sunset over malibu
Title: Sunset over Malibu
Rating: PG
Fandom/Pairing: SS501, Hyun Joong/Jung Min
Summary: Hyun Joong and Jung Min run away to the US when things become too hard in Korea. AU (meaning: they're not celebrities).
☆ I do not own these people, nor do I make any profit what-so-ever.
★ I seriously don't know why this took as long as it did to write ._. 3 freakin weeks! (ok, so maybe it's because I'm lazy and write like, 2 paragraphs per day) But, it's here now, so please enjoy! :)
You should totally listen while reading, if you want a total mood-establisher ;3
The sun was low in the sky and its burning rays hit Jung Min's irises, temporarily blinding him as he and Hyun Joong were speeding down in a small purple Fiat on Highway 1 towards Malibu. He had to admit, the paint job wasn't the greatest and the inside smelled slightly like cat-food, but hey, it was, after all, a rental car and it was the best they could afford right now, not even two hours spent in the country.
Hyun Joong tore his eyes off of the road long enough to glance for a second at the other man, catching the far away look in Jung Min's eyes.
"Don't think about it too much, it doesn't help. All it does is give you a headache. Besides, it'll work out," Hyun Joong said, trying to convince Jung Min to relax, although, deep down, he knew that he would have to try to convince himself first. His eyes returned to the horizon that laid ahead of them as he tried to take his own advice.
Jung Min sighed and rested his head on his bent arm which was supported by the frame of the open window as he continued to be distracted by the thoughts that were beginning to resemble a broken record in his head.
"I can't stop. It's a whole life - my whole life - it's my family - your family too, not to mention our friends, that we're leaving behind. It's not that I don't want to do this but it so hard when it comes with such a high price, you know?"
Hyun Joong just sighed and stayed silent for the rest of the ride. Luckily for the both of them, they had the radio to fill the heavy air's void between them.
Indeed, they had to leave behind things, places, people, that were important to them but the stuff in Hyun Joong's room didn't matter that much to him (he could always replace them), the places -the rooftop where he had kissed Jung Min for the first, fourth, thirteenth, twenty fifth time- didn't matter (he had Jung Min with him). The people... well, Hyun Joong didn't really know his mother and hadn't known her since he was five years old and she left his dad who didn't seem too sad and had found himself a new wife six months later. Although his dad had a piece of Hyun Joong in his heart, he was not much of a present role in his life.
Jung Min on the other hand, came from a family where the word loyalty and social status was stitched onto their hearts. There was his dad (head of a small café-franchise), his mom(a manager at one of those cafés), his two older sisters and Jung Min. They were not much of a happy family on the inside, but to an outsider they could pass as any regular family with both ups and downs. And appearance was always the most important, as Jung Min's mother always said. Maybe that's why, when she found Jung Min with his friend Hyun Joong, making out, on his bed -shirtless- she was practically having a meltdown and started screaming, throwing things, slamming doors and last but not least, forbidding the two teenage boys to see each other ever again.
Not that it helped that much. Jung Min got grounded for a couple of weeks, making him come straight home after school and no going out on the weekends. But, they had the school where no family could see, the rooftop of the apartment complex where Hyun Joong lived provided some shelter from spying eyes, not to mention a handful of other places where they were free of meddling persons.
When Hyun Joong turned eighteen he wanted to tell everyone who he was with. He wanted to come out, not be afraid and tell everyone that he loved another man. But the farthest he got was when he told Jung Min that he loved him, not just as a random boyfriend, but that it was for real. Real, true love. And Jung Min told him that he was crazy, and that he loved him for it.
When Jung Min turned eighteen about a year later, Hyun Joong still wanted to tell everyone. If it wasn't for Jung Min's assumption that everyone would react horribly, just like his mother had, Hyun Joong probably would have. He would have shouted it in the middle of a crowd in the subway in the middle of rush hour. But that didn't happen either.
When Hyun Joong turned 23 years old he and Jung Min were still a secret. Even Jung Min's ever so protective mother had stopped being suspicious. Probably because Hyun Joong had moved to the other side of town to study at a prestigeful college and Jung Min still was stuck at home, working at a friend of the family's restaurant and taking English evening classes. Which after a while, led to Hyun Joong and Jung Min seeing each other less and less.
When Jung Min's 23rd birthday came around the corner, Hyun Joong planned a whole day's celebration. He would pick up Jung Min at the train station, they would go to the fair, meet up with friends, have a picnic lunch in the botanic garden with everyone, go ride every ride there was to ride and then, when the night came along and the sun was going down, they would take the small ferry back to town and in the sunset, he would give Jung Min a ring which he had saved a couple of months' pay for. But that was wishful thinking.
