The night at the gas station was calm and quiet, the environment warm and cozy. The people at the restaurant beside it were eating their food and chatting quietly amongst themselves, enjoying the quietness of the night. Which is why, a group of boys running around the place, shouting with cameras behind them was hard to miss.

Sanghyuk, accompanied by Wonshik and Hakyeon, wolfed down a hot soup to defeat the other group for their new variety show. As rookies, they had to show enthusiasm for the camera despite being tired, so they allowed their playfulness to shine. He had barely finished eating the bowl, sure of their win, when the others bolted out of the building. Sanghyuk, mindful of course of leaving everything in its respective place, ran after them.  

They took the confirmation picture, signaling the end of their mission, and hurried towards their van. Sanghyuk, who was lagging, saw it moving around the parking lot and assumed the other group was already inside.

Immediately, Wonshik and Hakyeon pounced on the van. Hakyeon grabbed the slightly opened window of the passenger’s seat and demanded the manager an explanation for his betrayal. Wonshik on the other hand, bumped up the rear bumper and moved up and down to shake the moving van.

Hyuk was about to follow but Hakyeon suddenly calling his name stopped him cold.

“Sanghyuk!” he shouted, “stay there and take care of the camera.”

Just then, the door of the van opened and both of his hyungs got in leaving the still stunned boy behind.

The voice of Jaehwan yelling from the sunroof snapped the youngest out of his daze only to find the van at the other side of the parking lot already.

Hyuk started jogging towards the van as Jaehwan continued shouting something about not picking him up.

“Got it?” he asked. When the other didn’t reply he added, “do you understand or not? Why aren’t you replying?” in a highly annoying voice that made Sanghyuk laugh.

The van then accelerated outpacing the boy.

“Where are you going?” he shouted. Since no one responded he permitted a very unmanly scream leave his mouth; but the van didn’t stop, finally leaving the parking lot and the gas station by default.

Sanghyuk stood at his spot stunned for a moment, then he turned the camera towards himself, more specifically his eyes. As he fixed his hair, he commented, “I’m just a minor and they’ve all left me here.”

He then glanced at the spot where the van disappeared and asked, “what’s going on? Who am I? What am I going to do?” in a highly dramatic way as if he was lost in a jungle instead of a parking lot.

The boy then lowered the camera and stared at the same spot once more willing for the others to magically appear. He still couldn’t believe they had left him behind. Of course, the rational part of his mind knew they weren't that far or that they weren't going to leave him for real, but still.

He sighed and raised the camera again to film himself, singing the cartoon tune he liked.

Hyuk barely had time to blink before rough hands grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the back of the building.  The boy was too shocked to react at first.

When the darkness of the alley started to surround him, his fight or flight instincts kicked in and he started struggling against the hands that were holding him tightly. He attempted to scream but a hand moved to cover the lower part of his face to silence him. It was huge, it blocked the air passage as it fit both his mouth and nose. Terrified, the boy thrashed even harder, hearing the man grunt with the effort. Whoever had grabbed him shoved the boy forcibly to the wall knocking the air of out his lungs. Sanghyuk felt the little amount of air leave his lungs with the impact and bounced painfully, coughing while trying to regain his breath.

The man wasted no time and held the boy by the neck of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, chocking the boy. Hyuk whimpered at the impact and focused himself on breathing through the small gap the man had allowed. He used his free hand and tried to push the hand off him but it was useless, the man was too strong for him and had a position advantage.

He was so terrified that he didn't realize the man was questioning him until he got slammed yet again, hitting his head hard with the wall. He was sure he was going to have a concussion with the stars that appeared abruptly in his line of vision. The boy heard the man speak again, although it sounded as if he was underwater.

"-earn?" The man questioned. "You damn idols just jump on stage and earn a damn country!" The man accused furiously. Hyuk shook his head as much as he could but remained immobile, paying attention on breathing. He ignored the foul smell of the dumpsters next to him and the alcohol stink the emanated from the man.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, attempting to speak louder. "I have no money-"

"BULL!" The man let go of Sanghyuk and as soon as his feet touched the ground he punched him on the stomach. The boy cried in pain, doubling over and leaned against the wall to avoid tumbling to the ground.

The man grabbed him by the shirt once again and smashed him against the wall, just like before. Hyuk felt the bump that was forming on the back of his head collide with the wall and cried. He could feel himself slowly losing consciousness and that alarmed him. The man knew he was an idol and he dreaded the other would kidnap him to ask for ransom or something worse. His mind was clogging and the only thing he could do was hope for his hyungs, managers, the police, a passer-by, anyone, to save him.

