Hyukjae is walking from his car to the front door after work on Tuesday when he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and he stills. His eyes catch the figure of a cat darting across his yard and disappearing behind his neighbor's house. He smiles and shakes his head before continuing to the door. Once inside, he hears small clanking noises in the kitchen and enters to find Donghae washing dishes in the sink. Hyukjae watches for a few seconds before stepping closer.

“Donghae?”

Donghae turns his head quickly, eyes wide. “I didn't even hear you come in,” he exhales and catches his breath.

“Sorry,” Hyukjae rapidly apologizes, “I didn't know.”

“It's okay, it's not your fault. I'm just... distracted, I guess.” Donghae dries his hands with a towel, an action that proves his distractedness as he continues to rub the towel against his hands even after his skin is dry.

“Distracted by what?” Hyukjae instantly hopes that he doesn't regret this question.

Donghae's hands stop and he sets the towel down. He silently debates whether or not he should tell Hyukjae and then he blurts it out.

“I went to the police station today.” Hyukjae's expression is rather blank, so Donghae continues. “I... didn't stay very long. I can jump back into work whenever I want to but I don't know if I'm ready.”

Hyukjae feels sympathy for Donghae. He instinctively shuffles a little closer. “If you're not ready, don't do it,” he says simply.

“I just...” Donghae sighs. “I don't know if I'll ever be ready. I still want to help people... to save people. I've always wanted to do that. But that job took so much away from me. How can I jump back into it as if nothing happened when my whole world is different now?”

Hyukjae is speechless. He hadn't expected Donghae to open up to him and he genuinely can't think of the right thing to say. Donghae breaks the silence when he realizes that Hyukjae isn't going to speak.

“I'm sorry... I shouldn't put that kind of pressure on you. I said it without thinking.”

“No, it's okay,” Hyukjae assures. “I just... don't know what to say. I guess the best advice I can give is to not make a decision until you're positive that you know what you want to do.” Donghae nods and the distracted look returns to his face. “I'm gonna get some work done,” Hyukjae continues. “So I'll be in my office if you need anything.” He walks away, heading straight to his office and closing the door. He could feel the awkwardness brewing between them and left in an attempt to escape it. He shakes it off and settles himself, ready to get straight to work and forget his worries for a while.

-

Donghae wakes up the next morning with immediate regret for the words he'd said. It feels like he's gone back to being at war with Hyukjae. There are so many questions between them that aren't ready to be answered yet and he'd accidentally let one float to the surface. Donghae's job is mostly about him but it also greatly involves his past with Hyukjae and, as of now, their past together is a touchy subject.

Donghae decides to put such serious matters out of his mind and spend more time with his mother. Before he leaves, he writes a note for Hyukjae, letting him know that he'll be spending the night at her house. He lets himself have a day free of stress – a day that helps him take a step towards having a normal life again.

-

Hyukjae steps through his front door, ready to talk with Donghae and free both of them from any more awkwardness. He sees no Donghae in his house and only finds a note in his place. He reads the note and takes a seat in his suddenly silent house. Although he feels as if he should enjoy some time to himself, he can only feel a peculiar loneliness slowly creeping up on him.

-

On Thursday afternoon, Donghae decides to pop by Sunny and Luna's for lunch and is surprised to see Tiffany and Sungmin taking a break there as well. They're talking excitedly and Donghae smiles, happy to see that they're their chatty selves.

“Donghae!” Tiffany calls out, frantically waving Donghae over.

Donghae quickly heads to their table and sits beside Tiffany. “What's up?”

“Well we're having our lunch but that's not important.” Tiffany takes a drink before turning to Donghae with a serious expression. “You know we get a lot of gossip at the salon. It's usually pretty trivial but earlier today, a client mentioned overhearing that a police officer from this area had... well... come back from the dead.”

Tiffany and Sungmin look expectantly at Donghae for a reaction but he merely raises his eyebrow in response. “Yeah? So?”

“So?” Sungmin scoffs. “How would someone know that?”

“Maybe... because... I've been walking around town for about two weeks now?”

Sungmin looks at Tiffany who slumps her shoulders. “Well that's no fun,” she says. “We were kind of hoping for a rat.”

“You guys really don't think this stuff through, do you?”

“Hush,” Sungmin scolds, “it's probably all of the hair chemicals going to our heads.”

