Chapter 7

Baekhyun stops at his office to drop off the blood samples from Jongdae and Jongin, putting a rush order on both of them, before he heads home. When he gets home Baekhyun’s caught up in going over what he needs to do—write up a bill for Kyungsoo, research some healthy weight-gaining foods, check his schedule to see when he can squeeze in a follow up appointment—over and over in his head, and he’s so distracted that he forgets to steel himself against Chanyeol’s attack, only remembering when it’s too late. Chanyeol launches himself at Baekhyun and nearly lifts him off his feet, and Baekhyun drops his bag in shock.

Chanyeol chuckles in his ear. “When you get scared, your whole body shakes. It’s adorable.”

“You’re going to kill me one day, will it be adorable then?” Baekhyun asks tiredly.

Chanyeol starts kissing his neck, teeth lightly scraping his pulse point, and Baekhyun regrets showing that weakness that one time because now Chanyeol does it all the time. It’s only been two weeks, but it feels like so much longer.

Baekhyun pats Chanyeol’s head and firmly shoves him away, examining his face for signs of emotional trouble. Chanyeol’s bright red hair makes him look even paler, highlights the sharp edge of his jaw and the wild look in his eyes. Some people might misread it as excitement, but Baekhyun knows better.

“Did you eat yet today?” He asks.

Chanyeol pouts. “I don’t wanna talk about food,” he purrs, trying to move closer. “You left me all alone this morning.” He says it like it’s supposed to be playful, but a hint of desperation creeps into his voice. If Baekhyun wasn’t listening for it, he might not have heard it.

He pats Chanyeol’s head again, ruffling his hair. His list can wait for an hour. “I’ll make you something. I’m in the mood for potato fries, sound good to you?”

Chanyeol follows him into the kitchen and wraps his arms around his waist, hanging on like a koala. “Where did you go?” He asks, swaying Baekhyun a little as they stand in front of the pantry.

Baekhyun takes out some potatoes, adding to his list of things to do—buy more. “I saw a patient. Two were-foxes were rescued from the park last night, one might have pneumonia.”

Chanyeol’s grasp tightens just a little. “Are they going to be okay?”

Baekhyun nods and walks Chanyeol over to the fridge to get the butter. “They’ll be okay, I think. The pneumonia doesn’t seem to be too bad, he’s more stressed than anything. I think the man who rescued them has plans to Sponsor them.”

Chanyeol seems satisfied by the answer and goes back to kissing Baekhyun’s neck. “I missed you.”

Baekhyun resists the urge to sigh. It would be nice to hear that in a tone of voice that wasn’t dripping with seduction. “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says seriously, “It’s been two weeks. Stop trying to have with me.” It’s the wrong thing to say this time. Last time Baekhyun said it Chanyeol let the matter drop and went on his way, now he starts crying.

Baekhyun doesn’t try to stop the sigh this time. “Oh, Chanyeol, I didn’t—”

“You left me,” Chanyeol sobs. He buries his face in Baekhyun’s shoulder and hugs him even more tightly. “I woke up and you were gone!”

Baekhyun manages to turn around in Chanyeol’s arms. He hugs him and pets his hair. “I left you a note, didn’t you find it?”

“How did I know you weren’t lying?” Chanyeol demands. He lifts his head up, eyes wide with fear. “What reason do you have to come back?”

“I haven’t left yet,” Baekhyun says patiently. “Have I?”

Chanyeol sniffles and rubs his eyes. “You’ll get tired of me. You’ll wake up and realize that I’m useless.”

“No,” Baekhyun says, “That’s not going to happen.”

Chanyeol drops to his knees, hands on Baekhyun’s hips. He’s stopped crying, but the wild look is still in his eyes. “I can make you feel so good,” he says, and it’s meant to be y but to Baekhyun, Chanyeol just looks and sounds scared. “Just tell me want you want, I’ll do it, I swear.”

Baekhyun gets down on his knees too. He cups Chanyeol’s face in his hands and wipes the residual tears off his cheeks. “I want you to eat something, and then take your medicine. You didn’t take it this morning, did you?”

