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[law!verse] Aftermath
Kangin and Leeteuk weren't home when Changmin arrived at their house, but thanks to the key they had given Jaejoong, he slipped inside. Jaejoong had pretended to threaten Changmin with no dinner if he didn’t visit Yejin, but they both knew that Changmin wanted to and that the threat was useless.
Chansook was sitting on the couch watching TV and he jumped scrambling to shut it off as Changmin came through the door. "It-it was just on," he said, "I wasn't watching!"
"Which means you were," Changmin supplied, "Are you not supposed to be watching television with your appa gone?"
Chansook slowly shook his head.
"I won't tell your appa," Changmin promised, "If you tell me where Yejin is. And if you don't watch it while I'm here."
"She's sleeping," Chansook said.
Therefore you watch TV, Changmin said in his mind, shaking his head. He wondered if he had been this tricky when he was ten. He thought he probably had been.
"Do you not like her?" Changmin asked.
"She's alright," Chansook said, "She's quiet."
Changmin knew that was probably the best he was going to get out of the cootie-fearing ten-year-old. "How long has she been in bed?"
"Since..noon?"
"Chansook have you been watching television for three hours straight...nevermind, I don't want to know. Go..do something else. Too much TV isn't good for you; there's a reason for your appa's screen time rule."
The boy sighed, but nodded.
Changmin made his way to the guest bedroom, opening the door quietly. He didn't really know why because he was planning on waking Yejin up anyway.
She was curled up in sheets and pillows, a blanket hanging from the shadeless window to block the light. A small fan was pointed at the wall so Changmin assumed it was for white noise rather than cool air.
He walked in and sat on the bed watching her breathe for a little while before deciding to wake her with gentle ministrations of his hands.
“Leeteuk?”
“Changmin,” he whispered, “Sorry. Leeteuk’s still at work.”
Her eyes opened fully and she smiled, stretching. “Jaejoong said you were gentlemanly, yet here you are walking into my bedroom while I’m sleeping.”
Changmin blushed, trying not to remember how Yejin looked that night.
She sat up and to his surprise wrapped her arms around him, threatening to squeeze the life from him. “You weren’t there last night.”
“I was designated baby-sitter. Rudely. They wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“I’m sorry,” Yejin mumbled. “If it makes you fell any better, if I ever get arrested I will call you first.”
“Please don’t ever get arrested,” Changmin finally maneuvered his arms to wrap around Yejin’s middle for a brief hug before pulling away. “Getting arrested equals not fun.”
“I shall remember that,” Yejin nodded dutifully and they both chuckled.
Chansook poked his head in, “Um...Appa’s almost home, he said to start rice. I can do it...if you want.”
“That’s fine,” Yejin smiled, “thank you.”
“He likes you,” Changmin said when Chansook had left, “Are you okay with him?”
Yejin shrugged. “I guess. He seems alright; I don’t see much of him.”
“That’s because you’re a horrible babysitter,” Changmine informed her, “Chansook was watching TV all afternoon.”
“I’m not used to being in charge,” Yejin said. “I didn’t know how to tell him to stop. I don’t think he’d listen to me.”
“You need to tell Kangin.”
Yejin looked horrified. “I...I don’t want him to get in trouble.”
“Yejin,” Changmin soothed, “Leeteuk and Kangin don’t treat Chansook like you were treated. You understand that, right?”
“But-but it’s bad to be in trouble.”
Changmin sighed. Where was Jaejoong when he was needed? The older man could explain this so much better.
“You’re right. Being in trouble is never good. The point I guess, is that you were never in trouble. You were abused and blamed for things you didn’t do. Chansook on the other hand, knows that he is not allowed to watch TV when his appa or Leeteuk aren’t home and decided to do it anyway. As the responsible adult in charge, it’s your duty to inform Kangin of his son’s infraction.”
“I...I’m held responsible?” Yejin looked like she was going to be sick.
“No,” Changmin said firmly, “No, you’re not. You’re just responsible.”
“But I was sleeping. They know it’s not my fault, right?” Tears were beginning to prick her eyes and Changmin realized that he probably shouldn’t have even brought it up.
“That didn’t come out right,” Changmin winced.
As if sent by God, Changmin heard the front door open, and Leeteuk call out that he and Kangin were home. “Maybe I’ll let them explain it to you.”
Yejin gripped his arm. “I don’t...They’ll be mad at me!”
“They won’t be mad, I promise.” Her grip didn’t lessen on his arm. “Hey,” he said seriously. “Yejin, you need to trust me.”
He looked away as Leeteuk poked his head into the room. “Oh, hi Changmin. Yejin, is he-what’s wrong?”
Yejin’s wide-eyed look was hard to interpret as something other than fear.
“She’s afraid you and Kangin will be mad at her.”
“What?” Leeteuk frowned and opened the door fully. “Kangin! Come here.”
