I O U (NCT JaeYong) | Jaehyun x Taeyong

Chapter 22

A year had passed since the shocking incident happened. Taeyong in the second year of his degree now. He's trying to live his life while holding to the hope that the man he loved would come back.

He didn't hear anything about Jaehyun anymore. The last time Sicheng told him about Jaehyun was a year ago. Jaehyun was sentenced to prison for a very long time. But the boy didn't tell him how long. How long should he wait for his love? How long should Taeyong held to the promise that Jaehyun will come back safe and sound? He would wait. No matter how long it takes. Jaehyun was his first love, and he wanted the latter to be his last.

The only thing that prevented Taeyong from losing hope was when he saw Kai. Every time he's with Kai, he told himself that Jaehyun will come back to him. The problem was Kai rarely at Sicheng's house. From time to time, he would stay for a while and then disappeared for who knew how long. So when the man was around, Taeyong stayed close to him. For him, Kai gave some sort of comfort that Taeyong needed.

That night, Kai and Taeyong were in the living room. They were watching television. This was Taeyong's routine every time Kai was around. Cling to the man like a puppy. Kai, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. He enjoyed Taeyong's company. After everything that happened, the latter was the only thing that kept him from going insane.

"How long are you gonna stay this time?" Taeyong asked.

"Maybe a week or two."

"Where did you go when you disappear? Did you eat well? Are you taking good care of yourself?" Taeyong showered the latter with questions.

Kai became silent. He couldn't answer that questions. He was busy eliminating all the potential threats that could ruin the plan. Come to think of it, his leader was in prison. Kai was technically free. Why did he bother to do all this? He could just leave and never show his face ever again.

His eyes then laid on the person beside him. Right... he needed to protect the latter. It was his duty to take care of Taeyong. He won't let anyone or anything harm Taeyong.

"I thought you hate me." Taeyong stated.

"Why would I hate you? You're always nice to me. There's no reason for me to hate you." Kai replied.

"Well, you're always cold."

"I'm always like this. Maybe because I don't know how to express my feelings. I was taught to have no emotion at a very young age."

Taeyong fiddled his fingers as he nodded. Kai spared a glance at the latter. And you effortlessly destroy that teaching. He mentally told Taeyong.

"I wonder what your real name is." Taeyong said.

"Nobody ever asks me that."

"Well, I'm asking you right now."

"...Kim Jongin. My real name."

"It's a nice name." Taeyong complimented.

"Jongin hyung." And Kai felt his heart skipped a bit.

He was flustered when Taeyong called him by his real name. He liked it. No one ever called him that. It made his heart warm.

"It's already late. You should go home now. Take some rest." Kai said.

"But I wanna stay here with you. It feels good to depend on you. Everyone is depending on me but I have no one to depend on." Taeyong rested his head on Kai's shoulder.

"Can I sleep here?" Taeyong's voice getting lower as he started to get sleepy.

"Sure..." Kai replied.