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Laying in the corner of the expensive restaurant he spent hours picking with his hyungs, hands pressing hard against his bleeding torso, Jisung couldn't help but think that this was nothing like the perfect first date he planned for.
He wasn't sure how they got there, he figured Hyunjin must have dragged him all across their window seat to one of the booths after a bullet found its place somewhere in his abdomen and the shattered glass on the side off his head.
The top floor of the 3-Star Michelin restaurant was empty except for them, since Jisung reserved the whole floor for the night, but he knew it was only a matter of time until whoever shot him found their way up.
Sighing, he started getting up from his current position, lying under a table. He wasn't expecting the explosive flare of pain that shot through his nerves when he did that, though, his vision fading slightly as he fell back to the cold flooring with a whimper.
Trying to even his breath, he closed his eyes, only opening them again to be met with a desperate Hyunjin looming over him. His originally pretty and glittery makeup got an extra edge from all the dark paths the dried tears and eyeliner created in his face.
Jisung thought he looked beautiful.
"What are you doing?" Hyunjin inquired in a hushed voice, reaching for his shoulders to keep him still. "You're hurt, stop moving."
Ideally, yes. He'd stay still and maybe even go to a hospital, but nothing was exactly ideal for Jisung at the moment. He worked so hard to plan this date just to fucking traumatize the boy over what he assumed were some trivial gang pet peeves. The last thing he wanted was a bloody and hurt Hyunjin to top the cake. So yeah, there's no way he was going to just lay on that spotless marble floor.
But he also couldn't go around with a bleeding wound.
Jisung moved his hand towards the taller's long artist fingers and interlocked their trembling hands.
"I need to stop the bleeding," he said, hoping his tone was confident enough to ease Hyunjin's worrying. "And I'll need you to help me." At that, the older's eyes shot up from where they were staring at their joined hands, panic clear in every feature of his face, drawing lines that were not there mere minutes ago when they were waiting for their meals.
"Jisung, I-I can't. I'm not a doctor, I don't know how to. What if I make it worse? If you bleed out…"
Through the haze of adrenaline and pain, Jisung decided he didn't like the look of worry and fear painted on Hyunjin's usually soft and glowing features. He didn't deserve it. Jisung was so wrong for dragging the older into his mess of a life. Maybe he should end things with the taller after this, even if they barely started.
Reaching up with his non-bloody hand to thumb at the spot between Hyunjin's eyebrows, he said, "Don't frown, it'll give you wrinkles." using the shock the unexpected words caused to gently push the boy to the side and sit up, grinding his teeth to hold in a grunt.
"Hyunjinnie" Jisung decided to cut the other's line of thought, the fear and anxiety barely letting the older form a sentence, but it was easy to see his mind was wandering towards awful places. "Can you do this for me? Please? I trust you." At these words, Hyunjin took a deep breath and stiffened his shoulders and posture, his eyes and mouth closing in tense lines as he inhaled.
"Okay." he breathed out, almost a sigh. "What can I do?" he asked then, opening his eyes with a different glint, that seemed almost uncharacteristic of the soft and gentle boy he entered the restaurant with earlier that night, though the tears were still welling up in the corners of Hyunjin's vision. Jisung smiled fondly at that, Hyunjin wasn't just beautiful he was brave and strong as well.
Inspired by Hyunjin's determination, Jisung started ripping his t-shirt as best as he could while explaining the procedure to the other boy "It's easy enough. You just need to wrap this against the bleeding, but it has to be tight, very tight." He knew he needed a lot more than that to treat his wound, but he didn't want to ask too much of his date, nor did he have all the tools waiting in the pocket of his tailored dress pants — a rookie mistake.
"Is it going to hurt you?" the taller asked while taking the makeshift bandages from Jisung's hands and positioning them against the wound so he could start tying it up.
"It'll be better than bleeding out, right?" Jisung let out a small laugh, but Hyunjin wasn't amused by it, his brows frowning even more in a show of anger and worry. "Seriously, don't worry. We have to do this."
Hyunjin nodded at that and started tightening up the bandage with steady hands. Jisung's breath was quickly knocked out of his lungs, and his vision was blurred by unshed tears and dark spots that came and went. Another pull at the cloth, and Jisung was biting back a scream, lips bleeding and joining the rest of the viscous liquid on what was left of his white shirt.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Jisung had to remember himself as Hyunjin patched him up slowly.
