Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Am I speaking to Kim Gunwoo?"

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"You are noted here as patient Ahn Suho's emergency contact, he's in Seoul Asan Medical Center. We need your consent for emergency surgery. It's urgent."

Gunwoo's lungs feel like they're collapsing, "emergency surgery?! What happened? Why is he in Seoul?!"

"He got transferred here from Pusan National University Hospital, because the only specialist who could treat him is here. He has significant bleeding in his brain, it needs immediate surgery, sir."

"Yes! Yes, please save him! I'm coming now!"

Gunwoo doesn't even wipe the post-workout sweat from his face, and is already running out of the gym.

Gunwoo keeps thinking back to the last time he saw him, the day they sent him to halmeoni's house in Busan. He was only six years old. He was so so small. Gunwoo feels his chest burn, as he runs faster.

"I'm looking for Ahn Suho!" He's breathing heavily, as he asks the receptionist as soon as he arrives. He feels his phone vibrating in his pocket—has been vibrating for a while. But he can't think of anything else beyond:

Significant bleeding. Emergency surgery. Specialist.

Urgent.

Once he arrives at the OR waiting area, it's completely deserted. Except for one chair where a smaller boy is sitting. If Gunwoo had the mind right now he'd see that he's actually not that small—he's just completely hunched in on himself.

He's swimming in his gray hoodie, the sleeves covering most of his hands, one of them bloody, his bangs falling heavily over his eyes. His face is stiff, but tears are streaking down, darkening the light gray fabric one drop at a time. He doesn't move to stop them.

"E-excuse me?" He approaches him, "do you know Ahn Suho?"

The boy looks at him, his face going through multiple emotions, but eventually settling on something Gunwoo can only describe as angry.

"What do you want?" The boy grits out.

Gunwoo takes a deep breath. He did not expect hostility from this strange boy.

"He's—" he swallows around the lump, "he's my brother, and I just— I just got a call he's in there?" He blinks away the tears.

The boy turns his face to the door, his tears still spilling, and only nods.

"Do you—" his voice keeps cracking, he's trying so hard not to fall apart, "do you know what happened?"

The boy takes a deep breath, then whispers in a small voice, "it's my fault…"

"P-please, can you just— please tell me? I have no idea and they— they said his brain was bleeding?" He runs a hand down his face, "I'm— I'm about to lose my mind—please."

The boy looks at him for a while, his big, sad, brown eyes trained on Gunwoo, who's on the verge of falling apart. He pulls out his phone, taps a few times, then turns the screen.

On it, Gunwoo makes out a dark room with a cage in the middle. At the center he finds Suho, sweat beading his face, his hands wrapped in bandages. He's fighting someone Gunwoo doesn't know.

He's bleeding too easily. Is the first thing he thinks. Every hit somehow breaks skin—that shouldn't happen. The bandages must have something inside.

"What is this?" Gunwoo whispers.

The boy doesn't reply, continues to show him the video, where at some point Suho gets punched down, and the opponent doesn't stop. He straddles him on the floor, and keeps going. His head snapping left, right, left, right, left, right—on and on, blood bursting out of his nose, mouth, and broken skin of his cheeks.

"What is this?!" He asks, louder this time.

"It's the IKFC, the union forced—" the boy takes his phone back, as he swallows his tears, "he—" but he bursts into sobs, "for me— he didn't tell me— I—" the boy keeps blabbering, as he completely breaks down.

Gunwoo brings a fist to his mouth, his thumb pressed against his chin trying not to cry, as he feels his phone buzz again in his pocket.

He takes it out, swallowing the sob lodged in his throat.

Woojin.

"Yah! Where did you go?! We weren't done ye—"

"Hyung…" he interrupts him.

"Gunwoo-yah? What's wrong?"

"It's Suho, he's in surgery…" His tears finally escape him.

"Surgery? Why? What happened? Which hospital? I'm on my way!"

"It's Asan Medical Center. Hyung, it's really bad, he needs surgery for a brain bleed. I—" Gunwoo cries, his voice choking around the words.

"Gunwoo-yah, if he's in surgery that means there's still a chance. Hyung is on his way, I'll be right there, hmm?"

"Al—Alright, I'll see you soon." He cuts the line and sits down next to the crying boy.

"My name's Gunwoo. Kim Gunwoo." He says finally, while wiping his tears, realizing he doesn't even know who this stranger is.

"I know." Is all he replies though, not elaborating.

Before he can question him any more, Woojin rushes into the waiting room.

"Yah, what happened?!" He asks as he sits down next to him, his hand already on his shoulder.

"He got beat up in some fight, I'm not sure. Hyung, I don't know what I'll do if something happens to him, I—"

Before he can finish his sentence, the boy next to him scoffs.

Woojin gives him a look, "excuse me? Something funny?"

"Nothing funny about abandoning your brother to the other side of the country, but who am I to tell you that." He finds his gaze, his own red rimmed eyes burning with anger, "these two great hyungs, maybe if you were with him—no, maybe if he didn't even have to leave his home, then he wouldn't be in that state!" The boy's voice is strained.

"Yah! You shouldn't talk about things you don't know!" Woojin yells, "Gunwoo-yah, who the hell is this?!"

But Gunwoo puts a hand on his arm, "he's right hyung, if we—if I was there, this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault, I should've—"

"Fuck, Gunwoo-yah," Woojin scoots a little forward in his chair, "it's not your fault. I don't know what happened, but do not blame yourself for this. You've been trying your best, everything you've ever done has been with Suho's best interest in mind!"

The boy looks at him, his anger seems to turn into confusion.

"And you! You punk, Gunwoo has been slaving away for his brother, who do you think you are to say it's his fault?!" Woojin's voice ramps back up as he speaks, Gunwoo puts a hand on his arm again.

The boy turns his sad bloodshot eyes to Gunwoo, "it's not your fault, it's mine," the boy whispers, "he went into that ring to protect me."

Something clicks in Gunwoo's mind, "are you Sieun by any chance?"

Sieun looks at him with wide eyes, "you know me?"

"Yeah, eomma and halmeoni talk about you all the time. Thank you for being such a good friend to our Suho." He gently puts a hand on his back.