Yejin whimpered and Leeteuk immediately hurried over to her, reaching out, “Yejin, honey, I’m not gonna hurt you. I promise. What’s wrong?”
“Chansook,” Yejin managed to squeak out shying away from Leeteuk’s arms to cower behind Changmin.
“What about Chansook?” Kangin asked from the doorway.
“She fell asleep and Chansook spent the afternoon watching TV,” Changmin told them, deciding that his promise to Chansook was not as important as Yejin.
“Please don’t be mad,” Yejin whispered, “Please don’t be mad, I just didn’t know how to tell him to shut it off. I’ll work harder, I promise. I’ll be better. Just don’t be angry with me.”
“Oh, Yejin,” Kangin murmured. “Yejin, I’m not mad. I’m not mad at all.”
“But...but you said not to let him. You said to try to play a game or something. I disobeyed you,” Yejin’s lower lip trembled and Changmin tried not think about what she was associating the word ‘disobeyed’ with.
Kangin walked over and knealt by the bed. “No you didn’t,” he said, “It’s not your fault that you fell asleep. Even if you hadn’t, even if you had told Chansook to turn it off and he didn’t, you wouldn’t have. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Maybe.”
“Come here,” Leeteuk whispered, “Let me hold you. The most important thing to understand here is that no one is mad at you, alright?”
Yejin swallowed and Changmin let out a sigh of relief as she let Leeteuk wrap his arms around her. “Not even a little?”
“Not even less than a smidgen,” Kangin assured her, kissing a kneecap that was peeking out from the swathe of blankets. “I promise.”
“Kay,” she whispered. “You-you won’t be mad at Chansook?”
“No,” Kangin shook his head, “I believe I’m disappointed with my son, because he knows better, but I’m not going to be angry.”
“Are you...disappointed with me?”
“No,” Leeteuk answered, “We’re proud of you.”
“Jaejoong said he was proud of me,” Yejin said against Leeteuk’s chest and Changmin wondered at her behavior. She was so much different than the girl he had tutored. He wondered what parts of the Yejin he knew were the true Yejin and which parts were not.
“We’re all proud of you,” Changmin assured her.
“Come with me,” Kangin said, “I want you to see how I talk with Chansook.”
Changmin let out a quiet breath as they left, Yejin’s hand in Kangin’s.
“Can I...ask Jaejoong over?” Changmin fished for his phone.
“Of course,” Leeteuk replied, already straightening out Yejin’s bed as Changmin stood. “I think that’s a brilliant idea.”
~~~~
It turned out that Leeteuk and Kangin only lived fifteen minutes from Jaejoong’s sister’s apartment. Yunho offered to drive and Jaejoong was delighted to discover than they made it in twelve minutes. The speeding went unnoticed because it was Yejin they were going to see.
“What happened?” Jaejoong asked. “Did someone take her out again?”
“Not exactly,” Changmin answered, leading the TA to her room (Yunho had begged off, saying that he would talk with Kangin for awhile,) “She had to tell Kangin that Chansook was disobedient.”
Jaejoong thought about for a second before it clicked. “Didn’t go well?”
“I ended up telling him.”
“Ah.” Jaejoong nodded, and listened intently as Changmin related the tale to him.
They slipped into the room and Jaejoong smiled as he saw Yejin sitting on the bed curled up against Leeteuk who was speaking softly.
“Hi Yejinnie,” Jaejoong said and she smiled when she saw him, her face brightening immediately.
“Jaejoong!”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Leeteuk said, extracting himself form blankets and grabbing Changmin’s arm on the way out, “C’mon, you can tell me all about your classes and why your elective this semester is not with me.”
“I knew someone who took one of his classes,” Yejin said when Jaejoong has assumed Leeteuk’s previous position, “She said it was a really fun class.”
“Yunho said Leeteuk’s classes were hard.”
“She said it was but...it was fun. I mean it’s children’s medicine, right? I guess it has to be a little quirky.”
“I suppose you’re right. You should ask him about it.”
He stroked her hair for awhile before asking, “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“You know no one’s upset with you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Good. Can I ask you some things, Yejin? Changmin said...that Kangin took you with him when he spoke with Chansook.”
Yejin nodded again, her arms automatically wrapping around his midde.
“Did what you see upset you?”
“Not...not really.”
“Did you expect to see what you did?”
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Yejin admitted.
“Tell me.”
“He...he made Chansook sit down.”
“Did he make him or did he ask Chansook to sit?”
Yejin was quiet for a minute. “He asked,” she said.
“And did Chansook listen?”
“Yes.”
“Was he scared?”
“I don’t think so. But he was nervous, I think.”
Jaejoong chuckled. “May I note here that there is a difference between being scared and being nervous.”
“I know that.”
Jaejoong turned his head to look at her. “I’m just assuming that you need to work this out in your head, Yejin. Am I being stupid? Should we go and eat instead?”
