It was not easy to go on, to continue in any way with life. It was strange that a new morning came and the days went on. But visiting Junmyeon’s grave and reading his letter had triggered something inside Kyungsoo. He could not ignore and push away Jongin any longer.
It was three days after receiving Junmyeon’s letter on his day off when he made tea and brought it into the living room where Jongin was sitting on their bed-sofa. Jongin had tousled hair and was reading something on a tablet. Kyungsoo sat down and reached out the mug with steaming tea.

 “Good morning”.

Jongin looked up, he was surprised. He looked down at the tea and then frowned.

 “I should start with apologising for – for being such a – I don’t know. I was not there for you the last month, I was just –“, Kyungsoo said. Jongin put the tablet away and took the mug. But his fingers over Kyungsoo’s hand while taking it.

 “It was so much to deal with, to understand. I didn’t know how to deal with it”, Kyungsoo started.

 “And now you want me to leave”, Jongin interrupted him. Kyungsoo started at him.

 “What? No! Why would I want that?” he called distraught. Jongin flinched startled when Kyungsoo raised his voice.

 “I just thought”, Jongin started unsure. Kyungsoo looked at him pained.

 “No, Jongin. I told you I want to be with you no matter what. I was not myself the last month, I know that and I want to better myself. I’m trying to get a grip”, Kyungsoo said.

 “My feelings toward you have not changed”, he added. Jongin put the mug to the low table next to the sofa and inched closer.

 “You want me to stay?” Jongin asked. Kyungsoo finally looked into those glowing eyes and Jongin looked back at him.

 “I want to start new – with you”, Kyungsoo said.

 “What do you mean?” Jongin asked.

 “I want to move out and find a place of our own, maybe somewhere close to the beach. So you can be near the water –“, Kyungsoo said.

 “Yes”, Jongin threw in. “Yeah, I’m coming with you”, he said.

Kyungsoo smiled for the first time in a while. Happiness flooded through his body, he had never expected Jongin's answer to be anything like that. Jongin lifted his hands and put them onto Kyungsoo’s cheeks like he had always done. His eyes were still fixed on Kyungsoo’s eyes. Jongin smiled.

It was such an intimate and wonderful moment, everything was fine for that few seconds. Jongin's hand on Kyungsoo's cheek, his glowing gaze meeting Kyungsoo's.

With the money Junmyeon had left him, Kyungsoo bought a nice little house near the ocean, so Jongin could spend as much time as he wanted near the water. They spend their evenings together outside, sitting in the sand at the beach in front of the house. A few days after moving in, Kyungsoo had all the things he had inherited from Junmyeon be delivered to their new house. Kyungsoo did not read Junmyeon’s books or notes, he couldn’t stand thinking about Jongin as an object being analysed. There would be nothing in Junmyeon’s study that could give him answers. It would only remind him of the many things that were still unclear to Kyungsoo and that didn’t let him sleep at night.
Who had taken Junmyeon’s body and why? Where did Kyu go to and was she still alive…? Sean didn’t cure her, it seemed like she was so sick nothing could save her anymore and even though she had woken up, her time seemed terribly limited. And what had happened to the few Aureum Luscus who had not joined their group to break into the city and those who had killed everyone at camp three before Kyu’s and Junmyeon’s group had arrived there? Those were the ones Junmyeon had been worried about…

Jongin didn’t seem to worry about that at all and Kyungsoo couldn’t blame him. He really wanted to leave everything in the past and move on. Jongin did not want to talk about the things that had happened during the riots at camp two and neither the time when he had been a child. So Kyungsoo didn’t ask but it was hard to keep from Jongin how much Kyungsoo was still thinking about everything. But somehow Jongin had started reading Junmyeon’s journals and notes on the Aureum Luscus and the prototype cure. He knew that Kyungsoo didn’t want to see it, so he would hastily put the notes away whenever Kyungsoo came into the room.

Kyungsoo earned enough to provide for them but Junmyeon’s money made everything easier. Even after having shared the money with Kenta, Sean, Minseok and Jongdae. Kyungsoo was still struggling with his crushing guilt, anxiety and panic attacks. He had thought it would get better as soon as he had moved out of Jongdae’s house and started a new life with Jongin but hardly anything had changed.

