When Tao woke up the next morning, he found himself having difficulty opening his eyes and a thought that his eyes were swollen nagged at the back of his mind. Tao knew why his eyes felt like that and wondered just how long had he been crying the previous night. How ever long Tao had been crying, one thing he could be sure of was that he had fallen asleep from the exhaustion of crying too much at some point.  

          Tao also realised that instead of sleeping on the cold hard ground, he was sleeping on the bed with a blanket over him. Tao remembered that he had been on the ground when he was crying and wondered how had he ended up falling asleep on the bed instead. After a moment of thinking, Tao recalled that Sehun had still been on the other side of the door when he broke down into a crying mess and figured that the kid have entered the room at some point when he out to put him onto the bed. 

          Tao couldn't help the smile that came to his lips at the thought. Sehun was a really nice kid — kind, helpful, caring — he was the definition of innocence and suddenly Tao found himself wondering just how the kid got himself into a mess like this. There is no room for soft people when it comes to gang business, but Sehun was the definition of someone with good intentions and it got Tao wondering. Tao frowned when the thought of Sehun actually being a heartless person like Suho under that mask of innocence suddenly came to mind, shaking his head to rid his mind of that thought — it couldn't be possible, hopefully, especially since Tao was starting to like that kid. 

          "Good morning," the male heard somebody saying and looked up to his door, "Had a good sleep last night?" 

          Chen was standing outside Tao's door and was peeking into the room through the window, his eyes piercing into Tao's as a small smile graced his features. 

          As nice and friendly Chen was being, Tao couldn't help the scowl that took over his features at the question, "What makes you think that in the first place?" 

          Chen shrugged, "You were sleeping peacefully, so I thought you had a good night sleep." 

          Oh yeah, having horrible dreams of what Suho might do to you or your family while you slept definitely indicates a person having a good night sleep. 

          "Don't ever assume things," the younger spat at the elder who only shrugged at the remark. 

          "Chen," another voice suddenly called and Tao jumped in his sitting position on the bed, "Stop talking to the prisoner, we're not allowed to do so." 

          Chen grinned at whoever the voice belonged to and chirped, "Oh, Minseok, there's no need to be so serious now!" 

          "Don't call me by my given name," was what the voice said and Chen raised his arms up defensively. 

          "Okay, Xiumin," the male bowed his head apologetically, "I won't do it again." 

          Tao got up from his bed and walked over to the door, the chains making clinking noises as he walked. Tao reached the door and tried to peek outside through the window provided. Chen had looked over when he heard the sounds of chains hitting against one another. 

          "Anything that you want?" Chen questioned but Tao shook his head. 

          "What are you guys doing here?" Tao asked, "And what time is it?" 

          "We're your guards," the black haired male chirped, "You know, so that you can't escape and stuff?" 

          Tao laughed, but it was humourless, "I can tell." 

          "As for the time," the black haired male tried to look through the window, his eyes were looking downwards, "Don't you have a watch with you?" 

          Tao looked down at his wrist but there wasn't anything there. 

          "We took it while he was out," the orange haired male suddenly spoke after being quiet for some time and Tao looked up at him in surprise, "We took most of his belongings. Can't risk having any of them used against us." 

          Tao scoffed and rolled his eyes, what was he supposed to do with a watch anyway? Aside from checking the time, there's basically nothing else Tao could use it for. Tao doubt that a watch could scrap a hole in the wall big enough for him to escape or anything. 

          Chen let out an 'ah' before looking at his own watch, "Ten o'clock already, you almost slept through the whole morning." 

          Tao looked at Chen in surprise, "I've been sleeping for that long?" 

          Chen shrugged, "That's why I asked if you had a nice sleep." 

          "Oh yeah," the male crouched down and Tao watched him picked up something that was placed on the ground beside his feet. 

          "Here," the black haired male didn't stand back up, but Tao did feel something prodding at his feet and so he looked down to see what it was. 

          Tao saw a book, large and completely made out of paper with the papers being grey in colour. 

          "Today's newspaper," the elder chimed as Tao knelt down to pull the rest of the paper into the room from under the gap of the door, "Thought that you might be interested in reading something while your stay here." 

          Tao looked up at Chen and offered a smile, even though Chen's last few words bothered him. Chen was like Baekhyun — nice and friendly but had a weird way of reassuring people. The only thing that Chen and Baekhyun don't share was the former being saner than the latter, and Tao hoped that he was right about that. 

