fade | jookyun

08

three years had passed since jooheon's incident. life was going well for jooheon and changkyun. of course, there were downfalls here and there but they moved on from it thanks to each other. the two did have more of those blissful nights, as well as fluffy nights snuggled up next to each other in bed. they had small arguments over minor things but made up too quickly to call it a grudge. changkyun finally decided to move in with jooheon after a year. as for occupations, jooheon worked at a convenience store at the corner of the block they lived on. changkyun on the other hand, worked at a job with a higher salary. he worked at an office and stayed overnight from time to time. jooheon would get pissed about it but changkyun would hug him and give him a kiss and all his anger would melt away.

most importantly, a ring now glittered on both of their ring fingers — matching engagement rings. they were going to get married on the fourteenth of may, which was gradually getting nearer and nearer.

may fourteenth.

minhyuk had the date burned into his mind.

when he had gotten the wedding invitation, minhyuk had wanted to scream and rip it apart. no, this was all wrong. it should be his name replacing changkyun's on the shiny card. it should be him.

jooheon was blinded, he knew it. he was blinded and that was why he couldn't see minhyuk. he couldn't see his pain.

minhyuk wanted to burn the invitation, along with changkyun at first.

however, he eventually decided to keep it.

"save the date!" the card chirped in dramatic, curly calligraphy letters.

minhyuk would do just that.

-
the wedding day was only two months away, and neither jooheon nor changkyun could wait to be married.

changkyun came home from work at 1 am to find jooheon dozed off on the table, which was adorned with several plates of delicious-looking food. changkyun shook jooheon's shoulder softly, but he didn't wake up. changkyun sighed and picked jooheon up, bridal style, and carried him to their bedroom. jooheon murmured incomprehensibly in his sleep as changkyun laid him down on the mattress. just as changkyun began covering him with the blanket, jooheon began to whimper.

"changkyun?" he muttered.

"jooheon, you're awake?" asked changkyun.

"hide. hide," jooheon whispered. he started to toss and turn. "no, no, no. hide. they're coming."

"jooheon, who's coming? it's okay, i'm here." changkyun comforted him.

"no, go. go before they get you. no!" jooheon flailed and wailed.

"jooheon!" changkyun exclaimed, alarmed and unsure what to do.

suddenly, jooheon fell limp. "no..."

changkyun began shaking jooheon awake, anxiously praying that nothing bad happened to jooheon and it was only a small nightmare. after a few shakes, jooheon opened his eyes, bursting awake, panting and gasping for air. "changkyun." jooheon pulled changkyun into bed, hugging him tightly as if he was a huge teddy bear.

"what happened?..." changkyun trailed off, staring at jooheon. jooheon was looking up at him, his eyes red and puffy. "it's okay." changkyun stroked jooheon's hair comfortingly. "what was your nightmare?"

jooheon stuttered, spilling out the dream in an instant. changkyun pulled jooheon into his embrace even more, whispering soothing words to comfort him. the younger tucked jooheon into bed while he put the plated side dishes into the fridge. after he cleaned everything — including himself — changkyun snuggled into bed next to his fiancé and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "go to sleep. it's okay, i'm here. i'll protect you."

but what could the dream mean?

changkyun quickly fell asleep, but jooheon did not. he squirmed restlessly, frowning as he clung to changkyun.

he felt bad for being such a burden to changkyun. changkyun shouldn't have to be the one who supported both of them, he shouldn't have to be the one who worked late hours to make money for two people, he shouldn't have to be the one constantly reassuring jooheon. jooheon's grip on changkyun began to loosen. he studied changkyun's heart, steadily glowing, then changkyun's face. there were bags under his eyes. "from me." jooheon thought guiltily. jooheon didn't deserve a soulmate like changkyun. so was it selfish to want to keep holding on?

jooheon wrapped his arms around changkyun's waist once again and pulled him tight. "don't leave." he whispered.

jooheon awoke in an empty bed. he squinted around, but there was no sign of changkyun. "changkyun?" he half yawned, half called.

no response.

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