Myungsoo woke up with a ridiculous ache in his back. At some point during the night he must have shifted, because he found himself lying halfway off the mattress he had slept on, his head resting atop a stack of papers.

“Mmph,” he mumbled, dragging himself up to a sitting position. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he realized that it was still dark outside. The sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon. “Ugh, so early,” he moaned, wallowing in a pit of self-pity. Myungsoo was not a morning person, especially when he had gotten so little sleep. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he stood up and looked around the room, being careful not to rustle any of the papers scattered on the carpet. He spotted Dongwoo and Hoya on the bed, still asleep. Dongwoo had both of his arms around Hoya’s waist and was cuddling him like a teddy bear. Myungsoo considered waking them up, but eventually decided against it and went downstairs instead.

He scanned Hoya’s kitchen for any food in sight, quickly locating the bag of chips sitting on the dining table. Not the healthiest breakfast Myungsoo had ever eaten, but they would do. It only took him a few minutes to finish off the entire bag. Once he was done eating, he searched around for a piece of paper and a pen to write with. He wrote a quick thank you note to Hoya before quietly leaving the house.

On his way home, he took out his phone and texted Moonsoo.

Hey Moonsoo, you awake?

Yeah. Bout time u texted back. Where r u?

I’m coming home right now. Is Dad angry?

Get ready for world war III, bro.

Myungsoo gulped. He had never disobeyed his father to this extent, and he knew that an extreme punishment was likely to follow. The entire way home he focused on trying to keep his hands from shaking.

When he walked in the door, his house was silent. A maid let him inside and told him that his father was just waking up. Myungsoo nodded and hurried up the stairs, praying that he would make it to his room unnoticed.

“Myungsoo.”

He froze. The deep, menacing voice echoed through the hallway, reaching his ears from all different angles and causing him to jump a good foot into the air. Myungsoo turned around slowly and backed towards his room, trying to hide his fear as his father’s shadowy figure grew nearer and nearer. By the time Myungsoo had backed up into the far corner of his room, the frightening man in front of him had slammed the door shut and was stalking towards him, his eyes burning.

“F-Father, please let me explain—”

Myungsoo was cut off by a strong hand slapping across his face, snapping his head to one side. The force of the blow made his head spin and he shrank down to the floor.

“I am very disappointed in you,” his father growled.

“I’m sorry,” Myungsoo said, avoiding eye contact and refusing to touch his aching cheek. It took all his willpower to keep himself from crying.

“’Sorry’ is an empty word, Myungsoo. ‘Sorry’ won’t help you gain my trust back. You’re confined to your room for the next month. No leaving unless it’s for school. Is that understood?”

Myungsoo was silent.

“I said,” he spat, bending down to grab Myungsoo’s face and force him to look up, “is that understood?”

“Yes, father.”

---

Myungsoo ended up skipping school the very next Friday. After dropping Moonsoo off, he took the bus to the hospital instead of going to class. It had been less than a week since his father had given him these new rules, and they were already becoming difficult to follow. Not getting to see Sungjong was killing him.

He had Hoya and the others to hang out with, of course, but he was still awkward around them most of the time, and often opted for texting Sungjong instead of talking to them. Hoya offered to let him stay over again, but he refused. If I leave again, he thought, I’ll be leaving for good.

As he walked through the hospital doors, he let out a nervous sigh. Sungjong had texted him a few days ago to tell him that his mother had arrived in Korea, and apparently hadn’t left his bedside since. Based on his descriptions of her, she sounded like a lunatic. He gulped and quietly greeted the woman at the front desk, who recognized him immediately.

“Hi, Myungsoo. Nice to see you again.”

“Hi…” Myungsoo mumbled. “Does Sungjong have any visitors with him right now?”

The woman thought for a moment. “His mother has been here off and on, but I saw her leave about half an hour ago, muttering something about coffee and dry cleaning.”

“Oh.” Myungsoo said, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Could I see him then?”

“Sure, of course. He just moved rooms, so you’ll find him in 12B.”

Moved rooms? Myungsoo scratched his head. He must be feeling better if he was able to get out of bed and switch to another floor.

Sure enough, when Myungsoo approached Sungjong’s room, he could hear the younger boy singing from outside. Myungsoo peeked into the room curiously. A ukulele was cradled in Sungjong’s arms, and he was strumming at the strings obnoxiously, belting out the lyrics to “I’m Yours.” He was getting almost all the words wrong, of course.

“Looks like someone’s feeling better,” Myungsoo laughed, opening the door. Sungjong froze mid-lyric and dropped the ukulele into his lap.

“O-Oh, Myungsoo. When did you get here?”

“Now.”

“Oh.”

“Nice singing.”

Sungjong pouted. “I’m actually pretty good when I want to be.” He smacked the ukulele. “You have no idea how boring it gets in here. I’ve started talking to inanimate objects. See that curtain over there? Her name is Angelina and she is my friend.”

“Is your pain medication going to your head?” Myungsoo asked, laughing hysterically and moving to sit next to Sungjong.

“Probably. Half the stuff they give me makes me act like a pothead.” Sungjong giggled.

“You’re a pretty cute pothead.”

“Oh, you know it,” Sungjong teased, planting a kiss on Myungsoo’s cheek.

Myungsoo blushed bright red and ran his hand through his hair. He was about to say something else when Sungjong suddenly furrowed his eyebrows and pointed a finger at him.

“Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be in school? My calendar says today is Friday. Unless it’s lying to me…”

“I skipped school.”

“WHAT?”

Myungsoo clapped a hand over Sungjong’s mouth. “Shhh! I can explain.”

“My dad has pretty much locked me in my house, so I can’t come see you unless it’s during school hours.”

Sungjong frowned. “Why would he do that?”

Myungsoo looked at the floor. “Uh, it’s a long story. I got in trouble, and as punishment I’m grounded.”

“It sounds like you’re being imprisoned, not grounded.”

“Feels like it, too,” said Myungsoo. “Anyway, that’s why I’m here. Skipping one day of school shouldn’t hurt, right?”

“Yeah, but what if you get caught? Our school is really harsh with rules. If they find out you skipped, you could get suspended. You should go…”

“No.” Myungsoo shook his head. “All I could think about this whole week was when I was going to get to see you next. I’m not wasting this chance. Besides…I’m already late. There’s no point in showing up now.”

Sungjong sighed. “Okay,” he said, giving in. “Oh, and by the way, my mom was here a while ago. She’ll probably be back soon.”

“Does she know who I am?” Myungsoo asked anxiously.

“Sort of. She thinks you’re my friend.”

“Close enough,” Myungsoo mumbled, twiddling his thumbs. “How about I go get us some drinks?” he offered, his throat suddenly feeling dry.

At the mention of drinks, Sungjong’s ears perked up. “Ooh, yes please. Could you get me a soda? The more sugar the better,” he said, his lips excitedly. Myungsoo couldn’t help but stare. “If you get me a soda, I’ll pay you with a kiss,” he teased, and laughed when Myungsoo blushed again and dashed out of the room.

---

Myungsoo was excited to discover that the vending machine in the waiting room had lemon soda, Sungjong’s favorite. He quickly bought two and was about to head back into Sungjong’s room when he remembered that he had another question to ask.

“Um, excuse me,” he said, approaching the front desk lady, “but do you know when Sungjong’s mother is going to be back?”

The woman thought for a moment. “She was just running errands, so she should be back soon—oh. There she is,” she said, motioning towards the hospital entrance. Myungsoo turned around just as a woman walked through the door.

Sungjong’s mother certainly didn’t look like a lunatic. She wore expensive, fashionable clothing, and her hair was neatly combed back into a bun. When she entered her face lacked any expression, and she carried her coffee calmly, not even bothering to greet the front desk lady as she waited expectantly by the door to the hallway where Sungjong’s room was located. Myungsoo shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t look insane, but she was certainly intimidating. He took a deep breath before cautiously following her down the hallway.

By the time he reached Sungjong’s room, he could hear yelling coming from inside. Instead of entering, Myungsoo decided to listen from outside. He could hear everything through the door anyway.

“What are you talking about?!” Sungjong yelled. “When did you decide this?”

“It’s what’s best for you,” his mother replied, her voice slightly condescending. “It’s my decision.”

“But—”

“I said, it’s my decision!” she repeated, her voice rising. “I’m getting your things packed now. We’ll leave this weekend.”

“Mom!”

“Do you want to be able to walk again?”

Sungjong was silent.

“That’s what I thought. I’m going to go confirm our flight now. I’ll be back soon.”

Myungsoo heard the click-clack of high heels close to the door and jumped back just in time to avoid being hit in the face.

“Who are you?” Sungjong’s mother asked, her tone icy as she looked Myungsoo up and down.

“Myungsoo. I’m Sungjong’s…friend.”

“Oh,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Well. You should go talk to him then. Maybe you of all people can talk some sense into him.” Without saying goodbye, she spun around on her heel and stalked down the hallway.

Myungsoo watched her walk away with eyes the size of saucers. She was terrifying. He stood there for a moment, frozen, until he heard quiet sniffles from inside the room. He pushed the door open and saw Sungjong hugging his ukulele like a teddy bear, wiping his tears with his sleeve as he tried to muffle his sobs. When he realized that Myungsoo had come back into the room, he buried his face in his arms.

It didn’t take much effort to pull the ukulele out of Sungjong’s grip. He wasn’t holding onto it very hard, and was just as happy to take hold of Myungsoo’s arm instead.

Myungsoo quietly climbed into bed next to Sungjong and wrapped his arms around the younger boy, pulling him closer. “Shhh,” he breathed, brushing the hair out of Sungjong’s eyes and wiping his tears away until his choked sobs gradually died down. Eventually, Sungjong looked up at Myungsoo with wide, reddened eyes.

“She’s taking me back, Myungsoo,” he whispered. Tears continued to roll out of his eyes.

“What do you mean? Taking you back where?” Myungsoo asked, trying not to panic.

“Japan. She’s taking me back to Japan.”

a/n: Woohoo, I'm back! Well, sort of. I'm done with the musical, which means I have a lot more time on my hands (: I do have finals coming up, but school will be over in two weeks so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. You all definitely won't have to wait another month for an update xD 

On another note, what do you guys think is going to happen to Myungjong? 

Edit (6/1/2012): Okay you guys. Can I just. Take a moment to appreciate how wonderful all of you are? Today I was looking through all your comments and I realized that I don't thank you nearly enough for all your feedback. You guys write me the sweetest and longest comments ever and they make me smile so much ;u; but then I never know how to reply to them. Sob. I am the most awkward person. But once again, I just wanted to say thank you for all your support and comments. They mean a lot to me!