Work Text:
Now
Himchan flinches back when lips touch his'. He'd known she was nearby but-
"Do you think you can just take what's mine?" she asks sweetly, voice so close to his ear that he can feel her breath warm on his skin. He pulls against his bound hands, his chafed wrists burning at the contact.
"Let me go," he pleads. "Please."
She laughs. "I know who you are! You can't lie to me."
His head whips back when she slaps him. He gasps in pain. The shallow cuts on his cheek stings harshly.
"He said he loved me. He promised me he'd marry me. I loved him!" she screams. He can smell the petrol now and his heart freezes in fear.
"Please." His tears soak into the blindfold. "Please, don't do this."
"This is you. It is all because of you. You have to pay for what you did."
He hears the match striking and knows for certain he is going to die. Yongguk wouldn't come for him today. Not after what he said.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
It's too late now.
Before
Himchan can feel it. The fire burning towards him, crackling and snapping. It will hurt. He knows this. He has always hated pain. He can't help it when he trembles, twisting against his bounds. The knife wound, he'd hoped it was shallow but it really doesn't matter now, stabs painfully in his abdomen. The cloth covering his eyes twists and he can see the twilight fading and the approach of his fiery death.
He gasps when he feels hands on him. She'd come back. Maybe the fire was too slow. Maybe she wants to finish it quickly and then-
"I've got you. You're safe," a rough voice says and Himchan finds himself being lifted out of the boot of the car. He doesn't believe it at the start. It must be one of her tricks, he thinks and he struggles.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
The arms around him tighten. "Do you want to get us both killed? Shut up and stay still. I'm trying to help you," the voice snaps.
Himchan stills. He can feel the blood soaking into his dress shirt. But the night air is cool against his face. So he closes his eyes.
When the car explodes, Himchan doesn't know why it comes as a surprise. The man carrying him stumbles with the force of it, crouching down immediately with a muttered curse. Himchan closes his eyes and leans against the man's warmth. He is so tired. He just wants to sleep.
"Hey," the stranger calls him. It is a nice voice. So deep and soothing.
"Hey," the voice calls, louder. And Himchan manages to open his eyes. His hands and feet are unbound. When did that happen? And the blindfold is gone too and Himchan lifts his face up to find his rescuer. It is a strong face. Himchan doubts, in a distant sort of way, that he has ever been called handsome. But he likes it. It is the face of the man who saved him.
"Don't fall asleep," the man says, a calloused hand at his neck. He feels the man's other hand lifting up his shirt and he can't help it when he flinches back. Atleast tries to. There is a tree at his back, he realises belatedly.
"You're hurt." The man's hand stills and he peers into Himchan’s face. "I just want to see."
Himchan nods slowly. The man's hands are careful as he gently lifts up his shirt. The man curses again under his breath. Himchan looks down himself to see the blood. His shirt had been white before. He is sure of it. He is going to die. Maybe not in an explosion. But slowly bleeding to death out here in the middle of nowhere with a stranger who had tried to save him.
"Hey!" the man's palm is warm against his skin. "Hey. Tell me your name. What's your name?" the man asks almost desperately. Himchan squints at him to see the phone held to his ear.
"'Chan," he whispers. The man leans closer. "What?"
Himchan takes a deep breath. "Himchan."
"Kim Himchan?" the man asks, quietly.
Himchan should be more surprised he thinks, that this stranger knows his name.
"Yes."
"Okay, Himchan. Help is coming. You'll be alright, just stay awake for me."
Himchan wants to. He really does. But he is so tired and cold and he just wants to sleep. The last thing he hears is the man's voice on the phone.
"Jongup! Where the hell are you?"
---
Himchan wakes up in a bed that is not his' and as his eyes wonder over the ceiling and the rest of the space, with posters of cars on the walls and a study desk littered with books, in a room that is definitely not his' and a boy he doesn't know sitting at his elbow. He panics for a moment. The last time he'd woken up in unfamiliar settings, there had been a knife pressed against his heart. But at least he is not tied up to a chair and no one is telling him in a tearful voice that it's his fault.
This is you. It is all because of you. You have to pay for what you did.
