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creeping in your heart

Chapter 2

Summary:

The morning after, Taeyong got a pleasant surprise and much more.

Notes:

yay chapter two~ *does a happy dance*

this is slightly longer that the first one but I feel no regret. also, this is unbetaed and do bear in mind that english is not my first language but hopefully there will be minimum grammatical error. enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The first time it happens Taeyong is so surprised that he can’t do anything other than just stare as the man in front of him collapses before he is yelling for help to Mark and Ten who immediately rush to him, concern written all over their face. And the cautious glance they send in his direction after realizing who the hell it is that just faints in front of their best friend’s door doesn’t help Taeyong’s panicked state at all. He guesses it is, indeed, too soon to say it was going to be the best day in a week after the tons of assignments he has to endure the previous days.

“Taeyong, that’s Kim Jongin.”

“Yes, Ten, thank you for telling me. Now will you please help me lift him up and Mark! You too!”

“But─he’s─”

“He’s Kim Jongin and he’s fucking unconscious he won’t bite you,” Taeyong deadpans.

“Okay,” Mark scurries over. “Okay.”

“Yongie, don’t get me wrong, but what are you going to do?” Ten wheezes as they lay Jongin on the couch they previously occupied. The couch is just long enough to keep the man’s feet from dangling uncomfortably from the edge of it. “I mean, you sure about this?”

Taeyong looks up to both of his companions, seeing uncertainty in their eyes alongside with reluctance and apprehension especially from Mark. While Taeyong simply chooses to avoid Jongin, the kid’s downright terrified of the unconscious man before them and always trying to steer clear from his presence on a daily basis. Taeyong doesn’t blame him though since the man just looks intimidating in more ways than one.

The brunet sighs, “Then what am I supposed to do? Letting him lay unconscious, outside, like some heartless person?”

Mark rubs his neck nervously. “Um,” he starts, “I mean, yeah, nothing’s wrong with helping him but, you know who he is, hyung.”

“Yeah, just look at his bruises, Yong. I bet he and the others are just fresh out of a fight. At a party or a bar, maybe,” Ten crosses his arms as he appraises Jongin’s appearance, nudging the man’s foot with his knee for emphasis.

The others , as in Taemin and Baekhyun. And maybe Lucas. They never really knew what the foreigner’s actually doing with this bunch of seniors other than being attached to Baekhyun since the first day in the new college. Sure they hang out a lot, even though Lucas is two years younger than all of them, but even Taeyong’s not sure that the boy’s involved with any kind of fighting Jongin often does.

Anyways, Taeyong focuses on the man in front of him—looking at the bruise starting to form on his left cheek, the corner of his right eyes that already swells and the small tear on his lower lip.  He glances at the raw knuckles covered in slight dirt that seems to fleck the sleeves of his jacket too, like the owner of those hands just had a full brawl on someone’s lawn. Maybe not to that extent but it’s still a plausible thing. Simply said, Jongin is a mess. And Taeyong decides that he would take care of this mess, which is ridiculous and quite an act of bravery in Ten and Mark’s eyes.

Now, Taeyong is a good guy. He goes to college, attends his classes, and doesn’t join any club other than dance club, even that’s just the second string—if it even could be called that, since there you don’t need to bother with competitions unlike the first string, unlike Ten. Honestly it’s just the way they often refer to the naturally formed groups, as the first string mostly consisted of the dance major, only few of them are not, while the second string is the more laid back, dancing for fun and hobby kind of group consisting of those other than dance major. Doesn’t mean they’re not serious though.

And because he’s a good guy, he’d never leave a guy passed out just right outside his door and do nothing. No, it’s not in his Principles of Life™ and even though he’s not a saint it won’t hurt to help. As long as he can do something, he’d do something. As long as it’s not dangerous ( well it’s arguable because Jongin here, isn’t someone you’d casually label as ‘not dangerous’ to be perfectly honest ), he will lend a hand. So sue him. Hopefully the said person won’t have enough energy to even try to hurt him later or at any given time.

“Ten, can you please check on the door and see if we or he drops something earlier?” Taeyong asks, to which Ten concedes with a shrug.

“And Mark, please bring me water from the faucet. Also I’ll need both of your help taking off his jacket and see if there’s any other bruises.”

The youngest quickly goes to the kitchen to do what he’s told as his hyung goes to the bathroom. Probably to fetch the first aid kit Mark knows Taeyong always had and some towels. Sometimes Mark cannot comprehend what’s going on in his cousin’s head. If it was up to him, he’d pretend that he didn’t know the man who fell unconscious at his front door. But then again, even Taeyong would help someone he doesn’t even know if it is possible. In his eyes Taeyong is a normal guy, not an overly kind one who helps everybody in need but sometimes he’s just like this. A tad bit too kind for someone that might not be as deserving. But who is he to say?

