Indefinitely - Part 2
Genre: Dystopia!AU
Pairing: Jaebum x You (Female!Reader)
Warnings: Mentions of death, some emotional angst
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | Words: 3,000
It felt like you’d been driving for days.
Well, not you personally. You weren’t the one driving, Jaebum was. But it felt like he had been driving and you had been riding in the car for days. In reality, it had been about five hours.
And you had spent most of those five hours just staring out the window, trying not to think of the fact that your parents were most certainly dead by now.
But, hey. You could actually think the word ‘dead,’ so that was an improvement.
When Jaebum finally spoke, you jumped slightly from the sudden noise in the almost silent car.
“The gas light just came on,” he murmured, and you turned your head to look over at him. Your eyes shifted to the dashboard and, indeed. There was the yellow gas tank symbol all lit up.
“Good thing we’re in the suburbs,” you said with a soft chuckle.
Jaebum just nodded before he turned down the next street.
When he pulled up in front of a house, you raised your brows in slight confusion. “What are --”
“We’ll find an empty house for the night,” he interrupted. “Someone’s bound to have left one unlocked.”
So... you were going to break into someone’s house and stay there for the night? I mean, even if it was empty, it still felt wrong.
“Are you sure that’s a good --”
“Do you have any other ideas?” Jaebum asked quietly but sharply.
Well, he had you there. But before you could answer, he spoke again.
“Would you rather sleep outside? Or in the car?”
“No,” you replied without hesitating.
“Then, come on.”
Jaebum unbuckled his seatbelt, pocketed his keys, and headed out.
You scrambled to follow him, rushing up the closest walkway after him. While Jaebum tried the doorknob, you headed to one of the front-facing windows and peeked inside.
“This one’s locked,” he muttered as you moved around to try and see past the curtains.
“I don’t think I see anyone --”
“Let’s just try the next one.”
Honestly, it was much easier to just go along with whatever he said than to argue. He was already being unpleasant enough, and you had no desire to make it worse.
The two of you tried the house next door but with the same results. You weren’t sure why Jaebum just didn’t break a window or try to pick the lock, but again, you were in no hurry to make him even more annoyed with you than he already was.
Upon trying the door on the third house, it seemed the pattern was only going to continue. But when you curved your hands and set them on either side of your eyes to look into the window, you let out a startled shriek as soon as you looked inside.
Something was definitely moving -- a person was definitely moving in there, and they were coming toward the door.
“I saw someone!” you whisper-shouted, immediately scattering from the window and hurrying over toward Jaebum. You hadn’t looked long enough to see if it seemed like they wanted to kill you, but still. Seeing someone at all had been unexpected, and now your heart was racing.
“Come on,” Jaebum said under his breath, gripping your shoulder and starting to turn away from the door.
But then the door opened. The two of you paused, and you inhaled deeply without letting it out.
“Hey,” a half-friendly, half-cautious voice said. “Can I... help you?”
You slowly turned back around to face the stranger... and your heart calmed down almost instantly. You let out the breath you’d been holding.
The young man facing you certainly didn’t look like he wanted to kill you, and he wasn’t carrying a weapon of some sort. He just looked like an average guy. Dark, shaggy hair, just a little bit shorter than Jaebum with a broad, slightly athletic frame.
“Um, hi,” Jaebum answered.
“We -- sorry,” you breathed. “We were just looking for a place to stay for the night. We had no idea -- I’m so sorry. We -- we had to leave our homes, and we’ve been driving for hours, and we just ran out of gas.”
You motioned to the car behind you, and you were about to apologize for intruding but the guy spoke again.
“Oh, yeah,” he said with a soft smile. “Sure. Come on in.”
...Your eyebrows shot halfway up your forehead.
“Really?” you asked.
He nodded and opened the front door wider, stepping aside to let you in.
Jaebum was still gripping your shoulder, and he didn’t let go as the two of you cautiously stepped into the house. You figured he wanted to make sure this guy wouldn’t immediately murder you instead of leaving you here alone and going back to the car to get your backpacks.
Once you were fully in the house, you heard the door close behind you, and the guy said, “I’m Youngjae, by the way.”
You turned to face him, your lips pulling into a tiny smile. “Youngjae, nice to meet you. Thank you so much for letting us stay. I’m Y/N, this is Jaebum.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Youngjae nodded. And then he nodded toward Jaebum’s hand on your shoulder. “Are you two...?”
Jaebum immediately took two steps away from you, letting his hand fall with such force that you were actually offended.
“No, no --” both of you answered simultaneously.
“No, we’re -- we’re just neighbors,” you explained, hoping your cheeks weren’t as pink as they were warm.
