Beyond Time and Space

April 18^th, 2017 (8:37 am)

Kyungsoo jolted awake with a gasp, hands scrabbling at his blanket as he jumped out of bed and ran to his dresser. He jammed his finger trying to pull open the bottommost drawer and cursed under his breath at the pain but didn’t stop in his endeavors.

He pulled out the drawer all the way and breathed a sigh of relief as a black sphere rolled out from the back. Kyungsoo picked it up, watching the black smoke swirl around gently inside.

April 18^th, 2007 (2:16 pm)

Kyungsoo huffed as he climbed up the hill, sweat pouring down his neck and face as his muscles screamed for relief. He wanted to stop and sit down, having been running for the past five minutes without a break, but he needed to hurry.

Luckily, he wasn’t far now. He could still clearly imagine the place the beast had landed, and he hadn’t seen it leave, so he guessed that it was still there. However, Kyungsoo wasn’t eager to find the creature just to see it. The way that it fell from the sky had seemed wrong, and since Kyungsoo didn’t have anything on his schedule that day, he decided to check it out.

He pulled himself over the top of the hill, paused to catch his breath, and looked down the slope. Sure enough, the black dragon-like beast was laying in the grass. Kyungsoo glanced around, noticing that the earth around the beast was undisturbed and figured that it hadn’t tried to move since it hit the ground.

The creature didn’t move as Kyungsoo cautiously approached it. He kept quiet until he stood right next to it, but when he tried to kneel next to the beast, the grass rustled underneath his feet. The next thing Kyungsoo knew, he was staring into one of the blood-red eyes of the dragon creature.

A low growl rumbled in the creature’s throat, and the red eye flashed dangerously. Kyungsoo raised both hands in a surrendering gesture and backed away nervously, eyeing the wounds on the beast’s body. Burn marks littered the creature’s skin, and Kyungsoo briefly wondered what happened to it.

One of the marks Kyungsoo saw stood out from the others. He squinted at it and realized it wasn’t an injury, but a strange symbol. A triangle with an eye inside was etched on the dragon creature’s shoulder, and it glowed faintly with a white light. Kyungsoo’s round eyes widened; he recognized the symbol from books.

“You’re a deity,” he whispered, staring at the injured beast in awe.

Movement from the deity startled Kyungsoo out of his trance. The beast was struggling to stand up, but it’s limbs trembled from the effort. It held itself up for a moment, but then went crashing to the ground again with a pained groan.

Kyungsoo watched as it tried to raise itself up a few more times. Each time failed, and the deity only appeared to be getting weaker. Kyungsoo stood up and moved to get closer to it, but a low growl made him ditch the idea.

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. The deity let out a huff and closed its eyes, resigning itself to the fact that it was too weak to move. Not a moment had passed before its eyes snapped open again, focusing on Kyungsoo who let out an exclamation and was reaching into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

A few rings later, and the person on the other line picked up. “Hello? Yixing-hyung?” The creature’s eyes widened at the name. “Could you come out to the field behind the apartments? The Deity of Space is here, and I think it’s injured.”

After confirming that Yixing was on his way, Kyungsoo hung and sat back down on the grass. The dragon-like deity eyed him for a few seconds, then its body relaxed and its eyes slowly slid shut. The two of them stayed in their positions, waiting for Yixing. Kyungsoo watched the sides of the deity rise and fall, counting the movement to pass time.

It wasn’t long before the rustling of footsteps reached Kyungsoo’s ears. He turned to see a breathless Yixing jog down the hill towards him. Yixing gave Kyungsoo a nod of acknowledgement before settling next to the creature, who was watching him.

“Good heavens, what happened to you, Jongin?” Yixing muttered as he got to work on the burns. A green light emanated from the unicorn symbol on his hand as he hovered over the injuries. The black, dragon-like beast – Jongin – let out a low groan.

Kyungsoo watched as the injuries disappeared one by one. When Jongin was completely healed, Yixing patted his arm and stood. “Human. Now.”

Jongin made a noise of protest, but Yixing silenced him with a look. “You’re too heavy to carry in your deity form. Use your human form and we can get you out of here.”

The dragon creature hesitated and finally gave in. A bright light engulfed the deity, and when it faded, the beast was replaced by a tan, dark-haired man. Yixing bent down, picked the man up, and turned to Kyungsoo, who was standing to the side with an awestruck look on his face.

“Kyungsoo-yah, you don’t mind if Jongin stays with you for a while, do you?”

April 18^th, 2017 (8:58 am)

The refrigerator hung open as Kyungsoo searched through the shelves, looking for something to eat for breakfast. He pulled out a small dish of leftover kimchi and bowl of pickled radish, setting those on the counter before going back to digging.

He pushed a roll of cabbage aside, and his eyes fell on the cardboard box that had been shoved into the back of his fridge and forgotten. Taking it out, Kyungsoo opened it to be greeted by the smell of old fried chicken. Wrinkling his nose, Kyungsoo stared the chicken wings that lay sadly in the box. He shook his head, berating himself for wasting food and moved to throw them out.

He hesitated in front of the garbage can as memories surfaced. His fingers refused to release the box of spoiled chicken as Kyungsoo remembered the tall, tan man who would cling to his arm, begging him to make chicken for breakfast.

Shaking his head to get rid of the thought, Kyungsoo lightly slapped himself. Don’t think about that.

He tossed the fried chicken into the trash and continued rummaging through the fridge.

April 27^th, 2007 (11:26 am)

Kyungsoo was frustrated.

It had been nine days – nine days – since Yixing had convinced Kyungsoo to let Jongin live with him. Kyungsoo didn’t mind being in close proximity with a deity at all times for a while; he respected the deities and understood that they existed to protect Earth. It was the fact that Jongin still hadn’t said a word to him that annoyed him to no end. However, Kyungsoo tried to be understanding since Yixing told him that some deities had trouble trusting humans, but if Jongin was going to be this quiet, Kyungsoo may as well sit down and start talking to the walls.

Kyungsoo made his way upstairs to the spare bedroom that he allowed Jongin to stay in. Knocking on the door to announce that he was going to enter, Kyungsoo twisted the knob and pushed his way in. Judging from the lump that was lying in the middle of the bed, Kyungsoo knew that Jongin hadn’t woken up yet.

Unfortunately for Jongin, Kyungsoo didn’t care if the deity wanted to sleep the day away. The human stood next to the bed and leaned over to firmly shake Jongin awake. “C’mon, get up,” Kyungsoo commanded, “It’s already lunchtime. I made fried chicken.”

