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wake upget dressed eat breakfast get your daily injectionsgo to school go home go to sleep this was how jung hoseoks day was, every day. it was how everyone's day went in pyeongchang county. it was colorless, quiet, emotionless, always very normal. except for min yoongi's. min yoongi wasn't a rebel at all, frankly he was very soft and just wanted to be happy, but he was considered highly dangerous and rebellious in the eyes of their leader. min yoongi had found a book one day, a book describing what its like in the outside world. a book telling about all the colors and emotions and things to do, things that made life seem so much more fulfilling than what he was living right now. he needed to get there, so he started skipping the injections. he put an apple over the machine instead, so no one would suspect him. he started seeing colors, feeling emotions, he felt alive. but he was still trapped. he needed to get to the other side. but, he couldn't do it alone. jung hoseok was just like everyone else, except he wasnt. not to min yoongi at least. yoongi knew there was something about him that was different, he was drawn to him, he wanted to set him free. but hoseok wouldn't believe a single word yoongi would say if he ever tried to explain, thats what he thought at least. hoseok was gifted, almost. he thought he lived like everyone else, but he had dreams. he dreamt of what being on the other side was like, he saw colors and heard music, he felt happy in his dreams, but when he woke up it was all gone. he could only remember them for a few minutes while he rushed to write them all down so he could come back to them. he just thought he was sick, but he'd never bring it up at the risk of being detained. or worse, killed. it is now yoongi's personal mission to set hoseok free, he needed him to escape this harrowing, dystopian world.
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hoseok bolted awake, adrenaline rushing through his body as he took deep breathes, frantically grabbing the notebook under his pillow and writing as fast as he could. running, screaming, falling, hurt myself. he saved me, we ran, we leftthat was all he could write down as the dream faded away, he cursed himself for not understanding. it was like this every morning, except this was the first time he had felt like that. he felt fear, he was terrified of what was happening. he didn't know anything that was happening, but he could remember one persons face. that person he was determined to find. hoseok looked at the clock, sighed to himself and got up to get dressed. same as usual, perfectly fitted khaki pants with a ironned white button up and a blue sweater vest on top. he only had two different outfits, just like everyone else. one for the day, and one to sleep in. hoseok put on his socks and walked to the kitchen, seeing his mom and sister in the kitchen as well. they all ate their breakfast and lined up at the door, stopping by the machine before heading out. everyone had this machine their house, it was a wrist high pole with a place big enough to fit your wrist in. you place your arm on it and a needle quickly injects the "medicine" into your body. it was a quite simple concept, and no one had ever questioned it. well, no one that was still alive. these injections start when you turn 12, when people start beginning to question big things and start to feel real emotional connections. the first one cuts out your memory of these things before, and no one questions a single thing. these are to keep people from falling in love. everyone has a job and they should not be hindered by useless emotions, so they get assigned a spouse. then they get assigned their own children, who they raise to be just like them. just like everyone else. once everyone has had their injections, they all take their bicycles to their destinations. hoseok and his sister go to school, their parents go to work. just like normal. yoongi woke up that morning, stretching his arms out and yawned, sitting up with a smile on his face. he felt determined, he felt like it was finally time to bring his knowledge to hoseok. to tell him about what he feels. to tell him about the other side. he gets up out of his bed and quickly gets dressed, heading down to the kitchen where the rest of his family is. he does a curt bow to his father and mother, sitting at the table with them ad they eat breakfast. yoongi managed to slip his apple into his school bag like normal, he never knew his family didnt notice what he was doing with it. once they finished they all lined up at the door, yoongi last in line like usual. he took the apple out of his bag and placed it over the censor, the medicine going into it instead of his own arm. he threw back into his bag to trash later. he walked outside and looked around, seeing the bright blue sky and green trees, he felt happy then. it tough for him to hide his emotions sometimes, but he had to in order avoid being caught. he hopped on his bike and went to school, seeing hoseok ahead of him by a few feet. they arrived to school and the day went on as usual, yoongi had something planned for after though. after school ended, the kids got an hour allotted to them for "free time" in the park. this when yoongi would execute the plan. there was a large hole in the fence behind the park where there were no cameras, it lead to a small area outside the park that no one else had discovered. yoongi would ask hoseok to go there with him to show him the book, to explain everything that's happening. he knew it was finally time.
