Afflicted --]

I.

“Do you wanna be?”

“BLOCK B!”

The seven members of the hip hop group Block B stood on stage and smiled and waved to a relatively small crowd of 150 fans who had come out to their meet and greet that day. It was October. They were in the middle of the promotional whirlwind that accompanied their first full-length album, Blockbuster. They smiled, relishing the sound of their fans cheering them on.

“Thank you so much for coming out to our meet and greet today,” leader Zico said to the crowd. “We appreciate your support of our new album more than you will ever know. We hope that we can continue to bring you guys good music and good images of ourselves. We love you BBC!”

“We love you, BBC!” a few of other Block B members echoed to the crowd amid their cheers.

“Thanks again so much and everyone travel home safely,” Jaehyo told the crowd.

“We look forward to meeting with you again soon!” Kyung shouted.

The group took their final bows before walking off of the stage set up in the small event hall that they had used for the meet up. They walked behind the stage and into a side room which they had used as their dressing room for the day.

The boys, sweaty from performing for about an hour and exhausted from waking up at 5:00am to prepare for the day, collapsed into the folding chairs provided for them.

“Good job out there everyone,” said Zico. “That’s what I call a successful meet and greet. The stages were great, the fans were amazing –”

“Except for that one girl that tried to get me to skype with her cat,” Jaehyo mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“At least you didn’t have to sign a jar that contained a fan’s cut out vocal nodules,” Taeil retorted. He batted his eyelashes at Jaehyo as he began to mimic his fan in a high-pitched girly voice. “Oppa, listening to you gave me the courage to endure surgery to remove these nodules and continue to improve as a singer! Oppa, please sign my nodules!”

Kyung rolled his eyes. “At least her heart was in the right place… her mind, however, is debatable?”

“What’s a good fan signing without a crazy fan or two?” asked Minhyuk. He an arm draped gingerly around Yukwon’s shoulders as the younger dancer opened up a Tupperware container of grapes for them to share.

“A sign of the apocalypse, that’s what,” said P.O. before busting into a small round of chuckles.

“Man, an apocalypse doesn’t sound half bad right about now,” said Yukwon. “I’m so exhausted I might as well just sleep forever.”

Minhyuk frowned and squeezed Yukwon’s shoulder reassuringly.

“You can go to sleep right now, Kwonie,” said Minhyuk. “Use my shoulder as a pillow. I hear it’s pretty comfortable.”

Zico couldn’t help but snicker at the older dancer cheesy like. “Settle down, U-Bomb. The fans are gone. You can take it easy on the fanservice now.”

“U-Bomb is real, thank you very much.” Yukwon stuck his tongue out at Zico, teasingly.

Minhyuk blushed slightly but didn’t move. He preferred to keep Yukwon close. He would never say it out loud given that it was something frowned upon by South Korean society, but he sincerely did wish U-Bomb was real.

Somewhere in between meeting as trainees and practicing their dances that the duo infamously love to showcase, Minhyuk somehow managed to find himself falling for sweet, adorable, sometimes sassy, but always naïve Yukwon. He was charming, talented, and his passion for dancing and persistently high energy levels infectious.

He couldn’t help it, really. Yukwon was everything he secretly wanted. He hated having to talk about girls in interviews because he hated lying. That’s why his answers were as silly as possible, if he ever even bothered to answer. He’d rather talk about Yukwon, but he couldn’t.

At the very least, Minhyuk was grateful for the fact that Yukwon was big on skinship. Touching was just a normal thing to him, so he never even thought for a moment that there may be romantic undertones in the way Minhyuk held his hand, pulled him into tight hugs, and always leaned in super close whenever they sat together.

At the very least, he could pretend.

“You know,” said Yukwon. He paused to yawn and stretch his back a little. “I think I might just go sleep in the car while things get closed down here.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” asked Minhyuk.

Yukwon thought for a moment. “No, I think I’ll be okay. The car is like… five feet away from the back doors. I should be fine.”

“Hyung is a big boy, he can take care of himself,” P.O. reprimanded Minhyuk before turning his attention to Yukwon. “Go get some sleep, buddy. You look way worse off than the rest of us right now.”

“Thanks, Maknae,” said Yukwon, rolling his eyes. “Glad to know I have your permission.”

P.O. smiled and waved his hand, shooing him out of the room.

“We’ll be out in a little while,” said Zico. “Just waiting for the managers to wrap up stuff.”

Yukwon waved to his bandmates, gave Minkhyuk’s free hand a quick squeeze with his own, and left the room.

“Don’t forget to lock the car doors!” Taeil shouted after him.

“He stayed up until two practicing our routine again,” said Minhyuk. “I told him to call it a night, but he was so determined. Three hours of sleep just isn’t enough.”

“You know how stubborn he can get,” Kyung shrugged.

“It’s about as stubborn as all of us, you know?” Zico addressed the whole group. “We’re some determined motherers.”

“Can we not pull a T-ara, talking about determination like this?” Jaehyo whined.

Taeil reached over and hit him playfully on the back of the head. “Too soon, bro! Too soon!”

