Seonghwa flew down the stairs, his mind focused on one thing: his brother.

As soon as he reached the bottom floor he flung the garage doors open and ran to his car, unlocking it on his way.

As soon as he reached the driver's side door he tore it open and got in, and attempted to start the car. His hands shook with fear and he struggled to get the key into the slot. As tears of frustration started forming in his eyes, a small hand steadied his and pressed it in, turning the ignition.

Seonghwa looked over, realizing he was so caught up in his brother that he hadn't even noticed Hongjoong had followed him.

"Get out!" he screamed and Hongjoong jumped back, startled by his outburst.

"Seonghwa—"

"I need to go, so get out!"

"Seonghwa I'm not letting you go alone—"

"Hongjoong, get out of the fucking car."

Seonghwa's voice had grown monotone but Hongjoong could see desperation in his eyes.

"Hwa—"

"I won't let him hurt you too."

Hongjoong felt tears welling in his eyes but nodded and stepped out of the car. As soon as he had closed the door Seonghwa sped off, veering out of the lot.

Seonghwa noticed his tears blurring his vision again and decided to let the anger take over, pushing down his fear and worry. His eyes dried but his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

After an hour of driving he finally saw the all-too-familiar grey mailbox coming into view and he cranked up his speed, flying up the driveway.

He slammed on the brakes, his seatbelt hardly keeping him from flying through the windshield and threw the car into park. As soon as it had ceased movement, he jumped out of the car, not bothering to turn it off or close his door.

He bolted up the front porch and threw the door open, hearing pained shrieks from the floor above. He felt his blood boiling but still his hands shook in panic. He knew where he needed to go. But he couldn't do it.

He stood, frozen at the base of the stairs. Listening to his brother's cries.

His mind went back to the nights spent in his father's study, the room lit by little more than a candle.

"Now haven't you learned your lesson yet? Trying to defend your little brother just gets you in more trouble. You stupid boy, you get your emotional side from your failure of a mother."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Seonghwa had dared to yell, but quickly regretted.

His father brought down his fists, smashing Seonghwa in the gut. He cried out, falling onto his back. His father kicked him again in the side.

"I'll talk about her as I please. She was my wife. You never knew her like I did."

Seonghwa caught his breath and tried to present an appearance of toughness but knew it wasn't working.

"Now go to your room and finish your studies. I don't want to hear another word out of you."

Seonghwa had leapt up, ready to run back to safety but his anger made him pause at the door.

"What? You want more?" growled his father, raising a hand and Seonghwa flinched.

"No, sir," he whispered.

"You know that I stop before leaving a mark. Remember what I told you boys? If there's no evidence, they can't catch you."

He'd smiled an evil grin.

Seonghwa could still see it now. He saw it every night before bed, dancing before his eyes, taunting him. Reminding him what was at stake.

Seonghwa had never been able to face the terrifying face before. And still couldn't.

Tears poured down his cheeks as he heard his brother's shouts and he clenched his fists.

What was wrong with him? He was supposed to protect him! So why couldn't he do it?

He bit back a sob as he forced his arm forward, gripping the banister. It took all of his effort to pull his feet up the first step. His knees were shaking, as was his entire body.

He had to help him. He was his only hope.

Gaining confidence he continued his way up the stairs, nearly reaching a jog as he reached the top. But then he froze. Again.

He saw his brother on the ground. And his father above him. And blood. So much blood. His father had never spilt blood before.

His father's eyes were glowing with rage and Seonghwa felt himself fall back a step.

What could he do? How could he possibly help? If he got involved, his life might be in danger.

But his brother...

Seonghwa dared another glance at the floor and saw his brother's face, bloodied and bruised. A tooth was gone from the top row of his mouth. He looked up, his good eye pleading.

Help me big brother.

In that moment, all of his fears left him. Seonghwa's mind went blank. All that was left was rage.

He flew forward with a scream, throwing himself into his father, knocking him off balance and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Seonghwa tried to find purchase and stand but his father took hold of his wrists and twisted him underneath him. Placing his knees over Seonghwa's wrists, he turned and heaved something off the desk behind him but Seonghwa couldn't see.

"Seonghwa!" cried out his little brother, as realization struck him.

A hefty metal lamp crashed into his head and his vision flashed with white. His ears rang and he tried to bring his hands up to touch them but they were still stuck and his father slammed his knees down into them, sending pain all the way up Seonghwa's arms. He released a scream, feeling at least one broken bone. He tried to bring his knees up to knock him off of him but his father wouldn't budge, swinging back the lamp for another strike.

Seonghwa braced for impact, knowing he had no other choice.

"STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" screeched Seonghwa's brother and he turned to try to reassure him but the lamp struck again.

This time it landed closer to his chest, still clipping the right side of his jaw. He felt his shoulder straining against the impact and the shatter of his collarbone. He couldn't hold back the fear any longer and panicked sobs ricocheted out of his chest.

Any movement to try to slip out of his grip just caused a jolt of pain, leaving Seonghwa without any method of escape.

As his father raised the lamp, one last time, Seonghwa felt his heartbeat panicking against his chest.

This was it.

Tears streamed out of his eyes as he squeezed them shut but the impact never came.

Instead, the weight on his wrists vanished as his father was shoved aside. He heard the sound of metal handcuffs being snapped on and the shuffle of feet as a group of armed officers entered. Footsteps approached him rapidly.

"Are you Park Seonghwa?"

He realized his eyes had still been sealed shut and slowly released them, gazing up at the kind-faced officer above him.

"Yes," he managed.

"It's alright. You're going to be alright. He's going away for a long time."

He watched as two officers dragged his father out of the room and down the stairs.

It was over.

He remembered his brother and leapt up, ignoring the pain surging through his body. He crawled over to his brother's side and grabbed his hand.

"I'm so sorry, I should have gotten here sooner," he sobbed but his brother stroked his fist with his thumb.

"It's okay. I'm okay. You came. That's all that matters," he said, attempting to smile but his face was too bruised.

Seonghwa bit his lip as a group of EMT's loaded his brother onto a stretcher. He released his grip watching as they carried him away.

Seonghwa suddenly realized that he hadn't ever made a call to the authorities. He'd never even thought to look for outside help.

He turned back to the officer who had greeted him originally.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"We received a call. She said she was your mother."