(My babies the twin monsters ^^^!) -Not my best work, at all, to be honest this is pretty bad (I think) but I'm really tired so have some mercy on me. Okay so first of all, thank you all for subscribing and voting!! It really means a lot, and thanks to everyone who voted on Junhwe's hair color (even though you voted wrongly, most of you) so I guess Junhwe's blonde (tries not to tear up), yay....

Anyways, this chapter is a little, hmm, difficult. It mentions themes such as (WHICH DOES NOT HAPPEN, THIS IS IN CAPS SO THAT YOU'LL SEE IT) and touches on the subject of self-harm (past self-harm, not present in this chapter) and a slight mention of panic attacks so... that's a little hard to process perhaps, but I hope you enjoy this chapter still. IKon takes care of Chanwoo AND JUNCHAN HAS A MOMENT OH MY GOD YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I JUST WANT THEM TO GET TOGETHER, but we gotta take it slow folks so what happens next is at least an improvement. 

So...enjoy!! <3 <3

With a lot of speeding and illegal turns they reach the house in only fifteen minutes, but still, fifteen is a lot of time to ruin something- or someone. And so as soon as the car parks they’re out of it armed and ready to get their maknae back, it’s already dark outside and not a lot of people walking around, thank god, but they take caution in their steps still.

The house is quiet, it’s almost eerie which makes it all even more frightening, they’re not scared, of course, they’ve seen much, much worse. This is one man who’s probably drunk as hell and will pass himself out before any of them get their hands on him, but they’re scared for Chanwoo. Scared of what they will find when they enter the house, a breathing, if not a little traumatized, boy, or a corpse.

They move swiftly in the shadows up to the pharmacy, it’s locked but not enough that a little playing with the lock won’t help. And as soon as they’re in they’re making their way to the staircase leading up to the actual house, it’s calm, too calm and Hanbin feels the hairs on his neck rise. He’d feel more at peace if Chanwoo was screaming, rather than the deafening silence that speaks words no one can translate.

The living room is empty and so is the kitchen, but the kitchen is a more worrying sight because the phone he used to call Namjoon is still lying on the floor, next to a small puddle of blood.

A groan from upstairs alerts them and they’re half way up the stairs before they can even think about coming up with a plan, the door to Chanwoo’s room flies open and Hanbin barges in first, living up to his leader roll when the situation craves it. The sight that greets them is one they’re all sure will haunt them for many nights to come.

Chanwoo is lying still on the floor, breathing ragged and face all puffy and bruised like a fist has repeatedly been hitting him non- stop, the skin is broken and bloodied on one of his cheeks and it’s almost impossible to see his eye. His father is standing over him with a beer bottle in hand and he does not look happy over being interrupted, his whole face scrunches up and he spits on the floor next to Chanwoo.

“What ah-are you doin’ in my h-house?” he slurs as he points a finger at them and before Hanbin can act, or anyone for that matter, Junhwe’s fist is meeting with his face so hard that he falls down after just one punch, but Junhwe doesn’t let up, not one bit. He punches and he scratches and he loses himself for an eerie amount of time, he’s just so angry at the man that he doesn’t care if he kills him right then and there. There are hands pulling at his body trying to get him to stop but he will not, because this man hurt his own son in such a disgusting way that he needs to be punished, god doesn’t get a say in life anymore, Junhwe decides. Maybe god has a plan for him but so does Junhwe, and Junhwe says death.

The man beneath him is a complete wreck, his face is bloodied too such an extent that you can’t even recognize him anymore, his front teeth are missing and his nose is crooked and swollen, blood swims in his mouth and bubbles over his lips, he looks like death and it makes Junhwe smile.

And Junhwe doesn’t have any plans on being merciful at all but a small whisper stops him only centimeters from the man’s face, it’s Chanwoo who whispers to him, “s-stop” and it’s not a command, far from it, it’s a plead. And he sounds so small and so desperate and it tugs at Junhwe’s heart, but he can’t stop because justice needs to be served and this man deserves it, deserves every pain that Junhwe gives him.