"What?" He has a dazed look, "halmeoni? You spoke to her?"

"I speak to her every day, Sieun-ssi," he replies softly.

Sieun continues to just stare at him, his mouth slightly agape. He shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts, then turns his eyes back to the doors, behind which Suho is fighting for his life.

Woojin gets up at some point for a moment and brings three coffees. Sieun doesn't drink his, just feels it go cold while clutching it in both hands, he doesn't notice the blood on his hand staining the paper cup.

After a long while, a doctor finally walks out of the operating room.

Both Sieun and Gunwoo immediately shoot up from their seats, Woojin follows a beat later.

"Sir, how is he?" Gunwoo asks, trying to keep his voice controlled, but unable to fight the shakiness.

"The surgery was a success, but he's not out of the waters yet. We'll have to observe him for the time being." The doctor replies, then he looks at Sieun, "son, I heard from the nurse, you can go rest for a moment now. He's in good hands."

Sieun just nods at him, fresh tears filling his eyes.

Woojin follows one of the nurses to check the paperwork.

Sieun and Gunwoo are left alone waiting, when Sieun falls to a crouch. Hugging his knees while violent sobs shake his entire body.

Gunwoo crouches down next to him, and strokes his back, while quiet tears escape him too.

Gunwoo breaks the silence, after he feels Sieun's calmed down, "Sieun-ah, when Woojin hyung comes back he can take you home, I'll be here with Suho."

Sieun immediately flinches away from his touch, "I'm not leaving Suho." He spits out, the anger he felt when they first met, immediately back tenfold.

"Okay!" Gunwoo takes a deep breath, his hand that was previously comforting Sieun now uselessly in the air, "okay. Stay, then."

That seems to calm Sieun down, he stands back up when Woojin comes back.

"Alright, I made a call to Minbeom hyung, he upgraded Suho's room." He puts a comforting hand on Gunwoo's upper back, nods his head to Sieun too, "let's go."

When they get to Suho's room, Gunwoo can't get his feet to cross the threshold. Suho is laying lifelessly on the bed. Tubes stuck to him, a mask on his face, and the relentless, jarring beeping that echoes through the spacious room.

Sieun walks up to his bed and clutches his hand, "Suho-yah, I'm so sorry." He chokes out, as he's hit with a fresh onslaught of tears.

Woojin takes a chair from the side and puts it behind him, "Sieun-ssi, please sit."

Sieun looks at him warily for a second, before doing as told, not letting go of Suho's hand.

Woojin then puts another chair on the other side of the bed, and pulls Gunwoo by the arm, before pushing his shoulder to sit down too.

Lastly, he grabs one for himself and places it next to Gunwoo.

Gunwoo just stares at Suho's face, the room is quiet besides Sieun's sniffling, and the machines signaling Suho's life.

His thoughts wander to the last time Suho and him lived together, eleven years ago.

"Is hyung not coming?"

"No, adeul, I'm sorry. But it'll be fun with halmeoni!"

"When can I come back?"

"Soon, adeul. Soon."

He clenches his fists, as he feels his throat burn.

"Hyung…" he whispers shakily.

"Hmm, Gunwoo-yah?" Woojin replies immediately, his hand finding his back again.

"I shouldn't have begged eomma to send him away," he cries, "I should've dealt with father before it got to that."

"Gunwoo-yah, look at hyung," Woojin says, his voice steady.

Gunwoo doesn't hear him, his gaze now on Suho's sleeping face.

"Look at hyung, Kim Gunwoo."

He flits his eyes to him.

"You were sixteen, you did what you could to protect him. It was the best decision you could think of at the time," he raises his hand to Gunwoo's neck, keeping his eyes on him, "this is not your fault. We'll get to the bottom of this, and he will wake up." He puts a little pressure with his finger tips, "trust hyung."

Gunwoo looks back at Suho. Then, as his eyes wander, he finds Sieun already looking at them with wide eyes.

"Suho—" he shakes his head, "Suho didn't know, he thought you hated him…"

"I know…" Gunwoo breaks their eye contact again, Sieun's eyes suddenly feeling too heavy, "I hated myself for doing that. But it wasn't safe."

"Why?" Sieun presses.

"Our f-father," his shoulders tense, his fingers twist into the fabric of his pants with the memory, "he used to beat eomma… and I was too young to protect her. Then Suho came along and he was so small—" he chokes on the words. He takes a moment to calm down, Woojin continues to stroke his back, "one time Suho was hungry, and father was already angry at eomma, so he struck Suho. H-he probably doesn't remember it, it was so sudden and he was unconscious immediately. I begged eomma to send him to halmeoni, change his name and hide him away from father."

"It wasn't your fault, Gunwoo-yah. I would've done the same." Woojin says.

"Then why didn't you bring him back after it was done?" Sieun continues, trying to understand.

"It took a while for me to become stronger, and fight back. But then we inherited his debt from loan sharks once he went to prison, and it was hard to keep things afloat. It was just safer for Suho to stay with halmeoni." Gunwoo turns to Woojin, "hyung, but we could've called him back as soon as we finished the fight with Smile Capital, we had the money—" he bites his lip to prevent more tears, before continuing, "why didn't we just call him back?" His voice is so small.

"Halmeoni said he seemed happy in school, and he made a friend," Woojin looks at Sieun briefly, "you said you would bring him home as soon as he graduated high school."

"It's too late now," finally the first sob breaks through, "look at him. It's my fault, hyung."

"It's not, Gunwoo-yah," Woojin turns to Sieun, "Sieun-ssi, could you tell us what happened?"

Sieun tightens his grip on Suho's hand, as he wipes his face with his free one, unwittingly also staining his face red, "yes."

Two weeks prior

Sieun walks up to the desk in the back corner, shaking the person who's dozing off.

A hand shoots out, then after his eyes focus, a groan, "hmm, five more minutes, Sieun-ah."

"It's lunch time, there won't be anything left. There's jeon today." Sieun replies.

Suho lifts his head again, "haemuljeon?"

Sieun nods.

Suho stretches his back, before he gets up and puts an arm around Sieun's shoulders, "lead the way, Sieun-ssi!"

