Chapter Text
For someone who’s as easily frightened as Jooheon, it’s a true miracle he managed to not have a night mare for the first eight years of his life. Jooheon had his first nightmare at the ripe age of nine, all thanks to his friend Minhyuk. Jooheon always sat at lunch and recess with his six best mates. They were all in different grades so they made the most of their communal time. Eldest in the group was Hyunwoo, he was in the 5th grade. Followed by Hoseok in the 4th grade. Next came Minhyuk, Kihyun and Hyungwon in the 3rd grade. Though Hyungwon was born in the same year as Jooheon, he was always grouped with the years above. That leaves us with little honey in the 2nd grade.
How Jooheon really came into the group was lost on either of them but the best articulated story was when Jooheon tripped on the playground once and was immediately caught at the arm by Hyunwoo. Since then he’s felt this big brother urge to protect Jooheon, thus introducing him to the rest of his gang. Hyunwoo and Hoseok practically shared cots together. So did Minhyuk and Hyungwon. Minhyuk thought that was enough reasoning to befriend them that and ‘imagine all the playground privilege we’d have if we’re friends with a 5th grader Wonnie’. Kihyun joined after he decided Minhyuk was a better friend than foe after actively hating him throughout the entirety of second grade. Slowly over the last year and a half they’ve built themselves a little family/ buddy system. Whether it be Kihyun helping his juniors with homework, or Hyunwoo protecting them on the playground, or Minhyuk taking all the notes properly so his Wonnie can sleep, they’ve been looking over each other’s shoulders. Though Jooheon may be young, he was really grateful he found himself into this school family.
Until the dreaded day that is.
Jooheon came to school, happy as he always was. The 3rd grade was fun and he loved every second of it. He got to color and draw, read books not to mention the class and the teacher all loved him. Without fail, for the last year and a half since he’s gotten comfortable, his homeroom teacher never fails to mention how much life he brings to the class with his positivity. Most importantly, Jooheon loved going to school because he got to see his best friends.
Lunch time was slowly approaching and it was getting the better of Jooheon. His leg bounced at the speed of light and if his little hands were the slightest bit stronger he’d break his pencil. Finally the bell rang and Jooheon was the first out of the class room. He got to the cafeteria, slightly out of breath, and scanned around for his friends, dashing over as soon as he saw them.
“Woah someone’s in a hurry” Kihyun commented with a smile
“He’s always like this” Hyungwon pointed out with yawn. For a 3rd grader he was well on his way to being a senior citizen the way he behaved.
“Mom made cookies” he stated in one quick breath as he brought his bumble bee lunch kit to the table and pulled out the box of cookies from under his dosirak box. The mention of cookies seemed to spark life into Hyungwon as he perked up, looking wide awake suddenly.
“Chocolate chip?” Hyunwoo asked, practically salivating
“Yep” Jooheon answered with a dimpled grin
“With the fudgy texture?” followed Kihyun, eye’s glued to the box
“Yep” with each answer Jooheon’s grin grew wider. His mom made great pastries and he was proud his friends loved it.
“Extra big ones too?” Hoesok chimed in
“You know it” with that he opened the box and they went at it like hungry men lost at sea. Imagine their appetites when they become men, good grief.
Hyungwon took a long sniff of his cookie before promptly shoving the whole thing in his weirdly large mouth. Hyunwoo and Hoseok took the same approach, immediately sagging in the seats as if they’d just been through several rounds tag. Minhyuk and Kihyun took small bites, to savor it as Kihyun said. Jooheon just casually chomped down on his, knowing there’s more on the kitchen counter at home.
After the cookie bonanza, they all dug into their dosiraks. Minhyuk animatedly talked about the new activity they did in class. They started a new book and he already loves it, ‘Lucy Castor finds her sparkle’. Apparently it’s about a ten year old going through changes, or at least that’s what Jooheon understands from Minhyuk’s ramblings
“Actually read the book this time min. reading for Hyungwon and myself is stressful enough” Kihyun said as he took a graceful bite of a dumpling. Kihyun was above average in reading and vocabulary compared to his peers which often got him labelled as the ‘weird smart kid’ or ‘the nerd’ but those rolled of him like water off a duck. He took pride in his intelligence and was happy to share it with others, however, he drew the line at exploitation. Which is exactly what Minhyuk was doing.
“And no, don’t ask Hoseok hyung to read it for you and make notes” he added, already anticipated Minhyuk’s rebuttal having been through similar arguments before. Minhyuk tossed his defense upon being confronted and went with the next best solution. Complaining.
