After Myungsoo and Myungeun left, the building felt empty and quiet. There wasn’t someone to greet him on the stoop with a smile and a song now that Myungsoo was gone. There was no Jinyoung to fill his ear with his mundane but entertaining chatter. No Myungeun crying or whimpering at his door. No bickering siblings next door. There was nothing but silence and Sunggyu.

Even though his home no longer felt like home, Sunggyu stayed, locked inside his apartment throughout the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday, with a small bookshelf drug over in front of the door. He thought this place was going to be his little sanctuary, hiding him safely from the danger laid in wait outside of these four walls. No one could see Sunggyu. You could barely hear him. It would be entirely possible at the moment to think that Kim Sunggyu didn’t exist and that this apartment was empty, just like a few others, that no one would know what Sunggyu was. But as the weekend dragged on, this place began to feel like a prison. And Sunggyu was incredibly bored and lonely. However going outside was still forbidden (a self-imposed sentence, but he still followed it). So he tried his best to keep himself entertained indoors.

He had finished all of his reading for the week, so he tried to stomach the cheese drama that Sungyeol and Kate were watching earlier. However Sunggyu stopped soon after he began it. “There’s not even any cheese in it,” he grumbled as the screen turned black. Without much else to distract him or pass the time, Sunggyu turned to the guitar stashed in the corner of the room, Myungsoo’s guitar. Sunggyu took the guitar into his lap. His fingers glided over the strings for a few minutes as he gathered his bearings. The last time that he tried to play the guitar was in high school, too long ago. It felt so foreign in his hands, or maybe it felt strange because it wasn’t his. After a few moments, he strummed a few chords and then stopped again, snorting. “Man, I .” So he spent the rest of the weekend trying to get reacquainted with it.

Then finally, finally, Sunday became Monday, and Sunggyu pulled the bookshelf away from the door and opened the door slowly, bit by bit, gradually poking his head out, looking about. The coast was clear, and he quickly walked out of the building, his feet quickly shuffling until he reached the bus stop. Then he had to stop. There was no where else for him to run off to. Sunggyu clutched onto the straps at his shoulders. He was bringing Myungsoo’s guitar with him today. He didn’t really know why he was, but it felt right. It felt like protection. With something at his back, it was comforting, almost like it was hiding him from all of the prying eyes, which, of course, it wasn’t. But Sunggyu wasn’t thinking rationally. He was paranoid, scared to death. He doing whatever made him feel safe, even if it seemed silly. And maybe he did look silly when he got on the bus, put the guitar in his lap, and hugged it tightly. But at the moment, Sunggyu was no more than a scared animal, trying to escape the claws of an unknown predator.

Maybe I should’ve waited longer and ridden with Kate. I should’ve waited. I should’ve...

His nerves and doubts quieted down once he reached campus, but they were still there. And now sitting at the cafe, waiting for Kate and Sungyeol to show up, having coffee in his system, Sunggyu’s hands were shaking. After a while, he gave up on drinking, especially when he spilled a little on his clothes. Instead, he put his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie and closed his eyes. And waited. And waited…

“What’s with the hood? Aren’t you hot?”

Sunggyu felt a smile crack across his stone face (it hurt slightly, when was the last time he’d smiled) and then opened his eyes. Sungyeol and Kate were already pulling up seats at his table and sitting down.

“No,” Sunggyu replied with a soft voice and pulled down his hood.

Kate smirked. “It seems like someone is in a good mood. Did anything happen to you this weekend? We hadn’t heard from you,” she asked.

“Uh,” Sunggyu stammered, knocked back by the question. Should I tell them? Sunggyu studied his two friends, looking at him eagerly with great grins on their faces. He his lips. Suddenly his mouth felt dry. How? How do I even start?

“Did you do something with Woohyun?” Sungyeol guessed. “We hadn’t heard from him either. He didn’t show up to the club meeting either.”

Sunggyu’s eyes went wide. “What? He didn’t?” He then cleared his throat and tried drinking coffee again. He didn’t know that his voice could get that high. Just because something happened to Myungsoo and Myungeun, doesn’t mean that everyone is in danger.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kate spoke his next thought out loud. She had a smile on her face, but was eyeing the other suspiciously. “I think I remember Woohyun telling us that he had a family this weekend when we all had lunch.”

“Ah right,” Sungyeol murmured. He then he turned towards Sunggyu. “But you still haven’t answered the question: why are you in such a good mood?”

Sunggyu smile widened as he leaned back into his chair. “No reason. I’m just happy to see you guys.”

“Aish, don’t give me that crap,” Sungyeol swore at him with a cheeky smile.

Sunggyu chuckled, feeling more and more at ease. This was normal. Things were finally normal. “It’s true,” he fought back.

“Hm? Gyu, is that a guitar?” Kate asked suddenly, tilting her head to get a better look at the case laying next to her friend.

“Do you play?” Sungyeol added.

The smile fell from Sunggyu’s face along with his gaze, landing on the guitar case. “No, not really.”

The rest of the morning past like that. At some points he was elated, at others calm, but in the end, he fell back into fear. By the afternoon, he grew as tense as the guitar strings on his back, jumping at sudden sounds or movements. Sunggyu also became annoyed. They didn’t know. No one knew about Myungsoo or Myungeun. But how could they? Sunggyu wouldn’t tell them. He didn’t know how to bring it up. And so he swallowed those words again and again, leaving a large lump in his throat and a dry mouth. On top of that, he felt like his vision was getting hazy. Everyone else around him were all a blur, going about their day as usual, as if nothing had happened. As if nothing would happen. Faces too, all the faces were hazy, even his friends. His friends, who were they again? His chest felt tight. Sunggyu was getting short of breath, on the verge of hyperventilating. He was just like some terrified prey, trembling, anxious to find a hole to hide in.

That’s when the wolf came.

“Sunggyu, are you okay?” Woohyun asked as he came over to sit next to the other during lunch. He startled Sunggyu at first, but some of the tension melted away. The smile returned.

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu replied. For now, I’m fine. He looked around and could see all of his friends, his dear friends, clearly. And I will be fine.

That night, Sunggyu stayed on campus as late as he possibly could. He bought a cheap meal at the convenience store and passed the rest of the time in the library. He studied. He wandered around. He flipped through books. He took a short nap. All the while, he still had the guitar with him. When it was around, it felt like he had a friend, even though Kate and Sungyeol had left hours ago.

But then the part of the library he was in closed, and he was ushered out of the door by a very persistent woman who very much wanted to go home (unlike Sunggyu). So then he sat on the bench outside of the library, guitar in his lap and hood drawn. And he played. Now that melody kept him company in the dark and lonely night, that erratic and dissonant song that he was playing now.

“You...you really .”

Sunggyu raised his head and saw his wolf again, prowling as usual in the night. He grinned and placed the guitar to the side. “Yea, well, it’s my second day playing, and considering that, I’m a genius,” he retorted. Woohyun walked up to the bench and stood in front of him. While he did so, Sunggyu asked, “What are you doing here so late?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Woohyun replied cheekily, but then he from his brows to his jaw, his usually bright expression darkened when he realized, “Nevermind. I know why.”

“No, you don’t,” Sunggyu dismissed, laughing through his tight throat, hoping to lighten things up again. Everything was so dark as it was. Please don’t…

“It’s Myungsoo, right? Myungeun too,” Woohyun spoke lowly as he sat down in the spot next to the other. Sunggyu’s jaw went slack but the rest of his body froze. Flashes of what he’d seen Saturday morning sped across his mind and then stopped at that dark alley, police lights bouncing off its grim walls. “Myungsoo told me when he moved into the dorms,” Woohyun answered the question on his mind. “That’s awfully close. And just..awful,” his voice kept lowering further and further, disappearing in the bleak air. His gaze then flickered over to the elder as he bit his lip. “Hey, Sunggyu…”

“Why are you here so late?” Sunggyu tried desperately to change the subject. The unnatural smile tore at his face. He nudged the other. “You still haven’t told me that.”

“I was here studying because I’m a student,” Woohyun’s remark was playful but his face was still somber.

But Sunggyu was attempting to smile enough for the both of them. “Me too. That’s why I was here,” he tried to convince the younger. “Seriously.”

“Okay.” Woohyun was anything but convinced but acted like he was nonetheless.

“But I got kicked out a while ago. How is it that you came out just now?” Sunggyu asked.

Now the cunning grin returned to the wolf’s face. “I’m hard to catch,” Woohyun answered. “And I know the girl working tonight. She let me stay until I finished.”

“Ah, of course you do,” Sunggyu responded. With a sigh, he pulled the guitar from his lap and began to pack it up.

“Yea,” Woohyun muttered, but something about it just seemed off. Sunggyu glanced up to see Woohyun’s eyes darting all over him. “Sunggyu?” Woohyun called out to the other as soon as their gazes meet.

“Hm?” Sunggyu hummed, trying his best not to blink or let his eyes stray away.

“Let’s go home.”

