The next morning came to be quite eventful. Still in each others arms, Soobin and Yeonjun woke up to screeching. Very loud, panicked screeching. Which in turn caused the oldest two to panic, quickly sitting up while still trying to process what was happening. It certainly wasn't the greatest way to wake up.
They looked over to the door, seeing Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Huening Kai all with shocked expressions on their faces. Turning red, Yeonjun and Soobin both tried to cover themselves up, having slept shirtless the night prior. Quickly they found their previously discarded shirts and put them on.
"What the hell did you two do last night?" Huening Kai walked into the room with great hesitation. Behind him Beomgyu had a hand over his mouth and Taehyun stared at the couple with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape.
"We didn't do anything, calm down." Yeonjun stood up, glancing over at Soobin briefly to make sure he is okay.
"Your-uh-your neck says differently." Taehyun pointed a finger around an area on his own neck, motioning to where a dark mark remains on Yeonjun's neck.
The oldests hand instinctively went up to cover the mark, trying to be inconspicuous by rubbing the discolored area but everyone knew what he was doing. Soobin felt shy, yet at the same time he felt confident from how much shyer the bluehead got. He didn't mean to leave a mark, but if it meant Yeonjun would react like this then he might consider doing it again.
"We seriously didn't do anything too serious." Yeonjun chuckled nervously, glancing around as he found it difficult to make eye contact with anyone.
Huening Kai faked throwing up, a look of disgust on his face as he fully processed what the oldest boys must have done. And they were just a room over too.
Taehyun leaned over to Beomgyu, putting a hand up to block his mouth from view of the others. "You know, I didn't take Soobin for a top."
"Ya!" Beomgyu smacked Taehyun's arm, red now spreading onto his own cheeks. "You can't just say stuff like that!"
Taehyun shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying you could take some notes."
"Taehyun! Stop!" Beomgyu covered his face in embarrassment, his whine gaining the attention of the others.
"Why did you guys come in here?" Soobin asked quietly, now a pout on his features. He stood up and moved to stand besides Yeonjun. He wrapped his arms around the shorters waist, resting his head on his shoulder.
"Oh, yeah." Huening Kai muttered, scratching his head. "Well we wanted to see if you guys were awake, cause it's unlike you guys to wake up so late. I mean we know why now....But I mean we also wanted to know what we were going to do for breakfast."
"Are you all hungry?" Yeonjun asked, finally removing his hand from his neck. Instead he dug through his backpack and pulled out a hoodie, pulling it over himself and hiding his neck perfectly.
Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai all answered at the same time, assuring that they were indeed hungry. Soobin responded soon after, also commenting that he was now hungry.
"Do we not have any food left?" Yeonjun proceeded to ask, confused because he could've sworn they had plenty of stolen food stockpiled.
"No we do." Taehyun answered, taking a step into the room to lean properly against the wall.
"We didn't know if we were doing anything else." Huening Kai further explained, looking between all of his friends. "Or if we were going back to how things were."
Those words felt like a shot to the heart. Yeonjun stood for just a moment, staring into oblivion. They've had so much fun these past couple of days, living like normal teenagers and young adults should. He didn't want to go back to how things were, being unsure of their survival and just barely getting by.
I don't know if I can handle living like that anymore. I don't want to live like this. But we can't live like normal people, not after all that's happened. It's impossible. God I've been doing fine until now. What's wrong with me?
"Yeonjunie?" Soobin poked the olders side, gaining his attention. "What's wrong?"
Yeonjun sniffled, reaching up to wipe his nose. He shrugged off the taller boy, shaking his head.
"Nothing, I just got lost in my thoughts." Yeonjun explained, seemingly fighting back tears. "I think we can go get something if you guys want to."
"We don't have to eat out." Taehyun reassured, sympathy written on his features. "We were just curious, that's all."
Yeonjun looked to the ground, closing his eyes tight for a couple of seconds. Stay strong. Stay strong. Stay strong....That's what I used to tell myself, right? He sighed, opening his eyes again. Tears beginning to stain his cheeks.
