It was a month before any of them could be discharged, their broken bones healing much slower thanks to the dolls. Joon-myeon was still on crutches and Baek-hyun’s arm still in a sling, but the rest of them were able to finally have their bandages removed. 

Hak-yeon found out, since most had been discharged before him, that they all moved into a large apartment that could house all of them, the money sent from their families. They offered a room for him and Bin, and while Bin ended up going because he had no other place to stay, he was still unsure. He wasn’t sure where he wanted to go now. He didn’t know the others well enough to be comfortable living with them, but it’s not like he could just move back home with his mother. He was sure his mother would help him get his own place, but he didn’t want to force that on her either. So he never answered any of their requests, deciding to just wait until he was better. 

Exactly a month and a half since he was pulled from the basement, he was discharged. The guys all came to see him, and he was surprised when even Taek-woon showed up. The other had become busy with school and had only been able to visit every once in a while, not to mention Seoul was over two hours away. 

“Look, we match!” Chan-yeol shouted excitedly, running over and comparing their arms together. He tried to appear just as excited when he saw the matching scars that peppered their skin, the puckered marks bulging out slightly. It still made his stomach turn every time he tried rubbing his arm and accidentally scratching them instead. 

“That’s not something to be proud of,” Zitao muttered, forcibly yanking the morbidly excited Chan-yeol away. 

“Sorry.” 

They helped him get out of his bed, his legs still weak and sore when he finally stood on his own; they wouldn’t leave him alone for a second, staying in the room even when he tried to change. Joon-myeon was like a mother, having brought him a change of clothes and attempting to help him change. Luckily, Taek-woon took that as initiative to leave, and he was thankful. These guys were one thing, they were just as scarred and battered as he was, but he didn’t want Taek-woon seeing him. 

He put on the pair of pants they gave him, feeling a little better when all the scars were covered and out of sight. He paused, though, when he took the shirt, letting his eyes roam over his arms and chest, staring in detail at every puckered scar. He was glad he couldn’t see his back; from looking at the others he knew how appalling it was. His fingers on the piece of cloth shook. His body had always been covered by something, so he had never seen the full damage. It made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He was brought out of his reverie when he felt a hand cover his own, and he looked up to see Joon-myeon smile bitterly. 

“It’s best not to look,” he said quietly, and he nodded, knowing all too well. He slipped the shirt over his head, the long sleeves covering all of his skin. 

“You look great,” Jong-in said, clapping him on the shoulder, panicking when he winced. “Sorry.” 

“It’s alright,” he said, pushing past all of them and heading to the door, opening it and smiling wide when he saw Taek-woon waiting. Taek-woon didn’t say anything, his lips pursed as he looked him over and he swallowed heavily, knowing what the other was looking for. “You can’t see.” 

“…how do you feel?”

“I feel great, but now that you’ve come to see me I feel much better.” That did it, the other no longer awkward as he merely rolled his eyes as he stepped in the room. Already feeling light-headed, he made his way back over to the bed, sitting back down. Taek-woon followed a few steps back, aware of how the others all stared at him, their eyes disapproving. 

“Don’t mind them,” he said loudly, turning back at them and sending them a quick glare that had them hurriedly look anywhere but them. A small smile cracked on the other’s lips, his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Aren’t you hot?” 

He the sleeve of his sweater, thinking that yes, he was extremely hot under the thick cloth. But he just sent the other a winning smile, “Not really. You’ll be surprised how cold it is in these rooms. I’m happy like this, thank you very much.” Taek-woon just nodded silently, his eyes moving behind him and he turned to see Lu Han walk up next to him, gingerly placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Come on Hak-yeon, we should get you checked out so you can get out of here.” He nodded, letting the other help him up and soon the whole group of them headed out into the hallway. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how many of them there were, the other patients in the hallway having to dart out of the way for them. They headed over to the front desk, an older woman already waiting for them with a smile on her face. 

“You must be Hak-yeon,” she said pleasantly, and he quickly sent the others a look to see if they knew who she was. They all shrugged back at him, looking around to see who knew her, when Taek-woon slunk out from behind him and whispered softly,

“Mother.” 

Taek-woon’s mother?

“Taek-woon’s told me about you,” she continued, seemingly ignoring how her son’s face reddened and he sent her numerous glares, “and he’s asked me something that I need to discuss with you. Would you like to go somewhere more private…?” He noticed how she was sending the others quick glances and he spun around in time to catch the menacing aura they were emanating, Bin having wrapped his arms around his waist and holding him back. 

