Jeongguk gaped at the man who burst into the room through shocked, unfocused eyes as he couldn’t understand in the slightest what was happening.

“Oh my God, Tae, I’m so sorry,” the man said, worry coating his voice as he snatched his hand and cupped it.

“Wh—What the—“

“Jeongguk.” Chang Wook rushed into the room with the doctor from earlier.

“What the fuck is he doing here—What the fuck are you doing here?” Jeongguk roared with such viciousness it made the doctor and even Chang Wook recoil.

“I came to see my dongsaeng of course,” Jongwon said as he caressed the boy’s head.

“Don’t fucking touch him!” Jeongguk bellowed in fury as he stormed towards him, but Chang Wook managed to throw an arm around him and stop him.

“What is going on?” the doctor questioned, disquiet settled on her face.

“He did this to him! He’s a fucking monster!” Jeongguk fought to free himself, and although Chang Wook struggled to keep him in place, he succeeded.

“What are you talking about? We just got into a fight and things got a little out of control. He started it, and he beat me too, look at my face.” Jongwon pointed at the bruises on his face then. “I tried to contain myself, but he made me so mad. I didn’t want this to happen.”

Jeongguk was at a complete loss by now. He ceased every movement as he couldn’t possibly believe what he just heard. “What—What are you... You lying piece of shit!” He lunged at him again, but the security entered the room and immobilized him.

“I want him out of this room. I want to stay alone with my little Tae,” Jongwon said as he set a chair next to him and sat down.

“No! He’s lying! I hit him because he beat Taehyung up as he does for years now!” Despite Jeongguk’s efforts to make anyone listen, they dragged him out of the room as he bawled his eyes out.

“Kook, you need to calm down! I hate this as much as you do, but nothing will change if you act this way.” Chang Wook endeavored to allay his anger, but nothing seemed to work.

“If you don’t stop fighting, we’ll send you to jail,” a guard stated, managing to still the boy.

“He’s okay. He’ll calm down now, right?” Chang Wook asked, his eyes boring holes into him.

“Yes,” Jeongguk uttered through his rapid breathing, and the guards tentatively released him a moment later.

Before the doctor could ask anything, her pager went off, making her sigh. “I have to leave, but I’ll come back as soon as possible. Try to behave please.”

. . .

Jongwon tapped his foot against the floor as he glared at the unconscious boy. This is such a mess, fuck. He tsked in utter annoyance, rolling his eyes skywards.

What seemed like an eternity but was only one hour later, Taehyung stirred awake, blinking a few times as he tried to understand where he was.

“Look who woke up.” A wicked snicker seeped through his lips as he leaned against his bed.

“H-hyung, wh—what is—“

“Shut up,” he hissed with a glower. “And listen closely. Do you understand?”

Tears pooled in his eyes as he scarcely nodded his head, feeling dread overflow him to the brim.

“We just got into a fight and you attacked me first. That’s what you’re gonna say, got it? If you open your filthy mouth, I swear I’m gonna fucking kill you, and not only you. That annoying little shit too.”

Taehyung’s eyes popped in shock. “Who are y-you t—”

“Save it, you fucking whore. You know who I'm talking about.”

“N-no! Leave h-him out of—of this!”

“Worthless slut,” Jongwon snarled, digging his fingers into his palm to constrain his urge to beat him all over again. “Do as I say then.” He rose to his feet and headed outside to inform his doctor that he woke up so he could take him home as fast as possible.

A few minutes later, he returned, and the doctor did a checkup to make sure he was okay. “Everything seems fine, but I suggest you stay here tonight.”

“No, thank you. He wants to go home, right, Tae?” Jongwon asked with a sickening, sweet smile that made the boy gag a little.

His devious acting was worth a damn Oscar.

“You can’t leave now. The police will be here in about two minutes.”

Jongwon flickered an eyelid at her statement as the muscles in his face tensed. “Why?”

“Because your story doesn’t match with the others’ story.”

“Others?” Taehyung questioned in a whisper, his brows drawing together.

“The guys who brought you here.”

Taehyung’s agitation only grew at her words. “Who—Who brought m-me here?”

“Should I tell them to come here?”

“No. Right, Tae? You don’t need them here.” Jongwon threw a glance at the boy, a knowing one that Taehyung couldn’t stand looking at for more than two seconds.

“Yes, tell them to—to leave.”

The doctor stayed mute as she eyed the boy in the bed dubiously; something didn’t seem right at all. “I’ll come back when the police are here.” She exited the room and made her way to the two boys, who were sitting a little further away.

“Is he awake?” Jeongguk asked. His tears had just dried out, but his heart started thumping again when he saw the doctor.

