The first of my senses to come back was hearing. White fuzzy noise flooded through my ear drums. And then muffled voices. Some sounded familiar. Some not. My mind ached and it seemed to be extremely difficult to form complete thoughts. I brought my hands to my eyes but instantly a quiet gasp escaped my mouth when fire erupted in my right shoulder. Finding the arm that didn’t hurt to move, I was able to rub my eyes open and then once I could see, peeked down at my shoulder.

A tight white bandage was pulled across my skin, a small circle of blood seemed to have seeped through. That’s when my mind jumped back into the memories of what happened. From when I was running from the gang, to when Daehyun was shouting to me, all up to when…Donghae had shot me.

I covered my mouth in horror. Every hair-raising detail flooded into my mind, the stank of yesterday night was real. The pain-inducing bullet that soared through me, ripping and tearing my flesh. And it had been Donghae who had done that. I couldn’t get it through my head that he would betray and hurt me like that. I couldn’t believe anyone would want to hurt Daehyun.

Daehyun.  My heart stopped.

Where was he? Worry and panic filled me, choking and suffocating my body. I did my best to understand where I was.

A spacious, brightly lit room littered with all things boys like; baseball caps, a football, baseballs, a skateboard, and a video game system. I specifically looked for something, anything that would give me some sort of clue about whose room this was. There was nothing, no pictures, or anything that would give away the identity of the room’s owner.

I needed to get up. I tried to close in on the muffled voices escaping through the closed door, but my ears still seemed to be ringing. I swung my legs, which felt like fifty pound weights, over the side of the bed. Trying to get my balance, I wiggled my toes on the stained carpet floor. Taking one more look before I left the room, I could definitely tell a young boy lived here.

“Are you going to explain to us what happened yet, or are we just going to be kept in the dark about this whole incident?” From around the corner I hovered behind, a middle-aged, somewhat haggard woman stood tall, her arms firmly crossed.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” a boy who was slumped over in his chair, the upper half of his body laying sprawled out on the kitchen counter mumbled almost incoherently. “Let’s change the subject.”

“Listen, I understand you’re upset about your girlfriend, but we’re trying to help. Please,” the lady placed a hand on the hunched over boy’s back in an effort to comfort him.

“Daehyun-hyung, you can tell us, don’t worry,” an incredibly tall, yet scrawny blonde said, stepping out from where he had before been obscured from my view.

“Zelo, Daehyun,” I gasped, making my way into the kitchen.

Zelo jumped back, his eyes rocketing open, Daehyun quickly following his surprised actions.

“_____?” Zelo stuttered, looking to the woman for help.

Leaping up from the chair, Daehyun dashed across the kitchen to me. “What are you doing up?” he stressed, taking me by the shoulders.

“I heard you guys talking,” I replied.

“Aish,” Daehyun gave me a quick glance up and down before he wrapped his arms around me for a hug. I inhaled sharply through my teeth when his arm was squished against my injured shoulder. Daehyun hurriedly released me and apologized, but the worry apparent his eyes didn’t disappear for even a split second. “I really thought you were, I mean…after what had happened- Well, nevermind, you’re here now, and you’re okay,” Daehyun reassured himself. “But,” leaning in closer, he frowned. “You don’t look so good. Let’s go back to Zelo’s room so you can rest some more. You shouldn’t be walking around.”

While Daehyun had been talking, I noticed the deep violet beginning to bloom in one of his cheeks, another daunting scrape already making a statement on his lip. His eyes were puffy, red, and swollen too. He had been crying.

“Let’s go back,” Daehyun took my hand in his, but I fought against his pull, my feet staying glued to the floor.

“I’m fine,” I forced a smile despite the excruciating throbbing in my shoulder, “Really.”

Daehyun eyebrows tightened at the center, his grip becoming stronger. “I’m not joking, c’mon.”

“Mind if I in,” the lady spoke up, stepping forward.

Daehyun appeared uneasy at this, but let the older woman continue.

“Daehyun, Zelo, can you leave us for a bit. And _____, you can sit over here,” she said, ushering me into a nearby chair.

“But Mom, we’re a part of this too! How can we just leave?” Zelo whined, tugging on his mother’s sleeve.

“Yeah, I’m not going,” Daehyun folded his arms, his unmoving figure hogging the doorway.

I noticed the vein pop out on Zelo’s mom’s neck, her face reddening with anger and she scrunched her eyes shut tightly. “I’ll give you to the count of three. One…two…”

“Mom, we’re serious! And do you really think that works on us? We’re practically adults.”

“Three! Now both of you get your butts out of here before I whip you right into next week! Out, out!” she hollered, manually pushing the wide-eyed boys out the apartment’s front door. Locking the door behind them, her shoulder’s dropped and she sighed in relief. “Now, back to you.” Ignoring the loud thuds, bangs, and shouts coming from the other side of the door, she walked past where I had sat down at the kitchen table and went to the sink to wet a rag. Wringing it until it was barely damp, she knelt down in front of me. “Let’s see your wound.”

Seeing how tense I had become, Zelo’s mom rolled her eyes. “Ahh, don’t worry about them, they’ll be fine. I just needed to talk to you alone. I want to know what happened, and I want to know from your point of view. Daehyun was lying to me when he told his side of the story.”

“What did…Daehyun tell you?” I asked, tugging down my shirt so that Zelo’s mom could unwrap the bloodied bandage.

“Just some crap he made up off the top of his head. I don’t even remember.”

