The Shadow Kissed Chapter Eight
Title: The Shadow Kissed
Author: insanityplays
Rating: R
Pairing: KRY (Kyuhyun/Ryeowook/Yesung), Kangteuk, Hanchul, Simin, Kihyuk, Yujae. More to be added as revealed.
Characters: Psychic!Ryeowook, Psycho!Kyuhyun, Cop!Yesung, rest of Super Junior + M, appearances by DBSK, SNSD, and f(x)
Summary: After a nightmare Kim Jongwoon forwent paying any special attention to, he’s placed on a cold case fourteen years old where the only witness is a soon to be twenty-three year old man locked away in a mental “hospital” owned by the same people suspected for the murder/arson case of the Cho Family. Boring re-investigation aside, Jongwoon finds himself thrust into living his nightmare - only this time, it isn’t a dream.
Disclaimer: I do not own.
Warning: Includes, or will include, Angst, Drama, Romance, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Action, and Mystery. Also includes, or will include, paranormal activity, ghosts, attempted murder and murder.
…you guys probably hate/love me right now. Hate me because it’s been about a month, love me because I’ve finally updated. Explanation at the end.
THIS STORY IS ABANDONED AND WILL NOT BE COMPLETED. UPON REQUEST, I AM WILLING TO WRITE UP AN ADDITIONAL "CHAPTER" EXPLAINING THE REST OF THE STORYLINE AND HOW IT WAS MEANT TO END, BUT IT WILL NOT BE COMPLETED. The contents of this masterlist has been unlocked for those who still want to read the story; however, as I have already stated, it will not be updated at any point in its original capacity. Thank you for your interest and time.
- Chapter Eight -
His eyes were wide as they ushered him out of the room, Yesung and Sungmin gripping one arm each, their fingernails biting into his flesh, expressions confused and frightened, Yesung’s full or rage.
Behind them, Siwon fought off Kyuhyun, held him back as he raged against his hold, trying to get at Ryeowook’s retreating form, face contorted in an array of feelings that broke Ryeowook’s heart just to remember.
All he could think about as they stumbled over the threshold of Kyuhyun’s trashed little cell was how wrong he’d been to spill Kyuhyun’s secret, no matter how shocked he’d been when he’d let it drift past his lips.
He’d made a mistake, he could see that, feel that in the very air in the room.
It was with a loud smacking noise of body meeting stone that Siwon scrambled out of the room behind them, slamming the door shut before Kyuhyun could re-orient himself.
A barely discernible despaired sob followed him, and Kyuhyun threw himself against the other side of the just closed door, slamming his fists against the iron. Ryeowook thrust himself forward, but he hadn’t even made it one step before Yesung had him thrown up against the far wall.
Shocked, he stared up at the older man, confusion evident in his features even as Yesung glared down at him with barely restrained fury.
“What the hell were you thinking!?” he yelled, face inches away from Ryeowook’s. “You could have been killed! You could still be killed! What makes you think no one was listening at the door? You can’t just go making accusations like that, especially not in this situation! Especially not without thinking about the consequences!” he growled, shoving Ryeowook up harder against the wall, fists clenched around the fabric of his shirt.
Suddenly loosening his grip, Yesung leaned his forehead against Ryeowook’s. “Fuck, Ryeowook…I thought he was going to kill you…” His eyes shuttered closed and Ryeowook stood shell shocked, mouth open in a slight “o.”
He felt fear close around his heart, and yanked away from Yesung, pushing him off of him until they were both breathing their own air again.
He shuddered against the heated touch he could still feel through the fabric of his shirt, tried to wipe his face clear of feelings, and glared up at the confusion that was so clear on Yesung’s face.
The feelings he’d seen swimming in Yesung’s eyes, the outright concern that he’d displayed in the last few hours alone, scared the shit out of Ryeowook, and made him want to run far, far away.
“You have no right to worry about me,” he said quietly, viciously, and he watched as Yesung’s eyebrows drew down in a confused line of worry, saw cloudy rejection swim in the dark brown of his eyes.
“What the hell does that mean, Ryeowook? You want me to not care if you die? You want me to not care if you get put in harms way? You want me to just go on my merry way and let whatever happens, happen?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck that!” Yesung growled, voice rising and hardly caring about the other two occupants of the room. “Fuck that, Ryeowook! So long as you’re on this case with me, so long as you are around me, I’m going to do my goddamned best to keep you out of harms way!”
Anger and fear rising, Ryeowook stepped closer to the seething Yesung, took the collar of his police outfit in hand, and pulled him close until their lips were almost touching. “Just because we had sex, Jongwoon, doesn’t mean you own me,” he growled, voice pitched dangerously low, heart racing faster than it should have been, and he pulled back, letting go of Yesung’s shirt as he crossed his arms over his chest in a defiant gesture.
Anger, annoyance, and rejection flashed across Yesung’s face, and he took a step closer to Ryeowook.
Putting up a hand to stop him, Ryeowook took a step back, aware he was smashing himself between the wall and Yesung, but also aware he could get away if he really needed to.
The problem was whether or not he’d really want to.
He knew what Yesung’s concern meant, knew what those feelings in his eyes would lead to, and he knew nothing could ever become of them. Ryeowook was always in danger, and he didn’t know how to love someone, didn’t know how to care for them the way they should be cared for.
It didn’t matter that the feelings he could feel clawing up his own throat, wishing to be set free, where the same as the ones in Yesung’s eyes, no matter how irrational the want, the need, and the hope that things could work out. Yesung deserved better than him.
With hard eyes, and an equally hard heart, he said, “I don’t care about you Jongwoon,” and watched as Yesung flinched. “You are nothing to me,” he continued, words slicing like a knife through butter. “We are nothing. So we had sex, so what? That’s all it was. That’s all it will ever be, nothing more, nothing less,” he said in the calmest voice he could manage.
He let the words sink in, watched as Yesung took a deep breathe, and closed his eyes before he had to see anymore of the pain, imagined how Yesung’s eyelashes would sweep across his cheeks as he closed his eyes as well, and then he pushed roughly passed him, made his way towards the sad eyes of his best friend who knew him all too well.
“Ryeowook-”
“Kyuhyun doesn’t belong here,” he interrupted before he could say anything, “That was proved here tonight. He’s not crazy, he’s not insane, and he’s not mentally unstable. He has been incorrectly diagnosed.”
