rule of three
A/N: Three daejae drabbles in different AUs because good things come in threes, yes?
This is my winter song to you
It’s cold.
It has always been cold, but the snow has grown increasingly relentless. Youngjae wonders if this is what it is like to feel alone- stark cold- and he's pretty sure it is. He’s heard of many things that exist beyond the glass. Of the sun and grass beneath your feet and of the smell of summer rain. He has seen some of these things before, but every time he tries to reach out, his fingers meet cold glass and Youngjae is reminded how he isn't part of his world-
Daehyun’s world is larger. There are many strange things- grief, happiness, feelings mostly. Feelings that Youngjae has been protected from. He is plastic, an imitation of life. But some things remind him that feelings from Daehyun’s world are permeable through the glass.
Youngjae knows how it feels like to be alone. He thinks he knows the pain and likens it to-
Frostbite on his toes, the constriction of his chest that ends with a coughing fit, the shivering. No matter how Youngjae tries, he cannot stop shivering. Loneliness is the glass that keeps him away from Daehyun.
These days it has been getting colder. Youngjae can only rely on the occasional warmth that Daehyun brings when he places the glass too close to his lips and it fogs under his breath.
“It’s winter…” Daehyun sighs to nobody.
It’s always winter for me… Youngjae replies. The thick glass keeping his voice from being heard, making it echo throughout the confined space. Daehyun is close. So close Youngjae can almost reach out to touch his nose, place a kiss on his cheek like he has always wanted. Youngjae feels warm as the snow around him begins to settle, trailing down his cheeks and pooling by his ankles. He is sure they now look like mirror images of one another- a heartbroken boy and a lonely one, staring at one another through the glass.
“Do you get lonely sometimes…” Daehyun presses a delicate finger against the glass and rests his chin against the table.
Yes… It’s always lonely here without you…
Daehyun sighs once more and he wraps his hands around the glass. The snowstorm stirs once more and Youngjae reaches desperately for the fading warmth. But Daehyun is gone.
Summer comes again. Summer always comes eventually. These days Youngjae spends his days sitting on a shelf looking as Daehyun’s world passes before him. Everything grew a little less certain with the layer of dust coating the glass. But Youngjae can still make out Daehyun’s smile. Daehyun seems happier. Perhaps it has something to do with that gold band around his fourth finger.
Youngjae feels something press against his glass- what seems like a wooden frame. It is a picture frame and Youngjae sees the printed gloss before he is pushed off the shelf. He falls. The sky becomes the ground and the grounds become the skies. And Youngjae’s world shatters. The skies pour out onto Daehyun’s world and the snow melts against the carpet. Youngjae is surrounded by shards of thick glass. He cacn't breathe, he is gasping like a fish out of water. He sees Daehyun lean towards him, picking him up.
“Shit! I’m so sorry! What a shame…” he sighs.
It is, isn’t it… Such a shame. Youngjae smiles. But then he feels the warmth of Daehyun’s hand seep into his system, melting away the frost and Youngjae knows he is wrong. He saw in that frame a picture of Daehyun and a girl. A girl that isn’t trapped behind a glass. All this time he thought wrong. Loneliness isn't the cold, isn't the frostbite that ate slowly into your heart.
It is the warmth of a hand by your skin, knowing that it can never be yours to hold.
The summer rain smells like freedom. And Youngjae knows that that is his second favourite smell, after the sharp sweetness of Daehyun’s cologne.
Youngjae’s hands are cold as he closes his eyes and dreams of warm winters.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Foodboy
Daehyun was the guy in the train who pushed the snack cart around every other half hour. There was a name for the cart that he relied on to carry the plethora of snacks and cup noodles through the aisles of the train, but unfortunately there wasn’t a name for his job. They simply called him-
“OI FOODBOY! TIME TO MAKE YOUR ROUNDS AGAIN!”
Daehyun sighed. He absolutely hated his job. But it was the best he could do for the holidays. He thought it would be nice to have a little extra money for all his midnight snack adventures with his friends. He noted the increasing unwillingness and scepticism on his mom’s face when asking for a little more food money. Besides, all the good student jobs in Seoul itself had been snatched up by freaks like his best friend Himchan who actually had a decent resume. But it wasn’t like his own resume was that bad. He really didn’t understand why no one wanted to hire him. Then again he couldn’t even remember what he wrote in it. Plus he only had one interest and he had been brutally honest in his scanty resume-
Food.
