CHAPTIRE 6 CORE OF MY SOUL-PART 1

 

Underneath the moon light, stood the lone figure of the orphaned boy.
 
Changmin stared at the moon with glistening eyes. Waiting for a sign. Anything to convince himself that he has a reason to live.
 
 
 
 
“Changmin-ah, don’t stand like that in front of the window, you’ll catch a cold,”
 
Yoochun looked up from his notes to his dongsaeng with concerned eyes.
 
“Is something troubling you?”
 
 
 
The now thirteen-year old boy slowly walked towards his hyung. His eyes cast down, not saying a word. He put his arms around his hyung’s neck and whispered a single word,
 
“Thanks.”
 
Yoochun gave a little chuckle, “For what?”
 
“For taking care of me. I’m grateful… that you didn’t leave me alone.”
 
“Minnie don’t be so dramatic, I would never leave you alone to bear all this by yourself. What is going on, tell me. Is it school? Are you being bullied? Is work too hard?”
 
 
“Hyung…I miss my sisters…”
 
 
Yoochun looked up at Changmin with kind eyes, “Min-ah, I almost found them. I have an entire special ops team out looking for them. Don’t worry. I keep my promises.”
 
Relieved for the time being, the youngest decided to go to bed.
 
The eldest went back to his musical studies. Agitated, he brought out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and dialed a phone number hastily. Tapping the glass table beneath his palms rapidly, he let out a light sigh. A ring tone sounded to Yoochun’s relief and on the other line a young male voice began to speak.
 
-“Hello?”
 
Yoochun cleared his throat and began to speak.
 
“Hey kid, did you find information on the two missing girls I asked you about?”
 
The voice hesitated a little.
 
-“Well…the trail is getting hotter. I traced it to Beijing.”
 
Yoochun’s eyes widened.
 
“Beijing? Are you sure? That territory is-  nevermind.”
 
-“Yea hyung. I share your concerns. Also, my men traced Changmin’s abduction to an unclaimed body at the coroner’s from around six years ago. Some witnesses were there that day. They were all bribed to keep quiet. The woman isn’t important, but I checked her old apartment… and hyung…she has a lot of information on Yu Huan. Apparently she was a former agent. As soon as I get more information, I’ll call your dad. Alright?”
 
The vein on Yoochun’s vast forehead began to protrude from heavy concentration.
 
“Ok, try to keep the whole operation under wraps. Donghae please be careful. Your father is under close watch by the Tang clan as well. If you start snooping in Chinese territory-”
 
-“Ha ha, don’t worry hyung, we’ll  be ok.” Donghae let out a light laugh. “My dad is still alive and kicking despite his health.”
 
Yoochun gave a bright little smile in the contrasting darkness of his room. His voice laced with concern, he imagined a cheerful Donghae lying on his bed tired from practice.
 
“Dongsaeng, have you been getting enough sleep? All that dance practice must be difficult.”
 
-“Jung soo hyung is taking care of me, don’t worry. Plus all us dancers sometimes go out for drinks and fun. Why don’t you come with us once in a while?”
 
“Is…uhh…you-know-who going with you also?”
 
Donghae let out a small giggle, “Jeez, hyung,  can’t you even say his name? You should just ask him out.”
 
Yoochun made a playful frown face, “Stop teasing me and go to bed. Practice is tomorrow bright and early sunshine! I can’t wait for your band to debut!”
 
-“Whatever!”
 
 
 
The two boys hyung up their phones. Yoochun promptly closed his music notebook and stretched his hands over his head. His face turned stoic and his mind was full of questions and concerns. Finding the girls was going to be harder than he thought. The bastard is very crafty or very stupid.
 
Speaking out loud he tried his best to understand the inner workings of Changmin’s father’s mind.
 
“First the supposed training facility in Jeju. Now you ship your daughters off to China. Beijing of all places. Yu Huan what the are you up to? You’re a wanted man already. If Wu Tsung catches you, whatever you’re planning will go up in flames. He isn’t a forgiving man.”
 
Frustrated with all these puzzle pieces of information he decided to call his father. Tonight will be the night he will get to the bottom of all this obscurity.

