“Hey Chenle, come and help me set up these decorations please!” yelled Jisung.

Chenle walked over to where Jisung stood by the decoration display that was carefully arranged onto the black and gold table. A framed couple picture of WinWin and Yuta was surrounded by rainbow-colored confetti, goodie bags, and every dessert imaginable- cupcakes, cookies, brownies, chocolate bars, muffins, donuts, pies, Lemon bars, marshmallows, Éclairs, and much more. They had ordered all of the desserts and food except for the main birthday cake, which Taeyong had spent hours perfecting. Shimmery gold stars and shiny red hearts hung from the ceiling and dangled and spun on their glossy threads. Chenle fancied how the stars twirled and felt tempted to reach up and grab one, but he knew Jisung would scold him if he did so. Even though Jisung was the youngest, he acted like Chenle’s grandpa sometimes, especially whenever Chenle accidentally broke something like he was often prone to doing.

The two of them filled up colorful balloons with air and then chased each other around the living room, trying to smack one another with the balloons, until Renjun demanded that they stop goofing around and to hurry up and finish the rest of the decorations with him, Jeno, and Jaemin. Soon enough everything was ready- the other members had helped in various things like deciding the food menu, ordering everything, and buying the decorations. Jeno checked out the food menu- the hyungs had ordered an insane amount consisting of pizza, pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, rice, chicken wings, kebabs, burgers, French fries, Caviar, truffles, and much more, all of high-end, gourmet quality. Taeil had really gone all out on buying the best wines and the classiest bottles of champagne, too. He just wanted to see their mafia enjoying themselves and partying hard before things got really rough with Seventeen and BlackPink. He also wanted Hyunjin and Felix to see how NCT celebrated; of course, it would be totally new to them, all of this wealth and luxury. He smiled. Surely, the mafia would be victorious in this war, right? Seventeen and BlackPink couldn’t tear them apart so easily. They were a family, and Taeil was prepared to go to the ends of the earth if it meant protecting his brothers.

 

 

They dimmed the lights inside the living room, only the candles illuminating their reflections as the shadows of their flames danced on the walls. Taeyong brought out the birthday cake; it was a massive, stacked tiered vanilla cake topped with cherries and baby pink frosting. An edible photo of WinWin and Yuta during one of their trips to Osaka had been carefully placed on the top tier and surrounded by icing flowers.

“Happy birthday to you,” Taeil led the rest of the mafia in singing the happy birthday song. “Happy birthday, dear Yuta and WinWin...”

Taeyong set the cake down in front of the couple with a proud smile. “I hope you like it.”

“We...we love it!” squealed Yuta, clasping his hands together in excitement.

“Thank you so much for baking this cake for us,” WinWin said, beaming up at Taeyong. “You’re the best.”

“It was my pleasure. Now, make a wish and blow out the candles!”

Yuta and WinWin both closed their eyes and made their wishes, then blew out the candles, letting the hazy curls of smoke waft throughout the air in front of them. The other guys cheered and clapped for them, and everyone was crowding around the table to take group pictures and videos as they smeared bits of frosting and cake onto the birthday boys’ faces. Later Taeil and Taeyong made a toast, and everyone raised their wine glasses and clinked them together, and Taeyong even let Chenle and Jisung try a few sips of champagne. They wrinkled their noses and swore never to try it again, causing their hyungs to burst out in laughter.

Sometime during the party, when most of the guys were drunkenly dancing out on the dance floor that Renjun and Jeno had set up, with the colorfully glowing disco ball and pink and blue streamers, Jaemin wandered over to where Hyunjin was sitting by himself and handed him a glass of punch.

“Here, drink up,” teased Jaemin.

Hyunjin couldn’t take his eyes off Jaemin- he looked so good in his ripped blue skinny jeans, pale pink sweatshirt, silver chain necklace, and silver dangling earrings. His golden brown hair was silky and styled neatly to frame his handsome face. Hyunjin had been spending pretty much his entire time with Jaemin and Jeno since their first conservation, and even though their friendship was still very new, the Stray Kids boy knew he was already falling head over heels for both of them. Hyunjin blushed. “Thank you, Nana.”

