“A little faster,” Jooheon requests, cocking his head thoughtfully. Changkyun complies, and beats out a slightly faster rhythm against the steel box he's sitting in. Jooheon hums appreciatively, and moves to get up from his seat. He then climbs atop a stack of boxes, throws his arms out wide to either side of himself and dives into a rap the likes of which few have ever heard. He spits out rhyme after rhyme about the oppressive soldiers standing not ten feet away from them, about how one day all this will fall.

Not exactly the most low-key form of protest, the boys will admit, but it gets their point across.

Changkyun joins in, eventually taking over with a rap of his own. Hoseok and Kihyun harmonize their voices, and throw in ad-libs to back up the boys every so often. Hyunwoo stands a bit away from them all, providing a solid base beat with a metal ladle he uses to give them the beats once Changkyun abandons such a task. Minhyuk and Hyungwon sit a bit off to the side, chuckling at their friends’ antics.

“You sure it's okay for you to be here?” Minhyuk murmurs to Hyungwon, picking at a spare twig he picked up on their way to the underpass. Hyungwon hums, eyes shining fondly at the group around him.

“They're just singing,” Hyungwon shrugs. “They can't get arrested for that. It isn't as if they have any weapons or anything.” Minhyuk hums thoughtfully, unconsciously leaning closer to the younger protectively. He leans back and casually places an arm around the boy’s shoulders.

Hyungwon has to fight off the urge to lean into the touch. He recognizes a couple of the soldiers at the end of the street, and knows that if they see anything his father might not like they'd love nothing more than to report it to him. All the soldiers in town are so desperate to get into the general’s good graces, they'd do just about anything.

The boys spend most of the day like this, singing together and spending some quality bonding time with one another. It's times like this that it's easy for Kihyun to forget about what kind of world they live in, what hell they've been through just to emerge in this purgatory.

However, even on days like today, moments like this are fleeting. Reality always has a way of dumping its icy water onto your soul and awakening you from whatever warm comfort you've created for yourself.

“Chae Hyungwon!” a stern, hard voice shouts. The group of boys turn as one to see General Chae himself stomping his way over to them. Kihyun squints his eyes accusingly at Hyungwon, silently demanding to know just how the man had thought to look for them here, as this isn't an area he tends to frequent. However, judging from the tensing of the younger’s shoulders, and how his eyes seem to shake suddenly in fear, he had no idea what his father is doing here either.

He notes the way Minhyuk's hand squeezes Hyungwon's shoulder, almost as if in reassurance, before the boy stands.

“Hello, Father,” Hyungwon says softly, bowing so low his head becomes level with the older man’s waist. “How are you on this fine afternoon?”

“Don't play coy with me, boy,” the man spits at his son, the harshness of his tone causing Kihyun to bristle defensively. He shuffles against his crutches, and takes a deep breath to calm himself. It isn't as if he likes Hyungwon all that much, but the way the man is speaking to him, so abrasively and for no reason, doesn't sit well with him. Changkyun notices the movement, and places a gentle hand at the base of Kihyun's spine to draw calming little circles in the space. Kihyun breathes deeply once more, drawing strength from the touch.

“I… I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir.”

“What're you doing hanging around these rebels?!” Hyungwon's father yells, a string of saliva flying from his lips and landing square on Hyungwon's cheek. The boy doesn't flinch at the fluid, as if this is a normal occurrence.

“They're just singing, Father,” Hyungwon defends, his eyes remaining downcast as he straightens up. Kihyun is struck by how much shorter the general seems to be than his son. Clearly, he had gotten both his looks and his height from his mother. “There's no law against singing in public. They don't have any weapons, either, so they aren't violating any peace-keeping laws that I know of.”

The cold sound of flesh colliding against flesh echoes throughout the air. Hyungwon his lips, blinking away what fragments of tears the sudden slap had seemed to bring. He clenches and unclenches his fists at his sides, as if trying to hold himself back. Kihyun is too shocked to react for a moment, appalled by the undeserved action made by the general.

“Go home,” the general mutters to his son, his voice filled with absolute contempt. “We'll continue discussing this there.”

Hyungwon seemingly hesitates for a moment, but complies soon enough. He walks away without a glance back at the others.

The retreating backside of the younger, with his head bent down, calls Kihyun to action. He moves forward, whether to drag Hyungwon back or to pummel that slimy old man with his crutches, he isn't too sure. He just has to do something. However, a hand holds him in his place.

The general, after sparing one last look of disgust at the group of boys, turns on his heel and follows his son away.

The boys are silent for a long time after Hyungwon leaves, the lighthearted air that had surrounded them completely dissipated. Eventually, Kihyun mutters out an excuse to leave, unable to stand the atmosphere anymore. Changkyun doesn't even hesitate before scurrying after him, eager to get away as well. This gives the others an opportunity to leave, each going their own ways. Minhyuk is left alone, burning with silent rage where he sits.

He glares at the ground, the sound of Hyungwon's father slapping him still ringing in his ears. His father’s abuse has always been a sore point in their relationship. Minhyuk, ever since meeting the younger, has urged him to either stand up to his father, or run away. Either way, he can't count the number of times he's told the younger to put an end to the situation.

He has to see now that he doesn't deserve this kind of life, Minhyuk silently hopes. He sighs deeply, leaning his head back against the concrete wall behind him. Surely he sees it now…