“You’ll kill him, stop,” Chanwoo says and Junhwe doesn’t understand why he wants him to stop, doesn’t he deserve to die? Doesn’t Chanwoo want him to die? After everything the man’s done to him the kid is still protecting him, and it only manages to make Junhwe even more angry because not only has the man established his superiority through physical abuse, but also mental.

“He deserves it” Junhwe growls out, and it’s an ugly sound, Chanwoo thinks. Not like his usual smooth tone that sends chills down Chanwoo’s arms, no this is a different growl, one of a wild animal going completely on animal instinct and Chanwoo hates that he’s the cause for it.

“Y-yes, but you d-don’t” Chanwoo whispers, even talking hurts and he just wants to go to sleep but Yunhyeong won’t let him, and neither will Jinhwan who sits with his head in his lap, carding his fingers through his hair. Junhwe doesn’t understand what he’s talking about but the others do because in that short moment of distraction they manage to pull Junhwe off the man and Jiwon drags him down the stairs while Hanbin and Donghyuk take Chanwoo’s father none too carefully.

When they’re out of the room Yunhyeong gets to work for real, he taps Chanwoo’s cheek lightly to get the boy to open his eyes, and when he does they’re full of tears and pain and Yunhyeong just wants to take it all away and wrap him up in blankets and drink some hot chocolate with him. “Angry-he’s angry” Chanwoo mumbles, “I was bad, I left, I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry” he says and he sounds so angry at himself and it makes Jinhwan so furious that the man has effected the boy’s mind so much that he feel that this is his fault.

“This is not your fault,” he says steadily but Yunhyeong sees the way his hands shake slightly as they card through the boy’s hair, “this will never be your fault” he says and Chanwoo nods but doesn’t look like he believes them, of course, Jinhwan expected that but it still hurts.

“Chanwoo, I’m gonna ask you a few questions, okay?” Yunhyeong says as he checks the split cheek on the boy’s face, Chanwoo nods a little but it’s almost unnoticeable, he’s just so tired.

“Chanwoo, where does it hurt?” he asks quietly as he takes the boy’s face in his hands with care and looks him in his eyes. He has to make sure the boy doesn’t have a concussion but it’s hard to do so with the way he constantly almost falls asleep.

Chanwoo snorts, the action itself hurting immensely and he lets out a pained groan before answering, “everywhere” he mumbles. “Everywhere?” Jinhwan asks a little shakily as he stares at the unmoving boy, Yunhyeong looks scared to but he’s better at disguising it, he can’t scare his own patient. “Okay, can you move?” he says quietly and Chanwoo almost sobs his answer, “no, it...hurts t-too much” he croaks out, eyes half-lidded as he tries to look back at Yunhyeong but realizes how much he really just wants to sleep.

“Where does it hurt the most?” Yunhyeong asks delicately as he takes Chanwoo’s hand in his own, “everywhere” the boy answers faintly and Yunhyeong’s breath catches in his throat and he gulps audibly, he takes a look at Jinhwan and sees that the eldest is already thinking the same  horrible thought as him. Jinhwan nods at him anxiously and looks back at Chanwoo for a brief second before moving to his side instead so that he can look directly into his eyes.

“Chanwoo, hyung is gonna ask you a very important question now, and it’s very important that you answer it honestly, okay?” he crouches next to the boy and winces when he sees his face up close, “okay, hyung” Chanwoo says meekly, each word making him hurt even more.

Jinhwan hesitates for a brief second before putting his hand carefully on the boy’s hip, “did he touch you lower than this?”

There’s a pause for a moment that has both Yunhyeong and Jinhwan holding their breaths fearfully as they await an answer, and when Chanwoo opens his mouth they feel their hearts jump, “no,” he breathes out, shaking his head but stopping when the act makes his head hurt and his vision blur a little he suddenly understands why the elders are so afraid, though, “not like- not like that. Never like that” he breathes out and the sighs of relief are not very subtle.

