Semi woke up to the credits of The Vampire Diaries still playing and surrounded by an absolute mess of crisp packets.  Bleary eyed, she sat up and looked around.  She'd had such a nice dream.  Minseok had come back and taken her to the restaurant and... okay, meeting Luhan again hadn't been so nice, but—

And then she looked at her phone.  Still February 24th.  Only five in the evening.  And Minseok had been acting really weirdly.

There was a rustle of clothing from the doorway and she turned.

"Long time, no see."  Luhan was grinning widely as he held up a gun.  Xiumin stood beside him, his gaze averted.  "And nice cover with the Seungri smokescreen, Xiu."

He fired—

Okay, just kidding.  What happened in the past chapters was all real.

On Friday, Tao’s discharge date from hospital and the day before Taeyong’s party, Minseok finally returned home.  He looked tired, but happy – or, at least, much happier than the last time Semi had seen him on her birthday.

“Where have you been?” Semi asked him, trying not to sound too plaintive.

“In and around the cathedral,” he replied, “and I spent last night with Chanyeol and your brother.  I just needed a bit of time and space to sort myself out.  And to visit Luhan.  He’s a saint, sometimes, I swear.”

Semi tried not to raise her eyebrow at Luhan being compared to a saint.

“I met him on the first day of his trial,” she told him, “and he basically told me to support you.  But in much harsher terms.”

Minseok’s spirits momentarily dampened.  “He’s not impressed, that’s for sure.”

“Jongin said he was planning to keep silent about the fact that you turned him in.”

Minseok bit his lip and nodded.  “I saved Luhan’s life a while back.  He’s keeping silent as repayment of that.  It’s only a small measure of protection, but it means there won’t be witch hunts in the underground for either of us.”  He glanced up at her.  “Let’s talk about happier things.  I heard Tao’s allowed out of hospital now.”

“He is.  He’s being officially discharged today and he wants to celebrate.”

“Is that why you’re all nicely dressed up?”  It looked like it took him a bit of an effort to say, but Semi grinned, blushing.  Tao had insisted on a black tie outing to see the latest musical that had hit town.  He’d originally wanted to go bowling, but had been told in no uncertain terms by the doctors that physical exercise had to be incremental and bowling was not incremental enough.  The idea was lunch in a restaurant next door to the theatre and then onto the show itself, since the afternoon showings during the week were much cheaper than the evening ones at the weekends.  Semi had decided on her blue and silver dress for the occasion, and the string of pearls Minseok had given her had barely left .

“Yes,” she admitted.

“And what time will you be back?”

“I don’t know.  Dinner?  It depends how tired Tao gets.”

Tao did not tire easily, even post operation.  He was a little slower walking around than everybody else because of his injuries, but he could still happily eat like a horse and laugh like a hyena, though the latter visibly pained him sometimes.  Wendy and Seulgi joined them for the musical, but Jongin, who had also been invited, was unable to because he was busy.  When they eventually parted in the early evening, Tao looked no more washed out than somebody recovering from a broken collarbone.  He insisted that they had to meet up again before the third week of March, which was when the university was reopening and extracted promises from each of them that they would in yells from across the street.  In a thoroughly jovial mood, Semi tumbled back into the apartment, pulling off the coat she’d worn over her dress.

Minseok was there almost immediately to take it from her and to ask her whether she’d enjoyed herself, even though that was pretty self-evident from Semi’s rosy cheeks and laughing smile.

“I’ve made us pizza,” he told her, taking her hand and towing her towards the kitchen.

“Homemade?” Semi asked hopefully.

“Completely homemade.”  He beamed at her.

Semi nearly stopped dead on the threshold.  It was like somebody had set up an entire greenhouse in the corner of the kitchen that housed the table.  “What is this?” she asked weakly.

“I was going to set it up on the balcony, but it’s freezing,” he admitted, “so I did it here instead.”

“Why?  Is tonight special?”

“Sort of.”  He held out a chair for her.  “It’s the first day of spring.  I thought flowers were fitting.”

Looking around at the bower that arched over the table and the fuchsias that dripped from it in abundance, Semi sat down.  She wanted to press the issue of exactly why Minseok had decided to dress the place up, but it turned out to be exactly what he’d said earlier.

“It’s the first day of spring and I know you like flowers,” was the explanation she had to stick with.

She suspected that there was more to it than that, because when she got back to her room, it was to find petals scattered everywhere and small tea light candles all over the place.

“Tell me,” she pleaded, trying to drag him into the bedroom with her.  “What’s the meaning of all this?”

Blushing, he smiled and shrugged, and then kissed her forehead as an afterthought.  “I felt like it.”

“You’re weird,” Semi protested.

“Sleep well, darling.”

Semi did, but Minseok didn’t quite, because when they both woke up in the morning, it was to find that he’d sleepwalked into her bed during the night.

The next morning was spent picking out a present for Taeyong.  Minseok casually slipped his arm through Semi’s and his hand into his pocket, and it stayed like that the entire time they were shopping.  Semi eventually slipped both her hands into her pockets too, warmed and a little amused.  It was also oddly appealing that he seemed so unbothered about only using one hand to do everything, especially when it came to paying.

On the way back to the apartment, one large train set wrapped up and bagged and clutched in Minseok’s free hand, he asked her if she was planning on going to Taeyong birthday party too.

“The invitation was for both of us,” he explained.  “I think he’d be a bit upset if you didn’t come.”

Semi hummed in agreement.

“I’m going to miss the little guy,” Minseok added in a much quieter voice.  “I don’t even know how I’m going to say goodbye to him.”

“Are you going to explain everything?  He’s going to be gutted.”

