Taekwoon was curled on the couch in the dim lighting of the living room with a book propped up by his knees. He was supposed to have been in bed at least two hours ago, but Wonsik hadn't come home from meeting with his parents yet and he didn't like going to sleep without him. He would wait a little longer. If he wasn't home by the time he finished this chapter, he would go to bed.

Just as he worried, Wonsik wasn't home by then either. With a sigh, he pulled off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and then got off the couch to head to their bedroom.

It was when he laid down that the front door opened and slammed closed, startling him right back up. He quickly reached into the nightstand drawer for one of the many guns hidden around their apartment. Practice hands aimed the gun at the door, the moonlight streaming through the closed curtains enough light for him to make the shot.

The door flew open. The light flicked on.

"Taekwoon!"

Wonsik didn't sound surprised at the fact that Taekwoon was pointing a gun to shoot the invader, but rather, he sounded panicked.

Taken aback, Taekwoon lowered the gun. "What's wrong?"

"We need to go." he said urgently, immediately heading for their closet. Taekwoon watched him dig into the back for two large suitcases.

Dread soaked through Taekwoon at the words. "Wonsik, slow down." he said, putting the gun on the blankets. "What happened?"

Wonsik didn't even look at him. "There's no time! We need to leave now."

Something must've went wrong at the meeting with his parents. Taekwoon wouldn't doubt it; he had a strained relationship with his father and they could hardly ever see eye to eye.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't worry, I've got it all taken care of. We just gotta go. There's a car waiting for us outside."

Taekwoon's heart jumped into his throat. Run away, the two of them? Where would they go? If they had to leave, they clearly must need to hide, but Wonsik's family, Wonsik's father—they could be found anywhere they ran. Taekwoon had been prepared for a lot of things when he got into a relationship with Wonsik, and learned to be even more flexible as time went on. It helped that part of his motivation to be able to adjust was that their romance was forbidden. Taekwoon's name, just by association, was on the hit lists of many.

"I—I . . ."

Wonsik had emptied most of their closet into the suitcases. He was rushing around to gather the weaponry and anything else important they needed to take with them. Taekwoon, with his brain borderline-frying, watched him dart in and out of the room, putting other things into a duffel bag he pulled out.

He opened his mouth to say something but his voice was stuck in his throat, brain uselessly grabbing for words that weren't there. Now that he was able to listen, there was the low purr of a car outside their love nest apartment catching the rim of his hearing. He finally cracked something out.

"We're just going to leave?"

His words snapped Wonsik back to their reality. He stopped to look at Taekwoon, as if he hadn't even realized that he might've wanted to stay, if there was something keeping him rooted here. A light of fear passed through his darkened eyes.

"I'm sorry." he near-whispered. "I can't stay—and I can't let you stay either. It's too dangerous." He walked around the bed and took Taekwoon's face tenderly in his hands. "If I disappear, they'll come for you. Taekwoon, baby . . . You don't understand how easy it'll be for them to find you." His eyes glossed over with tears and an even more vigorous fear. "I ed up this time, I know. I promise I'll explain everything when I know we're safe."

Taekwoon was shaking at this point. He'd known what he was taking on when he said yes to Wonsik. When he'd decided to spend the rest of his life with him. He'd known exactly what he was getting into, and there had never been a time when he wanted to turn back.

Even now, trembling with fear, he didn't want to leave Wonsik, and he didn't want Wonsik to leave him. Neither of them could be without the other.

His eyes fell closed with a burning nose. He grabbed Wonsik's hips in an attempt to ground himself, to grasp what was happening and what they needed to do.

"There's not a lotta time." Wonsik whispered, breath fanning on his face.

Taekwoon nodded slowly, coming back to himself. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."

He could feel Wonsik slump with relief—but then a horn honked from outside below loudly and he tensed up again. His warm hands disappeared from Taekwoon's face and he opened his eyes.

"Grab the duffel and I got the two suitcases." he said. "Do you have anything else you need to take?"

After pocketing his phone, Taekwoon frantically looked around the room and then the apartment in his mind's eye. He couldn't think of anything. He shook his head.

Wonsik nodded, keeping his cool. "Alright, follow me."

In half a daze, Taekwoon followed Wonsik, barefoot, out of the apartment where they'd made their home; where they'd grown to love each other even more than when they met, laughed, cried, kissed, ed, lived. How would they fare after they escaped?

Wonsik was holding the door to a nondescript black car open when Taekwoon drifted back into real time. Barely coherent enough to move on his own, he let Wonsik usher him in. The door closed and the car was off.

"Hey, hey,"

Taekwoon hadn't realized how hard and heavy he was breathing until Wonsik placed a hand over his chest and grabbed one of his hands.

"It's okay." he murmured, pulling him in for a hug. "We'll be okay. I promise." He kissed the crown of Taekwoon's head.

"How can you be so sure?" Taekwoon asked in a small, wobbly voice. He wanted to fold himself into Wonsik's side until he was gone from this reality.

"Because," Wonsik tried to sound light. "You have me and I have you."

Through his tears, Taekwoon laughed something watery. "So cliché, as usual . . ."

"There's my Woonie." Wonsik teased, kissing his cheek and pressing the roundness into his eye. He wiped at his tears afterward. "I've always wanted to know what it was like to have a partner in crime against the world."

"I haven't." Taekwoon tried to joke, but he could tell his was a miss by the way Wonsik's face fell. "No, I—didn't mean it like that . . . I'm sorry . . ." he mumbled, trying to recover. He sighed shakily. "I'll go anywhere, as long as it's with you. We will be together, and it will be fine."

The lights passing overhead outside of the car showed him Wonsik's face picking up, his lips quirking. "That's so nice." he said, nuzzling into Taekwoon's neck.

Taekwoon shivered, grabbing his thigh. "What is?"

Wonsik kissed at his neck, arm tightening around his waist. "The way you say we."

if you haven't read the last three chapters, please do! i've updated almost too rapidly over the last few days, i'm sorry for annoying anyone ; w ;