Chapter 6

Kyungsoo can’t stop thinking about the weather report. It’s going to start raining this evening, and it’s going to continue all night. Nobody is sure if it’s serious—Kyungsoo has checked at least eight different weather stations and no one knows how bad the rain will be. All he can think about is Jongin and Jongdae, out there all alone, fending for themselves in the elements.

“Kyungsoo!”

“What?” He asks, distracted. Kris is staring at him.

“I’m hoping to leave work early today and take Tao out for a talk. Will you be okay with that?”

Kyungsoo nods, searching in the pile of papers on his desk for some work that he can do. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Go, go take care of Tao, I’ve got this.”

Kris nods, looking unsure. “You know, you still have a lot of sick days that you haven’t used. I know you’re a work-a-holic, but you should think about taking some time off.”

Kyungsoo waves a hand at him. “I’m okay, I promise.”

Kris sighs and goes back to work, and Kyungsoo resumes his spacing out. He’s not a work-a-holic, he’s just used to working all the time. He finished high school early, finished college early, started working right away, started saving for a nice apartment, and then started putting money away for retirement. It’s simply what needs to be done. It’s what he wants.

And yet…this wasn’t always his dream. Kyungsoo remembers when he wanted to sing, when he thought about attending performing arts schools. But that was just a dream. This is real life, and now Kyungsoo has a good job and a comfortable life, and he needs to focus on work and not two homeless were-foxes.

Kyungsoo’s mind drifts throughout the day anyway. He wonders if maybe it wouldn’t be nice to have someone to come home to, not like a wife or a husband but just…someone. He wonders if maybe he should take that vacation to Japan he’s always wanted to take, if Jongin and Jongdae would like to go to Japan with him. Then he stops himself and resists the urge to bang his head against the desk because he’s getting much too far ahead of himself now.

Kyungsoo wastes almost the entire day because he’s so distracted, and he forces himself to stay late so he can make up for the loss of productivity. It’s seven PM when he hears a knock on the door and looks up, ready to snap, only to see Heechul and Siwon standing in the door. He quickly stands to bow and a folder falls out of his lap. He swears—it’s the same file he spent the last ten minutes searching his desk for.

“This is something I don’t see every day,” Heechul says, sounding amused. “Kyungsoo looking disorganized.”

Siwon swats his arm and comes over to help Kyungsoo pick up the scattered papers. “Is everything alright?” He asks. Kyungsoo has actually known Siwon for a while, he was the one who introduced him to Heechul. Kyungsoo wishes he could tell Siwon everything, but he doesn’t dare, not with Heechul listening in. it’s rude to discuss personal problems in front of his boss.

“I’m okay,” Kyungsoo says, “Just out of focus.”

“Probably because you have something really important on your mind,” Heechul says with a look that is all too knowing. “Whatever it is, you won’t get any work done tonight if it’s still on your mind. You should really go home.”

Kyungsoo nods sheepishly. “I guess you’re right,” he says. “I’ll…just go then.” He shuts down his computer and feebly tries to organize his files, but Siwon stops him with a gentle hand on his wrist. “The world won’t end if you leave your desk disorganized.”

Kyungsoo nods again and Siwon holds out his arms. Kyungsoo hugs him, shocked by how much he enjoys it. Normally he stays away from physical contact aside from handshakes and other professional contact, but now…he really wants to be hugged. But he keeps it brief, knowing that Siwon and Heechul probably want to get back home, where Han Geng is likely waiting for them.

It’s already started raining when Kyungsoo goes outside. He takes out his umbrella and runs to the car. He’s on autopilot, starting the engine and turning on the radio, expecting to hear some bubbly pop song as he buckles his seat belt. Instead what he hears is that there’s a flash flood warning in effect for all of Seoul, and the rain could be as much as ten inches in some places, with high wind causing trees to fall.

Kyungsoo freezes with his hand on the seat belt. A horrible picture form in his mind, two wet boys huddled together under a poor shelter while the rain pelts them and the wind howls. He feels like he’s going to be sick. Kyungsoo has barely even made up his mind before he’s putting the car into drive and heading towards the park.

There’s a flashlight in the trunk, nestled up against a beach towel from last summer that he forgot to take out. He throws the towel into the back seat, grabs his flashlight and forgoes his umbrella because of the wind. He’s not even sure if he’s in the right place, but both times he’s seen Jongin it’s been around here, so it’s as good as he’s got. The wind is howling, whipping the trees around and making the street lamps almost useless. Kyungsoo leaves the car unlocked, keys in the ignition and headlights on so he can find it again. He jogs onto the grass and it squelches beneath his feet.

