Kyungsoo's Monday morning is a living hell. First, because of all the nightmares he couldn't sleep properly and second, he couldn’t forget Jongdae's betrayal, making all the food that he placed inside his mouth to taste bitter. Hence his mood is thrice the peevish than it already usually is at every Monday morning (it means the start of the school week) and actually, truth be told, almost every morning. Even his intolerable classmate Baekhyun gives up on him, letting him sulk alone.

By lunch time his head hurts so much that he is surprised his nose isn’t bleeding, so he tries to find Joonmyeon (the other boy always makes everything better) to maybe sleep a bit on his shoulder.

In reality Joonmyeon makes everything so much better that if Kyungsoo didn't know better he would believe that the other had come from heaven to look out for him. Joonmyeon calls Kyungsoo's parents and just like that the younger is free from his afternoon extra classes of Math and English. He still has the regular classes though, until 3 p.m.

Anyway, Kyungsoo feels a lot better when he gets home before 4, having the house just for himself (meaning no one to order him to do his homework). He slips on top of his comforter on his bed and lets the tiredness take him away, almost instantly.

Unfortunately less than an hour later a nightmare comes in and he wakes up with his heart beating out of his chest and the urgency to save Joonmyeon. Being alone at home also means that there’s no one to make him feel safe and Kyungsoo definitely doesn't feel safe on his own. As an attempt to solve that problem, he brings a chair to the front of his big bedroom window and sits down admiring the park. The park could at all times bring him a peaceful mind.

Kyungsoo's fears reach a comfortable stop, while viewing the familiar sights of his most beloved place. The trees were moving graciously with the cold winter wind, some small kids were on the playground having fun, they probably didn't even have the age to go to school like him, how lucky of them! And just then, that's when he spots him, the deep moss green coloured jacket, which could only belong to a certain someone (though he can't see the kid’s face).

Kyungsoo doesn't think twice before putting on his warmer jacket and going after the other. He knows his parents expressively forbid visits to the park on weekdays and if they find out Kyungsoo will be in more trouble than he can handle. However, and ignoring all caution, in an instant he is next to the person wearing that green jacket, just to fortunately confirm that indeed is Jongin, and since yesterday events he lets out his first smile.

“Jongin-ah.” Relief rings clear in his voice.

The said boy jumps almost a meter, before facing Kyungsoo with big wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “Kyungsoo-yah? What are you doing here? I thought you could only come on Sundays.” His confusion making him leave out his usual shy personality.

“What are you doing here? I saw you out of my window.” Kyungsoo points at his apartment complex to show the other where the window is.

“Ohhh.” Just like before Jongin was sitting on the spinning chairs. “I usually spend my days here.” He whispers, particularly inaudible. “Waiting for Sundays.” Lucky thing Kyungsoo is still standing, for he almost has to glue his ear to Jongin's face in order to hear the words.

“What? Why?” Kyungsoo is so tired from his sleepless night that he can't even react to such shocking information.

Jongin swallows, out of nervousness. He likes Kyungsoo and doesn't want to lose a nice friend like him, but the most important trait of a person is their honesty and that's why he says, “Because I don't have anywhere else where to go.”

“What do you mean with ‘you have nowhere else where to go’? You don't have a home?”

“I don't.” Jongin’s voice comes out softly and his gaze drops to the floor, too afraid to look at the other boy's face any longer.

“But… Where are your parents?”

“I don't have any parents.”

“How can someone not have any parents?? Where did they go?”

“I… I don't know. When I opened my eyes they weren't there already. I… I never saw their faces again.”

“But, but. And the mafia?”

“Mafia?”

“Aren't you running away from the mafia?”

“No. I'm running away from the institution.”

“What institution?” Kyungsoo's knees feel really weak, so he lets his body fall to the ground and after a bit, adjusts himself to a more comfortable sitting position.

“It’s the place where I used to live, but they weren't nice and tried to force me to do things I didn't want to. That's why I run away.”