Sighing and closing his eyes on his own pain, Sungmin took a deep breathe. When he opened his eyes again, he wore nothing but a calm mask of authority. “If that’s true, then he belongs to SM Industries, and must be put turned over to their care immediately,” he said in an impassive tone, though his eyes betrayed his pain.
Visibly shaking in anger, Ryeowook shook his head. “He’s not a piece of property to be handed over! He’s a human being!” he growled harshly, closing his eyes when Sungmin flinched back.
Think, think…you got him into this mess, now it’s up to you to get him out… Kyuhyun’s contract was legally binding, and if Henry had been able to find it, then it was undeniable that SM would know exactly where it was as well. It had never been destroyed.
It seemed almost impossible to get Kyuhyun out of this mess. If they didn’t tread lightly, Kyuhyun was going to die.
His life was up for forfeit. Ryeowook had to do something.
Eyes snapping open, he grabbed a handful of Sungmin’s sleeve, stared hard into eyes that were now leaking tears.
“He just turned 23…”
“Lee Sungmin-shii, I believe SM Industries is responsible for the murder of the Cho family, and under the circumstances, it would be unadvisable to turn Cho Kyuhyun over to the care of his would be murderers.”
Without waiting for an answer, Ryeowook turned to face Yesung. “Call Heechul. This case is formally re-opened. We need a warrant. We’re checking Cho Kyuhyun out of here.”
--
Kyuhyun’s gaze lingered on the oh so familiar sights of the outside world he hadn’t seen in nearly fifteen years, eyes burning with the hot glare of the afternoon sun, skin on fire where the tinted windows and air conditioning didn’t manage to cool him.
If he focused on the tinted glass windows instead of the scenery he was hardly taking in, he knew he would see his reflection, but he refused to look at it. He already knew what he looked like, had seen his reflection in the cold, unforgiving metal of the police cruiser he’d been led to not fifteen minutes earlier.
He was a disheveled mess with long, overgrown curly hair, and pale pale skin that hadn’t seen daylight in fifteen years. His cheeks were hollowed out, dark shadows an imprint in his aged, pallid face, and he almost wanted to cry for what had been lost.
He was hardly a vain person, but it was so much more than that. Being out in the open again, seeing sights he hadn’t seen in years, taking in the features he’d once been familiar with…knowing that his life’s secret had just been thrown out the window and that he was being carted off to who knows where, all of his family dead - it was quite possibly one of the scariest prospects Kyuhyun had ever had to deal with, and there wasn’t even the familiarity of himself to take comfort in.
He’d never even thought he’d get out of the Psychiatric Ward, had been content just staying alive, listening to his mother tell him stories like she had when he was younger, singing songs high and clear in her soft voice in the damp room of his cell, living off his memories and the sometimes company of Lee Sungmin, the man who currently sat beside him, but whom he refused to acknowledge in the dim back seat of the police cruiser.
Now all of that was lost to him - all because of the two people his mother had talked about for years; the two people who were supposed to be saving him.
They’re here to help you darling…
He tried not to snort out loud, tried not to make any sound that might alert the other three occupants of the car to his presence. They knew he was there, he wasn’t stupid, but they were dutifully ignoring him, Sungmin going even so far as to stare out the opposite window, as if aware that Kyuhyun needed his silence, and Kyuhyun preferred the strained silence from the two in the front seat to attempts to make him speak.
Vaguely, Kyuhyun wondered what he would sound like. He hadn’t spoken, hadn’t used his voice at all, in the almost fifteen years he’d been in the Psychiatric Ward, but he had no immediate plans to change that fact, wondered when they would start to try and pry words from his mouth, when they would ask him to testify.
He wondered how long it would take him to get used to forming words again - he was almost mute now - and sighed. He already missed the days of silence spent in the tiny cell they’d been housing him in, almost wished he could go back there.
They’re here to save you dear…I told you they would come.
It wasn’t so much his mother’s words as her voice that kept him from fighting to go back, from really going insane. She was the constant reminder that beyond the bliss of silence, he had a family to bring to justice.
All he had for his mother’s words, however, was scorn. He wanted to scoff aloud - how were two men nearly his age going to save him? With his cover blown, he would be dead soon enough.
They won’t let you die, I’ve seen it. They were meant for you -
The awkward silence from the front seat cut off then, breaking off the flow of his mother’s words as the man who’d betrayed his secret started choking, his wheezing breathes filling the silence in the car. Beside him, Sungmin jumped and sat forward, fingers gripping through the holes of the grill cutting off the back seat from the front.
The police officer turned on his siren and made an abrupt turn, parking haphazardly against the sidewalk. People took off running in all directions, scared at the sudden change in the calm atmosphere, and the police officer was out of the car in moments, the second, choking man no longer making noise though Kyuhyun could see him flailing in the front seat, struggling against some imaginary assailant.
The police officer flung open the passenger side door and pulled the second man out of the car, grasping at his hands and holding them away from him to stop him from scratching at his throat though Kyuhyun could already smell the metallic scent of blood, could see the blood already trailing down his throat, coating his fingernails, staining them red the way Kyuhyun hadn’t seen anything stained red in years.
A startled pull of breathe later, the man was gasping air like he couldn’t get enough, and Kyuhyun…Kyuhyun was staring at his parent’s bed spread stained red, at his father with a bullet through his head…
--
“Ryeowook, breathe goddamnit! Breathe!” Yesung shouted as he shook Ryeowook by his hold on his wrists, growing increasingly frightened when the others brown eyes started to glaze over. “Please, goddamnit! BREATHE!” he growled, and then Ryeowook took in that first startled breathe of air and Yesung sagged in relief, releasing his hold on Ryeowook’s wrists to grab his shoulders should he fall, holding him at arms length away so he could breathe unhampered.
He tried to ignore the smell of blood in his nose, tried to ignore the small rivulets that rolled down the collar of Ryeowook’s shirt, because he knew he could do nothing for him yet - not until Ryeowook was breathing normally again.
He held Ryeowook’s gaze, giving him something to focus on until his world stopped spinning, and drew him close when his breathing was more regulated and it was obvious he couldn’t hold up his own weight any longer.
