He woke up in the middle of the night. At first he was confused about his whereabouts, but then he found G-Dragon fast asleep next to him, felt his scarf on his forehead and an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He remembered.

Carefully, to not shake his head too much, he got up and moved towards the sink to drink some water. Sleeping had done good, at least he could walk without the fear of puking instantly.

When he laid back down, it seemed like the ground had gotten colder and harder than before.

It was difficult to fall asleep again, Jiyong's breathing next to him didn't help either. Jiho looked at his relaxed, peaceful face.

If he had ever imagined getting the chance to meet G-Dragon and spend some time with him, being kidnapped alongside him had certainly not crossed Jiho's mind.

It was cool to be allowed to address him informally, though.

Pushing fear and worry aside, Jiho focused on his breath and the fact he wasn't alone in this.

His first priority was to recover as soon as possible.

Finally, he fell asleep.

Some scratching noise woke him up. The first thing he saw was Jiyong on his knees next to him, looking tired, but alert. When he turned his head into the direction Jiyong was facing, Jiho just saw the door to the showers closing. A tray had been put onto the floor with some food on it.

He sat up and Jiyong got the tray. There were two bowls of clear broth and two bowls of rice on it.

“At least they apparently don't plan on killing us right now – or else they wouldn't feed us.”

Jiyong handed Jiho a bowl of soup.

They ate in siilence.

“Did anything else happen before I woke up?”, Jiho asked, but Jiyong shook his head.

“How are you today, Jiho?”

“I'm okay with the light and talking isn't as exhaustive anymore. Still got a headache, though.”

“Just make sure you rest.”

“I will. Thank you for caring, Jiyong.”

The older smiled weakly. It was still strange for Jiho to call GD by his first name, but also comforting.

The headache came back worse after breakfast, so Jiho decided to lay down again and Jiyong insisted to wash his scarf so it would be cold again. Jiho gladly accepted, even though it made him feel utterly useless.

“The guy that brought the food in...”, Jiho started after an hour of trying to doze off. “Was he still masked?”

“Yeah, he was.”, Jiyong answered. “I wonder if they will come and get the tray back...”

“Do you think we could fight them, if only one unarmed guy entered?”

Jiyong thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“I don't think it would be wise to knock one of them out when we don't even know anything about this building and their whereabouts inside of it. We should wait until they talk to us.”

“Any idea where we are?”

Jiyong snorted. “Some old factory on the countryside, I guess. Not near the city, I think. But the truck didn't drive for that long, so we actually can't be in the back of beyond...”

Jiho nodded and closed his eyes again. He hoped to get better soon. Jiyong needed his help to find a way out. He was scared they could take Jiyong somewhere else while he was asleep.

They received food a second time this day, maybe in the late afternoon. Jiho was constantly feeling better and Jiyong told him what he'd been doing while Jiho had slept:

He had tried to find out about their location. He had spent a few hours listening at the doors in their room and in the showers. Sadly, the only thing Jiyong was sure about now was that they where in the cellar of the building and nobody used the hallways outside, unless they brought food. He had no idea about whether their kidnappers stayed inside the building itself or the surrounding ones or whether they left the site completely.

Sometimes Jiho had problems focusing on what Jiyong had to say – he blamed it on his concussion. When Jiyong finished, they stared at each other for some time. None of them knew what to say or do now. Jiyong looked as worried as Jiho felt, but still... He was glad he wasn't alone in here. The fact that this energetic and creative young man shared his misery made Jiho feel a little better about their crappy situation.

“I'm sure they're already searching for us.”, Jiho finally said in an attempt to make Jiyong cheer up a bit. He wished he could support the older emotionally, too.

Before Jiyong could answer, they heard heavy steps and a door in the bathroom opened. Both of them froze, quickly exchanging a glance.

Seconds later the door to their room was thrown open, giving a terrible screeching sound making Jiho flinch a little, even though the sound didn't ring inside his head anymore.

Two masked men entered, the slender one carried a gun, pointing it randomly at Jiho or Jiyong. The other grabbed Jiyong's collar without a word and pulled him to his feet.

Jiho caught his gaze, Jiyong's eyes were wide, Jiho's own terror reflected in them. But he couldn't move or say anything, he just sat there, mouth agape and stared after them when they dragged his comrade out. Jiyong didn't struggle much, he just tried not to be strangled by the hold of the kidnapper.

Jiho didn't move until they shut and locked the door to the hallway. They had surprisingly left open Jiho's door to the bathroom.

Then, he realized that the armed man had taken the trays.

A second later, silence hit him like a blow to the head. Even though the light in their room as well as in the bathroom was switched on, the rooms seemed to grow dark. What were they going to do with Jiyong? Where would they take him?

Jiho got up, his mouth was dry, so dry. He stumbled towards the sink, drinking hectically from the faucet and closed his eyes.

Jiyong's face. He couldn't forget the fear in his eyes.

He hoped for the best. Probably they were separating them as announced. No need to panic. Or maybe they just wanted a picture of Jiyong, holding a sign with his ransom on it. Like in the movies.

Jiho closed the faucet and wiped his mouth.

“Yeah, no need to panic.”, he whispered.

