Index:

(SY) - Sooyoung speaking
(YJ) - Young Jae speaking
(DH) - Daehyun speaking
(HC) - Himchan speaking
(BY) - Yongguk speaking
(TY) - Taeyeon speaking
(JU) - Jongup speaking
(Z) - Zelo speaking

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Eyes lit up as drool was close to dripping from his mouth the longer he stared. Daehyun hadn’t seen nor smelled anything so delicious before and he was practically losing his patience the longer he waited for it to cool down a bit. He hadn't had his mouth practically water over food before, so this was definitely a weird and new experience for him. Young Jae had warned him not to eat it until it was cool enough though, but it was just so tempting! Could anyone blame him for wanting to eat something that looked and smelled so good?

While Daehyun was busy fighting the urge to gobble down the spam and vegetables, Young Jae was busy washing a few things. He had boiled a lot more water, letting him clean the pots, pans, and various utensils without worry about there being any sort of harmful bacteria being rinsed onto them. At least with these pots and pans, they could keep a few of them for the time being. Also with the utensils, he didn’t have to worry about Daehyun making a mess again. It had been a bit weird trying to teach Daehyun how to use a utensil, but since Daehyun was well over the age where he should have learned how to use them, it seemed to be rather easy for Daehyun to learn.

Before that though, Young Jae had gotten Daehyun changed and cleaned up. Luckily, Daehyun had packed up two shirts, two pairs of underwear, and one pair of socks. The only pants he owned were the pair of jeans he wore now and it was basically the same thing with the jacket he wore. It had taken him a long while to realize, but after being so close to the warmth of the fire for a while, Young Jae had finally realized just how cold it was at the moment. Sure, it wasn’t snowing just yet, but he should have realized the temperature far sooner. How was Daehyun not cold yet?

“Can I eat it now, Young Jae? Pretty pretty preeeetty please? It smells really good!” (DH) Young Jae couldn’t help but smile a bit as he finished up washing the dishes. Luckily, there had been a pack of unopened napkins in the closet, so he had been able to at least set these items on top of the napkins to let them dry for a bit. With one last thing to set down, Young Jae looked over at Daehyun, whom was hopping in his seat with impatience. Daehyun was clearly trying his best to wait patiently for Young Jae’s approval and in a way, Young Jae found it rather cute.

“Okay. I’m done washing. Let me dry my hands first.” (YJ) Daehyun nodded, but his gaze was constantly on the two plates of food in front of him. Young Jae picked up one of the napkins and quickly dried his hands before taking out two more napkins and making his way over to the small boy. Sitting down on the counter, Young Jae handed Daehyun one of the napkins before hovering his hand over the food. It was still warm, but it wasn’t as hot as it had been when it first came out of the pan. “Alright, Daehyun. You can start eating now.” (YJ)

“YAAAY~!” (DH) Using his fork, Daehyun quickly stabbed at one slice of the spam before picking it up. With a grin, he raised the slice of spam above his and was about to take a bite out of the piece of meat when Young Jae quickly cleared his throat. Pausing, Daehyun set the piece of meat back down as he lowered his head, his gaze locking in on Young Jae as he blinked in slight confusion.

“Daehyun. Cut it into pieces and then eat it. I don’t want you making  a mess again.” (YJ) With a small nod, Daehyun shook his fork a bit before the slice slid off of his fork. Sticking his tongue out at the corner of his mouth, Daehyun concentrated as much as possible as he began cutting away at the slice of meat. It was a bit sloppy at first, but it didn’t take long before Daehyun finally cut a piece off. Stabbing the piece with his fork, Daehyun held it up proudly for Young Jae to see.

“Look! I cut it! I just do it like that, right?” (DH) Young Jae smiled a bit as he nodded.

“Yeah. Just like that.” (YJ) Daehyun happily put the piece of spam into his mouth before his taste buds practically exploded with a foreign taste. A smile widened on his face as he shivered a little. He hadn’t expected it to taste as good as it looked and it seemed like this would definitely become his most favorite food ever.

Young Jae quietly chuckled to himself before he began eating his food as well. It was adorable how Daehyun seemed to not only be so proud of being able to cut his food, but he also seemed to be really enjoying the food with that kind of reaction that had just been produced. Looking up, Young Jae held his smile as he watched Daehyun eat. “Do you like it that much?” (YJ)

“Mhm! It’s tastes different from everything else that I ate before!” (DH) That comment alone had Young Jae wondering what Daehyun even ate to begin with. With how skinny Daehyun had been when he last checked him, Young Jae couldn’t help but imagine that he probably had scraps from someone else’s meal. He would have guessed that Daehyun normally ate a single slice of bread, but bread was definitely expired everywhere else unless the people whom had taken charge had a farm of some sort. Taking another bite out of his food, Young Jae finally decided that it probably wouldn’t hurt to question Daehyun about his life.

“What was your life like before I, uh.. decided to take you to safety?” (YJ) Daehyun thought for a moment as he slowly slid his fork out of his mouth. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, attempting to gather up as much of his memories as possible before he looked down at his plate and finally decided to try one of the vegetables.