“But reading is boringgggg” he wailed and plopped his head on Hyungwon’s shoulder earning a tired grunt.
“You didn’t feel that way fifteen minutes ago” he paused to swallow his food “besides maybe if you cut your video game time in half you could manage to work and play”
“Ok Mr. responsible. Mega man fighter is way cooler but fine” Minhyuk protested
“It’s not about cool it’s about graduating.”
“We’re not graduating till the next 5 years dude, live a little” Minhyuk definitely learned that from some drama he saw. Kihyun blinked a few times, processing the sentence, before giving up and returning to his food. Minhyuk, fortunately, opted for a change of topic given Kihyun’s resignation.
“You guys wanna hear about this ghost story my dad told me?” he offered leaning over the table. Partly at Hyungwon’s expense since his he was leaning on his shoulder
“Shoot” Hyunwoo chipped on behalf of everyone, much too Jooheon’s dismay. At the mention of the word ‘ghost’ Jooheon’s felt his insides clamber up in fear. Ghosts never came up before now so there’s no way they could no way he’s scared of them but even know he was too scared to speak up.
“So….” Jooheon could already feel the atmosphere sinking
“A man went on a hike in the woods and got lost. After a couple minutes of what felt like hours, he decided it was better to just try and go find help and spend the next day finding his camping spot.” The mood was set, everyone was listening and Jooheon was ready to leave. So was Hoseok it seems, as he held Hyunwoo’s hand tightly under the lunch table.
“Finally he found some road, barely lit by furthering streetlights. The road seemed to get longer as he walked but he still trudged on. Then, and thank the gods, he saw a woman approaching him.” At this point Minhyuk was half way out of his seat, most of his attention was directed at Kihyun, for some reason, but he made sure everyone was tuned in.
“Half of her face, covered by a red mask. Her eyes were piercing. She walked with purpose towards the man. He found himself slowing down as he met her gaze, eventually coming to a halt” Minhyuk always had his on gravitational pull thanks to his sunshine personality and golden retriever energy. So at this point of the story, surrounding tables started listening in. the eerie feeling from their conversation unfurling across the lunch room.
“When she caught up to him she stopped too. The man felt his insides mover, sweat prickled across his forehead. He wanted to ask for directions back to the nearest town or rest top but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He tried but no sound came. He stood pinned to the spot by her powerful stare” and as if the heaven’s conspired against Jooheon suddenly for some unknown reason. Minhyuk turned to look at him
“Then she spoke…” he batted his lashes, voice high and coquettish
“Do you think I’m pretty?” he tilted his head to the side, eyes boring into Jooheon unblinking before redirecting his gaze to Hoesok
“the man was confused, ‘why was she asking this?’ he thought. Before he could sort through his thoughts, she asked again” he looked back to Jooheon
“Do you think I’m pretty?” again with the voice and the stare and the head tilt. Yeah there goes Jooheon’s peaceful night of sleep.
“The man took a deep breath before answering ‘yes. Yes I think you’re very pretty’. He could see the lady smile beneath her mask as she looked to the floor, a blush rising under her apple cheeks” why isn’t lunch over? Jooheon thought. Surely it’s been more than fifty minutes. Did time stop? Did God really stop time to allow Minhyuk to traumatize him like this? Surely he would never. Jooheon was a good church boy. He always prayed before bed and said grace at dinner. He went to church and helped the old ladies no matter how much they pinch his cheeks until they go red. Maybe it was that one time he didn't say thanks to his mother for fixing his shoes because he was in a hurry that one time. Though he wouldn’t be punished so harshly for something like that right?
“She smiled and looked back up at him as she slowly reached for her mask” his hand moved from the lunch table up to his ear, pulling his imaginary mask from across his face
“Do you think I’m pretty now?” he asked, his natural rasp temporarily bleeding into his coquettish persona, splitting his voice into two for a couple seconds. He sounded possessed and it was powerful enough to make Kihyun flinch at the sound.
“When she took her mask off the man felt his blood run cold. The corners of her mouth were sliced open up to her ears” Jooheon felt his blood run cold at the description. He felt brief comfort in the few gasps he heard from tables next to them. Good to know he wasn’t the only one horrified by this.
“The man tried to find move but his feet felt like they were mounded to the ground, ‘yes, of course’ his voice came out shaky and uncertain and that made the lady mad” Minhyuk shot up and slammed his hand against the table
“You’re lying!” Jooheon jumped and held on to the hem of Kihyun’s shorts as he looked around the table. Hyunwoo looked immersed but unafraid, Hoesok was three shades paler than medically acceptable, Kihyun was disturbed at best and Hyungwon was just mildly entertained.
