It was really great, Kyungsoo thought. One of the best times he’d had in a while. The large stone that had been living in the base of his stomach for weeks crumbled to dust. He was almost giddy with relief: like he could take on the world, inevitably lose, and still be in a good mood.

Those around him were regularly voicing their opposing perspectives, but even so, they had to feel it too — the comfortable ease. The long-awaited return to normal.

“Stop your grinning, Do.”

“Yeah, you handed in your last assignment and you have no exams. Life’s great, we get it.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help how cheery he was feeling, but he at least did his best to dial down the beaming smile. When Baekhyun still gave him a sour look over a textbook, he bowed his head and let his fingers splay out across the edge of the table in front of him.

His incredible mood wasn’t about how his semester of college was finished. He wasn’t about to say it aloud, but mostly he was just pleased to be sitting around the familiar table in the food court on campus. It was their spot, and all four of them were present. Just like how it used to be.

“How could you guys be so mean…” Chanyeol had his laptop open as he ran bug reports for one of his programs, but as he spoke he looked over the screen and gave Kyungsoo an innocent smile. “Look at his sweet face, he just finished his first year of college. It’s a big deal. Good job, Kyung.”

Ever the supportive big brother figure, Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s eye roll in stride. The pair of them were both a little paler than they had been a month ago, but Baekhyun’s pallor had been decreasing as time went on, and he was steadily getting healthier again. Chanyeol’s wouldn’t fade away, not as easily, but the IT student had waved off any queries of concern, saying he’d make sure to get more time in the sun now that the weather had warmed up again. As far as Kyungsoo could tell, their relationship was getting better as well. As time went on, the pair grew used to the situation and Chanyeol was feeling more confident about keeping his hunger in check. Though still a little rocky, stability was returning to their lives and Kyungsoo was ready to release a big sigh of relief at all the good news.

Minseok pat his back suddenly, stealing Kyungsoo’s attention from the two second-years on the other side of the table. The third-year smiled warmly, and his voice was sincere as he spoke. “Yeah, good job Kyungsoo. We’re all proud of you.”

"Thanks, Minseok. What can I say, I worked pretty hard." He glanced down at his phone, noticing the notification light strobing through a thin worksheet of Baekhyun's. He didn't have time to check it before another voice chorused over the table.

"You did, but so did I, so you better pass that civil law elective." In a moment, Jongin was greeting everyone at the table from behind Kyungsoo, his hands resting on the first-year's shoulders gently as he spoke. "Do you mind if I borrow him for a minute? You won't be without him for long, I promise."

Baekhyun was the first to wave them off, "Make sure to bring him back in one piece."

Jongin led Kyungsoo deeper inside the building, talking as they walked. The conversation was idle and inane, but the firm grip of Jongin's hand in his was clue enough that there was something else coming.

Once the two came across an empty study room, Jongin maneuvered them inside and promptly closed the door. They stood facing each other, Jongin not even bothering to take a seat before his entire demeanor changed.

"The Court are taking our clan to trial," he said. His eyes were wide and serious, unwavering in their stare. Kyungsoo didn't say anything in return. "It's about 'potential human understanding of the vampiric experience'. It's about you."

Sweat built up between their clutched hands, though which of the two it originated from was pointless in postulating.

A few weeks prior, Hyunsik had been in the process of warning Kyungsoo about the Court when he'd hung up on the vampire. He hoped that wasn’t what Hyunsik had meant. The more he thought about it though, the more it felt like maybe he should’ve let the vampire say his piece.

"What does that…" Kyungsoo tried to ignore Jongin’s alert gaze, urgent touch and the downturn of his lip. There was no reason to abandon his optimism. "What does that mean, exactly?"

A chill glided across Kyungsoo's hands as Jongin slowly trailed his hand up Kuungsoo's arms and across to his neck. The touch tingled against the underside of his jaw, where two holes had been, once upon a time.

"It means I failed to protect you—" a thumb stoke "—again."

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin down until their foreheads pressed almost painfully, searching within the vampire’s eyes. Where there was usually a glimmer, there was now only dull resignation.

“No, don’t do that,” he said. Air escaped him, and his throat bobbed reflexively. “Tell me what’s going on so we can work this out.”

Jongin’s voice was grave when he finally replied, “The Nosferitian Agents of the Court are coming for you, to take you to the headquarters in Seoul.”

