That single moment would forever be engraved in his mind - Dawon sprawled on the floor, that bright pool of red around him, the way his voice sounded so weak and helpless...

Youngbin shook his head but the action did nothing to dispel the images from his mind. He was standing along the freeway, the vehicles passing by him in a whirl of colour and sounds. 

"Hey," 

Youngbin looked back. Jaeyoon was standing a few steps away from him, hands in pockets and looking a bit lost. Youngbin dreaded the questions that he was sure the other guy would ask but Jaeyoon remained silent with that faraway look in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Youngbin blurted out. 

"About what?" Jaeyoon asked. 

"Inseong..."

"He'll be fine," Jaeyoon replied. "I should be the one saying sorry," he continued after a beat. 

"About what?" Youngbin asked him. 

"I was the one who dragged you to the car... I-I'm really sorry," Jaeyoon replied finally meeting Youngbin's eyes.

White hot anger flashed before his eyes and Youngbin tore his gaze away from Jaeyoon's, focusing instead on the vehicles moving past them. A lot of different emotions were churning inside him at that moment - anger, sadness, despair... Youngbin scrunched his eyes shut, hands balling into fists. He focused on his breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale It took a minute or two for his emotions to subside. 

"You did what you had to," Youngbin said. He was surprised by how steady his voice was when he spoke.

"You did what you had to," Youngbin repeated softly.

---

 

They found Inseong sleeping on one of the benches inside the rest stop, hands clutching a small plastic filled with water.  

Jaeyoon shook him awake gently. 

"You're back!" he said wiping the sleep from his eyes. Inseong sat upright and Jaeyoon immediately took a seat beside him. 

"I'm sorry, Inseong," Youngbin said, gesturing at the bruise that was starting to form on Inseong's skin.

"It's fine. It's fine.," Inseong replied, waving it off. He lifted the plastic to his face but dropped it instantly, realizing that it has turned into water.  

Youngbin took the seat opposite them and a heavy silence fell upon them. It feels as if they were moving at a pace different from the whole world. The glances they exchanged, the unspoken words hung thickly in the air.  

"I've found a place where we can stay for a night or two," Inseong blurted out, breaking the silence. The other two looked at him with puzzled expressions. 

"I mean... we need to make sense of everything first.. and then we can plan out something," he continued.

Youngbin nodded. It was something - definitely much better than just waiting around in a rest stop and though Inseong himself looks unsure of what he just suggested, it's the only thing they can really do for now.  

---

 

Youngbin entered the room to the right, leaving the door slightly ajar as Inseong requested. They managed to get a connecting room in the hotel 'coz as much as Youngbin insisted that he's okay, Inseong knew that the guy needed some time to be alone, at least for now.  

"Finally," Inseong muttered. He was afraid that Youngbin would put up a fight but thankfully, the guy retreated to the room without another word. 

Jaeyoon approached him then and wrapped his arms tightly around Inseong. "Are you okay?" the guy asked. 

Inseong nodded, burying his face in the crook of Jaeyoon's neck and returning the embrace just as tightly. Inseong closed his eyes and for the first time in hours, he finally felt grounded and somewhat safe. 

Jaeyoon pulled back but kept his hands around Inseong's waist. This close, Inseong can see the tired lines on his face, the dark circles under his eyes. 

"You need to sleep," Inseong said. 

Jaeyoon shook his head but yawned just the same. "I just need you," Jaeyoon replied before covering Inseong's mouth with his. Inseong closed his eyes and pulled Jaeyoon closer, melting into the kiss. He pulled back a second later, eyes wide and breathless. 

"Sleep. Please," Inseong repeated. Jaeyoon tried to lunge at him again but this time, Inseong wiggled out the other guy's arms and kept his distance. 

"Please," Inseong asked. "I can stand guard for a few more hours, I'm used to getting little sleep. You on the other hand..." 

"Okay, okay," Jaeyoon replied in defeat "Wake me up in a few hours okay?" he said with a smile that's much more brighter than the one before. 