“So, how are things between you and Hyukjae?” Tiffany asks before Donghae can even wrap his mind around their first topic of conversation.

“Good,” he replies. “We actually have conversations now. It's still kind of weird but it's getting better.”

“I'm glad.” Tiffany smiles. “It's been strange seeing you two together again but not... together. You used to be so in love... I'd never seen something so disgusting in my life.”

“And now the only disgusting thing between you is a whole ocean of awkwardness,” Sungmin chimes in.

“Thanks for the talk, guys,” Donghae says, “but I think you should maybe think about using lighter chemicals in the future.”

“Yeah, yeah. We'll get right on that.” Sungmin stands up and stretches. “But for now we have to get back to work.”

“Right.” Tiffany stands as well and begins to walk away with Sungmin. “We'll see you tomorrow night.”

Donghae tilts his head in confusion and then suddenly remembers what day it is. “Right. Dinner tomorrow.”

“Dinner? No, I meant at Hyukjae's. Oh, we're going to be late!”

Donghae blinks several times as he watches his friends walk away. Why are they going to be at Hyukjae's tomorrow?

-

Donghae is a bit surprised to find that Hyukjae isn't home at his usual time but he decides to watch TV and wait for him. When Hyukjae does come through the door, he looks pretty exhausted.

“Hey,” Donghae says as Hyukjae slumps onto the couch beside him. “Rough day?”

“Something like that,” Hyukjae croaks. “We had an inventory disaster. Ended up breaking a few things... or maybe a lot of things.”

“Ouch,” Donghae mumbles. “Nothing too valuable, I hope?”

“Not really.” Hyukjae shakes his head and sighs. “It was mostly old stuff we should have been getting rid of anyway. Guess fate did us a favor. Or something.”

“You should go to bed,” Donghae says, not bothering to hide his amusement.

“I'm gonna.” Hyukjae yawns. “How's your mom?”

“Happier after spending so many hours babying me.”

Hyukjae grins. “Good to know you're keeping her happy. Did you stay with her today?”

“Just in the morning. I actually met up with Sungmin and Tiffany for lunch. They told me some interesting gossip.”

“Oh yeah?” Hyukjae sits up a little to pay better attention.

“Yeah. I know this sounds totally crazy... but the word on the street is there's some police officer who came back from the dead.”

“Wow.” Hyukjae nods as he processes this information. “Sounds like complete bull to me.”

“Yeah,” Donghae agrees, “I mean, there's no way. People are just making things up.”

Hyukjae laughs a little and slouches to get more comfortable before gasping and sitting straight up. “I forgot! We're supposed to have art night tomorrow and nothing is set up!”

“Art night?” Donghae questions. “Oh... oh. That explains what Tiffany meant by seeing me here tomorrow. What do you need to set up?”

“I need to move the couch and the table and set down a sheet and put up the easels and get the paint,” Hyukjae says very, very quickly.

“I can do that,” Donghae says simply.

Hyukjae seems to actually take a breath as he relaxes. “You can?”

“Of course. I can do it while you're at work tomorrow. It'll be done by the time you're home.”

Hyukjae slouches again. “Thanks,” he says breathlessly. “I think I'm going to do that sleep thing now.”

Donghae laughs as Hyukjae gets up. “Good night, Hyukjae.” Hyukjae manages a tired wave in return and leaves a smiling Donghae on the couch.

-

Following instructions left by Hyukjae, Donghae spends a leisurely hour putting a room together for art night. He starts early so that he doesn't have to rush and puts music on to work along to. He moves furniture aside and sets a protective sheet down on the carpet. He makes several trips to Hyukjae's office for all of the art supplies he needs, humming to himself as he walks. When he's finished gathering the last of the paint, he stops and looks around at the room and realizes that he's managed to entirely forget paintbrushes. Laughing at himself, he walks back into Hyukjae's office to search for them.

Hyukjae's favorite brushes are bundled together on his desk. Donghae knows that they aren't meant to be used for art night; he leaves them and begins to look through drawers full of paints and pencils. As he reaches the bottom drawer, a folded piece of paper falls into it from above. Donghae assumes it must have been stuck in between drawers for a while and he'd happened to loosen it. He picks it up and unfolds it, revealing a sketch that makes his heartbeat quicken.

Although the sketch has very little detail, Donghae knows exactly what it is. It is of himself and Hyukjae, and embracing. He remembers the day Hyukjae had asked for his permission to draw this and turn it into a painting. He'd said yes immediately in hopes that Hyukjae's sketching would inspire a few trips to the bedroom for artistic research.

