City (e)Scape 7/?
Title: City (e)Scape
Progress: 7/?
Pairing: To be decided
Rating: PG-13 ~ NC-17
Warnings: Graphic violence, blood/gore, sexual situations (more to be added)
Summary: In a grisly future, healers and hunters are bred for the specific purpose of keeping order for THEM. But when IT starts to revolt and draft wary healers and hunters to create its own army, it’s obvious that someone is on the inside. Jonghyun and Kibum, the child prodigies of THEM are out to settle the score and find out what really happened - even at the sake of their own loyalty.
A/N: Title is a play on the term ‘cityscape’, which is basically ‘the view of the city’; it’s about wanting to break free from the norm, to escape the life you’re born into, to find yourself and others and do what you want to do with your own life.
[ Prologue] [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Notes: So sorry this took me so long! I am planning on finishing this so please don't be scared that I'm abandoning it lol I'm just taking my time in developing it before I write it all out. This chapter is... a bit of a filler, I'll admit, but some questions have been answered and more popped up and in the next chapter things should pick up again. Thank you to everyone that's been reading this, you have no idea how much it means to me that I'm writing a multi-chap that's so well received (that isn't a crack!fic lmfao). So without further ado, chapter seven! Enjoy lovelies ♥
--
The pain was excruciating. It was blossoming in Kibum’s lower abdomen and shooting up through his limbs and if he hadn’t been tied to a chair he probably would have fell over anyway. His hands tied behind the back of the chair kept him from doubling over but fuck he wished he could, he wished he could fold in on himself, reach into his body and pull out whatever was making him feel this horrible sensation. Not only that, his powers seem to have been blocked and any chance of him pushing the bad energy out of his body with his good energy was zero. It was like realizing Minho could block out Jonghyun from Kibum’s sensory system, everything was just bad bad bad.
And here he thought that these IT elitists hadn’t been the bad guys.
When Kibum opened his eyes - they had been squeezed shut to try and block out the pain, concentration breaking a sweat on his brow - that pretty little healer was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. Kibum blinked a few times and then tapped his right foot out of nervous habit; well, he tapped it as much as he could, what with it being tied to the leg of the chair.
“You’re really brave,” the healer said, smiling softly. His big blue eyes were watery with curiosity and shining with kindness, but Kibum couldn’t be fooled by this, Jonghyun had been fooled by it once and it couldn’t happen again.
So Kibum just sniffed and turned his head to the side, taking in his surroundings. They were in that run-down pawn shop. A big bed that looked like it could fit five was over in the corner, a desk was next to it, the back office had been turned into a bathroom, and for the most part the rest of the space was occupied by books and scrolls and all sorts of weird gadgets that Kibum had thought to be non-existent for hundreds of years.
But he’d stalled long enough looking around and the other healer was still looking at him imploringly, so Kibum let out a breath and hung his head a bit.
“I’m not brave, I was duped,” he said, irritation lacing his voice. The Almighty Key was never duped by anyone.
The healer shook his head and got up on his knees, shuffling between Kibum’s thighs. The older healer tensed a bit and straightened in his seat, waiting for some sort of attack - but the other healer merely bent to start untying his legs from the chair.
“You must not like sitting still for too long,” Min commented, and Kibum clenched his teeth.
“I don’t think anyone likes being tied to a chair.”
The boy chuckled, “I suppose.” He finished untying both ropes and Kibum watched Min warily for a moment before he stretched his legs and let out an appreciative sigh at the lactic acid releasing his muscles from their bonds.
“Thank you…” Kibum said softly, averting his gaze from the pretty boy. How could a male have such fine features? Kibum had been told that he was pretty a million times before but this boy’s beauty was different. It was almost feminine… and with his hair up in a ponytail like that, a spaghetti strap sundress draped over his small frame, he really could be mistaken for a girl. Kibum knew that although he himself was pretty, unless he was wearing a wig no one could mistake him for the opposite gender.
“Taemin~” the boy chimed.
Kibum blinked.
“That’s my name.” The boy, Taemin, placed his hands on Kibum’s thighs, and in Kibum’s mind it was a bit too casual for his liking. Taemin reminded him a bit of Jonghyun, an eager lap dog, but Taemin was different of course for he possessed that cunning edge that healers had and wasn’t just going to let himself be led blind. “And you’re Kibum.”
