No matter how hard he stopped trying to shake, Junho felt like he had no control over his body. When Minjun had stepped out of the apartment a few minutes ago, Junho rushed to do what his brother told him to. He stuffed a few clothes, some food, and some little trinkets that he kept close to his heart all into his small backpack and then waited. It felt like an eternity that he was sitting on the couch waiting for his brother to reappear.

Just when Junho was sure his brother was never going to come back, the door opened and Minjun walked in, looking much calmer than he had when he left – about five minutes prior. “Come on, what are you waiting for?”

“Hyung,” Junho didn’t move from his spot, sitting on the edge of the couch, ready to jump at a moment’s notice, “What’s going on?”

“We’re getting out of here.” Minjun whispered as he pulled Junho off of the couch. “Head downstairs, I’ll be there in a few minutes, I just need to grab some things.”

“NO!” Junho squeaked out much louder than he intended to. When Minjun shot him a threatening look, Junho dropped his voice to a low whisper, “Can’t I just stay with you? I don’t want to go downstairs by myself.”

Minjun’s eyes immediately softened as he took his little brother into his arms for a tight hug, “I know you’re scared, don’t worry, I’m never gonna leave you. Just sit down for another minute or so and let me grab a few things, then you and me are gonna get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Junho couldn’t help but ask. There was nowhere they could run without getting caught. They were probably going to get killed, but the more Junho thought about it, he knew that he’d rather be dead than spend ten years not being able to see his brother.

“To the countryside.” Minjun ran his fingers through his brother’s hair to try and calm him down. “And from there, somewhere else. I just want to get out.”

“But Hyung!” Junho was still careful to keep the volume of his voice to barely a whisper, “If they find us, they’ll kill us.”

“That’s why we’re leaving.” Minjun sat Junho down before he scurried around the small apartment to pack a bag of his own. There was always a small part of Minjun that wanted to escape this place, but he never had the courage to do it. Any time he thought about leaving, he was immediately brought back down to earth by Junho’s cute smile and the way he’d coo, ‘Hyung, what are you thinking about?’. But now, all those thoughts of leaving and different strategies he had planned out all came rushing back.

So once Minjun had a bag packed, he grabbed Junho’s hand and pulled him down to the basement of their apartment building. “No whining, okay?”

“Whining?” Junho pouted. It almost felt like when they were kids and Minjun would take his little brother to the store but would warn Junho that if he whined, the next time he went, he’d leave Junho at home.

Minjun flashed his brother an apologetic look before he nudged the younger towards a window that led to the street. “I’m going to go first so I can open the grate, but we’re going to have to go through the sewer.”

“The sewer?” Junho’s eyes widened comically large. “But hyung-“

“Would you rather go to the military?” Minjun glared at the younger. He really had spent his whole life spoiling his younger brother, and while he didn’t regret it one bit, he sometimes wished Junho would think before he spoke. Minjun didn’t like the thought of going into the sewers since they were always backed up or over flowing and reeked of things Minjun didn’t want to ever think about. But he would do anything for his brother.

“I’ll be fine.” Junho still looked disgusted at the idea, but was going to attempt to power through. “I just wish I had brought a mask or something.”

Without a word, Minjun reached into his bag and pulled out Junho’s cold mask. He handed it to his brother before he climbed through the window and headed towards the sewer.

Junho watched carefully. The entrance to the sewer was in an alley way, but there was always a chance someone could look in and see what Minjun was doing. But within a few minutes, Minjun had got the lid off of the sewer and waved Junho towards him.

The younger took a second to look both ways before climbing through the window and running to his brother. He made sure his mask was over his nose before he started down the shabby ladder - if you could even call it that. It was just a few steps that were dug in the concrete.

Before his foot even hit the ground, Junho wanted to gag. The smell was so pungent and just plain disgusting that Junho was ready to throw up. But one look up at his brother staring down had him placing his foot on the ground and waving at the older to come join him.

Minjun covered his mouth with his own skull-themed face mask before descending down into the depths of the sewer, making sure that he covered replaced the cover to make sure they wouldn’t be caught. He wasn’t quite sure where they’d go from here, but he knew that they couldn’t travel on the streets, not on a Sunday where they’d be shot without a second thought.

Despite the fact the mask was covering his mouth, Minjun still didn’t want to talk because the stench was so bad down there. There was barely any light down in the sewers, but luckily Minjun had brought a flashlight – something Junho didn’t think of. Sure the younger thought about food, but other than that, he was more interested in keeping things that were dear to his heart. It was the moment Minjun pulled out that flashlight that Junho realized that they were really doing this, and there was no guarantee they’d survive.

But Minjun just flashed the younger one a quick smile half hidden by the mask before grabbing his hand and pulling him along the sewers.

Luckily for them, the sewers had a walkway that wasn’t just covered in whatever was in the gross ditch to the side of them. Unfortunately there were times when they’d have to cross through the sludge, but Junho was determined.

It was only when they came across a dead end that Minjun began to worry. He was hoping that this path would lead out to some sort of outlet, but instead the path they were on ended while the sludge continued into a tunnel of darkness. Minjun sighed and, for the first time since they got down there, opened his mouth, “There’s no more path, let’s turn around.”

Junho looked down at his beat up converse and sighed. The last place that had a cover was at least a twenty minutes' walk back, and who knew where they’d end up when they came out. They had to keep going. “No, let’s keep going.”

“But-“

“It’s the best option, Hyung.” Junho said right before he jumped into the sludge, resisting the urge to vomit all over again. But this time it was worse, he was nearly knee deep in a river of crap. “We need to keep going, maybe by nightfall we’ll be on the outskirts of the city.”

Minjun felt impressed by his brother’s bravery and willingness to just jump into the pile. However, Minjun didn’t have Junho’s gracefulness of a clean landing and ended up getting his foot caught on the concrete as he descended from the walkway.

“Hyung!” Junho managed to catch Minjun before the older face planted into the sludge, “Are you okay?”

“No.” Minjun indicated for his brother to set him back down on the pavement. “I think I twisted it.”

“Do you have anything in your bag to wrap it?” Junho climbed out of the sludge to sit next to his brother.

“I have some pain meds, but I probably shouldn’t walk on it.” Minjun sighed as he examined his ankle that had already began to swell.

“We can’t stay here forever, Hyung.” Junho went behind Minjun and searched through the pockets of the older’s backpack to find the right medicine – which was difficult considering Minjun seemed to have stocked a pharmacy into his bag.

Minjun chuckled, before popping the pills Junho managed to find into his mouth. “What are you gonna do, carry me?”

Without a second though, Junho jumped back down into the sludge and turned his back towards his brother, “Hop on.”

“I was jokin-“

“Just hop on, we don’t have all day.” Junho demanded. They had to keep going, they needed to be as far as possibly before the morning came and both of their employers realized they weren’t coming to work.

Minjun thought about protesting, but knew his brother was a stubborn brat, so he decided to save some of his energy and slowly climbed onto his brother’s back. “But if you get tired, tell me and I’ll get off.”

Junho nodded his head, but he didn’t plan on letting his brother down until they had somewhere to rest for the night.

ahh i'm so sorry this took so long! I ended up moving, then needing a new laptop, plus work and school are always a bummer. but i finally had a muse pop up for me so i hope you enjoy! and i'm already halfway through the next chapter, so hopefully that'll be up real soon with the entrance of a new character^^