Hyunsuk was actually feeling a little spirit when he walked through the doors of the hospital. His friend, Chief Police Jin's words had done more than cheer him; more than accentuate his victory over his enemy.

They had made him believe that maybe, just maybe, it really was possible that everything would turn out alright.

He actually felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Then he noticed his first son, Seunghyun saw him and get to his feet – and heard him overly loudly announce his arrival to his sister Ga-In.

He notice that Seunghyun's eyes grew wide – and a look of fear flashed across his features. Hyunsuk feel panic well within him. He'd only been gone for a couple of hours – what could possibly happened?

He ran forwards, unashamedly ignoring the disapproving looks aimed in his direction. His panic – that shut down all rational thought – dictated his actions.

"Seunghyun, what is it?" Hyunsuk felt almost on the verge of hyperventilating and he gulped in a breath; grasping his son's shoulders in an effort to hold himself. He forced out his next words, through a throat that felt too tight. "Is it Seungri?"

'Is it Seungri?'

Seunghyun hadn't spared a second to wonder how his father might react to being greeted by him in such a frantic state – but he couldn't help it. He'd seen his father walk through the hospital doors; and then he'd seen Police Chief Jin following him.

And there were two cops currently keeping a very close eye on his brother – and nobody had yet provided him with a reasonable explanation as to why. A thousand thoughts and fears crowded into his brain. But none of the explanations he could come up with, however wild, were at all reassuring as to what might be going on.

His father was looking so scared – and his desperate question had revealed the reason for that; or at least part of the reason, Seunghyun inwardly surmised. At least it was easy or him to take some of that fear away.

"No! It's not Seungri." He look up at his father. He heard tears in his father’s voice and hated them; but he was powerless to prevent them. "The police are with Seungri and the Police Chief is with you… Dad? What's going on?" A new and unforeseen terror spiked through him, as he reached the only conclusion he could: "Did Arashi get away?"

"No." Hyunsuk hurried to reassure his son. That was the nightmare none of them wanted to visit. "No. Jin just…" He glanced towards his friend, offering an apology – and also another silent thanks for everything that had transpired. "He gave me a ride, because Jae Suk's still back at the police station."

Seunghyun know for sure that his father wasn't telling him everything, but he was astute enough to suspect that there was more going on than met the eye.

It didn't matter. He still had his own questions that needed to be answered, so he had no choice but to insist. The thought of his injured and vulnerable brother needing a guard scared the hell out of him: "But dad, what about those two cops?"

"It's just a precaution," he said, lamely.

Seunghyun didn't respond to his father's awkward-sounding explanation, but his mind was racing. The agents – how had he forgotten about them? He could hardly believe he had completely disregarded the obvious threat that remained out there.

He desperately wanted to believe what he had been told, but it hadn't been overly convincing. Instead, it had been downright vague. But Seunghyun really didn't need another worry to add to his already long list.

He would trust his dad – even if he didn't truly believe him.

With nothing else to do, he wandered back over to the chair he'd just vacated. And the time, once again, slowed down to a crawl.

Each red digital minute on the infernal wall clock seemed to take a lifetime to tick over and Seunghyun's eyes constantly moved, seeking some way not to keep dwelling on it.

There was a television in the corner of the room. The sound was muted, but at least it provided something of a distraction. It was tuned to the local news station and Seunghyun's eyes narrowed as the picture changed.

A reporter – was talking into a microphone. Behind him was the backdrop of Seoul Hospital. He was too far away to read the script at the bottom of the screen, but then another picture materialised in the corner of the screen. It was a picture of his baby brother.

Hyunsuk saw a slight smile cross his son’s lips and he followed his gaze to the television screen.

Then he smiled himself – but it was a sad smile and was brought about by completely different reasons to the ones running, unbeknownst to him, through his son's mind:

The picture of Seungri on the screen was a good one; taken at the start of the school year. Seungri looked fresh-faced and handsome; his smile capable of melting a million girls' hearts; and there was no hint of the sadness or danger that had so recently visited their lives.

Hyunsuk sighed – and couldn't help but wonder if he would ever truly see that smile again.

He couldn't look at that picture for a moment more – and his eyes purposefully sought out the clock and then he stared at it relentlessly, waiting for it to tick over and bring him one more minute closer to seeing his son.

A moment later, he felt a touch on his elbow and, grateful for the distraction, he turned. Police Chief Jin looked apologetically back at him.

"I need to go," the Police Chief said; genuinely sorry that he couldn't wait and see this through with his friend. By way of explanation, he jerked his head towards the TV screen. Then he got to his feet and then reached down to shake his friend's hand. "When you get to see your son, tell him his uncle Jin said hi."

