[M] Chapter 3 (1/1)

A week later, the institution caught onto what Gikwang was doing. A maid noticed him slipping out of  work to visit Doojoon multiple times and reported it back to Seunghyun.  He was punished with six flogs to the stomach, of which he treated immediately so it wouldn’t get infected too. He was also banned from leaving the work room and Seunghyun personally walked him from his room to each part of the daily schedule to enforce that rule. It was killing Gikwang that he couldn’t see his boyfriend. Horrific images of Doojoon cold and dead or crying for him worked their way into his mind and he found himself way too distracted to do a good job. He earned himself many more punishments and half-rations of food for the next whole week for his lack of effort, but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to care. His thoughts were purely filled with Doojoon.One night, the worry became too much. He had to know how Doojoon was doing. He had to see for himself that his love was getting better. All of the children from Doojoon’s room had been distributed into other rooms while he was sick so that they didn’t get sick from all the germs Doojoon was putting into the room by vomiting constantly. This meant that his boyfriend would be alone and less likely to have wardens running around near him. Gikwang decided he didn’t care if he got caught and climbed up off his mat, looking behind him at the sleeping children before opening the door.“Gikwanggie?”  A sleepy voice called out. Gikwang turned back around and saw Taecyeon sitting up and looking at him. He softened up.“Yes, Taec?”“Don’t get hurt! Make Doojoonie better!” the little voice pleaded. Gikwang nodded.“I’ll do my best.” He answered honestly. Taecyeon snuffled and fell asleep again. Gikwang smiled weakly at how cute the child was and left the room, padding down the corridor.It didn’t take him long to find Doojoon’s room as he had been there so many times over the last week. He took a deep breath and entered the room. Doojoon lay on his mat, strangely very still. His mouth was open a little and he was curled up in pain. Gikwang’s heart raced.“Doojoonie?” he whispered. His boyfriend didn’t stir at all. Gikwang ran to his side and crouched down. “Love? I came to see if you were ok. The bastards banned me from seeing you, can you believe it?” Doojoon still didn’t move. The short boy shook him hard, willing just one muscle to move. His eyes welled with tears. “Fuck, Doojoonie! Wake up! For fuck’s sake! You’re scaring me..” he shouted, grabbing his lover’s cheeks. His tears ran down onto Doojoon’s face.“Please. P-please! I love you! I love you so much.. You can’t leave me, you c-can’t!” he protested, his voice shaking.He lay next to Doojoon, arms wrapped tightly around him as if he could never let go. He heard nor felt no breath. He had gone. There was nothing Gikwang could do. He clambered to his knees and pressed his warm lips against his boyfriend’s cold ones while the tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes. Suddenly, he couldn’t take it anymore.“Someone wake up! Doojoon won’t move! He won’t breathe! Someone please! Please.. bring him back..” Gikwang’s voice cracked as he screamed out into the dark room. Doojoon lay limp in his arms, so close but impossibly far away.People rushed into the room at the sound of Gikwang’s screaming, only to grab the young boy and pull him out of the room forcefully while he struggled and fought, crying out for Doojoon. The moment felt like it was going at double-speed as Doojoon was carried out by two members of the institution without a word. Gikwang shrieked, his tears spilling down all over himself while he punched and kicked at the people restraining him. The children in the rooms woke up, poking their heads around their doors to see what was going on. They gasped and wailed, clutching each other, terrified upon seeing their ever-smiling hyung screaming like a madman.Seunghyun closed his hands around Gikwang’s throat to stop him screaming.“Shut up. If I hear one more sound out of you, young man, there will be trouble.” He snarled into the boy’s ear. Gikwang became flushed with the lack of oxygen but carried on crying, his sadness rolling down his cheeks. The warden let go of his throat and threw him to the side, where the short boy’s frail body slammed against the wall and slid down it. Gikwang sobbed into his hands, praying that it was all one big nightmare.Narsha heard the commotion from the maid’s quarters and rushed to the scene. Her frightened eyes widened and filled with tears as she caught a glimpse of the lifeless Doojoon. The boy she had loved as her own brother was cold and stiff, manhandled carelessly by two supervisors. She wanted to scream too, but all that came out of her throat was a choked cry. She had known Doojoon was seriously ill, but somehow the boy’s ever-positive attitude and determination that he was getting better managed to make her believe him. The young maid recalled all the sweet smiles the boy had given her whenever she visited him in his sick bed. Memories of Doojoon and Gikwang as tiny four-year-olds holding hands and playing together ran through her mind. She couldn’t bear the thought that this charming, strong young man had gone forever.When Narsha could stand to watch no more, her gaze flickered to the distraught Gikwang who was hugging his knees, rocking back and forth and trying to will it all away. She sat next to him on the floor and hugged him hard, pulling his small body close to her and holding him tightly while they both cried.“H-he can’t be d-dead..” Gikwang protested, his voice quivering. Narsha’s heart tore in two pieces for the boy.“Oh Kiki, baby, it’s so unfair..” she whispered, stroking his limp black hair. He looked up at her with huge, bloodshot eyes.