Chapter Text
Vengeance - punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong.
Yeonjun sat alone in his English class, arguably his weakest subject. That would explain why he was the only one out of the group to take a non-Honors or AP English class. It was a work period, which basically meant that everyone had to shut up and work on their projects. The class had an essay due at the end of the week. Some students already had it done, while others, like Yeonjun, hadn’t even started.
Yeonjun had his journal out, half-mindedly writing down his thoughts.
December 13, 2022
Okay…a lot of shit has happened. Firstly, Soobin’s now my boyfriend, so that’s great. We haven’t got to do any super boyfriend-y stuff, but maybe that’ll come later. But either way, I really like Soobin.
Secondly, I still need to work on that stupid fucking essay! Granite, should I be working on it now? Yes. Am I? Of course not. But in my defense, I still can’t come up with a topic. Everything good has already been taken, and there’s no way in hell I’m doing queer rights. Everyone already knows I’m gay, talking about gay rights is basically a death sentence.
And thirdly, I have no plans for winter break. Soobin’s going to visit family, Beomgyu’s busy with work, and Kai has to go on a field trip with Bahiyyih. Taehyun might still be grounded, and I’m too scared to go to his house and check. I’ll text him later to see.
I’m worried for him.
Anyways, I gotta go now. Mr. Park is coming over here, and I’m not about to get scolded in front of everyone.
— Choi Yeonjun
Yeonjun quickly put his journal away, stuffing it in his backpack. Mr. Park looked down at Yeonjun. His usual grin was there, and he was chuckling to himself, probably at Yeonjun’s terrible attempt at hiding his journal.
“Mr. Choi?” Mr. Park grinned, trying to remain serious, “What were you working on just then?”
“My essay,” Yeonjun lied.
“Oh really?” Mr. Park crossed his arms, “May I read it then?”
Yeonjun put his head in his hands, laughing like a boy many years his junior.
“Okay fine, you caught me,” Yeonjun confessed, “I was writing in my journal. I still can’t think of a topic for my essay.”
Mr. Park pulled a chair from an unoccupied desk and placed it beside Yeonjun, taking a seat.
“What about queer icons in history?” Mr. Park suggested, “Kids always seem to have fun with that topic.”
“I don’t know…” Yeonjun scratched the back of his neck, “I’m trying to stay away from anything queer related since I—”
“Recently got outed?” Mr. Park inferred.
Yeonjun looked over at his teacher, a mixture of shock, horror, and genuine confusion filling his gaze.”
“You heard?” Yeonjun asked as if the answer wasn’t already obvious.
“Yeah,” Mr. Park breathed, reaching out and patting Yeonjun’s shoulder, “but don’t worry, I’m not homophobic. That would mean I hate myself.”
“Wait, you’re—”
“Gay? Yes.” Mr. Park answered before Yeonjun could even ask, “Why else did you think I had a pride flag on the wall?”
Yeonjun turned his gaze to the rainbow flag placed above Mr. Park’s desk. He had seen it in the past, but he never really thought too much of it.
”Wait, so if you’re gay…why do you have a wedding ring? Isn’t same-sex marriage illegal?”
Mr. Park let out a soft giggle, taking off his ring and showing it to Yeonjun.
“My boyfriend gave me this for our 5th anniversary. Even if we can’t legally get married, the sentiment and love is still there.”
Yeonjun flashed a smile as Mr. Park placed the ring in his hand. It was the first time Yeonjun had seen a gay couple loving each other so openly.
“I’m gonna do that for Soobin when we’re older!” Yeonjun exclaimed.
“I don’t know, wedding rings are a lot of money,” Mr. Park warned, “besides, hopefully by the time you two are older, Same-sex marriage will have been legalized.”
Yeonjun handed Mr. Park his ring back, thinking about his future with Soobin in the process. He never considered himself a hopeless romantic; but then how come he’s been daydreaming about him and Soobin owning an apartment together? There would be marble walls, tons of plants, and they would have a cat named Mage that would basically be their son.
Okay, maybe he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic, but who could blame him? He’s a hormonal teenage boy experiencing love for the first time. Most would call it a train wreck in the making, but Yeonjun would use more positive wording.
“Maybe try writing about something you’re really passionate about,” Mr. Park suggested, putting his ring back on, “What kind of things do you write in your journal?”
“Um…just personal stuff,” Yeonjun blurted, “I basically write in there to keep me from killing myself.”
