"I promise I'll do anything, please just save Hakyeon-hyung!" Jaehwan remembered that day when he pleaded his parents for the first time regarding anything.

His parents were against the idea of such an outrageous request from their youngest son but Jaehwan was desperate. When Hakyeon was forced to disappear from his life, Jaehwan thought of everything he could do in order to 'save' his hero from the orphanage. He's always wanted to be the hero and it pained him to know that he had to be separated from the older where Jaehwan couldn't reach. So, he pleaded that day to his parents, hoping that they would fulfill the one thing he'll ever ask of them – adopting Hakyeon and taking the older in as part of the Lee family.

Despite knowing clearly that having three sons were already enough, Jaehwan didn't care. He was willing to do anything as long as he could bring the older back by his side. He's never felt this desperate before in his life until Hakyeon left. Jaehwan has always been like this since he was young. He was willing to risk everything to help Hakyeon, even if it meant giving away his freedom or his life.

"Jaehwan-ah! Answer me, Lee Jaehwan!" the older's voice could be heard from within the darkness. "Please... just answer me... Jaehwan-ah."

Hakyeon sounded as if he was crying and the older who Jaehwan remembers would never cry but it indeed sounded like it.

"Please, you have to help him!" the older continued to shout in desperation towards someone. "I can't lose him! Anyone but Jaehwan..."

Hyung... are you crying? Why are you crying? What are you saying? You won't lose me... why would you lose me? Are you crying for me? Jaehwan wonders as he tried to find himself in the midst of the darkness, He tried to open his eyes to find the light so that he could hold onto Hakyeon, comforting the older and stopping his tears but Jaehwan could move an inch. Don't cry, hyung. Not for someone like me...

✣

Hongbin ran to the hospital as soon as he heard that the one who got injured during the second massacre was Jaehwan. The chaos that happened at the same university was unforeseen and almost too sudden for anyone to react. Just when everyone had finally calmed down a little from the horrors of last week, another one occurred. This time, even Jaehwan got injured.

"You okay?" Wonshik noticed his partner not looking too well. He saw that Hongbin was trembling for the first time. "He's going to be alright."

"I... I really hope so," Hongbin's voice quivered a little as he responded. The one who usually has a lot to say was at the moment, unable to think of the right words because his mind was full of Jaehwan. "Why did it have to be Jaehwan?"

As Wonshik accompanied Hongbin to find Jaehwan's operation room, he couldn't take his eyes off of Hongbin either. He's really never seen this side of his partner before so, it was confusing and surprising for Wonshik at the same time. He didn't think that Hongbin's younger cousin would mean so much to Hongbin especially since they didn't seem that close in the first place.

Kong-ah, you really do care about Lee Jaehwan, don't you? Wonshik thought as he saw Hongbin's sweat dripping down continuously as they rushed through the hospital to find the operation room.

As they arrived, they saw Hakyeon slouched on the side, sitting lifelessly and waiting.

"H-how is Jaehwan?" Hongbin asked immediately, hoping for some sort of good news.

"I... I don't know," Hakyeon couldn't find himself to look up at Hongbin. All that was on his mind was his prayers for Jaehwan's safety.

"How long has he been in there?" Wonshik asked in Hongbin's stead.

"Three hours now. The doctor said that Jaehwan lost a lot of blood," Hakyeon gulped. "I was right there when he got stabbed. That idiot jumped in for me, trying to protect me... again.

Hakyeon's voice broke down, trying to hold his tears back and remain calm but it was obvious to anyone that his mind was in a haze.

The three of them waited in front of the operations room while watching the clock go by. They saw both doctors and nurses rushing in and out of the room, making them even more anxious as time went by. During the entire time, no one dared to speak another word as they were all praying in silence, hoping for a miracle.

As they waited in silence, someone walked towards them in a rush, heels clicking against the marble flooring. A tall, lean woman wearing a suit and looking very formal appeared before them.

"Auntie?" Hongbin recognized her right away. It was Jaehwan's mother.

Hakyeon stood up to greet her as well but he couldn't find himself looking into the woman's eyes.

Slap!

She swung her hands directly against Hakyeon's face, and her heavy rings scratched Hakyeon's face until he began to bleed.

