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Two kinds of humans exist: those who don't know how to survive and those who do. Jeon Wonwoo likes to believe he's the latter. Unfortunately for him, doing so would be a hell of a lot easier if he didn't have Kim Mingyu by his side.
Mingyu is a good fighter. He can shoot straighter than any other man Wonwoo has met before. He has killer instincts and can sense a person making their way from behind him long before they're even in viewing range. He's tough and he's relentless when provoked but he's also soft inside and has a smile that compares to no other and Wonwoo loves him. That's his downfall.
They knew each other long before the war and the deaths and destruction that left their city in tatters. Mingyu was there for him before Wonwoo came home to discover that his entire family had been killed by the same silent, hidden force that started this mess in the first place, and he was there for him after. They trained together when Mingyu’s own family was taken, trained to fight against the enemy nobody could identify.
Mingyu took a bullet for Wonwoo. Wonwoo would have done the same, Mingyu knew, so he pushed the other boy out of the way and took a shot to the arm. It was in no way a serious injury, yet Wonwoo felt as if his whole world was ending as he held the bleeding boy in his arms (“if those are tears I see in your eyes I will hit you with my uninjured arm” Mingyu had winced at the laughter that followed his empty threat after that, but he still continued to smile, “it's nothing major, Wonwoo. I’ll be fine.”). He was indeed fine, some time in the infirmary was all it took for him to heal, yet Wonwoo continued to lecture him for being reckless and Mingyu continued to shrug because he’d do it a thousand times over if he could.
Wonwoo knows he would do it too. He'd die for Mingyu in a heartbeat, which is a terrifying thought in a world where that really could happen. It's restraining, he knows, to care about someone as much as he cares about Mingyu.
However, no matter what burdens they may bring on each other, Mingyu will follow Wonwoo to the ends of this earth, and Wonwoo plans on doing the same.
It's dark and raining and cold and Wonwoo should be in bed back home. Instead, he's crouched up behind a long abandoned car, waiting. Mingyu went into the building he's currently watching at least an hour ago, and there was still no sign of him. It was a simple mission: get in there, find the suspect, and kill him. It’s a one manned mission - Division Leader Choi Seungcheol said having two would be too risky and held his stance even after Wonwoo protested - and Wonwoo is beginning to feel a bit sick to his stomach.
Another twenty minutes pass with still no sign of Mingyu. Wonwoo knows he shouldn't intervene. Doing so could mean worse news for not only Mingyu but for himself and possibly even their entire team, but the panic rising up is too much to contain and he snaps.
This first thing he notices upon breaking open the door is the smell. He's no stranger to the stench of rotting flesh, but it still catches him by surprise, taking his breath away in the worst possible way. This was to be expected, the man they were assigned to kill was not only a murderer, but a collector of bodies to use for his own sick experiments. The police no longer existed, so small vigilante groups such as the one Wonwoo and Mingyu belonged to took up the responsibility of protecting the people who could not protect themselves.
It's quiet, too quiet, and that scares Wonwoo. If it's quiet, that must mean there is no longer a struggle. If the struggle was over, Mingyu should have come out already. Unless-
Wonwoo is thrown against the wall so hard the air is knocked out of his lungs, and he feels something cold and sharp pressed up against his throat. He's too stunned to react, so instead he stares at the masked man holding him up with wide, fearful eyes. His gun, previously held in his hand, drops to the floor in his surprise. He knows he’s face to face with the man Mingyu was supposed to kill, and if he were capable of doing so he’d probably scream.
“A nice one, you're a nice one.” The man says, his voice far too raspy. “You have nice eyes.”
Wonwoo has hardly managed to catch his breath, but he tries to speak, only to fail miserably and break out into a fit of coughs and gasps for air. The knife is stabbed into the wall, just a few inches away from Wonwoo’s head, in favour of a hand wrapping around his neck.
Wonwoo should fight back. He should be able to kick him away, do something other than stare blankly ahead, but he's frozen like a deer caught in headlights.
“It would be a pity to let a knife taint your beautiful skin.” The masked man says again, and Wonwoo wants nothing more than to spit at his face, call him names describing the sick person he is. “Death by asphyxiation is so much better.”
