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I don't belong here. I really don't belong here. No, not at all. I really shouldn't be here...

It was hard for Yesung to assemble a coherent thought. Because the hospital was so peaceful yesterday, today's breakfast was that much more of a shock.

The long, brooding hall looked very unnatural, alien to the very house it was in. The clang of plates on the tables, the murmur of everyday chat, someone yelling – the dining hall echoed as though they were in a cave. Yesung didn't like the place at all. It had an antiseptic aura to it.

Thankfully, the person who was yelling was just being carried out of the hall. The wide-eyed boy who was screaming his lungs out perfectly fit Yesung's idea of a raving lunatic. None of the other residents so much as looked at the young boy who was thrashing around – apparently, that was perfectly normal. The kid even tried to bite the two guards that were carrying him. Thank god he's the only one, thought Yesung, the ear-splitting cries still burning his ears.

Anxiously, Yesung started scanning the crowd. Suddenly, it reminded him of being in high school, where the most important thing had been who was sitting with whom during lunch. Or, in Yesung's case, whether there was someone he could eat with at all.

Feeling his stomach do an unpleasant somersault, Yesung was already panicking.

At last, he spotted his roommate, sitting alone at the far end of the hall. However, judging by the distance between his table and the others, and the bitter glare Kyuhyun sent to anyone who so much as glanced at him, Yesung had to find somewhere else to sit.

Should I just grab the food and go back to my room? Am I allowed to do that? After all, I've always eaten by myself in school...

“Heyyyya buddy!!! Come sit with us!"

When Yesung turned around and glimpsed who the voice belonged to, the prospect of eating alone in his room didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.

Pretending not to have heard the person wasn’t an option, as they were exceptionally LOUD, so Yesung forced his feet towards the only friendly table in the hall.

Grinning ear to ear, Donghae finally stopped jumping up and down in his seat and waving at him and wished him good morning. No matter how annoying the guy was, Yesung was still very glad to stop standing awkwardly in the middle of the dining hall.

“See? See?? I'm not delusional! I told you a new friend’s arrived and here he is!!!”

While Donghee looked quite pleased with himself, the rest of the table was only staring at Yesung in shock. Apparently, no one ever believed anything Donghae said.

Scratch that - there was one person who did. The young blonde man next to Donghae seemed completely unsurprised by Yesung's arrival. Gently, he patted Donghee on the back, before sending Yesung a simple, friendly smile.

“Lee Hyukjae.” he offered.

In response, Yesung was nodding his head off, even while the third guy was introducing himself, trying to somehow telepathically convey :“My name is Yesung and I freakin love you guys for letting me sit with you, and for not being screaming nutjobs.”

Easily deciphering Yesung's face, Hyukjae giggled amusedly, Donghee joining in for no apparent reason.

“Gotta give ya some advice, newbie – what's you name again?“ said the ravenhead next to Yesung, his voice some kind of a surly growl. If Yesung remembered correctly, the man's name was Kim Kibum.

“Yesung hyung… Yeye for short!” assisted Donghae, grinning at his own idea.

Inwardly, Yesung sighed. Aish, a nickname already?!

“Well, Yesung. First, make sure you don't ever get sent to the Black room. Like, NEVER. And, most importantly, DO NOT approach either Henry or Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun?!! Yesung almost shouted out. True, with the last night's events, Kyuhyun seemed sort of shady. But Yesung simply couldn't see him as dangerous. The way Yesung saw it, the boy was just a petty prankster. His thorny armour was there to protect his kind nature. Exactly how Yesung came to that conclusion, he couldn't really say.

Seeing Yesung's surprise, Hyukjae eyed him worriedly, before asking:

“...You haven't met either of them before, have you?”

By now, Yesung was dying to say something. This masquerade of his was far more demanding and exhausting than he had ever anticipated. Unable to talk, but surrounded by people chatting at him, was a hell in its own right.

Slowly, Yesung shook his head – but a moment after, he abruptly changed his mind. Nodding enthusiastically now, he caused the entire table to giggle in confusion.

“...Well, Yesung, make up your mind! Is that a yes or no?” chuckled Hyukjae.

Nodding once again, Yesung instantly wiped the smiles off the three patients' faces.

“...Are you sure, hyung?” whispered Donghae in horror. Kibum's face was unreadable, but Yesung could glimpse some heavy thinking behind it, as though the man was making an urgent decision.

“...Which one did you meet? Henry or Kyuhyun?” asked Hyukjae in a serious voice, as though they were deciding on whether to wage war.

Pointing to the secluded corner where Kyuhyun picked at his food, Yesung almost got a heart attack as the whole table suddenly exclaimed.

“ARE YOU MAD???” hissed Kibum in a hushed voice that still sounded like a scream.

“Yes, he is! Hehehe! He wouldn't be here if he wasn't, would he?” giggled Donghee. Despite his initial fright, the guy was back to his bubbly ways in a matter of seconds.

“Please, don't ever point at him like that! Almost everything gets him all nuts!” whispered Hyukjae, glancing warily at the table in the corner.

After assuring that Yesung understood he should steer clear of the two infamous inmates, Hyukjae informed him that Henry was the boy who was screaming when he came in. The atmosphere finally settled down. Kibum’s food was untouched, the man deep in thought. Donghae happily dug into his breakfast, occasionally feeding a spoon to his blonde friend, both flushed and giggling.

Yesung couldn't help thinking that, if he could allow himself to talk, he might even gain some friends. Although they've just met, he seriously liked this Hyukjae guy, with his clear smile and unique perceptiveness. As things stood, he'd never be able to even have a proper conversation with him.

After a while, though, Hyukjae was chewing on unspoken words in his mouth, afraid of what he had to ask.

“...Han, he... the psychologist, you met him? ...Oh, then you probably will today. A-Anyways, he once mentioned... that there was a free bed in Kyuhyun's room...?”

After a final nod from Yesung, their table was absolutely silent for the rest of the meal. No one could think of anything comforting to say.

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