Between a rhythmic pulsating headache and a heavy pressure on his chest, Luhan can't tell if anything is real right now. His face crinkles as he opens his eyes, lashes fluttering against his pale face. He finds the blueish lights above him mercilessly blinding and tries to adjust to their harshness. Scraggly breaths are uncomfortable in Luhan's parched throat, and he clears his throat a couple times only to irritate it further. He closes his eyes in frustration, leaning back against the pillow. Instinctively, his hand wanders up to his neck, sliding up across what he now realizes is his bare chest. On the way up, his fingers brush across bandages he didn't notice were there and when he reaches his neck, he encounters another one, just above his collar bone. He brushes his fingertips lightly over it, and even that gentle of a pressure feels burdensome on the wound.

Taking the opportunity to examine himself further, Luhan raises both arms to find yet more bandages arbitrarily wrapped around them. Following his initial thought of Wow, I really look like a mummy, Luhan remembers Baekhyun's attacks for a few fleeting moments. The memory doesn't sit well with him and he s his head to the side in attempts to cast them away. His neck wound suffers a generous strain from the sharp and sudden motion, earning Luhan a painful burning sensation - as if the gash was being pulled apart in attempts to reopen the cut. Luhan huffs to try and quell the pain and wills away a couple tears he managed to work up.

Slowly rising, Luhan brings his hand to his head, cupping his forehead with his palm. Everything feels heavy, as if the IV stuck in his less injured arm was injecting lead into his body. Luhan laughs at the thought since obviously if it were lead being injected in his veins, he'd be dying. Or dead already. He didn't know. Mindlessly, he grabs at the thin sheet messily covering the lower half of his body. With a small tug, Luhan decides he should inspect that half of his body too, but he's surprised by a resistive tug on the other end of his pull. Luhan cranes his neck carefully to discover the source of the resistance, which was none other than a sleeping Oh Sehun. The top half of his body was pressed against the side of the bed and his head rests atop his crossed arms. Sehun's chair was scooted quite far away from the bed to accomodate his long and slender figure. With a tender touch, Luhan Sehun's hair as he sleeps. The poor boy looks exhausted even in his sleep. Sehun's shoulders slowly rise and fall in sync with his steady breathing, matching a rhythm similar to that of Luhan's pounding head. A weak smile forms on Luhan's face when he realizes that Sehun had been at his side all night long, if it even was morning now. Luhan really had no clue how long he'd been out for, and he scans the room for a clock or a window - anything that could indicate to him the time.

A subtle rustling distracts Luhan on his quest for time, drawing his attention back to his sleeping boyfriend, who squirms awake.

"Morning, sleepy head," Luhan greets sweetly.

"Morning?" Sehun groans with a hoarse voice. His dreary expression showcases his grogginess with puffy, dark circled eyes. Luhan's hand falls from Sehun's head when Sehun gets up and lands on the top of Sehun's arm. He rubs small circles with his thumb.

"Isn't it?"

"Mmm," Sehun yawns, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "I don't know actually.. Must be like three A.M. or something by now."

Luhan shrugs at the answer and settles for Sehun's rough estimate, since it's better than nothing. "Um.. Sehunnie, where are we?" Luhan questions next, realizing that he still didn't have the answer for that either. The last thing he remembers, he was watching Kyungsoo drag Baekhyun over to Chanyeol, but after that, he can only remember the picture becoming fuzzy and blurred and then he was on the ground. He recalls opening his mouth to try and cry for help but he can't be sure if any noise actually came out. Everything after that is blackness in his memory, and now Luhan finds himself here - in this unfamiliar makeshift hospital room. It's a very simple room; just the bed Luhan's lying in with a small bedside table with a small vase and single chrysanthemum (a poor attempt for decoration, if you ask him.) The fluorescent light buzzes softly above them, and there isn't much else in the room except for some medical equipment and of course, Sehun and his chair.

"I'll tell you all about it later," Sehun offers, lowering his head once more.

"Do you want to sleep more?" Luhan asks. He shifts over on the bed to make a space for his tired boyfriend. Sehun peeks open one eye and hesitates to join but Luhan gives him a pouty face the younger just can't refuse. He climbs into the bed and cautiously crawls into the empty space. Luhan holds the blanket open for him to get under and then lets go of it to drift over Sehun's body. Since Sehun is on Luhan's fine side, Luhan lets him snuggle into the crook of his neck, and begins his hair once again. Sehun wraps an arm around Luhan's waist to avoid the pressure of his arm on his boyfriend's wounded chest.

