Several weeks had passed by in Seoul, and summer finally had given way to autumn. The weather was turning a little cooler, and the Leeteuk had taken the boys to get warmer clothes for both the fall and upcoming winter season.

          The brothers had been doing well in school and in their respective relationships. Donghae and Eunhyuk would hang out after school and stay together til late at night, Ryeowook would come over several nights a week to study with Yesung, but the two would just end up kissing after only ten minutes of studying, Kyuhyun still picked on Sungmin at school, but had not gotten physical again, and he would come over every day and apologize to Sungmin.

          Heechul and Hankyung however, were another story. Hankyung was trying his hardest to get closer to Heechul, but the raven haired boy was still rejecting him. They would hold hands sometimes, but only when Heechul felt comfortable to do it, which had only been twice in the past three weeks.

          Friday nights had become date night, which usually just meant Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Hankyung would go over to their boyfriends’ house and hang out. They all got along well, but usually stayed isolated in their own rooms. A few times they would all go in the living room and watch a movie together, but then it was right back into the individual rooms.

          One evening after school, Yesung and Ryeowook were in Yesung’s room studying, Donghae and Eunhyuk were in Donghae’s room watching TV, and Kyuhyun and Sungmin were in the living room playing video games. Heechul had gone with Hankyung to the doctor’s office, then afterwards Hankyung was supposed to come over so they could work on their biology project.

          “So why are we here again?” Heechul asked as they waited for the doctor to come into the room.

          “I have to get an allergy shot every time the seasons change,” Hankyung explained. “Fall isn’t as bad as spring, but it never hurts to be extra protected.”

          The doctor came inside, and filled a syringe with medicine before gently injecting Hankyung with his allergy medicine. Hankyung looked over at Heechul, who was staring at the needle the doctor was holding. “Heechul, you okay?” Hankyung asked.

          But Heechul didn’t hear Hankyung. He had his eyes fixated on the needle. His eyes were wide and his mouth had slightly dropped open, as horrific memories began to resurface as he looked at the medical instrument. “Heechul, what’s wrong?” Hankyung repeated as the doctor took the syringe out of his arm.

          The doctor turned to Heechul and asked “Are you getting a shot today as well?”

          When he started to approach Heechul, the teen stood up and yelled “No!” He ran over to the farthest wall corner, barricaded himself there with a chair. “Keep that ing thing away from me,” Heechul demanded.

          “Heechul, calm down, he’s not gonna harm you,” Hankyung calmly said.

          Heechul kept his eyes on the doctor and the needle. “If you put that thing anywhere near me, I will kill you,” he threatened.

          “I’ll take care of him,” Hankyung promised the doctor.

          “You may want to take your friend to a therapist; he seems to have some problems,” the doctor recommended before leaving.

          Hankyung turned to Heechul who was crouched in the corner. “C’mon, we can go back to your place now,” Hankyung gently suggested as he held out a hand to Heechul.

          The raven haired teen slowly took it and muttered “I’m not crazy Hankyung.”

          “I never said you were,” Hankyung responded.

          “That doctor thinks I’m crazy. He said I have problems,” Heechul replied.

          “Well you kinda did overreact to the needle. I mean I’m not a huge fan of them, but I have to use them for my allergies,” Hankyung reminded.

          “You don’t understand Hankyung. You’ll never fully understand,” Heechul spat. Heechul was silent the whole ride home; pulling his legs up to his chest and slumping down in the passenger seat. Hankyung realized that some kind of memory trigger must’ve been pulled, and Heechul had become defensive.

          When they were back at Heechul’s house, the two walked into his room and shut the door. “So what do you wanna do for our project?” Hankyung wondered as he sat down at Heechul’s desk.

          “I don’t care,” Heechul muttered as he slipped his jacket off.

          Hankyung noticed Heechul’s shirt slip up a little as he took off the jacket and asked “Heechul, what’s on your back?”

          The raven haired teen froze. “Nothing, it’s nothing,” he responded.