Jongin would wake up whenever Kyungsoo had nightmares and then they just switched on the lights because they couldn’t talk about it but Jongin knew what caused Kyungsoo’s nightmares. And one night he had simply put his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders gently and had just held him. After that it seemed that he hardly ever let go of Kyungsoo. They started to fall asleep in the arms of each other. But while Jongin was confident in holding Kyungsoo and initiating body contact, he still did not dare to kiss Kyungsoo first. Kyungsoo had to tell Jongin that they could kiss anytime he wanted, Jongin didn’t have to wait until they were sitting at the ocean to do so. His heart clenched when he saw that it made Jongin happy. And one day it had just slipped out of him, casually. He had wanted to say it in a special moment, making sure that Jongin understood but that day it had just felt right.

They were standing in the kitchen, putting the pots back into the cupboard. It was late in the evening and they had cooked dinner together after Kyungsoo had come back from work. Jongin turned around, he was smiling at Kyungsoo. His face would always change completely when he smiled. Jongin was wearing an apron that looked ridiculous on him but the sight was endearing. Kyungsoo had never thought that this could happen. He had never dared to hope that he would be here with Jongin, alive, healthy and happy standing in the kitchen of their home.

 “I love you”.

Jongin looked surprised when Kyungsoo had so suddenly said it. His lips parted and then he smiled. Jongin looked down and bit his lip. Kyungsoo frowned and tried to catch his eye.

 “What’s wrong? Are you – laughing?” he asked bewildered. Jongin looked up.

 “That’s because I’m happy”, he said.

And Kyungsoo had to laugh, too as he remembered their little moment at the beach when Jongin had been confused about Kyungsoo laughing out of happiness. Then he slid his arms loosely around Jongin’s mid and hugged him.

Kenta dropped in every now and then, he seemed to do well. Better than everyone else. He continued his job for the city security and told them that he had moved out of Jongdae’s house and got his own apartment. Jongdae who was soon to be discharged from the hospital had not yet agreed to accept Kyungsoo’s offer to join him in the special task force. Minseok would probably go and do whatever Jongdae was doing. Minseok never said anything so it was hard to tell, he had become even more distant and silent than ever before.

But many of the city citizens were sceptical of Kyungsoo and his new task force, he had been let off the hook too many times by now. Jongdae’s status was also rather low. He had been a guard at the camps and then had helped them to break into the city.

Kyungsoo had to study the laws and rules of the city before he was allowed to work officially. Even though his main duty was to investigate corrupt high ranking officials it was necessary to know about the basics of the city. And the city had many rules; Kyungsoo saw just then how many laws he had bend and broken within the shortest time period. The other police officers did not like Kyungsoo or his task force either.
But the worst was when he met Sergeant Choi again. It had been him who had taken away his weapons upon entering the city for the first time. Back then they had not even really talked but Kyungsoo clearly remembered the lie Sergeant Choi had told him. He had been supposed to get back his weapons but of course then Kyungsoo had not known about the strict weapon prohibition in the city. Sergeant Choi was probably the one who disliked Kyungsoo’s new position the most. He did not even try to conceal his disapproval. Kyungsoo who had to get to know every department of the city police ran into Sergeant Choi right on his first day. Sergeant Choi was the leader of the Special Investigation Unit for Organised Crime. Kyungsoo knew that he was also in charge of the weapon control unit. Maybe the fact that Kyungsoo and his friends had gotten their hands on several weapons and used them was why Sergeant Choi was especially mad about Kyungsoo getting away with it.

Kyungsoo was introduced by the Police Chief to the entire headquarter and then continued to personally meet and introduce himself to the leaders of the respective units. Kyungsoo thought it was a waste of time but he knew that the governor had a strategic reason for this. He wanted them to accept Kyungsoo and come to trust him. He did not want to give him missions right away, Kyungsoo should only go around and meet everyone and act friendly. But at the same time Kyungsoo kept thinking it was a great irony to act friendly when it was his future duty to investigate and suspect each and every one of them to be potentially corrupted.

 “Sergeant Choi”, Kyungsoo said and shook his hand.

Sergeant Choi gave him a cold glare and his handshake was very strong. He was a few heads taller than Kyungsoo and made him feel that by looking pointedly down on Kyungsoo.

 “Do Kyungsoo, huh”, he said then with a nasty undertone.

 “I’ve got my title back, it is Lieutenant Do Kyungsoo”, Kyungsoo said calmly.

 “Is it?” Sergeant Choi said coolly.

