Life in Purgatory ch 38
Title: Life in Purgatory
Chapter: 38/40
Rating: R
Pairing: KyuJong/YoungSaeng, HyunJoong/JongWoon, JungMin/Zhou Mi, Kevin/KiBum, HeeChul/SiWon
Crossover: Super Junior, DBSK
Genre: Angst, AU,
Summary: Society is crumbling; salvation walks the earth once more.
Zhou Mi hung up the phone, sitting back in his chair and staring at it. He'd just got off the phone with YoungSaeng, who'd told him yet another of the others had awakened. After SooHyun and HyungJoon had been attacked a few nights before, SiWon and HeeChul let them know the next day they had been attacked and awakened as well. Now that call had just informed Zhou Mi that JaeJoong and ChangMin had awakened the night before.
Now it was down to himself and JungMin, and that scared him right to the bone. After speaking with everyone and hearing their experiences, it was fairly well confirmed that the dreams came at the moment before their awakening. What did that mean for him and JungMin though?
Sighing to himself, Zhou Mi got up out of his chair, heading out of his office. He had been trying to get some work done for the upcoming semester, but he'd barely shuffled any of his papers, too worried about things he didn't have any control over.
Eventually he found himself at the door to the library, opening it up and peering inside. "YunHo? Are you here?"
"Hm?" Someone pushed a rolling ladder back out of the way to look around the aisle of books. "Oh, hi Mi," YunHo smiled slightly at him, carrying a stack of books around as he put them back where they belonged. "A little early for next semester's material, what can I do for you?"
"I was hoping we could talk, I think we're the only ones in the building at the moment," Zhou Mi said, slowly making his way around the room towards YunHo. "Do you have a moment?"
"Of course," YunHo nodded, placing the stack of books down on the rolling ladder and straightening. Securing it from moving, he turned to Zhou Mi, leaning against the end of the shelf. "You look troubled."
"More than a little," Zhou Mi nodded, pulling out one of the nearby chairs and sitting down. "I was just talking to YoungSaeng, and as I'm sure you know by now, everyone but JungMin and myself have awakened."
"Yes, I'm aware," YunHo nodded, smiling softly at him. "You're all doing amazingly. Is nerves why you're here?"
"Oh, if only," Zhou Mi laughed dryly, looking down at his hands. "Remember we told you about the dreams, and how they were coming true? We figured out that the dreams are the moment before we awaken." He let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders shaking slightly. "In my dream, I watch JungMin die just before they slit my throat."
"We still don't know where these dreams of yours are originating from," YunHo murmured. "Though we can say with certainty they aren't from us nor the horsemen. If you were hoping I could tell you it won't come to pass...I think you already know my answer."
"If that's true, doesn't that mean we lose?" Zhou Mi whispered, looking up at him, tears brimming. "JungMin and I die, before we're awakened... this will all be for nothing."
"Everything happens for a reason," YunHo murmured, reaching out and placing his hand on Zhou Mi's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "These dreams are preparing you for something. Whether it's the same as the other pairs...only time will tell."
"I'm scared YunHo, so scared," Zhou Mi responded, ducking his head to wipe at his tears. "Do you... have any idea about where these dreams came from?"
"There are very few with the ability to predict the future so accurately," YunHo said quietly. "I do not believe their intention is to harm. You are different from the others, Zhou Mi, you guide them."
"I thought you were the guide," Zhou Mi said, a bitter curl to his lips. "Is that why I keep hearing voices? Because I'm the leader that they're attacking me?"
"I can only guide you so far," YunHo shook his head, frowning at the rest of the Chinese man's sentence. "They hope to attack straight at the heart...you. You're at the heart of this whole group, and they know it, and they fear you because of it."
"Who would be afraid of me? I can't even kill a spider on my own," Zhou Mi sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "What would happen if my dream were to really come to pass, and the horsemen couldn't be stopped?"
"They will be stopped. You have our full faith, Zhou Mi," YunHo wrapped his arm around Zhou Mi's shoulders. "You all do."
"That means a lot," Zhou Mi said, looking up at him with a sad smile. "I just wish I had that confidence in myself."
"When the time is right, you will." YunHo returned the smile. "You make those who came before you proud."
"Thank you," Zhou Mi said, the tenseness in his shoulders relaxing a little. "I hope they had an easier time with all this than we have. I'll let you get back to work, thank you for talking with me."
"They didn't," YunHo chuckled. "But they came out on top nonetheless. You know I'm always here if you need me. Trust yourself Zhou Mi."
"I'm trying," Zhou Mi let out a small laugh, getting back up to his feet. "We'll just see what happens I guess. I do have one question for though," he said, tilting his head to the side. "If I had asked you out before I met JungMin, would you have turned me down?"
"Sad to say, yes," YunHo chuckled, eyes dancing in amusement as he stood. "As Gabriel, it would never work. And YunHo himself is already taken, so either way the answer would be no."