Chanyeol’s lip quivers and he quickly puts his head down.

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun says, patting his head. “I know you were worried. Next time I’ll wake you up before I leave, okay? Now, do you want to help me cook?”

Chanyeol doesn’t really do much helping, he just hangs off of Baekhyun, clinging to him while Baekhyun cooks. After they eat Chanyeol takes his antidepressant and then curls up in his little blanket nest while Baekhyun does some computer work.

Jongdae wakes up around 4 PM and immediately starts coughing. Jongin curls around him and his fur, tearing up as the coughing worsens.

“Try to shift to back to a human,” Jongin begs. “I know you’re in pain but we can help you more if you can talk to us.”

Kyungsoo had been standing at the foot of the bed, and realizing there was nothing he could do he left to heat up some soup. The soup is done and cooling when Jongin comes into the kitchen and says that Jongdae has successfully shifted to his human form. Kyungsoo brings a small bowl of soup to the bedroom and really isn’t surprised when Jongdae sees him and flinches away.

“It’s okay,” Jongin says, snuggling up to Jongdae. “Kyungsoo won’t hurt us, he saved us. He called a doctor for you.”

Jongdae glares and bares his teeth at Kyungsoo, but another coughing fit quickly brings him to tears. Kyungsoo leaves the soup with Jongin and gets some pain killers and a bottle of water. When he goes back to the bedroom Jongdae is eating, and while he doesn’t glare or snarl at Kyungsoo he does look very mistrustful. He takes the pain killers and water bottle, but slaps Kyungsoo’s hands away when he tries to feel for a fever.

Jongin looks close to tears. “He doesn’t mean it,” he says to Kyungsoo, “He’s just hurting, and—”

“I know,” Kyungsoo interrupts. “I haven’t given either of you much reason to trust me, have I? But I’m going to try to. Jongdae, I’m going to get you some medicine for your pneumonia tomorrow. You and Jongin can stay here until you get better and even after that. I would really like to Sponsor the pair of you.”

Jongin gasps and starts crying, but he’s smiling. “Jongdae, we have a Sponsor!” he cheers, hugging Jongdae tightly. “Isn’t it great?!”

Jongdae refuses to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes.

Baekhyun calls about an hour later to say that Jongdae does have pneumonia and he’ll email Kyungsoo a prescription. He says that the best thing to do is keep Jongdae in bed and if he has to get up, have someone walk with him to make sure he doesn’t fall over.

It takes a week for Jongdae to get strong enough to walk on his own. Kyungsoo stays home from work during that time and ends up explaining his situation to Kris on Tuesday, despite wanting to wait since Kris was busy with Sehun. But since it wasn’t like Kyungsoo to not show up at work, he figured he owed his friend an explanation. Kris offered any help he could give, but Kyungsoo insisted that he was fine on his own. He wasn’t sure how true that was though.

Jongin had warmed up to Kyungsoo right away. He helped around the house, took care of Jongdae, and seemed very much at home with Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo warmed up to Jongin quickly as well. he was such a sweet kid and so bright and happy, he was like an angel. On the other hand, Jongdae seemed like he couldn’t wait to get away. Kyungsoo tried talking to him about it and would get continuously shut down. He only hoped that if he stayed patient, Jongdae would eventually open up to him.

Kyungsoo goes back to work on Monday and finds the office swamped and disorganized. He jumps right into work, eager to have something to focus on, and carefully avoids giving away too much about the two were-foxes at his house. He doesn’t even tell Kris too much, convinced that he can handle taking care of Jongin and Jongdae on his own. But when Kyungsoo gets home, he opens the door to find Jongdae about to walk out alone.

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo asks.

Jongdae averts his gaze. “Away.”

Kyungsoo stares at him in shock. “Where?”

To his astonishment, Jongdae starts to cry. “Anywhere but here,” he chokes. “Just…take care of Jongin, okay? Tell him I said goodbye.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Kyungsoo stammers, stepping inside and barring the door. “You’re not going anywhere, not while you’re still sick. And what do you mean tell Jongin goodbye, where is he?”