"Shouldn't I be the one cuddling you?" Sehun protests, and the hint of worry in his voice becomes a little more prominent. Luhan's eyes become tiny slits as he chuckles at Sehun's remark.

"No," he answers. "This is just fine."

"Are you okay?" Sehun croaks out quietly.

Luhan nods in affirmation and whispers, "Never been better."

"Don't lie," Sehun chides. Though he says the words sluggishly and sleepily, making Luhan smile.

"Well.. I'm a lot better now that I have you," Luhan corrects.

"Me too..." Sehun whispers. His eyes are closed now and he feels himself fading fast. Luhan closes his eyes too and follows shortly after.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sunlight bathes the top of Yixing's medical bunker after only a few hours, but even the far-reaching light can't extend to Luhan's windowless, underground hospital room. Though maybe it's for the best, Sehun thinks to himself as he stares up at the ceiling. He's been awake for the past twenty minutes, courtesy of his internal body clock. He decides not to wake Luhan as well, letting him take as much rest as he can get. With all the betrayal and searching and injuries he's endured over the past few days, Sehun reasons that Luhan desperately needs it, even if the older won't admit it. It's not like Sehun doesn't know. Luhan always puts on a strong face for him despite any circumstances. Sehun takes solace in watching that strong face soften now, gently his boyfriend's cheek with a light touch. He loves Luhan, and he admires Luhan's courage, but sometimes he wishes that he could be the one taking care of him, and not the other way around. Even now, in Luhan's slashed up state, Luhan is the one cuddling Sehun.

"I'll take care of you," Sehun speaks softly, and it's really more to himself than to Luhan. The click of the door goes unheard by Sehun and a tall, lean, blonde man comes through the entrance. Clipboard in hand, the man rounds the end of the bed over to the side opposite Sehun.

"Actually, I will," the stranger retorts, and Sehun looks up from his lying position to see Kris, Yixing's personal medical assistant. He scowls at the sight, his eyes flitting away to avoid any direct eye contact.

"Sorry Nurse Wu," Sehun says. His apology is just a vessel for his sarcasm however, the sentiment sailing smoothly from his lips. But it doesn't seem to faze Kris in the slightest.

"You shouldn't be in the bed with him you know," Kris nonchalantly tells Sehun without looking up in favor of scribbling Luhan's vitals on his clipboard. Because Sehun doesn't want any trouble for his Luhan, he obeys Kris' words silently, the boy maneuvering his way out of the bed to avoid disturbing Luhan from sleep. "Everything looks fine," Kris confirms for Sehun. "Just let him get his rest." Sehun replies with a grunt and Kris promptly leaves the room to report back to Yixing.

The clattering of the metal clip of Kris' clipboard hitting the wooden table makes Yixing jump, and Kris could swear he saw the hairs on the back of Yixing's neck stand up. Swiveling around in his chair, Yixing breaks away from his desk for the first time in what could have easily been three or four hours. A distraught Kris is a perfect distraction from his work, especially because Yixing has been stuck in his thoughts for the past hour trying to decide how to study Chanyeol (and Jongin for that matter.) "Everything okay?" Yixing asks, rubbing the back of his neck and lounging back in the chair. He thinks he hears his spine creak considering he's hardly moved from the same position all this time. Mouth forming into an O shape, Yixing coos softly in response to the small noise he didn't expect to hear.

"Yeah," Kris sighs into the word before pressing on with the rest of his report. "Everything is normal with Luhan. The Sehun boy though suffers from a severe case of sass." Kris rolls his eyes and smoothes his hair back.

"Well maybe he would be less sassy if you hadn't tried to give his boyfriend mouth to mouth," Yixing replies matter-of-factly. "I've never seen you so eager," the doctor teases, eliciting a scoff from Kris. "I should've warned you that Sehun is really protective of Luhan," Yixing thinks out loud. Luhan is his best friend after all.

"He wasn't breathing okay? What was I supposed to do?"

"He was breathing just fine," Yixing corrects. "You just freaked out. With all this research we've been doing, I'm surprised you get all antsy and squeamish at the sight of blood."

"Okay well -" Kris tries to in to set the record straight (with what, he doesn't know, but Yixing ragging on him isn't doing anything for his pride.)

"Don't you want to be a doctor?"

"I'm perfectly happy doing what I'm doing," Kris refutes the question. "And what I'm doing doesn't involve blood."