Ryeowook’s fingers were tenacious on his shoulders, his breathing still slightly ragged, and Yesung didn’t even care that he could feel the blood dripping onto his own clothes. It was a steady flow, but not an extreme one.
Ryeowook would be fine.
When Ryeowook finally drew away, Yesung pushed him gently back into his seat in the car, glancing at the emotionless Kyuhyun in the backseat and the frightened Sungmin beside him before he got down on one knee and opened the glove department, drawing out a first aid kit.
Ryeowook sat with his head tilted back, breathing slowing down though his body still shook, and Yesung wiped at his bloody neck, cringing as he unearthed the cuts he’d left behind. They weren’t deep, but they were deep enough.
“You should be more careful…” Yesung said quietly as he pulled out a length of bandage and gauze.
“Yea? You try having your airway cut off,” Ryeowook huffed, eyes closed, face tilted up. Yesung didn’t answer, wrapping the bandage securely, but not too tight, around Ryeowook’s neck, holding the end with his index and middle fingers as he wrapped the gauze around that, tying it off in a secure knot.
He stood up when he was finished, stuffing the first aid kid back in the glove department, before shutting the door on the smaller male. When he sat in his own seat once again, Ryeowook was staring at him.
“What?”
“…thanks.”
Yesung turned away from Ryeowook’s gaze and started the car, telling himself it didn’t matter what that little voice in the back of his head was telling him. Ryeowook was right; there was nothing between them, never would be something between them, and it really shouldn’t hurt so much.
“You’re welcome.”
--
Sungmin looked on helplessly as Yesung held up Ryeowook’s weight, kept him from falling over, and bandaged the self inflicted wounds that marred his neck, silent tears dripping down his face. He wiped them away before the others could notice, and sat back cautiously in his seat, ignoring the slight nausea in his stomach.
His whole world felt like it had been flipped upside down.
His best friend’s life had just been put in danger, and Sungmin had the feeling he knew just what had attacked him, what Yesung was, and what it was doing to Ryeowook.
He wondered how long the two had been in contact, how long Yesung had been Shadow Kissed, and why the spirit was so strong it could latch on to Ryeowook the way it had. He wondered how many times it had happened, wondered if he should force Ryeowook off this case, and tried to keep his face neutral as Yesung got back in the car, ignoring the straggling people who had been watching the last scene unfold, lest he glare at someone who didn’t deserve the fault he wanted to put on them.
It would hardly be fair when he knew exactly what Yesung had gone through, when he knew how hard Yesung was working on this case, and when the other had just done his hardest to save him, his best friend, and his patient from further harm.
If it weren’t for Yesung, he and Kyuhyun would be dead by now. Two visits. Two visits from the police, and the first one had caused him to be beaten nearly to death on the cold floor of an underground basement he hadn’t even know exsisted.
Kyuhyun had already been condemned - Jungmin had just been waiting for the go ahead - and if Yesung hadn’t arrested Sungmin on the grounds of physically abusing his patient, Jungmin would have finished what he’d started two nights ago, and killed Sungmin before he could testify against the Psychiatric Ward.
As it was, despite Siwon staying behind to claim Sungmin hadn’t told the police what really went on at the ward, they would be waiting to take Sungmin out, waiting for him to be unprotected, before they killed him.
Yesung’s plan was to put him under witness protection, and Siwon was going to be on the run soon as well - Jungmin wasn’t going to stay fooled for too much longer.
“What are you going to do with Kyuhyun? You don’t have the grounds for a warrant,” Sungmin finally said after another few minutes of silence. Yesung glanced back at him through the rear view mirror, and gave a strained, but encouraging smile.
“You and Siwon will get us our warrant,” Yesung said simply, returning his gaze back to the road.
“How am I going to get you a warrant?” Sungmin asked, cringing at the way their conversation was making it sound like Kyuhyun was an object, rather than a person - which, to SM Industries, he supposed he was.
“We’ll need a written statement, but your testimony against the Psychiatric Ward will help us bring about their downfall, and Siwon’s testimony will convince them that Kyuhyun’s life is in danger, and that SMI is a credible suspect in the case Ryeowook so decidedly re-opened.” The last was said with a tiny note of contention, and the rise it brought out of Ryeowook made Sungmin smile.
He might feel some anger towards Yesung for putting his best friend in danger, but besides himself, no one could get a reaction out of Ryeowook. Yesung might be good for his best friend after all.
--
Siwon was in a hurry.
In the small room that served as an office for Jungmin, the man’s anger brewed, and in rapid fire Japanese, he spoke with the head boss, Lee Soo Man.
For the last twenty minutes, he’d kept Siwon practically captive, the threat of imminent death hanging over his head if he said the wrong thing as he was interrogated about the events of the day, pestered for any miniscule detail that would give them an idea if the police had any evidence against SMI or the Psychiatric Ward itself that would cause their downfall.
On the breech of cracking and ready to tear out Jungmin’s throat, he had been dismissed as Jungmin dialed the number to reach their boss, immediately speaking in rapid fire, angry Japanese when the other line was picked up.
The look on his face as he’d been dismissed had been a warning.
If you go missing, I’ll know.
Heart racing, he’d made his way into the break room, trying to keep his face blank, his breathing steady, as he’d made his way through, headed straight towards the hall with the kitchen at the end - attempting to appear as though he were on a mission.
All the while, in his mind, he could already picture the only back exit, and prayed that he got out and away before an alarm was raised.
Sungmin…
As he walked, in the back of his mind, he thought of the younger male and the bruises that marred his face, his body, and probably his soul. He thought of the look on Sungmin’s face when he’d been told they had to get him out of here, and that Siwon would have to stay behind to make sure things went the way they’d been planned, and pushed himself harder, pushed himself to do whatever it took to keep from hurting Sungmin anymore.
He turned the next corner and almost came to a stop, felt the fear flash over his face, and cloaked it before the man moving down the hall could notice.
He felt his heartbeat change in speed, and tried to keep it from his movements, tried to keep it from showing on his face, as he took a deep breathe and held it, letting it out when the man grew closer and he was just able to make out his face.
It was Kim Jungho, the last person a patient would want to see, but just the person Siwon wanted to run into.
He was all too well known here for his cruelty, but he wasn’t well liked by Jungmin. His tactics were too suspicious, his attitude too straight forward, and as far as Siwon knew, Jungmin was looking to get rid of him.
