Chapter 16: Laid Bare

June saved their lives.

Not the month. Hot air batted against their faces, the ventilation system in full overdrive with the coming winter season. June had come and gone since before Jongdae knew about the world thriving beneath his feet. 

“I thought you were dead.”

Even then, Jongdae thought a lot of things. Most of which he now kept to himself. After going months without speaking more than a sentence a week, words came to mean something. “Hey.” “You okay?” “Where are you?” “I’m here.” Words meant someone was listening. 

He was, thus, stunned into silence by the thoughts Hun and Han threw back and forth. Each syllable exploding against his ears like stars combusting before they cross the sky. Little bits of hope he couldn’t dwell on long enough after not having seen the wide, open sky in so long.

“The only way to kill strays is to sever the brain stem from the spinal cord.” Hun recited, voice echoing down the hall of gray. Looking over his shoulder at his other half, he added, “Though you cut it mighty close, Han.”

“I left a single thread in tact.” Han dismissed his worries, boasting again. “Had I cut any less, they wouldn’t have thought you were dead enough to carry out with the trash.” Then, sharing in the glory, blew air into him, “Who would have opened the cages if not you? And then we wouldn’t have our opportunity to escape together, now would we?”

Hun remained displeased, “Next time, it’s your head that’s getting cut.”

“Fair enough.” Han shrugged, “I’ll merely pray there’s no next time.”

As he continued towards the cell block, hoofing it towards the trash disposal Hun escaped from when their "masters" dumped his limp body two months prior, the most curious thing happened. Spreading his arms out as he ran, Han whooped into the air. Howling a laugh as endless as the path before them. Stopping only when Jongdae did.

“Leave him!” Han yelled, coming down from his high too abruptly for his tastes. “He’ll drag us down!” 

But he couldn’t.

A chance at redemption tugging at the base of his spine, Jongdae reached down, palm open to the gentle giant he’d only ever seen through a wall of iron bars. Long legs bending, Yeol ascended from the floor on his own, his looming frame casting a shadow before him. Jongdae’s hand remained outstretched, unable to move under the burning eyes staring down at him.

Pools of fire more spectacular than any imploding star. 

“C’mon!” Han tugged at Jongdae’s shoulders, having turned around to get him moving. Hun aided him, the two forcing Jongdae forward again, no matter how much he twisted his neck to peek over his shoulder. To catch sight of that familiar eruption.

He didn’t have to struggle for long. The sound of bare feet echoing against concrete sounded behind him. Han was visibly surprised. Hun was cackling like a hyena. 

“You said it yourself,” Jongdae mimicked the sound, mouth open wide, “he knows what he has to do.”

All it took was a leap of faith down a shoot and the smell of the Underground tickled at his nose as pleasantly as pumpkin spice on a Fall afternoon. Wading through rotting food and decaying flesh, the four strays — Han, Hun, "Chen," & Yeol — escaped the Dog Fights. They ran until the sirens and the roars of laughter were far behind them.

This is when June found them, stumbling upon quite possibly the most motley of crews he had ever seen; composed of a gentle giant, twin psychopaths, and a delusional Blessed, oh my.

“I won’t tell if you won’t.” 

Quite possibly the shadiest of ways to introduce himself.

Ignoring the basement hatch tucked away in a suspiciously dark alleyway he led them through to get here, the nature of June’s operation was much more righteous than expected. Antibiotics, pain killers, shelf upon shelf stacked full of bandages, Han guessed his occupation within seconds: illegal drug dealer.

“You don’t get stuff like this in the Underground.” Han added, fingers plucking at the end of the heat compress newly pasted onto his right shoulder. Jongdae could have cared less how Han came about having knowledge on the legalities of pharmaceuticals in the Haven and otherwise. 

Not looking this gift horse in the mouth, Jongdae swallowed down the sleeping pills June gave him without thinking twice. Laying beside Yeol on the one concave mattress in the cramped room, cabinets lining every horizontal expanse of concrete, he surrendered to sleep within seconds. When he woke up hours later, it was to Hun’s voice.

“Could you fix my brother’s ear?”

“Don’t bother the doctor by making impossible requests, Hun.” Han’s voice gently reprimanded, hand descending upon the younger’s matted head of hair. “Sorry, he’s still trying to get a hang of cognitive thinking again, Doc.”

