For the next few hours, Hongjoong was held for questioning in a small, cold room as the authorities tried to figure out what the hell happened in penthouse 4. Hongjoong kept quiet for the longest time because he didn't know what to tell them. The truth would get him locked up without hesitation, and lying would only make the situation worse. All he could think about was Seonghwa, he wanted to know if he was okay, he NEEDED to know he was okay.

After spending the last hour in the room alone, a female walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to the table that the red-haired male was sitting at, then took a seat across from him on the other side. She was a smaller female, maybe five-foot-two at most. Her black hair was tied back into a neat bun, naturally beautiful without any makeup upon her face, and dressed in a clean suit.

"Hongjoong, is it?" The female spoke softly, tilting her head as she looked at him. "I'm Detective Smin, I came to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

Hongjoong looked up from his lap slowly as he laid eyes on the detective. "I've already said I'm not speaking to anyone. Not until someone tells me how Seonghwa is."

The detective smiled a bit, folding her hands on the table. "So I've been told. But in order to understand what happened today, I need to know every step of the incident today. I know you're scared, no one is going to hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of anyone hurting me. I'm not telling you a damn thing." Hongjoong said firmly, his gaze falling to the floor as he fell silent once again.

Detective Smin sat back in her chair as she sighed out. She then put a finger to her ear where an earpiece was placed, beginning to mutter something.

"Cut the feed as we discussed." She said softly, then turned her attention back to Hongjoong.

The soft whir of the camera's shutting down caused Hongjoong to look up once again, a look of confusion on his face.

Why did she cut the cameras? Hongjoong thought to himself, squinting his eyes at the woman suspiciously.

"Let me be upfront with you now that everything is off the record. I'm not a detective, I don't even work for the police department. I have no jurisdiction here, but they don't know that." The woman said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you, good things. My name is Hana Nims."

Hongjoong blinked with confusion then furrowed his brows slightly. "THE Hana Nims? The eldest daughter of the Nims operation?" Hongjoong suddenly realized something. "Detective Smin... I get it now... Smin is Nims backwards..."

"I see you understand then..." Hana said with a subtle shrug. "I need to find out what has happened to Seonghwa. As you probably know, he's a very beloved member of our family, and we need to hold someone accountable for what happened to him. YOU are the only one who's not dead, so I would greatly appreciate your cooperation."

"Member of your family? What do you mean he's a member? I didn't know outsiders could be apart of the family." Hongjoong seemed confused by what she was saying.

"You see... He's not an outsider, at least not to us. He's proven unbroken loyalty to us and proven that he's a wonderful addition to our operation. He's made more money for us and himself than anyone else we've had come through our front door. To my father, Seonghwa is the son he never had. Once my father passes away, Seonghwa will be appointed as head of the whole operation." Hana explained as he let out another sigh. "Please tell me everything that happened. If my father doesn't find out who did this, he'll automatically hold you accountable for everything, and you'll never walk on the streets again."

Hongjoong hesitated for a moment, still unsure if he should tell her everything or not. He figured she would probably be the only person who could help him out of this if he explained everything, and she would be able to get justice for Seonghwa.

After coming to a conclusion, he finally mustered up enough courage to tell her everything that happened earlier that day. He didn't leave out a single detail, even blaming the whole situation on himself. By the time he was done explaining, Hongjoong began to sob as he thought about Seonghwa bleeding out in his arms.

"One moment he was telling me that he loved me... The next, I killed the man that shot him and held him as he bled out in my arms..." Hongjoong sobbed softly as he held his head in his hands. "It's all my fault what happened to him. I kept pleading for him to wake up and not to leave me..."

Hana stared at the red-haired male as he sobbed. She could clearly tell that his devastation was genuine and not a ploy to fool her. Hana got up from her seat, kneeling before him as he pulled the male's hands from his face. 

"Calm down, alright? What if I were to tell you that he pulled through surgery?" Hana said as he looked up at him with supportive eyes. "He's in critical condition, but he's going to pull through, alright?"

Hongjoong's sobs seemed to cease as a hopeful look grew on his face. "Are you able to take me to see him? Please... I'll do anything you want me to, just please let me see him." Hongjoong pleaded as he grabbed the woman's hands.

"I'll have you cleared as soon as I can, but right now you need to be patient until I'm able to do so, alright? You'll be with him soon enough, I can promise that." Hana reassured, smiling a bit as she pulled her hands away. "I'll have your released issued as soon as possible, and I'll have an escort take you to the hospital."

"Thank you... Thank you so much." Hongjoong forced a smile, nodding his head in understanding.

