The previous chapter was rated M as a precaution.  As with chapter 5, 40 and 41, if you were unable to read it, please click here.  You will be directed back here at the end of the chapter.

When there was a light touch on her shoulder, Semi almost screamed and fired the gun, but the familiar hand tracing a square on her thigh kicked enough sense into her for her to pause with her hand on the trigger.  Minseok pushed the muzzle away from his temple, apparently not even fazed that Semi had almost killed him by accident.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he whispered.  “Do you reckon you can hold on for just a few more minutes?”

It was amazing just how soothing his presence could be.  The stress didn’t lift, but Semi’s body went limp as his free arm crept around her and she started crying silently against his chest.  His hold tightened protectively and he stopped tracing the square, apparently feeling that her breathing wasn’t in an alarming state.  Semi figured that the panic hadn’t even had a chance to get full blown.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”  His voice was still barely more than a whisper.  “I won’t let them hurt you.”

Semi nodded, raising a hand to brush away her tears.  Then she sat up, confused, and listened intently.  There was still movement in the room next door.  In fact, there was more movement next door, which meant it wasn’t only one person.

“That—”

Minseok shushed her quickly and pointed behind him.  “I came in through the window.  Come on, let’s go before they find us.”

But before either of them could get to their feet, the kitchen light came on.  Semi made out two shapes in the doorway before Minseok pulled her behind him and snatched the gun from her hand.

“Don’t—” she yelped as one of the men laughed something about finding two of them for the price of one and raised a gun of his own.  She wasn’t going to be able to handle another person being shot in front of her, no matter what side they were on.

Minseok must have caught her meaning, because he spun the gun quickly in his hand, gripped it by the muzzle for a split second, and then hurled it across the room.  It struck the gunman in the temple and poleaxed him instantly with no more than a slight thud.  Before the other man could react, Minseok swept up the fallen metal bowl and slung it Frisbee-style, taking down the second man – probably the one who had been chasing Semi if he didn’t have a gun of his own.  She gaped.

“Let’s go before more come,” he advised.  “The window’s probably best.”

Still stunned, Semi just nodded in silent agreement.  Minseok helped her to her feet and guided her over to the window, climbing up onto the sill himself so that he could lend a hand and get her safely down the other side.  The chill of the cold evening air hit Semi as she waited for him to scramble down to join her and she shivered, huddling closer into her jacket.  He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed her fingers gently.

“Are you okay?”

Semi shook her head, unable to speak around the lump in .  Minseok pulled her into his side.  Neither of them spoke as he hurried her through the shadows, navigating around panicking pockets of students scattered all over the place as if he knew the university well, and then covering her eyes when they passed a particularly gruesome scene that made him retch.  Semi could feel him trembling long before he took his hand away from her face again.  Once they were away from it and heading towards the main gates, which were now visible, he murmured, “The paramedics are going to have their work cut out for them.”

It’s my fault.  Semi tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled croak.  Minseok’s hold tightened protectively around her again.

They managed to slip through the gates, where police had gathered in riot uniform and were directing paramedics and emergency medical help through in both directions, though this was causing a bottleneck for anybody who wasn’t on or with a stretcher.  Two anxious figures were standing on the pavement by a Mercedes that Semi was just about aware of enough to recognise.

She was crushed into a hug almost immediately by Seulgi.

“Oh my gosh, we were so worried,” Wendy babbled as she turned it into a group hug.  “We heard the gunshots and got that text and then the paramedics arrived and we were really worried something had happened to you—”

“Where’s Tao?” Minseok interrupted abruptly.  “Aren’t you guys always together?”

“He said he was with Semi in the text message,” Seulgi said, nonplussed.  “Isn’t he…?”

Gripping tightly to Minseok’s sleeve, Semi shook her head.

“He—”  The lump in was too big for her to get any further.  Minseok squeezed her shoulders quickly and freed his sleeve.

“I’m going to find him.  If a policeman called Ryeowook shows up, tell him I’ll be back soon.”

Semi grabbed at him again.  “Minseok—!”

He kissed the side of her head, closing his own hands over hers as he gently detached them from him again.  “I won’t be long, sweetheart, I promise.”  Pulling away, he took out his phone and made back towards the gates.  Semi thought she heard him speaking to Kyungsoo before the noise swallowed him up, and she sat down heavily on the ground.

It was an awful waiting period.  Semi wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but more and more ambulances kept pulling up and driving away, and to make matters worse, Wendy and Seulgi started asking questions.  She fended off as many as she could by shaking her head, and then Ryeowook arrived and started asking more questions, and it all became too much and she just handed him her phone to look through the texts sent from Junhong’s number and started crying.  The other girls bundled her into the back of the car, but it didn’t stop her from overhearing Ryeowook speaking to somebody over the radio about the paramedics being in danger trying to get the injured students out and shots still being fired at the policemen who had gone in to try to control the situation.

Unable to remain cooped up in the car when it felt so horribly claustrophobic, Semi stumbled out of it again, at which point Ryeowook thought it might be a good idea to see if a paramedic who was taking a break from the dashes in and out of the university could look her over and suggest anything that might help.  They had just reached one of the ambulances when Minseok staggered up, blood spattered down his face, with Tao in his arms.

“He’s still breathing,” he gasped out.  “Don’t know if it’s fatal, but he needs to go into the operating room now.”

Two paramedics who had just finished loading somebody else into an ambulance came up immediately and took Tao’s limp form off Minseok, loading him into the back of the ambulance they had just come from and starting to hook him up to various medical devices.  Minseok doubled over, trembling, and looking like he was going to throw up, or possibly pass out.  Semi reached out a shaky hand to him, desperate for some kind of reassurance.  He took it and managed a wan smile.

“Not right now, sweetheart.  Kyungsoo asked me to find out if