          Tao thanked the elder for the newspaper before shuffling back to his bed. Once Tao was seated on the bed, he pulled his legs up and crossed them. Tao displayed the newspaper in front of him on the bed and started to slowly flip through the pages, quickly scanning through the texts. 

          It was quiet for a bit as Tao read the newspaper while Chen and Xiumin guarded outside the door. The silence was awkward and it made Tao's skin crawl. Tao frowned and shifted in his position, trying to ignore the goosebumps as he tried to find a topic in the newspaper that might catch his attention. 

          "Say, Tao," the black haired male suddenly called and Tao whipped his head up, "Do you play card games?"

          "If you mean poker then no," the male looked back down at the newspaper as he turned to another page, skimming through it as he commented, "I don't gamble." 

          "Why not?" Chen asked curiously, glancing through the window at Tao. 

          "Because only idiots would bet their money on things that they'll surely lose in," the male read a political text before flipping to another page when he found nothing interesting about it, "Yes, you gain easy money from gambling, but that is if you win. If you lose, you'll go bankrupt and you have no one but yourself to blame for that." 

          Chen hummed thoughtfully at Tao's explanation, "You got a point." 

          "You don't gamble," the black haired male asked again, "But do you play other kinds of cards?" 

          "Meaning?" Tao looked up at Chen with a confused expression. 

          "Like, do you play UNO or Monopoly and the likes?" Chen listed. 

          Tao shook his head and looked back down to the newspaper, "Never played them before." 

          "Oh, yo- wait, what?" 

          Tao jumped slightly when he heard the raise in Chen's surprised voice, looking over at Chen through the window and seeing the elder's wide eyes. 

          Tao shifted a little as he repeated, a bit slowly this time, "I never played those kind of cards before." 

          Chen feigned fainting as he moaned out like he had just been struck with the worst truth ever told to him in history, "You never played UNO or Monopoly before?" 

          Tao shook his head even though Chen couldn't see it, "Is it that bad?" 

          "Is it- dude, are you a hermit or a frog that never got out from its well?" Chen looked back at Tao through the window once again, "UNO and Monopoly are like the s that you should never not try out!" 

          Tao frowned and scooted back against the wall, "What's so interesting about them?" 

          "Nothing interesting," the orange haired eldest suddenly cut in and Tao saw Chen's head being pushed by a hand from the left, "Chen's just a drama queen, pay him no mind."  

          "Not you too, Minnie," the black haired male whined and Tao was amused by both Chen's whine and the nickname. 

          "Is it really so hard to just call me 'Xiumin'?" Xiumin asked with a huff and Chen quickly grinned. 

          "But you like that nickname, don't you?" Tao saw Chen's mouth thinning and guessed that Xiumin might have thrown him a warning glare or something similair. 

          "Anyway," the black haired male turned back to Tao once again, "UNO and Monopoly are both great games!" 

          "Or so I heard." 

          "How can you not have play it before?" Chen tilted his head, his eyes never tearing away from Tao, "They are really popular card games." 

          "I thought Monopoly is a board game?" Tao asked and Chen laughed. 

          "It is, now," the black haired male nodded, "Before they release a board game version of it, Monopoly was just a card game."

          "You should try playing it," the black haired male snapped his fingers, as if just remembering something, "Oh yeah, I happen to have them with me!" 

          "Do you now?" Xiumin asked from the side and Tao saw Chen grinning at the male. 

          "Yup," the black haired male pointed upwards, "It's in the cafe, I think I left it on the cashier." 

          "Are you sure that Suho hadn't confiscated it yet?" Xiumin asked once more and there was a shake of the head from Chen. 

          "Suho would never confiscate something so Holy," the black haired male exclaimed dramatically and turned around, "I'm going to get them now!" 

          Chen never made the first step since his hoodie was pulled back by Xiumin and he almost fell onto his from the eldest's strength. 

          "Don't be reckless," the eldest scolded Chen, his voice loud and barking. 

          "Is there any need to shout?" Chen looked back at Xiumin once he caught his balance and barely dodged it when Xiumin had a hand almost flying across Chen's face in an attempt of a slap. 

          "Huang Zitao is our prisoner," the orange haired male hissed at the younger, whose eyes were wide as he bowed his head like a puppy who was being scolded by their owner. 

          "Zitao is a prisoner, not your friend," the orange haired male said, pausing just for a second to send a glare at Tao's way — who immediately looked away to avoid Xiumin's angry gaze, "If you are to leave him behind just to get something, who knows what might happen!" 

