"You have to go now, hyung. They're getting to you soon."

Kibum sighed.

"Eli, just a little longer, just a little bit more time." He replied, watching Kevin and Dongho walking to their front door at a distance.


Kevin returned to work the next day, even with the prominent dark circles under his puffy eyes.

"Are you sure? I can give you break. You are not very important here, you know." Alexander tried to joke.

Kevin nodded, assuring that it was fine.

So the boring and mundane routine of following Kiseop around begun again. Only this time, Kevin wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing, his mind clouded with unspoken thoughts and choking emotions.

He failed to realize that Kiseop had been walking around in circles, cutting through small lanes and turning left and right.

Kevin only realized that he was at a dead end when he made a right turn and bumped into Kiseop, falling to the ground. He looked at Kiseop, uncertain of the situation.

"Why are you following me?" A slight edge in Kiseop's voice.

"I wasn't..." Kevin squeaked, unsure of how to react.

Scoffing, Kiseop warned, "I don't know what you want, but, stop it."

A glare.

Kiseop left, leaving a confused Kevin on the floor.
 

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Lying flat on the couch, Kevin's face was sunken into the cushions while he mumbled incoherently. A deep sigh, before he lifted his head.

Dongho was at the dining table, hands propped up on the table while tapping his phone vigorously.

"Who is it that you're always texting?" Kevin asked as he sat up from the couch.

Dongho gave a side glance, "I'm not texting anyone."

"I saw you, Dongho. On the car ride to and from the hospital, you have been texting and checking your phone for texts." Kevin said, eyes boring into Dongho's.

"I... I... No... What... I'm not, hyung." Dongho stuttered as he tried to act as calm as possible.

Kevin's eyes widened as though an idea struck him, "Don't tell me you are texting Soohyun?"

"I...."

Right then, the doorbell rang and Dongho immediately scooted over to get it.

Opening only a slight gap, Dongho poked his head out of the door, causing Kevin to be unable to see who it was.

Kevin's head titled while he tried to listen to their conversation and guess who it was.

"I told you not to come over!" He heard Dongho shout.

"But, I'm worried for you." The other voice said, filled with concern.

"Just let him in, Dongho." Kevin yelled across the room, already having a pretty good idea who it was.

Dongho looked back at Kevin, before turning around and sighing, "Come in." He weakly said before opening the door wider.

Soohyun appeared behind the door and greeted Kevin brightly while Dongho looked utterly vexed.

"Hello, nice to meet you. Dongho, this is...?" Kevin smiled politely.

"Soohyun. Soohyun, this is my brother, Kevin." Dongho introduced boringly.

Smiling, Soohyun bowed slightly before subtly grabbing hold of Dongho's hand. "We are.... dating." He announced shyly.

Kevin playfully raised a brow at Dongho. With his cheeks burning up, Dongho felt like he needed to hide under a carpet.

"Oh really, Dongho?" Kevin stifled a laugh as he asked overly enthusiastically.

Dongho shot daggers in Kevin's direction before replying, "Yes, hyung."

Soohyun seemed oblivious by what's going as he raised his free hand up and said, "I bought cakes!", waving the plastic bag.

Kevin smiled tiredly. Seeing Dongho in love temporarily took away everything that was bothering him.
 

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Stumbling in, the prismatic lighting in the club was making Kevin lose his sense of direction. He made his way to the counter, through the misty air and crowds of people.

"Tequila, please." He ordered, spacing out.

He lost count of how many alcohol he ordered, but judging from the empty glasses and bottles on the counter, a dozen.

Through his blurred vision, he saw that it was already 4am. With much effort, he stumbled out of the club using the minute consciousness left in him.


"That's the guy." A man pointed as a drunk Kevin stepped out of the club. "Get him."

Before Kevin could register what was going on, he was hauled to a corner and pushed to the floor. He let out a high-pitched scream when he felt pain on his abdomen and then his legs. Even in his drunken state, he instinctively covered his face with both arms. He allowed his attackers to continue abusing him since he had little energy to retaliate. His body wasn't functioning well anyway with high contents of alc0hol in him.

Soon enough, his eyes closed and his hands dropped to the floor. Vaguely, he heard grunts and banging noises before he lost all consciousness.

Kibum slammed one of the attacker's head against the the brick wall before sending the group scurrying away. He quickly squatted down and picked Kevin up, whose body reeked of alcohol.

"God, what happened to you?" He whispered, though not expecting a reply.

Kibum pondered for a moment, with Kevin in his arms. Something was wrong. Kibum's hand quickly felt for Kevin's forehead. Kevin was burning up.

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Note: If you're wondering why Kevin let Soohyun date Dongho, it's because Kevin already had a mindset that Kiseop wasn't anyone dangerous and so his friends wouldn't be of much danger as well.

If you noticed carefully, you'll pick up the hints of what is to happen the next few chapters kekeke.