At those seemingly innocuous words, Hyunsuk felt a sob rise in him and he almost choked trying to suppress it. They had been so inane, so normal: 'tell him his uncle Jin said hi'. If only when Seungri's wake would be so easy to handle.

He shied away from thinking about what he actually would say to his youngest son, when the time came. Though he knew his words would be vitally important, it wasn't a road he was willing to go down just yet. First, he wanted to know that his youngest son was going to be physically fine – then the rest… The rest he would have to play by ear.

In an effort to distract himself from where his thoughts were threatening to lead him, Hyunsuk watched his friend walked towards the doors of the hospital – immeasurably grateful to have such a man as his friend.

And so he was watching the doors when Jae Suk walked through them.

Inadvertently, he touched Seunghyun's arm and then that touch morphed into a solid grip on his son's elbow. He heard Seunghyun's breath hitch in his throat; felt his own do the same – and that reaction was caused solely by the expression on Jae Suk's face..

"What, Jae Suk?" Hyunsuk demanded.

Jae Suk’s gaze flickered between the three of them repeatedly; and then it became apparent that his eyes were lingering longer and longer on Ga-In. It was obvious that he didn't want to say what he had to say in front of her.

Ga-In, herself, took the dilemma away from him.

"You can tell me." The steel in her voice gave credence to her words. "I have the right to know what happened to my nephew. I can assure you that I won't faint; and I won't cause a scene."

And Jae Suk half-smiled at that.

He couldn't deny her; couldn't offer up any further excuses. He looked at Hyunsuk – and his eyes asked the question: should he?

He got the most vaguely discernible nod in response and then forged on: "We got the first reports back from the crime scene guys," he said – blatantly ignoring Hyunsuk's raised eyebrow at his use of the word 'we'. "The cell where… or rather, the room that was made to look like a cell… I mean, the way the basement was adapted to be a cell…"

"Just spit it out, Jae Suk," Hyunsuk ground out, through lips thinned with anger.

Jae Suk bowed his head. He wasn't normally so unprofessional – but he hated what he had learnt. And hated, even more, the fact that he had to share it in front of Seunghyun and Hyunsuk’s sister, Ga-In. He took a deep breath: "The room was set up for standard sleep deprivation methods. There were hidden speakers all over the cell and the lights were about a thousand watts."

"So they bombarded him with lights and noise." Hyunsuk's voice was still as hard as granite. "I do understand how sleep deprivation works. What else?"

Jae Suk looked as though he was struggling with every word of this conversation, but he couldn't deny his old friend the facts – and Hyunsuk had given implicit permission for both Seunghyun and his sister to be included in this: "The words… The noise he was subjected to… Apparently, it said words like: murderer.... killer."

Hyunsuk let out a long, slow breath – but deliberately didn't say anything. He was afraid that any word coming out of his mouth would be a profanity. In his mind's eye, he was reliving the interrogation of Arashi – but, instead of using mind games to get the better of his foe, he was envisaging tearing the man limb from limb.

Arashi had torn his family apart – and his only punishment was destined to be a prison sentence; albeit one that would never allow him to see freedom again.

That didn't matter. It wasn't enough – and Hyunsuk futilely wished for his time over.

He looked at Jae Suk through haunted eyes: "What else?" he insisted.

At that question, Jae Suk looked away even from Hyunsuk – his best friend; his partner.

"They found some vials," he eventually admitted. "They don't know what was in them – they were all empty…" He risked a glance towards Hyunsuk, but saw only ice – unapproachable, impregnable ice. He forged on: "But it had to be some kind of… some kind of drug."

"What kind of drug?" It was Seunghyun who asked the question – though it was asked in a voice that was almost unrecognisably shaky.

"They don't know," he said; knowing that he wasn't exactly helping – especially not in the presence of Hyunsuk’s sister as well. He was used to dealing with Hyunsuk and Seunhyun – had shared bad news with them before. But Ga-In… He still wasn't convinced that she wouldn't yet faint. Or cause a scene. "They're hoping there's enough trace left for them to identify it."

"Dammit!" For once, Hyunsuk was at a loss. His trusted partner, in his distraught mind, was letting him down. "What did they give to my son?"

"We don't have the resources to test them," he admitted, somewhat begrudgingly. "The vials are being sent to HQ – but I don't see them putting it right at the top of their list of priorities." He looked away, feeling as though he had somehow let them all down. "Maybe the doctor will get something from his blood tests."

He heard both father and son gasp then and looked up, following their gaze. As if on cue, the doctor was striding purposefully towards them.