Kyungsoo walked behind Jongin, three steps behind to be exact.  Jongin turned around now and then to make sure Kyungsoo was still there, even if he knew he wouldn’t leave. His friend never wavered, never left him, as they walked down the long concrete corridors of the prison. It would be a short van ride to the courthouse, then some time in a holding cell, and then over to the courtroom for the hearing.

“We have to make sure it happens.” Kyungsoo spoke, his voice deep and purposeful “We promised.”

Jongin nodded, not bothering to answer. Not now. Not with a guard on each side of him. Not with what was about to happen.

“Don’t get distracted by Yixing.” Kyungsoo instructed “Even if he tries, don’t let him fool you, don’t let him hold you back.”

Jongin would never let Yixing win. Not now, not with everything at stake.

Five years ago

The garden was overgrown. Where once a team of servants had taken care of the sprawling greenspace, it was now left to its own devices, recapturing what was once carefully controlled by the hands of men.

“Watch out – low hanging branches.” Jongin warned, swatting at what he could not see. At night the garden was pitch black, the neglected foliage creating invisible obstacles.

He followed Jongin willingly. It wasn’t a weird thing to do, to follow Jongin out to this place. They had come here dozens of times before.

“My Mom said you were over the other day.” Jongin watched Kyungsoo step forward, suddenly setting a fast pace as he tried to distance himself from Jongin and the other boy. Jongin watched Kyungsoo go ahead of him, not acknowledging him but not exactly ignoring him either.

“So?” The boy asked, barely keeping his footing as he tripped over a tree root that had grown over the stone path.

“You brought your father.” Jongin stopped.

“Jongin, you can’t ke-“

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell me what to do.”

“I didn’t have a choice, he is going to visit whether I am there or not.” Yixing raised his voice “Let’s stop this. It isn’t you and I fighting – I can’t control this.”

“Then why do you let it happen? Huh?”

“Jongin, I didn’t let anything happen…I –“

Jongin turned, stalking off towards Kyungsoo “Don’t call me again.”

Yixing watched Jongin go, watched Kyungsoo stare after him.  He didn’t bother to follow, because he knew it would do no good. Jongin was becoming more unstable by the day.

***

Present Day

Yixing arrived to the courthouse forty five minutes before the hearing would begin. He waved at the prosecutor as he took a seat a row behind the defendant’s table. Jongdae was quiet, pensive, sitting silently next to his friend.

The prosecutor, a woman of about thirty who had won more cases then she had ever lost, approached.

“Zhang Yixing, I was wondering if you would be here.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Yixing had talked to the woman multiple times during the first trial, they were far from strangers. He had always appreciated her honesty. “What do you think our chances are?”

“Seeing as how the retrial is for technical reasons, I think regardless of what happens today there is no way he will ever see life outside of prison. The evidence against him is substantial, a retrial is just grasping at straws. He will be found guilty no matter how many trials he has.”

Yixing nodded.

“I plan on showing pictures during the hearing. If you would like to leave the room before, just say the word.”

“I’ve seen them before, I will be fine.” Yixing had seen more than pictures, and that still haunted him to this day. But he wouldn’t run away, not now.

Five years ago

Yixing had arrived at the house a little after ten o’clock at night. He had spent the evening with Jongdae practicing his guitar at the local music store, a place that made him happy after a long day at school (where he still felt like he didn’t fit in). The house was dark when his friend dropped them off. Strange, but not that strange.

“Wonder if your Dad went out?” Jongdae eyed the dark house with far more suspicion than Yixing was currently feeling.

Yixing’s Mother had passed away seven years ago, and the family’s modus operandi after her death was distance. She had been their glue, once she was gone there was nothing to hold them together. His Father didn’t make a point to be home for dinner and Yixing didn’t make a point to be home in the evening to see how his Father’s day as a property manager and real estate developer had gone. His Father only really cared about Yixing when he was still friends with Jongin…and that, that reason was clearly selfish on his Father’s part.

Yixing flicked the entryway light on as he entered the house. His Father usually fell asleep watching television in the living room, which meant about this time the TV should be on and blaring at the loudest volume setting. How the man ever slept with the television turned up so loud had always perplexed his son. But the television wasn’t blaring, the house was quiet.

Yixing walked to the living room, just to check. Maybe his Dad had a late night meeting or something. His foot connected with a solid object as he turned the corner. Fumbling he hit the light switch and looked down.

And then he saw it. His Father was lying motionless in the entryway, his throat slit ear to ear. Blood was everywhere, pooling around the body, splattered on the walls. His shirt cut open in tiny slits, his face contorted in pain. He would never forget that image as long as he lived. Never.