Daehyun slapped his forehead and hoped that Himchan would die from a paper cut. A few of the passengers shot him a judging glare, others were snoring their hearts out. Daehyun pulled his cap lower and proceeded along the aisles. He was a disturbance and no one liked him and the squeaky sounds his cart made (except the occasional child crying for a lollipop).
The only good thing about working on the train was the world passing by the windows. Every day he watched the city fade into the outskirts, where he felt a little more at home (he could almost taste the sea breeze as they pass Busan). But then a kid would trod on his foot while running up and down like a maniac and his boss would tell him to make an extra round just in case someone wanted food (it’s the last stop damn it who would want food on the last stop?!) and some sleeping passenger on the aisle seat would drool on his shoes as he passed and Daehyun would realize- yes, this is definitely a shit job.
“FOODBOY! PEOPLE ARE GETTING HUNGRY! CHOP CHOP!”
Daehyun jumped at his boss’ voice as he set the cup noodles on the cart, scalding his hand in the process. Ouch ouch ouch. Daehyun sucked on his finger as he pushed the cart towards the hungry shits. Midnight snacks, midnight snacks, midnight snacks. Daehyun had to chant repeatedly in his mind and that was enough to keep a smile on his face- because you’re a fatass- says Himchan.
The train came to a stop as the conductor announced an incoherent mess. Daehyun peered out the window. He liked Seoul but this was different. He was greeted by blinding blue and a dash of Spring in the colours that found themselves painted on the wildflowers. And a mop of black hair on a very pretty face. Daehyun saw the boy sitting on a bench by the tracks, squinting at the clouds in the sky and kicking his feet idly off the dusty ground. He looked about Daehyun’s age, soft cheeks, bright hazel eyes that were round and pretty and reminded Daehyun of everything that was beautiful in the world. Himchan had always teased him for having a non-existent love life. Daehyun didn’t really have a specific type, but if he did, he was sure it’d be him- the boy sitting by the tracks.
He had passed this stop for weeks but not once had he seen the boy. Maybe this was his calling, and one thing Daehyun knew too well was that fate had never been too generous with him. Midnight snacks, midnight snacks, cute boy? No… Midnight snacks, midnight snacks… CUTE BOY. Daehyun clenched his teeth and cursed his luck. Damn the whole world was out to make life inconvenient for him. The announcement came on, the train doors were about to close so Daehyun ran out the doors without thinking.
Cute boy looked shocked to see him, all dressed in uniform, food cart rolling towards the bench. The train picked up its pace and Daehyun heard panicked shouting. Something about the food cart and questioning Daehyun’s sanity. Cute boy looked concerned.
“H-hi…. I’m foodboy… I mean Daehyun! I mean… Hi I’m Daehyun and I push the snack cart on the train I… Uhm…” Daehyun looked at the food cart. That was so not part of the plan, he was dead for sure.
Cute boy smiled and Daehyun could’ve sworn everything got brighter hallelujah the heavens have opened up, “I’m Youngjae… It’s nice to meet you foodboy Daehyun…”
Yup. Definitely his type.
“Um…” Youngjae looked at him expectantly, Daehyun was still staring at him. Youngjae bit his bottom lip and prayed to god this Daehyun guy was sane and wouldn’t murder him out in the middle of nowhere, because seriously, it would be so easy to hide the body.
“Oh!” Daehyun snapped from his day dream. He took out a little heart-shaped lollipop from the cart and extended it towards cuteboy Youngjae, “I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again so…”
“I guess we’d have to now…” Youngjae smiled as he accepted the candy, rolling the stick between his fingers nervously, “Since you probably got yourself fired and all… I mean… We should! Shouldn’t we…?”
Two train jokes and a train pickup line later, Daehyun and Youngjae were sitting on the bench, drawing imaginary patterns on the ground with their shoes in desperate attempt to distract from their tinted cheeks. The food cart was nearby but Daehyun was no longer the foodboy and maybe he would have to forgo his midnight snacks. Then again he was certain he could find another job, maybe one that would bring him closer to this feeling-
A strange fluttering in his chest and Youngjae’s hand in his.
