Cha Hakyeon woke up and sore, a pattern of nail marks and mouth shaped bruises adorning his skin. An arm gently lay over his stomach, putting an uncomfortable pressure on his wound. Slowly, he detangled himself from Taekwoon’s sleeping embrace, slipping out of the bed. Guilt ate at him, made him sick to his stomach, as he gathered his discarded clothes.

Dressing, he gave the man one last, sad glance, before he quietly left the apartment, exiting into the predawn of Seoul with no intent to return. Phone in hand, he began to walk, tears streaking his cheeks. Betrayal, he had betrayed Wonshik in his weakened state. The thought alone made his heart ache painfully in his chest. Dialing a number, he held the phone to his ear, hoping to receive an answer quickly.

“Hakyeon?” Jaehwan’s voice answered after a few rings, worry evident in his voice. “What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Can you come get me? I...” Taking a deep breath, Hakyeon closed his eyes, digesting what he had done. “Jae, I can’t stay in this place anymore. I... I need you...”

“I’ll be there in like two minutes.” Jaehwan could be heard moving about his own apartment, a faint jingle of keys meeting Hakyeon’s ear.

“I’ll be at that café you always buy me coffee.” Hanging up the phone, Hakyeon stopped and stared down at the wedding ring he still wore around his finger. “Wonshik... You... You deserved better than me...” Holding back a sob, he staggered forward, reaching his destination just as Jaehwan’s car squealed to a stop beside him. In second, the man was scrambling to his side, pulling him into a tight hug, allowing Hakyeon to burst into tears in his embrace.

“I’m here. I’ve got you.” Running his fingers through Hakyeon’s hair, Jaehwan did his best to comfort the broken man. “Lets get you home, shall we?” Allowing himself to be led to the car, Hakyeon found himself sitting in the passenger seat, staring at the roof numbly until they made it to the other man’s apartment.

“Hakyeon...” Jaehwan’s voice was soothing, prompting him to turn and look at him, their eyes meeting. “I’m sorry about everything at the hospital. I was acting like a child.”

“Don’t apologize, Jaehwan. I know.” Sighing, Hakyeon held his gaze, wondering faintly why Jaehwan and himself had never been together. He would have been lying if he had said he didn’t have feelings for the other man. Jaehwan was his best friend, after all, but the timing had never been quite right, his heart had always predominantly belonged to someone else.

“I love you, you know.”Jaehwan’s hands held his cheeks gently as he gave him a small, sad smile. “If I had to choose between you and anyone else... You’re always my choice...”

“I know that, too.” Wrapping his fingers around Jaehwan’s wrists, he gazed up at him, unsure of what would happen next. Unsure if he wanted something to happen or if he wanted to get out of the car and run as fast as he could and never look back.

“Do you?” With a soft chuckle, Jaehwan leaned in, kissing Hakyeon with so much love and emotion that, closing his eyes, it was almost easy for him to imagine Wonshik was by his side again. Almost.

Jung Taekwoon woke up to his phone ringing. Taking a moment, he reached out for it in the semi light of his bedroom, early morning light filtering in through a gap in his curtains. The events of the night before returned to him as he answered the phone.

“Hello?” Yawning, he sat up, scanning the room for Hakyeon, but the other man was already gone.

“I know what you did to him...” Jaehwan’s voice was angry, something he knew he deserved.

“Is he with you?” Not caring about the other man’s aggression, he only worried that Hakyeon was safe.

“He is. He’s sleeping right now.” Sighing, Jaehwan could be heard pacing, the gentle sound of his footfall just barely making it through the phone speaker. “I guess I’m not much better than you are though, am I? Worse maybe...”

“What the are you talking about?” Frustrated with his own actions, Taekwoon took a bit of his anger out on the other man.

“I mean... At least when you slept with him, he was the only one in your heart.” Jaehwan groaned and Taekwoon could hear the pacing stop. “I’m lucky Daewon stayed at his place last night.”

“You did what?” Unable to comprehend what he was hearing at first, Taekwoon replayed the words in his mind. “You ing piece of ! How dare you use him like that!”

“Me?” Scoffing, Jaehwan’s voice portrayed more than enough of his aggravation. “You can’t get pissed at me for showing him what he means to me. Someone has to. And if I remember right, you’ve done nothing but let him down in that department.”

“You have a boyfriend, Jaehwan!” Almost screaming in anger, Taekwoon was dressing, preparing to go save Hakyeon from the other man’s clutches. “Do you know how ing awful he’s going to feel the next time he has to look Daewon in the god damned eyes? Did you even think of that? Did you care?”

“I...” Taken aback by Taekwoon’s statement, the other man seemed at a loss for words.

“What I did... I gave him a moment of peace, just a moment to forget everything...” Jamming on his shoes, Taekwoon pocketed his keys and headed out the door. “In the end, the only person Hakyeon would feel pain toward was me. And that was worth it. Having him hate me was worth it to see him enjoy himself, to see him sleep without whimpering from nightmares. What you did, Jaehwan... That was honestly selfish. That was beyond selfish. It was disgusting and you have to live with that. I’m coming to get him.”

“ you, Taekwoon.” Jaehwan spat, hanging up the phone. Giving a heavy sigh, the man got into his car, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel for a moment. What he had done was messed up. Initially he was sure it would only impact him, but instead it had further broken the man he loved and dragged him further into darkness. Somehow, he had to make it all right...