***

It was a sunny day, clear skies. Unseasonably warm, Chanyeol could almost swear he heard birds chirping. Baekhyun quickly corrected him on that fact.

“Birds? You idiot, there aren’t any birds, it is too cold.”

“Shut up Baekhyun.” Chanyeol quickened his pace, smirking as Baekhyun rushed to keep up.

“Yeah, shut up Baekhyun.” Sehun chimed in. Sehun had to restrain himself from saying more, because after spending the night in a room with Baekhyun and his nonstop chatter he was pretty sure his hatred had reached new levels he never before considered possible.

“You brought the box, right?” Luhan looked at Tao. He had already asked the same question five times in the last half an hour, but he wasn’t about to let the issue drop. If they were all taking a chance in going to the place the note directed them to they best be prepared.

“Still right here.” Tao was going to be happy when they were seated in the courtroom, Luhan no longer asking him every five seconds if he still had that damn box.

“So where do we sit? Is it like a wedding – do I have to sit on the side I am supporting?” Kris questioned, his hands in his long black leather coat, his walk so posturized passersby’s reasonably imagined he was pretending to be a fashion model.

“No...” Chanyeol shook his head vigorously “You just sit wherever. Besides, isn’t there something we are supposed to be looking for?”

“Let’s hope so.” Minseok whispered. The truth was that all they had to go on was a metal box and a note. They had no idea what – if anything – would be waiting for them at the courthouse.

***

The courtroom was filling up.

“I guess no one has forgotten.” Jongdae left out the part that they both knew ‘forgot about the grisly murder of Seoul’s most notorious slum lord’.

“How long now?” Yixing glanced at his watch. It was 9:45, fifteen more minutes. He felt his palms grow sweaty, his heart rate pick up. It should be soon when that bastard Kim Jongin was led in here, hopefully shackled and sickly in appearance. He wanted to think Jongin was having a hard time in prison. He needed to think that Jongin’s time in prison was a living hell.

“Ouch! Watch where you are going.” A high pitched voice whined in one of the rows behind Yixing. He turned to see who it was, also to see who was already there. He recognized some faces – people from the neighborhood. One of his Father’s poker friends. Otherwise the courtroom was full of strangers. The man who had just whined was part of a group of eight guys – probably Yixing’s age or very near his age – who were filing in to sit down. He briefly considered what brought them to the hearing but his attention was snapped away as he heard the side door of the courtroom open.

Jongin scanned the room as he was led in, his gaze landing on Yixing as soon as he spotted him. He smiled then, a challenge.

“ing bastards.” Kyungsoo shot Jongdae and Yixing dirty looks, standing as firm as Jongin was. The guards led Jongin to the defendant’s table, pulling the wooden chair out for him to sit. Only then, as he turned around to sit, did he break eye contact. He hoped he had made Yixing nervous. That was his plan, even if Doctor Park had warned him against it. Old habits were hard to break.

“How are you doing?” Jongin’s lawyer, a spectacled short man in an ill-fitting suit, asked his client.

“Great.” Jongin smiled at his lawyer, putting on false airs of serenity. He couldn’t look broken to Yixing, he wouldn’t.

“Your Mother couldn’t make it, she called me this morning.” The lawyer explained, putting a pad of paper and pencil in front of Jongin so he could take notes “She said she was sorry.”

Jongin would not look sad. He would not “That is fine. I am fine.”

“Good, because I think we have this thing in the bag. There is no way they can deny our motion with the gross misconduct that occurred during the first investigation.”

Jongin didn’t answer. He stared at the judge’s podium. It would only be a matter of minutes now.

***

“I don’t see Doctor Park.” Luhan whispered to Minseok, looking around the courtroom constantly as if the man would come jumping out of the woodwork.

“What do you think we are supposed to do?” Minseok eyed the defendant. All he could see of him was a dark head of hair. Standing beside him was a smaller man in plain clothes. It must be his junior attorney or something.

“Maybe something will happen once the trial starts?” Suho offered, having eavesdropped on their conversation. It wasn’t exactly eavesdropping though when they were sandwiched so closely together on the bench.

“I’m hungry.” Kris sighed, looking at his watch. “Do court trials have food?”

“Have you seriously never watched a trial on television?” Baekhyun couldn’t believe that someone could be so naïve about the court system. Hell, he was invisible to almost the entire population and he knew what happened in a courthouse.

“Shut up Baekhyun.” Sehun decided this would be his new go to phrase.

“Shuut uppp Baekhyun.” Baekhyun teased, drawling out the words in an annoying voice.

