*Trigger warning for mild violence in middle section*

The rest of his shift had gone considerably well. Junmyeon suspected Tao would be extra clingy for the next little while, but he didn't burst into tears, so he supposed it could've been worse.

Junmyeon went back to staring at the table in front of him, seeing as there was no one else in the store. He had relocated to job number two, which meant he was, once again, behind a counter at a cash register. But he had the night shift, as usual, so there was no one else in the store, as usual. The only people Junmyeon ever really saw at this time were people who had run out of cigarettes and needed to restock and Jongdae, who made a point to stop by every time he passed on his way home from a friend’s house (usually Luhan's).

And so, forty-five minutes later, at exactly ten-twenty-two, Junmyeon was not surprised when Jongdae walked through the door and made himself comfortable on the counter, knees next to Junmyeon’s hips as Jongdae leaned down to press a kiss on Junmyeon’s cheek.

Their relationship was completely platonic, of course, but Jongdae and Junmyeon had known each other since they were old enough to play outside. Jongdae's mother had taken the initiative to invite Junmyeon over into their yard since by that time Junmyeon's mother had been long dead and he couldn't count on his father for anything.

Sometimes Junmyeon wonders if Jongdae knows, and is just merciful enough not to say anything. Because there are those rare times at four in the morning when Junmyeon drags his way over to Jongdae’s and asks to use his med kit because his is empty, (I was trying to make hot chocolate and burned my hand, he’d said once. I got up to use the bathroom and slid on the stairs, he’d said on a different occasion) and something about the way Jongdae’s eyes tighten when he smiles then makes Junmyeon think that maybe, just maybe, he has figured it out. But then Junmyeon shakes his head and says okay no way, because he always takes care to hide his wounds before going to Jongdae’s, and he has never let Jongdae help bandage them, doing it on his own in the guest bathroom down the hall, and Junmyeon knows there's no way Jongdae's heard something, because one of the ways Junmyeon’s father is so terrifying is because he doesn't yell, doesn't throw things, doesn't really lash out at all. He just looks at Junmyeon until he knows he's messed up somewhere, and then sighs and gets up and then Junmyeon’s the one biting his lip clean through so he isn't loud and screaming and crying and letting the whole neighborhood know that the two men living alone in this house are not who they think they are.

But then he looks back at Jongdae and sees how gentle Jongdae is with him when he's so rough with Jongin, and Junmyeon doubts himself, because surely he must've given it away somewhere.

Today Jongdae has changed things up a little because he has brought someone with him, and he's never done that before. But Yifan just walks in quietly behind him, and leans against the counter as Jongdae presses that kiss to his cheek, and utters a soft hello.

"Have you eaten, Jun?" Jongdae asks, carding his fingers through Junmyeon’s hair. Junmyeon smiles and leans slightly into the touch, not quite as much as he wants to because Yifan is there and he has to keep himself together, and shakes his head, because Jongdae would've known if he was lying, anyway.

Jongdae hums low and elbows Yifan, nodding to a freezer in the corner that has packaged sandwiches and the like. Junmyeon expects Yifan to tell Jongdae to get it himself, because that's the way he usually is with his friends, but he doesn't protest and moves to grab one, and Junmyeon suspects Jongdae had a talk with Yifan before they came in. He doesn't say anything, though, just smiles and takes the money Jongdae hands him for the sandwich, and doesn’t argue that Jongdae is paying for his food because he knows Jongdae would just come up with some instance in the past in which Junmyeon paid for something for Jongdae that probably didn't happen, anyway.

So he accepts the money and the sandwich and adds them both to the list of things that he'll have to pay back when he figures out how. Everything he makes at his after school jobs have to be turned into his father and everything he makes on the weekends has to go towards food and clothes, but his debt to Jongdae (and Yixing, to a lesser extent), is only growing, and there is no way Junmyeon will live out his life owing money to the people who try to care for him.

He takes a bite of the sandwich and looks at Yifan. He doesn’t know Jongdae’s friends very well, but he knows of them, at least enough so that he can manage basic conversation with them. He swallows. "So what's up?"

Yifan opens his mouth to answer, but Jongdae talks over him. "Yifan's dad is having some big stupid business party and he's staying with me to avoid the high and mighty."

Junmyeon raises a brow at Yifan. "Business parties?"

Yifan's nose wrinkles. “They all just sit around and talk about the economy and politics. I tried to start a conversation about basketball once. My dad sent me to my room."

Junmyeon covered his mouth as he smiled. "The real question is: did you successfully start the conversation before your dad intervened?"

"Oh yeah." Yifan smiled. "We were talking for a good twenty minutes before he came to see what his son could've possibly been talking about to hook the CEO of a mega corporation and sent me away."

