Hi guys, 
so I can't seem to stop writing hyunsung oops. This was an idea I had after a dream so I kinda came up with this random idea...

It didn't quite turn out as well as intended and it might be kinda weird, but I'll leave the judging up to you guys.

Now, I hope you read the warning. In that past life, there's gonna be character death (I'm sorry, I promised myself to never do that but it was necessary for the plot.) I do promise you a happy ending, though, because it's a must lol 

Anyway, I hope you guys like this. 

 

 

Atlanta, Georgia, 1952

It was September when Joseph first met Peter Anderson.

He had just moved here with his parents from Detroit shortly before his third year in high school. It was a nice neighborhood, very clean and quiet, but also very boring. Joseph didn’t expect to make friends here anytime soon, but he hoped that he would eventually find anyone his age.

Joseph had only had older friends back in Detroit. Two boys named Christopher and Martin. He missed them a lot, but at the same time he was looking forward to an opportunity to make same-aged friends.

It was only his first week in Atlanta, but he and his parents had been too busy unpacking and getting used to the new house to meet the neighbors. So far, only an elderly woman had stopped by to introduce herself as Mrs Garfield and brought them a pie. Today, though, the doorbell rang again.

“Joseph, darling, get the door, please,” his mother shouted from the kitchen.

Joseph got up from the floor where he was unpacking his books and replied with a, “yes, mother,” before opening the door.

Three people, a family as it seemed, consisting of a man a woman and a boy, all with chocolate brown hair and sun-kissed skin, stood there with bright smiles on their faces.

“Hello, young man. We’re the Andersons from next door. We came to introduce ourselves,” the man spoke up. The woman’s smile widened, and Joseph noticed that she was carrying a pie. “My name is Harold Anderson, this is my wife Lucy and our son Peter,” the man continued.

Joseph gave them a polite smile and gratefully took the pie from Mrs Anderson as she held it out to him.

“It’s really nice to meet you. My name is Joseph Washington,” he answered. Just then, his parents joined him at the door.

“Good afternoon,” his father greeted. They exchanged greetings and Mrs Washington promptly invited the Anderson family inside for lemonade.

Peter, the Anderson’s son, ended up sitting next to Joseph. Their parents engaged in conversations about Detroit and their neighborhood and all kinds of uninteresting stuff.

“So, where are you going to go to school?” Peter questioned suddenly.

“I’ve enrolled in Henry W. Grady high school, what about you?” Joseph returned the question.

Peter’s face brightened up just the slightest bit. “Me too! We can walk to school together if you like,” he offered.

Joseph smiled. “I would really like that,” he answered.

~

From that point onwards, Peter and Joseph were practically inseparable.

They excused themselves and Joseph showed Peter his new room and some of his Science Fiction books. He learned that Peter was 16 years old, just like him, which delighted him since it meant that they would most likely be in the same class.

When school started the two boys walked the mile together every day, since neither of them had a car yet, talking about the books they were reading at the moment or the music they currently liked. Peter was a big fan of Jo Stafford whereas Joseph preferred Frank Sinatra. They also discussed the last movies they had seen at the cinema, discovering their mutual love for James Dean movies.

At school, Joseph sat at the desk next to Peter’s and he would be lying if he said that the two of them didn’t get into trouble a lot, because they just couldn’t keep their mouths shut during class.

Joseph had never had a friend like Peter before and he found himself wanting to spend most of his time with the only slightly younger boy. He would rush through his chores and homework before he was finally able to go to Peter’s house or have him come over. His mother was very excited about him having friends his age, and she seemed to like Peter as well. She always called him a “polite boy with very good manners”.

Both Mr and Mrs Washington got along with the Andersons, which made it a lot easier for Joseph and Peter to meet up.

~

“Is that real?” Joseph asked one day when he and Peter sneaked into Mr Anderson’s study to steal some cigarettes to secretly smoke in Peter’s room. Joseph was referring to a shotgun that hung on the wall of the study above Mr Anderson’s chair.

Peter followed his gaze and nodded. “It’s real. My father used to go hunting almost every weekend, but he’s had too much work lately, so he just hung it there to look at it,” the younger explained.

“I’ve never seen a real one before. My father isn’t very fond of weapons,” Joseph mumbled, clearly fascinated by the object. Peter smirked.

“Do you want to hold it?” he asked, already climbing on top of his father’s desk. Joseph waved off.

“I’d rather not. What if your father comes back?”

Peter chuckled. “Don’t be a candy !” he teased the older, who crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m not a candy !” Joseph argued.

Peter laughed, but climbed off the desk nonetheless, much to Joseph’s relief. He really didn’t want to get into trouble with Mr Anderson. The man was nice, but Joseph felt like he could get very mad if you got on his bad side.

“Anyway, I found some whiskey. Wanna get loaded while we smoke these?” Peter questioned, holding up two cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. Joseph smiled. He’d really befriended a little troublemaker. He nodded at Peter’s question and the two boys began to make their way to his room.

~

“Do you ever think about other lifeforms?” Joseph asked, sprawled on Peter’s bed.

The whiskey had really messed him up good and now he was just talking about the silliest things. Peter laughed, seemingly not as bothered by the alcohol as Joseph.

“You read too much, Joseph,” he pointed out.

“But what if all I’ve read about is real? What if the government is hiding things from us?” Joseph questioned, causing Peter to laugh even harder.

“I should give you whiskey more often,” the younger stated. Joseph looked at him with glassy eyes.

“I’m serious, Peter...” he trailed off.

Peter smiled at his friend. “Alright, then,” he played along. “The government is probably hiding a lot of things from us. So why not aliens, too,” he said.

Joseph smiled in content. “That’s right...” he mumbled.

A second later he drifted off to sleep.

Peter gave his friend a fond smile and properly tucked him into his bed.

~

Joseph was more than excited when both, his and Peter’s parents allowed him to stay over at the younger boy’s house for the night before Halloween. The boys planned to stay up all night and play cards or tell each other spooky stories. They had been looking forward to it ever since Peter had made the suggestion on the way to school one day.

He had never spent the night at Peter’s before and the younger had never stayed over at Joseph’s before either.

Back in Detroit, he had often had his friends over for a night, even though his father usually didn’t like it very much. On the other hand, he was glad that his son had friends in the first place, so he had allowed it, though reluctantly.

“If you need anything, we’re right next door,” Mrs Washington said when she sent Joseph over to the Andersons with a bowl of self-made cookies as a thank you gift for letting him stay over.

“I know, mother. I’ll be fine,” Joseph assured her with a smile. She patted his cheeks and let him go next door where Peter was already waiting for him at the door.

Joseph entered the familiar Anderson house – he had really spent more time here than he cared to admit – and went to greet Peter’s mother in the kitchen, handing her the cookies his mother had made. He politely thanked her for letting him stay over, which she waved off with a “we love having you here, Joseph. Don’t you even worry about it,” before he and Peter made their way upstairs to his room.

They sat down on Peter’s bed, getting comfortable. Joseph took notice of the way their thighs touched because they sat so close to each other. He had been hyperaware of every single one of Peter’s touches for quite a while now, but he hadn’t really known what to make of it until recently.

“Are you alright, Joseph? You’re unusually quiet,” Peter stated, when Joseph just stared at their legs.

“Oh, yeah... I’m alright,” he answered. The younger didn’t seem to believe him, but luckily chose to keep his thoughts to himself, probably not wanting to ruin their fun.

As it got dark outside, the two of them read some spooky stories to each other from books that Joseph had found amongst his enormous collection. Somewhere in between Mrs Anderson had brought them a few cookies and two glasses of milk, warning them not to stay up too late.

The two of them gave her angelic smiles and told her that they would go to bed soon, though they had absolutely no intention of doing so.

“Joseph, can I ask you something?” Peter asked suddenly, putting his glass of milk down on the bedside table next to the plate of chocolate chip cookies.

“Sure, what is it?” Peter took his time before speaking up again. Joseph noticed how the younger was fidgeting uncomfortably and he wondered what could be on his mind. He had seemed so carefree just a few minutes ago.

