Minseok became despondent for several days, and it took most of Baekhyun’s effort to encourage the boy just to eat something. Working was out of the question for the older, so Baekhyun called Joonmyun – an old friend of his and Minseok’s as well as Minseok’s manager – and explained without going into much detail what was going on, and why Minseok would need a little while off. Joonmyun was understanding, and said Minseok could take as long as he needed. Baekhyun was grateful for that.

He himself, however, could not take off work to babysit his friend, so he had to leave Minseok now and then. Baekhyun made sure Chanyeol took his place whenever he wasn’t on duty, because the thought of Minseok being left alone made Baekhyun worry far too much about him. However, when Baekhyun would return to Minseok’s apartment, he always found Minseok exactly where he’d been when he left. The only time he moved was when he was forced to eat, or when he had to go to the bathroom. After a few days, Baekhyun started fearing this condition to only get worse, until he would have to admit Minseok into the hospital.

Chanyeol wasn’t bothering to lower his voice when he and Baekhyun spoke at night in Minseok’s living room; even when he was talking about Minseok, he doubted the older could hear him, and if he could he didn’t care anyway.

“Honestly, it seems like he’s waiting for Luhan to come back,” Chanyeol told Baekhyun one night. “Like Luhan’s gonna bust out some Superman moves and free himself. I know what those camps are like. I know how well they’re guarded. You can’t get in, and you can’t get out. You can’t even get to the gates around the buildings unless you’re wearing a uniform. Even if a regular citizen caught a Category, it’s not like they get entrance; they have to leave the Category with the guards at the door. There’s guards patrolling outside, inside, and in the actual holding rooms. And the holding rooms are locked – you have to have a card to get out, and once the doors are opened, there’s more guys waiting to make sure you’re not an escapee. Point is, there’s no way in hell a Category is getting out alive.”

“I know, ‘Yeol,” Baekhyun sighed. “I think it just hasn’t really sunk in for him yet. Can you blame him? If it was you, I’d be breaking down the walls to save you.”

Chanyeol shuddered at the idea of Baekhyun being locked away, getting anywhere near those hell camps. “Well, lucky me, I get to go in all the time. I’ve never been inside the holding rooms, though. Hopefully I never will be, either.”

“You said there were guards in there, though, right? You won’t be called in to work there, will you?”

“No,” Chanyeol shook his head. “You choose to work in there, or not in there. You have to be pretty tough, apathetic and stuff. I barely manage patrolling the streets, I wouldn’t last a day in there.”

Baekhyun gave him a sad look, scooting closer to curl into him, and Chanyeol’s arm went around him. “Good,” Baekhyun told him. “I don’t want you going in there anyway. I don’t care if they paid you a billion won an hour. Don’t even talk about it anymore, it makes me sick.”

“The whole thing makes me sick,” Chanyeol muttered. “How anyone thought this was a good idea is beyond me. Of course, everyone who was in on the planning is safe, and so are all their families and friends, no doubt. They don’t have to suffer like us, or go through with Minseok hyung is going through… People are so awful, I don’t understand them at all.”

“Me either,” mumbled Baekhyun. “It needs to be over. It shouldn’t even be happening.”

But as much as they complained, nothing changed. People continued to die, to suffer, to live in fear and misery. Somewhere, too far away, Luhan may or may not have been alive, and if he was, he wasn’t doing well at all.

“

Kyungsoo woke up feeling sore, and finding himself on his couch made him a bit grumpy. Had he fallen asleep waiting for Jongin to come home? But no, Jongin had come back last night, late. Images of bruises came to mind, and Kyungsoo remembered Jongin’s injured state last he’d seen the younger. So now, if this was indeed a memory and not a dream, Jongin should be…

Kyungsoo started up, heading for his bedroom. The door was closed, but he let it open a crack and squinted into the darkness. After a moment, he made out the slumbering shape of Jongin, half under the covers. Kyungsoo’s alarm clock provided the only real light, flashing the time – nearly eight in the morning. He didn’t have to work today, but Jongin did, so he should probably wake the boy up. He pushed the door wide open, letting more light in, and slowly approached Jongin’s sleeping form, but as he neared, he stopped himself.

