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The lady held his hand as she lead him into a room. She closed the door and crouched down in front of him.
"I have to go now, but I will be back soon. If someone comes in here and tells you to come with them, do not go. If they try to take you, run. Run as far away as you can." She reached behind her back and pulled out her gun. "If you can't run, shoot. But only if that's your only option, understood?" The boy nodded and took the gun. He had no idea how to use it. He didn't even know why they were there or who the lady was. She gave him a pat on the head before turning around and walking towards the door. She glanced at the nine year old for one last time, sadness showing in her eyes before she left.
Chanyeol stood frozen in the room, the weight of the gun in his hand and fear creeping up inside of him. He wanted to run away. To go back home and cry into his mother's arms but he couldn't. He knew that something was wrong with his parents. He had come home from school, and there were a lot of men outside his house, all carrying weapons. He had heard a loud bang and a scream before the lady had picked him up and brought her into a car. She had told him that it wasn't save there anymore.
The door creaked and he looked up. He was hoping to see the lady, but instead he saw a young boy, who looked like his age. The boy noticed him standing in the room and a look of curiosity filled his eyes. The boy stepped into the room and walked closer to Chanyeol, who was still standing in the middle of the room, and his body was visibly shaking.
"I haven't seen you before, you're new," the boy stated. There was a silence while the boy stood in front of Chanyeol. His face was expressionless, while the other boy was smirking. "I bet you don't even know how it works," the boy said as he nodded his head towards the gun that was still in Chanyeol's tight grip. He stayed silent.
The boy took a step forward and gripped Chanyeol's wrist. He tried to pull away, but the boy's grip was too strong. He lead him to the back of the room, and then sat down against the wall. He motioned for Chanyeol to follow, who gave in and sat down next to the boy.
"The girl who brought you here, she will come back. She always does," the boy told him. Chanyeol nodded, before speaking up.
"Who is she?" he asked the boy.
"She's like a sister, to all of us. No one knows her real name, though. We just call her Cat. She helps kids like us," he explained. "Also, I'm Kris," he said while sticking his hand out.
"Chanyeol," he answered before shaking Kris' hand. It went silent again for a few minutes, until Kris spoke up again.
"What happened to you? Why did she bring you here?" But he didn't get an answer. Instead of pushing Chanyeol to tell him, Kris held out his hand and nodded his hand towards the gun. Chanyeol gave him a confused look but handed it over anyway.
"I know how it works," Kris told him. He saw how terrified Chanyeol looked and he took the boy's hand and laced their small fingers together.
"I will keep you save, I promise."
-
Five years later they were running away from the police, who were yelling at them. One officer had pulled out his gun, but before he could shoot they ran into an empty building. They could hear the police entering too but they had already made their way to the secret exit, before they made it back to their house. Closing the door behind them, they bursted out in laughter. Chanyeol tossed the pack of cigarettes over to Kris and walked over to the kitchen to dump the rest of the stolen stuff on the table. They had done this many times before, because they love to mess with the police.
A few days after Chanyeol met Kris, he had found out that his parents were dead. He had been sneaking around the house and overheard a conversation. After Chanyeol had burst out in tears, no one ever spoke of it again. His parents were involved with the export of drugs, and that they were working on an important deal, but it had gotten out of hand. Cat and the rest was there because they had heard of the deal and wanted to stop it, but when they got there it was too late. In the years after Chanyeol learned a lot. He was taught how to fight, work with guns and other weapons, and how to break into places without getting caught. What they did today was just a small part of what he was going to face in the future.
His life wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. At first, when he had lived there for a few months, he was scared of everything. He knew no one and he missed his parents. But soon, he started to get used to how things worked and befriended most of the people. The house they stayed in was just a small parts of the organisation. The whole neighbourhood was part of it and everybody knew each other. Of course, from time to time there were fights and sometimes someone would die, but in general it was all calm.
He had stopped visiting his parents grave two years ago. He decided that it was time to leave the past behind him and concentrate on what was coming. He was only fourteen years old, but they had told him that he was going to join the rest of the group when he was sixteen. At first, he was excited to finally be able to help with everything, but after a while he realized that that wasn't what he truly wanted. He wasn't even sure what he really wanted. Just, not that.