What the real memory is, is far less pretty. It all starts at the fair after lunch, when Hyun Joong and Jung Min has a bit of time on their own when they lose sight of the others and they decide to drink some coffee. No one of them thinks of the risk of being seen as Hyun Joong takes Jung Min's hand and drags him over to the pink, fairytale-themed cakeshop and they get a table on the terrace, which has a view of the beautiful bay.
Hyun Joong gets their coffee and decides to order a piece of strawberry cheesecake for them to share but what he doesn't notice, is the observant eyes watching him like a hawk from a not so far away distance.
When he goes back out and sets the cheesecake on the table, Jung Min shines with a bright smile for the sugary delight and takes the coffee cup that Hyun Joong offers him. Hyun Joong sits down at the opposite side of the small table, in front of Jung Min, and takes a sip of the coffee. He comments on how good it is and Jung Min agrees, eyeing the dessert when puts down the coffee cup. He takes the fork and cuts a little piece and scoops it up, offering it up to Hyun Joong who eyes it for a slight moment, then takes it slowly from the fork with his mouth. His eyes meets Jung Min's, who is watching him intensely, face just a couple of inches away and it feels so silly, that he bursts into laughter, Jung Min following him with giggles.
In a couple of seconds, everything is chaos. Jung Min is pulled away from Hyun Joong and Hyun Joong from Jung Min. There are people surrounding them, talking, yelling. There are other people further away who starts to whisper among themselves about what's happening.
Hyun Joong tries to break free from the hold a couple of hands have on him but they are stronger than him and his struggle is in vain. That's when he calms down a bit from the shock and when he regains his regular eyesight again, his eyes meets the enraged gaze of Jung Min's mother.
"I swear on my own grave, if you ever - ever - touch, see or even speak to my son again, I will kill you with my own two hands." she shouted, her eyes locked with Hyun Joong's, nothing but rage displayed in the dark irises. She turned to her son, "And you. Didn't I tell you not to see that- that beast ever again?!" she raised her voice even more, dragging her son by his arm with her, away from the crowd that had gathered and for a woman her age and size, she was surprisingly strong.
Jung Min tried to struggle out of her iron grip but with no avail, leaving him in defeat to be dragged along, his gaze never leaving Hyun Joong's as he mouthed a silenced 'I love you'.
Hyun Joong's eyes didn't leave Jung Min's and he caught that 'I love you' which made him sink to his knees, the arms who had held him in place loosened their grip, as he realised the consequences that would follow. He probably wouldn't see Jung Min ever again. He sat for a while, mind empty, as he jsut wanted to suppress what had happened and go back to things as they were, but as he slowly rose again and turned around and saw the ashamed, almost disgusted, uncomfortable eyse of his suppossed-to-be friends, he knew that nothing would be the same ever again.
After that incident, life for Hyun Joong and Jung Min wasn't all that great. Jung Min was forbidden to even go to Hyun Joong's side of town and he even had telephone restrictions. And of course his mother had been sure to let Hyun Joong's father know what had happened, which he had not been pleased about, talking about how his son was no creation of the devil. The worst part though was that even their friends avoided both of them like the plague. They had no one on their side anymore. They were pretty much screwed. Until one special night, a couple of days later, when Hyun Joong got a call from America and he decided that he would get in touch with Jung Min and get him away from here, no matter the cost.
And the rest is history, as they say.
Now, 40 miles, one toilet break and a phone call later, they where at their destination, leaving them standing in front of the small apartment complex where they would be living in the near future.
"Well?" Jung Min asked after they had stood in the half deserted parking-lot for a while, his eyes searching Hyun Joong's.
"Well what?" Hyun Joong started to pace around the car in circles.
"Wasn't he supposed to be here by now?" Jung Min asked, letting a slight bit of irritation peek through in his voice.
"He said that he might be a little late, don't be so paranoid, he won't leave us here." Hyun Joong threw a glance at the other but decided to try and avoid an upcoming fight as he turned away and kept up his circling paces around the car.
"I never said that," Jung Min crossed his arm and leaned against the hood of the car, looking calm and stable on the outside, but on the inside, irritation started to build up, and combined with the nausea he had felt for the past 24 hours, it made a dangerous mix of bitchiness.
"Well, it definitely sounded like you implied it." Hyun Joong shot back, tired of the tension that they seemed to have picked up from the minute that plane from Seoul had left the ground.
"Hyun Joong, I've- We both have been through so much these past days, please don't even start. I just - I can't deal with it - so no fighting ok?"
Hyun Joong stopped pacing and drew a deep breath of the evening air, "Yeah, you're right," he said as he walked over to where Jung Min was leaning against the car. With his eyes on the ground he said, "I'm sorry, this is eating on my nerves too," and he added a more quiet, "I don't think I've been this scared in my entire life."