Jongin looked so content, lying there with his face smushed into Kyungsoo’s pillow, limbs sprawled. And Dareun was tucked securely under his arm, fur tickling his chin, which made Kyungsoo smile. The way he looked like he was protecting the toy sheep made Jongin seem very childlike, in a cute, innocent kind of way. And Kyungsoo didn’t really want to be the one to disturb him. It wasn’t like he had to work right away; his shift wasn’t until three, he could sleep a little longer. Not everyone liked getting up early in the morning like Kyungsoo.

There wasn’t a whole lot for Kyungsoo to do though, since he couldn’t really stay in his room, and that’s where most of his entertainment reigned, and he had noticed last night that he was running low on groceries, so he decided to head out and go shopping. He grabbed an outfit to wear and dressed in his bathroom, afraid Jongin might wake up while he was changing if he was in his room. A few minutes later he was heading out the door, locking up behind him.

The grocery store was just opening when he arrived, and he realized it was a bit early to be out, but supposed that was better. Less chances of running into trouble. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure how much trouble he would really get into in a grocery store, but these days anything seemed possible, and if he didn’t have to deal with people, he certainly wasn’t complaining.

He got through his shopping as quick as usual, though lately his basket was twice as full due to the fact that he was feeding a second mouth now. So far, Jongin hadn’t been paying him at all for food, not that Kyungsoo was really bothered by it. Jongin was poor; they might have the same wages, but Kyungsoo also was fueled by his parents, who dropped munificent sums of money into his bank regularly, and would likely continue to do so until they died, after which he would inherit the remaining. Of course, Kyungsoo was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps – the man was very, very high up in the Samsung company, and guaranteed Kyungsoo wouldn’t have to “climb any ladders” to get a good position if he entered the company too – after he took a business course in university. Kyungsoo hadn’t gotten around to that yet, because his father thought Kyungsoo should experience the world a little first, add some years to his age, and then slip into a reasonable career when it would be inconspicuous – when he didn’t look like a boy fresh out of school, in other words, and when it would be easier for people to believe he had worked hard to get wherever he was going. Kyungsoo was fine going along with this plan. He got to enjoy his life how he wanted, and he was entirely funded for whatever his heart desired.

He wondered what Jongin’s parents thought of their son. Kyungsoo couldn’t imagine they were too proud; he certainly wouldn’t be. He wouldn’t put it past his own parents to disown him just for letting Jongin stay in his apartment. Telling them probably wasn’t the best idea, not that he planned on it anyway. It was better that way, for his and Jongin’s sake.

Around eight-thirty, Kyungsoo arrived at his apartment door, fumbling with the many grocery bags while trying to get his key out. Before he could do so, the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a tousle-haired, boxer-clad Jongin who looked relieved to see Kyungsoo. The younger reached out to take some of the bags of Kyungsoo’s hands, and then let Kyungsoo by.

As he went into the kitchen, Kyungsoo said, “Your bruises got worse.” And they had indeed; the boy looked more blue than bronze now. Plunking the bags on the counter, Kyungsoo began searching through them. “I got something for you, though.”

“For me?” Jongin asked, adding his bags to the pile. After a moment of looking, Kyungsoo pulled out a small, skin-toned tube and handed it to Jongin. “What… Oh.”

Jongin laughed at the bottle of cover-up. It had been a last-minute thing that Kyungsoo had spotted while in the soap aisle, looking for shampoo. He’d thought of Jongin immediately, and figured the boy could use it.

“You shouldn’t go to work looking like that,” Kyungsoo explained quietly. “You’ll scare off the customers.”

“Yeah, I’m already a blond-haired freak, right? I don’t need to add to it, I guess.”

Kyungsoo didn’t say anything. He didn’t think Jongin was a freak, but at the same time, he didn’t really approve of dyed hair. On top of that, Jongin’s roots were coming in a couple inches thick, and that really didn’t help his situation. But it was his hair and his choice, not Kyungsoo’s. Jongin seemed to understand Kyungsoo’s silence, because he changed the topic.

“I was worried,” he told Kyungsoo. “When I woke up and you weren’t here. I mean, I’d guessed you’d just gone out shopping, but still…” He paused for a moment, looking unsure. “Just be careful, alright? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “I can’t get hurt.” He lifted his arm to remind Jongin of the Confirmation number inked there.

