“Minho, Minho! Look at me! LOOK AT ME!”

Minho was slipping. His life force was leaving his body and was now beginning to layer the floor in the striking colour. The rusty smell of blood hung thickly in the air. The huge gash on his back was a gory sight to see. And yet, his face was so serene. His closed eyes made him seem asleep. It was like Minho has found peace, the way his expression looked so soothingly calm.

Kibum cried out desperately for help. He could still feel Minho’s heartbeat on his own chest. He could still hear Minho’s pulse. Kibum clung onto these signs of Minho still being alive, still here with him, as he called out for somebody to help him. Anybody.

But nobody came. There was no one out on the streets. No one to hear Kibum’s pitiful cries for help. No one to help him save his love. The echo of his own pathetic voice in the silence of the street outside was a mockery to Kibum’s efforts. Give up, they said.

It’s too late.

“NO!” Kibum shouted into thin air. His determination to save Minho together with the help of his adrenaline rush, pushed Kibum to get onto his feet. He lifted Minho up, making him lean heavily on Kibum. All it took was a spurt of energy to get Minho onto his back. Kibum knew he was far too weak to be able to do this but he manages to anyway, astonishingly.

Kibum was not about to let Minho die. Minho was his. Not even death has the rights to take him away from Kibum.

Kibum made slow progress of getting down the street, looking for signs of people walking around. Minho’s blood was now seeping through his own shirt too. Kibum was praying hard to find some sort of help. Anything at all.

Kibum’s prayers were answered when he turned a corner and ran into a stout old woman. Kibum was losing his energy fast. He had barely enough to open his eyes and make his feet move.

“Please… help…,” Kibum said feebly.

“Omo! Are you okay, son?! Omo, he’s bleeding! Come with me, come with me!” the old woman said, hurrying back in the direction she came. Kibum followed after her, seeing a window of hope.

“We’re gonna make it, Minho. You’re gonna be alright…” Kibum whispered to Minho on his back.

The woman walked up to a shop only a couple of doors down, thankfully. Kibum barely registered a signboard above the shop that read ‘Choi’s Traditional Medicines’ as the woman banged on the front door for someone to open it.

The light flipped on. A few moments later, the door unlocked and it swung open to reveal an old man. He only had to see Kibum in his weak state and Minho, bloodied, on his back to understand what was going on.

“Take him upstairs,” the old man said seriously and Kibum did as told. Using what energy he had left, he climbed the stairs.

“Yujin! Get my surgery tools!” KIbum heard the man shout to someone downstairs before he followed Kibum up the stairs. He overtook Kibum once they reached the landing and went straight to a door on the left, holding it open for Kibum. Kibum carried Minho inside and struggled to get Minho down onto the single steel table in the middle of the room. The man helped him lay Minho down on his front.

That was when the full effect of Kibum’s lethargy took a toll on him. Kibum’s knees buckled and he fell to the wooden floor. The last sight he saw before everything faded into blackness was Minho’s hand hanging over the side of the table, just above his head, dripping blood.

“Run, Kibum. Go now!” Minho shouted at him.

“I’m not leaving without you, Minho!” Kibum shouted back to him, his vision clouding with tears. Minho smiled sadly at him. Kibum wondered why he was standing so far away. He wanted Minho to come closer, to follow him home.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to see my parents…”

Kibum shook his head crying. He didn’t want to let him go because to let Minho go was to let himself go. Kibum would never be able to live without him.

“Come on, son. Time to go…” Kibum heard his mother’s voice from behind him. He saw a dark figure approach Minho from his back, menacingly.

“I’ll always love you, Kibum!”Minho said just as the dark figure raised a sword behind him. Kibum screamed out in fear to Minho to tell him to get away but suddenly he was mute. He watched in horror as the sword was swung downwards, turning away screaming just before it touched Minho’s neck.

“NOOO!!!” Kibum woke up screaming. He was drenched in sweat. He looked around him, trying to identify the new room he was in. It looked like a motel room with a bed, dressing table and a wardrobe. Kibum felt confused. He was not even wearing his own shirt. Everything was so unfamiliar to him. Then, it all came back to him, the events that occurred before he fell unconscious. KIbum looked around. Minho was nowhere in sight. The clock on the wall said that it was well past 3am.

Kibum jumped onto his feet. He stumbled for a while to gain balance on his weak knees before he rushed towards the door. He went outside and took a look around to get his bearings. The room he had brought Minho to was just at the end of the corridor. He rushed towards it and opened it.

