By Your Side

Chapter 6

Once they reached his home, Changsub tried to wake Illhoon up, but he was passed out completely. There was no way he was gonna get up any time soon.

He somehow dragged Illhoon to his bed and when he was done with that, he was panting already. That boy looked very small but he was not. After catching his breath, he removed Illhoon's shoes, and made him lay properly on the bed, and searched for a blanket to cover him up which he found easily.

Once he was done, he went to the kitchen and filled some water in a bottle, and left it next to his bed, and when he was about to leave, Illhoon moved in his sleep and made a noise that sounded like a whine. Changsub patted his shoulder so that he can break whatever nightmare Illhoon was going through. But then Illhoon grabbed his hand and held it in both his hands and said "Don't leave me". At first, Changsub thought that Illhoon was awake now but drunk so he was being like that, but after a few minutes, he realized that he was not yet conscious.

So he just sat next to him, but he really had no idea what to do. Illhoon's face was agitated and he looked like he was in pain. Even though he was sleeping, a tear escaped his eyes. Changsub was so worried about that. What happened to him, and why was he in such pain. Then he said it again "please don't leave me".

He just couldn't leave him like that so he sat next to Illhoon and stroked his hair with his other free hand, and said in a very low and calm voice "I am here Illhoon and I am not leaving. You are not alone. It's alright". He just kept repeating this until Illhoon calmed down. His face looked a bit peaceful now. And after making sure that Illhoon is now sleeping peacefully, he left his house.

He couldn't help but worry about what happened. It was his first time seeing Illhoon like that. At least in a long time. They were kids when they debuted so they were sensitive many times but the elder members made sure that they took proper care of younger ones. So it had been very long that he saw the vulnerable side of the kids. He wondered if it was because of Eunkwang's Enlistment or something else. He can only know after talking to Illhoon.

By the time Changsub reached his home, it was already past midnight. He knew that Sungaje and Hyunsik would not be awake, but there was this teeny tiny hope that in his heart they might be still playing games so that he can join them. But when he reached home, it was all dark. Everybody went to their rooms and was sleeping. He made a mental note that he has to make up to Sungjae for what he did today. Although he left in a hurry, he didn't miss the look of disappointment crossing Sungjae's face. And he knew Sungjae was also affected by the news of enlistment.

Luckily for him, he didn't have any schedule outside the Company the next day, so he was hoping he can make up for today.