Truth's Little Hero (cont.)

[hikariisjaejj]

…“He’s awake, tell the Guard Captain to put security on tight.” Minseok heard through his fluctuating conscious.

His head lulled around, trying to grasp the format of his new space; heartrate racing through the process. He could hear his heart in his ears as it pounded like a timpani against his chest, overtaking most of his coherent senses.

A torso in a thickly twill woven, forest green jacket with black sleeves came into his blurring sight.  A rough ache poked at the back of his head as he focused his eyes on the figure in front of him.

“Wakey, wakey Ethrean piece of shit.”

“Don’t, antagonize him.”

“Sorry, sir.”

The voices were all scattered in Minseok’s head, not making sense to what he was seeing with his eyes. He tried to bring his hands, by involuntary action, to rub his eyes and sore head, but found them to be bound in cuffs behind him.

“Hey, look here.”

Minseok looked up with a squint from the lights above.

“What’s your name?” The stranger asked.

Minseok could only stare, almost forgetting his ability to talk. Instead, he turned his head over his shoulder and took in the layout of the room.  The walls were a sickly yellow, ripe with decay from years of service. Posters and maps laid on the walls with a few filing cabinets underneath. Over his right shoulder was a door, dark green with a single rectangular window in the middle; blinds covering it.

“Hello? Over hear, buddy.” The stranger in front of him called out, snapping his fingers in the process.

Minseok, however, kept over his shoulder, looking for the second person in the room. He turned over to the other shoulder and noticed the desk behind the stranger in front of him. It was green and old fashioned in its metal work. But as he turned his head to the complete left, another body was leaning up against a metal double door cabinet. The figure was slim and very stunning, refined in his stature, and young. Much too young to be the one in charge, or so Minseok thought.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, cat face!” Minseok turned to the man in front of him and furrowed his eye brows.  He looked back at the man leaning against the cabinet and tried to distinguish his uniform a little more. He was wearing the same jacket as the man in front of him, but with a badge on his left breast.

“Stop staring at him, and look at me.” The stranger grabbed Minseok by his cheeks with one hand and squeezed hard. But Minseok simply looked over with his eyes to the man leaning against the cabinet. His mouth and head still unable to properly formulate words.

“Let him be.” The man called out and pushed himself off the cabinet.

“Sir?”

“I’ll take it from here.”

As Minseok’s face was let loose, he fell back against his chair, keeping a careful watch on the stranger most hostile to him.

“Why’d you keep looking at me?” The new stranger asked. This one had black hair in comparison to the brown of the other. It was long enough to almost cover his eye brows.

“Answer him.” The brown haired one called out rather firmly when Minseok didn’t answer.

“What’s your name?” The black haired one asked.

Minseok stayed silent this time, now coherent enough to choose silence. It was an interrogation, and he wasn’t about to let out any information he shouldn’t, without knowing who these men were.

“He’s gotta be deaf, sir. Or at least a mute. No one’s this stupid.” The brown haired one spoke.

“Quiet. There are plenty of reasons he’s choosing not to speak. And one more outburst from you will get you kicked out of this room.”

“Sorry, sir.” The brown haired one backed away and took his silence.

“Let’s try this again. What’s your name?” The black haired one asked in a different language this time, it was Ethrean.

“Tell me who you work for and I’ll tell you my name.” Minseok finally rasped out.

“So he lives, and speaks Hevin, too.” The black haired man’s face lightened as he leaned back against the desk. “But it seems we might have a problem.” The man looked to a small globe resting to his right and began to fiddle with it. “I’m afraid I can’t share that information with you.”

“Then we are going to have a problem.”

“I’m afraid so.”

The room turned silent, tension floating tight in the air.

“I really don’t want to have to do this the hard way.” The black haired man sighed.

“Then just tell me who you work for and we’ll call it a truce.”

“How about, you tell me who that little boy is.”

Minseok’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes flickering with fear for a split second. “Wh-what little boy?”