Nothing. Only an empty table reeking of some disinfectant and herbs.

Kibum came outside again and went straight to the next door. He swung it open forcefully in his panic. It was a room just like the one he was in earlier, except that it was more plainly decorated and there was no bed. There were some beddings on the floor, though, at one corner of the room and on it laid a figure that Kibum could recognize even in the darkness.

Minho.

Kibum rushed over to him. He laid on his front, the gash on his back was no longer visible, hidden under a large bandage wrapped over it. His blood has all been wiped off and his shirt was gone. Someone had pulled the comforter up to his waist because Minho surely couldn’t have done it himself. He was still out cold.

Kibum leaned closed to his face. He brought his ears close to Minho’s lips, just to hear the sound of his breathing. Kibum stayed that way for a while, letting the sound that he was hearing calm his own panicked heart. Without realizing it, Kibum was shedding tears onto the pillow cover that Minho laid on. When he noticed the drops wetting the cover, Kibum pulled away quickly. He crossed his legs and leaned against the wall beside him. He pulled his legs close to his chest as he broke down silently in front of his sleeping lover, eventually drifting back to sleep.

Kibum stirred awake, the feeling of being watched overwhelming him. He could tell the sun was already rising by the brightness that made the inside of his eyelids seem red. Kibum unfurled himself from the ball he had curled up into last night to keep warm and stretched his limbs, feeling conscious of the eyes still watching him.

Wait, eyes watching him? But that would mean…

“Minho?” Kibum said, opening his eyes and going blind for a moment from the bright light. Using his hands to shield his eyes, Kibum refocused to his left.

“You’re the most gorgeous thing on earth, you know?” Minho asked him. He was still lying on his front, now hugging his pillow to his chest for leverage. He looked so much older with the amount of exhaustion that showed on his face. But all Kibum could see was his smile.

Minho’s heartwarming smile that was the reason for Kibum’s existence.

“How are you, Minho?” Kibum asked warily, supporting his weight on his left elbow to get a better look at the other and totally ignoring his earlier compliment.

“Been better. But the pain’s alright now, must be the painkillers,” Minho said weakly.

Kibum continued looking at the other in the eyes to see if he was really alright. He seemed to be. At least, that’s what Minho’s eyes told him.

“You saved me…” Minho said in a whisper. Kibum shook his head once to say no. If he had, then Minho wouldn’t be hurt in the first place.

“I thought I was going to lose you, Minho…” Kibum said, tears threatening to spill over his eyes again. Kibum was sick of crying but for some reason, he always seemed to have something that would make him do it.

“Come here, Kibum. You’re too far away,” Minho said. Kibum got onto his knees and closed the distance that was separating the both of them. Minho lifted himself up onto his elbow, struggling a little, and placed the pillow back in its place for Kibum to lie on. As soon as Kibum was flat on the floor with his head on the pillow, Minho brought his head down onto the pillow, lying on Kibum’s bicep with his lips close enough to brush against Kibum’s neck every time he spoke. Kibum’s hand naturally hugged Minho’s head close to him, his fingers tangled into the latter’s hair while Minho’s hand wrapped around Kibum’s waist.

“You don’t have to be afraid, Kibum. I’m never leaving you. I told you this before,” Minho spoke against Kibum’s neck, leaving his neck tingling with the cold air he blew when he spoke. However, the cold was no longer a problem when Minho pressed his feverishly hot lips onto the very spot. Kibum relished in the sensation that only Minho had the power to give him.

“Are you sure you feel alright now? ‘Cause I can go get the harabuji that treated you yesterday…” Kibum asked, his brain fogged of worry for the other. He didn’t even realize that he had been Minho’s hair until he heard Minho hum appreciatively at the action, the vibration of the sound reverberating against his own skin.

“I am now because you’re here,” Minho whispered hoarsely. He shifted his head upwards and angled it to face Kibum’s. Kibum too turned his face to look at the other. It was a difficult task to do, considering the distance between their faces was practically non-existent and Kibum became cross-eyed just trying to see the other’s eyes.

So Kibum took to looking downwards instead. It was easier to look at Minho’s chest now that he was lying slightly on his side. Kibum saw his own hand make its way down the younger’s toned, scarred chest although he never remembered making a conscious decision to do it. He traced a jagged scar near his left shoulder with his fingers and another one just below his left . Kibum’s heart clenched when his fingers found a particularly deep gash that stretched from his last rib bone down to his waist. All the scars looked like they would eventually faint to a line (most of them already in the process) but this angry looking gash seemed like it would never go away.

