"Jinki?" He cursed as the soft, hesitant sound of his name. "I.. is that you?"

Jinki took a deep breath, collecting himself momentarily before turning around to face the only person he ever loved after years believing he was dead. “Hello Minho.”

He could see the man’s lip tremble slightly as his hands twisted his hat, “You.. it’s been years.”

"I thought you were dead."

The lack of emotion in the man’s voice hit Minho square in the chest. “I. .I almost was, but apparently my body was just.. acting like I was dead to save my energy. Some woman helped me.” He looked different that was for sure. His longer hair was cut, his features still soft around the edges but more pronounced. “I tried to look for you… I looked for years, but every one we knew said you vanished.”

"I thought you were dead. I made a promise to you as I held you remember. Do you recall it?"

It took the man a moment, but with tired eyes and red cheeks and nose he mumbled, “I’ll kill whoever is responsible. No one is going to get away with killing you Baby.”

"That’s right. I’m working to that promise."

"But.. but I’m alive… you can.. you can come back to me."

Jinki sighed as the man stepped forward. He rose his hand to touch Minho’s cheek, run his thumb over the smooth warm skin. “Minho I’m not who I used to be. I can’t come back to you. Not now, not ever. You can’t trust me anymore. Don’t trust me.”

Minho softly kissed his palm. With a soft smile Jinki dashed off into the darkness of a nearby alley.