“It wasn’t very fun. After mommy and daddy went away, the bad men kept all of the kids like me in a building on a floor by ourselves. Sometimes they feed us once a day and everyone doesn’t like sharing food like you, so the bigger kids sometimes take food from the smaller kids.” (DH) Daehyun stabbed at about two pieces of vegetable and stabbed one more piece of meat before grinning with amusement. Who knew that so much food could be held on a fork? After sliding the pieces of food into his mouth, Daehyun set his fork down for a moment as he chewed happily. After he finished chewing, Daehyun let out a satisfied sigh as he picked his fork back up. “Sometimes, the bad men would beat us up because they’re angry about something. I always hid in a space that me and my friends could fit in, but we got found and beaten a lot more because of it. They don’t like it when we go outside, but I always sneak outside and then I became friends with you!” (DH)

Daehyun grinned happily as he went back to eating. There wasn’t anything else to be said since he had pretty much explained everything that he had experienced in his life, though.. there were some things that he didn’t want to mention. Young Jae, luckily, didn’t necessarily catch this as he watched Daehyun eating. He wanted to do something for all of those children, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. “Okay.. Finish up your food and then we have to start moving again, alright?” (YJ)

“Okay!” (DH) Finishing up his food, Young Jae picked up his plate before making his way back over to the sink. Setting it down, he began to wash it with the remaining water as he briefly glanced over at Daehyun. He could see Daehyun looking back at him as he gave his usual grin. He’ll definitely save Daehyun, even if it hadn’t been mandatory of him to do so.

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“Young Jae..? When can we play with the robots?” (DH)

“Hm?” (YJ) Young Jae looked down at Daehyun, whom was following close by his side. It took him a moment, but once he remembered what Daehyun was talking about, Young Jae tried to think for a moment. It would have been best to play with the robots when they were back at the hotel, but now, it wasn’t necessarily the greatest thing to be doing while they were traveling. Yes, they were walking with no one else around, but he didn’t want to get caught if there really was someone nearby and they were being too loud with their noises. Still.. it might take things off of Daehyun’s mind if he played with something. “If you can be really quiet, you can play with the robot now if you want. I can’t play with you, but I’ll play with you when we take another break, okay?” (YJ)

“Mm... Okay.” (DH) It was evident that there was disappointment in Daehyun’s voice, but Young Jae decided to remain quiet about it. He really would have to make it up to Daehyun later when they took their next break. For now, they just had to keep going.

As they continued walking, Daehyun had gotten the robot out from his bag and was now moving the toy around, pretending that it was flying. Every now and then, he would jerk his hand back and forth, pretending that it was shooting at imaginary enemies before it went back to flying around. Young Jae smiled every now and then whenever he glanced down at Daehyun. He did wonder if his own children would end up like him and if they did, at least it would make it a bit easier to raise them.

Just as they turned the corner, the sound of a trash can falling over quickly caused the both of them to jump. Crouching down low, Young Jae quickly led Daehyun behind one of the cars as he put a single finger to his lips. Once Daehyun nodded, Young Jae moved over to the hood of the car before slowly looking over the car as he scanned the area. His eys instantly landed on the fallen over trash can. It rolled around for a moment before finally coming to a stop. It was rather surprising to see that the trash can hadn’t already fallen over from the explosion. With the way the rest of the city was, that trash can must have been hidden quite well for it to have stayed upright. “Do you see anything?” (DH)

“Shh.” (YJ) Young Jae briefly looked down at Daehyun, whom was crouching next to him while also peeking out from behind the car. He smoothed out Daehyun’s hair a bit before looking back towards the trash can. Who was the culprit for knocking that over? The trash can was out in the open and he didn’t hear any footsteps, so he couldn’t tell if they had left the trash can already or if they were still there. “I’m gonna go check it out. Stay here and keep a look out, okay?” (YJ)

“Be careful, Young Jae. It’s too scary to be by myself..” (DH) Young Jae nodded before he began to make his way towards the trash can. So far, he couldn’t see anything that he could use to defend himself and, unlike Daehyun, he had no knowledge of how to actually fight in terms of hand-to-hand combat, so.. he would just have to hope that it was nothing.

Slowly, Young Jae stepped closer and closer to the trash can as he held his flashlight with both hands. It had to be an animal of sorts if it was still inside. Since there was garbage splayed all over the ground from where it had started, there was no way a fully grown adult would have fit inside. It was just simple observation and unless someone had knocked it over from its original spot on purpose, it had to be his first guess.

Stopping at the garbage can, Young Jae stared at it for a few moments before he kicked the trash can. Instantly, a screech of sorts escaped from the trash can before a cat came running out. Watching the cat disappear behind one of the many cars there, Young Jae let out a sigh of relief before jumping the second he felt a hand take hold of his. “What was that, Young Jae? It looked really fluffy and cute!” (DH)

“It was a cat. Have you seen one before?” (YJ)

“Mm-Mm. We aren’t allowed to have animals, but we kept a baby mouse before! It was really small and cute and fluffy, but they saw it and they threw it out the window..” (DH) Daehyun looked up at Young Jae as he pointed towards the direction that the cat had gone off to. “Can we keep the cat?” (DH)

“We can’t. It might have a disease.” (YJ) Daehyun frowned as he looked forward with a longing look. Young Jae sighed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head with three of his fingers. He wasn’t much of an animal person anyway, so he wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of it. “Come on. Let’s keep moving.” (YJ)

“Okay.” (DH)

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The chill air seemed to warm up a little bit as the sun began to rise. The sun’s rays were definitely welcomed at this point, but Young Jae couldn’t help but shiver a little. Looking down at Daehyun, Young Jae could see the poor boy shivering as he huddled as close to Young Jae as possible. Picking Daehyun up, Young Jae hugged Daehyun tightly as he carried the poor boy. “Hey.. Do you wanna get a warmer jacket?” (YJ)

“M-Mhm... I’m super cold...” (DH) Daehyun closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the back of Young Jae’s neck. Resting his head on his left arm, Daehyun tightly wrapped his legs around Young Jae’s waist as he continued to shiver. It helped a lot to feel Young Jae’s warmth radiating onto him, so he was very grateful for this. He also looked forward to getting a new jacket if Young Jae really was going to get him one.