Before he could even speak he was taken into a tight hug. He pressed his head against Soobin's shoulder, his silent cries turned into painstaking sobs. The others soon joined, wrapping their arms around to form on big reassuringly tight hug. Tears brimmed most of their eyes. It hurt to see Yeonjun like this, and they don't even know why he's having a breakdown.
"Yeonjunie?" Soobin managed to move one of his hands up into the oldest hair, running his fingers through it softly. "We're here to listen to you. Remember what I told you? You don't need to go through whatever it is that's bothering you alone. We all care for you."
That only got the oldest to cry even harder. Huening Kai felt slightly guilty, his words seemed to trigger this in Yeonjun when he only meant it as a light comment.
"I—just..." Yeonjun trailed off, finding it difficult to put his emotions into words. He pushed the others off of him, allowing him space to breath. His head still hung low, a hand pressed against his face to hide his tears. "I've been so happy recently. So goddamn happy, I don't even know how to express it."
"Why are you crying then?" Soobin muttered, keeping a reassuring hand on Yeonjun despite the slight distance between them.
"I don't want to go back to how things were." Yeonjun answered, his voice low. Weak. He looks and sounds weak seemingly for the first time ever. "We shouldn't have to live our lives in fear, hoping to survive another day. We shouldn't have to hide every time we see the cops or hope our names don't show up in the news. I've lived in despair for the majority of my life. And now that I've had a taste at truly living, I don't want to truly go back to how things were. But I know that's just impossible. We're already too deep in this mess to get ourselves out of it."
A silence followed as everyone processed the words that Yeonjun said. They all feel the same way, just not to the extreme that Yeonjun is showing.
"There's not much further that we can run away to." Yeonjun mumbled, releasing a breathy laugh. "I don't even know why I still feel the need to run away. It's so tiring, constantly running from anything and everything. But I feel like that's all I have ever done, that's all I know how to do. I just...I don't know how much more I can go."
"Seriously?" Beomgyu spoke up, looking directly at the oldest. "Yeonjun. You are literally the fastest runner I know, the best runaway that I have ever seen. I don't mean to bring this up, but you are literally the only person my father has never been able to keep in prison. You always have a plan up your sleeve, your so daring it's scary, your confidence is on an entirely different level, and well you have us. We definitely didn't start on good terms, but I'll follow you anywhere, that's for sure. Whether you feel like you can run anymore or not, I want to be wherever it is you lead us to."
"I know I'm younger than you and everything, but I've really seen you grow so much since when we first met." Huening Kai was a little shy based on his body language, but he means everything he says. "I'm not going to lie, I didn't think my life would change so much after helping you out that day. And it's totally for the better. I was so lonely, and after you left I couldn't stop thinking about you. And when you came back I knew that my life wouldn't be boring ever again. I've seen the life grow inside you Yeonjun, and well I know it's mainly because of this guy." Huening Kai paused to point at Soobin. "But I want to also believe it's because you also finally have friends that care about you too."
"And you've saved my life Yeonjun. I mean you've saved all of us in a sense. We went from me helping you out at the store to you showing me that there's more than just the bad stuff in life." Taehyun proceeded to add, his eyes casting downwards as he spoke. "I wouldn't want anything to be different from how it is now. And not once do I regret anything that happened that got me to this point." He looked upwards, making direct eye contact. "Including stabbing my uncle. I feel accepted and happy, despite society hating us. And I know one of the reasons is because of you."
Soobin took a breath, taking Yeonjun into another tight hug. The oldest is crying even harder now after hearing the words from his friends.
"I've said it multiple times already." Soobin's voice was calm, his hand gently running though Yeonjun's hair again. "Saving you was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Because saving you meant saving myself too. We both wouldn't be here if it weren't for each other, and I know you know that just as well as I do. You've helped me feel better, like a human again. You're always so kind and caring towards me, being careful on when to touch me and making sure we never go into extremely crowded places. You helped me run from my parents, we've outran the cops, you've escaped being locked up, you found friends, healed your friends as well. All while dealing with your own trauma."
