fic: Sea Service [chapter 6/8]
Eunhyuk/Tablo (+ Henry/Donghae) | PG-13 | 2116 words
Bad English
Eunhyuk had always wanted to protect the people he was close to. But protecting wasn’t enough. He came to realize, that sometimes, he had to look back, too.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
**
As Eunhyuk had expected, Siwon went out to the town when they reached China. Victoria went home to visit her parents, as did Alexander. Eunhyuk wondered when they would leave for Korea. He wondered if he could wait to get to Henry’s place, see Henry and Donghae were well and alive, and finally start anew. It was hard with Tablo’s limbs curling around him with the most loveable of ways. He wondered if he could do it to Tablo.
But he had made his decision as he packed his bag with his old clothes. The rest of them, the ones Tablo had bought him, were neatly folded on his bed. It felt wrong to take them with him, considering he wasn’t only going on vacation. He couldn’t deny it seemed like he was using Tablo. That just… wasn’t it. And it wasn’t enough that he knew it.
Deciding to leave without Tablo knowing it was cruel, obviously. It would have been even crueler if he had said he was taking his vacation and Tablo would have waited for him in Korea. Well. He would’ve been waiting for nothing.
He knew the most pathetic amount of Chinese but he didn’t care. The sooner he would leave, the less damage there would be. It was late, everyone asleep after a tough day of work, as he slid out of his empty room. Siwon had taken off earlier the same night, but the difference was that it had been with Tablo’s hesitating permission. That was where adrenaline started to burn in his vines and he almost broke into a run to reach Tablo’s door faster.
“Yes, this is Daniel Armand Lee,” Eunhyuk heard through the door and then, silence. He inched closer. “What is this case? I do not have time right now. Is something wrong?” Steps echoed not in front of the door but towards it and Eunhyuk froze. “Yes. I’ll accept your call later. Thank you.” Eunhyuk tried to escape, furiously find a place to hide.
The door opened before he got the chance to move. There was Tablo, looking a bit pressed, and even more so when he spotted Eunhyuk and his old bag hanging on his shoulder.
“Hyukjae? Is… something wrong?” The voice was nothing else but concerned. Hyukjae tried to say something, anything, but there was a lock in his throat keeping him from talking.
Instead he just swallowed.
“Are you okay? Do you want to come over?” Tablo tried to reach, but all his senses made him take a step back. Confused wasn’t enough to describe Tablo’s expression. The frown on that face was deeper than Eunhyuk had ever seen in his short life.
“No.” He locked Tablo’s gaze and only when a heavy tear slid to his cheek, he noticed he was crying. “I’m leaving.”
“Where? Swimming? Are you drunk?”
“I have to take care of things. I… I wouldn’t leave them alone now. Never. I want you to be safe…” he even sounded incoherent to himself, but right now, he just couldn’t make sense.
Tablo stared as the main point sank in. The main point being, Eunhyuk was leaving. For good.
“Why? What’s going on, Hyukjae?” Tablo asked weirdly, as if he didn’t know if he had to start crying as well or just punch Eunhyuk in the face to get him back to his right mind. The latter didn’t seem like a good idea, though.
“I have to leave. I never wanted to hurt you. I…” Eunhyuk cried out, swallowing again. “I love you, Tablo.”
“I…” Tablo begun, but sighed. “You’re leaving. I think you want something back and that’s what you came for. Fine.” Tablo still had the ring round his right little finger, and was now desperately ripping it off. Eunhyuk hurried to grab those hands and locked his fingers around them.
“No. No! You keep it.” He wanted so much not to leave, and just kiss that face and tell Tablo the whole thing was just a bad joke. But he couldn’t. “I really love you, Tablo. Keep it!” But the screamed words seemed to mean nothing on the now blank face.
Tablo sighed again. Then, he freed his hands from Eunhyuk’s grip and looked down.
“I love you too much, Hyukjae. Go.” Eunhyuk’s vision blurred even more, if possible.
“I’m sorry, Tablo. I’m so sorry.”
Eunhyuk ran. He ran, never looking back to see the ship, or Tablo. The tears didn’t stop from pouring, though.
He never remembered the phone conversation he had heard Tablo having.
And that was a fatal mistake he wished he had never made.
**
The first he had arrived to Korea, he had taken care of the debt. It didn’t seem to be a big deal to the men coming to get the money. Like it was a routine. Eunhyuk couldn’t believe it, but he was free. He could finally breathe again, and he stepped out of the subway to inhale the warm air.