Which meant he was the last person Jungmin would send to secure the kitchens from any person trying to escape - mainly Siwon himself.
Face cool, he nodded his head towards Jungho, gaining a cruel smile and a wink in return as he made his way past Siwon and down the next hall - the hall that would take him to his patient’s room.
Siwon had to work to keep himself walking. He wanted to turn right back around and snap the guys neck, just to keep him from doing what he knew he would do to his patient.
Instead, he turned his thought’s back to Sungmin once more, and tried to think of what would happen to the man when he was carted off to jail after all this was over - all Siwon had to do was escape first.
His feet carried him all the way down the hall, but he cringed when he heard the first loud cries of Jungho’s patient. It disturbed him that he could hear those cries from a hall over, disturbed him that anyone could work in a place like this, disturbed him that he’d never once heard the cooks complain.
When he finally did reach the end of the hallway, he could practically smell the scent of freedom in the acrid scent of rancid meat and rotting vegetables, and hoped to God that the patients wouldn’t get fed any of this for dinner tonight.
He had no time to take out the garbage before it could be recycled like he usually did.
As he turned into the doorway of the kitchen, he felt a hand wrap around his neck and jerk him back, cutting off his air supply in less than two seconds flat. He gagged and felt his vision start to go blurry.
Grabbing tight to the arm around his neck with both hands, he yanked, hissing when the arm only tightened, before twisting and striking out, fist colliding with the other man’s cheek. The man went sprawling and Siwon backed off, regulating his breathing until the other man stood back up.
His eyes were fierce as he glared down at the pleasantly smiling Changin.
“What the hell was that for?” he growled, inconspicuously trying to find where Leejing was hiding.
If Jungmin had sent Changin, he’d sent Leejing as well.
“I always wondered who’d win in a fight,” Changin replied, his pleasant smile still in place.
Without warning, his foot came out, knocking Siwon from his feet, and if it weren’t for his quick reflexes, he might have landed badly, but he caught himself and lifted his own lower body to knock Changin to the ground in the amount of time it took him to fall.
The other went crashing to the floor, and he landed on his arm as he tried to mimic Siwon’s fall. Siwon heard the bone crack as he pushed himself up and Changin cried out, but the other didn’t stay down for long.
He stood back up with murderous intent in his eyes, and charged Siwon, plowing straight into his middle before he had time to react, knocking him into the far wall.
This time, Changin’s good fist connected with his jaw, and knocked his head sideways, but he reacted accordingly and sent his own fist into Changin’s stomach, knocking the breathe out of him.
He didn’t wait for a reaction, saw out of the corner of his eye Leejing sneaking towards them with a pan in hand, and punched Changin in the gut again, gripped his arms, and spun him just as Leejing charged.
The pan crashed down on Changin’s head, and he went limp.
Leejing, with an angry growl, lifted the pan again and swung, clipping Siwon’s shoulder as he threw Changin aside.
He knew the force would have knocked him out if Leejing had hit his mark, and dropped to the floor as Leejing swung again.
When the pan swept through air, he lost his balance, and Siwon threw himself at his legs, knocking him to the ground as well.
Fingers tightened on a handle, but Siwon’s fist hit his mark, and Leejing’s hold loosened.
Grabbing the pan, he swung, and prayed that those in kitchens hadn’t been informed that Siwon was to be apprehended.
His only chance to get out was through that back exit.
--
“You do realize what you’ve just done, don’t you?” Heechul growled in a soft voice, head tilted down as he glared at the three of them from under his lashes, hands folded neatly in front of his face. Yesung stared back as defiantly as he could, but didn’t answer.
Beside him, Ryeowook took a step forward and opened his mouth, but Heechul cut him off as he slid his own chair back roughly and stood up, slamming his palms down roughly on his desk.
“You just condemned a boy to death!” Heechul nearly yelled, sending papers flying across the room as he swiped his hand across his desk. “You revealed the very secret that was keeping him alive without even a warrant to ensure his safety! What in the hell were you thinking!?”
Without a word of response, Yesung grabbed a fistful of Ryeowook’s shirt and yanked him back a step, forcing him to stand beside him before he could say the words Yesung could see on the very tip of his tongue. The sudden loss of footing cut Ryeowook off, and he turned his angry gaze from Heechul to Yesung.
Yesung shook his head, silently pleading with his eyes for Ryeowook not to say anything, and Heechul plowed on.
“We have no condemning evidence to link SMI with the murder of Cho Kyuhyun’s family, nor do we have reason to suspect that any harm will be done to Kyuhyun if we release him to the custody of SM Industries,” he growled as he began to pace behind his desk.
Yesung pinched Ryeowook’s arm when he made to refute Heechul’s statements, and turned blazing eyes on the younger man, silently telling him to shut up before he got them into more trouble. Ryeowook wrenched his arm free, but Heechul was still speaking.
“And now you have very likely cost us our spy in the psychiatric hospital we’ve been infiltrating for the last several months! What do you have to say for yourselves!?” he hissed, turning and glaring at the angry Ryeowook and stoic Yesung.
“We’ve only done exactly what you told us to do!” Ryeowook finally growled, taking a dangerous step towards the infuriated Chief.
“I didn’t tell you to go and mess up our whole operation!” the Chief shouted back.
“No, but -!”
“Shut up, shut up both of you!” Yesung finally yelled, effectively bringing a blanket of quiet over the room as both Heechul and Ryeowook’s glares turned over to him, and Sungmin’s quiet stare at the carpeted floor finally lifted to his face.
Opening his mouth, Yesung made to speak, but then the office door opened and a scratched up Choi Siwon made to walk in, tired eyes immediately resting on Sungmin.
“Sorry I’m late. It was harder getting out of there then I thought it would be.”
--
Masterlist/Character Information
Sorry for the long absence guys, I didn’t mean to be gone so long. In fact, I’ve been working on this on and off for the last few weeks. I had hoped, when I originally started posting this, that I would be finished with the writing portion of this fic before I ran out of chapters to post once a week. Well, we see that didn’t turn out so well. On the other hand, I’m coming up on a whole week off, so that and this weekend will hopefully help me get back into line with writing this. I’ve also been sick for the last couple of weeks, but getting better, so hopefully I’ll have enough patience to sit up and write more now a days.
