Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 900
Genre: AU
Summary: Jiyong wonders if having one meant losing the other. He's not quite sure which one he wants more.
AN: Written at 2 in the morning. Excuse the fail.
 

“You’re new here.” The guy sitting across from JiYong doesn’t ask it, it’s a statement. JiYong nods anyway, slowly, his eyes flitting upwards from the plastic tray and his plastic fork on the plastic table. The man looks his age; it’s surprising that he’s not the only one.

SeungRi appears beside him, unsmiling, settling by JiYong’s side.

“That’s cool. What’re you in for? Wait, no, lemme guess.” The stranger keeps talking like he expects JiYong to listen. JiYong struggles to concentrate, because he should, but SeungRi leans his head on JiYong’s shoulder and sighs. It’s enough to drive JiYong crazy.

He really shouldn’t like it. He’s been told so from many people, people who didn’t even know a single thing about him. But he decided, just this once, that he didn’t give a . So he lets SeungRi’s head rest on his shoulder and tries to pay attention to the demanding man across from him.

“JiYong,” whispers SeungRi, his voice sweet and dripping of innocence. JiYong is sickened and he tenses visibly. The stranger continues without pausing, as if he hadn’t even noticed. “JiYong, please.”

A low moan escapes from JiYong’s lips, his eyes shut involuntarily at the stab of pain that lanced through JiYong’s chest. The man finally realizes that JiYong’s not listening anymore and stops, cutting off midsentence and leaning forwards curiously.

“Dude, you okay? You don’t look so good—it’s not very attractive. No, I’m sorry, that wasn’t funny.”

JiYong would have snorted in laughter had SeungRi not spoken at the same moment.

“JiYong, please. Please, JiYong, help me, please,” SeungRi gasped, jerking away from JiYong wildly and gripping JiYong’s arm tightly.

“They give you all sorts of funny meds here—”

“Don’t let them get me, JiYong, please, please!”

“I remember once we got these cute blue ones—” The stranger continued, already off on another tangent.

“JiYong, it hurts!”

This sets JiYong off. He bellows in fury and shoves SeungRi to the ground, pushing away from the plastic table, upsetting his plastic tray and grabbing his plastic fork. There’s food everywhere and JiYong’s swinging blindly, there’s a siren sounding somewhere and someone is grabbing JiYong. JiYong’s pleading and begging and the stranger keeps talking like nothing happened.

SeungRi lies on the floor and cries and begs and everything is so white. JiYong feels something sharp prick his arm and for a moment he feels relief. He knows what comes next.
 

JiYong wakes in his room they call a cell to the sound of the faucet dripping. He remembers, he always does. He has a roommate, why isn’t he surprised it’s the same stranger from the dining area?

JiYong finds out that his roommate’s name is SeungHyun. Of all things. JiYong decides that he hates SeungHyun very much. He shakes SeungHyun’s hand warmly and already knows they’re going to be great friends.

Everyone stays away from JiYong now. Not that people had been coming up to him before, but now people avoided him. He was that kind. You didn’t want to associate with that kind. Everyone avoided him like a plague, except SeungHyun. SeungHyun was always around now and didn’t give a flying  that JiYong had exploded mid-lunch and was probably a raving lunatic. Maybe because SeungHyun was a raving lunatic himself.

SeungHyun was a talker. He talked a lot, and didn’t wait for answers. He expected to be listened to, though, and for the most part JiYong was fine with this arrangement. SeungHyun’s talking again now, about some person JiYong hasn’t met and something that JiYong doesn’t know.

SeungRi shows up behind SeungHyun at this moment. JiYong feels a moment of sinking dread.

SeungRi pulls a face behind SeungHyun’s back, and it contradicts what SeungHyun had just said so completely that JiYong can’t help but snort. SeungHyun pauses, but continues. It’s when JiYong bursts out laughing that SeungHyun’s mouth snaps shut.

JiYong finds himself shoved against a wall with a snarling SeungHyun at his throat.
 

JiYong plays cards with SeungRi that night. JiYong never cared for cards, but SeungRi loved it, so JiYong never complained. He lost his tenth hand in a row and SeungRi crowed in victory. He immediately reshuffles the cards and starts dealing out the next hand. It’s getting on past midnight and SeungHyun pretended to go to bed hours ago. JiYong’s little lamp shines dully in the darkness; he has some trouble seeing the cards that are placed in front of him.

 
“How have you been, JiYong?” the woman in white asks kindly, smiling at him like he’s seven-years-old and still thinks girls have cooties.

“Do you really care?”

“It’s my job. I should care.”

“But do you?”

“Just answer the question, JiYong.”

It’s always like this. Every single time. JiYong doesn’t tire of his game. He doesn’t answer like the woman wants him to; instead he waits for her to play along. She caves after a few minutes.

“And how is SeungRi?”

JiYong nods in satisfaction. He didn’t like how the woman slighted SeungRi every time they met. He found it quite rude, and JiYong’d never liked rude people much.

 
“SeungRi?”

“Yeah, hyung?”

“What’s wrong? Who’s after you? Who’s hurting you?”

JiYong asks this quietly, because it’s late. SeungRi shifts in JiYong’s embrace, twisting so he was pressed more securely to JiYong’s chest.

“You, JiYong. You’re hurting me.”

“Right.”

JiYong cries, for the second time in his life.


AN: I've always wanted to write an insane!fic...