Archive of Our Own

Minho was downstairs, in one of the lower levels, surrounded by tall, metal shelves loaded with dusty files, when it happened. 

It was so silent down there; so silent and dark and empty. Nothing but a maze of tall shelves and sparse lights dangling from the ceiling. Some of the lights were out completely, plunging aisles into total darkness. Of course there were no windows, either, so it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. Not to mention how it was one level above the basement, where the boiler room was, or how no one ever really came down here. Completely deserted, completely silent, completely isolated, where no one could hear you scream if—

“Hey, Minho!”

Minho nearly jumped out of his skin as he let out a yell in alarm and dropped the file he was holding. It hit the floor, spilling its contents across the aisle. Some of the pages even went under the shelf, too, much to Minho’s annoyance. 

“Oh shit!” Hwang Hyunjin stood at the other end of the aisle, directly under one of the few dangling lights. He rushed forward to help Minho pick up the spilled file. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“It’s fine, I just didn’t expect to see anyone else down here,” Minho said, crouching down. He grimaced as he reached under the shelf for the papers that slipped under there. He shuddered at the feeling of dust bunnies and potentially dead bugs before snatching his hand back out, gripping the paper so hard he left indents in it. 

Hyunjin was much quicker than him, already having most of the spilled papers gathered up into his arms. He could barely meet Minho’s eye as he handed the papers back. 

“I’m really sorry,” Hyunjin said. 

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Minho said. He put all the papers back into the file. “No harm done.” He gave Hyunjin a gentle smile. 

Hyunjin was a new hire, and despite entering into the lowest position, he was also extremely inexperienced. Minho was assigned as his supervisor, to train him and help him adjust to the company, which led to Hyunjin following him practically everywhere and asking him constant questions. Of course Minho answered all Hyunjin’s questions the best he could, and only snapped at Hyunjin once or twice, but babysitting the newbie meant it took twice as long to get his own work done. By the end of the day, Minho was usually exhausted and frustrated. He wanted nothing more than to go home and be by himself, away from all the constant chatter and nagging questions. 

Which was why he didn’t tell Hyunjin where he was going a few minutes ago, so he could get some time to himself as he looked for some old records that he needed for a report. And yet Hyunjin found him anyways. Minho wondered if Hyunjin had scanned every single floor in search of him. 

“Did you need something?” Minho asked Hyunjin.

“Oh, um. No, but, uh—” Hyunjin was fidgeting, and Minho was struggling to be patient. 

“I’m almost done down here,” Minho said when Hyunjin couldn’t find the words. “I’ll be back upstairs in a few minutes, so why don’t you just meet me up there?”

“Oh.” Hyunjin’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, sure, I could do that.”

“Great.” Minho stood up and went back to looking for the file he needed. 

And yet Hyunjin still lingered. Minho glanced at him out of the corner of his eye; Hyunjin looked like he was debating something in his head. 

Finally, Hyunjin blurted, “I was just wondering if—if you’d maybe—um—like to go out sometime?”

Minho’s eyebrows shot upwards as Hyunjin turned bright red. 

“Um—” Minho began. 

“Not right now,” Hyunjin rushed on. “We could go sometime in the future? Or—we could go right now, since it’s lunchtime. The other guys just left for lunch, actually, and to be honest that was the real reason why I came down here, because they were wondering if you wanted to join them, but then I—”

He was rambling, and Minho was rubbing his eyes, because he was too exhausted for this. 

“Hyunjin,” he interrupted, and Hyunjin immediately shut up. “I’m honored, really, but—”

“Oh, no,” Hyunjin said, shrinking into himself. “That was a stupid thing to ask. God, I’m so sorry. I just completely ruined our working relationship, didn’t I? Oh, god, now it’s going to be so awkward—”

“It’s not that,” Minho said. “I’m just not really…dating right now.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

An awkward silence followed, filled only with the buzzing of the lightbulb directly overhead. Minho watched Hyunjin’s expression closely, before he added, “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, no, it’s fine.” Hyunjin managed a weak smile, but it faded quickly as he looked away. “I get it. I’m not really into dating right now either, but I was just hoping…” He shook his head. “Never mind. It was stupid of me.”

“It wasn’t stupid,” Minho said softly.

Hyunjin shook his head, still avoiding Minho’s gaze. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.” He finally vaguely gestured towards the end of the aisle. “I’ll, um…I’ll just—yeah.” Then he turned and walked away, his shoulders hunched. 

Minho sighed, guilt gripping his heart. He stared down at the file in his hand. It wasn’t even the one he was looking for. It would probably take him another ten minutes of searching to get the right one. 

Ten minutes seemed too long, all of a sudden. 

Minho shoved the file back into its drawer, then hurried to the center aisle leading to the door at the other end of the massive room.

“Wait, Hyunjin—” he started to say.

Everything happened so quickly. Minho barely processed the distant rumbling and the sound of car alarms going off outside before the shelves started shaking, moving back and forth so violently that the drawers holding the files began to slide open. A moment later, the first shelf fell over, colliding with the one next to it, and soon all the shelves were falling in a domino effect. 

Minho suddenly had the vaguest sense that running might be a good idea. 

So he did run. He ran down the main aisle, heading for the doors that led to the stairwell. He didn’t get very far. Because right then, there was a deafening crack, like the very foundations of the building just split. And then the roof caved in. 

Minho threw his arms over his head as the floor rippled, tripping him. He hit the ground as dust and debris from the ceiling fell around him. He curled into himself, trying to protect vital organs, but he wasn’t fast enough. A chunk of debris—he wasn’t sure what it was made out of—hit him in the side of the head. 

At first, he thought he got lucky. He was still conscious when the shaking and rumbling stopped, so he lowered his arms from his head and started to push himself up. 

He saw the rubble lying around him, heard someone screaming, but then his vision warped and darkened on the edges, and the screams sounded like he was hearing them from underwater. 

The last of his strength left him, and Minho collapsed back onto the floor. 

*

When Minho finally came to, the first thing he heard was the screams. 

He pushed himself up without even really processing it—all he knew was that someone was screaming and someone needed his help. He needed to get up.

It took several moments for his head to clear as he stumbled to his feet, and when everything finally sharpened into focus, he realized it was Hyunjin screaming. 

“Hyunjin!” he shouted, starting to run. He coughed from the dust hanging in the air, then nearly tripped over a dislodged drawer from one of the shelves in his path. He stumbled over it and finally spotted Hyunjin through the dust in the air. He was lying on the floor, next to a massive pile of debris on top of a couple of fallen shelves. 

“Minho!” Hyunjin exclaimed, his voice thick with tears. 

