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———20———
He painted the lines of his hands on his chosen canvas, finding it more difficult than he’d hoped. But that was probably because of the holes.
Or the messiness of the chosen canvas. There was a chance that his chosen canvas was the issue.
Seungmin tilted his head, eyes so dark and cheeks sunken.
Yes. The canvas was shit.
He hissed before tearing the canvas off of the hook on his wall, kicking it mercilessly. Not that his tantrum would make the canvas more viable.
What’s so viable about a corpse?
Seungmin sunk to the floor, scratching at the holes in his hand with an angered scream until blood trickled on the floor. It’s not like he’d bother anyone. Everyone on his floor was either dead or dying.
He wished he were dead.
Seungmin whimpered as he dug his holed palms through his hair, rocking back and forth in agony.
This was miserable. He was miserable.
———1———
“Yes, I heard you a thousand times. No, seriously shut up—“
Seungmin rolled his eyes, flicking his wrist as he ran the black stroke down the canvas.
A huff and the sound of a phone slamming down onto Seungmin’s counter had the painter sighing in annoyance, turning his head to his friend who had just about lost it.
“Apparently they’re locking down the entire fucking building.”
Seungmin just went back to his painting, another stroke down the long base of his focus.
“Can you believe that? I’m stuck in this fucking apartment building until they figure out whatever the hell is in the water.”
“Want a glass of water, Felix?” Seungmin asked, stepping back and tilting his head to admire the tree, dead branches on the left turning into beautiful red maple leaves on the right.
“That’s not funny. They said the water has caused insanity...some lady on floor twenty-two killed her kids over this—“
Seungmin frowned. “The negativity isn’t good for you.”
“Joking about this isn’t helping either, you dick,” Felix snapped, finally looking at Seungmin’s artwork, “it looks nice…”
“It won’t last long. They’ll figure out what happened and open the apartment. They can’t keep us here forever.”
“They have to test per room. And starting tonight we have to stay on our floors. They’re shutting down the elevator and locking all the stairwells.”
Seungmin arched his brow. “A tad much for water contamination.”
“No shit.” Felix bit his lower lip. “I’m really worried. They said the water has been fucked for over a week…”
“I have a filter.”
“Yeah I drink bottled but like...showering, washing food...there are a hundred ways we could be contaminated.”
“If we aren’t crazy by now, I’m sure we’ll be fine. Just let whoever is in charge do their job and we’ll be free to leave in a week.”
“This must be heaven for you… not having to go to the studio to teach. God, I can’t see Hyunjin or go out...what the hell are we going to do?”
“They said they’d give us free food, it’s not a huge deal.” A new voice.
Seungmin never closed his door during the day. Everyone on his floor was trustworthy and nobody would ever want anything he has anyways.
“Hey Minho,” Seungmin whispered flatly as he took a pale orange color to his brush, highlighting the leaves on the blossoming side.
“Glad to see you guys think this isn’t completely serious,” Felix sighed, tapping away at his phone.
Minho entered the messy apartment, crossing over to stand behind Seungmin, “it looks beautiful… I remember when you just started this one.”
“You picked autumn,” Seungmin whispered back flatly, running the brush down one of the leaves that had fallen to the ground, tilting his head again.
“Autumn is a good season.”
“It’s a weird season,” Seungmin replied, giving Minho an interested look, “why autumn and not spring?”
“Spring is...too bright for you.” Minho stuck his hands into the pockets of his long grey coat, scanning the painting again. “Autumn suits you.”
“Kiss already,” Felix interrupted before taking a seat at Seungmin’s island bar, “why the fuck didn’t the water hit a different complex?”
“Down with the rich?” Minho teased, causing Seungmin to smile from ear to ear.
“Ha-ha. It's not my fault I came from money…” Felix groaned in annoyance, “my dad said there’s no way out of this either and to sit tight. This sucks.”
“We just have to endure it. We’ll be fine,” Minho assured, giving Seungmin a small smile, “I bet you’re going to enjoy the time away.”
“Yes,” Seungmin responded, putting his palette down to run his fingertips across his smock, “I can get so much done without having to worry about school.”
“I like the break too. It gets me away from my father for a little while,” Minho sighed.
Seungmin gave Minho a worried look. He knew Minho was some heir to this shitty interior design company. His dad was a dick. And that was the nicest way to say that. He was a piece of shit who treated his children like mistakes according to Minho. Seungmin couldn’t count the times he’d caught Minho crying in the hallway drunk after seeing his father.
He hated Minho’s dad.
“What are you going to do with the time?” Seungmin asked, sliding the smock onto the hook on his wall before adjusting his beige turtleneck.
“Read,” Minho laughed, “just read a lot. Maybe quit smoking since I can’t get any more packs anytime soon.”
Seungmin forgot that Minho smoked a pack a day. Not a healthy habit and not anything Seungmin would ever allow in his space. Cigarette smoke would destroy his art.
Maybe that’s why he hadn’t slept with Minho or anything. Not that he wanted to. But also not that he didn’t want to. It was complicated.
“Oh fuck...I can’t get coffee.” Felix gasped from the counter, laying his head against the countertop with a dramatic whine.
Felix was...the typical rich brat. His parents were wealthy medical company shareholders or some shit. Seungmin didn’t really know what his family did, but Felix lived off of their wealth.
But Seungmin did like him. Felix was a cool guy despite being kind of self absorbed. He was caring, which stood out to Seungmin. Of all the rich assholes in this place, Felix would be the only one to think of others before himself.
Felix was fresh air in the smog of wealth.
“Man...Seungmin, do you know how to make macchiatos?”
Seungmin turned, shaking his head no, causing Felix to whine against the counter again.
“I’m not gonna make it.”
“You’ll make it just fine. Just play video games like you usually do,” Minho laughed, glancing at his phone as the familiar jingle rang in his pocket.
By the drop of his face, it must’ve been his father.
“Yes…”
Yeah. His father.
“One moment I—Seungmin I’ll catch you later…”
“You’re welcome to pop by any time,” Seungmin replied, giving the weakest smile he could as Minho nodded to him before stepping outside, already apologizing for something he probably hadn’t done.
“Poor guy,” Felix sighed as Minho’s voice disappeared from the hall as the sound of a door slamming caused Felix to jerk, “I can’t imagine having that monster as my parent.”
Seungmin sighed, taking a seat beside Felix at his bar, “quarantine will be good for him. It’ll let him get away…”
“This isn’t a vacation, you know,” Felix started, “like… the water has a really scary bacteria. I don’t want it affecting any of us.”
“We don’t even know if our floor is infected,” Seungmin shrugged, “it could have been their pipe. Chances are we’ll be fine.”
Felix looked nervous. “I hope so. I can’t be stuck on this floor for more than a week… no offense.”
Floor twenty-seven. Even if they wanted to leave, there wasn’t a way down. The luxury apartments had stairs and an elevator — both which were cut off. The balcony was nice, but no way down besides jumping—
“God… at least I have you and Minho to keep me some company. And thank god there’s no families on this floor. I’d lose it if kids ran down the halls like they do two floors down.”
“There are dozens of people on our floor to keep you company.”
Felix sighed at that, “I’ll stick to the lonely artist and the drunk.”
Seungmin rolled his eyes. “And I’ll stick to the dramatic child who throws tantrums once a week.”
“Three times a day, thank you very much,” Felix laughed, resting his head on Seungmin’s shoulder, “at least I have you two. I hope this is over soon.”
“Me too.” Felix gave Seungmin a startled look. “It’ll be nice for a week but… after that we’ll all go insane.”
Felix snickered, “just avoid the water, man.”
“They said they’d start working on the pipes tomorrow.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to cut them tonight?” Felix asked worriedly.
“I’m trusting that they know what they’re doing.”
“We’ll see.”
———3———
A knock at Seungmin’s door had the painter blinking in surprise, eyes fixating on the smiley man holding an expensive looking bottle of wine in hand. Minho.
“They sent us some goodies today, figured drinking alone wasn’t a good idea.”
Minho looked tired. And his eyes were puffy, his turtleneck pulled all the way up to his chin. He must’ve had another fight with his dad. Either that or just three days in, and he was losing it.
“I haven’t checked my basket yet.” Seungmin took the wine bottle to examine the label, something way too fancy for him to read. And in a foreign language anyways.
“They gave us a lot of nice things. I was surprised,” Minho spoke as he settled onto the stool at Seungmin’s island, “they probably slipped you some paint supplies.”
Seungmin arched his brow “Paint supplies?”
