Shinee Reprise
Jinki sat back in the couch, and flipped through the channels. It had been a few days already, and Key still remained at the house, anxious and tense. At the moment he stood at the window, arms folded and he leant against the window pane. His aqua blue eyes stared intently at the outside world, as if expecting something to come at him at any second. Meanwhile Donghae was at work, as well as Min and Yoochun. Jinki had taken time off work so he and Key could figure out what they were going to do. Changmin wasn’t upset about that at all; he was glad he didn’t have to have Jinki in the store for no reason.
Now, however, Jinki was getting a little frustrated. They were just sitting around doing nothing, when Key had been so eager to leave a couple days ago.
“You just need to rest and get your strength up,” Key said calmly, when Jinki confronted him about it.
“Key it was just a minor fever! I’m fine!” Jinki stressed, throwing his hands in the air. “Why are we just sitting around here doing nothing?”
“And where do you suggest we go?” Key demanded, “we need to figure out our course and then I need to know if E-Tox is on our trail or not. And I’m working on it.”
So Jinki remained silent, and fell into the couch and decided to watch some TV. It was true that they were planning the best course of action to take, but what Key was really worried about was leaving the house and going out into the open. He didn’t have to say that for Jinki to know. They were relatively safer in the house than moving around outdoors, because how could they who were agents and who were innocents? That was why Jinki didn’t fight anymore with Key. Now it was just a game to see how long it would take for Key to finally decide to leave.
Suddenly Key stiffened and he narrowed his eyes. Jinki glanced up from the couch and raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”
“Stay here,” Key muttered coldly, and his tone sent shivers down Jinki’s spine.
When Key went outside Jinki crossed over to the window and gasped. There were three young men standing in front of the fence, staring at the house casually. It was eerie seeing them standing there as though they were merely looking at a tourist attraction. One of the young men, the shortest one with-were those red eyes?! Jinki blinked as the young man glared deeply, his eyes burning red, and turned to face Key who was now standing before them. The only thing in their way was the white fence. What was said next, Jinki had no idea, and he turned away from the window, feeling a little embarrassed for watching the four like a spy.
Key came back into the house ten minutes later, looking calm and collected except for his eyes. They were troubled and Jinki resisted the urge to ask about what happened, for Key looked like he didn’t want to talk about it. So Jinki was surprised when Key spoke up.
“We need to leave,” he said quietly, “we can’t stay here. E-Tox knows where all of us are, we’re not safe here anymore.”
Jinki walked around the couch and reached out to Key hesitantly. When Key didn’t resist Jinki rested his hand on the other’s arm. It was cool to the touch, cool and felt damp. Key’s eyes were a deep ocean blue, the colour of anger.
“Then we leave,” Jinki said firmly, just as the door opened.
“Onew?” rang Yoochun’s voice.
“In the living room!” Jinki replied, his eyes glued to Key’s. It didn’t even register for Jinki that it was Yoochun who came home, not Donghae or his mother.
Key stared worriedly at Jinki. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”
“It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we have to get out of here.” Jinki glanced at the living room entrance. “We’ll have to figure out how to get around Yoochun.”
“Get around me how?” Yoochun asked curiously, suddenly appearing in the entranceway.
Both Jinki and Key jumped, but Key recovered fast and placed himself between Jinki and Yoochun so fast Jinki missed it because he blinked. Yoochun stood there holding what looked like a gun firmly in his hand, smiling. Key stood protectively in front of Jinki, his eyes staring intently on Yoochun, not the gun. Jinki glanced between the two and then did a double take when he saw Key.
His jaw and neck were shimmering with sweat, little sparkles against his tanned skin. And yet Key remained calm and assertive of the situation, so why was he sweating? Unless it wasn’t sweat but water….
“Well, who would have thought Subject 001 would wind up in the very house I was undercover. Dr. Kwon will be very pleased to find out that I managed to get one of you.”
“You haven’t caught me yet,” Key snapped.
Yoochun raised an eyebrow cockily, and raised the gun.
The glistening sheen on Key’s body was forming into droplets of water and one slid down his neck and disappeared under his shirt. By his sides his hands were curled into fists and dripping with water. Jinki stood, paralyzed with fear and awe-struck at the scene unfolding before him. Key shifted slightly, his gaze still burning into Yoochun.
“Jinki run,” he muttered, “go now!”
Yoochun’s finger pulled the trigger as Key moved to push Jinki to move. With incredible, inhuman reflexes, Key dropped to the ground as Jinki tripped over the carpet and fell on his ass. Key was up and lunged at Yoochun, his fist raised. But Yoochun was ready. He aimed the gun and fired, smirking as Key raced straight for the bullet. Jinki sat up and gasped barely stood up as Key used his inhuman reflexes and swerved the bullet just as it grazed his cheek. He winced but was now close to Yoochun that his hand shot out and gripped Yoochun’s neck tightly. Caught by surprise, Yoochun dropped the gun and it clattered to the floor. He raised his hands to pull against Key’s, but the smaller man was stronger and his grip tightened.
In a few minutes, Yoochun was slack in Key’s hand. Key dropped the limp body as if it was diseased, and wiped his hand, which was dripping. Jinki stood there, eyes wide, panting heavily, and staring down at Yoochun’s still body.
“Is he…?”
“No, but he’ll wake up soon and we should get going….”
Key’s next step fumbled and he reached out to the couch for support. His cheek was bleeding slightly but nothing serious, but he gingerly touched it anyway. Jinki rushed over.
“Are you alright?” he demanded, “you’re not hurt anywhere are you?”
