Chapter Text
The 8th night
Yunghee wasn’t sure what woke him. His muscles were tense, as though preparing for a fight, and his fists were clenched. Maybe it was a trait he picked up from the military or one that he’d honed through over a decade of martial arts, but his body knew how to recognise danger.
And as the door creaked, Yunghee knew with a cold certainty that danger was here.
Yunghee’s eyes snapped open and he jerked up in bed. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he saw the shadowed figure looming in the doorway. Too tall to be Seonwoo, Sungho or Minseong, and too broad-shouldered to be Hyungjin.
And in the intruder’s arms, was a rifle. A Daewoo K2 assault rifle, the soldier part in Yunghee mind stated unhelpfully. It didn’t really matter. Guns killed people. All guns.
As Yunghee stared, frozen in indecision, a familiar voice spoke.
“What do you want from us?”
Yunghee’s head jerked to his left. Hyeongjoon was still asleep, his deep breaths shifting the blanket up and down, but Junsung was sat on the bed, his face calm but his voice tight. Like Yunghee, he too must have sensed something and woke up.
The intruder stepped into the room and flicked on the light. It illuminated a handsome face - maybe in his thirties or forties - with a trimmed beard and sharp eyes. A scar decorated his right cheek, stretching from his eyebrow to his mouth, but it was his slow grin that sent a chill down Yunhee’s spine.
“All of you downstairs in the hall. Now.”
Yunghee felt Jeongwook stir awake beside him and out of the corner of his eyes, noticed Hyeongjoon blink his eyes open in confusion. Raised voices came from downstairs, accompanied by a bang.
Yunghee drew in a deep shaky breath and exhaled slowly.
Danger indeed.
Within minutes, all eight men were sat on the sofas in the hall, surrounded by 5 armed men. No one had put up a protest. Yunghee had even made sure to keep his gaze lowered. His taekwondo master had drummed into him multiple times - no matter how excellent your skills, if someone comes at you with a weapon, you run or surrender.
It didn’t feel good to be surrendering but Yunghee had no doubt that these men would use their guns.
Amidst the terse silence, Yunghee glanced around. He was sat at the very edge of the sofa, squeezing Jungwooks shoulder in an attempt to stop the man from trembling. In the middle of the sofa, were Junsung, who had a protective arm around Sungho’s shoulders, Hyeongjoon and Hyungjin. Next to Hyeongjoon and Hyungjin, sat on the floor, were Minseong and Seonwoo, who was last in the row.
Yunghee clenched his jaw, wishing that he was closer to Seonwoo rather than all the way across. Seonwoo’s face was pale and his eyes constantly darted between the armed men, as though he was trying to read their next actions. Yunghee’s heart flipped as Seonwoo’s gaze fell on him.
“You okay?” Seonwoo mouthed.
Yunghee nodded tersely, cursing himself as heat travelled to his cheeks. Why was it so difficult to keep his body under control when it came to Seonwoo. It was like he was a pubescent teenager all over again.
“Now, listen,” the intruder from the bedroom drawled. He was clearly the leader of the gang, with the other men snapping to attention as he spoke. “You can call me One.” He gestured at a pair of identical twins on his right. “That’s Two and Three.” He pointed to his left at a fat man with a haggard face. “That’s Four.” He then pointed to the youngest amongst them who couldn’t have been much older than Yunghee. “And that’s Five.”
“What do you want?” Junseong snapped, leaning forward. Sungho attempted to pull him back but he clasped Sungho’s hand and shielded Sungho with his frame. “We’re just filming a TV show. More people will be here in the morning. They’ll know if we go missing.”
One looked at Junseong as though he was an interesting specimen at a museum. “I know. The police will come in the morning. They’ll even find the dead cameraman in the garden. But it doesn’t matter. They won’t dare come in with you all as our hostages.”
Yunghee felt the wave of shock that spread through him and his friends. A cameraman was dead. Someone had actually died.
One lifted a finger. “But don’t worry too much. We just need you all to behave. Once we leave, you’ll all be free to go.”
“And how do you expect to leave if the police surrounds this place?” Junseong demanded.
“We have our ways,” One said with a chuckle. “Be rest assured that in five days, we’ll be gone.”
Yunghee’s breath hitched. Five days? These gunmen were going to keep them all for five days?
“Who are you?” Jungwook asked, his voice trembling. “I don’t understand.”