“I’ll go get our stuff,” Jaebum muttered, and you nodded quickly.
It took him barely three seconds to get back outside, and since you didn’t want Youngjae to say anything about either of your awkward reactions to his very awkward assumption, you turned to him and said, “Can I make dinner? As a thank you?”
The sun had set not too long ago, and neither you nor Jaebum had eaten anything the entire drive. You hadn’t been particularly hungry, but now that you were a little more settled and had found a place to stay for the night, you realized your stomach had been empty for far too long.
“Yeah, sure,” Youngjae grinned, ushering you down the hall toward the kitchen. “There’s not much left, but you’re welcome to make whatever you can find.”
You murmured a ‘thanks’ and almost asked him out of instinct how long he’d been here on his own. You hadn’t heard anyone else, and he hadn’t mentioned another person living here, so you just assumed.
But you were still a bit too fragile to talk about your situation, so you would feel rude asking about his. Even if he didn’t ask you in return, maybe he was still emotional and would just rather not talk about it.
Youngjae gestured toward a door, and you moved to it, opening it to reveal a pantry.
Well, he hadn’t been lying when he said there wasn’t much left. The pantry was almost completely bare save for a few canned goods and some boxes of pasta.
When you stood on your toes to reach for some spaghetti, you heard the front door open again. Youngjae hurried down the hallway, presumably to help Jaebum carry in your things.
While Youngjae showed Jaebum into another room to set down your bags, you headed to the fridge with your box of spaghetti to see if there was anything at all to make a salad.
You rummaged through the drawers and shelves for about a minute, but nothing green was to be found. The freezer didn’t produce much better results, though you did find some frozen sandwich bread tucked away in the back. You highly doubted you would find any garlic, and there had been no butter in the fridge, but hey. Spaghetti with plain bread was better than spaghetti with no bread at all.
“Any luck?” Youngjae asked, appearing behind you.
“Pasta and bread,” you announced with a proud grin. “Not the healthiest, but eating food that’s not great for you is kind of the least of our worries right now.”
“True,” Youngjae chuckled. “Do you need some help?”
You shook your head, furrowing your brow slightly as you began to open cabinets to look for a pot. “No, you’re being gracious enough to let us stay. I don’t want to you lift a finger.”
Youngjae’s chuckle turned into a laugh, and he smiled fully at you. His bright grin was incredibly infectious, and for the first time today, a smile of your own appeared on your lips. A real, full-blown smile.
As bleak as your present -- and future -- looked, maybe things would actually be okay. Maybe you’d met Youngjae for a reason, and you could now take on the world together. You, Youngjae, and Jaebum. A team.
An interesting team, certainly, but a team nonetheless.
You’d just sat down at Youngjae’s kitchen table not even five minutes ago, and already, dinner was awkward.
None of you were talking save for the soft compliments from Youngjae after taking his first bite. Jaebum was eating quietly, not making eye contact with either of you. The only sounds were the clinks and scrapings of your forks against the plates.
You had just decided on eating as quickly as you could to get out of this incredibly uncomfortable situation, and a forkful of spaghetti was halfway to your mouth when finally -- though quite suddenly -- somebody broke the silence.
“Sorry,” Youngjae said, focused on his pasta as he spoke. “I’m usually a lot more talkative than this. I just -- It’s been a rough few weeks, and --”
“You don’t have to explain,” you interrupted, keeping your voice gentle.
Youngjae’s head whipped up, his brow furrowed as he shifted his gaze to lock on yours. “No, I want to. You can tell it’s just me here. My dad left us years ago, and I have no idea where he is. I don’t know if he’s even still alive. It was just me and my mom for so long... She was one of the last people to actually get to the hospital.”
You set your fork down and reached over, resting your hand on top of his arm and squeezing it reassuringly. “I’m so sorry, Youngjae.”
Even though you’d just met him less than an hour ago, you still felt like he was already your friend. Maybe it was the fact he was a survivor, too, and he’d lost the one he’d loved the most -- just like you.
Youngjae smiled sadly at you, and the two of you shared a look which made it obvious you knew what the other was going through.
“Have you tried finding your dad?” Jaebum asked. You almost jumped at the sound of his voice, to be quite honest.
“Of course,” Youngjae replied. “I’ve tried looking for any contact information my mom might have had. I looked in her phone, on her computer... Nothing. I have absolutely no clue where he could be.”
“Maybe we could help,” you suggested with raised, hopeful eyebrows.
“If he doesn’t have any contact information, it’s kind of pointless by now,” Jaebum pointed out.
You quickly shot him an irritated look and muttered his name through your teeth.
“What?” he retorted. “It’s true!”
