The second the door opened, both Xander and Jen, who ran upstairs when she heard the shoutings, quickly ran to the room, watching Mr. Park walking away before getting in.

"Joo-Won?" Xander's eyes were frantically running around the dark room before finally spotting his older brother, laying on the floor, gaming and gasping for air.

He was too weak to even cough, he was just laying there.

When Xander saw his brother's condition, his eyes widened. "Joo-Won!" He ran to Joo-Won, trembling with fear as he saw him up close.

Angry tears were streaming down to his cheeks then the floor from his bloodshot eyes. He was holding the back of his head with one hand and clutching onto his t-shirt with the other. He was writhing in pain on the floor.

Jen closed her mouth in shock, she felt horrible for what her husband did to his own son. "That monster... I will kill him!"

She stormed out of the room, screaming on top of her lungs to her husband as she ran after him.

After Jen ran out, Xander quickly got up and shut the door, locking it from inside so that Mr. Park cannot get inside again. He ran back to his brother and lifted him in great difficulty. After helping him sit down on the couch, he got a bottle of water from the mini-fridge that was inside his father's table and helped Joo-Won slowly drink it. He poured a little on his hand and washed his brother's face with it while he was still trying to adjust his breathing, coughing from time to time. Then, he poured it on a handkerchief on the desk and placed it on his head. It was not bleeding too much but blood was blood.

Xander felt horrible for what happened, and he couldn't believe the fact that the man he called his father could be so cruel to his son, his own blood.

After 15 minutes or so, Joo-Won finally was able to breathe properly, better than before at least, but he was exhausted. His whole body was in pain, especially his back and his head because of how Mr. Park slammed it into the wall. He also felt sick.

Xander sat beside him and made him rest his head on his shoulder. "Joo-Won are you feeling better?" Xander's concerned and trembling voice made Joo-Won feel bad. He wished he forced his younger brother to stay at the hospital and get there by himself. He silently nodded and closed his eyes. He was too exhausted to talk.

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours as they just sat in silence. Xander could see that it was getting dark outside. Joo-Won was staring at the floor for the past half an hour, thinking about everything that Hwan and he went through. Then, a small thought echoed in his mind, which started to get louder and louder.

'Was it worth it? Is it worth it? Will it be worth it?'

He knew damn well what Mr. Park meant in what he said before getting out of the room. He looked at Xander with the corner of his eye.

'He will take him away again. He will never let you see him ever again.'

Joo-Won fixed his eyes on the floor again.

'You need to choose. Your brother, or Hwan.'

The answer was of course clear, but he was still hoping a miracle would happen. It was all because Mr. Park didn't want any trouble in the hospital.

'...Is it possible to kidnap Hwan or something? Maybe I could take him to a place where neither Hwan's monster 'parents' nor Mr. Park would find. That way we can finally be free. I would take him to a proper hospital and who knows, maybe in a couple years, he could even heal!'

Xander sighed and turned his head to Joo-Won. At this point, the silence was getting unbearably loud. He needed to get him checked but he was waiting for him to turn back to normal. "Joo-Won..."

'I don't mind the place, actually, anywhere is fine. Maybe a place out of the country might even be better. That way, Mr. Park wouldn't know.'

When he noticed that his brother was not saying anything, he looked at him more carefully. His lips were moving, but no words were coming out of his mouth. His eyes were frantically looking around. His behavior was starting to scare Xander. He slightly moved to his side so that maybe Joo-Won would get out of this trance, but he continued to stay the way he was with his body resting and his head tilted to the left. Xander sat in front of him in scare. "Joo-Won?"

'Maybe we could take Xander and Kyong with us? Thus I can both protect Xander and Hwan!'

"Joo-Won!"

Joo-Won startled and slipped out of his thoughts. He turned to Xander with a shocked face while Xander was trying very hard not to cry. "Calm down, okay?"

Joo-Won nodded and silently got up, slowly walking to his room. Xander quickly followed him and sat on his bed.

He knew it was not the best time to hug right now. Whenever Joo-Won fought with someone, he would always avoid touching others. He was scared that he would accidentally hurt them.

So, Xander just kept his distance and watched him. Joo-Won continued to stare at the bed for a few seconds, then lifted and turned his head to the mirror beside him. When he saw his neck, he felt like he was choking once again. He slightly widened his eyes as he remember who did it. He felt the suffocating once again.

He squeezed the bed sheet, then slowly and carefully moved his trembling hands to his neck and touched the dark purple handprints. He had flashes of the moment, which made his eyes fill with tears as he tried to breathe properly. He tried to swallow but it was like his throat was all closed up.

Xander watched his older brother looking at his neck in the mirror while silently gasping for air. He didn't want to cry but his tears never asked for permission. To stop Joo-Won from getting into another trance, he stood between him and the mirror to prevent him from looking at his reflection.

Joo-Won closed his eyes and sighed while trying to adjust his breathing, still having troubles with breathing. He opened his eyes back when his phone started to ring.