The older healers’ jaw clenched, “Yeah.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” another voice piped in as the door of the pawn shop opened, Jinki stepping in and shaking the rain off of his trench coat. He hung up the wet coat on a rack and moved over, his smile the same brightness that it always was. “I told him your name. He wanted to know.”
“You-,” Kibum tensed his legs and was about to just launch himself, chair and all, at Jinki. Taemin’s grip on his thighs tightened and kept him still, his weak energy not allowing himself to move much more than his chest in a barely threatening manner. “What the fuck are you doing Jinki!?”
Once again that apologetic look was on Jinki’s face despite the fact he was still smiling.
“I’m going to stop this war,” Jinki explained.
… Really? That was it? Kibum was expecting the fucking answer to the meaning of the life from the scientist and all he could say was that he was going to stop this war?
“Yeah, you and the rest of the world, buddy,” Kibum rolled his eyes, a scoff leaving his lips. He should have felt threatened and in all honesty, he was, a little bit - this man he considered his best friend and confidante over the years… was on the other side. And even so he wasn’t going to hold it against Jinki because… if Kibum had been given a choice, he would be on the other side, too.
“I really am,” Jinki said, tearing into Kibum’s thoughts. His voice was earnest and sweet like it always was, convincing anyone around him that he was preaching the truth and Kibum sort of believed him but then again, scientists have been trying to stop the war and save the world for… ever.
“What makes you think you’re going to do it?” Kibum asked, keeping a wary eye on Taemin as the younger healer got up and moved behind the chair, his slender, warm fingers working over the ropes that were binding Kibum’s hands against the back of the wood.
“I figured it out,” the scientist said, pointing to the floor.
Kibum glanced down and for a second the floor just looked dusty, doodled on with chalk probably from this little kid behind him, but upon further investigation the doodles turned out to be alchemic symbols and maps, things that Kibum had only heard about in his years. Could Jinki do this? Was Jinki an alchemist? A magician? Alchemy… was a form of science, Kibum knew that. But he thought it was fictional. Fairy tale.
“What is it…?” the healer breathed, his heart rate accelerating.
“An advanced form of alchemy that I developed.” Jinki kneeled down on the floor a few feet away from Kibum. “Here is the center. All five energies need to be synchronized during the proper planetary alignment--,”
“Astronomy?” Kibum interjected, jaw slackening a bit.
“Sort of,” Jinki continued on, used to Kibum’s little interruptions. His fingers trailed over the chalk markings as he spoke. “The Chosen Ones are to be sacrificed and their energy will be replenished and replaced with a new energy, their signature going up and--,”
“Hyung!”
Jinki was interrupted by Taemin and this time Jinki stopped, looking a bit surprised as he glanced back at the door, and for now Kibum wouldn’t get to hear him finish his revelations. Minho stepped through, his presence commanding yet aloof as he hung his coat on a hook and shook off his arms - clouds of dust billowed as he pat down the long sleeves of his shirt and his big eyes fell on Kibum, a smirk lining his thick lips.
“You’re awake,” the hunter said, and Kibum’s jaw clenched so hard he felt like his molars were going to grind down to dust.
“Yeah, asshole. Thanks for leaving me the nice parting gift,” he moved his hands, which Taemin had untied a while ago but had been playing with Kibum’s fingers behind the chair, playing with them and getting a feel for them, channeling some healing energy into the older boy. Kibum’s finger pointed to his own stomach and he stood as Minho stepped closer, reaching out to shove the hunter’s broad shoulder. “That fucking hurt.”
“Ouch,” Minho’s brows furrowed in mock pain. “Watch your strength, you might leave a bruise.”
“You-,”
Kibum was stopped mid-launch as Jinki wrapped his strong arms around the healer’s svelte waist, pulling him back into his chest. Kibum’s vision turned red for a second before he was completely placated, any resistance he had been feeling fading from his veins as he slumped slightly, all anger leaving his body and mind as he looked up at Minho, taking in the cut on his right cheek - it was bound to leave a scar - and the blood caking his shirt.
“What did you…”
“Your friend was noisy,” Minho said, passing by Kibum and Jinki.
Kibum felt his knees give out and Jinki’s firm grip was the only thing that kept him from falling to the floor.
“Jonghyun…?”
“Is that his name?” Minho said conversationally, moving to the tiny kitchenette to get some water out of the filter system, filling a tall, thin glass. “He put up a good fight.”
Kibum lifted his head, eyes welled with tears and stinging slightly as he fought against Jinki’s grip, “Where is he!”
