Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 4
Title: Of Swaggers, Saloons, And Star Badges - Chapter 4
Character/Pairing: Jae/Min/Chun and variations of, minor one-sided YunChun, YooSu bffery
Genre: drama/angst, romance, and a bit of comedy and action, Korean Wild West AU!
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (for now)
Word Count: 1,708
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3
Jaejoong had been in shock. He had gone to surprise Micky with a private birthday celebration only to walk in on some awful man pounding into Micky’s body. The sight had been so horrible that he had run out of the brothel and dry heaved behind the building; gasping for air as his stomach lurched.
Micky - his Micky
The thought had sent him reeling. When had the boy that he had seen so much of himself in - the boy he had wanted to help - become the most important thing in his life? When had Micky become his?
Jaejoong had spent the next two days at home try to reconcile with his newly discovered feelings. He loves Micky. Micky is a man. Micky is a prostitute. A male prostitute. And he was a Deputy, a man of the law. God damn it.
Jaejoong knew that if he wanted to have any sort of romantic future with Micky he would have to convince the young man to leave the brothel. He would need to bring up the idea carefully for all the time he had known the teen, Micky never once spoke of leaving the brothel. If Jaejoong really thought about it, Micky had never spoke of any future plans. That thought made Jaejoong sad. How could he not have seen how hopeless Micky had felt his own situation was? Jaejoong was guilty of being a bad hyung. Here he is moping around and trying to figure out a way to convince Micky to give up all he has known for him and borderline seduce the kid when he should be concentrating on helping Micky become his own man. For all he knew, Micky doesn’t even have any interest in him other than a dongsaeng. God damn it.
After two days of driving himself crazy with worry, Jaejoong had planned to go and confront Micky and confess to the young man. As he left his small cabin he was hailed by a man on horseback coming down the road.
“Are you Kim Jaejoong?” The man asked as he slowed his horse to a stop by Jaejoong’s side.
“I am. Who might you be?” He didn’t have time for this. He needed to find Micky.
“I’m Yang Seungho. A friend of your brother-in-law Lee Donghae.” That certainly caught Jaejoong’s attention. Donghae was the husband of his second youngest sister.
“And what brings you here?”
“Donghae has broken his leg after a mining accident and your sister Hae Lin is with child and it is difficult for her to care for him as well as their two year old. With both of their conditions being so precarious, they are unable to work regularly and the debt collectors are at their door.” The man was out of breath by the end of his explanation.
“Debt collectors?” Jaejoong asked curiously. What the hell kind of trouble had Donghae gotten into?
“Donghae had taken a loan in order to buy lumber and other supplies to extend their cabin before the birth of their second child but since the accident he cannot work, thus; he can’t pay off the loan.”
Jaejoong sighed, this was not the kind of news he needed to be getting when he should be pouring his heart out to Micky. “And why have you searched me out?”
“Your sister asked me to come find you. She is terribly upset and desperate. We all fear for her health and that of the unborn child. Several of us have helped them out as much as we could but we are just simple miners and don’t make more than the bare minimum. If they don’t start paying back the money soon they may find themselves homeless - or worse.” His tone was desperate and Jaejoong couldn’t ignore it.
“Wait for me here. I need to go to the bank to settle my account and speak to the Sheriff.” The man nodded and lowered himself off his horse.
Jaejoong went to speak to the Sheriff but the man wouldn’t give him a temporary leave. If Jaejoong left, then he would consider it his resignation. So, Jaejoong left the Sheriff’s office, cleared out and closed his account at the bank and went home to pack. He hoped that he could go settle things with his sister and his brother-in-law as quickly as possible and return for Micky. Alas, it was not to be.
Jaejoong was taking his lunch break, thinking about how he had gotten himself into this mess. The money he had saved in his bank account from his job as a Deputy and brought to help his sister out of debt covered only half the loan. It seems that Donghae had a rather secret hobby of gambling. His brother-in-law had begged him to not tell Hae Lin and Jaejoong agreed on the condition that he never gambles again. Donghae readily agreed and thanked Jaejoong for the umpteenth time. In order to pay off the rest of the debt, Jaejoong was forced to take up a job as either a miner or lumberjack - seeing as how mines were prone to collapsing or poisoning the workers - Jaejoong thought he would take his chances with falling trees. He was sure he could out run one if it fell the wrong way.