          "I won't take too long," the black haired male tried to reason but instead got hit over the head by Xiumin. 

          "Time is everything, Chen," the orange haired male told the black haired male, "Even if you let your guard down for one second — just one second — you could find yourself being taken down and killed." 

          Something Xiumin said had Chen staring at Xiumin with wide eyes, like something Xiumin said had just slapped Chen hard in the face. Tao stared at Chen — there was a mix of curiosity and worry in him — leaning forward to get a better look at Chen's face. Tao was curious as to know why Chen suddenly became so quiet and he was worried because Chen didn't look well. 

          Xiumin seemed to notice the sudden change in Chen's behaviour and he too stared at the black haired male for a moment. Tao saw Xiumin widening his eyes like the latter had just realised what he had just said. Tao had no idea what had Xiumin said to make Chen so upset. 

          "Oh God, Chen," the orange haired male reached a hand up, "I didn't mean-" 

          "Forget it," the black haired male shook his head, the shock look on his face was replaced with a forced smile, "People tend to get carried away with whatever they're saying, am I right?" 

          Xiumin opened his mouth and was about to say otherwise when something caught his attention and he looked pass Chen to whatever it was behind him. Chen also did the same thing, looking over his shoulder to look at whatever had caught the elder's attention. Tao had also gotten up from the bed when the two suddenly became quiet. 

          Then, the thing that caught their attention came into view. 

          Actually, it wasn't something that caught the two's attention, rather somone. 

          The ruffled hair with faded rainbow dye was all Tao needed to know who this person was.

          "I brought breakfast for Tao," the young male said with his head low, not daring to meet either Xiumin's or Chen's eyes. 

          Xiumin was staring at Sehun warily while Chen smiled brightly at the kid, "Of course! Just give me a sec." 

          Chen fished out the key from his pocket, inserting it into the keyhole before unlocking the door. Chen opened the door for Sehun and gestured for the younger to enter the room. Sehun looked up at Chen to offer a smile of gratitude before quickly rushing into the room. 

          Sehun placed the tray onto the bed beside Tao. There was a plate of fried rice and a bowl of soup, along with a small bowl filled with salad and a cup of orange juice. The fragrance was strong and Tao wondered if the food had been cooked just now. 

          Sehun saw the look on Tao's face and said, "I asked the chef to cook something for you." 

          Tao nodded in acknowledgement, smiling at Sehun and thanking him when teh younger passed him the fork and spoon which was wrapped in a napkin. Sehun smiled back at Tao and bowed slightly to excuse himself, quickly rushing out of the room. Sehun spared Xiumin and Chen a short glance before looking at Tao one last time before leaving. 

          Chen closed the door and locked it, looking through the window at Tao with a soft smile, "Enjoy your meal." 

          Tao nodded and unwrapped the fork and spoon from the napkin. As he pulled the napkin away from the fork and spoon, he noticed something on the sheet. Tao thought that it was just a printing so he put it to a side and dug into his food. Tao was slightly surprised at how good the simple food taste. 

          "Is it tasty?" Chen asked and Tao nodded. 

          "It looks simple," the male commented as he took another bite of the rice, "But it taste better than expected."

          Chen smiled cheekily, "What can I say? You can never judge a book by its cover." 

          Tao nodded and continued to eat his food in silence. Once he was done eating he placed the tray to one side and picked up the napkin to clean his mouth. Before he did so though, he noticed that what he thought was a printing on the napkin was actually writings. 

          Tao read the text on the letter. 

          "I will get you out of here, don't worry, just wait a little longer, I promise.

          -Sehun"

          Tao quickly wiped his mouth with the napkin and tore it into pieces. 

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, Xiumin and Chen were retired from their post and replaced by Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Before Xiumin and Chen left though, Chen came into the room to take the tray that Tao had been using. Chen also promised Tao that he would have someone come to send in his lunch before leaving the room and locking the door. 

          Having Baekhyun and Chanyeol as your guards are — for the lack of a better word — tormenting. Tao was literally cowering in a corner on his bed with his knees to his chest and his hands pressed tightly to his ears. The reason for him like this was because his two guards just won't shut up with their flirts. 

          "Yeollie," the petite male cooed, "What would you like to have later for lunch?" 

          "Any food you bring for me will do," the taller male replied back with a grin. 

          "Oh, Yeollie," the petite male squeaked as he leaned onto Chanyeol. 

          Tao thought he spilled out his breakfast due to that exchange. 