Wonwoo’s vision is going fuzzy, his head feeling faint when the figure hobbles up behind the killer. The grip on his neck goes limp, a sickening gurgling sound following the equally grotesque sound of a knife being twisted and pulled out of flesh. Wonwoo falls to the floor, still gasping for air when he hears Mingyu curse.
“God, Wonwoo I almost had him- Wonwoo don't close your eyes oh my god please don't close your eyes.”
His vision goes black, but not before he sees Mingyu’s frightened face above him.
He's home when he wakes up. He has yet to open his eyes, but he knows it's home because of the smell of his bed and the feeling of Mingyu’s hand holding his. Mingyu is snoring, curled up on the bed next to Wonwoo. He sits up, not letting go of the younger man’s hand as he does so.
Mingyu stirs and his eyes meet Wonwoo’s, a lazy smile on his lips that quickly disappears as soon as he blinks a few times. He scrambles up, arms wrapping tight around Wonwoo as his body shakes with a sob. He's mumbling something into Wonwoo’s chest, a combination of words that Wonwoo cannot possibly decipher. He decides to comfort Mingyu through petting his head and whispering things like oh my god i’m fine stop crying please. Mingyu just clutches to him tighter, sobs reducing to short, shaky breathes eventually.
“If I was a few seconds later,” Mingyu starts eventually, voice choking up at the threat of more tears, “Just a few seconds, I could've lost you, Wonwoo.” He takes another minute to calm himself down before he sits up in front of Wonwoo, eyes still staring into his with an intensity Wonwoo has seen only a few times before. “Why did you come in? I told you not to come in. You could have died, Wonwoo. Do you understand that?”
“I thought you died, Mingyu.” Wonwoo whispers back, so harshly that Mingyu nearly jumps. Wonwoo isn't angry so he's not sure why he sounds like he is, if anything he's frustrated at himself. Frustrated at himself for loving Mingyu and putting himself in harm’s way.
Mingyu looks as if he's holding himself back, his eyes flashing back and forth from the floor to the wall right behind Wonwoo. His hands are fisted up in his lap so tightly Wonwoo fears he may draw blood with his nails at this rate. The room is near silent for a good few minutes, nothing but the sound of the ticking clock and their quiet breaths to be heard.
“I don't know what I'd do without you.” Mingyu says finally, and his voice is so quiet Wonwoo needs to take a moment to process it, make sure he wasn't hearing anything incorrectly. It was a pretty Mingyu thing to say, though. Cheesy but sweet and meaningful.
“Yeah. You would be really bored.” Wonwoo tries to crack a joke, but instead of laugher he gets a harsh look from Mingyu.
“I’d die, I think.” Mingyu sounds so serious and for some reason that makes Wonwoo angry. “I wouldn't want to live without you here.”
“You're so dramatic, you idiot.” It comes out more playful than Wonwoo intended for it to, and Mingyu has that look of for god’s sake, Wonwoo, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you again, but Wonwoo doesn't want to be serious. He doesn't want to think about how he very well could be dead right now, his body left to be the plaything of a corpse-obsessed human.
Mingyu still doesn't seem to be at ease, so Wonwoo pulls him down next to him on the bed, dragging Mingyu’s head up against his chest. It's an act that's incredibly intimate yet natural for the two of them, and Wonwoo continues to stroke Mingyu’s hair.
“I'm alive. You hear my heartbeat.” Wonwoo whispers, and it's something so cheesy but so meaningful and Mingyu pulls away so he’s looking Wonwoo straight in the eyes. However, instead of angry and scared, this time it is soft and loving and Wonwoo wants nothing more than to kiss him.
To his surprise, Mingyu beats him to it.
The kiss is so innocent, frustratingly so, but it’s everything Wonwoo ever could have wanted with Mingyu. His hand reaches up to cup Mingyu’s cheek, his thumb stroking his face gently. There's no action in the kiss, no use of tongue or anything beyond just lips pressed against lips, and it's perfect.
Loving in this world is a terrible decision, and Wonwoo knows it may eventually lead to his - or possibly Mingyu’s - demise. It's a risk he's willing to take, because in a world where all good is fleeting, Wonwoo thinks that he may have found his utopia.