While they're having lunch—Sieun's tray having the normal amount of food, while Suho's is overflowing, a sight that has become normal to Sieun—they hear a few students murmuring.

"Yah, those union bastards are lingering around the school gates again."

"Again?! Last time they took Hyoman, and he hasn't been seen since!"

"I didn't think they'd come back so quickly."

"Maybe they came because of the fight with Yeongbin?"

"Do you mean Sieun? Nah, I doubt it."

Suho's head perks up at Sieun's name.

"I don't know, man, he's also always around Suho…"

"Right, he was on track to become a pro boxer, right? Won some stuff in the under-18 games?"

"He won against Wooyoung, who's in the Union now!"

Sieun looks at Suho, "you did?"

Suho just nods casually, his cheeks and mouth full, "mn," he swallows, "he was weak."

Before he eats another bite, he says, "let's stay away from them, yeah?"

Sieun nods, "don't have time for that stuff anyway, gotta go hagwon."

"Good, they're bad news." Suho scarfs down the rest of his tray.

They go back to class.

Once classes are over, they head to Suho's bike, which is parked right by the school building.

Before any of the goons hanging around the gates can stop them, they drive right out and head to Sieun's hagwon.

"If anything happens, call hyung." Suho says, as he takes Sieun's helmet off.

"What would happen," he fixes his bangs, "also, you're not my hyung."

"Yes, yes, Sieun-ssi," he puts the helmet in the delivery box, "even if nothing happens, call me."

The corner of Sieun's mouth quirks up at this slightly, "stupid."

"I'm off!" Suho waves, before driving off.

Sieun watches him go, before heading inside.

A few hours later, after his night classes are done earlier than usual, he texts Suho to let him know.

He barely makes it out of the doors, when three big guys hound him.

"You Sieun?" One of them asks.

"No." He fixes his face into a bored expression, and tries to walk past.

But they block his way, talk among each other while looking at their phones, "you are!" They turn the screen, a photo of himself looking back at him, "we're here with an incredible offer!"

"Not interested," he replies through his teeth, he clutches the metallic pen he keeps in the pocket of his hoodie.

"Just hear us out, man!" Another one of them says, pushing his shoulder.

He shoots him a glare, slowly takes out the pen in his pocket. He looks at his surroundings, most students have already left, they're quite in the open so chances of it being recorded on some CCTV or black box are high.

He tries to calm down.

He only recently had the fight with Yeongbin, and can't really afford another strike.

The guy pushes his shoulder again, "what the fuck's your problem?!"

Before he can retaliate, there's a honking sound.

"Ma!" Suho cuts through with his yell for attention, "is there a problem here?"

Sieun looks at him, then at the three guys.

One of them steps forward, "who the fuck are you?!"

Suho steps off his bike, and stretches his legs.

Seeing the guys distracted, Sieun takes this chance to step around them and walk over to Suho.

"We were not done!" One of them shouts.

"Yes, we were." He says coldly, while he waits for Suho to give him his helmet. Then, softer, "hi, Suho-yah."

"Hi, Sieun-ah," he puts his helmet on for him, and turns to the guys, "don't let me see you around him again."

Suho starts the ignition, and drops Sieun off at home before starting his deliveries.

The morning after, Sieun arrives barely at the crack of dawn. The school grounds completely deserted, save for the one lone white motorcycle parked near the building.

Sieun enters the classroom quietly. Placing a bright pink Red Bull can next to Suho's sleeping figure before he sits down, his phone light propped up towards his notebook.

He sits like that for a long time, without opening the blinds or turning on the overhead lights—making sure Suho gets his sleep.

At some point before they expect their classmates to arrive, Suho groans.

"Oh!" He sits up in a quick motion on top of the makeshift bed he's made from pushing two desks together, "good morning, Sieun-ssi! Thank you for the Red Bull!"

"Good morning, Suho-yah," he turns after finishing the sentence he was writing, "did you sleep well?"

"Well enough," he stretches his arms, before grabbing the can, "ooh, peach this time?"

"Let me know if you like it, they didn't have your regular one," Sieun says easily, before turning back to his notebook, still using his flashlight.

Suho notices, "ma!" Sieun looks over his shoulder, "that's bad for your eyes! I told you to just turn on the light, I don't mind!"

"I don't mind either," he smiles at him small, "I'd rather you get some sleep."

Suho clicks his tongue, before getting up and opening the blinds wide, letting the sun warm the classroom immediately.

He also flicks on the lights, allowing Sieun to turn off his phone's.

Suho fixes the desks again, while Sieun gets back to his homework, before other classmates enter and their day officially starts.

Their day passes normally.

They have their classes—Suho sleeps through most of them, Sieun makes double notes—they have their lunch, once again hear some rumors about the Union, and go to their last classes.

Their peace is disturbed when they leave for the day.

This time the goons are prepared. There are two bikes following them, Suho curses under his breath.

"Fuck," he pulls Sieun's hands at his sides to wrap around properly, "hold on tight."

Sieun doesn't say anything, trusting Suho's driving as he does every day.

He speeds up, and swerves around cars, before going through side alleys, and back streets.

"Did we lose them?" He asks, his voice loud over the wind.

Sieun looks over his shoulder, and when he sees no other bikes, he replies, "I think so!"

"Assa!" He exclaims, and slows down.

He parks the bike in front of a convenience store, takes Sieun's helmet to store it in the delivery box on the back, and pulls him along with an arm around his shoulders.

After they buy Red Bulls, and some snacks they sit down at the small table right outside.

"Good right?" Suho asks as they're both sipping the same drink Sieun had picked out for him in the morning.

Sieun just makes a sound of affirmation, his face relaxed.

"Do you know what those guys wanted yesterday?" Suho asks him after a while of just enjoying each other's company.

Sieun shakes his head, "they said they had an offer, but I didn't let them finish."

"Good," Suho nods as he takes a sip.

Suho gets a notification on his phone. He sighs, downs the rest of his Red Bull, and gets up.

Sieun's tracking his movements with his eyes the entire time.

