“I said I don’t want to work in the office! Get off me you pigs!” Key dug his heels into the floor, trying to stop himself from being dragged down the hall by the guards. Soo-Man had given the orders to make Onew, Minho, and Taemin clean the halls, leaving Key to work in Soo-Man’s office.

“If you don’t shut up you will be crawling there!” The head guard held onto Key’s wrists tighter, making the idol thrash around more in panic. Key shook his head in protest, continuing to attempt an escape. He didn’t want to go in the office, not because Soo-Man was there, but because Jonghyun would be there. He was both scared and furious at Jonghyun. The one person that he felt very comfortable with had suddenly them, hitting Taemin when he defended him.

“I-I don’t want to go in there! Please don’t make me!” Key started to become desperate as the door to the office came into view. The guards ignored his pleads and continued to drag the struggling singer down the hall.

When they finally got to the large wooden door, the guards let go of Key, who looked around hoping to find a way to quickly run away, but there were at least 4 guards down the hall, so even if he managed to get past the two that he was with, he would be caught by the other four easily. “Now listen to me, and don’t forget what ‘m about to tell you.” The head guard grabbed Key’s jaw, forcing the horrified idol to look at him in the eyes. “When you get in there you are to address Soo-Man and his son as ‘master’. Don’t give him any disrespect or we will throw you back in that bloody basement faster than you can say ‘ops’, got that?”

Key hated every single word that came from the guard’s mouth, but he knew that he was in no position to fight back. “I understand.” The guard nodded and let go of Key, allowing the singer to rub his jaw and neck. Key shuddered in fear as the guard knocked on the door, waiting for the master of the house to open.

The tense atmosphere was soon broken as the large door opened; Soo-Man looked at the guards, then at his new servant. “Oh you’re finally here Kimbum. You’re a little later than I hoped, but at least you are here. Come in and stand over there.” Soo-Man pointed at a space in the middle of the room. Key bowed his head and walked into the room, stopping dead in his tracks when Soo-Man placed his hand firmly on Key’s shoulder. “You don’t thank me for allowing you to enter?”

Key tried to respond, but his voice refused to come out, earning himself a sharp smack across his head. As soon as Soo-Man reached for the remote in his pocket, Key’s eyes widened and force his voice to come out. “I-I’m Sorry! Thank you for letting me in!” Key thought he had gotten away with it, but another smack told him otherwise.

“Thank you what?” Soo-Man looked his new servant in the eye, waiting for a response with a serious glare.

Key hated that he had to call this pig his master, but what made it even more burdensome was the fact his friends could pay the price if he didn’t. “Thank you for letting me in Master.”

Soo-Man allowed Key to walk into the room, smiling to himself as he closed the door. Jonghyun, who was sat on one of the sofas, turned around and sighed in frustration. “Why did you have to pick him? He’s nothing but a good-for-nothing cry baby!” Jonghyun stood up and walked over to Key using the crutch.

Key looked at Jonghyun, terrified that he would hit him for real this time. “J-Jonghyun what’s gotten into you? What happened to sticking together till the end? What happened to the Jonghyun I used to know?”

Soo-Man coughed to get his son’s attention, pointing at his own remote. Jonghyun put his hand to his pocket, pondering if he should punish Key for not talking to him with respect. "Jonghyun, remember you're in charge of him now. Get a grip!" Soo-Man pressed a button on his remote, shocking Key and making him fall to his knees in surprise.

Jonghyun watched as Key whimpered and rubbed his ankle in pain. "J-Jonghyun, please wake up! I know you don't want to hurt us!"

"You were told to call us 'master', so do as instructed you worthless punk!" Soo-Man shouted in annoyance, pressing the button until Key screamed in pain. Jonghyun's brain suddenly snapped into his normal state, registering the horrific scene in front of him.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Jonghyun ran to Key's side, kneeling and pulling him into a comforting hug. Key closed his eyes and sobbed into Jonghyun's arms, whispering words of thanks to him. Jonghyun hated to see Key like this; he hated the fact that he hurt his friends. What was wrong with him?

