The car had stopped. Sehun and the others looked between each other questioningly, they still didn't know where they had taken them. 

Sehun looked down at Junmyeon who has been getting hotter and hotter during the trip, his breathing was more laboured than before and sweat was running down his forehead. Sehun cursed, this wasn't good, Junmyeon needed medical attention.

"where do you think we are?" Kyungsoo pipes up and Sehun shrugs. 

"I have no clue, but Jun is getting worse, if we don't get a doctor soon..." Sehun trailed off as he brings Junmyeon closer, wiping at his forehead and trying to fan him manually. 

"I hope the others have better luck" Minseok voices and all of the nod their heads, thinking about the other three, if they were okay, if they found Chanyeol and found help in Junmyeon's brother. 

Just then the back door opens and all their heads turn to look at two burly thugs standing at the entrance. They waste no time man handling them out of the car having no consideration to a messed up Junmyeon, who groaned at the sudden movement. 

"hey! He's hurt, be careful!" Sehun shouted to the thug who was dragging him out rather roughly. 

"shut up" the thug beside him growls and clamps a hefty hand over Sehun's mouth. 

Their surroundings were dim, like they were in the back of some garage. Sehun saw piles of boxes and metal parts, tools were hanging up or strewn all over the place. They were pushed forward towards big double doors that looked old and creaky. 

It didn't go unnoticed that the thugs were armed, so if any of them try to run they wouldn't get very far without being shot, Sehun shivered. 

One of the thugs push open the doors into a dimly lit open space, Sehun made it out to be a warehouse, there were tall crane machines and discarded crates that have rusted over.  

"what are we doing at a warehouse? I didn't even know Pyeongchul had any" Yixing whispers beside him, Sehun was just as confused. 

They steer them into the middle of the big space and then the two hugs leave, disappearing into the dark that consumed the furthest parts of the space. 

"what are they going to do to us?" Junmyeon surprisingly asks in a low, hoarse voice. 

He was wincing very visiably at having to stand on his injured leg, he had stopped craddling his arm but kept it still at his side. 

"I rather not think the worst" Minseok stated "but with what's happened so far, it's most likely, just that" 

It didn't take long before they hear the clank and scrape of door opening, they all tense. All they could do was wait on baited breath as figures emerged out of the darkness. Of course there was the group of thugs, but as they came closer there was one man in the middle the stood out like a sore thumb an it had to do with the solid red suit he wore. 

He looked a bit old probably in his early 40s but he was extremely intimidating. But his smile was what made all five of them take a step back. 

If Chanyeol's dad was a demon then this man was the devil himself. 

"I heard you guys were interferring with one of my deciples plans" his voice was smooth and calm but the way his eyes bore into you was anything but, as if he was seeing all the ways he could rip you apart. 

Sehun saw the thugs advancing on them, holding chains and metal pipes.

"I don't find that, suitable" the red suit man smirks.

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

All the parents were sitting in the living room of the Kim household feeling restless and unbelievably worried. The police had told them that they were on a whole different case of a potential kidnapping, said they would look into their case but that all their men were out in the field for that operation. 

"kidnapping!?" Sooyoung  exclaimed "something to that extent hasn't happen in years! Something is definitely wrong" 

All the others could only agree. "my poor baby, where could he be? Where could any of them be?" Kyungsoo's mother wails. 

Jeongsuk's mind was all over the place, Baekhyun where the hell did you go? He didn't know he had it in him to worry at such a high rate, it was really undoing him. He kept bouncing his knees and tapping his finger on the chairs armrest, then a thought hit him.

"you don't think....you don't think, they could be related to this kidnapping could you?" he voiced out loud so they all could hear. 

Heads turned his direction, full of shock, sudden realization and confusion. 

"that can't be possible, who in Pyeongchul would kidnap a group of teenagers?" Minseok's dad questions. 

"I mean if you think about, it fits" Jeongsuk says. "what else could've happened to them if they haven't come back yet" he pressures. 

There were murmurs all around when suddenly the TV lights up. They all jump and turn their attention to the flashing red screen, that was now showing all their kids faces. 

"people of pyeongchul, we are interrupting your TVs to announce that these nine boys have gone missing" 

everyone was leaning closer to the TV, their hearts thumping at what news they were about to hear.

"all were last seen at their respective home. We are here to inform you that these nine boys have been a victim of a high scale kidnapping, the police are to believe that the Red Force gang has had a hand in this. We go live now to where local police and the Seoul's SWAT department are investigating" 

The focus than shifts to an aerial view of a house. Below were the flashing lights of police cars and ambulances,  the bulky SWAT cars surrounding the front and back. 

"oh my lord!" Junmyeon's mom gasps. 

