Sigh my writing is different than what it needs to be... it's been too long...

There was a muffled groan of pain sourcing from the dark alley and Yoseob cursed at himself as he hid behind a large cylindrical container, peeking frightfully at the scene before him. It was supposed to be another night in his boring life – it was not supposed to end up this way. He was peacefully walking home after his night shift in the café had ended when he heard shouts of anger and thuds of punches, followed by painful grunts and whimpers. Peeping behind the wall of the dubious alley, Yoseob could see three men hovering over a fallen man in the middle. He was curled up on the filthy floor as one of the attackers kicked him in the gut.

“I’m going to ing kill you next time.” The attacker mocked and spat at the victim, “Remember that.” Too scared to even cross the alleyway – in case his shadows or any noise he unintentionally made would attract unwanted attention – Yoseob tiptoed in and decided to hide behind a huge cylindrical container, hoping those muggers were not going to find him there.

A short man with defined muscles on his upper body cleared his throat and said coldly, “Junhyung hyung, I think he get the message already. Let’s just move, don’t waste anymore time. It’ll be bad if we were found out.” The guy called Junhyung smirked in pure satisfaction at the mess before his eyes, “Okay let’s go.” He gestured the two men to follow him out of the dingy alley, “Kikwang, Dongwoon.” Both men hurried and as they walked past the container – and Yoseob swore that the Kikwang guy looked at him in the eyes. He was about to die out of fear, his past live flashed before his eyes (even his bastard of a  father’s face)  but the other man promptly turned his face away and continued pacing to the luxurious black car. He opened the door and bowed slightly before Junhyung entered the car, and both men – these Dongwoon and Kikwang – entered the driver and passenger seats respectively.

After the car has driven away and Yoseob let out a shaky breath he did not realized was holding, relief flooded through his entire body. When he deemed it was safe enough to get out of his hiding, he quietly crawled his way to the injured man curling up in pain. “Arh –“ Yoseob croaked, his voice cracking due to unspoken fear lodged in the pit of his stomach. He cleared his throat and tried again, “Ar – are you okay?” With trembling fingers, Yoseob touched the man and tried to get a clear view of his face. He slowly rolled the man over so the latter was facing upwards and shook the man to conscience. He looked slightly older than Yoseob, but the younger man would not settle for Hyung yet.

“Yah, are you okay? Are you dead? Alive?” The man groaned in response. “What’s your name? Where do you live? Is there anyone I can call for you? Where is your phone?” The man groaned again, louder this time as he sputtered softly. “What?” Yoseob could not catch the word and the man whispered again, slower this time. Yoseob frowned as he could not understand the man at all. “I’m sorry I don’t catch that. Can you say it again please?” He bent over and placed his ear on top of the man’s lips as the latter whispered.

“… Do – doojo – Doojoon..” He coughed loudly.

Yoseob nodded, at least he knew the man’s name and it did not sound like any of those wanted criminals on the news he usually watched. It might just be a bad day for him meeting those thugs, Yoseob sympathized.

“Doojoonah, where do you live?”

A pained groan.

“Is there anyone I can call for you?”

Another pained groan.

“Do you have a phone?”

Doojoon was silent, he was tired of groaning already. It took too much effort for his injured body. Yoseob huffed, “Sorry.” He let out a soft breath. “Can you walk?”

Doojoon nodded slightly, wincing slightly due to the throbbing headache. The younger man spoke again, “We’ll get you back to my place for tonight, okay? It’s near so don’t worry. When you are better tomorrow, you can call someone to pick you up.” Doojoon nodded slightly and Yoseob smiled in satisfaction, “Okay! Up up you go!” Yoseob squatted down and slung Doojoon’s arm over his shoulder and fastened his arm on the older man’s waist. “Slowly… slowly…” With great difficulty and so much effort from Yoseob, finally they were both on their feet – well Doojoon was on Yoseob, really – and they carefully trudged to the younger man’s apartment.

It’s crazy and dangerous, and Yoseob knew it. Getting some stranger into his home was downright insane. But he had nothing to lose anyway, except for his life. Well, Yoseob shrugs, if his life was something to lose, then he had nothing to lose.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Doojoon groaned when he woke up. His eyelids were heavy, his body was aching all over, his head throbbed, his muscles stiff, and he cursed at Junhyung silently in his head – because it was way too difficult to move his locked jaw. He tried to sit up, to get up, to move from the bed when he realized that he was finally inside Yoseob’s house. , he cursed. Why should he be nearly paralyzed when he was finally inside the younger man’s house? He quietly swore at Junhyung, he needed to have a talk with him.

