Feathers and Carnations

Chapter Nineteen

* Tw: violence

"I told you, I'm fine," Jeongin grumbled.

"No you're not, you're literally dying!" Hyunjin exclaimed, shaking his head as he tended to Jeongin's shoulder.

"Don't be so dramatic, you were the one filled with bullet holes last time."

"Well I'm built a bit stronger than you are."

Jeongin jabbed his partner in the side, making him flinch back. "Built stronger my ass."

Hyunjin cracked a smile. "Stop, I need to focus on nursing you back to health."

Jisung watched the two interact with a small smile. They were currently on the management floor of an abandoned warehouse which the two men in front of him had converted into a home for themselves. They were machines from Chimera, once a part of the same program as Minho. They proved that to Jisung by showing the red marks carved into their lower backs. They didn't really need to prove it, considering the monstrous strength they both demonstrated in the escape, but he appreciated the sentiment.

Watching the scene in front of him, Jisung was reminded of the way Minho took care of him after he was stabbed, and all the times he took care of him after he fainted. It made his heart ache. It took so long to build trust with Minho, and it took even longer for his feelings to grow. Just as he was beginning to explore those feelings in depth, Chimera broke them apart. He hated them for it.

Jisung's eyes dropped to his bandaged hands and he flinched when Hyeon's villainous face flashed in his mind. He didn't know true fear until he laid eyes on that man. His body wanted to shut down just thinking of him.

"So if you don't know Minho," Jisung found himself saying, "why did you help me?"

Jeongin glanced over at him, his eyes understanding. "We heard whispers of two machines loving each other, but that was all we heard until ML-32, or Minho, escaped. After we learned more about you two, we made it our goal to escape as well, and we only managed that thanks to Minho's efforts to slow Chimera down. Jaya contacted us a few days ago, asking us to help you escape. We agreed once we knew you were the other machine we'd heard about."

Jisung slowly nodded, taking the information in. He was liking Jaya the more he learned about her. She was the only reason their escape tonight was so easy. "Well thank you. Truly. I don't know if I would have been able to escape ever again. You probably saved my life."

Hyunjin smiled. "In a way, you helped us escape the first time since your love for Minho inspired us, so it was only right that we helped you. Chimera can burn in hell for all I care, so they can deal with one less machine, I think."

My love for Minho? We really loved each other. The thought was comforting, and it brought Jisung's most pressing question to the surface. "When can I go see Minho?"

Hyunjin hesitated, but Jeongin spoke up instead. "We don't know. Jaya lost contact with him the day you were taken, so we don't know if he was taken as well, if he was killed, or if he's just in hiding again. I'm sorry, but you'll be stuck with us for now."

Jisung's gut twisted, and he had to blink away the dizziness that threatened to take over. His mind flashed to Seungmin's limp body. Was he ever found? "What about Minho's associates? Do you have contact with any of them?"

"I'm sorry, we don't know anything, only what Jaya has told us," Jeongin apologized, his eyes genuinely remorseful.

Did I lose Minho along with Seungmin? He wouldn't just disappear. Where is he? Going to Nightfield was his only other way of finding Minho, but he didn't know how Hyunjin and Jeongin would feel about working with someone they knew nothing about.