Jongdae and Minseok's week got progressively worse, each day becoming more and more difficult for the two.
Both of them were woken up the day before by the ground shaking, making it hard for them to get up and move. Below them, the earth had begun to crack open, revealing nothing but darkness. They had to run (again) in order to avoid falling into one of the growing holes, never to be seen again. Minseok had hurt his ankle trying to jump one of the gaps and had almost fallen, barely making it to the other side by grabbing onto Jongdae's backpack.
On their fourth day, some of the food that was given to them in the safe zone was poisoned. They had to guess which was safe to eat, not wanting to eat the poisoned food and die before they were supposed to. Jongdae and Minseok both ate a bit of the poisoned food, making their vision go blurry, their stomachs feeling like they were going to burst open.
The fifth day was much better than the ones before. They were given a choice of two paths, each one have different obstacles. They chose the first path, their decision based on looks alone. The first path was brighter, light shining down on the dirt walkway. Jongdae and Minseok had their guards up, ready for anything to happen. The people who put them there could've tricked them by making the first path look more desirable even though it could've actually held the worst challenge that they've gone through the entire week. Nothing terrible happened, though. They saw the marked safe zone and they both thought that they were given a day of rest. But just as they were about to step onto the marked area, a box holding something opened up above them, releasing it's contents. Jongdae and Minseok didn't know what had landed on them at first, but when they felt something crawling all over them, they realized it was a mixture of spiders and cockroaches, all varying in sizes. Jongdae let out a shrill scream (even though he would deny this later) and swatted at the bugs moving all over his body. Minseok threw himself onto the ground, attempting to crush the bugs while getting some of them off of him. They were able to get all of them off, but Jongdae had started crying a little and Minseok made fun of him for it.
The sixth day was probably the worst for them. There was nothing that happened to them. There were no attacks. Their food wasn't poisoned. They didn't get hurt. But they saw that they weren't alone in this. They saw that they weren't the only ones that had been through this before. Minseok and Jongdae were walking along the path when they came across a ditch. They couldn't see what was inside of it, but the smell coming from it gave them a pretty good clue as to what was inside of it. The two of them slowly peeked over the edge and instantly regretting it, their eyes never being able to forget what the saw. Piles and piles of dead bodies were stacked everywhere, the collars on their necks having killed them. Minseok and Jongdae could see that there was more than one blade piercing the dead skin, making the death even more brutal and gory than it needed to be. Minseok backed away, vomiting everything in his stomach that he had eaten the day before, grabbing his own collar and tugging, letting go of it when he felt it slightly tighten. Jongdae rubbed soothing circles on his back, waiting until Minseok had calmed down enough before they walked away from the sight, the collars around their necks suddenly feeling really heavy.
It was the last night before they reached the end of their journey, one of them going to meet their deaths. It was quiet while they were setting up their blankets, the sight of dead bodies and the thought of one them of becoming one plaguing their thoughts. The tension was high between the two of them, both of them realizing that this was the last time anything would be slightly normal. This was last time the two would be able to spend time together before one of them would die, the other having the live with haunted thoughts of what they went through this week.
They avoided looking at each other as much as they could, both of them scared to know what the other was thinking about. They knew it was time to decide the thing they have both been putting off. In only a few hours, one of them would have to sacrifice their life, letting the other person live by taking the collar off for them.
Jongdae wanted to bring the topic up again but didn't know how. The last time he did, both of them ending up fighting, and he didn't want to do that. They had just admitted how the felt about each other, and Jongdae still didn't fully believe what Minseok said, but he didn't want him to take it back.
Jongdae wouldn't have the will to live if that happened.
But then again, he didn't want to live if it meant going back to his normal life without Minseok. It didn't seem like much of a normal life with the older boy.
They were quiet while they ate their food, whatever they were eating seeming tasteless and hard to swallow at the moment. Jongdae drank lots of water to try to move the food down his throat, but it didn't work much and he'd end up drinking too fast, the water coming out as he coughed violently. Minseok came over and patted his back, hoping to help Jongdae. When Jongdae was done, he was red in the face and his eyes were watering, deciding that he should give up on food for the night.
They sat facing away from each other, slipping off their shoes and getting ready to rest for the night. Jongdae desperately wanted to say something to Minseok. Anything would be enough. It didn't even have to be about their fate, he just needed to hear the other's voice, to remind him that he wasn't alone, that this wasn't all a bad dream and he was having to go through all of this alone. Call him a terrible person, but Jongdae was glad the Minseok was there with him, helping him through things that he wouldn't have been able to without the help of somebody. If it weren't for Minseok, he probably would've died on the first day, the glass walls crushing his body.
