Kyuhyun and Sungmin were dropped off at the police station by Changmin. Kyuhyun excused himself as they walked in and Sungmin wondered where he was going. Kyuhyun told him that he was going to the washroom and Sungmin accepted this.
In reality, Kyuhyun was going to get his wounds cleaned by someone. Changmin followed him and told him that he should tell Sungmin what was happening. Kyuhyun blatantly refused to tell Sungmin that he was injured. Sungmin had the tendency to blame himself for things that were not his fault and he didn’t want Sungmin to blame himself for this.
The two of them were brought to their new house after Kyuhyun had come back from getting his wounds treated. Changmin took up a post by the front door and Sungmin curled up on one of the couches which was near a window.
He wanted to be certain that everyone was okay. Kyuhyun came to him and sat down beside him. He wrapped his arms around Sungmin and answered the unasked question that he knew his husband was silently asking.
“They’ll be fine.”
The two waited in silence and Changmin gave an occasional cough. By one o’clock in the morning, nobody had arrived. Minwoong, Changmin, Jaejoong, Yoochun, Yunho and Junsu were still missing.
Sungmin had fallen asleep on the couch. Kyuhyun carried him up the stairs to one of the rooms in the house and tucked him in. He climbed in after Sungmin and lay awake, waiting for the sound of a car.
It was still dark when Kyuhyun was awoken by the sound of a garage door opening. He recognized it as the one attached to their safehouse and wondered who was back. He slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb Sungmin and walked downstairs.
“Who’s back?” Kyuhyun heard a voice ask. He turned to see Changmin walk out from the kitchen and give him a questioning look.
“I don’t know who it is. I just came down to find out,” Kyuhyun answered. The garage connected with the house so neither of them knew who it was until Minwoong stepped through the door.
“Minwoong! Are you all right?” Changmin immediately pulled his partner into a hug and then inspected him.
“I’m fine, Changmin-hyung. Are Kyuhyun and Sungmin okay?” Minwoong asked.
“Kyuhyun was hurt by shattered glass and-”
“Are you all right, Kyuhyun-hyung?” Minwoong gasped, cutting off Changmin.
“I’m fine. And please be quiet. I don’t want Sungmin to know that I was hurt. I don’t want him to worry,” Kyuhyun begged. Minwoong nodded in understanding.
“Will do. And why are you still dressed in the same clothes?
“Because we were too tired to change.”
“Oh. Okay. What about you, Changmin-hyung?”
“I’m okay. I’m just glad that you aren’t hurt,” Changmin gazed at Minwoong before turning to the stairs. “Go, you should get some sleep. Sungmin is already sleeping.”
“I should. Am I the last here?” Minwoong asked.
“No. You’re the first,” Changmin replied. Minwoong’s eyebrows raised slightly.
“It’s four in the morning!” Minwoong exclaimed.
“And you’re the first here. Now go to sleep, Minwoongie,” Changmin pointed at the stairs. Kyuhyun stared at him. Normally, he would have just shoved Minwoong up the stairs. He supposed that the attack by the gang had brought out a tender side that normally remained hidden.
“Okay, Changmin. Go to sleep in a bit okay? Don’t wait up for everyone,” Minwoong walked tiredly up the stairs.
“I’m going to go to bed as well,” Kyuhyun told the elder male. Changmin nodded. Kyuhyun walked back up the stairs and wondered where everyone else was.
Sungmin woke up and light was streaming through the window. He tried to push himself up and found that he couldn’t move. He looked around and discovered that Kyuhyun was hugging onto his waist and wasn’t going to let go. He didn’t want to disturb Kyuhyun so he lay back down and curled into his husband’s embrace.
The two of them lay like that for a while. Sungmin was gently playing with Kyuhyun’s hair and placing soft kisses on his face. Kyuhyun blinked his eyes blearily and smiled.
“Morning, Minnie,” Kyuhyun moved closer to Sungmin and nuzzled into him before kissing his shoulder. Sungmin sighed contentedly. Then he remembered something.
“Kyu, is anyone back yet?” Sungmin asked. Kyuhyun blinked.
“Yeah, Minwoong got back. I’m not sure about anyone else,” Kyuhyun answered, trying to make his brain wake up.
“Come on, let’s check who’s here!” Sungmin grabbed Kyuhyun’s hand and tugged him out of bed. Sungmin pulled the younger male down the stairs and they found Changmin asleep in a chair, his head bowed.
Sungmin gently placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder and shook him gently.
“Mm…? What is it?” A sleepy Changmin raised his head and looked around dazedly.