My eyes drifted downwards and my frown grew deeper. The truth must have been too hard for Daehyun to say. How horrible it must have been for him to clutch my dying body, not having any way of stopping death from creeping up on me. Yet, I’m alive. I don’t know how I had survived that, a bullet to the chest. And after I had out, Daehyun somehow must’ve managed to carry me here. I wonder if it had been far.

“Well? What’s the story?”

“I was shot,” I mumbled, not able to meet Zelo’s mom’s eyes.

“Anyone with eyes can see that. Now how were you shot?” she scoffed, roughly dabbing at the hole in my shoulder.

My mouth opened, but I couldn’t find the strength to speak. It hurt just recalling yesterday’s events. I didn’t want to remember anything.

“Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to say something?” Unrolling a fresh string of gauze, she wrapped up my shoulder once again.

“I..."

“Yeah?”

I brought my head up slowely, Zelo’s mom’s figure blurring as I fought back every confused, hate, pain filled tear. I gritted my teeth, “Why…Why did he do that? Why did Donghae do that? Huh? What did I do to deserve this?” My voice was getting louder, and before I knew it, I was shouting. “Why? Why did Donghae shoot me?!”

Zelo’s mom recoiled back on her hands, stunned at my unpredicted outburst.

I jumped to my feet, ignoring everything inside of me that was pressuring me to stop. “It hurts. It hurts so much. But not just this,” I hissed, pointing at my wound. “I care about him so much, endlessly. You could even say I love him. Am I supposed to just watch him get killed by a bunch of thugs? Huh? Can I really stand aside to watch him die?!”

“Calm down,” Zelo’s mom frantically tried to sit my back in the chair.

“Tell me what I’m supposed to do!” I shrieked, letting every emotion I had bottled inside of me out at once. I hunched forward and cupped my face, my sobs getting louder and louder. “I love him, I love him so much. What am I supposed to do…?”

A pair of arms wrapped itself around me, their warmth the only comfort at the moment. I buried my head in their chest, inhaling the person’s familiar scent. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry,” I cried as Daehyun began to my hair. “I’m sorry things ended up like this.”

“It’s not your fault, please don’t cry," Daehyun murmered.

“Hyung, wait up, “ Zelo, copying Daehyun, climbed in through the open kitchen window. His eyes flew open at the seen that was going on in his kitchen. Helping his mother up, he stood back in amazement as he watched Daehyun calm me down.

Hastily fixing her shirt, Zelo’s mom angrily blew her disheveled hair from her eyes. “I don’t know how I put up with you crazies,” she muttered under her breath.

“Mom, please, not now,” Zelo prodded. Catching Daehyun’s eye, Zelo motioned for him to take me back to his room.

Nodding, Daehyun, with the help of Zelo, led me back to where I had first woken up.

"Thank you," I gave Daehyun a meek nod as he pulled the plush duvet up over my chest. The bed was so comfortable, it felt nice to lie down again. Once he had finsihed getting me situated and tucked into Zelo's bed, Daehyun appeared at ease at last.

Seeing that I was in capable hands, Zelo left me to continue to try to calm his unruly mother down.

Letting the door shut behind him, Daehyun ruffled his messy hair and sat down on the bed beside me. He stared into my eyes softly, savoring the comfortable safeness felt between the two of us. “You saved me _____. You saved my life,” he stated matter of factly, not looking away.

I shook my head. “You saved mine.”

Daehyun tilted his head to the side inquisitively.

 “As I was slipping away, I could hear you. I heard your voice. It was telling me not to give up. I clutched and held onto every word I heard you say, after all, those were the only things I had left. I was gone, Daehyun, but you brought me back.”

“Pshh, what’re you saying,” Daehyun laughed, looking away. “You’re the one who took the hit for me.”

I bit my lip, my burning question resurfacing. “Why did he do it?”

“Who? Donghae?”

“Yeah,” I gazed at my re-bandaged wound. “Why did he shoot me?”

“To scare me most likely. They let me go this time, so that’s the only reason I can think of.”

"Huh?”

“They’re all after me. If the person I care about most is killed in front of me, it’s going to shake me up pretty badly. I’m going to be afraid of them, so I’ll do what they say. In the end though, once they’ve got what they want from me, they’ll probably kill me too. That’s how it works I guess.”

“I see,” I muttered. “But…why did Donghae shoot me?”

“That’s the part I don’t get,” Daehyun shook his head, the answer he was searching for still evading him. “He’s been working at that apartment building ever since I moved in. I’ve known him for years. We were close. I don’t get why…”

“And,” I pondered for a moment, yesterday's happenings still not making any sense.  “He didn’t kill me.”

Daehyun tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear and smiled, a soft twinkle his eyes. “Thank goodness.” He leaned in and pecked my cheek lightly, his lips lingering for barely a second. “Let’s stop talking about this for now. You’re alright, and that’s all that matters.”

I gave him a shy smile, but I still had some grave thoughts. “What are we going to do though? Those guys are still after you…”

“I’ll figure something out. But for now, we’re going to be staying here. Zelo lives in the better part of Gangnam, so this place is way safer than our apartments. And even though his mom may seem bad at first, she’s actually not that horrible once you get to know her,” Daehyun said, chuckling to himself.

“Well that’s a relief," I exclaimed.

Daehyun’s eyes, a faraway look in them, drifted to Zelo’s window. “I’m going to protect you,” he said.

I turned to him, unsure if I had heard correctly. "What?"

“I said I'm going to protect you. And that's a promise.”