Or at least one that would pay for his train ticket.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
0030h
[minority report!au]
Daehyun watched as the precogs stirred to life. Images flashing on the screen. They were so faint, blurred whites and blacks and washed blues waiting to be decoded. He walked past the long glass panels overlooking the pool in which the precogs were kept, accidentally knocking into a woman rushing past with a stack of files. He apologized furiously and pretended not to notice the disapproval hidden beneath her attempt to smile. He hadn’t been concentrating lately. Daehyun blamed the heat for messing with his system. But the small smile that was permanently plastered on his face told the world that it was something else.
It could’ve been the recent promotion. But more likely it was the boy in the restaurant across the street. He was always so beautiful. Black hair cut just below his brows, almond eyes and nails that had been chewed blunt. Daehyun saw him often, watched his flustered expression as he struggled to manage the heavy plates and the foreign words on the menu. He was a pretty little thing and it took Daehyun months before he mustered the courage to ask his name-
Yoo Youngjae.
Daehyun was certain that Youngjae was an angel, bright amidst the black city. Maybe he could ask him out after work today. He wondered what time Youngjae knocked off. Probably at midnight or something, they could grab a bite after that. He wondered whether Youngjae would accept his offer.
Daehyun watched- or rather, heard- the marble balls scrape against the metal bearings, each engraved with a name.
The first one- the victim.
The second- the murderer.
As the ball came to a stop he felt eyes boring into his skin. All heads were turned in his direction, face painted with absolute shock. It was his name. Jung Daehyun. His name was etched delicately onto the surface of smooth marble. And all he could do was wait for the drag of the second ball to fade into silence. And the name came to face him. The name that tasted so familiar against his tongue, so well-rehearsed that Daehyun shuddered at its intimacy. He was going to be murdered today. He was the victim. The silence was broken by Daehyun’s colleague who asked what had been on everyone’s mind-
“Who is Yoo Youngjae?”
He watched as the time of murder flashed on the screen-
0030h.
Daehyun’s mind went blank.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
more notes: written for littlefuji unz.
This is my winter song to you
It’s cold.
It has always been cold, but the snow has grown increasingly relentless. Youngjae wonders if this is what it is like to feel alone- stark cold- and he's pretty sure it is. He’s heard of many things that exist beyond the glass. Of the sun and grass beneath your feet and of the smell of summer rain. He has seen some of these things before, but every time he tries to reach out, his fingers meet cold glass and Youngjae is reminded how he isn't part of his world-
Daehyun’s world is larger. There are many strange things- grief, happiness, feelings mostly. Feelings that Youngjae has been protected from. He is plastic, an imitation of life. But some things remind him that feelings from Daehyun’s world are permeable through the glass.
Youngjae knows how it feels like to be alone. He thinks he knows the pain and likens it to-
Frostbite on his toes, the constriction of his chest that ends with a coughing fit, the shivering. No matter how Youngjae tries, he cannot stop shivering. Loneliness is the glass that keeps him away from Daehyun.
These days it has been getting colder. Youngjae can only rely on the occasional warmth that Daehyun brings when he places the glass too close to his lips and it fogs under his breath.
“It’s winter…” Daehyun sighs to nobody.
It’s always winter for me… Youngjae replies. The thick glass keeping his voice from being heard, making it echo throughout the confined space. Daehyun is close. So close Youngjae can almost reach out to touch his nose, place a kiss on his cheek like he has always wanted. Youngjae feels warm as the snow around him begins to settle, trailing down his cheeks and pooling by his ankles. He is sure they now look like mirror images of one another- a heartbroken boy and a lonely one, staring at one another through the glass.
“Do you get lonely sometimes…” Daehyun presses a delicate finger against the glass and rests his chin against the table.
Yes… It’s always lonely here without you…
Daehyun sighs once more and he wraps his hands around the glass. The snowstorm stirs once more and Youngjae reaches desperately for the fading warmth. But Daehyun is gone.
Summer comes again. Summer always comes eventually. These days Youngjae spends his days sitting on a shelf looking as Daehyun’s world passes before him. Everything grew a little less certain with the layer of dust coating the glass. But Youngjae can still make out Daehyun’s smile. Daehyun seems happier. Perhaps it has something to do with that gold band around his fourth finger.