Jung Min looked up as Hyun Joong confessed and the last rays of the sun caught the corners of his eyes as he sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I'm sorry too," he said and wound his arms around Hyun Joong's neck and drew him in for a hug.
Hyun Joong laid his own arms around Jung Min's waist and his head rested in the crook of his lover's neck. There he breathed in the familiar scent that reminded him of home, warmth, love and not the least, the reason why he was doing this whole runaway thing in the first place.
"Not to interrupt you two lovebirds or anything, but you might not know where I can find two ridiculously handsome men on the run?" a sing-song voice spoke up from not more than two feet from them.
Hyun Joong turned around in surprise and a smile reached his lips at the sight of the newcomer. He disentangled himself from Jung Min and approached the other man, "Kyu Jong! It's so nice to see you man!" Hyun Joong stretched out his hand for the other man to shake but the man named Kyu Jong only shook his head and stretched out his arms and embraced Hyun Joong.
When Hyun Joong hugged him back, Kyu Jong patted his back a few times, and both men slowly let go of each other. Hyun Joong stretched out his hand in a gesture towards Jung Min who had neared the other two during the quite intimate greeting. "Kyu Jong, this is Jung Min, my eh, boyfriend," Hyun Joong said, unconsciously leaning closer to where Jung Min stepped up beside him.
Kyu Jong turned his eyes to the man that was taller than him, "Pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot about you Jung Min," he said smiling, offering his hand to the other man.
Jung Min let a small smile decorate his lips for a while while he shook Kyu Jong's hand, "Pleasure's all mine," he said and let go. His arm fell rather limply back down and he couldn't really remember the last time when his shoulders had been this tense.
Kyu Jong noticed the small anxiety clouds lingering around the other men and his eyes flickered lightly between them before Kyu Jong's smile widened and he turned around and headed towards the building, "Should we get going then?" he said but never turned back to look if they were following.
Hyun Joong and Jung Min shared a brief glance with each other and followed Kyu Jong, leaving the car with all their bags behind them.
In the building, the walls could use a little brush up and the carpet was a bit too dark in some spots and there was no elevator so they had to use the stairs. Jung Min observed it all as they went up to the second floor and down a corridor to a door with the numbers '204' in silver attached to it. Kyu Jong produced a key from the right pocket of his jacket and proceeded to turn the key in the lock and open the door.
"Let me be the first person to say 'Welcome to your new home'!" Kyu Jong said as he walked into the rather narrow hallway and turned towards the other men, "What do you think?" he asked.
Jung Min was the second to enter the apartment and with still very observant eyes, spun slowly in a circle before his eyes met Kyu Jong's, "I think I like it," he said with a bit wider smile than before.
"Good, it's not much, but it's something, right?" Kyu Jong smiled once more and Jung Min was beginning to wonder if the man ever stopped looking so goddamn happy.
Hyun Joong, who was the last one to enter, closed the door and also looked around taking in the lively and vibrant color of the walls. He answered Kyu jong's question with a simple, "Right," and proceeded to walk further which led him to the living room.
Kyu Jong and Jung Min joined the third man in the living room soon after they had taken off their shoes by the door and Kyu Jong began to open the curtains to let what little daylight that was left fill the room. That proved not to be enough so they switched on some electric lights making the room instantly lighter.
The room itself was pretty empty with one couch and an armchair, a small coffee table by them, a ceiling lamp, a small TV and a lonely bookshelf in a corner with some books piled in it here and there.
"Ok," Kyu Jong said, standing in the middle of the room, looking at the two others, "in the hallway there's two door's, one leads to the storage, the other to the bathroom. Through that door," he pointed to his right, "is the kitchen and the door beside it is the bedroom, there's a double bed in there so don't worry about that. If you are hungry there's a small supermarket just down the block but I guess that it's tomorrow's chore," Hyun Joong nodded, "Ok, so I'll order something before I go since you're probably exhausted from the trip," both Jung Min and Hyun Joong nodded now, "Ok, so take a look around, crack open some windows and I'll order some food. How about pizza?"
"Sure," both men answered in chorus.
"Ok," Kyu Jong said and went off to the hallway and started to search for the phone he knew he had left plugged in somewhere.
Hyun Joong moved towards the kitchen and Jung Min slowly followed, still in a weird state of mind.
"He doesn't really ever shut up, does he?" Jung Min asked as he walked just behind Hyun Joong.
"No, but that's Kyu Jong for you, he can talk non-stop for days. He's always been like that too." Hyun Joong answered while pressing the light switch flooding the room with light. Jung Min moved towards the window and it took him a while to figure out how to open it, but when it was open, it was nice to smell the fresh evening air.