Donghae takes a seat in Hyukjae's chair, eyes locked on the drawing. Seeing a sketch of himself brings back a very precious memory. When Donghae was training to become a police officer, he met Hyukjae for the first time. He'd needed a little extra money and happened across an ad for a still life model at a local art school. He'd been accepted almost immediately and had come in only a few days later. He was a little nervous at first until he reminded himself that the artists were there to draw, not scrutinize, and it wasn't as if he was going to see any of them again anyway. Oh, how wrong he'd been about that.

One particular artist had come up to Donghae as he was pulling a robe on and spoke.

“Excuse me,” a voice that Donghae now knows as Hyukjae's said, “do you go to this school?”

Donghae had been momentarily taken off guard by everything that Hyukjae was. “No,” he'd said.

Hyukjae only nodded. “I thought maybe I'd seen you around but I guess I was mistaken.” He began to walk away after that but Donghae was determined to not let him go just like that.

“Hey, um, I've... never done this before and... I was wondering if you could show me your drawing.”

Hyukjae clutched his large sketchbook. “It's not finished. I wouldn't feel right showing it to you.”

Luckily, Donghae was quick to think of a plan. “I could give you my number. That way you can call me when it's finished and we can meet up so I can see it.” Donghae had praised himself for his brilliant thinking before Hyukjae had even agreed. It had worked, somehow, and a week later he was eating lunch with Hyukjae who eagerly talked about his passion for art while Donghae eagerly listened to every word.

Donghae folds the drawing and carefully places it back in the drawer. He takes a few breaths and goes back to looking for paintbrushes.

-

Hyukjae comes home to a rearranged house and sighs in relief. “Seriously, Donghae, thank you so much for doing this.”

“It really wasn't a problem,” Donghae responds. Hyukjae thinks he notices a hint of nervousness in Donghae's demeanor but he doesn't think too much about it.

Ryeowook shows up first after closing up the shop. He's followed by Sunny and Luna who bring a few drinks to keep Hyukjae's supply from being depleted. Tiffany joins them shortly after, claiming that Sungmin said he had to grab something before coming over. When Sungmin arrives, he's carrying a large bottle of wine that Hyukjae immediately confiscates.

“You can have this back at the end of the night.” Sungmin starts to whine but Hyukjae continues talking. “Okay, everyone pitch in so we can order something to eat.”

They decide on ordering a small variety of foods to satisfy their hunger before they proceed with art night. Hyukjae suggests that everyone to paint a flower as a warm up and, after swiftly painting his own, he sneaks around and watches his friends paint. Donghae watches the genuine smile on Hyukjae's face as he walks around the room. Donghae smiles too until his eyes land on his own painting and he frowns. He's always been bad with colors and hadn't expected to do well but the painting in front of him is shameful.

“A flower with lime green petals?” Hyukjae questions from next to Donghae.

“It was kind of an accident,” Donghae replies. “I meant to use red but... I missed.”

Hyukjae laughs and every head in the room turns to look at him. “I'm sure there's a flower out there somewhere with lime green petals, so don't worry about it.” He doesn't notice that everyone is looking at him in gleeful awe of his happy interaction with Donghae. He goes back to his own painting to add some detail while his friends shake themselves out of their stupor and return to their canvases.

When the food arrives, Hyukjae internally whines about the inevitable grease that will end up on his paintbrushes but he keeps his mouth stuffed to keep from voicing his concerns. He notices that Donghae carefully wipes his hands after eating and it puts his mind at ease.

“What should we paint now?” Luna asks, looking proudly at her painting of a lily.

Hyukjae shrugs. “Paint whatever you feel like painting.”

“I'm gonna paint Donghae's face with his fantastic new haircut,” Tiffany declares.

“Then I'll paint you,” Donghae replies.

Luna and Sunny claim one another as subjects and Ryeowook has already started painting Hyukjae so Hyukjae quickly begins to paint Ryeowook.

“Oh,” Sungmin says. “I'll just paint myself.” Hyukjae snickers and Sungmin frowns. “Can I just have my wine back?”

“Absolutely not,” Hyukjae says as he happily paints Ryeowook's face.

“Can I have it?” Ryeowook asks.

“No! None of you can have it. I fear for my carpet's safety.”