“The man tried to defend himself as the woman walked closer, knife in hand. “You’re all liars. Just you wait, I’ll make you pretty like me” she wailed as she walked up to him. The knife being the last thing he saw before he fainted” Minhyuk sat back down and Jooheon breathed a sigh of relief. Finally the story is over. Right?
“The next day bright and early a group of farmers set out to their farms in the mountains along the path the hiker was. One of them walked ahead of the group, with a pep in his step as the other farmers were well in age and chatting along the way. Soon they heard the young farmer scream from up and around the bend and they quickly made their way to catch up to him” Jooheon gently placed his head on the table. He gave up. Defeated and done, he whimpered into the wood of the lunch table.
“When the caught up to him, they saw the camper. The corners of his mouth, split up to his face, skin white as the clouds and his eyes wide open and glazed in fear” and the story finally ended. The air around the lunchroom was so thick you could slice through it. The silence stretched for a minute or two until Hoseok’s voice, now small and muffled thanks to Hyunwoo’s shoulder, broke it.
“Is it over yet?” the tension broke around the room with that and everyone went back to their business. Hyunwoo looked down at Hoseok and smiled. The younger gripped on to Hyunwoo’s arm for dear life and Hyunwoo gently patted his head. He then cleared his throat and looked around the table
“Alright that enough of that. Let’s change the topic” Hyunwoo declared
“Not only did you scare Seokkie and somewhat unnerved Kihyun, but I think you broke Honey” Hyungwon finally spoke up. Immediately Minhyuk looked over to Jooheon, genuinely concerned. Minhyuk, consumed by the spirit of storytelling, completely forgot that their precious honeybee was scared of anything if it tried hard enough.
“Aww my baby I’m so sorry” he walked around the table and engulfed the boy in a bone crushing hug. He held his face in his hands, squishing his cheeks and peppering his face in kisses. A few girls at the next table giggled at the spectacle, mumbling ‘they’re so cute’
“I forgot you were scared of everything” he lifted Jooheon’s face so he could meet his eyes
“Not everything” Jooheon mumbled, pout evident which made Minhyuk kissed his forehead again
“No it is, but that’s fine you’re only nine” Kihyun added as he placed three dumplings into Jooheon’s dosirak. Minhyuk saw this and reached for Jooheon’s chopsticks and fed him one of them.
“I don’t know how you managed to forget not to tell a scary stories in front of Jooheon. It’s like one of the rules and we don’t even have that many” Hyungwon grumbled, cheeked pressed into his bicep as he looked up ad Minhyuk across the table. Minhyuk simply shrugged, continuing to cradle a thoroughly spooked honeybee.
“I was too into it. My bad honey” he pressed a kiss to the top of his head
“Why would your dad tell you that anyway. You’re ten.” Hoesok chimed in
“Because that’s when grandpa told him” Minhyuk proudly acclaimed
“Man. Your family is weird” Hoseok mumbled as he tried to satisfy the little that’s left of his appetite with his sandwich.
“My leeniage is fine. Your leeniage is the weird one” this caught Kihyun’s attention as he stared up at Minhyuk incredulously
“Did you just use your last name as a pun?”
“Someone acknowledges my genius!” Minhyuk beamed
“That wasn’t a compliment”
“I’m taking it as one regardless”
“Alright enough you two” Hyunwoo intervened
“I thought you two swore off hating each other last year” Hyungwon stated reaching over to steal one of Kihyun’s dumplings
“Old habits die hard” Kihyun mumbled
“And yet you came at me for saying ‘live a little’ listen to yourself old man” Minhyuk quipped and before Kihyun could retaliate Hyunwoo clamped his hand down on Kihyun’s shoulder, killing whatever rebuttal that was fuming it’s way to the surface.
Minhyuk resumed showering Jooheon with affection as compensation for scaring him and the rest of the table made do with their lunches. They went around the table talking about their classes for the day and how they dreaded their inevitable homework for the next fifteen minutes until the piercing sound of the bell rang through the lunchroom, signaling it’s time for class again.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
Though he was happy earlier to see his friends, now that the excitement has passed, he actually hates the day. It’s Wednesday. The day his parents signed him up to extra math classes on because it was the only failing grade on his report card. Which means, all his company would leave school at one and he’d have to stay behind till three and walk home by himself…Yeah no that’s not happening.