“Where’s Felix?” Jaemin asked as he sat down on the sofa beside Hyunjin.

“Oh, he ran off with Haechan, Mark, and Renjun,” laughed Hyunjin as he gulped down his drink. “Haechan’s upset that his girlfriend didn’t answer any of his calls or check his texts. Apparently he had invited her to the party but she never showed up, so…Anyways, your mafia is actually pretty cool. Felix and I are still amazed at all of the wealth and luxury.” He grinned. “You’re really lucky to have friends like them.”

“And what about me?” He leaned in closer to Hyunjin. “Am I your friend?”

“Y-yes.” Hyunjin was positive that his face had turned tomato red.

“Just a friend?” Jaemin raised his eyebrows. “Let me tell you something, Hyunjin, because I want there to be complete honesty between us. I…like you. I think of you as more than just a friend.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “W-what? But what about Jeno-”

“Jeno feels the same way I do.”

His swift reply shocked Hyunjin to his core. How could they both like him when the two of them were dating? He didn’t even know what to say. “Uh…but…why?”

“Because you’re amazing,” Jaemin whispered. His face was so close to Hyunjin’s that he could see each little detail in his porcelain beauty and every single speck within his sky-blue eyes. “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes upon.”

“I like you, too,” Hyunjin confessed, his heart beating a million miles per minute and his chest feeling like it would burst any second now. “Both of you. I know this is all so sudden and fast, but-”

“I’m jealous,” said a voice from behind them. Their heads both whipped up to see Jeno standing there by the sofa, a confident sparkle in his green eyes. “When will it be my turn to confess first?” He swiftly came over to Hyunjin, cupped his face in his warm, strong hands, and kissed him. When Jeno pulled away, Hyunjin gazed at him wordlessly before kissing him back and putting his arms around him. They both turned to Jaemin and hugged him too, and Jaemin kissed Hyunjin’s cheek before pressing a sweet kiss upon his mouth.

“You have the prettiest lips ever,” breathed Jaemin, running his thumb over Hyunjin’s full red lips.

Hyunjin leaned his forehead against Jaemin’s and ran his fingers through Jeno’s jet-black hair, making him grin proudly. “I think even the Roman gods could not have been a match for the beauty you possess,” Jeno remarked.

“You two are no less.” Hyunjin smiled shyly, his eyes shiny with tears. “That was my first kiss.”

“Really?” gasped Jaemin.

“Aww, we’re your first kiss. How cute,” Jeno giggled.

Jaemin smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We can take things as slow as you want, and we will always take good care of your heart.”

Hyunjin blushed even more. “Thank you.” He shut his eyes, bliss taking him over. “Let’s stay like this.”

The three of them had fallen for one another fast and hard, an instant connection that had clicked right away, and their chemistry was undeniable, Hyunjin understood that now. He wished for this feeling of bliss to never fade away. He knew that nobody else in the mafia could protect him and care for him the way Jeno and Jaemin did. Years ago, Jeno and Jaemin had realized they were each other’s soulmates, and now, Hyunjin had discovered his soulmates in the two of them. They were meant for one another.

 

 

The clock had just struck three in the morning when the musical sound of the doorbell reached Jisung’s ears. He blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before slowly sitting up and glancing around. He was on the living room floor surrounded by pillows and blankets and a tangled mess of sleeping bodies, mostly the other younger guys. They had all decided to sleep in the living room together, and Kun and Lucas had joined them as well. The doorbell rang again, but nobody else stirred at the sound, so Jisung sighed heavily and carefully stepped over Chenle and Renjun to make his way toward the front double doors. He checked the camera they had installed that let them see who was at their doorstep but to his surprise nobody showed up on the camera. Assuming it was safe, Jisung unlocked the door and poked his head out. There were no cars parked out at the front and not a single visible person that he could make out in the darkness, but there was, however, a carefully wrapped red package sitting on the doorstep. Jisung bent down to pick up the package and took it back with him inside the NCT mansion.

