"Why didn't you tell me..?"

Chan's voice was so soft, and strained, with emotions he knew he needed to let out. He he gently traced his fingers across Jeongin's bruised jaw, the touch making the boy shift. Chan involuntarily withdrew his hand, not wanting to wake the younger up.

After skillfully treating the bruises and changing Jeongin into a fresh set of clothes, Chan had been sitting that way on the bed by Jeongin's side, leaning forward and observing the boy, for the past hours now. As someone insomniac, it didn't bother Chan that midnight rolled around. His mind was awake, with a mess of noisy thoughts swirling around.

Hearing his phone vibrate against the wooden table, Chan stood up, walking over with a sigh. He answered Minho's call and placed it against his ears.

| 'uhhhhh' |

Chan lifted a brow, a questioning frown forming on his face. He quietly walked out his room, and once he was far enough, spoke, "What the fuck?"

| 'So.... Can you.. Send your location?' |

Chan settled onto his couch. He remained quiet, questioning whether Minho was in his right mind.

"What for? You know my place."

The line went dead silent after some ruffling.

"Min?"

A heavy sigh was heard, which turned into a frustrated groan.

| 'Look- just send the damn location. I have no clue where the fuck we are..' |

Chan knitted his brows. Due to lack of sleep, he was already suffering from an exploding headache. "What-? You're lost? With my car?" Chan questioned, disbelief laced in his voice. "Dude it's been six hours! Elaborate."

After a long pause, Minho spoke up,

| 'Well... I drove off to lord knows where and dumped that Hyunjin guy in some unknown place. Don't worry, he's alive, because Jisung didn't let me kill him. And then I tried to get back but where the fuck is this!?' |

A loud bang was heard, then Chan realized his steering wheel was attacked by a frustrated Minho.

"Stop hurting my baby, you fucker!"

| 'What? Jeongin's not here!' |

"I meant the car!"

After giving no immediate response, Minho soon broke into a childish giggle.

| 'Ok - but.. The back seats' stained.' |

"With what?"

| 'Unholy stuff. See there was no protection okay- |

"OH GOD. THE FUCK MINHO?!" Chan groaned, slapping a hand against his forehead. "Couldn't you fucking wait?"

| 'I helped you, dipshit. So stop being salty. Now drop the location. Ah, and, Jisung told me stuff.' |

"Ok, fancy. And? You didn't hurt him, right? Is he alright?" Chan asked, shutting his eyes close as tiredness slowly crept over him.

| 'He's asleep. I didn't hurt him. Because it didn't feel right. But listen, Jeongin used to skip school and stay at Jisung's place, where his brother treated the injuries..' |

A chuckle followed Minho's soft voice.

"Why is that funny..?"

| 'It's not.. Just.. We used to hurt them when his life was hell already. That's fucked up, isn't it? He gets raped at home, then we bully him at school. It's like he had nowhere.' |

As he felt his heart sink, Chan clenched his jaw, sensing the strain in Minho's tone. The guilt he had held back crushed Chan's form, weighing his heart down. "We're not doing that anymore.."

| 'Yeah. And finally, what's left is Changbin's and Felix's marriage.' |

Chan tiredly laughed at the words. "And when is that?"

| 'Pretty soon, but watch me get them
together.' |

Slowly, Chan's grip on the phone loosened. Then, subtle snores left his lips. The boy on the other end of his call cursed, before hanging up.