kya~~~ i hope everyone braced themselves before reading this chapter... Just a warning okay? I haven't update in 6 days and it's a pretty long chapter by me to write after long gone from this story.. kekeke.. i post it today just to commemorate the boys' concert a few hours ago.. please enjoy~~

“You are being stupid and irresponsible!” Jungryul’s voice bellowed in the dorm.

The Infinite members kept their head down. It was rare for their managers to be mad. They were often angry but never mad. And even if they were, they would never scold Infinite.

However this time, it was an exception.                                                                                          

“You know what you did wrong?” Jungryul asked. Yongjun was standing next to him, arms crossed and also looking furiously at the kids.

“Yes,” Sunggyu spoke first. “We’re sorry.”

“Sorry? Are you really sorry?”

“Yes.” Sunggyu answered again, even though he didn’t feel sorry at all.

“Sungyeol, are you sorry?”

Sungyeol did not dare to raise his head or even answer. He bit back his lips.

“Answer me Sungyeol since you suggested the idea.”

“Yes.” Sungyeol said, softly.

“What? I can’t hear you. Say you’re sorry again and promised never to attempt a stupid thing like that again.” Jungryul said.

“But hyung!”

“Promise me!” Jungyul yelled again. His voice was so full of authority but at the same time of insecurities and desperation.

“I...I promise,” Sungyeol finally said with a heavy heart.

-- --

“This !” L murmured when he entered his room. Dongwoo and Sungyeol nodded in agreement. Dongwoo threw his jacket on the floor and lied on his bed. L sat on the bed by his legs.

“What do we do now, hyung?” He asked. Because he was the oldest in the room, L always relied on him for any advice.

“I really want to run away again. I want to see Sungjong but we promised the hyungs we won’t run away again. Anyway, Sungyeol! Did you really saw him?”

Sungyeol shook his head. “But I think we were close. I want to go there again,” he whined.

“Then let’s go,” Hoya entered the room and sat by L. They looked at each other at the brave suggestion from Hoya. Usually Hoya was the member that would just follow any suggestion from everyone. It was the first time he actually initiated it.

“You serious hyung?” L asked.

“I got bored when I enter my room just now. I don’t want to sleep alone anymore. I want Sungjong back,” Hoya muttered as he looked on the floor.

“What about Sunggyu hyung and Woohyun hyung?” Sungyeol asked. “They should know too right?”

“I saw them talking to the managers just now. I think they’re up to something. I think it’s about the radio show tomorrow.”

“I hope they’re trying to convince the hyungs to let us go out after the show. If that happens, then we’re not considered as running away, right? We’re just strolling in the city.”

“Yea, I hope so too. The hyungs are so used to us running away I’m not sure they’ll buy our excuses anymore. Remember when we ran away during sesame player recording and Sungjong had to carry the watermelon? That was so funny. He kept whining all day!” Sungyeol laughed, remembering the day.

“Yeah, he even whined when Sunggyu hyung told him to do pretty much everything!” Hoya added. They burst into laughter.

“Jeez, he even lost the dance battle I had with him when we went out the night after Sunggyu hyung’s outburst! I still remember the forehead flicks he got!”

They laughed again. Seeing everybody remembered their sesame player days, Dongwoo spoke his most unforgettable memory about Sungjong.

“Yeah, and his infamous shriek when the manager caught him... I miss that...” Dongwoo said, causing the happy atmosphere to die down. They were all thinking the same thing. They missed him.

-- --

The next morning...

“We caught her ex-boyfriend last night.” Officer Jung informed. Sungjong immediately stood up. “You did? Did he confess his crime?”

“He didn’t. He said he was innocent and you’re the one that did the assault.”

“What the- I didn’t! I really didn’t. What should I do now, officer?”

“We are still investigating but now that we’ve found him, you are free to leave the hospital. I don’t know if you want to know this but all the evidences are pointing at you. I understand your position as a singer and a member of Infinite but still, I can’t deny the fact that you’re our most suspected assaulter.”

“Please, don’t get Infinite into this,” said Sungjong. “They don’t know.”

“I’m sorry.” Officer Jung said before he made his way to the door and left. Sungjong suddenly felt empty.

“I can’t let they know about this. The hyungs can’t know.” He said to himself.

“I need some fresh air,” he finally said after some time and walked out through the door and out the hospital.

-- --

“Will we find him here?” said Sunggyu as he looked to the front of the big hospital. On top of the hospital, by the roof he could see the big ‘C Hospital’ word.

“The doctor yesterday said he didn’t leave the hospital at all. And he’s a visitor, not a patient so that means he’s visiting someone here.” Hoya explained.

“Well, that’s good news,” L said. “Should we all go in?”

“I’ll go. Hoya you come with me since you know the doctor. Everybody wait here for the hyungs. We don’t want them getting angry when everyone leaves,” said Sunggyu and pulled Hoya’s hand. “Let’s go.”

They entered the lobby and Hoya saw the same doctor he met yesterday talking to the nurses at the counter. What luck! He quickly tugged Sunggyu’s hand. “Hyung, that’s him. The doctor!”

“Doctor!” He called from afar. The doctor looked startled a bit. That was probably because they didn’t wear any disguise that day. They came to the hospital as soon as they finished with the radio show. “I’m Infinite’s leader, Kim Sunggyu. Did you see Lee Sungjong here yesterday?” He asked when they were within an arm’s length.

“I just saw him leaving a few minutes ago. You missed him.”

Sunggyu and Hoya looked at each other. That means there was still a chance of them finding him! They scurried out of the hospital, not even thanking the doctor for the information.

-- --

“Yah! Isn’t that Sungjong?” Woohyun pointed to someone not far from them on the same side of the road. He thought he saw someone wearing the same sweater that Sungjong had. Sungjong liked the sweater so much because a fan of his gave it to him on his last birthday and that’s why Woohyun remembered it so much.

Woohyun squinted his eyes to take a better view. “Yes, it’s him!”

Dongwoo quickly ran ahead of the others. He had to get the magnae before he went missing again. When he was about a few feet away, Dongwoo could finally make out the boy’s face. It was Sungjong except that he looked paler and had a terrible dark circles under his eyes. But it was Sungjong for sure.

“Sungjong!” His hand closed around Sungjong’s arm tightly.

Sungjong turned and was stunned to see Dongwoo there. He saw the others running towards them. He struggled. He didn’t need the hyungs to come and questioned why he had been missing.

They shouldn’t know what happened to him. It would only made his situation and Infinite’s situation worse.

“Sungjong, stop struggling! We had been searching for you.”

“Hyung, I’m sorry. I can’t... I’m sorry for this,” With the strength he had, Sungjong tugged his hand from the older’s grip and ran towards the other side of the road at full speed.

“Sungjong!” Dongwoo yelled behind him. Sungjong didn’t bother to turn back. He just had to get away!

That was when he heard it. The screeching, the car horns and finally the sound of something hitting metal and tumbling on the ground. Sungjong froze.

People on his side of the road gasped at the horror that was probably behind him. He heard a girl screamed and voices that he recognized as his Infinite hyungs, screaming. “Dongwoo hyung!!!”

Sungjong closed his eyes. “No, god, please don’t...”