Youngjae feels something press against his glass- what seems like a wooden frame. It is a picture frame and Youngjae sees the printed gloss before he is pushed off the shelf. He falls. The sky becomes the ground and the grounds become the skies. And Youngjae’s world shatters. The skies pour out onto Daehyun’s world and the snow melts against the carpet. Youngjae is surrounded by shards of thick glass. He cacn't breathe, he is gasping like a fish out of water. He sees Daehyun lean towards him, picking him up.
“Shit! I’m so sorry! What a shame…” he sighs.
It is, isn’t it… Such a shame. Youngjae smiles. But then he feels the warmth of Daehyun’s hand seep into his system, melting away the frost and Youngjae knows he is wrong. He saw in that frame a picture of Daehyun and a girl. A girl that isn’t trapped behind a glass. All this time he thought wrong. Loneliness isn't the cold, isn't the frostbite that ate slowly into your heart.
It is the warmth of a hand by your skin, knowing that it can never be yours to hold.
The summer rain smells like freedom. And Youngjae knows that that is his second favourite smell, after the sharp sweetness of Daehyun’s cologne.
Youngjae’s hands are cold as he closes his eyes and dreams of warm winters.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Foodboy
Daehyun was the guy in the train who pushed the snack cart around every other half hour. There was a name for the cart that he relied on to carry the plethora of snacks and cup noodles through the aisles of the train, but unfortunately there wasn’t a name for his job. They simply called him-
“OI FOODBOY! TIME TO MAKE YOUR ROUNDS AGAIN!”
Daehyun sighed. He absolutely hated his job. But it was the best he could do for the holidays. He thought it would be nice to have a little extra money for all his midnight snack adventures with his friends. He noted the increasing unwillingness and scepticism on his mom’s face when asking for a little more food money. Besides, all the good student jobs in Seoul itself had been snatched up by freaks like his best friend Himchan who actually had a decent resume. But it wasn’t like his own resume was that bad. He really didn’t understand why no one wanted to hire him. Then again he couldn’t even remember what he wrote in it. Plus he only had one interest and he had been brutally honest in his scanty resume-
Food.
Daehyun slapped his forehead and hoped that Himchan would die from a paper cut. A few of the passengers shot him a judging glare, others were snoring their hearts out. Daehyun pulled his cap lower and proceeded along the aisles. He was a disturbance and no one liked him and the squeaky sounds his cart made (except the occasional child crying for a lollipop).
The only good thing about working on the train was the world passing by the windows. Every day he watched the city fade into the outskirts, where he felt a little more at home (he could almost taste the sea breeze as they pass Busan). But then a kid would trod on his foot while running up and down like a maniac and his boss would tell him to make an extra round just in case someone wanted food (it’s the last stop damn it who would want food on the last stop?!) and some sleeping passenger on the aisle seat would drool on his shoes as he passed and Daehyun would realize- yes, this is definitely a shit job.
“FOODBOY! PEOPLE ARE GETTING HUNGRY! CHOP CHOP!”
Daehyun jumped at his boss’ voice as he set the cup noodles on the cart, scalding his hand in the process. Ouch ouch ouch. Daehyun sucked on his finger as he pushed the cart towards the hungry shits. Midnight snacks, midnight snacks, midnight snacks. Daehyun had to chant repeatedly in his mind and that was enough to keep a smile on his face- because you’re a fatass- says Himchan.
The train came to a stop as the conductor announced an incoherent mess. Daehyun peered out the window. He liked Seoul but this was different. He was greeted by blinding blue and a dash of Spring in the colours that found themselves painted on the wildflowers. And a mop of black hair on a very pretty face. Daehyun saw the boy sitting on a bench by the tracks, squinting at the clouds in the sky and kicking his feet idly off the dusty ground. He looked about Daehyun’s age, soft cheeks, bright hazel eyes that were round and pretty and reminded Daehyun of everything that was beautiful in the world. Himchan had always teased him for having a non-existent love life. Daehyun didn’t really have a specific type, but if he did, he was sure it’d be him- the boy sitting by the tracks.