Huyn Joong was still on the other side of the room quietly watching his lover's struggling with the window and laughed silently, "You know, you are so cute sometimes," Hyun Joong said and walked over to the other man while Jung Min turned to him. They both smiled at each other while in a silent language between only them it said so much more. Once again they embraced, providing comfort for one another.
'Aha!' was heard from the other side of the apartment and the two lovers standing in the kitchen shared a giggle while both moved away from one another and started to move out of the room, back into the living room to open the windows there.
Later in the evening, when every possible window had been opened and closed again, the refrigerator and freezer plugged in, the bags from the car had been carried upstairs, the bed had been made, two pizzas had arrived, one had been eaten and a hell of a conversation had been held, Kyu Jong saw it as his cue to leave the tired men to sleep.
"It's getting pretty late, I should be heading home," he said while looking between the men sitting on the opposite side of him by the table and slowly rising from the table.
"Sure, I'll walk you out," Hyun Joong replied and he rose too.
"Jung Min, how about we go to the grocery store tomorrow and pick up the essentials?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. See you tomorrow then!" Jung Min said with a small wave with his hand, still sitting by the table. Kyu Jong smiled at him before heading out of the door with Hyun Joong in tow.
"Hey man, thanks again for letting us stay here, it really means a lot." Hyun Joong said once they were at the door. He leaned casually against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, one clutching something that would make this night the greatest of his life.
"Anytime, I know what you're going through, it's tough." Kyu Jong said in a serious tone, implicating that he really meant it. He was standing a bit out in the corridor, also with his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Hyun Joong rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Oh and, take care of Jung min ok? I recognise them when I see them, he's a keeper," Kyu Jong winked at his friend and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. Hyun Joong looked down and although he would never admit it, his cheeks turned a little red. His hand that was clutching the ringbox in his pocket came out of its hiding and he moved it forward so that Kyu Jong could see it.
When Kyu Jong saw what Hyun Joong was holding, a grin spread across his face and he made a grab for the box but Hyun Joong snatched it back before Kyu Jong's hand even came near.
Hyun Joong answered Kyu Jong's smile with a grin of his own, "Tonight's it. You know, I've been waiting to do this for five years now. And I missed out on the chance a couple of days ago, I'm not wasting any more time now."
"That's awesome, man, congratulations! I'll leave you two alone then," Kyu Jong winked and turned around to walk back to his car after only a few steps he turned right back around, "Call me tomorrow?" he said and Hyun Joong smiled as to answer 'yes'. Kyu Jong grinned back at him and turned around for the final time to walk down the corridor.
When Hyun Joong couldn't make out his friend's silhouette anymore, he took out the ringbox again and looked at it, "Yup, tonight's the night all right," he smiled to himself and shook his head as he went back inside, box once again hidden away.
The kitchen was clean once again and the lights had been switched off in there and in the living room. The faint light from the bedroom doorway let Hyun Joong know where Jung Min was and he made a brief stop at the curtains in the living room to draw them shut before switching the lights off in the hallway and then joined the other man in the bedroom.
Jung Min was already in bed on the left side and Hyun Joong just stopped to take off his socks and pants, which left him in a t-shirt and underwear, before he slipped in under the covers on the right side of the bed.
"This is really happening," Jung Min whispered with a dazed look in his eyes as he stared at Hyun Joong lying a couple of inches from him.
"Yeah," Hyun Joong answered in a similar dazed manner, reality starting to sink in.
"It still feels unreal," Jung Min said, his voice a bit stronger than before.
"I know, but it'll be better soon... right?" Hyun Joong turned his head to look at the other man and he seemed to search Jung Min's eyes for the answer he wanted to hear.
"Yeah, I guess," Jung Min didn't seem all to sure but he wanted to provide some kind of comfort for the man he loved, if not for himself too.
Moments passed in silence before Hyun Joong moved his arms in a gesture for Jung Min to come closer, which he did, and Hyun Joong wrapped them around the other and rested his head against Jung Min's.
"Good night," Hyun Joong whispered softly as to not disturb the peaceful silence that enveloped them once again and he heard Jung Min mimic the words back at him. His eyes caught sight of the little velvet box peaking out of the pants-pocket where he had left them on the chair by the window before he reached for the light switch of the lamp that stood on the bedside table and let the room become dark.
Ok, so maybe it could wait until tomorrow, he thought as sleep dragged him down into a soft and dark emptiness, with a smile on his lips and Jung Min in his arms.
Um, Kyu Jong is there because I drew straw over who else in the band would have the role as the friend. He's probably totally out of character. Oh well, this is AU. Oh, and sorry if this is totally lame/gay/long+boring/has too much unnecessary dialog/too little BL/what-the-fuck-ever, but I just wanted to finally post this after listening to that song probably 343 times while writing x_x"
Rating: PG
Fandom/Pairing: SS501, Hyun Joong/Jung Min
Summary: Hyun Joong and Jung Min run away to the US when things become too hard in Korea. AU (meaning: they're not celebrities).
