”Himchan and Jiyong, can you guys go up and get the extra bed?” Yongguk asked when they arrived at his and Heechul’s apartment. Heechul was, as per usual, only God knows where and Hankyung was working.

Himchan and Jiyong did as they were told, but Himchan was thoroughly confused. This was Zelo? There seemed to be nothing special about the boy. Why did Yongguk care so much?

Yongguk sat down on the couch with Zelo next to him, content to just look at the boy. Zelo stared at the wall in front of him, much like he had the first time Yongguk met him. Yongguk could hardly believe that they were back to square one.

“Zelo,” he said softly and Zelo turned his head to him. “Would you like a shower?”

Still, Zelo was silent, motionless, but he followed Yongguk when he stood up and made his way into the bathroom. Once the door was locked and it was only the two of them, he started undressing without being told so. Yongguk wasn’t sure he dared believe it was because Zelo still held the same trust for him. Did Zelo feel that he’d abandoned him? Yongguk certainly felt guilty enough.

He gasped when Zelo bared more and more of his skin. The once pale, smooth flesh was covered in bruises and cuts; some fresh, some old. He was a lot skinnier than he used to be and hi ribs were showing. Yongguk decided to not say anything about it for now, but rather just help Zelo clean up and do his best to avoid touching the most painful-looking wounds.

“Who did this to you?” he whispered, more to himself than Zelo.

He didn’t realize he’d been crying until Zelo reached out and wiped his cheeks. Yongguk lifted his gaze to meet Zelo’s and only cried harder at what met him; Zelo’s eyes did still hold the trust and love he’d once had for Yongguk.

“You should hate me,” Yongguk said. “I abandoned you. Well, not really, but I just as well could have.  I knew I should’ve brought you to school with me!”

Yongguk noticed that Himchan was both confused and a little jealous when he made his way into the bedroom with Zelo, firmly wrapped in a huge towel, in front of him. Himchan followed him into his room and watched during a, for Yongguk and Zelo, comfortable silence as Yongguk dressed Zelo in clothes he’d obviously kept since the boy disappeared. The silence was not as comfortable for Himchan; it was deafening.

“Why, Yongguk?” he asked finally. Zelo froze in position while Yongguk looked up.

“Why what, Himchan?”

His voice was lower, as if to accommodate the silence, and it made Himchan less confused and more jealous.

“Why do you care so much for him? He’s just a boy!” he yelled. They could both see how Zelo flinched at the volume of his voice.

“Keep your voice down, Himchan,” Yongguk scolded him. “And he’s not just a boy. I don’t know what it is either, but he is not ‘just a boy’. Never say that again.”

Yongguk could see the shock in Himchan’s whole being. Then he turned around and left, slamming the door to the apartment shut behind him. Zelo flinched again and Yongguk was by his side in a split second.

“He’s just jealous,” he muttered into Zelo’s hair as he held the boy. “Give him some time. Soon he’ll be back to normal.”

It was unclear whether he was trying to convince himself or Zelo.

~~

Everything changed when they came back to school. Yongguk was walking in between Himchan and Yongguk, one hand viciously clutched by a jealous boyfriend, the other by a nervous mute.

Zelo had every right to be nervous. The people that had before acted weird towards him and sent him odd looks were now smiling at him, offering to help him and even take care of him if Yongguk ever needed some time to himself. Yongguk politely declined all offers on Zelo’s behalf.

“Why didn’t you call me?!” Kyuhyun shouted when he saw them.

“I didn’t think of it, I’m sorry,” Yongguk said, but it wasn’t like Kyuhyun was listening as he hugged Zelo tightly to his chest, grinning widely.

“You’re back, little one!” he said, holding Zelo at arm’s length. “Do you have any idea how much you made your appa worry?”

Yongguk scoffed at being called ‘appa’, but he swore he saw something flicker in Zelo’s eyes and said nothing about it.

“If Yongguk is the appa, am I the umma?” Himchan asked, surprising everyone. Up until now, he’d played the role of the jealous boyfriend perfectly. This was the first time he actually said something about Zelo.

“Why yes, of course,” Kyuhyun said with a grin. “You totally fit into the umma-role, too!”

Yongguk rolled his eyes and shook his head, sending Zelo an amused look. It wasn’t reciprocated like it once had been, but Yongguk was sure it’d be there soon.