He felt the man grasp the hand that had the camera, the strap keeping it connected to his wrist to prevent it from falling, and pin it next to his head. The pressure and the weird angle hurt his elbow.

"And this?" The man probed fuming. "Where's the money?"

"I'm a rookie... please..." Sanghyuk begged without breath. His head was about to explode in pain and lack of air. His body felt sore for the effort and his middle was aching.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" The man let go of Sanghyuk yet again and punched him in the stomach one more time. The boy felt vomit coming up and he puked the meal he had just ingested, his legs buckling under his weight. But before he reached the ground, the man grabbed him once more and slammed him yet again against the wall.

The man was screaming at him, shouting obscenities, but Sanghyuk could no longer hear more than the ringing inside his ears. The world spun, and he closed his eyes to avoid getting sick. He went limp against the man's hold, no longer able to lift his head anymore, his arms dangling by his side. The tears of pain, discomfort and fear that were gathering in his eyes fell and he begged for the darkness to claim him. He felt the man shake him harshly, his neck bending painfully with the movement until there was nothing anymore.

For a second, he felt himself weightless, floating in the air. But soon reality came crashing towards him and he dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

He coughed roughly and curled on himself awkwardly to protect his body from further abuse. With his eyes still close, he waited shivering in anticipation as the endless tears ran down his face. He could hear strange sounds that he couldn't identify, but one of them was the loud voice of the man. Soon, there were more noises ringing on his ears excruciatingly, so he covered them to silence them. He begged whomever was near to make it stop. To please, make them stop, to please-

A hand slipped below his back and Sanghyuk snapped. With the little amount of strength he had left, he punched the person that was lifting him, satisfied to hear a yelp, and struggled, begging them to leave him alone. He heard a small crack and more hands holding him down. Struggled once more until he heard a soothing voice whispering against his ear.

"You're safe now, we're here," it said. The hands on his body caressed him with care and their touched were nonintrusive. He stopped struggling as he sensed he was no longer in danger, the voice sounding familiar, yet he didn't stop trembling.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" the voice asked softly. Sanghyuk hesitated for a moment, afraid of what was in front of him, and felt how a hand his cheek, wiping his tears. The man was never gentle, he thought.

Sanghyuk opened his eyes slowly and tried to focus on the person in front of him. He was disoriented and the throbbing on his head overwhelmed the rest of sensations. Even then, he stared at the face in front of him unseeingly. He felt someone was talking to him, hushed voices surrounding them.

It took a moment for his eyes to finally focus, both from confusion and the bright lights that were aimed at him. When they did, he realized Hakyeon was looking at him, also tearing up.

"Hyung..." The boy coughed.

"Yes baby, we're here," Hakyeon replied, his hand still on the boy's cheek it tenderly. Vaguely, the boy realized he was surrounded by a lot of people and that someone else that wasn't Hakyeon was cradling him carefully, the heartbeat of the other, slightly faster than normal, grounding him to the moment. "We're so sorry," the elder continued, the tears falling around his face. "We're so sorry for leaving you alone."

Sanghyuk couldn’t really understand what the other had said, but still attempted to answer, to say that he was glad he was there, but he no longer had strength to even mutter due to the relief of watching his hyung. The adrenaline that was keeping him aware soon gave in to shock and he could feel his eyelids falling. He tried to talk once again, as he heard commotion around him, but he was exhausted. It was getting harder for him to breath and it made him feel dizzy. The strength drained from his boy and he went limp on the other's hold.

Hakyeon urged him to keep his eyes open for him, and Hyuk tried, he really did, but darkness was much more comfortable, so he gave in. He barely registered a siren at the distance that could very well be part of a dream, and then nothing. 

He was floating surrounded by darkness. He had never been afraid of the night, and this had a calming sensation, relieving his body from pain and anxiety. Sanghyuk enjoyed the feeling of finally being free of the suffering, until a discomforting sensation creeped to his head. Abruptly, the clearness of his mind clouded and he felt his head fill with cotton. There was an uncomfortable pressure on his back and head, and he realized he was no longer moving. The change disoriented him, the shift of what he believed was enclosing his body.

Awareness came to him gradually and he recognized he was laying on top of what seemed to be a mattress. His body was numb and for a moment he felt detached from it. There was something on his face that was pushing air towards mouth and nose; a beeping sound next to him. Whispers could be heard somewhere else.