“You can’t get killed,” Jongin corrected. “You can get hurt. The people who came after me, they’ll go for you if they know you’re sheltering me. So just… watch yourself.”

This is what you get for involving yourself with a Category. You could get in trouble now, they could rat you out… Now you’re screwed. Regret was overshadowed by worry on both of their behalves.

“Sounds great,” he said sarcastically, before turning back to the grocery bags. He reached in the bag he’d pulled the makeup out from, and pulled out a small box. Cracking it open, out slid a cylinder that he held up for Jongin to see. “I got you this, too.” Bruise ointment, to help speed the recovery and reduce the pain of the younger. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if there was enough for all of Jongin’s bruises – he’d underestimated how bad things were back at the store – but it was more than enough for the ones on his face and neck.

Jongin took it and offered thanks before making his way to the bathroom. Kyungsoo put away the groceries and then went to tentatively check on Jongin, hovering in the bathroom’s doorway and asking if he needed anything else.

“Uh, no,” Jongin said, in the midst of attacking his bruises with cream. “Well – breakfast? I’m sort of starving, honestly.”

Kyungsoo nodded, feeling pretty hungry himself. A few minutes after he’d returned to the kitchen, Jongin came out to reveal his transformation.

“Ja-jjang,” he announced, making Kyungsoo look up. Jongin’s face wasn’t returned perfectly to its previous state, but it was a huge improvement and made Kyungsoo feel a bit better. Kyungsoo half-smiled and went back to his work.

When it came to the time that Jongin had to leave that afternoon, Kyungsoo offered to give him a ride to work – because he was still limping and Kyungsoo was worried enough as it was about that. He’d already wrapped Jongin’s ankle with a bandage and had made him stay off his feet as much as he could. But Jongin was hesitant to accept, afraid to have Kyungsoo seen with him.

“If they see you, they could follow you home, or just remember your face and attack when they see you out,” Jongin told him.

“I can handle myself.”

“No, you really can’t,” Jongin argued. “Not against them. You’re tiny, they’d snap you like a twig. I can just walk.”

“I’m taking you,” Kyungsoo stated. “I’ll wear sunglasses or something if it makes you feel better.”

Kyungsoo won the argument, and got to take Jongin to work, wearing sunglasses as he said. Jongin seemed relieved when they arrived and no one was waiting for him, but he still worried that they might be around somewhere. When he got out of the car, he said he hoped to see Kyungsoo later, and that bothered Kyungsoo.

“You will see me. Come right home – no stops, got that?” Kyungsoo told him firmly. Jongin just nodded and closed the door.

Kyungsoo postponed making dinner until later, since Jongin wasn’t done work until six and wouldn’t be home until after that. However, around five-thirty, Kyungsoo’s cell phone beeped – a sound he almost never heard. At first, he didn’t even know what the sound had been, thinking it was a neighbour or something, but it had sounded like it came from his bedroom, and when he checked it was indeed his cell phone.

The message was from an unknown number, and read, “Hi Kyungsoo, it’s Jongin. I think I’ll be home late tonight.”

Kyungsoo added Jongin’s number to his (very short) list of contacts, not thinking much about Jongin’s message. It took him a few minutes to realize that Jongin wasn’t just finally being nice and letting Kyungsoo know he’d be home late, for him to remember what Jongin had looked like when he’d come in late last night. Whoever had hurt Jongin yesterday must have found him again today.

“I’ll come get you.”

He quickly turned off the stove and covered up the half-cooked meal, deciding to worry about it when he got back. Jongin was off in twenty minutes. Kyungsoo changed into more practical attire, brushed his teeth and combed his hair. When he felt presentable, he grabbed his wallet and keys, heading out and locking the door. He went down to the garage to get his car, then tried to drive the speed limit to his work, wondering if those men were harassing Jongin already. But they weren’t in the café. Kyungsoo spotted them – and he knew it was them – standing outside the door, just waiting. Kyungsoo pulled up in front of the place, still a few minutes early, and turned off the engine.