"Time for work," he holds out his hand for Sieun, who takes it bashfully, "I'll take you to hagwon, Sieun-ssi."

He follows him to his bike, "hmm."

The next few days pass without much trouble, but they do keep seeing people around school, hagwon, and even Sieun's apartment complex.

It's about a week when Sieun gets a text from Suho after his hagwon classes, that he's running late because of a sudden rush of customers.

No matter, he texts him back that he'll wait.

Except.

The three guys are back, and it's not just them this time. The groups had been growing, but with Suho, and his bike they'd mostly left him alone—once or twice they tried talking, but Suho made sure it didn't escalate.

This time however, Suho is not here. He texts him again, saying he doesn't need to come and he'll just take the bus instead.

He speed walks past them, but of course, they follow him.

He starts running, and hears their footsteps stomp faster and louder behind him too.

He ducks into an alleyway, and keeps running, his lungs burning with every labored breath he takes.

He feels a stitch in his side, but still he doesn't stop.

Keeps running, and running, and running.

Until he's cut off.

Now both in front of him, and behind, there are goons.

"Man, we just want to talk! Fuck!" One of them calls from the crowd.

"I said I'm not interested!" He calls out, his voice hoarse.

When one of them comes close, Sieun pulls out the metal pen from his pocket and swings it.

Catching the tip in the guy's cheek, leaving behind a clean line, slowly beading blood.

There's a pause, as if everyone's holding their breath.

Sieun clutches his pen tighter, when the guy lifts his fingers to the cut.

"Fuck. Ma!" He shouts, Sieun swings his pen again but he's too slow this time.

The guy steps forward and pushes him against the wall by his neck with a heavy hand.

"Enough talking," he hisses, Sieun scratches at his hand, while his face becomes more and more red from the force the man's holding him with, "if you don't join the IKFC, your little boyfriend, his halmeoni, your father, we'll kill them all, got that?"

"Why?!" He manages to choke out.

"Why? We saw what you did to Yeongbin, and know you'll bring in good money with grit like that. Plus you've got a pretty face." His other hand now harshly pushing away his bangs, as if to prove a point, "you'll get a cut if you win, don't worry. We just need you for one match."

Sieun's phone buzzes in his pocket, Suho, he thinks.

He breathes deeply through his nose, his nostrils flaring.

"Is that a yes?" The guy asks, with a smirk.

Sieun nods.

The guy lets go, and gestures for the others to leave with a hand, "pleasure doing business with you! We'll be in contact, Sieun-ssi!" He calls after him.

Sieun drops to his knees, coughs wracking through his body violently.

His phone buzzes again—or maybe it never stopped, Sieun's not sure—he pulls it out, and he was right.

Suho is trying to reach him.

He think about it for a second, but decides to answer once he's done catching his breath.

"Hmm? Suho-yah," Sieun says, trying to keep his tone even.

"Sieun-ah? Are you okay?" His voice comes through concerned.

"Mn. Didn't you see my text? I took the bus," he lies.

"I did, but you didn't see mine I assume? Yours isn't driving because of roadworks. Sieun-ah, where are you?" His voice is strained.

Fuck. He looks around, he has no idea where he is, "I'm almost home, I.. walked."

Suho sighs, the sound slightly static over the line.

"Sieun-ah, please tell me where you are, I'll come get you."

Sieun's shoulders slump, as he sits down on the cold ground, leaning back against the wall, "in some alleyway, I don't know, Suho-yah," he whispers.

"Fuck, okay." He hears some shuffling, Sieun imagines him running a hand through his hair the way he does when he's frustrated, "share your location, I'll come get you."

He does as told, and waits. His eyes falling close, he's so tired.

"—eun-ah!" He feels someone shake his shoulders, "Sieun-ah!"

He blinks his eyes open, Suho is kneeling next to him, his hands gripping his gray hoodie.

"Ma! Are you okay?!" His face is set in an uncharacteristically deep frown.

"Mn." Sieun wipes a hand down his face, "let's go home."

"What happened?" He asks, as he helps him up.

Sieun dusts his pants once he's standing, then brings a hand to his neck for a second, wincing at the sting he still feels from the tight grip the guy had earlier.

"What the fuck? Who did this?!" There's an expression on Suho's face Sieun's never seen before.

Pure rage.

His hand grazes the already red marks on his neck.

"Can we go first? Hmm?" He tries to cut through it with his eyes, "please. Suho-yah."

His expression softens, "alright, let's go."

They make it to Sieun's apartment complex, but instead of just dropping him off, Suho kills the ignition, and follows him inside.

"Alright," Suho starts, after sitting on his couch, "what happened?" He's leaning back, his posture seems relaxed, but Sieun can tell by the tension in his face, he's anything but.

Sieun grabs two cups of water, hands one to Suho before also sitting down. He leans forward, his elbows on his knees, face in his hands.

"There was a group this time, a big one." He starts, "they followed me into that alleyway."

Suho doesn't interrupt him, but Sieun can see his fists clenching from the corner of his eyes.

"They told me I have to fight in the IKFC."

"And you said no, right?" Suho grits out.

"Mn." Sieun doesn't look even remotely in his direction.

Suho's eyes narrow, "alright, then how'd you get them to leave you alone?"

Sieun turns his face away even more, allowing Suho to only see the back of his head now, "said I was a shit fighter, and there'd be no point. Told them I lost to Hyoman before. They left after that."

Suho doesn't believe him. Sieun knows Suho doesn't believe him. He's being too chatty, he's refusing to look at him, Sieun knows all of this. But Suho lets it go.

"Okay," he runs a hand over his face, "next time, call hyung. Please."

"Mn." Sieun leans back, closing his eyes.

Suho starts getting up, startling Sieun slightly.

"Okay, I'm leaving," he zips up his red and black windbreaker, "good night, Sieun-ah, I'll see you tomorrow."

Sieun opens his eyes, takes a deep breath through his nose, "Suho-yah."

Suho stops his movements, and looks at him.

"Stay. Please," he says, his voice low in his chest.

Suho looks at him, his dark eyes softening at Sieun.

He looks so open. Suho doesn't get to see Sieun this vulnerable often, so he sighs.

And sits back down.