 “Don’t be like that, Minho”, a young woman from Sergeant Choi’s team said.

 “Detective Choi Sooyoung, please call me Sooyoung”, she said. Kyungsoo shook her hand.

 “Nice to meet you”, he said. She smiled and then slapped Choi Minho’s arm.

 “Don’t make such a scary face, I don’t think you’ll impress him with that”, she said and laughed. “Forgive my brother”, she added. Kyungsoo smiled.

 “Right”, he murmured.

 “Sooyoung, I’ve got something for you to look at”, another member from their team called from their office.

 “I gotta go”, she said. “Stop that macho stuff and come back quickly, right? We’ve got an important case”, she said to her brother and took off.

Minho grabbed Kyungsoo and pulled him closer now that they were alone in the corridor.

 “What a coincidence that a deceiving and corrupt army Lieutenant becomes the police investigator to find corrupt cops”, he said lowly. Kyungsoo raised one eyebrow.

 “What are you saying?” he asked calmly.

 “Oh, don’t act stupid. You’ve broken too many laws and rules, you should be behind bars but here you are running around. I know that you’ve used your connections and influential friends to get you this position and keep you and your little friends out of prison. But believe me, I will put all of you back in there where you belong”, he growled.

 “I’ve used no connections or friends to get this job, it was offered to me”, Kyungsoo said and pulled himself free from Minho’s grip.

 “But I’m only helping to make this city a better place, a job you’ve been failing to do”, Kyungsoo said. Minho grabbed him again.

 “What -?” he asked.

 “Funny, how the leader of the investigation team for weapon control had no idea about the huge smuggler ring – “, Kyungsoo said but his words were cut off when Minho smashed him with his back into the wall.

 “I’m onto you and your friend. I know you’re covering him! I know about that smuggler ring and I will ing destroy it and I’ll prove you helped covering them and then it’s over for you”, Minho called fuming.

 “Really?” Kyungsoo asked.

 “You have no clue how things work here in the city. Now that the governor's pet - another one of your little friends -  is dead, no one will protect you any longer. I am doing my job right and by removing you from this city, it will be a safer place once more”, Minho growled.

 “Oh really? Because I think your Police Commissioner was a crazy sociopath who contributed to mass murder, torture and was terribly corrupt right under your nose. And you knew nothing of it so don’t tell me you were doing your job the right way”, Kyungsoo said and shoved Minho aside.

Minho could not say anything to that and just scowled as Kyungsoo walked away.

*

Jongin and Kyungsoo visited Jongdae in the hospital a few times but he was discharged soon. Minseok was walking besides Jongdae giving the impression of an overprotective bodyguard, ready to strike down anyone who would come to close to Jongdae. Kyungsoo had wanted to help Jongdae to find back into his life but he was so busy with his new job and Jongdae seemed like he still did not want much contact to anyone. Kyungsoo knew that it was not just the recovery from the shot wound that was hard, the hardest battle was the one of the mind. Jongdae, too, had seen many things and had done many things.

After Jongin and Kyungsoo had accompanied Jongdae home from the hospital, they returned to their house at the beach. It was not too far away so they could walk.

They sat down at their terrace and watched the waves in silence for a while.

 “Do you think that Minseok is in love with Jongdae?” Jongin suddenly asked.

 “What?” Kyungsoo was surprised. He had not expected such a question.

 “I’ve been reading Junmyeon’s notes –“, Jongin said and interrupted himself with a short side glance at Kyungsoo.

 “He writes that we – we could feel love and all those emotions. His theory about the antibodies in our system is solid and the evidence is there. There were all files about his patients and I mean… Minseok’s file was there as well. I read it”, Jongin said. Kyungsoo frowned.

 “The therapy did not work for him”, Kyungsoo said slowly.

 “I know, that’s not what I mean. It’s that despite all of that, he still is with Jongdae, isn’t he? Theoretically, he has no reason to be with Jongdae. He should not be able to feel anything for Jongdae”, Jongin said.

Kyungsoo opened his mouth. He had never thought about it.

 “Maybe it’s simply his choice”, Kyungsoo said then.

 “His choice?” Jongin repeated. Kyungsoo tilted his head.

 “Maybe he chose to stay with Jongdae not because he thinks it will be of advantage to him but because he thinks that if he were able to feel, he would love him”, Kyungsoo explained.

