(A/N: This takes place a couple days later)

Niel couldn't take it. He needed to tell Chanhee, and he needed to do it now. If Chanhee was asleep, he would wake him up. Niel couldn't deal with this; knowing something of this magnitude, and having Chanhee not have a single clue. 

Niel raced to Byunghun and Chanhee's room. If Byunghun found out that Niel had spilled to Chanhee, he would be forever angry. He had made it clear that he didn't want Chanhee to have any part in this. Byunghun was stupid and illogical, in Niel's opinion. He was willing to take any sort of pain and suffering to keep Chanhee safe. He was willing to get himself killed if it meant Chanhee could live another day. What he didn't realize was how big the repercussion of his sacrifices, God forbid he ever had to, would be on Chanhee. Chanhee would take it a lot worse if Byunghun got hurt, and would likely beat himself up if he found out that it was for him. 

None too quietly, Niel walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He hadn't expected Chanhee to be awake. Neil's eyes widened. At least if Chanhee was asleep, he would have some time to formulate a plan to explain things. Starting with how he would start, what he would even say, how he would say it. But Chanhee was staring right at him, curiosity in his eyes as he had his arms wrapped around a sleeping Byunghun. Niel gulped, slowly walking towards Chanhee and leaning against the wall, a few feet away from the bed. His eyes flickered down to Byunghun. Byunghun looked so small and...exposed, his body curled against Chanhee in a way that could make one believe that Chanhee was the only source of heat in the dead of winter, and Byunghun was trying to keep himself warm. To say that Chanhee would have been uncomfortable was an understatement. There was no way a person could be comfortable laying down awkwardly on their shoulder. But he cuddled the sleeping boy with nothing but a look of love. Niel was jealous. Not of either boy, but of them together. It was clear that they both depended on the other. The love they had for each other was unquestionable. 

Speaking of that, Niel finally gathered the courage to open his mouth. "Hyung, there's something you should know about Byunghun hyung and...what he's been doing." 

Niel swallowed again, and met Chanhee's eyes. I'm sorry, Byunghun.

"What are you talking about, Niel?" Chanhee asked, his voice above a whisper but quieter than his usual tone. Just then, Byunghun shifted in his sleep, whimpering. Niel made out a perplexed look of strain on Byunghun's face. His eyes were closed,  but that didn't make his distress any less obvious. The whimpers, soft yet clearly audible in the quiet room, didn't go unnoticed. Niel looked to Chanhee for some sort of clue what to do, but Chanhee seemed to be handling the situation well, and hardly looked surprised.

"Shh, it's okay, baby. Shh." Chanhee soothingly whispered into Byunghun's ear, one hand rubbing slow circles on his back and the other caressing his hair lightly. Strangely, Byunghun began to relax at Chanhee's touch, letting out a shaky sigh before falling deeper into sleep. It took a while for Niel to put the pieces together. 

"He's done this more than once, hasn't he? In previous days?"

Chanhee just nodded in response, continuing his soothing actions even though Byunghun had calmed down. 

"Do you get any sleep at all, during the night?" Niel asked. 

Chanhee gave Niel a small smile. "He's been having nightmares. The first time he did, I woke up to find him crying, fully awake. He looked so startled and petrified. He wouldn't even sleep afterwards. It must've been terrible; he was really shaken. So, I stay up at night to comfort him, and take a nap during the day."

Niel gawked, unable to believe what he was hearing. A nightmare wasn't something to lose sleep over...But Chanhee stayed up all night while Byunghun was asleep to make sure, ironically, that Byunghun stayed asleep and was comforted throughout. A nap was hardly enough to help fuel someone to last the day...how was Chanhee even surviving like that? 

"Does Byunghun hyung know what you're doing?" Niel asked. Chanhee shook his head, laughing faintly. "He wouldn't let me do this if he knew. Byung hardly sleeps much as it is, I don't want him losing more sleep. I trust you'll keep this a secret, right?" Chanhee asked, a glimmer in his eyes as he grinned at the other boy. 

This couple had too many secrets. 

"Of course. But speaking of secrets...Byunghun is--well the thing is he--The bruises he has on his chest weren't from him falling. Let's start with that." Niel had come up with a few ways to start this confession in his head, but he ended up sputtering complete rubbish. It was a stupid lie that Byunghun had told Chanhee. Niel didn't know when Chunji had hit Byunghun, and for what reason. Byunghun was changing in his room one day, and Niel happened to pass by, which was how he found out about that bruise in the first place.

Byunghun had literally begged Niel not to tell the others, but that wasn't something to be worried about. It was so bad that sometimes, Byunghun couldn't even talk. He looked in pain by just breathing, so of course, someone was bound to find out. Apparently, he had lied that he had fell and hurt his ribs that way, which was just plain stupid in Niel's opinion--the group knew the gist of the Chunji situation. Sure, they didn't know that Chunji was really Chanhee's twin, and that Byunghun had spent the past few weeks acting as a slave to him, but they knew that someone was out to hurt him. If Byunghun had just told the others, then things would be easier, but no matter how many times Niel tried to persuade him to tell, he wouldn't.

 Chanhee instinctively began rubbing Byunghun's rib area, with a frown. "Then what happened?"

"Somebody hit him. You can't get broken and fractured ribs by tripping and falling on the floor, hyung." Niel expected Chanhee to be angry. If your lover was hiding things from you, you were supposed to get angry, right? But Chanhee just held Byunghun tighter, looking worried. "Why?"

"Well, I suppose you can get a fractured rib by falling if you fall really hard--"

"No, Niel, I mean why did my Byung get hit? Who did it? I'll kill them." Chanhee growled, gritting his teeth. 

Niel rubbed the back of his neck. "Chanhee hyung...do you have a twin?"