When YongGuk regains continence he is moving through a door. A sharp pain shoots through his body from his but he doesn’t react to it. He opens his eyes slightly seeing the back of a beanie. He frowns trying to figure out where he is and what is going on. He is on this persons back being carried up some stairs. He closes his eyes again acting like he is still passed out, afraid what will happen if this person knows he is awake. He hears cursing, lots of it.

The person is tired. He can feel how much of a struggle it is to get up the stairs. He is a pretty big guy and he is deadweight at this point. He couldn’t hold himself up even if he wanted to. Tears start running down his cheeks and he can’t stop a sob from escaping his lips.

“You are back! Good, I was getting ing worried” the voice mumbles. Yong Guk isn’t quite sure whether or not the person means it.

A little while later he feels himself being dropped on something somewhat soft. His face contracts in a painful expression and he whimpers. The person moves away and he feels a little easier but then another fear strikes him. What if this person has just kidnapped him and his misery is just started. He opens his eyes and looks and looks around. He moves a hand up to try and get the tears out of his eyes and stifles a whimper.

He is lying very close to the floor on a madras. Only other furniture is a low coffee table with a laptop and some speakers on it. There is a big suitcase in the corner. *Who lives like this?*

He closes his eyes and closes his hands into fists. He feels humiliated, violated and as if he might as well die.

The person comes back and kneels next to him. Yong Guk feels a soft and gentle hand turn his face to the side. He clenches his jaw and keeps his eyes closed

“That looks nasty. What did they do to your face?”

The voice. He recognizes the voice. He opens his eyes slightly and sees those blue eyes. He grunts and moves his head away feeling like a situation that couldn’t get worse just got worse.

Alex smirks “What, didn’t expect to see me?” YongGuk just looks at the ceiling he isn’t gonna fight anymore. His pride is gone, his dignity vanished and his self-respect went down the hole when he got a in his . He just closes his eyes and tries to think about something else.

Alex sits and looks at the guy on the madras. His cheek is full of scratches and he has a cut in the bottom lip, his skin is pale. The guy who looked so strong and fierce on the stage now looks weak and defeated like everything is lost. The sight of him getting is stuck in Alex’s mind and it’s rare that anything does that. Or at least for the past 5 months.

“Let’s get you cleaned” Alex pulls the guy’s arm but he doesn’t react. Alex sighs “Fine, you force my hands” Alex roughly pulls him up and drags him to the bathroom YongGuk feels the pain but doesn’t react, he is numb. His shirt gets yanked off. He lets his head hang and his eyes closed. He grits his teeth *Why didn’t I just die*

“You have a choice now” Alex looks at him sounding annoyed “Get undressed and wash yourself or I’ll do it for you” YongGuk swallows and starts undoing his pants. No way in hell he is letting his guy touch his body. At least that he might have to himself.

Alex nods and turns the back to YongGuk. YongGuk looks at him. The shoulders are quite narrow and the clothes seem way too big but he really doesn’t care.

YongGuk lets his pants and underwear drop and he supports himself against the wall slowly dragging his feet in the shower. Every single step sends a sharp pain up his back. He gets in the shower and turns on the water. He sends a glance back towards Alex who is standing in the same position with the back toward him. Arms crossed in a frozen position.

He feels the water hit him. His left cheek is burning and his torso is covered in bruises. He looks down slowly washing himself off. He sees the water on the floor turning red and frowns trying to figure out where the color came from. It doesn’t feel like anything hurt bad enough to be bleeding except for... His eyes move to the pants and underwear, more blood.

He stumbles feeling sick and pathetic. He grasps out for something to hold on to but slips and hits the wall with a yelp. In a fast second he is slipping again but Alex is suddenly there with an arm around his waist. The other hand is placed on the wall. YongGuk leans his head back against the wall with closed eyes. Tears are falling from his shut lids but Alex wouldn’t be able to tell because of the water.

Alex curses something about getting wet looking around trying to figure out what to do.

“I can’t”Yong Guk mumbles. The only reason he isn’t squatting on the floor is the arm holding him up. Alex sighs “Right”

YongGuk lets his head drop forward where it hit’s Alex’s shoulder. He starts sobbing again. Alex just stands there silently getting even more soaked.

The oversized clothes starts sticking to Alex’s body slowly revealing that Alex is not what Yong Guk thinks. Alex’s eyes softens and lands on YongGuk’s face. He is oblivious to the fabric hiding the true shape of Alex’s body becoming visible through the clothes. The fabric that hides that Alex is actually a girl.

She swallows, feeling very aware about the fact that she is holding a very guy very close.  

