x.  Foe - Part Two

When Jongdae walked in happily during his tenth session, he immediately noticed there was a disturbance in the usual atmosphere. It was obvious that there was a new kid, he could pick out who it was immediately. While Jongdae spent little time associating himself with the other children, he still kept records information of all of them in his mind.

    This new boy had droopy eyes, long bangs and a perpetually tired looking expression on his face. His sweater sleeves were so long they covered his hands and Jongdae could only see the tips of his fingers, which happened to look incredibly pretty. His lip was pulled out into a pout as he entered the room.

    Everyone in the entire room had their eyes on him.

    Jongdae reasoned it was because he was looked so innocent and pure to everyone. Everyone except for him of course. Jongdae wanted to laugh, how foolish and silly could people get? This new boy was the lowest of the low. He enjoyed using people.

    Jongdae wasn’t against using someone, frankly he used others as well. But it wasn’t in a twisted way like this boy’s. He liked to lure others with his false words and affections before slowly starting to use them until they were nothing but an empty husk, still blindly following him like he was the sun of their lives.

    Jongdae couldn’t stand looking at him any longer. He scanned the room for Kyungsoo, the only saving grace of this disgusting place.

    The boy walked over to the nearest empty chair and plopped himself in it. He looked familiar with the place. A young woman, presumably his mother, walked in behind him. It was in the corner, far from all of the other children. Jongdae grunted. Probably thinks he’s above these ‘messed up’ kids. A peasant is a peasant.

        “I wonder who he is?” Kyungsoo commented after greeting Jongdae like he usually did, with a bright smile and a tight hug. “I’ve never seen him. He must be new.”

    Suddenly, the boy went over to the area where the other children were, and all of them were more than happy to let them play with him. His angelic aura shined through when he smiled. It was as if he was hypnotizing all of the others. Starting his game already, huh?

    “Kyungsoo, what do you think of him? Want him to join us?” Jongdae asked in a careful voice, watching his friend’s every single reaction carefully.

    Kyungsoo looked at the chattering boy before looking back at Jongdae, “I don’t want him to join us.” He paused, as if deliberating whether or not to continue. “H-He’s okay but he’s not real like Dae-hyung.”

    Jongdae grinned widely, more than satisfied with Kyungsoo’s answer. He chose the right person after all, there was no need to question it anymore. “So did anything happen yesterday?”

    Kyungsoo was completely engrossed in his artwork while Jongdae sat to the side, nose buried in a novel. He made sure the scan the room periodically, mostly to check on Kyungsoo. The next time he lifted his head to check, he watched as the ‘angelic’ boy missed his catch and the wayward ball slowly rolled towards his and Kyungsoo’s direction.

    Jongdae rolled his eyes, like a ploy as simple as that would work on him. It was glaringly obvious to him that he had missed on purpose. Now what did Pretty Fingers want with him and Kyungsoo?

    Jongdae schooled his features into a pleasant mask, the same one he used in front of everyone at school. The approaching boy also had a mask on, it was an over bright and forcefully earnest one. Kyungsoo however was so engrossed in his drawings he hardly noticed a red ball slowly rolling over right beside him. The boy with the droopy eyes came running up behind the ball.

    Ignoring the ball now that it had served its purpose, he roughly kicked it back to the group of kids he was originally playing with. Thinking no one was paying attention, he sidled up next to Kyungsoo, watching him draw.

    The boy’s melodious voice interrupted the silence. “You know, your drawing looks nice, although nothing in it looks good, it just all works out somehow.”

    His sudden words startled Kyungsoo, causing him to drop his marker. The boy gracefully hooked his pointer around the marker before twirling it between his long slender fingers.

    Kyungsoo looked despairingly at the marker that wasn’t returned.

    “U-Um. C-Could you p-please-” Kyungsoo’s stuttered out nervously before being cut off by the other.

    “I just noticed something,” the boy scanned Kyungsoo up and down. “Your hairstyle really slims your face down.”

    Jongdae was absolutely livid. The boy was pretty smart; he would give him that. But attempting to play with Kyungsoo was an absolutely unacceptable. How dare someone so sullied attempt to look down upon someone so pure?

    As quick as lightning, Jongdae reached over and snatched the marker out of the unsuspecting hands of the boy. After returning the marker to Kyungsoo, who’s eyebrows were furrowed creating a cherubic expression on his face, he looked directly into the droopy eyes of the boy.