 

“Yunho…have you seen my hamburger?”
 
Heechul was scouring the entire room of his dorm like a hawk. Looking for any clues of a hamburger wrapper or crumbs tracing back to the culprit.
 
“No…why don’t you go buy another one?” Yunho looked up from his cassette player briefly and then closed his eyes and went back to mentally preparing for his next choreography routine.
 
“I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAMN BURGER! The whole day I had my mind set on it. Damn. I even wrote specifically that it is mine!” The diva did not stop himself from sharing his frustrations out loud.
 
He stomped throughout the entire apartment complex, not leaving any object unturned.
 
“Urgh, I’m so mad!”
 
Yunho looked up once again and huffed, “Hyung, just relax, maybe you misplaced it?”
 
“Yunho-yah, we share this dorm with four other boys! No such thing as misplaced! One of those ing s stole it. I told them it is MY food. How many times do I have to tell these people not to touch my things!”
 
“Maybe Donghae ate it?”
 
Heechul paused his ranting for a moment, “Hmm…well…he’s cute…he’s allowed. He needs meat on his bones. Poor kid, I should feed him. I think narcissist Jung soo forgets about him and he ends up starving. That's why he's so short. Poor baby.” He pouted. 
 
Yunho gave out a little chuckle, to which Heechul blew out a raspberry and left the complex with haste, on a mission to find the culprit.
 

Jaejoong walked through the streets of Seoul. Lots of thoughts went through his brain.
 
Many emotions wracked his heart.
 
He felt confused.

 
Lost. 

 
He felt as if metal spikes pierced his chest and constricted his heart from moving. Those barbs clung onto his soul and gave him a dull aching pain.
 
He wanted to cry. To shout. To scream.
 
Kicking a stray pebble in the dark, Jaejoong paused and sat on a bus bench. Looking around he saw how everything was still and calm. The external dramatically contrasted to his internal chaos.
 
Looking up at the stars, suddenly tears began to spill from his eyes, they glistened as they flowed past his cheeks. He didn’t stop them. He let emptiness envelope his body.
 

 
Yunho woke up from his nap. After two hours of extra practice, his body just couldn’t take anymore stress. The singing lessons were also difficult. These days his voice just couldn’t handle the vocal strains. He didn’t understand why.

 
Yet, each day he pushed himself further and further. His debut is just so close.
 
Keeping that positive thought in mind, he smiled and went out for a walk.
 
From a distance he saw the distraught face of Yoochun.
 

“Yoochun-ah what’s wrong?” Yunho furrowed his eyebrows and cast his lips into a straight line.
 
Yoochun quickly brought his eyes up, filled with worry, and recognized the figure that stood before him and suddenly his face brightened, “Oh thank god! Hyung, have you seen Jaejoong? I was supposed to meet with him this morning, but he hasn’t picked up his cell phone since last night.”
 
Parting his lips in surprise, Yunho didn’t know what to say, “I-I don’t know, I thought he went somewhere to get some personal things done?”
 
Yoochun’s eyes scanned the pale wall beside them. His friend wasn’t missing for a long time, but he felt something was wrong. He always calls. 
 
“Hyung, he went to his parent’s house. To talk about his birth mother.”
 
Yunho’s chest seized. “What? Why didn’t he tell me?” His voiced lowered an octave and became filled with worry. He knew what this meant to his best friend.
 
“Maybe he didn’t feel comfortable? Anyway, let’s not make a big deal out of this, let’s just go back to your dorm.”
 
The two teenagers sprinted quickly towards their destination point.

 
As Yunho approached the door of the entrance to his dorm, he heard muffled shouting and screaming.
 
Yoochun gulped and stood in the back of Yunho, in fear. “Hyung, did something happen?”
 
“Sounds like Heechul. Relax.”
 
He turned the knob and the two pairs of eyes welcomed the site of a messy apartment. Clothes were all over the place. Furniture was covered in food stains. Chairs laid on the floor, broken. Books were tossed in every direction.
 

Yunho’s eyes widened, “What the is going on?”
 

