Ahhhh, I haven't updated this in ages! Excuse the lameness of this chapter, I'm trying to get back into the swing of this story x.x Haha, I hope I'll be better by the next chapter! Anyway, thanks for all the support so far! As always, please leave comments and subscribe! The feedback helps me choose what will happen next! xD

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The twenty-year-old lay still for a minute, trying to regain his bearings, before finally pushing himself up to a sitting position. Examining his body, he was surprised to find that he only had a few scratches and bruises. Nothing seemed to be broken, even after the roll down the steep hill.  Sojin nodded to himself, proud of his ability to escape his kidnappers and avoid any severe injuries. Those Karate lessons from when he was a kid actually paid off. The boy looked to his left and then to his right. The parking lot he sat in seemed entirely abandoned and did not seem as if it served any store. Rising to his feet, the boy felt for his phone in his pocket, but realized he hadn’t had time to grab it before being kidnapped. Great. He was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no GPS and no phone.

“Sojin!” came a voice from behind him. The boy wheeled around, eyes wide with fear that the attackers had realized he was gone and come back for him. He was quite surprised to see that it was just the opposite. Taemin was running full speed down the hill that he had just rolled down, while Onew was getting out of his car at the top.

“Taemin…? How did he…?” Sojin whispered to himself under his breath. However, he couldn’t finish his question before Taemin reached him, literally throwing himself on Sojin. Sojin stumbled back a bit from Taemin’s momentum, but the dancer stabilized him in a hug. As he was held in the maknae’s embrace, he thought he could hear the faint sound of crying.

“Are you crying?!” Sojin exclaimed, unable to see Taemin’s face that rested on his shoulder. The maknae sniffled a bit, then finally released the hug, quickly wiping his eyes before looking at his friend.

“N-no! I was just worried about what happened to you! I’m glad you’re safe,” stammered the dancer. A small smile crossed Sojin’s face due to the boy’s cuteness, but his attention was stolen as Onew finally approached the duo, grabbing onto both of Sojin’s shoulders and looking him up and down.

“Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?!” he asked, panicking. The leader gripped the boy’s chin and leaned in closer, examining something. “Your lip is bleeding!” 

Onew reached in the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a pack of tissues, taking one and dabbing it on the younger boy’s lip. Sojin winced in pain. His injuries had been rather painless due to the adrenalin from his escape. Now, however, the effects were wearing off and the pain was becoming more apparent.

“Thanks, Onew hyung! You too, Taemin. I’m fine, so don’t worry. It’s just a few scratches and bruises,” Sojin stated, pointing to a small scratch on his arm and smiling in an effort to comfort the idols. Onew grabbed the boy’s hand and started pulling him towards the car, Taemin following behind.

“Let’s go back to the apartment and fix you up,” the leader ordered, beginning to climb the hill back to the car. Sojin stopped in place, freeing his hand from the older boy’s grip and shaking his head.

“I can’t go back with you. I’ve caused you guys enough trouble. They always seem to know where I am and it’s even putting all of you in danger now,” Sojin began, taking a step away from the idols. “There’s nowhere I can hide and they’re gonna take me eventually. When they do, I don’t want any of you to get hurt…”

Sojin looked down at the ground, unable to stare into the eyes of the other two boys. Honestly, he wanted to go back with the pair. After being kidnapped, he had finally realized the severity of the situation and he truly felt scared — especially of being alone. Still, he knew his words were true and that the others would be in danger if he stayed with them. The boy looked back up, clenching his fists to help hold back his tears.

“You guys go back! I’m gonna try to figure out a way to get out of this by myself,” he stated, looking from Taemin to Onew. A silence filled the air as neither idol replied, simply staring at him with concern. Suddenly, Onew grabbed the boy’s wrist with surprising force, his face turning angry. 

“Ow!” the younger boy exclaimed, placing his free hand over Onew’s. He had never seen the leader like this, even on T.V. before he had met him. Taemin looked at Sojin with concern and then at Onew, seemingly confused.

“Don’t be stupid,” Onew stated quietly, pulling Sojin back towards the car. Although he was intimidated by the seriousness that had suddenly overtaken the leader, the younger boy resisted, pulling back against Onew’s grip.

“I’m not being stupid! It’s true! If you try to protect me, they’re just going to hurt you. They already almost killed Taemin!” Sojin exclaimed, raising his voice and pointing to the maknae with his free hand.

“Ya!” the leader shouted with anger, causing both Sojin and the group’s maknae to jump in surprise. “Don’t you think if we didn’t want to get hurt, we would have left you already?! I don’t care what happens to me if it’s going to protect you. Taemin is way more worried about you than he is about himself. Haven’t you noticed any of this?!”

Taemin nodded his agreement, still staring at Sojin with concerned eyes. Sojin, completely taken aback by Onew’s sudden outburst, opened his mouth to retort but couldn’t think of anything to say. An even longer silence than the previous time filled the air before the twenty-year-old burst into tears. Sojin cringed internally at the embarrassment of crying in front of the Shinee members, but could no longer hold it back. He felt so lost. 

The boy felt the leader release his grip then pull Sojin into his chest, the younger boy’s tears falling onto Onew’s plain white t-shirt below the leather jacket. They remained like this for a few more minutes until the boy finally calmed down a bit, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. Onew pulled back and lifted the boy’s chin, looking him straight in the eye.