“This is going to be a bit of an unusual question, so it would be great if you wouldn’t tell my father about it. He’s only going to get mad at me,” Peter told him. Joseph nodded, which was enough of a promise for him to go on. “Have you ever had... unnatural thoughts before?”

Joseph hadn’t quite known what he’d expected, but it sure hadn’t been that. “Unnatural thoughts? What do you mean?” he asked.

Peter blushed a little bit and Joseph’s heartbeat seemed to increase. “I mean that...” the younger trailed off, giving his friend an unsure look. “Please don’t hate me for this. But I’ve found myself looking at other boys... the way I should be looking at girls. And I know it’s not normal, at least that’s what my father says. If he hears about this, he’ll probably beat me to death or chase me away. I just needed to tell someone and you’re the only one I trust,” Peter finally explained.

He lowered his head.

Joseph needed a while to take this in first. Peter had practically just told him that he was doing the exact same thing he was doing too. Only that Joseph didn’t look at ‘boys’ in general – just at Peter. He hadn’t been ready to admit to himself that he was different and had told himself that he probably only treasured the younger boy as a friend. But hearing Peter say that, had made Joseph realized that he had... feelings for him.

“H-have you ever acted upon those thoughts?” the older asked carefully. Peter dared to look at him again. He seemed somewhat relieved that Joseph wasn’t yelling at him or calling him disgusting.

“I haven’t. I was scared. I still am...” Peter answered. Joseph turned to face him.

“You don’t have to be. I’m the same...” he assured the younger. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but he couldn’t deny that he felt a lot better after admitting it to his closest friend.

Peter looked at him with widened eyes. “Y-you are?” he questioned in disbelief. Joseph nodded.

In a moment of bravery, he put his hand on top of Peter’s and looked at him. “I know this might be scary. But maybe we should try something, just to be entirely certain,” Joseph suggested. By the look on Peter’s face, Joseph assumed that he understood what he meant. “Do you want to?”

The younger’s eyes briefly flicked down to Joseph’s lips, as the older leaned in. “I want to...” Peter all but whispered. His eyes fell shut and Joseph followed suit before closing the distance between the two of them and kissing the younger. It wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced and nothing like what he had imagined.

Peter’s lips were slightly chapped, but also kind of soft, as they moved against Peter’s in a slightly clumsy and inexperienced way. Joseph rested his hand on Peter’s thigh, while the younger’s hands fisted into his pajama top. Peter tasted like chocolate and something else that Joseph couldn’t quite point out; though it wasn’t unpleasant.

They carefully pulled apart after a few seconds, faces burning and hearts racing wildly in their chests. Joseph was the first one to speak up after a few seconds of stunned silence: “So... how was that?” he asked. Peter seemed to blush an even deeper shade of red.

“I-I think I liked it. It certainly didn’t feel unnatural,” he admitted quietly.

“I liked it too... do you want to try again?” Joseph questioned. Peter’s eyes widened the slightest bit, but he nodded nonetheless, and no sooner the two boys were practically on top of each other, exploring each other’s mouths, slowly but surely getting the hang of it.

Joseph liked kissing Peter. He knew that he should be disgusted and repulsed because him kissing boys meant that he was a homoual. He didn’t want to imagine what his parents would say about that if they knew.

However, right now, he couldn’t find himself to care.

“Wait, maybe we shouldn’t do this here...” Peter suddenly said. Joseph loved the way the younger’s lips looked; glistening, red and swollen and how he was slightly out of breath, just like himself. “My parents could see us. You know they don’t knock...”

Joseph sat up and looked at Peter. “Then where could we go?” he asked.

Peter sat up as well, running a hand through his messed-up hair. “I know a place. We have a garden shed. It’s full of garden tools that my father never uses. I haven’t seen him go in there in a long time. I’m sure we can be alone there...” he explained. Joseph smiled at the thought.

As long as he’d get to kiss Peter again, it didn’t matter where he was.

~

They couldn’t meet up in the garden shed every night, because Joseph couldn’t risk his parents finding out about him sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. However, they went there as often as they could, and it was just as exciting to exchange secret kisses in their rooms when they couldn’t help themselves, although knowing full-well how risky the situation was.

It was thrilling to do something forbidden like this and Joseph knew that, if they got caught, things would get very bad for both of them, but he also couldn’t find it in him to stop. Peter seemed to be just as excited about their secret ‘make-out meetings’, as he liked to call it, as Joseph.

“You’ve gotten really good at this,” Peter told him one night, out of breath and cheeks rosy with Joseph’s arms slung around his waist tightly. The younger’s voice sounded teasing despite the compliment. Joseph just grinned at him and pulled him closer again. He loved the way he felt every time he was close to Peter; his heart was beating out of his chest and a tingly feeling erupted in his stomach. Before he met Peter, he had only read about this feeling in books, but now he knew exactly what it was.  

“I love you, Peter...” he muttered. Peter chuckled against his lips and s his arms around his neck.

“I love you, too, Joseph,” the younger answered before bringing their lips together again.

They got lost in time and each other, as their kiss grew a tad bit more heated. They never wanted to go too far, at least not yet, while this was all still new. In their daze, they knocked over an old chair, though, which fell to the floor with a loud noise that rattled through the quiet night.

Joseph and Peter pulled apart and looked at the mess. “What if anyone heard us?” Joseph questioned, as the younger put the chair up again.

“My parents are asleep, don’t worry...” Peter said reassuringly. The older wanted to argue and suggest for them to get back to their beds, but he just couldn’t resist Peter when his arms found their way around his neck again.

Peter kissed Joseph once more, almost making him forget about the incident and his fear of getting caught.

Almost.

The door of the garden shed suddenly flew open. The two boys jumped apart, whirling around to see who had just walked in on them. Joseph’s eyes widened in horror when he was faced with Mr Anderson, pointing his shotgun directly at him. The man looked just as shocked, as him.

However, that shock soon got replaced with anger.

Mr Anderson glared at Joseph. “You! What are you doing in here with my son?!” he snapped.

“W-we were j-just...” Joseph stammered, still nervously eyeing the shotgun.

“Father, please... this isn’t what it looks like!” Peter tried to explain. Mr Anderson’s face was red with anger by now.

“It looked like you two were acting like homouals! I never should have let you near my son. Peter, wait outside!”

Peter didn’t budge.

“Peter!”

“No, father! I won’t let you hurt him! I love him!” his son argued, grabbing Joseph’s hand. The older noticed that Peter was shaking, whether it was with fear or rage, he didn’t know. Mr Anderson pointed an accusing finger at Joseph.

“You have corrupted my son with devilish thoughts! I’ll send you right to hell where you belong!”

The man aimed his shot gun – and fired.

It all happened too fast. Joseph found himself on the ground, his ears ringing due to the loud noise. He needed a few seconds to regain his senses only to see Mr Anderson drop his shotgun to the floor with a shocked expression before fleeing the garden shed.

Joseph waited for the pain to kick in... but it never did.

“Peter?” He looked over to where the younger had been standing but gasped in shock when he saw the reason why Mr Anderson had fled the shed. Peter was down on the floor, clutching his stomach. His hands were covered in blood and he was gasping for breath.

“No!” Joseph exclaimed, quickly crawling over to where the younger way lying. “No, Peter!” He cradled Peter’s head in his lap, causing him to look up at Joseph and smile faintly. His forehead was covered in sweat and his usually sun-kissed skin was pale as a ghost.

“Peter, what did you do?” Joseph cried desperately. Tears were streaming all over his face as he held him closer.

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but his voice came out croaky and weak: “I-I’m sorry, Joseph. I had to... protect you. I c-couldn’t let him hurt you. I love you...” he gasped in a desperate attempt to breathe.

Joseph’s hand found its way to Peter’s, helping him press down on the wound. “You can’t leave me, Peter! Please...” The younger boy smiled at him, a single tear rolling down the side of his face.

“My dear Joseph... y-you should run now... before he comes back.” He took another breath, more rattling than the last one, which gave Joseph the chills. His bloody hand clutched on to Joseph’s.

