AGAINST THE WORLD || MARKYONG [#2]

Sharp Edges

"You killed them because they were bad, that isn't wrong. Won't they see that?" asked Taeyong, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Mark took a deep breath, leaning against the wall. His eyes averted to the door for a moment. Once ensuring that they weren't being watched, he continued. "It's not that simple, Taeyong. I still killed them. They arrested Kun for doing the same thing, and now he's in prison."

"But Kun is different, isn't he? He wanted to hurt people. You didn't, you were protecting us from being hurt," said Taeyong, looking down at his lap with a frown, his eyes trailing along the plain design on his hospital clothing. "Kun hurt Jaehyun too. That wasn't self-defense."

"It isn't just those two men, is it?" Mark sighed. "I broke somebody's nose, and he wants to take me to court."

"But... he wasn't being nice to you."

"I know, but they don't care about that. They'll take one look at me and decide that I'm a hazard to their peaceful society," the younger snickered. "They'll throw me away like they did to Kun and Yuta."

Taeyong shifted from where he sat on the floor, instead kneeling in front of Mark. He frowned. "I don't want you to go to prison. Tell them that I killed those men. They'll go easy on me—"

"I can't trick them, Taeyong. They'll have evidence. What about that second man, the one who was chasing you in the forest? He grabbed hold of my arm. What if they find my DNA on him?" asked Mark. "You don't get it. They can't just believe me, they have to find evidence."

"But him grabbing you isn't evidence, is it? You could say that I stabbed him after he grabbed you. They'll believe you—I'm in here, aren't I? They think I'm crazy anyway."

"You're not crazy. You're ill. Once you've received treatment, they can punish you like they did Kun. I'm not going to let you take the fall for my actions, I have my own responsibility to take," he said, and let out a sigh, slouching back against the wall. "We shouldn't have stayed in that farmhouse. We should have continued moving."

Taeyong lowered his gaze, frowning. They would have continued moving if it wasn't for him holding Mark back. He couldn't go under the radar like the younger could. He would have drawn too much attention to themselves limping and stumbling as they traveled. Taeyong felt like it was all his fault. Mark wouldn't have had to kill if it wasn't for him getting caught so easily, either.

Before Taeyong could ponder more on the matter, there was a knock on the door behind them. He looked over his shoulder as Taeil pushed the door open and stepped inside, with Doctor Kim following behind him. He sent a gentle smile Taeyong's way as he closed the door again.

"Have you had enough time to talk?" asked Taeil, watching as Mark shuffled nervously. "You'll be late for work if we don't leave soon, Mark."

"I know," he replied, looking at the floor. "We can leave."

Taeyong furrowed his brow, watching as Mark got to his feet. He didn't even spare a final glance in his direction as he walked to the door, and Taeyong shifted from his knees into a sitting position, his eyes following the younger as he walked out of the room. Taeil looked down at Taeyong with a softened expression, seeing his reaction, and turned to see Mark already walking down the hallway.

"I'll come and see you soon, Taeyong. Until then, make sure you tell Doctor Kim if any of your symptoms change, alright?" he asked.

All Taeyong did in response was nod, before Taeil disappeared beyond the door. Doctor Kim picked up his crutch from the other side of the room and approached him, holding a hand out to help him get up. "You can still go outside, if you want. I believe the door is still open."