"YunHo is taken? What do you mean?" Zhou Mi blinked at that. "You mean... you're carrying on a relationship with a person the real YunHo was with? That seems a bit dishonest for an angel."
"I'm not," YunHo laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I'm not here to mess with his life or his relationship." He stood, stepping back towards the stack of books he'd left behind.
"What happens to him when this is over? What happens to YunHo?" Zhou Mi asked.
"We'll see soon enough," YunHo chuckled, picking up the books. "Say hi to JungMin for me when you see him."
"One of these days I would like a straight answer from you, Gabriel," Zhou Mi said, his lips quirking as he turned to leave. "Even if I found your evasiveness cute, it can be annoying."
"I'm not supposed to give you a straight answer," the angel smiled. "It's in the job description. Have a good day, Zhou Mi."
Zhou Mi didn't reply, shaking his head as he left the library. Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he dialed JungMin's number. It was getting late and he wanted to go home, too drained from worrying to continue working.
JungMin picked up the phone after a minute. "Hey! Zhou Mi? What's up?"
"Oh, just seeing if you weren't too busy sitting around the apartment in your underwear to come pick me up," Zhou Mi said cheekily.
"Yah! Who said I have underwear on. Give me a minute or two and I'll be right there."
"Thank you Min, and when we get home you can go back to being naked," Zhou Mi chuckled. "I'll be waiting out front for you."
"Gotcha, don't go anywhere!" JungMin blew a kiss (or a raspberry, hard to tell) before hanging up.
Pocketing his phone, Zhou Mi climbed the stairs to the main level and headed out the front doors. For it being that close to the new year, the wind had lost its bite. Zhou Mi wondered if they would even see snow again that winter with how warm it had been getting. Making his way to the sidewalk, he leaned up against the fence to wait for JungMin.
Ten minutes later, JungMin's car pulled up to the front of the school, stopping near Zhou Mi. Getting out, JungMin leaned against the side of the car was grinned over it at Zhou Mi, waving. "Hey! How'd work go?"
"Awful," Zhou Mi said, walking up to JungMin and throwing his arms around his neck. "I just want to go home and forget about reality for a few hours. Think you can help with that?"
"Of course I can," JungMin chuckled, kissing Zhou Mi's lips and wrapping his arms around the other man. "I can even start right now if you want."
"Tempting, but we'll be arrested on the street if we try," Zhou Mi said, kissing him again before pulling away to get in the car. "Think you can wait that long?"
"Oh fine," JungMin sighed dramatically. "If I have to." Letting Zhou Mi go, he climbed back into the driver's seat and pulled the car out of park. "All set?"
Nodding, Zhou Mi settled into the seat, closing his eyes. "Did YoungSaeng call you?" he asked once hey were on he road.
"Hm? No," JungMin glanced over at the older man. "Why, he called you? What's up with them?"
"JaeJoong and ChangMin were attacked last night," Zhou Mi said, keeping his eyes closed. "Everyone has awakened but us."
"Ah," the redhead frowned. "Figures we'd be last. We'll figure something out, okay?"
"We keep saying that, but we never actually do," Zhou Mi said, shaking his head. "The time is going to come very soon, and we're not prepared."
"Well we'll work on that," JungMin moved one hand off the steering wheel to find Zhou Mi's, curling their fingers together. "We'll be fine."
Zhou Mi hummed softly in response, not sure what to say to that. He didn't really believe they would be. His fingers tightened around JungMin's and he tried to relax.
Running his thumb over the back of Zhou Mi's hand, JungMin turned them on the road towards his apartment.
The screech of tires was the only warning they had before a car blasted past their stop sign and slammed into the side of their car.
Zhou Mi's eyes had opened a second beforehand, seeing the car and immediately covering his head wih his arms. The only thing he registered after the car hit, was pain. His leg was crushed, pinned in the twisted metal and his head had smacked hard against the window before it shattered from the impact. Groaning, his body sagged into the deployed airbags, his eyes fluttering shut again. "..Min?" he managed to say hoarsely before he blacked out.
The car had hit the sidewalk from the force of the crash, slamming into the wall. Vision gray around the corners, JungMin forced his eyes open, feeling waves of pain. "Zhou Mi..." Pushing himself up shakily, he tried to find Zhou Mi beside him, fingers brushing through the older man's hair speckled with bits of glass. "Mi, say something, please," he whispered, trying to move but he was trapped in his seat, unable to move. "Anyone out there?!" he yelled as loud as he could. "We need help!"
"And why would anyone help you?" a voice said, someone coming up to JungMin's window and leaning down to smile at him. "Far as anyone can tell, you just died."
"What?" JungMin was too out of it to realize what was going on. "We're not dead, hurry up and get help!" He struggled to get out of the seat, hissing in pain as he freed himself and leaned over to try and get Zhou Mi back out. "What are you waiting for?!"
"For you to give up," the other said, watching them in amusement. "I don't think he's going anywhere."