“Hey, hey,” Minho said, kneeling next to him. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Hyunjin was sobbing, the tears streaking down his dusty face. “I can’t—my legs—my legs, Minho—”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Minho put a hand on Hyunjin’s forehead and smoothed his hair back. Then he forced himself to look at the pile of debris and the fallen shelf, where the bottom half of Hyunjin’s body disappeared under it. 

“I can’t move,” Hyunjin sobbed. “I can’t even feel them—”

Minho tore his eyes away from the pinned half of Hyunjin’s body. He focused entirely on Hyunjin’s face. 

“You’re okay,” Minho said in the calmest voice he could muster. “You’re okay. You’re just in shock. That’s why you can’t feel them. But you’ll be freed in no time, I promise.”

Hyunjin just sobbed harder. 

Minho glanced around. It was like the entire room caved in. Worst of all was the collapsed doorway, blocking their only means of escape. The rest of the room was cut off by fallen chunks of concrete and shelves. They were trapped. 

“We’re going to be okay,” Minho told Hyunjin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “We can call for help. It’ll be okay.”

Hyunjin didn’t respond—he was still crying too hard. 

Minho was relieved to see that his phone was mostly intact, though the screen was shattered. He still had battery. He just needed a signal. 

He clicked on his best friend Changbin’s number and held the phone up to his ear. The call didn’t go through. Minho tried texting him instead, but it took forever to send, and then failed to send altogether.

“I can’t get any bars,” Minho told Hyunjin. “But that’s okay. Someone should come looking for us soon.”

“No one even knows we’re down here,” Hyunjin whimpered, staring straight up at the ceiling.

Minho opened his mouth to refute that, but then he remembered that he didn’t tell anyone where he was going when he left his desk. At the time, he didn’t want anyone to know, because he wanted some time to himself. Now he regretted that decision, since he rarely went down here, so no one would even think to look for him here. 

“Shit,” Minho said. 

“No one’s going to come for us—” Hyunjin burst into a fresh wave of tears.  

“Shhh, that’s not true,” Minho said, smoothing Hyunjin’s hair back again. This time, he decided to scoot a little closer, gently lift Hyunjin’s head, and place it on his lap. “There will be rescue teams. They’ll dig through every piece of rubble looking for survivors. And they’ll find us. It’ll be okay. We’ll get out of this.”

Hyunjin didn’t respond, probably because his eyes had gone wide after being placed on Minho’s lap. Minho continued to absent-mindedly stroke Hyunjin’s hair away from his forehead, his mind growing distant. He didn’t want to tell Hyunjin this, because he didn’t want to scare Hyunjin even more, but he doubted anyone would reach them for a long time. They were in one of the lowest levels of the building; unearthing this area alone could take several days. Minho wasn’t sure if they’d last that long. He didn’t even know what Hyunjin’s legs looked like under that shelf. He could be bleeding out, for all Minho knew. 

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin said suddenly, in between shuddering breaths. 

Minho snapped out of it and blinked down at him. His brow furrowed. “For what? This wasn’t your fault.”

“Of all the people you got stuck with, you got stuck with me,” Hyunjin said, sniffing. “The guy who just made a move on you. And now you have to deal with him because he was stupid enough to get pinned underneath a fucking shelf.”

“I highly doubt you threw yourself in the shelf’s path and purposely got yourself pinned,” Minho said. “This isn’t your fault, Hyunjin.”

“But if I hadn’t annoyed you so much to the point where you came down here to get away from me—”

“I came down here because I needed a couple of records for a report,” Minho interrupted gently. “Not because I wanted to get away from you. If I wanted to do that, I would have just called in sick and not come into work.” He smirked, trying to lighten the mood. 

“I bet you wish you had done that.” The light in Hyunjin’s eyes dimmed. “Then you might be safe and not trapped under an office building.”

Minho sighed. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Hyunjin just squeezed his eyes shut as more tears slipped down his dusty cheeks. 

Minho figured he should probably find some way to distract Hyunjin, to get him to think about something other than the dire situation they were in. He wracked his brain, then said, “I hope my cats are okay.”

“You have cats?” Hyunjin asked in a small voice. 

“Yeah.” Minho smiled. “Three of them. Wanna see pictures?”

He picked up his phone and clicked on the photos app. 

“It’s kind of difficult to see with the cracked screen, but my babies are so cute that I doubt it’ll matter.” Minho grinned as he tapped on a photo of Soonie and showed it to Hyunjin. “That’s Soonie. He’s the oldest. Then there’s Doongie, the middle child. And Dori, the baby. Soonie loves to cuddle Dori a lot. Doongie kinda does his own thing, but once in a blue moon when he does want attention—oh man, he’s so clingy. I love him.”

“They’re cute,” Hyunjin said, sniffling again. He cleared his throat, his voice still clogged with tears. “I wish I could have a cat. They’re so cute. I’m allergic, though. But I do have a dog. Well, my parents do. His name is Kkami. I like to visit him and my parents when I have the time. Usually on the weekends.”

“Ah, so you’re a dog person.” Minho sniffed. “Typical.”

“I just said I like cats too!”

“I know, I’m just teasing you.” Minho smiled down at him. “I love all animals. I’m just more partial towards cats.”

“Mm.” Hyunjin hummed. He blinked a few times, his eyes growing distant. A moment later, he started tearing up again. “I hope my parents are okay,” he whispered. “And I hope Kkami is okay. I don’t know if I told them I loved them before I left. I think I did, but I just want to tell them again, just so they know—”

“You’ll get to tell them again,” Minho said. “You will. You’ll see them again. And I bet they’re all okay and worried about you.”

“I’m their only son,” Hyunjin choked out. “Their only child—if I die here, then they won’t have anyone—”

“You’re not going to die here,” Minho said. “You’re not.”

“You don’t know that, though!”

Minho opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He didn’t know what to say, because he really didn’t know if Hyunjin was going to survive or not. If either of them were going to survive. 

Hyunjin drew a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just—I’m so scared, Minho.”

“I know you are,” Minho murmured. “I am, too.”

They both fell silent after that. Minho’s attempt at a distraction failed. And now they were too busy thinking about the gravity of the situation.

After a few moments, during which Hyunjin was staring straight up at the ceiling, Hyunjin finally whispered, “Can you…can you talk? About anything. You can talk more about your cats, if you want. Or…or you can talk about you. I don’t even know that much about you, and I feel bad because I’ve just been talking about me this entire time.”

His expression darkened as he added quietly, “I just need to drown out my own thoughts.”

“A distraction,” Minho said. 

Hyunjin’s eyes met his. “Yeah,” he said. “I need a distraction.”

Minho gave a soft smile as he smoothed Hyunjin’s hair away from his forehead again. “What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know…where’d you grow up?”

“Gimpo, South Korea. You?”

“Well, I was born in Seoul, but then my parents moved to Las Vegas, and I grew up there. Then I moved here to LA for college and…I’ve been here ever since.”

