Youngbae jolted awake when he heard his phone vibrating on the nightstand, the sound rattling him. For a moment, he looked around confused before reaching for the phone. He blinked several times, trying to read the screen.

It was three in the morning and Seungri's mother was calling him.

He picked up immediately, "Hello?"

"Youngbae," Mrs. Lee's voice was shaking, her words a pained whisper, "They found something."

-

Jiyong tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't go away. His chest constricted painfully. He could hardly breathe as he pressed his hands to his face, feeling his hot tears falling freely.

The television was in the background, repeating the story over and over. It was a broken record, feeding him his worst nightmare come true.

"-over a year ago. Investigators said a couple of hikers found the body deep in the woods."

And Jiyong screamed, crying out in agony.

-

Blunt force trauma.

That was how Seungri died.

Someone hit him so hard in the back of the head that his skull fractured and caved in on itself.

An expert that several news stations hired to go over the details said it was likely that Seungri died instantly. Perhaps even painlessly.

Seunghyun had to run for the nearest trash bin when he heard, the contents of his stomach coming up in a rush of bitterness. Even when there was nothing left to vomit, he kept heaving until he had to slump down on the floor to catch his breath.

He was shaking, unable to stop himself from imagining a dark figure attacking Seungri. The younger man's blonde hair turning red with blood as he laid on the forest floor, dying.

-

Daesung recalled his dream of Seungri. The angel that appeared before him had assured him that everything would be alright.

That angel, the imposter who wore Seungri's face, lied.

Seungri was dead and Daesung felt like a bright light had been extinguished.

It felt like nothing would be right ever again.

-

Though decomposition had set in when the hikers found the body, the clothes were still initially identifiable upon first discovery. They were the same clothes Seungri had been wearing the day he had disappeared. They were matted with blood and a thick layer of dirt.

Someone had tried to bury him.

Someone had tried to hide the body after the time of death.

DNA confirmation was fast tracked and later made. The body that had been found did indeed belong to Lee Seunghyun.

Further examinations found that there were multiple sets of fingerprints on the items on the body. That was the silver lining. They may find whoever committed the heinous act.

-

"It's not fair," Jiyong said to Youngbae.

They were sitting in the park, watching as people walked to and fro, going about their daily lives.

"There was so much he wanted to do," the leader continued, digging into his pocket to fish out a pack of cigarettes, hands trembling.

Youngbae nodded, not knowing what to say.

"I hope whoever did this dies a terrible death," Jiyong breathed as he placed a cigarette to his lips and lit it.

Youngbae couldn't agree more.

-

A faded partial print led the police to a man who had previously been convicted of armed robbery, aggravated assault, and drug trafficking.

Daesung was never a violent person, but when he saw the picture being released to the media, calling for a search of the suspect, he felt a terrible urge rush through him. He wanted to break something.

The primal urge to physically hurt someone was so strong, he had to close his eyes to try and suppress the feeling.

"I hope you suffer," he breathed, staring intently at the picture on the screen, cursing the killer.

-

"It was an accident," the suspect had said, "I didn't mean it and I wasn't alone."

As more details came forward, Youngbae felt the old wounds open.

He tried to keep in touch with the Lee family, listening to Seungri's mother on the phone, trying to stay strong as the woman cried, her voice full of sorrow.

"He was such a good boy," Mrs. Lee sobbed, "How could they do this to him?"

Youngbae had no answers.

"How could they hurt him like that?" Mrs. Lee's voice trembled so much the words could hardly be heard, "My boy..."

-

The killer's confession stated that Seungri was cutting through a back alley after he had left the convenience store, perhaps thinking it would be a good shortcut to take. He was approached by a man - the suspect's partner - wielding a knife, telling him to hand over any money he had on him.

Seungri had nothing on him but some change. He tried to speak, tried to defuse the situation. Because he was speaking so intently and caringly to the man before him, he didn't notice someone approaching from behind.

-

"I didn't mean to hit him so hard," the killer was staring at his hands, "We were only supposed to rob him."

Seunghyun sat with the small audience that was allowed to be part of the trial, wishing he could reach across the threshold and strangle the man sitting on the stand, confessing. No, not confessing, making excuses.

"Why didn't he run?" the man sitting before them asked, "Why couldn't he have run like everyone else?"

Because it's not in his nature, Seunghyun thought. Tears welled in his eyes because he knew it was true. Seungri had a good heart and would have been able to forgive and forget the incident, if he had lived.

I'll never forgive this.

-

"I shouldn't have given him such a hard time," Jiyong said to Daesung. He was smoking and the younger man was sitting on the other side of the balcony to avoid inhaling the fumes. The leader felt badly, but he had to do something to keep his hands from shaking.

"I told him to hurry back as well," Daesung said, staring out at the city, recalling the last encounter he had with Seungri.

Daesung wondered if that last moment, that last image he had ingrained in his mind of the maknae, had been a premonition of what was to come.

"Would he still be here if he hadn't tried to take that shortcut?" Jiyong asked, his voice wavering.

"We shouldn't ask those kind of questions."

"But what if--"

"Hyung, stop."

And Jiyong was crying, every breath a terrible, shuddering rattle in his throat.

-

Youngbae left a large bouquet of flowers for Seungri at the Lee family burial site. He stood for a long time staring at the headstone, taking in the autumn air, pondering all the things that had happened in the past two years.

Seungri's killers - they had found the second man - were behind bars with no chance of getting out.

Everything changed around them. Seunghyun finished work on another film and finally enlisted for his mandatory service. Jiyong threw himself into music, hardly ever coming up for air. Daesung continued promotions in Japan, working often, but still made time to go back to Korea.

Youngbae himself was deciding if he should enlist with Seunghyun, get his service over with and carry on with his life, whether it be in entertainment or not.

It was hard to think of the future.

It was hard to imagine that everything that had transpired wasn't just a terrible nightmare.

"We miss you," Youngbae breathed.

And he wasn't sure if they would ever stop missing Seungri.