Part two request by YYY_nuts

Soon after the paramedics' arrival, San was loaded onto a gurney with Wooyoung following behind. He didn't even have time to turn and see the mess left behind called Ten's body. Wooyoung's only focus was making sure he remained at San's side.

"You know, we'll try what we can," the medic warned. "But he's an android. We're not specialized with... them."

"Don't let him die. Please." Wooyoung cried and squeezed San's hand. The medic's eyes nervously shifted away.

"Woo," San whispered when Wooyoung softly nestled a cheek against his own.

"I'm here," the younger answered in a similar tone.

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

"And I'm sorry."

Wooyoung sadly but firmly smiled. "This isn't your fault. Save your breath, Sannie."

Once arriving at the hospital, San was admitted to a separate ward from the rest. It was strange to Wooyoung that they had it. Specifically for androids? It must be common to see them.

"Wooyoung?" a doctor called the worried man pacing around the waiting room for hours.

"How's San?" Wooyoung's worried, pleading eyes made the doctor pity him.

"He's stable... but not exactly better," the man informed.

Wooyoung's eyes widened. "Why? What happened?"

"We can't help San any more than giving him blood. The bullet must have injured something in the system. It's best if you have an engineer look at him."

"What?" Wooyoung backed up in disbelief. "What engineer? Who do I go to? How long does it—"

"San has, at best, about a week to live. It could be less. You need to get him help at... SM, or wherever he came from." The name was bitter in the young doctor's mouth. It was clear he didn't like the company.

Wooyoung had no words. Take him to the company? How? Will he even get help? He remembered the name Ten called San... 'Rebel.'

Why would they ever accept a rebel back?

"Let me see him, please," Wooyoung requested.

San lay still, eyes closed, with a delicate pattern of his chest rising and falling. Wooyoung's eyes moved to the only striking color in the otherwise white room: a dark blue blood bag hung beside the IV. He winced.

Wooyoung stepped toward his... boyfriend? Lover? He wasn't sure. San was special to him, though. In his heart, despite their breakup, they were still dating.

The man caught a small twitch in San's eyelids — the android detected motion. His eyes opened and immediately flicked to Wooyoung. They softened from their alert state.

"Hey."

"Hi." Wooyoung blushed and sat down. His hand reached over to San's and squeezed it tight.

"I'm happy you're... a-alive," Wooyoung tried to say calmly. Inside, his emotions were dying and crumbling apart.

"What's wrong? Don't cry— Urgh," San grunted while trying to move closer to the younger. Wooyoung reached forward and caressed his face.

"No. Stop moving, babe. It's just..."

"What?"

Wooyoung stroked the man's cheek. His cheekbones felt strong. He remembered years ago when they had similar moments like this. Wooyoung still used to be able to pinch them.

Now there was barely any excess skin to grab in between his fingers.

"You're crying. Why?" San's sharp eyes snapped left and right, analyzing Wooyoung's teary brown orbs.

"I'm sorry." Wooyoung pressed himself into San's shoulder.

The half-android held him with one hand and gently stroked his neck with the other. The movement felt strange to him. Hugging was never integrated into his system. More so, something in his chest ached.

But it all felt... nice.

Wooyoung felt it too. He chuckled inside over how awkward San's arms were placed. He wanted to laugh over how the man didn't know much about comforting someone. He wished to forget about the hourglass slowly trickling down sand, San's countdown in effect.

"Wooyoung?" a voice called. The pair looked to see the doctor standing there with a bittersweet face. He didn't like to see androids interacting that way with humans. But it was his task to tend to them.

"Right..." Wooyoung wiped his eyes. "San, we need to talk."

San could only sit and listen to the doctor. Wooyoung watched from the side, eyes swelling with the stupid tears again.

"I guess..." San turned to his love. "We should go find them, right?"

Wooyoung swallowed everything in him down while looking at the tall warehouse before them. Parts of the cheap, steel sliding doors were rusting.

"Are... you sure it's here?"

San turned at Wooyoung's quiet voice. "I'm going with you."

"You're injured."

"You're not going in alone."

"You need to stay—"

"Wooyoung."