“It is true,” Youngjae agreed, and you could tell he was trying to hide the note of disappointment in his voice.
You looked back to Youngjae, your expression and voice softening. “So... what are you going to do?”
Youngjae just shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
An idea suddenly popped into your head, and your conscience was screaming at you to talk to Jaebum about it first... but you ignored it.
“Would you... like to join us?” you asked hopefully.
You actively avoided looking at Jaebum, but out of the corner of your eye, you could tell he was not happy.
But Youngjae was. His eyebrows rose, and a bright smile lit up his face. It almost took your breath away.
“Really? You -- you wouldn’t mind?”
Before Jaebum could say anything, you answered him. “No, of course, not. We don’t know how many of us there are left, we might as well stick together.”
“What are you guys planning?” Youngjae asked eagerly.
...And then you finally looked at Jaebum.
His mouth was set in a grim line, and he was staring at his plate.
“We, uh...” you began.
Jaebum inhaled deeply, and you pressed your lips together to let him speak. “We were going to figure that out tonight, actually,” Jaebum muttered. “Now you can help us.”
His tone of voice, his body language -- everything about him right now made it very clear he wasn’t too happy about this new addition, so you caught his eye and smiled at him softly to let him know how thankful you were he’d agreed. He simply raised his eyebrows briefly and then continued eating.
The rest of dinner was much less awkward, and you and Youngjae actually carried on a pretty nice conversation. You talked about what you’d been doing before the epidemic started since talking about the future was just too daunting at the moment.
Once everyone had finished, you collected all of the plates and took them over to the sink to start doing the dishes.
“Here, let me help,” Youngjae offered, stepping up next to you and reaching for a sponge and some soap.
You handed him the first plate, and as he was scrubbing and rinsing it, he glanced at you and said, “Thank you for letting me join you. Even though it’s only been a few weeks, it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve felt... I don’t know. Hope. There probably isn’t any hope, but it feels like it. I’m just glad I’m not alone anymore.”
A small smile tugged at your lips, and you handed him another plate to wash.
“I’m glad you’re not alone anymore, too.”
You suddenly felt a presence at your back, and you heard Jaebum’s low voice right next to your ear. “Let me do that,” he murmured. “You cooked, I’ll clean.”
Your head jerked back slightly in surprise, and it took you a few seconds before you snapped out of your shock and stepped aside to let Jaebum take over. “Y--yeah, sure,” you stammered, handing him the last plate.
“Hey,” Youngjae said before you could leave the sink area. “There are some blankets and pillows in the upstairs closet if you want to start making up some beds in the living room.”
“Yeah, sure,” you replied.
As you headed out of the kitchen, you heard Jaebum start speaking softly to Youngjae. Obviously, you didn’t want to be nosy by stopping to listen... but, boy, were you curious. You were also afraid he might be uninviting Youngjae, so you would have to ask him later.
Once you got upstairs, it didn’t take you long to find the closet Youngjae mentioned, and you grabbed some blankets and a few pillows. By the time you got back downstairs with your armful of bedding, Jaebum and Youngjae were still talking quietly -- too quietly for you to be able to make anything out as you passed by, unfortunately.
When you entered the living room, you saw not only your and Jaebum’s backpacks but also a couch-bed already made up. Apparently, Youngjae had been sleeping here already... which made sense, really. If you were still back at home all by yourself, you probably wouldn’t feel like sleeping up in your bedroom all alone, your parent’s room just a few yards away. You’d never be able to get to sleep because you’d be thinking about them too much.
You set the blankets and pillows down on the floor, picking a blanket up and spreading it over the couch perpendicular to the one Youngjae was already using. You then grabbed a pillow and flung it on the end before noticing an armchair on the other side of the room.
It wouldn’t be the most comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on the floor.
You headed over there with the other blanket and pillow, and by the time you’d made up the third bed, both Youngjae and Jaebum were entering the living room.
“I usually sleep with a fire going in the fireplace,” he said, motioning toward the mantle. “I turned the heating off since I really only stay in these two rooms, and I don’t want to waste energy... which sounds dumb when you think about it, but -- yeah. I’ll just go get some more firewood outside.”
“Okay,” you grinned, standing up straight and sliding your hands into your back pockets.
Youngjae turned and opened the door leading out to the backyard, and once he was gone, you looked over at Jaebum.
“So... what were you two talking about?” you asked as casually as you could.
Unsurprisingly, Jaebum’s expression turned into one of irritation. “Nothing,” he replied, and then he busied himself by opening his backpack and rummaging around for who knows what.
You simply raised your eyebrows and plopped down into the armchair bed.
