fade | jookyun

03

jooheon glanced at his surroundings. he could probably duck under a couple of arms and escape — but that wasn't the mission. the mission was to scare them away.

jooheon ran fingers through his hair stressfully. "don't come any closer," he backed up carefully. "you don't want to mess with me."

the gang leader — or who jooheon thought was the gang leader — scoffed, approaching jooheon. jooheon's heart could be heard pounding inside his chest. "aren't you that small boy from the other gang?" he spat at jooheon's feet. "run along, boy."

guns and shiny knifes were pulled out of pockets, the gang's footsteps crept closer, jooheon's heart beat faster, and the escaping was quickly becoming the only possibility if jooheon didn't want to be murdered.

so jooheon burst through the crowd and ran. the gang chased after him, shouting and causing a commotion. jooheon didn't dare look back as he darted around a sharp corner and hid there, crouched. the gang ran right past him, giving jooheon's heart a break and jooheon's lung time to breathe.

just then, he had a realization. he ran not because of cowardice, but because something he thought was more important than his life would be put at stake if he stayed to fight off the gang.

he ran because of changkyun.

if he died, changkyun's heart light would be extinguished and he'd never love again.

in that street, crouched down on the hard ground, jooheon swore that he would make sure that would never happen. he wouldn't risk his life, because if he did, he'd risk changkyun's heart.

and that man deserved all the happiness in the world.

jooheon returned to the safety of his home, his body aching. there was a sharp pain his side. jooheon removed his shirt to reveal a red cut. "where did that come from?" he murmured. jooheon dabbed disinfectant on it and wrapped the cut with bandages.

as he slipped his shirt back on, covering the wound, his phone rang loudly. jooheon glanced at the caller id and smiled as he laid down in bed. "changkyun?" he said.

rustling could be heard from the other side as jooheon waited for a reply from the younger. "jooheon?"

"why'd you call me? did something happen?" jooheon asked, sounding like a protective mother.

changkyun chuckled. "no," he sighed. "i just wanted to hear you again, i guess."

jooheon tilted his head. "if it's not too late, you can come over to my place."

changkyun chirped excitedly, "really? okay! text me the address. see you!" he ended the call.

"he's so cute." jooheon whispered to himself as he sent changkyun his address.

only a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

"coming!" jooheon called as he dashed down the stairs.

he wasn't thinking. he opened the door without looking. standing outside was not changkyun, but one of the members from the rival gang that had been chasing him before. "fancy seeing you here." the man snarled before knocking jooheon out.

jooheon woke up in the back of a car, his head throbbing. his hands and feet were tied up, and his mouth was covered with a gag. he felt around for his phone as best as he could, but it was nowhere in his reach. "damn it!" he shouted against the gag. jooheon wriggled around, trying to free himself, but it was useless. the ropes around him only seemed to become more constricting. jooheon laid down in resignation, tears rising as the car bumped along the rocky road.

-

changkyun paced worriedly. he had gone to the correct address, he was sure of it. he'd knocked on the door, but no one had answered, and jooheon wasn't responding to his calls and texts. jooheon wasn't ignoring him, was he? jooheon was his soulmate... he wouldn't do that, right?

no, jooheon wouldn't do that... changkyun knew he wouldn't. he just knew. he wasn't jooheon's oldest and closest friend — hell, he'd met the guy yesterday — but jooheon wasn't that type of person. changkyun knew in his gut that something must be wrong.

-

jooheon, who had been sleeping, was awakened by a sharp kick and a gruff shout. "wake up."

he winced, but refused to respond.

"i said wake up, little motherfucker!" another kick, harder this time.

jooheon cried out in pain, salty teardrops spilling out unintentionally.

"good morning, sunshine." snarled the man standing above him, poison dripping from his voice. jooheon felt himself being lifted up and tossed over the man's shoulder.

jooheon was too tired to struggle. his rib cage throbbed and his side felt like it was on fire. "let me go," he croaked helplessly. "please let me go."

"stop. you're pathetic." the man replied, dropping jooheon to the ground.

jooheon felt something crack, and he was definitely bleeding. the pain was excruciating. it was too much. "please let me go." he breathed before passing out again.

-

changkyun kept feeding sharp pains in his heart. he clutched at his chest, hoping to stop it. he bent over and groaned. the sounds of the blaring police sirens seemed to get even louder in his head.

changkyun had called the cops, and they had tracked jooheon's phone. now, he was in the back of a police car, following jooheon's phone. changkyun could only pray he was alright.

"we're getting closer, so hang in there." the police officer driving the car informed him.

changkyun nodded weakly. if he was hurting so badly right now, he couldn't even try to imagine how jooheon felt.

-

jooheon was getting the beating of his life as he dipped in and out of consciousness. he felt dead. his determination and will had left his body, replaced by weakness.

"that'll show your gang not to mess with mine," the gang member hitting him barked. "you'll be a lesson. i'll send your dead body to your boss, and—"

"police, put your hands in the air." a clear voice called.

another voice called out desperately, "jooheon!"

"chang-changkyun?" whispered jooheon, barely even audible. he turned his head. he couldn't see much, but he could see a glowing heart. his vision swam, but he managed a half-smile. changkyun had come for him.

his kidnapper froze and pulled out what looked like a gun. he pointed it at jooheon's head. "don't come any closer or he dies." the man yelled at the police.

"shoot him and you'll be facing a lifetime in jail." the police replied calmly.

the man turned white, dropped his gun, and ran.

"get him!" a police officer bellowed. half of the officers raced after the man while the other half, along with changkyun, dashed over to jooheon.

"are you okay?" changkyun asked.

"not really." jooheon choked out.

changkyun frowned. "i'm just glad you're alive." he sighed, stroking jooheon's blood-matted hair.

jooheon nodded. "me too." the world was spinning. he felt himself about to black out once more. he was able to lift his hand to touch changkyun's for one moment before his arm fell to his side and his eyes closed.