“I’m fine…that was just no ordinary gun,” Key huffed, shaking his head, “I just need a big glass of water.”
Jinki helped Key to sit down and then hurried to get the biggest glass the house had and filled it with cold water. Then he passed it to Key who drank it so quickly it could have only been a shot. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes.
“Um…should we be leaving?” Jinki asked, glancing nervously over at Yoochun, “I mean…what if he wakes up?”
“Just give me another second.”
That one second turned into about five minutes before Key could finally get off the couch and move around. Jinki watched him curiously.
“How’d you do that?” he asked, amazed, “one second you were practically unconscious and now….”
“The water in my system cleaned it out,” Key explained, pacing slightly, “it could have done it on its own if I had drank some water earlier, but that glass was enough to help.” He stopped. “Let’s go. Grab your backpack and nothing else. We need to travel as light as possible.”
Jinki took two stairs at a time to get his bag and then slung it over his shoulder. Then he quickly scribbled a note for his mother, apologizing and telling her there was nothing to worry about. As he stared at the scribbled, sloppy note, he felt a pang of sadness well up inside. Hurriedly he shook that away, and when he got back downstairs he placed the note on the entrance table and put a paper weight on top of it. Slowly he turned to Key and nodded, and Key pushed away from the wall and they left, locking the door behind them.
~*~*~
They took a cab to the furthest part of the city, and then decided it was best to walk off the beaten path. It was at that point that Jinki decided to ask Key about what happened between him and those three young men.
“Those were my brothers,” Key explained slowly, “they came to warn me that Yoochun was a traitor and after us. Your umma was doing some designs for a ward in E-Tox and as she was planning everything they slipped Yoochun in as an undercover agent. Your umma gave him a lot of freedom so he was able to move around and search the city at will.”
“But if umma was working on designs for E-Tox then does that mean…?” Jinki couldn’t finish the rest.
“No I don’t think she’s an agent, or that she even knows about E-Tox,” Key assured him, “she was probably asked to design a surgical room or some hospital rooms or something for some kind of hospital. She was probably as ignorant of what she was really designing as she is now. So you don’t have to worry about that.”
Jinki nodded, only slightly assured. The sun was setting, and the air was cooling down. Jinki drew the sweater closer around him and they walked in silence for the longest time. Key walked slightly ahead of Jinki, and eventually Jinki found his thoughts wandering. He didn’t know what his umma or hyung would think about where he went or why, and it was something that he didn’t want to think about. The pain built up in his heart and he felt a lump form in his throat. Whatever he got himself into meant he might not make it back to them to explain everything.
After what seemed like an eternity, Key gasped and pointed to the distance. “Look, there’s a town.”
They were both exhausted and hungry, having walked for hours without a break. Their pace quickened and they soon entered into a small town that was mostly shut down for the night. There was, thankfully, a small hotel and a dinner next to it. So they checked in under fake names and then went to eat quickly. Afterwards they both fell onto their beds with their bellies full and now drowsy with sleep.
“Key?”
“Hm?”
Jinki pushed himself up onto his elbows and bit his lip. “What’s going to happen to us? How long will we be on the run for?”
Key’s eyes opened and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “What if I told you I couldn’t answer that question?”
“I’d be upset,” Jinki sighed, the emotion already filling him, “but at least you’re honest.”
“You think I’d sugar coat this for you?” Key asked, sitting up, “this isn’t a game Jinki…it’s a matter of life and death.”
“I know, I meant I’m glad you told me the truth rather than hide it from me.”
Key studied him for a moment, and then slumped back onto the bed. “I think I’ll turn in for the night.”
Before he had the chance to climb under the covers, however, his cell phone rang and both Key and Jinki paused. Slowly Key reached over and flipped the phone open, and his eyebrows shot up and he answered quickly. He listened for a long moment, his face paling and his frown deepened.
“I…I understand,” he said, his voice quivering.
Jinki watched worriedly as Key’s voice cracked and when Key hung up Jinki sat there wondering if it was okay to ask or not. Again, Key made that decision for him.
“E-Tox has Taemin,” he said, attempting to keep his voice steady. “They took him…and this is all my fault….”
Jinki watched him, as he tried to keep his composure, but it broke. Key let out a horrid scream and water dripped from every inch of his body, soaking the carpet below him.
“They will not get away with this!” he screamed, moving to punch the wall beside him.
The fist didn’t come in contact with the wall, but a shot of water beat him to it and left a hole. Jinki was up beside him in a flash.
“Key calm down!” he said, putting his hands on Key’s fist, “stop! Tearing this place apart isn’t going to help him!”
The water seeped through Jinki’s clothes and his hair clung to his forehead. Still he kept a grip on Key, whose eyes were dangerous and angry.
“Please…stop,” Jinki mumbled, staring into Key’s distant eyes.
Slowly those eyes began to register Jinki, and the wet hand dried up and Key stood there staring at Jinki blankly.
“It’s all my fault,” Key muttered, “if I hadn’t done that then Taemin would be okay….”
“What happened Key?” Jinki asked, “whatever it was, it wasn’t your fault okay? Sit down, and tell me everything.”
Jinki led Key to the bed and they sat down. As Jinki was going to speak, Key suddenly turned to him and pressed his lips to Jinki’s, catching the latter off guard. Key's lips were cool and soft, and Jinki couldn't find the right functions to be able to move. They sat there with their lips locked, and then slowly Jinki’s arms moved mechanically around Key’s small frame and drew him close. Their lips parted and Key buried his head into Jinki’s shoulder, holding Jinki tight as if afraid to lose him too.