warm like a gun | ot23 nct; ot5 red velvet

Chapter 24

The loss of Johnny's father was not an easy one. They'd watched him die, slowly. First he'd just complained of soreness and pain, and the feeling of pins and needles across his skin. Then he became weaker and weaker, until he couldn't lift more than a bowl of soup. He lost weight and his skin grayed. He couldn't keep solids down. He passed away shortly after that.

He wasn't the first of the lead miners to go. They'd watched countless others fall ill. Their bodies were extracted quickly and quietly. They knew what symptoms to watch for, and Hyunki knew he was dying as soon as the ache in his joints didn't go away.

They weren't even able to hold a funeral for him. Jaehyun doesn't know what happened to his body.

He'd become hopeless for a while after that. They had a small but steady stream of new prisoners every day. It was the only thing that kept him going, hearing about how things were out in the city. People were rioting; the city was in chaos. Jaehyun knew his friends had something to do with it, and so he clung to these little pieces of information. They were small comforts, but comforts all the same.

Michiko and Jeonghun were comforts, too. Michiko was like the little sister he never had, always bugging him because she knew it would distract him and cheer him up. Jeonghun became almost a confidante—they swapped stories and learned all about each other in the long hours they spent working. It breathed life into their monotonous existence.

Jaehyun was grateful they didn't keep them in solitary confinement when they weren't working. He supposes they didn't think there was much of a point. Building cells would be costly, and it's not like they could escape, even if literally every single prisoner joined up with one another to fight.

But now Taeyong is here, and they will escape. The next days pass slowly, excruciatingly so. It's all the same work, but Jaehyun can barely contain his excitement. He hasn't seen the sun in months. He held his hand up to Taeyong's when he came in, and saw that even Taeyong was shades darker than he was.

He and Jeonghun lay their bedrolls out side by side the night of the escape. They face each other as the lights dim, not talking.

"I can't believe it's finally happening," Jeonghun whispers after the minutes stretch on.

"I told you we'd figure it out," Jaehyun replies. "I promised we'd find the truth."

Jeonghun nudges him. "You didn't. Your friends did."

"I said I'd make sure we got out, anyway," Jaehyun says, rolling his eyes.

Jeonghun snorts quietly. "Your friends did that, too."

"Well, I was stuck in here keeping your ass company," Jaehyun points out, and Jeonghun cracks a grin. Jaehyun smiles, too.

But then he sobers. "I'm glad I had you," he says. "I mean it."

Jaehyun blinks. "Me too," he replies.

And then the lights go out.

Jaehyun scrambles to his feet, reaching for Jeonghun to pull him up. Jeonghun turns to help Michiko out of her bed, and Jaehyun whirls to see Taeyong already ushering some of the other prisoners to the far wall.

Jaehyun turns to the nearest cluster. "Come on," he says. "Leave you things, get to the back, by the mines."

"What's going on?" one of them asks.

"Just trust me," Jaehyun replies. "Hurry!"

He and his friends sweep the room, herding people back. They all settle, crouching behind the rock formations by the back gate. Jaehyun hears a faint rumble, and the building shakes. Someone screams.