"Oh, hyung! You came back! You said you just want to go for a while, anyway! I have good news!" Sanghyun sat up from his bed, waving at Byunghee rather cheerfully. He kicked off his blanket and hopped on his better leg until he reached Byunghee. "Seungho hyung just called. He said Changsun hyung is with him and he'll be here in a few minutes. Changsun hyung is fine! The police has arrested the stalker."

          "Oh, that's good." Byunghee said with fake smile, guiding the excited younger back to the bed.

          Sanghyun cocked a brow as he watched Byunghee intently. "Hyung… Is something wrong?"

          "Nothing." Byunghee sat next to Sanghyun whom now was eyeing him with concern.

          "Hyung. You look like your dog just died. It can't be nothing. Tell me." Sanghyun pestered, eyes never leaving Byunghee. "Or is it Cheolyong? Did something happen to him? Or between you guys? Did you guys… Fight?" Sanghyun asked in disbelief knowing it was impossible for the MBLAQ maknae to pick a fight with any of the hyung-line but then again none of them would ever fight. At least not too obviously.

          "No, I'm fine." Byunghee snapped, somewhat annoyed which surprised Sanghyun even more.

          "H-hyung…" Sanghyun trailed off with small voice, leaning away from Byunghee slowly.

          Byunghee felt guilty for yelling at Sanghyun who didn't know anything and even more guilty when he saw the fearful look on Sanghyun's face. He let out a sigh and sat down on the bed next to the younger boy. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. I'm just…" A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I don't know…"

          Sanghyun approached the older, concern at the distressed look on Byunghee's face as he draped one arm over Byunghee's slumped shoulder. It felt weird for him to comfort Byunghee. It was always one of the hyung-line who would comfort the younger ones. "You can tell me if you want to. You know you can trust me, right hyung?"

          Byunghee side-glanced at Sanghyun, smiling at the effort Sanghyun was showing at caring for him. It just reminded him of Cheolyong. Because even if Cheolyong was the maknae, that boy knew everything that happen around him and took care of each member in his own way and now, seeing the secret he didn't know Cheolyong was hiding, he felt like he had been deceived but at the same time, he felt like he should have known by himself. He remembered how Cheolyong used to stare out of the window in MBLAQ dorm with steely look on his face, how sometimes, Cheolyong's brown eyes seemed sharper that they usually were, how sometimes, Cheolyong spoke or act totally different from his real self. Which was real anyway? He didn't know. He didn't know. Not anymore. And it frustrated him to no end.

          "Hey, hyung. Stop spacing out." Sanghyun shook Byunghee slightly.

          "Oh. I'm sorry. I just have a lot to think."

          "About what?"

          Byunghee paused for a moment before he closed his eyes, looking like he was about to cry but he didn't. "About everything."

          Sanghyun opened his mouth, about to ask more when the door opened and came in Seungho and Changsun into the room. A smile spread over Sanghyun's face, ignoring the condition of his twisted ankle, he hopped towards the newcomers and jumped into Changsun's arms. "Hyung! I'm glad you're safe." He exclaimed, hugging onto Changsun tightly.

          "Yea. It's a long night." Seungho sighed, somehow his distressed look almost looked similar to Byunghee. He had spent the rest of the night making excuses and more lies to Changsun about why he was there for Changsun together with other police forces and why the polices were so cooperative in keeping this case as secret and would settle it quietly. And also tried to figure out who was the mysterious boy that Changsun had told him about and for him only seeing a glance at the mysterious boy before the room turned dark and that figure escaped.

          One thing he knew, that mysterious boy with skull shaped mask must have some sort of relation with Changsun. Otherwise, why would he came to Changsun's rescue or maybe the mysterious boy have some sort of relation with either Minki or Minyoung however, those two had already denied it. Who was that boy, he wonder. And based on the look on Changsun's face, he knew despite all the shock and trauma he just experienced, the dancer's thought was also filled with the mystery around the boy whom had saved him.

