Disclaimer: Sensitive material. Don't read if you can't.

HakYeon froze just inside the front door. “What are you doing?”

TaekWoon, out of breath and somewhat pale, was standing and holding himself up with one hand gripping the doorframe of his room. “Just thought I’d try.”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to help?”

“No.” HakYeon had tossed the grocery bags he was previously carrying to the floor, was in the process of hurriedly slipping out of his shoes, but halted immediately at TaekWoon’s protest. “Let me do it.”

He hesitated, gauging the determination in TaekWoon’s eyes, before he grinned and threw open his arms. “Then… Greet me at the door.”

TaekWoon responded with an exasperated glare. “Do you know how long it took me just to get up to here?”

“Fine, fine.” HakYeon quickly scooted over to the small, dining-room table which was considerably closer and threw his arms out again. “How about here?”

TaekWoon didn’t speak, only in a deep breath. His first step, he kept his hold on the doorframe. The next step was fine; that was his good leg. The third step he wobbled, and HakYeon fought to keep himself from jumping forward. Finally, after a nerve-wracking, not-really-a-large-amount- but-it-certainly-felt-like-it span of time, TaekWoon grabbed hold of HakYeon’s forearms and gratefully leaned his weight against him.

“Wah! You did it!” HakYeon cheered.

TaekWoon’s face was ashen. “I feel like I’m about to die.”

“But don’t do that. Here!” Still holding on to TaekWoon, HakYeon leaned over to pull a chair over. “Sit down and rest while I start cooking.”

TaekWoon flopped to the seat like a rag doll. “You cook?”

“Um… I’m not a professional chef, but I can manage. I’ve lived this long eating my own food, you know?”

“You could’ve adapted.”

“Or you could just trust me.”

As TaekWoon relaxed against the table, HakYeon whisked his way to the kitchen, having retrieved the discarded bags by the front door, and immediately set to work.

“He said they’re going to give me a medal,” TaekWoon said.

“Eh? Who? HongBin?”

“Mm. The bank that was held up is. HongBin told me. And they’re paying for the rest of my leave.”

HakYeon whistled, his brows lifting slightly. “Wow. That’s pretty generous.”

“They didn’t have any casualties, after all.”

“Is that why you’re in such a rush to walk?”

“Maybe.”

TaekWoon carefully watched HakYeon as he busied himself in the small kitchen. In turn, HakYeon tried not to bend under pressure. One would think after playing caretaker, something like cooking wouldn’t be any different. HakYeon tried to throw out small talk every so often to keep himself from cracking, and TaekWoon responded easily.

“Done!”

TaekWoon leaned over, inspecting the modest meal before him.

“Don’t judge my presentation,” HakYeon huffed. “These are the only dishes you have.”

“Did you put green onions?”

“Eh? There’s some.”

“Why do they look weird?”

“None of your business.”

“Why are they cut so weird?”

“Just eat the damn food!”

TaekWoon snorted and obediently picked up the spoon, and HakYeon froze as he took the first bite, maybe not realizing he was holding his breath. For a while, TaekWoon sat silently.

He looked straight at HakYeon. “It’s gross.”

“Unappreciative brat! I’ll go throw it away, then!”

“Go away.” TaekWoon instead pulled the dishes toward him and continued to eat. “You aren’t eating?”

“I’ll eat later. I’m not hungry right now.”

TaekWoon got about halfway through the meal before he stared over at HakYeon again. He didn’t say anything for a bit, so HakYeon slightly quirked his brows up, questioning.

“Talk to me.”

“Hm? I was talking to you, wasn’t I?”

“No.” TaekWoon’s eyes searched around. “Before… You used to just talk non-stop about nothing. And everything. Ever since the accident, you stopped talking.”

When he thought about it, it was true. HakYeon smiled and propped his chin on the heel of his hand. “Okay. What do you want me to talk about?”

He watched as TaekWoon’s eyes fell slightly downward, his stare trailing to his arm before darting back up to his eyes. HakYeon knew what he saw, tensing slightly. Noting the slight reaction, TaekWoon returned his attention to the food before him.

“Sorry. You don’t have to.”

“No, it’s fine.” HakYeon sat up straight, stretching his arms in front of him, the faint, pale lines that ran up the length of the inside of his forearms a contrast to his duskier skin tone. “I was going to tell you at some point, anyway.

“This was when I was around… 14 years old? It was a while ago. They said I was going through a phase, something like I was just looking for attention. Maybe it was true. I was behind my three older siblings, and I didn’t get much recognition for what I did in school or whatnot because there was always something else. Even if I shut myself in my room for a long time, no one knew.

“At first, I started with my knees. If I just wore pants all the time, no one would find out. It got harder to hide when the warmer weather came, though. But then there was something that happened that made me snap. I don’t even really remember what it was. I just remember my brother, that Taekwondo idiot, kicking down the door of the bathroom.” HakYeon laughed. “Afterwards, my family never let him off about that.”

