"Hey, Kihyun?"

"Hmm?"

"How are your New Year resolutions faring?"

Kihyun snorts, rolling his eyes. "Five days into the new year and I'm still breathing, aren't I? Is that good enough?"

"You've done such a wonderful favor to the world, bocchan." Sehyuk teases, quirking his lips into a grin.

"Stop calling me that."

"No can do."

The incessant tapping of PlayStation console buttons dominates the room, and Kihyun cursing as he shoots a player in the game he's playing.

"Hey, Kihyun?"

"Now what!" The boy grits as he tilts his head simultaneously with his controller.

"Why did you call Jaemin a 'gold digger'?"

The older stills, his fingers pausing. The words 'you died' flash on the screen and Kihyun finally turns to Sehyuk, who's seated on the couch behind him, legs folded in Indian style.

"Why are you asking that now?"

The blond lowers his gaze, chin dipping to his chest, adopting a slumped posture. "Yesterday...first of all, I'm sorry once again for calling you a thief. It wasn't you but...Jaemin took my money."

Kihyun laughs, a mocking tone laced with it. "When you thought I was the thief you said I stole your money, but when it's your friend, you say he took your money. Wow! The double standards." He scoffs, shaking his head in dismay.

Sehyuk's eyes blow wide as if he's been caught red-handed committing a crime. "I...I didn't mean it like that."

The older levels him with a stern look.

"When I say sorry, I mean it. But somehow I keep messing up things with you."

"You hurt my already tattered pride. Imposing myself on you and living here isn't something I enjoy doing. I know I'm taking up your personal space but I'm meeting my eomma now to see my father, I'll sort my issues out soon. I'll leave, don't worry."

But Sehyuk doesn't want him to leave.

He chokes at the embarrassing thought, shutting his eyes and placing a hand over them. The two weeks may have not been very eventful, other than Kihyun trying to jump in front of the metro, but having someone around in his apartment, a mere presence, makes his day less lonely. Living alone was liberating at the start, fun and relaxing. But Sehyuk couldn't help but feel the emptiness when he had his meals, or when there was no one to discuss the movie that would be playing on the screen. It's the little things in life that bring in a sense of fulfillment.

Kihyun and Sehyuk may have clashing personalities but one learns to accept each other's differences when spending time together. But Kihyun has his whole family, why would he leave his luxuries and put up with someone like Sehyuk? A guy who hides behind his smile.

Fingers snap in front of his eyes, tearing Sehyuk from his thoughts.

"Stop zoning out, Min."

"Could you tell me about Jaemin?"

Kihyun takes in an audible, tired breath. "I met him at the beginning of my high school. We became fast friends, bonding over the silliest things. He was not like the other friends I had. Jaemin didn't care about my money even though he came from a middle-class family. Or that's what I thought." The boy's eyes are directed behind Sehyuk. "He was my best friend until he betrayed me in the worst way. I never told Jaemin about the rocky relationship I had with my parents. But on the day of our high school graduation, I saw him with my parents. He was smiling and laughing with them. But that wasn't the end of it." Kihyun clicks his tongue with a scornful frown.

"My parents gave him an envelope filled with cash and the genuine bond we shared crashed and burned right there. The last nail in the coffin was when I heard my parents saying, 'Thank you for handling Kihyun the way we wanted.' All the bits of advice and things Jaemin had pressured me into doing, were all instructed by my parents. It wasn't anything new, because they do crap like that and I was used to it. Just didn't expect Jaemin...I didn't think he would be a part of who my parents wanted to mold, a perfect son who's at their beck and call."

Sehyuk can identify a storm brewing behind those clouded eyes. If it was just twenty-four hours earlier, he would've punched Kihyun for tarnishing his friend's name like that. But not now, not when he's seen with his own eyes what Jaemin did and even accepted. He still wants to deny that bubbly and full-of-life Jaemin could be involved in such matters. But he has solid evidence against him.

"I cut him off right off the bat after that." Kihyun sighs, seating himself on the couch next to Sehyuk. "But...maybe you could confront him about it. I know you really like his company."

He will ultimately face Jaemin but right now he doesn't want to.

