“Suho? Oh my god, it’s really you. Are you hurt?”

"I'm fine," Suho said. He had fallen to the floor in shock, and he wondered whether he was dreaming.  There in front of him, was Xiumin, dressed like something out of a bad action B movie, with knives and a walkie-talkie in his belt and black paint on his cheeks. Gone was the suit and tie Suho had last seen Xiumin in across a fancy table as their parents negotiated the terms of their children's marriage.  "What are you doing?"

"Rescuing you, of course!"

"Rescuing...me...?"

"Yeah.  You were kidnapped, weren't you?"  Xiumin suddenly looked concerned as Suho continued to stare blankly at him.  "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes." Suho collected himself.  "I'm fine.  I'm just surprised you're here."

"Well, you are my fiance.  I couldn't just sit back and do nothing."  Xiumin put a hand on Suho's shoulder and grinned conspiratorially.  "I snuck away with the search party Dad sent and hid with the luggage. By the time they realized I was on board, it was too late to turn around." He gestured to himself.  "And now, here I am!"

"Yeah...here you are..." Suho agreed weakly.  First his ex-boyfriend, now his fiance--did everyone around him have a secret warrior alter-ego?  "Wow..."

"I'm sure Dad will forgive me once I tell him I found and rescued you!" It was clear Xiumin was enjoying playing hero.  His eyes sparkled with pride.  "Oh, and we found your kidnapper too."

That snapped Suho back to attention. He looked outside the store windows, where group of black cars were gathered.  Suho immediately spotted Kris, pinned against one of them by two burly men. 

Xiumin mistook the alarm in Suho's eyes.  "Oh don't worry, Suho.  We'll take care of him." He cracked his knuckles.

Suho gasped as one of the men landed a punch to Kris' cheek. Xiumin frowned.

"He's not very smart, is he? He left such an obvious trail, that we found you guys in a matter of hours after we landed in the city. I was surprised; I thought the Moxe were supposed to be a super badass group. You'd think they'd be better at covering their tracks."

"No!  You have it wrong!"  Suho watched in growing horror as Kris kick one of the guards.  Two more guards rushed over to restrain him.  "He wasn't the one who kidnapped me.  He was saving me!"

"Is that what he told you?"  Xiumin looked sympathetic.  "I don't blame you for falling for it. I've read about this tactic--criminals do it all the time. He was trying to gain your trust.  There was evidence all over the plane and hotel.  See?" Xiumin dug out his phone to show Suho the pictures of the "evidence" he'd collected over the last few hours.  Ballpoint pens with the Moxe logo on it.  Notes and receipts signed 'MOXE'.  A familiar hotel room, with its mirrors and doors surfaces scratched with the letters MOXE.  "The Moxe are well-known for leaving their signature logo at the scene of their crime, as a way to instill fear and flaunt their power to the public."

"That's true, but I know for a fact that Kri--I mean, that man over there wasn't involved."  Suho remembered Baekhyun messing around in the plane and in the hotel room, and his promise to avenge Tao's family's death.  "I think my real kidnapper tried to frame the Moxe for my kidnapping.  They have a grudge.  Besides, they probably figured the Moxe would make an obvious scapegoat."

Xiumin frowned.  But then he brightened.  "Well, even if you're right, it doesn't matter.  The Moxe commit crimes and shoud be punished anyway.  Good thing we caught him!"

Suho couldn't really argue with that.  But as he watched one of the bodyguards kick Kris, one thing was suddenly crystal clear.  He couldn't let Kris get tortured and killed.  Call it human weakness, but you never forgot your first love.

"Xiumin, please let him go.  He really was saving me, this time. I owe him my life."

Xiumin hesitated. 

"Besides... I want a wedding present."

"What?"  Xiumin blinked at the sudden topic change.  "Uh, sure! Anything you want.  But maybe we can talk about this later.  We should get out of this place first."

"For my present, I want you to let him go." 

"What?" Xiumin exclaimed.  "But--"

"If you promise to release him, I promise that I will make more of an effort to be involved in our...relationship."  Suho put on his sweetest smile, the one that earned him so many admirers. "Please, just make this one exception for me. I promise I'll stop avoiding you all the time--"

Xiumin's eyes narrowed.  "So you have been ignoring all my invitations!"

"Er. Maybe.  But if you let Kr--if you let the guy go, I'll go to operas and movies and clubs with you.  I'll be the best husband and friend anyone could ask for."