“OOOHHH…” Kyungsoo's mouth forms a big O and he takes his hand to his chin in deep thinking. Jongin was alone. There was no mafia nor hidden policemen. But maybe it was even worse than that. He remembers seeing a movie with his father about a secret place that took kids without family, to use them to perform scientific experiments. Jongin said that they wanted to make him do things. Oh boy… Poor Jongin! That's the only explanation. “So… Where do you sleep?”

Through all the conversation Jongin had his head down, but at Kyungsoo's words his head shoots up quickly, allowing himself to look the other in the eyes. He is searching for despise and perhaps disgust like he remembers the people from his past have shown, but instead he finds curiosity. The boy in front of him is truly someone really special that he by mere chance had the luck of encounter and that's why Jongin stands up and makes a hand movement for Kyungsoo to do the same. “I’ll show you.”

The two boys leave the park, Jongin slightly at the front, leading them. The place where Jongin is taking them isn't very far from the park. They change streets five times though, before arriving at one that’s quieter, and Kyungsoo is sure he had never been here before. Nonetheless, Jongin keeps guiding them confidently. They follow through a small alley between a bakery and a flower shop, the smell that usually Jongin's has is all around the air, making Kyungsoo sick. How Jongin can deal with it is a mystery.

He stops next to a dirt brown school bag and turns towards the right wall. In front of him there is some cardboard, a blanket and a big bowl. “Is it here?” Kyungsoo's asks weakly. He cannot imagine someone sleeping here. Much less that being everything that person has.

“Yes.” Jongin stands back a little to let Kyungsoo look around freely. He feels too self-conscious of the other's opinion. It is his first time showing someone where he has been sleeping and on top of that this someone matters a lot to him. He fumbles with his fingers behind his back to keep his anxieties at bay as he waits for a reaction.

Kyungsoo bites his tongue to hold back his dark judgement about what he is seeing. Joonmyeon usually tells him that it is important to think before speaking, because words have the power to hurt much more than real wounds sometimes, and he doesn't want to hurt Jongin. “You keep it tidy...”

“You think so?” Jongin visibly relaxes his muscles going lax, nervous gestures forgotten and he comes a little closer to the other. “I chose this place because,” he holds Kyungsoo hand and puts it on the wall under his. “Here, do you feel it?” His voice is full of excitement, perhaps because he was sharing his strategies with someone for the first time.

“Ooww. It's warm.”

“Yeah. On the other side is the bakery oven, so the wall is warm very early in the morning and it lasts until the middle of the afternoon. And look! I built this!” He shows some open plastic bottles put together and elevated with sticks at the extremities that can be put above the cardboard. “It works as a rooftop, for when it's raining!” Jongin sounds really proud of his achievement.

“But… Do you really stay dry?” The improved rooftop doesn't look trustworthy at all.

“Well… Mostly. It's still a lot better than not having one.”

“But… Isn't it dangerous? I mean anyone can come here and hurt you.” His brain flashes images from yesterday and a shiver runs down his back.

“There is no one else to know about this place.” Jongin replies firmly. “Oh. I almost forgot! There’s only one more person. At the end of the street adjacent to this one it’s the house of an old lady that is very kind to me. She gave me that bowl and blanket. And if I help her with cleaning and moving heavy stuff around, she sometimes fills up the bowl with rice and a few slices of meat. Besides me, she is the only one that knows about this place. I’m sure!” Jongin nods his head confidently a couple of times to better convey his opinion, staring attentively at the other’s eyes.

“Even so… I think it’s dangerous.” Kyungsoo eyebrows are furrowed in worry because this situation looks very far from safe.

“It is,” Jongin admits. “There’s a bad man after me and he hurt me a couple of times already, but he didn’t found out about this place.” He shakes his head to emphasize his words. “Not yet…”

“What man? Who wants to hurt you?” Kyungsoo is seriously alarmed now.