~~

He was right. It was a mere few days later when Zelo’s silent language started coming back. Still it was only Yongguk who noticed, understood. Himchan said he noticed some of it, like how he sometimes tilted his head, but he didn’t understand it like Yongguk did.

“So this is what you think is special about him?” Himchan asked one day when he and Yongguk were doing homework at Yongguk’s place. Zelo was lying on his bed, writing something in a little notebook he’d begged Yongguk to buy him. Yongguk was pretty sure he still had Zelo’s old notebook somewhere, but he wasn’t sure where. Maybe the police had taken it.

“What?” Yongguk asked, glancing over to Zelo who had paused with his pen a few millimeters above the paper.

“This language you keep talking about,” Himchan said, waving his hand in the general direction of Zelo. Yongguk rolled his eyes.

“Maybe, I don’t know. Also, please don’t talk about him like that. He’s mute, not dumb,” he answered, earning a raised eyebrow.

Yongguk knew that he neglected Himchan more and more with each day that passed, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. Right now, taking care of Zelo was the most important thing in his life.

Taking care of Zelo and watching him slowly go back to his normal self. Taking care of Zelo and watching his silent communication with Yongguk come back.

Then one day Himchan came over with enough snacks for an entire army and a few of Yongguk’s favorite war movies. He was wearing a silly grin and an oversized shirt he’d stolen from Yongguk.

“We should have a movie marathon!” he said as he invited himself to the apartment.

“Zelo can’t watch those,” Yongguk pointed out. Himchan scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“I know. I meant you and me. Why don’t you put Zelo to bed? I’ll get everything ready,” he said, smiling once more.

Yongguk found no reason to protest and went through the usual routine of putting Zelo to bed; he made sure he didn’t slip and break his neck in the shower, he helped him brush his teeth, he toweled his hair so it stood in all kinds of odd directions while he put on his pajamas and he made sure he was securely tucked in with the comforter all the way up to his chin.

But when he tried to leave, Zelo grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. Yongguk understood what he wanted, even if Zelo didn’t say anything.

“Want me to stay until you fall asleep?” he offered, feeling that pride rise within him again when Zelo nodded.

“Hmm… I can tell you a bedtime story, if you want.”

Zelo’s eyes lit up and he nodded again. Then he scrambled out of bed and Yongguk tried to stop him until he realized Zelo was reaching for his notebook.

“Oh, you’ve written this yourself?” he said, a little surprised when he opened the notebook and was met with the words once upon a time… Zelo nodded and Yongguk chuckled at the pride stamped across his face.

“Want me to read it for you?” he asked and Zelo nodded once more. Unbeknownst to either of them, Himchan was standing in the doorway, watching the scene with a small frown. He was unsure of whether he should be annoyed and jealous or think the sight was totally adorable and, well… family-ish.

Yongguk cleared his throat before he began to read.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Woo Jiho. Jiho-hyung was very nice even if he looked a little scary. Jiho-hyung liked rapping.
Jiho-hyung had a friend named was Kyung. Kyung-hyung was also nice, even if he was a little weird sometimes.
One day, Jiho-hyung found a little boy outside. He took the boy home and took care of him, but Kyung-hyung did not understand why he did it and became angry at Jiho-hyung. When Jiho-hyung was quiet, Kyung-hyung started yelling at the boy. The boy was scared, but Jiho-hyung protected him.
Jiho-hyung also protected the boy against his parents and his brother. They were being really mean to both Jiho-hyung and the boy, but Jiho-hyung always protected the boy so his family was mean only to him.
The boy loved Jiho-hyung.

It ended there. Yongguk had tears in his eyes when he stopped, but he had miraculously managed to keep his voice steady. When he lifted his gaze to look at Zelo, the boy was fast asleep. With a small smile, Yongguk put the notebook on the floor next to the bed and leaned forward to place a kiss on Zelo’s forehead.

When he turned around, he was surprised to find Himchan standing there; he was even more surprised to find that he was crying.

“Jiho… He’s the friend who gave Zelo to you, isn’t he?” he asked quietly once they were out in the living room and the door to Yongguk’s and Zelo’s room was closed. Yongguk nodded.

