The Sound of Flight - Part III ; OT5
This update is for two very awesome people: yuxo and yuchun ♥
Title: The Sound of Flight - Part III
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Dong Bang Shin Ki
Pairing(s): OT5
Disclaimer: The boys do not belong to me. This is also nothing but pure fiction.
All parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Interlude | Part IV
Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII (final)
The Sound of Flight
Part III
"Left turn," Changmin says, watching the road in front of him.
Yoochun nods, his fingers tapping gently on the steering wheel. Pianist fingers, Changmin thinks, reminded of the times he watched Yoochun play the piano back at the Academy, when there was a piano to play. It feels like eternity since he heard Yoochun play anything.
"Left again," Changmin instructs. He still remembers every turn to make, every landmark along the way to his house, as clearly as he did years ago.
Changmin knows that there are some things you can't forget no matter how hard you try.
Things he knows that can't forget, because he's already tried: the sound of his sisters' voices shouting his name up the stairs, come down for dinner, you lazy ass. The view from his bedroom window. The way his mother smiled when she told him, they're taking you to where you'll be happy. The last time he hugged his father.
How fear feels like cold slime crawling down his back.
The heat of Junsu's hands on his back, warm, safe, I've got you. Yunho's promise: I won't let you get hurt. Yoochun's mouth on his, the heady taste of alcohol, and the morning after, Yoochun's blank eyes as he asks what happened last night? Jaejoong undressing him from across the room, smiling widely as clothes fall off layer by layer, removed by an invisible hand, you're beautiful.
His seat at the round dining table- his two sisters to his left, his father on his right, his mother always on her feet, busy spooning food onto his plate.
And the way home.
"Go straight all the way," Changmin says, voice even. "It's the last house on the right." He looks down, startled when Yoochun gives his hand a brief squeeze between their seats. It'll be okay, Changmin knows Yoochun is trying to tell him, but no matter how hard he tries, he still can't shake off the fear.
Jaejoong was the first person Yoochun told when he started getting homesick after half a year. "I want to go home," he said, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed at the ankles, staring as the laundry folded itself, a good three metres away from where Jaejoong was sitting.
Jaejoong stretched his leg out so his foot touched Yoochun's. "I know." A shirt hovered in mid-air momentarily before dropping onto the stack of neatly folded clothes as Jaejoong broke his concentration. "I've been here for two years," Jaejoong said. "Nearly two and a half years," he added as an afterthought. "I haven't seen my family or friends even once."
"Don't you ever miss them?" Yoochun said, reaching over to pick up the shirt that had been abandoned in favour of their conversation and began folding it manually.
"All the time," Jaejoong said.
Yoochun looked up.
"After you've been here for as long as I have, you'll notice a lot of things. And you'll figure out that this place isn't what it appears to be," Jaejoong watched as Yoochun carefully folded the shirt, placing it atop the neat stack. "Once they turn nineteen, twenty, and have had enough training, people disappear."
"What do you mean?" Yoochun said, and then almost immediately remembered something that he had heard Yunho saying the week before. "Wait, you mean Heechul-"
Jaejoong nodded even before the sentence was complete. "Heechul," he repeated the name. "He turned twenty a while back. He was really close to Yunho," Jaejoong got to his feet and rolled onto his bed, facing the ceiling, spread-eagled. Yoochun continued sitting on the floor, back against the wall, waiting for Jaejoong to continue talking.
"One day, he got called to the Office. When he got back, he told Yunho that he was leaving the Academy. There's something I need to do, that was what he said, and he wouldn't say any more. They always leave like this, after getting called to the Office. Sometimes, people just disappear," Jaejoong's voice cracked on his last sentence.
Yoochun crawled across the floor towards the bed and grabbed Jaejoong's hand, dangling carelessly off the edge. "You're scared," he said.
Jaejoong tilted his head, smiling slightly. "Terrified," he whispered. His hand in Yoochun's felt as warm as a secret.
Yoochun's eyes follow Changmin as he walks to the front door and raises a hand to ring the doorbell. Changmin's face is shuttered, a tightly closed window, and next to him, Yunho looks nervous.
The door swings open and Yoochun sees the moment of relief and happiness on Changmin's face as he looks up from his feet.
It is a woman standing at the door. She has long hair, curled at the ends and she looks quizzically at the five of them, standing outside her door. Yunho looks from the woman to Changmin and then back again.