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school had just come to an end, and hoseok and yoongi separatly made their way out of school and to the park nearby. everyone was there with their friends, getting the least bit of joy out of this life as they'll ever manage. hoseok however, was alone. he liked to sit on the bench and watch people, he prefered to be alone mostly. yoongi was also alone, but he wasn't to be seen. he was behind the fence, pacing back and forth deciding how to approach the other male. this was were he would quite literally risk it all. this could either go extremely well, or he would be turned in. this was a risk yoongi was willing to take. after about 10 minutes straight of deep contemplation, yoongi knew he had to act quickly. he climbed back through the fence and made his way to hoseok, sitting next to him on the bench. "hey, hoseok, been a while since we talked hasnt it?" he said with a plain smile. hoseok looked up at him and nodded, wondering why the older suddenly decided to approach him. "ah, yes it has. did you need something?" he spoke in a low tone. "well, not quite sure how to phrase this but yes. i need to show you something. its a by the large bush in the far corner of the park, would you come with?" he asked, trying to sound least suspicious as he could. hoseok's face contorted to confusion, look that way and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "uh, sure? this wont get us in trouble right?" "no! of course not. its just something.. important i suppose." yoongi added quickly. hoseok scanned his face for a moment. he knew him from somewhere, his face was more familiar than normal. of course they had known each prior, but he could have sworn they had just been together recently. he shook the feeling of deja vu off and nodded at him, standing up. "sure, lets go." they walked to the corner of the park and yoongi looked around for anyone watching them, then turning to hoseok. he crept behind the bush and motioned for the younger to follow him with pleading eyes. the hole behind the fence was now obvious to hoseok and his eyes widened in fear. this would definitely get them in trouble. "yoongi.. what is this? this is illegal are you insane!?" hoseok fumed, looking the male like he had three heads. yoongi quickly grabbed his wrist and feeling of nostalgia shot through hoseoks body. fear. running. got hurt. saved me. his body jolted and he took his wrist back, looking at yoongi with curiosity. "hoseok, please come with me. i need you to know... i need you to trust me." he begged, his eyes wet with tears refusing to fall. hoseok looked behind him and then back to yoongi, sighing as he followed him closer. "okay." "thank you hoseok, thank you so much."yoongi led him behind the fence, once through hosoek's eyes immediately went to the large book laying there. he knew what they were, but he had never seen one in person. he knew this was extremely illegal. "hoseok, please just listen to me. i know im going to sound insane but i promise you this will all make sense." yoongi said, grabbing the book and coming closer to hoseok. "this book... this book has everything we never knew. it has all the information we'll ever need. there's a place outside here, a place much better than this. some where that we can be free hoseok. we can be ourselves, we can do what we want. we can have whatever job we want, we can dress how we want, we can live hoseok. we can live." he said, passion flowing out of him. he just wanted hoseok to believe, he wanted him to understand. he needed him to. hoseok stood there, shock written across his face as he reaches out to yoongi, placing his hand on the book. he felt electricity run through his finger tips sending a shiver down his spine and pulled away quickly. "hoseok, i stopped getting my injections. you can too. you can feel so much more, you can see everything. theres color. its not just dull and different shades of white and grey, its vibrant and beautiful. you can hear the birds singing, its just so beautiful hoseok. everything is so much better, can you imagine what its like to be on the other side? you can love people hoseok! thats just so.. just so much more beautiful than this.. this dull disgusting world." he said, tears begging to roll down his cheek. hoseok was confused, he had never seen any one cry. he didnt know it was possible. he stayed quiet for a moment, millions of thoughts running his head as he looked to the book and then back to yoongi's face. "you think im crazy... i understand. i didn't expect you to believe me honestly" he sighed, dropping the book to the ground. just before it hit the ground, hoseok caught it and held it up to examine it. "no... i, i believe you." he whispered, glancing up to yoongi with a sincere look. "i think i kind of understand..." he finished, his voice trailing off as he opened the book slightly. yoongj looked up at him with big eyes, the answer coming as the least expected one. "you, you believe me?" he choked out. hoseok nodded silently before looking back up at him. "yeah, i do. i- uh, i dont know how to explain it. when im asleep, i see these things in my head. like scenes from a movie, but it doesnt look normal. its not how i see with eyes... its brighter. its different, it doesnt look like here." he explained, stuttering over his words. "you dream hoseok. thats.. thats called dreaming. you see colors, dont you? its bright and vibrant and happy, its better." he smiled shyly, warmth rushing through his chest as he realized he wasnt the only one. "take the book, take it home and read it tonight. it explains everything you need to know. meet me back here tomorrow after school and we'll talk. i have a plan." yoongi said quickly, hearing the warning bell for their hour of free time. they had 5 minutes to be leaving the park to go home. hoseok nodded and put the book in his school bag, following yoongi out the hole and back into the park unnoticed. they went separate ways and back to their own homes, the book not leaving either of their minds.