“Yes. I didn’t know… He said he wanted me to have Zelo because it was getting difficult to hide him. But according to Zelo’s story, his parents already knew about Zelo…?”

The two sat down on the couch, both too deep in thought to even think of watching the movies Himchan had brought. It was obvious that the story Zelo had written was about himself, but there were several things about it that confused Yongguk, like why he’d written it in third person. The story also said nothing of who the boy, Zelo, really was, as it began where Jiho found him.

“Do you think he’ll write a story about you, too?” Himchan broke the silence, his voice even quieter now.

“I don’t know,” Yongguk murmured. “But if he does, there’ll be a huge gap in it.”

Himchan turned to Yongguk with a confused frown on his face.

“What do you mean?” he asked. Yongguk sighed and leaned his head backwards, closing his eyes.

“He started the story where Jiho found him. If he writes one about me too, I doubt he’ll write anything about the period of time he was missing. He’ll just write about what it’s like to live with me,” he explained. Himchan’s eyes went wide.

“I didn’t think of that.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until a drunk Heechul stumbled through the door with an equally drunk Hankyung in tow. Then they put on one of the movies, mainly to make it easier to ignore the noises coming from Heechul’s and Hankyung’s room.

“Ugh,” Himchan muttered. “How do you do this?”

“I don’t know,” Yongguk chuckled. “I’m used to it?”

All and any sounds except those from the TV stopped abruptly with an ear-splitting, blood-freezing shriek from Yongguk’s room.

Everything was still and silent for a moment before Yongguk flew up from the couch and ran into his room. Zelo was sitting up in bed, tears running in seemingly endless streams from his eyes and he was practically bathed in his own sweat.

“Hyung,” he sobbed hoarsely when he caught sight of Yongguk. It was all he’d ever said. Hyung. Yet it spoke millions of words Yongguk shoved to the side in that moment.

“Nightmare?” he asked, sitting down on the edge of Zelo’s bed. Zelo merely nodded as he crawled into Yongguk’s lap, sobbing into his neck.

Yongguk wasn’t sure what to do except hold him and gently rock him from side to side. He barely even noticed how sweaty Zelo really was or that he was drenching Yongguk with his sweat as well.

“Shh, sweetie, I’m here,” he murmured. “You’re fine, you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

It took some time, but eventually Zelo calmed down. Himchan offered to stay with him while Yongguk got ready for bed, but he declined and instead opted to follow Yongguk into the bathroom.

Himchan actually offered to sleep in Zelo’s bed so Yongguk could sleep with Zelo close to him, and Yongguk promised he’d give him anything he asked for in return.

~~

Gradually, Zelo began trusting Himchan as well even if he still had a special bond with Yongguk. As Zelo started trusting Himchan more and more, Himchan felt more and more of his jealousy towards the boy slip between his fingers and disappear.

About a month after the nightmare-incident, Zelo dug out the notebook again, this time during dinner. Only Himchan and Yongguk were home and Heechul and Hankyung wouldn’t be home until the next day.

“You’ve written another story?” Himchan asked, giving Zelo an encouraging smile. Zelo nodded and gave the notebook to Yongguk, who was the first to finish eating. Yongguk dutifully cleared his throat and turned the pages until he found the place Zelo had left off last time. There was a few rounds’ space and then another story started.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Bang Yongguk. Yongguk-hyung was very nice, even if he too looked a little scary. Yongguk-hyung was friends with Jiho-hyung even if Jiho-hyung was younger than him. Yongguk-hyung lived with his crazy cousin because his parents didn’t like him.
Jiho-hyung asked Yongguk-hyung to take care of the boy he had found and Yongguk-hyung promised he would. The boy wasn’t sure he wanted Jiho-hyung to leave, but Yongguk-hyung seemed nice too, and Jiho-hyung trusted him to the boy didn’t say anything. The boy never said anything.
Yongguk-hyung’s cousin tried to make the boy talk by yelling at him, but Yongguk-hyung protected the boy. The boy thought Yongguk-hyung was very nice and that he could live with him without any problems. Yongguk-hyung even took the boy with him to school and introduced him to all his nice friends. One friend named Yoseob got angry like Kyung-hyung because Yongguk-hyung was too much with the boy, but he did not yell like Kyung-hyung. In the end, Yoseob-hyung and Yongguk-hyung realized they loved each other and made friends again.
One day, the boy disappeared. He was gone for a very long time and caused Yongguk-hyung to worry and hurt a lot. But when he came back, Yongguk-hyung was already happy again. The boy wondered if Yongguk-hyung had it better without him, but it seemed like Yongguk-hyung wanted him so he said nothing when he took the boy home. Yongguk-hyung had a new friend, Himchan-hyung, who also seemed to get a little angry when Yongguk-hyung was with the boy. The boy wanted to say sorry to him but he was too scared Himchan-hyung would yell, too so he only tried to make himself as small as possible.
Now, the boy loves both Yongguk-hyung and Himchan-hyung even if Yongguk-hyung is the one he trusts the most.
The boy wishes to be with them forever.

