Hi! An update! ^.^

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“AH!! !! AIGOOO!!” Yoochun cursed at himself as he exited his car. The man sulked loudly as lean towards the passenger seat beside him, cluttered with grocer bags, filled with ready-to-eat food stuff. Grabbing the bunch of serviettes in the nearest paper bag, he wiped the spilled coffee off his leather seat and soaked pants. Yoochun had accidentally tipped over the coffee cup clipped between his thighs.

When he was done patting dry the remnants, Yoochun gathered the bulk into one arm, aimed and threw the almost emptied coffee cup into the bin beside the carpark lift, before making his way through the opened lift doors.

Yoochun have just had his brief encounter with Lee Soo Man and was relieved that the man did not uncover his deceitful act earlier on.

“Kid! I am back.” the tall handsome man called out cheerfully as he pushes open the main door, not noticing the few shadows ducking out of sight behind the pillars beside his neighbour’s door. Settling down his grocers on the clean kitchen top, Yoochun made his way back to his room, which houses his little guest.

Junsu would usually respond to Yoochun’s calls for acknowledgement, so Yoochun wondered about the silence that encompasses the entire hallway. “Kid!!” Yoochun can feel panic welling up as he pushed the bedroom door wide open, just to find the room empty, as stark and neat as he had left it earlier on. “KID!!”

“DAMN IT!!” Yoochun scrambled around the room in search of the missing boy. Then when stopping to think about where the boy might be, he heard soft gigglings coming from under his bed, followed by a small figure emerging.

With his hands covering his mouth, Junsu popped out from under bed. Making cute sounds as he rolled over onto his belly and looked at Yoochun excitedly, gazing at the man fretting so handsomely in front of him.

“Yoochunnie hyung. I found something under your bed!” Junsu used both arms to drag himself out from under the bed with much effort, since he still can’t walk independently. Yoochun squatted down immediately and pulled the boy out, before placing him onto the bed gently. Smoothing out the crease on the younger person’s oversized shirt, tucking a little of the shirt into the equally oversized pants.

“What did you find?” Yoochun asked steadily as he remained seated, removing his coat and folding them into a pile beside his bed. He and Junsu had been sharing his usually vacant king size bed, and Yoochun would take the side opposite to the bedroom door, since he knows he has to be on guard at all times.

“I don’t know… I have never seen it before.” Junsu shrugged cutely as he reached under the bed again and pulled out a battery operated torch, and a revolver.

Tossing the gun aside like a toy gun, Junsu focused on playing with the yellow device, shining the dim lighting onto the ceiling, pouting and complaining about how the light does not seem as bright as it was before, in the already brightly lit room. It was darker under the bed.

“Did you play with this too?!” Yoochun leapt off the bed to retrieve the discarded gun, removing the magazine and tucking it into his pocket. Yoochun heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the boy shake his head. Yoochun had forgotten momentarily that he had left the gun and torch is under his bed, just an arm’s length from where he lay above, for their protection. Yoochun never had to fear about his personal safety before, since he was never really at home to spend a night, but with Junsu around, he can’t help being paranoid.

Every night, when they slept side by side, even with the boy treating him like a bolster, he would still jolt up with the slightest movements, making sure he always locks the doors and seals up the window, just for the sake of the boy’s safety. He can no longer have a peace of mind whenever he is reminded of the broken boy stuck in his room, especially when at work.

Junsu, on the other hand, has already come back to his senses, and knows that he is rescued by Yoochun. What he does not know is Yoochun’s real identity. Yoochun never needed to lie to him though, since the boy does not know anything else beyond what a smart twelve year old is supposed to. It does not exactly mean that Junsu is stupid or too naïve, he just does not possess much general knowledge about how the outside world functions.

Staying in solitary confinement, only with a “cell-mate”, who was captured at an even much younger age than him, Junsu did not learn much. Whatever he had learnt from his mother was backdated as well, since he never really used any electrical appliances while living in the valleys. Even his language abilities were limited, but still developed a little over time, after the years of listening to the scientists and guard on duty converse.

