It's You - Prologue (Taxi AU oneshot: To be read after Take Me Far Away)
Title: It's You (Prologue)
Author: himawarixxsandz
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): JunSeung with mentions of KiWoon and DooSeob
Summary: This time, he'll prove it.
A/N: T_________T I am not a happy DooSeob slut right now. I feel like JunSeung has gone past the rebellious child and went into full-on oppressing me inside my own mind territory. I don't even know how many parts this will be. That's how far gone it is. I feel like maybe two, but probably three and even the prologue is already long-ish. I love JunSeung, so ignore my complaining, but they really, really like my attention. Or something. I'm glad I'm giving them the hard parts and heartbreaks in Cabi now. I don't feel sorry anymore. TAKE THAT, JUNSEUNG. /shot
Prologue // Part 1
Hyuna folds the last of Junhyung’s t-shirts and puts them in the suitcase with a sigh, frowning at Junhyung. He looks up from the maps and lists of directions Yoseob and Doojoon have sent him, raising his eyebrows at her. “What’s wrong?” She looks away, pouting, shakes her head and continues to fold determinedly.
“Probably thinking the same as me, hyung,” Dongwoon says from where the maknae sits on Junhyung’s couch. Kikwang lies quietly sleeping, body stretched out on the sofa with his head in Dongwoon’s lap. “That it’s fucking bullshit to even take away your apartment. You got this with the money you made.”
Junhyung smiles sadly. “With the job they bought me,” he corrects softly.
The set of the maknae’s jaw echoes Hyuna’s pout-they’re both upset. Junhyung knows that they want to say a lot more than they think they should-he knows that as the youngest two, they understand the least about how it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense or if it seems more unfair than it ever could be. He knows that Doojoon and Yoseob have told both Dongwoon and Hyuna to say as little as possible for Junhyung’s sake.
He walks around the kitchen counter, into the living room, tugging teasingly at a lock o Hyuna’s hair as he passes her and the suitcases. He moves to sit down on the ottoman, across from Dongwoon. Junhyung nods his head toward Kikwang. “Trouble sleeping at night?”
“Not really,” Dongwoon says quietly, worriedly. “I think he’s been waiting up for me.” His long fingertips dip into Kikwang’s hair, sliding through the strands and then down to Kikwang’s cheek. “And-y’know-things have been kind of crazy, so I’ve been getting back late and all.”
Yeah.
Yeah-Junhyung knows.
Yoseob and Doojoon arrive in Korea the day before Junhyung is scheduled to leave it.
Dongwoon and Hyuna are weighed down at the office again, and Junhyung can’t pick them up alone so Kikwang ends up going with him. The ride to the airport, with Junhyung driving Dongwoon’s car, is a little bit awkward, mostly just wordless. The few words that are exchanged between them are mostly about what time Doojoon and Yoseob’s flight is supposed to arrive and what gate they’re supposed to be coming out from.
The traffic slows down, almost to a complete halt, when they’re just about to take the exit that leads them to the airport. Junhyung glances at Kikwang. In all honesty, he’s never thought much-not really-about the young man himself. He’s thought about the situation, he’s definitely thought about that plenty-worried about it plenty-but he never remembers actually even taking a good look at Kikwang. After all, Dongwoon introduced them at the club at a time when Junhyung didn’t have much space in his mind to worry about his dongsaeng.
Which makes him a shitty hyung-yeah-but then again, he’s been pretty much a shitty everything, a shitty human being in general, these days anyway.
But, now-now-looking at Kikwang, Junhyung thinks that Dongwoon was just lucky Kikwang’s fees were based on time and not based on quality-of-product-in-relation-to-the-other-offered-products because Dongwoon probably would’ve been homeless if that were the case. He bites back a smile remembering how at first, Hyuna couldn’t stop staring and Doojoon even asked Dongwoon if maybe Kikwang is visually impaired in some way.
Not to say that Dongwoon isn’t attractive-it’s just-Kikwang.
Junhyung feels his fingernails dig into the steering wheel-
He remembers how Doojoon teased Junhyung at first too.
He remembers-
“Junhyung-shii,” Kikwang says and Junhyung blinks, suddenly, “we’re moving.”
Junhyung toes the gas (since moving doesn’t imply much in this case-just more inching along that’s probably going to make them late for Doojoon and Yoseob) and coughs, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” the younger man says lightly, pushing glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.
He glances at Kikwang again, frowning. “And what’s up with the names? I’m your hyung,” he says.
It’s Kikwang’s turn to blink. “Oh-oh, um-okay.”
Junhyung looks out at the road. “Dongwoonie told me you’ve been really tired lately.”
“I mean,” Kikwang says slowly, thoughtfully, “not-not really tired. Just-I guess-getting used to sleeping like everyone else.” His lips curve into an odd smile as he looks to Junhyung. “I’m usually up at night and sleep in really late. But Dongwoonie has to get up early so I’m trying to wake up the same time he does.”
Oh.
Right.
It’s easy, extremely easy, to forget all of the little details and ramifications that came with what Kikwang used to be, what Kikwang used to do. Especially with the way Kikwang acts, with the way he looks, with the way he smiles and talks and laughs. Junhyung punches Kikwang lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t,” he says softly. “Don’t try that hard. He’s worried about you.”
Kikwang looks down into his lap, stares at his hands. “He’s already done way too much for me,” he says quietly. “He still does way too much. Actually being awake-when he leaves, when he comes home-it’s the least I can do, right?”
Junhyung sighs and punches the younger man in the arm again-harder this time, hard enough so that Kikwang actually makes a sound and stares, alarmed, at Junhyung. “Yah,” he says. “He’s with because you’re you,” Junhyung thinks, “and probably because you’re way too hot for him. But mostly because you’re you-not because of this weird-ass it’s-the-least-you-can-do thing you’ve got going.”
