“What the hell are you doing?” Kyuhyun asked when he rushed into the kitchen. It was the most he had said since Sungmin had walked in on them in his house.

 

Kangin was leaning against the marble counter top, seemingly not phased by what he had done, and whatever it was he was planing to do. He stood motionless, staring out the glass door that led to the backyard. He showed no signs of giving an answer to Kyuhyun's question.

 

“Answer me! Jesus Christ, Kangin!” Kyuhyun finally yelled.

 

Kangin simply turned his head to face Kyuhyun. He still didn't plan on answering, but Kyuhyun had never spoken to him that way before.

 

When Kangin turned to look out the glass door again, Kyuhyun couldn't take it. He roughly grabbed Kangin by the collar and slammed him into the refrigerator he stood next to. Whatever Kyuhyun lacked in physique compared to Kangin, he made up for with his height. And, although rarely, he could be intimidating when the circumstances called for it.

 

“This isn't what I agreed to! I never said...” Kyuhyun started.

 

“Shut up!” Kangin yelled, roughly pushing Kyuhyun off him.

 

It was at this point Kyuhyun did something he never thought he would do.

 

He couldn't take being told to 'shut up' one more time, so instincts took over. He brought his hand behind him and punched at Kangin as hard as he could.

 

Surprise was on Kyuhyun's side, surprise and location. Kangin had not expected anything like that to happen, so he was not able to prepare himself. His head collided with the refrigerator mere seconds after Kyuhyun's fist had collided with it. Kangin fell to the ground holding his jaw. Kyuhyun bent down and held Kangin against the floor.

 

“You do not get to tell me to 'shut up' anymore!” he yelled at a speechless Kangin. “I never agreed to holding someone hostage! What the do you think you are doing?! This is bull! A kid is tied up in his closet! You're ing crazy!”

 

Kangin was finally able to process what was happening, the position he was in, and the fact that Kyuhyun, the quiet kid he treated as a younger brother, was screaming at him. Once he had fully come to, he quickly and easily reversed their positions.

 

He firmly held Kyuhyun down by the collar of his shirt.

 

“You do not have a ing say in this! This was my idea, my plan! I don't give a what you think about it! You'll do what I say!” Kangin shouted at a still pissed Kyuhyun.

 

Where Kyuhyun found his courage to act this way towards Kangin, he will never know; maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Sungmin who was being held hostage. 

 

“I'm not going to listen to you when you are being a crazy !” Kyuhyun yelled back. The only response he received was a smack in the face hard enough he heard and felt his neck crack from the force. He was a bit dizzy, but felt Kangin grab his cheeks and bring his face to look him in the eye.

 

“You don't have a choice.” Kangin said flatly. 

 

“Bull, I don't.” Kyuhyun managed to get out before receiving another, equally hard, smack to the jaw. However, this time, it felt much worse. He could taste blood in his mouth and could feel a bruise forming on his jaw. It wasn't Kangin's fist that hit him. It was something harder, something hand held? 

 

“Bull? You don't have a ing choice.” Kangin said once again. But he punctuated every word with a nudge to Kyuhyun ribs and stomach with the hidden gun he had pulled out from the back of his pants. 

 

Kangin was not normally a violent person, only when he was provoked, and never towards Kyuhyun. Something had changed in him. Kyuhyun was horrified. The look in Kangin's eyes was something Kyuhyun had never seen in anyone; almost like Kangin would really shoot Kyuhyun if he did something he didn't like. With each nudge from the gun, Kyuhyun whimpered. But not loud enough to be heard; he was afraid it would make Kangin snap.

 

“Do you understand?” Kangin asked with one final nudge to Kyuhyun's chest.

 

“Yes...” Kyuhyun whimpered out. He was looking everywhere but Kangin's eyes. 

 

“Good. Now get up.” Kangin said while pushing up off of Kyuhyun. 

 

Kyuhyun laid still on the ground for a minute before finally regaining the ability to control his limbs. He hesitantly heaved himself up and awkwardly stepped away from Kangin. He made sure the island counter was between Kangin and himself.

 

Kangin placed the gun on the island counter, oblivious to Kyuhyun's flinch at his motion. He turned to face the sink and grabbed a dish towel and wet it. He then threw it to an unsuspecting Kyuhyun, who just managed to catch it. 

 

“Your lip is bleeding. Go clean up. Then make sure the kid is still tied up. I need to call a few people.” Kangin said absentmindedly as he pulled out his cellphone.

 

Kyuhyun just nodded and walked towards the mirror they saw in the front lobby. As he left Kangin behind, he felt a sigh of relief leave his body.