HakYeon laid his arms on the table before them, exposing the scars. “I cut the long way rather than across, and I ended up passing out from losing too much blood. I got to the hospital in time, of course, and they made me stay there under suicide watch for at least a week, I think. But even after I could go home, I was under constant surveillance. It was such a change from before. My brother paid the most attention to me and was as bothersome as possible. But I think, thanks to him, coming back from that whole thing was easier.”

He noticed TaekWoon’s more-solemn-than-usual expression, so he smiled again. “I’m fine now, though. It took time, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

TaekWoon’s eyes were searching again. “But that time when I called you… Was that…?”

“Ah, yeah… That happens sometimes. They’re kinda like flashbacks, maybe, but it never lasts anything longer than a day! I can usually just sleep it off.” HakYeon was getting a skeptical glare in reply, so he sat up straight. “Okay! Finish your food, and then we’ll try walking again!”

Just like it took time before HakYeon could smile again, it took time before TaekWoon was steady on his feet by himself. It took time before he finally set foot outside of his apartment and could breathe the clear air. It took time before the two were easily strolling through the city, never in a rush.

“Oh!! HongBin-ah!”

He jumped at the sound of his name and turned around, relaxing when he spotted HakYeon trotting up to him. HakYeon had abandoned TaekWoon in a barbershop for a quick phone call outside when he spotted the wide-eyed youth ambling his way along the sidewalk.

“HakYeon-hyung, it’s good to see you,” HongBin greeted. “What are you doing?”

“TaekWoonie is getting his hair cut. You know he’s going back to work soon, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

There it was again, that seemingly-knowing grin gracing HongBin’s face. HakYeon narrowed his eyes. “I noticed it when I saw you before, but… why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Eh?!” The kid’s brows shot up in surprise. “Like what?”

Is he not aware that he’s an open book? “You have some kind of sneaky expression…”

“Really? Ummm… I think it’s just because now that I’ve met you, I keep thinking of TaekWoon-hyung from before and how gross he was when he talked about you.”

It was HakYeon’s brow’s turn to jump up in surprise. “Eh?! He talked about me?!”

“Ah, of course you wouldn’t know.” HongBin crossed his arms as his gaze unfocused to an indefinite location. “Yeah, ever since he met you however long ago, he would never shut up. It was cute, though, whenever you texted him, and he worried about how he should reply or if he should reply right away. Ah, I feel nauseous just thinking about it again.” But he laughed lightly. “Sorry. I’m probably just crusty and salty because I’m still Mono. I just hope I don’t get sappy like TaekWoon-hyung when I become a Poly.”

HakYeon returned the laughs. “I’m sure you will, though.”

“HakYeon…? Oh, HongBin-ah!”

The two turned and spotted TaekWoon striding out of the shop looking trim and not like he’d been a vegetable for a few months. He strode over to where HakYeon and HongBin stood.

“Oh, TaekWoon-hyung, you look good!” HongBin commented. “Last time I saw you, you looked like a jar of pudding. Actually, you still look soft. Do you really think you’ll be able to keep up at work?”

TaekWoon threatened to smack HongBin, the youth flinching away. “Of course I will, idiot.”

“You’re not going to start running around as soon as you get back, are you?” HakYeon interrupted.

“Who knows? It depends on what calls come up.” Spotting a worry between HakYeon’s furrowed brow, TaekWoon jabbed him in the forehead. “Don’t worry.”

Who could blame HakYeon for worrying, though? Even when, a few weeks later, he was smoothing TaekWoon’s uniform over his shoulders, the anxiety bit at his soul so hard, he was starting to feel nauseous.

“You’re going back to work, too, right?” TaekWoon asked.

“Yeah,” HakYeon replied absentmindedly. “My shift is in a few hours.”

TaekWoon had already slipped his shoes on. “Okay. I’ll be back.”

“Wait!!”

TaekWoon stopped just shy of stepping through the door, glancing over his shoulder. HakYeon didn’t even know why he had shouted, but his gaze lingered over the ghost of the burns still somewhat visible along the left side of TaekWoon’s neck, disappearing under the dark collar. TaekWoon was still watching him, and he fidgeted, his eyes dropping to the floor.

“Um… Be careful,” HakYeon muttered. Lame.

He watched as TaekWoon’s feet turned to face him, and a hand reached up to the side of his face, gently tilting his head back until HakYeon was looking TaekWoon in the eyes again. He was still an expressionless monolith as his hand subconsciously wandered to push back HakYeon’s hair from his eyes.

The hand was gone, and two fingers jabbed HakYeon in the forehead, hard. “I said don’t worry,” TaekWoon said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll see you later.”

A/N: Disregard that it's been another forever since I last updated. Can't ramble much. Gotta leave for work in a minute. 새해 복 많이 받으세요~