Summary: The reunion chapter you’ve all been waiting for!
“Oh. My God. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in
my entire life. The absolute cutest. Nothing will ever top this.”
“Yes, hyung, we know, you’ve only said that thirty times
already.”
“And I will say it thirty times more, thank you! You’re
taking photos, right, Hyukkie?”
“You know it, hyung. Leo-hyung’s taking some, too, so
we’ll have backup just in case.”
“If you wake this boy up,” Hakyeon cuts in, cracking open
one bleary eye to glare at the four men crowded around his side of the couch, “you
are all dead men, and no one will ever find your bodies.”
All he gets in response are a round of knowing smirks,
snickers, and nudges, and he rolls his eyes, his fingers lightly running
through Jinjin’s tousled hair from where his head is still pillowed comfortably
in his lap. No respect, no respect in these brats at all. He then begins the
arduous process of extricating himself from the tangle of blankets, pillows,
and small rapper without waking him up. He somehow manages it, though not
without about four hundred pictures being snapped in the process (“I swear to
God, Han Sanghyuk, if you don’t stop cackling right now-”). Once he’s free, he quickly herds the rest of his
members out of the living area so they can all start getting ready for the day
as quietly as possible.
Sometime later, the smell of freshly brewed coffee
finally rouses Jinjin from slumber. The young rapper blinks sleepily at nothing
before a large yawn overtakes him, and he stretches luxuriously, only to
immediately regret it when his entire body twinges irritably at him. A brief
glance out the living room window shows that the day has dawned bright and
clear without a cloud in the sky. Wincing, he sits up slowly, stiffly, about to
call out for N, when the front door opens.
“Guys!” a deep voice calls out. “Did I miss our guest? I
got here as fast as I could, traffic was terrible, and- oh, hello!” None other
than VIXX’s Ravi pops his head in, catching sight of a tousled, groggy,
bandaged boy staring back at him like a deer in the headlights from the couch,
still holding a stuffed cartoon deer. The sudden appearance of the other rapper
wakes Jinjin the rest of the way up in a hurry, and he sketches a quick little
bow as best he can from his sitting position.
“Hello, sunbae-nim,” Jinjin replies, combing his fingers
through his hair to try to tidy up his rat’s nest while making what’s hopefully
not a complete mess of an introduction. “Sorry for my appearance, I wasn’t
expecting-”
“Relax, kid, it’s fine,” Ravi says, chuckling, the sound
rich and resonant. “It’s nice to meet you. Heard you had a bit of a rough time
yesterday, but you seem to be feeling better.”
“Yes, N-hyung and the others have been taking very good
care of me,” Jinjin replies, relieved that Ravi seems to know what’s going on
already. “Thank you for your concern, sunbae.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Ravi enters, kicking off his shoes.
A white pug follows closely on his heels, and Jinjin can’t help the thrilled
gasp that escapes him at the sight of it. The dog quickly notices the newcomer
and trots over to investigate. Jinjin immediately reaches down to pet him. He
stops with his fingers just millimeters from the pug’s soft, white fur and
glances up at Ravi, who’s looking at them both with an incredibly indulgent
grin.
“Is it okay if I…?” he asks, suddenly shy.
“Knock yourself out, kid, Butt’ll sulk for hours if you
leave him hanging like this.”
Jinjin needs no further prompting and strokes a hand over
the dog’s head. Butt approves of the petting and flops over after a minute of
this, his large googly eyes clearly begging for chin scratches and belly rubs.
Jinjin is only too happy to oblige him.
Wonshik, meanwhile, is trying to keep himself composed in
the face of such overwhelming cuteness, and is failing utterly. He notices
Taekwoon emerging from the kitchen, presumably to investigate the commotion,
and wordlessly points in the direction of the couch where Jinjin is now
currently seated on the floor with Butt snuggled in his arms, the puppy’s tongue
lolling happily as he gives the boy a doggy kiss on the cheek. Taekwoon looks,
visibly melts, and whips out his phone to take a photo just as Jinjin looks up
and beams at them both, childlike delight written over every inch of his
bruised face. Wonshik actually feels
his heart skip a couple beats, because even banged up to hell and back, Park
Jinwoo rivals the puppy he’s cuddling in terms of sheer, unadulterated adorable. He resolves then and there to
help Jaewhan do whatever it takes to convince Hakyeon to let them keep this
kid.
——
“But N-hyuuuuuung, I wanted to see Jinwoo-yah off!” Ken whines
as Leo surreptitiously slips a packed lunch into his backpack and N fusses with
his clothing. “Can’t we just wait ten more minutes?”
“We’ll tell you what happens in great detail later,” N
reassures him before turning his attention to a resigned-looking Hongbin. “But
for now, you both need to go before
you end up missing the bus. It won’t do to be late.”
Ken wanders over to the couch, pouting theatrically and making
sure everyone knows how displeased he is before squatting down to be at eye
level with Jinjin, who’s still sitting on the floor with a lapful of a
contently snoozing Butt.. “Sorry we have to leave so soon,” he says
apologetically. “But y’know, theater duty calls. It was nice meeting you!”