“I found this,” Ten comes to Taeyong’s side who has been wiping some dirt and a little of blood that’s beginning to dry in the corner of Jongin’s lips.

Taeyong glances to see… a chain? A necklace? With a key as the pendant, dangling from his friend’s hand.

“Maybe it’s the key he used earlier?” Mark offers.

“Possibly,” Ten put the said key on the table.

“Come help me get rid of this,” Taeyong gets his hands around Jongin’s shoulder and tries to sit him up with the help of the other two. They pause for a moment when the man lets out a faint grunt, eyes wide in anticipation. When nothing happened, they quickly got rid of the denim jacket and laid him back.

“You really sure about this?” Ten whispers urgently. “What if he’s actually awake and just pretending to be unconscious to avoid the embarrassment??”

Mark has to slap a hand to his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud. Trust their friend to come up with the weirdest thought at a moment like this. Well at least he lessens the tense atmosphere a little. Even Taeyong huffs a small laugh at that.

“Even if he’s actually awake I don’t think he has enough energy to do anything right now. You’re just being paranoid,” the eldest squeezes the water from the small towel and wipes Jongin’s knuckles for the last time before applying ointment for the various bruises.

Ten scoffs. “Not my fault he’s trouble personified.”

Jongin ( and his circle of friends ) is notorious for getting into troubles. Well mostly it is Jongin who frequently get himself involved in a fight─the guy fights like he does scheduled work out, and it’s not a foreign sight to see him going around campus with bruises─while Baekhyun, occasionally involved in a fight with Jongin, and Taemin are not as bad as the rumours make Jongin to be. Somehow they lead different stories of trouble each of their own—Baekhyun is known for his tendency to skip classes while Taemin’s more like the seemingly innocent but not really since he often lets people flirt with him and creates enough trouble by doing that. His boyfriend who’s ready to fight with whoever is trying to go near him being his proof.

Taeyong knows that, his two best friends know that too. The only difference is that Taeyong chooses to avoid all of them, doesn’t even try to go near them the least bit, while Ten and Mark somehow manage to befriend Taemin and Baekhyun, respectfully, despite swearing to not get involved with them at all.

It’s true that they want nothing to do with Jongin but Ten is closer than just an acquaintance but not as much of a friend with Taemin─being in the same dance team does that. And Mark knows Baekhyun from some of his classes as the senior is minoring on music, seemingly special enough to catch the said male’s attention and doing a project with him but no more than that. The boy’s too nervous to initiate things with the older male, and he’s totally not crushing on him like what Ten and Taeyong often tease him.

At least they all tried to avoid those seniors with a foreign student attached to the pack. But here, Taeyong chooses to tend to Jongin’s bruises like it’s his personal duty instead.

“Hyung, don’t you think we need to ice him?” Mark points at the nasty bruise on Jongin’s left arm.

“Why not also check his whole body while you’re at it?” Ten quips with a sass.

Taeyong blinks, “Oh, right. Let’s check if he has another bruise.”

“Taeyong, really?”

“Ten, you said the wrong thing,” Mark snickers.

“Who’s gonna take his shirt off tho?” Taeyong says dumbly.

“Just lift his shirt to check his abdomen—I’m not doing that!” Ten cuts off indignantly when Taeyong and Mark glance at him at the same time. “Just don’t drool all over him.”

There’s an accompanying silence after that. Taeyong looks at his best friend as if he’s grown a second head. If there’s a slight pink hue on Mark’s face no one says anything about that.

“What?” Ten blinks, before he realizes what he said before. “It’s not like that! I mean, all people seem to drool over him despite his attitude, so.”

“For someone who claims to hate him you sure don’t really act like one,” Taeyong teases.

Mark is on the beanbag trying to somewhat muffle his laugh, “I really start to think you secretly have a crush on him.”

“Gosh I hate you!” Ten’s groan could tell that he’s so done with the cousins. He squeezes his way in the same beanbag as Mark despite the latter’s protest. Serve him right.

The two choose to only watch as Taeyong lifts the hem of Jongin’s sleeveless shirt to reveal another bruise near his lower ribs. He gives them a dirty glare when neither of them get up to fetch ice bags and just stare innocently ( Taeyong bet you they’re not ) when he trudges to the fridge.

“Thanks for helping me, guys. It means a lot.”

The two grin in response.


It’s the morning after that Taeyong wakes with a start. He woke up normally at first, no rush since it is Saturday and he has nothing to do other than his part time job at the bookstore which doubled as a café, later in the afternoon. But the memory from last night makes him almost stumble over his blanket as he tries to get up from his bed. Yanking his bedroom door he found no one in sight. Not a single person occupies the couch. Even Jongin’s jacket which he decided to wash, since it’s quite dirty, last night after Mark and Ten left is nowhere to be seen. So does Jongin. Only the glass previously full of water now stands empty on the coffee table where he put the jacket before. Along with the bottle of advil.