Jaeyoon fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow but still, Inseong waited a few minutes before starting to move. As quietly as he could, he started to push the couch towards the door and it took him a few minutes to finally block the door with it. After which, he made sure that all the curtains were drawn just so no one could look inside the room. When he was done, he tiptoed towards Youngbin's room and peeked. 

Youngbin was sprawled on the bed, sleeping soundly. Inseong watched him for a minute, just to make sure that he isn't acting and finally satisfied, he returned to their room. He the tv, watching some documentary about penguins but in the next second, he was asleep. 

---

 

Inseong pulled the covers towards his chin. Wait, why does he have a blanket? 

He sprung upright and looked around him, heart racing. He was already in one of the bedrooms instead of being in the living room. He racked his brains but the last thing he remembered doing was pushing the couch towards the door. A door opened to the side and Jaeyoon walked in.  

"Relax, I carried you here last night," Jaeyoon said seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.  

"But I- Did you get to sleep?" Inseong asked. He promised that he would stand guard for a few hours to let Jaeyoon rest but if the guy really did carry him in last night...

"Yup. I slept like a baby. And then I woke up at like 5 am to check on you but you were already passed out on the floor." Jaeyoon replied. 

"Sorry," Inseong said sheepishly. 

"It's okay, relax. I got us some coffee and bread. Come on," Jaeyoon said, before heading out of the room. Inseong followed him after a second. The smell of freshly brewed coffee made Inseong feel warm just a little bit. 

Bzzzzzt Bzzzzzzzt

Jaeyoon's hands froze over the coffee. Inseong and he exchanged panicked glances for a second before quietly springing into action.  Inseong gestured towards himself and then to Youngbin's room. Jaeyoon nodded and Inseong quietly made his way to the other room. 

"Hyung!" 

The word made them all the more confused. Jaeyoon placed a finger against his lips - maybe if they kept quiet, whoever it is would realize that they got the wrong room. 

"Youngbin hyung!" 

The two exchanged another look. Jaeyoon's hand slid towards the gun tucked safely on his belt, the steel feeling a lot colder in his hands. 

"Youngbin hyung! Kim Inseong! Lee Jaeyoon!" 

"Okay, you know what, let's just open it!" Inseong exclaimed, finally making up his mind. It took Jaeyoon a minute to realize what the other guy was planning to do but it was too late. Inseong's had already opened the door. 

Two kids stood on the other side - the black haired one had his fist in the air while the one with blonde hair was standing behind him, mouth open in surprise. 

"Oh good, it's nice to see you, Kim Inseong-ssi," said the black haired kid somehow regaining his composure. 

"Excuse me?" Inseong replied as the kid forced his way inside. Jaeyoon relaxed his grip on the gun but was still on edge. 

"It's not safe here, you have to move," the blonde kid said, looking around the place. 

"Wait! Who the are you? How do you know us and how do you know that we're here?!" Jaeyoon asked he was trying to make his way towards Youngbin bedroom. These two kids look suspicious and the fact that they know almost all of them in the room...

"Look, we are not the enemies here, okay?" the black haired kid said, raising both hands as if in surrender. 

"And how do we know that?" Jaeyoon retorted. 

"It's okay, Jaeyoon. They're safe," Inseong replied. 

"What?!"

"This is Youngbin's brother, Chani and this is his friend, Hwiyoung," Inseong said casually, gesturing at the two. 

"Brother?" Jaeyoon exclaimed. As far he knows, Youngbin is an only child. And now Inseong tells him that this kid is his brother? 

"But..."

"It's a long story," Inseong replied. He can sense the urgency from the two kids and it's making him feel edgy. "I'll tell you all about it, okay?" 

He looked at Inseong - how relaxed the other seems to be in the presence of these two - and decided to accept his word for it. Inseong would never lie to him anyway. 

Youngbin stepped out of the room, curious as to what all the commotion outside was about. 

"Hey Wha-" His eyes zeroed in on Chani who was talking in whispers with the blonde haired kid. "What are you doing here?" Youngbin asked, the sting from his voice making Chani flinch a bit. 

Everyone turned towards Youngbin. "What is he doing here?" Youngbin asked once more, looking at both Inseong and Jaeyoon with betrayed eyes. 

