my first and last || renmin

S e v e n t e e n - Anne Frank House

"I spent your wish on that asshole."

"You didn't spend it on him, you spent it on us."

Taeyong came out and it was clear that he had been crying too.

"I'm so sorry. I thought meeting you would help him, if he would see that his work has shaped real lives but.. I'm very sorry. Circumstances have made him cruel." Renjun said nothing, Jaemin held him in a very protective way.

"Perhaps we can do some sightseeing? Have you seen the Anne Frank house?" Taeyong asked, a comforting smile on his face.

"I'm not going anywhere with that monster." Jaemin's dislike for the male evident in his voice.

"He's not invited."

***

Taeyong walked back from the ticket kiosk with more bad news.

"I'm afraid there's no elevator." Taeyong said sympathetically.

"Oh.. um, that's alright." Renjun said with a forced, tight lipped smile.

"No, there are many stairs and they're steep." Taeyong explained.

"I can do it." Jaemin looked at Renjun.

"Renjun-"

"I can do it!" Renjun wasn't going to stand for anymore disappointments today.

They went inside, a video player on the monitor showed the Nazi invasion of Holland.

Renjun and Jaemin stood with Taeyong in a pack of backpackers and travelers about to take the tour.

Many of them began walking up the first flight of stairs.

"Shall we?" Renjun nodded.

Both Renjun and Jaemin walked slowly up the stairs, so far, everything was going okay.

They found themselves in an office space.

"This is the bookcase that hid the Frank family and four others." The bookcase was half open.

Behind it was an even steeper set of stairs, only wide enough for one person at a time.

Some of the travelers begun to walk up the stairs.

Jaemin looked at Renjun, "Are you sure we should go on?"

Renjun ignored Jaemin and started climbing, determined.

Taeyong trailed behind carrying his oxygen tank.

Renjun moved very slowly, his breathing loud and labored the entire time.

The other tourists watched and quietly commented.

It was just like at the airport, this time in foreign languages.

Renjun arrived at the next floor, it was an empty room.

He was starting to struggle a lot now.

He leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

Jaemin came to his side and wiped his brow.

"You're a champion." Renjun smiled.

When he felt up to it, they walked into the next room that was also empty.

Another staircase, even more narrow and steep- it was practically a ladder.

When Jaemin saw the narrow, steep staircase he looked at Renjun.

"That's enough-"

"I'm okay." Renjun very slowly started climbing.

His breathing was loud and broken.

It was dark and it was becoming very difficult to breathe.

Near the top, Renjun stumbled but was finally able to pull himself through.

Once he was there, he fell to the floor, slumping against the wall as he tried to catch his breath.

"We're at the top. It's over." Renjun now became aware of the tourists that looked at him with concern.

He smiled and stood up, nothing to see here.

They were now in the final room- a long, narrow hallway.

This was where Anne Frank and 7 other people lived in hiding for as long as they could.

There was a time line on the wall detailing their story.

"The only member of the family to survive was Otto, Anne's father." Jaemin took Renjun's hand.

"I don't know how you can go on without your family." Taeyong carried on.

Jaemin lead Renjun into the room at the end of the hallway where a video detailed the last days of Anne Frank's life while Taeyong stayed behind.

Over the video, a young girl read from the diary.

The travelers stood to watch and listen, Jaemin and Renjun did the same.

The room was dark and Jaemin and Renjun stood very closely together.

The video was a cherry on top of a very emotional day, Renjun watched it.

Jaemin was just watching Renjun, the same way Renjun watched him on the plane.

Renjun got a hold of Jaemin's gaze, the emotions were building up.

Renjun kissed Jaemin.

It was passionate, intense, you-and-me-against-the-world kind of kiss, it was better than any that they've ever experienced or could imagine.

It seemed to last for a small eternity.

They eventually broke away and opened their eyes.

They quickly noticed all the travelers staring at them.

For a brief second they wondered, was that an inappropriate thing to do?

"What a beautiful couple!" An old woman held her hands to her heart as she spoke in dutch, moved by the whole thing.

Renjun blushed while Jaemin grabbed his small hand with a smile.