"You can't bribe me," Xiumin protested.  But...  "Wait. Did you say club?"

"You like going to The Playboy, don't you?" Xiumin blushed and coughed and muttered something about the place having good music. Suho continued: "Or we could go to a knitting club.  Book club.  Cooking club. Couple's stuff.  Anything you want...Xiu."  

Xiumin hesitated.  Raised on stories of knights and princes, Xiumin had always been a boy who believed firmly in doing what was right and noble, even when his parents tried to reason with him that sometimes business required white lies and small tricks.  He had jumped to rescue Suho because it was the right thing to do.  It pained him to allow a member of a known criminal organization go free. 

But Xiumin was also a 20-year-old boy who dreamed of true love like the knights in his stories.  Surely, it was right to make one small concession?  With fantasies of a future filled with happy companionship floating around in his brain, Xiumin reluctantly shook Suho's hand. "Okay...fine. Just this once. I will order the guards to let him go."

"Thank you."  Suho breathed a sigh of relief.  He accepted Xiumin's oustretched hand and let the other man pull him up from the ground.

Ten minutes later, Kris watched as his first and only love disappeared from his life again, in a cloud of high-efficiency-fuel exhaust.

"NO!"

"Meanwhile..."

"NO!  Why did you do that?  Why can't you just leave Suho and Kris alone?"

"Because then it would be too easy.  Anyway.  Meanwhile..."

"Why can't you make it easy, then?"

"Because life isn't easy.  SO, meanwhile..."

"Your story !"

Luhan scowled.  "I can leave, you know. Do you want me to go?"

"Hmph."

Meanwhile, at a nondescript bubble tea shop, a furious Chanyeol and Tao downed tea as they plotted revenge for their fallen comrade.  Baekhyun sat across the booth table from them, looking like death personified.

"So, we'll beat Masked Man back to Suho's parents' house, we'll steal Suho back from him, and you'll kill him.  Sounds good, guys?"

"Perfect." Tao cracked his knuckles.

Baekhyun didn't answer.

"Home, sweet home," Xiumin announced.  

They were just beginning their descent onto the Kim mansion roof.  Suho glanced out the tinted windows of the jet and saw that the roof was covered with purple and gold balloons.   From this high up, they looked like tiny jellybeans, and the people and tables looked like tiny toys.  It reminded Suho of how fake his life was. Ironically enough, the past 24 hours of danger had been the most alive he had felt in years. 

"I guess Dad has forgiven me, then."  Xiumin followed Suho's gaze out the window.  " It appears our parents have prepared quite a public welcome celebration. Look at all those reporters."  Xiumin snickered when he saw Suho's horrified expression.  "Don't worry, we only need to show up for a few minutes, for appearances' sake. I'll help you sneak away after that. I know you must be tired."

"Thank you." Suho sighed.  "I'm sorry for worrying everyone."

"You're not the one that should be apologizing.  Those kidnappers should."  Xiumin reached out to take Suho's hand. "If they'd hurt you, or killed you..." He let the words trail off into some unspoken warning.  For a second, his baby face hardened.

Suho stared out into the distance,  wondering where Kris was now.  How he was doing? Had he forgiven Suho for abandoning him?  

Unknown to Suho, Kris was only 50 feet away.

Underground, in the Kim’s cellar #5, the young man struggled underneath his restraints, muffled yells coming through his gags.  Through his hazy vision and pounding headache, he could see two figures bent over him.  The shorter one had on a white lab coat, and the other Kris recognized as one of the Kim guards that had subdued him. 

"Master Kim wants him out of the way," the guard said, poking Kris' arm.  "See the tattoo?  He's actually part of the Moxe."

"Well, what a lucky coincidence.  And why couldn't our prince Xiumin get rid of him himself?" White Lab Coat sniffed in disdain. "Too scared to get his perfect gloves dirty?"

"Actually, Xiumin told us to let him go.  He doesn't know the guy is here."

"....I see. Interesting."  A blinding light was directed onto Kris.  Kris managed to make out White Lab Coat's face.  "Hello, there!" the face chirped.  "My name is Dr. Cat.  Not that you'll know me for very long."  

Dr. Cat had skin as white as business paper, eyes as sparkly as ice, and a smile as real as a knockoff souvenir--

"He sounds bad."