A few beats passed as Kyungsoo just stood there. He knew what that meant. Mind-wiping.

There were subdued voices from students outside the room, and some deep breaths gave notice to the lingering smell of white board cleaner spray. It couldn’t be the last time he’d hear or smell those things, couldn’t be the last time he’d be alone with Jongin.

“So, what’s the plan then? Go into hiding?” His heart knocked against his ribcage, a friend at his door with a warning.

“No.” Jongn cleared his throat, leaning away from their previous proximity. “You stay here, go about your day.” Kyungsoo nodded, tightening his unsteady hands in Jongin’s tee. The latter kept his eyes on the other side of the room, looking over Kyungsoo’s head. “They don’t know you know, so they’ll probably be subtle… Either way, don’t struggle against them.”

Kyungsoo stopped nodding suddenly, his hands immediately unclenching from the fabric in their hold. “What do you mean?” He moved to the side to try and catch Jongin’s eye, but to no avail. He wouldn’t look at him. “You want me to go with them? You’re not going to do anything?”

“Kyungsoo, please—”

“They’re going to wipe my mind! Don’t you know what that means? For me, for us?” His voice was strained in an effort to keep his emotions in check. “Come on, Jongin! ‘Be better’, remember?”

“This is better!” Jongin’s exclaim came out close to a hiss, and it silenced Kyungsoo at once. He flinched backwards, and Jongin used the renewed distance to aggressively rub at his face with both hands. “We can’t stop the trial, and hiding would only prove our guilt,” he said, his voice scratchy and muffled. “This way, we at least have a chance that they’ll decide you don’t know anything and leave us alone.”

It made sense. In an unfortunate, unlikely sort of way. Still, there had to be a better strategy. All his college life, all his memories of the Kims, of Jongin… probably even of Baekhyun and Chanyeol, they were all too precious to risk on the flip of a coin.

“No—!”

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo,” Jongin sighed, “whatever happens after the trial, it’ll be for the best.”

He moved closer again, opening his arms for an embrace, but Kyungsoo pushed the limbs away and took a step back. He looked up to Jongin, betrayal simmering in a misty gaze.

“How can you say that, after everything we fought for?”

Jongin had the audacity to look shocked when Kyungsoo brushed him aside to reach for the door, following him with stammering pleas.

“No, you listen to me.” Kyungsoo whirled back one final time, something in his expression dark enough to freeze the vampire mid-stride. “If you’re not going to protect me, I’ll do it myself.”

He enjoyed slamming the door behind him, a small release of anger. The annoyed and curious looks he received from passersby, however, not so much. He had to calm down his breathing as he stalked back to his cafeteria table, all the while waiting to hear Jongin call after him.

The call never came, and so Kyungsoo arrived back to the table alone. Baekhyun had already wandered off, and Minseok had his face in a textbook. Chanyeol noticed his reappearance first, and stopped typing to smile up at him.

The grin died as soon as he made eye contact, and Kyungsoo tried even harder to school his expression.

“Hey, Chanyeol,” he began, swallowing after an obvious waver. Even though he’d told Jongin he’d protect himself, maybe he didn’t entirely have to. “Can you take me to your dorm?”

Minseok looked up at that, as if only then noticing his presence, and openly scrutinized him.

“Hey, are you okay, Do?”

Kyungsoo couldn’t bring himself to look away from Chanyeol; his only hope. The half-blood slowly nodded his head, though he frowned, and Minseok kept glancing between them.

“Yeah... sure,” Chanyeol said, and at last he directed his narrowed gaze to his laptop as he packed it up. He was taking too long, and Minseok repeated his earlier question.

“Now,” Kyungsoo urged. Once his anger had dissipated somewhat, the fear returned with a vengeance. No matter his convoluted logic, Kyungsoo knew Jongin wasn’t lying. People from the Nosferitian Court were looking for him, and he had a feeling they always got what they sought.

“Did Jongin… do something?”

As soon as Chanyeol was standing, still swinging his bag over his shoulder, Kyungsoo began walking towards the doors out, entirely ignoring Minseok’s inquiry. He had no idea how much time was left, but even if he had all the time in the world, he still wouldn’t have stayed to answer.

Chanyeol jogged to catch up to him as he made his way past the law building, walking in its shadow as the structure continued to block the afternoon sun. He didn’t say anything, but Kyungsoo knew he was wondering.