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it was 10 pm that night and hoseok was supposed to be asleep already, but he knew he had to read that book. he had ben thinking about it all day, it almost distracted him from everything else. when he finally sat in bed, making sure the rest of his family was asleep, he took out the book from his school bag. just holding the book made him feel dangerous, made him feel like someone was going to bust into the door at any minute to take him away. hoseok took a deep breath as he opened the book and scanned over the first page. he read the title over and over again trying to get this through his head, get the fact that what he was doing was extremely illegal through is head. he sounded insane, in all honesty. he took a book from someone he barely knew because they asked him too. who even does that? hoseok turned to the first page, chills running down his spine as he read the words slowly and carefully. "the world you live in is fake." was the very first line, and despite how shocking it was hoseok didnt even think twice before continuing to read. it was almost like he already knew, deep down he knew the truth. he continued reading the introduction, it was mostly just about who wrote the book. he then turned the page and found a section titled "beginning""this all started when dictator yong hyun shin came into power in 1934, he began to slowly make everyone sick with a common cold before prescribing a type of drug that completely wipes their memory, along with one that has all the same effects as what the injections have today. they lose the ability to see color, to hear music, to experience emotions. they lost all their human rights, but no one knew any different. soon, no one could get married, they were assigned a spouse. they were assigned a job, they were assigned houses and vehicles, they were even assigned children. women who were deemed "imperfect" would be assigned the job of "birthing," aka their sole purpose was to have babies and nothing more, they didnt have their own kids or husband or even home. no one and nothing was free, and everyone was just okay with it."hoseok felt chills throughout his body as he read further into the book, his heart racing with every turn of a page. all of this knowledge was overwhelming him, he felt like everything around him he once knew was caving in on him. he felt disgusted that everyone was just okay with the way things were run. he was disgusted in himself for it.hoseok almost didnt want to keep reading but he was glued to the book, he read until the very end of the book when he found the last section called "how to be free." he adjusted his postion and toop a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. he started reading it and almost choked when he realized how easy it was, hoe easyit would for him to be free."step one: skip your injections. it may not sound easy, but it really is. i began putting an apple in the place where your wrist goes, but really any thing of a similar texture would work. you will being experiencing emotions again, very quickly. its hard but once you work through it, its so very rewarding." hoseok didnt even realize he was holding his breath as he finished reading the conclusion, gasping to catch his breath when he closed the book. he knew what he had to do, and he knew that he needed yoongi's help. he knew he had to be free.
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hoseok woke up the next morning with a dark heavy feeling in his chest. he had another dream, another nightmare. it seemed to be a continuation of the one he had a previous night. he quickly grabbed his notebook and a pencil and wrote down his memories of it quickly. running, running faster, legs hurt. everything hurts. him. he's holding my hand. bright light, everything is white, everything is quiet. everything went black. the sounds of cars speeding by then suddenly, "hey, are you two okay?"hoseok sat his book back down and stared straight ahead, the dream sent shockwaves through him as he thought about what it all meant. he put it back and then saw the book yoongi gave him the day before, he shivered as he picked it up and placed it back in his school bag before getting dressed for the day. he went downstairs and his family had just sat down as he arrived at the table. he ate his breakfast and when no one was looking he slipped an apple into his bag. he was terrified of being caught, but he knew he could do it if yoongi could. once the bell sounded through the city to leave for their jobs or school, they all lined up at the door for injections. hoseok was last which was normal, but now it felt so dangerous. once the others had left the house he quickly grabbed the apple from his bag and placed it over the censor, his eyes squeezing shut as he heard the needle pierce the skin of the apple and retract back into the machine. it worked, and hoseok could not be more relieved. he scrambled to throw away the apple and ran out the door to get on his bike and head to school. school went by as usual, hoseok and yoongi exchanging knowing glances occasionally which gave yoongi some hope, and hoseok a small amount of comfort. it was now after school and the boys headed separately to their meeting place out of view. hoseok got there first and had the book out, waiting for yoongi to return to him. "hoseok-ah, im surprised you're here. i'm happy you are though. did you read the book?" he said as he sat down on the ground, patting next to him for hoseok to do the same. "i did.. i read the whole book. and i, i did what you told me. i skipped the injection this morning. i dont feel any different though." he said as he sat down. he gave the book back to yoongi and he glanced around before turning his gaze back to yoongi. he didnt know if he was imagining it, but he swore he saw a flash of color run across the older boys face, a tinge of pink in his cheeks and soft red lips. hoseok felt like someone took his breath away. yoongi smiled and took the book into his lap. "that's good hoseok ah, im proud. and you wont start seeing changes until tomorrow probably, that when i felt mine." hoseok turned his body to face yoongi. there