A smile graces Yixing's face, brightening his tired demeanor. His signature dimple (that only Kris consistently notices) appears on his cheek, and hearty laughs erupt from the smaller man.

"Why are you laughing?" Kris deadpans, the question coming out more as a statement than an inquiry.

"Because you're funny."

"I'm... not? Aish.." Kris huffs again, which only makes Yixing laugh harder. "I think you need to get some rest. You've been up all night long."

"No no no, I can't," Yixing replies, waving off Kris' concern along with the last few giggles piping out of him. "I have much work to do."

"Yixing, you were practically falling asleep at your desk when I came in."

"Maybe so," Yixing concurs. "But I'm more than awake now, and I need to understand how to make use of Chanyeol." Without warning, Yixing swivels back around to his desk while tapping his chin, which Kris knows means he's deep in thought once again. Off to the side of the room sits Kris' favorite armchair, or better known as his bed really. He has a bed. It's a floor up from the lab on the ground level. But because Kris spends so much time with research and completing tasks from Yixing, upstairs just seems so far, and so he usually ends up taking naps in that armchair (which is obviously too small for him, just by the way.) When Kris spots it, he decides that he should probably take his own advice and get himself some rest too. His feet drag across the hard floor to make a way to his chair, which he promptly plops himself into and manages to curl up his lanky limbs. He's all to used to this really, and within a matter of minutes, Kris is out like a light.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Little does anyone know, Yixing isn't the only one who stayed up all night. Baekhyun lies stiff on his back and stares up at the ceiling, the sounds of Jongin's light snoring the only thing filling the room. In the bed, Jongin and Kyungsoo squish together to share it, leaving no space for Baekhyun. Not that he wanted any anyway. Baekhyun, like Luhan, was never really one to show his emotions to anyone - anyone except Chanyeol that is. Kris had given him a spare sleeping bag and pillow, which Baekhyun spent half the night crying in, the other half doing what he was doing now. If he could have things his way, he'd be in Chanyeol's room, at Chanyeol's side, but Kyungsoo didn't trust him to even do that, so he hancuffed him to the bed post while he slept. On any other day, Baekhyun would have found it super uncomfortable, but the numbness in his heart made it hard for him to feel anything at all. Besides, Baekhyun didn't have time to think about pain, his mind occupied only with thoughts of Chanyeol. In his head, Baekhyun replayed the scene over and over again, like a personal cinema showing the most recent horror film. He watched and rewatched the actors play emotions of worry and sorrow and sickness. He saw the camera flash from his face to Chanyeol's. He felt Chanyeol's stone cold face and looked into his white glossy eyes again and again, torturing himself by pausing the picture at the scariest part. Except Baekhyun didn't have the luxury of pulling the tape from the reel. Baekhyun couldn't tear apart the story, couldn't stop the movie, because there was no movie. It was reality and there was no escape. 

Although they arrived just hours ago, the hectic arrival feels like a faint memory to Baekhyun. The hustle and bustle of everyone rushing around paints a blurry picture in his mind, accompanied by white noise. Only one thing remains clear in Baekhyun's mind - the soft twitches of Chanyeol's face and body and the weak noises that crawled from his lips every so often. Call him crazy, but Baekhyun could swear he heard Chanyeol mumble "B-baee..k..hyun" at one point, in which Baekhyun promptly cried out, screaming. "I'm here Chanyeol!! I'm here!!!" Tears streamed down his face as Kyungsoo pulled Baekhyun away and restrained him, and Baekhyun watched as Yixing and Jongin carefully carried Chanyeol into a nearby room. Baekhyun remembers babbling and begging for Kyungsoo to let him go, and he recalls Kyungsoo's subdued voice, hushing him. Quiet whispers of justification flow in one ear and out the other, Baekhyun barely registering Kyungsoo's justification for keeping him here. He doesn't fight back if only to stay out of Yixing's way, but only because Yixing can help Chanyeol. At least he better, Baekhyun swears on Yixing's life for him.

Baekhyun exhales and lets his head fall to the side, staring at the door longingly. All he wants is his Chanyeol. He'll do anything to get him back. A single tear escapes Baekhyun's eyes as he closes them, using what little willpower he has to force his broken self to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Baekhyun doesn't wake again until later that evening, not that he could tell. He goes to rub the sleep out of his eyes, forgetting the handcuff tethering him to the bed post, and feels an unpleasant pull from the cold metal. There's a raw, red mark printed on his wrist which Baekhyun only notices now. With his free hand, he tries to rub the soreness from his wrist and sighs when he has no luck doing so. He wonders if Chanyeol feels pain.