“Promise to find me in our next life...”

His breathing was shallow, slowing down each passing second. His hand lost its grip on Joseph’s as his eyes became unfocused and eventually empty. Joseph broke down hugging Peter’s lifeless body desperately as tears blurred his vision.

“No! Come back to me, please, don’t do this to me...”

~

Seoul, South Korea, 2018

‘Promise to find me in our next life...’

Hyunjin startled awake from his dream, abruptly sitting up.

He was sweating, panting and his heart was beating fast. A tear even ran down his face, which he quickly wiped off. Never had he had such a detailed and realistic dream before. He ran a hand through his damp hair, as he tried to calm down. It had felt like he had seen all of this before, like it had really happened.

It had felt like he was Joseph.

He exhaled shakily, thinking about the last bit of the dream. Peter had taken a bullet for him – no, for Joseph.

Somehow, Hyunjin wanted to know how things had played out for Joseph afterwards.

Did Mr Anderson come back and finish him off, or did he run away after all?

Hyunjin’s alarm rang through the room, startling him out of his thoughts and reminding him to get back to the real world. He sighed, as he scrambled out of bed to get ready for school. He made his way to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed before brushing his teeth.

“Hyunjin, breakfast is ready!” his mother called from downstairs. Hyunjin took one last look in the mirror, deeming himself presentable, and made his way to the kitchen where his mother was currently serving breakfast. She smiled at him when she saw him come in.

“Did you sleep well?” she questioned, pouring her son a glass of orange juice.

“Well, to be honest I had a really weird dream... but–”

“You know what, tell me all about it tonight, okay? I have to meet up with your father...” his mother interrupted him. Hyunjin gave her a confused look. His parents had been divorced for two years, what could they possibly have to meet up for?

“Why?”

His mother gave him a way too bright smile. “Nothing in particular. Don’t worry about it,” she told him. “I’ll head out now. Have a great day at school,” she added, kissing him on the crown of his head before leaving.

Hyunjin knew that she was lying about it being “nothing in particular”, but he figured pressing the matter wouldn’t get him anywhere. Even though, he really wanted to know what she was going to talk about with his father. As far as he knew, the two had close to no contact. He huffed and quickly ate his breakfast, his weird dream momentarily forgotten.

~

Hyunjin decided to walk to school today, since it wasn’t very far anyway, and he didn’t feel like being trapped between sweaty bodies and grumpy office workers.

He had almost made it to school when something caught his eye, or rather, someone. A guy was about to cross the street, not paying attention to his surroundings at all. There was a car fast approaching and it didn’t take a genius to know that this was going to go horribly wrong.

“Hey!” Hyunjin caught out, while picking up his pace, running towards the guy. He didn’t seem to hear him, and it was only then that Hyunjin realized he was wearing headphones. He began to run faster, reaching the guy just in time to tackle him as the car rushed by with a loud honk.

The boy grunted as the two of them hit the ground hard.

Since it had rained the previous day, the floor was still wet, causing Hyunjin’s uniform to get dirty and damp, immediately. He scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off before reaching out a hand to help up the other boy. The guy grabbed his hand and looked up at him. Hyunjin gasped in surprise, almost letting go of him again.

“I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t watch where I was going. Thank you...” the guy finally spoke up, smiling gratefully.

Hyunjin stared at him, mouth agape. “P-Peter?” he asked in disbelief. The stranger furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Um...how do you know my English name?” he asked.

“I go by Jisung here. It’s nice to meet you, I guess...”

Hyunjin finally snapped out of his confused daze. “I-I’m Hyunjin...” he trailed off. Jisung smiled again and tilted his head.

“So, how did you know my English name?” he questioned, sounding genuinely curious.

“You remind me of someone I met in a dream,” Hyunjin replied before he could help himself.

Instead of being creeped out and slowly backing away from Hyunjin, Jisung threw his head back and laughed.

“Wow are you always this smooth?” Hyunjin scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He hadn’t meant for it to come off as a pick-up line, but it was probably better this way. Jisung didn’t seem to know who he was, so Hyunjin figured that his resemblance to Peter was just a very spooky coincidence.

‘Promise to find me in our next life’

“Hey, seems like we’re going the same way. Do you want to walk with me? I just transferred schools,” Jisung suggested, pointing out their uniforms, which were from the same high school. His smile was just as pretty as Peter’s.

Hyunjin mentally slapped himself. This wasn’t the time to think about past lives and pretty smiles!

Jisung didn’t look exactly like Peter, considering he wasn’t an American boy from the 1950s, but... at the same time there was just something about Jisung that resembled him so much.

“Sure! Are you a junior?” Hyunjin questioned, trying to seem like he wasn’t a complete creep, guessing stranger’s names and thinking about how gorgeous their smile was. Jisung nodded enthusiastically, as the two of them began walking. “I am!” he confirmed. Now it was Hyunjin’s turn to smile. “So am I. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up in the same class!”

~

Jisung hadn’t expected to be tackled to the ground first thing on the morning, by a handsome stranger, on top of that. Something about Hyunjin seemed really familiar, but he knew that that couldn’t be since he just came back from Malaysia after six years. He hadn’t expected to make a friend before he had even entered school grounds, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful.

He had never been good at making friends easily.

Nonetheless, talking to Hyunjin was just so refreshing, despite his kind of strange behavior earlier. He learned that Hyunjin was older than him by half a year and that he had lived here all his life. They bonded over their similar tastes in music and movies.

When they reached the school, they were delighted to see that Jisung was going to be in the same class as Hyunjin. They parted ways, though, since Jisung was supposed to head to the teachers’ office, which Hyunjin gave him directions to.

“I’ll save you a seat,” he promised Jisung with a grin.

The younger gave him a thumbs up before taking off.

~

“What happened to you?” Hyunjin’s best friend Felix questioned when the older came into the classroom and sat down at the desk in front of his. Hyunjin looked down at his dirty uniform.

“I fell,” he answered. Felix furrowed his brows, but before he could ask more questions, another voice spoke up.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Hyunjin looked at Felix’ seatmate, Seungmin, another friend of his.

“Nah, I’m good,” he told the younger with a reassuring grin.

Felix rested his arms on his desk and gave his two friends a secretive smile. “I heard we’re getting a transfer student this year,” he said.

Hyunjin’s grin widened. “What do you guys think he’ll be like?” Seungmin questioned. Felix tapped his chin, thinking about it.

Hyunjin chuckled. “He’s pretty cute, actually. And he’s got great music taste. You’ll like him, Seungmin. He listens to Day6,” he spoke up. Felix and Seungmin gave him weird looks.

“How–”

“Class, listen up, please! I’d like to introduce you to our new transfer student!” The teacher had entered the room with Jisung in tow.

“Um, hi... I’m Han Jisung and I just moved back here from Malaysia. Uh... let’s get along,” Jisung said awkwardly. His eyes wandered across the classroom and eventually landed on Hyunjin. He gave the older a small smile which he returned with a wink.

“His uniform is dirty as well...” Felix pointed out.

“Now I get it,” Seungmin muttered knowingly. “Hyunjin didn’t just fall to the ground, as it seems,” he joked, causing Hyunjin to turn around and glare at him. Seungmin just laughed at him. Hyunjin huffed and turned back around.

“There’s a seat next to Hyunjin,” the teacher pointed out. Before she could ask Hyunjin to raise his hand, Jisung quickly bowed to her and made his way over to the older’s desk. “I see you two seem to know each other already. In that case, Hyunjin, you wouldn’t mind showing Jisung around, right?” the teacher questioned.

“Not at all,” Hyunjin replied.

“So, you’re the cute new kid Hyunjin fell for?” Felix asked from behind them, wagging his eyebrows.

Jisung turned around to see who had spoken to him. “Um, what?” he questioned looking at Hyunjin. “Oh, did you tell him about saving me from getting run over?”