          "Now that all of us are here, let's go and see Cheolyong." Sanghyun suddenly proposed, still clinging onto Changsun. He was not going to leave Changsun's side after what had happened. He probably going to keep clinging onto the dancer until he was sure the dancer was fine again and could smile again like his usual silly self.

          Seungho nodded once and was about to agree with words when Byunghee jumped from his seat on the bed and almost half-shouted, "No!"

          Three pairs of eyes snapped to him, looking at him with similar confused frown.

          Byunghee swallowed loudly. He couldn't be too obvious. "W-well. I just got back from Cheolyong's room. He didn't feel well today and want to rest without disturbance, besides, Changsun need his rest too, after what had happened. We should head back to the dorm." He suggested, trying to calm his nerve.

          "I do need a rest." Changsun whispered weakly, his shoulder sagging more even with Sanghyun patting his back kindly, looking at him in worries. "I just want to sleep and forget what had happened." He said, trying his best to smile back at the taller boy standing close to him although his smile looked weary and exhausted.

          "Okay, then." Seungho agreed. "I'll call Kyungho hyung but I'll stay here with Cheolyong just in case-"

          "No, I'll stay here." Byunghee cut Seungho off.

          Seungho looked at Byunghee in surprise but the main vocalist didn't falter in his stare, look of determination on his face. "I think it's better if I'm the one who stay." The leader spoke slowly, a bit weirded out by Byunghee's strange act.

          "No no no. I'll stay. You're tired just like Changsun." Byunghee quickly replied.

          "But…" Seungho scratched his nape. "Listen, I think he needs me." He finally revealed. "I was here before that accident happened and our maknae was just waking up from the sedative and he… He kind of acting strange and cried a lot." Seungho told, wanting the others to know about the maknae as well. No use keeping that information to himself because he needed the other members to know and to care about the maknae as well, not just him.

          "Is that why you look so distraught today, Byunghee hyung?" Sanghyun asked, slightly surprised at the news and worried over Cheolyong. "Why did he cry? What happened?"

          Seungho shrugged. "I don't know. He woke up and just started trashing around that nurses had to hold him down. He kept asking for his mother."

          Sanghyun and Changsun looked confused unlike Byunghee who knew more than the others. "Why…?" Sanghyun asked again, couldn't formulate an answer.

          "I don't know. Speaking of that, I should call Cheolyong's mom-"

          "You don't have to." Byunghee, again, cut Seungho off. Cheolyong's parents are dead already. "I'll take care of Cheolyong and you guys should just go home and take a rest." Byunghee started to push the other three outside of the ward room. "You have them to worry over, leave Cheolyong to me." He said with a smile that supposed to assure the leader. "I'll take care of eveything here." He said and keep pushing until all of them were in the hallway.

          Seungho sighed in defeat. He didn't know why Byunghee was acting like this today but he had no more energy to fight against his friend over this since he surely can entrust Cheolyong to the mother of the group, so he just nodded once and helped Sanghyun and Changsun towards the exit, leaving Byunghee behind.

          Byunghee's smile faded once the other three finally left and he bit his lips. He didn't know what he was doing but he just wanted to protect Cheolyong. Even from his own group members…

############

In the Jtune Company, a man was sitting inside a large office room, reviewing some documents until he had it enough and stretched up his back, leaving his desk for a moment to have a simple break. He flopped down on the comfy couch in the middle of the room, his eyes trailed to the coffee table where a set of chess made up from glass, half-played on the table. Now it was the black turn to move against the white but it seemed that he was stuck in the half game of him versus himself.

          "Cho Dongwoon." A voice interrupted his thought and he heard soft click of gun unlocked from behind him.

          "Why are you here?" The man asked calmly, leaning back against his couch and waited until Cheolyong's figure hidden behind his uniform stepped around him and was now standing in front of him with a gun directed towards him ready to shoot. "What the hell are you wearing?"