With a firm grip and a final pull to make sure the bandage was secured in its place, Hyunjin and Jisung let out a relieved sigh, their eyes meeting one more time before the younger's body was pulled into a hug, a beautiful face hiding in the crook of his neck and muffled sobs and apologies in the back of his ears.
"It's okay. It's okay, Jinnie. I'm okay." Jisung said, trying to comfort the other with gentle words and an even gentler hand coming up to fondly ruffle the messy long hair. "You're amazing, baby. Don't apologize, this isn't your fault. You saved my life, y'know." He left a soft kiss on the top of Hyunjin's head and held him tighter to help convey his gratitude and pride towards the older's bravery.
When Hyunjin looked up, his face was red and puffy, but the tears and hiccups had mostly subsided. Jisung's eyes started searching the other's face then, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Hyunjin's makeup was even messier than before, dark tear stains smudged all over, and the messed-up foundation revealing a small beauty mark under his eye. Jisung's hand traveled up to touch it, that little detail was too charming to be real, he thought.
Then, their eyes met again.
There was something there that wasn't present before in all those weeks they had known each other. Hyunjin's eyes now, though still a beautiful reflex of the night sky, no longer held stars in them. Bringing a much more somber aspect to the taller's features.
Jisung was enraptured by this new side of the man. It was crazy how even in this dire situation, Hyunjin couldn't help but bring Jisung's focus all to himself, almost making him forget about the surroundings. Feeling deep in his heart the need to find out more about Hyunjin, even if hours ago he thought he had him all figured out.
With a hand on Hyunjin's face, a thumb lightly caressing his cheek in careful and minimal motions, eyes glued to one another, searching, Jisung finally noticed how close they were. Blame it on the blood loss! He thought, as his eyes traveled down to meet plump and shiny lips, faces getting dangerously closer.
That's when they heard the screaming, heads jerking away from each other, following the sound.
Jisung realized he hadn't stopped to think about what happened after the first shot was fired, his mind fogged by pain and Hyunjin. Where did they shoot from? Did they manage to get inside? How close were they to them? He tried not to panic as he focused on the warm hands on his own, squeezing tightly as he evened his breathing.
He tuned in to the screaming then, low enough that he knew they were probably on the lower floors of the building. Currently, he and Hyunjin were in a corner of the top floor, the mezzanine allowing for a bit of an overview of the restaurant, but Jisung wasn't keen on peeking just to risk another bullet getting close to him or Hyunjin.
He knew there were three ways down - maybe four if you included free-falling into the asphalt - the main stairs, the elevator and the fire exit. The first one was too open, the second would be too slow and noticeable, the third was too obvious, and they could be expecting them, hiding in the badly lit corners, or just waiting for them at the bottom.
The only way was up, then.
Jisung was already planning on taking Hyunjin to the terrace on the rooftop today anyway.
He knew there was a lot of furniture up there that he could use to block the door for some time and to get some coverage if necessary. That wasn't a definitive solution to their situation, but at the very least it would give him time to call Chan and get some much-needed backup.
"Let's go, Jinnie" He took the other's hand and got to a half-standing, half-crouching position. The other followed his actions without hesitating, only holding his hands tighter while they made their way to the stairs in the middle of the room. "They may see us when we're going up, okay? If there's any sign they noticed us, run as fast as you can to the door."
As they made their way up, everything seemed under control, there were no shouts that indicated their location had been compromised, and the flight of stars was short enough there shouldn't be any huge problems if they were spotted. Hyunjin got to the top first, Jisung just a step behind him, an uncomfortable mix of adrenaline and anxiety coursing through his veins as he watched Hyunjin turn the handle.
And then he heard a click.
The door was locked because, of course, it was. The terrace was a V.I.P. space, only opening at certain hours of the night for very few people to visit. He should have thought about it, but he didn't, and now they were trapped on the top of a flight of stairs with armed people on the lookout for them.
Jisung was never a fan of sneaking in and out of places, he preferred blowing things up and crashing right in, so he never really bothered to learn how to properly pick a lock, that was Minho's thing, not his. He knew how he could open the door, though, he'd done it countless times when he found a locked door without his friend's skilled hands to will it open, but he really didn't want to do it in front of Hyunjin.
