Hide-and-Seek and Mistletoe (kangin/leeteuk)
Title: Hide-and-Seek and Mistletoe
Pairing: Kangin/Leeteuk, Kangin/OC, Hankyung/Heechul, Siwon/Hankyung
Genre: Romance, angst, fluff
Rating: PG-15 (for language)
Summary: Jungsu learns the hard way that running from his past will only make it easier for his past to come up and slap him in the face. And he learns, the hard way, that Youngwoon has been assisting all along.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Super Junior.
A/N: Sequel to Running and Hiding.
Written from Heechul and Youngwoon’s POV
- Prologue
“Youngwoonie!”
Youngwoon looks up from the newspaper. “Baby?”
“Let’s go. What’s so interesting in the news?” She’s pulling at his arm impatiently. “Quick, our house needs furnishing.”
Youngwoon doesn’t move, turning back to the newspaper instead. It’s a missing person's report. Park Jungsu, age 26. He has a natural dimple on the left of his mouth and a pale complexion.
“Why would his family be looking for someone who’s already an adult?” Youngwoon’s girlfriend asks by his side. She’s evidently given up on trying to pull Youngwoon off the couch.
“He’s autistic,” Youngwoon explains, gesturing to a sentence in the article. “I suppose they must be very worried.”
She nods her head, before bouncing out of the couch and heading to the door. “So, can we go now?” She asks, purse in her hands.
Youngwoon gives the man’s picture another glance, before placing the newspaper back onto the coffee table and heading out.
- Day 1
He’s sworn off violence and, giving the two men fighting over - or rather, with - a bottle of soju another glance, Youngwoon turns left at the intersection instead of going straight. It’s going to cost him another ten more minutes in the cold, but Youngwoon figures his nose is worth it.
He rounds another corner, and Youngwoon finds himself curiously drawn to the man with long brown hair and sharp features sitting in front of his window just across the road. The curtains are drawn apart, and the man is leaning back in his chair, surprisingly rosy lips parted, eye lids fluttering. The first word that comes to mind is pretty. Laughing inwardly (men can’t be pretty, Youngwoon tells himself), he halts in his steps and remains in the shadows. The man looks familiar, but Youngwoon can’t quite place how he knows him.
Youngwoon takes a measured step forward to get a better view of him, stuffing his hands into his pockets in the hopes of getting them warm. The man’s neck is white, and Youngwoon wonders idly if his skin is as smooth as he imagines it to be. He pauses though, when the man opposite stirs, his eyes blinking once, before fully focusing on him. Youngwoon finds himself mouthing the word ‘hello’, but the other has already ducked his head behind the screen of his computer - much like a child who’s trying, and failing, to play hide-and-seek.
Youngwoon feels his lips spread into a small grin. Cute, is the next word that enters his mind. He stays for a second longer, before making up his mind to take the longer route back home the next day.
- Day 2
He has to rush, or his girlfriend will start calling him like the maniac she is. Youngwoon looks at the missing person’s poster in his hands, before striding to his destination. He rounds the corner, anticipating the welcome sight of the-man-behind-the-window, as Youngwoon has recently come to call him.
Crumpling the recently found poster behind his back, Youngwoon makes his way to the man’s window. The man’s eyes are large and startled, and his chair is backed all the way to the opposite side of the room. It’s enough evidence for Youngwoon and, after giving the man a wave and a smile, makes his way back home.
Glancing at the picture in the poster, Youngwoon studies the information again. Park Jungsu, age 26; missing.
Something tells Youngwoon to wait a little longer before jumping to the conclusion that the-man-behind-the-window is Park Jungsu.
- Day 5
The first time he hears his voice, Youngwoon feels a faint pull of his heart strings. He never knew a simple ‘who are you?’ could sound so meek yet filled with melody. And then he wants to smack himself for wanting to stay silent and perhaps scare the daylights out of the man behind the window, whose person is currently occupying the floor.
Willing himself to sound casual (and willing his teeth to stop chattering from the insanely low temperature), Youngwoon answers, “The person standing outside your window.”
The other looks up from the ground; cheeks stained an adorable shade of red. Before Youngwoon can protest, the curtains have been drawn shut, his ragged breathing clear in Youngwoon’s ears. Feeling an inexplicable urge to tease the man further, Youngwoon hears himself tell the other that he looks cute when he blushes. (In which Youngwoon has to remind himself that he is going steady with his girlfriend and that they might just up and marry each other. He cannot allow such thoughts to corrupt his mind.)
“I know this is weird, but I feel like I’ve seen you before.” The oldest line in the book, Youngwoon smirks to himself. “Do you want to be friends?”
Just as he’s hoped for, the curtains part a little, and Youngwoon sees the man glance at him, nibbling on his bottom lip. The curtains fall close again, before the other makes a breathy, unsure sound, exciting Youngwoon to no end. Cuuuuuuute, his brain screams.
Shut up, you have a girlfriend.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Youngwoon says, trying hard to douse the big, goofy grin on his face. Then it occurs to him that he has yet to affirm if the-man-behind-the-window is Park Jungsu. “So, what’s your name?”
Youngwoon waits, heart in his throat, desperately praying that his name isn’t Jungsu. There’s a lull of silence, and when the other answers, Youngwoon has to strain his ears to catch his words. He feels his heart drop like stone when the recipient confirms his suspicions.
There are many Park Jungsu’s in the world.
But none of them can look like him. He’s so… pretty.
Shush, your girlfriend is pretty as well.
Youngwoon likes the taste of Jungsu’s name on his tongue, anyway. After exchanging names with Jungsu - Jungsu! You can put a name to his contact number now! - Youngwoon hangs up, his heart thumping hard.