          "Why?" Cheolyong asked, his eyes glared deeper into the man who was supposed to be his brother-in-law. "Did you work for Jiman?" He hissed, the name came out his mouth like a poison.

          "Is that why you came here looking like this?"

          "Don't deflect!" Cheolyong hissed, his gun cocked dangerously towards Dongwoon. "Did you do it? Are you the one who killed them?"

          "What are you talking about?" Dongwoon asked back with amused look on his face. It hadn't been easy to see Cheolyong to fume with so much anger. The young boy usually kept a cool front and always had that hollow look and attitude as if to tell everyone he possessed no heart, no feelings.

          "My family! There's only you. I can think of only you. Answer me! Are you part of Ruby? Are you the one who kill my family so I can ing kill you already!" Cheolyong half-shouted, his breath came out shaky and if only it was possible, he had almost spit fire in front of this man.

          Dongwoon sat up, alerted. "What did you say?" He asked, his face grew darker, completely unfazed by the fact that his head would be blown by a gunshot in a few moments once he made a mistake.

          "My family. Did you kill them? Did Jiman send you to kill them?" Cheolyong repeated, this time, his tone showed slight doubt. His eyes scanning, translating every reaction coming from Dongwoon. Trying to figure out the older man.

          Dongwoon now jumped on his feet, eyes opened so wide it surprised Cheolyong. Cheolyong didn't calculated such reaction from Dongwoon. "Hajin? Hyosun?" He asked, almost in panic.

          "You!" Cheolyong gritted his teeth and out of anger, he kicked the coffee table next to him that the vase and chess set on the table fall onto the floor with loud noise. "STOP PLAYING GAMES WITH ME!"

          "Where's Hajin? Where's Hyosun? Tell me they are safe!" Dongwoon inquired, now looking as angry as Cheolyong, demanding to know about his wife and only son.

          Cheolyong let out a dark laugh. "Didn't you the one who killed them?"

          Dongwoon gasped, his knees weakened and he fall backwards onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. Why? Why so sudden? "Are they… Dead?" He asked, his voice dripping with pain and grief which made Cheolyong retreat back his gun.

          "If you are not the one who killed them, then who?" Cheolyong whispered, feeling hot tears prickling the corner of his eyes.

          There was pause when Dongwoon spoke again. "Ruby."

          "Ruby?" Cheolyong echoed. "The personal armies under Jiman? You're not part of them?"

          Dongwoon shook his head. "You got it wrong. Didn't you realize it yet?" With red eyes, Dongwoon looked up and matched his gaze with Cheolyong. "The personal armies under Jiman is you. And Jinwoon."

          "What?"

          "Ruby is the official troop working under military of North while it was you and Jinwoon who are under secret organization created by Jiman. So as your family." Dongwoon stood up and went to his desk, pulling a drawer and dumped all the contents onto the desk. When the drawer was empty, he set it down and pushed on a hidden button inside the drawer and the top layer of the floor opened up like a laptop. "Here." He shoved the millenium gadget to Cheolyong.

          Cheolyong took the gadget and his eyes scanned the list filled with profiles together with pictures and informations and he saw the similarity at each headline of the profiles. "North Agents." He whispered. "There's no Jinwoon or me in here." He realized as he scrolled down the list of the profile.

          "Because you and Jinwoon never exist inside North military." Dongwoon revealed. "Your information as well as your family had been erased the moment Jiman put you under his training. As if you guys never exist from the start."

          "You mean, all these while, I had been working against my own country?" Cheolyong said, his voice broke and he felt his whole body tingled and the whole things had been unreal… So unreal…

          "Jiman hadn't send any mission yet. What do you mean?" Dongwoon looked at Cheolyong questioningly.

          "Does it matter?" Cheolyong snapped, trying his best to cover up his slip-up knowing there was more to those nightly missions he did with Jinwoon since those order didn't come from Jiman, there was only one person he knew was behind all of those orders. Jinwoon!