“Mhm, interesting,” Mr. Park said as if he has heard that hundreds of times, “you can write about mental health in adolescence. Suicide is the leading causing of death of young people in South Korea.”
“I’ll think about it,” Yeonjun sighed, pulling out his laptop.
Even with the help from Mr. Park, Yeonjun still didn’t feel satisfied with what he was writing. Sure, it was objectively good, especially for someone his age; but it still just didn’t feel…him.
“This is bullshit…” Yeonjun blurted, slamming his laptop shut and resting his head on his desk.
Mr. Park walked back over to Yeonjun’s desk, patting him on the back of the head.
“You’ll get it eventually,” Mr. Park said, “if you need me to, I can give you a few extra days to work on it.”
“It’s useless,” Yeonjun groaned, lifting his head a little bit, “nothing’s good enough. Winter break starts soon anyway, I’ll just work on it then.”
Mr. Park sighed, kneeling down to Yeonjun’s level.
“Yeonjun, listen to me, okay? You’re a bright kid. Sure, you can be a little mouthy sometimes, but that’s typical for someone your age. Look, I just don’t want you to give up on yourself. Just…try and work on it at least sometime this week, okay?”
Yeonjun sat upright in his chair, glaring at Mr. Park. He knew there was no arguing with this man, no matter how much he hated the thought of writing.
“Fine…” Yeonjun said, “I’ll work on it with Soobin and Beomgyu later.”
“Great,” Mr. Park smiled, “I’ll leave you to it now.”
Yeonjun stepped out to the front of the school, waiting for Soobin to get out of his final class. He had made plans to go check up on Taehyun, but he was afraid to do it alone. So, in the event that something went wrong, Soobin was coming with him.
Suddenly, as Yeonjun was scrolling on his phone, he felt a cold hand placed upon his shoulder.
“Boo,” Soobin whispered in a playful tone.
Yeonjun jumped, absentmindedly grabbing onto Soobin’s hand.
“Jesus Christ!” Yeonjun exclaimed, “Soob, don’t scare me like that!”
Soobin just smiled at Yeonjun’s annoyance. Deep down, teasing Yeonjun was Soobin’s way of telling his boyfriend that he loved him.
“Come on, Junnie,” Soobin giggled, “you know how much I love teasing you. Anyways, are you ready to go visit Taehyun?”
“Honestly…no,” Yeonjun confessed, “I’m scared; I don’t wanna get another black eye.”
“That’s why I’m coming,” Soobin pulled back his sleeve and flexed his muscles, “Your boyfriend’s been working out.”
“Yeah yeah, shut up.” Yeonjun groaned, trying to hide his blushing, “this is serious.”
Soobin put his arm around Yeonjun, walking him to his car.
“I know,” Soobin breathed, “I’m really worried for Taehyun.”
Yeonjun silently got in the car, with Soobin closing the door behind him. As Soobin got in on the driver’s side, Yeonjun looked up at him, fear in his eyes.
“Soobin?”
“Yes Junnie?”
“Do you think there’s a chance that Taehyun’s dead?”
Soobin stopped himself from starting the car, believing the words coming out of Yeonjun’s mouth to be completely imaginary.
“Why would you think that?” Soobin asked, almost sounding offended.
Yeonjun looked down at his feet, a stinging pain filling his eyes, “I…I don’t know. He hasn’t responded to any of my texts, which is unusual. And I’ve kinda been thinking the worst lately.”
Soobin reached across the car, holding Yeonjun’s hand tenderly. It was shaking, violently. He could feel a strong pulse through it, and Yeonjun’s breathing was shallow.
“Junnie, please calm down,” Soobin begged, “I don’t want you to pass out.”
Yeonjun took a deep breath in, slouching in his seat.
“Sorry,” he whispered, tightening his grip on Soobin’s hand, “I’m just being paranoid.”
“I hope,” Soobin muttered, finally starting the car and pulling off.
“He’s not outside,” Yeonjun observed, “he was outside last time I was here.”
Soobin just glanced over at Yeonjun, giving him a “stop overthinking, you worrywart,” kinda look. Yeonjun just took another deep breath, waiting for Soobin to park the car. Maybe Soobin was right. There was probably nothing to worry abou—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“WERE THOSE GUNSHOTS?!” Yeonjun shouted. The noise caused both boys to jump, with them instinctively grabbing each other’s hands. It was silent for a few seconds, before the gunshots repeated themselves.
“That’s it, I’m going in.” Yeonjun unlocked the door and jumped out, the car still moving.