Maybe he’ll wait just a little longer before contacting Jungsu’s family. He seems to be coping fine without them around, anyway.
Excuses, his conscience says, but Youngwoon pushes it aside and heads back home.
- Day 72
It’s not working.
“Youngwoon?” Her eyes are crinkled at the edges, laughter evident in her voice. “What’s the matter?”
It’s not working.
“Shut up,” Youngwoon hisses at himself. Holding her gently by the waist, he tugs her towards him, and her laughter subsides. For a moment, Youngwoon stares at her lips - soft and red - before capturing them with his own.
It’s too late to revert back to before. You don’t love her.
Youngwoon ignores the voice and continues kissing his lover, her lips moving insistently against his. She tastes of chocolate and toothpaste, sweet and minty. It is a taste Youngwoon has grown accustomed to, but… Jungsu tastes better.
You love Jungsu.
“Youngwoon…” She says his name pleadingly, breathlessly. Youngwoon moves his hands down from her face to her hips, playing at the fabric there. “Youngwoon,” she repeats again, almost demandingly. Youngwoon can’t help but compare the difference of which she and Jungsu say his name, and it isn’t hard to admit that Youngwoon prefers it when Jungsu calls out for him.
“Youngwoon…” Jungsu is calling your name, he’s sprawled on the floor, liquid forming a reddish puddle on the marble tiles under him. His voice is filled with panic, need, desperation. You skid to a stop in front of his window, watching, stupefied, as Jungsu twists and turns on the floor, like he's in pain. You think to yourself, Jungsu has never looked sexier.
His name escapes your lips, and suddenly you’re banging on the window, his name ringing over and over in your ears. You stop hitting the window; it’s forming cracks, and instead, you leave the front of the building.
It isn’t hard finding Jungsu’s apartment - you’ve stood in front of his door for hours on end before, debating if you should knock on the door just to catch a glimpse of Jungsu, without a pane of glass between. You work the door knob, jiggle it, but it’s not relenting. Jungsu’s calls for you have ceased, and you panic, because no. He can’t have died. He can’t have.
The door finally collapses from your weight. You rush in, too afraid and frightened to fully comprehend that your dream of seeing him in person has finally come true. He’s pliant in your arms, sweaty and limp, almost like a doll. A beautiful, tortured doll.
Jungsu fills him with a fear he has never felt before, a conviction to protect that Youngwoon has never been as passionate about before. A need he has never felt necessary to fulfill in the past.
Youngwoon feels his brows crease. Sitting up from his bed, he runs a hand through his hair and adjusts his shirt. “Sorry,” he murmurs to her, before getting up and escaping to the living room.
You stare at Jungsu as his breathing slows down. Suddenly filled with paranoia, you lean down and press your ear to his chest, just to make sure that his heart is still beating.
“Youngwoon…”
You jump away from Jungsu, guilt etched across your features. Then you realize he’s just calling your name in his sleep. Slowly, you join him in his bed, lying right next to him. The bed is slightly too small for the both of you, but you feel snug and comfortable just by being by his side.
“Youngwoon…” It’s a whisper, and you feel the desire to comfort him, tell him that you’re there, not to worry. You don’t rouse him from his sleep though, instead you continue studying his doll-like features, wondering how it would feel like with his lips under yours.
Lastly, before your conscience can come back to life and tell you that you have a girlfriend whom you’ve been dating for a year, you press a kiss to those mesmerizing lips. You savor the taste of Jungsu on your tongue, a lingering mixture of guilty pleasures and coffee with a tinge of something else, before falling off the bed in fright when Jungsu mumbles your name again.
Thirty minutes pass, and Youngwoon is still in the same spot on the same couch in the same position he was in half an hour ago.
“Sweetie?”
She sounds apprehensive, and maybe a little sad. Youngwoon looks up from his hands and fixes his lover with an apologetic gaze. “I’m sorry,” he says roughly.
“Is something the matter?” She asks, sitting on the arm rest of the couch. “It was our anniversary yesterday, but you excused yourself halfway through dinner and never turned up at night. And just now …” she trails off, but Youngwoon knows what she’s thinking. He can’t honestly say she’s wrong, because Youngwoon has fallen for someone else. He doesn’t answer.
“You don’t have to talk about it, I trust you to make the right decisions,” she says at last, her voice wavering. Youngwoon doesn’t have the heart to break it off just like that, because somewhere in his heart, he can’t bear to see her in pain either.
Youngwoon joins her in bed one hour later, whispering the words, “I love you.”
She returns the sentiment with a smile on her face, and Youngwoon can’t stop the guilt from crashing through his being. He doesn’t feel guilty because he’s lying to his lover, but because he’s betraying Jungsu; and that just makes him feel worse.
- Day 73
It is inevitable. Jungsu evidently isn't autistic, but he has an anxiety disorder, and Youngwoon knows it’s best to let his relatives know of his whereabouts. But he doesn’t want to give Jungsu up. He wants Jungsu to himself, and he doesn’t want to share.
It’s wrong, and Youngwoon knows it.
“Youngwoon,” Jungsu says, a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips. “Thanks for yesterday.” The dimple that decorates Jungsu’s smile rarely appears, but when it does, it hits Youngwoon like a bullet train.
Youngwoon switches the phone over to his left ear and smiles back at Jungsu. The curtains close, as expected. “It’s not a problem,” he says to the curtained window. “I was really worried.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Jungsu sounds remorseful, almost angry at himself. It makes Youngwoon want to run into the apartment and smack some sense back into Jungsu’s head.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Youngwoon answers harshly. He gives the window another glance, before heading into the building.
