Silence.

That was all that surrounded Sungjong, it was the thing that made him the most uneasy. It was the thing that made him the most worried. His brother was usually extremely loud – extremely talkative, extremely childlike – but he honestly was completely silent. Sure, the two had talked about where they could possibly be but after one glare from Myungsoo, Sungyeol had fallen silent – his eyes lost the light they once held in them and it terrified Sungjong. Sungjong hadn’t realized just how much he depended on the happy, light glint – the childish glint in his brother’s eyes until it vanished from that simple glare from the stranger.

“Hyung,” whispered Sungjong, as they wondered through the rows and rows of barrels of wine in the cellar; their eyes searching for their ticket out – the pressure pads that were spoken about in their letter.

“Hmm?” questioned Sungyeol, turning his head to look at the younger curiously, “What is it?”

“We have company,” whispered Sungjong, pointing towards the two approaching figures.

“Myungsoo,” stated Sungyeol, quiet enough not to alert the two approaching figures of their presence, but loud enough to alert the stranger who Sungjong made sure to memorize the name of.

The male turned towards the brothers, “What?”

“We have two guests,” stated Sungyeol, nodding his head in the direction of the two mentally insane girls whom Sungjong recognized from his previous encounter, the male who Sungjong just learnt the name of muttered curses under his breath.

“Get down,” muttered Myungsoo, ducking down.

Sungyeol and Sungjong nodded, kneeling down and peeking through the space between the shelf and the barrel of wine. Sungyeol stayed up a little bit more than Sungjong – his eyes staying locked onto the two women that slowly drew closer.

Sungjong peered at his older brother for signs of the girls’ approach since he had no visual of the duo as they slow, oh so slowly, crept towards the trio. Sungjong watched as his brother’s unnaturally blank facial expression contorted into one of worry – of fear.

“What’s wrong hyung?” whispered Sungjong.

“Hide,” whispered Sungyeol, flinching as the girls’ footsteps echoed through the stone cellar.

Sungjong looked around in panic, dropping to the ground and seeing that he could easily slip underneath of the shelf, the only problem though was the fact that there was only space for one person to hide.

 Sungjong looked up at Sungyeol in worry, “There is only space for one person here.”

Sungyeol smiled, trying hard to hide his worry and fear from his brother, speaking in a comforting tone as he addressed the younger male, “Get under there and don’t worry about me.”

Sungjong looked at him in complete worry.

“Get under there,” stated Sungyeol, peering through the crack again before turning to address the other male – who Sungjong didn’t like one bit.

Sungyeol walked over to where Myungsoo was, being cautious of the opening between the two rows as he made his way over to the seventeen year old, “We need to find a place to hide.”

Myungsoo hummed quietly, getting onto the ground and fixating himself under the shelf. Sungyeol was about to walk away and find his own hiding spot, but Myungsoo pulled on the older’s ankle – alerting him to hide under the shelf with him. Sungyeol paused for a mere second – hesitation obvious in his expression – but once he heard the dull thuds of the women’s footsteps, he flew down onto the ground and crawled to join Myungsoo under the shelf.

Sungyeol turned his head, peering at Sungjong who returned his gaze with one filled with terror as the women’s feet appeared in their line of vision – breaking the contact between the brother’s eyes. All three males held their breath as they watched the duo pause in the aisle.

“Do you smell more?” questioned the taller, thinner of the duo, “I thought you said that after we finished off Jessica we would be done.”

The shorter nodded, “We should be, Sooyoung-unnie.”

“Then why is it that I smell more humans, Seohyun?” questioned Sooyoung.

“The humans don’t smell like Jessica, Tiffany, or Taeyeon…” stated Seohyun, stepping forward, causing both Myungsoo and Sungyeol to follow her feet with their eyes. The girl stepped closer to Sungjong, standing right beside where the younger was hiding, “It smells muskier…more masculine.”

“Boys?” questioned Sooyoung, her voice revealing her glee.