As Young Jae continued walking, he began to look around. They had passed various stores, but none seemed to be stores that sold children’s jackets. It was a bit frustrating, but if they didn’t find a store that sold children’s jackets soon, then they might have to get something else for Daehyun. Sure, he knew what Daehyun’s size would be once he grew older, but it would still be too big to fully keep Daehyun warm. Well, maybe he could just use it as a blanket of sorts. That seemed like a good idea since he would have his old jacket and then the newer one.

After passing a few more stores, Young Jae finally came to a stop at one store that seemed adequate enough to Daehyun’s tastes. Sure, this might not be this Daehyun’s tastes, but he would grow to like it sooner or later. Stepping through the doorless doorway, Young Jae looked around for a moment. What jacket would Daehyun like the most? It might have been better to let Daehyun choose, but Young Jae also wanted to make certain that it was also the warmest. He wasn’t certain about what month this currently was, but it was best to play it safe than sorry.

Coming to a stop at some of the knocked over clothes, Young Jae set Daehyun back down onto his feet before he crouched down. Shifting through the coats, Young Jae picked a few that was still in relatively good condition before setting them down in a pile by Daehyun’s feet. As Young Jae went to get a few more coats, Daehyun’s curiosity peaked as he looked through the coats that Young Jae brought over.

Everything was too big, to which Daehyun couldn’t help but pout. Why were they getting clothes that would fit Young Jae and not him? Daehyun wanted clothes too! Sitting down, Daehyun took one of the coats and put it over his legs as he waited patiently for Young Jae to finish getting clothes. Maybe they were going to get clothes for him too after they got clothes for Young Jae! Daehyun was really looking forward to it! He’s worn these same clothes for the past three years and he sadly, he was already too big for his clothes.

Looking up, Daehyun’s eyes lit up as he saw Young Jae coming back with more coats. Was there something for him in that pile he had? Once Young Jae set the coats down, Young Jae looked at Daehyun, whom was looking back at him with clear eagerness on his face. He couldn’t help but smirk a bit as he crouched down and looked at Daehyun. “Is that the coat that you want to keep?” (YJ)

“Me? But it’s too big!” (DH) Daehyun picked it up, showing that the coat practically covered his entire upper body AND his head. The second he heard Young Jae chuckle, Daehyun set the coat back down in confusion as he looked up at Young Jae. “Are we going to get clothes for me when you pick your clothes?” (DH)

“Me? These coats are all for you.” (YJ) Daehyun’s eyes widened with disbelief as he looked down at all of the coats. All of these were for HIM?! But they were too big! He couldn’t wear these! Daehyun shook his head as he looked back up at Young Jae.

“But these are all for adults! I’m still a kid!” (DH) Young Jae chuckled again as he sat down. They could, technically, keep looking for stores that sold children’s clothes, but it was probably better, for the time being, to just get at least one of these coats to keep Daehyun warm.

“These are just for now, okay? Until we find a store that has children's clothes, you can just keep one of these coats and use it like a blanket. How does that sound?” (YJ) Daehyun thought for a moment before nodding. Getting to his feet, Daehyun wrapped the coat around his waist as he shuffled over to the pile of coats. Daehyun pursed his lips as he crouched down and began shifting through the coats that Young Jae brought. He hummed happily to himself before finally, his eyes landed on the one coat that seemed to catch his attention the most. Dropping the coat around his waist, Daehyun picked up the one that he liked before wrapping it around his shoulders.

“I want this one!” (DH) Young Jae smiled a bit as he nodded. It definitely seemed like something Daehyun would pick, of course, this was all in his head anyway. It shouldn’t have been all that surprising that Daehyun would pick something like this. Getting to their feet, Young Jae ruffled Daehyun’s hair a bit.

“Okay. Let’s get going and.. if we see a store with clothes your size, we’ll go in and take a look, okay?” (YJ)

“Okay!” (DH) Young Jae paused for a moment before getting Daehyun completely into the jacket. Zipping the jacket up and folding the sleeves, Young Jae smiled a bit as he made certain that it looked adequate enough on Daehyun. Reaching up, Daehyun took hold of Young Jae’s hand before smiling a bit. Making their way out of the store, Young Jae looked around once more before they were on their way. Daehyun happily hummed to himself with his free hand in his pocket. He definitely felt warmer than before, but he felt weird wearing a large coat like this.