A shaky doorknob breaks Baekhyun from his thoughts, drawing both his attention and his gaze. The light from outside shines through the doorway, and Jongin's shadow casts over Baekhyun's face, effectively shielding his eyes from the harsh intrusion. Eye contact between the two boys is awkward, and Jongin's mouth hangs slightly open, as if he wants to say something but can't. Baekhyun can't tell if his stare is cold or empty and neither can Jongin. Silence is all Baekhyun really wants but the awkwardness Jongin brings into the room really turns him off, so Baekhyun speaks to get rid of it.

"Can you get me out of these?" Baekhyun asks with a low voice. He's broken eye contact long ago and shuffles around to sit up and push himself back to lean against the wall.

"Oh, um... Sure," Jongin replies, quickly turning around to go retrieve the key from Kyungsoo.

The older sits at the table with a bowl of pathetic looking soup in front of him. Wisps of steam curl out of the ceramic bowl and Kyungsoo idly stirs it with his spoon. Across from him, Luhan and Sehun attempt to eat until Sehun burns the roof of his mouth with a scalding spoonful. Luhan has to scold him for being so hopeless. ("I'm not!" Sehun still refutes.) Jongin takes note of Luhan and thinks he looks much better now. For that moment, Jongin realizes that he's never seen Luhan smile like that before, granted he's only known him a short time. The smile plastered on his face slowly creeps its way onto Jongin's, at least for a brief second or so. He thinks Sehun has something (everything) to do with it.

"Hey uh, Kyungsoo?" Jongin approaches with a tap to the shoulder, pulling the cop's focus from his soup to Jongin. Kyungsoo looks at Jongin with wide, expectant eyes, prompting Jongin to continue. The gaze reminds Jongin why he's here and the warm smile slides off his face. "Do you, um, have the key for Baekhyun's handcuffs?"

"Yes."

"Well can I.. borrow it?"

"No."

"But he needs to -"

"No, Jongin, he doesn't need to do anything," Kyungsoo interrupts. "He's a prisoner. My prisoner," Kyungsoo firmly says before turning back toward the table. Once again Jongin finds himself with his mouth hanging open. He was not prepared to face such a curt response from Kyungsoo. It seemed so unwarranted, but Jongin doesn't quite understand. He doesn't understand what Baekhyun's done. He doesn't understand how corrupt or villainous Baekhyun might be. He doesn't know how to weigh that against what Baekhyun's going through right now. Going through because of him. The real enemy here is guilt, but Jongin's naivete veils its ugly face, hiding it from Jongin's better judgment.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Jongin presses, albeit timidly. The words go unheard by Kyungsoo, and it's ambiguous whether Jongin's too diffident or Kyungsoo's just ignoring him. Jongin wants to speak out but can't find the courage to do so. Although he might feel guilty, he also knows better than to talk back to Kyungsoo. (His mind flicks back to when Luhan and Kyungsoo first met. He doesn't really think Kyungsoo would arrest him in the middle of his soup dinner, but Jongin also wasn't willing to find out.) Keeping his protests to himself, the boy huffs softly before returning to Baekhyun to deliver the verdict.

A push of the door grants Jongin entrance into the shared room, and he finds Baekhyun in the same position he left him in - slouched against the wall, blank expression and all.

"Hey so, um, sorry but... No luck," Jongin apologizes. His hand gravitates to the back of his neck nervously, awaiting Baekhyun's response that never comes. All Baekhyun does is look up at him for a split second before shooting his gaze elsewhere, letting his head droop to the side as well. Jongin leaves the room and doesn't come back until Baekhyun's fallen back asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next few days pass by painfully slowly. Each tick of the clock feels like a hammer and chisel to the head, a throbbing cadence gradually crumbling Jongin's sanity bit by bit. Baekhyun hasn't said a word to anyone since he asked Jongin to let him go. In fact, his face hasn't been seen by anyone except for Jongin and Kyungsoo, solely because he shares a room with them. Kyungsoo keeps him on such a short leash, watching his every move. He doesn't allow Baekhyun off the leash except to use the bathroom, but even then it's more like a longer leash with slightly more slack rather than letting him off completely. Sometimes in the middle of the night, Jongin wakes up to the sounds of Baekhyun writhing on the ground, mumbling Chanyeol's name. His cries ring in his head when Jongin has nothing to do, like now, as he sits on the worn couch Yixing has in the living quarters on the ground floor. Underground, Jongin occasionally feels stifled and cramped, and he just needs to escape every so often - especially from Baekhyun.