A call for everyone to rise was heard throughout the courtroom. The judge was about to enter. The eight men stood dutifully, all showing varying degrees of interest as the judge entered the courtroom.  Everyone sat down and the court session officially began. And still, Doctor Park was nowhere to be seen.

***

“Sorry brother, I don’t want to do this.” Park Joon Hyung flinched as he tased the courthouse guard. The man fell, dropping as the electricity coursed through his body.

“If this doesn’t work you are in so much .” Min Woo said the obvious as he helped Joon Hyung push the large cart through the service garage door. The large metal cylinder was surprisingly light weight, easily maneuvered on the cart that Joon Hyung had stolen from a mechanic’s workshop.

“Yo. Go now. I can get it from here.” Doctor Park held out his fist, ready for a fist bump good bye.

Min Woo opted for a hug instead, pulling the psychiatrist into a tight embrace. “Hey, when you get back you better let me know about it.”

“I will, I will. Wish me luck, brother.”

“Good luck, and don’t worry. I will make sure the fireworks are lit.” Min Woo rose his fist to his chest, bumping it three times against his electric pink t-shirt in a show of solidarity before leaving.

Joon Hyung, dressed in the work overalls of the electric company, began pushing the large cart through the garage. When he reached the next guard, he met the same fate as the first - complete with an apology. Now there would only be a few more obstacles and Joon Hyung would be right where he needed to be. He just hoped the rest of them were there too.

***

“Don’t you think those guys look a bit suspicious?” Baekhyun jerked his head towards three men sitting in the back of the courtroom, dressed in matching black suits.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Chanyeol whispered back. The prosecutor was currently giving her opening statement, Chanyeol was afraid being too loud might get them all kicked out of the courtroom.

Baekhyun kept his eyes on the men, watching as they covertly spoke to each other. Curious, he began to wave his hands in their direction.

“, I think they can see me-“Baekhyun turned his head abruptly back towards the front of the room when one of the men stared straight at him.

“I am sure they can’t see you.” Chanyeol looked over his shoulder. The three men were looking at the prosecutor “See, they can’t see you.”

Baekhyun turned to look again. Maybe he was overreacting. Or maybe…

The doors to the courtroom were thrown open. Everyone turned to look, the loud noise of the heavy wooden doors banging against the walls echoing throughout the courtroom.

A man came rushing in. Dressed in a pink t-shirt that read “Save the Whales”, he held a sign aloft.

“WHALES ARE PEOPLE TOO! DOWN WITH HUMAN KILLER TRIALS. WHAT ABOUT THE TRIALS OF WHALE KILLERS!”

“Holy , what is going on..?” Chanyeol watched as the guards rushed the man. A few seconds after the guards rushed forward the doors banged shut. An alarm sounded, blaring out as the sprinklers began spraying water from the ceiling.

“Should we leave?” Luhan was starting to hyperventilate, his mind racing with all of the bad things he had worried about. What if this was a trap, what if? Was the courthouse on fire? Would they all die?!

“Look!” Minseok pointed towards where the defendant sat, noticing a fast movement out of the corner of his eye. The defendant stood up and practically leapt out of his chair, rushing towards the side entrance.

“Min, we need to go!” Luhan turned to bolt for the door, not caring what happened to the other people he was with. Other than Minseok. He made sure Minseok was behind him, because he could never leave him behind. Selfish, but his flight instinct took over. He was nowhere near reaching the door when three men dressed in black suits blocked his path.

“Going somewhere, Luhan?”

How did they know his name?

One of the men grabbed his arm. The courthouse was in chaos, people surging towards the door while the guards struggled with the activist who was still shouting nonsense about whales. The courtroom doors seemed to be bolted shut, the crowd banging at the entrance in a panicked state, effectively holding the guards and the activist captive in a mass of surging people.

“Help Luhan!” Minseok shouted at Kris and Tao, who took note of the situation. Tao was the first to act, surprising Minseok who had taken him for somewhat of a coward. He reached over and jerked Luhan towards him. The man who had grabbed him fell backwards, lost in the surge of people running towards the door in a mad dash to escape.

A loud cracking noise was heard, further panicking the crowd. Cries of ‘Save me’ and ‘We are all going to die’ rang out, sobbing could be heard. Minseok looked towards the side door, the place where the defendant had bolted towards.

“It is Doctor Park! Look!” Minseok shouted, hoping the other guys would hear. Thankfully they did.

“What in the …” Kris’s jaw dropped as he took in the sight.

“Brothers, get over here!” Doctor Park shouted at them, waving his hand. He was standing in the doorway of the side entrance, dressed in work overalls. His bleach blonde hair was slicked back, sunglasses perched on top of his head.