Minho hummed at that. “I lived in Gimpo with my parents and my grandma until middle school, then my dad got a job opportunity in LA, so we moved here. Plus, he wanted me to be fluent in English. Been here ever since. Though we sometimes go back to Korea to visit family.”

“Did you know English before you moved here? Or was it a total culture shock?”

“I knew about three phrases,” Minho said with a laugh, and Hyunjin giggled. “It was such a culture shock. I’m so lucky I met Chan, otherwise I wouldn’t have survived. I was one depressed kid.”

“Chan?”

Minho’s smile faded. “First love,” he said softly. 

“Oh,” Hyunjin said. “What…what was he like?”

“A total dork,” Minho said, snorting. 

Hyunjin managed a stiff smile but didn’t meet Minho’s gaze.

“He was Australian-Korean,” Minho said. “God, he had the hottest accent. He was really awkward, but he was sweet. He liked to listen to music a lot. He even wrote me a song once!”

“Mm, you seem like you were really in love. What happened?”

“He moved to Sydney. And I stayed here. We parted on good terms, though.”

Hyunjin was silent for a few moments as Minho got lost in his memories of Chan. Chan used to be such a scrawny, baby-faced teenager, but Minho had seen his recent Instagram pics. Chan had totally bulked up and lost the baby fat, with veiny arms, ripped abs, and a jawline so sharp it could kill a man. The black and white filter just made it worse. 

“You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”

Minho blinked and looked back at Hyunjin, who was staring up at him with big eyes. 

“I think everyone stays in love with their first love.” Minho smiled. “But yes. In a way, I think I always will be.”

“Is that why you don’t want to date?” Now Hyunjin wouldn’t meet his gaze.

Minho sighed. “No. I don’t want to date because I don’t have the time or energy for it. Honestly, I’m fine being on my own.”

“Oh.”

Minho could tell Hyunjin was disappointed, so he decided to change the subject. “What about you? Who was your first love?”

Hyunjin looked uncomfortable with the question, but before he could answer, the room began to tremble again. It was somewhat gentler than before, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t violent. The walls crumbled further, dropping more chunks of concrete and plaster onto the ground, sending up plumes of dust. 

Minho instinctively hunched over Hyunjin, who let out a whimper and clutched at Minho’s forearm. 

The shaking went on for a few minutes. But when Minho thought it was over, a chunk of concrete fell from the level above them, right onto the shelf that currently pinned Hyunjin to the floor. 

Minho didn’t even process what had happened before Hyunjin let out a bloodcurdling scream, drawing blood from where he dug his nails into Minho’s forearm. Minho yelped at the sudden sharp pain, while Hyunjin burst into tears, shrieking, “Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!”

Even though Minho knew that it was the opposite, he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay—!” over and over again as he held onto Hyunjin, trying to comfort him in any way he could. It didn’t help at all; Hyunjin kept writhing on the floor and sobbing, his face deathly pale, his eyes squeezed shut as tightly as possible.

“It hurts, it hurts,” Hyunjin sobbed, burying his face in Minho’s arm for any sort of meager comfort.

“I know it does,” Minho said hoarsely.

“It feels like every single bone in both of my legs has been shattered into a million pieces.”

Minho couldn’t even imagine what that felt like, and he didn’t really want to.

“I just want it to stop,” Hyunjin whimpered. “Make it stop.”

Minho had never felt so helpless in his life. The more Hyunjin pleaded, the more Minho’s heart broke, to the point where he was blinking away tears of his own. 

Hyunjin cried for a long time after that. And Minho still didn’t know what to do, but he tried humming and singing softly to Hyunjin to distract him. He wasn’t sure if it helped or not. Hyunjin eventually passed out from the pain or the exhaustion. Minho breathed a sigh of relief when he did, only for the guilt and the fear to set in. At least there wasn’t any blood seeping out from under the shelf, but Minho had no doubt that both of Hyunjin’s legs were probably completely shattered. Just looking at the shelf under the heap of rubble caused a fit of despair; he had no idea how anyone was going to be able to dig Hyunjin out from under that. 

Minho’s head started to throb, faintly at first, then so strongly that he couldn’t see clearly for a few moments. He winced and put a hand to his head, where he felt dry, cracked blood on his temple. He didn’t want to think about what that meant, or the fact that this was one of the worst headaches he had ever felt in his life. He knew in the back of his mind that he probably wasn’t in the best shape, but he deliberately shoved the thought away. There were bigger things to worry about right now. Like Hyunjin. Or being rescued. 

Minho pulled out his phone again and tried to text Changbin. It failed to send. He tried calling Changbin again too, but the line just beeped at the other end, saying it was unavailable. With no better ideas, Minho finally tried to connect to the building’s Wifi, as if against all odds it was still up. It wasn’t. 

He tossed the phone aside, then took a deep, shuddering breath and closed his eyes for a few moments. Once the pain in his head subsided somewhat, he opened his eyes and looked down at Hyunjin. He started smoothing Hyunjin’s hair back again, just as something to do. He also checked Hyunjin’s pulse. Still there. Hyunjin was just sleeping. But Minho couldn’t help worrying. 

He ended up just sitting there, with Hyunjin’s head in his lap, stroking Hyunjin’s hair away from his forehead. He might have dozed off at some points. He didn’t remember if he did. 

All he remembered was Hyunjin suddenly whispering in a strained voice, “Minho.”

Minho’s eyes flew open and he looked down at Hyunjin. “What?” Minho asked, starting to get worried. “What’s wrong? Does something feel different?”

Hyunjin shook his head and reached up to touch Minho’s temple. Minho just stared down at him and didn’t move. 

“Your head is bleeding,” Hyunjin said, his brows furrowing in concern. “You’re hurt too.”

“It’s nothing,” Minho said. 

“Head trauma is not nothing.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it, unfortunately.” Minho gave a tight smile. 

“Does it hurt?” 

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“So what if I am?”

“Please don’t lie to me,” Hyunjin whispered. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I can tell when you’re lying.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I know getting out of here is bleak. I also know that there’s half a building on top of me, so it’ll probably take forever to dig me out.” His eyes welled up with tears, and he swallowed thickly before adding, “I also know that I might not make it, and even if I do, half of me probably won’t.”

“Don’t say that,” Minho murmured. 

“It’s true. I can finally feel what’s wrong with my legs. It’s unbearable.” Hyunjin squeezed his eyes shut. “It’ll be a miracle if I get to keep even one of them.”

Minho smoothed his hair back again; he was starting to wonder if this motion was now more to comfort him instead of Hyunjin. 

“At least you’ll still be alive, even if you lose your legs,” Minho decided to say. “That’s one of the best outcomes.”

“Is it?” Hyunjin scowled. “My life as I know it will be over.”

“Don’t say that…”

“You really don’t know a thing about me.”

