Although it is not the first time he wakes up in this kind of position, it feels rather different now, knowing that they are in a completely unknown place, in a situation that neither of them expected themselves to be in, far from what they used to consider their home.

As he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is an unfamiliar gray wall, multiple cracks decorating its rough, concrete surface.

It is a far cry from the walls he used to wake up to. The fine white walls of his bedroom, where posters of his favorite game characters and basketball teams were pressed up against neatly. The walls that were barely seen amidst all his belongings—his huge closet, his large desk, his tall bookshelves, the wide television screen and the vast collection of movies and games stacked neatly on a shelf below it. The floors were carpeted. There were two doors—one leading towards the hallway outside his room, and the other to his very own personal bathroom, which had squeaky clean blue and white tiles and a complete set of sink, toilet, shower and bathtub with all the necessary and unnecessary technologies installed.

Some would call it too luxurious or extravagant—a waste of precious money that could have been used on something else. Not on a spoiled son of a rich couple like him.

But to Hyukjae, it was just his house for as far as he could remember.

It was simply home.

And now, he is waking up in a completely different place, a small gray room with nothing but a kerosene lamp and an old mattress that is rather too stiff compared to his soft, fluffy bed at home. There is no huge closet which contained hundreds of the branded clothing he owned, the closet where he spent his sweet time rummaging for clothes whenever he went out with Siwon and Kyuhyun. Now, he only had one duffel bag. It’s branded, of course, because what did he own that wasn’t? But it couldn’t even fit one-tenth of the contents of that closet he had.

Now, in this room where he woke up, there is no huge screen, which he could turn on in a snap of a finger after waking up on a fine Saturday morning, without needing to crawl out of his comfortable bed, without the worry of being late because it’s a weekend. Without a worry of anything at all.

Now, there are no tall bookshelves, which contained books and magazines of all sorts—the ones he liked, the ones he didn’t like, the ones he didn’t even read. There is no large desk, where his computer and homework are usually perched upon, as well as the picture frame given by his sister, the one that he swore he wouldn’t ever use, because who the hell uses picture frames anymore, but then he found a lovely candid shot of a certain beautiful blond angel on the school website and oh, he just had to print it and frame it. Of course he did.

There is none of those now. Luxury or extravagance, whatever people would call it.

Hyukjae doesn’t have them anymore.

But somehow, although the big difference in environment cannot go unnoticed to him, the bigger part of him does not mind at all.

Because he lost all of those to have the one thing that actually matters.

The person currently sleeping in his arms.

Hyukjae smiles as he sees Donghae wrinkling his nose in his sleep, as if he heard the older’s cheesy thoughts and is reacting negatively to it, as he usually does when he’s feeling a little shy. Grin widening, Hyukjae brings a finger to gently poke the cute nose until Donghae’s face is back to its normal state. Hyukjae suppresses a giggle by biting his lower lip as he traces careful, gentle lines onto his lover’s smooth cheek.

The soft rays of morning light filters into the room through the single window, and Hyukjae notes with much interest that Donghae’s newly dyed brown hair makes him look a bit more innocent compared to his daring golden blond. It reminds him of their middle school days, when Donghae would laugh more freely, a permanent sparkle in his doe eyes.

A sparkle that he never saw for years after what he did.

Despite them being together now, Hyukjae still could not help but feel a prickle of guilt in his chest every time he remembers what happened in the past.

Donghae had been right the night he confessed.

He wasted years.

And now that they are finally together, the world is going against them. It’s almost as if he is being punished for all the time he wasted on being a coward and the only thing he could do is to run away from it all, to stop them from tearing him and Donghae apart.

He thinks it’s selfish.

After all, he is the only one who is in serious trouble with the government at this point. He had shown evidence of his disobedience when he panicked in The Center. The professor, the nurse, and perhaps a recorded security video would be more than enough proof that he is one of those people who broke the new law.

A criminal.

But Donghae is far from that. Right now, although he has also broken rules, the government couldn’t have possibly known about it. Donghae isn’t inked. There is no proof.

He could have been safe.

Was it right? This decision of running away? Did Hyukjae just put Donghae into danger as well?

Perhaps he did, but he could not bear the thought of escaping without him, of leaving him, of being away from him for even a second. Not after everything.

But what if something happens to him? What if they get found and what if Donghae gets punished along with him? What if…

Hyukjae couldn’t even bear to think of it.

They should be safe here. His sister said so. Nothing could possibly happen now. They’re starting a new life. Everything will be okay.

Or so he hopes.

“Hyukjae?”

He does not even realize he had clenched his eyes shut until they fly open once again at the sound of Donghae’s raspy, sleep-laced voice. His angel is staring at him in confusion with bleary, sleep-crusted eyes, eyebrows slightly furrowed in mild concern.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he says, because he wants to believe – no, he believes that it’s true. “Nothing’s wrong,” he leans in and kisses away the frown between Donghae’s brows as his mind comes up with the best excuse ever. “I just really need to pee right now.”

It’s not really a lie. But he isn’t saying the complete truth either. He just doesn’t want to give his lover unnecessary worry.

Snickering, Donghae gives his chest a light push. “Then go pee, you idiot. You do know you can leave me here while you go to the toilet, right?” he huffs and pouts cutely, prompting a laugh.

