[ ☆ ]—minhyuk was the last person he wanted to see in the island.
his emotions were a cacophony of anger and grief and surprise the moment he chanced upon him in the murderworld, his only prayer was that his only friend did not undergo the same circumstances as him. he knew he could not hide anything from the boy, as a simple touch could reveal every memory he locked deep in the darkest corners of his conscious. the blonde did not belong here, and though the same could be said about the brunette beauty, he knew he could at least survive the explicit brutality.
the cheer in the other’s tones were a stab to his chest. he knew that a sliver of contact can make his own memories flood into the other’s conscious, so he made sure to match it with a stream of pheromones that would have the other feel nothing but calmness and comfort. minhyuk had experienced enough pain on his own time in the island–he didn’t need to feel any more from the darkness he carried within.
“of course you’re not.” was the sarcastic reply, his habit of snarking to mask his pain obvious in his speech. “and you’re with me, after all. but just don’t die, okay? you can’t. you’re not allowed to.” swiftly, he takes his hand away, instead landing a flick on the other’s forehead to lift the mood. “mother and my sisters would want to see you again in one piece, after all.” he hid his grief behind a gentle smile. “we are going home together, okay?”
The memories begin to fade along with the pain—Haejin always has this effect. He always manages to relieve Minhyuk of the pain he feels. He always knows when he’s in pain despite how hard he tries to hide it behind his bright smile and loud laughter. He always knows and it scares him that he almost forgot. That he almost forgot about Haejin. If his mere presence hadn’t triggered those memories, they would’ve slipped between his fingers once again. He’s not supposed to forget him, not like how he’s forgotten about others.
He smiles and lets out a cheer, throwing an arm into the air. “You’re always here to save the day!” He sighs (one of the dreamy ones). “Like my own knight in shining armor! I won’t die if you’re here—“ He’s cut off with a flick of the forehead, hands immediately flying to his forehead and he whines. “That huuuuuurt, Haejiiiiin.” Another whine and he just nods. “Of course we will,” he says, still pouting, “if we don’t, we’d make a lot of people sad, wouldn’t we?”
Too many people would be sad. Like his parents (he can barely remember their faces) and his friends (they’re slowly slipping away from his memories), too many people. And of course Haejin’s family! They would be sad too, too sad. He doesn’t like it when others are sad, especially those he cared for. It’s never been something he particularly liked or was fond of.
“Do you think we’ll be able to go home soon?” He asks. “I miss home.”