“He is. And I did a checkup and everything looks fine. But... he said to tell you to leave.”

Her last remark brought tumult to their faces and rendered them outright mystified.

“No, that can’t be t-true,” Jeongguk stammered, shaking his head frantically. “His hyung... He must have threatened him somehow. You have to believe us. He’s been abusing him for years. You saw the other bruises on his body. And the cut on his right shoulder. He stabbed him about two weeks ago.”

“I do believe you, to be honest. Something is off about them. And Jongwon-ssi just seems too obsessive over him. But I can’t do anything. Only the police can.”

“Can’t we just see him for a moment?” Chang Wook asked, frustration sweeping over him to the core.

“He doesn’t want to see you. I’m sorry.” She gave them an apologetic expression and bowed before she strolled off.

“This is bullshit,” Jeongguk growled, a deep scowl decorating his face.

“I know. What can we do, though? If Taehyung doesn’t confess, the police won’t listen to us, no matter what we say.”

 
Jeongguk ran an exasperated hand through his hair as he paced nervously. The moment he spotted two officers nearing Taehyung’s room with his doctor, he pounced forward, taking the older by surprise, and slipped into the room as well.

“What are you doing?” the doctor asked with raised brows, but Jeongguk paid no attention to her.

“Please,” he whispered with a choked voice, reaching out to hold Taehyung’s hand, but he jerked away from his touch. “I don’t fucking care that he’s here!” He exclaimed, ignoring the pang of pain that pierced his heart at his action, and seized his hand. “You h-have to say the truth, Taehyung. This is your chance to put him in jail, okay? You have to say the truth, I’m begging you,” he spluttered, feeling his desperation blaze inside him.

Taehyung let out quiet, repressed sobs as he watched an officer pull Jeongguk away from him.

“Let’s quiet down now, okay?” the other officer said as he took a seat. “My name is Kang Jiwon. I need someone to tell me what happened.”

“Officer Kijun wasn’t available today, huh?” Jongwon asked since instead of his good friend, he saw an unfamiliar officer in front of him, his jaw clenched by the messed-up situation.

“No, he wasn’t. Let’s get to what happened now.”

First, the doctor explained about his condition and what she knew as Jiwon jotted down any important information. “So their stories are different, hmm?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hear those stories then. Jeongguk-ssi?”

The said boy wiped his endless tears and inhaled a few calming breaths before he set his gaze on the officer. “That... I don’t even want to call him a man, let alone a human being.” He cast a glare at Jongwon. “He beat him up today. I called Taehyung because he was late for work, but his phone was out of service.

“I went to his house with Chang Wook-ssi and that... thing over there said that Taehyung left for work an hour ago. We didn’t believe him and got into the house. I grabbed him by his neck and he attempted to punch me in the stomach. Then, I beat him up. I was the one who did this to you, you lying piece of—“

“Stick to the story, Jeongguk-ssi,” the officer said in an intense tone.

“Fine. After that, we searched the house and found Taehyung on the floor, bleeding, unconscious. I carried him outside, and that excuse of a person asked, ‘Isn’t he dead yet?ʼ And then we brought him here.”

Jiwon sighed as he finished writing notes, a skeptical expression carved on his traits. “Okay then, let’s hear the other’s story.”

“My dongsaeng and I had a disagreement because I asked him to go to the supermarket and he said he didn’t have time because of his piano lesson. I had work to do so I couldn’t leave the house. And we fought just like siblings do, except that it got a little out of hand. Taehyung punched me first, and I just saw red. I didn’t want to hurt him so badly, and I’m sorry that I did. I love my little dongsaeng and I want the best for him.”

Jiwon didn’t seem so convinced by his words. “Why did you lie then?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you lie that Taehyung left the house to go to work?”

“Because I didn’t want to create a big fuss about it. I was ready to take care of him, but then these two appeared.”

“Why was he lying on the floor then?”

“I said I didn’t have time to do anything because these two appeared.” Jongwon’s tone was sharper this time, something that didn’t pass unnoticed by the officer.

“Okay. Taehyung-ssi?” Jiwon asked with a soft voice as he looked at him.

The said boy wavered, his drowned in tears eyes roaming around the floor, his heart palpitating madly against his chest. “What Jongwon hyung s-said is—is true. We f-fought—“

“No! Taehyung, please, don’t do this—“

“Be quiet or you’ll be removed from this room,” the officer cut Jeongguk’s cry off in a booming voice. “Continue, Taehyung-ssi.”

“I don’t have anything else to say.”

“Do you want to talk only the two of us? It would be better, huh?” Jiwon asked with a small smile that faltered rather fast when Taehyung wordlessly glanced up at his hyung.