Soobin brought Yeonjun's head up gently, looking into his tear-filled eyes. "You are the strongest person I know. That's why I love you so much. Because despite everything that's become of your life, you still somehow care for others. You still ensure that everyone else can eat and stay warm. You make sure that we are mentally and physically fine when you might not even be yourself." He paused briefly to wipe away the tears that continued to fall from Yeonjun's eyes. "I don't want to go back to how things were either, because then I wouldn't have this amazing version of you that continues to grow and get stronger each and every day. I've seen your eyes sparkle when they were always so dull, I've heard your laugh that you rarely let out. Sure, we've had a taste at a normal life, but none of us were ever normal Yeonjunie. We don't deserve to live a normal life with what happened to us. But we can live our lives without the confining rules of society."
"You guys..." Yeonjun sniffled, finding it difficult to breathe through his nose.
Soobin shushed him gently, pushing his head against his shoulder. "You don't have to say anything right now. It's okay."
About a month later the boys found themselves at the seashore. Soobin had everything planned out, allowing Yeonjun more time to heal and not worry. They moved from place to place, exploring the county while living to the best of their abilities.
Soobin watched as Yeonjun dragged his feet through the sand. A small smile planted on both of their lips. Huening Kai, Taehyun, and Beomgyu all charged for the ocean, splashing around in the water. Taehyun a week prior had torn off his cast, finding it silly that he still wore it despite his arm feeling fine. The freedom of being able to play in the water was amazing.
They all helped each other, no secrets being kept behind closed doors. Yeonjun completely opened up about his life, explaining in detail the things that happened to him and truly how much being with these four dorks have helped him.
"What are you thinking about?" Soobin approached Yeonjun, wrapping his hand around the shorters waist.
"About how happy I am." Yeonjun spoke softly, looking up from the sand and his bare feet to meet his lovers gaze. "Thank you for figuring this out Soobinie."
"Of course, I'm happy that your happy." Soobin smiled in return, nuzzling closer.
The two sat down in the sand, watching the three play around in the water with no signs of stopping. The sun was perhaps a few hours from setting when they sat down in the sand besides Yeonjun and Soobin, calming that the water was getting extremely cold.
By the time the youngest three changed and got settled Soobin started a fire in a previously set up firepit. It was nice, watching the flame dance around and feel it's provided warmth while listening to the sound of the crashing waves. Something that Yeonjun had dreamed about for a long time but never truly expressed until recently.
He looked up at the stars finally being able to see the sky in full view and not being obstructed by trees. he could truly admire the beauty of the world.
While it was peaceful now they were all nervous for an upcoming event. Somehow, a private journalist by the name of Kim Namjoon found them. He wanted to write about their story, from brief interaction he seemed to be entirely on the boy's side.
The journalist was willing to help them, tell their story the way they want it to be told. He even explained how he has a friend, Kim Seokjin, who's a lawyer that's also willing to help them. The five agreed after further discussion, thinking that doing this would be for the better.
It turns out that the majority of case files against Choi Yeonjun are made of up lies. Since middle school Yeonjun has been calling for help, trying to escape a mentally and physically abusive household. He was a runaway, but he never once did any harm towards anyone. The cops who would chase him merely returned him home as per his parents wishes, they never looked any further into his case. As a missing person, Choi Yeonjun has been the inspiration for many young children who are in similar situations as him.
The police use an illegal device in the disguise as a metal bracelet to track any child whose parents request be tracked. The police has never looked into as to why the parents want to track their children, merely handing out these illegal devices that inflict pain in the form of an electric shock if one attempts to remove the device. Though there is one proven way to get the device off of a child, and that is to burn it with a flame.
