Chapter 10
For a while, it worked. They stayed hidden in Jun's home with very little contact to the others except Ghislain phoning Yuzuru's number on an old Nokia he'd kept for emergencies. Jun's mother, whose face had been kept out of the media as much as possible, did shopping and got them everything they needed. Yuzuru could almost ignore the sobbing coming from the room next to him in the middle of the night. He sat up at night just holding his guitar by the open window, enjoying the cool breeze of the winter air as it moved his hair and kept him feeling somewhat grounded. The weight of his acoustic in his lap felt right, but everything else felt wrong. He hadn't been able to contact his family or Keiji. He'd only been able to call Javier once and he hadn't been able to tell him very much. He could only tell him that they were safe, but he didn't want to tell him where they were in case someone was tracking their conversation. Yuzuru wanted to tell him that they couldn't, but just having Javier back and taking to him again as enough to put him a little more at ease in the terrible situation they were stuck in.
"When this is over," Javier told him a fortnight after he'd first hidden in Jun's house during their weakly phone call, "I'll take you for tea at your favourite green tea and I can have my coffee. I promise, we can go together and I'll get you tea and your favourite strawberry shortcake."
Yuzuru chuckled, laugh a little shaky, but he smiled and nodded even though Javier couldn't see him and even with tears in his eyes. "If you're paying, I'll order three slices of the cake. All for me."
"I look forward to it Yuzu." The laughter in Javier's tone made his heart flutter before he sighed. "Yuzu?"
"Yes?"
There was a long moment of silence before he spoke again.
"You mean more to me every single day, Yuzu." Javier told him and his voice felt like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer. "No one makes me feel the way you do. Stay safe and I'll be there as soon as I can to help you."
"You stay safe too. I appreciate all you're doing for me Javi."
"It's my job," Yuzuru's smile died when he said those words. "Talk to you later."
Yuzuru listened to the tone after Javier had hung up and he chewed on his lip, holding the phone still clamped to his ear.
"I love you," he whispered to no one. "I love you so much Javi."
"Yuzu?" Jun knocked on the door and pushed it open gently. With his skin paler than ever and hollowed cheeks, the dark circles under his eyes stood out more than ever. A healthy slim figure had turned to a gaunt figure that even oversized hoodies couldn't hide. He casually leaned against the wall of the room, and Yuzuru gave him the softest smile he could. "My mum's made some food if you're hungry."
"Thanks Jun." He reached out and caught the other's wrist before he could go. He grimaced at the feel of it. It was like someone had drawn paper across the bones. He could easily wrap his hand around it, and he probably could have snapped the younger's wrist if he'd tried. "Jun? Are you going to join us for dinner tonight, or are you going to leave me alone with your scary, scary mother again?"
Jun gave him a weak smile and shook his head, chewing his lip. "I can't--"
"Pretty please?"
Jun sighed and nodded. His mother loaded their plates up with food and lit up at the sight of her son giving her a smile again.
"I miss you," she told him quietly. "I just want my smiling young man to come back. Fame be damned. Your happiness means more to me than whatever following this will bring you."
"I'm perfectly happy," Jun gave her a big fake smile and fell into a hug in her arms. "You don't ever have to worry about me."
When she hugged him, she could feel his protruding hipbones. She could feel his ribs. She felt like she was hugging a skeleton rather than her son.
"Jun, I think you should--"
"I don't need to go to the doctor. They said I was fine. I took the pills they told me to. I did what they asked. I'm fine."
She only ended the conversation because Yuzuru walked in too and joined them for dinner. He watched, heart shattering as he saw the younger moving the food around on the plate to give the illusion of eating. Jun's mother apparently saw it too and gently encouraged him to eat a little more.
"Hey, Jun? Do you want to play something new that you've been working on for me? You know I always love to hear your music."
"Just give me a minute please," Jun gave her a smile and disappeared to the bathroom. She met Yuzuru's eyes and she shook her head in despair.
"I feel like the worst mother in the world," she confessed as she set their dishes to the side and started making them warm drinks. "When you can't even help your baby to feel better, what kind of mother are you? When you know he's suffering with so much, but he won't tell you how to help, what am I meant to do? I want to reach out and take him out of the hell he's ended up in, but I can't."
"It's my fault this is all going on," Yuzuru told her with painful regret in his voice. "It's all my fault. The details, they wouldn't have released the information about your homes if it wasn't for me."
"He loves music," she told him gentle and patted his arm. "Don't worry yourself. It's not your fault but it's the fault of how our music system works. It uses them. Sucks them dry of talent and then they discard them when they're no longer the youngest or most talented." She slid Yuzuru a mug of tea and rubbed at her forehead. "I'm grateful he's doing what he loves, but I hate what has become of how. He deserves to be able to pursue his passion how he wants. He should be able to practice when he wants and deliver concerts to whichever parts of the world he sees fit to, not become a slave to the company. I'm sorry I ever said yes to this."
"It's not your fault," Yuzuru patted her arm. He opened his mouth to continue speaking but Jun came back downstairs and the three of them all plastered on smiles for each other. "So! What's this new thing, huh?"
In the corner of the room was a little upright piano. Vastly different to the grands that Jun used to record his songs or had in his videos, it instead felt homely and more personal. Yuzuru and Jun's mother settled on the sofa and listened as Jun sat down, giving them a nervous smile.
"This is called Every day, Every Moment. Eomma: modeun nal, modeun sungan. Um... I hope you like it?"
With none of the makeup, with none of the synthetic beats, with no flashy clothes, with no dramatic effects, with nothing but his piano and voice, Jun performed for his arena of two. Jun's mother's eyes filled with tears as she listened, understanding every word of the Korean lyrics. Yuzuru, although he didn't understand what was being said, could feel in the music and from how Jun performed it what it meant. As Jun sang, his heart ached painfully for his other part and his thoughts drifted to Javier. When the song ended, they both went to applaud him when Jun started to fall backwards and Yuzuru just made it in time to catch him.
