“I missed you.”
Home
Warmth.
Yongguk couldn't have felt more relieved once he stepped off the plane from Busan. He was overworked and exhausted but the thought of seeing Junhong again made him perk up. He went towards the luggage returns.
He impatiently looked at the expensive watch on his wrist as he waited for his bag. He sighed softly and tried to ignore the feeling of nervousness. He wasn't sure if that was the exact word for it. He just felt. . . an impending dread.
He tried to tell himself it was just in his head as he finally spotted his bag. Yongguk grabbed it off of the return and hurried out of the airport before hailing a taxi. He wanted to get to the hotel before Junhong. He hadn't told the boy exactly when he was coming home so he hoped he'd surprise the younger.
The taxi driver greeted him, opening the back door for him before taking his suitcase and putting it into the trunk. Yongguk sat down in the taxi and took in a deep breath. He had only talked to the younger once since he'd been gone. He wanted Daehyun to put the boy on the phone but at the same time he didn't want Junhong to feel like he was being forced to talk to him.
The drive to the hotel felt painfully long and he could feel his pulse speeding up just a little bit when the hotel came into view. The taxi pulled up in front of the hotel and an employee opened the door for him. He paid the driver and turned to face his hotel. It felt good to be back.
“Want me to get your bag?” The employee asked.
Yongguk shook his head. “No, I'm fine.” He said before walking towards the hotel entrance. He quietly greeted guests and the employees as he made his way through the lobby and towards the elevators. He narrowed his eyes as Mrs. Han stepped off the elevators and walked passed him; paying no attention to him.
He looked over his shoulder before sighing and dragging his suitcase onto the elevator. He didn't have to work tonight but he wanted to make sure things were going properly. Most of all, he wanted to see the boy as soon as possible.
He rested for a few minutes before going back down stairs to meet and check on his employees. And as expected, everything was going smoothly. He knew his employees were trustworthy. Now all that was left was to wait for Junhong. He looked at the watch on his wrist, figuring it wouldn't be much longer until he showed up.
Yongguk chatted with a few guests; he was pleased to hear they had nothing but good things to say about the hotel and its staff. He was honestly thankful for his employees. The employees in Busan had been all over the place and very unprofessional. His father always sent him in to fix their mistakes.
He quietly excused himself when he noticed Junhong coming in through the entrance. His head was lowered to the ground and his shoulders were slumped. Even from a distance, Yongguk could tell there was something wrong.
“Junhong.” He met the boy half way.
He watched as Junhong looked up in surprise and a soft gasp passed his lips when he saw the boy's eye was black and his lip was busted. He walked closer. “Let's talk.” He turned around and motioned for him to follow. Junhong looked towards the check-in desk and Yongguk continued. “I already have someone covering your shift for you so it's okay.”
Nothing was said until the two were in Yongguk's hotel room.
“Did you get in a fight?” The man asked once the door shut.
The boy looked up and stared at him with an unreadable expression. He almost looked hurt by his words and Yongguk was suddenly regretting asking so bluntly. “I said I wouldn't fight anymore.”
He reached out to gently touch Junhong on the shoulder and the boy winced in pain. “What happened?” He asked and quickly withdrew his hand.
The younger looked towards the ground. “Nothing.”
Yongguk didn't know what to say or do. He wanted to know; god, he really wanted to know but the last thing he wanted to do was upset the boy. Things were quiet and tense until the man finally sighed and told him to sit down. He didn't like the tension between them. It was awkward, uncomfortable and he felt like it was his own fault for leaving Junhong for so long.
Yongguk sat down beside him. “I missed you.” Junhong looked at him, his eyes lighting up a bit. He opened his mouth but nothing ever came out. “Can I hug you?” He asked. The younger looked hesitant before nodding and the man smiled before gently pulling him into his arms.
Junhong gasped in pain and he pulled away.
“Are you okay?”
He looked back towards the floor. “My. . . foster dad.”
“He hit you?” Yongguk could feel the anger boiling up inside him but he forced himself to stay calm.
“Yeah.”
Yongguk carefully wrapped his arms around the younger as gently as he possibly could. The boy relaxed against him and everything went quiet again. He made Junhong feel so safe and warm.
“I'm sorry, Junhong.” The man said after a long time. “I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.”