And the surprise on Henry’s face was pleasant.
“Eunhyuk? Is it really you?”
“I wondered if you still lived -“ Eunhyuk was cut by Henry’s sudden hug. Tight.
“You’re back! We were so worried about you, and… You’re back. Good. You look fine.”
“Wait… we?”
“Yeah… Donghae’s living with me now. For now.” A slight blush rose to Henry’s cheeks and Eunhyuk gave him a knowing look as they parted. “So… How are things?”
“I’ll tell you and Donghae both. Can I come in?”
There was no protest and Eunhyuk walked into the apartment to find Donghae sitting at the kitchen table, lazily surfing TV channels. The table Eunhyuk had sat at too many times. He cleared his throat and Donghae looked up.
“Henry…? Am I seeing things or do you see Eunhyuk in your kitchen, too?”
Henry chuckled and patted those shoulders that now seemed to have gained some muscles. The face looked a lot healthier as well. Donghae smiled and stood up to catch Eunhyuk in a long hug.
“I was so worried. We were.”
“I heard that. I was, too. Well. About Henry, mostly,” he joked and earned a playful punch to the ribs.
They sat in the kitchen for hours, chatting, Eunhyuk telling about his little adventure around the world. He told about how well he had been treated, how nice everyone had been, how he had earned more money than he needed to pay the debt. He gave the rest of the money to Donghae, telling him to take care of Henry. It wasn’t that much, but it would help. He told them about Tablo. How much help he had gotten, but he never told what their relationship was. Well, had been. But it didn’t matter anymore. He knew he had to leave it behind, just in case. It would keep Tablo, and the whole crew, safe. Because Eunhyuk still wasn’t completely safe.
“I guess… everything will be fine, then? We can settle,” Henry offered hesitantly and Donghae playfully ruffled his hair.
“Yes, Henry. We could go to Canada.”
“Yeah, you would like that,” Henry teased and slapped Donghae’s hand away. Eunhyuk looked at the two confusedly. He felt like a total outsider lost in Henry and Donghae’s world.
“And you guys are… dating?”
It was awkward, least said. Donghae pulled his hand quickly to himself and Henry inhaled sharply.
“Um… we aren’t…”
“I mean…”
And after that, they didn’t even look at each other. At least not when Eunhyuk was present.
**
Night came and Eunhyuk obviously had no place to stay, again. Henry promised to lend him the coach. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the soft bed in the ship, but it was… something. It was a new beginning. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard the door to Henry’s room open.
“Being thirsty doesn’t mean you have to wake me up,” he heard Henry groan and closed his eyes as the kitchen lamp was lit up. He was glad the sofa was logically turned towards the TV, and not the kitchen.
“It’s not my fault you sleep so light!” Donghae complained as Henry yawned. Eunhyuk wanted to laugh. Those two seemingly had built a cave of love in this apartment.
“Do you think Eunhyuk’s sleeping?”
“Yeah? It’s been two hours already. He can’t have stayed up all this time so quiet.”
“Yeah… There’s just this aura to him. It wasn’t like that before. After he returned he’s been happy but something’s off. I can’t really tell what it is, but it’s there,” Henry explained sighing and it hurt his tummy, how much Henry cared. How well Henry knew him. He couldn’t have had a better friend in his life.
“It’s okay. He’ll tell you when he’s ready.” The sound of pouring water into a glass echoed in the kitchen.
“Didn’t you notice? First, he’s lively and happy and the next you look at him, he’s blankly staring into space. Something’s wrong. Do you think he really got the money?”
“He gave me the rest of the amount he had earned. So yeah, I do. He said he got a lot of money so it can’t be that.”
“He gave money to you?!” Henry almost exclaimed but Donghae shushed him. “Maybe he’s trying to get rid of us and survive on his own…”
“I know it isn’t that. He just said it like that, okay? He did get the debt paid. Trust me.” There was silence. Eunhyuk could tell Henry was fighting, trying to understand and trust Donghae. He could imagine Donghae’s assuring expression and those worried eyes looking straight at Henry.
And the silence finally broke.
“I trust you.”
“Good.” And the sound of… a kiss? On the forehead, perhaps? “Let’s go back to sleep.”
The bedroom door closed and Eunhyuk slowly opened his eyes to stare into the darkness.
Could there ever be trust between him and Tablo?
**
The following days passed quickly. Finding a job was hard in a way, considering Eunhyuk had no proper education or working experience. Donghae had promised to help him right when he found a job himself. It was unbelievable and all so new, being able to go out just fine, order coffee and read the paper. Eunhyuk decided he loved freedom.