They went home together that night; each to their own, but Sunggyu was grateful for the company. It wasn’t like Woohyun made for much protection, and he was as intimidating looking as a chipmunk. But maybe the two of them could at least overwhelm the attacker by number and maybe one could call for help while the other struggled with the attacker. That would be Woohyun, of course. And then Sunggyu would…

“We’re here,” Woohyun announced once they reached Sunggyu’s apartment.

“Huh?” Sunggyu was pulled away from his thoughts, from his ‘plan,’ and was pulled into reality, to his apartment building, eerily empty and quiet, like the street was, like that alley was. Sunggyu swallowed harshly and then gave a hesitant smile. “So we are.” He turned to face Woohyun. “Well...good night.” He finally tore a hand away from the strap of the bag and waved.

“Good night,” Woohyun said back, but he wasn’t having any of Sunggyu’s awkward waving crap. He put down the elder’s arm and drew him in for a hug, like he did that night last week, when the world wasn’t so...so much like this. “Be safe, Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered, just like the time before.

But unlike the time before, Sunggyu almost immediately reciprocated the hug, wrapping his arms around the other and drawing him in closer until he could feel it, until he could feel the weight of the other pressing on him like the guitar on his back. Sunggyu sighed when he felt the other’s hold tighten as well, and then lowered his head onto Woohyun’s shoulder, hiding the rest of his face not covered by the hoodie into the crook of the other’s neck. Sunggyu closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He finally felt at peace. With his front and back covered like this, he was safe. He was hidden. No one could see him, in his mind.

Then Woohyun moved, his hand traveling up the other’s back until it stopped at Sunggyu’s head. Woohyun chuckled, jostling the both of them softly, and the back of the other’s head. “You must be really scared,” Woohyun stated. “You’re not acting so...unaffected anymore.”

Sunggyu pulled himself away, or at least tried to. It took him awhile to disentangle himself from the other and push Woohyun away (Woohyun wasn’t being the most helpful). “I’m fine,” Sunggyu grumbled after finally managing to take a step away from the other.

But he wasn’t rid of Woohyun entirely. The younger’s hand was still resting on Sunggyu’s arm, but Sunggyu wasn’t moving away from it anytime soon. Woohyun’s eyes were as soft as his touch. “You’re not,” his voice was weak like his smile, but what he said wasn’t wrong.

“I am,” but that wasn’t going to keep Sunggyu from denying it. He walked away from the other, letting that hand slide down, and he went to the stoop and sat down on the first step, pulling the guitar case back into his lap and hooking his chin over it. He closed his eyes and sighed once more. He had to keep denying it. It couldn’t give into it. He was already acting so...not like his usual self.

“Fine, you’re fine,” Woohyun played along. Even with his eyes closed, Sunggyu could sense him approaching closer and closer, the footsteps scuffing the ground, the voice so close Sunggyu could almost feel it. “Just dandy,” Woohyun’s voice was thick with sarcasm. Sunggyu opened his eyes again just in time to see Woohyun sit down next to him on the stoop. And Woohyun was staring straight at him, with a steady gaze this time. “Do…” he stopped almost as soon as he started to his lips and think it over once more. Woohyun might’ve slowly been losing his confidence, but that gaze didn’t waver.

“What?” Sunggyu prodded him, staring right back.

“Do you want to come home with me? And spend the night?”

“Huh?”

Woohyun chuckled and finally dropped his eyes while he nudged the other. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I asked you over for some ramyun,” he clarified with that innuendo. Sunggyu felt his face relax at that, and his whole body cool down. He didn’t want to know what kind of expression his face had seconds earlier, what it was giving away. Sunggyu winced, not caring if Woohyun took notice of it or not; he was too embarrassed already. But Woohyun probably was too because he kept explaining himself: “I could take you to Sungyeol’s or Kate’s or…”

“You don’t need to take me anywhere. I’m fine right here,” Sunggyu cut him off. “Besides, I can take myself places.”

“Really? You’re fine being right here?” Woohyun challenged, pointing down at where they were sitting. Sunggyu nodded firmly, which made Woohyun sputter into a laugh. “What? Are you planning on spending the whole night on the stoop? Are you ever going to go inside?” he teased the other.

“No, of course I’m going to go inside. Right now,” Sunggyu growled through gritted teeth as he slung the guitar back onto his back and pushed himself back up. He took the steps two at a time, reaching the top at no time. He was already at the door, about to open it.

“I didn’t mean for it to be a challenge, Sunggyu.” Sunggyu turned his head back around and looked down at Woohyun who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring back up at him. “No one is going to think less of you if you don’t want to stay here,” Woohyun raised his voice, talking as if Sunggyu was much further away than he actually was. He then raised his arms at his sides. “I surely won’t. This place scares the out of me.”

Sunggyu turned around fully. “Then go home, Woohyun,” his tone was warmer and softer than what he was saying. “For tonight, it’ll be okay,” he spoke as if he knew. Sunggyu then raised his hand again in order to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. For tonight,” Woohyun repeated. He then began to walk backwards, to walk away, but still faced the elder. “Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll see you later.” Step by step, he was dragging his feet, eyes fixed on Sunggyu as he went down the street. Sunggyu knew that the other wouldn’t stop watching until Sunggyu went inside, and so he did. Sunggyu opened up the door, went inside, and shut Woohyun out.

That night was restless. Sunggyu couldn’t sleep. He kept rolling around on his bed, but thoughts and images kept rolling about in his mind. And every noise outside of his window jolted him upright. Every shadow cast in his room seemed strange. The bookshelf pulled in front of the door offered little comfort. It wasn’t sturdy enough to keep anyone, someone, out for long. It was just a hindrance, not a wall.

The only thing Sunggyu could think of doing now was to drink the thoughts away. It wasn’t healthy, sure, but neither was a sleepless night. And Sunggyu, he just really wanted to sleep right now. So he pulled the bookshelf back to where it originally was and left his apartment in order to go buy some beer.

When he left, Sunggyu was actually thinking that he was fortunate for having a 24/7 convenience store so close by to his building, only a few blocks away. The air felt nice. The breeze was warm, caressing his skin. Outside, it was actually nice. And Sunggyu was happy for once, especially after walking out of the store with a black bag full of beer.

But that feeling didn’t last.

It all started with a single sound, the sound of an aluminum can being kicked. Sunggyu wasn’t the one to do it, and he hadn’t seen a soul all the while, with the exception of the girl working at the store. Who? Sunggyu stiffened at the thought of who it could be. But it could also be something not human, like a cat or a dog. It could be, but it wasn’t. Sunggyu had a feeling that it was his worst nightmare trailing in his footsteps.

There was only one thing that Sunggyu could think of to do. Call me. Call me, he kept saying that so Sunggyu finally did.

“Hello? Gyu?” Woohyun’s voice was groggy on the other side of the line. He must’ve just woken up.

“I think someone is following me,” Sunggyu barely moved his mouth as he spoke so it came out slurred, which was probably why Woohyun responded like this:

“What?”

“I think someone is following me,” Sunggyu hissed lowly into the receiver, afraid that the person behind him could hear.

This time Woohyun heard, loud and clear. “,” he cursed. And Sunggyu could hear rustling noises on the other side of the line. “Where are you?”

“At the store where we ate once, but I’m on my way home,” Sunggyu responded, turning around the next corner. It wasn’t the way he usually went back home, but he was hoping to shake the other off. It didn’t work. The footfalls sounded closer now, too close.

“Turn around! Go back! I’ll meet you at the store,” Woohyun was yelling into his ear, which wasn’t helping. “Aish! F**k,” his curses was accompanied by a loud crash and several smaller ones.

But Sunggyu couldn’t be bothered by them. “No,” he denied firmly.

“What?” Woohyun’s voice sounded distracted and then he grumbled under his breath, “Stupid chair”

“No,” Sunggyu repeated as firmly as before. But the more he talked, the weaker it got, “Don’t make me turn around. Don’t make me. I won’t. I can’t.” He didn’t want to face whatever was behind him.

“Sunggyu…”

“I’m almost home anyway,” Sunggyu spoke with a smile as he turned another corner. Just one more turn, then it would be his street. He was so close. “It’s pointless to go back.”

“Alright, I’m on my way,” Woohyun announced.

Sunggyu groaned. That would be pointless too, especially now that Sunggyu was almost home. If Woohyun came, what would they do then? Sunggyu doubted that he’d be able to rid the younger easily or at all this time. He only wanted Woohyun to stay on the line. “You don’t have to…” he started to object.

But Woohyun cut him off, “I’m coming, Sunggyu. And that’s it.” A door slammed on the other side of the line. It would appear that Woohyun really was on his way already. “Are you home yet? Are you close?” he asked. Sunggyu stopped. There, in the reflection of the convex traffic mirror at the foot of his street, Sunggyu could finally see him.

“Sunggyu? Are you there? Kim Sunggyu answer me!” Woohyun bellowed.

“Hurry,” Sunggyu hissed. He began walking again, his pace quickened with every step. “I just saw him. Hurry!” he yelled and broke out into a sprint. He never heard what Woohyun said after that. He’d pulled the phone away from his ear to run faster. There was no mistaking who was behind him now. The reflection made it clear. A man with his hood drawn to the brim of his cap underneath, the rest of his face covered by a mask. It was the attacker; without a doubt it was him. It was him chasing after Sunggyu as they both raced up the hill.