"Who are you?" the woman says apprehensively.
"I'm Shim Changmin," Changmin replies haltingly, shocked.
Recognition lights up the woman's eyes. "You must be looking for the family who lived here before me- you're a relative, aren't you?" she says, smiling. "They sold me the house about half a year back."
"They moved?" Changmin says incredulously.
"They were in a bit of a rush," the woman continues. "They moved out immediately after I bought the house from them." She smiles apologetically. "I'm really sorry. I have no idea where they moved to., but they gave me a telephone number to give to anyone who came looking for them. They seemed to be expecting you- they said a teenage boy might come looking for them. Just give a minute, I'll go get it." The door is left half-open as she disappears back into the house.
A heavy silence hangs between the five of them. Before anyone can say a word, the woman appears in the doorway again, holding onto a small white card. "Here you go," she says, handing it over.
Changmin takes the card. "Thank you so much," he says, looking shaken but still composed.
"You're welcome," the woman says, and smiles at them before closing the door.
They get back into the car, and Changmin studies the card in his hands. "It's a phone number just like she said," he says. "We need to stop somewhere to borrow a phone."
"Can I take a look at it?" Yunho asks, and Changmin nods, dropping it into Yunho's hand.
"Junsu," Yunho says suddenly, his voice sounding tight and choked. He flips the card around for Junsu to see, and instantly, Junsu's expression freezes on his face. "Junsu," Yunho says again. "Do you-"
"I know," Junsu says, quickly turning to look at Changmin. "Don't call. Don't call," he tells Changmin fiercely, grabbing his arm tightly. "It's the Academy."
"Where's Changmin?" Yunho lowers his voice to a whisper, tapping Yoochun on the shoulder.
"He's in the room," Yoochun whispers back. "He said he wanted to be alone."
Yunho feels a headache approaching. The hotel room is small, and smells like mothballs, but it was the first place they found. Yunho reaches into his pocket and pulls the white card out. He knows what Changmin is thinking- they are all thinking of the same thing.
The Academy has Changmin's family, Yunho is certain, and he knows that even though they all try to tell Changmin that it's okay, Changmin knows the truth as well. Yunho also knows that if they have Changmin's family, the Academy also has all of their families.
Yoochun snatches the card out of Yunho's hands and stands up, crushing it violently in his fist and dropping it onto the floor.
Yunho grabs Yoochun's arm before he can walk off. "You can't fall apart," Yunho says, keeping his voice low. "Yoochun," he says, staring intently at Yoochun. Yoochun's head is angled away from him, and Yunho tugs at Yoochun's arm until he relaxes into the touch. "Yoochun," he says again, softer this time.
He reaches over with his other hand, taking Yoochun's chin and forcing him to turn around. He kisses Yoochun. Yoochun kisses back, two seconds, three seconds, and then he jerks backwards, away from Yunho, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth.
"I'm sorry," Yunho says, letting go of Yoochun's arm. "I'm sorry."
Yoochun shakes his head. "It's not your fault," he whispers, and Yunho knows they are both talking about different things.
Jaejoong appears, coming out of the kitchen. He stares at the both of them for a long while, the expression on his face unreadable. "We should all get some sleep," he says at last.
They both nod. Exhaustion has settled deep into their bones, and Yunho feels like no amount of sleep will rid it. Jaejoong walks over, takes them both by the hand and drags them into the bedroom. A few seconds after Yunho's head hits the pillow, he is asleep.
Jaejoong is shaken out of sleep by someone, and it takes a while before he groggily realises that it is Junsu. Junsu is saying something, and his voice is panicked and anxious. Jaejoong vaguely hears Changmin's name.
Changmin. Changmin.
Jaejoong snaps awake, sitting upright and staring into Junsu's pale face. "What?" he says, fear curling in his stomach like a rattlesnake.
"He's gone," Junsu is saying hoarsely. Again, Jaejoong adds mentally.
"Fuck," Jaejoong swears out loud, letting Junsu pull him out of bed. He trips over his own two feet, his head still fuzzy from sleep. His chest feels tight and constricted as he stumbles out of the room, following Junsu out of the door, stuffing his feet into shoes blindly.
It is only after he walks a good distance that he realises that he has put on someone else's shoes, because they do not fit at all. The shoes pinch at his toes, but the worry that eats away inside of him hurts more.
