Jung Ewon

I settled into my new routine in Taecyeon's - our -home. It amazed me how comfortable and right it felt to be in the same space as him, sharing meals, a bed, and a life. I could touch him and kiss him whenever I wanted to instead of just wishing that I could. It was everything I had ever dreamed of and more. I kept expecting to wake up at any minute to find out that it had all been an elaborate dream, but instead, I found the love of my life on the pillow beside mine. 

Taecyeon's mornings began long before mine, which I didn't mind too much because it meant that he returned to me earlier. He never left for training without kissing me and telling me that he loved me. When he got home each afternoon, he was ready for two things - food and ing. It was a toss-up daily which one came first, I never complained about either one.

One afternoon, Taecyeon left to visit a LGBT shelter for runaway teens and young adults after his food and time. I stayed behind so I could get some more research done for my next interview with NFL rookie phenom, who was either referred to as a thug or a great guy. I wanted to meet him in person, rather than do a phone interview, so I could see for myself what kind of person he really was.

I had read many articles about his supposed connections to gangs during high school and the community work he engaged in during college. What was true and what was fiction? I thought it was possible that both were true. A lot of athletes overcame adversity from their early years, then gave back to their communities and encouraged teens to avoid some of the things they got caught up in. They were people I greatly admired.

I rose from the sofa where I'd taken up residence to let Caesar out to stretch his legs and do his business. I debated about taking a swim, but decided to get my research done so I could spend as much time with Taecyeon as possible before I had to leave for my trip. I left Caesar to do his thing and went in search of something to drink. I heard the front door open and close and figured it was Taecyeon returning home to grab something he forgot. I mean, it probably took a long time for the blood to return to his brain after the ing he gave me before he left. I heard his footsteps approaching behind me and decided to have a bit of fun.

"Can't stay away from this..." I yanked down my shorts to reveal my bare "can you?"

My wisecrack and crack were met with silence and not the y comeback I'd expected. A feeling of unease came over me, followed by my hair standing up all over my body. I quickly yanked up my shorts and turned around. The last person I expected to see again in Taecyeon's house was standing in his - our - kitchen with a gun pointed at me.

"You think you're ing cute, don't you?" Junho snarled "You have ruined Taec's life." he was so angry, his hands shook.

That whole saying about your life flashing before your eyes was totally true and my movie reel was way too damn short for my liking. My brain went into survival mode because I had just recently found the guy I wanted to spend my life with and I wasn't about to give that future up easily.

"Junho, let's talk about this." I raised my hands up in front of me in a surrender gesture "You don't want to do anything drastic here."

"Don't tell me what I want to do, you little er."

Junho took two steps toward me so that there was probably ten feet or less between us. I saw in his eyes that he wasn't playing around and had come with one purpose in mind - to kill me. With my back against the kitchen counter, my only escape was around Junho or through him. If he hadn't held a gun on me, I would've tried either option. The gun changed things, though. I tried to discreetly look for something within my grasp to throw at the arm holding the gun like I'd seen in the movies, but there was nothing.

I could only pray that something would distract him long enough for me to charge him and hope for the best. In the meantime, the best course of action was to buy time by keeping my mouth shut and letting him talk. If Junho was like most TV and movie villains, then he would have plenty of things to say.

"Taec was destined for great things, but you destroyed it, Ewon. It's only a matter of time before he's a sad little asterisk in MMA history." Junho said.

"How do you figure?" I asked. So much for keeping my mouth shut.

Junho 

shook his head slowly, as if I was lacking a brain "Before, when people looked at Taec, they saw a champion they could believe in. Now, all they do is wonder what he likes to do with his ."

"You sure as didn't help him out there, did you, Junho?" I figured if I was going to die that day in Taecyeon's kitchen, then I'd at least go out the way I wanted to "The only one obsessed about what Taec's doing with his is you, and it's only because he's not giving it to you. That's what you can't stand. You figured someday you'd be the one crying out 'Champ' while he pounded away." I took a step forward, uncertain when I'd grown such big balls, and said "It's never going to happen, Junho. Do you hear me? You can kill me now, but the only thing you'll get out of it is a prison sentence."

"See, that mouth of yours is the reason you're going to bleed out in Taec's kitchen. Imagine how broken he'll be when he discovers your brains all over his floor."