“Are you sure that's the real reason?” Sungmin asks and Hyukjae's paintbrush stops in curiosity. “Or is it that you don't want to be tempted into drinking after what happened last time?”

Donghae looks up from his painting and glances between Hyukjae and Sungmin.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Hyukjae furiously keeps painting.

Ryeowook is clearly holding back laughter while the three girls exchange a knowing look before hiding their knowing smiles.

“Yes you do!” Sungmin retorts. “The last time you drank, you made out with that girl!”

The laughter in the room is barely being contained and Hyukjae's red cheeks aren't contained at all.

“You made out with a girl?”

Suddenly everyone remembers that Donghae is in the room and they turn to him, laughter fully stopped. Donghae only looks curious but Hyukjae is mortified. When no one in the room seems to be able to speak, Sunny chimes in.

“She was awful,” she says.

“She was a very nice girl,” Hyukjae defends.

“She thought you guys were dating and got so angry at you for not calling her that she found out where you lived just so she could yell at you,” Tiffany reminds.

“It was my fault for not being clear,” Hyukjae says meekly.

“It was not your fault,” Luna says. “She was obsessed with you. And you were too nice to ask her to leave you alone so we had to do it.”

Hyukjae silently pouts and paints. “She wasn't that bad,” he mumbles.

“Just because she was a good kisser doesn't mean she was a good person,” Sungmin informs. “She was the epitome of a drunken mistake.”

Seeing Hyukjae embarrassed makes Donghae inexplicably upset. He turns to Sungmin. “As if you have room to talk,” he says. “I seem to remember a time when you got so drunk that you somehow managed to do enough online shopping to clear your entire bank account. You didn't even know what you'd done until the bank called you the next day to confirm that you had indeed bought enough toddler princess dresses to fill your entire house. There were no refunds so you had to borrow money from me to keep your bank from closing your account.”

Sungmin is the embarrassed one now, grumbling incoherently to himself while the rest of the room giggles. Hyukjae shoots Donghae a thankful smile before they all return to painting with a different topic of conversation.

As the night comes to an end, the friends laugh at the paintings they've done of one another before preparing to say goodbye. Hyukjae instinctively begins to clean up while Donghae sees everyone off at the door. Tiffany is the last one out and she pauses to speak to Donghae.

“I just thought you should know that I took your advice and talked to Sungmin. You were right, of course, and we're probably even better friends now than we were before.”

“That's great!” Donghae replies. He's genuinely happy for his friends and is glad he could help.

“Oh, and...” Tiffany's voice lowers, “I couldn't help but notice that you've knocked a few of Hyukjae's walls down.”

Donghae turns his head slightly to see Hyukjae grimacing at a greasy paintbrush.“I'm still chiseling,” he says and turns back to Tiffany. “I think there are still walls left.”

“Well, it looks like there's a lot of cleaning up to do.” Tiffany smiles. “Get in there and chisel away, darling.”

Donghae smiles back. “Good night, Tiffany. Have a good weekend.”

“You too.” Tiffany gives a wink before walking away and Donghae closes the door behind her.

“We're friends with animals,” Hyukjae complains as he throws away a greasy cardboard box.

“But they're very loveable animals,” Donghae states, leaning against the wall and watching Hyukjae.

“I suppose so. When they're not eating. Or talking.”

Donghae bites his lip to disguise a grin. “Made out with a girl, huh?”

“Not you too!” Hyukjae groans. “Why does everyone want to torture me?”

“I'm not torturing, I'm just curious... what was it like?”

Hyukjae's face becomes blank and then he blinks. “It was like kissing a guy. Except it was a girl. So it .”

Donghae thinks for a moment and then laughs. “I guess that makes sense.” He steps away from the wall, planning to help Hyukjae clean, but Hyukjae stops him.

“You got paint on your shirt!” Hyukjae steps closer to examine the splotch on Donghae's shirt. “It's still wet, it'll come out easily if I clean it now.”

Donghae looks at the spot and shrugs. “You don't have to, it's just a shirt.”

“It's a shirt that can still be saved. Give it to me.”

Donghae resists rolling his eyes and s his shirt. He takes it off and hands it to Hyukjae, instantly feeling colder in the sleeveless shirt he'd had underneath. Hyukjae heads off with the shirt and Donghae keeps tidying the room to keep himself warm. He doesn't hear Hyukjae coming back into the room several minutes later but he does feel the hand that gently curls around his bicep. He turns to find Hyukjae staring intently at a scar on Donghae's arm. He stays still, frozen by Hyukjae's warm hand.

