“Why do we have to be plumbers?”

Sehun glared at Chanyeol before shoving the plunger in his hands. “It was the only uniform available, okay?!”

“Do we really have to wear this?” Baekhyun scowled at the gray suit. “And these mustaches too. They make my face feel itchy.”

“Do you want to save Luhan or not?” Sehun snapped.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun shut their mouths, deciding that it was best not to anger Sehun.

“Well I think I look stylish in this.” Kai smirked as he posed.

Sehun rolled his eyes as he zipped up his attire. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Yah… Luhan?”

Luhan felt someone kick his feet roughly. He let out a soft groan, but refused to look up. It’s not like he could, anyway. Luhan was too weak to move.

“I told you, you’re going to starve to death if you don’t eat something.”

Luhan finally had the strength to look up. He stared at Girl Number Four directly in the eyes as he said in a hoarse voice, “I’m not going to eat anything you cook.”

“Oh, we didn’t cook this, silly! It’s takeout.” Girl Number Two giggled.

Luhan shook his head, still refusing to eat anything. “Why don’t you just let me go? There’s no point in having me here.”

“How stupid do you think we are?!” Girl Number Four barked at him, poking Luhan’s ribs in the process. “You’re all over the news! People are trying to find you. If we let you go, who knows what you’re going to say to the police.”

“I won’t say anything, I promise.” At this point, tears were welling up in Luhan’s eyes.

Girl Number Four rolled her eyes. “Like that’s going to stop them from interrogating you.”

Luhan bit his lip before asking the question he dreaded the most. “What are you going to do to me then?”

Girl Number Four smirked as she stared down at Luhan with her arms crossed. “Think about it real hard, Luhan. We obviously can’t let you go. We can’t keep you locked in here forever too. We have school, you know.”

Luhan swallowed hard as his lips quivered in fear.

“Noona…” Girl Number Three stood up to walk towards Girl Number Four. “You aren’t actually planning on…”

“WHAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO DO THEN?!” Girl Number Four shrieked.

She had terrible mood swings, Luhan noted.

“We can’t kill him, noona!” Girl Number One exclaimed.

Girl Number Four snapped her head towards her friend’s direction. Her eyes were frightening. “I love EXO and I am a huge fan of Luhan, but I value my life more. I’ve got dreams to work hard for, I have a family expecting me to graduate and earn a degree, I’ve got…”

“And what, you don’t think he’s got dreams too?!” Girl Number One yelled back. “I say we release him. Let’s just trust him to keep quiet.”

Slap!

Silence crept throughout the room. Girl Number One was now on the floor, cupping her throbbing cheeks. Girl Number Four knelt down in front of her and lifted her chin. “Never talk back to me.”

Again, silence. Luhan’s head was spinning. He was afraid his heart was about to explode from the whole fiasco. He was hungry, tired and terrified. He cursed himself for being too weak. Why couldn’t he fight back?  Why couldn’t he defend himself against these girls?

“You’re too nice, hyung.” Sehun said with a pout. “People are going to take advantage of you if you’re too nice.”

Luhan felt himself smile when he recalled Sehun’s words.

Forgive me, Sehunnie. Luhan thought. At least… You don’t have to worry about me anymore.

“If you’re worried about getting your hands dirty, stop.” Girl Number Four broke the silence. “We can call back the guys we hired to help us kidnap Luhan. They can kill him, just as long as we have the money.”

I guess this is it then. Luhan thought bitterly.

A loud knock suddenly echoed through the hallway. The four girls stiffened.

“Are any of you expecting any visitors?” Girl Number Three asked as she chuckled nervously.

“We’re not stupid.” Girl Number Four replied with a glare. “Hide him. I’ll answer the door.”

The remaining three girls did as they were told. They grabbed Luhan roughly in the arm and dragged him inside one of the bedrooms, completely hiding him from the view.

Girl Number Four cleared as she twisted the door knob. She was greeted by three tall men and one petite figure. Something about them felt familiar to her, but she pushed it aside since she had a lot more things to worry about, like the guy she was planning to kill.

“May I help you?” She forced a smile.

“Uh, yes!” One of the tall men said in a husky voice. He lightly petted his mustache. “We got a call from the owner of the apartment. Apparently there’s been a leak in one of your sinks?”

Girl Number Four raised an eyebrow. “I never called anyone.”

The petite figure chuckled nervously. “Ah, maybe it was one of your friends who called?”

“I don’t have any friends over.” She stated bluntly. “I’d very much like you to leave now.”

One man stuck his foot out to prevent the door from closing. “We’ve also got reports about termites on the walls.”

“Termites?” This, Girl Number Four was nervous about. She hated insects. Letting out an irritable scowl, she finally held the door open for the strangers. “They sent the four of you to take care of termites? Just exactly how many are there?”

