Tomorrow came and went with only glimpses of the boys from afar. I wondered if the nurses had noticed Luhan and I chatting and decided to separate us. Both groups of boys were lead past my room a number of times and once again, only Number 12 looked through the window at me. Weren’t the other boys curious about the other patients behind the doors? I know I was when I first arrived.

The next day my recreation time didn’t come about until mid-afternoon. I knew that the first gang I’d met wouldn’t be there, as Luhan had mentioned that they only used the rec room in the mornings. I still couldn’t believe how strict their schedule was compared to everyone else. However I was in luck again, as it seemed that the second lot of boys were also scheduled into the rec room that afternoon.

Number 12 was sitting on the sofa and I desperately wanted to talk to him, but instead I followed Kris’ advice. After quickly scanning the room in search of the two boys he had told me to talk to, I spotted the red-haired giant. He was sitting at the same table that Luhan and I had chatted at two days earlier. I didn’t bother wasting my time looking around the room for Number 01. Kris had said I could talk to either and the giant, whom I now identified as Number 61, was already alone.

I followed a similar pattern to my meeting with Luhan, grabbing the same book on my way to the table. When I reached Number 61, I noticed black marks on the table. Though they were small, they were definitely scorch marks and certainly weren’t there two days ago. My eyes travelled from the marks to his hands, which were resting on the table. Minor burns were visible on both, causing me to accidentally gasp in shock.

“Your hands,” I whispered. “What happened to them? Are you alright?” Number 61 looked up at me, surprised, and hurriedly put his hands under the table and out of sight. His startled expression quickly changed into a grin which spread across his face.

“Nothing I can’t handle, I suppose that’s just what happens when you’re the hottest man on Earth,” he winked and I must admit I giggled a little.

“Well, only if you’re sure. But I can take a look at them if you like and ask a nurse for bandages or something,” I offered, trying to do the right thing.

Once again his emotions changed without warning; his face hardened as he rejected my proposal. I shrugged it off and blamed his sensitivity on being locked up in the facility. Clearing my throat, I decided to bring up Kris’ message. “So,” I leaned closer to him, “I was instructed to tell you that I spoke to the deer yesterday.” His eyes widened in shock.

“You spoke to Luhan?” he asked and I nodded. “When? Wait don’t answer that yet.” Puzzled, I watched as Number 61 tried to get Number 01’s attention without being noticed by the nurses. After numerous futile attempts, he finally succeeded and Number 01 made his way over to the small table.

“What’s up Chanyeol?” he questioned, taking a seat between the two of us. “Oh, who’s this?” Chanyeol looked awkwardly away from both Number 01 and I, to which Number 01 responded with a small shake of the head and a chuckle. “You didn’t introduce yourself, did you?”

Before Chanyeol could apologise, I explained for him; “I’m to blame actually, I started the conversation.” Number 01 seemed a little surprised that I would take responsibility for the actions of a stranger, but it truly was my fault.

“Well then, it seems you’re off the hook this time Chanyeol. I’m Suho and this is Chanyeol, it’s nice to meet you, uhm?”

“Number 53. I don’t remember my name unfortunately,” I stated quite bluntly. Already I was becoming embarrassed with my inability to recall such a simple detail as my own name. I’d rather get that part of the introductions over and done with quickly.

“Anyway this girl, Suho, she spoke to Luhan,” Chanyeol interrupted as I glanced nervously towards the nurses. Fortunately, they weren’t observing our small congregation.  

Suho didn’t seem phased by the nurses' presence though, as Chanyeol’s comment had him intrigued. A serious look was now plastered on his face and it was obvious he considered the statement of high importance. “What did you two talk about?” he queried, his calm and mature attitude refusing to falter.

“Nothing really, just about how we both hate mornings and the dim fact that I currently have no name. I wouldn’t even be telling you guys about it if Kris hadn’t told me to find you two and mention that I’d spoken to the ‘deer’,”  I shrugged and answered the two boys truthfully. To me, there seemed to be no point in keeping secrets from them, especially if I wanted them to be honest in return.

“So it was Kris who told you to come to us?” Chanyeol asked and I nodded to confirm.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments as neither Chanyeol or I could think of something to say. Suho was lost in his thoughts but it was he who broke the quiet atmosphere. “Why did you talk to Luhan?” I wasn’t expecting that question. Chanyeol didn’t seem the type to pay attention to the smaller details, so I assume that’s why he asked Suho to come over and listen in on the discussion.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m just a friendly person who likes befriending those who are new to the facility?” I offered an excuse. Chanyeol didn’t really know how to react, but Suho gave me unimpressed looks. “No? Okay well I was going to ask him what the story behind you guys is. When you all arrived here in such a big group I was pretty curious. The red force has never brought in that many people at once before.“

Both boys chuckled at that. “Were you a detective in your past life?” joked Chanyeol. I rolled my eyes at him, as did Suho.

“I hate to disappoint you, Number 53, but our life outside the facility really isn’t all that interesting. We were just a group of homeless boys, looking for other homeless boys, so that hopefully we could act as a support network for each other. The facility found us and decided to bring our small gang here, to help improve our lives and take tips from us on how our support system works,” Suho explained. Did he really think I was going to believe his story? Sure, they may have been homeless but there had to be more than that. I’d been here long enough to know that the medication and tests weren’t because I was homeless.

We’d been so caught up in conversation that none of us had noticed the nurses watching us. On the other side of the room, one of the boys on the sofa fell onto the floor as a distraction, diverting the nurses’ gazes. Suho and Chanyeol seized the opportunity and got up from the table, but before either of them could leave I grabbed Suho’s wrist. “Look, Suho, I understand that you’re trying to be mature and protect your friends and I respect that. However, one way or another I am going to find out the truth. I refuse to stop until I know the real reason behind why I’m here, why you’re here and why everyone’s here. I don’t believe for a second that this is a facility for homeless young adults. And last but not least, I’m going to try and find a way out of this godforsaken place.”

***