“Oh so you don’t know him? Great, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir?” The brown haired man stiffened and saluted his superior.

“Go tell his guards to wake him up. I think he’ll be surprised to find himself hanging by his toes.”

“Wh-what little boy?!” Minseok jumped in his seat and frantically looked between the two men. Hanging a person by their toes was a typical thing Hevin military personnel did to their captured. It caused many deaths to prisoners of war of Ethrean blood.

“Oh, just the little boy dressed in an oversized sweater and grey coat. And… Blonde hair, which is a peculiar thing, I’ve never seen naturally blonde hair on a Hev… He had insisted on seeing his uncle before he passed out, though. You guys don’t look very similar at all so we’ll just go ahead and interrogate him.”

“Yes, sir!” The brown haired man saluted and started his exit.

“Wait!” Minseok yelled, near frightened to death. “Don’t you dare touch him. Don’t you dare touch a hair on his head.” Minseok seethed through his teeth.

“Oof, sorry bud. He’s been touched alright. I don’t have much control over what my men do when I’m not there. And I can guarantee you they’re not exactly the nicest guys out here, if you’re… Catching my drift.”

All color drained from Minseok’s face. Heat started surging in waves from his core, a single feeling replacing all physical pain and mental emotions. His chest started to rise with intensity as he breathed through his nose. Minseok stood to his feet, clenching a jaw in the process and forgot his inability to use his hands.

The black haired man went on alert, he called in his guards and tried to restrain Minseok before he could get any closer to him. The guards tazed Minseok, making him fall to the ground on his face and knees, hard, on the tiled floor-no hands to break his fall.

The black haired man sighed and crouched in front of Minseok’s face, mouth drooling and eyes blood shot from the electrical waves still slightly surging through his body.

“See, I didn’t want to have to do this.” Minseok only stared at the man from what his eyes would let, the rest of his body still tingling with the voltage. “Now… What was your name again?”

Minseok tried to find enough in him to talk, struggling to do so. “Gim.. Me… The.. Boy.” He finally breathed.

“That’s not what I asked.”

Minseok’s body was lifted up and sat back down in his chair.

“Now, men! Go round the kid up. Let’s see if our capture here likes to watch children suffer at the hand of others.” The men started to exit the room.

Minseok grumbled at them. “Stop! Just… Please. Leave the kid alone. He has nothing to do with this. Do whatever you want to me. Just let the kid go!” Minseok managed to breathe his thoughts out, despite being so physically drained.

The black haired stranger thought for a good long second, halting his men in the process. Making everyone in the room rather confused about the situation at hand.

Just before anyone could ask a question, the black haired man ordered everyone out of the room.  Minseok sat there alone, tears falling from his eyes in the process. He wasn’t much thinking, but the events just now were enough to make his body react on its own. He felt empty, void of everything from not knowing what was happening to Yixing.

Minseok closed his eyes tight and bit his lip, praying all too hard to switch bodies with Yixing. To let any pain being received by the small one to transfer to himself.

During his moment, the door came crashing open. Two men walked in, one with a limp boy in his arms and the other holding keys to his encasing cuffs.

“Don’t try anything stupid. Fucking Ethrean.” The man with keys spat out.

Minseok couldn’t care less for what they said to him, all he focused on was the boy now cradled in his arms and fast asleep. He took to the ground and sat there, fawning over his baby boy. Minseok nearly wanted to cry from happiness just to see the boy okay. Especially when he did a quick check for any injuries, he was glad to say that the boy was fine.

“Yixing? Yixing baby, wake up.” Minseok cooed softly as he tried to wake the boy. Poking and gently shaking his shoulders to do so. But the boy wouldn’t budge. Minseok frowned and hoped that the boy was only like this from passing out.

Just as he was about to take the boy’s pulse, the door opened again. This time it was the black haired man carrying a boy only slightly smaller than Yixing. They took a seat in front of Minseok and Yixing, enough to keep a comfortable and safe distance. The boy was clinging himself like a monkey to the man’s neck-very shy in his manners. The other boy refused to look at Minseok and Yixing, as if he were too afraid to look at anyone else but the neck of the black haired man.

