Chapter 14

Heechul walked into the house, bringing Chinese food for dinner, and went straight to the kitchen. He saw a glimpse of Donghae on the couch, but he didn’t notice someone was lying on the younger’s lap, “Donghae, come let’s eat. I’m lazy to cook so I – “

Heechul stopped on his track, the plated food in his hands, when Donghae hushed him quite harshly, “Can you lower down your voice?”

Placing the food on the dining table, Heechul then went around it to get to the couch, stopping again when he recognized the man sleeping on it, “Hyukjae?”

Donghae was unconsciously caressing Hyukjae’s hair, but his attention was directed to Heechul right after his friend said the name, “You know him?” He hid his surprise about Heechul not thinking the other as Eunhyuk.

“No! I mean yes. Wait, no?” Heechul was having a hard time covering his slip of tongue. Saying he didn’t know would be suspicious as he already said the man’s name, saying yes would just bring the same consequence. So, in the end, he sighed.

The younger grabbed the nearest cushion he could reach and got up while lifting Hyukjae’s head. Carefully, he slipped it underneath the other, making sure he did not wake him. Fortunately, the exhausted man seemed not bothered by the movement and continued to sleep like a baby, which made Donghae smiled slightly. Only then he shifted his full attention back to Heechul, the smile turned into a grim look. He pulled Heechul a bit further from the couch, but Donghae still spoke in hushed voice, “If no, you would have ran away or peed in your pants because he looks exactly like Eunhyuk. But your face didn’t even show you were scared or shocked, except for the surprise of seeing him here. How did you know him, Heechul?”

“I – ” Heechul was torn between telling the truth or avoid Donghae’s rage that was sure going to come if he knew how precisely did he got to know Hyukjae. But then Heechul’s eyes fell on the sleeping man and he remembered how Hyukjae was kicked out of Donghae’s car, left at the side of the road at night, far from his home. It seemed a bit wrong if he was to get away with nothing as he was the one who dragged the man into this. So, “I’ll tell you the truth,” Heechul decided, “I know Hyukjae since the day you crashed with him.”

“I crashed with him?” Donghae racked his brain, searching for the memory of that day, but he couldn’t. He did remember the time he was in the car and Hyukjae had told him that they first met after they got into a crash with each other.

“Yes. Don’t you remember waking up in the hospital? I met with him there, and trust me; I was fooled by him for a moment too because of his looks. But, I realized it quickly, that he wasn’t Eunhyuk and scolded him for lying on the bed, hugging you while you were sleeping. I had to help him entangled himself from your tight arms.” Heechul just had to chuckle when thinking about it back. He was mad at that time, and if he wasn’t, he would have laughed then too. “I remembered how he defended himself when I accused him of taking advantage of you. He said it was absurd and he was straight, not gay. Bull.”

Donghae could feel his face heating, thinking of how awkward Hyukjae must have felt being tightly held that way. To avoid from being caught blushing by Heechul, he asked, “So that’s how you know him? That’s it?”

Heechul stopped laughing and bit his lip for a second, “Yes, that’s how I know Hyukjae. But, there’s more after that.” Donghae sat at the dining table, seemed a bit eager to know, and Heechul followed, “I bet Hyukjae didn’t tell you why he acted as Eunhyuk, right?”

“He did. He said he wanted to help me because the doctor said I have a mental disorder.”

“Yes, that’s the reason why he willingly wanted to help you. He could have done that without being Eunhyuk, but I asked him to.”

“What? What do you mean?” asked Donghae, feeling confused and at the same time mad at his friend.

Heechul cleared his throat, “That night at the hospital, you seemed to feel really comfortable when Hyukjae was next to you. When he left the room when I asked him to, you woke up and was looking for your Eunhyuk, who was actually Hyukjae. I called him and when he managed to calm you down and put you back to sleep, I thought he might be the best person to help you move on. So, I talked him into acting as Eunhyuk  I was the one who planned it. I thought this would be away for me to keep my promise to Eunhyuk, to make you sure you are living well and happy all the time.” Heechul averted his gaze from Donghae then, choosing to stare at the now cold Chinese food.

Donghae didn’t know what was taking over him more; either the anger for Heechul or the guilt for Hyukjae. He was supposed to be mad at both, he knew, as they both were deceiving him together. He was angrier at Heechul for being the person who came up with the idea than to Hyukjae who just went with it. Plus, Hyukjae sounded sincere in helping him, and he had actually let the man out in the cold night two weeks ago when he really just wanted to help. That was where the guilt came from. But, Donghae realized how both of these men were trying to help him, even if they were using the wrong way. And after all those times where Heechul was there for him, always patient with him, he just didn’t have the heart to yell at his friend.