Kyungsoo knew Jongin would be mad if he got out of the car, but quite frankly, he didn’t care what Jongin thought. He didn’t like that these people were trying to harm Jongin, and he was going to make sure they knew that.

When he stepped out of the car, they glanced his way but didn’t really pay attention to him for long. Yet as he continued to approach, they finally noticed that he was clearly staring right at them, heading their way, and him. They laughed at the mixture of his small figure and innocent but murderous face.

“You have a problem, kid?”

Kyungsoo pulled his arm back and punched the first guy he reached with all his strength. The three of them all yelled out, but no one moved to attack Kyungsoo, no doubt taken by surprise that such a small boy was, out of nowhere, throwing punches. He punched again, at the second this time, but his hit was blocked this time, and then his arm was grabbed and twisted, hard, making him cry out. It wasn’t enough to stop him though, kicking his leg out to hit the man holding him. His foot made contact with the other’s shin, and the man grabbed the back of his shirt, shoving him into the wall. Then he turned Kyungsoo around to face him, hand going to his neck to hold him down. The other two – the one Kyungsoo had hit and the third he hadn’t gotten to – stood behind the guy choking Kyungsoo, all three glaring as the first spoke.

“What the hell,” he spat in Kyungsoo’s face. “Are you doing? Who even are you?”

“Kyungsoo!” The voice came from behind them – Jongin’s. He’d come out of the restaurant, and hurried over towards the four, but he was blocked from reaching Kyungsoo by the third, unharmed man. “Leave him out of this!”

“He’s with you, then?” the one holding Kyungsoo sneered. “That’s too bad. He already made things bad for himself, but it looks like things just got worse for your friend, Jonginnie.”

“Don’t – don’t, just let him-”

Jongin struggled to push his way past the one blocking him, but that only started a fight between the two of them. While that happened, Kyungsoo started wriggling in an attempt to get out of the grip on him, but the man only held tighter until Kyungsoo couldn’t breathe, before letting him drop. As Kyungsoo held himself up against the wall, gasping for air, the man he’d punched came up and retaliated, hitting Kyungsoo much harder than Kyungsoo could ever dream of hitting anyone. His head was smashed between the wall and the man’s fist, and the double impact was enough to knock Kyungsoo out cold.

“

Jongin saw Kyungsoo pull up outside the café. He had texted the boy not to, but apparently his message had gone ignored (which, admittedly, didn’t surprise him that much). But when he saw Kyungsoo not only get out of his car, but start making his way towards where Jongin knew they were waiting, he felt panicked.

“No, no, no, Kyungsoo!”

The boy couldn’t hear him outside, but Jongin was already hurrying around the counter, apologizing to customers and dashing out the door, trying to stop Kyungsoo before he got hurt, but Kyungsoo was faster than him. By the time Jongin made it out, he’d already gotten himself pinned against the wall, feet just barely scraping against the ground. Jongin yelled at them and tried to get to Kyungsoo, but his way was blocked, and before he could reach the older, Kyungsoo was falling to the ground, having been hit remorselessly, unconscious.

“Kyungsoo!”

Kyungsoo slid down the wall, the sleeves of his jacket pushing up slightly and revealing on his arm a few of the digits of his Confirmation number. The tattoo didn’t go unnoticed by the one who had punched Kyungsoo out, his eyes widening.

“This kid’s Confirmed?” he asked in alarm. “Why the hell are you hanging with a Confirmed kid?”

Jongin was released from the hold on him, the man backing away. “Let’s go,” he ordered calmly. “Leave the other brat. And you,” he pressed a finger into Jongin’s chest roughly. “Don’t think I won’t kill your if he doesn’t stay out of our . I could frame you no problem.”

As much as that idea worried Jongin, it angered him all the more. He felt an overwhelming need to protect Kyungsoo, and wasn’t going to let them involve the older in this when he had nothing to do with anything they were involved in. Jongin stepped closer to the man threatening him, smouldering fearsomely.

“You won’t be alive long enough if you ever touch him again.”

They stared one another down for a moment, and then Jongin was back-handed across his cheek, before being left gasping and clutching his face as the three took off. His vision blurred with tears, but he put it aside. He turned his focus to checking on Kyungsoo, who was still lying unconscious.