I’m close. So close, those words kept repeating in Sunggyu’s head as he ran. He’d never wanted to get back to that apartment so badly, so desperately. And he never ran so fast in his life. His breath couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t keep it up for much longer.

I have to do something. There! Sunggyu pulled a trash can down. He heard it crash down and several curses. But he wasn’t going to risk looking back to see what happened. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from his goal, his home.

I made it! Sunggyu had nearly past the steps to his place. He slid against the pavement, grabbing at the rails to keep himself steady. He crawled up the stairs, hands and feet, until he pulled himself up again. Maybe he did trip the attacker up. Maybe he could run up the stairs in time and barricade himself in the apartment. Maybe, possibly, Sunggyu had escaped.

He didn’t.

The attacker grabbed his ankle and dragged him down the stairs. Sunggyu tried to grab for the railing again, but it was too late. The back of his head thudded against the pavement. The attacker pinned him down. Sunggyu could hear his ragged, hoarse breath, see the blonde strands falling from underneath the hat, and feel the nails digging into his throat. But Sunggyu was far from giving up just yet. He managed to wrangle the hand away from his throat and lock with it. He got the other hand too. And now the two of them were wrestling on the ground, backs and sides, whole bodies scraping against the pavement. Sunggyu tried everything he could in order to gain the upperhand: pushing, kicking, biting, and screaming. Especially screaming. Sunggyu yelled for help, yelled curses at the assailant to scare him off. In the end, he was just yelling incoherent things, barely sounding human. They tore through his throat. And his voice was on the verge of giving out, much like his strength.

Sunggyu was taking hit after hit. His stomach, his back, arms and face, everywhere was in pain. He could barely see out of one of his eyes, which put him even more at a disadvantage, which put him more in pain. Hit after hit after...I’m going to die. This is it. This is how I die.

But then he felt it.

In their struggle, Sunggyu felt something in the man’s pocket, long and thin. ! F**K! It’s a knife. It’s a knife! Now it didn’t matter how much pain he was in, how he could barely see, his instincts took over and his body remembered everything that it’d learned in military training. And he managed to flip the attacker and pin him to the ground, arms above his head. I have to…Sunggyu was kicked in the stomach, knocking him over. I have to stop him. Now the attacker was on top of him. Sunggyu grabbed for his wrists again. I can’t let him reach it. The attacker was quicker. His hand was already in the pocket and he was pulling the knife out slowly, making a show of it. Like he was bragging. Like he wanted Sunggyu to know this was the end. Sunggyu wouldn’t give him that satisfaction and closed his eyes.

“Yah!”

Sunggyu’s eyes flew open at the sudden yell. The attacker too stopped and turned towards the sound. But he didn’t have to search much for the source of it because it came barrelling into his side, knocking him to the ground. Sunggyu gasped for air. How long had he been holding his breath? Panting, wheezing, Sunggyu flipped onto his side. Woohyun, it was Woohyun. He really came. And now he was fighting the attacker. The two of them were rolling on the ground. Woohyun couldn’t overpower him, yet. The attacker, was he tiring? Sunggyu clawed his way towards them, getting onto his knees. Maybe we can...!

Sunggyu forgot about the knife. The knife that the assailant had now pulled out of his pocket, aiming it at Woohyun, whose eyes were bulging in fright. Sunggyu froze. We lost.

Sirens. Those were sirens. The police were coming. The attacker dropped his guard for a moment as he looked back behind him, down the street, giving Woohyun enough time to knock the knife out of his hand. As for Sunggyu, the sight of the knife kicked his instincts in. It wasn’t fight or flight anymore; it was just flight. Sunggyu scrambled onto his feet, but his ankle gave out and he fell over. So now he was crawling his way back to the steps.

The he felt someone pulling at him again. “Where are you going?” A strangled noise ripped through Sunggyu’s throat as he pushed the person behind him away. He tried again for the steps, fingers clawing at the pavement. But he was pulled again, not dragged though. He was pulled back into a hold, arms were constraining him. Sunggyu fought against it, tried to escape. He flailed, his hands in fists. He managed to punch the guy behind, which loosened the hold. Sunggyu tried to get up again, but fell once more. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the ground. He was defeated, in body and spirit.

But he wasn’t pulled again. Instead, a hand laid on his back, finger by finger. “Sunggyu, it’s me. It’s me, Woohyun,” Woohyun spoke barely above a whisper. His hand rubbed Sunggyu’s back, up and down. “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Can I just…” Woohyun didn’t finish asking the question, but his gestures spoke for him. His hand went up to Sunggyu’s shoulder, and his other hand on the other. Sunggyu felt Woohyun slide across the ground, inching closer to him. Carefully, Woohyun lifted Sunggyu back up and into his arms. This time, Sunggyu let him.

Sunggyu couldn’t do much else but to curl up in a ball, trying to catch his fleeting breath. Now he was actually hyperventilating. And he was crying, no wailing with what little voice he had left, which made it all that much harder to breathe. Woohyun dropped all but a hand from the other, which rested on Sunggyu’s shoulder. But Sunggyu was leaning into him, still in the fetal position, still crying. All the while Woohyun whispered, “It’s okay now. He’s gone. I’m here now. It’s just me.”

Sunggyu closed his eyes, taking in a deep and shaky breath. His heart was finally slowing down. His breath was coming back. “I thought...I...I thought,” he wheezed. He took another breath. “I was going to die.” Deep breath once again. He felt Woohyun’s head rest on top of his, his low voice hushing him. Sunggyu shut his eyes even tighter, but the flashing police lights still pierced through his eyelids. The sirens were slowly drowning everything else out, even Woohyun’s voice, even this: “I...I al...most...died.”

“Am I seriously the only one that called the police?” Woohyun lifted his head and saw Sungyeol just a few steps in front of the police officers, panting. “Bunch of f***ing idiots,” he spat. Woohyun ground his teeth together, but held himself back. He needed to be careful not to make any sudden movements again. Sunggyu was already trembling. So he only rolled his eyes as Sungyeol marched closer and wagged his finger at him. “That’s the first thing you should’ve done! Not jump the attacker. What were you thinking?” Sungyeol lectured.

“There was no time,” Woohyun spoke through gritted teeth.

Sungyeol scoffed. “No time? But you had enough time to call me”

“Yea but...” Woohyun swallowed down the rest of that shout. The policemen were getting out of their cars police cars and Sunggyu was...Woohyun glanced back down at him. Sunggyu was bigger than Woohyun was, not by much but still bigger, but right now, Woohyun felt like he was holding onto a small child. And he still hadn’t seen the elder’s face. All Woohyun could see was the black hood, covering his head. Woohyun let out a heavy sigh and looked up at Sungyeol again. “Can we not do this right now? They’re here now. Everything is fine. Sunggyu is…” he paused to glance back down at the other, but Sunggyu was still the same, small, hidden, shaking. “He’s alive.”

And that’s all that Woohyun could really ask for at the moment.

Sunggyu regained his senses in part some time after the police came. He sobered up enough to give his own account of the events, what the attacker look like, what he sounded like. “I’m not sure,” Sunggyu replied. “He’s taller than I am, by a few centimeters. But other than that, I’m not sure what else to tell you. He was covered. I couldn’t see anything. Oh! He has blonde hair! Does that help?” he finished, looking up at the officers eagerly. He wanted nothing more for this attacker to be gone.

“It does,” the officer responded with flat affect. Sunggyu dropped his gaze. They probably heard it before, from Karem or the others. The officer didn’t even write it down. “What about his voice?”

Sunggyu gulped and then cleared his throat. He was still finding it hard to breathe, and talking about this only brought back the memory of it. He was living through it again. “He didn’t say anything. Not a word,” Sunggyu spoke. His voice was ravaged by all of the shouting earlier. What was left of it was nothing but a shadow, thin and bleak. But with all of that shouting on his part, the attacker never spoke, never reacted. Does he even know how to talk? Is he even human?

The policeman sighed. “He never does,” he grumbled.

The interview ended with only those few questions. They didn’t want to push him, and Sunggyu needed to be checked and cleared by the medic. The discussion ended with a promise that Sunggyu would visit the police station the following day. “Maybe you’ll remember more then, after some rest,” the officer said while the medic came over to check his vitals. “You never know.” Sunggyu knew. He knew that he already told them all that he could, that recounting the events tomorrow would bring back today’s pain, but he also knew that it was necessary. And unfortunately, he also knew that tomorrow he’d have to tell strangers the reason behind the attack. His stomach twisted at the thought of it.

But then again, perhaps they already knew. “We’re going to interview your friend now, okay?” the officer spoke that word coyly as if to imply something. “We’re still going to be around, okay? Watching you. We have this place surrounded. You’re okay. You’re safe now.” While the officer spoke, Sunggyu kept nodding until the medic told him to keep his head still so that she could examine his eye. “You’re lucky that kid came just in time.”

“I know,” Sunggyu murmured. Having the friends that he did was the only reason why he felt fortunate right now. Sunggyu’s eyes began b with tears again.

