“Hoya!”

He had never been happier to hear that voice. He stared up, aware that he looked like an absolute mess; he'd begun to pull at his hair, tears stung behind his eyes, and his face hurt so much for trying to keep a clam and collected expression. He felt the speaker kneel beside him.

“What happened?”

It flowed out of Hoya like a flood. “He came into the store and tried to steal food, so I chased him. I caught him, he said he was hungry and then passed out. I'm not really sure what's going on, and I think I'm having trouble breathing. Oh, god. Dongwoo, I don't know what to do!”

“Yes, you do talk a lot when you're upset.” Dongwoo mused, standing.

Hoya was mildly surprised he'd understood everything.

“Well, first off, you need to calm down.” The blond urged, staring at the boy on the ground. “Second, we need to bring him to a hospital. I'll go up and flag down a taxi, and you carry him up. Can you do that?”

“Yes.” Hoya nodded, happy to be given orders. He watched Dongwoo jog up the road and took a deep breath before grabbing the kid's arm and tugging it over his shoulder. It would be just like carrying Woohyun home while he was sleeping.

Except it wasn't.

He could feel the boy's ribs and no matter what he did, it felt more like he was carrying a dead body. He ended up throwing the boy on his back and piggy-backing him the rest of the way. It was faster, and the boy seemed to weigh less than Sungjong–if that was humanly possible–so it was easy.

Hoya neared the end of the red-bricked street and found Dongwoo arguing with a cab driver.

“Look, just wait. They'll be here any second.”

“And, like I said, I don't have time to wait! Quit wasting my time!”

Hoya was almost there. “Dongwoo!”

“See, he's here! I told you!”

“Whatever. Just get in.”

Dongwoo pulled the kid off of Hoya's back and sat him in between them in the rear seats.

“Where to?”

“The hospital.” Dongwoo said clearly, making sure the kid stayed sitting straight.

The cab driver threw the three a surprised glance in the rear-view mirror, but shook his head soon after and began to drive.

“It's going to be about fifty bucks. Have you got that much on you?” Dongwoo whispered.

Hoya, who was still having a mini-panic attack, searched his pockets. He nodded. “I have enough.”

The ride was long and quiet. Hoya tried his best to keep his mind off the boy, but it was impossible. Everytime he glanced over, he saw that Dongwoo had an arm in front of the boy to stop him from lurching forward when the taxi braked or stopped without warning.

Finally, the cab stopped and the driver turned. “Fifty-one.”

Hoya pulled a handful of assorted bills out, knowing it would be enough. He handed them to the driver and got out, pulling the kid with him after a little bit of prompting from Dongwoo.

Hoya followed the other through a series of double doors and up to a counter where a woman stood who looked like she had never experienced happiness in her extremely long life.

“What's your emergency?”

“Our brother passed out after coming home. We don't know why. We need him to be seen immediately.” Dongwoo explained.

The lady looked over the counter, as if noticing Hoya and the boy for the first time. She locked gazes with the chestnut-haired man. “Is that right?”

Hoya nodded feverishly.

The woman grunted and picked up the phone, muttering a few words into it. Seconds later, three people covered in sterile white uniforms ran out from a pair of double doors, wheeling an empty hosptial bed with them. They grabbed the kid from Hoya and left as quickly as they had come in.

Hoya stretched his arms out uselessly. Dongwoo moved next to him.

“Why did you piggy-back him?”

Hoya frowned. “What?”

“Why didn't you carry him like a bride or something? Now I can't tell that guy that you were his knight in shining armour.”

Somehow, despite the circumstances, Hoya was able to smile. He nudged Dongwoo playfully with his shoulder and tried to keep his eyes off the large white double doors.

Hoya was sure he'd made tracks in the ground by now. After all, pacing for hours on end had to have some effect on the linoleum floor.

“I'm sure they have something nice in the cafeteria.” Dongwoo suggested for the umpteenth time.

“Not hungry.” Hoya grunted.

Dongwoo rolled his eyes. “As soon as we get home, you're eating something. Got that?”

Hoya sighed. “If we ever get home.”

The two doors opened and an official-looking man with a stethoscope slung around his neck walked out, heading towards the front desk. He had a short conversation with the lady there, which ended in a finger pointed at Hoya and Dongwoo.