Jongdae sobs and pushes weakly at Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “Get out of my way, damn it! I’m leaving, I made up my mind, you and Jongin will be better off without me, Jongin will be better off without me!”

“No he won’t,” Kyungsoo protests, taking hold of Jongdae’s wrists. “Jongin loves you—”

“And where did that get him?!” Jongdae shouts. “You—you can give him a much better life, and…and you don’t need me.” He starts sobbing even harder. “It’s already happening.”

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo asks incredulously.

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Jongin asks.

Jongdae’s face goes absolutely white and he whirls around. Jongin is standing in the hallway, tears in his eyes but looking resolute.

“G-go back to sleep,” Jongdae says.

Jongin shakes his head. “Not when you’re talking about leaving.” He starts walking closer. Jongdae backs away so fast that he bumps into Kyungsoo. He skitters to the side, looking like he’s trapped—desperate and scared to death.

Jongin falters. “Jongdae, please don’t go,” he begs. “I don’t know why you think I don’t need you, but I do. I love you.”

“But you love him too,” Jongdae cries, pointing at—

Kyungsoo.

“What?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Of course I love Kyungsoo,” Jongin says, sounding angry, “But not the way I love you!”

“You will!” Jongdae yells, “He’ll give you everything, he’ll give you a future! You can have the life you should have had! Nobody wants me, they all want you, this was supposed to be your life.”

“I don’t want it without you!” Jongin shouts. “You are my home, and my life, the only one I need. If you want to leave, fine, we’ll leave. But after you get better, and together!”

Jongdae sinks to his knees, his head in his hands. He says something, and he’s crying so hard that Kyungsoo only understands “birthday present.”

Jongin crumples. He runs to Jongdae’s side, wraps him up in a hug and sobs into his shoulder. “I don’t care about my birthday, I don’t need anything but you. If you want to do something for me then just promise that you’ll stay.”

“But I finally saved enough,” Jongdae cries, “I had it all planned out, and it was going to be perfect, and then the flood happened and…it’s all ruined. It wasn’t even that much but it took months, and I should have been able to…to do something for you!”

Kyungsoo quickly goes to the kitchen and holds his hands over his mouth so Jongin and Jongdae won’t hear him crying. This is absolutely heartbreaking, he had no idea that Jongdae was feeling so guilty, but he probably should have expected it. He waits in the kitchen until he hears the crying stop, and then he waits a few more minutes before going back to the living room. Jongin and Jongdae are still wrapped around each other, and Jongdae is still crying a little but he doesn’t seem to be intent on leaving anymore.

Kyungsoo kneels next to the pair of them and hands them a box of tissues. He tentatively places a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you thought that I was trying to replace you, looking back I could see why you would think that way, but I promise I’m really not. I’m aual, and I probably should have mentioned it from the beginning. Maybe we could have avoided some of this. I do love Jongin, but I’ll never be able to…to replace you. I don’t want to replace you.”

Jongin and Jongdae both look surprised, but Jongdae quickly snaps out of it. “Doesn’t matter, you can still give Jongin a better life, and it would be easier without me, I’m…”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Jongin would be miserable without you. In fact he’d probably run away and chase after you.” He takes his hand off Jongdae’s shoulder, and tentatively places it over Jongdae’s hand. “I know this is a big change for both of you. Jongin has told me that you work so hard to take care of him, and you’ve done a really great job. I won’t ask you to give that up, but it could be so much easier if you had a Sponsor. I could help you get a better job, and while you’re looking out for Jongin I could look out for you. Someone should look out for you.”

Jongdae looks back and forth between Jongin and Kyungsoo, looking unsure. Jongin slowly unwinds his arms from Jongdae’s shoulders. “Want me to give you a minute?” Jongdae nods, and Jongin kisses him briefly before walking back towards the bedroom.