          Aside from Baekhyun and Chanyeol's 'disgustingly romantic exchange' — as Tao always calls it — they basically weren't guarding Tao at this point. At least, not that Tao could tell anyway. While Chen was being nice by trying to lighten up Tao's tension by talking to him, there was Xiumin who was on high alert and constantly warning Chen to stop talking to Tao; Baekhyun and Chanyeol on the other hand didn't look like they even know they were supposed to be there to stand guard instead of flirting with one another. 

          No matter, this would give Tao the time he needs to think. 

          Even though Tao appreciated Chen trying to ease his tension by talking to him, the latter had also taken away the former's chance at thinking things through. With nobody to talk to him — okay, except for having to listen to two lovebirds chit-chatting oh so romantically outside his door — Tao was able to search through his mind and plan things out. Tao may not have any equipments that he could use to get himself out of there, but at least he could try and do an overall of the situation. 

          First, there was the gap under the door. So far, the only time Tao used the gap was so that he could take the newspaper from Chen. There was basically nothing else Tao used that gap for after that. 

          There was also the chains. They were long, that much was obvious. Tao could reach every corner of the room courtesy of the chain's length but even so there was still excess chains to spare. Maybe the chains were long for more than one purpose? Tao didn't dare to ask about it so he just kept quiet. 

          Tao had a sudden thought then — where's the toilet? They don't actually expect to keep Tao as a prisoner here without having a toilet for him to go to when his bladder is full, right? Or at least a bathroom, Tao could imagine how much he stinks by now. 

          Tao lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit, pulling away so quickly that he might've snap his neck and gagged. Yup, he definitely smells. 

          Tao looked over at the two lovebirds that were standing outside of his door and pondered. Should he ask them about the toilet and bathroom? That would be very weird, wouldn't it? But it could also be interpreted as curiosity. Or maybe he should just lie to them that he needed to relieve himself or take a bath. 

          Ah, who was he kidding? 

          "Baekhyun," the male called out and said petite male looked at him through the window. 

          "Yes?" Baekhyun inquired with a soft smile on his face.  

          Tao shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then asked. 

          "Do you guys have bathrooms? Or toilets?" 

           Chanyeol laughed at the question while Baekhyun on the other hand just smiled, "I'm glad that you asked that question. Do you want to use the bathroom or something?" 

          Tao thought for a moment before shrugging. 

          "Alright," the brunette looked at his boyfriend as he stood back, gesturing to the door. 

          Chanyeol calmed down his laughter before pulling out the key from his pocket and unlocking the door, opening it. Tao looked forward and only then did he notice the door right opposite of his room door. Baekhyun went over to open the door and looked at Tao, the same smile on his face as he nodded to the bathroom. 

          "This is the bathroom," the petite male announced as Tao slowly entered the hallway. 

          When Tao inspected the door, he saw the gap under the door which was the same height as the gap of his room door. The inside of the toilet was mostly white also, just like the hallway and all the other rooms. The only things that aren't white were the tap of the sink, the toilet spray and the shower head. 

          Tao hummed. So this was where the bathroom was. 

          Tao walked out into the hallway and glanced down the hall, seeing where the end of the hallway was. It was a long way down and the length of it made Tao feel slightly dizzy. It didn't help that everything was white here and it was causing his head to spin. 

          Tao wondered how long could his chain extend to. Tao looked back to the gap under the bathroom door before looking back up down the hallway. Tao guessed that the chain was long enough for him to use the bathroom, but would it be long enough for him to go down this hallway? 

          The distance to the next door wasn't too far and Tao wondered if he could find anything inside that room. That room could be filled with anything. For all he knew, that room could be a storage room and it might have something that he could use to get him out of here. 

          Should he test it out to see just how long this chain was? Should he just ask them what the other room was and expect them to just let him go in there and explore? Or even better: Should he just try and knock out these two then proceed to try and see if the long chain could allow him access to the other room? 

          "If you're thinking about leaving, don't even bother," he heard Baekhyun said and he looked over at the petite male who was gesturing to the shackle around his ankle, "That thing will hold you back." 

          Tao scoffed, not like he didn't notice the shackle. Tao wasn't even thinking about just bolting right down the hallway! 

          Tao looked over at the room again and this time Baekhyun noticed. 

          "That is just another room for prisoners," was what Baekhyun said as he leaned against the wall, "If you're wondering if there's anything inside that you coul use to get yourself out of here, then don't even try." 

          Tao let out a sigh. Baekhyun was more observant and smarter than he thought. Of course, not like Tao underestimated Baekhyun's intelligence. 