“The man that hurt hyung…” In his heart Jongin feels guilty, like as if he had been the one that led the man to his friends. Last night was terrible for him. He didn’t dare to close his eyes until there was movement in the bakery, too much afraid that the man would come back for him. When he finally fell asleep, he wished he hadn’t, because the image of a dead Joonmyeon, Kyungsoo and Jongdae was still imprinted on the back of his eyelids.

“WHAT? THAT P-P-PERSON IS A-AFTER YOU, JONGIN-AH?”

Kyungsoo reaction raises panic inside Jongin. He can’t afford to lose Kyungsoo, not now. He grabs the other boy’s hands and begs, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know he was coming! I’m so sorry, Kyungsoo-yah! Please, believe me!” He shouts desperate.

“You can’t stay here! You can’t stay where he can catch you!” Kyungsoo screams back.

“I… It’s safe. I have been here for a while…”

“Are you insane??” Kyungsoo raises his arms and spins them in the air, feeling too much the madness of this entire situation.

“I… It’s the best place I have ever found, and I looked everywhere.”

“You ARE insane!”

“I have nowhere to go!”

“That’s it. You are coming with me.” At this point they were screaming at each other.

“What? Where to?” However Kyungsoo’s last sentence confuses Jongin and his voice goes back to normal.

“You can’t stay here. If he catches you, he will hurt you, just like he hurt Joonmyeon. I have to take you.” Kyungsoo is looking at Jongin’s belongings, at his surroundings and at Jongin himself. His head moves madly on the outside, but inside is where the true revolution is happening. He can’t leave Jongin to die, but… Where is he going to take him? His parents will be entirely enraged if he appears with someone to live with them at the door. Only if they didn’t find out…

Last summer, Sehun needed someone to take care of his dog, but Kyungsoo’s parents refused to have the animal at their apartment. However, he still hid it on his wardrobe and with both of his parents working during most of the day and almost never entering his room, the week passed without incidents. It wouldn’t be much different to hide a boy, right?

“But where?”

“To my house.”

“But-”

“Come on! Bring everything important!” Kyungsoo bends over and picks the blanket. “Is this important? It’s really dirty and smells bad.”

“I… It’s the only one I have! It’s very important.” Jongin picks it up quickly and rolls it around the bowl, holding them up near his chest, as if protecting them from Kyungsoo lunatic behaviour.

He feels lightheaded, is he really going to follow Kyungsoo? And where to?

To his home?

But… Doesn’t Kyungsoo have parents? They will never accept Jongin, that’s for sure. This decision doesn’t feel right but at this point, Jongin can’t think of a possibility of not following Kyungsoo.

“The bag too?”

Jongin jumps, he was going to forget his bag? How foolish! “Yes! Very.” The boy snatches it up.

Kyungsoo hurries them in his house’s way, but he had never been in this part before so when he looks at Jongin completely lost, the other leads them back to the park.

All throughout the way Jongin is being a pain in the , with questions and questions to no end, asking if Kyungsoo is sure and how this isn’t a good idea. Nevertheless, they reach Kyungsoo’s house door, which he opens promptly.

“Bring your shoes with you. We have to hide them somewhere.”

“Is this really okay?” Jongin asks by the billionth time.

“SHHHHH. Be quiet,” Kyungsoo takes two fingers to his lips. For God’s sake his ears were hurting with the same question on and on. “You can be my secret friend, like a Digimon hidden in my room. Without the Digivolution part.” He takes Jongin to his room, digging immediately into his wardrobe to find space for the other boy. The third door is usually used for his toys so it’s not very difficult to position them around the room. He goes to the hall wardrobe to pick an extra pillow and a fluffy blanket, but then when he comes back Jongin’s horrible smell hits him right on the face, being everywhere in room. He could tolerate it on open air, but in a closed space, especially his room, it’s going to make him insane. “We have to clean you up. Your things too. Come after me.”