“I’ll talk with you,” he said, frowning when he felt Bin attempt to follow him. “Alone.” Bin sent him an absolutely miserable look when he peeled the others fingers off, ruffling his hair with a smile. “I’ll be right back, okay?” 

“Be careful,” Jong-in hissed, pulling Bin into a comforting hug and casting a suspicious glance at Taek-woon’s mother. 

“It’ll be fine,” he reassured, knowing anyone related to Taek-woon had to be safe. She smiled as she led him down another hallway, hiding his discomfort when her hand brushed his arm. “What did you…?”

“Don’t worry,” she said immediately, “he hasn’t told me anything about what happened.” He visibly relaxed at that, a small sigh escaping his lips. “But he’s told me a lot about you from school. I don’t know if you know, but he’s changed a lot because of you.” 

He gulped, unsure of where she was going; she had the same blank expression Taek-woon had. “I’m sorry-” 

He yelped when she suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, letting him go just as quickly when she heard him cry. “Thank you,” she breathed, tears pricking her eyes. “He’s become so much more confident, and he even talks at home now. I just wanted to thank you for that.” 

A small smile broke out on his lips, looking out of the hallway to see Taek-woon awkwardly standing next to the others, locking eyes with him for a second. “It’s nothing.” 

“Taek-woon was never a talkative boy, but after starting high school he started to be bullied, and I couldn’t do anything when he changed. He’s never had many friends, so when he came home and told me about you…I really wanted to meet you. I wanted to thank you.” 

“You don’t need-”

“Taek-woon, my baby who used to hate being around others, asked me if you could come live with us.” 

“-to thank, wait, what?”

“I’ll have to talk it over with your mother, but it’s no trouble at all for us to take you in. We have an extra bedroom if you like, or you could share with Taek-woon-”

“Wait, wait,” he rushed, holding his hands up as he tried to catch his breath. His head was spinning at everything she was throwing at him, her quick words throwing him off. “Taek-woon asked if I could live with you?” 

“He didn’t give us a lot of details, but he mentioned how you weren’t able to go home. He was worried you wouldn’t have anywhere to go, so he asked me if you could come with us.” This time when he turned to look at Taek-woon, the other hid his face, knowing he had heard his offer. He looked back to the expectant woman, squirming. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I could accept your offer. I don’t want to impose-”

“You won’t be imposing. It’s the least I could do for the good you’ve been doing for my son.” 

“I still can’t accept something like that. I can figure something out, don’t worry. The guys have also offered me to live with them, and that might be best.” 

“We can help you continue your studies. Don’t think of it as an obligation-”

“No!” They both whirled around to see Bin appear behind him, grabbing his wrist and yanking him backward. “You can’t take Hak-yeon hyung.” Taek-woon’s mother’s lips formed a tight line as Bin held onto him possessively, and he had to struggle to get the other boy to loosen his hold. 

“Stop it Hong-bin ah,” he said quietly, and just the name alone was enough to make the boy’s hands let go. 

“But hyung-”

“She was only offering. Don’t yell at her.” Bin’s hands eventually pulled away, and he sighed. “I can’t go anywhere without Binnie,” he said back to her, making sure to wrap an arm around Bin’s shoulders. He knew it was rude of him to force a condition on an offer she was making out of goodwill, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to live with her. He really wasn’t sure where he wanted to live at all. The one thing he did want, to go home, he couldn’t do, and he hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking anything else. This was thrown at him too quickly, his answer needed too soon. 

“What does Binnie want then?” she asked, her smile back on her face. 

He blinked in surprise, not having expected that kind of answer. “Bin goes where Hak-yeon hyung goes.” 

“Hong-bin, what are you going to do when they find your family? You should wait before going anywhere.” 

“I don’t want to go anywhere without hyung,” he said defiantly, stomping his foot. 

“We can still offer the extra bedroom to the two of you-”

“I don’t think-”

“It’s alright Woo-jin,” came a soft voice behind him, and he turned to see Taek-woon and the others behind him, more than likely following the former when he tried to get away. Taek-woon looked down sadly at his feet. “I only wanted to help you. I’m sorry if that made you upset.” 