Hoya heard the other stand and felt him beside his shoulder as the older man walked over. He stared at a clipboard for a little bit before speaking.

“You two are the brothers?”

They nodded.

The man muttered something and wrote on his clipboard. “Very well. He is doing better, and should be waking up soon. Please follow me.”

Hoya stayed close to Dongwoo as they got in an elevator, exited at the fourth floor, and walked into a small little room at the end of the hall. The kid was there in the bed, wearing the same black hoodie as before, chest rising and falling softly with an IV of some fluid dripping into the inside of his right arm. Hoya had to admit, the kid looked better than before.

The uniformed man closed the door behind them and gestured for them to take seats around the bed. The man sat on one side, and the two sat on the other in black plastic chairs.

Dongwoo reached for Hoya's hand and squeezed it. Hoya held on.

The doctor, or so Hoya presumed, opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a groan.

A silence settled over the room as the kid raised an arm to push his hair out of his face, and slowly opened his eyes. “Where am I? And who are you?” He croaked, staring pointedly at the two seated closest to the door.

The doctor nodded to himself. “As I thought. Now, who are you two?”

“Excuse me?” Dongwoo raised his voice.

The doctor rolled his eyes. “Any old fool would know you three weren't related. I was thinking adoption, but that was assuming too much. You lied. Now, tell me who you are or I'll have you thrown out.”

Hoya spoke up, notcing that Dongwoo seemed angered. “I was the one who found him. He looked worse than this, said he was hungry, and then passed out.”

The doctor searched the speaker's eyes and then nodded to himself for a second. “I'll trust you.”

The kid, who had been forgotten, started panicking. “Why am I in a hospital? Let me go!”

Dongwoo placed a hand on his chest. “Calm down.” Then he turned to the doctor. “What now?”

“Well, we found that he has severe dehydration and malnutrition. We can't keep him overnight, due to some stupid regulation, so we either hand him over to the police where they can bring him home, call his parents directly-”

The kid thrashed. “NO!”

“-or,” the man continued “we find a suitable third party to take care of him.”

Hoya frowned. Was the man suggesting that Dongwoo and he take care of the boy? He couldn't. His income was much too low. It was a wonder how he was able to afford Dongwoo.

He glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. He still looked frightened about the prospect of going home. What had Sungjong said? Something about an unstable family life? Hoya realized that he didn't want the kid going home either. After all, he could always get another job, like Woohyun. He sighed. Yes, he'd made a decision.

“I'll take him.”

Three heads snapped towards him. The doctor stood up. “Very well. I'll need one of you to come with me to sign the necessary paperwork.”

Hoya let his gaze drop to the bottom of the bed. He felt his hand being untangled, and watched as Dongwoo stood.

“I'll go. You can stay with the kid.”

The two turned to exit the room. The doctor notified them that a nurse would be in to do some more physical examinations. The room became silent. Hoya looked up once or twice, wondering if he should say anything, but he saw that the boy was staring at the blanket, face devoid of any emotion.

Hoya gulped. Had he made a bad choice?

The door opened maybe a quarter of an hour later and a motherly woman stepped in, shaking her head as she saw the boy on the bed. “They're always so young nowadays.” She lifted her head and a great smile graced her feautures. “What's your name, dear?”

Hoya glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye.

“Lee Sungyeol.” He ruffled his black hair and sat up straighter.

The woman smiled warmly. “That's a lovely name, sweetheart. Now, I'll need you to come with me so we can get your weight and height. Sir, we'll be back in a moment.”

Hoya nodded and slouched in the chair. He closed his eyes, making some calculations. Food money would need to double, since the kid was probably still growing and he knew from experience that teens usually ate their weight in food. On top of that, he would now have to pay for school. And not just any school. Central High. Hoya groaned and rubbed his eyes. What was he getting himself into?

“We're back.” The woman chirped, hauling in Lee Sungyeol. “This boy's quite amazing, really. Above average height and below average weight. He needs to put on a pound or two.” She tapped the boy's stomach.

Sungyeol laughed dryly and made his way back to the bed.

“Now, I'll just need you to take your shirt off so that I can-”

“NO!”

Hoya and the woman jumped. She backed away, looking rather frightened. Hoya figured that this was the time to jump in. “It's just to make sure that all your muscles are delevoping as they should be. It's like getting a massage.”