“Mine was filled with wine and cigarettes.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah I don’t know how they knew but...very thankful.”
As odd as that was, Seungmin figured they’d contacted their families or something.
“I’ll check it later.” Seungmin took his novelty corkscrew magnet from his fridge, popping the cork as Minho took two glasses from Seungmin’s cabinet.
“I heard someone on the floor below us went crazy yesterday…”
Seungmin gave Minho a worried look as he poured wine into both glasses. “Crazy?”
“He was scratching his skin apart.”
“Jesus…”
“Yeah, I guess that means our pipes were probably infected, too.”
“Jesus… is this bigger than we thought?” Seungmin asked worriedly. He’d been checking the news but… nothing about their complex.
“My dad keeps assuring me that they’re doing what they can and will probably start going around to test everyone, but he isn’t getting much from them.”
“That’s really…”
“Sus? Yeah.”
Seungmin watched Minho drink his glass like it was water, wiping his lips after quickly emptying it. “How are you holding up?”
Minho took a deep breath, eyes meeting Seungmin’s. “I’m fucking miserable.”
Seungmin filled Minho’s glass again, taking a sip of the wine himself. It was a little too sweet for him, but he’d manage. Minho clearly needed the company.
“My father is just… driving me crazy.” Minho laughed, scratching at his neck as he took another sip of his wine.
Seungmin tilted his head. “What did he do?”
Minho was still scratching his neck. “He’s just being himself.”
Seungmin watched a moment longer before finally starting to actually worry about how much Minho was scratching himself.
“Is your neck okay?” Seungmin asked, Minho halting his scratching to look at him worriedly.
“My neck?”
“You just… you’re scratching it a lot.”
Minho scratched once more before pulling his hand away.
Oh fuck.
Seungmin slid his glass away before reaching his hand to Minho’s turtleneck. “Minho…”
There was blood where Minho had scratched forming against his collar, the baby blue turtleneck showing the blood easily.
“What?” Minho seemed perplexed as Seungmin pulled the turtleneck down, eyes widening at the sight.
Holes. Lots of tiny red spots in a cluster on his neck. Like a rash… but instead of being raised they sunk in… like holes.
“Is it getting worse?”
Seungmin gave Minho a surprised look. “Your neck is… Minho what is that?”
“I think it’s from the water…”
Seungmin’s eyes widened.
“I had Bang,” — Minho’s parrot, “out and he kind of scratched my neck when he landed like usual… I wasn’t thinking and used water from my faucet to clean it…”
“Minho have you called anyone!?”
“It doesn’t hurt it’s just—“
“It’s bleeding.” Seungmin pulled Minho’s turtleneck down, eyeing the bloody holes. They were definitely disgusting.
“Come on let’s use my filter… to clean this up.”
“I might have also taken a shower this morning…”
Seungmin took a deep breath. The water must have irritated his wound and created these… clusters.
“Okay, let’s just clean this up…”
Minho frowned, taking a sip of his wine before tugging his sweater over his head. Seungmin was thankful he had a tank top on underneath.
Seungmin took no time in pressing a warm cloth to Minho’s neck, the man letting out pained hisses from the sensation.
That probably wasn’t a good thing.
“We need to call the front desk and let them know about this… you haven’t told anyone, have you?”
“I just woke up with them this morning… they were just bumps. Is it really that bad?”
Minho must not have seen how bad they looked.
“Minho, they’re like holes… all over the side of your neck.”
Minho frowned at that, staring down at the counter as Seungmin dabbed at the wound. The blood seemed to be clearing.
“I’ll call the front desk...”
Minho nodded, taking the cloth to hold against his neck. He seemed more ashamed than anything.
Seungmin took a deep breath as he dialed the front desk, waiting for the receptionist to pick up.
The wait time was longer than usual. But maybe others in the complex were suffering from this water thing, too.
“Hello,” Seungmin started, glancing at Minho as he held his phone to his ear, “I think my friend needs medical attention. He washed a wound on his neck and now he’s covered in holes—“ Seungmin watched Minho closely. He waited for a response before heading back to Minho, taking over to press the cloth to his neck. “Hello?”
The line went dead.
“Are they sending someone?” Minho asked with a sigh.
“They hung up on me…” Seungmin rolled his eyes, opting to dial the emergency service directly. If they wouldn’t help, he’d just ask if someone could help at all.
Nothing.
Seungmin looked at his cellphone, eyes widening at the sudden loss of service.
“What the fuck…?”
“What?” Minho asked worriedly.
“No service… Minho do you have service?”
“I just got off the phone before I came here… I should.” Minho took his phone from his pocket, face altering into confusion, “no bars…”
Seungmin pulled the cloth from Minho’s neck, eyes scanning Minho’s phone.
No bars. No service.
“What the fuck?”
A frantic knock at the door had Seungmin jumping up, Minho clutching his wrist tight.
What the fuck was this?
“Maybe it’s someone to help?” Minho whispered, Seungmin rushing to the door before tugging it opened.
“Do you guys have any service?” Felix.
Shit.
“No, nothing…”
“Like my phone just cut while I was saying goodnight to Hyunjin? What the fuck…” Felix shivered, scrolling through his phone in annoyance.
“I can’t get anything…”
“We tried to call the front desk…” Minho sighed, leaving the counter island to lean over Felix’s shoulder.
“Minho your neck… what the hell?” Felix shuddered, causing Minho to drag his turtleneck back over the cluster of holes.
“How bad is it…?” Minho sounded annoyed, and kind of terrified at the same time.
“Tilt your head…” Felix took his phone, dragging Minho’s turtleneck down again to snap a photo of the nasty wound before handing his phone to Minho.
Minho looked horrified, eyes wide and brows knit in confusion.
“Oh my god… it didn’t look like that earlier!” Minho dragged his turtleneck back up, shoving Felix’s phone into the man’s chest. “What the hell is on my neck?!”
“Are you like… infected?” Felix asked worriedly, “Minho did you use the water?”
“I didn’t drink it! I just used it to clean scratches and—“
“You put infected water on an open wound?!” Felix sounded exasperated.
“What else was I supposed to do?!”
“Minho you’ve infected yourself, no wonder they cut the fucking line!”
“What are you talking about Felix?” Seungmin asked, he was starting to get annoyed as the two raised their voices in his apartment, “why would they cut the line if he’s hurt?”
“So the news doesn’t get a hold! There’s been like nothing about the complex other than the water issue and the story about the lady with insanity!”
Seungmin winced. “You think they’d cut the line on just our floor?!”
“Yes!”
“That’s insane,” Minho sighed, “why wouldn’t they just send us help?”
“We have no idea what’s even going on… it’s been three days and no update. Isn’t that weird to you guys?” Felix sighed, raking fingers through his hair as he looked at Minho’s wound with worry, “Minho you should… keep distance.”
“What?” Minho sounded hurt.
“Your wound what if… what if you go crazy too.”
“Felix…” Seungmin grabbed Minho’s shoulder. “Don't say that.”
“What if—“
Minho let out a whimper, holding his palm against his turtle neck collar, “I don’t feel different… I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“It’s insanity. That lady always walked her son to school. Insanity doesn’t care about who you are.”
“Felix stop.” Seungmin took a deep breath. “He just needs a doctor…”
Felix sighed, “how?”
A loud ring rang through their phones, like an alert, causing each man to grab their phone in unison.
‘Dear tenants, there is a temporary phone outage! The lines should be restored tomorrow morning. Please remain calm!”
The message was so juvenile. Like it had been sent by a teenager. Though Seungmin knew the receptionist was young… the message was very unprofessional.
“So, I guess no medical attention…” Minho laughed bitterly, rubbing his neck again.
“This is a joke, right?” Felix laughed, “a sick joke?”
Seungmin shook his head in disbelief. “This is unbelievable.”
“I’m so sorry… if this is my fault—“
“No, oh my god… Minho this isn’t your fault.” Felix was quick to settle Minho who was starting to scratch at his neck, blood oozing from the wound again.
“Just keep ice on that for now… when the lines come up tomorrow, I’m calling the police,” Seungmin sighed, taking the cloth to press it against Minho’s neck as Felix held his hands down.
Minho wasn’t so reluctant, he just sighed in frustration before taking over pressing the cloth to his wound.
Seungmin watched the two closely, taking a deep breath as he went to close his door, “we should just stay together tonight… we can all go together in the morning to contact someone… anyone.”
“The people under my room didn’t bang on their ceiling last night.” Felix whispered solemnly.
“What?”