Soo-Man watched in anger as Jonghyun comforted Key. Unless he got Jonghyun to drink that water again, he'd lose the control of him. "What the hell are you doing?" Soo-Man pulled his son away from Key who pulled on Jonghyun’s arm, desperate not to be separated again. "Get up now!" He barked at Key, gripping Jonghyun’s arm tightly. "Don't show him pity Jonghyun!"

"But... I... I'm sorry Appa." Jonghyun's mind went blank and his sympathy for Key suddenly vanished.

Soo-Man gave his son a glass of water, closely watching as Jonghyun hesitated to drink it. "Son, drink it before I shove it down your throat!" Jonghyun was started by his Appa's sudden threat, and quickly did as he was instructed. Key's eyes widened as Jonghyun started coughing at the bitter taste of the water.

"W-Why are you making him drink that?" Key looked at Soo-Man, who quickly turned around and glared at him.

"Why are you still on the floor? Get up I said!" Key did what his master had demanded, keeping an eye on Jonghyun, who was now sat on the nearest sofa, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I'm sorry master! But what are you doing to him?" Soo-Man gave Key a dirty glare, telling him to shut up, and pressed a button on his radio to call in the guards to tend to Jonghyun. Key wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew one thing; Jonghyun hadn't completely disappeared, he was just hard to reach. 'Don't worry Jonghyun, I'll get to the bottom if this, I won't let you suffer!' Key mentally promised while waiting for the guards to arrive as Jonghyun fell asleep on the sofa.

A few guards soon entered the room, listening to Soo-Man’s orders and taking his son out of the room. Key fought back tears as Jonghyun’s tired and limp body was carried bridal style by one of the guards. It was getting too much for him to handle, forcing him on the verge of a breakdown, but he couldn’t give up and let that monster win over him. He had to be strong for Jonghyun, for everyone.

“Don’t worry about him. I have no intention of harming my son. I just need to get him into the right state of mind.” Soo-Man walked over to his servant, smirking as he saw Key fighting himself to stop his tears from flowing.

Key caught sight of his master coming towards him, and looked at the floor, tugging at the end of the skirt that made him feel very comfortable. ‘Get him into the right state of mind, what does that even mean?’ Key pondered, distracting himself from the approaching man for a few seconds.

“Who’d have thought that the almighty Key would end up in this situation? I thought that you would have had some dignity, but I guess I was wrong.” Soo-Man pushed Key’s head up with this index finger, forcing the idol to stare into his menacing eyes. Key squirmed as the wicked man played with the end of his dress, eventually slapping his hand away. Soo-Man grabbed hold of Key’s wrist tightly and pulled him towards him, causing the idol to look up at the intimidating man in shock. “Did you just slap me Kibum?”

Key’s face lost its colour as he realised what he had truly done.”N- Yes- I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to master!” Key stuttered in fear as Soo-Man continued to stare down at him. “It won’t happen again!”

“Make sure it doesn’t.” Soo-Man threw Key to the floor and walked to a large cupboard, getting out some cleaning supplies for Key to use. As well as cleaning supplies, Key also caught sight of some weapons such as guns and knives, causing him to gulp in shock. Now he was sure that Soo-Man wasn’t kidding around. “I want you to clean this whole room, make sure you don’t miss anything or you will do it over.”

“Yes master. I won’t miss anything out, I swear.” Key got back on his feet, still tugging at his skirt in embarrassment. He quickly had an idea of using the weapons against the guards and making a run for it, but Soo-Man would track them down thanks to the ankle bracelets.

Soo-Man locked the cupboard, placed the key in his pocket, and walked to a coffee table, placing the items on the glass surface. “I know you won’t, or it will result in you spending more time in that basement, and I can assure you that it will be unbearable.” Key nodded and watched as Soo-Man flicked a switch on his desk, making the bookshelf behind him move, revealing several TV monitors that showed every room in the house. “You can watch these for entertainment; I can assure you that it will be very entertaining.” The man smirked as he looked at a monitor showing TVXQ sitting around Jaejoong’s bed.