Heechul stole a glance at Donghae, waiting for the shouting to come, but his eyes saw Donghae’s and was surprised to see they held no fury in them, and somehow that made him felt more worried, “Why aren’t you scolding? Or yelling? Or hitting me?”

“Because – ”

“Kyuhyun!” before Donghae could finish what he said, he and Heechul heard the scream, followed by a thud when someone dropped to the floor. They quickly went to Hyukjae, helping him up, and Donghae was clearly more panicked than Heechul as he knew how weak Hyukjae was at that time. They both had each of Hyukjae’s arms around their necks, Donghae’s arm around his back, and they took him to Donghae’s room.

“Get a glass of water. Quick!” instructed Donghae to Heechul, who didn’t like being order around, but still that as he was told.

Hyukjae leaned against the headboard, and he winced slightly as his head hurt because of the fall. Donghae noticed his forehead was red and burning, so he leaned closer and blew some air to it, his thumb lightly brushing it, hoping it would help ease the burn a bit. It did help, but because of shyness, Hyukjae didn’t tell him that.

Heechul came in then and passed the glass to Hyukjae, who accepted it and gulped it down quickly. He sat the glass down on the bedside table, “Thank you. I… I’ll go now.” He made a move to get up but both Donghae and Heechul stopped him, the former grabbing his hand.

“No, you should stay here. You don’t look so good, Hyukjae,” Heechul commented.

“Never mind. I’m feeling better, after that sleep. So, I’ll just get going,” again he moved to stand up, with Donghae still holding his hand, even if Hyukjae didn’t realize it.

“Lee Hyukjae, you look like a zombie and you just woke up from what I could distinguish as a bad dream. Stay here; you can leave when you really are feeling better tomorrow.” And Hyukjae was defeated. He didn’t have the strength to argue anyway after that dream about his brother. “Now, do you feel like eating or do you want to go back to sleep?” asked Heechul.

“I’ll just rest for now.”

Heechul nodded, understanding the loss of appetite after a bad dream, “Okay. You’re eating tomorrow morning though,” Heechul left after Hyukjae smiled at him, agreeing about breakfast.

Hyukjae lied down slowly and only then he realized his fingers were interlaced with Donghae’s. His hand was let go after that though, and Donghae kept his hands in his pockets, “I’ll leave. Sleep well.” He was left alone then, and as he lay there, he stared at his hand for a while, thinking, it was not fun being let go off before he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Donghae joined Heechul at the dining table. As they were eating, Heechul finally knew why Hyukjae was in his house and he asked Donghae whether he would consider helping the other; Donghae shrugged as an answer. They cleaned up after each other and then went to get ready for bed. Before Heechul went to his room though, Donghae asked, “You said he defended himself by saying he was straight, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said,” Donghae didn’t get the meaning behind Heechul’s small smirk, “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

“On the couch, I guess.”

“You know, I don’t think he’ll mind if you sleep next to him. You two had done it before anyway. I mean sleep together. Goodnight,” and with that Heechul entered his room, his smirk widening.

Donghae felt his face heating up for the second time as he walked back to his room. He grabbed a pillow on the bed and a blanket from under it. He noticed Hyukjae was sleeping without the cover, so, placing the things on the floor, he went to the other side and pull the comforter over him up to his shoulder. He smoothed it and when he looked up, Donghae noticed the tiny space between him and Hyukjae’s face. His eyes were on those plump lips, the lips he used to kiss. Unconsciously, he moved his face closer, and right when his lips had brushed Hyukjae’s he pulled away. Hyukjae was straight, he reminded himself. Those kisses they shared were just acting. He left the room without even taking the pillow or blanket.

Donghae lay there on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with his arm across his forehead, and he huffed out a long sigh, “What should I do, Eunhyuk? I feel like helping him, but it won’t be fair for you. Why do I love you both? It is supposed to be only you.” Donghae closed his eyes, not knowing what he should do.

Suddenly, Donghae felt a finger lightly running down his face. The finger first started from his temple down to his cheek, and then from his forehead down to his lips, “You should do what will make you happy, Hae.”

