2108, Seoul, Korea

The moment they weren’t looking, he rushed out of the house, his brother in tow as he shut the front door as gently as he could so they wouldn’t hear but that would be surprising since the house was still filled with their screams the breaking of furniture. A hover sack strapped to his back filled with a spare change of clean clothes, food and homework.

With silent and agile steps, the two continued their journey getting further and further away from the sanctuary they were supposed to call their safe haven but it was no longer a place the boys could find solace in. Not with the unending screaming and fighting, the feeling of happiness that used to fill the house was now replaced with unwanted tension and anger. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t let Hyuk listen to it, not again. To them it was a living hellhole.

He kept looking back, hoping and praying to whatever god or spirit that there wouldn’t be anyone running after them, screaming for them to come home. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice that both of them even left. When they were far enough away that even the roof of their house couldn’t be seen, he finally relaxed his shoulders.

Slowing down his pace since they’ve been walking for quite a while and he could see the tired expression on the younger boy’s face. Walking towards his best friend’s house which felt more like a home compared to his broken one.

“Hyung – I’m tired.” The younger beside him finally spoke for the first time since they left their house, his voice soft but loud enough for him to hear.

“We’re almost there Hyuggie. Just a few more blocks.” He reassured the younger who gave a small pout which made him smile slightly. His grip on the younger’s hand tightened, a habit he developed over the years. He was afraid that if he didn’t, the younger would slip right out of his grip and disappear forever. He couldn’t imagine losing Hyuk. Never. He would never let his brother get hurt again.

As they walked on the scenery around them changed as well. The street becoming more crisp and clean, more quiet and seemingly abandoned but he knew that all these houses homed the rich and famous, the apex predator- the top of the food chain.

The kind of people who own companies, sports cars, multi-million buildings and everything else he would never be able to afford. He sometimes wondered why his friend would even want to hang out with him, someone of a different class and at the bottom of the food chain, someone with a broken family with nothing. As those thoughts started to flood his mind, they reached a familiar gate with silver plated bars, simple compared to the others that were either gold plated with intricate designs or had the family insignia embedded on it. The overall design of the house was plain and simple, sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the other more extravagant houses nearby.

Inhaling a deep breath, he rang the doorbell and waited, his grip still tight around Hyuk’s hand even as the silver gates slid open and revealed a tall, handsome figure immerging from the front door. A bright, dimpled smile plastered on his perfect face. Wonshik would be lying if he said his heart didn’t want to jump out of his chest at the beautiful sight. But he promised himself he wouldn’t let this get worse because it was weird, this feeling. A guy liking another guy is not normal, especially if it was his best friend, so he tried his best to shove his stupid feelings deep in his heart.

“I have pancakes and Naruto.” Was all he said before Hyuk leapt for joy and ran into the house, leaving both boys alone.

“Thanks Hongbin. I owe you my life.” Wonshik spoke, his voice laced with tiredness as he was up all night trying to put Hyuk back to sleep as his parents’ screaming lulled them both to sleep.

“What are friends for?” Hongbin replied before hooking his arm around Wonshik’s shoulder, “C’mon, let’s go inside before Sanghyuk destroys my DVD player again.”

*****

A hearty meal of pancakes and half a season of Naruto later, Sanghyuk was drained of energy and fell asleep on the couch. Hongbin decided to let Sanghyuk sleep in the guest room since he and Wonshik had to work on an assignment for school which w