Felix and Seungmin exchanged glances. “He kept that part from us. Seems like our Hyunjin is a true hero,” Seungmin said, giving the oldest an impressed look. Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

“Cut it out, it wasn’t a big deal.” Felix raised his eyebrow and Seungmin snorted. “Anyway, Jisung, those two idiots are my friends Seungmin and Felix. They’re always like this, so don’t pay them too much mind,” Hyunjin introduced them to Jisung who just laughed quietly.

“Nice to meet you two,” he told them.

~

After class, Hyunjin showed Jisung the cafeteria. Seungmin and Felix excused themselves, telling the other two that they had “other business to attend to” and wouldn’t be joining them for lunch. Hyunjin didn’t think too much about it. They often disappeared during lunch time.

“We can sit over there with some of my other friends,” the older said, pointing out a table at the far end of the cafeteria.

“Aren’t you quite the popular one?” Jisung stated with a chuckle, but followed Hyunjin nonetheless. At the table sat two guys, both older than Hyunjin. They were Hyunjin’s seniors Chan and Minho.

Minho was holding Chan’s hand, staring intently at his palms. “Um, what are you guys doing?” Hyunjin questioned, clearly confused by his friends’ weird behavior.

Chan perked up at Hyunjin’s voice and grinned at him.

“Minho’s trying to read my palm,” he told him.

“I can see that... but, um... why?” Minho looked up to give Hyunjin a half-assed glare.

“Because I can,” he snapped.

Hyunjin snorted but took a seat. “Guys, this is Jisung. He transferred here today,” he introduced his new friend, who took a seat next to Hyunjin.

Minho let go of Chan’s palm and both seniors looked at Jisung. “Welcome to our school!” Chan said enthusiastically. Jisung smiled. “

Thanks,” he answered.

“He’s our student council president, so he’s a little too excited about this hellhole sometimes,” Hyunjin explained.

He noticed that Minho was staring from him to Jisung and back. Hyunjin was used to the older being weird but Jisung clearly wasn’t. He squirmed under the senior’s piercing gaze.

“What is it, Minho?” Hyunjin finally questioned. Minho took a few seconds to answer, staring at them for a few more seconds.

“I feel something between you two... some kind of... connection,” he mumbled. Hyunjin got reminded of his dream again. Jisung did resemble Peter, but there was no way him transferring here had anything to do with that tragic story.

“Really, you can’t seem to feel that connection between you and Channie,” Hyunjin retorted, causing Chan to blush and Minho to glare while Jisung laughed.

“Suit yourself, Hwang. My powers have never left me hanging before!” Minho announced. Hyunjin waved off.

Nevertheless, Peter’s last words were still ringing in his head and he had to suppress a shudder at the memory.

~

Over the next few weeks, Hyunjin and Jisung grew a lot closer. The rest of Hyunjin’s friend group accepted him with open arms as well, which was a delight for both of them. Seungmin and Felix had made it their personal duty to tease Hyunjin about Jisung at any given minute, claiming that he kept making heart eyes at him when he thought the younger wasn’t looking.

Hyunjin mostly ignored the two younger boys, however, he couldn’t really deny the fact that there was something about Jisung. It could be his weird resemblance to the guy from Hyunjin’s dream, but he wasn’t sure that was all it was.

Jisung was funny, caring and smart. He got Hyunjin like nobody else did. With him, he felt like he could talk about anything.

Hyunjin just loved to be around him.

They often hung out at each other’s houses, since their mothers were both workaholics and they were usually on their own. Today was one of those days and their conversation had somehow led to their family situations...

“I don’t really get along with my mother...” Jisung told him. “My dad couldn’t stand her toxic behavior anymore, so he bailed, and we moved to Malaysia... but now we’re back and I barely see her anymore. I guess it’s for the better, because we tend to fight a lot when we’re together,” Jisung explained.

Hyunjin felt bad for the younger. His mother worked a lot as well, but they still got along. He also got to see his dad from time to time. He couldn’t imagine having a bad relationship with either of them. But there was also something that gnawed on his mind lately.

“I think my parents are seeing each other again...” he spoke up.

Jisung gave him a look. “You sound disappointed,” he stated. Hyunjin shrugged.

“It’s just that their marriage failed once and even though their divorce was sort of peaceful, it still took a toll on all of us. I just don’t want to go through it again and I don’t want them to have to go through it again either...” he told the younger who nodded in understanding.  

“Well, if things do turn out bad, I have this place to myself most of the time, so you can flee here,” he assured Hyunjin, putting a hand on top of his, which caused the older to smile.

“Thanks, Jisung... I appreciate it,” Hyunjin said and perhaps his stomach did a tiny flip at the way the younger returned his smile.

~

As for Peter, Hyunjin had the same dream a few more times after meeting Jisung. It usually always ended right after the younger boy got shot and Joseph held his lifeless body in his arms, crying for him to come back.

It was horrible and Hyunjin always found himself wishing that he could somehow interfere and change the outcome, but deep down he knew that it wasn’t possible. His mother noticed how shaken up he seemed in the mornings whenever the dream came back, but she never had enough time to actually stick around and listen.

Hyunjin often thought about telling Jisung about everything, since Peter resembled him so very much and maybe it wasn’t a coincidence, after all, but he stopped himself every time. He didn’t want the younger to think that he was weird. And there was still a part of himself that insisted that this was all just a repetitive dream.

One night, though, Hyunjin had a different dream...

~

Atlanta, Georgia, 1952

Joseph shouldn’t be here.

His father would be furious if he caught him out here. But he just had to go see him. His father had already done everything in his power to keep him away from the funeral; he needed this.

He couldn’t just stay in that mental hospital his father had locked him up in after he had found out about his son being a homoual... after what had happened to Peter.

The nightmares were haunting him ever since that night, cruelly reminding him that Peter had given his life to protect him. Because he loved him. He kept thinking about his last words. He was devoted to find the younger again in his next life, no matter how long it would take.

Joseph bit back the tears as he made his way across the empty graveyard. He was afraid of the judgement he was going to be met with from other people if they saw him out here. Rumors spread fast across the neighborhood and Peter’s death followed by Joseph getting admitted to a mental institution had stirred a lot of them.

Only one single figure, dressed in all black was hunched over next to Peter’s grave, their body shaking with silent sobs. Joseph kept his distance for about long enough to read what it said on the tombstone.

Peter Francis Anderson
1936 – 1952
Beloved son

Joseph covered his mouth with his palm as he choked back a sob. The figure next to the grave must have noticed him, though. They looked up at him and Joseph was met with none other than Lucy Anderson; Peter’s mother.

Her tearstained face darkened when she saw him.

“You...” she spat out. It was nothing like the warm, loving tone she had regarded him with the last time he had spoken to her.

“M-Mrs Anderson. I’m so–”

“Don’t you dare show your face here, saying that you’re sorry! It’s because of you that my son is dead!” Peter’s mother yelled at him, furiously pointing at his tombstone.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Joseph exclaimed in an attempt to make the woman listen to him.

“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t corrupted him! Now my child is dead, and my husband is gone! Nobody even came to his funeral because everyone thinks he’s a homoual! You have ruined my family! I never want to see your disgraceful face here ever again; you spawn of Satan!” Mrs Anderson shouted.

Joseph backed away when the woman scrambled to her feet and rushed towards him, furiously hitting on his arms and chest. He wanted to make her listen, but she was shouting and crying for him to go away and to never come back.

He had no other choice than to flee, even if it broke his heart all over again.

~

Seoul, South Korea, 2018

Hyunjin startled awake. He sat up and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. He had never had this dream before. It was like the story had continued for him like a TV series. He felt awful for Joseph. He had lost Peter; his family had locked him up in a mental institution.

Everyone had hated him solely for falling in love.

Hyunjin’s phone buzzed, ripping him from his thoughts. He picked up the device from his nightstand and checked it.

He had received a message from Jisung. Since it was Saturday and there was no school, the younger was asking him if he had time to hang out. Hyunjin replied to him, telling him that he’d love to hang out and they agreed to meet at his place in half an hour.