“He always bangs. He’s old… he didn’t bang when I was playing my games like he always does.”
“What does that have to—“ Seungmin paused, remembering what Felix had said earlier, “do you think… what do you think happened?”
“The same thing that’s happening to us,” Felix whispered.
“Shut up, no conspiracy theories,” Minho interrupted, taking the cloth off with a look of disgust, “this isn’t a movie, Felix.”
“Seungmin, your downstairs neighbor has a baby right?”
Seungmin exchanged a look with Minho before nodding.
“Bang on the floor.”
“Why would I—“
Felix stomped on the floor, loud echos erupting through the room.
“Felix what the fuck are you doing!?”
Felix did it again before halting, silence taking over the space.
“Felix—“
“Nothing,” Felix whispered, leaning his ear against the floor like a mad man.
Seungmin parted his lips to retort before noticing there was no response. The floors may have been luxury, but they were still thin. Every once in awhile Seungmin would hear the woman’s child screaming bloody murder faintly as he painted. And the sudden noise should have done something… but there was silence.
“Oh my god…” Felix was panicking, “they’re dead, aren’t they?!”
Minho shuddered. “Felix, shut up. They might have cleared the floor because of whatever happened the other day—“
“Or they’re dead?!”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. Stop. Felix are you drinking the water?”
Felix gave Seungmin a twisted scowl. “No, I haven’t turned my water on since this started. Haven’t showered. Haven’t used anything not from my bottles for cooking. I haven’t touched it, Seungmin.”
“The water has been bad a whole week before this lockdown...Jesus Christ, we’re all probably crazy,” Minho laughed, keeping his hands between his thighs to stop from itching.
Seungmin went to his door, locking it with a heavy sigh. “We need to relax. Breathe…”
Felix rose from the floor, giving Seungmin a worried frown. “Seungmin… what I’m saying isn’t crazy.”
“No… it’s not.” Minho looked annoyed by that. “But what Minho said makes sense too… there’s a chance they just moved people from the floor because of whatever happened down there.
“You tried to call for help, and they cut the line. That’s not a coincidence.”
“Felix—“
“I’m going back to my apartment.” Felix shook his head, unlocking Seungmin’s door. “I’ll talk to you guys when I can…” Felix sounded so unsure.
Seungmin let him leave, frowning as the door clicked behind.
“I’m sorry Seungmin… I was stupid to use the water I—“
“It’s not your fault, Minho.” Seungmin might have been lying a tad. In a way he really did believe Felix. It made sense, and Felix wasn’t crazy.
“It is—“
The sound of something falling in the hallway had Seungmin and Minho standing tall, eyes fixated at Seungmin’s door.
“What was that?” Minho whispered, getting behind Seungmin.
“I don’t know. It sounded like…”
“Was that Felix…?!” Minho rushed passed to the door, pulling it open only to collapse onto the floor below, so suddenly and so fast that Seungmin could barely keep up.
So sudden that Seungmin hadn’t realized he’d smacked the floor himself, vision hazy and body heating up like he’d been set ablaze.
But the feeling only lasted a few moments. Seungmin felt sleep take over quickly.
———6———
When Seungmin opened his eyes he had a blistering headache. He was thankfully in his apartment. He could see his autumn tree settled against it’s canvas once his vision cleared.
He rose up from the floor, his door closed shut though Minho wasn’t there anymore. Which worried him. If Minho had moved, why hadn’t he moved Seungmin?
Seungmin pulled himself up, knees wobbly and head splitting internally as he made his way to his door.
It had been locked. Seungmin never locked his door.
He opened it slow, stepping out in the hallway to gaze down either way. No Felix either. Whatever had fallen last night… wasn’t there anymore.
Seungmin rubbed his temple before sliding back into his apartment to collapse against the wall, giving a soft moan of annoyance until the sound of frantic footsteps filled his ears.
He didn’t even get the chance to see who it was before being encased tightly, the smell of familiar cologne hitting his nostrils.
Minho.
Seungmin took a thankful breath, wrapping an arm around Minho’s back to give him the slightest squeeze, the elder letting out an uncharacteristic sob before grabbing Seungmin’s face.
“You’re alive…”
Of course he was alive…
“What are you—“
“It’s been three days!” Minho let Seungmin go, holding a bottle of water to Seungmin’s lips, causing him to flinch away in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“Drink… please drink.” Minho was so frantic, face puffy yet drained.
Seungmin nodded, taking the bottle to his lips, water splashing down his throat felt the nicest it ever had. It was weird.
“We thought you were dead…” Minho whispered, petting Seungmin’s cheek.
Seungmin wasn’t sure how to take that. “No… I’m fine. What happened, Minho?”
Minho looked at him long and hard for too long, eyes seeming as restless as the hand that slipped from Seungmin’s cheek.
“A lot, Seungmin...”
Seungmin took a deep breath. “What exactly? I’m assuming we didn’t get any help, did we?”
Judging by the size of Minho’s wound on his neck, they hadn’t. Seungmin nearly gagged at the sight, holes covering the entirety of the right side of Minho’s neck, starting to stretch and cover his throat.
“There aren’t a lot of people who aren’t either dead or dying.”
Seungmin’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
Minho moved to sit against the wall, eyes looking off somewhere that Seungmin couldn’t see. “Days ago… when we all passed out, I woke up really fast. I think only hours had gone by judging by the clock on my phone… which is dead now by the way. And the power… if you haven’t noticed, is out.”
Seungmin settled beside Minho with a heavy sigh. “So they cut our power, too?”
“Yeah, and I guess any way to the outside world.”
“The balcony—“
“Blocked with bars and boards. Like we’re being locked in like monsters.” Minho sounded so… Seungmin didn’t like the way Minho sounded.
“What can we do?”
“I think they’re waiting for everyone to die.” Minho shivered, clasping at his neck. “They left the water on.”
“How many people are still around?”
“We knocked around yesterday… Felix and I.” Seungmin hadn’t even thought about Felix. “Only a few people would answer. They were as freaked out as we are. Honestly I thought you were dead, too… maybe more people will wake up, but Felix said his neighbor’s door wasn’t locked...”
“The older lady...?”
“Dead. She was...” Minho clasped his wound tight, blood oozing through his fingers. It was fucking vile, and judging by the way Minho was holding the his fingers over the holes, he didn’t seem to give a shit. “She was covered in thousands of fucking holes, Seungmin. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at...”
“Holes...”
Minho laughed, “yeah… I don’t think I’ll be around too long judging by the way she looked, Seungmin.”
“Don’t say that—“ Seungmin didn’t know what to say. He had no idea how to help his friend or what he could possibly say to erase the apathy of the situation. Minho didn’t care. Only a few days of being locked in and he was ready to die—
“Is Felix okay?” Seungmin sighed. There wasn’t point in talking Minho out of his thoughts by the way he was staring off into space. “We should go see him...”
“He’s tried to get out so many times already… he tried to pry the bars off of his windows, he’s tried to smash through to the balcony… nothing's working.”
“There has to be something...” Seungmin slid up the wall, knees wobbly from the lack of usage. He didn’t feel awfully different. He felt fine. And from a quick examination of himself, he had no holes in sight.
Seungmin took a look at the large space that once held the most light in his apartment, tape and boards covering it and absolutely no light shining through. It was weird. He didn’t like it.
“Minho, let's go see Felix...” Seungmin held out his hand, Minho giving him a look before pulling himself up, keeping his hand clasped at his neck as the other slid behind his back.
“Don’t touch me, okay? I don’t want you to...” Minho took a deep breath before making his way through Seungmin’s door.
The second Seungmin stepped into the hall, he vomited. It wasn’t nausea or anything, it was the smell of rotting corpses. And the sight of two sheet covered bodies in the hallway. It didn’t feel real.
“Ignore them… the people who live with them put them out there.”
“Why?” Seungmin wiped his mouth, wanting badly to run back into his safe home.
“So they don’t get it too...” Minho kept his hand over his throat, continuing down the hall until he stopped by Felix’s door, eyes not really focusing on Seungmin properly.
God, maybe Minho was dying.
Felix stepping into view was nice. Felix looked okay. Yeah, he looked exhausted but he didn’t have any signs of holes. And by the way he rushed to pick Seungmin up before dragging him into his apartment, it was apparent that he was fine.
That was good. Seungmin would have lost his mind if something had happened to him.
Felix’s apartment smelled like vanilla. It was probably the hundreds of small candles on every surface. Felix must’ve been using them to mask the smell from the hallway.
