Seongdong-gu Wangsimni-dong
Apartment, 10:25 AM.
For the next few hours, Kim Dohyun couldn't breathe right.
He moved through the apartment like a ghost, feeling his body-his alive, unwounded body-functioning as if nothing had happened. As if three years of blood and death had never touched him.
The smells.
The colors.
Jihoon humming a song while folding laundry.
The news anchor's soft voice murmuring from the television.
The clink of dishes being washed.
Too real.
Far, far too real.
But the panic wouldn't go away. Maybe this was what dying felt like-reliving your happiest moments before you fade. Or maybe he was crazy.
He splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, then gripped the sink with white knuckles.
"Get it together,"
he whispered to his reflection.
The man staring back was whole.
No bite marks. No bloodshot eyes.
Just the same clean skin, same tired expression. Like a normal 22-year-old.
Normal.
His stomach twisted. He took a long deep breath, before turning back and walked out from the bathroom.
Dohyun heard Jihoon turned up the volume on the TV and said, "Oh, that's weird. Another virus outbreak in Eastern Europe. Some kind of aggressive flu strain. They're calling it Crimson Fever."
Dohyun froze mid-step. He turned to the TV slowly.
The same anchor.
The same headline.
The same date.
He remembered this.
He remembered brushing it off, just like everyone else.
Back then, it felt distant.
Another overseas scare.
Nothing to panic over.
Jihoon looked up from the couch. "You think it's serious?"
"I..." Dohyun swallowed. "I don't know."
He walked away before Jihoon could ask more.
————
Later that Evening. 03:59 PM
He stood by the window.
Hands in his hoodie pocket, gaze distant.
He knew it was stupid. Impossible.
But...
"At 4:07 PM, a man runs past this window, chasing his golden retriever that slipped its leash."
He remembered it exactly-because it was the last moment he ever laughed before the world ended.
Back then, Jihoon chuckled and said.
"That dog runs faster than your brain when you're sleepy."
So he waited.
4:05. Nothing.
4:06.
Then-
There.
A golden retriever darted across the sidewalk. A man followed, yelling. "Bori! Get back here, you little punk!"
Jihoon laughed from the kitchen.
"Hahaha... I guess that dog runs faster than your brain when you're sleepy babe."
Dohyun's blood went cold.
His heart dropped into his stomach.
"No way..."
————
12:39 PM
He barely slept that night.
He lay next to Jihoon, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling fan as it turned slowly above them. His mind spinning faster.
The same news.
The same man.
The same damn words.
He wasn't crazy.
Or dreaming.
This was real.
He grabbed his phone from the table side, and looked at the time
September, 02, 2035
Somehow... some impossible way, he was two months before the end of the world.
He turned to look at Jihoon sleeping peacefully beside him.
Breathing softly. Warm. Alive.
His throat tightened. He knew what he had to do. He had to be ready.
————
Saturday, 08:25 AM
The morning air smelled of rain.
Dohyun stood by the front door, lacing his shoes quietly as Jihoon bounced over, holding up a reusable shopping bag like a trophy.
"Come on, you promised you'd come with me this time,"
Jihoon teased with a smile. "No escaping with your fake 'too much homework' excuse today."
Dohyun blinked at him, caught off guard.
He remembered this.
This moment.
Jihoon in the beige hoodie. That exact playful tone. He even remembered the bag - a faded green canvas one with a stitched banana logo he hates the most. He'd forgotten how much peace they'd had before the world burned.
"Sure. I'm ready," Dohyun said, straightening up. "Let's go."
Jihoon tilted his head. "No whining?"
Dohyun smiled, and grabbed his hand. "Not today."
————
The car ride was quiet at first.
Light traffic.
A calm, cloudy sky.
Dohyun kept glancing at Jihoon's side profile-memorizing him again, the way he used to do when Jihoon wasn't looking.
Then-
Wee-woo. Wee-woo.