Seohyun let out a low hum, “I believe so, one smells so familiar – it smells like it did earlier.”

“It does indeed,” stated Sooyoung, smiling.

“Now, where is he hiding?” questioned Seohyun, pacing up and down the aisle by Sungjong’s head.

Sungyeol braced himself to get out of his hiding spot, if they made any move towards his brother – if they touched his brother in anyway, he was going to jump out from under the shelf and attack the duo. Myungsoo, sensing what the older was going to do, grabbed said boy’s wrist – shaking his head towards the older, as if pleading him not to go.

Sungyeol, however, shook off the younger’s hold – glaring towards the male, showing that he was willing to sacrifice himself for the younger male, for his younger brother.

“Come out, come out where ever you are boy,” stated Soo Young, “We know you’re here, we can smell you.”

Sungyeol peered at his brother, frowning as he saw the younger pleading for his help with his eyes. Sungjong silently reached towards the older male, but Sungyeol shook his head motioning for the younger not to move or make any noises. Myungsoo watched the brothers’ exchange and frowned, knowing what was to come.

Myungsoo looked between the brothers and saw Sungjong pushing himself closer to the ground and Sungyeol preparing to come out. Myungsoo grabbed the elder’s wrist, glaring at him, only to be shocked as the said male shook him off again. Myungsoo wanted Sungyeol to stay at his side; he honestly could care less about Sungjong. Sure, he found both brothers incredibly annoying, but during his short time with Sungyeol, he felt some sort of silent bond being formed between them and he didn’t want the elder to leave until he could figure out just what the bond was and just what it was.

“Come out, come out, you wondrous hider,” stated Sooyoung playfully, “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you too bad.”

“We won’t be killing you either,” stated Seohyun, “Just wounding you and leaving you out as a monster’s meal.”

Sungyeol flinched at the girls’ words, obviously scared by them; however, Myungsoo was the one who felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

“Don’t go,” whispered Myungsoo, his voice barely audible, even Sungyeol barely heard the words.

“I have to go,” whispered Sungyeol, “Especially if they find Sungjong.”

Myungsoo looked at the older with disinterest on his face, he spoke in an emotionless voice – however, on the inside he was a mess. He was terrified of losing Sungyeol, the only one who could possibly make this horrifying place brighter – he was the only one who could manage to keep anyone from losing their sanity by simply smiling.

“No, I won’t allow you to do that,” muttered Myungsoo.

“It doesn’t matter what you want,” stated Sungyeol, “I didn’t ask for permission. I told you. I am doing it, with or without your consent.”

Myungsoo glared at the older, but Sungyeol simply responded with a reassuring smile.

“I promise, I’ll make it out alive and meet you and Sungjong again,” whispered Sungyeol, “However, if I do get taken away, promise me you’ll take care of Sungjong.”

“I can’t make any promises,” stated Myungsoo.

Sungyeol smiled in slight disappointment, his words making something within Myungsoo ache suddenly, “Then I can’t promise you if I’ll return.”

Myungsoo, hiding the ache responded rather coldly, “You can’t promise your return when even you don’t know if you’ll comeback after whatever they do to you – you heard them; you go out there, you are monster food.”

“Monster food or not, I’m going out there if they find him,” murmured Sungyeol under his breath stubbornly, determined to protect Sungjong despite the fear that was eating him up inside.

“Sungyeol,” whispered Myungsoo, “Your making a mistake.”

“No, Myungsoo, I’m not,” stated Sungyeol, “I’m not making a mistake because I’m protecting my family. I’ve lived a good eighteen years – plus, this might just put me out of my misery of being stuck in such a horrifying place with such a cold and heartless person.”

The younger’s eyes widened as he watched in horror as the older male slid out from under the shelf as the two girls kneeled down to check under the shelf – where Sungjong was hiding.

“Sungyeol,” muttered Myungsoo in horror, guilt, and hurt – the hurt from the older male’s previous words.

