Jongin thought he might have had a small dream in the smothering blackness, a dream of a man who stood still in a raging crowd – a man whose face he couldn’t quite see.  

But it was almost immediately forgotten as his head lolled to the side and the sensation of falling rippled through to his fingertips. He thrashed awake and disoriented wondered if he was still dreaming before he finally remembered how he’d stumbled into this dank alleyway. He found that he was no longer lying on the ground, but instead had been propped up against the wall next to a dumpster, and shivered against the cool brick that pressed through his thin autumn jacket.

His vision came in bursts of black and white like the static on a television, and his ears rang with a high whine until very suddenly sound came back into focus.

“Yes, I did realize that you’d be sleeping but now is not really the time to argue with me, is it?” he heard a voice murmur from only a few feet away, but Jongin was not the target audience - there was no audible response, so a cellphone then. The voice spoke on, hushed whispering increasingly intense.

“An ambulance? So shall I just wait with him in a darkened alleyway until some overzealous EMTs show up to tell me what I already know? Or shall I flag down some inebriated youth to wait with him while I leave? You, of all people, should know that I generally like to avoid suspicion and attention, and I imagine both of these scenarios might put me under a bit of a spotlight.”

Another pause and then Jongin’s vision finally and slowly came into focus. When his eyes adjusted again to the darkness of the alley, to his right stood a man with his back turned, his hair was dark and his clothes were black, and to his ear he held a basic mobile phone.

“No. You- …Leaving him- Leaving the victim here is not an option.”

“Exactly. So leave your house immediately and meet me at our usual place. And I’m sure I do not have to tell you to bring your car… Then, goodbye.”

He turned around swiftly then, meeting Jongin’s eyes abruptly and if he hadn’t been unconscious just one minute ago then Jongin would have sworn he saw the man’s eyes flash with a piercing red – a bright insidious color.

He nearly gasped, but even as his jaw fell open he was cut off.

“You’re awake,” stated Kyungsoo, sounding anything but surprised. “I suggest that you make no sudden movements, as your ribs have clearly taken a beating. Although, I will wager that none of them are broken, merely bruised. However, it’s the head trauma that concerns me. You were unconscious for only a moment but you still may have a concussion.”

Jongin sat quietly in a stunned silence, jaw still slack.

Before him was his teacher’s assistant, the rumored Do Kyungsoo that Sehun had particularly warned him about. Except despite how he had appeared in class - dark and dreary with his hair covering his eyes and his clothes, sophisticated and yet dully colored – the man before him now was anything but what he had previously appeared to be.

His jacket was a dark and rich leather that practically smelled of money and expensive purchase, and his hair was swept up and away from his forehead, revealing thick intensive brows and large deep eyes - ebony black pools. The way those eyes examined him made Jongin wonder if they could see something past the surface.

Abruptly, Kyungsoo waved his hand in front of Jongin’s face, stooping down to crouch in front of him. Something about his stance and look screamed predatorily.

“Have you fallen unconscious again? If so I shall have to have Jongdae drop you off at the emergency room. Though I’d rather not force him to wait with you overnight. He does get quite fussy without proper sleep.”

“Jong…dae?” Jongin repeated slowly, not knowing quite what to say at the moment.

“Ah, so you are awake. Dazed, then.” He gazed up at him curiously for a moment before frowning. “I apologize but I will have to ask that you stand now. Do you think you can manage?”

Jongin nodded, albeit slowly and put his hands on his knees, bending them and pushing his back to the wall for support. However, Kyungsoo took one of his wrists in his hand and pulled him up with surprisingly little effort. Jongin was taken aback since the other man was clearly smaller than him, and it wasn’t like Jongin’s lean body weighed nothing – he was thin but muscular.

Jongin groaned with the effort as he rose and stretched his torso, it was clear that the other was correct. His ribs may have been bruised, and he rubbed his jaw sorely when his teeth chattered together.

Kyungsoo stood to the side with his arms tightly folded across his chest, and Jongin took the opportunity to look him up and down again. He suddenly remembered what Sehun had said about the quiet TA and how he was surprisingly more adventurous during the weekends, and he was a little less surprised that he had happened to run into him here. But he suddenly remembered a critical detail about their encounter.

Kyungsoo had broken up the fight and had sent those thugs away with little more than a few words.

Jongin’s staring seemed to make the other uncomfortable, and he fidgeted around where he stood. Finally, and surprisingly, he extended a tentative hand towards him.