He powered his way through class. These classes were genuinely helping him improve and he’s grown accustomed to them, but today he just wanted it over so he can go home. He spent his three ten minute breaks both looking out the window dreading the walk home and trying to build up the courage to ask, Ms. Yoomin, his math teacher, to call his dad for him. Eventually he folded and by the end he made his way to her desk after packing his things after she dismissed them
“Teacher?” she looked up from her book back to see a rather nervous Jooheon in front of her desk. This was strange for Jooheon, even though she knew he didn’t like having to stay behind for math classes but he’s never been this jittery before.
“Honey are you ok?” she placed her bag on the desk, putting her packing on pause. She watched him debate with himself for a few seconds before he spoke.
“Yes ma’am… could you call my dad for me please?” he managed. This, again, was very strange for Jooheon. In the two years she’s been teaching him she had only called his dad twice and Jooheon had fallen sick on both occasions. Currently, he seemed to suffer no ailments but was obviously perturbed by something. Choosing not to inquire as to not aggravate the poor boy, she nodded and called his dad. She offered to wait with him at the gate and couldn’t help her own smile when she saw Jooheon’s. The boy was happy to not have to wait alone for the probably ten minutes it would take his dad to get there. They sat in comfortable silence, Jooheon humming every now and then until his dad arrived and she waved him off before walking back to her own car.
Jooheon’s dad watched as his son waved goodbye to his teacher and ran to the car. He waved at her as she walked back to her car just as Jooheon sat down and closed the door behind him.
“So. What’s with the special request bud?” he looked over the headrest at Jooheon “you don’t seem sick to me” Jooheon looked up. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water for fifteen seconds before giving up and stared out the window with a pout. His dad sighs, choosing not to pressure him.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me but you’re going to have to tell your mother ok?” Jooheon softens and mumbles a tiny ‘okay’ as his dad starts up the car.
Once home, papa honey looked up at Jooheon again through the rear view mirror before they both exited the car. They both walk into the kitchen to see mama honey picking out ingredients as she was just about to start dinner. She looked up to greet her boys but stopped short at the look on her son’s face. She looked to her husband who answered the silent question on her worried brows
“He didn’t tell me. Didn’t force him. Told him he’d have to tell you eventually though.” He looked down at Jooheon who was currently staring at the floor. The tips of his ears a faint red. She knelt in front of him, holding his face close to hers as she nuzzled his nose.
“You want to tell me now or after dinner?”
“After dinner please” he answers in a soft and very tiny voice. His dad went to the living room to give them space and his mother simply nodded.
“Okay. Well I was baking you a honey cheesecake already so how about, you get the rest of the cookies to have before dinner and cheesecake after. Will that make you feel better for the time being?” Jooheon lit up at the mention of more desserts as he eagerly nodded in his mom’s hold. She chuckled and kissed his cheek before getting a plastic bowl to put the remainder in. No sane parent trusts a child with their precious ceramics. Most definitely when that child is Lee Jooheon.
“Alright, you go wait with your dad while I make dinner” he pouted and his mom gave him a quick peck before he skipped off to join his dad in the living room. He placed the cookies in his dad’s lap and snuggled up to his side resting his head on his chest. His dad looked down past his nose at his tiny honey bee and smiled
“You planning on telling me too?” he felt Jooheon shake his head, no.
“Okay. You do plan to tell mom right?” he felt Jooheon nod in his chest and he accepted it.
“Want to watch transformers?” that seemed to catch Jooheon’s full attention as he reached for the remote to change the channel himself. Papa honey reached for one of the cookies as he settled in with Jooheon, getting himself more comfortable since dinner was going to take a while.
An hour goes by before they’re called into the kitchen for dinner. Plated out was 3 equal servings of soy bean paste soup with a side of tteokbokki. They all sat down, held hands and said grace then Jooheon and his dad hungrily dug in. Mama honey warning them both to be careful as per the routine. She’d call them in, they’re too eager, she has to warn them on loop for as long as Jooheon could eat by himself and she wouldn’t change it for the world.
They went around the table talking about their day. Jooheon’s mom explaining that she’s planning on modifying the menu, taking out some products that aren’t so hot anymore and adding in new one’s in general since they're getting a bigger clientele. Jooheon’s mother owned and operated a bakery in town that worked hand in hand with Hoesok’s mom’s restaurant. Both women would cater for events providing main courses and desserts and have helped to keep each other afloat over the past 5 years. Jooheon’s dad worked as a mechanic in his own shop. He explained how he got a beetle car today, eyeing Jooheon who immediately looked up at its mention. Jooheon’s been obsessed with Camaros and beetle cars ever since he took a liking to the transformer so when the car was brought into his shop he immediately asked the owner if he could get a few photos when he’s done for his son, to which the car’s owner happily agreed. Jooheon asked if he too pictures and his dad said yes but he can see them when he’s finished eating. Which lead to him nearly scalding himself in his haste to finish his tteokbokki.