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo screams over the wind. “Can you hear me? Jongin, Jongdae! Come here, I’m going to take you somewhere safe! Jongin, are you there? Hello!”

He walks briskly, swinging the flashlight around. He keeps yelling and yelling, and after a few minutes he catches sight of something red from the corner of his eye. He whirls around just as a fox careens into his legs.

“Jongin, is that you?” He calls. The fox sinks it’s teeth into his pant leg and tugs, eyes desperate. Kyungsoo follows it, and it leads him a few yards away to a hole in the ground. The fox disappears in and comes back dragging another, unconscious fox. Kyungsoo’s heart stops and he falls to the ground. He gives a sigh of relief when he sees that the fox is breathing, but just then lightning illuminates the sky and the relief dissipates. The storm is getting worse.

Kyungsoo scoops up the unconscious fox. The poor creature is freezing and dripping wet. “Come on,” he says to the other—he assumes it’s Jongin. “Follow me, my car is this way.”

They run to the car, Jongin keeping up easily. They make it back just as the rain starts coming down even harder. Kyungsoo is soaked to the bone and shivering, he can’t imagine how cold Jongin and Jongdae must be. He flings open the passenger door and boosts Jongin(?) up, laying Jongdae(?) next to him. Then he scrambles in on the driver’s side, starts the car and turns the heat up. He leans over the back of his seat to get the towel and drapes it over the two foxes. He checks the unconscious one again—still breathing, but shivering horribly.

Kyungsoo points at the conscious fox. “Jongin?”

The fox nods and mewls.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says, mind racing. “Alright, we’re going to go back to my apartment now. Just hang on for a few minutes, it’s close by.”

Kyungsoo drives as quickly as he can while being careful of the wind and rain. It’s hard to see, and Jongin whimpers every now and then—Kyungsoo’s not sure if it’s because he’s cold or scared, and does his best to soothe the poor boy. He’s relieved when they make it into the parking garage and they’re out of the wind and rain. He pulls into his spot and kills the engine.

“I’ll carry Jongdae, can you walk?” He asks Jongin.

Jongin nods and Kyungsoo wraps Jongdae up in the towel and holds him close. They make it to the elevator, the ninth floor, and into Kyungsoo’s apartment in less than two minutes. Kyungsoo takes Jongdae to the bathroom and Jongin follows. He ignores his own soaking wet clothes as he lays Jongdae out on the floor before searching for his old hairdryer. After he finds it and plugs it in, he turns back to Jongdae. Jongin is curled up next to him, his ears and whimpering. Both of them are shivering and Kyungsoo feels his heart break.

He taps Jongin’s head and holds up the hairdryer. “This should get you both warm and dry,” he says, “But it’s going to be loud.”

Jongin nods and backs away. Kyungsoo takes care of Jongdae first, turning the dryer onto a warm setting and going right to work. It’s time consuming, but the heat really seems to help, Jongdae stops shivering and his breathing seems to improve as well. Kyungsoo is pleased to see that there aren’t any fleas or ticks in Jongdae’s fur, though he’s horribly skinny. Once Jongdae has been dried, Kyungsoo moves him aside and motions for Jongin to come over. Jongin is much more animated, rolling about in Kyungsoo’s lap, his tail wagging, making pleased little chirping noises that Kyungsoo finds too adorable for words. Once they’re both dry, Kyungsoo carries Jongdae to his room, Jongin following close behind. Kyungsoo puts them both on the bed and covers them with a spare blanket. He’s a little worried due to Jongdae’s continuing unconscious state.

He looks at Jongin. “It’s not a quarter moon, why are you a fox?”

Jongin trills at him, and Kyungsoo sighs. “Can you become human?”

Jongin sighs and sits up to tug at Kyungsoo’s shirt and pants.

“What are you…oh! You need clothes!”

Jongin mews and looks up at Kyungsoo with big, pleading eyes. Kyungsoo rummages through his closet and comes back with two large sweaters and two pairs of pajama pants, since he’s not sure if Jongdae is going to be changing back to his human form as well.

“Do you want to change now?” Kyungsoo asks.

In response Jongin snuggles closer to Jongdae, lays his head on top of Jongdae’s, and makes sleepy noises.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says, patting his head. “You two can snuggle for the night, then. I’ll leave the clothes here and…erm, try to find some clean boxers. You can just…turn them inside out or something.”

