rewind.

27/ end

"Take me there."

Jaehyun stood in the middle of a hallway. His chest rises and falls as he looks around. The chandelier mocks him. The world is small and it feels like it's getting smaller.

With scarce steps Jaehyun stops in front of a room door. He could practically hear that jack in a box popping up. This whole ordeal was far too complicated for him, but he needed to commit. There's no turning back.

With a fierce grip on the door, Jaehyun takes in massive gulps of air. Slowly he turned the doorknob and opened up the door.

It was like an alarm went off in his head. Things were finding its way together, pieces he didn't know were there.

Jaehyun drops on his knees, he winces in the eroding baffling yet guilty emotion. Right in this room is where his life literally changed forever.

It was sad if a light shined down on him, his spotlight. He rejects any spotlight on this negative truth.

The sunken truth plagues him. With trembling lips he muster out the words, "I was the kid." Tears slipped down his face, first slowly but soon escalated to ferocious thunderstorms.

He was a child, it fit imperfectly perfectly. He never gained anything from the fabrications of his life entirely, yet he would take the doll-like version everyone built instead of this broken mess.

Looking around that room was painful, he now remembers vividly that night his parents died. Years ago he could only remember hearing of his parents car crash. However it all leads to one thing.

"Do you get it now?"

That voice belongs to Jackson. He stepped over to a falling apart Jaehyun. He lays a comforting hand on his right shoulder. "I'm so sorry this happened to..."

"Why are you here?" Jaehyun chokes down the overwhelming urge to puke.

"You shouldn't be alone. No one should when they go through what you went through."

Jackson was right, however he isn't the person he wants by his side. Everything around him was a lie. His whole life was a story that others created. Now he is the one dealing with the consequences of the actions for the choices he didn't make.

"You're not alone."

Jaehyun gazed at the hand on his shoulder. "Did your family lie to you about everything? Was your whole life a lie?"

"No I wasn't." Jackson retracts his hands and places them in his jean pockets. "But I was switched after what happened to me when I was younger. What none of you guys knew was that I had a twin. My mother gave him away to live with my grandparents. They longed to have another child. However after everything went terribly wrong we switched places."

Jaehyun bites the bottom of his lip. "What does that have to do with me feeling out of place?"

"You feel out of place, you don't know who you are. You were taken out of your element. So was I."

Jaehyun's eyes glossed over with doubt, could he really be the same as Jackson. Maybe just maybe they are the same.

"I was ripped out of my element because of something I couldn't control. It ended up costing my family everything. I feel like I'm to blame for my twin being killed. I don't know how you feel exactly, but I have a really good idea."

Everything Jackson said made perfect sense. That's why he reached out to me the most.

But even so he knows the truth there is still one void in his mind, who is he? If he isn't Jaehyun then who is he? Yoon oh?

Jaehyun stood up, slowly he walked out of the room. The light turns low as he leaves the house. Standing on the porch stair, the black head looks to the windows, this house. The last memory he ever had was standing by taeyong when he got the call that his parents car was literally obliterated on the road.

Jaehyun looked down at the car. Johnny looked worried again. He really hated the way Johnny treats him like a child, but he understands. His eyes then slowly averted over to taeyong. There was a wedge between them, if only he knew how much Jaehyun needed his approval.

Do they know how much he craved their opinion? Do they know how much he longs for them to just tell him it's ok?

Jaehyun slowly walks down the stairs. His eyes were worn down by the memories. He grabs Johnny's face when he stands in front of him. "Thanks for being here."

Johnny grabs Jaehyun's waist, "of course." He slowly pats Jaehyun's head. "Let's go home."

~~

The next week Jaehyun felt like he was having an outer body experience. As he walked down the streets in the gloomy days, his eyes wandered everywhere.
He couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep.

Somehow he ends up across the street in front of Johnny's dojo. He starts to walk over to the other side. When the dojo door opened he stopped in his tracks.

Joey steps out, she is smiling widely. Her arms flying in the air.
Jaehyun wasn't bothered by that, but it was when Johnny swung her around like there was good news for both of them. Then there was a kiss placed on the American's cheek.

Jaehyun's jaw clenched tightly. A feeling arose in his stomach and his eye twitched. "There was more than a kiss.... I know it." He whispers in the wind.

He didn't stay long after, he headed home. He wasn't even in the house for five minutes when he received a call.

Sitting on his couch, he answers the call. "Hello?"

"Umm Jae I need to tell you something....."

~~~

Jaehyun was throwing his clothes into the nearest suitcase. He storms through the house gathering all of his things. With arms full of his things, he storms around the house. He throws everything down on his bed.

Occasionally checking the clock, his hands smashed everything into the suitcases. Within record breaking time he was in his car, his trunk packed with everything.

He didn't want to wait, he could stand it anymore. Of course he was one being discarded. He made it up in his mind, he wasn't going to be the Jaehyun that everyone walks over, before they even have a chance to see another break down or before they give him another I'm sorry, he would rather walk out. That's exactly that he did.

~

"I'm home." Johnny places his gym bag on the floor. The house was so silent. Something felt off.

Johnny started looking for jaehyun. He steps up the stairs, that's when he sees all of Jaehyun's drawings hanging wide open. Nothing was inside.

His heart nearly stops at the conclusion. He should have noticed because there weren't any candles burning in the house. Usually Jaehyun would do that around this time. "Jaehyun why?"

He asked himself. The American stops when he steps on the top stair to go down. There was a letter that he didn't notice before at the top of the banister.

Slowly Johnny opened it. His eyes graced the words.

I love you so much, but I can't take the lying and cheating. I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I must go and figure out who I am.
Ps: you know there is always that person that your ex ends up with... please don't let it be Joey or taeyong.
I will always love you,
Sincerely: Jaehyun.

Johnny drops the letter. His mouth drops open, "he found out?" Johnny couldn't believe that this would be the end of them, almost three decades together vanishing within a second.
What is he to do now?

The end.