“The Court’s coming for me,” was all he could bear to say. Thankfully, it was all Chanyeol needed to hear before an arm wrapped around his shoulders and he was pulled into a faster pace.

Though his heart was thundering a panicked beat and his brain was conjuring horrible scenarios, the pair made it to the dormitories vampire-free. Kyungsoo pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he bound up the staircase, his staccato footfalls harmonized by Chanyeol’s slower pace. And even though he was practically running up the stairs, Chanyeol mounted them first, having skipped every second step. His keys chimed loudly as he fumbled with them, and Kyungsoo glanced over his shoulder, watching the stairs door they’d entered through intently. No matter how close safety was, he wouldn’t calm until he was locked inside.

There was something unnerving about just how quiet the usually rambunctious dorms were. All the noise of outside life was muted, and it reminded Kyungsoo of when he’d teleported with Jongin. Which would have been an extremely useful option in a situation such as his current one. He swallowed down the lump in his throat, not wanting to think about him.

Chanyeol, with shaky fingers, eventually unlocked the door with an echoing click.

“Thank god,” Kyungsoo sighed, pushing past his friend and into the dorm first.

He walked all the way to the opposite wall, peeking out the windows to the world below. There were no suspicious loiterers outside that looked like vampires, but there weren’t any regular-looking students either. The room, too, was unsettlingly quiet. Kyungsoo quickly pulled the blinds down.

“Chanyeol,” he said over his shoulder, “make sure to lock the door.”

No response. A heavy thud.

Kyungsoo whirled back around. There, in the open doorway, Chanyeol's crumpled body. Behind him, a stoic man and woman in unassuming athleisure clothes. The man held a syringe in his right hand.

“No…”

Kyungsoo’s voice was a cowardly whisper. He wanted to run to Chanyeol’s side, to try and wake him up, but all his body did was back up further until he was pressed against the window like cornered prey.

“Please, don’t—”

~Wild Flowers Worth Knowing~

Jongin stared at the words that burned across the screen in his lap: ‘they took him’, ‘are you happy?’, ‘this wasn’t just abt you, you’re not the only one going to lose him’. And finally, the text that hurt the most: ‘he trusted you’.

A sharp jab to his side had Jongin flinching. Jongdae, sitting on his right, pointedly glanced to the front of the room. The voices were still droning on, and Jongin managed to close his text conversation with Chanyeol, followed by turning his whole phone off.

The modern room offered no comfort within its stark white walls, cold metal furnishings casting judgement before any declaration of guilt had even been made. The company, too, held no warmth with its presence.

"The assigned agent created a situation in which the human was placed in staged danger,” Choi Monggyu was saying. As the head of the prosecution, he paced in front of the rows of seated jury as he flipped through pictures on an overhead projector.

An annoying click of his remote had the next photo splayed across an unrolled sheet of canvas in the corner between the jury and the judge’s panel.

It was a new angle to an old memory. Jongin didn't want to look, but his gaze was ensnared all the same.

The photograph was an action shot. Dark. A crowd of people in the foreground, a steel grey tower pockmarked with pastel further back, looming forward. And in center-focus: Do Kyungsoo, rooted to his spot.

Jongin bristled. He'd… he was so sure it had been…

The background of the image was predominantly black, though a cluster of blurred lights arced over the darkness in rebellion. It was out of focus, and yet Jongin recognized the vibrant lights of the ferris wheel immediately.

He took a deep breath as his hands clenched and unclenched in his lap. How had it come to this.

“Clan member Kim Jongin then displayed his known power of teleportation in front of the human,” Monggyu continued. Another button pushed, and a short video began to play.

It was chaotic, with people running and screaming. The person filming must have been repeatedly jostled, because the frame was shaky. Jongin himself could be easily spotted running up to Kyungsoo's side before they both disappeared into thin air.

Jongin tapped his fingers against his lap in a quickened sequence, only stopping to swipe at the beading along his hairline and re-adjust his collar. The room was far too warm and the clothing was far too formal. Stiff white cotton pressed against his throat, causing him to frequently clear it.

Further down the line of tables the Kim Clan now sat along, just to Jongin's left, Junmyeon watched the video intently. His eyes flicked to and fro; so wide open, Jongin could see the carnival lights reflected in them.

That's when the murmuring started: members of the jury leaning over to speak to one another, agreeing hums and head nods responding soon thereafter.

