Cha Hak-yeon had, for all intents and purposes, just ed up his entire life. There was probably nothing in the world that would amount to the situation he was in right now –his back hurting like hell and being helplessly led away by a little girl.

He hadn’t expected this when he stepped in the house that afternoon. This was all because the stupid gang that his brother had been hanging around had dared him to break into the creepy house at the end of the street. The house was famous in their neighborhood, rumored to be cursed because it seemed abandoned and yet ghosts had been spotted entering. One ghost that multiple people had seen was that of a little girl, her small face pressed against the window and staring out longingly.

That little girl now dragged him into a small room at the end of a long hallway, quickly turning around and closing the door behind him. He opened his mouth to say something when she shushed him, for the third time, and hobbled over to the bed, hiding under the covers. He sighed. He may have had his body taken away and given to this girl, he may never see his mother again, he may never get to do anything ever again, but he couldn’t stand the guilt that it was his words that had gotten this tiny girl beaten.

He started when his body started to move on its own, his legs walking over to the bed. His hands, no matter how hard he tried, steadied himself as he climbed onto the bed. He pushed away the covers to see her lying there with that stupid doll in hand, controlling him with it. She made him lie down next to her and pull her into a hug, fixing the blanket over them. As much as he was hating all his life choices and that woman in the kitchen, he couldn’t force himself to be mad at this girl. Especially when all she really made him do was hug her. Did her mother hug her?

“Are you okay?” she asked in a whisper, and he looked down at her surprisingly. Her mother had said she never spoke, and while he had heard her before, she hadn’t spoken a word since.

“Yeah,” he said softly, unable to nod his head. Not really though, his back was still burning and he wanted to curl in a ball and die.

“Don’t talk when Mommy is angry. It makes her angrier.” Yeah, he figured that out.

“What about you? She hit you more than me.” He looked over at his hand when it suddenly started patting her head, and he sighed. Did that woman never do anything for this girl that she had to use him to comfort her?

“It’s okay…it stops hurting after a while.” She rolled over to look up at him, her big eyes looking so innocent while she held his doll captive.

“Hey…about Seok-jin-”

“Shh,” she hissed, her eyes flashing towards the door as if expecting her mother to burst through. After a few long seconds, she relaxed in his arms. “Don’t talk about him. It’s dangerous.”

“But he’s my brother. I just want to know if he’s okay.” She looked down reluctantly. “Please. He’s my baby brother.”

“He’s okay,” she said finally, whispering. “He hasn’t been here very long, so he doesn’t move a lot yet.” He felt tears fog his eyes, overwhelming guilt rising in his chest at the thought of poor Seok-jin in the same position as him. That whole time he was here, confined inside of his own body by a doll. If only he had been a better brother and watched him better, didn’t insist on leaving him so he could meet his friends. Well, at least he was being punished for it too, his eyes glancing at the doll.

“You said your mom brings him up to play sometimes right? How often does she do that?” She looked uncertain, so he changed tactics. “You’re not talking about the basement, only Seok-jin. You won’t get in trouble.”

“She…only brings him up when she has to go somewhere.”

“Do you have his doll?”

She shook her head. “Mommy keeps all the dolls with her. She only lets me play with Seok-jinnie’s.”

He choked back a sob at the thought of Seok-jin being played with like a toy. “Is…is he…he’s not…” He paused for a second as he tried to regain his composure. “She’s not hurting him is she?”

“No…” she muttered, staring at him as if he was an alien. “Seok-jinnie is really good. Mommy likes him.”

“T-that’s good…” he whispered, a wave of relief washing over him. Seok-jin is smart, he wasn’t stubborn like him and beaten. She probably didn’t stab him to get his blood, and is probably treating him well.

“Ahjussi, you’re crying.”

He blinked through his tears to see her still staring at him, a small frown on her lips. “S-stop calling me Ahjussi. I’m not that old.” He tried to wipe away his tears away to calm her, though quickly remembered he couldn’t move. That would take a long time to get used to.

He squeezed his eyes shut when she reached up and wiped his tears away with her palm. “Did Mommy give you a name?”

“She couldn’t have been serious, could she? How could she give me a letter as a name?”