He leaves to check the laundry room for dry, clean clothes, and realizes that he’s still wearing his wet work clothes. So Kyungsoo decides it’s time to take care of himself, and he takes a warm shower and changes into a pair of pajamas he found in the laundry room. Then he heats up some soup and eats. By the time he’s done he’s ready for bed, and decides to check on Jongin and Jongdae one more time before he goes to sleep in the guest room. When he peeks in the two of them are sound asleep, but he can hear Jongdae wheezing slightly. Kyungsoo is still very worried about Jongdae, so he decides to just sleep next to them. It might help to have more body heat, he reasons, plus he’ll be right there if something goes wrong.

When he lies down, Jongin snuggles close to him, and Kyungsoo falls asleep with one hand on Jongdae’s head and one buried in Jongin’s scruff.

Kyungsoo wakes up with a human boy’s head tucked under his chin. He glances down and recognizes Jongin, awake and thankfully dressed. He taps Jongin’s arm and is met with a sleepy look.

“How long have you been awake?” Kyungsoo asks.

Jongin shrugs. He’s taller than Kyungsoo, but so thin that the sweater hangs off one of his shoulders. He needs to be fed, but there’s the matter of Jongdae to attend to first. Jongdae is sleeping between the two of them, still a fox.

“I’ll find a doctor for him,” Kyungsoo tells Jongin. “But I think it would help if he could change to his human form.”

“I don’t know if he can,” Jongin mumbles. “It’s tough enough to control it on a good day, but when he’s like this…like you said, it wasn’t a quarter moon last night. But when the weather’s bad, it’s better if we’re foxes because we can hide in our burrow. It was tough for him to change then, and now…he’s really sick,” his voice breaks on the last part. “We can’t afford a doctor…we had some money in the burrow, with our clothes, but I think it got washed away with the flooding. In any case, it’s probably wet beyond saving.”

Kyungsoo squeezes Jongin’s hands. “Hey now, I’m not going to make you pay for the doctor, I’ll cover it.”

Jongin looks at him in shock. “You will? But why?”

“Why?” Kyungsoo echoes. “Well I’m not heartless, I wouldn’t just leave Jongdae like this, just like I wouldn’t leave you two out there last night. Why do you think I came for you?”

“I don’t know,” Jongin admits. “I know you’re nice, but I didn’t know you were this nice.” He sniffles. “I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to thank you enough for helping us.”

Kyungsoo ruffles his hair. “I only wish I’d done it sooner. Now, would you like some breakfast?”

Jongin clearly tries to downplay how hungry he is, but his stomach grumbles as Kyungsoo begins listing some nearby places that deliver. He calls up his favorite omelet restaurant and orders five omelets filled with steak, sausage, red pepper, onion and cheese, with a side of potato fries. When Jongin asks why he’s ordered five, Kyungsoo says that he wants the extra on hand in case he and Jongdae decide they’re hungry enough to eat two. Then he checks his cell phone for messages and finds a voicemail from Kris.

“Kyungsoo! Oh my god, it’s the best thing ever, we just found out that we got Sehun! We’re going to go pick him up tomorrow, we’re going to take him out, Tao’s already planning everything, oh we’re all so happy! Call us tomorrow evening, tell us when you can come by and meet him. He’s a darling, Kyungsoo, you’ll love him, and he’d love to meet you too!”

Kris’ enthusiasm is evident even over the crackly voicemail, and Kyungsoo is thrilled for his friends—he knows how badly Kris, Joonmyun and Tao wanted Sehun to be part of their lives. But he’s also a little nervous, because he was planning to ask Kris for a doctor for Jongdae. He supposes he can ask Minseok, but he’s not sure if they’ve been around the city long enough to know a good doctor, one who still makes house calls, because the last thing he really wants to do is move Jongdae at this point.

While he and Jongin wait for the food they go back to check on Jongdae. He’s still sleeping, and while Kyungsoo’s not sure how warm foxes are supposed to be, Jongdae feels very warm. With no other option, he decides to get dressed and head over to Minseok’s house, leaving Jongin at Jongdae’s side.

Yixing answers the door, looking like he literally just rolled out of bed, and Kyungsoo feels very bad for calling on them so early.

“Is Minseok here?” He asks.

Yixing waddles off and Minseok comes to the door, looking much more awake than his partner.

“I’m sorry to bother you so early,” Kyungsoo says quickly, “But it’s an emergency.”

