~Chapter 48~

Embrace You Again

No One’s POV~

            “Today, you are coming back with me. I can’t let you bury yourself in your self-pity and guilt any longer. I’m taking you back, even if it’s going to cost me my life!” Pointing his spear forward, Taemin pulls back, and pierces the fake Taemin cruelly. He runs forward and with a quick swipe, he slashes it into pieces, leaving Minho kneeing in front of a pile of useless scraps. The monsters that were summoned go rampant as the music and Jong Kook’s control over the monsters clash, freeing the beasts. They start attacking everyone from different directions, villagers, Peacekeepers, and the royal party, sparing no one. Minho remains kneeling, not helping Taemin fight off the monsters and dark energy. As powerful and quick as Taemin is, he simply cannot fight off this many monsters all at once. Taemin still tries to reach for his Minho hyung as he struggles to fight them off. “Come back with me,” he says with a half-desperate look in his eyes. “Don’t be like this.”

            “Tell me the truth,” Minho says. “For once, don’t lie to me,” he looks at the emperor with eyes full of pain. “If I die, will this all end?” The emperor simply smiles back, pleased with the turn of events. Taehyung quickly stands between the two and points his sword at Minho.

            “You can’t go down without a fight,” Taehyung says, his voice shaking slightly. “You told me you’d come back. Don’t do this.”

            “I believe I owe you a fight, don’t I? I mean, isn’t that what people do to for the throne?” Minho bitterly chuckles while pulling out his sword. Amongst the chaos, Minho and Taehyung start their duel. Deep down, Taehyung just wanted to provoke Minho, so it can come down to this. If Minho loses, Taehyung will use his power and make Minho the crown prince again, if Minho wins, he will die and that will help Minho become the crown prince if he returns by the king’s side. He looks over to the king whose fake smile turned itself into a smirk. This is Taehyung’s way of making his own life choice. He wants to win his own way.

            Taemin continues to be occupied by the monsters and Jimin is fighting them off as well. Taemin frantically looks around to search for his hyungs and his friends, but they were most likely fighting at another area. Realizing that they are clearly outnumbered by the monsters, Taemin and Jimin make use of their surroundings to lessen the monster count. The village is located in the forest and there are many cliffs and ditches around. The other warriors notice its effectiveness and try their best to lead monsters down the cuts of land, so they do not have to pierce the beads to kill them off. Onew, now with some practice using his charm’s energy to boost his vision, shoots multiple arrows at a time, each taking down a monster effortlessly. Needless to say, everyone is occupied in one way or another.

            Meanwhile, Minho and Taehyung charge forward. Sparks fly as the two high quality swords clash. They slash, and they stab, dodge, and then kick. Although Taehyung doesn’t have much experience fighting, he practiced with Jimin daily, making him skilled enough to dual with Minho. When Taehyung slowly loses his momentum, Minho speeds up, knocking him forward, closer to the edge of the cliff. Despite not having the intention of pushing Taehyung down, Minho’s powerful attacks continue to overpower the crown prince. Taemin notices that Jimin, Taehyung’s bodyguard, is nowhere in sight, meaning the crown prince has no protection. Taemin abandons killing monsters and joins the dual. His only goal is to take Minho back.

            Knowing that the White Masked Hero is much more skilled, Minho uses this chance to allow himself to die. Instead of dodging attacks, he completely exposes himself, hoping he will end his life swiftly to end the feud. If what the Peacekeepers claimed were true, the king will not stop until all threats are gone. Since the Peacekeepers and Minho can team up, Minho knows he is a huge threat to the king. If he dies, his friends will never follow the Peacekeepers and maybe even join the king to eliminate them. With Minho’s death, it can end it all.

            Realizing what Minho’s plan was, Taemin now switches from trying to attack Minho to trying to keep him from killing himself. Every time Minho brings his blade closer to him, Taemin uses his spear to pull his arm back. “Crown Prince, stay away, I can’t focus on keeping you safe,” Taemin says and Taehyung obliges. During the commotion, Minho’s arm gets sliced by Taemin’s spear. Realizing the harm that can be done if he makes a slight mistake, Taemin puts away his spear and fights his hyung by hand. Minho is much stronger than Taemin, but Taemin is much faster, making him able to intercept before Minho can inflict a fatal blow on myself. “Please, hyung, he will never be satisfied. Even if you die now, he won’t stop killing!”

            “But if I don’t die then he will just make it worse for everyone!” Minho yells as he once again tries to harm himself.