was a new feeling of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, and he hated it. "yoongi, i had another dream last night. it had y-you in it." he stuttered out and waitied for yoongi response. there was silence in the air, the tension was heavy and yoongi didnt know how to process the information. of course yoongi had dreams, but he never had dreams aboput other people. he had been skipping his injections and having dreams for almost a year now, but he has never dreamed about anyone in this world. hoseok was special, and yoongi didnt know what kind of powers hoseok could posess. "what was it about?""we were running together, and i was hurt. i dont know what happened but you had saved me, and then there was this bright light and someone else, i dodnt know who, but they asked if we were okay. thats when i woke up." he said recalling the memories he wrote in his journal. yoongi bit his lip as he looked away from hoseok, his nerves taking over as he thought about what it could mean. obviously the dream was a sign, but a sign of what."ive never dreamed of people.. i didnt know you could. thats, thats amazing hoseok." he said, trying his best to contain the nervousness in his voice. hoseok just sat in silence, the awkwardness surrounding them cut short by the 15 minute warning bell. "yoongi, how did you find out about this? like how did you realize that we could be free?""ah, i knew that question was coming. ive known since about a year ago. i found out kind of in the same way you did, but it was more dangerous i suppose. a boy about the same age as me came up to me and asked me if i wanted to see a secret place, so my naive self said yes. i followed him to this spot and he told me everything, then he gave me this book. we met here every single day, we would plan how to get out of here, how we were gonna live on the othe side together. we had everything ready." yoongi explained with a saddening tone towards the end. the last warning bell rang signaling they had 5 minutes to be leaving. they both got up and started to leave when yoongi decided to sit back down."what are you doing? we have to go" hoseok said pulling on yoongis hand."im gonna stay back a little bit, i do this alot. i'll be okay." he assured, letting go of hoseoks hand.hoseok squinted at him and sighed, not wanting to be late to his own home. he had to let him go. "i guess so, see you tomorrow?""see you tomorrow."yoongi sat in silence as he felt the tears puddle in his eyes, threatening to fall down his cheeks. "kyungmin..." yoongi whispered, pulling a small hand drawn picture out of his bag. it was a small flower and a sunshine,very child like in a sense. next you the flower a small "love you" was written under a tear stained, where "i" used to be. yoongi held the small note to his heart as he let out a quiet sob. "i miss you kyungie" he choked out. kyungmin was the boy he had told hoseok about, the one who taught him everything he knows, the one who showed him what it felt like to love and be loved. around 4 months ago, kyungmin was caught. they saw him sneaking out of his home in the middle of the night, and yoongi still didnt know why. when he was caught, they were originally jus going to imprison him, but he acted out. he would rather die there than be held in a cell without yoongi. so thats what happened.it made yoongi feel sick to think about what they did to kyungmin, he wished he could have helped. he wished he could have been with him, he wished he was still with him. dead or alive. yoongi silently laid down on the ground, getting out the small blanket he kept in his bag as he closed his eyes.he just wanted to be free.
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yoongi woke up the next morning with a headache and a sore neck. as he sat up he let out a small yawn and stretched his arms as he took out the small pocket watch he kept in his bag and saw it was still quite early. he had almost an hour before he had to be home for breakfast. he got his things gathered up and went to a different exit than he took to get in. it led around the backs of buildings until he got to his home. he went in through the back door after typing in a code to unlock it without the alarm. he quickly and quietly ran to his room and laid down in his bed for a bit before he had to get dressed. hoseok, back at his home, hadn't got much sleep at all. he couldn't stop thinking about the other side, yoongi, being free. he just couldn't get his mind to rest, and by the time he did and actually fell asleep he could only sleep for an hour or a little longer. he woke up with his alarm feeling exhausted and barely any memory of his dream. the only thing he could actually remember was yoongi's face, it was stuck in his brain like a stain that wouldn't come clean. not that he minded now, but it could distracting. hoseok wondered how yoongi got away with not coming home, he worried about him getting caught but he knew it was useless. he knew yoongi could do it if he's stayed safe this long. hoseok got out of bed and moved slowly to his closet an got dressed then sat back on his bed for another 15 minutes before he had to go down for breakfast. morning went by as normal, and he skipped his injection with ease as he did yesterday. yoongi felt sore and exhausted, but he powered through his morning as normal. once he was out the door and the filtered sunlight hit his face he felt a small smile smile creep up on his lips, the warmth encasing him as he felt relief wash over him. "im going to be okay" he thought to himself, making his way to school. he hoped to run into hoseok on the way, wanting to see him as soon as he could. however, much to his disappointment, they didn't see each other at all. after school they met like normal. sitting in the ground next to each other, talking about their days. hoseok decided to ask him something that had been bothering all night. "so, who is kyungmin? the one you mentioned last night..." he trailed off seeing yoongi's face turn pale and his hands clench in his lap. yoongi sighed and let his hands loosen up a bit and looked up to the domed sky. "kyungmin... kyungmin was special. he was my first love, he was my first taste of