“Oh! Did that hurt?” the medic asked as she pulled her hands away from his face.

“No,” Sunggyu mouthed more than spoke. “I’m fine.”

Dawn was breaking now, and Sunggyu was still outside. The police were processing the scene thoroughly, and Sunggyu took it as an opportunity to leave. He didn’t get far, just a playground near his place, but it was far enough to not be able to see his street. The only reminder of the attack (other than his injuries, which included a swollen black eye and a sprained ankle, luckily the worst of it) was the police car a few meters away, keeping watch over him, over them. Woohyun and Sungyeol were still with him too. Woohyun was on the swing next to Sunggyu, but unlike Sunggyu, he was actually swinging back and forth. Sungyeol was on the phone with Kate. Apparently he was at her place when Woohyun called him.

“Really? At 2 am?” Woohyun pointed out.

“Eung,” Sungyeol answered casually. “We were playing board games and lost track of time.” The other two scoffed at him, not believing a word. “Whatever, you two stay here while I call her back. Don’t run off,” he warned them.

“Where’d we go?” Woohyun yelled after Sungyeol as he walked away. Sungyeol ignored him, so Woohyun turned to Sunggyu. “I really don’t get him. We have nowhere to go.”

Sunggyu sighed. “Yea, I don’t.”

Woohyun dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a stop. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he told the other. Sunggyu kept his eyes on the ground, but he could sense the other’s glare. “You’ll always have somewhere to go. Sunggyu...”

The elder sighed, knowing what the other wanted. He slowly raised his head and met Woohyun’s gaze after pulling back his hood. “What?”

“Trust me. Believe in me, okay?”

“I…” Sunggyu’s voice dropped as he averted his eyes, looking at the horizon, seeing the orange sun peaking over the buildings. A new day. A new beginning. “I think I…”

“Just text me the list!” Sungyeol barked. The other two jumped and swung their head towards Sungyeol, who seemed to immediately regret yelling at his girlfriend. He pinched the space between his tired eyes. “I can’t...I can’t keep track of it all now,” he defended himself. “So just text me, please? Alright. See you soon,” he said as he hung up the phone. Sungyeol then spun around and was slightly startled to see his two friends staring straight back at him. But he soon shook off the feeling and gestured at Sunggyu. “Hyung, you’re staying with Kate now.” Sunggyu opened his mouth, but Sungyeol shut him down with a raise of his hand. “No, no. It’s settled. You’re staying with her, and I’m going to go get your things now. Kate’s got a whole list of things you need. Woohyun, you stay with hyung, okay?”

“Will do!” Woohyun responded as if he was accepting a command from a superior officer.

“Give me your key, hyung,” Sungyeol commanded, putting his hand out.

“No,” Sunggyu whined, shaking his head. “Why can’t you stay with me?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“He’s taller and more intimidating,” Sunggyu explained to Woohyun, who appeared utterly offended right now.

Woohyun gripped the ropes to the swings so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. “Then why did you call me instead of him?” he argued.

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Sunggyu retorted. His eyes fervently darted between them. “Can’t you both stay? Please?” he begged.

Sungyeol walked over to the eldest and crouched down next to him, patting his head as if Sunggyu was a small child. “I’ll be back, hyung, real soon. Okay?” he promised.

“Fine,” Sunggyu grumbled and batted away the other’s hand, pushing him away. He’d been through a lot tonight, but nothing that warranted to be treated like a child.  “But hurry, okay? This little thing doesn't make for a good shield!” he raised his voice and pointed with his thumb to the man next to him.

“Me? Are you seriously talking about me?” Woohyun objected. Sunggyu turned towards him and nodded. Woohyun scoffed. “That's something to say to the man who rescued you.”

“Sungyeol rescued us,” Sunggyu corrected him. He craned his neck to look back at his friend, but Sungyeol already left. Where did he go? My key! The damn kid must’ve pickpocketed me.

“Can you give me a little credit? Just a little? Come on. Look at this,” Woohyun urged him, tapping at Sunggyu’s shoulder with the back of his hand until the elder faced him again. That’s when Sunggyu finally noticed that he wasn’t the only one with injuries. With his one good eye, he could see that Woohyun’s lip was swollen and split, right where his finger was hovering. Woohyun then pouted, further exaggerating his injury. “I have this because of you.”

Sunggyu’s gaze lingered on that cut. Did I give that to him or did he…does it matter? He wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all if it weren’t for me, if only…Woohyun was nudging him again, trying to snap the other out of it. Sunggyu raised his eyes to the other’s. I just hope he doesn’t regret it. Woohyun then smiled and cupped the other’s shoulder, not caring if it cracked his scab, made him bleed again. Sunggyu smiled, but only for a second. “Without you, I'd probably be dead,” his voice like a whisper even though he was talking with all of his strength.

Woohyun’s grip tightened. “Don't say that,” he responded as his smile faltered.

“Dead or near dead. Just like Jinyoung,” Sunggyu didn’t stop. Woohyun finally let the smile fall completely. “We both know that's true.”

“Still,” Woohyun’s tone was a bit short. “Don’t say that, please,” he stretched out the last word. And Sunggyu followed his wish, pursing his lips and holding back the rest of his words. I just ruined the mood. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in scrapes, even at the fingertips. Woohyun must’ve followed his gaze. “How’s your injuries? They checked them, right?” he asked.

“Eung, and they wrapped my ankle,” Sunggyu answered, pulling up his pant leg and showing off his bandages. “That’s it.”

Woohyun clapped the other’s shoulder once before jumping to his feet. “Let’s go,” he exhorted Sunggyu.

But the other was baffled and stayed where he was. “Where?”

“It get you ointment and stuff,” Woohyun revealed.

“I can’t move,” Sunggyu replied, gripping onto the ropes of the swing.

“You can, and I’m not leaving you behind,” Woohyun reasoned. He then put his hands over the other’s and pried them from the swing, pulling the other up once he did. “Come on,” he urged Sunggyu with a groan. Sunggyu eventually got up and leaned against the other for support. “It’s just right over there.” Woohyun nodded over down the block.

“Fine,” Sunggyu mumbled as they began to hobble over with the other’s help. As they were walking, the police car slowly crept behind them, and they tried their best to ignore it, although it was awkward. But there was something else that Sunggyu noticed on their walk over to the shop. “Ah! Hold up,” he told the other as they were passing by a black bag discarded on the ground. “That’s mine!” Sunggyu slowly and wobbly bent down to pick up his bag of beer. When he pulled himself back up, Woohyun was staring at him in disbelief, eyebrow arched high. “What? I bet that they’re still good. I paid good money for these,” he argued.

“Whatever you say,” Woohyun muttered. “Let’s keep going.”

When they finally reached the store, Woohyun had Sunggyu sit by the door while he went to go shop. All he could do was twiddle his thumbs as the other searched. Truth be told, the medic already cleaned his injuries, but there was nothing wrong with picking up some ointment and bandages for later. There was nothing wrong with being taken care of. Sunggyu raised his head and caught Woohyun glancing over the shelf at him. The elder smiled and Woohyun grinned right back before going back to his shopping. Besides what else were the both of them going to do while Sungyeol was getting his things?

“I’m still here. Don’t worry,” Sunggyu teased the other after he caught Woohyun glancing over at him again.

“I know,” Woohyun sounded slightly irritated as he walked out of the shelves and towards the register. “I’m almost done.”

“Wait,” Sunggyu tried to stop him and to get up. “I should buy it. It’s for me,” he reasoned.

Woohyun waved his hand, gesturing at the other to sit back down. “No. I’ll do it. You wait there,” he insited.

And Sunggyu let him. “Well, if you’re buying…” his voice drifted off, trying to sound as cute as one could with a tendril of a voice left. He craned his neck, looking at the shelf of snacks, his lips. “I’m a little hungry. Can I also have...”

“I’m not made of money!” Woohyun cut him off as he handed the card over to the cashier. “This is good for now,” he told her, and the girl just sniggered at the both of them. “Have a nice night,” he wished her with that smile Sunggyu used to hate, fangs flashing. But now Sunggyu just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sunggyu, are you ready?” Woohyun asked as he put the bag into one hand and extended the other to Sunggyu.

“Eung,” the elder hummed, grabbing the hand and pulling himself up with it. He then placed his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.” And they left the store.

The two of them didn’t go back to sit at the swings again, but they were on a bench outside of the playground. Sunggyu had taken the ointment out of the bag and squirted some on his finger. With another finger, he searched on his chin for the cut that he knew was there. But it was difficult.

Woohyun retched. “I can’t watch this anymore,” he complained and then put out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“No, I can…” Sunggyu started but then he remembered. I won’t think less of you…Trust me. He was going to start. He handed the tube over to Woohyun. “Here.”

“Okay,” Woohyun spoke in a hushed voice and took the tube. He put some on his finger and began dabbing Sunggyu’s cheek with it, right below his swollen eye. Sunggyu inhaled sharply through his teeth and jolted away. “Don’t move,” Woohyun chided him.

“It stings,” Sunggyu whined.

