Kihyun was sleeping when he suddenly feels sick. He tries to ignore it, turning left and right - but the feeling just keeps getting worse, forcing him to get off his bed and rush to the washroom. He kneels on the floor as he empties his stomach content into the toilet. When he is done, he washes his face and checks himself in the mirror. 

"What is wrong with you Kihyun-ah? Why are you being like this?"

He's been feeling unwell for several weeks now, maybe even months. He is not very sure because he wasn't counting and also because he isn't feeling sick every day. The sickness comes and goes occasionally. He had gone to the hospital for a check-up and his test result comes out well. It's great to know that his health is good, but the fact he keeps feeling nauseous and dizzy which often leads to his vomiting episode is a little worrying. It is pretty obvious there is something wrong with him and if the common health test cannot tell what is wrong with him, that means he needs to take some advanced health test. At first, he wanted to ignore his condition, assuming it is caused by his stress. Returning to work after a long break is psychically and emotionally hard, to be honest. However, the fact that he starts losing his appetite recently - he knows this is not something he can ignore and he needs to book an appointment for a full medical check-up as soon as possible.

There is a knock on his bedroom door. Kihyun wipes his face and goes to open the door. 

"Are you ok?" Hyunwoo is standing there with a worried face. "I was walking in when I heard you vomiting" he explains. 

"I am fine. Just some stomach ache" Kihyun answered. He is glad that every time he feels sick, Hyunwoo has been always at work. Otherwise, he will make the tall man worry for nothing. "You working on a night shift again?" he asked because it's been a few days since he last sees his housemate at home.

"No. There is a patient that I need to keep monitoring after surgery" Hyunwoo answered as he checks the small man's temperature. "You are not having a fever," he said - frowning a little.

"Don't worry too much about me, Dr Sohn. You look like you need a good sleep yourself. You should go take a rest. Two unwell people in one house sound like a disaster" Kihyun pushes the surgeon away a little and relief that Hyunwoo didn't try to argue with him - because he starts feeling dizzy from standing too long. 

Kihyun returns to his bed, he climbs onto his bed heavily. He closes his eyes forcing himself to get some sleep. Hoping that he will feel better after he wakes up. 

Since Hoseok knows the password to his friend's home - instead of ringing the bell, he keys in the password. He successfully unlocked the door. When he entered the house, he feels a bit weird that the house is extremely quiet. Usually, at this hour, Kihyun would be busy cleaning the house.

"His car is parked in the garage," Hoseok says to himself. He also notices that there is another car in the garage, which possibly belongs to Kihyun's housemate whom he had not met yet. 

He carefully walks to the kitchen - in case he bumps into Kihyun's housemate. As he expected, he sees a tall man, a quite muscular standing near the kitchen sink. "Excuse me" he tries to get the man's attention. 

"Yes?" Hyunwoo is shocked at the stranger's presence. He is thinking about alarming the security guard by pressing the button Kihyun's told him about - but he forgot the location of the Distress Button - hence, he did not move an inch, especially after noticing the stranger looks too nice to be a thief. 

"I'm Hoseok, Kihyun's partner" Hoseok introduce himself. "I bet you're Dr Sohn Hyunwoo, Yoo Kihyun's housemate" he added. 

"I am" Hyunwoo walk closer to the muscular man.  They exchange a handshake. "Kihyun is sleeping. Should I wake him up? He seems a little unwell though" 

"Let him sleep" Hoseok answered immediately. "You seem like you just come back from work"

"How do you know that?" Hyunwoo is surprised. 

"Well, as a lawyer...I know very well the trace of working overnight" Hoseok smiles at the surgeon. "I bought breakfast. More like a brunch. Should we eat together?" he asked. 

Hyunwoo just stares at the man in front of him blankly - not sure of what to do.

*************

"If I count it right, it's been more than a month since you move in, right?" Hoseok tries to start a conversation. They haven't said anything to each other since they started eating.

"7 weeks" Hyunwoo replied with the exact number. 

"Did Kihyun ever give you a hard time?" 

"Not really. Our schedule always clashes. We don't really meet each other" 

Hoseok just nodded. 

The kitchen is silent again.

"He sometimes talks about you, saying that you are more like his brother than just a partner," Hyunwoo says after a few minutes, trying to keep the conversation alive. 

Hoseok nodded. "I am more than just a partner. I consider myself his 'legal guardian'. We become friends in school law, and after his parents passed away, I can't help but become more protective of him. He is all alone now. You better be nice to him or I will hunt you down"

Hyunwoo feels pangs in his heart when Hoseok mentioned that He is all alone now. "I am pretty sure he can put me in misery if he wanted to"

"Yoo Kihyun may look independent and all, but he is just a baby to me," Hoseok said without thinking much of the information he shared. "But, you are right. He stood up for himself very well. So, make sure you didn't do something you will regret"

"You really know him. Actually...." Hyunwoo starts his word carefully. "I really want to get to know him but didn't really have time to do that. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" 

"About what?" Hoseok asked with his mouth full. "I know almost everything about him. What are you curious about?"

"Ummm... I notice that he often has a nightmare. Is it something related to his parent's death? I am curious because he always looks extremely disoriented after that. I've talked about it to my friend who works as a psychiatrist and he said it's a sign that the dream is related to the dreamer's real experience. Dream triggered by a real-life experience often causes confusion when the dreamer wakes up" 

Hoseok smiles and it makes Hyunwoo confused. 

