“Oh my god, are you okay? Changkyun?” My voice shook as I kneeled beside him. He was curled up and sobbing softly. I felt like doing the exact same to be one hundred percent honest. He rolled onto his other side, his face etched with pain as he clutched his stomach. “Hey, come on,” I murmured, tugging on his arm. I don’t want him to appear weak to this lot. I know how much they despise him. I put my hands on his cheeks and that seemed to do the trick. His eyes opened widely, and he looked right at me. “Pabo,” I chuckled. “Awake yet?”

“Still dreaming, I think,” He laughed.

“Don’t even Lim Changkyun,” I sighed, helping him into a sitting position. I sat next to him, hugging my knees to my chin, staring at the ground by my feet. My shoes were stained with blood, and it made me want to cry knowing that most of it wasn’t even mine.

“I’m really sorry Jisung,” Changkyun said.

“If I had a penny for every time you said that to me,” I rolled my eyes. Why did I say that? I sounded like my grandmother. I couldn’t believe myself. He’s always been screwing up my life, yet I can’t help but go to him anyway.

He hung his arm over my shoulder and I rested my head on his, but he remained silent. I glanced over at Hyungwon being held up by Kihyun, and seeing him out of it made me sadder still. Jooheon was where I had left him, sobbing on the floor with Wonho by his side. After his outburst at Minhyuk, I saw how hard Jooheon’s words hit him, and he slunk off. Something must be up with Minhyuk. I’m sure he’s not doing this willingly; otherwise he wouldn’t be so damn terrified all the time. I hope I’ll get the chance to ask him.

My thoughts were interrupted by Wonho, who crouched down in front of me and stared. I sat up straight and looked right back at him. I blinked.

“Ahh, good game, miss. I thought I was a goner there for a second, phew!” He tilted his head to one side and grinned lazily. I frowned at him, wondering if he was really being serious. Changkyun had the same expression on his face as I did.

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little, despite it not having much of an effect on anyone… Are you going to go back to your apartment?” He questioned.

“What’s it to you?” Changkyun butted in before I could speak. I nudged him lightly as to not hurt him.

“Well isn’t someone being overprotective? I’m pretty sure she trusts me more than you right now, kiddo,” Wonho smirked, provoking him.

“Yes. I will be going there,” I said firmly, keeping my hand on Changkyun’s arm in case he went for Wonho. Luckily, Jooheon was shuffling over meekly, holding Hyungwon upright.

“What do you want to do with her body?” Wonho asked straightforwardly.

My eyes widened at his blunt way of speaking to a blatantly emotional person. However, Jooheon took it pretty well, but departed quickly anyway. He leaned in and whispered something to Wonho before leaving though, which raised my suspicions, especially since Wonho winked afterwards.

I watched as Kihyun and Jooheon carried a limp Hyungwon out of the car park. Wonho started laughing like crazy once they were out of ear shot. Changkyun’s grip on me tightened and I frowned.

“Looks like more than one person wants you to be safe!” He smiled at me. I rolled my eyes in disgust. That was the last thing I needed.

I stood up and huffed. “I’m going home, and I think you two should too,”

“Yessir,” Wonho saluted sarcastically. Changkyun shoved him enough for him to become off balanced and he fell over slightly. Thankfully, Wonho did not retaliate.

I said my goodbyes to Tem shortly but sweetly. In death, she looked just as peaceful, if not more, and that was what I hated. I should have been immediately shaking her, or calling an ambulance, but I stood there staring at her calm expression. She was my best friend for as long as I could remember. I gripped her hand tightly and apologised. As I was leaving, I turned around the pair of idiots. “Don’t either of you follow me or come to my apartment,” I warned through sniffles.

I grabbed a taxi to my apartment building, and ran up the stairs before I broke down into tears. I fumbled around in my pockets for my keys and clumsily opened the door. I walked blindly in and made a beeline for my bed, but it wasn’t there. I looked around with blurry eyes, and all my belongings were gone. I ran around the apartment madly, searching through all the draws and cupboards, wailing and crying over everything that had happened today.

The door burst open and I screamed remembering the sudden gunshot that killed Tem.

“Jisung! Get out of here now! This is no longer your apartment,” My landlady hissed at me.

“Can’t I just stay here for the night…? I’ll sleep on the floor and won’t make any more noise,” I begged pathetically.

“Get out before I call the police,” She threatened, pulling her phone out of her handbag. I practically crawled out of the apartment a sobbing mess.

All I wanted to do was lie down. So I went to the only other person I felt like I could count on. And I knew he would be feeling a similar pain to mine. I walked down the empty streets to Tem and Jooheon’s house, praying that he would be there, since I had nowhere else to turn. I walked up to the doorstep and tried the doorbell, before adding a feeble knock. A red eyed Jooheon opened the door and gestured for me to come in without saying a word. I made my way in slowly and sat on the sofa, smiling weakly.

I cleared my voice anxiously. “How are you?” I croaked.

“Aside from the murder of my sister, I guess I’m fine,” He replied bitterly. His eyes were filled with anger and were b with tears. He sat down next to me. “I want revenge, Jisung… I just don’t know how to do it yet,” He bit his lip, determined.

“Maybe that’s not the best thing to do,” I sighed.

“You must understand. Do you know how much I miss her already? How much I wish I could apologise to her for everything? How empty this house feels? How empty I feel?” Jooheon’s voice broke on his last sentence as he cried into my shoulder. I hugged him back and we cried together.

Cries turned into sniffles and I pulled away. “Jooheon, if you truly want revenge you have to be patient,” I told him.

He nodded. “Do you want to play blackjack? As a sort of distraction,” He suggested, gathering the playing cards dashed across the table.

“Sure,” I agreed, even though I felt rather tired. “Okay then. Hit me,” I began the game.

“Hit me,” Jooheon said confidently.

“Aishh…” I mumbled as I looked at the measly five of hearts I was dealt. “S...Stand,” I yawned.

“Hit me,” Jooheon stated. I passed him a card and saw his face frown. “Did you plan this? Aish, I’m bust,” He laughed, slamming his cards on the table. I rested my head on the sofa and smiled as my eyes flickered.

“You’re gonna fall asleep, aren’t you?” Jooheon sighed. I yawned again as he pulled a blanket over me. He sat beside me again and I closed my eyes.