Yukwon exited the back door to the event hall and paused, letting the door shut behind him. He stretched his arms our and breathed in the cool, fall Seoul air. It reinvigorated him a little, but he was still exhausted. With a long, thick yawn he dragged himself to the large, black van that had transported them there earlier that day. He tugged on the door handle.

“Oh God, I’m an idiot,” he groaned. He gently hit his head against the window.

It was locked. How did he not even think to ask one of the managers for the key before going outside? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He sighed. He needed to go back inside.

He didn’t want to move.

“Yukwon-hyung? Is that you? Are you okay?”

Yukwon knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. The only person who called him hyung these days was P.O. and the voice speaking to him didn’t match the deep voice of the maknae. He turned his head slightly and was surprised to see a rather tall man standing close to the rear of the van.

The man had long, shabby hair and was dressed in a dark green turtle neck sweater and dark genes. He was surprisingly tan, partly because of the time of year and partly because of Korean obsession with having the palest skin possible. But in spite of how mature and different he looked, Yukwon noted that he had been referred to as “hyung”. He was talking to a teenager.

“Do I know you?” Yukwon asked.

“I’m sorry, hyung,” the man bowed. “I’m your fan. One of your biggest. I’m so sorry… I missed your fan signing today…”

“It’s okay,” said Yukwon.

“I was looking forward to meeting you…”

“Well, you’re meeting me now…?” Yukwon began to feel uncomfortable. He pried himself off of the van and took a few tentative steps back towards the door.

“You have no idea how much I admire you… I’ve watched every video on the internet I could possible find of you. You’re an amazing dancer.”

“Th-thank you.” Yukwon continued to back up to the door. “I uhm… I just came out for some fresh air for a minute… It was nice talking to you but I have to get back to the group. Maybe you could come to the next signing? I… I uh think it’s on Tuesday?... in Gangnam?”

“No, no don’t go inside just yet, hyung,” said the man. “I’ve waited so long to meet you… I don’t want you to go just yet.”

“Look, I really have to go,” said Yukwon, firmly. “It was nice meeting you…”

“Shim Yongsam.”

“Shim Yongsam…” Yukwon repeated. “I’ll meet you later. At a concert or a meet and greet or something.

“My name sounds so wonderful when you say it, hyung…” Yongsam practically whispered, his voice was so soft… so low…

So dangerous.

“I’ve dreamed of a day when I could hear you scream it…”

Yukwon could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his throat. His hands were clammy and sweat was beading on his forehead.

“Goodbye, Yongsam-sshi,” Yukwon quietly murmured. He stood still for a moment, waiting for just a beat, before turning and dashing for the door.

“HYUNG!” Yongsam shouted, running after him.

Yongsam’s long legs gave him an advantage. He roughly grabbed Yukwon’s arm just as the dancer reached the door.

“NO!” Yukwon shouted, tugging at the door in vein. It was locked. He held on but kicked the door hoping to make enough noise to get someone’s attention. “LET GO!”

“Hyung!” Yongsam screamed, managing to tug Yukwon from the door. He threw him to the ground.

Yukwon cried out as his body roughly made contact with the pavement. “Stop it!” He cried when Yongsam lifted him back up to his feet and shoved him roughly against the van.

“I can’t, I can’t,” Yongsam’s shaky voice replied. “What do I do, hyung? I can’t stop these feelings… you… you do something to me.”

“Please, just let me go,” Yukwon begged.

Yongsam pulled them around to the other side of the van, hoping to give them privacy from whoever could be on the other side of the door.

“I can’t…”

Yukwon could feel tears prickling behind his eyes. What was going to happen to him? Why was this happening to him?

Yongsam pressed up against him, pinning Yukwon between his body and the van. Yukwon whimpered. He could feel Yongsam, completely erect through his jeans, pressing up against him.

Please, God, this can’t be happening, Yukwon silently prayed.

Yongsam seemed to pause for a moment, relishing the feel of  his idol, the object of his twisted affections beneath him. He nuzzled his face into the crook of Yukwon’s neck, breath in his sent and rubbing the tip of his nose against the dancer’s soft baby hairs there.

Yukwon’s heart rate was rapid. He needed to do something, anything.

He needed to run.

He mustered up as much strength as he could gather, considering his shock and fatigue, and shoved Yongsam off of him. He immediately began shouting, screaming hoping to gain some attention as he took off down the alley in which they were located. He moved back to the area of the building where he knew his bandmates were probably located.

“HELP! HELP!”

“YUKWON-HYUNG, PLEASE JUST STOP” Yongsam growled, chasing after Yukwon once again.

“MINHYUK! ZICO! JAEHYO! ANYBODY!” Yukwon continued to scream, shrilly. “HELP!”

“Hyung, they’ll hear you!”

“P.O! KYUNG! TAEIL!”

“Yukwon!” Yongsam snarled.

“MANAGER, HELP!”

“Stop yelling!” Yongsam shouted. He lunged forward and succeeded in once again capturing the terrified Yukwon.

