overpopulated ▪︎ minsung

chapter 1; implants

When Minho was two years old, the government implemented a program to fix the issue of overpopulation on Earth. The original tests were run in the United States, far away from Minho and his family of three.

The tests proved successful, and it wasn't long before multiple countries followed suit, Korea included. Any child under the age of eighteen was required to have an implant monitoring their age, weight, and other factors. Each chip was equipped with a small poison capsule that would leak if by chance the child was awarded a red dot on their eighteenth birthday. The death was quick but painful, and completely nonpreventable. The government selected people at random, but aimed to kill off the citizens they deemed as "lesser class". Doctors, lawyers, and government workers were more likely to survive than a convenience store worker.

Minho was truly lucky. His siblings had all escaped the killings, and his parents had been far too old when the law was implemented. He wasn't anything remarkable, just a simple college student hoping to major in dance. Jisung, however, was so very special. Minho met Jisung during his senior year in high school. He found the cute sophomore lost and wandering in the hallways and felt obligated to help him. The assistance quickly bloomed into flirtatious comments and too-close-to-be-platonic touching.

The age gap seemed like a minor inconvenience to the determined Minho, but Jisung's lawyer parents threw a fit when they met their son's senior boyfriend. They assured the couple that for legal reasons they couldn't support it, but Minho saw the fear of judgment in their actions. It wouldn't have mattered if he was an older woman as long as Jisung's relationship didn't ruin their reputation. Despite their hesitance, Minho and Jisung stayed together, and two years later, Minho was proud to call Jisung the love of his life.

Minho had a green dot, his entire family intact, and Han Jisung as a boyfriend. Even with the occasional stress that came with college, he was thriving.

"Sungie?" He called out after he threw his dance bag on his apartment floor. Ballet kicked his ass most days and that day was no exception. He wanted nothing more than to rest his legs and snuggle with his favorite person in the world.

"Kitchen!" Was the reply. Minho smiled, lips curling into a flawless feline grin. His thighs shook and his calves screamed at him to stop using them, but he ignored his body's protests to skip to his darling boyfriend.

"Hi, kitten," he cooed, ruffling the teenager's blue hair. He pressed a gentle kiss to Jisung's temple, knowing full well how much he loved it.

"Hey, Min, still hate ballet?" Jisung chuckled and shook his head.

Minho groaned, slumping into the chair beside Jisung, "with all of my heart. It's beautiful, really, all the spins and shit, but it's so painful."

"Beauty is pain," Jisung replied absentmindedly. Minho could tell from the way his tongue prodded at the inside of his chubby cheeks that he was laser-focused on the work in front of him. And Jisung was hardly focused, constantly bouncing around like a broken trampoline.

"English?" Minho questioned. Jisung nodded, uncapping his highlighter and coloring over a word in his book.

"What are you guys reading?" Minho stretched his legs out and sighed at the pleasant burn. The fridge felt miles away at that moment, and he decided ice wouldn't even be worth the walk.

"I'm analyzing To Kill A Mockingbird." Jisung scribbled down a note in the margin.

"Didn't you read that in like, eighth grade?" Minho asked, vaguely recalling the story every English 1 student was required to read.

"We have an individual project. Everyone chooses a book they read when they were younger and we have to see what we may have missed. It's kind of interesting. Plus, I think it's relevant now."

Minho cracked his neck and rolled his ankles, the popping sounding much more violent than he intended.

"I mean racism never really went away."

Jisung waved away his comment, "True, yeah, but I'm talking about that." He pointed to the green dot staining Minho's tan skin.

"Sungie, are you still worried about that?"

The teenager didn't respond. Minho closed his book and gently pried the pen from his fingers, tilting Jisung's chin towards him.

"I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth, my love. If you get red, I will go with you when the time comes."

Jisung bit his lip and nodded. Minho grinned and kissed his pout away softly.

"How could they ever kill such a beautiful person, anyway. They'd be crazy."

Jisung nuzzled further into the hand cupping his face, cheeks aflame.

"I love you so much," Jisung whispered. The sincerity in his eyes almost made Minho cry.

"I love you so much more, kitten." He held Jisung's hand and rubbed his fingers along his knuckles tenderly. Occasionally, Jisung's promise ring tapped against his nails. He lifted their intertwined hands, both clad with matching rings and spoke into the saddened silence.

"Til death do we part, mi amor."

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