“We’re just people who need a safe escape route,” One said. “And you men are our way towards it. But - “ He grinned, revealing sharp canines. “ - don’t expect us to be merciful if you try anything. There’re eight of you here. It wouldn’t be too much of a bother if that number went down.”
An unpleasant laugh rumbled from Four, who hoisted his gun higher. The twins, Two and Three, smirked in unison.
As Jungwook choked on a sob, Yunghee pulled him into a half hug. Though Yunghee’s heart raced, he felt an odd sense of calmness. This was okay. He and his friends weren’t at any huge risk for now. They just had to hang in there for five days. Five days.
“Please,” Sungho spoke, tears in his voice as he peered over Junseong’s shoulder. “Please don’t hurt us. We’ll listen to you, we promise.”
One smiled at him. “Good boy.”
Minseong cut in, his face impassive, “Where do you expect us to sleep? You can’t keep us in this hall for five days.”
Hyeongjoon and Hyungjin startled at Minseong’s blunt question. Hyeongjoon leaned closer to Minseong, eyeing One warily as though worried One would react to Minseong’s blatant disrespect.
One shrugged. “I can. You all will stay in this hall for now under our supervision. Bathroom breaks will be accompanied by one of us. Sleep on the sofa. Take in turns. I really don’t care.”
One turned to his men. “Make sure all the windows are covered and doors barricaded. Four, you get to work on the drilling. Five, you go get some sleep. Take in turns with Two and me to keep an eye on this bunch.”
His men nodded in unison and headed in different directions. The hall’s light dimmed, leaving only the kitchen’s lamp to illuminate the group. Silence fell, broken only by Sungho and Jungwook’s quiet sobs.
It took a few hours for Jungwook to fall asleep. Yunghee kept his arm around the older man’s shoulders throughout, willing him to stop trembling. It was a relief when Jungwook’s shaky breaths changed into soft snores.
Sungho had fallen asleep on Junseong’s chest, but Junseong was still awake. He silently glared at One and Two who were sat on stools in front of the sofa. Next to Junseong, Hyungjin had also fallen asleep, his head tilted back. Hyeongjoon was wide awake. Minseong had fallen asleep against Hyeongjoon’s knee, and Hyeongjoon’s absentmindedly stroked Minseong’s hair as he too stared at the gunmen.
The sight bizarrely made Yunghee want to smile. It had been a rough day for all of them, but especially the Minseong and Joon, Jin trio. Though Hyeongjoon had pulled away from Minseong, it was obvious that Hyeongjoon’s feelings were still there.
Seonwoo had fallen asleep on the couch that Minseong rested against. His shirt, Yunghee noted with a blush, had ridden up, revealing a sliver of skin above his pyjama trousers. Yunghee stared at Seonwoo’s parted lips and closed eyes. It had been over a week since Yunghee first saw Seonwoo but he was still in awe. How could a man be so beautiful?
Seonwoo’s continued indifference and rejection had hurt. A part of Yunghee still ached from their conversation earlier that day. He’d been hoping for a sign. For anything. But though Seonwoo hadn’t bluntly rejected him, his lack of interest had been clear. Yunghee wished he could be Sungho, wished that he had something Sungho had to make Seonwoo look at him as more than just a passionate kid. He’d promised to visit Seonwoo’s shop for one minute ninety-nine times, but what hope did he really have?
A stool creaked, prompting Yunghee’s gaze to dart to the gunmen. His stomach lurched. One was staring at Seonwoo as he caressed his gun. His eyes racked over Seonwoo’s body and landed at where Seonwoo’s shirt had ridden up. With a half grin, One licked his lips.
Revulsion filled Yunghee. He’d been concerned that the intruders were homophobic. But One seemed not only gay, but openly interested in Seonwoo too. Thankfully, Junseong and Hyeongjoon both seemed to have also noticed. Hyeongjoon leaned over Minseong to pull Seonwoo’s shirt down, while Junseong’s glare deepened and his arm tightened around Sungho.
One seemed amused by the two men’s actions rather than displeased. He winked at them before heading upstairs, leaving only Two behind to watch them.
Yunghee caught Hyeongjoon’s eye and mouth ‘thank you’. Hyeongjoon nodded tersely, curling a protecting hand around Minseong’s neck. As the clock ticked, Yunghee watched over Seonwoo and wondered if he’d ever be able to fall asleep.
Something bad was about to happen. Something even worse than the night’s terror was coming. He could feel it.
Yunghee could only pray that he and his new friends would be strong enough to face it came.