Being a 911 dispatcher wasn't just about answering calls. For Mingyu, it was about keeping hope alive, even in someone's final seconds. He was used to hearing shaky breaths, shattering glass, crying children, or desperate screams cut off mid-sentence. He was trained to stay calm, to stay rational, and to never let emotions take control. Every day, his headset became the bridge between life and death. He never saw the callers' faces, never knew their names, but he understood how to guide someone through the darkness of panic. He knew how to speak gently when someone sobbed on the other end. He knew how to stay patient when the caller didn't even know their own address. The job was heavy, but Mingyu always came home for one reason that made everything worth it... his wife.

They had been married for three years. She was his small universe. The place he returned to after swimming in other people's tragedies. When the voices from the dispatch room still echoed in his mind, it was her smile that silenced everything. She was the one who brewed warm tea without asking, who knew when to let him sit in silence, who kissed his forehead every morning without fail.

Mingyu never imagined that one day, the trembling voice at the end of the line would come from his own home. That day started like any other. Calls came in nonstop, but nothing out of the ordinary. Until a number flashed on the screen in front of him. One that looked far too familiar. He stared at it for a long moment. His heart took a heavy blow from within. That number appeared without a name. Just a string of digits he knew by heart. His wife's number.

Mingyu pressed the answer button immediately. His voice was calm, like always. "911, what's your emergency?" But all he got was the sound of faint breathing. No reply. He repeated, "This is emergency dispatch. Can you speak?" Still, silence.

His head filled with the worst possibilities. His left hand reached into the drawer for his personal phone. He typed quickly.

Are you okay, babe? Where are you?

In his ear, the voice on the line began to change. Not just breathing. But sounds of something falling. Scraping. A faint metallic clink. Then… a vibration. A phone vibrating. And the sound of a cabinet creaking open. Mingyu's heart stopped the moment he heard a short scream. So brief. So sharp. Then… the call dropped. The dispatch room, normally full of noise, suddenly felt silent. Mingyu didn't know how to keep sitting there like he was supposed to. Didn't know how to keep acting professional when the voice calling for help… was the one he knew better than anyone in the world.

His hand clenched the headset tightly, and for the first time, Kim Mingyu's voice sounded completely broken.

"Please hold on, love… I'm coming."

**[ WELCOME TO AU SEVENTEEN! KIM MINGYU IS HERE! HAVE A GOOD TIME<3 ]**