Author: insanityplays
Rating: R
Pairing: KRY (Kyuhyun/Ryeowook/Yesung), Kangteuk, Hanchul, Simin, Kihyuk, Yujae. More to be added as revealed.
Characters: Psychic!Ryeowook, Psycho!Kyuhyun, Cop!Yesung, rest of Super Junior + M, appearances by DBSK, SNSD, and f(x)
Summary: After a nightmare Kim Jongwoon forwent paying any special attention to, he’s placed on a cold case fourteen years old where the only witness is a soon to be twenty-three year old man locked away in a mental “hospital” owned by the same people suspected for the murder/arson case of the Cho Family. Boring re-investigation aside, Jongwoon finds himself thrust into living his nightmare - only this time, it isn’t a dream.
Disclaimer: I do not own.
Warning: Includes, or will include, Angst, Drama, Romance, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Action, and Mystery. Also includes, or will include, paranormal activity, ghosts, attempted murder and murder.
…you guys probably hate/love me right now. Hate me because it’s been about a month, love me because I’ve finally updated. Explanation at the end.
THIS STORY IS ABANDONED AND WILL NOT BE COMPLETED. UPON REQUEST, I AM WILLING TO WRITE UP AN ADDITIONAL "CHAPTER" EXPLAINING THE REST OF THE STORYLINE AND HOW IT WAS MEANT TO END, BUT IT WILL NOT BE COMPLETED. The contents of this masterlist has been unlocked for those who still want to read the story; however, as I have already stated, it will not be updated at any point in its original capacity. Thank you for your interest and time.
- Chapter Eight -
His eyes were wide as they ushered him out of the room, Yesung and Sungmin gripping one arm each, their fingernails biting into his flesh, expressions confused and frightened, Yesung’s full or rage.
Behind them, Siwon fought off Kyuhyun, held him back as he raged against his hold, trying to get at Ryeowook’s retreating form, face contorted in an array of feelings that broke Ryeowook’s heart just to remember.
All he could think about as they stumbled over the threshold of Kyuhyun’s trashed little cell was how wrong he’d been to spill Kyuhyun’s secret, no matter how shocked he’d been when he’d let it drift past his lips.
He’d made a mistake, he could see that, feel that in the very air in the room.
It was with a loud smacking noise of body meeting stone that Siwon scrambled out of the room behind them, slamming the door shut before Kyuhyun could re-orient himself.
A barely discernible despaired sob followed him, and Kyuhyun threw himself against the other side of the just closed door, slamming his fists against the iron. Ryeowook thrust himself forward, but he hadn’t even made it one step before Yesung had him thrown up against the far wall.
Shocked, he stared up at the older man, confusion evident in his features even as Yesung glared down at him with barely restrained fury.
“What the hell were you thinking!?” he yelled, face inches away from Ryeowook’s. “You could have been killed! You could still be killed! What makes you think no one was listening at the door? You can’t just go making accusations like that, especially not in this situation! Especially not without thinking about the consequences!” he growled, shoving Ryeowook up harder against the wall, fists clenched around the fabric of his shirt.
Suddenly loosening his grip, Yesung leaned his forehead against Ryeowook’s. “Fuck, Ryeowook…I thought he was going to kill you…” His eyes shuttered closed and Ryeowook stood shell shocked, mouth open in a slight “o.”
He felt fear close around his heart, and yanked away from Yesung, pushing him off of him until they were both breathing their own air again.
He shuddered against the heated touch he could still feel through the fabric of his shirt, tried to wipe his face clear of feelings, and glared up at the confusion that was so clear on Yesung’s face.
The feelings he’d seen swimming in Yesung’s eyes, the outright concern that he’d displayed in the last few hours alone, scared the shit out of Ryeowook, and made him want to run far, far away.
“You have no right to worry about me,” he said quietly, viciously, and he watched as Yesung’s eyebrows drew down in a confused line of worry, saw cloudy rejection swim in the dark brown of his eyes.
“What the hell does that mean, Ryeowook? You want me to not care if you die? You want me to not care if you get put in harms way? You want me to just go on my merry way and let whatever happens, happen?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck that!” Yesung growled, voice rising and hardly caring about the other two occupants of the room. “Fuck that, Ryeowook! So long as you’re on this case with me, so long as you are around me, I’m going to do my goddamned best to keep you out of harms way!”
Anger and fear rising, Ryeowook stepped closer to the seething Yesung, took the collar of his police outfit in hand, and pulled him close until their lips were almost touching. “Just because we had sex, Jongwoon, doesn’t mean you own me,” he growled, voice pitched dangerously low, heart racing faster than it should have been, and he pulled back, letting go of Yesung’s shirt as he crossed his arms over his chest in a defiant gesture.
Anger, annoyance, and rejection flashed across Yesung’s face, and he took a step closer to Ryeowook.
Putting up a hand to stop him, Ryeowook took a step back, aware he was smashing himself between the wall and Yesung, but also aware he could get away if he really needed to.
The problem was whether or not he’d really want to.
He knew what Yesung’s concern meant, knew what those feelings in his eyes would lead to, and he knew nothing could ever become of them. Ryeowook was always in danger, and he didn’t know how to love someone, didn’t know how to care for them the way they should be cared for.
It didn’t matter that the feelings he could feel clawing up his own throat, wishing to be set free, where the same as the ones in Yesung’s eyes, no matter how irrational the want, the need, and the hope that things could work out. Yesung deserved better than him.
With hard eyes, and an equally hard heart, he said, “I don’t care about you Jongwoon,” and watched as Yesung flinched. “You are nothing to me,” he continued, words slicing like a knife through butter. “We are nothing. So we had sex, so what? That’s all it was. That’s all it will ever be, nothing more, nothing less,” he said in the calmest voice he could manage.
He let the words sink in, watched as Yesung took a deep breathe, and closed his eyes before he had to see anymore of the pain, imagined how Yesung’s eyelashes would sweep across his cheeks as he closed his eyes as well, and then he pushed roughly passed him, made his way towards the sad eyes of his best friend who knew him all too well.
“Ryeowook-”
“Kyuhyun doesn’t belong here,” he interrupted before he could say anything, “That was proved here tonight. He’s not crazy, he’s not insane, and he’s not mentally unstable. He has been incorrectly diagnosed.”
