Ryeowook groaned as he woke up, his hand pressed against the side of his head trying hard to ignore the pounding headache. He forced himself to open his eyes, knowing that his surrounding would still be the same. The stone walls were still surrounding him, and the scent of dirt reached his nose when he lost his balance. His stomach growled and his throat felt dry, he needed food and water, he really needed it now.

‘Food!’ Someone growled from behind the door, and a plate with a dry piece of bread was pushed inside the prison cell, followed by a small bottle of water.

Ryeowook attacked the plate like his life depended on it. Even though his menu was the same for weeks now, he still ate it with a big smile. There was nothing better than the taste of dry bread after days of hunger.

---

He sat there, his knees bend to his chest, hugging them tight, because that was pretty much the only thing he could do. His prison cell was small, just big enough to curl himself up and sleep. There was nothing more but dirt, stone walls and a hole in the ground which they called a toilet.

He had no idea how much time had passed since they locked him up, it could be weeks, even months. He totally lost track of time. It could be half June by now, which means that his birthday would come up soon, he never thought that he would celebrate his birthday in prison.

Because of boredom he thought a lot, he thought about the reasons he ended up here, he thought about his little brother, how he had changed into a complete different person, a devil. And he thought about the old days, old memories flashing by and he smiled at them. He remembered how he used to play inside the castle gardens with his little brother. He remembered how they used to play hide and seek with the maid sons Siwan and Hyungsik.

~~~

‘Ready or not here I come! I’m going to find you all!’ The nine year old Jung Heecheol shouted when he turned himself away from the large apple tree. ‘Where are you! Come out!’ He whined.

Ryeowook chuckled, he was sure that his younger brother would never find him here.

‘Guys! This is not funny! Where are you!’

‘Honestly Heecheol, are you sure that you get the idea of the game ‘HIDE and seek’.’ Siwan laughed when he leaned to the apple tree. ‘Let me join you when you’re playing the next round!’

‘No! You can’t join, you’re mean to me! I don’t like this game! I hate being alone. It frightens me.’ Heecheol pouted. ‘I want to find my hyung, an- ouch!’ Heecheol grabbed his arm tight when he felt a weird pain. ‘W… what is this…’ Heecheol mumbled softly when he noticed when his arm was slowly turning blue. ‘I-It burns … hyung!’

Siwan was ready to help, even though he had no idea how. But Ryeowook was already at Heecheol’s side. ‘Shh… it’s going to be fine.’ Ryeowook whispered.

‘H-Hyung… my arm.’ Heecheol mumbled before he lost the control over his knees. But he knew that he was safe now, he knew that he wouldn’t get hurt, because Ryeowook was there.

‘What is wrong with him?’ Siwan asked worriedly.

‘Bee sting, he’s allergic.’ Ryeowook answered calmly before taking the needle out of the blue hump on Heecheols arm. He thought about it for a second, he saw his father do this before. He pushed on the hump and noticed that only a small amount of the venom was coming out of it, so he had to it out.

‘H-Hyung… it hurts. What are you doing? This is weird…’ Heecheol complained weakly.

‘Hush, no need to be scared, your big brother is here. I will save you ok?’ Ryeowook smiled and he could see that Heecheol gave him his trust.

---

‘Daddy! Dad!’ Heecheol bounced. ‘Look!’ He pointed at the around his arm. ‘There was this HUGE bee, daddy! Really, it was BIG!’ Heecheol held his arms apart from each other to show his dad how big the bee was. ‘And it stung me, right here, you see?’

Ryeowook chuckled, he never saw a bee that big before and he loved to see his brother so hyper.

‘Did you fight it?’ His dad asked with a big smile while he ruffled his hand through the younger boys hair.

‘N…no… it was really painful, and my arm turned blue! It looked cool, but that’s not good right?’ Heecheol asked with big eyes.

‘No, not good at all. So who helped you?’ His father asked with a caring smile.

‘Hyung fought it! He saved me! He knew just what to do, daddy! He pulled out the needle and then …’ His face flushed red when he thought back about that embarrassing moment. ‘He the venom out of my arm…’

‘You did huh?’ His dad asked surprised, and Ryeowook shyly nodded. ‘You did well son! I’m proud of you…’

~~~

I’m proud of you. Ryeowook snorted at the memory of it. Sure he was proud, until he found out what Ryeowook really was, a shame, someone that wouldn’t fit into his perfect family portrait.

He hugged his knees tighter, his head buried deep inside his arms. He didn’t cry, though he could if he wanted to. But he was scared that he would waste too much energy, he couldn’t die… not yet. He had to escape this place, he had to fix this kingdom.

‘R-Ryeowook? Are you in there?’ A voice whispered through the door. ‘Please, tell me you’re ok!’

Ryeowook couldn’t believe his ears, he truly thought that the lack of food started to act on his brains. The voice he heard just now, it couldn’t be…

‘H-Hyungsik?’ Ryeowook was a bit shocked when he heard his own voice, it sounded nothing like him, it sounded rough and hoarse.

‘Thank god, you’re still alive! Did the food reach you? I tried to make them bring more, but this was all I could give you, I’m so sorry Ryeowook. I wish there was more I could do to save you, really.’ Hyungsik rattled.

Ryeowook has never been this happy before, it was so good to hear something different then the growling guard who gave him his food and water, or the snoring guard at night. And he could only dream about this voice for so long.

‘H-Hyungsik, h-how…’ He coughed.

‘Heecheol wanted to speak to your guards, and he asked me to keep an eye on you. He trust me Ryeowook, he still does.’

Ryeowook chuckled when he heard the proud tone Hyungsik used, he could imagine the way he had said that. His eyes closed and his chin lifted up in the air, making his too long hair fall into his face. They have been friends for years, ever since they were in daipers. It was sad that things turned out like this...

‘Hyungsik-ah, I really missed you…’ Ryeowook mumbled and that’s when he sheds his first tears. ‘Hearing your voice makes me so happy. If I could only be there, I want to hug you, hold you… you must be so scared.’

The door that was used for Ryeowook's food supplies opened and Hyungsik held out his hand. Ryeowook didn’t waste one second and immediately moved his hand towards his. ‘Ryeowook-ah, stop worrying about me. I’m doing fine. Heecheol treats me really well, and stop crying. You need your energy, you can’t die on me now!’

‘What is the point in living Hyungsik-ah, all I see are these filthy walls for weeks!’ Ryeowook sobbed. ‘I feel dirty, I’m in a serious need for a shower, I smell, and …’

‘Shh… you were always the one who comforted me in the past Ryeowook, now let me be the one who comforts you. Just lean against the door and pretend it’s my shoulder …’

~~~

‘Hyungsik-ah! What are you doing? Why are you crying?’ Ryeowook asked when he noticed him sobbing in the corner of his room.

‘I … I can’t tell…’ Hyungsik sobbed.

Ryeowook let himself slide down next to him and held his hand. ‘Hyungsik-ah, shhh… it’s going to be ok. Just let your head rest on my shoulder and cry it all out, ok?’ Ryeowook whispered.

~~~

Ryeowook probably fell asleep, because he woke up with a terrible headache, even worse then before he fell asleep, and his body felt heavy and cold. ‘H-Hyungsik-ah… I… I’m so cold...’ Ryeowook mumbled with his eyes still closed, his eyelids were simply too heavy to open. 'H...Hyungsik-ah...' He softly sobbed when he relized that his best friend was no longer there to give him strength.

He was all alone again.