Junhong could feel his eyes welling up with tears. He wondered how the man knew what he was thinking. He'd felt abandoned by Yongguk. He quickly blinked back his tears and shook his head as he pulled out of the man's embrace. He was almost immediately regretting it and his thought surprised him.
He hated touching so, why did he like it when the man would hold him or gently touch him? It made him shiver and images of his dream came flooding back into his mind. He felt himself heating up as he remembered Yongguk on top of him; kissing each and every scar on his body as his hands firmly - Junhong quickly shook his head as if to shake the thoughts away. His heart was racing and he couldn't bear to meet eyes with the older man.
“Shouldn't you report him?” Yongguk's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
The younger quickly shook his head. “No, no, don't report him.”
“Are you sure, Junhong?” The man asked.
Junhong forced himself to look up but he just couldn't get himself to meet eyes with the older. He kept seeing images of his dream and his body was reacting in ways he didn't want it to. “If you report him, I could be moved somewhere much worse. He's not there very often so. . . I can deal with it.”
He heard Yongguk sigh and it was easy for him to tell the man wasn't happy with this. He didn't want to be moved. He'd been in worse places before and he knew very well he'd much rather have an occasional beating over a constant one.
He finally managed to get himself to look up as Yongguk lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips and Junhong found himself staring longer than necessary. The man noticed him staring and gave him a small smile. He looked away.
“How are your grades?” Yongguk asked after a long time.
“I passed one of my tests.” He replied hesitantly.
“I'm so proud of you.”
He felt guilty as Yongguk ruffled his hair. He didn't want to lie but it felt so good whenever the man would praise him. He desperately wanted the man's approval and compliments. He didn't want to look like a failure in front of him. He silently debated on telling the truth about how he'd passed but as Yongguk continued to shower him with compliments, he found it harder and harder to get the truth out.
The compliments made his body heat up in pleasure and his heart beat a little faster. There was no way he could tell the truth now. He decided it didn't matter either way. He wasn't going to cheat off of Jongup again.
“I made a friend at school.” Junhong said softly.
Yongguk stared at him for what felt like an eternity with a look the boy was having a hard time understanding. “Really?” He put the cigarette to his lips and took in a long drag before blowing out. He smiled at Junhong but it didn't look quite right to the boy. It didn't seem real. “That's good. You should bring him to the hotel, one day.”
He slowly nodded his head, not sure what else to say. It seemed like he didn't have to as Yongguk stood up and walked towards the phone. “Have you had dinner yet?”
The boy shook his head and watched as he pressed some buttons on the phone and ordered room service. Yongguk turned to face him and stared at him before sighing loudly and running a hand through his hair.
“You don't know how angry it makes me.” He turned away from the younger. Junhong didn't understand but before the boy could ask him what he meant, he continued. “You don't know how angry it makes me to see you hurt. I just want to kill him, I really do.”
Junhong's eyes were wide as he watched the man pace back and forth.
Yongguk hated himself for not being able to protect him. Every time he looked at the boy's face he was overwhelmed by guilt. He took in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down before finally turning to face the boy again. His breath hitched as they met eyes. Junhong's eyes were full of so many emotions the man couldn't name even if he tried.
“Why do you care?” His voice was slightly shaking as he spoke.
The man walked closer to him. He didn't have an answer for that question. Honestly, he didn't know why he cared so much. He just wanted to hold the younger and protect him from the world. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a loud knock at the door.
Junhong felt disappointed as Yongguk turned away and went towards the door. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt and the man's words kept repeating over and over in his head. He breathed in deeply before standing up to follow him into the kitchen.
The room service attendant left and the man called him into the kitchen. He stood up and suddenly everything was spinning. His legs felt like they were a thousand pounds as he tried to walk to the kitchen.
“Junhong, are you okay?” Yongguk hurried over to him, immediately sensing something was wrong.
Junhong tried to say he was okay but he couldn't get his voice to work. His vision went black and he fell forward.
- - - - - - - - -
Junhong slowly opened his eyes and frowned deeply. His hearing slowly came back and he could hear the sound of something beeping beside him. He slowly looked over and furrowed his brows in confusion. It took him a couple of minutes to realize he was in a hospital. Yongguk was asleep in the hospital chair across from his bed.