Jungsu is silent again. “It’s not your fault either,” Youngwoon adds, just in case Jungsu doesn’t get it. “But why aren’t you with your relatives?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jungsu replies shortly, and the conversation ends there, with the dial tone ringing in Youngwoon’s ear.
Staring at his phone in disappointment, Youngwoon raises his hand to knock on the door in front of him. He stops though, when he hears Jungsu give a loud sigh from inside.
It can’t be avoided. Jungsu needs supervision, and Youngwoon knows he can give it to him - but he’s torn between Jungsu and home.
- Day 75
Maybe you’re being paranoid, a small voice tells Youngwoon as he wobbles precariously on the ladder before steadily climbing down to the ground.
Better safe than sorry, Youngwoon argues silently, folding the ladder and tucking it under his arm.
He turns around to check on the camera, but instead, his eyes fall on Jungsu. Jungsu is looking at him from behind the glass with round eyes, and the question is obvious. What are you doing here at this time of the night?
Without a second thought, Youngwoon runs, hoping that Jungsu will dismiss him as a dream.
- Day 76
Maybe you’re being perverted, a small voice tells Youngwoon as he tries both at the same time to tear his eyes off the screen and yet not miss out on any important details.
I am being perverted, Youngwoon silently agrees, but he doesn’t care, because god Jungsu looks so damn provocative without a shirt on.
But then his boss walks right up to his desk. Quickly, Youngwoon minimizes the window and pretends to concentrate on his work, however impossible it is to get back into a working state of mind with Jungsu’s nakedness haunting him.
His boss pauses and says sweetly, her voice dripping with mirth, “I think it’s time to buy a new pair of pants.” Youngwoon feels himself flush to the roots of his hair when she snickers and, patting him on the back, continues, “Don’t worry; we all have our needs.” She leaves before Youngwoon can make up a reasonable explanation for his sudden arousal.
He doesn’t know which is worse; that his boss thinks he watches porn while working, or that she’s noticed how tight his pants have become.
Youngwoon tells himself to stop invading Jungsu’s privacy; the camera is installed in front of Jungsu’s apartment for a purpose. His good intentions fly out of the window, though, when Youngwoon clicks the window open again (only to check on Jungsu’s well-being, Youngwoon thinks firmly to himself), to see Jungsu slipping out of his boxers and running a hand through his shoulder length hair. It’s almost too much to handle, until he hears a familiar voice behind him say, “I didn’t know -”
Youngwoon closes the window faster than Heechul can complete his sentence (which is quite a feat).
“- you were into guys.”
Flustered, Youngwoon swivels around on his chair, almost colliding into Heechul’s face. “I - the - it’s not what you think!” he stammers, chair coming to a stop with him facing the computer again.
“Sure, of course that isn’t porn,” Heechul states. “If it is, then that man in the video is really inexperienced.” Somewhere in Youngwoon’s mind, he wonders how Heechul knows so much about porn videos; but then decides he doesn’t want to know the answer. “What have you not been telling me, Youngwoon?”
Youngwoon has the urge to bang his head repeatedly against the keyboard. But that would only draw more attention to him, and many of the employees are already starting to glance curiously in their direction. Youngwoon knows he’s at the losing end; Heechul is too strong a force to fight against.
“… I set up a camera in front of his window.”
He can almost see Heechul’s eyes glistening at the idea of juicy gossip. “And who is this he?” Heechul inquires, leaning forward slightly.
Youngwoon turns around from his desk, kicking out at Heechul’s chair. Heechul narrowly dodges the attack, instead rolling back to his desk across the aisle, propping his elbows up on the table. “Well?” Heechul prompts.
“Not so far,” Youngwoon whispers to him, because Heechul is attracting more and more attention with his antics. Heechul complies, rolling his desk chair right up to Youngwoon’s work station again.
“Well…” Youngwoon starts awkwardly. “I met him while walking back home -”
“- and the both of you got it on in the streets?” Heechul interrupts, loud and clear. More heads whip towards Youngwoon’s direction.
“Shut up!” Youngwoon tells Heechul urgently. “Everybody can hear you.”
“That’s kind of the point,” Heechul counters, rolling his eyes. “But, go on, don’t mind m -”
“Young men, I employed you for a reason. Heechul-sshi, stop harassing Youngwoon and go back to your work station.”
For once, Youngwoon is actually glad for his boss’s existence.
- Day 80
“You like him.”
“What? No. That’s nonsense,” Youngwoon snorts, stuffing his hands into his pockets and scuffing at the gravel under his feet.
“Please, it’s so obvious,” Heechul continues. “I see the way your eyes light up when you talk about him, and the way your cheeks go all red, like he’s some hot chick.” He swallows the pang of jealousy that has formed in the base of his stomach.
Youngwoon, true as Heechul’s words, flushes. “Jungsu isn’t a chick, Heechul,” he mutters.
“Don’t you already have someone else?” Heechul asks, poking into Youngwoon’s privacy. “I recall you telling me about -”
“I know,” Youngwoon interjects. “I know. Can’t I love a man and a woman at the same time?”
“Ha!” Heechul points his index finger at Youngwoon in victory. “You do want to get into his pants!”
Youngwoon looks vexed, but then as comprehension dawns, his facial features change into that of a scowl. “Fuck you,” he says bluntly.
Heechul only smirks in response.
Sighing, Youngwoon digs his phone from his pocket and dials Jungsu’s number, a look of expectance on his face. Heechul sighs inwardly as well, because perhaps it is possible that somebody can love two people at once, like how he feels for Hankyung and Youngwoon. Life isn’t fair.