    “It’s nice to meet you,” Jongdae smothered a scoff. “My name is Jongdae.”

    The boy was unnerved, but Jongdae noted how well he hid it.

    “Byun Baekhyun.” The other boy stared blankly at Jongdae, trying to figure him out.

    A cold little smirk made its way onto his face before he spoke. “Baekhyun was it? Your sense of fashion is amazing, it’s almost enough to distract me from the rest of you.”

    Baekhyun’s mouth hung open in a very unattractive way before an icy expression entered his eyes. “You’re gonna regret that.”

    Jongdae only raised his eyebrows while continuing to stare Baekhyun down until he left.

    Kyungsoo’s small voice whispered lightly into Jongdae’s ear when he sat down. “I don’t really like Baekhyun, does that mean I’m not nice?”

    Jongdae lightly bopped Kyungsoo on the nose before answering him. “Kyungsoo is the nicest person I have ever met.” He paused before continuing. “Be careful around Baekhyun alright?”

    Baekhyun might have looked like an angel, but Jongdae wasn’t a foolish, silly person. he knew better.

    Baekhyun was stubborn, Jongdae concluded, and not in a good way.

    It had been a month since he starting coming, and every day, at the same time, he would purposely roll the ball beside Kyungsoo using it as an excuse to approach. It didn’t matter where in the room they sat, he would always find a way to make it look like it had slipped out of his hands and gotten away from him. Jongdae found it pretentious and unbelievably silly. It was a nuisance though; every single time he would drop a few snarky comments. It was a good thing Kyungsoo didn’t understand the backhandedness of said comments, or Jongdae wouldn’t have settled for less than hurting Baekhyun irrevocably.

    One time when the boy was playing catch with another girl, he threw it a little too hard and hit Kyungsoo in the head. He had apologized repeatedly and genuinely looked worried to everyone else, but Jongdae saw that little sadistic smile.

    Sometimes, when he thought Jongdae wasn’t watching, he could see the boy staring over at Kyungsoo. It wasn’t a look of admiration or longing, just a blank, empty stare.   

     Kyungsoo was oblivious to Baekhyun’s attention mainly to the credit of Jongdae. Every time Baekhyun attempted to sideline the younger boy, Jongdae always cut him quickly and effectively.

    It was another lazy afternoon in the office. A lot less children had started to come since summer had ended and there were only a couple of other children. The boy was there, playing with another child. They were a lot closer than usual. He happily sipped on a juice box.

    Jongdae’s parents were talking with the doctor in his closed office. It had looked serious by the expressions on his parent’s faces, but the doctor’s meeting gave him more time to spend with Kyungsoo, so really, he didn’t mind at all.

    He noticed Kyungsoo was looking over at the children playing in the corner, instead of drawing like he usually did.

    “Is something wrong Kyungsoo?” Jongdae asked him, concerned.

    Kyungsoo shook his head, pouting as he did. “I want a juice box too. I’m thirsty.”

    “Well, you can go ask the nurse if you want one too. I think they’re on the table outside.” Jongdae said and Kyungsoo frowned in response, not wanting to talk to the nurse.

    “I can take you to the water fountain if you want. If you can even reach it.”

    Both Jongdae and Kyungsoo froze up as the heard the voice of the ‘innocent’ boy speaking to him. Kyungsoo meekly looked up to see him standing right above them, juice box still in hand.

    “It’s outside in the hallway, just around the corner.” The boy said a hint of condescending in his tone, pointing out the door. “It’s not a far walk down or anything.”

    Kyungsoo was beginning to get flustered. He looked up at the boy with his mouth agape, struggling to speak. He spoke so quietly Jongdae could barely hear him. “U-Uhm, I-I … I mean, maybe not.”

    “Oh, c’mon. You said you were thirsty, right?” The boy reached out his hand towards him, putting on his usual smile. “Let’s go.”

    Swallowing the lump in his throat, Kyungsoo complied. He ignored the hand offered to him before glancing nervously at Jongdae who watched the interaction carefully. He watched as the two quietly left the room, he hadn’t wanted to make a scene but Jongdae didn’t like the thought of Kyungsoo by himself with Baekhyun. The boy’s mother hardly looked worried as they left the room, and the secretary was so busy with another parent she didn’t notice.

    Jongdae didn't trust the boy. With anything, especially not Kyungsoo, one of the most precious things to Jongdae.

