Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As the day progressed, the two uprising rookies, Woojin and Gunwoo, power through the day, knockout after knockout, win after win. As they finally met in the last match of the day, the finals, Woojin began to study him before the match commenced. He noticed his physique and that he was in tip-top shape, clearly sporting an athlete's body. One thing that he noticed that was confusing in the slightest was that he was eating bread. Typically there is no food in or near the ring, but the judge didn’t seem to mind the fact that his opponent was eating a piece of milk bread in his corner. After he finished it, the bell rang, indicating the beginning of the match. The way Gunwoo, Woojin soon found out, approached him was almost timidly. He shook out his shoulders and looked attentively at the judge as he gave the whole rundown. Woojins eyes, however, never left Gunwoo trying to go for the intimidation factor, which seemed to work at the way Gunwoo averted his eyes back at their judge when he glanced over at him. The judge finished his spiel, and the two boxers touched gloves and retreated to their respective corners, not before Woojin placed a cocky grin on his face and turned.

The first two minutes of the fight carried on with both jabbing and dodging, experimentally trying to get a feel of the other's style. When the three-minute marker hit, Woojin attacked with consecutive blows to Gunwoos face, which he blocked perfectly. Gunwoo broke out from the corner he was trapped in and began dodging the blows that Woojin was throwing, albeit recklessly. Gunwoo saw an opening on his left side and threw his left hook hard, causing Woojins knees to buckle and collapse on the ground. Gunwoo backed up to his corner respectfully and let Woojin get his bearings, lowkey hoping that he won't stand back up so the fight could be over. Woojin seemed to have other plans as he slowly stood back up, clutching his side. He thought back to earlier when his coach warned him to watch for his left hook. If only he listened because his side hurts like a bitch. But then he got an idea if he exposes himself, Gunwoo will definitely go for his left side again since that seems to be his trademark, and he can counteract it and ding ding ding knockout! He had it all planned out.

“Come on,” Woojin mocked.

“Son of a bitch” He antagonized.

Gunwoo's shoulder slumped, and he pouted the slightest at that but shook it off and put his hands back up.

“Come on!” Woojin shouted, lifting his arms and enacting his plan.

However, Gunwoo didn’t do what he expected. Instead of going for the straight left hook, he bobbed and weaved low, confusing Woojin, and struck once again with his left hook paralyzing Woojin and making him collapse once and for all.

-time jump to the restaurant -

Woojin and Gunwoo sit to eat pork belly at the restaurant near the stadium, Gunwoo rubbing the meat on the grill, then letting the strips cook after the comical back and forth on how to grill the meat.

Then, all of a sudden, Gunwoo whips out his phone and lifts his shirt, exposing two sorts of devices attached to his stomach, one on each side of his abs. He touches his phone to the device on the right side and lets the shirt fall. Woojin eyed him curiously. Gunwoo, not noticing the eye on him study’s something on the phone, then turned and asked the grandma,

“Ma’am, do you have any bread?”

The grandma says yes, and Gunwoo goes to get up, but she forces him to sit back down. He leans down, reaches under the table in his duffle bag, pulls out an orange Packer bottle, and opens the top. He shakes out a tablet and pops it in his mouth. He looks over at Woojin when he feels his eyes boring into him. Gunwoo does his eyes in a way, asking what.

“What are those? Vitamins?” Woojin asks

Shaking his head, Gunwoo replies, “No, their dextro sugar tablets. They raise my blood sugar.”

Woojin raises an eyebrow

“Raise your blood sugar?” He asks

Then it clicks.

“Oh, I have diabetes. I need to eat these sometimes to raise my blood sugar.”
Gunwoo clarifies.

Woojin mouths an ‘oh.’

“So what are those things on your stomach? I didn’t see them during the match.”

“This,” he points to his right side, “is my Dexcom. It measures my glucose levels.”

Pointing to his left side, “This is my Omnipod which sends me insulin. I don’t wear them during a fight because it could damage them, and it hurts me if it gets punched. That’s why I was eating bread before each of the matches; since I don’t have my pump constantly sending me insulin, I could crash. So I eat to keep me level.” He concludes.

“Crash? What do you mean?” Woojin questions with a crease in his brow.

“It’s when my blood sugar drops. I get shaky, and I start sweating and start to feel really bad. I can’t really explain the feeling, but it’s awful. If it drops below 70, then I have to eat this gel that tastes horrible, or if it's really, really low, then I have to take a shot.”

Woojins eyes show sympathy.

“Don’t feel bad, I try to keep it from happening, but it’s bound to happen sometime.” He shrugs.

“So what causes a crash?” Woojin wonders, fully interested now.

“Well, a lot of different things can. Taking too much insulin, the weather, and not eating enough are a couple of reasons why I’ve crashed in the past. But for me, I mostly crash because of too much physical activity. Ironic, isn’t it; crashing because of physical exertion.” He finishes chuckling.

Woojin nods with a small smile because it is funny. Boxers are known for their vigorous physical training. Gunwoo has diabetes, and his blood sugar can drop because of physical activity, yet he still trains and participates in competitions. Who else would do that?

“If it causes a crash, then why do you train?”

The grandma brought out a plate of sliced milk bread and asked Woojin if he would like any. He declines respectfully. The conversation picks back up with Gunwoo responding with,

“Because I love it. If I enjoy something, I’m willing to do whatever to do it. Plus, I’ve gotten good at making the crashes not as bad.”

Woojin watches Gunwoo take a slice and bite into it. After two slices, he whips out his phone again, taps the Dexcom (Woojin remembered), checks his phone, and nods with a pleased look.

“So I’m guessing you crashed and ate some bread and those tablets to bring it up?” Woojin questioned

Gunwoo smiles, impressed by how quickly he picks stuff up.

“Kinda. Because I had my Omnipod off for so long, during the matches, my levels dropped a lot. I put another back on as soon as possible, but it hasn’t brought it back up to normal levels yet. Right now, since I haven’t eaten, it’s at 85, which is okay, but it has to be more in the 90 to 130 level. After I eat, it should raise it.”
Woojin nods, soaking in all the knowledge he can.

At that time, the meat finished cooking, and Gunwoo took it off the grill and placed it on Woojins plate. He eats it and compliments the meat saying that it’s basically steak. He then makes a wrap for Gunwoo and shoves it in an eager mouth, which praises the taste. While they eat, they converse about different things. Woojin asks more questions about his diabetes, they talk about military service, and along the way, they find out that they were not in fact, the same age. Woojin sitting at twenty-seven, half-heartedly scolded his twenty-five-year-old dongsaeng. Woojin then asks Gunwoo if he wants some soju to go along with their pork belly. Gunwoo shakes his head and says,

“I can’t have alcohol. It’s a fine line; Drinking a couple of glasses causes my glucose to drop, and it’s hard to bring it back up. But if I drink too much, it’ll raise it to a dangerously high level.”

Woojin “ah’s” and turns to the grandma and, in a sing-songy voice, asks for one bottle of soju. Gunwoo thinks to himself of all the relationships and friendships he has had, no one has actively sought out information about his chronic Illness. He had a strong feeling this friendship was going to go places.

Chapter Text

With everything going on in Gunwoo's life right now, between Kim Myeong Gil still running around wreaking havoc, and all of the fights with his goons it has been hard for him to take care of his health. By enlisting the help of his best hyung, Woojin, he has been able to manage. After nearly two months of dealing with the ups and downs of diabetes together, Woojin is rather distinguished when it comes to his knowledge of the matter now. He has helped Gunwoo deal with crashes here and there and has learned the lingo, and what to do in the event that Gunwoo is unable to administer the medicine himself. For Gunwoo it has been nice not having to deal with all of this alone. He remembers all of the many nights that he came close to a diabetic coma. Of course, his mom helped but she was at the cafe nearly twenty-four-seven. So yeah he wasn’t complaining about his best friend who wanted to help make it easier. It has even gotten to where Woojin downloaded the Dexcom app onto his phone so that he can also keep an eye on his dongsaengs glucose levels. When Woojin asked for the app name and told Gunwoo that he wanted to be able to see his levels too, Gunwoo tried to say that it wasn’t necessary. Woojin simply said

“Gunwoo-ah you’re important to me.”

