Taekwoon knew something was off, terribly off about Hakyeon.

After their midnight stroll together, Hakyeon had seemingly disappeared, only answering to text messages and not even picking up his calls. Whenever he did, he answered strangely, in syllables. The Hakyeon he knew would flash fire lengthy texts, not even allowing him to get a word in otherwise.

He'd gotten so used to Hakyeon just spamming texts, that he'd go into his usual bouts of waiting for him to say things, which ended up with long periods of silence.

Those silences...made Taekwoon's stomach churn. It wasn't like Hakyeon at all, and it just fed into that small paranoid demon sitting on his shoulder, whispering to him that something was completely wrong.

The slight jerk of the plane's wheels finally making contact with solid ground shook him out of his trance. Heaving a deep sigh, Taekwoon leaned back against the headboard as the captain's voice played over the intercom, slowly gathering his thoughts.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, switching it on.

Two messages. One from Hakyeon and the other from Nayoung.

He opened Hakyeon's message first, like always.

"Please call me as soon as you get this message," it read. "It's urgent."

It reeked of desperation, lacking his usual wit and humor, filled with just a desire to talk to his brother again.

Taekwoon narrowed his eyes. The last time he'd tried to talk to Hakyeon...he'd been left staring at the phone screen for an hour.

He instead went over to the second message, the one from Nayoung.

"Hey, call me whenever you're free," it read.

Sweet, simple and concise, like her.

He considered calling Hakyeon. He wasn't in the best shape right now, for reasons unknown to him. Perhaps he really needed to talk to him about something.

He then does something completely unlike him.

He dials Nayoung's number.

"Hey, have you landed?" her soft voice answered.

"Yeah, I'm here," he replied.

For once, Hakyeon could wait.

Hongbin, feeling even more helpless than before, quietly watched over his friend's deteriorating condition, from the photo of Nayoung he kept in his wallet, to the inconsistent visits to the cafe, to the late night strolls through God knows where, he watched over everything.

Of course, he had to make sure that Hakyeon didn't get himself into something he'd regret, but luckily his eccentricity paid off in that Hakyeon preferred strolls through parks in the middle of the night.

Worried and unable to do anything, Hongbin took his suffering friend to a bar. Even though Hakyeon was no stranger to bars, especially in the last little while, this time, Hongbin would be there to make sure he didn't go nuts.

Easier said than done.

He watched with bathed breath as Hakyeon took his fifth shot of the night, slamming the cup on the table and emptying the bottle (whatever was left in it) once again. Hongbin slowly released the breath, tracing the edge of his glass as he watched Hakyeon drown his feelings and insecurities in alcohol.

That could not be any less healthier, he thought joyfully.

"Uh...don't you think you should stop now?" Hongbin asked.

Hakyeon didn't answer, just ordering another bottle.

"Well, I guess that's your answer," Hongbin muttered.

He'd brought Hakyeon out to give him company and stop him from overdoing it, but that plan was crumbling apart right between his fingers. Hakyeon was overdoing it, to a level where even Hongbin couldn't handle him.

Only one person he knew of could.

So, with a heavy heart, he made the call, and booked a hotel room for the night.

He knew, he didn't want to come home that night.

Taekwoon showed up twenty minutes after Hongbin left. Hakyeon didn't realize that he'd had a shift of partners considering his high level of intoxication. He sat there with his head in his hands, only looking up when Taekwoon broke the silence.

"How much did you drink?" Taekwoon asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Not much," Hakyeon promised before he ripped his head out of his hands, registering the changed voice.

"Taekwoon?" he asked, his words slurring. "What are you doing here?"

"The question is, what are you doing here?" Taekwoon asked. "I've never seen you drink yourself into a stupor before."

"I just..." Hakyeon slumped down on the table before he could finish his sentence. "I forgot."

Taekwoon sighed deeply. "Let's get you home."