"isn't that park Dokyungs house?" Sehun's mom asks.

Jeongsuk looks closer only for him to agree, that was his friends house. His heart dropped into his stomach at the realization of the whole situation. Dokyung is involved in this case? Where were Baekhyun and the others? Did they find them on time?

All they could do was sit and watch things unfold on their TV screen. 

-----------

Baekhyun listened to the thumping footsteps running around. Mina and the others were trying to get the keys off Chanyeol's father to open the door.

Baekhyun looked down at the boy in his arms and notices that his eyes were closed. 

"no Chanyeol, wake up don't sleep" he pats the boy on the cheek but didn't get a response. 

"Chanyeol wake up!" he pats harder and he feels the coldness of the boys skin. 

Still not response "Chanyeol?" he looks at the sleeping boy, that wasn't moving, not even his chest.

Baekhyun's stomach drops, his heart going out of control trolling as he takes the boy by his shoulders and starts shaking him. 

"Chanyeol! Wake up! Chanyeol!" 

The others get the key and Jongin runs wobbily to the door unlocking it and running out to get the police. 

Baekhyun was in hysterics, he was taking to long to grasp what was going on, he didn't want to.

"Chanyeol!" he kept screaming shaking the boy who just flipped back and forth lifelessly. "oh God no!" 

He let's go of the boys shoulders and he falls off Baekhyun lap in a heap of unmoving, bloody flesh. 

Baekhyun was bawling, no no no no, this wasn't it! This wasn't how it's supposed to be! Why was life so damn cruel! No, I refuse to accept this, this isn't happening. His mind was all over the place along with the thumping of his heart. 

Mina comes over, hearing and seeing a distressed Baekhyun on the floor with his head in his hands. 

'Baekhyun?" she flies to put a hand on his shoulder and ask what's wrong, they were saved when she sees, the boy lying on the cold concrete floor, looking like a battered piece is meat, broken arm, flimsy at his side, eyes closed, face bruised and blood trickiling from is mouth but what she noticed the most was the fact that the boy wasn't breathing. 

The scream that ripped from her was like no other, it's sounded like a banshee and ripped through Baekhyun's sobs. 

She falls to the floor beside the lifeless Chanyeol, scrambling to scoop him up into her arms. 

"NOOOO!" she screamed, it ripped her chest in two as she screamed at the the tool of her lungs. 

"CHANYEOL! YEOLLIE! IM HERE PLEASE! PLEASE WAKE UP!" her bawls mixed in with Baekhyun's who still hadn't moved. 

"baby, the police are here, please stop playing around, please, we are saved, we lived yeollie, like we promised, we lived, I'm here for you, wake up so we can go" Mina kept rambling as she rocked them back and forth hot tears coming out of her eyes. 

Jongdae stood in between them, feeling his own tears flow, he closed his eyes and turned his head, they were right there, how did they fail to save him? The one person they came for, his friend he's known since grade school, how? Sobs racked his body, he couldn't bare to look at his dead friend, couldn't feel anything put the aching pain that coursed through him, they failed, as friends, they failed him. 

The cackling laugh that cut through their agony and grief halted their cries.

"finally! FINALLY! THE ER IS DEAD! IM FREE!" his laughed turned maniacal each second. 

Baekhyun only felt blinding rage. He got up stalking over to the male 

"how could you" he growled under his breath "HOW COULD YOU!" he surged forward wrapping his fingers around the man's neck, squeezing has hard has he could. 

"look at..you" he chokes out "willing to kill someone so intently, your no better than...me" but Baekhyun only squeezed harder feeling the man choke.

"you killed him! How dare you! He was just boy that wanted have a normal life but you took that away from him!" he squeezed harder feeling the life drain from the man in front of him. His dark eyes staring intently in his as his oxygen decreases. 

"he...deserved to...die, he was good for...nothing"

"NO HE DIDNT!" but before Baekhyun could crush the man's throat he felt hands pulling him back. He thrashed, wanting nothing but for that er to be dead.

He made Chanyeol suffer till the very end, made him succumb to his will and that made Baekhyun livid, he didn't even get a chance.

"Stop, this ain't the way, you know it isnt" he heard the distressed low voice of Jongdae in his ear and he slowly stopped thrashing. 

Jongdae, Mina, they were probably more depressed and in grief more than him, they were probably suffering more than him. they've known Chanyeol longer, seen him everyday, seen his smiling face more than he did. 

Just then multiple heavy footsteps bound down the steps and a group of cops and some SWAT operatives surround them, Jongin right behind them. 

