Archive of Our Own

"Subject 403 has been successfully delivered."

The doors of the van open loudly with a metallic creak, and hands seize Seonghwa with a rough hold, dragging him out firmly and yanking him forward. He thrashes instinctively, trying to fight against the grip, but he only gets shoved harder instead. The tug gets sharper, almost throwing him off balance for a moment, but he gets steadied back immediately. Subject 403? 

What the hell.

With one swift motion, someone behind him removes the blindfold they had put on him. Seonghwa blinks rapidly, the harshness of reality striking him at once. He forces himself to take in his surroundings as fast as possible, the cold wind slapping his face. 

What he sees first is a huge mansion towering ahead, with multiple peaked roofs and arched windows. It’s about four floors tall, and the center window on the top floor is the only one open. Seonghwa can hear the faint melody of a piano. The mansion seems to be engulfed in mist, as if someone has deliberately tried to create a spooky feeling. Below sprawls a wide garden, the grass glistening faintly under the moonlight, wet with dew. A massive circular fountain sits in the middle, the sound of the water trickling down only adding to the eerie feeling. 

Seonghwa is pushed and forced to start walking again. He gives it another try, attempting to kick and free himself, but the men holding him are stronger than him. They’re dressed in black suits, their faces covered by full masks that only show their eyes and mouth. He traces back the events in his head; he was just going home after his daily evening walk, barely noticed the van parked in the corner of the street of his apartment. The last thing he expected was to be abducted like this. When the men poured out of the vehicle, it was so sudden that Seonghwa didn’t even have the time to call for help. 

Even though he’s being led to the main entrance, he catches movement with the corner of his eye, somewhere on his left. Just a few seconds later, he realizes it’s more men like the ones dragging him, and they seem to be carrying…

People. 

Two people who are either dead or unconscious, because the men carry them in their arms without the slightest hint of resistance from them. Every single alarm bell goes off in Seonghwa’s head, distress flaring inside him. They seem to be heading towards the gates that the van just came in from, but now Seonghwa has a clearer view, and his blood freezes in his veins. 

There's someone standing by the side, a young man watching everything unfold…Seonghwa feels slightly chilly for a moment. The young man is dressed in black from head to toe, holding what is probably a porcelain doll in his hands. There's a detached, unfazed expression on his face as he watches the men carry the bodies away…and then, he glances towards Seonghwa. 

It only lasts a moment, but it makes Seonghwa stop resisting. That indifferent look, it looks like it shifts to something warmer for a split second…and that’s all he gets before the men pull him even harder, making him almost stumble as he drags his feet up the stairs. 

Inside, it’s quite hot, like the walls themselves are on fire. There are corridors on Seonghwa’s left and right, but he’s pushed ahead instead, barely getting any time to look at the place. As he glances up, he can’t not notice the sheer size of the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.  They seem to be made of gold, their arms curling outward, each of them cradling a few candles, their flickering lights casting playful shadows on the ceiling and the walls. Red carpets cover the floor, and portraits of all sizes are hanging from the walls. Somewhere in the building, Seonghwa is certain he can hear the sound of a violin. He tries to fight one more time, but it goes as well as the past times. 

Eventually, he’s taken into a big room that’s mostly empty of furniture, with the exception of a big bookcase. There are a few more men in here, too, wearing the same masks that cover everything except their eyes and mouth. What catches Seonghwa’s attention is the large painting across him, placed right in the middle of the wall. It looks like a family portrait; there’s a woman dressed in an elegant red gown, and a man wearing a black tux. Between them, a little boy stands, also dressed in a simple suit. Standing directly in front of the painting with his back turned on them is a man with dark hair, dressed in another sharp black suit. 

One of the guys that brought Seonghwa here lets go of him and approaches the man, dropping to one knee. “Subject 403 is here, sir.” he says, dropping to his knees, and the man turns his head just slightly, before he slips one hand out of his pockets, a hand covered in rings. Seonghwa stares, his stomach turning inside out. 

“Go tell Hongjoong he’s needed.” the man speaks, his voice deep and hoarse and basically sounding like he came from the depths of hell. The guard nods, retreating quickly. By now, Seonghwa is so stunned that he has forgotten how to resist. 

And then the man turns to face him; the first few buttons of his shirt are open, revealing a couple of necklaces resting on his collarbones and lower. He doesn’t look older than Seonghwa, but there’s something in those eyes, a kind of authority that makes Seonghwa shiver all over again. 

“So you have arrived.” the unknown man finally addresses Seonghwa himself. “My name is Song Mingi. Welcome to my humble residence. Apologies for the way you were brought in, but it was necessary.”

Despite his shock, a scoff finds itself slipping from Seonghwa's lips. "So your idea of meeting with someone is to kidnap them and have them brought to you?" he says dryly.

He doesn't like the way Mingi's mouth curls upwards into a lopsided smile. "So you are one of the bolder ones." he comments, a hint of amuse in his tone. "Let's see if this turns out to be a good or a bad thing. What is your name?"

This time, Seonghwa chooses not to reply. His whole body goes tense again; there's still one guard keeping a hold of him, and maybe now it would be easier to attempt to free himself, but he's outnumbered. There's nowhere to go.

Mingi does not seem unfazed by his lack of answer. "Do you prefer to be called Subject 403?” he asks, his voice calm, almost conversational. “Because that does not sound very ideal to me."

Again. Seonghwa clenches his fist. "You knew how to find me but you don't know my name? What the hell is Subject 403, anyway?" He raises his voice, anger and disbelief blending together in it. Every single cell in his body is screaming at him, wanting to get out of here. He’s no one important, he has no family, he’s never made enemies, so who the hell would ever want to kidnap him? For what purpose?

Mingi’s expression is unreadable for a few moments. Then he sighs. "I knew how to find you because you have been tracked your whole life.” he gives his answer matter-of-factly, making Seonghwa flinch. “They have been keeping an eye on you, waiting to see if you were ever going to act up. I knew how to use that tracking to locate you, but I don't know anything else about you."

The words take a moment to sink in Seonghwa's brain. They hang in the air like dust, and the severity of their meaning is just impossible to grasp. He stands there, just glaring at Mingi, until the meaning of them does kick in, and he freezes. They crash down on Seonghwa all at once.

You have been tracked your whole life.

His fists unclench, his breath falters. Mingi watches it all unfold in front of him with a maddening calm expression. Seonghwa’s whole body is shivering, cold sweat running down his back. 

"...what is that supposed to mean?" he blurts out, his mind racing, desperately trying to think back to every moment in his life for something, a clue, an incident that would explain this…whatever this is. None of his thoughts make sense, none of Mingi’s words make any sense. He must be bluffing, or he’s just a weirdo living in those woods. 

And Mingi only tilts his head, the lopsided smile growing a little wider.

"You'll find out soon. Ah, there he is."

Seonghwa hears the steps first before he turns his head. There's an extra door he had not noticed until now, one that he really couldn't have noticed because it was hidden behind a long red curtain that has now been pushed to the side. The guy from earlier walks back in, carrying a chair, and behind him, there's a new person with a briefcase. He’s shorter than Mingi, dressed in black high-waisted trousers and a white shirt with rolled up sleeves, as well as a silver buttoned up vest. His dark hair is slicked back and there’s a mischievous spark in his eyes when he notices Seonghwa, but it only lasts for a second before he directs his attention to Mingi.

"Hongjoong." Mingi says, eyeing the man. He spreads one arm towards Seonghwa, pointing at him with his finger. "This is Subject 403. So far he hasn't been willing to share his name with us."

Hongjoong scans Seonghwa from head to toe as the man walks up to Seonghwa and places the chair right next to him. "That's fine, if he wants to be called that, we'll call him that." Hongjoong says, flashing a sketchy grin at Seonghwa. "Hold him down."

Seonghwa barely has the time to process the words before the guards shove him violently, forcing him to sit down on the chair. He kicks and thrashes with a hiss, but it makes no difference. One of them pushes his head low, exposing the back of his neck. He can hear Hongjoong moving behind him, and the clicking sound of the briefcase opening. 

"Now this is going to be really easy and quick if you cooperate. I appreciate the bun, it's as if you already knew." Hongjoong says with a slight hint of tease in his voice, and Seonghwa thrashes harder. For sure, when he decided to tie his hair up today, this was the last thing he had in mind. "Just sit still and let me do my job."

"I don't care about your fucking job, just let me go!"

More hands land on him, immobilizing him completely. Unable to lift a single finger, all he can do is gasp and hiss again when he feels something wet and frozen pressing against his nape; an ice cube? Where the hell did it come from?

He tries to keep a strong front, but it's not easy when he can't even see what is happening. Hongjoong keeps sliding what Seonghwa can only hope it's ice up and down his skin, Mingi watching him like a hawk, as if waiting for him to crumble, break down and start crying.

Another gasp escapes Seonghwa's lips, louder this time. Something prickles him, getting under his skin, and the guards tighten their hold on him. "Just stay still, 403, it will be over before you know it." Hongjoong tells him calmly, and all Seonghwa wants to do is turn around and spit on his face. What is going on?

"It will be easier to explain once you see it." Mingi adds. "The faster you let him do his job, the faster you will get your answers."

"So I'm supposed to believe you kidnapped me for my own good?" Seonghwa protests again. His skin is stinging where Hongjoong is doing whatever it is he's doing, borderline hurting him but never really, actually  hurting him. It doesn't matter. Mingi nods as if Seonghwa asked the most normal thing in the world.

"In fact, yes."

"You're insane!"

"...aaand done." Hongjoong speaks again, and Seonghwa can feel him withdrawing his hands. "Now give me a second to wrap up and you'll see what this whole thing is about."

The guards loosen their grip on him, and Seonghwa turns around quickly. Hongjoong sighs, lowering his hand towards him so he can see. It’s there, on his palm, a tiny metallic device, barely bigger than a grain of rice. Seonghwa squints, then glares up at Hongjoong. 

“What is this?”

“A tracker.” Hongjoong replies, his voice way too calm for Seonghwa’s liking. “You’ve been living with this your entire life.”

The chills down Seonghwa’s back make him jolt and twitch, even with the guards still having their hands on him. He stares at the metallic piece, until Hongjoong closes his hand. His brain refuses to process what he’s being told. It just…it just can’t be.

“That’s impossible.” he whispers. 

“Not really.” Hongjoong replies, still maddening casual. “You’ve had this on you from the very beginning. It’s just that, you didn’t do anything to trigger a reaction from it.”

“I don’t-”

"Seonghwa." 

The sound of his own name makes Seonghwa jolt his head towards the door. Likewise, Mingi and Hongjoong also turn, only to find that the one standing there is none other than the young man from outside that Seonghwa noticed earlier, the one holding the doll. He cradles it gently against his chest with both hands, and Seonghwa grits his teeth. It’s indeed a porcelain doll, a little boy in a set of old-fashioned suspenders over a white shirt. The doll’s eyes are wide and glassy, empty of emotions. 

It could not feel creepier.

There's something suspicious about the young man, some kind of aura that Seonghwa cannot explain. As if he's a creation of some other world. His hair is a warm chestnut brown, falling in sleek strands and framing his sharp cheekbones. But it’s his eyes that captivate Seonghwa, an almost grey shade that emphasizes his piercing gaze. 

Mingi hums. "What was that, Yeosang?"

Yeosang . The name doesn't ring a bell at all. How can he know Seonghwa if Seonghwa doesn't know him?

"Seonghwa." Yeosang repeats, walking slowly further inside the room. "Park Seonghwa."

Mingi turns to look at Seonghwa now, while Hongjoong smiles. "That was fast."

"Seonghwa, huh…" Mingi lets out, a small victorious smile blooming on his face. "Good job, Yeosang." 

Good job? Good job?

Seonghwa wants to scream. Who the fuck are all these people? 

“Our Yeosang is able to feel and read things about others.” Hongjoong explains, clearly taking some sort of pleasure in seeing Seonghwa’s clueless expression. The guards finally let go of him completely. “If you’re lucky, you also have something special.”

Seonghwa takes another look at his surroundings. Once again, he realizes just how impossible it is to run away. The whole place is creepy, and these guys are…even creepier. They make his skin crawl. The room itself feels like a trap. He brings his hand up to the back of his neck, touching the band-aid. The tracker .

Whatever this was, they removed it. But who’s to say it wasn’t them that planted it in him in the first place? That they didn’t just get rid of it now because now they have him here?

“What’s going on?” he asks, although his voice is a bit lower now, almost faltering. His own words sound fragile. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

Mingi glances sideways at Hongjoong, his expression finally losing that teasing edge. Hongjoong nods, then turns around towards Yeosang. “Let’s go find the others.” he says gently, and Yeosang nods at him, before his eyes flicker back to Seonghwa for a couple of seconds. Or more. His gaze lingers, almost as if his eyes are capable of peeling Seonghwa’s skin off. There’s nothing Seonghwa can make of that expression. He just can’t read it, can’t read him . And it’s gone right afterwards, Yeosang following Hongjoong outside while Mingi steps in front of the chair, leaning down to take a good look at Seonghwa. Seonghwa’s jaw tightens, ready to defend himself if needed, even if he doesn’t trust his strength at all right now. He considers punching Mingi, but the guards are still around, still watching. 

“There’s no way to ease you in, so I’ll just tell you.” Mingi says with a measured voice, and Seonghwa swallows nervously. “You are not the common human being you think you are. You have powers that could put you in a lot of danger.”

The words slap Seonghwa across the face, they hurt like a punch in his gut. They spin in his head, and panic flares in him. This place is seriously sketchy. He’s hoping he misheard, but he knows he hasn’t. 

He licks his lips, still nervous. “That’s not funny.” he whispers, and Mingi sighs.

“I’m not joking. I’m telling you the truth.”

Seonghwa opens his mouth to protest again, but no sound comes out. He’s more than stunned, he’s speechless. He has no idea how he’s supposed to respond to that. It drives him crazy, because Mingi looks dead serious. But that’s…that simply can’t be true. 

“You’re saying insane things.” he insists. “I’ve never done a single magical thing in my life.”

Mingi nods at his confusion. “And because of that, you were not in danger until now. You could pass for a typical human and for your whole life, nobody would know. But you are not a typical human, and the things that differentiate you from typical humans have been staying dormant in you for too long.”

Once more, Seonghwa is out of words. The room is huge but it feels small, the walls closing in on him. When he was shoved into that van, he was sure he wouldn’t get out alive, that he’d never see the light of the day again, that some kind of psycho group would eventually dump his body in the woods or something. 

Now, he cannot decide if the current situation is better or worse. How is he supposed to believe something like that is happening? It feels like something straight out of a cheap horror movie. 

He tries again. “You went through the trouble of kidnapping me just to tell me…this?” he questions. “I don’t know who you were looking for, but clearly it wasn’t me. I just want to go back.”

Mingi smirks, a dark smirk that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. “No, not just to tell you this. There are other reasons, too, but I can see you’re not ready to hear them. So how about this? You’ll get some nice sleep tonight, and then we can give it another shot tomorrow.”

It sounds frustratingly unbelievable. Mingi being so chill only pushes Seonghwa's buttons more.

But he has no time to protest. The guards reach for him again, pulling him up from the chair, though they are not as forceful this time. "They're gonna show you your room so please don't fight." Mingi says, as if Seonghwa is supposed to calm down upon hearing that. He glares at him but it's already late, the guards guiding him towards the doors firmly. "Let me go!" he protests, only to have the men tighten their grip on his arms. "What the hell do you want from me?"

He never gets an answer. Instead, they take him out of Mingi's sight and towards a staircase leading to the next floor. What Seonghwa comes across there is a long corridor with doors, all of them shut. The guards lead him to one of the doors and they open it for him, giving him a firm push. 



He stumbles inside; it's nothing more than a typical bedroom with a fireplace and big windows. It also has an extra door, probably leading to some kind of bathroom. The guards push Seonghwa further in, and then they close the door behind them, leaving him alone.


…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The windows aren’t locked, but it’s too high for Seonghwa to jump. He paces up and down the bedroom, checks the furniture: the bed, the armchair, the nightstand, any place he can think that someone would put a hidden camera on. But he finds nothing. When he finally eyes the clock across the wall, he realizes two hours have passed. There is not a single sound coming from outside; did they go to sleep? 

Seonghwa did not hear the door being locked, but he’s pretty sure there must be someone standing outside, guarding him. Yet the rebellious pull inside him and the need to find out what is going on are stronger. 

His hand goes to the handle; it turns easily in his grip, quietly. Just like he thought, it hasn’t been locked. Yet when he dares pull the door open, he halts in surprise. 

There are no guards outside. The hallway stretches out left and right, empty of people and sounds. Dim light spills from the torches across the corridor, and Seonghwa suddenly feels like he’s the main character in a horror movie. This isn’t possible. This cannot be possible. After all the actions Mingi took to bring him here…going as far as to kidnap him, only to put him in a room without guards? Letting him wander around freely? 

Something is fishy. The ominous feeling inside Seonghwa tells him to just step back inside, not provoke his luck. But who says he’s safer inside the bedroom than outside? 

With a twist in his stomach, he takes a deep breath and closes the door of the bedroom behind him. There is not a single guard in sight as far as his eye can see, and for a long moment, he just stands there, contemplating his choices. He doesn’t want to go right; that’s where they brought him here from, it might not be the wisest decision. Seonghwa can see a staircase on the left, and even though there’s no guarantee that option is safer, his feet slowly carry him towards it. 

The corridor is lined with a couple more doors identical to Seonghwa’s. They’re all shut, and Seonghwa cannot hear a sound coming from those rooms. He steps on the spiral staircase hesitatingly; it’s old but well preserved, and despite his fear, there is no creaking sound under his boots. The stairs give no sign of weakness, unlike Seonghwa. 

He can choose to go up or down, yet Seonghwa holds onto the railing a little longer, heart hammering in his chest. The iron surface is cold where his hands are grasping on it, and it helps keep him grounded. He considers heading upstairs to see if anyone else is there. There was that open window on the top floor, after all. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for, what answers he’s seeking. He reaches up with his hand, touching the back of his neck. That damn tracker. Maybe somewhere in this house, he can find out who, what, when, why…

But as he takes one step upwards, it reaches him. A melody. Soft but distinct, cutting through the air.

The sound of a violin coming from upstairs.

Is someone still awake?

The sound lingers, refusing to disappear, stubbornly engulfing Seonghwa until he’s feeling paralyzed, trapped in every corner of his mind. His previous determination, those pathetic flickers of it, they disappear into the air. No, he doesn’t want to go upstairs. He wants to run away from here, to escape this place. If he manages to make it to the entrance, if he can run away…it doesn’t even have to be the main doors, he can sneak out through a window, surely they must have a living room or a kitchen somewhere. Surely one of those windows he saw is large enough for him to squeeze through. 

He descends as quietly as he can, hoping the melody will go away eventually. It doesn’t. He holds onto the railing as if he’s afraid he’ll slip and break his neck. There are no guards here, either. Has Mingi turned this place into Seonghwa’s personal playground just for tonight? Is this a game, with cleverly planted traps ready to capture Seonghwa? 

The house feels even more complicated now. Seonghwa knows the main entrance should be around here somewhere, but none of his surroundings feel familiar. Perhaps he should have gone down the other staircase, after all. It’s too late for that now, he tells himself, and instead clenches his fists and scans his surroundings quickly. There’s a narrow hallway leading to an opening in the wall, an arch-shaped hole, as if there was supposed to be a door there but no one ever bothered with it. There’s a musty smell in the air as Seonghwa gets closer. 

He swallows nervously. There is another staircase there, leading down to what Seonghwa can only assume is the basement of the house. The scent of burning candles is now unmistakable. Seonghwa’s pulse quickens; the safest thing to do would be to run away, and yet he takes that first step downwards instead. This staircase isn’t in the greatest of shapes, and the wooden railing is a little shaky. But still, Seonghwa manages to descend safely, only to stop at the landing. 

It’s right there, in the middle of the basement. There’s someone there, lying on the floor, in a circle of lit candles, their wax melting slowly on the floor. 

Seonghwa’s breath catches in his throat. He takes a few seconds, but then eventually walks a little closer. The moment he can take a clearer look is the moment he panics for good. It’s not Mingi, and it’s not Hongjoong. It’s someone else, a young man lying on his side completely immobile, his eyes closed. His dark hair is as long as Seonghwa’s, if not longer, and he’s wrapped in a black satin cardigan, with some gold embroidery on the cuffs of the sleeves. 

Seonghwa drops on his knees, reaching for him as carefully as possible. “Hey.” he calls, trying to remove one of the candles to give himself more space. But it’s like the candles are nailed to the floor, because Seonghwa cannot move any of them, not even an inch. What the hell? “Hey, are you ok? Wake up.”

