muscles aching, hyung-min slips through the crack of the door and quietly closes it. a single wound in his side stemming from a hunter's blade drained him of enough power to leave him incapable of teleporting far from namsan tower. the glamor of his human appearance lifted, he can't find it within himself to summon it once more, either. so he snuck through the city, patterns winding around his limbs, to reach this building. their home, dark and silent and cold.
but someone is here. the mere realization is enough to make the demon freeze in the hallway, straining his ear for any noise, a single breath. are the hunters here, waiting for any potential survivors? or perhaps. . . no. hyung-min saw mystery and abby vanishing into a flurry of petals and light. jinu is gone and, frankly, none of his concern anymore. that would leave romance only, and... really, how high are the chances that he made it out and came back here, same as him? realistically, none of them should have made it out, or should be on this side of the honmoon in the first place.
and yet there's a lurch in his chest. it could be romance. he shouldn't be getting his hopes up, hyung-min knows, but even so...
a deep inhale, then he strides further inside. and there he spots him ⸺ curled up on the floor, so very unaware that it's him until hyung-min speaks. he's not even sure what he said, but it doesn't matter. within a split second, romance is suddenly right there, holding onto him with an expression that tells hyung-min that he must have believed himself to be the lone survivor and how utterly griefstruck he must have been. romance's nails dig into him for but a moment, and hyung-min doesn't care, because this. . . this is all they have left now, isn't it? their plan, a failure. their comrades, gone. the illusion of control and a future is fully shattered, so now they can only cling to the present.
before romance can remove himself entirely, ever mindful of his boundaries even now, clawed hands shoot out to grasp onto his wrists tightly. ❝ don't ⸺ . . . ❞ his mouth snaps shut ere his demand slips out fully. don't let go. it certainly is unlike himself to hold on so tightly, to want to be held just as tightly in return. he doesn't know if, after everything, it makes sense, all these contradictions and wants and fears, but right now...
❝ i think everyone else is gone. ❞ hyung-min isn't sure why he must say such a damning thing. as if filling the silence with something, anything, is better than simply existing and knowing that in spite of it all, they're not alone. but facts over emotions. he's not ready to fall apart entirely just yet. not until he knows they're safe. he swallows around the lump in his throat, gaze trailing off to the side. holds tighter. ❝ the hunters might come here. ❞