The Beginnings | Dotae

12.0 | I've Got a Bad Feeling About This

Taeyong woke up in a cold sweat, the droplets sticking his shirt to his skin as he shot up. Unease settled in his gut and he glanced outside. It was dark. He felt that unease spread throughout his body and he slowly got up, looking around the room carefully.

His eyes first settled on Jungwoo's sleeping figure resting on one of the mattresses. Then they swept over the rest of the dark, unmoving room. Nothing.

But his gut was never wrong. Something bad was happening. Or was going to happen at least.

His thoughts lingered on Doyoung for a moment, and he absentmindedly moved to the door. Maybe he needed to check on the younger. The unease lessened at the thought and Taeyong immediately moved for the door at the feeling. He needed to check on Doyoung.

He was halfway out of the doorframe when a figure moved in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. Taeyong jumped, already on edge at the feeling that something terrible was going on.

"Woah Yong, what's going on?" Johnny's tired voice soothed him almost at once and Taeyong let out the breath he was holding.

"Jeez Johnny," Taeyong laughed with relief coating his words and he moved back into the room, letting the older boy in, "You scared me."

"No kidding," Johnny remarked with a forced laugh, the exhaustion he was feeling evident in not only his words but his body. Taeyong sighed, looking at the door with a torn expression. But he slowly closed it and took the bag off of Johnny's back, pushing the older towards the empty mattress.

"Get some sleep," Taeyong said simply and Johnny half-heartedly nodded before he collapsed on the empty mattress. Not even a minute later Taeyong could see the change in his breathing pattern, alerting him that he had fallen asleep. He tossed the bag to the side.

Taeyong looked at the two sleeping figures before he looked back at the door and walked towards it. He wouldn't take long, just check to make sure the younger boy was sleeping and safe at home.

He opened the door again and succeeded in closing it behind him this time, drawing his jacket around his body at the abrupt cold that greeted him. It was getting colder. He would need to grab a coat soon. 

He began to wander in the general direction of Doyoung's neighborhood, not entirely sure of its exact position even though he had already been there twice. It was still somewhat early in the evening but certainly not enough that the streets were packed full of people. He wasn't expecting anything to happen, although he was still a little nervous. 

"That idiot better be okay," Taeyong muttered under his breath, the words paired with a puff of air that appeared in the cold air. He felt somewhat annoyed. What was he doing walking over to this kid's house late at night just because he 'felt' like something was wrong. 

Taeyong turned the corner and was about to curse at himself again but a loud shout and bang startled him out of his thoughts as his head shot up at the noise. He blinked as he saw a kid holding two bags, a terrified look on his face as he sprinted away from a corner grocery store. The employee was racing after the kid and Taeyong blinked in shock as a bag was shoved into his arms. 

"Run!" The kid called out as he raced away from the scene, leaving Taeyong a couple of seconds to process what was happening as the store owner was getting closer. 

"Shit," Taeyong cursed and held tightly onto the bag, beginning to sprint after the kid that was already turning the corner ahead of him. The bag's contents slipped around in his hands and Taeyong picked up his pace as he just barely caught sight of the kid in front of him. Eventually the yells of the shop owner waned and Taeyong ended up running just a few feet behind the brown-haired kid. 

After a couple more minutes passed, Taeyong stopped as the boy ahead of him stopped. He looked around and took careful note of his surroundings. There was a bridge just ahead and they had ended up on the river banks right by it. Gravel slipped under his feet as he walked closer and tossed the shopping bag towards the boy. 

The kid gave a small smile to Taeyong, adjusting the leather jacket that fit loosely around his slim body, almost to the point he was swimming in it. Taeyong raised his eyebrows in questioning as the boy began to look through the bags of food that he had stolen. 

"So, are you going to tell me why you just got me involved in a store robbery?" Taeyong finally asked, annoyed that the kid was paying absolutely no attention to him as he looked through the bags. The kid flinched, looking at Taeyong with wide eyes as if he was surprised he was still standing there. 

"Oh," the young boy started, Taeyong pegged him to be about his age or a little younger, "I didn't think you'd still be here," the boy stood up and extended his hand out to Taeyong. "The name's Jung Jaehyun." 

"Lee Taeyong," he replied, not expecting the kid's eyes to widen as he snatched his hand away from Taeyong's. 

"Y-your dad's name isn't Lee Sejun is it?" The boy became more nervous and Taeyong blinked in surprise, not expecting this kid to know and throw out his dad's name, especially since he wasn't the only family with the surname of Lee. The amount of fear in his eyes unnerved Taeyong. He felt his blood begin to boil at the thought of what his dad might have done to affect this kid so badly. 

"It is, but I don't speak for him. He's a rotten criminal who only cares about himself," Taeyong's tone was dripping with aggression and bitterness. He spit at the ground and looked back to Jaehyun who was looking at him skeptically. "What did he do to you?" He asked, gentler this time. He would try to make it right. Whatever his father had done. 

"Uh, I don't think..." Jaehyun trailed off, eyes raking over Taeyong's body as if to discern if he posed a threat or not, "He, uh, my dad works for him." Taeyong felt his blood run cold at the sentence and he knew. He knew what Jaehyun held against his father, and the rest of his family for the most part. 

"I'm sorry," Taeyong said softly and Jaehyun nodded in acknowledgement. It was all he could really say. There was nothing he could do. 

"He makes me do the runs too," Jaehyun confessed and he really had to resist the urge to march back to his house and scream at his father until his voice was raw. Sure, Taeyong was young and was involved, but his dad was the boss for the mafia in this area. There was no reason for other kids to get involved. 

"I'm sorry," Taeyong said again, mind whirling for something, anything he could do for this kid. He almost hit himself when a particular solution came to mind. "Do you want to stay with a couple of my friends and I? It's not my dad's house so you wouldn't have to worry." 

"I don't...want to be a part of the mafia," Jaehyun said, the wind ruffling the tree branches helping to break the silence that had formed between them. 

"You wouldn't be." Taeyong was quick to reassure, wondering why he was becoming so softhearted in letting random kids into Johnny's basement. "There's another kid, his name is Jungwoo and he's not a part of the mafia. He's staying with us because he has no one else to go." 

Jaehyun hesitated at this, his eyes revealing that he was hopeful. Hopeful he could get away from his own father like Taeyong wished he could. Hopeful that he wouldn't have to be involved in any of those drug runs or any other illegal violence. 

"Just, maybe just for a little while. Just to get a-a break from it." Jaehyun looked nervous but relieved. Taeyong let out a sigh. He was happy that he could help this kid who had to endure the same pain as he did. 

"Then let's go, I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you," Taeyong reached his hand out and Jaehyun took it. The two began to walk back towards Jaehyun's new home, hands clasped tightly together and one of the shopping bags in their free hands. 

Taeyong's mind filled with worry now. Not just about Doyoung, he would just have to check in on the boy tomorrow, but about Jaehyun. About Jungwoo. About Johnny. He was beginning to have a cluster of people around him, something that he had never had. People who looked up to him for protection and for guidance and care. 

Taeyong was starting to become a leader, and his heart pounded against his chest with anxiety. 

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