pairing: BaekChen
length: 1447 words

Jongdae let out a low hiss as he gradually eased himself onto the bed.

Baekhyun pressed his lips together in a thin line as he gingerly lifted up the younger male’s shirt, exposing a large expanse of dark purple, egg-shaped bruises that formed all over Jongdae’s abdomen. “Oh god…”

“It’s—it’s fine, Baekhyun,” Jongdae grunted, sending the older male a half-smile. “I’ll be okay after a good night’s rest.”

“As if! There’s no way you’re going to work tomorrow!” Baekhyun declared as he completely tugged off the shirt from Jongdae’s thin body.

“But if I don’t—”

“Jongdae, please don’t argue with me on this!” the older male fiercely cut in, unconsciously balling up Jongdae’s shirt into a crumpled wad.

There was a pregnant pause as Baekhyun stood, slightly hunched but still towering over Jongdae at this moment, while the injured male’s head hung down. The silence was deafening and the tension pressed down on the two teenagers, suffocating them with its impenetrable density.

“I’m not going to let you get pushed around again,” Baekhyun finally spoke through gritted teeth as he tossed Jongdae’s shirt onto a nearby chair. “This has happened too many times for me to let it go. I’m going to tell our boss that you’re done wearing the suit.”

“You can’t do that!” Jongdae exclaimed hotly, wincing as he did from the spike of pain that rippled sharply through his thin body.

“I can and I will,” Baekhyun shot back as he brought out the first aid kit from underneath their bed and unclasped it. “You’re not going to dress up in that stupid costume anymore and get knocked around by rude tourists.”

“But you wear the same suit! How come you can do it while I can’t?!”

“Because I care about you, Jongdae, and I don’t want you getting hurt anymore!” Baekhyun’s scowl deepened even more when he recalled their shift earlier that evening.

As usual, it had been a bustling day filled with locals and tourists who were all shopping and eating like there was no tomorrow. They had lined the streets in droves, packed together like sardines, with barely any room for other people to squeeze by. The smell of fried food, the sound of rustling bags, and the din of thousands of unrelated conversations in dozens of various languages had filled the air.

Baekhyun hated it.

Perhaps if life had dealt him a different hand, he wouldn’t mind the neighborhood so much. Perhaps he’d even like it and visit on occasion if he ever had money to spare.

But as a poor orphan, Baekhyun didn’t have the luxury to waste time and money like these insufferable tourists did. He didn’t have the luxury to prance around and gorge himself until he could no longer eat another morsel.

All that mattered was that he and Jongdae earned enough to survive. And eventually, once they had enough saved up, they could move out of their dingy apartment and move onto bigger and better prospects.

Then they could live as frivolously as everyone else did. They could splurge on new gadgets and indulge in expensive meals. They’d be living like royalty, which Jongdae deserved.

But for now, the two teenage boys had to make do with their current situation. It wasn’t easy, bouncing from job after job after job. Most employers had no desire to hire orphaned children who had no schooling or practical work experience. They’d had more doors shut in their faces than they could count, one after the other.

Baekhyun and Jongdae had weathered thousands of nights in the cold, huddled together with some threadbare blankets draped over their thin shoulders. They had barely managed to keep their stomachs from growling like sirens, constantly reminding them that they needed to be fed something more substantial than leftover scraps. Baekhyun had even rationed more of their food to Jongdae, knowing that the younger male needed the nutrition more than he did.

But no matter how much Baekhyun had sacrificed, Jongdae had grown tinier and more emaciated by the week.

Luckily, a man named Kris Wu had begrudgingly given them a job and some shelter when they were on the brink of collapsing. He owned a lavish cat café, filled with dozens of purebred felines for tourists to play with. Most of the café employees dressed up in fancy outfits and played with the cats as well in the small utopia that Kris had built.

However, Baekhyun and Jongdae had been given the job that no one wanted: flyer distributors. And even worse, they were required to dress up in giant, clunky cat costumes for ten hours a day.

It wasn’t the worst job in the world by any means. In fact, in the winter time, the suits kept them quite warm. And some of the children that walked up to them and asked for pictures were undeniably kind to the boys.

There were certainly far more terrible jobs that the two boys could have been saddled with. Not to mention, being employed in general was a huge bonus.

But the sweet children were the undisputed minority of people who walked around the shopping district.

Most people treated the boys like air, invisible and insignificant.

Flyers would get pushed out of their hands or tossed to the floor. Most of the time, the flyers would get stepped on as well, adding insult to injury. But because Kris insisted that they couldn’t be wasted—even though Baekhyun knew that he could easily afford to print more—the two boys had to bend down and salvage them from the asphalt. However, in their suits, such an action required far more effort than it usually would.

But the worst of it was when they would get jostled roughly by passerby.

Sometimes, it was accidental. The streets were often crowded with consumers who were all rushing back and forth between various stores and food stalls. With the cat suits being as bulky as they were, it was inevitable that people would bump into them as they made their way through the open-air shopping district.

Other times, people would intentionally elbow the two teenage boys and stomp on their feet, mostly to get a reaction out of them. Baekhyun and Jongdae both knew that they couldn’t retaliate, lest Kris throw them out onto the streets for causing trouble, so they usually tried their best to stand strong and continue passing out flyers to anyone who would take them.  

However, today had been the final straw. When Jongdae had been mercilessly shoved to the ground, he had been pushed towards a food cart and the entire thing had toppled onto him. The only reason the younger male hadn’t been injured more severely was because the cat suit had softened the blow.

But enough was enough.

“It’s just not fair!” Baekhyun yelled.

Jongdae shrank back, his voice barely above a whisper when he said, “Please don’t raise your voice like that, Baek. It scares me.”

With that, his anger cooled instantly. “I’m so sorry, Jongdae,” Baekhyun apologized after sighing deeply. “It just—it makes me so anxious whenever people push you around. You’re so much smaller and skinnier than I am. I can’t help but worry.”

“I know,” the younger male ruefully conceded. “I’m trying my best to make sure you don’t have to worry, but I guess I’m failing miserably at that.”

“It’s not your fault!” Baekhyun hastily said. “It’s all those rude people who think that it’s okay to shove someone when they’re already down,” he growled, fists balling into the sheets.

Seeing how worked up Baekhyun was getting and knowing that he needed to nip the fury in the bud before the flames grew into an inextinguishable fire, Jongdae pulled the older male down next to him. “Let’s just go to sleep, okay? Your body needs as much rest as mine does.”

Baekhyun was about to protest when he looked directly at the other boy and saw how much pain was reflected in his dark brown eyes. Realizing that there was no point in further upsetting either of them, he relented and let all of the tension escape from his limbs. “Alright, good night, Dae,” the older male murmured as he tucked the duvet securely around the two, making sure it was airtight on Jongdae’s side.

“Good night, Baek. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“I’m always here for you, bud.” He then began to tenderly the younger male’s back. “One day, we’re gonna get outta here,” Baekhyun whispered into Jongdae’s soft hair, cradling him gently. “Things are gonna change and we’re gonna live like kings in the future… One day…”

One day…

♈♈♈