“Of course it does!” Woohyun retorted. He then cupped Sunggyu’s chin, trying to get him to stay still. “Now stop being a baby and be still. It’ll only take me longer if you keep moving,” he reminded him. So Sunggyu listened, and stayed still. He stayed still even when Woohyun tilted his chin, forcing him to look up. The sky was fading into blue now. What time is it? He wondered. And he almost asked the other because it was so quiet, so awkward. But because it was so awkward, Sunggyu couldn’t say anything. So he stayed still, stayed silent. Then Woohyun stopped. He must’ve felt just as awkward because he cleared his throat, signaling for the other to lower his head again. “Here. All done,” he murmured, tossing the tube at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu fumbled with it, but he eventually caught it. And when he did, he uncapped it again and squirted some onto his finger. He then raised it to show the other. “Let me…”

Woohyun got what he was asking. “Okay,” he gave in easily and squirmed in his seat, scooting closer to Sunggyu and jutting out his face.

Sunggyu let out a short chuckle. “You’re enjoying this too much,” Sunggyu teased as he applied the ointment to the corner of Woohyun’s mouth.

“I should,” Woohyun talked even though Sunggyu was trying in earnest to apply the ointment on his mouth. “This is probably the only reward from you for saving you that I’m going to get.”

“Punk,” Sunggyu swore with a smile as he lowered his hand and capped the ointment. He then threw the tube into the bag at their feet. That was when he noticed the other bag. He bent it over to pick it up and offered it to Woohyun. “You can have this too.”

“Yay, beer that you dropped on the ground and that’s probably ruined,” Woohyun responded in a dry voice but went to accept it anyway. When Sunggyu tried to take it back, thinking that it truly was a paltry gift, Woohyun lunged forward, grabbing for the bag.  “No, I want it,” he whined, tearing it from the other’s grasp.

Sunggyu snorted. “Thanks for coming, Woohyun,” he said as he watched Woohyun dig through the bag.

“You’re welcome,” Woohyun responded with a smile and then popped the tab on the beer. And it exploded, foam spilling all over Woohyun and onto the ground. “!” he cursed and then tried to drink as much as the foam as he possibly could before it made a bigger mess.

Sunggyu laughed, a lot, at Woohyun. His weak voice just came out in wheezing puffs and he was sure that he reopened some of his cuts from smiling so hard. It hurt, oh god, it hurt. But it also felt so good. It was the best remedy for his weary soul. Sunggyu leaned forward, closer to the other, still riding the wave of laughter, which only swelled when Woohyun look at him like that, so confused. Gosh, why is he so...

“What’s going on here?”

Sungyeol was back now, holding a large duffle bag of Sunggyu’s, filled to the hilt. He then saw the can in Woohyun’s hands. “Oh beer!” he exclaimed and made a move for the beer left in the bag.

“Bad beer,” Sunggyu warned him as he slapped Sungyeol’s hand away. “Don’t drink it.”
“My bad beer,” Woohyun corrected him, pulling the bag up and clutching it at his chest. “Don’t take it,” he warned his friend, glaring all the while.

“Okay okay, I won’t,” Sungyeol muttered as he backed away with his hands in the air until Woohyun’s glare dropped. He then faced Sunggyu. “So you ready to go? I got you all packed,” he announced and patted the duffle bag at his side.

Sunggyu stared at the bag again. It wasn’t just full. It was stuffed. Several things were crammed in there and fighting to get out of the bag. “What the hell is in there?” he asked.

With a groan, Sungyeol set it down and it landed on the ground with a thud. How heavy was that thing. “Everything on Kate’s list,” Sungyeol answered while he ped the bag. “She’s thorough.”

Sunggyu peered into the bag and spotted a familiar red lidded box, accompanied by a sour smell. “Seriously? The kimchi my mom sent?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. But then he saw a few apples next to it and a banana. “Wait, is this all the food from my fridge?”

“She’s thorough and low on food,” Sungyeol amended as he zipped the bag back up, but not without a struggle. He then hefted it back onto his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go,” he told the other, panting slightly.

Sunggyu moved to get up. “Hold on,” Woohyun muttered as he helped the elder up and stood up along with him. But when they were both standing, Woohyun still wasn’t done with him yet. “Bye Sunggyu.” He wrapped his arms lightly around the other, trying his best not to apply too much pressure; his arms just barely touched Sunggyu’s sides. The hug felt so different from the one they shared earlier that night, but there was something that was similar. The only weight Woohyun was willing to bear down on him was his own head on Sunggyu’s shoulder, his nose tickling at Sunggyu’s neck.

It wasn’t a smile on Sunggyu’s face, but it wasn’t straight either, wasn’t unaffected (using Woohyun’s own words). He patted the other’s back with his free hand. “Bye,” he whispered as he pulled away from the younger. Sunggyu then turned to Sungyeol, who was staring at the both of them with a grin on his face but confusion in his eyes. “Let’s go.”

“Alright. I’ll take you home.”

They had taken the police car to Kate’s place, and it was a short ride too. Kate didn’t live far from the scene of the crime, but it was just far enough, outside of the neighborhood. And when Sunggyu was at her door, she hovered in the doorway, lifting her arms up a few times, reaching for him, but putting them back down. This girl. Sunggyu made the decision easy for her and opened up his arms. “Come on, just give me a hug,” he grumbled. And they did. It was awkward. The two of them rarely hugged, but the occasion called for it. So they endured it for a few seconds and then came inside.

Once inside, Sunggyu noticed that her apartment was tidy at all. In fact it was quite a mess. Kate followed his wandering eyes and hastened to tidy things up, including the Blue Marble board game that had been abandoned midplay. So they really were just playing games.

“You knew I was coming. What were you doing if you didn’t clean?” Sunggyu as he sat down on her couch.

“I called our parents,” she answered curtly as she put the game back in the cupboard. Sunggyu’s heart stopped at that thought. Kate stood up and faced him. “I told them what happened. I told them you’d call when you had the chance.” She then walked over towards the kitchen. “And I made mandu.”

“What?”

Kate walked back out and stood in front of him. “I just didn’t know what else to do,” she replied, wringing her hands. She looked extremely anxious, which was probably why she began fussing with the cushions next to Sunggyu. “Sunggyu, you...I didn’t know. And it was taking so long. I didn't hear anything for so long. I had all of the things to make them,” she muttered under her breath. When she was done and deemed  the cushions properly fluffed, she looked over at her friend. That’s when Sunggyu noticed how pink her eyes were, how puffy. “They're done if you want them, so...do you?”

“Yea,” he mouthed.

But that was enough for Kate. “Okay,” she chirped with a grin and walked back into the kitchen. “Oh! You should probably call them now,” she yelled from the other room.

“Okay,” Sunggyu spoke for as loud as he could. He then pulled out his phone, rubbing his thumb across the screen. I don’t wanna, he let out a whimper at that thought. It was the last thing he wanted to do, call his parents. But, Sunggyu glanced back at the kitchen, watching Kate put food on a plate and wipe her cheeks with the back of her hand. He sighed and dropped his eyes to his phone. They’d be in worse shape than her. So Sunggyu made the call.

“Mom? Yea, It’s me. I’m alive. No, no. Don’t cry.”

Without meaning to, Sunggyu slept away all of Tuesday. He woke up intermittently though, just enough to see the day passing by and him not caring. He’d close his eyes again and fall back asleep. But he saw the empty futon next to the bed and knew Kate had snuck out to go to class. He saw her placing a cup of water and snacks on the nightstand, saw Sungyeol stare and felt him poke at him. But Sunggyu kept sleeping. He was literally too tired to care.

Sadly, all of this sleeping meant that he was wide awake for a few hours in the middle of the night, as Tuesday was turning into Thursday. He sat in the bed and watched Kate sleeping on the futon next to him, wondering if he should wake her up. He didn’t want to talk. He just didn’t want to be the only one awake right now. He decided against it for that reason. Kate would want to talk. She would want to know how he was faring, how he was feeling. And he wasn’t ready to share that yet. He still hadn’t processed everything yet. He didn’t want to.

When he went to the bathroom, he thought about taking a shower, but he didn’t feel like it. He then went into the kitchen and thought about eating. He didn’t really want to do that either. He sat in front of the television and thought about turning it on. No, he didn’t want to. All he truly wanted to do was sleep. Sleep this all away. So he went back into bed and tried to do just that.

Sadly, he had to wake up. He had to go to the police station too and finish his account. It was what little Sunggyu could do to defeat the monster out in the streets (and the ones creeping in the back of his mind too). But before he left the apartment, Kate stopped him. She told him to wait as she rushed off into her bedroom. A few minutes later, she came back with a small white bottle with a golden cross on it. You have to be kidding…“Hey!” he yelped as Kate sprinkled some water from the bottle onto his head. But she didn’t stop. She flicked some more of the water onto his chest and then onto his left shoulder. Sunggyu put his hand up. “Stop!” he shouted. “How many times are you going to do that?”

Kate smiled cheekily. “One more,” she said and flicked some water onto his other shoulder. “Now I’m done,” she announced as she screwed the cap back onto the bottle of Holy Water.

“Why do you even have that?” Sunggyu asked.