An ambulance shot past them, siren blazing.
Dohyun stiffened.
This is it.
The exact moment.
He remembered that sound.
That siren.
Even the sharp curve of the ambulance's tail lights. It happened here, on this road, on this date. He gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Jihoon noticed. "Hey. You okay?"
Dohyun hesitated. Then he asked softly.
"Baby... if I told you something impossible... would you believe me?"
Jihoon blinked. "Like what?"
"Like... I had a dream. But it wasn't just a dream. It felt like I... lived an entire life. Three years. After everything collapsed. After the world ended." Dohyun's voice was low. Careful. "And now I'm back here. With you. Before it all started."
A pause.
Then Jihoon snorted a little and turned to look at him. "What, like... time travel? Or a zombie apocalypse?"
Dohyun's knuckles went white around the steering wheel.
Jihoon laughed. "Babe, are you trying to pitch me a webtoon plot?"
"I'm serious."
Jihoon stared at him for a beat, reading Dohyun's eyes with his soft doe eyes. Then his tone softened. "Okay. I believe you had a dream like that. You looked really shaken yesterday. But dreams aren't real, Dohyun."
Dohyun looked back at the road. "Yeah. Maybe not."
But he knew.
The ambulance.
The headlines.
The dog.
The exact words.
This wasn't a dream.
And there wasn't much time left.
————
E-Mart Wangsimni - 이마트 왕십리점
9:23 AM
The supermarket was busy. The usual Saturday morning bustle.
Elderly women inspecting vegetables. Kids tugging candy off shelves.
Normal.
It almost felt like a betrayal.
Jihoon picked up their usual cereal. "Want the same coffee beans as last time?"
"No." Dohyun answered it fast.
Jihoon paused. "No?"
"We're not here for that." Dohyun's voice was firm.
They walked together in silence for a moment.
Jihoon watched as Dohyun passed the snacks and vegetables without pause... and instead turned straight to the canned food aisle.
Then the bottled water section.
Then the medicine shelves.
Dohyun's cart was filling fast.
Tuna, beans, crackers. First aid kits. Rubbing alcohol. Multivitamins. Antibiotics. Gauze. Painkillers. Things they didn't need.
Not yet.
Jihoon was confused.
"Why... why are you buying so much?"
Dohyun didn't answer immediately.
He remembered stacking the same cans in a blood-soaked warehouse in his past life. three years ago.
Only back then, Jihoon was gone.
But this time...
He bent down, loaded another pack of bottled water into the cart, his brows furrowed.
When he finally spoke, it was gentle, with the small smile on his face. "I just... want to be prepared this time."
Jihoon frowned, voice quieter.
"For what?"
"For anything." Dohyun met his eyes.
"Just trust me."
People around them started glancing-three carts, brimming. A few whispered. Some even laughed.
Jihoon stayed close, biting his lip, clearly unsure. But he didn't argue.
————
Back in the car, Jihoon finally spoke.
"You're scaring me a little, Dohyun."
"I don't mean to."
"Then... at least tell me this."
Jihoon's voice was soft and vulnerable. "Are we in danger?"
Dohyun stared at the road ahead. "...Not yet."
Jihoon stared at him. Not upset. Not hatred.
Just purely concerned.
Dohyun turned to him. Soft Smiled on his lips. His other hand grabbed Jihoon's with gentle touch. "Baby... Don't Worry. Everything will be fine. I promise"
————
Apartment, 8:23 PM
Home Sweet home.
The apartment smelled like warm soup and cardboard. They ate dinner and Jihoon went out for a while to buy the forgotten Ice Cream.
Cans were stacked in neat lines across the floor.
Boxes sat open, half-filled, each labeled in black marker:
Food, Water, Medical Emergency, Tools.
Dohyun worked quietly, sorting each item with practiced hands. And the door opened just in time.
"I'm back!"
"Welcome back baby." Dohyun said without turning his head.