 

~~~~

 

Kyuhyun paused in the mirror. He was a mess. 

 

His hair was a mess (more of a mess that it usually was), his shirt was disheveled from being thrown around, a large bruise was distinguishable on the side of his jaw, and a bit of blood was visible on his lip. He swallowed once before setting to work at fixing himself with a damp towel. 

 

He managed to get his lip to stop bleeding and clean the blood a little, though it was still noticeable that his lip had been bleeding. His shirt was now on correctly, although there was a slight tear and a button missing at the top. His hair was back to its normal amount of messiness. However, he could do nothing for the bruise that was steadily getting darker. He stared at it a moment longer, sighing as he felt it throbbing. 

 

Kyuhyun turned to the door to the closet that held Sungmin. He didn't want to see Sungmin, or rather, he didn't want Sungmin to see him. Sungmin would be able to tell that things had gone wrong, that all was not okay between his captors. 

 

But then he thought of the situation Sungmin was in. 'He must be horrified,' Kyuhyun thought. A wave of guilt washed over him. He was willing to do anything to get Sungmin out of this; he didn't deserve it. 

 

The thought that Sungmin was scared and tied up in the dark pushed Kyuhyun towards the door to check on him. 

 

He slowly opened the door, as to not frighten Sungmin. The look he received made him want to break down and sob with, and for, Sungmin. 

 

Sungmin looked up from the chair he was tied in, tape still on his mouth. There were clear tears in his eyes and on his cheeks; he had silently been crying. With only his eyes, he was trying to plead with Kyuhyun for his freedom. 

 

Kyuhyun broke.

 

He quickly shuffled into the closet and pulled the light switch to turn on the light. 

 

“Please be quiet, okay. I'm gonna take the tape off; it might hurt, but please be quiet,” Kyuhyun whispered.

 

A simple nod in reply was all he needed. He slowly began to peel off the tape, leaving a bit on the side of his mouth so as to quickly stick it on again if he heard Kangin coming. 

 

“I'm so sorry for all of this. I didn't know he was going to do this...” Kyuhyun broke off when he recognized the trust in Sungmin's eyes. “I-I promise I will get you out of here. I promise. I-I don't know how yet. But, I promise you, Sungmin.”

 

“...How did you know my name?” Sungmin asked. It was odd how even in the situation he was in, his mind was still able to have small moments of clarity. 

 

“I-Oh...” Kyuhyun mumbled, once he realized his slip. “I-I was in your room and I...saw one of your school papers with your name on it.”

 

“Oh... Was it you who knocked over my picture, then?” Sungmin asked. He understood that it was strange to be chatting so casually with one of men holding him hostage, but he could also understand that Kyuhyun truly wanted no part in what was happening...the bruise and bloody lip being good clues as well.

 

“Hmm... Your picture?” Kyuhyun was too flustered to remember exactly what had happened in Sungmin's room. 

 

“Yes. It was on my nightstand... It was on the floor when I walked it. Did you knock it over?”

 

“Oh... the picture of two little kids. I might have. I'm sorry.”

 

“It's okay. It didn't break, so it's okay. C-could you, maybe... umm...” Sungmin tried to get out. 

 

“What is it? I won't hurt you, I promise.” 

 

“C-could you, maybe, bring me t-that picture. Y-you could just leave it on the table here, I don't need to hold it or anything. I-I would just like to be able to see it.” Sungmin's cheeks were starting to flush. He felt embarrassed that this was the request he had; to be brought an old picture of he and his brother.

 

“Sure.” 

 

At this, Sungmin shot his head up to look at Kyuhyun. He knew Kyuhyun was the nice one of his captors; however, he still wasn't expecting anything from him. Yes, he had promised to get him out, and yes, he seemed trustworthy, but how much did Sungmin actually know about him. He was surprised Kyuhyun would so easily agree to even a small favor. 

 

“Really? I-I didn't think you would really do it. I...Thank you.” Sungmin said.

 

“I promised you I would get you out of here. I always keep my promises. Asking for a picture isn't like asking me to perform brain surgery. I can easily do it for you...I-I just need to put the tape back on your mouth. Just in case Kangin comes to check on you, okay?” Kyuhyun sounded guilty at the last part, but Sungmin simply nodded and allowed Kyuhyun to stretch the tape back over his mouth.

 

“I'll be right back...I promise.” Kyuhyun said as he quietly closed the door to the closet, leaving Sungmin once again.

 

He quickly ran upstairs and straight to Sungmin's glowing pink room. The picture, he saw, was no longer on the nightstand, but on the floor right next to it. It must have fallen during Sungmin's scuffle with Kangin. Kyuhyun bent to pick it up, inspecting it to make sure the glass wasn't broken or anything. When he was confident with his inspection. He turned to walk out of the room. 

 

As he stepped into the hallway, he could hear Kangin talking on the phone with someone. He walked into the bathroom where it seemed to be louder. On the floor he noticed a grate that must have led to the kitchen. He got on his knees and lowered his head close to the grate. 

 

“...yeah, one of the kids walked in....No, it's the oldest son....I don't know his name! Why does it matter?!...You'll still do it though, right?...Don't think about the kid, the kid doesn't matter. I can get rid of him easily enough....So you and what's-his-face are coming over in an hour?...Great, we'll be here. Eh, I'll be here. I don't know how on board Kyuhyun is....Alright, I'll see you then.......Kyuhyun, are you done checking on the kid?! Come into the kitchen!”

 

Kyuhyun jumped when he realized Kangin was yelling for him and that he wasn't even downstairs. He quickly got to his feet and ran down the stairs. 

 

He didn't know who Kangin had been talking to. No one had ever come in the middle of one of their hits. Kyuhyun would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous as .

 

He quickly pocketed Sungmin's picture, mentally reminding himself he needed to bring it to him, and walked to the kitchen.