"Are you sure you can handle your father?" The blond asks, nodding slowly. "I mean, will his anger explode once he sees you?"

"Only time will tell." Kihyun stands up, putting back the PlayStation controller in the drawer under the television. "I'll go now."

"When will you be back?"

Kihyun raises an eyebrow. "Missing me already, Min? I know I'm charming."

"Oh, please! The watchman who stands guard at the university gate is a better charmer than you. You have got nothing on him."

Kihyun gags, his nose flaring in offense and checks cringing. "Whatever. I may not be back if all goes well."

"Oh, okay. Good luck then."

That's the last Sehyuk sees of the boy till he gets a phone call from an unknown number an hour later.

He swipes on the red button to decline it. A moment later, his mobile phone rings again. Sehyuk does the same. It's when it rings for the fourth time that the blond picks it up.

"Why do you keep dismissing my call!" The voice is hurried, throaty as it speaks. "If you want Kang Kihyun to be alive, quickly do something to save him!"

"What kind of crap is that? Kihyun is probably home by now."

"For some people, their very house is a nightmare."

"Wh—" The line goes dead before Sehyuk can utter anything else. He stares at his screen till it turns off, his confused face reflecting in it. The call had been cryptic, leaving him puzzled. He taps his mobile phone, calling Kihyun. The call connects and rings till there's an automated voice asking Sehyuk to leave a message.

The boy paces in his room, hands folded in front of his chest and head bobbing slowly. What kind of trouble can Kihyun be in anyway? Does he take Sehyuk for a fool who would fall for his tricks? He must be laughing at the other end. But then, what if the call was really directing him to help the older boy?

"Argh!" Sehyuk takes a bunch of his hair and pulls at it. He isn't sure what he's supposed to do with the message he just received. His first thought is to disregard it but a worry ticks the back of his mind. He and Kihyun aren't close enough to be joking with each other like this. Moreover, the reason the boy had been staying at his place, a stranger he bullied for months, was only to escape from his home. The memory of Kihyun at his doorstep, in a bloody shirt, invades his thoughts and Sehyuk sighs at it.

He's just a university student with no power.

"Kang Kihyun, you're such a hassle!" Sehyuk swears, walking out with his motorbike keys and helmet. He's looking for ways he can know what's actually going on as he descends to the parking lot, calling the unknown number repeatedly.

"This is a public phone booth, please stop calling here." A gruff voice says and cuts the call immediately.

"This keeps getting worse by the next second. A public phone booth? How did they even know my number?" An eerie chill crawls up his spine as he mounds on his bike and kickstarts the engine. The revving sound his bike makes is exhilarating, just as the winds that blow over his leather jacket when he speeds. He's missed this, the rush of adrenaline and head empty of any worries that it brings. Although, the latter cannot be achieved right now.

The only option now Sehyuk has is to inform the police station about the call and take them to Kihyun's house because if the guy is in real danger, he would need someone with authority to help him. And if in case, the call was a hoax, it would be even better and they could be done with the whole matter without any complications.

So, he steps into the police station, keeping his helmet on, only putting the visor up. "There's someone in danger and I need help," Sehyuk says urgently to the first officer he finds. "Please, come with me."

The officer asks him a few questions and they head out to Kihyun's place. An unaccounted jitter pops in Sehyuk since he's getting into Kihyun's mess without a warning. The police car stops right behind him when the blond gets off the bike near the gate.

"We heard there's trouble here and came to investigate," the policeman behind him says when the security guard stops them.

"I'm sure you have the wrong information. Respectable people live here."

"Let us do our duty and you do yours." The second officer remarks, pushing inside before the watchman can argue further.

Sehyuk takes in a deep breath and follows them, being pulled to the side without prior caution. He whips his head to find the head maid he had met with Kihyun on the day they went to visit his sister-in-law.

"Why in the world would you bring the authorities into this!" The older woman demands, her eyes shifting between anger and fear. "You're not helping Kihyun, this is worsening the situation!" She whisper yells, gaining the attention of the two officers who are looking around.

"Is there a problem, miss?"

The head maid shakes her head in reply.

"So where's this friend you were talki—"

A loud crash from the above floor catches all eyes and the three males charge towards it without a second thought. As they close in, sounds of heavy grunting and pain reach their ears. The police officers rap on the door twice.