“What could this be?” he frowned. He knew the color red represented many things, and one of them was war. He let out a nervous chuckle. “Could it be…no way…they wouldn’t have the guts to show up here…” Jisung knew he should hand the package over to Taeyong immediately, but something stopped him from doing so. He wanted to see what it was for himself. Maybe it was just a birthday present for Yuta and WinWin that someone, possibly a fan, had delivered. His curious fingers began unwrapping the package when a set of hands suddenly flew over his eyes, making the maknae let out a scream of terror that echoed throughout the home.

“Gotcha!” shouted Chenle as he let go of Jisung and playfully ruffled his hair.

“C-Chenle, you really scared me.” Jisung cleared his throat.

“Whatcha got there? Ooh, can I see?” Chenle tried to get a better look at the package in Jisung’s grasp but the younger boy pulled away, making Chenle frown. “Hey, that’s not fair. You can’t just be sneaking around in the middle of the night and expect me not to be curious. Come on, open the package!” he whispered (yelled).

“Chenle, stop whispering so loudly!”

“You’re the one who screamed like a little girl!”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “Whatever, bro. Fine, let’s open the package together.”

They unwrapped the package to reveal a large red envelope and a black and purple heart shaped box. Chenle grabbed the envelope and tore it open, making Jisung groan in annoyance at how loud and obnoxious he was being when everybody else was asleep. There was a note stuffed inside. Both boys glanced at each other before silently deciding to read it.

We have your lovely lady friend Tzuyu. If you wish to save her, hurry up, because your time is running out. –Seventeen

Jisung’s hands trembled as he slowly pulled off the heart shaped box’s lid. When he saw what was inside he gasped and the box into Chenle’s hands.

“What is-” Chenle’s voice was cut off once he peeked inside.

It was a bloody finger that still wore a ring.

 

 

“I know that finger!” exclaimed Haechan, worry and horror etched onto his tired face. “It belongs to Tzuyu…and that ring, i-it’s hers, I remember it clearly! It’s her pink and silver heart shaped ring!”

“Calm down, Haechan,” Doyoung snapped. “Let us think.”

“What is there left to think about? My girlfriend’s been kidnapped by Seventeen and you want to think?! Time’s running out!”

“Shut. Up,” Ten growled right in Haechan’s face. “You have an outsider girlfriend. You were the one who beat Wonwoo to a pulp. And now it’s your girlfriend who is making us risk our lives to save her. Everything is always your fault, don’t you dare even try to deny it. You don’t even deserve to be in this mafia.”

“I earned my spot here just as much as you did. You’re no better than me. Besides, Jeno is the one that fired at DK and shot him dead. They’re doing this for revenge. If Jeno hadn’t killed DK, they wouldn’t have kidnapped my Tzuyu!” Haechan stared Ten down without fear until the older boy walked back to his seat on the sofa next to Taeyong. Mark comforted Haechan by pulling him close to his body and gently his newly dyed red-purple hair.

“Now isn’t the time to be arguing,” Renjun declared. “We need to save Tzuyu. She’s an innocent outsider who’s never done anything wrong. We can’t just let them kill her when we know we can easily beat them.”

“Never underestimate your opponent, Renjun. But I agree, we need to do something.” Taeyong nodded to himself. “Alright, I’ll go with the fighters, excluding WinWin, of course, since he’s still recovering from his injuries, to save Tzuyu.”

“Are you sure about this?” Taeil asked, biting his lower lip.

Taeyong met his gaze with a grim expression. “Haechan will go himself if we don’t.”

“I’m going with you! This is Tzuyu who we’re talking about!”