Jongin blearily opened his eyes and sat up slowly, blinking his tired eyes as he silently watched Kyungsoo walk out.

April 18^th, 2017 (10:42 am)

For the first time in nine months, Kyungsoo stood in his guest bedroom, sweeping the dust off the floor. He hummed a song to himself as he moved the broom rhythmically across the wooden floorboards, occasionally picking something up to sweep under it before placing it back.

He moved to sweep under the bed, only to stop when he heard a faint thunk. Kyungsoo lifted his broom to see something rolling across the floor towards him. He picked it up and turned it over.

A carved Siberian husky attached to a keychain smiled back at him. The dog had its tongue out, and if its tail could move, Kyungsoo imagined that it would be wagging happily.

The corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth twitched upwards in an involuntary and painful smile as he placed the keychain carefully on top of the nightstand.

October 12^th, 2007 (1:59 pm)

Kyungsoo trudged down the hall from his room to Jongin’s room, stuffing his wallet into his pocket along with his keys and phone. He paused at the doorway to the deity’s room. Jongin was staring out the window and only turned his head when Kyungsoo softly called his name.

“I’m going grocery shopping. Do you need anything?”

Jongin thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “I’ll be back in a couple hours then,” Kyungsoo muttered and headed downstairs.

Over the duration of six months, Jongin had begun to communicate with Kyungsoo more, most often through gestures. Kyungsoo had called Yixing a few months ago to ask about Jongin’s closed-off behavior, but the Deity of Healing reassured that on top of not trusting humans much, Jongin was also extremely shy. So Kyungsoo no longer made any complaints about Jongin’s silence.

A loud barking interrupted Kyungsoo’s thoughts the moment he stepped outside. He looked to his right to see the neighbor’s – Chanyeol’s – dog running around in the backyard. Glancing between the excited canine and Jongin’s bedroom window, which happened to be facing Chanyeol’s house, Kyungsoo figured that Jongin had been staring at the dog earlier.

Suddenly, the front door opened behind him. Startled, Kyungsoo turned to see Jongin step outside and close the door behind him. He wanted to ask the deity what was going on, but the surprise blocked any words from leaving his mouth. When Jongin stopped next to him and looked at him with a questioning glance, Kyungsoo realized that Jongin wanted to go grocery shopping with him.

The two of them arrived at the market, and Jongin followed Kyungsoo around the entire time like a newly-hatched baby chick tailing its mother. Kyungsoo didn’t mind since Jongin wasn’t getting in the way, and he was glad that the deity was willing to come shopping. Maybe he wouldn’t have to struggle with several bags of groceries alone.

Kyungsoo managed to find all the products he needed quickly. When he finished paying for the foodstuffs, Kyungsoo reached out and began gathering up the plastic bags. Jongin quietly circled around him to help carry the food.

When all the bags were gathered up, Kyungsoo noticed that Jongin was reaching towards his bags even though the taller was already carrying the majority of the groceries. Kyungsoo shied away, holding his things out of Jongin’s reach. The latter paused and looked at him, blinking confusedly.

“You’re already carrying most of the stuff. I can handle these,” Kyungsoo reassured. Jongin reluctantly backed off.

As they were leaving the market, Kyungsoo and Jongin walked past a small, inconspicuous shop. Kyungsoo happened to glance at the window the store and notice the small trinkets on display. He stopped walking abruptly, making Jongin bump into him from behind.

“Wait here,” Kyungsoo ordered and pushed his way into the shop, leaving a bewildered Jongin out on the sidewalk.

He didn’t have to wait long because Kyungsoo came back out a few minutes later with a keychain in his hand. The human held it up for Jongin to see, the carved Siberian husky flashing in the light. “For you.” Without another word, Kyungsoo stuffed the keychain into one of Jongin’s coat pockets.

Kyungsoo didn’t expect Jongin to say or do anything in return. He had planned for the keychain to be a way for him to thank the Deity of Space for coming with him today and helping him carry the load of groceries home. Yet, the quiet words still reached his ears and made a large smile stretch across his face.

“Thank you.”

April 18^th, 2017 (12:28 pm)

Kyungsoo was in the middle of cooking lunch when someone knocked on the door. Grumbling to himself, he shut off the stove and stalked into the hall, pulling the door open to reveal Chanyeol. “What is it?” Kyungsoo asked shortly.

If Chanyeol was bothered by Kyungsoo’s tone, he didn’t show it. “Junmyeon-hyung and Yixing-hyung called. They want us to join them for lunch.” The tall, red-haired man waved his phone around as though voices would come from the device and confirm what he just said.

Kyungsoo groaned, “I already started cooking though.”

“Save it for dinner.” Chanyeol shrugged. “Junmyeon-hyung said this is important.”

“Give me a moment.” Kyungsoo went back to the kitchen, grabbing his phone and keys. He placed the food back in the refrigerator, slipped on a pair of sneakers, and met Chanyeol outside. Chanyeol unlocked his car and slid into the driver’s seat, waiting for Kyungsoo to get settled in the passenger seat before starting the car and backing out of the driveway.

As they went past the neat row of houses on the street, Chanyeol glanced at Kyungsoo, who was staring out of the window. “How are you holding up?”

It was a while before Kyungsoo replied, and when he did, he didn’t look at his neighbor and best friend.

“I’m fine.”

January 12^th, 2008 (3:47 pm)

Something was wrong with Jongin.

Ever since Kyungsoo gave him the keychain, Jongin had warmed up relatively quickly. Kyungsoo learned that Jongin loved dogs and chicken, laughed easily, and danced pretty well despite having never taken lessons before. The deity could also be a little clingy sometimes, which Kyungsoo found weird at first but eventually got used to.

However, Jongin wasn’t clinging to him at all today, and Kyungsoo found that very suspicious. He wanted to ask Jongin what was wrong, and if – God forbid – Kyungsoo had done something to set off the deity, but he didn’t know if he and Jongin were close enough for him to go barging into the others’ business.

Therefore, all Kyungsoo could do was sit in his room, trying to look up recipes for Chinese dishes as he struggled to remember everything he said and did in front of Jongin the past few months.

His stressing was interrupted by a soft knock on his door, and Kyungsoo jumped a little. Jongin fidgeted in the doorway when Kyungsoo turned to look at him, eyes wide with surprise.

“Hi, uh, is it okay if I go out for a while?”

Kyungsoo blinked. “Y-yes, of course. You don’t need to ask me for permission to go outside!”

The corner of Jongin’s mouth twitched upwards in a tiny smile. “Thanks, Kyungsoo-sshi. See you later.” With that, Jongin left.