After a moment of silence, Taehyung dropped his head. “No. There’s no point.”

“If Jongwon-ssi hasn’t been abusing you, what about your other bruises?”

“We—We fight r-regularly.”

“Taehyung... Fuck,” Jeongguk muttered as he dipped his face in his hands and erupted into tears, unable to believe what was happening.

“Well then.” Jiwon sighed deeply, disapproval engulfing his whole face as he pushed himself to his feet. “We’ll be leaving now.”

Jeongguk charged after the officer and desperately held his forearm once they step outside, stopping him. “You—You can’t possibly b-believe his story. He’s lying!”

“I know.” Jiwon patted his shoulder with a sad smile. “But I can’t do anything if Taehyung doesn’t confess. I’m sorry, kid.” He sighed once more and took off with his fellow officer.

“I can’t believe what is happening.” Jeongguk puled, his eyes screwed shut as desolation nested beside his heart — that heart he wished he could rip out of his chest so he wouldn’t feel that terrific amount of sorrow.

🥀

The obliterated boy had perched onto the cold floor for over an hour, knees drawn to his chest, and head despondently resting on them. No matter what soft-spoken words were said to that poor soul, nothing could remedy his blackened state.

Even the doctor’s heart stung upon seeing the boy suffer like that, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She headed to Taehyung’s room and entered, facing a similar sight there as well. “Can you please leave the room? I need to examine him once more, and I need privacy.”

Jongwonʼs sweet expression clouded a tad, but he complied with her request and exited the room.

The doctor then closed the curtains and exhaled a sigh as she sat on the edge of the bed. She gazed at the wailing boy with doleful eyes and ventured to place a hand on his forearm. “I know you’re scared. And I know you think you don’t have a choice, but you do. Whatever your hyung said, we won’t let him hurt you if you say the truth.”

Taehyung sniffled as he blinked his tears away. “There’s n-no other way.”

“Look how you’re hurting right now. And you don’t even know how the other boy is because of this. He hasn’t stopped crying, and he refuses to leave. You remember Jeongguk, right? The one that brought you here and basically saved your life? If you had stayed in that state for five more minutes, you would have died. Is this really how you want to treat him now? At least talk to him one last time, at least thank him for saving your life. If he means anything to you,” she added in a whisper and stood up.

She gave him a tight-lipped, sullen smile and sauntered to the door, but halted when she heard Taehyung’s shaky voice.

“Can y-you“—he swallowed the cry that was ready to escape his mouth—“tell him to c-come here?”

The doctor’s smile became a fraction brighter as she nodded at his request. She stepped out of the room, only to be met with Jongwon.

“Are you done?”

“Taehyung wants to talk to Jeongguk for a while. You don’t mind that, right?”

Jongwon disguised his disapproval with a forced smile. “No, of course not.”

“Great.” She neared the boy that had wilted on the floor and crouched down in front of him. “Taehyung wants to talk to you.”

Jeongguk perked his head up at the words that permeated his senses. “Really?”

“Yes. Come on.” She stretched a hand, and the boy held onto it so she could pull him to his feet. They walked towards his room, and Jeongguk shared a glower with Jongwon before they entered.

“I’ll try not to let Jongwon-ssi interrupt you,” she informed, and once they thanked her, she left the two alone.

Jeongguk rubbed his face and brushed his hair back, feeling his heart speed up as he fixed his bloodshot eyes on him. “Baby.” It was scarcely something above a whisper, but at least audible.

“K-Kookie.” He swung back to crying hard, although he felt utterly drained, as if he had no strength for more tears.

“Why?” Jeongguk was in the same condition, hardly able to stand on his feet anymore. He slouched closer and sat in the bed, taking a hold of his hand and washing it over with kisses. “Why, why, why?” he drawled between the kisses and hung his head as another round of intense crying took place.

“I’m so, so sorry, Kookie, m-my b-beautiful Kookie,” he rasped, feeling wrenching pain crawl into him as he watched the boy he was desperate about bawl his eyes out. “Thank you f-for saving me. Thank you for everything you have d-done for me. Thank y-you—“

“Don’t... Don’t say goodbye, baby, don’t do this to me.” Jeongguk sank his teeth into his bottom lip in an attempt to restrain his suffocating whimpers.

“I-I’m leaving, anyway, Kookie. I have to s-say goodbye.”

Jeongguk took a few moments to comprehend what was said, wanting to believe that he heard wrong. “What?” He fiercely wiped his face as he released his hand.

“I’m going to Japan. He’s m-making me... go t-to Japan with him.”