Next to him, Junsu is sweating despite the cool weather. "Changmin," Junsu calls, his voice slightly above a whisper, for fear of waking up the other hotel guests.
"He won't be here," Jaejoong says. "Downstairs," he instructs, and they take the stairs, racing down the steps, hoping that Changmin has not gone far. Jaejoong refuses to think about the possibility of the Academy catching Changmin, or what they would do to him if they got him.
Jaejoong dashes through the small dark lobby of the hotel and is about to head out of the door when he hears Junsu's sharp intake of breath, followed by a gasp of Changmin's name. He turns around and finds Changmin is sitting on the floor, back against the wall, his head tucked against his knees.
"Oh my God," Jaejoong says, crossing the distance between them with hasty strides, quickly bending down to touch Changmin's shoulder. "Changmin, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Changmin," he hears Junsu say. "You called, didn't you?"
It is only then that Jaejoong realises that Changmin is sitting next to a pay phone, and he has the white card crushed in his hand.
The first time Yoochun met Changmin, he did not like the boy.
Junsu introduced Changmin to the three of them over dinner. "This is Changmin," Junsu said, an arm slung casually over Changmin's shoulder. "He is kind of new around, and I decided to bring him out for dinner so he can get to know all of you."
Jaejoong crooked a finger, and a chair slid over from opposite the room, positioning itself behind Changmin. "Have a seat," Jaejoong offered. "I'm Jaejoong."
For the rest of the night, Changmin was quiet, only speaking when they asked him questions. His presence made Yoochun nervous, like he knew secrets that Yoochun did not.
Junsu liked Changmin, that was evident. He kept trying to include the boy into their conversation, and this irritated Yoochun. When dinner was over, Junsu told Yoochun he was going to walk Changmin back to his dormitory room.
"Why do you have walk him? I'm sure he can find his own way around," Yoochun asked, arms crossed. "He's not blind, you know."
Junsu stared into Yoochun's eyes for a long while. "Yoochun," he said, taking hold of Yoochun's hands and lacing their fingers together, looking for understanding. "He doesn't have any friends." He shot a look at Changmin, waiting a few metres away, hands in his pockets and staring at the floor.
"You are not a charitable organization," Yoochun said, and snapped his mouth shut, realising how mean he sounded.
Junsu pulled his hands away. "Stop being such an asshole," Junsu said, and he sounded angry, which made Yoochun feel both guilty and indignant.
"Changmin," Junsu called. "I'll walk with you back to your room."
Changmin jerked his head upwards and looked at Junsu, and then at Yoochun. He smiled- the first time Yoochun ever saw him smile. "It's okay," he said. "I can make my own way back." He met Yoochun's eyes for a brief moment, and then quickly looked away.
Yoochun felt naked, as though Changmin was reading him like an open book, as though his discomfort and jealousy was on display for everyone to see. Yoochun hated it.
That day, after they got back to their room, Junsu told Yoochun that Changmin was an empath.
Yoochun holds the door open as Junsu and Jaejoong carries Changmin in.
"What the hell happened?" Yunho asks, helping Changmin onto the sofa. He glances at the crumpled white card in Changmin's hand, and then at Jaejoong and Junsu.
"He called?" Yoochun mouths at Junsu.
Junsu nods, mouth set in a grim line. "Get him to relax," he whispers.
Yoochun sits down next to Changmin, touches his arm. Tense, cold. "Changmin," Yoochun says soothingly. "Look up."
It takes a while, but he finally lifts his head. His eyes are swollen and blood-shot, and there are tracks of tears on his cheeks.
"Changmin," Yoochun continues, keeping his voice pleasantly low and comforting. "I want you to relax, and take deep breaths." Changmin's breathing is shallow and noisy, but it begins to slow.
"I'll take over," Yunho says, tapping Yoochun on the shoulder.
Yoochun stood up, letting Yunho take his seat.
"I'm going to go get warm water," Jaejoong announces, disappearing into the kitchen. Yoochun stares for a moment at Yunho and Junsu on either side of Changmin, and follows Jaejoong in. Jaejoong is pouring hot water into a glass, and blowing across the surface to cool it down.
Yoochun grabs him from behind.
Jaejoong stands very still and doesn't push Yoochun away. "Yoochun," Jaejoong says after a moment, trying to gently loosen Yoochun's arms from their locked position around him. "He needs me," Jaejoong says quietly. "Yoochun."