“You okay?” Felix had a washcloth.
“N-not the water—“
“It’s bottled,” Felix assured, dabbing Seungmin’s forehead with a heavy sigh, “how are we feeling?”
Seungmin watched Felix closely. Felix looked perfectly fine.
“I’m okay… just in shock, I think.”
“You and me both… when I woke up, Minho was sitting outside my door and coffee wife was dragging out her husband's body...”
Seungmin flinched at that, thinking of the sheeted person. “Her husband died?”
Coffee wife. They didn’t know her name. All Seungmin knew was that she was this sweet older woman who would buy people on the floor coffee. Maybe they should ask her name but...they never found reason to.
“Minho said...” Felix glanced at him a moment. “He said her husband had holes all over his face. To the point it didn’t look like him anymore.”
Seungmin wanted to throw up again.
“Jesus Christ...”
“When that happens to me, please don’t leave me in the hallway,” Minho whispered, getting a pained look from Felix.
“You’re not dying on us, Minho.”
Seungmin wanted to believe that. But from everything he’d seen, he didn’t know anymore.
“Will they stop deliveries?” Seungmin asked, trying his hardest to change the uncomfortable atmosphere.
“Probably. I don’t think they’ll deliver anything else.”
“Hungry?” Felix asked, heading to his fridge.
Seungmin realized the power had been cut. Any food would be spoiled soon if it wasn’t already.
“Do you want anything?”
“Is any of it good?”
“We’re five days into a lockdown that’s become an extermination, do you want anything?”
The bitter reality kind of stung. Felix, much like Minho, had already given up.
“No… I just want answers.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Felix sighed, taking a yogurt from the fridge. That had to have been bad by now, right?
Seungmin glanced to Minho, the oldest staring off again.
“I’m going back to my apartment...” Seungmin couldn’t be there.
Felix didn’t seem upset about that, or like he’d try to stop him. “Okay, get some rest and please try to eat something.”
Seungmin nodded. Felix really had given up.
“Can I come with you?” Seungmin turned, Minho’s eyes fixated on him now.
Seungmin should say no, right? Minho was dangerous, right? His neck was horrific. He looked so exhausted and tired. He wasn’t okay. Not at all.
“Sure.”
———7———
“It’s day 7.” Minho whispered, cuddled up on Seungmin’s couch that they’d turned around so Minho could watch him paint.
Painting was helping, honestly. It was giving him a breather. And despite the dim lighting from the candles Felix had given them, he felt alright. In a weird way, safe. The vanilla smell was nice. Minho’s company was nice too.
“It’s so beautiful...” Minho sighed, Seungmin peering back to see the thin smile on his friends face, “it’s going to be amazing when you finish.”
Seungmin looked back to the painting he’d started over a week ago, the autumn flowers coming out beautifully with the change in light.
“Nobody is going to see it.”
“I will.”
Seungmin frowned, turning to the man curled up on his couch. He’d covered his wound with gauze and tape from Seungmin’s previously unused medical kit he’d bought years ago after his mother begged him to just in case of emergency. He never thought he’d actually need it.
“Honestly, it’s for you anyways.”
Minho smiled, it was small but there. In the glow of the candle from the side table, Minho’s face was visible enough. He didn’t look horrible. Not in this light.
“Hey Seungmin, one day you should paint me.”
Seungmin smiled finally. “That’s something I’d expect from Felix.”
Minho hugged the blanket underneath him. “Paint me without these holes.”
Seungmin ignored that.
“I’d love to. One day I’ll paint you...”
Minho just nodded, eyes falling shut. He must have been so exhausted, Seungmin couldn’t even imagine how the past two days had been. If he was in Minho’s position, he wouldn’t have left Minho’s door until he knew his fate. He wondered if that’s what Minho had done too.
Seungmin took a deep breath, walking to his pile of blankets he’d folded before this lockdown began, taking the softest one he could find before slinging it over his friend's body.
Minho looked peaceful. Which was good. Maybe even with those holes he wasn’t in any pain. That’s all Seungmin could hope for.
The morning came fast, Seungmin groaning in his bed as he pulled himself up. There was very little light in the room, but he could still see beams of light coming from between the boards. They were minimal, but they gave enough comfort.
Honestly, the morning only confirmed the state of their new lives. Maybe Felix and Minho were smart to just give up.
But Seungmin wasn’t smart. He was stubborn.
Seungmin slid out of his bed, sliding his slippers on as he rubbed his eyes. Day eight. It had really been eight days and he’d only been awake for four of them. Maybe that’s why it didn’t feel so serious— no, it felt serious, but it didn’t feel hopeless.
There had to be a way out. A way to safety.
He had to treat this like a regular day. He had to keep it together. The painting had kept Minho’s attention all night.
Minho.
Seungmin tiptoed out into his living room, glancing at the painting on the wall before settling his gaze on the couch.
Minho wasn’t there anymore.
But he could smell something that was strong enough to overpower the vanilla. And it smelled amazing.
Seungmin turned the corner, a smile spreading across his face as he watched Minho flip something on one of his pans.
“You didn’t tell me you had a gas stove.” Minho spoke softly, flipping again.
Seungmin got closer, looking at the fluffy pancakes that settled against the pan in messy ovals.
“Also… I washed my hands, and my wounds are covered and gloves—“
Seungmin stopped him by taking a fork from his drawer to take one of the pancakes off the pan, taking a bite from the side.
Minho produced a faint grin. “Good?”
“I think they’re done,” Seungmin added, noticing the small batch to the side, “how many did you make?”
“I had a box in my cabinet… I figured I’d make them all and feed everyone who’s still breathing.”
That was unexpectedly kind.
“How’d you light the—“ Seungmin stopped, remembering that Minho was a smoker. “Well, they’re delicious.”
“They’re pancakes,” Minho laughed, “I told Felix… he’s going to help pass them around the floor.”
“I’ll help, too.”
Minho gave him a wider grin, eyes seeming more alive than they had been. “Okay.”
Passing the pancakes around went better than Seungmin thought. People weren’t starving yet, but they acted like they had been. The coffee lady whose husband was in the hallway gave them a weird look as she took her plate, eyes so hollow. Maybe she hadn’t eaten since her husband died.
“That was a good thing,” Seungmin whispered as they sat in his apartment, painting the shadows of the tree with the tilt of his head as Minho watched silently, “what made you do it?”
“I just wanted people to eat.”
Seungmin took a deep breath before pulling away from his painting. “You’re really kind.”
“I must get it from my mom,” Minho laughed, resting on his palm. He’d done good about not touching his wound anymore, though he still had his gloves on from breakfast. He hadn’t taken them off the entire day actually. Seungmin assumed the infection had spread to his palms.
Seungmin hung his smock on its hook before taking a seat beside Minho, admiring his work.
“I’m glad you’re away from your dad.”
Minho let out a heavy breath. “It’s a nice break, but I’m feeling like it’ll be permanent.”
“You fought before this happened, right?”
“We always fight.”
Seungmin had really good parents. They loved him and always treated him well. They were kind of like hippies and they just wanted Seungmin to be happy no matter what he chose to do with himself
“Was your dad abusive?”
He shouldn’t ask that. But Minho didn’t seem startled, hell, he even laughed.
“Yeah. I mean… it’s obvious, right?” Minho brought a gloved hand to his neck. “He was a shitty guy.”
Was.
“When you see him again, I want you to knock his teeth in.”
Minho was quiet.
“Don’t let him control you anymore… all those times I’ve had to pull you off the floor because of him… you smoke because of him too, right?”
“You really think we’re getting out of this, don't you?”
Seungmin took a deep breath. “I need to have some sort of hope.”
Minho shook his head. “It’s just a matter of time before whatever this is kills me.”
Seungmin winced.
Minho took his glove off, Seungmin feeling nauseous at the sight. Holes in his palm. It was so uncomfortable to look at.
“It’s inevitable...”
Seungmin took a deep breath. “We’re getting out.”
Minho laughed, “how?”
“Have you tried the elevator?”
Minho took a deep breath. “They shut it down—“
“The shaft.”
Minho offered Seungmin a look. “You want to climb down the elevator shaft?”
“If we can.”
“I can’t,” Minho whispered, leaning back into the couch, “that’s insane.”
“No, it’s not.” Seungmin scooted closer to the man. “We could get out of here. All of us.”
Minho gave Seungmin a look. “And what happens when we get down there? Do you think they’re not blocking everything? For all we know the entire building is probably boarded.”
