Yongguk parked his car in one of the allys in the neighborhood. A crappy car like his wouldn't bring much attention in a crappy neighborhood like this, hidden behind a dumpster between an abandoned shop and an apartment building that should have been condemned.

He pulled the hood of his black hoodie up over his head, hiding his face from view. He looked around as he got out of the car and locked the door behind him. Flipping open his phone as he walked to his trunk, he texted Himchan to tell him that he would be there soon to just hang tight.

He popped the top of the trunk, shoving his phone away with no reply. He hoped he wasn't too late. Shuffling through the mess, he grabbed a crowbar and slipping it down the back of his pants leg. He might need a weapon, and just in case, he also picked up the little black box hidden in the back.

Inside the box, he pulled out a small black handgun. Checking the cartridge, it had ten bullets. He slipped it into the pocket of his hoodie and slammed the trunk shut. His phone still showed no signs of a message from Himchan.

Running wasn't an option, though Yongguk just wanted to gun it right to the hide out and find Himchan. Running in this neighborhood would bring too much attention to himself. He didn't want to be shot or jumped before he even had a chance to find Himchan.

Some guys watched him walk past, glaring at him with suspicious eyes. There had been a time, one that Yongguk could now barely remember, when this part of town hadn't been so bad. Not too far from where he grew up, this place had never been the best of neighborhoods, but at one time it was at least safe before dark. Now, not so much.

Yongguk walked with a slight swagger to one side, the cold metal of the crowbar patting against his leg as he turned a corner. A few times, and always in pairs, he would be confronted. Some guys, wanting him to buy a hit. He found it easier to deny the drugs now than ever before. Some girls, sometimes boys, trying to entice him into bed, for a fee.

Yongguk brushed past them and followed a familiar yet now deteriorated path. Past an abandoned school and through the playground. He held tight to the gun in his pocket as the scenery grew darker and darker and he couldn't help but wonder what Himchan had even been doing in this part of town in the first place.

Passing into an area full of warehouses, some old and abanonded, some still running, but even more still being used as hideouts for gangs and covers for illegal activity. The cold of the gun a comfort to him as he ducked behind trashcans and ran through allies to avoid strangers walking around.

The only truth Yongguk could stick to at the current moment, trust no one. He didn't know who was after Himchan. He didn't know anything that was going on. He was just relieved when he saw the clubhouse looming ahead of him.

A large, decrepit building with a broken sign. It had once been a beautiful, upscale restaurant. Now, the windows were boarded up, the door was missing, glass scattered across the floor, and an old stray cat sitting in the doorway.

Creeping around the back of the building, Yongguk came across a staircase, leading down into the ground. He glanced around quickly to make sure he hadn't been followed or seen, and then he ducked down the stairs. The door didn't lock, but when Yongguk tried the handle, it wouldn't open.

“Himchan?” Yongguk called out, quietly. He knocked on the door. “Himchan, it's me, let me in.”

He heard some shuffling inside the room and the scraping of a chair against a stone floor. The door swung open, revealing Himchan.

“ing hell..” Yongguk jumped forward into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He took the chair from Himchan and shoved it back under the handle, the way they used to do because the door had no lock. “What happened?”

“Hi...Gukkie...” Himchan stuttered, smiling with his busted lip.

Yongguk stepped forward, brushing his fingers against Himchan's face. Scraped and cut and brusied, blood dripping from his hairline. His shirt torn, and one of his shoes missing. His eyes glazed over and a drunked smile still on his face.

Yongguk sighed, sitting Himchan down on the rotting sofa that had once been so pretty. “Himchan, pay attention to me.”

Himchan looked at him, a pout on his face.

“What's happened to you?”

Himchan grinned, giggling. “I'm in trouble, Gukkie!”

Yongguk sighed. His friend had obviously been drugged. He tried again to get Himchan to talk.

“Channie...can you tell me why you came out here?” He asked gently.

Himchan rocked side to side and nodded. “Met a guy at the bar...he wanted me to come back to his house.”

Yongguk nodded, taking Himchan's head in his hands, making the man look at him. “What did you do at his house?”

Himchan's eyes widened as he fought to remember, to answer Yongguk's question. “I don't...I don't remember...” he whispered. “I don't remember...I just...just woke up and...”

“And what?” Yongguk asked after Himchan trailed off. “And what, Channie?”

He shrugged again, looking at Yongguk. “There were people..guns..when I woke up...blood..so much blood...” Himchan looked down at his hands, Yongguk followed his gaze. Shaking, blood covered fingers. Yongguk took Himchan's hands in his own, looking up at him with a dark, serious gaze.

“What happened next?”

Himchan whimpered, letting his head fall back and closing his eyes. “I dont...I don't feel good.”

