Haechan appreciated the boy who decided to chase away his fear and keep him company. The boy came out of nowhere and Haechan was thankful for his friendly and helpful nature. He closed his eyes remembering how warm it was in bed with Mark before he left. It was around 5:40 when he walked down the streets on his way to buy the things he thought they needed. He remembered smiling when he stepped out of his apartment feeling the fresh breeze of air tickling his skin. Haechan inhaled deep taking in as much oxygen as he thought he needed, his lungs thanking him for the clean air that penetrated them.

He hummed to himself his feet dragging him to the bakery a few blocks away, hands tucked in his jacket's pockets as he skipped a few steps to keep himself warm. He could feel the cold air traveling around in the atmosphere, taking a seat on the tip of his nose to rest. The cold air came to the wrong address though because if there's one thing Haechan despised the most, it is cold weather. It didn't last long before that Haechan pulled his scarf up to cover half of his face, the warm fabric shooing the cold away.

Haechan felt happy walking among the few people that were on their own way somewhere and he wondered if all of them were as excited as him to go back home to their loved ones. Haechan was definitely anticipating the moment he goes back to the apartment to fall into Mark's warm embrace until he feels his body warm up again. Haechan also hoped that Mark would recover soon so they can walk together and have a cup of hot chocolate somewhere in one of those cute coffee shops he was passing by.

He could imagine both of them arguing about which cake they want to choose from the menu to share, Mark favoring vanilla over chocolate because that's how basic Mark is.

Haechan noticed that it got dark when he walked out of the grocery shop and wondered if Mark is still sleeping. He pulled his phone to check if any of his friends texted, but his notification bar was only showing that the device needed a new update. Haechan sighed swinging the bags he was holding as he decided to text Jaehyun to ask him about his day. With his eyes focused on the screen for a while, he didn't really notice that he had missed a turn and was walking into an unfamiliar neighborhood. He halted when he lifted his head up, eyes wandering around trying to figure out where did he suddenly travel to. He was about to turn around and walk back the same path that led him to this creepy area when he felt alerted by someone else's presence behind him, too close to his body not to notice it.

Haechan was suddenly shoved back into an ally shoulder hitting the concrete wall before he could even react. His phone dropped on the hard floor. His eyes widened at the sudden attack and fear took over him when the guy approached him. "What do you want? You can take it all, just leave me alone" Haechan breathed out trying to recognize the face but the mask on his face and the baseball hat made it impossible for Haechan to identify the threat that grabbed him by the collar the next second pushing him up against the wall.

"Take it all," The guy snickered jabbing his knee right into Haechan's stomach. The contact made Haechan choke hard on his breath, gasping for air, vision going blurry in a second. The plastic bags dropped from Haechan's grip as his hands tried to push away the guy by his wrists. "Your stupid wallet doesn't have what I need, boy" The guy added cupping Haechan's face in aggressively, fingernails digging into Haechan's skin who groaned under his breath. Haechan's head bumped on the wall behind him as he started to find it hard to breathe by the second. Haechan noticed that this guy wasn't alone as there was someone else standing at the entrance of the ally probably making sure no one would get suspicious of what was going on down there. Haechan knew he had no chance to escape and the air level was getting low in his body as his attacker was pressing hard on his neck.

"Xiaojun" Haechan whispered eyes dropping low on him. He felt the guy's grip weaken when he called his name "Stop beating around the bush, you're getting nothing out of this," Haechan coughed his hands grabbing tighter on Xiaojun's wrists "You have to tell me what's your problem so we can work it out," Haechan gulped his eyes getting teary hating the fact that the fingers pressed against his face are not Mark's. He wanted to rip the boy's hand off so bad but he couldn't find the strength to do it. He wished this was just a nightmare and that he could wake up in bed next to Mark, but the grip on his face was too hurtful and real for it to be a dream.

"Stay away from Taeil, I'm telling you" Xiaojun whispered through his gritted teeth shoving Haechan's face to the side. The harsh move opened the soft skin on Haechan's cheek and it burned. He figured it was probably the ring Xiaojun was wearing that scratched his face in that way. Haechan felt confused more than anything the moment Xiaojun answered. Haechan dropped on his knees when Xiaojun released him from his grip walking away casually leaving Haechan in the darkness trying to catch his breath giving a side glance to Xioajun who quickly disappeared out of sight.

"!" Haechan whispered as he crawled to his phone that was thrown between a few rocks on the ground. A part of the screen was glitching and Haechan's hand started trembling when he heard a few other people passing by assuming that he was drunk, one of them laughing asking his companion if they should go and 'play with him for a while'. Haechan bit on his lip hard letting out a shaky breath when the guy said they better keep walking. He was definitely in the wrong neighborhood. Haechan hopelessly kept tapping on his screen, letting out a sob when the glass on the broken screen rubbed against his skin roughly.