"What'cha thinking about?" Kris asked. It woke Chanyeol up from his thoughts and he noticed that Kris was standing right in front of him, staring into his eyes. A blush creeped up on his cheeks and he looked down, taking a step backwards. Kris was his best friend, but it always made him nervous when he was so close to him. He saw that Kris was still staring at him, this time with confusion in his eyes. Quickly Chanyeol flashed him a smile and hit his friend's upper arm.
"It's nothing," he answered. "Come on, let's go up, I learned this trick and I’ve got to show you."
-
He was fucked. This was not the plan. He was only supposed to get the money and then get out. But of course it had to go wrong. Now he was tied up in a chair, flames surrounding him and creeping closer to him. There was no way that he could get out of there, he knew that and he was trying to calm himself down. He was going to die, and he couldn't even say goodbye to Kris. The last words they said to each other weren't the nicest, since they got into a fight.
Kris didn't want Chanyeol to go in there alone, because he didn't trust it. Chanyeol thought that he was just being overprotective and that he didn't trust him. This wasn't his first job, since he started working a year ago, and everything always went right until this time. Another gang was in town and they had drugs that could bring up a lot of money. His job was to steal the money that they had given for the drugs back. They caught him and tied him up in a chair, and left right after setting the place on fire.
The flames were really close to him and he could feel them licking up his arm. He tried not to scream out of fear, and he could feel his skin burning. He was still struggling to get out and stirred up when he heard a familiar voice yelling his name.
"Channie, where are you?" His voice was close and Chanyeol gathered all his strength to yell out.
“I'm here." He struggled to say it, the smoke so thick and he couldn't stop coughing. He heard a few bangs and the door opened. A figure appeared but Chanyeol couldn't see much because of the flames. The figure came closer and ran up to him.
"I’ll get you out of here," Kris said as he cut the ropes. He picked up Chanyeol's weak body and carried him out of the place. He didn't notice the burns up Chanyeol's arms and the only thing he could concentrate on was getting him out of there save. The smoke was starting to affect him and it was harder to run. He came close to the door that let outside and he could hear the cracks of wood falling down. He threw his body against the door, which opened with a loud bang before he inhaled fresh air.
He ran away further, away from all the people that were outside the burning building, and a few blocks away he could feel Chanyeol waking up. He sat him down on the street before the other started coughing loudly.
All Chanyeol could feel pain. His skin was hurting, his lungs burning and his head felt as if it was split open. He noticed that he wasn't in the burning building anymore and looked up to see a worried Kris. His clothes were ruined and he looked out of breath.
He pulled himself up off the street, his body protesting as he wrapped his arms around Kris. He had saved him and they were alive. They stood there like that for a while, before Kris pulled away and did a quick check up. Chanyeol had hid his arms behind his back so that Kris couldn't see what happened. He couldn't have him worrying about him even more. After they made sure that Chanyeol could walk well, they made their way back home. Kris insisted that he had to help Chanyeol get cleaned up, but the latter had told him that he was fine and just had to sleep.
That night, when everybody was asleep, Chanyeol packed his bags and left.
-
Chanyeol walked out of the bathroom and picked up his clothes. It was quite hot outside, but he still wore a long sleeved shirt. The scars that the burns left were still visible, even after two years. No one, except for his roommate Baekhyun, had seen them. And even Baekhyun hadn't asked about it, he just told him that he didn't have to hide them.
After he left the house, he had stolen money from a save and took one of the cars. He was aware of the tracking device and had removed it so he couldn't be traced. He had driven for two days until he had gone to a hospital. He knew it was stupid that he didn't go to the hospital earlier, because the wounds were worse when he got there. He stayed in the city for a while, until the burns were healed, and after that he left to Seoul.
He had lived off the money he had stolen until he found a job, and half a year later he got accepted to a university and moved in there. He met a few people and did quite good, but he missed his best friend. He felt bad for just leaving him like that, but he couldn't keep going on like that. He knew that what they were doing was bad, and he could go to jail for it. At the time he was only seventeen, and he couldn't risk losing a part of his life. During the fire, he had figured out what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to study and live a normal life.
He had never told anyone of his life before he moved to Seoul and every time he went out with his friends, he would fear that he would walk into someone that recognized him. He was aware that it could endanger his friends' lives and that was one of the reasons why he would usually avoid going out.