Ever since he entered the room, Jongin was too flabbergasted to move a muscle so he sat quietly on the floor, as far away as he could from the soft carpets (he didn’t want to dirty them). Kyungsoo’s room was so cool, huge and full of toys all over. The bed was the biggest Jongin had ever seen a kid have and his comforter was full of blue and grey cute robots. Actually, the whole room was dark blue and pale grey. It also had suspended stars and even some space shuttles on the ceiling and a bookcase full of books!

Jongin watched as the other boy emptied the fourth door on the wall, (two of the others being the wardrobe and the third the bedroom door) and smiled. Kyungsoo was having so much trouble for him, it felt very nice. When the other talked about cleaning himself up he agrees instantly, (not wanting to dirty the pretty room or the big house for that matter). He picks up his belongings and follows Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo takes Jongin to the bathroom that has the tub (the one that usually is just for him). “Take off your clothes. I'm going to prepare the bath.” The boy turns on the faucet to fill up the tub, adjusting the right temperature.

While Jongin was undressing himself, Kyungsoo was rechecking the water temperature and looking for big towels, so when he looks at Jongin he isn’t expecting the greasy dirty sickly grey skin that lodges all the length of his chest and belly. Kyungsoo is incredibly perplexed. He had never seen someone looking so sick before, maybe he should split his dose of daily vitamins with Jongin. The other appears to need it more anyway. He chooses to ignore it for now though, focusing just on the disgusting rather than the unhealthy state.

“Ewww, Jongin-ah. How long has it been since your last bath?” Kyungsoo makes a playful nauseated face to let the other boy know he was kidding.

Jongin looks very embarrassed. “I wash my hands every day.”

“That’s great…” He watches as now Jongin takes off his pants. “YOU DON’T HAVE UNDERWEAR?!”

“I…”

“My mum says that we should always wear underwear. We could get sick or hurt ourselves without it!”

“I… It’s not like that! When I run away I didn’t bring many, and after some time it became itchy. So I stopped wearing any...” Jongin lowers his head in apology as if he had done an unforgivable deed.

“Ohhh. Alright, then. Come on,” Kyungsoo points at the tub “jump into the water.” Only the part below Jongin’s knees is under water and the limpid fluid is already murky around his legs. The boy is about to sit down when Kyungsoo grabs his arm, “Maybe, it’s better to use the shower...” Kyungsoo gives a pointed look at the fast brownish colour that the water is gathering. “Can you unplug the tub?”

“Yes.” Jongin nods his head obediently, turns around and bends down to unplug the bathtub drain.

Kyungsoo gasps in surprise. There is a huge dark bruise on the other boy’s superior back. “What happened to your back??”

The other turns around hastily in an attempt to hide his backside. “Don’t look!”

“What? Jongin-ah, how did that happened?”

Jongin sighs in defeat. “It was him… Last week, he grabbed me. But don’t worry! I fought him off and run away.”

If Kyungsoo wasn’t sure before, he now is absolutely certain that bringing Jongin was the best solution. He turns on the shower head, “Go ahead and start. I’m gonna be right back.” Kyungsoo walks off to his parents’ bathroom in search for the ointment his father uses, when he gets bruises on his sport adventures with Joonmyeon’s father. He comes back to find Jongin giggling in delight at the warm water falling over his head, he can’t help the smile that comes to his face. Is he that happy with just clean water? “This will make it heal fast, okay?” He puts the ointment on top of the chair that’s next to the bathtub. “Did you touch my shampoo?” Kyungsoo eyebrow arches.

“I didn’t touch anything! I swear.”

Kyungsoo picks up the bottle, holds Jongin hand and puts a generous amount. “Scrub well!” And the other immediately complies.

Meanwhile Kyungsoo reunites the smelly clothes, schoolbag and shoes included, but leaving the solid objects out, (bowl, some miniature toy cars, a dinosaur and three mini soldiers). “I will put them to wash okay?”