Youngwoon turns left at the intersection and Heechul follows, eavesdropping on his conversation with Jungsu.
“Jungsu, is it fine with you if I bring my friend over?” Pause. “Because you need to socialize more.” There’s another pause in which the tips of Youngwoon’s ears turn red. “No, I’m not enough. The world is a big place, Jungsu… I know you’re older than me. Jungsu, there are many people out there… he’s just a friend from work… no! He’s just a friend…”
Heechul stops listening in and tells himself he doesn’t hear the slight desperation in Youngwoon’s voice when he emphasizes the fact that they are just friends. They come to a stop in front of a building, paint peeling and in a bad condition.
Youngwoon turns around, gesturing for Heechul to come forward and handing him the phone.
“Hello?” Jungsu’s voice is soft. Other than that, Heechul can’t hear the bells ringing or the melody in his voice at all, as Youngwoon described.
“So you’re the Jungsu Youngwoon has been babbling to me nonstop about?” Heechul asks, a provoking smirk on his face. Youngwoon turns around from the window in front of them, frowning at Heechul in warning. It’s silent on the other line (Youngwoon had warned him about Jungsu’s characteristic silences) and then the curtains in front of them part.
Heechul is taken aback, because the man standing behind the window looks exactly like…
The curtains close again. Youngwoon’s eyes are perpetually sparkling with worship.
“Jungho?” Heechul whispers into the phone.
There’s a short intake of breath, before Jungsu answers cautiously,” How do you know my cousin?”
Heechul raises an eyebrow. “Your cousin? The both of you are almost identical… Well, it was nice talking to you, anyway.” And, under his breath, Heechul adds, “If Youngwoon gives you any trouble, try kissing him; it works wonders.” Not that he’s had any experience in that area, but Jungsu doesn’t need to know that. There’s a stunned oh on the other line, and, grinning cattishly, Heechul hands the phone back to Youngwoon.
-
The interaction between Youngwoon and Jungsu makes Heechul want to empty his insides. It’s glaringly obvious that Jungsu is besotted with Youngwoon, and probably wouldn’t last a day without him. Youngwoon is worse, considering he spies on Jungsu twenty four seven, probably using the recordings as a source of release. Speaking of which, Youngwoon had been arriving for work later than usual recently.
Heechul sighs gustily, hoping Youngwoon gets the hint. He doesn’t.
Glaring two holes into the back of Youngwoon’s skull, Heechul fishes his vibrating mobile phone out of his pocket, flipping it open.“What is it?” He snaps. Youngwoon turns around from the window to fix him with another deprecating glare, and Heechul gives him the finger.
“Heechul, what’s taking you so long?” Hankyung asks, a slight note of worry showing in his voice.
“I’m with Youngwoon,” Heechul answers flippantly.
Hankyung pauses before replying, “I see.” He sounds defeated, which leads Heechul to wonder if Hankyung knows more than he lets on.
“What’s with the glum voice?” Heechul asks suspiciously.
Hankyung’s tone of voice immediately changes. “What glum voice?” He asks, sounding cheery and fake. Heechul can almost see the smile plastered on his face.
“It’s… forget it. I’m heading home now, see you in a few.”
Hankyung’s fake disposition drops like a stone. “Be back soon,” he says softly, and Heechul wants to run home right then into Hankyung’s arms. It’s strange how his moods can experience such drastic changes, Heechul muses to himself. Then he notices, with some aggravation, that Youngwoon is still chatting and gazing dreamily at Jungsu’s window.
The word infatuation comes to Heechul’s mind, followed by obsessed and stalker.
He snatches the phone from Youngwoon’s fingers and hisses “Close your curtains tonight,” before throwing it back to Youngwoon and wagging his fingers at Youngwoon’s crestfallen expression. No more free show for him that night, Heechul thinks satisfactorily to himself.
- Day 223
“Youngwoon, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Youngwoon does not like the tone of his lover’s voice. Lowering his newspaper, Youngwoon stands up and follows her voice to their shared bedroom.
“What is it?” He asks, sitting next to her on their bed.
“Who is Jungsu?” She looks up from his phone, where it is obvious she’s been scrolling through his recently dialed numbers.
It’s over. Youngwoon briefly considers telling her that Jungsu is his mother, or his aunt, or anything, but she’ll see through his lies. She always does. So he shrugs instead.
“You call this Jungsu every day.”
Youngwoon nods, not exactly sure how to respond. His lover has never been anything but calm, composed, cheerful, optimistic, understanding. She was basically everything perfect compiled smack into one person, and she doesn’t deserve him.
“You’ve been cheating on me.” Her voice holds a small note of desperation, like she doesn’t want Youngwoon to say yes. So he doesn’t.
“Not cheating,” Youngwoon answers readily. “I haven’t slept with anyone but you.”
“But you love Jungsu.” Why is she so ready to break her heart? “You love her, don’t you?”
Youngwoon immediately wants to correct her assumption that Jungsu is a girl, but he stops himself. It isn’t going to help with their current situation.
“I - I guess I’ve been fooling myself all along,” she says tremulously, eyes filling up with unshed tears. “And I guess I’ll be kicking you out of my house now.” She leaves the room, shoulders visibly shaking. Youngwoon shrugs off the desire to run to her and sweep her in his arms.
-
Youngwoon decides Jungsu fits best in his arms. He fits best in all the wrong ways, because his hair is tickling Youngwoon’s nose and his arms are awkward around him, but Youngwoon decides that it’s the best embrace he’s ever felt.
