Chapter Text
“No- No! Kang Yeosang we forbid you.”
That was the sentence that started this all.
He had been begging, he had been working so hard towards his one dream for years. He wanted to become a trainee and work hard along other aspiring young boys who were just like him!
Not like those stuck up assholes at one of those hagwon schools his parents were trying to send him to.
His mothers shrill voice still echoes in his ears, flashes of his father’s slumped, disappointed shoulders had angry tears form in his gorgeous brown eyes.
He angrily shoved some shirts into his bag. He’d show them. He’d show them that he was serious about his plans of becoming a trainee.
Uhh, to be truthful… Yeosang had no idea what he was doing.
I mean- yes! Yes, he was still angry and he still felt betrayed but he didn’t know what to do now.
Sure, he’s run away before but those were different times, where the biggest betrayal he felt was when his dad ate his ice pop he had been saving for his field trip.
The farthest he had gone was down the block where he stayed under the slide for a few hours, crying and scared but he had still known he was going to be found.
Now… well, now he was waiting on a dirty bench, with cigarette burns and gum stuck on it. Not to mention he seemingly had the worst luck because, would you guess it?
It was raining!
So here he was, a sitting duckling. Soaked and nervous and not to mention hungry. He and his parents had fought after he got home from school. He had been walking down the sidewalk, playing mindlessly with his shadow when a guy approached him. Apparently a form he had filled out was missing a home address and the consent signatures of both his guardians and once they had both they would have been able to sign him on as an official trainee.
So he had barged in, excited to show them he got accepted when they immediately rejected the idea, claiming they were never going to allow him to ruin his life and that they already had some schools to show him.
Well.. he was hungry, and he was sure that if he just stood up and walked home, his mother would have the most delicious food waiting on the dinner table,
But no! No. he promised himself that he would prove to them how badly his body ached to perform in front of an audience.
He sighed softly as light raindrops hit him. They were almost like little kisses being laid onto his pale skin and he immediately blushed, shaking the idea away and suddenly noticing the nearby pedestrians who glanced at him as though he was crazy.
He supposed he couldn’t blame them. I mean, he was a 17 year old boy on his own with a scruffy gray backpack to his side filled to the brim with clothing and essentials. He must look like the runaway he was.
A shiver racked up his spine when a sudden breeze hit him. Damn, it really was cold.
After another couple of minutes spent debating whether he really wanted to do this- and he didn’t even know what ‘this’ was!- a blue and white bus pulled up a few feet in front of him.
He grabbed his bag and ran towards the opening doors and used his free hand to dig into his pockets, looking for his student ID. If he used it then he wouldn’t be charged, thankfully. He hadn't brought much of–
He abruptly gasped when a tan arm cut in front of him.
“Ah! Let me get that for you.”
He stuttered when said man took out a few hundred won and paid for both of their rides,
“E-Excuse me, do I know you?”
He sure hoped they knew each other.
Before the man answered though, he placed a hand onto the small space where Yeosang’s neck met shoulder and led him all the way to the back, past a few stray people who each had stories of their own.
Yeosang would have floundered, would have immediately punched the guy had his grip on him not been so firm and weirdly.. comforting?
“I can tell the difference between a boy and a runaway.”
Yeosang squeaked, staring into a sea of dark brown with his own wide, terrified eyes, “What?”
The guy gave him a small smile, “Don’t worry, i’m not about to run to the police and rat you out.”
“Then-”
“As I said, I can tell. And I payed for you because if you are planning on running away from wherever you’re from, you really shouldn’t use your identification card as payment. It can lead back to you if your parents or whoever decide to report you.”
Yeosang froze, suddenly feeling even worse. God he really should have done some actual research beforehand.
A light laugh hit his suddenly blessed ears, “Don’t start crying on me kid. It wouldn’t have killed you if you had used your ID, but it’s just something to look out for.”
Yeosang looked up at him through his silver fringe, feeling very grateful, “Thank you so much. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if I were to get caught by the police of all people.”
A glimmer of something Yeosang was yet to understand shone subtly in the man’s eyes, “Well then… I suppose if you want to make it up to me, you could tell me your very pretty name.”
His eyes widened a fraction and he waved a hand frantically between them, “Uh-! No, my name isn’t all that I promise. I mean, I don’t even know the meaning behind it and how- how would you know it’s..”
His words slowly died out when a small smile formed on the strangers face, “Because you're very pretty yourself. I’m sure that you have a lovely name to go along with that doll like face.”
A fierce red blush had him gasping and he looked down at their shoes sheepishly, “Uhm… well then I guess if you insist. My name’s Kang Yeosang. Uh i’m 17 and.. Yeah you were right. I’m running away.”
A huff above him had him flicking his eyes towards the handsome stranger again.
“Wow, everything about you seems to be so nice! My name is Choi Jongho. I’m 18 so I guess that makes me your Hyung.”
Yeosang whispered a small ‘Thank You’ at the compliment as he looked back down at the ground. He could notice the clear difference between them just by looking at their shoes. He had some dirty converse which were soaked wet with rain while Jongho had some nice black boots on, unharmed from nature.
After a few minutes of silence, the only sounds having been the pitter patter of rain hitting the windows and the sudden vrooms of cars speeding past them, Jongho spoke up, “So then sunshine, where are you headed?”
“Huh?”
He nodded towards his bag, “You already told me that you’re running, so where to? I hear Yeongcheon has some really great food and plus it's a neighboring city.”
Yeosang shook his head in slight disbelief as he leaned back against the blue seat, “I honestly have no idea. I just left the house so quickly and I'm cold and I'm still pretty upset and I'm hungry too which never makes a good combination. I guess i’m just going wherever my feet take me which hopefully won’t lead to my kidnapping or something even worse,”
Jongho hummed, “Well we could go grab a bite to eat so that’ll at least get rid of one of your problems?”
Yeosang stared at him. What the hell kind of angel was this guy? First they saved him from possibly outing himself, then made him feel warm and a little better, and now he’s offering to take him for food?? There was no better way into his heart.
“Hyung you really don’t have to. I swear you’ve already helped enough!”
He shook his head and one of his hands came up to rub his neck, “Please don’t call me hyung, it honestly makes me feel old. It’s okay to just call me Jongho. And I swear that it’s really no issue. It’s raining right now so I think some hot soup and something crunchy would make us both feel warmer?”
Yeosang practically swooned at the man who had earned his trust in less than 10 minutes.
He laughed loudly, “No, I swear i’m not joking!”
Jongho snickered, “Sure Mr. Superhero, I’m sure you were able to do that in less that 30 minutes.”
Yeosang covered his embarrassed face, “Oh please shut up.”
Rough, warm hands grabbed his own and he blinked as they were lowered onto the round table, cleared of their finished bowls.
Jongho smiled, “I don’t want to see that dollface covered, Yeosang.”
He lowered his head and he groaned, “Stop~”
Tan fingers slowly rubbed circles onto his palms in such a calming manner that Yeosang’s ears ended up turning bright red, “Well now that we’re done eating, do you have anywhere to go?”
He sighed, separating their clasped hands, “Like I said, Jongho I guess I'm just gonna go where my feet take me.”
There were a few seconds of silence before Jongho asked a single question that would change both of their lives forever.
“Do you want to stay with me?”