Luhan awoke to the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life.

It attacked his entire being before he even opened his eyes. Every breath he took was so agonizing; he wanted to stop breathing altogether.

The heart rate monitor beside him beeped furiously as his breaths started to quicken due to the overwhelming amount of pain he was being subjected to.

He wanted to scream but his throat was parched and the oxygen mask fitted over his mouth made it impossible to make a single sound.

His eyes, crazed with pain, darted around in its sockets, scanning the hospital room that reeked of antiseptic and faintly -blood. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking his view of the window that could possibly offer him a glimpse of the outside world.

He was alive alright. The bullet must’ve not been lethal enough to prove fatal.

But the ripping pain in his chest and the piercing stings of the tubes attached to his pale skin made him wish that death would just come and put him out of his misery.

The ruckus he caused must’ve alerted someone as the door to his ward opened shortly after and in came the person Luhan never thought he’d ever see again.

Sehun –in all of his six foot tall figure- stood by his bed unscathed, his pale skin completely rid of battle wounds except for the tiny cut on his cheek.

He eyed Luhan with the same icy look that the latter had grown so accustomed to, not saying anything which made Luhan feel indignant.

That boy could stare into his clearly suffering eyes and not even bat an eyelash?

Luhan hated seeing him stand there like that so nonchalantly while he was almost on the brink of passing out from the pain.

He mustered all the hatred he felt and wanted to glare back but felt tears falling instead.

Frustrated with himself, he tried to gather control of his body but found that he couldn’t. The pain was just too much.

And Sehun must’ve realized this as he then reached for the syringe on the tray laid out on the table beside him.

He gave it a few flicks with his finger before hovering it over the vein prominent on Luhan’s wrist and pressed down on the plunger, emptying the liquid into his system.

Relief came at once when the sweet medicine coursed through his veins. Luhan recognized at once that this had to be morphine.

And he’d never been so grateful in his life for the relief.

Sleep soon came to claim him again and just as he drifted off, Luhan felt a hand resting on his head, fingers running through his locks before they came to rest warmly against his cold cheeks.

“…you should’ve just left him there.”

“Will you drop it Jongin?”

“Taemin’s dead. That boy serves no purpose anymore.”

“I have my reasons.”

“Yeah. They’re your own. Not everyone else’s.”

"I did this for all of you.”

“Like hell you did.”

Jongin gritted his teeth, knuckles whitening from his clenched fists as he glared into the careless eyes of the younger boy.

“You’ll see what I mean.”

“I want answers now,” he growled. “Or I’ll kill that boy right this second."

Sehun’s body stiffened and he grabbed the tan boy by his shirt collar and slammed him into the wall.

“I said I have my reasons.”

“And I’m saying that they don’t do anyone good but yourself!” Jongin spat, struggling against Sehun's strong hold.

“How would you know if my reasons can’t do anyone good-"

“What reason is there left now that Taemin’s gone?!”

The pale boy stared into his comrade’s seething eyes, noticing they were red and slightly swollen. And then it hit him what he must’ve been going through.

Taemin had been the closest to him.

“I’m sorry…”

He released his grip on Jongin and avoided his gaze. His eyes lingered to Luhan’s sleeping form.

He heard Jongin cursing loudly from behind followed by angry footsteps and then the slamming of the infirmary door.

Sehun turned and stared at where Jongin stood, and where he had pushed the latter into the wall after he had threatened to end Luhan’ life.

He brought up his hands and examined the creases on it.

These hands had done so much harm, inflicted so much pain. He never thought he’d use them against a friend -all to protect one person.

He thought of Jongin and figured that he probably shouldn’t have gotten so worked up.

Why had he gotten worked up in the first place?

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t killed someone before, his hands were tainted with blood that could never be washed off.

So why couldn’t he just bring himself to let Luhan die? What was so hard about sending a bullet straight through his pretty little face?

Jongin was right; Luhan had no purpose anymore. He was only holding onto deadweight –a burden.

And though he didn’t want to acknowledge it, Sehun was starting to get his feelings mixed up and he knew that he absolutely could not let this continue any further. If it did, the next death would be his own.

He approached Luhan’s body, pulling a dagger out from his belt. He looked down at his skinny frame and knew that it wouldn’t take much to finish him.

Just a stab and he’d be dead.

All that was left was to make it as painless as possible.

Sehun trained his dagger above Luhan’s chest, trying to locate his heart and paused once he found the optimal position.