“Please, p-please tell me this isn’t real.” He begged. She crumpled, shaking her head.“I’m so sorry. So sorry..” she croaked. Gikwang shook violently, clinging onto her like he would fall if he didn’t have her for support. She cradled him like a baby, kissing all over his head to try and calm him down.“I l-love him.. so much..”“I know, baby, I know. Me too. I love you both.”“B-but he p-promised he would g-get better! He promised! H-he c-can’t leave me here!” Gikwang exclaimed, voice cracking and breaking off like the tiny pieces of his heart. Narsha couldn’t take it. It was all so fast, so sad. She had to make him realise.“Baby, he’s always going to be with you in spirit-““I don’t want his fucking spirit, I want my Doojoonie!” he yelled back, burying his face in her shoulder. Her tears fell into his hair.“Shhh, baby boy. I’m here. Doojoonie loves you too, he will never stop loving you. He’s not in pain anymore, Kiki. You have to be strong for him until one day you will meet again. It’s going to be ok.” She said gently, trying to soothe him.“Nothing will ever b-be ok again!”When Doojoon’s body had been moved and his mat had been stripped, the children were ordered to get back to bed immediately. Three wardens prised Gikwang out of Narsha’s arms, threatening to fire her and beat him to death if he didn’t come with them. The maid gave his hand one last squeeze and kissed his cheeks, wiping his face with her hands before he was dragged to the punishment room to get his lashes for being awake past curfew.The whip cracked onto his skin eight times by each of the three wardens. This punishment was not only for being up late, but also for causing such a big fuss in the middle of the night. The lashes were hard, but Gikwang could barely feel them, his body numb from the grief he felt for his soulmate. The tears fell in a continuous stream, but not a single one was shed because of his beating. When it was over, he simply straightened up and walked back to bed, looking like a zombie.Gikwang didn’t sleep that night. He sat up, holding his knees, staring into space, crying and rocking back and forth. The other children stared at him, petrified about what was happening. They were too young to know what it felt like when their parents had died and too young to know what it felt like to be in love. They didn’t understand what was happening to their Gikwanggie until the following day. “Is it true?” Junhyung asked Seungho as they picked apart their ropes. “Doojoonie is really dead?” Seungho nodded gloomily, sniffing back tears. Changsun started bawling, having thought about Doojoon and burned his hands from the rope while he wasn’t concentrating.“So that’s why Gikwang hyung isn’t at work today..” Little Hyunseung speculated sadly. Yoseob held his hand hard and tried to stop himself crying.“But Kiki promised Doojoonie would get better.. Kiki never lies!” Taecyeon said, feeling upset and confused. Seungho patted him on the back.“Kiki hoped just as much as we did. You’re too little to understand it just now, Taec.” He said gently. He was only seven years old, but he liked to think of himself as much older, always leading the smaller ones when Doojoon or Gikwang weren’t there. However, he hated being without them and wanted Gikwang to give him a cuddle right then.Narsha walked by the little huddle of whispering boys and smiled fondly. She bent down and gave them all a kiss on the cheek, reaching into her apron to pass them all a handful of raisins she had stolen from the kitchens. They all bowed and smiled at her, feeling slightly cheered up.“Hello, little misters!” She whispered, trying to act happy though she was utterly broken inside. “Now, why are you not being good little boys and working, eh?” The boys shuffled on their feet and looked at the ground guiltily.“We were wondering about what happened last night..” Seungho answered, his throat dry. Narsha blinked back tears and gulped.“I know it’s hard, dears, but we have to come to terms with it. I have known him since he was this big,” she held her hand up to just below her waist. “I miss him like hell already. However, Doojoonie would have wanted you to work hard for him. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone to be sad, would he?” she ruffled Taecyeon’s hair and the boys shook their heads solemnly.“Will Gikwang be ok?” Yoseob piped up. Narsha nodded.“You know Kiki, he’s a fighter. Try to be sensitive and not bring this up in front of him for a while though. He needs time to grieve. Now, I have to go or I’ll get into big trouble. Don’t worry, boys. It will be ok one day.” She said gently before getting up and going back to her job. The boys sighed and turned back to their ropes. Gikwang sat in his room alone. He had been permitted one day of grieving, which was mainly because of the absolutely horrific state he had been in since Doojoon’s untimely death. The boy felt a strange feeling in his stomach like he was going to be sick. He ignored it and carried on mourning, the millionth tear dribbling down his face. Aches enveloped his fragile frame, pulling him down and making him feel more tired than usual. His bones throbbed with fatigue and his head pounded. Gikwang decided to try and get some sleep before he passed out, despite not wanting to see the images of his dead lover that lurked behind his closed eyelids. Gikwang was forced to go to work the next day, though he still ached all over and craved sleep at all times of the day. He supposed it was all just down to feeling depressed, but each time he moved, he let out a groan from the pain. The little boys helped him as much as they could, being well-behaved and even stealing some of his work to complete themselves. The teenager hated the fact that he was being looked after by the children he was supposed to be responsible for, but he missed Doojoon too much to be able to think about anything else.