"Why are you smiling? Did I say something wrong?" 

"No, you didn't" Hoseok shakes his head. "It just... Kihyun once said his housemate is oblivious to him. Like you didn't see him. Apparently, he was wrong. You see him, really see him" 

Hyunwoo can tell there is a double meaning behind Hoseok's words, but he chooses to ignore the really sees him. "Well, I can't just come to him and tell him 'Hey, I watched you having a nightmare last night'. It would make me sound like a stalker and he might think that I am a freak" Hyunwoo explains before continue munching on his sandwich.

Hoseok laughed and take his time before answering the surgeon's question. "Actually... two years ago, Kihyun brought his parents on a cruise. Some technical problem caused the cruise to explode, killing everyone on board except him"

Hyunwoo almost chokes on his food. The cruise explosion is something close to his heart, but he tries his best to keep his self-composure because this is not about him. This is about a man named Yoo Kihyun. 

"That accident broke him. A classic story of a survivor's guilty feeling, his doctor said. He even attempted suicide a couple of times. Sleeping pill overdose. I signed him up for group support, but mostly...it was his ex-girlfriend that brings him back" Hoseok added. "You asked me if the nightmare is about his parents, right?" 

Hyunwoo nodded. 

"That accident leaves Kihyun depressed from losing his parents but he never had a nightmare from it. Everything about the accident is blurry to him because according to the doctor, his brain didn't have enough time to process what was happening before Kihyun lost consciousness. Everything happened in a blink of an eye" Hoseok seems like he is lost in his thought before continuing, "The nightmare just started recently. Around four months ago. He told me it was over, but apparently, he lied" he feels disappointed that Kihyun didn't talk about this with him.  

"What is the trigger?" Hyunwoo is becoming more eager to know.

"As you already know, Kihyun is a lawyer. When we set up the law firm, we had our own portfolio. He is in charge of the criminal matters and I will do the corporate matters" Hoseok put down his sandwich. "A year ago, his ex-girlfriend's father was charged with drug trafficking. He didn't know that the man is his ex-girlfriend's father when he receives the case because she never talks about her father with him. All he knows is his girlfriend doesn't have a good relationship with her father. In that case, Kihyun is supposed to plead for a lighter punishment but since the father is a repetitive offender, his motion is dismissed. The father is sentenced to the death penalty. Though, it's very rare for our country to conduct a death penalty - since the offence is a drug-related matter and our country is very strict when it comes to drug offences - the sentence is immediately executed"

"Is that why they break up?" 

"Nope. She shows up one day at the firm all mad as if she has gone crazy. Apparently, she is having a mental breakdown because her mother committed suicide due to embarrassment. The mother is verbally assaulted by the people in her neighbourhood because her husband is a drug offender. She blames the lawyer in her father's case. She said if the lawyer does a better job, her father won't be sentenced to death and her mother would still be alive. Feeling responsible and guilty, Kihyun confessed to her that it was him. He told her that he is her father's lawyer" Hoseok sighed. "I can understand when people are grieving, they can't think clearly... but, she really crossed the line"

"What happened?" 

"She hired a group of people to attack Kihyun. In her statement, she said that's the only way for her to make Kihyun feel her agony of losing her mother to a useless man like that. Kihyun was terribly injured in that attack" 

"No wonder he always mumbles for help" Hyunwoo mumbles to himself.

"He... " Hoseok paused. "... I know Kihyun is hiding something about the attack, but I never succeeded in making him open up" Hoseok exhales heavily, "Kihyun did not break up with his girlfriend. He sends her to prison along with the gang that she hired. He named her as the instigator. I'm pretty sure they lost contact just like that instead of properly breaking up"

Something suddenly crosses Hyunwoo's mind. "Does he have any head trauma at that time?" he asked - sounded urgent. "I mean any injury to his head" he rephrases his sentences when Hoseok just looks at him confused.

"I think a minor concussion. He was put on three weeks of bed rest"

"That could be the reason," Hyunwoo said and suddenly leaves the kitchen.

Hoseok immediately chases after the surgeon. He is quite shocked when he sees Hyunwoo entering Kihyun's bedroom without knocking on the door first. "What are you doing, Hyunwoo?" he asked as Hyunwoo is checking on the sleeping Kihyun - who seem to have no intention of waking up. The latter who is a light sleeper is not even reacting to the surgeon's touch.

"The concussion could be the reason why he is sick" Hyunwoo answered.

"What sickness?" Hoseok asks in surprise. Even though he works in the same firm as Kihyun but they don't really meet these days. This is because he takes over Kihyun's portfolio as their firm criminal litigator for a moment (just until Kihyun is back on top of his health again) so he spent too much time in the court these days.

"I notice he often experiences a dizzy spell. Headache and vomiting" Hyunwoo answered as he lifted his housemate off the bed, and out of the room.

"Where are you taking him?" Hoseok is confused and not sure what to do or how should he react to this situation.

"I am taking him to the hospital. He could be having a TBI"

Hoseok did not want to give the impression that he has zero knowledge about medical terms, so he searches for the term TBI on his phone, and it stands for Traumatic brain injury. He froze at what he found until he heard Hyunwoo instruct him to drive the car.