Part 2.

Frost

Part 2.

3.562 words

Ten woke up to the sound of whimpering. He rose up from his bed and saw a figure lit up by the moon’s pale light. It was Taeyong. He was releasing small cries and words Ten didn’t catch, but Ten knew the other was having a nightmare.

“Wake up!” Ten called and threw his duvet off himself to get to the boy. “Hey!” He grabbed the other’s shoulders. “Taeyong!”

The boy startled awake. “I didn’t me-” He stopped midsentence. He had thrown himself forward, but Ten was quick and leaned away before their faces had collided. Taeyong only saw a dark figure before him, he flinched and pushed Ten off him, for a moment seeing Pitch Black there, but then he saw Ten’s frightened expression. “You…” Taeyong gasped and moved closer. “Are you okay?” He asked and Ten frowned and leaned against the side of his bed.

“You’re the one who just woke up from a nightmare.” Ten raised a brow and Taeyong swallowed.

“I’m used to it.” He said shortly.

Ten smiled. “And I’m used to the flashbacks too.”

Taeyong looked at Ten. “Shouldn’t you try to remember it and work on it?”

Ten smiled a little. “I made myself forget it for a reason, right?” He shrugged. Taeyong nodded and then looked at the moon.

“How much do you believe?” He asked.

Ten’s smile was sad. “I grew up without much hope. I created something to believe in and someone to believe in. My aunt always told me that Jack Frost was the naughtiest child and that he froze roads and the waters. She told me that I should watch out when I drive, and that he doesn’t care about our mistakes, he’s as cold and harsh as winter, but he has a soft spot for children.” Taeyong’s brows were raised, that sounded kind of true.

“I make snow days too.” He said and Ten’s eyes gleamed.

“Did you make the one last year?”

“January 12^th?” He asked.

Ten nodded. “Our exam was delayed and I had more time to prepare.” He laughed. “I thanked the skies, but I see that I forgot to thank you for that.”

Taeyong chuckled. “No problem.”

Ten crawled into his bed and buried himself beneath his blanket. The two boys spoke for a little more, but then Ten looked as if he would soon drift off.

“Will you stay?” He asked sleepily and Taeyong nodded. “Thanks.” Ten smiled and Taeyong sighed and rested his head against the wall.

He couldn’t help but think of Jaehyun.

Ten woke up when the cold morning wind blew in. He propped himself up on his elbow and squinted at the bright light. Taeyong sat in the windowsill. “Sorry.” He smiled and Ten smiled back at him.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?” He asked with a playful smile, eyes still almost half-shut.

Taeyong grinned awkwardly. “I’m not good at goodbyes.”

Ten nodded. “Then it’s not a goodbye.” He said and the two shared a moment of silence.

“Okay.” Taeyong nodded and then crawled out of the window and closed it, gesturing to Ten to shut it. Ten watched the other fly down. He knew where Taeyong was going, to the corner to remember something he did. Something he wasn’t proud of. Ten thought hard of what it could be.

Ten attended college the next day, in the morning when he went he greeted Taeyong who gave a small smile back. Then suddenly he appeared by his side, having decided to walk him to school. Ten couldn’t help but smile to himself. He hadn’t expected this outcome by finally talking to the white haired boy.
The two passed smoking students in a small street that crossed the street where Ten’s college lied. The students silenced before one blocked Ten from passing them.

“Hey, small guy.” He said and Taeyong immediately raised his staff. Ten tried to casually reach out his hand to grip Taeyong’s sleeve. “You do seem to laugh a lot, got a funny story to tell us?”

Ten sighed. “No I do not.” Ten blinked when the other boy blew smoke in his way. “And please stop blowing smoke into my face, I have chosen to make better life choices than that.” He started to walk around the boy and Taeyong made way for him. The other guy reached out and grabbed Ten by the hood of his jacket and Taeyong hit the other’s arm without a second thought. The guy winced and the group hurried forward.

“What the !” The guy exclaimed and Ten eyed Taeyong knowing he had done something. “Are you haunted by ghosts or something- who are you looking at?”

Ten smiled slyly. “A ghost.” He replied and chuckled when Taeyong snorted.

“Freak.” One boy said with wide eyes and a girl nodded.

Ten just sighed. “At least I’m not ruining my lungs and voice like you guys.” He said and continued towards the school. Taeyong froze the group’s cigarettes and they all eyed the frozen tips in shock. Taeyong jumped up upon the rooftops and made icicles appear as he laughed at Ten’s joke.

“A ghost!” He laughed. “I’m alive and well, thank you.”