Johnny shook his head at Haechan. “No, Haechannie. We’re sorry, but you need to stay right here and rest. You’re still in no condition to go and fight.”

“I’m going with you or without you,” warned Haechan, rage burning in his emerald green eyes. “That’s not up for debate.”

“Fine,” Taeyong sighed, “But you’re not fighting at all, do you understand? You will go only to pick Tzuyu up and get her out of there. We’ll cover you while you get her to safety. And since we’re going directly to Seventeen’s house this time, where all of the members will be, no doubt…” he shared a brief glance with Taeil before continuing, “Our substitute fighters- Jisung, Jaemin, Jungwoo, and Jaehyun- will also need to fight today.”

Haechan scowled. “Damn you, Ten, for doing this to me.”

Ten smirked. “Follow the rules next time like a good little boy, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Stop,” Taeyong demanded. “So it’s settled, then? Fighters, go gear up and meet me and Haechan in the garage.”

“Wait!” Doyoung rose from his seat as the blood drained away from his face. “Jungwoo has never fought before. Please don’t make him fight today; I’m begging you, Taeyong. This mission is too dangerous to be his first time.” When Taeyong didn’t respond, Doyoung pleaded again, about to drop down to his knees and completely beg, but Jungwoo stopped him.

“I’ll fight today,” he decided. “It’s now or never.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Doyoung brushed Jungwoo’s navy colored hair away from his forehead and cupped the sides of his face with his long, slender, pale fingers.

Jungwoo gave a small, sweet smile and placed his hands over Doyoung’s. “I want to.”

Taeyong cleared his throat. “Thank you, Jungwoo. I knew I could count on you. You received combat and weapons training from Jaemin in order to become a fighter substitute, just like all of the other substitutes, so you’re qualified for this mission. Even though it’s your first time, don’t be nervous and follow my lead. Now please go get ready with the other fighters.”

Just before Taeyong and the fighters were about to head out, Hyunjin rushed over to Jeno and Jaemin, not caring about the curious sets of eyes that were fixed on the three of them, and flung his arms around the two boys. “Please be careful out there,” he whispered.

Jeno ruffled Hyunjin’s jet black hair and grinned, his pretty eye smile causing Hyunjin’s mind to go momentarily blank because he was just that beautiful and mesmerizing. “Don’t worry, Hyunjinnie, we promise to be back soon. There’s no need to be scared, okay? Jaemin and I have fought in hundreds of battles. We’ll be fine.”

“Why don’t you go and rest, Hyunjin? Try to get some more sleep. When Jeno and I return, we’ll take you out on a date, how does that sound?” Jaemin smiled warmly at Hyunjin and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek.

“That sounds perfect,” Hyunjin agreed softly. Jeno and Jaemin crushed him in one last embrace before heading out the garage door, their steps perfectly synchronized. Hyunjin understood the danger level of the mission they had set out on, and his fear gripped him, the bitter taste of dread strong upon his tongue. He remembered the way the three of them had cuddled together just a few hours ago, their limbs tangled together as they peacefully drifted off to sleep. His cheeks flushed as he thought of Jaemin’s body heat and how Jeno smelled like the sweetest, most tempting peaches. Hyunjin could only hope that Jeno and Jaemin would return to him soon.

 

 

“What was that back there?” Ten demanded as soon as Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung climbed into the backseat of Taeyong’s cherry-red Lamborghini. Taeyong started driving as Ten twisted around in his seat to glare at Jeno and Jaemin. “You’ve already fallen for that Stray Kids lowlife in only a few days? You must be insane.”

“He’s part of our mafia now, like it or not,” Jeno growled.

Ten scoffed. “And if Stray Kids betray us, then?”

Jaemin narrowed his eyes. “It won’t come down to that. They’re good people. They’ve just been a bit misguided, but now they’re working with us. Give them a chance, Ten, and believe in them.”