“It’s worth—“
“No. It’s not.” Minho’s smile was so insincere, laced in absolute hopelessness. He’d given up. Seungmin couldn’t fathom quitting.
“Minho—“
“I’m glad you’re being optimistic… but let’s be honest, I’m going to die anyways.” Minho took a deep breath. “When this thing spreads to my throat… what then? When it covers me like the people in the hallway— did you notice the three new bodies?”
Seungmin looked away. “You’re not going to die.”
“I will.”
His head spun. Seungmin wasn’t sure why he was so determined to get out of this with Minho intact, but he was. Maybe it was just that lingering lust or something. Whatever it was, it wasn’t letting him give up on his friend.
Seungmin took Minho’s hand, the gloved one, running his thumb against the man’s palm that he wished he could feel.
“I’m getting us out of here. I’ll find a way.”
———10———
A few more days went by. Seungmin was almost finished with his painting. He was so close. He just needed to perfect a peachy shade for the highlights in the leaves and finish the shadows on the autumn tree. He was so close.
“It looks really great, Seungmin.”
Felix had been more distant. As the bodies in the hall grew to nine, the three friends had become more and more pessimistic. Not that Minho and Felix hadn’t already given in. Seungmin was starting to falter with them.
“How are they going to explain a luxury apartment complex losing every single resident to some water-borne infection?” Felix asked.
Felix had avoided the holes. Seungmin too. They along with two others seemed to be the only ones on the floor who weren’t affected by whatever was going on in the water.
Minho though, had of course gotten worse. The holes had stretched up one of his arms, and they’d started to crawl up his jaw.
But that hadn’t deterred Seungmin from cuddling beside the man every night, holding his gloved hand and talking about everything and anything.
If Minho was going to die, Seungmin wouldn’t let him go thinking he wasn’t loved.
In the days they’d spent together, he’d learned just how awful Minho’s father had been to him. How he’d abused his siblings and his mother. He smoked to punish himself. He drank to forget. This bright neighbor he’d crushed on was in so much pain.
Minho didn’t deserve to die in pain. Unfortunately, it did feel inevitable.
So, Seungmin would help keep him comfortable. He and Felix had agreed not to talk about it with him. To not further upset him with their grim realities.
——13——
“Seungmin.”
More days and more agony. Minho had gotten worse. And the bodies had doubled in the halls. The smell was so unbearable that it had become normal. The candles couldn’t hide the lingering odor of decay.
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to try and get out when I die?”
Seungmin took a deep breath. “You’re not-”
“I will.”
Minho’s face would probably be consumed in days. The holes hadn’t yet gotten to his lips, but they’d get there soon. The water had affected him so slowly, and Minho continued on that he hadn’t been feeling any pain with the holes. They were just so itchy. But he’d been good about not scratching.
“Don’t say that...”
“Wanna know a secret?”
Seungmin frowned. “What?”
“I tried to break the boards to my balcony again.”
“Yeah...?”
“Not to get out. I wanted to jump.”
Seungmin’s breath hitched. They’d had a suicide down the hall yesterday. Was that what Minho thought of when they’d found the body?
“I wanted to just jump so badly.”
Seungmin squeezed Minho’s gloved hand. “You’re not allowed to die until I finish the painting.”
Minho laughed, “really?”
“Yes. And since I don’t have the right peachy color for the finishing touches, you have to stay until I can go to the store and get the shade.”
Minho turned to face Seungmin, reaching his gloved hand to pet Seungmin’s cheek. “I’ll try.”
Maybe it was the lockdown. Or the lack of regular meals a day. Or the right space. He didn’t know what it was, but— Minho’s lips were soft.
He’d wanted to kiss him for so long. For days, all he’d wanted to do was consume Minho’s lips, hold him and touch him.
Things he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“Seungmin—“
Seungmin pulled back, watching Minho’s expression. He didn’t seem mad or disgusted.
“I’m infected...”
“I don’t care.” Seungmin grabbed Minho’s jaw where holes hadn’t latched onto, lips dancing against the elder man’s calmly.
Minho sighed contentedly, gloved hand reaching for Seungmin’s chest.
“Is it both hands, Minho?” Seungmin asked, taking Minho’s wrist. There weren’t any holes on his wrist.
“No… not this one. I just… I didn’t want to—“
Seungmin pulled the glove off of his hand, moving his own to trace the lines of Minho’s untouched palm.
“Seungmin...”
Seungmin looked at Minho a moment before bringing the palm to his own cheek, Minho’s hand hot against his face. Like he was burning up.
And then he kissed his fingertips. He wasn’t sure why, but the urge was there. And Minho had beautiful fingers.
Minho was staring at Seungmin with interest, lips parted slightly as his bangs brushed against his eyes. His hair was getting long.
“Can I kiss you?”
Seungmin shuddered at the question, eyes fixating on the man’s plump lips as he tore his own lips from Minho’s hand.
“Can I kiss you back?”
Minho nodded, candles lighting his face beautifully before Seungmin leaned in to take his lips against his own, careful to avoid where the holes had started to crawl up Minho’s jaw.
His lips were warm. Honestly, it was worrisome just how warm he was.
Seungmin took a moment to adjust to how warm Minho was before sliding his fingers through Minho’s, pressing against Minho with happy sighs.
He wished they’d done this earlier. Wished they’d acted on that sexual tension before this.
Seungmin had little hope that Minho would make it out of this alive. Little hope that even he would make it out.
But he needed those thoughts to disappear. He needed them to go away.
So, he pushed Minho down against the couch, fingertips lifting up Minho’s shirt carefully. He didn’t feel any bumps or holes. He hoped Minho didn’t have any more hidden infected areas. He just wanted to touch him so badly. He had to.
Minho let out a soft moan as Seungmin rolled his hips against the elder man’s, eyes fixated on Minho’s knit brows. He was sweating, too.
Seungmin didn’t know if that was worrisome or not.
“Seungmin…” Minho kept the gloved hand away from Seungmin as his free hand pried the cloth from Seungmin’s waistband, fingers digging into the space to make their way around Seungmin’s cock.
“Minho…” Seungmin’s eyes fluttered as the man’s warmth moved along Seungmin’s hardening cock.
“Yeah?”
“Can we…?”
Minho nodded before crashing their lips back together, sliding his gloved hand carefully around Seungmin’s neck to pull him close.
Seungmin lost his train of thought as he kissed Minho. Lost track of time as he pulled Minho’s pants down around his ankles. Seungmin wasn’t infected but he was burning up, desire dripping off his tongue as Minho’s wrapped around his hungrily, hips bucking into Seungmin’s grasp.
And it was really hot. A few fingers and some lube from Seungmin’s cabinet and he was in an euphoric heaven. He let out blissful sighs as he moved along Minho’s cock, watching the man closely as sweat poured down his temples.
“Seungmin… it’s really hot.”
Minho sounded so exasperated. And he was drenched in sweat.
“You wanna stop?” Seungmin asked, brushing his hand along Minho’s cheek, “should we?”
“No.” Minho started to move, pressing their lips back together as they moved in harmony.
It was nice. Definitely nice to finally sleep with Minho. The pretty man on his hall who wore long coats and smoked in the hallways. The man who liked to watch Seungmin paint and drink wine with him. The man who would always give the cutest smile to him.
Seungmin felt a little sore. His heart was sore. He knew that all of this was just temporary. Without medical attention, Minho wouldn’t last much longer. Without food neither would he. Seungmin’s cabinet was starting to look dry.
Minho gasped into Seungmin’s mouth, body so slick with sweat as Seungmin pressed against him, careful of his neck as he moved his hips along Minho’s cock, his own begging for release.
“Minho I’m gonna cum…” Seungmin pulled away to look at Minho, who looked so exhausted already.
“Go ahead,” Minho laughed, eyes fluttering as if he was struggling to stay awake.
Which wasn’t good.
But Seungmin let go, Minho pulling a blanket over his neck so Seungmin could comfortably collapse against him as he came, Minho moving his hips steadily until he let out a blissful sigh.
And then they were just laying together, Seungmin wrapped in the blanket as Minho lay against him, blanket keeping their skin from touching.
“Finally…” Minho laughed, carding his healthy hand through Seungmin’s hair, “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time now…”
“Me too… believe me,” Seungmin replied, peeling the blanket to examine the state of Minho’s wound. It, of course, didn’t look good.
“Seungmin, stop looking at it… just lay with me, okay?”
So he did.
——14——
The morning after should have felt nice. Seungmin should have woken up to a smiling Minho, a Minho who was just as happy to see him.
