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“See girl, college wasn't completely pointless,” Namjoon said, packing up his tool kit and setting in in his backpack.
The shaggy golden furred dog barked her agreement while wagging her tail. Sapsali dogs were seen as good luck charms who could ward off evil spirits. Namjoon wasn't sure about the evil spirits, but Boram had proven herself to be his lucky puppy time and time again.
He had engineered his motorcycle to run on solar energy and would recharge his portable solar generator during stops. Fuel vehicles were useless since all the world's gasoline was expired.
He had been traveling for too many years to think about and had yet to see a single other living person. Growing tired of Korea, he decided to head out to the great unknown about six months after everything went to hell.
He had been slowly making his way throughout Asia and had decided the time had come to move once again. He set his sights on Laos, having never been there before. While he felt it was a bit too silly to admit out loud, but he had dreamt about an old white palace with beautiful ornate accents and a grand doorway with golden elephants above it.
In the dream, as he made his way through the now empty palace, he saw the outline of a figure walking the gold accented hallways. He always awoke just before the shadowy figure turned to look at him.
He had no idea where in Laos this palace was nor did he know how he knew it was actually there, but somehow, he just knew. As Boram climbed in next to his grey shorthair cat Kija in the sidecar, he smiled at the two before petting them and giving each a quick snack before heading back on the road.
“You guys ready?” he asked, Kija mewling his agreement and Boram completely ignoring him in favor of munching on his snack.
“Love you, too, girl,” he chuckled before heading out on another long day’s journey.
He had retrofitted the sidecar to be able to seat either a human or keep his animals comfortable. He was originally planning to only leave room for his pets but something in him hoped he’d somehow run into another living person.
So far, no luck. He had searched his entire hometown for survivors like him but there were none to be found. In each and every place he visited, he’d hope to find someone, search in earnest, but never find any sign of recent life.
But with each and every stop, he’d do his best to search for that one in a billion chance. Proof that he wasn’t truly alone. The only other living being he had come across was the stray cat he used to feed in the alley behind his apartment complex. His landlord had never allowed pets or else he’d have adopted her long before. But apparently his landlord was dead, so Kija was his for good.
It was a cold snowy night in Gapyeong when the two came across Boram drinking from a small creek. Kija was feeling sick and somehow by following him, the dog led them to an abandoned veterinarian’s office where they were able to find medicine that helped his beloved cat live to fight another day.
Since then, Boram had proven herself to be a magnet for good luck. She somehow was able to locate items that made their journey all that much easier. He knew somehow that one day Boram would lead him to another living person. He felt it in his very soul.
🏯🏯🏯
The end of the world as it was began on a Tuesday afternoon. It started with an eclipse. The darkness had been all encompassing, plunging everything into a darkness that had left the entire eastern half of the planet reeling.
Where most solar eclipses last anywhere from seconds to about eight minutes, this one lasted seventeen hours. Electricity had stopped working across the globe, causing chaos everywhere. When the eclipse finally receded, people had begun to die.
One by one, people would drop dead. It took a bit of time to notice but it was finally determined to be aneurysms that were caused by a newly discovered bacterial infection that had proven to be highly contagious. Conspiracy theories abounded about the source of the infection with some claiming the eclipse caused it, others saying the eclipse was a distraction created by the government to release the infection on an unsuspecting people.
But the infection moved so fast, they hadn’t had time to determine the true source. In less than a week, half the world’s population had succumbed to the disease that had been referred to as the “Eclipse Sickness” or simply the “Eclipse”.
The remaining half had taken longer to die, most surviving upwards of two weeks before also succumbing to the plight. But for Namjoon, that time never came.
Rumors of people building an immunity were discussed over the scant transmissions that were broadcast on all channels. However, those seemed to remain as only rumors as those who announced their self-proclaimed immunity were dead soon as well.
In fact, they were all dead. All except Namjoon.
🏯🏯🏯
Using his various collected paper maps, he slowly made his way into Laos from Vietnam, traveling toward the center of the country until he saw the place he had dreamt of. There, along the Mekong River, was the city he had seen in his dreams – Luang Prabang.
His eyes lit up as he recognized the river before him. Riding alongside it, he looked over to see both his cat and dog happily enjoying the scenery. In the distance, he could see the white palace.
Riding past the open gates, he quickly parked near the stone steps. Looking at his pets, he told them to stay near the bike as they hopped out to relieve themselves and stretch.
