Aaron stood abnormally straight as he stared at the wall across from him. The emotion on his face could not be told. Was he angry that Minki hadn’t acknowledged his presence, even after the boy he clearly had feelings for had perished, or was he full of regret for doing what he did? Not even he could make out how he felt himself. He lifted a hand to his face and looked at it. The was the only one clean of any blood of any of them, yet he felt the most dirty. He gnawed at his lower lip as Minhyun took a seat next to him on the floor.

           “Peanuts?” he offered as he sat. A small, vending machine sized packet of peanuts landed in Aaron’s lap and he sat up. Minhyun had not left the hospital since they had arrived there, and still donned his bloodied and burnt clothing. He didn’t look as if he was bothered by the stench he gave off, and neither was Aaron. He was far too caught up in his own thoughts. Minhyun questioned him unknowingly after that, munching slightly anxiously on his own peanuts as he talked.

           “Have you gotten a hold of Baekho?” he asked him. Aaron tried his hardest to act as calm as he could, and his act was well played.
           “No. He just won’t answer.” he said. His face was abnormally blank. He clutched the snack in his hand so hard that it popped, but Minhyun was too far in his own thoughts to hear it.
           “I didn’t even see him at the party.” the brunette mentioned, nonchalantly.
           “Me either.” Aron shrugged; he could hardly keep himself together. He rose from his spot and looked down upon the top of Minhyun’s head. “I’m going to the bathroom.” Minhyun nodded in return.

           He made way down the hall slowly, looking back only a couple of times. He searched quietly for Jonghyun’s room; he’d have been curious about why Minki was shirtless and bloody if he hadn’t already known the worst. He put Dongho in the back of his mind and stopped at the correct door. He didn’t peer in; he stood outside. Was how he, Minhyun, Minki and Joonkin felt about Jonghyun going to be how they felt about Dongho, when they found what he’d done? Who was he kidding; of course they would. The thoughts in Minki’s mind made him wonder. What did he feel now? He hadn’t even been there to hear it, but the ring of the gunshot must have been the loudest thing the blonde had ever heard. He must have been terrified.

           He placed a hand on the doorknob and opened it slowly. He didn’t say a word or make any noise as he watched as the two of them, Minki and Jonghyun. They continued to stare at each other longingly; but Aaron gave the scene no more time as he opened the door wider and stepped in. Minki’s stomach was curled as he sat slumped on the bed. Even after Aaron took the opposite side of the bed, he hadn’t let go of Jonghyun’s less injured hand. Aaron analyzed the thoughts in his head, contemplating whether or not to speak, and so he didn’t. He sat on the left side of the bed. Jonghyun felt it dip underneath him, and he redirected his gaze to the eldest.

           “How are you?” he finally asked. Minki didn’t turn his head as Jonghyun spoke. He smiled many small smiles.
           “Look at me for a second.”

           The request hadn’t fully processed in his mind as he looked him directly in the eye. When he’d realized what he’d asked, he chuckled to himself.

           “I’ll be fine. I just hope I’m not too hideous after this.” Jonghyun said, the smile he wore visible past the bandages. “I wonder how bad it is.”

           The two boys nodded, Minki still not turning his head. It took all the maknae had not to move his hand to touch the skin of his unburned face. The emotions still flooded his young limbic system made his own face glower more than usual. He squeezed the other’s hand in his own and looked up to Aaron after many quiet moments.

           “I’m sorry.” Aaron said quietly, but with confidence. “If I knew this would have happened,”
           “I wouldn’t have started it, hyung. I’m sorry, too.”

           It was quiet again for a few moments as Aaron thought of a reply, which then slid smoothly from his lips as if that were the only thing he had to apologize for. He knew that the blood that dried in Minki’s white hair was his own doing, for the most part. Alas, he spoke without hint of anything.

           “It’s my fault. I wasn’t thinking.”
           “And I shouldn’t have hit you to begin with.”
           “JR, if I knew that that might have been the last time any of us had seen you, then I would have helped.” he lied. He hadn’t felt, at the time, that he’d lied. But seconds after he explained himself, he’d known it.