“I know, Channie.” Yongguk pulled the man into his lap and rocked him gently. “I know...but I need you to focus right now. I need to know what's going on so I can get you out of here safely.”

Himchan groaned, curling up in Yongguk's arms. “There were some guys...they were angry...I think they shot him, Gukkie...I think they killed him...we fought..they attacked first..I thought they'd kill me, Gukkie...”

“I know, Channie.” Yongguk cooed. “keep talking..come on..tell me everything.” He ran his fingers through Himchan's hair.

“They..they did something to me...I don't remember..I passed out..and when I woke up..they locked me in a room...I don't know what was going on...I got out through the window, Gukkie..and and I ran and called you...”

Yongguk nodded. “And you came here and hid.”

Himchan nodded. “And you came to save me.”

Yongguk his lips and stood up, helping Himchan to his feed as well. The man was unstable on his legs, barely able to walk a straight line.

Yongguk kept his hand on the handle of his gun and his other arm wrapped around Himchan to keep him up. He opened the door and helped Himchan up the staircase. Leaning around the corner, he didn't see anyone and started to lead Himchan down the street.

The going was slow, Himchan stumbling and stopping to throw up occasionally. He limped, and Yongguk had to keep pulling them into hiding spots as people walked by.

He thought he would be able to make it back to the care without running into anyone, but he knew it would be too easy.

“Hey!” A voice yelled from behind him. “Stop right there!”

Yongguk turned around and saw a man, pipe in his hand, running right for them.

“Himchan, hide!” Yongguk hissed, pushing him towards some nearby overgrown bushes.

Himchan ducked into the bushes hidden from view. Yongguk turned to face the stranger, fingers grazing over the crowbar hidden in his pants.

“What do you want?” he growled at the stranger, sounding tougher than he felt at the moment.

The man laughed. “Think you're a tough guy, huh? You ain't got a clue what you're dealing with kid.”

Yongguk rolled his eyes. A wanna-be thug who thought talking like uncultured swine was cool and probably hadn't even made it past grade school anyway.

“I asked you what you wanted.” Yongguk's grip tightened on the weapon.

“I'm looking for a guy.” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Blonde dude, kinda pretty. able pretty, you know.” He laughed, a bitter sound that brought bile up into Yongguk's throat. “He killed a friend of mine, or that's what we'll tell the cops if we can't find his .”

Yongguk glared at him. “Go look somewhere else, he isn't here.”

The man rose an eyebrow, glancing at the bushes behind him where Himchan hid. “Well...I think you're lying. I think you're hiding the little brat.” He spat.

“So what if I am?” Yongguk's fingers wrapped around the weapon, sliding it from his pants just a bit, still hidden.

“Then I'll kill ya, boy.” The thug spat.

He lunged at Yongguk, going for his face. Yongguk dodged to the side, slipping the crowbar out and bringing it down on the thug's back. He fell to the ground with a grunt and turned to growl at Yongguk, coming at him once more. He puched Yongguk, getting one lucky shot in on his face before Yongguk once more brought the crowbar down on the thug's face and knocked him out cold.

Yongguk shoved the crowbar back into his pants and grabbed Himchan up from his hiding place.

“Come on, Channie.” He hissed. “We've got to get out of here before the others come to find us.”

Himchan nodded and the both of them started running, through the backstreets and allies or the warehouses and to the playground before they were caught again.

This time, the thugs came in the form of gunfire. Yongguk threw Himchan to the ground when the gun went off, the bullet blasting into the old slide beside them. Running low and ducking behind an old metal junglegym. Shaped like a train and covered over with grass, it made a decent place to hide from the gunfire.

Himchan curled up and small as he could, hands over his ears. He closed his eyes tight and rocked back and forth. Yongguk worried for him. Himchan had never done drugs before and Yongguk remembered his first high. Neither of them knew what they'd given him, and Yongguk could only guess what was going on in Himchan's head under a high while being fired at.

Yongguk pulled the gun from his pocket and looked around. He ducked when he heard the gun go off again and fired in the direction he heard the shot come from. He peeked out, seeing movement, and shot again in that direction.

Another shot towards him, and he shot once more. Someone screamed and the gunfire stopped. Yongguk kept hidden for a moment before taking off again. With Himchan's hand in his own, he ran as fast as they could both go, past the school, past the decrepit buildings, past the tough guys still glaring, and into the ally.

Yongguk pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the car, helping Himchan into the passenger side as quickly as he could. He threw the crowbar into the back seat. He wiped down the gun with an old towel and dropped it in an open bucket of paint in the dumpster. He jumped in the driver's side and slowly eased his car out of hiding, driving away as if nothing had happened, and taking Himchan to the hospital as quickly as he could.