The guy’s eyes flutter open at the sound of Seonghwa’s voice. He lifts his head just a bit, his glance immediately finding Seonghwa’s worried face. For a moment, he seems taken aback, a questioning look sparkling in his eyes. But then it changes to recognition immediately, and he pushes himself into a sitting position.

“Oh, hello.” he says. His voice carries a lighthearted hue, a complete contrast to what Seonghwa expected. He looks ok, which is weird. He’s been lying here…who knows how long, and he looks completely unaffected by the strong smell of the burning candles, while Seonghwa has barely been here five minutes, and he’s getting dizzy. “You must be Seonghwa. I’m Wooyoung.”

You must be Seonghwa.

So he’s with them.

How could Seonghwa be such an idiot?

He backs away immediately, Wooyoung blinking curiously. “I’m sorry, is it too hot in here?” Wooyoung asks. “I can’t feel it, the others have to tell me when to tone it down…”

“...tone it down…” Seonghwa repeats, his voice barely coming out. He stares at the candles again, the way Wooyoung is sitting in the middle of that circle, not a single sweat drop on his face. “...you…you’re doing this?”

Wooyoung nods, as if Seonghwa has asked the most natural thing in the world. “It’s getting colder and colder these days, I’m doing my best to keep the mansion warm for all of us. Is the temperature in your room ok?”

Seonghwa’s brain is glitching. He thinks of the fireplace he saw in his bedroom; it cannot be. Is Wooyoung seriously implying that he’s in charge of all the fires here in this house? That cannot be possible, it just cannot be. His brain scrambles for answers, for an explanation that actually makes sense, but he fails miserably. Wooyoung’s oddly welcoming attitude isn’t easing Seonghwa’s nerves at all. 

“I have to get out of here.” he chokes, his stomach churning violently. Wooyoung tilts his head, a little confused. 

“But didn’t you hear what I said? It’s cold outside, you should just go back to sleep.”

“Sleep?” Seonghwa hisses, pushing himself back up on his feet, Wooyoung following every move of his with his eyes. “You freaks brought me here like a prisoner and all you have to say to me is to go to sleep?”

Wooyoung’s puzzled expression darkens just a little. “The guards will indeed not let you make it past the garden gates.” he admits quietly, and Seonghwa wishes he could break something, frustration pooling in his stomach. “But that’s only temporary. We’ll know if you’re not the one and if you’re not, you’ll go back to where you came from.”

His tone is soft, and it pisses Seonghwa off more. A bead of sweat runs down the back of his neck, then another one. “You know the plan all too well, don’t you?” he hisses at Wooyoung, and Wooyoung studies him carefully, but he doesn’t say anything. Even like this, the tension feels unbearable. “Not the first time you did this.”

“Wooyoung?” Another voice cuts through the air, breaking the tension before Wooyoung has the chance to reply. Seonghwa whips his head around, eyes sweeping the room frantically. “Is everything ok?”

Another one?

His dismay must be all over his face, because Wooyoung sighs apologetically.

"That's San.” he says with a soft tone. “He's ok, don't-"

But Seonghwa doesn’t wait for an explanation. Instead, he is already rushing back to the stairs his legs carrying him out of instinct; he has to run off before he gets cornered or trapped or locked or anything else. The panicked thoughts are filling his mind like dark clouds in the sky. If Wooyoung can truly use fire at will, then he's definitely not one to mess with. But as he reaches the stairs, a loud gasp escapes his lips. 

Standing -no, hovering- there is another guy, wearing just a pair of sweatpants and an open robe that's hanging loosely over broad shoulders, revealing a lean and well-built chest. Under the dark bangs, his eyes are soft and almost sleepy, but also curious. He glances at Seonghwa cautiously, then scratches his head.

"Who are you? Oh, are you-"

"Leave me alone!" Seonghwa barks at him desperately, slithering towards the wall and bolting up the stairs. How many of them are there? How does he get out of here, how does he make it past the guards? 

He doesn’t dare look behind him. His breath is turning erratic as he looks around, until the main doors finally come in sight. With his heart hammering in his chest and all the strength he has left in him, Seonghwa throws himself at them. He yanks them open with every ounce of strength he’s gathered inside, the hinges groaning pathetically. 

Seonghwa storms outside, the cool air slapping him across the face immediately.

The sound of running water is what reaches his ears first. It’s darker out here, and Seonghwa forces himself to slow down, going around the big fountain, eyes constantly scanning the garden for any of the guards. It would be a beautiful view, if his life wasn’t in danger.

He darts in the shadows, shooting one last glance behind him, just to make sure no one is following him. But just as he’s about to look ahead again, more sounds flood his ears, and he sees them.

Furniture, being dragged upwards by…strings? Wires? It’s difficult for Seonghwa to tell in the dark, but one thing is for sure. No human hand is carrying them. They’re being dragged on the grass and then up, pulled all the way to an open window at the top floor. And all that without bumping against the walls or getting tangled with each other. He gapes at them, his eyes following them in shock. A table. A chair. Two chairs. A bedside table. 

Where…how…

There’s someone standing by the window, staring down at Seonghwa. 

Seonghwa can’t see his expression, but even like this, he gets tremendous shivers. This is all too much. 

He runs back inside, his whole body shaking violently. He runs up the stairs, not even turning to look at the corridor leading to the basement. By the time he’s back in his room, he’s panting and his head is ready to explode. His heart is racing; fear, shock, all the bad feelings are creeping in, and he cannot stop them.

Whatever this is that he got dragged into, he’s not getting out of easily.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Morning comes, but Seonghwa refuses to leave the room. There's a knock on his door at some point, and a voice telling him they'll be leaving his breakfast right outside. Seonghwa ignores it.

At some point, he opens the door just a bit to take a look around the corridor. It's empty, not a single guard to make sure he doesn't run off.

So they won't let him leave, but he can roam around in the mansion just fine? That fake feeling of freedom makes Seonghwa retreat back into the room, completely ignoring the tray of food. Later, that same voice informs him they have brought lunch. Again, Seonghwa only hides deeper under the blankets.

In the evening, he leaves the bed to stare outside the windows. He sees the guards, recognizes Wooyoung and…who was the other one? San? The one floating in the air…those two, Seonghwa watches how they casually take a wall around the fountain, as if nothing is happening.

But something is happening. And when the voice outside his door tells him they've brought dinner, Seonghwa almost, almost dashes towards it, ready to throw a tantrum.

But he holds back. Whatever reason they brought him here for, he won't make it easy for them. 

The next day he's feeling even more stressed, but fatigued, too. He's barely got any sleep; maybe a couple of hours? But he hasn't eaten or drunk anything, and his body is complaining.

Seonghwa ignores it.

The day goes on in the same pattern. Meals are delivered outside his door, meals that Seonghwa doesn't touch. At night, he stares at the ceiling, his stomach aching from the lack of food. His mouth is painfully dry, too.

On the third morning, he gives in and drinks just a bit from the bathroom tap as he washes his face. His legs are barely holding him, and his reflection in the mirror is a complete wreck.

And then, just as he's about to go lie down again, the bedroom opens without a warning, and Hongjoong steps inside. He looks both irritated and concerned.

"Unless you want San to bring you out by force, I'd suggest you come join us on your own. He can lift much heavier stuff than you in the air."

Oh, no pressure. Seonghwa glares at him, not that it seems to discourage Hongjoong. There are some very violent urges threatening to take over from within, but his body also feels too weak after the lack of food and water.

Should he even give them a chance? Whatever they're supposed to be…with all those powers, they could have made serious damage, and yet they haven't. Mingi did say they need him, but if he keeps defying them, how long will they put up with him?

One thing is for sure, even if Seonghwa hates to admit it: staying isolated here is the one thing that will surely never get him back home.

It takes some effort to stand up, and he immediately feels a little woozy. Hongjoong eyes him warily, ready to help him if needed, so Seonghwa forces himself to push through. He doesn't trust to be touched by that man again, no matter what. 

Hongjoong adjust his own pace to Seonghwa's, waits for him to steady his steps, and then they finally make it to the corridor. "You will be able to unlock your own abilities too, eventually." He tells Seonghwa as they go down the stairs. "And without the tracker, no one will come after you for that."

Seonghwa swallows down an insult. "No one ever came after me. You guys are the first." he says, making sure Hongjoong can hear the detest in his tone. Still, Hongjoong's calm demeanor remains the same. They must be pretty used to such attitudes from all the people they kidnap all the time, right?

"No one ever came after you because you have never used your powers. You don't even know what they are, do you?"

"Or maybe I don't have any and you have the wrong guy." Seonghwa mutters. Hongjoong shakes his head before he stops outside one big door. He rests his hand on the handle, giving Seonghwa a compassionate look. 

"They wouldn't have put a tracker on you if you had been the wrong guy." he says quietly, pushing the door open. "Come on in." 

It looks like it's a room designed specifically for reading. There are a couple of tables with comfortable chairs placed around them, and two of the walls are covered by big bookcases full of books. There's a fireplace here, too, the fire all wild and vivid. Wooyoung and San are there, as well as Yeosang, much to Seonghwa's frustration. Yeosang is sitting down on one of the chairs, the doll placed carefully on the table. Wooyoung and San are sitting on the second table, and on the third, there's a full plate with food and a big glass of water, probably waiting for Seonghwa.

The guy he saw staring at him from the top window is also here, leaning back on the wall next to one of the bookcases. 

Seonghwa’s body twitches at the sight of the food and the water, his mouth immediately watering. And yet he fights his physical needs back, directing his attention on the people in the room. The guy tilts his head.

“I’m Jongho. Apologies for scaring you the other night. I just really needed to carry that stuff upstairs.”

"You should eat." Wooyoung urges him, successfully getting Seonghwa’s attention. He sounds genuinely concerned. "You're a little pale." 

"I don't want to eat, I want to get out of here." Seonghwa mumbles. Hongjoong takes a seat next to San's and Wooyoung's table with a defeated sigh.

"Even if all the doors opened for you right now, you would not be able to make it far in such a weak state," he says. The truth is undeniable, and yet Seonghwa's stubbornness is still keeping the upper hand here.

"Let's talk." Yeosang speaks up all of a sudden. His voice is soft and welcoming, the complete opposite to what Seonghwa is feeling. "You can tell us about you and we can tell you about us. We can help you-"

"I don't need your help." Seonghwa cuts him off sharply. Yeosang's hand is resting on the waist of the doll as if it's an extension of himself. The creepiness is overflowing. "Help me with what? You're just going to use me for whatever it is you wanna use me for, and then dispose of me."

Yeosang blinks at him. "We don't want to hurt you, no one does. We're hoping you will enjoy your stay here, but in order for everything to get better, you need to understand what is happening here."

"I don't trust any of you to tell me what's happening here. You can do all the dark magic in the world, or your creepy rituals, I don't care. I don't wanna be part of it!"

"Hey." San interferes, not raising his tone but keeping it firm. "See, you won't even let us explain, of course you have the wrong impression. Yeosang only wanted to learn about you because he cares."

"You bring people here by force and don't let them go, I don't need to know anything else." Seonghwa deadpans. Hongjoong tilts his head.

"Alright, you can have that point if you want it so badly. Yes, the methods might be rough. But approaching you casually out there is risky, too. And if Mingi tried to explain in the streets, you would have run away or called the police or just caused a ruckus in general."

"I just want to know about you." Yeosang adds quietly. It turns Seonghwa's insides once more. "We can help you with your powers, too. You can learn all about them here, you-"

"I don't have any powers, what the hell is wrong with you?"

“You do. We all do."

"I'm just a normal human being, you're taking this too far! I don't need to be told what I am from a weirdo with a creepy doll!"

The tension seems to change, something shifting in the air. Wooyoung and San look at each other, while Hongjoong rolls his eyes, leaning back on the chair. Yeosang picks the doll from the table, hugging it close to his chest.

"I'm sorry if he scares you." he says, and what drives Seonghwa insane is the fact that he seems to genuinely mean it, genuinely believing that apologizing for a doll is something normal. "I understand he can look strange-"

"It's a freaking doll!" Seonghwa yells. "You're insane! You're… dammit !"

There's a burst of rage inside him, dark emotions exploding, crashing him. He grabs the doll, ripping it out of Yeosang's hands. Yeosang's eyes open in surprise just for a split second and he jumps up, but it's too late for anyone to react as Seonghwa throws it down with all his might.

The doll shatters on the floor with an eerie sound, the head immediately detaching from the body and rolling for a couple of seconds before it comes to a stop. The left hand has also cracked in two pieces. Yeosang stands there completely still, while Seonghwa is panting heavily. 

All the rage has poured out of him, and now he’s starting to feel cold sweats despite the heavy fire in the room. The others are also just…sitting, watching. But it’s Yeosang that Seonghwa can’t take his eyes off, waiting for a reaction. That stupid doll…Seonghwa almost wants to kick its head even further. 

Yeosang doesn’t even blink. He stares at the doll’s broken body, almost as unfazed as the first time Seonghwa saw him, outside the manor. Perhaps if he looks closer, he can notice a very faint thorn in his eyes. 

Seonghwa can still feel the rage and the frustration boiling inside him. He wants to destroy more.

“Uh-oh.” Wooyoung speaks, eventually breaking the silence in a sing-song tone. “You broke Yeosang’s doll, you’re in big trouble. Yunho’s gonna kill you.”

Seonghwa’s head immediately jerks, and he snaps around in a frenzy to face Wooyoung. Wooyoung tilts his head, leaning back a little. “Shut up.” Seonghwa hisses, and Wooyoung raises an eyebrow, but he doesn’t look offended. If anything, he looks…amused? There’s a sick mix of mockery and innocence in his eyes. It irritates Seonghwa even more, having someone enjoy his anger so much. “Who the fuck is Yunho?” he snaps again, voice cutting through the tension like the sharpest blade.

Wooyoung opens his mouth as if ready to give him a reply, but then his face changes expression. He glances at something or someone behind Seonghwa, his jaw quickly clamping shut... 

Seonghwa has no time to turn, despite the alarm bells going off in his head. He only gets to hear the footsteps behind him, the pace too fast. The next thing he knows is a blinding pain in the back of his head. Then everything goes dark.

………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………

He comes to his senses later. He’s not even sure how much time has passed. The whole world feels heavy and it makes Seonghwa dizzy. He blinks slowly, eventually realizing he's lying on his side on the thick red carpet. This isn’t even the same room, he has no idea where in the house he was taken this time. There's a heavy chandelier hanging threateningly above him and the back of his head hurts like hell, the pounding ache making Seonghwa want to puke for a moment. 

Instead, he clenches his fists, grits his teeth, and forces himself to get a grip. The carpet is rough against his cheek, and when he tries to push himself up, he fails. 

A few more moments and Seonghwa finally notices; seated just a few feet across him on an ornate armchair is Yeosang. He’s just sitting there, relaxed but dominant, carrying an authority that Seonghwa for sure hadn’t felt until now. And placed on the arm of his chair is…that doll.

The doll Seonghwa shattered, now perfectly intact, as if it’s a whole new doll. Unease slowly creeps up Seonghwa’s spine. Something screams at the back of his mind that it’s not a new doll. That whatever was done to it, it was done by the unfamiliar person in the room.

Standing right behind Yeosang's armchair, leaning slightly forward, is another man. He’s tall, most probably the tallest person Seonghwa has seen in this place, dressed in a flawlessly tailored suit. His dark blue hair is slicked back, only a couple of thin strands falling over his forehead, allowing Seonghwa to take a full look at the intensity of his gaze. The guy’s gaze pierces through the room like a needle, and when he locks onto Seonghwa, the tension becomes so thick that Seonghwa actually struggles to breathe for a moment. 

He forces himself to sit up slowly, ignoring how badly his hands tremble when he pushes himself. He doesn’t miss the way the guy has a hand placed protectively on the back of Yeosang’s neck. Or possessively. A very sketchy combination of the two. Unsettling isn’t enough to describe the feeling flaring in Seonghwa.

“Finally.” the guy speaks. He doesn’t just sound condescending. He sounds like dealing with Seonghwa equals dealing with dirt under his shoe. “You thought you were a tough guy, breaking a little doll.”

Seonghwa breathes. In and out, inhale, exhale. His breath comes out shaky, and he swallows. Yeosang is just sitting there, not saying a single word. “I suppose you’re Yunho. ” Seonghwa finally replies when he can gather enough strength to speak without getting dizzy all over again. All he gets as an answer is a raised eyebrow, but that’s enough confirmation for him. “What are you, the doll’s bodyguard?”

Yunho’s hand on Yeosang twitches for a split second, before Yeosang reaches with his own hand to brush his fingers over it. It’s a light touch, and yet Seonghwa can feel the intimacy even from where he’s standing. 

Crap.

“First rule in this place.” Yunho speaks again, his tone dangerously calm. “You don’t hurt Yeosang in any way. You don’t ruin Yeosang’s belongings. You do nothing that will make him sad. If he wants to talk to you, you listen, you don’t dismiss him.”

Seonghwa’s stomach churns. Pathetic. He glances towards Yeosang who’s still sitting calmly on his armchair, the doll cradled in his arms. Awkward. His eyes dart back to Yunho, and he clenches his jaw. “I did not come here willingly, so I don’t have to listen to any of your dumb rules.” He replies. Yunho moves instantly, finally stepping to the front. Seonghwa’s whole body tenses, belatedly realizing he doesn’t have a single advantage here. He almost jumps up; a fatal mistake, really, because now the whole room is spinning.

“I don’t think I made myself clear.” Yunho continues, and it’s like his whole face darkens, shadows forming in his eyes. There’s a lethal edge in his tone now that’s hitting Seonghwa like electricity. He’s taking another step towards him, his steps echoing loudly while Seonghwa backs away. “What Yeosang wants, Yeosang gets.”

“Don’t come any closer.” Seonghwa hisses, but there’s barely any power in it. There’s a tremor in his voice, both from the tension and the fact that he struggles to keep himself standing. Yunho doesn’t even blink. Something inside Seonghwa is building up at the speed of light, making his blood burn in his veins. “I’m serious.”

“You’re serious?” Yunho repeats, his voice dripping with irony at every syllable. The look in his eyes is almost predatory. “No, you’re not serious. You’re useless.”

The words strike Seonghwa, making him flinch. The pure malice, the degrading tone…he wants to rip Yunho’s eyes out. “Leave me alone.”

“You will apologize first.” Yunho commands, lifting a finger towards him, a finger with a long claw ring that gleams under the light of the chandelier. His voice is firm and resolute, leaving no room for objections. But Seonghwa refuses to yield, the unknown force inside him pushing at his walls, screeching. 

“No.” he shakes his head with all the defiance he can master, and Yunho takes another step forward. 

“Apologize.” He repeats, the threat hanging in the air. The quiet fury in his tone gets under Seonghwa’s skin, exploding in a mix of wrath and fear. 

His chest tightens like it never has before. Panic shoots up through Seonghwa’s system, blending with the very same anonymous force he cannot understand. 

 "I said NO!" he roars, his voice ricocheting off the walls.

There's a low humming sound for a couple of seconds, as if the walls are moving, as if the air around them is vibrating. And then without a warning and with a deafening creak, the chandelier trembles above them, the chain groaning under a strain that wasn’t there until now.

They both look upward, but there’s barely any time to think. The chandelier snaps free from the chain and plummets down, crashing onto the carpet between them, shaking the whole room with a thunderous sound. The windows rattle as some of the candles topple onto the floor, and Seonghwa stumbles further back from the impact, heart hammering in his chest. He stares at the wreckage in front of him, his breath coming out in chokes. 

Yunho is standing in front of Yeosang again; he must have moved so swiftly, Seonghwa didn’t even register the movement. He’s having one arm extended as if shielding Yeosang from the mess, but his eyes are glued on Seonghwa. Seonghwa's still struggling to breathe; he feels the adrenaline pumping in his veins, his chest heavy as if he had been running for hours. 

"So you're not completely useless." Yunho remarks.

It takes too long for Seonghwa to process the words, and he's still too shocked to say anything. In the distance, he can hear people running down the corridors, but even that reaches him as if from afar. Moments later, the doors open and San, Wooyoung, and Jongho barge inside. San and Jongho halt immediately, but Wooyoung approaches the chandelier, standing over the fallen candles, their weak flames threatening to lick at the carpet and set them all on fire.

But Wooyoung hovers his hand over them, and the flames fade obediently, until there's nothing left of them.

He looks up at Seonghwa, vague interest glistering in his eyes. Seonghwa's brain slowly catches up with the situation, but he still fails to understand the gravity of it.

