It was hard to convince her parents that she's just having a sleepover but Jeongyeon had came to Nayeon's rescue which Nayeon's mother finally gave in, knowing that there's going to be another girl with her.

Bambam woke up for the second time that night but instead of making a fuss like before, he was quiet and refused to talk to anyone. Jinyoung and Jaebum had been sitting by his side, trying to make the boy talk which turned out to be all in vain.

Mark was still unconscious which caused a lot of worries from the others, especially Nayeon. Jinyoung had to assure her many times that it's not her fault however, none of his words got into the girl's head.

"You're such an idiot." Nayeon muttered as her gaze shifted to Mark's sleeping face. "Both you and Bambam are idiots. They obviously couldn't recognise any of you, where are you so insistent? Where did the calm and emotionless Mark go to? If you've just leave when Taecyeon told us to, you wouldn't have to take that shot for me."

Nayeon looked down at the floor, biting on her bottom lip as the tears welled up in her eyes again. She could hear the door slamming and some commotion outside. However, she was so into her own thoughts that she didn't catch what was happening outside. Everyone and everything that's going on was a mess and not even Taecyeon or Jaebum knew what to do.

"Hey." Jinyoung's quiet voice sounded from behind Nayeon. "It's not your fault."

However, Nayeon made no response as she continued to look down. Jinyoung sighed and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"It's really not your fault," he continued, repeating the same words once more. "No one wanted this."

"I know..." Nayeon mumbled then looked up at the older man. "But I can't help it. Also, I'm sorry you had to comfort me like this when you're all over the news. Aren't you worried?"

"I knew what I was doing." Jinyoung smiled a little despite the slight bitterness in his tone. "Maybe it's time to retire and keep a low profile?"

"Stop forcing yourself to sound like it's nothing." Nayeon scoffed a little. "Your tone betrayed you."

"It's that obvious?"

"Yes."

The conversation between the two stopped there as a solemn silence took over. It was only when Jinyoung noticed the slight movement of Mark's supposedly closed eyes that the silence was broken.

"Mark?" Jinyoung asked, not wanting to make a huge fuss until he's sure that the other male was awake.

Nayeon raised her head immediately and kept her gaze fixed on Mark as she sat up straight. When Mark finally opened his eyes, tears of relief filled Nayeon's eyes.

"You're awake!" She smiles and grabbed his hand into her own. "You're awake!"

Her loud exclaims brought everyone who were resting outside into the room.

"Are you okay?" Surprisingly, unlike Bambam, Mark's reaction after he woke up was calm.

Nayeon finally burst into tears after his question. As she was unable to control her flowing tears, Jinyoung helped her up from her seat and sat on the chair instead.

"That's our question, are you okay?" Jinyoung repeated Mark's question. "You're surprisingly calm."

Jaebum who was standing behind the chair smacked him on the head after his question.

"Where's Bambam?" Mark ignored Jinyoung's words and tried to sit up when he noticed that Bambam wasn't in the crowd. "And Taecyeon? Did they bring them back?"

The other four shared a quick glance, knowing that the 'them' Mark's referring were Sunmi and Jisung.

"Alright Mark," Jaebum inhaled deeply and continued after. "Stay calm and listen—"

"Okay, I got it." Mark interrupted and sat up, wanting to get off the bed. "I need to go."

However, Jinyoung and Jaebum managed to stop him. Mark had wanted to push them away but that had caused his wound to hurt more.

"Mark, stay down." Jeongyeon demanded even though her tone was gentle. "We will discuss about this after you're better."

"She's right." Jaebum agreed, "We have absolutely no idea what's happening now either."

Beside Jeongyeon, Nayeon nodded a few times.

"Please rest?" She managed to say in between her sobs. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

Mark's face softened down a little but it was just for a short moment before he decided that he couldn't just stay put.

"I'm already hurt." Mark muttered and tried to stand up again. "What's the point of resting?"

"You're not making sense at all." Jinyoung forced him back on the bed. "To think I just said you were calm."

Mark struggled but being the injured one, he wasn't able to break free from Jinyoung's strong grip.

"We will discuss this as a team when you're better." Jaebum stated firmly. "We are your friends, we won't let you do this alone."

"Rest first, yeah?" Nayeon spoke in a pleading tone. "Please? Don't get yourself hurt even more."

That was enough for Mark to stop struggling as he looked up at the girl. He kept silent and shifted his gaze onto the ground before his whole body relaxed. Jinyoung also removed his hands from Mark's shoulders and took a step backwards.

"I will get you something to drink." Jeongyeon informed, now that the atmosphere wasn't as tense. Before walking out, she glanced at Nayeon then at Mark and finally to the other two males in the room. Letting out a sigh right after, she grabbed Jinyoung's wrist and Jaebum's with her other hand, dragging them out of the room with her.