            “If you die, then I’m dying with you.” Taemin starts tearing up as the thought of losing Minho takes over his emotions. Despite the two fighting moments ago, Minho and Taemin stop their tussle.

            “I may not be the Taemin you love, but at least I’m not that fake thing the Peacekeepers made for you,” Taemin’s tear slips from his eye onto his mask, dripping down along its engravings. “If you want the old Taemin back, I can do that for you. You might think dying is the end simply because it is the end for you. What about us? What about anyone that cares for you?! We have to continue living knowing that you died because you thought nothing else could be done. We continue the terrible life that you abandoned, and we have to suffer all the pain without you. If you really want to leave this world, then take me with you.” Something stirs inside of Minho’s heart after hearing these words. He looks deeply into Taemin’s eyes and realizes why he always thinks about the White Masked Hero despite having a fake Taemin with him all this time.

            Before Minho could think deeper, his train of thoughts is cut off by a humungous bear-monster. It slashes at them with its long, black claws and nearly tramples Taehyung who does not have experience fighting off monsters. Taemin quickly switches into his battle mode. Despite Minho and Taemin both being skilled in monster slaying, this bear is much too large for them to easily handle. Taemin quickly jumps on the beast and climbs onto it, stabbing it in various areas, but its coat is slippery, making it hard to stab through. Suddenly, the bear swings itself so fast that Taemin goes flying off of its body, right into the cliff. With a fast reaction, Taemin grabs onto the side of the cliff and luckily did not fall too far down thanks to the tree protruding out. Just like those wuxia dramas, Taemin mentally complains. Are you serious? We are already dramatic enough, you really have to add so many life or death situations all at once?! He groans as he feels his fingers lose grip as the cuts on his hand is pouring out too much blood, making it slippery. With his unoccupied hand, he pulls out Mr. Dragon’s communication whistle and blows it quickly. He shoves it into his lapel and uses his non-bloody hand to try to adjust himself.

            With its large legs kicking front, Taehyung suffers a direct blow from the monster after seeing Taemin’s fall and is sent flying, knocking him to the side and breaking his leg in the process. Minho on the other hand is livid at the bear-monster for interrupting a great moment and throwing the White Masked Hero over the cliff. He takes out his flute and plays a tune, forcing the bear to claw at itself. As the bear-monster tears its own flesh, blood spurts out and its wailing sounds almost like its begging for him to stop. Realizing that the White Masked Hero needs help, he ends the bear’s life quickly and falls down atop the tree Taemin is hanging on. He luckily grabs Taemin’s hand right before he slips. As Minho holds onto Taemin’s bloody hand while he dangles along, the battle is continuing around them. Since Minho was injured by Taemin’s spear earlier, his cannot pull him up like he wishes. He can only manage to hold onto his fallen friend and hope he can last until someone can help them. 

            “Hang on,” Minho says through gritted teeth. His face is turning red as his veins pop out while he uses all his strength to try to hold his friend up. Taemin’s heart jumps as he notices the blood that is running down his hyung’s arm. His eyes wander, and he notices that Mr. Dragon is nowhere to be seen. Just my luck I guess, he mentally says in defeat. If Mr. Dragon doesn’t come soon, we will both fall down. “Try to pull yourself up.” Taemin nods and tries to use the bit of strength he has help to bring himself up. As Taemin uses his strength to pull, Minho’s body starts to slip, and the tree begins to crack. “Gahh,” Minho groans as he tries to remain steady while holding onto Taemin. “I don’t think this is going to work.” Taemin looks down and notices that the bottom of the cliff cannot be seen, meaning it has a long way down. This is going to be a bad fall…Taemin gathers all his guts and looks at his hyung.

            “I’ve survived worst things, just let me go.”

            “Are you crazy? No, you are staying here with me,” with every word that Minho says, the harder it is for him to hold on.

            “It can’t handle both of our weights. Let me go.”

            “Never,” Minho says and continues holding on. He knows that the tree will snap any minute and they will fall to their deaths if their blood doesn’t force their hands to lose grip first, that is. Even so, he is happy to be in this situation with the White Masked Hero. Everything he has done for him and the words he said has convinced Minho that even if it means death, he will never let go of him.

            “Before I die I want you to say something I haven’t had the chance to say,” Taemin looks into his hyung’s eyes. “I’m sorry for leaving you.” Knowing very well that Minho is stubborn and won’t let go, Taemin starts shaking his hand, making it harder for his hyung to hold him up. As the hands start slipping, Taemin holds his breath, ready to fall down alone. Minho smiles as he knows what the White Masked Hero is trying to do— die on his own. Minho kicks his foot and jumps down, taking hold of Taemin’s hand once again as they both fall down.