"What are you..." JungMin's expression twisted in anger when he finally realized it. This wasn't a normal person. "Get the fuck away from us!" Turning around, he punched the stranger in the face before fumbling for his phone, pressing the number for YoungSaeng as he pulled at Zhou Mi's jammed seatbelt with his other hand.
The other man was on the other side of the car, wrenching Zhou Mi's door open. "Sorry, we're just getting started here. We think it's time you and your boyfriend here realize who you're really dealing with," he said, reaching in to grab Zhou Mi by the hair, the other hand snapping the seatbelt off to drag him out of the car.
"Let go of him!" JungMin was stopped from going after them by arms hooking around his own: his car door had opened, someone else dragging him out of the destroyed car and onto the pavement.
"Oops, did that hurt?" A deep voice chuckled. JungMin snarled and whirled around to deck whoever was holding him, a scream of pain escaping when his head was slammed back against the side of the car. "Don't try too hard now, don't want you to break your neck before I can."
"This one isn't putting up much of a fight," the other attacker said, Zhou Mi slung over his shoulder. "Pity, I was looking forward to you destroying him."
"Relax, we're not through with them yet." The man standing over JungMin smirked down at him. "Good night." One knee connected with the side of JungMin's head, and everything went black.
*************
Zhou Mi's head hurt. That's about the only thing that registered to him when he started to regain consciousness. The question of why his head hurt, or where he was hadn't occurred to him until he opened his eyes. Only then did he noticed he was laying on cold concrete, the room dark with just a single bulb hanging from the ceiling giving off dim light.
Making a small groan of protest at the light, Zhou Mi turned his head away, seeing JungMin laying next to him. "Min?" he whispered, slowly sliding his hand over the floor towards him to touch his arm.
The redhead stirred slightly at the light touch, eyelashes fluttering before he slowly opened his eyes. He squinted a little at first, gaze focusing on the older man lying beside him. "Mi?" He slowly sat up, groaning as he held his head in one hand.
"What happened?" Zhou Mi asked, trying to sit up as well, but let out a cry as a sharp pain ran up his leg. "Where are we?"
"I don't know...are you okay?" JungMin looked up at the cry of pain, pushing himself closer to Zhou Mi to support the older man. "Your leg...how bad is it?" That was from the car accident...the events of what had happened slowly came back to JungMin.
"I... I don't know," Zhou Mi shook his head, leaning up against JungMin. "It hurts, I don't think I'll be able to walk for a bit. Are you okay?"
"My head hurts like a bitch, but I'm fine." JungMin looked around the room warily, seeing they were alone. "There were two of those...those horsemen, they must have brought us here."
"What?" Zhou Mi looked up at JungMin, his eyes wide in worry. "The... the accident, they did that? It was two of them? You're sure?" he asked, glancing at the room, feeling a cold chill settle over him. The room was very familiar.
"I'm sure. They had us both knocked out...how long were we out for?" JungMin checked his pocket for his phone, only to remember he'd tried to call for help with it and must have dropped it in the car. "Shit."
Zhou Mi reached for his phone as well, but his pocket was empty. "They took mine," he said, shifting around so he could sit up more. "We've probably been out for a couple of hours... who knows how long they'll leave us in here for."
"Probably long enough to scare us half to death." JungMin let go of Zhou Mi when the other man was able to sit up on his own, standing. "No windows or anything..." He went to the door and tried it. "Locked."
"No surprise there," Zhou Mi frowned. "I guess all we have to do now is wait.. unless you think you can use your hulk powers to bust that door down."
"I'm kind of cross-eyed right now," JungMin pressed one hand to the side of his head, wincing. "But if they keep us down here much longer, I'm smashing through it." He stumbled back to where Zhou Mi was, kneeling down. "Let's see your leg."
"I don't think it's broken," Zhou Mi said, pulling up his pant leg a little. Blood had soaked through and there was a considerable gash on the side of his calf. "Not that it's going to matter soon anyway."
"Well we're not getting anywhere with that," JungMin scowled at the wound, pulling his shirt off. He pressed the material to the wound to stop the bleeding.
"Min... we're not going anywhere," Zhou Mi said softly, looking up at him. "This is the room... the one from my dreams."
"...Oh," JungMin looked around them at the room, eyes wide for a moment. Then he drew in a breath and looked back at Zhou Mi, cupping his face with his free hand. "Hey. We're going to figure a way out of this, okay?"
"I want to believe you, I really do," Zhou Mi whispered, leaning into the hand. "But I can't. We're going to die."
"No we're not!" JungMin shook his head, leaning in and kissing Zhou Mi hard. "We're not going to die, I'm not letting them come near you, you got that? We're going to be fine Mi."
Zhou Mi couldn't help the tears, his eyes closing as he returned JungMin's kiss. "I love you," he whispered against the other man's mouth, clinging tightly to the front of his shirt.
"I love you too," JungMin murmured in return, running his thumb over Zhou Mi's cheek. "We've got to stand up to them Mi, not just give up. I can't do this without you...please."
"I... I'm sorry," Zhou Mi said, turning away from him and looking down. "You're going to die in front of me, and there's nothing I can do."