 “But that's exactly what I mean – isn’t that love? That he chooses to be with him despite everything and never leaves his side?” Jongin said thoughtfully. Kyungsoo looked at him, he was confused.

 “Yeah, maybe… I – what are you trying to say?” he asked then.

 “Junmyeon wrote that the first of our kind have the most antibodies and the later generations have fewer. I am the 26^th experiment”, Jongin started.

 “Don’t call yourself experiment!” Kyungsoo interrupted him distraught.

 “But I am”, Jongin stated plainly. They looked at each other.

 “You are so much more than that”, Kyungsoo said then quietly.

 “I compared my blood analysis with Minseok’s and the others”, Jongin continued after a short pause. Kyungsoo waited for him to go on.

 “My blood is quite different from Minseok”, Jongin said then.

 “You don’t have antibodies?” Kyungsoo asked tensely.

 “I do. I don’t have as many as Minseok but it made me think… It doesn’t really matter how many antibodies one has in their system. We have been brainwashed into believing we are simply not able to feel but Minseok is able to. Just because he chooses to do so. And I – I didn’t know what it really meant to feel things. I didn’t decide to feel anything”, Jongin said.

He looked at Kyungsoo. His eyes were glowing in the evening sun and the light made them shine like gold.

 “It just happened”, Jongin said. Kyungsoo couldn’t say a thing.

 “And I didn’t understand it. I thought, it must have been gratitude, owing you something. Anything. I couldn’t understand any of it. I tried to read everything there is on all those emotions, I looked for explanations in Junmyeon’s notes. But Junmyeon, who was a purist who studied us, he wrote down that he understands the least! He wrote he never had been in love. But that a young teenager wouldn’t know either what love was and could still fall in love. Junmyeon said that sometimes it was a choice and sometimes it simply happened. And then it would be – somehow like this”, Jongin said, his voice had gotten louder.

 “Like this?” Kyungsoo asked. “Like Minseok and Jongdae?” he asked.

 “No, yes, maybe. But I mean everything that has happened since you rescued me. You choose to rescue me and I came with you. I chose to stay with you when I had the chance to leave but after I made that choice everything just – happened”, Jongin said.

He was struggling to explain what he wanted to say. Kyungsoo put his hand on Jongin’s cheek like Jongin usually did. Jongin looked at him surprised and then his eyes closed when Kyungsoo leaned forward to kiss him.

*

Baekhyun shifted around on his chair while Chanyeol was signing his papers.

 “All the best to you, Mr Park”, the nurse said warmly. “Goodbye, Mr Byun”, she added with a smile. Baekhyun promptly shot a smile back at her.

Then he followed Chanyeol into the elevator, as soon as the doors shut, the noise of the daily business of the hospital was shut out. Baekhyun nervously looked at Chanyeol. He had been in psychological care for about a month but he had recovered quite fast after a few weeks of completely shutting everyone and everything out. The first two weeks, Chanyeol didn’t want to see anyone and Baekhyun knew that he hadn’t been allowed to either. But after two long weeks, Baekhyun was finally allowed to see Chanyeol. But he quickly learnt that it had been doctor’s orders, she had wanted Chanyeol to meet Baekhyun and talk to him. But nothing of the sort had happened. They had spent another week, seven days, sitting in Chanyeol’s room in total silence. Baekhyun had tried to start a conversation many times but Chanyeol would not respond, in fact he didn’t even look at Baekhyun.

On the first day of seeing him, Baekhyun had been rather speechless himself. Chanyeol and he were meeting in a visitor’s room and Chanyeol had hardly sat down when Baekhyun had burst into tears. Chanyeol looked gaunt, his eyes were blood-shot and had dark circles under his eyes. He avoided looking at Baekhyun by staring at the table between them.

The next day, Baekhyun apologised over and over again and there had been so much more that Baekhyun had wanted to say but everything seemed inappropriate and he couldn’t say anything out loud besides: “Sorry. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I’m so sorry”.

Baekhyun talked a nurse into letting him know about Chanyeol’s state. He wasn’t sleeping and he refused to eat. When they had given him an old device to repair and take apart, so he had something to do – something he had always loved to - he had thrown the device against the wall and had screamed that he would never touch another device again or design anything for anyone.
But Baekhyun still came the next day and the day after that and after that. They were allowed to sit in Chanyeol’s room where Baekhyun would apologise a hundred times and then talk about what was going on outside. Jongdae was still in hospital, he was recovering but it would take time. Kyungsoo was now the leader of a special task force for internal investigation and corruption working directly for the governor. Baekhyun was not going to university because he could not focus and was worried about Chanyeol, about Jongdae.

