It rained in Prague the second time Wooyoung hurried to the institute full of foolish hope to save his lover. He prayed it wouldn't rain in France as well, even if the wet mud of the trenches had to come from something. A slippery slide down there could mean certain death.

Wooyoung ignored the school class in their foyer that stood there with their wet little rain coats and the teacher's umbrella dripping water all over the place. His brief grin flashed at them before he dashed into the conference room.

With no time to waste, he hadn't even eaten that morning. His stomach had been in nervous coils for another sleepless night and he knew that his arrival at the French battlefield would mean nausea for his body. No need to eat if he was jittery on nerves and threatened to throw up anytime.

Wooyoung stormed into the meeting room, ready to switch his clothes and race right over to the travel room.

It was seven in the morning. San couldn't be dead yet or else his body wouldn't have still been warm in the late afternoon. Wooyoung had it all planned out. He would race to find San, would get him anywhere that wasn't near the battlefield, would tell him to stay away and then would return right back home before his nerves caught up on him. San would be confused and would want him to pause, but Wooyoung didn't have the time. He was already playing with a risky mission that shouldn't get out to their higher-ups as him travelling in time for anything but work.

His masterful planning was stopped short when he spotted the man in the room. Dressed in the classy suit Yongguk wore only when he had to appear in front of visitor groups, Yongguk sat at the table. He had crossed his legs and his nimble fingers elegantly scrolled through the tablet on the tabletop at his side. When Wooyoung barged in, Yongguk shut it off after a glance at the frantic man.

Wooyoung threw him a puzzled look as he hurried over to his compartment of the cabinets and wrenched out his clothes. Without regards of Yongguk's prying eyes, he stripped off his hoodie and shirt.

"Anything you need, boss?" Wooyoung asked while he undid his pants. Yongguk averted his gaze politely but remained rooted in the spot.

"I'm worried about your mental health, Wooyoung. You've been focusing on San a lot, but you don't notice how much this drains you. This hope you have to rescue him; what about you when it won't work?"

Wooyoung slipped into his breeches first and buttoned up his shirt. He left the boots for last, still not used to their small heel.

"I will do my best to succeed, but if I don't, I can just be sad again. The world will keep moving," Wooyoung brushed it off. The fewer thoughts he wasted on it, the easier it would be to overcome the second round of pain. Death hadn't lost its meaning to him; he knew of its permanence. But he would try to find a way to be with San. If his desperate yearning kept Wooyoung going, he would make use of it.

"You were already getting better, Woo. Now your eyes are haunted again. They are horrified about his death and what you saw of the war. Your brain can't process these things well if you continue like this. They will haunt you."

Wooyoung zipped up his boots and stomped around a few times to test their firmness on his feet. When he slipped into his jacket, Yongguk's frown deepened. He knew his words couldn't penetrate the walls Wooyoung had built around his vulnerable core.

"So what, not as if I sleep these days, anyway. The payoff if I succeed is much better. What is collapsing once if it means I get to be with San if I push through?"

Yongguk stood from his seat. Even from the distance between them, the height and authority he had over Wooyoung was intimidating. One wrong step, and Yongguk would lock the time machine away from Wooyoung. He shouldn't play with Yongguk's concern for him.

"What does collapsing mean if it doesn't happen in the present? What if you get down so bad you don't pay attention anymore and lose your remote or get killed? Wooyoung, the place you are visiting, is no playground. It won't vanish either. You can take breaks for a few days, and you could even consider trying at a wholly different time. If you make sure San doesn't even get roped into the war, all this would never happen." Yongguk beckoned around the room, gesturing for 'all this.' His deep and booming voice didn't have to rise to make Wooyoung duck his head. Shy, he fiddled with his lapels.

"I am already so close now. How would I find him; how would I know when to approach him if I went anytime else? This will work, Yongguk, I promise. And if it doesn't, I will make sure it doesn't fall back on you."

Yongguk sighed.

"I'm not worried about my reputation or my concern in this matter. I'm worried about you." Yongguk struggled to say it, but Wooyoung had to smile about his effort. Yongguk, speaking up about his feelings, meant it was a grave headache to him.

Wooyoung opened the door to the decontamination room.

"Thank you for looking out for me. I will take care of myself so you don't have to fear for my wellbeing," Wooyoung smiled. It was one of his more honest smiles, one of those that had become rare since San died.

Yongguk grunted to himself.

"You better."

Wooyoung waved at him cutely before he hurried off to use his early hours to be with San on time. He would prove Yongguk by paying extra attention to his surroundings.

Unfortunately, it rained in France. The skies wept for what was to come and for the bodies that would soon litter the ground. The soft earth under Wooyoung's feet made for a trippy trip to hell that would be the soldiers' undoing later.

The shooting hadn't started yet, and the foggy air still loomed over the field without bloodshed. The silence was ominous and promised death.

Wooyoung skidded through the mud over to the camp and rounded the tower. The soldiers around had stomped the muck into slimy paths between patches of grass, creating treacherous traps that appeared at random in front of Wooyoung's view.

By the time Wooyoung reached the pit with the medical tent, he was drenched and his boots were caked with dirt up to his calves.

