[Author's note: please reread Chapter 1 updated 25 January to understand some parts here!]

Back in the chilly Seoul streets, Yixing found a warm smile on his face, a genuine one that hadn’t shown itself in a long while. Then he was full out grinning like an idiot, but gradually his hands, which he shoved into his pockets, were balling up into tight fists, then his teeth were clenching, the breath noisily rushing out of his nostrils as he felt the first tears fall. It was all over, and he was never going to get Baekhyun back, because he’s going to die.

The sadness was terrifying. He felt no urge to stay alive anymore. And in that moment, his rubbered soles slapping the pavement, hair ruffled by the cold wind, tear tracks fresh on his cheeks, he made up his mind. When he stepped into the house again, he would be a new person. He would be strong, he would be happy, and he would love Baekhyun until his last days with all his heart. And if Baekhyun took him back, he was following him everywhere. To places of no pain.

With the newfound strength Yixing wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and stopped short when he realised his heart had taken him to the secluded alley he used to walk with Baekhyun, and under the streetlamp where they first kissed, stood two ominous hooded men. They were leaning against the fence of the long-abandoned house, glaring at Yixing as he walked past, whispering in Chinese under their breath. He was glad he had his hood on as he kept his eyes on the ground.

Yixing was a few steps past them when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder and he turned around to look into fierce eyes with heavy bags beneath. The taller man was leaning against the lamppost, looking on with a gaze colder than the night.

“Where’s unit 56?” He asked in a strange accent.

That was where he lived. Yixing shook his head, gave a shrug and turned around, ready to leave. That was when he heard the name in Chinese, spoken amidst vulgarities and in such a menacing way that Yixing jolted to a stop again.

“Why are you looking for Baekhyun?” Before Yixing could stop himself, he’d blurted out the question in fluent Chinese to the two mysterious men.

They exchanged glances, and then the taller man sauntered towards Yixing, his chin tilted up high so he looked down at the shorter boy. Yixing met his eyes steadily from beneath his hood, noting how his features came together to form a handsome face.

“Yifan.” His self-introduction consisted of merely his name.

“Zitao.” The other man didn’t move from his spot a few feet away.

Yixing felt the blood in his veins slow to a halt and freeze on the spot.

Baekhyun’s stepbrothers.

“What do you want with him?”

Wu Yifan rolled his eyes and let out a laugh. He turned to Zitao. “You see, Tao? He’s questioning me.”

And Tao moved so fast Yixing was shocked. Suddenly he was gripping the front of his hoodie, his dark-rimmed eyes staring into his commandingly, and he said in Chinese, “No questions. Where is he?”

Yixing bit his lip and stared back.

Zitao shook him violently and his hoodie fell back to expose his face. A slow clap started from behind Zitao and Yixing craned his neck to see what the heck Yifan was doing. His eyes were gleaming unpleasantly as he walked up slowly and gripped Yixing’s chin between his fingers.

“Zhang Yixing. I wonder if Baekhyun would like it more if I killed you instead.”

Yixing jerked back, pushing the hands away from his body. There were a thousand different emotions spinning through him and he didn’t know where to start.

“I don’t care.” Yixing heard his voice tremble on the last syllable. “Take my life. Just promise to never look for Byun Baekhyun, ever again, after I die.”

He just had to ensure Baekhyun was safe, for a little while more, after which…

He swallowed. Yifan took another step towards him, tilting his head like a curious cat. Then he gave a short laugh and landed a punch on his cheek. Yixing reeled from the impact, stumbling a few steps before he regained his balance and snapped up in fury.

Suddenly Tao was behind him and he had his arms in a dead lock behind, and Yixing had to grit his teeth to keep from shouting out in pain. He was pushed forward, into darkness, through the fence, around the abandoned house, to the half-filled swimming pool that sat silently in the backyard. It was filled with dead leaves and muck, giving off a musty odour that reached Yixing before he saw it.

Tao threw Yixing on the ground and before he could get up he felt a sharp stab of pain at his side where Yifan’s heavily booted foot made contact. There was a sickening crack of broken ribs and an uncontrollable howl escaped from Yixing. His phone slipped out of his pocket and onto the hard tiled floor. Yifan picked it up and shoved it in Yixing’s face.

“Go ahead. Call your dear Baekhyun and he’ll come save you. It’ll save you a lot of pain, you know. You really don’t have to do this. I’ve wanted his life for a long time, ever since he killed our little sister. When I heard he was dying of cancer, that weakling, I knew we had to do it soon. He had to be ended with our own hands.”

“It was an accident, you ing bastard, leave him alo-“ another kick to his broken ribs cut off his angry sentence into a scream.

“I don’t care, Zhang Yixing! He should’ve died instead. I want him to feel the pain we felt. I’m going to kill you, Zhang Yixing, and it’s going to drive him crazy.”

Deep down, past the fury and the bittersweet tang of blood on his tongue, Yixing was glad Baekhyun hated him now. At least this wouldn’t hurt as much when he knew.

He only hoped it was enough.

Tao snatched up Yixing’s phone from the ground and laughed when he guessed the password right on the first try. “0506 huh, Yixing? Baekhyun’s birthday. How romantic. He’s going to hear you die, Zhang Yixing, bit by bit.”

And he dialed Baekhyun’s number, put the phone on speaker and laid it on the ground beside Yixing.

If he thought what they did to him before was painful, this was pure agony. He was sure they broke more than a few ribs. They punched him so hard in the stomach that he convulsed, throwing up fluid and blood. The tears were streaming from his eyes, his ears were ringing, and he couldn’t tell if Baekhyun had picked up the phone, but he gritted his teeth with all his life and never uttered another word or plea. Not when the air was knocked out of his lungs, not when the martial arts trained Tao bent his body this way and that. Not when Kris imprinted dark red and purple bruises all over his body. Not even when they caught hold of his sweater and dunked him in the icy cold pool, dragging him up again only after a full minute. He spluttered and gasped for air, each breath causing a stabbing pain pulsing throughout his entire body. There was mucky water in his nose, mouth, eyes and ears. He was both on fire and freezing cold at the same time.

He wanted it to be over soon. He didn’t know if he would be able to hold on much longer.