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3

mun was awoken by the soft tapping of a branch just outside of his window. his eyes opened slowly and he groaned, peeling himself off from the floor.

his first instinct was to look to his bed, where hyeok lay. he still slept under the covers, and though he knew he needed rest, he didn't want his grandparents to see the beaten boy laying in his bed.

he moved to hyeok and shook him lightly. "hyeok?" mun said, leaning closer to him. he shook him a bit more, before he noticed something was off. he said again, "hyeok?" before moving the boy more aggressively. "wake up!"

but he lay still, not waking from his sleep even in the slightest. mun began to panic, shaking him more and more with each second. "hyeok!"

mun grabbed his phone from his nightstand, quickly dialing mo-tak's number. it rang for a few excruciatingly long moments, before he finally answered.

"hey mun," mo-tak answered, dragging his name out slightly. "what's up?"

"i need your help," mun said frantically, looking back to hyeok, who still lay still in his bed.

"what is it?" mo-tak asked the worried boy, already gathering ms. chu and ha-na as he stayed on the phone with him.

mun's breathing quickened as he looked between hyeok and the door, hoping they would come through at any moment. he felt tears stain his face. he couldn't let a boy die in his bed. no matter how much he wanted hyeok dead in the past, things had changed. he couldn't die.

"mun!" mo-tak yelled into the phone, his other hand grasping the wheel of their car "where are you?"

mun didn't respond for a few moments. he felt as if somebody had grabbed his lungs and squeezed them tight, and never let go. "my house. hurry," was all he could say before dropping his phone and rushing to hyeok's side.

"you can't die in here," mun whispered, grasping the sheets that lay over his body, rocking back and forth as he leaned on the bed. "not here. no."

mun then shakily brought his finger under hyeok's nose, making sure he was still breathing. a faint rush of air hit his finger every few seconds. he sighed in relief, though it didn't ease the tightness in his chest or the tears that ran down his face.

he stayed there, watching hyeok, until he heard a knock on his door. he moved quickly to it, almost slamming into the door as he stopped just before it and pulled it open.

upon seeing the shaking, tearful boy, mo-tak grabbed onto mun's shoulder and bent down slightly to look into his eyes. "what happened? are you okay?" he moved him left and right to check for wounds, but he seemed to be unscathed.

mun took a step back as he sniffled, his face still contorted from his cries. "in my room," he said weakly, pointing back to where hyeok lay. mo-tak looked past him and immediately spotted the boy in his bed, taking no time in rushing to him.

ms. chu stood and looked at mun for a moment longer, before moving past him as well and to the injured hyeok. she was the one who could help him.

ha-na was the last to enter, her arms immediately being wrapped around the boy. she pulled back quickly and wiped the tears from his face. "don't worry," she said, looking back into the room where ms. chu was already working on healing hyeok. "he'll be okay."

mun nodded and wiped the tears from his face, looking back to the room. "do you think we can take him to the noodle house?" mun asked, looking back to ha-na. she thought for a moment, and eventually nodded her head.

"thank you"

ha-na nodded once again, then walked away from mun and joined the rest in his room.

then mun heard the creaking of a door, and his grandpa entered the room, this time with his glasses.