By Zephyria 
“Ggh…”
He kicked the head of Son Pro, who was crawling on the floor, once more. With a dull thud, the man’s movements on the floor subsided. He wanted to crush the skull entirely, but he couldn’t leave Hyung alone for too long.
He tried to untie the cords binding Min-ho’s wrists, but his hands were trembling so much that he kept slipping. Meanwhile, the blood was spreading silently. Instead of the usual scent of hand cream, the metallic smell of blood wafted by. His heart was urgent, but his body wouldn’t move as he wanted, and cold sweat poured down.
“Fuck!”
Even as a stinging pain spread under his short-trimmed nails, Gyu-oh didn’t stop. As he practically tore the cords away, wrists that were already badly chafed and bruised were revealed. A flash of rage surged through him. He barely managed to catch his breath, clenching his teeth so hard his jaw muscles stood out. He breathed in and out deeply, enough to make his ribs ache, trying to stay calm.
“…Hyung.”
With trembling hands, he covered the area around Min-ho’s lower abdomen. Blood continuously seeped through the shirt pressed against his palm. The white shirt was completely soaked, and he could feel the dampness between his fingers. The blood-stained hand felt too hot. So hot that he wondered if it was okay for something this hot to be flowing inside a body.
Even while tinnitus filled his head, only Cha Min-ho’s labored breathing remained clear.
“Mi… Min-ho…”
He felt like he had called out to Hyung, but his voice wouldn’t come out properly. No matter how hard he tried, the sound caught in his throat wouldn’t release. Gyu-oh lowered his wavering gaze. Min-ho’s pale face wasn’t much different from usual.
“…”
He felt as if his mind had gone blank. Just as he was exhaling labored breaths, lost in a sense of helplessness, a sound cut in—Screeech! The sound of a car stopping abruptly at the open door. Only then did focus return to Gyu-oh’s vacant eyes.
“Hyung, ho… hospital, let’s go to the hospital.”
Muttering words that wouldn’t reach, he stood up, hoisting the limp Min-ho into his arms. His hands had been trembling until now, but the moment he held Min-ho, he snapped awake. Holding the limp body, he stepped forward without a single stagger. Before reaching the broken door, he encountered someone in a suit.
“You… fuck.”
The cold eyes crumpled the moment they confirmed Min-ho in his arms. It seemed he had come in such a hurry that he hadn’t brought the guys he usually traveled with.
“It’s not a knife. It probably didn’t go deep.”
Contrary to his raging emotions, his voice remained calm. He was almost surprised by his own tone.
“Min-ho Hyung needs to go to the hospital.”
“Inside.”
“Four.”
He answered briefly and tilted his head slightly to check the interior. Three gangsters sprawled on the floor, and Son Pro, who had been covered in blood… Son Pro was gone. A small side door was open, and a long trail of blood was visible. It seemed he had crawled out to find a way to survive. Gyu-oh ground his teeth.
“Four? Looks like that piece of shit Son Pro bolted.”
“…”
For a moment, he was conflicted. Should he hand Min-ho over to Mu-gyeong and go after Son Pro himself? But he didn’t want to leave Min-ho alone. Then again, if he took the wheel in his current state, something more dangerous might happen.
As he agonized, biting his lower lip, Gyu-oh realized that the body touching Min-ho’s was gradually becoming hot. The blood that had soaked the white shirt was slowly transferring to him. All the numerous possibilities vanished in an instant. Only one choice remained in Gyu-oh’s mind.
“Hospital. Let’s go to the hospital first. Hyung is losing too much blood.”
He tried to act composed, but his lips trembled again. Fearing he might drop Min-ho if he lost his composure for even a second, he readjusted his grip several times. Mu-gyeong, who had been scanning the interior with a fierce gaze, looked toward him. Realizing that Gyu-oh was in no state to drive, Mu-gyeong narrowed his brows slightly.
“…The kids are following behind, so we can catch him.”
“…”
Having no energy left to squeeze out an answer, Gyu-oh simply nodded and strode toward the car.
It took twenty minutes to reach the nearest hospital. To Gyu-oh, it felt as long as twenty years. Throughout the trip, regret washed over him—that he wished he had been the one injured, that it had been him who was stabbed. But soon, worry for Min-ho took precedence.
Min-ho was rushed into surgery, and he was told that his life was not in danger. He also received a report that the men from the warehouse had been caught while trying to flee, but there was no news of Son Pro being apprehended. Of course, Gyu-oh wasn’t worried. He would soon be caught by his own hands.
He sat alone on a chair in the operating room hallway, never once lifting his head. He had roughly wiped the blood from his hands, but his blood-stained clothes remained stiffly dried. Min-ho’s belongings were placed beside the chair. The jacket and phone he’d taken off on the way, and the cigarette pack and lighter that had originally belonged to Gyu-oh.