But he didn’t get that.
Instead he woke to scratching. Frantic scratching.
Minho must’ve woken up moments before Seungmin. He was panicking, scratching at his neck that was seeping blood into his blankets. Seungmin pulled himself away from the blood that was too close for his comfort, eyeing Minho before reaching to grab his wrist and upper arm that hadn’t been infected. He needed to stop scratching.
“Minho stop—“
Minho was so hot. He was burning up, blood practically pouring from the wounds at his neck. He’d scratched them so badly that some of the holes had melted together from his nails.
Seungmin scanned the shaking man before pulling him out of the bed and into the bathroom.
“Seungmin…” Minho’s voice was hoarse. He was even spitting blood now, probably from scratching so hard against his throat.
Seungmin led Minho into the bathtub, Minho whimpering as Seungmin helped lay his head back against the wall as he turned the cold dial.
“Water—“
“Keep your hand and neck out of the water.” Seungmin commanded, watching the tub fill, red mixing with the water, “just calm down, you need to calm down…”
Seungmin grabbed Minho’s hand, wincing at the blood that coated underneath of his nails before bringing the knuckle to his mouth, pressing tiny kisses along the wound.
“Seungmin—“
“Shush, it’s okay… just calm down.”
“I can’t, Seungmin, it's so hot—“
Seungmin hadn’t realized through all the panic that he’d started to cry. It was all so overwhelming.
He knew Minho was going to die. He just didn’t think it would be so soon.
“Seungmin, I have to scratch it…”
Seungmin shook his head, looking at Minho through his tears as his bottom lip quivered. “You can’t. Don’t scratch it, okay?”
Minho was shaking, eyes sore and red as he managed the weakest nod, squeezing Seungmin’s hand. “I love you, Seungmin.”
It took too long for Minho to calm. He’d fallen asleep, allowing Seungmin to rinse the wound at his neck.
He had no choice. The wound was horrid, and Minho was dying anyways.
Seungmin quickly bandaged the wound as Minho slept, caressing his cheek before pulling himself up.
He needed Felix. Felix had to be there.
He really, very desperately needed Felix.
Leaving Minho was hard. Seungmin left the door open as he rushed down the hall towards Felix’s room.
The bodies had doubled. Again. And as Seungmin raced passed he saw the coffee woman settled outside of her door. She didn’t look infected. But Seungmin couldn’t address her right now.
Felix.
Seungmin knocked frantically, heart racing as Felix opened the door.
“Minho is—“
Seungmin paused, eyes widening as he looked at how drained Felix looked. Felix looked so…
“Be careful, I’m infected.” The words stung. Seungmin wanted to sob as he saw Felix’s cheek. Holes. Tiny holes forming.
He wanted to ask how, ask why… but Minho needed him.
“Felix, Minho is…”
“Did he die?” It hurt to hear how flatly Felix whispered that. Felix really had given up entirely.
“No, but he’s really bad. Felix we have to help him—“
“Is he burning up?”
Seungmin swallowed, Felix’s expression worsening.
“Seungmin, is he?”
Seungmin nodded, grabbing Felix’s wrist. “Please help me—“
“He’s going to die. I can’t… Seungmin, I can’t watch that.”
“He’s not dead!” Seungmin yelled, tugging Felix from his room, “please help me. He just needs help—“
“How are we going to help him?”
“I gave him a cold bath he’s cooling down we can—“
Felix slid his hand from Seungmin, giving such a bitter smile, “Seungmin, I can’t… I can’t watch him die.”
“He needs us…”
Felix’s bottom lip quivered a moment. “No, he needs you…”
“Felix, please, I can’t—“
“I can’t either. I can’t let him see my face. I can’t do that to him, Seungmin.”
Seungmin shook his head, rushing back towards his room. The woman was eyeing him carefully as he rushed past her. He didn’t know why. And he didn’t care.
“Minho—“ Seungmin entered the bathroom, Minho’s head rested to the side.
The bath water was so red.
“Minho…” Seungmin sniffled as he collapsed onto his knees, leaning over the tub to press his hand to Minho’s forehead.
He wasn’t hot anymore.
“Minho? Did it work!?” Seungmin felt a shot of relief. He turned Minho’s face to his, patting the man’s cheek lightly.
“Minho, you’re not hot!”
Minho was quiet.
“Minho, we should clean you up…”
Minho wasn’t breathing.
Seungmin wasn’t sure why it had taken him so long to realize that Minho didn’t pass out earlier. He’d died. Seungmin knew that.
It hurt.
Seungmin let out a choked sob as he cupped Minho’s face. He was touching the holes. He was touching them.
“I’m sorry…” Seungmin looked at those delicate features, painting the lines of his face in his head. Minho was the perfect shade he needed. The perfect peachy shade.
It had been him all along.
Seungmin wasn’t sure why he did it. But he felt the cold water soak into his skin as he crawled into the bath, laying himself against Minho, laying his cheek into the crook of Minho’s shoulder.
He was warm again. In the most sickening way, Minho felt warm again.
Maybe Seungmin snapped. He’d finally given up. He would be infected now for sure. And he knew for certain that Minho’s blood itself might be contaminating him.
But he didn’t care.
Minho was dead, and Felix was infected now, too. Seungmin couldn’t do it alone. So he joined them. Both of them.
——17——
Seungmin stared at the painting on his wall, face flushed of its color and body itching in various places.
His palms had holes all over them. He noticed there were splotches on his torso and neck. But his hands were the worst. Probably from directly caressing Minho’s face for that whole night.
Seungmin forced his eyes closed, head throbbing.
Felix had helped him move Minho to the bed. They wrapped him up in one of Seungmins blankets.
Minho didn’t want to be in the hallway. So, they wouldn’t do that to him.
Seungmin, for the past few days, had been so numb. He’d eaten very little and started to drink the infected water like crazy.
There wasn’t much hope anyways, right?
Felix had taken Minho’s bird the night he died. He fed and took care of it the best he could. But Felix had come by early in the morning to inform Seungmin that the bird had died. Apparently the bird’s stomach was covered in holes. Maybe that day Minho was scratched, the bird was already infected. Maybe.
Seungmin pulled himself off the floor, limbs lanky and weak as he made his way to his wide open door, stumbling down the hallway over the bodies. If he was counting right, only three or four of them remained.
“Felix…” Seungmin knocked weakly, eyes meeting the coffee woman who was smoking at the end of the hallway. She’d seemed disappointed when she saw Seungmin’s wounds.
“Hey.” Felix looked horrible. The holes had covered so much of his face that he started wearing a black face mask, covering himself up as much as he could.
Seungmin didn’t think that appearances mattered anymore.
“You told me to come by…” Seungmin whispered, eyes scanning Felix’s home. It was tidy.
“Do you still have battery?”
Seungmin arched his brow. “On my phone?”
Felix nodded, eyes so sunken. “My portables are all dead. And the light isn’t charging my solar… can I use your phone?”
Seungmin didn’t need his phone. He hadn’t used it in days.
“Yeah…” Seungmin pulled the phone from his pocket, Felix taking it hastily. “It’s already unlocked…”
“I just… want to see Hyunjin.”
Seungmin frowned. “I have a few photos of him.”
“Good.” Felix smiled, though it was laced in absolute turmoil.
“You can keep it…”
“Are you sure?” Felix asked, breath hitching and face shifting as he ran his fingertips along the screen. He must have found a photo of Hyunjin.
“Yeah… I don’t need it… the person I want to see is inside my apartment anyways.”
Felix looked at Seungmin with sorrow. “I didn’t know that you two would ever… I’m sorry, Seungmin.”
“I’m glad we got to…” Seungmin replied, rubbing his temples.
“You should go paint… it always clears your head.”
“I can barely lift the palette.”
He had no motivation anymore. What was the point in completing anything that Minho wouldn’t get to see? The painting was for him, and he was gone. What was the point?
Felix pulled Seungmin in for a hug. “Get some rest then. Take care of yourself, Seungmin.”
Seungmin took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Felix comfortably. “I love you…”
“I love you too, Seungmin… I love you and I love Minho a lot. I love both of you guys so much…”
Felix did love them. But he couldn’t go to Seungmin’s apartment after that night they moved Minho. He said he couldn’t bear it. Seungmin didn’t blame him.
Seungmin’s apartment was overwhelmed with the smell from the hallway. Even his bedroom was full of the stench of death. That foul odor was starting to creep into his pores. He could barely stand it.