"Mi..." Looking at him helplessly, JungMin's expression contorted in anger and he got to his feet. "I know you're watching us!" he yelled, striding to the door. "Get the fuck out here and face us, you bunch of cowards!" He slammed himself against the door, the wood creaking.
"Min, please," Zhou Mi looked up at him, shaking his head. "Please, I just want to... spend as much time as I can with you," he said. "Please..."
"We're gonna have all the time in the world, after we get out of this hell hole," JungMin scowled, slamming against the door again. "You can think whatever you want, but I'm not giving up without a fight!"
"And that's exactly what gets you killed!" Zhou Mi snapped at him.
"And sitting there waiting for them to show up is going to help?" JungMin argued. "No, it isn't. We're not dead yet, Zhou Mi."
"It's only a matter of time Min," Zhou Mi said. "And yelling at each other won't change anything."
"Go ahead and give up then. Make their job even easier. I never took you for a quitter." Furious, JungMin hit the door again and staggered when it slammed open.
"Going somewhere?" A hand closed around his throat before a foot slammed into his stomach, sending the redhead skidding to the floor.
Zhou Mi winced when the door opened, wanting to get up and help JungMin, but the pain in his leg was too much, only able to get up to his knees. The second horsemen shut the door behind him when he stepped in, and Zhou Mi caught the glint off the blade in his hand. This was it, this really was the place from his dreams.
"So, you're the little leader are you?" the second one said, his head tilting to the side as he regarded Zhou Mi. "You don't seem much of a challenge, I think you're already broken."
"Stay away from him," JungMin barked, climbing back to his feet.
"He's broken all right," mused the first horseman, holding a gun in one hand. "Was Patience so pathetic last time around? At least his opposite guarantees a bit of fun." He leveled the gun at JungMin, who stopped. "Remember me?" the husky voice was familiar, the horseman looking down at Zhou Mi with a smirk on his lips.
"It was you... you were the voice," Zhou Mi whispered, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm not so weak that some silly words could break me," he said, lifting his chin slightly. "I'm not broken, not by you."
"Ah, that's the spirit," the other horsemen chuckled. "Well this should be fun then."
"How rude we are...Pestilence, and War, at your service," the one with the gun smirked, leveling it at Zhou Mi instead. "I'm going to enjoy listening to you scream."
"No!" The second the gun was directed elsewhere, JungMin leapt to the attack and punched Pestilence hard across the face. Following up with another punch, his head was knocked to the side by a harsh slap before he was kicked back to the ground, coughing.
"Not so tough now, are you," sneered Pestilence.
Swallowing thickly, Zhou Mi risked a glance at JungMin, his jaw squaring. What if YunHo had been wrong about where the dreams came from? What if JungMin was right that they really could do something? Because he didn't know if he could really just sit by and watch JungMin be killed. Not when he loved him so much. He wasn't broken, and they could still win.
"This isn't over," he said. "You can't delay the inevitable."
"Oh, but we can," War said with a grin, pointing his blade at Zhou Mi. "And there is nothing you can do to stop us now, or ever."
Panting, JungMin looked back at Zhou Mi, furious at the blade pointed at his boyfriend. No, he wasn't going to let them hurt Zhou Mi, not ever.
"Like hell we're going to let you win!" He pushed himself back up off the floor, legs hitting War's and knocking the man over. JungMin struggled to get to his feet.
BANG!
Falling back to the floor, JungMin didn't move, eyes half-open and unseeing as blood pooled underneath him.
Smirking, Pestilence lowered the gun. "...And then there was one."
Zhou Mi was proud of himself for not crying out in pain when JungMin went down, his lip trembling slightly. Something inside him snapped, like a whole part of himself had just died with JungMin. This really was the end for them.
Maybe though, just maybe the others could still fulfill their mission. Maybe the angels had a plan and the others would be fine. YunHo told him to trust them, and that was all he could at that point. Trust in the angels to see this through to the end.
Lifting his head, he stared up at War who had got back to his feet. "This isn't over," he said calmly.
He didn't flinch when War grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. He didn't protest when he felt the edge of the blade against his neck.
"Oh, I think it is," War snarled into his ear.
Closing his eyes, he felt the tears forming and rolling down his cheek, even as the blade dug painfully into his skin. He barely heard his own voice as he screamed, the blade cutting across his skin. Dizziness washed over him even before War let go of his hair. Zhou Mi's head lolled slightly to the side, feeling the blood pour down his neck and the front of his shirt. Making a slight coughing gurgle noise, he fell to the side next to JungMin.
"I thought this would take longer." Zhou Mi heard War say, the sound a slight buzzing in the background. Sliding his hand slowly across the ground, his fingers touched JungMin's lightly before he finally closed his eyes and his body went limp.
"Let's go," footsteps sounded as the two horsemen left the room, leaving the two bodies there without bothering to close the door. "We have the others to take care of."
The room was silent, the light bulb flickering overhead. It cast shadows across their prone frames, hands lightly touching as if it would keep them together even in death.