As the night died down, Mama Honey asked if he’s ready to tell her what’s wrong, to which he looked up at his dad and back to his mom. His dad sighed and started reaching the containers
“Alrighty you two go in the living room and have your mother son convo, I’ll do the dishes”. Mama honey kissed him on the cheek before holding Jooheon’s hand and leading him into the living room. She sat down, leaning against the arm of the couch, arms wide beckoning for Jooheon to come sit next to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, head resting against her bosom as she pets his head.
“Now what’s bothering you so much that you can’t even tell your dad honey?” when he didn’t answer right away, she pressed further “is it really that bad?” with that Jooheon looked up at her and sighed.
“No. it’s just silly that’s why I don’t want dad to hear”
“It can’t be so silly if you’re this troubled by it dear”
“Minnie-hyung told me a horror story at lunch today” mama honey nodded, puzzle pieces slotting into place. Her son has always been a scaredy cat but it’s charming. Even if he still comes to sleep with them because he heard a noise outside his window.
“What story was it?”
“A woman in a red mask” she held his face and gently moved it away from her chest to meet his eyes
“Honey baby. That’s just an urban legend they told campers and hikers so they’d leave to get to their destination sites earlier and avoid walking around at night. Nothing but a bunch of ajummas wanting their family and tourists to get to places early. That’s all honey” Jooheon considered his mother’s words for a minute or two. When done, he nodded to himself then pouted up at his mom, a silent request for a kiss. She smiled and gave a small peck on the lips. Then to his cheeks and forehead causing him to giggle. They sit in a comforting silence for another five minutes until they heard his dad speak up from the kitchen door
“Can I come back? I don’t hear any talking?” Mama honey chuckled before calling back to the kitchen
“Yeah and bring a slice of the cake on your way” he nodded and went to the fridge to get the cheesecake before joining them on the couch. Jooheon reached out with grabby hands took the plate from his father before he even rounded the couch. Jooheon happily ate away, worries momentarily forgotten as they watched TV together for another hour after which they sent Jooheon to go shower because it was a school night after all. Before Jooheon got up his dad placed a hand on his knee stopping him from getting up
“Am I ever going to know what’s bothering you bud?” Jooheon looked at his dad then to the floor in thought
“Mom can tell you” he answered then ran upstairs leaving his parents behind. Papa honey watched Jooheon skip up the stairs then looked to his wife. She laughs softly at her son’s antics as she moved the empty plate to the coffee table, beckoning for her husband to take her son’s place in her arms. He snaked his arms around her, his head on her bosom like Jooheon was earlier.
“So, what happened?”
“Minnie told him the masked woman urban legend” Jooheon’s dad sighed, immediately getting the picture painted at the mention of Minhyuk’s name
“That kid’s way too skilled in storytelling for a ten year old. It’ll be a miracle honey doesn’t have a nightmare”
“He seems ok for now. Besides if anything he has his Kyunnie” Papa honey looked up at the mention of Changkyun
“oh yeah… I forgot about him for a second” looking down mama honey couldn’t help but think how much Jooheon took after his father
“you know, it feels like I have two sons sometimes” this caused a grin to grace her husband’s face
“I don’t mind being your baby” she slapped him lightly on the shoulder before kissing his forehead
“oh stop it” he reached up and met her lips before they both turned their attention to whatever 8 pm program that was on.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
Mama honey’s consolation seemed to do its job as Jooheon carried out his weirdly meticulous night routine quite unbothered and peaceful; until he entered his room again. He took is time lathering and washing himself with his favorite honey coconut body wash. Sang at least 3 Michael Jackson songs before stepping out in front of the mirror to brush his teeth and wash his face after which he applied moisturizer, his moms idea, to “keep his dumpling charm and glowing skin”. He wrapped himself in his bumblebee bathrobe, the insect this time, and headed for his room. Though as soon as he crossed the threshold, his confidence disappeared as quickly as it came. Chills ran through him as he noticed his bedroom window was opened and as if that wasn’t bad enough he heard noises coming from the next to the window just out of sight of both the bathroom light and the moonlight shining in. He took in a deep breath before dashing for the light switch. He flicked it on, prepared to scream just to meet the eyes of a confused Changkyun folding his legs on the floor, getting comfortable. Jooheon clutched his chest in relief, like both the scaredy cat and old man at heart he was.
