Work Text:
When they first started dating, things were very simple. Soobin warned, in a very normal way, that he could act jealous sometimes and asked if Yeonjun was okay with that, to which Yeonjun simply replied that it was more than okay, even cute. He felt so loved when Soobin asked about the boy who would always leave comments on his Instagram photos, only to find out it was just his cousin. Then, all of a sudden, the comments stopped. Yeonjun never understood why.
Yeonjun and Soobin had a really good relationship with each other. They would go out together every week, Yeonjun buying every stuffed animal he thought Soobin liked, and they were always together at uni, too. If someone wanted to find either of them, they obviously could search for the two of them because they would find Yeonjun glued to Soobin and vice versa. Sometimes they were with their three only friends, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai, but most of the time, they wouldn’t hang out as a group.
But then the consequences of spending so much time together came in a while. The first time Yeonjun felt scared of Soobin was on March 12th, 2018.
He heard the door closing; Yeonjun was finally home. It was past midnight, and he had left in a rush without telling Soobin. He was about to punch a hole in the bedroom’s floor. When the silhouette showed up in the doorway and Yeonjun had a bag in his hands, Soobin suddenly felt calm, and that was the problem. Yeonjun looked him in the eyes. He was across the room, sitting on the edge of their bed, and Yeonjun was still watching those heavy eyes through the door.
“Where have you been?” Soobin asked, wearing one of Yeonjun’s cardigans — the one that looked bigger on his body and made him feel secure when Yeonjun was away. Such an innocent image gave Yeonjun goosebumps.
“Sorry, I forgot to buy Beomgyu’s present. Got him a snow globe! Wanna see it?”
“No, I really don’t. Do you know what I need right now?” Soobin got up and walked toward Yeonjun, drawing circles on his shirt with his fingers going up and down, still not looking into Yeonjun's eyes. Then he saw Yeonjun gulp.
“What, baby? Are you okay?”
The slap on Yeonjun’s face came suddenly and smoothly.
“Did you forget you have a boyfriend you need to inform every time you leave this house, or do I need to refresh your memory again?”
Yeonjun was speechless — sad, even. Mad at himself for making Soobin act like this.
“Eight months, thirteen days, twenty-five hours and... twelve minutes into this relationship, and I have never failed to tell you where the fuck I am when we’re not together. Forget it again and see what happens. I just guarantee you’ll regret it.”
Yeonjun didn’t even have time to ask what the hell was going on because Soobin kissed him — compassionate and lovely as always — taking his breath away and going to bed as he kept kissing the red on Yeonjun’s face multiple times, the red that he had caused.
Yeonjun was not a guy to complain or yell at his boyfriend. Since that day, they both installed apps on their phones to share their locations with each other. And when Beomgyu asked Yeonjun about the bruise on his face the other day at his birthday party, Yeonjun just said that Soobin’s niece had come over and couldn’t control her impulses while they were playing together.
The second time Yeonjun felt both fear and affection from Soobin was on July 4th, 2018. Almost three months after the first incident, they took a trip to the United States to visit Yeonjun's family and indulge in American holiday traditions—eating greasy foods and snapping photos at every McDonald's they encountered, even if they were less than 100 meters apart. When they returned for dinner that evening, Yeonjun’s uncle had organized a party with the whole community, a crowd of unfamiliar faces they were meeting for the first time.
Yeonjun told Soobin he was going to get a beer and asked if he wanted one, but Soobin declined. As Yeonjun was coming back, Soobin noticed a girl talking to Yeonjun who looked unusually cheerful, as if they shared a long history. Yeonjun was smiling at her too, engaging in pleasant conversation. A wave of nausea hit Soobin; he couldn’t stand it. He had to act.
Striding across the yard, Soobin approached Yeonjun from behind and gripped his wrist with a vice-like force. The girl’s smile faltered, and Yeonjun introduced her as a friend from his childhood vacations in the US. Soobin didn’t care; all he saw was a girl encroaching on what he believed was rightfully his. He tightened his grip, glaring at Yeonjun. They hurriedly said their goodbyes before Soobin dragged Yeonjun inside.
“Bin, you’re hurting my—”
“That’s the point. Shut up and come with me.”
“But my family—”
When they reached Yeonjun’s old room, Soobin slammed the door shut and released Yeonjun from his hold. Yeonjun’s left wrist was bruised and throbbing from the forceful handling. It was clear Soobin had intended to leave a mark.
“Who was that again, Yeonjun?”
“I told you, her name’s Spencer. We go way back from childhood vacations, and—”
“I want you to remember she’s not your family, nor Beomgyu, Taehyun or Huening. I need to know everyone you know and imagine my surprise — there’s this damn Spencer I know nothing about!”