☆ I do not own these people, nor do I make any profit what-so-ever.
★ I seriously don't know why this took as long as it did to write ._. 3 freakin weeks! (ok, so maybe it's because I'm lazy and write like, 2 paragraphs per day) But, it's here now, so please enjoy! :)
You should totally listen while reading, if you want a total mood-establisher ;3
Click to viewThe sun was low in the sky and its burning rays hit Jung Min's irises, temporarily blinding him as he and Hyun Joong were speeding down in a small purple Fiat on Highway 1 towards Malibu. He had to admit, the paint job wasn't the greatest and the inside smelled slightly like cat-food, but hey, it was, after all, a rental car and it was the best they could afford right now, not even two hours spent in the country.
Hyun Joong tore his eyes off of the road long enough to glance for a second at the other man, catching the far away look in Jung Min's eyes.
"Don't think about it too much, it doesn't help. All it does is give you a headache. Besides, it'll work out," Hyun Joong said, trying to convince Jung Min to relax, although, deep down, he knew that he would have to try to convince himself first. His eyes returned to the horizon that laid ahead of them as he tried to take his own advice.
Jung Min sighed and rested his head on his bent arm which was supported by the frame of the open window as he continued to be distracted by the thoughts that were beginning to resemble a broken record in his head.
"I can't stop. It's a whole life - my whole life - it's my family - your family too, not to mention our friends, that we're leaving behind. It's not that I don't want to do this but it so hard when it comes with such a high price, you know?"
Hyun Joong just sighed and stayed silent for the rest of the ride. Luckily for the both of them, they had the radio to fill the heavy air's void between them.
Indeed, they had to leave behind things, places, people, that were important to them but the stuff in Hyun Joong's room didn't matter that much to him (he could always replace them), the places -the rooftop where he had kissed Jung Min for the first, fourth, thirteenth, twenty fifth time- didn't matter (he had Jung Min with him). The people... well, Hyun Joong didn't really know his mother and hadn't known her since he was five years old and she left his dad who didn't seem too sad and had found himself a new wife six months later. Although his dad had a piece of Hyun Joong in his heart, he was not much of a present role in his life.
Jung Min on the other hand, came from a family where the word loyalty and social status was stitched onto their hearts. There was his dad (head of a small café-franchise), his mom(a manager at one of those cafés), his two older sisters and Jung Min. They were not much of a happy family on the inside, but to an outsider they could pass as any regular family with both ups and downs. And appearance was always the most important, as Jung Min's mother always said. Maybe that's why, when she found Jung Min with his friend Hyun Joong, making out, on his bed -shirtless- she was practically having a meltdown and started screaming, throwing things, slamming doors and last but not least, forbidding the two teenage boys to see each other ever again.
Not that it helped that much. Jung Min got grounded for a couple of weeks, making him come straight home after school and no going out on the weekends. But, they had the school where no family could see, the rooftop of the apartment complex where Hyun Joong lived provided some shelter from spying eyes, not to mention a handful of other places where they were free of meddling persons.
When Hyun Joong turned eighteen he wanted to tell everyone who he was with. He wanted to come out, not be afraid and tell everyone that he loved another man. But the farthest he got was when he told Jung Min that he loved him, not just as a random boyfriend, but that it was for real. Real, true love. And Jung Min told him that he was crazy, and that he loved him for it.
When Jung Min turned eighteen about a year later, Hyun Joong still wanted to tell everyone. If it wasn't for Jung Min's assumption that everyone would react horribly, just like his mother had, Hyun Joong probably would have. He would have shouted it in the middle of a crowd in the subway in the middle of rush hour. But that didn't happen either.
When Hyun Joong turned 23 years old he and Jung Min were still a secret. Even Jung Min's ever so protective mother had stopped being suspicious. Probably because Hyun Joong had moved to the other side of town to study at a prestigeful college and Jung Min still was stuck at home, working at a friend of the family's restaurant and taking English evening classes. Which after a while, led to Hyun Joong and Jung Min seeing each other less and less.
When Jung Min's 23rd birthday came around the corner, Hyun Joong planned a whole day's celebration. He would pick up Jung Min at the train station, they would go to the fair, meet up with friends, have a picnic lunch in the botanic garden with everyone, go ride every ride there was to ride and then, when the night came along and the sun was going down, they would take the small ferry back to town and in the sunset, he would give Jung Min a ring which he had saved a couple of months' pay for. But that was wishful thinking.
