The rain pelts against Minhyuk’s skin, soaking his shirt as he and Hyungwon run. He’s freezing, the rain feels less like rain and more like ice, chilling him to the bone and draining the life out of him as it does. The only warmth he feels is that of Hyungwon’s hands, gripping his, never letting go.

 

They’re being pursued. The light brown haired male can hear the heavy footsteps of someone, or something, chasing after them. Minhyuk doesn’t know what or who it is, he just know he needs to keep running.

 

Their feet slam against asphalt, his lungs crying out with each step he takes.

 

    But they’re getting close, too close. They’re catching up, and Minhyuk is slowing down, growing wearier and wearier as they run through the lamp-lit streets. He stumbles and goes flying, but before he can hit the ground, Hyungwon catches him. They glance at each other, and from the look of fear in Hyungwon’s eyes, he knows both of them aren’t going to make it.

    

“Go, Minhyuk! Please! I’ll hold them back as long as I can!” Hyungwon yells, pushing Minhyuk on as he skids to a stop.

    

“No! I’m not leaving you!” Minhyuk yells, the words feeling foreign in his mouth, like a well rehearsed line, like  something from a movie. Almost surreal. Like his own body and his voice don’t belong to him.

    

“He’ll get you if you don’t,” Hyungwon begs Minhyuk, pulling his lover close and looking into his eyes.  “I could never forgive myself if he hurt you,” The taller male tells the brunette, cupping Minhyuk’s cheeks, his chocolate brown eyes pleading with the shorter. Minhyuk’s heart pounds in his chest and his eyes sting with tears.

    

“But he’ll kill you!” Minhyuk cries. The tears that stream down his cheeks mingle with the rain as they fall.

    

“Better me than you.” Hyungwon chokes out wistfully. The footsteps close in on them. Minhyuk can see the taller fighting back tears of his own. “Lee Minhyuk, I love you so damn much.” Hyungwon whisper, crashing their lips together. It’s a parting kiss, full of unfinished promises, remorse, and unrefined, raw love.  The kiss ends abruptly when they hear menacing voices start accompany the heavy footsteps. “Now go!” Hyungwon shouts, pushing Minhyuk back. “And whatever you do, do not look back.”

    

Minhyuk runs away, even though his heart and mind tell him to run back to Hyungwon. He knows it’s useless, he’d just hold Hyungwon back. A part of him hopes Hyungwon will be able to fight off the men of the corporate, but his mind reasons that it’s impossible. There’s too many of them for Hyungwon to handle.

    

But then, against Hyungwon’s wishes, Minhyuk turns around.

    

And he wishes he hadn’t.

    

The moment he turns around, he sees Hyungwon’s eyes looking off in the distance, where Minhyuk had run off into the night. It was almost as if he was searching for Minhyuk.  Then Minhyuk sees a glint of silver flash in the moonlight, and a look of sadness cross Hyungwon’s face before a knife plunges into his back and his eyes roll back into his head. The body of his lover crumples and falls to the ground, blood and rain pooling at the ground around him. Minhyuk covers his mouth with his hand to stifle a scream, before turning back around and sprinting off as quickly as he can.

    

He runs and runs and runs for what seems like eternity. He doesn’t know where he’s running to or where he’s going to go. The only thing he can think of is Hyungwon. Hyungwon, Hyungwon. Beautiful, mysterious, sweet, strong, Hyungwon. His first and only love. Gone.

    

He runs until he physically can’t anymore, until his legs give out and he collapses to the ground. He’s exhausted, his breath ragged and his clothes and shoes covered in mud, sweat, and blood.

    

“Hyungwon!” Minhyuk screams as loud as he can. “Hyungwon! Why Hyungwon?” His voice is raw, raspy. He screams Hyungwon’s name until everything fades around him to black…

 

    

         

    

 

    Minhyuk jolts awake. He’s doused in sweat, the sheets tangled around his legs, and tears streaming down his face. His hands are freezing and almost blue in color, and he’s shaking profusely.

 

He hears the door creak open, and the sound of shocks shuffling against the ground as someone steps into the chilly room.

    

“Minhyuk?” A familiar, sleep-laced voice says.

 

It’s Hyungwon, his hair knotted and sticking up in all sorts of peculiar places from rolling around while sleeping, and eyes dark with exhaustion.

 

It takes a moment for Minhyuk to register that Hyungwon is still here. That he’s in front of Minhyuk, alive, unharmed, and just across the room.

 

It had all been a bad dream.

 

In a split second, Minhyuk is flying out of his bed, shivering slightly as his feet come into contact with the cold hardwood floor, and sprinting into Hyungwon’s arms. Hyungwon says nothing, he just wraps his arms around Minhyuk and holds the smaller male tightly. Minhyuk buries his face into Hyungwon’s t-shirt, inhaling Hyungwon’s musky scent as he cries into the taller’s shirt and reveling in how real, how solid he feels. He has to trace Hyungwon’s back to reassure himself that there’s no scar, that Hyungwon hadn’t been stabbed, that he wasn’t dead.

 

They stand there like that, Minhyuk’s wrapping his arms around Hyungwon, holding on to the taller as though his life depends on it, and Hyungwon resting his chin on top of Minhyuk’s head, carding his fingers through Minhyuk’s soft chestnut colored hair. It’s Hyungwon who speaks first.

 

“Nightmare?” Hyungwon asks gently. Minhyuk nods into Hyungwon’s chest, not meeting his eyes. Hyungwon sighs and pulls Minhyuk’s chin up so that his looking Hyungwon in the eyes.  

 

“Minhyuk, do you want me to sleep here with you tonight?” Hyungwon asks the small brunette. When Minhyuk doesn’t respond, he says, “Min, there’s nothing wrong with having someone to lean on, love.”  A silence hangs between them for a bit, until Minhyuk says in a voice so quiet that if Hyungwon hadn’t been so focused on the smaller, he would’ve missed it,

 

“Please stay.” Hyungwon smiles and nods before lifting Minhyuk up bridal style, eliciting a squeal from Minhyuk, and carrying him to the bed situated in the far corner of the room, by the window. He lays his lover down gently, before crawling onto the bed and laying down next to his small lover. He pulls the blanket up over both of them and pulls Minhyuk to his chest, holding Minhyuk close.

 

“I love you so much.” Minhyuk whispers suddenly, nuzzling in closer to his boyfriend. Hyungwon gives Minhyuk another reassuring smile.

 

“I love you too, beautiful.” Hyungwon murmurs into Minhyuk’s ears. They lay there for a while, until Minhyuk, half-asleep, mumbles,

 

“Promise me you’ll always be here?”

 

“I promise.” Hyungwon replies. Minhyuk smiles, content with the answer.

 

“Good.” He says, before sleep takes him captive once more, lulled by the sound of his lover’s heart beat.

                     

However, when Minhyuk’s eyes flutter open the next morning, and are greeted by the dazzling sunlight that filters through the little gaps in the blinds, Hyungwon isn’t there. The sheets on his side of the bed are cold. Minhyuk’s puzzled, as he usually wakes up before his tall boyfriend.

 

He tiptoes down into the kitchen. Perhaps, he thinks, Hyungwon’s preparing breakfast.  But the kitchen is silent and spotless, all the pans in place, the cabinets clos