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The door back home opened with a whoosh and quiet clicking noise. It's neon green light shined upon Min and Ryan's faces. They had worked beyond hard to achieve that exit, even risked their lives multiple times. But after all of the pain they had to go through, they never really thought about what would happen once they went through that door.
Min landed on his butt, the impact sending a shock up his back. He looked at the pavement of the parking lot of the Dumpty's, relieved to see the door locked. He glanced next to him and saw Ryan on his back, staring up at the sky.
"Ughh..." Ryan groaned and rubbed his forehead. He slowly sat up, looked at Min, their surroundings, and back at Min. His eyes were wide, but the rest of his expression was hard to read, "Holy shit," he muttered breathlessly.
Min pushed himself up to his feet and scanned the area before reaching his hand out to Ryan to help him up. Once Ryan was on his feet, he wrapped his arms around Min tightly, "we're home."
Min chuckled, returning the hug, "yeah, we made it."
"If this is another car, that would be the most fucked thing--"
"It's not, Ry." they pulled away from the hug, making tearful eye contact. They each glanced down at their palms, noticing the lack of the glowing number tattoo.
The neon lights from the Dumpty's sign illuminated the parking lot. They each had no idea what time it was, but it was dark outside, and there was a slight chill in the air. Min pulled his jacket closer to him. Judging by the leaves scattered across the pavement and grass, it must have been fall. The realization bounced about in Min's mind, finally settling. It was fall, and they disappeared during the summer.
"Do you think our parents know where we are?" At the time, he had been more focused on Ryan's vulnerability. It lasted only a second before he got the keys to the jail cell. Min's parents probably thought that they had been missing for months.
A lot of things could happen in a few months, Ryan and Min's relationship was an example. They went from on top of the world to plummeting down to rock bottom in a matter of months. They both liked to think that Battle of the Bands was when their friendship turned faulty, but there had been tensions between them almost the entire school year.
A few months was enough time to change everything, and Min's parents thought that he had been missing for months. Before another thought could pass through his mind, he started to run home. They weren't too far from his house. His sneakers hit the pavement of the road, not even thinking about explaining the situation to Ryan.
"Min! Wait up!" Ryan ran after him, his heeled boots making a soft click noise with each step he took.
Whenever they were kids, they used to race to Dumpty's from Min's house. They had a deal that whoever got there last would have to pay for the other person's shake. Ryan had a constant streak of winning, and eventually, they took off the bets because of how guilty Ryan felt. The same thing translated on the train, if they were running from some sort of evil denizen, Ryan was usually the one pulling Min along. The only time that he could remember him not having to do that was in the maze car, but Min was constantly pulling Ryan around during it. Since Ryan proved time and time again that he was quicker than him, Min was somewhat shocked when Ryan didn't spontaneously appear beside him after the first minute. He slowed down and reached a stop, then turned around. His stomach flipped when he saw Ryan on his knees, supporting his weight with his elbows, head cradled in his hands.
"Ryan!" He called out, running back over to him. Ryan was breathing heavily but didn't seem to be injured, "what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Ryan fell onto his back, catching his breath. Min raised a brow at him. Usually, Ryan also had much higher stamina than him, "I think I'm gonna pass out," Ryan said in between breaths.
Memories of the castle car flooded back into Min's head. Ryan shutting himself into that bedroom for god knows how long, refusing the food he left for him. Min wasn't even sure how long it was because of the peculiar time flow on the train. Though Min was worried for him, he did get a chance to clean up the slightest bit. He had gotten some sleep in an actual bed, he tried his best to fix his hair, and he got some pretty good food. That was clearly not the case for Ryan.
"Hey-- it's okay," Min helped Ryan up slowly. His legs shook underneath his weight, and he was sickly pale, "we're going to go to my parents' house-- we can get some food and rest and just... let them know we're okay," Ryan nodded, rubbing his head. They walked the rest of the way.