“This is my son.”

Minseok stiffened, not really sure how to respond to the phrase. He wasn’t exactly happy for the two, but it would have been outrageously rude to flat out say, “and?”

“You must be proud.” Minseok forced out as the only reasonable response.

“He’s my adoptive son. We’re not blood related and we’re not legally bound. But emotionally attached.”

Minseok held his breath, knowing all too well where this conversation was going. He nodded to keep the conversation flowing.

“I saved him, three years ago. I was still only a legionnaire at the time, doing my duty to protect my people. My squadron, at the time, was escorting a group of people to Naechural to get away from the war… And I think you can only guess how that went.” The black haired man ran a smooth hand through the boy’s raven hair. “His parents were taken right from his very hands, along with twenty other innocent lives and eight strong men and women protecting them… I snatched him up the first moment I could, and retreated immediately… We barely escaped with our lives that day.” The black haired man kept his focus on the boy in his arms, not sparing a glance to Minseok.

The boy, Minseok noticed, started to tense. He was getting anxious and the black haired man immediately noticed, rubbing a hand on the child’s thigh to calm him down.

“We’ve been together ever since. I would not part with him then, and now.. I can’t part with him.”

Minseok simply stared, not sure where to start in his conversation. He still wasn’t sure who this man was and how much he should tell, but when the children were in the room, it was as if a whole new world was opened.

“Then how could you so easily torture a child, of your own race?” Minseok finally breathed out.

“We didn’t. I was just trying to get you to speak.” Minseok visibly relaxed.

“His name is Huang Zitao.” The black haired man focused his attention to Zitao.

Minseok smiled at the name, he wasn’t sure why but the child was slowly starting to become appealing to him.

“Zitao? How lovely. A small and beautiful fruit…” He mumbled to himself. “They say peaches symbolize the essence of life.”

“And they’re quite right about that. Despite that this little guy has seen so much more than I have, he still brightens my day. I think about him constantly, wondering if he ate his lunch or dinner when I’m not there. Wondering if he studied his vocabulary, or if he took a shower. I wonder if he’s safe when I leave him alone or if I should have him tag along. There’s not a moment that I don’t think about this guy.” The black haired man was sentiment, rubbing his chin in the boy’s hair. “I only want him to be safe… No child should see what he has seen.”

“Do you mind…?” Minseok asked as he gestured toward the boy.

“Not at all.”

“… Huang Zitao?” The boy nervously looked over to him, a flash of a golden necklace catching Minseok’s view. “Hi there.” He smiled softly, not forcing anything to come out, only the natural response he had for the child. “You have a beautiful name.” The boy turned away and nuzzled into the black haired man’s neck, his face red in embarrassment. “How old are you, Zitao?”

When the boy didn’t respond, the black haired man leaned down and whispered a few words in the boy’s ear, smiling as he did so. The boy, in turn, turned around and held up his fingers-showcasing eight small digits.

Minseok gasped playfully, “Eight? Wow! You sure are a big boy.” The boy immediately turned away and clenched even harder onto the black haired man.

“I’m sorry, you’ll have to mind him. He doesn’t take well to strangers.”

“I don’t blame him, not one bit. This guy here doesn’t do well with strangers either… They’ve seen things in their short lives that we haven’t. They know things about life that shouldn’t be known… And yet here they are, bearing with everything… Too young to understand concepts of depression, suicide, PTSD and any other mental disorder. They just deal with it, because they’re so young.” Minseok spoke more to himself as his eyes rested on Yixing’s soft features. “…His name’s Yixing. Zhang Yixing… ‘Nn-found him in the woods.  Just outside Talnae.  His sister was on the ground, dead. Most likely from starvation. And then this guy comes running at-n-me with a stick, hitting m-me with all his might.” Minseok chuckled to himself, reminiscing on the memory. “Eventually we got to know him. He told us how he was following the Underground Railroad with his sister after escaping a prison camp... After we buried her we got him to come take a bath with us. We were looking for a river to wash in and somehow got him to stay… Then we offered to take him to his destination.” Minseok’s voice began to waiver. “…We said we’d protect him and provide food and bed for him…” His eyes began to redden with tears. “And that’s where now has led us.”