“Oh thank god” Jinhwan murmurs softly and bends down to press his lips to Chanwoo’s forehead, he lets his lips linger for a while before leaning his own forehead against the other’s. It shocks him a bit to see his Jinhwan hyung, who normally looks so composed, look so shaken.

Yunhyeong watches the exchange with soft eyes but he knows that he has to break up the moment to attend to Chanwoo’s wounds, “Chanwoo, I’m gonna call for Hanbin so that he can carry you to your bed, I have to go and get a medical kit, some towels, and water but Jinhwan hyung will stay with you, okay?” the only response he gets is a nod and Yunhyeong assumes he’s too tired to make an effort to speak at the moment.

“Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep” he murmurs only loud enough for Jinhwan to hear and Jinhwan juts his head in acknowledgment but doesn’t say anything.

Yunhyeong hurries out of he room and down the stairs and as soon as he turns the corner to the kitchen he stops in the doorway at the sight, Chanwoo’s father is on the floor, bound and unconscious while Hanbin is sitting in a crouch in front of Junhwe trying to calm him down from what seems to be some sort of panic attack. When the others notice him in the doorway Jiwon immediately walks over to him, “how is he?” he asks quietly like he’s afraid of the answer.

Yunhyeong smiles a little and pats his cheek in comfort, “he’s alright, could have been worse” he says and Jiwon and Hanbin and Donghyuk all sigh in relief and immediately the tension in their shoulders softens, Junhwe though doesn’t look like he heard him. His knuckles are covered in blood and so is his shirt and there’s even a bit on his face too, he’s trembling and gripping Hanbin’s hands like his life depends on it.

“We have to carry him to his bed but neither I nor Jinhwan is strong enough to carry him without hurting him even furt-” Yunhyeong doesn’t even get to finish what he’s about to ask before Jiwon’s telling him, “I’ll do it, I don’t think Hanbin should leave June” the nickname slips and if Junhwe notices he doesn’t say anything. Yunhyeong looks at Hanbin and Hanbin grimaces before looking back at Junhwe and Yunhyeong realizes that Junhwe has really fallen this time, and needs Hanbin to get him back on his feet. Whenever he’s feeling bad he automatically ends up with Hanbin, wether it’s for a hug, for a punch or for , it’s always Hanbin.

Yunhyeong nods more to himself than to them and grabs a bowl from the counter and fills it with hot water, there are kitchen towels in the cabinet above him and he grabs a few of them before gesturing for Jiwon to follow him. He looks back at Donghyuk for a brief second but the younger only gestures to the unconscious man on the floor and so Yunhyeong lets him stay.

When they enter the room where Chanwoo is lying on the floor together with Jinhwan Jiwon stops for a few seconds in the doorway, he’s seen far worse than this, to be honest, the condition Chanwoo is in is good but it still shocks him. Yunhyeong takes notice of his hesitation and pulls at his hand, “come on,” he mumbles and it’s not mocking or angry, it’s understanding and in that moment, Jiwon almost loves Yunhyeong more than Jinhwan, almost.

He crouches next to Chanwoo on the other side and Jinhwan looks up at him as he does, he lets a small smile creep up on his face before he turns back to Chanwoo and continues to murmur things Jiwon can’t distinguish, “hey, kid” he says and drags a hand through the boy’s hair, Chanwoo opens his eyes a little and when his eyes fall upon Jiwon they start to well up with tears. Jiwon is shocked and doesn’t understand why Chanwoo doesn’t look happy to see him before he remembers that the reason the kid is even in this position is because of him.

“H-hyung, why are you here?” he questions quietly and Jiwon almost winces as the boy’s voice cracks miserably halfway through his sentence, “to get your sorry to your bed” he jokes but even he can’t make the situation a little less melancholy and grim.

“You don’t like me” Chanwoo whispers and Jiwon has to breathe slowly in and out so that he doesn’t explode in rage,  “I do, I do like you, and I’m so sorry” he whispers and grabs Chanwoo’s hand, the one that Jinhwan isn’t already holding; it’s cold and blood stained and Jiwon feels even worse.