But Jinki’s grip tightened and Minho casually filled the glass with water and turned around to lean against the counter, one of his arms draping over his stomach as his lips touched the rim of the glass, not yet taking a sip as he seemed to contemplate the drawings on the floor.
“He’s fine,” Minho finally said, and even though Jinki had seemed to have drained some of Kibum’s energy, the healer managed to wrench free from the scientists’ grip.
However, once he had no support holding him up, he crumpled to his knees on the floor and his hands barely caught him to keep his face from hitting the dirt. Jinki was kneeling next to him instantly, and as much as Kibum wanted to hate the older man for what was going on - or at least, what Kibum thought was going on - he still couldn’t. There was no way you could go against that sweet smile and those sparkling eyes… even if he had just basically told you he was going to sacrifice you for some sort of weird science experiment.
“Where…” Kibum panted out, eyes closing as his body got increasingly fatigued out of nowhere, his eyelids feeling heavy and his limbs quaking and threatening to give out on him. “Where is he…”
“Licking his wounds at your bosses’ place, I imagine,” Minho spoke against the rim of the glass, the contents still untouched. Kibum finally raised his gaze to the tall hunter, his brows furrowed and his nose scrunched up and lips pursed as he tried to snarl as menacingly as possible. Minho merely chuckled and walked over to where Kibum was on the floor, crouching down himself and holding the rim of the cup to the healer’s thick, parted lips gently.
Kibum’s eyes flicked up to Minho’s, his brows still furrowed and Minho looking as nonplussed as ever and if the guy wasn’t so laid back all the time Kibum might actually be able to stay pissed at him… But with his energy being sucked right out of him with Jinki’s hand on his arm, Kibum’s eyes fluttered and he relaxed his jaw, Minho lifting the bottom of the cup and tipping the water into the healer’s mouth. Kibum let out a thankful sound and Minho drew the cup away after a few seconds, and Kibum cracked his eyes open for a split second to see the softest smile he’d witness curl on the hunter’s lips, before once again his mind was shut down and he was encased in complete darkness.
--
The middle of fucking nowhere.
Jonghyun could feel his blunt nails digging into his palms, leaving angry crescent shapes as he paced back and forth by a seemingly pointless sign post in the middle of a barren waste land. Was it even safe for him to breathe this air? With that thought he reached into his emergency pack, which was currently slung over his shoulder, and grabbed a small gas mask, putting it over his face. He took in a few deep breaths of filtered air before replacing it into his bag, paced a few more times, and then turned and kicked the sign post.
And immediately whimpered, hopped around in pain, and clutched his foot in agony as he howled up at the heavens in frustration.
“What did I do to deserve this?! If I’da known I signed up for the wrong team I wouldn’ta done it! Catch me a mother fucking break!”
“Talking to that which does not exist is a sign of insanity, Bling.”
Jonghyun nearly jumped out of his skin, as he scrambled and tried to use the sign post as some sort of protection from whoever it was that managed to sneak up on him when he was surrounded by nothing. But his fright simmered and instead that healer, Little Min, was standing there, head tilted to the side, ponytail rippling like feathers dancing on a light breeze, his white sundress pristine despite the fact they were surrounded by thousands of miles of dust, dirt, and God knew what else in every direction.
“… How did you get here?”
The healer tilted his head, blue eyes blinking owlishly before he smiled; “I jumped!”
Jonghyun wasn’t even going to question that, as he unattached himself from the sign post and dusted off his leather vest, clouds of dust shooting up to make him cough and wave a hand in front of his face.
“How did you get here?” the younger boy asked, and Jonghyun groused.
“THEY found out that Key got taken away… and I’m useless to THEM, on my own. So they tossed me. Here. In the middle of fucking nowhere. There’s not even dead bodies around to keep me company.” Jonghyun threw his arms up and out, gesturing around them.
Little Min giggled, “Ah well Jinki-hyung sent me to come get you.”
“… Jinki… Hyung?” Jonghyun repeated, tilting his head and cocking it a bit, as if that new angle would reassure what he had just heard.
The healer smiled and nodded, reaching out to take Jonghyun’s hand. “And just so you know, you’re not in the middle of nowhere, you’re in Limbo. You’re dead~”
“I’m WHAT.”
Little Min paid Jonghyun no heed as he started forward in a random direction, and Jonghyun followed stupidly, mouth agape, eyes wide and eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hair.