The black haired man stayed silent, watching as Minseok softly stroked the boy’s cheek with his thumb.

“Offly cold out to be going for a bath in a river right now.”

“This was a long time back. At least three months.” Minseok sniffled, trying to compose himself.

“…And this.. ‘Us’. Who was the other person?”

Minseok visibly froze. Not at the fact that he’d let that kind of information out, but at the name that danced on the tip of his tongue. He could feel his heart shattering into a thousand pieces as all emotions towards the missing male came flooding back.

Minseok began to shake, his nerves starting to become uncontrollable as the past fired throughout his thoughts. The room was silent as he tried to recollect himself, looking for the right words to say for a very long while.  Even Zitao looked up from the black haired man’s neck and wondered what had been taking so long.

“… I think you know the answer to that already.” Minseok managed out.

“I need confirmation of that information before taking further precautions.”

Minseok looked back down to Yixing’s calm features. An overwhelming feeling of truth bubbling within him.  He couldn’t hide it anymore, he couldn’t lie. Not in the presence of Yixing.

“I will tell you who I am. Just please… I beg of you please, just don’t hurt him. Let him take the train.” Minseok pleaded, connecting his eyes with the black haired man in the process. The man nodded after a moment’s thought.

Minseok breathed in a shaking breath, “My name is Kim Minseok. Previous Lieutenant Colonel of Unit 424, Faction 1. Head doctor of Project F.A. Lead scientist of human research and chemical studies.” No lie left Minseok’s mouth as he stared into the stagnant face of his baby boy, tears silently falling from his face.

“My name is Han. Lu Han. Head of this facility and Section Greenburg of The Wings. I oversee all operations here at the Railroad. I make sure that my people are safely escorted out of the country by my authority. I have no affiliation with the Hevin military. We run our own game here.. And by order of Commander Fan of The Wings, I hold you under arrest until further notice.”

Minseok hadn’t even flinched, not caring in the slightest that his life was practically forfeit at this point.

“… I have to ask this next question.” Lu Han wasn’t aggressive like most of the members of The Wings. There was something sincere about his words and actions, despite his tone of professionalism.

“I have nothing to hide.” Answered Minseok.

“Is this child an experiment?”

Minseok snapped his head up at Lu Han, more than offended by the question.

“Absolutely not.” His frown more than prevalent on his features. “I’ve been on the run for almost a year with no supplies to live off of. You expect me to conduct an experiment on a child while I’m like that?”

“You conducted research and experiments for this war. Your purpose was to destroy my people with a means of being invincible.”

“My purpose was to destroy the Hevin armies with new and improved weapons.”

“And after that, what then? Move next into our country and unleash those weapons on our lands?” Minseok went to speak but had been cut off. “Your people have been set out to annihilate my people from the very beginning. After what they unturned from that facility in its rubble, it was horrifying. All the documents that were found, all the test subjects... You mutilated my people and your own just for the sake of this war. I have no trust of you and what you bring.”

Minseok simply rolled his eyes.

“Of course you don’t.”

“And Project F.A. Where do I even begin with Project F.A? After that city was burned, The Wings went in to investigate but found no traces, no documents of Project F.A.”

“I burned them all.”

“But that still didn’t stop the rumors and horror stories from the patients that escaped. They said it was like you were tampering with black magic. Forcing the substance into patients and watching it takeover their bodies. Project F.A was to create a class of soldiers, strong enough to with-stand bullets and take down anything in their path… That was your task. You were creating monsters, people that could no longer tell the difference between friend nor foe...  One of those creatures that you made destroyed half the town it resided in. Once it got out of the building it killed more than half the population there, all of which were Ethrean.”

