Woohyun was floating neck deep. He didn’t know where he was – he was surrounded by miles and miles of water. That was all he knew. He just floated there, bobbing up and down with the gentle movement of the waves. Woohyun didn’t know what to do. The clothes he had on billowed under the water loosely and relaxingly. It was slow and calm. Nothing was wrong, but something seemed wrong.

“Hyun.” It was Sunggyu’s voice.

Woohyun looked around, searching frantically to where the voice of his boyfriend was coming from. “Gyu…? Sunggyu! Hyung!”

“I’m here, Woohyun. I’m right here.”

Woohyun felt a tug on his abdomen and looked down into the crystal waters. Sunggyu was underneath the surface, smiling up at him. His clothes wafted around his body as he spoke again:

“I’m here, Hyun. Come down with me.” His voice was as clear as day, as if the water wasn’t hindering his speech. “Come with me,” he said, reaching his hand out for Woohyun to take. “I’ll take you to Atlantis.”

“What’s Atlantis? Where is it?”

“It’s under the water, baby. I can take you there. You’ll come with me, right?”

Swallowing, Woohyun nodded and took Sunggyu’s hand. He dipped under the waters and allowed his boyfriend to pull him farther down. It was only a matter of seconds before he couldn’t breathe, before water seeped up his nostrils, before he had to rush to break through the surface. With a gasp, he breathed the air above the water in greedily.

Sunggyu stared up at him from under the water. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go to Atlantis with me?” His auburn hair floated around his face like wispy tentacles as he kissed the back of Woohyun’s hand. “Won’t you come with me?”

“I-I want to,” Woohyun said, “I really do. But, hyung, I can’t breathe. How am I supposed to go?”

“Just hold your breath.” Sunggyu grinned up at him. “All you have to do is hold your breath.”

“I–”

“Hyung! Hyung, help us!”

Woohyun’s eyes widened in surprise and panic as a boat suddenly appeared in front of him. It was nothing but a small, rocking rowboat with chipped paint; but it was the people in the boat that made him pause with anxiety. Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungjong, Sungyeol and Myungsoo – they were all sitting in the boat, their clothes in tatters and fresh wounds along their body. Woohyun felt terrified at the sight.

“Hyung, help us!” Sungyeol called out, reaching for Woohyun. “We’re lost! You know the way back to land, don’t you?”

“I-I… I do?”

“Please,” Dongwoo begged, “we’re going to die out here with you. We’ve already lost everybody else.”

Woohyun’s eyebrows furrowed as his heartbeat quickened sporadically. “Everyone else? But… Hoya can take care of you, can’t he? He’s being doing that well enough without me.”

Hoya shook his head, the gashes on his forehead dripping blood down into his eyes. “I can only do so much.”

“Come on, hyung,” Sungjong pleaded, “we need you here. None of us can swim.”

“…Alright,” Woohyun agreed. “I’ll help you.” He grasped onto Sungyeol’s hand firmly and began to pull himself out of the water.

As soon as his upper body had heaved itself up, Sunggyu began tugging on him again. But Woohyun had to help his friends first before he held his breath. But above water, his heavy, damp clothes stuck to his skin. The clothes clung to him tightly and suffocated him, making it harder and harder to breathe the more he pulled himself out. Under the water, his clothes felt like soft honey on his body, but above water it gripped to his torso and felt like it was burning his lungs from the inside out. They felt like cold fists closing around him.

He yelled out in agony as he let go of Sungyeol’s hand and submerged himself back into the water. Woohyun couldn’t understand – he couldn’t breathe under or above the water. Where was he to go?

“I can’t do it,” he said helplessly, clutching on both Sungyeol and Sunggyu’s hands. “I can’t. I won’t be able to go with both of you.”

“But you don’t need to go with both, you just need to go with one,” Sunggyu urged. “Hold your breath and come with me.”

“No, no!” Myungsoo exclaimed, reaching out of the rowboat to clamp onto Woohyun’s shoulder. “Come with us, hyung, please! Just take deep breaths and follow us.”