          Dongwoon sighed. "I didn't know how Ruby found out about us, but this means war." He said, pulling out a small chip and handed it to Cheolyong. "This is the list of those under Ruby. It's a long list but we have no choice but to start now. I believe, they have murdered your family under the president's order. That old man had been suspecting Jiman and his secret armies, which is us. He won't sit still until he send us all down the hell."

          "I don't want to get involved in this!" Cheolyong refused. "Why should I work for him? Why should I listen to you?"

          "Because Jiman tried to protect South! Don't you want to protect South too? Those boys. I see how you act with them. You love them don't you? If you let the president have his way, in a year or two, South will bow down by his feet."

          "I don't care." Cheolyong hissed and turned his back on Dongwoon when he froze as he heard the words Dongwon uttered.

          "North had done nothing for us."

          It was a mere soft words almost sound defeated but it stopped Cheolyong and make the younger listen. It was the same words engraved in the letter that Jinwoon's parents left behind.

          "If you want to find who had killed our family, it's North." Dongwoon continued. "And if you don't want to get involved, fine. I'll do it myself. Believe it or not, your family is mine as well."

          Cheolyong looked down on his black boots. It didn't take him long as he turned back and marched towards Dongwoon, snatching the chip out of Dongwoon's hand. "I'm not doing this for Jiman."

          "I'm not as well." Dongwoon answered firmly. "Not anymore. This is, for our family." He clapped once onto Cheolyong's shoulder, showing that he could be trusted and he wanted to be trusted.

          "All of this wouldn't have happened if Jiman didn't start it."

          "We will get them back for what they have taken from us."

          "For each drop of blood."

          "Each second of pain."

#############

Byunghee had paced around the hallway, didn't know if he should enter the room where the maknae supposedly had left a few hours before. If he entered and wait there, Cheolyong would find out that he knew and somehow, he knew that would not be a good thing. Let's just say, he watched Ninja Assassin too many times already thanks to persistant Changsun.

          "Hey, what are you doing out here?" Byunghee jumped when a nurse, the nurse that had been in charge of taking care of the MBLAQ maknae since the day one the maknae was wheeled into the hospital and grown to be their friend approached him with a tray of medication, clearly for Cheolyong.

          "I-Inyoung-ah." Byunghee stuttered.

          "Yea… Why do you look so scared? Something happened?" Inyoung asked in concern.

          "N-nothing. Is that for Cheolyong?" Byunghee asked.

          Inyoung looked down at the tray on her hands and chuckled. "Yeah, and of course I sneak in his favorite." Inyoung whispered, slightly pulling up the clothe covering the tray for Byunghee to see the various snacks together with the medication. "I can't believe I fall for his pout and do all these for him." She shook her head and laughed a bit more. "Well, I should give him this already, want to go in together?" She asked while walking past Byunghee whom trotted after her a few seconds later.

          If only Byunghee could stop her, then he would have. What would happen now once she noticed the newly operated patient was missing? It would wreck a havoc!

          Praying hard behind the nurse, Byunghee squeezed shut his eyes once Inyoung pushed open the door to Cheolyong's ward room. What kind of excuses he should gave? Maybe he could just say that Cheolyong went out for a walk out of boredom? Or maybe Cheolyong sneak out to see his secret girlfriend? Or maybe Cheolyong just went down to café and still hadn't came up for some reason? No! That kid just got operated not even two days ago! Normally people won't be able to even walk under such circumtances!

          "How are you doing today, Cheolyong-shi?"

          Eh? EH? Byunghee's eyes clicked opened and his jaw dropped at the sight of Cheolyong half lying on the bed, pale lips stretched into his cute silly smile as he told the nurse about his condition. He… was here? Byunghee blinked a few times, even rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

          "Oh man! I love you, Inyoung noona!" Cheolyong exclaimed when Inyoung showed the snacks she snuck in for the MBLAQ maknae, stretching his hands towards the girl like a small child wanting a hug and Inyoung fawned immediately, giving the MBLAQ maknae the hug he demanded.

