Sungmin could still feel the happiness he had felt when his family had visited two days ago. He had reconnected with all of the family members, reminiscing about old times and learning about the new ones. Eeteuk had talked incessantly about his wedding preparations and Heechul demanded why he hadn’t kept his hair in perfect condition.
He never told them why he left or the reason he was in Kyuhyun’s house. The subject had never come up because everyone had been falling over themselves to talk to him and see that he was still okay. Sungmin had never given away that he had been abused.
Eeteuk had mentioned that he was quieter than usual and he didn’t act cute anymore. Sungmin simply told him that he was tired. He knew that Eeteuk knew that he changed. Teukie’s umma senses were still working well.
Sungmin sighed and looked around the empty apartment. Kyuhyun was at work, albeit reluctantly and Sungmin was sitting in the living room, feeling very alone in the middle of Kyuhyun’s apartment. He had cleaned Kyuhyun’s place as a thank you for helping him. He ignored Kyuhyun’s protests that he rest and recover instead of working.
Sungmin didn’t mind. He enjoyed it. What he liked the best was cleaning Kyuhyun’s room. It was filled with different colourful, exotic plants. He would spend most of his time gazing at each particular flower, questioning how it had grown and marvelling at the sheer care and time that must have been put into giving these plants life.
He enjoyed inhaling their sweet scents and seeing their beautiful colours. He wondered if he would ever be like one of them; if he would bloom and become an exquisite flower or if he would simply remain hidden inside a bud. He wondered what kind of flower he would be. He would have to get Kyuhyun to tell him because he knew nothing about plants.
He brought his thoughts away from Kyuhyun’s room and back into the room he was in. It was still lonely here. He looked around himself and decided to water the plants in this room. He picked up the watering can and began to sprinkle light droplets of water into the dark rich soil.
He smiled slightly as he watched the water disappear into the dark earth. He began watering the plants near the window and ran his hand along the ferns and lilies that grew there. He had no idea what these were at all. Kyuhyun had told him in passing that the window was the ‘lily section’. Sungmin had had no idea there were more than one type of lily.
He finished watering the ground plants when the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door and opened it. A tall man in a black suit stood there.
“Can I help you?” Sungmin murmured.
“I represent Shinhae Cleaning. I’m selling cleaning fluids for only 10,000 won. Would you like to buy some? They work well, the cost is reasonable and if you buy now you can get them right away!”
Sungmin shook his head, “No thank you.”
He shut the door and returned back to the living room. He lay down on the sofa and began thinking about the past five days. Kyuhyun had been kind to him. Sungmin knew he liked it more than he should have. Kyuhyun was special to him and he was uncertain of what he was really feeling.
If he were to be completely honest with himself, he would immediately say that he liked Kyuhyun and that he longed for his presence whenever he wasn’t there. Sungmin knew that Kyuhyun liked him too, it was slightly obvious with all the hugs and kisses that Kyuhyun gave him.
Still, he was slightly afraid to let another person in. After Jiwon had learnt everything about him and used it to his advantage, Sungmin learned to keep things on the inside. It had been so long since he was the open, bubbly person that acted cute all the time. Maybe if he let another in he would become that person again.
Sungmin was hesitant to do so however. What if Kyuhyun hurt him? Despite the voices telling him not to trust anyone, he felt that he could confide in Kyuhyun. In the very depths of his soul, he knew that Kyuhyun could do nothing to hurt him. So why was he still so hesitant?
Sungmin puzzled over this for a moment before realizing just what made him so afraid. Jiwon had been nice too. But he had shown his true colours. Sungmin was afraid of this happening again. Especially if it was from someone who he had a multitude of feelings for. He didn’t think he could survive it again.
He sighed and turned over to face the ceiling. Silence filled the room. Sungmin couldn’t help but feel that the empty space beside him should be filled with someone named Kyuhyun. And then it hit him. He made an executive decision.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
“What were you imbeciles doing?!”
“It’s not our fault boss! They weren’t there when we got to their house. They came back at four in the morning and we didn’t see what direction they had come from!”
“And why may I ask, did you not see them coming?”
“Well, we were…uh…we were occupied…”
“By what?” The tone became icy cold.
“Well boss…we were-”
“Sleeping perhaps?
“Well at four in the morning sir, it’s pretty hard-”
“There were four of you in the car! What the fuck were the others doing?!”
“Aish, I don’t know.”
“Give me the Black Hand.”
“Please! Give us another chance!”
“There are no second chances. You get it right the first time or you don’t do the job at all.”
“We had been up doing that other little job for you! We were tired!”
“Line up the four of you.”
“Boss, we’ve given you years of service. We can give you more!”
“After your slip up? You’ve served your purpose. Thank you for your services.” Four gunshots rang out and there was slight rustling as four bodies dropped to the ground. The hand holding the smoking black handgun was lowered.
“Let that be a lesson to all of you. Do the job right or had in your resignation. Clean this filth up and frame someone for it. Send in the second agents. Let’s get the job done right this time.”
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
Kyuhyun walked through the door and was attacked by a smaller, warm body colliding with his. He looked down to see Sungmin hugging him tightly. He smiled at his hyung and wrapped his arms around him.