“You always only see the good in others, Nana,” said Ten in a defeated manner, turning back around and slumping in his seat. “Someday your kindness will put your life in danger.”

 

Once they had reached their destination, Taeyong stepped out of the Lambo first and waited for the others, who had formed their own little groups to come in separate cars. They soon pulled up to the Seventeen House and waited for their leader to tell them to come out. Taeyong gave the okay signal to them and the fighters quickly scrambled out of their cars, armed to the teeth with the most expensive and high-tech weaponry in the world. Taeyong led his little army that wore black on black up to the three-story house and they fanned out on either side, hopping over the backyard fence and smashing the windows to crawl through. Johnny and Haechan remained outside, hiding from sight as they silently awaited Jaehyun’s signal through the walkie talkie that would let them know it was okay to sneak in and find Tzuyu. As soon as they got in, all of Seventeen stood ready for them; it had clearly been an ambush attempt just like Taeyong had suspected, and he knew that this was Seventeen’s desperate attempt to finish NCT off, by luring the fighters to their home and using Tzuyu as bait. Seventeen’s hungry desire to avenge DK’s death had significantly strengthened them and sent them into an absolute blood frenzy. Tzuyu was nowhere in sight; Taeyong guessed she was most likely being held hostage in one of the rooms up on the third floor.

“You murdered one of my boys,” S.Coups snarled, fury burning bright in his dark eyes.

“Your boys would’ve killed WinWin if we hadn’t made it in time that night!” Yuta shouted.

Wonwoo pointed to his own face that was bruised black and blue, a black eye patch covering one of his eyes. “You’re going to pay for what that little monster of yours did to my face,” he hissed.

“Blood demands blood,” Vernon agreed, his cold gaze focused directly on Jeno. “Hand over Jeno and we’ll let Tzuyu go.”

“Over my dead body,” Jaemin growled.

Jeonghan flipped his straight, long, cinnamon brown hair over his shoulder and offered them an evil smirk. “Then prepare to die.” He lunged at Jaemin, and the battle began, spurring others into immediate action.

Jaemin and Jeno fought Jeonghan, Lucas grabbed Wonwoo in a headlock, Taeyong and Ten attacked S.Coups, Yuta dueled with Joshua, Doyoung took on Mingyu, Jisung punched Vernon, and the rest of the battle was too chaotic for Haechan to keep track of who was fighting who. Gunfire had broken out and the loud popping noises of gunshots made him flinch; he desperately hoped s were doing okay without Johnny and him. As soon as Jaehyun’s voice sounded through the walkie talkie, Johnny and Haechan snuck into the house through the back window and quietly treaded up to the third floor. They checked all of the rooms there one by one until finally finding her in the storage room. Tzuyu was chained to the wall, her wrists and ankles cuffed in metal, gray duct tape plastered over , and a black blindfold covering her eyes. Her sky blue designer dress was ripped and ruined, dried blood stained her neck, and purple bruises bloomed over her exposed skin. Upon hearing the two boys enter the room, she immediately flinched and struggled against the chains that bound her.

Haechan rushed over to her, his fingers working fast to untie her blindfold and peel off the duct tape from while Johnny freed her from her metal chains.

“Haechan? Johnny?” Tzuyu gazed up at them with her wide doe eyes that were filled with tears. “Thank you for rescuing me. I…I thought I would never make it out of here alive.”

“Oh, my poor baby, what did they do to you?” whispered Haechan as a look of horror struck his face. He gently rubbed the chaffed skin where she had been cuffed as he held her in his arms and let her cry into his chest.

The sound of slow clapping filled their ears and the three of them immediately jumped to their feet, Haechan protectively guarding Tzuyu. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? You finally found your princess. Good for you,” Vernon seethed. “Did you really think it would be that easy?”

“Shut. Up!” Johnny went forward and took a swing at Vernon, his right fist connecting with the boy’s nose.