Hyunjin couldn’t forget about his dream, as he washed up and got ready to meet up with Jisung. The pure hatred in Mrs Anderson’s voice when she had seen Joseph.

It freaked him out, how real the dream had felt. It was like he had been the one enduring the desperate hits to his chest and arms.

He felt himself tear up again when he remembered Peter’s tombstone.

His mother had told him that nobody had even wanted to come to his funeral. His mind flashed back to the scene he’d seen so many times; of Peter dying in Joseph’s arms, telling him that he loved him. He could practically feel the boy’s warm blood on his hands, could hear the rattle of his dying breath in his ears.

Hyunjin felt like getting sick at the detail.

The doorbell rang, signaling Jisung’s arrival. He took a shaky breath and wiped his face before opening the door for his friend. He smiled, though it must have looked more like a grimace, judging by how alarmed Jisung looked. He slipped off his shoes before coming inside and grabbing Hyunjin by the arms.

“Oh my god, are you okay? You look like absolute ,” the younger exclaimed.

Hyunjin let out a forced chuckle. “It’s good to see you, too,” he joked. His voice sounded kind of raspy and a little choked up, which made him cringe.

How could a mere dream make him like this?

It wasn’t just a dream, that’s why...

It had to be real. There was no way a dream was this realistic. Besides, Hyunjin’s gut told him that all of this, him rescuing Jisung the day after he had first dreamt about Peter, would just be too big of a coincidence to not be real. He, no, Joseph, had made a promise to find him in their next life.

What if this was it?

“Hyunjin, come on... something’s clearly wrong,” Jisung demanded as they made their way to the kitchen to get snacks. Hyunjin waved off, opening the fridge to get some coke, as he pointed Jisung in the direction of the chips standing on the shelf. They headed to Hyunjin’s room after they got everything they needed.

“You know I’m not going to drop this subject, right?” Jisung said once they’d gotten comfortable on the older’s bed and the PS4. Hyunjin sighed.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you...” he mumbled.

“Try me,” Jisung replied.

Hyunjin started shaking again, hands clutching his controller tightly.

“H-have you ever been to Atlanta before?” he asked carefully, not daring to look at Jisung. He didn’t know where he was going to go with this, and he was almost 100% certain that Jisung would think he was making stuff up after this.

“No, the only place I’ve ever been to outside of Korea is Malaysia... what’s that got to do with anything?” the younger questioned, obviously confused.

Hyunjin hesitated, but finally looked at Jisung. His resemblance to Peter was still just as scary as it had been after the very first time he’d dreamt about him.

“Remember when I told you that I met you in a dream before?” Hyunjin blurted out.

Jisung chuckled. “Yeah... quite the pick-up line,” he commented.

“That’s the thing... it wasn’t a pick-up line. The night before I met you, I had a dream about you – about us,” the older insisted.

Jisung looked at him, confusion growing on his face by the second. He was clearly weirded out, just as Hyunjin had feared.

“Um...is this some sort of confession?” he questioned, a small blush spreading on his cheeks.

Hyunjin felt his own cheeks heat up at that because maybe the thought that Jisung was extremely cute had crossed his mind more than once. On top of that, their past selves had been in love – which, however, had ultimately been the reason for Peter’s early demise.

“I-I mean... th-that’s not what I was getting at,” Hyunjin stammered.

He had to focus. He had already started, so he might as well try to get Jisung to understand what exactly he was talking about.

“Listen, this might sound extremely weird and you might deem me crazy after this,” he started over, “but I think we’ve met before in our past lives. My name was Joseph and yours was Peter and I had just moved to Atlanta where we lived next door from each other and–”

Jisung got up from Hyunjin’s bed, causing him to stop talking. The younger whirled around to face him, now properly freaked out.

“Okay, I don’t know what exactly you’re talking about, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve never met you before I moved here and that I’ve never been to Atlanta in my whole life!”

Hyunjin grew more desperate, also climbing out of bed. He needed Jisung to understand. He couldn’t let the younger walk out of here, believing that Hyunjin was just making things up.

“Look, I don’t know why I remember all of it, but it felt too real to be an actual dream!” he insisted.

Jisung ran a hand through his hair. “But reincarnation doesn’t exist!” he argued.

Hyunjin took a step closer to the younger, trying to calm his racing heart. Frantically trying to explain the situation wasn’t going to make him look very sane.

“You told me to find you in our next life... and I feel like this is it...”

Jisung raised his eyebrow and sighed. “Okay, let me play along... why would I have said that?”

Hyunjin hesitated. Jisung was already freaking out. The next part probably wasn’t going to be any better. He could still pull the plug and say that this was a prank; properly confess to Jisung and forget about all of this.

However, he felt like if he didn’t tell him he was going to implode. This was their story, as absurd as it sounded. Jisung deserved to know.

Therefore, Hyunjin had to tell him everything.

“Because... we were in love and you died protecting me,” he croaked out, the images coming back to his mind as he spoke. “I-I held you in my arms as you died...”

Jisung’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “Hyunjin... you’re scaring me. This really isn’t funny...” he said, voice small.

Hyunjin deflated. He sank down to the floor, leaning against the side of his bed, burying his face in his hands. It was silent for a while, but Jisung hadn’t left yet. Hyunjin felt the younger’s presence, as he crouched down in front of him, resting his hands on Hyunjin’s knees, which he’d brought up to his chest.

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” he finally asked; his voice sounded careful and quiet, like he wasn’t quite sure if he should believe it or not.

Hyunjin looked up at him. “Would I risk you walking out on me if I wasn’t? It’s not like this isn’t confusing for me as well...” Jisung seemed to acknowledge that.

“Okay, then... how about we ask Minho? Isn’t he, like, psychic?” he questioned.

Hyunjin furrowed his brows in confusion.

“You believe that?”

Jisung actually laughed at his words. It was a beautiful sound, one that Hyunjin would never get tired of hearing. “You believe that I’m the dead love of your life, but not that your friend is psychic?” the younger teased.

Hyunjin’s chest immediately felt a hundred times lighter. If Jisung was joking about this whole thing, then maybe he didn’t think that Hyunjin was making it up...

~

One thing Hyunjin never wanted to experience was Minho opening the door to his tiny apartment in nothing but a knee-length morning robe, but here they were.

The senior lived on his own ever since he got emancipated from his parents at age 17. They hadn’t been too fond of their son being gay and apparently psychic, so Minho had decided that it was best for them to part ways.

Minho held a mug in his hands as he curiously eyed the two other boys on his doorstep. “What brings you two here this early in the morning?” he asked, leaning against his doorframe. Hyunjin gave him a look.

“Minho, it’s 2pm...” he pointed out.

The older grinned. “Oops, must have lost track of time. Come on in, Channie will make you some tea,” he told them as he stepped aside to let them in.

Chan was indeed in the kitchen, wearing only sweatpants. His hair was messy and – Hyunjin tried not to look – his pale skin was practically littered with hickeys.

“Alright... this is kind of awkward...” Jisung muttered under his breath. Minho remained unbothered, while Chan at least had the decency to look a little flustered. He offered them some tea before scrambling off to put on a shirt.

“So, why are you here?” Minho questioned again.

“You’re probably not going to believe this...” Hyunjin began.

“Wait! No offense... but could you get dressed first. I feel weird talking about this when you’re not wearing anything underneath that robe,” Jisung interjected. The older smirked, but followed Chan to put on clothes nonetheless.

“When did that happen?” Jisung asked Hyunjin in a quiet tone, referring to the weird situation they had basically just walked in on.

The older shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. But it’s about damn time...” he said.

~

“So, you two think you’re from another life?” Minho asked a good 15 minutes later when he and Chan were finally dressed in shirts and sweatpants. They sat at the kitchen table, each with a mug of tea standing in front of them, as Hyunjin told his friend about his weird dreams, though, without getting into too much detail.

“No... we... or rather I think that we’ve met before in a past life,” Hyunjin explained.

“Tell me more,” Minho said, obviously interested. “When did this start?” he questioned.

