The last few hours had been a blur. Youngbin remembered walking out into the daylight. He remembered being drapped on Jaeyoon's shoulder, the other guy's arm around his waist holding him up. He remembered how Dawon tried to be his chipper self but failing miserably but he knew that he tried to laugh although it sounded a bit more like a cough.

The last thing Youngbin remembered was being placed in the backseat of a vehicle, looking to the front and seeing one red-haired guy and a black haired guy.looking at him with such concern that it felt like his heart is going to burst.

And now he found himself in a tangle of silky sheets, shirt sticking to his back like a second skin. His heart was pounding in his chest as he remembered bits and pieces of the dream: dark places, the unquenchable thirst and the face of a clown laughing menacingly at him.

"Good. You're finally awake,"

Youngbin turned sharply towards the sound of the voice but all he saw was someone's back before the door closed.

"Hyung~!!!!!!"

Dawon burst through the door a few seconds later, the smile on his face is about as bright as the sun shining through the window. Jaeyoon followed behind him, greeting him with a wave.

"How are you? Are you okay? Inseong said you weren't hurt that bad so we decided to not bring you to a hospital. so are you okay?" the younger guy said, his head bobbing excitedly as he approached the bed. 

"I'm feeling better now that you're both here. Thank you, guys," Youngbin said. 

"Yah, do you know how many times you've said thank you already? around 100 times. from the moment we got you out of that house to almost the entire drive here," Jaeyoon said, as he sat at the foot of the bed. "I'm really glad you're okay," he continued. 

Youngbin nodded, "I really am.. and I owe it all to you guys... Thank you..." 

"By the way, what is this place?" he asked. 

"This is my house... and welcome, by the way," 

All three of them looked towards the newcomer. 

"You!" Youngbin exclaimed. Out of all the people, he wouldn't have expected him. 

"Yes, me," the fox said flatly, as he approached the bed carrying a tray. 

"Oh, yes, introductions. Youngbin hyung this is Inseong, Inseong you know Youngbin," Dawon said. "Don't worry, you're both born in the same year so there's no need for formalities," the younger guy continued. 

Inseong set down the tray on the nightstand and extended his right hand. "Nice to finally meet you... albeit the circumstances," he said. 

Youngbin shook his hand, "Yes... and thank you, for letting me stay here," he answered. 

"Well, I got you some soup and a slice of bread... so, I'll be in my room if you need anything," Inseong said before exiting the room. 

"Wait, I'll go with you," Jaeyoon exclaimed and followed the other guy out of the room. 

Youngbin looked at Dawon as soon as the door closed behind the two, the question reflecting brightly in his eyes. 

"You can start whenever you want," Youngbin said to the young one. 

Dawon looked everywhere but at Youngbin and wrung his hands for a minute or two before approaching him and sitting on the foot of the bed. Youngbin was dying to know the truth but he just let him do all those stuff, one thing he figured out about Dawon was that you shouldn't rush the other guy. 

"Well, I know I've told you about Inseong hyung before" Dawon started with a faraway look in his eyes. His hands were softly pulling on the bed sheet.  

"Yes," Youngbin replied, his tone urging him to continue. 

"Well, you see," Dawon took a deep breath. "Inseong hyung is a gifted hacker, one of the best in the country and... I may have asked for his assistance once or twice before for personal reasons," 

Youngbin was dumbfounded. His mind seemed to stop processing at the word hacker.

 "This is serious right?" Youngbin scoffed.  "Really? a hacker? Inseong-ssi?"

"Hyung, how do you think we found you?" Dawon countered. 

"I don't know? you reported it to the police and they checked cctv and those kinds of stuff?" 

"You don't believe me," Dawon sighed, shoulder slumping in defeat. "Unbelievable," he muttered softly. "You know what, just rest," Dawon said standing up.

"Please stay!" Youngbin blurted out. He hated the way his voice sounded desperate and needy. 