“Then tell me. I want to know more about you.”

Hyunjin sighed. “My dream isn’t to work at some nine-to-five desk job, Minho. My dream is to become a professional dancer.”

Minho blinked in surprise at that. He wanted to say that that was completely out of left field, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Hyunjin, though sometimes awkward, did carry himself with a sort of grace and elegance whenever he relaxed. He always had a fluid movement to him that was the result of a life full of training. Minho should know. That was his entire life before he tore his ACL.

“Kind of hard to believe, huh?” Hyunjin said dryly when Minho didn’t respond right away. “Some awkward, overly-enthusiastic newbie like me couldn’t possibly dream that big. Or even be nearly good enough to accomplish something like that.”

“No, it makes sense,” Minho said. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner.”

“Did you even notice me at all? Be honest.”

“Of course I did. It’s a bit difficult to ignore someone as loud as you.” Minho smiled, just to lighten the mood. 

Hyunjin gave a flash of a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“You would be an amazing dancer,” Minho said. 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin scoffed, “would’ve been.”

“Maybe you can get prosthetic legs.”

“Doubt it.”

“I don’t. Prosthetics have come a long way in recent years.”

“Even if I could, it would probably cost an arm and a leg.”

Minho couldn’t help smiling at that. “An arm and a leg…how about two legs?”

Hyunjin gave him a look.

“Too soon?” Minho said. 

“Why are you trying to make me laugh?”

“Maybe you have a pretty laugh.”

Hyunjin arched an eyebrow at that. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Have you seen yourself recently?” Minho said. 

“Well, not recently. I’m currently pinned under half a building and covered in tears and snot and dirt, but I’ll be sure to check myself out when I get the chance.”

Minho laughed at that, and Hyunjin managed a small smile. 

“You think my laugh is pretty? You should hear yours,” Hyunjin said. “Yours is so giggly.”

“I understand how you feel about not being able to dance,” Minho said, still smiling. “I used to dance.”

Hyunjin’s brow furrowed. “You did?”

“Oh, yeah. I was one of those child prodigies.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 

“Trust me, I lived and breathed dance from the time I could walk until high school,” Minho said. 

“Then what?”

“I tore my ACL. It didn’t heal properly.”

“Oh no.” Hyunjin’s eyes went wide.

Minho shrugged. “It was hard. I won’t lie to you about that. It’s going to be really hard to adjust. You’ll probably feel lost. You won’t see the point in going on. You won’t see the point in anything. But it’s important to remember that you’re still young. You still have literally your entire life ahead of you. You’ll find another dream.”

“You talk as though you’re fifty years old,” Hyunjin mumbled. 

“I’m older than you, aren’t I? I know a thing or two about life!”

“Oh my god.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes so hard that it gave Minho a headache just thinking about it. 

“But,” Minho continued, “you won’t be alone. That’s what’s important. There will still be people who love you no matter what. Like your parents.”

“And my dog,” Hyunjin added. 

Minho snorted at that. “And your dog.”

Hyunjin smirked up at him, but then his smile faded as his eyes became distant. Minho watched his expression change and waited for him to speak. 

“Are you still lost?” Hyunjin asked softly. “Do you still not know what career you want to do? You can’t possibly think a job in this shitty company is your new dream.”

Minho sighed and looked away. “It pays the bills,” is all he said. 

Hyunjin hummed at that, and soon they both fell silent. With the silence, it was much harder to ignore the throbbing in Minho’s head, and he momentarily squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t getting any worse, thankfully, but it wasn’t getting any easier, either. 

“How long do you think it’s been?” Hyunjin asked after several moments. 

“Don’t know.” Minho pulled out his phone and checked the time, but for some reason had a difficulty remembering what time it was when he first came down here. Was it around lunchtime? That could have been anywhere from eleven-thirty to one-thirty, and it was around three o’clock now. He decided to give a vague estimate, “A few hours or so.”

Hyunjin nodded, his eyes distant. “How many more aftershocks do you think there will be?”

“Hopefully none.”

“Mm.”

More silence. They had run out of things to talk about. And Minho was feeling exhausted suddenly. 

The moment he became of his exhaustion, all he wanted to do was sleep. Just…sleep and wait for rescue. He was tired of sitting. 

So he shifted, gently holding Hyunjin’s head up before laying down on the ground. He put an arm under his head as he placed Hyunjin’s head on his stomach, so they were in some t-shaped position. 

Finally more comfortable, Minho started to close his eyes. 

Only to be violently shaken awake. 

“Don’t sleep!” Hyunjin exclaimed, making Minho jump in surprise. “Don’t sleep, you can’t sleep with a head injury, you’ll make it worse!”

“Relax, I’m just closing my eyes for a few moments,” Minho said, batting Hyunjin’s hand away. “It helps with the pain sometimes.”

“No, Minho. You can’t.” Hyunjin started poking him repeatedly. “Stay awake. Stay awake.”

“Stop poking me!” Minho swatted at him again. 

“Not until you sit up and keep your eyes open. You can’t sleep, Minho!”

Minho growled in annoyance but sat up. Immediately his head began to throb again, and he groaned before putting his hands to his head. 

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin whispered. “I know it hurts, but if you fall asleep, you might not wake up again.”

“That seems a bit dramatic.” 

“We can’t take any chances.”

Minho sighed and leaned back on his hands. Hyunjin was once again laying his head on his lap, though he was staring at Minho intensely. 

“I’m not going to fall asleep,” Minho said. “You can stop staring at me like that.”

Hyunjin reached up and gingerly touched the side of Minho’s head, right where the dried blood was. The sudden touch made Minho’s breath catch, and even though it throbbed even with the slightest pressure, Minho couldn’t move away or look away from Hyunjin. Not when Hyunjin was staring at him like that, his big brown eyes so full of concern, his eyebrows furrowed. He looked so scared, and Minho suddenly felt awful about worrying him. 

“We need a new topic to talk about,” Minho said. 

“Yeah.” Hyunjin dropped his hand from Minho’s temple and sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. “I can’t think of any, though.”

“Me either.” Minho squeezed his eyes shut again in a grimace. “It hurts to think.”

Hyunjin was silent for several moments before asking, “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get out of here?”

“Go to a hospital?” Minho snorted. 

Hyunjin smirked at that. “Well, yeah, but that was a given.”

“I’ll probably call my friend Changbin and make sure he’s okay. Then I’ll go home and make sure it’s still intact and that my babies are okay. Then I’ll call my parents and grandma and make sure they’re okay. They live on the outskirts of town, though, so they should be fine.”

“And after that?”

“Take the longest fucking nap and hope I don’t have to go into work tomorrow.”

Hyunjin laughed at that. Minho grinned at the sound; he liked to think that it helped alleviate the pain just a bit. 

“What about you?” Minho asked. 

