"Medics!" A firefighter shouted. "We need medics over here!"
Yoongi pursed his lips. "Taehyun, I have to go, okay? Just stay here; don't move."
An EMT from another station passed by, carrying a tall orange backboard.
"Yoongi, I'll have my partner watch him," he called. "Hurry. They want a 12-lead on the guy in the pickup truck."
Yoongi nodded in appreciation before rushing off. Taehyun stayed on the ground, crying uncontrollably until a pair of boots appeared in his blurry line of vision.
"I thought I prepared you for fieldwork better than this, Kang."
He looked up in disbelief.
Beomgyu smiled down at him, his arms crossed over his chest. "Station 43, huh? Have to admit, I was a bit disappointed when you didn't sign up to join-"
"Fuck you!" Taehyun threw himself at Beomgyu, half-hugging half-strangling the older boy.
"What?" Beomgyu gaped. "Why? You're still mad about the key?!"
"Shut up," Taehyun cried, weakly hitting Beomgyu's chest. "I hate you."
Beomgyu embraced his assailant, wrapping gentle arms around a trembling frame. "I missed you too, Taehyun. But really, this is a lot for a-"
"It's not about the stupid key." Taehyun buried his face in Beomgyu's shoulder. "I thought you died."
"...What?"
"The ambulance," Taehyun croaked. "I thought you—the boy inside—he had your necklace, Gyu. He was holding your necklace."
"Oh." Beomgyu glanced down. "Yeah, I, um, gave it to him while they were cutting open the rig. He was scared, and it seemed to bring him comfort."
Taehyun squeezed his eyes shut, clutching Beomgyu's shirt. "I still love you."
Beomgyu's eyes softened. "I still love you too."
"Please don't make this a goodbye again."
"I..." Beomgyu pursed his lips. "I won't."
He pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something onto Taehyun's arm. "Call me, okay?"
Taehyun stared at the ten digits printed on his skin. "Why have we never exchanged phone numbers before?"
"Because we were always together," Beomgyu laughed. His face quickly turned serious. "I'm not joking, though. Text me as soon as you get home."
"And what if I don't?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Don't make me go looking through the databases for you, Kang."
The younger boy smiled. "And if I do?"
"Then I'll find you, I'll come to your house, and I'll steal you from Soobin."
"That doesn't sound so bad. Yeonjun's practically taken over my room anyway."
"Taehyun." Jin jogged up to them, smiling. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Come on, let's go."
"Okay." Taehyun grinned at Beomgyu. "See you later, Gyu."
He followed Jin back to their ambulance and took a seat on the bench beside the stretcher. The boy he had been working on earlier stared up at him, his face full of fear. His eyes darted to the necklace in Taehyun's hand. "Want. Please."
Taehyun nodded understandingly. "I'm putting it here, okay?"
He tucked Beomgyu's necklace into the injured boy's pocket as the ambulance began moving.