He stood up and hoisted Hakyeon up. The latter, drunk and stumbling, proved to be a much bigger challenge than he had expected, but he had enough coordination to get him into the car and sit him in the passenger's seat, buckling him up. The whole time, he murmured scoldings that Hakyeon couldn't hear as his senses blurred.

"I'm going to smell like alcohol for days," Taekwoon grumbled as he started up the car.

"Where are you taking us?" Hakyeon asked as he felt movement.

"A quick detour to my apartment," Taekwoon informed. "I don't have my spare key to yours so I'll make a quick stop and pick them up."

Hakyeon hummed and leaned his head back against the headboard, resting. It felt like moments before he was woken up again by the car stopping.

Taekwoon unbuckled his belt. "Stay here, okay?" he told his cousin. "I'll be right back."

Hakyeon shook his head. "I'm coming," he said. "I feel slightly better now, and I think I need a glass of water." He rubbed his head as it began to throb.

Taekwoon sighed. "Come on."

Hakyeon followed his cousin in a haze where he could just barely make out the shapes. Luckily Taekwoon stayed beside him at all times, and prevented him from walking into walls, or potted plants.

It was relief for the sober one to finally open his apartment door and allow his drunken friend inside.

He guided Hakyeon to the couch, laying him down.

"Stay here, I'll get you some water, and some medication," he said, leaving.

"Thanks," Hakyeon mumbled, lying down.

A voice suddenly caught his ear.

"Oh, Taekwoon, you're home already? Why didn't you ring-?"

Hakyeon lifted his head and turned back to see the source of the voice, the very familiar, very feminine voice.

He found Nayoung standing at the door of the bedroom, wearing nothing but a shirt that was a few sizes too big for her, the hem just brushing her mid thighs. 

He knew that shirt.

Why wouldn't he? He was the one who gifted it to Taekwoon for his twenty-seventh birthday.

Taekwoon then reappeared, carrying a glass of water in one hand and a couple of Aspirin in the other. He froze when he saw Nayoung and Hakyeon staring at each other.

"What is she doing here?" Hakyeon was the first to break the silence. However, even through his drunken mind, he knew the answer, though he desperately wished to not hear it out loud.

"She...uh...she stayed the night."

There it was.

Hakyeon's eyes hit the ground as something churned inside of him. The world blurred around him, not even registering Taekwoon going up to Nayoung and asking her why she was awake.

He then pulled himself up from the couch, even though he swayed slightly. "I think I'll get a move on," he stated, turning to the two. "I'm clearly intruding."

Taekwoon stepped towards him. "It's not like that, Hakyeon," he tried to assure.

"I'll get going now," Hakyeon said, turning towards the door and stumbling to it.

"Hold on," Taekwoon said, running to him and grabbing his arm. "You won't get five feet in your state."

Hakyeon pushed his arm off, not turning to meet his eyes. Taekwoon furrowed his brow at this behavior, but still grabbed hold of his cousin's arm, holding him upright.

"I'm taking you home," he said sternly. 

Hakyeon tried pulling away from Taekwoon but found that his cousin's grip was too strong, like an iron rod.

Leaving a confused Nayoung back in his apartment, Taekwoon shepherded his obviously disturbed cousin back to the car and started it up.

The entire ride went by with no sound and a tension so thick it could be cut with a butter-knife.

Taekwoon sighed heavily for the umpteenth time as they turned the corner to Hakyeon's apartment. "It really isn't what you think it is," he informed him.

"She's wearing your shirt," Hakyeon simply answered, not even turning to look at him and opting to stare out the window. "The shirt I gifted you on your birthday."

"Okay, so it is what you think it is," Taekwoon admitted. "But...I thought she was asleep, honest."

Hakyeon didn't respond at all, prompting Taekwoon to awkwardly pull up to the side and park the car.

"Well, we're here," he said slowly.

Hakyeon got up. "I'll take it from here," he said, his voice changed. "Thanks for dropping me."