Junmyeon laughs. He was genuinely enjoying their company, and he was glad when they stayed with him the last half hour until closing. They walked home together, this time with Junmyeon and Yifan listening attentively to a story of Jongdae’s involving Luhan and orange skinny jeans, and when they reached his house, with only a few feet left until they reach Jongdae’s, he realized that he actually enjoyed being with them.

That was the same moment Junmyeon realized he was in trouble. 

---

That night, when Junmyeon walks through the door, his father is there waiting. Junmyeon freezes, glances out the corner of his eye to check how far away Yifan and Jongdae are, sighing internally when he sees them enter Jongdae’s house.

Junmyeon goes through his checklist. He made dinner and put it in the fridge for his father before he left for class this morning. He has paid the amount his father has demanded of him for the week. His progress reports for school came in the mail last week but Junmyeon knows he has all A’s. He’s back before curfew. Why is he in trouble?

“Appa?” Junmyeon dares to say, trying to keep the wobble out of his voice because his father doesn’t seem angry yet, just resigned, and Junmyeon does not want him angry. He keeps his head bowed, eyes on his shoes, and tries to keep his breathing steady. “Did I…” Don’t ask, he’ll be angry you don’t know. “What did I do wrong?” You idiot.

His father sighs, shifts his weight and starts to undo his belt. Junmyeon tries not to cry. “On your knees, Junmyeon, back to me, hands on the wall. Shirt off.”

Junmyeon’s lip starts to bleed from the way he’s tearing at it with his teeth. He drops his shirt to the floor far away and hopes no blood gets on it. He really doesn’t have the money to keep replacing them.

As soon as Junmyeon’s hands settle on the wall at shoulder height, he feels the belt against his skin. Immediately he collapses forward, screaming into his arm. His father isn’t using the leather like he usually does, both ends wrapped in his hand to create a loop. He’s using the notched end as a handle, the buckle digging into Junmyeon’s back with every hit. He feels blood dripping down his back, he thinks his bones are about to crack, and Junmyeon only makes it five more minutes like that before his vision starts to blur, black creeping in at the edges.

Junmyeon doesn’t know what he did, but he must have really messed up this time.

---

The next day at school, Junmyeon is loaded up on painkillers and working his best fake smile, and everything’s going fine. He grunts when Yixing throws an arm over her shoulder, but he just tells his friend that he did too much heavy lifting at work last night and his back is a little sore, and Yixing accepts the excuse easily. It’s not the first time Junmyeon has overworked himself, after all, and it sure won’t be the last.

Baekhyun is friendly as usual in Trig, chatting with Junmyeon until class starts and then periodically leaning over to ask Junmyeon questions when he doesn’t understand. Junmyeon doesn’t mind to help, it makes him feel useful, so he quietly leans over to Baekhyun’s workbook, and only bites his lip a little when Baekhyun puts his hand on Junmyeon’s back to steady him. And Baekhyun smiles at him so happily when he finally understands that Junmyeon figures it was worth it, anyway.

By lunch time Junmyeon is so numb that it’s easy for him to pretend that he’s not hurt. His smiles don’t feel as forced and when Yixing makes a stupid joke he feels like he can laugh genuinely. Jongdae waves at him from across the lunchroom and Yifan nods his way, and Junmyeon, despite having been beaten within an inch of his life not a day before, finds himself honestly feeling okay.

Which is why he is surprised when he looks over during lunch to find Zitao chewing on his lip in much the same way Junmyeon does when he’s nervous. Tao is usually pretty happy, it’s not often Junmyeon sees him anything but. Even then, though, if he’s not happy he’s usually dramatically sad or scared. Junmyeon has never seen him nervous.

“Everything okay, Taozi?” He says gently when Minseok and Yixing are involved in a conversation about their shared gym class.

Tao looks up at him quickly, obviously startled out of his own thoughts. He opens his mouth, about to say something, but then clamps it shut in favor of nodding his head instead.

And boy, has Junmyeon ever done that before. He remembers all the times he’s flinched away from a high-five, how many times his knees nearly buckled when Yixing hugs him goodbye, and every time he’s opened his mouth to tell someone to get him out of that house.

But just like Tao, Junmyeon clamped his mouth shut right before he could say anything that would cause trouble.

Junmyeon stands up suddenly, attracting the attention of Minseok and Yixing. “Hey, Taozi, I have to go to my locker before my next class. I have those notes you wanted to look over, if you still want them.”

Tao looks at him carefully. There actually are notes that he needs, for the government class he’s in that Junmyeon took last year. Bu Junmyeon knows Tao is smart, and he knows that Tao knows that if he goes with Junmyeon now, he’ll have to explain what’s going on.

But, he thinks, if anybody knows how to help, it’s Junmyeon.

So he nods, and follows Junmyeon out into the hallway.