"taeyong!"

"what's with all this ruckus mark?" taeyong said on the phone.

"it's donghyuck! he has been shot!"

"HE HAS BEEN WHAT?!"

"please tae, come and help me!"

"we're coming right up, try coming towards the house. you're at your usual store?"

"yes."

"we're coming, be careful." taeyong hung up.

mark looked at donghyuck. the boy was crying and clutching on his stomach to the point he couldn't stand up properly. mark sat the boy down and lifted his shirt to see his injury: a bullet had hit him on the waist, it may have only brushed it, it still had cut the skin opened, and for someone not used to this kind of pain, it surely was unbearable.

mark removed his jacket and his shirt and gently pressed onto donghyuck's injured area with his shirt.

"keep pressure on it. it will prevent blood from going out too much." he said, looking in the boy's teary eyes.

mark put his jacket back on. his body was marked with scars he hated, and nobody knew their history, so, he might hide them to avoid questions from his gang members.

"i'll carry you, the others are coming to us, but we need to walk their way as well." mark said, crutching to face the younger.

as the younger nodded, mark lifted him from the ground, passing his hands under his thigh as donghyuck circled mark's neck with one of his arms and clutching on his injury with the other.

mark walked the quickest possible towards his house, whispering sweet words to the boy in his arms who was crying in pain.

"mark!" a voice called. mark recognised it was his leader.

the called boy turned around and noticed taeyong's car on the other side of the street, jaehyun holding the back door opened for mark and donghyuck to enter.

mark crossed the road, making sure no car was approaching and pushed the injured boy in the gang's car. they reached their house in less than five minutes.

jaeyhun and mark carried donghyuck to the infirmary as taeyong parked the car. and that's all donghyuck could remember before that his grip on mark's shirt loosened and he could only see black.

he eventually woke up, one or two hours after blacking out, feeling familiar with his surroundings.

he knew this white ceiling, he knew these neon green curtains, and he definitely knew these voices.

he groaned trying to sit up, but failing miserably because of the pain.

"donghyuck! you woke up!" jaehyun said, approaching the boy, taeyong's head appearing behind jaehyun's back.

"it hurts." donghyuck simply said, brushing his hand over his stomach.

"you've been shot donghyuck. the bullet didn't hit directly you stomach though. it only cut open your waist on the right side. the cut was wide open. you lost a lot of blood. that's why you fainted. but, don't worry, i stitched it the best i could."

"why didn't kun do it?" donghyuck asked. after all, kun was the doctor of the gang.

jaehyun rubbed his nape. "kun is on a mission wih wayv, as i did medical studies, i am the most skilled when he's not here..."

donghyuck nodded in understandment.

"c-can i sit up?" he asked.

"oh, yes."

taeyong came to help. they eventually found a position that didn't hurt donghyuck in any way.

after seconds of silence, donghyuck finally dared to talk about the sensitive subject.

"why did these people shoot me? and who were they?" he asked looking taeyong and jaehyun deep in the eye.

taeyong gulped. "i'll tell you everything donghyuck. but you have to promise me you won't freak out or try to run away."

well, this didn't really make donghyuck any better.

"your father personally asked us to keep an eye on you."

"MY FATHER?" donghyuck exclaimed.

"yes. he paid us if we kept you safe. and everything was going pretty well until last week. we don't really know why, but our rival gang is trying to capture you. they are the one who entered your house last week, and they were those you shot you."

fresh tears rolled down donghyuck's cheeks. at first, he was silent, but then, he started sobbing, hiding his face in his hands.

the two gang members tried approaching the crying boy, but he flinched.

"leave me alone!" he cried. "i don't want any of your pity!"

taeyong and jaehyun decided to listen to the boy's orders. it was hard to digest for him, and they totally understood that. they silently left the room, still hearing the broken boy's cries once the door was closed.

donghyuck knew he had parents, they sent him money every week. but they had abandoned him, and now, they had the guts to ask for a gang to look after him? what kind of parents could that be... now, all the criminals were after him. donghyuck would have preferred being shot dead. at least, he wouldn't have had to deal with the painful truth and the danger that came with it.

after what seemed like an hour, his tears stopped. maybe he had cried too much, and he hadn't any tears left. he didn't really care. he just wanted to be alone. but seems like life wasn't on his side: someone entered the infirmary.

"i-i just wanted to check on you..." mark said, approaching the boy carefully.

donghyuck wanted to shove him off and to tell him to leave, but for some reason, he couldn't. deep inside, he knew he needed some company.

"i-is it still hurting?" he asked unsure and taking steps towards the boy. he eventually sat on the edge of the bed, not looking at donghyuck.

but the sad boy had other plans. as soon as mark had sat, he sat himself directly on the boy's lap, resting his head on his shoulder and his arms around the gang member's neck. he didn't know why he did that, and mark didn't either.

he started crying again, but this time, he had someone to hold him and to prevent him from falling apart.

"y-you knew everything, d-didn't you?" donghyck asked between sobs.

mark simply hummed, caressing donghyuck's neck in a soothing manner. this simple hum made donghyuck break down, his sobs louder than ever, his grip on mark's neck so hard that it hurt the older.

the boy was a mess, and mark knew it. he knew it as well as he knew he didn't deserve to live in  such a violent world. donghyuck was a good boy, he should have nothing to do with criminals like them. he didn't deserve to be lee sooman's son. he had asked for nothing.

and for the first time in ten years, mark let a tear escape his eye. but it wasn't a tear of anger, not at all. it was a tear of sadness. for the first time in ten years, mark had considered someone else's feelings, and this 'someone' was lee donghyuck.

"i'm sorry donghyuck." he let out, hugging the boy on his lap tighter.

XXXXXXXXXX

"sir, we did as you asked. nct think we're after donghyuck."

"very good of you, junmyeon."