“She does that with all of her dolls.”

“What about Seok-jin? You still call him by that name-”

“He’s special. Mommy let him keep his name.” He yelped when he suddenly rolled over, a new wave of pain shooting through his back. Before he could ask what she was doing, she pulled his shirt up, running her small hands down his back. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? That was the one who hit me.” He bit his tongue at the curse, remembering the last time he swore. Luckily, the girl didn’t seem to have heard him, instead letting her hands flit down the welt.

“Mommy named you ‘N’, didn’t she?” He groaned inwardly at the stupid letter that was supposed to be his name. He had a name, a really good name, one that meant much more than a letter could. But maybe the girl was different, maybe she would understand how stupid it was.

“Don’t call me that. Just call me-”

“I can’t call you by your name, it’s bad luck,” she said hurriedly, cutting him off before he could say his name. After a while, she added, “That’s what Mommy says. Does your back feel better?” He didn’t answer, sighing resignedly when he felt his body sit up and lean against the wall. He decided it useless to tell her leaning hurt.

The girl sat across from him, the doll in her lap with his arms wrapped protectively around it. “What’s your name?” The girl stared at him in confusion, as if she had never been asked the question. Seeing how this house was so far, that didn’t seem to be too far from the truth. She glanced at the door and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. “If you’re going to call me N, then the least you can do is tell me your name.”

“Saet-byul.” He blinked when he realized it was his own voice that had said the name, and he noticed how she held the doll to . It made his stomach tighten painfully, the thought that even his own voice was out of his control. “Saet-byul-ah,” he said affectionately. “Saet-byullie. Saet-byul.”

“What are you doing?” he cut in exasperatedly between words. The doll dropped from her fingers and he felt his body jolt.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, and he immediately felt bad. “I just like how you say my name.” As much as he wanted to shout and curse, he could only look sympathetically at the small girl. He wondered how she was able to survive in this crazy house where she was beaten for the stupidest reasons and raised to make dolls out of people.

“Does your mother say your name?” he asked.

“No. Only we live here, so Mommy doesn’t need to. You…you’re the only one who knows it, because you’re my doll.” She sent him a tiny smile, and he wasn’t sure to feel complimented or scared. But luckily he didn’t have to think of a response, the girl pulling him down and swiftly pulling the blanket covers down over their heads. She reached over and pulled his eyelids down, shushing him, right before the door creaked open.

It could only be one person, and he inwardly tensed at idea of being in the same room as her. He hated her, wanted to kill her; but he was completely helpless. He was powerless to do anything she did, and for that reason he was scared to death.

They both listened as the footsteps slowly walked over, the bed springs squeaking when she sat down. Saet-byul’s fingers holding his hand tightened, and he opened his eyes slightly to see her face scrunched up in slight fear. He snapped his eyes shut when the woman pulled the covers back.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and he peeked through one eye to see the woman pull Saet-byul’s skirt down. She took out some ointment and gently applied it to her backside. “I’m sorry, my baby girl. I don’t want to hurt you, but you know better than to talk about the basement.” She finished and pulled her skirt back up, laying a hand on her head, almost lovingly. Then she suddenly looked up and he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping she didn’t see him. The bed shifted and he felt himself rolled over, his shirt slowly being peeled off his back. This probably was the one time he was grateful his body couldn’t move.

He felt something cold on his back, and he realized she was lotioning his back too. Her fingers dug into his skin and he hissed, realizing he gave away that he was awake. “Be thankful you’re my daughter’s doll,” she hissed in his ear. “If you were mine I would have left you to rot.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“I need someone to watch over her, and most of my dolls are broken. She needs someone. I was going to go out and look for someone, but you just happened to walk right in. It was perfect.” She slapped his back when she was done, not caring to pull his shirt back down, and stood up. “If you do anything to her, then her doll be damned. I’ll kill you myself.” He would never forget that look in her eye; that stare sending chills up his spine.

He did try to glare the best he could from his position, though by then the woman was barely visible out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t make another sound until he heard the sound of the door closing. He would never admit to how much she made his heart race in fear. No matter how crazy she was, she had stabbed him.