Vernon chuckled, slowly lifting his hand to wipe away the blood that gushed from his nose and meeting Johnny’s gaze with deep brown eyes that burned of hatred. He punched Johnny with a sudden force that sent the older boy tumbling backwards, and then they were on the floor wrestling, their tangled bodies fighting for the upper hand in this fight.

“Haechan, run!” shouted Johnny.

“Kick his , Johnny!” Haechan swept Tzuyu up into his arms and hurried out of the storage room.

Vernon kicked Johnny in the chest several times, making him spit up blood, before Johnny was able to reach down and pull out his gun. He pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing through Vernon’s left side.

Vernon hissed in pain and clutched at his side, lifting up his navy blue shirt to reveal his leaking bullet wound. “You and your mafia,” Vernon spit, “think your golden rule will last forever. But you’re dead wrong. Nothing lasts forever, not in our world. There were others before you just as there will be others after you. Your empire shall crumble into dust one day, and you will be nothing but ashes, mark my words.”

“You can keep your little words of wisdom to yourself, kid. At least we have our empire. What do you have?” Johnny smirked.

Vernon let out a bitter laugh, his hands covering the gaping hole in his chest, blood seeping through his long fingers. “We have each other, and that’s all that matters. And up until my very last breath, I will stand by my gang brothers and fight until we have cleared the path to a new existence.”

“We run Neo City. We run the world,” Johnny shot back angrily. “If you think you can beat us, give it your best shot. You’re just amateurs, and we’ll win every time. We have all the things you don’t. Fame, money, power, support…” he smiled coldly. “The people of this city, NCTzens, some of them even believe we’re gods. Everybody is enchanted by us. Nobody out on the street even knows your name.” With that, Johnny limped out of the room, leaving Vernon behind to slowly bleed out on the cold, hard floor.

Amidst all of the fighting, nobody noticed Haechan leaving with Tzuyu. He slammed his foot on the pedal so hard that the tires screeched, and he sped off, other cars honking angrily at him.

 

 

Hours had passed since the battle had begun. It was now that time of the early morning when everything was filtered in a soft blue light- Jungwoo called that the blue time. He desperately wanted to go home and wash off the blood staining his clothes. He didn’t think he was cut out for all this violence, and it was a nerve wracking experience that had drained every ounce of energy from him. By the looks of it, NCT had won the battle, as only two of their fighters were significantly injured compared to the nine Seventeen members that lay on the floor, unable to fight any longer.

“We win,” Taeyong declared proudly, wiping the blood away from his face with his sleeve. “Neo City is ours. We want you out.”

S.Coups was shaking with fury as he responded through gritted teeth, “We accept this defeat and we’ll leave now. However, we’ll be back. This isn’t the end, pretty boy. It’s only the beginning.” He shot Taeyong one last look that sent shivers down his spine, and then he turned around and helped his fallen Seventeen members, the ones who were still breathing.

Haechan brought his car back to the Seventeen House after dropping Tzuyu at the mansion so Renjun could take a look at her. He helped Lucas and Doyoung carefully move their fellow injured members into the cars. Minghao had managed to shoot Jisung in his right upper thigh during the battle, and Jaehyun had been shot twice by Jeonghan; one bullet pierced his right side while the other struck just below his left knee. The other NCT fighters were lucky to have won with minor injuries, just a few cuts and bruises here and there. The last ones to leave the Seventeen House were Jungwoo, Ten, Jeno, and Jaemin. They were just getting inside their car when Mingyu caught Jeno’s wrist and yanked him out of his seat.

“You killed DK,” Mingyu snarled as he held his gun right to Jeno’s head.

“The battle is over,” Jaemin yelled as he tried to push Mingyu away from Jeno but Mingyu was stronger than him, and he shoved Jaemin to the ground.

“I don’t care. Jeno killed DK, and you,” Mingyu glared at Ten with pure venom in his dark eyes, “You killed Dino and Woozi. What right do you have to live when you just took two lives today?!” He left Jeno in favor of Ten and pushed his gun to Ten’s forehead. “You deserve to die.”