That's what she had said in his ear before plunging the knife in. Himchan shivers, and the boy at his elbow jumps up.
"Oh my god, you're awake!" he exclaims, jumping on the spot a little. The kid is young, a mop of messy blond hair on his head and wide, worried eyes peering at him from behind a fringe.
"Are you okay? Yongguk hyung said you'd be okay. Woohyun hyung fixed your bleeding so you shouldn't be dying now!" the kid leans a little closer. "Are you dying?" he asks curiously.
Himchan blinks. Is he dying? No? Probably not?
"Where am I?" he asks instead of answering.
The kid draws even closer. "Bang's mechanics!" the kid answers brightly. "The answer to all your mechanical problems!" he adds with a huge smile.
"The man… he saved me," he whispers, remembering the warm hands and the soothing voice.
The kid decides to sit back down on the bed, looking down at Himchan.
"That was Yongguk hyung! He saved you from the explosion!" the kid explains excitedly. "Darn, I missed the explosion," he adds sadly.
Himchan sits up, or tries to. Something pulls in his chest and he gasps, dropping back down. The kid screeches worriedly.
"No no no! Don't do that! You can't move yet! Woohyun hyung said you need bed rest until the stitches stick!"
Himchan takes slow breaths to try to manage the pain. It hurts. He feels tears stinging at his eyes and squeezes them shut.
"Whoa! Are you crying?" the kid asks at the same time a familiar voice says, "Junhong, I thought I told you not to scare him."
Himchan opens his eyes, lashes sticking together a little to see the man from...last night? Two nights ago? – standing at the doorway.
"I'm not making him cry, hyung! Promise!"
"Go, help Jongup with Seungho hyung's car," says the man who had saved him. Yongguk. And the kid, Junhong, looks down at him worriedly.
"I didn't make you cry, did I?"
Junhong sounds so anxious that Himchan manages a small smile. "No, you didn't."
Junhong smiles, relieved and gets off the bed.
"I'll make Himchan hyung some soup okay!" Junhong says brightly as he passes Yongguk, who reaches out to ruffle the blond head.
"How are you feeling?" Yongguk asks after Junhong leaves, coming closer to the bed. Himchan looks up at him. It is a strong face. And he still likes the voice.
"You saved my life," he says softly. "Thank you."
Yongguk ducks his head, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Couldn't leave you there to die now, could I?" he asks, lifting his head and Himchan, if he wasn't weak from the blood loss and pain, would say he is blushing.
"Are you...the police?"
This makes Yongguk laugh, a surprised burst. "No way! The opposite really. I just… I've been helping them to catch this woman. I got a tip yesterday and didn't want to wait for the police to get off their asses," Yongguk explains.
"What is this you're saying about my ass?" asks a new voice. Himchan turns his head to see a man in a suit enter the room.
"If I was talking about asses, yours is the last one I'd talk about," Yongguk quips, smiling at the new comer.
The man laughs. "Sure. Whatever you say, Yongguk. You know I have to talk to you about that stunt you pulled yesterday."
Yongguk's face tightens. "If I'd waited for you, Himchan would be dead."
"I don't know why I'm letting you be a part of this," the man says, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Because you know I'd look for her even if you say no and you would much rather have me on your side," Yongguk says, in a tone of a man who had said it many times before.
The man sighs. "Go down and give Daehyun your statement. I need to talk to the victim."
The victim. He doesn't like it. But atleast he's not dead.
Yongguk looks at him as he turns to leave. Himchan really doesn't want him to go. But he should be safe with a policeman. And he's not a little to kid to jump every shadow.
"I'll send Junhong up with some food later," Yongguk tells him. Himchan smiles and nods. "Thank you."
Yongguk smiles, wide and filled with gums. Himchan can't help it when he thinks it's cute. Then he mentally slaps himself for being a total cliché and falling for his rescuer.
"I'm Yoo Youngjae, the detective in charge of this case. You are Kim Himchan, yes?" the police officer asks, drawing the chair from the study table to sit by his side.
Himchan nods.
