“Just a goddamn scratch!” Key screamed. He coiled his hand around his wound like a protective armor. “What the hell is wrong with you!”

Through the still silence Minho had somehow managed to get out of Kai’s grasp. A grunt and a frustrated moan provided. Taemin stood there in some sort of shock, as if in all the world, there was supposed to be something magically peculiar about Key’s injury other than what was described. Like a Ram, Minho bombarded his chest against Taemin’s shoulder out of nowhere. The boy stumbled onto the floor, attempting to hold his bearings but only falling vigorously in the process.  

“What the hell is the matter with you!” Minho echoed, but as if dazed by some sort of spell, Taemin said nothing in return.

The room was utterly reticent. Eyes darted towards the center of attention, a spotlight on all of them. Key darted his eyes at multiple students. Each was either grabbing on to one another for protection or using their hands to hide the astonishment performed by their mouths. In usual situations like this, the first object of consideration and attraction would be their cellphones for pictures and videos, but then again, there had never been a situation like the one currently standing. Meaning anything that included Minho and Taemin. The students were too stunned to move. To take action.

As if an unconscious reaction, Key searched for Luna amongst the crowd, but she was nowhere to be spotted. In fact, he had no idea how her schedule was like. If she had class during this time or not. Man, what she would have given to see a spectacle like this one. Now she would have to hear it from various students and be disappointed by her lack of participation. Either way Key was sure the girl’s theories surrounding the two mysterious boys would amplify.

“Here, Key, I’ll take you to the nurse.” Minho gestured towards him, pulling his hand out for assurance.

As much as he did want to take it, there was that nodding feeling in the back of his head. The interaction yesterday and now this? After all, all four of them were staring at him, whether they know he noticed or not. If Taemin didn’t charge at him, would one of them had done it? Minho moved closer, his hand reaching for the boy’s free arm but in a blatant fear, Key stepped back.

“Get the hell away from him you freak!” Onew bellowed.

He used his back to push himself off the brick and swiftly moved next to Key’s side. His lip snarled upwards as he wrapped his good arm around his friend’s good arm. They were injured twins, swirled in a stand-off of bulky men. Key observed Onew’s movements and saw the way he flinched when their skin touched. Just how much of a wound did Taemin cause by pushing him?

“Come on Key.” He murmured.

The boy nodded his head, eyes still wide with shock…or was it horror? They moved in synchronized steps, leaving Minho, Taemin, and their mess for the teachers to deal with. Where were the teachers in situations like this anyway?

***

Onew had been anything but talkative the entire way to the nurse. And there was nothing for Key to say either. He wanted to ask how in the world Onew responded so fast to the situation. Where had he come from? Shouldn’t he had already been close to his classroom by the time the altercation took place? Yes, he wanted to ask those questions, but his mind was still hazy, his eyes still trying to droop him off into wonderland.

Immediately when they entered the nurse’s office, he told her everything that had just occurred while sitting Key over to the nearest bed. He heard him say the word ‘rest’ but Key’s mind was on that strange verge of wanting to know what was happening around him and being completely exhausted. Key sat up from where he was laying while he watched Onew speak with, his injured arm resting on his lap. He rested his head on the wall since he was too tired to support the weight and for a moment, gazed around at his surroundings.

The room was a cool blue, the crown, checkered out with little details that he couldn’t make it. Thankfully, the blinds were closed, or else Key was sure the intense light trying to force it way through would throw him into a swirling migraine of irritation.

Moments later the nurse came over and wrapped his arm while Onew stood at the door. She yelled at him for something. To come over? To get treated? He saw Onew turn around and say something else. All Key could decipher was the shake of his friend’s head as a response. Knowing him all too well, he probably requested that the nurse steady her attention on Key’s arm than worry about his own. A little while passed afterwards and through the blur in his vision he could make out the figure of a teacher, not well enough to describe who it was, but a teacher nonetheless, he was sure. With his good arm Onew pointed towards Key and there was some conversation but everything went dark as he watched.

“Key~” He heard a familiar voice sing. “Key wake up for a minute.”