Getting back to the central idea through, Choi Yeonjun has admitted to stealing, as with his companions Choi Soobin, Kang Taehyun, Choi Beomgyu, and Huening Kai. Though Choi Yeonjun never killed, nor kidnapped anyone. He saved Choi Soobin from his own abusive household that the police chose to ignore. Later down the line he saved Choi Beomgyu from his own father, the head policeman now serving his time behind bars. And Kang Taehyun, who was abused by his uncle for years and calls for help went unnoticed.
Kang Taehyun has admitted to stabbing his uncle, though it was in a form of self defense. Already having gone to court, he was proven innocent for the crime as evidence has proven that if Taehyun hadn't acted the way he did Choi Yeonjun would have evidently passed. And not to get into speculations, but Kang Taehyun and Choi Beomgyu possibly would have died that day as well.
The name Choi Beomgyu might be familiar to some, the son of the head police unit in the local area. He admitted to watching his father not take his job entirely seriously, and not helping those that need it. Being the eldest son to the family, the former policeman also forced his ways onto Beomgyu. It was when Choi Yeonjun was taken into custody that Choi Beomgyu changed his ways and helped the elder escape.
Huening Kai, a kid back from the dead and one of the largest thief's in the area was also proven innocent for his crimes. There were many instances where Huening Kai had asked permission for items, or stole products that were expired and not meant to be sold to begin with. Never once was he violent and admitted to running from the cops purely from fear.
Choi Soobin as stated was from an abusive household. He explained how one day he was going to a local parking garage intending to kill himself when he found Choi Yeonjun just about to do the same thing. Their story is quite lengthy to be explained here, but it is one that should be listened to. But it is important to add that both the parents of Choi Soobin and Choi Yeonjun are serving their own respective time in prison for the harm they did to their children.
A bystander by the name of Park Jimin accounted for not only Choi Soobin's story, but also Huening Kai and Choi Yeonjun's. Another bystander by the name of Kim Seungmin spoke on behalf of Kang Taehyun, and partially for Choi Beomgyu. We have heard some intel about another witness to the five boys by the name of Lee Heeseung who explained his own story and how Choi Yeonjun was an inspiration to change his path of life.
All five of these boys are able to walk free today. The crimes they admitted to doing being proven as innocent, and the lies being proven false as we uncover more information. Each of them have been provided a safe place to stay, along with help for their mental and physical health. As more is uncovered about their story, it is important to ask yourself if the path you are walking on is truly the right one for you. If you need help, do not be afraid to reach out to someone, even a complete stranger. Because even if you don't realize it, you could be saving a life.
The boys were gathered, reading the news article in silence. It has been a long couple of months undergoing trials and having media outlets wanting to hear their story.
But they've stayed strong being together. That's all that mattered. Sure they told their story and justice was served, but no one truly needed that to happen.
They've been staying in their hometown for the time being. Soobin, Yeonjun, and Huening Kai briefly reunited with Jimin. While Taehyun and Beomgyu found Seungmin to talk to for just a couple of hours.
But just as fast as they returned to their hometown, they left again with no note or anything. It was like they were never there to begin with. Their story was told, and their names were cleared. If it'll help other people then great, but it got terrible people in jail where they belong. Their nightmares and monsters that haunted them for their entire lives now have absolutely zero chance of haunting them again. A chapter of their life ended just like that.
Running is something that Yeonjun was always good at. It was the only thing that kept him sane. Sure he played games with himself to keep himself entertained, but he realized that there was more to life than just his stupid, reckless games. He found the love of his life that he didn't even know would be waiting for him. He found genuine friends that never intended to hurt him in any way, sure there were a few hiccups along the way, but it only slowed him for a brief moment.
Being trapped in a world that he didn't want to be in to now being in a world that he created for himself filled with love and happiness. From an emotionless vessel to a living human with feeling. That's how Yeonjun would describe his own story.
"What are you thinking about?" Soobin sat down besides Yeonjun in an open grassy field. A little bit away was the younger three exploring an abandoned building that they found.
"Everything." Yeonjun answered, looking over with a sad smile. "From where I began to now. It doesn't feel real sometimes."