He feels Jungsu stiffen just a moment before Youngwoon hears her utter his name, pain and betrayal evident in her voice. His body reacts fast, jumping away from Jungsu like he’s scalding him.
When she turns her back after dropping the remains of his belongings of the floor, Youngwoon wants nothing but to forget about Jungsu, forget that dimpled smile, forget about his existence. But then she’s gone, the door closing silently, and Youngwoon’s pounding heart reminds him that Jungsu can make his heart pound harder.
- Day 224
“Youngwoon…”
Jungsu is, strangely, batting his eyelashes at him, Heechul-like. Youngwoon takes a wary step back.
“Come join me in bed.” Jungsu’s voice is sultry and suggestive. Swallowing nervously and pushing his rising excitement down, Youngwoon takes yet another step back, pressing his back against the wall.
However, when Jungsu holds out a hand and pleads him with his eyes, Youngwoon feels himself gliding forward and pressing Jungsu down onto the bed, straddling him. Leaning down, Youngwoon touches the hand that cups his cheek and captures Jungsu’s lips.
Jungsu moans invitingly, sending all of Youngwoon’s blood down south. He opens his mouth, accepting Youngwoon’s probing tongue, his hands teasing Youngwoon’s erection. Youngwoon stops kissing him long enough to tug at Jungsu’s pants, before…
Youngwoon awakes to uncomfortably tight boxers and an empty bed. Cursing Jungsu’s small, seductive body when pressed against him, Youngwoon rises out of bed, in urgent need of the bathroom.
His rising urge to tease Jungsu, however, outshone his need for release. Creeping up to Jungsu in the bathroom, Youngwoon touches his waist with both hands, careful to avoid contact with his arousal. Jungsu doesn’t respond as fast as he should, instead he simply relaxes into his arms and asks sleepily, “What are you doing?”
Slightly disappointed by his lack of reaction, Youngwoon hugs Jungsu’s torso and murmurs the first sentence that comes to mind.
“Youngwoon, it’s too early to play whatever perverted prank you’re planning on,” Jungsu says matter-of-factly, through his mouthful of toothpaste.
Still displeased by Jungsu’s response, Youngwoon stares at the white skin of Jungsu’s neck, an idea forming at the back of his mind. Sticking his tongue out, he swipes it across Jungsu’s skin and, at last, inciting a satisfactory reaction from Jungsu. With a choking sound, Jungsu decorates the mirror with his toothpaste, the muscles in his neck tensing up. Before he can stop himself, Youngwoon snags another lick of Jungsu’s collarbone for himself, before forcing himself away from Jungsu and laughing.
Jungsu looks horrified, but after flicking the remaining toothpaste on his toothbrush at him, cracks up as well, his laughter high pitched and ringing in Youngwoon’s ears. Legs suddenly giving out, Youngwoon grabs at Jungsu to stable himself, but ends up on the floor with Jungsu sitting atop him. His mouth suddenly goes dry when Jungsu’s warm backside reminds him of why he wanted the bathroom in the first place.
After another moment of silence, Jungsu stands up and, brushing himself down, runs into the bathroom without another word.
-
“You idiot.”
Youngwoon sighs and runs a hand through his hair, eyes not leaving the screen of his computer. “I know. She found out and kicked me out of her house. I had no other places to stay!”
Heechul sits himself upon Youngwoon’s desk, propping his foot on Youngwoon’s thigh. “You could always come to mine,” he says, sounding miffed.
Youngwoon glances at him. “No way. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep knowing how hard you and Hankyung are going at it, regardless of your soundproof rooms. That’s just gross.” His eyes wander back to the screen.
Curious, Heechul leans forward, craning his head to see the computer screen. “You’re spying on Jungsu again? Don’t you already live with him?”
Youngwoon shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to watch Jungsu change in his room every day.”
Heechul is, again, tempted to go up to Jungsu and punch his face in. “You’re disgusting,” he says scornfully. “Even I’m not as desperate to set up a camera to watch Hankyung’s every move as you are.”
“That’s because you get to see him naked every other night,” Youngwoon retaliates, jerking his thigh away from Heechul’s foot. “I don’t.”
“We don’t even - forget it.” Heechul moves to hop off the desk and make his way back to his work station, but Youngwoon stops him.
“Wait,” he starts awkwardly. “Is something the matter?”
Heechul blinks disbelievingly at Youngwoon. Since when has he been perceptive? “Why do you want to know?” Heechul asks skeptically.
“You seemed upset-”
“Jungsu influences you too much,” Heechul sniffs and, dismissing the subject matter with a wave of his hand, heads back to his desk.
- Day 369
Youngwoon stares morosely at Jungsu’s door.
“Youngwoon-sshi? He wants to be left alone.”
Youngwoon turns and stalks out of the building, Jungho trailing behind. Youngwoon doesn’t want to turn around and look at Jungho in the eye, the resemblance he has with Jungsu is uncannily alike. It’s almost impossible trying to picture the slim man killing Jungsu’s father when they look exactly like twins, despite the different placements of their dimples and the length of their hair.
They enter a restaurant for lunch. Bells ring as they push through the glass door, and Youngwoon wishes it’s Jungsu following him behind, not his cousin.
“How are you going to cure him?” Youngwoon asks, settling down behind the table. Jungho joins him opposite, and Youngwoon catches a whiff of his scent. He smells almost like Jungsu as well.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” Jungho replies mysteriously, running a slender hand through his silky hair and sighing, leaning his head back against the cushioned chair. Youngwoon finds himself distracted by the sight of Jungho’s smooth white neck, his throat moving as he spoke. “If only Jungsu would forgive me.”
