Yang Hyunsuk stopped at the end of Seungri’s hospital bed and then simply stood there, looking down at his younger son.

Seungri looked awful – in fact, 'awful' was something of an understatement. His skin was pale – almost seeming translucent – and that only accentuated the deep, dark rings under his eyes: clear signs of his exhaustion, even as he slept. A dark bruise purpled his jaw line and there were still faint flecks of dried blood around his nose and mouth.

A hospital gown covered the injury to his shoulder; blankets hid the contusions that also adorned his feet. Seungri looked awful – and he wasn't even seeing the full extent of his son injuries.

He took a deep breath and then found that he had to grab hold of the railing at the foot of the bed just to remain upright.

And he realised that he wasn't at all emotionally prepared for this. That psycho had done this to his son – and he done it because of him. If he hadn't put Arashi inside the bar all those years ago…

He shook his head, tightly – cutting off that train of thought. By arresting Arashi, he had undoubtedly saved countless lives. And he was still in a position to save his younger son. But he wasn't going to do that with any sort of a defeatist attitude.

Hyunsuk steeled himself and raised his head – just in time to see Seunghyun carefully brush the hair back from his brother's forehead.

"Hey, dongsaeng," Seunghyun said – with a deliberately light tone. "You're back with us. You're safe now and everything's going to be okay."

And then Hyunsuk found some semblance of strength and he stepped around the bed to clasp his eldest son's shoulder, even as Seunghyun said the words he wished he could say himself.

But he still had bridges to build; roads to repair. Trust to rebuild…

If only it was so simple – but there was no cliché to fix what he had done.

It would take strength, patience, fortitude, love – and about a thousand other things; each of which he was determined to give to the full. And it would also take the first step. Smiling slightly – and trying to inject some confidence into his voice, even if he didn't feel it in his heart – he brushed his fingers against Seungri’s fingers.

"You're safe now," he whispered.

Maybe it was a cruel coincidence; maybe it was something more sinister – a subliminal reaction to his dad's voice – but Seungri chose that exact moment to demonstrate that his sleep was far from restful: A small whimper escaped his lips and his eyes began to move rapidly behind his closed lids – a clear indication that he was dreaming. And the dream was far from pleasant, given the way he began to move restlessly and how his breathing quickened into short, sharp gasps.

Then one word escaped – barely a whisper, but it might as well have been a scream: "Mom!" And, even in sleep, two tears escaped from his eyes and trickled down the sides of his face, before being soaked up by the pillow.

Seunghyun reacted instantly and instinctively. Using one foot to snag the leg of a nearby chair, he dragged it closer to the bed. Then he sat down and grasped Seungri's right hand in both of his own. And he began to talk: he said nothing specific, but just kept up an endless stream of relaxing, reassuring words.

They seemed to work – as Seungri quieted somewhat and seemed to relax back into a deeper, more healing sleep.

Hyunsuk felt a mild surge of envy as he watched his eldest son calm his brother back to sleep so effortlessly. Following swiftly on its heels was an almost overpowering feeling of shame – almost of disgust – for feeling that way.

He should be proud of his sons – both of them – instead of wallowing in feelings of inadequacy and self-recrimination. He should be focussed solely on Seungri's recovery – and everything else be damned.

Memories suddenly slammed into him – with the power to incapacitate or even cripple – and he almost fled. He should be damned. He couldn't shed the memory of cruel words; of harsh treatment.

He couldn't envisage a time when he might ever be able to look his youngest son in the eye again – not given what he had done.

Hyunsuk didn't consider it cowardly. He considered it as doing everything he could to help his son – even if it might seem like abandonment. His very presence was hurting Seungri and there was only one way for him to alleviate causing further suffering – and that was something his son most definitely needed to be spared from.

He took a half-step away from the bed. "Maybe we should let aunt Ga-in and Jae Suk come in and see him," he suggested – though there was a totally alien hesitance in his voice. "They've been waiting almost…"

"Only one at a time, dad." Seunhyun spoke without deviating from the calm, soothing tone he had been assuring his brother with. But when he looked at his father, his eyes were hard and unflinching: "I'm not leaving."

"I'd never ask you to." The answer was spoken on a murmur, because it was clear that Seunghyun wasn't even listening to him anymore. The words he'd spoken had been a mere distraction – and now his attention was focused solely back on his brother.

Hyunsuk edged slowly out of the room. Guilt was gnawing a steadily growing hole in his heart – in his very soul – and he didn't know what was right or wrong any more.