“We’ll talk more when you aren’t about to fall asleep” he whispers and wraps and arm under the boy’s knees, Jinhwan helps to lift his upper body so that Jiwon can get his other arm under and Chanwoo cries out in pain, everything hurts so much and it feels like he’s burning but he’s ice cold. His scream is quickly followed by his sobs that are muffled in Jiwon’s chest as Jiwon lifts him up and Jiwon presses his mouth against the boy’s head in comfort but he can’t tell if the comfort is for Chanwoo or for himself.

The pain intensifies with every but luckily it’s not far to his bed and when he lays Chanwoo down on his bed the boy grips his hand tightly and whispers in the most fearful voice Jiwon has heard, “don’t leave” and so he doesn’t, the bed is big enough for them both (barely) and he climbs in next to him. Yunhyeong comes over with the supplies and the medical kit that he found in the bathroom, almost empty of bandages and he wonders how many times Chanwoo has had to do this by himself.

“Chanwoo, how old are you?” Yunhyeong questions casually as he carefully (with the help of Jiwon) pulls Chanwoo’s arms out of the hoodie and starts to pull it over his head, “hmm?” Chanwoo sounds confused and Yunhyeong hopes he’s just tired, “I’m seventeen” the boy mumbles when the hoodie is off and Yunhyeong nods seriously.

“What school do you go to?” he says as he inspects the bruises on the boy’s body, “Bundang” he whispers shakily as Yunhyeong presses on one of the bruises on his chest, “where do you live?” he applies an ointment for bruises on one of the biggest ones on his side and Chanwoo breathes in a shaky breath. Yunhyeong tries to be as careful as possible but the boy is already in so much pain without the touching.

“Chungmuro street” he mumbles in his painfilled haze and Yunhyeong considers giving him correct for a second before deciding on the opposite, “wrong, you love with iKon on the other side of town,” he says and Jiwon looks at him in bewilderment but with a small quirk of his lips. “IKon?” Chanwoo mumbles and for a second Yunhyeong is afraid he won’t be able to remember much about them, but then a small grin spreads over his lips and he mumbles, “Jinhwan hyung says you don’t cook because you’re lazy” and it immediately has an effect because Jinhwan laughs from behind them and Jiwon cracks a smile.

Yunhyeong does to but he tries to remain in fake anger and clutches a hand over his heart, “he said what! outrageous” he jokes and Chanwoo’s eyes open a bit to look at him, there’s a tiny dimple visible on one of his cheeks and it’s adorable, despite all the blood covering his face, “I’m sorry hyung, I told him that wasn’t true and Junhwe said he agreed, he said that you weren’t lazy, just too busy ing Dong-” Yunhyeong immediately covers Chanwoo’s mouth with his hand and his eye are comically big.

“You know what, I think you have a concussion anyway” he whispers in shock and when he looks at Jiwon he’s trying to keep his laughter in, but failing miserably, “it’s not funny” he hisses and Jiwon’s eyes turn into that eye smile that melts everyone’s hearts, except Junhwe’s, “it’s a little funny” he manages to wheeze out in between his laughs and Jinhwan cracks up behind them.

“Both of you, out!” Yunhyeong orders with a finger pointed towards the door, “you can wait outside while I take care of our baby” he says seriously but with a hint of amusement in his eyes, Jinhwan sighs in disappointment and grabs Jiwon by the hand, “let’s go” he says but he’s not really disappointed, Chanwoo is okay (enough) and that’s all that matters.

Jiwon pouts but follows him out anyway and when they’re gone Yunhyeong turns to Chanwoo who’s about to sleep, “hey, no sleeping” he orders as he dips one of the towels in the warm water and lightly dabs at the boy’s face, Chanwoo winces but gives a nod of understanding. And as Yunhyeong carefully cleans the boy’s face a memory comes to mind, one from the first time he fixed up Chanwoo’s wounds, he remembers thin lines on the boy’s inner thighs. And he also remembers that he hadn’t thought much of them then, but he still wants to know where they come from, and now that Chanwoo is lying so pliant in font of him a little drugged up on blood loss he might as well ask.