“This is dangerous. It is the thing that gave you the bad hip. Don’t ever touch it again.” Yoochun said definitively while he slipped the empty revolver into the case that came with it and stuffed the box into his cupboard. “That. You can play with.” Yoochun pointed to the torch and stares lovingly at the boy who is flinching while shining the “toy” into his own eyes. “The effect is better in the dark.” Yoochun smiled and covered the boy with the thick quilt at their feet.

Squealing happily, Junsu was tossing and turning under the sheets, making cute dolphin sounds while Yoochun watched on. The boy had somehow become the older man’s own little miss sunshine. Junsu’s lack in knowledge and frequent “what is that” phrases gave Yoochun many opportunities to interact, and not forgetting, make his heart soar uncontrollably.

POV from Yoochun

You have no idea how glad I was to know that boss did not suspect the falsified report. He just told me that he needed the kid to do something… but he didn’t say what it was. My best guess is that it is nothing pleasant. I even feel bad about what I intended to do earlier in the afternoon… the thought about wanting to bring that poor defenseless child to that monster.

I can’t imagine what boss would do if I had indeed handed the kid over. Torture him ten folds? I was always lenient to by prisoners… and I can say that they had a fairly “nice” environment to live in. Fine. Not exactly nice. Maybe “safe” will be the more appropriate word.

Jung Kwang never had his way with me around… or whenever he comes to my sector to conduct his experiments. I always make sure to give him a briefing about my own little protocol. That is, he is NOT to kill at random. I know I can’t exactly help it if the experimental subjects dies after succumbing to the injuries they sustained during the experiments… but Junjin and I can at least ensure that they will not be murdered for that sicko’s own pursue of twisted fun, joy and laughter.

That guy respects us… since we are seniors as well… but I remember hearing stories about how he slaughters subjects in cold blood when at the other facilities. The people there don’t have any control over him when he is over excited or angry. Even I have to admit that it’s hard.

Anyhow, I was feeling so guilty about this afternoon that I left almost immediately after boss departed. I only wanted to head home and make it up to the kid… I even bought some ice cream on my way home… all sorts of flavor. Which kid does not like ice cream anyways? I know he is 17… but his mentality is really “twelvish”.

Then my heart almost jumped out of my ribcage when I found him wriggling out from under the bed… and pulling out my torch and gun. They were there so I can defend us against anyone trying to attack at night… definitely not meant for him to play with!! There were live bullets in there as well!! Ready to blast a lethal hole in him as long as he rubs it the wrong way…

Putting the gun away, I just sat and watched him play with the torch as though it is some form of magical item… and immerse myself in his curious gaze and hearty laughter. There is something about him that never fails to tug at my heart strings. Looking at him… trusting me like a baby duckling following its mother… I feel bad.

But he does not need to know all this unnecessary facts. To him, I will always be the hyung that found him hurt, and saved him. The kind hyung that will bring him to his real hyung soon… and the kind hyung that will feed him well and even give him ice cream… I wonder if he ever had ice cream before…

“AHHH!!” I yelled out all of a sudden, causing him to jump adorably and burrow out from under the thick quilts to face me. ICE CREAM!! I left it on the counter because I was too pre-occupied earlier on!! From the coffee to him!! I haven’t even changed out of my coffee stained pants!! AISH!! Park Yoochun!! Stop being so love-struck!!

“Don’t be afraid. Hyung only forgot something… ” I whispered to him while he tried handing me the torch… thinking that he is not supposed to play with that either. “It’s okay… this one you can keep.” I reassured him before making my way out of my room.

Suddenly, while I was a step out of the room, I spotted a shadow darting down somewhere around my couch. My instinct immediately warned me that something is awry. I don’t own a cat. And no animal is capable of casting such a big shadow! I was sure I locked the doors and windows as well!! Is it a burglar?! NO. My gut feeling tells me the situation is more dangerous than a simple case of burglary. It is only early in the evening.

“Kid.” I don’t know why the first thing that came to my mind was the need to hide the boy. I slipped into the room again silently and wrapped the boy within the quilt and gently shoving him under the bed. “It is darker down there.” I tried to convince myself that nothing is going to happen. Try not to alarm him unnecessarily.

Because of the eerie silence, I can hear footsteps grazing against my parquet wood flooring, softly, from the slightly ajar door. My concerns about the tubs of ice cream disintegrating is pushed to the very back of my head… while the thoughts of how to use a gun and break a neck with my bare hands re-surfaced and flashed past furiously across my mind.