“My mom gave it to me when I first moved here. You never know when you might need it,” Kate explained as she went to place the bottle on the counter nearby. Sunggyu rolled his eyes. Of course. Kate was superstitious and she’d inherited it from her family. Her mother was even worse than she was. This ‘blessing’ was probably going to be a part of his morning routine as long as he stayed her. Or until all of this is over.

Sunggyu then felt something pulling at his sweatshirt. He looked down to see Kate pulling some of the fabric away from his body. “She also got me this,” Kate said as she pulled something from her pocket. It was a small oval pin with a portrait of a man engraved into it. Sunggyu had seen it before, nearly everyday. Kate always had it pinned onto the strap of her bookbag. “Saint Christopher looks over travelers. She got this for me so that I could always get home safely, and now it’s your turn,” she told him and pierced the pin through his clothes, fastening it. When she was done, she patted it proudly. “Come home in one piece, okay?”

Sunggyu pulled his sweatshirt so that he could see the pin better. He then patted it back down. “Okay,” he murmured and then turned to leave.

“Wait!” Kate exclaimed. And he turned around. She held up her hands, clasped together, showing him. “First, we should…”

“Right,” Sunggyu muttered and followed her. He wasn’t raised Catholic like Kate was nor was he was nearly superstitious as she was. But he was still a Christian. He didn’t pray much anymore, but now was as good enough time to start again as any. Doing things like this, made the both of them feel like they were at least doing some good, something to improve the situation.

God, please, please, let this all be over soon.

He wasn’t at the police station for longer than two hours. Like Sunggyu had thought, there wasn’t much to add to the account that he gave at the scene. If anything, he remembered less. His brain only kept coming up with the same images, a black looming figure, doing nothing more than drawing in ragged breaths. Were attackers always this quiet? “Depends,” answered the police officer. “They tend to talk more if they are closer to the victim, but saying nothing at all is not very typical either. We’re dealing with a strange one.” Well, that was obvious, but it did little to comfort Sunggyu. He felt strange now too. He didn’t feel like himself.

When Sunggyu was at the station, he learned that Woohyun came in the say before. What did he say? Sunggyu wondered. What did he say about me?

They couldn’t tell him, but they did offer Sunggyu a ride to school so that he could attend the rest of his classes. Sunggyu felt even stranger riding shotgun in the cop car. He twiddled with the pin on his sweatshirt during the ride. Would this thing actually work? Probably not, but it was just like the guitar the other day. It didn’t really do anything but make him feel better.

When he arrived at school, all eyes were on the man stepping outside of the cop car, on him. Luckily Sunggyu had sunglasses on in order to hide his black eye, but now to protect him from meeting other’s gazes. All he wanted to do was hide, but everything made him stand out. Even the fact that he was walking around on crutches.

Kate and Sungyeol found him soon enough, and he started to feel a bit more normal after that.

They ate lunch out that day as Sunggyu wasn’t really up for talking to everyone about it. Woohyun joined them too. With great hesitancy, the three of them breached the topic about his visit to the police station. He told them what happened. When he finished, which wasn’t long after he started, Sunggyu glanced over at Woohyun. Should I ask him about his visit? He opened his mouth about to speak, but then the man with whom he wanted to talk opened his big fat mouth.

“That’s right. Kate,” Woohyun then made the girl the center of attention. “Why weren’t you there that night? I thought you’d beat me there.”

That was a good point. Sunggyu faced his old friend. It was something that was on the back of his mind for awhile. Why wasn’t she there? Why did she stay at home? “Yes, let’s all rush off into uncertain doom. Someone has to stay behind to prepare your funerals,” she spoke with dry sarcasm and stuffed food into . Woohyun and Sungyeol groaned, rolling their eyes at her. Kate got the hint and quickly swallowed her food. “Sorry, it was a bad joke. Truth is...” she sighed and pointed at her boyfriend with her thumb. “This guy wouldn’t let me.”

“That’s right, I did!” Sungyeol boasted. “No! Stay here!” he tried to act out what he said that night, but then he laughed. “Or something like that. I can’t really remember what I said,” Sungyeol admitted. He looked over at Kate. “Honestly, I’m surprised you listened to me.”

“You should’ve seen his face,” she told the other two. “I’ve never seen Sungyeol so serious.”

“It was serious,” Sungyeol reminded her. “But it’s all over now, right?” His attention was now on Sunggyu. “You’ve given your statement, so it’s all over right?”

Sunggyu hesitated. Was it? Was it really over? The guy was still out there. And this feeling still clung tightly to Sunggyu, suffocating him. While he was silent, Woohyun answered for him: “Right!” He put a hand on Sunggyu’s shoulder. “There’s nothing left to worry about.”

Sunggyu really wanted to believe that was true.

There was one thing left that Sunggyu wanted to do today and that was to go back to his apartment, in broad daylight, and to pick up Myungsoo’s guitar. Just like the pin on his chest, he felt safer with it around. And playing it helped to clear his mind from some of his worries. Maybe that’s why Myungsoo was always playing it, Sunggyu mused.

And as strange as it was, Woohyun was a part of his plans too. He asked Woohyun to come with him after his shift at the library was over. Woohyun was confused, maybe a bit startled but agreed to do it nonetheless. It made sense to Sunggyu though. It had to be Woohyun. First of all, Woohyun knew everything. Second, he wasn’t as overbearing as Kate and Sungyeol were being right now. Those two were coddling him, especially Kate, who kept asking Sunggyu if he wanted anything, if there was anything that she could do for him. Third, Woohyun was still kind of afraid of Sunggyu and he could easily shut up the younger with a nasty glare. Sungyeol and Kate had stopped being afraid of him a long time ago.

Sunggyu had used his glare when Woohyun made an off-handed comment about the weather or about someone on the bus, and now they were both walking up Sunggyu’s street in silence. At first Sunggyu let Woohyun walk ahead of him, but that didn’t feel right. His back was too exposed. So then Sunggyu walked in front of Woohyun, but then what if someone attacked from the front? No, that wasn’t any good either. Woohyun didn’t say anything but he did chuckle at Sunggyu and his changing pace. Eventually he put his arm on the other’s back and brought him to his side. Yea, this was probably best. Woohyun was light enough that Sunggyu could just throw him at any direction that the attacker would come from and he was easy to reach from here. Yes, Woohyun was the right choice. Sunggyu couldn’t toss around Sungyeol so easily.

While Sunggyu was immersed in his battle strategy, they arrived at his place. “This is it,” was the only thing that Woohyun had said for the last half an hour.

“What?” Sunggyu stammered as he scrambled to gather his bearings. And when he did, his heart stopped. There was someone on his stoop. By the looks of it, this guy was taller than Sunggyu just by a bit, and his hair, it was bleached blonde. As bright as it was a few nights ago peaking from underneath his black cap. Sunggyu pulled Woohyun in front of him. Before the other could ask him any questions, Sunggyu hissed into his ear, “Namu! That guy. Right over there. On the steps.”

“What about him?” Woohyun whispered right back, keeping his head forward.

“You don’t see it? The blonde hair! He’s about the same height too. It’s him!” Sunggyu growled lowly, gripping on Woohyun even more tightly. It was the attacker, in broad daylight. He was sure of it.

Woohyun wiggled a bit and faced Sunggyu, arching an eyebrow. “Him? Him!” he questioned. Sunggyu nodded. Woohyun scoffed and leaned in closer, whispering, “Sunggyu, even you could beat him in a fight. Take another look at him. It’s not the guy.”

Sunggyu did take another look. The blonde guy sitting on the stairs was playing on his phone, and Sunggyu could barely see his arms from here, which meant that the guy barely had any arms. The guy was quiet skinny. It would be impressive if he could fight off anybody. “Yea. Yea, you’re probably right,” Sunggyu grumbled. He then moved his eyes towards Woohyun, narrowing them into a piercing glare. “Also I already did my service. I could beat you in a fight,” he retorted.

“Whatever you say,” Woohyun let the subject drop, along with his arm that was onthe other. Sunggyu started to feel vulnerable again and subconsciously stepped closer to the other. But Woohyun stepped away and in front of the elder. “Let me talk to him,” he offered, gesturing back at the man on the steps. With that he ran up to the guy, not giving Sunggyu a chance to stop him. Not like Sunggyu would. Woohyun was doing a better job as being his shield than he’d imagined. “Hey! Do you live here?” Woohyun asked the stranger.

“Nope,” the stranger chirped as he put his phone back into his pocket. He then stood up and flashed an awkward but still bright smile. “I’m Lee Sungjong. My grandmother owns the building. I’m waiting for Kim Sunggyu.”

“You’re in luck. He’s right here,” Woohyun announced, pointing back at the man on crutches. And Sunggyu almost used those crutches to impale Woohyun. They didn’t even know who this person was or if he was telling the truth! How could they trust him?

“Oh! Sunggyu-ssi!” the supposed landlady’s grandson called to him. He then bent down to grab something that was laying next to him on the stairs. What was it? A weapon? Sunggyu stiffened, and clutched his crutches. That’s right. He had a weapon of sorts of his own. But then the blonde man stood back up and showed off his red tool box. “I brought the tools to fix your toilet. But I couldn’t get into your place,” he explained. “So I just waited for you.”