Hyunjin gave Jisung a short side-glance. “The night before I met Jisung. I prevented him from getting run over by a car and when I looked at him, he just reminded me of him so much...” Hyunjin trailed off.

“Of whom?” Minho questioned.

“Of Peter... the guy from my dream. The one who was killed...” Hyunjin said.

Minho hummed in thought before addressing Jisung. “And you don’t remember any of this? You haven’t been having any dreams?” he questioned. The youngest shook his head.

“I was just surprised that Hyunjin called me Peter the first time we met, because that is my English name. And... I mean, I thought there was something familiar about him. But I thought it was more like a celebrity...” Jisung explained.

Hyunjin tried not to blush at that. He didn’t really think Jisung would compare him to any kind of celebrity.

Minho looked thoughtful. “If what Hyunjin says is really true... that would explain that strong connection I felt between you two that day...” he trailed off.

“But how come I don’t remember any of this?”

“I’m not sure... but maybe I have a way for you to remember!” Minho told Jisung.

Jisung frowned. “I’m not sure I want to know what exactly that way is...” he stated. Minho gave him a look.

“I could try to look deeper into your subconscious to see if there are any repressed memories about a past life...”

Jisung’s eyes widened. “L-like... hypnosis?” he questioned. Minho nodded.

“Pretty much.”

Jisung looked at Hyunjin. The older already expected him to say no to this. After all, this could be just Hyunjin’s imagination and he did not have to be here or believe any of this.

“Fine. Let’s do this,” Jisung said, fixing his gaze back on Minho with a determined look on his face.

~

“Um... have you ever done this before?” Jisung asked once they had moved things to the couch. Minho waved off, putting another pillow under Jisung’s head.

“Don’t worry. I do it all the time. Hyunjin, sweetie, could you move aside a little...” he said absent-mindedly. Hyunjin, who had been sitting on the armrest of the couch moved over to the windowsill, clearly worried about the whole procedure.  

“Now, you’re not going to be in a deep state of trance. You’ll still be aware of the sounds that are happening around you. It’s important that you know that no matter what you might see, you’re safe here. Nothing will happen to you,” Minho assured Jisung.

The younger seemed a little nervous, but nodded nonetheless.

“Are you sure, you want to do this? You don’t have to,” Hyunjin spoke up.

Jisung looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Okay, Jisung... I need you to relax and focus on my voice...”

~

Atlanta, Georgia, 1952

Peter had never experienced love, the way it was shown in the movies.

He had never even considered any girl that had made a move on him – not that there were many who had.

However, there was something more concerning than not wanting to take any girls out. He found himself looking after other boys his age, asking himself what it would be like to go out with them instead.

They were weird thoughts. His father would probably beat him into a pulp if he ever found out about it.

Harold Anderson despised homouals, said they were evil and possessed by the devil. He called them disgusting and unnatural and all sorts of other things that made Peter want to curl up into a ball and cry. He didn’t want his father to look at him with the same kind of hatred in his eyes he got every time he talked about how he’d love to shoot every single homoual in the face.

It was horrific and it scared Peter.

When Joseph Washington and his family moved in next door, Peter didn’t realize his feelings for the older boy right away, thinking he was just fascinated with the slightly older boy. But it had never felt quite like this before with any of the other boys he’d looked at before.

Joseph was such a gentle and loving person and Peter just couldn’t help but fall for him.

He knew it was wrong... he knew he would lose everyone he cared about, including Joseph, if he ever acted upon his feelings, but he couldn’t convince his heart to start loving girls. And if he was quite honest, he didn’t genuinely want to either. He had no friends here, so he loved every waking moment that he got to spend with Joseph, even if they could never be more than just friends...

~

Peter didn’t know how he got the courage to tell Joseph about his interest in boys, but he just couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. He just needed to tell someone, and he could only trust Joseph with something as big as this.

And as it turned out, Peter’s fears of losing Joseph had been completely in vain.

“I’m the same...” Joseph had said before taking Peter’s hand and making his skin tingle.

When they kissed for the first time, Peter felt things he had never felt before. His heart was racing fast, and his stomach felt like it was swooping.

By the time they kissed again, he figured out what the feeling was.

Peter Anderson was hopelessly in love.

With another man.

~

“Peter what are you doing, you’re going to get us caught,” Joseph whispered, though unable to hold back a giggle, as Peter pinned him to the bed and kissed him. He knew that the Washingtons could walk in at any given minute and catch him on top of their son, but he just couldn’t hold back any longer. Not when Joseph’s lips looked so inviting.

“Calm down, your parents are downstairs...” Peter mumbled absent-mindedly before connecting their lips again. He let go of Joseph’s wrists, instead caging the older between himself and the bed, as Joseph’s large hands found their way to his hips.

“We’ll get in so much trouble...” Joseph murmured against his lips.

Peter didn’t listen and just deepened their kiss, relishing in the way Joseph gave in to it, dropping his protests and instead, briefly slipping his hands underneath Peter’s untucked shirt. He loved being with Joseph like this. His feelings were no longer confusing, nor did he feel guilty about having them.

The younger pulled away and sat up properly, running a hand through Joseph’s already messed up hair. He took in his lover’s rosy cheeks and luscious lips, loving how slightly out of breath Joseph was. Peter could look at Joseph for eternity and never get tired of it.

“I love you,” he blurted out. Neither of them had said it before, since this was clearly an unusual relationship.

But Peter couldn’t deny how he felt.

Joseph looked surprised for a second, sitting up with the younger still straddling his hips. Eventually, his features softened, and he reached out to caress Peter’s cheek.

“I love you too, Peter,” he finally said.

Peter’s lit up with happiness, as he flung his arms around Joseph’s neck and pulled him into a hug. His feelings were not one-sided. He loved Joseph and Joseph loved him.

“Let’s meet up tonight at the shed...” Peter suggested. They hadn’t been able to sneak out for a week now and he missed being with Joseph without the fear of getting caught.  

“Alright,” Joseph agreed, pulling back and cupping Peter’s round cheeks. “I love you,” he said again, bringing the younger’s face closer to kiss him again.

Peter’s heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest.

~

Unlike in the movies, Joseph and Peter didn’t quite get their happy end as they would find out that very same night.

Peter had sneaked past his parents’ bedroom where they were both fast asleep, outside and to the garden shed where Joseph already waited for him. The older immediately swooped him up in his arms like they hadn’t seen each other in days. He loved the feeling of Joseph’s arms around him because he just fit there so perfectly.

Joseph kissed him passionately. It was the only time he lay down his carefulness and just followed his heart. Peter loved these moments the most.

“You’ve gotten really good at this,” he teased. Joseph grinned at him and just stared at him for few seconds with so much love in his eyes, that Peter felt like he was going to combust.

“I love you, Peter...” he muttered. Peter chuckled against his lips and s his arms around his neck.

“I love you, too, Joseph,” the younger said, kissing his lover again.

They got so lost in each other that they didn’t pay attention. The sound of the chair falling over was excruciatingly loud, startling the two young lovers.

“What if anyone heard us?” Joseph asked, sounding alarmed.

Peter gave the older a reassuring smile. “My parents are asleep, don’t worry...” he said, snaking his arms around Joseph’s neck again.

He could tell that Joseph wanted to argue, being his usual careful self, but Peter brought their lips together once more. If they went back to bed now, who knew when they were able to meet up like this again. Joseph’s parents were much more attentive than Peter’s, which was why the older didn’t dare to sneak out so often.

Peter brought their bodies closer together, his fingers playing with the hair at the nape of Joseph’s neck as their lips moved against each other so perfectly. They had gotten so much more experienced over the past few weeks, like they had been doing this for years.

Suddenly, the door to the garden shed flew open and the two boys jumped apart, whirling around to find Peter’s father standing there.

Peter gasped when he saw the shotgun, which his father usually kept in his study, in his hands, eyes widening in horror when he realized that it was pointed directly at Joseph.

“You! What are you doing in here with my son?!”

Peter wanted to stand in front of Joseph, tell his father to leave him alone, but he was still frozen in shock of getting caught. He should have listened to his lover. He shouldn’t have been so careless.