Subconsciously, Doojoon growled out trying to stand on his wobbly feet. His whole body was sore, it was like a ing train ran over him, and he let out a pained noise. Alarmed by the loud growl, Yoseob ran to the bedroom to see Doojoon struggling to stay on his feet. He quickly approached the older man, “What are you doing up? Lie down on the bed for goodne – Ommonaa!” Yoseob sprinted to Doojoon’s side to hold him up when he threatened to fall flat on his face.

“Lie down – unff – god you are heavy.” Yoseob muttered under his breath when Doojoon leaned on Yoseob, relying heavily on the smaller man for support. The older man shook his head slowly in disagreement and forced his way towards the door, dragging Yoseob in his effort. Yoseob sighed in defeat and helped Doojoon slowly out of the bedroom and sat him down on the chair in the small kitchen.

Doojoon looked around the tiny apartment in shock. Is this how Yoseob has been living all this while? Where is mistress?  Doojoon did not sense her presence even in this tiny space. What the happened to them? So many questions left unanswered. All that Doojoon knew at the moment was Yoseob cooking some breakfast in the kitchen and he was finally inside the apartment. He needed to convince the younger man to let him stay so that he could search for it. Everything went down to getting it in his hands.

The apartment was not shabby, it was clean and bright and obviously well taken care of. It was just that it was so small, so tiny, and once again Doojoon wanted to know what happened to Yoseob and mistress. “Doojoon-shi, can you eat tofu soup? Can you chew?” The question broke his trail of thoughts and he slowly turned to see Yoseob looking at him, a pot of boiling broth on the stove in front of the younger man. Doojoon nodded slowly, his neck is killing him. Yoseob beamed at him, “Great, I’ll make the rice extra soft for you.” He said while checking on the rice, “I think eating soft rice is better than porridge, no? It tastes better and it doesn’t make you feel like you are dying or something.” Yoseob hummed happily and Doojoon was about to chuckle, but his stomach constricted while it moved and he ended up coughing instead.

The younger man turned to look at him, sincere concern in his eyes while he patted gently on Doojoon back, “Feeling better?” Doojoon nodded and smiled a little at the nimble man before him. Yoseob cooed, “Aww you are smiling already. Feeling much better today?” Doojoon stayed silent at the question and he could not help feeling that Yoseob was cute, terribly cute, and it was terribly bad to feel that Yoseob was cute. He pursed his lips and pushed any feelings of cuteness away.

Yoseob sauntered over to him with a bowl of rice and warm tofu soup. He sat down beside the older man and placed a spoon full of rice and tofu broth in front of his lips, coaxing Doojoon to open his mouth. The older man’s eyes opened wider – in shock, in awe – at the affectionate gesture as he opened his mouth. Yoseob beamed when Doojoon opened his mouth for a second scoop of rice, “I’m Yang Yoseob, by the way. I think you should know the name of your savior.” Doojoon continued chewing, “Thank you so much.” The smile widened, showing a row of white teeth, and Yoseob shook his head “No, don’t mention it, really. You can call someone to pick you up, I’ll give you my address.” Yoseob placed a straw on Doojoon’s dry and busted lips so that he could start drinking the water inside the glass. “I bet a lot of people are worried about you right now. Do you want me to help you call? Where’s your phone? Should I –”

“Can I stay here for a while?”

Yoseob stopped talking and turned to face Doojoon slowly. Really, really slowly. “Why?”

“I came out to my parents and they disowned me.” A perfect lie. Doojoon mentally patted his back – which was kind of impossible right now when his bones threatened to break with every move he made. He cleared his throat nervously, “I have nowhere to go right now. This is asking too much, I know. It’s fine if you want me out of here and I understand that decision perfectly. But really, I just – “

“Okay.”

Doojoon turned to face Yoseob. It was silent for a while. A confused frown settled on his handsome face. “… what?“

“I said okay.” Yoseob shrugged, “Why not. Stay with me, you should know what you are getting into though,” he gestured at the tiny apartment. “It’s not that great.” Doojoon stared at Yoseob, confused at this kind soul staring back at him. How could someone be so kind? Yoseob winced, “What? Stop staring at me. You asked me first.”

This was totally unforeseen. Doojoon did not imagine it to be this easy, he was imagining some groveling and begging and maybe some violence thrown in here and there to get what he wanted. But this was beyond amazing, beyond what he was hoping for, and he stared at Yoseob.

“Thank you.” It was sincere and Doojoon wondered when was the last time he had been that sincere.

Yoseob smiled and got up from his seat, bringing the dirty dishes to the kitchen, “Let me fetch you a new bandage. There wasn’t any serious injury or any bleeding scar, I was thinking thugs like those will surely stab you or something more serious.” Doojoon curved his eyebrow up, thinking how he would make Junhyung suffer if the younger man dared to draw blood from his body.

