Myungsoo knew something was wrong before he even opened his eyes. He knew it because he felt the warmth missing; there was no one lying next to him. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes. And like he had suspected, there was no one in the bed besides himself. Myungsoo scanned the dark room, and noticed straight away that the door was open and, more importantly, Sungyeol was gone. 

Myungsoo didn't want to admit it to himself, but the fact that Sungyeol was gone hurt more than it should. It felt like there was something burning inside his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but it didn't work. He couldn't be calm now. There was no way he could be calm now. 

He balled his hand into a fist and hit the wall so hard that his hand started to pound. When he looked at it, he saw blood on his knuckles. 

Like it matters, he thought bitterly. There's no one here who cares anyway. There's no one here... 

He knew it had been a mistake to have another sleepover with Sungyeol. Just because the boy had been nice to him for a little while, Myungsoo shouldn't have automatically trusted him. Of course Sungyeol would run away as soon as he got the chance. And he obviously had done exactly that. He had gotten the chance, and he had taken it. 

I should have hidden the keys during the night so he couldn't take them, Myungsoo chastised himself. How could I let him escape so easily?

Myungsoo took a deep breath and climbed out of bed. 

Without notice, his tall hyung-nim with the buzzcut strode briskly into the room, a stern expression on his face. Myungsoo felt like he had been caught doing something wrong. 

"The Boss wishes to see you immediately," the tall man said.

"Yes, hyung-nim," Myungso replied in a quiet voice, bowing. 

He followed the older man in silence as he was led to the Boss' office.

He's going to kill me, Myungsoo thought despairingly. I was finally given an important mission after so long, and I mess it up this badly.

They arrived at the door, and the tall man knocked twice. 

"Enter," a barritone voice grumbled. 

His hyung-nim opened the door and they both stepped over the threshold. 

As soon as they were inside the room, Myungsoo froze in shock. 

There, standing on his knees, was Sungyeol, his lip bloody and his eye bruised. With his tousled hair and scared expression, he reminded Myungsoo of a beggar or maybe a slave. Anything but a normal, teenage boy. Sungyeol stared at Myungsoo as Myungsoo stared back, and Myungsoo didn't know what to do. Did they catch him as he tried to escape? As ridiculous as it was, Myungsoo wished Sungyeol would have been able to escape. And even more ridiculous was the fact that beneath that, Myungsoo felt relief at seeing the other. Back inside the room, Myungsoo had been sure that he would never see Sungyeol again. At least now, he got to look at the boy's face one more time. 

For a second Myungsoo had forgotten where he was. But then he remembered, and a small jolt went through him. The Boss' office.

Myungsoo straightened his back and looked towards the place where he knew he would see the man he feared the most. 

Sitting behind his giant, mahogany desk, his Boss leaned back in his leather chair, staring at Myungsoo with small eyes. Myungsoo felt like the Boss could see straight into his soul.

"You have disappointed me so far, Myungsoo," the Boss said, his voice grinding the words into dust as he spoke. Myungsoo noticed that his Boss had used his real name, something he rarely did. It meant he was in a bad mood. 

"I heard you found out about Sungyeol's accident," the Boss continued. "Finished your mission, so to speak."

Myungsoo glanced at Sungyeol, and he saw the latter scowl at him with a betrayed look in his eyes. Myungsoo felt small and worthless. 

"Which leads me to wonder why in the world you were sleeping in the same bed as your hostage?" 

The silence that filled the room was deafening. Myungsoo felt his mouth go dry, his heart pounding in his chest. 

"It almost seems as if you have grown fond of your little... pet?" the Boss said, raising his brows. 

Myungsoo just stood there, feeling the panic well up inside him. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. There is nothing I can do.

"Why do you keep your mouth shut, Myungsoo? Are you saying you agree with my observations?"

"No, Boss, sir!" Myungsoo exclaimed. "I was just... I mean... I-"

"Why do you stutter like a little child? Have I taught you nothing?" the Boss said, and Myungsoo could hear that his Boss was losing the little patience he had.

"I apologize," Myungsoo replied at once, and he bowed as low as he could. "I have not served you well enough."

"That much is obvious," the Boss grumbled.

"I only slept in that room to gain the hostage's trust. I felt like there could be more to the story than just a feeble accident. I am sorry for causing such a misunderstanding."

"You are telling me that you shared the same bed with this insignificant boy" - and here the Boss pointed to Sungyeol, who was staring at the scene in what seemed like shock - "in order to help me in some way?"

"Yes, Boss, sir," Myungsoo answered nervously.

 "Well, you needn't have. There are better ways to gain information, and one of those is through physical pain." 

And that was when Myungsoo realized why Sungyeol was here, and why he looked the way he did. It wasn't because he had been trying to escape. It was because of Myungsoo's inefficiency, and Myungsoo's weak heart that couldn't seem to stop itself from liking his own hostage. Someone must have reported the fact that Myungsoo had slept in Sungyeol's room, and the Boss must have decided that he was sick and tired of waiting for Myungsoo to get something more out of Sungyeol and that he would take measures into his own hands, in his own way. And that way was always the voilent way. Which explained why Sungyeol looked like he had been beaten up. Because he probably had. 

Myungsoo dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. How could he do such a thing to an innocent person?

"So, did you gain any more information?" Myungsoo asked with gritted teeth.

The Boss' expression darkened. "Unfortunately, no."

"That is probably because there is nothing more to gain," Myungsoo said.

