take me home ; nct johnten

13

One afternoon, Johnny woke up feeling a little under the weather. His nose was stuffy and his throat hurt so bad that he could hardly use his vocal chords. He sat up in bed and let his head fall forward. He felt so drained.

He stood up very slowly and pushed himself out of bed, not bothering to put on a shirt while he walked out to go get a glass of water. After all, he was the only one who lived here.

His legs ached as he dragged them across the carpet, trying to get to the kitchen. He used the counter for some minor support as he pulled a glass down from the cabinet and filled it up with water from his pitcher.

It was lukewarm because he previously forgot to put in back in the refrigerator, but he gulped it down anyways. The slight warmth eased a little of the pain in his throat, so he filled up the glass again.

He wished he had enough money for over the counter medication, but currently, every dime he got had to be spent on food, bills, or taxes. He couldn't even remember the last time he took Tylenol.

He looked at the time and saw it was around 2pm. His shift started at 8pm as it usually did, so he would need to leave by 7 if he was planning on walking that night.

Maybe I just need some sleep. Johnny told himself, making his way back to his room only to throw himself on his bed again.

A few hours later, Johnny was awoken by his obnoxiously loud ringtone. Too lazy to open his eyes, he felt around the bed for his phone. Feeling the device touch his hand, he picked it up and swiped the bottom of the screen.

"Hello?" He asked quietly, his voice very hoarse.

Over the phone, he heard frantic panting.

"Hello?" He repeated.

"Youngho!" Youngha's voice exclaimed.

Johnny hummed.

"I need you to come pick up Jaeho!"

He suddenly paused, his eyes shooting open. "What?" He said, his voice unintentionally raising its pitch.

"I've had to skip out on work without calling in too often, and now they're telling me that I'll get fired if I don't go tonight!"

"But Youngha, I have—" Johnny began but stopped himself, knowing that he couldn't trouble his sister like this. He only had two personal days in his first month, which he had already used. He didn't even want to know the consequences if he didn't show up. "A-Alright, I guess I'll be there in a little while. I have to shower first."

"I need you here now, though! I have to be there in thirty minutes!"

Johnny sighed. Things were getting a little too stressful. He could feel everything building up inside of him.

It was silent for a moment before Johnny eventually muttered, "I'm leaving now."

Youngha hung up.

Johnny threw his phone back down on the bed. He could be fired too if he didn't go to work that night, especially because this was still his first month. On top of that, he was horribly sick and was t feeling any better despite having gotten more rest. He couldn't get a sitter, but he needed one.

This was getting to be too much.

Johnny swallowed his tears but it didn't stop them. They rolled down his cheeks and left stains even though he tried to wipe them away quickly. He didn't stop crying when he threw on a shirt, locked the door to his apartment, lit a cigarette on the way to the car, or even while he drove. He knew it would be strange if he pulled up to his sister's apartment while he cried, but he just couldn't stop.

For the first time, Jaeho's presence didn't make him feel better.

The little boy asked multiple throughout the returning car ride why Johnny was crying, but he never got an answer.

Johnny continued to sob. He smoked cigarette after cigarette, having already smoked five just on the way to get Jaeho.

He buried his face in his hands at a stop light. What on Earth was he going to do? He had to go work, but he also had to watch Jaeho. If he lost his job, he'd literally be homeless. He'd go hungry. His parents were too far away to support him, and his sister was almost as poor as he was.

The idea struck him that he could get a sitter. Immediately, he sat up and pulled out his phone, looking online at some babysitting services. The cheapest one was 5,000 won an hour. Johnny did the math in his head and pulled out his wallet. To his demise, he could only find 19,000 won, which would only cover three of the eight hours he needed.

He sobbed harder as he drove around the block in circles, too scared to do anything else.

Jaeho eventually asked where they were going. His response was a muffled, "I have no idea."

The toddler had fallen asleep after a few laps, his head thrown to the side while he leaned up against the car door. Johnny didn't know what else to do but cry. His throat hurt, his stomach hurt, he was utterly poor, and by the looks of it, he wouldn't get to keep the only job he's ever had. He felt alone. He didn't know anyone here besides his sister.

His boss couldn't help him, his sister couldn't help him, so who could?

Suddenly, an image of a beautiful crying boy popped up in his head. He sat on the bench in the men's locker room after just being touched in bad places. He threw himself at Johnny and pulled him in for a tight embrace. The boy was ethereal. The boy was Chittaphon.

Johnny's eyes widened as he quickly turned the car away from a fire hydrant he was about to run into.

He hated to do it, but he was in a desperate situation. Johnny turned the opposite way that he had been going at the next stop light. Looking at his watch, he saw it was 8:30pm. This could work.

His tears didn't stop flowing. At this point, he couldn't tell if they were from stress or relief.

He pulled into a familiar lot and parked the car in his designated spot. He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, making sure to lock the doors so that no one could kidnap Jaeho while he was away.

He sprinted inside the club, scanning the area for the boy he was looking for. He spotted him at a table, turning around to make his way back to the bar.

Johnny ran through crowds of loud, drunk people to get to him. He tripped a few times, but kept getting back up. During this venture, various pairs of eyes glued onto him with all the commotion he was making.

Eventually, he got close enough to Ten that could jump forward. Their eyes met briefly before Johnny fell to his knees.

"Can I borrow some money?" He choked out pitifully.

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yay

Y'all get a double update, maybe triple, so appreciate it😤

I want sleep

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a nice day/night!💋💕❤️