Chapter: 38/40
Rating: R
Pairing: KyuJong/YoungSaeng, HyunJoong/JongWoon, JungMin/Zhou Mi, Kevin/KiBum, HeeChul/SiWon
Crossover: Super Junior, DBSK
Genre: Angst, AU,
Summary: Society is crumbling; salvation walks the earth once more.
Zhou Mi hung up the phone, sitting back in his chair and staring at it. He'd just got off the phone with YoungSaeng, who'd told him yet another of the others had awakened. After SooHyun and HyungJoon had been attacked a few nights before, SiWon and HeeChul let them know the next day they had been attacked and awakened as well. Now that call had just informed Zhou Mi that JaeJoong and ChangMin had awakened the night before.
Now it was down to himself and JungMin, and that scared him right to the bone. After speaking with everyone and hearing their experiences, it was fairly well confirmed that the dreams came at the moment before their awakening. What did that mean for him and JungMin though?
Sighing to himself, Zhou Mi got up out of his chair, heading out of his office. He had been trying to get some work done for the upcoming semester, but he'd barely shuffled any of his papers, too worried about things he didn't have any control over.
Eventually he found himself at the door to the library, opening it up and peering inside. "YunHo? Are you here?"
"Hm?" Someone pushed a rolling ladder back out of the way to look around the aisle of books. "Oh, hi Mi," YunHo smiled slightly at him, carrying a stack of books around as he put them back where they belonged. "A little early for next semester's material, what can I do for you?"
"I was hoping we could talk, I think we're the only ones in the building at the moment," Zhou Mi said, slowly making his way around the room towards YunHo. "Do you have a moment?"
"Of course," YunHo nodded, placing the stack of books down on the rolling ladder and straightening. Securing it from moving, he turned to Zhou Mi, leaning against the end of the shelf. "You look troubled."
"More than a little," Zhou Mi nodded, pulling out one of the nearby chairs and sitting down. "I was just talking to YoungSaeng, and as I'm sure you know by now, everyone but JungMin and myself have awakened."
"Yes, I'm aware," YunHo nodded, smiling softly at him. "You're all doing amazingly. Is nerves why you're here?"
"Oh, if only," Zhou Mi laughed dryly, looking down at his hands. "Remember we told you about the dreams, and how they were coming true? We figured out that the dreams are the moment before we awaken." He let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders shaking slightly. "In my dream, I watch JungMin die just before they slit my throat."
"We still don't know where these dreams of yours are originating from," YunHo murmured. "Though we can say with certainty they aren't from us nor the horsemen. If you were hoping I could tell you it won't come to pass...I think you already know my answer."
"If that's true, doesn't that mean we lose?" Zhou Mi whispered, looking up at him, tears brimming. "JungMin and I die, before we're awakened... this will all be for nothing."
"Everything happens for a reason," YunHo murmured, reaching out and placing his hand on Zhou Mi's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "These dreams are preparing you for something. Whether it's the same as the other pairs...only time will tell."
"I'm scared YunHo, so scared," Zhou Mi responded, ducking his head to wipe at his tears. "Do you... have any idea about where these dreams came from?"
"There are very few with the ability to predict the future so accurately," YunHo said quietly. "I do not believe their intention is to harm. You are different from the others, Zhou Mi, you guide them."
"I thought you were the guide," Zhou Mi said, a bitter curl to his lips. "Is that why I keep hearing voices? Because I'm the leader that they're attacking me?"
"I can only guide you so far," YunHo shook his head, frowning at the rest of the Chinese man's sentence. "They hope to attack straight at the heart...you. You're at the heart of this whole group, and they know it, and they fear you because of it."
"Who would be afraid of me? I can't even kill a spider on my own," Zhou Mi sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "What would happen if my dream were to really come to pass, and the horsemen couldn't be stopped?"
"They will be stopped. You have our full faith, Zhou Mi," YunHo wrapped his arm around Zhou Mi's shoulders. "You all do."
"That means a lot," Zhou Mi said, looking up at him with a sad smile. "I just wish I had that confidence in myself."
"When the time is right, you will." YunHo returned the smile. "You make those who came before you proud."
"Thank you," Zhou Mi said, the tenseness in his shoulders relaxing a little. "I hope they had an easier time with all this than we have. I'll let you get back to work, thank you for talking with me."
"They didn't," YunHo chuckled. "But they came out on top nonetheless. You know I'm always here if you need me. Trust yourself Zhou Mi."
"I'm trying," Zhou Mi let out a small laugh, getting back up to his feet. "We'll just see what happens I guess. I do have one question for though," he said, tilting his head to the side. "If I had asked you out before I met JungMin, would you have turned me down?"
"Sad to say, yes," YunHo chuckled, eyes dancing in amusement as he stood. "As Gabriel, it would never work. And YunHo himself is already taken, so either way the answer would be no."
"YunHo is taken? What do you mean?" Zhou Mi blinked at that. "You mean... you're carrying on a relationship with a person the real YunHo was with? That seems a bit dishonest for an angel."