“Being in the army surely adds to the tattoos on your body,” Minho said jokingly. He had been watching Kibum’s every movement silently as though he was trying to read Kibum’s mind.

“It’s not funny, Minho. These scars only give me more reason to hate the army. And now you have a new one on your back. Why can’t people learn to get along without the need for violence?!” Kibum said, frustrated. Minho sighed, placing his hand on the small of Kibum’s back under his shirt and drawing patterns on his skin.

“I don’t know, Kibum. I only do my duty to protect the ones I care about, my country. It’s comes with its own consequences. Do you think it’s ugly?” Minho asked him. Kibum looked at him disbelievingly. How could Minho ever assume that Kibum thought he was ugly? Kibum couldn’t even begin to describe how breathtakingly beautiful Minho was to him. The scars were only a reminder of all the hurt he has felt, all the pain he has gone through. Kibum didn’t like imagining the other to be hurting, just like how he was now. So he answered Minho’s question the only way he knew how to without using words.

Kibum angled his head downwards to place a kiss on the jagged scar on his shoulder, as though to erase the memory of how Minho must have gotten it. He moved down to the scar below his repeating the action, only to hear Minho’s breath hitch. Kibum moved lower still, giving extra attention to the deep scar on his side. His childish intention was to kiss it away but even Kibum realized how silly that would be.

All of a sudden, Kibum felt Minho’s hand pull his face up none too gently, crashing their lips together in a searing kiss (mostly because of Minho’s feverish temperatures.) Kibum was a little taken aback by the sheer aggressiveness of it. He didn’t dislike it, though. Kibum let Minho have his way with this newfound energy of his. As the initial shock slowly wore off, Kibum started enjoying it although the thought of Minho being hurt was still so prominent in his mind, making him unable to fully let himself drown in the pleasure like he wanted to.

Minho’s tongue swiped on Kibum’s lower lip with purpose. Kibum couldn’t understand why, thanks to his inexperience when it came to… physical relationships.

“Let me in, love,” Minho said when he pulled away for a moment, before he dove back in. Kibum blushed at the name Minho called him (thank god Minho was too busy to see his face.) Kibum was even more confused now, for he didn’t understand what to do.

Minho’s hand travelled down Kibum’s spine, not stopping at the small of his back nor at the end of his vertebrae. Kibum knew that he must look as red as a beet now as he felt Minho’s hand cup his . No one has touched him there like this before. The first-time experience only became that much more pleasureful when Minho went on to squeeze his bottom.

“Aaahh…” the breathy whisper left Kibum’s mouth involuntarily. Kibum clenched his hands on Minho’s biceps as he felt Minho’s tongue breach into his mouth. It coaxed Kibum’s tongue to join it in their mission to explore each other’s caverns. Kibum’s senses were being overloaded with wonderful sensations that he felt all over his body.

Minho pulled away, his breathing just as erratic as Kibum’s. What had just happened? Had Minho really just kissed him like that? Kibum’s lips felt like they had been kneaded like dough, feeling so wet and powerless. Minho’s lips were no different, an angry red and swollen. He seemed happy to have Kibum looking so lost under him.

“I assume you liked that. A lot,” Minho said, more than asked. Kibum looked away, removing his vice grip on Minho’s bicep embarrassedly. How he wished he had the power to control the colouring of his cheeks?

Kibum cleared his throat loudly for no reason at all.

“Thanks, Kibum,”

“For what?”

“For being my energy pill when I needed one. I’m all charged now,”

Kibum tried to hide the stupid grin that grew on his face, but it was too difficult a task under Minho’s eagle eyes.

“Well, charged or not, you still need to rest. So stop fooling around and get some sleep,” Kibum scolded Minho, still not having the courage to face him.

“You call that fooling around? I’m not tired anymore Kibum, so how about we fool around some more?” Minho asked shamelessly, his smile even more so. Kibum had a very snappy remark for that, something along the lines of ‘Try it, Choi and see what happens,’ but he didn’t get to say it as the door creaked open noisily.

Both their heads snapped in the direction of the door. A young girl, probably in her early teens, entered the room carrying a bowl of water with a towel in it. Her eyes were on the floor as she closed the door behind her and when she finally looked up, she visibly jumped a few feet into the air.