Youngwoon blinks and tries to fill his thoughts with Jungsu. “It’s pretty hard to forgive someone who killed their father, you know,” he murmurs, looking down at the tablecloth.
Jungho’s foot brushes against Youngwoon’s leg, before he speaks. “Didn’t Jungsu tell you?”
Youngwoon licks his lips, moving his leg away. “You wanted his father to pay his debts to your father.”
“That’s all?” Jungho looks surprised, fixing him with his gaze. Youngwoon notices that one of his eyes is a lighter brown than the other. “Didn’t he tell you that his dad tried raping my sister?” Jungho’s foot is rubbing against his calf again, almost seductively.
“N-no, he didn’t tell me,” Youngwoon stutters. If he closed his eyes, it would be so easy to imagine Jungsu rubbing his leg against Youngwoon. This time, he doesn’t shift his leg away.
Jungho looks at him from under his lashes. “He tried raping me, too.” His foot is at Youngwoon’s thigh now, edging closer and closer to his crotch.
“Sir, may I take your orders?” The foot falls away when a pretty waitress approaches the table, and Youngwoon doesn’t know if he’s relieved or disappointed.
As Jungho orders their food, Youngwoon sits up straighter and adjusts his clothing. It isn’t Jungsu in front of him, it’s Jungho. He doesn’t have feelings for Jungsu’s cousin.
Then the foot is back, rubbing insistently on his sensitive parts. Youngwoon almost groans, his eyes falling close.
“Youngwoon-sshi…” Jungho’s voice is dangerously low. He sounds exactly like Jungsu does when he murmurs his name in his sleep. “When can we see Jungsu again?”
Jungho’s question brings Youngwoon back to reality. Eyes snapping open, he jerks away from Jungho, flushing heavily and crossing his legs in an attempt to hide his arousal. Jungho smirks at him from across the table.
“I d-don’t know,” Youngwoon stutters, his hands gripping the tablecloth. “Tomorrow, I guess.”
“Do you have a place to stay the night, then?” Jungho asks, concern flickering over his features. Youngwoon watches him suspiciously.
“I suppose I could spend the night with one of my friends,” he muses out loud.
“Why don’t you stay at my house?” Jungho suggests, a glint in his eyes. Youngwoon balks at the offer, and opens his mouth hastily to say he’ll be staying at Heechul’s, when Jungho leans across the table, licking his bottom lip. “After all, I have to repay you for being considerate enough to inform me of my cousin’s whereabouts.” Youngwoon can see down his shirt, milky white chest and pink nipples. He feels his pants tighten.
Before he can answer, though, he feels his phone vibrate in his pants pocket (which really doesn’t help his already throbbing state). Shifting awkwardly, Youngwoon slides his phone out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. It’s Jungsu. Feeling unbearably guilty, Youngwoon answers the call. “Jungsu?”
“Let’s break up.”
Youngwoon almost drops his phone. “What?”
“I’m sorry.” There’s a small sniffle on the other line. “Let’s break up.”
“What did I do?”
“Youngwoon, I don’t want you to come back to my apartment. I’ve left your clothes on the floor outside. Good bye.”
“But…” There’s a click, and the dial tone. But I love you.
“What’s the matter?” Jungho asks, his voice gentle, sounding just like Jungsu.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Youngwoon hastens to say. “I guess I’ll sleep over at yours then.”
-
Youngwoon throws himself down on the guest bed, staring up at the ceiling. For someone who lived alone, Jungho had a really spacious house.
Closing his eyes, Youngwoon fingers the phone in his pocket, willing it to ring, willing Jungsu to call back and tell him he doesn’t mean it. It doesn’t. It’s only two in the afternoon, but the sheets are soft, and the bed is so comfortable, and… his thoughts wander off as Youngwoon slips into oblivion.
-
“Youngwoon-sshi…”
Youngwoon blinks his eyes open to see Jungsu staring down at him, on all fours. “Jungsu?”
Jungsu smiles his lovely, dimpled smile, and Youngwoon, in his sleep ridden state, fails to notice that the dimple is situated to the right of his lips, instead of the left. Jungsu lowers his eyelashes and looks embarrassed. “Can I… can I kiss you?” He asks diffidently, eyes holding a wicked glint but his voice telling Youngwoon a different thing.
Youngwoon grabs Jungsu by the nape of his neck and brings his head down, capturing his lips. Something tastes a little off, but Youngwoon is too sleepy to notice the difference. Rolling Jungsu around, such that he’s on top, Youngwoon moves his hands to the buttons of Jungsu’s shirt and slowly, teasingly unbuttons them.
-
“Fuck you, Hankyung!” Heechul screams, his hand slamming down on the expensive glass table. “Am I not enough?”
Hankyung steps toward Heechul, his shirt hanging unbuttoned and his hair in a mess. “I’m sorry,” he stammers.
“Sorry does nothing, you bastard!” Heechul shrieks, hand pounding against the table again. He stops screaming long enough to give the man behind Hankyung a death glare. “And you… you, Siwon, is that your name? You don’t deserve him. Nobody does!”
“But Heechul… you cheat on me too, no?” Hankyung asks uncertainly, stumbling over his Korean.
Heechul breathes in deeply. “I do not!” He says furiously, slamming his fist on the glass table once more. It cracks. “You’re the one who’s been unfaithful, Hankyung. How long has it been?!”
Hankyung looks guilt stricken. “Heechul… I…”
“Forget it,” Heechul grounds out, this time hitting the wall next to him with his already bloodied fist. “Hankyung, merry Christmas. Siwon, I hope you go to fucking hell. Now get the fuck out.”