Sanghyuk whimpered at the discomfort of his head that was both distracting and painful. He tried to move his hand, but he found he couldn’t. Fear gripped him for a moment until he heard the soothing voice of before calling for him.

"Sanghyuk?" It asked. “Are you there?”

After taking some time to process the question, Hyuk found some strength to squeeze his hand, signaling to whomever was there that he was awake. "Wake up for me, baby," the voice pleaded next.

The boy focused his efforts on opening his eyes, a difficult task for his exhausted body, and managed only to open them halfway before closing them again. He grunted.

"You can do it Hyukkie, a little more," he heard someone else said. Someone was patting his head and both of his hands were being caressed. He attempted to move his hands, but his body wasn't cooperating with him.

Once more, Hyuk forced his eyes and this time he was able to keep them open, if only a little. He could see the brightness of the room and was just grateful that the glow wasn't harsh to his tired eyes. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, removing the white layer on them, and turned to his right, where he felt the presence of someone else closer by.

"Hyukkie?" Said person questioned as someone lifted the thing on his mouth to put it on his chin, leaving him breathless for a moment. Sanghyuk belatedly realized it was one of his hyungs but he didn't know which. "Do you recognize me?" There was worry in that voice and it confused the boy. He couldn't see the other well enough because of his blurry eyes but he did know who he was. Why wouldn't he recognize the other?

"Let him breathe, Wonshik. Let's not burden him," someone scolded, putting the mask back on his face.

Ah, Wonshik hyung.

As if by magic, his eyes finally focused, and he was able to distinguish the faces of his five hyungs surrounding the bed. He rose his head a little to the ceiling and understood why the light wasn't bothering him. Taekwoon was holding what looked like a panel above his head, blocking the light from shining directly to his eyes. The boy was extremely grateful for that as he wouldn't have been able to handle the brightness.

Sanghyuk attempted to speak but his dry throat caused him to cough harshly. His head hurt, and his throat felt like if it was on fire and his whole body ached. He closed his eyes again as he coughed some more. He could feel some of his hyungs grab his neck, his back and the top of his head and lift him carefully, minding his injury. They patted his back softly until the coughing fit passed. They then removed the mask again and pushed a glass of water to his mouth. Although the glass dipped slowly to prevent the boy from choking, Sanghyuk drank greedily, soothing what felt like sandpaper on his throat.

After he finished the glass, the others lowered him to the bed again, repositioning the mask. Sanghyuk sighed and opened his eyes, but the light was too bright, so he closed them again and whined. He heard a quiet apology, so he waited a moment before trying again, the shadow once again blocking the light so that he could open his eyes fully.

Sanghyuk directed his gaze towards Wonshik and sluggishly held his now free hand to him. The rapper grabbed it quickly. "Are you ok?" he asked.

The younger nodded and replied, "I am, hyung." His voice was merely a whisper, but the others were able to hear it loud and clear; he watched the relief on the other's face.

"I'm so glad," Wonshik chocked.

"Hyogi, how are you feeling?" Hakyeon asked from his other side bringing his attention to the leader.

Hyuk looked at him as he assessed his body before answering. "My head hurts, hyung. And my body's sore," he complained tiredly and winced. His voice was hoarse and it hurt him to talk.

"It's okay, Sanghyuk. It's going to pass soon," Hakyeon assured. “Don’t talk too much.”

"What happened?" he asked voicelessly, ignoring the other’s command.

Sanghyuk watched how the others exchanged worried looks between them. It made him feel nervous, his mind clearing slowly. "Hyung," he called softly, wanting them to look at him. "What happened?" he asked again. "Why am I here?"

"Sanghyuk, do you really don't remember?" It was now Jaehwan's turn to ask.

The boy shook his head as much as his sore neck allowed him to. He was getting annoyed because the others knew something he didn’t, and it was him the one on the bed, not them. But at the same time, he couldn't help but worry. What was it that made the others nervous.

"But you do know who we are, right?" Wonshik questioned again.

Sanghyuk nodded and turned to look at Taekwoon, knowing full well the other wouldn't lie to him. "Hyung," he whispered.

He felt Hakyeon pull at his hand softly to bring his attention back to him. "You hurt your head badly so I'm going to ask you some questions before we explain. Is that fine with you?"

An injury to his head would explain the confusion and lack of memory. "Okay," he responded.

"Do you know who we are?"

"My hyungs."

"Good good."

"Do you know where you are?"

"The hospital."

