The night is gloomy for a spring night, and there is no stars in the sky. Sehun shivers because of a sudden breeze, but leaves the window open as he leads to his favorite couch in living room after taking his last on his cigarette.

Sehun's roommate isn't at home tonight, and he thought it would be a great opportunity for him to have peace of mind, but he figures he is bored a few hours after Jongin's departure.

He tries to focus on reading the novel that he bought a few days ago, but finishing a page takes more than it should, he inhales deeply, then reaches for his phone. Sehun thinks about calling Junmyeon, he is fun to hang out, one of the people Sehun loves to spend time together, but he remembers getting a message from the man saying he would be out of the city for a few days. 

Sehun's thought college would be fun, it only took him a few months to realize he was wrong, and look at him now, his soul is about leave his body in his senior year. 

After thinking he couldn't get more bored, Sehun decides to sleep, it is only 9 pm, he laughs at himself. Humming a song which he heard at his favorite coffee shop earlier in the day, he turns off the lights only to turn on them again a few second later.

There is a silent scream coming from nowhere, and Sehun's eyes widen. It takes him only a breath to run through the window that he left open almost an hour ago. 

He sees for boys, pushing each other, no, he corrects himself, there are five. Sehun rushes inside to grab his glasses for taking  a better look at them. Then he hears the boys shouting as they deliver kicks to another boy's stomach who lies down on the cold street pavement, "Are you calling yourself a boy?" "You're not more than a !" "Your father should be ashamed of you!" "You're disgusting." "I hate you."

Then Sehun understands what's going on. 

"You don't deserve to live." 

He yells from the top of his lungs, "Leave him alone." 

Then he runs, probably in a speed he's never experienced before. Sehun finds the boy alone, still on the same spot, with his highschool uniform covered in his own blood. He freezes for a moment, thinking what sould he do, then his hands reach the boy, taking his head on to his lap, trying to read his name tag attached to his jacket. Byun Baekhyun. 

Sehun calls his name, shakes him a little, afraid to hurt him more. Baekhyun responds a few calls later, a soft "I'm fine," is heard from his wounded lips, "Thank you." 

Sehun wants to cry, keeps his hair, "I'm calling an ambulance." 

Baekhyun lifts his hand to hold on Sehun's arm, "Please don't." He coughs violently, his tears make their way to his lips, he hisses then. Sehun ends up carrying the boy to his home. 

He gently drops Baekhyun to the couch, and takes his jacket off after he gets a wet towel, and the first aid kit, Sehun silently thanks his mom to make him put it to kitchen. 

The boy whimpers from pain under Sehun's touch, his breath is heavy, ", I'm sorry. I should've called an ambulance." 

Baekhyun shakes his head, "I'm fine."

"You're not even close to being fine. Your face is ruined, and I don't even know what to do about your wounds. We should take you a hospital." 

The boy's eyes are half open when he says "I'm fine," again, then he keeps them closed as Sehun puts some ointment to his cuts, his body aches so much, and he finds it hard to breathe.

Sehun makes him sit down for a while, gives him a fresh t-shirt, and short pants, saying that Baekhyun shouldn't keep wearing that dirty uniform. The boy says to Sehun that he doesn't have to do it, but Sehun helps him to wear them anyway, and tries to persuade the boy to sleep. Baekhyun says he needs to go, "It's getting late." He wants to rise to his feet, but his body betrays him immediately, making him fall to the couch he's been sitting for a while. 

"What were you, a highschool student, doing outside at this hour of the night?" Sehun feels like a father, who scolds his son for being late to home, he regrets it instantly when Baekhyun gives him a look. 

"I'm working. Part-time." Baekhyun forces himself to speak again, hands on his stomach, "And please, I'm almost 18."

Sehun lets out a deep sigh, "Almost."

Baekhyun wants to leave again a few minutes later, "Thank you so much, and I'm sorry that I caused a lot of work." 

Sehun shakes his head, "That's nothing, but you're not going anywhere. You can't even stand properly." 

"Bu-"

"No buts. Call your parents, or I'll do it." He hands over Baekhyun's phone to him, and watches him as he tries to sound okay when he talks to his grandfather, saying that he's going to stay at his bestfriend's place tonight, there's nothing to worry about. 

"You live with your granddad?" 

Baekhyun gives him a nod, he feels like he needs to explain more, "I only have him." 

Sehun doesn't say a thing, just offers him a sad smile, then a cup of coffee. He figures that Baekhyun can't probably drink it with those lips, so he leaves the liquid to get cold on the coffee table.

"Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?" 

Baekhyun acts like he doesn't hear the question, eyes on his hands now, he plays with his fingers. 

"Baekhyun," the sudden call of his name catches his attention, "This is serious." 

"I know," he says. 

Sehun looks at the boy, he avoids eye contact, looking at everywhere but not Sehun, "It isn't the first time, right?" He is afraid of the answer he is about to hear, but it doesn't surprise him when the boy says a small "Yes."

"It's because I'm... I'm gay." Baekhyun says, voice cracked from trying to hold his tears back, but soon enough he stars to cry. Sehun sits next to him, covering the boy's shaking body with his long arms, "Everything is going to be fine." 

An ugly sob escapes from Baekhyun's mouth, "No. Not when I am who I am. Maybe they're right, I really don't deserve to live." 

Sehun holds him tight, "Don't you ever say that again." He faces with the younger then, "There's nothing wrong with the way you're, and you're beautiful like this Baekhyun. Don't let them win." 

Baekhyun's never thought that he could trust a stranger, but he sleeps on Sehun's chest that night, his heart aches more than his body. 

Baekhyun isn't here when Sehun wakes up, just a small sticky note on the coffee table, "Thank you." 

Delivery man comes two days later, bringing a small box with his clothes in it, that ones he gave to Baekhyun, newly washed, and he finds another note attached to them, saying the same thing with exactly the same cute hand writing, "Thank you." 

Sehun sees Baekhyun again almost two weeks later when Jongin drags him to a coffee shop near the campus, saying they also have amazing cheesecakes. Sehun finds more amazing things than them. 

Jongin chooses a table near the wide windows, makes an eye contact one of the waiters as he starts to speak about how hot the weather is.

There is a smile on Sehun's lips when he spots Baekhyun, in a simple white shirt, looking unbelievably cute, even though that ugly bruises on his face are still available to see. Baekhyun slowly walks through the table, Jongin is still busy with figuring out what he wants to drink, Sehun says a small "Hi," when Baekhyun's eyes land on him. 

"Hi," Baekhyun smiles but doesn't know wh