That small act of affection, that sweet voice that melted him so many times before, Donghae opened his eyes and saw a man he had loved for so long now. He didn’t have to be told who the man was, because now he could totally differentiate them. This was Eunhyuk, smiling at him with his cute gummy smile. He knew this was Eunhyuk. Donghae sat up and hugged his Hyukkie; his real Hyukkie.

“Where were you, Hyukkie? I couldn’t find you.”

“I’m always here, Hae, in your little world. You couldn’t find me, because you didn’t need me. But now you do, so you found me,” Eunhyuk said, his smile still so bright.

“Hyukkie, I’m sorry. I forgot you for a while, and I started loving someone that’s not you. I’m sorry.”

“Hae,” Hyukjae cupped Donghae’s cheeks and caressed them with his thumbs lovingly, his eyes looking straight into the other’s, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I wanted you to move on, and I’m so proud you did. And technically, you still love me, because Hyukjae looks just like me. You never forget me, because when you look at his face, you always remember me; I sort of like that.”

Donghae smiled; he missed his Hyukkie’s cheesiness, his Hyukkie’s meaningful words that were always touching, and his Hyukkie’s way of making him laugh. These were the reasons he first felt for Eunhyuk. He didn’t care about him not being as wealthy as him, he didn’t mind the fact that he was only high-school graduate student. All that matter was Eunhyuk made him smile.

“Now, as I said just now. Make a decision that will bring happiness to you. I’m happy you care to take justice for me, but I’ll be much happier if the final result of this case is you smiling every day; that’s justice for me and you.”

“But I still don’t know what to do. I don’t understand. I don’t know what will bring happiness for me.”

“Happiness comes to you when you make others smile. So make someone smile, that’s your happiness,” Eunhyuk gave one quick peck to Donghae’s cheek before he helped him lie down again, “Sleep. You need it.”

Donghae grabbed Eunhyuk’s hand with both of his, “Don’t leave, please?”

“Hae, I said I’m always here in your little world, in your heart. Always. I’m not leaving.”

“Okay. I love you, Hyukkie,” said Donghae, his eyes going droopy.

“Just remember, Hae, even if I’m not there, I’ll always love you, forever and always,” that was the last thing Donghae heard before his eyes fell shut.

The next time he opened his eyes, the sun was shining brightly, blinding him for a second when he sat up on the couch.

“Wow! You’re up so early, Donghae,” Heechul said, his words laced with sarcasm.

Donghae looked at him and sneered, “What time is it?” he asked as he stood and walked to his room.

“12. Oh, and Hyukjae already left an hour ago,” Heechul remembered to add.

Donghae nodded and instead of going to his room, he went to the kitchen. He was thinking of checking on Hyukjae actually. He took a glass and poured some milk before he went back to sit at the living room, next to Heechul who was watching TV, “Are you meeting Mr Kim today?”

“No. Why?”

“I want you to tell him that I’ll be the witness.”

Heechul looked at him, eyes wide, “You’re serious? Donghae, you don’t have to do it if it’s hard for you.”

“I’m serious. I want to do it, I have to.”

Kyuhyun was nervous as he sat there by himself, waiting to be call into the courtroom. His hyung had assured him again yesterday that everything would be alright and he would be there with him. He wanted to believe him, but it was so hard, and some part of him thought, even if everything did went alright, it won’t be fair and he didn’t deserve it. The lawyer Hyukjae had hired came into the room with a police officer, and together, they took Kyuhyun to the courtroom. As soon as he entered it, Kyuhyun’s eyes were searching for his brother. But he couldn’t spot him anywhere in there, and he couldn’t help but felt betrayed and disappointed.

More than half an hour passed, one by one, the witnesses were giving their testimonies. Kyuhyun couldn’t bear to hear them, but all he could do was shut his eyes as they talked about what he had done. The prosecutor finally called the last witness, and when he opened his eyes to see who it was, he saw him. Lee Donghae. Their eyes met for a moment, but Kyuhyun quickly averted his gaze, and when he did, his eyes met with another set of dark orbs, his brother’s comforting eyes.

Hyukjae had been outside the court, scared to go in. He knew he had promised to be there for Kyuhyun, and technically he was, but he didn’t want to hear what the people had to say about his brother. He had been telling Kyuhyun that everything will be fine, acting confidently in front of his brother, having faith, but in the end, he was still not sure what was going to happen. Scared, yes he was scared.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. When he turned to look who, he saw Donghae, smiling at him. His hand went down his arm to his hand, holding it tight, and the other said “Come in. Your brother needs you.” So, they went in together. Hyukjae sat at one of the empty seats, while Donghae when straight up to the witness seat to give his testimony.