“Oh thank god it was just you” Changkyun smiled, now amused as to what is bothering Jooheon suddenly
“what’s got you this spooked again?”
“I thought you were a ghost” Jooheon stated, calm now that Changkyun wasn’t deemed a threat, and walked over to his dresser for his pajamas. This amuses Changkyun further as smiles and mumbles to himself “how ironic”
“what?”
“Uh…nothing” Changkyun rubbed his palms over his shorts before getting up to sit on the Jooheon’s desk chair next to his dresser as he gets dressed. “So ghosts huh? Where did that come from?” Jooheon sighs as he reaches for his shirt
“Minnie-hyung told me a horror story today but mom says it’s just an urban legend and it isn’t real and all that” Jooheon tries to put on a brave face and Changkyun notes that he’s still a little spooked.
“Hey, I can stay with you if you want” he offers. Jooheon immediately lights up before retracting in deep thought. The action made Changkyun wonder if offering to stay over was a bad idea
“wait, won’t your parents be mad?” he tilts his head and Changkyun wonders to himself if he can ever get used to Jooheon’s charms
“they won’t mind trust me” Jooheon shuffles on the carpet for a bit, not knowing how to proceed before Changkyun spoke up again
“Come on you should try to get some sleep, you have school tomorrow dude” Jooheon nods and walks over to his bed as Changkyun walked to the light switch since he was closer to it. He waited patiently as Jooheon cocooned himself in his blanket before turning the lights off. Jooheon debated with himself if he should tell Changkyun he can sleep on the bed with him. Will that be weird? We’ve been friends for four years, it can’t be? Right?
“Dude I can hear you thinking from over here” Changkyun’s voice sliced through his thoughts and he looked up to see Changkyun lounging on the hair, one foot up one foot down. Jooheon couldn’t help but think he looks a lot like his cats.
“Do you know any good stories?” he mentally patted himself on the back for coming up with that on the spot as he stares at Changkyun across the room. Changkyun looks to be in deep thought as he rummages through his noggin for any stories he could remember. His furrowed brows unfurl themselves when he seems to find one
“I have one, not sure if it’s good but it has a happy ending if that works?” Jooheon nods and Changkyun pulls his other leg up. Jooheon figures the story must be long.
“So, there’s this prosperous city ruled by a king, fittingly named King Nod, with a sleeping disorder that makes him fall asleep randomly” Changkyun starts and Jooheon immediately furls his brows. Changkyun motions for him to hear it out
“The city is protected by three balls on top of the tallest minaret”
“What’s a minaret” Jooheon interrupts and Changkyun mentally simplifies his explanation realizing Jooheon probably has no idea what a mosque is
“It’s a tall building next to a mosque. For the record that’s the Muslim version of a church. Muslims are people who practice Islam as their main religion and it’s common in the Middle East. Any more questions?” he looks at Jooheon who stares at him, mouth agape before he quickly nods and motions for him to continue, Changkyun is certain he can see Jooheon’s blush from across the room in the moderate darkness
“Now, prosperous city, ruled by a king with a sleeping disorder, protected by three balls above its tallest minaret. Prophecy states that if the balls are removed, the city would face great destruction and death” Jooheon turned to face Changkyun grimacing as he landed right into the last three words. Changkyun smiled and continued “It can be saved, however it must be by the simplest of souls with the smallest and simplest of things” this seems to calm Jooheon’s nerves as his grimace fades
“Now in this city lives a cobbler named tack and very terrible thief. They’re both mute. One day the thief sneaks into tack’s house and accidentally gets stitched to tack. He tries to escape, dragging tack along with him as tack’s well…tacks fall out of his pockets and on the busy street” Jooheon looks up concerned seeing the very obvious danger of tacks being strewn across a busy street. Changkyun continues, Jooheon’s reaction as motivation
“Now here comes zigzag, the king’s right hand man, he steps on one of the tacks and immediately orders for the tack to be arrested while the thief escapes. Tack gets brought before King Nod and the princess, princess yum yum” this seems to throw Jooheon off again
“Yum yum? Are you sure you’re not making this up as you go?” his dimple made prominent with his confused pout. At this point the moonlight lit up the room and he could see Jooheon quite clearly now.
“I don’t know man, Richard was on to something when he wrote the story” Jooheon settles and Changkyun continues
“Zigzag, the evil man he is, tries to convince the king to have tack beheaded” to drive the point home, and mostly because Jooheon has probably never been introduced to the concept of violent murder, he ran his thumb across his neck. That seem to do the trick as Jooheon’s eyes widened
“The king didn’t follow through with that did he?”