Saet-byul stirred next to him; he had forgotten she had been awake. She blinked up at him, shifting slightly and grabbing her backside. “Mommy is always mean to new dolls. After a while, she’ll get nicer.” She sent him a wide smile that only made the insides of him twist violently at the thought that he would be here long enough to see that.

~*~*~*~*~*~

She waited patiently for the man to finish chewing before scooping another spoonful of rice out of the bowl and placing a piece of fish on top, pushing it into his open mouth. The man didn’t utter a single word as he silently chewed the food, his face expressionless. She shivered as a small breeze ran though the unheated house, the winter morning air freezing cold. She looked over to her unmoving companion, the only indication he was alive being the small fog from his breath. She glanced away before scooping another spoonful for herself, chewing it slowly and deliberately.

The only reason for their unending silence was the sharp glare from her mother that was sent in their direction. She shifted a little more to sit in between her mother and the man, hoping it would help to raise his spirits.

It had been a little over a week since the newest addition to the family, this addition being extremely special in that this one was hers alone. Seeing as it was hers, she wanted to shower him with love and make him feel happy; though after the first day he seemed to fall into a bit of deepening depression, not speaking a single word. The only time he would move without her forcing him was just opening his mouth to eat. He robotically opened his mouth and let her put the next scoop of rice on his tongue, and she watched him with concern as he merely chewed. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, if there was anything she could do to help, but couldn’t. Not with her mother diligently watching.

She glanced down at the now empty plate of food and let her shoulders slump, another morning where she couldn’t get a single reaction out of the man. She stood up to bring the plate to the wash bucket, and her mother didn’t waste a single second. “What are you doing? Let your doll do it.” She paused, looking over to see the man staring straight at the woman, his eyes holding more emotion then than any other time so far. She turned back to meet her mother’s waiting look, her fingers around the plate trembling, and shook her head.

Her mother was on her feet in a second, racing over and snatching the man’s wrist, yanking him to his feet. His whole face scrunched up and she could see him quietly gasp out in pain. “He is your doll for a reason. Make him wash that plate.” She shook her head again and her mother’s face reddened, her whole body shaking, and she dragged the man over to her. She nearly threw him at her, yanking the plate from her fingers and shoving it in his direction. “Make him.”

The man didn’t move to take the offered plate, his body still unable to move after being attached to the doll. Her mother angrily pried his fingers open and slammed it in his hand, making him clutch it.

She hurriedly snatched the plate back and ran to the wash bucket, throwing it in. She didn’t have to turn around to know how angry her mother was, and when she did turn, her head snapped to the side from the painful slap her mother gave her. “If I tell you to do something,” she said, speaking slowly and deliberately enunciating each word, “then you do it. You are not supposed to be doing chores anymore. That’s your doll’s job.”

She bowed in apology, knowing there was no other way to ask her mother for forgiveness, and quickly snatched the man’s hand in an attempt to pull him away. He followed her unreservedly, having no other choice, but his eyes never left her mother, the anger in that look alone able to rival her mother’s.

She wasted no time in running back to her room, pulling the man inside and shutting the door behind them. She took a second to take a deep breath, her hands still gripping the doorknob, before she turned around to give the man a bright smile. He just looked at her with the same expression he always did after her mother scolded her. She tried to ignore that look as she grabbed a hold of his sleeve and dragged him to her bed, letting him sit down.

“I’m sorry that she grabbed you like that,” she said apologetically, pulling away his coat and lifting his shirt, pointedly looking away from his stomach. She checked his bandages and sighed with relief when there seemed to be no opening of his injuries. She was just putting down his shirt when he spoke up.

“Why do you always let her hit you?” She paused, her fingers still holding the soft fabric of his shirt, and she slowly looked up to see him staring at her, his eyes almost sad. She pretended to ignore him as she went back to checking him over, and when there was nothing left she turned around and pretended to be searching for something in the few boxes in the corner of her room. He spoke again, again in the tone of voice that made her feel bad. “Why don’t you ever say anything to her?”