"No," Yoochun breathes, burying his face into Jaejoong's shoulder.
Jaejoong raises a hand, touches Yoochun's hand. He leans backwards slightly so their heads bump. "Yoochun," Jaejoong repeats. "Changmin needs me right now."
Yoochun's arm locked around Jaejoong's waist tightens further. "Please just let me be selfish just this once," his voice comes out hoarse and raspy. "Yunho and Junsu are with him," Yoochun reasons, letting go of Jaejoong and coaxing him around so they are standing face to face, his hands tight around Jaejoong's wrists. "Please."
Jaejoong smiles sadly at Yoochun, slipping his hands out of Yoochun's. "I'm sorry," he says softly.
Yoochun tries to draw him into a kiss, but by the time he leans forward, Jaejoong has already turned around, and all he comes into contact with is cold, still air.
That night, Changmin's sleep is riddled with nightmares.
He oscillates between terrifying worlds- worlds where people have no faces; where people are suspended in mid-air, frozen puppets; where people are forced to carry their hearts outside their body, vulnerable and beating; where he is made to walk a tightrope across a pit of purple fire that licks at his soles.
Changmin wakes from one of the nightmares, drenched in sweat. Yunho and Junsu are asleep next to him, curled up like giant commas. Even in sleep, Yunho wears a frown.
Guilt wells up from somewhere deep inside Changmin, making it hard to breath. He should never have sneaked out. He should never have called. He should never have been so selfish. He didn't deserve to have Yunho fret over him. He didn't deserve to have any of them worry over him.
He reaches over to smooth the tension between Yunho's eyebrows with the tips of his fingers when he hears the knob of door twist.
Alarm bells sound in Changmin's head and his gift tells him that there is someone on the other side of that door, and that person is feeling triumphant and determined.
Pain flashes sharply through Changmin's chest as he realises that he has gotten all of them into trouble.
Changmin lets the panic he is feeling ebb out of him. Yunho and Junsu are forced out of their slumber when the panic reaches them- invisible ropes extending from Changmin that tighten around their necks and limbs.
They find Changmin on his feet, staring at the door as it creaks open.
Continue to Interlude
Back to Part II
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MASTERLIST OF FICS HERE
Title: The Sound of Flight - Part III
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Dong Bang Shin Ki
Pairing(s): OT5
Disclaimer: The boys do not belong to me. This is also nothing but pure fiction.
All parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Interlude | Part IV
Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII (final)
The Sound of Flight
Part III
"Left turn," Changmin says, watching the road in front of him.
Yoochun nods, his fingers tapping gently on the steering wheel. Pianist fingers, Changmin thinks, reminded of the times he watched Yoochun play the piano back at the Academy, when there was a piano to play. It feels like eternity since he heard Yoochun play anything.
"Left again," Changmin instructs. He still remembers every turn to make, every landmark along the way to his house, as clearly as he did years ago.
Changmin knows that there are some things you can't forget no matter how hard you try.
Things he knows that can't forget, because he's already tried: the sound of his sisters' voices shouting his name up the stairs, come down for dinner, you lazy ass. The view from his bedroom window. The way his mother smiled when she told him, they're taking you to where you'll be happy. The last time he hugged his father.
How fear feels like cold slime crawling down his back.
The heat of Junsu's hands on his back, warm, safe, I've got you. Yunho's promise: I won't let you get hurt. Yoochun's mouth on his, the heady taste of alcohol, and the morning after, Yoochun's blank eyes as he asks what happened last night? Jaejoong undressing him from across the room, smiling widely as clothes fall off layer by layer, removed by an invisible hand, you're beautiful.
His seat at the round dining table- his two sisters to his left, his father on his right, his mother always on her feet, busy spooning food onto his plate.
And the way home.
"Go straight all the way," Changmin says, voice even. "It's the last house on the right." He looks down, startled when Yoochun gives his hand a brief squeeze between their seats. It'll be okay, Changmin knows Yoochun is trying to tell him, but no matter how hard he tries, he still can't shake off the fear.
Jaejoong was the first person Yoochun told when he started getting homesick after half a year. "I want to go home," he said, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed at the ankles, staring as the laundry folded itself, a good three metres away from where Jaejoong was sitting.