"My team is scouring the crime scene right now. But I'd like to hear your side of the story. Can you tell me what happened yesterday?" Detective Yoo asks. His voice is kind and Himchan lets himself ease up a breath.
He'd been walking home from a friend's birthday party. How would he even explain this to his friends? And his family? Getting kidnapped and almost murdered is not really good dinner conversation.
He might have been a little bit drunk, because Yonghwa's parties always have plenty of alcohol, and he hadn't even realised she was behind him until he felt the prick of pain at his neck. He remembers nothing after that until he woke up tied to a chair with a knife pressed against his heart. He couldn't see her because of the blindfold. But her voice had been high pitched, ready to hit hysterical at a moment's notice and she'd worn perfume. Something flowery and overwhelming, like roses. He'd heard her high heels clicking on the floor and the felt the softness of her hands as she touched a palm to his face, catching his tears.
She had hated him. He had never met her and she had hated him.
This is you. It is all because of you. You have to pay for what you did.
And he would have. If Yongguk hadn't been there.
"You are extremely lucky to be alive, only one of her previous victims has lived to tell the tale," Detective Yoo tells him as Himchan fights back against the fear.
"What? There were others?"
Detective Yoo nods. "She is the most wanted criminal in the country. The worst serial killer we've seen in a decade. We're trying our best but she is very clever and hides herself very well. But we know she has a pattern, we'll get her because of that."
"A pattern?"
"She kills only men with the surname of Kim who are in their twenties. We're trying to get to all the people that fit that category but there are lots of Kims in this city."
"She tried to kill me because of my name?" he asks, incredulous.
Detective Yoo nods. "We think that possibly a husband or boyfriend hurt her and she snapped. This is how she takes revenge."
Himchan covers his eyes with a hand. "But it's over now, right? I can go home, back to my life?"
Detective Yoo stays quiet until Himchan looks at him, hating the foreboding silence.
"I'm sorry, Himchan. She is a very persistent killer. Once she picks a victim, she will do her utmost to make sure he is dead. That's why you're here and not in a hospital."
"But- you said- you said there was a survivor. He's alive isn't he? She didn't kill him?"
Detective Yoo sighs sympathetically.
"Originally there were two survivors. She killed one of them when we thought it was safe to let him go home. So we're keeping the other victim under constant guard."
"But that means," Himchan looks at detective Yoo with wide eyes.
"That means you can't go home until we catch her."
Himchan stares. Detective Yoo isn't laughing. But it must be a joke.
"I have a job! I have friends, family. I can't just stay here!" He can't help it if he sounds a little hysterical at the end.
"I'm sorry. But we have to make sure you're safe. Of course you can choose another location. I know Yongguk's garage isn't the most homeliest. But you're here because I feel it's the safest. He won't let anything hurt you."
"Why would he do that?" he asks, even if his heart feels just a little lighter.
"Yongguk found one of the victims. A kid, barely twenty years old, going home from dance class just a few streets over. He was still alive when Yongguk found him. I think Yongguk might have made some kind of a promise to the boy but whatever it was, Yongguk has been helping us with this investigation ever since. Sometimes I think he wants to catch her more than us." There's a fond exasperation in detective Yoo's voice that tells Himchan of the countless arguments this topic must have ignited.
"How long will I have to stay?" he asks, feeling his eye lids beginning to droop.
"Until we catch her."
He hears detective Yoo's chair scraping back. "Get some rest, I will come back later."
"Thank you, detective Yoo," he says, or atleast he thinks he says. Maybe he's already asleep.
---
Himchan wakes up again to voices arguing beside his bed.
"But hyung! It's past dinner time, Himchan hyung must be hungry. We should wake him up to eat!" he hears Junhong's voice say insistently.
"He can eat when he wakes up, Junhongie. Let him sleep." Yongguk's deep voice answers.
"But hyung-"
Himchan opens his eyes with a sigh. "Hello," he says to the ceiling.
Two pairs of eyes snap to him immediately.
"Hyung, I made you soup!" Junhong says excitedly, holding out a steaming bowl towards him.
"We woke you up. I'm sorry," Yongguk says, pulling Junhong back by his collar.