He took a deep breath before deciding that that was indeed the best course of action, to be honest, it was the only one he could think of. He also looked at Hyunjin, still trying to open the door, as if it would give in if he tugged at it just right.
He sighed for the billionth time since this whole thing started before getting into motion and stopping Hyunjin's hands, holding onto them for a second longer than necessary as he took them off the handle and signaled for Hyunjin to get behind him.
"I really hope this doesn't ruin my chances with you, Jinnie." Jisung said before pulling his pistol from where it was concealed in his heavy combat boots, he felt Hyunjin's yelp more than he heard it - yeah, this just ruined my chances - and it kinda broke his heart, but now wasn't the right time for him to cry over losing the prettiest and kindest boy he ever met.
Right now, he had a locked door in front of him and a gun in his hand. So he shot at it like anyone else would have.
One well-aimed bullet was more than enough to destroy the lock and allow Jisung to push the door open, it just happened that it was also enough to turn some not-well-intentioned heads towards them as well.
Grabbing Hyunjin's hand and shoving him through the door before the people looking for them had time to react to the loud noise, he went in himself after making sure nobody was too close.
Once outside, the cold wind hit his face without mercy, the small cuts on the side of his head throbbing as if to remind him they still weren't safe.
He approached Hyunjin slowly, trying to ignore how the fearful expression from moments ago was now directed at him. "Jinnie, I need you to do something for me, okay?" he said softly, and he started reaching for the phone in his back pocket, seeing how the other's eyes followed the movement. "I need you to call Chan hyung and tell him what's going on, okay? Can you do that for me? He and the others will help us."
Hyunjin stayed silent, but he nodded and grabbed the phone in Jisung's hands. "He's my emergency contact, just dial 1, it should work just fine," Jisung said as he put away the gun in his belt. "You have to hide now, okay? Get as far as you can from the entrance and stay hidden no matter what." Jisung saw Hyunjin follow his instructions with a few puzzled looks thrown his way before running off somewhere behind the small gazebo on the edge of the rooftop. He could no longer see him from where he stood.
It's better this way. - Jisung thought while barricading the doors, the wound in his stomach was making it increasingly harder for him to move the pieces of furniture around. Hyunjin was just a normal guy who enjoyed his mostly monotonous everyday life, he had no right to mess that up for him. This date had been a stupid idea, and he knew that from the start.
But he just couldn't help himself.
Hyunjin was the most beautiful person he had ever met in his life. The first time he saw him hanging out with Felix, he knew he was done for. Nothing he did would ever get the boy out of his head. He kept looking for him in the crowd, imagining him in his life, dreaming of him on the hottest nights, and willing the taller's eyes to turn to him and meet his.
And he did. Hyunjin looked at him, talked to him, laughed at his jokes, and accepted his stuttering attempt at asking him out. Which led to a series of days of Jisung bothering his hyungs for the best date spots in the city.
He should've thought this through a little better, because now Jisung had dug an even deeper hole for himself and his feelings for the other, infatuated by the new side of Hyunjin he was able to meet in this dire situation, but he knew he probably should never seek his company again if he wanted Hyunjin safe.
He could hear his muffled voice speaking to Chan on his phone. There was still a hint of a tremble to his tone, but he related the situation calmly.
“Please come quickly. Jisung is hurt, and I don't kn-” was the last thing he heard before the loud banging started. The pieces of furniture he stacked in front of the door moved slightly with each thump. He wasn't sure how many men would be there when the door inevitably opened, but he hoped he could at least stall them until backup decided to show up.
He hid himself behind a metal table he'd positioned sideways earlier to have some cover in the incoming shootout, and willed his hands to stop sweating so much.
Jisung started shooting as soon as he heard the door slide against the floor.
With the small timing advantage he was able to create, he was able to take down two of those who he assumed were members of a rival gang, their bodies hitting the floor as soon as they stepped onto the rooftop. He dove back behind the table and chanced a glance towards where he knew Hyunjin was hiding, still well covered behind the half walls of the gazebo, but now his eyes were glued to Jisung, following his every move. When he emerged from behind his cover to start shooting this time, he did so with renewed vigor. Not only was he fighting for his and Hyunjin's lives, he was also showing off. Two birds with one stone, he thought.