Gunwoo couldn’t object after that.

-cut to night of money transfer-

Before they were tasked with getting the money out of the bookstore at two in the morning, Gunwoo woke up early to change out his Dexcom and Omnipod since he got the notification that they had expired. In hindsight, he should have checked his stash to make sure he had everything before taking them off, but he was tired and it was early, so can you blame him?

“Damn it.” Gunwoo mutters.

Woojin comes around the corner leaning from the door frame, and whispers.

“What’s wrong?”

he intended to come to wake him up, but rather he heard him curse in the quiet of the night.

“I’m out of Omnipods, and I already took it off. I can’t reuse it” he groaned quietly.

“Oh shit, what are you going to do?” Woojin asks, worry tinting his voice.

“I have insulin shots that should last until I’m able to pick up more pods. I still have a dexcom left which should last me about ten days, but I can’t go five hours without insulin. I hate the shots! I have to take it almost five times a day, like every four hours! That’s literally the whole reason why I got Omnipods, so that way I won’t have to do injections. And with how busy we are I’m not gonna be able to take it when I’m supposed to, so I’m gonna feel bad throughout the day.” Gunwoo worries, biting his nail.

Woojin tries to put him at ease, despite his concern too.

“Hey, don’t worry, we'll pay extra close attention for the next few days. I’ll keep a couple of injections on me, and you keep a couple with you so we can both be prepared. And we’ll take a dose now that should last a little bit. ” He offers softly.

Gunwoo, still biting his nails, realizes there is nothing else they can do besides that. He reluctantly nods and Woojin ruffles his hair affectionately, essentially saying don’t worry, and calming him down.

“Do you need help doing it, or you got it?” Woojin asked since he now knew Gunwoo hated the injections.

Sighing gunwoo shook his head and said, “No, I got it.”

He took out his personal care bag that held the shots and readied the injections. He rolled up his shirt and ripped open an alcohol wipe, wiping the intended injection area; right above his belly button, and uncaps the needle. However, when he went to give himself the shot, he suddenly stopped, taking a deep breath and looking annoyed. Annoyed at himself or the process was unclear. Woojin, still standing at the door, sighs softly and takes pity on the man.

“Here hyung will do it” he whispers, taking the insulin shot from his shaking hands.

He quickly puts on a glove and gently pinches the little skin around the wiped area with the gloved hand. After the quick countdown from three, as fast as and as soft as he could he inserted the needle and pushed the meds through. Doing it one more time with the rest of the insulin in another shot.
Gunwoo releases the breath that he was holding and holds a piece of gauze on the injection site thanking his hyung shyly.

“No problem dongsaeng. Don’t forget to eat something before we leave.” Woojin replies, patting his head, then turning to go get ready in his room.

After the trio fully got ready and Gunwoo ate an Orion choco pie; Woojin, Gunwoo, and Hyeon Ju left their rooms and entered their designated cars that were already filled to the rim with boxes and bags. As they drove, Gunwoo almost had this sense of calm over him,

The calmness, however, didn’t last long.

While they were retrieving the money they got attacked by In Beom and Jang Do. Gunwoo and Woojin fought and beat In Beom, and Hyeon Ju beat Jang Do, both not without struggle. Throughout the process of trying to get the money home to Mr. Chois, they lost all of the money that was in the safe while trying to carry the heavy gold bars to the vehicle that was not under attack. Upon returning they were greeted by Yang Jung who congratulated them on a job well done and told them Du Yeong and Mr. Choi were waiting downstairs with food and drinks. Everyone knew that Gunwoo didn’t drink but they never knew the reason. They all assumed it was for dieting reasons since he is a boxer.

They all were talking, eating, and drinking (minus Gunwoo). Woojin was tipsy and talking gleefully with an equally tipsy Hyeon Ju, and Du Yeong in the corner of the room. Yang Jung, Gunwoo, and Mr. Choi talking quietly with each other; Gunwoo pouring drinks for both of them on the couch. It was all going so well; everyone was getting along so well.

Then the picture-perfect moment was ruined in a flash.

Gunwoo was getting quieter and quieter with each passing second, slowly leaning back into the couch. Mr. Choi and Yang Jung chalked it up to it being a long morning for him and turned the conversation from between them three to between the two. He leaned back into the couch, and pulled the sweat-soaked shirt off of his chest, slightly fanning himself. On the opposite side of the room, Woojins phone starts buzzing rapidly. He pulls it out and reads what the notification was. His smile drops instantly, the tipsy feeling gone in a blink of an eye at the alert showing Gunwoo has a dangerous drop in blood sugar. The conversation between Du Yeong and Hyeon Ju is forgotten when he turns toward Gunwoo. He sees him laid back on the couch, slightly trembling, and panting. Woojin drops his phone and drink on the table at the same time that Mr. Choi voices his concern.

“Gunwoo-ah are you okay?” Which caught the attention of everyone in the room.

“Gunwoo-ah, ya, come on,” Woojin said, trying to pull him up to a sitting position.

“What’s going on, what’s wrong with him?” Mr. Choi asks.

“He’s crashing.” Woojin says simply, pulling a half-conscious Gunwoo up to a sitting position, clutching him against his body, when his head lolled back.

“Hyeon Ju-ah, can you grab his bag upstairs in his room by the bed?”

“Y-yeah I’ll go get it!” She says scurrying off in search of it.

“Yeong hyung can you get some bread from the kitchen?” He asks, beginning to rub Gunwoos cheek trying to keep him conscious, while still keeping him upright.

“Yeah one second,” he says and runs to go get it.

“Yang Jung hyung come help hold him up for a sec please.” Woojin says and Yang Jung moves in to where Gunwoo is leaning into him.

At this point Hyeon Ju comes running back downstairs with the requested items, Du Yeong not far behind. They all notice the fact that Gunwoo is sweating and shaking, with half-lidded eyes.

“What do you mean he is crashing?”

Woojin picks up his discarded phone from earlier and taps it a few times, typing his passcode and then opening an app. He lifts Gunwoo's shirt and taps his phone to the Dexcom on his right side.

“His blood sugar is dropping.” He stated, looking at his phone and answering Hyeon Ju’s question.

“Shit he’s at 62” He mutters to himself.

Du Yeong calls his name and hands him a small bag of milk bread, which Woojin gratefully takes. Sitting on the coffee table in front of Gunwoo who is leaning into Yang Jung’s front side, head leaned forward, he taps Gunwoos face trying to rouse him from his insulin shock state.

“Gunwoo-ah, come on, focus, eat this.” Woojin says, tearing off a piece and pressing it against his lips waiting for his mouth to open.

Slowly Gunwoos mouth opens slightly and the piece falls in. He slowly chews. As he was swallowing, he felt another piece being pushed into his mouth, followed by another as he swallowed that one.

“He has diabetes?” Mr. Choi questions, figuring it out himself.

Woojin nods and replies

“Type 1”

He once again takes his phone and checks his levels.

“Damn it, it’s not going up. Hyeon Ju-ah bag please,” he says, hand reaching toward her.

Hyeon Ju hands Woojin the bag, and he rips it open in search of two things. The first thing he pulls out is a packet of glucose gel, followed by the glucagon kit. He chose this instead of the insulin shots, in case his levels continued to drop and make him pass out. He takes the glucose gel packet and tears an end off. Then placing it on Gunwoo’s mouth.

“Open up. Come on, open up. You’ll feel better after eating this. Come on.” He gently coaxes.