"I'm not," YunHo laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I'm not here to mess with his life or his relationship." He stood, stepping back towards the stack of books he'd left behind.
"What happens to him when this is over? What happens to YunHo?" Zhou Mi asked.
"We'll see soon enough," YunHo chuckled, picking up the books. "Say hi to JungMin for me when you see him."
"One of these days I would like a straight answer from you, Gabriel," Zhou Mi said, his lips quirking as he turned to leave. "Even if I found your evasiveness cute, it can be annoying."
"I'm not supposed to give you a straight answer," the angel smiled. "It's in the job description. Have a good day, Zhou Mi."
Zhou Mi didn't reply, shaking his head as he left the library. Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he dialed JungMin's number. It was getting late and he wanted to go home, too drained from worrying to continue working.
JungMin picked up the phone after a minute. "Hey! Zhou Mi? What's up?"
"Oh, just seeing if you weren't too busy sitting around the apartment in your underwear to come pick me up," Zhou Mi said cheekily.
"Yah! Who said I have underwear on. Give me a minute or two and I'll be right there."
"Thank you Min, and when we get home you can go back to being naked," Zhou Mi chuckled. "I'll be waiting out front for you."
"Gotcha, don't go anywhere!" JungMin blew a kiss (or a raspberry, hard to tell) before hanging up.
Pocketing his phone, Zhou Mi climbed the stairs to the main level and headed out the front doors. For it being that close to the new year, the wind had lost its bite. Zhou Mi wondered if they would even see snow again that winter with how warm it had been getting. Making his way to the sidewalk, he leaned up against the fence to wait for JungMin.
Ten minutes later, JungMin's car pulled up to the front of the school, stopping near Zhou Mi. Getting out, JungMin leaned against the side of the car was grinned over it at Zhou Mi, waving. "Hey! How'd work go?"
"Awful," Zhou Mi said, walking up to JungMin and throwing his arms around his neck. "I just want to go home and forget about reality for a few hours. Think you can help with that?"
"Of course I can," JungMin chuckled, kissing Zhou Mi's lips and wrapping his arms around the other man. "I can even start right now if you want."
"Tempting, but we'll be arrested on the street if we try," Zhou Mi said, kissing him again before pulling away to get in the car. "Think you can wait that long?"
"Oh fine," JungMin sighed dramatically. "If I have to." Letting Zhou Mi go, he climbed back into the driver's seat and pulled the car out of park. "All set?"
Nodding, Zhou Mi settled into the seat, closing his eyes. "Did YoungSaeng call you?" he asked once hey were on he road.
"Hm? No," JungMin glanced over at the older man. "Why, he called you? What's up with them?"
"JaeJoong and ChangMin were attacked last night," Zhou Mi said, keeping his eyes closed. "Everyone has awakened but us."
"Ah," the redhead frowned. "Figures we'd be last. We'll figure something out, okay?"
"We keep saying that, but we never actually do," Zhou Mi said, shaking his head. "The time is going to come very soon, and we're not prepared."
"Well we'll work on that," JungMin moved one hand off the steering wheel to find Zhou Mi's, curling their fingers together. "We'll be fine."
Zhou Mi hummed softly in response, not sure what to say to that. He didn't really believe they would be. His fingers tightened around JungMin's and he tried to relax.
Running his thumb over the back of Zhou Mi's hand, JungMin turned them on the road towards his apartment.
The screech of tires was the only warning they had before a car blasted past their stop sign and slammed into the side of their car.
Zhou Mi's eyes had opened a second beforehand, seeing the car and immediately covering his head wih his arms. The only thing he registered after the car hit, was pain. His leg was crushed, pinned in the twisted metal and his head had smacked hard against the window before it shattered from the impact. Groaning, his body sagged into the deployed airbags, his eyes fluttering shut again. "..Min?" he managed to say hoarsely before he blacked out.
The car had hit the sidewalk from the force of the crash, slamming into the wall. Vision gray around the corners, JungMin forced his eyes open, feeling waves of pain. "Zhou Mi..." Pushing himself up shakily, he tried to find Zhou Mi beside him, fingers brushing through the older man's hair speckled with bits of glass. "Mi, say something, please," he whispered, trying to move but he was trapped in his seat, unable to move. "Anyone out there?!" he yelled as loud as he could. "We need help!"
"And why would anyone help you?" a voice said, someone coming up to JungMin's window and leaning down to smile at him. "Far as anyone can tell, you just died."
"What?" JungMin was too out of it to realize what was going on. "We're not dead, hurry up and get help!" He struggled to get out of the seat, hissing in pain as he freed himself and leaned over to try and get Zhou Mi back out. "What are you waiting for?!"
"For you to give up," the other said, watching them in amusement. "I don't think he's going anywhere."
"What are you..." JungMin's expression twisted in anger when he finally realized it. This wasn't a normal person. "Get the fuck away from us!" Turning around, he punched the stranger in the face before fumbling for his phone, pressing the number for YoungSaeng as he pulled at Zhou Mi's jammed seatbelt with his other hand.
