Sojin rubbed his eyes, trying to fix his contacts. It was a bit past midnight and the boy was exhausted from his activities with Jonghyun and Onew the previous day. He had spent the past four hours hanging out in Taemin's room and the maknae showed no signs of wanting to sleep. Sojin shook his head trying to regain focus as he realized the dancer was talking to him.

"Are you getting sleepy?" Taemin asked, tilting his head and staring at his friend. Sojin couldn't keep lying to the dancer and saying he was fine or he would simply fall asleep on the spot. Rubbing his eyes once more, he nodded.

"Yeah, it's been a long day! I think I'm gonna head to bed! But I'll see you tomorrow," the boy responded, messing up Taemin's hair. The maknae laughed wildly as soon as Sojin moved his hand back. Sojin himself was a bit surprised by his actions. This was the first time he had actually made any affectionate moves towards any of the Shinee members. Perhaps he was finally becoming fully comfortable with the idols. The boy gave one last smile to the maknae before getting up and heading out into the hallway. Which room was Onew's again...? Choosing randomly, Sojin grabbed the handle to the second room down the hall and slowly opened it, peering inside. 

"YA!" screamed an all too familiar voice. Sojin's heart stopped for a moment. He had awoken Key again?! The younger boy quickly closed the door just as the diva was about to get out of bed and scurried down the hallway. Choosing another random room, he quickly entered in order to escape the wrath of Key. Fortunately, this time he seemed to have chosen correctly. A cute lamp with ducklings on its shade lit the dim room and Sojin easily identified Onew reading a book on his bed -- now in his pajamas. Upon hearing the boy enter, the leader looked up from his book, smiling once he realized who it was. 

"Ah! Sojin-ah! Ready to sleep finally?" the leader asked. He tilted his head, giving the boy a confused look. "You haven't had a chance to even change clothes since that day...have you?"

Sojin's face flushed in the realization that he indeed had not changed outfits since the day after the break-in. Everything had been happening so fast that he hadn't even thought about his clothes. Oh no, the idol probably thought he was completely unhygenic.

"Um...um...no! I just...I forgot with everything going on! I usually change my clothes! I mean, I always change my clothes! I promise!" he responded, hiding his face in his hands. So embarrassing. He could hear the idol burst into laughter and suddenly felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

"Ya! I know you would normally change clothes, Sojin. Don't worry! Before we go to sleep today, you can use my shower and I'll give you some clothes to change into."

Sojin looked up to see Onew grinning widely. His heart hurt a bit. Onew was really everything he wanted in a person. Every action of the leader seemed to be caring for the younger boy and Sojin wished he could exemplify his gratitude. Instead, all he could get out was an embarrassed "thank you" as the leader led him to the bathroom. Onew opened the door and beckoned for Sojin to enter.

"Take a shower and I'll get you some clothes! You can use my shampoo and stuff! Oh, and I haven't used the boxers I'm giving you, in case you were worried!" Onew said, laughing hysterically. It was a miracle that the leader's giggling didn't wake up Key down the hall. Maybe the diva had adjusted to it over the years. Sojin thanked the leader, laughing a bit at the boxer comment, then shut the door and double-checked the lock. He didn't want any more awkward incidents for now. The boy made sure that he showered quickly, smiling at the feeling of finally being clean again as he got out. Unlocking the bathroom door, he cracked it open as little as possible and dragged the clothes inside. After putting them on, he found they were a bit baggy for his slim frame, but extremely comfortable. Finally, he re-entered the bedroom, stretching his arms over his head. It was probably around 1 A.M. now and he was definitely ready for bed. Looking around the bedroom, the idol was no where to be found. Sojin shrugged. The leader must have gone to get food or something. Assuming he was sleeping on the floor, the boy found a spare blanket and lay down next to the idol's bed, spreading it over himself. The floor was carpeted so it wasn't that bad. Just as the boy was drifting off, the door opened and Onew's voice pierced the silence.

"Nope! Get up!" the idol exclaimed, pulling the blanket off of the boy. Sojin looked up, confused by the sudden noise. Rubbing his eyes, he gave Onew a puzzled look as he rose to a sitting position.

"Wha...? What is it?" he asked, suddenly getting nervous that another attack might have happened. Onew grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to his feet, before pushing him onto the bed. 

"No guest of ours is sleeping on the floor. I have a king size bed for a reason! It's for two people!" the leader said, running around to the other side of the bed then jumping on excitedly. Sojin immediately pulled himself back up to a sitting position.

"What? No! This is your bed! The floor is really comfortable. I promise!" the boy exclaimed, starting to get off the bed. The older boy grabbed him once again and pulled him back.

"Ah, ah, ah," the idol said in a scolding tone. "If you argue with me on this, you'll have to sleep on the street..."

Sojin turned around, looking into the idol's eyes. He was really too stubborn at times. The younger boy seemed to never have a choice in anything, even if it was always for his own benefit. He let out a sigh, then conceded, laying down as close to the edge of the bed as possible. The leader, pleased with himself, lay down and wished the boy good night before pulling the blanket over them.

"Good night! See you in the morning," Sojin responded, turning onto his side. Within minutes, he was fast asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The flickering of sunlight caused the half-Korean to crack his eyes open. Noticing a hand hanging in front of him, he checked to make sure that it wasn't his. Gazing at his own, he confirmed that it wasn't, which meant...the boy moved his head a bit, seeing where the arm led to. His eyes widened as he realized that Onew's arm had draped over him some time during the night. Not wanting to wake the idol, he kept as still as possible. However, after an hour of remaining frozen, the boy couldn't maintain the position any longer. Turning onto his back, the idol's arm dropped across his chest. However, the shift in position seemed to wake Onew up as his arm quickly recoiled back to his side of the bed. 