Jihoon leaned in the doorway, holding a popsicle in his hand. "You're organizing like we're prepping for war," he said softly, watching him.
Dohyun didn't look up. "Maybe we are."
A pause.
Jihoon's voice dipped, smaller now. "Dohyun... what's happening to you?"
He walked over and knelt beside him on the floor. Before Dohyun could answer, Jihoon slipped his arms around his waist from behind, resting his cheek against Dohyun's back.
"You've been different," he whispered. Pouting.
"Since yesterday. It's like you're somewhere else. Your eyes keep... looking too far."
Dohyun's eyes glance toward the melting popsicle. He leaned into Jihoon's warmth, breathing him in.
He couldn't tell him.
Not yet.
Not when there was still time left to pretend they were safe.
He turned slowly and cradled Jihoon's face in his hands. "I'm here," he murmured. "I promise."
"I know you're here, silly"
Dohyun blinked. And chuckled.
"Haha yeah of course."
He leaned even closer. Grabbed Jihoon's wrist, and licked the melted popsicle on his skin.
Jihoon's face flushed red. His body flinched a little, as he felt the tongue caressing his skin.
But he stayed still and watched the man he loved in front of him just cleaned the sticky liquid from his hand.
"Pervert..." Jihoon said. But let himself be kissed-slow, deep, a touch that felt almost mournful.
Dohyun pulled him closer, thumb stroking his cheek, trying to imprint this moment into his skin.
"You're overthinking again," Jihoon whispered against his lips.
"You make it hard not to."
Jihoon laughed softly and leaned in again, his fingers slipping into the hem of Dohyun's shirt. "Then stop thinking."
Dohyun’s hand stilled over Jihoon’s wrist.
His eyes darkened—burning with something tender and aching and full of quiet hunger.
"You really want me to stop thinking?" he asked, voice low, rough at the edges.
Jihoon’s breath caught. “Mm… if it means you’ll stop brooding like a tragic drama character, then yes.”
Dohyun huffed a laugh—but it didn’t reach his eyes. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against Jihoon’s.
“Too late.”
And then he stood.
Startling Jihoon as arms swept under his thighs and back, lifting him clean off the floor.
“Wait—what are you doing?”
“Exactly what you told me to.” Dohyun’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Stop thinking.”
Jihoon yelped, gripping his shoulders. “You’re such a brute sometimes—”
“And yet you keep coming back,” Dohyun replied, already walking toward the bedroom.
The light from the hallway cast soft gold across his sharp jawline, his arms steady as steel. Jihoon’s face flushed, heart thudding as he clung tighter—suddenly shy, despite himself.
“I still have a popsicle in my—”
Dohyun kissed him mid-sentence.
Hot. Open. Devouring.
Jihoon moaned into his mouth, the stick clattering somewhere to the floor behind them.
By the time they reached the bed, Jihoon was breathless.
Dohyun laid him down with care—too gentle for how wild his eyes looked.
He crawled over him like a shadow, planting a kiss against his neck, then his chest, then lower—pressing reverent kisses like he was mapping the body he already knew by heart.
Jihoon’s fingers curled in the sheets. “You’re so intense tonight…”
Dohyun looked up through heavy lashes, pausing at the waistband of his shorts.
“You told me to stop thinking,” he murmured. “So I’m just going to feel.”
He tugged the fabric down, slow, like a ritual.
Jihoon shivered under him, pupils blown wide. “Touch me, Dohyun.”
Dohyun didn’t answer with words.
He answered with his mouth.
Jihoon gasped—sharp and sudden—as Dohyun’s tongue dragged a line up the sensitive skin of his inner thigh. His hips jerked involuntarily, already half-hard, but Dohyun’s hands gripped them firmly, holding him down.
“D-Dohyun—hah—”
Jihoon’s voice cracked, breath hitching as Dohyun’s mouth finally wrapped around him—slow, consuming.