By now, the ends of Jongin's fingers were digging into the tops of his thighs so hard he felt his eyes stinging. He tried to sit still, to hold himself back, but his laboured breathing and set jaw were sure to give himself away should anyone so much as glance at him.

He'd been so stupid.

Kyungsoo had once said that Jongin was just Jongin, Kyungsoo was just Kyungsoo, and that nothing could change that. But it really ing felt like the Court was fully capable of changing it.

His head was spinning, churning the same words over and over: Kyungsoo, I'm sorry, Kyungsoo, I'm sorry… as though the more he thought them, the more likely they were to take form and reach the real Kyungsoo. That maybe they would pierce his mind and comfort him.

Jongin wondered where Kyungsoo was physically—he was most definitely unconscious somewhere—and he only prayed that it was somewhere safe and warm.

Based on the Court's now obvious disregard for the autonomy of non-vampires, he wasn't very optimistic. Their unperturbed attitude was evidenced by their constant use of the phrase "the human" instead of Kyungsoo's name, and this elaborate carnival "test" masked as an accident only further proved that humans discovering the existence of vampires was secondary to prosecuting infringing clans.

Jongin was visibly lurching in his seat with every enraged breath at this point, and though he knew everyone around him wanted him to sit and take it—Jilaiya knew he probably deserved it at this point—he couldn't allow Kyungsoo to lose everything for his mistake.

He bolted upwards, out of his chair. Choi was again saying something but Jongin ignored it in favour of addressing the room.

"With all due respect—" which is none, Jongin tactfully left out "—we keep our kind a secret for the safety of not only us but the humans as well. This 'staged danger' injured real people. That can't be allowed!"

Junmyeon hissed his name, and the jury were again silent. Acting Judge Fong was the only one to reply.

"It most certainly is, Kim Jongin," he said.

He, alike with the majority of the vampires in the room, wore a dark suit (an unpleasant shade of coal, in this case) with a cravat. Jongin thought it looked acutely pompous; a fabric reminder that perhaps these people were living in the past.

"The human was in no real danger. The Nosferitian agent was in control of the situation the whole time. No harm would have befallen anyone had you not acted."

The only way such words could be true was if the agent had power over metal, and therefore would have been able to manoeuvre the wall back upright. Jongin didn't know anyone that fit that description, but he only knew of the higher ups anyway.

Jongdae pulled on his wrist, trying for damage control. Jongin tugged out of the grip.

"That only further proves that the Court was willing to risk humans observing vampirian powers, your honor."

"Excuse—"

Junmyeon was beside him in a second, smiling and appeasing as he cut the judge off.

"This isn't an official statement, your honor, and we apologize for interrupting the proceedings. If we may continue."

Junmyeon sat down again, calling for Jongin to do the same, but the pretence of strength Jongin's anger had given him cracked. His eyes started to sting again, though his hands were limp by his sides. He looked down at Junmyeon, imploring him to do something. To fix everything.

"He shouldn't be punished just because I lo—"

Jongin's admission was cut short as Jongdae forcibly dragged him down, making him choke on his words. He almost fell right off the chair, and his palms smacked the metal table in front of them as he grasped for sudden purchase.

The room was again silent as Jongin felt the full weight of his shame settle upon himself.

He could have been halfway across the world by now, he guessed. On a faraway beach, maybe, curled up in the sand with Kyungsoo and a couple margaritas… if only at the expense of his clan.

Instead, he'd given no thought to compromise. He'd broken Kyungsoo's heart, betrayed his trust, and thrown him to the wolves.

Jongin just couldn't wrap his head around it, why everyone around him seemed to pay for his mistakes.

The prosecution, jury and judge were all still watching him. Not to mention the rest of his clan, stretched across the row like a corpse awaiting its autopsy. He didn’t linger on them long enough to count how many shades of disappointment there were, his gaze instead blurring into an unfocused haze somewhere over a patch of firm blue carpet.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered. “I let him down. It’s all my fault.”

The words were of no use to anyone currently in the room with him, a hollow resignation that would never reach the one he’d wronged. Yet, that didn’t mean they’d met no-one at all.

“You have to do this.” The unyielding tone was as much Junmyeon’s signature as the name written by his hand. Jongin didn’t know from where he always mustered his certainty. “You have to do this. It’s the only way to help him now, trust me.”