She turned back around to face him, both excited that he was speaking and sad that it was over something that was so dangerous. “It’s best not to speak to her when she’s upset. It’ll only make her angrier.” She reached out and picked up the doll off the bed, swinging his arms open in a presumably welcoming gesture. She made sure to avoid looking at his face as she sat down on his lap, making him lovingly wrap his arms around her. She knew he didn’t like it when she forced him to do things, but his hug was so warm. She liked it.

“Saet-byul,” he said tiredly, and she felt her body melt into his, her cheeks red from the mere whisper of her name, “does your mother hug you?”

She buried her face into his chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. She had never thought of her mother in that way; the fact that her mother never hugged her or said her name had seemed normal. She had never felt sad about it, but with her doll now, hugging her and calling her name, it made her want it more than anything before. When she didn’t answer, he sighed again and clicked his tongue.

They stayed that way for the longest time, the man having no other choice but to hold her, though eventually her eyes trailed up to catch a glimpse of his face, staring and memorizing his features. His face was very long, just like a doll’s with a pointed chin and sharp jaw. His hair was a light greyish color, and while wasn’t sure if that was a real hair color, seeing as of the few dolls she had seen, most had been black, she couldn’t know otherwise. She reached up and tugged slightly on the whitish piece of hair, his eyes following her every movement but staying silent.

However, as much as she wanted to stay like that forever, being hugged by her doll, she flew from his embrace at the sound of footsteps coming towards her room. She barely managed to put a finger to her lips as a warning to the man before the door burst open. She started in surprise to see her mother standing dressed as if to leave, something extremely rare.

Her mother’s eyes flickered between the man and her before facing her completely. “I have to leave for the day. Would you like me to bring Seok-jin up to play? I doubt that doll of yours would be much entertainment.” The man made a noise behind her and she only hoped he didn’t say anything.

She nodded and that seemed to please her, her mother reaching out and giving her hand a small squeeze before leaving. The man spoke frantically the moment she was gone. “Seok-jin? Is she bringing him out?”

She had him stand up; his wide eyes focused solely on her as she reached up and fixed his jacket, making him bend slightly so she could fix his hair. “Yes, it’s Seok-jinnie. So you have to make sure to look extra nice.”

She took him by the hand, nicely this time, and led him back to the main room, shivering at the change in temperature. The man’s eyes ran over the room multiple times in anticipation, and even she was getting excited to see him. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” At that moment there was the sound of a rustle, and she quickly slapped a hand over the man’s eyes so he wouldn’t see the door to the basement. He hissed but stayed silent, luckily right before her mother swung the rusted door open of the basement open, pushing a boy forward. He was blindfolded, and he stumbled slightly as he tripped over his own feet. But her mother paid him no attention as she shut the door, locked it, and then turned to her.

“I’ll be back in a while. There’s food you can heat up later for the three of you.” Seok-jin turned his head slightly at that but stayed silent. She nodded and her mother barely stayed long enough to wave goodbye before heading out, the sound of the door closing starting an uncomfortable silence.

She glanced over at the man to see him staring at Seok-jinnie, and she could see small tears collecting at the edges of his eyes. Without a word she stepped forward and untied the blindfold, giving the boy a small smile that he did anything but reciprocate. His hard eyes went immediately from her face to her hands and she instinctively tightened her hold on the man’s doll. But he didn’t look at her long, his eyes eventually turning to the man, and widening as his mouth dropped.

“Hyung…?” he asked, and she turned around to see the man looking as if he wanted to hug him, the tears from before now dripping off his chin.

“Seok-jin…” he whimpered, and she took a couple steps back so they could talk; she didn’t want to be in the middle of them. “You…you really were here…”

“What are you doing here?” Seok-jin suddenly snapped; his voice loud and harsh in the cold winter air. “Don’t tell me…you!” He turned to her and jabbed at her with a finger, his body no longer constrained by the ties to the doll. “Did you and your horrid mother track down my brother? What the hell-”

“It wasn’t her,” the man said hurriedly. “I came here looking for you, that’s how I ended up here.”

“Why the would you come looking for me? How many times did I tell you not to follow me?”