He tried to cover his mouth, but the moan still tore out of him.
“Don’t,” Dohyun murmured without lifting his head, the vibration making Jihoon arch. “I want to hear you.”
Jihoon bit his lip, chest rising in shallow breaths. He reached down, threading his fingers through Dohyun’s black-streaked hair, tugging gently.
Every swirl of Dohyun’s tongue, every teasing graze of teeth, had him trembling—until his back arched and his thighs shook, chasing the edge like a fever.
“F-fuck—” Jihoon whimpered. “Dohyun, please—ah—”
Dohyun pulled back with a wet pop, his mouth glistening, voice ragged. “Turn over.”
Jihoon blinked—dazed. “W-What?”
“You heard me.” Dohyun’s hand slid up his thigh, then squeezed. “I need you like that.”
Jihoon’s breath stuttered, cheeks flushed dark pink. But he obeyed—slowly, turning onto his stomach, legs parted as he buried his face into the pillows. “Pervert…”
“Yours.”
Dohyun pressed against him, skin on skin, chest against Jihoon’s back. One hand stroked down Jihoon’s side, the other guiding himself as he lined up at his entrance, teasing—rubbing slowly, making Jihoon twitch.
He didn’t enter yet.
Instead, he kissed between Jihoon’s shoulder blades, again and again, like he couldn’t help it.
“Tell me if it’s too much,” he whispered. “I’ll stop.”
Jihoon looked back at him, hair falling into his eyes, lips parted. “If you stop, I’ll kill you.”
Dohyun huffed a laugh—but then he pushed in, slow and deep.
Jihoon cried out, biting into the pillow. His fingers clenched the sheets.
Dohyun gritted his teeth, groaning low in his throat. “Shit—you’re still so tight…”
He moved carefully at first, letting Jihoon adjust, until Jihoon rocked back into him with a desperate noise.
Then Dohyun’s rhythm changed.
He thrust into him with purpose—raw, controlled, deep enough to knock breath from Jihoon’s lungs.
“Ah—Dohyun—!” Jihoon tried to keep quiet, but every thrust knocked a sound out of him.
The wet slap of skin filled the room, tangled with Dohyun’s breathy groans and Jihoon’s increasingly broken moans.
“Hnnn—nghh—! D-Dohyun—hah—t-there—!”
“I know, baby, I got you.”
Dohyun bent forward, hand slipping under Jihoon’s body to stroke him in time with his thrusts. Jihoon nearly sobbed from the intensity, legs trembling.
His voice cracked.
“C-can’t—nghh—gonna—”
“Come for me,” Dohyun growled in his ear, thrusting harder, deeper, rougher. “Let me feel you.”
Jihoon came with a shuddering gasp, spilling hot over Dohyun’s hand and the sheets below. His whole body spasmed, toes curling, muscles clenching tight around Dohyun—dragging a guttural moan from him.
“F-fuck—Jihoon—!”
Dohyun buried himself to the hilt and came inside him, hips jerking, gasping his name like it was a prayer.
They stayed like that for a moment—tangled, panting, sweat-slicked and shaking.
Jihoon groaned weakly, still face-down. “You came so deep…”
Dohyun laughed breathlessly, brushing Jihoon’s hair back and kissing the nape of his neck. “That’s what you get for teasing me with a damn popsicle.”
————
The days blurred into each other, soft and fleeting, like a dream he was scared to wake up from
Two people tangled together beneath warm sheets, Jihoon slept soundly-his breathing even, mouth slightly open, lashes soft against pale skin.
Dohyun couldn't sleep.
He lay in silence for a long time, staring at the ceiling.
He carefully slipped out of bed, making sure not to wake Jihoon, and padded into the living room.
The glow of the laptop screen lit his face as he sat cross-legged on the floor, hunched forward.
Search:
Where to buy legal self-defense weapons Korea.
He scrolled.
Stun guns. Batons. Pepper spray.
Too weak.