There was some mindless banter back and forth as they strolled to Min's house. Their route was more than familiar, being that they usually would go to Dumpty's and then spend the night at Min's place. If they made different plans, there was a place about halfway where Ryan would take a left and Min would take a right. Their conversation came to a sudden stop as Ryan froze in place at the crossroads.
Min looked over at him, raising a brow, "Ry? You okay?"
Ryan stayed in that position for a couple more seconds before turning back towards Min, "my parents probably don't even think I'm missing."
Min opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Ryan laughed a bit and his shoulders tensed, "whatever, it's fine. I'll call them or something at your parents' house-- if I'm welcome of course."
"Why wouldn't you be welcome?" Min tilted his head.
"I don't know," he shrugged, "let's just get there already," he said with a smile before continuing to walk.
After about five more minutes, they reached Min's house. Min was a ball of nervous energy, but stayed calm and knocked on the front door as if it was any other day. He acted like he walked home from school with Ryan and left his house key in his room. Min brushed himself off and awkwardly pushed his hair back. They both looked rough, but Min's appearance was neater than Ryan's. Ryan's usual bedhead had changed to look more dishelved unintentionally, but it fit well with the dark circles under his eyes that he had gained from the castle car. His skin had also remained pale from nearly passing out just minutes ago. The thing that tied it all together were his dirty, ripped, and wrinkled clothing. It was safe to say that his leather jacket came out looking a lot more worn than how it resembled in the Dumpty's before.
After half a minute, Min's mom answered the door, almost looking like she saw a ghost, "M...Min-Gi?"
Min immediately hugged her tight, muttering some phrases in Korean. She pulled away from the hug with a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks, then saw Ryan standing behind Min. He awkwardly smiled and waved at her.
"Ryan?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Hey," he said with a laugh, his eyes staying low to the ground. He knew he wasn't the priority here. Their son had been missing for a while. He tried to back away for a second, not wanting to interrupt them, but Mrs. Park pulled him in for a warm hug that grounded him in Powell Lake.
"I'm so glad that both of you are okay," The feeling was so unfamiliar yet so well known at the same time. Ryan's once racing thoughts started to settle, and before he knew it he was tearing up for the second time that day. He took a couple of shaky deep breaths, but he couldn't stop the tears once they started. He tightly hugged her back and then pulled away, awkwardly wiping the tears from his eyes.
They came inside and started getting bombarded with questions that Min answered vaguely. Ryan's focus was in and out, vision blurring now and again. He had learned the lesson on the train of not going too fast, but it was being put into major effect now. If he even did something as small as getting up too fast the room would spin around him. On top of everything, there was an persistant headache that circled back to his inconsistent focus.
"Ryan," his attention snapped to Min, who had been trying to get his attention for a bit.
"Yeah? What is it?" He tilted his head.
Min wore an expression of worry on his face, "I'm going to take a shower. You should eat something," Ryan stared blankly at him for a second before responding.
"Okay, I will."
Min was about to leave the room but then stopped in his tracks, "can I have a word with you-- in private?" Ryan nodded, slowly standing up and moving down the hall with him.
Something interesting about the Park's house was the number of pictures and artwork they had scattered around the house. There were a lot of family members, but there was one part of the entryway that was focused on Min, his mom, and his dad. Somehow, even as the pictures changed over time, three pictures of Ryan and him remained. They stood together, right by the wall of family pictures.
"What are we going to tell them?" Min whispered.
Ryan's mind was far too foggy at the moment to come up with a decent answer, so he shrugged, "I don't know. They might think we're insane."
"She knows when I lie," Min said bluntly.
No matter how well Min told a lie, his mom would always be there to call his bluff. One time when he was eleven, he asked her how she always knew something was wrong. She told him that mothers had a sixth sense, made to protect their children from harm. Min told this to Ryan, and all he did in response was laugh. He held himself back from saying that not all moms had it.
"I know, I know," Ryan sighed and rubbed his head, "does that mean we have to tell her the truth?"