The sight that met her when she turned the corner thinking it were some drunken idiots joking around had shaken her to her core. Never in her life has she seen anything that barbaric. Two guys ing a defenseless person in both ends. She heard them laughing, she even saw the one guy getting his in his . It had pissed her off. They hadn’t seen her coming and dropped him on the spot. She was furious, kept yelling and walking towards them with long confident strides, fearless, pissed and using her most intimidating voice while glaring at them in that way she knew could shake even the most confident guy.

Ani had told her so often that she could scare anyone when she wanted to. He knows best. He knows her better than she does. He remembers more than she does.

She clenches her jaw. She is soaked to the skin now, even her beanie is dripping wet but she won’t remove it. YongGuk is still sobbing and his body is trembling.

He is heavy and Alex is tired from having to drag him all the way here. It’s not like she could have taken a taxi. How was she supposed to explain what she was doing with a beat up unconscious guy who is bigger than herself?

She has kept her eyes fixed on the hand placed on the wall. Now she looks up at the source of the water and closes her eyes feeling the wet drops hitting her face straight on. She keeps holding Yong Guk up as her other hand leaves the wall and turns off the water. The tears from Yong Guk’s now silent sobs hit her shoulder. She takes a deep breath “” She curses and steps back pulling him away from the wall.

She reaches for a towel slowly making sure not to force Yong Guk to move. She wraps the towel around his waist with the delicate touch of a woman and then she gently guides him out of the shower “You can’t sit can you?”

He shakes his head, eyes shut tight.

She places him against the wall and guides his hand to the sink “Stay there” She finds a medicine box and places it on the sink next to him. A frightful glance at his face causes her to frown. *I really need to talk to Seungho*

She puts some ointment on her fingers “I’m just putting something on your cheek. Please bear with me” She speaks softly now but somewhat muffled. It's hard to sound caring and like a guy at the same time. YongGuk nods indifferently.

He clenches his jaw as the ointment hits his cheek still keeping his eyes shut as if it could be a dream if he just refuses to look. She looks at the cut on his lip “Does it hurt much?” She gently places a finger with ointment on the cut. He doesn’t reply.

Alex steps back looking at his torso. He has quite a few bruises there as well. He must really have taken a beating before they molested him.

She rubs her neck looking him up and down. He is well built for sure, strong and agile long limps right now covered in marks in dark colors. She steps over to the door staring at the knob now in her hand.

“I’m finding you some clothes. I’ll be back in a sec” She sends a quick look his way and then exit the room. She knows she has some clothes he can wear, the underwear part however is another thing. She quickly gets out the apartment and hurries to the opposite apartment. She knows the guy who lives there is at the club so she picks the lock looking up and down the stairs listening for sounds before she jams the lock and turns the knob. A slight smirk forms on her lips as she pushes the door open and steps into the dark room.

YongGuk slowly lifts his eyes looking around in the sad excuse for a bathroom. He looks to the door Alex left out of and listens. The apartment is silent which gives him the creeps. He looks at his hand which is holding on to the sink. His knuckles are turning white. He takes a few steps biting his lip to contain the pain he feels with every small movement. In the mirror he sees his reflection. The left cheek, shredded and red, the plum bottom lip bruised. He moves his tongue over it and taste the iron taste of blood. His jaw clenches and he looks down again at the towel around his waist. His head is spinning with thoughts. Why did it happen to him? Why was it Alex who found him? Can Alex be trusted?

He considers leaving but he can hardly move as it is and his clothes… He looks at the pants on the floor. Just the thought of wearing them makes him sick and he looks down in the sink. He can’t face the others from B.A.P. looking like this, what is he gonna tell them?

“Here”

YongGuk doesn’t look away from the spot in the sink but he is very aware of the person who just reentered without a sound.

“You want help to get it on?”

“No” he mumbles.

Alex huffs “Good” She drops the clothes on the toilet and heads out cursing at herself. She should be nicer to him but this was not what she needed. But she promised to lay low. Not get mixed up in something like this.

Her phone rings and she hurries over to the table and picks it up looking at the caller id.”Seungho,,, great” a sighs escapes her lips. She wanted to change before ‘he’ was done in the bathroom. She takes a seat on the table not caring about her wet clothes and she slides the green image and moves the phone to her ear. “Moshi”

“Hey Alex” The calm sweet voice greets her, making her feel a bit more calm “You left without saying goodbye. It kind of hurt me”

Alex hits herself with her palm having forgotten she had told him she was just going to get some air “So Sorry I… something happened” She scratches her neck and sends a nervous look back at the bathroom door.