“W-we were j-just...” Joseph stammered.

There was a murderous glint in his father’s eyes, the same he got when he ranted about homouals.

“Father, please... this isn’t what it looks like!” he tried to explain himself. His biggest fear had come true when his father’s eyes met his for a brief second, hatred glistening in them.

“It looked like you two were acting like homouals! I never should have let you near my son. Peter, wait outside!”

Peter knew that if he left, his father would kill Joseph. He had never directly disobeyed him before, so he began to shake in fear when he silently decided to stay right where he was.

“Peter!” his father emphasized angrily.

“No, father! I won’t let you hurt him! I love him!”

He reached for Joseph’s hand to prove his point and to gather strength. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that his father would accept that his son was just in love. All he wanted was to be with Joseph. Mr Anderson lowered the gun and for a brief second Peter thought that maybe he’d come to his senses, but then he pointed an accusing finger at Joseph.

“You have corrupted my son with devilish thoughts! I’ll send you right to hell where you belong!”

Peter reacted fast, pushing Joseph out of the way when his father aimed the gun before firing it. The pain didn’t kick in until a few seconds later. He couldn’t see or hear anything for a few moments, all he felt was pain.

“No, Peter!” a frantic cry slowly brought him back. Joseph came into vision, looking panicked. “Peter, what did you do?” he cried and the younger wanted nothing more than to wipe the tears off his lover’s face. “I-I’m sorry, Joseph. I had to... protect you. I c-couldn’t let him hurt you. I love you...”

It was becoming hard to breathe, but he couldn’t help but be relieved. Joseph was still alive, and his father didn’t seem to be here anymore.

“You can’t leave me, Peter! Please...” Joseph pleaded.

Peter smiled, hoping that it was somewhat reassuring. “My dear Joseph... y-you should run now... before he comes back.” He took Joseph’s hand; he knew he was nearing the end. He wanted to tell Joseph that everything was going to be alright and that he loved him so much.

Instead, as he felt the life seep out of him, he told his lover one last thing:

“Promise to find me in our next life...”

He didn’t know if Joseph ever answered. His senses left him, one by one and then everything faded away...

~

Jisung opened his eyes, shooting upwards in a sitting position and clutching his stomach, like the gunshot wound was still there.

“Is he okay?” he heard Hyunjin ask Minho.

“Jisung, are you with me?” the older questioned carefully. Jisung’s eyes landed on Minho who was crouching next to the couch.

“What happened?” he questioned frantically.

“You were squirming around, so I got you out of your trance...” The older looked worried.

Hyunjin appeared next to Minho, looking equally as worried. “Are you alright?” Hyunjin asked, taking one of Jisung’s hands.

“I-I saw everything... how we met up at that... at that garden shed and then my... Peter’s father came in and tried to kill you...” the younger stammered. “I-I couldn’t let him hurt you, so I pushed you aside...”

He was shaking, and he noticed tears running down his face.

Hyunjin just hugged him, his hair comfortingly. “It’s alright... I’m okay and so are you,” he reassured the younger. Jisung clutched his hands into Hyunjin’s shirt. “It messed me up too when I dreamt about it...” he continued.

Jisung pulled back and looked at him. “I’m sorry...” Hyunjin furrowed his brows, clearly confused.

“Why are you sorry, love, you didn’t do anything...”

Jisung was too shaken up to be flustered about the pet name. “I’m sorry for not believing you.” Hyunjin ran a comforting hand through Jisung’s hair and smiled at him.

“It’s okay. It did sound pretty weird...”

“So, you and Jisung really did meet in a past life before?” Chan, who had been silent all this time asked in disbelief.

“Seems like it,” Hyunjin confirmed. Minho had since gotten up and now stood next to Chan.

“You also found each other again,” he stated. Jisung blushed and looked down at his lap.

“True love always finds a way, I guess,” the second-oldest joked, causing both Hyunjin and Jisung to snap their heads in his direction.

“Excuse me, what now?!” Hyunjin exclaimed, he too had rosy cheeks.

Minho regarded them with a sly grin. “What else would this be?”

Chan chuckled. “Leave them be,” he scolded Minho, though it sounded soft with no actual bite in his voice.

Hyunjin looked at Jisung again. “I think we should maybe... talk about this... in private...” he suggested. The younger nodded and let Hyunjin help him to his feet, as he was still a little shaky.

“Thanks for your help, Minho,” Hyunjin said.

The older waved off. “Any time,” he replied, before shifting his attention back to Chan. “Now, if I recall correctly, you promised me something,” he mumbled, snaking his arms around the older’s waist.

“Okay, that’s our cue to leave, goodbye!” Hyunjin said, alarmed, and practically fled the apartment with Jisung before things got even weirder.

~

The two of them decided to go to a nearby café for Jisung to calm down a little. Hyunjin tried not to let it slip how excited he was that he’d been holding the younger’s hand the entire way. He only let go when they sat down across from each other, waiting for their orders.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jisung chuckled and looked at Hyunjin fondly. “This is the seventh time you’ve asked me this since we’ve left Minho’s place. I’m okay, Hyunjin, really...” he reassured the older. Hyunjin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Just making sure...” he trailed off.

“I just can’t believe this is all real...” Jisung said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, in which they had received their orders. “How come you’re the one who got the dreams?”

Hyunjin shrugged. “Maybe it’s because Peter was the one who died... and told Joseph to find him...” he felt his cheeks heat up again. He hadn’t even properly confessed to Jisung yet, so talking about their past-life-romance was kind of weird.

“So that day when you saved me from getting run over... do you think that was... fate?” Jisung questioned carefully. Hyunjin reached for his hand again, silently thankful that he had finally stopped shaking.

“I don’t know what it was... but I’m glad I found you,” he admitted in a moment of bravery.

Now, it was Jisung’s turn to blush, as he stared at their hands. “Are you sure that’s not Joseph talking?” he mumbled.

“Look at me...” Hyunjin said softly. Jisung kept staring at their hands for a few more seconds, but ultimately lifted his head to look back at Hyunjin, who gave him a determined look.

“I like you. You, Han Jisung. And if you need proof, I can take you out on a date,” Hyunjin told him.

Jisung laughed quietly. “Is that your smooth way of asking me out?” he questioned, a grin spreading on his face. Hyunjin’s heart picked up the pace.

“Is it working?” he asked, trying to keep his cool, even though he figured that Jisung could probably see right through him, thanks to the blush on his face.

Jisung squeezed his hand a little. “It’s working...” he replied. “I like you, too, Hyunjin...”

Hyunjin had to resist the urge to kiss Jisung right then and there, but they were in public and the manager of this café was pretty strict about PDA. Besides, he had yet to take Jisung out on that date. They finished their drinks while talking about random things that had nothing to do with past lives.

“Should I take you home?” Hyunjin questioned once he’d realized how late it had already gotten. Jisung checked his phone for the time before nodding.

“I think that would be best...” he said. Outside, the younger sneakily slipped his hand in Hyunjin’s again as they walked back to his place.

The sun was starting to set, and it was getting a little chilly, but that didn’t stop them from casually walking and chatting away. They came by a playground very close to Jisung’s place and the younger suggested crossing it, as a shortcut, so Hyunjin followed him.

There were two figures, one of them was sitting on the swings while the other crouched in front of him. They two guys looked kind of familiar to Hyunjin and they seemed like a couple. The one on the swings wrapped his arms around the other one’s neck and kissed him.

Hyunjin didn’t mean to stare, but as they passed them, he just couldn’t help but think that those two looked an awful lot like–

The one on the swings shrieked as the other one playfully pinched his side. “Seungmin!” he scolded him.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. That was obviously Felix! They seemed to have caught Jisung’s attention as well. The two of them walked over to them. Felix noticed them first and nudged Seungmin who then turned around, eyes meeting Hyunjin’s.

“Oh... uh... hey guys,” Seungmin stammered. “What are you two doing here?” Hyunjin grinned.