          "But don't eat all in one shot or you'll get stomachache." Inyoung reminded once making sure Cheolyong took the medication she brought.

          "Okay, mom~" Cheolyong joked and both laughed.

          "You chinca… I can't believe you're just a year younger than me." Inyoung cooed, pinching Cheolyong's cheek before taking off to continue her work.

          "Hyung! Good morning!" Cheolyong greeted brightly from the bed, taking Byunghee out of his reverie by the door. "What are you doing standing there with that silly look. Come in." Cheolyong beckoned with one hand, putting down his snacks on the table by the bedside and sat up slowly with a bit difficulty.

          Out of instinct, Byunghee ran to get the maknae and held the younger by the shoulder to help propped him up and after doing that, only then he realized he had seen Cheolyong jumping out of the window and surely looking pained while sitting up was just an act after that kind of stunt. How silly of him…

          A sigh escaped Byunghee's lips, catching Cheolyong's attention as he blinked up at Byunghee with his wide brown eyes. The innocent-looking eyes that had been deceiving Byunghee for years. "What, hyung? What's with the long face? Did Joonie hyung burn your kitchen again?" Cheolyong teased.

          Byunghee frowned. How could Cheolyong still smile so brightly, joking and teasing him this way when not a few hours ago that he saw Cheolyong broke down, reduced into a ball of anger and sadness after the news of his now dead family? Yet, here he was, watching the maknae smile as if nothing had happened, as if what he had witnessed a few hours ago was simply his own dream, his own delirium.

          "Hyung… Why aren't you answering me? You're scaring me." Cheolyong tried again, taking Byunghee's shirt and tugging slightly to gain the main vocalist's attention. "Hyung?" He called again and was taken by surprise when Byunghee suddenly reeled him into a hug. It was an awkward position until Byunghee sat himself on the bed right beside Cheolyong, never letting the maknae go, instead, wrapping the younger boy tighter inside his arms. "Hyung? What's wrong?" Cheolyong asked, his voice muffled against Byunghee's chest. He was bewildered with the sudden gesture but he didn't make a move to pull away, waiting for the older boy to at least say something.

          "Can we just stay this way for a while?" Byunghee asked, one hand ran over Cheolyong's brown silky locks as another sigh escaped his lips. He didn't know. Cheolyong was a really good actor. Maybe if he hadn't heard that conversation before, he would have not realized this but behind Cheolyong's cheerful smile, he could feel the immense pain behind it. The pain that was killing Cheolyong slowly and he didn't want to just stand there and watch. But he didn't know what to do. How to help? He still didn't. All he did was just to calm the pain that was pressing on his own chest. He just need to hold Cheolyong in his arms, at least for this short moment, pretending that he could protect the maknae from the whole world.

          "Did something happened?" Cheolyong asked in a small voice, hand patting over Byunghee's back in a comforting gesture.

          "Nothing. Let's just stay this way. Just for a little bit more." Byunghee whispered, closing his eyes, not willing for his tears to fall. This was all so confusing to him. And not knowing, was torturing him.

          "Okay…" Cheolyong agreed, settling himself more comfortably inside Byunghee's embrace and buried his face into Byunghee's chest. He felt his eyes tearing up at Byunghee's tender caress on his hair and the warmth enveloping him. Really, no wonder people always labeled Byunghee as the mother of the group. Mother… And without him able to stop it, his tears streamed down his face yet again, but he tried his best not to make any sound.

          And though Cheolyong didn't voice it out, neither did Byunghee, he could feel that the older boy was in a way, trying to ease his pain and it was as if they were sharing the pain. And being held this way, he felt like he was back inside his mother's tender embrace. That hurt him more but at the same time, he felt better. Even if it just a tad.

          Byunghee however felt the warm tears seeping through his sweater and his arms tightened even more around Cheolyong knowing the maknae was shedding the tears out of that pain. Pain that the maknae had tried to hide from him. I wish I could help…