What the real memory is, is far less pretty. It all starts at the fair after lunch, when Hyun Joong and Jung Min has a bit of time on their own when they lose sight of the others and they decide to drink some coffee. No one of them thinks of the risk of being seen as Hyun Joong takes Jung Min's hand and drags him over to the pink, fairytale-themed cakeshop and they get a table on the terrace, which has a view of the beautiful bay.
Hyun Joong gets their coffee and decides to order a piece of strawberry cheesecake for them to share but what he doesn't notice, is the observant eyes watching him like a hawk from a not so far away distance.
When he goes back out and sets the cheesecake on the table, Jung Min shines with a bright smile for the sugary delight and takes the coffee cup that Hyun Joong offers him. Hyun Joong sits down at the opposite side of the small table, in front of Jung Min, and takes a sip of the coffee. He comments on how good it is and Jung Min agrees, eyeing the dessert when puts down the coffee cup. He takes the fork and cuts a little piece and scoops it up, offering it up to Hyun Joong who eyes it for a slight moment, then takes it slowly from the fork with his mouth. His eyes meets Jung Min's, who is watching him intensely, face just a couple of inches away and it feels so silly, that he bursts into laughter, Jung Min following him with giggles.
In a couple of seconds, everything is chaos. Jung Min is pulled away from Hyun Joong and Hyun Joong from Jung Min. There are people surrounding them, talking, yelling. There are other people further away who starts to whisper among themselves about what's happening.
Hyun Joong tries to break free from the hold a couple of hands have on him but they are stronger than him and his struggle is in vain. That's when he calms down a bit from the shock and when he regains his regular eyesight again, his eyes meets the enraged gaze of Jung Min's mother.
"I swear on my own grave, if you ever - ever - touch, see or even speak to my son again, I will kill you with my own two hands." she shouted, her eyes locked with Hyun Joong's, nothing but rage displayed in the dark irises. She turned to her son, "And you. Didn't I tell you not to see that- that beast ever again?!" she raised her voice even more, dragging her son by his arm with her, away from the crowd that had gathered and for a woman her age and size, she was surprisingly strong.
Jung Min tried to struggle out of her iron grip but with no avail, leaving him in defeat to be dragged along, his gaze never leaving Hyun Joong's as he mouthed a silenced 'I love you'.
Hyun Joong's eyes didn't leave Jung Min's and he caught that 'I love you' which made him sink to his knees, the arms who had held him in place loosened their grip, as he realised the consequences that would follow. He probably wouldn't see Jung Min ever again. He sat for a while, mind empty, as he jsut wanted to suppress what had happened and go back to things as they were, but as he slowly rose again and turned around and saw the ashamed, almost disgusted, uncomfortable eyse of his suppossed-to-be friends, he knew that nothing would be the same ever again.
After that incident, life for Hyun Joong and Jung Min wasn't all that great. Jung Min was forbidden to even go to Hyun Joong's side of town and he even had telephone restrictions. And of course his mother had been sure to let Hyun Joong's father know what had happened, which he had not been pleased about, talking about how his son was no creation of the devil. The worst part though was that even their friends avoided both of them like the plague. They had no one on their side anymore. They were pretty much screwed. Until one special night, a couple of days later, when Hyun Joong got a call from America and he decided that he would get in touch with Jung Min and get him away from here, no matter the cost.
And the rest is history, as they say.
Now, 40 miles, one toilet break and a phone call later, they where at their destination, leaving them standing in front of the small apartment complex where they would be living in the near future.
"Well?" Jung Min asked after they had stood in the half deserted parking-lot for a while, his eyes searching Hyun Joong's.
"Well what?" Hyun Joong started to pace around the car in circles.
"Wasn't he supposed to be here by now?" Jung Min asked, letting a slight bit of irritation peek through in his voice.
"He said that he might be a little late, don't be so paranoid, he won't leave us here." Hyun Joong threw a glance at the other but decided to try and avoid an upcoming fight as he turned away and kept up his circling paces around the car.
"I never said that," Jung Min crossed his arm and leaned against the hood of the car, looking calm and stable on the outside, but on the inside, irritation started to build up, and combined with the nausea he had felt for the past 24 hours, it made a dangerous mix of bitchiness.
"Well, it definitely sounded like you implied it." Hyun Joong shot back, tired of the tension that they seemed to have picked up from the minute that plane from Seoul had left the ground.
"Hyun Joong, I've- We both have been through so much these past days, please don't even start. I just - I can't deal with it - so no fighting ok?"
Hyun Joong stopped pacing and drew a deep breath of the evening air, "Yeah, you're right," he said as he walked over to where Jung Min was leaning against the car. With his eyes on the ground he said, "I'm sorry, this is eating on my nerves too," and he added a more quiet, "I don't think I've been this scared in my entire life."