Both Yongguk and Himchan were crying silently by the time they finished. Zelo looked at them curiously as he accepted the notebook when Yongguk gave it back to him.

“I wish you’ll be with me forever too, Zelo,” Yongguk murmured hoarsely. Zelo offered him a small, mysterious smile before he went into his and Yongguk’s room to put the notebook back in its rightful place.

When he entered the kitchen once more, he climbed into Yongguk’s lap and dried his tears with his sleeve before going over to Himchan and doing the same to him. This time his silent language was so clear that Himchan understood it without a problem as well.

Don’t cry, hyungs. I’m right here.

~~

A week after Yongguk had read the second story, Jiho paid a very surprise visit. He looked dirty and tired when Yongguk opened the door.

“Jiho!” he exclaimed in surprise, immediately stepping aside to let the younger stumble inside, catching the attention of Himchan, Heechul, Hankyung and Zelo who were having dinner in the kitchen.

“Hey man, can I crash here for a week or so?” Jiho asked, sitting down on the floor and attempting to untie his shoes with fingers that looked very numb. Yongguk crouched down to help him and Jiho gave him a thankful smile.

“Of course. What happened?” Yongguk asked, instantly going into worried-friend mood. Jiho shrugged, looking at something behind Yongguk. Yongguk threw a look over his shoulder and noticed that Zelo was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Look who came to visit, Zelo,” he smiled, helping Jiho off the floor. “Jiho-hyung.”

Zelo gave a tiny, somewhat uncertain smile. Jiho’s eyes widened and he looked at Yongguk.

“He smiled,” he said, sounding very surprised. “He never smiled with me…”

“But he loves you,” Yongguk said. Jiho’s eyes widened even further.

“How do you know?” he asked. Yongguk held a finger up in a wait a moment-gesture. He went into his bedroom to get Zelo’s notebook, giving it to Jiho once he came back into the hallway.

“Zelo better tell you himself.”

Jiho looked thoroughly confused when he started reading, but his expression soon changed into one of realization. He, too, had tears in his eyes when he stopped. He looked up at Zelo who looked back at him but didn’t move.

“Oh come on,” Jiho said, voice shaking a little. “A hug?”

Zelo quickly stepped forward and gave Jiho a hug, as if he’d only been waiting for the word. If Yongguk knew him half as well as he thought he did, he had.

“You never told me,” Yongguk said lowly once Zelo was back in the kitchen and he and Jiho were on their way to the bedroom.

“Told you what?” Jiho asked, obviously too tired to keep up with the conversation. Or maybe he was just thinking too much.

“Your family,” Yongguk said quietly and it’s all he needed to stay. Jiho stopped abruptly and turned to him.

“I just didn’t want… Didn’t want anyone to know,” he answered, not looking at Yongguk. “Especially not someone who really cared for me, because I don’t want… I don’t want them to go to jail, you know? I still love them. We have wonderful moments together.”

Yongguk only nodded and ushered Jiho into his room.

“Stay here as long as you want to. I’m pretty sure Kyuhyun can tutor you if you want to,” he said as he helped Jiho settle in.

“Kyuhyun?” Jiho asked, rubbing his eyes.

“A friend of mine. He’s seventeen, and he’s like a genius or something. He’s quite snarky, but please don’t let his attitude get to you,” he warned him. Jiho let out a tired chuckle.

“Hey, where can I sleep?” he asked instead of saying anything more about Kyuhyun. Yongguk shrugged.

“My bed or Zelo’s. Take your pick,” he answered.

He wasn’t surprised at all when Jiho chose Zelo’s bed and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.