    The secretary was still busy and the other nurses were nowhere to be seen so Jongdae slowly slipped out of the office and into the hallway.

  He looked both ways, ensuring no one was watching him. There were only a couple of other people in the hallway, most of them by the elevator trying to find the other offices.

    Jongdae could see the water fountain at the very end of the hallway, unsurprisingly he didn’t see Kyungsoo anywhere.

    He walked around the corner and came face to face with a hallway completely engulfed in darkness. There was only a faint light in the middle of the hall.

    There was a single piece of yellow tape was strung up from wall to wall. It read: “Caution. Reconstruction. Please do not enter.” The hallway looked desolate and abandoned. He was about to turn around when he heard someone’s, Baekhyun’s, laughter echoing down the hall.

    With a measured breath, Jongdae took a step in the darkness hoping Kyungsoo was okay.  

    As he walked the down hallway, the noises began to get louder and louder. He could clearly hear someone, Kyungsoo, softly crying and the dripping sound of water hitting the floor. He felt anger igniting in his chest, Kyungsoo was not okay and Baekhyun was the cause.

    As he got close, he finally saw the two figures standing under the flickering dim hanging light.

    It was Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. Kyungsoo was curled up on the ground, shaking and crying, while the other stood over top of him, his bored expression lined by something sinister on his face. Jongdae watched silently and coldly as the boy took the straw out of his juice box and dumped the rest of it onto Kyungsoo’s head. The raging fire within him was not a burning red, but a lethal white.

    “Awh, Kyungsoo, you poor baby,” the boy pouted mockingly, kneeling down beside him, “Are you gonna cry like you always do? It’s too bad no one cares about you.”

    “Aren’t you just talking about yourself?” Jongdae made his presence known while running over to Kyungsoo. Not paying any attention to the other child, Jongdae stooped down next to him and gently brushed away the tears running down the cheeks of the terrified boy.

    Picking the boy up, Jongdae turned to face Baekhyun, a murderous expression on his usually relaxed if not a little mischievous one. He could feel Kyungsoo’s little hands tightly clutching onto his shirt. He could feel the smaller boy’s trembling body, and it only added fuel to the fire.

    “Byun Baekhyun.” Jongdae stated, a calculated glint in his eyes. “Son of the respected Dr. Byun, a child therapist. What would he say if he found out you were bullying one of his patients?”

    Baekhyun stayed silent as Jongdae continued on.

    “Oh wait. Dr. Byun isn’t respected, right? I mean how could he be?” Jongdae asked rhetorically, gauging the expressions on Baekhyun’s face. “Therapist is the right word for Dr. Byun but I think it should be pronounced as the .”

    “Y-You-!” Baekhyun’s strangled shout echoed in the empty room.

    “Ah ah ah.” Jongdae tutted. “Of course, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Honestly, how could the son of a dirty, cheating, disgusting child molester be even somewhat normal?”

    “At least I’m not a fool like you!” Baekhyun’s voice was cracking, fear showing through. “I know all about you, how you think your sister is still alive, you’re just a coward. You can’t even face reality, you stupid coward!”

    Jongdae wanted to laugh out loud, the absurdity of the words Baekhyun was throwing at him was hilarious. But in the next moment, the situation was completely changed before Jongdae could even say a single word.

    Kyungsoo, quiet, sweet, innocent, shy Kyungsoo had slipped out of his arms and was grabbing Baekhyun’s shirt by the collar, pulling him down. The usually mild expression in his eyes had been razed away, replaced by furious one. However, what truly stunned Jongdae was the very slight smile upon Kyungsoo’s lips, his eyes also held a tiny measure of mirth.

    Baekhyun was spluttering, panicked and afraid of a boy barely half his size. “L-Let go! Y-You know w-who I am? You’ll g-get in-”

    “Dae-hyung is not a fool and not a coward.” The dangerous edge in Kyungsoo’s eerily soft voice grew more and more pronounced. “You are.”

    Suddenly an acidic scent drifted to Jongdae’s nose, permeating the entire room. He watched as a dark splotch on Baekhyun’s pants grew larger and larger as the smell grew stronger and stronger.

    The scared and embarrassed boy tore himself out of Kyungsoo’s grasp who had grown slack before running out of the room. Jongdae strolled casually to where the smaller boy was standing completely still.  

