_

yunho held tightly to mingi for what seemed like a lifetime. in reality, the ambulance took less than five minutes to reach the scene.

the fire team were still spraying the building when a paramedic came over to separate mingi from yunho and take him away into the back of the van to be seen to.

by now, a crowd had gathered to see what all the commotion was about, but yunho barely noticed.

he just stayed there on his knees for a few moments, staring up at the smoking building before him. then he saw a hand being held out to help him up, which he took.

it was san, and it was apparent that he had also been crying. wooyoung stood a few steps behind, facing the floor.

"let's go now, huh?" san suggested. he knew it would do yunho no good to be staring at the wreckage much longer.

"go where?" yunho asked.

"away from here" san simply answered, and led yunho towards the ambulance where mingi was being treated.

"hello, are you a friend?" the female paramedic asked when yunho neared the vehicle. mingi was sat on the edge of the bed facing the floor and with a tear about to slide from the end of his nose.

"he's my boyfriend" yunho whispered.

"okay. well he's going to need to go to hospital to get this treated I'm afraid" she frowned, "we can take him there now"

yunho looked to san, who said "go, we'll take care of everything here"

"yeah, don't worry, yunho" wooyoung chimed in beside him.

the boy in question nodded and mouthed a "thank you" before he climbed into the ambulance.

"yunho" mingi breathed as tears relentlessly spilled down from his eyes.

"hello, baby. tell me what they said"

mingi's lip trembled before he spoke, "it-it needs dressing a-and.. I'm probably going to be scarred"

yunho furrowed his brows and reached out his hand to rub circles into his boyfriend's back. it broke his heart to see mingi hurt. right now he didn't even care about eden. he pushed any thoughts of it or his sister away from his mind for the time being so he could focus solely on the boy before him.

"I wish it had been me" yunho said honestly. he wished he could take the pain away.

"no!" mingi quickly gasped. "no. this is nothing, yunho. your shop... this is nothing"

"it isn't nothing, mingi. you're in pain and that hurts me too. a lot"

"your sister..." mingi weeped.

tears began to fall from yunho's own eyes as he replied; "I have everything I need in my memories of her. if she met you - god, she would adore you - and she'd want me to be here by your side, taking care of you, worrying about you. buildings can be re-built"

"yunho-"

"-you can't be replaced" yunho finished, fighting the tears.

"I'm so sorry" mingi whispered, barely audible.

_

mingi was allowed home later that night, having had his injury cleaned and dressed. yunho was under strict instruction to change the dressing daily for a couple of weeks and then mingi was to come back for a check-up. he was also given strong painkillers to take with the warning that the pain would last for a while.

it was around midnight when they got home from the hospital and yunho helped his boyfriend straight upstairs to change and get into bed.

"you get comfy, baby. I'll go get you a glass of water"

"yunho.."

"I'll be right back!"

"yunho!" mingi interjected again. "we need to talk"

"it's late" yunho argued.

"please?"

yunho sighed in defeat and got into bed next to him. "I don't want to hear you say sorry again"

"this is all my fault"

"none of it is your fault"

"it is!" mingi slightly raised his voice as his eyes began to well up again.

yunho laced his fingers through the younger boy's and shushed him, "don't cry, baby. how many times do I need to tell you that you're the most important thing?" he reached over and placed a light kiss on mingi's forehead, further reinforcing his words.

"what are you going to do?"

"my parents made sure I had a solid insurance plan in place. everything can be re-built"

mingi sighed, "aren't you the least bit heartbroken?"

"I am" yunho admitted, "I am absolutely heartbroken. but I have you"

"so you don't h-hate me?" mingi said as he began to cry again for what felt like the hundredth time today. yunho pulled him into a tight embrace while avoiding his injured hand.

"I don't think I could ever hate you - and I especially don't right now. you injured yourself trying to save my shop for me. which, I never, ever expected or wanted you to do. but regardless, I love you, song mingi"

yunho then saw a small smile appearing through the tears and couldn't help but smile in return.

"I'd do anything for you" mingi whispered, "you saved my life"

"then do this: don't worry, don't be sad. I'll fix everything"

_

and that's what yunho did. after several long phonecalls with the insurance company, he was able to set a date for the clearing of the rubble and ultimately the re-build of the shop.

it would take just over a month until everything was completed - he was assured the contractors could work fast these days - but it would be longer than that before the shop could officially re-open. yunho would have to call all his suppliers to fill his shop with stock again, and no doubt there would be other things that needed his attention before they could be back in business.

but he didn't mind so much: the outlook was positive, and in the meantime, he was able to take care of mingi's injury, which was thankfully healing quicker by the day.

there had been just one more thing to deal with in the end: youngjo.

"all the cctv footage was destroyed. we really have no proof it was him"

"there must be some way" mingi argued passionately.

"I told the police who it was, but it's my word against his - if they ever find him" yunho said defeatedly.

"we can't give up though. we have to keep trying. he has to be punished for what he did"

yunho took mingi's hand in his and looked deep into his eyes. "is that really what you want, mingi? do you want to pursue him? there's many things he deserves to be punished for, but will he be? probably not"

"why are you being like this?" mingi asked incredulously, "don't you want justice?!"

yunho sighed, "I want a peaceful life and I want you to be happy. those are the only two things I want. and I want to forget about all this - and that's the only way I can see to achieve those two things. I just want to forget he exists"

"what if he comes back?" mingi asked, the thought making him feel physically sick.

"he won't. I'm sure of it"

"how do you know?"

yunho laughed dryly, "I don't know why, but for some reason, after I watched the flowers set alight, I looked over to youngjo. I guess maybe for answers... maybe for help? I don't know. but anyway, the look in his eyes... it was like.. he knew he was capable of a lot, but he didn't know he was capable of that. he looked like he knew he'd gone too far this time. and without a second glance at me, he ran away in what looked like disbelief"

mingi pondered this for a second. "he's never been shocked by his actions before"

"well he was that day. so yeah, I really do think he's gone this time"

"thank god" mingi whispered.

"thank god" yunho repeated.

_