          Maybe he could try it out next time. 

          Tao turned back to the bathroom and entered it, looking around at its inside. 

          The inside of the bathroom wasn't anything to be impressed about — then again, what is there in a bathroom for people to admire about? Once entering the bathroom, there will be a sink to the right and a toilet bowl came after the sink. The bathroom ended with the shower, of course. 

          Tao put a hand in front of his mouth and breathed out, sniffing before pulling away in the same disgust he had when he smelt his armpit. Maybe he could start off by cleaning his mouth. 

          Tao looked over at the sink and frowned, looking back at Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were staring at him with eyes filled with curiosity. 

          "Is there something wrong?" Baekhyun asked immediately when he saw the frown on Tao's face. 

          Tao looked between the two before questioning with his index finger pointing at the sink, "Where's the toothbrush and toothpaste?" 

          Baekhyun walked over and peeked into the bathroom to look at the sink. As Tao suggested, there was no toothbrush nor toothpaste to be found. 

          "Ah," the petite male pulled back and looked up at Tao with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, whoever was in charge of cleaning the bathroom must have forgotten to put them back." 

          Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol who had came to stand beside him after he pulled out from the bathroom, looking up at his tall lover with a smile. 

          "Yeollie, could you go and get the toothbrush and toothpaste for Tao?" Baekhyun requested. 

          "Of course," the taller man chuckled but before he leave to get the requested items, he leaned down and quickly pecked Baekhyun on the nose before rushing off. 

          Tao was tempted to kneel in front of the toilet bowl and spill out his guts again. 

          "I can see how uncomfortable you are," the petite male suddenly said, causing Tao to jump — actual jump — in surprise and look over at him. 

          "Pardon?" 

          "You feel uncomfortable when a pair flirts with one another," the petite male explained, "And you're not used to overly lovey-dovey things." 

          Tao looked away in embarassment, "Sorry if I offended-" 

          Baekhyun held a hand up to stop Tao from speaking any further, looking up at the male with a soft smile as he stated, "There's no need to apologise, I understand." 

          "You do?" Tao asked and received a nod from Baekhyun as an answer. 

          "Tell me, Tao," the petite male looked down the hallway where Chanyeol had headed off to, "Have you ever fallen in love with someone before?" 

          Tao stared at Baekhyun and the elder laughed. 

          "Ah, sorry. Just remembered that I have already asked you that question that time in the bar with Chen." 

          Tao only smiled and shrugged. 

          Baekhyun stared into space, his eyes a distant look. Tao wondered what Baekhyun was thinking about to have him in such a trance, in such a daze. Baekhyun almost looked like he was recalling something that had happened to him when he was younger. 

          "When you fall in love with someone," the petite male suddenly spoke, "You would never want to let go of them." 

          "Because they're precious," the petite male lowered his head, his eyes taking interest with the ground, "Because they had nestled their way into your heart and there was no way for you to get them out of there." 

          "If it had only been somebody who lasted for a day or even a week, it wouldn't have mattered," the petite male continued, "But give them more than a week. Let them be with you and let them be in your heart for more than a week and I can assure you." 

          Tao waited for Baekhyun to continue but instead, the petite male only kept quiet. Tao didn't know what to comprehend of this situation, but he waited anyway. Finally after what seemed like forever, Baekhyun shook his head and gave Tao a goofy smile. 

          "Sorry," the petite male apologised, "I let myself get carried away." 

          Tao shook his head, "It's nothing." 

          Their conversation died when Chanyeol was back with the requested toothbrush and toothopaste. 

          "Here you go," the tall male said with a wide grin plastered on his face as he shoved the items to Tao. 

          Tao gave Chanyeol a grateful smile, a word of thanks at the tip of his tongue before he turned to close the door. Once the door was closed, Tao turned to the sink with the toothbrush and toothpaste in his hand. Tao turned the tap on and rinsed the toothbrush with the water flowing in the sink. 

          Tao made sure to turn the tap off before he applied paste on the brush, closing the tube and putting it to one side of the sink before he began brushing. Brushing didn't need to take too long and once he was done, he turned the tap on again to wash the foam from his toothbrush. Tao placed the toothbrush with the toothpaste on the side before cupping his hand to fill it with some water, bringing the cupped hand of water to his mouth. 

          Tao didn't drink the water, leaving it in his mouth and gargling to get rid the foam before spitting the water out. Tao quickly took the toothbrush and rinsed it again bef