"Oh...! Sorry, Sojin!" the idol exclaimed, instantly rising to a sitting position. "Did you sleep alright?"

Sojin laughed and also rose to a sitting position, nodding. 

"Ahh, I feel so much better since I got to take a shower! Let's go see if the others are awake," the boy suggested, hopping off the bed. Onew agreed and headed into the hallway, Sojin close behind. Suddenly, the leader froze in his path, causing Sojin to smash into him. Stumbling backwards a bit, he managed to catch his balance and take a look into the living room. The scene made the boy's heart stop for a moment. Taemin sat on the couch, the color competely gone from his face. A few inches away stood the bow-tied attacker from before, a gun held in his hand. 

"Hmmm...so you were lying? Sojin is here..." the assailant said, his voice much deeper than Sojin had expected. "Well, you know what happens to liars."

The man raised the gun, pointing it at the dancer's head. Taemin's eyes shut tightly as he prepared for the worst.

"Wait!" Sojin exclaimed, stepping in front of Onew. "Why didn't you just look for me yourself! He doesn't have anything to do with this!"

The man grinned, the living room light flickering off of his black sunglasses. "If I had just found you, I wouldn't have this little bargaining chip."

"Let him go! What do you want? That crazy girl really sent you to do this?! I didn't even do anything to her!"

"Eh, that's not the story the boss heard. And whatever the boss wants done, gets done."

"She lied to him! Even so, Taemin didn't have any part in this!"

"Well....if you don't want his head blown off, I recommend you come with me," the man said, making circles with his gun near the maknae's head. Glancing at the terrified boy, Sojin knew he had no choice. 

"Okay, okay! I'll go with you! Just put the gun away!" he exclaimed, walking towards the man. Surprisingly, the man actually obeyed the order, placing the gun back into a holster on his belt. Onew began to object from the hallway, but Sojin turned to him and placed his finger to his lips. He didn't want the leader or maknae getting hurt.

"Don't worry...I'll...be fine!" Sojin said, giving the leader a grin. A moment later, a scream of pain escaped his mouth. The man in the suit had grabbed him by the hair and pulled him towards the door.

"Let's go. No time for goodbyes," the man said, leading the boy out of the door. Sojin winced in pain, grabbing onto the man's hand and trying to keep him from pulling so hard. He managed one last look at Taemin who looked as if he were about to cry before the door slammed closed. The man led him down the stairs and out of the building without a word until they reached a black van.

"Hands behind your back," the man ordered, finally releasing the boy's hair. Not wanting to get injured any further, the boy obeyed and the man quickly bound his hands with a coil of rope. Placing a piece of duct tape over Sojin's mouth, the man ordered him into the back of the truck, slamming the door behind him. The back of the truck was simply a box. No seats. No seatbelts. No windows. There was an indoor handle to open the door, but with his hands bound and the truck moving, it would be too dangerous to try to open it and jump out. To make things worse, the van was anything but new -- dents and jagged points littered the walls. Sighing to the best of his ability, Sojin leaned against a bumpy wall trying to brace himself against the lurches of the ride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taemin immediately jumped to his feet, shaking off any fear that he had a few moments earlier. 

"Onew hyung!! Get your car keys! Hurry!" the maknae ordered. Onew nodded and hastily grabbed his keys from the counter before the pair rushed out the door. Using the back door, the duo managed to slip into the idol's car unnoticed and catch up to the black van. The leader made sure to keep a good distance to avoid suspicion.

"How can we get him out of there...?" Onew asked, mostly to himself. The dancer shook his head in frustration. 

"We'll just have to wait till they stop to save him," he replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what seemed like an hour of driving, Sojin knew he had to find a way out. If they got to their destination, it would definitely be his downfall. Getting to his feet, the boy managed to make a few steps towards the door before the van went over a bump, throwing the boy off his feet and into the door. Letting out a muffled groan, the boy pulled himself to his knees, noticing red splattered on the white floor of the vehicle. Realizing it was his own blood, the boy's eyes widened as he searched for the wound. After a few moments, he spotted a rather deep gash on his left forearm. What?! What had caused that?! Looking towards where he had landed after the fall, he noticed a particularly sharp piece of metal jutting out of the van's door.

Holding in the pain from his arm, the boy turned his back towards the piece of metal, placing the rope on top of it and moving his arms back and forth with as much force as possible. Every few minutes, the van would hit another bump and send the boy flying into a wall. Within ten minutes, though, Sojin had managed to cut through the first coil. He almost fell over from surprise upon seeing that his plan was actually working. Another five minutes and the boy had achieved freedom. Falling to his hands and knees to stabilize himself, the boy reached up and ripped the tape off of his mouth, taking a huge breath. Ah, much better. Now, the last thing to do was escape. Sitting still for a bit, the boy managed to get a grasp of when the truck was moving and stopped. Taking a deep breath, the boy placed his hand on the handle of the truck and waited for the next stop. 

As soon as the boy felt the truck come to a halt, he quietly cracked open the door, jumped out, and closed it silently behind him. Unfortunately, the only car around was a good distance away so the boy couldn't signal for help. Sojin dropped to his stomach in the middle of the street knowing he would be noticed in the mirror of the truck if he remained standing as it pulled away. Somehow, it appeared that the truck had only made it to the outskirts of the city in all this time. The road was elevated, flanked by a steep concrete slope leading to a parking lot. Gauging it, it seemed to be a good 20 foot roll to the parking lot at the bottom. A look of determination on his face, the boy pulled himself forward on his stomach towards the slope, just as the truck began to pull away. Not bothering to look back, Sojin gave himself one final push and toppled down the steep slope, feeling his bones bruise against the concrete. Just as quickly as it had started, he landed with a thud on the parking lot black top, head spinning.