He opened a new window.
Private forums.
Back channels.
And then deeper still.
The real places.
Where guns were hidden in black markets.
Where you could buy ammo by the crate.
Where someone with the right money-and desperation-could find the things no one should ever need.
Gas grenades. Machetes. Handguns. Homemade explosives. Rifles.
Dohyun's eyes sharpened as he read. He saw few guns. He remembered how hard it was fighting the zombies with just a sloppy crowbar and a broken baseball bat
His fingers tapped the trackpad, copying links, setting up encrypted tabs.
He didn't have long. The calendar on his phone blinked at him.
September, 15.
He could still save Jihoon.
He had to.
————
The wind rattled softly against the apartment windows as Dohyun sat at the edge of the bed, phone pressed to his ear.
It was early-too early-but time was already slipping.
He couldn't afford to wait.
The call clicked through.
A pause.
Then a familiar voice answered with dry authority.
"Kim Dohyun. You're calling awfully early for someone who usually avoids family business."
Dohyun didn't flinch.
"Father. I need to ask for access to the Jeju estate."
There was silence on the other end.
Then a low, annoyed breath. "You haven't spoken to me in six months. And now you're asking about the private villa?"
"I need it."
"For what?"
Dohyun hesitated.
"Just for some time away," he lied. "Somewhere secure. Is it still stocked? The bunker beneath the property?"
The silence deepened.
From the side bed, Jihoon had just woken. He sat quietly. Stretching and yawning, sleep still fogging his eyes-until he heard the word Jeju.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop. But Dohyun's voice had a weight he'd never heard before.
"Was it something about us? Jeju?" Jihoon's mind is thinking about the possibility.
On the other end, his father gave a cold chuckle. "Still obsessing over your childhood paranoia? What are you really planning? You want to hide out while the rest of us work?"
"I'm not asking for permission," Dohyun said, voice low.
"I can deny you access anytime I please."
"You won't."
"Oh?"
"Because you'll need that place too. Sooner than you think."
Another long pause.
Then his father's voice hardened. "You're a Kim. You don't get to run around with some boy and play house forever. You think I don't know what you're doing with your little apartment life? That's not reality. You have a responsibility to this family and its name. The company will pass to you when I step down. And here I have, an ungrateful Son. Shameless"
Dohyun's voice dropped to a whisper. "Father... The company won't matter when everything is ash."
His father snapped, "Enough of this nonsense!"
Click.
The call ended.
Dohyun stared at the dark screen for a moment, jaw clenched. He didn't even notice Jihoon until the gently tapped on his shoulder from behind.
"Dohyun... Jeju?" Jihoon asked, his voice gentle. "What was that about?"
Dohyun turned around, then blinked, caught off guard. "Nothing important," he said quickly. "Just... estate things. My father."
Jihoon didn't press. But something in his expression flickered-uncertainty.
Fear.
Dohyun lean down and reached for him. "Come here."
Jihoon snuggled closer into his arms.
————
Later that day.
Dohyun sat alone at the window with a mug of black coffee, eyes watching the sky.
He thought of the first time.
When Seoul collapsed.
How his family had disappeared from the radar for only a few hours... only to re-emerge perfectly fine, safe in military hands.
Evacuated with the other elites:
Executives.
Politicians.
CEOs.
Of course they were saved. The military had a list. And the Kims were at the top of it. He had never worried about them-not even once. And maybe that was the saddest part. He loved them as a son should, but...
He didn't miss them.
And they never came looking for him, even when he led hundreds of survivors through blood and fire.
He took a slow sip of coffee and let the thought pass.
All that mattered now... was Jihoon.
"Babe are you going to school or not?"
That soft voice he missed. He lost it once.
Dohyun turned around. Smiled softly as he placed the cup in the sink. "I'm coming I'm coming"
He wouldn't lose him this time.
Not again.
Not to the world.
Not to silence.
———————————————––––———————
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