"San."

The two stared at each other for a moment. But Wooyoung couldn't hold his ground for too long. He ultimately surrendered to the older man's gaze.

Wooyoung sighed. "Fine."

As they approached the door, Wooyoung jerked upon feeling San's arm around his waist. His face heated.

"I can't walk well," San protested with an evident smirk.

The two reached the door. San breathed in and held out his wrist under a small opening on the side. Wooyoung blinked. Since when was that there?

Moments later, the door automatically slid to the right and revealed a dark hallway before them.

"This... is like a horror movie," Wooyoung whispered. San gave a small chuckle.

"That's cute," he replied. "You're cute when you're startled or scared."

"Oh... S-Stop," Wooyoung stammered with a blush.

They, or rather San, began walking forward and into the building. Wooyoung had no choice but to cling onto San's hold. Everything felt strange.

"Name," a voice demanded. Wooyoung could've sworn he heard San quietly clear his throat.

"..."

"Name," the security said again. Wooyoung felt small under the android's expectant eyes at them.

"Choi San."

"Name not found," it replied. He turned to Wooyoung, and his eyes immediately drilled holes into Wooyoung's body. "Name."

No sounds left his mouth. Everything felt numb in him. This was the wrong thing to do. It was wrong to come back here.

"Name!" the thing ordered louder. San frowned and stepped forward.

"Take me to Taeyong."

"Only androids allowed. Leave at once."

"Fucking—" San grabbed the thing by his chest. "Take me to your maker. Now."

The white, two-person door slowly opened. "San!" a voice cheeringly called.

Wooyoung looked at the man approaching them with an eerie smile. It didn't look robotic. His skin didn't look so smooth or perfect, either. No... He was different for sure.

"Taeyong."

"It's been a long time. Say, three days? You've been on quite the adventure, huh?" His lips curved to an even bigger smile as he faced Wooyoung. "And you? You must be... Wooyoung, right?"

"H-How..."

"I see what happens in every robot's body, little boy. San happens to be one I've been watching for a while. I'm Taeyong. It's nice to meet a famous designer who—"

"We need to talk," Wooyoung stated. His confidence returned. The man breathed in and exhaled.

"San stays outside."

That was what led Wooyoung to sit before Taeyong in the large office, alone.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Wooyoung observed his serious stare. It didn't look like it was before. Not anymore. "I need an engineer."

"For... San?" Great. The mocking smile was back.

"He was shot in the chest, and we were told—"

"San doesn't belong to SM anymore," Taeyong suddenly proclaimed. "The moment he decided to remember you, he became a rebel — a rogue. He should've been killed by Ten." Taeyong looked bothered when mentioning San's deceased lover.

Wooyoung avoided his look. His heart grew heavy from confusion. So, no?

"Let me ask you something," Taeyong began. "How does it feel to lose a close one?"

"..."

"All so you could save your worthless boyfriend. You killed my precious Ten. I couldn't save him... No..."

Wooyoung watched his damaged facial expression. The man was broken. Ten must've been important to him.

"You're selfish. Don't you see it? Wouldn't it be right if you lost someone too?"

Wooyoung wanted to say no. He wanted to shout at the man that it wasn't the same. San meant a lot to him too.

But his mouth felt dry and couldn't open.

"At least you'll spend some time saying goodbye. I never could with Ten. Leave. Don't ever come back."

When Wooyoung returned to San at the door, empty-handed and weak, he threw himself into the taller's arms, sobbing his heart away.

San could sense their goodbyes already.

~

Wooyoung woke up the next morning in his exclusive suite. Fashion week was over, and most of his employees were already on their way home. But he chose to stay. Why? He wasn't sure.

They say Paris is the city of love. Well, Wooyoung understands what they mean. Unfortunately, his love came with sadness.

He looked up to the man holding him. San held a peaceful posture, probably still half sleeping. It was something he couldn't get used to. But his systems were damaged, so he had to get rest somehow.

Wooyoung ran a hand over San's bare chest, almost touching the wound. He couldn't believe he was going to lose him again. This time, forever. It bothered him to think of what seemed to be an inevitable fate.