"How dare you!?" she roared sharply in anger at Hakyeon.

"W-wait Auntie!" Hongbin tries to hold her back before she swung her other hand at Hakyeon. "Why are you hitting Hakyeon? It's not his fault."

Hakyeon didn't fight back and simply stood there quietly. He looked lifeless and it's as if the slap didn't hurt, he stood there with his gaze towards the floor.

"Not his fault?! Everything is his fault! You were supposed to watch over Jaehwan! You've already taken him from my side. Making him follow you to that stupid university and you can't even protect him?! You're like a bad jinx. Why can't you just leave him alone for once? Why do you have to keep getting in the way of my child's future?" she continued to yell at Hakyeon with her merciless remarks.

"Calm down, please. Jaehwan is still inside. Right now, we need to worry about his safety, not this," Hongbin tried to persuade her and pulled her away.

"Let go of me!" she screamed. "Stay away from my child, you hear me?!"

Hongbin pulled her away with him but those words must have stung. Even Wonshik who watched from the side could understand that such words can hurt anyone but Hakyeon didn't react at all as if he was affected by it.

Is he used to this? Wonshik couldn't help but wonder.

Hakyeon flopped back down on the bench, waiting outside of the operations room and didn't utter a word. After Hongbin disappeared with Jaehwan's mother, the only one left in the eerie hallway was Wonshik and Hakyeon. Neither one of them said a word to one another and Wonshik couldn't help but feel awkward standing there. He was waiting for Jaehwan but it wasn't for himself but for Hongbin. If it wasn't because Jaehwan is Hongbin's younger cousin, Wonshik wouldn't have a reason to be there in the first place.

What am I even doing here? Wonshik asks himself as he scratched his head and stared at the empty walls around him.

"Please go home," Hakyeon said in a lifeless monotone.

"What?" Wonshik snapped out from daze.

"If you're here to ask me about what happened earlier, this isn't the time for it. I'm not in the mood to answer your interrogations. I just want Jaehwan to be safe. So please, just leave. I'll answer your questions later when he's out," Hakyeon said yet couldn't look Wonshik in the eyes, he was still in the midst of praying for the younger's safety because nothing mattered as long as Jaehwan was safe.

"I-," Wonshik wanted to say something but as soon as he opened his mouth, he forgot what he wanted to say at all because he understood very well how Hakyeon must be feeling. When his sister passed away, everyone came to him to ask for questions, whether it was the police or the media. And Wonshik hated it when they came to his home to question him. So, he can understand exactly what was going inside of Hakyeon's mind at the moment.

And if anything were to happen to Jaehwan, even Hongbin would be sad. Hongbin was so happy to see Jaehwan and reunite with his younger cousin that even back home, he continued to talk about his childhood despite never revealing much about his family on his own.

"He's going to be alright," was the only words that Wonshik could say to Hakyeon. Comforting words were hard to find because he knew how hard it was to accept them in a situation such as this one.

But after a while, the red lights finally turned off and the doctors came out. Hakyeon immediately rushed towards them, nervous and worried all at once because of the words that could come out from the doctors' mouths.

"How is Jaehwan?" Hakyeon asked.

"He's lost a lot of blood but luckily, the knife missed his vital organs. We've managed to close up his wounds but he'll need time to recover as the wound was quite deep. For the time being, he's still asleep so just let him get some rest and time, okay?" the doctor said.

Hakyeon sighed in relief, "thank you doctor."

Not only Hakyeon but Wonshik also found himself relieved to hear that Jaehwan was alright.

"That's good, isn't it?" Wonshik asked Hakyeon as he finished with the follow-up procedures with the doctor.

"Yeah," Hakyeon sat next to Jaehwan who was still sleeping soundly after his surgery. He didn't say a word but he was thankful that Jaehwan has escaped death.

Wonshik didn't know where to begin or if he should ask about what happened so, he stood there in the room continuously being awkward while waiting for Hongbin to return. He made sure to send a message to Hongbin saying that Jaehwan was alright but Hongbin must have been busy escorting Jaehwan's mother out of the hospital to reply to his message.