Hana nodded her head once, then stood to her feet as she made her way to the door. Without another word, she left Hongjoong alone in the room. Hongjoong could feel relief and excitement course through his body upon hearing that Seonghwa had survived.

___________________

About an hour later, the sound of the door opening caused Hongjoong to look up to see who was coming in the room. He saw that it was Hana, and she had a pair of cuff keys in her hand as she walked up to him. Hanah grabbed his wrist and quickly unlocked the cuffs before she removed them.

"Let me clarify one thing, alright?" Hana said as he leaned her face close to Hongjoong's face. "If you endanger his life again, I will not let it slide for a single moment. Do you understand me?"

"I..." Hongjoong was taken back by the sudden threat, but he quickly nodded. "I understand..."

"Then get out of here and go see him," Hana said in a low tone as she backed off of him.

Hongjoong slowly stood up as he rubbed his wrists, then made his way out of the interrogation room. A large man in a black suit waited directly outside the door, grabbing ahold of the smaller male's arm as he began to lead him out of the police station. The way people stared at him as he walked past made him very uncomfortable.

The man lead Hongjoong out to a blacked-out Cadillac, opening the back door as he allowed him to get into the car. Hongjoong could feel his heart beat heavily in his chest from the anticipation of being able to see his lover. The man then got into the driver's seat, pulling away from the police station as they made their way down the street.

They rode in silence for a little while before they came to the hospital. The man pulled the car in front of the entrance before turning to him.

"You're already registered as one of the people who can see him. Just state your name at the front desk and they'll tell you where he is." The man instructed, gesturing with his head for Hongjoong to get out of the car.

"T-Thank you..." Hongjoong said softly as he grabbed the door handle, pulling on it before he opened the door and hopped out.

Hongjoong closed the door behind him, and the man in the Cadillac pulled away as he drove off. The red-haired male watched the vehicle pull away briefly, then proceeded to walk through the automatic doors at the entrance. 

He proceeded to make his way to the front desk, stopping once he got to it. Hongjoong placed his hands on the edge of the desk, clearing his throat.

"I'm... uh... I'm here to see Seonghwa Park. My name is Hongjoong Kim." He said a bit nervously, keeping his gaze fixed at his feet.

The nurse glanced up at him briefly, then began to search through the computer for the records.

"Ah... Here you are. I just need proof of I.D. and you'll be able to go on up." The nurse said with a smile as she looked at the red-haired male.

Hongjoong gave a subtle nod, reaching into his back pocket before pulling out a black leather wallet. He opened up the wallet, removing the plastic driver's license from the front pocket, the handing it to the nurse. The nurse quickly inspected the driver's license, then passed it back to him.

"Alright, Mr. Kim. Mr. Park is in recovery on the fifth floor. The room number is 411." 

"Thank you," Hongjoong said with a nod, placing his I.D. and wallet into his back pocket.

Hongjoong made his way over to the elevators, pressing the button for the elevator to come down. The elevator made a soft ding as the doors began to open, and Hongjoong stepped in through the doors. He turned around and reached out a hand, pressing the number 5 button to go to the fifth floor. Soon the doors shut, and the elevator began rising floor by floor.

Hongjoong tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the numbers go by above the door. Once the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened slowly and Hongjoong stepped off the elevator as he walked down the hall. He inspected the room numbers carefully as he walked past each one.

"408... 409... 410... 411." Hongjoong counted them as he passed, then finally came to a stop in front of room 411.

The red-haired male seemed to hesitate for a moment as his hand hovered over the door handle. Taking a deep breath in, he grasped the door handle and turned it, pushing the door open slowly. His heart pounded in his chest, he didn't know if he was ready to face Seonghwa after everything that happened, but he desperately needed to seem him.

Hongjoong walked into the room, shutting the door gently behind him before he walked further into the room. As he saw Seonghwa laying in the hospital bed, he could feel a lump begin to swell in his throat. Seonghwa was more pale than usual, most likely caused by the blood loss. The taller male was propped up on several pillows, an oxygen tube in his nose that threaded around his ears as it was held against his face. He was connected to a beeping heart monitor and had various IV's taped into his hands.

"Seonghwa..." Hongjoong muttered to himself as he choked up.

Hongjoong walked to the side of his bed, grabbing ahold of one of the chairs and sitting it close to the side of the bed. He sat down slowly, reaching out and grabbing one of Seonghwa's hands as he leaned in close. Tears began to well up in his eyes, quickly spilling as he studied the state of his lover.

"I'm so sorry... I'm sorry." The red-haired male sobbed quietly, lowering his head and laying it into Seonghwa's lap. "Look what I've done to you..."