“Don’t you want to come to Atlantis with me?” Sunggyu asked, his hand tugging at Woohyun’s. “I can take you there. Just hold your breath.”

“But hyung, we need you,” Sungjong whispered pleadingly. “Breathe deep and come help us.”

Sunggyu frowned at him. “Baby, you know I can’t go above water. I won’t be able to come with you. So come with me instead, hm?”

“Woohyun, please!” Dongwoo cried out. “Please, please help us!”

“Guys, stop. I don’t know–”

Sungyeol squeezed his hand. “Come with us, hyung, please, we need you. Just take a couple of deep breaths and you’ll be able to breathe easy.”

“I’ll take you to Atlantis,” Sunggyu assured calmly. “Just hold your breath, baby.”

“No, hyung – breathe deeply and come help us.”

“Hold your breath.”

“Breathe deeply.”

“Hold your breath.”

“Breathe deeply.”

“Hold your breath.”

“Breathe.”

“Hold it.”

“Stop!”

Woohyun woke up abruptly from his slumber with a shriek. Sitting up quickly with a shiver, he tried wiping the cold sweat away from his face to no avail. A couple of people scattered on futons around him woke up in annoyance and shot him dirty glances. He apologized quickly as he stood up to leave.

He had come in for a nap not too long ago. Woohyun had been thinking about the events from the day before and how that spontaneous rebellion had affected them. But even he was surprised because maybe that raid had changed the atmosphere around the compound for the better. There was a buzz now; an excitement that had been gone for too long in the souls here. Electricity permeated the air and thrilled everybody. Even if Woohyun was upset that Hoya had gone behind his back, he couldn’t be mad – not even if he wanted to be. He wasn’t even sure what he felt anymore. He had always thought he was a good leader; he was. But it also felt like he had hit a slump after Sungwoong had died in battle a year ago.

Maybe it was time to step up to the plate. Perhaps it was time for Woohyun to start taking charge more. It was time for him to start initiating things around here. If he was going to lead them he had to be one with the team here. He had never seen the people in the compound so sparked and full of energy until yesterday’s raid. Woohyun definitely wanted to help out around the compound more. He wanted to talk to Hoya and collaborate with him rather than shutting him out and decided to do just that after taking a nap.

0But now that he had awoken, he shook his head as he tried to clear his head. The nightmare he had had given him shivers and his heart beat intermittently in his chest. Maybe now would be good time to sit down and talk with Hoya – talking usually calmed him down. But then again, when he usually spoke with Hoya, it had an opposite effect. But he had decided yesterday amidst the buzz that if he was going to help make things around this city better than before then he had to start with Hoya.

He traveled to the large office where he and Hoya would make plans. As he glanced in, Hoya was nowhere to be seen. Instead it was Dongwoo staring over the large map of the city with concentrated eyes. There were a couple more ‘X’s littered on the map and there seemed to be a new ‘X’ every time Woohyun would steal a glance at it.

“Dongwoo,” Woohyun called out.

Dongwoo looked up, clearly startled by Woohyun’s unannounced presence. “Oh, Woohyun. I didn’t notice you come in.”
“That’s alright,” Woohyun reassured. “Have you seen Hoya?”

“Hoya? He and some others left a few hours ago. They were setting another raid up near the East District. He’ll be back, though, if you’re willing to wait.”

Woohyun shook his head. “Tell him to come down to the kitchen when he comes back. I want to talk to him.”

“About…?”

“About the rebellions and stuff.”

Dongwoo visibly tensed but didn’t say a word opposing it. “I understand,” he said. “I’ll bring him down there myself.”

“Thanks, Dongwoo.”

Woohyun parted from the room and headed down towards the compound’s kitchen. The kitchen was located in one of the lower floors of the compound and served as a place of serenity. It was a quiet area where people usually went to calm down or to have a quiet place to think. There weren’t many people that gathered in the kitchen on a usual basis.

He let out a deep breath, already feeling relaxed at the mere thought of being able to sit down in their kitchen and perhaps make something quick to eat. Though when he got there, he was greeted by a surprise presence.

“Oh, hyung.”

“Myungsoo…” Woohyun said slowly. “What brings you here?”