Jongdae sighed, looking down at his watch, checking exactly how much time they had left before the end of the week.
032:21:02
Jongdae calculated how much time they had to sleep before there was exactly a day left on their timers. Eight hours and twenty-one minutes wasn't a lot of time for him and he was pretty sure that it wasn't a lot of time for Minseok either.
“Jongdae?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Jongdae jumped, ruining the neat bedding that he had set out for himself. “Holy sh-You scared me.”
Minseok chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, causing Jongdae to blush slightly. “I'm sorry. It was just a little too quiet...It was making me nervous.”
Jongdae nodded, starting to fix his bed again. “Yea, me too.”
Minseok scooted over a bit to help Jongdae, surprisingly smooth hands brushing over the latter's occasionally, causing his heart beat to rush. The two finished quickly, both of them getting under the covers, blankets wrapped around them as they say, quiet and awkward. They stole small glances at each other, looking away whenever their eyes met for a few seconds.
It was Jongdae who spoke first, surprisingly.
“You wish things could've been different?”
Minseok looked up. “What?”
“I mean, I know you wish that we weren't in this mess, but do you wish that you never met me? Or took me to that party?”
Minseok leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Jongdae. “What are you saying?”
Jongdae didn't know what he was saying. But it was as if the gate in his brain had opened and all these thoughts were pouring out and he had no control over them anymore. Taking a shaky breath, Jongdae looked up at Minseok. “I mean, this is kind of my fault. If I hadn't run away from you then we never would have met Jinki and this never would have happened.”
Minseok lifted Jongdae's chin, moving forward so that he could capture Jongdae's lips, both of them tasting the desperation. “Don't say things like that. It wasn't your fault. This will never be your fault.”
“But it is! It is!” Jongdae screamed, weakly punching at Minseok's chest in an attempt to get the older to let go. Minseok just held on tighter.
“Shh. It's not. Don't ever think that it is. You didn't put us in this situation. Don't blame yourself.”
Jongdae nodded, having started to sob in Minseok's embrace. “It's okay. We'll be okay.”
The two watched the night sky. They held each other for a long time, Jongdae trying to control his breathing while Minseok rubbed comforting circles into his back. It reminded Jongdae of when their first day, both of them scared beyond belief on what was going to happen to them. It seemed like that was so long ago, the days having stretched on and on.
Jongdae thought back to the first time he saw Minseok, the way his heart fluttered and how he wished he could be held the way Minseok was doing right now. He remembered telling himself that there was no way he would have a chance, the older boy too beautiful for someone like Jongdae. Sure, he wished that this was happened in a different setting, but it was still happening and that was something Jongdae thought would never happen.
Ever since Jinki first appeared to give them a message, Jongdae kept going over what he had said. “If you guys give them what they want, you will have a chance. Both of you.” At first he had thought that both of them would be able to live, but how? Who exactly put them in this ed up game and what did they want? Jongdae didn't know and he was pretty sure that Minseok didn't know either. Both of them were clueless as to why they were even here in the first place, the only reasonable explanation being that the people who ran this were cruel and needed mental help.
Jongdae was frustrated, Jinki not having appeared with another message, like he had promised. Jongdae knew that Minseok had also been expecting him to return with something, anything really, but was disappointed. Minseok's hopes were obviously crushed, but Jongdae wasn't going to give up that easily. For him, this was something he couldn't fail in. But right now, Jongdae was tired and he figured that he could deal with this in the morning.
Both pair of eyes began to droop, eyelids closing by themselves. They laid themselves down getting ready to sleep, pulling the blankets over their tired bodies.
“Good night, Minseok.”
“Mm. Night, Jongdae,” Minseok whispered back.
Both of them tightened the embrace, moving closer together so that there was virtually no space between their bodies.
They were just about drift off into another dreamless night, when a bright light formed on the glass wall next to them, making it too bright for them to go to sleep.
Jongdae groaned, sitting up, hand going to shield his eyes while trying to figure out what was going on. Minseok was still laying down, hiding his face in Jongdae's lap without realizing it. “What the is that?” Minseok said from his spot.
