Jungsoo shoved the vodka bottle to his mouth ineptly, letting the burning sensation numb his senses. The foreign buzzes all over his body did make his mind go blank but one thing stubbornly planted inside his brain— the thing that made him go here in the first place. Living without knowing where Heechul was torn him apart. It was way worse than he ever imagined. He hardly ate, working bothersome, sleeping no longer his friend. Dropping his head on the bar table, he grazed the neck of his bottle and motioned the bartender to give him a new one as he had emptied the whole thing. He was no longer himself—he was aware. Yet, ever since Heechul left he was no longer himself, anyway, so this shouldn't be a problem. 

He glanced at his smartwatch and smirked, "T-they must be looking for me now."

His slurred words were followed by a loud laugh shortly after. He grabbed the new bottle and continued to gulp down the alcohol, not minding how he would get away with this. He gave no damn.

"Holy , you're so loud, er!"

Jungsoo grumbled, swaying his bottle in the direction of people laughing near him. He took off his luxurious suit—too fancy for this kind of place— before he instigated the group of men across him even more.

"You es are so annoying! This ain't your hk- private bar, you know."

Wrong move. The flock—two of them had big figures while the other one was Jungsoo's size—strode over to him, towering his slumped form. He eyed each of them and groaned, his face grimacing.

"Say that again."

Feeling that he was being challenged, Jungsoo smirked before he got up and repeated what he said right in front of their face.

"You morons are-"

Jungsoo was sent flying on the cold tiles when the biggest man punched his face. Screams and gasps were echoed in the whole club and people started gathering in the commotion. Jungsoo had no time to nurse his cuts when the other man from the group hovered him and threw another fist on his face. He felt it—the kick on his side, another hit on his head, a strong fist landing on his guts; he felt it—the pain. Tears were trickling but he felt so relieved from the torment. He would enjoy the pain while it lasted, the torture racking his body.

"Hyung!!!"

][-ooo-][

His vision was still blurry, his head throbbing. His eyes flickered trying to examine his surroundings. As he was about to get up, he couldn't. His limbs felt so painful aching throughout the whole body. He chuckled as the idea that mayhaps he had died crossed his mind—it wasn't a bad idea.

"Hyung."

Jungsoo felt relieved but also disappointed at the fact that he was still alive. His eyes wandered searching for the source of the quiet voice and then Hyukjae came in sight, sitting beside him. His mind was still under the influence. He groaned intending to get up but he was tossed on the soft mattress when his stomach ached badly sending a wave of pain through his veins.

"Don't move too much, hyung. The doctor said you need to rest until your wounds are healed."

Jungsoo looked at his brother blankly and laughed not minding the sharp stings on his stomach. Hyukjae was stunned. He was afraid his brother could act crazily more than he had already done. The moment he found Jungsoo being beaten up, being spat, being kicked like human trash in the club a while ago, he was forced to take responsibility for his brother for the first time. Thankfully he was accompanied by some bodyguards he brought from the family meeting Jungsoo supposed to attend. It shocked him to the core to witness this side of his brother. Jungsoo never drank let alone got wasted. A gulp of alcohol could send his older brother staggering. He was not familiar with Jungsoo being so vulnerable.

"Why didn't you just let me die, Hyuk?"

Jungsoo choked on his words; he could still taste the iron-like liquid inside his mouth. Hyukjae was about to say something when the door was busted open.

"Park Jungsoo! What in the world did you do tonight?!"

Hyukjae flinched to the shrieking outburst of their mother. However, Jungsoo stayed unmoving, smirking as he listened to the deafening screams.

"For God's sake!! You're not only embarrassing me in front of Mr. Oh's family but you also ted yourself in front of so many people!! What the hell were you doing getting drunk in a club like that?!"

Jungsoo widened his eyes slightly, meeting his mother's furious glare. He chuckled mockingly.

"Never know you can curse, dear mother."

Mrs. Park's eyes dilated in disbelief. She was almost unable to recognize the person lying down in front of her—her own son. tightened, hands trembling, from the unexpected rebellion.

"Park Jungsoo!! Shut your mouth. You really want to see me sprawling in the hospital ward, don't you?!"

"You have seen me, haven't you?"

Jungsoo lazily said looking at the bandage on his hand. Mrs. Park was infuriated, her blood boiling from the incredibly insulting retort.

"Hyuk, knock some senses to your insane brother. I've had enough!!"

She slammed the door shut and left the two brothers alone. It was too quiet and Hyukjae felt extremely tensed, wiping his sweaty palms on his suit.

"Leave."

Jungsoo said curtly and brought his arm to cover his face. Hyukjae was taken aback but he didn't any choice but to leave.

][-ooo-][

It was another restless night. Jungsoo couldn't bring his body to rest. Every time he closed his eyes, Heechul's face popped out as if he were indeed there. Frustrated, he fetched himself a glass of water before he plopped back to his bed. The ceiling was not interesting but he kept on staring at it for the longest time. He had tried to find Heechul as best as he could despite his packed schedule but to no avail. Trying to go back to Heechul's hometown sounded promising yet to face Heechul's mother was a hard task. The information from his subs he sent on a mission to look for Heechul didn't really help. It was as if a person named Kim Heechul never existed. 

His phone suddenly buzzed and he glanced at the blinking mobile. He lazily grabbed it and checked the caller—Hyukjae, he had no intention to talk to his brother at the moment. However, something caught his eyes, Heechul's phone. The thing he would turn to when he missed the younger so much, just like tonight. He carefully unlocked the phone and went straight to the chats. Yet, his eyes suddenly winced when he saw something in Sungmin's chat room. Gulping, he slowly opened it and the date was a few days before Heechul came to his apartment that night. His breath hitched.

Jungsoo jolted his body sitting straight as he reread the message once again. Suddenly his chest felt heavy as so many possibilities as to why Heechul suddenly left might be rooted from that she. He didn't want to make a rush