“You too, hyung,” Jinjin smiles. He reaches behind him on
the couch for Chopper and holds him out to the taller man. “Thank you for
letting me borrow him for a bit. And for everything else, too.”
“Nah, hold onto him a little while longer, kid.” Ken pushes
the stuffed animal back into a startled Jinwoo’s arms with a small, knowing
smile. “I think you still need him more than I do. Besides, if I know N-hyung –
and I do – he’ll probably be by your dorm to snoop -” A swift neck chop makes him
quickly amend himself, “check up on
you within the week. You can return it then.”
“Well… alright. If you’re sure.” Jinjin hugs the plushie
back to his chest, trying to ignore the irrational surge of relief that goes
through him at the thought he can keep it for a little while longer.
“Very sure,” Ken nods decisively, straightening back up
and adjusting his backpack straps. “Alright, Hongbin, I think we should
probably go before N-hyung actually bores holes in the back of my skull with
his eyes.” He nimbly dodges another neck chop and grabs a startled Hongbin by
the arm, dragging him behind him out the door. Hongbin barely has time to give
Jinwoo a brief wave before the door slams behind the two of them.
“It’s like herding cats around here, I swear,” N mutters,
massaging his forehead. He turns back to Jinwoo. “Now come on, Jinjinnie, up
you get, time to grab some breakfast before your members get here.” As if on
cue, Leo wanders in with a steaming bowl in one hand and a mug of coffee in the
other. Jinwoo’s stomach rumbles hungrily at the sight, but… he glances down at
the sleeping puppy in his lap, torn.
“Here, I got him.” Ravi gently pulls Butt out of Jinjin’s
lap with a soft smile. “You sure won him over fast; he’s usually not this
forward with new people this quickly. He must really like you.” He takes the
groggy dog into his room, with a parting grin over his shoulder. Jinwoo grins
gratefully back and starts pulling himself up onto the couch… and immediately
drops back to the carpeted floor with a whimper, arms reflexively wrapping
around his sore, bruised torso. N is at his side in an instant, bodily lifting
him onto the couch while fretting at him to be more careful.
“Sorry, hyung,” Jinjin apologizes sheepishly as N gets
him situated comfortably on a makeshift backrest of pillows and cushions while
Leo hands over the mug of coffee and bowl containing rice, kimchi, and a few
assorted banchan. “I guess I’m still not used to… this.”
“What, feeling like you fell down a mountainside or being
mothered within an inch of your life?” Hyuk asks cheekily, appearing with a
stack of clothes in one hand and blithely ignoring the narrow-eyed glare N levels
in his general direction.
“Both, I guess,” Jinjin replies after a moment of
reflection and a long, content sip of coffee. He takes a closer look at the
clothes Hyuk holds and notices a familiar pair of red sweatpants. “Wait, are
those mine?”
“Yup, they just finished drying. You can change once you
finish eating.”
Jinjin nods readily and tries to finish his meal as fast
as he can, so as not to keep his hosts waiting. As he does, Hyuk sits next to
him and chats with him, and the next ten minutes pass in a blur until Jinjin
finds himself in the bathroom changing into his clean, dry clothes. He opens the door and is about to limp out,
when then stops, having caught sight of himself in the mirror. More
specifically, he sees the bruises around his throat, and as he examines them
closer in the mirror, he winces, imagining what his members’ reactions to the
alarming sight would be. Instinctively, he tries to arrange his jacket over
them in a way that it covers the worst of it for a minute or two, without much
success. A hand nudges his shoulder gently, and Jinwoo turns to find Leo
standing in the doorway, wordlessly holding a scarf out to him.
“For…? Oh, but Leo-ssi, I couldn’t-”
“You can, since you’re only borrowing it,” Leo returns in
his quiet, airy voice. “You can return it along with Jaewhan’s stuffed animal,
since as he said, Hakyeonnie’s definitely going to be checking up on you in a
few days whether you like it or not.” Seeing the faint twinkle in the imposing
man’s dark eyes, Jinjin relents and accepts the soft, fuzzy scarf, feeling very
warm inside.
“Jinwoo-yah, MJ just texted me,” N calls from the
kitchen. “They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, coming, hyung,” Jinjin calls back, laboriously
making his way back to the couch, every step sending new jolts of pain through
his battered body. As he takes a seat on the couch again and lifts Chopper to
sit in his lap, N comes over and hands him something.
“My wallet!” he exclaims, looking up at the older man in
surprise. “Where did you find it?”
“In the alley where I found you,” N explains while Jinwoo flips through the
wallet, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of his ID.
“Thanks, hyung,” he says gratefully, pocketing it. “At
least I don’t have to replace my ID now.”
“You’re welcome,” N smiles, settling down on the couch
next to him. “Ready to see your members again?”
Jinjin nods eagerly. He almost aches with the need to see
his members again. But, at the same time, he also can’t help but feel somewhat
nervous, too, at the thought of what his members will think of all his bruises
and scrapes. Plus, he still feels terrible for making everyone worry so much.