"This is the police, open up!"

No response from inside other than the continued grunting makes Sehyuk's heart drop to his guts. The dread of what is behind the door paralyzes him. What if Kihyun is in there?

"Get us the keys!" The officer demands, glancing at the head maid who followed them. They pound on the door until the woman stumbles with unsteady steps and hands them the master keys.

Sehyuk screws his eyes shut at the scene in front of him when the door unlocks. 'This can't be real...'

It is something right out of an action or thriller movie, but the effects are too real. Broken items after a bout and characters fighting for their lives.

"Put your hands in the air!" One of the officers commands pulling out his gun.

The blond once again opens his eyes but it's the same. He gulps at the sight of a man wearing a black suit stands tall, his fists spotted with blood, towering over an unmoving Kihyun. The boy lays on the floor, crimson color painting his face, head lolling to the side. His exposed neck sports red marks as if he had been choked.

Sehyuk runs, dropping to his knees as he ducks his head and brings two fingers under Kihyun's nose to check his breathing. It's not normal but still there. The blond thinks if he wouldn't have been acquainted with bloody fights in the past, he would have passed out at Kihyun's state. Who thought that bullying students and getting into a few street fights would help him in something.

"The ambulance will be here in a few minutes." He hears the man inform his colleague behind him.

What's odd in the whole scenario, is the man tucked in his bed, sleeping through all the chaos that occurred right under his nose. Sehyuk puts two and two together, and concludes that he must be the father. The one and only bane of Kang Kihyun's existence.

Paramedics come in, carrying a stretcher and putting Kihyun on it just as handcuffs click around the wrists of the guy in the black suit. Sehyuk zones out the statement the officer is reciting and proceeds to follow the paramedics, riding behind the ambulance on his bike.

As Kihyun is wheeled on a bed to the emergency room after the ambulance arrives at the hospital, Sehyuk waits outside till the doctors come to him. He sits in one of the chairs, unmatched thoughts swirling in his mind.

'Kihyun feared his father but who was the man who beat him up? How did Kihyun get locked up with him in the first place? He said he would meet his mother, where is she? Did no one hear what was going on?'

"Oh, the call..." Sehyuk mumbles, someone did hear all the commotion after all. So why would they call through a public pay phone? And the voice had been of a male. "Oh, right!" He bumps his fist with his other palm. The head maid must've been the one who asked someone to call him since she is the only one who has his number other than Kihyun. She did take his number in the cafe in case of emergencies. This must've been why she pulled him in the corner of the Kang villa to ask about the policemen as if she was the one who informed him about Kihyun being in danger. But the surprise in her eyes and the way she talked to him only entails he hasn't helped Kihyun but pushed him further down the rabbit's hole.

But why?

It's not like it had been a family member who was beating up Kihyun. "Damn it!" Sehyuk laments, rubbing his face. "This keeps getting confusing!"

Kihyun denied being suicidal when Sehyuk brought up the topic. He may not have plans to actively kill himself but there was a term he read recently on Instagram. Quickly the blond goes to his likes page and finds the post.

what is passive suicide? being passively suicidal is the desire to die without having a plan, and one won't physically act upon the ideation. although one does not have a plan to act on the thoughts, people who experience this may approach daily activities without a care for their well-being and not worry about their own safety.

Sehyuk swipes to the next part of the post.

Examples of some of their thoughts may include:
• "I hope someone crashes into my car."
• "I am going to cross the road without looking."
• "I wish I was never born."

Sehyuk isn't sure if this is the category Kihyun falls under, but he hopes it's none of them. The thought of knowing someone wants to kill himself terrifyingly rattles his insides.

Since he meddled with Kihyun's affairs, he's been on a roll of bad luck due to the other. Getting bullied, then covering up for him when he pushed his father, then throwing himself on the railway and now beaten up by some man in a black suit. Nothing ever good comes out of associating himself with Kang Kihyun.

Sehyuk groans, scoffing at his sneakers. "But he's the reason you're on your feet right now, Min Sehyuk." He leans on the back of the chair and closes his eyes with a defeated sigh and lets out a weak chuckle.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all, bocchan."