Kim Wonshik sat by Hakyeon’s side, his own injuries healing faster than anyone had expected. Sighing, he covered his face with his hands, a wave of loneliness washing over him. In the week since the battle, Jaehwan hadn’t even looked at him, his relationship shattering as soon as it was revealed that he was responsible for Hongbin’s death. Despite it being an accident in an attempt to save Hakyeon’s life, it was apparently still too awful to forgive. Hyuk seemed to feel the same way, clenching his jaw in anger, leaving the room any time Wonshik entered.

Honestly, he didn’t blame them, unable to even begin to forgive himself for his actions. Though, the thought that Hakyeon wouldn’t have been alive at that very moment, that the one who had fought so hard to save all of them would have lost his life had he not acted, was some form of solace. Reaching out, he touched Hakyeon’s cheek, wondering if the other man could handle the news of Taekwoon’s demise when he awoke.

“I should have done more to help you...” Whispering, Wonshik rubbed the sleeping man’s cheek. “I let you down. I let everyone down. You shouldn’t have felt like you had to face that monster alone.”

“Can you please step out so I can redress his wounds?” Byungjun’s dad was by his side, causing him to jump slightly. Doing as he was told, Wonshik admitted to himself that he admired the old man. Despite losing his son for Hakyeon’s cause, his love for their tan leader never seemed to sway.

Wonshik had taken charge after Hakyeon’s downfall, had informed the survivors of as much information as he himself had, had even been the one to go further into the cave palace to retrieve Hakyeon. When they made it to Hyde with Hakyeon near death in the back of the van, he was the one who told Byungjun’s father what had happened to his son. For all the man was worth, he accepted it with a pained nod and then barked orders, refusing to “lose another son to that creature.” Hakyeon was loved and Wonshik was glad, albeit a little jealous.

As it seemed, everything Wonshik did only caused the people around him to despise him more. Jaehwan and Hyuk treated him like he had the plague, Daehwan just avoided everyone, and Kiseop seemed to blame him for Jaeseop, for not being there to stop what happened. Not that he could have stopped anything. His only relief was watching over Hakyeon, knowing he was there partly because of his actions.

“Hey.” Soomi stood beside him, giving him a sad smile. “Everyone’s being pretty unfair aren’t they?”

“Are they?” Looking away, Wonshik tried to keep his voice cold and even. “I killed my friend, Soomi. Jaehwan thinks I’m a monster. Hyuk is rightfully pissed. I hate myself.”

“I sent Jaeseop to his death, Wonshik. I made that choice.” Shaking her head, Soomi sighed heavily. “Hakyeon had a hand in killing Jaeseop too. For that matter, maybe he could have saved all of them if he had just said yes to the beast. Does that mean he deserves to be thrown away once he wakes up?”

“What? No!” Outraged by the comment, Wonshik turned to face her. “He lost the man he loves, both of them actually. He lost his friends and almost died just to save the world. Hakyeon needs to be cared for and protected, not thrown away.”

“You are no different, you know.” Patting his shoulder, she smiled a bit, sadly. “You made a hard choice to save his life, knowing he was the only one who could end what had began. You’re as much a hero as he is and everyone should realize that.

“What about you?” Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes, trying to accept the words that were spoken.

“Me? What I caused, that was out of pure selfishness.” Soomi turned to go. “I let my best friend die to save my brother. I would have let the world burn just to keep Soohyun safe. I deserve any hatred that comes my way.” With those words, she was gone and Wonshik was alone again.

Han Sanghyuk sat in Hyde’s dining room, sharing a bottle of alcohol with Jaehwan. The only thing that numbed the pain in his heart was the dull burn of the hard alcohol slipping down his throat. Jaehwan hiccuped beside him, clearly reaching his limit on the drink. Turning to look at him, he noted the pink hue across the other man’s cheeks and smiled a little.

“Cute.” He murmured, remembering the way Hongbin’s face would flush much like that when he was drunk.

“Hm?” Jaehwan turned to see what he had said, their lips meeting purely by accident as he did so. Both men, shocked and horrified, scrambled apart.

“. .” Scrubbing his mouth with the back of his hand, Hyuk felt his heart tighten in his chest. Hongbin had been dead for less than a week, ashes hanging in a locket around his neck, and how did he show his respects? By getting wasted and kissing Jaehwan?

“I... I’m so sorry...” Seeming to understand what Hyuk was going through, Jaehwan got up to leave. “It was an accident. I’ll go so you don’t have to deal with me right now.”

“Wait.” Reaching out, he caught Jaehwan’s hand, not wanting to be left alone. “Stay. It... It wasn’t that bad. Just...”

“I miss him too, Hyuk. Probably not anywhere near what you do... But...” Sitting beside him, Jaehwan covered his face in his hands. “I can’t believe Wonshik did that... I can’t believe he killed him...”

