TIME ─ JAEYONG

011⸰

taeyong didn't mind the high ceilings, or glass chandeliers of taeil's mom boutique, what he did mind was the clothing selections. he rubbed on the material of the clothing items, the velvety feeling made him uncomfortable.

all he needed was a cotton based hoodie and jeans, not a whole new button-down shirt with slacks and loafers. jaehyun ran around the store, picking out all the items he thought taeyong would feel most comfortable with.

he returns with his arms filled with shirts and pants, all color based on black, white and gray which taeyong was thankful for. "if you don't like anything we can go shopping in the middle-class area with yuta tomorrow."

jaehyun whispered as they passed workers on the way into the dressing rooms. the size of just one room was almost the equivalent of the apartment he used to reside in with ten. "i think i'd like that better."

"just still pick out a few from here, my parents might host a party or dinner." taeyong frowned at the comment. he had complete faith he would be able to avoid sit-downs with jaehyun's parents but that would be near impossible seeing it was their house he was staying in.

"how much are these clothes exactly?" taeyong asked as he set them all down on the racks provided.

"the most is a year, but we get discounts because of us knowing the family so well." taeyong nearly choked. a year for some dumb designer pants?

"rich people." he murmured. jaehyun ignored the comment and walked out the dressing room to go fetch some other clothes, leaving taeyong to do his business.

taeyong looked at himself in the full-length mirror of the overly designed dressing room. his eyes trailed down his chest to his forearm, the green numbers mocking him. "all this time..."

he started, his mind wandering back to mark, and doyoung, and all his other acquaintances he's given time to. he could have given more time to doyoung if he knew this would happen. if anyone, he was the one who needed it the most.

he could never protect himself, let alone keep time seeing as bigger men punked him for it. his heart clenched at the thought of doyoung lying on the floor, bruised and beaten, tears falling from his eyes as his time ran out all because taeyong wasn't there to protect him.

his scary thought was cut off by the knocking on his door. "can i come in? i bought another pair of pants."

taeyong reached behind him, twisting the doorknob. he pushed the door opened and watched jaehyun enter through the mirror.

"they're a bit tight–" his words fell silent as he looked up. his cheeks flushed pink as he caught a glimpse of nearly half naked taeyong. "why didn't you tell me you weren't dressed?"

by now he had faced the opposite direction, to hide his flustered expression. "didn't think a shirtless guy would affect you so much."

taeyong slipped back on his shirt and took the pair of pants from jaehyun's grasp. "unless you want to see me in my boxers next, i'd suppose you leave."

his breath hit jaehyun's neck, causing goosebumps to appear on his arms. he nodded while letting out a few incoherent mumbles as he rushed out, nearly tripping over his own shoelace.

taeyong chuckled at the act before turning back to the mirror. out of all 29 articles of clothing he decided on two pairs of dress pants, two button down shirts and blazers to impress the jung's.

when it came time to purchase them taeyong went tense. he owed 2 years in total, with the discount. although he had more than enough time it still hurt him to use it on such pointless items.

"anything else?" the two climbed into the awaiting limo, the fancy shopping bags keeping the distance between them pretty far.

"well, we have the whole rest of the day to do anything. skydive, scuba diving, you name it."

"i rather just go back to your house. i've experienced enough for one day." jaehyun frowned but nodded, a bit disappointed he couldn't be out more with taeyong.

respecting his choice he ordered the driver to take them back home. the ride was silent, taeyong hadn't looked at anything other than the blurring scenery. jaehyun wanted to start up a conversation but he didn't know where to start.

"i know you have a lot of questions." taeyong spoke, his gaze still not faltering from the window. "and i'll answer them, just..." he paused. "just give me time, okay?"

"y–yeah. of course. and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask me." for the first time since entering the car, taeyong looked at jaehyun, a small smile on his lips.

"thanks." at that, jaehyun felt his heart melt.

"no problem..."

✿

the investigation team looked at the picture the surveillance camera caught of taeyong the second he stepped foot into the jung's property. 

"he said his name is lee taeyong." nimble fingers typed away, his name being imputed into the search engine.

"ugh, this is going to be a long night." the head manager grumbled as thousands of names with "lee" and "taeyong" appeared on the monitor.

"patience hansol, at least we can narrow them down with his picture we got." hansol blatantly turned back to the screen, ignoring his assistance words. working for the jung's was over the top, but at least the pay was worth it.

"just bring me some coffee kun."

✿

thank you for reading! this was originally supposed to be a short story but i'll make it longer bc jaeyong deserves it.