It seemed to work as Gunwoo opened his mouth wide enough for the gel to slide through his lips easily. He swallowed and swallowed as Woojin fed the gel to him until there was nothing left in the packet. Woojin tells him to bite down on the plastic to absorb every last drop. He goes back to rubbing his cheeks as stimulation for the gel to kick in faster. Over his shoulder, he asks,

“Someone tell me what the center number says on my phone.” To no one in particular, not taking his eyes off Gunwoo and vigorously rubbing.

Mr. Choi leans forward and grabs the phone, “It says 83.”

With a sigh of relief, Woojin drops his hands from Gunwoos face and nods, taking the packet out of his mouth as well, placing it on the table,

“That’s still not good but better.”

He stands up and takes Gunwoo from Yang Jung’s strong and steady embrace and leans him back on the couch. He looks around to find all eyes on him. With a sigh, he starts the explanation.

“Gunwoo is a type 1 diabetic who needs insulin regularly. The only thing is he ran out of Omnipods this morning, which is his insulin pump. He can’t go without insulin for more than four hours because it causes this to happen,” he said, waving his hand in Gunwoos' direction.

“ He took his shots this morning, but I guess because of everything that happened, it made his levels drop lower than expected.” Woojin sat and thought about it for a second and then realized. “Shit, that was five hours ago! We just got so caught up in everything. I should have given him his insulin shots when we got back here, then none of this would have happened.” He chastised himself.

It’s Du Yeong who speaks up this time,
“No, it’s not your fault. You had a lot happen today.”

“Yeah, and how you handled what just happened was amazing!” Hyeon Ju finished, everyone, nodding In agreement.

At this point, Gunwoo sits back up slowly and runs a hand through his sweat-soaked hair.

“Yeah, thanks, hyung,” Gunwoo says lowly but sincerely.

Woojin shakes his head with a slight grin, saying don’t worry about it.

“I don’t know why it suddenly dropped that low. It should’ve dropped when we fought or right after since I didn’t eat or have my insulin.” Gunwoo wonders out loud

“Maybe it just caught up to you now.” Yang Jung supplies.

They all nod, settling on that answer rather than debating it for too long.

“So are you alright now? Do you need anything?” Mr. Choi asks, his parental instincts kicking in.

Gunwoo nods

“I need to eat,” he pauses, glancing at Woojin.

Woojin gives him a knowing look

“Do I have to?” Gunwoo complains, almost childlike.

“Gunwoo-ah, you know more than anyone you need to.” Woojin criticized with a stern voice.

With a small unnoticeable pout to everyone but Woojin, he sighs and says
“I also need to take my Insulin shots since I haven’t taken it since this morning.”

“So what’s that on your side?” Yang Jung asks, pointing in its direction, when there was a lull in the conversation.

“It’s my Dexcom.” Gunwoo supplies unhelpfully.

“What’s a Dexcom?” Du yeong asks

Woojin answered, “ It measures his glucose levels and gives notifications if his blood sugar drops or spikes. That’s what that alarm was.”

Du yeong “ah’s”

Woojin turns to Gunwoo

“You ready?” He asks.

Gunwoo sighs and nods, reaching into his bag. He pulls out a kit that holds two syringes and an insulin bottle. Both Woojin and he set to work on readying the needles. The people in the room watch them diligently and are in somewhat awe of the way they move so sure of themselves. Before they knew it, the two syringes were filled and capped to prevent the needle from breaking or stabbing someone. Woojin grabs an alcohol wipe out of the bag and hands it to Gunwoo, who rips it open and wipes down an area above his belly button after lifting his shirt and putting it between his teeth. Gunwoo grabbed one of the injections, uncapped it, and once again aimed it at the site but hesitated. He lifted his head to the sky and sighed. When suddenly, he felt the syringe being slipped from his fingers.

“Hyung will do it.” Woojin says softly, similar to this morning.

Unbeknownst to them, the others in the room held small smiles and grins on their faces because of the action. It really showed how close they were. All find it funny how a tough boxer like Gunwoo is scared of a little needle, but to each their own.

Woojin pulls out a glove from the bag and slides it on. He pinches the skin above the belly button and, just like this morning, counts down from three and pushes the needle all the way in before releasing the medication. Then quickly uncapped the next syringe and did the same. Gunwoo flinching each stick.

“This should bring his blood sugar back up to normal levels. He’ll still feel sickly for the next few hours, but he should be getting better. You think you need another glucose gel packet?” Woojin said, directing the last part to Gunwoo, who was holding a piece of gauze on the entry site.

Gunwoo said, “No, I think I just need to eat. I only had an Orion choco pie this morning.”

“That’s it! Mr. Oh?” Mr. Choi called

“Gunwoo-ah!” Woojin half yelled

“Are you serious?” Du Yeong gawked

“Oh my God!” Hyeon Ju gasped

“Ya.” Yang Jung said face neutral as ever

All of which came simultaneously. This made Gunwoo flush with embarrassment as if he were a child.

At the call of his name, Mr. Oh came downstairs. Mr. Choi asked him to prepare a hearty meal for Gunwoo, which he tried to say was unnecessary. His objection was silenced by the look that Mr. Choi sent his way. Woojin sat down next to Gunwoo and asked him quietly,

“When are you going to pick up more Dexcoms and Omnipods?”

“The pharmacy is closed over the weekend. So it’ll have to wait until Monday. I have enough insulin shots to last, but I’m afraid I won’t take them on time.” He mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration

Overhearing the conversation, Mr. Choi chimes in,

“Gunwoo-ah, I want you to go see this pharmacist,” He said, typing on his phone.

Gunwoos phone dinged.

“I’ll tell them you’re coming. Get whatever you need. From here on out, you no longer have to wait or pay for any of your medications or supplies.” He tells Gunwoo, sending out the final text to the pharmacist he presumed.

Woojins mouth dropped open, and Gunwoo stutters out,

“N-no, no, that’s not necessary. You’ve already done so much for me; I can’t ask for more.”

“Ya. It’s done. You no longer have to worry about this.” He says with a small grin.

Gunwoo teared up because of Mr. Choi's kind and caring heart. He always feared the day when he didn’t have money or access to the supplies he needed to stay alive. But now he never had to worry again. He didn’t know what to say, so he simply said

“Thank you. Really, thank you.” Bowing to him in his seat.

Chapter Text

The year is now 2021. Everyone Woojin and Gunwoo have loved or cared for is no longer around. Mr. Choi, Yang Jung, and Du Yeong were killed by Kim Myeong Gil. Hyeon Ju, unable to deal with the pain of losing her grandfather, fled to Rome. Gunwoos' mother is in a different city living in Mr. Choi's orphanage for her safety. They had no one except each other and Mr. Oh. Sometimes it got too much, and they would cry, comforting each other. But they couldn’t sit and wallow in it for too long, or else they would never get out of it. So instead, they focused on the bigger picture. Their plan. They trained daily for hours until exhaustion took a toll on them. Working to get stronger and stronger with each passing day. Woojin was fully healed from the nearly fatal stab wounds that one of Kim Myeong Gil’s men gave him and is stronger than ever. Gunwoo went up two full-weight classes within the span of a year. They both had one goal in mind with all of the training they were doing. Become strong enough to take down Kim Myeong Gil once and for all.
—-
Woojin and Gunwoo lay side by side on a mat, Woojin fast asleep, Gunwoo beginning to wake up. It was 5:58 in the morning, two minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off. Gunwoo decided to go ahead and get up. He took the alarm clock between them and placed it closer to Woojins ear. This man slept like a brick, dead to the world. Gunwoo stripped his shirt off, goosebumps spreading across his skin due to the coldness of the room. At six, the alarm blared in the once-silent room. Woojin's eyes popped open; he turned his head and glared at the alarm in disgust as he turned it off.

“Ya, it freaks me out every time.” He croaked out, voice still laden with sleep.

Gunwoo chuckled and said

“Let’s go.”

