Chapter Text
Taeyong sighed. “Yuta…” he spoke silently through the door. “Please come join us for dinner?”
There was no response from behind the the door, the door to Yuta and Mark’s room.
“You know he’s not going to come out,” Johnny scoffed. “Said he’s fine-what a bunch of bullshit.”
“Johnny…” Taeyong sighed again.
“I don’t care Taeyong. It’s been three years. He said he was going to move on. But he hasn’t-“ Johnny pointed towards the closed door. “-it’s more than obvious.”
“Can’t you just, I don’t know, pretend you’re at least upset Johnny?”
“Mark died, three years ago! You and Yuta still always sulk around about it, barely making any effort to move on! Look at your members Taeyong, everyone has moved passed it!”
Tears welled up in Taeyong’s eyes. “You can’t say that. Lucas and Ten, heck even Baekhyun Kai and Taemin hyungs are still upset.”
“Well I’m not. I’m so sick of this game. You and Yuta pretending everything is fine in front of the cameras, yet when we get home you’re all upset and refuse to talk to anyone. Get over it.”
“Stop sprouting that nonsense from your mouth, or I’ll stop it for you.”
Johnny and Taeyong looked towards the bedroom door. It had been shut tightly before, but now Yuta stood in its frame. He stood with his arms crossed, a lethal look on his face.
Taeyong forced a smile. “Yuta, I’m glad-“
“Keep sprouting nonsense?” Johnny pushed Taeyong behind him, completely concealing his body. “How could I be spouting nonsense when I’m speaking the truth?”
“Don’t you know how to feel sympathy? Or empathy?”
“What’s that-“
“He was-is-my boyfriend Johnny! And what about Taeyong? Him and Mark are like brothers! Taeyong practically raised him!”
“Haechan’s moved on.”
“Haechan’s moved on- of course he hasn’t! Are you dense Johnny? Don’t you notice his face when Mark’s raps come on? How he avoids anything that has to do with Mark?”
“Well-“
“Don’t act like you’re so high and mighty Johnny. A lot of people, no. Everybody but you is still in grieving.”
“Hey, stop arguing.”
Both Yuta and Johny turned to see Jaehyun, with a distraught Taeyong at his side.
“Stay out of it Jaehyun,” Johnny growled.
“Sure,” Jaehyun huffed. “And let your egotistical ass beret Yuta-hyung?”
“It’s not your business.”
“How is it not? All of us were enamored by Mark at one point.”
Whoever threw the first punch went unnoticed by Taeyong. All he knew at that moment—all he could do at that moment was well up with tears. ‘You’re stronger than this’ he thought to himself. He watched the three males fight, a mass of bodies moving around on another, shoving each other into one thing after another. The fight lasted only a few minutes more before Taeyong couldn’t take it anymore, and screamed for them to stop.
“Please,” he pleaded, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Please just stop. Mark would be so… so sad to see you fighting like this. The four of us know best that he wasn’t fond of violence.”
“I think… I think Mark is still alive.”
“…”
“…”
“…you what?”
Yuta sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. “I just… they never actually found his body, you know? Everyone on the plane survived, injuries severe and minor happened yeah, but nobody died.”
Taeyong smiled, then placed a hand on Yuta’s shoulder. “I think he’s alive too. Call it… an older brother’s intuition.”
“You are insane,” Johnny huffed. “What do you think, some sasaeng fan did it?”
Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “There was that fan! The one at the airport! She refused to leave Mark alone!”
Yuta and Taeyong shared a look.
“I’m calling our manager, Yuta and Jaehyun go pack your bags.”
“On it!”
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“Oh Mark, my Mark… I’ll never let you go. Not now, not when you awaken…”
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Twenty-four hours later, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Yuta found themselves in New York. The three were alone, their manager staying back to cover for the three males.
“Keep it on the down-low please,” Taeyong said. “We don’t need the others getting all riled up.”
“Yeah. And you keep your mouth shut too Johnny.”
“Let’s head to the police station first. They should still have records from the crash.”
Taeyong nodded his head. “That’s a good idea Jaehyun, maybe they can reopen the investigation.”