“This... is this a gunshot wound?” Hyukjae asks quietly.

Donghae observes Hyukjae's solemn face. He then answers honestly. “Yes.”

Hyukjae's grip tightens slightly and then it loosens again but he doesn't let go. He doesn't look at Donghae's face but he speaks to him. “How... when did this...”

Seeing the solemn look on Hyukjae's face, Donghae is reluctant to answer. He doesn't want to keep the truth from Hyukjae, so he doesn't. “When I was being kept as a hostage, I wasn't exactly... treated kindly. I knew they were planning to kill me, so I didn't say a word to them. They didn't like that.” Hyukjae's grip tightens again and it cause Donghae to skip the gruesome details and move to happier ones. “This was the only wound that left long-term damage. Everything else healed just fine.”

Hyukjae looks up from Donghae's arm to his eyes. “Long-term?”

“I couldn't use my arm for a while. I needed weeks of physical therapy just to be able to brush my own teeth again. But it's normal now... other than the occasional ache.”

“Donghae... Donghae I'm so sorry.” Hyukjae is holding Donghae's arm with both of his hands now. “You had to go through all of that on your own. You didn't deserve that.”

“And you didn't deserve to think that your husband was dead.”

“Regardless...” Hyukjae looks at the wound again, “I wish I could have been there to help you through.”

“You were.” Hyukjae looks up at Donghae curiously and Donghae's hand finds Hyukjae's cheek. “The only reason I got better... the only reason I kept fighting... was you. Just thinking about you was enough to get me through.”

Hyukjae's eyes are wide but he doesn't pull away. He smiles. “Don't tell the gang that,” he says quietly. “They'll get jealous.”

Donghae smiles too as his thumb brushes across Hyukjae's cheek and he whispers. “It can be our little secret.”

Hyukjae slowly pulls away, letting Donghae's arm go and Donghae's hand fall from his cheek. Donghae lets out an accidental noise of protest and reaches out in a childish manner to hold Hyukjae's hand. He's embarrassed at his own actions and entirely understands when Hyukjae pulls away again. He looks away while Hyukjae stares at him. Then, unexpectedly, Hyukjae's arms wrap around Donghae, embracing him. Donghae's embarrassment floats away and he stands, silent and comforted.
 

Hyukjae eventually backs away and clears his throat. He looks around. “We should get back to cleaning.”

Donghae takes a centering breath before speaking. “I think we should go to bed,” he responds, crossing his arms. “Cleaning can wait until tomorrow.”

Hyukjae looks at the scar on Donghae's bicep again, now stretched by his crossed arms. “Yeah,” he says. “I think it can. Good night, Donghae.”

“Night.”

Hyukjae turns to walk up the stairs, warmth still lingering on his cheek and in his hands. Donghae stands and watches him with a warmth in his heart.

-

Hyukjae reluctantly opens his eyes. He sees the clock and gasps, instantly awake as he realizes that he's slept in. Then, as his brain begins to work properly, he remembers that it is Saturday. Rolling his eyes and groaning to himself, he flops back down onto his warm pillow. He closes his eyes again and runs a hand through his hair. Memories of the night before sneak into his mind and his heartbeat begins to rush as he remembers Donghae's touch. His eyes open again as he remembers how he'd fallen asleep last night – wondering how it would have felt to lie down and sleep next to Donghae.

A clanging noise reaches Hyukjae's ears and he takes it as a cue to get out of bed. He stretches as he walks down the stairs and into the kitchen where he finds Donghae flipping a pancake onto a plate. He notices that Donghae has finished cleaning up the messes from the night before. If this Donghae is the same Donghae that Hyukjae used to know, then the only reason that he would wake up early to clean and cook would be happiness.

Did I make him happy? Hyukjae wonders as he approaches the plate of pancakes.

“Good morning,” Donghae greets in a cheery voice as Hyukjae tears off a piece of fluffy pancake and eats it. “I noticed you decided to sleep in this morning.”

“And I noticed that you didn't,” Hyukjae retorts. “Thanks for cleaning. And for the pancakes.”

Donghae halts his cooking to stare at Hyukjae. “Who said these are for you?”

Hyukjae stares back and eats another piece of pancake. “Me,” he says.