“Alex you only been here a few days are you getting in trouble already?” the tone is teasing. Alex bites her lip and her silence makes Seungho uneasy “Alex seriously? Tell me you are bloody kidding!”

“I’m not in trouble but…” She hits her forehead with her palm again “Uhm. You know the guy I was up against?”

“YongGuk? Yeah what about him? People are asking about him I think he went home”

“Not exactly” Alex mumbles and tilts her head looking at a letter next to her on the table. “He is probably not going back to the dorm tonight”

“What!” Seungho yells. She moves the phone away and sighs as she places it against her other ear “Please ani don’t yell. He is… not really okay. I mean he is okay now or no wait he isn’t… well he is alive” She stumbles over the words “That came out horrible… It’s not that bad but pretty bad”

“Wait wait wait. You aren’t really making any sense. G.O. no Alex isn’t in trouble! Stop trying to take my phone!”

Alex rubs her neck and looks back at the bathroom door.

“Alex what the hell happened?”

“Uhm I rather not say” Alex frowns and her words come out a bit muffled.

“It’s so bad that you can’t even tell me?” Seungho sounds hurt. Alex hate when he sounds hurt. For almost 5 months he has been her rock. Him and the others from MBLAQ are the only ones she trusted. The only ones she trusts.

“Sorry ani but this isn’t about me but that guy so you can understand I can’t tell you without his consent”

She hears Seungho sigh. Now she is completely focused on the phone in her hand and is staring at the floor in front of her.

“Alex I can’t help if I don’t know what it is”

“I know. Aish this is ed. I have no ing clue what to do” She hears the door being open “I gotta go” She hangs up and puts her face back into the cool expression she has been fighting to maintain.

YongGuk slowly drags his feet out without looking up. His hands are maintaining a hold on the doorframe to prevent him from falling. The clothes Alex had found for him fits him pretty well.

Alex looks at his face which is looking disgusted and petrified at the same time. Her eyes moves to the window wondering what the hell she is gonna do next. She has been spending enough time with MBLAQ to know that showing up with bruises can cause a big deal of trouble for an idol and not being able to walk probably will most likely be reason for a lot of questions. She doesn’t want the guy to be put through that. He is clearly a proud guy just like Seungho. This one kind of reminds her of Seungho and not just because of the big plum lips, the soft jawline and slightly bigger built.

She hears a grunt and turns her face towards him. He is leaning the side of his body against the wall with a very painful expression, his eyes staring at the floor on front of him.

Alex stands up and takes a few steps towards him but when she sees how his body starts to shake more and more the closer she gets she steps back and looks away.

His eyes have found Alex’s feet and he sees them stepping back. He swallows and moves his eyes further up the wet pants, up to the soaked shirt that is clinging to spots of the body. The arms are crossed. His gaze moves a bit further up to the face which is looking down to the side. The beanie is still pulled far down even though it is dripping wet, strands of red hair sticks to the white skin making the blue eyes stand out. For a second Yong Guk can’t believe that the person who had acted to arrogantly at the battle can look so fragile as well. He shakes his head and looks down thinking it could be two different people.

He looks back at Alex. He swallows again and opens his mouth. His throat feels dry and foreign “S-sorry.. I-I can’t h-help it” He mutters in a dry voice that in no way sounds like his own.

He keeps looking at Alex whose face suddenly looks up with those big blue eyes looking straight at him. A faint smile emerges at the lips. She nods a little “Don’t worry about it”

Alex looks at the madras “You can sleep on that. I got some painkillers” She turns and walks over to the kitchen. Yong Guk looks at the madras and nods softly. With slow week steps he walks across the floor towards the madras. He slowly lowers himself biting his lip to suppress the pain.

Alex pours water in a glass and finds the painkillers from a cabinet. She looks at the amount left in the container. She will soon have to get some more. She looks back at YongGuk who is trying to get down on the madras without bending his back too much. She walks over and places the glass and pills next to him and then walks away to find some dry clothes bringing them with her to the bathroom.

When she returns to the living-room Yong Guk looks like he is sleeping. She walks over and pulls a cover over him. For a while she just stands there looking at him but then kneels next to his face and removes some hair sticking to his bruised cheek. She sweetly runs a couple of fingers down the side of his face just in front of the ear. His expression seems to soften. She smiles a little and his hair humming in a soft caring voice.

She notices his body relaxing a bit and smiles continuing what she is doing till he looks peaceful. Then she gets up and walks over to search his clothes for his phone. She takes it out seeing a bunch of text from various people she don’t know who is.