“Hopefully they will,” Yuta mused. “Especially since it’s a foreigner who went missing.”
“That is true, if they won’t do anything we can get the Korean-or even the Canadian government involved!”
Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that.”
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“You wan to reopen the case why?”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes. “Look, we know for a fact that his body wasn’t found. Add to that, there was a crazy stalker at the airport who wouldn’t leave him alone, and she was on the same flight as us I’m pretty sure.”
The detective looked around the room, then leaned in close. “So you think he was kidnapped?”
Yuta swallowed nervously. “Mark and I we’re… we were-“
“Significant others yes? It was written in the report.”
Yuta nodded his head. “Well, on the plane we were holding hands, and when we hit all that turbulence he practically latched onto me. I was semi-conscious at one point before we hit the ground, and I know for a fact Mark was practically on top of me.”
“Hold on a second.” The detective flipped the file open, looking through the photos. He stopped on a particular one, staring at what was depicted, and read the summary next to it. “When officers arrived on the scene, it had looked like you were involved in a struggle. You had multiple scratches on your arms and the back of your neck, and your clothes looked like they had been pulled on. On top of that, you had blunt-force-trauma to the back of your head, with a piece of debris with your blood on it in the empty seat behind you.”
“Why are you describing his injuries?” Taeyong asked, confusion evident.
“Because, not everyone on that plane was rendered unconscious. There were some people who didn’t pass out until just before or after officers had arrived on the scene. If Mark had been conscious, those scratches could have been from him.”
“She must have hit Yuta in the back of the head to fully knock him out!”
The detective nodded at Jaehyun’s statement. “Correct. And when she tried to drag Mark away, he latched onto Yuta to try and prevent it.” A smile placed itself on the officer’s face. “I’ll get a team together to gather some info. Why don’t the three of you rest for a bit?”
The three males nodded, thanked the officer, and headed to their hotel. Rest, was a much needed thing.
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“Yuta! Yuta are you okay?!” Mark wailed. He ran his hands over Yuta’s face, wiping sweat and small streaks of blood away. “Please wake up!” He didn’t notice the person behind Yuta, not until it was too late. Yuta’s head smashed into his, and more blood began to run down the Japanese male’s neck, covering Mark’s hands.
“Yuta!” Mark screamed, more and more tears pouring from his eyes.
He sat and cried for a moment more, unresponsive to the world around him. It wasn’t until he felt hands wrap around his ankles, and a harsh tug pulled him towards the ground. Mark struggled against the person’s hold, grabbing hold of Yuta’s neck, arms, clothes, and anything else he could to prevent himself from being dragged away.
In the end, it was fruitless.
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It took another two days before the three received any information. They didn’t care much about the quantity of the information, but rather the quality. On the way to the police department, they silently wondered in their heads what they would be told. Perhaps they found Mark’s DNA somewhere, maybe they found a link to the culprit, maybe, just maybe, they found the culprit.
“So,” Yuta cleared his throat. “What information do you have for us?”
The detective smiled, easing the tension in the room. “So we found out the pilot of that plane, crashed it on purpose.”
“What?” Jaehyun’s eyes were wide. “What do you mean, ‘he crashed it on purpose’? Was he trying to get people killed?”
“His goal wasn’t human lives. It was insurance money.”
“Insurance money?” Taeyong frowned. “What does that have to do with Mark?”
“It has a lot to do with Mark actually.” The detective stood from his seat, walking back and forth behind his desk. “The big question we need to ask is: how did he know to land there? It wasn’t by a stroke of luck at all, it couldn’t have been. Someone had to have given him direct coordinates to the field where they crashed.”
“If I remember correctly, it was pretty far away from any city or town right?”
“Correct. It took first-responders ten minutes to respond to the crash.”
“But that doesn’t explain the turbulence.”
“The turbulence was real, the pilot flew in and out of the jet stream, which is what caused the turbulence.”
“Oh.”
The room was silent, only filled with silent thoughts.
“I have one question though.”
The detective smiled at Yuta, urging him to speak.
