“Rough night?” Kihyun asks, quirking a brow up at Hoseok while smirking. The older man scowls at the shorter, hobbling over to them from across the prison yard. He sits beside Hyunwoo with a pained gasp, squinting his eyes shut as he readjusts his position for the least amount of pain possible. Hyunwoo reaches over to place a gentle hand on his same-age friend’s knee, a look of guilt skipping across his eyes. Hoseok gives him a reassuring smile, patting his hand with his own. 

“Nothing I can’t handle,” is all he says, his eyes remaining on Hyunwoo as he speaks. Hyunwoo ‘hmmphs’, glancing over at the customer from the night before—a burly man with too many tattoos and muscles only obtained to intimidate other inmates—and threads his fingers through Hoseok’s protectively. Kihyun glances over at the man as well, feeling his skin crawl. Despite his taunts, he appreciates all Hoseok does for them, has always done for them, and wishes only to shorten his suffering here as much as possible. 

As if sensing Hoseok’s gaze, the man, Jiyeong, glances over at them. He smirks at Hoseok, waggling a brow and blowing him a taunting kiss. Hyunwoo visibly bristles at this, and Kihyun immediately begins to stomp over to his area of the yard defiantly. The man may do as he wishes with Hoseok at night, but dammit, he couldn’t stand it when these scumbags treated Hoseok as lesser for it in the day. 

Hyungwon grabs hold of Kihyun’s wrist, holding him back from doing anything that’d get him into trouble. Kihyun glances back at Hyungwon defiantly, ready to fight him on it, but all indignation quickly deflates at seeing Hyungwon’s expression. Worry flickers within his eyes that the older will, again, get himself into trouble. The guards’ favoring him can only protect him for so long, after all, and the more fights Kihyun starts, the less they’ll be able to help him when it’s time.  

Kihyun sighs in defeat, moving closer to Hyungwon’s side. He holds onto Hyungwon’s hand, gripping it tightly to avoid having another outburst this week.  

Changkyun suddenly enters the yard, and quickly makes his way over to the others.  

“Hyung,” he murmurs, leaning against the wire fence with a hard gaze, “I need to know when the next shipment is. Some of my customers are getting antsy.” 

“I told you to not give them that,” Kihyun tells him as he rolls his eyes at the younger. “You should’ve just stuck to taffy. Now all they want are the herbs.” 

“But now they’re even more dependent on me,” Changkyun defends with a toothy grin. It’d make him look boyish if not for the conniving glint in his eye. Kihyun sighs in exasperation, shaking his head in defeat.  

“I’ll talk to my contact tonight,” he says, “but I’m not promising anything. I told you this was a risk to bring  into the main inventory. But, no, you just had to give them something new. What if we can’t get our hands on more? We’ll have a riot on our hands within the day, and that is one mess of yours I won’t be cleaning up, Kkungie.” 

“Okay, okay,” Changkyun says, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, I promise I’ll listen next time.” Though he sounds sincere, Kihyun can tell all too well by his oily smile he won’t live by his word. Kihyun  in a breath of aggravation, and begins to massage at his temple with his free hand. Hyungwon chuckles lowly beside him, running his fingers over his knuckles consolingly.  

The bell suddenly rings, signifying the end of the recess period. Changkyun looks around the yard, as if just noticing the time.  

“Where’s the King?” he asks, frowning.  

“Where is he always?” Hyungwon asks in return, rolling his eyes. “In the cafeteria, begging anyone who’ll listen to him to put money onto his canteen again.” Changkyun ‘hmmphs’, and leaves the group quickly to search for his boyfriend. Hyunwoo and Hoseok follow close behind, clearly eager to get out from under the hungry eyes of the yard. Hyungwon and Kihyun are the last to go in, sticking close together as they always do.  

“I may need your help again for the maknae, Wonnie,” Kihyun says in a low voice as they walk past the guard at the door. “I have a pretty good feeling they won’t let the herbs slide in without a little bit of grease.” 

“The Shoe Shiner is at your service, hyung,” Hyungwon murmurs so as not to be overheard, an affectionate smile adorning his lips. Kihyun hums in acknowledgment, unable to keep himself from smiling as well.  

Though he knows it incredibly selfish of him, he’s glad Hyungwon is here with him. He couldn’t imagine enduring this hellhole without his beloved froggy by his side. The lanky man, as if hearing Kihyun’s thoughts, squeezes the shorter’s hand tightly before breaking away. Kihyun turns, sighting Minhyuk standing off to the side. Hyungwon stops beside the older, crossing his arms over his chest as the man with the impossibly sunny smile bend over to mop as he begins firing off statement after statement.  

At dinner, Minhyuk sits beside Hyungwon and rapidly whispers in his ear. Hyungwon nods calmly, though the expression doesn’t quite seem to match the Poet’s frantic energies… Though, to be fair, Minhyuk is always a bit manic, no matter how dire the situation. Kihyun watches the interaction curiously out of the corner of his eye, and quirks up a questioning brow as Minhyuk finally pulls away and leaves the table once more.  

“Poet says we’ve finally got the bikers in,” Hyungwon informs the table. He shoots Hoseok a smirk at the older’s shocked expression, adding, “Seems as if your work with Jiyeong last night did some good, after all.” Hoseok’s expression brightens for the first time all day, and his posture straightens ever so slightly. Hyungwon and Kihyun share a smile. Their hyung is so easy to read. 

“That makes it official,” Kihyun surmises, a delighted smile coming to him. “We’ll be out of here before the end of the year, for sure.” 

“Careful,” Hyungwon teases, pulling at Kihyun’s cheek, “if the guards see you looking so happy, they’ll think something is up.” Kihyun hums under his breath, dropping the smile and replacing it with a typical smirk. He presses closer to Hyungwon, resting his hand on the younger’s knee. He gives it a light squeeze, and Hyungwon can’t help but take his love’s hand in his own.  

That night, the two cuddle in the bottom bunk as they wait for the lights-out call. Hyungwon wraps his own lanky limbs around the older, just enjoying the closeness. Kihyun pets Hyungwon’s hair in a soothing manner, staring up at the bottom of the top bunk as he envisions just what they’ll be doing once they finally get out of here. They could try their hands at a decent living, maybe even attempt at starting a family… It’s a far-fetched notion, but he can’t help but imagine it, anyway. 

“I can’t believe all this is almost over,” Hyungwon sighs suddenly, his voice sounding a bit heavy. Kihyun can tell by his tone and slowed breathing that he’s almost asleep. He hums in response, thinking back to all that had brought them here. He closes his eyes against the memories, wanting to ignore them for as long as possible. Though, no matter how hard he fights it, he always ends up thinking back to that pivotal betrayal that led them here.