A few moments later, Hongbin finally came in.

"How'd it go?" Wonshik asked Hongbin quietly.

"She went home after hearing the news," Hongbin said.

"She must be happy then."

"I don't know about that," the other shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"Long story. Anyways, what matters right now is that Jaehwan is alright," Hongbin said and went up to Hakyeon. "You should get some rest as well. You've been staying up all night waiting for his operation to end. It'll be bad if you get sick too."

"I'm fine," Hakyeon said.

"Exactly what happened this afternoon? How did Jaehwan get hurt? We heard from witnesses that you guys were attacked by the suspect and Jaehwan jumped in for you?" Hongbin took the initiative to ask about the situation.

"He did save me," Hakyeon finally said now that Jaehwan is safe again. "We were just studying in the library today like usual when suddenly we heard people screaming from inside. We didn't know what was going on, everything happened in a flash and before I knew it, a knife was being pointed at me. I told Jaehwan to go because he wasn't feeling too good but that idiot jumped in front of me instead."

Hakyeon slouched over next to Jaehwan, regretful of what had happened.

"It's because he cares about you," Hongbin said. "Anyways, we won't bother you for the time being. Once he wakes up, we'll come again to visit but of course, we'd like you to give us more details later on when things have settled down."

"Yeah, I understand."

✣

Wonshik and Hongbin returned to their car after a long night at the hospital. However, Hongbin remained quiet the entire time during their drive back to the station. Wonshik could guess exactly what was on his partner's mind.

"Everything will be okay," Wonshik tried.

"I know. It's just... you can't help but worry when things like this happens. It makes you realize that sometimes all these crazy things can happen to the people you're closest to as well," Hongbin starts to say. "I've always felt guilty in a way whenever we get a case. We have to interrogate or question people that are related to the victims or suspects, having to ask for witness reports when they're probably traumatized and going around to question even families who have just lost their child. Do you know how many times we have gone knocking on people's homes just to tell them that their kid is dead? It hurts every time I had to do it but when I thought about Jaehwan, almost dying... having someone else tell me that my cousin has died... it's different. I thought I might have gone crazy for a second there."

"Hongbin-ah..." Wonshik patted his partner on the pack. He didn't have any words to comfort Hongbin aside from empathizing with him so, the two of them remained quiet in the car, hoping that just their presence alone could soothe their pains away.

✣

The clock was fast approaching three in the morning yet Hakyeon couldn't find himself to leave Jaehwan's side even when the doctor have already confirmed that the younger was alright.

"Seriously, how much of an idiot are you, Lee Jaehwan?" he asks despite the younger still asleep.

I told you to leave and get away. Why didn't you listen to me?

Hakyeon's eyes traced along Jaehwan's face, looking at the younger closely for once and for a moment, he realized he might not have remembered Jaehwan's face enough. The younger had beauty marks on his lips as well as the left side of his cheeks, opposite of Hakyeon's.

I never really noticed it before... did you always have these, Hakyeon wonders as he found himself tempted to poke at the younger's beauty marks.

They've been together for so long yet Hakyeon realized he didn't really engrave the younger's face in his mind as he thought he did.

While Hakyeon was waiting outside of the operation room earlier, he began to fear of what might happen if it was the last time to see Jaehwan's face. Someone, Jaehwan's smile disappearing became Hakyeon's fear that he didn't know if he could take it or not.

"Why do you always have to try and be the hero?" Hakyeon continues to ask.

"Because it's you, hyung," Jaehwan mumbled and slowly opened his eyes to the older's whispers.

"Jaehwan-ah..." Hakyeon was happy, shocked, relieved all at the same time as he saw the younger opening his eyes. For a moment, he questioned whether or not it was reality.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Jaehwan asks as he gathered some strength to his voice.

"Too long, you idiot. Why did you protect me?"

"Because that's what you would do as well if I was in danger."

"What makes you think I would? Look at you, you're the one being hospitalized here and hurt right now," Hakyeon pinched Jaehwan's cheeks gently as he was scolding the younger.

"Heh. It's okay, I'm young. I can take a stab or two for you," Jaehwan jokes.

