Seonghwa ran as fast as he could, shoving people out of the way and yelling for people to move as often as he could.

His eyes were locked on the retreating figure in front of him.

As soon as San started freaking out in the house, Seonghwa had known something was wrong. He had been terrified when San had blacked out and collapsed.

It was the scariest thing he had ever experienced. Especially when San was only unconscious for a few minutes before his eyes snapped open and he rolled away from Seonghwa. His black eyes scanned the room once before he pushed himself off the ground and ran from the house.

Thankfully Seonghwa's reflexes were quick, because he was able to pursue the younger quickly, but San was so agile he had no problem weaving through any crowds they ran into once they made it to the busier parts of the city.

And Seonghwa's lungs were starting to burn...

A few people recognized him and made sure to move, although he also drew curious eyes from anyone he didn't have push aside.

San rounded a corner and Seonghwa quickly ducked down an alley to try and cut him off.

Whatever had happened, he knew it didn't bode well for San. And he knew his father had hacked into his chip as well.

When he turned a corner, he saw San run past him and forced himself to push forward. His legs were heavy and weak but he had to keep trying.

"San!" He shouted, even though he knew it wouldn't matter.

He had lost his friend to the control of his father. There was no pulling him back now. Not until his father deactivated San...

And San was pulling away from him now too.

A few more turns was all it took for Seonghwa to lose sight of the younger. He slowed to a stop and bent forward, placing his hands on his knees and panting heavily. Then he pulled out his phone and called his father.

"What is it, Son?"

"You tell me!" Seonghwa snapped when he could finally breath enough to talk. "What the hell just happened?!"

The line was silent for a long time. Then when his father spoke again, Seonghwa could hear the change. He could hear the fear... "I needed San to take care of something for me."

"Father, you better start telling me what's going on. I will not be left in the dark anymore." Seonghwa's voice was dark and dangerous.

"It's nothing that concerns you right now."

"Like hell it does!" Seonghwa yelled into the phone. "I'm coming home right now and you are going to tell me what you are planning, and I don't want to hear any more excuses!" He hung up the phone and looked down the alley once more before sending a quick message for someone to come pick him up.

The man who came to get him must have sense how upset Seonghwa was because thankfully he didn't ask any questions. They sat in silence the entire drive and Seonghwa tried to satisfy his anger by slamming the door behind him.

Anyone in the Pack who saw Seonghwa storm by them immediately stopped what they were doing and either watched with wide eyes or backed away and found something else to do.

"Father!" Seonghwa yelled. His voice echoed in the long hallway that led to the man's office. He threw the doors open so hard they slammed into the wall and bounced back to close after he walked through.

The scene in front of him made Seonghwa pause, though, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

His father had Wooyoung bent over his desk, ass exposed, hands tied behind his back, and a gag in his mouth. The boy's cheeks were stained with tears and his back and ass were bright red with spots of black and blue.

A manic look was in his father's eyes. His hand shook where he was holding it above his head like he'd been preparing to continue his beating.

"You know you have to knock."

"Father! What are you doing?!" Seonghwa started to walked forward but paused and winced when his father brought his hand down.

Wooyoung let out a long whimper and tried to move away, but he was easily detained. "STAY STILL YOU PATHETIC LITTLE RUNT!"

Seonghwa watched as his father moved to strike Wooyoung again and he suddenly found himself running forward. He extended his arm to stop his father's motion by grabbing his wrist. "Father! Stop this!"

The man growled in response and ripped his arm away, but thankfully he backed away. "I was done with him anyway. Do with him what you like." Without another word, he hurried out of the room.

Seonghwa couldn't believe what just happened. His father had never acted like that before, at least not in front of him.

What was happening right now that was stressing him out so much?

Every fiber of his being told him to follow his father until he got some answers, but a whimper of pain behind him made him pause. Seonghwa quickly turned around and started untying Wooyoung's hands before carefully pulling the gag out of his mouth. "Are you ok?"

The boy kept his eyes on the ground and nodded slightly while sniffing. He slowly pulled up his shorts, whimpering a little as they rubbed against his battered skin.

"Wooyoung, look at him." The older ordered.

Pain-filled caramel brown eyes flicked up at the same time Wooyoung started trembling.

"Why did he do this?"

"I-I don't know..." Wooyoung shrank into himself and looked at the ground again.

Seonghwa sighed and placed a finger under Wooyoung's chin to force his head back. "Did he say anything about what upset him? Or why he took over San again? I need you to tell me what happened?"

Wooyoung swallowed and tried to back away, but Seonghwa used his thumb to grab his chin and keep him in place. He could see the fear in Wooyoung's eyes, but at this moment he couldn't worry about that. Even so, Wooyoung swallowed again and said, "I d-don't r-really know. He w-was watching some footage on his computer and I heard him s-say enhance. And then he just snapped... He s-started yelling and pounding on his desk and... and..."

"Did he say why it upset him?"

Wooyoung just shook his head and finally pulled it away. "I should go..."

"Go where?" Seonghwa grabbed his upper arm when he tried to walk past. "You don't mean back to him, do you?" When the younger turned his head way, Seonghwa pressed his lips together and started dragging him from the room. "No, not tonight. Not after what I just saw."

