“Thank you for being nothing but honest.” The police officer said before stopping the tape recorder he had been using to notate Kai’s report.

Kai smiled up at the officer and replied, “No. Thank you.”

The police officer’s radio sounded with a buzz.

 “Please excuse me for a moment.” He murmured before walking out of the room to attend the report.

“You’re so brave.” Kyungsoo complimented, sitting back down next to Kai. His eyes shone with pride at Kai.

Kai laughed and rolled his eyes. “Hardly.”

“No, really. I would be terrified to talk to a police officer, especially about something like that… Re-living that horror would just be too much for me, I think.” Kyungsoo concluded, his hands trembling at the mere thought.

“Well, it’s a good thing I was the one who it happened to then.” Kai teased, a playful smirk on his lips.

Kyungsoo pouted at his response. “Don’t joke about something like that!”

The boy’s brow furrowed. Kyungsoo couldn’t wait for the bastards who attacked Kai to be found, he knew the police would do their best but without solid proof, who knew what the guys would even be charged with?

“I’m sorry, Kyungie, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. I hate seeing you upset like this. I want you to know I’m fine but at the same time, I’m not just going to let this pass by. Those guys are going to pay for what they did to us.” Kai explained, taking Kyungsoo’s hand in his.

“Us…?” Kyungsoo wondered, eyes sparkling.

Kai’s eyes softened and he ran one hand through Kyungsoo’s soft hair. “They hurt both of us. They hurt me physically but they hurt you emotionally. I can’t imagine what it was like to watch that.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo murmured, dropping his gaze down to his lap.

As much as he wanted to be strong for Kai, he was hurting. He just didn’t understand how people could be so blatantly horrible to another human being. Those thugs had seen how much blood they had shed, and it didn’t stop them; not even Kai’s cries for sympathy made them falter even for a moment. They were nothing but cruel and they needed to be punished.

~~~~~~~

After a short (but none the less passionate) kiss in the locker room, Sehun and Luhan made their way out onto the football field.

There, they were faced with the questioning looks of their teammates. Everyone looked concerned beyond belief, especially Xiumin. It was time to tell everyone the good, but also tainted news.

“Kai is fine.” Luhan began and instantly the atmosphere of the practice lightened.

There had been rumors swirling all day at school about what had happened to Kai. The worse of them had determined that Kai was, in fact, dead, at the hands of some anonymous mafia members.

Sehun had made a point of doing some damage control around the school without giving away the intimate details of what had actually happened.

“What happened…?” A player asked, genuine worry in his eyes.

Luhan sighed before opening his mouth to respond, “Yesterday, after practice, he was attacked in the parking lot right outside of the stadium. He suffered a concussion, a broken arm and quite a bit of blood loss. But, he’s conscious now and while he won’t obviously be able to return right away, he’s already on the road to a healthy recovery.”

The entire team began to murmur and share their opinions on who the attackers might be and Sehun held his hand up to quiet the gossip that was occurring in vain.

“I don’t want this to start some sort of stupid war between us and Busan West, but Kai also wants all of you to know what actually happened, minus a couple details. Kai’s attackers were from B.W. but they seemed to be working as their own unit, so this isn’t a reflection of the team as an entirety.” Sehun explained, his voice calm as to hopefully quell the impending outrage of the team.

It kept the outburst at bay quite well but there was still an underlying tremor of anger brewing. The next game between Busan Prep and Busan West would be an interesting one….

“Thank you for the update, boys. I’m assuming you’ll be visiting him after practice so I’ll come along for the ride, but right now, we have to get practicing. On a side note, I don’t want any backlash toward the Busan West team. If I found out that any of you attempted or succeeded in getting back at the team in any form, you will be immediately cut. I will not tolerate petty violence or pranks.” Xiumin informed the group.

Some players grumbled disappointedly but the majority of the team seemed to understand Xiumin completely.

Luhan looked over at Sehun and winked. They had handled the explanation perfectly but now it was time to play some football.

As soon as Xiumin dropped the football, both the guys sprung into excited action.

~~~~~~~

The officer walked back into Kai’s hospital room with a very serious but intent look on his face.

“Is something wrong?” Kai asked, his voice wavering with doubt and a hint of fear.

“No…. not exactly.” The officer responded, collecting himself into a professional state.

Kyungsoo heart began to race in anticipation of the news. “Please just tell us.”

“Well, this is an uncomfortable and delicate situation. But, it’s also a very positive one if we deal with it correctly… and if you agree to it, Kai.” The officer began hesitantly.

“I’m willing to do anything. I just need to know who did this to me and I need them behind bars.” Kai answered, suddenly feeling much more confident than he did before. There was hope.

“A young man has come forward and made a confession. Now, if he is to reveal the other two people involved in the assault, he wants the opportunity to be able to apologize to you, face to face. For his prompt confession and cooperation with us, he will also receive much less of a sentence than the other two but considering his own bruises, he’s the one that you reported to have made objections of his own to the attack.” The officer outline the situation.

“That’s a ridiculous proposal!” Kyungsoo objected, standing to his feet in utter disbelief.

Kai winced at Kyungsoo's reaction. He took him by the hand and guided him back into his seat. “Kyungsoo, please. I need to make this decision on my own and for the best of everyone’s benefits, I’m going to have to agree to the deal.”

“Are you high…?” Kyungsoo asked of Kai, shaking his head incredulously.

“Kai, you can have more time to think about this, all the time you need.” The officer explained clearly. He didn’t want the teenager to make a rash decision that he might later regret.

“No.” Kai protested the suggestion. “I’m sure of what I want, if the guy wants redemption, then why shouldn’t I give him the chance to do so? I’m sorry, Kyungsoo, but this is what I want.”

Kyungsoo sighed, knowing that Kai wasn’t to budge on the situation, he was just going to have accept that it was going to happen. Somewhere deep down, Kyungsoo did understand and so he didn’t make another objection.

“All right.” The officer said. “I’ll go make the call.”

Kai wasn’t afraid anymore, he was going to face the guy who had called him those awful names and he was going to do so without even an ounce of fear.

While Kyungsoo was still a bit worried, when he saw he determined look in Kai’s eye, he couldn’t help but smile at the gorgeous young man he could call his own.

A/N Heyyyyyyy guys! As always, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR AMAZING SUPPORT!!!!! NEW SUBSCRIBERS, OLD SUBSCRIBERS OR JUST THE SILENT READER, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, as I was reading back through my chapters, I was wondering about something and now it is a pressing question that I really want to know the answer to! How did you all come across LRL??!!??!! Did you just find it or did someone recommend it (if they did TELL ME WHO) PLEASE TELL ME, I REALLY WANNA KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

Teehee I spazz too much.

Oh, and, Chanyeol is a good guy. Just making that clear. He was there when the attack happened but he didn't necessarily take an active part in it.

Okay with that said,

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

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