“Heechul,” Hankyung pleads. “Please…”
Heechul ignores him, instead grabbing Hankyung’s hair and pulling him down for a kiss. “You won’t find anybody who can kiss better than I can,” he spits into Hankyung’s face, before letting go off his hair and storming into his room, slamming the door after him.
-
It’s quiet. Heechul sinks onto his bed, staring at the broken lamp and his torn clothes. He tells himself he won’t cry, and he doesn’t. Instead, he picks his phone out of the mess he’s made of his room and dials Youngwoon’s number.
“Hyung,” Youngwoon greets hoarsely, breathing deeply.
“What are you doing?” He asks suspiciously. Youngwoon doesn’t answer, but Heechul can hear him panting.
“Youngwoon-sshi… do you like it like this?”
Heechul’s eyebrows rise into his hairline. “Youngwoon, are you cheating on Jungsu?”
Youngwoon’s pants are getting heavier. “No…”
“But it’s not Jungsu you’re receiving a blowjob from, my dear dongsaeng.”
“It… isn’t?” Youngwoon breathes into the phone. “How do you know?”
“Because I can hear his voice, and that isn’t Jungsu. It’s Jungsu’s cousin,” Heechul says calmly, curling up on his bed, eager to know how Youngwoon will get out of his fix.
“Fuck,” Youngwoon growls into the phone, sounding much more alert than he was before. “Call you back later.”
-
Youngwoon throws his phone down on his bed and, fisting his hand in Jungho’s hair, yanks him away from his lower regions. “Get off me,” he snarls angrily, tugging the blanket over his lap.
Jungho stands up, rubbing his scalp. “You enjoyed it as much as I did,” he says simply, before buttoning his shirt and walking, completely unaffected, out of the room. The door closes.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Youngwoon pushes the blanket away and finishes off, before dressing again and cleaning up.
“How did it go?” Heechul asks through the phone.
“How do you know Jungho?” Youngwoon interrupts.
“We used to date,” Heechul answers smugly. “He’s a playboy. Good at sex, lying and everything else. You shouldn’t mix around with him; the last time I did, he filled me with lies of coming from a poor family and an abusive father. Then he took all of my money and ran away with it.” There’s a hint of loath in Heechul’s voice. “So how did you end up sleeping with Jungsu’s cousin instead of Jungsu?”
“Fuck, Heechul,” Youngwoon groans, suddenly remembering Jungsu’s harsh words. “Jungsu broke up with me.”
-
Heechul really is starting to wonder why he has been acting so out of character lately.
“Hello?” Jungsu’s voice has become softer, if possible.
“It’s Heechul,” Heechul tells him.
“Heechul?” Jungsu sounds surprised. “Youngwoon’s friend?”
“I heard you broke up with him,” Heechul says bluntly. Jungsu falls yet again into another one of his characteristic silences. “Bastard.”
Jungsu doesn’t even have the decency to sound sorry. “It’s his fault,” he says stiffly.
Heechul feels himself start to fire up. “He’s only trying to help you, Jungsu. Now open the door and let him in.”
“No,” Jungsu insists stonily. “He betrayed me.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake stop being such a drama queen,” Heechul growls into the phone. “I’ve already set him straight. Jungho is a lying asshole and all that crap. So open. The door. Now.” He really doesn’t know why he’s helping Youngwoon with his relationship with Jungsu. Nor does he understand it, either.
There’s a sniffle. “Oh my God please tell me you’re not one of those cry babies,” Heechul complains, exasperated. “Just listen to me and open the door! It’s not so hard, is it?”
The line goes dead, and Heechul is left to listen to the dial tone. "You're welcome," he says to nobody in particular.
-
“I told you not to come back.” Jungsu’s voice is hostile.
Youngwoon steps over the splintered wood of the broken door and stands awkwardly next to Jungsu’s bed. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?” Youngwoon catches a faint tremble in Jungsu’s voice.
“I should’ve known not to contact your cousin, especially after you told me about how he killed your father,” Youngwoon answers, looking down on the floor. “I apologize, Jungsu. Will you -”
He doesn’t get to complete his sentence, because all of a sudden Jungsu barrels into his arms, arms circling his neck. They spend another few moments together, before Jungsu leans away and, standing on his tip toes, kisses Youngwoon fully on the mouth.
“Isn’t that a touching scene?”
Youngwoon turns around to see Jungho pointing a gun at Jungsu, his mouth quirked in a sneer. Bodily hauling Jungsu behind him, Youngwoon hisses, “What do you want?”
Jungho continues pointing the gun. “I want to kill your boyfriend over there,” he says calmly, fingering the trigger. “Now if you would be so kind as to step aside, I can assure you that you’ll be able to step away from this scene without any bullet holes through your skull.”
“Why are you doing this?” Youngwoon growls, hands squeezing Jungsu’s behind his back. “You’ve got nothing to gain.”
Jungho gives a sharp laugh. “You’re right,” he agrees, gun unwavering. “But I’ve got nothing to lose, either.”
“Uh, yes you do,” Heechul’s voice comes from somewhere to the left of Jungho’s shoulder. “Your head, for example.” There’s a loud crack, and Jungho falls to the floor, bullet narrowly missing Youngwoon’s ear.
Heechul steps over Jungho, dropping his golf club with a loud clang. “Well, that was fun,” he declares, wiping his hands on his leather pants. “Go call the police now. I have nothing to do with this.” Obviously satisfied with his handiwork, Heechul bends down and yanks Jungho’s diamond studs off his ears. “I’ll keep these,” he murmurs to himself, before disappearing out the door (frame).