“Yeonjun, wait!” Soobin exclaimed, but in vain. Yeonjun had already started running towards the front door. Soobin quickly parked the car and ran after his boyfriend. When he was in arm's reach, Soobin reached out and grabbed Yeonjun’s school jacket, stopping Yeonjun in his tracks.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Yeonjun asked, trying to yank himself off of Soobin.
“You were about to run in there by yourself,” Soobin gasped, trying to catch his breath, “Were you not scared of the gunshots?”
“Not when there’s a risk of Taehyun being hurt,” Yeonjun said, “I don’t care, I’m going in.”
Yeonjun forced the door open and ran inside, Soobin following close behind him. The gunshots continued occurring, with them happening even more often.
“Follow the noise,” Soobin suggested, “maybe we’ll find Taehyun that way.”
Yeonjun and Soobin followed the sound of the gunshots, but every time they would get to the area of the noise, there would be nothing there. Yeonjun and Soobin ran everywhere, even making their way upstairs. It was just gunshots, when all of a sudden, one of the gunshots was followed by a loud yell.
“That sounded like Taehyun!” Yeonjun worried, “Come on, Soob, we have to find him.”
The two boys followed the yelling up to Taehyun’s room, and the sight they saw was horrifying. There Taehyun was, lying on the ground in pain. His left arm was covered in blood, and he was crying.
“Taehyun!” Yeonjun blurted, running over to him, “Are you okay?”
“It hurts…” Taehyun whined, “my arm, it’s…I feel dizzy.”
“Who did this to you? Where’s your dad?” Yeonjun was breathing faster than normal, helping Taehyun off of the floor and onto his bed.
“My dad…he…he shot me in the arm. He jumped out the window and onto the tree. I don’t know where he is now.”
Yeonjun clenched his fist, making his way towards the window.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Soobin asked, inspecting the wound on Taehyun’s arm.
“Going to beat the shit out of Taehyun’s dad,” Yeonjun blurted, “You stay here and take care of Taehyun, and call 112.”
“You’re seriously going after an armed man?” Soobin’s tone was angrier than before, “Are you actually stupid?”
“Maybe I am,” Yeonjun argued, “it doesn’t matter: I’m going after him. Oh, and hand me your car keys.”
Soobin, reluctantly, dug into his pocket and tossed Yeonjun the keys. Yeonjun opened the bedroom window, stepping out onto the tree. As he made his way down the trunk, he kept mentally beating himself up. Why didn’t he check up on Taehyun sooner? Why didn’t he suspect something sooner?
Yeonjun made his way down to the hard, rugged ground beneath the tree. As he landed, he noticed that Mr. Kang’s truck wasn’t in the driveway anymore.
“Fuck…” Yeonjun said to himself, “He already drove away.”
Yeonjun made his way over to Soobin’s car, opening the door and getting inside. Has he ever driven before? No. He was the only kid in his grade to fail his driving test. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and this time definitely counts.
Yeonjun started up the car and made his way onto the road. Wherever Mr. Kang went, he left tire marks in his path. Yeonjun started following along the tire tracks, silently praying to himself that everything would work out in the end…
It had been about 10 minutes, and Yeonjun’s hope was starting to wane. Even on a mostly empty road, finding Mr. Kang was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Then, Yeonjun saw something out of the corner of his eye. At the gas station, there was an old, white truck parked near the front.
“That’s him,” Yeonjun said, pulling into the gas station.
Yeonjun parked right beside Mr. Kang. He wasn’t inside his truck, so Yeonjun assumed he was inside getting cigarettes. Since he had some time to himself, Yeonjun took out his phone and called Soobin.
“Hey Soob,” Yeonjun breathed, “I think I found Mr. Kang. He’s inside right now, so I’m waiting for him to come out to confront him.”
“That’s good, I guess,” Soobin’s tone sounded defeated, like he was still (understandably) upset at Yeonjun, “Oh, and Jun, Taehyun wants to say something to you.”
Yeonjun held onto the car door handle, as if he was bracing himself for something.
“Junnie?” Taehyun said, sounding weak, “Are you there?”
“I’m here, Hyunnie,” Yeonjun smiled, loosening his grip on the car handle.
“Did you find my dad?”
“Yeah, he’s at the gas station near Moonstone,” Yeonjun answered, “I’m waiting for him to come out.”
“Tell him I hate his guts, okay?” Taehyun let out a soft laugh, making Soobin laugh with him.