Jeongguk sprang up from his seat, tugging his hair in the depths of despair. “Wh—What?” he tremulously breathed out, his owlish eyes wandering all over the floor.

“I don’t have a choice, Jeonggukie. I can’t have c-control over this.”

“You do have a choice!” he cried out with an infuriated wave of his hands. “I’ll protect you and fucking beat him if he tries to come near you again like I did today!”

“He t-threatened to kill y-you if I don’t do as he says! And he’ll k-kill me too,” Taehyung hollered back at him through his sobs.

“I won’t fucking let him! Do you really think I’ll let him touch you again if you stay with me?” Jeongguk started pacing as he held his head in absolute disbelief, unable to accept that he would have to part from him.

“I can’t—I can’t risk this, Kookie,” he said, shaking his head at a glacial pace. “I thought I c-can risk everything for you, but—but I can’t risk your safety. I can’t risk... you.”

“He won’t be able to touch me, baby. Please, don’t do this,” he said, his voice trembling and vitiated as he dropped to his knees in front of the bed and clasped his hand. “You can’t leave me. Don’t leave me. I need you, baby, you can’t leave me.”

“Don’t make this h-harder for me, please.” Taehyung clutched his hand just as tightly, feeling his heart split open at his desperate pleas.

“You can’t leave me. What am I supposed to do without you, huh? What am I supposed to do—” The rest of his remark was drowned into the sob that tumbled out of him.

All Taehyung could do besides wailing was utter ‘I’m sorryʼ on repeat and beg him to stop crying because his shredded heart couldn’t take it anymore.

“You can’t fucking leave me!” he bellowed in a fit of extreme consternation and distress, slamming his fist against the side of the bed. “You can’t do this to me, not after I—you can’t leave me now that you made love you, you can’t do this to me, you can’t, baby, don’t, please don’t.” He tossed his head down, pressing it against the mattress and staining it with his infinite tears.

The time seemed as if it held still as Taehyung struggled to get his head around what the other just blurted out. His woeful eyes were now double their size, his heavy breath hurting his lungs. “You—You l-love me?”

Jeongguk dragged his head up and swiped his palm over his cheeks, collecting his tears. “I love you, Taehyung. I’m in love with you, and this right here hurts me so much I can’t even find words to describe it. Please trust me when I say I won’t let him come near you ever again. Please trust me when I say he won’t hurt us if you say the truth. It’s not too late to say the truth. Stay with me, baby, please, please.” He drew his quaky hand closer to his face and held it in the most delicate, loving manner.

“J-Jeongguk, I—” He hushed up when the door suddenly flung open, and shrank away from his touch by instinct.

“I think that’s enough, hmm? Tae needs to rest now.” Jongwon swaggered into the room, a sinister smile dangling on his lips.

“I’m sorry, I tried,” the doctor said in a quiet tone once she edged closer to the two boys.

Jeongguk heaved himself to his feet with heavy, listless moves, and focused his now cram-full of ferocity and revulsion eyes on the man that made his stomach twist only with his presence. “You’re taking him away?” His voice was deadly low and embodied a mix of every manic emotion blustering inside him at that moment.

Jongwon’s eyes glinted with satisfaction at his devastated state, an amused, diabolic smile embellishing his lips. “How does it feel that he chose me over you?”

His inflammatory words and behavior sparked off an amount of wrath and insanity so massive it rendered Jeongguk incapable of having any kind of self-control.

He leaped at him out of nowhere, catching him completely off guard, and rammed him against the wall. “You’re just a sickening waste that deserves a lifetime in jail.” He threw an atrocious blow in his face and elbowed him in the same spot a second later.

Jongwon shrieked in pain as he collapsed onto his knees and held his bleeding nose. He was about to receive more beating, but Chang Wook restrained the boisterous boy and pulled him out of there.

“Let me fucking beat him as he deserves!” Jeongguk roared as he thrashed about to free himself, but Chang Wook’s grip was unyielding.

“You should be grateful that the doctor called me and not the security! Calm down before they lock you up!”

The boy’s deathly scowl contorted into a crying expression as he gradually stopped fighting and dropped his head once another ocean of tears flowed down his face.

He couldn’t understand what he was feeling, what was going on, what Chang Wook was saying to him at this point.

A penetrating buzz was ringing in his ears as emptiness swept over him, and the next thing he could remember was someone tucking him in his bed and giving him a kiss on his temple.

⚜✳⚜
  

That was long and intense☹

This chapter was supposed to be two separate ones, but I made it into one because I think I'll need an extra chapter for the epilogue, and I don't want to go over 39 chapters (40 with the introduction)

I've already started writing the next chapter, and if I finish it in two days, I'll publish it then💖

Thank you for your love and support💜