the cold fingers ran down his face, stopping at his lips where the cloaked person lightly swiped with their thumb. the mysterious person continued to caresse jihoon's face, the thin fingers even moving down his neck. 
                          
jihoon stood frozen, scared that any sudden move would lead to his death. he didn't like what was happening but liking it didn't matter. surviving to see tomorrow was what mattered. 
                          
the hand stopped touching him when a distant yell traveled to their ears. 
                          
"jihoon! where are you!" 
                          
swiftly picking up the jacket, the person paused and then grabbed it and swung it over their shoulder. he then grabbed the dead body, kicked one of the pieces of broken wood to create some noise and then ran off into the dark. 
                          
what just happened? why did he take the jacket?
                          
after several minutes, jihoon finally allowed himself to move. he huddled up against the wall, shaking uncontrollably while breathing uneven breaths. the boy then bent over and threw up everything he had in him. fuck, everything hurt so much. 
                          
jihoon was still coughing up the last of his food when someone showed up. and that person was none other than kwon soonyoung. slightly panting from running over, eyes wide when he saw jihoon on the ground. 
                          
"JIHOON!" soonyoung rushed over, almost tripping on a piece of wood. through his blurry eyes and the dimness of the night, this was the first time jihoon had ever seen soonyoung so genuinely panicked. "ji! jihoon!" the shorter felt secure arms wrap around him, lessening the shaking. "there's blood on you! are you hurt!? who did this?! jihoon- 
                          
soonyoung's voice cracked. no, he couldn't break now right now. he had to keep it together, jihoon will be fine. taking deep breaths, he lifted jihoon from the ground, and ran out of the dark alley. he only paused to look down at jihoon when he felt a slight tug on his shirt. 
                          
"..j..jacket.."
                          
soonyoung let out a disbelieving laugh. "i don't care about that stupid jacket, that's the last thing you should be worried about jihoon." the boy continued to run though the dim streets. he couldn't help but think that it was all his fault...

                          
"don't walk around at night, it's not safe."
                          
stopping in his tracks soonyoung turned back and glanced down the street. of course jihoon's words suddenly popped into his head. he was close to home now but something told him to go back. so he did. after all, he was more than willing to walk a few extra meters to make sure jihoon got home safe. 
                          
he jogged back, passing the tree and down to the lower ring in the kingdom. taking a breath he looked around at the poor condition of the place. in the light of the darkening sky, the place looked even more ominous. 
                          
not knowing where jihoon lived, soonyoung had no choice but to wander around hoping that sooner or later he would spot the boy. and after walking around for minutes, he still hadn't even seen a shadow of the boy. 
                          
this wasn't good. soonyoung looked at the sun, casting dim orange light just above the horizon. he sighed and shook his head. maybe he should just go home... looking around once more, soonyoung was just about to head back when he suddenly heard a door click open. 
                          
a young boy maybe just a few years younger than him peeked out. "hey, you've been standing there for a while, are you lost?" 
                          
there was something familiar about his face and his voice. soonyoung shook his thoughts away, "mm.. no exactly. do you perhaps know a boy named lee jihoon? black hair... shorter than me... works at that bakery near the middle ring." 
                          
the boy stepped out the house, "hey.. you're that dude who won a sword fight with a wooden stick right?"
                          
"oh yeah, that was me, how do you know?" 
                          
the young boy broke into a smile, "it was soonyoung right? i was one of those three kids who kinda started everything." he chucked sheepishly. "i'm lee chan and that must mean you're looking for my brother jihoon." 
                          
soonyoung looked at the chan with wonder. so this was jihoon's younger brother. "yes, i'm just checking to make sure he made it back alright. he did just disappear a while ago." 
                          
chan's face visibly dropped. the boy narrowed his eyes, "i've been waiting at the door for some time now but jihoon hasn't come home yet." 
                          
soonyoung's blood ran cold.

                          
"soonyoung!" chan sprinted over towards him from the front of the house, "is that jihoon?" all the boy could do was nod. chan looked at jihoon passed out in soonyoung's arms. his lips tightened into a thin line, "bring him inside." 
                          
as soon as the front door opened, another man appeared. worry was written all across his face as he leaned against two rickety wooden crutches. "ji! what happened to him?!" 
                          
"that's not important cheol, we need to check for injuries first." chan said, leading soonyoung to inside and to the bedroom. "place him on the mattress." not wanting jihoon out of his arms, soonyoung still listened to the younger and begrudgingly placed him down. 
                          
chan rushed out the room coming back seconds later with a small medical kit filled with the very basic tools and a towel plus a container full with water. soonyoung watched anxiously as chan cleaned up the blood from jihoon's face. thank god that the blood wasn't jihoon's. but the more he thought about it the more he started to wonder, who's blood was it?
                          
beneath jihoon's shirt was much worse. a huge ugly bruise was blooming on his pale stomach and his entire back was littered with even more of them. the boys worked quickly and calmly but worry was evident in both their eyes. the entire time while soonyoung helped seungcheol and chan patch him up, he kept on swallowing down his anger. 
                          
for once, he wanted to use his power as royalty to find whoever did this and wipe them off the face of the earth. 
                          
only when seungcheol and chan started to pack up the medical supplies did soonyoung snap out of his thoughts. "thank you for bringing him back soonyoung." seungcheol said to him flatly, "you may leave now." 
                          
soonyoung didn't want to leave. he didn't want to leave the unconscious boy alone. he didn't want jihoon to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress like the one he was on now. "i- can i take him back with me?"
                          
"you've got some nerves to ask that." seungcheol said out coldly, "we are grateful that you brought him back but if you're out with our jihoon then we expect you to bring him back without any harm." 
                          
"jihoon probably won't blame you at all when he wakes up but don't think that we'll let you off that easy." chan added with a frown. the boy might've been younger but at that moment, soonyoung felt a little terrified from his dark expression.
                          
soonyoung swallowed. they weren't wrong. he had no right to take jihoon back with him. "then will you allow me to stay here for a night? please, i won't be able to sleep without knowing that he's okay." 
                          
chan pursed his lips, "only if you're willing to sleep on the couch." 
                          
soonyoung sighed with relief, "thank you." 


                          
that night soonyoung tossed and turned trying to find a comfy position on the lumpy couch. his mind was still wide awake from the events that happened that day and the only thing he could do was pray that jihoon woke up soon.