Himchan shakes his head, putting his weight back on his elbows and both Junhong and Yongguk reach for him hurriedly.
"Hyung, you can't move!" Junhong cries.
"How can I eat if I'm lying down?" he asks and Junhong's eyes widen in understanding.
"Let me help you," Yongguk offers and leans closer to Himchan to wrap an arm around him carefully.
"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he says and Himchan nods, holding his breath. Yongguk lifts him up slowly and it still hurts but Himchan grits his teeth until he is finally sitting up. He looks up, eyes narrowed in pain to see Junhong watching him curiously. Then he smiles and holds out the bowl.
"I made this myself, hyung!" he claims proudly, sitting on the bed beside Himchan as Yongguk leans away. They both watch with avid eyes as Himchan lifts the first spoonful to his mouth. Himchan looks at them both, feeling like he's auditioning for something. Junhong is even bouncing a little on the bed.
He tastes it. He is surprised when it tastes good. Judging by face value, he wouldn't take Junhong for a cook. But then maybe he should stop taking things at face value now.
"It's great," he says with a smile. Junhong claps happily. "I knew hyung would like it!"
Yongguk smiles and ruffles his hair fondly. "You punk-" he starts but gets interrupted by a voice at the door.
"Hyung, Seungho hyung is here."
"Ah, Jongup hyung!" Junhong calls. "Come and meet Himchan hyung!"
Jongup has a sharp face and dark hair that falls in to his eyes.
"Hello," Jongup greets from the door, voice cool and his eyes snap back to Yongguk almost immediately. "Seungho hyung is downstairs, okay hyung," he says and disappears.
---
"Are you brothers?" he asks, watching as Junhong hurriedly shoves books into his backpack. Junhong looks at him with a surprised laugh.
"Nah. I wish," he says wistfully.
"Yongguk hyung and me are cousins. His dad was my mom's brother. He lets me stay here 'cos my mom is a bitch and she hates me."
Himchan stares at Junhong in shock. Mostly because he cannot imagine anyone not immediately loving this boy. Junhong blinks and turns towards him with a smile. "And Jongup hyung has no family at all, hyung! Youngjae hyung said stay with Yongguk hyung or go to jail so Jongup hyung said he'll stay with us."
Junhong swings his school bag over his shoulder. "Yongguk hyung looks after us but we look after him too," Junhong says proudly. "He'd probably be in jail if me and Jongup hyung wasn't here. Youngjae hyung used to chase him around all the time. But he's okay now. We won’t let him get into trouble." Junhong grins as Himchan tries to process the barrage of information.
"I made hyung lunch okay! Don't let Yongguk hyung make you food! He sucks at cooking," Junhong says in a conspiratorial whisper.
Himchan smiles. "Alright," he agrees and Junhong’s face falls.
"I'll miss you, hyung!" he says sadly. Himchan frowns.
"You're only going to school, aren't you?"
Junhong nods. "I'd rather be at home with hyung though."
Himchan smiles. "I'll still be here when you get back."
Junhong smiles. "Okay. I'll see hyung soon okay!"
Himchan watches Junhong rush out the door and reaches for the plate of toast Junhong had made for him. Junhong had given up his room for him, sharing with Jongup, who still hasn't said more than two words to him, much to Junhong's displeasure. He bites into a piece of toast with a smile. He wonders what it means that he barely misses his old life at all.
---
He grasps at the chair as he stumbles. Too late. The chair sways under his weight he falls along with the chair and hits the floor in an undignified heap. Himchan gasps in pain, the stiches across his chest pulling painfully. He'd managed to walk himself to the toilet but the journey back had defeated him. He sits up carefully just as someone rushes into the room, probably alerted by the crash of the chair. He looks up expecting Yongguk, since Junhong is still at school.
It's Jongup. He looks worried just for a moment before his face closes off again.
"What were you trying to do?" Jongup asks, voice entirely disinterested, leaning against the door.
Himchan looks up at him from the floor.
"You don't like me."
Jongup shrugs. "I don't know you."
"Junhong doesn't know me either."
Jongup glares down at him. "She's hunting you! What is she comes here? If she hurts Junhong, or Yongguk hyung, it will be your fault!"
