Station 553 | Taegyu & Heehoon

12) The World Explodes

"Well? What do you think?" Beomgyu strode into their new apartment, flinging his arms up as he turned to face Taehyun. "Nice, right?"

Taehyun gazed at the older boy with adoration in his eyes. "I love it. And it's only a five-minute walk from Soobin and Yeonjun's place!"

"I know," Beomgyu grinned. "That's why I chose it."

He ran his fingers along the edge of their kitchen counter. "Now that we're boyfriends, and this is our house... Can we-"

"Beomgyu, we haven't even unpacked yet."

"So what?" Beomgyu muttered, picking up a single spatula and setting it on the dining table.

Taehyun wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Okay. Stop. I will unpack. You... sit there and look pretty."

"Yes, sir," Beomgyu sighed dreamily, wrapping his arms around Taehyun's neck. "Kiss me."

Taehyun complied, his hands circling the older boy's waist. "There. Happy?"

"For now. I want more later."

"My god, shut up and make yourself useful."

Several tedious hours later, a majority of their boxes were empty and piled in a corner of the apartment. Beomgyu dusted off the top of his desk, making sure it was perfect before flipping on a police scanner and flopping into bed beside Taehyun. They lay side-by-side for a bit, enjoying each other's presence while listening to the chatter on the radio. Eventually and inevitably, Beomgyu's hand found its way into Taehyun's shirt.

"You know what would be really dirty?" He straddled Taehyun's hips, pushing down on the younger boy's shoulders to keep him flat on his back. "If neither of us got up to turn off the scanner."

He leaned in, leaving breathy kisses all over Taehyun's neck.

"Get up, Gyu," Taehyun giggled, pushing the older boy away. "We're turning it off."

"Fine," the older boy sighed, crossing the room to silence the scanner. He frowned, his hand hovering above the off switch. "Hang on. Something's wrong."

Taehyun sat up curiously. "What do you mean?"

"The scanner's not working. There's too many calls; nothing's going through."

"Did something happen?" Taehyun crawled to the edge of the bed, prepared to grab his uniform.

A loud rumbling in the distance shook the building.

Beomgyu glanced up suspiciously. "What was that?"

Taehyun shrugged, pushing aside a curtain to peer out the window. "I don't know. I don't see anything."

The rumbling grew louder as Beomgyu's eyes widened. "Taehyun!"

He lunged across the room, wrapping his arms around the younger boy just as the windows exploded.

***

Silence.

It was a sound Taehyun missed as he raced down the stairs of their apartment building. There was a ringing in his ear that hadn't left since Beomgyu pulled him up off the floor of their glass-ridden bedroom. They burst through the door, falling over each other into ruined streets just as a deafening explosion sent shock waves rippling through the air.

Beomgyu lay over Taehyun, shielding the younger boy from the brute of the blast. Only after the ground stopped shaking did he sit up, breathing heavily. "Tyun, you okay?"

"I-" Taehyun stared in disbelief at the wreckage of their building. He took a moment to compose himself. "Gyu, our passports-"

"I know. It's too late to go back; we'll figure something out later. Come on; we need to find-"

"Taehyun! Oh, Taehyun, thank god!" A man in a white apron scampered toward the two boys. "My shop is gone! Blown up!"

"So is our home," Taehyun whispered.

The shopkeeper ducked behind him, cowering as another squadron of planes flew overhead. "We need to find shelter. Is Soobin's place still standing?"

A truck filled with bedraggled citizens, all with white hair and wrinkled faces, passed by.

"Hey!" The shopkeeper ran into the street, waving his arms in the air. "Where are you going?"

The truck slowed to a stop.

"West!" The driver shouted. "We're getting out of here! Room for two if you need a ride!"

The shopkeeper scrambled onboard, offering his hand to Taehyun. "Come on, get in!"

Taehyun shook his head. "I have to find Soobin and Yeonjun."

"Forget them! Taehyun, let's go!"

"No," Taehyun said firmly. "You go. I'm staying with Beomgyu."

"Oh, so this is the famous Beomgyu I've been hearing about." The shopkeeper smiled at the older of the two boys. "Congratulations. Taehyun's a wonderful kid."

He turned to the driver. "Alright, you heard him. Let's move!"

Taehyun watched as the truck rumbled off into the distance.

Beomgyu grabbed his arm. "We have to go too."

They sprinted towards Soobin and Yeonjun's building, rounding a corner and smacking straight into another pair of moving bodies.

"Yeonjun!"

"Beomgyu!"

The two boys laughed with relief, hugging each other through ruffled hair and dust-ridden clothes.

"Soobin hyung." Taehyun melted into the older boy's arms. "What's happening?"

Soobin pulled his phone out. "Look at this article. You know how there's been trouble at the eastern border recently? Well, apparently, it escalated last night. They've started moving in on our territory."

"What? I haven't been following the news. I didn't- Wait. Yeonjun hyung, your meds." Taehyun looked up fearfully. "Do you have them?"

"Uh, I have like... Three pills. In my pocket."

"Three? That's it?!"

"Taehyun, it's okay," Yeonjun smiled. "I'll be fine without them for a couple days."

"It's not okay!" Taehyun cried. "Everything is not okay!"

He crouched on the ground, his voice trembling as he ran his fingers through his hair. "What are we going to do?"

Soobin knelt beside him, soothingly rubbing his back. "We go west. They've been telling people to evacuate there all day. Once we cross the border, we'll be safe, and we can get another prescription."

"Alright, then it's decided." Beomgyu clasped his hands together. "Let's get a move on."