“I’M DEAD?”
The healer stopped walking abruptly and Jonghyun nearly ran into his backside, and the younger boy turned around and leveled the hunter with a serious look.
“As a door nail.”
Jonghyun paled.
Taemin brightened, tugging Jonghyun’s wrist.
“Come on, we’ll get you back to Jinki-hyung and he’ll fix you!”
“HOW CAN YOU FIX A DEAD PERSON.”
Jonghyun was nearly delirious with the information. Dead? Kim Jonghyun, Bling Bling of THEM, had not only been cast aside by his employer, but possibly killed by them? He had never been dead. Last he checked he was fine. And that filtered air he breathed was definitely real. Wasn’t it? Or was this some sort of fabricated plane of existence where everything felt real when indeed it wasn’t reality? His thoughts circled in his head and his temples started to throb, but dead people didn’t get headaches, right? Well, he didn’t know, he’d never been dead.
“How are we going to get back?”
“The same way I came.”
The answer seemed obvious, with the way the younger boy said it. They stopped walking and Jonghyun glanced down, eyes bulging out of his head in surprise as he yelped and took a step back, staring down in a ravine that must have been thousands of miles deep, possibly penetrating the Earths’ core itself. Then again if he wasn’t on Earth, it couldn’t penetrate the core… Jonghyun shook his head as the healer laced their fingers together, giving his arm a soft tug.
“We’ll jump.”
“Into a crevasse?” Jonghyun was trying not to sound incredulous or even doubtful of this healer’s powers but fuck, that was a long drop, but then again if he was already dead… Yeah, his head definitely hurt and if dead people could get headaches, he was screwed.
“Just let it go, hyung.”
Jonghyun gave Little Min a good look, taking in the soft features, the rounded, blue eyes, the strawberry hair, the collarbones sticking out against pale skin, the oddly perfect, crisp white dress, and he let out a breath, closing his eyes.
“What have I got to lose?”
“Nothing at all.”
The last thing he registered was the smugness in Little Min’s voice before the healer gave a flick of his wrist, signaling them to jump, and the freefalling sensation that whipped through Jonghyun’s hair, his nostrils, all of his senses, was the same exact feeling of letting things go, and not losing a thing.
[ Chapter 8 ---->]
Progress: 7/?
Pairing: To be decided
Rating: PG-13 ~ NC-17
Warnings: Graphic violence, blood/gore, sexual situations (more to be added)
Summary: In a grisly future, healers and hunters are bred for the specific purpose of keeping order for THEM. But when IT starts to revolt and draft wary healers and hunters to create its own army, it’s obvious that someone is on the inside. Jonghyun and Kibum, the child prodigies of THEM are out to settle the score and find out what really happened - even at the sake of their own loyalty.
A/N: Title is a play on the term ‘cityscape’, which is basically ‘the view of the city’; it’s about wanting to break free from the norm, to escape the life you’re born into, to find yourself and others and do what you want to do with your own life.
[ Prologue] [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Notes: So sorry this took me so long! I am planning on finishing this so please don't be scared that I'm abandoning it lol I'm just taking my time in developing it before I write it all out. This chapter is... a bit of a filler, I'll admit, but some questions have been answered and more popped up and in the next chapter things should pick up again. Thank you to everyone that's been reading this, you have no idea how much it means to me that I'm writing a multi-chap that's so well received (that isn't a crack!fic lmfao). So without further ado, chapter seven! Enjoy lovelies ♥
--
The pain was excruciating. It was blossoming in Kibum’s lower abdomen and shooting up through his limbs and if he hadn’t been tied to a chair he probably would have fell over anyway. His hands tied behind the back of the chair kept him from doubling over but fuck he wished he could, he wished he could fold in on himself, reach into his body and pull out whatever was making him feel this horrible sensation. Not only that, his powers seem to have been blocked and any chance of him pushing the bad energy out of his body with his good energy was zero. It was like realizing Minho could block out Jonghyun from Kibum’s sensory system, everything was just bad bad bad.
And here he thought that these IT elitists hadn’t been the bad guys.
When Kibum opened his eyes - they had been squeezed shut to try and block out the pain, concentration breaking a sweat on his brow - that pretty little healer was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. Kibum blinked a few times and then tapped his right foot out of nervous habit; well, he tapped it as much as he could, what with it being tied to the leg of the chair.