Sungjong’s heart pounded in his chest as he saw the girls kneeling beside his current hiding spot, however, he felt his heart about beat out of his chest – he felt his fear doubling as he watched his brother slide out of his hiding spot and into the view of the two insane girls.

“Sooyoung,” muttered Seohyun excitedly, pointing towards Sungyeol – as if the simple mutter of the name was a trigger, the two girls jumped up onto their feet and began chasing Sungyeol.

Sungjong lay frozen in shock as his brother’s feet vanished from his sight – the sounds of the chase leaving the wine cellar. The only time the younger moved was when Myung Soo pulled him out, only then did he notice he had been crying out of fear for his brother.

“Sungjong, we need to go,” muttered Myungsoo.

The younger shook his head, “I can’t go. We need to help Sungyeol. We need to chase after them.”

Myungsoo peered at the younger in sorrow, guilt bubbled up within him as he saw the younger’s tears, “We can’t…if we did that, what Sungyeol did would’ve been in vain.”

Sungjong cried, punching the older’s chest as Myungsoo pulled him up onto his feet – pulling him in the direction opposite of which the eldest male ran. Sungjong continuously muttered, “We can’t just leave him.”

Just as the duo approached what looked like pressure pads, they heard a muffled pain filled scream – obviously from Sungyeol – and a loud thud. Both males flinched, peering at each other through the dimly lit wine cellar.

Myungsoo wrapped his arms around Sungjong even tighter – his heart aching unbearably as he imagined Sungyeol with blood seeping out of wounds caused by old rusted knives. His heart ached as he thought of his last words towards the older. His heart ached as he thought of how coldly he had treated the older that was willing to sacrifice himself for others. He felt horrible guilty for thinking that the elder male was one of the most annoying people in the world, that he wanted him gone – he regretted his thoughts, his wants because now that Sungyeol was gone Myungsoo felt alone, he felt empty…he felt insanity slowly creeping back into the shadows of his brain…

Now that he was gone, he wanted him back.

Myungsoo embraced the sobbing Sungjong – who was biting his lip to muffle the sobs, making them quieter as he cried into the older’s shoulder. Myungsoo tightened his arms around the sixteen year old who was still practically a stranger to him, now that he thought about it, he never got to know Sungyeol – sure, he knew that the older had a younger brother and that he, his younger brother, his cousin, and two of his brother’s friends were together when they were kidnapped and taken to the mansion, but he never learnt of what the older’s life was like prior to their entrapment in the mansion. Another wave of guilt and regret swam through him at the appearance of the thought that he only even pushed Sungyeol away and that the words the elder said – even though they hurt were true. He decided then and there – although Sungjong’s diva like personality annoyed him to no end – he’d get to know the boy better – get to know Sungyeol better through him although the older was probably some monster’s stew now.

Myungsoo shook the thought out of his head as unexpected tears – which he was guessing were from guilt – welled up in his eyes, tightening his arms around the younger’s waist he whispered, “I promise you Sungyeol – if it isn’t too late, I will take care of Sungjong.”

However, as he stood there holding Sungjong, he thought about the situation deeply, was he going to fulfill his promise to Sungyeol out of guilt or was he going to do it because he wanted to? Or was there some other underlying reason for his sudden agreement to fulfill the promise that had previously led to the harsh words spoken on the older male’s departing? Also, what about the mysterious bond he had established with the elder which had been shattered just as suddenly as it was made? 

Sorry if it's a little anti-climatic - or in anyway boring or seems rather rushed. *bows*

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter anyway. ^^

We've reached 100 subbies *claps by her lonesome self*  - we're actually at 101! Either way, it's past 100!

Also, my birthday is in like three days, so I'll probably go on a updating spree since I have up to about Chapter 17/18 written.I can't really remember at this moment. 

Yes, Its going to be my birthday, but I'll be gifting you all with updates - odd? I know. ^^

Anyway, again, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. 

Also, is this in anyway confusing? If it is, please let me know.