Jongdae waits a few seconds, then turns his hand over, lacing his fingers with Kyungsoo’s. “I didn’t want Jongin to work because I didn’t want him to know what it’s like for people like us. I had really crappy jobs, mostly cleaning up other people’s messes. People would yell at me for not doing things fast enough, or well enough, even just ordinary people on the street who didn’t even know me or know what I was doing. And I don’t want to go back there but it’s all I know how to do. I’m not smart, and I’m not really good at solving problems or thinking creatively. I get myself through it because if I work hard enough I can sometimes surprise Jongin with nicer food or new clothes, and his smile just…makes it all worth it.” He’s crying again, but he presses on. “I wanted to get him a necklace for his birthday. There was one in a pawn shop by the park, a nice chain with a letter J charm, gold plated. Jongin pointed it out and said it was pretty, and since J is both of our initials it was even better. It was ₩76,000, and it’s really not a lot of money but I made so little already that…every dollar I put aside for it was one more that I wasn’t using to buy food or water. So I worked harder, and I begged the shop to hold it for me, I gave them as much money as I could at the end of each week so they knew I was serious. And I had the rest of it, I got lucky and got some extra money. I had ₩20,000, but then it rained and I’m so sure it all got washed away.” He wipes his eyes but he’s crying so hard it barely matters. “I was so close, and now it’s all gone to waste. I don’t even know if the necklace is still there.”

Kyungsoo starts crying too. He could have bought that necklace without batting an eye, and Jongdae knows it. He squeezes Jongdae’s hand tightly. “Let’s go look for it,” he says. “We’ll search the park and see if we can find your things. Even if we can’t, if the necklace is still there then I’ll loan you the rest of the money, and we can figure out a way for you to pay me back after you get better.”

“How?” Jongdae asks.

Kyungsoo thinks for a minute. “My friend Minseok and the two were-foxes he sponsors own a few dance studios. Maybe you can do something for them, it might end up being cleaning again, but I promise they’ll treat and pay you better than the people you’ve been working for.”

Jongdae reaches for a tissue and Kyungsoo lets go of his hand so he can blow his nose. “I can do that,” he says, sounding hopeful. “I won’t mind.”

Kyungsoo smiles. “Come on, let’s go to the park.”

They stand up and go to the bedroom, where Jongin is waiting. Kyungsoo asks if Jongin wouldn’t mind staying at Minseok’s apartment while he and Jongdae go out to take care of some things. Jongin eyes Jongdae apprehensively.

“Are you going to come back?”

Jongdae nods and hugs Jongin. “I will, I definitely will. And I won’t leave. I’m sorry I did that to you.”

Jongin hugs him back even more tightly, relief evident in his voice as he assures Jongdae that he forgives him and loves him so much no matter what.

They all go to Minseok’s apartment, and Minseok looks a little surprised to see the three of them looking so tearful but he doesn’t ask questions. Yixing is at the studio but Lu Han is home, and Kyungsoo has no doubt about Lu Han being able to make Jongin smile.

He and Jongdae go right to the park. Kyungsoo gives Jongdae his own jacket and a hat, and they agree to stay only a few minutes since Jongdae still isn’t completely well. They go to where Jongdae and Jongin’s den was. The ground is sunken and the hole seems to be full of mud, but Kyungsoo gets on his knees and starts to dig. Jongdae tries to help, but Kyungsoo assures that he’s got it. He only has to dig a little before his fingers touch fabric. He pulls out a back pack, full of mud and sodden, but Jongdae snatches it away and starts to go through it. He pulls out several items of clothing, all of it filthy, and finally takes a small bundle out of the bottom. He unwraps it with shaking hands, and in the middle of the bundle is a wad of what once was money but now is sodden and dirty beyond use.

Kyungsoo can see Jongdae loose hope. The ruined money falls from his hands and he slumps over. Kyungsoo grabs his shoulders. “It’s not over yet,” he says firmly. He gathers all the clothing and the back pack and walks Jongdae back to the car. He takes a few paper towels from the roll in the trunk (squished in the back, left over from a company picnic last summer) and wipes his hands. He turns to Jongdae and smiles. “When we get home, we’ll see if the money can be salvaged. In the meantime let’s go see if the necklace is still there.”

Jongdae follows along dejectedly, clearly not expecting much. While he’s not looking Kyungsoo takes ₩20,000 from his wallet and puts it in his pocket. Kyungsoo knows where the pawn shop is, and as soon as he and Jongdae walk in the owner, a small man in his seventies, calls out, “Jongdae! Here you are, I was starting to worry!”

