When everythings wrong - Part 12
When everythings wrong - PrologueTwo figures stood quietly on the open porch, watching the sun as it set behind the trees. Neither dared to speak until they were certain the sun was gone from the sky.
"What did you drag me out here for?" Yunho interrupted the quiet, still looking in the direction the sun had disappeared from. The sky was left a faded pink. The stars began to take over the sky and light it up with a soft aura. He brought his hand up to push away a few strands of hair from his eyes, and he looked over at his mute friend. "Su, are you alright?"
The shorter boy seemed to awaken from a trance when his name was called. He met his eyes with Yunho's and immediately looked away. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something."
The night air was cool and calm. A slight breeze rustled Yunho's hair out of place again. "What do you want to talk about?"
Junsu went quiet again, his only noises made by his own steady breathing. It stayed like that for a few moments before Yunho shook his shoulder playfully, earning a small unnoticeable smile upon the chubby cheeked boy's lips.
"C'mon, tell me what's going on in that fat head of yours. I don't have forever." Yunho joked.
Junsu faked a hurt expression, placing his hand over his heart to emphasize. "How could you say something like that to you're cute little dongsaeng?" He pretended to pout at Yunho. "I didn't say anything mean to you!"
Yunho smiled and wrapped his arm around the younger boy's shoulder's. "I'm sorry my little dongsaeng. I didn't mean to upset you. Now tell me what you have to say."
Junsu's playful pout left his lips. He shrugged out of Yunho's arm and smiled wearily at him. "Never mind. It's nothing important anyway." He looked at the porch steps and slumped his shoulders.
"Tell me Su, or I'm going to go inside and lock you out. Is that what you want?" Yunho threat wasn't serious and though Junsu could hear the joke in his best friend's voice he knew Yunho wouldn't come short of his word, leaving him to stand on the porch in the dark. Junsu allowed a frown to settle upon his lips. "Okay... I want to talk to you about Jaejoong."
Yunho stiffened, not succeeding on it being unnoticed by the man standing beside him. "What about him?" He asked, trying to control the sudden nervousness in his voice.
"I don't think I like him."
Yunho let his shoulders relax when he realized the conversation wasn't about his new relationship with Jaejoong. He wasn't sure if he would be able to come up with an excuse for that on the spot. "And why not?"
Junsu looked over at Yunho, the man now angling his chin back up at the darkening sky. It was obvious he was trying to avoid eye contact with him. "Are you serious? Why should I like him?"
Yunho sighed. So the conversation is taking that direction. "I think you should give him a chance before you decide not to like him. He's a good person." Right after the words left his mouth he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Junsu could only stare at the man he once knew. The man that used to be so tough, drinking alcohol all night and flirting with random strangers. Now he was talking like a counselor? "Yunho, who are you?" He asked in disbelief. He felt it from the moment Yunho called to invite him over that something had changed in him.
"I'm Yunho." The taller man answered with a goofy smile, trying to soften up the stale mood with another stupid joke. He tore his gaze away from the sky to look at his friend. "Who are you?"
Junsu scowled. "Yunho, I'm not playing games. Why are you so different lately? Why do you care so much about being nice to the poor guy?"
Yunho's silly smile disappeared from his face. He felt a sudden wave of anger pierce through him and he narrowed his eyes at Junsu. Why was soft little Junsu being so cold suddenly? He'd never been so cruel to another person before, what had gotten into him? "The poor guy has a name." He said, trying his best to defuse his own anger. He had gotten close enough to Jaejoong already to defend him, even against his own longtime friends?
"I know he has a name." Junsu said, surprised by Yunho's anger toward him. "S-sorry."
Yunho's face softened seeing his startled friend. He turned away from Junsu's eyes to look up at the stars beginning to show themselves clearly now, the atmosphere growing cozy with a thick coat of awkwardness.
Junsu followed his friend's gaze to the stars above. He imagined lines connecting the dots to make pictures in the sky, the way he used to. Junsu smiled as he stretched his hand up and pretended to try to grab a star, squinting his eyes to make it look like he could. He took the star in his fingers and pulled it back, trying to make the illusion for himself that he was taking it out of the sky. "Missed it." Junsu muttered, hoping Yunho would catch on. "It got away."
Yunho laughed and reached out to the stars as well. He squinted and pinched a star between his thumb and his pointer finger, pretending to bring it down and cup it in his hands. "Got one." He smiled.
Junsu raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. "I don't see anything."
"If I open my hands it'll fly away."
Junsu smiled at his friend. "Then let it fly away. It wants to be with it's friends."
Yunho nodded. He opened his cupped hands and smiled, too, as he imagined the star flying back up into the sky. He could really see it if he tried hard enough.
The two boys watched in awe at the gleaming stars above them. The awkward silence had been replaced with a comfortable one, and Junsu couldn't help but feel happy. It felt just like it used to, being able to watch the stars with his best friend.
The minutes ticked on, and after staring up at the sky for an amount of time Junsu's stomach began to beg for food. He looked down at it in surprise when it rumbled loud enough for Yunho to hear.
"Wow," Yunho laughed. "Do you wanna go inside? I think Jaejoong's making dinner. Can your monstrous stomach hold on for a half an hour or so?"
Junsu frowned when he thought of Jaejoong, but as much as he disliked him, he was thankful for the man's good timing when it came to making food. Ignoring his feelings momentarily, Junsu nodded and followed Yunho into the house.