The job wasn’t too bad. It was hard work but the pay was decent; which meant he would be done sooner rather than later and would be able to return home to Micky in a short time. He just hoped that Micky wouldn’t be to upset about his absence for these past several weeks. The job also had a lot of turnover; men came and left the job quite often but Jaejoong didn’t mind since he wasn’t there to make friends. However, with each new arrival came new stories and it always made the lunch break more interesting.
“So Kwon-shii, what’s your story?” One of the laborers asked. The man in question, Kwon Tae Sub, shrugged. “Just a guy trying to make a living.”
“Oh come on Kwon-shii, tell us a story; we’re bored.” Another worker implored. The young man rolled his eyes but smiled good naturedly.
“Well, while I was on my way here I was passing though a town about a day away and I witnessed first-hand the capture of the Jung Brothers.” Tae sub gloated a bit. The Jung Brother’s recent arrest just a day ago was a hot topic. That caught everyone’s attention, especially Jaejoong’s.
“Why those no good brothers had passed through here not four days ago!” Exclaimed someone to Jaejoong’s left but he was too lost in his thoughts. The Jung Brothers had indeed been through this town and Jaejoong had another run in with Yunho. It was the strangest meeting he had ever had with the rustler. Yunho kept asking about Micky and seemed to be searching for the teen. It had irked Jaejoong more than when Yunho used to try to flirt with Micky in front of him. It seems that Yunho’s obsession with his dongsaeng had escalated. He would have given Yunho the good beating that he deserved, but without his badge to protect him he couldn’t risk getting into trouble when he was so close to returning to Micky.
“How’d it happen? Why did those ruffians finally get what was coming to them?” The first worker asked.
“They started a fight with this young card player and when the Sheriff tried to break it up Jung Yunho pulled his guns on him.” Drawing your gun on an officer of the law was as good as an excuse as any to get locked up. “Then right before he could shoot the Sheriff, the card player shot the middle Jung Brother in the shoulder. They say he cried out like a little girl.” The men snickered.
“What about this card player? Who is he?” Someone hollered out. Tae Sub shrugged.
“No one really knew much about him except that he is a pretty little thing and plays cards like the devil. Apparently he was just passing through town but it seems that Jung Yunho knew him a little too well.” Tae Sub waggled his eyebrows.
“How so?” Jaejoong asked the question, something about the story seemed wrong to him.
Tae Sub smiled wickedly. “It seems before the Sheriff interrupted them, Jung Yunho was going to have his way with the card player. And from what I saw personally when I was in the Saloon before the real fight broke out, Jung Yunho was already very familiar with the young card player, even had a pet name for him.”
“What was it?” Jaejoong had leapt at the man and grabbed at his collar. “What was the pet name?”
The man was shocked and the other workers hesitated for a moment before pulling Jaejoong off him.
“WHAT WAS IT?” Jaejoong fought against the grips on his arm.
“Micky!” Tae Sub wheezed out before Jaejoong finally let go. Jaejoong went limp and caused the men trying to pry him off fell back with his dead weight.
It was Micky. His Micky was a day away. He must have come looking for him when he never returned but instead he ran into Yunho - oh god. The day he had seen Yunho, the way he kept bringing up Micky…Jaejoong didn’t want to let himself finish processing the thought. What if Yunho had gone to the brothel for Micky while Jaejoong was away? There was no way Micky could have fought him off, and certainly not if he was a paying customer. That would mean that Yunho had Micky at his will and could do whatever he pleased to him.
Jaejoong fought his way out of the pile of lumberjacks and threw up the entire contents of his stomach. He had left Micky defenseless and alone. He had made it so easy for Yunho to rape Micky; he chuckled bitterly as he collected himself and left the work site without a word to anyone. The debt had been mostly paid and whatever amount was left he would send back. If what Tae Sub said was true, then Micky may still only be a day away. He needed to go find Micky and make it right - now.