“Kyungsoo..?” Jongin knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder. A couple seconds later he inhaled sharply as Kyungsoo’s eyelashes fluttered slightly and then his eyes opened, unfocused. “Kyungsoo, are you alright?” Out of the corner of his mouth there was a trail of crimson, and Jongin reached out to wipe it away. “You’re bleeding…”

Kyungsoo was clearly dazed and didn’t respond, instead grabbing on to Jongin’s arm and trying to pull himself up. Jongin helped and Kyungsoo groaned, holding onto the wall and Jongin for support while he tried to find his balance.

“Are you okay?” Jongin asked again, but Kyungsoo just brushed him off, though he didn’t let go of him.

“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo said, coughing. He spat red, which made Jongin doubt just how fine he was. “The inside of my cheek is bleeding.” When he stepped away from the wall, he immediately stumbled, grip tightening on Jongin’s arm. “I should sit.” Jongin stopped but Kyungsoo just continued towards his car, and Jongin understood. They toddled over and Jongin opened the passenger door for the older to sit down, and Kyungsoo did so.

“This is why I didn’t want you to come,” Jongin told him as he leaned back against the headrest. But it wasn’t in an I-told-you-so way; Jongin was just concerned. “Now we’re both all beat up.”

“I was hit once, that’s hardly beaten up.”

“Yeah but they’re tough,” Jongin said. “You were knocked out in one punch, I’d say they’re pretty strong.”

“Or I’m just weak,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“Maybe,” Jongin shrugged, light-hearted though he didn’t appreciate Kyungsoo’s self-degrading. “But you’re a lot braver than me.”

“That’s because you run away from your problems,” Kyungsoo shot back, and then he clamped his mouth shut, frowning. After a moment, he reiterated. “Sorry. I should be thanking you, and I can’t even do that right.”

Jongin shook his head. “I didn’t do anything anyway,” he sighed. “Maybe just made things worse, I dunno. But now you know why you have to be careful. So please do, okay?”

Kyungsoo’s lips pursed together but he gave a soft nod before leaning back again, still looking overcome. Jongin offered to drive them home and Kyungsoo just made a noise Jongin assumed was in agreement, and so he took them back to Kyungsoo’s and put the boy to bed before quietly leaving again. As much as he wanted to stay, he had to go. He felt burdened with guilt and he just couldn’t be around Kyungsoo while he felt so responsible for endangering the boy.

Jongin was shaking by the time he made it to Jongdae’s, having left his backpack at work. He locked the door for once and then he was into his dead friend’s stash, lighting a joint to smoke while he cooked up far too much heroin for one to safely take. But Jongin didn’t care, and when it was done he injected as much into himself as he could before dropping to the floor.

“

Baekhyun was surprised when he walked into Minseok’s room and found the boy not in bed for once, instead at his desk. The older looked a bit more lively, on his laptop searching for something. Baekhyun came up behind him to see what had finally pulled him back to life, and saw the boy was looking at schedules.

“Whatcha doing, hyung?” he asked lightly.

Minseok didn’t even look his way. “Looking at flights.”

Looking closer, Baekhyun saw that the schedule was indeed for airplanes, travelling from Korea to China. Dread started building in his stomach, worrying what Minseok was planning.

“What for?” Baekhyun posed slowly. Minseok didn’t answer. “Hyung, why are you going to China?”

“I have to,” Minseok whispered. “To save him.”

“I thought so.” Baekhyun pulled on the older’s wrist gently, trying to tear the boy away from the laptop and all his ideas. Minseok looked up at him, panicked.

“Please,” he begged. “I have to do this.”

And Baekhyun wanted to help him just as much as Minseok wanted to go, but he knew that it was a suicide mission for Minseok to even try, and he wasn’t going to lose his best friend for it.

“You can’t, Seok. Chanyeol told me, civilians can’t even get past outer camp gates.”

“Guards can get through,” Minseok argued. “I heard Chanyeol saying-”

“Yes, but you aren’t a guard,” Baekhyun pointed out. “And you can’t just become one.”

“I can get a uniform,” Minseok muttered, but Baekhyun just shook his head.

“It’s too dangerous, hyung. I’m sorry, but you can’t.”