After a few moments, Jaebum picked up his backpack and headed over toward you. “I’ll sleep there,” he muttered, standing next to the chair and waiting for you to move.
“Are you sure? I can --”
“I’ll sleep there,” he repeated.
“Yep, got it,” you murmured. You stood up and let him take the spot because remember -- it really wasn’t worth it to argue with someone you were stuck with for the foreseeable future.
You then went to grab your own backpack, and by the time you’d set it on the couch where you’d be sleeping, Youngjae had returned with a few logs of firewood in his arms.
As he crouched down in front of the fireplace, Jaebum leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.
“Okay,” he said authoritatively. “Let’s make a plan.”
Part 3
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𝖇𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖋𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖎𝖊𝖘⁴
masterlist 🌌🖤
- 12 am on the roof of the bh building, jun and el looking over seoul, the city mirroring the night sky, the lights resembling constellations
- their sides pressed together, wrists dangling over the bar on the edge
- “sometimes i wonder if i made the right decision, becoming an idol,” el revealed to yeonjun. “i could’ve been anything else. why did i become an idol? starvation, exhaustion, and empty smiles... at the same time, i wonder how i got so lucky, becoming an idol. so much love and support, so many people assuring you that you’re doing a great job, even if you don’t think so. trainee life... sneaking out at 2 am to get ramen with your dormmates.”
- el looked over at yeonjun who was doing the same to you, remembering going to the ramen restaurant once a week. thank god it closed at 4 am, or those fun times would have ceased to have existed. the owner of the restaurant would ask if el and jun were dating, and their reactions would be the same disgusted but bright red faces. then not going to the restaurant the week before monthly evaluations to stay up and work out so the trainers wouldn’t get suspicious. bringing the other members along too and getting shipped wAYYY too much, both of them secretly enjoying the thought of people thinking that they would make a good couple. during snow days, they’d have snowball fights after eating to “burn off calories” ksndxbsb. + yeonjun inspiring el to write songs
- el knew jun were thinking of those same memories just by the way he was looking at her
- “i really like you, el”
- “i really like you, too, jun”
- tbh it didn’t come as a surprise. both had been telling the members of txt abt how perfect and amazing each other were. and who in the world would trust the members of txt to keep a secret snndbsh. ngl both el and jun had thought it was a joke at first, that such a dorky, talented, beautiful person would like them, until bin kyu tae and kai set up multi-step plans to make each other unintentionally confess their feelings
- it took them like 3 weeks to come up with some shit ass plan but at least it worked
- the reason why they still didn’t confess was cus they were just too shyuyhyyyy awww 😩
- but hey they finally confessed yay :))
- they had decided to keep it a secret (that they confessed) to mess with the members. and tbh they rly liked it when they were shipped sndbdbshwidk
- so jun and el started datinggg big happy
- except el was so busy and she couldn’t reveal to the public that she’s dating either...
- but they made it work :((
- jun and el would go to the ramen restaurant as regular dates
- the first time they showed up as a couple, the owner asked if they were dating (for the nth time, only cus he loved to see their expressions) they said yes :(( <3 and he just smiled and said “about time ;)”
- skdnvshshdkehdhdb
- so the membersss
- they would still ship them
- but even after about 3 months of dating, they still kept it a secret because they thought it would be best if no one knew (well, except for the ramen shop owner) because the more people that know, the larger chance of it spreading (even tho they kiNDa -lmao- trust the members)
- lol one day they had a movie night
- the members had planned to get el and jun to sit together
- but el was a tricky ass bitch who was playing the members lollll so they offered her the seat next to yeonjun and she was like oh no thxxx i’ll sit next to kai
- but they were so determinedddd and kai was like uH hey yEoNJun hyuNg c-can i switch seats w u? it’s kinda cOLD— (the ac was right above him) and ik u have better cold.. tolerance...
- el deadass stood up and got him a fUcking blanket skdnsbJSHSHSHAHA
- then taehyun (who was sitting in between el and jun) was like ‘hEy i’m hungry lemme just get sOme snaccs’
- when he came back, he sat on the oTHeR fxckING SIDE 💀💀
- and yknow there’s rly nothing else el and jun could do to tease the members so whatever they just sat closer together and the members were like 😤😉😀 fiNALLY
- when el went on her first showcase, yeonjun was sooo sad and he wouldn’t let go of her when she had to leave
- he stayed at her place the day before and he was literally the most miserable lil bean when they parted :((
- he even cried after she leftttt 😣😢 but shhhh
- the members could tell how sad he was and they were lowkey happy cus omggg he is oBseSSED WHY DONT THEY DATE ALREADY (hehe little do they know... 😏🤭)
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