“I don't know,” Jongdae muttered sleepily, wanting the light to turn off so he could get some rest.
Luck wasn't on his side, though, as the light seemed to be getting brighter. There was a bunch of noise coming from what Jongdae now figured out to be a screen, someone shaking the camera they were using to film.
“Minseok, get up,” Jongdae said, trying to get the sleeping boy off from his lap.
“Mmm, I don't want to,” Minseok mumbled.
“No, seriously. Look.”
Reluctantly, Minseok sat up, wanting to see what Jongdae was talking about. His eyes widened slightly as the outline of a body began to show up on the screen, the video still too shaky for them to make out anything else.
Both of them gasped, Jongdae grabbing Minseok's hand as the video focused. They turned to look at each other, shock written on both of their faces.
Jinki was standing in the same room as before, but this time he looked different. He looked tired and stressed, dark circles his eyes and skin blemished. His lips were cracked and his eyes were red, making it obvious that he hadn't slept in days. Jinki looked around him a lot, his body tense, waiting for something. He didn't do anything besides that for a couple of minutes, eyes frantic and wide as he stood there. Jongdae and Minseok wondered what had happened to make him like that.
Finally, Jinki spoke.
“I'm so sorry. I'm so, very sorry,” Jinki began. “It wasn't supposed to be like this. You weren't- My boss is terrible and you- You weren't supposed to see that.” Jinki looked like he was borderline tears and he kept running his fingers through his hair, which honestly looked like it hadn't been washed in a while.
It took a few seconds for the pair to realize what Jinki was talking about, but they got it eventually, feeling like the wind was knocked out of them.
Jinki continued. “This week did not go the way that I planned. It didn't go the way that any of us planned. Me and a co-worker-We had followed you two for a while, planning this week for months, packing each day with specific events and details and it didn't happen that way. It was made to be much, much worse.”
“My boss...He had originally reviewed our plans for you two a few weeks before we had brought you together and he had approved. He said that the events were perfect for the two of you. That it wasn't too harmful in any way. But he had suddenly changed his mind, pulling up plans that we had made for some runaway jail mates. We were supposed to punish them, force them into wanting to go back to jail. What happened to you during the week were supposed to be punishments and...Honestly, the worst thing that was supposed to happen to you were the spiders. That's it.”
Jinki paused, taking a moment to calm himself down, taking deep breaths. Jongdae and Minseok sat stunned, the reality of what Jinki said hitting them like a truck.
“We were supposed to add excitement to your lives. That's what you wanted. That's what you've always wanted. You weren't supposed to die. My boss forced me to say what I did at the beginning of the week. I didn't want to, I swear.”

Minseok had begun to shake, his breathing growing heavier. Jongdae's grip on his hand tightened, feeling a little dizzy himself.
“I've been fighting with my boss this entire week, trying to get my plan back on track. It- He didn't want to.”
Minseok let out a small sob. Jongdae instantly wrapped an arm around him.
“I know you guys hate me. But this wasn't my fault. This-” Jinki gestured in front of him. “It wasn't me. I wanted to keep you alive. I'm quitting this ing place after tomorrow. I'm done with this. They just want to see people die, no matter who it is.” Jinki sighed. “I want to see you guys live, so I'm going to help you, okay?”
Jongdae sat up straight, his attention fully directed to the screen in front of him. Minseok was freaking out too much to listen.
“Both of you guys can live. That's always been a possibility, since the beginning. I...I'm sorry but I wish I could tell you how. I don't know how, but I'm not lying when I say that there's a way. Each pair that we send off into the arena-There are different ways that we kill the people that need to be killed, be it a bomb strapped to their chests or a simple bracelet designed to slit their wrists. There is always a way to get both of those off, but only my boss knows and he will never tell anyone. He says that the players have to figure to out if they really want to live.” An incoherent scream came from the video and Jinki jumped, eyes widened, walking closer to the camera. “I'm sorry, I wish there was more that I could do to help, but that's all I know. But you can't give up, okay? I want to see you both alive at the end of this.” Another scream. “I have to go.”
And then the screen went black.
All thoughts of sleep had left Jongdae's mind, the new video that he had just watched sending his mind reeling. Jongdae let out a laugh, the information too much for him. “M-Minseok.”
Minseok hadn't watched the last part of the video, deciding the burying his face in blankets was a much better idea. Jongdae nudged the older boy with his elbow. “Minseok,” he said again.
