Chapter Text
Wooyoung was so scared. Sweat trickled at the side of his face, his heartbeat loud from the adrenaline, and his feet ached. He was so so so tired of running.
"Wooyoung! Hurry up! Please!" Yeosang begged from where he ran behind him. His friend (or his brother as Wooyoung viewed him) was breathing harshly too. His face was dirty and his old black sweatshirt was outstretched and ripped in some places. Beads of sweat also rolled down his face as he ran behind Wooyoung. Yeosang was scared too.
"GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID KIDS!" The man chasing them yelled. He was a big buff man that seemed like he could run for miles and he would still have leftover energy.
The man was the owner of the restaurant Yeosang occasionally sneaked into to get them food. He would go in through the back door and sneak into the restuarant's pantry when they were really desperate. It wasn't an action the two were rather proud about, but they had to do it as a last resort. When Yeosang had tried going in this time, the man had caught him red handed and based on the rage of his words, he had been searching for them for a while now. Wooyoung wanted to cry. They didn't mean to steal. They weren't bad people, they were just hungry.
Wooyoung, being too caught up with his stupid emotions, did the worst thing he could do.
He tripped.
Wooyoung winced when his body collided with the cement of the alleyway's floors. His chin scraped the floor and his left hand didn't land right underneath him. The pain worsened when Yeosang's entire weight landed over him.
"You little shits think you can just go around stealing? Do you think my restaurant is free?!"
Wooyoung's blood ran cold when he realized the voice was nearer than ever. He was standing right over them. Suddenly, Yeosang was roughly snatched away from him. Wooyoung gasped and quickly sat up despite the pain. Wide-eyed, he watched the buff man pull Yeosang up from the floor by the front of his sweatshirt, and then, he punched the boy across his face. Wooyoung screamed.
"No! LET GO OF HIM!" Wooyoung's eyes were enraged. Before he realized what he was doing, he stood up and kicked the man's side with all his strength. The man stumbled back from the force before Wooyoung grabbed a hold of the man's shirt and punched him with his good hand. He may be weak, he may be starving, and he may look like death but he will not let anyone punch Yeosang.
Unfortunately, he didn't think this through. Wooyoung's one second of power soon deflated and his eyes became fearful again. He watched as the man slowly looked up and glared at him with a look that could pierce right through him. Before he knew it, the man grabbed his neck and forcefully pushed him, his back collided with the brick wall.
The man began to choke him.
Wooyoung was sure this was the end for him. He could just feel his lips turn blue and his lungs beg for air. With each torturing second, he began to feel his body beginning to shut down too. His brain became too cloudy, his legs became too weak. It suddenly hit Wooyoung what those faint (almost ancient) feelings meant. No. No. No. Please don't make me slip. Please not now, Wooyoung pleaded to Mother Nature. Not when he was already in a vulnerable state. Wooyoung felt a lump beginning to form down his throat and the gears in his head begin to turn slower. Feeling his lungs ready to collapse, Wooyoung closed his eyes in utter defeatment. This was it.
But, right as he accepted his fate, Wooyoung was suddenly dropped to the floor.
Wooyoung's body hit the cement floor. He violently coughed as he gasped for air. The world spun around him and everything hurt, but Wooyoung couldn't find himself to care because he was still alive.
What happened? Why did the man let him go? Wooyoung felt dizzy and his brain was cloudy. Where's Sangi- Yeosang, Wooyoung quickly corrected. Wooyoung was holding onto a single thread to prevent himself from completely falling into his headspace. This feeling, In-between headspaces was what it was called, was a drunk feeling and it was giving him a headache. He had only experienced it once before and just like the first, it was one of the worst feelings he has ever experienced. Despite it, Wooyoung looked up from the floor and desperately searched around. Yeosang. Yeosang. Yeosang.