“Did you have luck?” Henry asked as Eunhyuk got back to the apartment. He shook his head and got out from his shoes.
“Is Donghae back yet?”
“No. He said he’d be out a bit longer today,” Henry said absently. Eunhyuk frowned and reached for Henry’s arm.
“He likes you,” he stated strongly, smiling. Henry looked at him somewhat weirdly, as if that was exactly what he had been expecting Eunhyuk to say.
“I know.” The door opened again and Henry’s head turned to spot Donghae panting there with a huge smile on his face.
“I got a job!” he exclaimed and never bothered to take his shoes off as he ran to hug Henry’s ribs flat.
“You did? Eunhyuk!” Henry exclaimed and hugged Donghae back before letting him go.
“Sounds like I don’t have to be kipping at your place for too long anymore,” Eunhyuk smirked.
“Hey… you’re always welcome,” Henry mumbled and looked at Donghae. “Right?”
“Right,” Donghae agreed and Henry smiled wider than for an eternity. “To my place as well.”
Henry’s smile quickly faded. Eunhyuk almost choke on his spit but he managed to keep the coughs inside. He eyed Donghae in a disapproving manner, almost glared, really. Maybe Donghae hadn’t just thought until the end, of Henry, or maybe he was being stupid - just like Donghae. But he could see the pain in Henry’s expression and thought it was ugly and even though he had no right to think of Donghae like that, he still did.
“What?” Donghae asked, confused. Eunhyuk sighed.
“You should know. You can’t leave Henry alone.”
“He can. It’s okay, Donghae…”
“It’s not,” Eunhyuk snapped and grabbed Donghae’s arm tightly. When did he even become this strong? While fighting Tablo on the double bed in Tablo’s office? Ouch. That hurt. “You like him. What do you think you’re doing? Deserve his liking and maybe you could… form something beautiful. I told you to take care of him while you’re at it,” he hissed and knew Henry could hear every word but he didn’t give a shit.
Eunhyuk could feel the change. He let go of Donghae’s arm and stormed away from the apartment. He realized how much Tablo, and the ship, had changed him. He had become tough and independent, but obsessed.
He knew what it was to lose love and live with it. He didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. Especially not Henry.
**
**
Bad English
Eunhyuk had always wanted to protect the people he was close to. But protecting wasn’t enough. He came to realize, that sometimes, he had to look back, too.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
**
As Eunhyuk had expected, Siwon went out to the town when they reached China. Victoria went home to visit her parents, as did Alexander. Eunhyuk wondered when they would leave for Korea. He wondered if he could wait to get to Henry’s place, see Henry and Donghae were well and alive, and finally start anew. It was hard with Tablo’s limbs curling around him with the most loveable of ways. He wondered if he could do it to Tablo.
But he had made his decision as he packed his bag with his old clothes. The rest of them, the ones Tablo had bought him, were neatly folded on his bed. It felt wrong to take them with him, considering he wasn’t only going on vacation. He couldn’t deny it seemed like he was using Tablo. That just… wasn’t it. And it wasn’t enough that he knew it.
Deciding to leave without Tablo knowing it was cruel, obviously. It would have been even crueler if he had said he was taking his vacation and Tablo would have waited for him in Korea. Well. He would’ve been waiting for nothing.
He knew the most pathetic amount of Chinese but he didn’t care. The sooner he would leave, the less damage there would be. It was late, everyone asleep after a tough day of work, as he slid out of his empty room. Siwon had taken off earlier the same night, but the difference was that it had been with Tablo’s hesitating permission. That was where adrenaline started to burn in his vines and he almost broke into a run to reach Tablo’s door faster.
“Yes, this is Daniel Armand Lee,” Eunhyuk heard through the door and then, silence. He inched closer. “What is this case? I do not have time right now. Is something wrong?” Steps echoed not in front of the door but towards it and Eunhyuk froze. “Yes. I’ll accept your call later. Thank you.” Eunhyuk tried to escape, furiously find a place to hide.
The door opened before he got the chance to move. There was Tablo, looking a bit pressed, and even more so when he spotted Eunhyuk and his old bag hanging on his shoulder.
“Hyukjae? Is… something wrong?” The voice was nothing else but concerned. Hyukjae tried to say something, anything, but there was a lock in his throat keeping him from talking.
Instead he just swallowed.