"But..." Wooyoung tried to protest, but Seonghwa just yanked him forward.

They walked down the hall to Seonghwa's room and he immediately locked them inside. "Go clean up." He said gently, motioning to his bathroom. "He won't hurt you anymore."

"So what, are you going to keep me locked in here now?" Wooyoung asked.

Seonghwa didn't miss the harsh note to his voice and turned around slowly. "Would you rather go back with him until your entire body is black and blue? Sorry for trying to do you a favor!"

"Why now?! You've known this has been going on for years! Why the sudden change of heart?" Wooyoung balled his hands into fists and clenched his jaw. "Has the 'Almighty Prince' finally come to his senses?"

"Excuse me?" Seonghwa whispered. He narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.

The intimidating act immediately had Wooyoung shrinking away from him until he was pressed up against the door. "Y-You heard me." He said, still trying to act tough.

Seonghwa slammed his hand into the door inches from Wooyoung's head and snarled. "How dare you speak to me that way. I'm doing you a favor. If you'd rather be back with him I can kick you out right now. Or are you just that much of a little slut that you're wanting to anger me so I'll punish you myself?"

A bright pink flush came to Wooyoung's cheeks and he looked down. His shoulders also relaxed in and immediate show of submission.

"Get your ass in the bathroom and clean up before I change my mind." Seonghwa growled before shoving away from the wall and walking into his closet to get changed.

He couldn't believe he had let Wooyoung get to him like that. Maybe he had more of his father in him than he thought... but it just had to be that he was stressed about San.

San...

Seonghwa let his hands fall to his sides from where they had been unbuttoning his shirt. He was so worried about his friend. Even though he knew San was capable of handling himself, tonight felt different... And if his father had been as angry as Wooyoung said...

He exhaled sharply through his nose and finished changing, electing to only pull on a pair of sweatpants before returning to his room.

A few whimpers and sniffs came from his bathroom and Seonghwa paused. He walked over and peeked through the crack in the door to see Wooyoung sitting on the floor of his shower. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his face was hidden between them while the hot water poured on him in a constant stream.

Seonghwa felt his heart ache and instantly regretted getting so angry with the boy. He knew he needed to apologize, but for now he would let Wooyoung have this time alone.

He turned to look around his room and decided to sit in his chair in the corner to wait for the boy to come out.

Why had he decided to protect Wooyoung today?

Normally he wouldn't care about what his father did. And Wooyoung had been right... He had known about the abuse for a long time and done nothing.

His eyes wandered over to the bathroom again. Something in him told him to go check on him, but he just shook his head a stayed where he was.

The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse. He knew that was already bound to happen when his father finally calmed down enough to want his plaything back.

The real question was if Seonghwa would let Wooyoung go back or not. He knew he couldn't control his father, but he truly didn't approve of the way he treated Wooyoung.

Maybe he could try and talk some sense into his father...

A small noise interrupted his thoughts and Seonghwa looked up to see Wooyoung peeking at him from around the doorframe. "Are you done?" He asked gently.

Wooyoung nodded and moved back a little. The action made Seonghwa feel so guilty. He stood slowly and stepped into his closest to grab a lose t-shirt and another pair of sweatpants, then slowly walked over to Wooyoung. "Here, you can wear these if you'd like."

The younger took them and emerged a couple of minutes later looking, if Seonghwa was being honest, absolutely adorable.

Seonghwa had always like his casual clothes to be baggy, so the fact that Wooyoung was so much smaller than him made it look like he was swimming in the fabric.

"I'm sorry." He said gently. "I didn't mean to get so upset. I'm just—"

"Worried about San?" Wooyoung said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Seonghwa watched as he played with the hem of his shirt nervously and rubbed his foot against the floor, which wasn't even visible with how long the sweatpants were on him. The action told him that Wooyoung wanted to say something more, but he wouldn't push the boy. "Yes."

"Can... Can I ask you something?" He peered at Seonghwa from beneath his eyelashes, and when he got a nod, he looked back down again. "Do you love him?"

The question made Seonghwa's mouth open a little in shock and he found himself shaking his head slightly. "I—What? Where... I—" He had no idea how to answer that, mostly because he had never thought about it before.

"Do you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Seonghwa asked, trying to avoid the question. He didn't get an answer to his though, just a pleading look from the boy in front of him. "I don't know. We've never really talked about it before..." He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned.

"It's not something you talk about..."

The older paused and noticed that Wooyoung was fidgeted a lot more. He was twisting the hem of his shirt between his hands and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Was this answer really that important?

"I care for him, very much..." Seonghwa started. He closed his eyes and took a moment to really think about things, even though he already knew the answer. "But no, I don't."

Wooyoung lifted his head up and his lower lip trembled ever so slightly. "You don't?"

"No. Wh—" Seonghwa started to ask why Wooyoung wanted to know when the younger ran forward and threw himself at Seonghwa.

The action was so quick, Seonghwa barely had the chance to keep his balance.

Especially when he felt Wooyoung's lips press against his.

He blinked several times, unable to fully comprehend what just happened, and he was still speechless when Wooyoung pulled away and placed a hand on his bare chest.

Then he whispered something that made everything stop.

"Because... I love you."