“It’s not that it made me angry, it’s just-”

“Hak-yeon and Bin are going to live with us,” Jong-in said loudly, his voice holding a hint of possessiveness as he held his strong glare down on the other two. He was making it very clear they weren’t welcome. 

“I never said I was going to live with you,” he cut in, unable to hide the disdain in his voice. Jong-in looked at him like he had been slapped, his lower lip sticking out as he stepped behind Kyung-soo. The shorter boy, no happier than the other, only pat his arm sympathetically. “I don’t know where I’m going to live. I haven’t decided yet.” 

“We understand,” she said quickly, “we were only giving you an option.” 

“Hak-yeon.” He shifted to see Joon-myeon hobble over on his crutches, his casted leg clunking on the floor. He fumbled slightly before he was able to put a reassuring hand on his arm, sighing. “Don’t think we’re forcing you to live with us. All of us,” he made sure to include Bin, “have been through a lot together, and we want to stick together. You weren’t with us, so it’s understandable you wouldn’t want to stay.” 

“I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you-”

“I’m just saying that while we’d prefer you to live with us, if you want to live with your friend, we won’t hate you for it.” 

He glanced over at the others, taking note of their forced smiles and he knew that they really weren’t comfortable with it. He looked over at Bin, who was completely unhelpful with the admiring stare he sent his way, and he knew that he would just agree with anything he said. He took a deep breath before turning to Taek-woon, the other’s tentative eyes showing how nervous he was to hear his answer. “I’ll stay with you Taek-woonie,” he said softly, and if it wasn’t for the situation he would have cooed and squished the other’s cheeks at the bright expression that grew on his face. “Just until I can figure out what I want to do.” 

“If that’s what you want,” Taek-woon’s mother said gently, “then wait here while I help your mother fill out your discharge papers.” She gave the lot of them a quick smile before running through them, grabbing Taek-woon with her, and he wondered if the guys were that intimidating. 

An awkward, pregnant silence followed afterward, and he wasn’t sure what he could say to the others when he so blatantly refused their offer. Luckily, the troublemakers didn’t seem to be ones who could be angry for long, Baek-hyun sauntering over and nudging him. “Hey, if you’re ditching us like that, you must have something in mind. What do you plan on doing now?” 

“I’m not too sure,” he said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head. “I’d have to get all my schooling figured out since they had made me a whole other identity. But I do want to go back and finish school and go to college.” 

“College?” Min-seok asked in surprise. 

“Yeah, I was about to take the college entrance exams when I broke in to find Seok-jin.” 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jong-in said as he pushed past Kyung-soo, already forgetting his earlier outburst, “you mean she didn’t just grab you? You broke in?”

He suddenly felt all of their eyes on him and he could feel his face heat up, realizing nobody knew how he had been actually turned into a doll. Saet-byul’s mother had reminded him multiple times how he was the only one to ever willingly come into the house on his own. He must look completely stupid in front of these guys. He looked to the floor as he mumbled, hoping no one would be able to hear him, “I…kind of broke in and threatened her to give me Seok-jin back.”

“Damn, that’s so badass! You actually threatened Eun-ji? I probably would’ve pissed myself before I could.” 

“Well, doesn’t matter how badass it was, she didn’t like it. She stabbed me to get my blood.” Smirking, he lifted the side of his sweater to show the first scar he ever received, the short, jagged wound bulging from healing wrong. He pat it proudly. Surprisingly, Zitao reached over and brushed it gently, breathing out softly. 

“Damn…that makes me feel like a with the pricks she gave my finger.” 

Jong-dae and Min-seok burst out laughing at his side, slapping the oblivious guy on the back as they pulled him away, their roaring laughter causing ripples of giggles from the more serious ones. Even Joon-myeon was chuckling. 

“But all that aside, do you guys have a plan?” he asked, and the laughter died down. 

“Well,” Jong-in said, “I was going to go and study dancing since that was what I was good at. And Kyung-soo here is going to go into singing!”

“No I’m not!” Kyung-soo snapped, hurriedly pushing the other away. “I don’t know if I want to do something like that.” 

“But you should. And you could drag Yixing with you and force him to go back to school.” Yixing gasped as he stumbled back, hiding behind Lu Han. 

“Don’t let them make me go back,” he hissed, horrified, though the other merely pushed him back out. 

“Stop being such a baby. You can go with Kyung-soo.” 