Haechan stopped clicking and pulled his thumb up when he heard the ringing sound coming from his broken device. Haechan's body was rocking back and forth as he kept biting on his thumbnail trying to muffle the sobs threatening to pour out of his mouth. He couldn't see the name of the contact he managed to call but he was desperately waiting for a voice to answer at the end of the line. He wrapped an arm around his stomach hugging his jacket closer to his body waiting.

The sudden lightning bolt followed by the loud thunder encouraged Haechan's tears to come out and enjoy the boy's solitude. Mark's voice broke through the phone and Haechan's world felt safe for a second. The younger sniffled not finding the right words to say and before he could give the elder any useful information his phone died. Haechan pulled away from the device tapping on it aggressively, his sobs getting louder by the second as he regretted not telling Mark how he could get to him. The rain made its presence very noticeable as it suddenly dropped hard on the ground in front of Haechan's eyes, one drop followed by the other until it was pouring. It looked like the sky was trying to prove that Haechan's tears were no strong rival to them in this race. Haechan coughed hard, his stomach twisting at every cough that left his throat. He was bent down on the ground feeling hopeless as he couldn't find the strength to pull himself up and get the hell out of that place.

"Hey!" he heard a voice call and Haechan lifted his head up slightly only to drop it down again the next second. "Leave me alone, please" Haechan whispered clenching on the fabric of his jacket shutting his eyes close. "Are you hurt?" the voice sounded near and more clear this time. Haechan opened his eyes noticing the pair of feet standing in front of him. Haechan thought that this must be the point where someone tries and wake him up from this nightmare. "Let's move you away from here, you're wet," the voice said making Haechan frown wondering who did the universe decided to send for him for this rescuing mission. Haechan's arm was soon wrapped around the stranger's shoulders who was surprisingly strong enough to lift Haechan up to his feet in one move.

Haechan growled at the pain in his stomach, dragging his feet to wherever this guy was leading him to. Haechan was placed on the stairs of one of the building's entrances where he found shelter under the ceiling and the umbrella that was covering him. The guy who helped him kneeled down in front of him and Haechan finally got the chance to see the face of his rescuer. "Should I call an ambulance?" the guy asked shaking his phone in front of Haechan's face. "No." Haechan responded leaning his head on the wall next to him, "Can you call my friend, please?" Haechan's voice came out as a whisper but the guy caught on the answer and nodded his head quickly. "Sure, do you have their number?" the guy asked and Haechan nodded on his bottom lip as he started to feel cold. Haechan knows Mark's number by heart and he didn't waste a second to tell the guy who dialed it and called it right away.

"He's on the way, Haechan" the guy smiled at Haechan and Haechan could swear that the boy's eyes turned into beautiful crescents on his face which made him feel that whoever this person is, he was definitely a pure soul. "My name's Jeno to make it fair, cause I know yours," he said lips pressed into a thin line. "These are yours, right?" Jeno asked dragging the plastic bags closer to them. "I'll place your phone in one of the bags," He said fidgeting trying to keep his balance as one hand was occupied with the umbrella that was protecting Haechan and the other was trying to skip the phone through one of the gaps in the bags. "Do you need water?" Jeno asked with a small smile and Haechan almost chuckled at how innocent this boy is. Haechan shook his head from side to side grabbing on Jeno's hand that was holding the umbrella. Haechan's fingers drifted to the boy's wrist twisting it back until the umbrella was also covering Jeno's back that was exposed to the rain.

Jeno was surprised but he ended up smiling again when he realized what was Haechan trying to do. "I'm fine, don't worry." Jeno tapped on Haechan's knee. "Oh! Guess your friend's here" Jeno said answering his phone that started buzzing in his hands. "Ok, stay there, I'll come and get you" Jeno answered as he stood up. "Haechan, will you be able to hold this for me for a second? He's around the corner, I'll go get him" Jeno said pushing the umbrella through Haechan's fingers that wrapped on the plastic handle tightly.

Minutes passed until Haechan heard the sound of feet running and splashing in the puddles on the ground. "I got you, Haechan" Johnny's voice rang in the boy's ears as he was lifted up into his arms. "These are his!" He heard Jeno say from behind Johnny. "Thank you so much for staying!" Haechan heard Mark's voice next. "No problem" Jeno answered. Haechan's grip weakened and dropped the umbrella that he kept holding on the ground as Johnny run towards the car hugging him as close as he can. Haechan could only remember that he was able to feel his fingers again when Johnny placed him in the backseat of the car.

Haechan's fingers curled into fists as he kept shaking trying to find more warmth. He couldn't as his clothes were stuck to his skin and his hair was dripping wet. Haechan's teeth chattered as soon he was pulled into a hug. The