“Are you okay? Do you want to come over?” Tablo tried to reach, but all his senses made him take a step back. Confused wasn’t enough to describe Tablo’s expression. The frown on that face was deeper than Eunhyuk had ever seen in his short life.
“No.” He locked Tablo’s gaze and only when a heavy tear slid to his cheek, he noticed he was crying. “I’m leaving.”
“Where? Swimming? Are you drunk?”
“I have to take care of things. I… I wouldn’t leave them alone now. Never. I want you to be safe…” he even sounded incoherent to himself, but right now, he just couldn’t make sense.
Tablo stared as the main point sank in. The main point being, Eunhyuk was leaving. For good.
“Why? What’s going on, Hyukjae?” Tablo asked weirdly, as if he didn’t know if he had to start crying as well or just punch Eunhyuk in the face to get him back to his right mind. The latter didn’t seem like a good idea, though.
“I have to leave. I never wanted to hurt you. I…” Eunhyuk cried out, swallowing again. “I love you, Tablo.”
“I…” Tablo begun, but sighed. “You’re leaving. I think you want something back and that’s what you came for. Fine.” Tablo still had the ring round his right little finger, and was now desperately ripping it off. Eunhyuk hurried to grab those hands and locked his fingers around them.
“No. No! You keep it.” He wanted so much not to leave, and just kiss that face and tell Tablo the whole thing was just a bad joke. But he couldn’t. “I really love you, Tablo. Keep it!” But the screamed words seemed to mean nothing on the now blank face.
Tablo sighed again. Then, he freed his hands from Eunhyuk’s grip and looked down.
“I love you too much, Hyukjae. Go.” Eunhyuk’s vision blurred even more, if possible.
“I’m sorry, Tablo. I’m so sorry.”
Eunhyuk ran. He ran, never looking back to see the ship, or Tablo. The tears didn’t stop from pouring, though.
He never remembered the phone conversation he had heard Tablo having.
And that was a fatal mistake he wished he had never made.
**
The first he had arrived to Korea, he had taken care of the debt. It didn’t seem to be a big deal to the men coming to get the money. Like it was a routine. Eunhyuk couldn’t believe it, but he was free. He could finally breathe again, and he stepped out of the subway to inhale the warm air.
And the surprise on Henry’s face was pleasant.
“Eunhyuk? Is it really you?”
“I wondered if you still lived -“ Eunhyuk was cut by Henry’s sudden hug. Tight.
“You’re back! We were so worried about you, and… You’re back. Good. You look fine.”
“Wait… we?”
“Yeah… Donghae’s living with me now. For now.” A slight blush rose to Henry’s cheeks and Eunhyuk gave him a knowing look as they parted. “So… How are things?”
“I’ll tell you and Donghae both. Can I come in?”
There was no protest and Eunhyuk walked into the apartment to find Donghae sitting at the kitchen table, lazily surfing TV channels. The table Eunhyuk had sat at too many times. He cleared his throat and Donghae looked up.
“Henry…? Am I seeing things or do you see Eunhyuk in your kitchen, too?”
Henry chuckled and patted those shoulders that now seemed to have gained some muscles. The face looked a lot healthier as well. Donghae smiled and stood up to catch Eunhyuk in a long hug.
“I was so worried. We were.”
“I heard that. I was, too. Well. About Henry, mostly,” he joked and earned a playful punch to the ribs.
They sat in the kitchen for hours, chatting, Eunhyuk telling about his little adventure around the world. He told about how well he had been treated, how nice everyone had been, how he had earned more money than he needed to pay the debt. He gave the rest of the money to Donghae, telling him to take care of Henry. It wasn’t that much, but it would help. He told them about Tablo. How much help he had gotten, but he never told what their relationship was. Well, had been. But it didn’t matter anymore. He knew he had to leave it behind, just in case. It would keep Tablo, and the whole crew, safe. Because Eunhyuk still wasn’t completely safe.
“I guess… everything will be fine, then? We can settle,” Henry offered hesitantly and Donghae playfully ruffled his hair.
“Yes, Henry. We could go to Canada.”
“Yeah, you would like that,” Henry teased and slapped Donghae’s hand away. Eunhyuk looked at the two confusedly. He felt like a total outsider lost in Henry and Donghae’s world.
“And you guys are… dating?”
It was awkward, least said. Donghae pulled his hand quickly to himself and Henry inhaled sharply.
“Um… we aren’t…”
“I mean…”
And after that, they didn’t even look at each other. At least not when Eunhyuk was present.