N notices him nearly strangling Chopper, and shifts
closer, pressing his leg against his in a comforting show of solidarity. He
proceeds to ask Jinwoo a litany of questions about how his schooling is
currently going, which the boy is only too happy to answer, grateful for the
distracting stream of chatter. Hyuk and Ravi occasionally chime in with their
own questions or anecdotes, and even Leo occasionally makes a comment or two as
well.
The front doorbell rings. As one, every head in the room
swivels to face it. Jinjin scrambles to his feet, wincing and tugging at the
scarf tied around his neck distractedly. N places a gentle hand on his elbow to
steady him a bit as he sways slightly on his feet, following him up and situating
himself behind and to the side of him. Hyuk moves to get the door.
He opens it to reveal three young men standing on the
doorstep, two as tall as he is (no mean feat), and one significantly shorter,
all looking like kicked puppies to some extent or another.
“Hello sunbae-nim!” the short one says, dropping into a
deep bow, the other two boys following suit. “I’m MJ, and these are my
dongsaengs Cha Eunwoo and Sanha. We’ve come to take our wayward leader off your
hands.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Hyuk says, bowing back and
stepping backward to allow them entry into the apartment. “Come on in, your
leader’s been waiting for you.”
At that, the three boys eagerly enter and remove their
shoes. Sanha lights up the instant he catches sight of Jinjin standing by the
couch, and without hesitation flings himself across the room and into his
leader’s arms with a plaintive cry of “HYUNG!”
Jinjin nearly collapses from the sudden impact and added
weight of Sanha’s lanky body atop his battered one. N’s hand at his back
bolsters him, though, and he manages to gasp, “Hi, San. Miss me?”
“Don’t you ever
do that again, hyung!” Sanha demands, squeezing Jinjin tighter. “Ever!”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Jinwoo wheezes wryly through the pain, patting
Sanha on the back.
“Make sure you don’t strangle the poor guy, Sanha,”
Eunwoo chides gently, coming over at a more sedate pace. He bows to N and the
others respectfully as Sanha jerks back as if Jinjin suddenly caught fire.
“Sorry! Sorry, Jinwoo-hyung, I didn’t hurt you, did I? Are
you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jinwoo assures him, frowning slightly as he
sees the worry in all three of his members’ eyes as they take in his scrapes
and bruises and bandages. “It looks worse than it is.”
“I wouldn’t quite say that, Jinwoo-yah,” N cuts in. “It’s
going to take you a little while before I’d categorize your physical health as ‘fine.’
But he’ll be alright, boys.” He addresses the other three members warmly. “Like
I told MJ-yah ion the phone, nothing some rest and TLC won’t fix. I’m sure you’ll
take good care of him.”
“Don’t worry, sunbae-nim, we will,” MJ says as the other
two nod enthusiastically. “In fact, I don’t think we’ll be letting him out of
our collective sight for at least
forty-eight hours,” he adds, with a meaningful look at the rapper.
“Oh boy. I’m in trouble, aren’t I,” Jinwoo says, only
half joking.
Eunwoo pats him on the shoulder. “You know it, hyung.”
“Right, I changed my mind, I’m staying with VIXX,” Jinwoo
says, turning to go hide behind N.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Sanha gloms onto his arm like a
starfish while Eunwoo catches his other arm, and the rest of the room breaks
into amused chuckles.
“Something wrong, sunbae?” MJ asks politely, after the
chuckles have died down and he notices Hyuk’s slightly pensive look.
“What? Oh, no, everything’s fine, I just…” He squints,
eyes flicking from one Astro member to another. “Aren’t there six of you?”
“Oh yes, Rocky and Moonbin are waiting in the van with
our manager,” MJ explains, chuckling, before his expression turns a bit
sheepish. “We thought it would be best if we didn’t crowd you or anything.”
“Well then, I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting,” N
says, still smiling. “Have you got everything, Jinwoo?” he asks, as Eunwoo
loops one of Jinjin’s arms around his neck to help him out, and Sanha clings to
the arm holding Chopper.
“Yes, hyung, I got it,” Jinjin says. “And thank you
again, for everything.”
Hyung? MJ mouths
at him from where he’s standing beside Hyuk. Jinjin shoots him his patented shut up, Kim Myungjun look before turning his
attention back to N.
“It was our pleasure. I think I speak for everyone when I
say we enjoyed having you. I just wish it could have been under better
circumstances.” He pats Jinjin on the shoulder and leads the four younger idols
to the front door where they slip their shoes back on.
“Let me know if anything else develops, MJ-yah,” N calls
after the boys as they depart. “You’ve still got my number, right?”
“Yep, and will do, sunbae-nim . And thank you all again,”
MJ says, bowing once more.
As the door shuts behind the four
boys, silence falls in the apartment for a long moment. Finally, Wonshik speaks
up. “Okay, forget
just adopting Jinjin, we need to look into adopting every single one of them
ASAP.”
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