His voice sounded awkward as it hit the silence in the two rooms.

Still, he found himself listening carefully for several minutes.

For the sound of a gun firing.

For Jiyong screaming.

For heavy steps in front of the door, when they came to kill him.

But nothing.

Just awful silence, crawling in from every corner of those rooms, scaring him.

He closed the bathroom door, washed his scarf again even though his head was okay right now, sat down with his back to the wall and his knees to his chest and waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything.

He realized he had been able to deal with his kidnapping better when he was still dazed by the concussion and while Jiyong was with him. He had already wondered why he hadn't been more scared before. Now that he was left alone with himself in those creepy, dirty rooms, and his senses getting better, he felt entirely lost. Like panic had only waited to catch him alone and then drag him into the deepest hole of despair.

Jiho laid his head on his knees and fought against the urge to cry. He wasn't sure why, the urge just crashed down on him overwhelmingly.

He lost track of time while crying. This world was just so unfair, why did this have to happen to him? Why did such people exist, after all? Then his headache came back and Jiho stifled his sobs and laid down in a fetal position.

“This so bad...”

Noise from the bathroom made him jump.

They opened the door to the bathroom! They were coming back!

His heart started racing. What was he supposed to do now? Before he could calm down or decide on anything, he heard someone stumble into the bathroom, hissing under their breath. The door was closed, the key turned round.

Without hesitation, Jiho rushed for the bathroom door and opened it. He stood face to face with a deranged, but very lively Jiyong.

“Thank god, you're still alive, Hyung!”, Jiho exclaimed, instantly feeling better.

He grabbed the older by the shoulders and looked at him, glad he wasn't alone anymore.

“I mean, Jiyong.”

He looked at the other one. “Are you okay?”, he asked reluctantly and wiped his eyes.

It was pretty obvious that Jiyong was not okay in the way he'd been okay before they had taken him: His clothes were messy, his hair as well and his eye and cheek were starting to bruise.

“What did they do to you?”, Jiho pushed Jiyong back into their room, ushered him to sit down and rushed for his wet scarf which he had dropped before.

“Well, could've been worse.”, Jiyong answered but didn't put much effort into hiding he was in pain.

“Thanks, Jiho.” With a crooked smile he took the offered scarf and started cooling his face.

Jiho sat down next to him. Jiyong sighed in relief.

“Tell me, what happened? What did they say? Do you know anything new?”

He hated pressuring Jiyong when he was in pain, but it was so important to get information.

“They took me to the second floor. I guess maybe because there was better light. The windows on the ground floor are all blocked up. They put me on a chair in a room with a window. I could only see some chimneys and roofs, though. They had a camera.” Jiyong paused for a second, changing the scarf to a colder part to cool his face.

“I had to hold a sign with the ransom they want for me. No idea what amount, I couln't see it.” He hesitated, then gestured towards his face. “They weren't very gentle, as you can see. And they recorded everything.”

For a moment, Jiyong looked ashamed and Jiho looked away. He felt very sorry but couldn't think of anything useful or sympathetic to say.

“What else did they-?”

“They seemed somehow disunited when it came to beating me. Some are more violent than the others. But I think they know each other quite well. And they want my ransom within two days.”

Jiho didn't dare to ask 'or else?', but Jiyong met his gaze and seemed to guess what he was thinking. “They didn't tell what would happen elsewise...”

Jiho nodded and they sat in silence. He was trying to switch between being invisible and a comforting presence to Jiyong, who seemed completely absorbed in cooling his bruises.

Two days was a rather short period of time.

Then Jiho broke the silence. “Is there also a ransom for me?”

Jiyong put down the scarf, hestitating. A worried look ghosted his face and he avoided Jiho's eyes. “No. Not yet. I guess they'll figure that out later, because you're ill...”

This sounded like a good explanation, but he still looked worried, though and Jiho, too, felt some kind of knot grow in his stomach.

Assumed they wouldn't put a ransom on him... then what was his purpose?

Did they actually intended to just kidnap GD? Did they somehow take him by mistake?

Was he maybe here to put some pressure onto Jiyong so that he wouldn't make any problems to protect the younger?

But they should've taken a band member of BigBang instead to serve that purpose, Jiho thought. Him and G-Dragon actually weren't close at all. At least before their kidnapping.

“Do you think they'll kill me?”

The words had slipped out before he could stop them.

Jiho immediately regretted them. How awfully selfish he was! They just had beaten up Jiyong and put him through a lot of terror, and he was just sitting on his -

“No. Stop talking nonsense!” Jiyong briefly padded his shoulder. “They won't kill us so quickly, don't worry.”

Jiho tried to swallow his worries. He didn't fancy getting beaten up like poor Jiyong, but if he didn't serve a certain purpose for their kidnappers, this could be even worse. He just wished for someone to find them.

It took some time for them to fall asleep this evening. Selfish fear for himself and some strange need to care for Jiyong like Jiyong had cared for him before kept Jiho awake. But he couldn't do much for the other apart from offering to wash the scarf to make it cold again.

He fell asleep half an hour after Jiyong had dozed off. His dreams were confusing and dark, and he woke up several times in the night, fearing their kidnappers had come for him, for Jiyong or for both of them.