The older boy groaned from his spot, turning his face a little. Jongdae could see that his face was wet with tears. “What?”
“You didn't hear?”
“No. I didn't want to hear about how we actually had a chance at one point, only for that to be taken away.”
Jongdae scoffed, surprised that Minseok hadn't managed to catch on. “Minseok, no.”
Minseok raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“No!” Jongdae exclaimed. “We have a chance! Jinki said we have a chance!”
Minseok's jaw dropped open. “W-What are you saying Jongdae?”
Jongdae couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He tackled a surprised Minseok to the ground, peppering his face with kisses. “Jongdae!”
“Jinki said that there's a way for both of us to live! That there's a way for both of us to take these ing collars off.”
Minseok stared, eyes wide. “What? Are you serious?” Jongdae nodded. “Oh my gosh. I-Oh my god!” Minseok screamed, Jongdae's words finally sinking in. “We can both live!”
“Yea!”
The two embraced each other again, arms tight around each other's shoulders. They were both shaking, the excitement and possibility of both of them surviving causing them to be like this. Minseok leaned back a bit, looking into Jongdae's shining eyes with love and admiration. He went forward, capturing Jongdae's lips in a soft kiss, smiling when he felt the other instantly kiss back.
It was a gentle kiss, one full on passion and emotions. There were no other intentions behind it, neither of them wanted to go any farther. They were content with this, just the two of them, bodies close and lips pressed against each other. It was something that both of them had wanted, something that both of them have dreamed about. It was a mystery to both of them on why they had decided to like each other. But it was okay, because they finally had each other. They finally got what they had wanted.
Their moment didn't last forever, though, when something ran through Minseok's mind. He pulled back, ignoring the whine that Jongdae let out. “Wait, Jongdae,” Minseok said when Jongdae tried to lean in again. “Did Jinki say how?”
“Hm? How what?”Jongdae asked as he kissed down the side of Minseok's face.
“How we can both make it through this?”
Jongdae's lips stopped and he sighed. He knew that Minseok would ask that eventually, but he was hoping for a few more moments of happiness. Jongdae shook his head. “No. He didn't.”
“What? He didn't?”
“No.”
Minseok stayed quiet, searching Jongdae's face for any signs that he was lying, coming up with nothing. “He really didn't?”
“All he said was that there was a way to get them off. He didn't-”
“That motherer!” Minseok yelled, getting up to his feet. “I ing swear if I ever see him again, I'm going to kill him.”
Jongdae sat shocked at Minseok's sudden outburst. “Minseok?”
“Who does he think he is to just keep that information from us? Is he playing with our feelings? He can't just say that we can both live and then not tell us how! That's ed up and he's an ! What the !”
“Minseok, wait-”
“No! Why would he do that? Why would he get our hopes up? What the hell is wrong with him!?”
“He doesn't know anything!” Jongdae yelled, trying to be heard over Minseok's rambling.
Minseok stopped. “What?”
Jongdae sighed and took Minseok's hand in his. “He doesn't know how to. He told me all that he knows. It's-It's not his fault. He doesn't know.”
Jongdae leaned in, wrapping his arms around the shaking Minseok. It was hard, honestly, knowing that there was a way out but having no idea on how to do it. There wasn't much they could do either. Had this information been given to them at the beginning, maybe they would've actually had a chance at figuring it out. But it was too late. The clock was ticking and there wasn't much time left.
Minseok kissed Jongdae's neck softly, knowing that this may be the last time that they could be close like this. Tomorrow was going to be a day like no other, the outcome of it still unclear.
“I want you to live,” Minseok whispered against the pale skin
Jongdae pulled away gasping. “Don't say that.”
“But it's true. I want you to live, Jongdae.”
Jongdae shook his head frantically, his emotions overwhelming him. “I-I thought that you wanted to live. We had a fight about it. You wanted me to die-”
“That was before! Listen to me, Jongdae. I can't- It's only right if you live. You have so much more going on for you. I can't stand the thought of me living in a world without you.”
“You're basically asking me permission for you to die! I can't give you that! What if I wanted you to live? What if I wanted to die? Would you agree?”
“Of course not!”
“Then how could you ask me such a thing?”
Minseok knew that Jongdae had a point, but he wasn't going to back down. He was set on having Jongdae live and nothing was going to change his mind. “You're going to live Jongdae.”
“I don't want to. I want you to live.”