Sitting down calmly onto my bed, instead of heading out to face the intruders, I reached for the revolver in my cupboard stealthily with one hand, while the other reached into my pocket for the single magazine. Those bullets in the small black casing are our only chance of getting pass whatever awaits us outside. I know there is more than one or two intruders now… since the shuffling is multiplied as it nears.

The muscles in my hands stiffened as I wrapped my hands tightly around my life saving gadget, lifting it up to take careful aim at the door. Then from my mirror, I can see the reflection of what looked like a pair of legs dangling outside of the window behind me. !! THEY ARE COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS!! ALL CORNERS!! DOORS AND WINDOWS!! MAYBE EVEN MY TOILET!!

POLICE?! C0DEST?! IS IT C0DEST?! OR POLICE?!

“!” I hissed to myself and dove under my bed, positioning myself beside the kid as I grabbed the unsuspecting bundle and hugged on to it tightly… protectively.

“BAMM!! CLACK!! PISSH!!” I can hear the expensive glass panels of my windows shattering, and the bedroom door slamming open, as heavy footsteps came shuffling in… almost akin to marching. “GO GO GO!!” I heard someone barking orders while the rest charged around my bed… forming a perfect circle. I can see their boots now!! In perfect distance from one another… then a face stared right into mine, half covered by a heavy helmet.

“STAY CLOSE KID!!” I shouted, released my grip on the boy, and used all of my strength to push the entire bed up. The bed is very VERY heavy. GOOD! It will provide us with some cover. “Stay behind me!” I pushed the boy behind me and crouched in front of him, before hurling warnings at the brazen bunch of intruders.

“Shoot and I will shoot as well!!” I shouted at the first person to lift up and aim the humongous rifle at me. I know I am a goner against those weapons… and I know that a mere bed will do nothing for us. After all, a bullet’s got to do what a bullet’s got to do… which is to create grub holes like beetles do. But I can’t back down now. Not now!

If I exhibit fear… then my last line of defense is diminished to nothingness. I NEED TO GET A GRIP OF MYSELF!! Why do they need such elaborate weapons anyways?!

“Hand the boy over.” The voice demanded. It IS c0dest after all! HOW DID THEY COME TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOY?! I NEVER TOLD ANYONE!! NOT EVEN JUNJIN!! !! To think I have taken great pains to conceal the child’s existence!! I CAN’T HAND HIM OVER NOW!! I DON’T WANT TO!! THEY CAN’T USE BARGE INTO MY HOUSE AND DEMAND SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM ME!!

What did this kid have or do, that caused them to track him all the way here?! I have fought with him before… and so I presume I did. He is WEAK!! SO JUST LET HIM OFF ALREADY!! What can this poor little guy behind me do anyways?! He can’t even kill a rabbit!! WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM HIM?! What does boss wants with him?! He can give them nothing but that broken body of his!!

Body?! !! This is getting sicker and sicker by the minute!! As if this kid is not miserable enough!! He is only a kid!! Is this even right?! Child abuse in the making!!

“WHAT EXACTLY AM I WORKING FOR? WHAT TYPE OF A MONSTER AM I ACTUALLY HELPING?!” These thoughts FINALLY hit me… HARD… after my many years of service to c0dest! This is the first time I actually doubt myself and what I had been doing. I HAVE SINNED!! This fact never got through to me… but I know I have always felt that I was doing the wrong things. Now I see it! Nice and clear.

“NO! Enough!! Leave him alone!” I took my first shot and embedded a bullet in the thigh of the guy nearest to me. DAMN!! I couldn’t even shoot to kill anymore!! I have mellowed way more than I’ve expected!! And because of this boy at that!!

“BZZT!” I felt something clip onto the bare skin on my forearm, and out almost immediately after a painful current makes its way through my system. Darkness started swallowing me whole while the kid behind me shouts my name and hugs onto me. Yoochunnie hyung… sounds so good… so intimate. I love the way those syllabus dances on his tongue. He sounds like a little sparrow chirping. “No… leave him…” I managed inaudibly.

TBC

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