San finally approaches them too, releasing a long sigh at the wreck. "Yunho " he says, his tone a little scolding. "You promised you wouldn't make a mess."

Yunho's eyebrow twitches. "It wasn't me. He did this."

By the time Seonghwa realizes he's the "he", all eyes are on him. He panics again; he wants to bolt, to run outside, maybe jump from the windows, even. But his body disobeys him, keeps him rooted there. Jongho raises an eyebrow.

"Really?" he sounds mildly curious. Wooyoung tilts his head.

"Mingi will be thrilled."

I still have to clean this up." San whines, fingers wrapping around one of the chandelier arms. It’s bent awkwardly now, and without some of the candles, it looks dark and miserable. "Jongho, a helping hand?" 

Jongho nods with a quiet sigh. “I’m coming.” 

With a flick of his wrist, the wires appear again. They glimmer as they sprout from within his sleeves, weaving around his fingertips before they stretch out like snakes. San’s feet are off the ground as the wires latch onto the chandelier, and Seonghwa can feel his stomach turning into a knot once again. It’s like they have completely forgotten about him, busy doing their own thing, and this should bring him relief, but instead it makes him shudder even harder. 

Holding the chandelier by the edge with both hands now, San drifts higher, lifting it along with Jongho’s wires. They tighten around the chandelier’s base and San adjusts his position with an almost bored expression. As if this happens on a daily basis, as if the whole room wasn’t shaken by the fall, as if they didn’t almost catch a fire, as if…

Seonghwa’s gaze locks back to Yeosang and Yunho for a moment, and he immediately regrets it. Both pairs of eyes are staring at him and make his knees feel even weaker than they did already. Yeosang’s expression is almost mellow, no malice in those mysterious eyes. Yunho, on the other hand…he keeps staring at Seonghwa like a hunter staring at their prey. The mild curiosity, the suspicion in that gaze…Seonghwa immediately looks elsewhere, pushes himself to look up again. 

“Done.” San says from where he’s hovering in the air, the top of his head almost touching the ceiling. “Could we have those candles back now?”

The question is directed towards Wooyoung, who nods with a small hum. Jongho removes his wires as San lowers himself enough so that Wooyoung can reach him and start giving him the candles. They are lit again now, and hopefully will not be setting anything on fire. 

It’s Jongho who finally turns to face Seonghwa. “So, you did that, huh? I understand it might be tempting to show your power like that, but it’s always a trouble to piece it all back together, so please refrain from doing it again.”

Doing it again. 

He did that.

Seonghwa must be hallucinating. It’s all too much, the shock, being blamed for the chandelier, the encounter with Yunho, the way everyone is staring at him…he struggles to breathe, backing even further from all of them. 

“What…the hell…is happening?” he stammers, and his voice echoes miserable and ridiculous in his ears. “ How did that happen?”

The guys look at each other. Yunho has now sat down on the arm of Yeosang’s chair, and his hand is back on his nape. The doll still rests comfortably in Yeosang’s embrace. The doll that was supposed to be broken. 

Seonghwa is going insane. 

Wooyoung moves then, a look of compassion and kindness in his eyes. It almost looks unreal on him. “Come with me, let’s talk.” He suggests, and Seonghwa’s first reaction is to shake his head in denial. “You need explanations, don’t you?”

“How do I even know you’ll tell me the truth?” Seonghwa protests; luckily his voice sounds a little firmer now. Just a bit. Wooyoung shrugs. Unlike his previous teasing behavior, now he looks serious. 

“I have no reason to lie to you. None of us does. You might be the one we need, after all.”

That doesn’t sound reassuring at all, but Seonghwa feels like he’s lost his voice. When Wooyoung closes the gap between them and pats his shoulder, Seonghwa flinches but doesn’t run away. 

“Just come with me.” Wooyoung nudges him gently. “It’s really overwhelming, I know. I’ll do my best to explain, but let’s get you out of here first. I think you need a little break.” 

Seonghwa feels like he’s sinking, thoughts and feelings a tangled mess swirling in circles inside him. Every cell in his body is screaming for help, to get out of here, to disappear. Yeosang’s eyes are still on him with a sympathetic expression. Yunho’s stare is more calculative, more distant. San and Jongho are also eyeing him patiently. 

Staying here feels like a hand smothering him. But going away with Wooyoung isn’t Seonghwa’s idea of a good alternative, either. He needs something, a flicker of hope, but he can’t find it anywhere. 

Wooyoung is promising answers, but Seonghwa has no reason to trust him. But at least it’s something. Something other than being cornered by Yunho.

His legs move on their own, trembling as he heads towards the door. Wooyoung gives him a couple of seconds, then follows after him.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“This is insane. This whole thing is insane.”

Wooyoung smiles with a nod. “You’re a little insane yourself, just breaking stuff like that. I didn’t think you had any strength left in you…and you should really eat at some point.”

Seonghwa rolls his eyes. They keep walking down the corridor, then reaching the staircase. He’s just letting Wooyoung take him wherever it is he wants to take him, because it at least gives him enough time to rant. “You guys are the ones who kidnapped me, how can you say I’m the one that’s insane?”

“We don’t want to hurt you.” Wooyoung insists, walking slowly down the stairs, keeping his eyes on Seonghwa. He sounds earnest, but it only makes Seonghwa scoff. He’s still shaking, his body refusing to calm down after what happened. “Really, Seonghwa, I know it’s impossible to believe considering you were brought here by force, but none of us wants to hurt you.”

“Yunho attacked me.” Seonghwa reminds him frostily. “From behind, I might add. That fucking coward.”

Wooyoung shrugs. They reach the bottom of the stairs and he turns to his right, heading towards some big doors. “He just lost his patience and couldn’t control himself, otherwise he would have faced you just fine. You really shouldn’t have broken Yeosang’s doll, he loves it.” he adds, his tone carrying the tiniest hint of reproach. “And Yunho loves Yeosang.”

“So what, that gives Yunho the right to treat others like that?”

“He’s actually very chill when you’re not hurting Yeosang in any way. ” 

Seonghwa can’t believe his ears. “Your sense of morality is seriously messed up.” he says.

Something seems to crack at that statement. A shadow passes by Wooyoung’s eyes, and he presses his lips together into a straight line for a second. “I learned from the best.” he tells Seonghwa, his voice surprisingly icy, a sharp edge that Seonghwa hears from him for the first time. “No one does messed up morality better than humans themselves.”

Underneath the frosty tone, Seonghwa can hear a hint of hurt, Wooyoung’s tone almost wounded in a way. He’s not sure what it means or where it’s coming from, but it halts him from giving yet another feisty response. It sounds more like Wooyoung’s words are meant to shield rather than attack. There are clearly things Seonghwa doesn’t know about. 

Wooyoung pushes the doors open to reveal a dining room. As they step inside, Seonghwa catches Mingi’s figure, sitting cross-legged on the long table, a big cake placed in front of him. Seonghwa feels an intense urge to grab him by the elbow and drag him off the table, or just smash his face into the cake. 

It’s him, the original root of Seonghwa’s problem. Whatever is happening here, whether good or bad, he's still the main reason Seonghwa is going through all that, after all.

Mingi must not be sensing Seonghwa's murderous instincts, because he seems completely unfazed. He's slicing a piece of the cake, glancing up at them for a moment. "Want one?" he offers, and luckily, Wooyoung responds before Seonghwa has the time to.

"Whose birthday am I forgetting now?"

Mingi smiles. "No one's. Today's my parents wedding anniversary. Well, it would have been if they hadn't been murdered, but why should I not celebrate it either way?" He slices another piece, his eyes now nailed on Seonghwa, his gaze raw and completely unfiltered. "So, I heard some noise. Good to see you're still alive, Yunho doesn't usually show a lot of mercy if you get on his bad side from the start."

"Oh, it wasn't Yunho." Wooyoung shakes his head, a smile of anticipation spreading on his face. "It was Seonghwa, he dropped the chandelier."

Mingi's eyebrows are raised so high, Seonghwa has to wonder if he's overreacting. "Seriously?"

"Yunho said so." Wooyoung replies, and Seonghwa grits his teeth. Is there no one in here that would even think of defying… that guy?

"Another reason to celebrate, then." Mingi says. He picks one of the slices with his bare hand, teeth digging into the chocolate and the cream as he takes a big bite. "Do you want some, too?"

Seonghwa clenches his fists. He's trembling inside, can't tell if it's anger or stress or both, really. "No, I want answers." he says with a rough voice. "Before I bring another chandelier down…if what your precious Yunho is saying is true." he adds, and Mingi tilts his head in amusement, before he takes another bite of his slice. And another one, slow, unbothered, until the piece is gone. Seonghwa glares at Wooyoung instead, and Wooyoung gives him a small, almost apologetic smile, but he doesn't say a word.

Seonghwa directs his attention back to Mingi, who's now licking his fingers clean, before he reaches with his other hand for a glass of water next to him.

"Oh, so you believe us now?" he asks, bringing the glass to his lips and drinking down the water. Seonghwa rolls his eyes.

"I don't know what I am supposed to believe! You didn't give me a damn proper explanation! Why did you bring me here, and what the hell is going on with this place?"

Mingi puts the glass down, his previous amusement now gone. Instead, there's a darker, more serious look in his eyes.

"I have answers if you really want them, Seonghwa. If you're doubting me from the start, then it doesn't matter how much I explain. I understand the shock is big. You've spent all your life thinking you are a normal human like everyone else, nothing makes sense now. But you saw the tracker, and I bet you felt an enormous power in you before the chandelier fell down, didn't you?"

Seonghwa doesn't reply immediately. He’s curious, about everything. He wants to know if there is even a remotely good reason he was so violently separated from his everyday life. The tracker, the powers they’re claiming he has, the powers the others have…it’s all a web of misunderstandings and miscommunications. He wants answers, but at the same time, he doesn’t trust that they will give him valid answers. 

What’s the alternative, though? Staying completely in the dark? Never finding out what he’s doing? And if he keeps refusing, what are they going to do? Lock him in here forever or send him back? Through his resistance, Seonghwa is trying to find a shred of sanity, of truth. Walking away and creating more messes will not give him answers for sure.

He exhales shakily. He doesn’t need more confusion, more fear.

"Fine." he says quietly. "I'm listening."

Mingi points at the table chairs with his head. Seonghwa sighs in defeat and slowly approaches, making sure he doesn't sit very close to where Mingi is sitting on the table. Wooyoung takes a seat next to him, resting his elbows on the table. 

Mingi purses his lips. "I won’t blame you for refusing to believe the truth. Trust me, I couldn’t believe it when I found out, either. My parents never told me that my father had powers, that he was experimenting with them. They were hoping that would protect me.” he says, a sour smile spreading on his face. “I found out the day they barged in here and slaughtered them both in front of my eyes. They spared me, because you don’t inherit any of the powers if only one of your parents has them, so I was not a threat. But my mother, she tried to stand in their way, and so even though she was only human, they killed her, too.”

It feels more like he wanted to let the bitterness out than to give Seonghwa that information. Seonghwa shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m sorry to hear that.” he says quietly. “It must have been a horrible sight. But if you’re relying on your tragic past to convince me, then you might want to change your tactics.”

The sour smile on Mingi’s face turns icy. “What about your parents, Seonghwa?”

The question pierces through his chest, crawls under his skin like a disease. Seonghwa can feel his whole body stiffening, the tips of his fingers twitching. “Leave my parents alone.” he says warningly. Mingi shifts, untangling his legs and changing his angle so they are now dangling from the edge of the table.

“Are they your biological parents?”

All his life, Seonghwa never gave it a second thought. The reality. To him, that fact never mattered. They were his parents, and that was enough. 

Even when that car crash took them away from Seonghwa.

He swallows. “No.” he says, his voice hoarse with fury. “I was adopted when I was two years old.”

Mingi nods slowly. That spark in his eyes is infuriating. The pieces are clicking together for him, sure. But for Seonghwa, every new realization brings more terror, more uncertainty. 

“In this world, there are typical humans, and there are others who are born magical. It has been happening for ages, but it’s not something everyone knows. You can live in ignorance your whole life, never meeting one of them. The ones born with magical powers, they…they don’t usually flaunt them to the world. They lay low, or choose to live away from the big cities. For years, centuries, that’s how it has been. Things had been pretty simple and clean…until they weren’t.”

Next to Seonghwa, Wooyoung lowers his head a little. Seonghwa looks at him, then at Mingi. Even if Mingi’s words sound insane, up until that point, Seonghwa has understood everything. “What do you mean?” he asks. 

Mingi points at him with a grim look. “Normal humans wanted more. They were curious about the ones with magical powers. They were jealous of them. They wanted to control them, and when they couldn’t control them, they wanted to break them, to own something of them, to use them. Soon, they started chasing them. Imprisoning them, experimenting on them. Using their blood, their hair, anything they could take. And eventually, they started creating their own magical creatures, and putting trackers in them so that they could monitor what they did once they were out in society.”

Seonghwa’s insides churn. Mingi isn’t even implying anything, he’s saying it straight to his face. He realizes a little too late that perhaps he wasn’t ready to hear the explanation. He wasn’t ready to swallow that pill. “You don’t…” he stutters. “You don’t mean that.”

“I mean exactly what you understood.” Mingi sighs. “My father was also a victim of that. Before I was born, he was held…I don’t even know where, it was some kind of lab. They took blood from him, they tested his powers…he managed to escape eventually, and then he reunited with my mother and they ran away. They came here, and for years, no one bothered them again. When I was born, they didn’t tell me anything. I grew up thinking everything was fine. And then everything went to hell.”

Seonghwa swallows the bitter taste that’s spreading in his mouth. “Then how do you know what they did to your father if they never told you anything? If you found out the day they were killed?”

Mingi taps his fingers on his knees, his face stiffening a little. “I found my father’s diaries. After I was left alone, I searched the whole house for answers, and I found them in his office. The point is, this kept happening, until there was an uproar, a rebellion. Afraid that their…creations would be destroyed, the bastards who had done all those horrible things distributed them through their connections throughout the cities. Babies like you were left in orphanages, while older people were either placed in the streets, or taken in by people who were aware of what was happening. But they never removed your trackers because they wanted to keep an eye on you in case you ever activated your powers."

Wooyoung leans back in his chair, while Seonghwa feels like he's about to have a stroke. "If you were created a baby, then you wouldn't even know you're magical." he whispers, not that it does anything to comfort Seonghwa. He's losing his mind, this is absolutely horrendous.

It's one thing to believe that for whatever reasons his biological parents had abandoned him at the orphanage, and a completely different to find out that he never had any to begin with. The truth -if it really is the truth- seems like a cruel joke, and knowing that others have been through something similar does little to ease the blow.

"My parents never told me anything." he says quietly. Mingi nods his head.

"I don't think they had any way of knowing. To them, you were just a normal human baby that was unfortunate enough to end up in an orphanage."

It's like trying to study for his least favourite subject at school; his brain just refuses to process the material, even though bit by bit, the words become clearer in his head. Next to him, Wooyoung sighs.

"Here, we can all be ourselves without worrying about being hated for it." 

How does that even relate to Seonghwa?

He places both hands on the table, clenching his fists. "I was never hated about anything." he mutters. "I was never attacked, I never…I never did anything out of the ordinary."

Mingi's understanding look doesn't exactly soothe his doubts. "You have been one of the lucky ones, then." he says. "But it doesn't change the facts. You saw the tracker yourself. You made the chandelier fall."

"That's what you guys say." Seonghwa insists. "How do I know it wasn't Yunho who did it just to pin it on me?"

"What would he gain out of it? Yunho already hates your guts for breaking Yeosang's doll, he wouldn't do anything to prolong your stay here. Making you look magical when you're not isn't exactly ideal. Not for you, and not for us."

There is no way he can know if they are telling the truth. Seonghwa wants to believe that they could have come up with much more realistic lies. But if they are not lying and this is the truth…

He has entered a truly bizarre world and has no idea how to get out of it.

He tries to keep a strong front. "And what is so special about me? Why won't you let me go, what do you need me for?"

Mingi's eyes scan him up and down now, as if he's wondering if he should give him an honest answer. He almost looks troubled for a second, which makes Seonghwa wanna laugh at him. Mingi has no right to be the troubled one.

"Maybe nothing, maybe everything." he says in the end. Seonghwa rolls his eyes. "We are trying to figure out something, see if you are the one we've been looking for. Others have been brought in, too, but they weren't the one we wanted."

"Wanted for what?" Seonghwa presses, but Mingi just shakes his head.

"Look, today has already been too much for you. You are still free to go around and familiarize yourself with the place, but I guess it would be smart to try and avoid Yunho for the time being. I'll talk to him, too, so he doesn't come at you again. Just don't be an asshole to Yeosang…or, well, anyone, really." 

Seonghwa really wishes he could shatter the chandelier above Mingi's head too, now. He shakes his head in disbelief.

"You are keeping me here against my will and you're accusing me of being an asshole?"

Why the hell can he see the hint of a smirk on Mingi's face? That man has issues for sure. "Well, you do have the right to be mad at me, but don't break other people's stuff. That's not very nice."

"You-" 

"Ok, let's just go, I can show you the basement properly if you'd like." Wooyoung cuts in between them gently, but Seonghwa pushes himself up with a glare.

"No thanks, I'm going back to my room."

Wooyoung's face falls. He nods, though he looks slightly disappointed. "Ok." he says, a little quieter. "I'll go bring you some food, then. Please make sure to eat, at least."

Seonghwa can't decide if the concern in his tone is genuine or not. He's not even sure if he wants to be genuine. Without another word, he shrugs and walks off, relieved that no one comes after him. He can hear Mingi and Wooyoung talking as he reaches the doors, but he cannot hear what they’re saying.

He’s not sure he wants to know.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Seonghwa stirs awake in the middle of the night. 

At first, he just sits up, feeling enormously disoriented. There’s a vague unease settling in his chest, and his throat feels dry. He looks around the room, the moonlight coming in from the pulled curtains. Eventually, the fog in his brain dissolves.

But the feeling stays. Something is going on. Something is wrong. 

Seonghwa kicks the covers off and swings his legs over the side of the bed. 

He did give in earlier when Wooyoung brought him another tray of food outside the door. Just eating a bit made him feel better physically, but the emotional stress hasn’t gone away. He wonders for a moment if it’s the food that did something to him, but then shrugs it off. No, if they need him, they won’t try to poison him.

The hallways seem to stretch endlessly once again, but to Seonghwa, the silence feels fake, like the calm before the storm, like something will jump from the corner any moment now. The air feels colder out here than inside the room, and the only light is coming from the moon as it pierces through the windows. Something is off, different, but Seonghwa cannot figure out what.

He turns down the corner, and immediately freezes on the spot. Yeosang is there,  just a few meters away, standing by one of the windows. He’s not holding the doll in his hands.

Seonghwa approaches him cautiously. Yeosang’s hand is resting on the glass, his slender figure looking even paler under the moonlight. His eyes seem fixed on something outside, melancholy etched into his features. He doesn’t say anything when Seonghwa stops next to him, doesn’t even turn to look at him. But now Seonghwa hears a voice from outside, someone wailing in the distance. 

He turns his head to look outside as well, and his blood turns to ice in his veins. 

Two people are moving through the moonlit garden, dragging a third person on the grass. Seonghwa recognizes them the next second; Yunho’s sharp profile and Mingi’s broader frame. Mingi is wearing a coat, Yunho isn’t. The man they’re dragging is wearing a white lab coat that’s already dirty from the grass and the soil, and is weakly trying to escape, muffled pleads echoing in Seonghwa’s ears. 

“What the fuck are they doing?” he lets out, but Yeosang doesn’t answer. Yunho and Mingi drag the man all the way to the fountain’s edge, and there, they let him go for a second. The man thrashes weakly, and Seonghwa leans closer to the window.

A gasp escapes his lips the next moment; to his terror, he watches Mingi and Yunho grab him again, lifting him up only to throw him into the fountain. He splashes water all around as he tries to sit up, while Mingi takes one step back, searching into his coat’s pockets for something. 

Yunho, on the other hand, begins rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, stops just above the elbows. Mingi finally pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to Yunho, but it’s hard for Seonghwa to tell what it is from that distance. With his heart writhing painfully in his chest, he watches as Yunho steps into the fountain, pushing the man down with his foot. Then he starts unrolling what Mingi previously handed to him. 

Seonghwa’s stomach twists; wire.

“Don’t-” he barely has time to say a word. Yunho moves with deadly speed and precision, looping the wire around the man’s neck, pushing him underwater. The man starts struggling, arms and legs flailing in and out of the water, while Seonghwa stumbles back from the window.

No. No.