Unsurprisingly, his sister and Jae Suk leapt to their feet at his exit. They had clearly expected him to remain with Seungri for a considerable time more.

He offered them a smile – but it felt weak and sickly even to him. He received two equally pathetic attempts at a smile in return. There was a brief, awkward silence – and Hyunsuk had to be the one to break it; he was the only one with anything to say:

"It's harder than I thought," he admitted – knowing that if he could share his fears with anybody, then it was his sister and his best friend. A line from a song appeared suddenly – and unbidden – in his head: right now, all I feel I do is wrong. But he couldn't admit that aloud. His head dropped and he fished for a convenient lie, as to why he had fled from Seungri’s room after mere minutes of entering: "You should go in and say hi," he offered – knowing how lame it was, but having nothing else. "It might do him good to know that everyone's here for him."

"You go, Ga-in," Jae Suk responded, gently. He knew, as well as anyone else, that Seunghyun would have to be dragged kicking and screaming from his brother's side – and he also remembered the antagonistic doctor and her rules: 'Only two of you at any one time.' He didn't belong in that hospital room. "I'm not even family…"

Before Hyusnuk could do anything about that statement, Ga-in step in: "Yes you are." She surprised both her brother and his friend – and possibly even herself – by stretching up onto her tiptoes to kiss Jae Suk on the cheek. "You’re family. And you will go in after this to say hello to him."

Leaving the two men shocked and speechless, she quietly opened the door and slipped into his nephew’s hospital room.

Jae Suk took a moment to study his long-time friend. Hyunsuk looked like he'd been to hell and back and was clearly hovering on the verge of complete meltdown. It wasn't too hard to figure out the reasons for that – doing something about it was another matter entirely.

But he had to try.

Striving to sound casual, he said: "When Ga-in comes out, I'll take her home; make sure she eats and sleeps. I might even try and do the same myself."

"After you've seen Seungri." His partner spoke with surprising fervour.

Jae Suk's eyes narrowed, as an unpleasant suspicion began to form at the back of his mind. It was as though Hyunsuk was deliberately making it impossible for him to go back into Seungri's room. With the doctor's rules, sending Ga-in and then himself in would be the perfect delaying tactic. He had to test his theory – and do something about it, should it prove correct.

"I'm not going-in," he said. "Not tonight."

It might have been Jae Suk's imagination – but it also might have been panic that flashed in Hyunsuk's eyes at those words.

"Ga-in was right, Jae Suk," his friend said. "You’re family. You always have been and you should go see him. Talk to him."

"He doesn't need me, my friend." His theory seemingly proved right, Jae Suk dove headlong into the solution. "Seungri needs his dad."

"I'm the last person he needs!" Hyunsuk exploded – all of his helpless frustration adding intense passion to his outburst.

"Hyunsuk…" Sam tried to intervene.

"No, Jae Suk! You weren't in there." The bitter recent memory drove his emotions – and now he was spiralling towards desperation. "I barely said three words to him. Three words, Jae Suk and I gave him a nightmare."

"You gave him a nightmare?" Jae Suk repeated, incredulously. But at least it was something he could work with: "Don't you think the nightmare was already there? Hyunsuk, after what happened there were always going to be nightmares; and there will be for a long time to come."

"You don't know…"

"I'll tell you what I do know!" Jae Suk angrily interrupted his friend. "I know that your son needs you right now. He doesn't need me; he doesn't need Ga-in; he doesn't even really need his brother right now. Not as much as he needs you."

Hyunsuk snorted bitter laughter and turned away.

"Think about it," Jae Suk pressed on, undaunted. "Think about everything that's happened! Think about what Seungri has been made to believe; how he must be feeling about himself right now." He realised that he'd balled his hands into fists – he was so desperate to get his message across. "And think about how Seungri would feel if he woke up and you weren't there."

Before Hyunsuk could verbalise a response, the door opened and Ga-in came out – after her surprisingly short visit. The reason for her hasty exit became apparent as she dabbed delicately at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry, but I hate to see the boys hurt," she sniffed. "I wanted to stay a while longer but…"

Her voice faded out to the two men as they exchanged a long glance. About a thousand words were exchanged in that glance, but only two were of any importance – and they were from Hyunsuk to Jae Suk: thank you.

Then Hyunsuk took a deep breath and steeled himself harder than he'd ever had to before facing down the most hardened criminal. Going back into Seungri’s's room, he pulled up another vacant chair.

Then he sat down opposite Seunghyun and hold Seungri’s left hand in both of his own.

Throughout the night, they took turns to talk to him. And to quiet his nightmares.