A flash of light and a snap made Kangin jerk awake.

“W-What?” he looked around for the source of the disturbance; in front of him stood a grinning Kim Heechul with his lucky camera.

“Heechul?” Kangin yawned.

An evil cackle was his answer.

Kangin tried to move to see what his hyung was doing but found that he couldn’t move. He looked down to see 10 bodies curled on top of him and around him.

“Awww isn’t that sweet?” Heechul snickered.

“You’re lucky they are here or else you would be so dead right now.” Kangin growled quietly.

He felt a shift in his arms and looked down to see Henry snuggling even further into his chest. Ryeowook had attached himself to Yesung who was on Kangin’s right arm and Zhoumi was next to Henry on Kangin’s left. Siwon and Kibum were attached to his hip as Shindong snuggled next to them. Sungmin was lying between Donghae and Eunhyuk who were all draped over Kangin’s leg in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

He couldn’t help but smile at the children in his arms. After the scare yesterday with Leeteuk and Yesung they had all fallen asleep after they had eaten, Not that Kangin could blame them, they must have been exhausted.

Leeteuk!

“Hyung how is he?”

Heechul’s smile dimmed a bit. “The same. The good news is that he didn’t get any worse but he didn’t get any better either.”

Kangin bit his lip and looked down at the children. “Pray kids. Pray he gets better, for your sakes.”

The children shifted in their sleep but other then that made no move that they heard Kangin.

“Come on Kangin; let’s get them to their beds.” Heechul bent down and picked Siwon and Kibum.

Kangin nodded and gently moved Henry in his arms to where he could move but not disturb the child.

It took a few trips but Kangin eventually got all of the children put to bed. The last one to be put down was little Henry. He had clutched the fabric of Kangin’s shirt in his little hands and would not let go. The little child had surprising strength when he wanted to.

Kangin tried to pry him off but it only resulted in him being held tighter. Kangin sighed and gave up.

He cradled Henry to his chest and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that I let this happen to you.” Kangin gently laid his head on top of the young child’s.

“No one blames you appa…”

Kangin’s breath caught and he looked down to see Henry snuggle even further into his shoulder with a small smile playing on his tiny lips.

He smiled and let his tears fall down his cheeks. There was no sobbing, no noise; just the tears making their way down his face silently.

“Thank you.”

Kangin closed the door to Henry’s room quietly and turned to head down to Leeteuk’s room when he saw Yesung standing in the doorway of the hall.

“Yesung?”

Said child looked up at Kangin who saw the puffy circles encasing the boy’s eyes. Warning bells went off in his head as he approached the boy slowly and crouched in front of him.

“Yesung? What’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth to ask another question but stopped when a small body slammed into his chest.

“I’m so sorry! I never meant for this to happen, I never meant for Teukie-hyung to get hurt! I didn’t want any of this happen to anyone. I’m so sorry!”

Kangin wrapped his arms around the sobbing body and rocked his body back and forth to try and offer some sort of comfort to the guilt riddled boy.

“Shhh. It’s fine, the other children are fine, you are fine, Leeteuk will be fine. You did what you had to and what you thought was best in that situation.” Kangin whispered into Yesung’s ear.

Yesung pulled his head back and looked Kangin straight in the face.

“But it’s because of me that hyung is hurt!”

Kangin felt his heart constrict at the sound of the young boy’s sobbing. A young boy shouldn’t hold such guilt.

“Yesung…”

Kangin lifted the boy’s face to meet his.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry for that. I was just so worried about you and when I got there and saw that gun being pointed at you and then the shot...”

Kangin’s throat choked up and he hugged the boy to himself.

“I couldn’t protect you, couldn’t get to you in time, I couldn’t do anything! I was helpless.” Kangin tightened his grip on Yesung’s slim form but not enough to hurt him.

“Kangin-hyung…”

Yesung couldn’t believe that his hyung felt like that. His hyung was a strong person, so strong. And so was his Teukie-hyung. Both of them were so strong, he wanted to be just like them but he knew that he couldn’t ever reach their level. He knew this but he still dreamed of it.

He heard a sniffle from above him ad felt a wetness on his shoulder and reality came crashing down all around him.

Kangin-hyung…was crying.

Kangin-hyung was scared.

That reality was frightening. His hyung never cried, never showed fear, it wasn’t in his nature.

“Kangin-hyung!”

Kangin lifted his head and Yesung saw the tears running down his cheeks but also saw the smile on his lips.

“Say, Yesung, let’s go see Teukie shall we?”

Yesung’s face brightened and he nodded frantically.