**
Night came and Eunhyuk obviously had no place to stay, again. Henry promised to lend him the coach. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the soft bed in the ship, but it was… something. It was a new beginning. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard the door to Henry’s room open.
“Being thirsty doesn’t mean you have to wake me up,” he heard Henry groan and closed his eyes as the kitchen lamp was lit up. He was glad the sofa was logically turned towards the TV, and not the kitchen.
“It’s not my fault you sleep so light!” Donghae complained as Henry yawned. Eunhyuk wanted to laugh. Those two seemingly had built a cave of love in this apartment.
“Do you think Eunhyuk’s sleeping?”
“Yeah? It’s been two hours already. He can’t have stayed up all this time so quiet.”
“Yeah… There’s just this aura to him. It wasn’t like that before. After he returned he’s been happy but something’s off. I can’t really tell what it is, but it’s there,” Henry explained sighing and it hurt his tummy, how much Henry cared. How well Henry knew him. He couldn’t have had a better friend in his life.
“It’s okay. He’ll tell you when he’s ready.” The sound of pouring water into a glass echoed in the kitchen.
“Didn’t you notice? First, he’s lively and happy and the next you look at him, he’s blankly staring into space. Something’s wrong. Do you think he really got the money?”
“He gave me the rest of the amount he had earned. So yeah, I do. He said he got a lot of money so it can’t be that.”
“He gave money to you?!” Henry almost exclaimed but Donghae shushed him. “Maybe he’s trying to get rid of us and survive on his own…”
“I know it isn’t that. He just said it like that, okay? He did get the debt paid. Trust me.” There was silence. Eunhyuk could tell Henry was fighting, trying to understand and trust Donghae. He could imagine Donghae’s assuring expression and those worried eyes looking straight at Henry.
And the silence finally broke.
“I trust you.”
“Good.” And the sound of… a kiss? On the forehead, perhaps? “Let’s go back to sleep.”
The bedroom door closed and Eunhyuk slowly opened his eyes to stare into the darkness.
Could there ever be trust between him and Tablo?
**
The following days passed quickly. Finding a job was hard in a way, considering Eunhyuk had no proper education or working experience. Donghae had promised to help him right when he found a job himself. It was unbelievable and all so new, being able to go out just fine, order coffee and read the paper. Eunhyuk decided he loved freedom.
“Did you have luck?” Henry asked as Eunhyuk got back to the apartment. He shook his head and got out from his shoes.
“Is Donghae back yet?”
“No. He said he’d be out a bit longer today,” Henry said absently. Eunhyuk frowned and reached for Henry’s arm.
“He likes you,” he stated strongly, smiling. Henry looked at him somewhat weirdly, as if that was exactly what he had been expecting Eunhyuk to say.
“I know.” The door opened again and Henry’s head turned to spot Donghae panting there with a huge smile on his face.
“I got a job!” he exclaimed and never bothered to take his shoes off as he ran to hug Henry’s ribs flat.
“You did? Eunhyuk!” Henry exclaimed and hugged Donghae back before letting him go.
“Sounds like I don’t have to be kipping at your place for too long anymore,” Eunhyuk smirked.
“Hey… you’re always welcome,” Henry mumbled and looked at Donghae. “Right?”
“Right,” Donghae agreed and Henry smiled wider than for an eternity. “To my place as well.”
Henry’s smile quickly faded. Eunhyuk almost choke on his spit but he managed to keep the coughs inside. He eyed Donghae in a disapproving manner, almost glared, really. Maybe Donghae hadn’t just thought until the end, of Henry, or maybe he was being stupid - just like Donghae. But he could see the pain in Henry’s expression and thought it was ugly and even though he had no right to think of Donghae like that, he still did.
“What?” Donghae asked, confused. Eunhyuk sighed.
“You should know. You can’t leave Henry alone.”
“He can. It’s okay, Donghae…”
“It’s not,” Eunhyuk snapped and grabbed Donghae’s arm tightly. When did he even become this strong? While fighting Tablo on the double bed in Tablo’s office? Ouch. That hurt. “You like him. What do you think you’re doing? Deserve his liking and maybe you could… form something beautiful. I told you to take care of him while you’re at it,” he hissed and knew Henry could hear every word but he didn’t give a shit.
Eunhyuk could feel the change. He let go of Donghae’s arm and stormed away from the apartment. He realized how much Tablo, and the ship, had changed him. He had become tough and independent, but obsessed.
He knew what it was to lose love and live with it. He didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. Especially not Henry.
**
**