The woman returned, smiling wearily. “Yes, something like that.”

Sungyeol sighed. He shot a withering look at Hoya. “Fine. I'll do it. But you can't look.”

Hoya shrugged. “Do you want me to go outside?”

The woman nodded but the boy shook his head. “Just don't look.”

Hoya turned his chair around and faced a corner, feeling like a child in time out. He heard a surprised shout and almost turned, but he remembered what Sungyeol had said. He waited until he heard a small whisper granting him permission to turn back.

The boy was enveloped by the woman's arms, and he stared over her shoulder, looking rather lifeless. The woman was rocking him from side to side, and Hoya could see that she was shaking slightly. His eyes widened when he realized that the woman was crying. She pulled back and wiped her eyes.

“You poor thing.” She patted his back ligthly. “I'll be going now. You take good care of that boy, you hear?” She ordered Hoya sternly before exiting.

He turned to face the boy, still bent forward on the bed. “What-”

“Don't ask.”

Hoya raised his arms. “If that's what you want.” He made his way back to his chair and endured another round of silence.

Dongwoo came back with the doctor, both laughing.

Hoya quickly shushed them and pointed to the bed, where the boy had fallen asleep. The doctor motioned for him to come outside.

“We may have child services visit you once in a while, but other than that, you will be on your own.” He stuck his hand out. “I wish the best to both of you.”

Hoya and Dongwoo shook it, waving to the retreating figure before deciding what to do next. Dongwoo offered to get a taxi while Hoya grabbed the new addition to their home and met him outside.

The cab came and they clambered inside in the same seating arrangement as before. Hoya named the address and Dongwoo pulled the kid's head over to sleep on his shoulder. They arrived in no time and Hoya reached over to pick the boy up. Dongwoo shooed him away and exited the cab, cradling the sleeping boy in his arms.

Hoya felt a pang in his chest. Weird. Had he eaten something bad? Was it heartburn? He quickly paid the driver and ran over to open the front door for Dongwoo. They scaled the stairs at a reasonable pace, as Dongwoo apparently had no trouble carrying the boy.

Hoya hadn't thought that he was that strong.

The fair-haired man carried the boy inside after Hoya had unlocked and opened the door.

“Hey,” Hoya began. “I'm gonna tell Woohyun why I left early today. I'll be five minutes. Oh, and put him on the bed.”

Dongwoo nodded, turning around to follow orders while Hoya left the room.

Hoya walked to the end of the hall and was about to knock when he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Well, it was late and Woohyun was surely home by now. They had been a while at the hospital. Hoya hoped the other wasn't sleeping and wouldn't be mad at him for leaving him to walk home by himself. Obviously, he had made it home in one piece.

Hoya pushed open the door and walked in. “Hey, Woohyun. I-” He stopped talking and gaped.

On the day bed, the closest thing he had to a best friend was shirtless, devouring a certain man who was still wearing his suit.

Hoya reacted when his eyes made contact with Sunggyu's and the man interrupted Woohyun to point him out. “I'll be going now.” Hoya turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

He heard the door open behind him. “Wait, Hoya!”

Hoya turned, unwillingly, to face his still shirtless friend and Sunggyu, who was trying to hide behind the other.

“I wanted you to be the first person that I introduced my new boyfriend to.”

Hoya's eyebrows shot up. He walked over to the two slowly. He firmly shook hands with Sunggyu. “You have my sincere apologies.”

“Hey!” Woohyun opened his mouth to shout an insult, but was interrupted by the opening of a door.

“Howon, it's been longer than five–oh. Hello there!” Dongwoo stared at the two at the other end of the hall. “Aww, you two are together! Congrats!”

“Get back inside!” Hoya shouted, glaring as the other rolled his eyes and dragged his feet back into the room.

“Hey, was that...”

Hoya turned his glare on Woohyun. “No.” He saw the other's eyes flash and a smirk appeared on his face. The man took a step forward.

Hoya was off. He sprinted down the remained of the hall, opened his door and slammed it behind him. “Good night!”

Woohyun chuckled from behind the closed door. “You can't hide him forver, Hoya. Sorry, Sunggyu. Shall we pick up were we left off?”

Hoya sighed as the two pairs of footsteps went away and another door slammed shut. He slid down the door and sighed. Woohyun was right, he couldn't hide Dongwoo forever.