CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Years have passed and yet nothing has changed. Habits remained, their schedules unchanged. In the 8^th year after their completion, will the Jekylls and Hydes’ life finally change? Is it for the better or for the worst?

Thirteen-year old Han Sanghyuk frowned as he looked at his hyungs’ faces. They all looked tired and worn out; almost like they were older than their original ages. However, the three who looked the most tired out of them were Taekwoon, Wonshik and Hongbin. It was to be expected. After all, out of the six of them, they were the ones who went out the most.

Sanghyuk was the one who wasn’t told to go on their assignments that much. It wasn’t the Administration’s choice, but the hyungs’ themselves. They all agreed that their assignments were too dangerous for the thirteen-year old and that it wasn’t right. The Administration didn’t like this but after getting persuaded by Hakyeon, they agreed to lessen Sanghyuk’s assignments provided that somebody did it for him which is why Hakyeon and Jaehwan have been rotating in doing the said assignments. If Taekwoon, Wonshik and Hongbin were gone 6 days on a week, Hakyeon and Jaehwan would be out 4 days in a week; of course, that is on a “lazy” day. However, those days are pretty much as rare as seeing a white crow. Nowadays, the hyungs would be gone for 2-3 days before going back and then leaving again.

“Just how dangerous are their assignments?” Sanghyuk thinks to himself as he looks at the huge gash on Hakyeon’s arm, the wound on Wonshik’s brow and the cast around Taekwoon’s arm. Of course, it was a known (and very much appreciated and accepted) fact that their healing time was a lot faster than that of an average person however, as Sanghyuk observed, Taekwoon’s and Wonshik’s healing time is starting to slow down; probably because of how often they received injuries, probably.

“Are you alright, Sanghyuk? You’ve been zoning out for a while now,” Hakyeon said as he snapped his fingers in front of Sanghyuk. The maknae blinks and almost falls out of his chair, his hand immediately making its way to his heart. “Oh, did I shock you? I’m sorry,” Hakyeon says and flashes Sanghyuk a smile as he walks back to his chair.

Sanghyuk takes this chance and observes Hakyeon closely. The eighteen-year old boy looked thinner and more tired than he was before. Sanghyuk also notices that Hakyeon had bags under his eyes. Sanghyuk sighs and excuses himself. He hears Jaehwan asking where was he going but he ignores this and continues to walk aimlessly.

The hyungs watch as their maknae leaves the canteen and walks to who knows where. When he was sure that their maknae was nowhere near, Hakyeon cleared his throat to get the attention of the younger members. “I’m sure you know this but let me say it once again; Sanghyuk must not find out what happens during our assignments,”

The boys nodded, their lips a grim line. “But hyung, tell me, why do we have to forbid Sanghyuk from going on his own assignments. I’m sure he can handle it, and don’t give me that about him being your ‘son,’” Wonshik says, a frown present on his face.

Hakyeon sighs as he runs a finger across the gash on his arm. It was new but it was almost fully healed, though he was sure it would leave a nasty little scar. “You all know the reason, why do I have to tell you again?” he replies, not removing his eyes from his wound.

Wonshik clenches his fists; an attempt to calm himself down. This, however didn’t work as he slams his fist onto the table and grabs Hakyeon’s face so that he was looking at the younger boy. “It’s because it’s you who’s hurting, hyung. I-I can’t let you get hurt any more than this,” Wonshik says as he lets go of Hakyeon and slowly slides back to his seat.

Hakyeon looks at the boy with a sad smile. “You don’t have to worry about me, Wonshik. After all, I’ve been doing this the longest among us. Small wounds like this won’t do any fatal damage to me. Hah, it’s like you don’t know me at all-,” Hakyeon was unable to finish his sentence when he feels a hand to his face. He looks up and sees Taekwoon; the younger had just slapped him.

“Don’t pretend like everything’s okay. We all know. We all know that it’s Sanghyuk who’s giving you those wounds,”

Author's Note: Here is the thirteenth chapter. Also, it will be the last time you'll see the red lines before the chapter itself. This means that the chapter itself will be a little bit longer. Anyway, now we see a (slightly) Hyuk-centric chapter (and I'm typing this author's note while listening to EXO's XOXO repackaged; just the new songs, I recommend Lucky). Anyway, comments are very much appreciated.