Myungsoo smiled slightly and gestured to the rusting pot he had simmering on the gas burner that sat atop of one of the tables. “I’m making a can of curry. Care to join?”

“…Sure,” the older agreed, sitting down in one of the metal chairs slowly. “Where’s Sungyeol?”

“Helping out with his family’s restaurant,” Myungsoo answered calmly. “Thought I’d come here to cook a thing or two before he comes back.” He stirred the pot slowly, the smell wafting through the air. “Do you know if we have any bread?”

“There should be a couple pieces left in the cupboard,” Woohyun murmured as he stood up. “I’ll get them.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

A silence settled in the room softly and barely rested on their shoulders. Woohyun came back with a few old pieces of stale bread and placed it down at the table. The smell made him hungry and soon the two of them were dipping the bread into the yellow curry and eating.

“So,” Myungsoo began, “what brought you down here?”

Woohyun shrugged as he stuffed some bread into his mouth. “Nothing special,” he mumbled. “Just wanted to talk with Hoya.”

Myungsoo stiffened, his eyebrows raised. “Why?” he asked slowly. “Are you going to force him to stop all of the raids? Woohyun, you wouldn’t believe how successful we’ve been in the last few days thanks to Hoya–”

“I do know,” Woohyun interrupted persistently. “I know and that’s exactly why I need to talk to him. I… want to join.”

The sudden sentence was clearly surprising to Myungsoo as he widened his eyes in confusion. “You… You want to join? After all that arguing with Hoya to not organize attacks, you’re going to join?”

Woohyun nodded. “I am,” he said decisively. “After looking at how everyone’s mood and will seemed to rocket up in a day? I know it’s only good for us as a whole. I hate to admit it, but Hoya is making a difference around here.”

“Glad to know that you think of me as something other than trash.”

Woohyun and Myungsoo glanced sharply towards the door where Hoya and Dongwoo had entered.

“Lee Howon,” Woohyun said.

Hoya smirked. “Nam Woohyun. Dongwoo told me that you would have liked a word?”

“Yes, I would,” the other answered curtly. “And I assume that you heard my words, right?”

Hoya grinned widely, his canine’s glinting in the light. “Yeah, I heard alright. I’m up for a discussion if I’m allowed to sit down and eat.”

“No, go ahead,” Myungsoo encouraged. “You too, Dongwoo.”

The two sat down and helped themselves to the dry pieces of bread and thick, yellow curry. “Fighting makes me hungry,” Hoya chuckled as he bit into a piece of bread.

“Does it?” Woohyun asked amusedly. “You’d think all the killing out there would weaken your appetite.”

“No way,” Hoya said. “Not when it’s for my cause. There were civilians that approached me – asking to join us! Can you believe that?” He smiled as he bit into his bread. “We’re finally doing something right.”

“It really is amazing,” Dongwoo added. “We’ve had nearly twenty new recruits in the past day and a half.”

“I guess I better get used to being hungry,” Woohyun mused playfully, “because I’m going to join you guys out on the battlefield from now on.”

Hoya snorted and shoved a piece of bread in his direction. “Eat up.”

And though Woohyun spent a good deal of time sitting with them and sharing jokes as they made plans for more raids, he couldn’t completely stomach that worry in his head. He couldn’t stop that troublesome voice from his dream that told him to hold his breath.

“Oppa, are you almost done with your orders?”

Sungyeol nodded in his sister’s direction as he tore a sheet of paper of his notepad. “I finished serving the last customer so we can close the kitchen.”

“Oh good,” Yeoreum sighed, “we were about to run out of beer. We need to go restock. Do you want to come with me tomorrow to Capital Square? The market is supposed to be having sales tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” Sungyeol grinned. “How does five sound? We can get Daeyeol to close up.”

Yeoreum nodded. “Definitely. But anyways since the kitchens are closed now, I’m going to head home first. I’ll leave with mom and dad, you stay and close up, okay?”