Not very long afterwards, Kyungsoo’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, seeing Yixing’s name glaring back at him. Wondering if the other was calling to ask about Jongin, Kyungsoo picked up the phone and selected the green ‘answer’ button. “Yixing-hyung?”

“Kyungsoo-yah,” Yixing’s voice greeted him.

“If you’re calling for Jongin-sshi, he just–“

“I’m not calling for Jonginnie this time, Kyungsoo-yah,” Yixing laughed, “I’m calling to say happy birthday!”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped when he remembered, “Oh!”

“Did you forget?” Yixing’s amusement was clear, and his guess was right on target. Kyungsoo was never a party person, so he sometimes even forgot his own birthday. “Well, never mind that. Happy birthday, Kyungsoo-yah.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

The two of them chatted a while longer since they rarely saw each other after Yixing moved halfway across Seoul. The Deity of Healing asked how Kyungsoo was doing; Kyungsoo did the same after talking about what had happened in the past several months. The search tab for recipes glowed from the computer screen, completely forgotten.

Jongin didn’t come back until it was almost nine. Kyungsoo had long since finished his phone call and was in the middle of fitful worrying when the front door opened and the Deity of Space stepped into the house.

He found it difficult to believe Jongin when the deity said he was fine. Even when Jongin promised that everything was okay, Kyungsoo still stared at him with a suspicious look. It wasn’t until Jongin begged Kyungsoo to let it go that Kyungsoo finally caved in.

“Just trust me, Kyungsoo-sshi.” Jongin wrapped his arms around the shorter man and gave Kyungsoo a pleading look.

Unable to resist the Jongin’s adorably imploring expression, Kyungsoo reluctantly relented.

April 18^th, 2017 (12:43 pm)

The clattering sounds of construction reached Kyungsoo as he and Chanyeol sat at the intersection, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. The short man took the chance to have a close look at the buildings towering above them. His eyes fell on the tower a few blocks ahead.

“They fixed that already?”

“What?” Chanyeol swiveled his head around. “Oh, you mean the Gangnam Finance Center? Yeah, they finished it two weeks ago. Pretty fast, huh?” The light became green, and Chanyeol stepped on the gas pedal.

Kyungsoo continued staring at the restored tower. The workers had rebuilt it so well that it was almost impossible to believe that the architecture had been half-destroyed nine months ago. The Gangnam Finance Center stood proudly on its foundation, the new paint gleaming in the afternoon sun.

He raised his eyes to the top of the structure and for a moment, Kyungsoo could almost see the black dragon-like beast standing on the roof.

January 13^th, 2008 (7:30 am)

The morning after his birthday, Kyungsoo was woken up by someone roughly shaking him. He jolted awake almost immediately, scrambling to sit upright. Squinting his eyes, Kyungsoo could make out Jongin’s silhouette next to the bed. The deity leaned over him, hand still on Kyungsoo’s shoulder in case the latter needed another bout of harsh rattling to wake up.

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo croaked, voice catching on the second half of the taller’s name. He cleared his throat and rubbed at his face. “What’s going on? Why are you up so early?”

“I need you to get dressed, Kyungsoo-sshi. It’s cold outside, so put on a coat. I’ll wait for you on the porch.” Without waiting for Kyungsoo’s reply, Jongin left, and Kyungsoo heard his footsteps heading down the stairs.

Kyungsoo contemplated going back to sleep since it was only seven-thirty in the morning, and he didn’t usually wake up until eight-thirty. Unfortunately, his curiosity won him over, and he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and searched for clothes.

He was more than surprised to find Jongin crouching on the front lawn in his deity form. Red eyes zeroed in on Kyungsoo the moment he came out, and the reptilian beast lowered its chest to the ground, looking at Kyungsoo expectantly. The human stared in bewilderment for a moment, shivering the early morning cold.

“You…” Kyungsoo finally caught on, “You want me t-to get on your back?”

A low rumble of confirmation sounded in Jongin’s chest.

Kyungsoo still wasn’t sure. “Is it safe?”

A nod and a reassuring nudge to his hand.

Hesitantly, Kyungsoo shuffled forward, eyeing the black scales apprehensively. Gripping the back of Jongin’s neck with uncertain hands, he sloppily pulled himself onto the deity, only to find that he was sitting backwards. He managed to right himself after a few moments, and Jongin straightened up, making Kyungsoo squeak slightly and wrap his arms tightly around the creature’s neck.

Jongin took flight unexpectedly but steadily. The cold air lightly brushed past Kyungsoo’s face as the two of them rose higher into the sky. Soon, they had surpassed the height of the tallest building in Seoul. Normally, Kyungsoo would be scared out of his mind at the idea of being so far away from the ground, but the way Jongin flew was so smooth and sure that his fears were left behind.

The city was just beginning to wake up as Jongin and Kyungsoo soared over it. Windows were still dark, and streetlights were still on. Jongin was speeding up now, and the feather-light touch of the air became a series of needles stabbing gently into his face and hands, but Kyungsoo didn’t mind.

Jongin circled Kyungsoo around the city a few times before finally landing on top of one of the tallest buildings nearby. Gangnam Finance Center, Kyungsoo read before Jongin’s feet touched the rooftop and Kyungsoo clambered off clumsily.

The two of them settled on the rooftop next to each other. No words were exchanged; there were no words to describe what Kyungsoo was feeling.

Sunrise came and went, bathing Seoul in a healthy, orange glow. The city began to wake up, streetlights shut off until night returned and windows were being opened to let in fresh air.

Jongin lowered his head and softly bumped against Kyungsoo’s shoulder, telling the latter that it was time to go home. Kyungsoo clambered onto Jongin’s back, and the two were flying again.

Shouts from the streets below began almost immediately after Jongin took to the skies. Kyungsoo glanced down to see early risers staring up at them, pointing and letting out exclamations of surprise. Some had their phones out, no doubt taking pictures or recording videos of the deity.

“They see us,” Kyungsoo whispered, unsure of whether he should be worried or not. Everyone knew about the deities, and most respected – and even worshipped – them. Kyungsoo was certain that the onlookers would not harm Jongin, but he didn’t know how Jongin felt about being seen.

Jongin turned his head and looked at Kyungsoo with an unidentifiable glint in his blood-red eyes. Before Kyungsoo had any chance to protest any crazy idea the deity could have come up with, Jongin reached back, grabbed the collar of Kyungsoo’s coat with his teeth, and pulled the terror-stricken man off his back.