Sighing and closing his eyes on his own pain, Sungmin took a deep breathe. When he opened his eyes again, he wore nothing but a calm mask of authority. “If that’s true, then he belongs to SM Industries, and must be put turned over to their care immediately,” he said in an impassive tone, though his eyes betrayed his pain.
Visibly shaking in anger, Ryeowook shook his head. “He’s not a piece of property to be handed over! He’s a human being!” he growled harshly, closing his eyes when Sungmin flinched back.
Think, think…you got him into this mess, now it’s up to you to get him out… Kyuhyun’s contract was legally binding, and if Henry had been able to find it, then it was undeniable that SM would know exactly where it was as well. It had never been destroyed.
It seemed almost impossible to get Kyuhyun out of this mess. If they didn’t tread lightly, Kyuhyun was going to die.
His life was up for forfeit. Ryeowook had to do something.
Eyes snapping open, he grabbed a handful of Sungmin’s sleeve, stared hard into eyes that were now leaking tears.
“He just turned 23…”
“Lee Sungmin-shii, I believe SM Industries is responsible for the murder of the Cho family, and under the circumstances, it would be unadvisable to turn Cho Kyuhyun over to the care of his would be murderers.”
Without waiting for an answer, Ryeowook turned to face Yesung. “Call Heechul. This case is formally re-opened. We need a warrant. We’re checking Cho Kyuhyun out of here.”
--
Kyuhyun’s gaze lingered on the oh so familiar sights of the outside world he hadn’t seen in nearly fifteen years, eyes burning with the hot glare of the afternoon sun, skin on fire where the tinted windows and air conditioning didn’t manage to cool him.
If he focused on the tinted glass windows instead of the scenery he was hardly taking in, he knew he would see his reflection, but he refused to look at it. He already knew what he looked like, had seen his reflection in the cold, unforgiving metal of the police cruiser he’d been led to not fifteen minutes earlier.
He was a disheveled mess with long, overgrown curly hair, and pale pale skin that hadn’t seen daylight in fifteen years. His cheeks were hollowed out, dark shadows an imprint in his aged, pallid face, and he almost wanted to cry for what had been lost.
He was hardly a vain person, but it was so much more than that. Being out in the open again, seeing sights he hadn’t seen in years, taking in the features he’d once been familiar with…knowing that his life’s secret had just been thrown out the window and that he was being carted off to who knows where, all of his family dead - it was quite possibly one of the scariest prospects Kyuhyun had ever had to deal with, and there wasn’t even the familiarity of himself to take comfort in.
He’d never even thought he’d get out of the Psychiatric Ward, had been content just staying alive, listening to his mother tell him stories like she had when he was younger, singing songs high and clear in her soft voice in the damp room of his cell, living off his memories and the sometimes company of Lee Sungmin, the man who currently sat beside him, but whom he refused to acknowledge in the dim back seat of the police cruiser.
Now all of that was lost to him - all because of the two people his mother had talked about for years; the two people who were supposed to be saving him.
They’re here to help you darling…
He tried not to snort out loud, tried not to make any sound that might alert the other three occupants of the car to his presence. They knew he was there, he wasn’t stupid, but they were dutifully ignoring him, Sungmin going even so far as to stare out the opposite window, as if aware that Kyuhyun needed his silence, and Kyuhyun preferred the strained silence from the two in the front seat to attempts to make him speak.
Vaguely, Kyuhyun wondered what he would sound like. He hadn’t spoken, hadn’t used his voice at all, in the almost fifteen years he’d been in the Psychiatric Ward, but he had no immediate plans to change that fact, wondered when they would start to try and pry words from his mouth, when they would ask him to testify.
He wondered how long it would take him to get used to forming words again - he was almost mute now - and sighed. He already missed the days of silence spent in the tiny cell they’d been housing him in, almost wished he could go back there.
They’re here to save you dear…I told you they would come.
It wasn’t so much his mother’s words as her voice that kept him from fighting to go back, from really going insane. She was the constant reminder that beyond the bliss of silence, he had a family to bring to justice.
All he had for his mother’s words, however, was scorn. He wanted to scoff aloud - how were two men nearly his age going to save him? With his cover blown, he would be dead soon enough.
They won’t let you die, I’ve seen it. They were meant for you -
The awkward silence from the front seat cut off then, breaking off the flow of his mother’s words as the man who’d betrayed his secret started choking, his wheezing breathes filling the silence in the car. Beside him, Sungmin jumped and sat forward, fingers gripping through the holes of the grill cutting off the back seat from the front.
The police officer turned on his siren and made an abrupt turn, parking haphazardly against the sidewalk. People took off running in all directions, scared at the sudden change in the calm atmosphere, and the police officer was out of the car in moments, the second, choking man no longer making noise though Kyuhyun could see him flailing in the front seat, struggling against some imaginary assailant.
The police officer flung open the passenger side door and pulled the second man out of the car, grasping at his hands and holding them away from him to stop him from scratching at his throat though Kyuhyun could already smell the metallic scent of blood, could see the blood already trailing down his throat, coating his fingernails, staining them red the way Kyuhyun hadn’t seen anything stained red in years.
A startled pull of breathe later, the man was gasping air like he couldn’t get enough, and Kyuhyun…Kyuhyun was staring at his parent’s bed spread stained red, at his father with a bullet through his head…
--
“Ryeowook, breathe goddamnit! Breathe!” Yesung shouted as he shook Ryeowook by his hold on his wrists, growing increasingly frightened when the others brown eyes started to glaze over. “Please, goddamnit! BREATHE!” he growled, and then Ryeowook took in that first startled breathe of air and Yesung sagged in relief, releasing his hold on Ryeowook’s wrists to grab his shoulders should he fall, holding him at arms length away so he could breathe unhampered.
He tried to ignore the smell of blood in his nose, tried to ignore the small rivulets that rolled down the collar of Ryeowook’s shirt, because he knew he could do nothing for him yet - not until Ryeowook was breathing normally again.
He held Ryeowook’s gaze, giving him something to focus on until his world stopped spinning, and drew him close when his breathing was more regulated and it was obvious he couldn’t hold up his own weight any longer.