They slipped on their jackets, followed by their shoes once they were outside, and took off in a brisk jog. Running side by side, just like everything they do in life. Together. They ran for three miles, which is one time around the quiet village, then went straight to weight training. Woojin first hits legs with squats, Gunwoo hits back, and biceps with dumbbell snatches, then rotates for three cycles. They lifted for about an hour doing different exercises. After the weight training, they focused on hand-to-hand combat, specifically grappling. They took a break for a few so that Gunwoo could eat a couple of Dextro tablets and a piece of bread after he checked his blood sugar, noting it was low after he said he was a little dizzy. In afterthought, he should have only taken one. Once feeling better, they went to tire punches.

“1,2,3,4,5!” They shouted in unison.

Mr. Oh decided to pull them aside at that point.

“Guys, we need to talk.”

Going inside to talk at the kitchen table, he starts

“I said no to you going because if you go, you’ll die a pointless death.”

“I know you’re worried about us, Mr. Oh…” Woojin began to say

“Then why won’t you listen?” He interjects.

“Mr. Oh, I think that we can beat Kim Myeong Gil,” Gunwoo said with determination.

They talked for a little while longer, back and forth, both parties trying to sway and convince each other on the matter. After much debate, Mr. Oh forbade them from going. But both decided to go against his wishes if need be in the future.

They head upstairs to get ready for the day. Woojin heads to the bathroom first for a shower, Gunwoo waiting in the bedroom doing research in the meantime. He noticed the dryness in his mouth and that he was awfully thirsty. He went to the mini-fridge in the corner and pulled out a water. He popped the top and chugged the water bottle. The thirstiness not ebbed the slightest; he pulls out another bottle and chugs that one. He sat on the floor, sudden tiredness and weakness taking over his body. He checked his blood sugar and saw that it was high for him just to have eaten some bread. After meals, he usually sits around 120, maybe 130. However, his monitor shows 180. Still feeling severely parched, he again reached into the mini-fridge and pulled out a water bottle. By then, Woojin had finished up in the bathroom, coming out in only a pair of shorts, still hot from the steamy shower. He saw Gunwoo chugging his water bottle and raised an eyebrow in question.

“You okay?” Woojin asked, eyeing him cautiously

“Yeah. I’m just really thirsty.” Gunwoo said before finishing off the bottle.

Woojin took in the four water bottles on the ground and glanced back up at Gunwoo with concern.

Gunwoo suddenly became flush with sweat all over again as saltiness filled his mouth. He swallowed convulsively as he felt vomit creep up his throat. At the same time, he felt it fill his mouth; a trash can was placed under his mouth. Woojin is holding the trash can. He pushed Gunwoos head down closer into the can so that the watery throw-up wouldn’t go everywhere. After three bouts of vomiting, he’s pale, panting, and shaking. Gunwoo sits holding the trash can in his lap, eyes closed, ready for another round that thankfully never came. Breathing deeply to prevent another round, he set the trash can aside and drew his knees to his chest, laying his head on them and wrapping his arms around his legs. Worried since Woojin has never seen Gunwoo like this, he asks, anxiously

“Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you sick? What made you sick?”

Gunwoo croaks out, “I think I drank too much too fast. God, I was so thirsty. I checked my glucose, and my blood sugar was high. Working out usually drops it, but today it made it high for some reason. It’s probably high because I ate too many Dextro tablets.”

Woojin nods

“So what do you need? Juice?”

Gunwoo shakes his head.

As he went to answer, he tasted the familiar saltiness again and found the waste basket back underneath his chin, puking up the rest of the bread and water he had earlier. (Unbeknownst to him, Woojin is so quick on the draw on getting the trash can to him because his face held a green tint to it every time he was about to hurl.) Once Gunwoo finished, he set the basket aside.

“I-I need to take a shot.” Gunwoo slurred out tiredly, shakingly attempting to stand up.

“Ya, Gunwoo-ah… Gunwoo-ah, what shot? I need to know which one?” Woojin said to Gunwoo, who was struggling to his feet.

He staggered and swayed, causing Woojin to grip his upper arms. Gunwoo took one step and nearly fell to his knees, feeling suddenly weak, if it wasn’t for Woojins grip on his arms.

“Hyung, I’m tired.” Gunwoo whispered, eyes blinking sluggishly.

Gunwoo was fighting to stay awake. Then suddenly, he staggered off towards the bathroom. Woojin followed him, fully expecting him to throw up again; instead, he quickly untied his shorts and peed. He braced one arm on the wall and laid his head on it, tired.

Woojin called for Mr. Oh. His panic must have been evident because he came running in as fast as he could in his old age. He told him that Gunwoos levels spiked, and he needed a shot, but he was not sure which one.

“I’ll bring them all!” Mr. Oh said, back already turned as he scurried off to get them from the refrigerator.

“Gunwoo-ah hyung needs to know which shot to give you. Can you tell hyung?” Woojin pleaded, trying to get the sleepy man to concentrate on him.

Gunwoo tucked himself back in, dizzily turned to Woojin, and said,

“Humalog… hyung, please hurry. ” He slurred out, fatigued.

Woojin grabbed Gunwoos upper arm and walked the tired, dizzy, and thirsty man to the bedroom. Mr. Oh returned and handed Woojin five shot kits, each labeled with a different name. His eyes settled on the blue pen that read Humalog. He pushed Gunwoo into a lying position on the floor. He read the instructions on the pen and, with shaking hands, readied the injection. He forgot all about the sanitary rules for shots and fully focused on the barely lucid man below him. He took the pen and pushed it into Gunwoo's upper thigh, holding it for five seconds as it said to, before removing it. He rubbed his thigh, trying to enhance the absorption of the medicine.

“Hyung.” Gunwoo whimpered when the injection was pushed in.

Woojin sat down beside him and gently lifted his head onto his legs. Soothingly rubbing his head, trying to get the other to relax and rest while the medicine kicked in, Woojin whispered,

“Hyungs right here. Rest.”

At that, Gunwoos' eyes closed as sleep took him.
—-
Gunwoos' eyes sluggishly opened. He looked around and noticed that his head was lying on something hard yet comfortable at the same time. It was Woojins lap. He felt a hand running through his hair soothingly. Gunwoos head shifting in his lap caught Woojins attention, and he looked down.

“What happened?” Gunwoo rasped.

“Your blood sugar spiked. I had to give you the fast-acting insulin-”

He found out after googling,

“to bring it down. You were at 180 when I measured it, now..”

Woojin opened his phone, checking the app
“you’re back down to 120.” He finished.

Gunwoo, still too tired to move, nodded.

“How long was I out?” He asked

Woojin checked his phone again and said,
“About two hours.”

Gunwoos' eyes widened. He realized he had probably been lying on his lap for the entire two hours. His legs had to have been numb. He attempted to sit up but was pushed back down.

“Ya, what are you doing? You're still not well. Lay back down,” Woojin said softly, hand going back to rubbing his head.

Suddenly, tears started welling in Gunwoos' eyes. He thought about the kindness and love that he was being shown. He started thinking, which spiraled him into a dark place. He thought about the fact that if he was alone in this world dealing with his diabetes, like before he met Woojin, how would he be? Would he be struggling to survive, or would he have been dead already? He thinks of his disease and how sometimes he feels so fragile and weak because of it. All of the sleepless nights because his blood sugar drops in the middle of the night, the endless stream of shots, pills, and monitoring. He thinks about how if it wasn’t for him and his problems, his hyung wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. He wouldn’t have gotten beat up so many times, wouldn’t have had to give up his easy-going life, and wouldn’t have nearly died. He thinks about how complicated he has made his life. Not only does he deal with Kim Myeong Gil willingly, he willingly deals with the ups and downs of Gunwoo's chronic illness. He thinks of Woojin and his kind heart; how he cares for him as if they were blood-related. He thinks of everyone they lost. All the unnecessary death and pain. It all swirled around in his head a million miles an hour, and it all became too much for Gunwoo. His lip begins to wobble. He took a deep shuddering breath and sobbed on the exhale.