“… It wasn’t black magic.” Minseok breathed lowly.

“Pardon?”

“It wasn’t ‘black magic’ that I found… It was something I found in a book, a book that had summoning rituals… In my studies, I captured the essence of whatever it was and watched it take the life of a nearby test rat. The rat transformed into something grotesque and vile, but it listened to my every word… If I wanted it to stop snarling, it would stop. If I wanted it to escape the cage, it did. If I wanted it to kill the other test rats... It did. I wanted to see the effects on other things besides rats and animals after a while of keeping the secret to myself. So I did it on humans… To create the perfect soldier.”

“What did you summon?” Lu Han asked leaning in.

“I told you already, I don’t know. The book was in a language that I’d never seen before and before I knew it I was recreating the illustrations… Nobody knew what it was… We just wanted to work with it…” Minseok only stared at Yixing, refusing to look at Lu Han.

“You ran away with that experiment of yours. Where is it?”

“He.” Minseok spat back.

“Excuse me?”

“‘It’s’ a he. And he…” Minseok caught himself, trying to push down his heartache. “I don’t know where he is right now.” Minseok looked back down at Yixing again, swallowing the tears that wanted to pour out.

“You’re telling the truth…” Lu Han sighed out after a moment of silence. “What happened then?”

“I’m sure you would know more than me by now. But the attack in Saeford… We parted there… He… He was protecting us. And went berserk. And he refused to come with us… He couldn’t… I don’t think he would have been able to turn back… I don’t even know if he’s alive.”

“The attack in Saeford? Who attacked you there, what was he protecting you from?”

“The Ethrean military. They must have mistaken us for Hevins. After all, we all look too similar for our own good. You can’t ever tell what we are just by looking at us.”

Lu Han snickered. “Leave it to the Ethreans to misfire.. That attack was weeks ago. Maybe a month ago. Section Greenwich had been in charge of protecting the Hevins that remained there. Their reports were horrific.. A giant black beast single handedly took down the Ethrean military that had been invading the area.. It spared the Hevins there, though.”

“Where is it now? Do you know what happened to that beast?!” Minseok nearly jumped in his spot.

“Nobody knows.  The reports said the beast disappeared long before anyone was willing to set foot on the streets. But it was badly injured. According to the reports it limped terribly, its wings bent out of shape.”

Minseok’s spirit was being drained once more.

“But there was no body found, right?”

“None that was reported.” Minseok fell back in his spot and looked down at Yixing, desperately wishing the boy would wake up. He wanted to get away from the current situation and the best way was to talk to the boy in his arms.

“You know what that beast was don’t you?”

“He was the love of my life. The man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.” Minseok spoke softly, feeling completely useless in the process.

The room fell silent all again. Somewhere along the way, Zitao found himself seated in Lu Han’s lap. He had been watching Minseok intently, still close to Lu Han’s chest.

“He was the test subject.” Lu Han pieced together, making Minseok flinch with a closed eye.

“Please don’t call him that.”

“A war doctor with a conscience. Now that’s not something you see every day.” They let the room wallow in silence again. Minseok didn’t care though, he was still all too focused on Yixing’s face. “I had a lover, too.. A forbidden love, really.” Han chuckled to himself. “He was Ethrean.” Minseok picked his head up at the mention of ‘he’. “Yes, my lover was a he, too. In this economy though? We were crazy.” Han laughed at his own joke. “This necklace.” Lu Han held the necklace on Zitao’s chest out. “This was his, he gave it to him as a parting gift one day.” Lu Han smiled and “We were childhood friends. Even though we were four years apart in age, we were inseparable. And as we grew into the war, we realized we couldn’t part ways… We had to fight to be with each other. Because of all our life threatening situations, though, we finally realized that our feelings were a lot stronger than just ‘best friends’. Why am I telling you this? You don’t need to hear this-”

“No! It’s fine. I don’t mind to hear this at all. It takes my mind away from my thoughts.”