Ryeowook’s fingers were tenacious on his shoulders, his breathing still slightly ragged, and Yesung didn’t even care that he could feel the blood dripping onto his own clothes. It was a steady flow, but not an extreme one.
Ryeowook would be fine.
When Ryeowook finally drew away, Yesung pushed him gently back into his seat in the car, glancing at the emotionless Kyuhyun in the backseat and the frightened Sungmin beside him before he got down on one knee and opened the glove department, drawing out a first aid kit.
Ryeowook sat with his head tilted back, breathing slowing down though his body still shook, and Yesung wiped at his bloody neck, cringing as he unearthed the cuts he’d left behind. They weren’t deep, but they were deep enough.
“You should be more careful…” Yesung said quietly as he pulled out a length of bandage and gauze.
“Yea? You try having your airway cut off,” Ryeowook huffed, eyes closed, face tilted up. Yesung didn’t answer, wrapping the bandage securely, but not too tight, around Ryeowook’s neck, holding the end with his index and middle fingers as he wrapped the gauze around that, tying it off in a secure knot.
He stood up when he was finished, stuffing the first aid kid back in the glove department, before shutting the door on the smaller male. When he sat in his own seat once again, Ryeowook was staring at him.
“What?”
“…thanks.”
Yesung turned away from Ryeowook’s gaze and started the car, telling himself it didn’t matter what that little voice in the back of his head was telling him. Ryeowook was right; there was nothing between them, never would be something between them, and it really shouldn’t hurt so much.
“You’re welcome.”
--
Sungmin looked on helplessly as Yesung held up Ryeowook’s weight, kept him from falling over, and bandaged the self inflicted wounds that marred his neck, silent tears dripping down his face. He wiped them away before the others could notice, and sat back cautiously in his seat, ignoring the slight nausea in his stomach.
His whole world felt like it had been flipped upside down.
His best friend’s life had just been put in danger, and Sungmin had the feeling he knew just what had attacked him, what Yesung was, and what it was doing to Ryeowook.
He wondered how long the two had been in contact, how long Yesung had been Shadow Kissed, and why the spirit was so strong it could latch on to Ryeowook the way it had. He wondered how many times it had happened, wondered if he should force Ryeowook off this case, and tried to keep his face neutral as Yesung got back in the car, ignoring the straggling people who had been watching the last scene unfold, lest he glare at someone who didn’t deserve the fault he wanted to put on them.
It would hardly be fair when he knew exactly what Yesung had gone through, when he knew how hard Yesung was working on this case, and when the other had just done his hardest to save him, his best friend, and his patient from further harm.
If it weren’t for Yesung, he and Kyuhyun would be dead by now. Two visits. Two visits from the police, and the first one had caused him to be beaten nearly to death on the cold floor of an underground basement he hadn’t even know exsisted.
Kyuhyun had already been condemned - Jungmin had just been waiting for the go ahead - and if Yesung hadn’t arrested Sungmin on the grounds of physically abusing his patient, Jungmin would have finished what he’d started two nights ago, and killed Sungmin before he could testify against the Psychiatric Ward.
As it was, despite Siwon staying behind to claim Sungmin hadn’t told the police what really went on at the ward, they would be waiting to take Sungmin out, waiting for him to be unprotected, before they killed him.
Yesung’s plan was to put him under witness protection, and Siwon was going to be on the run soon as well - Jungmin wasn’t going to stay fooled for too much longer.
“What are you going to do with Kyuhyun? You don’t have the grounds for a warrant,” Sungmin finally said after another few minutes of silence. Yesung glanced back at him through the rear view mirror, and gave a strained, but encouraging smile.
“You and Siwon will get us our warrant,” Yesung said simply, returning his gaze back to the road.
“How am I going to get you a warrant?” Sungmin asked, cringing at the way their conversation was making it sound like Kyuhyun was an object, rather than a person - which, to SM Industries, he supposed he was.
“We’ll need a written statement, but your testimony against the Psychiatric Ward will help us bring about their downfall, and Siwon’s testimony will convince them that Kyuhyun’s life is in danger, and that SMI is a credible suspect in the case Ryeowook so decidedly re-opened.” The last was said with a tiny note of contention, and the rise it brought out of Ryeowook made Sungmin smile.
He might feel some anger towards Yesung for putting his best friend in danger, but besides himself, no one could get a reaction out of Ryeowook. Yesung might be good for his best friend after all.
--
Siwon was in a hurry.
In the small room that served as an office for Jungmin, the man’s anger brewed, and in rapid fire Japanese, he spoke with the head boss, Lee Soo Man.
For the last twenty minutes, he’d kept Siwon practically captive, the threat of imminent death hanging over his head if he said the wrong thing as he was interrogated about the events of the day, pestered for any miniscule detail that would give them an idea if the police had any evidence against SMI or the Psychiatric Ward itself that would cause their downfall.
On the breech of cracking and ready to tear out Jungmin’s throat, he had been dismissed as Jungmin dialed the number to reach their boss, immediately speaking in rapid fire, angry Japanese when the other line was picked up.
The look on his face as he’d been dismissed had been a warning.
If you go missing, I’ll know.
Heart racing, he’d made his way into the break room, trying to keep his face blank, his breathing steady, as he’d made his way through, headed straight towards the hall with the kitchen at the end - attempting to appear as though he were on a mission.
All the while, in his mind, he could already picture the only back exit, and prayed that he got out and away before an alarm was raised.
Sungmin…
As he walked, in the back of his mind, he thought of the younger male and the bruises that marred his face, his body, and probably his soul. He thought of the look on Sungmin’s face when he’d been told they had to get him out of here, and that Siwon would have to stay behind to make sure things went the way they’d been planned, and pushed himself harder, pushed himself to do whatever it took to keep from hurting Sungmin anymore.
He turned the next corner and almost came to a stop, felt the fear flash over his face, and cloaked it before the man moving down the hall could notice.
He felt his heartbeat change in speed, and tried to keep it from his movements, tried to keep it from showing on his face, as he took a deep breathe and held it, letting it out when the man grew closer and he was just able to make out his face.
It was Kim Jungho, the last person a patient would want to see, but just the person Siwon wanted to run into.
He was all too well known here for his cruelty, but he wasn’t well liked by Jungmin. His tactics were too suspicious, his attitude too straight forward, and as far as Siwon knew, Jungmin was looking to get rid of him.