“What’s going on?”

“Those foxes I told you about? I was worried about them because of the rain, I picked them up last night, and one of them is really sick, and I don’t know what to do, he needs a doctor but he can’t change, he’s sleeping or unconscious, I don’t know which—”

Minseok puts his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Take it easy,” he says calmly, “I’ll help you. I know a doctor who can help us, I’ll call him and see if he can come here to take a look at the poor thing. Is there anything else you need for them? Have they eaten? Have you eaten?”

Kyungsoo nods. “I ordered something, I think I have juice…clothes,” he says suddenly, “They need clothes, and underwear. And toothbrushes, I only have one extra. And they need towels, and shoes, and god only knows what else, oh I wasn’t ready for them but I couldn’t leave them out there…” he feels like he could cry.

Minseok shakes his head and rubs Kyungsoo’s arms soothingly. “Now, now, don’t get excited. We can worry about specialty items later, right now some clothes and tooth brushes is all you need to worry about. I can send Lu Han and Yixing to pick up some things, you can pay me back later. Go back to your apartment and wait for the food, I’ll call the doctor and be over there as soon as I can.” Right now the best thing you can do is try to stay calm, it’ll really help the boys if they see that.”

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath and nods frantically. “Calm, calm, I can be calm, I can, I can…”

“Hey,” Minseok says as Kyungsoo actually does start to cry, “It’s going to be alright. Listen to me, you are a hero, Kyungsoo. What you did for those kids is amazing, and they know it. You did the right thing, and I know it’s daunting, having these guys depending on you all of a sudden, when you’re used to being alone, but I promise you it’s so worth it. You can do this, I’m going to help you along the way, and so will your friend, Kris. You’re not alone in this, understand?”

Kyungsoo stops crying and he nods. “Okay…I understand. Yes, yes, I’m not alone, I’m not.” He wipes his eyes and breathes, finding that he feels so much better. “Thank you Minseok, I…I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Minseok says lightly. “You’re stressed, I get it, I’ve been there too. Any Sponsor will tell you that they’ve been there.”

Kyungsoo nods again, still slightly embarrassed. “Okay, I’ll go back to my apartment. Oh, the clothes, they’re both taller than me and really skinny, I don’t know their sizes…”

“It’s okay, I’ll tell the boys to think long and slim.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says again, and then he dashes back to his apartment. He gets there just in time to let the delivery boy into the apartment. He pays for the food and retrieves the orange juice from the fridge. Jongin is at his side in an instant.

“Have you been crying?” He asks. It’s adorable, how he’s concerned for Kyungsoo even when his eyes keep darting towards the food.

“I’m okay,” Kyungsoo assures. “I had a moment with my friend, but I’m alright now. Here, eat something.” He places an omelet on a plate and puts it on the table, and Jongin starts to devour it. It’s heart breaking to watch, he’s so clearly starving.

Kyungsoo eats as well, and when he’s finished he pushes another omelet and some fries onto Jongin before going to check on Jongdae.

Jongdae is still unconscious and still very much a fox. Kyungsoo’s heart twists as he pets a hand down Jongdae’s back and feels how skinny he is. He’s not sure how long he sits next to Jongdae, but eventually Jongin comes in and joins him. The two of them sit in silence, watching over Jongdae as he sleeps.

After a while the doorbell rings and Kyungsoo goes to answer it. Minseok is there, and so is a man carrying a medical bag.

“This is Dr. Byun Baekhyun,” Minseok says, patting the man’s shoulder. “We went to high school together, he was my protégée. He specializes in were-fox health treatments.”

Kyungsoo is shocked. “You’re a doctor? You look so young!”

Dr. Byun positively beams. “One of my many good points,” he says, flipping his hair. “But enough about me, can I meet my patient?”

Kyungsoo leads them into the house. Jongdae is exactly where Kyungsoo left him, and so is Jongin. Minseok stands by the bedroom  door during the exam, but Kyungsoo follows Dr. Byun into the room and stands close to the bed, keeping an eye on Jongdae and Jongin.

Dr. Byun gets right to work. The transformation is amazing, now he looks more like a doctor. He introduces himself to Jongin, then kneels on the bed next to Jongdae and starts to examine him.

“You don’t look like a doctor,” Jongin says nervously, hovering over Dr. Byun’s shoulder.

“I left my coat at home,” Dr. Byun says apologetically. “I usually don’t wear it on house calls, but I promise that I know what I’m doing. Your name is Jongin, right? Can you tell me a little about Jongdae’s health?”