A/N: Next chapter will have Jaejoong, Yoochun and Changmin meeting - and it is not pretty >:D
Free Hit Counter
Character/Pairing: Jae/Min/Chun and variations of, minor one-sided YunChun, YooSu bffery
Genre: drama/angst, romance, and a bit of comedy and action, Korean Wild West AU!
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (for now)
Word Count: 1,708
Disclaimer: I have a what?
Previous parts: Prologue , Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3
Jaejoong had been in shock. He had gone to surprise Micky with a private birthday celebration only to walk in on some awful man pounding into Micky’s body. The sight had been so horrible that he had run out of the brothel and dry heaved behind the building; gasping for air as his stomach lurched.
Micky - his Micky
The thought had sent him reeling. When had the boy that he had seen so much of himself in - the boy he had wanted to help - become the most important thing in his life? When had Micky become his?
Jaejoong had spent the next two days at home try to reconcile with his newly discovered feelings. He loves Micky. Micky is a man. Micky is a prostitute. A male prostitute. And he was a Deputy, a man of the law. God damn it.
Jaejoong knew that if he wanted to have any sort of romantic future with Micky he would have to convince the young man to leave the brothel. He would need to bring up the idea carefully for all the time he had known the teen, Micky never once spoke of leaving the brothel. If Jaejoong really thought about it, Micky had never spoke of any future plans. That thought made Jaejoong sad. How could he not have seen how hopeless Micky had felt his own situation was? Jaejoong was guilty of being a bad hyung. Here he is moping around and trying to figure out a way to convince Micky to give up all he has known for him and borderline seduce the kid when he should be concentrating on helping Micky become his own man. For all he knew, Micky doesn’t even have any interest in him other than a dongsaeng. God damn it.
After two days of driving himself crazy with worry, Jaejoong had planned to go and confront Micky and confess to the young man. As he left his small cabin he was hailed by a man on horseback coming down the road.
“Are you Kim Jaejoong?” The man asked as he slowed his horse to a stop by Jaejoong’s side.
“I am. Who might you be?” He didn’t have time for this. He needed to find Micky.
“I’m Yang Seungho. A friend of your brother-in-law Lee Donghae.” That certainly caught Jaejoong’s attention. Donghae was the husband of his second youngest sister.
“And what brings you here?”
“Donghae has broken his leg after a mining accident and your sister Hae Lin is with child and it is difficult for her to care for him as well as their two year old. With both of their conditions being so precarious, they are unable to work regularly and the debt collectors are at their door.” The man was out of breath by the end of his explanation.
“Debt collectors?” Jaejoong asked curiously. What the hell kind of trouble had Donghae gotten into?
“Donghae had taken a loan in order to buy lumber and other supplies to extend their cabin before the birth of their second child but since the accident he cannot work, thus; he can’t pay off the loan.”
Jaejoong sighed, this was not the kind of news he needed to be getting when he should be pouring his heart out to Micky. “And why have you searched me out?”
“Your sister asked me to come find you. She is terribly upset and desperate. We all fear for her health and that of the unborn child. Several of us have helped them out as much as we could but we are just simple miners and don’t make more than the bare minimum. If they don’t start paying back the money soon they may find themselves homeless - or worse.” His tone was desperate and Jaejoong couldn’t ignore it.
“Wait for me here. I need to go to the bank to settle my account and speak to the Sheriff.” The man nodded and lowered himself off his horse.
Jaejoong went to speak to the Sheriff but the man wouldn’t give him a temporary leave. If Jaejoong left, then he would consider it his resignation. So, Jaejoong left the Sheriff’s office, cleared out and closed his account at the bank and went home to pack. He hoped that he could go settle things with his sister and his brother-in-law as quickly as possible and return for Micky. Alas, it was not to be.
Jaejoong was taking his lunch break, thinking about how he had gotten himself into this mess. The money he had saved in his bank account from his job as a Deputy and brought to help his sister out of debt covered only half the loan. It seems that Donghae had a rather secret hobby of gambling. His brother-in-law had begged him to not tell Hae Lin and Jaejoong agreed on the condition that he never gambles again. Donghae readily agreed and thanked Jaejoong for the umpteenth time. In order to pay off the rest of the debt, Jaejoong was forced to take up a job as either a miner or lumberjack - seeing as how mines were prone to collapsing or poisoning the workers - Jaejoong thought he would take his chances with falling trees. He was sure he could out run one if it fell the wrong way.
