The devil's hour, people call it.

Once you wake up at 3AM with no reason at all, they say the devil is close and it has been watching you sleep. That particular morning, Kio woke up at 3AM in an unknown room, with a not-so familiar woman beside him. Both of them are naked and a splitting headache was reminding him of the sin he committed.

The devil must be watching, proudly smirking, because he had successfully turned him into one of his kind.

He hurriedly dressed up, his clothes also reeking of alcohol. He didn't bother looking back, even with the groggy call of the woman he spent the night with. He went straight out of the condo unit and took the elevator down the basement parking lot where his Benz awaits.

He wasn't able to drive right away as memories caught up with him once he's alone inside the car. The weight of regret heavily laid on his shoulder, making him tense.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" The sudden burst of anger made him hit the steering wheel repeatedly with his bare hand, before he covered his face when tears started to blur his vision. Shame, anxiety, anger... he felt everything at that very second.

We didn't have sex, I know we didn't. I was too drunk to fuck. It was just some heated kisses and a— shit.

The memory of the woman kneeling before him and taking him into her mouth was very clear in his mind.

But that's it. That's it. I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing. Li can forgive me right? I will do anything to redeem myself. That was the first and the last time. Don't I deserve a second chance? She's still the one I love.

It was lust, just lust. I will tell only Yohan, and explain to him what happened. He'll understand. He always does. I'm sure he's still asleep at this hour, I have enough time to take a bath.

With those thoughts in mind, he drove out the basement parking area and arrived home in less than thirty minutes. His heart was still wildly beating inside his chest, and as he stood outside Haneul's door, his hand faltered.

Should he really tell them? He can just keep it to himself so there won't be any problem, right? He can talk to... to that woman so she won't speak of it as well.

"Kio?," a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him. He whirled around and was met by Haneul's inquisitive eyes. The second eldest is wearing his specs so he immediately knew the guy came from the company, probably just finished recording.

"Hey... you just finished?," he stuttered.

The former frowned but nodded nonetheless, "you just got home?" He walked closer but stopped after only a few steps. "Who did you drink with? I thought you're just going to get your tattoos done." His piercing eyes travelled down his plastic-covered arm, still red all over and numb because of the anaesthesia.

"The tattoo artist was my brother's friend, and he also had their other friends over. They asked me to stay and drink with them in his stead."

Haneul's eyes narrowed, "Lilac is still overseas right?"

He stilled, "yeah, why—"

"Then where the fuck did those marks on your fucking neck come from, Ahn Ki-Ryeong?"

Haneul clutched his shirt in rage and gave him no chance to answer, because he wasted no time to unlock the unit's door and forcefully pull him inside. He didn't bother to fight back because of dread, making it easy for the older member to push him down the couch harshly.

"What the hell have you done, Ki-Ryeong? Answer me!" His voice was much, much louder now, enough to alert the others.

"I was drunk, I didn't—"

"You do know that's what cheaters say right? Are you seriously downplaying your mistake, you asshole?!"

"We didn't do it! We didn't fuck! We just made out!"

"Shit!"

Hei-won was quick on stopping Asher from punching the youngest again, but he wasn't able to prevent the first one from happening. Ash's knuckle collided heavily on Kio's jaw, making him groan as the side of his lips bled.

"You piece of shit!" Asher's voice thundered as he looked at Kio in contempt. "Aren't you disgusted of yourself?!"

"Ash!" Hei-won pulled the second youngest away. "Go and calm down first, Jesus Christ." Without sparing another glance at Kio, Asher left the living room and let the older members handle the situation.

Heavy silence filled the room for a moment. Kio was left seated on the couch, head bowed in shame, the two looking down at him in disappointment.

I deserve this, he finally realized. What was I thinking?

The tears he had been suppressing finally fell, the constant sobs making his shoulder tremble.

You fucked everything up, son of a bitch. How can you even think that you can escape from the mistake you made?

"It was just a kiss, you say. We didn't fuck, you say," Yohan finally broke the silence. "And then what, Kio? What's next? Once you finally did it, what are you gonna say? 'It was just sex, it doesn't mean anything.' Do you expect us to tolerate you now just because you didn't get to use your dick? When you've done worse and it's too late, will you still expect us to take your side? Cheating is cheating. Don't you ever try to make up some stupid reasons for it. You fucked up and that's it."

"You better be crying right now not because of our anger, but because of what you've done to Lilac," Hei-won added, the dismay in his voice very evident. He is one of the closest to Ki-Ryeong, and he never expected the boy to do something like this. "I can't even look at you right now," he sighed before turning around and leaving.

Kio watched the retreating back with red-rimmed eyes. Hei-won's words are more painful than Asher's punch.

"Don't even think of asking Lilac for a second chance," Haneul said in a chilling tone.

"But..." he turned to him, eyes wide in protest.

What if Li can forgive me? Why can't I ask her? I can explain to her everything!

The older member scoffed in disbelief, "are you really thinking of asking her? When did you become such a selfish bastard, Kio?"

"But Lilac is different, what if she still wants to be with me despite of—"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself for saying those words?" Haneul was about to reach out to grab him by the collar again, but Yohan was quick to stop him. "Why can't you understand? You don't deserve that from her anymore! You don't fucking deserve a second chance from her! You've already taken her for granted the moment you let yourself be intimate with another woman! Do you get it!? Don't be too full of yourself, asshole!"

Haneul pushed the leader away, and left as well.

Yohan then sat beside him, "Kio, we know you're regretting it, we know how sorry you are. We can give you a chance, because that's the first step on how you'll learn from your mistake and change for the better. We can give you that but please, do not let Lilac go through this. She deserves better than this."

Right. How can she still trust me after what I've done? When even I can't trust myself anymore?

"Tell her everything and break up with her," Yohan added, looking straight into his eyes. "Tell her nothing but the truth. Her hatred is your punishment."

The leader's last words rang inside his head. It was enough to give him nightmares and never let him sleep for the upcoming days.

Her hatred is your punishment.

And so, he began to hate himself as well.