~~~
Jaejoong stood up from the table after everyone had finished their meal. He asked for all the plates and hurried off to the kitchen with the big stack to wash them.
"Well, this was... Nice." Yunho said to the three still seated. He rubbed his fulfilled stomach in content. Junsu, Yoochun, and Changmin nodded in agreement. Changmin smiled. "Is there desert?"
"I think it's time for us to go." Junsu announced. He pushed his chair back and stood up, looking at the three boys staring at him in confusion.
"What's the rush?" Changmin asked, earning a harsh grab of his arm. He yelped in surprised and tried to shake Junsu's painful grip off of his arm due to reflex. The move helped to no avail.
"It's late. We should go." Junsu hauled Changmin up from his seat by his arm and started to pull him to the door. "C'mon Yoochun!"
Yoochun obeyed, standing up and leaving Yunho with a wave of his hand. "See ya." He said and followed the pair to the door.
"Wait!" A voice called from the kitchen. Jaejoong came from around the corner, soap suds covering his hands, and walked briskly to where Yoochun halted. "Thank you." He said and smiled at the boy. "For the talk I mean."
Yoochun smiled in return. "No problem. Talk to me anytime you want." He patted Jaejoong on the shoulder and turned to leave again.
~~~
Jaejoong slowly opened his eyes to greet the light of the new day. It was 7:13 in the morning, he could spare a few minutes more of sleep. But sleep seemed to escape his mind now when he rolled over to find Yunho still bundled up in his blanket, snoring peacefully. Yunho was cute the way he slept, with his mouth open and the blanket bunched up for him to hug. Jaejoong felt the urge to kiss him, and he did. A little peck on his forehead so he wouldn't wake him up.
Jaejoong took advantage of his moment and studied Yunho's imperfections. The way his hair became tousled and messy when he slept. The bit of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. How much room of the bed he occupied. Even when he slept he got the bigger advantage. Jaejoong thought he should find it unfair, but he couldn't. Maybe because it gave him an excuse to sleep closer to Yunho without having to make up a stupid lie.
Yunho's imperfections made Jaejoong feel more comfortable being with him. It reminded him that Yunho was still a person, and underneath his tough outer shell was kindness. He smiled when he thought of the change he had been noticing from the taller man.
Before it seemed like five minutes had passed, spent staring at Yunho, it was already 7:30. Jaejoong rustled out of bed, trying to do it as quietly as he could, and he hurried to get dressed for work.
~~~
"You called me, sir?" Jaejoong bowed to his boss after closing the man's office door behind him. He smiled kindly at Mr. Jung and waited for what he had to say.
The old man smiled warmly in return. "Yes, I was just curious as to why you weren't here yesterday. You didn't call in sick."
Jaejoong's eyes widened. "I thought Yunho called in for me. He must have forgotten." He explained. When he heard no response from his boss he proceeded. "I had a cold. But I'm fine now. I just needed a few more hours of bed rest is all."
Mr. Jung nodded, buying into Jaejoong's lie. He showed no hint of disbelief as he began shuffling through some papers. "Thank you, Jaejoong. You may get back to work now."
~~~
"Goodbye." Jaejoong waved at Mr. Jung as the man drove away. He frowned at the man's recent odd behavior, but shook it from his thoughts. Mr. Jung owned a large company, he probably had many things to worry about.
Jaejoong took the ring of his rattling keys out of his pocket and picked the right one to jiggle the front door open. "I'm home, Yunho." He called out, once inside.
"Hey." Yunho smiled from the couch when Jaejoong turned the corner. "How was work?"
"The same as always." Jaejoong shrugged. "Tiring. How was your day?"
"Boring."
Jaejoong smiled, taking a seat beside Yunho on the couch. "Sorry to hear that." He said and leaned toward Yunho to give him a kiss.
Yunho happily accepted, letting his lips press gently against the smaller mans. He smiled as he pulled back from the innocent lip-lock. "Yeah, but it's better now."
Both their voices joined in a soft chuckle.
"Actually, Jaejoong, I wanted to ask you something." Yunho said, turning serious now. "Do you want to go to my mother's grave with me today? Just for a little while. I understand if you're too tired."
Jaejoong smiled, nodding to Yunho's questions. "We can go tonight. But we should go soon if we're going to. I want to get back before dark."
Yunho agreed, standing up to leave. "How come? You scared of graveyards at night?" He teased.
Jaejoong laughed. "Hey!" He said, pushing Yunho on the shoulder.
~~~
"Yunho, are you okay?" Jaejoong asked comfortingly, the taller man's back. He felt a pang in his heart seeing Yunho's eyes saddened.
The man nodded, standing up from his mother's grave stone and wiping the tears collected in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I always cry when I come here." He looked down to hide his face.
"Would your mom want you to cry?"
Yunho looked up to read his mother's name engraved in the stone in front of him. He smiled, taking a peep at Jaejoong's worried expression. "She always told me to express my feelings."
Jaejoong couldn't think of anything to say in response. It was the most bittersweet comment he'd heard in a long time. The elder smiled softly, continuing to Yunho's back in small circles. He couldn't and didn't want to imagine the way he was feeling. Jaejoong mother was the most important person in the world to him. He could never lose her. Jaejoong kept quiet and followed Yunho's eyes to his mother's grave stone.
The sound of another car entering the grave yard tore their gazes away from Yunho's mother. They both gasped when they recognized the car coming toward them around the gravel roads bend.
"Why is my father here?" Yunho asked, in a voice smothered in poison.
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