"Ugh, don't say stuff like that. How can you joke around at a time like this when you've really gotten hurt already?" Hakyeon sighed.

"I'm alright, hyung. I mean, it hurts a little but I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Yeah."

Thank goodness you're alive, Lee Jaehwan, Hakyeon thought.

"Did they catch the guy?" Jaehwan asks.

"Yeah but it took several people to pin him down before the police could make it," Hakyeon told him.

"Why did he go crazy like that? It was just like Yoonhwa."

"It's not just like, it's exactly like it. There's something not right and the police released a report earlier saying that the suspect is currently in interrogation but it's possible that he's forgotten everything he did back at the university like Yoonhwa."

"What? How is that possible?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well but there's been something bugging me about this case."

"What is it?"

Hakyeon looked at the younger, debating if he should tell Jaehwan who's already bed-ridden, "don't worry about it for now and just get some rest. Leave the case to the police."

"Che, can't you share?" Jaehwan grumbled a bit.

"It's only my assumptions. Don't worry about it and since you're awake now, I'm going to head to your place and grab you some clothes so you can change into them while you're in the hospital," Hakyeon said as he ruffled the younger's hair.

"What? Really? Do you really have to go?" Jaehwan pouted and looked at the older with his puppy eyes.

Hakyeon cracked a smile.

"Yes, but I guess I can stay just a little longer until you fall asleep."

"Yay!" Jaehwan finally smiles as well.

✣

"Kwon Minsoon, twenty-two, and majoring in Neuroscience," Seo InGuk gave a briefing that evening after apprehending the suspect from SNU. "Not much of a relationship with the previous suspect but like Yoonhwa, he also said that he doesn't remember a thing about what happened or what he did."

"What? How?" Hongbin scratched his head as he skimmed through the case files.

"Based on Eunji's and Sanghyuk's reports, they also said that there are no medical records that can prove that the suspect was under any sort of influence. Just another normal human being," InGuk gave out a deep sigh. "Anyways, I can't explain or understand what's going on either, so I'd like you two to try and get to the bottom of this... somehow."

"Yes, sir," Wonshik and Hongbin said at the same time.

Though they said in confidence that they would get down to the bottom of the case, the case itself was mind boggling. Everything was a mystery after another especially since they haven't figured out why Yoonhwa would behave so strangely so suddenly in the first place. Before they could understand one suspect completely, another appeared.

"Someone tell us what's going on, please~" Hongbin sung a sad tune as they made their way back to their desks.

"Hongbin-ah, Wonshik. There's someone here to see the two of you," a colleague shouted from the front desk.

"Hmm?"

The two turned around and saw Hakyeon.

"What are you doing here?" Wonshik asks as he looked at the clock, the sun hasn't even risen yet.

"How's Jaehwan?" Hongbin asked immediately.

"He woke up but he went back to bed since I told him to do so," Hakyeon reported. "But I came to tell you guys something."

"What is it?" Wonshik asks back.

"Before the incident at the library, Jaehwan didn't seem too well all of a sudden even though he was completely fine the entire day. He kept clenching his hears as if he heard something and even asked if I heard it but I didn't. It's just my assumption but I think that whatever is happening to Yoonhwa and this other guy from the library, has something to do with sounds. If I recall, Yoonhwa's previous club project was a sound emitter that has something to do with altering brain waves through sounds, right? Also, I was looking at the university forums and the students mentioned that the student who went out of control this afternoon was in Neuroscience as well. How can this be a coincidence? I just feel like all of this has something to do with Yoonhwa's project."

Wonshik looked at Hakyeon for a second and it seemed that the younger had the same idea as the police. When he found out that Yoonhwa's research was specifically on sound and brain waves, Wonshik immediately thought of the possibility that whatever Yoonhwa built could be the cause of the massacre. But Yoonhwa said that he didn't remember a thing at all about the massacre and same with Minsoon. So, if they're not lying, does that mean there's something else behind why they suddenly lost control?

"We thought of the same thing," Wonshik said. "But how do you explain that Yoonhwa and Minsoon both don't remember what they did? Are they lying? Or working together?"

"I highly doubt that. If they were working together or if their main cause was to massacre the entire school body, why use themselves? They'd