He turns to Yeosang. “Tell him to stop.” he demands with a shaky voice, but it’s like he’s invisible to Yeosang. Seonghwa grabs him by the shoulder, shaking him. His breaths are coming in shallow bursts. "Yunho will do whatever you want, right? Tell him to stop!"

Yeosang doesn't even blink at Seonghwa's request, although his melancholic expression turns gloomier. "I cannot." he says, and he sounds detached. Seonghwa rolls his eyes.

"What do you mean?” he hisses at him, frustration boiling over inside. “Of course you can, just open the damn window and yell at them to stop!"

"It's not that simple, Seonghwa. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? You're letting them kill the man, and you're sorry? How can you just-"

"He tried to hurt Wooyoung."

The voice cuts through the air, effectively shutting Seonghwa up. It is not Yeosang who says this, but San. Seonghwa whirls around immediately. San is standing at the end of the corridor; when did he even get here? Seonghwa's body tenses at his words, heart clenching in his chest. He doesn't hear the voice of the man anymore, can only see the violent splashing of the water, Yunho's arms submerged up to the elbows as he keeps his head underwater, the wires cutting through his neck. 

The splashes are already getting weaker.

"He tried to hurt Wooyoung." San repeats, now slowly pacing towards them. He looks sad like Yeosang, but also bitter. "Ever since he was brought here, he's been dangerously interested in Wooyoung's fire powers. He wanted to…” San pauses, his jaw tightening for a moment, before he manages to recompose himself, “to take a piece of him to study it, and Yunho and Mingi have been constantly denying him that. He somehow managed to slip past the guards of his room tonight, and he attacked Wooyoung."

Oh. 

The colder air, the darkness in the hallways. 

No lit torches, no fire in the fireplaces. 

That’s what was off. Realization slams into Seonghwa, and he reaches towards the window for support.

Wooyoung…

"Yunho let his guard down." Yeosang whispers, and somehow, Seonghwa feels it in his veins. The sorrow, the guilt, they’re tangible and raw and they just…overwhelm him.  "No human is supposed to hurt any of us."

His voice doesn't carry accusations; his words aren't meant to blame Yunho, but to make Seonghwa understand. Does Seonghwa understand? His mind is a jumbled mess right now. His whole body is being shaken by an inner tremble. He forces himself to look outside again; the water in the fountain is calm now. Yunho stands over the body, his shoulders rising and falling as he catches his breath. He’s released the wires. Mingi finally steps closer again, bending over to reach for the body. Steady hands take a hold of it, and Yunho moves too, leaning again to help Mingi pull the body out of the water.

The lifeless body.

Seonghwa swallows. "Where is Wooyoung now?" he whispers.

"With Hongjoong." San replies. "Luckily, that guy had no time to hurt Wooyoung before Yunho found them."

Relief washes over Seonghwa, pure relief that he didn’t know he could feel. Not over the safety of any of them here. He spares one last glance at the scene outside; a few guards have approached Yunho and Mingi, taking the body from them and carrying it away towards the gates. Seonghwa averts his gaze; he cannot handle any more. 

He turns his back on them both, and heads back to his bedroom as fast as he can.

…………………………..………………………………………………………………………………….

In the morning, Seonghwa drags himself out of bed with a big dread. He knows he's barely slept a couple of hours, too upset by last night's incident, and he's sure the others have got even less sleep, if they slept at all. His first thought is to just stay in his room, he'll probably only be a bother around them. He's not one of them, and he's -supposedly- not one of their enemies, either, so he's just…stuck somewhere in the middle.

And he hates that.

But eventually, he decides to attend breakfast, just to check up.

It's awkward, he can sense it almost the moment he steps into the dining room. Wooyoung is seated between San and Hongjoong, and while Seonghwa cannot spot any physical harm, it's obvious that Wooyoung is still a little shaken. Mingi sits at the head of the table, but he's barely touching his food, and his face is a little pale. Jongho is sitting across San, Wooyoung, and Hongjoong, and while he does seem to have a bit more energy, his movements are also a bit tense, his eyes darting between them all occasionally.

Yeosang and Yunho are missing.

Something licks at Seonghwa's stomach, and it makes him nervous.

Hongjoong notices him first, eventually. "Good morning." he says, but it sounds strained, and Seonghwa cannot blame him. Still, he nods just to show his acknowledgement, and slowly takes a seat a few chairs away from Jongho.

He shouldn't be here. He doesn't fit here.

But he can't help but wonder about Wooyoung. He can't help but worry about Wooyoung. Are you ok, the words echo in his brain, but he must have blurted them out loud without realizing it, not recognizing his own voice. He must have said them, because Wooyoung is looking at him, and after a few awkward moments, he nods with just the faintest hint of a smile. Seonghwa nods back, not knowing what else to do.

He should eat, but he's not hungry. His stomach is a tied knot.

"Jongho." Mingi breaks the silence. "Could you show Seonghwa around after breakfast?"

Seonghwa jerks his head towards Jongho, who looks up from his plate to look at Mingi. He seems skeptical for a few seconds, before eventually nodding, much to Seonghwa’s surprise. “Sure.” Jongho says, eyes darting to Seonghwa, who immediately tenses. “If he wants to.”

If he wants to.

Does Seonghwa even have anything better to do? He looks at Wooyoung once more, but Wooyoung appears to be busy, making grimaces at San who is quietly urging him to eat something. Hongjoong is just staring at the two of them with a warm look on his face. 

However twisted this situation they have built here is, it is genuine. That, Seonghwa is sure about. But it doesn’t help him with all his conflicted emotions.

Perhaps he will just forget everything if he spends time seeing the rest of the mansion.

“Ok.” He says. Anything to get him away from this table.

And still, in the back of his head, he’s still wondering about Yeosang and Yunho. Luckily, it doesn’t take long until Jongho is getting up and signaling him to tag along.

Seonghwa had already digested the fact that the place is huge, but it feels even worse as Jongho shows him around. He doesn't open all the doors, explaining that most of them are the bedrooms of the others and the rooms the guards share. There are quite a few bathrooms, two small libraries, a second living room, and other rooms that frankly Seonghwa knows he won't remember. 

When they reach the top floor, that's when he's taken by surprise.

The place is narrower than he thought it would be, and there are only two doors, one on each side of the corridor. "That one doesn't open." Jongho informs Seonghwa as he reaches for the handle of the other door. "Mingi says his parents used it as the attic, but ever since their death, none of us has been able to open it."

Seonghwa blinks. "You can't break it down, or…I don't know, burn it down? Or Yunho's magic-"

"No." Jongho shakes his head, pushing the door open and standing on the side so Seonghwa can walk in first. "The door doesn't burn, and Yunho's magic is not working on it, either."

So they tried. Weird.

Seonghwa shrugs and steps inside the other room.

At first, he's not sure what kind of a room it is. It almost looks like a living room; there is a swinging chair, a couch, and a big piano in the middle of the room. On the piano stands a small figurine of a ballerina, and a few feet away, there's a big drawer with a violin placed on top.

But on the corner of the room, there is also a bed, and on the wall across, the big window that Seonghwa is sure he saw Jongho pull the furniture up from the other day. "Is this… your room?" he asks, and Jongho nods.

"I like it quiet, and it was empty when I arrived, so Mingi said it's ok to stay here. It's bigger than the other bedrooms which I like, because there's enough space for the piano."

"When you arrived…" Seonghwa repeats. "So he did not bring you here by force, huh."

Jongho shakes his head. "I was actually chased all the way to here. By people I considered friends. You know, humans." he says. "I thought they were my friends and they could protect my secret. Instead, when they found out, they tried to kill me. I ended up here while being chased, and it saved my life." 

An easy story. Predictable, even. It’s the stuff you hear in movies, but here, it’s very, very real. 

"Did they kill them?" he asks, not very sure he wants to know the answer. Jongho gives him a pointed look. “Your…friends.”

“No.” Jongho shakes his head. “No, they did not kill them. But they did not let them leave before Yunho made sure they did not remember anything about this place.”

Again. Seonghwa clicks his tongue; everywhere he turns, it’s something about Yunho. Yunho doing this, Yunho doing that. Yunho controlling and manipulating everyone. “Does he do that often?” he scoffs, crossing his arms to his chest. “Interfering with people’s memories? Perhaps he has done the same to you guys.”

Jongho doesn’t look upset or offended. “This is quite an embarrassing theory you came up with, but it’s ok. You don’t know him or us, it’s only natural you’d reach such a hollow conclusion.”

Seonghwa wonders if he should just risk it all and start screaming his lungs out about how outrageous this whole situation is. If he attacked Jongho-

No, he can’t. Those wires would have him choking in a second. And it’s not just that, he doesn’t really want to attack Jongho. It’d be stupid to attack him when the one he’s really disturbed by is Yunho.

How… how is Yeosang so…comfortable around him? 

He looks around once more. There are still so many questions he needs to ask, but it just feels pointless.

"That guy " he says. "The guy Yunho…" 

He cannot bring himself to say it, but Jongho understands. He leans against the piano with a neutral expression on his face.

"Mingi and Yunho brought him in. He's familiar with the experiments, and they thought he would be able to help us locate our next member of the team. At first he was ok, just eager to work with them and all, but he had always been a bit peculiar when it came to Wooyoung. Yunho made it clear to him, every time, that he was here to study and not conduct experiments on any of them. That if he tried anything, he was going to pay."

Well, he did try. 

Seonghwa is still struggling with his own morality, and whether he can accept what happened or not. It's not his place, his opinion doesn't matter, and no one will care if he has a negative reaction. But he witnessed it, and it's hard for this image to go away.

Jongho receives his silence as his permission to continue. "I'm not saying he deserved to die necessarily." he says. "But we have something here. We have each other. Wooyoung did not deserve to be treated the way that guy wanted to treat him. And Yunho might seem cruel in his ways, but sometimes there are no other options."

Seonghwa sighs. "So breaking Yeosang's doll warranted me getting knocked out?"

Jongho gives him the tiniest amused smile. "I said sometimes. "

It's not enough to make Seonghwa like Yunho any better. It's not enough to make him forget the image in his head.

But he cannot deny that they have a couple of good points, too. No, Wooyoung did not deserve to be attacked. Seonghwa did not deserve to be attacked, either, but at least Yunho was not going to experiment on him. Probably.

"I think I'm gonna go." he says. Jongho just nods.

"Sure, if you want to."

And he does.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 

Seonghwa catches only a glimpse of Yunho in the next couple of days. He does his best to actively avoid him, burying his unease and instead focusing on exploring the garden. The way it surrounds the mansion, it could have offered solace, or even better, it could offer many escape corners if there weren't guards everywhere. They aren't immediately visible; they blend in the shadows, until Seonghwa gets closer to the high railing fence and notices them. They don't actually do anything, but their presence there is a vivid warning that Seonghwa unfortunately cannot ignore.

That's when he sees them, Yunho and Yeosang. They're just taking a walk around the fountain, holding hands. While Yeosang is wearing a tranquil, doting expression, Yunho looks more stolid. He’s holding Yeosang’s hand firmly, nods at him when Yeosang is talking, but it still seems like he’s concerned with something else. Seonghwa cannot help but wonder if it’s a reflection of lingering guilt, if his mind is still preoccupied with what happened to Wooyoung. 

Seonghwa isn’t sure Yunho is capable of feeling such deep emotions. But he wouldn’t be able to know. 

At least that creepy doll is nowhere to be seen. 

Yeosang notices Seonghwa first, a cordial smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It’s a disarming gesture and Seonghwa is caught off guard, doesn’t know how he’s supposed to react to that. Something inside him flickers, an awkward stir from the depths of his guts. Yeosang is almost like a question mark, cryptic but harmonious. 

There should be resentment in those eyes. Resentment, because Seonghwa broke something that’s clearly precious to Yeosang. It doesn’t matter that Yunho fixed it, Seonghwa’s act hasn’t been erased. So how can Yeosang not look at him with resentment?

Yunho notices him only a beat later, and that concerned look immediately disappears, giving its place to borderline detest. His gaze sharpens and without a word, he pulls Yeosang’s hand, cutting their path away from Seonghwa. There is no actual confrontation, not a single word exchanged, and yet Yunho has made his stance very clear. 

Even if Seonghwa wanted to feel sorry for him for just a moment, the moment is gone. 

It prickles at the back of his head, though. The frustration. If Yunho dislikes him so much, how come they haven’t sent him back yet? If he’s supposed to be…whoever they believe he is, shouldn’t Yunho be able to see past the doll incident?

Obviously, no.

Seonghwa himself doesn’t waste any more time watching them walk away.

At night, sleep abandons him once more, cruel and elusive. It might become a very dangerous habit, Seonghwa realizes, but there isn’t anything he can do about it. He thinks about his normal life. About his work, his apartment. Are they looking for him? He’s been gone for a few days now, there’s no way his absence is unnoticed. Will police be involved? And what about…whoever it is that put that tracker on him? Have they realized?

Too many questions, and he’s getting a headache.

When it becomes clear that sleep has slipped through his fingers for good, Seonghwa slides out of bed and escapes to the dim-lit corridor again. He’s not even sure what he’s doing, how that is going to help with his issues. The house is once again quiet.

But as he turns his head, he catches something. A door down the corridor, ajar. Seonghwa blinks. So far, he hasn’t seen any of those doors opening, and Jongho did say that some of these rooms are the bedrooms of the others. 

Curiosity, that little trickster. His pulse quickens with it, even though he knows it’s not wise. At best, if he’s lucky, it will probably be San’s room. If he’s not, then Yunho will be slamming the door on his face or something equally painful. Neither option feels clever and safe, but Seonghwa is stubborn, and he forces himself to believe that he’s valuable enough not to be punished for something like that. So he moves cautiously, as quietly as he can, until he’s standing outside that door, and leans to take a peek. 

It’s a cold sensation that hits him first, and then he sees him. It’s Hongjoong.

He’s standing in front of the fireplace. It’s lit, the flames licking at the logs, and yet Seonghwa can see frost clinging stubbornly to the corners of the room that are visible from where he’s standing. He remembers the feeling of the cold against the back of his neck when Hongjoong removed his tracker.

Is this it? Is this his power?

He flinches when Hongjoong turns his head and looks at him through the crack of the door. Seonghwa swallows nervously, but after the first couple of seconds, Hongjoong tilts his head.

“You can come in if you want to.”

Against his better judgment, Seonghwa pushes the door open and steps inside. 

It’s a weird kind of cold in the room. It’s subtle, as if the room itself is fighting, resisting the warmth of the fireplace. Hongjoong watches him as if he’s expecting a specific reaction, yet all Seonghwa does is look around. The room has a similar arrangement to Seonghwa's, but more furniture. There’s a tidy bed, a cluttered desk, a small closet, a low table with an armchair… and everything looks normal. 

Except the frost, and the temperature. 

Hongjoong points at the armchair. "Do you wanna sit?" he offers, but Seonghwa shakes his head. "Do you wanna talk?" he continues. 

Seonghwa thinks about it. "I'm not sure." he says. "I'm still mad at you."

Perhaps he should not be that straightforward, but he cannot control his tongue or his frustration. Yet Hongjoong gives him a small understanding smile, and nods.

"About the tracker."

Seonghwa tenses. "Yes."

Hongjoong hums. "I had to do it, for your own good and ours. But I can understand why you're mad at me for it. The point is, everything we are telling you is turning out to be true, so you have to at least acknowledge that."

That's really one of the biggest issues here. Seonghwa sighs, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "It still doesn't feel like it was for my own good considering the way I was brought here. You won't let me leave."

"If you go back now and they manage to find you-"

"You know that's not what I'm saying." Seonghwa cuts him off. Hongjoong turns his head back to the fireplace, and exhales.

"I will not try to convince you that life is fair, Seonghwa. It's not fair, you know it and I know it. But you do have something special and at least here, you will be able to learn more about it without anyone coming after you for it."

"And what about the others? What about you? Are you telling me you all ended up here because the world out there was cruel to you?"

Maybe asking that question is stupid.

Hongjoong's face is a mask of defeat. "Yes, Seonghwa. In fact, Yunho is actually the only one I know that was created out of love. He's the oldest here, he's over 70 years old."

Seonghwa raises his eyebrows in disbelief; the last thing he expected to hear was something like that. Maybe he misheard. "I'm sorry, what?"

Hongjoong's smile is void of joy. "You find it hard to believe, don't you? Yunho is different because he was made by someone else. Unlike most of us who were either born like that or made out of human greed, the wizard who created Yunho was completely unrelated to the experiments and did it out of loneliness. He just wanted someone to keep him company and help around the house, so he made Yunho with his own flesh and blood. He was…the closest thing Yunho could have to a family. And Yunho loved him like a parent. He's...I'm not sure exactly how it works with him. When it comes to his age, he's kind of like a vampire, I guess."

So he’s like them, but different. Not born, but created, like them. Only, his story sounds like it had a much better beginning. 

Based on Hongjoong’s tone and where they are, the ending is the same, though. 

Seonghwa doesn’t want to care. Not about Yunho, at least. A tear-jerking story won’t make him spare Yunho and that arrogant aura he carries around. As if he is the king of everything, as if no one is allowed to resist him, to object to him. He doesn’t want to know more, he doesn’t need to know how things went from bad to worse. He doesn’t want to feel a single drop of pity for Yunho.

But he can’t just ignore his existence, either.

His lack of response makes Hongjoong take a deep breath, then exhale. It’s a sour sound, the messenger of something even darker.

“Yeosang was one of the first ones to be made with powers instead of just being born with them. It was actually a rich family that made the request, they wanted to own one of those interesting creatures. ” Hongjoong says with a scoff. Something twists inside Seonghwa’s stomach, causing him the need to hurt someone. He has a feeling he knows where this is going, just like with the others. “But because he was one of the first ones, there were still “flaws” according to their makers. Yeosang is extra perceptive, his empathy is deeper than anyone else’s. He was almost too human, but his abilities were too passive. At first, it wasn’t an issue, but as time went on and others were created…the newer ones had more active powers and abilities. For that family, Yeosang’s abilities were now worthless compared to the newer ones. They threw him out one night.”

Yeah, right there. Seonghwa is sure his heart must have stopped in his chest for a few moments, or at least slowed down. The hurt, the anger…

“Just like that.” he lets out, his voice a little hoarse. It’s as if his whole body is struggling with the words, like something’s stuck scraping his throat. Hongjoong nods. 

“Just like that.” he repeats bitterly. He sounds exasperated, and Seonghwa cannot blame him. “He was wandering in the streets for…I’m not sure for how long. It was Yunho who found him in the streets and took care of him. I'm pretty sure the biggest reason Yunho teamed up with Mingi wasn't their shared despise for humans, but his determination to find a truly loving home for Yeosang.”

It gives Seonghwa even more shivers. The image alone terrifies him. Yeosang out in the streets, quiet and unassuming, barely going by every day. “If Yeosang was one of the first, then…how long had he been wandering around for?”

Hongjoong looks a little gloomy. His eyes are now filled with a sorrow that mirrors Seonghwa’s own. “A few years, for sure.” he says. Seonghwa swallows; everything feels tighter, like an invisible hand is squeezing his insides. His heart sinks in his chest. A few years…

Yeosang roaming around aimlessly, without a home to go back to.

Oh.

He chews down on his cheek from the inside, suddenly nervous. Suddenly, a shiver is running down his spine. “So that doll he carries around…” he whispers.

“It’s from that family, yeah.” Hongjoong sighs. “Being such an empathetic creature, I don’t think he was ever capable of hating them for what they did to him. Obviously, he understands it was a horrible thing, but to him it might just be something he accepted and tried to move on from.”

The anger is burning in the pit of Seonghwa’s stomach, like a stubborn coal that he just can’t get rid of. He tries to stay calm, this is all part of the past anyway and clearly, Yeosang is living a much better life now. He’s truly being loved, even if it’s by Yunho. At least Yunho seems to want to give him the world, even if it means stepping on others in order to do that.

The thought of Yunho makes Seonghwa’s jaw clench. But at least Yunho sees Yeosang’s true worth.

For the first time since his arrival here, Seonghwa’s beginning to get a grasp of why everyone here despises humans that much. The simmering resentment they’ve all been expressing one way or another, Seonghwa can see where it’s coming from. Created not by love, but by sheer greed and the need to play god, then treated like freaks, like marionettes. 

He clears his throat. "And all the guards here?" he questions. Something unreadable flickers in Hongjoong's eyes.

"These are humans, but they are controlled by Yunho's magic and listen to Mingi's orders. Mingi did not inherit any magical powers, but he is rich enough to be able to provide the house and everything else."

A deadly combination for sure. Seonghwa isn't sure what to think about this, about Mingi and Yunho doing all that without the slightest hint of hesitation. But who is he to judge?