Ten threw is head back. “But they can’t see you, should I have told them it was Jack Frost? I needed to scare them a little.”

“You made me a little scared, I must admit that.” Taeyong jumped down from the roof, shoulders shaking as he chuckled. Ten smiled at the sight.

“Thank you.” He said as they arrived to the school. “For helping me.”

Taeyong’s smile vanished but he didn’t look sad. “Thank you.” He said, wide blue eyes fixed on Ten’s brown ones. “For seeing me.”

Ten nodded with a small smile and then headed to school. Taeyong watched the other walk and thought to himself that he had to look after the boy from the accident too. He couldn’t believe himself to have lost him. He should’ve protected him, he owed the boy that much.

Taeyong went home after freezing some more things and making it snow. He wasn’t surprised that when he entered his cave he found golden sand on the floor.

“Okay.” Taeyong said and looked up to find Jaehyun currently forming small sand ghosts to fly around on the floor. Taeyong immediately thought of Ten laughing after they had tricked the group of students. “You’re back early.” He then said and went over and placed his staff beside the entrance, he fixed his hair in the mirror, but there wasn’t much fixing.

“I helped him sleep you know.” Jaehyun said and collected the ghosts again. “Like the tooth fairy collect teeth you made fall out I help them sleep when they can’t sleep because of the bullies that pressed their faces into the snow that you made fall.”

“Hey!” Taeyong gasped. “I don’t make the bullies do that, most of the kids love snow!” He narrowed his eyes upon the other. “Sometimes I wish you had stayed as the sandman instead of wishing to have the body you once owned. You’re lucky you have a beautiful face or else I had thrown hundreds of snowballs at it, right now.”

Jaehyun gasped. “That’s the longest you’ve spoken to me in a while.”

Taeyong sighed. “Thanks for ruining the mood.” He muttered and crossed his arms. “Do you have news?” He then asked loud enough for the other to hear.

Jaehyun nodded. “I remember where he slept; in an orphanage not that far from here.”

Taeyong nodded, he remembered that.

“We could look into the records to figure out his name and maybe see how he looks now.”

Taeyong tried to ignore the ‘we’ and instead focus on their task. “Okay, but I only have few hours.”

Jaehyun frowned. “Why?”

Taeyong looked away. “I have… plans.”

Jaehyun’s mouth twisted and he looked at the other with creased brows. “Like what?”

“Freezing things… plans.” Taeyong said and then decided to change the topic. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Jaehyun stood with a smile. “Ah, so we’re going together?”

Taeyong’s eyes looked up in an annoyed expression. “Yeah we are. Now let’s go.”

The two of them were carried by the wind to where they had to go. When they needed to turn they dropped to their feet and walked. Jaehyun wore a smile while Taeyong wore a gloomy expression. His shoulders were slightly hunched and he watched the orphanage rise before them. They could hear kids playing in the snow and Taeyong gave Jaehyun a look with a short proud smile, then it fell as he eyed the sign.

Cherry Blossom Orphanage, it read and Taeyong grimaced. Cherry Blossoms were a sign that winter was ending and spring had arrived, and it was Taeyong’s sign to move. Maybe this meant for the boy that the ice that took away his family would be gone now and that he was safe.

“I don’t think I can go in there.” Taeyong said voice trembling. Jaehyun turned to look at him, golden eyes focused on Taeyong. Then he reached out and held Taeyong’s hand.

“I’m here.” He told him and Taeyong hated how safe he felt in that moment. How happy he was to be beside Jaehyun, still a sadness of what he had done to both this boy and Jaehyun lingered within him… He wanted to let go, but some part of him held on.

The two passed the children playing outside and entered into the front hall. None of them could be seen and Jaehyun dragged Taeyong with him into the office and they were lucky, because of Taeyong the snow outside had attracted both the children and the adults’ attention, and the office were empty. Nobody would see the flying papers that seemed to handle themselves.

Taeyong watched the clock and then he saw it near three in the afternoon and he stood. “I have to go.” He told Jaehyun who was still looking through files. He just gave a short nod before continuing. Taeyong wanted to ask if it was okay, but instead he took his staff and went outside.

***

Ten wasn’t surprised to hear whispers of him being able to talk to ghosts that day. How fast rumors could spread, well Ten could confirm that it only took 4 hours and then most of the school had heard of the incident. Why did it have to be the big mouthed boy from America called Johnny who had been “abused by the ghost hanging around Ten”. Luckily Ten had few friends that only laughed at it, but some in his regular classes did eye him.