Sieun gets up and sits next to him, he waits for a second to see if Suho moves away. He doesn't.

So he drops his head on his shoulder.

"Suho-yah," he replies with a hum, "whatever happens, don't blame yourself."

"I'm not going to let it get that far," he says, stiffly.

"Still." Sieun closes his eyes.

He falls asleep.

The next morning he wakes up in his own bed, instead of the couch.

He pads out of the room and finds the apartment empty.

Suho left.

He gets ready for school and heads out too.

The next few days are spent normally. The goons are gone. He goes to school, hagwon, home, repeat.

Then, on a Thursday evening, his phone buzzes.

Tomorrow 9pm 📍

Sieun breathes deeply, and turns his screen face down.

There's a loud knock on his front door.

He checks his clock, not expecting anything or anyone at this hour, so he calls out, "who is it?"

"Delivery!"

He huffs an amused breath, and walks over to open the door.

"I brought chicken," Suho says, a smile on his face that doesn't reach his eyes.

Sieun just opens the door wider for him, then follows him to the kitchen where he drops the bag on the dinner table, and starts plating.

They enjoy dinner together, without much chatter—again uncharacteristic for Suho, but Sieun gets it. He's probably stressed about the lack of union activity.

After they're done, Suho turns to him, "Sieun-ah, instead of studying tonight, can we watch a movie?"

"Alright, Suho-yah," Sieun smiles at him small.

Suho turns on some romance movie, Sieun's not sure. He's not paying attention.

He feels his eyes close though, and drops his head on Suho's shoulder again.

When he wakes up, he's still on the couch, this time with Suho leaning his head on top of his own. A line of drool over his cheek.

Sieun feels something stir in his chest at the sight. But he doesn't pay it any mind.

Tonight is the fight, but he still has to go to school.

He moves away, Suho's head drops down in a jerk.

"Huh?" He blinks awake, "oh, what time is it?"

"I'm going to get ready for school, you're welcome to sleep some more here." Sieun replies evenly.

"Nah, it's fine, I'll nap in class." He gets up, "I'll wash up first!"

Sieun watches him go, his shoulders heavy.

He's not sure what will happen tonight, but he's heard. Of course he's heard. People don't get out from those fights, no one's seen Hyoman since the union took him last time.

But he can't risk it. He can't risk Suho, or halmeoni getting hurt.

So he'll go.

But first:

"Sieun-ah! The bathroom is free!"

They go to school together, finish their classes and head back outside.

When he's waiting by Suho's bike, Suho clicks his tongue, "ah shit! Sieun-ah! I left my watch in your house! Do you mind if we take a detour? I need it for my deliveries."

Sieun just smiles at him, "Sure, Suho-yah."

So they do, they head back to his apartment, but Suho's driving a lot slower than he normally would. Sieun doesn't mind, he wraps his arms tighter around his waist, puts his face into his back, and breathes in deeply.

He doesn't know if he'll have this chance again, so he'll hold on to it for as long as he can.

They enter his apartment and they start searching in the living room. After a while when they don't find it, Suho says, "can you look in your bedroom? I'll go look in the bathroom!"

Sieun just nods and does as asked.

But as soon as he crosses the threshold of his room, Suho shuts the door and locks it from outside.

"Suho-yah? Wha—" he rattles the doorknob, "ma! What's going on?! Ahn Suho!"

"I'm sorry, Sieun-ah," Sieun hears him softly against the door, "whatever happens today, don't blame yourself."

"Suho-yah! No!" He's banging at the door now, "open the door! Ahn Suho!"

"See you tomorrow, Sieun-ah."

The sound of the front door opening and closing echoes through the apartment.

He tries whatever he can to open his door, but it doesn't work.

He's stuck.

He checks his clock, eight thirty.

The fight is supposed to start in thirty minutes, and there's no missed calls or anything.

Suho didn't just lock me up to stop me, Sieun thinks, he locked me up to take my place.

He frantically starts typing into Naver:

IKFC

The Union

High schoolers fighting championship

He tries anything he can think of, but nothing's coming up.

Then something in his mind clicks.

He needs to be looking in the dark web. This is highly illegal, there's no way it's just out in the open.

He starts again.

And just at IKFC something pops up.

IRON KNUCKLE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP HOSTED BY THE UNION - PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

THE UNION BEAST KANG WOOYOUNG VS. THE WHITE MAMBA YEON SIEUN - MATCH CANCELLED

THE UNION BEAST KANG WOOYOUNG VS. THE GHOST AHN SUHO - 9PM

He checks his clock again, eight fifty-five

Just finding the website cost him so much time. When he tries to click continue, he's hit with a paywall.

Fuck.

He doesn't care. He has one card he doesn't use, one that his father dumps money on for him, so he just puts in his digits and makes an account.

A live feed starts playing of both fighters standing across from each other, the chat next to it going crazy.

Sieun can't sit anymore, he needs to stop them.

He looks around his room, there's a heavy mathematics award wedged between books on his bookshelf.

He grabs it and starts breaking his doorknob, cutting his hand in the process without noticing. Once he succeeds, he sprints out of the apartment with his phone still playing the fight.

He hears fists connecting to skin through his earphones as he runs to catch a taxi, but he can't bring himself to watch, not until he hears Suho's wheezing.

When he looks down Wooyoung is punching him, while he's already unconscious.

Sieun feels like he can't breathe, his heart is going a mile per second.

He calls 119.

"—what is your emergency?"

"Th—there's— there's been a fight, it's at an abandoned gym c-called Busan 24h health club," he rattles off the address they had sent him before, hoping it hasn't changed, "please get there as soon as you can! Someone got hurt really badly!" He's breathing heavily, forcing the words out.

Present

"I went to three different hospitals, before I found him, but the nurse had told me they had taken him to the helicopter to send him to Seoul with urgency," he brings his eyes to Suho, "I took the first train here, thankfully she had told me where they'd transferred him to."

Gunwoo lets out a shuddering breath, his nails drawing blood in his palms.

"I don't know how he found out I was going to fight, but he saved my life at the cost of his own. I can never forgive myself." Sieun's voice is so small.

