I look at the clock and frown. 2:35 A.M. I close my eyes tightly and wait for about a minute. 2:36 A.M. I sigh and get out of bed. It's useless trying to sleep anyway. I feel around for my sweatshirt in the darkness and cautiously open the door. I tiptoe to the front room and slide on my shoes, heading for the rooftop. I open the door to the rooftop and smile, taking in a breath of the cool night air. Just as I step through the door frame, I hear a soft whimpering to my right.

Startled, I whip my head around to face the source of the noise. The noise was coming from a black figure hunched in the corner of the roof. Hesitantly, I take a few small steps forward, but retreat when it starts to move.  I clear my throat and call out to it. "Hey, uh, are you...alright?" I hear a shuffling noise and the figure stands up and faces me. "SungYeol, is that you?" The person whispers to me in a weak voice. I raise my eyebrows in surprise and recognition of the voice.  "WooHyun, what are you doing out here?" I move closer in an attempt to see his face, but he avoids my gaze. "WooHyun, what's-" And that's when I saw them.

Dark purple bruises on his jaw and both of his cheeks. A bloody, painful looking split lip. A very noticeable black eye. My heart clenches as I take in the scene in front of me. "Oh, WooHyun," I cry, grabbing onto the front of his sweatshirt and pulling him into a hug. The hug lasts for about 5 minutes before I pull away from him. With shaking hands, I gently grab his face and turn his head towards me. "WooHyun," I shakily breathe out, "Was...was it SungGyu?"

At the mention of SungGyu's name, he bursts out crying. I hold him for a long time as he cries on my shoulder. After what feels like hours, his crying dies down to a choked sob. He grabs my hand and looks at me with sad eyes. "You can't tell anyone about this," He says in between sniffles. I touch the bruise on his cheek and frown. "But what about these-" He cuts me off like he was expecting the question. "I'll stay at a hotel for a while. Just...please, don't say anything." I stare at him incrediously. "WooHyun, we have to. You know for a fact that he'll do this again if you don't say anything." WooHyun shakes his head and tightens his grip on my hand. "He said he...he wouldn't do it ever again. He promised." I cup his face and look him directly in the eyes. "That's what he said last time. And the time before that," I softly remind him. He opens and closes his mouth, but stays quiet.

We stargaze in silence for about an hour. We lay down side by side, and I silently name every constellation I know. When I start to feel tired, I make a move to get up, but WooHyun puts his hand on my knee to keep me down. I sit back down and look at him expectantly. He leans towards me and whispers, "You know you're my best friend, right?" When I nod in response, he continues. "And best friends keep each others secrets. No matter how much you want to, promise me you won't tell anyone, okay?" I nod again and sit up fully. He flips his hair out of his face and digs around in his sweatshirt pocket. He pulls out a cigarette carton and a lighter. I raise my eyebrows and stare at him. "Since when do you smoke?" I ask him. He looks at me and shrugs. "I stole them from SungGyu's drawer before I left." I chuckle and hit him with my shoulder.

WooHyun lights his cigarette and takes a long inhale. Then he tilts his head up and blows the smoke into the air. I stare at his face, beautiful even with all of the bruises on it. "Hey." I nudge him with my elbow and frown. He shifts closer and looks at me, cigarette back at his lips. "Hmm?" He questions wordlessly. I take a deep breath and continue. "Why...do you stay with him?" He gives me a questioning glance, then turns his head and blows out more smoke. "SungYeol, I have a lot of reasons. Way too many." He lays down again and closes his eyes. I lay down next to him and grab the cigarette from his lips. He makes a displeased noise in his throat, but doesn't open his eyes. "You could do so much better. You deserve so much better," I tell him, brushing his hair out of his face. He does open his eyes this time, but instead of looking surprised or angry like I thought he might, he just looks...sad. He glances over at me and smiles sadly. "If anything, It's me who doesn't deserve him."

~*~

Whew! Done! Should I make this a chaptered fic...?