Jaejoong stretched his leg out so his foot touched Yoochun's. "I know." A shirt hovered in mid-air momentarily before dropping onto the stack of neatly folded clothes as Jaejoong broke his concentration. "I've been here for two years," Jaejoong said. "Nearly two and a half years," he added as an afterthought. "I haven't seen my family or friends even once."
"Don't you ever miss them?" Yoochun said, reaching over to pick up the shirt that had been abandoned in favour of their conversation and began folding it manually.
"All the time," Jaejoong said.
Yoochun looked up.
"After you've been here for as long as I have, you'll notice a lot of things. And you'll figure out that this place isn't what it appears to be," Jaejoong watched as Yoochun carefully folded the shirt, placing it atop the neat stack. "Once they turn nineteen, twenty, and have had enough training, people disappear."
"What do you mean?" Yoochun said, and then almost immediately remembered something that he had heard Yunho saying the week before. "Wait, you mean Heechul-"
Jaejoong nodded even before the sentence was complete. "Heechul," he repeated the name. "He turned twenty a while back. He was really close to Yunho," Jaejoong got to his feet and rolled onto his bed, facing the ceiling, spread-eagled. Yoochun continued sitting on the floor, back against the wall, waiting for Jaejoong to continue talking.
"One day, he got called to the Office. When he got back, he told Yunho that he was leaving the Academy. There's something I need to do, that was what he said, and he wouldn't say any more. They always leave like this, after getting called to the Office. Sometimes, people just disappear," Jaejoong's voice cracked on his last sentence.
Yoochun crawled across the floor towards the bed and grabbed Jaejoong's hand, dangling carelessly off the edge. "You're scared," he said.
Jaejoong tilted his head, smiling slightly. "Terrified," he whispered. His hand in Yoochun's felt as warm as a secret.
Yoochun's eyes follow Changmin as he walks to the front door and raises a hand to ring the doorbell. Changmin's face is shuttered, a tightly closed window, and next to him, Yunho looks nervous.
The door swings open and Yoochun sees the moment of relief and happiness on Changmin's face as he looks up from his feet.
It is a woman standing at the door. She has long hair, curled at the ends and she looks quizzically at the five of them, standing outside her door. Yunho looks from the woman to Changmin and then back again.
"Who are you?" the woman says apprehensively.
"I'm Shim Changmin," Changmin replies haltingly, shocked.
Recognition lights up the woman's eyes. "You must be looking for the family who lived here before me- you're a relative, aren't you?" she says, smiling. "They sold me the house about half a year back."
"They moved?" Changmin says incredulously.
"They were in a bit of a rush," the woman continues. "They moved out immediately after I bought the house from them." She smiles apologetically. "I'm really sorry. I have no idea where they moved to., but they gave me a telephone number to give to anyone who came looking for them. They seemed to be expecting you- they said a teenage boy might come looking for them. Just give a minute, I'll go get it." The door is left half-open as she disappears back into the house.
A heavy silence hangs between the five of them. Before anyone can say a word, the woman appears in the doorway again, holding onto a small white card. "Here you go," she says, handing it over.
Changmin takes the card. "Thank you so much," he says, looking shaken but still composed.
"You're welcome," the woman says, and smiles at them before closing the door.
They get back into the car, and Changmin studies the card in his hands. "It's a phone number just like she said," he says. "We need to stop somewhere to borrow a phone."
"Can I take a look at it?" Yunho asks, and Changmin nods, dropping it into Yunho's hand.
"Junsu," Yunho says suddenly, his voice sounding tight and choked. He flips the card around for Junsu to see, and instantly, Junsu's expression freezes on his face. "Junsu," Yunho says again. "Do you-"
"I know," Junsu says, quickly turning to look at Changmin. "Don't call. Don't call," he tells Changmin fiercely, grabbing his arm tightly. "It's the Academy."
"Where's Changmin?" Yunho lowers his voice to a whisper, tapping Yoochun on the shoulder.
"He's in the room," Yoochun whispers back. "He said he wanted to be alone."
Yunho feels a headache approaching. The hotel room is small, and smells like mothballs, but it was the first place they found. Yunho reaches into his pocket and pulls the white card out. He knows what Changmin is thinking- they are all thinking of the same thing.
The Academy has Changmin's family, Yunho is certain, and he knows that even though they all try to tell Changmin that it's okay, Changmin knows the truth as well. Yunho also knows that if they have Changmin's family, the Academy also has all of their families.