The fact that I worried more about Taecyeon finding my dead body than dying was proof of how much I loved him. I didn't dare close my eyes and imagine how broken he'd be because I wouldn't give Junho the satisfaction of knowing that his poisoned arrow struck its target.

"My mouth is what captured Taec's attention and set me apart from the others, including you." I stood up taller "I might die today, but I won't die unloved. I will go to my grave knowing Taec placed his love for me above his career and money."

Junho laughed hysterically "I give it a month at the most before he moves on from you. There are so many asses to in the world. You'll be nothing more than a distant memory - a regretted one at that for ruining his career."

As much as it hurt me to think of Taecyeon with someone else, I'd never want him to live without love in his life and revert to emotionless . He deserved so much more than that "Maybe so, but it won't be your he chooses." 

"Don't be so sure, you arrogant bastard. I was so close once before. I felt his lips against mine and felt him start to harden beneath my hand. Only some misplaced loyalty to you stopped him. If you're dead..."

Caesar must have heard the raised voices, because he began barking viciously and scratching at the back door. It startled Junho so much, he pulled the trigger and fired a shot. Luckily for me, his arm had jerked slightly in the same direction that his head turned and the bullet hit the cabinet behind me and not me. My eardrums felt like they were going to bust from the noise of the gun blast, the splintered wood from the cabinet, and the shattered glasses from the dishes inside them.

It also spurred me into action. I charged at Junho, who looked shocked that he'd fired the gun, which was odd because why else had he come? I lowered my shoulder and rammed him in the chest hard enough to knock him on his . I heard the sound of the gun hitting the floor but didn't stop running or even looking over my shoulder to see where it landed. I had only one chance to escape him. I sprinted for the front door, hoping I could reach it before Junho recovered his gun because he would have a clean shot at me.

"Stop, Ewon!" Junho screamed, as if I was stupid enough to fall for that "I'm going to ing kill you. Taec won't even recognize you when I'm through with you."

Taec's house had always seemed large to me, but never more so than in that moment when it felt like I ran and ran, but never got closer to the door. Finally, as if someone turned off the slow-motion feature, I was within a few feet of the door and had hope that I would make it. I'm going to make it, Taec. As if I had conjured him up, the door opened and Taecyeon stepped through it. The smile fell off his face when he saw the fear etched on mine.

"Gooooo!" I waved my arm and repeated for him to go.

Taecyeon looked around me to see what the was going on and his eyes widened in fear. I knew then that Junho had found the gun and was aiming at me. I wanted to be brave so Taecyeon would remember me that way and not as a terrified man who was ready to cry because he wasn't ready to leave him. At least I'd leave this world with Taecyeon being the last person I saw, not that bastard Junho. I love you. I couldn't be sure if I just thought the words to myself or said them out loud.

Taecyeon lunged at me, grabbed both of my biceps in his strong hands, then turned his body to try and knock me out of the way. I heard the loud bang of the gun go off, followed by Taecyeon grunting in pain in my ear. We crashed into the wall hard enough to knock the paintings off it, then fell on top of the decorative table by the door. It wasn't strong enough to support our combined weight, so the table, all the decorations on it, and both of us went crashing to the floor.

I felt shards of ceramic and glass piercing my shirt and stabbing into my skin seconds before my head hit the marble tiled floor hard enough to knock me unconscious. I wasn't sure how long I was out, but it couldn't have been too long because I heard sirens in the distance. I looked into Taecyeon's concerned eyes and was so grateful to be alive. 

"Not a dream." I said, trying to convince myself "You're real."

"As a heart attack, baby." it reminded me of the conversation we had when we first got back together.

I wanted to laugh, but my head hurt too badly. I became aware of excruciating pain in my side and upper thigh, then forgot about it when I noticed Taecyeon's injury. He had removed his shirt and wrapped it around his upper arm to staunch the blood flow, but it wasn't working.

"You came back." I said.

"I forgot my phone in the bedroom. It's a good thing I came back when I did or I would've lost you." the tenderness in Taecyeon's voice was almost enough to make me forget the situation we were in.

I sat up suddenly, then clutched my stomach when it pitched and rolled, threatening to spill its contents all over the bloody floor. I got extremely lightheaded and began to sway as blackness threatened to pull me back under. I needed to stay awake. What if we were still in danger?