“I can’t just leave him there!”

“You don’t even know where he is,” Baekhyun said softly. “If he even is…” He trailed off, and Minseok shook his head furiously.

“He’s fine,” he insisted, eyes watering. “He’s in a camp. I can get him out. I have to get him out.”

Baekhyun bit his lip, because he didn’t want to burst Minseok’s bubble, but he knew that it wasn’t possible. Chanyeol knew these things, and he’d told Baekhyun all about it, making it clear that there really was no hope for Luhan. Yet Minseok couldn’t give up, and it broke Baekhyun’s heart because he was only going to be devastated when he couldn’t save him.

“There has to be something,” Minseok whispered pleadingly. “Can’t Chanyeol do something? He can get in, can’t he?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how he would get Luhan out, even if he did go…”

Minseok took Baekhyun’s hands, staring up desperately at the younger. “Please just ask him. I’m sure we can figure out a way if he’ll go. He might know a way. Ask him, Baekhyun.”

His eyes were shining with the faintest glimmer of hope, and Baekhyun had to promise that he would ask his boyfriend. He couldn’t say no to Minseok, not right now. It couldn’t hurt to at least try.

After that, Minseok went back to bed, seeming at least a bit better because he had a hope. Baekhyun went out to make dinner for them, and Chanyeol came in not long after, in less of a good mood than Minseok was. It made Baekhyun more nervous about talking to him. But he didn’t let that show, going up to Chanyeol and kissing him tenderly, telling him that supper would be ready soon. Chanyeol didn’t say much, taking off his shoes and sitting on the couch. Clearly he had had a bad day, and it was affecting the rest of his thinking, because he started complaining about their situation almost immediately.

“Are you ever going to go back to our apartment?” he questioned Baekhyun coolly as Baekhyun cooked. “Or are you just moving in full time with Minseok?”

“I’ve told you I’m staying here for a while,” Baekhyun said cautiously. “Just until Minseok starts getting better.”

“Which will be never,” Chanyeol grumbled. “You practically live with him, you sleep with him – are you gonna start dating him next?”

“No,” Baekhyun answered, deciding to just let him get everything off his chest. He didn’t like when Chanyeol got jealous, or angry at him when he’d done nothing wrong, but Chanyeol always felt guilty about it soon enough, so he would likely just talk himself out and then apologize later. Once Chanyeol was feeling sorry, Baekhyun could ask about Minseok’s plan.

“Well, I’m tired of living here. I’d like to be at home.”

“I’m not making you stay, Chanyeol. Do whatever you want.”

Chanyeol scowled. “I don’t want to go home alone. I meant you come with me.”

“I’m staying,” Baekhyun said firmly. “If you wanna be with me, stay. If you wanna go home, go.” He filled a plate for Chanyeol and brought it out to him, which Chanyeol accepted grumpily. Baekhyun hoped that, once fed, Chanyeol’s mood would improve, but after Baekhyun brought Minseok his meal and came back to sit with Chanyeol and eat with him, it was clear Chanyeol was going to remain moody. Baekhyun decided to change tactics.

“Minseok was up and out of bed today,” he said, hoping the good news would cheer his boyfriend up. “I guess some of his drive is coming back.”

“That’s good,” Chanyeol muttered through a mouthful of food.

“Mhm,” Baekhyun returned. “Actually, he was wondering if maybe you’d be able to go to a Chinese camp and get Luhan out.”

Chanyeol stopped eating, rolling his eyes. “No. I’ve already told you, Categories don’t come out of there.”

“Yes, but couldn’t you go in and explain-”

“No,” Chanyeol repeated. “I can’t. There’s nothing to explain. He’s a Category. They don’t care who you are if you’re an Eight or a Nine. If Luhan is alive – and that’s a huge if – and he’s in a camp, he’s not getting out. The only Categories who get out of camps are dead ones, and their bodies are just taken to another building to be held until launch day.”

Baekhyun could feel himself pouting, but couldn’t pull his lip back in. “Isn’t there anything you can do at all?” he asked, to which Chanyeol shook his head. “But it means so much to Minseok… And you know what Luhan said about Minseok-”

“Yes, but Minseok doesn’t know, nor does he ever need to,” Chanyeol interrupted. “It would just make things worse for him. Luhan is gone. He’s either dead or dying and going to be dead soon. You both need to realize that and start moving on with your lives.”