“What, what is it?” Woojin asks softly, worry crawling up his throat.

Gunwoo continued crying, big heaving sobs as he wept. All of the year and a half’s pain was coming out, and there was no stopping it now.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” He cried.

“F-for what? What are you sorry for? What’s wrong?” Woojin asked, panic clear in his voice.

He took Gunwoos's hand in his and gripped it hard. It was matched with an equally strong grip, although shaking.

“It’s all my fault! Everything, it’s all my fault! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Gunwoo-ah, nothing is your fault. Do you hear me? Nothing is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. You're sick and exhausted. Please don’t think that you caused any of our problems or this. If you want to blame someone, blame that bastard Kim Myeon Gil. But don't blame yourself. Do you understand?”

Still gasping, Gunwoo grips Woojin's hand harder and sobs

“Please don’t leave me! Please! I need you!”

Woojin's heart broke at the plea, and tears threatened to fill his eyes as well.

“Hyung is right here and not going anywhere,” He said softly.

Woojin had no idea where all of this came from. He didn’t know if his brain was fogged with the side effects of his diabetes or just exhaustion from the day. He got the slightest inkling of what he was talking about when he said everything was his fault. So he tried his best to explain clearly that he was not at fault.

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Gunwoo slowly quieted down to whimpers and sniffles. Still exhausted from the spike in blood sugar, the exertion of throwing up, and now the crying, he falls fast asleep again. Woojin picked him up as gently as he could and placed him on the mat, laying his head softly on the little pillow. Completely ignoring the fact that Gunwoo hasn’t showered yet, he covers him with a blanket from the corner when he notices him shivering.

Around one in the afternoon, Gunwoos' eyes opened again. This time feeling ten times better, but still like he got run over by a semi. He sat up to see an empty room. He slowly got to his feet and padded out of the room downstairs. He went downstairs to the kitchen, where he found Woojin at the stove making something.

“Smells good,” Gunwoo said, breaking the silence.

It really did smell good.

Woojin whipped his head around, slightly startled, and grinned at him before turning back to stir something.

“It’s tofu stew. I looked it up, and it said that tofu is good for regulating and lowering blood sugar, and we had some in the fridge, so I-”

Overwhelmed with emotions, Gunwoo ran over and hugged his back. Tears blurred his vision for the second time today.

“Thank you, Hyung… for everything.” He whispered, throat contracting with the build of emotions.

Woojin placed the ladle down and turned in Gunwoos embrace. Cupping the back of his head gently and running his hand up and down his back, he said

“There is no need for thank you’s between us. I love you as if you were my brother. Do you know that? You are my brother, and I care very much about you. I will do anything for you to be happy and healthy. Do you understand?” He asked softly.

Gunwoo, unable to speak due to the tightness of his throat, just nodded with his head in the crook of Woojins throat.

Gunwoo loosened his grip on Woojin and separated. With a bowed head, embarrassed, he wiped the tears from his face. Woojin, still patting his head affectionately, looked at him with a soft gaze and said

“Go get cleaned up; lunch is almost ready.”

Gunwoo, whose throat is still tight, nods and turns to shower.

Once Woojin was sure that Gunwoo was gone, he took a shuddering breath and let his face crumple for a few seconds. A single tear fell from his eye before he wiped and corrected his face showing no sign of crying. He couldn’t let Woojin see him cry; he just couldn’t. It’s not that he couldn’t because of an older brother thing or a man thing. It was that if Gunwoo saw him cry, then that’d make Gunwoo cry, and he already hated seeing him cry. It eats him up inside, knowing that he caused those tears or that he can’t fix every problem in Gunwoos' life. Gunwoo is the only one who ever treated him as if he mattered. Woojin's family didn't love or treat him how he wanted and deserved. He always had to beg for their affection, attention, and love, not with Gunwoo. Gunwoo insisted on calling him Hyung. When they fought Kim Myeong Gil’s men, Gunwoo fought beside him and protected him. Gunwoo was the reason that he healed so fast from his stab wounds. When he was stabbed, his parents were alerted but didn’t care enough to visit or even call. Gunwoo stuck by his side every day and every night. He fed him, bathed him, took him to his physical therapy sessions, and was a comfort for him when he had phantom pains. It was a mutual thing that one couldn’t live without the other. They balanced each other out. They saved each other. And they will continue to do so for as long as they can.

After thirty minutes, Gunwoo returned downstairs fresh and clean, hair still damp. Woojin ladled him a bowl of the stew, and Gunwoo immediately ate with a ravenous appetite. Woojin looking at him with a small smile, scooped himself a bowl and started eating. He observed Gunwoo from across the table. He looked content, albeit fatigued from the tiring day, between the workout and his getting sick. Woojin saw the teeny tiny permanent knicks and cuts from years of boxing and the past year of fights with Smile Capital on his face. His eyes landed on the ever-present scar running down his cheek, and red-hot anger coursed through his body. At that moment, he made a promise to himself.

Kim Myeong Gil will go down.

Chapter Text

It was a couple of weeks later, when Gunwoo and Woojin were doing their daily exercises in the garage, Gunwoo hitting Woojin in the stomach with a basketball as an ab exercise, When Mr. Oh once again told them that they needed to talk.

“Follow me,”

They got up and followed Mr. Oh over to the car covered by a tarp. He told them to remove it so that he could get access to the trunk. Once the trunk was exposed, he popped and pulled out a black briefcase filled with multiple stacks of 50,000 won. Gunwoo and Woojin looked at each other with curiosity. Mr. Oh told them this was the last of Mr. Choi's emergency fund.

“Take it and go. I tried to hold you back because of my worries. I'm sorry. I’ll prepare a room and car for you in Seoul. Stay safe.” Mr. Oh finished.

They both thanked him sincerely and promised him they would remain safe. They bowed deeply with gratitude. Gunwoo, with the utmost determination, said,

“We will win no matter what.”

With that, they ran back into the house to shower, pack and buy a bus ticket to start the plan to take down Smile Capital.
—-
Once they arrived in Seoul, they found the apartment, met Oh Da Min, and got the run down of what to and what not to touch or do while in her room. She gave them one last stern look, then took her suitcase and went downstairs to her friend's apartment. Once she left the room, they decided to wash off the bus ride and then regroup about part one of the plan. After their showers, they sat down at the computer and researched the first target they were going to try and get on their side, Hong Min Beom. The only thing is that he was nearly impossible to get in contact with. They finally found an Instagram, and Woojin sent him a direct message saying that they knew he had been affected by Kim Myeong Gil and asked to meet up. It wasn't until a day later that they got a response from, who they hoped, was actually him. They agreed to meet at ten thirty that night at a private bar uptown.

They got out of the car, Woojin grabbing his phone and pocketing it, Gunwoo grabbing his bum bag and slinging it over his shoulder. They walked into the bar to find two guards sitting at the bar, a bartender, and two men sitting on accent chairs, one of them being Hong Min Beom. Upon greeting, Woojin and Gunwoo bow. The man sitting on the opposite couch of Min Beom stands up and introduces himself as Min Gang Yang, a police officer and cousin to Min Beom. In return, Gunwoo and Woojin introduce themselves, Woojin pointing out that he was the one who sent the DM. Min Beom gestures for them to sit, and they do both in matching accent chairs. Min Beom leans forwards and grabs a bottle of dark liquor.

“Why don’t we chat over drinks?” He suggests, tearing the plastic around the cap and then pouring himself a glass.

Woojin and Gunwoo look at each other with slight panic, and Woojin speaks up.

“Well… I’m really sorry, but I got stabbed by Kim Myeong Gils goons and tore my liver, so I can't drink.”

Min Beom and Gang Yang look at each other and chuckle in disbelief. Min Beom accuses,

“If you don’t want to drink, just say so. It’s fine.”