           Tears in Minki’s voice broke the conversation in half. His normally soft and consistent voice wasn’t high, but split into both low and high tone.

           “All you’ve been doing lately is getting hurt.” Minki said, trying his hardest to lighten the mood, though it hardly did what he’d aimed for it to. “Look at you. How many times are we going to have to visit you in the hospital after this?” he’d asked not only them, but himself, as he brought a hand to his face and rubbed at his nostrils and sniffled. “Can you just stay home in bed? We’d be glad to bring you everything you need.” he offered. A smile crept onto his face now.

---

           Minhyun sat with his back against the wall, shoveling the last of his peanuts into his mouth. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and lit the screen. He’d called Dongho many times over the last night without a single sign of life in return. Had how he felt about Minki have been the reason he stayed away for so long? If he’d known Dongho well, and he had, he’d know that he’d never ignore a call; but perhaps this time was different. As he placed the phone on the linoleum tile next to him, ideas raced from the back to the front of his brain. Maybe he’d shut it off for a day or two to ignore it. Maybe he’d realized how much of a mistake he was making by falling for Minki, or maybe he’d just forgotten his phone charger in his bedroom.

           Minhyun stood tall from the floor as he lent over to pick up the now empty package of peanuts and his phone. He soon found a trash bin, relieving his hand of the nearly nonexistent weight of the plastic. He looked at his phone again. This was nothing like Dongho to not reply to his calls and text messages.

---

           The manager strolled hard the hallways as he waited for news on the leader. Back and forth he paced, both of his cell phones in his pockets, waiting for calls back from either Dongho, his parents or Jonghyun’s parents, but no matter how long he paced the halls, the phones didn’t ring. Minhyun approached him from around a corner. The boy anxiously pulled his shirt down around his hands before removing them and placing them in the pockets of his hooded jacket.

           “Have you heard from Baekho?” he asked nonchalantly, though it was obvious how worried he was. Joonkin shook his head. "Maybe you should call his parents?”
           “I’ve tried. No one’s answering. Keep in mind that it’s only nine in the morning; they could still be asleep.”
           “Try again.” Minhyun almost demanded, but quickly covered his mouth at his words.
           “You’re right.”

           Joonkin dialed Dongho’s home phone number for the sixth time that morning, but still, there was no answer. He pressed the red end button and dropped his arm to his side.

           “I think we should go there.” Minhyun suggested. Joonkin nodded shallowly in agreement, placing both of his cell phones in his pocket again.
           “I’ll tell the boys.” Joonkin took his own route to Jonghyun’s hospital room, and Minhyun followed soon after. He’d detoured from him and aimed to enter the waiting room. With full success, he quietly exited the building. He searched for the van in broad daylight, leaning against the driver’s side door once he’d located the silvery vehicle.

---

           “Minhyun and I are going to visit Baekho’s parents. We think that’s where he is.”

           This single sentence made both Minki and Aaron’s hearts race. What would any of them think when they’d come to find that he was missing? Minki considered telling Joonkin all he knew, but the bandaged and bloodied Jonghyun laying in the bed next to him changed his mind in an instant. He would rather have died, to be quite frank, than to have left his side then. Aaron shivered at the thought of the lifeless boy now nearly baking in the heat of the morning sun in the trunk of the car that drove them there.

           “Alright. We’ll be here.” Minki told him, not a shred of worry that leaked across his face. Aaron responded differently, however. He silently moved from the bed, to Joonkin’s side. He made sure that the keys to the car were still in his pocket.
           “I’m coming.”

           The manager nodded, touching the crowns of both Jonghyun and Minki’s heads before he left. “Feel better.” he urged the wounded one.
           “I’ll try.” Jonghyun waved.

           The three had sat down in their respective seats, and took off from the parking lot in the way of Bucheon, towards Dongho’s parent’s permanent residence.