She takes that and her own phone and walks over to a window, opening it and crawls out onto the fire escape on the outside of the building. The cold night air gives her a sense of harmony and she smiles listening to the sounds of the night. Cars, people, life. Alex looks out in the lighted city before turning her focus to her phone. She slowly presses speed dial one and moves the phone hesitantly to her ear listening to the beeps. Seungho picks up almost immediately. He must have been waiting for her call even though it’s well past midnight.

“Alex?”

“Yeah sorry ani I didn’t mean to hang up. Thanks for not calling back”

“I know you Alex. You wouldn’t have picked up if I had”

She smirks and looks at a couple of drunk people passing by her building “You know me too well”

“Will you please tell me what happened to YongGuk?”

Alex looks back into her apartment. She can see YongGuk sleeping soundly on the madras ”I don’t know if I should but I need your help. He is sleeping now and he has gotten a whole bunch of texts. His group must be wondering why he hasn’t returned to the dorm. Do you know the names of the others so I can see if they have written?”

Seungho lets out a heavy sigh “Right okay. Wait a sec I need to find Cheondung he knows better than me”

“You shouldn’t involve more people” Alex’s tone is sharp

“Alex I thought you knew you could trust MBLAQ”

“That isn’t the issue”

Another sigh “Alex idols stick together…”

“This is not like having a scandal about a girl or drunken behavior Seungho-ah!” She snares rudely cutting him off. *Like he could understand what YongGuk has been put through*

In the other end of the phone Seungho stands shocked. Alex never cuts him off so rudely, not lately anyway and she always calls him ani when it’s just the two of them talking. He stops with his hand on the door to the room in which G.O. and Cheondung are sleeping. They went home right after he had talked with Alex and he has been sitting on the couch looking at the phone, waiting for Alex to call him back. He made a promise to G.O. to wake him up if he heard from Alex. They are all worried.

“S-sorry” He stutters. He leans his forehead against the door in front of him. She can still make him feel like a little school boy when she gets mad even though she is younger than him.

“It’s not simple. You can’t make this simple!” She snaps, frustration lingering in her voice.

“Alex I don’t know what it is so for me it is simple! All I know is that you have a problem and you won’t let me help you! Don’t you know we would do anything for you?!” He doesn’t realize his voice is getting louder and louder.

The door gets opened and he stumbles forward, his head hitting G.O.’s chest. Seungho stumbles to his feet and looks at G.O. who doesn’t look like he has been sleeping. Behind him comes Cheondung, who does look like he is just waking up, yarning and rubbing his eyes. Seungho holds up a finger signaling them to be quite. “Alex please trust me. Tell me what it is” He knows he sounds desperate but this is Alex and she means everything to him. To them all.

“There is no way I’m telling you or anyone else without his consent so just ing shut it. Ask Cheondung what his friends are called”

Seungho sighs and looks at Cheondung handing him the phone “You know who is in B.A.P right?”

Cheondung takes the phone nodding. Seungho lets his hand drop “Tell Alex their names” G.O. grasps Seungho’s arm dragging him a bit away “So what is it?”

“She won’t tell” Seungho crosses his arms looking at Cheondung who is explaining in the phone “Well Himchan is the oldest other that YongGuk and then Daehyun no he is younger…? Oh sorry okay well then there is JongUp”

Seungho feels G.O. pushing his shoulder “She won’t tell? But it is us! It’s you! You’ll do anything for her and she won’t tell you?!” he sounds utterly baffled

Seungho glares at him and runs his tongue over his lip. “Don’t make me sound so pathetic”

“That is not pathetic that is just caring” G.O. makes big eyes “It’s just… well… you know. I just can’t believe she won’t tell you of all people”

Seungho sighs “She is protecting him”

“That does sound like something she would do” G.O. scratches his neck. They both look at Cheondung who is looking at the phone “She hung up on me! She never hangs up on me!” He frowns looking at the two “What the hell is with her? She hung up on me just like that!”

Seungho walks over and snatches the phone “I don’t know” He grunts unhappily and looks at the phone.

“You don’t know?” Cheondung says shocked “What is she is in trouble? Why did she want to know who is B.A.P?”

“I don’t know!” Seungho almost yells but contains himself scowling at Cheondung “Something about YongGuk but she…” he yells in frustration “!” He hits the wall and walks into the living-room “I’m going to her place in the morning”

“Not without me you aren’t” G.O. walks after him. Seungho turns “No you aren’t, you got schedule and don’t you dare defy me now!” He talks calmly but the fire in his eyes lets them know he is being very serious. The two nods and looks after their leader as he walks back to his own room.