Kyungsoo’s shriek of shock and fear was muffled as Jongin wrapped his scaly arms around him, pressing the two of them together in a secure embrace. Then, the deity shifted into his human form in midair, and the two of them fell from the sky, surrounded by the screams of the people below them. The wind roared in Kyungsoo’s ears as he tightened his grip around Jongin. He lifted his face away from Jongin’s chest, opening his mouth to ask Jongin what in the world he was doing. Jongin didn’t give him a chance to speak, pushing his head back into the scratchy fabric of Jongin’s black coat. “Don’t look,” the deity murmured calmly.

Kyungsoo didn’t see the whirl of color as the world around them spun and twisted. The wintry atmosphere was replaced by the heated air of Kyungsoo’s house, and instead of the hard concrete of the street, Kyungsoo found himself and Jongin landing in a tangled heap on the soft cushions of his couch.

April 18^th, 2017 (1:00 pm)

Junmyeon still had burn marks over the left side of his face from nine months ago, but he still greeted Kyungsoo and Chanyeol with enthusiasm. Yixing nodded at the two from his seat beside Junmyeon, taking a sip of lemonade.

“How are you, Kyungsoo-yah?” Yixing asked, showing off his dimple as he smiled at the other.

“Wait, what about me?” Chanyeol complained, “No ‘how are you, Chanyeol?’”

The group laughed, quickly falling into a relaxed atmosphere. The four of them ordered their food and settled down to wait.

“I’m doing fine,” Kyungsoo said as he played with his chopsticks. “What about you?”

“As usual.” Yixing took another sip of lemonade. “I’m pretty much recovered from healing the city nine months ago. My powers will be back up to speed sometime this month.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kyungsoo replied genuinely, recalling how exhausted Yixing was after using his energy to bring life back to Seoul and save Junmyeon. He turned to the latter. “Your injuries seem to be healing well, Junmyeon-hyung.”

“Ah, yeah.” Junmyeon reached up and his marred cheek, and Kyungsoo saw more scars on the other’s hand. “Yixing says the scars shouldn’t be permanent. Zitao was actually holding back when he attacked me.”

“That . The scars could make you look cool for once,” Chanyeol joked, leaning back with a loud laugh when Junmyeon leaned forward in an attempt to strangle him.

The food arrived, and the four of them dug in. Yixing and Junmyeon ate respectfully, but Kyungsoo couldn’t help wrinkling his nose in slight disgust as Chanyeol practically inhaled his seolleongtang. Halfway through the meal, Yixing suddenly spoke up.

“Zitao came back today.”

Chanyeol choked on his soup. Like a robot, Kyungsoo reached over and thumped his friend on the back.

“When did he get back?” Chanyeol croaked once he had recovered, gasping for breath as he coughed.

“Just this morning at dawn.” Yixing stirred at his tteukbokki, ignoring Chanyeol’s distress. “He wants to talk to you.” He directed the last part at the stunned Kyungsoo.

“Huh?” Kyungsoo pointed at himself. “Me?”

Yixing nodded. “Yes, you. In fact, we’re going to see him after lunch.”

May 25^th, 2008 (12:32 pm)

The bell attached to the restaurant’s door tinkled merrily as Kyungsoo entered the restaurant, Jongin following close behind. A voice immediately called out to them, and they saw Yixing waving at them excitedly from one of the tables next to the window. There were two others sitting with him that Kyungsoo didn’t recognize, but Jongin did.

“Junmyeon-hyung! Zitao!”

Kyungsoo followed Jongin to the table, smiling politely to the strangers. Yixing put an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “This is Kyungsoo, the one I was telling you guys about.”

The shorter man extended a hand, a welcoming smile adorning his handsome face. “It’s nice to meet you, Kyungsoo-sshi. I’m Junmyeon.”

Contrary to Junmyeon, the taller man – Zitao – gave an awkward bow and mumbled ‘nice to meet you’ although he also had a smile on his face.

“Junmyeon and Zitao are both deities,” Yixing piped up, taking a sip of his iced lemonade. “Junmyeon’s the Deity of Water, and Zitao rules over time.”

“Zitao’s pretty much my twin,” Jongin said proudly, “Yifan made us at the same time after he created the galaxy.”

It was then that Kyungsoo noticed how contrasting Jongin and Zitao were. Jongin was dark. His hair was black, and most of the clothes he wore were black. Jongin was easily excitable and relaxed around people he was familiar with and liked skinship.

Zitao, on the other hand, had snow-white hair. His clothes were white, except for the light-blue jeans that he wore. His expression was guarded, and Kyungsoo noticed the way shifted uneasily in his seat, eyes flickering around the room as though he expected to be attacked any moment.

By the end of lunch, Kyungsoo had successfully befriended Junmyeon, but he hadn’t made as much progress with Zitao.

April 18^th, 2017 (1:57 pm)

“How are you feeling?” Junmyeon asked Kyungsoo gently as the two of them walked through a peaceful park. Yixing and Chanyeol were ahead of them, chattering about how to grow watermelons. Even though Yixing and Junmyeon had assured him several times that Zitao only wanted to talk, Kyungsoo couldn’t suppress the small tendril of nervousness in his stomach.

“Nervous,” he answered honestly, “He did try to kill me last time we saw each other, so…”

Junmyeon nodded understandingly. “Yixing, Chanyeol, and I will be close by, but I’m certain Zitao won’t try to kill you like he did back in July. He’s calm today. A little ashamed, but mostly calm.”

“Did he say why he went crazy back then?”

“He did.”

Kyungsoo side-eyed the Deity of Water. “Are you going to tell me?”

“No, Zitao wants to tell you himself.”

Kyungsoo didn’t argue. Silence settled between the two of them, and it was a while before Kyungsoo spoke again. “Did he mention Jongin?”

Junmyeon did not answer right away, choosing to wave hello at a passing dog first. “He did,” he said simply, “But he also wants to be the one to tell you about Jongin.”

“Is Jongin alive?” Kyungsoo asked, grabbing onto Junmyeon’s elbow to stop the deity. “Can you at least me tell me that?”

“He’s alive, and that’s all I’ll tell you.” Junmyeon placed an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. Kyungsoo relaxed and the two continued walking. Yixing and Chanyeol had long disappeared, leaving Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to walk in comfortable silence.

Soon, Kyungsoo spotted a head of familiar, white hair. Zitao was sitting alone at a picnic table, hands folded together on the tabletop. The Deity of Time stared down at his thumbs, not even raising his head to the shouts of a group of people hanging out several yards away.

Junmyeon patted Kyungsoo encouragingly on the shoulder. “Good luck. Remember, he’s not here to hurt anyone.” With that, the Deity of Water wandered off, settling down on a patch of grass a good distance away.