Himchan stares at him in surprise. It's the most Jongup has said to him since he woke up here five days ago.
"She won't hurt them. She only wants to kill me. I'm the one she wants," he says quietly.
This is you. It is all because of you. You have to pay for what you did.
"You don't think they’ll try to stop her?" Jongup snarls. "Junhong already likes you so much! And you have Yongguk hyung wrapped around a little finger. They're all the family I have so just…" Jongup looks away, blinking rapidly and Himchan all of a sudden feels so tired. He just wants to go home. To go back in time and for this to have never happened so he wouldn't have to be here and disrupt everyone's lives. His heart twinges a little in his chest at the thought of not meeting Junhong. Or Yongguk.
"I'm sorry."
Jongup stares at him for a moment and walks over to reach a hand down to him. Himchan takes it and Jongup pulls him up to his feet. He slowly walks Himchan back to the bed.
"Just don't expect me to be your friend," Jongup says as he leaves but Himchan doesn't fail to notice the lack of heat behind his words.
---
"Himchan hyung!" Himchan looks up at Junhong's call. He'd decided to make dinner, with Junhong's help of course. The kid barely leaves his side when he's at home and had been peeling carrots for him when he got distracted by a knocking at the door. Himchan has to admit that he likes it. He adores Junhong already and likes having so much of his attention just to himself. Much to Jongup's annoyance.
"Himchan hyung!!" Junhong yells louder and Himchan turns the heat down on the stove so their dinner doesn't burn, and makes his way to the living room. Junhong is at the door with a boy who for a moment Himchan thinks is a girl, with long dark hair and sweet eyes. Junhong beckons him over excitedly.
"Look hyung!" Junhong hoists the bag in his hands for Himchan to see. "Sungjong hyung brought over your clothes."
Himchan blinks. "What?"
"Yongguk hyung thought you might want some of your own things. So because you can't go to your house he asked L hyung to get some things for you," Junhong informs him happily.
"'L'?"
Junhong looks at the boy with the long dark hair, Sungjong, with a grin. "L hyung is like the most smartest guy you'll ever meet, hyung! He's been helping Yongguk hyung with finding the crazy lady, you see. He's the one who figured out where she took you!"
"He's the one who found me?" Himchan asks, shocked.
Junhong nods. "L hyung told Yongguk hyung it might be too late but Yongguk hyung didn't care. Jonguppie told me he ran so fast into the bush that he couldn't keep up!"
Himchan barely remembers that night. Except for the calloused hands on his face and distant murmurs of a deep voice. He hadn't realised how hard Yongguk had fought for him.
"Sungjong hyung looks after L hyung, makes sure he eats and sleeps and stuff, right, hyung?" Junhong grins at Sungjong.
Sungjong blushes, smiles and ducks his head. Himchan wonders if people usually get the urge to pinch Sungjong's cheeks and ruffle his hair, like he wants to right now.
"I hope I got what you needed, Himchan-ssi." Sungjong bows. Himchan blinks at him and then at the bag in Junhong's hands.
"I'm sure you did well, Sungjong. Thank you," Himchan says and Sungjong smiles shyly.
Junhong asks Sungjong to stay for dinner but Sungjong insists on getting back to L right away.
"Why is he called L?" Himchan asks Junhong as they dish out the pasta out in to dishes.
"His real name is Kim Myungsoo," Junhong whispers, "But that's an unlucky name to have right now."
Another Kim. Another target for her. Just like him. He startles when Junhong suddenly hugs him from behind.
"We won't let her get you, hyung." Junhong buries his face in his neck. "We'll get her first."
"I don't want you in danger because of me, Junhong." He turns around to face the boy. "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."
"We don't want you to get hurt either," Yongguk says from the door and Himchan looks up to meet his eyes.
"Yongguk…"
"Junhong is right. We'll get her first." Yongguk's voice is serious as he walks into the kitchen.
Himchan watches him peering at the pasta as Junhong disentangles himself from Himchan to go look for Jongup in the garage.
"Don't risk your family for me," he whispers and Yongguk straightens to look at him. Himchan wonders how they ended up so close. He can almost feel the warmth of Yongguk's body.