freedom. he was my first everything... he's the reason i know about all this stuff. about being free, about getting to the other side, about living." he explained, his voice beginning to shake and his bottom lip quivered. he quickly wiped his eyes and laughed, feeling stupid for getting so emotional in front of hoseok. "its just, he meant a lot to me." he explained as he looked over to hoseok with blurry vision. love. first love. those words echoed through hoseok's head and he felt a sharp pain strike in his chest. "what happened to him?" he whispered and met yoongi's wet eyes gently. "he was caught, they took him away. i cant say out loud what they did to him. it was so so terrible hoseok... he didn't deserve it" yoongi choked out, his emotions getting the best of him as the tears spilled from his eyes. he drew himself in, his knees coming up to his chin and he sobbed into his own embrace. that moment felt so alone, he felt so raw and vulnerable. he wanted nothing more than to disappear, to vanish from all the pain this world had caused him. hoseok didn't know what to do, he felt a wave of stress consume him as he watched the other male breakdown, his figure periodically shaking as he let out sobs to himself. hoseok looked away for a moment before reaching a hand out to the older and placing it on his back, slow stroking motions going up and down to try to comfort him in some way. hoseok had never seen anything like that before, he had no idea how or what to do to help but he felt drawn to him. like a magnet was pulling him closer to provide a secure feeling to yoongi. yoongi raised his head and looked up to hoseok, apologies spilling out of his mouth with a few hiccups as he leaned towards him, his body giving in and falling into hoseok's lap. hoseok reached forward and helped yoongi sit up. "yoongi, hey, yoongi its okay" he said, placing his hand gently on the others cheek. "i promise its okay. im sorry you had to go through that, im here for you" he said, a new feeling of warmth fluttering through his chest as his gaze locked with yoongi's. yoongi's lip quivered as he tried to hold in his tears once more. hoseok pulled yoongi into his chest, his arms wrapping around him as he pet his hair softly."its okay, let it out" he whispered and yoongi did exactly that. sobs racked his body as he let out all his emotions, hoseok held him close and pet his hair, whispering "its okay, you're okay" hoping to provide comfort to him. they stayed like that for a while, yoongi has finally calmed down by the time the 15 minute warning bell rang. the older sat up and looked at hoseok with his red and puffy eyes. he let out a laugh as he looked at the wet spots on hoseok's shirt. "im sorry about that, but thank you hoseok. really, it means so much." he said quietly, his hands fidgety in his own lap. hoseok reached slowly and grabbed yoongis hand, a bolt of electricity shooting through his veins. he smiled at the boy sat in his lap and nodded. "it's okay yoongi, its the least i could do. you gave me all this wonderful knowledge, i could never ever thank you enough." "thank you for believing me and trusting me. it means the world to me." yoongi looked up to hoseok and their eyes met. suddenly a feeling of warmth and tingles, like something was fluttering through him burst out in hoseok's chest. he felt shivers run up his spine as he looked around, and he finally saw it. color, everywhere. hoseok looked back to yoongi with a brightest smile on his face. he saw the redness in yoongi's eyes, the pink tint on his cheeks, the dark black in his hair, his dark pink lips, the yellow vest he was wearing. he saw the green grass and leafs on the trees, the bright blue sky, the pretty pink flowers that reminded him of yoongi. he saw everything, and he couldn't feel happier. "yoongi, yoongi i see it! its like my dreams, but so much better. i can see the colors, its so beautiful" he said with joy flowing in his voice, his gaze directing itself to yoongi with the last word of the sentence. yoongi smiled widely at hoseok and let out a soft laugh, his gums showing as he looked around with him. "it is beautiful, isnt it?" "it really is."
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"its so beautiful"beautiful. beautiful. that word kept ringing through yoongi's head, hoseok's face appearing every time the word appeared. it was a good way to describe hoseok, beautiful. hoseok thought the same about yoongi. a few days had passed since hoseok first started seeing colors. every time they met it was the same type of thing. they talked about their days, hoseok explained his dreams, yoongi touched on the fact he had the escape planned and nearly perfect. "its almost fool proof, but theres some slight adjustments that need to be made." yoongi said, his hand loosely held by hoseok's. "like what? will it take long?" "well, you're a different height than kyungmin. and a different weight. we had everything planned perfectly, had it planned to our own builds so there wouldn't be any problems. you're smaller than him, so there shouldn't be an issue but i still need to rework it and visit the exit again just to be completely sure." he explained "ah... this is really precise isnt it?" "extremely so. would you want to visit the exit with me? to get a feel for it?" "uh, sure. i guess i'll have to go there sooner or later anyway." hoseok said, a slight nervousness to his voice. he just started to think about this whole situation and it was crazy to really think about. he was scared in all honesty, he really was just going to escape this. he was going to be alone in a strange world. well, he had yoongi, but they were going to be alone together. it was terrifying to say the least, but he trusted yoongi. he was the only one he could trust. "we can go tomorrow if you'd like. the sooner the better." he said with a smile, laying his head on hoseok's shoulder. the two had gotten a lot closer the past week or so they have know each other, and hoseok learned yoongi was a very clingy person. it made hoseok's heart leap every time the older boy held his hand and hugged onto him. "sure, i'd like that.""you know, it wont be long until we can actually leave. a week at