Kyungsoo swallowed, tugging on the sleeves of his shirt. Gathering up his courage, he let out a shaky breath and headed over to where Zitao sat.

March 13^th, 2010 (2:56 pm)

One day, Jongin came to Kyungsoo with a nervous look on his face. “Kyungsoo-hyung,” he called. The two of them had dropped the formality several months ago when Kyungsoo complained that it made them seem like acquaintances when they were already closer than that.

Kyungsoo looked up from the video he was watching to see Jongin fidgeting in the doorway. “Yeah?”

“Well, Zitao and I…” Jongin took a deep breath and started over. “Yifan called for me and Zitao just now. He wants us to meet him.”

Kyungsoo’s widened when Yifan’s name was mentioned. “Okay. When will you be back?”

“That’s the issue, hyung. Zitao and I are going back to our own dimensions. I’m not sure when we’ll be back.”

The words hit Kyungsoo and left him with a cold feeling as though he had been physically dumped into tub of icy water. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kyungsoo figured that Jongin wouldn’t stay with him forever, but he hadn’t been prepared for it to be so soon.

Nevertheless, Kyungsoo was a sensible person. He recovered from the shock quickly and cleared his throat, hoping to mask his disappointment. “Oh, okay then. When are you and Zitao-sshi leaving?”

“Now.”

The word delivered another blow to Kyungsoo’s stomach. “Okay.” He nodded dejectedly. “Have a safe trip. Tell Zitao-sshi I said hello.”

“Hyung.” Jongin crossed the bedroom in a few strides and placed an arm over Kyungsoo’s thin shoulders. “You will see me again. I’m not leaving forever. Please don’t cry.” He frantically wiped at Kyungsoo’s cheeks; Kyungsoo hadn’t even realized that a tear escaped his eye. “I’ll definitely be back within three years. Yifan never keeps us longer than that.”

Despite Jongin’s reassurances, Kyungsoo still felt that the deity was leaving too soon. He had lived by himself for a while before coming across Jongin and never felt any loneliness. Now that Jongin was gone, loneliness was all he felt.

April 18^th, 2017 (2:08 pm)

“To be honest, I didn’t think you would come,” Zitao admitted, hesitantly glancing up at Kyungsoo for a moment. “I didn’t have any visions, and I don’t time travel much.”

Kyungsoo had no idea what point Zitao was trying to make, but he played along. “Why not time travel?” he asked quietly.

“It gets confusing. The past and the future get muddled with the present, and I lose myself.” Zitao rubbed his thumbs together. “Last time I time-traveled, Yifan had to lock me up until my mind was sorted out again.”

Shivering at the idea of becoming borderline insane, Kyungsoo nodded, not knowing what to say to that. The two of them fell silent, but unlike his silence with Junmyeon, Kyungsoo’s silence with Zitao was awkward and heavy. Kyungsoo figured that he would let Zitao lead the conversation since the tall, white-haired deity was the one who wanted to speak with him. He counted cracks in the picnic table while he waited for Zitao to talk.

“He’s doing well, you know,” Zitao said suddenly. Kyungsoo’s head snapped up so fast, he briefly worried that he gave himself whiplash. He rubbed the back of his neck, telling himself that he could ask Yixing to heal him, and focused on what Zitao had just told him.

“Jongin?”

Zitao nodded. “Both of us fully recovered from our fight.”

It was only then that Kyungsoo noticed the faint scars on Zitao’s neck and hands. “How bad was it? Are there any…” He gestured vaguely at Zitao. “…scars?”

Zitao’s mouth twitched into a tiny smile. “No, his wounds were mostly burns, and they’ve all healed by now.” His careful gaze became calculating as he scrutinized an uncomfortable Kyungsoo. “You two have an interesting relationship.”

Kyungsoo squirmed a little. Not liking how Zitao was appraising him as though he was an alien, Kyungsoo blurted out the question that had been bothering him for the past nine months.

“Why did you do it?”

April 1^st, 2011 (9:36 am)

Kyungsoo wasn’t expecting any visitors today, especially not so early in the morning, so when there was a loud knocking on his front door, he couldn’t help but reluctantly put the dishes that he was washing into the sink and headed into the hall.

“Who is it?” he called as he unlocked the door.

There was no answer, and when Kyungsoo opened the door, he didn’t see anyone on his front porch. Leaning forward, Kyungsoo turned his head this way and that, searching for the person who knocked on his door and – most likely – ran.

He found nobody suspicious. Kyungsoo shrugged to himself, shut the door, and turned to go back to the kitchen, only to bump into something hard. He stumbled backwards from the impact, head hitting the wooden door with a dull thud.

“Oh, my God, are you okay?” Kyungsoo heard the panicked voice talking to him and felt the gentle hands touching his shoulders, steadying him after the collision that had pain throbbing in the back of his head.

Kyungsoo lifted his head, ready to give the intruder a piece of his mind, but the words stuck in his throat. Jongin stood in front of him with a worried look, and Kyungsoo felt all the anger that was building up disappear.

Seeing Jongin again chased away the desolation that had settled in Kyungsoo’s heart.

April 18^th, 2017 (2:10 pm)

“Do you have Jongin’s life force?”

Kyungsoo was startled. “How do you know?”

“I saw you holding it. Nine months ago. He gave it to you, didn’t he?”

“He did,” Kyungsoo said slowly, “Does this have to do with…?”

“Yeah,” Zitao admitted, “Chanyeol-hyung had gone to buy something for Yixing-hyung, and Jongin sensed that someone was sneaking up on us. The human grabbed my life force and ran.”

“Well, ,” Kyungsoo swore. He remembered Jongin telling him that a deity’s life force was the most important thing to them, and that people would often attempt to steal it in order to harness the deity’s power. “Did you get it back?”

“Yes, thank God, and it’s a good thing Jongin managed to stop me before I sent the world to ruins,” Zitao sighed, “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself, destroying what I am supposed to protect and disappointing Yifan.” He ran a hand through his hair in an agitated manner. “Are you carrying Jongin’s life force on you?”

“I carry it with me everywhere.”

“Good. That’s good,” Zitao murmured. “He’s lucky to be one of the deities that can trust his life to someone else. I never thought he’d do it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some deities, like Chanyeol-hyung, Jongin, Yixing-hyung, and Junmyeon-hyung, trust easily and are willing to give their life forces to whoever they like – well, Junmyeon-hyung and Yixing-hyung traded with each other, actually. Then, there’s other deities like me, Luhan-hyung, and Minseok-hyung who would rather keep our life forces to ourselves,” Zitao explained patiently.