            “Why didn’t you let go of me?!” Taemin yells while he desperately tries to push Minho back up but to no avail. His hyung on the other hand embraces him even tighter, wrapping one arm around his slim waist, and one around his shoulders, pressing him close to his muscular body.

            “I will never let you go. Never.” A warm smile spreads across Minho’s face as he supports his dongsaeng. As they plummet down the cliff, the air whips at them violently. Minho removes his arm from Taemin’s shoulder and shifts it toward his face. As the wind continues to cause their hair to blow wildly, Minho tries to tame Taemin’s hair, almost like he wanted to make Taemin look as beautiful as possible. He then reaches for the back of his mask and unfastens the knot. With gravity pulling them down and the wind ferociously engulfing them, the mask easily flies off Taemin’s face. With a swift move, Minho tucks the mask between his and Taemin’s chest, freeing his hand. His hand shakes as he tenderly places it on Taemin’s face, his cheek with his thumb. “I knew it was you after what you just said. I’m sorry…I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner.” Taemin does not try to deny his identity or shy away from Minho’s touch. He wraps his arms around Minho’s neck and leans forward, pressing his lips onto his hyung’s gently.

            “How?” Taemin gasps, clearly not expecting Minho to find out so easily.

            “Because, when you died in my arms before, you told me you didn’t want to leave me.” The two lean in and kiss once more.

            “I love you,” Taemin says loud and clear, afraid that Minho doesn’t hear it properly.

            “I love you too, always and forever,” Minho warmly replies. They both hold their breaths as they anticipate the deathly impact of the ground. They waited and waited, but the pain of being crushed never came. Instead, they landed on a hard, scaly surface.

            “Mr. Dragon!” Taemin cheers. “You finally came!”

            “Would’ve been easier if you weren’t disguised,” Mr. Dragon says as he sweeps them up into the sky. “Quit hugging and grab onto me before you go flying off!” Warm, pink blushes appear on both Taemin and Minho’s face as they realize that they indeed have not let go of each other, instead, they even embrace more tightly. Embarrassingly, they let go of each other and hold onto the dragon.

            The dragon brings the two to his home but makes sure the little ones don’t disturb the two. He clearly knows how to read a situation. The couple is left alone after he healed their injuries and they lay side by side on the bed, facing each other. Taemin struggles to find the correct words to say. He can’t describe all the emotions and thoughts that led him into hiding his identity. He can’t figure out why he waited so long. Perhaps it was because he was afraid. He might’ve been afraid that as soon as they find happiness, something terrible would happen. It always has been this way. He also can’t explain the frustration and guilt that erupted inside of him when he saw Minho with the fake him. The pain he felt when he saw that Minho wanted to end his own life…he can’t possibly use words to describe it all.

            Minho can’t seem to look away from Taemin. His eyes trace every single detail on his lover’s face, letting him take it all in. He remembers how distorted Taemin’s face used to look like when he was the White Masked Hero. His ear aches as he realizes how much Taemin must have gone through. He couldn’t handle all the pain the poison caused and until the end, he didn’t want to leave him. When he came back to life, his face was unrecognizable, and his voice altered. Minho wonders if Taemin would sometimes look at his own reflection and forget the one staring back at him was himself. Taemin silently fought for them all this time and was always his anchor when he needed it most. ‘You’re not him,” Minho remembers the exact words he said to the White Masked Hero, and guilt takes over. How much pain did Minho cause for Taemin? He realized that he was too busy pitying himself that he didn’t recognize all the love he had around him. To think that moments ago he wanted to take his own life, now he would do anything to stay alive and live with the one he loves, makes him want to laugh at himself. Minho pulls Taemin close to him, making it so that Taemin leans on his chest. Minho rests his chin atop Taemin’s soft hair, letting the silky strands tickle him. He feels that he is at the peak of his life with Taemin in his arms.

            Taemin feels at peace as Minho continues to rub his back. In his embrace, Taemin can hear Minho’s rhythmic heartbeat. He snuggles closer and smiles to himself, satisfied. For a short while, he forgot about all the pain he went through and all the responsibilities that he has. He ignores all the concerns he has for the future and only focuses on the here and now. He is here with his Minho hyung and now they can openly love each other. Suddenly, Taemin blurts out, “Am I dreaming?” With this, Minho rubs Taemin’s hair tenderly. He leans in and pecks his dongsaeng’s head.

            “If this is a dream,” Minho says gently. “Then I hope I never wake up.”

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