"Lost"

~Finale~

A/N: I'm a horrible person who totally wasn't going to finish this... sorry but here it is after all. 

Two weeks ago...

"Taekwoon-ah, are you okay? You look really tired lately, more than usual," the leader noticed as they all sat in the living room together. His friend's complexion wasn't so great and it was obvious that Taekwoon was paler than usual.

"I'm fine. Don't worry," the vocalist said but in a quiet mumbly voice.

"Are you sure? You've been flying all over Korea lately because of your musical, right? Aren't you working too much? Are you eating enough? Getting enough sleep?" Hakyeon patted Taekwoon on the head and leaning in to check his friend's temperature. He was started to become like a worried mother since Taekwoon's eye bags were becoming more apparent.

"I'm okay. Just one more week and I can get more rest afterward," Taekwoon insisted as he wrapped his arms around the leader to reassure the older. He leaned on the older's smaller shoulders but they were comfortable enough for him to want to fall asleep immediately.

"Gosh, you're like a baby sometimes, you know that?" Hakyeon chuckled a little since a tired Taekwoon was also the most affectionate Taekwoon. 

But it wasn't just the leader who noticed the vocalist's tired state but also, the rest of the group did too. They all asked the older vocalist whenever they can to check if he was alright but of course, each time they asked, no matter who it was, Taekwoon would continue to answer the same," I'm okay. I'm fine. It's nothing."

But the truth was, it wasn't because of his musicals that he was becoming to burned out but it was because of something else...

"I really think we should tell Sejun-hyung about this," his manager said as he drove Taekwoon back to the dorms after another night of musicals in Daejeon.

"I don't want to worry him either. We can handle this on our own. She'll leave me alone as long as we ignore her enough," Taekwoon said ideally as he dug something out from his bag.

"You can't be serious, Taekwoon-ah. Those kinds of people take a long time to get a hint about when they're hurting people. I know she's a fan and all but at this point, she's nothing but a stalker and a psychopath!" his manager couldn't help but worry for his artist.

"She's just... unwell," Taekwoon tried to coat his words even though no one else was listening in on their conversation. After all, she's still a 'fan'.

He took out a bunch of letters that he got recently from his fans after the musical and most of them were really cute to read. Reading fans from his fans have always cheered him up and made him stronger but one month ago, he received a letter that almost traumatized him.

At first, he thought it was just like any other regular letter from his fans but when he opened it, he was horrified to see that the words in the letter were written in blood. The smudges and the blotches of red marks all over the letter... it was more like a letter from an extreme anti rather than a fan. The letters were written in obsessive language that sent chills down Taekwoon's spine just glancing over it. It was horrifying and he wasn't sure if the red 'ink' was really blood or just simply a prank. It was creepy enough to think that it wasn't just a horrible joke.

As he continued his schedule all over the country, he continued to receive those letters no matter where he went. That's when he started to notice a particular face amongst the crowd of fans. While others looked at him innocently there was one individual that made him feel very uncomfortable. And eventually, it wasn't just at the venues where he saw her but also wherever he went, even when he was visiting his parents in Seoul. That's why Taekwoon decided to tell his manager since they went everywhere together. When he told his manager about the stalker, his manager decided to give the girl a warning to stay away from Taekwoon but it didn't take long for her actions to escalate. 

Taekwoon was becoming too tired to handle the situation. He was drained by worries that the girl might eventually do something far worse than what she had already been doing. He was restless no matter where he went, even when he was with his group members.

"Taekwoon-ah, wake up," the leader brushed his hands through the vocalist's jet black hair as they waited in the waiting room for the schedule to start.

"Hakyeonie," Taekwoon muttered and realized that he fell asleep again on the leader's shoulders. 

"The photo shoot is about to start," Hakyeon said.

Hakyeon pulled Taekwoon off the sofa and pushed his friend playfully onto the set. As Taekwoon watched s play around behind the cameras, he thought how lucky he was to have them. It made him forget the things he was worried about and seeing Hakyeon smiling next to him as the two watched the younger members, Taekwoon realized he had to do something. His manager was right, they need to report the girl to their CEO and possibly the police. A few days later, everything became quiet again and those peaceful days came back. The girl was eventually put on house arrest and no scary letters were received either. Taekwoon was happy and he should've done it sooner.

"Taekwoon-ah, what are you doing wandering outside?" Hakyeon asked his friend as he noticed that Taekwoon went out of the building while the rest were inside to discuss their next song. 

"I wanted to get some fresh air, that's all," Taekwoon could finally wander outside their agency and home for once without worrying about some stalker. 

"It's freezing! It's like minus 10! I don't know how refreshing this is but it's too cold!" Hakyeon exclaimed as he bounced up and down to warm up, causing Taekwoon to chuckle a little just watching the leader.