"Jun? Jun! Jun, can you hear me?" He held the younger's shoulders and shook him lightly. "Jun please!"
"Ambulance is on its way," his mother knelt down beside them and checked her son's pulse and breathing. "He's unconscious and I need to know why."
"Mrs Cha," Yuzuru looked at her with genuine concern in his eyes, "please. Let me go with him instead to the hospital. It's getting crazy out there and I don't want to risk you getting hurt by the media personnel or anything."
"He's my son."
"Mrs Cha, please, I promise you I'll look after him. I don't want you to get home too because he needs someone to come back to when he can come back."
She held out her phone to him unlocked and he entered his number, typing his contact in for her. She sent him a message so that he could add her to his phone too.
"You will update me the moment you know something. You will let me know as soon as something happens. You will tell me, okay? And you will not sugar coat it. You will tell me exactly what is going on. Please."
"Of course." Yuzuru bowed his head to her and held onto Jun, checking he could breathe and he still had a pulse. "I'm so worried for him."
"Me too."
The ambulance arrived and, with it, came a group of journalists and reporters. Yuzuru let the paramedics in and slammed the door in the face of the hundreds of questions that came his way.
"Severely underweight. If I had to guess, maybe a hundred pounds?" One of them said with a grimace. "Breathing looks and sounds okay but I really don't like this. We'll hook him up to monitors on the way in and get an IV with nutrients ready for him when he arrives. Alert Doctor Kim." The pair of medics looked between Yuzuru and Jun's mother. "Which of you is coming with us?"
"He is," Jun's mother shoved Yuzuru forwards and patted him on the back. "Please. Help him recover."
"It's our job ma'am. Don't worry. We will do everything we can. Come on. I can lift the kid out to the ambulance since he's so light. We don't need a stretcher."
The moment the paramedics opened the door, cameras were flashing as they caught pictures of the Korean star unconscious. They closed in to the point where the paramedic was struggling to even move, let alone effectively do their job, no matter how polite they tried to remain. Yuzuru's frustration bubbled up and he shoved his way through the crowd.
"Move out of his way. He's a paramedic carrying someone unconscious and you're blocking him? What kind of monsters are you? Move!"
"Mr Hanyu! What do you have to say about the cancelled tour back in 2014?"
"Mr Hanyu! Can you confirm that your tour cancelled because you drank glue?"
"Was it a suicide or murder attempt Mr Hanyu?"
"Mr Hanyu! Will you resume your world tour?"
"Mr Hanyu, are you afraid, and is that why you cancelled your tour?"
"What are you afraid of Mr Hanyu?"
"I told you to move!" Yuzuru's patience snapped and he shoved back the journalist who was blocking the ambulance. They stumbled back and fell over. They landed unharmed but, being a dramatic journalist, they began screaming.
"Hanyu Yuzuru brutally assaulted an innocent journalist!" Another screeched as Jun was loaded up into the back of the ambulance. "Mr Hanyu! What do you have to say about being such a violent man? Were you violent before you started writing this music, or did this music cause you to become so violent?"
Consequences be damned, Yuzuru shot them his murderous death glare as he climbed into the back of the ambulance and the doors were slammed shut behind him.
"You guys need anything?" Evgenia asked Jason and Shoma as she buttoned up her coat and looped the scarf around her neck. "I'm going to go to the club, and I could pick you something up on the way back if you want."
"We're good," Jason gave her a smile. "Thanks for helping us find this place to stay while the media..."
"Has a shit storm," Evgenia chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I'm glad that at least Conrad and I can record this one together so that he can finish his album off. I love it when you call me Senorita~"
"Yes, we've only heard it six thousand times." Shoma grumbled
"Shut it. Don't eat all my snacks Shoma!"
"Sure sure, whatever you say," Shoma mumbled, walking around with sweatpants on and intense curly bedhead. "Have fun."
"I will. Bye boys! Don't open the door to strangers!" She waved to them and disappeared into the cold wind of the Toronto winter.
Left alone, Jason gave Shoma a smile.
"Tea?"
"Please."
Stealing one of Evgenia's Sailor Moon mugs and a bunny mug of hers, Jason made some mugs of tea for them. With a smile, they settled on the sofa together and Shoma leaned his head on Jason's shoulder without even thinking. Jason blindly reached for the television remote and turned it on, freezing.
"Korean pop sensation Jun Hwan Cha was carried from a house in Toronto to an ambulance last night. Japanese rock artist and world sensation Yuzuru Hanyu accompanied him and pushed a journalist out of the way when they were blocking the ambulance. Nothing has been heard from either of them yet, and we are awaiting any statements."
"Shit," Shoma grimaced, "Yuzu pushed a guy out of the way to help the kid and he's probably going to end up charged for assault because of it?"
"Not with the testimony of the paramedics he won't," Jason explained. "I just feel bad for Jun. Poor kid has been going through hell and this is the cherry on top of the worst year of his life."
"I guess we just never know when someone is going to get hurt in this ridiculous industry." Shoma sighed and his tired brain had no filter. "If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do. You mean so much to me, Jason."
Jason froze before he caught himself and stroked Shoma's hair out of his eyes. He pressed a kiss to his forehead and Shoma looked up at him with questioning eyes.
"You mean the world to me."
"You mean the world to me too." Shoma ran his hands up and tangled his fingers in Jason's curls. "Kiss me?"
He laughed and nodded, cupping Shoma's cheeks as he pulled him into a kiss on the couch.