He was so close to finishing the painting. He just needed that shade… the shade he couldn’t have. Because the shade was dead.
He left the painting to enter his bedroom, sniffling bitterly as he settled onto the other side of the bed, the covered corpse beside him unmoving, yet comforting.
It felt sick to keep Minho like this, but even sicker to throw him into the hallway. Minho meant more than that.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t finish it…” Seungmin felt the tears at his cheeks. They stung the slight holes that were forming. But he’d do his best not to scratch them.
“I’m so sorry… I love you too, Minho.”
Seungmin didn’t stay long. In fact, later in the night, he decided to go see Felix.
A knock and a push on Felix’s door and he knew.
Seungmin’s body was tense as he stood in Felix’s kitchen, the sight of his dark screened phone in his friend's hand that was smeared with blood.
He should have known that Felix would do this to himself. He should have known the second he left, or by the way Felix had told him he loved him. He should have known.
But he couldn’t have known.
They were supposed to make it together.
They couldn’t do that now. Not with Felix lying against his fridge with his wrist slashed. He looked peaceful, at least.
Seungmin crouched down, tapping his phone screen to reveal a photo that had him sobbing at the ground.
It was a photo of Felix and Hyunjin, smiling so brightly at Felix’s last birthday party, Seungmin close beside them with a birthday cap of his own. Felix liked that their birthdays were so close. So he’d always celebrate Seungmin’s as well.
Seungmin let out a bitter laugh as he saw Minho photo bombing behind Hyunjin with a peace sign and a wink. Seungmin had taken this photo, but he’d never really noticed that they were all there.
It hurt. The last thing Felix saw was this photo. This memory where they were all happy.
Hyunjin didn’t deserve this. Seungmin didn’t even want to imagine the pain Hyunjin was feeling on the outside.
Did they know anything?
Seungmin pulled Felix up, whimpering at the weight as he slipped Felix’s limp arm around his neck, stumbling down the hall with the man back to Seungmin’s apartment, doing the same thing he’d done with Minho— carefully covering him and laying him on the bed.
They weren’t trash. Seungmin couldn’t put them anywhere that wasn’t comfortable.
And it was only a matter of time. Seungmin stepped back, tears flooding his cheeks as his two best friends lay covered in his bed, dead and gone.
Seungmin left the room, shutting the door behind him as he made his way to his painting.
He should have finished. He could have chosen a different shade.
Seungmin scanned the painting before grabbing his palette and paint, mixing together a shade that would make or break his work.
He chose to break it.
Seungmin squeezed the entire tube onto his palette, mixing furiously before smashing the paintbrush wildly, bending the bristles and destroying the harmony of the autumn leaves.
Black paint. He used black paint, smearing it across the canvas as tears ran down his cheeks, head pounding and chest tight.
He’d never felt so much pain. So much raw emotion.
Seungmin didn’t want to feel anything anymore.
——19——
Seungmin stared at his painting from the floor. He had forced himself to eat. And he felt disgusting.
“Beautiful,” He lied, eyes tracing the horror of the painting's new image.
His holes had spread. And he’d started to get hot flashes. And the itching was horrible.
And he was lonely.
Seungmin was so lonely that he killed two birds with one stone.
Getting off with his hand was horrible, yet satisfying. The holes brushed against his cock in just the right way. And he did admire the way cum would fill each hole like honey. He felt like a beehive.
Seungmin was losing it.
He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take. Even the coffee woman had disappeared. She was probably dead.
Everyone was dead, weren’t they?
——20——
Seungmin had lost it. It had only been a day and he was dragging his friend's body from the bedroom, hanging him by his turtleneck onto the hook his smock used to hang from.
He’d lost it.
“Peach…” Minho was the perfect shade. Seungmin said he would paint Minho one day. And his brain was telling him to paint him just like this.
Which was wrong. And he shouldn’t have been doing it. Especially not with how decayed Minho was becoming.
And he hated the results. The clothes were hard to maneuver over with the paint. He couldn’t paint properly. Maybe if he’d stripped Minho—no, that would have crossed a line. He had dressed Minho when he laid him on his bed. It would be too inhuman to use his bare body as a canvas. Minho meant more than that.
Even though Seungmin had kicked and thrown his corpse aside as he screamed into his palms.
“I’m so sorry—“ Seungmin panicked, rushing to the corpse that didn’t necessarily look like Minho anymore. “Jesus Christ, I don’t know what’s wrong with me… Minho I’m so sorry.” He pulled the man up, holding him to his chest as he stumbled back into his bedroom.
He felt disgusted as he lay his friend back into the blankets, covering him up completely before sitting at the foot of the bed.
Insanity. He’d come down with it.
“I… I wanted to die here but I can’t.”
He should have just curled up between his two friends and slit his wrists like Felix. He should have just given up like Minho.
Fighting was useless, but Seungmin couldn’t do it.
“I love both of you so much.”
He knew that they couldn’t hear him.
“I’m sorry that… I’m so sorry you’re both here right now.”
Seungmin let his attention fall over the covered corpse of Felix. “I would stay here with you guys but…” Seungmin took out his phone, glancing at the dying battery before his eyes settled on Hyunjin. “It wouldn’t be fair to Hyunjin.”
He was really crazy.
The only reason he wasn’t dying next to his friends was Hyunjin. For some reason, he had to see Hyunjin. He needed Hyunjin to know how much Felix loved him.
Was that crazy?
Probably so.
But Seungmin had lost himself in the past few days after his friends had died. And the halls were silent as he made his way down them, hand raking against the wall as he looked at the elevator door at the end of the hall. He didn’t even care about the trail of blood that he left against the once pristine wall.
They’d tried the stairwell a dozen times. It was impossible. They’d barricaded them beyond belief.
Seungmin had to use the elevator.
The elevator wasn’t operable, but he didn’t need the elevator. Seungmin just needed the elevator shaft.
It was dangerous and stupid, but Seungmin was stubborn and dying. He didn’t care anymore. If he slipped and fell, whatever. If he made it and couldn’t get the hatch opened, fine. If he got out, perfect.
He wanted to get out. He had to. His blood was rushing. He had to get out. He had so much energy. He needed to get out.
The doors were already open. Maybe someone else had tried to get out. Maybe. Of course the elevator wasn’t there as Seungmin glanced down the shaft. It was probably settled on the bottom floor. Either that or stuck on a random floor. Seungmin hoped it was on the ground level.
Seungmin scratched his palms as he looked down the shaft. It was, of course, so many floors down. Twenty-seven floors.
Twenty-seven fucking floors.
Seungmin took a deep breath, glancing to the ladder that seemed so far away. He could die attempting this. Was it worth it?
Was it better to remove the barricades from the balcony or stairwell?
Seungmin inched away from the shaft, eyes losing concentration as he mumbled to himself.
He didn’t know what to do.
“Fuck my life,” Seungmin laughed, glancing down the shaft once more.
Honestly, fuck it at this point.
Seungmin went for it, slipping on the first bar he meant to grab before clinging to the next, knees buckling with shock.
No going back now. He had to at least reach the elevator. Or die.
Either way, fuck it.
Seungmin took a deep breath as he lowered his foot to the next bar. He needed his nerves to fade. He didn’t have time for this.
It took him minutes to move. With every bar he hummed to himself, keeping his eyes glued to the bars at his feet. He wasn’t going to look beyond his shoes. He couldn’t. If he looked straight down, he’d panic.
He wasn’t even afraid of heights, just the thought, of where he was and how high he was, got to him.
Seungmin kept humming. He knew time was passing. The odor with every passing floor making his head spin. Some were worse than others. Seungmin even had the idea that some of the doors were wide opened. But he couldn’t look. He refused.
How many people had tried to leave?
He watched the floor numbers each time they appeared at his feet, some so faded he could barely tell how many floors he’d passed. He knew he had to be getting somewhere once he saw the teens.
His head spun. His stomach hurt and his face was so sore. He knew that one slip and he’d fall to his death. Even at whatever height he was, he’d break his ankle and then die in the shaft.
Part of him felt like that’d be easier. But another part was still too stubborn to allow it.
Seungmin kept his simple tune as he carefully inched down, resting on each hum to get him down this shaft as safely as possible.
There was a point where he could see blood below him. Someone really must’ve done what he’d done.
Seungmin was careful not to slip on the blood, taking deep inhales with every step as he continued downwards.
He’d make it. He had to. He could feel how close he was. He could see the numbers getting smaller.
He could do this.
Right?
Seungmin halted as the blood dripped from the bar before him, eyes fixating up on the red.
