“You almost killed him,” Hoya stated dubiously.

Sanghyuk nodded blankly. “And now that you know, you shouldn’t bother with me,” he mumbled, walking past them briskly.

“Wait!” Soojin shouted after him, but Myungsoo held her back.

“Don’t,” he muttered. “Leave him.”

“But!”

Myungsoo shook his head. “He’s not going to tell us. I know how he thinks. He’s only going to push back what the rumors are saying about him to us. He’s not explicitly say what he really thinks.”

“So what do we do now?” Hoya asked. “The problem is obviously this fight he had with the person he said he almost killed. And the only way we know the truth is if we ask either of the two.”

“But Sanghyuk obviously won’t tell us, and we don’t have a clue who the other person is,” Soojin muttered.

Myungsoo frowned. “Do you think it only involved them two? What if there were more people involved?”

“Well, if there were then they probably aren’t here anymore,” Hoya concluded.

Soojin looked at Myungsoo and grinned slyly. “Even if they did, we have someone who can track them down, right?”

Myungsoo looked at her in surprise and pointed to himself. “Me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Who else? The only thing I can do is use my ‘womanly charms’ as Hoya so elegantly put it and get information that way.” She reached in her jacket pocket. “In fact, I might as well. I’ll give those guys I talked to before a call and ask.” She paused as she rummaged through her pocket feeling nothing in it. “That’s odd.”

“What?” Hoya asked.

“I thought I put that napkin in my pocket. But it’s not here anymore.” She looked at Myungsoo. “Oh, that’s right. I gave it to you to see. Do you still have it?”

Myungsoo gave her an odd look. “What are you talking about? I gave it back to you.”

She frowned slightly. “You did?” She searched through the various pockets she had on her clothes. “Huh, I can’t find it.”

“You must have lost it,” Myungsoo justified calmly.

“Hmm, I must have,” Soojin murmured.

Hoya rolled his eyes, knowing fully well what must have happened to the napkin. He directed the conversation back on point. “Even though using Myungsoo’s smarts is good and all, I have an easier approach.”

The other two looked at him expectantly.

Hoya smirked. “We follow him.”

Soojin sighed while Myungsoo shook his head at Hoya’s words.

“What?” he asked innocently, his arms up with a shrug. “I am in charge, aren’t I?”

“I told you we shouldn’t let him be in charge,” Soojin mumbled to Myungsoo.

“Tomorrow,” Hoya interrupted, clearing his throat. “Tomorrow we follow him since he’s already long gone.”

“What makes you think that even following him helps? For all we know, he’s trying to live a normal life. How will following him even benefit us?” Soojin argued.

Hoya shook his head and wagged his finger in Soojin’s face. “No, no, no, my dear Soojin. If he’s really is such a person as the rumors suggests, then there is no way that he won’t show his real self. Because even if you try to suppress it, your true self always comes out.” Hoya smirked as he looked at the school gate where Sanghyuk left. “He’s trying to hide what he knows, but we’ll figure out what’s he hiding.

Myungsoo was quiet before speaking up. “I think Hoya’s right. I know his type. He’s trying hard to keep a quiet life at school. But who knows what he’s like outside.”

Soojin sighed, exasperated. “Alright, if you both insist. Tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow,” Hoya grinned.

They all huddled in a small circle outside the gate of the school where people were still giving them odd looks, not that they paid any attention.

“Ok, so last night I looked up more deeply into Sanghyuk’s incident. There were more people involved. Three other people to be exact. Apparently, they ganged up on Sanghyuk, but he managed to fight them off. It was pretty bad; the three who went against Sanghyuk got the most injuries,” Myungsoo informed the others. “But from what I gathered, Sanghyuk’s the one who initiated the fight.”

“What happened to them?” Soojin asked.

Myungsoo shook his head. “All three of them transferred out of school and into different cities. Separate cities, as a matter of fact. None of them have gotten in contact with each other afterwards, not even with Sanghyuk.”

“So who went to the hospital?” Hoya asked in confusion.

“Nobody. None of the three had any records of being sent to the hospital,” revealed Myungsoo.

“But if it was such a simple fight, why are the rumors so bad of him?” Hoya wondered. “If that happened at school, nobody would care. Or least when I was at school, nobody really cared.”

 “I’m guessing that it has to do with the person who was apparently sent to the hospital,” Myungsoo said.

“But if none of the three Sanghyuk beat up went to the hospital, who did?” Soojin questioned.

Myungsoo looked at both of them. “On the day of the fight, someone did get sent to the hospital. He wasn’t involved with Sanghyuk’s fight though. The person was found hurt elsewhere at school and was sent to the hospital.”

“Who was it?” Hoya asked.

Myungsoo shook his head. “I don’t know. Those records were all kept confidential. And even though I hacked into the hospital’s records, it was like someone erased them. I just know that someone, a male, was indeed sent to the hospital with rather grave injuries on that day when Sanghyuk had his fight.”