“But…” Kyungsoo is already out the door. “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO WEAR,” the boy hopelessly shouts.

There are so few pieces of clothing that the washing machine isn’t even full. Kyungsoo isn’t sure about the quantity of the laundry detergent, but because everything is so dirty he thinks it’s better to put at least three cups of it. He makes a short stop at his room to open the window and let the bad smell go away and to choose a pyjama for Jongin to wear (along with underwear and warm socks, because it’s cold). “You finished?”

“Yes. It smells like apples.” Jongin’s smiles seem to be coming really easy now and very often too. It’s a pleasant change.

“My mum says that when our hair is really dirty, we have to wash it twice.” This time Kyungsoo puts the shampoo directly on Jongin’s hair and gets to the scrubbing. “I love the smell of apples. If my shampoos don’t smell like apples, I won’t wash myself!” He declares proudly.

Jongin bends his knees a little to be easier for Kyungsoo to scrub his hair. He feels such a warm joy in his heart and is holding himself back strongly to not hug Kyungsoo and kiss his cheeks. How can someone that barely knows him be so nice to him? Water starts to drip to eyes and he shakes his head to take it out, on instinct. Yet he forgets Kyungsoo’s close proximity and in the process water and shampoo hit the other boy’s sweater, making Kyungsoo shrink.

“OOOH! NOOO! MY MUM IS GOING TO KILL ME!” He runs away from the tub and when he is on safe ground he undresses himself above the waist. Meanwhile Jongin resumes the scrubbing and laughs quiet and apologetically at Kyungsoo fumbling with his clothes.

Kyungsoo comes back and announces it’s time to wash his body. This time, he picks up the shower gel and fills Jongin’s waiting hands, putting a generous amount on a sponge after, that he waits no time before putting it over Jongin’s back, rubbing in circular motions.

Jongin is washing his front very meticulously, because he can see the dirt falling through his body, so much dirt he hadn’t even realised before. Unexpectedly, Kyungsoo’s silvery and melodious voice starts singing behind him, “Wash between your toes~” And he bends to do just that. Kyungsoo laugh rings pleasantly on his ears, making Jongin’s body numb. “Fingers, armpits and ears~” It’s too many instructions to follow on such short notice so he chooses to wash the armpits. “Don’t forget your nose~” Kyungsoo leans further to touch the other’s nose with his index finger. “It’s always full of bacteria~”

Kyungsoo chuckles at how vigorously Jongin is washing his nose, seeing him stopping after a few minutes and looking out for his approval. But instead Kyungsoo looks deep into the liquid dark brown eyes. “Wow, you are very handsome.” Jongin chokes on his saliva and coughs hard in a very uncool way. Amused, Kyungsoo lets out a huge heart shaped smile with his eyes making beautiful crinkles at the corners, which without a doubt are going to make Jongin blush even more profusely. “I made this song last Christmas, when we were learning Jingle Bells in Music Lessons. My teacher thought it was really funny. Do you want to hear the chorus?”

“Yes, please.” Jongin’s eyes expand to an almost impossible size as he is trying to not lose a glimpse of Kyungsoo singing, making his face look funny.

“Wash yourself, wash yourself,

At morning or night before bed.

Wash yourself, wash yourself.

Every single day~” Afterwards, Kyungsoo doesn’t sing anymore to the other’s dismay, but keeps humming while Jongin’s finishes cleaning himself up and moves his head from side to side to the rhythm.

After rising and being the cleanest that he had been in months, Kyungsoo remembers that he’s still missing something. “You have to brush your teeth. I think I have an extra tooth brush...” Kyungsoo runs to the bathroom cabinet and rummages through the first drawer, until he finds the new tooth brush. He holds it up high for Jongin to see. “It’s a set with mine. Mine is Buzz Lightyear and this one is Woody!” Kyungsoo shows him proudly the little cowboy figure imprinted on the brush.