He studied the boy’s demure features, made even softer with him being asleep. Sehun thought of his beautiful eyes and how often they stared at him in fear, in suffering.

They were never going to open again after this. And there was only one thing Sehun was going to regret which was not being able to see Luhan look at him as if he weren't a monster.

He let his other hand run along the boy's hollow cheeks and his thumb caressed his lower lip. He blamed it all on Luhan's overbearing beauty. Things would've been so much easier if he had just ruined his face from the start.

Exhaling, Sehun held up his dagger in both hands. His eyes struggled to show no emotion and his heart struggled not to falter.

Luhan was only going to bring him down. He'd bring all of them down.

He wasn't going to let that happen -he couldn't.

His emotions had to die, along with Luhan.

But after a few minutes of staring at Luhan's slowly rising and falling chest and not being able to do anything, Sehun closed his eyes.

If seeing was believing, it'd be easier if he kept his eyes shut.

He brought the knife up higher, prepared to plunge it straight through Luhan's heart when he heard murmuring.

He opened his eyes and saw that Luhan was stirring in his sleep.

"Sehun..."

His eyebrow twitched at the mention of his name and he leaned in closer to make out what the boy was saying.

"I...I do..."

He paused for a bit, slurring in his sleep until he finally uttered a few intelligible words.

"...care."

The breath in Sehun's mouth turned icy and his body froze above Luhan's. It was as if he'd be the one stabbed in the chest.

The warm breaths against his cheek made his heart turn cold.

He pulled away and gazed at Luhan who had gone back to sleep, completely oblivious to what he just said and the weight his words carried.

The colour started to rise to Sehun's cheeks. His blood began to boil and he threw the knife aside and it made a mark on the wall.

His fingers dug into his scalp and a string of curses left his mouth.

He just had to say that.

Right when he was so sure that he could kill him.

He just had to say that.

Sehun was certain that he'd never be able to bring himself to do it a second time. He was done for.

His legs gave out and he slid down the wall onto the ground in a hopeless mess. His elbow was propped up against his knee as his hand rested on his forehead, trying to figure out what to do next.

He never did figure it out.

All he knew was that he couldn't do it.

He couldn't kill Luhan.

It was only a few days after did Luhan regain consciousness.

His head ached as he lay awake on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The large doses of morphine made him feel nauseous but he'd take it over the pain any day.

He blinked harder than necessary, still trying to get used to the bright lighting. Then from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure hunched over in an armchair.

Luhan recognised him as Sehun who had his arms crossed loosely beneath him as he dozed off.

He did nothing to wake him up though, only staring at the sleeping boy through weak eyes. He ought to worry why Sehun was here in the first place but at the moment, Luhan was too tired to care. He just wanted to watch the boy's face like this, so young and so at peace without the frown to ruin everything.

The older boy figured he looked more like a normal college student, not a wanted criminal. It occurred to him that Sehun had never told him his age. But he could guess.

The minutes went by them in silence, Luhan then tried to sit up. He held onto the table beside him for support as he heaved himself up, knocking over the glass of water as a result.

The shattering of glass as it met the ground woke Sehun up instantly who was on his feet in a second with a hand to his gun. Only when he was convinced that there was no immediate danger did he notice Luhan who looked awkwardly at him, fingers still clinging to the table for support.

"What were you trying to do?" He asked, shooting a questioning look at the bits of broken glass.

"I err...was trying to sit up..."

"Well you sure made a big fuss about it.”

This brought a little colour to Luhan’s pale cheeks and despite his self-restraint, Sehun couldn’t help but think he looked cute.

“You saved me.”

“I did.”

“Why would you even…”

“I’m gonna be completely honest with you,” Sehun sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know why I saved you either.”

Luhan’s eyes stared back at his with uncertainty, his fingers playing with the sheets.

“Do you regret saving me?”

“I’m on the fence.”

“You do then,” Luhan confirmed, biting his lip. “At least…a part of you does.”

“Yeah so don’t make me fall off the wrong side. Or I’ll make sure no one saves you the next time.”

“But thank you.”

“Save it. I don’t need your gratitude.”

The smaller boy made a sound, something like a mixture between a grunt and a sigh, and Sehun noticed again just how skinny he had gotten.

“Give me a sec.”

With that, Sehun disappeared into the corridor and then reappeared a few minutes later with a sandwich and a bottle of water.