“You can't just say that. You can't just say that because I'm saying it.”
“Well, why not? It's true, I want you to live. I love you, Minseok. So much. I love you so much that just to get you to live, I'd die. I'd literally ing die for you and that's exactly what I'm going to do.”
Minseok and Jongdae looked into each other's eyes, determination on both of their minds. Both of them were stubborn, that much they knew.
“Let's just go to sleep okay? We can figure this out later,” Minseok said.
Jongdae nodded, even though he knew that there was no time to figure things out. There wouldn't be a later. This decision would have to be made at the last minute.
So as the two of them settled down again, only a few more hours left before they would have to get up again, they stayed quiet, unspoken words running through their heads. Their touches became more desperate, their embrace filled with more passion. It wasn't anything sensual. It was just a need to something to grasp, to make the last few moments special. Both knew that it was going to be a restless sleep, with no dreams to make it any better, but they had each other close by, and that made it okay.
Things were okay, even if it was just for a little bit.


~*~*~*~

Jongdae was ready to face the day, preparing himself for any last obstacle the pair would have to go through. He was ready to have to make a choice deciding who gets to live and who will die. He was ready for all of that, honestly.
But nothing could've prepared him for waking up and realizing he was alone.
He opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light before he sat up, stretching his sore limbs. The sour taste in his mouth made him cringe but there really wasn't much he could do. It had been a week since he's last been able to properly brush his teeth and the taste in his mouth was getting worse every day.
“Minseok, we have to go,” Jongdae muttered. He was answered with silence. “Minseok?” Nothing.
Jongdae began getting worried, afraid that something might have happened to the older while he was asleep. But then again, what could've happened? Didn't the makers of this game want them to decide who died? Wasn't that the whole purpose of this?
But still, if Minseok wasn't hurt, where did he go? Jongdae stood up, ignoring the head rush that he got. “Minseok?” Jongdae called out again into the open air. Again he got no reply.
Jongdae tried to calm himself down, telling himself that Minseok was okay, that he wasn't dead somewhere by himself. Jongdae wants to think that Minseok just went to go use the bathroom or something, but deep in the back of his mind, he knows that's not what happened.
He decides to wait, hoping that Minseok will come back soon and relieve him of his worrying. He looks down at his watch, gasping when he finds that he slept a lot longer than he had planned.
016:02:59
Jongdae had slept sixteen hours, leaving him exactly sixteen hours left to get to the end of this place. He had no idea how long the two of them had to travel and if the remaining time would be enough to make it. Growing nervous, Jongdae tried to call out for Minseok again.
“Minseok, we have to go. There's-We slept a lot. There's not even a full day left and we have to get to the safe zone or whatever is waiting for us. Minseok? Please come out, we have to go.”
Jongdae felt tears of desperation filling his eyes and he angrily wiped them away.
“Minseok, I know you're out there. Are you scared of what's going to be at the end? Because I am too. At least we can be scared together, right? I can't do this alone. We have to stick together. We've come too far to start separating now.”
Jongdae knew by now that he wasn't going to get answer, whether Minseok was listening or not. He sat down, frustrated and terrified. He didn't know how to go about this by himself. Minseok was usually the one who saved him from situations, who knew what to do.
“Minseok, I need you,” he whispered.
He let himself fall back, laying himself down in his makeshift bed. On his way down, Jongdae's arm landed on Minseok's pillow, making something fly up into the air.
From the corner of his eye, Jongdae saw a piece of paper float for a few seconds before gravity forced it back down. He immediately sat up and grabbed the paper, eyes going to read what was written on it.
His heart dropped as his took in the message.
Jongdae,
Don't hate me. Please don't hate me, but I have to do this. For the both of us.
We both want to live but that's not going to happen. There's no way that the two of us are going to come out of this alive. I want you to survive but you want me to survive. How are we going to decide something like that? We can't.
Which is why I left.
I know I'm basically killing the both of us, but maybe that's for the best. I know that I can't go on living if you're dead and I assume you feel the same way. So hopefully you'll understand why I did this. I'm sorry that I'm not going to be there when...when it happens but I can't see that.
I love you Jongdae and I'm sorry that we never had a chance.
Goodbye.
-Minseok
“No!” Jongdae screamed. “No! ing hell! Minseok, you , no!”
Jongdae stood up, abandoning all of his belongings and running. He didn't need them anyway, no matter what the outcome was. Today was the last day and something was going to happen.