Hongjoong walks up closer to him, patting his shoulder. Seonghwa shivers again. "You couldn’t have known.” Hongjoong says, almost as if he’s trying to comfort him, though he’s not doing a great job. Seonghwa doesn’t reply. “We’re all much happier here, that’s the important part. I was the first one to join those three and I have to tell you, I wouldn't wanna go back to the hell I was dealing with before this place."

The words take a moment to register in his brain. "Were you born magical or created?" he asks, not that it matters much, probably. Hongjoong shrugs.

"Born. As soon as I realized what I could do, I tried to keep it low and use it only if there was an actual need for it. But with powers like this, mine, Wooyoung’s…you can’t hide it forever. And people who are scared of these powers will do anything to hurt you, to humble you, so that you know your place. So that you know you’re not like them.”

Has Seonghwa really been that ignorant all this time? Or that lucky?

They all sound hurt, betrayed, abandoned. There’s nothing he can say, no snarky comment, no poisonous remark. It doesn’t change the fact that they, too, haven’t been the kindest to Seonghwa. But at the same time, it does sound like they genuinely think they’re doing something fruitful. 

Hongjoong notices his silence. “Now that I’ve ruined your mood even more, I think you should get back to your bed.” he says calmly, with the slightest hint of tease in his voice. “This whole magic powers thing is clearly still very new to you, and you need more time to process it. I hope I didn’t scare you away with everything I told you.”

Every new piece of information Seonghwa absorbs, it feels more and more tremendous. A weight…he’s read books, watched movies, always thought of magic as something extraordinary, something…yes, dangerous at times, especially when used wrongly. But magic was never supposed to exist in the real world. 

And yet, these people…

He doesn’t really sleep that night. He stays awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything Hongjoong has said.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Something has shifted, even if Seonghwa chooses to pretend it hasn't. Being in denial is easier, it gives him time to properly process what is happening.

He still prefers avoiding Yunho if he can, and it must be a mutual feeling, because Yunho doesn't really show up anywhere near or around Seonghwa, either. 

It's best for everyone like that. Their first meeting has been quite destructive, after all.

But when it comes to Yeosang, Seonghwa's attitude has definitely changed. It isn't pity or compassion; he isn't willing to use what Hongjoong told him as an excuse to be nicer to Yeosang. But his story has helped Seonghwa understand him better, understand why he's acting like this. Why he's so kind and generous and patient with everyone.

There is beauty and grace in Yeosang's everything. In the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he walks. Maybe it is the way he was taught when he was living with that family, or maybe it is a natural thing.

Once Seonghwa manages to get past the creepy doll and the mysterious aura, he is able to see Yeosang differently, in a way that…yeah, in a way that he isn't willing to dwell on. The following couple of days are almost a blur in his mind, a veil that covers everything. 

Everything, except certain bits and pieces. Coming across Yeosang at the staircase. Seeing him and Wooyoung sitting on the grass in the garden, Wooyoung just laughing non-stop and clinging onto him. Yeosang’s magnetic eyes lingering on him from across the table. 

Another thing that Seonghwa realizes is that Yeosang doesn’t always carry the doll, either. It’s a good thing, really, though he cannot tell why sometimes he does and others he doesn’t. 

Tonight, too, when Seonghwa passes by the second living room on his way to the next floor, he notices Yeosang there, alone, no doll in sight. He’s sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, writing in something that could easily pass for a diary. Seonghwa doesn’t even realize he’s standing there staring until Yeosang lifts his head to meet his gaze, and he immediately feels like he’s committed a crime. “I’m going.” he says, but Yeosang tilts his head curiously. 

“You can come sit if you want to.”

I don’t want to. “You look busy.” Seonghwa blurts out. Yeosang looks at his notebook, then smiles.


I want to, Seonghwa thinks.

“I’m not busy, just writing down a couple of things Wooyoung wanted. I’d really like it if you could keep me some company.”

Is this…an order? A request? A wish?

An offer?

What is Seonghwa supposed to do? 

His brain is screaming “no”, and yet inside his chest, the feelings are completely different. 

He swallows, a little nervous. He thinks about what Hongjoong told him again. He thinks of Yeosang’s face when Seonghwa broke his doll. 

He thinks of everything that followed. Slowly, he makes his way towards him and carefully takes a seat next to him. Yeosang seems pretty happy with Seonghwa’s decision, and he closes the notebook, putting it to the side. 

Instead of saying something, he just stares. He stares, and stares, a magnetizing look that almost feels like an actual touch, fingers running down Seonghwa’s skin. Seonghwa returns his gaze, unable to look elsewhere somehow. It’s like…

Like magic, yeah.

“I’m sorry.” The words leave his mouth unplanned, but he means them. Again, Yeosang doesn’t say anything. “About the doll.” Seonghwa adds, mostly to fill the silence. He’s pretty sure Yeosang had already realized what he’s apologizing for. “I did not know it was so important to you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

There’s peace in Yeosang’s eyes, a calmness that Seonghwa hasn’t seen in anyone before. “It’s ok.” he says. “Yunho always fixes what breaks.” 

Right. Of course, because Yunho lives and breathes for Yeosang, that much has been established. Seonghwa doesn’t know what else to say. He’s not sure he should open his mouth anymore. The mere mention of Yunho makes his hair stand. 

"You're so beautiful." Yeosang whispers then, his voice so low that it makes Seonghwa shiver even worse. "So many have been brought in through these gates, and you are the most beautiful of them all."

There is no deceit in his voice, and yet it still wraps around Seonghwa like a vice. In the fireplace, the flames are getting more intense. Perhaps it's Seonghwa's imagination, or the fact that he suddenly feels very hot, the air in the room getting thinner. Yeosang's face is so close and his stare, although clear and honest, is also magnetic. His eyes flicker to Seonghwa's lips, and Seonghwa's breath catches in his throat. Yunho’s warning to him is still echoing in his head. What Yeosang wants, Yeosang gets.

Would Yunho sit back even now? For his Yeosang, would he just step aside and let someone else have him, even for a moment? 

Yeosang is so close now that Seonghwa can’t help but close his eyes, too overwhelmed to do anything else. He can feel Yeosang’s breath, warm against Seonghwa's lips, giving him shivers that he refuses to interpret. It doesn't matter if he does or doesn't. His body doesn't lie.

And then Yeosang's lips touch his, and Seonghwa's chest is set on fire. The touch is gentle but inquiring, patient yet anticipating, and Seonghwa's hand instinctively rests on Yeosang's elbow as if to stop his own trembling. Yeosang seems to be pouring his whole existence into the kiss, the slow pace of it enough to drive Seonghwa insane. He pushes into it a little, shivering again when Yeosang's hand cups his face. There is no rush here, just exploring and savoring and Seonghwa isn't sure when he crossed that thin line between madness and sanity, but there is no going back now.

There is no one else, just the gravity of the kiss pulling them together. And the longer they kiss, the deeper he sinks, Yeosang's hand caressing his hair tenderly, as if he's made out of glass. 

It's funny, because for Seonghwa, it feels more like Yeosang is the one who feels as if he's made of glass.

When Yeosang eventually pulls back, Seonghwa doesn't immediately register the absence of his mouth. His mind is in haze, his heart scrambling for any sanity leftovers. Yeosang's gaze is magnetizing once again, but there is nothing evil or tricking in it. He slowly withdraws his hand from Seonghwa's hair, and after a few moments, Seonghwa does the same. 

He wishes he had words to express his current emotional state, but there aren't any. His voice is gone, too.

Until Yeosang turns his head slowly, and his eyes soften even more. And when Seonghwa also turns to see what's happening, his whole body stiffens. 

Standing in the doorway, watching them completely unmoving, is Yunho. 

There’s a dark expression on his face, heavy and unreadable, and Seonghwa can only sit there and watch. There’s a wild battle inside; reluctant to see what Yunho’s reaction will be, but also a twisted kind of satisfaction, to see him like that. Knowing that Yunho just witnessed the person he cares most in the world about kiss someone he despises. 

Yeosang doesn’t look in a hurry to explain himself, either. Something tells Seonghwa he doesn’t have to, anyway. Yunho’s eyes are blazing with an intensity that burns through the room, scorching down to the depths of Seonghwa’s insides. It almost feels physical, an actual weight pushing Seonghwa down. But he fights to resist it, to keep staring back at Yunho, waiting for the storm to break. Every muscle in his body is locked in place, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Finally, Yunho speaks.

“I was just coming to see if you were ready to go to sleep.” he says, eyes now focused on Yeosang, completely ignoring Seonghwa. His tone is calm, but the tension underneath is dangerously palpable. Seonghwa has forgotten how to breathe. It’s still there, bubbling inside him, the undeniable satisfaction. If there is one thing they’ve all made clear here, it is how much Yunho treasures Yeosang. Yunho, who felt untouchable until now, infuriatingly confident in his everything.

Seonghwa has managed to break through. 

Yeosang nods with a small smile. “Sure.” he says softly. He turns to Seonghwa, just one last time, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. It manages to catch Seonghwa off guard for a second, eyes flickering to Yeosang as his heart skips a beat again. “Goodnight.” he tells Seonghwa, and Seonghwa nods, words failing him once more. But Yeosang is already up on his feet anyway and walking up to Yunho. 

The moment he’s within reach, Yunho’s arm slides around his waist. A simple gesture, really, but one that speaks volumes. As gentle and protective it is, it’s a clear message, even if Yunho isn’t looking at Seonghwa. 

And then, almost as if that had been his plan from the start, Yunho leans in and kisses Yeosang, too. 

Seonghwa catches himself staring, catches himself getting upset. As if Yeosang had been his all this time, as if Yunho is the intruder, the new face, the temptation. Yeosang doesn’t seem to care; he kisses Yunho back eagerly, as if he wasn’t just kissing Seonghwa minutes ago. How open have those two been with each other about making out with someone else? Seonghwa just can’t believe it’s something that happens often. 

And yet…

What’s with that enormous pull, that electric tension in the air? Why can’t he take his eyes off them? 

With his hold on Yeosang firm like that, Yunho pulls back eventually and gently guides him out of the room, and then the door behind them closes with a deafening sound, leaving Seonghwa sitting alone in silence. The sound of his heart is now thundering in his ears, and even though no one else is here now, he can still feel them all around him. The heat of Yeosang’s kiss, the force of Yunho’s stare.

He’s trapped.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Seonghwa wants to know what that kiss means, if it even means something important. He wants to know if Yeosang did it on a whim, or if he truly wanted to do it. He would also love to know what Yunho thinks about it.

But he doesn't see either during breakfast, and he's not sure he wants to be there just with the rest. 

Drifting through the halls isn’t his favourite thing to do, either, but there’s only so much he can do. He spends some time at the library, only to leave frustrated because he cannot concentrate on reading anything. He visits the kitchen, to find no one in there. He goes down to the basement, and even Wooyoung is absent. 

He goes out to the garden, but Yeosang isn’t there, either. From afar, he notices Mingi and Hongjoong talking to the guards, and immediately retreats, not wanting to do anything with them. Where is Yeosang? Is Yunho keeping him locked in his room or something? The memory of the kiss lingers, warm and confusing, making Seonghwa’s fingertips tingle. 

When he goes back inside, his ears immediately catch a different noise. Following the sound, he finds Jongho and San trying to move some furniture around using their powers, but having trouble agreeing on where to take everything. Seonghwa doesn’t know why, but he offers to help, and they don’t say no. 

His eagerness lasts only until he realizes they’re carrying the furniture in the same room he tore the chandelier down in. It’s too late to back out of it, though, and neither Jongho nor San make any comments, so Seonghwa clenches his teeth and goes along with it. When they finish, however, and walk out of the room bickering, Seonghwa stays behind.

He stands on the very same spot, stares up at the chandelier. He stares, and stares, trying to figure out what he’s supposed to do. He clenches his fists, so hard that his nails dig into his palms. He closes his eyes, thinks of the chandelier. He screams at it in his head to just…fall.

It doesn't. 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes and changes his spot. He sits down on the armchair Yeosang had been sitting last time. He glares at the chandelier, as if his gaze alone can do any damage. "Come on." he says between gritted teeth. "What do you want now?"

Whatever it is, he's not getting an answer, not from a damn chandelier. Frustrated, Seonghwa kicks the air and pushes himself up. He starts pacing, up and down, trying to make the connection. The flames in the fireplace get stronger for a moment, before they become mild again. Does he need other people in the room? Does he need to think of something in particular? Last time, all he wanted to do was run away from-

"Your power is connected to your emotions."

-Yunho.

Seonghwa wonders if he's doing it on purpose, if one of his magic powers is the ability to sense where someone is. He turns nevertheless, eyes meeting Yunho's cautiously. Yunho has a solemn look on his face, but at least he's not giving Seonghwa that mocking look anymore.

How long it will last, it's impossible to know.

Yunho takes another step towards him. Out of instinct, Seonghwa backs away just last time, eyes shooting up to the chandelier. Perhaps now…

…no.

Unlike last time, Yunho halts instead of chasing Seonghwa down. "You were trying to save yourself last time." he explains. His tone doesn't sound caring, but it's not icy cold, either. Seonghwa can't help but look at him curiously. "Whatever your power is, it relies heavily on your emotional state. Last time, you were panicking and trying to escape and your survival instincts kicked in, so you tore the chandelier down."

Huh.

That sounds…simplistic enough. But also, clearly not easy, either. Does Seonghwa have to be that panicked to use his powers?

He swallows, a little nervous. "So I bet you wanna take the credit for that." he says, unable to hide the irony in his own voice. Yunho's eyebrow twitches. "That I was only able to use my power because you pushed me to the edge."

Yunho raises both eyebrows now. Seonghwa was certain he would look arrogant and amused, but Yunho looks borderline annoyed. Maybe Yeosang kissing Seonghwa affected him more than Seonghwa thought it would, who knows.

"Fear is what usually triggers powers, unfortunately." Yunho speaks. This time, when he starts walking towards Seonghwa, Seonghwa doesn't retreat. "It's one of the reasons humans call us freaks. Fear unleashes the power in ways unpredictable, and most of the time, uncontrollable, too. You could have killed someone with that chandelier."

Seonghwa sighs. "You mean, I could have killed you. "

Yunho's face hardens a little. "Or Yeosang."

"I didn't want to-" Seonghwa starts, but then he doesn't know how to continue. Not knowing what else to do, he sighs again. "This isn't easy for me, ok? I don't know what I'm doing and I'm still not sure who I should be trusting. Just because you guys haven't ripped my guts out yet, doesn't mean that Mingi kidnapping me was a good thing."

Yunho shrugs. "I don't think Mingi ever said it's a good thing."

"And what about that…scientist, or whatever he was?"

He's hitting a nerve now, he can see it in the way Yunho's eyes are darkening. It's almost as if a cloud is floating over his head.

"What about him? You're gonna tell me you feel bad about him?"

"I…" Seonghwa clenches his fists once more. He hates how complicated everything is. "What he tried to do was horrible." He says. "I'm just not sure you didn't cross a line-"

"I never said I care about crossing the line or any of that crap you're still feeding yourself." Yunho snaps, but instead of feeling scared by it, Seonghwa feels…intrigued. Weird. "None of the guys deserve to be hurt by humans again, and if I have to kill to keep them safe, I'll kill. But I don't expect you to understand me or anyone else in here."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Yunho shakes his head. "You've lived your whole life in ignorance, you don't know what it's like to have to hide your powers."

"And this is my fault?" Seonghwa snaps back.

"It might not be your fault, but the outcome is the same."

"So tell me what it's like then, having to live among humans." Seonghwa crosses his arms to his chest. "Hongjoong said you're different from them, so you haven't experienced exactly what they have, either."

He expects an outburst, perhaps Yunho smacking him over the head again. Maybe he'll even end up like that scientist guy, drowning in the bottom of the fountain. How many others has Yunho killed in the name of love and protection?

What Yunho does instead is release a long, exasperated sigh. "I wasn't born magical, I was created magical. He was a wizard, and he just wanted some company. He was like a father to me." he says quietly. It catches Seonghwa completely off guard, hearing Yunho so…human. No, he did not expect that. "It was a nice town and the people were also nice at first. During Christmas, children would send letters to us, telling us our wishes. Whatever we could create for them, we did. We'd wrap them up as presents and leave them outside their doors. I was happy with my life, and then I wasn't. Then the town became greedy, the requests from the adults became paranoid, dangerous. They demanded things we didn't want to use magic for. Soon, they turned against us, they said we were trying to keep them under our control by not granting their requests. He became sad, desperate, he couldn't even leave the house without someone yelling at him. And one night, he took his own life. That's when I realized I had to leave."

There's something behind his tone, the cold, apathetic narration. He speaks as if he's narrating someone else's story, as if all that horrible stuff didn't happen to him. There's so much depth, so much to untangle from that past, and yet somehow, Seonghwa knows the story is over, there will be no more dwelling on it.

"San and Wooyoung were placed in the same orphanage, but they weren't as lucky as you, unfortunately." Yunho continues. As expected, a different story. "No one adopted them, they grew up in that place and it was horrible. They were terribly abused by the people there until they ran away when they were sixteen. Then they lived in the streets until they got taken in by a gang, but even there, things weren't good for them. When Mingi and I found them and brought them here, they didn't want to leave us. They are happy here. Yeosang is also happy here."

There is a gnawing urge inside Seonghwa, one that makes him not recognize himself. He can't listen to more of this, he can't listen to Yunho talking like that. 

"You know, maybe all that magic and experience you boast about is actually bad for Yeosang." he says. The moment he mentions Yeosang's name, Yunho's eyes scorch him with a murderous glare. They could pretty much be throwing daggers at Seonghwa.

"Don't." he says warningly. It's only one word, but it speaks volumes. Seonghwa is equally feisty now, though, and he refuses to let himself get scared by Yunho any longer.

"Are you sure you love him? Or is this some sort of savior complex you're inflicting upon him? Upon all of them?" he pushes further, Yunho's eyes shining with rage. "Are you sure he loves you? Or is he just feeding off your kindness and the way you keep pampering him?"

Yunho's reaction is immediate and predictable; he grabs Seonghwa by the collar and shoves him against the nearest wall, high enough that his feet struggle to touch the floor. "You don't have a clue." Yunho hisses the words at him. Seonghwa's fingers wrap around his wrist, trying to loosen his grip, but it barely makes any difference. "You don't get to talk about things you don't know. I've been more patient with you than with anyone else, but I won't be for long if you keep this attitude up."

Seonghwa should be scared. He's heard what Yunho is capable of doing. He sees it every day, when the guards walk around under his control. Provoking Yunho, pushing him to his limits, it's simply not a smart move.

He witnessed him drown a man.

And yet somehow, Seonghwa refuses to shut up. He digs his nails into the skin of Yunho's wrist, drawing in a wheezy breath. The eyes staring back at him are full of rage.

"You can't hurt me or send me away." he taunts Yunho, just to see that flicker in his eyes, the switch to insanity. "Yeosang wants me here, and you said he gets what he wants. Are you going to disobey your own orders?"

He wants to see more of it. For reasons Seonghwa himself cannot understand, he wants more of that tension, more of Yunho's attention, more of…whatever it is he's giving Seonghwa right now. Instead of clawing each other's eyes out, Seonghwa wants to see something different. Where it's coming from, when it started pooling in his stomach, he has no idea.

He thinks back to his kiss with Yeosang. He thinks back to Yunho kissing Yeosang in front of him, his secure hold on Yeosang. It drives him insane, pushes him over the edge, forces thoughts in his head that Seonghwa did not know he ever wanted to have.

Yunho's free hand reaches up to his face, fingers digging into his jaw until it hurts, the ring pressing so hard that Seonghwa's forced to part his lips. And then the next thing he knows is Yunho's tongue in his mouth, down his throat, and his own body pushing into the contact. He barely registers Yunho lowering him enough to be able to put his feet steadily on the ground, and then the hand on his collar travels down, wrapping around his waist.

It feels… good.

Seonghwa deepens the kiss as well, hands running up to grab at Yunho's shirt as Yunho presses him once more against the wall. Trapped between his body and the hard surface on his back, Seonghwa can only sink into the feeling. It's not the same as with Yeosang, not at all. This kiss is a fervent clash, the world narrowing down to just the two of them.

Yunho kisses him like he wants to claim every single part of him, like he wants to put him under a spell, too. 

For a brief moment, Seonghwa thinks he wouldn't mind.

The arm around his waist tightens and Seonghwa gasps into the kiss, but Yunho doesn't give him room to catch his breath. In return, Seonghwa tilts his head for a better angle and Yunho's hand on his jaw slides to the side of his face, fingers brushing over his ear for a second before he buries them into Seonghwa's hair. It gives Seonghwa tingles all over again and a low sound slips into the kiss, muffled by Yunho's tongue.