The job wasn’t too bad. It was hard work but the pay was decent; which meant he would be done sooner rather than later and would be able to return home to Micky in a short time. He just hoped that Micky wouldn’t be to upset about his absence for these past several weeks. The job also had a lot of turnover; men came and left the job quite often but Jaejoong didn’t mind since he wasn’t there to make friends. However, with each new arrival came new stories and it always made the lunch break more interesting.
“So Kwon-shii, what’s your story?” One of the laborers asked. The man in question, Kwon Tae Sub, shrugged. “Just a guy trying to make a living.”
“Oh come on Kwon-shii, tell us a story; we’re bored.” Another worker implored. The young man rolled his eyes but smiled good naturedly.
“Well, while I was on my way here I was passing though a town about a day away and I witnessed first-hand the capture of the Jung Brothers.” Tae sub gloated a bit. The Jung Brother’s recent arrest just a day ago was a hot topic. That caught everyone’s attention, especially Jaejoong’s.
“Why those no good brothers had passed through here not four days ago!” Exclaimed someone to Jaejoong’s left but he was too lost in his thoughts. The Jung Brothers had indeed been through this town and Jaejoong had another run in with Yunho. It was the strangest meeting he had ever had with the rustler. Yunho kept asking about Micky and seemed to be searching for the teen. It had irked Jaejoong more than when Yunho used to try to flirt with Micky in front of him. It seems that Yunho’s obsession with his dongsaeng had escalated. He would have given Yunho the good beating that he deserved, but without his badge to protect him he couldn’t risk getting into trouble when he was so close to returning to Micky.
“How’d it happen? Why did those ruffians finally get what was coming to them?” The first worker asked.
“They started a fight with this young card player and when the Sheriff tried to break it up Jung Yunho pulled his guns on him.” Drawing your gun on an officer of the law was as good as an excuse as any to get locked up. “Then right before he could shoot the Sheriff, the card player shot the middle Jung Brother in the shoulder. They say he cried out like a little girl.” The men snickered.
“What about this card player? Who is he?” Someone hollered out. Tae Sub shrugged.
“No one really knew much about him except that he is a pretty little thing and plays cards like the devil. Apparently he was just passing through town but it seems that Jung Yunho knew him a little too well.” Tae Sub waggled his eyebrows.
“How so?” Jaejoong asked the question, something about the story seemed wrong to him.
Tae Sub smiled wickedly. “It seems before the Sheriff interrupted them, Jung Yunho was going to have his way with the card player. And from what I saw personally when I was in the Saloon before the real fight broke out, Jung Yunho was already very familiar with the young card player, even had a pet name for him.”
“What was it?” Jaejoong had leapt at the man and grabbed at his collar. “What was the pet name?”
The man was shocked and the other workers hesitated for a moment before pulling Jaejoong off him.
“WHAT WAS IT?” Jaejoong fought against the grips on his arm.
“Micky!” Tae Sub wheezed out before Jaejoong finally let go. Jaejoong went limp and caused the men trying to pry him off fell back with his dead weight.
It was Micky. His Micky was a day away. He must have come looking for him when he never returned but instead he ran into Yunho - oh god. The day he had seen Yunho, the way he kept bringing up Micky…Jaejoong didn’t want to let himself finish processing the thought. What if Yunho had gone to the brothel for Micky while Jaejoong was away? There was no way Micky could have fought him off, and certainly not if he was a paying customer. That would mean that Yunho had Micky at his will and could do whatever he pleased to him.
Jaejoong fought his way out of the pile of lumberjacks and threw up the entire contents of his stomach. He had left Micky defenseless and alone. He had made it so easy for Yunho to rape Micky; he chuckled bitterly as he collected himself and left the work site without a word to anyone. The debt had been mostly paid and whatever amount was left he would send back. If what Tae Sub said was true, then Micky may still only be a day away. He needed to go find Micky and make it right - now.
A/N: Next chapter will have Jaejoong, Yoochun and Changmin meeting - and it is not pretty >:D
Free Hit Counter