Jongin responded with a mumbled, “Like how he trusted me?” But Junmyeon was no longer listening, already facing forward yet again.

"If we may continue," Choi said, "there are not only several photos, but a direct confession proving that Kim Jongin and the human in question are actively engaging in a romantic relationship."

"Objection!" Junmyeon again rose from his seat like the choppy tide, leaving Jongin to marinate in his thoughts alone. "Irrelevance. We aren't disputing their relationship status as romantically involved. The contention of the trial is to determine whether or not Do Kyungsoo believes we're humans."

Judge Fong pursed his lips a moment, before he acquiesced with a nod.

"Sustained."

Photos of Kyungsoo leaving the Kim's home, recounts from Agents of the Court of him spending time with a known half-blood. The evidence piled up, and with each building mention of Kyungsoo, Jongin felt him slip further from reach.

It had long been ingrained into Jongin that as a vampire he would only ever cause harm to a human. Maybe not directly, but to bring a human into their world was to condemn them to a life changed forever. One way or another, some day, it would get them killed, turned, or at the very least: wiped.

The photos of Kyungsoo smiling, the reports of him enjoying his time around members of the vampiric world… they told a different story though. Maybe the message ingrained into Jongin was wrong; maybe the truth had been as easy to find as listening to what Kyungsoo had told him.

Maybe Jongin had done him some good, too.

And despite it all, Jongin had gotten scared and thrown it away. He could have all the superhuman power in the world, and yet Jongin would never be even half as strong as Kyungsoo was. Just a normal human, so willing to fight for love.

The rising murmurs throughout the courtroom had Jongin's attention returning to his surroundings.

"The book 'Wild Flowers Worth Knowing', you say?" Judge Fong seemed to clarify, "He read it?"

"Yes, your honor. The records come from the staff of the Ilsan Library. There's no doubt."

The talking grew louder around them, until Junmyeon again raised his voice.

"May the defence know the significance of this… book?"

The prosecution took its time to explain that it was a book not meant to be publicly available. It was a fictional novel that divulged the secrets of a very non-fictional world. The fact Kyungsoo had read it meant he knew sensitive details.

"While able to appreciate the weight of such knowledge, the clear assumption here is that the human would believe it's fiction," Junmyeon said, after the court again hushed.

The judge sighed, before addressing the prosecution again.

"Is there any further evidence you have to prove, without any shadow of a doubt, that the human Do Kyungsoo knows of the existence of the vampiric world and the vampiric identities of the members within the Kim Clan?"

"The prosecution has concluded it's case, your honor," was Monggyu's final reply.

The jury that lined the wall rose as one, and began to file out. Their mutterings were a clear indication to Jongin, at least, that they had been convinced.

This book, 'Wild Flowers Worth Knowing', came as such a shock to Jongin himself. He wondered how the Court knew about it and yet, it still remained as a public declaration of the secret of their existence. Moreover, he wondered how Kyungsoo had gotten his hands on it.

“While the jury deliberate, I must inform the Kim Clan that no request to turn the human has been made to the Court.” Judge Fong flicked through whatever documentation sat before him, adjusting the folds of his cravat as he spoke. “Therefore, if guilty, turning will not be an option, and the human will be taken care of immediately.”

Taken care of… He certainly knew what that meant. Mind-wiping.

Jongin turned to properly gauge the reaction of his clanmates, and he could tell by the way Krystal bit at her nails and Seulgi crossed her arms that it wasn’t looking good for them. For Kyungsoo. His hands itched to rub at his face until it was raw. Hell, if he were a member of the jury, he'd be all the way convinced too.

Jongdae was speaking to him, a hand squeezing his shoulder. Jongin glanced at him, but couldn't concentrate on the words.

He couldn't believe himself. To think there was a chance that they would let Kyungsoo and the clan leave freely, give them the go ahead to keep living in this peaceful fantasy where they would all bury their heads in the sand and pretend like they were all normal. To think he'd let the one person that made him feel normal go so quickly. He'd tried to be better for them both, he really had. But it seemed like he was always a step behind.

But there'd been no way around it. He had to either choose Kyungsoo or his clan. It was a rigged game from the start.

Jongin wanted to chuckle at the thought. A rigged game, sort of like the ones Kyungsoo loved so much at the carnival...