“No, you’re right.”
“Okay. Continue. What did Kangin say?”
“He asked Chansook what he did for the afternoon while I was napping. Chansook...fidgeted. Then he said that he read, and that he talked to Seungyon and just...walked around.”
“And what did Kangin say?”
“He said that they were having a serious conversation and that Chansook had to approach it seriously. Then he talked about me and said that I was hurting and that he expected Chansook to take care of me as much as I was going to take care of him.”
“What do you think of that?”
“I...I’m not sure what I think of that. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.”
“I can tell you that you’re welcome here for as long as you want. They love you,” Jaejoong whispered against her hair.
Yejin sniffed. “I...Jaejoong, Kangin didn't yell at him. I don’t...he just said, ‘I expect you to make sure that she’s okay not take advantage of her situation and watch TV all afternoon,’ and then Chansook was apologizing to him and then to me and I...I didn’t know what to do.”
“You expected him to yell at Chansook?”
“Yes. To hit him,” she muttered, wiggling in closer, “which is stupid, I know it’s stupid. I know not everyone hits their children.”
“And that’s why Kangin wanted you to see it. He knows that you know not every parent is abusive, Yejin. But sometimes...sometimes seeing how a child is disciplined without hitting makes it more real. Especially to someone who was abused.”
“Kangin’s smart.”
“He is. And he’s had practice.”
“Leeteuk,” Yejin supplied and Jaejoong nodded. “Leeteuk...he said that it doesn’t go away easy. He said that even though he’s been living with Kangin for almost six years and Chansook considers Leeteuk as much of a parent as Kangin, Leeteuk can’t...he can’t discipline.”
Jaejoong hummed.
“He said that when Chansook was younger, when something happened, he couldn’t control him. He’s only just gotten to the point where he can send Chansook to his room, but that’s it. Leeteuk makes him wait for Kangin.”
“Does it scare you to know that it won’t be easy for you to heal?”
“I guess.”
“You’ve got lots of people supporting you.”
The door opened up and Yunho popped his head in. “I wanted to let you talk alone but Leeteuk threatened me.”
“Come and sit.”
Yunho plopped down on Yejin's bed at Jaejoong's insistent urging and Yejin ended up squished between the two of them as they tried to latch onto each other.
"If I'm in the way of a moment..." she muttered sarcastically, trying to wriggle from Jaejoong's grasp.
"Don't be silly. We don't have our moments at other people's houses," Jaejoong held her back, "usually."
There had been that one time in Donghae’s office when they had went to meet with him about a mutual student. Donghae hadn’t showed up and when they had found out he had been with Hyujae they had decided on the best sort of revenge.
And there was also the one time in Junsu’s dorm...but that was because they had found some yaoi manga Yoochun had given him as a joke and...well, one thing had led to another (because really, could people actually move like that? turns out, yes they can,) and oh yes. It had been a nice evening. Junsu didn’t know, of course, and the secret just made it all the more sweeter.
Yunho and Jaejoong entwined the hands that were around Yejin, knowing smiles on their faces as they silently shared the same memories.
"I want to love like you two," Yejin said suddenly and Jaejoong halted mid caress, unsure of what to say. "I want...to be happy like you are."
"It's frustrating to be happy," Jaejoong said carefully.
"Hey!" Yunho objected.
"Well it is," Jaejoong said, "You spend all your time wanting to be with the other person, even when you know you can't; you daydream and think about them and wish they were where you were. You just want to wrap your soul around them and hold them forever, even when they piss you off. Frustrating."
Yunho sighed.
"But," Jaejoong added, "the times when you're not frustrated with longing are..." He searched for the right word. Fantastic? Amazing? Beyond belief? Drool-worthy? No. None of those.
"Are what?" Yejin asked quietly.
"There isn't a word," Yunho replied for him.
"It's scary how you can get inside my head," Jaejoong muttered, making Yunho chuckle.
"I still want it," Yejin said softly, and Jaejoong pulled her closer, "Is it okay to want something I don't understand?"
"Of course," Yunho answered, "If you could only want things you understood than Jaejoong and I wouldn't be together. Ow!"
"Now we're even," Jaejoong sniffed, but he leaned a little and kissed the place on Yunho's shoulder that had felt his fist. "somewhat."
“We will settle this ‘somewhat’ later tonight,” Yunho growled.
Jaejoong covered Yejin’s ears. “Yunho!”
“I’m not five,” Yejin muttered, rolling her eyes, but she made no move to remove the appendages blocking her hearing.
“Sorry,” Yunho said, “I’m sorry, Yejin. I shall attempt to refrain from discussing our bedroom activities in front of you.”
“I...I don’t mind.”
