Jungwoo plopped himself down on the last empty chair at their table in the cafeteria. It was becoming his go-to spot, and as much as he hated this place he was actually glad he'd found somewhere to be this quickly.
The other two were already sitting down in two chairs that were near each other, leaving Jungwoo alone at the other end of the circle, facing them.
Donghyuck had his arms draped around Mark's neck, curling some of the messy black locks that hung from the boy's head around his fingers. When he saw Jungwoo approach them, his hands fell from Mark's head but didn't leave his body.
"Jungwoo! Nice morning, eh?" He broke out into a wide smile, leaning his head on Mark's shoulder.
It wasn't like Mark looked as if he was bothered by these interactions, but he was visibly tensed up and his eyes widened when he glanced down and saw how close his face was to Donghyuck's.
"Decent enough," Jungwoo shrugged, chuckling at the pair in front of him.
He looked down at his breakfast. Pancakes that were no thicker than poorly-made flatbread, and the syrup on top of them resembled watery gravy.
When he looked up again, Donghyuck was no longer paying attention to him and was rather bringing his face really close to Mark and whispering things only they could hear. Jungwoo sighed quietly, sipping on his thin paper water cup and deciding to look around the room.
The past day he hadn't examined the cafeteria that closely, only a little when he'd gotten the first impressions of it. Not that there was anything that interesting about it. As he glanced around himself he found that there wasn't much to entertain him for the meal times other than his friends.
He was about to look back at his tray when somebody caught his eye. Another patient, with dark hair and a white uniform similar to his own, was sitting by himself right next to the wall parallel to the lunch booth.
And Jungwoo found it really strange that the other had been staring at him before he even noticed him.
The two made eye contact, and Jungwoo held it for a couple moments before turning back to the people he was sitting with. "Mark? Donghyuck?"
Immediately he got their attention and continued to speak. "Who's that guy? Sitting by himself, with the black hair. He was staring at me."
Donghyuck rolled his eyes and made a noise that was something along the lines of a hissing sound, "That is Kim Doyoung. Kinda annoying, has been here for ages and still doesn't let me hook up with him."
Mark nodded along, stealing a glance at Doyoung before speaking to the group for the first time today. "Nobody really knows what he's in here for, he doesn't do friends and everyone is a little scared of him. There's a lot of rumors about him, though."
Donghyuck continued for him, "Apparently he's a serial killer, been here since he was thirteen and now he's 21."
Jungwoo's jaw dropped a little, "No, that can't be. I've only been here a day and I already want to leave. How could he handle eight?"
"You'd be surprised," Donghyuck giggled loudly, finally letting his arms rest on the table instead of Mark.
"How old are you anyway, Jungwoo?" Mark questioned. His shoulders were more relaxed now, but the lack of touch also made him feel a little cold and bare. He didn't mind Donghyuck around him that much.
"Nineteen. My birthday was actually a couple days ago," Jungwoo curved his lips into a little smile.
Donghyuck gasped, "Markie, he's older than us! You look way younger than me, though, gosh."
"We're both only seventeen," Mark chimed in, glancing between Jungwoo and Donghyuck. Every single time his eyes landed on the one next to him, they lingered. Donghyuck didn't notice.
Jungwoo raised his eyebrows in shock, looking at the both of them. "That's so young," he rolled his eyes, "How could they keep you poor souls in here?"
"Oh please, it's not that bad," Donghyuck shrugged it off, "Doyoung darling over there is still staring at you, by the way. Hasn't moved an inch, nor moved away. Ugh, I kind of wish he was staring at me."
With a laugh Jungwoo turned around in his seat, unafraid as he looked back at the patient still focusing on him. He didn't make eye contact, but examined what he could make out of Doyoung from the distance between them.
Finally he turned back and let out the shiver that was threatening to run down his back the entire time he had been facing Doyoung. Okay, he was a bit afraid of him after all.
"He's a little scary," he admitted to Mark and Donghyuck, receiving nods of agreement.
"Yeah," Donghyuck said, "But don't worry, he usually doesn't bite. And anyways, you've got us."
Jungwoo smiled, nodding, "Glad to be on your team, then."
"Glad to have you. We'll keep you safe."