    A sudden sob tore through Kyungsoo’s body before he turned around, revealing huge watery eyes filled with tears.

    Jongdae felt his heart break in that moment and the weeping boy had his face buried in Jongdae’s shirt in the next. Gently rubbing the blubbering boy’s back, he thought what could be done to minimize the damage done.

    Jongdae’s back was forcefully pushed down by his angry parents. While in normal circumstances this never would have been allowed, he endured it for Kyungsoo.

    “Apologize immediately!” The anger was palpable in his mother’s embarrassed voice. “We are so sorry for what our Jongdae has done to your son. We will punish him accordingly; we definitely won’t allow this to happen again. We are so sorry for the inconvenience we have caused; we won’t impose upon you again.”

    Jongdae’s voice was detached and bland when he delivered the suitable words rendering the apology meaningless. At the last moment, he raised his head a little shooting a gloating Baekhyun a very smug smirk.

    Jongdae didn’t have time. While he would have wanted their separation to be gradual and gentle, what was done was done.

    Kyungsoo hadn’t stopped crying since the incident, never one to wail, he snivelled quietly with tears running down his cheeks. His eyes, just as beautiful as when Jongdae first saw them, were filled to the brim with sadness and fear.

    Quickly running up to him and wrapping him in his arms, Jongdae whispered urgently in his ear. “Listen to me carefully Kyungsoo. I need you to be strong, that boy that held Baekhyun by the collar with courage, that’s who you need to be.”

    “B-But I can only b-be like that for D-Dae-hyung,” Kyungsoo’s little hands tightened around Jongdae’s already soaked shirt.

    “That’s okay. If anyone hurts you like they tried to hurt me, that’s when you have to be brave.”

    “B-Brave?” Kyungsoo’s little voice showed unease. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

    Jongdae pondered for a moment, “You don’t have to be brave. You just have to hurt the other person so much that they could never hurt you again. Can you do that?”

    Kyungsoo’s head nodded.

    “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer with you,” Jongdae’s voice had turned sad for the first time he had met Kyungsoo. “I promise we will meet again as friends, so make sure you don’t die before then.”

    Jongdae’s mother’s voice in the background grew louder and more insistent. The taller boy quickly pressed a meaningful kiss onto Kyungsoo’s forehead before quickly detaching himself from the boy. Knowing he would be overcome with the want to return to Kyungsoo’s side if he looked back, Jongdae reassured himself with the knowledge that his little charge would survive the silly, selfish, stupid world that they lived in.

---

a/n:

Hello, it is I again here with the second installment of Jongdae's childhood adventures.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing these two chapters (which actually were supposed to be one OTL)

Once again I want to thank AnUnusualTwist for this chance, entrusting your baby to another (to me) means a lot.

And because I got way to excited about writing ChenSooBaek Interactions, for the first time (and probably last) ever: EXTRAS!

-

Jongdae noticed that Kyungsoo looked especially dressed up today, clad in a fashionable pair of jeans and a button up shirt. The normally quiet boy was quite dashing.

But it wasn't only Jongdae who noticed, it was the first thing Baekhyun commented on when the ball rolled its way to their table once again.

"Hey Kyungsoo." Baekhyun started, tone pleasant enough before turning catty. "You actually look quite pretty, if you actually put a liitle effort into it."

Jongdae's mood immediately soured, Kyungsoo was always pretty, cute, adorable. He didn't need fancy clothes to establish that fact.

Jongdae scoffed quietly, "I love how you don't care how you come across, when you actually should."

Baekhyun's dark eyes narrowed before replying. "Your personality is really strong; I can admire that. But that's probably the only reason you're friends with Kyungsoo, who's a complete wim- "

Jongdae's temper immediately skyrocketed, but the usually silent boy spoke up, cutting Baekhyun off.

"Dae-hyung is strong, nice, and a great friend." Kyungsoo's often shaky voice was surprisingly stable. "I-I mean, Baekhyun, you'e likeable enough but I think Dae-hyung could help you with that."

Jongdae wanted to burst into laughter at the expression on Baekhyun's face. When the boy stomped away, Jongdae mussed Kyungsoo's hair affecctionately.

"You know, you are quite the witty fellow," the cheeky boy nudged Kyungsoo's forehead.

The ebony haired boy giggled at Jongdae's affections before replying, "I learn from the best."

- 

This has to be the longest a/n so far ...

Thank you for reading!