Eric was walking home after the talk with Hyesung.

“Don’t be sad Hyesungie~ you’re breaking my heart.”

‘Why did I call him Hyesungie? It just sounded so right.’

Eric’s thought was pulled back to reality when he saw a bunch of men who called themselves H.O.T hanging out in the children’s playground under his apartment.

“Well, look who’s here. It’s our punching bag.” Said Heejun, the leader with purple hair covering half of his face.

“Hee…..Heejun hyung.” Eric dared not look at Heejun.

“Let’s have some fun, Eric ah.” Woohyuk said while cracking his fingers.

“Hy…Hyung, can’t you guys let me go this time? I still need to go to work later.”

“Uh uh, no can’t do.” Kangta shook his head

“Yeah, run you useless freak! Run! Oh, I forgot, you can’t run! Hahahaha! You can’t run away from us!” Mocked Tony as he grabbed and locked Eric’s shoulders from behind.

Eric could not free himself from the tight grip and stared at Jaewon’s brass knuckles in horror.

“Please, Please don’t. I beg you, please don’t.” Eric begged weakly.

Jaewon ignored Eric’s pleas and sent a dozen punches onto Eric’s chest and abdomen. Both Heejun and Kangta also joined in the fun by kicking and beating Eric mercilessly. Tony released his grip and Eric fell onto the ground.

“I don’t think this is good enough.” Announced Woohyuk before pulling Eric’s head up by his hair.

“Another round should do. I’ve warmed up.” Said Jaewon.

The gang continued to beat Eric who’s on the verge of blacking out.

-PAGE BREAK-

For the next 2 weeks, Eric hadn’t been visiting Hyundo’s restaurant. Hyesung couldn’t help but get worried about him. He tried to ask around whether anyone has seen Eric but it was all in vain. Since that talk with Eric, Hyesung couldn’t sleep every night as he heart told him something was wrong. He had always had the ability to sense whenever Junghyuk needed him. Could it be that Eric needed him? Junjin had sensed something was off about Hyesung and went to asked him about it. Hyesung just rubbed it off by saying he was a bit tired.

-PAGE BREAK-

It was a normal day in the restaurant. There was no sign of Eric yet but Hyesung felt better when he woke up early that morning. He was cleaning up a table when the door opened.

“Welcome! Please have a seat, Eric ssi.” Minwoo greeted.

Hyesung was delighted when he saw Eric.

“Hey! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages!” Hyesung exclaimed.

“I’ve been very busy. Sorry for that.” Eric replied coolly.

Just when Hyesung was about to leave, he noticed faint bruising marks on Eric’s face.

“Wha…what happened to you? Did you get beat up?”

“Uh….No, I fell down the stairs. I missed a step haha.” Eric replied awkwardly.

Hyesung was a taekwondo blackbelt and he knew that those bruises was caused by punches but decided not to further pursue the matter.

“Right, I promised to introduce you to the family. That small-eyed shorty by the counter is Minwoo, the wrinkle man is Dongwan, the tall guy is Junjin and the cook is Andy.”

“Hey, I’m not short! I’m as tall as Andy!” Minwoo stood up from the counter.

“Try taking off your shoes! Then we’ll compare!” Yelled Andy from the kitchen.

Everyone laughed from the statement, including Eric who almost choked from his noodles.

-PAGE BREAK-

“Kyesang hyung!” Eric greeted the hotel lounge manager.

“You’re late! How are your injuries?”

“I’m fine now. Sorry for interrupting you for the past 2 weeks.”

Kyesang was Eric’s only friend since Eric first came to Gimpo. He helped Eric to get a place and a job at the hotel.

“Nah, You’re my dongsaeng and I cared about you. But, you should seriously do something about them. You can’t keep getting into trouble like this. Perhaps you should fight them or run away whenever you see them.”

“Perhaps, I should. But I can’t.” whispered Eric.

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing, hyung. I’ll get to work.”

Eric changed into his working suit and took his place behind the bar. He worked as a bartender in a hotel lounge and was one of the attractions for women to spend their time in the lounge. Eric was in the middle of mixing a classic cocktail when suddenly a pain surged into his mind. He almost dropped his mixing bottle but managed to catch it just in time. He served the drink before retreating to the toilet.

The pain shot through his head again and he dropped to the floor. He let the pain subside before getting up and washed his face. He splashed some water and was shocked to find the water in the basin stained red. He looked into the mirror and was greeted by a bloodied nose.

‘What is happening to me?’

Notes: Sorry for this pathetically short chapter. So, introducing the cameos: HOT and YOON KYESANG Of GOD. What's wrong with Eric? I don't know XD. I finished drafting the story in my mind during a meaningless 3hrs long History Paper 3 exam this morning. And I might end this fic around the 11th or 12th chapter. Hope you guys like it. SHINHWA CHANGJO <3