“Hello, Minnie-ah,” Kyuhyun whispered. “That was a nice welcome.”
“Kyuhyunnie, can we talk?” Sungmin asked, his voice slightly muffled. Kyuhyun felt a pang of worry and he released Sungmin and looked at him concernedly.
“Yes, we can talk.”
Sungmin took his hand and led him to the living room. He sat down on the sofa and when Kyuhyun sat down beside him, he snuggled into Kyuhyun’s side. The younger male had no idea what motivated Sungmin to do this but he wasn’t going to complain. He would let Sungmin come to him on his own terms.
“Kyu…” Sungmin began before his voice faded.
“What is it, Minnie? What’s troubling you?” Kyuhyun put his arms around Sungmin’s body. His hyung curled into him and remained there.
“I’ve wanted to let someone else in for a long time. But I couldn’t do it. Jiwon made me scared of ever letting anyone inside. But, you’re different, you’re special. Somehow, you managed to get past that. Because I trust you, I want to tell you what happened to me and I want to let you inside. I’m giving you the key to my soul so please don’t hurt me,” Sungmin pleaded.
Kyuhyun’s heart nearly broke. He hated Jiwon for doing this to Sungmin. To take away someone’s trust and make it so that that person was afraid of letting anyone inside was equivalent to murder in Kyuhyun’s books. He swallowed and kissed Sungmin’s head gently.
His hyung looked up at him, his dark eyes asking if he was ready.
“I would never hurt you,” Kyuhyun replied. He didn’t care if Sungmin questioned his response countless times. If he was able to reassure Sungmin, he would continue doing that forever.
For the next two hours, Sungmin brought Kyuhyun into his world. He talked about how he left and how the first year of his life with Jiwon was actually quite happy. He told Kyuhyun about all the times Jiwon would get drunk and beat him. Afterwards, he would apologize but do it again.
He told Kyuhyun how everything started to go downhill when they moved into their new house. He never told Kyuhyun the address or the area where they lived. Instead, he described how he found out Jiwon was part of a gang. He recounted the time when Jiwon would beat him for little mistakes and how he had had two friends, Henry and Zhoumi and how they had died at the hand of Jiwon.
Sungmin related the story of how he was beaten when Kyuhyun found him. He told him about the time when he was raped by Jiwon and then punished for refusing him afterwards. Kyuhyun listened intently throughout it all. Halfway through Sungmin’s telling, his hand found his hyung’s and Kyuhyun vowed he would never let Sungmin experience something like that ever again.
Sungmin took a breath and then began to tell Kyuhyun the story of the night he went back. He gazed into Kyuhyun’s eyes as he talked about how he was used as an outlet for violence and sex. Kyuhyun didn’t turn away. Instead, he moved closer to Sungmin, wanting to give him comfort. Sungmin silently thanked the gods for such a compassionate companion. He stopped talking.
Kyuhyun stared at him for a minute before holding him as close as he possibly could. Sungmin felt a few tears drip from his eyes as Kyuhyun held him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Kyuhyun breathed, trying not to cry. Sungmin blinked slowly and tilted his body so that his head was resting on Kyuhyun’s chest.
“Don’t be. If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met you,” Sungmin smiled. Kyuhyun placed a slightly rougher kiss than normal on his forehead. He pulled away and looked down at Sungmin seriously.
“We should report him to the police. He could be jailed for that.”
“No, we can’t. He’s part of a gang and they have connections in the police force. That’s why they haven’t been caught yet. The last person to reveal some information to the police was never seen again,” Sungmin explained.
“What happened?”
“He overheard one of the meetings. He went to the police station and one of Jiwon’s contacts eavesdropped on him. The records that were filed vanished mysteriously. The guy was found five days later, dead in his basement. If you file a report, they will find you and kill you. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“So you’re going to let him get away with it?!” Kyuhyun asked in disbelief.
“No, one day he will be caught because people like that always are. And I won’t be sorry because it was his life to live and he screwed up. He left me enough marks to remember him by and I’ll never forget what he did to me,” Sungmin replied.
“Sungmin…could you show me your worst injury from him?” Kyuhyun wasn’t sure why he wanted to know this but the words were already out in the air. Sungmin looked at him for a moment then he turned around. He pulled off his shirt and showed Kyuhyun his back. He knew the younger male would see what he was talking about.
Kyuhyun used every ounce of energy not to scream. A large scar ran from Sungmin’s left shoulder to his right hipbone. It looked like his back had been torn by a knife. Sungmin did not flinch when Kyuhyun ran his fingertips tentatively over the scar. He trusted him. Kyuhyun pressed his lips to the wound. Silently he prayed he would never see another terrible scar like this on Sungmin’s body.
“It healed a long time ago but it’s more than enough of a reminder,” Sungmin said, slightly breathlessly while pulling his shirt back on. Kyuhyun looked at him. He lay down on the sofa and then gently pulled Sungmin down with him. He held his hyung close while he brought a blanket over them both.
“I want you to sleep. I want you to heal,” Kyuhyun murmured. Sungmin turned a faint shade of pink as Kyuhyun nuzzled into him. He closed his eyes, a weight lifting from his shoulders. He had let someone back in. And now he loved that someone. That night, Sungmin crossed the like/love boundary.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
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