“You’re my brother! Of course I would look for you when you don’t come home-”

“And look where that’s gotten you! Stuck here as someone else’s for the rest of your life-”

“Do you know how much you worried Mom? You were gone for a whole week, without a word! You were always irresponsible, if you had listened to me-”

“ you!” Her eyes widened when Seok-jin moved to hit the man, and she quickly ran and held him back, unwilling to let him hurt her doll. Seok-jin’s glare turned to her and he shoved her away, surprising her with his sudden viciousness. Before, he never raised his voice and would speak softly to her, and while he didn’t talk much had seemed like a nice person. This sudden cursing, scary boy was nothing of what she was expecting, and it scared her.

“What are you doing?” the man shouted, the first time she’d heard him shout since the time he’d first stepped into their home. “Do you want to die? Don’t push her!”

“ her! her ing mom! all of you! What did I do to deserve this? I haven’t even done anything yet! But no, I get stuck here with that damn doll and stuck pleasing this -” he looked around wildly, worked up, and grabbed the skillet off of the heater, chucking all the food her mother had left for them onto the floor. Her eyes widened when Seok-jin moved towards them menacingly, stumbling as she ran to hide behind the man. “How do you like it now, huh? Want to keep playing?”

“What are you doing? Put that down!”

“Why are you defending her? She’s the one that trapped us here!”

“No she isn’t! Her mother’s the one you should be trying to hit with that pan. Saet-byul hasn’t done anything, don’t hit her.”

She stiffened when he said her name suddenly, and Seok-jin was just as surprised, the pan lowering slightly. “You know her name?”

“Of course, she told me.”

“She talked to you?” Seok-jin glanced at her before breaking out into a laugh, the skillet tapping the floor as he leaned backward. His whole chest heaved before he stood back up, completely serious. “None of us know her name. She’s never talked before.” She glanced up to see him looking down at her, and she looked away in embarrassment. She didn’t want her doll to know such things, didn’t want him to know about the others and the fact that she was forbidden to speak with them. She just wanted him to stay with her and be happy.

“She talks with me all the time. She’s the one that told me her name, about you-”

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you. You’ve been here god knows how long; why haven’t you been in the basement too?” Her eyes snapped open at the mention of the basement, and she could see the man’s face change with curiosity. She turned to Seok-jin, motioning at him to stop talking, but that only seemed to encourage him. He smirked at her as he continued. “We’re all down there, why haven’t you been forced down there with us? Chained, tor-”

She wouldn’t let him finish as she lifted her doll and shoved the man forward, making him grab Seok-jin’s head and cover his mouth. Both looked surprised, and she tried to apologize, letting the man let him go after a few seconds. “Sorry,” the man whispered, and Seok-jin didn’t waste time shoving him away.

“You know, maybe being someone’s is good for you. You’re not acting much different than before.” Seok-jin sneered, though both her and Seok-jin’s faces turned to worry when the man’s face suddenly turned white as a sheet, a veil of sweat drenching his face. “Hyung…? What’s wrong?” The man huffed as a hand involuntarily flew to his side. His eyes rolled back into his head as he gasped for air before collapsing to the ground in pain.

“N!” she shouted in worry, running to his side and cupping his face in her hands, her eyes running over him to try and find where he was in pain. “N, where are you hurt?” His eyes opened briefly, his mouth parting slightly, before he fell limp in her arms. She frantically pulled off her jacket and gently laid it under his head, ignoring Seok-jin as she ran over to her mother’s medicine kit, bringing it back over.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with him?” Seok-jin demanded behind her. She didn’t pay him any attention as she already had an idea of where the man was hurt. She ped his coat and lifted his shirt up high, this time not caring about seeing his stomach. Her own stomach lurched at the sight of his bandage, now stained a dark red. He had been bleeding for a while. Why hadn’t he said anything? She ripped the bandage clean off, squealing at the yellowish-green pus around the stitched wound. Seok-jin didn’t react any better. “What the hell is that! What did you do to him? What happened to him?”

She grabbed a towel from the kit, squeezing her eyes shut as she brushed off all the collected pus, gagging at the horrid smell. Once it was cleaner, she looked back to see the wound a disgusting shade of purple, his skin swollen around the edges of the stitches. She panicked at the sight; she had no idea what to do and whatever this was was hurting the man a lot. She was in the middle of throwing things out of the kit when she felt something grab her wrist, Seok-jin staring at her.

