세상의 끝: End of the World

Apocalypse Again

Three weeks before the apocalypse, the villa's renovations were finally done. Lee Minho and Han Jisung moved back, not forgetting to bring along the garden plants Hong Sheng had raised. They transplanted the garden into a sunny plot overlooked by one of the remaining bay windows, so that whenever Jisung wanted to relax, he could curl up in the protruding windowsill and look out at the greenery.

The villa had fully transformed into a proto-version of the SKZ base. It wasn't as large as the base had grown to be, but the core was there.
And alongside it was the laboratory.

Minho had secretly ordered the construction of the lab, and had negotiated with his father to find the scientific instruments the researchers might need later on. These kinds of specialized tools were extremely expensive, in the millions of yuan range; no matter how much money Lee Minho made on his own, he wouldn't be able to afford them without Father Lee's help.
With the research station set up, and the defenses built and ready, the SKZ base was now primed to be an even better stronghold against the zombie onslaught. This time, they would be ready to find the cure to the zombie virus.
There was only one loose end left.

At present, Lee Minho was curled around Jisung in bed.
Sunlight streamed over them from an open window, the protective shutters rolled up. Han Jisung hadn't moved for a while, a little vacant, like his soul had gone somewhere else to escape the memories in his mind.
At times like this, Minho hated himself more than anything.

But even when he blamed himself for Han Jisung's trauma, he couldn't let Jisung go. All he could do was gently wrap himself around Han Jisung, share his warmth with him, and hold him close. Sometimes he'd selfishly press his lips against the back of Jisung's neck, desperate to let a sliver of his love pass into Han Jisung's cognition.

Han Jisung wouldn't react until hours later, when he finally grew aware again. By then, he would act like nothing had happened-but once, Lee Minho saw Jisung duck his head, fingers pressed against the back of his neck, his ears completely blushing red.
So cute.

Every action Han Jisung did was like a little mallet tapping on Minho's heart.
He wanted so much to run his hands over Jisung's body, to press his lips against Han Jisung's and hear the shy, cut-off groans he'd make. He wanted to bite Jisung's skin and fill it with marks. He wanted to feel Han Jisung completely and utterly given to him, relaxed and pliant, knowing that Lee Minho held him safely in his embrace.

But Minho buried that side of him, reminding himself, not yet. Not until Han Jisung felt safe enough to let him closer. Not until he'd earned Jisung's trust. Once the apocalypse came, and all of the ghosts of their past came to stay, Lee Minho would show Han Jisung that he'd changed. He'd be by Jisung's side as Han Jisung took steps toward a happier life, one with friends, with people he could trust. People who weren't just Minho.

Han Jisung's world would grow wider, and the end of the apocalypse would come.
This time, things would change for the better.

Later that day, a package arrived at the villa.
It was a small box that barely weighed a thing. Lee Minho took it away without Jisung even knowing it was there. He brought the package to a secure vault in the laboratory wing and tore it open.

Inside was a dull and innocuous pendant made of jade, carved in the shape of a goddess. Looking at this jade in person, Lee Minho found that the goddess's figure was so worn with age that even her face couldn't be seen.
Minho tapped a few buttons on his phone, anonymously sending the payment over to San. The scum man had served his purpose. Lee Minho would pay him to accompany Lisa up until the start of the apocalypse-once they were surrounded by zombies, Minho was sure that San would tear off his mask in the ugliest way possible. Just the thought of that made Lee Minho chuckle.