“Well, I’m probably going to be in the hospital for awhile, but I’ll probably call my parents first thing to make sure they’re okay,” Hyunjin said, only for his smile to fade. “They’ll need to know what happened.”

“I bet they’re trying to contact you right now.”

“I bet you’re right.” Hyunjin’s eyes welled up with tears. His lower lip trembled. 

Minho studied him for a few moments, then said, “Then after all of that…maybe we could finally go on that date.”

Hyunjin looked at him sharply, his eyes wide. “What?”

Minho smiled softly. “What’s your ideal date?”

“You’re serious? You’ll really go on a date with me after…after all of this?”

“Yes, I will.” Minho’s smile widened. “I mean, if you think about it, this is kind of our first date. We’re getting to know each other way better than before.”

Hyunjin groaned at that. “Oh, god, no. I don’t like that at all.”

Minho laughed. “Yeah, maybe not. But your ideal date. Go.”

“I don’t even know where to begin! Are we talking realistic or as extravagant as I can make it? Because a dinner in Paris is probably up there on the list.”

“Realistic with a side of extravagant?”

“I can work with that. I think.” Hyunjin thought for a moment, then blushed. “I’d love to go somewhere out in the countryside, where it’s quiet and you can see the stars. Or maybe we’d go to an overlook of the city. Or maybe even by the beach. I don’t know, just somewhere beautiful and intimate, so we can just talk and be with each other.”

Minho smiled at the thought, mesmerized by the shy look on Hyunjin’s face. 

“And then we’d put down the back seats of the car and put cushions and blankets down, then open up the back and look out. We could watch a movie or eat dinner or listen to music or just talk. Or maybe not even that. We could just lay there stargazing together and it would still be perfect.”

“What kind of food for dinner?”

“Sushi.” Hyunjin smiled and glanced at Minho shyly. “I love sushi. And noodles. Then the best part is that we could just spend the night there, and then wake up in the morning still holding each other tight…”

He trailed off, his blush deepening. He suddenly couldn’t meet Minho’s gaze. “I mean, this wouldn’t be a first date, obviously. It’d be like a…a fiftieth date. After we’ve…we’ve already fallen in love. And this is with anyone—I mean. Not—not just you. Because I know that’s weird, talking about falling in love and intimacy right when you’ve just met someone.” He shook his head. “Talking about that on the first date usually scares people off. Most of the time the people who ask me out don’t really want to get to know me. They don’t want to date me or fall in love with me. They just want to get into my pants.”

Minho watched him carefully, his heart aching. 

Hyunjin snorted bitterly. “But I guess that’ll change now that I’m…” He gestured vaguely towards his legs under the rubble. 

“Don’t say that,” Minho whispered. “You’re beautiful.”

Hyunjin gave him a watery smile before looking away again. 

“Well,” Minho said. “I think your ideal date sounds lovely.”

“What’s your ideal date?”

“Dressing as slutty as possible, going to a rave, getting blackout drunk, then taking each other home and absolutely destroying each other.” Minho grinned.

“Oh my god.” Hyunjin covered his face with his hands, but he giggled. 

“Kidding,” Minho said. “Well, kind of. That does sound fun to me, but maybe not as a first date. I think I could settle for a cute cafe date. Maybe an animal cafe. Cat or dog, though cat is preferred. Then maybe taking a walk together.”

“A classic.”

“Oldie but goodie.” Minho shrugged and smiled. 

“Whoever ends up with you is going to be one happy person.” Hyunjin smiled back at him. “You’re so sweet and considerate and gentle. I know a lot of people who would love that.”

Minho shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m picky.” 

Hyunjin snorted.

They fell silent again, and Minho sighed before leaning back against some of the rubble. He strained his ears for any kind of movement outside their little prison, but there was nothing. 

“Maybe we should start screaming?” Hyunjin suggested. 

Minho didn’t even hesitate before yelling at the top of his lungs, which made Hyunjin jump and cover his ears. 

“Jesus!” Hyunjin exclaimed. 

“What?” Minho grinned down at him. “You said to scream!”

“I did, but I guess I was expecting more of a warning first!” And yet, a giggle bubbled out of Hyunjin. “That was an impressive yell, I’ll admit.”

“Why, thank you. Randomly yelling is my specialty.”

“Good to know, I guess?”

“Should I yell again?”

“I don’t think—”

Minho didn’t wait for Hyunjin’s answer before yelling again, once more making Hyunjin throw his hands over his ears. Minho paused after yelling, his head cocked as though that might help him hear better. 

“I think I scared them off,” Minho said to Hyunjin, who couldn’t stop himself from giggling. Minho giggled too, but then he heard a distant, familiar rumbling. They both froze, their smiles vanishing as they looked at each other. 

Minho quickly scooted closer to Hyunjin and hunched over him again, as if to protect him from anything that fell from the ceiling. Hyunjin squeezed his eyes shut tightly and clung to Minho’s arm again as the aftershock rumbled through, shaking the room enough for the doorway to collapse even further. 

“I hate this, I hate this,” Hyunjin whimpered.

“It’s okay, it’s not as bad as the last one,” Minho murmured. “It’s almost over.”

Everything he said was true. After just a few minutes, the aftershock ended. The small cavity of the room went still again, though some freshly stirred up dust hung in the air. Minho coughed and waved it aside, as if that would help. 

Hyunjin was silent for a few moments, then snorted. “You yelled so loud that you triggered an aftershock,” he said, giggling. 

Once he started giggling, Minho couldn’t help giggling either. Then, for some reason, the fact that they were laughing seemed like the funniest thing in the world, and they both dissolved into a fit of laughter. At one point, Hyunjin even smacked Minho in the arm to make him stop laughing, to which Minho responded, “Hey, why did you hit me!” Apparently that was even more hilarious, and they laughed even harder.

Suddenly Hyunjin appeared a little fuzzy on the edges, like he was blurring in and out, and Minho’s head throbbed. 

“I think—” Hyunjin was still giggling, though he was trying to catch his breath. “I think we’re going stir crazy—” he giggled again. “Why are we laughing anyways?”

Minho snorted. “I dunno. But you look funny.”

“Well, you look funnier!”

Minho shoved at him, and Hyunjin shoved him back, and they broke into another fit of giggles. 

Then Minho started coughing, and once he started, he found that he couldn’t catch his breath. 

That’s when he started to think that something might be seriously wrong. 

“My head kind of hurts,” Hyunjin mumbled, closing his eyes. “Everything hurts.”

Minho quickly looked around, scanning their tiny environment. His eyes fell on the doorway, where there were no longer any cracks or gaps in between the debris that blocked their way. Minho’s eyes widened.

“Air,” he gasped, realization dawning. “We’re losing air, Hyunjin.”

“Hmm?” Hyunjin didn’t open his eyes. 