“Why would they automatically declare Mark as dead when they couldn’t find his body anywhere? We crashed into a field, not the ocean. They should’ve found it, even if it was when the wreckage was cleaned up.”
Taeyong and Jaehyun shared a look. “Yuta’s right!” Jaehyun huffed. “Taeil-hyung was somehow thrown from the plane and they found him! And he was a good distance away!”
“Could it be possible,” Taeyong lowered his voice so only the three in the room could hear. “That there’s an officer in on this? Our kidnapper worked with the pilot to crash the plane, yes? Could it be a possibility that there’s a police officer or firefighter in on the plan too?”
The detective scratched his chin. “It’d have to have been a police officer…” his eyes widened, and he ushered the three males closer. “Go back to your hotel and stay on high alert. We’ve reopened the case, and that might send our duo into a panic. Who know’s what’ll happen. Especially to Yuta.”
“What?”
“Doesn’t that make sense?” The detective sighed when Jaehyun still had a confused look on his face. “Yuta and Mark are dating. They might come after Yuta specifically for that reason. Especially if Mark is holding out, and refusing their wishes. Yuta dies, Mark complies.”
“Or kills himself in the process.”
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“Miss, they’re onto us.”
The female’s body tensed. “What do you mean, ‘they’re onto us’? Did you not do your job well enough?”
“They’re too smart. Especially that Yuta. Not only did that pilot rat us out, but he figured out that a police officer is involved.”
The female sighed. “Fine, bring Yuta here.”
“What will we do with him?”
“Kill him.”
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Was it necessarily smart for Yuta to separate from Jaehyun and Taeyong? Not particularly. But he needed the space. He needed a moment to himself, a moment to breathe. He needed a moment to think about what was going to happen once the found Mark’s kidnapper. Needed a moment to think about what was going to happen when they get Mark back.
“Yuta?”
Yuta turned around to see a police officer, one from the department the detective works at. “Did he follow me all the way here? No, it could just be a coincidence. I am at the park after all.” Yuta shook his head and smiled, pushing the thoughts away. “What can I do for you, officer?”
The police officer smiled, showing his yellowed teeth. “The Detective asked me to find you. Said he’s got more information.”
“Oh?” Yuta smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Mind showing me?”
“‘Course. Just had back to the police car with me.”
Yuta obediently followed. On the outside, he looked perfectly fine. Yet on the inside, his brain was raging against him. He couldn’t tell if he could trust the police officer, especially knowing that one works with the kidnapper. But he decided to ignore the feeling, if not for getting more information on Mark.
After a couple minutes of walking, the reached the police car.
“There’s a file folder in the back, if you wanna take a look. I just need to make a call really quick.”
Yuta nodded his head and opened the door to the backseat. Like said, a file folder laid innocently on the gray seat. He opened it, only for anger to spread through his veins. In the folder, were pictures. Pictures of his Mark, laying innocently in a bed; a breathing mask over his nose and mouth, an IV stuck in his arm, and a heart monitor in the background.
“You-“
Before Yuta could turn around, before he could grab the police officer and beat him to a pulp, a blow was dealt to the back of his head. He fell forward into the car, barely registering his head hitting the seat before he blacked out.
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“It’s been a while since Yuta left, I’m worried.”
“Taeyong, love, I think-“
Jaehyun was cut off by a ringing phone. He picked it up, shocked to see the Detective’s number so soon. “Hello?”
“They’ve got Yuta.”
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Yuta groaned at the pain in the back of his head. It was a sense of deja vu, but at least the last time he woke up at a hospital; not on a cold, hard, cement floor. He looked around the room, eying the pictures on the walls. They were all of NCT, with hearts around Mark, and big x’s and gasses the the pictures of himself.
Yuta shuttered at the sight.
He continued looking around the room, finally catching sight of a bed. On the bed laid… Mark!
“Mark…” Yuta whispered into the damp air. “I’ve finally found you. I knew, I just knew you were alive. I-I know you’re sleeping, but at least you’re here with me.”
Slow chapter filled the room. “Well isn’t that touching.”
Yuta eyed the person who entered the room. It was the girl from the airport!