He couldn’t tell the difference between fresh and old. But he figured this blood might have been fresher. Maybe someone had climbed down and gotten out. He didn’t see anybody below him. At least, not really. It was kind of dark, though he figured it was the morning time.
Maybe someone had gotten out. Gotten help.
Seungmin continued, eyes glued on every number until he reached the next.
He was so close. He could taste it. He could feel it.
Seven. Seven was good. Seven was amazing. Seven would still give him a broken ankle - maybe even death — but seven was good.
Seungmin wanted to reach the bottom so bad.
Six.
Seungmin glanced at the holes that were bleeding against each bar. Maybe whoever tried to climb down after him would have the same hope he did when he saw the blood from before.
Five.
Seungmin was tired. Exhausted. But his stubbornness was keeping him going.
Four.
Minho and Felix were dead. Seungmin couldn’t forget that. They’d given up and they were both dead. Seungmin wouldn’t make that mistake. He’d continue.
Three.
Seungmin slept with Minho. After ages of pining after one another, they’d caved. Seungmin wished Minho didn’t die hours after. He really wished they could have done it again.
Two.
Felix killed himself. Seungmin never thought he’d have to see his friend die like that. He didn’t think that Felix would ever do something like that. He still had Hyunjin. He loved Hyunjin so much. Why would he kill himself?
Elevator.
Seungmin let go of the bars, standing upright as he stared at the number on the ladder.
So the elevator had stopped at the ground floor.
Seungmin’s eyes met the floor. He could see the hatch had been torn off. Someone must’ve come down here. They had to have.
He made it. He’d fucking made it.
Seungmin slid his legs through the hole, glancing up at the floors above. Forty something floors in this apartment building. Thank god he was only on twenty seven.
The impact had him groaning as he slipped, falling on his ass and nearly smacking his head. That would have sucked. Dying because of a tiny fall.
Blood. Seungmin pulled his hand up, blood filling a few of the holes that were spread down his wrist now.
It was disgusting. But he had to move on.
Maybe the person hadn’t gotten out. Seungmin wedged himself through the elevator door, face pale at the sight of the coffee woman who was settled against the side of the door with a badly broken ankle, maggots swarming her body.
Seungmin hadn’t seen any maggots until now. But he’d hold his stomach. He was sick of vomiting, not that he had much to throw up anyways.
He’d wondered where this woman had gone. She had just disappeared… maybe she wanted to escape all those times she gave Seungmin looks in the hallway, maybe she hadn’t known how to ask for help. Seungmin wished she would have waited for him.
He passed by her respectfully, giving a tiny bow as he stumbled across the empty lobby.
It was a wasteland. No one in sight. No police. No staff. There was yellow tape everywhere and more boards covering much of the light that once filled the busy space.
Seungmin reached the door, noticing the chains that covered the entrance through a hole in one of the boards.
He could smash a window. He had time, right?
Seungmin glanced around the lobby, anything would do.
He could use the chairs. A table.
Seungmin found a good window, less boards and more light seeping through, though he couldn’t see much of the outside at all.
He could smash it.
Seungmin took a deep breath before picking up one of the lobby chairs, arms struggling as he hauled it towards the window.
Did he have the strength to smash it? He had to try. Seungmin held the chair tight before smacking the legs against the window, huffing as nothing happened.
Seungmin looked at his hands. That should have been inspiration enough.
He sighed, staring at the window. He was too close to give up.
Seungmin tried again, yelling out as the chair didn’t even make a crack in the glass.
He was so frustrated.
Why couldn’t he do it?! After all the shit he’d done to get here and he couldn’t find strength to break the fucking glass.
Seungmin collapsed against the window with a hiss, cupping his face in his hands. He didn’t mind the blood at this point. Or the incessant itching.
His pocket vibrated.
Seungmin took a moment to respond, quickly checking the phone to see his inbox and missed calls blow up. His battery was really low.
He could call for help. He had bars. He could call his parents. He could— Hyunjin.
Seungmin quickly tapped the contacts app, scrolling through to Hyunjin’s name before pressing the FaceTime button.
He had to see him. He had to tell Hyunjin that Felix loved him.
That was why he’d made it so far, right?
The phone just waited. Seungmin could see his face on the screen, holes starting at his jaw and eyes so sunken and dark. He looked horrible.
“Please pick up…”
Nothing. Seungmin took a deep breath. Fine. He’d text him. Maybe he was busy.
Seungmin tapped Hyunjin’s name. He’d left worrying messages. Asking where Felix was, why they weren’t responding. Then he asked why their apartment was boarded up.
The government told people they’d been moved somewhere to be quarantined.
Seungmin scoffed at that, reading through Hyunjin’s panic before leaving the messages to listen to the voice mails he’d left him.
‘Seungmin, Felix hasn’t replied in days and I’ve tried to call you and Minho and I don’t know what to do,’
Seungmin’s eyes started to water. Reality hadn’t hit until he heard his friends' distraught voice.
“Are you guys okay?! I don’t think you’re okay. The news said everyone was taken the first week by floor but nobody ever saw anyone leave. Seungmin please I’ve tried everyone—‘
Seungmin opened up the keyboard, tapping slow as his hands itched painfully.
‘Felix loved you.’
Maybe that was bitter to send. Maybe that was the wrong thing to send.
‘Seungmin!?’
Maybe calls still didn’t work. Seungmin watched in awe as Hyunjin messaged him, typing frantically and misspelling everything with caps and question marks.
‘Where are you guys? What happened?! Please answer me. I'm freaking out. Why won’t you pick up your phone!?’
Seungmin bit his lip before typing slow. He had to tell Hyunjin.
‘I’m sorry Hyunjin.’
‘Everyone’s dead. I don’t know what happened but we’re all still in the apartment.’
‘Felix loved you so much.’
Seungmin watched the final message come in, a what in caps and Hyunjin was typing more, but his phone died.
He lay the phone face up on the ground, giving it a spin before flinging it across the room, resting back against the window. He could leave if he really wanted to, right? Maybe he could try the back. Try someone’s window.
No. He knew what to do.
Seungmin rose up from the ground, making his way to the elevator. It was operable, wasn’t it? It wasn’t actually broken. Just needed to be taken off the emergency stop.
He was so stubborn. But getting out wasn’t the goal. He did what he wanted. Telling Hyunjin about Felix. That’s all he could do. And that’s all he’d wanted.
Seungmin wasn’t getting out.
As the elevator stopped with a creak at his floor he rushed out, the doors struggling to close as he made his way down the hall.
Maybe someone else could get out now.
Seungmin stumbles down the hall, the smelly hallway littered with bodies of people he’d known.
Seungmin went to his room quickly, leaving the door wide open. He walked past the painting, giving it an approving nod before reaching his bedroom.
The smell was horrifying. Seungmin crawled into the bed, pulling the covers over himself as he rested on his back, eyes fixating on the ceiling.
In another reality, Felix and Minho were sleeping beside him. They would wake up and smother Seungmin in kisses before dragging him out to a cafe to meet up with Hyunjin.
That reality was nice. It made Seungmin smile.
But that wasn’t his reality.
Seungmin took a deep breath, closing his eyes tight as he tried to empty his thoughts of anything that wasn’t a good memory.
He wanted to remember the good. How Felix would always burst into his home unannounced with tacos. Or how Minho would always make sure he sprayed himself with febreeze to cover the smell of cigarette smoke. Or how Hyunjin would visit sometimes to cook for them since they were all too absorbed in take out.
Seungmin liked those times.
The beach stuck out the most. When they went to the beach together. Maybe that was when Seungmin really fell in love with Minho. Maybe that’s when Seungmin should have told Minho.
The way the waves crashed against them, how loud Minho screamed when the cold water smacked his face followed by incessant laughter from Felix. That was when Hyunjin proposed to Felix too. It was perfect. The perfect day.
And it was such a nice memory. Seungmin wiggled both of his destroyed hands around the covers until finding Felix and Minho’s cold hands, squeezing both as tight as he could without breaking them.
He missed them. He missed their warmth and how funny they were. He missed them so much.
But it was okay. Seungmin wasn’t stubborn anymore. He’d let go. He’d give in. He had to, what choice did he have? He just wanted to be with his friends.
Seungmin could feel the sleep overtaking him. He was exhausted. And he was itchy. And hot.
He was actually on fire inside. He almost wanted to tear the covers off and scratch at his hands.
But instead he held their hands tight, allowing himself to fall into whatever sleep he’d reach.
They would miss autumn.
———20———