Kikwang’s mouth open and closes. His eyebrows furrow, confused. “I’m too hot for him?”
Junhyung shrinks in his seat a little. “Never mind that part,” he mutters.
Kikwang laughs.
When Yoseob first reaches Junhyung, the younger man kicks him hard in the shin. He kicks him, and Junhyung is about to double over and start hopping around in the most dignified manner he can manage, except Yoseob throws his arms around Junhyung and buries his face in the older man’s shoulder before Junhyung gets to do any of that. Junhyung can’t do anything but roll his eyes, smiling, and wrap his arms around Yoseob’s waist right back.
“You motherfucking owe me ten years of my life,” Yoseob mumbles into Junhyung’s shoulder. “Ahjusshi’s actually an ahjusshi because of you. He has gray hairs.”
Doojoon smacks Yoseob on the head with their passports. “Yah-I don’t,” he snaps. “And let him breathe. Hug Kikwangie or something.”
Kikwang, who up until now had been watching the scene with a tiny smile, suddenly blinks his eyes, surprised, looking from Doojoon to Yoseob and then back to Doojoon. “What?”
Yoseob grins, letting go of Junhyung, and tossing one arm around Kikwang’s neck. “C’mon, you,” he says, “let’s talk about how to feed maknae.” He drags Kikwang away towards baggage pick-up.
That leaves Doojoon and Junhyung.
“How’re you doing?” Doojoon glances at the other man, his own hands in his pocket, his carry-on backpack slung over one shoulder. They start to walk at the same time, a good deal of distance behind Yoseob and Kikwang.
Junhyung breathes in deeply, shrugging his shoulders and meeting his friend’s eyes. “All right,” he says quietly, “Plane leaves tomorrow.”
Doojoon nods, gaze shifting away from Junhyung momentarily. “Yeah-Dongwoonie called me. You packed? Passport, place to stay, all of that ready?”
“Hyuna had fun packing,” he replies with a small smile as they reach the baggage belt. It hasn’t started revolving yet, and Yoseob and Kikwang go off to get trolleys. “And everything else is just waiting by the door.” He exchanges looks with Doojoon, things going between them without any words before Junhyung glances away and says softly, “There’s not much to take anyway.”
Doojoon is silent for a moment, watching a few students traveling in a group walk by. “They really got everything?”
“Just everything that they gave me,” Junhyung says simply, shrugging. “They froze most of my accounts and cards, but I still have one that I made on my own and a few cards on that. A few of my dad’s employees came and took two of the cars, but I have one left that’s all mine from that, too. And after I leave for the airport, they’re taking all the stuff in my apartment and putting it back up for rent.”
“Have you talked to them since-”
“There’s no point,” Junhyung cuts him off with a resigned smile. “I mean, my dad’s secretary is contacting me, but I know it’s just because my parents want me to consider my ‘options’,” he uses finger quotes and raises his eyebrows significantly at Doojoon. He snorts, looking to the floor. “I think they’re getting desperate-they don’t know that I’m actually leaving, but for now they’re trying to get me to come back.”
Doojoon frowns. “But the press already-”
Junhyung shakes his head. “It’s always easy to find a way out of that,” he says. “I’m pretty sure they’d love headlines of some wayward son coming back from his homosexual meanderings back into the loving arms of his forgiving family or some other kind of bullshit. My mom’s trying to get my dad to just take me back and then figure things out from there, and I almost listened to her except she told me that I could do whatever I want with whatever guys I wanted as long as I got married with a girl that wouldn’t care.”
Doojoon stares.
“Yeah,” Junhyung says, looking away. “I know. They’re fucking crazy.”
“They’re still your parents,” Doojoon says quietly.
Junhyung’s eyes wander to the televisions hanging from the ceiling. The evening news has come on and he reaches for his sunglasses while the baggage hall is still relatively empty as his face comes onto the screens. He nods his head upward when he catches Doojoon watching him. “Technically,” he says with a bitter smile, “they aren’t anymore.”
It’s Hyuna who sees him off at the airport the next morning.
She still has to go to work, so she can only go as far as the ticket and baggage check-in lines. Junhyung has to wear sunglasses again because his photo, videos of him, his family company’s logo, it’s all still being blasted across magazines and televisions and internet articles. He thinks that foreigners passing them would probably think they were a couple saying their goodbyes.
“I feel like I’m about to go on Mission Impossible,” he says, grinning, elbow resting on the trolley.
“Except it’s not impossible,” Hyuna laughs.
Junhyung snorts. “I highly doubt he’s going to jump into my arms in a field of daisies.”
“There aren’t any daisies in Japan anyway,” she shrugs. And then she reaches out and slaps Junhyung on both cheeks two times. “Yah-yah, oppa. Stop being so emo. It’s not even nine yet.” She pouts and puts her hands on her hips. “You got him once, remember? You got him once, so just get him again.”
He smiles sadly, lightly hitting her arm with the back of his hand. “I’ll try.” Junhyung wraps his free arm around her shoulders tightly, pressing his face against her hair before she starts smacking his chest and telling him that he’s going to wrinkle her work clothes. “Be a good secretary to Dongwoonie, all right?” he draws away slowly and sincerely hopes that Hyuna’s eyes look moist because maybe her mascara is falling apart or something.
She nods vigorously, biting her lip and trying to smile back, her small hands pressed against the front of her pencil skirt. “Yeah-I will.” Hyuna’s mouth finally manages a tiny smile as Junhyung starts up the luggage cart. “Bye, oppa.”
Junhyung attempts a last smile-one that isn’t as sad-and pushes his trolley to the line for the eleven o’clock flight to Tokyo.