JR opened the file while waiting at the bus stop, his desire to know more about the man who had taken his cousin too strong for him to fight. Dongho Kang had been an athlete in high school, playing as a defensive lineman in American football at the varsity level but also competing nationally in kendo tournaments. Neither one shocked JR, not after being taken down by the man not once or twice, but three times in total. He was still ashamed about his pathetic performance the previous night: Dongho had beaten him like a drum and he had offered just as much resistance.

Dongho had also had Brain Stem Glioma, though JR was beginning to suspect that there was a tie to it BSG and the development of powers. Maybe because the brain stem itself was what controlled all of the body, but whatever it was, reading that bit of info hadn't surprised him at all. What did surprise him was to learn that Dongho had a happy family life. He had expected violence in his family past, but as he read about the demise of them all in the meteor shower, he realized that his first guess about the robber's motivations must have been correct. He was hurting and he didn't know how else to act: a person of action, he struck out to fill his life with meaningless things to replace his family.

JR's anger evaporated, and he felt a deep empathy for the boy that he read about. He was the same age as JR and Minhyun, his birthday falling in the month between theirs, but he hadn't developed BSG until he was fifteen. To have been able to last for so long with such a malicious cancer told of a strong body and strong will to survive, and very likely a strong support system. JR knew how much he had relied on his parents to help him through, how much their support had meant to him so he could keep fighting. When he lost them...

He closed the file as the bus pulled up, and dashed away the tears he hadn't realized had filled his eyes. As he settled into a bus seat, his mind continued in that stream of thought. When he lost his parents, he had felt so empty and so alone. If it hadn't been for Aron, being there at every step, being someone he could rely on, someone who offered his support and love... if it hadn't been for him, JR didn't think he could have made it through. He was still sad; any time the thought of his parents came into his mind, he felt a wave a guilt and sadness wash over him. But he was recovering and learning to deal with the loss.

But Dongho... he didn't have someone to lean on. He lived alone in a little studio apartment in downtown St. Louis; he had no family in America that he could rely on. That guilt and anger and pain was a palpable thing, JR knew, and for someone like Dongho, who seemed like such a fighter for life, well. It made sense. Plus add up all the medical debt, debt that JR was still paying as well, and all of Dongho's actions made sense.

When he arrived back at Minhyun's house, he found that his friend was home and let him in without question. He did look at the file in JR's hands, to which the shorter of the two handed it to him and said, "His name is Dongho."

Minhyun's eyebrows raised and he took the folder, opening it as he followed JR to the kitchen. He read it as JR downed a glass of water, settling at the island to study the facts within. JR watched as he read and wondered about his friend. He knew that Minhyun hadn't been particularly close to his parents: they had been headed home from a work-related function that Mrs. Hwang had dragged Minhyun along to. She had said it would be good for him to get out, but he had confessed to JR that he knew that he was there so that his parents could raise more funds for the charity they sponsored and, admittedly, dipped into when they wanted to. He had confessed it so non-chalantly that if JR hadn't been getting to know him, he wouldn't have realized that it hurt Minhyun deeply. For his parents to treat his illness as a cash card - JR couldn't even imagine.

But they were still his family, and JR knew that Minhyun still held pain about their deaths. He didn't tear up as he read, JR knew he was too tough for that - Minhyun Hwang was made of steel. But he did read it fully, and when he closed the file and looked up at JR, his eyes were troubled.

"So," he mused, but didn't get the chance to continue: his phone buzzed and made a little dance on the countertop from the vibrations. Both looked at it, then Minhyun picked it up to read the message. "It's a robbery at Jared's jewelry on Park and Hampshire," he said, then looked at JR again. "What do you want to do?"

File or not, empathy or not, JR was determined. His hands clenched into fists and he nodded tersely. "We go. Stick with the plan."

They arrived right as Dongho left the store,