The room was now silent now that the rest were away. Mark turned his body so his back is facing Nayeon. Nayeon didn't seem to be bothered by it as she sat back down on the chair.

"Why did you do that?" She quietly asked after a short while.

Silence.

"Why did you take the shot for me?" She asked again, this time her question went straight to the point. "You hate me, don't you? You find me a nuisance, you don't even like it when I talk so, why?"

Again, Mark made no reply Nayeon his shoulders stiffened a little.

"You're listening to me."

That was a statement, not a question.

"I don't know." Mark finally made a reply. "It just happened before I know what I was doing."

"You're an idiot." Nayeon muttered as the tears welled up in her eyes again. "Next time think first."

"And watch you get hurt?"

An awkward silence filled the air after Mark's words. Neither of them were expecting those words; not even the man himself. The silence was getting unbearable as seconds passed.

"Get out." Mark demanded, clearing the silence but not the awkwardness that's still in the air.

"What—" Nayeon shifted her gaze from her hand to Mark's back again, surprised at his sudden hostility.

"I said get out."

She stared at his back for another brief moment before she stood up from the seat.

"Don't move too much, your wound might open."

Seeing she won't be getting any response from Mark, Nayeon sighed and walked out from the bedroom. Once she's out, she closed the door behind her and leaned her back against it.

"Let me guess, he chased you out."

Jaebum's voice was the one that brought her back from her thoughts. She looked up and noticed that both Jeongyeon and Jinyoung were glaring at the clueless man.

"Don't glare at him that way." Nayeon managed to crack a small smile. "Jaebum's right. He did tell me to get out."

"Drink this." Jeongyeon stepped forward and held out a cup of warm cocoa for the other girl. "You have not eaten anything since the start of the ball, at least have some hot chocolate."

"Yeah drink it since it's Jaebum's place, it should be a super high class brand." Jinyoung joked, ignoring the glare Jaebum was throwing at his direction.

A small smile managed to creep its way to Nayeon's face as she took the hot mug from Jeongyeon.

"Anyway, where's Bambam? And Taecyeon?"

-

While everyone was worried about Mark's condition and trying to get some rest, nobody noticed Bambam sneaking out of the apartment with a car key in his hand.

Except Taecyeon who had just gotten out from the shower, hoping that it would help him think better. Throwing his towel aside, he rushed up to the younger boy but he wasn't fast enough to pull him back in.

"You guys stay here. I will go after him."

That was Taecyeon's last instruction before ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Outside the apartment, he saw the lift's door closing with Bambam inside. Taecyeon ran up and pressed the button hard for a few times but it was too late. He took a quick glance at the emergency exit but he brushed the option off his mind. It's going to take him longer since Jaebum's apartment was on the 17th floor.

"Damn you, Jaebum." He cursed loudly as he pressed the down button with force, watching the number growing bigger.

There was only one place Bambam's headed to — the basement carpark.

If the lift came any later, it would have been too late to stop Bambam. When the lift door opened, Taecyeon dashed out and managed to catch Bambam getting into Jaebum's car.

"Bambam!" Taecyeon shouted but the other didn't hear him. Or rather, he might be choosing not to react.

Seeing that Bambam's not reacting, Taecyeon dashed ahead and stopped right in front of the moving car. Bambam's eyes widened slightly before he stepped on the brakes, causing a loud screeching sound of the tires to echo throughout the whole carpark.

"Bam, please calm down." Taecyeon half pleaded and placed a hand on Bambam's that's on the steering wheel. "You can't just blindly rush into this alone!"

"Then help me." Bambam turned to face Taecyeon, his voice shaking slightly. "You've always been supporting us. Even before this team was formed, I relied on you and Sunmi a lot. So now, help me get her back."

Taecyeon stayed silent after Bambam's words, unable to react to them and his tears.

"Do you really want to do this? Going down to wherever they are?"

Bambam nodded.

"Even with the fact that we might not get her back?"

This time, Bambam hesitated a little before he nodded again. Taecyeon inhaled deeply and sighed.

"I will go with you." He nodded a little as his eyes closed briefly. "I've been tracing them the whole night. I did not just leave the situation be."

Bambam finally smiled a little.

"Alright," Taecyeon returned the smile. "Let's at least find out what had happened the past few years."

—

' here's a late update of chapter 19. things are kind of getting exciting or at least, i hope! i've been obsessed with attack on titans so my writing got slower. spazz with me if you read the manga or watch the anime! but anyway, i don't want to say much this time, leave some thoughts for me!

- ddeokbxkki -

p.s. i made a new one shot collections, check it out! first story is markyeon!

https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1421975/