Footsteps echo from the staircase at the side of the room, and Jongin looks up to see Kyungsoo coming up to join him. "Mind if I sit with you?" Kyungsoo says, pulling a chair near. Jongin nods and waits for Kyungsoo to say something else. When he doesn't, Jongin decides to say something himself.

"I think Baekhyun's depressed..."

"Maybe," Kyungsoo shrugs.

"Can't we just.. let him go? Or at least let him see Chanyeol?" Jongin suggests, biting his lip as he watches for a reaction from Kyungsoo.

"Is that why you come up here? To sulk about Baekhyun?" Kyungsoo challenges, and Jongin can hear the edge in his voice.

"I... I'm the reason why Chanyeol's like this," Jongin confesses. He bites his lip a little harder when he feels it threaten to tremble - a tell-tale sign that tears are following close by.

"Jongin, it's not your fault," Kyungsoo says, but his tone isn't exactly comforting. "Besides, you really don't know these two do you? They're guilty of so many crimes I don't think I even have enough fingers to count them all."

"But no one deserves this..."

"Jongin," Kyungsoo expresses, but only a shred of his firmness comes out before Jongin cuts in.

"Trust me, Kyungsoo. No one deserves this. I know how he feels, okay?!" Jongin declares, and his hot tears push through once more, making a single stream down his cheek.

One last time, Kyungsoo speaks Jongin's name, though this time with some empathy. He seems to push the right button because Jongin lets Kyungsoo say what he wants this time. "I'm sorry. Things are going to work out okay? Yixing has been working nonstop running tests and more tests and studying, I'm sure he'll figure out a way to fix this. But at the end of the day, they still have to pay for their crimes," Kyungsoo explains. His words seem to strike some sort of chord with Jongin, so he'll consider that a good thing.

"Okay.." Jongin whispers in agreement. Kyungsoo reaches over and rubs Jongin's back encouragingly, and reassures Jongin once more before heading back downstairs to see if Yixing can use some help in any way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Baekhyun?" Jongin shakes the boy gently in attempts to wake him. "Baekhyun are you awake?"

"Ch-chanyeol..?" the boy asks groggily. His voice is rough and he opens his eyes to see a shadowy silouhette hovering above him.

"Um no, it's Jongin," Jongin replies. He hopes that Baekhyun won't be too disappointed, but he knows that's wishful thinking, as told by Baekhyun's conventional silence. There obviously isn't anything Jongin can say to change Baekhyun's mind so instead he presses onward with his plan. Fumbling with the key, Jongin is careful not to make too much noise with the clinking of metal as he tries to fit it into the tiny keyhole of the handcuff locked around the bed. The darkness of the room lends no help, but Jongin continues with his attempt, holding on to his determination. He finds himself holding his breath, as he doesn't want to wake Kyungsoo either. It's four in the morning now, and Jongin's guilt has been eating away at him for the past three hours, preventing him from falling asleep. Kyungsoo passed out within seconds of hitting the pillow sometime around midnight, and Baekhyun had been asleep since who knows when as that's all the poor guy does now to escape the overwhelming pain. The tell-tale click of the metal congratulates Jongin of his success and the boy pockets the key somewhere safe before slapping the cuff around his own wrist and fastening it tight.

This action evokes a reaction from Baekhyun, causing him to shift toward Jongin. Despite the darkness, Baekhyun can tell that he's no longer shackled to the bed, but to Jongin instead.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Baekhyun asks in confusion, rising from his lying position.

"Come with me," Jongin instructs in a hushed voice. He pulls Baekhyun up carefully, quietly leading him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Baekhyun questions again. His voice sounds raspy and discordant, a complete clash to his sing song voice from a week ago. When Jongin thinks about his voice then, he remembers the standoff between them and him and Luhan and Kyungsoo. He remembers how they had held Sehun hostage, and he winces at the memory, Kyungsoo's words echoing in his head. But he also remembers their faces - how bright Baekhyun's had looked (no matter how evil) and how lively Chanyeol's had looked. No one deserves this, Jongin reminds himself.

