Ship/Member: Seokmin-centric, Seokmin & Jihoon, Seokmin & Junhui, slight Seokmin & Minghao Major Tags: on screen character death but he becomes a grim reaper, so he's not fully dead Additional Tags: shenanigans, light banter, friends reuniting, general junwoong-coded chaos, silliness, the moment seokmin/junwoong returns to jumadeung Permission to remix: Yes wc: 700 ish. here is the remix as not-really-promised!! i don't know how well it flows, but i hope you enjoy!
***
Lee Seokmin dies at the ripe age of ninety.
The same two girls from the Escort Team greet him at the foot of his hospital bed.
“Do you remember?” One of them asks, and like the words are a key to a lock, he does. He nods.
“Let's go.”
Before he goes, he leaves a note.
don’t cry too much. I lived a happy life with you.
love, seokmin.
-
He sees Minghao in the foyer.
“You’re back,” Minghao says without preamble, indifferent still, but not as cold, coming to a stop in front of Seokmin, hands neat in his pocket.
“Yes, sir,” Seokmin says, hastily falling into a half-bow. When he straightens, he catches one side of Minghao's mouth ticking up. He nods, and strides toward the door, leaving Seokmin staring after his flowing coattails, wondering if that was approval on Team Leader Xu Minghao’s face.
“It totally was,” Seokmin tells himself as he continues walking. “You've been approved, Lee Seokmin.” He pumps the air with his fist and does a bunny hop gallop. It earns him a couple of glances, but it’s nothing new.
By the time he finds the new office, Jihoon and Junhui are already there.
“Well, don’t you look jubilant,” Junhui notes, leaning against his brand new desk. His hair is still pink, but his roots are growing out. Like he’s learning to reconcile the past with the present.
“Of course,” Seokmin beams, “I get to see Jihoon-ssi's face again, and I get to nag you—” he twirls his index finger in the air before pointing dashingly at Junhui, “—sir, again. why wouldn’t I be jubilant?”
Jihoon sighs, crossing his arms. Junhui’s eyes flip toward the ceiling, like he’s seeking help from whichever deity that might still answer them. An awkward silence descends. Seokmin drops his arm, scratches at the back of his neck abashedly.
“So,” He starts again, too loud but careless of it. “How have things been these past decades without me?”
“Just fine,” Jihoon deadpans, snarky like always. Seokmin makes a face at him. Jihoon returns it.
“His mother passed," Junhui murmurs. The humor’s gone in an instant. She wasn’t really Jihoon’s mother, but it makes no difference.
“Oh,” Seokmin says, shocked into silence. “I'm sorry, Jihoon-ssi.”
Jihoon looks down, sighs deeply. His shoulders shrug. “It's okay. She lived a happy life.”
Seokmin nods, thinking back to the note on the hospital bedside table and feeling his eyes mist. He wonders if his family will be okay. And then he’s abruptly annoyed at himself for thinking so little of their tenacity and rubs furiously at his eyes. When he looks up, Jihoon is looking at him curiously.
“Are you crying for me?” he asks, voice light. Maybe a little. Seokmin glares at him.
“Absolutely not,” he sniffs. “I'm crying at the thought of having to deal with you again.” Jihoon laughs, and it floods Seokmin with something. A weird sense of homecoming, maybe. They lapse into silence.
“I think I care too much,” Seokmin says, a little while later, somewhat lamenting, staring out of the window of their new office. He’s starting a conversation that’s missing the beginning, but neither Junhui nor Jihoon seem to mind too much. There's sunlight here, and the space is open, and they’ve created enough new beginnings for others who are at an end that it’s nice to linger in the middle a bit. There is something hopeful about the lightness of all of this. “I think that hasn’t changed much at all, even after all this time.”
“And who says that’s a bad thing?” When Seokmin looks up, Jihoon’s smiling that small, tilted smile of his. “That’s why you’re so suited for this team.” A genuine compliment from Jihoon is rare. Seokmin looks down and tries to suppress his smile. His chest warms. He’s missed this, he realizes. He missed this a lot, even when his conscious mind was unaware of Jumadeung’s existence.
“Sometimes that’s enough,” Junhui says after a while, picking up a fading conversation, gaze faraway. Jihoon drops his smile. “The knowledge that someone cares.” There is silence in the wake, and an emptiness in Junhui's face. He must be thinking about that moment, eons ago.
Someone cared for you then, Seokmin wants to say. Someone cried for you. But those words are not his to say. He opens his mouth a couple of times, but nothing comes out. There is nothing adequate enough to mend such a deep hurt.
But Junhui is already coming back into his body, picking up his head, smile lopsided. “So keep caring,” he says, directed at Seokmin, “you never know when it might save someone’s life.”
“Yes sir,” Seokmin grins, letting his teeth show. He’s hopeful. There’s always another beginning to be found at the end.