“You think he’s involved with Sanghyuk’s incident someway?” Soojin mused. “And if he’s wasn’t, then why are all the rumors suggesting that he was?

“Perhaps they got a little twisted when it went around school,” Hoya grinned as he lifted his head up from their little circle as he noticed the trickle of students exiting from the school. “Only one way to find out.”

Sanghyuk was one of the first students to leave. Once he started walking away, the three kept a good distance from him.

Myungsoo was skilled on following people and had no trouble keeping his presence well-hidden. However, the same could not be said for the other two with Soojin having absolutely no experience with following people and Hoya having a presence too big to hide. Myungsoo thought it was a wonder that Sanghyuk never noticed them, and there were times where he thought that the boy did see them. Fortunately, Myungsoo managed to help the other two keep a low-profile.

He put an arm to hold them back, putting a single finger to his lips to tell them to stay quiet.

Sanghyuk had entered a house at that moment, so the three decided to convene in a convenience store that was conveniently located across the house.

“He went home,” Soojin dead-panned, indicating her suspicion that Sanghyuk would easily show what they wanted to know.

“Patience, little one. Good things are rewarded to those who wait patiently,” Hoya said with feigned wisdom.    

Soojin jabbed him with her elbow with an unamused look on her face.

Myungsoo glanced at the house before browsing the snack aisle. “We’ll keep a watch a little longer.”

Soojin looked at him going through the snacks and grinned a little. “I thought you stopped buying snacks.”

Myungsoo’s hand immediately retracted from touching the bags. He pouted at her. “I did! Just, you know, looking.”

Hoya snorted. “Well, if you’re not going to buy some, then I will,” he grinned, pulling some chip bags off the shelf.

In the end, they stayed in the store for a good thirty minutes or so. Long enough that the attendant at the cash register were giving them suspicious eyes.

“Oh! He came out!” Hoya cried in the middle of inspecting how much chips he had left after Soojin and Myungsoo stole some.

They all turned to look at the boy who exited the house.

“That’s Sanghyuk?” Soojin mumbled incredulously.

Sanhyuk didn’t look like the boy they met at school and more like the picture BoA gave them. His hair was styled up giving him a raised fringe and showing the many ear piercings he had. He was wearing a tight-fitting black tank top paired with a leather jacket. Dark gray jeans and a pair of black Converse added to the polar vibe he originally had.

Hoya grinned. “Told you he would show his true self.”

Soojin rolled her eyes and grinned back. “Fine. You were right, oh wonderful leader.”

“That’s right. Who’s the most awesomest person here? Me. That’s right,” Hoya crowed.

Myungsoo rolled his eyes as well. “Come on, ‘most awesomest person’. We have a boy to follow.”

They once again set off following the newly developed Sanghyuk. Even the way he walked now seemed different.

But besides the new look he gave, he seemed no different than a normal everyday boy. He stopped at food stand to grab something to eat. And while he walked and ate, he browsed through stores, looking at shirts and accessories.

After a few minutes of him walking and them following, Sanghyuk approached a group of rowdy boys who were pushing and shoving each other, joking around with each other. They had the aura of troublemakers, simply people who people generally didn’t want to associate with. Some were smoking cigarettes, while other sported large tattoos or bold piercings. But then again, one can’t simply judge them by their appearances.

They stopped when they saw Sanghyuk and went quiet. But not long after, they pounded him on the back, grinning widely at him. They all set off together and ended up at a popular game center, going inside with loud voices.

The three decided not to go in and instead settled for buying drinks and sitting at a small area with chairs and tables nearby where they had a good view of the arcade. They didn’t see Sanghyuk or his friends come out while a few hours passed and the day was slowly becoming darker.

Soojin sighed as she glanced at her watch. She could tell the other two were becoming restless as well. “Ok.”

They turned to look at her at the sound of her voice. None of them had spoken for awhile, all of them focusing intently at the game center.  

“Let’s go over what we know,” she suggested.

Myungsoo nodded as Hoya stretched out his arms, feeling a bit stiff from sitting so long.

“Sanghyuk is known to other people at his school to be this scary and horrible person who sent someone to the hospital,” Myungsoo started off.

Hoya nodded tiredly, stifling a yawn. “But outside of school, he’s a completely different person and hangs out with a completely different crowd.”

“So why does he put on a different façade at school and outside of school?” Soojin groaned in confusion.

Myungsoo bit his lip and looked at them. “Actually,” he started off slowly. “I recognize some of the people he was hanging out with.”

Hoya narrowed his eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“I might have looked them up before when I was still with N. They’re nothing horrid or anything. But they’re your typical, I guess you can say, delinquent, though I wouldn’t truly call them that. They those students who don’t care about school, ditch school, and play around. Honestly, they’re harmless.”

“So why is Sanghyuk hanging out with them?” Soojin asked, looking back at the game center.