“Okay!” Sungyeol said. He smiled at his sister warmly as she stripped off her apron and disappeared through the swinging doors heading to the back kitchen. With a small smile to himself he began to wipe down the tables that were empty and skirted around the tables that still had people dining in them. It was quiet except for the small chit-chat amongst customers and the blaring static of the radio. He didn’t pay any attention to the white noise until he heard:

“Mr. President, can you give us a few of your thoughts of the young rebels who are rising? We hear that they’ve pushed your military back and have taken control over some streets and small districts.”

Sungyeol froze above one of the tables he was wiping and began listening intently.

“’The rebels? Please, they’re probably just some youngsters seeking chaos and attention. They are nothing to be worried about.

‘Are you sure, Mr. President? It seems that these masked mayhem-seekers are serious about hurting this civilization that you’ve built.’

‘No, no! My civilization is flawless! The community and economy have never been stronger. Those reckless kids out there are doing nothing but causing meaningless trouble. In fact, I doubt that they would be able to go out onto the streets to fight without their masks on. They’re just cowardly, faceless pumpkins, one after the other! They won’t stand a chance.’

‘Thank for your insight, Mr. President.’

‘It was my pleasure.’”

Sungyeol narrowed his eyes because he hated it. He hated that the some of the bravest and warmest people that he looked up to were being ridiculed so easily on a live broadcast. It was ridiculous. Sungyeol hated the man that their small, closed off society called their ‘president,’ as if it were something to be proud of. Sungyeol thought it was nothing short of ignorant. The big-wig they called president lived in the Capital Building which could be seen in the distance from Sungyeol’s home. The building was made of bullet proof glass that could be seen out of but not in. The whole building was at the very least fifteen stories tall and only the richest members of society and the highest rank of guards lived there. It was ridiculous that someone who lived so close could be so oblivious of what really happened down on the streets of this society.

But it wasn’t that hard to believe because the president never left the Capital Building; because the Capital Building was a high ended community all on its own. There were floors with shopping centers and floors with markets and nobody who lived in the Capital Building ever left because they sought no reason to leave their gallant lifestyle to consort on the streets they reigned over.

Sungyeol sighed to himself as the last of the customers began leaving restaurant. He overheard their conversations as he sponged the tables down fiercely.

“We’re going to go extinct one day and the president will be too high up to his nose in chocolates to even realize it. Tell me when he can give an accurate report of what goes on in our streets.”

“Those rebels might be doing us good – the guards are finally being put into their place.”

It didn’t take long for Sungyeol to finish cleaning all the tables and mop the floors. Soon, he was locking the front and back door of the small diner and walking hurriedly back to his home. He only had a good ten minutes before it was curfew. He hated being out after curfew. When he got home he rushed in through the door unknowingly and closed it after him quickly. Yet when he turned around he was met by the unexpected sight of his boyfriend, Myungsoo, sitting at the dining table with his parents. His siblings had all disappeared and the house was quiet.

“Myungsoo…?” he called out. “Why are you here so late? I thought you were spending the evening in the com–… somewhere else.”

“I came here to ask your family something,” Myungsoo said calmly. “You’re brother and sisters have already given me an answer. Now it’s just up to your parents.”

Sungyeol shot a bewildered glimpse towards his mother and father who looked at him seriously. “Sungyeol, we need you to answer us very clearly,” his father said. “The absolute truth, no matter what you would like us rather to hear. Understand?”

“U-Understood,” Sungyeol stammered, puzzled.

His mother continued, “Do you believe that Myungsoo will take care of you in all circumstances? Do you honestly and truly believe that he loves you and that the two of you together could conquer anything the world might throw at you?”

Sungyeol was no less than astonished by the sudden bombardment of random questions. “Why do those need an answer?”

“Just answer them,” his mother insisted. “Truthfully, please.”

“Then, yes,” Sungyeol answered without hesitation. “I really, truly believe in everything that you’ve said and I’ll always believe it. Myungsoo is the other half of my soul,” he said assuredly. “I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.”

Sungyeol felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Myungsoo’s turn red but fought the urge to kiss him when his father spoke up again. “That’s all we need to know,” he said with a slight smile. “I’m sure you’ll be safe in his arms, son. I know you will. Kim Myungsoo, you have our permission.”