“We still have to check the walls to be sure.” The petite man said, clearing his throat. “We won’t take long.”

Girl Number Four nodded. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Just before she entered the room on the side, she turned to glare at the four men. “Remember to knock first.”

The four men nodded simultaneously. When she was finally out of sight, Beakhyun angrily yanked his fake mustache off.

“Baekhyun, you idiot! Put your mustache back on.” Chanyeol panicked as he positioned Baekhyun’s fake mustache just above his lips. “She might see you.”

“It’s not like she’s coming out of the room anytime soon.” Baekhyung groaned. “She’s probably in there with Luhan.”

Sehun narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he gazed at the locked door. He tiptoed across the hallway, leaving Kai and Chanyeol to argue with Baekhyun over the fake mustache. Once he was standing in front of the room, he pressed his ear against the wooden door, listening to the muffled voices inside.

“… Termites in the apartment…”

“… Look familiar…”

“… Shut him up…”

Sehun huffed, disappointed he couldn’t understand the chatter. He wanted to open the door slightly, just enough so he can peep inside the room without causing any disturbance. But just as he was about to twist the door knob, something he heard made him inhale sharply.

“… Kill Luhan…”

Sehun’s blood boiled and he was certain his ears were now turning a bright shade of red, just as they always did whenever he was infuriated.

They were planning to kill Luhan?

“Over my dead body.” He growled.

“Woah woah woah, why are we talking about dead bodies?”

Sehun almost jumped in surprise when Chanyeol spoke from behind him.

“Keep your voice down, you idiot.” Kai hissed, smacking Chanyeol’s head in the process. “What are they saying?”

Sehun’s face turned dark as he lowered his head. “They’re going to kill him.”

Baekhyun’s face paled. “What?”

“Why?!” This time, Kai couldn’t keep his tone down.

Angry stomps caught their attention. Sehun quickly turned around and came face to face with the girl who answered the door. She was glaring daggers at them, and when her eyes landed on Baekhyun’s mustache free face, she gasped.

“Y-you!” She exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger at Baekhyun.

Sehun wasted no time. With the girl in front of him frozen in her spot, he took the opportunity to dart inside the room. There were three other girls, equally shocked, standing together, seemingly hiding something behind them. Sehun heard muffled screams, breaking him out of his trance. As Sehun rushed towards the group of girls, he expected them to pounce on him, attack him in any way possible, but instead they scattered off. The girls shrieked in horror upon realizing who had entered their hideout. Sehun blocked all the disturbance out, only concentrating on the frail boy in front of him.

“Luhan…” Sehun bit his lip, trying to block out the tears from escaping.

Luhan looked so tired, so pale, so emotionless… this wasn’t the Luhan Sehun was familiar with. His mouth was covered with a white cloth and his hands and feet were tied down with ropes. Luhan stared back at him, his expression bank. If Sehun looked hard enough, he could see the relief flashing in Luhan’s eyes. But to Sehun, Luhan simply looked like he had been run over by a truck… thrice.

Another shriek broke Sehun out of his trance. He made a quick move to untie Luhan, but the ropes were tied around him tightly. Sehun cursed under his breath, his forehead creasing, showing off his annoyance. After struggling with the rope for some time, he was finally able to free Luhan’s hands and feet. He wrapped Luhan’s arms around his neck and he gently lifted the older boy.

“S-sehunnie…” Luhan’s voice was hoarse. “You c-came for m-me.”

Sehun held Luhan closer and smiled faintly.

“Sehun!”

Sehun turned his attention to Kai, who was trying to hold back the deranged girl who welcomed them into her home. Chanyeol was holding back the other two girls who were screaming until their throats became sore. Sehun almost felt sorry for his hyung, because he knew the ringing in Chanyeol’s ears would last for days. The girl who Baekhyun was holding though… she was the strangest of them all. She simply beamed at Baekhyun, seemingly star struck. Baekhyun’s face was scrunched up in disgust.

“I AM NOT GOING TO JAIL FOR THIS!” The girl who Kai was holding back was finally free from his grip. She lunged herself towards Sehun and Luhan, a wild look on her face. “GIVE HIM TO ME!”

Sehun froze. He was still holding Luhan in his arms. There was no way he could fight back. Sehun felt Luhan shift in his arms, and in an instant, Luhan mustered up all his energy to jump out of Sehun’s arms and lunge himself at the girl. Since Luhan was still frail, the girl managed to shove him off, causing Luhan to hit his head on the side table.

Luhan groaned in pain, and the last thing he heard before completely blacking out was Sehun’s venomous scream. He has never witnessed Sehun being this angry.