"Ok, what day is today?"

"Tuesday."

Sanghyuk heard a gasp somewhere near his feet and from the corner of his eyes he could see Hongbin taking a hold of Wonshik's shirt.

"Tuesday?" He repeated more uncertain still looking towards Hakyeon.

His hyung just sighed and gave him what tried to be a comforting smile. "Jaehwan, can you go and call a nurse," Taekwoon requested, slowly lowering the panel and watching for any type of discomfort the younger could have. By now, Sanghyuk was already used to the brightness of the room, so he wasn't bothered much by it. What bothered was the concern on his hyung's face.

"Hyung?" He asked as Jaehwan left the room. "You promised you'd explain," the demanded, voice muffled by the mask.

"And I will, let's just wait and see what the doctor says," Hakyeon replied apologetically.

"That's wasn't part of the deal," Hyuk sulked and turned towards Taekwoon expectantly; the older pointedly ignoring the younger's stare. Taekwoon, sighed, giving in, "It's Sunday," he responded.

"Huh?"

"Hyuk, Tuesday was five days ago. Wait, is the last thing you remember a photoshoot for a magazine?" Hongbin asked hurriedly, fearing the boy wasn’t referring to the same day they were. When the youngest confirmed, he exhaled in relief.

"That means he only lost five days," Wonshik mussed next to him.

"Four if we don't consider the time he was unconscious," Hakyeon corrected.

Sanghyuk was getting annoyed again as his hyungs were speaking like if he wasn't there.

A knock on the door and the entrance of Jaehwan and a doctor snapped all of them from their musses.

After several exams and scans, both to his head, throat and his abdominal area it was determined that he had suffered from a concussion. Mild, but hard enough to make his forget the last few days of his life. Retrograde amnesia, the doctor had confirmed, which means he couldn't remember the day of the attack nor the days before. Even then, the injury wasn’t strong enough to cause permanent or lasting damage. The memories could return on their own eventually. There was also a small cut on the back of his head that had caused some bleeding, but it wasn’t worrying either.

He became breathless every so often, his throat being the target of abuse, but the strangulation hadn’t caused much damage to neither his brain nor his respiratory system. He still needed the oxygen, at least for the next couple of days. His neck had been swollen when he arrived at the hospital, but it had gone down during the time he was sleeping, leaving just a nasty bruise in its place. He had had a neck brace before but didn’t need it anymore.

On the other hand, the abdominal injury was concerning, especially because the hits had provoked vomit and shock, both symptoms of a serious trauma. Because of that, he had to remain at the hospital for further examination and observation, to watch how his injury developed. Hakyeon had informed the doctor of the meal the boy had eaten just before, hoping for it to be an explanation of a softer diagnosis. The doctor assigned to him said that the head injury could have also caused the vomit and the attack the shock. He thanked the leader for the information, promising to take it into consideration for further exams, and left.

 The sudden information combined with stress, fatigue and the pain medicine made the youngest fall asleep soon after the doctor's departure, but not before the others promised to be there when he woke up.

He remained at the hospital for a little more than a week to ensure his safety and good health.

Turns out, Sanghyuk's body wasn't hurt that badly. The concussion caused most of the symptoms and the vomit was indeed a result of eating just minutes before the attack, and his abdominal area has sore because of their dance practices as well. Thankfully, the man had avoided hitting a critical spot. His breathing was under control by the next days, neck and throat healing just fine.

The police arrived days after getting admitted to the hospital to obtain his testimony. Hyuk still hadn't recovered his memories of the day but the police were happy to learn that the attack had been recorded, at least in audio. They took the evidence and promised to put the man behind bars.

All that process was both mentally and physically exhausting for the boy who craved the comfort of his own mattress. The others, as they promised, had remained at the hospital the first night after he woke up, but being rookies of just over a month, they couldn't afford to lose any time for promotions. That meant they couldn't bring him back to the dorm as no one would be there to attend him and he couldn't go back to his home as his body was too weak to handle such a trip. Which meant he was stuck at the hospital until he got better.

The management tried their best to avoid hurting the group’s reputation from the press and the public as well as have at least one member visit him daily, and he was thankful for that.  At the time, though, also felt a little resentful of the others. From what he could gather after talking, it seems his hyungs had wanted to play a prank to him and left him alone at the place where he was attacked.

On the third night of him being awake, he had finally confronted the others and asked them to tell him what had happened that night. His hyung had related the events as best as they could, fully aware that Sanghyuk deserved to know. 

