The metal bar felt cold and distant but he gripped it so tightly, as if his life depended on it.
Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of his face as he grimaced in pain, but that was not going to stop him.
He wanted to keep going, on and on. 

"Yoseob, would you like to end the session and rest? You are overworking yourself."

Shaking his head defiantly, Yoseob looked at Doctor Hong determinedly. 
"I've got to be up and about before Junhyung returns.. I don't know when that would be but the faster I recover, the lesser a burden I am."

Sighing softly in defeat, Doctor Hong tried his luck again for the umpteenth time, hoping that Yoseob would finally listen to him.
"I understand that. But, by overworking yourself, you might be giving yourself unnecessary stress and your legs more strain. These might hinder your recovery instead."

"I know...." Yoseob whispered quietly. "I know..."

Doctor Hong raised an eyebrow as he waited for Yoseob to continue.
At least this time, Yoseob did not just blatantly ignore his advice and continue his walk. 
It was definitely a more positive sign that the young patient was speaking, seemingly about to share more. 

"I know your intentions Doctor Hong. But... this is the only thing I can do for Junhyung. I feel so useless. His location and well-being is unknown while I stay here, with all of you taking such good care of me. So this.. this is the only thing I can do for him." Yoseob's voice was barely audible even in the quiet room but the words rang loudly in Doctor Hong's ears.

He patted Yoseob's shoulder firmly but comfortingly, "The one thing you can do for him is to take care of yourself. He would be glad to see you up and about but I'm sure he wants it to happen in the best possible way for you." 

Sighing sadly, Yoseob shook his head ruefully, "I know that all of you probably think I'm selfish and childish. That up till now, even after Nurse Kim's painful advice three days ago, I'm still doing things that might seem harmful to me. But I can't help it. I really want to get better soon..for him. Every time I lie on my bed, I feel that I'm wasting precious time to recover. Every time I look up at the blank ceilings, his face appears with those sad eyes saying goodbye to me. Every time I close my eyes, I hear him whispering his love for me in my ears. And I can't take it. Call me a weakling but I cannot stand laying on bed, awake or asleep, because he occupies my thoughts so much. Every second, I wished I was able to walk, to run.. to him. To close up on my distance with him." 

Doctor Hong smiled slightly and squeezed Yoseob's shoulders assuringly, "Well, I don't think that you are selfish and childish. While others might not understand certain actions and behaviors of yours and might not see from your perspective.. One thing is for sure. Everyone knows that the love you have for Junhyung is as strong as Junhyung for you. And since you love him that much, your anxiety to recover is understandable. Alright, I'll let you continue with therapy. But the moment you feel a sharp, shooting pain in either of your legs, you have to be honest to tell me about it and we will end the session for the day alright?"

Yoseob looked up at Doctor Hong innocently, his eyes filled with gratitude for the doctor's understanding and yet, also with a slight guilt. "Doctor Hong... 5 minutes ago, I felt a sharp pain on both my legs..." 

Laughing and ruffling Yoseob's hair, finding the young patient's childlike behavior to be so refreshing and comical, Doctor Hong nagged "Well then, I guess that's it for today yeah?" 

Nodding his head reluctantly, Yoseob agreed. He knew that there was no more point fighting with the doctor since even his physical condition was agreeing to the Doctor's suggestion. Slowly, he released his tight hold on the metal bars by his side and walked cautiously to his wheelchair that awaited him. 

Comfortable silence filled the room while Doctor Hong watched Yoseob as he walked to the wheelchair, ready to give a helping hand if there was any sign of the young patient falling. As his eyes were fixed on Yoseob, his ears twitched at the sound of the door opening which signaled the end of the shortlived silence. 

"Doctor Hong" Doojoon greeted the doctor respectfully, before directing his gaze at Yoseob. 
The urgency in his voice did not go unheard by Doctor Hong and from the look of worry that has clouded Yoseob's face, he obviously heard it clearly too.

"What is it?" Yoseob asked, eager to know but at the same time, afraid that bad news was about to be delivered to him. 

Doctor Hong saw a moment of hesitation and a momentary frown on Doojoon's face, and he knew. 
That whatever Doojoon was going to say is not champange popping worthy news. 
He hurried over to Yoseob's side and assisted the patient in being well seated because it seemed like Yoseob would most probably need to be seated and supported from the impending news.

"We've some updates. Now, they are not necessarily bad news but I need you to stay strong when you listen okay. You have to stay positive."

Yoseob had paled significantly but instead of showing any signs of breaking down or weakness, he took a deep breath and calmly asked Doojoon to proceed with the updates.

"They are on the move. Shadow people are bringing Junhyung to different areas. We don't know exactly why but it is highly possible it is because they want to ensure that we are not closing in on them before they send Junhyung to Shadow's Master's hideout. We are missing them by the minutes, like what Dongwoon and I have been telling you from the start. However, last night, we missed them by the seconds. Dongwoon's side had managed to think ahead and they managed to guess a location right. When they reached there, Shadow's people were still there but they managed to slipped through because there weren't enough people to stop them. Dongwoon had spread his team to various possible locations and we, the police, are at other locations, thus the lack of people." 

Doojoon wasn't running but he felt heavily breathless at the end of speaking. He waited for Yoseob to respond as the smaller male's eyes held no emotions suddenly. 

"There's more...isn't it?" Yoseob whispered. He knew Doojoon wasn't there just to update him of their progress. He knew there was more. 

Doojoon walked over to Yoseob and knelt down on one knee, gathering and holding Yoseob's hands in his tightly. 
"Dongwoon's men...managed to get a glimpse of Junhyung. He was blindfolded and tied up. Everything happened quickly but based on what they saw... his face was covered in blood. We found traces of blood when we reached the place and after testing the blood samples, we have confirmed that the blood belongs to Junhyung." 

Yoseob's hands were icy cold and his pupils has constricted as he stared blankly ahead of him, emotionless and wordless.

Doojoon shook Yoseob's hands gently and continued, "There wasn't much blood. The blood that Junhyung lost was probably from some superficial wounds. So don't worry too much Yoseob. He should be fine."

A snort. 

It was so faint that Doojoon and Doctor Hong wondered if they imagined it but Yoseob's lips were apart and his eyes were now directed at Doojoon in incredulity. 

"Are you joking with me? Are you trying to ridicule me?" 

Doojoon's eyes widened as he tightened his hold on Yoseob's hands, "No, I would never do that!" 

"Then what do you mean by 'he should be fine'? Does being kidnapped and held hostage sounds like he is fine? Does a bleeding face sounds like he is fine? Does blood around the place sounds like he is fine? What do you mean by 'he should be fine'?! Yoon Doo Joon, do you think all that sounds like he is fine!?"

Doojoon could feel Yoseob trembling, probably overwhelmed by all the emotions coursing through his body. 
He wasn't the least bit upset at Yoseob raging at him. He had braced himself and expected for Yoseob to react this way when he knew of the news he had to break to Yoseob. However, this wasn't over. He needed to tell Yoseob more, although now he wasn't as confident, not that he was very confid