A/N: Sorry for the one-month hiatus! I'm finally back with the next chapter, this time from Niel's POV. Enjoy the read!

Chapter VI - Baby, You (I'm singing this song for you)

When Niel wakes up, Jonghyun’s not there.

Only half-conscious, his mind instantly enters a state of all-consuming panic. Where did he go? Did the guy from earlier plan an ambush to get back at him? 

He has never felt so much relief at the sight of a prison guard leading his friend back into the cell. Rising from his seat on the bed, he welcomes Jonghyun back with a hug.

“Niel…” Jonghyun sounds uncertain, but he allows himself to be crushed in the tight embrace nevertheless, arms automatically wrapping themselves around Niel. 

After a few minutes, Niel finally finds his voice. “I thought something had happened,” he admits shakily. He takes a deep breath to try and steady himself. Having said it out loud, he suddenly feels incredibly embarrassed. “Sorry I overreacted.”

Instead of immediately replying, Jonghyun’s arms tighten their hold. “Niel.” He raises his head so that the two of them are eye to eye. “It’s okay.” He leans in until their foreheads are touching. “No need to apologise.”

Niel’s face feels warm. Perhaps Jonghyun has already forgotten about what happened between them the last time their faces were this close together, but he hasn’t. It’s easy enough to relocate in the dustier corners of his brain when his cellmate is acting like a five year old, at least until the quiet intensity of the gangster he’d met that night resurfaces. When he catches sight of those dark eyes sharpening their gaze, like a spell his thoughts are drawn back to the way Jonghyun had tasted, strong whiskey and menthol, the hard lines of his body pressed against him. Nothing like the women Niel had escorted, with mouths full of rich chocolate and white wine, their bodies soft and silky smooth. And certainly nothing like the foul geezer who had tried to him, whose pudgy body seemed to emit grease and smoke.

“Jonghyun,” he murmurs, “you’re too close.” Still, he doesn’t make any effort to move. The younger man is a warm and solid presence warding off his fears, even if only for the moment. 

Jonghyun pulls away and smiles gently. “Not nearly close enough, I think.” For a moment he thinks Jonghyun might kiss him, but he just draws Niel closer to himself, as if by doing so they would meld completely into one person.  

“I didn’t know Shinhwa’s Changjo was such a romantic.” 

Niel feels, rather than sees Jonghyun stiffen at the intrusion. Lifting his head up from where it rests on Jonghyun’s shoulder, he spots two figures standing on the other side of their cell. One has heavily-tattooed arms visible under the rolled-up sleeves of the requisite bright orange prison uniform and narrow, sleepy-looking eyes, while the other looks like someone who would be in Niel’s line of work, with a handsome face and the arrogant aura of someone who knows exactly how attractive he is.

“Excuse me,” he replies with all the politeness he can muster, “but I believe it’s common courtesy to introduce yourselves before engaging in conversation.” Niel may not know Changjo, agent of Shinhwa, but he’s become intimately familiar with Jonghyun, and underneath that emotionless exterior is a flesh-and-blood person. Being a part of the underworld doesn’t exclude him from harbouring romantic notions or human relationships. It isn’t that which caused Jonghyun to freeze up, however.

It was the fact that his private persona had been witnessed by someone other than his intended audience, Niel. Jonghyun might be fine with kissing strangers and sharing beds with them, but he isn’t the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, much less with people who would exploit any blind spots they could find.

To his surprise, the shorter of the two men laughs. “You’re right. I’m beginning to like you already.” His companion stays impassive, but his mouth twitches in what could be a smile. “I go by Chunji.” At Niel’s quizzical look, he elaborates, “My boss said it stood for ‘a voice that could reach the heavens’.” The taller man abruptly enters the conversation.

“His tone can go really high,” his voice is gravelly in a strange sort of way that Niel can’t quite place. The tattooed man chuckles to himself. “Especially when I—“

A forced cough. Chunji’s voice is syrupy sweet, but his eyes are murderous. “Hyung, unless you want me to share that incident with them…” The older man pales and falls silent under the weight of his stare.  “Anyway, this babbling idiot is my cellmate, Minsoo-hyung.” The man called Minsoo nods to them gravely. Despite the tattoos, his obvious deference to Chunji makes him a less scary person to deal with.

“You can call me Cap too, if you like.” He sounds almost goofy, Niel muses with a smile.

Jonghyun only speaks up after the two of them have left. “Finally,” he mutters. “I thought they would never leave.” He rolls his eyes and makes a face, flopping down the bed. Niel joins him without preamble. Somewhere along the way he’d gotten accustomed to the extra weight on the bed and the flailing limbs that tended to smother him in his sleep.  He could have used someone like Jonghyun all those winters he was freezing in bed even with the heater turned up and the extra comforters. The younger man radiates heat like a furnace, and Niel is especially grateful for it in the wee hours of the morning, when one of them has unconsciously kicked the threadbare blanket away and the concrete does nothing to cushion the cold.

His stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn’t eaten anything since last night. He can hear Jonghyun snort at the sound. Mouth immediately poised to go on the defensive, he doesn’t expect the tender touch of Jonghyun’s hand his head. The repeated movement is oddly hypnotic, and within minutes, he can feel his eyes drooping. 

Strange, how easily he can let his guard down around Jonghyun. He would never dare to fall asleep while with a client, not even those who claimed that they loved him and would do anything for him if he asked. Yet here he is with a man who may or may not kill people for a living, and he can’t think of any place that’s safer, except for home. 

Jonghyun shifts around until Niel’s head is squarely tucked into the crook of his arm. “Take a nap first,” he orders Niel. “I’ll wake you for the next meal.” He shuts his eyes obediently. Jonghyun managed to avoid telling him where he had gone in the first place, but he decides to wait instead of pursuing the topic. His mom always said knowing how to navigate the push-and-pull of a relationship would be an invaluable skill, and this is definitely not the time to push.

He and Jonghyun may have met by coincidence, but what happens next is their choice. He owes the man his life twice over now, which in itself is enough reason to trust him, but more importantly, Niel genuinely likes him, and he has no intention of severing this connection once they get out.