The other man was on the other side of the car, wrenching Zhou Mi's door open. "Sorry, we're just getting started here. We think it's time you and your boyfriend here realize who you're really dealing with," he said, reaching in to grab Zhou Mi by the hair, the other hand snapping the seatbelt off to drag him out of the car.
"Let go of him!" JungMin was stopped from going after them by arms hooking around his own: his car door had opened, someone else dragging him out of the destroyed car and onto the pavement.
"Oops, did that hurt?" A deep voice chuckled. JungMin snarled and whirled around to deck whoever was holding him, a scream of pain escaping when his head was slammed back against the side of the car. "Don't try too hard now, don't want you to break your neck before I can."
"This one isn't putting up much of a fight," the other attacker said, Zhou Mi slung over his shoulder. "Pity, I was looking forward to you destroying him."
"Relax, we're not through with them yet." The man standing over JungMin smirked down at him. "Good night." One knee connected with the side of JungMin's head, and everything went black.
*************
Zhou Mi's head hurt. That's about the only thing that registered to him when he started to regain consciousness. The question of why his head hurt, or where he was hadn't occurred to him until he opened his eyes. Only then did he noticed he was laying on cold concrete, the room dark with just a single bulb hanging from the ceiling giving off dim light.
Making a small groan of protest at the light, Zhou Mi turned his head away, seeing JungMin laying next to him. "Min?" he whispered, slowly sliding his hand over the floor towards him to touch his arm.
The redhead stirred slightly at the light touch, eyelashes fluttering before he slowly opened his eyes. He squinted a little at first, gaze focusing on the older man lying beside him. "Mi?" He slowly sat up, groaning as he held his head in one hand.
"What happened?" Zhou Mi asked, trying to sit up as well, but let out a cry as a sharp pain ran up his leg. "Where are we?"
"I don't know...are you okay?" JungMin looked up at the cry of pain, pushing himself closer to Zhou Mi to support the older man. "Your leg...how bad is it?" That was from the car accident...the events of what had happened slowly came back to JungMin.
"I... I don't know," Zhou Mi shook his head, leaning up against JungMin. "It hurts, I don't think I'll be able to walk for a bit. Are you okay?"
"My head hurts like a bitch, but I'm fine." JungMin looked around the room warily, seeing they were alone. "There were two of those...those horsemen, they must have brought us here."
"What?" Zhou Mi looked up at JungMin, his eyes wide in worry. "The... the accident, they did that? It was two of them? You're sure?" he asked, glancing at the room, feeling a cold chill settle over him. The room was very familiar.
"I'm sure. They had us both knocked out...how long were we out for?" JungMin checked his pocket for his phone, only to remember he'd tried to call for help with it and must have dropped it in the car. "Shit."
Zhou Mi reached for his phone as well, but his pocket was empty. "They took mine," he said, shifting around so he could sit up more. "We've probably been out for a couple of hours... who knows how long they'll leave us in here for."
"Probably long enough to scare us half to death." JungMin let go of Zhou Mi when the other man was able to sit up on his own, standing. "No windows or anything..." He went to the door and tried it. "Locked."
"No surprise there," Zhou Mi frowned. "I guess all we have to do now is wait.. unless you think you can use your hulk powers to bust that door down."
"I'm kind of cross-eyed right now," JungMin pressed one hand to the side of his head, wincing. "But if they keep us down here much longer, I'm smashing through it." He stumbled back to where Zhou Mi was, kneeling down. "Let's see your leg."
"I don't think it's broken," Zhou Mi said, pulling up his pant leg a little. Blood had soaked through and there was a considerable gash on the side of his calf. "Not that it's going to matter soon anyway."
"Well we're not getting anywhere with that," JungMin scowled at the wound, pulling his shirt off. He pressed the material to the wound to stop the bleeding.
"Min... we're not going anywhere," Zhou Mi said softly, looking up at him. "This is the room... the one from my dreams."
"...Oh," JungMin looked around them at the room, eyes wide for a moment. Then he drew in a breath and looked back at Zhou Mi, cupping his face with his free hand. "Hey. We're going to figure a way out of this, okay?"
"I want to believe you, I really do," Zhou Mi whispered, leaning into the hand. "But I can't. We're going to die."
"No we're not!" JungMin shook his head, leaning in and kissing Zhou Mi hard. "We're not going to die, I'm not letting them come near you, you got that? We're going to be fine Mi."
Zhou Mi couldn't help the tears, his eyes closing as he returned JungMin's kiss. "I love you," he whispered against the other man's mouth, clinging tightly to the front of his shirt.
"I love you too," JungMin murmured in return, running his thumb over Zhou Mi's cheek. "We've got to stand up to them Mi, not just give up. I can't do this without you...please."
"I... I'm sorry," Zhou Mi said, turning away from him and looking down. "You're going to die in front of me, and there's nothing I can do."