Well, Dr. Cat was definitely not a force to be trifled with.  Dr. Cat was Xiumin's parents' right hand man.  Although he had started out as a lowly chef, over the years he worked his way up the ranks and into the Kims' favor. While Xiumin daydreamed about true love and saving people, Dr. Cat dreamed of power.  He was very ambitious, and by the time he was 21 he had a medical degree, a law degree, a business degree, and was a certified chef. 

"Hello, Kris."  Dr. Cat looked down at his newest patient, who froze with shock at the name.  "Oh, don't be a scaredy cat! I know who you are.  I took your fingerprint and matched you to 'Kris Wu.'  You were employed by the fiance's family, years ago."

Silence.

"In fact...you're the fiance's ex-boyfriend.”

Muffled grunts could be heard from beneath the duct tape and straps.

“Don't worry, your secret will be safe with me.  After all, dead men can't speak.”  With a snap, the esteemed doctor put on his sterilized gloves.

"Mrff! mmfmff!!!"

“So you’re the third wheel in the story, huh?  Sad.  You know, I know what it’s like to be the second choice,” Dr. Cat mused. “Cast aside, never good enough.”

Kris glared up at him.

"I actually do all the work around here, and yet perfect prince Xiumin gets everything.  All the money, the entire estate.  I'm the one practically running the business." Dr. Cat grumbled.  “It doesn't matter what you do. If you don't have the right blood and status, you'll never be a part of their world.  Isn't that right, Kris?"

Kris didn't answer.

“Do you still think your 'true love' is going to save you?  He practically signed your death certificate, and he’s marrying another man.  I'll bet he's laughing about it with prince Xiumin right now, about how he tricked his pathetic servant boy so easily."

Kris squeezed his eyes shut and blocked out onslaught of mocking words.  Instead, he focused on images of Suho that he’d stored up in his mind.  They were memories that had helped him through his first few months at Yuan Land, when he had been suffering from homesickness and fear that he would never belong anywhere.  Meanwhile, Dr. Cat reached over toward the silver dials adorning his machine.  “Do you know where you are, Kris?”

Kris refused to answer. He thought of that time he’d caught Suho dancing along to a girl band song on the radio, using the pool noodles as fake trumpets.  Suho had turned bright red and spluttered angrily when he'd finally noticed Kris snickering and video-recording his one-man concert.  The memory never failed to make Kris smile.

“You’re in my Death Room.  Do you know why I call it that?”

Kris didn’t even open an eye. “I’ll take a wild guess.  Because you’re going to kill me?”

“Hahaha, close!  Because by the time I flip all ten of these switches, you’ll wish you were dead.”  With that, Dr. Cat reached over and flicked the first switch.

"Oh no!"

"Yeah. This part might be kind of scary..."

"I'm not scared!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!  I'm not a baby!"

"Okay...just tell me if you want me to skip anything."

Kris’ body jerked, and a gasp escaped from his mouth.   It was like something had invaded his mind--something blunt and cold and foreign.  

“That sounds promising.”  Dr. Cat let the machine run for a few more seconds.  Kris clenched his teeth, stifling his groans. He thought of that one time when Suho had grudgingly allowed Kris to teach him basketball.   Suho had tackled Kris to the ground in an attempt to stop him, and they had ended up kissing for ten minutes.  The memory brought a smile to his lips.

Dr. Cat frowned, and flicked a second switch. Kris groaned.

“Don’t keep it all in, now.  As a doctor, it’s my job to investigate every surface of your mind until I know every. little . thing about you.”

Drinking hot chocolate together. Raking leaves in the morning.  With Suho watching him from the side, criticizing his work but breaking off into stutters whenever Kris smiled at him. 

A third switch was flipped, and Kris registered the increasing pressure on his skull and the increasing difficulty of keeping his thoughts together.

That one birthday where Suho had allowed Kris to order him around—”Only for today!”—and Kris had demanded that Suho feed and rub his shoulders like he was some sort of king. He had received several poorly-made meals but much-appreciated massages. Very much appreciated...

Suho’s smile.

Fourth switch.  Every pore of Kris’ body was buzzing. He couldn't think straight.

Suho's giggle, and how he’d try to cover his face when his grin grew too wide.

Teaching...well, more like attempting to teach Suho how to play basketball.

Painting Suho's portrait.

Their first kiss.

“You think that'll work?  I know what you’re doing.  But guess what?  You aren’t safe inside your head. You never are.”

Spring, summer, fall, winter, puppies, walking Byul together, sharing books, poems, stuffed animal fights.  