Koreans and their superstitions. Ten sighed, well if Jack Frost followed him to school, then ghosts should be possible too, right? Ten needed to ask for more, he was curious about how Taeyong came to be Jack Frost and that boy with the golden eyes. Who was he?

A small bang surprised the whole class and they looked at the window where Ten sat. Snow were sliding down and when it passed Ten saw Taeyong sit in the tree right in front of his seat. Ten snickered and Taeyong raised his eyebrows in a playful manner.

Ten walked out with his heart fluttering, he was excited about meeting Taeyong again. When he was almost at the gates of his school Taeyong came floating down. “It’s hard to find you amongst hats and coats.” The boy grinned and Ten smiled.

“You’re not so hard to miss.” Ten said and reached out to slightly brush back Taeyong’s white hair.

Taeyong tried to flatten it with an embarrassed smile. “Well, it’s one of my trademarks.”

They took a longer walk through the park and Ten decided to take this opportunity to ask more questions about this mysterious Jack Frost.

“So your Korean name is Taeyong.” Ten began. “Does that mean you were someone before this?”

Taeyong nodded. “I had forgotten… but then I was reminded of who I was. I saved my sister from falling into the lake when we were ice-skating. Instead I fell in and the moon found something in me that was worth saving.”

“So you were brought back to life.” Ten said in awe.

Taeyong nodded. “I had a purpose to fulfill, and then I became a Guardian.”

“A what?” Ten gasped and stopped.

“Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Sandman.” Taeyong said and saw Ten blink with wide eyes and jaw slacked. “Those are the guardians who protect the children and give them something to believe in.”

Ten shook his head. “No way… You’re kidding me.”

Taeyong laughed and hit Ten’s shoulder. “No I swear it’s true!”

Then Ten’s eyes widened, he was staring into space when he began talking. “Then you have more important things to do than walking me to and from school!” He gasped. “You have to protect the children!”

Taeyong looked away from Ten. He felt ashamed, he should be out there making sure the children were having fun and were happy. He should make sure that the lakes were frozen over and that the schools were buried in snow so that the kids could have a day off. Still here he was, denying a title he earned because of one crucial mistake, and now he was hanging around this boy who had showed him a moment of attention. He should be torturing himself, keeping him locked inside the cave and not deserving to be happy with somebody. Still he longed for a reason to be happy again, he longed for the free-spirited person he had been before. He wanted to reach into his core and have fun. Ten was fun, he wasn’t like Jaehyun who was comfort and safety. Ten was exciting and funny. Taeyong couldn’t help himself, he needed Ten and he knew that somehow they had crossed paths before. Also, he was making Ten smile and he had protected Ten from bullies. He was slowly coming back again. How could he push him away? He may be guilty, but he was looking for the boy, so he was doing something about that too.

Ten waited for Taeyong as he stood in deep thought. “You’re holding your breath again.” He then said and Taeyong realized it and exhaled with a small moan following.

Taeyong shook his head lightly and smiled. “You’re important too.” He then said and watched Ten look down, face visibly redder. Ten looked up at Taeyong through his lashes.

Then he inhaled deeply and sighed. “Thank you.” He then said and Taeyong gave the other’s arm a comforting squeeze, for a moment reminded of Jaehyun.

“Is it okay if I take my leave now?” He asked and Ten nodded quickly and stepped back.

“Yeah I should get going too, you see, homework.” He said and smiled lopsidedly. Taeyong stepped towards the other who froze and he was surprised with himself when he took Ten’s gloved hand.

“Call my name if you need me.” He said and then he let go and let the wind carry him up and away. Ten watched him leave, nose red and hand still lingering in the air where Taeyong had let go.

Taeyong felt his heart lifting and even when he entered the orphanage the burden of what he had done didn’t seem as heavy, and he even heard his voice of reason tell him. “You didn’t drive the other car. It was his fault.”

Still Taeyong knew what he had to do. He needed to find the boy and apologize. He owed him that much.

***

It was kind of a shock for Taeyong when Sandman suddenly appeared in front of him looking totally different, the only thing he recognized was the golden eyes.

“Sandman?” Taeyong had gasped and Santa had creased his black bushy brows too as they watched a boy enter.

“I spoke with the moon.” He said and the Easter Bunny had literally fallen over a chair at the shock.

“You speak!” Santa’s deep voice had rumbled.

Taeyong remembered feeling his heart flutter at the sound of his voice.

Sandman had grinned. “This was my body from before. Tooth Fairy helped me find my memories. I was known for singing the kids to sleep when wars raged on. I was killed one night… I tried to protect the sleeping children and died to save them.” He told them and Taeyong remembered standing up and grabbing Jaehyun’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. “My name is Jaehyun.” He then had said and Taeyong and Jaehyun shared a gaze that was so different from what they had been, a gaze they would share many times in the future.