most maybe? that is if you're ready of course." hoseok was a little shocked it was so soon, he was sure i'd take another month at least, but i guess yoongi wasn't lying when he said he has been prepared for this. "i've been ready since i found out yoongi, i'm ready as soon as we can leave." hoseok said, gently rubbing his thumb over the smaller hand he was holding. yoongi felt the fluttering in his stomach that was all too familiar to him. it felt like when he was with kyungmin, and that made his heart ache. he knew he should get over him by now, but there was something holding him back. it was like this place tied his feelings to kyungmin no matter what, he needed to escape. the next day, the two met up at the same place and this time yoongi looked visibly excited. hoseok smiled when he approached him, his heart warming at the big smile on yoongis face. "what's got you all excited?" he said with a chuckle. "we're going to the place today! where we'll escape! i couldn't sleep last night so i reworked the plan and it will work better with your stats anyway! lets gooo" he smiled, pulling on hoseok's hand. "alright alright! lets go." yoongi lead hoseok around the back of the fence that separates their world and the dome keeping them inside. they walked for around ten minutes when they were met with a large wall of just plant, with a small opening in the far corner. just big enough to crawl through. "what is this.." hoseok trailed off as he looked around, going up to the opening and peaking through. as hoseok looked through the opening, he was met with the unfamiliar smell of rain and forest. he saw strange creatures flying above, the feeling of terror rushing through him. he jolted back and looked at yoongi with big, scared eyes. yoongi reached out and put a loose grip on his shoulder and giving a knowing look."its scary at first, I know.." he trailed off, knowing there was only more things to come. he felt terrible for not telling hoseok everything that was really out there, but he knew that he had to hoseok with him if it was the last thing he'd do. "don't worry hoseok, they wont hurt you. the animals only want to help us, its the humans you have to watch out for." he said with a warm smile. he was telling the truth, but he just left out how scary the hunters actually were. there were only a few of them that were actually in the forest, and honestly they never bothered looking for anyone. they knew it was pointless because it had been years since someone escaped, but if they were alerted, they had absolutely no mercy. they would kill you on the spot if you fought them, if you obeyed they took back to be detained. either way, you were gonna die.yoongi took hoseok's hand and started to lead him back to their normal meeting spot when he heard a rustling in the bushes and a booming voice "I fucking knew it, someones trying to escape again."
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"i fucking knew it, someones trying to escape again."The voice sent an electric shock through yoongi's body and he froze in his spot, his hand immediately going to grab hoseoks wrist with a tight grip. Hoseok looked a him with confusion before he soon realized what was happening. Yoongi turned around and pulled him with him into the bushes to hide. "What's going on, what do we do?" hoseok asked, panic surging through his body and flowing out with his words. Yoongi looked at him with a finger over his mouth as he heard booming footsteps march past them, stop, and turn around to leave."I think it's clear right now, maybe they haven't left yet. Well begin guarding tonight once it would be easier for them leave. Well alert the hunters then as well." The man said, giving yoongi the tiniest bit of relief. Yoongi waited until the men left and they were safe to speak."Hoseok, we have to leave now. We can't wait another day or well be caught. I have bags prepared hidden just inside the forest. I'm sorry this so sudden but I think this might be for the best." Yoongi says as he holds onto Hoseoks hand.Hoseok felt the pit in his stomach grow larger and larger as Yoongi spoke to him, his anxiety and panic setting in as he quickly realized what was happening and what they had to do. He looked to yoongi and took a deep breath, nodding to him."I'm ready. Lets go."Yoongi looked at him surprised, wondering where his sudden courage came from. He offered him a small comforting smile, hoping to ease Hoseoks nerves in anyway. Yoongis grip on Hoseoks hand tightened, beginning to lead him out of their hiding spot slowly and carefully. He looked around to see no signs of the police that were just scouting the area beforehand.Hoseok followed the other, putting every ounce of trust into him. He quite literally trusted Yoongi with his life. Yoongi led him to the opening in the greenery towards the forest slowly and motioned him to crawl through first, soon following him to the forest as well.Hoseok looked around the unfamiliar area, his eyes sparkling in the warm golden sunlight. Hoseok felt a sudden calm, serene feeling. Like he was at home.His thoughts were disturbed as he heard yoongi call his name, a large backpack being held out to him. He took the bag and looked to the older expectantly."It has supplies in it, were gonna need them. it has food, water, clothes, weapons, and first aid." He explained, putting the bag on his back. Hoseok nodded to him, realizing that they were actually doing this. Yoongi began to explain what they were gonna do, and he needed to set some rules as well."Where going to start by following the path of vines, they lead to a much more open and spacious part of the forest. once we get there I'll explain more in depth what to do afterwards, we'll probably end up spending the night there." He explained carefully. "Just follow, don't wander off anywhere. Don't touch anything that's out of the way, don't do anything without me. Understand?" He spoke with a low tone, sending chills down hoseok's spine. He nodded at him with agreement."Well, lets get a move on. The quicker we leave the less likely we are to be found." He mentioned, taking a hold of hoseok's hand once again and beginning their long journey into the forest ahead.