“We’ve been slowly losing oxygen this entire time, holy shit.” Minho gently lifted Hyunjin’s head from his lap and staggered to his feet. “It must have happened after that last aftershock, after more things fell and sealed off this area.”

Hyunjin didn’t respond, which made Minho panic. He whirled around and found that Hyunjin hadn’t moved at all. 

Minho shook Hyunjin’s shoulder, shouting, “Hyunjin! Don’t fall asleep! You’ve got to stay awake!”

Hyunjin groaned but otherwise didn’t respond. 

Minho’s head suddenly pulsed with pain, making Minho groan too as he held a hand up to it. The room started spinning. 

They needed to get out of here. Or, at the very least, they needed more air. 

Minho stumbled towards the collapsed doorway. He ran his hands over the collapsed concrete, then tried pushing a few. Some of them shifted, but once they did, the roof overhead groaned. Minho stopped pushing and looked up at it, now suddenly worried that if he moved the wrong thing, he might cause the rest of the room to collapse onto them and kill them instantly. 

But if he couldn’t move anything, then what?

His head swam. He couldn’t think clearly. He finally just shoved one of the pieces of debris as hard as he could, while screaming, “HEY! HEY! SOMEONE HELP!” 

The debris moved slightly. Minho needed more force. 

He didn’t even think about the repercussions as he threw himself as hard as he could into the debris, his shoulder colliding with the concrete. Pain exploded in his shoulder, but he didn’t pay it any mind, because the debris finally moved. And once it did, a crack of light came through. Minho put his face up against the gap in between the debris, where he could see into the hallway outside the room. He could also feel air coming through. 

He latched onto the debris, this time dragging it towards him. The chunk of concrete came loose way too easily, and he fell backwards with it.

The moment that piece was free, the rest of the rubble blocking the doorway collapsed. Minho threw his arms over his head instinctively as the area groaned and shifted, with more debris falling from the ceiling as it lost its support from below. But it didn’t shift as much as Minho had thought it would. Within a few seconds, the dust settled again, and now the doorway was partially unblocked. 

“We’re out,” Minho whispered. “We’re out!”

He jumped to his feet and ran over to Hyunjin, who still wasn’t moving.

“Hyunjin!” Minho shook his shoulder again. “I got us out! There’s a way out! We just need to get you out from under that shelf!”

Hyunjin just groaned. Was he getting enough oxygen yet?

What if he had gone without oxygen for too long? What if he had permanent brain damage?

No, that wasn’t possible. Minho shook his head. If Hyunjin had brain damage, then that would mean Minho would have it, too. And Minho was still conscious. So Hyunjin could wake up too. 

Maybe…maybe he just needed more. He needed a boost. 

Minho blinked down at him, then made a split second decision. He pinched Hyunjin’s nose shut, pried open Hyunjin’s mouth, and then pressed his mouth to his. He breathed oxygen into Hyunjin’s lungs, pausing and pulling away every few moments to catch his own breath. 

After a few moments of breathing into him, Hyunjin finally coughed and shifted. 

Minho breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on his haunches. Maybe he overreacted. But he knew for sure that he wasn’t going to let Hyunjin die down here. If that meant panicking and giving him oxygen or doing CPR every now and then, then so be it. It would be worse, in Minho’s opinion, to not react at all and ignore the signs, only to realize it’s too late. He didn’t want that on his conscience. 

“We can get out of here,” Minho whispered to Hyunjin, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. “We can get out of here.”

Hyunjin’s eyelids fluttered, but he otherwise didn’t respond. Minho decided to let him rest. In the meantime, he pushed himself up and staggered to the doorway. There, he took a deep breath, filling every inch of his lungs, and put all of his breath and energy into yelling as loud as humanly possible. 

His voice cracked from the sheer strength of it, and he was immediately winded afterwards. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then did the whole thing over again. After the third yell, his head was swimming and pulsing with pain again. He slumped against the wall from the exertion, then leaned against it to help hold himself up. But he had to keep yelling. He had to signal the rescuers. He had to get help. 

So he screamed again, and again, and again, until his legs suddenly gave out, and he fell onto one knee. Once he was down, he couldn’t get back up. 

It was too much. He was so exhausted. 

Without warning, he burst into tears. 

They were really going to die down here, weren’t they?

Minho choked on a sob and looked over where Hyunjin was. Hyunjin didn’t deserve this. He must be in so much pain, and yet Minho couldn’t help him. 

Minho pushed off from the wall and crawled over to Hyunjin, where he smoothed back his hair again. 

“I’m sorry,” Minho choked out. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just so tired…I’m so tired.”

Of course Hyunjin didn’t respond, and Minho lowered his head. He pressed his forehead against Hyunjin’s, still sobbing quietly to himself. 

For a while, it felt like the only sound in the world was his sobs. He had never felt so alone in his life. No one was coming. No one would find them. Or, if they did, it would be too late. 

Why did Minho have to come down into this stupid room by himself to begin with? Why did he have to be so selfish? Why couldn’t he have just swallowed his frustrations and stayed upstairs, with Hyunjin? At least then, they would have gone to lunch with their other coworkers, and they wouldn’t be stuck down here, slowly dying.

“I’m sorry, Hyunjin,” Minho sobbed. “This is all my fault.”

Hyunjin never responded. 

Minho choked on his own sobs, then lifted his head and looked back at the doorway. 

Just one more yell. He could do it. He still had it in him. 

“Help,” Minho tried to shout, but it came out as a weak whisper. When he tried again, he couldn’t even make a sound.

No, no. He could do it. He could do it. 

He struggled to suppress his sobs, his entire body trembling. He focused on taking a few deep, shaking breaths to fill his lungs. Then, once he thought he had gotten enough, he put all of his remaining energy into screaming as loud as he could. 

Somehow it came out even louder than before, to the point where it echoed in the hallway outside. Minho collapsed on the ground next to Hyunjin, shaking so badly. He couldn’t make another sound. He was too tired. 

Just as his eyes were sliding shut, he heard a shout in response in the distance. 

*

When Minho woke up, he was in a hospital. 

He blinked at the white ceiling for a few moments before turning his head to the side, where he saw the monitor, and the IV bag, and the white curtain separating his bed from the others in the room. He reached out and pushed the curtain aside, hoping he’d see Hyunjin laying in the bed next to him, but instead it was a total stranger. 

Minho quickly pulled the curtain closed, then looked around to try and figure out how to call the nurse. He found the call button and pressed it once. 

It took the nurse several minutes to come. When he did come, he looked exhausted and stressed. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” the nurse said when he saw Minho. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Minho said, which was true. “A little tired. How long have I been out?”

“A couple hours. We had to run some tests to diagnose your head injury. You have a severe concussion. Do you know your name?”

“Minho,” Minho said hoarsely. “Lee Minho.”