Drowsily, Key opened up his eyes to Onew sitting on the bed next to him, leaning over to his friend. He blinked a couple of times, clearing his vision.

“Sorry to wake you.” Onew voiced in a low tone.

Key tried to smirk as best he could and lightly shook his head.

“It’s cool.” He whispered, the only level of volume he could muster. His throat felt dry and felt as though he was in need of a deep sleep that could last him a hundred years.

“Auntie is coming to pick me and you up in a couple of minutes. My parents were stuck at work. They tried to come but said their jobs wouldn’t let them out.”

“That’s cool.” He cooed.

“You need more medicine for your arm.” His eyes gestured towards Key’s wound. The features on his face squeezed together to create this painful expression.

“Don’t worry Onew. I’ll be fine.”

Onew shook his head.

“I’m not. If I see that again I’m gonna-“

“What?” Key lightly chuckled. “He threw you against the wall with one hand like you were a piece of paper.”

His friend stopped mid-sentence, mouth wide open. There was an objection in his expression but when a second passed, all he could do was laugh along.

“Well, I could try to do something.” He smiled.

A light itch ruined the moment. It tingled its way down Key’s spin. He squirmed a bit, curving his body in the form of a ‘s’ while trying to sit up straight. Onew’s eyes wandered on him.

“Key, you alright?”

“Y-Yeah. Back’s just a little itchy. Probably from Taemin pulling on me.”

It was an honest answer, just not one that Onew was sure he completely bought. The discomfort across Key’s face read something else. He looked towards his friend’s back, uniform covering his skin.  Close to the middle, where the arch of his spin would be, there was a tiny dot of red. The more Key squirmed, trying to wiggle the itch away, the more the shirt crinkled into folds, helping the dot become more visible. A spot…of blood?

“Key did Taemin hurt your back when he pulled on you?” He asked.

Almost as if someone had literally stabbed him from behind, Key stopped.

“No…why?”

“It…hmm...” He leaned in closer. “It just looks like you might have gotten hurt a little bit. Maybe you should have the nurse look at it. You might have hurt it without realizing.”

Key’s awkward chuckled filled the air. He shook his head.

“I don’t feel anything so it’s not serious.”

“Then I’ll-“ He reached over but Key swiftly moved out of the way, scooting his body across the small narrow bed. The sheets slid with him, moving from the folds within the mattress to match the movement of his body.

“Onew, I know you worry a lot, but honestly, I’m fine. If I were hurt, I’m sure I’d be able to feel it by now.”
“I-I just wanted to look.” His words came out small. His shoulders shrunk away as he comforted himself back on the bed he was sitting on. Key saw the instant pang of hurt he’d caused him and immediately regretted what he’d said. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a small, tiny sound from the depth of his throat came out. Something Onew hadn’t noticed.

“I said no!” The sudden commotion came from outside the doorway.

The nurse wasn’t in the office with them, but it didn’t sound like her. With a glaring look towards whoever she was watching, Key’s aunt came into view. Her lips were strained, signaling she’d been talking too much with whoever was annoying her, but when she turned around and saw the two of them, her expression lightened, her features softened.

“Hey boys.” She cooed.

Like a symbol of pity, her lip arched upwards once she looked at Key. Her feet were swift, gliding across the room as her hair flew behind her like a red flame. In a mere few steps she was by Key’s side, cradling his arm like a mother would her child.

“Who were you talking to?” Key asked.

She rolled her eyes and kept looking at his arm for a minute.

“Who do you think?” Her voice was dark. “Those a*holes want to come in here and apologize but I’m not letting them nowhere near you…At least, not today. They’ve caused enough damn problems.”

Onew arched his brow. It was the first time he’d heard Key’s aunt curse in any form or manner. Even Key looked surprised with his eyebrows trying to touch the ceiling and the whiteness in his eyes becoming more exposed by the shocked expression. She caught the two of them staring and waved away their faces.

“Oh don’t act like you haven’t heard some damn curse words before.”