How long they go like this, he doesn't know. When they finally pull back, Seonghwa feels a little dizzy. Yunho's lips are only inches away from his and Seonghwa can still feel his breath hot on his face. A thousand different emotions are swirling inside Seonghwa, and he's not sure which one he should pay attention to the most.

It's then that he catches movement behind Yunho. He cranes his neck a little and then time stops, a shiver running down his back. It’s like everything is repeating, only this time, the faces and the people have switched.

The one standing there is no other than Yeosang.

Yunho notices Seonghwa's change of expression and he turns as well. His whole body stiffens immediately and he withdraws his arm from Seonghwa's waist as if it's burning him. The tension in his shoulders is palpable, and Seonghwa almost feels pity for him.

Almost.  

Yeosang, on the other hand, doesn't seem fazed in the least. He makes his way towards them at a slow pace, while Yunho takes another step away from Seonghwa. There's a sudden cold spreading inside Seonghwa's veins, and he doesn't like it at all.

"Sangie." Yunho breathes, and Seonghwa can swear he hears guilt in his voice. "I'm sorry-"

Yeosang shakes his head. "Don't." he cuts Yunho off gently, and Yunho falls quiet immediately. It's a sick fascination Seonghwa gets from this sight, witnessing Yunho so powerless against someone. "You're getting attracted and there is nothing wrong with that. I am, too."

Yeosang's words slither under Seonghwa's defenses, warming the cold in his veins a little. Such a simple thing for Yeosang, to just admit he likes someone…

Yunho shakes his head. "I'm not…" he starts, but his voice fades before he can finish his sentence. The uncertainty in his tone makes Seonghwa's skin crawl. He's not…but he is, maybe. Maybe they both are.

Yeosang gives Seonghwa an affectionate look, before he reaches to hold Yunho's hand. "Do you want to take your time?" he asks Yunho, and it's honestly beautiful, even if Seonghwa doesn't want to admit it. Something like jealousy sprouts from within, and leaves a bitter feeling in his stomach.

Who is he jealous of? Yunho, Yeosang? Perhaps their bond?

Yunho tugs at Yeosang's hand, his face a little paler than before. "Let's go, Sangie." he says quietly, and Yeosang nods, a reassuring smile forming on his face. The smile stays on even when his eyes dart back to Seonghwa, unlike Yunho who has now completely turned his back on him. Oh, if only he could be likable for more than two damn minutes…

Seonghwa stubbornly keeps his mouth shut as the two of them walk back to the door. He won't give Yunho the pleasure of chasing after him for sure.


And still, he's yearning. And he's confused.

....................................................................................

Yunho is out of sight the next day.

Seonghwa notices it during breakfast. Yeosang is also absent, but San and Jongho say he’s still sleeping. There is no mention of Yunho, though, and Seonghwa is too stubborn to ask. 

He wanders around the house, the corridors, the common rooms. He goes out to the garden, taking a long walk around, keeping his distance from the guards. The day feels strangely hollow. Seonghwa tries to ignore the kiss that keeps flashing in his head, making his fingertips tingle. He tries to focus only on what Yunho told him about his powers. Only, it’s still not working. It sparks fear inside of Seonghwa, and then…self-doubt. He had been hoping he was just human, he had been hoping he was the wrong person, that they would figure it out and send him back.

And here he is, trying to use powers he doesn’t even know about. Powers that are apparently linked to his emotions, but his emotions are too complicated right now to make anything work. 

He cannot reason with his own thoughts. He cannot understand what that connection is. When did he even have the time to build a connection, anyway? To harbor such strong emotions for the people here? He drifts aimlessly as the day goes on, as the colors in the sky darken, stars sparkling on the black veils of the night eventually. 

He stares at the gates; there are guards, standing there with their masks, unmoving. They are bold reminders of the boundaries Seonghwa is facing here. But unlike his first days here, Seonghwa doesn’t feel that urgent need to run away. He doesn’t feel as restricted as he did initially.

And that scares him more than anything. 

When the chill of the night breeze starts seeping into his skin, that’s when he goes back inside. 

The house is eerily quiet again, even though it’s not very late. Maybe the others are all upstairs. Seonghwa realizes he hasn’t even had dinner, but he doesn’t feel hungry. He’s been eating his thoughts all day, and his feelings make him feel all fuzzy inside. Why didn’t they seek him? Why have they left him alone? Not that he’d expect Yunho to approach him, but Yeosang? 

Why does he feel so…

Passing by the living room, his steps come to a stop when he realizes it’s not empty. There’s Wooyoung, sitting on a pillow in front of the fireplace, his back turned on Seonghwa. His shoulders are slightly hunched, the flickering light casting shadows around him. Seonghwa hesitates for a moment. Perhaps he wants to be left alone, and even if he doesn’t, why would Seonghwa be good company to him?

But something pulls him further inside. The same thing that’s slowly stripping him of his defenses, of his need to leave. It’s ridiculous, because Seonghwa still feels extremely detached from them, and yet somehow, he cannot leave them alone.

He picks a pillow for himself and quietly places it next to Wooyoung, making sure he puts a bit of space between them. Wooyoung looks up at him and then follows him with his eyes as Seonghwa sits down by his side. The flames cast golden hues across Wooyoung’s face, emphasizing the hard edges of his cheekbones. 

“Can’t sleep?” He asks. Seonghwa nods.

“Something like that.”

“You’ve been wandering around all day, I thought you’d be tired.”

Seonghwa blinks. “You noticed?” 

Wooyoung nods with a small smile. “We all did. Yeosang said it’d be best if we let you spend time alone with your thoughts, though I’m not sure what he meant by that.”

So they don’t know. 

Good.

Seonghwa sighs. It figures that Yeosang would come up with something like that. He must have thought this would be the best solution for Seonghwa, but Seonghwa only feels more puzzled by everything. 

“What about you?” he asks instead. “Can’t sleep, either?”

Wooyoung shrugs. “I don’t have a specific sleep pattern. Some nights I just stay up, making sure the fire doesn’t go out.”

The fire crackles softly then, as if wanting to add to Wooyoung’s words. Seonghwa watches it in silence for a bit longer, rubbing his palms together. “Does it…wear you out?” he asks after a few minutes. “If you’re constantly using your powers for this, the torches…doesn’t it take a lot of your energy?”

Wooyoung tilts his head. “Mmhhm.” he hums. “It’s not as exhausting as it may seem, but I do need my time to recharge. That circle of candles in the basement, that’s where I recharge. But I like doing it, no one forced me to do it.” he adds, successfully guessing Seonghwa’s next question. “I like it here.”

Seonghwa stares at him for a bit longer. He hasn’t forgotten what Yunho told him about Wooyoung and San. For Yunho to tell him, it’s probably not something Wooyoung wanted to stay a secret. Still, it feels…wrong. For Seonghwa to ask for more information. It feels invasive.

And yet…if he doesn’t get to know them, how can he ever trust them fully? 

“When did you…discover your power?” he asks instead. Wooyoung’s eyes dart back to the flames, a faint, melancholic smile forming on his face. He tugs at the sleeves of his robe, fingers twitching a little. 

“I was born magical.” he answers, a bit timid. “Me and San, we both were. We are magical by nature, we weren’t created by humans. I was only a few weeks old when I was placed in an orphanage. In all my memories, there’s San. We were in the same orphanage, we grew up together. I…” His voice falters, and Seonghwa can feel a shiver down his spine. He did not expect Wooyoung to just start sharing his story like that. But at least it makes sense why Yunho was also so open about it. “We were taking out the trash one day, and we were fighting about dinner…we were just kids, like 10 years old or something. I set the trash on fire and San got scared and levitated in the air. We were confused, scared…we didn’t tell anyone. I said the fire was an accident, I apologized…but I was still punished.”

Seonghwa lowers his eyes a little. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

Wooyoung shakes his head. “We ran away eventually, a few years after. We ran away, but we didn’t know where to go, and we got involved with a gang…they sent us out to do illegal jobs, stuff like that. We promised each other we were not going to use our powers in front of anyone, and for a while, we managed. The jobs, we didn’t like them, but we had nowhere else to go. We spent a couple of years there, and it was ok, but at some point San got careless and they saw him levitate.” Again, he pauses, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes. A second shiver runs down Seonghwa’s spine. “We were afraid they would kick us out, but instead, they…they wanted to use his power. Make him catch people, scare them so they could give us their money without putting up much of a fight. And at first, San did it, but then…then he couldn’t do it.”

There’s something about his story, a part he’s leaving out. Seonghwa can tell, even if he’s not sure what it is. It’s something negative, something ugly, perhaps. He waits, because he doesn’t know what else to do. It’s the way his tone is so odd, the way he brushes off certain parts. Wooyoung’s face has hardened, and he’s staring at the flames with eyes void of emotions. It’s as if he’s isolating himself, retreating to a place Seonghwa cannot follow. 

He shifts uncomfortably on his pillow. The silence drags on a little longer, but he doesn’t dare break it. His chest feels tight with anticipation, and dread.

"They were beating San up."

The words land with a heavy feeling, piercing through the air like a blade.

Seonghwa flinches at Wooyoung's confession. "San?" he lets out quietly. "How, I mean…how did they manage to catch him?"

"They ambushed us in our sleep." Wooyoung says. "They barged into our room, and they made me watch as they chained him on the floor so he wouldn't be able to levitate and escape. They said it was because he let one of our targets go, so he had to be punished. And I had to watch because I didn't stop him. I thought they were gonna kill him, I wanted them to stop, I yelled at them to stop, begged them, but they did not listen. And I…"

Panic flares within Seonghwa, rising in his throat. The realization hits him and he sits there, petrified. But maybe, maybe he saw it coming, subconsciously. 

The words find their way on his tongue before he can control them. "...you set them on fire?" he whispers.

Wooyoung has turned pale, eyes drowning in sorrow and guilt, as if he's afraid Seonghwa is going to start cursing him. "I didn't…I mean…I wanted them to stop, I wanted to do something so they would stop, I…I knew my powers were dangerous and I shouldn't let things escalate, but in that moment all that mattered was for San to be free and I just…" 

His voice fades and he lowers his head. His frame looks smaller somehow, a little shaky. Seonghwa just sits there by his side, his throat going dry. He can almost see it happening in his head; the chains, San getting beaten up, Wooyoung screaming at those bastards to let him go. What would Seonghwa have done? If he had been in Wooyoung's place, what would he have done?

Perhaps on some level, Yunho was right. Seonghwa's ignorance was his bliss. No threats, no fear, no torture. But here, all of them, they suffered, one way or another. They came bearing scars on their bodies and souls, and made this place their sanctuary. 

He shakes his head. He reaches out with his hand, brushing over Wooyoung's shoulder, reaching up to pat his head. "You wanted to protect your friend." he says. His voice is hoarse. Wooyoung glances up at him; he still looks woeful. The sight makes Seonghwa’s chest ache. Again, it’s scary, feeling such deep emotions for people he barely knows. "They shouldn't have done that. Not to San, not to you."

And he shouldn't have rushed to judge them, shouldn't have thought of them as freaks. He's not the one to pass judgment, not one to decide if what happened was right or wrong. It was Wooyoung's way of saving San. 

Seonghwa cannot be the one to criticize him for that. Embarrassment prickles at the back of his head.

Wooyoung hugs his knees against his chest, resting his chin on them. The movement is almost childlike, and Seonghwa’s heart bursts with some odd, unfamiliar tenderness. "We ran away again after that." he continues. "We…we survived in the streets for some time, but it wasn't easy. We had to move constantly, it was exhausting…Eventually, Yunho and Mingi found us and brought us here. I felt free, safe. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt free. I don’t know if you can ever understand it, but being here really is good for us."

Seonghwa wishes his own emotions weren’t so tangled. “It’s good that you feel safe here.” he says quietly. Wooyoung nods.

“I’m sorry if I ruined the mood.”

Seonghwa shakes his head. “I’m…ok.” he says. “Thank you for trusting me with your story.”

There’s the hint of a smile flickering on Wooyoung’s face. “I like you.” he says, not even a drop of mockery in his tone. Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. “You’re cool, Seonghwa. Out of everyone that came and went, I like you the best.”

What the-

Seonghwa chokes, then coughs, awkwardness washing over him like the tallest wave. Wooyoung covers his mouth with his hand as a quiet giggle escapes him. Crap. “I’m going to bed.” Seonghwa announces, because seriously, he’s done for today. 

Luckily, Wooyoung says nothing, just watches him go. 

.........................................................................................

Yunho is absent the day after, too.

When Seonghwa finally swallows his pride and gathers the courage to actually ask the others about it, it’s San who gives him the answer. “He’s gone to town to take care of some matters and buy some stuff.” He explains. Whether he knows what has taken place or not, Seonghwa cannot tell. There’s not a single hint of teasing in Wooyoung’s voice. “They do that occasionally, either him or Mingi.”

They do that themselves when they have all these men here to take care of everything? Seonghwa finds it hard to believe, but San’s tone is so casual that it doesn’t seem to hide any lies in it. Maybe there are private matters that they do not trust anyone else to deal with. It’s not Seonghwa’s business, that’s for sure. 

But it also doesn’t solve his issue, that he has no idea how he’s supposed to act now. He wants to ask Yeosang about it, but Yeosang moves in the rooms as if this is something normal, and Seonghwa finds it harder and harder to approach him. 

Ridiculous. Every time their eyes meet across the room, it’s obvious Yeosang wants to talk to him, but Seonghwa chickens out. When dinner time comes, Yeosang makes a move to just sit by his side, and yet Seonghwa bolts. He mumbles something about not being hungry, after all, and storms outside the dining room before anyone can say anything.

He probably couldn't have made it more obvious.

He stays in his room for a few more hours, but it’s impossible to fall asleep. He waits, and waits, until all the sounds in the mansion begin to die down. There's that annoying feeling inside, one that Seonghwa tries to ignore in favor of trying to sleep, but it's truly not working. He cannot just lie still, but he's not sure he wants to go out, either.

It proves stronger than him, in the end.

The silence that used to creep him out now works to his advantage, his comfort. The shadows, Seonghwa doesn't even notice them anymore. As he walks down to the lower floors, he looks outside the windows to see the guards casually strolling around. Everything is just…peaceful.

He considers going to the basement for a moment, just to see if Wooyoung is there, if he's sleeping. He decides against it in the end; he shouldn't be bothering anyone just because he's the one failing to rest.

Instead, his steps take him to that very first room he was initially brought in when he was abducted. The room looks even bigger now that no one is in, but the fire in the fireplace is strong and vibrant, shedding light around. 

His eyes land back to the big painting on the wall, the family portrait. After everything he has heard, he can't help but wonder, how Mingi's parents were like. How terrifying it must have felt to live a happy, secluded life, only to have it ripped out of their hands. How Mingi must have felt, witnessing all that. It sent him on the path of revenge, but are the others part of it?

He really shouldn't, but he can't help himself. He reaches out tentatively; the portrait still towers over him, but the face of the little boy, Seonghwa can reach just fine. Fingers brush over his face, the mole on his cheek. Why did he even need a confirmation?

"They weren't bothering anyone." Mingi's deep voice reaches him from behind and Seonghwa tenses a little. He lowers his hand slowly, as Mingi walks up to him, stopping by his side. He looks up at the faces of the adults in the portrait, bitterness nesting in his eyes. "They never did. They chose to stay away exactly for that reason, and yet they were still punished for it."

Seonghwa contemplates with his thoughts a little. "If they were so against it, why…you say all of us here were born magical or made. If they wanted to get rid of them, why create more?"

Mingi sighs. "Because human thirst to be in control cannot be quenched. They wanted to eliminate them, but they also wanted to know they could control them, they could own them. Like it always happens in history, some were against it, others were in favor of it. But killing them happened faster than creating them, so the ones in charge decided the only way to keep you all from getting killed was to have you blend in with the rest of humanity. But they couldn't fathom not controlling you, so they put those trackers on you to make sure they could get there on time if you ever acted up."

He takes one step back and slowly sinks lower, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Seonghwa watches him curiously, but it doesn't look like Mingi is going to give an explanation. Seonghwa looks up at the portrait once again. The people in there, they could never have known how their lives would end. 

He sighs. It’s stupid, really, but he joins Mingi on the ground, tilting his head. "Is that why you did not destroy the tracker? So they would not suspect?" he asks.

Mingi nods. "Once the tracker has been removed from your body, it takes up to 48 hours to send a signal that something is going on. We take the trackers back to the city and drop them off randomly. It usually takes a couple of days for them to realize something is off and by that time, they have no way of figuring out where you went."

Seonghwa thinks about it a little longer. "So were you planning on finding the people who did this to your parents and take revenge? Is that why you have been gathering the others, to help you?”

Mingi sighs. “That was the initial plan. That was what me and Yunho were planning on doing. Hongjoong too, he was on board when he heard. I wanted to assemble the perfect team, or at least, the team my father believed would be the strongest. But when Wooyoung and San and Jongho came into our lives…Wooyoung, especially, he was too traumatized and I didn't want to make him suffer any more. Still, I couldn't give up on completing the team, so we kept looking with Yunho."

"Looking for what?" 

Mingi reaches into the pocket of his shirt, taking out a piece of paper. It's old and wrinkly, and it looks like it was ripped out of a notebook or something. He hands it to Seonghwa, and he brings it closer to his face to read.

It looks like a diary entry. Seonghwa glances up at Mingi, and he nods.

"Go ahead, it's ok."

A team is at its strongest not just when it includes fearful powers, but also when it's rooted in empathy and understanding of each member. 8 is the magical number; it retains a balance and offers enough space for the members to grow individually and together. 

One, the orchestrator, the one who can provide the everyday comfort and safety, regardless of magic.

Two, the fixer. Someone powerful, who works with a passion and will be there to mend whatever is broken.


Three, the empath, the quiet force who will use their voice of reason and their compassion to keep the emotional balance of the team.

Four, the artist. Creative with his power, works best on defense and operations.

Five, the tamer. Someone who can use and control a power people would be afraid of. A power that works best on the offence, to keep the balance. 

Six, the guardian. Loyal, strong, both physically and magically. Someone whose power is more practical.

Seven, the watcher. A more laid-back character, a loner, maybe. A power that can be used for practical but also deadly schemes.

Eight, the anchor. Charismatic and feisty, protective of the people they hold dear. A power odd or uncommon that can attack and defend depending on the situation.

Seonghwa reads it again, carefully. Every word is a small cut under his skin. Mingi. Yunho. Yeosang. Hongjoong. Wooyoung. San. Jongho. As vague as they are, the descriptions just…click.

But then, he…

Seonghwa swallows, handing the page back to Mingi. "He couldn't have known such details." he whispers. Mingi nods, his expression a little sour.

"No, he couldn't have. He wrote down what he believed makes the perfect team, and I tried my best to follow it down to the last detail. To be fair, when we found Wooyoung and San, I told myself I would let them stay whether they fit the team or not. But then we found out about their powers, and it was truly a feeling of victory." he says. His gaze feels almost invasive now. "The seven of us were naturally drawn to each other I guess, but for the last one, I had to start locating the trackers and bringing people here to see if they were the one. You'll never hear me say I'm doing the right thing, Seonghwa. I'm not doing the right thing, I'm just doing what I think was best to heal my soul even a little. I do admit that I might have overdone it a bit." 

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. "Interesting."

“They have been on my tail for some time now, though they haven’t been able to break through Yunho’s protective spells.” Mingi confesses. He sounds both proud, and a little tired. Seonghwa stares up at the ceiling, letting the sound of the flames in the fireplace soothe his heart. “It’s only a matter of time.”

Seonghwa doesn’t move. It’s always about the time. The right time. 

“So, if I’m the one you’ve been looking for, what do you do?” he asks, turning his head to look at him, just as Mingi does the same. There’s fondness in his eyes, and Seonghwa can only hope it’s a good sign.

“Nothing, really." he says. "I cannot keep you here by force. After all this time, I know my limits. But if you are the one we've been looking for, I'm hoping it means you'll want to stay on your own."

That sounds…ideal, almost. And to hear it from Mingi, who had no problem kidnapping him…

He curls his fingers into fists. “And if I’m not?” he asks again. Mingi doesn’t miss the change of tone. “Are you gonna do to me what you did to the others?”

Mingi’s care is genuine on his face. “We didn’t do anything bad to them.” he reminds Seonghwa. “Just erased all their memories of this place and sent them back. Without the trackers in them, they are safer than before, too.”