"I guess so."
The duet split apart, Min going to his bathroom to shower and Ryan staying in the kitchen with Mrs. Park.
Something Min and Ryan had both learned about the train was that it wasn't too forgiving about your appearance. There were little to no mirrors the whole trip, so while you were there you had to just accept the way you looked. Looking at his bathroom mirror, he saw that he wasn't too terribly injured. He had a couple of light bruises scattered across his skin, but that was about it. He was lucky that the docent didn't get to him, or that could've been much worse. He shook his head at the memory. They were home now, they'd be okay now.
Ryan kicked the barstool's legs as Mrs. Park insisted that she made something for him. He kept on telling her that it was fine and that he could just have a snack or something, but she simply wouldn't let him. She had always been insistent with Ryan, making sure that he's eating and that he's getting home safe. It was odd how protective of him she was, Min of course always came first, but Ryan was always second. She always cared for him.
She reheated some leftover miso soup on the stove, and started to ask Ryan some questions, "Does Min-Gi need anything to eat?"
Ryan shook his head, "I don't think so? I'm pretty sure he got something to eat," he stared down at the floor, tapping his fingers on the countertop.
"Why didn't you?"
He awkwardly laughed, "I turned it down."
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Normally, he was much better at making conversation with Min's parents. He'd even gotten good at talking to his practically silent dad. This however, was an odd situation-- and his lack of focus was not making it any easier.
"Ryan... where were you?"
He anxiously fidgetted and his shoulders tensed, "I'd rather wait for Min to answer that one."
She nodded and hummed, pouring the soup into a bowl and giving it to Ryan, "it's been three months, you know that right?" his eyes widened, a clear give to the fact that he had no idea how long it had been.
"I--"
"Are you okay?"
Ryan ate some of the soup, "I... I'll be okay," he said with a smile.
"And Min-Gi?"
"I think he's feeling much better now that we're here with you."
She sighed with relief and sat down beside Ryan as he finished eating, "do you want any more?"
Ryan shook his head and smiled, "No, thank you so much."
"It's no problem."
After about an hour of settling down, Ryan and Min had both showered. Min wore some of the pajamas he had in his room, relieved to be wearing fresh clothes at last. Though, it was a pair Ryan used to always make fun of. It was a button-down with blue stripes, along with pants that matched. He had told him that he dressed formally even when he slept. Min remembered laughing in response, but nothing afterwards.
Ryan was wearing the white tank top he had on under his clothes on the train and a pair of Min's sweatpants. It wasn't the best thing to wear, being that the tank top revealed some of the black and blue bruises on him that he had earned from being far more rambuncious. He was lucky that you couldn't see his chest or back, because that was where he had taken the most hits from Morgan. The sweat pants were also oversized on him. He had the drawstring tied tightly around his waist and the pants went down a couple of inches past his ankles. He was trying his best to not trip as he walked into the family room.
Mrs. Park tilted her head, giving Ryan a slight look of concern, "do you need ice for those bruises?"
Ryan shook his head, awkwardly laughing, "ah--no, I'm okay. Thank you."
Min was extremely grateful in the moment that what he was wearing covered up all the marks the train left on his body. His parents did not need to worry any more than they already had. Ryan was still pretty drowsy but was a bit more alert than before. Min was probably going to have to do a good amount of the talking, which was different than usual, but he was ready to.
Min's father was the first one to speak, his hands together resting on his knees and tone flat, "So, witnesses said they last saw you two together running out from the Dumpty's, then getting on a train to New York."
Min internally winced at his father's use of the word "witnesses", it only confirmed that they had gone to the police and probably done multiple interviews of people to find him. He wondered if Ryan's parents did the same.
Thinking back to getting on the train seemed like a distant memory. He remembered Ryan's smirk as he threw his keys into the portal, the anger he felt boil inside of him when he went through the door, the fear that he felt waking up on the train, the slight relief that Ryan was there with him, and that he wasn't alone.