As Jongdae ran, tears streamed down his face. He couldn't believe what Minseok did, even if he understood it. How could he just leave them both to die? How could he think that this was the answer? Jongdae had no idea where he was running to, only following the path that was laid out in front of him. There could've been something waiting to kill him but he didn't care. He just needed to finish this, hoping to find Minseok waiting at the end.
It was a long, painful run that lasted for hours, taking up most of his remaining time. He never stopped running, though, alternating from sprinting to jogging whenever he got tired. There was no time to waste and Jongdae knew that.
His body hurt and his lungs burned. Everything ached.
But just as he felt like he was going to pass out, he saw it, the red sign with the words he's been wanting to see all week.
The End
He let out a sob, picking up his speed and running faster towards the destination. It looked like an abandoned parking lot. Jongdae wouldn't have thought that it was anything special if it weren't for a building in the distance, resembling the one that they had been placed in.
As he got closer, his eyes searched for Minseok, hoping that he would be there.
But as he crossed the sign and he looked around, his fears were confirmed and he realized that he had been left alone.
Minseok was really going to let both of them die.
Jongdae began shaking his head, body trembling in fear and anger.
“Where are you?!” Jongdae screamed at the top of his lungs. “Where are you!?”
He dropped to his knees and began to sob. “You can't do this, Minseok! You can't just leave everyone behind! People love you! They don't love me! Do this for me! If you really care about me, then you'll live. You won't leave me alone to die by myself!”
Jongdae looked down at the watch on his wrist and saw that there were only six minutes left. It had taken him most of the sixteen hours to run from where he was and he was exhausted. His body shook violently and tears fell, crying at the thought of Minseok dying alone, neck pierced by the collar they were forced to wear, body never to be found.
Jongdae never thought that it would end like this. He figured that at least one of them would live, but that obviously wouldn't happen.
The beeping of the watch got louder as the seconds ticked by and Jongdae felt himself growing numb. “I guess this is the end,” he whispered to himself.
“Jongdae!”
Jongdae's head whipped up and he saw a figure running to him from a distance. He wiped at this eyes, trying to clear his blurry vision.
“Jongdae, hurry!”
Blinking his eyes a couple more times, he sees that it's Minseok that was running torwards him.
“M-Minseok?” He gets to his feet and sprints toward the older boy. “Minseok!”
Meeting in the middle of the parking lot, they run into each others arms, falling to the floor. They would've stayed like that for longer if the beeping on their watches hadn't gotten louder.
“Jongdae, come here. Let me-”
“No, you can't.” Jongdae reached up and grabbed at Minseok's collar. His hands were sweaty and he couldn't get a grip on the cold metal. “It won't come off!”
Minseok reached up and put a hand on Jongdae's cheek. “I'm so sorry.”
“Sorry? You shouldn't be sorry for living!”
Minseok smiled softly and shook his head. “That's not what I'm sorry about.”
“Then what-”
A loud alarm pierced the silence as Minseok grabbed Jongdae's collar and yanked it off, throwing it away from them. “I'm sorry for that.”
Jongdae's eyes widened as he touched his neck, expecting to feel something other than his cold skin. “Why would you do that!? You weren't supposed to be the one to die!” He lunged at Minseok, desperately trying to get the collar off. He looked down at his watch and saw that there were only thirty seconds left. “No! This isn't how it was supposed to be!”
Minseok ran his fingers through Jongdae's hair, while the other boy was still tugging at his neck. “It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. Don't worry about, Jongdae. Don't worry.”
Their watches began counting down for them, a voice telling them just exactly how much time they had together.
000:00:10
“Shut up, Minseok! Shut up! Why are you so stupid?”
000:00:09
“Because you deserve to live!”
000:00:08
“Why would you be willing to leave me alone!?”
000:00:07
“Jongdae, stop pulling on it. It's not going to come off!”
000:00:06
Ignoring Minseok's words, Jongdae was still trying to save the man underneath him, pulling until his fingers where white.
000:00:05
Jongdae's tears fell onto Minseok's cheeks. He didn't move to wipe them away.
000:00:04
Minseok wrapped his arms tightly around the sobbing Jongdae, trying to calm him down.
000:00:03
“I'm sorry.”
000:00:02
“I'm so sorry.”