Through the rain thrumming on the tent with deafening noise, Wooyoung strained his ears to pick out the voices inside. The flap was closed, so he had to slip down the swampy wall to approach the canvas.

Shivering in the cold of the rain, Wooyoung pulled the flap keeping the tent sealed away and peered inside. The nurse he had seen previously, and both doctors were in, discussing the amount of medicine and bandages they had. They didn't notice Wooyoung at first while he squinted into every corner to spot San.

Where was the man this time?

Wooyoung's heart raced in his chest with urgency. Any moment now, the bullet rain would start. It didn't matter who shot first. As soon as it began, Wooyoung's chances at survival and saving San were equal to zero.

Just before Wooyoung could open his mouth to ask about San, a body squeezed past him. The man had an undercut over short black hair that fell in his face like that of one of Wooyoung's favourite anime characters, who was, by coincidence, also French. His shoulders looked familiar as he dumped a crate full of supplies on the ground next to the utensil table.

"As many as I could find. I'm going out to help in the trenches," he said, and his voice recognised in Wooyoung's ears even before he turned and Wooyoung could also spot his face.

Finally.

San didn't glance at Wooyoung, too occupied with his task. The moment he strode past Wooyoung, Wooyoung stuck to his heels and hurried after him.

"San!" He called out through the loud rain. His heart skipped and jumped at seeing the man alive again. Warm and reassuring, even when his restless frown showed his concern for the war.

San was already halfway up the slippery slope to the surface (he dug the tips of his boots into the wall, genius) when Wooyoung's yells and the hand grasping for his sleeve had him falter. Through the heavy rain, he turned to look at Wooyoung in surprise. His eyes widened when he recognised the man, confusion and delight mixing into his face slipping.

The question he asked was drowned out in what Wooyoung assumed to be thunder. Only when a distant crash accompanied by screams followed, he identified it as a heavy missile.

"San! We need to get out of here!" Wooyoung yelled. He wanted to get closer, but he slipped on the slope. San reached out to help him, pulling him further up against his body that had a more secure hold on the ground. In his confusion between the gunfire behind them and wanting to greet Wooyoung, the man blanked for a long second.

"Wooyo-"

With a jerk, San's head flew in Wooyoung's direction. Something too warm to be rain splattered against Wooyoung's face. Wooyoung caught a glimpse of wide-open, horrified eyes before he got buried under the weight of the man's body. Instead of a hug, San crumpled against him and dragged him back down into the pit.

Wooyoung squeaked when their bodies hit the ground with a sickening squelch. He struggled, trapped under San's body, while soldiers and doctors ran around them without regard. People fell right outside of the pit, crashing onto the sodden soil with ribbons of blood following them.

After a lot of effort, Wooyoung had wormed out beneath San's body far enough to push the man off. Limp, he laid in the mud while blood seeped from the back of his head.

Wooyoung pressed his dirty hand to his lips, trying to keep himself from screaming. His stomach twisted and turned as the sudden death was way more horrible to bear than just finding the body.

Disoriented, Wooyoung cowered in the pit while bullets and rain hailed down on the area. They were impossible to tell from each other and the screams of dying men blended with the screeching of metal and the yells for defence. The onslaught of death on Wooyoung's senses had him weak in the knees.

Wooyoung reached out for San with trembling fingers, grasping at his shoulder.

"I-I'll be back. I promise. We will get out of this." His fingers clenched into San's warm body while the man's blood mixed in a disgusting soup with the earth.

Wooyoung scrambled out of the pit on the other side, the one protected by the nearby building. He made it to safety without issues and stumbled along the backside of the big military building. No other people were around, everyone busy fighting for survival.

Wooyoung crashed to his knees once and had to heave up bile. San's blood still stuck to his cheek as he stumbled to his feet again and pushed forward. Numb and yet overwhelmed, Wooyoung fought his reflex to faint.

He found a door on the backside of the building, but he didn't leave just yet. Up ahead was a parking area with several cars around. The path leading away from the site through the woods appeared secure, even if there had to be a military check further down the road.

Wooyoung memorised the sight before he stumbled through the door. Right on his last step, he slipped, so he crashed onto the marble floor of the institute harshly.

It was to be expected, but Yongguk was in the room with him. Upon the sight of a bloodied and distraught Wooyoung, he immediately knelt next to him.

"You idiot, what did I tell you?"

Yongguk's shout was more of a whisper as he hastened to open Wooyoung's jacket and searched him for injuries. With wide eyes and the sounds of shots and screams echoing in his ears like a jarring melody, Wooyoung faintly grasped at Yongguk's arms.

"I'm fine," he whispered in a rough voice. His tears wouldn't flow through his shock.

Another miss. Another time San died.

Wooyoung was going mad.

Did he have to give up after all?

"Just once more. Give me one more try," Wooyoung pleaded.

Yongguk dropped his hands. The fury on his face would have had Wooyoung cower usually, but in his numb state he just stared up at the man frantically.

Without a word, Yongguk left the room. Wooyoung stayed alone on the cold floor to curl up around himself. He cried until Seungyoun came to fetch him with more patience.