It was Kyong.

Joo-Won opened the phone and put it on speaker.

The second the phone opened, Kyong sprung to his feet from the chair he was sitting on. "Joo-Won? Are you guys okay? What happened??"

Xander got near the phone. "Don't worry  Kyong we are fine."

Even though Xander was trying his best to reassure him, Kyong quickly understood that something was off when he called him by his name. "Are you sure? Where is Joo-Won, can I hear him too?"

When Kyong said that, Hwan, who was sitting on his bed anxiously, quickly turned his head in his direction. 

"I'm-" Joo-Won coughed and put one of his hands to his chest with his slightly widened eyes. He gasped for air, loudly this time, and squeezed his t-shirt. His ears were burning and his throat was in pain. He was so dehydrated that it was preventing him from speaking.

"Joo-Won!" Xander turned his worried eyes to his brother and held his arm.

Kyong, on the other end of the phone, knitted his eyebrows.

Something was not right.

From the corner of his eye, he checked Hwan, who was now looking around the room, his head filled with horrible scenarios. So Kyong silently got out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"I am not dumb, I can sense something is wrong. I will be there in 20 and I don't take no as an answer."

Xander grabbed the phone and went to the corner of the room. "Kyong no. Okay, something did happen but-"

"It's okay." Joo-Won cut his talk. His voice was really coarse and honestly, it sounded like he was on the verge of dying.

Xander turned to him and got to his side again. "Are you sure? You should rest."

Joo-Won shook his head as no. When he realized he didn't have the strength to talk again, he took out his phone and texted.

Text: I just want to get my mind off of it.

Xander sighed, but an idea popped into his head. He put the phone on speaker. "Instead of that, can we come to your place? I will explain everything when we arrive. We just... Need to get away from here. For a few days, if that's possible."

Kyong was fast-walking to the staff room when he nodded.

"Okay of course you can. But... What should I say to Hwan? He is so worried, I don't know how to leave him alone when he is like this."

"Can't you take him there with you? Just for a day... Please..."

A silence that lasted longer than a few seconds filled the room.

Kyong sighed. "I will try my best, but I can't promise. My shift ends in an hour, can you wait until then?"

"We can. Thank you..." Xander closed the phone and gave it back to Joo-Won. "I will talk to mom and pack a few clothes. Will you be okay by yourself?"

Joo-Won silently nodded. Xander smiled and waved goodbye to his older brother before he got out of the room.

(...)

After an hour passed, the two got out of their house and sat in the car. Xander talked with their mom before leaving and told her that they were going to stay with Kyong for a couple of days. Jen of course said okay to it.

Joo-Won was still not able to recover from what happened and how Mr. Park attacked him like that. He was not taking his eyes off the road he was watching from the car's window and Xander was holding his hand with one hand and holding the wheel with the other.

He hated to see his brother like that and he hated himself for not being able to protect him. He blamed everything on himself. Joo-Won would do anything just to get him safe but Xander on the other hand... was useless. He forced himself not to cry again. "You were a good-for-nothing like always, at least don't be such a baby in front of him. You're being selfish," he thought to himself. 

They stopped when they finally reached Kyong's small house. Joo-Won lifted his head a little and looked at the house, it was cute and tiny. 

The door flew open and Kyong ran to them in concern, but stopped when he saw how Joo-Won looked. After a few seconds of horrified stares, he grabbed his other arm and helped him to get inside. Joo-Won was too weak to walk on his own and felt like he was seconds away from passing out. 

After Kyong made him sit down on the couch, he took out a first-aid kit and treated the wound on the back of his head. After that was done, he went beside Xander, who was leaning his back to the closed door.

He tried to hold his arm, but Xander slightly pulled his arm to himself and turned his head to the floor. He didn't want anyone to touch or sympathize with him, especially Kyong. He didn't want to hear how nothing was his fault and all that crap, because he knew damn well it was. All of this was his own fault, so why would he deserve the soothing and care? 

Kyong slowly took his hand back and sighed. "What happened... He looks so shaken."

"He and father-" Xander startled when Joo-Won bashed his foot on the ground. "M-Mr. Park... got into a fight." Kyong nodded in silence as Xander looked around. "Hwan..?"

"I talked with Min and she said she will try and talk with his doctors. Hopefully, they won't care too much."

The sudden ring from the door startled both of them. Kyong quickly opened the door with a sad smile when he saw Min and Hwan.

"His doctors talked with his parents. They let him go only for today, so please don't be late tomorrow." 

Xander and Kyong nodded at the same time and bowed goodbye to Min. Kyong pulled the wheelchair inside and closed the door behind them.

"Is Joo-Won...?"

Hwan's eyes were wandering around anxiously when he finally spotted a movement on the couch. He pushed his wheelchair a little closer but his hands froze when Joo-Won turned to him. He could barely stand still and was holding the edge of the couch for support. His eyes were puffy from crying with a dark purple mark on his throat.

Hwan widened his teary eyes with the sight. It was worse than his nightmares.