Now, normally (not that this kind of thing happens often to Kibum anyway) Kibum wouldn’t have thought twice about kicking Minho off of him to save everyone the embarrassment. Minho was hurt, though, and he had given up supporting himself up with his elbow a long time ago because of how weak he was, now letting most of his weight rest on Kibum. It was impossible to make him get off of Kibum quickly enough. All they could do was lie there, trying to look innocent in this very compromising position.

Kibum could identify with what the girl must be feeling as he she turned red in the face. She looked almost like a trapped mouse with nowhere to go, fidgeting like that.

“Ummm… Uhhh…. Um..” she tried, incoherently.

“Uh, it’s okay. You can leave it. I’ll handle it,” Kibum said to her. He was surprised that he could keep his voice so composed.

The girl looked around the room, anywhere but the both of them, as she said the next words.

“O-okay… H-he seemed to have a f-fever so harabuji had me bring t-this in… I’ll just leave it here,” she placed the bowl on the table beside the door and quickly exited the room with a speed Kibum thought was not humanly possible before Kibum could thank her.

“Well, that was-“Minho began.

“Very, very awkward…”Kibum finished.

Eventually, Kibum and Minho got to peeling themselves off of each other later that morning. Kibum had wiped Minho’s sweaty body to cool him. Kibum had been extra careful with his back so that he could keep the bandage dry and finally finishing off by placing a smaller towel that had been in the bowl on Minho’s forehead. The fever must be a reaction to his injury being exposed to air for quite some time, probably having been infected slightly, Kibum assumed.

At around noon, Kibum decided that he had to go find Jonghyun to let him know of their whereabouts because they had been missing overnight now without sending any news to the others. Everyone must be worried sick, fearing the worst might have happened to them. So it was with a very heavy heart that Kibum told Minho to go to sleep as he closed the door behind him to leave the room.

Kibum went downstairs and saw a few customers in the shop, buying all sorts of weird looking ginseng and herbs. Kibum found the old man from last night sitting at the counter. He headed straight for the man and without any hesitation, Kibum bowed a full right angle in respect and gratitude.

“Thank you, harabuji for all your help! We will never forget what you did for us,”

Kibum stayed in the bowed position until he felt a pair of wrinkled hands on his shoulders coaxing him to straighten up. The old man smiled weakly. Kibum doesn’t know exactly what he was expecting (perhaps, a stern expression or maybe even a weirded out expression, had he heard from his granddaughter of what she had seen this morning) but the gesture took him by surprise.

“It’s alright, son. I couldn’t just leave your friend to die,” he said in a very compassionate manner unlike the strict tone he had used last night. Kibum nodded feeling ever so grateful.

“And I hope you don’t mind that I had my granddaughter throw away both your shirts. It was too damaged,” the man added and Kibum shook his head to say that he didn’t mind.

Kibum told the man of where he was headed to and the old man replied saying that Minho could stay here as long as he needed until he was good enough to leave. He bowed another time to the old man before turning to leave, pausing once more when the old man called out to him.

“One more thing, my granddaughter is going to be feeding your friend his lunch later since you won’t be around. I hope that’s alright with you,” the man said and Kibum wondered for a moment why the man would ask this. Kibum wouldn’t have a reason to mind his granddaughter feeding M….

Wait, is that a smirk on his face?

“I have seen a lot of things in my long life, son. So much that nothing even surprises me anymore,” the old man said, answering Kibum’s unaddressed questions. Kibum was left to ponder over this as he walked in the direction of the hospital.

Had the old man meant that he had seen people like Kibum and Minho before, people who were inexplicably attracted to each other even though they were of the same gender? Doesn’t that mean that Kibum is no longer the only freak of nature? Is that supposed to be a good thing, that he now belongs to larger group of people who went against what was believed to be conventionally right?

Kibum’s head full of question marks were temporarily wiped clean as soon as he entered his grandmother’s ward at the hospital. Jonghyun practically rammed into him at top speed, shouting in his signature high-pitched voice. His grandmother had wanted to ask something, the way she opened , but Jonghyun beat her to it.

“Kibum, where had you been? We looked all over the city. We thought you got kidnapped. Or even worse, killed by kempetais. You stupid, bastard! Why didn’t you at least tell someone if you are going to go venturing out on your own?” Jonghyun ranted on non-stop, finally stopping for a breath.

“Are you done, hyung?” Kibum asked to which Jonghyun answered with a shake of his head.

“Where’s Minho?” he asked the final question.

“Now you ask about him! You were right, hyung. We did run into a kempetai yesterday. We got into a fight with the guy. He was about to kill this man with his children,” Kibum told them. His grandmother looked shock. Jonghyun too. Jinki was the only one that seemed more curious than worried.