He threw both into Luhan’s open lap and muttered, “Eat.”

Ravenous, the older boy tore through the cling wrap and took a huge bite out of the sandwich. But the bread felt like sandpaper in his parched throat and before he could react, he was already choking.

As if on impulse, Sehun shot up and twisted off the lid on the bottle of water before bringing it to Luhan’s wheezing mouth.

“God can’t you go a day without me babying you,” Sehun grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Luhan, who had gone teary from the choking, glared at him annoyed before snatching the bottle out of his hand and finishing it.

“Why don't you try not caring for once then? If it annoys you that much…” Luhan wheezed, still coughing a little.

“How cute. You think I care about you,” Sehun crooned, sneering at his flustered face.

“If you didn’t I’d be dead by now…you…you did save me after all.”

“I did it for myself.”

Luhan’s ears perked up and he lifted his head in surprise.

“For yourself?”

“And only myself.”

Sehun crawled onto the bed and leaned in close to Luhan’s face. And he saw the boy’s pupil constrict at the proximity and how his eyelids fluttered abashedly. He was driving him insane.

“You owe me your life Luhan,” Sehun purred. “And for that…”

He moved in close to his ear and felt his lips brushing against his pale skin.

“You belong to me now.”

A sharp intake of breath from Luhan.

Sehun smirked and kissed the side of his ear before working his way down to his neck.

He felt Luhan tense up under his touch, his breaths speeding up with each kiss.

His tongue swirled around the older boy’s prominent collar bones, leaving traces of himself on his beautiful body.

Sehun relished the taste of his skin and Luhan’s hands tugging at his hair. How long had he yearned for this?

After he explored every inch of Luhan’s torso, he backed away and gazed smugly into his eyes.

His finger traced the outline of his lips, now moist from the water he just drank.

In a fraction of a second, their lips were tight against each other’s, moving in unison. The kiss was slow this time, unlike before where Luhan had given up on the possibility of staying alive.

Luhan liked this kind of kisses. The soft ones, the ones that felt like clouds on your lips –and the ones that suggested far more than just a one night stand.

If he hadn’t known better he would’ve thought that Sehun actually felt something for him.

Sehun’s hands strayed to the boy’s hip, tugging at his tattered jeans. He made a motion to pull it down despite Luhan’s groans but the door had swung open at that moment and in came three others.

Cursing, Sehun pulled away and turned to face his three friends who were trying to hide the awkwardness from their faces.

“What did you three come here for?” he questioned, his usual stoic face making a return immediately.

“We heard Luhan finally came round.”

“What? You came here to visit?”

“No. I came here to set things straight,” Kris asserted, diverting his attention to Luhan who was trying hard not to listen in on their conversation.

“With him?”

“With both of you.”

Sehun arched an eyebrow, unfolding his arms.

Kris went forward and Luhan noticed that he was limping and then saw that his leg had been wrapped up in a tight cast. It was only then did he realise that the other two were visibly injured too.

The tallest of them, who Luhan recognised as the one who had given Sehun the gun in the van, had an eye patch over his left socket and his hand was wrapped in layers of bandages.

The shorter blond beside him had his arm interlinked with his and was supported by the taller boy as he stood with the help of his right leg only, the other having been bandaged heavily at the knee.

Sehun paled in comparison and Luhan wondered how.

“We kidnapped this boy to save Taemin. Now that Taemin’s dead, I don’t see why you still felt the need to save him Sehun. What else can we use Luhan for?”

“If you're asking me to kill him, forget-”

“Revenge,” Kris cut in, finished his own sentence. “We'll use him for revenge.”

With that, he gently pushed Sehun aside and stood before Luhan, looking down at his petite frame.

“A life for a life. You, Luhan, are going to kill the president.”

He watched as Luhan’s eyes widened and recognised the familiar look of innocence that belonged to those who hadn't taken a single life.

A look he used to be capable of himself.

“We all have one common goal now Luhan. Which is why...”

And Luhan never thought things would turn out the way it did.

“You’re one of us now.”

A/N: Well that took a little over a week to write, so happy to finally get it off my chest T-T it's been bothering me for a whole week. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hopefully the plot isn't too dramatic or cringe worthy thus far. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome~ Oh and if you'd like me to improve on anything or have anything you'd like to see in this story leave it in the comments too, I'll try my best to fulfil it! ^^ Thank you for reading~