As he continued to sob into the taller male's lap, he suddenly felt a gentle hand run through the back of his head. Hongjoong lifted his head slowly as he looked up at Seonghwa. The blonde-haired male barely had his eyes open, a small, weak smile upon his lips.

"H-Hong..joong..." Seonghwa said in a hoarse, weak voice as he touched his lover's cheek softly.

The tears began to flow heavier as the smaller male just broke down. Hongjoong pressed his face into Seonghwa's hand as he shut his eyes while he sobbed.

"S-Stop... crying. Come here..." Seonghwa reached out and pulled on the other male's collar softly. "Sit... next to me."

Hongjoong got up from the chair and sat on the bed beside the taller male, still continuing to cry. Seonghwa then reached out with both arms, grabbing the smaller male by his arms and pulling him down into his chest. Seonghwa winced slightly from the tenderness beneath the bandage on his chest as he wrapped his arms around Hongjoong, holding him with as much strength as he could.

"I'm so glad you're... okay." Seonghwa said as he buried his face into the soft red hair of his lover.

"Seonghwa... I thought you were going to leave me. I thought I had gotten you killed." Hongjoong said through his sobs. "This is all my fault..."

"Stop..." Seonghwa shook his head lightly, closing his eyes. "It was just one bullet... I would've rathered... I take the bullet over you. I would stand in front of a bullet for your time and time again... as long as you were okay."

"None of this would've happened if I listened to you. If I followed your rules, you wouldn't have gotten shot."

"Hongjoong... Shut the fuck up." Seonghwa said with a slight cough, wincing a bit. "You're mentally not well. You didn't know... that any of this would happen. I should've gotten you help... instead of trying.... to fix you myself."

"When they took you from me I was sure I'd never see you again..." Hongjoong tried to lessen his sobs as he lifted his head to look at Seonghwa. "If it wasn't for Hana-"

"Hana? Hana Nims?" Seonghwa got a weird look on his face, sounding a bit uneasy. "You met Hana? When was this?"

"At... At the police station. She got me cleared and had an escort bring me here to the hospital." Hongjoong explained, frowning a bit at Seonghwa's reaction.

"Fuck..." Seonghwa sighed out, bringing a hand to his forehead. "One problem after another just keeps coming."

"What are you talking about? She seemed like it was no problem to help me."

"Hana Nims never does any favors without a price, she's not just going to leave you alone, Joong. She'll be back, whether it be tomorrow or months from now. She'll come back wanting a favor from you in return." Seonghwa explained as he looked down at Hongjoong.

"It can't be that bad, whatever she needs me to do, I'll do it." Hongjoong shrugged, shaking his head slightly.

Seonghwa shot a look at the smaller male. "You don't understand. It's not going to be a small, simple favor. You'll become an asset to her. Just like I-" He suddenly paused for a moment as he looked away. "Just like I did..."

Hongjoong looked a bit confused, sitting up as he tilted his head. "What are you talking about? You mean... That's why you do all of these things?"

"After my modeling career fell off, I was struggling to make money, on the brink of homelessness. Then I met Hana, and she seemed to fix everything that was going wrong for me. Before I knew it, I became one of their prized puppets. The bad thing about it is I enjoy every moment of what I do, I enjoy causing harm to people because of how poorly people have treated me." Seonghwa looked back at Hongjoong. "But you are NOTHING like me, Joong... You are so different from me, the complete opposite. What she'll have you do will ruin you for life."

Hongjoong stared at him for a while, unsure of what he should say at that moment at first.

"What if I'm already ruined? I mean... Look at the things I've done, Seonghwa. I killed a man, then got you shot while trying to take a hit for myself." Hongjoong said as he shook his head. "I'm already too far gone."

"No, you aren't. You're still clinging to that last bit of humanity left inside of you. I won't let her come near you, ever. If she ever comes around, I'll take your favor for you. I can't let you get involved with Hana's games." Seonghwa then grabbed Hongjoong by both of his cheeks. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Hongjoong nodded as he placed his hands over Seonghwa's hands. "I'm glad you're okay, Seonghwa...  I don't know what I would do without you... You're everything to me."

Seonghwa gave the smaller male a sweet smile, then pulled him closer by his face. He then connected his lips with his, giving Hongjoong a sweet kiss. Hongjoong kissed him back without hesitating, feeling extremely grateful that at the end of the day he was still able to kiss his lover.

"I love you, alright? Don't blame yourself for what happened today... As I said, I would gladly take the bullet for you over and over again." Seonghwa said softly.

"I love you too..."

(A/N: yes I know this chapter heccing sucked. I promise to do better in the next update)

****THE STORY WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. THANK YOU FOR READING****