Kyungsoo had never heard of Luhan and Minseok but didn’t ask.

“I’m glad he chose you,” Zitao said suddenly, “You don’t seem to have any desire to rule the world, so I know you won’t misuse Jongin.”

“You’re making this sound like some cliché movie,” Kyungsoo stated neutrally.

Zitao threw his head back and laughed.

September 5^th, 2013 (1:02 pm)

Kyungsoo and Jongin stood side-by-side in front of the sink, washing the dishes together after eating lunch. “What did you want to talk to me about?” Kyungsoo asked as he handed the deity a soapy plate.

“I kind of have to show you,” Jongin mumbled, adding a bowl to the pile of cleaned dishes that was growing next to him.

“It’s not something inappropriate, is it?”

“What? No!” Jongin’s eyes widened comically as he stuttered and stumbled over his defense.

Kyungsoo laughed. “I’m just kidding, Jongin. Relax.”

After they finished the dishes, Kyungsoo followed Jongin to the deity’s room and sat on the bed, watching Jongin rummage through the bottom drawer of the dresser. The tall man was digging around in the very back, obviously having hidden something rather important in there.

Several seconds of digging passed, and Jongin managed to pull out a black sphere. Kyungsoo watched curiously as Jongin sat down next to him, cradling the object protectively in his hands. “Were you taught about this in school?” Jongin lifted the orb slightly, watching Kyungsoo for a reaction.

Kyungsoo gulped. His teachers had talked about deities a lot, going in depth on their origin and powers, and Kyungsoo was pretty certain that he knew what Jongin was holding.

“Is that…your life force?”

Jongin smiled a half-smile. “So they did teach you.” He rolled the sphere around in his hands. “Yeah, this is my life force. What did your teachers say about life forces?”

“Um, they mentioned that the life force is the most important thing for a deity, and that it holds immense power. They didn’t say much about it, really.”

“Well, they were right. This is the most important thing to me. It’s a part of me, and I protect it as I protect the earth.” Jongin handed it to Kyungsoo, who took it uncertainly and looked at it. He could see the smoke-like substance inside the orb swirling restlessly as though there was some force agitating it, but that wasn’t the only thing Kyungsoo noticed.

The sphere was warm, and not just because Jongin had held it for a while. A pulsating warmth oozed from the life force, and Kyungsoo felt that he was touching a living person rather than a ball of energy.

“Why are you showing this to me?” he choked out, overwhelmed with the realization that he was holding Jongin’s life in his hands.

“I…” Jongin hesitated, “I want to give it to you.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “To me?” Jongin nodded. “Why? Isn’t this something important to you? Why are you trusting me to look after something like this?”

“Hyung,” Jongin interrupted with a small smile, “I want you to have it because it’s important to me. I trust you.”

Kyungsoo was at a loss for words. A deity trusted him. He never thought he was worthy enough for a deity to trust him so much, yet here he was, sitting next to Jongin, who wanted to give him the black sphere that Kyungsoo was currently holding.

“Also,” Jongin lowered his eyes shyly, “there’s something your teachers didn’t tell you about the life force.” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow questioningly. “The life force is a sphere of strong energy from the deity that created it. To humans, it is a source of power; to deities, it is a source of life.”

He reached out and grasped Kyungsoo’s hand, folding it so that Kyungsoo’s smaller hand was wrapped firmly around the sphere. “Since this is technically a part of me, it will respond as I would in certain situations, like shielding you when you’re in danger.” Jongin smiled widely and met Kyungsoo’s eyes with a confident gaze. “To you, I want it to be a source of protection, so you don’t ever have to be hurt when I’m not physically here.”

Kyungsoo had a reputation as one of most hard-to-crack people ever, but his tears betrayed him as soon as Jongin finished talking.

April 18^th, 2017 (2:15 pm)

“Well, I’m going to get going now.” Zitao stood up, straightening his white shirt.

“Back to your dimension?” Kyungsoo asked, “I thought you were staying here.”

“Nah,” the Deity of Time said casually, “I only came here because Jongin wanted to me to give it a try. He kept mentioning you and how you let him stay in your house after you found him injured from defending me against power-hungry people.”

So that’s why Jongin had been covered in burns when Kyungsoo found him.

“This world isn’t really my thing. Besides, I’m not really in favor with humans after the stunt I pulled back in July.” Zitao shifted his gaze to look past Kyungsoo. The shorter turned in time to see a young couple hurry away, the woman dragging a child with her. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel bad for Zitao when he saw guilt etched on the deity’s face.

“They’ll forget this soon,” Kyungsoo said awkwardly.

Zitao hummed. “Oh, before I forget. Jongin’s going to be back after midnight. Around one or two in the morning.” Without waiting for Kyungsoo to respond, there was a flash of light and Zitao had reverted to his deity form.

The white dragon-like beast looked at Kyungsoo and briefly dipped its head. Rising through the air, Zitao did not look back as a portal opened to his black dimension, slipping through and vanishing from sight as the portal closed behind him, leaving only a faint ripple in the air.

July 10^th, 2016 (12:52 pm)

Kyungsoo was in the middle of a peaceful lunch when he swore he felt his table tremble. He paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth, and stared at the piece of furniture. A sudden rattling sound jerked his attention to the counter, where he saw the silverware shaking in their container.

He was about to stand from his seat and look around when somebody started pounding on his door. The loud, deep voice of his deity neighbor, Chanyeol, came from the other side.

“Kyungsoo-yah! Open the door! Kyungsoo-yah?”

Kyungsoo hurried over and yanked open the door. The tall, red-haired deity stumbled forward slightly but easily recovered his balance. He looked at Kyungsoo with wild eyes, and the latter noticed the deep cut that was on Chanyeol’s face. The right side was caked with drying blood, yet Chanyeol didn’t seem to pay any mind. Kyungsoo, however, did.

“What happened to your face?” Kyungsoo gasped, glancing up and down the street nervously.

“That doesn’t matter. We need to leave.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Why? What’s going on? Where are Jongin and Zitao? Didn’t you go out with them?”

“Yes, I did, and I don’t know what happened, but Zitao just went berserk and he’s attacking the city!” Chanyeol took advantage of Kyungsoo’s shock to grab his wrist and drag him out of the house. The Deity of Fire pointed towards the heart of the city. “Look!”

Kyungsoo turned. The bright blue sky was tainted by rising columns of smoke. Several buildings were on fire, and few had begun to collapse. Horrified, Kyungsoo watched as one of the tall hotels crumbled, emitting a series of sickening crunches as the bricks hit the ground.