Chanyeol did not react to any of this and just blankly looked at the wall. Then came a few days were Chanyeol did nothing but sleep. Baekhyun came either way and sat at his bedside watching him sleep or continue to update Chanyeol, even though he couldn’t hear him.

Then finally after the terrible week of completely ignoring Baekhyun, Chanyeol suddenly starting speaking again.

It had been a Monday morning and Baekhyun had come into Chanyeol’s room bringing the breakfast.

 “Good morning, Chanyeol. I asked the nurse whether I could bring you the breakfast, also I brought your favourite soup with me”, he said and put the tray down on Chanyeol’s bed.

Baekhyun shook the raindrops out of his hair.

 “It’s still raining, quite rare, isn’t it?” Baekhyun said and hung his jacket on the rack near the door.

 “Oh, you’re eating.  I hope it’s good. I made the soup myself, I thought maybe you would – they told me you don’t want to eat. And I thought maybe the food here isn’t good – and your favourite soup would cheer you up. Or maybe you could eat –“, Baekhyun babbled nervously.

 “It’s fine”.

Baekhyun stopped abruptly when Chanyeol interrupted him.

Tears walled in his eyes. “I-Is it?” Baekhyun asked, fighting the tears down but they were already rolling down his face.

 “Why are you crying?” Chanyeol asked, he sounded rough.

 “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s because I was so worried about you and we weren’t talking. I couldn’t explain anything and tell you how sorry I am”, Baekhyun sobbed.

 “You already apologised about a thousand times”, Chanyeol simply said while nipping at the soup.

 “You cannot forgive me?” Baekhyun asked quietly after a long pause.

Chanyeol took another nip of the soup and looked up. Baekhyun flinched, it was the first time in almost a month that Chanyeol looked directly at him. His eyes were strangely cold and Baekhyun could not read his feelings. Baekhyun pressed his lips together as the tears rolled down his cheeks, his hands were clasped together so tightly, it was painful.

 “Do you want me to leave?” he sobbed.

 “Why did you come to the house?” Chanyeol asked instead. Baekhyun looked at him perplex.

 “I - what?” he asked. Chanyeol just looked at him.

 “The house? Oh. I knew something was wrong and the others knew something was going on, too. They thought Jun- they thought he – he was the bad guy. I thought you were in danger because you were working for him”, Baekhyun said, avoiding to say Junmyeon’s name.

 “How did you get inside?” Chanyeol asked then. Baekhyun looked down.

 “I already told you… I – I copied your transponder, well Kenta’s program did. I’m – I’m ashamed of that and I didn’t want to do it but – I didn’t know what else to do. I just couldn’t stand the thought of losing you again”, Baekhyun whispered.

 “The weapons?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun still didn’t dare to look up.

 “Not mine. I swear, we borrowed them from smugglers”, Baekhyun murmured.

 “Did you – did you shoot someone?” Chanyeol asked then quietly. Baekhyun finally looked up.

 “No, I hit someone in the leg but that wasn’t lethal”, he said desperately.

 “But you know how to use a gun”, Chanyeol said. Baekhyun breathed out, shortly closing his eyes. It was best to be honest.

 “Yes, yes I know how to use a gun”, he confessed.

 “God, Baekhyun”, Chanyeol groaned.

 “I’ve never shot at a person before! I would never – I only shot at a paper target once for fun, to know what it is like. Please Chanyeol… what were you thinking? You really think I am that cold blooded to kill someone like that?” Baekhyun asked terrified.

Chanyeol looked at him and his cold eyes softened a little. “No”.

 “Look, you were behaving really strangely that night, it was like you were – saying goodbye and I got scared”, Baekhyun started again.

 “Because I was saying goodbye”, Chanyeol interrupted him. Baekhyun’s mouth stood open.

 “What do you mean?” he asked then.

 “Once I am allowed to leave this hospital I will definitely be arrested”, Chanyeol said emotionless. Baekhyun shook his head.

 “No, what are you saying? Kenta made sure no one knows that you –“, Baekhyun whispered.

 “They know that I was working for Dr Kim Junior, they know that I was there. They were already here to question me”, Chanyeol said coldly.

