Warnings for this part: none

You couldn’t stop biting your lip, incredibly stressed. While the scenery changed quickly outside the window, you stared at one spot on the window itself and ignored the rest. You had even grown numb to the warmth of Minhyuk’s hand that was holding yours reassuringly.

“Everything will be okay, calm down,” he said with a gentle voice every now and then.

Each time your answer was a barely noticeable nod while you kept staring at the window.

Everything went south so fast…

With one conversation the whole morning had been turned upside-down, from peaceful to stressful. Kihyun’s sudden news about Hoseok, Yuna and Hajoon had caused you all to leave the cottage immediately to go see the three.

It felt like everyone else was panicking except for Minhyuk, who remained calm during the whole ride. Hyunwoo wasn’t in the best shape but had insisted on driving, which is why you and Minhyuk ended up sitting next to each other in the back seat.

As the car stopped, everyone got out almost immediately. Minhyuk led the way to the apartment while still holding onto your hand. You felt as though you were in some sort of a daze and only followed him mindlessly. It was as if you had suddenly snapped out of sleep when you were pushed against the wall immediately after entering the apartment with Minhyuk. After a few seconds of being extremely surprised, you were able to understand what was going on.

Your eyes met with those of Hyungwon, uncomfortably close to your face. He seemed infuriated and his grip on your shoulders hurt you, making you cringe slightly.

“This is your fault!” his voice was filled with hatred and anger, causing you to feel intimidated.

He was roughly pulled away from you by Hyunwoo while Minhyuk came to stand between the two of you.

“This is no one’s fault, idiot,” he said and stared Hyungwon straight in the eye. “No one knew about this beforehand. This is all just a huge mistake.”

“If she hadn’t been with that pathetic weakling when she was attacked, we wouldn’t have to deal with this !” Hyungwon raged.

Minhyuk grabbed his collar. “Do you think she knew she would get attacked? Do you seriously think she would have risked someone else’s life if that were the case?”

As the two looked like they would soon start throwing fists, you reached your hand out and placed it on Minhyuk’s shoulder. Gently, you pulled him away from Hyungwon. He looked at you for a bit before giving Hyungwon one last glare and leading you to the living room where the rest had gathered.

First you noticed the bruised and injured Hajoon standing alone in the corner of the room. His face told you he was worried sick about the other two horrible-looking people in the room. Yuna sat on the sofa, face buried in her hands. After looking at her for a bit you noticed that she was shaking slightly and faint sniffling could be heard from her direction. Your heart ached at the sight and you turned to look at the reason she was so broken for. Hoseok, sitting still and silent in the armchair in another corner of the room, looking like a mess. His gaze was glazed as he stared into space, dark circles hung under his eyes and his body seemed lifeless. He was breathing but it almost seemed like his soul had left his body, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.

“Noona…” Hajoon breathed out upon noticing you.

You walked past Minhyuk, over to the crying boy, and hugged him. It was partly because you were glad to see him alive, but also because you felt the need to comfort him. He had surely gone through a lot during the past few days as he hadn’t had the privilege of being explained things about this new world he had been pushed into.

“I’m sorry,” were your first words to him as you pulled away from the hug. “Everything must have felt overwhelming.”

“I never wanted to hurt him,” he sobbed. “I was just so happy to see him again after all these years…”

You looked at the bruises on his face and your stomach twisted. “I know. Don’t cry, okay?” You turned around and glanced at the others who were trying to talk with Yuna or Hoseok. “Come on, I’ll treat your wounds.”

You made him sit down on the toilet seat and grabbed the first-aid kit you kept in the bathroom. He continued sobbing while mumbling nonsense about Yuna and Hoseok. You could understand words like “childhood friends”, “was abused” and “disappeared” from his speech but didn’t pay much attention on it, wanting to treat his wounds as fast as possible.

Closing the door to your bedroom, you let out a sigh. You had forced Hajoon to lie down and rest as he had continued crying the whole time you treated his wounds. Exhaustion was evident on his face, which is why you rather had him sleep soundly while you discussed with the rest about the situation.

“Did he calm down?” Minhyuk asked you when you walked into the living room.

You nodded. “He fell asleep quite quickly,” you said and looked at Hyungwon. “Was it you?”

“What are you talking about?” he spat.

“Hajoon’s bruises,” you glared at him. “Did you beat him up?”

He snorted, causing you to walk over to him and give him a push.

“.”

He gave you a push. “He deserves every single one of those bruises after what he did to Hoseok.”

“He had no idea!”

“But he still did that!” he yelled and pointed at the lifeless Hoseok. “It’s still his fault! Hoseok is never going to be the same because of him!”

“Don’t say that!” you could feel a lump in your throat, knowing how much Hajoon was hurting. “He-“

“That’s enough,” Hyunwoo stepped in, separating you two. “This won’t get us anywhere. We’re all upset and shocked at the current situation but all we’re doing is wasting time right now. Get yourselves together or get the hell out of here.”

“We should all calm down first. Also, it would help a lot to know what exactly happened yesterday,” Minhyuk spoke while pulling you to his side.

Everyone became silent until Yuna’s shaky voice spoke up. “Hoseok remembers everything.”

A brief silence followed.

“What do you mean by that?” Hyunwoo asked.

Yuna looked up and this was the first time you could see her puffy eyes. “He remembers his days as a human. All the abuse and depression… All of it. Every single thing.”

Your stomach twisted.

“He’s still in a state of shock, which is why he’s so calm. Right now he’s reliving those painful memories, as if they’re being played to him like a movie,” she looked at him with sadness. “Once the shock wears off, he…” she paused for a bit and let her gaze fall. “He’s going to have a tough time.”

“What can we do to undo this mess?” Minhyuk questioned.

“Nothing,” Hyungwon spoke. “There is no way to make him forget all that crap now that he remembers it again. He will slowly lose his mind