“You need to get out of here while Jongin holds off Zitao. Head for Jeju.” Chanyeol was about to start pulling Kyungsoo away, but Kyungsoo refused to move. “Holy , just listen to me, Soo!”

Kyungsoo swallowed. He had so many things he wanted to say. Was Jongin fighting alone? Why is Zitao destroying the thing he was supposed to protect? Where were Yixing and Junmyeon?

In the end, he settled for asking Chanyeol to wait for him while he went to grab something. Chanyeol reluctantly agreed, and Kyungsoo immediately ran upstairs to his room, hurling himself onto the floor to pull a shoebox out from under his bed. He dug around in it, pulling out Jongin’s life force and cradling it to his chest.

After snatching up his phone and keys, he met Chanyeol back outside. Most of the people living on Kyungsoo’s street had come out now and was watching Zitao’s rampage with scared eyes. One of the men came over to Chanyeol. “Excuse me, sir, but do you know what is going on?”

The Deity of Fire quickly explained what was happening. To his credit, the man remained calm, and when Chanyeol finished, he offered to help evacuate everyone to the docks where they could board a ferry to Jeju Island.

Soon, everyone was following Chanyeol as he led them through the outskirts of Seoul, avoiding the areas where Zitao tended to target with his rage. Kyungsoo looked up at one point, watching as Zitao’s deity form – a white dragon-like beast that was the same size as Jongin – raced across the sky. A shrill cry burst from the Deity of Time’s mouth, and it was answered by the black dragon creature that broke its way out from underneath a pile of rubble.

Kyungsoo flinched when he saw Jongin and Zitao collide in midair, both deities shoving and grappling at each other as they fought. Zitao roared in fury as Jongin pushed him backwards, and Kyungsoo’s blood turned cold when he saw the Deity of Time molding magical energy into a virulent mass and launch it at Jongin.

Jongin failed to move out of the way in time and directly received the attack. There was a shriek of pain, and Kyungsoo saw the Deity of Space fall from the cloud of smoke, crashing into a parking lot and setting off numerous car alarms.

Something blocked his sight, and Kyungsoo realized that he had stopped walking. Chanyeol stood in front of him, blocking Jongin and Zitao from him. “Come on,” he said roughly, “Jongin can take care of himself. He won’t be defeated by Zitao.”

They had barely started walking again when there was a screech overhead. The two of them looked up and Chanyeol swore as they met Zitao’s glowing, red eyes.

“Run!” Chanyeol yelled as he stepped in front of the group, making him a clear target.

Sure enough, Zitao began to prepare another attack, which came in the form similar to a meteor shower. Flames danced from Chanyeol’s fingertips as the Deity of Fire countered it. Their attacks smashed together and exploded. The shockwaves sent Kyungsoo stumbling backwards, and Jongin’s life force slipped from his grasp to roll down the street. He chased after it, running out from the cover of the smokescreen and straight into Zitao’s line of sight.

Even with Chanyeol calling his name, Kyungsoo found that he couldn’t make his feet move as he stared into Zitao’s hateful gaze.

Suddenly, Jongin rammed into Zitao, sending the Deity of Time careening into the ground. The black dragon-like beast chased after the other, pinning its counterpart to concrete. With Zitao secured, Jongin turned to Chanyeol and let out a growl. Chanyeol nodded and seized Kyungsoo’s arm, pulling the human in the direction the rest of the group had run off to a while ago.

Yixing and Junmyeon turned up as Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were waiting for a boat at the docks. “Oh, thank God,” Yixing breathed as soon as he saw Kyungsoo, pulling the smaller into a tight hug and checking him over for wounds. Junmyeon looked anxious and immediately asked Chanyeol for answers, which the red-haired deity could not give.

A particularly loud explosion startled them. Jongin was flying around the city with Zitao in hot pursuit. The white beast launched attack after attack on his opponent, and Jongin weaved and dived in erratic patterns to avoid them.

“I’m going to help Jongin. Make sure to get everyone away,” Junmyeon ordered. Then, a bright light engulfed him, and the next thing Kyungsoo knew, a sapphire-blue, serpentine creature was floating before him, Junmyeon’s water droplet symbol gleaming brightly on its forehead. The Deity of Water headed for the unsuspecting Zitao, grabbing the Deity of Time in his powerful jaws and wrapping his snake-like body around the other to constrict Zitao’s movement.

A low snarl rumbled in Zitao’s chest and he thrashed against Junmyeon’s hold, but the Deity of Water held fast.

A horn sounded behind Kyungsoo, and he turned to see a boat approaching the docks. Unfortunately, Zitao noticed as well, and the white beast focused another mass of energy, launching it at the approaching ferry. Suddenly, Jongin was between the ferry and the impending strike. The black deity took the blow, being engulfed in gray smoke. Zitao swung his head around, slamming his skull into Junmyeon’s, and the serpent let go with a cry of pain. Freed from his constraints, Zitao turned and seized Junmyeon, throwing the other to the ground and pinning him. Luckily for Junmyeon, Jongin had recovered and came rocketing at Zitao, barreling into the latter and flinging him off.

The three deities circled each other in the air. Junmyeon was the first to break out, flying away with Zitao close on his heels. Jongin followed Zitao, intent on landing a hit from behind while Zitao was preoccupied with chasing Junmyeon.

Unluckily, Zitao was more alert than Jongin and Junmyeon expected, avoiding Jongin’s attack expertly. Junmyeon was in the line of fire and ended up receiving the hit that was meant for Zitao. The Deity of Time took advantage of the situation to send another meteor shower, this time at Junmyeon. The force of the impacts sent the Deity of Water careening into a nearby tower, crushing the architecture. Huge blocks of stone rained down on Junmyeon, who had fallen to the ground at the foot of the building.

“Junmyeon!” Yixing raced off in the direction that Junmyeon had fallen. Kyungsoo ran after him, ignoring Chanyeol’s cries for him to come back.

Junmyeon was feebly struggling to free himself from the rocks that buried him when Yixing and Kyungsoo found him. The deity’s efforts proved fruitless when even the smallest movement caused Junmyeon to keen in pain.

“Junmyeon, where does it hurt?” Yixing kneeled next to the serpent’s head. “Just stay still. I’ll heal you, okay?”

Junmyeon dropped his head to the ground with a hiss. Yixing placed his hands gently on the other’s body, and a faint glow emitted from his palms, starting the healing process. However, barely a few seconds had passed before Junmyeon began to get agitated. Yixing tried to settle him down, but the other only flailed around more.