“Well, Lee Minho, I’m Jeongin, and I’m your nurse.” The nurse smiled. “You’ll need to stay in the hospital overnight just for some monitoring, but you should be discharged tomorrow. While you’re at home, you’ll need to take it easy because of your concussion.”

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Minho’s head was suddenly swimming again. He couldn’t focus on all the words Jeongin was saying. He could barely follow more than a sentence or so. “Is he okay? Did they get him out? Please tell me they got him out.”

He was choking up again, because the thought that he got out while Hyunjin was left to die was too unbearable. 

“He’s okay,” Jeongin said soothingly. “It took a bit longer to dig him out, but they just brought him to the hospital a few minutes ago. He had to go right into emergency surgery.”

Minho blinked several times, his eyes welling up with tears. “He’s going to be okay, though, right?”

“Yes, he will.” Jeongin smiled at him. “You won’t be able to see him for awhile, though. In the meantime, get some rest. You need it.”

Part of Minho didn’t want to rest, not until he saw Hyunjin. But the other part of him suddenly felt exhausted; this conversation had already taken up too much energy, and it hurt Minho’s head to think. Sleep sounded much better. 

He wanted to tell Jeongin something else, to ask him something, but the sleep was already rising up to claim him. Within moments, Minho drifted off once again. 

*

Minho wasn’t able to see Hyunjin in the hospital at all. The following day, his parents picked up when he was discharged. After fussing over him and covering him in kisses and nearly squeezing the life out of him through their hugs, they drove him to their house on the edge of town, where his grandma and cats greeted him. Minho was ecstatic to see that his family (and precious babies) were all okay, but the reunion sucked the energy out of him. His parents immediately sent him upstairs to rest. 

That night, during dinner with his family, Minho learned that his family had been worried sick about him when they hadn’t been able to reach him after the earthquake. They had started to think the worst, especially since Minho’s workplace was near the epicenter. But then the hospital contacted them about his admittance. Unfortunately, they still weren’t allowed to see him, since the hospital was overrun with all of the other victims of the earthquake. So, instead, his parents had gone to his apartment, picked up the cats, and brought them home. And then they had gone and picked up Minho the following day. 

It was nice to spend time with them, but after the first day or so of resting and recovering, Minho started to worry. He wanted to go back to the hospital and find Hyunjin, but his parents advised him to wait and recover fully, first. Which meant another week at the bare minimum.

Minho didn’t like that. He wanted to be there for Hyunjin, who was probably struggling after going through such a traumatic incident. After all, Minho was one of the only ones who could understand what he was going through. Minho needed to be there.

But his requests were denied, especially now that he had to rely on his parents to drive him places. He finally ended up calling Hyunjin out of pure desperation. 

Hyunjin didn’t answer. But his mother did. 

Minho was caught off-guard when a woman’s voice answered on the other end. “Hello,” he said. “This is Lee Minho. I was looking for Hwang Hyunjin? Is this the correct number?”

“Yes, yes it is!” the woman said. “This is Hwang Hyunjin’s mother. Hyunjin is asleep right now. Is this Lee Minho from work? The one who saved his life?”

“Ah, yes, it is Lee Minho from work, but I wouldn’t say I saved his life, Mrs. Hwang.”

“Of course you did! If it weren’t for you, they wouldn’t have found him until it was too late!” Minho could hear Mrs. Hwang tearing up on the other end. “You saved my son. My only son. I cannot thank you enough.”

Minho smiled, though he was also tearing up. The two of them chatted for a few minutes, before Minho finally asked, “Is he still in the hospital?”

“Oh, no,” Mrs. Hwang said. “He’s at home, with us.”

“Could I…come visit him?”

“He would absolutely love that.”

Minho took down the Hwangs’ address, then set to planning his visit. He told his parents and grandma about his idea for the visit, and all of them smiled at him. 

“He’s going to love that,” his mother said. 

They helped him prepare for the visit, by driving him where he needed to be and offering support. When Minho finally stood on the front step of the Hwangs’ suburban house that evening, his stomach was full of butterflies, while his hands sweated and his heart raced. 

Mr. Hwang opened the door. He smiled and shook Minho’s hand when he saw him. Then he clapped Minho on the shoulder and let him inside, where Mrs. Hwang rushed into the foyer to greet him. To Minho’s total surprise, she pulled him into a hug. It was a long hug, too, that kept getting longer because she kept thanking him and crying and hugging him.

Eventually Mr. Hwang managed to convince his wife to give Minho some space.

“He’s here to see Hyunjin, not you,” Mr. Hwang teased. 

“I know, I know, but.” Mrs. Hwang waved the thought aside and smiled up at Minho. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough.”

Minho smiled back at her, and she finally led him upstairs, to a closed bedroom door. There, she paused, a look of sadness crossing her face. 

“We’re looking into putting in an elevator,” she told Minho softly. “He…he’ll need to stay with us for awhile. He can’t live on his own just yet. It’s been…very hard for him.”

Minho just blinked, but then Mrs. Hwang was softly knocking on the door and opening it. 

“Hyunjin?” she asked. “Are you awake? Someone’s here to see you.”

Minho didn’t hear Hyunjin respond, but then Mrs. Hwang leaned back out into the hallway and smiled at him. 

“You can go in,” she said, patting his arm. “I’ll, ah, give you two some space. Call if you need anything.”

Then, with that, she walked off. 

Minho hesitated by the door for a few moments. He took a deep breath to steel himself, then pushed open the door. 

He saw Hyunjin instantly. It was a bit difficult not to. He was sitting right in front of the windows, directly across from the doorway. His back was to Minho, though, and he didn’t turn around. 

Minho shut the door softly behind him, then took another deep breath before walking forward. 

“Enjoying the view?” he asked Hyunjin, who jumped at the sound of his voice. 

Hyunjin finally looked up at him, his eyes going wide. “Minho,” he said in disbelief. 

Minho smiled at him. “Long time no see.”

Hyunjin gave a strained smile, his eyes full of pain. “Yeah,” he managed to say. He looked out the window again. “Long time no see.” He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, his hand curling into a nervous fist. 

Minho waited for a few moments, knowing that Hyunjin was going to say something more. 

Hyunjin’s lower lip trembled as he avoided Minho’s gaze. He swallowed a few times before finally forcing out, “It’s worse than you thought, huh?” 

“No,” Minho said, setting down the bags he carried in and crouching beside Hyunjin. “You’re still exactly as I remember. Still as beautiful and as strong as always.”

Hyunjin closed his eyes as a few tears slipped out. He kept clenching and flexing his hand, as if wanting to grasp at something that wasn’t there. Minho gazed at his face for a few moments before finally looking down, at where his legs should have been. Now there was nothing on either leg below the knee. His pants had already been cut and hemmed to hide the scarred stumps that rested in the wheelchair. 