“You sure about that?” Hyukjae teases, a genuine smile tugging up his lips as he hugs the brunet tighter, nuzzling Donghae’s cheek with his nose, his worries completely forgotten as he basks in Donghae’s warmth.

“Of course,” Donghae snorts, although Hyukjae can see the slight hint of pink in his cheeks and he wonders just what it is his adorable baby is thinking right now, the truth behind his nonchalant words, and the genuine feelings that he’s hiding away.

He imagines it—him going to the toilet for less than five minutes and Donghae waking up without him anywhere in sight. Would Donghae panic and be afraid? Would he start crying again? Given their current predicament, Hyukjae wouldn’t be surprised if he does.

And that’s exactly the reason why, he realizes, that danger or no danger, he could not leave and run away without Donghae.

Because he knows, that even if he probably does not deserve it after all he’s done, Donghae simply could not be without him.

Just as how he himself could not be without the younger.

He pulls Donghae close, cupping his cheek with a hand and pecking him chastely on the lips. “I love you.”

Donghae smiles, toothless and all kinds of precious, as he nuzzles into Hyukjae’s cheek. “Mm, love you too. I’m hungry though.”

“Think we should go down and eat?”

“I’m… a bit nervous to meet the new people,” Donghae softly admits.

“Well, we’ll be meeting them sooner or later anyway. Might as well just get done with it,” Hyukjae says with a smile. “And I need to pee, remember?”

Snorting, Donghae places another peck on the corner of his lover’s mouth. Hyukjae reacts by pouting and chasing after the thin lips to place a proper kiss on it, while Donghae chuckles lowly against his mouth.

They’re laughing quietly into each other’s faces like the pair of fools they are, when the sound of footsteps echo from outside the room. Immediately halting their stupid giggling, they stare into each other’s wide eyes, blinking in mild alarm. They listen silently until the footsteps stop right in front of their bedroom door.

“You don’t think they’re in there, do you?” a female voice says, causing the both of them to widen their eyes and promptly turn to gape at the door.

“Oh, I doubt it,” a voice which they both recognize as Jungsoo’s answers with a light laugh. “They both seemed very tired last night. You know, emotionally.”

“All the more reason for having then, right?” the woman says bluntly, causing Hyukjae to splutter and choke on his own spit. “Oh, I think they’ve heard me. Oops.”

A sigh. “Miyoung. Why don’t you go down and help your wife prepare brunch.”

“I don’t want to! I wanna meet the new kids! And don’t call me that!”

“Taeyeon will end up burning down the kitchen if you don’t standby.”

“The others can help her.”

“Like those idiots can do anything, really. They’d be causing worse damage.”

“Ugh. Fine!”

The sound of harsh stomps echo and disappear into the distance, and as Hyukjae and Donghae exchange confused glances, there is a sudden knock on the door.

“Hey guys?” Jungsoo’s voice calls out, muffled by the wooden door standing between him and the younger couple. “Are you two up?”

Almost immediately, they scramble away from each other, sitting up as their hands run through their messy hair and rub at their eyes in an attempt to at least look decent. The doorknob twists and the door is slightly pushed open, prompting a creaking sound, and the couple quickly sits up straight, eyes trained on Jungsoo who slowly peeks in.

“Oh,” the older male blinks, before pushing the door further and allowing half of his body to enter the room. “Good morning! I see you’re up already. Brunch is being served downstairs. I wanted to wake you guys up so you wouldn’t miss it.”

“T-Thank you, um…” Hyukjae trails off.

“Oh just call me hyung!” Jungsoo says cheerfully, cheek dimpling. “Practically everyone here are probably your hyungs and noonas.”

They exchange glances, and it seems the eldest notices the shared apprehension as he laughs and claps his hands lightly. “Come on now, don’t be nervous! I’ll give you time to wash up. The bathroom’s at the end of the hall. I’ve already had Tiffany prepare fresh towels for you so you can use those. After that, go downstairs alright? Food’s waiting.”

“Okay…hyung,” Donghae says timidly and Jungsoo coos at him before approaching and ruffling his hair, causing Hyukjae to snicker and get elbowed in the rib in return.

“I’ll be downstairs,” Jungsoo says as he turns and exits the room, and the couple waits until the sound of his feet padding against the floor disappears before turning to each other and exchanging small smiles.

“I’ll go use the bathroom first,” Hyukjae says as he stands up. Donghae nods and proceeds to crawl towards his bag to find his necessities.

They finish their morning rituals in ten minutes, and upon making sure they look presentable, hair combed down properly and faces freshly washed and free of stubble and the remnants of sleep, they head down the stairs to meet Jungsoo and the others.

The first thing Hyukjae notices upon arriving is the noise. It’s quite a surprise they didn’t hear this from upstairs. There is a television blaring and showing morning cartoons while a pair of males seemingly in their mid-twenties sit on the couch, laughing obnoxiously at the animation on the screen. Jungsoo is standing next to the couch, his attention also on the screen as he laughs loudly as well, high-pitched giggles echoing in the room.

In the kitchen stands Youngwoon and two ladies chatting animatedly in front of the stove, having a very serious discussion on the different colors of nail polish while the buff man groans at them to hurry up with the bacon. At th