“Junmyeon, please!” Yixing cried, but Junmyeon paid no heed. Instead, he pushed his nose under Yixing’s arm and flung the other a good distance away. Yixing let out a yelp as he landed on the hard concrete, and Kyungsoo stood, ready to go help the Deity of Healing, but a sudden explosion behind him knocked him off his feet. The rock scraped at his hands and face as he fell, rolling over a few times from the impact.

Zitao was glaring down at him when Kyungsoo looked up, keeping a death grip on Jongin’s life force. The human swallowed thickly, not daring to stand up off the ground. His eyes briefly shifted to the motionless Junmyeon, still buried under the pile of stones. For a frightening moment, Kyungsoo thought he was dead, but he noticed the faint rise and fall of Junmyeon’s side and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Kyungsoo’s gaze moved past Zitao and landed on the battered Jongin, who was lying limply on the ruined road several yards away. His breath caught in his lungs at how defeated Jongin looked, slumped on the ground and unmoving.

Kyungsoo looked back at Zitao. The white dragon’s glowing red eyes bored into him as Zitao began to charge another mass of energy. “Zitao-sshi!” Kyungsoo cried out at the same time the beam of white power came flying his way.

Jongin’s life force vibrated vigorously in his hands, and a transparent, black shield erupted around him. Zitao’s attack collided with the barrier and dispersed, unable to penetrate the protection that Jongin’s life force generated. The black orb reverberated harder, and Kyungsoo hugged it closer out of fear that he would accidentally drop it.

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo curled up on himself. The pressure of Zitao’s attack on Jongin’s shield was overwhelming. “Jongin, for ’s sake, fight back! You’re supposed to protect us, aren’t you? Jongin!” A crack appeared in the barrier, and Kyungsoo let out one last desperate scream. “Jongin!”

Zitao’s attack was abruptly cut off at the same time Jongin’s shield shattered completely, the pieces dissolving into nothing in the air. Kyungsoo looked up to see Jongin yanking Zitao back by the neck, throwing the other into a row of parked cars. Jongin’s eyes were glowing fiercely as he summoned a new space and sent it at the Deity of Time, trapping Zitao in a separate dimension. Kyungsoo rushed up to the black dragon beast as Jongin dropped to one knee, pressured by the all the damage he had taken.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo whispered, reaching up at the same time Jongin lowered his head. The two of them locked gazes – Jongin’s eyes had stopped glowing – and Kyungsoo gently caressed the black scales of Jongin’s lower jaw. A low rumble fluttered in Jongin’s chest.

“He says he’s going to take Zitao back to their dimension,” Yixing’s tired voice made Kyungsoo jump. The Deity of Healing limped to Jongin, placing a hand on the latter’s leg. Jongin’s burns and bruises began to fade. “Get Zitao under control, Jonginnie. Come back when you’ve got everything sorted out.” With that, Yixing dropped his hand and stumbled over to Junmyeon’s unconscious form.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo started, and the Deity of Space turned to look at him. Any inkling of what he wanted to say fled Kyungsoo’s mind, leaving the human gaping silently for a few seconds. In the end, all Kyungsoo could force out was a quiet “I’ll wait for you.”

He watched as Jongin grabbed Zitao firmly, pushing the struggling Deity of Time up into the air, away from Seoul and Kyungsoo. A window opened in the middle of the sky, and Kyungsoo caught a glimpse of the black interior of the other dimension before Jongin and Zitao disappeared through it. The portal closed after them, leaving Kyungsoo with a ruined city, a distressed heart, and Jongin’s life force.

April 19^th, 2017 (2:29 am)

Kyungsoo anxiously sat on the steps of his front porch, waiting for the portal that would signal Jongin’s return to appear in the sky. He had expected Jongin to arrive at around one in the morning when Zitao said that the Deity of Space would be back very early, but there was still plenty of time before the sun rose.

A shuffling sound down the sidewalk made Kyungsoo jump slightly, and he turned to see Chanyeol walking towards him with a lopsided grin. The Deity of Fire sat down next to Kyungsoo and looked up at the starry sky. “I didn’t think you’d actually wait outside for him.”

Kyungsoo grumbled but shifted a little closer to the taller man, taking advantage of the limitless heat that poured from Chanyeol’s skin. “He needs someone to welcome him back after nine months.”

They were joined by Yixing and Junmyeon, who brought light sticks for all four of them. “So he’ll be able to see where we are when he gets here,” Yixing said, answering Kyungsoo’s unasked question. Kyungsoo nodded and took the white light stick Yixing handed to him, and the four settled down on Kyungsoo’s front steps to wait.

It was just a faint ripple in the air at first, but the ripples rapidly grew into an opening. Kyungsoo could see the other dimension’s white interior through the portal, and then Jongin came flying out. The deity’s black body camouflaged well with the night sky, but Kyungsoo could still see him soaring through the air above them.

Behind Kyungsoo, the others began waving their light sticks excitedly. “Over here, Jongin-ah!” Chanyeol shouted, his loud voice echoing through the empty street.

Jongin’s familiar roar echoed through the night, but Kyungsoo knew he was just greeting them back. The black dragon-like beast glided down to Kyungsoo’s house, shifting before it even landed properly, and Jongin stumbled slightly as his feet hit the ground. Kyungsoo caught him before he fell completely, pulling the deity into a tight hug. He felt Jongin freeze for a moment, and then the taller was hugging Kyungsoo back.

“Come on, you two, don’t peep on such an intimate moment.” Kyungsoo heard Junmyeon hiss at Chanyeol and Yixing, but he didn’t care. What mattered was that Jongin was alright and back in the human world.

“I missed you, hyung,” Jongin whispered into Kyungsoo’s hair. He frowned and leaned back a little when he felt something wet on his shirt. “Hyung! Please don’t cry!” Jongin frantically wiped at Kyungsoo’s cheeks, trying to stem the tears.

“I’m not c-crying!” Kyungsoo lied, “, I’m just glad you’re back.”

Jongin smiled widely. “I’m never leaving again, hyung,” he promised, “Even if you’re in a completely different space or it’s time for the world to end, I’ll be here.”

The Deity of Space pulled Kyungsoo back into the hug. Chanyeol, Yixing, and Junmyeon were long forgotten as Kyungsoo buried his face in Jongin’s broad shoulder. The deity ran his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair, patting it reassuringly.

“Trust me.”

To redblack60: Again, good job on your finals, and I hope you like this oneshot :D

To other readers: Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any feedback would be much appreciated! <3