Walking down two or three blocks, they finally came to a stop as Young Jae looked around for a bit. He couldn’t exactly remember how to get to New Jersey. It was a different state after all and it’s not like he had every single road memorized. He left all of the driving to Daehyun, so unless he had some sort of GPS or even just a regular map, then Young Jae was basically clueless at this point. Rubbing the back of his head, Young Jae finally let out a sigh before crouching down. Daehyun looked at Young Jae in confusion, blinking innocently as he tried to figure out what was wrong with Young Jae. “Are you tired?” (DH)

“No.. It’s just tha-..” (YJ) Young Jae stopped himself as he looked at Daehyun. He couldn’t tell Daehyun that they were lost. It would bring about a sense of panic into Daehyun and that was the last thing that they needed in a situation like this. With a forced smile on his face, Young Jae moved a few strands of hair from Daehyun’s face as he shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, alright? If we can make it to one of the bridges off of this island, then we should be able to make it to New Jersey in no time.” (YJ)

“A bridge?” (DH) Daehyun thought on it for a moment, but he didn’t recall seeing a bridge before. Young Jae got to his feet and took a hold of Daehyun’s hand before they began walking once more. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting the way to any of the bridges in the city. Actually, there were at least six bridges and tunnels that connected New York to New Jersey, but that involved either going to Manhattan or Staten Island and both were relatively far from their current location. Of course, they couldn’t even get to Staten Island without a ferry anyway, so their only choice would be Manhattan. Now, depending on which part of Manhattan they arrived at, they had three choices. They could either take the George Washington bridge, which would lead them to Fort Lee, the Holland Tunnel, which would take them to Jersey City, and there was the Lincoln Tunnel, which would take them to Weehawken. Sadly, since he didn’t know where in New Jersey he was supposed to take Daehyun, there was no telling how long it would take just to find that supposedly safe location. Just walking would probably take one to two hours and Young Jae didn’t have that much time to spend in here. For every minute he spent, an hour could have passed in the real world. “Oh! I remember! Um.. you said that we were supposed to go to a tunnel before. Are we going to take a bridge too?” (DH)

“Do you remember the name of the tunnel?” (YJ) Young Jae crouched down as he placed his hands on Daehyun’s shoulders. If Daehyun knew the name, then they were one step closer to figuring out where they were supposed to go. After all, there were only two tunnels that connected to New Jersey and they were located either in lower Manhattan or midtown Manhattan. It would definitely save them the trip of having to go to upper Manhattan.

“Um.. Lin... Linky..?” (DH)

“Lincoln Tunnel?” (YJ) Daehyun’s eyes instantly lit up as he smiled.

“That one!” (DH) Perfect! Now, if he could just find out where exactly they were, they would be able to head to midtown Manhattan. Looking around for a moment, he silently cursed as he noticed that the street signs had been taken off. Then again, there were a lot of street lights that had fallen over, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the street signs weren’t around anymore. Still.. that just delayed their progress. Without a compass and a map, then there wasn’t any way to figure out where they were. “Young Jae? What does the sign say?” (DH)

Sign..? How was Daehyun able to find a sign and not him? Looking where Daehyun was pointing, Young Jae finally realized that they were standing underneath the sign the entire time. Sure, the sign was only hanging on one of its hinges at this point, but at least it was still trying to hold strong. A bit too convenient, but why question what his mind had set up? Moving forward a bit, Young Jae looked back up at the sign before taking a moment to read it. “Avenue of the Americas..” (YJ)

Perfect! Now, if only he knew which way led North. It would be easy to figure out exactly how to get to Manhattan then if he just had that bit of information. With a small sigh, Young Jae looked around a bit before taking hold of Daehyun’s hand once more. “Come on. If we can just find out what the next street is called, then I might be able to find out where we are.” (YJ)

“Can we eat after that?” (DH) He was hungry already? Then again, Young Jae didn’t blame him. It had been quite a few hours already and with the amount of food they ate, it would have been surprising if Daehyun wasn’t hungry again. Picking Daehyun up, Young Jae looked at the curious little boy before nodding with a smile.

“Yeah. We’ll eat again. But we have to make sure that we eat the fruit I packed, okay? We can’t eat meat unless we’re in a safe building because we have to cook it first. Is that okay with you?” (YJ) Daehyun was a bit disappointed, but he nodded nonetheless. Once Young Jae began walking, Daehyun wrapped his arms around Young Jae yet again as he looked around with curiosity. He hadn’t been this far out into the city before and it made him wonder what everything was like before it was destroyed.

Young Jae rubbed Daehyun’s back as he let his thoughts drift. What was the real Daehyun doing now? Was it already his birthday or had it passed? Hopefully, the last two trials after this one wasn’t as long. Sure, he really liked this Daehyun and wanted to bring him along as well, but it didn’t seem like he could do something like that. With a small sigh, Young Jae reached up and combed his fingers through Daehyun’s hair as he looked towards the ground.

He just.. wanted to wake up already.

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Somehow, after about half an hour of wandering around, the two finally managed to make it onto the right path. It took them another two and a half hours before they found themselves standing in front of the Lincoln Tunnel. There were a lot cars inside of it, most likely people trying to get out of the city before the bomb happened. It was rather obvious that there wouldn’t be any way of getting out once the panic ensued, though it did make Young Jae wondered where the explosion had occurred in the first place. Traffic was a constant thing in New York City and when the entire populace is trying to get out, all bridges and tunnels were most likely going to get blocked up eventually.

Walking into the tunnel, they stayed on the walkway where normally only the authorities or maintenance crew would usually walk. The exhaust in the tunnels weren’t exactly the safest thing for pedestrians to be inhaling, which explained why people weren’t allowed to walk through the Lincoln Tunnel. It was probably a bad thing to say, but it was a rather good thing that the city was in its current state. It wouldn’t help them at all if it turned out that they couldn’t cross through the tunnel without having to take a vehicle. “It’s super dark, Young Jae. I don’t wanna go in..” (DH)

Young Jae looked down at Daehyun, making eye contact with the scared little boy. The dark? He didn’t recall Daehyun ever being scared of the dark, but then again, he was just a little kid at the moment. Thinking for a moment, Young Jae pulled the flashlight that was sticking out of his pocket before turning it on. “Just use your flashlight and hold onto it tightly, okay?” (YJ)

“Okay..” (DH) Well, they needed to use their flashlights anyway if they planned to get through this tunnel at all. It would take them approximately half an hour to make it through. It was only about a mile and a half long, so it shouldn’t take them too long to make it through. They just needed to make certain that there wasn’t anything blocking their way and they should be good to go.