Did this kid not even know what happened a few nights ago? Wait, does the landlady? Should she? Sunggyu hobbled over to the stairs. “Ah yea. I changed the lock. Let me open it for you,” he offered. And then the three of them went up to his apartment.

“What happened in here?”

Sunggyu groaned when he saw what Sungjong was referring to. Several of Sunggyu’s drawers laid open. Other things were knocked over. The whole place looked ransacked, and it probably was, by Lee Sungyeol. “My friend made it a mess,” Sunggyu answered. “The bathroom is over there.”

“Oh, thank you,” Sungjong said with a bow and then entered the bathroom.

Sunggyu winced while he slowly descended onto his bed. “Ugh, I forgot about that maintenance request. I put that in like a month ago,” he murmured lowly to Woohyun who was leaning against the wall with his eyes on the bathroom.

“Another reason for you to move out of this place,” Woohyun remarked.

Sunggyu sighed. “Well, yea. I working on it,” he replied. “Where’s that guitar?” he mused while he scanned his messy room. Sunggyu couldn’t even remember where he placed it.

Woohyun was still facing the bathroom. “It’s Myungsoo’s guitar, isn’t it?”

“Eung.”

“Why do you have it?”

Sunggyu stirred in his spot. There was something in Woohyun’s voice that just seemed off. And he still was staring off into the bathroom, watching Sungjong work. Sunggyu looked into the bathroom too and saw Sungjong wipe his forehead with the back of his hand. His eyes then darted back to Woohyun. Does he…like how he looks? Sunggyu shoved that thought aside. He still had a question to answer: “Myungsoo gave it to me before he left. He said that he didn’t need it.”

Woohyun finally turned towards him. Their eyes met. And it just felt cold, like how Woohyun used to look at him. “And you brought it everywhere with you?” He lowered his eyes and his lips. “Do you really miss him that much?”

“What?” slipped out of Sunggyu’s mouth.

“Forget it,” Woohyun grumbled. He raised his head and was staring into the bathroom. “I’m going to go talk to Sungjong.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu muttered, but Woohyun was already in the other room. He watched his friend crouch down next to Sungjong and strike up a conversation. Soon the two of them were laughing, and the wolf was flashing his cunning grin. Sunggyu sighed. He found his new prey, I suppose. He tore his eyes away. I need to find my guitar.

Sungjong finished the repair in under an hour and Woohyun walked him out the door. Sunggyu was sure that the kid would’ve finished sooner, but Woohyun was distracting him. But Sunggyu didn’t care (or at least that’s what he told himself). He was fine. He found the guitar, pulled it out, and was practicing while the other two had their fun. Man, I still .

“I see that you found Myungsoo’s guitar,” Woohyun remarked after he closed the door and locked it.

“Yup,” Sunggyu answered curtly, with his eyes still on the chords.

“So is it worth coming all the way out here to pick up?” Woohyun asked as he sat down next to the other.

“Eung,” Sunggyu hummed as he put the guitar down and began putting it away. He heard Woohyun grumble something below his breath but didn’t quite catch it. Sunggyu stopped packing up the guitar halfway and looked over at his friend. Woohyun’s head was bowed, looking at his folded hands in his lap. Sunggyu smirked and continued to stuff the guitar back into the case. “I like carrying it around because, well, it’s big. I could use it to protect myself if I needed to,” Sunggyu would normally be embarrassed to admit this to anyone but it came easily when he talked with Woohyun. “It’s silly, right?”

“No,” Woohyun quickly replied. “I’ve heard sillier things. We’re friends with Kate and Yeol, remember? Dongwoo too, and Hoya, and Inha, and Peanut…they all say silly things.”

Sunggyu snorted. “Are we friends with anyone normal?”

“You’re normal.”

Sunggyu sat back up straight and looked over at Woohyun. Normal, Sunggyu felt anything but. To hear that he was normal, that was really really nice. Sunggyu smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome?” Woohyun was a bit confused about why he was being thanked. But he chose just to ignore it. “Let’s go back to Kate’s place.”

“Okay,” Sunggyu muttered as he slowly got back up.

“Oh and Sungjong is definitely not the guy.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu fumbled with his crutches.

Woohyun smiled proudly. “Yea he was out of town that night, on some MT with his club. And from what he told me about it, it didn’t sound like he was lying. So he checks out. It wasn’t him,” he announced.

“That’s what you guys were talking about in there?” You weren’t…

“Yea, that makes you feel better about it, right?” Woohyun was looking for praise and he helped the elder back onto his feet.

“Yea, it really does,” Sunggyu replied. Woohyun really was the right choice to bring along.

The rest of the week passed much like that, without incident, and with Sunggyu gradually feeling better. He even stopped wearing sunglasses so often. He wasn’t apprehensive to tell people that he got in a fight and got injured as a result of that. It was vague but still true. He also started venturing out more on his own. At first, it wasn’t far. He’d walk within in the sight of others, but now he was going on small excursions, like he used to, like a normal person would do. Now he was walking back from the bookstore nearby, and he stopped to get snacks from a food cart. He was splurging but after everything he’d been through, he deserved it. He was treating himself.

As Sunggyu sat down at the cart, he felt almost content, chewing on fish cakes almost without a care. Almost. He felt like they were eyes on his back. He didn’t bring the guitar with him because it was difficult to deal with that when his ankle was still sprained. But without it, Sunggyu always had a hard time of shaking off this feeling of being watched. However, today, that feeling intensified. And Sunggyu couldn’t will it away with reason. No, it’s for real this time. I’m being watched.

Sunggyu quickly stood up and paid for his meal. As he handed the cash over to the ahjumma behind the cart, his eyes darted around, scanning the area. Why, why was there so many people with their hoods up? It wasn’t even cold out. And that girl, why was she staring at him? Was she an accomplice? Sunggyu wasn’t going to take any risks. He hurried down the street as quickly as his ankle would allow, which wasn’t very fast. He had to take a break, bracing his hand against the wall as he searched around for a place to go. Then he saw it, his sanctuary.

Sunggyu hurried across the street and ducked into the restaurant.

“Oh! You’re my son’s friend, right?” Sunggyu was spotted almost as soon as he got into the place by the owner.

Sunggyu nodded frantically but did his best to put a calm(ish) smile on his face. “Eung. Is he here?” but he couldn’t hide the desperation in his voice.

The owner raised an eyebrow curiously, looking much like her son. “He got home a few minutes ago,” she revealed. But then both of her brows flew up her face. “Oh, here he is. Namu-yah!” he called her son over to them. Sunggyu stood still, facing the mother. He couldn’t look up at Woohyun. Part of him was embarrassed for coming into the shop, but…but that feeling, it clung to him. He didn’t know how else to shake it off.

“Sunggyu, what are you doing here?” Woohyun probably looked as confused as he sounded, but Sunggyu still didn’t lift his gaze from the floor. “I need help catching up on homework,” Sunggyu lied.

Woohyun must’ve thought that Sunggyu was telling the truth. “Okay, we can go over it.” He then turned to his mom. “Mom, I’ll be back to help later.”

The last thing Sunggyu saw of the owner was her warm smile. Just like...”It’s okay. Help your friend out,” Woohyun’s mother told him. “Go have fun.”

Woohyun snorted. “Yea right,” he replied to her. He then led Sunggyu out of their shop. “Let’s go to my house, where it’s quieter. Is that okay?” he asked. Sunggyu finally glanced over, for just a second. Once Woohyun tried to catch his gaze, it was already too late. Sunggyu’s eyes were darting all over, assessing the street. Was it safe? Was anyone looking? There didn’t appear to be but Sunggyu wasn’t about to take any chances.

“Eung. Let’s go. Quick,” Sunggyu muttered quickly as he sped past Woohyun, even with his injury. Probably because Woohyun was slightly stunned by Sunggyu’s erratic behavior. But Sunggyu didn’t have time to be concerned about that. He needed to get somewhere safe now. Because of his haste, Sunggyu reached the door first. And to his horror, it was locked. Sunggyu jiggled the doorknob impatiently. “Open it. Open it! Hurry!”

“I can’t unlock it if you keep doing that,” Woohyun remarked and put the back of his hand up to Sunggyu’s chest, pushing him away gently. He wedged himself between Sunggyu and the door, fumbling with the keys.

“Hurry!” Sunggyu hissed. His heart was beating way to fast, his breath getting shorter. Everything seemed to be closing in.

“Sunggyu! Just..” Woohyun turned to yell at the other, but he bit it back and lowered his voice. “Just give me a minute. I can’t concentrate. Aish, why is this so hard? Damn door,” he swore lowly. But he eventually got it open, by holding the key with two hands as he unlocked it. While he was struggling with the door, Sunggyu’s head was on a swivel. He didn’t even know that the door was open until Woohyun told him, “Get in.” And Sunggyu was more than glad to do so. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the door click closed and felt Woohyun at his back. Good. We’re safe.

“This isn’t about homework, is it?” Woohyun challenged him as he walked around the other in order to stand in front of him. “D-did you see him?” his voice quivered. “Is he here? Was he here? Should we call the police?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered firmly, and he saw Woohyun practically deflate, becoming a few centimeters smaller. “I just felt like I was being watched. And…and I didn’t want to take any chances.”