000:00:01
With one final pull, Jongdae fell back, eyes wide. He heard a piercing scream ring through his ears and he sat up, expecting to find Minseok dead, blood surrounding him. What he didn't expect to find was Minseok covering his ears, staring at him with his mouth hanging open, no collar around his neck.
Eventually, the screaming stopped, and Minseok slowly went over to Jongdae. “Y-You're hand.”
Looking down, he saw the collar in his hand, blood soaking it. One of the spikes that was meant to go into Minseok's neck had instead gone right through the middle of Jongdae's palm.
Looking back up at Minseok, he began to laugh, removing the collar from his hand before throwing his arms around the other. “You're ing alive!”
Both of them turned into a mess of tears, before pulling away and smashing their lips together. The kiss tasted like tears and blood, but neither of them cared. They had both survived. They had each other.
Their celebration was cut short by a loud bang and they looked over to the building to see the door open, someone standing at the entrance.
It took them a few seconds to realize that it was Jinki and the both of them stood up, Minseok instantly going to stand in front of Jongdae.
Jinki walked closer and the two could see that he was in worse shape than when they had first met him. He had been put through something but they couldn't tell what.
Jinki stopped walked when he was in front of them and the two looked at him, wary of what he was going to do.
“Congratulations,” Jinki finally said, voice raspy. “You figured it out.”
That's all Jinki needed to say before Minseok and Jongdae were throwing themselves onto the man in front of him, hugging him despite it being his fault that they were here in the first place. They didn't know what Jongdae had did to get Minseok's collar off, but it didn't matter. It was over and they were all okay.



~*~*~*~


It's been five years since Jongdae and Minseok have survived that horrible week. Their lives have gotten better and their love for each other only grew by the day.
When they returned from the maze, not much had changed except for the fact that Luhan was freaking out wondering where Minseok was. Even Jonghyun was worried about Jongdae. Sehun had assumed that the two finally got together and went away somewhere, spending the week in a hotel room having . Neither Jongdae or Minseok told them where they were. They weren't ready for it. They wouldn't know until a few years later.
Jinki hadn't stayed, disappearing as soon as they arrived in Seoul. He did live a message though.
I'll be leaving messages. Please don't forget me.
Jongdae and Minseok never forgot Jinki.
Luhan, Sehun, and Jonghyun had become friends over the week and when Jongdae and Minseok returned, the three of them forced them into their little group. The five of them would stick together in the years to come.
They all graduated from college, venturing out into the real world and pursuing whatever it was they wanted to do. Sehun and Luhan had decided to get married the year after college and they were very happy with their decision. Jongdae thought the wedding was beautiful and Minseok thought the food was amazing. The two of them opened up a production company, their business taking off and both of them becoming successful.
Jonghyun had gone off to become a singer, managing to get into one of the best entertainment industries. SM entertainment, he said it was, and his life was busy being a trainee. He always made time for Jongdae though, and would always mention him in his acceptance speeches for awards after he became hugely famous.
As for Minseok and Jongdae, the two of them settled down, moving away from the city and getting less extravagant jobs then their friends. Jongdae became an elementary school teacher while Minseok went against his parent's wishes and became a chef in a moderately popular restaurant. They were content with their lives and the way it had turned out.
The both of them still had nightmares, even though they weren't as frequent as they used to be. One of them would wake up in a cold sweat, the other immediately there to comfort, and then they would eventually go back to sleep. Sometimes they thought they saw Jinki, but whenever they tried to go see if it was, the person would be gone and Minseok or Jongdae would give up.
They eventually did get messages from him, but they were very short. It would usually be him saying that he was okay and wondering if Minseok and Jongdae were okay. He was always in a different place in each of them messages, but he seemed happy, traveling the world. The pair was happy for him, as well.
They would often meet up with their friends, choosing a different restaurant every time. The five of them always had a great time with each other, sharing stories of what was going on in their lives and how their jobs were. Sehun and Luhan were thinking of adopting children. Jonghyun had just met someone by the name of Kim Kibum. Minseok and Jongdae had both been promoted in their respective jobs.
Minseok and Jongdae has been through hell and back, but they made it out in one piece. And now, they enjoyed life no matter what was happening in it, knowing that it could instantly be taken away.
The two finally had something going for them and there was not one thing they would ever change.
They were okay.
Everything was okay.

 

Hi okay hi! This is the end and thank you for reading :) It took me way longer than I would've thought but I'm finished!
Please comment! 
Ignore any mistakes I will fix later.