He had passed this stop for weeks but not once had he seen the boy. Maybe this was his calling, and one thing Daehyun knew too well was that fate had never been too generous with him. Midnight snacks, midnight snacks, cute boy? No… Midnight snacks, midnight snacks… CUTE BOY. Daehyun clenched his teeth and cursed his luck. Damn the whole world was out to make life inconvenient for him. The announcement came on, the train doors were about to close so Daehyun ran out the doors without thinking.
Cute boy looked shocked to see him, all dressed in uniform, food cart rolling towards the bench. The train picked up its pace and Daehyun heard panicked shouting. Something about the food cart and questioning Daehyun’s sanity. Cute boy looked concerned.
“H-hi…. I’m foodboy… I mean Daehyun! I mean… Hi I’m Daehyun and I push the snack cart on the train I… Uhm…” Daehyun looked at the food cart. That was so not part of the plan, he was dead for sure.
Cute boy smiled and Daehyun could’ve sworn everything got brighter hallelujah the heavens have opened up, “I’m Youngjae… It’s nice to meet you foodboy Daehyun…”
Yup. Definitely his type.
“Um…” Youngjae looked at him expectantly, Daehyun was still staring at him. Youngjae bit his bottom lip and prayed to god this Daehyun guy was sane and wouldn’t murder him out in the middle of nowhere, because seriously, it would be so easy to hide the body.
“Oh!” Daehyun snapped from his day dream. He took out a little heart-shaped lollipop from the cart and extended it towards cuteboy Youngjae, “I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again so…”
“I guess we’d have to now…” Youngjae smiled as he accepted the candy, rolling the stick between his fingers nervously, “Since you probably got yourself fired and all… I mean… We should! Shouldn’t we…?”
Two train jokes and a train pickup line later, Daehyun and Youngjae were sitting on the bench, drawing imaginary patterns on the ground with their shoes in desperate attempt to distract from their tinted cheeks. The food cart was nearby but Daehyun was no longer the foodboy and maybe he would have to forgo his midnight snacks. Then again he was certain he could find another job, maybe one that would bring him closer to this feeling-
A strange fluttering in his chest and Youngjae’s hand in his.
Or at least one that would pay for his train ticket.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
0030h
[minority report!au]
Daehyun watched as the precogs stirred to life. Images flashing on the screen. They were so faint, blurred whites and blacks and washed blues waiting to be decoded. He walked past the long glass panels overlooking the pool in which the precogs were kept, accidentally knocking into a woman rushing past with a stack of files. He apologized furiously and pretended not to notice the disapproval hidden beneath her attempt to smile. He hadn’t been concentrating lately. Daehyun blamed the heat for messing with his system. But the small smile that was permanently plastered on his face told the world that it was something else.
It could’ve been the recent promotion. But more likely it was the boy in the restaurant across the street. He was always so beautiful. Black hair cut just below his brows, almond eyes and nails that had been chewed blunt. Daehyun saw him often, watched his flustered expression as he struggled to manage the heavy plates and the foreign words on the menu. He was a pretty little thing and it took Daehyun months before he mustered the courage to ask his name-
Yoo Youngjae.
Daehyun was certain that Youngjae was an angel, bright amidst the black city. Maybe he could ask him out after work today. He wondered what time Youngjae knocked off. Probably at midnight or something, they could grab a bite after that. He wondered whether Youngjae would accept his offer.
Daehyun watched- or rather, heard- the marble balls scrape against the metal bearings, each engraved with a name.
The first one- the victim.
The second- the murderer.
As the ball came to a stop he felt eyes boring into his skin. All heads were turned in his direction, face painted with absolute shock. It was his name. Jung Daehyun. His name was etched delicately onto the surface of smooth marble. And all he could do was wait for the drag of the second ball to fade into silence. And the name came to face him. The name that tasted so familiar against his tongue, so well-rehearsed that Daehyun shuddered at its intimacy. He was going to be murdered today. He was the victim. The silence was broken by Daehyun’s colleague who asked what had been on everyone’s mind-
“Who is Yoo Youngjae?”
He watched as the time of murder flashed on the screen-
0030h.
Daehyun’s mind went blank.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
more notes: written for littlefuji unz.