"I promised I'd keep you safe."
"You don't owe me anything," Himchan says, looking past Yongguk. He doesn't expect it, when Yongguk's fingers graze over the back of his hand and he looks up at Yongguk in surprise. He's sure it's him that moves first, but it could have been Yongguk or maybe they both moved forward and the next thing he knows Yongguk is pressing him against the kitchen counter and they are kissing. Himchan would be lying if he said he hadn't imagined once or twice, what it would be like to be in this exact position. His hands curl at the back of Yongguk's neck to pull him closer and they freeze when they hear a crash from the living room and the sound of giggles being muffled.
"Is it safe to come in now?" Junhong yells. "I don't want t-" The rest of his words are lost presumably by Jongup covering up his mouth.
Himchan meets Yongguk's eyes and they burst into laughter. Junhong's head appears at the corner of the door, looking cautiously into the kitchen and Jongup's head pops up above him.
"Can we eat now?"
---
Himchan gasps into Yongguk's mouth as they fall backwards onto the bed, Yongguk's hands already working at his belt and Himchan wraps a leg around Yongguk to pull him down closer to him. But then Yongguk is pulling away and pulling back.
"Wait. I have to tell you something."
Himchan almost whines, almost tells him to save it for later but there is something in Yongguk's eyes, in the way he can barely meet Himchan's eyes that stops him from voicing his thoughts.
"I… you're here because of me."
"What?"
"She's killing people because of me."
"What are you talking about? She's killing people because her boyfriend dumped her or something."
"I broke up with her a month before she started to kill."
"Wait...what?"
"I fell in love with someone else and I… I told her that. I didn't want to cheat on her so… but she … she couldn't take it. She … killed him first. I didn't know then, that it was her. The police found Seyong and they didn't know. And now…"
"She's killing people because of you? She's hunting me because of you?"
"Himchan…"
"You haven't told the police have you, that you know her? Detective Yoo doesn't know."
"I just… I want to talk to her. To explain. Maybe she'll listen to me. Maybe…"
"People are dead, Yongguk. She might kill me too. Do you think this is a game? That you'll say you're sorry and she'll forgive you and everything will be fine?"
"I don't - "
"Stop. I don't want to hear it right now. You… all this time you've known who she was and you didn't say anything. Was I just going to be a last fuck before she kills me? Is that what you did with the others? Did you fuck them all too?"
"What are you talking about? How can you say that?"
"I'm leaving. Don't even think about following me, you bastard. I hate you."
---
He hears a shuffle behind him and then the scent of roses pervades the air and he twists away in horror just as the needle stabs his neck. He stumbles back. There she is. Just a woman. He wouldn't even notice her if he saw her in the street. Her lips curve up into a smile of triumph as he shakes his head to fight off the effects of the drugs.
"I will never let you go," she says and he tries to run, to get his legs to work. But he stumbles and he falls and he can barely think for the fear that is freezing his heart. He feels her grip his head by hair, drawing his head back.
"Don't," he begs. "Please."
She laughs. She smashes his head into the concrete in the same breath. He is grateful for the oblivion.
Now
"Jieun."
Himchan gasps in shock. That voice.
"Jieun, please stop this."
"Yongguk…?" her voice sounds as shocked as Himchan feels.
"Let him go."
"No! He stole you from me! He has to die! They all have to die!"
"No one took me away from you. I'm right here. I'm right here with you. I won't go anywhere. Just let him go and I'll stay with you."
"You're lying!"
Himchan hears Yongguk's footsteps getting closer and turns his head in his direction.
"Stop!" she yells. "Don't come any closer!"
"Jieun, I'm sorry I hurt you. You can hurt me back. You can do whatever you want to me. But let him go."
She laughs. "Look at you, pleading for his life. They all beg in the end. He did too, your Seyong. He cried and told me he'd leave you, told me he didn't love you. Do you see? He never loved you like I did!"