“I am not sure if you will remember me, and I’m not quite sure where your headspace is right now because of your potential concussion, but I am actually the teacher’s assistant for one of your classes. I am-“

“Jongin. I mean, no. I’m Jongin. You’re Do Kyungsoo,” he said, cutting him off hastily and grabbing his hand firmly – noting again the surprising strength of the other’s grip. “I’ve… I’ve heard of you.”

“Oh… I see.” His hand dropped from the grasp rather quickly.

Jongin berated himself. He was sure Kyungsoo understood that he’d heard the rumors, and that couldn’t be a pleasant thought.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to-“

“It is okay. I understand that you were just being polite.”

There was an awkward pause, where they simply stared at each other without a word. Jongin wanted to look away but thought it might be rude and silently he begged the other to do so first, but again it felt like Kyungsoo was looking past him even as their eyes met.

“You,” he coughed awkwardly, instead, which seemed to peak Kyungsoo’s interest and tore his intense gaze away. “How did you do that? I mean, you stopped those guys and– I mean, how did you get them to back off? …You didn’t even throw a punch.” He stuttered wildly and looked anywhere but at Kyungsoo’s face as he flailed. “It was amazing. I mean-“

“Your friends left,” Kyungsoo said suddenly, his gaze somewhere away down the alley and out onto the main street.

“Excuse me?” Jongin asked.

“Your friend – Sehun, was it? - thought you would be going home with that woman and in order to give you some time alone with her elected to stay out longer. I suppose they outlived that particular club however, because they left to one in Gangnam.”

“How did you-“

“I overheard them speaking earlier as I passed by.”

Jongin attempted to ignore how easily Kyungsoo had directed their conversation elsewhere but was decidedly distracted. “Well, ,” he responded. Abruptly, his knee gave out and he sunk back into the wall, but caught himself on the brick, barely managing to remain upright. When he looked back up those deep brows were furrowed with worry and it somehow seemed very out of place on the other’s face, which usually remained stoic.

Kyungsoo cleared his throat. “Well, I assume that you would probably just like to go home and rest now, considering the beating you’ve taken tonight.” Jongin nodded and cringed at the pain in his jaw. “I cannot take you myself because of particular reasons and so I have called a friend to take you home in his vehicle. He’ll pick you up nearby…. Are you able to walk?”

“I think so.” As he took a shaky step forward the weight of his leg collapsed under him. But before he could fall Kyungsoo’s hands shot out and held him up under his shoulder, easily catching him.

“I suppose I shall have to help,” he said with a hint of reluctance, and possibly annoyance. Kyungsoo’s head turned away from Jongin for just a moment back down the alley but Jongin could have sworn he saw him close his eyes and begin to hold his breath.

He shrugged his shoulder under Jongin’s and practically carried him as they trudged out of the dank alleyway and down the sidewalk. It should have been more difficult for a limp Jongin to avoid the drunkards who walked like zombies, stumbling around the curbs, but Kyungsoo seemed to navigate them more swiftly and deftly than possible, keeping his eyes down whenever anyone stared too hard in their direction – although Jongin supposed he looked more intoxicated than beaten at the moment.

Eventually they arrived at a coffee shop, open 24 hours judging by the bright interior, and pushed through its glass door. The small shop was on a corner and seemed to hold no more than ten patrons at a time – it had ample room and yet each table was far from the other, providing a sort of forced privacy. Kyungsoo seemed to know the place well and brought them to the farthest table before finally dumping Jongin in a chair and then walking up to the counter.

He rang the bell and the barista barely appeared before he was nodding back at Kyungsoo. The latter said nothing but instead held up two fingers, to which the barista cocked his head to the side before finally nodding again and setting to work silently.

Moments later Kyungsoo returned to the table and brought with him two cups of coffee, setting one in front of Jongin and the other across from him. However, he remained standing.

“You know the barista?” Jongin asked tentatively.

Kyungsoo nodded. “We have a certain understanding about my patronage.”

“Then you’re friends?”

Kyungsoo didn’t reply, but Jongin saw that he was watching the door.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” he asked curiously.

“I am,” the other replied. “I have some business to attend to. Do not worry. My acquaintance will be here to pick you up shortly. This is for him,” he nodded to the second cup. “Good night, Jongin.”

He his heel very suddenly and in a moment of unprecedented panic Jongin’s hands shot out and grabbed the hem of his jacket. Kyungsoo’s head wheeled around in surprise, and for a moment Jongin saw his eyes visibly widen and his brows furrow together before his expression relaxed again into its accustomed apathy.

He hurriedly dropped the fabrics and retracted his hands, sputtering. “Y-you c-can’t go yet. I don’t even know what your friend looks like.”

Kyungsoo looked around at