Grabbing his walking stick, he headed into the palace, nerves on edge. He had found the walking stick somewhere in China, in a pile of miscellaneous items behind a nursing home. He had also found a stash of dog treats there that had made Boram’s day. Even Kija had managed to steal a few.
The walking stick was a rich mahogany inlaid with jade and topped with a golden elephant. An elephant that looked a great deal like the golden ones around him. As he walked through the beautifully eerie hallways, he took in the oddly familiar décor. Each statue, each inlay were those of his dreams. The whole situation was so surreal he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
His hand gripped the walking stick tighter as he turned down another hallway. It was as he approached halfway down the hallway that he saw him.
A shadowy figure walking into the hallway from a neighboring room. From the shape of the shadow, the person was wearing the tall pointy crown from his dream – a makuta. As the figure turned to face him, walking into the light, he saw the ornate royal clothing he had read about. Rich reds, golds, and velvety blacks covered the man who now approached him warily. He spoke in a language Namjoon did not know before stopping just before him.
Namjoon shook his head and replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
The man’s eyes went wide before he replied, “You’re Korean?”
He could only nod, too nervous of the man disappearing. This was the only other living person he had seen in years. Something that both excited and terrified him.
“What’s your name? Why are you here?”
“I’m Namjoon. I dreamt about this place, about you,” he spoke barely above a whisper.
The man shivered, “I…I’ve dreamt about you before. I thought I was the only one for so long and figured my mind was making up another person because of loneliness. But…you’re here. You’re real.”
“I am. How…how are you real?”
The man simply bit his lip, nervousness crossing his own face.
“Wait,” Namjoon interrupted. “Why are you wearing a crown?”
The man simply shrugged, “If you can live as a commoner or a king in a palace, which would you choose?”
Namjoon cackled, maybe the two of them would get along after all.
🏯🏯🏯
Namjoon sat on the throne, watching as his cat and dog played in the sitting room before him. The man, Yoongi, had told him to wait here while he went to prepare “a royal lunch” for them both.
Soon, the overly dressed man returned, carrying a golden tray of food. Namjoon smiled as he saw the bowls of khao pun. It had been so long since he had noodles of any kind that his mouth automatically watered.
“It smells wonderful! Where did you get these?!”
“Oh, I just popped in to the 7-11,” Yoongi chuckled. “I made them. Found some cookbooks and decided it was worth a try.”
Namjoon thanked him before gobbling down the food at a ridiculous rate. Yoongi smiled as he calmly ate his own meal.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had food this good! How’d you learn to cook like this?”
“My family moved here when I was younger. When we did, our neighbor was a kind older lady who would babysit me. She taught me how to cook lots of things, mostly Laotian food. I stayed in my family’s home for a while, but it got quite depressing. I moved out of the city and have been here since.”
“You ever think about going somewhere else?” Namjoon asked, sipping the beerlao Yoongi had brought. It wasn’t very cold, but he really didn’t care.
“I have, all I have is a bicycle. I ride it around town but I’m not really sure where I’d go. I get nervous when I think too much about, you know…being alone.”
Namjoon nodded softly. “I had a hard time with that as well, and honestly, I probably would still if it weren’t for Kija and Boram. The fact there’s actually someone besides me out there…it…it’s nice. Scary but nice.”
“Scary?”
“I mean can you imagine if there are other people out there? Someone who isn’t so nice? I worried about that sometimes. That someone would hurt my babies.”
“Babies?” Yoongi asked in surprise.
“Oh, um, the cat and dog,” he replied bashfully. They’re my everything.”
Yoongi smiled. “I guess they would be.”
🏯🏯🏯
Yoongi cackled as the wind blew through his hair. He was holding onto Namjoon’s waist as they rode away from a small Bangladeshi zoo. The group had stopped for a break when a stray ostrich stormed after Namjoon, attempting to peck him wildly. Seeing him running toward the bike, Yoongi rushed the cat and dog into the sidecar and hurried over to scare off the ostrich. Unsuccessfully. Then both were being chased until somehow they were finally able to hop onto the motorcycle and ride off just before the huge bird pecked them once again.
It had taken some convincing that his tall pointy crown was not needed during their journey across the continent. He did, however, insist on placing a diamond bracelet around the cat’s neck and crowning him King Kija. He also found a sapphire necklace that fit the dog perfectly, leading to her also being crowned Queen Boram. Even Namjoon and Yoongi wore matching necklaces.
They traveled from there to Paharpur to see the Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara. They marveled at the beauty of the site as they planned the next leg of their journey.