Just as Young Jae began walking, Daehyun froze. Why hadn’t Young Jae taken his hand already?! Looking up at the back of Young Jae’s head with wide eyes, he stared for a moment before he ran after Young Jae. Quickly, Daehyun grabbed hold onto Young Jae’s hand as he tried his best to hide behind Young Jae’s leg. Looking down, Young Jae could see just how scared Daehyun was, but.. there wasn’t anything he could do about it. It was either this, or they had to go to the George Washington Bridge and Young Jae wasn’t certain if that bridge was even still standing at this point.

About a quarter of the way through the tunnel, Daehyun had begun to calm down a bit. So far, there wasn’t anything scary that would jump out at them, so he figured that there wasn’t any monsters in here. Sure, he couldn’t really see the light from outside anymore, but at least he had the comfort of Young Jae’s company as well as their flashlights. Just as he felt a sense of security within him, a voice quickly stabbed away at that security and filled him with fear. “I think they’re in here.”

“SHUT UP! YOUR VOICE ECHOES!” Had they been followed this entire time? There couldn’t be any way that they had been followed. If they had, then they would have been caught up to a while ago. Picking Daehyun up, Young Jae flashed the flashlight onto Daehyun’s face a bit to see if he was alright. He made sure to speak as low as possible so that their voices didn’t end up giving away their position.

“Stay quiet and keep your flashlight in front of us okay? I have to turn mine off because it’s bigger, so you have to lead the way.” (YJ) Daehyun didn’t understand, but he nodded anyway as he felt himself being placed back onto the ground. The comfort of Young Jae’s flashlight quickly disappeared as Young Jae actually took the time and effort to put his flashlight back into his backpack. Once that was done, Young Jae took hold of Daehyun’s hand before Daehyun began to lead the way.

Daehyun didn’t like having to do this, but it was starting to make sense to him. Since his flashlight was small enough to almost completely fit into his pocket, that meant that the light was a lot harder to see. That also meant that the badmen wouldn’t be able to see his light all that easily!

As quickly and as quietly as possible, they continued moving forward. They could hear the footsteps of the men behind them, but that didn’t mean they could just move on without worrying about the men hearing them. They needed to be as quiet as possible, making certain that their footsteps didn’t echo too loudly. Young Jae wished that there was a marker or something that showed how far along the tunnel they had gone through and if there was, then he wasn’t aware of it. This tunnel felt like it was going on for a while now and it was starting to unnerve him.

Young Jae froze as he saw light just briefly pass over them. Picking Daehyun up, he quickly pressed themselves against the wall as the light flashed over them again. It was a weak light, indicating that they were still far behind, but it was enough to show that they could at least see them. Judging by the angle of the light though, it seemed like their pursuers were currently traveling through the road itself as opposed to where they were. It would at least buy them some time to run away if necessary since there were a fair amount of obstacles, but that didn’t mean that they were out of danger yet. “Come on.. Stay low and keep moving.” (YJ)

“O-Okay..” (DH) Crouching down, Daehyun took hold of Young Jae’s hand as Young Jae took the flashlight this time. It would be easier for Daehyun to move if he had one free hand at the very least, or at least.. that’s what he assumed.

Moving forward, Young Jae kept the light flashed onto the ground as he constantly looked back. There had to be a way to get out of here faster, but then.. where would they go after they got out? The most Daehyun knew had been Lincoln Tunnel, but after that, they had no other destination planned. Still, maybe it would be better than getting caught by these guys. “I know you’re in here kid! I saw you and your pal, I know I did!”

Damn it! Young Jae had thought that they would be imagining things and with how faint the light had been, it should have been difficult to clearly see them in the first place. Though, how would he have seen Daehyun? Daehyun was on his right side and in front of him, so Young Jae would have been blocking their view. Either they were guessing or they weren’t where he had been assuming. That didn’t really matter though. As long as they made it out alive, then there was no point to putting any thought on the matter.

Soon, a gunshot blasted through the silence, causing Daehyun to let out a small yelp before Young Jae quickly clasped a hand over Daehyun’s mouth. Snickering could be heard, indicating that the person responsible for the gunshot had clearly heard Daehyun. “I know you’re here little boy. When I get my hands on you, I’m gonna make you regret leaving.”

Young Jae looked at Daehyun before putting a single finger to his lips. Daehyun nodded, but it seemed like Daehyun was already on the verge of tears. Was he thinking about what the men did to him in the past? Furrowing his eyebrows, Young Jae looked around a bit before spotting a nearby rock. It had fallen off from the ceiling, which was a bit worrisome, but it would hopefully help them. Turning a bit, Young Jae threw it as far to the opposite wall as possible. Sadly, it didn’t make it completely to the opposite wall since he heard it collide with metal, but at least it was enough to distract the men. “THERE!”