"Hey, Chanyeol, you there?" A hand waved in front of his face. He shook his head and pushed away the hand.
"Sorry, I was thinking," he replied, looking at the shirt that he was still holding in his hands. He felt Baekhyun's hand on his and he looked up to see the other smiling at him. His hand trailed up his arm, over the damaged skin. Chanyeol felt a shiver run down his spine and pulled away.
"If it matters, I think you're beautiful," Baekhyun whispers before turning around and leaving the room. Chanyeol stood there frozen. They had been close before, but the look in Baekhyun's eyes as he said that made his stomach twist. He liked Baekhyun, a lot, but not in the way that he had liked Kris. It was the reason that Chanyeol never got too attached to people, beside Baekhyun, because he can't help but compare everybody to Kris.
That night Chanyeol dreamed of him again. And in the middle of the night, he woke up crying while Baekhyun was hugging him, and that's when Chanyeol realized what he was doing to him. He had never told him anything, but he was still there to calm him down when he was upset. He did it all without asking questions.
"Why do you like me?" It barely came out as a whisper, but in the silence of the night he knew that Baekhyun heard him. He felt movement on the bed and now he was sitting in front of him.
"Because even on days that you aren't happy, you still have a vibe around you that makes everyone happier. Your smile lightens up the whole room and you are kind to everyone and I admire you for that. You never show what you've through in the past and put other's feelings first." It went silent again. Chanyeol took Baekhyun's hands in his and they sat there for a while.
"Thank you," was the only thing that he could say. He had decided that it was time to forget about Kris. He managed to put his grief for his parents behind him, so he knew that he could also do that for him. The eight years that they were friends he had learned a lot. He knew that there would always be a voice in his head that begged him to go back, but he could live with that. He had to let other people in, even if that meant telling someone about his past.
"My parents were murdered when I was nine years old. I was taken in by a local gang and grew up to work for them. I had a best friend, his name was Kris." Chanyeol had to take a breath for a moment before he continued. "I met him the night my parents were killed. He took care of me. When I was seventeen, I had a job where I had to steal money from a rival gang. Kris begged me not to go in there alone, but I ignored him. I got caught and they set the place on fire." he went silent again for a moment and Baekhyun squeezed his hand.
"You don't have to tell me if you can't," he said. Chanyeol shook his head.
"No, I have to. You deserve to know." He nodded his head. "So, I was tied up in a chair and couldn't get out. The flames where everywhere and I thought I was going to die in there. Until Kris came. He had gone through the fire and saved me from there.
That night I left. I left my home and I left him. He was constantly worried about me whenever I had a job and I didn't want him to go through that anymore. So I left and never told anyone where I went."
"That Kris, you loved him, didn't you?" Baekhyun asked after a while. Chanyeol nodded. Then he couldn't hold it in anymore. A tear ran down his cheeks, and more came and soon he was full on sobbing. Baekhyun held him until he had calmed down, and soon he drifted off into a deep sleep. A kiss pressed to his forehead was the last thing he could remember.
-
A few months later Chanyeol was walking down the street. He was going to meet Baekhyun at their favourite coffee shop, but he was running late. He was so busy with studying for his next test that he totally forgot to check the time. Thankfully, Baekhyun told him that he didn't mind.
In the past few weeks they had been more affectionate than usual. Still, Chanyeol didn't really want a relationship and Baekhyun fully understood, but lately they had been going on dates and held hands in public. It was nice that way.
"Channie! I'm over here," Chanyeol heard as soon as he entered the shop. His eyes looked over to where he heard his friend's voice and he soon spotted him. He had already ordered for both of them, since they always had the same. He walked over and sat across Baekhyun while taking a sip of his drink.
"Again, sorry for being so late," he apologized for the tenth time. Baekhyun just shook it off with a smile and went on to talk about a new ice cream shop that was opening soon. Midway listening to Baekhyun's story, the bell of the door rang. Chanyeol looked up, since it was unusual that there was anyone else besides them around this time. It wasn't one of the most popular coffee shops, but it was quiet and comfy.
The person turned towards him and Chanyeol's throat went dry. He could feel the colour drain from his face and he felt like throwing up. Baekhyun noticed that he had stopped listening and turned around to see what got him distracted. He then looked back at Chanyeol and gave him a worried look.