Not ten minutes later, and the jury returned to the courtroom. Jongin didn't need to check the firm press of Junmyeon's mouth to know that was a bad sign.

The representative of the jury stood forward, ready to address the judge, and the room at large.

Jongin hadn't even gotten to properly say goodbye. He'd never see Kyungsoo again.

"Of acts in accordance to the human understanding of the vampiric experience without intention of turning," the woman said, ”we find the Kim clan not guilty."

He'd been so sure of his own failure, that it took a moment for Jongin to understand the full extent of the meaning behind the words. When he did, he threw his head back and the sigh that released his resignation morphed into a giddy laugh.

He couldn't believe it, not guilty. Not guilty!

He was so thrown by the information, that he was only vaguely aware of the explanation given in the wake of the decision. Something about not being able to provide any actions as a result of the knowledge, as opposed to circumstantial evidence proving he might know.

Jongin's hands pressed into the cool steel of the table as he buried his face into his crossed arms. Hot tears welled in his eyes as he tried to control his breathing. He was being given another chance. He was going to do it right this time, to hold onto Kyungsoo and never let go. No matter what would happen, he was going to protect not only Kyungsoo, but their relationship. The both of them.

A warm hand rubbed gentle circles into his back, and that was what had a couple of the tears falling, quickly getting absorbed by the sleeves of his collared shirt. He didn't think he'd ever been so happy in his life.

When he raised his head from the table, the first thing he saw was Jongdae's beaming face.

"It's all gonna be okay, buddy," he said. And they were the last words before the double doors at the back of the courtroom slammed open.

The two interrupting were vampires. Jongin didn't recognize the man, but the woman was infamous to all within the Court, and some outside of it. Gong Hee-jin was fierce. And feared. Some considered her the most powerful vampire, because all she needed was to look at someone to have them overwhelmed with the most excruciating pain.

Jongin had obviously never experienced it, and he certainly didn't want to.

Pressed between the two figures was the one person Jongin longed to see most. So, of course, he was horrified to witness Kyungsoo hunching in the doorway, fully conscious.

Despite his curled posture, he seemed in fine physical health. He was wearing the same clothes Jongin had seen him in the day before, when they'd last spoken, and he didn't appear to be nursing any injuries. His expression though, when his sights locked onto Jongin, was of pure panic.

It wasn't long until Jongin's was the same.

"He knows," the man said, "he explained everything in a chatroom. Here's the proof."

A phone was flung with superhuman speed, caught with superhuman precision. The judge scrolled through whatever was on the screen.

"Immortal discoveries dot com?" Judge Fong questioned, before quickly reading through the conversation aloud, ending with a message from whoever Kyungsoo had been talking with about not letting the Court know he knew.

The prosecution called the evidence to be included, and this time the jury didn't even leave the courtroom before amending their ruling.

Guilty.

Everything was crashing down so fast that Jongin had barely any time to come to terms with the hope he'd been stripped of. But he couldn't leave Kyungsoo, not again.

With the human's name falling from his lips, Jongin ripped through the air, apparating in front of Kyungsoo in a second. His outstretched hand was inches from Kyungsoo's when a sparkle caught his eye. Jongin glanced to the side for only a moment, but it was enough.

Hee-jin's irises were pools of boiling lava; the hot, sticky liquid siphoning all of Jongin's control at once. He froze in place, helpless to look away as the overwhelming sensations began to bombard him.

It started from the outside, in. The layers of his flesh began burning rapidly, and he just knew his skin had to be peeling away and flaking off in panels of blackened crust. His muscles were cramping and the breath was squeezed out of his chest like he was caught in a metal grinder. Within seconds, he was a heap on the floor, as he continued to convulse. The flowing lava never let him look away though, left him blind in his searing pain.

His throat was too constricted to yell for himself, but he could make out the distant call of his name. It had to be Kyungsoo, shouting for Jongin as he was dragged back out of the room. The screams were near-hysterical, and all Jongin could do was regret as his bones splintered, re-fused, then broke again.

He was left for an eternity in the throngs of blistering agony, but the feeling of losing Kyungsoo still felt far worse.

This is only half of what the original chapter was supposed to be but the other half has been such a pain in my side lol that I figured I'd at least post this bit just to see if anyone... y'know, cared lmao. Anyway, thank you for reading and if you want any more just lemme know :)

~ An extra special thankyou so much to everyone that's commented <3