Woojin sighed and reluctantly lifted his shirt, exposing his tan skin, littered with four big white scars—three on his side and one big one down his middle. Min Beoms eyes widen, and Gang Yang motions for him to put his shirt down, looking sick.

“We get it. It's disturbing to see. Yes, just sit out, then. You get stabbed as well?” Gang Yang asks, turning the last part to Gunwoo.

“Oh no, I can't drink. I have diabetes.” He supplies.

“Ahh, I have an uncle who has diabetes, and he drinks all the time!” Gang Yang says, thinking he caught him in a lie.

“Come on; we’re going to have a deep conversation. Let's drink.” He continued to press.

He asked how they could be trusted if they couldn't even drink with them. Gunwoo sat contemplating for a second, running all of the possibilities through his head of what would come of this. Woojin eyes him with concern, then deciding, he takes a deep breath, grabs the glass in front of him, and says,
“In that case, I’ll take a glass,”

“No! I’ll drink.” Gunwoo interjects, shaking his head at him.

Woojins' concern forms a pit in his stomach. In all the time he has known Gunwoo, he has never once seen him drink alcohol. He doesn’t know if Gunwoo has ever had a drink. Not knowing what it would do to him, he wasn’t willing to test it out. Gunwoos' nervousness was palpable in the room. Min Beom and Gang Yang found it hilarious as if they were forcing their younger brother to do something to get them in trouble. Min Beom poured all of them a glass, starting with the smaller glasses. Woojin poured himself some water out of respect. They all held their glasses up and clinked them. Min Beom said,

“Bottoms up”

Directed exactly at Gunwoo.

Gunwoo nodded, and with slight hesitation, he downed the drink in one go, not even feeling the burn. Gang Yang and Min Beom groaned loudly, feeling the sharp burn in the back of their throats, while Gunwoo sat quietly in his seat, holding his glass with both hands. They all looked at him, expecting something to happen; for him to keel over or something. But nothing did. Woojin stared him down, looking for the first sign of a spike or crash, but he didn’t see one. Chuckling, Gang Yang said,

“Let’s use the bigger glasses. Let’s get the party started!”

Dread filled both Woojin and Gunwoo's stomachs as Min Beom poured the three a tall glass of the liquor. Gunwoo took it and downed it in five seconds, to everyone’s surprise. He poured another one, and he downed that one. And another. After four glasses back to back, The two from the lil group began to feel the effects of the alcohol kick in, whereas Gunwoo sat there unbothered. They poured him another one, and he took it down the hatch. And another.

‘Damn. Ya, slow down!’ Woojin whispered.

Gunwoo nodded, surprisingly feeling fine.

This, however, didn’t last long.

Before they knew it, the first bottle was empty, and Min Beom and Gang Yang were pleasantly tipsy. They started the second bottle and got about halfway through it before a sudden change in Gunwoo happened. To others, it would seem as if Gunwoo was just starting to feel the effects of alcohol. But to Woojin, he knew better.

Brr…Brr…Brr

Woojin dug through his pocket to look at his vibrating phone, and his blood ran cold. A notification popped up that read:

ALERT: A dangerous spike in blood sugar has been detected.

Gunwoo began to pant, the front and back of the shirt instantly becoming soaked in sweat. His skin takes on a sickly pale tint. Woojins head snapped up at the weak

“Hyung”

Gunwoos' eyes showed sudden tiredness and pain.

“Gunwoo-ah, are you okay?” Woojin asked, getting up from his seat and kneeling in front of Gunwoo, who was leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“I… don’t feel… well.” He puffed out, hand going to his stomach as if in pain.

By now, everyone’s attention in the room was on the pair.

“Ya, he’s just feeling tipsy. It’s no big deal!” Gang Yang said, annoyed by the shift in the environment.

“Hyung,” Gunwoo called weakly.

“I need to check your levels! Sit back.” Woojin said, scared at the sign of distress from Gunwoo.

He unlocked his phone and opened the app. Gunwoo was lying back in the chair, head leaned back, moaning. He lifted Gunwoos' shirt and tapped the Dexcom.
Min Beom and Gang Yang's eyes widen at the sight of the two devices on his stomach. Gang Yang felt nauseated,
He was telling the truth! He thought.

“Oh my god! 615!” He gasps.

All of a sudden, Gunwoo attempted to stand up from the chair. He struggled as if his legs and arms were jelly and couldn’t support him. Everyone sitting stood up along with him, unsure of what he was doing; the two Lil’s out of concern, Woojin out of fear. Once up, Gunwoo placed his hand on Woojins’ shoulder, looking for support, and slurred,

“Bathroom”

Woojin picked up what he was putting down, grabbed his arm, looped it over his shoulder, and assisted him to the restroom. They made it to the bathroom so Gunwoo could relieve himself, Woojin holding most of his weight along the way. Once he finished, Gunwoo muttered, seemingly out of breath,

“Need… leave”

Woojin once again draped Gunwoo's arm over his shoulder and made their way to the door. This time they made it all of three steps before Gunwoos' knees buckled for the second time within two weeks. Not expecting the change in weight distribution, Woojin went down with him, falling to his knees and cradling Gunwoo in his arms.

“Gunwoo-ah… Gunwoo-ah!” Woojin yelled, repeatedly patting Gunwoos face, trying to keep the man’s eyes shut.

Gunwoos' entire body was trembling and sweat-soaked. His pale face seemed to have grown paler, if possible. He was moaning in pain, hand clutching his stomach and coughing, as he was severely dehydrated.

“Ya, is he okay?” Min Beom asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“Gunwoo-ah!” Woojin continued to scream, trying to get hold of his attention, completely ignoring Min Beom's concern.

“Tired…thirsty…hurts,” Gunwoo panted.

“Call 911,” Woojin shouted, turning to the two men observing the scene. Gang Yang scrambled for his phone, realizing how serious the situation had turned.

“What hurts? Tell me, what hurts?” Woojin softly asked the shaking man in his arms.

“Stomach… throat…can't breathe,”

Woojin noticed a blue tint to his lips.

Okay, okay, focus; his blood sugar is high. The last time it was high, he needed a shot. Humana…Humala…Humalog! It was a shot named Humalog! Woojin thought to himself, trying to calm his racing thoughts.

“Sir, hand me his bag, please!” He demanded, albeit kindly, of Min Beom, who rushed to hand him the bum bag.

He dug through it, praying and hoping that he packed all of his supplies today and not just his everyday medication. His hopes were doused when the small bag held only his regular supplies and not the emergency stash.

“Son of a bitch!” Woojin shouted, tossing the bag out of frustration.

“The ambulance is on its way! Shouldn’t be more than five minutes!” Gang Yang reported.

Both Min Beom and Gang Yang held looks of remorse on their already sorrowful faces. Everyone knows that if only they had listened and not forced this young man, who told them he had diabetes, to drink, he wouldn’t be in this position.

“Hyung, I’m tired,” Gunwoo slurred, tiredness taking over his being.

The exhausted man kept up the mantra of “tired,” “thirsty,” and “hurts”. He wanted Gunwoo to be comfortable and get some rest, but something in his soul told him that if Gunwoo went to sleep right now, he won’t wake up again. Unwanted tears began to flood his vision at the thought.

“Gunwoo-ah, stay awake.” He said, voice shaking the slightest, cupping and shaking Gunwoos cheek.

Gunwoo moaned in return, breath still coming in short pants and eyes beginning to droop dangerously.

“Ya Gunwoo-ah, open your eyes!” He screamed, voice breaking at the end.

“Hyung,” Gunwoo whispered painfully, exhaustion evident in his voice.

His eyes blinked sluggishly, getting slower and slower every time.

“Ya! Please! Come on!” Woojin screamed, begging, tears falling, uncaring of everyone around them.

When his eyes blinked one last time and remained shut, Woojins scream was drowned out by the EMTs busting into the room. They took Gunwoos's unconscious form and began assessing and working on him.