Key bowed as Soo-Man walked out of the room, leaving the idol to get on with cleaning the large office. He wanted nothing more just to wake up and find that it was all a horrid dream, but that was a dream all in its own. Key picked up the polish, and began to wipe down the glass table. After a few minutes he looked again at the monitor that showed the recovery room, watching as Jaejoong pulled Yunho into a hug. Key couldn’t help but smile at the wonderful sight. “They deserve their time together.” Key looked to the door, sighing as he thought of Jonghyun. “Why didn’t I accept your feelings sooner?”

Onew, Minho and Taemin stood silently in the hall as they waited for their master to arrive. Minho wrapped his arm around the maknae, trying to calm Taemin down who was breathing abnormally. “While we are waiting, I guess you could start polishing the floors. I see no reason in allowing you to stand here and play with your thumbs.” The head guard spoke up, pointing at the bucket of liquid and cloths that lay next to it.

Taemin scoffed and folded his arms, wriggling away from Minho’s grasp. “I don’t remember signing up to be this ’s slave.” Taemin felt anger building up inside of him again, which was dangerous as last time it almost lead to him getting a bullet in his head, but he couldn’t stop himself.

The man raised his eyebrow and took a step towards the rebelling idol, who was quickly protected by Onew who stood in-between them. “You think you have a choice you worthless brat? If you want to spend the rest of your time chained up then just say the word and we can get that arranged for you!”

Onew looked back and gave Taemin a glare, making the younger flinch. “Taemin, don’t try to rebel! I know you want to show yourself as a strong person, but sometimes knowing when you’ve been caught is the sign of strength, so just calm down ok?” Taemin looked down and nodded, finally getting control over him again.

“Well get to it then!” The head guard barked, pushing the three to the floor. The guards laughed as the singers grunted in pain as they hit the cold marble floor.

Minho glared at the guards and gritted his teeth. “Fine, we’ll get to work.” Minho looked at his friends, who were looking blankly at him. “Well, are you going to help me or sit there and gather dust? Not like we have a bloody choice is it?” Onew and Taemin grabbed a cloth each, accepting that Minho was right.

"What's going on here?" Soo-Man walked into the hall with his hands in his pockets, obviously ready to push the buttons in the remote if the three servants tried anything. The guards allowed their boss to get close to the singers, parting to allow Soo-Man to walk in the centre of the crowd.

Minho looked at Soo-Man, then at his friends, trying to think of what he should say. "We were just about to start our duties, that's all master." Minho tightened his grip around the cloth, and looked at Taemin and Onew. “Isn’t that right guys?”

Onew nodded and looked at Soo-Man who raised his eyebrow. “Just like Minho said, we were just getting started master.” The three quickly lowered their heads as Soo-Man walked closer to them; he knew that something was going on by the huskiness in their voices.

The head guard took a handful of Taemin’s hair, pulling the maknae’s head back and forcing the startled servant to look right into his master’s cold eyes. “That’s not you said a moment ago. Go on brat; tell Soo-Man what you were saying before. Go on, I’m sure he’d love to hear what you think.” Taemin grabbed at the guard’s hand, desperately trying to pull the tightly gripped fingers away from his hair.

“Hey, let go of him!” Minho yelled, reaching to pull the guard’s hand away from his younger friend, but two other guards quickly grabbed Minho and Onew from behind, stopping them from being able to get up and assist Taemin.

A shadow of fear drew over Taemin as Soo-Man kneeled in front of him. “Go on Taemin, what’s on your mind? Your master wants to know.” He smirked as Taemin looked down to the floor. Thinking the maknae had given up, Soo-Man stood up and turned around.

Taemin kneeled in silence for a while, thinking of what he should say. If his master wanted to know what was on his mind, why hold back? Taemin looked up and slammed his hands on the floor, getting Soo-Man’s attention. “You know what I want to say? YOU! THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO SAY TO YOU!”