On far side of the room Heechul was huffing and red faced. He was breathing roughly, obviously he was the one who was shouting. His hair looked disheveled and his face was mad.

 
On the other side, Jaejoong sat on the floor Indian style, with a cigarette popped in his mouth. Not a care in the world. The side of his bottom lip was broken and bleeding. His eyes stared into the distance, unseeing. He propped one arm under his chin, with his elbow placed on top of his knee.
 
His face held no emotions.
 

Yoochun quickly decided to give aid to Heechul and escorted him out, allowing his hyung to handle the situation and figure out the problem.
 
Yunho stood in the middle of the room. He watched the figure in front of him let out a puff of smoke. Still not saying a word.

 
“Jaejoong-ah,” he began to say. “What happened?”
 
“Nothing.” Was his only reply.
 
 
Yunho slowly began to walk towards his best friend. He sat on his knees in front of him.
Slowly, he brought his arms around the other teenager’s neck.
 
Jaejoong pushed him away.
 
 
 “Yunho just leave me alone.”
 
 
When that didn’t work, he pressed a kiss to his forehead.
 
“Yunho…please.”
 
Not caring for his words, instead Yunho acted on his emotions. He wanted to cover his friend’s body in endless love. He wanted to know his pains and his problems. He hated to see his best friend in pain.
 
“Just tell me what’s wrong.”
 
“I ate Heechul’s burger.”
 
Yunho burst out laughing, but then his face turned serious.

 
“You provoked him. I know Heechul, and as vapid and annoying as he may be, he wouldn’t turn the whole apartment upside down without a good reason. And the reason you provoked him is because you are angry. Something is bothering you and you won’t tell me.”
 

Jaejoong got up from the floor and pushed Yunho away.

 
“You don’t know me at all. You are a hypocrite.”

 
“Jaejoongie, I know you went to see your parents.”

 Jaejoong paused.

“That doesn’t have anything to do with how I am. Just let me be alone. Heechul is a all he did is argue over a burger right now and nothing else.”
 

Unsatisfied with his answer, Yunho grabbed Jaejoong’s arm roughly, and scanned his face with worry flashing in his eyes. “Tell me what is going on Jae, I care about you.”

 
Jaejoong’s face turned dark, he pushed Yunho against the wall harshly. He pointed a shaking finger towards him.
 

“No, you don’t care about me. You are a hypocrite and a liar!” he began to raise his voice. His eyes were glistening once again filled with tears. “I hate you and everybody like you. You don’t care about me at all! Yunho, why is it when I try to be affectionate with you in public, all you do is cast me away? Why are you so afraid to show me your feelings? Are you ashamed of me?”
 

Jaejoong’s voice began to break. Pain flashed across his face. He looked hysterical.
 

“Jae, of course not. You’re my best friend. What’s going on with you lately?”
 

 
Donghae quickly followed behind Yoochun as soon as he heard news of the fight. “Yoochun hyung, what happened? Did anybody get hurt?” His big eyes stared up towards his friend filled with anxiety and questions.
 
Yoochun rolled his eyes and sighed, “Have you ever watched ?”
 
Donghae gave his hyung a questioning look, “Umm…Hyuk-jae once showed me five seconds, but I didn’t like it.”
 
“Well, basically, it’s like lesbian . Just two es in heat. Two women with similar personalities and uniforms walk into a bar. One accidentally spills a drink on the other, than a fight ensues, and then they suddenly start taking off their clothes and making out, and then one grabs-“
 
“YOOCHUN, WHAT THE !” Heechul slammed the door of Yoochun’s dorm room in anger. “I asked you for a cup of water, not a narration of a o and for you to pollute the mind of my favorite dongsaeng.”
 
Donghae stood there with his jaw wide open.
 
Yoochun gave Heechul a sleazy smile and a grin and ran off giggling. 

"You two will both end up crazy cat ladies anyways!"

****thank you for reading and commenting I truly appreciate the comments. I am sorry for typos. I'll try my best to catch them. I read these over and over again...and I am evil enough to continue delay of yoosu *wiggless brows*  mwahaha