“Has anyone else come back, Changmin?” Kyuhyun asked. The hacker blinked up at him before nodding slowly as if the question was of great magnitude and to answer wrong would immediately result in some sort of violent trauma.
“Yes….Jun…su….got back at six and then Yoochun came back at six thirty. Yunho and Jaejoong still haven’t returned,” Changmin yawned at the end of his report and stood up.
“I wonder where they could be?” Sungmin pondered.
“They might have gotten held up at the police station. The backup that came to help might have taken them back to give a report and sometimes that takes a while. Especially Youngsoo decided to quiz them on every single detail,” Changmin explained.
He didn’t get to explain much more because at that moment, the front door opened and Yunho walked in, looking slightly pale and more than disoriented. He looked around and focused on the three of them in the living room. He blinked once and then turned back to the stairs where Minwoong was coming down.
“Yunho-appa! Why did it take you so long to get back? It’s eleven-thirty! Where’s Jae-umma?” Minwoong asked, looking around as though Yunho might have him stashed away somewhere. Yunho said nothing, he stared at Minwoong impassively before turning and walking into the living room with all the others and sat calmly on a chair.
“Yunho-appa?” Changmin questioned. The four of them gathered around the police officer.
“Jaejoong,” the word fell from Yunho’s lips so quietly that half of them weren’t sure they heard right.
“What about Jaejoong?” Sungmin asked. There was something in the back of his mind that told him he wouldn’t like what he would hear.
“He’s….” Yunho stopped.
“Is…he alive anymore?” Minwoong asked in a small voice like a frightened child. Changmin walked to Minwoong and stood behind him as if ready for what was to come next.
“Jaejoong….was killed….he has been labelled ‘killed in action’ and….his funeral will take place….in three days….” Yunho trailed off and put his head in his hands.
Minwoong turned into Changmin and his body shook with silent sobs. Sungmin stared at Yunho, not really believing what he had just said. Kyuhyun’s eyes opened wide but he saw nothing. None of them could believe that the kind, gentle, mothering police officer was really gone.
Sungmin felt absolutely stunned that his follower, his shadow was now non-existent. How could Jaejoong be dead in one short night? A few hours ago, Jaejoong was alive and well. Now he was gone. Was it even possible? How could it be possible? But Yunho…..Sungmin turned to the young police officer.
He was sitting with his head in his hands and Sungmin wasn’t sure if he was crying or not. But he knew that Jaejoong had been Yunho’s lover. And to lose someone that close to you was a terrible thing to happen. Kyuhyun had almost had to experience it.
“What’s going on?”
The five of them looked up to see Yoochun and Junsu standing in the doorway, obviously just woken up from their sleep. Changmin was holding a still sobbing Minwoong and turned to Kyuhyun asking him silently if he would tell the Yoosu couple what had happened. He didn’t think Yunho could take telling two more people.
“Jaejoong….has been killed in action. He’s dead. His funeral is in three days,” Kyuhyun told the other two, his voice breaking slightly. Junsu immediately turned to the others, his expression asking them if it was a joke. Sungmin’s shocked expression, Minwoong’s tears and Yunho’s stance was enough to tell him otherwise.
Junsu sank to the ground, not wanting to believe that the one person who had taught him basically everything he knew, was gone. He could feel Yoochun slide down behind him and place his hands on his shoulders. Junsu bit his lip and stared at the rest of the people in the room, wondering how cruel the world could be to take a person as pure and selfless as Jaejoong away.
There was silence in the house. Kyuhyun was now hugging Sungmin gently, unsure of what he was thinking because of his silence. Junsu and Yoochun were silent as was Yunho. Changmin was holding Minwoong gently who was the only one crying but even then he was silent. Silent for the passing of the one Kim Jaejoong.
~₴~≠~₴~≠~
“Do you want me to help you with your tie?” Sungmin asked Kyuhyun quietly. Jaejoong’s funeral was in a couple of hours and Sungmin wanted everything to be perfect. Kyuhyun smiled slightly and allowed Sungmin to help him.
“Are you going to speak?” Kyuhyun asked.
“No, I think Yunho will do a better job of that for me,” Sungmin replied.
“It must be very painful for him,” Kyuhyun noted. Sungmin knew what he was saying. He understood Yunho’s pain but not to the full extent because he had discovered that Sungmin was alive even after two weeks of pure grief.
“We should try and make life easier for him. We aren’t going out of the house so he doesn’t have to be around to follow you. He can take time for his loss.”