“Chanyeol! It’s his best friend! This isn’t just some guy Minseok hardly cared about. They’d been talking about moving in together, and even so, they spent all their time together. They-”

“Look, I’m not any happier about this than you are, Baek, but holding on is just making it harder for yourselves! Luhan’s time is up now, and I wish it wasn’t that way, but it is.”

Baekhyun dropped his plate on the table and slapped Chanyeol angrily, making the younger’s jaw drop in shock. “Just because you’ve been brainwashed not to care doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t still have our hearts!” he screamed. “Stop being so inconsiderate!” And he proceeded to slam his fists on Chanyeol’s chest in frustration until the other put his own plate down and grabbed Baekhyun’s wrists.

“Baekhyun! Stop it!”

Baekhyun thrashed, trying to free his hands, but Chanyeol held him tightly. “Let go of me!”

“Baekhyun, calm down,” Chanyeol insisted, but Baekhyun managed to slip his hands free. As Chanyeol tried to grab him again, Baekhyun sunk his nails into Chanyeol’s palms. “Ouch – Baekhyun!”

“Get away from me! Just go!” Baekhyun shoved him back, and Chanyeol stood, trying to get a hold of himself. Baekhyun pushed him again. “Get out!” And Chanyeol finally just left, grabbing his shoes and jacket and going out the door.

After he was gone, Baekhyun collapsed on the couch and burst into tears.

“

Chanyeol went to his apartment after Baekhyun yelled at him. Where else could he go? To say he was upset didn’t even cover it. He hadn’t been trying to anger his boyfriend; he’d just been trying to help. But Baekhyun was so edgy lately, Chanyeol didn’t even know how to handle him without setting him off. He just hoped that being apart for the night would be enough to calm Baekhyun down, and they would be able to make up the next day. And maybe Baekhyun would realize what Chanyeol had been saying was right.

The following morning, Chanyeol tried to call Baekhyun, but the older didn’t answer his phone, so Chanyeol texted him instead. “I’m sorry about last night, babe.” Then he waited for a reply, but didn’t receive one and decided Baekhyun was still asleep, so he went off to work and tried not to think about it for the rest of the day. Still, he felt sick with worry through his whole shift.

It didn’t help when Baekhyun didn’t message him back.

Chanyeol made a second attempt at calling, unsuccessfully, and then went to try texting his boyfriend again. In the midst of typing out a message to him, he received one from the boy.

“I don’t wanna talk to you right now, Chanyeol. I can’t accept how you’re treating Minseok and Luhan’s situation.”

He thought he might throw up. Chanyeol couldn’t bear the idea of Baekhyun not speaking with him, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing here. There wasn’t anything he could do to change what was happening with Minseok, or to save Luhan’s life, assuming he even had a life to save by now. If there was some way he could help, he would. The only way he could think to help was to help Minseok move on, which had been what he’d been trying to do. Chanyeol didn’t know how to make it any clearer that he could not get Luhan out of a camp if he tried. Yet here Baekhyun was, angry that Chanyeol wouldn’t risk his own life to possibly get Luhan killed. (Because if he did try to break Luhan out, they would both be killed. End of story.)

Chanyeol spent a while being frustrated as hell with Baekhyun, as well as himself. He tried to think of any and every crazy possibility that could just maybe work, but continually came up blank. Baekhyun being mad at him, though… he couldn’t even stand the thought, so he just kept contemplating everything he knew about the entire global fiasco (which, admittedly, was a fair amount more than most, but apparently not enough to find a loophole). But there was nothing.

He was so screwed.

“

Baekhyun wasn’t sure how long Chanyeol would last without talking to him. So far, Baekhyun had spent one miserable night and day missing his boyfriend and longing to make up with him. After Chanyeol had left the previous night, Baekhyun had cried on the couch until Minseok came out to get him. Minseok took him to bed and hugged him as he sobbed on, promising him that it would be okay, until Baekhyun cried himself out and fell asleep. The following day Chanyeol called, but Baekhyun knew he couldn’t give in easily, telling Chanyeol he had to make a change first, hoping that the boy would message him back and promise to be better.

