joon," the voice said. Its owner took his helmet off and Yunho was greeted by a sly smile. "And you are?"
"Jung," he said. He somehow got a bad vibe from the other. Not finding the conversation the least bit interesting, he went over to Changmin and bent over, helping the younger exam the motor.
Joon, not at all pleased by his introduction, shuffled over and watched them. "Jung?" he asked. Yunho grunted and repeated him. He didn't feel like giving out his name, not to Joon at least.
"Jung Yunho. God, stop being such a bitchwad to my cousin," Changmin snapped, irritated by the mindless chattering.
"Whatever, I'm going home," he shrugged. Grabbing his keys from an empty ash tray nearby, he heard a sizzle of acid as well as a snap of a cord, and he mentally groaned.
"Whoops," Changmin yelped, his head coming up along with a pair of hands holding a broken car cable. He let out a nervous chuckle as he witness Yunho's face morph from annoyance to fuming anger.
"You-" he began, advancing towards the frightened teen. He practically spit out the words as he tried to lurch at the other, who in turn ran to the opposite side of his broken car.
"Joon! Help," Changmin yelled, dodging left and right as he tried to avoid Yunho's wrath.
"Chill, Yunho."
He shot Joon a murderous look. "Don't call me Yunho," he spat, face flushing red from anger.
"Chill... here," Joon said, throwing Yunho his keys and putting both hands up defensively. He caught the gleaming keys and looked at them, his anger burning out and replaced by a smile. Hopping onto the red motorcycle, he grunted as he approved of the rumble underneath him.
The engine was definitely costly.
"Fix my car," he said before speeding off.
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"Stop avoiding me," he snapped at Jaejoong, his anger fueled by the startled flinch of the other's shoulders. "I need to talk to you, and you're acting like we're playing hide-and-go-seek," he stated, his hand clutching at Jaejoong's sleeve so as not to let the other escape. He grunted as Jaejoong pulled away from him, his back turning from the stove. "Talk to me," he demanded, tugging at the sleeve.
"Stop it," Jaejoong spoke softly, his hand pulling his shirt higher over his shoulders as Yunho's pull pushed it down. "Can we do this later? I'm cooking, Yunho."
Grunting, Yunho let go with annoyance. "Fine, but we need to talk," he demanded. "I'll be waiting in your room," he said, and walked away.
He had so many things to ask, and he wasn't sure if he'll receive answers if this type of foul tone would surface every time they talked. He wanted to help, but he needed to know what he was supposed to be helping. He wasn't a martyr of knowledge, and though he had tried searching the web for more information on Synesthesia, the facts were limited. Mrs. Kim was right when she said people didn't know as much about Synesthesia. It was barely a subject scientist touched on since the discovery of clones and stem cells.
And if Jaejoong was the only person who knew more about this condition, then he would have to confront the other. Plus, he was confused. What was he supposed to do? What was his role?
He looked at the pictures lining Jaejoong's shelves, surprised that he hadn't seen them earlier. He chuckled at a few infant pictures of baby Jaejoong, and as he went lower shelf to shelf, he realized the sudden change in expression.
The top picture consisted of a happy baby in a woman's arms, the pale smile beaming as his hand reached up at something in front of him. Looking lower, he saw a slightly older picture of Jaejoong, his radiant smile still evident as he crawled towards a white dog.
The next several pictures showed the same thing. Either Jaejoong was reaching towards a certain something, or he was crawling towards a certain something. They all consisted of a sensational smile. He felt something pang in him, and he shook his head, looking even lower. He saw a blue framed photograph, and he startled when he did not see the usual happy curve on Jaejoong's lips.
It was a family shot --Mrs. Kim, Mr. Kim, Yoochun and Jaejoong all stood clustered in a crowded area, their bodies turned towards the camera. They were no doubt in an amusement park judging by the passerby that wandered behind them holding balloons and candy.
Everybody was smiling except Jaejoong. They all looked so happy, as if they couldn't have a better time, but Jaejoong --he was the only imperfection in the picture.
"Yunho, let's talk," Jaejoong came up from behind, clicking the door closed and sitting on his bed --his body ruining the neatly placed blanket.
Turning around, he snatched up the frame and walked towards the other, his expression marring one of seriousness. "Okay," he agreed, setting himself beside Jaejoong's waiting form.
"But first, tell me about this." He waved the photograph in the air.
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