“Chanwoo,” he mumbles and the boy hums in response, “the scars on your legs, where are they from?” the boy tenses under him and it does not go unnoticed, his breathing seems to pick up a little and Yunhyeong doesn’t want to pressure him, “you don’t have to answer” he says quickly and the boy’s eyes fly open to look at him, and suddenly he seems so much older than before. Like he has the appearance of a seventeen-year-old but a soul of someone far older, and Yunhyeong thinks that maybe he isn’t so different from them, and maybe he isn’t as innocent as they’ve portrayed him to be.

“I did them” he whispers and it’s almost too quiet for Yunhyeong to pick up, there’s a silence between them that seems to stretch out for far too long as Yunhyeong tries to process the words, ‘I did them’, that’s...that’s not good. “You did them?”

“Yes, my dad is kind of old fashioned so he has these razors that are like knives, and I stole one from him once and-”

“Stop, stop, please” Yunhyeong murmurs and puts down the towel he’s been cleaning Chanwoo’s face with, with the blood gone, he can see him more clearly and he really looks broken, skin all cracked and bruised and Yunhyeong thinks of how unfair the world is. That some people have to live with this, it’s so unfair that it makes him sick to his stomach. Chanwoo looks at him with those big doe eyes that seem to be searching for something, Yunhyeong realizes that he probably thinks that he’s angry at him, which he definitely isn’t.

“Hyung, I’m sorry” he says and Yunhyeong wants to hit himself for making Chanwoo think that he is at some kind of fault here, “no don’t apologize, it’s okay, well no I mean it’s not okay, but it’s...okay?” he finishes it lamely but Chanwoo seems to pick up on what it is that he really means and he nods his head. “Okay” Chanwoo whispers and Yunhyeong doesn’t say anything after that and neither does Chanwoo.

There’s not much to say.

He cleans up his wounds and Chanwoo manages to stay awake through it all surprisingly but as soon as Yunhyeong tells him that he’s done he falls asleep soundly. And Yunhyeong sits with him for a bit even after he’s fallen asleep, sits with him to see that he’s really breathing, to see that he’s really there and not dead like he could have been if they hadn’t arrived when they did.

He sits beside him long enough for the others to start worrying a bit and send Donghyuk up to check on him, and even when Donghyuk tells him he has to rest and eat something he doesn’t want to leave his side. It takes a lot of bribing and promises that they’ll all surely regret the next day but in the end, he does leave Chanwoo’s side to go down to the kitchen and eat something, but only when Donghyuk promises that he’ll stay beside the boy.

When he arrives in the kitchen it’s quiet and calm, no panic attacks or bound people on the floor and just as he’s about to ask where everyone are Hanbin walks through the front door with Jiwon in tow looking determined but also relaxed, “where…?” he questions and Hanbin sighs but at the same time he looks happy and so Yunhyeong assumes something good has happened.

“We dropped off his sorry body at the police station, Bobby left a note,” Hanbin says and Yunhyeong really doesn’t want to know what kind of note Bobby left, so he doesn’t ask. “Okay,” he says and drags a hand through his hair, “where’s Junhwe and Jinhwan?”

“Couch, sleeping” Jiwon answered as he opens the fridge and takes out a juice box, Yunhyeong is about to point out the glasses on the counter but Jiwon beats him to it and drinks directly out of the package, Yunhyeong sighs but doesn’t say anything, it’s not like he’ll listen.

“You good?” Hanbin questions as he takes in how exhausted Yunhyeong looks, he looks completely famished and a little like he’s about to collapse any second. But what surprises Hanbin is that he doesn’t really look like he’s tired like you are just before you fall asleep, he looks more tired in general, like his whole personality is built on him being tired. Which really isn’t the typical Yunhyeong behavior.

“Yeah” he mumbles halfheartedly and Hanbin frowns, “Chanwoo good?” Yunhyeong nods but doesn’t say anything and even Jiwon frowns in confusion, “I think I’m gonna go lay down somewhere, anywhere” he mumbles and to be honest he’s a little surpised by his own behaviour, but now, the thing Chanwoo had confessed has caught up to him and he’s not feeling so good anymore.