“What happened?” One of the EMTs asked.

“He’s a type 1 diabetic, and he had a lot of alcohol. He doesn’t have his supplies for his high blood sugar, so I couldn’t give him anything,” Woojin reported.

They rolled him onto a spinal board and placed him on the stretcher. The minute they took Gunwoo from his arms, Woojin was standing, watching their every move diligently. Silent tears were running down his face at the thought of losing his best friend. His brother.

“We’re going to the general hospital on 10th street. Are you riding with him or meeting us there?”

Woojin's automatic response would have been to ride with him, but they had the car out front, and he couldn’t leave their only mode of transportation.

“I’ll meet you there.”

And they loaded him up into the ambulance.

As Woojin grabbed Gunwoos' bag off the floor as well as his phone, he was stopped by Min Beom.

“We’ll follow you there.” He said

Woojin nearly told them no and that they’d done enough. But he didn't care about anything else right now except getting to that hospital.

“Try and keep up,” Woojin said before running out the door to the car.
——
Woojin arrived first, the two Lil’s right behind him, parked next to him. Woojin ran in and saw Gunwoos still form being rolled behind doors. He ran over to the doors but was stopped by a nurse. He was told to wait in the sitting area and that a doctor would be out to talk with him in a few. It’s now been two hours, and they still haven’t heard anything. Woojin is up, pacing a hole in the floor with worry and fear, while Min Beom and Gang Yang sit in the uncomfortable chairs, watching him with guilt-ridden eyes. Finally, a doctor comes out.

“Are you the family of Kim Gunwoo?” The doctor asks

“Yes, yes, how is he? Is he okay?” Woojin asked, fear gripping his chest.

“Mr. Kim has fallen into a diabetic coma,” the doctor said softly

Woojins world titled, and he found himself being guided to sit down in the chair by the doctor and Min Beom. Once his eyes were focused back on the doctor, the doctor continued,

“He went into what we call DKA or diabetic Ketoacidosis. It’s when there isn’t enough insulin in the body due to infection, illness, or in this case, excessive alcohol. Due to the amount of alcohol in his system, we had to pump his stomach so that fluid won’t be drawn from his body in large amounts,” He finished.

Woojin nodded, soaking it all in. He thinks to himself, Gunwoo probably knew what would happen if he drank. Yet he did it anyway so that Woojin wouldn’t have to. He only had a torn liver and couldn’t drink because of the possibility of it going into his bloodstream or developing cirrhosis. Gunwoo has diabetes and couldn’t drink because it would mess up his blood sugar. If anyone should have drunk, it should have been him, Woojin thinks.

Mine was a possibility; Gunwoos was going to happen without a doubt. It should have been me! He thought, feeling the self-loathing build.

“So, what are his chances?” Min Beom asked, sensing that Woojin could not bring himself to ask it.

The doctor looked mournful as he replied.

“It all depends on the person. Some stay in the coma for several days, others several months, and some pass away due to the longevity of it after developing brain damage.” He said, pausing on the last bit.

Woojins eyes widen at the last part, and he felt tears prickle his eyes. Before he could break down, the doctor continued optimistically,

“But he is as healthy as a young diabetic comes, and he is strong. I have high hopes that he’ll come out of it soon and fully recover.”

At that, Woojin sighed as a sliver of tension and fear fell off of him because he was right. Gunwoo always cared for his health, and he was very strong-willed. There was no way that Gunwoo wouldn’t make it out of this.

“Do you have any questions?” The doctor asks calmly, waiting patiently for Woojin to gather his thoughts.

Woojin shook his head and stood up. He bowed deeply and thanked him for all of his help. The doctor said that he had been moved to the ICU and could take visitors and showed the three to his room.

The sight brought on fresh tears.

Gunwoo lay still, covered in tubes, IV lines, and wires, with a blanket barely covering him. He had a small tube taped up his nose, and a tear fell from Woojins eye at the sight of the ventilator in Gunwoos mouth that was breathing for him. He went over to the chair beside his bedside and slowly sat down. He gripped his motionless hand and let his face crumple, lips quivering trying to hold in the sob begging to escape. Woojin ducked his head and let quiet tears fall, sniffling each inhale.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all our fault.” Gang Yang whispered.

Completely forgetting about their presence in the room, his head popped up. His once grief-stricken face morphs into one of rage. He turned his attention back to Gunwoo, who was lying in the bed looking nearly lifeless so as to prevent himself from lunging at the two.

“He said he couldn’t drink. Yet you made him.” He said darkly.

Their looks of contrite deepened, and they lowered their eyes to the ground in shame.

“We thought he was lying.” Gang Yang weakly defended.

“Aren’t you a policeman? Shouldn’t you know when someone is lying?” Woojin said, looking at him with hate-filled eyes.

Gulping at the pure anger he felt and saw in his eyes, he once again lowered his eyes to the ground.

“We will make this right. I swear on everything that matters to me. I’ll pay his hospital bills, I’ll get the best doctors for him, I’ll do anything that will help make his and your life easier as he goes through this. I swear.” Min Beom said with every ounce of sincerity in his being, Gang Yang nodding in agreement.

Woojin sensed that he was genuine and let his hate drop down a few notches. His face now only shows tiredness and sadness. Min Beom and Gang Yang go to make their exit when Woojin stops them, now more in control of his emotions.

“Wait, since you’re already here… let’s talk.” Woojin said

They sit down and talk business. They strategize and come up with a plan on how to get the information that is in Kim Myeong Gil’s phone so that way they can move to the next part of the plan. After coming up with a solid plan, the two Lil’s depart leaving Woojin in the quiet of the room. He planned to stay as long as he could, and fortunately, when in the ICU, there is no end to visiting hours. He was going to stay the night just in case he woke up, even though there was a high chance that he won’t for a while. The thought tugs at his heart and threatens to bring on a fresh wave of tears, but he squashes it down. He wanted to stay as long as he could; he didn’t want to leave him alone, afraid that if he left, he would slip from his grasp. The room was private and had a personal bathroom, a perk of being in the ICU, he supposed, and in the corner, a little fold-out futon. So taking a chance, he calls Oh Da Min, who answers the phone groggily, who was clearly sleeping.

“Oh Da Min-ah, can you please do me a favor? Can you bring my duffel bag of clothes by the bed on the first floor to the hospital on 10th Street? Gunwoo-ah is in the hospital, and it’s probably going to be for a while. I-I don’t want to leave him.” Woojin said quietly.

There was silence on the other end of the line. Woojin almost thought she hung up on him until she said,

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” And hung up.

While he waited for her, he sat beside Gunwoo, studying his still form. He gazed and gazed as if staring would bring him out of the coma. And if he stared long enough, he swore he saw movement but was ultimately imagining in the long run. forty-five minutes later, Oh Da Min came walking in with more than his requested duffel bag. She has his smaller toiletry bag and a big bag of food containers. She set the duffel bag and toiletry bag on the ground by the bathroom door and placed the food on the coffee table by the futon. At that moment, he felt his stomach growl and realized that he hadn’t eaten dinner. Oh Da Min rolled her eyes, even though there was no real heat behind it, and started unloading the food, gesturing for Woojin to join. They both sat to eat once the spread was complete and ate in silence until they were finished.

“So, is he alright?” She finally asked when the silence prolonged.

Woojin sighed and rubbed his forehead, “He fell into a diabetic coma. They don’t know when or if he will wake up.” He said quietly, throat threatening to close up.

Oh Da Min nodded, seeming worried, and they drifted back into a comfortable silence. She stayed for about forty-five minutes before her sleepiness got the best of her, and she woke up on Woojins shoulder.