Taking this opportunity, Young Jae and Daehyun both stood up onto their feet as they began moving a little faster. They were trying to move as quietly as possible, but it was a bit difficult since Daehyun was having a bit of difficulty keeping up with Young Jae. It seemed like his plan was going well, but Young Jae soon felt a tug on his hand before Daehyun’s hand slipped from his grasp altogether. “Shi-” (YJ)

A gunshot rang through the tunnel as a bullet just barely missed Young Jae. Crouching down low, Young Jae placed a hand on Daehyun’s shoulder as Daehyun pushed himself up to his knees. He seemed to be trying hard to keep himself from crying, but from what he could see, it seemed like Daehyun hadn’t fallen on his chin at least. “Where are you hurt?” (YJ)

“I-I.. I fell on my hands and I hit my head on my arm..” (DH) Daehyun sniffed, but another gunshot whizzed past them once again. Mentally cursing, Young Jae picked Daehyun up before he began running. They needed to get out as quickly as possible. Their position had already been given away, so there was no point in trying to be stealthy anymore.

More gun shots could be heard, causing Daehyun to tense up each and every time. Young Jae had to keep Daehyun’s head down just to try and keep him calm from this event. He ran for god knows how long before the gun shots stopped altogether before curses of all kinds could be heard. Letting out a large sigh, Young Jae put Daehyun back onto his feet before crouching down and placing his hands on Daehyun’s shoulders once more. “Okay.. We have to walk, but quickly. I can’t carry you for too long without getting tired, so can you walk? Are you okay with that?” (YJ)

“M-Mhm..” (DH) Patting Daehyun’s head, Young Jae took hold of Daehyun’s hand before the two quickly began walking as quickly as possible without causing Daehyun to fall over again. They could hear the men climbing on top  of cars behind them, but they weren’t going to stop and watch what was happening.

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Daehyun smiled wide as he looked around. They had finally made it out of the Lincoln tunnel and the light brought a large amount of comfort to him. As they stepped out into the open, they heard a whistle somewhere ahead of them. The two looked around in surprise, but the whistle just seemed to blow again before a few people emerged from behind a few objects. Walking up to them, Young Jae had hidden Daehyun behind him, but the people in front of them held relieved looks on their faces. “There you are, Young Jae! Where have you been? Is that the kid you were talking about?”

“Do I know you..?” (YJ) The people in front of them seemed relatively confused before they began laughing a bit. They had assumed that Young Jae was joking, but when they saw the serious look on his face, the laughter soon died down. Daehyun poked his head out a bit more as he looked at the men.

“H-He can’t remember stuff... Are you his friends?” (DH) The man in front crouched down as he looked at Daehyun with a warm smile. He nodded a bit, allowing Daehyun to come out from behind Young Jae a bit more as he looked at the man. They stared at each other for about another second or so before the man stood up and looked at Young Jae with a serious look on his face.

“Memories or not, it’s a good thing that you’re back. Come on. We need to head back to base befo-” A gunshot rang through the air as Young Jae gasped. He stumbled forward a bit, his eyes wide as he soon felt his legs give out from underneath him. Landing on his knees, he was about to fall over, but a pair of arms kept him from falling over. He could hear loud screaming as well as more gun shots, but the sounds seemed to be all faraway as he felt himself losing consciousness. All he could see was the tears streaming down Daehyun’s face as Daehyun said something to him. Before he could do anything though to comfort Daehyun, he saw Daehyun being picked up before he felt his arms being slung around two different people.

Before he knew it, the world around him slowly turned black.

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Only a month had passed and already, Daehyun was starting to look better. He was sleeping on time, working out whenever he had the energy to do so, and he was back into his normal eating habits. It brought relief to everyone else that knew him, so he hoped that now, he could possibly not worry too much about Young Jae. In his current state, Daehyun would just have to hope that Young Jae could handle himself.

Daehyun let out a deep sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He had just finished the last of his reports for the day and all he needed to do now was hand it in then head home. Stacking up his papers, he sorted and straightened out the pile before putting them into the various manila folders related to each of the cases. Getting up from his seat, Daehyun made his way away from his cubicle and towards his bosses’ office. Spotting the slot that his boss normally had his employee’s use to turn in reports, Daehyun opened it up and slid the manila folders carefully inside before closing the slot up.

He stretched a bit, feeling good about how everything turned out. It wasn’t necessarily certain why, but Daehyun felt a bit more refreshed than usual. Turning around, Daehyun quickly made his way back to his cubicle before getting ready to clock out for the day. Once everything was cleaned up or shut down, Daehyun soon left the office before making his way to his car. Once inside, he soon began driving home.

It hadn’t been all that long before his phone soon began to ring. Daehyun leaned back and raised his waist a bit as he fished around in his pocket. Once he had been able to retrieve his phone, Daehyun briefly looked at the caller ID before flipping his phone open and pressing the okay button. He pressed his phone up to his ear as he smiled a bit. “Hey, Jongup. Did you need something?” (DH)

“Oh.. um.. Are you coming home soon?” (JU)

“Yeah. Why? Did you need me to pick something up for you?” (DH)

‘Um.. No.. See you soon, dad!” (JU) The phone call instantly ended, keeping Daehyun from being able to say any goodbyes. He glanced at his phone before briefly tilting his head to the right as he set his phone into the cup holder. Daehyun didn’t necessarily understand what that had been about, but he decided not to question it. After all, Jongup could have just been checking up on him to make sure that he was coming home.

Once the car had been parked, Daehyun stepped out of the car and closed the door before locking it up. It wasn’t long before he was in front of his apartment with his keys out. He fumbled around with it for a bit, but once the door was unlocked, he opened the door before stepping inside.