Baekhyun shook his head, his fingers pressed to his lips. “No, no. They have no evidence, you’ve done nothing wrong. You broke no law”, he whispered desperately.

 “What did you tell them?” he asked then. A thin line appeared between Chanyeol’s dark brows.

 “I said that I don’t remember much from the night. I said that Dr Kim never told me what the glasses were for”, Chanyeol said. Baekhyun sat on Chanyeol’s bed and grabbed his arm.

 “But that’s good. They can’t proof anything. They won’t arrest you, they can’t! I will ask Kyungsoo”, Baekhyun said intensely.

 “Leave Kyungsoo out of this, he can’t fix everything unlike in your imagination”, Chanyeol said sharply.

Baekhyun’s hands tightened around Chanyeol’s arms. “Stop it! How can you – this isn’t about Kyungsoo. I’m just so damn scared for you. I cannot stand the thought of losing you, I won’t let this happen. I won’t let them take you. Don’t you get it? That’s what it all was about. I went in there to protect you and get you out of trouble, the way you always did for me. I wanted to repay what you’ve done all those years. I wanted to make sure you were safe”, Baekhyun called, shaking Chanyeol’s arms. The cold look in Chanyeol’s face finally dissolved into confusion.

 “You idiot”, Chanyeol murmured quietly when Baekhyun burst into tears again and sunk against Chanyeol’s shoulder. Chanyeol quickly saved the breakfast tray that was about to slid off the bed and put it onto the bedside table.

  “I wanted to keep you out of danger and trouble, so I didn’t tell you what I was working on and what would happen that night”, Chanyeol said. “I didn’t want you to get shot again”.

Baekhyun only sobbed more when Chanyeol put his arms around him.

 “Can you forgive me?” Baekhyun cried into his shirt.

 “Only if you don’t decorate my entire shirt with snot”, Chanyeol murmured and Baekhyun cried harder.

*

The hardest part had been to interrogate Baekhyun officially. It had tainted their friendship and Kyungsoo was not sure where they stood anymore. But in the end Baekhyun had given in and had named him the people of the smuggler group. Baekhyun was not detailed on what kind of relationship he had to the smugglers, he only said that they had hung out a few times. Kyungsoo did his best to influence the governor to save Baekhyun from serving time in prison. In the end, Baekhyun got away with several hours of community service. Chanyeol seemed to have left the psychological care after a month and picked up a new job. But Kyungsoo didn’t dare to approach him or Baekhyun to ask them about their relationship. Baekhyun who was usually talkative and would have told him all about his relationship with Chanyeol without asking, said nothing to Kyungsoo. Maybe because they were sitting in Kyungsoo’s office in a government building for the interrogation. Baekhyun was terse and answered Kyungsoo’s question in few words. As soon as the interrogation had been over, Baekhyun had got up and left.  

It was awkward between them, but they all met up just a week after Baekhyun’s interrogation. Baekhyun was not as cold as on the day of his interrogation but his greeting was a bit stiff. Jongin had of course noticed it and looked at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo had not told Jongin about the interrogation and quickly gave him a sign that they would talk about it later. Chanyeol had his arm around Baekhyun’s waist which could have meant everything or nothing. They stood in front of the reception house at the entrance to the city. Jongdae lifted the cap off his head and tousled his hair and put the cap back on. It was very warm today, the short spring was already nearing its end. Soon the heat would return and the sun would burn down merciless.

The high grey wall that surrounded the city was rising up in front of them.

 “Are you sure about this?” Kyungsoo asked. Jongdae looked over his shoulder, the city spread below them and was glowing in the morning sun.

 “Yeah”, he said then. He smiled shortly but it looked like an apology.

 “Your task force will do well, I’m sure of it. You will be great”, Jongdae said. Kyungsoo opened his mouth but then just nodded and smiled. He clasped Jongdae’s hand.

 “Thanks a lot…”, he said and cleared his throat. “Take care”.

Jongdae nodded. Baekhyun was bouncing nervously on his feet and chewed on his lip. Chanyeol had walked over to Minseok and was explaining him the new hologram device he had developed. Jongin nodded at Jongdae.

 “Take care”, Jongdae said. He stopped and looked at Baekhyun.

 “Goodbye, Baekhyun”, Jongdae said quietly.