Yoochun snatches the card out of Yunho's hands and stands up, crushing it violently in his fist and dropping it onto the floor.
Yunho grabs Yoochun's arm before he can walk off. "You can't fall apart," Yunho says, keeping his voice low. "Yoochun," he says, staring intently at Yoochun. Yoochun's head is angled away from him, and Yunho tugs at Yoochun's arm until he relaxes into the touch. "Yoochun," he says again, softer this time.
He reaches over with his other hand, taking Yoochun's chin and forcing him to turn around. He kisses Yoochun. Yoochun kisses back, two seconds, three seconds, and then he jerks backwards, away from Yunho, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth.
"I'm sorry," Yunho says, letting go of Yoochun's arm. "I'm sorry."
Yoochun shakes his head. "It's not your fault," he whispers, and Yunho knows they are both talking about different things.
Jaejoong appears, coming out of the kitchen. He stares at the both of them for a long while, the expression on his face unreadable. "We should all get some sleep," he says at last.
They both nod. Exhaustion has settled deep into their bones, and Yunho feels like no amount of sleep will rid it. Jaejoong walks over, takes them both by the hand and drags them into the bedroom. A few seconds after Yunho's head hits the pillow, he is asleep.
Jaejoong is shaken out of sleep by someone, and it takes a while before he groggily realises that it is Junsu. Junsu is saying something, and his voice is panicked and anxious. Jaejoong vaguely hears Changmin's name.
Changmin. Changmin.
Jaejoong snaps awake, sitting upright and staring into Junsu's pale face. "What?" he says, fear curling in his stomach like a rattlesnake.
"He's gone," Junsu is saying hoarsely. Again, Jaejoong adds mentally.
"Fuck," Jaejoong swears out loud, letting Junsu pull him out of bed. He trips over his own two feet, his head still fuzzy from sleep. His chest feels tight and constricted as he stumbles out of the room, following Junsu out of the door, stuffing his feet into shoes blindly.
It is only after he walks a good distance that he realises that he has put on someone else's shoes, because they do not fit at all. The shoes pinch at his toes, but the worry that eats away inside of him hurts more.
Next to him, Junsu is sweating despite the cool weather. "Changmin," Junsu calls, his voice slightly above a whisper, for fear of waking up the other hotel guests.
"He won't be here," Jaejoong says. "Downstairs," he instructs, and they take the stairs, racing down the steps, hoping that Changmin has not gone far. Jaejoong refuses to think about the possibility of the Academy catching Changmin, or what they would do to him if they got him.
Jaejoong dashes through the small dark lobby of the hotel and is about to head out of the door when he hears Junsu's sharp intake of breath, followed by a gasp of Changmin's name. He turns around and finds Changmin is sitting on the floor, back against the wall, his head tucked against his knees.
"Oh my God," Jaejoong says, crossing the distance between them with hasty strides, quickly bending down to touch Changmin's shoulder. "Changmin, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Changmin," he hears Junsu say. "You called, didn't you?"
It is only then that Jaejoong realises that Changmin is sitting next to a pay phone, and he has the white card crushed in his hand.
The first time Yoochun met Changmin, he did not like the boy.
Junsu introduced Changmin to the three of them over dinner. "This is Changmin," Junsu said, an arm slung casually over Changmin's shoulder. "He is kind of new around, and I decided to bring him out for dinner so he can get to know all of you."
Jaejoong crooked a finger, and a chair slid over from opposite the room, positioning itself behind Changmin. "Have a seat," Jaejoong offered. "I'm Jaejoong."
For the rest of the night, Changmin was quiet, only speaking when they asked him questions. His presence made Yoochun nervous, like he knew secrets that Yoochun did not.
Junsu liked Changmin, that was evident. He kept trying to include the boy into their conversation, and this irritated Yoochun. When dinner was over, Junsu told Yoochun he was going to walk Changmin back to his dormitory room.
"Why do you have walk him? I'm sure he can find his own way around," Yoochun asked, arms crossed. "He's not blind, you know."
Junsu stared into Yoochun's eyes for a long while. "Yoochun," he said, taking hold of Yoochun's hands and lacing their fingers together, looking for understanding. "He doesn't have any friends." He shot a look at Changmin, waiting a few metres away, hands in his pockets and staring at the floor.