“Do you have alcohol?” She stared at him blankly, not having any idea what that was, so he just pushed her aside and grabbed the kit himself. He searched through it only for a few seconds before pulling out a bottle. He opened it and only managed to pour half of it over the man’s wound before she snatched it out of his hand, convinced he was hurting him when the man shouted in pain. Seok-jin just shot her an annoyed look as he grabbed scissors next, expertly slicing through all of the stitches.

That was enough, and she snatched his hands, intent on not letting him hurt the man anymore, though he just wrenched away, glaring. “Will you stop it? I’m not going to kill him!” He turned back to the man and yanked out each one of the stitches, and she winced when the man moaned. “Do you have any more gauze?” She stared at him blankly again and he just rolled his eyes, searching through the kit some more until he pulled out the white tape. She watched as Seok-jin applied the bandage just like her mother did, and soon the man looked just fine, his breathing better and his face relaxed.

Seok-jin ran a hand through his hair before getting up, grabbing the dirty towels and tossing them into the fireplace. “It’s best to burn those. Next time there’s a fire make sure to do that.” She nodded, though her attention went right back to the man when he moaned, his eyes squeezed tight.

She leaned forward and pushed the bangs from his eyes, wiping away the sweat with her sleeve. “Are you feeling better?” His eyes opened at the sound of her voice, and he rolled his head over to get a better look at her. He gave her a small smile and she relaxed slightly, sighing with relief. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? I would have cleaned it.” Seok-jin came over and sat by the man’s side as well, though he didn’t look nearly as concerned as he had before.

“Where did you get such a cut, huh? Don’t tell me you were being stupid or something-”

“It’s…that’s how she got my blood…”

“What?” Seok-jin started at that, leaning closer.

“When I came to ask where you were…when she made my doll…she stabbed me to get my blood…” He gasped in pain again and she quickly pulled his head to her chest, hugging him. She wasn’t able to help him when he was bleeding, she wasn’t able to fix his wound like her mother or Seok-jin, but she could hug him. She would hug him for as long as he wanted.

“She stabbed you? She doesn’t stab though. Like for me, she just pricked my finger a bunch of times, pretending I had indigestion. The others, she would just-” Without moving the man’s head, she reached over and covered his mouth. No matter what, she couldn’t let him talk about the basement. He yelled frustratingly, shoving her hand away, though he didn’t speak about the basement again. Instead, he turned back to the man, his eyes on the bandage. “Does…does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s not bad if I don’t move a lot…. You just irritated it when you shoved me.”

“When you’re hurt, you have to tell me, okay?” she asked, turning his head to make him look at her. When he didn’t answer, she pressed further. “Okay N?”

“Alright,” he said finally, and she hugged him tighter.

“Huh. You were right, she does talk to you.” She felt her cheeks redden, not even realizing she had been speaking in front of Seok-jin. The man scoffed, rolling his head over so he could give his brother a large smirk. Seok-jin turned to her and she flinched away, his angry outbursts and scary tantrums still fresh in her mind. He paused, sighing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout and act like that. I was just upset that hyung was here.” She didn’t respond as she just hugged the man’s head tighter, burying her face in his hair. “Don’t be like that-”

“Don’t push her,” the man said softly. “You threatened to beat her with a pan.” The man lifted his hands and gently pushed her away, hissing as he forced himself to sit up. He gasped as he grabbed his wound, wincing as his whole body shook. “Ah…this really hurts.” She watched him move for a little while longer until a thought suddenly hit her, and she looked around confusedly until she saw the discarded doll she had dropped earlier. She looked back and forth between the man and the doll a few times before her eyes widened in shock.

“N!” she shouted, getting both of their attention, the man pausing from checking the bandage himself. She crawled over to the doll and brought it back over, waving it in his face excitedly. “Look!”

“What about it?”

“You’re moving! You’re moving all on your own!” It took him a few seconds to register what she said, though when he did the biggest smile grew on his face. He looked down at himself, flexing his fingers and feeling along his chest and stomach before laughing out loud. She couldn’t help but laugh with him and throwing her arms around his neck, relishing in the feeling of him hugging her back. His arms were so warm.