“But-”

“At least you have an idea what you like. Don’t waste it.” He paused at the serious tone in the other’s voice, eventually sighing as he stood back up. Lu Han then said something in Chinese that made Yixing’s face turn bright red and the other Chinese guys crack up, leaving the rest of them confused. 

“Hey, that’s not fair hyung,” Chan-yeol whined. “Not everyone knows Chinese.” 

“All I said-”

“Don’t say it!” Yixing screamed, covering Lu Han’s mouth before he could speak. 

While they were all distracted, they failed to notice someone walking up to their group, their footsteps silent and hesitant. He was the first to notice, pushing a clingy Jong-dae off in surprise. 

“Saet-byul?” 

Everyone fell silent, the murderous aura returning as they turned their hard eyes on the little girl at the end of the hallway. The small girl cowered under their stares, intimidated, looking around as she tried to find something familiar. Her eyes eventually landed on him, and a wide smile broke out on her face as she ran forward and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“N!” She buried her face into his side, and when her hands brushed his scarred back, he could feel her pause. She chose to ignore it, looking up at him, smiling brilliantly. “I missed you! I’m so happy you’re okay!”

He had to take a deep breath to control himself, placing both hands firmly on her shoulders and pushing her away. She whimpered as she stared at him confusedly, her hands coming up to take his. He yanked them away and now she looked at him in concern. 

“What’s wrong N? It’s me, Saet-byul.” She tried to touch him again, but this time Bin stepped forward and jerked him behind him, using his height to scare her. It worked, she shrunk under his glare and stumbled back. 

“Don’t touch hyung,” he growled, and he probably would have hit her if he didn’t stop him. Nervous, she brought her hands to her chest, and that was when all eyes turned to the doll she was holding.

“The ?” Zitao shouted, pointing but too afraid to step forward. “Why the hell do you have that?”

She followed their eyes to her doll, gasping and holding it tightly to her chest. He coughed uncomfortably, his chest constricting, and that only managed to fuel their anger. “T-this is my doll…”

“You do realize your mom was arrested,” Min-seok said, the normally quiet guy having a vicious tone in his voice. “There are no more dolls. You have no control over Hak-yeon anymore.” 

“I-I don’t want control,” she stuttered, and he knew just how scared she was to be confronting so many people at once. He knew all too well, and he hated how much he pitied her. Even though his mind told him to hate her, his heart just couldn’t hate the innocent girl. Her large eyes turned to him, pleading. “I just want N.” 

“Are you deaf?” Baek-hyun growled. “Hak-yeon isn’t yours anymore. He doesn’t have to do anything for you anymore. You are nothing.” He lunged forward, ready to tear the doll out of her hands, and he reacted. 

“Stop it Baek-hyun,” he commanded, pulling him back. He refused to look them in the eye, knowing what they were thinking. “Leave her alone.” 

“Hak-yeon-”

“She can keep the doll.” That didn’t go over well with the others; Jong-in grabbed Saet-byul by the wrist and held her fast, Zitao prying the doll from her fingers. She screamed, thrashing around as she tried to get it back, and he tried to shush them when they started to attract attention. Zitao handed him the doll to him right before a crowd of nurses stormed in, ripping Saet-byul from Jong-in. Taek-woon and his mother were right behind them, and he noticed that for a second, his heart racing, his mother behind them, though she hid herself before she could make herself known. 

“You need to leave,” the nurse that held Saet-byul demanded, her eyes locked on Jong-in and Zitao. 

“The doll…” Saet-byul whimpered, and he looked down at the ragged doll in his hand. It looked nothing like how it used to, the fabric worn and riddled with holes. He ran a finger down the stitched leg, horrific memories of that night filling his mind. He took a deep breath, shaking, as he stepped forward and silently handed it back to her. The guys chortled as she smiled thankfully up at him, though her happiness was clouded when he refused to look at her.  

“You can keep it,” he said quietly, “but you have to promise you won’t bother me again.” Her face crumbled, almost dropping the doll, and it took all of his willpower not to pull her into a reassuring hug. “You can’t follow me, talk to me or call me. You have to promise.” 

“B-but…N…why…?”

“What are you doing?” Taek-woon hissed, surprise on his normally straight face.

“Don’t Taek-woon,” his mother whispered, pulling him back. He could understand why everyone was on their side, and why it looked bad for her. Saet-byul was the daughter of their kidnapper, and while Saet-byul was mostly innocent, it would not absolve the fact. 

