The Dome (Part 1 of the KaiSoo Fanfic Series)

Chapter XVIII

It's dead silent as Asher and his guardians eat their evening meal. Sometimes every few minutes or so, Asher will look up at them and wonder if they're thinking about Jongin and if they're worried about him, too. They certainly don't act like it, though, he thinks. He even overheard them talking about preparing his sleeping quarters for another child now that he's gone. This confuses Asher. Jongin can't be gone. His brother can't be gone already. He just saw him and he told him that everything would be okay. He shakes his head lightly and goes back to eating. No, if Jongin says everything will be okay, everything really will be okay because he wouldn't lie to him. 

Their evening meal almost comes to an end when the emergency sirens sound, making Asher flinch while his guardians lift up their heads and listen. "Attention citizens of The Dome," the voice over the loudspeaker says, "citizen number 168, Kim Jong-in has escaped detainment and is now on the run. Again, citizen number 168, Kim Jong-in has escaped detainment and is now on the run. If any citizen has information on his current whereabouts, they are required to report it directly to the Government and any citizen harboring this fugitive will be prosecuted by the Court."

"H-Hyung?" Asher whispers to himself in a voice stuttering with surprise and worry, his eyebrows furrowed. One of his guardians stands up and walks over to the door. He locks it and his other guardian closes all the windows, too. "Wait, what is going on?" he asks them. "What if he comes here? He will need our help."

"We will not be offering any sort of aid to a fugitive," his guardian says and sits back down at the table. 

"But he is not a fugitive," Asher says. "He is Jongin. He is part of our family." His guardians look at him for a moment after he says this.

"He is no longer related to us in any way," he says. "And any talk of him will not be tolerated from you, Asher. He is a criminal and he shall be treated as so from now on."

"But-"

"There will be no more talk of him," he says again. Asher sighs and closes his mouth, dropping his head. "Go wash up and take your rest for the evening," he says a few moments later. 

"Yes." Asher barely mumbles out his reply before he stands up and bows at them, dragging his feet to the cleaning quarters. But on his way there, he passes by Jongin's room and glances back at his guardians before opening the door and quietly stepping in. After standing there somberly in his doorway for a second, he walks in fully and goes over to his closet to pull down his secret stash of books. He sets it on the bed and sits down next to it, rummaging through it in search of the tiny book he found before that Jongin left for him. As he takes it out, he remembers Jongin told him not to read it until the time was right and that when that time comes he'll know. And although he's not sure if the feeling he is feeling right now is the one telling him that the time is right, he opens it up anyway and flips to the page that has its top corner folded. 

Asher, it's hard for me to say this to you because I know how much you depend on me for safety. You know how I always used to say to you that we have play along with this game until something changes, right? Well, I think that something is coming, but I don't think it will be in the most graceful of ways. I guess what I'm trying to say to you here is that while we may live in a place surrounded by and built off of lies, the one truth I know, the one thing I can guarantee is real is that you are my little brother and you are the most important person in the world to me. I might be leaving for a while, a long while, but I promise you that I will come back for you. I've got you and you've got me, remember?  Hyung

Tears are filling his eyes by the time he reaches the end, and his heart is pounding against his rib cage quickly but sadly. Sniffling and inhaling shakily, he lifts his legs onto the bed and lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he holds the book close to his chest.