“I can’t either.” Leaning against Jaehwan, he closed his eyes, trying to remember as much about Hongbin as he could. His smile, his laugh, his touch, it all faded painfully just a little more every day.

“Do you think he could have avoided it?” Jaehwan questioned, sounding unsure of his own anger.

“He could have shoved him away, anything other than kill him.” Growling, Hyuk’s grip on the bottle tightened. “I wish he would have died instead...”

“I just wish nobody had died at all...” Leaning his head against Hyuk’s, Hyuk could hear the sadness in Jaehwan’s voice. “It just... It’s so lonely...”

“Do you hate them, the people who survived?” Reaching out to hold Jaehwan’s hand, he gazed up at the ceiling. “A part of me does. A part of me would trade all of them to have Hongbin back.”

”I’m glad they’re still alive. I... I can’t look at Wonshik without seeing what he did, but I’m glad he didn’t die.” He felt Jaehwan scoot closer and sighed. “I would trade myself to get everyone else back. Only myself.”

“You’re an angel, Lee Jaehwan.” Laughing softly, he kissed the other man on the top of the head. “I guess it makes sense that I need you for comfort, because I feel like I might be the devil.”

Cha Hakyeon awoke to gentle snoring beside him. For a moment, he had thought everything had been one long, horrible nightmare, but the second he attempted to move, his pain reminded him otherwise. Letting out a soft whine, he returned himself to his previous, motionless position. Something stirred beside him in the dark and panic started his heart speeding, worried the bulyeowoo had actually survived and was back for revenge.

“Hey. You’re up.” The relieved voice that greeted him was familiar and he turned his head to face Wonshik. Smiling softly down at him, the other man touched his cheek. “You had me worried.”

“Everything hurt...” Whispering, Hakyeon closed his eyes again. “Taekwoon’s dead.”

“You know?” Sounding shocked, Wonshik moved to ease himself into bed beside Hakyeon, embracing him gently.

“I know. I talked to all of them... Before I woke up. He... He led me through and urged me to open my eyes.” Hakyeon moved just enough to rest his head on Wonshik’s chest, tears begin to stream down his cheeks. “I... I can’t believe I let them die...”

”You fought harder than any of us, Hakyeon.” Wonshik rubbed his back, making soothing sounds. “You let nobody die. You did everything you could, and you saved everyone.”

“But they’re still dead.” Closing his eyes, Hakyeon listened to Wonshik’s heartbeat, allowing the steady sound to calm him.

“You know, Hakyeon. Real heroes aren’t as cut and dry as they are in movies.” Brushing hair off of Hakyeon’s face, Wonshik sighed. “Only in fairy tales can the good guy defeat evil and lose nobody. A true hero, Hakyeon... A true hero makes hard choices, they have to lose people they love unselfishly. They try to save everyone but they also understand that one day they may have to make a hard choice between a few people they love, or even their own life, for the safety of many, many more. And when that time came for you, you made the brave, unselfish choice to save as many as you could, but to break your own heart and lose those you valued, even yourself, to destroy evil. You’re a real hero.”

“You think so, Wonshik?” Opening his eyes, he looked up at the man holding him close.

“I know so, Hakyeon.” Smiling softly, he kissed Hakyeon’s forehead. “You were the bravest one of us all.”

“Hongbin wanted you to know...” Closing his eyes again, he yawned. “He doesn’t blame you. He knew you had to save me.”

“At least someone understands why I did it.” Laughing sadly, Wonshik played with Hakyeon’s hair.

“I understood too.”

“Thanks, Hakyeon.” Wonshik’s words made him feel a little lighter as he began to drift off again, his body still weak and in need of rest.

~~~

Lee Jaehwan was asleep on the floor of Hyde, cuddled against Hyuk when Soohyun came in, nudging him with his foot. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked up at the tall man. Still semi drunk, he found the perspective in height unsettling.

“What?” Mumbling quietly, he yawned and closed his eyes again. Wrapping his arms around Jaehwan, Hyuk stirred slightly beside him.

“What’s up?” The other man questioned, barely bothering to open his eyes.

“Soohyun is creeping.” Replying, Jaehwan tried to get comfortable again, hoping to sleep off any potential hangover.

“I thought you drunks might want to know that Hakyeon is awake.” Soohyun rolled his eyes, sighing. “You know this isn’t going to help anything, right? You two drinking and hating Wonshik.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Hyuk growled, sending a shiver through Jaehwan.

“You realized if he hadn’t done it, Hongbin would have killed Hakyeon and none of us would be here right now.” Saying his peace, Soohyun turned to leave. “I don’t think he deserves to be hated for doing something incredibly hard to save all of us. Besides, nobody can hate him as much as he currently hates himself.”

”Wait...” Jaehwan was processing the older man’s words slowly but finally something hit him. “Hakyeon is awake?” The two men on the floor scrambled to their feet and, relying on each other for stability, made their way as quickly as possible up the steps.