"Are you okay? Who's that?" he asked in a whisper, making sure that the person couldn't hear him.
"That's Kris." Chanyeol replied in barely a whisper. Kris still hadn't noticed him, and he didn't know what to do. He hadn't seen him for over two and a half years, but he still looked the same. Baekhyun saw how terrified he looked and grabbed his hand over the table.
"Listen, just put your head down and don't speak, as soon as he orders we will leave, okay?" Chanyeol nodded and looked down. Soon he heard him speak. It felt like someone was stabbing him over and over in his chest. Oh, how he had missed that voice.
"Okay, let's go." They had picked up their drinks and made their way to the exit, Baekhyun clinging to his side while he was still looking down. They were almost out until Chanyeol dropped his drink. His hands were trembling so much that it had slipped out of his hand. It was spilled everywhere and he cursed out loud. There was a gasp behind him.
"Yeol?" he heard Kris say. His body froze up because he had been caught. Baekhyun whispered a 'run' into his ears, and that's what he did. He ran outside, sometimes bumping into people. He ran until he had reached his room. He made his way inside and collapsed on the ground. The tears were back again, this time it was harder to breathe. He had no idea what to do. Kris knew that it was him, and he had left Baekhyun alone with him. He could've just ignored him, but instead he ran away. Again.
The door had closed behind him and Kris was still in shock. For years he had thought that his best friend was dead. They had searched everywhere but no one could find him and eventually they had given up. And now, he had finally found him.
It took him a few seconds to realize what happened, and then he ran after him. He could hear the voice of the boy that was with him calling out his name, but he ignored it. How did he even know who he was? And why did Chanyeol ran away? He must've recognized him, but why didn't he say something?
He had thought of the possibility that Chanyeol was still alive. But then he remembered that that would be ridiculous, because why would he leave them like that? For nights he had wondered what he could've done wrong, what made Chanyeol decide to leave?
He had lost Chanyeol in the crowd and he stood still for a moment, trying to catch his breathe. He could hear running footsteps behind him and he turned around just for someone to bump into him. The force of the person made him stumble backwards and the person apologized. He recognized him as the boy who was with Chanyeol.
"I'm sorry, Kris. You are really fast and I had to catch up with you," the boy rambled. Again, how did he know his name? Did Chanyeol tell him? Did Chanyeol talk about him? His mind was going crazy and he had no idea what to do.
"Hey, you there?" The boy waved in front of his face. He snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the boy. "As I was going to say, please, don't go after him," the boy begged. Kris was confused. Why wouldn't he do that? Didn't the boy understand that he had to see him again?
"Why wouldn't I? And who are you even?" Kris asked. He was starting to get annoyed. Why couldn't the boy just tell him where he could find Chanyeol?
"I'm Baekhyun, his roommate and not really, but kind-of boyfriend." Kris felt as if he had been slapped in his face. Boyfriend? Chanyeol had a boyfriend? He knew that he could have expected it, since he never really told Chanyeol how he really felt about him. But, still, it made him feel empty. This boy, Baekhyun, he could hold Chanyeol. He could kiss him and tell him how much he loves him. It killed him.
"But that has nothing to do with this. You can't go back to him. He was finally doing better, don't put him through that pain again," Baekhyun explained. Pain? So it was Kris' fault that he left. He had done something to him. But what? He was there for him when he needed him. He had saved him out of the fire, even though the others told him that it was impossible. He had done anything to keep Chanyeol save.
"Why did he leave?" Kris asked. He saw the uneasy look on Baekhyun face that told him that he knew why.
"I'm sorry, Kris, but it's not up to me to tell you."
"But if I'm not allowed to see Chanyeol, how am I supposed to know? He just left. I thought he was dead." Kris' voice turned into a whisper and he turned around, leaving Baekhyun there. He had no idea what was going on. He was here to catch a traitor and go back home. This wasn't the plan at all.
Chanyeol was a mess, still lying on the ground. He couldn't move, his body was aching all over. Why did he have to run into him again? He had finally stopped having dreams about him. He was starting to become better and was trusting Baekhyun more. And now, he felt like it was just yesterday that he left.