“No” Changkyun stated simply much to Jooheon’s relief “before he could, princess yum yum saves tack by ordering him to fix her shoe which she broke on purpose, buying time for tack’s life. While fixing the shoe, the princess took a liking to tack and so did tack to the princess” Jooheon seemed so pleased at that that Changkyun felt disheartened at having to continue the story
“But all isn’t well in the kingdom just yet, as the thief has set is eyes on the gold balls atop the minaret. He sneaks in through a gutter and steals the princess’ shoe from tack. Tack chases him through the palace and when he finally gets it back, he bumps into zigzag who upon realizing that tack has fixed the shoe, immediately throws him in prison”
“Oh no come on”
“Oh no indeed my man. Now in comes the one-eyes”
“Cyclops?” Jooheon sits up excitedly
“Exactly that, they’re a race of war like Cycloptic monsters, they plan to invade the city and they’ve already kill the guards on the front lines. All except one who escapes and comes to warn king nod. King Nod sees all this in a vision the night before and tries to tell zigzag, but zigzag being the nasty man he is, tries to convince king nod that the kingdom is safe while the thief tries to steal the golden balls”
“Didn’t you say the thief was terrible at his job? Surely the king will notice him right?” Changkyun felt his ears grow warm at Jooheon paying so much attention to details within the story. He shook his head and continued
“I wish I could say so but unfortunately after several attempts he ended up stealing them.” Jooheon sighed and plopped back down on his pillow making Changkyun chuckle “to make matters worse he and zigzag gives them to the Cyclops” Changkyun heard Jooheon mumble under his breath ‘I don’t like the Cyclops anymore’
“They weren’t meant to be liked to begin with honey” Jooheon looked up, surprised Changkyun heard him
“Anyway, during this scuffle, tack escapes prison with his handy tools and king nod finally notices the balls are missing when the soldier finally gets to the palace to tell him. Zigzag decides to use this situation against the king, says that if he can get the balls back, king nod must give him princess yum yum’s hand in marriage.” The thought of zigzag and yum yum being together made Jooheon grimace behind his blanket
“The king dismisses the idea and zigzag, in anger, gives the balls to the Cyclops. King nod, then sends tack, the princess and her personal nurse to go seek help from the witch in the desert. They come across a group of highway robbers but fear not, princess yum yum convinces them to be her body guards and they agree. They learn from the before she promptly disappears that tack was prophesied to save the city. The witch told tack ‘attack, attack a tack! See, it’s what you do with what you got’ tack keeps this in mind as they head back to the city just in time to see the Cyclops and their war machine quickly approaching through a cloud of dust’
“Kyunnie, not to steal your thunder but only one happy thing happened so far” Jooheon stated with a pout and Changkyun waved him off
“I’m getting to the happy ending I promised. So tack, following the witch’s advice and threw a tack into the dust cloud, effectively taking out the army. Zigzag tries to escape but fell to his death in a pit of alligators and got eaten by his pet vulture. The thief tries to steal the balls but tack took them from him and ran back to the palace” Jooheon’s pout softens after hearing zigzag met his demise
“After returning the golden balls and the city is restored. Tack marries princess yum yum and he spoke for the first time in the story”
“And what did he say” for some reason, Changkyun chose to look Jooheon dead in the eyes as he said this
“I love you” Jooheon felt his face heat up as soon as the words left Changkyun’s lips. Changkyun looked down at his knees huddled under his chin. A good five minutes went by before Changkyun spoke again
“Are you ok enough to sleep?” he chanced looking up just to be met with a sleeping Jooheon. He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding and slinked back into the chair, legs still up but posture more relaxed. He stares at Jooheon’s sleeping form, small and content wrapped snuggly in his bright yellow blanket.