Jungwoo pressed his gun into the back of Mingyu’s scalp. “If you shoot Ten, I’ll shoot you, so I suggest you drop your weapon right now and step away from my friend.”

With a defeated sigh, Mingyu let his gun clatter to the ground and turned around slowly to face Jungwoo. “You’re just as bad as them. I don’t even recognize you anymore. Who are you, Jungwoo? Who have you become? Why are you with these monsters?”

“They’re not monsters,” Jungwoo replied confidently, “They’re my family, and I will go after anyone who threatens my family, do you understand that?”

“I suppose I do understand, Jungwoo. We’re not family anymore; I see that now.”

Jungwoo’s expression softened and he tucked his gun away in the waistband of his black pants. “I remember the days we spent together at that foster home. You always protected me and I always took care of you when you were sick or injured. I remember that time like it was just yesterday.”

“But it wasn’t yesterday. Years have passed since we were foster brothers, Jungwoo, and the time we’ve spent apart has really changed both of us.”

Jungwoo shook his head. “No, that’s not true, Mingyu. I’m still the same Jungwoo I was five years ago. I’m sorry for turning my back on you and running away to become a NCT trainee. I should’ve taken you along with me when I left. I’m so sorry.”

Flames of their childhood memories burned in Mingyu’s eyes. “I always protected you and fought for you when the others at the foster home bullied you. When our abusive foster parents would lock you in the closet for days at a time I would sneak in food and water to you. I saved you countless times. And you repaid me by leaving me behind and running off to join a new family, NCT. For days I was in shock and couldn’t believe you had actually left me without at least telling me goodbye!”

“I’m so sorry.” A shimmering veil of tears covered Jungwoo’s hazel eyes. “Please, Mingyu, forgive me.”

“Tell me, are you…” Mingyu’s voice faltered for a moment and it seemed like the old Mingyu resurfaced through the cracks. “…Are you happy?”

“I am,” Jungwoo answered in a broken whisper. “I’m the happiest when I’m with my mafia.”

A single tear traced down Mingyu’s bloody cheek. “I forgive you, Jungwoo, because even today, I care about your happiness more than my own.”

Jungwoo exhaled a sigh of relief as tears streamed down his cheeks. “Thank you, Mingyu.”

Mingyu sighed and pulled Jungwoo close to his body, wrapping his arms around him. Their hug was short yet filled with their childhood memories and all of the precious moments they had shared together, and their embrace filled the gap in time that they had spent apart. All of the years they had been separated from one another ceased to exist; only their love remained in that blank space. Jungwoo hated that he had to leave him again, but he knew it was for the best. “Goodbye, brother,” said Jungwoo.

Mingyu nodded. “Goodbye, Jungwoo Snoopy.”

Jungwoo smiled warmly upon being called by his childhood nickname.

 

 

Later that day, Jungwoo still couldn’t believe that he had gotten the chance to talk with his foster brother again. “He forgave me,” Jungwoo said, his voice cracking. “Mingyu forgave me, even after I left him behind at that awful foster home.”

“Because he’s your brother,” Doyoung replied, placing his hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders. “And who wouldn’t forgive you? You’re the softest, most precious person alive, my love.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Jungwoo’s forehead. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You’re my universe, Jungwoo. I could never go on living without you.”

Jungwoo sniffled. “I’m your universe?”

“Yes, my love, you are the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets. You’re my Earth, air, water, fire.” Doyoung smiled as he gently wiped Jungwoo’s tears away with his thumb.

“You’re my galaxy.” Jungwoo returned his smile. “I see the Milky Way in your eyes.”

They shared a sweet kiss, and then Doyoung tucked Jungwoo into bed and sang him a lullaby about a faraway dream reality shaped by an irregular view of the regular world they lived in. It was a place without sorrows and painful goodbyes.