“You’re really brave,” the healer said, smiling softly. His big blue eyes were watery with curiosity and shining with kindness, but Kibum couldn’t be fooled by this, Jonghyun had been fooled by it once and it couldn’t happen again.
So Kibum just sniffed and turned his head to the side, taking in his surroundings. They were in that run-down pawn shop. A big bed that looked like it could fit five was over in the corner, a desk was next to it, the back office had been turned into a bathroom, and for the most part the rest of the space was occupied by books and scrolls and all sorts of weird gadgets that Kibum had thought to be non-existent for hundreds of years.
But he’d stalled long enough looking around and the other healer was still looking at him imploringly, so Kibum let out a breath and hung his head a bit.
“I’m not brave, I was duped,” he said, irritation lacing his voice. The Almighty Key was never duped by anyone.
The healer shook his head and got up on his knees, shuffling between Kibum’s thighs. The older healer tensed a bit and straightened in his seat, waiting for some sort of attack - but the other healer merely bent to start untying his legs from the chair.
“You must not like sitting still for too long,” Min commented, and Kibum clenched his teeth.
“I don’t think anyone likes being tied to a chair.”
The boy chuckled, “I suppose.” He finished untying both ropes and Kibum watched Min warily for a moment before he stretched his legs and let out an appreciative sigh at the lactic acid releasing his muscles from their bonds.
“Thank you…” Kibum said softly, averting his gaze from the pretty boy. How could a male have such fine features? Kibum had been told that he was pretty a million times before but this boy’s beauty was different. It was almost feminine… and with his hair up in a ponytail like that, a spaghetti strap sundress draped over his small frame, he really could be mistaken for a girl. Kibum knew that although he himself was pretty, unless he was wearing a wig no one could mistake him for the opposite gender.
“Taemin~” the boy chimed.
Kibum blinked.
“That’s my name.” The boy, Taemin, placed his hands on Kibum’s thighs, and in Kibum’s mind it was a bit too casual for his liking. Taemin reminded him a bit of Jonghyun, an eager lap dog, but Taemin was different of course for he possessed that cunning edge that healers had and wasn’t just going to let himself be led blind. “And you’re Kibum.”
The older healers’ jaw clenched, “Yeah.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” another voice piped in as the door of the pawn shop opened, Jinki stepping in and shaking the rain off of his trench coat. He hung up the wet coat on a rack and moved over, his smile the same brightness that it always was. “I told him your name. He wanted to know.”
“You-,” Kibum tensed his legs and was about to just launch himself, chair and all, at Jinki. Taemin’s grip on his thighs tightened and kept him still, his weak energy not allowing himself to move much more than his chest in a barely threatening manner. “What the fuck are you doing Jinki!?”
Once again that apologetic look was on Jinki’s face despite the fact he was still smiling.
“I’m going to stop this war,” Jinki explained.
… Really? That was it? Kibum was expecting the fucking answer to the meaning of the life from the scientist and all he could say was that he was going to stop this war?
“Yeah, you and the rest of the world, buddy,” Kibum rolled his eyes, a scoff leaving his lips. He should have felt threatened and in all honesty, he was, a little bit - this man he considered his best friend and confidante over the years… was on the other side. And even so he wasn’t going to hold it against Jinki because… if Kibum had been given a choice, he would be on the other side, too.
“I really am,” Jinki said, tearing into Kibum’s thoughts. His voice was earnest and sweet like it always was, convincing anyone around him that he was preaching the truth and Kibum sort of believed him but then again, scientists have been trying to stop the war and save the world for… ever.
“What makes you think you’re going to do it?” Kibum asked, keeping a wary eye on Taemin as the younger healer got up and moved behind the chair, his slender, warm fingers working over the ropes that were binding Kibum’s hands against the back of the wood.
“I figured it out,” the scientist said, pointing to the floor.
Kibum glanced down and for a second the floor just looked dusty, doodled on with chalk probably from this little kid behind him, but upon further investigation the doodles turned out to be alchemic symbols and maps, things that Kibum had only heard about in his years. Could Jinki do this? Was Jinki an alchemist? A magician? Alchemy… was a form of science, Kibum knew that. But he thought it was fictional. Fairy tale.
“What is it…?” the healer breathed, his heart rate accelerating.
“An advanced form of alchemy that I developed.” Jinki kneeled down on the floor a few feet away from Kibum. “Here is the center. All five energies need to be synchronized during the proper planetary alignment--,”
“Astronomy?” Kibum interjected, jaw slackening a bit.