“Yes! Yes please!”

Kangin smiled and ruffled the mop of black hair and chuckled.

“Alrighty then. Let’s go.”

Kangin stood up and held out his hand to the boy who readily accepted the offered hand.

The door creaked upon its opening.

Yesung and Kangin quietly crept into the room and Kangin shut the door behind them. He looked up to see Heechul sitting next tot the bed, eyeing them closely.

“Hyung? Why don’t you go get some rest, I’ll keep an eye on Leeteuk.” Kangin placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Heechul looked up and into his dongsaeng’s eyes. A tired smile made its way across the older man’s face as he nodded gratefully at Kangin.

Heechul stood and stretched. Kangin heard a few cracks and snaps from his hyung’s old bones.

“Is someone getting old hyung?” Kangin teased lightly.

Heechul stuck his tongue out and flipped Kangin off before leaving the room. Kangin snickered at his hyung’s antics before returning to stare at the body before him.

Yesung began to tremble as he looked upon his hyung’s pale, limp form in the bed. He felt his legs begin to turn to jelly and he let his body collapse into the chair next to the bed.

He reached his small hand out and wrapped it around Leeteuk’s own; he gave it a squeeze and clenched his jaw when there was no return comfort.

“Hyung…” Yesung croaked.

Kangin watched the heartbreaking scene before him with a heavy heart. If only he had been there just minutes earlier. Would things have changed? Could he have saved Leeteuk and Yesung?

Kangin knew it was no use to contemplate these kinds of things now but he couldn’t help it. All of the children were hurting. He was hurting.

All because of this one man.

“Hyung, please wake up soon. We need you here, Ryeowook misses you, he even cried himself to sleep tonight because you didn’t go in and tuck him in like you do every night.”

Yesung’s voice was broken and his smiled was forced as he looked at Leeteuk’s still form.

Still no reaction.

Yesung’s thumbs traced abstract patterns on the back of Leeteuk’s palms as he whispered softly to his mother figure.

Kangin made sure to stay in the shadows of the dim candle on the side of the bed, keeping himself close to the door and allowing Yesung to pour out his sorrows and regrets to the one person he needed by his side now, the one person who couldn’t be at his side.

He heard the poor child’s broken pleas for Leeteuk to wake up or just give some sign that he could hear him and of course there were none. The only way you could see that the man was alive was by the steady rise and fall of his chest.

At the sound of the sobs Kangin decided it was time to intervene. He gently placed his hands on the child’s shoulders and pulled him away slightly.

“Come on Yesung. You’re exhausted and you’ve had a long day. We’ll come back tomorrow.” Kangin cooed.

Yesung merely nodded and began to close his eyes.

The door clicked and Kangin sighed in relief. Everyone was asleep except him.

He could finally talk to him.

He walked slowly towards the form on the bed; the flickering light of the candle caused shadows to weave their way across the room and the sleeping man’s face.

He looked so…peaceful.

Kangin pulled the chair closer to the bed and took Leeteuk’s hand in both of his and held it tightly.

“Teukie wake up. Please.”

Kangin brought the limp hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle lightly. The skin that met his lips was cold to the naturally warm flesh of his lips. The feeling of that body going cold made shivers wrap around Kangin’s very core.

Leeteuk was a warm and kind person; he was so full of life and joy that it was contagious; that unique laughter of his, that wide and bright smile that would engulf his entire face whenever he was with his ‘children’.

Yet here he was cold and limp, unmoving. He was dead to the world. There was no loud laughter ringing through the halls and his face was a mask, nothing played across it; his eyes weren’t shining like normal.

Kangin bit his lip and forced those thoughts out of his mind.

He was sleeping. That’s all.

He would be fine.

Kangin lowered his head to the bed and let the sobs that he had been holding back finally escape. He let all of his guilt and sorrow echo through the quiet room.

“I’m so sorry Teukie.”

He looked up and let his free hand come up to cup Leeteuk’s face and hold it gently. Kangin bit his lip and leaned down slowly.

It was a simple touch, a brush of lips was all but it meant the world to Kangin. Even if the lips were cold and unresponsive he had finally done it; he had kissed his angel.

Kangin pulled back a bit and looked down onto his unconscious love’s face. He let his hand caress his cheek softly.

“I love you…”

Kangin placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and sat back down to watch Leeteuk for any sign of change. Of course there were none and it was late, so much had happened in such a short period of time; Kangin was so tired and before long he was asleep, his hand still holding Leeteuk’s own.

Later, after the light had died out of the room and the moon was high in the sky, there was a light squeeze of hands.

’I love you…’