Chani walked towards him. "It's not their fault. I followed you here. And if I managed to track you, they will too," Chani replied meeting Youngbin's gaze head-on. 

---

 

Hours later, they found themselves pulling up into a house almost at the far end of Busan. Chani assured them that it's one of the safest places and though Youngbin still had doubts, he really can't see any other way. They needed Chani and his access to a lot of SF's group's resources to ensure his safety - or so that's what he tells himself. 

Hwiyoung gave them a tour of the place while Chani talked to someone on the phone. The house had three bedroom and two bathrooms, a living room and a fully stocked kitchen. The blonde kid told them that the supplies in the house could support them for up to a year. 

"I have to go," Chani informed them a few minutes later. "Hwiyoung will stay here with you guys so if you need anything, let him know," He left without another word. 

"I'm tired," Youngbin said as he went to one of the room.

"Youngbin, could you-" Inseong started. 

"Yes, yes, don't worry. I'll leave the door slightly open," he replied without looking back. 

---

 Youngbin isn't actually tired. He just wants to be alone and think about a lot of things. He had his back towards the door, listening to the conversation from below. Inseong and Jaeyoon had been interviewing Hwiyoung about the most random things and it's starting to irritate him. Not once had the two even asked about Dawon. 

There was a lull in their conversation followed by a tinkling of cutlery, making Youngbin feel how hungry he was. He stood up and was about to go downstairs when Dawon's name was finally mentioned. 

 

---

 

"and Dawon?" Inseong asked. He had been itching to ask about the guy since they started talking to Hwiyoung but he was also partly afraid of what the answer is going to be. 

"Were you close to him" Hwiyoung asked. His face doesn't betray anything. 

"Not really... I mean, I worked with him before and we usually hang out with Youngbin and the others. It's Youngbin who's actually pretty close to him," Inseong replied. 

"Hmmm," Hwiyoung took a sip of water, his expression thoughtful. 

"Dawon is....not who you think he is," 

"What does that mean?" Jaeyoon asked. 

"Is he alive?" Inseong asked at the same time. 

"Oh, he's alive alright. He's the one behind all of these after all," Hwiyoung said with a smirk

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What?!" Jaeyoon and Inseong exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh come on, Inseong. Didn't you get suspicious on why he asked you to install cameras all over Youngbin hyung's new place?" Hwiyoung asked. 

"No. I mean... that was a little after the kidnapping incident. And I knew who Youngbin was back then so I thought it was only necessary that we keep an eye on him," Inseong replied still confused with what Hwiyoung was saying. 

"Even the kidnapping was because of Dawon," Hwiyoung said matter of factly. 

The two looked at him more confused than ever. Hwiyoung took a deep breath, "Lee Dawon was asked by President Kim to keep an eye on Youngbin." he started. 

"And what has that got to do with the kidnapping?" Jaeyoon asked. He can feel a headache building just behind his eyes and he doesn't know if it's because of lack of sleep or whatever Hwiyoung is trying to say. 

"The kidnapping was a ploy to make Youngbin trust Dawon fully - or something along those lines," Hwiyoung explained. Inseong and Jaeyoon still look a little lost. 

"I mean, even you two were into the act. Inseong, you didn't question Dawon's motives anymore after that right?"

"Well... I... " Inseong sighed. Hwiyoung was right. After the kidnapping incident, he was a little harsh on Youngbin but they got together after than and all four of them did hang out a lot together and - 

"You're right," Inseong admitted. "I let my guard down," 

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. You know how good he can manipulate people right?" Hwiyoung said as a way of comforting the older guy. 

"Still, I should have seen it!' Inseong exclaimed. He stood up and started pacing the room. "What do we do know?" 

---

 

Youngbin stood rooted to the spot. The conversation that he just heard was absurd. 

"It can't be..." he mumbled. 

A part of him was glad that Dawon was alive but the things that Hwiyoung said... those things are impossible. How can any of that be true? He considered the guy a friend- a brother even and now this?

Youngbin needed answers not from Hwiyoung or anyone else but from Dawon himself. If what they were talking about was true, there are several ways he could reach the guy.