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As they made their way through the dense forest, Hoseok started to feel like he was being drawn in, like the trees made a path just for him and he was being sucked in by an unseen force ahead. He just shook off the feeling, blaming it on the fact that he was out of his mind for doing something so illegal. It seemed like hours had passed before the finally made it to a part that seemed so different and far from what they had seen before. Hoseok looked around the woodland scenery to see the trees and flowers almost glowing as he walked past them. His eyes gleamed with wonder as he noticed the flowers blossoming at his feet as he took small steps toward Yoongi. Yoongi had yet to notice the phenomenon when he turned around to check on Hoseok, his eyes widening with curiosity and the smallest bit of fear."H-hoseok... did you know you could do that?" Yoongi said, almost breathless with amazement. Hoseok shook his head as he bent down to touch one of the bright purple flowers freshly bloomed at his ankles. The flower seemed to stretch towards Hoseok's touch as a trail of glimmer followed his hand as he stood back up. Yoongi watched with his mouth open, almost frozen in shock. "Hoseok, that's amazing." Yoongi called out, stepping towards the younger with joy. Hoseok smiled at him, his new powers making happiness surge through his body. Hoseok's skin had a glint to it, like the sun was shining from within him. He reached out to hold Yoongi's hand, a new warmth spreading in his chest and Yoongi's skin glowed as well. "I never knew about this, what does this mean?" He questioned, hoping the older would magically know the answer. "Well," Yoongi began, "it means that you're basically, for lack of better word, a plant god. I read about this in another one of my books. It means you can use the plants to your advantage, like you can speak to them and they will protect you." He explained as Hoseok's face contorted from confusion to overwhelming joy. "That's amazing... I can really do all that?" Hoseok asked as he looked at his hands."Yes, you can. This is incredible Hoseok, escaping will be so much easier now." They began on their way again, the trees parting for them to pass and closing in behind them. Hoseok could tell this was already going to be a long, long journey. Every once and a while they would stop and Hoseok would use his new found powers to make a flower glow before he handed to Yoongi, making the shorter boys cheeks turn a rosy pink hue. Yoongi told him to stop, because it was distracting, but really he just wanted to stop getting flustered every 15 minutes because a cute forest fairy was giving him flowers saying "Pretty, just like you.""Ya know, every time i had dreams before they were always in a place just like this. Do you know why?" He said, curiosity flowing out. Yoongi shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe because you're attached to this place? The plants weredrawing you into them." He guessed, it was a seemingly logical answer. Hoseok asked a couple more questions, mainly just about how long until night time and how long until their journey is over. "A few more hours until we can stop to rest, and the journey is around 3 days total." Yoongi explained, his hand still in Hoseok's as they walked off on their way, a trail of glowing emerald green plants being left behind them. A very obvious, and easily trackable trail.
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The sun was beginning to set and Hoseok had started to get worried. He remembered hearing the policemen earlier say they were going to alert the hunters once night fall came, he hoped Yoongi was aware of this and knew what to do."Are we stopping soon? Its dark and I can barely see." Hoseok said, his voice dripping with worry. As soon as the words left his mouth, a glowing path was created in front of the two and Hoseok's mouth dropped open. Yoongi stopped for a moment and looked to Hoseok with amazement."I was going to say yes but we could probably go a little longer, the more we go the less time this trips gonna take." Yoongi said, reaching out for Hoseoks hand."Just a little while longer then we'll stop to rest for the night." he finished as he sent a small smile to him. Hoseoks heart burst in his chest as he smiled back to Yoongi, intertwining their fingers as they followed the path forward. They walked for about another hour when the stopped in a smallish secluded area. Yoongi took off his backpack and motioned for Hoseok to do the same before he started taking a blanket and a small pillow out of the bag. Hoseok followed in suit, taking the same things out of his bag and spreading them out on the ground. It wasn't exactly what he'd call comfortable but it was something. "Fuck! I forgot the fucking tent" Yoongi said, kicking the bag on the ground and paying no mind to the fact it flew towards Hoseok. Just as the younger was about to dodge the bag, a tree branch flew out in front of him and smacked the bag out of the way, it coming back and hitting Yoongi's torso."Oh my god that was so cool." Hoseok said with a smile."Yeah, pretty fucking rad." Yoongi said, his face scrunched in pain from the hit. Apparently trees are really strong.Hoseok ran up to him mumbling apologies as he looked back and glared at the tree branch still out of place. "Don't hurt him, he's good." He said, feeling insane for talking to a random tree in the middle of the forest. He watched as the tree branch shrunk back into the greenery. Yoongi stood up straight fully and sighed sitting down on the blanket and pulling Hoseok with him. "I cant believe I didn't have