“Not…from you.” Key answered. He leaned towards the area of the doorway but heard no footsteps like he thought he would. “So who are you technically talking about?”

“Well apparently Taemin and Minho.” Onew answered.

“Oh not them, though that little Taemin is the one that did this to you. No, I’m talking about their guardians. They asked if they could come and talk to you. APOLOGIZE.” She stretched the word and frantically rolled her eyes.

“Auntie, I’m ok with them coming in.”

“I don’t give a damn what you are. I’m not okay with them coming in. I’m not okay with them even looking at you at the moment. Now come on, let’s get the two of you home.”

She cradled Key’s arm and helped him stand, Onew holding the other side of him.

“Ya know, I think Key hurt his back.” Onew announced as they met the doorway.

His aunt stopped.

“Why? Did he say that?” The question was meant for Onew but her eyes strained towards Key instead.

“N-No.” He answered. “I just saw a bit of what seems to be blood on his back. Thought it might have come from a scratch or something when Taemin pulled him.”

“And I told him he worried too much.” Key continued.

“Well,” She sighed, “if it’s a scratch or something, nothing I can’t take care of with all the stuff I got at home.”

Onew pulled his lip up and nodded agreeably.

“Well, yeah, you have a point there. Almost forgot.”

The three left the nurse’s office and walked down the hallway. Straight down the hall was the front desk, it’s windows and door window clear as day. Key saw standing, the backs of Minho and Taemin as another adult was yelling at them. From the form, that man yelling was lean and towering. Modeled like Taemin in a way but not so much. Bigger, and definitely buffer it seemed. He couldn’t tell. His form might as well had been a silhouette. Another man turned. His figure drastically different from all the others in the room. He was broader, more elevated, and a lot more intimidating. He opened the door to the office to walk out and as he did, there was a pang of relief or sorrow, Key was unsure which.  He sighed, eyes touching the floor and as if he sensed his gaze, the man looked up to meet Key’s eyes.

“Ms. Kim.” The man’s dark voice echoed down the hallway.

His aunt immediately stopped hauling him like a suitcase, causing Onew to just as well halt. When her eyes met with the person calling out her name, she scowled. But not an angry aunt scowl who just caught ear of her nephew being assaulted by another student, but something deeper. Something Key, at the moment, couldn’t put his finger on. There was a hatred in her eyes, a gleam of the light shining outside, growing dimmer as the school day went by.

“If we could just have a mo-“

“No!” She hollered. Yeah, there was hatred deep within her voice. But why? Key understood being angry over what Taemin did, but this didn’t sound like that.

She started moving Key’s arm, an indication that they were leaving with no further exchange of words.

***

During the car ride Onew had gotten a call from his mother stating that she was able to get off work earlier after a bit of compromising with her boss. He asked Aunt Kim if she could drive him home and without hesitation she agreed. Key sat in the back seat, not really wanting to see the pity from either party. An act they both did unconsciously. Aunt Kim waited until she saw Onew enter his house before driving off and stayed silent the rest of the way home. When they arrived at the house, she opened the door for him, leaning over to help.

“I-I got it.” He snapped.

“Well, excuse me. Thought I could just be of assistance.”

She pursed her lips and leaned against the car door, motioning for Key to make his own way out then.  With much of a struggle, he finally managed to scoot himself out and she closed the door behind him.

“So you’re gonna act like it didn’t happen?” He finally broke the silence when the two of them entered the house.

She placed her car keys on the kitchen counter and turned to him in question.

“Like, Auntie Kim, what the hell was that?”

“Watch your mouth.” She snapped, pointing her finger directly at his awing lip.

“Sorry.” He murmured. “You were just acting weird is all, freaked me out for a second.”

She walked over and grabbed him by his good arm, leading him from the door.

“What makes it freaky that I got mad at the guardians responsible for those two little trouble starters. I heard that, that Minho is no better.”

“I wouldn’t know; Minho wasn’t the one who attacked me.”

She shrugged and guided the two of them to his room. With a strong push on his good shoulder she sat him down on his bed.