He kept shooting until he got to his last round of bullets. There weren't a lot of them left standing now, he could see two, and he was sure there was another one, probably hiding behind a random armchair or something.
He focused on taking out the two that kept shooting at him, creating indents in his trustworthy table. He managed to hit one of them in the chest and heard him tumbling down with a shriek, Jisung was quick to get cover again, but not enough to avoid getting grazed in the shoulder by the other.
He groaned behind the table and hoped the adrenaline would make him forget the pain for a few more moments as he slid away from his only cover to get an unexpected angle on the man. He pressed the trigger before the other could react, mixing his surprised gasp with a bloody gargle as he fell to the floor.
Jisung almost allowed himself to feel relief before he was tackled to the floor. Back and head hitting the hard surface and sending a numbing pain through his nerves.
“Shit.” He muttered when he realized he had let his gun get away from his hands as he fell.
The thing is, Jisung may be a natural at shooting and other forms of long-range fighting, but the same never applied to hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat, his smaller build never allowed him to overwhelm his opponents.
The guy currently holding him down, though, was a fucking giant. With biceps the size of his head and a height that even in this position clearly doubled his, Jisung could only hope for so much as he struggled against the grip around him.
He was turned around suddenly, and arms snaked to his neck, cutting the airflow to his lungs. Jisung desperately grabbed at the man's arm, leaving deep indents and drawing blood with his fingernails, but the surrounding hold stayed the same one that made his body sag and his vision blur.
Suddenly, there's a loud thud behind him, and the man holding him let's go of his neck, falling to the side, motionless.
When he's able to breathe again, it's like it's the first time he's ever done it, taking in too much air at once and choking on it. He's left heaving on the floor for a few seconds before he turns around, being met by Hyunjin with eyes wide open, holding tightly to a bloodied foldable chair.
“Oh my god.” Is all the taller says before dropping it and falling to his knees beside him.
“Are you okay?” Jisung croaks out, his voice rough and grainy.
“Yes. Of course, I'm okay, Hannie!” He says wetly, a tear slipping down his face as he takes in Jisung's state, “What about you? You're bleeding again.” The taller brings his hands to Jisung’s face, cupping it gently and caressing his cheeks.
“I'll be okay,” he says genuinely, “Thank you for saving me again. You didn’t have to.”
Jisung watches as Hyunjin's eyes drift slowly to the man laying still beside them.
“Did I - is he dead?” He's scared when he asks this. He shouldn't ever have to dirty his hands like this. The guilt of being the one to bring this upon this lovely boy is overwhelming.
“I'm sorry,” he says, and he can feel his heart break again. “This is all my fault. I should've known this could happen. I'll understand if you never want to see my face again. I'll stay far away from you from n-”
“Jisung!” Hyunjin interrupts him, “Who will protect me from these guys if you're not around, then?”
“I- What?” Is all Jisung manages to answer, dumbly gaping at the other with a mixture of incredibility and hope. “How can you trust me like that? After all of this?”
“You almost died trying to protect me now. How could I not?” He's about to interrupt Hyunjin and list all the reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea, but the older doesn't let him and keeps talking.
“I want to, Jisung. I want to trust you.” They're holding hands now, their fingers interlocked, and their eyes glued to one another. “Will you let me?”
“Yes,” he breathes out, almost like a plead.
It's both sudden and gradual, the way they get closer to each other, drinking in the sights of the other so close in earnest. He doesn't know who leans in first, Jisung would probably bet on himself if asked, but it doesn't really matter. Because they are kissing now, and he doesn't give a fuck to how they got to this point. He's finally tasting the other's mouth and savoring his tongue.
Their kiss isn't slow, it isn't sweet. It's desperate, and it tastes salty and metallic from all the tears and blood, but Jisung doesn't care and neither does Hyunjin as they explore each other, hands and mouths eager to know more, to meet, to ask and to answer.
They keep kissing and keep touching until they're startled by the loud sound of Chan's helicopter cutting through the air. They're still holding hands when they board and never let go of each other until much, much later.
In fact, Jisung is so focused on Hyunjin's mouth and body that he never realizes that they shared their first kiss on the romantic rooftop terrace with a beautiful view to the city.
Just like he planned for their first date.