[REMIX]: a beginning at the end
Major Tags: on screen character death but he becomes a grim reaper, so he's not fully dead
Additional Tags: shenanigans, light banter, friends reuniting, general junwoong-coded chaos, silliness, the moment seokmin/junwoong returns to jumadeung
Permission to remix: Yes
wc: 700 ish. here is the remix as not-really-promised!! i don't know how well it flows, but i hope you enjoy!
***
Lee Seokmin dies at the ripe age of ninety.
The same two girls from the Escort Team greet him at the foot of his hospital bed.
“Do you remember?” One of them asks, and like the words are a key to a lock, he does. He nods.
“Let's go.”
Before he goes, he leaves a note.
don’t cry too much. I lived a happy life with you.
love, seokmin.
-
He sees Minghao in the foyer.
“You’re back,” Minghao says without preamble, indifferent still, but not as cold, coming to a stop in front of Seokmin, hands neat in his pocket.
“Yes, sir,” Seokmin says, hastily falling into a half-bow. When he straightens, he catches one side of Minghao's mouth ticking up. He nods, and strides toward the door, leaving Seokmin staring after his flowing coattails, wondering if that was approval on Team Leader Xu Minghao’s face.
“It totally was,” Seokmin tells himself as he continues walking. “You've been approved, Lee Seokmin.” He pumps the air with his fist and does a bunny hop gallop. It earns him a couple of glances, but it’s nothing new.
By the time he finds the new office, Jihoon and Junhui are already there.
“Well, don’t you look jubilant,” Junhui notes, leaning against his brand new desk. His hair is still pink, but his roots are growing out. Like he’s learning to reconcile the past with the present.
“Of course,” Seokmin beams, “I get to see Jihoon-ssi's face again, and I get to nag you—” he twirls his index finger in the air before pointing dashingly at Junhui, “—sir, again. why wouldn’t I be jubilant?”
Jihoon sighs, crossing his arms. Junhui’s eyes flip toward the ceiling, like he’s seeking help from whichever deity that might still answer them. An awkward silence descends. Seokmin drops his arm, scratches at the back of his neck abashedly.
“So,” He starts again, too loud but careless of it. “How have things been these past decades without me?”
“Just fine,” Jihoon deadpans, snarky like always. Seokmin makes a face at him. Jihoon returns it.
“His mother passed," Junhui murmurs. The humor’s gone in an instant. She wasn’t really Jihoon’s mother, but it makes no difference.
“Oh,” Seokmin says, shocked into silence. “I'm sorry, Jihoon-ssi.”
Jihoon looks down, sighs deeply. His shoulders shrug. “It's okay. She lived a happy life.”
Seokmin nods, thinking back to the note on the hospital bedside table and feeling his eyes mist. He wonders if his family will be okay. And then he’s abruptly annoyed at himself for thinking so little of their tenacity and rubs furiously at his eyes. When he looks up, Jihoon is looking at him curiously.
“Are you crying for me?” he asks, voice light. Maybe a little. Seokmin glares at him.
“Absolutely not,” he sniffs. “I'm crying at the thought of having to deal with you again.” Jihoon laughs, and it floods Seokmin with something. A weird sense of homecoming, maybe. They lapse into silence.
“I think I care too much,” Seokmin says, a little while later, somewhat lamenting, staring out of the window of their new office. He’s starting a conversation that’s missing the beginning, but neither Junhui nor Jihoon seem to mind too much. There's sunlight here, and the space is open, and they’ve created enough new beginnings for others who are at an end that it’s nice to linger in the middle a bit. There is something hopeful about the lightness of all of this. “I think that hasn’t changed much at all, even after all this time.”
“And who says that’s a bad thing?” When Seokmin looks up, Jihoon’s smiling that small, tilted smile of his. “That’s why you’re so suited for this team.” A genuine compliment from Jihoon is rare. Seokmin looks down and tries to suppress his smile. His chest warms. He’s missed this, he realizes. He missed this a lot, even when his conscious mind was unaware of Jumadeung’s existence.
“Sometimes that’s enough,” Junhui says after a while, picking up a fading conversation, gaze faraway. Jihoon drops his smile. “The knowledge that someone cares.” There is silence in the wake, and an emptiness in Junhui's face. He must be thinking about that moment, eons ago.
Someone cared for you then, Seokmin wants to say. Someone cried for you. But those words are not his to say. He opens his mouth a couple of times, but nothing comes out. There is nothing adequate enough to mend such a deep hurt.
But Junhui is already coming back into his body, picking up his head, smile lopsided. “So keep caring,” he says, directed at Seokmin, “you never know when it might save someone’s life.”
“Yes sir,” Seokmin grins, letting his teeth show. He’s hopeful. There’s always another beginning to be found at the end.