"I'm taking you inside," Taekwoon insisted.

Despite Hakyeon's grumbling protests, Taekwoon dragged him over inside his house sitting him down on the couch. Pulling away from his intoxicated cousin, Taekwoon ran a hand through his hair.

"I think I should go," he huffed, exasperated.

"Yeah, you should," Hakyeon's quiet voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Hakyeon?"

"You should go. Your fiancee is waiting for you anyway."

"Hakyeon," Taekwoon said, a quiet warning in his voice. "What is this about?"

"Of course it was going to be you," Hakyeon said, leaning over and staring at the floor. "It's always you."

"Hakyeon."

"You were always the favorite, the prodigal son, the one who had everyone's hopes and dreams riding on him. You were the one people helped, you achieved success, while I was cast aside along with my mother because we don't fit into the mold."

"Hakyeon."

"It's been like that from the beginning. And the one thing, the one thing I thought I had? Of course, it belonged to you."

Blinded by his jealousy and his mouth working on its own, Hakyeon failed to see Taekwoon's hand curl up into a tight fist.

"You just can't stand not having it all, can you? It's been like this since forever, even high school. You just have to go and get involved with any girl I like, right? Because who would choose measly Cha Hakyeon when they could have suave, handsome and rich Jung Taekwoon?"

He was suddenly lifted off the ground by a force that grabbed at his shirt and slammed against a wall. He let out a groan as the shock weaved through his body, opening his eyes to find himself faced with a furious Jung Taekwoon.

Furious was an understatement to how Taekwoon looked right now.

And from the look on his face, he was holding back.

Holy , he was holding back.

"Is that what you thought of me all this time?" Taekwoon growled, his voice low and trembling slightly. "Is that all I've been to you these last twenty years?"

Hakyeon stayed silent, trying to get over the pain. God, he had been slammed into that wall.

"Well I'm sorry I've been holding you back all this time," Taekwoon continued. "I just thought of you as a brother, considering how strange it was that not only were our mothers siblings, but our fathers too. I'm sorry for committing that dreadful crime."

His grip tightened on Hakyeon's shirt. "You think you've got everything sorted because your father is Zelos? You forget, my father's Kratos. I can literally tear you apart right here and now, the only reason I'm not is because I can't just throw away our childhoods the way you can."

He left Hakyeon's shirt, letting him fall to the ground. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the door before pausing.

"You know something?" he asked slowly. "I was prepared to break it off the day I found out that you liked her. I was still prepared to even after you told me it would be alright, till a few hours ago, I was ready to end it. I was ready to break off the engagement to the girl I grew to like, no, love, all because you were my brother, and I would do anything for you."

He turned his head to see Hakyeon sitting on the floor, head bent down. Pathetic.

"Now? I'm going to do it. I'm going to marry her whether you like it or not," Taekwoon said. "And Hakyeon? Don't ever think to cross my path again, or I will kill you."

His warning effectively delivered, Taekwoon slammed the door behind him hard enough to loosen the hinges. Inside the apartment, Hakyeon finally lifted his head and looked at the door.

"What have I done?"

"You can't expect me to-"

"Yes, I do. You need to be the one to deliver it.

"I can't do this. Not after all he's done for me."

"You can, and you will, Sanghyuk-ah."

Sanghyuk shook his head. "I refuse to." He attempted to stand his ground.

A firm hand squeezed his shoulder. "My dear Sanghyuk-ah," a velvety voice whispered in his ear. "We both know what will happen to your parents if you don't."

Sanghyuk gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't..."

"Yes, I would."

Sanghyuk balled his fists. "Alright, I'll deliver it."

"That's a good boy." The force on his shoulder disappeared, but Sanghyuk kept his eyes closed.

I'm sorry, hyung. I'm so sorry.

"It's fitting, isn't it? The son of Hermes being the one to deliver the object?"

So sorry.

"Now go, set everything in motion."