They had said that, after leaving him at the cafeteria, their manager had tried to round the block but hadn’t expected to see a car stopped in the middle of the street. They were too far for the manager to send Hongbin to pick him up, and as rookies they couldn't afford causing a controversy by making an illegal u turn, so they had to wait until the other car moved to pick him up. By then, it was too late.

All his hyungs apologized profusely and promised they'd never leave him behind again. Even the silent Taekwoon was willing to beg for the youngest's forgiveness, something that weirded the other out.

It seems that after not finding him at the parking lot, the others had concluded he was inside the cafeteria, until Jaehwan heard a strange sound coming from the alley. Curiosity got the best of him and he went to investigate, only to find a strange man holding his unconscious younger brother by the neck. He had screamed for help and in no time, Taekwoon, Wonshik and his manager had separated the boy from the man and had immobilized the stranger. A passer-by that had watched the scene from afar and called both the police and an ambulance.

At the alley, Hyuk had hit Hongbin, who was trying to lift him, and struggled until Hakyeon calmed him down. Soon, the boy passed out. The ambulance had arrived seconds later, and the boy had been transported to the nearest hospital. The respective exams had been made but they still had to wait until Sanghyuk woke up to do the rest.

At first, they had been worried for their youngest safety. After the doctor told them he was stable, the worry turned to anger, both towards the man who had assaulted their brother and Sanghyuk for not taking care of himself properly and revise his surroundings. Hakyeon was disappointed at the youngest for not moving to the safety of the cafeteria after being left alone, and instead had remained at the deserted parking lot. Unconsciously he knew he was just looking for someone to blame as there was no way to predict an attack of that nature in such a place. That anger soon turned to shame after watching the video where it was shown that the youngest had been attacked right after the van's departure. The boy had no time to react at all. And so, they waited for Sanghyuk to wake up so that they could apologize properly, not expecting the younger to have forgotten everything related to the attack.

After recalling the events, the boys apologized yet again and sworn they'd never allow anything like that to happen ever again, to anyone. Sanghyuk knew it had all been an accident, they had never wanted to cause him pain or anything, so he accepted their apology. Deep down, though, he was kind of miffed that it had been him and not anyone else.

It wasn't like the others bullied him or anything. He could feel the love emanating from the others in the way they acted towards him, including the silent Leo. He was subjected to the same lovely nagging from Hakyeon as the others; Hongbin was always looking for him to cause mischief and to play; Wonshik's affection and care he provided in the times he needed it the most; Jaehwan’s cute and playful behavior that always cheered him up; and Taekwoon’s attention to the littlest details and readiness to prepare him ramyeon when he was hungry despite still being a scary presence for the boy. He knew he was not only accepted, but was loved and cared for, which made him feel sorry for even getting mad with them in first place.

Sanghyuk returned to the dorms during the night as there would be less traffic and he wouldn’t need to remain at the van for long. As he had no recollections of the event, he felt no fear on leaving the hospital on a night of similar conditions, making the travel easier for all.

After reaching the apartment, the others received him with a table full of food (the boy had complained nonstop of how bad the hospital meals were), with oxtail soup as the main dish. Sanghyuk swore it was the best meal he’s ever had in his whole life, much to the others' amusement. He ate on his mattress surrounded of pillows and blankets to accommodate his still healing body.

Once he was done, Hakyeon tucked him to bed, making sure Sanghyuk was as comfortable as possible. Wonshik had asked to sleep with the youngest but the leader had fervently denied, claiming his loud snores would disturb the youngest's rest. The rapper appealed his case, with Sanghyuk's support, as it would bring some familiarity to him, until Hakyeon finally relented, but not without throwing a warning towards the older about keeping the boy up during the night. He also thought it better to have someone with the younger during the night to be ready if he needed something, a consideration he kept for himself.

The leader left the two to rest while the others gathered in the living room. Once outside the members discussed ways of helping Hyuk with his recovery while carrying out their schedule and keeping up with their responsibilities. Even though they knew the days would be longer and more wearing, they didn’t complain as they believed the youngest's attack occurred because of their own negligence. Thankfully, the consequences hadn't been too severe, neither for Sanghyuk's health nor the group's reputation. The company had done a wonderful job of keeping the episode out of the media's radar. But still, the incident had been unacceptable.

They vowed that night that they would do everything in their power to keep the youngest from any possible danger.  After all, Sanghyuk was the cute and adorable youngest brother they all loved and cherished, the only one who's addition had fit just right.