Jaehyun’s family wasn’t rich, but they weren’t the poorest either. He was famous for helping out his mother and father with herbs and other medicine, and he had created a recipe that made it easier to fall asleep. He also sang for the kids so that they could fall asleep when they were scared.

His eyes were brown and his hair black. He had it tied back and wore dark orange robes. He was not the greatest sword fighter, but could bare a sword.

Then their city was attacked by the Mongolians that came to take them as slaves. Jaehyun was forced to make a medicine that wouldn’t just make his sister and mother fall asleep quickly, they would never wake up. It was raining and he was drenched. He remembered seeing his mother hug his sister close as she cried. The Mongolians raided outside, screams of panic and agony could be heard and his father looked in through the door to check up on Jaehyun who was grounding herbs as fast as he could.

“Hurry, son!” His father had cried. “If they come… I won’t let them lay a hand on them!” He had said with his voice that had always sounded so warm, but fear had a tight grip around it, and Jaehyun knew what would become of his mother and sister. So he fought his tears as he handed the drinks to his mom and sister. He didn’t crawl over to hug them, but instead smiled to them and then sang his sister’s favorite song that always made her laugh. It did make her chuckle and she obediently drank the medicine she was given. Outside Jaehyun heard swords clash together and he pulled his sword out from its sheath and readied himself.

A thump was heard behind him and he gripped the fabric covering his heart tightly before pushing the door aside and running into the rain.

His father didn’t make it, and Jaehyun gave up fighting in hopes that they would let his father live, but when they had slit his father’s throat he had cried out, screaming his father’s name and struggling against the barbarians’ grips.

Even if his voice was hoarse he sang as he and the other citizens from his town were dragged behind horses. He kept singing even if he was hit, he didn’t stop.

In the cage that didn’t keep out wind nor rain he sang for the children and women, most men had died in battle. He was lucky that he had been taken as slave. Then one man asked for which girl looked the prettiest and Jaehyun couldn’t stop himself, he only watched for a second as the man tried to drag his neighbor’s daughter out of the cage before he sprang up and pierced the man’s neck with a stick. The sleeping children awoke when he was taken away, and he remembered his heart aching when he heard them call his name.

When he died he wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t without agony. He just remembered the full moon above him and as the horses began walking and the robes pulled at each limp he embraced the moon’s light and sang until his singing turned into screams.

Why the moon thought he would look better as a small man made of sand, he didn’t know. Maybe it was because his body had been torn, but he had to ask. It was the best choice he had made, because embracing Taeyong with his own arms and singing the boy to sleep… It was all he could ever ask for.

Still he had never expected to see the agony and grief be expressed on those handsome features. The free-spirited boy was nowhere to be seen as he cried and cried; he had clung to Jaehyun as he begged for forgiveness and Jaehyun couldn’t even find his voice that day. He just hoped that if he held the other close enough, it would all be okay.

But it wasn’t up to Jaehyun, it was up to Taeyong himself.

***

“I think this is him…” Jaehyun said as they sat in the dark office reading files with the light from the dream sand floating above them. Taeyong let few lights of ice float with them and the two looked through files all night. At first light Jaehyun had collected 5 files on 5 boys that he thought could be the one. Taeyong had fallen asleep once and woke up because of a nightmare. He had to live with Jaehyun’s eyes upon him the next hour.

Taeyong grabbed the files and read through them, at the third boy he stopped, because he recognized the face clearly.

It was Ten.

A/N:

Well, this story isn't exactly fluff, haha, (why did I make Jaehyun's background story so angsty?)
I was imagining Jaehyun living in the Joseon era, and in one movie it told of the Mongolians travelling to Korea and raiding and taking prisoners.
So I added that to Jaehyun's story and wauw I tore my own heart apart. 3 (I only wish that boy's happiness, his smile is heaven (Ten's too... *swoons*)

The poll ended with TaeTen winning, but I couldn't help but add a bit of JaeYong. (A lot *cough*)
Now expect drama in the next part.
I wasn't sure of how to divide part 3, 4 and 5, and I'm not sure if I've parted them right,
so I'll go ask a friend for advice before updating the next part. ^^

Thank you for the feedback, it's so nice to see that you guys like the story.
I'm so happy to see so many NCT fans (and some of you are my old subscribers, hello friends! <3)

This won't be the last NCT fanfic, I promise you guys that. <3

Love,
Emma. <3