Jung Min looked up as Hyun Joong confessed and the last rays of the sun caught the corners of his eyes as he sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I'm sorry too," he said and wound his arms around Hyun Joong's neck and drew him in for a hug.
Hyun Joong laid his own arms around Jung Min's waist and his head rested in the crook of his lover's neck. There he breathed in the familiar scent that reminded him of home, warmth, love and not the least, the reason why he was doing this whole runaway thing in the first place.
"Not to interrupt you two lovebirds or anything, but you might not know where I can find two ridiculously handsome men on the run?" a sing-song voice spoke up from not more than two feet from them.
Hyun Joong turned around in surprise and a smile reached his lips at the sight of the newcomer. He disentangled himself from Jung Min and approached the other man, "Kyu Jong! It's so nice to see you man!" Hyun Joong stretched out his hand for the other man to shake but the man named Kyu Jong only shook his head and stretched out his arms and embraced Hyun Joong.
When Hyun Joong hugged him back, Kyu Jong patted his back a few times, and both men slowly let go of each other. Hyun Joong stretched out his hand in a gesture towards Jung Min who had neared the other two during the quite intimate greeting. "Kyu Jong, this is Jung Min, my eh, boyfriend," Hyun Joong said, unconsciously leaning closer to where Jung Min stepped up beside him.
Kyu Jong turned his eyes to the man that was taller than him, "Pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot about you Jung Min," he said smiling, offering his hand to the other man.
Jung Min let a small smile decorate his lips for a while while he shook Kyu Jong's hand, "Pleasure's all mine," he said and let go. His arm fell rather limply back down and he couldn't really remember the last time when his shoulders had been this tense.
Kyu Jong noticed the small anxiety clouds lingering around the other men and his eyes flickered lightly between them before Kyu Jong's smile widened and he turned around and headed towards the building, "Should we get going then?" he said but never turned back to look if they were following.
Hyun Joong and Jung Min shared a brief glance with each other and followed Kyu Jong, leaving the car with all their bags behind them.
In the building, the walls could use a little brush up and the carpet was a bit too dark in some spots and there was no elevator so they had to use the stairs. Jung Min observed it all as they went up to the second floor and down a corridor to a door with the numbers '204' in silver attached to it. Kyu Jong produced a key from the right pocket of his jacket and proceeded to turn the key in the lock and open the door.
"Let me be the first person to say 'Welcome to your new home'!" Kyu Jong said as he walked into the rather narrow hallway and turned towards the other men, "What do you think?" he asked.
Jung Min was the second to enter the apartment and with still very observant eyes, spun slowly in a circle before his eyes met Kyu Jong's, "I think I like it," he said with a bit wider smile than before.
"Good, it's not much, but it's something, right?" Kyu Jong smiled once more and Jung Min was beginning to wonder if the man ever stopped looking so goddamn happy.
Hyun Joong, who was the last one to enter, closed the door and also looked around taking in the lively and vibrant color of the walls. He answered Kyu jong's question with a simple, "Right," and proceeded to walk further which led him to the living room.
Kyu Jong and Jung Min joined the third man in the living room soon after they had taken off their shoes by the door and Kyu Jong began to open the curtains to let what little daylight that was left fill the room. That proved not to be enough so they switched on some electric lights making the room instantly lighter.
The room itself was pretty empty with one couch and an armchair, a small coffee table by them, a ceiling lamp, a small TV and a lonely bookshelf in a corner with some books piled in it here and there.
"Ok," Kyu Jong said, standing in the middle of the room, looking at the two others, "in the hallway there's two door's, one leads to the storage, the other to the bathroom. Through that door," he pointed to his right, "is the kitchen and the door beside it is the bedroom, there's a double bed in there so don't worry about that. If you are hungry there's a small supermarket just down the block but I guess that it's tomorrow's chore," Hyun Joong nodded, "Ok, so I'll order something before I go since you're probably exhausted from the trip," both Jung Min and Hyun Joong nodded now, "Ok, so take a look around, crack open some windows and I'll order some food. How about pizza?"
"Sure," both men answered in chorus.
"Ok," Kyu Jong said and went off to the hallway and started to search for the phone he knew he had left plugged in somewhere.
Hyun Joong moved towards the kitchen and Jung Min slowly followed, still in a weird state of mind.
"He doesn't really ever shut up, does he?" Jung Min asked as he walked just behind Hyun Joong.
"No, but that's Kyu Jong for you, he can talk non-stop for days. He's always been like that too." Hyun Joong answered while pressing the light switch flooding the room with light. Jung Min moved towards the window and it took him a while to figure out how to open it, but when it was open, it was nice to smell the fresh evening air.