Jongin talks about how Jongdae’s been stressed lately, and he hasn’t been sleeping a lot or eating well. he chokes up when he says that Jongdae lost a lot of weight.

“It’s my fault,” Jongin whimpers. “He didn’t want me to get a job but I should have. I shouldn’t have let him take on all the work, I should have done something, now he’s really sick…”

Dr. Byun takes a moment to comfort Jongin. “From the way I’m hearing it, he would have done all that work whether you got a job or not. Jongdae sounds like a very hardworking, dedicated young man. I’m sure he just wanted to take care of you.” He rummages through his bag, pulling out a small cooler and a few packaged syringes.

“I’m going to take some blood and send it to my office for tests. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that he’s got a fever. His lungs sound like they’ve got fluid in them and he might have pneumonia.”

Jongin sobs and quickly clamps his hands over his mouth. Dr. Byun pats his arm.

“The good news is he’s inside now. Pneumonia can be dangerous but he can get treatment now. Do you know if he has any allergies to medication?”

Jongin shakes his head. “When we were in the halfway house he got sick a few times, they gave him the normal stuff. He’s not allergic to penicillin, I know that.”

Dr. Byun grins. “That’s good, that means I can start treating him right away.” He continues to explain as he prepares to draw blood. “From his history and symptoms, I really think we’re dealing with bacterial pneumonia. I could be wrong of course, but I’m going to give him a shot of amoxicillin because it’s unlikely he’ll have an adverse reaction and it should help with the fever. I’ll rush the results and have a diagnosis by tonight or tomorrow morning. Once I have a diagnosis I’ll be able to send you a prescription for antibiotics.”

“Why hasn’t he woken up?” Jongin asks.

Dr. Byun begins to draw blood and Jongin pales and looks away. “Don’t worry,” Dr. Byun says, “He probably can’t feel it. And he’s probably just very tired, from stress and the fever. Once his fever goes down he should wake up, which with the injection could be as soon as a few hours from now.” He finishes drawing blood and places the sample in his bag. “And once he’s human again, it’ll be easier for him to sweat out the fever. If he’s in pain, he can have Tylenol. No matter what, make sure he drinks plenty of water and gets something to eat. A warm bath would also help with muscle pain if he has any.”

Dr. Byun gives Jongdae the injection and then turn to Jongin. “I’d like to examine you as well, you don’t look so good.”

Jongin looks startled but sits down on the bed.

“Any pain?” Dr. Byun asks.

“My head hurts a little, and my throat too but it’s just a cold,” Jongin says nervously. His eyes dart towards Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo comes to stand beside him and hold his hand.

“Even so, we can’t be too careful,” Dr. Byun says.

Kyungsoo clears his throat. “Um, excuse me Doctor—”

The doctor laughs. “Oh, just Baekhyun is fine, please.”

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo corrects, “Have you got any advice on how to help them gain weight?”

“Food,” Baekhyun says, “I know, they both need to put on some weight but there’s no shortcut. Healthy food is the best of course, but carbs are good. Pasta and bread have a lot of variety. Seafood is good too, and protein rich meat. Three healthy meals a day, and fruit and veggies as snacks. Jongdae might not be able to eat a lot so soup would be a good idea.” He continues to examine Jongin for a few more minutes. “Sorry Jongin, but I really need a blood sample from you, too.”

Jongin squeaks and shrinks into Kyungsoo’s side.

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo soothes, “It barely hurts, I promise.”

Jongin hides his face in Kyungsoo’s chest as Baekhyun draws his blood, and he shakes with fear but doesn’t cry. When Baekhyun finishes he gives Jongin a Spiderman bandage.

“Sorry, I don’t have any other ones,” he apologizes, but Jongin doesn’t seem to mind.

Kyungsoo walks Baekhyun and Minseok back to the door. He stops Baekhyun before he can leave. “You haven’t told me how much I owe you.”

Baekhyun waves his hand. “I’ll send you a bill in a week or so, you have enough to worry about right now. Like I said, I should have some results soon, so I’ll call you once I get them. if you have any questions, call me.” And he hands Kyungsoo a card with his name and number. “Take care of those boys,” he says seriously. “They need someone like you.”

This was originally two chapters but they were both so short it felt like cheating. Plus I wanted to make sure everyone knew that Jongin and Jongdae were going to be safe. Kyungsoo will take good care of them.

And we’ve finally met Baekhyun!