Eventually, to her disappointment, he pulled away, feeling himself over again with excitement and turned to Seok-jin. “Seok-jinnie, I can move!”

“That’s wonderful,” Seok-jin replied with disinterest, his chin propped up by his palm. “You know, you’re ing lucky. Not only do you have to not stay in the basement,” he dodged her hand coming for his mouth, swatting her away, “but you get to stay up here and talk with her.”

“Is it bad where you’re staying?” Seok-jin opened his mouth to answer but quickly stopped himself at the sight of her. The man’s face softened. “If I could, I would switch places with you. I’d rather be down there than stay here while knowing what you’re going through.” She panicked at that and grabbed a hold of his arm, something that he only sighed tiredly at and pushed her off. He went back to talking with Seok-jin, ignoring her, and she felt her heart sink into her stomach.

She didn’t want him to move. She wanted him to have to depend on her for the rest of their lives, his every action resting in her hands. She wanted to be able to sit on his lap with him holding her in his warm arms, his head resting on top of hers with his lips on her forehead. She wanted him to pull the blanket around them, in their own special embrace, where he would never let go. But…

But now he could move on his own. He no longer had to depend on her to eat or to move, now having the ability to do it on his own. He no longer had to hold her, hug her, keep her warm in his arms. He didn’t have to do any of that anymore. Now, if she forced him to do anything, he could react just as scary as Seok-jin did. This must be why her mother would grow tired of the dolls so quickly and throw them into the basement; when they no longer did what you want they weren’t special anymore.

She was distracted from her thoughts when a hand flashed before her face, signaling her in time to see a hand reaching out to grab the doll away from her. She shrieked as she scrambled away, the doll clutched tightly to her chest. When she calmed, she saw both of them staring at her in surprise, the man’s hand still in the air from trying to get the doll. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you. I only wanted to see the doll.”

She shook her head fiercely, squeezing the doll tightly, watching the man cough uncomfortably as he held his chest. She started when one of them, she honestly couldn’t tell who, shifted, and before either of them could do anything jumped to her feet and bolted from the room. She slammed the door behind her and crawled into her bed, throwing the blanket over her and shoving her head under the pillow. She shook.

She wanted her mother. Never before had she been in a situation where she was alone with dolls that could move freely on their own. She never imagined the dolls could be as scary as Seok-jin had been, and she didn’t want to wait to see the man react similarly. She needed her mother here, her reassuring presence being all she needed to feel more at ease around the others. Without her…

Safe underneath the protective covers of her blanket, she raised the doll to her face, its cheek, twirling the stitched hair between her fingers, finally just pulling it close to her chest. This was her doll, her very first doll, so she was not about to let anyone else touch it, not even the man. No one was going to touch it.

“Don’t do it hyung!” she heard a whisper outside her door, and she rolled closer to the wall in an attempt to distance herself. She didn’t feel good, her stomach twisted and heaved; she didn’t want to see anyone. “Hyung!”

She flinched at the sound of the door opening, not even peeking out to check who it was since it could only be one person. The man walked over to the edge of her bed, the bed springs creaking when she sat down. “Are you okay?” His voice was so deep and close to her, she could imagine him leaning over her.

“Hyung! Leave her alone and get out of there!”

“Just a minute Seok-jin. What’s wrong?” He tugged the blanket down and frowned at the sight of her tears, something she quickly brushed away. She wished over and over again in her head that he couldn’t move. “She’s crying Seok-jin. I-” He stopped when she forced him to pull the covers back up, effectively hiding her face.

“Hyung!” she heard Seok-jin come in and she panicked, having the man reach over her to block him away.

“Stop shouting. You’re scaring her.” He pulled the covers back down and lifted her up, placing her on his lap. She paused mid-sniffle, freezing in the warmth of his arms that she didn’t force. It was warmer than all those other hugs combined. She fell completely into his embrace, missing the silent engagement between the two. “I’m sorry,” he said finally, breaking the silence that she had enveloped herself in. He shifted and she turned the doll over in her hands. With a small twitch of her fingers she made him lean down and lay his head on hers.