"I know." Soobin muttered, putting an arm over Yeonjun and nuzzling close. "You know I don't feel tingly at all when I touch you anymore?"
"I didn't know that." Yeonjun smiled, his voice filled with glee. He put his hand around Soobin's waist, then rested his head on the tallers shoulder.
"Seriously though Yeonjun, you've been thinking a lot recently. It kind of concerns me sometimes." Soobin's tone changed, even the way he held onto Yeonjun changed.
"I'm sorry." Yeonjun responded, hugging the younger tighter. "I just get so lost in my thoughts sometimes. I try not to, but my life right now...it just doesn't feel real."
"It is real, I hope you realize that." Soobin nudged the older playfully though he is dead serious. "Don't have those kind of thoughts now. We've come so far."
"They aren't those kinds of thoughts. Trust me." Yeonjun sighed sitting upright to look straight into Soobin's eyes. "Just reflecting about what's happened. How we're truly free now. I feel so lightweight, none of the chains from the past holding me down. It's just amazing, but at the same time it's making me reflect on my life until now."
Soobin sighed then. "Do you want to know something?"
"What?" Yeonjun responded, not moving as Soobin stared leaning in. Their faces getting closer and closer by the second.
"You are not allowed to ever take away my prescription of you." Soobin's words kind of sounded dorky, but they both knew the intimacy behind them. "I'm too addicted to ever let you go."
Yeonjun initiated the kiss, just a quick little peck was all he did.
"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you Soobinie." Yeonjun embraced the taller into another hug. "But whatever it was I'm thankful for it. Because without you I wouldn't have figured out I could love someone. That I can be loved. You are literally the most important thing in my life, and I will never leave you. I love you too much to ever let you go."
"You know? I think we fixed ourselves pretty well for thinking we were broken forever." Soobin recalled some of their first conversations as he spoke. "Thank you Yeonjunie. For everything."
"Thank you too, for helping me as well." Yeonjun responded, pressing his head against Soobin's firmly. "Thank you for teaching me how to love."
Even with their trauma, no one would have done anything differently if given the chance to go back in time. Taehyun and Beomgyu are both fully comfortable around each other and have seemingly put the past behind them, recovering from all their mental and physical trauma collected. And Huening Kai is also in a lot better spirits having finally found people that make him feel wanted. They may not be perfect, but no one truly is. All that matters is that they have each other and are content with where they are.
Yeonjun knew deep down that the first second he saw Soobin, he loved him. There was no doubt in his mind. He wouldn't want to be in a world where Soobin didn't exist. And the feeling is very mutual. Soobin knew that first moment he saw Yeonjun on that railing that he would never leave his side. They are truly meant for one another, and nothing can keep them apart.
The oldest leaned forward to kiss Soobin once more, being just as gentle as before. "And thank you for using me like a drug to help you feel better."
~~~~~
A/N: So that's it! You've reached the end of Use Me Like a Drug!
Thank you readers so much for reading through this story, it truly means a lot to me. This story may not be perfect, and my motivation may have lacked in places/times to get this story written, but knowing there was people out there still wanting to read this story pushed me to keep writing.
Now even though we have reached the official ending to this story, there may still be a bit more to uncover. There will be a character Q&A where you as a reader may ask the characters any questions you may have. Below is each of the members names where you could as a question, as well as an Other section. In the Other section you may ask any other character a question, but please specify their name as well as your question. Also know that there are no stupid or silly questions, so feel free to ask anything. I do ask that the questions remain orientated around the plot of the story, though you are free to ask about a characters past or future if you wish. There is no limit on the number of questions per user nor the number of questions to a character, though I ask that you pay attention to other readers questions so there are no repeats.
Please have fun with this! This is my way of thanking you and congratulating you for reading through my entire story! I will also be taking questions as well if you want to ask me anything relating to my writing process or the story as a whole. Thank you again so much for supporting this story, it means a lot more to me than you may realize.
Yeonjun
Soobin
Beomgyu
Taehyun
Huening Kai
Other