“Doesn’t matter. I hear about the little rumors too. Those two families are close. If one’s a trouble maker, the other probably is too. Now, can you take your shirt off while I go get the supplies or do I need to help you?”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“Your friend saw a blood on your shirt, which means the stitches I put in must’ve snapped a little when that Taemin boy pulled on you. Now, me or can you do it by yourself?”

She cowered over him like a giant statue looking down over ant sized people. Her shadow lingered over his body and her hands sat firmly on her hips. With her hair hanging in the same direction her head leaned, it casted heavier shadows of her eyes, fabricating a more frightening look from her.

“I can do it myself. You can go get the supplies.” He muttered.

She smiled.

“Great.”

It didn’t take her long to grab the things they needed, just as surprisingly enough, it didn’t take him long to take his shirt off, exposing his pale tan skin. A long narrow floor mirror that he used to dress himself nicely in the morning sat on the floor across from his bed, leaning against the wall for support. He watched his reflection and just like the night before when the accident occurred, turned his body around to see the damage on his back. His aunt sat behind him, her knees straddling either side of his body.

“Now, I have to put the alcohol on first, so it’s gonna sting for a bit.”

He didn’t respond.

He let the silence pass over for a while before he decided to talk again.

“You seemed more upset than just that.” Key finally muttered.

She stopped what she was doing, her eyes lingering on the wound cascading his back, her eyelashes casting shadows across her cheeks. He saw all this from her reflection in the mirror.

“Like you hated him,” he continued, “and like you’ve hated him for a long time.”

She chuckled a bit.

“You’re really putting too much thought into that.”

He sighed.

“Aunt Kim, what’s going on? Are you even gonna ever tell me what happened when you found me in the woods? Is it…Is It because of what I saw. Did you see it too? Is that why you’re so angry today?”

She placed the cotton swab she held next to his skin down and grimaced while looking at his reflection.

“Something like this,” he said, gesturing to his back, “how did the paramedics not see this? Why didn’t anyone question you when you said I could leave the hospital.”

“Because,” she smiled, “I’m a doctor.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I know that Aunt Kim. I’m not dumb. But something like this, they wouldn’t have let me go. What if I’m not okay?”

“You are ok.” She snapped. She lightly touched him on the of his shoulders and smiled. “Because I know you’re okay and I’ll take care of this wound on your back. Your back will be okay, everything will be okay. Just don’t…don’t go around telling people what you saw in the woods.”

“Yeah, you made that very clear the first night. Onew knows I’m lying anyway. I can’t do it well in front of him.”

“Well,” she sighed, her chest caving in, then heaving out, “he’s just gonna have to wonder, but you shouldn’t say anything either way.”

“Alright but if I promise not to tell Onew, will you tell me what happened in the woods when you found me? No tricks?”

She went silent for a moment, then tightened her grip on his shoulders and smiled.

“Sure.”

“Final-“

“But only after your back heals first. Is that okay?”

“Alright.” He spoke after a quiet moment of consideration.

She adjusted herself and grabbed the cleaning tools once again. He watched as she did, but stared at his back. Where the middle of his spin met, there was an eerie spindling scratch mark. Five in fact. His skin that attempted to heal around them was jagged and pulled, the thick layer, dark purple with bruises and a deep red where the soreness started. The marks were thin now, an aspect Key found extremely strange and even stranger for the fact that his aunt did not seem suspicious of it what so ever. For just a night ago the marks were bigger, wider than he remembered today. He was sure at any moment an infection would grow but…nothing occurred. It was healing just like his aunt assured him it would.

 There was something she was hiding. Something important. He stretched his good hand over his shoulder and turned his back a bit more towards the mirror while she cleaned. The scratch marks stretched from the middle of his spin to the corner of his injured shoulder and arm. And as his fingers traced the strange animal-like clawing, he remembered. Just like he remembered in the ambulance, just like he remembered as his aunt was signing him out of the hospital. Those eyes. White and pure that glowed from the depths of the darkness shadowed by tall trees and branches. Those eyes that pierced his soul every time he thought of them. A monster. A monster that had now, marked him.