Wooyoung's eyes dilated when he finally caught sight of the man and Yeosang. Yeosang was lying on the floor, his body seeming like dead weight as he let the buff man kick the life out of him. Kick after kick. Yeosang's face was bruised and his eyes were closed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. The only assurance Wooyoung had were the small movements of the boy's chest, indicating slow breaths.
Wooyoung began to breathe heavily at the sight of his friend, his brother. His lip quivered and his vision turned blurry. This was all his fault. If only he could have stopped Yeosang from going inside the restaurant. If only Wooyoung wouldn't be such a crybaby for wanting food. If only he wouldn't have tripped, Yeosang wouldn't be hurt. Yeosang. His Sangie. Sangie. Sangie was hurt.
The last thread ripped.
"Sangie!!!" Wooyoung screamed at the top of his lungs. He broke out into ragged sobs, his chest heaving up. He shakily crawled over, and before he could think of what he was doing, he threw his body in front of Yeosang and shielded him. "L-Let 'im go. P-P'ease stop. S-Stop hur-ting m-my Sangie. W-We s-sorry. Sor-ry. Sowwy." Wooyoung's words were incomprehensible as he begged between harsh sobs up to the buff man. He didn't care if the man was going to hurt him. He didn't care if the man knocked him out unconscious. He could hurt him all he wanted, but he cannot hurt his Sangie. He was all Wooyoung had.
Wooyoung flinched and shut his eyes closed when he saw the man's foot lift, but then, the blow never came. Wooyoung sobbed as he fearfully cracked an eye open. Through blurry vision, the boy watched the man pause, his big shoe just an inch away from Wooyoung's head, before he put his foot back down. The man stared at him.
"Are you two...Littles?" The man, face expression unreadable, asked with a hesitant flat tone.
Wooyoung slowly looked up with his chest still shaking from his sobs. He saw the man staring at them with a serious look. Wooyoung continued to cry before he finally nodded his head. He flinched when the man loudly cursed and suddenly kicked the trash bin next to them. The loud bang echoed the empty and dark alleyway.
Wooyoung watched as the buff man didn't hesitate to walk away, cursing underneath his breath about hoping the police wouldn't find out, before he disappeared around the alley's corner and...left.
Wooyoung was confused. But he wasn't going to complain.
Wooyoung turned his head back. He shakily cried as he looked down at Yeosang. "S-Sangie?" He cried as he carefully shook Yeosang's shoulder. The Little didn't know what to do. He couldn't think properly like when he was Big. All he knew was that Yeosang was hurt. "Sangie?" He desperately tried again. Yeosang remained lying on the floor like a dead corpse.
Wooyoung began to loudly sob again. "Sangie wake up! P'ease wake up! Wake up!" Wooyung desperately begged. " 'm sorry! Youngie scared. W-Wake up! Wake up!" The Little cried and cried in the empty alleyway.
Minutes? Hours? Wooyoung didn't know how much time passed, but he cried for a really long time.
"Sangie! W-Wake up!" Wooyoung cried out one last time before he finally gave up. Wooyoung sobbed as he slowly laid down next to his hurt brother. He let out a whimper and he coughed violently. His throat burned and his breathing was so raspy. He carefully moved his left hand to the side. It was swollen now, but Wooyoung couldn't do anything about it. He cried as he cuddled next to Yeosang's freezing body. It was so cold and the only clothes the two had were their old thin black ripped hoodies. Wooyoung sniffed and closed his eyes when suddenly-
"Hello?"
Wooyoung's eyes snapped open at the voice. He heard several pairs of footsteps.
"But there's no one here...?" A different voice said.
The little boy managed to sit up and turned towards the sound. At the end of the alleyway, he could see the back of some figures, three of them. Wooyoung, not being able to scream anymore, let out a strangled out whimper before he began to loudly sob again.
The three figures turned around at the sound. It was three men. One tall, one average, and one short one, all dressed in long winter coats.
Only one thought came to mind when Wooyoung made eye contact with the three faces underneath the moonlight: they looked like knights in shining armor.
Wooyoung would later find out, he wasn't wrong.