When Hyukjae’s eyes met Kyuhyun’s he was glad Donghae pulled him in. He could see how calm and relax his brother became when he smiled at him. They broke the eye contact when Donghae was done taking the truth oath. Hyukjae’s hands were ice cold as he was anxious about what Donghae was going to say; whether it would help Kyuhyun or not.

“Mr Lee Donghae, can you tell us what had really happened that had led to this unfortunate incident?”

Donghae cleared his throat, he himself was nervous. He didn’t prepare any script or planned what he was going to say. All he had done was reminding himself not to tell that Eunhyuk was his lover and braced himself for anything that might come, “I would like to tell you everything that I got to tell, with no interruptions and no questions. I promised, what I will tell is enough and will answer all the questions you have.”

Mr Kim looked at the head judge, and after he nodded, he turned back to Donghae, “You have the permission,” he said before he went back to his seat.

“It all started with Kyuhyun confronting me, two days before the incident. He met me, and said he would like to be a friend and he admitted that he had been following me around for quite a long time. Please take note that I forgive him for this and won’t press any charges. I was mad and I scolded, yelled at him for doing such thing, invading my privacy. I was really harsh at him, and asked him to go away when all he had done was came up to me and talked softly to me,” Donghae didn’t want to mention the threat he heard Kyuhyun said.

Here came the hard part, Donghae thought to himself, and he took a deep breath while closing his eyes for a moment. He felt a present next to him and he smiled, knowing Eunhyuk was always there. He continued, but Donghae kept his eyes closed, “On the night of the incident, I was with Eunhyuk at this small playground. He went to the loo for a while and I was waiting for him when Kyuhyun showed himself. Again, I scolded him. He smirked at me, as if he had planned something. At that moment Eunhyuk came back. He must have notice I was distressed so he stepped in front of me, shielding me from Kyuhyun. I could still see Kyuhyun though, and he looked sort of shocked, or bewildered. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw a man coming out from behind a tree and I already had a bad feeling, but there was nothing I could do. So did Kyuhyun. One of the previous witnesses said she saw Kyuhyun taking a step towards the man holding the gun, but the trigger was pulled before he could stop the man. And Eunhyuk was shot, and he crumpled to the ground and I held him there,” tears were burning Donghae’s eyes, but he kept going, he had to, “While I was holding Eunhyuk, I saw Kyuhyun on the ground in front of us. He looked regretful, he looked terrified to, and I could say he was probably feeling like me; grief and lost.”

“Thank you, Mr Lee Donghae –”

“I’m not done. I want to emphasize that I did provoked Kyuhyun into doing this, I am one of the factors, and it wasn’t because he was bad. And he did felt remorse, and he seemed like he didn’t wanted it to happen either. Please take this into count when you discuss the result. Please. I –”

“That’s enough, Mr Lee. Thank you. That’s all, sir,” Mr Kim was clearly not happy with Donghae’s testimony, especially the last bits. He seemed annoyed, but Donghae couldn’t care less.

“The court will take a 30 minutes break before we will announce the result. Court dismissed.”

When Donghae stood up and looked at Hyukjae, he knew he had done something that would bring him happiness. Hyukjae was smiling at him and worded, “Thank you,” before he went to see Kyuhyun.

The 30 minutes break passed rather quickly, but not for 3 people though; Kyuhyun, Hyukjae, and Donghae. They entered the courtroom again, Kyuhyun at the defendant seat, while Donghae and Hyukjae sat on the same bench, though a bit apart.

 They all stood when the head judge entered. When they all had settled back down, the head judge said, “After a long discussion, the judges have made a final decision for case no. 1504. Mr Lee Kyuhyun is found guilty of being the mastermind behind the murder of Lee Eunhyuk and is sentenced to 6 years of prison. But, after consideration, and hearing what the witnesses had said, he shall only serves 3 years of imprisonment. That is all. Court dismissed.”

Okay, I guess it is safe to say that this will be the longest chapter for the story. Sorry if the last part , I'm not that familiar with courts. So, if you know, do tell me so I can make it better. Hm... let's see what is left. Maybe just 1 more chapter to go? See ya, in most probably the last chapter. Comments, okay? We won't see each other much anymore :(