“Sort of,” Jinki continued on, used to Kibum’s little interruptions. His fingers trailed over the chalk markings as he spoke. “The Chosen Ones are to be sacrificed and their energy will be replenished and replaced with a new energy, their signature going up and--,”
“Hyung!”
Jinki was interrupted by Taemin and this time Jinki stopped, looking a bit surprised as he glanced back at the door, and for now Kibum wouldn’t get to hear him finish his revelations. Minho stepped through, his presence commanding yet aloof as he hung his coat on a hook and shook off his arms - clouds of dust billowed as he pat down the long sleeves of his shirt and his big eyes fell on Kibum, a smirk lining his thick lips.
“You’re awake,” the hunter said, and Kibum’s jaw clenched so hard he felt like his molars were going to grind down to dust.
“Yeah, asshole. Thanks for leaving me the nice parting gift,” he moved his hands, which Taemin had untied a while ago but had been playing with Kibum’s fingers behind the chair, playing with them and getting a feel for them, channeling some healing energy into the older boy. Kibum’s finger pointed to his own stomach and he stood as Minho stepped closer, reaching out to shove the hunter’s broad shoulder. “That fucking hurt.”
“Ouch,” Minho’s brows furrowed in mock pain. “Watch your strength, you might leave a bruise.”
“You-,”
Kibum was stopped mid-launch as Jinki wrapped his strong arms around the healer’s svelte waist, pulling him back into his chest. Kibum’s vision turned red for a second before he was completely placated, any resistance he had been feeling fading from his veins as he slumped slightly, all anger leaving his body and mind as he looked up at Minho, taking in the cut on his right cheek - it was bound to leave a scar - and the blood caking his shirt.
“What did you…”
“Your friend was noisy,” Minho said, passing by Kibum and Jinki.
Kibum felt his knees give out and Jinki’s firm grip was the only thing that kept him from falling to the floor.
“Jonghyun…?”
“Is that his name?” Minho said conversationally, moving to the tiny kitchenette to get some water out of the filter system, filling a tall, thin glass. “He put up a good fight.”
Kibum lifted his head, eyes welled with tears and stinging slightly as he fought against Jinki’s grip, “Where is he!”
But Jinki’s grip tightened and Minho casually filled the glass with water and turned around to lean against the counter, one of his arms draping over his stomach as his lips touched the rim of the glass, not yet taking a sip as he seemed to contemplate the drawings on the floor.
“He’s fine,” Minho finally said, and even though Jinki had seemed to have drained some of Kibum’s energy, the healer managed to wrench free from the scientists’ grip.
However, once he had no support holding him up, he crumpled to his knees on the floor and his hands barely caught him to keep his face from hitting the dirt. Jinki was kneeling next to him instantly, and as much as Kibum wanted to hate the older man for what was going on - or at least, what Kibum thought was going on - he still couldn’t. There was no way you could go against that sweet smile and those sparkling eyes… even if he had just basically told you he was going to sacrifice you for some sort of weird science experiment.
“Where…” Kibum panted out, eyes closing as his body got increasingly fatigued out of nowhere, his eyelids feeling heavy and his limbs quaking and threatening to give out on him. “Where is he…”
“Licking his wounds at your bosses’ place, I imagine,” Minho spoke against the rim of the glass, the contents still untouched. Kibum finally raised his gaze to the tall hunter, his brows furrowed and his nose scrunched up and lips pursed as he tried to snarl as menacingly as possible. Minho merely chuckled and walked over to where Kibum was on the floor, crouching down himself and holding the rim of the cup to the healer’s thick, parted lips gently.
Kibum’s eyes flicked up to Minho’s, his brows still furrowed and Minho looking as nonplussed as ever and if the guy wasn’t so laid back all the time Kibum might actually be able to stay pissed at him… But with his energy being sucked right out of him with Jinki’s hand on his arm, Kibum’s eyes fluttered and he relaxed his jaw, Minho lifting the bottom of the cup and tipping the water into the healer’s mouth. Kibum let out a thankful sound and Minho drew the cup away after a few seconds, and Kibum cracked his eyes open for a split second to see the softest smile he’d witness curl on the hunter’s lips, before once again his mind was shut down and he was encased in complete darkness.
--
The middle of fucking nowhere.