"You are not a charitable organization," Yoochun said, and snapped his mouth shut, realising how mean he sounded.
Junsu pulled his hands away. "Stop being such an asshole," Junsu said, and he sounded angry, which made Yoochun feel both guilty and indignant.
"Changmin," Junsu called. "I'll walk with you back to your room."
Changmin jerked his head upwards and looked at Junsu, and then at Yoochun. He smiled- the first time Yoochun ever saw him smile. "It's okay," he said. "I can make my own way back." He met Yoochun's eyes for a brief moment, and then quickly looked away.
Yoochun felt naked, as though Changmin was reading him like an open book, as though his discomfort and jealousy was on display for everyone to see. Yoochun hated it.
That day, after they got back to their room, Junsu told Yoochun that Changmin was an empath.
Yoochun holds the door open as Junsu and Jaejoong carries Changmin in.
"What the hell happened?" Yunho asks, helping Changmin onto the sofa. He glances at the crumpled white card in Changmin's hand, and then at Jaejoong and Junsu.
"He called?" Yoochun mouths at Junsu.
Junsu nods, mouth set in a grim line. "Get him to relax," he whispers.
Yoochun sits down next to Changmin, touches his arm. Tense, cold. "Changmin," Yoochun says soothingly. "Look up."
It takes a while, but he finally lifts his head. His eyes are swollen and blood-shot, and there are tracks of tears on his cheeks.
"Changmin," Yoochun continues, keeping his voice pleasantly low and comforting. "I want you to relax, and take deep breaths." Changmin's breathing is shallow and noisy, but it begins to slow.
"I'll take over," Yunho says, tapping Yoochun on the shoulder.
Yoochun stood up, letting Yunho take his seat.
"I'm going to go get warm water," Jaejoong announces, disappearing into the kitchen. Yoochun stares for a moment at Yunho and Junsu on either side of Changmin, and follows Jaejoong in. Jaejoong is pouring hot water into a glass, and blowing across the surface to cool it down.
Yoochun grabs him from behind.
Jaejoong stands very still and doesn't push Yoochun away. "Yoochun," Jaejoong says after a moment, trying to gently loosen Yoochun's arms from their locked position around him. "He needs me," Jaejoong says quietly. "Yoochun."
"No," Yoochun breathes, burying his face into Jaejoong's shoulder.
Jaejoong raises a hand, touches Yoochun's hand. He leans backwards slightly so their heads bump. "Yoochun," Jaejoong repeats. "Changmin needs me right now."
Yoochun's arm locked around Jaejoong's waist tightens further. "Please just let me be selfish just this once," his voice comes out hoarse and raspy. "Yunho and Junsu are with him," Yoochun reasons, letting go of Jaejoong and coaxing him around so they are standing face to face, his hands tight around Jaejoong's wrists. "Please."
Jaejoong smiles sadly at Yoochun, slipping his hands out of Yoochun's. "I'm sorry," he says softly.
Yoochun tries to draw him into a kiss, but by the time he leans forward, Jaejoong has already turned around, and all he comes into contact with is cold, still air.
That night, Changmin's sleep is riddled with nightmares.
He oscillates between terrifying worlds- worlds where people have no faces; where people are suspended in mid-air, frozen puppets; where people are forced to carry their hearts outside their body, vulnerable and beating; where he is made to walk a tightrope across a pit of purple fire that licks at his soles.
Changmin wakes from one of the nightmares, drenched in sweat. Yunho and Junsu are asleep next to him, curled up like giant commas. Even in sleep, Yunho wears a frown.
Guilt wells up from somewhere deep inside Changmin, making it hard to breath. He should never have sneaked out. He should never have called. He should never have been so selfish. He didn't deserve to have Yunho fret over him. He didn't deserve to have any of them worry over him.
He reaches over to smooth the tension between Yunho's eyebrows with the tips of his fingers when he hears the knob of door twist.
Alarm bells sound in Changmin's head and his gift tells him that there is someone on the other side of that door, and that person is feeling triumphant and determined.
Pain flashes sharply through Changmin's chest as he realises that he has gotten all of them into trouble.
Changmin lets the panic he is feeling ebb out of him. Yunho and Junsu are forced out of their slumber when the panic reaches them- invisible ropes extending from Changmin that tighten around their necks and limbs.
They find Changmin on his feet, staring at the door as it creaks open.
Continue to Interlude
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