“Bin, the last time I saw her, I was nine years old!”
“Well, it seems to me like you remember her quite well and never mentioned her.”
“Baby, I’m sorry. Spencer was just a colleague from those vacations. We never really connected, and we’ve had nothing since we were kids.”
As Yeonjun spoke, he massaged his aching wrist. Suddenly, Soobin sank to his knees, pressing kisses onto the bruised area, his touch both tender and possessive. He went to the kitchen for some ice, applying it with meticulous care that bordered on obsessiveness. In the hallway, he saw Yeonjun’s mother.
“Soobin, honey! Come here with Yeonjun, we’re about to cut the cake!”
It was Yeonjun’s favorite 4th of July treat. But he didn’t deserve it today.
“I’m sorry, he’s not feeling well. I’m taking care of him. Don’t worry about us!”
Returning to the room, Soobin found Yeonjun lying on the bed, his eyes vacant, fixed on the ceiling. Soobin pressed the ice against the injured wrist, and Yeonjun, in a hollow voice, asked if they were going to have the cake soon. Soobin replied that they wouldn’t.
And so they slept, with Yeonjun feeling a twisted sense of affection, as Soobin continued to care for the pain he himself had caused. In the end, it was only Soobin and Yeonjun, together in their own disturbed little world.
By the third time, Beomgyu couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that something was seriously wrong. He and Yeonjun had always been close, best friends who could always count on each other. But over the past few months, something had changed. Yeonjun seemed to be avoiding the sunlight, his skin growing unnaturally pale, even when they met at university. Beomgyu noticed that he and Soobin were inseparable, bound together by some invisible force—one that seemed to tighten as Soobin’s health deteriorated.
On October 9th, 2018, Yeonjun decided to spend the day with Beomgyu, trying to escape the dark cloud that had settled over his life. He sent Soobin his location, photos, and constant updates, trying to reassure him. But no amount of reassurance could shake the feeling of impending dread that hung in the air. It was all fine, until it wasn’t. That was the day Yeonjun realized something had shifted—Soobin was slipping away, and this time, it felt irreversible.
When Yeonjun arrived home, the first thing he saw was Soobin sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the flickering TV screen. The eerie glow cast shadows across the room, but what caught Yeonjun's attention were the bandages — both of Soobin’s arms were wrapped in blood-soaked gauze.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of dread, Yeonjun fell to his knees in front of him, tears blurring his vision. He could barely ask what had happened before his trembling hands reached out to remove the bandages. Soobin didn’t react, didn’t flinch as the fabric came away, revealing deep, jagged cuts running from his forearm to the back of his hand. The wounds gushed freely now, the lack of pressure allowing blood to pool and drip onto the floor.
Panicked, Yeonjun pressed his hands against the cuts, desperately trying to stem the bleeding while fumbling for his phone to call for help. But as he did, Soobin’s cold fingers wrapped around his, pulling them away. Slowly, methodically, Soobin began to collect the blood on his fingertips, spreading it across his lips like some macabre ritual, all while his empty eyes never left the TV screen.
Yeonjun stopped crying as he watched Soobin crawl into his lap, the warmth of his body sinking against him as he tried to apply pressure to the cuts, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Soobin’s pale lips moved closer, kissing him with a tenderness so profound that Yeonjun felt like he could die on the spot, the world melting away around them. The kiss tasted of iron, metallic and cold, as their faces became smeared with blood. Soobin’s hands slid up Yeonjun’s back, staining his shirt with crimson streaks.
And then it happened. Soobin’s hips began to roll against his, a slow, almost hypnotic rhythm. Yeonjun didn’t know what to do, lost in the confusion and the terror of it all. His trembling hands fumbled as he wrapped the bandages around Soobin’s arms again, tighter this time, desperately trying to hold everything together. He was willing to follow wherever Soobin led him, no matter how dark the path.
Yeonjun couldn’t understand why Soobin had done this to himself, why he was acting like this. But as Soobin kept riding him, lost in the strange intimacy of the moment, Yeonjun let go of any thoughts of escape. He kissed Soobin back, over and over, until the terror and confusion faded into something else, something darker. He found himself surrendering completely, alienating himself from everything except Soobin and this twisted version of love.
When it was over, they went to the hospital. Soobin received stitches, and after that, he began wearing oversized clothes to hide the evidence. They stopped seeing the sunlight altogether. Yeonjun never spent a full day with his friends again, too afraid to leave Soobin alone. Soobin needed him, and that need consumed everything.