“LET GO!” Yukwon screamed. He thrashed as best he could in Yongsam’s arm. His legs flailed and he threw his body weight to and fro trying to throw the bigger boy off of him. He shoved his elbows into Yongsam’s rib cage but it didn’t deter him and alter the boy’s hold on him.

Yukwon was panicking. His eyes shut as he tried to fight off the worst that he knew was surely to come.

“HELP! SOMEBODY! MINHYUK! ZICO!”

“STOP SCREAMING, WOULD YOU?” Yongsam roared.

He left go of Yukwon enough to grab him by his shirt and he slammed him into the wall nearest them.

With a loud, ominous crack, the left side Yukwon’s head made contact with the brick surface first. He was stunned. His vision instantly blurred. Yongsam angrily repeated his action, Yukwon’s head once again shoved into the concrete before the rest of his body followed.

Yukwon could feel it getting to harder and harder to breath with each passing millisecond. He couldn’t feel his legs; his head with throbbing. He didn’t have it in him to scream or fight anymore. He couldn’t make out anything in his vision and the world gradually got darker until it completely disappeared.

“What the hell was that?” Kyung shouted after hearing what he thought was screaming and several loud thuds.

The boys looked at each other curiously, wondering what could have been happening.

Then Minhyuk grew white and clammy in terror. A sinking feeling weighed heavily on chest suddenly, as if an unknown sixth sense was trying to tell him what was wrong but he couldn’t instantly interpret it. “Yukwon.” He finally said before shooting up and dashing out of the room.

“I’m getting the managers,” said Taeil. “You guys go with him and see what’s up.”

The group split up, running in either direction to figure out what, if anything, was wrong.

Minhyuk threw opened the doors and was instantly greeted with the side of the van that was now sporting a dent that hadn’t been there previously. He looked inside, cupping his hands to block the street lights so he could get a good look.

Yukwon wasn’t in there.

“Yukwon!” He cried, desperately before taking off down the alley. “YUKWON WHERE YOU ARE!?”

His band members ran after him, all calling Yukwon’s name.

That’s when they saw two figures. One of them, an unknown person none of them could recognize, had their Yukwon roughly pressed up against the side of the building.

Minhyuk’s mouth hung open, shocked, when he noticed that the man who had Yukwon pinned had his pants down partially and one hand under Yukwon’s shirt, touching the dancer’s smooth pale skin… obviously, without his consent, because it didn’t take long for them to notice Yukwon’s head was tilted back completely unsupported.

“What the do you think you’re doing?” Zico shouted, shocking the man.

“Who are you?” P.O. demanded to know.

The man didn’t answer. He threw Yukwon’s body to the ground, quickly tugged up his pants and sprinted down the alley towards the open road.

“Hey!” Minhyuk snarled running after him. Zico had the same idea, also taking off to chase the assailant.

Kyung and Jaehyo rushed to Yukwon’s side while P.O. ran back down the alley where he met with Taeil and their managers about halfway back to the door through which they all came.

“Call the police! Call an ambulance!” P.O. voice shook with anger and fear and what they had just witnessed. “Someone’s hurt Yukwon-hyung! He needs help!”

“Where’s Zico and Minhyuk?” one of the managers asked while Taeil and the other manager whipped out their phones to dial emergency services.

“They chased the guy down to the road,” P.O. pointed.

“You guys, hurry!” Kyung shouted from his place beside Yukwon. “He’s not conscious! I don’t think he’s breathing!”

Jaehyo ripped off the thin cardigan he had been wearing and immediately pressed the garment to Yukwon’s head which was sporting a large bloody wound.

The manager relayed this information to the emergency dispatcher, impressing the urgency of the situation upon her.

Their second manager ran over to Yukwon, gently pushing Kyung aside. He immediately began performing CPR.

Minhyuk and Zico returned not long after, completely out of breath.

“We lost him,” said Zico. “He turned down Taepyoung-no and we lost him.”

Minhyuk wasn’t even thinking about the assailant anymore when he witnessed the manager performing CPR on Yukwon.

“Oh my God,” he gasped. He rushed down to the ground, shoving Jaehyo out of the way. “Yukwon! Oh, God, oh God, Yukwon!” He touched Yukwon’s arms which were covered in bruises, ran his hands over his perfectly still legs, but he didn’t get in the way of the manager.

Within minutes there was the police and an ambulance, as requested.

The rescue workers gently transferred Yukwon onto a gurnee and administered oxygen.

“Two of you can ride with him,” said one of the workers. “Decide quickly.”

“I’m not leaving him,” said Minhyuk, instantly. No one doubted him; he had followed the gurnee all the way to the truck already.

“I’ll go too,” said the manager who had been performing CPR.

“I’ll talk to the police,” said Zico. “The rest of you can follow the ambulance in the van and I’ll meet you there.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, rushing to their respective vehicles.

Minhyuk grasped Yukwon’s limp, lifeless hand the entire ride to the nearest hospital. “Be okay, dammit,” he whispered to Yukwon. He was hoping he could still somehow hear him. He barely noticed the tears streaming down his face. “I can’t lose you, Yukwon.”