“His naivety makes him brave. How cute” he whispers to himself as he felt his own eye lids getting heavy. He placed his head on his knees, him too giving in to sleep not too long after.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
The night fades on, Changkyun folded up in Jooheon’s desk chair looking like L from death note, Jooheon sleeping presumably soundly and the moonlight glaring in through the window. Jooheon starts to stir, kicking at his blanket trying to escape whatever is coming at him in his sleep. The action cause Changkyun to awaken and he realized Jooheon is having a nightmare. Just as he thinks to go over and wake Jooheon he flies up looking around his room till his eyes land on Changkyun. In his sleep haze, Changkyun goes unrecognized and Jooheon gears up to call for his parents. Changkyun notices and leaps from the chair directly into the moonlight ray fully illuminating himself for Jooheon see he’s not a threat. Jooheon, teary eyed but relieved, flops down on the bed, pulled a pillow over his face and heaved out a long sigh. Changkyun smiled sits in the moonlight ray, directly in the middle of the room
“Hey, come here” Changkyun calls and he hears Jooheon groan from under the pillow before getting up and rubbing his eyes clear before joining Changkyun on the floor
“What’re you doing?” Changkyun notes that Jooheon’s sleepy voice still sounds cute over the last four years
“My mom used to do it for me when I was scared” Changkyun mentally pinched himself for his use of past tense and hoped Jooheon didn’t pay much attention to it. Thankfully he didn’t. He crossed his legs and motioned for Jooheon to do the same then beckoned for his hands
“I’m not scared” Jooheon halts his hands and pouts at Changkyun. It was supposed to be angry but with his fright flustered cheeks, messy hair and worried brows, it came of as unbelievably cute
“You just had a nightmare” he reached out and grabbed Jooheon’s hands before continuing
“What she did was that she had me list things that I like and love and it helped calm me down a lot so let’s try that” Jooheon looks to the carpet, thinking of where to start
“I love my mom and dad” he starts off unsure and Changkyun nods for him to go on
“I love when dad gives me piggy back rides when I’m too tired to walk. I love when mom bakes me stuff. I love the honey cheesecake mom bakes especially. I love when mom hugs and kisses me. I love that mom and dad listen to me even if it’s something silly” he rattles off in one breath before stopping to think again.
“I love bumblebee. The transformer and the insect even though I’m a little scared of bees but they won’t hurt me if I don’t hurt them and I won’t hurt them” Changkyun smiles at that and squeezed Jooheon’s hand in encouragement
“I love my friends. I love Hyunwoo-hyung because he looks out for us at school. I love when he laughs or smiles at stuff and his eyes turn into crescents and he looks like Winnie the pooh” Changkyun has seen Hyunwoo about five times out of all the times he’s been to Jooheon’s house. He tends to stay away when Jooheon has real friends over. He smiles as he recalls Hyunwoo laughing at a particular cheesy joke Jooheon’s dad said at the time and he can see how Jooheon came up with that imagery
“I love Hoesok-hyung because he’s cute and looks like a bunny when he smiles. I love Minnie-hyung because he’s like a puppy and he’s really smiley and he’s bright like the sun. he also plays video games with me and hugs me all the time and shares his honey cakes with me ever since mom mentioned I like honey flavored stuff” during Jooheon’s rant Changkyun found himself trailing off in thought, feeling disheartened that he can’t share in Jooheon’s reality as much as he’d like to. The thought made him subconsciously squeeze Jooheon’s hand tighter
“I like Kihyun-hyung because he’s really smart and looks like a hamster because of his cheek dimples but he also looks like a shark because of his teeth. He also helps me with my homework and gives me dumplings when he brings them” Jooheon smiles to himself at the fond memory of Kihyun’s dumplings. He sent a silent prayer hoping he would bring some tomorrow
“I like Hyungwon-hyung because he looks like a sleepy frog prince. He’s really good looking and he’s really nice to hug too” he paused. ‘That’s all my friends’ he thinks until he looked down to see Changkyun looking a bit sad. A lot sad actually.
“I love you because you helped me feed the park squirrels and shared my birthday with me. Especially my 5th one” Changkyun looked up wide eyed his name being mentioned
“You had a party at school with your friends though so I’m sure-”
“The after party at home was just as special to me” Jooheon cut him off and he nodded dumbfounded
“I love you because you stay with me a lot of nights and listen to me talk about transformers and bees. I love that you tell me stories to calm me down. I love that you stay over when you don’t have to and lastly” he squeezes Changkyun’s hand even tighter “I love that you’re doing this for me because I had a nightmare” Changkyun, not knowing how to deal with this intense show of affection, deflects with humor
“So you admit you did have a nightmare?”
“That’s besides the point” he stares intently and Changkyun and he feels his face heats up
“You’re weirdly sentimental for a nine year old”
“I got it from mom” Jooheon shrugs and Changkyun finds himself bursting into hysterics at that. He gets up and pulls Jooheon up with him, ushering him in the direction of his bed as he plans to head back to the chair. Jooheon decides to bite the bullet and ask finally
“Kyunnie you wanna share the bed with me?” Changkyun freezes and Jooheon pushes a little harder
“It’s better than my desk chair” this seems to win Changkyun over as he nods and agrees. Jooheon slides into bed taking the corner and raising the blanket high for Changkyun to climb under. Changkyun felt his face heat up for the umpteenth time as he crawled under the blankets before promptly falling asleep with Jooheon’s feet brushing against his.