Onew’s face turned pale as he heard Taemin raise his voice at the older male. At this rate Taemin wouldn’t live until the next sunrise unless he calmed down. “He didn’t mean that! He’s just tired and frustrated!” Soo-Man walked back towards Taemin, standing a few centimetres from him, and kneeled to make eye contact with him. “Taemin apologise to him right now!”

“I’m not sure if I like that tone you just used with me Taemin.” Soo-Man stared at Taemin, who instantly filled with regret and bowed his head. The two stayed in silence for a while, but eventually he got fed up of waiting, and pulled out the remote. “I gave you the chance, but if you want to make this hard on yourself then it’s fine by me.”

Taemin’s eyes widened as the sight of the dreaded device came into his view, followed by a cold sweat caused by the shock. He couldn’t face any more of the pain from the horrible shock chains and bracelets, but if he didn’t control his temper it could mean the end of his short life. “N-No wait, I’m sorry! Please believe me, I’m sorry!”

Taemin’s head was forced back due to the guard who pulled on Taemin’s hair tightly. “Address him as we’ve told you, or I’m dragging you by the hair back into the basement.”

Taemin clawed at the guard’s hands, trying to free himself of the grip and save his aching neck. “I’m sorry master! It won’t happen again, I promise you!” Tears began to run down Taemin’s cheek from the pain of his hair slowly being pulled out from his scalp. He felt so useless, what was the point in trying to tight anymore?

Soo-Man nodded, satisfied with his servant’s answer, and put the remote back in his pocket. “That’s better.” Before he stood up, Soo-Man pinched Taemin’s left cheek, gripping it tightly and making the maknae squirm in pain. “Just remember this; you’ve lost. You have nowhere to run, and you belong to me now.”

“Please let go, you’re hurting him!” Minho couldn’t take much more of seeing Taemin in so much pain. It was bad enough that he had given Taemin a hard time through this, but the fact that Taemin was in danger and all he could do was watch, was mentally destroying him.

Soo-Man let go of the trembling singer, and walked over to Onew who was being held back by a guard. Onew slowly lifted his head up, making eye contact with the man he used to look up to. “Look at you. Trembling and just watching as your band goes through all of this pain.” Onew slowly looked down in embarrassment; the horrible fact was that Soo-Man was telling the truth. The awful man quickly placed his hand on Onew’s hair, pulling it back to whisper in his ear. “I think you’re the one who needs to grow up. It’s pathetic.”

The guards let go of the idols, allowing them to quickly huddle together for comfort. Soo-Man walked away from the group and whispered a few orders to the guards. Minho tried to listen in on the convocation, but it was impossible to make out what they were saying. It didn’t matter though, even if he did hear their small talk, it wouldn’t change their chances of escaping.

Jaejoong slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them to adjust to the light that sent his brain spinning. His body still felt a little unstable from the shocks, but he had only been resting for a few hours since that horrid event. Jaejoong was still very tired, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his friends. If what he heard about Jonghyun was true, then he wanted to sort it out as soon as he could.

The clock told the singer that he had only slept for another 45 minutes, but that was enough for him to handle. Any longer would be too long, and who knows what had happened while they were asleep. Yoochun, Junsu, and Changmin weren’t even back yet, and they left a while ago with a promise to return with food, so what happened to them?

Jaejoong sat up in the bed, turning to Yunho who was still asleep, curled up close to Jaejoong; and his arm over him just in case he had to suddenly protect him. After he managed to snap his brain back down to earth, Jaejoong started to shake Yunho’s arm, trying to awaken the younger singer. “Yah, Yunho wake up, we fell asleep.”

Yunho, who was still half asleep, began to move about, burying his head in the pillow to try to fall back asleep. “W-What’s going on? Just five more minutes, I don’t want to get up yet.” The sleepy idol pulled the cover over his head like a child on the first day back at school.