Jaejoong stared at her incredulously. “I mean...that’s not...it’s just that my-my parents didn’t...they weren’t like any of you. You wouldn’t have known they were together. I don’t mean to sound voyeuristic, it’s just...it’s nice to see love.”
Jaejoong patted her head. “It’s nice to find someone who doesn’t mind PDA.” And as if to test his theory, he squished Yejin a little more to kiss Yunho on the mouth.
“It’s nice to know people who don’t mind displaying it,” she returned, and Yunho laughed quietly, poking her stomach.
“Honey, you just landed yourself in a whole pile of people who are hardcore supporters of visible displays of affection. All the time. I expect you to join...okay that was about to come out all wrong.”
“Yunho-yah! Were you just going to say that you expected her to join in?”
“Not what I meant, Jaejoong, I promise!” Yunho scooted away from Jaejoong’s glare. “I meant that when she finds someone to love I expect them both to kiss each other senseless in front of us. That’s all.”
Jaejoong glanced down at Yejin and tsked. “You’re making her blush. Stop it. You’re failing at everything tonight.”
Yunho pouted, “I bet I can find something I won’t fail at.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“And I’d be more than happy to demonstrate certain things that I know I can pass with flying colors.”
“Yunho.” Jaejoong hid his face in Yejin’s hair, knowing his cheeks were matching Yejin’s.
“You’re both so adorable when you’re embarrassed,” Yunho kissed them both on their heads. “How did I live without you?”
A breath of air was released from Jaejoong’s lips, but he smiled at Yunho and they fell into a small lapse of silence. He could tell that Yejin wanted to ask something terribly important; she kept taking a breath as if wanting to say something and then releasing it, her courage disappearing almost immediately.
“Just say it,” Jaejoong finally said gently, unable to take the suspense.
“Can I...can I ask you both what you think I should do this semester? I don’t think my parents will be paying for anything and I can’t afford school on my own.”
“Always so practical,” Jaejoong smoothed her hair, kissing it.
“Leeteuk and Kangin will let you stay here for as long as you need to, forever if necessary,” Yunho said.
“I don’t want to mooch off of them.”
“It’s not mooching,” Jaejoong was quick to insert, “But if you really feel that way, then get a job and help them pay for food or something. Didn’t you teach at that dance school? I bet you can find some kind of job.”
“Yejin, you’re a spectacular dancer,” Yunho murmured, “I know you don’t want to do law.”
“Not really,” Jaejoong could imagine the look spreading across her face in the semi-darkness, “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You need to do the things you love, not what your family or your friends, or any one else does. You’re the one who knows what makes you happy.”
Yejin sighed before whispering, “I’m a little sad. You were my favorite teachers.”
They both chuckled, planting kisses in her hair and entwining their hands with hers. “You were my favorite student,” Jaejoong replied.
“I’m sorry Yejin,” Yunho murmured after a moment of thought, “You’re only my second favorite.”
Jaejoong was sure he was glowing a little bit. “You’re not sorry at all. I hope you’re not sorry.”
“Again,” Yunho said, “We will continue this later.”
His voice made Jaejoong swallow. He made sure that their eyes didn’t meet over Yejin’s head because he thought that if they did he might jump the professor, regardless of Yejin’s presence.
“We better.”
~~~~
“Junsu!” Yoochun hissed, “Stop for a second.”
“No,” his boyfriend growled, “we don’t do this often enough; Jaejoong and Yunho are with the kids for once, can we please just enjoy this?”
“Junsu someone’s watching!”
Junsu froze underneath Yoochun. “Like...watching?”
Yoochun pushed Junsu up further against the car door and licked Junsu’s ear, letting the motion naturally carry his head to look out of the window.
“Like with a big camera taking pictures watching,” Yoochun whispered.
Junsu’s hands stopped their caressing, “Are you serious right now? We’re being photographed as we fuck in the back of your car?”
“Yes,” Yoochun breathed, “And as beautiful as the sight of you writhing underneath me is, I don’t particularly want to share that with anyone else.”
“We didn’t even get to writhing,” Junsu grumbled as he straightened his shirt, “Fucker. Count of three we run burst out and jump him...zip your pants perve, otherwise he’ll get a nice shot of things that belong to me.”
“Ha,” Yoochun barked, doing as he was bidden.
Junsu sighed and turned on his stomach. Yoochun whispered three into his ear and Junsu shot out of the car first, his lover following. The bushes shook slightly and Yoochun dove into them, grabbing the first thing he saw which turned out to be an arm. Junsu landed on the person’s back making all three of them grunt as they rolled.
Yoochun hauled the man up by his shirt front and slammed him against a tree.
“Well, shit,” he said, as he saw the man’s face, “I wasn’t expecting you.”
~~~~
Not sure how I feel about this verse. I don't mean to make Chansook sound like a bad child. I realized every time I write him, he's doing something not so wonderful. However, I wanted Yejin to have to deal with this at some point so...
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<3