My Little Sweetheart

Chapter 5: Of Hurting and Healing

"What's taking him so long?". Yeming keeps glancing at the exit Yao Wang went through a while ago. It is nearing the end of break time yet there are still no signs of him returning.

"Maybe he's taking a dump after all that food he just ate. I mean, I was a bit surprised to see such small body can take that large amount of food", Yoon-Ho lightly comments, trying to reassure his worried best friend, though he too feels himself growing uneasy as the time passes. Kim Bum finds his words ridiculous, shaking his head slightly.

"What're you talking about? He literally just ate. It'll take a while for his stomach to digest all the food. He's not sick, is he?". Kim Bum sends another glance towards the exit, his face too starting to show his concern. Unable to control his concern any longer, Yeming abruptly stands up and starts to head towards the exit, followed closely by his two best friends.

Sudden dawn of uneasiness heavily sets down in Yeming stomach upon seeing two male students standing outside the male toilet, their poses stiff as if to guard the entrance. Something is not right. Yeming increases his pace forward, reaching the place in few long strides. He makes a move to enter the toilet, but as he expected, the two guards block his path, though their faces seem unsure now of what to do next. Afterall, who does not know the man standing in front of them.

"Move aside". Yeming firmly barks his order. The two men seem shaken by his presence, cold sweat forming obviously on their foreheads, but surprisingly remains persistent on their job. However, the same cannot be said for Yeming - his thin patience is already gone. Two sharp punches later, the male student-guard are down on the floor, groaning in pain. The doorknob rattles wildly when Yeming tries to open the door. Locked from inside!

Yeming kicks the door open and it slams loudly onto the wall, startling the toilet's guests. His eyes zeroed in onto the unconscious boy on the floor, his pale skin exposed and marred with bruises. Then he notices the four other men, standing half naked too close to Yao Wang. The realisation clicks instantly. He feels his sanity abandons him that very moment. In a blink of an eye, Yeming is already moving towards the men with a terrifying speed, giving the assailants no time to even react.

One punch on directly on a face breaking two teeth, an upper cut on another, breaking the skin. Then Yeming swings around, delivering a high kick on a head and finishes with a lower kick to the stomach. It takes less than ten seconds to send everyone groaning in pain on the floor and Yeming didn't even bat an eyelash. Though it doesn't stop there as Kim Bum and Yoon-Ho finally have their turns. Yeming crouches down to inspect on the unconscious Yao Wang, assessing the damages done while more beatings happen behind him.

His blood runs cold seeing fresh bruises blooms across Yao Wang's exposed skin, and the blood clot on his lower lip explains so much on what happened to him. He gathers the unconscious boy into his arms, surprised momentarily at his lightness, and walks out of the door. Thankfully, most of the students are already in their classrooms, for the bell had rang a while ago and thus does not attract any unwanted attentions from their actions. He does not mind being seen at this state, but Yao Wang might not feel comfortable with the fact everyone knowing what just happened. He settles Yao Wang into the passenger's seat in his car, just wanting to take him away from this place as soon as possible. Before leaving the school, he leaves some instructions for Kim Bum and Yoon-Ho, trusting them fully to handle the situation.

The principal and the deputy principal feel cold sweat run down their foreheads as they see Yoon-Ho and Kim Bum standing in front of them. This is not a good news for their school.

**************************************************************************

Seeing Yao Wang lying peacefully on his bed calms his feeling a little bit, he looks so small and frail. Every time his eyes land onto those ugly bruises, his heart aches. How could he even let it happen? What if I was late? He keeps replaying the earlier scene in his head, imagining the worse scenarios. He sighs. Trying to reassure himself, he lets his fingers card softly through Yao Wang's silky hair, careful enough not to wake the smaller man. His private doctor told him Yao Wang needs a lot of rest and fluids as he seems to be under a lot of stress and exhaustion. Thankfully the bruises have done nothing serious to his body and will fade over time eventually. Letting him wander off by himself was a rookie mistake and he makes a promise to himself not to repeat the same one ever again.