"Junho?" I asked, more like slurred. The sirens got louder as our help got closer.

"Ran like the ing coward he is." Taecyeon growled "He's not going to get very far."

"You're bleeding really badly, Taec." I pointed out. 

"It's just flesh and muscle. I'm going to be okay." he tried to assure me. I was having a hard time focusing on him because there were suddenly three of him and none of them would stay still long enough "You have some nasty cuts and you banged your head really hard, but you're going to be okay too. I love you, baby."

"You're so ing y." I told him "All three of you." another wave of nausea hit me and I couldn't hold my contents inside me the second time. Later, I would be mortified that I vomited in front of Taecyeon or worried that he saw me as weak, but right then I was too miserable to care.

The cops and EMTs arrived on the scene and separated the two of us to get us ready for transport. Taecyeon insisted that he was fine to walk, even after the blood loss, and insisted on riding on the same ambulance as me. He held my hand and spoke to me and, although I couldn't hear the words he was saying over the loud sirens, I knew whatever he said was beautiful and full of emotion.

I could feel the edges of oblivion creeping up on me and knew I was about to lose consciousness again. It seemed like the harder I fought to stay awake, the heavier my body got and the dimmer my vision became.

"Don't fight it, baby. I'll still be here." Taecyeon told me.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was Jinyoung sitting beside me and not Taecyeon. I assumed the worst when I took in Jinyoung's tired, stressed expression and body language. I tried to sit up, but Jinyoung reached over and laid a calm hand over my chest and gently pressed me back down against the bed.

"Relax, kid." he said gently "Taec is fine. He's out of surgery and resting in his room next door. The bullet missed bone, but it tore through muscles and ligaments. He's looking at months of physical therapy to get the strength back in his arm."

I reached for the covers, prepared to throw them off so I could go find my man "He needs me."

"He does need you, and that's why you have to stay here and rest. Ewon, do you trust me?" I did, although I didn't know him well. I always had the impression that he had Taec's best interests at heart, which I could never say about Junho. I nodded, then regretted the action immediately because of the pain the movement caused. Jinyoung reached over and patted my hand where it rested on the bedrail "I'll make sure you two get moved into the same room. Okay?"

It would have to do because I was too sick to be going anywhere "Thank you, Jinyoung."

"No problem. Now that I know you're okay, I'm going to go check on Taec, then see about moving you guys in as roomies for the night." he pinned me with a serious look, then said "As long as you both promise to stay in your separate beds and actually do what the nurses tell you." 

I had to think hard about it for a few seconds because being in the same room with Taecyeon and not sharing the same bed felt like torture, but he would need his rest "Okay" I promised, maybe with a slight bit of petulance in my tone.

The next time I woke up, my guy was in a hospital bed parked next to mine. He smiled weakly at me and I thought to myself that he had never looked more beautiful than he did right then. He was banged up and in pain, but he was alive. I wanted so badly to go to him, to run my fingers through his hair and kiss his face, but I had made a promise to Jinyoung and I would keep it.

"How long we in for?" I asked him.

"We're both going home tomorrow." Taecyeon said "Jinyoung made sure that all signs of Junho will be gone." 

"Have they found him?" the thought of his crazy waiting for us to return made me sicker than I already felt. As gimpy as Taecyeon and I were right then, it would've been like shooting fish in a barrel.

" yeah, they did. He won't be able to hurt anyone ever again." Taecyeon told me.

I released a relieved breath and smiled at my guy. I held up my hand and gestured to our surroundings, then said "This isn't my idea of a sleepover, baby." 

"Mine either, but it's just for a night and then we'll be back to sharing a bed again."

I could handle one more night. In the grand scheme of things, it was no big deal at all. At least he was still beside me and neither one of us were gravely wounded.

"Unless you want to come over here and snuggle against my good side." Taecyeon said invitingly.

"I promised I'd be good." I told Taecyeon.

"Not going to happen." Jinyoung said, walking into the room. He had a blanket and a pillow tucked under his arms and wore a scowl on his face. It was obvious he didn't trust us and had intended to set up a night watch "I decided not to take any chances where you two are concerned." he pointed his finger at both of us "Besides, both of your families are coming tomorrow and you'll need your rest to deal with them."

Taecyeon and I both groaned. So much for some peaceful cuddling while we recuperated.