#baekjin.

not every man is graced with such height , the long legs that's carried him among many older adults who were simply pissed that he looked down upon them . it's always a pleasure to have mister choi ask him to sit down because it gets on his nerves ─ rarely does baekjin listen . books have long stopped being his friends , nothing written on paper could excite him anymore after he joined the union . life was already a breathing crime novel , every page filled with blood and longing . though , he's recently shown immense interest in quantum physics . funny that the shelves of two very different genres of books were so close , yet he found himself getting awfully annoyed by the noisy attempts of the shorter man to reach for the book .

a novel , from the criminal world . baekjin's eyes linger on the title for a while before he hands it to the man , returning his hand to his trousers' pockets as he .. waits ? for an apology maybe , can't a guy read the schrödinger equation in peace ? ‘ you would if you called for help . perhaps you'd make less noise . ‘ he says , voice soothingly soft despite the words that form on his tongue . some days baekjin would come to hide in here , one of the three spots that no one really knew about ── maybe baku did , but he doubts he'd come here after all that happened . after he made sure to make it clear he wanted baekjin out of his sight . so he stays out of sight , out of mind . when the man speaks , baekjin finds himself glancing toward the shelves once more . his attire was quite different than the man's ; baekjin always tries to look older than his age . hair slicked back like he's forty years old , uniform neat and flawless , but the man looked exactly like the kind of person who'd read crime novels . cold hand reaches for one of the books , calloused fingertips drag across the title before he picks it up too . it's a comparably heavy book , heavier than the one his companion holds . ‘ i don't read stories . but .. this one is better . that's a children's book . his wife is the killer . ‘ a spoiler , baekjin is being helpful here . why waste time on a stupid and expensive book when you can read this masterpiece ? he holds it near the man's chest to take , wordlessly , with empty eyes .

for a moment , while the possibility is quite low and almost impossible , baekjin thinks he's going to call the police . baku had plenty of time to do it and he didn't , he hasn't . he probably doesn't even know what baekjin does for a living now , unless he guessed it ─ god of course he did . disappeared for three years , got up the ranks of the same gang that tried to kill him and passed out in an alley because of blood loss . the school he went to spoke about him with such pride , all of the teachers were sure that na baekjin was going to be someone great . someone who will save the world . he wonders what baku is now , the house is the same , he recognizes baku's room .

he has sat up now , there are bandages wrapped around his torso and around his shoulder . his clothes are different , the front of the shirt left open for better access to the wound . baekjin kicks his chapped lips and keeps his eyes low , feels baku walk closer , feels him sit on the bed beside him and he has to close his eyes . what's he supposed to tell him now ? did he take the hints he sent him with unknown numbers ? the specific messages he was too drunk , longing for baku to stop himself from sending . he must have guessed that baekjin was alive . otherwise he'd be louder than this , aggressive even . baekjin was expecting him to punch him for hiding , pretending to be dead all these years but it's simple ─ what baku does . baekjin is surprised at how well he takes it , save for the brief catch in his breath , he doesn't react that bad to baku gently touching his chin . turning his head sideways toward him , he looks back at baku bravely . please darling , understand that i had no other choice , i didn't even know you still wanted me alive . baku's thumb rubs under his bottom lip , sends a shiver down his spine , he curls his fist on the sheet and his bravery dies down as quickly as it came to him . ‘ i'm fine .. ‘ he whispers for no reason , he doesn't know why , he doesn't even know if that's what baku wants to hear . warmth travels down his neck , the tips of his ears . his skin burns , baku's thumb is against his lips and he mindlessly parts his lips . for what ? he's not sure , he whispers again ; ‘ humin-ah .. ‘ his fingers curl around baku's wrist , not to push him away obviously , just because he has to hold on to something . his own thumb brushes against baku's wrist , keeps his touch against his lips before he closes his eyes and leans into the touch . a brief peck against the pad of baku's thumb , lingering .

baekjin was caught off guard . maybe he just closed his eyes and let those knuckles hit his cheek because apparently all he's gonna get about baku is going to be this ─ the closest he'll get to him . punching him but touching him nonetheless , right ? he stumbles backward , touches his jaw , and straightens up with a raised brow and a crooked twitch of lips . it was a warning , baekjin understands warnings but he has to think what had caused the need in humin to come all this way just to punch him and threaten him . this must be because baekjin had sent his boys after a guy in eunjang , broken his ankles so he will probably waste a few months at the hospital ; but the bastard was being a thorn on his side and baekjin's hand was forced .