“Oh lord, what happened then? Is Minho alright?” his grandmother asked him.

Kibum told them everything that happened last night in detail. He was, however, careful enough to not reveal too much about Minho, in case Jinki became suspicious. Kibum’s prediction about Jinki becoming suspicious was pretty accurate because by the time Kibum was done telling the story, Jonghyun and his grandmother had their mouths hanging open in shock while Jinki just stood there ‘examining’ the situation.

“So what you’re saying is Minho fought the kempetai down with his bare hands while the other was carrying a machete,”

Kibum had purposely left out the part where Minho had basically ripped the man’s throat open with his own weapon. He left the others to assume that the guy got away injured badly with the way he told his story.

“Yes, that’s what happened last night,”

“And he escaped unscathed?”

“I just said that he’s hurt. Are you going somewhere with this, Jinki-shii?” Kibum asked, peeved.

“No, not really. I was just curious. So did the guy see your faces up close? Because that would only mean problem for you two. You should have just minded your own business, would have saved you a lot of trouble, don’t you think?” Jinki asked.

“Do you think we did it to feel like heroes or something? That man was about to be killed in front of his children. We only did what was right,” Kibum was fuming by now, struggling to keep his tone respectful.

“And look where doing the right thing got Minho. Should’ve turned the other cheek, Kibum-shii,” Jinki said looking all high and mighty.

“Is it just me or are you more fixed on proving yourself correct rather than being worried about Minho?” Kibum raised his voice.

“It’s Minho’s fault that got him where he is.” Kibum heard the unsaid words fill the silence of the ward.

So why should I care if he lives or dies doing his heroic act.

“Why you-“ Kibum said launching himself in Jinki’s direction while the latter looked back at him unemotionally.

“Okay, okay. Time out. Jinki hyung, come on. Let’s go. Kibum, I’ll come see you later. Get some rest, alright?” and just like that the expert problem solver, Jonghyun avoided a fistfight that was imminent hadn’t he interfered. Jonghyun left the ward pushing JInki in front of him to the hallway outside, from where the latter continued to look at Kibum challengingly while Jonghyun patted him on the cheek encouragingly.

Kibum watched Jonghyun push Jinki all the way down the corridor, rooted to the spot in anger. That Jinki had Kibum’s instincts warning him from the very first day. But now, he had just given KIbum a reason to outright despise him.

Jinki was a suspicious character, he was. He better learn to control his mouth because army man or not, Kibum wouldn’t think twice to defend his loved ones.

(A/N) Okay so here's chapter 16 guys!!! I know it's been long overdue but I have been pretty busy lately... So I hope this chapter makes up for it. My one week break just started and I have been using my time very efficiently being a lazy bum to make up for all those hot, sleepless nights at my hostel... Can I just declare my deep profound love for proper air-conditioning now because I have truly undermined its importance for far too long!!!

Anyway, moving on from my love declaration for inanimate objects, I want to apologize to the AFF site moderator (even though he will probably never see this) Remember weeks ago when I was being so pissed off about AFF deleting my chapter?? I learned about all the problems the guy is facing after that and I felt soooo guilty for complaining so much when the guy was the one going through all the trouble trying to save his site. So I'm sorry for being a b**** without knowing the full truth!! I hope my readers do too.... :(

Thank you guys for commenting and subscribing!! I love you guys dearly!!!! Have a good day guys!!! <3

BTW, please give my Onkey oneshot-turned-short-story-because-I couldn't-stop-writing, Learning to Listen a try.... if you want to.... *uses Jong's puppy eyes to convince you* Hehehehe...

@onewkeyute~ Welcome new subbie!! I hope you continue to enjoy this fic eventhough you're not a Minkey shipper... :D Thank you for commenting!!!

@jess_mmam~ Omg you quoted a few lines!! *please excuse me while i spazz over it because no one has ever done that before* And about the cheesy lines, there are lots more to come. I just hope I don't go overboard with it and kill someone... OTL Anyway, thank you so much for commenting!! <3

@hardkoreluv~ Jong is such a baby isn't he?? But I dunno why I enjoy writing his parts so much, especially when he's all immature...  Thank you for commenting!!! <3

@shinestarsky~ Bad jong!! *tells him off for interrupting my MInkey* Don't worry, he won't do it again... hehehehe... Thank you for commenting!!! <3 Oh and btw, i'm actually younger than you, so that means I'm your dongsaeng... So thank you for reading, unnie!!! hehehehe...