"Here," Jongin hands Baekhyun a face mask and takes one for himself. He brings the cottony fabric to his face, pulling the elastic behind his ears and covering his mouth and nose. On the other end, Baekhyun's hollow stare pierces through Jongin, face mask limp in his pretty hand. The silence only sharpens the stare, and Jongin wishes it would dull. Although he doesn't suffer from any physical gashes like Luhan, enduring Baekhyun's trenchant expression feels just like the stinging blade of a knife. Unable to take it anymore, Jongin takes the face mask back from Baekhyun, slipping it onto his face for him. Baekhyun doesn't protest, and just watches the younger but taller boy instead.

Twisting the knob to the door in front of them, Jongin opens a pathway for he and Baekhyun, leading him into the room. When Baekhyun steps forward from behind Jongin, he sees a calm Chanyeol before him, lying in the bed peacefully. "He's sleeping," Jongin states. Although it seems obvious, it comes as a relief to both of them because he's actually sleeping, which is much better than lying there lifelessly. "I visited him earlier," Jongin tells Baekhyun, and he can't actually tell if Baekhyun's listening, but he figures it's much better than enduring the silence any longer. Subtle movements bring Baekhyun closer to Chanyeol as he gravitates to him, one small step after another. "Yixing said it was okay, but -" Jongin pulls on the cuffs linking him to Baekhyun, stopping him from getting any closer to Chanyeol. "We can't get too close. He's still potentially contagious, and I.. well I don't want to see anyone else get infected."

Baekhyun watches Chanyeol from a distance. Although he's only a few meters away, it feels like miles, and even this short of a distance makes Baekhyun's chest ache. But to see him also makes his heart lighter, a huge step up from the cinder block roped around it, dragging him into a black hole of depression and drowning him in sorrow. Baekhyun's eyes become misty, a bittersweet mix of happiness and relief, anguish and melancholy. To see Chanyeol again is a blessing to Baekhyun, but whether he'll ever see the Chanyeol he knows and loves plagues him. "Chanyeol..." Baekhyun murmurs.

"I'm.. really sorry, Baekhyun," Jongin says, hoping he can somehow atone for all of this. "He'll be okay, I'm sure," he reassures, but he can't decide if it's for Baekhyun or himself. "He has to be okay," he says the last few words under his breath, thinking of his family back home. Yixing has to fix this. Please.

After a few more longing stares, Baekhyun tries to take another step forward, but Jongin tugs back again. "Baekhyun..."

"Just..." Baekhyun gasps. "Let me be with him."

"But I don't know if... What if you... Get infected?"

"I don't care," Baekhyun cries, voice cracking.

"I can't let you..." Jongin replies as his words trail off.

"Why not?!" Baekhyun yells desperately.

"I can't!" Jongin admonishes. "I can't watch another person lose their life like this because of me."

"Jongin ah," Baekhyun speaks in a low voice. "I've already lost my life without Chanyeol."

"I'm sorry Baekhyun," Jongin apologizes again, his own voice cracking as well. Turning abruptly, he drags Baekhyun out of the room, the shorter guy stumbling over his feet on the way out. As he catches himself, he finds his feet clumsily stepping below him, bringing him away from Chanyeol.

"Chanyeol!" Baekhyun calls out, arm extended toward him.

"Shh," Jongin warns, cupping his hand over Baekhyun's mouth. He doesn't know what he hoped to accomplish by bringing Baekhyun there, but he just wanted to help. Regardless of how regretful he feels, he still has to make sure Baekhyun doesn't cause any trouble. If nothing else, he can't let Kyungsoo find out because if he does, he might not be able to do this again - though maybe next time he'll plan it out a little better. He finds it within himself to explain this all to Baekhyun who complies (no matter how hesitantly.)

Jongin steps into the room again, Baekhyun trailing behind him timidly. Snagging the key from his pocket, Jongin more skillfully unlocks his own cuff this time and proceeds to fasten it to the bed post once again. "Don't let Kyungsoo know about this," he whispers, even though he probably doesn't need to. Baekhyun only glowers and curls up in his sleeping bag in response. There wasn't any reason for Jongin to expect anything else, but he at least anticipated that maybe Baekhyun would open up to him a little more. Nothing.

Climbing into bed, Jongin closes his eyes to try and pick up a few hours of sleep. Just as he feels himself drifting away, he swears he hears a soft murmur of "thank you" from Baekhyun, easing Jongin into a deep sleep.

//Happy new year readers! I finally updated again (sorry I'm so slow ^^;;) Things have wound down a bit for now, and I hope you enjoyed some Kaibaek~ Thanks for sticking with me!