"Yeol, are you here?" he heard Baekhyun ask. There was a gasp and he heard him running over to him. "Oh no, are you okay?" Chanyeol shook his head. Baekhyun sat down next to him and lay Chanyeol's head on his lap. There were more tears and Baekhyun kept stroking his head. He knew that there was nothing that he could do for both of them. What bothered him was how thorn up Kris had looked.
Eventually, Chanyeol had dozed off in sleep and Baekhyun had lay him down on his bed. He gave him a kiss on his forehead before he went to bed himself. Although, he couldn't sleep at all. He couldn't stop thinking about what Kris had said before he ran away. 'I thought he was dead.' The sadness in his voice was heart-breaking.
He was restless and couldn't sleep, so he decided to go for a walk outside, that way he wouldn't wake up Chanyeol. He picked up his jacket and went out. Time had passed and the sun had set a long time ago. The wind was cold on his skin and he shivered. That's when he felt something weird. He felt as if someone was watching him. He turned around, but there was nothing there.
Chanyeol woke up from a bang. Then loud footsteps. Someone was in here. He looked around the dark room for Baekhyun, but he was nowhere to be seen. The footsteps were too loud to be Baekhyun's. Chanyeol reached for his drawer and took out his two knives. He hadn't trained with them in years but he still knew how to fight with them.
He stood up and tip-toed out of the bedroom. He peeked behind the door and saw two men standing in the living room. One had his back turned towards him, while he could see the other. They had ski-masks on, so he didn't know who there were.
What happened next was a blur. One of them had noticed him and yelled. Chanyeol had tried to run, but was caught. He had thrown one of his knives to the other one, and a loud yelp told him that he had hit his target. Then, the one that caught him had pulled his arm around his throat and pressed a gun to his temple. The tight grip around his throat made him drop the other knife as he tried to struggle.
"Give me one reason why I wouldn't kill you right now," the man said. Chanyeol froze. He had recognized it. He couldn't remember who it was, but he knew that it was someone that he used to work with.
"You know who I am, right? And can I tell you a little secret?" Chanyeol wanted to tell him to stop, but he could barely breathe. "I'm the reason you have those scars." The man pulled up his sleeves, shoving off the silver scares that reflected in the moonlight. A gasp was heard. Chanyeol's head shot up, and there, in the opening of the door, stood Kris.
"Kris! No!" he tried to yell out, but his words barely came out as a whisper. The man holding him cursed and he felt the gun being removed from his temple. Then there were two gunshots, and he felt the grip around his throat loosen. He took that as his chance to escape and picked up his knife off the floor, slitting it across the man's throat. He then turned around to see Kris collapsing on the ground.
Panic struck Chanyeol, because Kris wasn't moving. He made his was over to him and sat down next to him. He saw that Kris was pressing his hand against his stomach and there was a lot of blood. Chanyeol hugged him to his chest, stroking his hair. Kris was shot, badly, and it was too late to save him. He had already lost too much blood and they both knew that.
"Kris, I'm sorry for leaving you," Chanyeol whispered. Kris shook his head but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry that I never told you why I left and that I never came to visit you or gave you any sign that I was okay. I-" A bloody hand was pressed against his lips. He could feel the metallic taste but didn't pull away.
"It's okay. Don't apologize. I just want to tell you something." He coughed, and blood spilled out of his mouth. "I love you. I have always done and even after you left, I never stopped. I know it's a terrible timing, but-" He didn't have the chance to finish because Chanyeol had pressed his lips on his. The kiss was weak and Kris had to pull away because he was coughing up more blood.
"I love you too." was all Chanyeol could say. There was a tear rolling down his cheek and he hugged Kris closer to him. He still smelled the same as before. When they were younger they would always cuddle in bed, and Chanyeol would press his head in the crook of Kris' neck, because he smelled so nice. Kris had always felt like a home to him. A place that would keep him save and where he would be cared for.
"Why didn't you tell me that you got burned that night?" Kris asked him. Chanyeol shook his head and explained that he didn't want to worry him. Kris ran his fingers over his forearms, feeling the cold, uneven scars. "I think they're beautiful. It shows that you're a survivor." They were silent again. Every second could be their last together and it was horrible.
"Hey, remember the night we met? I made you a promise. I said that I would keep you save. I did it." Kris' breathing became uneven and his eyes closed. Eventually, while Chanyeol was holding him, his heart stopped beating.