“Who is Woody?”

“Buzz Lightyear’s best friend, obviously! Do you want it?”

Jongin is utterly confused about who these characters are, but if Woody is Kyungsoo’s best friend, there is no way he can possibly not want it, so he nods his head fervently.

Kyungsoo goes fetch the tooth paste and puts a bit on the brush, already in Jongin’s hands. He waits for Jongin to finish, while he hums the Jingle Bells song, leaping from one foot to another. Jongin smiles with his mouth full of tooth paste the entire time.

 

A couple of hours later, Jongin is lying down on the makeshift bed the boys had made, next to Kyungsoo’s bed. It’s on the opposite side to the bedroom’s door and a little under the bed that previously already occupied the room, so that if someone suddenly enters, Jongin has time to hide under it.

His clothes are now perfectly clean, with a very pleasant perfume of laundry detergent and are neatly folded inside his bag that is, at the moment, hidden in the third door of the wardrobe (he is still wearing Kyungsoo’s borrowed blue pyjamas with big space shuttles and planes all over).

Perhaps because Kyungsoo isn’t used to have an extra person over, he forgets that Jongin needed to eat and now the boy’s stomach feels as if there’s an even bigger black hole there and making Jongin fear that sooner or later it’s going to eat his insides. Lately, he hasn’t been eating much, actually the last time the old lady gave him food was yesterday, from which he ate the rest this morning. Even so Jongin isn’t going to burden Kyungsoo with something like this, because the other boy is already doing so much.

Tears fill his eyes for a moment. Truth be told, he hasn’t felt this content and happy and comfortable in so long. Thus Jongin snuggles a little more into the warm makeshift bed. He swears it’s better than heaven. Kyungsoo is on his bed too, both ready to go to sleep. A question pops on his head and as softly as he can (noise has to be on the minimum, because of Kyungsoo’s parents) he questions the other, “Kyungsoo-yah, what’s your biggest fear?”

Thoughts of being lost at Lotte World floods Kyungsoo’s mind. Overpowering background chatter and laughter, people he couldn’t recognize looking at him and trying to guide him to foreign places – not that any of his surroundings were familiar – but above all, the unbearable fear of not being found by his parents, the physical pain that it brought and made his whole body shake at the minimal distress. Kyungsoo would never forget that pain, which even now was engraved in his head, bringing from time to time some nightmares. “Being alone,” comes as a quiet reply.

“Really?” Jongin asks back, barely audible. “Mine’s too.” So different yet so similar. Although Jongin had the audacity to run away, keeping himself alive all these months was the hardest task he had ever faced. He never knew what tomorrow was going to bring, if he would have enough food, if he would be caught, if someone would steal the rest of his belongings and he had nothing more to warm him up during the night and more recently if the man was going hurt him. The insecurities ate him up on the inside, a chunk each passing day, and he never felt so alone, so utterly and completely alone.

Kyungsoo smiles at the other’s words, feeling a pleasant warmth growing in his chest, a friend that could understand him, how nice that was. So he moves a little closer to the side of the bed where Jongin is and lets his arm fall out, lying down on his belly to be more comfortable.

Jongin sees the hand not far away from his face through the dimly illumination of the nightlight and blinks several times, before hesitantly holding it with his right hand, feeling the little squeeze it gives him. He can’t help but beam at the action, suddenly feeling very hopeful towards the future. Everything was going to be okay, he thinks, while sensing his body driving into sleep, still holding Kyungsoo’s hand.

Jongin was going to be okay.

---

Author's note:

To tell you the truth, the plot for this story came from the idea of 'how cool it would be to hide your best friend in your room, without anyone else knowing'.

I really hope you liked this chapter. Maybe you could share with me your opinion?

Also, I made that room to help me imagining better how to hide someone there. It turn out kind of ugly?
But the original was far worse:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm such a loser, right?