For a breath, there is no sound. Yongguk makes no noise at all and then Himchan hears his scream of rage and the rapid thud of his boots on the ground and Himchan feels it more than hears it when the fire starts. Everything turns to chaos then, there's shouting, voices yelling and sirens blaring and it's so so hot and Himchan struggles against his bonds. It's so smoky now and he can barely breathe. He doesn't know what is happening, doesn't know where Yongguk is or if he's even okay. He feels the fire, close enough to lick at him and he knows he's reached the end. He would never get the chance to say sorry. To tell Yongguk he hadn't meant those harsh words. Just that he'd been so scared. He flinches when hands suddenly touch him, pulling at his bound hands. And then his blind fold is being slipped off and it's Yongguk and he's safe and Himchan jumps into his arms and holds on like he is never going to let go.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Yongguk's arms tighten around him and then he's being lifted up and carried to safety past the inferno.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Himchan whispers into Yongguk's neck. His head hurts, he is sure he must be bleeding from a dozen places, but right now, he really doesn't care.
"Why are you apologising?" Yongguk asks in disbelief. "This is my fault."
Himchan is about to say that it's not, that Yongguk isn't the one who hurt people when he hears a loud "Himchan hyung!" from somewhere.
"I couldn't stop him," Yongguk says, mostly fond and just slightly exasperated, as Junhong dashes towards them. Yongguk sets Himchan on his feet just as Junhong hits, burying his face in Himchan's chest and clinging tightly. Himchan staggers a little and Yongguk's steady hands catch him from behind.
"Hyung! I was so scared!" Junhong whispers, voice thick and Himchan kisses Junhong's golden hair, tears stinging his own eyes.
"I'm okay." he wraps his arms around the boy. "I'm okay."
"I'm so glad we found you, hyung! L hyung figured out where she took you and then Yongguk hyung called Youngjae hyung and then we drove here as fast as we could!" Junhong tells him excitedly as the fire blazes through the warehouse. "Hyung, your face is bleeding," he says peering at his face.
Himchan smiles, ignoring the sting of the cuts on his face.
"Junhong, enough," Yongguk says as Himchan notices Jongup standing a little further away by the fire trucks, shifting from foot to foot. Junhong follows his gaze.
"Jongup hyung is sad because he lost you even after Yongguk hyung told him to follow you, hyung," Junhong tells him as Jongup meets his eyes for the briefest moments before looking away hurriedly. "And I might have yelled at him a little,” Junhong adds in a small voice.
"Then maybe you should go apologise," Yongguk tells him. Junhong takes a step forward but then looks back at Himchan worriedly. "Will you be okay, Himchan hyung?"
Himchan ruffles Junhong's already messy hair. "I'll be fine." Junhong grins and skips towards Jongup, who stops frowning immediately when Junhong approaches.
Yongguk wraps his arms around Himchan tightly enough for his ribs to protest.
"You don't really hate me, right?" Yongguk's deep voice vibrates through Himchan's back. Himchan smiles to himself. "You've saved my life twice now. How can I hate you?"
"But-" Yongguk's protest is cut off by the approach of detective Yoo, who raises an eyebrow at them but doesn't comment.
"We need to have a serious talk about how you don't follow orders and rush into situations and compromise everyone's safety," detective Yoo says sternly, eyes on Yongguk.
"Sure," Yongguk agrees easily and detective Yoo looks stunned for a moment.
"How did you manage to tame him like this?" he asks Himchan who shrugs as Yongguk laughs.
"She is in custody," detective Yoo says, all signs on mirth suddenly erased from his voice. "Both of you will have to testify in the trial."
Himchan feels Yongguk still behind him and he puts his hands over Yongguk's and threads their fingers together.
"Of course."
Detective Yoo sighs. "Go get your face looked at," he says to Himchan before making his way back towards the warehouse where the fire is finally being controlled by the fire fighters.
Himchan turns around in the circle of Yongguk's arms. "Can we go home?" he asks softly, suddenly bone tired.
"But your face-"
"Woohyun can take care of it," Himchan says with a slight shrug. His shoulder twinges painfully to remind him that Woohyun is going to have a lot to take care of.
Yongguk smiles and leans forward. Himchan catches his lips easily and smiles when he hears Junhong cheering them on from the background.
***