Which meant he was the last person Jungmin would send to secure the kitchens from any person trying to escape - mainly Siwon himself.
Face cool, he nodded his head towards Jungho, gaining a cruel smile and a wink in return as he made his way past Siwon and down the next hall - the hall that would take him to his patient’s room.
Siwon had to work to keep himself walking. He wanted to turn right back around and snap the guys neck, just to keep him from doing what he knew he would do to his patient.
Instead, he turned his thought’s back to Sungmin once more, and tried to think of what would happen to the man when he was carted off to jail after all this was over - all Siwon had to do was escape first.
His feet carried him all the way down the hall, but he cringed when he heard the first loud cries of Jungho’s patient. It disturbed him that he could hear those cries from a hall over, disturbed him that anyone could work in a place like this, disturbed him that he’d never once heard the cooks complain.
When he finally did reach the end of the hallway, he could practically smell the scent of freedom in the acrid scent of rancid meat and rotting vegetables, and hoped to God that the patients wouldn’t get fed any of this for dinner tonight.
He had no time to take out the garbage before it could be recycled like he usually did.
As he turned into the doorway of the kitchen, he felt a hand wrap around his neck and jerk him back, cutting off his air supply in less than two seconds flat. He gagged and felt his vision start to go blurry.
Grabbing tight to the arm around his neck with both hands, he yanked, hissing when the arm only tightened, before twisting and striking out, fist colliding with the other man’s cheek. The man went sprawling and Siwon backed off, regulating his breathing until the other man stood back up.
His eyes were fierce as he glared down at the pleasantly smiling Changin.
“What the hell was that for?” he growled, inconspicuously trying to find where Leejing was hiding.
If Jungmin had sent Changin, he’d sent Leejing as well.
“I always wondered who’d win in a fight,” Changin replied, his pleasant smile still in place.
Without warning, his foot came out, knocking Siwon from his feet, and if it weren’t for his quick reflexes, he might have landed badly, but he caught himself and lifted his own lower body to knock Changin to the ground in the amount of time it took him to fall.
The other went crashing to the floor, and he landed on his arm as he tried to mimic Siwon’s fall. Siwon heard the bone crack as he pushed himself up and Changin cried out, but the other didn’t stay down for long.
He stood back up with murderous intent in his eyes, and charged Siwon, plowing straight into his middle before he had time to react, knocking him into the far wall.
This time, Changin’s good fist connected with his jaw, and knocked his head sideways, but he reacted accordingly and sent his own fist into Changin’s stomach, knocking the breathe out of him.
He didn’t wait for a reaction, saw out of the corner of his eye Leejing sneaking towards them with a pan in hand, and punched Changin in the gut again, gripped his arms, and spun him just as Leejing charged.
The pan crashed down on Changin’s head, and he went limp.
Leejing, with an angry growl, lifted the pan again and swung, clipping Siwon’s shoulder as he threw Changin aside.
He knew the force would have knocked him out if Leejing had hit his mark, and dropped to the floor as Leejing swung again.
When the pan swept through air, he lost his balance, and Siwon threw himself at his legs, knocking him to the ground as well.
Fingers tightened on a handle, but Siwon’s fist hit his mark, and Leejing’s hold loosened.
Grabbing the pan, he swung, and prayed that those in kitchens hadn’t been informed that Siwon was to be apprehended.
His only chance to get out was through that back exit.
--
“You do realize what you’ve just done, don’t you?” Heechul growled in a soft voice, head tilted down as he glared at the three of them from under his lashes, hands folded neatly in front of his face. Yesung stared back as defiantly as he could, but didn’t answer.
Beside him, Ryeowook took a step forward and opened his mouth, but Heechul cut him off as he slid his own chair back roughly and stood up, slamming his palms down roughly on his desk.
“You just condemned a boy to death!” Heechul nearly yelled, sending papers flying across the room as he swiped his hand across his desk. “You revealed the very secret that was keeping him alive without even a warrant to ensure his safety! What in the hell were you thinking!?”
Without a word of response, Yesung grabbed a fistful of Ryeowook’s shirt and yanked him back a step, forcing him to stand beside him before he could say the words Yesung could see on the very tip of his tongue. The sudden loss of footing cut Ryeowook off, and he turned his angry gaze from Heechul to Yesung.
Yesung shook his head, silently pleading with his eyes for Ryeowook not to say anything, and Heechul plowed on.
“We have no condemning evidence to link SMI with the murder of Cho Kyuhyun’s family, nor do we have reason to suspect that any harm will be done to Kyuhyun if we release him to the custody of SM Industries,” he growled as he began to pace behind his desk.
Yesung pinched Ryeowook’s arm when he made to refute Heechul’s statements, and turned blazing eyes on the younger man, silently telling him to shut up before he got them into more trouble. Ryeowook wrenched his arm free, but Heechul was still speaking.
“And now you have very likely cost us our spy in the psychiatric hospital we’ve been infiltrating for the last several months! What do you have to say for yourselves!?” he hissed, turning and glaring at the angry Ryeowook and stoic Yesung.
“We’ve only done exactly what you told us to do!” Ryeowook finally growled, taking a dangerous step towards the infuriated Chief.
“I didn’t tell you to go and mess up our whole operation!” the Chief shouted back.
“No, but -!”
“Shut up, shut up both of you!” Yesung finally yelled, effectively bringing a blanket of quiet over the room as both Heechul and Ryeowook’s glares turned over to him, and Sungmin’s quiet stare at the carpeted floor finally lifted to his face.
Opening his mouth, Yesung made to speak, but then the office door opened and a scratched up Choi Siwon made to walk in, tired eyes immediately resting on Sungmin.
“Sorry I’m late. It was harder getting out of there then I thought it would be.”
--
Masterlist/Character Information
Sorry for the long absence guys, I didn’t mean to be gone so long. In fact, I’ve been working on this on and off for the last few weeks. I had hoped, when I originally started posting this, that I would be finished with the writing portion of this fic before I ran out of chapters to post once a week. Well, we see that didn’t turn out so well. On the other hand, I’m coming up on a whole week off, so that and this weekend will hopefully help me get back into line with writing this. I’ve also been sick for the last couple of weeks, but getting better, so hopefully I’ll have enough patience to sit up and write more now a days.