As he stared silently at the meager belongings, the screen flashed. Cha Ji-ho. The name saved honestly belonged to Min-ho’s younger sibling. It should be morning in Germany by now. Hesitating, Gyu-oh carefully reached out. His hand, a mess from poorly wiped blood, was visibly trembling.
—Oppa. Why aren’t you replying? I’m buying the checkered one, okay?
“…Ji-ho, hello. This is Gyu-oh.”
—Ah, Gyu-oh Oppa? It’s been a while!
A fairly welcoming voice came through. Pushing up the corners of his mouth, which wouldn’t move easily, he forced a calm voice. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ji-ho finally asked about the phone’s owner.
—But what about Oppa? He’s not answering.
Gyu-oh’s gaze drifted to the end of the hallway. Next to Min-ho’s name, the words ‘Undergoing Surgery’ were still displayed. How would Hyung have answered in this situation? He would have definitely kept it a secret, saying Ji-ho would worry. Even if he pretended otherwise, he cherished his sibling terribly.
“…Hyung is in a meeting right now. He must have left his phone behind, so he couldn’t reply.”
—Is that so? I thought so. He’s the type to always reply, even if late, so I called since he was silent. I was planning to send him a scarf.
The more the bright voice continued, the heavier one side of his chest felt. He was trying hard not to show that things were different from usual, but he didn’t know if it was working.
“Beige check would be better. That color suits Hyung well.”
—Right? That was my first choice too. I should buy it before it sells out.
After Ji-ho mentioned buying a gift for Gyu-oh as well, the call ended.
“…”
He sighed, fiddling with the blackened screen. Leaning back into the chair, he quietly looked up.
Living a dangerous life, he had been carried to the hospital countless times. Especially for someone like him, who spent his time roaming the streets.
Once, there was a major car accident, and it was so serious that the doctor said there was no hope and told him to prepare himself. Of course, he had no memory of it, but Min-ho said he had guarded the intensive care unit for days after hearing that. Without eating, without drinking water. A man who loved his work so much didn’t even go to the company.
‘I’m sorry. Because of pathetic Hyungs like us.’
What expression did he have on his face when he apologized to me after I woke up? How must Hyung have felt, having to face the possibility of losing someone close to him over and over again? How many people were there in the countless nightmares Cha Min-ho endured while struggling to hold on?
I had once wondered why he felt such guilt over others getting hurt. Now that I’m in this situation, I understand. It’s because he shares his heart so deeply; he has no choice. Because they are so precious. That’s why he can only blame himself for everything.
“……I want to go die.”
So, this self-reproach is only natural. It’s all my fault that Hyung is lying in an operating room, a place that doesn’t suit him at all.
The wound wasn’t deep to begin with, and fortunately, the bleeding was stopped quickly. However, he had not yet regained consciousness.
After being moved to the VIP room, Gyu-oh didn’t move a single step from the hospital room. Washing, sleeping, eating. He settled in as if Min-ho’s room were his own home. He couldn’t risk Hyung waking up during the brief moment he might be away. He wanted to be the first person to tell him, ‘I’m glad you woke up.’
“Good morning.”
Rubbing his bloodshot eyes vigorously, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Min-ho’s eyes remained quietly closed.
“Maybe it’s not morning? The sun probably hasn’t risen yet.”
Even without an answer, Gyu-oh didn’t stop talking. Hoping that Min-ho could hear his voice, even unconsciously.
“I think I finally understand why Hyung couldn’t sleep.”
When he closed his eyes, the image of Min-ho’s back in the abandoned warehouse flickered in his mind. The scene of him being stabbed by something sharp, his body trembling slightly, the glimpse of his gaze as he collapsed, and the blood that soaked Gyu-oh’s hands. Because these chilling memories pushed through his eyelids like shards, it was difficult to sleep for even a few hours.
He finally fully understood why Min-ho couldn’t sleep deeply.
“By the way, Hyung, I guess you don’t have nightmares anymore?”
Only Gyu-oh’s voice echoed in the quiet hospital room.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you sleep for this long.”
Should he call it a relief? He kept muttering to the empty air like a madman. Occasionally, he brushed back Min-ho’s hair, caressed his bruised and scabbed wrists, and wiped his face with a wet towel. After spending his time busily, it was once again a wait with no promised end.
“Should I ask them to bring hand cream? I think your skin is drier because you haven’t been applying it.”
He toyed with the fingertips of the hand where the nails were trimmed short. Then he felt the knuckles, his touch delving into the palm.
“These don’t fade easily.”
Gently rubbing the hand where sparse scars remained, he intertwined his fingers as if locking them.
“You said you hated that I seemed like a gangster. But back then, Cha Min-ho was actually really cool.”
The first moment Gyu-oh became aware of Min-ho was during a period when he was suffering from severe bullying. The gangster brats would pick on the smallest things to make him do grueling exercises and beat him relentlessly. Most people showed little interest even after seeing it. It was a common occurrence there.
At that time, the only person who stepped in front of him was Cha Min-ho.