Youngwoon’s jaw drops. Heechul is a ninja is the first sentence that comes to his mind.
“Youngwoon?” Jungsu says, waving his hand in front of his eyes. “The police?”
-
“I’m sorry,” Jungsu murmurs. “I’m keeping you in, aren’t I?”
Youngwoon turns to him and folds his arms. “I’m not letting you ruin our Christmas together with your depression.” He turns back to the television set.
Jungsu scuffs his feet against the floor. “But I don’t have a Christmas present for you.”
Youngwoon shrugs. “I’m happy as long as you’re alive and healthy,” he says, giving the cables another onceover before turning his attention back to Jungsu.
“But…”
“No, no buts. We’re watching a movie together, and that’s that.”
But of course they don’t pay attention to the movie. However, just when they’re getting down to it, Youngwoon hears a loud oomph from outside their window, followed by a long stream of profanities.
Pulling away reluctantly, Youngwoon makes his way over to the window to investigate. Heechul is outside, balancing perilously on the top rung of a ladder, glaring down at him. Youngwoon gapes.
“Well, help me out, will you?” Heechul mouths haughtily. Youngwoon bursts out laughing. It’s not often he gets the opportunity to see the almighty Heechul hanging onto a ladder for dear life. He’s slightly tempted to close the curtains and turn back to what he and Jungsu had been doing before (and perhaps take care of his almost painful arousal), but then Jungsu pipes up and tells him to help Heechul.
When Youngwoon turns back to the window though, Heechul is gone, ladder and everything else gone with him. Apparently, Youngwoon notes in amusement, Heechul likes being kissed while half buried in snow. Shrugging, he leaves Hankyung to do his work with Heechul, and closes the curtains again.
“Why aren’t you helping Heechul?” Jungsu asks, shifting away from Youngwoon and curling his legs up. The movie still plays on.
“Hankyung is attempting to make nice with Heechul outside,” Youngwoon replies, lifting his hand and running the pad of his index finger down from Jungsu’s temple to his chin. Jungsu opens his mouth to ask another question, but instead Youngwoon leans close and, pushing Jungsu’s obstructing legs away, kisses him.
When Youngwoon kisses Jungsu, it isn’t hard to differentiate the contrast between him and his cousin’s reactions, and Youngwoon concludes that he prefers Jungsu. Wherein Jungho would moan enticingly and open his lips to allow excess to Youngwoon’s tongue, Jungsu would give an alarmed squeak and press his lips tightly together. Wherein Jungho’s hands would trail down to Youngwoon’s pants and give it a hard tug, Jungsu would sit stiff and straight, his hands pressing against Youngwoon chest, almost like he wants to push Youngwoon away.
But then a throaty moan escapes Jungsu’s lips, piquing Youngwoon’s excitement, and he decides he prefers Jungsu any way. Taking full advantage of Jungsu’s parted lips, Youngwoon devours his petite mouth, hands pushing Jungsu’s shirt up, providing him with a tantalizing view down Jungsu’s baggy pants.
“You know, Youngwoonie…” Jungsu whispers against his lips when they draw apart for a breath of air. “I love you.”
The way Jungsu says his name sends a tingle from Youngwoon’s stomach down to his northern regions. “I love you too,” he mutters, face turning a bright red. He presses another kiss to Jungsu’s lips, and another and another down his jaw line and neck.
Youngwoon concludes, as he pushes Jungsu down on his bed and strips him bare of his clothing, that he has never experienced a better Christmas.
-
Meanwhile, Heechul is left to fend for himself when someone pulls him down from the ladder and throws him on to the snow covered ground.
“What the fuck, Hankyung, you could have chosen a better way to make yourself known!” Heechul shrieks in Hankyung’s face. “Get off me!”
Hankyung hardly looks cowed. “I’m sorry, Heechul,” he breathes, gloved hands brushing stray ends of hair from Heechul’s face. “But there isn’t a better way to make myself known.” He bends his head down and smothers Heechul’s further complaints with a kiss.
“You’re not forgiven, Chinaman,” Heechul grumbles when their lips part. “You still cheated on me.”
“What if we share?” Hankyung asks, tilting his head to the side and smiling.
Heechul smirks. “Now that’s what we’re talking about,” he says triumphantly. “Where did you even find someone as hot as him?”
Hankyung shrugs. “Siwon works in the Chinese restaurant I eat at.”
Heechul purses his lips. “I guess I can make an exception,” he muses. “But Hankyung -” Hankyung’s eyes focus on his “- you’re mine forever.” He points up at the mistletoe he’d finished hanging just a few moments before.
Hankyung’s lips turn up into a smile. “Asshole,” he says affectionately, and kisses the finger Heechul flips up at him. “Let’s go home.”
- Day 371
“Fuck, Heechul! What did you do?”
Heechul turns around on his chair and crosses his legs. “What did I do?” He asks, eyes widening innocently.
Youngwoon glowers at him from across the aisle. “You took the camera down, didn’t you?” He accuses, eyes narrowed.
“I replaced it with mistletoe,” Heechul sniffs haughtily. “You should thank me; I fairly recall seeing the both of you kissing quite energetically on Christmas.”
“You - mistle - what the fuck,” Youngwoon splutters. “Forget it.”
That night, much to Jungsu’s chagrin, Youngwoon demands that Jungsu sleep naked.
-
A/N: I’M SORRY. But I don’t know how else to end it. If you’re unsure as to what agoraphobia is, look it up on Wiki. (I myself have no idea if I described it correctly.)
Merry Christmas in advance, everyone. :)