At first, confusion set in as he noticed how dark the room was. It was only eight at night and it was a Friday, so he doubted that the kids went to sleep so soon. Plus, even if they had gone to bed, normally Taeyeon or Sooyoung were up watching television. Closing the door behind him, Daehyun took his shoes off and let out a sigh as he slipped on his slippers. The slippers were definitely comfortable on his poor feet after a long day of work, but at least he could get some rest now.

Turning on the lights, he had just made his way over to the key rack when he looked back over at the shoes by the door. Why were there a lot more shoes than there should be? Scratching the side of his head, Daehyun hung his set of keys on the key rack before looking over at the living room. Did they have guests over? Sure, Daehyun had no say over Taeyeon or Sooyoung’s lives, but it was a bit late to be having guests over. If anything, he would have at least liked it if they gave him a heads up ahead of time so that it didn’t take him by surprise.

Walking forward, he was about to sit and relax on the couch when a group of people soon popped out from behind various objects while yelling all in unison. “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Daehyun jumped, his heart racing immensely as he placed a hand to his chest. He stared at the others in surprise as various party poppers went off and streamers went flying all over the place. He heard the cheers and the constant birthday wishes from everyone before it finally clicked that today was indeed his birthday.

After calming down and after they’ve had their late night dinner, Daehyun sat down on the couch as he let out a small sigh. They were currently digesting so that they could have some cake soon, which Daehyun didn’t mind doing. Sure, he had space for cake, but he preferred to eat with everyone else as opposed to eating awkwardly by himself. Sooyoung had started up a video game and was now playing against Himchan, which was a bit funny to watch. Himchan had little to no knowledge about video games and thus, he was becoming a bit frustrated with the controls. “YOU’RE HACKING, AREN”T YOU?!” (HC)

“You just at this game! Learn to play, newbie!” (SY) Himchan let out an irritated groan as he ruffled his hair up in frustration. Yongguk chuckled a bit, wrapping an arm around Himchan’s shoulders before rubbing his arm a bit to comfort him. Himchan merely chose to ignore it though since the majority of his focus was on the video game.

Off to the side, Jongup was holding a box that had been wrapped up as best as possible with a huge bow on it. It may not have been the best looking gift, but all that mattered was the gift inside. He bit his bottom lip as he looked over at his dad, uncertainty running through him as he looked at Zelo. “Go on. Give it to him already.” (Z)

“But what if he doesn’t like it?” (JU)

“He has to! We looked so hard to get it for him!” (Z) Jongup let out a small sigh before nodding. There had rarely ever been a time where Daehyun hadn’t liked any of the gifts that were given to him, so why would now be any different? Taking in a deep breath, Jongup made his way over to his dad before holding out the wrapped gift. Daehyun looked up, his curiosity peaking a bit as he looked from the present to Jongup.

“What is it?” (DH)

“It’s for you! Me and Zelo looked everywhere for it and uh.. it’s only the first part of your present!” (JU) Daehyun smiled as he looked at the present with obvious interest on his face. Just as he was about to reach for the present, a hand swiftly came in and lightly slapped away his hands. Looking at his assaulter, Daehyun stared for a moment as Taeyeon wagged her finger.

“Not so fast! No presents until after you blow out your candles.” (TY) Almost as if on cue, the lights instantly went out as Yongguk and Himchan’s deep voices penetrated the air. Everyone looked around, their eyes landing on the cake that the duo were slowly carrying towards the birthday boy. It wasn’t much longer before everyone else quickly joined in on the song before everyone clapped and cheered a bit.

Looking down at the cake that had been placed on the coffee table, Daehyun sat on the edge of his seat as he rested his elbows on his knees. He stared long and hard at the flickering flames, his mind focusing hard on the wish that he so desperately wanted to come true. When he was certain on his wish, Daehyun took in a deep breath before blowing out the life of the two flames. The lights came back on as everyone clapped their hands. Daehyun smiled a bit as he watched Taeyeon coming back from the kitchen with a knife, a stack of plates, and a handful of forks. “Okay! Daehyun has to get the first slice, but who else wants some?” (TY)

Practically everyone raised their hands as they all surrounded the sweet pastry. Once the first slice was given to Daehyun, everyone else waited for their shot at the sugary delight. Yongguk plopped down in the seat next to Daehyun, leaning back against Daehyun as he pulled out his smart phone. Pulling up the camera, Yongguk made certain that it was set up before turning forward. Raising the phone, Yongguk held it a little above their heads as he looked up at the camera. “Smile, Daehyun.” (BY)

Daehyun stared up at the camera with slight confusion before he finally smiled. One click and the first picture was done, but just as Daehyun was about to get back to eating, Daehyun suddenly felt his plate lift off of his hands before he felt something quickly collided with his face. The majority of it slid off of his face and landed on his lap, but once he wiped off the cake that had blocked his sight, he barely caught a glimpse as Yongguk took yet another picture. With a slight chuckle, Yongguk had just barely gotten up from his seat when he felt himself being pulled back down. Looking at Daehyun, he held his grin as he quickly felt cake being smashed onto his face. Both men soon laughed, eliciting either laughter or scolds from the others.

After the two had taken yet another picture of their cake covered faces, Daehyun had went off to his bathroom to get cleaned up. With a small sigh, Daehyun looked at his newly cleaned up self. It was a bit of a pain to get the cake out of his hair, but it was doable somehow. He did have to change clothes as well since his clothes were covered in cake, but he had planned to change anyway, so it wasn’t that much of a big deal.