“Get up! We have to find the guys and see where they went! They’ve been gone for 45 minutes Yunho!” Jaejoong gently punched Yunho on the head, but the idol didn’t move. Jaejoong quickly lost patience with Yunho and went into his Umma mode. “YUNHO I TOLD YOU TO GET YOUR OUT OF THIS BED, AND HELP ME SEARCH FOR THEM!”

“Ok, just give me a sec to wake up Jae.” Yunho muffled under the covers, with no real motivation to actually get up. Of course Yunho wanted to look for his friends, but he had barely slept with the worry of the whole situation.

An idea strung to Jaejoong’s mind, making his lips curl in a mean way. “Fine, stay here then. I’ll just go look for them myself.” Yunho didn’t move, making Jaejoong think of a different way of getting the idol to bounce out of the bed. “I’m really hot too. I better take my top off for now just to cool down a bit.”

That did it. Yunho quickly awakened, shooting up from the bed and looking at Jaejoong. Yunho’s smile quickly faded when he realised that Jaejoong had lied to him, making him feel annoyed, and embarrassed at the same time. “You bloody tease!” Yunho rolled his eyes and jumped of the bed, stretching himself out as Jaejoong slowly did the same. Jaejoong felt his legs wobble underneath him, so quickly gripped the metal bed frame, trying to steady himself. Yunho watched in worry as Jaejoong tried to get strength back in his body. He hated to see his friend in such a terrible state. “Are you ok? Maybe you should stay in bed for now.”

Jaejoong quickly looked up at Yunho, shaking his head as he took a few more shaky steps. “I’m fine. Just let me get used to it and I’ll be ready to go very soon.” Yunho shook his head and walked over to his struggling friend, gently holding onto his arm to support him.

After a few steps, Jaejoong’s right leg gave in, making him fall into Yunho. Luckily the singer had fast reflexes, and caught Jaejoong before his hyung could fall over himself. Jaejoong automatically wrapped his arms around Yunho’s neck, trying to regain his strength in his legs, but they refused to listen. Yunho helped Jaejoong to sit back down on the bed, watching as his hyung bit his lip and allowed a tear ran down his cheek. “Jaejoong, maybe you should just stay in bed for now. I’ll go find them and be back soon.”

Jaejoong shook his head and grabbed onto Yunho’s hand to stop him from leaving. He was disappointed in himself. He wanted to desperately help his suffering friends, yet he couldn’t even stand up without Yunho’s help. “You said you wouldn’t leave me. Are you planning on breaking that promise so soon?”

Yunho sighed and held Jaejoong’s hand, looking at him with great sympathy. “But Jaejoong, you can’t walk. I know you want to see everyone, and I know you must want to get out of here, but what can I do?”

Jaejoong’s head instantly snapped up as he came out with an idea in desperation. “Then just carry...” The whole room went silent as Jaejoong realised what he was about to request from Yunho, and quickly shut up in awkwardness. “Never mind Yunho, I’ll just stay here and wait for you.”

Yunho smiled as Jaejoong turned his head away in a cute embarrassed manner. Carefully, Yunho picked up Jaejoong, carrying him bridal style. “Like you said; I’m not leaving you ever again. So let’s go together neh?”

Jaejoong covered his face with his hands, trying to hide his badly blushing face. “Neh, if you think you can carry me all that way...”

“Of course I could, you hardly weight anything. As soon as we find the guys, I’m making sure you eat plenty.” Yunho smiled as he walked down the hall with Jaejoong in his arms. Jaejoong kept his arms around Yunho’s neck, trying to balance out his weight evenly over Yunho’s arms.

They had only got as far as the end of the hall, when suddenly Soo-Man appeared from around the corner with his guards, stopping Yunho dead in his tracks. Jaejoong and Yunho’s faces went pale as the older man raised an eyebrow at them in confusion. “And where were you two going off to?” Soo-Man folded his arms and waited for them to speak up, but they couldn’t get the strength to say anything. They weren’t sure if they had done anything wrong, but they were terrified just the same.