"Sieun-ah," Gunwoo's hoarse voice rings through the room, "your hand."

Sieun looks down, and finds a mix of fresh and dried blood on his sleeve, an ugly jagged wound in his palm. It's still bleeding slightly, but his too-long sleeves are catching most of it.

"Oh."

Gunwoo gets up from where he's sitting, and crouches next to Sieun's chair. He gently takes his hand in his own, examining it, before he sighs.

"Sieun, have you been walking around with this since last night?" He says evenly.

"I—" Sieun doesn't have an answer, he didn't even notice it until now.

"Hyung, can you call the nurse?" Gunwoo tells Woojin.

Sieun just looks between the two of them, then back at his hand. He winces slightly, only now registering the sting of it.

"I don't remember—" he starts almost inaudibly.

Gunwoo's frown softens at his voice, "it's okay, Sieun-ah, we'll get you help." He brings his hand to his cheekbone, where he has some blood smudged from before, and wipes it clean.

The nurse walks in shortly after, "someone pressed the button?"

Gunwoo, still crouched next to Sieun, turns around to her, "yes, my dongsaeng needs help, he hurt his hand."

"Oh! That looks painful. Dear, why didn't you call earlier?" She immediately starts fussing over Sieun.

"I-I didn't realize…" Sieun whispers, shrinking a little into himself, not used to so many people paying him any attention.

Once she's done, she looks at him, "make sure to change the bandages on time, call me if you need anything else." She gathers her things and leaves.

"Why did you call me your dongsaeng?" Sieun asks, not accusatory, but genuinely curious, his eyes on his bandaged hand.

He also feels so guilty towards Suho, for wanting to accept Gunwoo's warmth—something Suho had a right to, but was deprived of most of his life.

"You're the person Suho cares about the most, of course that makes you my dongsaeng too," Gunwoo's expression becomes unsure, "unless you don't want to be of course."

Sieun shakes his head, "that's not it," he sighs, unsure how to put everything in words. His voice shakes, but he still managed to push the words out, "thank you, h-hyung."

Gunwoo and Woojin both smile at him.

"Sieun-ah," Woojin starts again, carefully, "we're going to be here with you, go take a nap over there." He nods in the direction of the comfortable couch that's kept in the V.I.P. room. Perks of knowing people in high places.

Sieun looks at it for a minute, before looking back at his hand intertwined with Suho's.

"I—" he hesitates, then closes his mouth again.

Woojin understands, "Sieun-ah, what do you think Suho would want you to do right now?"

Sieun drops his head, "he would want me to rest," his voice no higher than a whisper, "I don't want to let go though…"

Gunwoo gets up, "how about this," he walks over to the small closet that's kept in the room, and takes out Suho's windbreaker that was sent with his things from the hospital in Busan, "sleep with this, it might help."

Sieun tears up. He's not sure if it's because of the sight of the windbreaker, or at how hard the two are trying for him. Maybe it's from the sudden pain and exhaustion the lack of adrenaline is allowing to take root.

He nods, gently untangling his fingers from Suho's before tucking his hand back under the blanket. He looks at him for a moment, gentle fingers moving Suho's bangs from his forehead. He then takes the jacket from Gunwoo's hands and puts it over himself up to his nose, as he lays down on the couch. His legs are folded up to his chest, the windbreaker big enough to only expose his calves and feet.

He falls asleep immediately, completely surrounded by Suho's lingering smell in the fabric.

Woojin and Gunwoo share a pained look, "we need to help him, hyung," Gunwoo whispers, his throat closing up at the sight.

Woojin nods, determined, "we will." He puts a hand on the back of Gunwoo's neck, "Gunwoo-yah, we will. And Suho too. He'll wake up, and we'll help him too."

Gunwoo sniffles, then breathes in deeply as if to steel himself, "we will." He turns to Woojin, "thank you, hyung."

Woojin smiles at him, squeezing his neck with a grounding pressure.

Sieun wakes up to the sound of the door opening and closing.

He blinks his eyes open, soft morning light seeping into the room.

Gunwoo and Woojin walk in, both wearing training gear. Woojin has a headband holding his hair back. He is wearing a dark blue long sleeve compression shirt, while Gunwoo is wearing a black sleeveless shirt. Both are wearing shorts that go down to their knees, their sneakers making squeaking sounds as they walk into the room as quietly as they can.

They both whisper, "good morning, Suho-yah!" Thinking Sieun is still asleep, but they quickly notice him stir.

"Oh," Woojin starts, when he sees Sieun blinking his eyes, "Sieun-ah, you're up?"

Sieun just hums, as he sits up. He folds Suho's windbreaker and puts it next to him on the couch gently.

Gunwoo lifts a bag, one that Sieun only now notices he's holding, "breakfast!"

Woojin grabs a foldable table from the side, while Gunwoo takes both chairs from Suho's side to the table.

They prepare the table, and have some warm dakgomtang together with a bowl of rice.

Sieun checks the clock, seven am, "h-hyung," the word still awkward on his tongue, "what about eomonim?"

Gunwoo pauses, "she doesn't know yet… I'm going home after this, to bring her. If you need anything let me know, Sieun-ah."

Sieun nods, "I would like to stay here, but I took the first Train to Seoul without bringing anything. Could you go to my mom's place and bring some things?"

Gunwoo looks at him questioningly, "your mom's place… in Busan…?"

Sieun shakes his head, remembering Gunwoo is a stranger technically, "no, she lives in Seoul. I'll give you her address and apartment code, she probably won't be home. I just need my laptop, and maybe some clothes and a toothbrush?"

Gunwoo nods, "alright, for now you can stay here, and I'll bring you your things. And then you can stay at your mom's place when you're ready to leave here." He notices the slight panic in Sieun's eyes, "or you could go with me and hyung. We have an extra room. You can stay with us too, it's also close to the hospital." He looks over at Suho, "it's Suho's room, but I don't think he'd mind if you used it first."

Sieun nods, "I would like that." Then his eyes automatically drift to Suho.

Once they're done, they put everything back in the bag they brought it in, and Gunwoo takes it with him as he leaves.

"Hyung, you're not going with him?" Sieun asks Woojin curiously.