Seonghwa feels cold all of a sudden, his stomach turning into a knot. It’s strange, how fast the tables have turned in his head, how his feelings are taking control. “I don’t want to go back.” he says quietly, willing himself to stay firm. Mingi seems a bit surprised. “You opened my eyes to the truth. I don’t wanna forget, I don’t wanna go back to a world I wasn’t supposed to be in.”

Mingi studies him carefully, his gaze heavy and almost a little invasive. Too intense for sure. He turns to face him completely, hands sliding in his pockets again. “Is that all?” he questions Seonghwa, and Seonghwa can practically feel his throat going dry. The room might actually be shrinking.  “No other reason you want to stay here?”

Seonghwa’s pulse starts hammering in his temples. The question has landed on him with the force of a hammer, and he has no means of escaping. Mingi knows, because of course he would, and there is no point in Seonghwa trying to act like he doesn’t understand. The thoughts drift away, and Seonghwa can feel it all again. 

Yeosang’s hand on his face, Yunho’s body pressing him against the wall. Seonghwa couldn’t have known, he couldn’t have imagined, he couldn’t have…he still isn’t even sure himself what is going on, where this is going, if it’s even going somewhere. But he doesn’t want to go anywhere until he figures it out. It’s the way Yeosang has gotten under his skin with his kindness, the way Yunho’s sharp threats have turned into something mellow and confusing. It’s the way they’re making him feel like he means something in this world. 

Seonghwa opens his mouth, but it’s like he’s choking on his own thoughts. Even if he doesn’t say it, Mingi will still know. “Yeah.” Mingi says, nodding slowly. “Just some extra attachments, I guess.”

Seonghwa is ready to protest, but his body freezes instead; the sight of Yeosang standing by the doors renders him immobile for a couple of seconds, while Mingi tilts his head with a tender smile. 

“Hey you.” he greets Yeosang, who smiles back at him. “Everything ok?”

Yeosang nods, walking further inside the room. Every step is graceful, elegant, and it makes Seonghwa’s heart skip a beat, fumble on its own. Idiot. When he stops in front of them, the gentless in his eyes only makes Seonghwa weaker. 

“It’s late.” he says. “You guys shouldn’t be up.”

“You’re up, too.” Mingi points out, and Yeosang shrugs. 

"I have to ask Seonghwa something."

Seonghwa blinks. "What is it?" 

“Do you want to come sleep with us?”

Seonghwa’s whole body jolts at the question. Next to him, Mingi is raising an eyebrow. Yeosang seems completely unfazed. What…was that?

“With… us ?” he repeats, and Yeosang nods, stretching his hand out, waiting for Seonghwa to hold it. 

“Yunho and me. He's back. He’s too stubborn to ask on his own, though. Do you want to come? The bed is huge, we’ll all fit just fine.”

It still surprises Seonghwa to no end, the way Yeosang just casually asks for what he wants. No hesitation, no embarrassment, no second thoughts. Even if he can tell Seonghwa has no ill intentions for him, how is it still so easy for him to just…ask? When Seonghwa's stomach is doing one violent flip after another…

Well, what Yeosang wants, Yeosang gets. If Yunho taught him things always go like this, it makes sense. 

And Yunho…damn Yunho, is Seonghwa supposed to believe that Yunho actually wants him in the same bed? That he came back after being gone for two days and that's the first thing he wanted? That he's just not asking himself because he's too proud, that he's not only doing it for Yeosang?

Seonghwa is feeling very lost.

Mingi makes a sound next to him. "I think you're scaring him a little." he tells Yeosang, and there's a subtle layer of amusement, but Seonghwa chooses to ignore it. Yeosang shakes his head.

"We're just going to sleep. It's ok if you don't want to."

If he doesn't want to…no, that's not really Seonghwa's issue, but he's also not sure what is his issue. "You want me to sleep with you." he chooses his words carefully, Yeosang nodding. "You both want me to? Be honest."

How is it that Yeosang can look so calm and collected while Seonghwa is pretty much losing it?

"I am being honest." he says softly. "I know what you think. Yunho wouldn't agree unless he wanted it himself and unless he was sure it's safe for me."

There's something very disturbing and also something very sweet about that statement. And the worst part is, a very twisted side of Seonghwa is severely attracted to all that. 

Like Mingi said, just some extra attachments, no big deal.

He swallows down his hesitation. "Ok." he says, barely louder than a whisper, but Yeosang hears it. "Ok."

He reaches out and takes Yeosang's hand, and Yeosang's whole face brightens up, a content smile blooming on his lips. He pulls Seonghwa up and doesn't let go of his hand afterwards. "Let's go." 

...........................................................................................................................

Yeosang's room is definitely much bigger than Seonghwa's, though by now, Seonghwa isn't surprised. It's probably not just his room, anyway, if Yunho is also sleeping here.

His hand has gone a little sweaty in Yeosang's, and yet Yeosang keeps holding it, warm and comforting. Seonghwa is grateful, because his knees are feeling a little weak. 

It’s impossible not to notice Yunho, who is already sitting against the headboard, one leg bent a little while the other is stretching out across the blankets. Compared to his usual stoic demeanor, right now his shoulders seem a little tense. His fingers are resting on his knee, tapping down at an uneven pace. His gaze lingers on Yeosang’s and Seonghwa’s joined hands, but he makes no comment. It almost feels…illegal. 

But also, it feels like Seonghwa is trying to swim against the tide. The air in the room feels charged, thick.

Two days, just two days, and yet seeing Yunho now….

Yeosang moves again, still holding Seonghwa by the hand. “We’re here.” he announces gently as they both step next to the bed, and Yunho’s eyes drift towards him, softening immediately. He lets out a quiet breath through his nose, leaning slightly to the front. 

“You are.” he murmurs, his voice low and a tiny bit shaky. When he looks at Seonghwa, it almost feels like he’s burning him, and Seonghwa has to remind himself only Wooyoung can actually set people on fire in this house. But he feels like he’s crumbling under the weight of that gaze. “No second thoughts?”

Seonghwa’s whole body stiffens all of a sudden, irritation creeping in. “I’m here, aren’t I?” he asks back, harsher than he intended to and Yunho rests back against the headboard again. Seonghwa almost regrets his earlier tone, but he can’t really take it back now.

“That’s not an answer.” Yunho mumbles.

Yeosang steps in before Seonghwa can answer. “Yunho.” he says softly. Yunho exhales in resignation, running his fingers through his hair. 

“I’m just asking.” Yunho replies. Seonghwa’s defenses now feel fickle, flimsy.

“No second thoughts.” he says quickly; his throat is dry, and there’s an itch spreading within him. He’s not sure what to make of Yunho’s expression and the silence that follows, but at least Yeosang is brushing over his hand with his thumb, and it keeps Seonghwa grounded. 

With Yeosang, everything feels easy, almost effortless. Yeosang always knows how to ease the tension. With Yunho, it’s a chase, the two of them going in circles. 

After what feels like forever, Yunho finally moves again. “Come on, then.” he says. It’s not even a command, but it still feels as firm as a command. That’s when Yeosang releases Seonghwa’s hand and gives him a smile. His choice. He can go ahead or he can leave. The heat crawls up his neck, and for a long second, he considers running away.

And then that thought disappears. Seonghwa moves, climbing onto the bed with shaky knees. It’s soft and warm and comfortable, exactly how Seonghwa thought it would be, only the best for Yeosang. 

He’s hyper aware of his every movement, even more when he notices that Yunho’s gaze keeps following him, catching the slightest of details. Seonghwa could be naked now and he wouldn’t be feeling so…exposed. And yet, instead of scaring him, that tension is only dragging him deeper into…whatever this is. He hates that Yunho isn’t saying a single thing now, as if he’s waiting for something. Waiting for Seonghwa, maybe, though Seonghwa isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do. Or say.

Luckily, Yeosang joins them at that moment, resting a reassuring hand on Seonghwa’s back. Faltering in his thoughts, panicking in his chaos, Seonghwa does the only thing that deems fitting, that will save him from all this stress.

He turns his head and kisses Yeosang. It's as if it can absorb everything, all the questions and fears and awkwardness, and it's working. Even though in the back of his mind, he knows Yunho is watching them, maybe even getting mad, Seonghwa can't stop it. Yeosang doesn't seem in a hurry to stop, either. He kisses him back, quiet and comforting, a safe space that calms Seonghwa's nerves and gives him the opportunity to take this all in.

He's fallen too hard, too fast, too abruptly. Almost suspiciously. But it's an addiction.

He only pulls back when he's almost out of breath. Yeosang's cheeks are a little flushed, and he's looking at Seonghwa fondly, in a way no one has ever looked at him like before. "You're ok?" he asks quietly, and Seonghwa nods, even if he's not entirely sure. 

Everything inside him is turning mushy.

Yeosang turns slightly to look at Yunho, and after a couple of seconds, Seonghwa pushes himself to do the same. Yunho hasn't really moved, not an inch, but there's definitely a lot in those eyes. Hesitation. Want. Frustration. Jealousy, perhaps. Maybe none of these, maybe all of these. Seonghwa’s stomach twists at the sight. The tingles he gets from this…

Yunho’s gaze holds Yeosang instead for a little longer, as if seeking validation, approval. Seonghwa’s heart sinks; it’s almost obsessive, the love Yunho has for Yeosang, and yet Seonghwa is catching himself craving a similar kind of affection. Yeosang’s smile is soft, supportive. “Go ahead.” he tells Yunho, and only then Seonghwa fully grasps what Yunho wants to do. 

He’s unable to look away; he doesn’t want to look away. He wants Yunho’s eyes on him, the way he shifts closer, the feeling of his palm pressing against Seonghwa’s cheek. Seonghwa wants all that and more, lips parting even before Yunho closes in, and then they’re already kissing, and Seonghwa’s eyes flutter shut. It’s not as harsh as their previous kiss, but there’s still something raw, something vehement. 

It all melts together; the tension, the uncertainty, the longing. How the hell has Seonghwa been longing for them so badly when he barely even knows them? Yunho’s thumb brushes over his earlobe and Seonghwa sinks even deeper into the kiss, drunk on all the emotions. 

When they finally part, Seonghwa opens his eyes slowly, only to find Yunho staring at him with an uncharacteristically soft expression. Almost like the same expression he looks at Yeosang with. 

Or maybe Seonghwa is going insane. But he doesn’t care. 

Unfortunately, the moment Yunho withdraws his hand, Seonghwa’s defenses rise again, body tensing like before. His safety net, gone. 

Weren’t they supposed to just…sleep?

He swallows down his panic, just as Yeosang leans in again, the gentleness in his eyes working in Seonghwa’s system as an anchor. “Let’s just sleep, then.” he says. Extremely perceptive. Seonghwa breathes, because it’s like he forgot how to do it until now. He’s beginning to feel almost unwell, a nausea he hasn’t experienced before. Sweet but numbing, impossible to deal with. "Do you want to sleep in the middle?" Yeosang continues.

The question makes something inside Seonghwa explode yet again, another strange feeling spilling all over. Maybe the nausea he's feeling is normal, but it's also very unique. He tries to swallow yet again, but it's like his throat is blocked.

"I don't…" he tries, his eyes searching for Yunho's, worried that he'll see the objection, the frown. The rejection. That Yunho will say no because there's no way he's sleeping away from Yeosang, that there are limits to how attracted to Seonghwa he is. "I don't want to separate you two." Seonghwa regains his voice eventually, though his hoarse tone doesn't help much. Yeosang strokes his hair affectionately, while Yunho's upper lip twitches.

"It's fine." is all he says, but for Yeosang, it seems enough. If Yunho says it's fine…

Inhale, exhale. Seonghwa takes his time, trying to figure out what he really wants. Yunho shifts back again, offering the space in the middle. Yeosang sits there patiently, ready to accept whatever answer Seonghwa has to offer. Seonghwa, on the other hand…he’d rather pass out right now, because his feelings are really getting the best of him. If he lets himself rest in their middle, if he trusts them like that…

“Okay.” he nods, because he doesn’t want to think about it anymore, it’s going to give him a headache. The motion is hesitant, and he almost regrets it immediately, but his brain refuses to take it back. 

Lying down makes everything worse for a second, the nausea and dizziness shooting right through his system, cutting his breath. For a brief moment, Seonghwa is sure he’s gonna bring another chandelier down, and there’s no way Yunho and Yeosang will be that understanding again. Well, not Yunho, at least. He tries his best not to twist and turn, but in the end he shifts and lies on his side, turning his back on Yunho.

He doesn’t anticipate the gentle weight of Yunho’s arm to slip over his body, settling instinctively around the curve of his waist. The fit is perfect, almost fated, as if their bodies were shaped to lock together precisely like that. Seonghwa closes his eyes, inhaling from his nose, as if that will be of any help. Yunho doesn’t seem unfazed by that in the least, their proximity clearly not scaring him the way it scares Seonghwa. Or at least, he’s better at hiding his fear. Seonghwa barely has time to register what is happening, and Yeosang is already mirroring Yunho’s gesture, their arms joining together on Seonghwa’s waist. They stay there, warm and comforting, not demanding anything, but hoping for everything. Promising everything, if Seonghwa is brave enough to ask for it. Seonghwa’s eyes flutter open, a quiet gasp escaping his mouth when he senses Yunho burying his face in his hair, nuzzling in the back of his neck. 

There’s simply no way he can hide the tingles rippling through his body, Yunho must be feeling every single one of them. And as if that wasn’t a lot for him already, Yeosang’s face gets even closer, so close that his nose touches Seonghwa’s. 

It’s all too much and yet somehow, it feels not enough. It is maddening, and yet, oddly grounding.

“I want you to stay.” Yeosang whispers the words, lips almost touching Seonghwa’s, and a sharp pain shoots right through Seonghwa’s chest. There is nothing possessive or threatening about Yeosang’s request, and yet it sounds so deep and intimate, it makes Seonghwa’s head spin. Sincere, genuine, like Yeosang has been from the beginning. “ We do. We don’t want you to go, and…hopefully, you don’t wanna go, either.”

No, he doesn’t. Just some extra attachments.

They’re much more than that, aren’t they? It doesn’t matter that Seonghwa isn’t ready to admit it out loud. Not to the world, not to the guys, not…

Yeosang must be going crazy with them, having to say out loud what they are too proud or too afraid to confess themselves. Yunho hasn’t said a single word, and yet Seonghwa knows what’s going on in his head. If this is what Yeosang wants, then there’s no going against that wish. No defying.

But why would Seonghwa want to go? Why would he want to be anywhere else? 

“I want to stay.” is all he says, but it’s enough. Yeosang’s expression softens, melts, happiness overflowing his eyes, warmth spreading through his features. Behind Seonghwa, Yunho’s mouth  presses a feather-like kiss behind the curve of his ear. 

The silence is long, yet comforting, somehow. They give Seonghwa time to get used to this, for his body to relax, to just…exist between them. The world outside seems to fade into oblivion, little by little, and all that Seonghwa feels is the arms around him, Yunho’s face behind him, Yeosang’s sweet breath on his cheek. 

“We should sleep.” Yeosang eventually murmurs. A difficult thing to do, because Seonghwa wants to stay awake and feel every bit of this moment, to take it all in until he knows it’s not an illusion, or something that will just…go away. But it’s not long before the quiet lulls him into a comfortable, peaceful stillness, all the tension dissolving into thin air.

………………………………………………………………………………….

It doesn’t even last until the morning.

It’s only a couple of hours later that Seonghwa wakes up. He stirs, his senses alert despite the darkness in the room and the drowsiness of sleep. He can’t explain it, can’t name that ominous restlessness in his heart. He knows something is wrong, he just can’t figure out how he knows that.

Seconds later, a distant thud reaches his ears, a sound from outside. Yunho jolts, pulling his arm away from Seonghwa, and Seonghwa sits up immediately. It all causes a chain reaction, Yunho jumping down the bed, Seonghwa sensing Yeosang moving next to him. Yunho is already standing by the window, looking outside. A muffled shout reaches them from beyond the walls. Someone is out there. More than one person.

Seonghwa reaches for Yeosang’s hand immediately, instinctively. “We’re getting attacked.” Yunho says, his voice hoarse and icy. He grips the windowsill, his expression turning harsher, dangerous. “They’re coming.”

Yeosang clenches Seonghwa’s hand back. It’s difficult to say whether he’s scared or not, but Seonghwa wouldn’t blame him if he is. His powers, so perceptive, so warm, they are useless against an attack. And Seonghwa…Seonghwa doesn’t even know what his powers are or how he can trigger them successfully. Crashing chandeliers won’t do much right now. “We have the guards.” he says quietly, and Yunho immediately turns to look at him. There’s frenzy in those eyes, the kind that stems from pure worry. Not for himself, but for Yeosang. Maybe for Seonghwa, too. “And all your powers.”

The sound of a gunshot makes all three of them jolt. Yunho steps away from the window, shaking his head. He gets closer to the bed again, hands reaching for Yeosang’s face as he leans closer, brushing his cheeks with his thumbs.

“We do.” he says. There’s a slight tremble in his voice, and it shoots right through Seonghwa’s heart. Yunho’s eyes soften as he looks at Yeosang, and for a moment, he glances at Seonghwa, too. “I will not let anyone get near you, Sangie.” he promises. Seonghwa’s heart twists painfully, his own resolve hardening all of a sudden. 

He slowly lets go of Yeosang’s hand. “I’ll go find the others.” he says, and immediately, both Yunho and Yeosang turn to look at him. The softness is already gone from Yunho’s eyes, but the intimacy remains. His gaze burns Seonghwa.

“You’re not going anywhere alone.”

But Seonghwa isn’t willing to back down. “I won’t be alone, I’m going to find the others. You can protect Yeosang much better than me, you know that. But we need to unite. You go downstairs, I’ll go upstairs.”

The defiance in Yunho's eyes is impossible to hide. Whether it's genuine concern for Seonghwa or his dislike to be bossed around by Seonghwa, it's hard to tell. Seonghwa likes to believe it's the first. Yunho's lips part again in what will sure be a protest, but then another gunshot is heard from outside, and Yeosang leans closer to him. 

Seonghwa gives Yunho another glare. 

"Go find Jongho upstairs." Yunho gives in eventually. "Be fast. Go find him and come join us. I'll go make sure the others are up."

Hard not to be with all that commotion outside, Seonghwa thinks, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he gives them one last look, eyes lingering at the way Yunho wraps his arm around Yeosang and gently nudges him to get up as well. 

The stairs remain quiet under Seonghwa's hurried steps. With every step, his breathing pace quickens, and by the time he steps outside the room, Seonghwa is sure it will jump out of his chest. He cannot hear the piano or the violin. 

He pushes the doors open with zero hesitation. "Jongho?" he calls out, sweeping the room with his gaze. The lights are on, but there's nobody there. "Jongho?" Seonghwa calls his name again, louder this time, taking a quick walk around. Seonghwa's heart tightens in his chest; where is he?

It's then that he notices the ballerina figurine on the floor, lying on its side. Seonghwa stares at it for a couple of seconds, completely blocking out the rest of the world. Jongho must have been in there, the figurine couldn't have fallen down on its own. And Seonghwa should go find him and the others.

He sighs, picking it up from the floor, his thumb brushing over the delicate features. 

And then he hears it.

It sounds like a faint thud in the distance at first. Perhaps it's the people from outside, perhaps they are already coming in. But Seonghwa's heart is pounding in his chest, and he clenches the figurine tighter. No, the sound isn't that distant. The second thud makes it clear; it's coming from somewhere on this floor.

He storms out of the room quickly, calling Jongho's name for the third time. The corridor is empty, the fire flickering in the torches, but Seonghwa jerks when he hears the thud for the third time, finally realizing where it's coming from.

The locked door on the other side of the hallway. The one Mingi said they haven't been able to open.

Seonghwa's pulse quickens. Swallowing down an awful mix of panic and nervousness, he heads straight for the door. 

With his heart now ready to jump out of his chest, Seonghwa presses his ear against the hard surface, only to back out with a curse when he feels the thud vibrating through the door before the sound reaches his ears. Shaky fingers wrap around the handle, and for a moment, he considers just running away, back to safety, to Yeosang and Yunho.

The thought alone gives him tingles. When did these two become his safety?

He takes a deep breath and turns the handle. His breath catches in his throat when it gives way.

It opens with a creepy groaning sound, and for a couple of seconds, Seonghwa cannot see a thing. Then a dim silver light showers the room, as if out of nowhere. Dust is dancing in the air, floating around and making Seonghwa cough. He blinks furiously, his eyes trying to get used to it all. The room is bigger than he thought it would be. He expected an old, dusty attic. And he might be right about the dusty part, but…

His eyes open wide, lips parting in a gasp. All the thuds, the movement…his eyes finally catch it all, and he almost drops the figurine in shock. He takes a trembling step inside, then another one. 