“Well… After the day that I rescued this guy, I took him to our bunker and immediately made everyone fall in love with him. Even Sehun… Oh Sehun.. That was his name.” Zitao looked up at Han, his eyes laced with sorrow for the name. “He fought with us, The Wings. He wanted our people to have justice, he despised that his own people started a world of genocide for us, suffocating my people to bitter particles of nothing. And he loved us fiercely, he loved everything about my people’s culture and life... But love can only go so far… We traveled around, taking this one with us everywhere. He was always safe and out of harm’s way, we always made sure to visit as soon as possible… But one day… I didn’t return with Sehun… This necklace.” Lu Han held the necklace on Zitao’s chest out. “This was his, he gave it to him as a parting gift that day.” Lu Han chuckled bitterly. “Ironic really.” Han looked down at Zitao, his face in a firm pout. “Sehun never made it back alive that day.”

“What happened?” Asked Minseok.

“A raid… We were outnumbered in the attack on Taetul. It was almost certain we weren’t going to make it… I had been shot in the chest, almost positive I wouldn’t make it either, but then Sehun came. He found me and ran me over to our trucks. But in the process, he was shot one too many times. I didn’t even know he was shot once, he never showed any sign of getting hit… Just as I was being lifted into the truck.. He whispered ‘I love you’… Then fell… He was smiling too, as if he was going off to his next duty. But he fell and bled on the spot… Nobody could do anything, we were under attack. We didn’t even have time to take his body with us… And he died there… Alone, and probably scared…”

Lu Han and Zitao had been playing with each other’s hands. Zitao’s small hands were scooped in Lu Han’s, curling and uncurling their fingers around each other’s.

“..I blew out my lungs after that.  I had been screaming so hard as we drove away from him that I couldn’t speak for a whole week after… That’s when I was moved here. After I was healed, I was put in charge of this place. Because of my injury, I wasn’t able to go out into the field anymore… Which was really fortunate, because it was the best way to keep this guy safe… So it’s just been us, getting by together.”

“And the others! The other soldiers too!” Zitao’s voice squeaked, startling Minseok.

“Yes, and the soldiers, too. We’re all like family here.” Lu Han rubbed his nose into Zitao’s.

“How long?”

“How long what?”

“Have you been here?”

“Roughly eight months.”

Minseok looked back down at Yixing, “It must have been hard… It must be so hard without your other half…”

“To an extent I try not to think about... Besides, I have this guy. And he’s the only thing I need anymore… But I do miss him. I miss him so much.”

Minseok let a hand run through Yixing’s hair and combed it back.

“I think we understand each other all too well.”

“I would say so, too… I’d never bring this guy into a situation like this unless I felt it was necessary.” Minseok nodded in response, understanding the man’s intentions. “That’s why I understand that you don’t want to let him go.” Han motioned to the boy in Minseok’s arms.

Minseok shot his head up, searching the man’s eyes for truth.

“The trains run once a week here. You’ve come on the day it leaves for the week, so you’re lucky. However, I’ve postponed the train due to this circumstance.. I’ll give you ten minutes for the boy to wake up and to make your final decision. After that, I can’t guarantee you anything good.”

“That’s fine.” Minseok nodded to Lu Han as the man stood up with Zitao hand in hand.

Before Lu Han could nod a goodbye, Zitao had tugged on his hand and looked up at him.

“What is it?” Lu Han looked down with a soft gaze.

Zitao looked back at Minseok, motioning that he wanted to talk to the man. Han gave him the okay and kept a firm eye on Minseok as Zitao approached the two on the ground.

Zitao knelt down and placed his forehead on Yixing’s head.

“He’s gonna wake up soon. Don’t worry.” The child spoke with such a soft voice that Minseok had found it all too adoring.

“Thank you.” Minseok breathed out, finding the utmost sincerity in his own voice.