He shakes his head, "no, I wanted to stay with you, and I'll be here for eomma when they arrive. Maybe it's good if it's only Gunwoo who tells her, so she can have the space to react however she needs."

Sieun just nods slowly, kind of understanding what he means.

"Sieun-ah, I'm just going to use the shower over there really quick, if you don't mind?"

Sieun shakes his head.

Woojin ruffles his hair, and grabs his duffel bag from the floor where he left it, before disappearing into the little bathroom.

Sieun carries his chair back to Suho's bed. He carefully takes his hand in his own again, and leans his head on the bed against Suho's thigh that's under the blanket. His eyes don't leave Suho's sleeping face.

Woojin comes back out quite fast, but stops in his tracks when he sees him on the bed, "Sieun-ah, you'll hurt your back like that."

Sieun briefly looks at him, and looks back at Suho. But slowly brings his eyes back to Woojin, when he realizes what he saw.

Woojin follows his gaze, and finds him looking at his arm, that's now exposed because he changed into a short sleeves shirt.

He's got a burn scar that starts somewhere Sieun can't see into his t-shirt, all the way down to his forearm.

"Ah, this?" He brings his own chair next to Sieun's, "five years ago Gunwoo and I got into some trouble with loan sharks—I'll spare you the details—we lost some good friends that day, and I wouldn't be here either if it weren't for Gunwoo. The house was on fire, and I got stabbed in my stomach twice." He holds up two fingers, then runs a hand through his damp hair, "Gunwoo put his life on the line, and saved me. This scar is proof that I survived, a reminder to take better care of myself, so Gunwoo won't ever have to do that again."

Sieun is sitting back up by now, "I'm sorry…"

Woojin hums in refusal, a slightly playful tone in his voice, "Sieun-ah," the smaller boy just looks at him, "do you know how Gunwoo felt when he saved me?"

Sieun shakes his head.

"Much like what you're feeling right now. I'm telling you this, because I'm grateful to Gunwoo. I owe him my life, but he still struggles with his guilt," he carefully brings his large hand to Sieun's back, "from what you told us, and from what I know about Suho, he will feel the same, Sieun-ah. Without you, he might've not been with us anymore. I hope you know that you saved his life."

Sieun lowers his face, to hide the tears from him, but his sniffling gives him away, "hyung… he went there because of me. If I had gone to the fight, he wouldn't be here… like this…"

Woojin's eyes don't lose their warmth, "Sieun-ah, you can't keep living in what-ifs. If you had gone, you might've died. If you had gone, Suho might've followed and ended up in the same state. There's no knowing. You'll drive yourself insane."

Sieun's not really convinced but still listening.

"Me and Gunwoo will help you, Sieun-ah, we're here for you now. It's late, we know that, but we'll try our best. For Suho. For you."

"Thank you, hyung," he whispers.

"Is there anything you want to do now?" He asks.

"I need to call in sick from school, or transfer to Seoul all together until Suho is better." He starts, already thinking about the future, "I also need to be stronger, so Suho will never have to step in for me again."

Woojin nods, "alright, we can do that. Is it your dad in Busan that you're staying with?" Sieun nods, "alright, we can give him a call later to get the school stuff sorted. And you can come train with us from tomorrow onward!"

Sieun nods gratefully, "alright."

The door opens loudly, and Soyeon—Gunwoo and Suho's mother—steps inside, "adeul!" She rushes to the opposite side of where Sieun and Woojin are—both now standing in her presence—and holds his hand in both of her own, "adeul, eomma is so sorry!" She cries as she brings her face down to his hand.

Woojin rounds the bed, followed by Gunwoo, and they both lower themselves next to her.

"Eomma, he'll be okay! You know how strong he is!" Woojin tries to reassure her.

"It's all my fault, I'm sorry, Suho-yah, I'm so sorry!" She keeps on crying.

Sieun quietly walks to her side too, Gunwoo and Woojin aren't sure why but they decide to step back and give him space.

He suddenly bows as much as he can at his waist, "eomonim, this is my fault, I'm so sorry."

Soyeon turns to him, her bloodshot eyes taking in the trembling, bowing boy, "ah, you must be Sieun." She brings both of her hands to his shoulders, forcing him up, "it wasn't your fault, sweet boy, please don't blame yourself."

Their sad, bloodshot eyes hold each other, before Soyeon pulls him down into a fierce hug, "I'm sorry, Sieun-ah."

He cries into her shoulder, while chanting I'm sorry over and over. She pats his back quietly, holding him for as long as he needs.

After they've calmed down, they sit back down in the chairs.

Gunwoo brings a bag to Sieun, "I brought your laptop, and I grabbed some clothes. I wasn't sure what to take, so I hope it's okay?"

Sieun opens and sees a few shirts and his laptop, with it's charger, he also finds a smaller bag with his toothbrush and toothpaste, "this is fine, hyung." He bows his head, "thank you."

Gunwoo ruffles his hair, "it was no problem, Sieun-ah."

"Was my mother home?" He then asks.

Gunwoo shakes his head, "it's the weekend, but you were right she wasn't home. I first rang the bell a few times just to be sure."

Sieun nods, just as I thought.

"Sieun-ah, will you be staying with your mother?" Soyeon asks.

Sieun shakes his head, "I would like to stay with Suho for a few days, if that's okay?"

Woojin wraps an arm around his shoulders, Sieun decides he doesn't mind, "he'll be staying with us after. He's going to start training with us, Gunwoo-yah!"

Gunwoo's eyes widen, "he is?" He brings his eyes to Sieun, "you are?!"

Sieun nods shyly, "if that's okay?"

"Of course it is, Sieun-ah!" He replies as a bright smile takes over.

They talk for a while longer, then Soyeon opens her bag that she's filled with food for lunch, which they enjoy together.

Sieun tells them about Suho's life in Busan.

Woojin eventually smiles widely, "I can't wait to train together! All four of us!" He turns to Suho, "Suho-yah! You hear that?!"

Sieun smiles small, Woojin's energy is contagious. He truly believes they'll get to train together.

Until then, he'll make Suho proud.