“Just June is fine.” The kind-hearted doctor replied, revealing his name for the first time to the four. “I’m hardly much of a doctor anymore.” Yeol stirred beside Jongdae, attracting June’s attention. He smiled as he made eye contact with Jongdae, gesturing him to join the conversation. Jongdae took him up on his offer, connecting dots no matter how vague.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a scientist named Tao, would you?”

Scientists are to doctors as apples are to oranges. After finding both tasted the same during his time in the Dog Fights, Jongdae thought his question was valid. 

“What?” June seemed to laugh at his naivety. “You think everyone in the Underground knows each other?” But it was far from the roars he was used to. “Even though I’ve been down here longer than most, the Underground is as vast as the flat stretches of land on the surface are desolate.” 

“I knew he was a Blessed. Fingernails are too clean to be otherwise.” Han nudged Hun, “You owe me an unprocessed, home-cooked meal.”

“I can’t even buy a shoelace.” Hun mumbled, disgruntled about a bet he never should have made. A plan he never should have volunteered to be the hero of. Games he always lost, but loved playing.

“Shoelaces are a rare commodity lately.” Han teased, only to immediately apologize for the second time. “Sorry, I’m just badgering you.” Despite his monotone, he seemed to be taking it easy on his twin.

“You lot have been through the ringer, haven’t you?” 

Pity reflected in June's eyes. Parallels formed between full, untrimmed brows. White fingernails picked at stray lint. 

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.” 

Jongdae scoffed, unsatisfied with the powerlessness imposed upon him by the doctor with his eyes. With the creases in his clean face. With the neatly trimmed edges of his fingernails. When did Jongdae lose his knack for twisting pity? All that felt twisted was his stomach.

Growling lowly against his sore spine. 

“I almost killed him.” Han joked lightly. 

“Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot.” Hun took pity in stride. “Trade the meal I owe you for the ‘near-death experience’ you owe me and call it even?”

“Sounds good to me.” Han rubbed his shoulder, smile stiff on his face.

“I know him.” June’s declaration was met with silence until he clarified it fully. “You asked me if I knew Tao, and I do.” Fingernails rolling lint absentmindedly, he whispered as though the entire world could hear him, “And if you’re looking for him, you’re more illegal than I am.”

Jongdae flinched back. Hun’s Adam’s Apple bombed once; thick and hard against goose-pimpled skin. Yeol’s hand set itself firmly on Jongdae’s forearm, the recently awakened giant’s fingers tightening protectively.

“The only thing we did wrong was get born into this godforsaken world.” Han stood up, fight-or-flight taking hold. Pinpointing himself as the leader of the rag-tag team. “You blamin’ us for that?”

June’s hands went a-flurry, denying the misconstruing of his words. “I wouldn’t insult you worth nothin’ if I valued my life! And I do, trust me.” He directed his pitying eyes towards Jongdae. “If you’re looking for Tao, the crazy young coot lives in Cusp’s End. As far East from here as it gets.”

“How long will it take to walk there?” Jongdae asked, the notion of “walking” much better than it used to sound. Whatever got him out of here faster.

“Weeks if you treat it like a lovely stroll in the park.” June stood slowly, cooing towards Han with each inch upwards, “Mere days if you’ve got a ride. And I certainly think I can catch you one.”

The kind-hearted doctor had too many amendments to his words to trust so easily. And this. And that. And it was all too good to be true.

“Thank you.” Jongdae decided to believe him anyway. 

He needed to think bigger than all of this, after all. Already on his speeding train of thought, neither Han nor Hun nor Yeol — though he never did — spoke out against the idea of going to the mad scientist’s, Tao’s, for sanctuary. Whether it was because they had nowhere else to go or because arguing against him would make their bonds seem weak to those threats lying in wait, or perhaps sitting before them in the form of a doctor with much too coincidental timing, Jongdae would never know.

“Like I said,” June smiled, pointing to all the secrets he bore openly, “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

They spent three days in that basement before, late at night, their ride came to pick them up just as promised. June gave Jongdae a nondescript bottle of tiny, white pills to deliver to Tao before they left. He wouldn’t explain what they were. Jongdae only wanted to get back “home” as soon as possible.

Almost three months had passed since his capture. Yet he naively hoped things were the same as he left them.

A/N: June = Suho. (Joonmyun -> Joon -> June.)