So Jongin decided to take on the offer after all. Last night before retiring to his room Taeyong contemplates whether or not to provide advil seeing Jongin’s quite drunk when he came. In the end he placed the medication on the kitchen counter with a glass of water after glancing at the male.

Taeyong walks cautiously, scanning the room and listening carefully if Jongin’s still somewhere in his house, like bathroom maybe. But he hears nothing and lets out the breath he unconsciously held in a slow exhale. Ten and Mark decided to leave since they really don’t want to get involved with Jongin.

“It’s nice knowing you, Taeyong. May God bless your soul and see you in the afterlife,” was Ten’s way of saying goodbye as he walked out of the apartment last night.

Mark followed him with an ' I need to work on my project since Baekhyun-hyung threatened to bail out on me if I haven’t got the half of it by the next meeting ' as an excuse. Mark cannot have that since this project is very important to someone majoring in music like him. More so with Baekhyun treating it very business-like, being a business management major that he is.

Taeyong knows that they don’t want to deal with the aftermath of this Jongin condition they were in last night. So much for being the best friends Taeyong asks. Well, at least he doesn’t need to actually deal with the person himself now seeing that Jongin’s gone. It’ll be much easier to forget that last night happened at all when he doesn’t have the real person to confront him in the morning and make it less real in a way.

The brunet returns to his room to get his phone off of the charger that he forgot doing so earlier in his rush to check on the supposed to be there Jongin. Walking back outside, he checks the messages mainly from Mark and Ten asking if he’s okay and alive. Only to almost drop his phone in surprise when he reaches the kitchen and finds something he would’ve thought as a miracle—he didn’t pay much attention from the shock of not finding Jongin before.

There’s a stack of pancakes right in front of him, a jar of strawberry jam and caramel syrup beside the plate, and a paper with slightly scratchy handwriting beneath the syrup bottle. Taeyong’s jaw drops uncharacteristically low.

A short ' don’t worry I won’t bite when I’m sober either, thanks ', written on the small yellow post it paper makes him grow pale before blushing a bright shade of red. He just knows it from how hot his face feels right now. That only means Jongin heard their conversation last night when they thought he was unconscious.

“Fuck,” Taeyong drops his head on the counter with a thump. He feels embarrassment with a slight tinge of dread in his stomach and could only hope that he will not encounter the older male after this, ever.

After sending his friends something along pray for my life to Mark and Ten, Taeyong prays to the gods above that he’ll live after this before he takes a bite of the pancake—not before he pokes it and smells it first though, making sure that it is edible. He goes on with his merry way of breakfast after that.


“He made me pancake before he left. And it’s surprisingly delicious,” Taeyong tells his two companion later in the afternoon when they visit him at the café. After Baekhyun left from his short meeting with Mark, of course, and Ten decided to join them later.

“It’s rich, coming from you, hyung,” Mark says after a few moments of shock and bewilderment. For Mark, Taeyong is the best cook he’s ever met after their mom. Hearing him praising another person and the stupidity of the situation slightly messed up with his brain, right after an intense discussion about lyrics with Baekhyun nonetheless.

“And you’re still alive?” Ten looks him up and down like he’s trying to decide if Taeyong’s real or not.

Taeyong nods, unfolding a paper from his pocket. “Surprise, right? Considering he left this with those pancakes.”

“You mean he was alive?!” Ten blinks rapidly after he and Mark read the short messages from Jongin.

“Ten!” Taeyong snickers.

“I mean—he heard everything I said last night?!” the Thai pales as he gets a brief flashback of whatever he said the night before.

Taeyong shrugs this time. He’s not sure either if Jongin was actually awake all the time or just at the beginning before he fell unconscious after that.

“Oh, fuck me,” Ten groans.

That makes the three of us, technically , Taeyong thinks but doesn’t have the heart to say out loud. Mark’s terrified enough as it is, he doesn’t need the kid to ditch classes altogether just to avoid Jongin or anyone related to him.

Mark offers him a smile which looks more like a grimace and gives a sympathetic pat on his shoulder. “Praying for you, dude, really.”

And if Ten suddenly gets more parts in the dance routine with the first string team the following week or has the urge to flee the premise whenever there’s Jongin in the room with less than ten people inside it, he crosses his fingers that he’ll come out alive after the next dance showcase. Hopefully Taeyong and his cooking will see him through that.

Notes:

umm I think I abused the comma button. or sign.

thank you again for reading! have a nice day <3
-riri