"What do you mean?"

"I believe there is nothing more to the story than what the hostage has already told me."

The Boss gazed at Myungsoo for a moment, his eyes narrowed. "But his father is not willing to give up what I need."

"There is surely some other way," Myungsoo suggested. 

"Do not try to tell me what to do," the Boss exclaimed. 

"I would never," Myungsoo said hurriedly. "I am merely trying to help you in any way that I can."

"Enough. I don't want to look at your face any more today. You may leave. And take the hostage with you."

Myungsoo immediately walked over to Sungyeol, who had remained silent so far. His face was pale, his lips chapped, and Myungsoo fought back the knot in his throat. "Come," he whispered, and he took Sungyeol by the arm and gently pulled him up. Sungyeol's hands were tied behind his back, something Myungsoo hadn't noticed until now. 

Without another word, Myungsoo and Sungyeol left the office and headed back to the only place they could go to: the room. 

-

"I understand why you're scared of him," Sungyeol mumbled, wincing as Myungsoo applied a calming salve on Sungyeol's lips and around his right eye. 

"Don't speak. You'll only hurt yourself," Myungsoo said. 

"I'm fine," Sungyeol disagreed. 

"You're not fine."

"I am."

Myungsoo stared at Sungyeol, and he felt more guilty than he had ever felt in his life. It's all my fault that you're like this. It's all my fault, and yet I am still happy that you are here. 

The fact that a part of him was happy only made him feel even worse. There is something seriously wrong with me. 

"I know you probably feel like this is your fault, but you've got to stop blaming yourself so much," Sungyeol said. "And even though you do play a part in this whole thing, I'll forgive you just this once. Since you helped me put this cream on." And he smiled at Myungsoo like it wasn't important that he had been beat up, and like Myungsoo was just a friend who had helped him. 

"Stop that," Myungsoo muttered. 

"Stop what?" Sungyeol asked, a blank look on his face. 

"Stop looking at me like that."

"How do I look at you?"

"Like... like I'm a normal person," Myungsoo said, and he pulled his hand through his hair in resignation.

"But you are a normal person," Sungyeol answered. 

Myungsoo looked at Sungyeol to find the sarcasm in his gaze, but he saw none. There was only Sungyeol's warm brown eyes staring back at him. Just like with his Boss, Myungsoo felt like Sungyeol could see straight into his soul. But with Sungyeol, it didn't feel like a bad thing. It didn't feel like Sungyeol did it to find Myungsoo's weaknesses and hurt him with them. It felt like he did it because he cared. 

Which only makes it worse. Stop looking like you care. Stop making me believe that you care. 

"You know I'm not," Myungsoo sighed. 

"Well, okay, so you're not a hundred percent normal. But normal is boring anyway. I'm not normal either." Sungyeol winked, as if this was their little secret. 

Myungsoo smiled slightly, touched by Sungyeol's effort to make him feel better. 

"Hey, stop trying to cheer me up. I'm supposed to cheer you up," Myungsoo said. 

"And you're doing an awfully bad job at it, if I may say so myself," Sungyeol teased. 

"You weren't too great, you either," Myungsoo shot back. 

"Hey, I made you smile," Sungyeol reminded him, raising his brows. 

"True that," Myungsoo agreed, once again smiling. 

"See? I'm great at cheering you up. You should take lessons from me."

"Fine. Teach me something before I leave then," Myungsoo suggested. 

"Fine," Sungyeol said, and he leaned towards Myungsoo until there was no space between them at all, and wrapped his arms around him. 

Myungsoo froze in surprise, and for a moment he held his breath, utterly taken aback. Yet Sungyeol didn't let go. He just hugged Myungsoo in silence, making Myungsoo feel like there must be nothing else that really mattered in the world except for right here and now. And he didn't want anything else to matter, and he wished he could stop time, and he wished he could bring his hands around Sungyeol's body, but he didn't dare to do it. So instead, he let his head fall down until his forehead touched Sungyeol's shoulder, and he let himself stay like that for a while. Sungyeol remained quiet, and Myungsoo soundlessly breathed in the scent of him, and it felt nice to be so close to someone for the first time since he was little. 

It was nice to have someone wrap their arms around him, like they cared about him. It was more than nice. It was exhilarating, and great, and scary, and made his heart beat faster than it ever had before, and he couldn't explain the feeling, but all he knew was that he wanted to keep feeling this way. He wanted Sungyeol to feel what he was feeling, and he wanted to hug Sungyeol back and show him how much he cared about the boy, and how much it hurt him to hurt Sungyeol. 

Yet he was a coward, and could never bring himself to do the things he really wanted. So he settled for less, and remained where he was, until Sungyeol released him. 

"That was what you call a Comfort Hug," Sungyeol said with a grin. "And that was the end of lesson number one."

Myungsoo looked at the boy in front of him with a feeling close to wonder. It was like seeing someone for the first time. 

"And you should probably go now, before they decide to beat you up, too."

Myungsoo pursed his lips. He wanted to stay. He wanted so very much to stay. But when Myungsoo really wanted things, he knew he couldn't have them. 

"You're the only friend I've ever had, you know," Myungsoo said, and before Sungyeol could reply, he rose and strode out of the room. 

Author's Note: Sorry for the extremely long wait, AGAIN... OTL My stupid computer decided to make life hard on me, so it deleted like half of what I had written, so I had to re-write it T.T My computer does that sometimes... So yeah, I'm sorry...