Mina has never really done much in life to be considered anyone special. She's always been the timid type always soft spoken and good natured, believing that everyone has good in them somehow, whether it be really deep or just under the surface. She should've crushed those beliefs a long time ago when her own mother accused her 16 year old self of seducing her step dad, should've crushed them every night said step dad snuck in her room to do unspeakable things to her. All that happy go lucky thinking should've gone out the window when her mom barged in one night and witnessed both of them , her step-dad gagging her and weighing her down only for her own mother to erupt spitting venomous words towards her instead of the real culprit. 

Her mom kicked her out that night and she has never went back since, hopping from hotel to hotel, from one friends house to the next, finding dingy jobs just to get a little cash. But somehow those beliefs stuck. They stuck when she met Dokyung, stuck when they started dating and eventually got married to him, stuck when she met sweet, awkward Chanyeol, they even stuck when he started getting physically mad at her. 

But as she looks into the dark, dead eyes of the man that had stolen her heart at one point she realizes she was wrong, she was naive to think that everyone had good in them some people were just straight monsters and she was witnessing one right now. She hears Chanyeol yelling, seeing him trying to fight his way toward her. You idiot she thought you should've just left me and go live a decent life, get away from this place so you can stop being miserable. 

She sees the glint of the knife swing down and she braces herself for her end but instead of feeling excruciating pain go through her stomach, she feels it go through her left thigh. Her face contorts in pain and opens releasing a sickening scream. All she could see was white and black, the pain was unexplainable, she feels as he unlodges the knife from her thigh which too was painful, making her whimper only for Dokyung to bring it down again stabbing her thigh another scream escapes her and tears stream down her face. Her head was swimming from the pain,

"STOP!" she hears Chanyeol yell. "stop hurting her!" 

When Dokyung takes the knife out again, Mina can only flop onto her side, feeling weak and dizzy. Her thigh hurt like hell but also felt numb, she sees the blood pooling around her legs as she lies there. She sees Dokyung stand up, looming over her. The corners of her vision were going dark and all she could do was look up at him,

"maybe I shouldn't kill you guys just yet" Dokyung expresses. His smile looking more and more grotesque "it's way too fun seeing the fear in your eyes" 

He crouches down again in front of Mina. She wanted to run, run so fast that her legs give out and her lungs beg for air. She feels his rough hands encircle around her neck, lifting her up to level with his face. she watches as his eyes roam over her face. She feels his hand tighten, squeezing her and fear claws at her chest. 

"yes... Fear me, because your life now resides in my hands" he brings her closer agressively pressing their lips together, kissing her. She felt disgusted.

He moves back and let's go of her letting her drop back down harshly to where she lay before. And without saying another word Dokyung turns his back on both of them, taking the knife and bucket and heads back up the stairs but not without pulling the switch and submerging the space into darkness once again. 

Mina felt spent. She closed her eyes sighing. Pain shooting through her leg.

"mom?" her eyes open again, see she's Chanyeol slowly and awkwardly moving closer to her. 

"yeollie" she breathes. He comes closer and closer and even in the dark she can the redness of his eyes from crying. 

"I'm so sorry, so so sorry" Chanyeol apologizes as he reaches her, he twists his body in the same angle as her, lying down so they were facing one another. "this is all my fault" he closes his eyes. 

"Chanyeol this ain't your fault, this is nobodies fault but that man" she tells him.

Chanyeol shakes his head, as much as he can with his face on the ground. "but it is, it's because I killed my mother, he wants to punish me, wants to kill me" he says frantically.

"Chanyeol stop, you didn't kill her, she died in a fire stop blaming yourself" Mina tries to calm him. 

"you don't understand, I did! I didn't mean to, but I did. I didn't tell you because I was afraid, afraid that you would look at me differently, like I'm a monster, afraid you'd stop liking me" 

Mina was taken aback, forgetting the pain in her thigh and the blood. She looks into Chanyeol's eyes, much like his father's which was unfortunate because he was nothing like him. Chanyeol's eyes had a warm and innocent look in them, yet they were giving off such sadness, such pain that Mina felt a stab in her gut as if Dokyung really did drive the knife into her. 

"you always looked happy, was always smiling and laughing with me, I didn't want that to stop, I didn't want you to hate me, I didn't want you to leave me too" 

And as he lay there in front of Mina, much longer and taller than she was he looked more like a small boy. A scared and sad little boy and that made Mina's heart ache, just what had happened to him before she came? She suddenly had the thought, I want nothing but to see him smile. She wanted to see happiness in Chanyeol, see him live a happy life. She loved this boy, he was important to her, she had personally taken over the role of his mother since he was 15, and even if by blood they weren't related, this was her son.

She scoots closer to him, enough so she can rest her forehead on his, Mina could feel the sweat that rest there. 