“Sorry he can’t respond… I take complete fault for that.” She smiled. “Yuta.”
“So you know my name,” he growled lightly. “What’s your’s?”
“Hannah.’
“Hannah? Finally I know the name of Mark’s kidnapper.”
“Kidnapper? I’m no kidnapper. I saved him.”
Yuta rolled his eyes. “Saved him? From who?”
“You.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You ruined his innocence! Mark is, and always will be the purest human.”
“Oh… so you’re mad because we’ve fucked? Newsflash, Hannah, he consented to it.”
Anger flashed in Hannah’s eyes. “It’s not just because you’ve fucked!” She took a breath. “He almost killed himself because of you, you know that?”
“Why?”
“I brought him here, I gave him everything he could want. A guitar, recording equipment, a notebook for his lyrics… but all he did was weep. Every night he cried and wailed because he wanted, he missed you! Three months, that’s how long it continued for. Three months and then finally, he stopped! He was calm, submissive… but then, then he betrayed my trust! Imagine my surprise when I walked into his room one day to see him, a rope around his neck, and a chair pushed out from underneath him! He still hasn’t woken up… not once.”
“It’s not me who ruined that purity, it was you. You who locked him away, thinking that giving him what he wanted would get him to do what you want!”
“No, no, no! It was you!”
The sudden feeling of arms around his neck startled Yuta, sending his head back towards the floor. It hit with a bang, and white danced across his eyes. But the dizziness didn’t stop him, the banging noises from upstairs didn’t stop him. He fought back as hard as he could, landing hit after hit on the females skin. He didn’t stop, not until he heard a quiet whisper.
“Don’t… fight…”
Yuta pushed the female to the floor as hard as he could, rushing over to Mark. He eyed Mark’s peaceful form for a moment, stopping his eyes on Mark’s half open ones.
“I don… I don’t like vi... violence.”
“Oh Mark,” he cupped Mark’s cheek, tears streaming freely down his face. “I know you don’t love. My Markie, my baby, he never likes watching people fight.”
A small smile worked its way on Mark’s face, a sight that had Yuta’s heart melting.
“Mark I-“
BANG
Yuta’s eyes widened. Pain spread through his abdomen like a wildfire, and when he brought his hand to the area, it became wet with crimson. His eyes locked with Mark’s as he fell tot he floor, barely able to hold himself up.
“If you’re the reason that Mark stays awake, then I’ll keep you too!” Hannah laughed manically.
“Yuta…”
“It’s okay baby…” Yuta gripped Mark’s hand in his own, squeezing it as tightly as he could with his remaining strength. “…we can go together if need be.”
A stray tear fell down Mark’s cheek, but he nodded.
“Hannah put your hands in the air! You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Mark Lee and Nakamoto Yuta!”
Hannah frowned before laughing again. “You want me? Noooooooo,” she lured. “You’ll have to take my dead body out.” She pointed the gun in her hand against her head, giggling as she moved towards Mark. “And I’ll be taking dear Markie with me.”
“No…” Tears streamed down Yuta’s face.
“Three, two, one!”
The sound of the gun going off stunned everyone in the room.
Hannah laughed even harder, the alarming beeps of the heart monitor accentuating her crazed state.
Yuta ignored the sound of Hannah’s laughter, ignored the sound of another gun firing, ignored the sound of Hannah’s body falling to the ground. The only thin on his mind was Mark, his Mark.
“Yuta I… I love you…”
Yuta watched Marks eyes slide closed, and did his best to whisper an ‘I love you’ back before black took over his vision again.
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Endless tears streamed down Taeyong’s face as he heard the news. Jaehyun wasn’t much better, only barely holding himself together.
“…but they’re both alive right?” Jaehyun asked.
The detective nodded his head. “They’re in the ICU but alive. You should be able to visit now.” He turned to leave, taking a few steps before turning back once more. “I made sure they were put in a room together. Should they… well, at least they’ll be together.”
Taeyong sobbed in relief. “How do we tell everyone?”
Jaehyun rubbed Taeyong’s back, trying his best to calm the male down. “I’ll call our manager. You call or text the hyungs. I’m sure they’ll be relieved.”