Suddenly, San's eyes opened. Again, they melted into sweet crescents as his lips formed a smile.

"Good morning," he whispered. Wooyoung sadly crawled up and kissed him. He felt San tense up. The feeling was probably new to him. But that was fine. Wooyoung kept going.

Slowly, San caught the rhythm of what he was doing and pressed back. After a few seconds, Wooyoung had to back away and catch his breath.

"Can we stay here? And just spend today together?"

That's precisely what they did. Before they knew it, it was the evening. San heard of all the stories Wooyoung told him about from their dating period, and he equally shared what happened to him. Though he couldn't remember exactly, it looked like SM saved him.

"They brought me here. I was almost dead after they robbed me. But... SM didn't let me die."

"Oh." Wooyoung squeezed his palm. He wanted them to stay this way. To have every day be like today.

"You still remember us?"

San nodded, his hands trailing to Wooyoung's hips. "Yeah."

Wooyoung bit his lip and delicately climbed onto San's lap. His arms settled on both of San's shoulders. Their faces grew close but with different intent.

"So..." Wooyoung grazed San's lips with his own. They were so entrapped in their world. Everything centered around them. "Can I teach you something else?"

~

Wooyoung thought he would be able to sleep due to San's protective presence. But he couldn't. He found himself in that solitary mood again. He was helpless and almost alone.

Wooyoung slipped out of bed silently and tied a robe around his waist. He walked out to his large balcony overlooking the night streets of the city. It all felt surreal now. He was only supposed to be here for his job. Now? Now he was going to say goodbye to his lover one last time. Soon.

As he cried, Wooyoung's peripheral vision caught something bright. A flashing light. He squinted to see a person looking up at him from another balcony.

"Wooyoung?" the voice mouthed, sound very low. He slowly nodded.

The figure seemed to make gestures which Wooyoung then came to realize meant 'I'm going to meet you at your place to talk.'

All he could do was nod.

The person was a similar, perfect-faced android. That's how they introduced themselves. They confessed to being a rogue engineer of SM, and they wanted to help Wooyoung's case.

"R-Really?" Wooyoung tried not to shout. He didn't want to interrupt San's slumber. His heart was full of hope at the unexpected offer.

"You just need to find a heart. It's a specific heart made for androids. We don't have one to supply. But that's what will save him. We'll do the rest."

Automatically, something in Wooyoung clicked. He gasped and nodded. "I think I know where."

At almost midnight, Wooyoung left San in the care of the arriving engineer team and made his way to the place they met.

The air felt strange around the studio. It felt so long since Wooyoung was there. But that's not what he was here for.

Looks like the police — or rather, SM — didn't clean up some of the investigations. What looked like robotic parts were scattered around the area Ten was shot. Wooyoung cringed at a blue-shaded stain on the cold ground.

No time to waste, though. He searched around the area. 'Large and colorful. It's hard to miss,' they told him.

Then his phone's flashlight caught it. Hidden beside a trash can — almost a little coincidentally the place the cat died that night. But Wooyoung pushed it away for now. He had a bigger thing to look forward to. Quickly, he ran back to the hotel where San awaited.

Everything would be fine, right?

Not quite. As Wooyoung touched the door to enter his hotel room, he stopped.

Taeyong's words came into his mind. This was Ten's heart. What if he needed it to bring back his own android too? Was the man right about his selfishness? Should he return it to him? It would fix the broken man...

"I've felt loss," Wooyoung whispered. "I lost my Sannie already."

He inhaled then exhaled. "I'm not losing him again. Sorry, Taeyong."

With the essential piece now in his possession, Wooyoung entered his room to see the surgery ready for his arrival.

San opened his eyes and looked around. He squinted at the bright lights. His body felt stiff, so he couldn't make many movements.

"Sannie," a voice called. He turned his head to meet Wooyoung's soft lips curved into a small smile.

"Is everything better?"

"Yeah." Wooyoung nodded. "We can finally be together again."

Although his body felt sore, he pulled Wooyoung's hand towards him. The younger snuggled his head into San's shoulder, eventually climbing up to him so they could hug.

"Everything will get better now."