“I was told by a lot of people that you were a very bad man.” Zitao said innocently, earning a dejected smile of agreement from Minseok. “But you don’t seem it. I think you’re very nice.” Zitao smiled and Minseok could feel everything in his will power start to crumble. This small child-the essence of truth-had addressed one of his biggest insecurities, and proved what the world thought of him as wrong. He could do no more than to thank the boy and wish him the best life he could ever gain. And to meet the child again, in a world where they could comfortably be together.

It made him happy to see that a child so hardened by war, still found the smallest shred of life. It was a thing of hope, pure hope that there was a future for their worlds.

Yixing hadn’t wakened until those ten minutes were up, unfortunately. He cried furiously when he realized he was curled in Minseok’s arms and safe from the men that tried to take him away.

That was when Minseok stood Yixing up and dressed him warmly again. He rushed him outside the office and into the train station. There they saw hordes of other people still trying to find their way into the train; it seemed as if the ride was still delayed.

Lu Han’s men watched like hawks over Minseok and Yixing, making sure that he wouldn’t try anything problematic. Instead, Minseok ignored the men and focused all his attention on the boy in front of him.

“Now listen to me.” He knelt down in front of Yixing, trying to put the boy’s zipper on its track. “You get on that train and you find someone your age immediately. Ask to tag along with their family and ask for their help. Ask them to help you look for distant relatives.”

“But what about you? You’re coming right?” Yixing asked, sniffling his nose from the cold air.

“No sweetie. I can’t. I’m not allowed. I’m not exactly really supposed to be here. I’m very much hated by most of these people.”

“But why?”

“I think you’ll find out when this war is finally over.” Minseok smiled as he began fussing with the kid’s hair and scarf, eyes turning red.

“But Uncle Min… I don’t want to go alone.” Yixing said exasperated. The idea of going on the train was making him feel anxious.

“Listen to me Yixing, you have to go. It’s the only way you’ll live decently. You’ll be much safer away from me.”

Yixing’s face started to contort into sobs, he didn’t want this to come, and he didn’t want to have to go without Minseok.

“I don’t want to go anymore. I don’t want to take the train.” The boy hiccupped through his heavy breathing.

“Yixing I’m not gonna argue with you about this-”

Before Minseok could so finish his sentence Yixing’s face had taken a complete change into something pleasantly surprised. The boy raced past Minseok and left him there completely baffled. When he finally turned around, he was met with something he thought he’d never see…

Jongdae.

The name licking the tip of his lips, looked for a way to capture the sight before him. To hold him firmly in his arms… And whisper three fine words to the world. Is this real?

The man was holding one good hand on top of Yixing’s head as the child hugged him, the other in a makeshift sling.

Minseok inhaled quickly and stood to his feet, breathing sporadically from his chest.

There he was. The man he thought would be lost forever.

He was disheveled and dirty. His face looked almost completely human except for the small transparent parts that looked faintly like the monster from when they parted.

Yixing had been in conversation with Jongdae as Minseok slowly made his way over. He was timid in his walk, not sure if this was genuine or if he himself was dead. When Minseok was close enough, he heard the voice he so desperately wanted to hear at least one last time.

“If you don’t want to go then I won’t force you to go…” Jongdae said to Yixing.

“See Uncle Min! Even Uncle Dae doesn’t want to make me go!” Minseok put a hand on top of Yixing’s head as he stood just a couple inches away from Jongdae.

“You hear that Minseok? Yixing doesn’t want to go…”

“You’re alive.” Minseok finally breathed out.

“The most alive I’ve been.” He shrugged and smiled.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Minseok nearly let everything out at that exact moment as he rested a hand on Jongdae’s cheek. His voice just above a whisper. “How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?” He asked scanning a quick eye on Jongdae’s body.

“Just a broken arm. Everything else healed over, but I’ll be fine.” Jongdae smiled softly, his eyes warm with every last bit of love he had to share.

“Good.” Minseok whispered quickly, retracting an arm and punching Jongdae square in the face.

