“Hello, kids. You’ve been very, very naughty.”

The light in the room flickered on and off, on and off, on and off, until it finally stopped, bathing the small room in a dim glow. Yunho felt Boa’s hands tightly gripping his arm as Joon Aejung slowly materialized in the room, looking more alive than dead, with a  menacing glint in her eyes and a snarl on her lips. Yunho felt that all too familiar feeling of terror and dread that threatened to cripple him yet hard as it was, he forced himself to focus, protectively pushing Boa behind him and keeping himself as a barrier between the two women. He kept Boa and himself pushed against the door; the raven haired man praying with everything he had that his friends had heard their cries of help and were looking for them.

“Move away from the door.”

Boa peered from behind Yunho. “Don’t do this, please.”

“I SAID MOVE AWAY FROM THE DOOR!” Aejung screamed so shrilly that Yunho and Boa both jumped in fright.

Keeping her death grip on Yunho’s arm, Boa quickly moved when he did; the two only stopping when they were across the door and Aejung stood before it instead. “Ma’am, please. We know what happened to you… when you were kid. Please, Ma’am. There’s another way to deal with all of that. Not like this.”

“Another way? ANOTHER WAY?!” She repeated. “Look at you, Kwon Boa. Pampered by those who adopted you. You lived a good life, didn’t you? You don’t know what it’s like! YOU. DON’T. KNOW. Have you ever been ?”

With tears smarting her eyes, Boa shook her head. “No, Ma’am.”

“They abused me over and over and over and over again… I couldn’t get out… No one wanted me so I had to stay ‘til I was legal and could leave on my own…” Pain and fear crept into the spirit’s tone. “No one wanted me… no one… no one…”

 “What happened to you was unfair… You didn’t deserve it. You were only a child.” Yunho finally spoke. “But what you did to us and to those other kids you hurt… it doesn’t make anything right. We didn’t deserve that. No one did.”

“SHUT UP!” Aejung screamed yet again; her eyes wide and crazed and bloodshot. “YOU ALL DESERVE TO SUFFER LIKE I DID! IT’S ONLY UNFAIR! YOU WILL SUFFER!”

“Yunho, we need to get out of here.” Boa whispered urgently.

The raven haired man nodded slightly before the two rushed back to the door and drummed their fists against it; Yunho yelling out as loud as his lungs could muster. “Guys! Changmin! Kyu! Sooyoung! Help!”

“SHUT UP!” The spirit screeched.

“Aejung’s here! Help!” Boa joined in. “Please! Help us! We’re in here!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

“Yoona! Heechul!” Yunho rammed his shoulder against the door to no avail. “Guys! Help! We’re in here! We’re in here!”

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Aejung shrieked and shrieked over and over again, gripping her hair with her hands in frustration. “SHUT UP OR BOA’S GOING TO PAY FOR IT!”

The threat had the pair clamping their mouths shut; Yunho once again using his own body to shield Boa. He felt his body tremble so violently in fear that he worried he’d collapse right there and leave Boa unprotected. It hadn’t been the first time he’d heard the very same threat come from Aejung. Back then, it was always Aejung’s bargaining chip to get Yunho to do as she wished. She’d always been successful, because he’d rather suffer than let Boa go through anything so terrible. He hadn’t heard that threat in so many years but, as if they all just happened yesterday, the memories rushed back in.

“Ma’am! Please! Have mercy! Ma’am!”

“Boa…” His head pounding and his entire body aching from the flu, Yunho heave every breath as he stirred in the hospital bed he had be placed on in the infirmary. “Boa…”

“Ma’am!”

“Boa…” He tried to sit up, but couldn’t manage beyond lifting his shoulders off the mattress. “Don’t hurt her…”

“YOU’RE A VERY BAD GIRL!”

“I didn’t do anything, Ma’am. I swear!” Boa’s sobs rang down the hallway and into the infirmary. “Please!”

“LIAR!”

“Don’t hurt her…” Finally managing to sit up, it took so much of his energy to even just push the thick blanket off