Myungsoo stood up from the table and bowed to the older couple with a pleased smile. “Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Lee. I can swear to you that I will protect him at all costs. Although sometimes, he’s the one protecting me,” he chuckled.

“Myungsoo?” Sungyeol said, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

Myungsoo laughed. “I came to get your family’s permission. Now that I have it, start packing your bags, sweetheart. We’re leaving on Saturday.”

“Hoya? Where are you going?”

Hoya looked up from the map he had been staring so intently at to see Dongwoo standing in the doorway. “Aren’t you going to get some rest? It’s late.”

“I will after I do a small recon mission,” Hoya murmured. “You don’t need to worry about it, it’s a favor I’m doing.”

Dongwoo furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to walk in. “Don’t worry? Of course I’m going to worry – you’re going alone.”

Hoya shook his head as he looked down at his all black ensemble. “I’ll be fine.”

“That’s what you always say – I’ll be fine. Can’t you just give me some answers for once, Hoya? I would really like that.”

Hoya sighed wistfully, a change from his usual sharp glares. “Dongwoo, I don’t know what answers to give you. I haven’t known for a while.”

Dongwoo huffed. “Stop with that! Stop saying you’ve forgotten what I’m like and what you’re like because we both know that isn’t true. Because if you’re anything like the Hoya I used to know then you haven’t forgotten at all.”

Hoya’s jaw stiffened as he said, “Well, so what if I haven’t! Even if I hadn’t forgotten, there’s nothing I can do. I feel like I can’t talk to you.”

“Then let’s talk,” Dongwoo decided suddenly. He pulled up a chair next to Hoya and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m sick and tired of getting nowhere with you so let’s talk.” Hoya was certainly much more relaxed today than any other day, so if Dongwoo was going to speak with him, it had to be now. “So why?” he asked. “Why can’t you talk to me?”

Letting out a large breath through his nose, Hoya closed his eyes. “You had changed,” he said simply. “The carefree, happy-go-lucky Dongwoo I knew was gone. Suddenly you were more serious and talked to me less. I felt more stressed without you there speaking to me about whatever crossed your mind.”

“Well, that’s funny,” Dongwoo laughed humorlessly, “because that happened with you too. The reckless, fun-loving Hoya I knew had been replaced by some power hungry person I didn’t recognize. I broke it off because you had stopped caring.”

Hoya’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You stopped talking to me, Dongwoo. I didn’t have you here with your cute perkiness to lift my spirits when I needed it. I felt abandoned.”

“I felt abandoned,” Dongwoo agreed. “You were so busy trying to get Woohyun to work with you and getting angry that you distanced yourself from me. You stopped caring about me.”

It was silent for two heartbeats and Hoya stared at Dongwoo incredulously. His eyes glimmered with a fresh look of betrayal that lasted for a moment before it was replaced by regret. “No, Dongwoo, no. You can’t say that. I never stopped caring about you; I still haven’t.”

Dongwoo sighed as he stood up. “I think that’s enough for tonight, don’t you think? We can talk more tomorrow. But don’t go out tonight, okay? You had a pretty rough fight today and I don’t need you risking your life again in the dark. Rest today and I’ll go with you to recon tomorrow.”

“What?” Hoya looked at him in disbelief and confusion. “Why?”

With a spur of emotion and a quick lunge forward, Dongwoo planted a chaste kiss on Hoya’s cheek before pulling back and looking away sheepishly. “Because I still care about you too, okay?”

Hoya blushed. 

( A/N );

hello loves~! here is another update! i got a new laptop recently, so updates should actually be coming much quicker! isn't that great! i'm so excited to continue this fic with you guys! this chapter is a little longer than normal, just for all of you~! I hope you enjoy reading it, and tell me what you think! What do you think of Woohyun's decisions so far, and Myungsoo's impromptu visit. Speaking of impromptu, how's for Dongwoo's spontaneous kiss there? Leave me a comment! :DDD Don't forget to stay tuned! Can't wait for you all to see what's going to happen next! Love you!

-- quinnie --

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