"I- Can you stay here until I fall asleep? I just...i still see the clown and I know this is childish and embarrassing but please... can you please stay with me..." Youngbin said before he buried his face in the pillows. 

The silence that followed was so thick that Youngbin felt a bit suffocated. He wished that the bed would just open up and swallow him whole. Dawon is probably out of the room by now and making fun of him to Jaeyoon and Inseong and-

Youngbin felt the weight of the bed shift so he turned his head to the side to peek. Dawon was looking at him with what was probably the softest expression he has ever seen on the guy. 

"Scoot over," he said with a small smile. 

Youngbin obliged and moved a little further. The bed was big enough to accommodate the two of them comfortably. 

"Sleep more, okay?" Dawon said after settling himself beside him and pulling out his phone. 

Youngbin rolled his eyes. "Yes, dad," he remarked. "Thank you," he added quickly and turned his back to the younger guy. 

It didn't take long for sleep to find him and Youngbin descended into a deep, dreamless state. 

Dawon wasn't beside him when he woke up but there was a note, hastily scribbled at the back of a receipt, on the nightstand. 

I'll be at the cafe. Come visit if you're up to it -D

Youngbin crumpled the note and decided to explore the place, curious as to what a genius hacker's home would look like. He tiptoed out of the room, making sure to open the door slowly so as not to make a sound. 

The hallway was dark but there was some bright light coming from under one of the doors at the far end. Curiosity got the better of Youngbin so he slowly made his way into the dark. 

Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, the lights in the entire floor opened blinding him momentarily. 

"It's not nice to enter into places where the owner has not given his permission," 

Youngbin blinked a few times, his eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness. "Inseong-ssi? I-i just wanted a glass of water," he replied. 

"Come on, the kitchen's this way," Inseong said, leading the day

Youngbin turned a corner and was impressed. From the looks of it, Inseong's home takes up an entire floor in a skyscraper. The huge bay of windows on one side opens up to a breathtaking view of Seoul. 

"Nice place," he remarked as they reached the kitchen. 

"Thank you. Unlike others, I worked hard for it," Inseong replied, handing him a glass of water.

"I'm sure you did," Youngbin said coolly, trying to ignore the implication in Inseong's reply. 

There was a moment's silence where the two of them avoided looking at each other. 

"So..." Youngbin started. "Dawon told me you're a hacker?" 

Inseong smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, "What's it to you if I am?" 

"I just wanted to know if it's true. Dawon can be a little exaggerated at times," Youngbin answered. 

"Maybe," Inseong replied with a shrug. 

Youngbin sighed. "Okay, you know what, forget about it.  Thank you for... doing whatever it is to help me. I really appreciate it and I'll be sure to get out of your hair asap," he said. He turned his back and started to trace back his steps to the room. 

"A Prince should be in his castle and not playing pretend on the streets," Inseong called from behind. 

Youngbin froze in his tracks, white, hot anger suddenly rising up in him. "What?" he hissed, looking back at the guy. 

"You heard me. I don't know about you but you're endangering all of our lives here. Me, Dawon, Jaeyoon... It would be better if you go back to your perfect little life in your perfect little mansion and not bother us," Inseong replied.  

Youngbin glared at Inseong, hands curled into fists. He was about to say something when they heard laughter approaching. Within seconds, Dawon and Jaeyoon joined them in the kitchen. 

"Inseong-ssi!" 

"Youngbin hyung!"

The two newcomers glanced at the other two and then at each other, noticing the tension in the room. Jaeyoon immediately placed the plastic bag he's been carrying on a tabletop and gently urged Inseong to some other part of his house. 

"Hyung," Dawon asked tentatively. 

Youngbin closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He unclenched his fists but he can still feel the marks his fingernails left on the palm of his hand. 

"I"m okay. I'm good," he said. 

He opened his eyes and found that Dawon was still looking at him with concern and so he tried to force out a smile. "I'm good," Youngbin repeated. "Let's go home now, okay?"