Jongdae mumbles a hello, keeping his head down. “Is it here?” He asks.

The owner goes into the back and comes back with a small blue box. “Safe and sound, just like I promised.”

Jongdae startles and finally looks up, eyes wide in shock. “It—it is?”

The man nods and opens the box. “This is it, isn’t it?”

The necklace sits in the box. It is rather nice, the ‘J’ charm is small, the chain thin but rope-like, sturdy looking. It’s perfect for Jongin.

Kyungsoo takes out the money he put in his pocket before, and slips it into Jongdae’s back pocket. Jongdae jumps, looks back at Kyungsoo and then at the shop owner once more, twisting his hands nervously. For a second Kyungsoo wonders if he’s going to run out of the shop. Then he steps forward, draws the money out of his pocket and places it on the counter.

“Perfect,” the owner says happily. He closes the box and hands it to Jongdae. “All yours.”

Jongdae takes the box and runs, and Kyungsoo follows him quickly. Jongdae runs all the way back to the car, Kyungsoo catches up to him just as he reaches the car. Before he can even ask if Jongdae is okay, Jongdae sinks to his knees and bursts into tears.

“Oh god, what’s wrong?” Kyungsoo gasps, getting down next to Jongdae. “Is it the right one?”

Jongdae nods, and throws his arms around Kyungsoo’s neck. “Thank you so much,” he sobs, “I can’t believe…it’s beautiful, thank you so much, I’m so happy, Jongin is going to be so happy…”

Kyungsoo laughs and hugs Jongdae, rubbing his back. “You’re welcome, I’m so glad I could help.” He waits until Jongdae calms down, then suggests they go to the bakery and get a cake for Jongin. Jongdae starts crying all over again and says yes, that would be really nice.

They go to Paris Baguette, and Kyungsoo points out his favorite cake—a Cappuccino cake, molded  to look like an actual cup of coffee, complete with a chocolate shell resembling a bowl and white frosting at the top, sprinkled with caramel sauce. Jongdae cautiously asks how much it is, and Kyungsoo assures that it’s less than the necklace.

“It’s from me,” he says firmly. “It’s for you as much as Jongin. After all, we should celebrate the fact that you’re getting better.”

Jongin’s birthday is in two days, but they decide to celebrate that night. He and Jongdae set up the apartment as soon as they get home, Jongdae helps Kyungsoo get out some candles and starts to light them as Kyungsoo goes upstairs to get Jongin. Kyungsoo leads him downstairs, promising that everything is okay, he and Jongdae just have a surprise for him. As soon as Kyungsoo opens the apartment door he covers Jongin’s eyes and leads him to the kitchen. Jongdae is standing beside the cake, eighteen candles lit for Jongin. Kyungsoo uncovers Jongin’s eyes, and he gasps, hands flying to his mouth.

“Happy birthday,” Jongdae says. He holds out the box. “This is from me, the cake is from Kyungsoo, for both of us. You should blow out the candles first actually, the wax is dripping, I’ll give you this later, make a wish!”

Jongin starts crying and he hugs Jongdae tightly. “I don’t need to wish.”

He and Jongdae blow out the candles together, Kyungsoo gets a video of it on his phone. He also gets a video of Jongin opening his present, and the ensuing shriek of glee and ensuing “Thank you thank you thank you SO MUCH JONGDAE I LOVE IT!”

They all eat a little too much cake, and spend the rest of the evening watching TV. They fall asleep on the couch, Jongin sitting between Kyungsoo and Jongdae. Kyungsoo knows that there are still things they need to work out, but he’s very optimistic about the future.

WOW I CRIED SO MUCH WHEN I WROTE THIS THING.

So ₩75,000 is about $74 US. Ihe Cappuccino cake from Paris Baguette that I mentioned is a real cake, and it is my favorite cake in the whole entire world, not even joking.

Also Kyungsoo is aual but not aromantic, so there is potential for an OT3, and I might explore that more in future chapters.

More on Baekyeol in the next chapter!