Fifth switch.  Their first meeting.  Staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Watching his friend wave goodbye as he left with his new family.  Sixth switch.  Suho, love, belonging, family, dad, no dad, a small house in the country, watching the planes fly overhead, a woman screaming, Mommy--

"Don't worry, I'll fix you.  Tell me, how do you feel?"

Two men dressed in dark clothing, the crumpled form of a woman at their feet--Wait! Where was his little brother? He had to save him!  "TAOTAO!  TAO!"

"Did you say out?  There's no way out."

His mother.  Opening his mouth to scream... "DIE, you monster!"  

"Wow, pretty angry at me, huh?"

"DIE!"

"Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I'm here to help you. By the time I'm done with you, I'll have you all cured."

With a wide smile, Doctor Cat flipped all ten switches on at once.

Hundreds and thousands of memories flashed through Kris' mind at an impossibly fast speed.  One, in particular, stood out: the letters MOX E painted across the wall.

Kris’ body froze.  There was a moment of complete silence, and a terrible tremor ran through the young man’s body.

With that, Kris expired one final breath.

“…you KILLED him?” 

"There, you're all better now."  Dr. Cat let out a satisfied breath as well.   The machine hummed as it popped into cooldown mode, masking the additional sets of heavy breathing in the room coming from behind the vent.

"But did you kill him? WHY? WHY do you hate Kris?"

"Uh, maybe I should stop the story for now..." Luhan said uncertainly, as Sehun looked near hysterics.

"No! Don't stop!"

"Wow, this looks really scary."  Chanyeol stared through the gratings of the vent.  Pained groans and gasps could be heard from below.  "I think that guy is like a mad scientist or something.  Do you want to see?"

"No,"  Tao replied shortly.  The vent was located at the room's ceiling, and he didn't want to look 3 meters down into the room.

"Is it because you're scare--"

"I'm not scared! I just don't want to expose my skin to whatever bacteria is floating around in that lab," Tao hissed.  "Be quiet, and just tell me when the guy is dead."  

Since earlier that morning, he and Chanyeol had crawled their way through the dusty air conditioning vent system of the Kim mansion. From listening to the guards gossiping, they had learned that Suho had returned home safely, and the wedding would be rescheduled to 3 days later.  That gave them 72 hours to sneak into the building and re-kidnap Suho.

"It's weird, though," Chanyeol said.  "Why are they torturing the guy?  Shouldn't they be giving him $1 million for bringing Suho back?"

"Who knows?  As long as there's one less Moxe monster in the world, I don't care."

Chanyeol didn't press the issue, sensing Tao's sour mood.  For the next few minutes they sat in silence, listening to the mumbling and rambling of Masked Man.  Tao pulled out a floor plan of the Kim mansion to distract himself.  Suho's bedroom should be about 75 meters up, 500 meters to the east, which meant...

"TAO!"

"What?" Tao hissed, before realizing the name hadn't come from Chanyeol.  Shocked, he stared out the grate, into the lab room below.  He froze.

Tao suddenly wanted to throw up, and for once it had nothing to do with his fear of heights.  A feeling of deja vu slammed into him, hard.  Watching the Masked Man--who was no longer masked--writhe on the chair brought back another memory of hiding behind a vent, watching his screaming brother getting struck down. 

"DIE, YOU MONSTER!" The man screamed.  But the voice Tao heard in his head was that of a little boy, screaming the exact same words.

The pieces slowly fell together in his head.

Yifan had dreamed of being a pilot.  Yifan had liked art.  Yifan had blonde hair. 

At the very moment that the Masked Man finally stopped moving, Tao realized why the Masked Man had always seemed so familiar.

At the next moment, he and Chanyeol jumped as they heard a thump and a muffled gasp coming from around the corner of the passageway.  There was someone else in the vent with them.

"I think it's time for bed now."

“N-no you can’t stop the story."

"I think I should--"

"No.  I'm not scared, I promise.“

"Well, I'M tired, okay!" Luhan snapped.  He sighed when he saw Sehun's hurt expression.  "Sorry. It's not you.  I am actually really tired today. I'll continue tomorrow, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Yeah.  Goodnight, Sehun. Sleep tight.”   Luhan stood up.  He hesitated for a second, before bending down to hug Sehun awkwardly.  Then, he hurried out the room like a man on fire.  

As he left, Sehun hugged his doll and sighed.  "Don't worry, Miranda.  Kris will come back," he assured her.  "He's the hero. It's the rule."