Side by side. 

They dropped to the floor side by side. 

They kept running side by side. 
***
Today was the day. 

It had been over four months since The Dome had formed for that year, for the first time ever, and today was the day they were getting out. Over a hundred children had started and only two remained, although they were unaware. 

Ambition is what drove Him to this point. 

He had never been clever, nor was He from a rich background. He knew He wouldn't succeed if education was His only hope, and in the current day, the gap between the poor and the rich was far too large. Far too large indeed...

And He was running, running faster than He'd ever ran before. The one thing He could do was run. 

The only thing He could do at this point was run. 

He wasn't entirely sure what was following Him, nor did He want to turn around to check. All He knew was that the only friend He'd managed to make inside this hell was running beside Him, and the two of them were determined to make it out alive. Forget the others, He didn't care anymore. It had been many days, too many that He'd lost count. He had seen too many die, buried too many, failed to save them. But He wouldn't fail to save Jonghyun, not in this lifetime. 

They hadn't grown up together, nor did they know much about one another or have much in common. Jonghyun was short where He was tall, Jonghyun was smart where He was not, Jonghyun was musical where He was artistic, Jonghyun was chatty where He was quiet, Jonghyun was rich where He was poor. Jonghyun was perfect where He was flawed. 

They were polar opposites, yet they'd instantly become close friends. For some reason, from the moment they had entered The Dome, Jonghyun had stuck to His side, and He had kept him there. It was nice, He'd decided, to have someone around for once. Someone who was different, interesting. It was fun to hear about Jonghyun's life outside of The Dome, hear about his parents, his sister, the girl he said he liked. He wanted to marry her, he'd said, next spring when the sun shone and the birds sang, and her eyes would shine with the all the colours of the rainbow. He would win the competition, he said, and he would marry her. 

"You should move in with us." Jonghyun had said, eyes filled with happiness as always. It was funny, the boy was always optimistic, even in such a dark situation. The odds that they would die in the competition were great, but Jonghyun was determined to make it out alive. That particular plan didn't sound bad to Him, He wouldn't have minded being by Jonghyun for a long time. 

"I'll win it for my mother, and then we can all live together in a big house. You, me, mother, and Gwiboon." 

He remembered that day well. 

*** 

They had been lying beneath a tall oak tree on the outskirts of "The Town". They had been running for what seemed like hours, a routine by that point in the competition, and night had already fallen. It must have been at least the twenty-seventh day, and they were too tired. They were staring at the stars in their makeshift camp, huddled together under the single blanket they had in their possession as their body heat competed with the stifling cold of the forest. 

That was the day He had told Jonghyun His name, something not many people knew, something sacred to Him. Only Mother and his late father knew. He never went to school, so He never had a reason to tell anyone. No one but Jonghyun, and the Mother and Father who had named him. 

That was the day they had buried Minho, a boy they had both befriended and loved like a brother. He was the Country's favourite, the one with the highest odds of winning. At first he'd seemed cocky and irritating, a boy with a thousand charms and zero worries. A boy who was strong, fierce, perfect. A fighter. He had someone to fight for, he'd said. His lover who was waiting for him in the village where he lived, his mother who'd begged him not to leave. He would win it for them, and he would give them the life they deserved. 

But Minho had succumbed to pneumonia and exhaustion  on that twenty-seventh day, and after being shocked by a Reaper after attempting to save Him, he only had a minute left to live, to say his final words: pleads, goodbyes. 

In that minute, they had sworn to him that his death wasn't in vain. They would win this game, this sick game, and they would get out alive. They would go to his family and tell them that he had fought bravely, they would share the prize money with the family he'd laid down his life for. They would tell his lover that he hadn't gone insane and ripped his throat out like another boy, he hadn't hung himself like so many others. No, they would tell his beloved family that he went down fighting, and they would honour him. A statue to honour his bravery would be built. They promised it. 

No one knew what happened after you died in the dome, but He wasn't willing to risk it and find out, and they had no way of asking someone what happened, as this tragedy was the first. No one had experienced it before them.  

Lying together with Jonghyun under the stars, however, had made The Dome seem almost peaceful to Him, made them both able to forget the horrors they had seen. 

It had only been about a week since Jonghyun started talking about Gwiboon, and He couldn't help but find it strange that she had the female version of His own name. Nevertheless, He listened just as He always did, fingers linked behind His head as He listened to his friend's incessant chatter, his pleasant plans for the future which he always dreamed of so readily.

"I think a big house would be nice, don't you?" 

"With those windowsills you can sit in and read?"

"As expected, you're a nerd...why do you like reading so much? It's so boring. Do you ever think of anything else? Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Of course not." Jonghyun had laughed then, causing Him to smile too. 

"We're gonna win, you and me. And we'll buy a big house." 

"You said that already, dummy." He turned His head to find Jonghyun giving Him a sad sort of smile. "What's wrong?" 

Jonghyun shook his head, reaching out to brush a loose strand of hair off His forehead. "Nothing."

***
And now they were running for their lives, the peaceful scene was gone, and He was panting hard. His face was red and His body was drenched in sweat. His eyes locked with Jonghyun's, the usually laughter-filled brown orbs now full of sadness, tears streaming down his crimson cheeks. He panicked, staring back at His best friend.

"Why?"

"It hurts." Jonghyun had started to slow down, and He threw a glance over His shoulder. There was nothing following them anymore. 

"What hurts?" His eyes moved down slowly as Jonghyun lifted the hem of his shirt. 

"I've been keeping you here with me... I thought we could both win..." The boy was sobbing now, and His eyes locked onto the mass of blue veins that were protruding from Jonghyun's tanned skin. 

"You...you were shocked...by a Realer?" His worst fears were confirmed as their eyes met again. 

We're gonna win, you and me. 

"I'm sorry..." 

And we'll buy a big house. 

"You can't leave me like this, Jonghyun, you promised."

I think a big house would be nice, don't you?

"Win it. Go to my family and tell them I didn't die in vain. Tell them what you're gonna tell Minho's family, and make a statue for me too. You can't forget me." 

You said that already...

"You're not dying Jonghyun, please. You're not leaving me here."

What's wrong?

"Goodbye, Kibum." 

Nothing.