“Fair enough.” Donghae smiles as he turns back to his pan and slides one last pancake out of it. “Are you planning on doing anything today?”

Hyukjae freezes halfway through a mouthful. “Why?” he asks.

Donghae shrugs. “Just curious.”

“Oh.” Hyukjae swallows the food in his mouth. “I have a few errands to run. I'm picking up some art stuff and I need to buy light bulbs and some other things... did you wanna come with me?”

“Sure,” Donghae says nonchalantly, beginning to eat his own share of pancakes.

When the food is finished and the dishes are done (courtesy of Donghae while Hyukjae showers and dresses), the two head out on their errands in Hyukjae's car. It doesn't take long to get to a craft store where Hyukjae picks up new paint and some brushes and Donghae nearly knocks over an art display. They quickly leave to avoid the cold stare of the cashier and have a laugh together once they're in the car again. They drive to another store, chatting and listening to the radio in the background. Hyukjae picks up the light bulbs he'd needed along with a few other useful items he finds on sale.

When their shopping is done, Donghae points out that the car could use some gas and that both of them could use a snack. They pull into a gas station and fill up the tank before going inside to look for something to eat. Hyukjae picks up a small bag of candy and considers it.

“You ate pancakes for breakfast and now you're thinking about eating candy?” Donghae questions.

“It's not like I'm in a profession that requires me to be fit,” Hyukjae responds, flipping the candy in his hands, “you know, like a police officer.”

Donghae looks at Hyukjae's waist with narrowed eyes. He then grabs a bag of candy for himself and heads to the drink section, followed by a laughing Hyukjae. Just as he's deciding between a healthy drink and a rather large unhealthy one, Hyukjae's hand slips into his and grips it tightly. It is an action made not out of affection but out of fear and Donghae turns to see an alarmed Hyukjae standing next to him.

“He has a gun,” Hyukjae whispers, his eyes darting carefully to a man standing just down the aisle from them. Donghae glances and sees a shaky, uneasy man, fidgeting with a clearly visible gun in his hand. He turns the other way and sees a mother and her young son browsing through snacks.

“I need you to get them out of here,” Donghae whispers to Hyukjae. “Take them and the cashier outside and call the police.”

Hyukjae nods and grips Donghae's hand even tighter, reluctant to let go. “Please be careful.”

Donghae feels Hyukjae's hand leave his own and he turns to the man, approaching him slowly. “Excuse me,” he says, gaining a reaction of wide, fearful eyes. “Are you okay?”

The gun shakes in the man's hand before he raises it. “Don't come any closer,” he says.

Donghae freezes, slowly raising his hands up, palms out. He keeps eye contact but notices the front door closing quietly in his peripheral vision. “I won't. But I want you to tell me what's wrong.”

The gun shakes more. “What do you think is wrong? I need money. So unless you've got some for me, I suggest you walk away.”

“I don't know if I can do that. I want to help you.”

The man takes an aggressive step forward. “Don't act like you can help me! You don't know me!”

“Okay, okay.” Donghae takes a deep breath. He notices a light patch of skin on the man's ring finger and decides to try a new angle. “You married?”

“I would be. If she hadn't thrown me out. Now shut up and empty your pockets.”

“What about kids?” Donghae very, very slowly reaches for his pockets. The man stays silent but Donghae notices a falter in his stare. “You know, I don't think any kid wants to see their father's face on the news for a robbery... do you?”

“It doesn't matter.”

“It does matter,” Donghae says sternly. “You may feel really messed up right now but that doesn't mean you have to drag down the people around you. You can get help. You can become a better person and let them know that you're someone to be proud of. Wouldn't that feel good? Knowing that your family is proud of you?”

“My family will never be proud of a nobody.” The man's focus is beginning to slip and the gun is lowering slightly.

“Don't say that,” Donghae coaxes. “I spent the last two years being... dead to everyone I loved. But I came back from the dead. It's taken a lot of work but I've come back to them and they're realizing that I'm still the same person that they used to love. There's always room for redemption. You just have to prove that you deserve it. But you can't do that if you hurt people. You won't find redemption if you use that gun.”

The man's gun lowers further and further and his eyes dart from left to right as he thinks. Donghae is fully prepared to retrieve the gun by force but the man drops it onto the floor.

“Redemption,” the man says quietly, as if to no one but himself. “Redemption.”