Yongguk’s POV:

“Hyung…? Yah, Bang’s awake!” I heard a distant voice speaking out.

I slowly opened my eyes, giving them some time to adjust to my bright surroundings before a young man—whose face was veiled by a black mask identical to mine—came into view. I immediately recognized his big round eyes. It was ChangJo.

“Hyung, how are you feeling? Great job by the way; Jin’s very proud of you for completing the mission!” he whispered proudly in a hushed tone before pumping a fist into the air.

I nodded weakly at him—implying that I was feeling fine. I glanced at the clock and read the time—it was 10:01 PM. It was then that I suddenly remembered I had completely forgotten about Natalie. I abruptly sat up—causing the pain from my wound to spread throughout my body. Although still in immense pain, I forced myself to get up and began making my way towards the door.

“Hyung! Where are you going? We literally just took you here ten minutes ago!” ChangJo panicked as he blocked the doorway, preventing me from leaving the room. “You’re not in good condition right now! The doctors haven’t taken the bullet out yet! Please don’t—“

“Don’t worry ChangJo, I promise I’ll be back soon,” I reassured as I grabbed my parka from his hand and brushed past him. I waved down the nearest taxicab and began making my way back to Natalie’s.

Natalie’s POV:

The bowl shattered into pieces as it hit the bottom sink, startling me out of my daze.

There goes another bowl… Great job Nat.

Sighing heavily at my carelessness, I began picking up the pieces and carefully disposed them into my trashcan. I eyed the clock before resuming my dishwashing—noting that it was 10:58 PM.

I grew more and more agitated by the minute as I began to wonder if Yongguk was even coming at all.

As I finished rinsing the last few bowls in the sink, the doorbell rang. My heart began to race as I dried my hands and rushed to the door—reminding myself not to be too excited just in case the person standing on my doorstep wasn’t who I hoped it would be (like what happened last time with the pizza deliveryman, sigh).

I slowly unlocked the door and peaked outside. This time, I wasn’t disappointed at what I saw. Yongguk was standing on my doorstep with an unusually heavy black parka on over his normal black clothing. Although I truly was happy to see him, I was still slightly upset that he had come this late. At this rate, we probably wouldn’t be able to see all the films I rented.

“Wow, great job being on time,” I snarled sarcastically as I fully opened the door—allowing him to come inside.

“It must’ve been a really long wait… Mianhae Natalie…” he apologized as he oddly began to clutch at his stomach.

“It’s cool,” I sighed as I plopped down onto the couch after inserting a disk into my DVD player. “At least you’re here now,” I smiled up at him and patted the seat next to me. “Sit.” I reached over to the light switch and turned it off as Yongguk slumped down next to me.

Within fifteen movies into the movie, I had already begun to cry from laughing too hard. However, Yongguk stayed silent the whole time. I turned to look at him and found him sound asleep. Strangely, I noticed a few droplets of sweat rolling down the side of his face from his temple.

Probably from that thick parka he’s wearing…

“Yah, you came late and now you’re falling asleep on me?!” I hollered as I punched at his arm.

His body fell lifelessly onto the couch armrest along with the arm that he held at his stomach with earlier. As his hand dropped down, I noticed a dark stain on his shirt.

“…Y-Yongguk?” I whispered out as I reached towards hand. The moment I touched it, I felt my hands dampening from the touch of his. I pulled away and looked at my fingers. They were bloodstained.

“Oh… No…”

My lips began to tremble in fear as I tapped at his face, hoping that he’d be able to regain consciousness. I couldn’t tell if I was delusional at the moment or not, but it seemed as if his face was slowly losing its warmth and color by the second. I looked down at my couch. A pool of blood was beginning to form on the ragged leather. There was no way he was going to survive without a hospital’s aid.

I quickly rushed into my bedroom and got changed. Dressed in black with a black t-shirt wrapped around my face to veil my identity, I began to Yongguk out to my car. Placing him in the backseat, I quickly belted him and hurried back to the driver’s seat.