“I could be asking you two the same thing,” he said. Felix got up from the swings, looking slightly panicked.

“Look, we wanted to tell you, but...” he trailed off, looking at the youngest for help.

“Guys, it’s okay... I’m not mad,” Hyunjin said, slightly amused at his friends’ behavior. It came as a surprise to him, of course, but he loved them and as long as they were happy, he wouldn’t stand in their way.

“You’re not mad?” Seungmin asked in disbelief.

Hyunjin just shrugged. “Why would I be?”

“I-I don’t know... I mean we just figured, since we’re your best friends...” the younger trailed off.

“Can we maybe talk somewhere else, I’m cold...” Felix complained.

“We were just heading to my place. You guys can come along if you want,” Jisung spoke up for the first time. Seungmin’s eyes fell onto their intertwined hands.

“I guess you also haven’t told us everything,” he commented, a grin spreading out on his face.

~

Jisung made all four of them hot chocolate while the got comfortable on his spacious living room couch. Now that the cat was out of the bag, Seungmin and Felix were extremely affectionate with each other. Felix was laying between the younger’s legs, with Seungmin’s arms wrapped around him. It was cute, really and Jisung found himself getting a little envious.

But maybe, if things with him and Hyunjin worked out...

He blushed at the thought. Today’s events had been weird, for sure, but Hyunjin had also asked him out, so weird wasn’t necessarily bad.

“So, how long have you two been secretly dating?” Hyunjin finally asked, gratefully taking his mug from Jisung.

“A few months?” Felix admitted sheepishly. Jisung smirked.

“Is that why you always run off during lunch break?” he asked them. He’d always found it a little odd that Seungmin and Felix never had lunch with them at school, but now it made sense all of a sudden, especially when the two younger boys blushed furiously.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Did you really think I was going to get mad at you?” Hyunjin questioned. Seungmin looked at him.

“We didn’t want you to feel left out. We’re your best friends, so we thought that maybe you’d find it weird if we suddenly started dating, and we just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable or lonely,” he explained.

“But it seems like you finally grew a pair and confessed to Jisung, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Felix added cheekily.

Jisung blushed and took a sip from his hot chocolate to hide his face. Hyunjin chuckled fondly.

“I guess not,” he muttered.

Jisung finally put his mug back down and met Hyunjin’s eyes.

In a way he resembled Joseph, even though they didn’t necessarily look alike. But like Joseph, Hyunjin was gentle and kind.

Jisung really, really liked him and he hoped that they’d find a less tragic ending that Peter and Joseph did.

“Look at them making heart eyes at each other and I thought we were gross...” Seungmin teased them, effectively ripping the two others out of their trance. Jisung threw a pillow at him, but it ended up hitting Felix in the face. Of course, the other boy couldn’t let him get away with that and before the four of them knew it there was a full-on pillow fight going on.

~

They ended up staying the night because it was too late for them to get home and tomorrow was Sunday anyway. Seungmin and Felix stayed on the expandable couch for the night while Jisung and Hyunjin headed to the younger’s room.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to sleep on the couch as well? I’m a gentleman, after all,” Hyunjin joked. Jisung grinned.

“Sure, if you want to third-wheel Seungmin and Felix,” he pointed out. That seemed to be enough for Hyunjin to give in.

“Good point...” Jisung laughed and began to rummage through his closet for something to change into for the night.

Hyunjin just watched him, generally fascinated by the younger’s every move. He smiled fondly when Jisung made a noise of triumph before holding up a shirt and some pajama pants, facing him again.

“Here you go!” he said, handing the clothes to Hyunjin. The older noticed how close the two of them stood together. He’d just have to lean down...

“You... can change in the bathroom, if you want...” Jisung trailed off. Hyunjin leaned in closer.

“I’d really like to kiss you...” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jisung’s breath hitched in surprise. “O-okay...” he practically squeaked. Hyunjin gently pressed his lips onto Jisung’s, the kiss chaste and feathery, kind of to test the waters.

It was Jisung who took things further, snaking his arms around Hyunjin’s neck, causing the latter to drop the clothes he held in his hands in surprise, as the younger brought them closer together, deepening their kiss. Hyunjin’s hands came to rest on the small of Jisung’s back, pulling him just a little bit closer.

He’d been wanting to do this for a long time, and now that he finally got to, it was a million times better than he’d imagined. Jisung’s lips moved against his in such practiced ease, that Hyunjin almost got a little jealous of whoever had made him this good. They moved a few steps backwards, never parting from one another until Jisung’s back softly hit his closet with a light thump.

They pulled apart, cheeks rosy and slightly out of breath. Jisung looked up at him. They were still only inches apart from one another. Just as the younger was going to lean closer and reconnect their lips, a knock on the door caused them to jump apart.

Hyunjin quickly snatched the pajama pants from the floor as Seungmin poked his head in.

“You guys decent?” he asked teasingly. Hyunjin fake-glared at him. “Felix just wanted to know if you could spare him an extra pillow. He’s a bit of a princess when it comes to stuff like that,” Seungmin questioned.

Jisung, who had still been leaning against his closet quickly shuffled over to his bed and snatched one of his pillows, tossing it over to Seungmin.

“Thanks. Then I’ll leave you two alone,” the younger said with a wink before exiting Jisung’s room.

Hyunjin gave Jisung a sheepish look. “I should... change...,” he stated.

“Yeah... um... the bathroom’s down the hall, last door on the right...” Hyunjin nodded and went to change, his cheeks still feeling warm.

~

Jisung had already settled in his bed when Hyunjin came back. He somewhat awkwardly joined the younger, making him chuckle as he turned off the lights. He still couldn’t believe that Hyunjin had kissed him earlier; his lips still felt tingly. And on top of that, Jisung already felt deprived.

“Hyunjin...” he muttered after a good 10 minutes of silence.

“Hm?” Hyunjin replied. Jisung rolled onto his side to face him.

“Can you kiss me again?” he asked, unsure of where the confidence came from all of a sudden. Maybe it was the dark. Hyunjin rolled onto his side as well, and in the slight glint of the moonlight, Jisung could see that he was grinning.

“Gladly...”

~

Needless to say, their date went amazing and it was only the first of so many more to come. Felix often accused the two of them of trying to “out-couple” him and Seungmin with “how sickeningly sweet” they were with each other all the time. And maybe he was right. Hyunjin was the sweetest boyfriend anyone could wish for.

The older’s parents really did start seeing each other again, and even though Hyunjin had had a bad feeling about it in the beginning, it seemed to go better for them than the first time.

Jisung’s relationship with his mother remained the same, but he was used to it, so that was okay with him and he had Hyunjin now to spend his lonely afternoons with.

“Do you think they would’ve been happy?” Jisung asked a few months into their relationship.

It had gotten really cold outside, snow was falling in masses, so Hyunjin and Jisung had taken to staying inside over the weekend, cuddled up together in fluffy blankets, clutching mugs of hot chocolate in their hands.

“Yeah, I think so... they already were pretty happy to begin with. I’m sure that things would have been fine if they’d had a chance...” Hyunjin told him without hesitation. They didn’t talk about their past-life-selves very often, ever since Hyunjin’s dreams had stopped, but Jisung couldn’t help but think about them from time to time.

“You know, I’d do what Peter did if it ever came to that, right?” Jisung suddenly said, sitting up properly and facing his boyfriend completely.

Hyunjin reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. “It won’t ever come to that...” he assured the younger.

The fact that they were both out to their parents and none of them owned a shotgun helped Jisung believe him. The situation definitely wouldn’t repeat itself. Still, Jisung would take a bullet for Hyunjin anytime.

“Now, cuddle me again, it’s cold...” the older whined, a cute pout displayed on his face. Jisung chuckled, but complied nonetheless, snuggling up to the older, pressing a smooch onto his cheek.

“I love you...” Jisung mumbled once he’d gotten into a comfortable position, which included using Hyunjin as a human pillow. He felt the older’s large hand run through his hair, the way Hyunjin knew Jisung loved.

“I love you, too,” Hyunjin answered just as quietly.

 

THE END