He sat up and stared down at the IV in his hand. He could feel his anger welling up as he stared at it. He didn't want this; he hated hospitals. He gripped the IV and ripped it as hard as he possibly could before scrambling out of the bed. He felt so weak and sick as he tried to walk towards the door.
Yongguk opened his eyes. “Hmm?” It only took him a couple of seconds to realize what was going on. “Junhong!” He stood up from the chair and hurried over.
“Don't touch me!” Junhong hissed loudly and weakly pushed the older man.
“Junhong!” He shouted again before gasping as the boy fell to the floor. He quickly got down onto the floor with him, pulling the boy into his arms. “Calm down.” He said gently. “Calm down. No one is going to hurt you. Just calm down.”
Junhong fought him until he couldn't fight anymore, not that he had much energy to fight for long anyway. He scratched, punched and kicked but Yongguk never let go. He found himself leaning limply against the older man's chest, his breath coming in jagged pants. “Why am I here?” He asked weakly.
“You're sick.” He gently rocked Junhong in his arms. “You're dehydrated and have the flu.”
The boy was shaking. “Did they ask about my bruises?”
“Yes.” He replied. “I told them I didn't know what happened and that you had just passed out at work. Your foster mother told them you got into a fight with a classmate. They're going to want to talk to you privately though.” He gently helped the boy up from the floor.
They heard a knock at the door and a nurse rushed in. “Is everything okay?” She asked.
Yongguk glanced at the security camera, certain they had seen everything. “He got a little panicked.”
The nurse somehow managed to get Junhong back in the bed and quickly attended to his bleeding hand. Junhong looked towards the door as his foster mother walked inside the room. Yongguk and his foster mother were asked to leave the room and the boy could feel his throat tightening. He didn't want to be left alone with strangers.
The nurses calmly asked him why he'd ripped out his IV but he didn't reply. They went on to tell him why he needed the IV and if he would agree to another one being put in. Junhong didn't say anything but he nodded his head because he knew Yongguk would want him to.
Another worker came in and asked him questions about his bruises and he quietly told them exactly what his foster mother had said. It's not like he didn't have a record of fighting at school; there wasn't any reason for them not to believe him. After what felt like an eternity, Yongguk and his foster mother were finally allowed back in the room.
“I have to be at work early in the morning.” The woman looked at the watch on her wrist. “I'll come by and check on you after work, okay?” She said softly.
Junhong stared at her. He didn't care if she came or not. He watched as she thanked Yongguk before leaving the room.
“You should rest.” Yongguk murmured quietly as he walked towards the bed.
“How long do I have to stay here?” He asked and looked at his hands.
“Until you're better.” He replied and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Were you not eating or drinking much while I was gone?” The boy didn't reply and he knew that was a 'yes'. “I'll have to leave in a bit-”
“Don't leave.” Junhong's voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes downcast.
Yongguk had some work he needed to get done but it just didn't seem important to him anymore. He knew it had taken the younger a lot of courage to say those two simple words. He nodded his head. “I won't leave.”
The boy was quiet for a long time before he slowly forced himself to look up. “Do you want to leave?”
Yongguk immediately shook his head. “No, it's not that at all.” He smiled and playfully ruffled his hair. “I just had some work I needed to get done. You're more important though.” He gently put his hands on Junhong's shoulders and pushed him back against the mattress.
Junhong held his breath and tried not to blush; memories of his dream coming back into mind. He looked towards the window and forced himself to think of something else – anything else to take his mind off that dream. He heard Yongguk grunt ever so slightly as he sat down in the chair across from his bed and he felt his body heat up even more than before.
He held the sheets tightly. He was almost afraid to sleep; he didn't want to have another one of those dreams again, especially not with Yongguk in the room. Time ticked by slowly and he was finding it almost impossible to get comfortable. The IV was making his skin itch, his head hurt and every time he closed his eyes he saw images from his dream.
He looked towards Yongguk and felt a small smile appear on his lips. He was slouching in the chair and snoring softly. He looked really uncomfortable but it meant a lot to Junhong that he was willing to sleep in such an uncomfortable way just to keep him company.
A warmth spread throughout his body as he watched the man and a peace came over him. He wasn't worried anymore, he wasn't hurting anymore; he just felt at peace with the world, if only for that moment. Slowly, Junhong's eyes became heavy and he finally drifted off to sleep.
Comments