"I came to take Min to a gig in New York," Ryan said anything before Min could, a bit of guilt settling in his stomach. He'd tell Min one day that the gig was fake, but today was not that day. It wasn't a huge deal, since they were still able to get off the train-- but he remembered the fear that he felt when his number stayed static, wondering if he'd have to tell Min that he not only was going to leave him to die, but he also was going to drag him out to New York for a gig that didn't exist.
Min joined into the conversation, "Things got a bit weird on the train though. I was chasing after Ryan, and we went down from train car to car, until this weird... door opened up," he shifted uncomfortably. Ryan gave him a reassuring nod, egging him on to continue, "this sounds crazy, we know that, but it almost opened up a wormhole to another train? But it was more based on... self-improvement?"
"We had these numbers on our hands, and they were linked-- and apparently that was weird-- but the point was to learn lessons, get your number down, and then you could get off," Ryan fidgeted a bit with the drawstrings of the sweatpants, avoiding eye contact. Min's father opened his mouth for a second to say something, but he was quickly interrupted by Min's mother.
"I think I know what you're talking about."
She explained her statement further, that her sister had disappeared for a couple of months whenever she went off to college and came back a different person. She claimed to have had a glowing number on her hand that referenced her emotional growth. She told them how she was scolded for being away and how worried her parents were for her since she seemed delusional.
Min listened carefully through the whole story, trying to remember every detail. At least, that's how he looked. He usually looked that way during lessons in school and a lot of times he'd be playing music with Ryan. Ryan had always struggled with that level of focus, it was yet another thing that he envied in Min.
"I believed her, even if our parents didn't," she said proudly. Everything lined up similarly, though she didn't remember her sister coming back nearly that beaten up. Ryan and Min had either gotten unlucky, or she had done a good job at covering it.
"So... you believe us?" Ryan asked quietly. Both of Min's parents nodded in response. The duet sighed with relief, if their reaction had been negative who knows what other emotionally exhausting event would happen next. Ryan's eyelids grew heavy, but he fought to keep them open. Min glanced over at him with a similar look of concern that his mom gave him earlier.
"We really need rest," Min said with a sigh, "I'm sorry we can't talk more right now."
Mrs. Park shook her head, "don't worry about it. Are you going to stay here tonight, Ryan?"
He nodded, "If that's alright. I can set up an air mattress in Min's room, I know where all the stuff is."
Once they turned twelve, Ryan and Min stopped staying in the same bed during sleepovers. Whenever he was at Min's, there was always one spot where an air mattress and some blankets would be stored. They'd blow it up, blasting some random album. Then, they'd settle a bit and talk for hours until someone fell asleep (usually Ryan), and the other would follow.
She nodded, "should I call your parents?"
"I'll call them in the morning, thank you."
Ryan and Min made their way upstairs to Min's bedroom. Almost like routine, Ryan got out the air mattress and implements that went with it. As he blew it up, he sat down on the floor, beginning to drift off to sleep already. He kept his eyes open, but he was clearly on the verge of falling asleep. Min played some music quietly in the background and flopped onto his bed. He was exhausted but didn't know how long it would take him to fall asleep. It had always been that way, it was especially noticeable on the train. Ryan could fall asleep anywhere, but he was an extremely light sleeper. Min took a bit to fall asleep, but once he was out, he was out.
Once the air mattress was inflated, Ryan fell back onto it with a sigh. The two laid there in silence for a bit. Eventually, Min heard Ryan's breathing slow as he curled into a ball, wrapped in a blanket. Min smiled softly at the sight, it was rare to see Ryan so relaxed. He was always moving, always speaking. He opened his eyes for a moment, realizing he never took off his glasses. He took off the bright red frames and set them beside the table, then rolled onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, by the look in his eyes, Min could tell something was on his mind. Though, considering recent events, that wasn't a huge surprise.
"Hey... Min?" Ryan spoke quietly, eyes staying looking at the ceiling.