“I will Tae,” Yeonjun promised, “And trust me, when I get my hands on him, I’m gonna beat the shit out of him.”
A faint door creaking could be heard in the distance. Mr. Kang walked out the gas station, a cigarette in his left hand. The sight of this made Yeonjun’s blood boil. How could a man be so shameless to act calm after he shot his own son?
“I gotta go Taehyun,” Yeonjun grunted, “I got a grown man to fight.”
Yeonjun started walking towards Mr. Kang, his fists clenched. He had to control himself not to just beat him up right then and there.
“Hey, fuck-face!” Yeonjun yelled, his hands in his pockets.
“What?” Mr. Kang said, confused, “Are you talking about me?”
“Of course I am,” Yeonjun scoffed, “but that’s not important. Why the fuck did you shoot Taehyun?”
Mr. Kang’s eyes widened, as if he’d just had an epiphany.
“Wait…are you?” Mr. Kang rolled his eyes in annoyance, “Are you that retard who was with my son a few days ago?”
Yeonjun shrugged, giving Mr. Kang a cold stare.
“Yep,” Yoenjun confirmed, “the same retard who watched you kick your son. And now, you shot him in the arm. What a weak excuse of a man you are.”
Mr. Kang put his hand on Yeonjun’s shoulder, holding on with a tight grip.
“Listen here kid,” Mr. Kang threatened, “You’re not the one who had to raise that boy by himself. If you were, you would hate him too.”
Yeonjun just giggled, flashing a cheeky grin.
“You sound like my father,” Yeonjun snarked, “I know Taehyun’s not as bad as you say. Sure, he may have a temper, but he’s fifteen. Besides, I’d be angry too if I had to have you as a dad.”
Mr. Kang slammed Yeonjun into the side of his truck, somehow not hurting him.
“You’re a bad influence, kid,” Mr. Park opened his truck door and climbed in, “I’m going to finish my boy off. You stay here and don’t tell a soul.”
Mr. Park drove off, heading towards Taehyun’s house. The friction from the truck bruised Yeonjun in the process, but he wasn’t wounded. Luckily, based on the sounds from Soobin’s phone call, it sounded like 112 had already come and picked up Taehyun. This left Yeonjun with one goal, and one goal only…
Break Mr. Park limb for limb.
Yeonjun forced himself back to the car, grunting with pain along the way. Once he got in the car, a series of horrid thoughts appeared in his head.
“Shit,” Yeonjun thought, “I can die during this.”
He took out his phone and opened his camera, pressing record and starting the car.
“Hey guys, it’s Yeonjun,” he sighed, pulling out of the gas station, “So…as usual, I’m doing something incredibly stupid that could result in my death. I’ve survived all my previous stupid ideas, but something about this one makes me think this might kill me. So this video is going to serve as my goodbye.
To Beomgu: Thank you so much for being patient with me. It’s rare for me to find someone who is not turned off by my angry outbursts, but you…you were so gentle with me. I hope your situation gets better; you deserve so much more than you have.
To Kai: I’m still so sorry for all the mean shit I said about you. You’re a great kid, and don’t forget it. Thank you for being there to help me feel better when I feel down. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Remember, Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Soobin will be here to help you if you need it.
To Taehyun: You’re not the demon your dad makes you out to be. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true. I know you have trouble getting close to people; you struggle trusting others. Trust me, I’m the same way. It’s either I give people too much of heart, or none of it at all. But I guess that’s why we find solace in each other. And trust me, if I’m going today, your dad’s going with me. No one deserves to be treated like that.
And finally, to Soobin: What’s there not to say? You really are my everything. Hell, you were my first (and admittedly only) boyfriend, that’s saying something. Thank you for…basically being the love of my life. You showed me new parts of myself, and you did so without judgment. Basically, I love you dude, and I mean that truly.
Hey, who knows, I may just be being overdramatic. Maybe this whole thing will be in vain, who knows. Anyhow, just know, no matter the case, I love you bastards. Tell Yewon I love her, and tell my parents they can go fuck themselves.”
With that, Yeonjun stopped the recording, wiping some small tears from his eyes. He still wasn’t far behind Mr. Kang, so it shouldn't be hard to catch up to him.
Operative word: SHOULDN’T.
Mr. Kang took a sharp left, turning onto an abandoned cobblestone road that hadn’t been driven on in years. It was secluded from everyone, even the cops. It was a glorified death trap.