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Myungsoo mumbled.

Hoya flopped down on the table, stretching his arms across the table, not caring about the other’s space. “I was going to say something about why you didn’t tell us before, but I can tell that it really doesn’t matter in this case.” He looked up at them. “What now?”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell us, Mr. Leader?” Soojin smirked.

Hoya batted his hand at her. “Shut it.” He abruptly sat up straight. “Let’s just wait and see if he comes out.”

They didn’t have to wait long before the group came out. Sanghyuk was waving them off, trying to tell them that he wanted to leave. The other boys were shouting, trying to persuade him to stay and have fun with them, but it was obvious that Sanghyuk was set on leaving. The group bade him a loud farewell and disappeared off to whatever they wanted to do next.

Soojin looked at the other two and with silent nod, they all got up to follow Sanghyuk. He wasn’t heading in the direction of his house, but the opposite way toward a more industrialized area where offices and other such buildings were located. He stopped momentarily at a flower shop where he spoke to the shop owner, pointing at various flowers. He was then given a bouquet of flowers, looked down at them with a sad smile, and continued on his way.

“Girl? Hoya guessed.

Soojin stared at the direction he was going, not missing the expression he gave looking at the flowers. She shook her head. “No, I know where he’s headed.”

“You do?” Myungsoo asked with surprise.

She nodded. “I’m familiar with the area.” She looked at Hoya and Myungsoo who both had confused looks on their faces before looking in the direction Sanghyuk moved in. “We’re about to find out who the person Sanghyuk almost killed.”

They followed Sanghyuk as he walked into one of the biggest buildings in the area.

The hospital.

They all stopped in front and all raised their heads to look up at the tall building. They glanced at each other with solemn faces and walked in.

“Wait,” Soojin whispered. “We don’t even know the room number the person he’s visiting is in.”

Hoya caught Sanghyuk leaving a receptionist counter and heading into an elevator. “Leave it to me,” he whispered back.

They walked up to the same counter and Hoya gave the receptionist an exasperated smile.

“Yes?” she smiled back in surprised confusion.

Hoya pretended that he was breathing heavily. “God, that guy. I can’t believe he just left us like that. I told him to wait for us, but no! Leaves us and goes ahead. I don’t even know the room number he’s in.”

The woman smiled and laughed a little. “I can tell you the room number if you tell me the patient.”

Hoya gave her a sheepish laugh. “That’s the thing. He told us that he wanted us to meet his friend, but he didn’t tell us who it was. He was keeping it a surprise or something. I told him I don’t like surprises. And look where it got us.” He shook his head playfully.

The woman smiled back. “Well, who’s your friend then?”

“Sanghyuk. Han Sanghyuk.” Hoya gave her a grin. “Are you going to help us?”

The receptionist laughed. “We’ll see. Sanghyuk,” she mused as she looked at her check-in list. “Oh! Sanghyuk. I know him. Yes, he comes here almost every day. He just checked in.”

Hoya sighed and shook his head. “That guy. He didn’t even wait for us at the counter. Some friend.” He looked at her and smiled sweetly. “Then are you able to tell us the room number?”

“Hmm,” she hesitated. “Well, you guys are Sanghyuk’s friend, so I suppose I can. He’s in Room 302.”

“Thank you, miss,” Hoya smiled.

“You’re welcome,” she nodded back.

They headed to the elevator while Soojin grinned at Hoya. “Nice going, Mr. Leader.”

Hoya chuckled. “It was nothing.”

Myungsoo laughed. “Being humble now, are we? The world must be coming to an end.”

“Well, if you so insist.” He glanced at them and grinned. “I was awesome, wasn’t I?”

They all laughed as they entered the elevator.

“So why did you know this was a hospital?” Myungsoo asked Soojin.

Soojin caught the worried look in his eyes and waved his concern off. “I wasn’t sick or anything. My brother broke his arm while skateboarding so I had to take him the hospital. It just so happened to be this one.”

Myungsoo nodded satisfactorily and glared at Hoya who was him kissy faces.

They found Room 303 down the hall with the door open. They peeked in to see Sanghyuk standing next to the bed and putting the flowers into a vase. There in the bed lay a boy who was wearing a nasal cannula and who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. His black bangs covering one eye, and his chest moved up and down repetitiouly. 

They looked at each other and walked in causing Sanghyuk to turn around in surprise. He narrowed his eyes in confusion at the sight of them. He opened his mouth to speak, but Soojin beat him to it.

“Sanghyuk, I think it’s best to tell us what’s really going on.”

A/N: Done with another chapter! The story is slowly coming to an end. There are still probably going to be a few more chapters, but I can definitely see the end.

Props to anyone who can name the person in the hospital. He’s in Vixx and his appearance is based on his look in Voodoo Doll. I mean you have four guesses. Hair covering one eye completely. Am I giving it away?

Thanks for reading!