Woohyun nodded with his lips tucked inside his mouth. “Good plan,” he praised. “You can stay as long as you need to. You’re safe here.”

“Thanks,” Sunggyu replied, his voice still tense. His whole body was tense, the back of his neck prickling. Sunggyu’s gaze rolled around. Why didn’t he feel safe yet? “Woohyun-ah?”

“Hm?” the other hummed.

“Do you have a room without any windows?”

“You don’t have to be in here with me.”

Woohyun looked up from the comic book that he was flipping through. He raised an eyebrow and snorted. His foot knocked against Sunggyu’s thigh, probably by accident. Both of them were leaning against opposite walls in Woohyun’s second story bathroom. It was cramped. It was hot. It smelled bad. But Sunggyu felt like he could finally breathe again, hiding from prying eyes, and hiding behind the toilet. “No offense, but I don’t think you’re in any condition to be by yourself right now,” Woohyun remarked. He then the tips of his fingers and turned to a new page in his old comic book. Woohyun must’ve read that thing so many times. It was ragged and dog-eared. He gave Sunggyu the other volumes to read too. But all Sunggyu wanted to do with his eyes was to close him. He felt so tired, so drained, exhausted from living everyday like this, with fear driving him to the point of hiding behind toilets in other people’s bathrooms. This…this wasn’t how I wanted to come over to his house. The elder closed his eyes, resting the back of his head against the cool tile. Can’t I ever wake up from this dream? Can’t things be normal again? I just want to be normal.

“Do you want to stay the night?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu muttered. His eyes snapped wide open. Woohyun repeated his offer, stone-faced. “What about your parents?”

“They know.”

“What?!” Sunggyu exclaimed.

“What was I supposed to say when their precious son came home early in the morning battered and bruised?” Woohyun spoke with a tenuous smile. “And then I had to go to the cops the next day. I had to tell them why. I had to tell them. They’re my parents,” he defended himself. “It’s not a problem, is it?” That smile shook.

“It’s not,” Sunggyu assured him. “I told mine. They’re even coming up soon to see me.”

“Good, that’s good,” Woohyun muttered, as he played with the edges of the old book. “So…” he drawled out but said no more.

“So?” Sunggyu pushed him to complete his thought.

“Do you want to stay or not?” Woohyun seemed irritated for having to ask more than once.

“Oh right,” Sunggyu murmured. He then met the other’s gaze, held it. The other’s gaze was steady but his fingers were still flicking at the pages of the book. “Eung,” Sunggyu finally answered with a small nod.

“Okay,” Woohyun mouthed more than spoke and then broke out into a genuine smile. “Yea. So you want me to bring a futon into here or…” he joked.

“Okay okay, I’m getting out,” Sunggyu grumbled under his breath, struggling to get back up onto his feet. Woohyun helped, pulling him up.

“Don’t worry. I’m right here,” Sunggyu didn’t know if the other was being cheeky or serious when he said that. And he didn’t know why Woohyun’s hands were still on him when he was standing up straight, or why his heart started beating faster when he was safer than he’d been all day.

Screw it, those were all lies. Sunggyu knew very well why his body was reacting like that (although he still didn’t understand Woohyun…fully). And Sunggyu was tired, exhausted by everything, including being in denial about this. Since Woohyun was so close, Sunggyu took advantage of it and wrapped his arms around the younger, drawing him in close. Woohyun let out a surprised ‘oomph’ when their bodies met, but the shock didn’t last long. Woohyun’s arms circled around the elder loosely, one hand patting his back, his chin hooking over the other’s shoulder. Sunggyu squeezed him. “Thank you, Namu. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through all of this without you,” he was honest with Woohyun, and exposed, incredibly exposed with him at a time when Sunggyu couldn’t really bear the stares of others.

And that’s why it hurt, deeply, when Woohyun squirmed out of Sunggyu’s arms as if he were hot, with his eyes on the floor. “Let’s get you set up,” he said before leaving the bathroom. “Oh! And I’ll call Kate and tell her that you’re staying here,” Sunggyu heard his voice drift further and further away and Woohyun’s small feet patter down the stairs.

Woohyun ran away. From me, Sunggyu thought. But I thought…did I misread everything? Where did I go wrong? Sunggyu groaned and then went to leave the bathroom himself. But before he did, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, the still swollen but healing black eye, the mussed hair, the dark circles which made him look more beaten than he had been, his deep frown. “Scary,” he muttered to his reflection. He then drew his hood over his head. “I’d run away from me too, if I could.”

Woohyun came back up much later with blankets and something else. “What’s up with your eyes?” Sunggyu pointed out from the other’s bed. He made himself at home in Woohyun’s room while the other was away. In fact he was on the brink of falling asleep when Woohyun barged back in, with pink eyes.

“Allergies,” was the younger’s excuse. “The blankets are dusty.” Woohyun then looked about the room. “So where do you want to sleep?” Sunggyu wordlessly patted the bed and when he was done, he tucked his arms behind his head, showing off how comfortable he was there. Woohyun’s jaw dropped. “You want me to sleep on the floor? In my own home?” he challenged.

“Kate lets me sleep in her bed,” Sunggyu mentioned as he pulled at his hoodie strings (and maybe he was pushing his luck too).

“Do I look like as much of a pushover as she is?” Woohyun retorted.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Sunggyu combatted with a short laugh.

“No,” Woohyun muttered back, gripping onto the blankets tightly.

“Besides I’m injured. I need my ankle to be raised off the ground. And you just said the blankets are dusty. I only have one good eye now…”

“I get it!” Woohyun cut him off. He then stomped over next to the bed and crouched down in order to lay down the blankets. “I get the floor.” Once he put them down, Woohyun put his arms over the edge of the bed and propped his head on them. “You’re lucky that I’m such a nice guy, you know.”

Sunggyu turned his eyes away from the younger and onto the ceiling. “Yea, you’re really nice.”

The elder could practically hear Woohyun pouting through his voice, “Well, that didn’t sound sarcastic at all.”

Sunggyu sighed and rolled his head back down to the side, staring at Woohyun. Sad thing was, Sunggyu had meant it, even sadder that Woohyun didn’t believe him. Sunggyu looked away and sat up, rubbing his stomach. “Do you have any food?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Eung,” Woohyun grunted and stood up. “I bring you into my home and you steal my bed and my food,” he grumbled as he made his way out of the room. “I’m practically a saint.”

Sunggyu sat at the edge of the bed for a few seconds before following Woohyun downstairs. You seriously have no idea.

Fortunately, the two of them ate at the restaurant with Woohyun’s parents, which meant Sunggyu ate a lot (more than he should) and he didn’t have to talk much to Woohyun (Sunggyu was still a like sore with him). It was nice to eat like this, like a family. It was healing to have a mother prepare and feed him a lettuce wrap and a father to joke with. It was so nice that Sunggyu thought about stealing Woohyun’s parents too.

But the nice meal came to an end and the both of them slowly got ready for bed. In silence, of course. And unlike before, Sunggyu didn’t enjoy the silence as much. He opened this mouth to talk several times, but no words ever came. But as they both laid down, with the lights off and the lights from the street filtering in through the window, one of them finally spoke.

“Sunggyu?”

The elder rolled onto his side, inched closer to the edge of the bed, and peered down at the other, curled underneath the blankets with his back turned to Sunggyu. “Hm?” even now Sunggyu couldn’t manage to form a word.

“I’m glad.”

Sunggyu his lips before his voice croaked out a “Why?”

“Because…you’re safe…and because you feel safe here. I’m glad,” Woohyun whispered.

“O-oh,” Sunggyu muttered, not sure of what to make of all of that. So he just responded with, “Good night, Woohyun-ah.”

“Night, Gyu.”

The morning was just as awkward as the night before, especially since Woohyun had left before him, while Sunggyu was still asleep. Woohyun’s mother had prepared breakfast for him and sent him on his way. She must pity me, Sunggyu thought as he waved goodbye to her. She had no reason to treat him so nicely and it wasn’t until recently when he and Woohyun started to have a good relationship with each other. Plus because of me, her son was hurt. Sunggyu sighed. She must feel really bad for me. And he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

Is that the only reason why Woohyun is so nice to me too?

Sunggyu tried to push that doubt into the deep recesses of his mind as he made his way onto campus, which became easier and easier as other thoughts jumped to the forefront. He nervously twisted the pin that was still on his sweatshirt. Dear God, can you hear me?

When he arrived on campus, Sunggyu had over an hour until his next class started, so he went to the library. Sunggyu hadn’t been lying when he said that he was behind on work. He found it hard to concentrate lately. And this morning, he found himself facing the same problem. He’d been staring at this open page of his book for 15 minutes, absorbing nothing. Maybe it was time to try a different subject. Sunggyu got up and tried to find his textbook for another class on the shelves. As he searched through the stacks, Sunggyu didn’t find his textbook but he found something else, standing at the end of the aisle with a black cap pulled down low but his long blonde strands still peaked through. Sunggyu gulped.

It’s him.