Just as he was about to draw his final attack towards the second friend so that he could run, a voice called out angrily.

"Just what is going on here?!"

"Yah, let's go!" Minjae instructed, and the three ran limply away from the area. The teacher didn't stop them.

Mingyu turned around, already knowing who it was. 

Wonwoo ran the short distance towards Mingyu, catching him just in time as the younger lost balance. His arms wrapped around the younger's waist securely.

"Wonwoo-hyung... Am I in trouble now?" Mingyu asked weakly as his forehead rested on Wonwoo's shoulder. 

"I'll decide if I'm going to inform the other teachers later. But for now, Mingyu, are you okay?" Wonwoo asked, his voice dripping with worry. 

Mingyu nodded against the older's shoulder. "Their attacks aren't as strong as what I've dealt with at The Underground. But... I don't know if I'll be okay later." 

Wonwoo pulled Mingyu away from him slightly so he could look at his face. "Let's go somewhere else for now."

Gently, Wonwoo held onto Mingyu's hand and pulled him away from the cabins. 

The peaceful night contrasted what had just transpired before. No one was in sight as everyone had gone to bed, and there were no camp officers on sight.

With their hands unknowingly still intact, they reached the lake, where they let go of their clasped hands bashfully. They sat down on the ground, the grass tickling their calves. The moon was especially bright that night, shining in the reflection on the water. 

Silence accompanied them for the next few minutes, with Mingyu simply staring into the water, his mind filled with a whirlwind of thoughts.

"Lakes don't really bring me much good memories," Mingyu confessed suddenly. 

Wonwoo's head turned towards him quickly, his face in panic. "Oh, uh... We can go somewhere else if you want."

"It's okay," the younger responded, smiling slightly. "I need to get over it someday. I have to." Silence fell upon them once more, before Mingyu felt the need to put an important fact from his life out there. "I tried to drown myself in the lake the last time I went for a school camp."

This took Wonwoo by surprise. "Wait- What? But..." He was about to ask Why, but had a feeling it had something to do with his childhood.

"You don't have to respond to that. I just wanted to let you know," Mingyu spoke, seeing Wonwoo's shocked expression.

The older cleared his throat. "How... How old were you?"

"Hm... I was thirteen back then. It was stupid of me to do it then, though. There were so many others around me. Of course they were going to see me."

Mingyu's words sent a bitter feeling down Wonwoo's throat. The younger wasn't regretting drowning himself, but rather regretting trying to drown himself with many others around him.

"The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed with my teacher beside me. Then my dad came in so my teacher had to go off. He knew what I was trying to do, and why. I had been so persuasive into getting my parents to approve of me going for the camp that I had my teachers involved. Of course, they couldn't say no to the teachers. The camp became the only time I could finally get away from them. I had two options in mind as I packed my things for it. One of them was to run away. However, I was merely a scrawny thirteen-year-old dude with bruises underneath my oversized sweaters that weren't fitting for summer. Not to mention, I had zero income and allowance. That left me with my second option. It was the easy way out of the hell hole I lived in. I was willing to do anything to get away. Of course, that didn't end well..."

He flinched as memories came pouring back. He grabbed his own shaking right hand with his left. Wonwoo noticed this, and didn't hesitate to place his hand on top of Mingyu's. 

"That incident left me with a new resolve, that was to get stronger, save the little of my allowance, and finally run away." He sighed deeply. "And I did. I wasn't sure if they went looking for me, but I had managed to escape from them for three years already. And now... All that will go down the drain. I know... I know I have to be stronger mentally as well, but at the same time, I'm just so afraid." Mingyu turned towards Wonwoo, his eyes reflecting the fear he felt. "I'm afraid if I'll succumb to them once more if I see them again, or if I'll lose all sight of things and just attack them. The latter won't make me any different from them."

"That's a good mentality," Wonwoo carefully responded, his heart aching for the younger.

Mingyu continued, pointing to his right arm, where Minjae had previously pressed his cigarette bud on. "Do you know what's this?" He asked mindlessly.

"Those are... Cigarette burns. Did he do that to you earlier?" Wonwoo questioned angrily. 

The younger shrugged. "Yeah, but I've had worse, honestly. You might've not seen it behind my bruises that one time, but there are more on my back. You could probably still see the marks left behind under the light. There are more than that too, actually. Not sure why I'm telling you this exactly... But Soonyoung managed to see it earlier, though he doesn't know the cause of them. Just thought I'd tell you too." 

Wonwoo stayed silent for a while. "Do you... Mind if I take a closer look at them?"

Mingyu nodded and turned his back towards the other. Wonwoo hesitated as he slowly pulled up Mingyu's shirt. At first glance, it seemed as though his back was perfectly smooth. However, with the moonlight and at a closer look, Wonwoo finally spotted the faded scars. 

"Did you really need to get so close like that?" Mingyu laughed nervously. "I can practically feel your breath against me."

Wonwoo backed away, embarrassed. Now that he saw the scars, they were more noticeable to him. Without himself realising, his hand was already reaching up to trace the scars, stopping every now and then. At Mingyu's shiver, he finally stopped and cleared his throat. He pulled Mingyu's shirt back down, and the latter took that as a sign to turn back around. 

"They look horrible, huh?"

The older turned his head towards him. "Don't think that way!" He took a deep breath in. "I mean... The reason behind them is horrible, and just looking at them makes me so angry... But... Maybe you could take it as a reminded o