They spend the weekend like that, Sieun stays over in Suho's hospital room. The hyungs come and go, bring him food and things he needs. Sieun also uses the laptop Gunwoo brought him for studying when there's no one else with him.

When it's Monday he's faced with a slight problem.

He's not at school.

His phone buzzes.

"Adeul, where are you? School just called to let me know you're absent?"

"Abeoji, Suho's been in an accident, I'm with him." He replies, his voice even.

"Is he okay?!"

"No, he's comatose."

"What?! Which hospital, I'll come!"

"…"

"Sieun-ah?"

"We're in Seoul, he had to be transferred."

"Seoul?! When did you leave?"

"… Friday."

"What?! Why didn't you let me know?"

"… You didn't ask."

"…Okay." Sieun hears a sigh over the speaker, "what about school?"

"I've been studying, but I don't know when Suho's waking up." Sieun starts picking at the loose thread of his sleeve, "Abeoji… I've never asked anything of you before," Sieun starts, hesitantly.

"Yes, tell me. I'll help however I can, I like that boy."

"I want to transfer schools. Here, to Seoul."

"S-Seoul— let me talk to eomma first?"

"No… she'll be too busy, I can stay with Suho's eomma and hyung."

"Hmm… could you give me their numbers? I would like to talk to them, before I make any decisions."

"Alright."

"Alright, appa is hanging up. Take care, adeul."

Sieun hums in reply, before hanging up.

He first texts Gunwoo about what just happened, then sends his father his number, before going back to his studying.

Woojin and Gunwoo join him in the early evening for dinner that Soyeon provided for them.

"Sieun-ah," Gunwoo starts, when Sieun hasn't spoken a word besides his greeting, "your father called me right after you texted."

Sieun looks at him.

"He didn't sound too happy, but we managed to convince him to allow you to stay. He did say you need to go see your mother too, though."

Sieun nods, "alright. Thank you, hyung."

Gunwoo nods, "we're here for you. If you like, we could go with you?"

Sieun smiles small, "I would appreciate it."

Woojin the cuts in, "what about school?"

Sieun's shoulders drop, a sigh leaving his lips involuntary, "I'm not sure, not many schools will take me, once they get the records from Busan."

Woojin and Gunwoo share a look, then Woojin prods, his voice careful, "why is that?"

Sieun looks at them for a second, then at Suho, then back down to his hands, "I got bullied a lot… so I fought back. It's a strike on my otherwise clean record."

Woojin waves a hand in the air, "ahhhh! What's one strike?"

Sieun fixes his blank expression on him, "hyung, I put a pen in a guy's hand, and broke another's nose. If it weren't for Suho, I might've been behind bars, actually. That's the severity of it."

"Yah!" Woojin claps once, suddenly impressed, "I was a little worried about training you, but it seems you can hold your own!" His eyes soften, "don't worry, I'm sure there will be a school that will take you!"

He's right.

There's one.

One in the outskirts of Yeongdeungpo, Eunjang high.

After spending a few days in Suho's hospital room, he finally has to attend school again.

His first day is… something.

The first thing Sieun notices is that the school is full of delinquents. There's bullies and bullied everywhere. Kids smoking on school premises, classrooms filled with trash and graffiti. The teachers come into the classrooms to teach a class half-assed, then leave again.

It's fine.

Sieun just needs to show up. He studies perfectly fine on his own, so he just goes to school for attendance and exams.

It's fine, until it's not.

It doesn't take long for Sieun to find out that the Union also has their claws in Seoul.

This time in the shape of Na Baekjin and Geum Seongje, the top dogs of Eunjang.

"Yah! Newbie, I heard you dodged a match with Wooyoung? How did you manage that?" Seongje asks him at the end of the first day, when he crowds him in the hallway.

Almost got through the day without a problem.

"Leave me alone." He replies evenly, trying to dodge him and go home, his hand gripping around the pen in his blazer pocket.

Seongje snaps his fingers, "right! It was because that ex-boxer took your place, what was his name again…?"

Sieun freezes, his eyes dripping ice as he locks them on the grinning boy.

"Ah! Ahn Suho! What a guy. Heard he refused the iron knuckles, how righteous!"

Sieun's eyes widen a fraction, "what are you talking about?" Iron knuckles?

"You didn't know? Well." He stalks around him, like a predator circling it's prey, "now that I know where you are, maybe we can get in the ring next time, you and I." He winks at him, and leaves.

Sieun is left dumbfounded. What the fuck?

When Sieun gets back to Suho's room, he finds Gunwoo sitting beside him on his own.

"Ah, Sieun-ah!" He says with a smile, but his face is stiff.

Sieun bows his head in greeting, as he makes his way to the other side.

"Hyung…" he says after a while.

Gunwoo just hums.

"Someone in school said Suho refused to use the iron knuckles… what did he mean?" He asks hesitantly.

Gunwoo just looks at him for a second, his eyes narrowing, "who was it?"

Sieun sighs, "apparently the Union is also in Seoul, and they know about the IKFC too—he knew that Suho fought Wooyoung instead of me."

Gunwoo leans forward in his chair, "Sieun-ah, do you remember how easily Suho bled in the fight?"

Sieun shakes his head, "I couldn't watch the video all the way, I don't really remember much of it."

"Well," he clenches his fists, "I already suspected it, but this confirms it. Wooyoung probably had some kind of iron knuckle guard under his bandages. Those kill people, Sieun-ah, and knowing Suho went into that fight without his own just—" he runs a hand through his hair, "we need to stop them."

Sieun nods, agreeing.

"When do you want to start training with us? If the Union is here too, and they know you, it's probably better to start as soon as possible." He says seriously.

"Tomorrow?" Sieun offers.

"Alright, then from tonight onward stay at our house." Sieun opens his mouth, but Gunwoo beats him to it, "I'll take you to Suho every day, don't worry, Sieun-ah." His lips now set in an understanding smile.

Sieun closes his mouth for a second, before nodding, "yeah. Okay."

"Hyung," Gunwoo looks at him, "can we go to Busan next weekend? I want to bring back some of Suho's things."

Gunwoo, glad to have Sieun rely on him like this, nods easily, "of course."