Through the next few weeks, they traveled through Raiganj, debating on stopping near the old Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary but it was nixed when Namjoon shyly brought up the ostrich incident with an apprehensive wince.
They next stopped in Biratnagar to look for supplies and to rest. After finding an abandoned hotel, they headed inside to stay for the night. After finding the nicest room on the first floor, they fell asleep together on the large bed.
That was another change that had evolved. The two began sharing a sleep space, even cuddling when they weren’t sleeping. It started due to an unexpected storm that left them shivering in their tent. Snuggling together in an attempt to get warm led to the two opening up more to each other.
As the two lay staring up at the ceiling and talking about the day when Namjoon looked over at the older man with a small smile. “Do you think that maybe we…um, I mean would you maybe like to um, be my boyfriend?”
Yoongi got quiet, looking away before turning onto his side away from Namjoon. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He could hear Namjoon’s breath hitch as he turned to face the opposite side. His stomach dropped, nervousness and worry clouding his thoughts, keeping him from falling asleep.
🏯🏯🏯
The next morning, Yoongi could tell things were different. Namjoon’s usual happy disposition was now replaced with one of a somber curtness that he was obviously trying to hide.
They continued their journey as planned, but the conversation was a lot less open and friendly. While not rude, Yoongi could tell that the other was trying to hold back the fact that he had been hurt.
It was at the end of the second week that their strained friendship was tested. Namjoon had been trying to cook some rice but had burned it. Yoongi tsked in annoyance as that was the last of their rice reserves since the weather had forbidden them from exploring the past few days.
“Sorry, I tried.”
“Mmm,” he replied shortly.
Namjoon huffed before storming off into another room of the small home they had commandeered. They were most of the way to Kathmandu when the storm hit. Hoping to hit the large city for supplies, they had to hurry to shelter.
They had parked under a carport, each grabbing an animal and rushing into the first home they found just as the hail began raining down. Once they dried themselves and the animals, they searched the cabinets for supplies, happy to see a few days of food.
Frustrated that their temporary stay was bordering on too long and the lack of adequate food, Yoongi had been harsher than he would normally be. And as he watched Namjoon storm off, he knew he had to make things right.
🏯🏯🏯
Namjoon sat on the back porch, watching the rain steadily pour down. He felt like a fool. He should’ve never attempted a confession to Yoongi. Only one other human in the entire world, and he had managed to make things awkward. He should’ve known it’d be impossible for someone as beautiful as Yoongi to be interested in him.
As he stared at the rain falling onto the puddles on the ground, he did his best to ignore the sadness he was feeling. It was almost working, too. At least until he heard the door open.
🏯🏯🏯
Yoongi slid out from the door, careful not to let either pet out. Shame twisting a knot in his belly, he shuffled over and sat on the child-size bench next to Namjoon. They were squished together, the bench never meant for two full grown men.
“I’m sorry for being a doofus. I…I do like you, for the record. I’m just…I’m scared, Joon.”
The bench squeaked and strained as Namjoon turned toward him. “Scared? Of what?”
“We’re it. If things go bad, then what? I can’t be alone again,” he said, barely keeping his sobs at bay.
“Yoongi. Baby…I would never leave you alone. Even if it didn’t work out, which it will, I’d still always be there for you. You mean too much for me to ever abandon you,” he said, holding the older man’s face in his hands and caressing his cheek with his thumb.
Yoongi pouted before finally letting his tears fall. Namjoon quickly wiped them away, kissing his forehead before pulling him into a hug. As they shared this delicate moment, the child-size bench before them gave out, sending both crashing to the ground.
They landed with a huff, Namjoon laying across Yoongi. As he moved to climb off of him, he found himself being pulled into a kiss. A kiss he had dreamt about for so long. One he had waited and hoped for longer than he’d care to admit to. But now, none of the previous worries seemed to matter.
🏯🏯🏯
Yoongi smiled widely, the wind blowing through his long hair. They had finally made it to Phuentsholing, somewhere Namjoon had always wanted to visit. As the bike rode through the streets, Yoongi cuddled against Namjoon’s back.
Looking over at the sidecar, he smiled happily at Kija and Dorum who were both looking around curiously at their new surroundings. Never could he have imagined that after those horrible times and after being all alone in dying world, he’d finally have another person at his side.
And now, as he held onto Namjoon as they headed toward their next adventure, he felt a happiness he never knew he could have, knowing he’d never have to be alone in the world again.