a tent packed already, I'm sorry Hoseok." He said as he laid down. Hoseok was about to speak when a sudden darkness was casted over them. They looked up to see a wall of vines and branches structure themselves around the two boys, creating a tent for them.A soft breeze blew by them, and Hoseok could hear a soft whisper within it.We're here to protect you, let us.Chills ran down his spine before he turned to Yoongi."Did you hear that? In the wind" He asked and Yoongi shook his head and looked at him curiously. "The wind, it said they're here to protect us. Do the plants, talk? Can I talk to them?" He questioned when another breeze came.Yes, you can. We are your friends, we will help you on your journey.Hoseok told Yoongi what they said and they smiled at each other with relief. Hoseok laid down next to Yoongi with a relaxed sigh. All his nerves were gone and he was happy, he felt at peace. He laid silent for a little longer before he turned to Yoongi to speak. "Yoongi?" He said before he looked at his face, soon realizing he was asleep. He let out a soft laugh and scooted himself closer to the smaller boy next to him. He laid for a moment, watching the sleeping body next to him with a content smile. He looked so peaceful, his features so calm and relaxed.Hoseok reached out and brushed the hair out of Yoongi's face when he felt their bodies being pressed together. There were gentle vines wrapped around Yoongi's torso as the dragged him closer, the one around Hoseok's arm being placed around Yoongi's waist. He looked up around him glaring, but secretly thanking the plants for doing it.He relaxed into Yoongi and closed his eyes, a content sigh escaping his lips as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
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Sometime during the night, Yoongi had ended up on top of Hoseok with his head laying gently on his chest as he was deep asleep. Hoseok however was having a hard time sleeping with the smaller boy being so close to him, it felt different than just being cuddled up next to him. Something about the way Yoongi fit perfectly on him, the way his breathing was so calm and relaxed, the way his eyes with crinkle every once and a while when his hair brushed over them. It all felt too intimate for just some friends, but then again just friends don't do most of the things they do. Just friends don't show each other how to love, after all. By the time Hoseok had actually fallen asleep, Yoongi was waking up. It was still a bit early when he woke up, so he decided to go ahead and make them the breakfast he had prepared. He climbed up off of the younger, not trying to hide the embarrassment written on his face from waking up on top of the boy. Yoongi is a very touchy person, when he is around the people he trusts anyway. He loved simple signs of affection because he wasn't always the best with words. Things like holding hands or small pats on the back always made him feel better. The older tried his best not to disturb Hoseok as he rummaged through his backpack to get the small pot and container of porridge out. He gathered a few dead sticks and leaves with some help of the living plants so he could start a fire. Once the fire was going he put the food into the pot and held it over the fire to heat it up for them, hearing the boy stir behind him. A quiet groan sounded behind him before he turned to see Hoseok sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Morning sunshine, how'd you sleep?" Yoongi asked casually, a smile on his face as he stirred their breakfast. Hoseok yawned and smiled at him pushing the blanket off and moving to sit next to Yoongi. "I didn't sleep much if I'm being honest, but I strangely feel very energized. I think I'm just excited to get going again." He said and turned around looking at their green tent, taking the blanket and motioning for the plants to go back to their natural place. Almost instantaneously, the plants moved back from the camping spot and into their home place, looking as if nothing was ever there. Yoongi watched in amazement, his heart fluttering in his chest as he turned back to see Hoseok with a big smile on his face. They caught each others eyes for a brief moment and they both felt the breath being taken from their lungs, they stayed still as they stared at each other before Yoongi snapped away, eyes turning back to the porridge over the fire. "It's ready, could you grab me that bowl?" Yoongi dished out the food into two bowls and gave one to Hoseok. He placed a cover over the fire to put it out and sat back down next to Hoseok when a branch came down over their bowls and dropped two fresh strawberries in each. Hoseok laughed softly and said a thank you for the action with a small bow. Yoongi also bowed, still amazed at the power Hoseok holds.They ate in a comfortable silence, stealing soft glances at one another and sharing gentle smiles. Once they finished their breakfast Yoongi cleaned up a bit and packed everything into their bags. He stood up and reached a hand out to pull Hoseok up with him. "Ready to get going? We could probably finish today if we go now and work quickly." Yoongi explained as he held onto Hoseoks hand a little longer. Hoseok smiled at him and nodded, feeling confident in todays journey. He had practically no fears now that he's discovered his power, feeling safe and protected with their strength and Yoongi's knowledge. "Yes, I am. I'm excited to see what the other side has for us, you know?" He replied as he walked closer to Yoongi, hands still latched together and they began walking further into the forest, backpacks on and heart set on the destination.