Jonghyun could feel his blunt nails digging into his palms, leaving angry crescent shapes as he paced back and forth by a seemingly pointless sign post in the middle of a barren waste land. Was it even safe for him to breathe this air? With that thought he reached into his emergency pack, which was currently slung over his shoulder, and grabbed a small gas mask, putting it over his face. He took in a few deep breaths of filtered air before replacing it into his bag, paced a few more times, and then turned and kicked the sign post.
And immediately whimpered, hopped around in pain, and clutched his foot in agony as he howled up at the heavens in frustration.
“What did I do to deserve this?! If I’da known I signed up for the wrong team I wouldn’ta done it! Catch me a mother fucking break!”
“Talking to that which does not exist is a sign of insanity, Bling.”
Jonghyun nearly jumped out of his skin, as he scrambled and tried to use the sign post as some sort of protection from whoever it was that managed to sneak up on him when he was surrounded by nothing. But his fright simmered and instead that healer, Little Min, was standing there, head tilted to the side, ponytail rippling like feathers dancing on a light breeze, his white sundress pristine despite the fact they were surrounded by thousands of miles of dust, dirt, and God knew what else in every direction.
“… How did you get here?”
The healer tilted his head, blue eyes blinking owlishly before he smiled; “I jumped!”
Jonghyun wasn’t even going to question that, as he unattached himself from the sign post and dusted off his leather vest, clouds of dust shooting up to make him cough and wave a hand in front of his face.
“How did you get here?” the younger boy asked, and Jonghyun groused.
“THEY found out that Key got taken away… and I’m useless to THEM, on my own. So they tossed me. Here. In the middle of fucking nowhere. There’s not even dead bodies around to keep me company.” Jonghyun threw his arms up and out, gesturing around them.
Little Min giggled, “Ah well Jinki-hyung sent me to come get you.”
“… Jinki… Hyung?” Jonghyun repeated, tilting his head and cocking it a bit, as if that new angle would reassure what he had just heard.
The healer smiled and nodded, reaching out to take Jonghyun’s hand. “And just so you know, you’re not in the middle of nowhere, you’re in Limbo. You’re dead~”
“I’m WHAT.”
Little Min paid Jonghyun no heed as he started forward in a random direction, and Jonghyun followed stupidly, mouth agape, eyes wide and eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hair.
“I’M DEAD?”
The healer stopped walking abruptly and Jonghyun nearly ran into his backside, and the younger boy turned around and leveled the hunter with a serious look.
“As a door nail.”
Jonghyun paled.
Taemin brightened, tugging Jonghyun’s wrist.
“Come on, we’ll get you back to Jinki-hyung and he’ll fix you!”
“HOW CAN YOU FIX A DEAD PERSON.”
Jonghyun was nearly delirious with the information. Dead? Kim Jonghyun, Bling Bling of THEM, had not only been cast aside by his employer, but possibly killed by them? He had never been dead. Last he checked he was fine. And that filtered air he breathed was definitely real. Wasn’t it? Or was this some sort of fabricated plane of existence where everything felt real when indeed it wasn’t reality? His thoughts circled in his head and his temples started to throb, but dead people didn’t get headaches, right? Well, he didn’t know, he’d never been dead.
“How are we going to get back?”
“The same way I came.”
The answer seemed obvious, with the way the younger boy said it. They stopped walking and Jonghyun glanced down, eyes bulging out of his head in surprise as he yelped and took a step back, staring down in a ravine that must have been thousands of miles deep, possibly penetrating the Earths’ core itself. Then again if he wasn’t on Earth, it couldn’t penetrate the core… Jonghyun shook his head as the healer laced their fingers together, giving his arm a soft tug.
“We’ll jump.”
“Into a crevasse?” Jonghyun was trying not to sound incredulous or even doubtful of this healer’s powers but fuck, that was a long drop, but then again if he was already dead… Yeah, his head definitely hurt and if dead people could get headaches, he was screwed.
“Just let it go, hyung.”
Jonghyun gave Little Min a good look, taking in the soft features, the rounded, blue eyes, the strawberry hair, the collarbones sticking out against pale skin, the oddly perfect, crisp white dress, and he let out a breath, closing his eyes.
“What have I got to lose?”
“Nothing at all.”
The last thing he registered was the smugness in Little Min’s voice before the healer gave a flick of his wrist, signaling them to jump, and the freefalling sensation that whipped through Jonghyun’s hair, his nostrils, all of his senses, was the same exact feeling of letting things go, and not losing a thing.
[ Chapter 8 ---->]