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It was surprisingly silent when Yuta’s eyes opened. Only the steady beeping of heart monitors filled the room, and the slow pumping of an oxygen tank. Yuta’s eyes wandered the room, before setting on a female in a white labcoat.
Sensing his eyes on her, she turned around. “Yuta?” She asked.
Yuta blinked.
She smiled softly. “You’re going to be okay. The bullet passed right through your diaphragm, so there wasn’t too much damage there. I did send you in for a cat-scan after we stitched your head and there’s only a minor concussion. Do you feel pain anywhere?”
Yuta lightly shook his head.
“Headache?”
A light nod.
“Okay,” the doctor wrote the note on her clipboard and looked at him again. “That might just be because of the light, so don’t worry too much.”
Yuta closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief. His eyes then found Mark’s sleeping form. “He-“
“Mark will be okay, he’s unconscious now, but I’m sure he’ll wake up soon.”
“Good.”
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It took almost two months for Yuta to fully heal. In that time, he’d hosted almost all of his bandmates in the small room. They all brought food for him, shared stories of what he’d been missing back in Korea, brought letters from fans, and overall positivity—he even received a much-needed apology from Johnny. His own parents visited at one point, and he couldn’t help but burst into tears of relief along with his parents.
Baekhyun, Kai, and Taemin all visited at one point as well. He knew it was more for Mark than him-as they knew Mark better-but he was still grateful.
It was when Mark’s parents visited that he really lost control over his emotions. He’d always been close with Mr and Mrs Lee, even more so after the sudden loss of Mark. So when they walked into he hospital room and laid eyes on their son’s sleeping form, he couldn’t help but burst into tears along with them. He felt their relief and they felt his-he was sure of it. They visited everyday for a week before returning back to Vancouver, wishing Yuta well, and said male promising to visit soon.
In that time, the police officer who helped Hannah was tried and convicted; he would never see the light of day again. He confessed to directing the pilot to the field where the plane had crashed. He admitted to using a piece of debris to render Yuta fully unconscious, and to dragging Mark out of the wreckage and to Hannah’s car where she took him to an abandoned farmhouse. The confession included how he falsely reported Mark as dead, and how he stole medical equipment from the hospital after Mark had tried suicide.
And Hannah… well, she received her sentence that day in the basement. No court trial needed.
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“Why is Yuta still staying at the hospital?”
“He refuses to leave Mark’s side.”
“And the doctors are letting him stay?”
“They think it’s better for him mentally. They’ve been seeing improvements in his mental and physical health. They also think Mark is improving faster now.”
“So it’’s good for the both of them then.”
“Yep, so Jaehyun, Shotaro and I will stay here until they’re ready to come home. To bring Yuta clothes and food and stuff.”
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Three months later, Mark finally woke up.
It was an agonizing period of time for Yuta. He sat in the hospital room every day, slept there every night just waiting for his love to awaken. He held his hand, kissed his forehead, massaged his tense muscles. He suffered through the random influxes and drops of his heart and oxygen… all for this.
All to hold Mark in his arms again.
“I love you Yuta…” Mark smiled. “Thank you for waiting so long for me.”
“Of course,” Yuta whispered back as he caressed Mark’s hair. “I love you so, so much.”
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“Welcome to our first concert after a long hiatus!” Taeyong yelled, a bright smile on his face. “Now, we have a big surprise for everyone here, and everyone in the world that’s watching!”
The audience became silent, everyone awaiting their surprise.
Taeyong giggled a little bit. “Yuta? Please bring our surprise out.”
Roars of applause and screams filled the stadium as Mark hobbled on the stage.
“Hi everyone!” Mark waved to everyone in the stadium, and towards the camera. “I’m sorry for scaring everyone these past four years, and I’m sorry that I can’t be at my best right now.”
Yuta smiled and ruffled Mark’s hair. “You being here and trying is more than enough love. I got you, I’ll be by your side this whole time. I’m never, ever leaving your side; you hear me?”
Mark giggled. “And I’ll never leave yours either.”
“I love you, so so very much.”
“I love you too Yuta.”