The man fell backwards with a loud thud. Turning the attention of everyone in the station on them.

“What the hell?!” Jongdae yelled, his breath fogging in the process from the cold outside air.

Minseok, instead of responding, jumped on top of the vulnerable man and punched his face again. Minseok was out of it, his face brimming with anger and tears as he held onto Jongdae’s coat.

Yixing was frantically trying to push Minseok off and yelling for him to stop. But it took Lu Han’s men to pry Minseok off; Jongdae hadn’t even dared to budge.

“Where were you?!” Minseok screamed in Ethrean as his arms were held back by the men. “You fucking asshole! How could you leave us like that?! How could you change yourself like that!?” Minseok had been screaming in pure anger, his face red with tears.

“Why are you back, why are you even here?!” Minseok calmed down as his mind started to race with questions of exasperation. “Leave! You have to leave! After I get Yixing on that train, I’m going to prison Jongdae! Who knows what they’ll do with you!”

“I won’t let them take you.” Jongdae said, his eyes red with tears as well. His body held back away from Minseok.

“Don’t-don’t you… Dare..” Minseok managed out through breathy claims. “This is my punishment… I’m wanted, and anyone with me will be wanted just as much.” He stopped his struggling, trying to calm himself down.

“I promise you I won’t let them touch you.”

“Stop fighting!” A small voice in Hevin spoke out between to the bickering two. “Please… Stop..” Yixing had been broken in tears, watching the two men he loved most in the world. He had no idea what they were fighting about, but it was scary to watch.

“Oh baby…” Minseok dropped his shoulders as soon as he looked upon Yixing.

“Let them go.” Lu Han’s voice sounded from the side of the commotion.

“Sir?”

“You heard me. Let them go.” He repeated as he walked up to one of his men and removed his grip from Minseok’s arms.

The men let the two crying males loose, Minseok completely confused at the action.

“Get out of here.” Lu Han said firmly.

“Wh-Why?”

“Don’t ask questions. Here’s your bag, and go. Take the little one with you.” He shoved the bag into Minseok’s chest, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him away from the station. “I can’t let you on the train, but I can let you go. No one will know you were here.. Get to Naechural quickly and safely. Your best route is around the Tenmin Mountains, that route has been untouched in the last five years since the war was started. You know, because of the rumors of mountain men and everything, you know how superstitious your people and my own are.. If you are caught on the road, I know nothing of who you people are.” Just as Minseok and Jongdae were pushed through one of the walking entrances, he caught a quick glance of the bulletin board next to it. There were several photos on the board that had wanted signs over them. It was a sort of hit list with X’s over the ones that had been killed in action. “And you would do the same, to show your act of kindness back to us. Don’t tell anyone that you were here, don’t tell anyone that we’ve met. Understand?”

Yixing had been following behind the three men as fast as his little legs could take him, watching carefully for what would happen to his uncles.

“Why are you doing this?” Minseok turned to Lu Han as soon as he stopped pushing them away.

“Mainly because I want this guy out of my station.” He pointed to Jongdae. “He’s a time bomb and I don’t want to see what will happen when he explodes… And because I couldn’t separate a family that just got back together… I put a map inside your bag and some provisions that should help for the journey. Especially for your wounds there. I marked safe houses that are no longer in use along the way, those should do you good. Right now, take the road on the left through the forest, it should get you on a good start. You just need to pass through the mountains within two months. After that, I can’t guarantee you’ll survive the winter weather.”

They spoke in a small huddled group in the snow, swift in their conversation.

Minseok sprung from his spot and threw his arms around a very shocked man.

“Thank you. Your kindness will never be forgotten.” Minseok breathed.

“Yeah, well? Fight for our people and you’ll be shown more of that.”

Minseok shook his head, “I don’t fight. Never again. I side with these two, and these two only.”

“Fair enough… Now go, before I change my mind.”

Without another word, Jongdae and Minseok nodded to Lu Han and left with Yixing close to their sides.

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