My engine roared with life as I keyed it and I pressed on the gas pedal with as much pressure and force as I could—allowing my car to move at its max speed. On the whole way to the hospital, I kept my eyes fixed on the rear mirror—allowing Yongguk to stay in my view.

I promised that if he made it through this time, I would never allow mysef to let him fall this close to slipping away from me again.

The hospital doors automatically slid open as Yongguk and I approached them.

“SOMEONE HELP!” I wailed helplessly as I frantically looked around for someone to come and him in. Crushed under his masculine weight, I felt my knees shaking from the intense pressure.

I noticed a few man dressed in black—all wearing masks identical to Yongguk’s—situated in front of a room down one of the halls. I immediately recognized them as members of Children of Fang. They quickly looked over at me, causing me to immediately look down at the ground in fear that they were going to realize whom I was. One of them hollered to the others, “It’s Bang Hyung! He’s back!”

They rushed over to me and helped inside one of the hospital rooms. One of the guys ran in and swiftly informed a doctor about Yongguk’s condition. The doctor nodded understandingly as he quickened his pace down the hallway. Soon, he returned with a few assistants and left inside the room Yongguk was in.

I exhaled anxiously as I took a seat near the room, praying that he would be all right.

Within an hour, the same doctor from earlier opened the door and took off his surgical mask. He smiled at one of the men guarding at the door and congratulated,  “I’m here with good news for you. Although your friend’s wound was pretty deep and severe, we were able to extract the bullet successfully. He will be healing in no time, but please keep in mind that any activity that involves extreme movement will result in worsening of the wound. It will be best for him to stay at the hospital for at least a week or two before allowing him to be discharged. That is all. Have a good night.”

The two men bowed politely at the doctor and the doctor’s hand appreciatively. As soon as the doctor was out of view, I quickly made my way towards the door and raised my fist up—prepared to knock—when one of the guard men grabbed at my wrist and hissed, “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m—uh—his friend,” I quickly deepened my voice hoping that it sounded convincingly manly. The man looked at me doubtingly—as if he could see right through my disguise. There was no way I was going to get in with that. I quickly corrected myself in the most ghetto tone I could possibly ever make, “His b-boyfriend, I mean… He’s my boyfriend okay? Let me go in and see my damn boyfriend. I’MMA REPORT YOUR TO HIM IF YOU DON’T LET ME IN!”

Holy … Did I really just say that?

The man raised an eyebrow weirdly at me before whispering something into the other man’s ear. One of them shrugged at the other before reluctantly opening the door for me. Right before the door closed, I heard one of them whisper to the other, “I never knew Bang Hyung liked… Guys…”

I stifled a laugh as I tiptoed into the room. I pulled over one of the visitor chairs to Yongguk’s bed and sat down on it—watching him peacefully sleep with the stupid black mask still on. A pang of guilt suddenly hit me when I realized I was the reason why he was in such a terrible condition. If it weren’t for me, he would’ve probably been able to get the surgery earlier. If it weren’t for me, his injury wouldn’t have been so severe. And yet I had accused him and gotten angry at him for being late and I—

“What’s the matter? You look upset,” an extremely familiar husky voice spoke out.

I looked up to find Yongguk awake. His eyes were droopy from fatigue, but there were open and were locked on mine. I quickly looked away, guilty and ashamed.

“I’m so sorry…” I gulped as I felt remorseful tears forming. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have—“

“No, it’s not your fault,” he interrupted. “I was careless, and that’s why I had gotten injured. It has nothing to do with you, alright?”

I nodded doubtfully—still not being able to forgive myself for what happened even though Yongguk had claimed it wasn’t my fault. Suddenly, he motioned me closer. I propped myself up onto this hospital bed and leaned in towards him. My cheeks began to flush as I gulped nervously when I noticed how close we were to each other.

Unexpectedly, Yongguk gently grabbed ahold of my face. I felt my my heart hammering as he secured his eyes on mine.

“Natalie, will you be mine?” he whispered.