"mom?" Mina smiled as he called her that. She looked into his eyes, they were beautiful,

"yeollie, baby. I want you to know that your so important to me, I've never once thought of you as anything other than my son, I would never think you were a monster, never stop liking you and I definitely wouldn't leave you" 

Chanyeol just looked at her. He has never really loved or hated Mina, only felt this strong need to protect her but as he listens to her words he feels so happy. He looks at her messy hair, her soft features and he notices that she's smiling, the smile he was so used to seeing in those earlier times when she first came, the smile that stole his heart away when she stepped through the door that day but over time only became something he wanted to cherish. 

"I know you only see me as a step mom and I know you could never love me as you did your real one, I still want to be in your life, you're really all I have to smile about. I love you, yeollie" she finishes. 

Chanyeol wanted to cry. He thinks back to all the times they were together, laughing and playing, cooking and making a mess, he even remembers back to when he played the piano for her, played his mothers song that he has never played for anyone else. He closes his eyes, he has never noticed it but she reminded him of his mother, made him feel calm and safe whenever he wanted to lash out and scream. A figure of his mother stands in the darkness behind his eyelids, she was smiling, an invisible wind blowing her hair and dress. Suddenly Mina appears standing beside her also smelling at him, such similar warm and loving smiles. 

He sees his mom walk over to Mina and step behind her putting both her hands on her shoulders. His mother takes a step forward as if she were stepping into Mina and for a brief moment Chanyeol's sees their faces merge until his mothers face disappears completey only leaving Mina but he can still feel her presence; her warmth, her love, her imprint and see the memories they had, they were all mixing and mingling with Mina's memories, warmth and love. And Chanyeol gets it, he realises. His mother has never hated him, will never hate him, she loves him even if she isn't there to show it because now there is someone else who can.

"I love you too, mom" he whispers back to them both, and as he lay there being comforted by Mina he starts telling her the story. 

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

"what do you mean he has dropped out of school?" Baekhyun argues back. 

Both him and Sehun were in the principals office. After that horrid encounter with Chanyeol's dad they had opted to go to the principal and ask why he had come only to be told Chanyeol has dropped out. 

"look Baekhyun, I can't be talking freely about another students private matters" the principal said and Baekhyun frowns. He was getting more and more frustrated. Chanyeol where the hell are you!?

He hears Sehun sigh behind him. "This isn't working at least we know what he meant now", Baekhyun looks back at Sehun who also looked irritated. Baekhyun backs up from the big, wooden desk,

"fine, let's go" and he turns and walks out the door. 

"this is so frustrating, what if something bad is happening as we speak, you saw him he is a psycho!" Baekhyun argues. "do you think we should contact the police?" he suggests. 

He looks at Sehun who shook his head "they aren't going to want to talk to a bunch of teenagers, a kidnapping is a serious case in these parts where not many murders happen, they'll brush us off as us pranking them" he runs a hand through his hair "gosh I have a bad feeling about all of this" 

"you and me both" they stand in the hallway silent, thinking the worst. 

"have you met Chanyeol's dad before this? He seems to know you" Baekhyun questions. 

"yeah, I've seen him around town sometimes but we've never really talked until now or when....." he trails off.

"what? What is it?" Baekhyun questions curiously, feeling antsy 

"well we have talked one other time and that was the day I went to check at Chanyeol's house if he was there" Sehun says.

"but you said no one was home" Baekhyun raises and eyebrow.

"no one was" he agrees "but when I was starting to walk away back up the street after getting no answer, I noticed Chanyeol's dad walking down the path and he noticed me as well. I could've sworn he glared at me before coming over to where I stood" Sehun remembers.

It was much like the encounter back in the courtyard, that man just has an uncomfortable presence a hateful, sinister aura if you will.

"we greeted each other then he asked me what I was doing so far from home, because I live in the opposite direction" they both start walking back to the front doors. "I told him I had been looking for Chanyeol but he didn't seem to be home, I asked him if he knew where he was but he just said Chanyeol is always roaming about and joked that he should really tie him up to keep him in place" Sehun recalls "and then he walked pass me going back to the house"

Baekhyun pushed the doors of the school open. "I watched him leave and it was only then that I realised he was carrying a bucket, he didn't even go in through the front door he went to the back of the house" Sehun shakes his head. 

Baekhyun's mind was reeling, trying to process what Sehun had just told him. The bucket, the things that were said, even the glare but everything clicked slower than it should've, Baekhyun has done enough pranks in his life to know that it's easier to carry your tools in a bucket than anything like a plastic bag and it's way more efficient when you want to hide certain things from the public eye--- He stops in his tracks.

Sehun looked at him questioningly as they get to the bottom of the steps. "what is it?" 

"I think I know where Chanyeol is" 

"really, where?!" Sehun asks panic rising.

"where you were last, the most obvious place, the most protected place" Baekhyun says. 

Sehun made a confused face while he thought about what Baekhyun was saying, obvious place? Protected place? when it came to him he cursed. "" Chanyeol had been right under Sehun's nose,

"his house" they say in unison.