They are stretching, unclenching from where they were oddly curled up on the floor. Life-sized ballerina dolls, their porcelain faces empty, like incomplete paintings. Their heads are slightly tilted upwards, as if waiting for their master, their conductor. Their ballet dresses must have been white once, but their intricate beadwork is still glimmering beneath the thick layer of dust covering them. Arms jolt at their sides, almost as if they’re marionettes moving with strings. As Seonghwa steps further inside the room, they shift in position; some freeze in the middle of what seems to be a pirouette, others stretch their arms out, waiting. Dust particles swirl around Seonghwa, making him shiver. 

Their haunting elegance is a sight that makes the blood freeze. 

“Seonghwa!”

“SEONGHWA!”

The voices make him jump, gasping harder. He turns his head slightly as Jongho, Wooyoung, and Mingi barge inside. They halt immediately after entering, and taking in the sight renders them all speechless for a few seconds. Wooyoung covers his face with his hands, while Jongho is the first to move again. The dolls do not move; they’ve all stopped again, a watchful vibe lingering in the air. Seonghwa’s hand holding the ballerina figurine is a little sweaty.

“...you got the door open?” Jongho finally speaks. Seonghwa bites down on his bottom lip nervously. 

“I don’t know. I heard…I could hear sounds from inside and then I tried the handle and it opened.”

His eyes find Mingi’s face. He’s standing petrified, his gaze locked on the ballerinas. There’s heaviness in his expression, hesitance in his eyes. Unlike Wooyoung and Jongho who are genuinely shocked, Mingi’s expression is almost one of nostalgia. Seonghwa watches the way he approaches the nearest doll, trembling fingers brushing over her shoulder. The doll’s head turns as if looking at Mingi, but there is no additional move after that. 

“I haven’t seen these since…” Mingi’s voice falters. His tone is laced with a fragile edge, his unwavering gaze hovering from one doll to the next. “I don’t know how my father did it, how he locked them all in here and made it impossible for me to open the door again. It must have been an automatic order or something, that if anything happened to him, they would be locked in here.”

Wooyoung lowers his hand slowly. “So that no one would ruin them?”

Mingi doesn’t answer. Seonghwa swallows. 

“I had no idea.” he says quietly, lifting the figurine in his hand. “I came up here to look for Jongho, this was on the floor. I just picked it up, and-”

“-and you got access to the door.” Jongho completes his sentence. Mingi looks paler now as his gaze finally locks on Seonghwa again. 

“It really is you.” he says hoarsely. “With you, we are complete.”

Seonghwa breathes. The weight of Mingi’s words feels like extra pressure in his chest.  “You figured all that just because I picked up the figurine?” he blurts out, struggling with the reality. 

“Yes.” Mingi nods. “The anchor. We’ve all touched it before, and nothing happened. But the moment it was in your hands…It’s you. This is your power. When the chandelier fell, that must have been your first outburst. Your magic found its way to the surface, and you tried to tap into it out of fear. But you did not have the right outlet. This is it, Seonghwa. My father’s masterpiece, those dolls. You are the one who can command them at will.” 

Is it possible for something so inexplicably insane to make so much sense? Even for Seonghwa’s confused mind, Mingi’s words are…not completely weird.

“We have no way of knowing how this happened.” Jongho says skeptically. “But the bottom line is, they’ll listen to you. If you ask them, they’ll protect you.”

Protect him.

If he asks, they will protect. He has the power to protect. Not just himself, but…

Yeosang. Yunho.

If Seonghwa asks, the dolls will fight for him and the ones he cares about. 

He runs his finger over the figurine’s face; the ballerinas switch into motion immediately, as if sensing his thoughts and needs. Their heads turn first, their movements unnervingly smooth. Then they lift their arms and one of them takes the first step. The others follow in line almost immediately, pointe shoes scuffing against the dusty floor. They all start spinning in perfect synchronization, heading towards the door. Mingi and Jongho step to the side, Jongho pulling a stunned Wooyoung along at the very last moment. It’s almost like watching robots, and under any other circumstances, Seonghwa would be scared, but now…

He’s not even sure how they can protect them. He counts them, one by one as they exit the room, the dust rising like a ghostly veil and making Mingi cough. Sixteen of them in total. Not a big number, but they can use all the help.

“They cannot die.” Mingi says, muffling one last cough. “Unlike you and me, human weapons do not affect them. They can take their heads or their arms off, and they will continue moving until you command them to stop.”

Seonghwa looks around the now empty room. He’s feeling a shiver down his back. He can hear the ballerinas descending the staircase, and he can also hear loud noises from outside the mansion. They’re getting closer. They must be all up too, right? “The others…” he lets out quietly. “San? Hongjoong?”

“They’re all awake downstairs.” Mingi answers. “I sent all my men out, but I’m not sure they can fight for long. Hongjoong is working on the defenses along with Yunho. We should join them.”

The chaos outside seems to be intensifying the moment they step outside the room and head towards the staircase. People shouting outside, more gunshots…but unlike before, there’s something different now, like they’re becoming muffled all of a sudden. When they finally make it back to the living room to meet the others, Seonghwa’s heart sinks in his chest. 

Some windows have been shattered already, and he can see a few bullets here and there. No one appears to be hurt, however. Hongjoong is standing by one of the intact windows, staring outside, mild concern spreading on his face. San and Yeosang are sitting by the fireplace, while Yunho has approached one of the ballerinas that have also gathered in the room and have halted again, probably waiting for Seonghwa’s next decision. 

Yunho is the first to speak when he sees them, staring at Mingi in disbelief, brows furrowed in confusion. “What did you do?” he questions, and Mingi shakes his head with a shrug. “The door was sealed.”

Instead of giving him a verbal reply, Mingi points towards Seonghwa with his head. Seonghwa, who clenches the figurine against his chest again, unsure how he’s supposed to react. The disbelief in Yunho’s face shifts as his eyes travel to Seonghwa’s face. Seonghwa stares back at him and the shivers return tenfold, Yunho’s expression bursting with fierce protectiveness. 

It’s more than Seonghwa can handle right now, so he chooses to move towards Hongjoong instead, taking a look out of the window, too. His lips part in a quiet gasp as he sees them; the walls Hongjoong has raised in the garden surrounding the mansion. Gleaming ice that spirals upwards, their surface ripples softly from the continuous bullets. 

“It will hold for a while against the bullets, but I’m sure they’ve come prepared.” Hongjoong mutters. “They must have brought explosives, at least.” 

“I’ll barricade the exits with the furniture, that will buy us some more time.” Jongho suggests. Listening to them, Seonghwa wonders if he should feel more scared. They’re literally preparing for a battle, and he’s so new to this, his whole body is going numb. They’ve got Mingi’s men, too, but with the way everyone is looking so concerned…

Why does the threat feel so big?

“Burn it, Wooyoung.” Mingi breaks the silence that has surrounded them, his voice soft but firm. “Burn it all down.”

For a few seconds, no one says anything. They look at each other, then at Wooyoung. Wooyoung is staring at Mingi, almost dumfounded. 

“This?” he stutters, realization flashing in his eyes, denial spreading on his face. “...but this is your house. Everything here belongs to your family. I can’t…how can I do that?”

Mingi shakes his head. His smile is melancholic, but loving. “You guys are my new family. You are the ones I have to protect now, and I intend to do it. I’d choose your lives over a house a thousand times. We’ll put all our defenses up and escape through the secret passage in the basement. ” 

They are Mingi's family, that's for sure. But are they Seonghwa's? 

Maybe no, maybe yes. Maybe he will find out in the future. One thing is for sure, though: they are all he has. 

And the people out there, they're not going to spare his life.

And after everything, he will not go without a fight, either. 

His body moves before his brain can keep up. And in the most astonishing way, the ballerinas move along with him, as if they are one. He’s not even sure what he’s doing, he’s just storming up ahead, bursting through the mansion’s heavy doors. What the fuck are you doing, the voices yell at him. Come back!

Seonghwa!

Yeosang’s voice is louder than the others, raw and desperate, unlike his usual tone. It tugs at Seonghwa’s heartstrings, but he refuses to let himself look back. Outside, the air is cold from the ice walls and it bites on his face, but it’s the deafening sound of bullets and maddening screams that makes the blood in his veins freeze. The ballerinas spin around him, apathetic yet protective. Seonghwa can see the attackers, blurry and distorted shadows moving frantically behind the ice. He clenches the figurine even harder in his hand, trying to steady his erratic breaths. They won’t stop moving. They won’t-

One of the figures behind the wall halts. A face that tilts slightly -or at least, that’s what Seonghwa thinks it is- as if sensing his presence. As if seeing him. And then more of those distorted heads turn, and chills crawl up and down Seonghwa’s spine. 

The ballerinas move towards the ice walls. 

Boom.

The wall shudders violently; Seonghwa barely has time to see the fractures ripping through it, before the ground shakes like a real earthquake. 

It explodes with a deafening crack.

Ice shards spin through the air, before they come showering down in a deadly cascade. Seonghwa throws his arms up, some of the ballerinas quickly surrounding him again in a ghastly shield as the blast wave hits them Steam, heat, mist, they all rise in thick, rolling waves and Seonghwa drops on the ground coughing, his lungs burning as he crawls as far away from the wall as possible, until he can push himself back on unsteady feat. 

The moment he’s up, an arm snakes firmly around his waist, fingers digging sharply into his side. Seonghwa jolts, panic flaring as he tries to free himself; a foolish attempt.

“You could have an army of those ballerinas and you’d still get yourself killed, I swear you have zero self-preservation instincts.” Yunho’s voice is a stern hiss that cuts through the haze and urges Seonghwa’s panic away. Seonghwa’s heart jumps in his chest, leaps into his throat, his lips parting in a protest that dies on his tongue the moment Yunho turns his head to glare at him. “Don’t you dare run off on your own again.”

For an embarrassingly long moment, Seonghwa just stares, quietly stunned by the weight of the words. Yunho’s voice, while thick with frustration, also carries concern and affection. The scathing glare is a sign of worry, and it renders Seonghwa defenseless, too weak to protest anymore. 

He was reckless, after all.

“I’m ok.” he says quietly, hoping Yunho might not even hear it in this chaos, but Yunho just rolls his eyes. The fingers digging in Seonghwa’s waist loosen just a little, just to give him a subtle caress instead. 

“You won’t be ok if you pull this stunt again. Stay with me.”

Seonghwa swallows. “Yeosang, he-”

“He’s with the others, but they’re already running off,” Yunho cuts him off briskly. “And we have to hurry if we don’t wanna end up in the fire Wooyoung’s about to cause.”

It hits Seonghwa; that Yunho left Yeosang with the others. Sure, he’ll be safer with them, but that’s not the point. Yunho, even for a few moments, left Yeosang. The one he always protects, at all costs. Yunho did that. 

To come help Seonghwa. 

The realization is evil and it claws its way through his system. Seonghwa feels all kinds of excited and guilty, mixed emotions that give him a dizzying thrill. It’s a traitorous kind of satisfaction, being so pleased that he got under Yunho’s skin like that. What a bad timing to be feeling like this in the middle of the battle, when steam is still curling around them and they are coming right at them. 

Or at least they’re trying to, because the bigger pieces of the broken ice wall are coming back up, their cracks being pieced back together as if an invisible glue is working through them. 

Yunho always fixes what breaks, Yeosang said.

Seonghwa can overthink it later. 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

It’s all a hazy blaze, the flames and the smoke rising up towards the sky. The air smells of burnt human flesh and wood. 

Ash and dust swirl together in the night wind, Hongjoong’s ice walls still glistening and dripping from the edges, melting into small pools of water on the grass. The mansion is still burning, but the voices have all disappeared. 

It’s quiet. 

Yeosang runs towards them, steps pounding on the scorched ground, and then he’s throwing arms around both their necks, clinging helplessly onto them. “You scared me.” he says quietly, voice shuddering at the last word. Seonghwa glances sideways, his eyes spotting the others standing a few meters away, Wooyoung holding Yeosang’s doll. Seonghwa sighs in relief, wrapping one arm around Yeosang, while Yunho turns his head and places a long, firm kiss on the top of Yeosang’s head.

“I’m sorry.” he says tenderly. “It’s ok, Sangie. We’re safe. We’re all ok.”

Seonghwa closes his eyes for a moment, allowing the rest of his senses to take over, to feel Yeosang’s presence and the way he’s holding onto him. When he opens his eyes again, Yeosang leans in and places a kiss on the corner of his lips, before he turns to do the same to Yunho. Yunho is quick to push a peck back on Yeosang’s lips, reaching with his free hand to stroke his hair. 

Yes, they’re all ok.

The others will know now, will realize, if they haven’t already. Well, Yunho running after Seonghwa must have been a pretty big indicator already. As the three of them slowly make their way towards the others, San looks at the burning building.

He looks sad, cautious, but perhaps just a little bit hopeful. “And now what?” he asks quietly. “Where are we going?”

Mingi shakes his head. “There are other places. I have something in mind. They will be sending more here, we will have to leave as soon as possible.”

“What about the ballerinas?” Jongho asks curiously. “Some of them were destroyed in the battle.”

“I can fix them.” Yunho reminds them calmly. “They’re like dolls, after all.”

Right, the undead ones. But there are others…

“Your men.” Seonghwa tells Mingi quietly. All the humans. “They’re dead.”

Mingi nods. He seems neither sad nor happy about that. It’s like he’s distant all of a sudden, like the thoughts and the concerns belong to someone else. “We won’t be using any others from now on. I wanted to control them because it felt like revenge for my parents.”

Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. “And now?”

“Now…” Mingi sighs, and it truly seems like a weight is being lifted off his chest. “Now I want a new beginning. Now we’re complete.” he says, eyes locking back on Seonghwa with startling clarity. Seonghwa swallows down the wave of surprise. “If you want to follow us.”

It’s an unfair question, really. Mingi already knows the answer. 

Seonghwa just nods. His hand twitches next to Yeosang’s, hovering for a couple of seconds before he tangles his fingers with Yeosang’s. Nobody pretends to miss the movement, but nobody says anything, either. 

Not with their mouths, at least. Jongho and Wooyoung look at each other, trying to suppress their amused smiles. It’s ok. 

A new beginning. Scary, unknown.

But whatever.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mingi's there are other places turns out to be another house on the opposite side of the city. It's somewhere in the middle of the woods, and it looks almost abandoned.

But it's not. Inside, everything works normally. It's not even half as big as the mansion, but it has 4 bedrooms and a big attic that Jongho claims as his own. 

It also has a basement too, although Wooyoung claims he'll be sharing a room with San for now.

Seonghwa wakes up on the first morning by the sound of birds chirping. At first, he needs some time to make sense of where he is, who he is with. He's lying in the middle of the bed again, Yeosang on his right, Yunho on his left. 

It was Yeosang who said he wanted the three of them to share a room, and neither Yunho nor Seonghwa protested.

Seonghwa finally understands exactly what Yunho meant when he said that Yeosang gets anything he wants. How could anyone ever deny him anything?

His gaze remains fixated on them a little longer. Yeosang’s soft hair is all mussed on the pillow, but he looks like the most peaceful, angelic creature in the world. The serenity on his face is unreal compared to everything that happened. Seonghwa almost leans down to kiss him, but he holds back and glances over at Yunho instead.

Unlike Yeosang, there’s a mild stiffness in Yunho’s body, as if he’s on the edge of consciousness, even now. As if he’s ready to jump up if needed and fight whoever dares disturb their peace. Still, the warmth that fills Seonghwa is pure, and even though he doesn't know how to name it yet, he knows it’s something that’s not going away anytime soon. 

Careful not to wake either of them, he slides downwards until there’s enough space for him to get off the bed. The floor is cool against his feet; the room does have a fireplace, but the fire has gone out. Seonghwa doesn’t really mind. After all the energy Wooyoung spent to burn the whole mansion down, he’s going to need a lot of time to recharge. 

He moves towards the window. The sky is clear, and the birds are flitting between the trees. The yard stretches out; it could definitely use some gardening, but they’ll get to that later, probably.

What catches Seonghwa’s attention is Mingi, standing close to the gate, just looking ahead. The morning light is caught between his hair, and his shoulders are relaxed, as if he’s just enjoying the moment. Seonghwa’s curiosity is piqued. It’s quite early for anyone to be up and outside without a reason…

He glances back to the bed, but neither Yeosang nor Yunho have woken up. After a brief moment of hesitation, Seonghwa walks towards the door, and outside the bedroom. The stillness of the house almost feels sacred in the early hours. 

He’s greeted by cool, crisp air the minute he steps out in the yard. Not wanting to startle Mingi, Seonghwa approaches him slowly, giving him the time to send him away if needed. Maybe all Mingi wanted was some peace, and Seonghwa is disturbing it. Yet Mingi just straightens his back and turns to look at him over his shoulder with an acknowledging look. “Morning.” he says, his voice low and raspy. Seonghwa nods as he finally stops next to him.

“What are you doing here?”

Mingi shrugs. “Just looking. Making sure no one is coming. I’ll have to ask Yunho if he can use a protective spell later, though something tells me he’ll be doing it on his own.”

Seonghwa tilts his head. “Ok, how many powers does he have? Like, is there anything he can’t do?”

A small smile plays at the corners of Mingi’s lips. “He can’t resist you, apparently.” He teases, making Seonghwa roll his eyes. “Are you serious about these two?”

Seonghwa raises both eyebrows in disbelief. “How is that any of your business? You might consider them your family, but that still doesn’t mean I’m gonna be sharing such stuff with you.”

Mingi nods with a low hum. The smile fades from his lips and his gaze drifts off ahead again, as if another thought is taking over his mind. Seonghwa stares ahead, too. Just trees, bushes, and birds.

They’re cut off from the rest of the world, and he’s still not sure how he’s feeling about that. But the peace, he cannot deny the peace.

“I think they made you using my father’s blood.”

Seonghwa flinches at first, Mingi’s statement too heavy and bold. “What?”

“Remember what I told you?” Mingi says. “That at some point, they’d captured my father and experimented, before he was able to escape and run away with my mother. Whatever they took from him, probably blood, maybe…maybe you’re the one they created with it. And that’s why you are able to control the ballerinas he made. That’s why this is your power. I can’t be sure, but it seems…it makes sense in my head.”

Seonghwa thinks about it. His whole world, everything he ever believed, they took that away from him. They woke him up and showed him that it was a whole other world he is part of. In the last few weeks, he has changed so much, done things he never thought he would, fell for people he never thought he’d fall for. Mingi’s conclusion doesn’t sound as insane as he might think.

But if it’s true, then…

He swallows. “Then that means you and I are related.” he says it out loud, and Mingi looks at him with a softer look. 

“Yeah.” he says quietly. “That’s what I was thinking, too. You’re…well, something like my big brother, I guess.”

The words make Seonghwa wince, a grimace forming on his face. “You sound way too calm about this.”

Mingi shrugs, but there’s something like the hint of a smile on his face. “You are part of us and that doesn’t change. I said it and I mean it, you guys are my new family. But with you…knowing that you’re probably carrying my father’s blood in your veins…you’re the ultimate link between my old family, and my new family. And that…that makes me happy.”

And if it’s true, then Seonghwa has also found a new family. His mind is still struggling to catch up with the idea, too fresh, too raw, too unexpected. But Mingi is sincere with his reaction, and for what it’s worth…despite their rocky beginning and the methods that were used to bring Seonghwa here…

It’s something solid. Something that won’t go away. 

Mingi wanted revenge, and instead he found family. And Seonghwa…

Seonghwa found something he didn’t even know he was looking for. 

Mingi pats his shoulder. “Now go back inside, they’ll probably wake up soon.”

Ah.

Right.

Seonghwa doesn’t say anything, though he allows a small smile to bloom on his face. Shaking his head, he turns around and goes back inside the house, heading upstairs. Inside the bedroom, Yeosang and Yunho are still sleeping, though Yeosang has shifted closer to Yunho, now occupying the space Seonghwa left. Seonghwa approaches them quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to Yeosang. 

He reaches out, fingers gently brushing over Yeosang’s hair, untangling a couple of strands that were falling in his closed eyes. Yeosang doesn’t even stir. After a few moments of watching, Seonghwa lies back down with them, burying his face in Yeosang’s pillow and his hair, his hand reaching out over Yeosang’s waist until he’s touching Yunho’s hand. Even in his sleep, Yunho’s fingers curl around Seonghwa’s, their hold soft and delicate. 

The steady rhythm of their breathing surrounds him, and he closes his eyes. It’s not right or wrong, it’s not black or white. It’s unorthodox, and maybe dysfunctional.

But it’s his home. 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….