          Hankyung stood up and slowly walked over to his friend. “Let me see, I won’t touch,” he promised as he gently took the bottom of Heechul’s shirt.

          “No, don’t touch me!” Heechul yelled before ripping himself away from Hankyung violently. As he tore away, Heechul ripped his shirt, since Hankyung had kept his hand on it. Heechul pressed himself against the bedroom wall, showing Hankyung his now exposed back.

          Hankyung’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped as he stared at Heechul’s back. His back was littered with deep-rooted scars, several cigarette burns, and almost a hundred healed needle wounds. Heechul was loudly crying and pounding a fist against the wall as he whispered “I didn’t want you to see. I didn’t want you to find out.”

          Slowly, Hankyung walked over to Heechul and gently placed as hand on his shoulder before Heechul flinched. Hankyung took Heechul over to the bed and sat down next to him. “Heechul what happened to you? Who did this to you?” he asked gently.

          Heechul looked up at Hankyung with tears glistening in his eyes and said “I came from a bad home Hankyung. My family did unspeakable, horrible, unforgivable things to me.” The teen leaned forward and began to sob loudly.

          Hankyung wrapped a blanket around Heechul before pulling him closer and whispering “Tell me what happened, I won’t judge you Heechul, I promise.”

          “From the time I was born til I went to the Boys Home when I was twelve, my parents were drug addict alcoholics who spent every day beating me, slapping me, yelling at me like I was no better than an animal. My parents would have their druggie friends over and they’d spend the whole day shooting up, getting high and drunk, and even popped pills sometimes. When I was six, one of their friends was drunk and trying to find the bathroom, but he found my room, and then –” Heechul paused as he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against Hankyung’s shoulder.

          “It’s okay,” Hankyung whispered as he gently touched Heechul’s raven black hair.

          “He me. He me and didn’t even care; he said I was the best thing that he’d ever had and even thanked me when he was done. I couldn’t move, so I just lay there and cried. When my parents found out, they didn’t call the police or even yell at their friend; instead they injected me with drugs, shoved a few pills down my throat, and asked who would like to do me next. By the time I was twelve I had been so many times, I’d lost count. If I asked them to stop, they’d laugh and slap me. My parents would charge people to have with me, and they would just turn around and buy more drugs and alcohol. They never protected me, or even said they loved me, I was just a punching bag, and a source of income for them. When they were finally arrested and charged, I was forced to go to a rehab to get my stomach pumped and my blood cleaned because of all of the years of abuse my body had endured. After six months, I was sent to the Boys Home where I met my brothers,” Heechul cried. “Now you know Hankyung, now you know why I’m so ed up, and why I don’t trust easily.”

          Hankyung turned Heechul’s face towards his as he pressed their heads together. Heechul panted quietly as Hankyung gently wiped the tears from his face and placed a small kiss on Heechul’s lips. “I’m so sorry Heechul. I’m sorry that your family betrayed your trust and love, but I promise I will never hurt you. I know what it’s like to feel unwanted,” Hankyung whispered.

          “What do you mean?” Heechul questioned.

          Pulling away, Hankyung pulled up his shirt to reveal scars on his stomach. “How’d you get those?” Heechul asked.

          “I put them there,” Hankyung revealed. “The reason I came here from China is because I left my parents to live with my cousin. My parents told me all the time that I was never good enough to do anything with my life, and I would put a mark on myself every time I believed them. When I turned fifteen I said enough, and left them to move and be in a positive support system.”

          “But you’re always so happy, I never thought you’d have this problem,” Heechul replied.

          “I am happy because I’ve put my past behind me and not let it control my present and future,” Hankyung said. He placed his hands gently on Heechul’s face and placed a kiss on his lips again. “You should try that too.”

          “It’s not that easy Hankyung,” Heechul whispered as a few more tears slipped out of his eyes.

          “I’ll help you, I will help you forget and move on,” Hankyung promised as he wiped away Heechul’s tears with his thumbs.

          Heechul kissed Hankyung once more and nudged his face against his friend’s before muttering “I trust you.”