Homeless ➹ 2jae [✓]

- 21 -

"Hey! Hey, have you seen this guy anywhere?" Jaebum had been running around even more than the other guys, asking around to see if people had seen Youngae anywhere.

"No, sorry."

The negative responses exhausted him more than even chasing the boy who had gone missing to him. At a point, though, he fell to the floor and hyperventilated until he'd caught his breath. His chest felt cold from running around in the winter air, but he didn't want to let another day pass without finding the boy who he'd grown to care about more than he thought he ever could.

Eventually, he asked some dirty-looking guy with long hair and crooked teeth. "Excuse me," he began. "Have you seen him around here?" The man observed the photo of Youngjae that was held out to him, looking closely at the boy's features.

"Oh, this kid... Yeah, I've seen him."

"Really? Do you know where he is?" Jaebum's excitement seemed to flow out of him as his breath suddenly hitched again, but he calmed down a little.

"Ah, I don't know. I heard he went with those other weird guys..."

"W-Weird guys? What weird guys?" Suddenly, it felt like Jaebum had just been hurled into his past. The man didn't answer him, instead shrugging his shoulders before beginning to walk off. A frustration arouse in the younger boy. "What weird guys!? Don't shrug at me!"

"Hey, they're kids, too!" the man defended. He almost looked scared of Jaebum's quickly flaming eyes. "Besides, I haven't seen them in a while. I saw that kid a few days ago though."

"Where!?" The man shrugged again and pulled out a cigarette, suddenly rising the frustration in Jaebum's head. "Listen, buddy, I've dealt with too many shitty professors today, I'm missing my night classes for this, and I've had it up to fucking here with this bullshit, so you tell me where the--"

"Hey!" The man yelled at someone behind Jaebum, and Jaebum turned his head. "Hey, you two!" Then, towards Jaebum, he whispered, "Your lucky day, jackass."

"Wh..."

Two boys then walked up to them, one with a large smile on his face. "Well, if it isn't Lee Yoonsoo! How you doin', buddy?" Jaebum watched as Yoonsoo rolled his eyes and pushed the young adult off of him. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"This guy's looking for your friend." The two looked towards Jaebum while a triangle of realization washed over them all.

"Yah, you're that fucker who tried to rob me!" Jaebum exclaimed, recognizing the other boy's purple hair. After taking some deep breaths, he calmly asked, "Did you do something to Youngjae?"

"Hey, it was one time! Besides, I wouldn't mess with me if you want to see your fri--"

"You bring me to him right now." Jaebum's fist was suddenly balled in the stranger's shirt, the two boys shaking in fear while Jaebum shivered in fury. "You don't, and I fucking swear I'll kick your ass for real this time."

"Y-yeah, o-okay, man. Sorry. Yu-Yugyeomie, let's bring this guy to Youngjae." Jaebum smiled at the dirty-looking guy and followed the two strangers.

-:-:-:-

The building he was brought to creeped him out a little. It was old with stacks of worn down bricks for walls, and dim lighting to accompany a grey floor. It was dull, in its old-timey decor, and felt cold. He couldn't think straight. He spiraled into worry and déjà vu, furious eyebrows burning holes into the floor.

"Why do you want to see Youngjae so badly?" Yugyeom asked, earning a glare from Jaebum.

"Why should it concern you? I know him better than you do," Jaebum answered coldly, his fingers jittering. He was experiencing some kind of anxiety as he was suddenly brought into a kind of environment he'd been a part of before; An environment that scarred him, that burned itself into his memory. He couldn't stand the thought of Youngjae going through something like he did.

"Alright, it's this way," the other boy said, linking arms with the one who seemed younger. They walked Jaebum down a long corridor with yellow lighting and an ancient-looking carpet. The mirrors lining the walls reminded Jaebum of nothing but what he saw when he was a teenager. "Youngjae's rig--"

"Youngjae!?" Jaebum slammed through the front door, a startled Youngjae standing still with wide eyes. The younger boy's breath seemed to stop when he saw Jaebum's face quickly turn from angry to calm. "Youngjae..." Jaebum's instincts got the best of him, and he walked quickly to wrap his arms around Youngjae.

"Bammie, let's go. We'll come back later." Bambam and Yugyeom closed the front door, leaving the two hugging boys to their own. Youngjae was still too overwhelmed to move, so he stood motionless while Jaebum held him tightly. Jaebum felt relieved that he'd managed to find Youngjae, and he felt lucky to have found him in the way he did. It seemed like a miracle to him.

Suddenly, he heard some loud sniffles as Youngjae reached his hands limply around his waist. "Goddammit, I was so worried about you... Are you okay?" he asked, quickly taking the boy's face in his hands. "They didn't do anything to you, right? Tell me if they did, I--"

"Don't worry, they didn't..." It was clear that Youngjae was holding in tears containing whatever emotions were suddenly boiling to the top of his head, but he burst out into sporadic sobs when Jaebum pulled him back in. With every shallow breath Youngjae took, Jaebum's scent whirled through his head, adding to the madness, but he found comfort in it. What had only been attached to a jacket was finally attached to the person.

"What the hell happened? Where did you go, how'd you end up here?" Jaebum asked at a whisper. Youngjae cried harder and Jaebum just held on tighter.

"Hey, shh... Take some breaths, Youngjae, it's alright." Youngjae pulled himself away and began to try and catch his breath, wiping his tears with the sleeves of Jaebum's jacket.

"I-It's a long story..."

"Yah, I'll get you some water," Jaebum suggested, walking into the kitchen to find some bottles of water on the counter. Going back over to Youngjae, he sat down on the mattress and gestured for the other to sit with him. Youngjae sat down next to Jaebum, cuddling into his side while his arm fell over his shoulder, still pulling him in tightly.

After taking a few minutes to calm down, Youngjae took a deep breath and began, "Um... Well, I went out with Mark that day..."

-:-:-:-

a/n: TWO THINGS!

a) i hope you're ready bc this will not be a short fic lmao. i have lots planned. so stay tuned !!

b) i didn't get a chance to edit this since i really wanted to get it out, but i will edit it tomorrow !

thank u thank you so so much for supporting this story!! it really means a lot <3