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he left his bathroom and stepped into his bedroom. He had just began to make his way towards his bedroom door when suddenly, his phone began to ring once more. Pausing for a moment, he walked over to his vanity before picking up his cell phone and looking at the caller ID. Instantly, his eyes widened as he flipped over his phone and pressed the okay button. Placing his phone up to his ear, he went quiet for a moment before swallowing the lump in his throat. “.. Hello..?” (DH)

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Jongup waited patiently for his father to emerge from his bedroom. He really couldn’t wait to see his dad’s expression once he saw the present that he had gotten. After all, he had looked long and hard to make certain that this present was the best he could find! Of course, this present was just the false present. It was something that was still good and usable, but it wasn’t as good as the real present he had gotten. Jongup was just certain that his dad would love the present completely!

Looking up, he could see Himchan scolding Yongguk off to the side. Yongguk had just finished getting cleaned up and Jongup was already surprised by how fast Himchan had gotten a hold of Yongguk. Turning to the right a bit, he could see Taeyeon resting her eyes a bit. She had woken up relatively early today for work, so Jongup wasn’t surprised to see that she was tired now. As for Sooyoung, whom was right next to Taeyeon, she was focused on the video games as usual.

As soon as he felt the sofa shift, Jongup turned to see Zelo looking at him with a grin. Jongup smiled a bit as he leaned back against Zelo before resting the back of his head against Zelo’s head. “Do you really think he’ll like the gift?” (JU)

“Why do you keep questioning it? Of course he’ll like your gif-” (Z) He was abruptly cut off as Daehyun’s door swung open and slammed against the wall. Everyone jumped, their gaze just barely catching up with Daehyun, whom was running towards the door. Grabbing his keys, Daehyun switched out from his slippers and into his sneakers as he quickly ran out the door with little to no concern that the door was still wide open. Even with everyone calling out to him, he hadn’t realized it since his mind was in a state of disarray.

Making his way to the elevator, he practically punched the elevator button as he waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his hands shook. Why? Why did it have to happen?! Daehyun ran a hand through his hair as he impatiently tapped his foot. “Dad! What’s wrong?” (JU)

Daehyun looked up with surprise at the group whom had followed after him. Looking from one face to the other, Daehyun quickly looked back down at the ground as he squeezed his poor cell phone. “Y-Young Jae.. he.. he needs me..!” (DH)

“I’ll drive.” (BY) Daehyun’s gaze instantly shot up at Yongguk, confusion setting in a bit before Yongguk decided to answer his unvoiced question. “You’re in a state of panic. Who knows what would happen if you drove.” (BY)

He thought on it for a moment, but Daehyun briefly nodded in agreement as he put his keys back into his pocket. The elevator doors finally opened and the entire group stepped inside. Once the button for the ground floor was pressed, the group quickly came up with whom was riding in which car.

While they did that, Daehyun paid little to no attention to the group as his thoughts constantly thought about Young Jae. This couldn’t be happening, right? This was just a dream, right? Daehyun just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Yes, it was a possibility, but Daehyun didn’t ever want that to be a possibility! It just.. couldn’t be.

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The second the car had come to a stop in the parking lot, Daehyun had gone dashing off. Everyone else all filed out of the car, poor Jongup nearly falling out with how rushed everyone was. With the car doors closed and the car locked up, everyone all either ran after Daehyun or fast walked. Jongup was worried that something bad happened if his dad was in this state, but he soon felt Zelo’s hand take hold of his. Looking at Zelo, he couldn’t help but smile a bit as he saw Zelo’s smile. Everything just had to be alright, right? Maybe.. they just needed something from him or there was just something important that needed to be done.

As they finally reached Young Jae’s room, they just noticed various doctors or nurses leaving the room. Walking inside, Jongup didn’t necessarily understand as he saw his father crying by his mother’s bed side. Everything seemed normal, but he just didn’t understand why his father was crying like this. “Daehyun, what happened?” (BY)

“His..” (DH) Daehyun wiped his face a bit with his free hand, never letting go of Young Jae’s hand. Taking in a deep breath, his exhaled breath quivered a bit as he ran his hand through his hair. “His heart stopped.. but.. they managed to save him..” (DH)

Daehyun set his elbow on the bed as he rested his forehead in the palm of his hand. He kept his eyes closed, tears falling once more as he shook his head. While Taeyeon and Yongguk went to go console Daehyun, Himchan and Sooyoung sat off to the side while Jongup and Zelo stood in the same spot. Jongup could feel his legs beginning to give out, but feeling Zelo’s arm around his shoulders seemed to give him the strength he needed to keep himself standing up. Looking at Zelo, Jongup wrapped his arm around Zelo’s waist as the two made their way to the other side of Young Jae's bed.

“He’ll make it through.. You know how tough he is.” (TY)

“I know... I know..” (DH) He couldn’t help but worry though. Just the fact that Young Jae had... died for even a few minutes still brought the actual possibility that Young Jae may die for certain. He held Young Jae’s hand up to his lips, giving his hand two, maybe three kisses, before he covered his eyes with the back of Young Jae’s hand. Daehyun slowly shook his head yet again, hoping with all of his heart that his wish really would come true just this once.

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[[ My Own Thoughts:

Annnd.. I wanted to get this up yesterday, but..
I didn’t anticipate how long it was. (16 pages.. xD)
Buut yeah. I got this chapter up and everything. x3
I didn’t know how to do the real world part..
So I do hope that it turned out well ;;..

Comments are loved >3<..
I like seeing if everyone is enjoying the chapters. x3 ]]