Doojoon felt the tenderness in his stomach and smiled, “I was just lucky then.” Yoseob turned to look at him and chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

Silence fell over the apartment for a while before Yoseob shrieked at the clock on his wall. “, I have class today. I almost forgot. I’ll be back at five. Let’s talk more about you moving in after I come back. I have a few clothes that you can borrow, the spare toothbrush is in the bathroom cabinet. If you need money, you can get some in the drawer over there.” Yoseob motioned towards a wooden table in the living room. “I need to go now.”

Doojoon threw the younger man a confused look, eyes following his movements in and out of the bedroom, “Are you trusting me with your apartment?” When Yoseob nodded dumbly, Doojoon continued, “What if I were to rob you?” Doojoon asked earnestly and Yoseob blinked. “There is nothing to rob, Doojoonah.”

Doojoon stared at Yoseob, he did not understand how one could be so carefree, so uninhibited, so trusting and – this kind soul – Doojoon could not understand, and when the shock somehow subsided, he smirked at the name Yoseob called him and asked, “Are we close now, Yoseob-sshi?”

“Close? What do you mean?”

“You called me Doojoonah just now.”

Yoseob blinked and after a few seconds, he burst out laughing. “You are funny. I think we’ll get along. I’ll see you later. I hope you will still be here, along with all of my belongings.” He added cheekily, “Doojoonah.”

The pain in Doojoon’s stomach was unbearable as he howled out in laughter.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O

The weather was starting to get colder, autumn was here and Doojoon could smell the scent of fallen leaves in the air. He pulled on the hoodie – Yoseob’s, not his – tighter around his body as he squatted in front of the mini mart they had agreed on. He’s late, Doojoon looked at his watch and cursed again. He was cold and sore and irritated. The only thing that prevented him from killing someone was the fact that he was fully fed – he could still taste the richness of the tofu broth against his tongue, the warmth of the soup, the perfectly cooked soft rice –

“Hyung-nim.”

A pair of black fabric pants and expensive dress shoes filled his eyes and Doojoon looked up to find a man in flawlessly cut suit bowing down to him. Doojoon’s eyes were cold as sharp words fell from his mouth, “You’re late.”

The man before him knelt down on both knees, head falling to his chest. “I apologize for the wait, Hyung-nim.”

Doojoon scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Yah Junhyungah, stop it. People are staring at us. Come on, sit beside me.” Junhyung eyed at the dirty spot beside Doojoon and shot an eyebrow up, hesitating on soiling his exorbitant pants. Doojoon sensed it and pulled him down until he was ungracefully sprawled on the street, “Sit down.”

Junhyung got up and sat down on the pavement in front of the mini mart beside Doojoon, he offered a cigarette to Doojoon and lit it up for him. The smoke swirled in the air as the older man savored the taste on his tongue, smoke filling his lungs. “You guys almost killed me last night.”

 “We apologize.”

Doojoon waved his hand absentmindedly, “It’s okay. Just a few bruises here and there. Nothing I can’t handle.” He on the white stick, “Kikwang and Dongwoon with you?” Junhyung nodded, “They are in the car observing for anything amiss, Hyung-nim.”

“Come on, don’t be such a prick. We’ve known each other too long for you to keep calling me Hyung-nim.” Doojoon nudged at Junhyung’s shoulder. Junhyung visibly relaxed and asked informally, “So are you in already? Or should we resort to some kind of violence with him?”

Doojoon smiled, “Yeah, I’m in. I’m living with him now.” There was a lull in the conversation when Junhyung answered, “That’s fast.”

The older man nodded, “I was shocked he just gave in so easily. I wonder if he really was his son. They are so different.” Doojoon shrugged, “I don’t know, he has this kind soul, you know. Like this old motherly soul inside of him. So wise and affectionate and –“

“Just don’t get too involved with him, Doojoonah.” Junhyung drawled, puffing the smoke to the chilly air. Doojoon let his most trusted friend’s words sunk in and nodded, reminding himself of his sole purpose of living with Yoseob.

He looked at his watch and crushed his unfinished cigarette on the pavement, “Dude, I need to get back, he’s coming back at five. Say hi to Dongwonnie and Kikwangie for me.” He wobbled while standing up, his sore muscles screaming at the pain. “I’ll see you guys soon. I didn’t bring my phone, I’ll get a new one and send you a message.” Junhyung watched as Doojoon tottered away, limping slightly due to his injury. The older man waved his hand once as he continued walking away.

It was a sign for Junhyung not to worry.