But Chanyeol didn’t message him, and that night Baekhyun went to bed crying again, feeling hopeless. Was Chanyeol giving up on him, then? He didn’t want to believe that, but it was the only explanation he could conjure up for himself, and it was absolutely horrible. He didn’t want to break up with Chanyeol; he never wanted that, ever. But maybe Chanyeol had finally had enough this time.

Baekhyun couldn’t fall asleep for a long time that night, tormented by his miserable thoughts. Eventually he was able to find unconsciousness. However, it didn’t last long. Just a couple hours after drifting off, he was awakened by the shrill ringing of his cell phone on the nightstand beside Minseok’s bed. Baekhyun grabbed it, squinting at the painfully bright screen and seeing Chanyeol’s contact name – “찬열 내 여보”. He couldn’t stop himself from answering.

“Hello?”

“Baekhyunnie.”

“What do you want, Chanyeol? It’s-” He checked his phone. “Nearly two in the morning.”

“Baek, I think I might be able to help,” Chanyeol said, voice sounding very sleep-filled.

“Help what?” Baekhyun asked, half-asleep himself.

“At least – I might be able to find out if Luhan’s still alive.” Baekhyun’s heart stuttered. “I dunno if it will make a difference; it might just make things worse…”

“What is it, Yeol?” Baekhyun asked insistently. “What are you thinking?”

“He would be in Beijing,” Chanyeol said dopily. “Right? The camp near Beijing?”

“Luhan? I think so, yeah.”

“The camp near Beijing – it’s the biggest one in the world,” Chanyeol explained. “When we were in training, there were some guards who went to the Chinese camps – especially the one in Beijing. It’s supposed to be better, to not speak the language, not know what the prisoners are saying and stuff…”

“What’s your point, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun wondered. Why was Chanyeol calling him when he was clearly in his all-but-asleep stage? The boy could never think coherently when he was too tired, and he rambled a lot of nonsense. And, being as tired as he was himself, Baekhyun was having some difficulty processing.

“I’ve been trying to think of everything, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol told him. “I want to help… I don’t want you to be mad at me. Baekhyunnie…” He sounded so desperate, and so exhausted. He must not have slept yet. Baekhyun wanted to reach through the phone and hug him. “I didn’t think there was anything, but then… A friend of mine, his name is Sehun. He was in training with me, and he went to the camp near Beijing. If Luhan was captured, he probably ended up there. So I thought – I could ask Sehun to look for him. At least then you’d know if he was alive or not. It’s all I can think of, Baek…”

Baekhyun was amazed at the effort Chanyeol had put into this, and the fact that Chanyeol surely thought it was a crazy idea, but was trying anyway. “Oh, Chanyeol… Would you do that?” he asked. “In the morning, not now. You need to sleep now. But will you call him – Sehun? Can you ask him for Minseok?”

“If you want me to.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun said softly. “Do that tomorrow, okay? Go to sleep now, Yeollie.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol mumbled. “I’m sorry, Baek. Really. I miss you a lot. I really can’t stand being away from you for a day, not when you’re mad at me.”

“It’s alright, Yeollie, I’m not mad. I miss you too. Come see me at work when you get up – after you call that Sehun.”

“I will,” Chanyeol promised. “See you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered, and he hung up feeling a million times better. Things were okay with Chanyeol.

But what about Luhan? They might find out soon if Luhan was alive or not. But did Baekhyun even want to know? And when he did know, should he tell Minseok? Or would it be better to not say anything about it at all?

Baekhyun didn’t even want to make that decision. Instead, he went to sleep, hoping the right answer would come to him by morning.

A/n: My gosh it's been so long since I've updated. I opened a request shop so I've been busy with that, and I also just moved so yeah, I've been doing a lot. Anyway, I've finally come back and hopefully am not too disappointing. If you want to request in my req shop, it's here. You can request anything you want - even things in the Cat9 universe if you want. It's closed right now, but you can still request if you want, it just means you'll be waiting a bit longer.

So yeah. I'm gonna get back to work, because I have lots of reqs to fill and other fics to work on.