Things only got worse. Taehyun left for Germany, taking Beomgyu with him, and Hueningkai became overwhelmed with college. It was just Yeonjun and Soobin again, alone in the dark, and the fear crept back in. Sometimes, when he was by himself, Yeonjun would wonder what was happening, why everything felt so wrong. But he never had the courage to face it.
On December 5th, 2018—Soobin’s 21st birthday—they spent the day baking, watching Soobin’s favorite animated shows, and making love. It was perfect, every second of it, filled with whispered confessions and soft touches. But as midnight approached, something shifted.
They were in the bathroom, kissing in front of the mirror, taking silly pictures and laughing. Then Soobin turned to him, a playful smirk on his lips.
“Can we cut ourselves together?” he asked, his voice soft but filled with an unsettling edge.
Yeonjun froze, staring back at him. “Why would we do that, Bin?”
“It’s my birthday,” Soobin replied, his eyes growing watery. “That’s my request for you. Junie, please, can we cut ourselves together?”
Without thinking, Yeonjun reached for the sword Soobin kept hidden, surprising him with how well he knew its exact location. Soobin smiled, his eyes shining with a mix of love and something far darker.
“Go ahead, then,” Yeonjun whispered, handing over control. “I’m okay if it makes you happy, bun.”
Soobin grabbed his arm, locking them together, and then the burning sensation hit Yeonjun’s mind like a wave. Soobin wasn’t gentle; his cuts were deep, brutal, until Yeonjun caught a glimpse of something white—bone, maybe, or something else entirely.
“It’s beautiful!” Soobin exclaimed, his voice full of twisted delight. “Oh my god, I love you. You’re the best. Look, I made a heart.”
There it was — a deep, bloody heart carved into their flesh, one side on Soobin, the other on Yeonjun. It should have ended there, but Soobin wasn’t satisfied. He asked to cut Yeonjun’s thighs, his belly, even his face. A thin, shallow line across his brow, just above his eye.
“I always thought face scars were so sexy,” Soobin whispered, leaving a kiss on the wound.
Yeonjun felt light-headed as Soobin bandaged them both. He knew it was wrong, knew it was sick, but he couldn’t stop. He loved Soobin too much. Soobin didn’t want to go back to normal, and if that meant Yeonjun had to follow him into the madness, he would. Because Soobin was his world.
When Beomgyu and Taehyun returned from Germany, they sat down with Hueningkai, worried about Yeonjun. He looked sick — paler, thinner, almost ghostly. But Hueningkai had been too busy to notice. It wasn’t until January 15th, 2019, that Beomgyu discovered the truth.
It was also the last day.
Beomgyu had come to see Yeonjun at home and saw Soobin, ghostlike, slipping into their bedroom.
“Hey, Yeon. Want to go out for a bit?” Beomgyu asked, trying to sound casual.
“Just for a while,” Yeonjun replied, hesitating. “I have something to do with Soobin later.”
“That’s okay! We’ll be back soon, let’s go.”
They ended up at a nearby park, but Yeonjun barely spoke. He only hummed in response to Beomgyu’s questions, his mind somewhere far away.
Finally, Beomgyu had enough. “Yeonjun, I know something’s going on between you and Soobin. If you don’t tell me, we’re going to the police. Me, Taehyun, and Hueningkai. We’re worried about you. Soobin... he seems off. We want to help—”
“Let go of me!” Yeonjun snapped, slapping Beomgyu’s hand away as he stood. “Who do you think you are to interfere in my relationship? I feel safer with him than I do with you! Don’t ever touch me again. You and the others can fuck off. Me and Soobin are fine. I don’t need your help!”
Yeonjun returned home, trembling, nausea twisting in his gut. He could barely stand as Soobin wrapped his arms around him at the door. That was the last time anyone saw them.
Yeonjun’s body felt weightless in Soobin’s hands. They tried to go back to normal, but the strength to do so had slipped away. And when the police broke into the house that night, it was already too late.
To this day, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai don’t know what happened. Whether they ran away or died. All they know is that Soobin had taken someone beautiful, someone full of love, and dragged him into the darkness, away from their friendship, away from everything.
It was sick. Twisted.
March 12th, 2029.
“Heard the news?” Taehyun asked Hueningkai and Beomgyu again, louder this time.
“What happened?” Beomgyu replied, his voice tense.
“They found him. Yeonjun, to be exact. In the woods, alone, alive. But Soobin... Soobin’s been dead for eight years. They found his bones. Yeonjun had kept every piece, every trace of him, next to his bed in an abandoned house deep in the woods. I’m so sorry, Gyu.”
Beomgyu felt like he was vomiting all his lunch.