“We want to help you. It’s our own choice. Now just trust in us,” the leader stated, his happy disposition finally returning. Taemin ran over and placed his hand on Sojin’s shoulder.

“It’s true! We won’t leave you alone, so don’t cry!” the maknae exclaimed, before pointing to the car. “Now let’s go back so we can fix you up!”

“Thank you…” Sojin uttered quietly towards the ground, taking the leader’s hand as Onew led him up the hill to the car.

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By the time the trio arrived at the apartment, Sojin’s mood had finally lifted, yet his eyes remained a bit puffy from crying. The boy followed Onew and Taemin in through the front door, a bit surprised to see only Key in the living room reading a magazine. He had become so used to seeing Key with Jonghyun that seeing him alone just seemed strange. As everyone entered, slipping off their shoes, Key glanced up from his magazine. Sojin tried to avoid eye contact, knowing his eyes still showed signs of his breakdown, but failed.

“Ya. Sojin, were you crying?” the diva asked from the couch, causing Sojin to wince a bit before looking over towards the couch where Key lay.

“No! It’s just allergies!” the younger boy shot back with a glare.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh,” Key replied, returning to reading his magazine. The diva seemed to be completely unaware of all that had happened in the past few hours, causing Sojin to let out a quiet giggle. 

“Taemin, make me lunch!” ordered the diva from the couch. Taemin looked as if he was going to object, but Key gave him a glare from behind his magazine which sent the maknae scurrying off to the kitchen. Onew began to head down the hallway, beckoning for Sojin to follow. The younger boy obeyed, waving goodbye to Key who gave him a simple head nod of acknowledgment. The two entered Onew’s bedroom once again.

“Well, since you’ll be living with us for the foreseeable future, we need to figure out where you’re gonna sleep,” stated the leader. “Whose room do you wanna stay in?”

Sojin thought it was obvious that he’d want to stay with Onew, surprised that the question had even been asked. 

“Where do you think?!” Sojin asked, jumping onto the idol’s bed. Onew pretended to be thinking, placing his hand under his own chin.

“Hmmm, Minho’s room?” he asked, giggling over his own joke. Sojin shot the leader a glare, then shook his head and pointed at Onew.

“Your room, of course!” he exclaimed. Even though Sojin thought it had been an obvious choice, Onew seemed to be relieved upon hearing the words from the boy’s mouth.

“That’s the best choice!” he replied, making a thumbs-up sign. “But…I have to go to work today, so spend some time with the others, okay?”

Sojin nodded, before waving goodbye as the idol walked out the door. As long as he had Taemin he had nothing to fear. The boy knew that the other members were nice as well, but he wasn’t nearly as comfortable around them as he was Onew or Taemin. Just as he rose from the bed, Taemin cracked open the door and approached. 

“Taemin! Wanna hang out? Let’s go get ice cream or something!” Sojin offered, expecting the maknae to immediately agree. His heart dropped a bit when the other boy shook his head.

“I can’t today! I’m going with Onew hyung to film a CF! I just came to say bye,” he stated, patting Sojin on the head. The non-idol internally screamed his objections, but played it cool.

“Oh, okay, then we’ll just go when you’re free! Good luck with filming!” Sojin exclaimed, making an “okay” sign with his hand. Taemin nodded then headed out after Onew. The maknae and leader were both gone, which only left him with the other three members. Out of those three, he knew Jonghyun the best, but wouldn’t it seem weird to ask him to hang out? There was no way he’d ask Key or Minho — they were far too intimidating. After going back and forth on whether to ask Jonghyun, the boy decided against in, choosing to simply hang around by himself today.

After texting on his phone for twenty minutes, Sojin finally rose from the bed and headed to the main door. He slipped his shoes on and grabbed the doorknob, but was stopped before he could exit.

“Sojin! Where are you going?” came a semi-familiar voice. The boy looked for the voice’s owner and was surprised to see none other than Minho. Sojin’s mind instantly froze. He knew the rapper was nice, perhaps one of the nicest of the five members even, but something about him made the younger boy nervous.

“Er, I…I was just going to the store to buy you guys some groceries!” he stammered. “Since you’ve done so much for me!”

Minho shook his head. “We haven’t done anything for you, you don’t owe us at all! But I need to go to the store anyway, so let’s go together!”

Going shopping with Minho one on one? That would certainly be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of the boy’s life. Sojin raced to think of an excuse, but his thoughts were interrupted by yet another voice.

“Ya! You’re going shopping? I’m joining too. Jonghyun keeps buying me the wrong cereal so I’m gonna get it myself this time,” came Key’s voice. Sojin slowly turned his head to face the diva, cringing internally. It was scary enough going alone with Minho…adding Key would just make this terrifying.

“Why do you look so scared? I’m nice!” exclaimed the diva, walking over and slipping his shoes on. He turned and made eye contact with Sojin, bringing his face within inches of the boy’s. “Just don’t cross me.”

A silence resounded as Sojin stood wide-eyed before Key finally burst out laughing.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Yeesh, teach this kid to take a joke,” he exclaimed, beckoning Minho over. “Alright, I don’t have all day…let’s go!”