"Mi..." Looking at him helplessly, JungMin's expression contorted in anger and he got to his feet. "I know you're watching us!" he yelled, striding to the door. "Get the fuck out here and face us, you bunch of cowards!" He slammed himself against the door, the wood creaking.
"Min, please," Zhou Mi looked up at him, shaking his head. "Please, I just want to... spend as much time as I can with you," he said. "Please..."
"We're gonna have all the time in the world, after we get out of this hell hole," JungMin scowled, slamming against the door again. "You can think whatever you want, but I'm not giving up without a fight!"
"And that's exactly what gets you killed!" Zhou Mi snapped at him.
"And sitting there waiting for them to show up is going to help?" JungMin argued. "No, it isn't. We're not dead yet, Zhou Mi."
"It's only a matter of time Min," Zhou Mi said. "And yelling at each other won't change anything."
"Go ahead and give up then. Make their job even easier. I never took you for a quitter." Furious, JungMin hit the door again and staggered when it slammed open.
"Going somewhere?" A hand closed around his throat before a foot slammed into his stomach, sending the redhead skidding to the floor.
Zhou Mi winced when the door opened, wanting to get up and help JungMin, but the pain in his leg was too much, only able to get up to his knees. The second horsemen shut the door behind him when he stepped in, and Zhou Mi caught the glint off the blade in his hand. This was it, this really was the place from his dreams.
"So, you're the little leader are you?" the second one said, his head tilting to the side as he regarded Zhou Mi. "You don't seem much of a challenge, I think you're already broken."
"Stay away from him," JungMin barked, climbing back to his feet.
"He's broken all right," mused the first horseman, holding a gun in one hand. "Was Patience so pathetic last time around? At least his opposite guarantees a bit of fun." He leveled the gun at JungMin, who stopped. "Remember me?" the husky voice was familiar, the horseman looking down at Zhou Mi with a smirk on his lips.
"It was you... you were the voice," Zhou Mi whispered, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm not so weak that some silly words could break me," he said, lifting his chin slightly. "I'm not broken, not by you."
"Ah, that's the spirit," the other horsemen chuckled. "Well this should be fun then."
"How rude we are...Pestilence, and War, at your service," the one with the gun smirked, leveling it at Zhou Mi instead. "I'm going to enjoy listening to you scream."
"No!" The second the gun was directed elsewhere, JungMin leapt to the attack and punched Pestilence hard across the face. Following up with another punch, his head was knocked to the side by a harsh slap before he was kicked back to the ground, coughing.
"Not so tough now, are you," sneered Pestilence.
Swallowing thickly, Zhou Mi risked a glance at JungMin, his jaw squaring. What if YunHo had been wrong about where the dreams came from? What if JungMin was right that they really could do something? Because he didn't know if he could really just sit by and watch JungMin be killed. Not when he loved him so much. He wasn't broken, and they could still win.
"This isn't over," he said. "You can't delay the inevitable."
"Oh, but we can," War said with a grin, pointing his blade at Zhou Mi. "And there is nothing you can do to stop us now, or ever."
Panting, JungMin looked back at Zhou Mi, furious at the blade pointed at his boyfriend. No, he wasn't going to let them hurt Zhou Mi, not ever.
"Like hell we're going to let you win!" He pushed himself back up off the floor, legs hitting War's and knocking the man over. JungMin struggled to get to his feet.
BANG!
Falling back to the floor, JungMin didn't move, eyes half-open and unseeing as blood pooled underneath him.
Smirking, Pestilence lowered the gun. "...And then there was one."
Zhou Mi was proud of himself for not crying out in pain when JungMin went down, his lip trembling slightly. Something inside him snapped, like a whole part of himself had just died with JungMin. This really was the end for them.
Maybe though, just maybe the others could still fulfill their mission. Maybe the angels had a plan and the others would be fine. YunHo told him to trust them, and that was all he could at that point. Trust in the angels to see this through to the end.
Lifting his head, he stared up at War who had got back to his feet. "This isn't over," he said calmly.
He didn't flinch when War grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. He didn't protest when he felt the edge of the blade against his neck.
"Oh, I think it is," War snarled into his ear.
Closing his eyes, he felt the tears forming and rolling down his cheek, even as the blade dug painfully into his skin. He barely heard his own voice as he screamed, the blade cutting across his skin. Dizziness washed over him even before War let go of his hair. Zhou Mi's head lolled slightly to the side, feeling the blood pour down his neck and the front of his shirt. Making a slight coughing gurgle noise, he fell to the side next to JungMin.
"I thought this would take longer." Zhou Mi heard War say, the sound a slight buzzing in the background. Sliding his hand slowly across the ground, his fingers touched JungMin's lightly before he finally closed his eyes and his body went limp.
"Let's go," footsteps sounded as the two horsemen left the room, leaving the two bodies there without bothering to close the door. "We have the others to take care of."
The room was silent, the light bulb flickering overhead. It cast shadows across their prone frames, hands lightly touching as if it would keep them together even in death.