“Go home and get some sleep. Thank you… for the clothes and food.” Woojin said sincerely, to which she nodded and bidded goodnight.
—-
For nearly four days, Gunwoo has remained unmoving, not showing the slightest bit of improvement. The doctor said that he is remaining strong and should come out of it soon, but it’s still hard to tell. During the span of almost a week, Min Beom has come every day to talk about the plan and finalize key factors. Surprisingly, he also checks up on Gunwoo every time he drops by, asking the doctor about his status. Gang Yang only came twice, still feeling entirely too guilty about the situation. Woojin isn't complaining though. He still fully blames Gang Yang and is slowly starting to forgive Min Beom as he didn’t actively pressure him. When Woojin told them he couldn’t drink, he said it was fine and didn’t pressure him. He never pressured Gunwoo either; he just didn’t say anything to oppose Gang Yang's insistence. So Woojin couldn’t be entirely mad, but he had a reason to be upset with him.

Four days turned into five.

On the sixth day, the plan went into motion, and Woojin had to go see it through with Min Beom, Gang Yang, and the two police officers. After some convincing from Woojin that Min Beom could do it and just had to be brave, the plan was successful. The content in Kim Myeong Gil’s phone had been destroyed.
Around 11:30 that night, as Woojin and Da Min, as she told him to call her, were sitting on both sides of Gunwoo, Da Min's attention was caught.

“Oppa.” She called.

Woojin looked up from his phone,

“Look.” She said, pointing at Gunwoo's hand

He stared at Gunwoos's frame, checking for the slightest movement when it caught his eye. The smallest twitch in his finger. Woojin shuddered out a gasp and got up, leaning over him and grabbing his hand.

“Gunwoo-ah, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” Woojin said.

He waited for what felt like minutes, almost giving up, summing it up to his eyes playing tricks on him when he felt the soft squeeze on his hand. Gunwoos head inches from side to side slowly, and his eyes flutter open minutely. He didn’t know what happened or where he was. He knew it had to have been bad based on the way Woojin looked at him. Woojin was leaning over him, hand gripping Gunwoos to his chest, and his eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. Gunwoo attempted to speak but found that he couldn’t because of something being in his mouth and a sensation of something being in his nose. He reached up, touched his nose, and felt a small tube. He then went lower, touched the tube sticking out of his mouth, and panicked. He moaned in fear, and Woojin took that as his sign to jump in. He soothingly rubbed his head and whispered little affirmations that he was alright and to calm down. It only took a few seconds for him to relax, trusting Woojins words. During all of that, Da Min went to alert the nurse that Gunwoo had woken up. She returned with the nurse, who assessed him, asked him yes and no questions since he couldn’t speak, and told him that she would alert the doctor. Wanting to talk to Gunwoo now that his throat opened up, Woojin asks,

“Are you feeling Okay?”

Gunwoo shrugs somewhat. Woojin racks his brain for a follow-up question to his answer.

“Tired?” He asks softly.

Gunwoo nods at that.

Woojin nods in return and continues to run his hand over Gunwoos forehead and head, as that seems to keep him calm and aware. The doctor comes in and asks him how he feels; Woojin tells him his response and he says that it was completely normal to be a little tired. He explained what had happened and the treatment plan that was going to be put forth for the next few days so that he could fully heal.

“You will remain in the hospital for three days minimum on an IV so we can keep you hydrated and with a constant flow of insulin. Other than that, you should be fine and be able to leave in a few days.” The doctor said with a comforting smile.

He exited and let the nurse come in to remove the tubes. Woojin didn’t leave his side through the uncomfortable experience. Gunwoos whimpers from pulling the tube from his nose broke his heart, and the choked and strained coughing he had to do to remove the tube from his throat gutted him. Once the tubes were out Woojin immediately grabbed a cup of water, and fed it to him through the straw. Gunwoo attempted to scoot up in the bed, so he helped him do so and angled the bed to where he was half lying and half sitting up.

“How long…how long was I asleep” Gunwoo rasped out, voice ragged from the lack of use and the tube.

Woojin hesitated before answering, afraid of his response to the answer. He whispered, choked up

“Six days… you were in a coma for six days.”

Gunwoos' eyes widened, and tears sprung to his eyes. Woojin once again rubbed his head in a pacifying manner, trying to stop the tears from falling. Gunwoo took a deep breath and let his eyes close as a single tear fell from the corner of his eye. His quivering lips mouthed, “I’m sorry”.

“No. No. I’m sorry you shouldn’t have to had done what you did, yet you did for me. I’m sorry that I let you do it. I'm sorry that I let it go on for so long. I'm sorry Gunwoo-ie hyung has failed you.” Woojin said head shaking and nostrils flaring as the self-hatred flared in him.

Gunwoo shook his head and smiled. Woojin knew what he was saying, but that didn’t stop the endless stream of thoughts in his head. Woojin sat down next to Gunwoos' bed, and they talked until the sun rose, Da Min falling asleep on the futon. Woojin filled him in on the plans success, and that they could start on the next phase once he was better. The next morning Min Beom came to visit, this time in much better spirits. He came in to see Gunwoo sitting up in bed talking to Woojin and Da Min, seeming as if nothing was wrong. When he entered, the conversation halted and all the attention turned to him.

“Gunwoo-ah, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Min Beom asked sincerely.

“Good. Better. Thank you.” Gunwoo smiled shyly.

Min Beom couldn’t help but smile back, thinking that this kid was cute. His smile dropped minutely as he remembered how he got into the hospital in the first place.

“Gunwoo-ah, I’m so sorry. If it wasn't for me and my cousin, you wouldn’t have gotten so sick. I apologize from the bottom of my heart, and if there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask me.” Min Beom said.

Gunwoo simply smiled and bobbed his head a couple of times in answer. He stayed for a couple more minutes, then got a call from work and headed out to handle business.

It was on the eighth day after waking up that he could be released. With a pep in his step, Gunwoo jumped in the car after throwing his duffle bag in the back seat by Da Min, Woojin already in the driver's seat. In a little over a week, Da Min has wormed her way into their hearts. Those are her oppas, and the care they show each other is equally shown to her.

“You ready?” Woojin asked when Gunwoo was situated in the passenger seat.

“More than you know.” Gunwoo replied with a relieved smile.

Da Min leaned up and kissed Gunwoo on the cheek and said shyly,

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

He ruffled her head slightly, and she sat back with a pleased smile on her face.

“Lets go home.” Woojin said, starting the car.

Before they could pull off, the shrill ring of Gunwoos phone went off; it was Mr. Oh. He picked it up and a deep gravely voice that he would never forget came through the phone. He put it on speaker for Woojin to hear.

“Ya, you dumbass punks. Why are you causing a big problem?”

“What do you want?”

“Come to the fish farm at nine pm today. If you call the cops again, I’m going to grind Oh In Muk up and feed the fish.” Kim Myeong Gil threatened.

Da Min covered her mouth, gasping. He continued,

“I’ve gotten rid of Min Gang Yang and his cronies, so don't mess with me. I said I’d kill your mom if you showed up again-”

Gunwoo inhales sharply,

“See you there.” he finished

The silence was piercing in the car.

Woojin quickly went to his contacts and called Gang Yang Min's phone number. It went straight to voicemail. Gunwoo and Woojin turned to each other with fear-stricken eyes at the thought that Gang Yang Min, a police officer, was so easily taken out. Woojin thought it was too soon for Gunwoo to go on this extraction, so he said,

“Gunwoo-ah, I don’t think-”

“I’m going.” Gunwoo cut off reading his mind.

Knowing that he couldn't change his mind after it was set, he nodded.

“I’m going too. Don't try and leave without me either. I’m going to rescue Grandpa.” Da Min said with an almost deadly look in her eyes.

They all looked at each other, and with determination in their eyes, they set for home to prepare for the rescue.

“Let's go,” Woojin said.

And they all buckled up, and sped off to rescue Mr. Oh.

It took them a while to rescue him, and in the end, to eventually defeat Smile Capital, but they did it, just like how they always do everything.

Together.

End.