He’s scared, he realizes. And it’s a horrible feeling.

***

The next day Junhwe is the first one to wake, he was the first to fall asleep too and he remembers how he couldn’t even do that without needing Hanbin by his side. He’s ashamed but not as much as he’s worried for Chanwoo, and carefully, so that he doesn’t wake Jinhwan who’s sleeping beside him, he leaves the couch and walks tentatively past Hanbin and Jiwon and Yunhyeong who are all sleeping on the carpet.

He tip toes up the stairs to Chanwoo’s room and hesitates for a second outside of his door, he has no ing idea what he’s doing but he just knows that he needs to see the younger. It’s such an overwhelming feeling and he just needs, needs to see him.

He pushes the door open quietly and slips in soundlessly, the boy is seemingly sleeping peacefully but his face is puffy and bruised and Junhwe wants to bail his father out of jail just to punch him again. He steps past Donghyuk who’s sleeping on the floor and goes directly up to Chanwoo’s bed, he takes the chair from his desk and sits beside him, his hand is on the cover but Junhwe is afraid to hold it. He sits by his side and just watches, but not in a creepy way- okay a little creepy, but he’s worried!

He wants to touch, wants to hear, seeing isn’t enough but for now it is. He can see that Chanwoo’s breathing, he can see him move a little at times and although he can’t feel his pulse, or his warm hands, or hear his voice, it’s enough for now.

It doesn't take long for the boy to wake though and when he does he’s surpised to see Junhwe by his side, Junhwe’s looking at his own hands so he doesn’t notice when Chanwoo’s eyes blink awake, but he notices when Chanwoo clears his throat to catch his attention. “Junhwe hyung,” he mumbles quietly and Junhwe looks at him, his breath catches in his throat and he almost wants to make a run for it.

“You scared me,” he grumbles and Chanwoo’s eyes widen in a way that would have been comical if it were any other time, he goes to say something but no sound comes out, what is he supposed to say to that? It’s such a shocking thing to hear, especially coming from Junhwe, and he’s rendered speechless. “Please, don’t do that again” he pleads and Chanwoo reaches for his hand, Junhwe’s breath gets caught as small and nimble fingers tangle with his own and he doesn’t say or react in any way for a brief moment, this is the touch he’s been craving and now that he’s getting it he has no idea how to act. He tries to school his expression, tries to look as indifferent as he can but not even he is falling for it. He ed yesterday when he lost control, he ed up so bad and he doesn’t want Chanwoo to be angry at him, but the boy doesn’t even seem to be thinking about it.

“Hyung,” he mumbles and Junhwe grabs at his finger a little tighter, “yeah” he answers and awaits whatever it is Chanwoo wants to say, “I’m tired” he mumbles and Junhwe sighs in relief, not that he’d been expecting anything bad, but he’s still relieved. “Then sleep” he says and Chanwoo shakes his head, “don’t want to be alone” Junhwe snorts unattractively (not that he’ll ever admit that) and shakes his head too, “then I’ll stay, alright” he’s feeling better now, now that he’s grounded himself again and isn’t as broken up as he was minutes ago.

And when Chanwoo closes his eyes Junhwe keeps a firm grip on his hand, and if Junhwe presses his lips to his knuckles for no more than three seconds it goes unnoticed by the sleeping boy; although not so much by the very awake Donghyuk on the floor.

So that was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish but I think it went quite well, so...Chanwoo's father is finally in prison (kind of)!! I didn't actually write that part but Hanbin and Jiwon dropped him off at the police station so I'm sure someone took care of him (I don't actually know how the world works cause I'm a child so please don't take this too seriously). And JUNCHAN INTERACTED I'M SO HAPPY! Seriously, I fangirl over my own writing as much as other works that I read, but it's hard not too when Junchan is just that good.

The next chapter will probably be up next week I think, so please look forward to that! I have no idea what I'm gonna write but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it!!

Have a good day/night/morning/afternoon <3 <3