Huyn Joong was still on the other side of the room quietly watching his lover's struggling with the window and laughed silently, "You know, you are so cute sometimes," Hyun Joong said and walked over to the other man while Jung Min turned to him. They both smiled at each other while in a silent language between only them it said so much more. Once again they embraced, providing comfort for one another.
'Aha!' was heard from the other side of the apartment and the two lovers standing in the kitchen shared a giggle while both moved away from one another and started to move out of the room, back into the living room to open the windows there.
Later in the evening, when every possible window had been opened and closed again, the refrigerator and freezer plugged in, the bags from the car had been carried upstairs, the bed had been made, two pizzas had arrived, one had been eaten and a hell of a conversation had been held, Kyu Jong saw it as his cue to leave the tired men to sleep.
"It's getting pretty late, I should be heading home," he said while looking between the men sitting on the opposite side of him by the table and slowly rising from the table.
"Sure, I'll walk you out," Hyun Joong replied and he rose too.
"Jung Min, how about we go to the grocery store tomorrow and pick up the essentials?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. See you tomorrow then!" Jung Min said with a small wave with his hand, still sitting by the table. Kyu Jong smiled at him before heading out of the door with Hyun Joong in tow.
"Hey man, thanks again for letting us stay here, it really means a lot." Hyun Joong said once they were at the door. He leaned casually against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, one clutching something that would make this night the greatest of his life.
"Anytime, I know what you're going through, it's tough." Kyu Jong said in a serious tone, implicating that he really meant it. He was standing a bit out in the corridor, also with his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Hyun Joong rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Oh and, take care of Jung min ok? I recognise them when I see them, he's a keeper," Kyu Jong winked at his friend and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. Hyun Joong looked down and although he would never admit it, his cheeks turned a little red. His hand that was clutching the ringbox in his pocket came out of its hiding and he moved it forward so that Kyu Jong could see it.
When Kyu Jong saw what Hyun Joong was holding, a grin spread across his face and he made a grab for the box but Hyun Joong snatched it back before Kyu Jong's hand even came near.
Hyun Joong answered Kyu Jong's smile with a grin of his own, "Tonight's it. You know, I've been waiting to do this for five years now. And I missed out on the chance a couple of days ago, I'm not wasting any more time now."
"That's awesome, man, congratulations! I'll leave you two alone then," Kyu Jong winked and turned around to walk back to his car after only a few steps he turned right back around, "Call me tomorrow?" he said and Hyun Joong smiled as to answer 'yes'. Kyu Jong grinned back at him and turned around for the final time to walk down the corridor.
When Hyun Joong couldn't make out his friend's silhouette anymore, he took out the ringbox again and looked at it, "Yup, tonight's the night all right," he smiled to himself and shook his head as he went back inside, box once again hidden away.
The kitchen was clean once again and the lights had been switched off in there and in the living room. The faint light from the bedroom doorway let Hyun Joong know where Jung Min was and he made a brief stop at the curtains in the living room to draw them shut before switching the lights off in the hallway and then joined the other man in the bedroom.
Jung Min was already in bed on the left side and Hyun Joong just stopped to take off his socks and pants, which left him in a t-shirt and underwear, before he slipped in under the covers on the right side of the bed.
"This is really happening," Jung Min whispered with a dazed look in his eyes as he stared at Hyun Joong lying a couple of inches from him.
"Yeah," Hyun Joong answered in a similar dazed manner, reality starting to sink in.
"It still feels unreal," Jung Min said, his voice a bit stronger than before.
"I know, but it'll be better soon... right?" Hyun Joong turned his head to look at the other man and he seemed to search Jung Min's eyes for the answer he wanted to hear.
"Yeah, I guess," Jung Min didn't seem all to sure but he wanted to provide some kind of comfort for the man he loved, if not for himself too.
Moments passed in silence before Hyun Joong moved his arms in a gesture for Jung Min to come closer, which he did, and Hyun Joong wrapped them around the other and rested his head against Jung Min's.
"Good night," Hyun Joong whispered softly as to not disturb the peaceful silence that enveloped them once again and he heard Jung Min mimic the words back at him. His eyes caught sight of the little velvet box peaking out of the pants-pocket where he had left them on the chair by the window before he reached for the light switch of the lamp that stood on the bedside table and let the room become dark.
Ok, so maybe it could wait until tomorrow, he thought as sleep dragged him down into a soft and dark emptiness, with a smile on his lips and Jung Min in his arms.
Um, Kyu Jong is there because I drew straw over who else in the band would have the role as the friend. He's probably totally out of character. Oh well, this is AU. Oh, and sorry if this is totally lame/gay/long+boring/has too much unnecessary dialog/too little BL/what-the-fuck-ever, but I just wanted to finally post this after listening to that song probably 343 times while writing x_x"