"Yeah?" Min's face turned slightly pink, realizing that he had been staring at him. He turned away, laying on his back.
Ryan sighed, "do you think I-- we screwed things up so bad that we needed a giant wormhole to tell us that we were fucking with our lives," He laughed. Even after all the years away from Min's house, he still felt strange cursing in it-- although he and Min were adults.
He had a point, Min didn't know what would've happened if he had caught up with Ryan-- if he hadn't tossed his keys into that portal. He couldn't imagine a world where he didn't always stick with Ryan. Even if they had their struggles and fights, he loved him. They were opposites that attracted, the last pieces in a puzzle.
He thought carefully before he spoke, "Well, you still would've come back for me right? We could've worked things out... it just would've been a little harder," he turned to look at Ryan, and they each made brief eye contact. Ryan nodded and softly smiled.
"Yeah... I guess so," he paused, pulling the blankets closer to himself, "Night, Min."
"Goodnight, Ry."
Everything was finally peaceful, the only noise being the invisible crickets outside. Min's alarm clock gave off a low red light. Ten minutes passed, half an hour passed, an hour passed. Min's eyes were glued open, no matter how badly he wished to fall asleep in his bed. He tossed and turned, but he was still awake. He started to drift off after another agonizing thirty minutes, but his attention jolted towards Ryan.
He was stirring, tossing back and forth. It would've been normal if he was awake, but his eyes were glued shut. His slow and calm breathing grew rapid and uneven. All of a sudden, he loudly winced and stopped moving. He was taking panicked gasps of air. He was having a nightmare.
"Ryan!" Min stumbled out of his bed, falling beside Ryan. He took his hands and squeezed them, trying to pull him out of the sleep. Ryan's eyes opened looking wide and afraid. His eyes scanned the room for a moment before his gaze landed on Min.
"I--I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he lightly pulled away from the touch.
"No, I was already up. It's fine, don't worry about it," Min took a second to calm down. Ryan was okay, they were okay. There wasn't anything to worry about, "you were having a nightmare?"
Ryan slightly tensed, "uh... yeah. It's fine though, I'm okay now," he softly smiled at him, "I can go back to sleep, it's fine."
"Hey, why don't you stay with me on the actual bed? I mean, we slept together all the time on the train," he only realized the strange wording of his sentence after saying it but shook off the embarrassment.
Ryan nodded, "yeah, that would be nice."
The duet climbed into Min's bed and started to drift off again. They slept facing opposite directions, trying to not make it weird. Ryan slept on the very edge of the bed, with Min staying in a similar spot and position as before. Feeling a bit more relaxed, Min drifted off to sleep.
It wasn't long before a nightmare started plaguing Min as well, the art gallery car's memories still playing in his head. Unlike Ryan, he automatically woke up at a point, shaking. He took a minute to catch his breath before he realized what caused him to calm down so fast.
Ryan had always been a more cuddly sleeper. When they fell asleep in the party car, he woke up with Ryan leaning on him and their hands intertwined. He quickly moved out of the position, which sadly woke Ryan up. Now, his arms were wrapped around Min's waist and his face was buried in his shoulder. Min's face turned bright red, but he didn't dare move. Having Ryan this close was almost like a gift, especially after not seeing him for a year. Shortly after waking up, he drifted back to sleep in Ryan's arms.
The sun rose to reveal another day, but the two remained asleep. Mrs. Park quietly knocked on the door, gently opening it. She smiled softly at the two, Mr. Park appearing behind her. He sighed, giving her a worried look. Her smile faded to a frown when she realized how tense they both were. Even so, they looked happy together.
"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Mr. Park muttered to her quietly, he didn't want to wake them up.
"I think that they have each other, and that's enough."
They slowly shut the door, leaving the duet alone for the rest of the morning. The sunlight poured into Min's room, shining a holy light onto their intertwined bodies. Their slow breathing fell in sync, lives merging into each others again.