“Come on, let’s go!” Chanyeol grabbed Tao’s arm, jerking him towards the doctor. The rest of them followed, rushing towards where the doctor stood. As they neared Doctor Park the crackling noise grew louder, the air heavy, water continuing to rain down from the sprinklers.

“Doctor Park- what is going on?!” Luhan asked, still existing in a state somewhere between complete terror and a desperate need to save himself and Minseok.

“We need to go. NOW! Come on- through the door.” Doctor Park pointed at the open side door. Luhan looked and what he saw…was nothing like he had ever seen before. It was a cackling shield of electricity or something like it. A deep red, moving, an undulating wall.

“Through there?” Tao gulped.

“Do you have the box?” Doctor Park eyed Tao up and down.

“Here.” Tao held it aloft.

“NOW! They are coming! You need to go first!” Doctor Park motioned behind them. Tao took one look over his shoulder and could tell his options were limited. The three men who had grabbed Luhan were trying to push their way through the crowd, guns drawn.

“Hun-ah come on!” Tao was the first one to run, but only after Sehun had agreed. The others watched as Tao disappeared into the red portal.

“I am afraid of heights, bears, and spicy food. How in the hell am I supposed to run into a portal?!” Luhan hung back.

“Come on Lu, I don’t think we have a choice.” Minseok pleaded. Their choice was further narrowed down when a gunshot rang out in the courtroom.  Luhan closed his eyes tightly and ran, Minseok following right behind him.

Kris tried to look cool as he sauntered towards the red energy field, but was hurried by Baekhyun telling him “Run you idiot, this isn’t the time to strut.”

After Kris and Suho disappeared Chanyeol and Baekhyun followed, just as another bullet lodged in the wall near the side door.

Doctor Park shouted “Yixing – we need you.”

Yixing was still seated, his hair and clothes sopping wet from the sprinklers. No one was paying him any mind, except for Jongdae, who was pleading with him.

“Please, we need to. Please – you know I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.” Jongdae was on his knees his hands clasped together as if he was praying.

“I am sorry! Okay! Just please...” Doctor Park held his arms out wide, tears forming as he watched Yixing digest the situation “Please. I beg of you. I’ll make it right, just come on”

Yixing stood then, bolting, Jongdae behind him, thankful and relieved. They didn’t look back as they raced through the door. Another gunshot, and then Doctor Park felt the sting. He looked down to see red coloring his work overalls. Clutching his side he staggered through the door. As he reached the portal he staggered forward into it, his world going black.

***

A beep sounded, low and in frequent and predictable intervals. Luhan listened to the sound, breathing in and out deeply. He felt fatigued, his limbs heavy. His mind was foggy. Where was he? What had happened? He tried to open his eyes, but the simple action seemed impossibly difficult to execute.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly, affectionately.

“You will be okay.”

It was Minseok. Luhan opened his eyes, the thought of Minseok giving him energy to fight against his feeling of malaise.

Minseok was standing over him, that same crooked grin on his face. “You are awake.”

Minseok, seeing Minseok was like heaven. Luhan nodded and smiled. Minseok was okay. That was all that mattered. Minseok was okay.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I could sleep for a million years.” Luhan answered, reaching his hand up to feel Minseok’s hand where it rested on his shoulder. He was warm, soft, his skin was so smooth. And then it occurred to him. “Wait…I can feel you!”

Luhan tried to sit up, but he didn’t have enough energy yet. He stared at Minseok, and suddenly the differences were clear. Minseok’s face was flushed, his skin was no longer as pale. His eyes no longer as dull. Shocked, Luhan looked around the room. The walls were metallic, smooth. Lights, screens, gadgets he had never seen before were seamlessly integrated with the structure of the space.

“Where are we?” Luhan asked, not believing his eyes.

“You brought me home, Luhan.” Minseok said slowly, the smile never leaving his face. “Thank you Lu.”

-----------------------------------

a/n- how do you like that plot progress? I debated whether this should happen much later in the story, but I feel comfortable having it happen now. So…what did happen? Please throw fruit at me, I completely deserve it. Every chapter is a cliffhanger – which means I am so, so thankful you guys are hanging in there. I hope the chapters are remaining interesting, even if there are a lot of (okay, a load) of things that have yet to be explained.There is a lot of story here, and I promise that there will be a lot of explanations in the next three chapters (but of course, there is a ton of plot and unknowns yet, so it isn't going to explain everything).

Over 100 subs! Thank you! Thank you! I wish I could buy you all a puppy/kitty/animal of your choice (or whatever floats your boat) but alas that isn’t possible. So instead I will try to keep this story on track and relevant, and hopefully you will enjoy it. And if you don’t, that is cool. Let me know where I screwed up. I appreciate all feedback ^^ -LC