“I don’t want to leave you,” she whimpered, her lip quivering. “I love you N. I want to stay with you.” She reached out and he backed away; she broke away from the nurse holding her as she grabbed his hands, placing his palms on her tear stained cheeks. “I can’t live without you N. I’ll do whatever you want, I promise. Just don’t leave me.” She was so desperate, and he really did want to hug her. But…

“I’m sorry Saet-byul,” he said simply, deciding against his better judgment to give her a small kiss on her forehead, and he could feel her shiver. For that second, he opened his eyes slightly to get one last look at her, his eyes taking in every bit of her. She was so tiny, her hair ratted and long; he had always been meaning to give her a proper haircut. She was wearing her school uniform, the best piece of clothing she had; he had been meaning to save money to take her out to buy something nice. Her eyes were closed, her fists clenched, and he knew he had to stop. He turned away and moved back to Bin’s side, and she screamed. 

“Don’t leave! N, I won’t let you leave! Please stay with me!” It took a couple nurses to hold her back, and while she continuously screamed his name, he kept his back to her, refusing to turn around. Taek-woon grabbed his arm, glaring hard at him as if trying to figure out what was going on, before walking past him and towards the crying girl. 

Saet-byul immediately quieted. “T-Taek-woon oppa…”

“Don’t touch her,” he said hurriedly, pulling him back before he had a chance to comfort her. 

“Woo-jin-”

“His name is Hak-yeon,” Jong-in said sternly, “and that girl you’re trying to talk to is the daughter of the woman who kidnapped us.”

“But Saet-byul couldn’t have-”

“Just stop,” he whispered before turning to Taek-woon’s mother. “Can we please leave? I don’t think I can stay here any longer.” She seemed to understand, nodding and ushering Taek-woon and Bin to the door. He went to follow them, to get away from Saet-byul and her maddening screams, when another hand caught him. 

“Be careful,” Joon-myeon smiled bitterly, and the tone in his voice was almost like a goodbye. He smiled back, nodding his head to the rest of them. 

“You too.” 

“If you ever need anything, we’ll be there for you. Like I said, we’ve been through this together.”

“Thanks.” 

“And take care of Bin,” Kyung-soo spoke up, pushing past the others to get a good look at him. “If anything happens to him, I’ll come over there personally and kick your .” He blinked, not expecting something like that to come from the owl-eyed boy, but only burst out laughing, clapping him on the back. 

“I promise he’ll be fine.”

“You better get going,” Lu Han added, taking a step forward to block Saet-byul from his view. “If you wait any longer she might actually get you.” His smile slipped away, knowing the other was right. He was free…he didn’t have to take care of Saet-byul ever again. He never had to wake up early to get her to the bus, make sure she ate, help her with her homework, hug her, laugh with her, sleep with her… He didn’t have to do any of that again. He didn’t have to see her again, so why was he feeling so upset about leaving?

Taking a deep breath, he gave them one final wave before heading out, the last thing he heard being Saet-byul screaming his name. 

He didn’t look back.

--

Your doll is different.

You’re not meant to only feel the doll’s pain.

Bin’s head lolled over onto his shoulder, and he cupped the other’s cheek to make him more comfortable. 

You and I…we have their blood on us as well. It stains the doll.

He looked out the window as his stomach clenched and twisted, his fingers digging into his leg. 

You need to stay away from Saet-byul. It’s dangerous.

If you stay with her, you’ll turn into a doll, a real doll. Your freewill will vanish; you’ll become a slave to her. 

Stay away and you’ll be safe.

Stay away from her.

It’s dangerous.

He glanced over at Taek-woon’s back, knowing the other was still furious with how he treated Saet-byul. 

He made the right choice…right?

A/N: Hello. I'm sorry the ending feels rushed, but school's been awful recently and I haven't had as much time to write. The story is done, and even though it finished with such an open-ended ending, I felt it fitting. Everything that happened was almost like a dream, though it's a dream Hak-yeon will never wake from.

I had ideas for a possible sequel, but as of now I haven't written anything and don't know when I'll have time to write again. But the idea is out there so it might happen one day.

But I want to thank everyone’s who read this story, both here on AFF and over on my livejournal. I’ve appreciated all of your comments and messages, and they’ve managed me to get through this story. If anything, My Special Doll has been the only story I’ve successfully finished, and it's all thanks to you! Thank you!