Yeonjun continued after Mr. Kang, making his way onto the bumpy stone. It felt like riding on a roller coaster, except it’s a game of life and death. Yeonjun sped up, going bumper to bumper with Mr. Kang’s truck.
Mr. Kang rolled down his window, eyeing Yeonjun with an angry expression. He reached for his pistol in the passenger seat, pointing it out the window and towards Yeonjun. He took a shot, breaking Yeonjun’s car front window into pieces. By the grace of some higher power, the bullets missed Yeonjun and shattered the back window. Yeonjun took that as an opportunity to ram into the back of Mr. Kang’s truck.
Mr. Kang sped up, making his way to the next turn. However, instead of making it onto the road, he crashed into the curb. Yeonjun followed suit, crashing into Mr. Kang and blacking out.
“Ow…fuck…everything hurts.”
“Oh my God! I think he’s awake.” Soobin exclaimed, walking over to Yeonjun’s side.
Yeonjun slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in an all white room. There were machines and substances by the hundreds, and it was pretty over-stimulating.
“W-where is he?” Yeonjun groaned, his voice soft and fragile, “where’s Mr—”
“Don’t worry himself with him,” Soobin said, “the police are dealing with him, everything’s fine.”
“How about Taehyun?” Yeonjun tried forcing himself to sit up, but only to find that he was too weak.
“He’s down the hall,” Beomgyu answered, “he’s doing well. Or…at least as well as someone who got shot can do.”
Yeonjun looked down as Beomgyu continued talking, going on about how Taehyun will need surgery or something like that. But Yeonjun couldn’t focus, as his mind was still trying to process the shock of the car crash.
“Sorry about your car,” Yeonjun blurted out suddenly, turning his attention to Soobin.
Soobin just smiled lightly, going and stepping closer to Yeonjun’s bedside. “Don’t worry about that,” he whispered, “I can get another car. I’m just grateful that you’re alive.”
Yeonjun reached to hold Soobin’s hand, only to realize that his arm was in a white, bulky cast.
“Ah shit…” Yeonjun groaned, “I guess I got a broken arm too now.”
Yeonjun pouted, slouching down in his hospital bed, admittedly feeling a little silly for being upset. Being in pain? Yeonjun could manage. But not being able to hold Soobin’s hand? Now that was hell.
However, Soobin compromised and grabbed a nearby pen, taking it and drawing a little heart on Yeonjun’s cast. Yeonjun blushed at this, turning his arm to see the heart.
“You little romantic,” Yeonjun teased, making Soobin giggle in glee.
“Speaking of romantic…” Soobin pulled out his phone from his pocket, “I got your video. I’m the love of your life?”
Yeonjun went bright red, covering his face with his hands.
“I was being dramatic,” Yeonjun argued, “but…yeah, you mean a lot to me.”
“I know,” Soobin flashed a cheeky smile.
“Get a room, you two,” Kai groaned, rolling his eyes.
Soon after, a doctor came into the room, needing to perform a few checkups and tests on Yeonjun. The others were instructed to leave the room, leaving Yeonjun and the doctor alone.
“Hello there,” the doctor greeted, smiling down at Yeonjun, “how are you feeling?”
“Terrible,” Yeonjun said. He sat up with some help from the doctor, “everything’s in pain.”
“Makes sense,” the doctor took out some supplies, including a syringe and some medicine in a vial, “that was a pretty brutal accident.”
The doctor took the syringe and filled it with the medicine in the vile. Grabbing some rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad, he started cleaning a part of Yeonjun’s arm.
“What’s going on?” Yeonjun asked, shaking a little bit.
“I’m going to give you a bit of medicine,” the doctor cleared up, “is that alright?”
Yeonjun scratched the back of his neck, looking down at the floor.
“No…that’s fine,” Yeonjun muttered, “it’s just…I don’t like needles.”
The doctor let out a soft giggle, stepping closer to Yeonjun.
“That’s fine, just try distracting yourself with something.”
“Okay…” Yeonjun took a deep breath, bracing himself for impact, “do you know how Taehyun’s doing?”
“He’s doing well,” the doctor gave Yeonjun the shot, “he lost a lot of blood from the wound, so we’ll probably have to give him a transfusion when he wakes up. But rest assured, he’ll be perfectly fine.”
Yeonjun breathed for what felt like the first time in hours. Just knowing that Taehyun was okay made Yeonjun feel about 12 pounds lighter.
“That’s good,” Yeonjun beamed, looking up at the doctor, “y’know…
…I feel a lot better.”