“They couldn’t get me out,” Hyunjin whispered. “After they pulled you out…they couldn’t dig me out without collapsing a whole section of the building. So they…they tried dragging me out just enough…and then they…they amputated them right there.”

Minho’s eyes widened in horror. “You were awake for all of that?”

“They had to wait to get everyone ready to airlift me to the hospital for immediate surgery,” Hyunjin said, avoiding his gaze. “But…I was awake right up until they amputated them. They gave me a shot of morphine. Then I passed out.” He swallowed thickly, his eyes brimming with tears. “When I woke up, I was in the hospital…and my legs were gone.”

“Oh, Hyunjin…” Minho murmured.

“I can still feel them, sometimes,” Hyunjin added, his voice hoarse. “They still hurt. So much. And it hurts even more when—when I see myself. When I look in a mirror, or look down. It’s like a different shock every single time. I keep waiting to wake up. I want to wake up, so badly.”

Minho reached out and smoothed Hyunjin’s hair back from his forehead, and Hyunjin finally looked at him. The moment their eyes met, Minho couldn’t hold back any more. He burst into tears and pulled Hyunjin into his arms. Hyunjin immediately leaned into him, tucking his head into the crook of Minho’s neck, his hand fisting in the fabric of Minho’s sweatshirt. They clung to each other, like they were back in that godforsaken room all over again. Except this time, even as the desperation was still there, there was also an air of relief. Relief from the realization that they had made it out alive, and that they still had each other. 

“You’re beautiful,” Minho whispered. “And you’re so strong and brave. And you’re still you, even if it might not feel like it.”

Hyunjin just sniffed and held onto him tighter. 

They stayed like that for several moments, until Hyunjin pulled away, still sniffling. Minho smiled and cupped his face, where he brushed away Hyunjin’s tears with his thumbs. Hyunjin finally smiled back at him, the relief shining through. 

“I brought you something,” Minho said, withdrawing. 

“You did?” Hyunjin sniffed again and wiped at his nose.

“Yep.” Minho pulled out the bags that he brought. “I can’t exactly drive for another week or so, but I still wanted to take you on that date. So, I thought, since I can’t bring you to see the stars, I figured I’d bring the stars to you.”

He pulled out a small, black sphere on a stand and set it on the small table next to Hyunjin’s wheelchair. Then he got up and turned off the bedroom light before returning to his spot next to Hyunjin. Fully aware of Hyunjin’s eyes on him, he flipped a switch on the black sphere.

Hyunjin gasped as the Milky Way galaxy exploded across his bedroom ceiling, shimmering and sparkling. 

Minho glanced up at the stars for only a few moments. There wasn’t much to describe about them—they looked like stars. It was a shockingly realistic projection of the night sky, almost exactly what you’d see outside in person. Because of that, Minho didn’t find it very remarkable. 

No, what he found remarkable, and what he looked at instead, was Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin, whose eyes went so wide that Minho could see an entire galaxy of its own hidden in them. Hyunjin, who let out a gasp and stared up at the ceiling for several moments without saying a single word, the shock playing out on his beautiful face, making him glow and appear utterly ethereal under the sparkling light. Hyunjin, who teared up after those several moments, and finally tore his gaze away to look at Minho. 

“And I brought sushi,” Minho added, pulling out the second bag he brought with him. He placed the to-go container of sushi on the table next to the star projector. “Next thing is to make a little nest out of blankets and pillows and pretend we’re in the back of a car. And then hold each other close, like you wanted.”

Hyunjin stared at him, those galaxy eyes filling with more tears. Before Minho could ask if he overstepped, Hyunjin whispered, “I really want to kiss you right now.”

Minho grinned. “Then kiss me.”

Hyunjin waited only a split second before cupping the side of Minho’s face and kissing him. Minho couldn’t help smiling into the kiss as he placed his hand over Hyunjin’s, then settled the other one at the base of Hyunjin’s neck. 

It was a chaste kiss, nothing more than them just finally relenting and enjoying the warmth of each other this close together, but to Minho, it was the best feeling in the world. He just wanted more and more. And he thought, if kissing Hyunjin always felt like this, then he wanted to do it much more often. 

When they parted, Hyunjin blushed and glanced away shyly. Minho couldn’t help laughing and cupping his face. 

“What?” Minho asked. “You want to say something, I can tell.”

“It’s ridiculously cheesy, so I stopped myself from saying it just in time,” Hyunjin replied. 

“I want to hear it anyways.”

“No, you don’t. It’ll make you gag from how cheesy it is.”

“Makes me want to hear it even more.” Minho grinned at him. 

Hyunjin couldn’t help smiling, and Minho nudged him repeatedly until Hyunjin finally relented. 

“Alright, alright.” Hyunjin sighed, still blushing and avoiding Minho’s gaze as he mumbled, “I was just gonna say…” Then he mumbled too much, to the point where the last part was inaudible. 

“What?” Minho leaned in a little closer. 

“I said…” More mumbling. 

“What?”

“I said, I really can’t wait to fall in love with you!” Hyunjin squeezed his eyes shut as he practically shouted the words. “See? Cheesy!”

And Minho couldn’t help dissolving into a fit of giggles. Hyunjin opened his eyes at the sound and gave him a pout. 

“You’re so cute,” Minho said. “I can’t wait to fall in love with you, either. And I might honestly be on my way, if I’m not there already.”

Hyunjin blinked at him, then squeaked and covered his face with his hands. Minho laughed again and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. 

“You’re making me swoon like some middle schooler whose crush just did the bare minimum!” Hyunjin leaned into Minho despite it all. 

Minho just laughed and kissed the top of his head. 

“So, how about some sushi?” Minho said. 

“That sounds amazing, I’m starving right now.” Hyunjin lowered his hands from his face and looked up at Minho with those big, sparkling eyes of his. 

“I didn’t know which kind you liked, so I just got an assortment,” Minho said, keeping one arm around Hyunjin as he picked up the container of sushi with the other. He put it on Hyunjin’s lap, then handed him a pair of chopsticks. 

Hyunjin hummed happily as he picked up his pair of chopsticks. “Did you know,” he said as they started eating, “that our galaxy is supposed to collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in a few billion years?”

“Ah, something to look forward to!”

“I wonder if the human race will even still be alive when that happens!” And then Hyunjin launched into some discussion on the age of the planet verses the age of mankind, and then he started talking about how vast the universe is, and how there’s no way there isn’t life somewhere, but even if it is, we’ll never be able to know, because there’s no way we can travel to meet other life forms, and so on and so forth. 

Minho just watched the way his face lit up even without the star projection overhead, and a stupid, lovesick smile made its way onto his face. 

Yeah, he was crushing hard on Hwang Hyunjin. 

And maybe—just maybe—he was already deeply in love with him.