one hundred twenty three

Jisung was too caught up in his thoughts and hardly noticed Minho as he lathered his hair with shampoo. The horrible smell of ash was finally dispersing and the water in the bathtub turned darker.

Minho rinsed Jisung's hair until no more shampoo was left. It took ten minutes and before Jisung knew it, Minho had drained the water in the bathtub and wrapped him in a large towel.

"Wait here," Minho said and vanished for a moment to fetch a change of clothes for him. He chose one of his t-shirts and sweatpants that would probably be a bit too long for Jisung.

"Here you go," he said and handed the pair of clothing to him.

Jisung didn't move though. He was just stood still in front of Minho—naked, the water droplets from his hair dripping down to his body.

"Jisung," Minho eventually said, trying to get his attention. He sighed, "What's up with you? Are you really sure that you're feeling well?"

Jisung met his gaze, and his eyes brightened a bit. "Yes," he replied. "It's just that I really missed you. I thought I would never see you again and remain trapped in that illusion Changbin put me in."

Minho planted a soft kiss on his forehead. "I thought of the same thing too. But you really surprised me. You managed to break free from the illusion and kill the blood mage on your own."

He helped Jisung dress himself up and continued talking while he was at it. "I'm really proud of you. Not many people who are placed in an illusion get to survive, you know?"

"Wow. That was very reassuring of you," Jisung shook his head.

"But I was serious though," Minho said firmly. "The main reason why humans who are trapped in an illusion die is simply because of their fear. Nothing supernatural involved."

Minho took Jisung's hand and led him to his room. "I think you should rest. You've been through a lot in just a short period of time."

"I can't rest! Changbin may be out of the way now, but what about Jeongin? What if he hunts me down again?" he asked suddenly.

Minho scoffed at that, "You don't have to worry about him anymore. My friends already took care of him. And I can assure you that he won't be able to cause any more harm to you."

"What do you mean?" he breathed, inching closer to Minho.

"You'll see for yourself tomorrow. But for now, you should rest. You seem very tired," Minho insisted and the hardness of his tone proved that he would change his stance on it.

He took a towel and dried Jisung's hair, making sure it wasn't dripping wet anymore. He pulled the cover on the bed and spread it over Jisung's body. Then, he sat down next to him.

"Jisung," he said as he caressed his cheek. "Don't be sad. This isn't the end of everything. I know it's hard to lose your home, but we will eventually find a new one."

"How did you know that I was thinking about that?" he chuckled softly and closed his eyes, letting his body relax on the bed.

His hands suddenly tensed. It was impossible to erase the terrible pictures from his mind, and so he kept seeing the raging flames that devoured their home.

He had lost everything—all the memories he had kept at his home, countless pictures and souvenirs, items that had been valuable to him and that could never be replaced.

But he soon brushed off his sadness. Material things could easily be replaced, he thought to himself. All he needed now was just Minho by his side. And atleast they were both together.

"Scoot over," Minho commanded and allowed himself to lie down on the bed beside Jisung. His fingertips ghosted over Jisung's cheek.

The motion was soothing, causing him to completely fall asleep. They remained like this for a long time until Minho's eyes gave in as well.

To be continued...