The bright morning sun was blinding them. Baekhyun looked like he was fighting with tears for a moment but then regained control over himself. He stood on his tiptoes and hugged Jongdae. Chanyeol briskly nodded at Jongdae. Minseok also walked over and shortly smiled at Kyungsoo.

 “Thanks for everything”, he said. Kyungsoo nodded.

 “Sure. I too have to thank you. Take care, I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for”, Kyungsoo said. Minseok nodded. Jongin and Minseok looked at each other.

 “Goodbye”, Jongin said. Jongdae had already walked over to the jeep and had opened the door when Baekhyun called out the question everyone wanted to ask but didn’t dare to:

 “Will you come back?”

Jongdae held onto the car door for a moment and then turned around to face them. He smiled again, apologetic. Minseok climbed into the jeep.

 “No”, Jongdae said and then got into the jeep, too.

He started the jeep and with a buzzing sound a light appeared to scan Jongdae and Minseok. The familiar electronical voice spoke up, announcing their permission to leave the city. The gate opened with a rumbling sound and the two drove through it. The wide desert in a blazing morning sun was seen for a moment as the gate opened. Then it closed and the jeep with Jongdae and Minseok disappeared.

Kyungsoo sighed and looked at Baekhyun. “I knew that Minseok wouldn’t stay in the city. He could never live here”, Kyungsoo said.

 “But why did Jongdae go?” Baekhyun asked fighting his tears. For that moment the bitterness and coldness between them was gone. Chanyeol was still looking at the gate where the desert had just been visible a minute ago.

 “You know why”, he said. Then his face softened and he put his arm around Baekhyun and pulled him close. Baekhyun buried his face in Chanyeol’s chest.

 “Let’s go back”, Kyungsoo finally said and they all made their way back down to the city.

It felt strange to walk together as a group like this. The awkwardness and coolness between them eased a little more when Chanyeol started telling them about his new job at a smaller company that was working on hologram devices and Jongin invited them over to their house at the Oceanside. It was a calm morning, it was still quiet. In the peace of the morning lay the promise of hope to an ordinary life after the nightmares. But when Jongin’s fingers slid into Kyungsoo’s hand, he felt like maybe they could achieve it.

A normal life. He felt like they could both figure out what it meant to be human and prove each other how much they still were human. No matter how broken and tired. When he looked at Jongin his chest was so full of overwhelming feelings, for a moment he thought his chest would burst open.

Jongdae and Minseok drove in silence for a while, then when the hologram made a little peeping sound, they both looked at it.

 “Looks like it is telling us that our first stop is not safe for the night, we’ve got to look for another spot. I guess we better contact the Commander and tell him we’ll be arriving later”, Jongdae said. He caught Minseok’s face.

 “What?” he asked.

 “Do you regret it?” Minseok asked.

 “What?” Jongdae asked again.

 “Coming with me… leaving the city. It is your home after all”, Minseok said. Jongdae frowned.

 “It was my home. And I know you couldn’t stay there, so of course I would go with you”, Jongdae said. “Besides it is a good job”, he added.

 “I’m surprised you asked me whether I would accompany you, though”, Jongdae said then.

 “A good job”, Minseok repeated absently.

 “Yeah, something with a purpose”, Jongdae said quietly.

He noticed Minseok’s gaze upon him, he surely remembered their talk about having no purpose anymore.

 “We get to explore the ruins of the world, find out what happened to the old cities. We get to find new safe zones”, Jongdae said. “That’s… a great purpose to have”.

Minseok said nothing.

It had been a chance for Jongdae, in the city neither of them would have had a chance of a normal life. The city Jongdae once had loved was no more, it had changed. Maybe it had been him who had changed...

This was a new chapter, a different life. They were sure this time that the job they were doing would be good and serve a purpose. And most of all, they would be together. There was no turning back, that had been the deal. Once they joined the secret military team, they could never return to the city or step down. This was a job for a lifetime. They would never see any of their friends again.

The sun had risen and the red orange morning light had turned into a blazing light that blurred the road ahead of them. Back again, in the desert.

Hi guys,

sorry for the little delay I had a little technical problem yesterday so I couldn't update.

I know that this is very open-end for Minseok and Jongdae but if you guys are interested, I have one little bonus chapter about the two of them and their new job.

Let me know if you want to read it and I'll post it!

Thank you for sticking with this story until the end! I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you for all your upvotes and especially your comments, man they mean so much to me. Your feedback really makes my day each time!!