"If you're cold, you should go back inside first. I'll join you guys later," Taekwoon said as he rubbed Hakyeon's shoulders to keep the leader warm even though he was feeling quite cold himself.

"Let's go back inside together. It's not safe out here," Hakyeon comments in a whisper.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what I mean? I heard it from hyung that you've been getting stalked for a while."

"He told you?" 

"Of course! He's worried about you and wants us to help keep an eye out for you so that you can be safe," Hakyeon revealed. "I can't believe you didn't tell us sooner. Are we that untrustworthy?"

"Huh? What? No! That's not it. I just didn't want you guys to worry about it. You're all so busy with your schedules lately, so I didn't want to distract you," Taekwoon said apologetically.

"Distract? There's no such thing. We're family, aren't we? We should always look out for each other," Hakyeon said.

"Yeah... you're right. Sorry about keeping it from you guys but it's alright now. We already reported her to the police a few days ago. She hasn't shown up since then. I think we're alright now," Taekwoon smiles a little to reassure the leader.

"Well, I hope so. If she bothers you again, you need to let us know right away. Got it?"

"Got it," Taekwoon smiles back at the leader. It feels like forever since he was able to relax and smile so freely at one another.

As the two decided to walk back inside to escape from the cold, they heard footsteps approaching them from behind, footsteps crunching the thin layer of snow that night.

"How could you do this to me..." a small silhouette appeared from the dark alley.

The two turned to see who it was.

"Y-you... why are you here? I thought-" Taekwoon stuttered nervousness, immediately recognizing the girl.

"What? I should be in jail or still trapped at my house? That's what you want! You heartless son of a !" the girl screamed angrily at Taekwoon in the middle of the night. 

Hakyeon watched from the side but he noticed immediately the panic and fear in Taekwoon's expression. He knew exactly who the stranger was and decided to step out in front of the vocalist to protect him.

"Go home. You're hurting Taekwoon," Hakyeon said to the girl with a serious and angry expression on. A face that was too rare for the leader to show and it was only ever seen when something bad happens to s.

"Hakyeon-ah..." Taekwoon saw the smaller leader standing up for him but at the same time, he was worried about the leader.

"It's none of your goddamn business! Get out of the way!" she continues to scream.

"Leave before we call the police. You're a fan of Taekwoon's, right? Then why are you hurting him and scaring him?" Hakyeon asks.

She glares furiously at the two of them without a word but they could see her clenching her fist angrily in silence.

"Let's go," Hakyeon pulls Taekwoon away to head back inside. 

However, as soon as they were about to head back inside...

"I won't forgive you," she mumbled something aloud and as they turned back once more, they saw the girl holding a knife and charging directly towards Taekwoon. 

"Watch out!" Hakyeon pushed Taekwoon out of the way.

Taekwoon stumbles onto the floor, scraping his palms but Hakyeon on the other hand...

"Hakyeon-ah!!" Taekwoon shouts in fear, watching the leader's blood drip onto the floor. 

The people who heard all of the ruckuses from inside the building rushed out to see what the commotion was all about. They saw the horror that night, the blood on the floor and the girl that was going to charge at Taekwoon at all cost. They stopped her in time and apprehended her but it was too late for Hakyeon.

Now.

"I'm sorry, Hakyeon-ah. It's all my fault. If only I could do something sooner... you wouldn't have..." Taekwoon's tears continued to fall as he grabbed desperately onto the leader's shoulders. 

Hakyeon looked at Taekwoon, finally remembering everything that happened before and what happened to him. He's gone. Was he angry though? 

Hakyeon let out a sigh.

"Look at me Taekwoon-ah. It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. I'm just glad I was able to protect you," Hakyeon said with a slight pain in his smile. 

"But! If only you didn't protect me, you wouldn't have had to die!" Taekwoon said. "It's all my fault..."

"No, it isn't. It's no one's fault. It didn't matter if it was you or anyone else, I would've jumped in just the same. I don't want to see you get hurt. And I'm glad that you're still alive."

"But..." Taekwoon's tears choked his words. 

"It's okay, Taekwoon-ah. Everything's okay now. I may not be able to be here for you anymore but at least you'll live on for me, right?" Hakyeon leaned in to wipe away Taekwoon's tears. He smiled once more at the vocalist and hugged Taekwoon tightly. "Keep living. Take care of the others for me, okay? I'm depending on you now."

"I-I will. I won't let you down. I promise," Taekwoon nodded even though he was quite unwilling since it was a job that should have been for Hakyeon, not him. 

"Thank you," Hakyeon said.

With that last line of gratitude, Hakyeon disappeared. It was the last and final time that Taekwoon got to see Hakyeon. 

A/N:

Forgive me for ending this three-parter so sadly... I need to go find something happy and write about happy stuff again xD