Minseok scratched the side of his nose.  “I’d like to, but I don’t think I can just yet.  He’s too young to understand.  And I think his parents would be horrified.”

Semi was right: Taeyong was absolutely devastated when Minseok took him aside at the end of the party to tell him that he was moving away.  He clung to him with wide, teary eyes, asking if he could come and visit and if Minseok would write to him, and then started bawling his heart out.  Looking lost and upset, Minseok sent Semi frantic glances for help.  It took a long time and the help of Taeyong’s father to diffuse the whole situation, and in the end, while Minseok was squeezing Taeyong in a bear hug and almost crying himself, Semi caved and asked the Kangs for contact information.

“Minseok’s going through a bit of a rough time,” she told them, unsure exactly how to explain but completely left on the spot.  “He wants a clean break and to start afresh, which is why….”

Junho seemed to understand more than Eunkyung did.

“Your son’s done a lot for him,” Semi finished up, glancing across at Taeyong, who was now sitting on Minseok’s lap as the man whispered something in his ear with a smile.  Taeyong burst out laughing and wiped his snotty nose with the back of his hand, and Minseok’s face lit up brilliantly.

Eunkyung looked dubious at the ability of a seven-year-old to do much for anybody, but she made no comment on it.

Minseok was a bit glum when they got back into the apartment, but he brushed off Semi’s concern and was soon smiling again.

“I only have until Monday morning,” he pointed out.  “No point moping.”

“Do you have to go?” she asked, even though they both knew that the answer was yes.

His smile softened a little.  “Aren’t you moving out on Monday too?”

Semi nodded slowly.  The idea was to camp out at Sehun and Chanyeol’s as she didn’t like the thought of staying in the apartment on her own, and Chen and Kyungsoo would help her through the final part of witness protection in choosing a new name and identity, where she wanted to go, and what she wanted to do.  It was going to be a wrench to say goodbye to and to close off such a huge portion of her life.  The past three-and-a-half months in particular had been a whirlwind, leaving her with some of her happiest and most profound memories alongside living and reliving some of her worst nightmares.

“We should both pack,” Minseok murmured.

“How much are you allowed to take with you?”

“Like, a teddie, toothbrush, toothpaste….”  He chuckled.  “Most of it’s going into storage.  It’ll take me, like, twenty minutes on Monday morning.  You’re basically moving house, though.  You need to get started at some point.”

“I can do it after you’ve left.”

He chewed on the inside of his cheek.  “Go pack now?” he suggested instead.  Semi narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’re trying to get me out of the way for a bit, aren’t you?  What are you planning?”

“Surprise.”  He grinned cheekily.  “You’ll find out if you go pack or do something in your room for a bit.”

Semi decided to humour him and retreated to her room.  Instead of packing, though, she settled for ringing Junhong.  She hadn’t really spoken to him properly since the incident with the birthday cake since he tired so easily and his family largely seemed to be around to take care of him anyway.

He sounded pleasantly surprised to hear from her, but neither of them was brave enough to bring up what had happened.  Instead, they made small talk about the dance competition Junhong wanted to enter once he was out of hospital, and his new interest in taking up law after being involved in court procedures.  He complained about the fact that they wouldn’t let him out of bed yet and how horribly unfit and restless he felt, but he otherwise sounded pretty happy.

The closest they came to mentioning the events of the past months was when he asked her if she was planning on coming back to university.  Semi admitted that that hadn’t been finalised yet, but that it was very unlikely.

“Still, I hope you keep in contact,” he told her.  “It would if I never got to see you again after all this.”

A bit teary-eyed, Semi promised that she would and hung up.  She was probably going to have to discuss who would and wouldn’t be good ideas to keep in contact with when she spoke to Chen and Kyungsoo.  Kai wasn’t going to be a problem – other than his job – since he was so used to multiple identities, and nor was Sehun.  Chanyeol she suspected would always be the person she went to if she needed therapy, since he already knew everything.  The police she technically wasn’t supposed to maintain contact with, but Lay and Chen were the witness protection handlers for her case, and so they’d always be on standby, and while Lay was busy as he’d just been given a major promotion, Semi doubted that he’d stay away for long if he was seriously considering employing Minseok once he was a free man.  Lay and Chen came as a package deal, in any case, so Semi suspected the latter would still be around.  That meant that there would still be vague contact with Seulgi, which by extension probably included Wendy and Tao.  Semi knew they’d be pretty miffed if she was in contact with Seulgi and not them.

The prospect of having to leave them all behind and start somewhere new, even if she was still in contact with them, produced a wave of anxiety, and after pacing around the room for a couple of minutes, Semi threw caution to the winds and stepped out.  Minseok and his surprise was going to have to wait.

She found him setting the finishing touches to the dining table in the living room, the table dragged over to the balcony windows.  It was still incredibly cold outside, but the sun hadn’t yet set, so the windows out onto the balcony were closed, but the curtains open, letting in a lot of natural light.

“I was just about to call you for food,” he said when he saw her.  Semi stood there trembling a little.

“I’m not ready for this,” she blurted out.  “I’m not ready to start up all over again.”

Minseok put the cutlery down on the table and came over to hug her.

“You will be when it’s time to do it, sweetheart, I’m sure.  You’re good at adapting, remember?”

“But I have to leave everyone.”

He patted her back.  “You’re not doing this alone.  You’ve got a fantastic network of very supportive friends and family and all their best wishes.  You’ll all find ways to keep going together.”

Semi tried to bury her head in the crook of his neck.  “I’m scared.”

He didn’t let her, tilting her chin up instead and cupping her face with his hands.

“You are one of the bravest people I know,” he told her, “and you would not be human if you didn’t fe