Tomorrow's sun awaits us | Seongjoong

Death holds tight

Wooyoung smiles when the three men in front of him burst out laughing.

The joke was funny.

He catches himself and pushes the corners of his mouth down. This is probably not the time to laugh with them like an old friend.
Something bumps into his shoulder. The male flinches away before seeing what it is.
The blond man has his eyes narrowed on him.

"Uhm...hi." Wooyoung bows slightly.
That particular katen intimidates him.
"You are allowed to smile if you want to."
"I don't think I'm in a place to do that. It's...inappropriate."
"If I can laugh after killing those three guards, so can you."

Wooyoung moves further away from the man.
"So it was indeed you who sliced their..." a sudden wish to vomit stops him.
"Hey, you alright there?" Yeosang turns to the gagging sounds in the back. He receives a nod yet the hand in front of the man's mouth doesn't promise anything good.

"I told him I killed his comrades." the blond man says.
"Oh, what a great thing to say to start the day!" the raven hair hisses.
"He can't be that surprised, killing is essential here."
"I never killed." Wooyoung squeaks out.
"Then what did you do out there?"
"Messenger."

He turns his back to the male's and bends down, emptying his breakfast.
It's too much. The dead men remind him of all the other corpses he has seen and lastly, Hongjoong's raw wrists.
His stomach ties into a tight knot as he pushes it all out. He feels a hand patting his back.
"There, there, it's alright."

Oh, if only he knew.

Coughing, Wooyoung stands straight. He mindlessly takes a cloth offered to him and wipes his mouth.
"Water?"
He nods and receives a bottle.
Wooyoung gulps the liquid down at a fast pace.
"Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you." the blond male says.

He glares at the other.
"Don't mind him, he is not the nicest of fellows." Jongho says.
The brunet takes Wooyoung's hand and pulls him between himself and the tall male he still has no idea what to call except tall.
"I'm quite nice if you consider I let him live."
"All hail San."
"What San?"

"Oh, that's just his name, nothing more. A bit too nice for his serious face, isn't it? He should have grown up to be a country boy with glasses who spends time reading poetry." Yeosang says, walking beside Jongho.
The tall male to Wooyoung's left laughs.
"I would pay to see that."
"Sorry, and you are?" the male asks unsurely.

"Song Mingi at your service." the cook offers his big hand for a handshake.
Wooyoung shakes his hand.
"By the way, what is your name? We kinda kept calling you mustard among ourselves." the male to his right says.
"I'm Wooyoung."
"Nice to meet you, Wooyoung, I am Jongho and he is Yeosang."

They continue down the dusty road while the sun burns their necks and shoulders.
"You know, even if we are the so-called enemies, that doesn't mean we can't joke around. Humour is universal." Mingi says as he kicks a rock forward. Taking a few steps forward, Wooyoung's boot sends it flying further, in front of Jongho's direct path.
"I'm still going to be punished for my crimes, won't I?"

"Depends on what your crimes are." Yeosang answers.
"If you indeed were forced to join the fight and haven't even killed anyone, we don't have much reason to punish you."
Wooyoung hangs his head down in thought while Yeosang pushes the rock they have been kicking further.
"It means Hongjoong won't get out of this so easily."

"Friend of yours?"
The male nods.
"He does look like someone who has killed...I'm sorry, has he?"
Another nod.
"Then it will be a bit more difficult." the black haired man agrees.
"This will never end, huh."
"It will, someday. For now, we can only see what we can do. Katens have their heart in the right place, you must know that."

"So any punishment chosen for you or your comrade will be the right one." San says behind them.
Wooyoung squints his eyes until a frown appears on his forehead.
It is all too complex to be forgiven or to be punished for.
None of the choices will be good enough or just enough.
While on their way to the katen base, he keeps thinking of Hongjoong.

Who else does he have left besides him? If the man gets sentenced to prison for the rest of his life or worse, will Wooyoung be able to continue on his own? They are going to Katedrilte after all, no mosavs live there though it's not forbidden. They do it out of spite because Mosavika is ten times better in their opinion.
At the end of the day it's just land.

A sigh leaves his mouth. His brain is thinking furiously, which, though draining, helps him not to focus on the pain he feels in his legs.
Wooyoung has never strayed far from their camp or gone a long way to deliver messages so to be walking all day makes his feet ache.
The sun goes down at some point, being changed with the moon.

The uneven silhouettes of woods makes him feel uneasy.
His mind is playing tricks again as his eyes see the shadows moving, charging forward just to back up again. He is just waiting for something to appear out of the forest.
With a heart almost in his throat, he lets his right hand sway in the air.

He wants to feel another human with him, just to not be alone in the dark again.

A foreign hand slides in his open palm.
Wooyoung turns his head. Jongho notices his stare after some time and smiles before looking back in front of him.
The man squeezes the hand and relaxes after receiving a squeeze back.
He walks while listening to the men talking casually. It takes a lot of willpower to train his eyes only on the road in front of him yet when he feels like he is slipping, he squeezes the other's hand.

When Jongho squeezes back, his brown orbs return to the path.
The other man must think he is childish, but that will be Wooyoung's worry when he gets back in the light.
Judging by the many fireplaces nearing them, it will be soon.
As there are only a few metres left and the first soldiers have already noticed the male's, Mingi bolts from Wooyoung's left side.

He watches as the tall man runs to another male in a white long coat and hugs him.
Wooyoung thinks he is happy to see his friend so he stops a few feet away and watches them with a smile.
His mind seems to shut down when Mingi tilts the man's head to kiss him. He averts his eyes politely.

"Are they...?"
"M?" Yeosang turns to him.
"Oh, yes, they are a thing. It was good that you and Hongjoong joined us otherwise Mingi wouldn't stop talking about Yunho."
"I see..."
Wooyoung did see yet it takes some time to get to his brain.
Is it allowed? Can they do that? Nobody says anything?
"Actually they aren't the only couple around, right?" Jongho asks as he turns his head to the black haired male.

Yeosang rolls his eyes before catching Wooyoung's gaze.
"Sorry, he likes to boast around about our relationship like I'm some fish he pulled out from the depths of a river."
"I did pull you out but not from a river. Remind me, what was it again?" the brunet teases the man.
"A barrel. Long story." Yeosang adds quickly.

"But yeah, he is mine." Jongho puts a hand around the male's shoulder.
Wooyoung understands that his hand is still holding Jongho's.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't...." he lets go like electrocuted and looks down.
The man's hand is slightly swaying like nothing happened yet another hand disappears from between them.

His brown eyes follow the hand up the muscular forearms until he sees blond locks and feline eyes.
The man might as well kill him now or else the embarrassment will dig a hole for him soon.