“I heard Yoochun suggesting that to him yesterday. He said he would rather stay here, with the rest of his team because it’s where he felt closest to Jaejoong.”
“Yunho would say something like that,” Sungmin smiled. “Are you ready to go?”
“Let’s go,” Kyuhyun nodded.
They made their way down the stairs and out to the car through the garage door. Yoochun had originally opposed them going out for the funeral but after the argument of them staying at home without protectors was more dangerous, he had agreed that they come along.
Sungmin remained silent for the ride to the church, snuggling into Kyuhyun and watching the scenery pass. In truth, he was nervous about going to Jaejoong’s funeral. He had never been to a funeral in his life and he didn’t intend to make a habit of it.
Yoochun and Junsu filed in first followed by Kyuhyun and Sungmin with Minwoong and Changmin bringing up the rear. Yunho came in last, holding a picture of Jaejoong and placing it on the coffin in the front of the church.
“Today, we commemorate the loss of a loved friend and family member, Kim Jaejoong…” the sermon holder began his speech. Sungmin looked around at the assembled people.
Most of the police force as well as Jaejoong’s family had come to the funeral. Those with their heads bowed were crying silently while those whose heads were tilted upwards were trying to stop their tears. As far as Sungmin could tell, a lot of people really liked or even loved Jaejoong. It made him feel happy that Jaejoong had been well liked by a great many people.
The sermon continued on and Sungmin felt tears of his own start. Kyuhyun handed him a Kleenex and wrapped his arm around Sungmin’s shoulders.
“I would like to say a few words about Kim Jaejoong,” a man dressed in a rather fancy suit said. The host waved him up to the podium and the man began to talk. “My son, Jaejoong, was always…”
Sungmin listened to Jaejoong’s father talk and he realized that his “follower” had had a very difficult life, getting rejected from countless places but still continuing on. He clapped as Jaejoong’s father stepped off the podium. A few more people got up to speak and finally, Yunho stood up.
“When I first met him, I was in his training group for the police force. I wondered how he was able to hold off the attackers despite the fact that he was so thin and looked so delicate. I found out later when we had to attack each other and he took me down. He captured my heart that day and I found the courage to confess my love for him and I was utterly happy when I learned that he loved me back.
“We joined the police force together, along with a few of our friends from high school: Changmin, Yoochun and Junsu. We added a new member to our little ‘family’ after three years in the police force, Minwoong. Jaejoong taught everyone in our foster family what they needed to know. To Junsu and Yoochun, he taught patience and perceptiveness, to Changmin and Minwoong, he taught understanding and careful calculation. To me, he taught gentleness and to be carefree.
“He always thought of others before himself and despite that being the reason he died, he would have wanted to go that way. Saving others rather than himself. His last wish was for me to take care of the family he had ‘adopted’. I hope I can live up to his wish. He always wanted his ‘children’ to be safe, even if that meant taking the bullet for them. Jaejoong was an amazing person. And to me, he still is,” Yunho finished.
The crowd erupted into applause and Yunho bowed his head as he left the podium. Sungmin looked around to see all of Jaejoong’s foster family in tears. He turned back to look at the photo of a smiling Jaejoong on the coffin.
“You left too soon, Jaejoong. Your children need you,” Sungmin whispered.
~₴~≠~₴~≠~
It had been three hours since the funeral but Yunho still felt the sting of pain as he remembered the photo of Jaejoong that had been buried with the coffin. He couldn’t believe the one whom he had loved for so long was now gone. A small sphere of metal had taken his life from him.
Yunho stared into nothingness. He felt empty, so empty of everything. He heard a noise to his left and saw Sungmin walking into the kitchen. He watched as the older man made a cup of coffee before he was hugged from behind by Kyuhyun who had appeared from somewhere.
Yunho’s heart hurt as he watched the tender scene between Sungmin and Kyuhyun. What made Sungmin so lucky to have Kyuhyun in his life still? Wasn’t he originally supposed to be dead? Isn’t that why they picked up Jiwon that night? Because Kyuhyun had a fit of rage and attacked Jiwon? So why was Sungmin still alive? Why him and not Jaejoong?
Yunho’s eyes narrowed as Sungmin giggled and kissed Kyuhyun before allowing him to drink from his coffee cup.
“If you weren’t alive, Jaejoong would be living right now. If you didn’t exist, we would never have been assigned to this case. If you weren’t breathing, I would still be with him. So it’s your fault. Your fault, Lee Sungmin, that my Jaejoong is dead. It’s all your fault,” Yunho glared.
~₴~≠~₴~≠~