The SWAT guys handled Dokyung who was still laughing hysterically when Baekhyun ran up to them not missing Jongdae going up to Jongin, probably revealing the news. Jongdae leaned in whispering to Jongin and his head snapped into Chanyeol's direction where Mina was still craddling the boys form. Jongin didn't miss a beat he ran over to where they where, dropping to the floor, animatedly addressing Mina.

"stop!" Baekhyun said to the group dragging a bound up Dokyung. 

They looked at him just as paramedics burst down the stairs as well, making a beeline for the others. 

"our friends! The others were captured by his men, he should know where they are" he explains. 

"where are they!?" he directs at Dokyung, who was just smirking all hysterics gone. 

"Mr. We will question him, but we need to take him in, we will look into finding your friend says soon as we can get him to talk" on of the officers said, a short but well built male.

But Baekhyun wanted to know now, they could be in trouble for all he knew, they didn't have time for him to be taken in and questioned. Baekhyun felt drained, emotionaly, mentally and physically. It's the worst he's felt even after his father had told him about his mother all those years ago. 

His father... What was he going to think, this was most likely already on the news, a small town with this high scakenkidnapping resulting in a death, definitely. What are Jeongsuk and his mother doing? Have they found out he's missing? That he's here?

"where are they!?" he growls in Dokyung's face again, demanding to know. 

The man only laughs "who cares? They're all probably dead anyways" and with that he was dragged roughly out by the police, one wipping out a walkie talkie after hearing the males words also realising that these kids could be in more danger. 

"the other five kids, find them!" the taller of the cops shouted as he bound up the stairs. 

Some of the local cops comes over, escorting them out of the basement, through the living room that was askew and out the front door. 

Baekhyun was right, as soon as he stepped out of the house, flashes of cameras blinded him and microphones were pushed into his face, it didn't take long for the police to huddle the reporters back, some were even stations from Seoul.

They were still spouting questions at him and the others from everywhere. 

"what happened?"

"were you tortured?"

"how long have you bee in their?" 

"were there any casualties?" 

Upon hearing that last question his heart squeezed as his mind went to a cold Chanyeol. Why tell him to stay with him if he was just going to leave? He felt a new wave of tears, why didn't you hold out a little longer?

He just kept walking to where the police lead them to the ambulances, so paramedics could check their wounds. Baekhyun felt like he wasn't in his own body, he felt numb to say the least. He looked around as the paramedics tended to him, saw Mina sitting at the back of the ambulance like him, being taken care of, granted she had much more serious injuries, jongdae was getting his side checked where he was stabbed and Jongin was probably being checked for a concussion because he was still a little wobbily on his feet. 

He wished he had just gone back to looking at the ground but his eyes were cruel and lead him to look at a certain gurney rolling towards an ambulance. It wasn't hard to mistake the black body bag that was zipped up all the way, he ripped his eyes away, blinking rapidly, his dread darkened at the sight. 

"excuse me? Byun Baekhyun?" hearing his name he looked up, the paramedic has gone off to talk to another leaving him vacant and feeling alone. 

The man that stood in front of him was handsome, very sweet shining eyes but he also saw a hardness behind them he was sure was most likely never there but given the whole situation, he wasn't surprised. He looked like a nice guy so nice that he reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it. 

"hello, I'm officer Kim Minho" he held out his hand to shake Baekhyun's, who slid his small ones into the man's larger ones tentively "I'm Junmyeon's brother" he said after a while. 

And then it hit Baekhyun, that genuinely nice, caring aura he gave off. The way his eyes glittered when he smiled,

Baekhyun felt his stomach churning and he wanted to throw up. He new Junmyeon was with Sehun and the others and it killed him not knowing if they were okay or not and now knowing they had to break the news to them about Chanyeol....

"my brother gave me directions on where to find you all, sorry it took so long to convince everyone to pickup the search" he sits beside Baekhyun. 

"your brother..." Baekhyun started but felt his throat constrict. 

"he's not here, I know" Baekhyun could hear the deep worry and anguish in his voice. "he's with the others, we still don't know where they could be. The SWAT are interrogating Mr. Park right now" 

They were silent for a while.

"I'm so scared" Baekhyun heard the man say in a shaky breath "what if he isn't okay? And I can't do anything because I don't know where he is. What if he's in serious trouble and he needs me what if..." he takes a shaky breath. 

"I shouldn't be thinking like this, I should be positive, for him" 

Baekhyun didn't know what to say, he just patted the males back softly "I'm sure he's okay" is all he had. 

He got up from where they sat and turned back to Baekhyun "thank you" he smiled 

"Minho!" another officer comes running over, he was shorter than Minho but only a few heads.

"chief!" he exclaimed. 

"we have a lead! He finally cracked!" 

Minho's heart rose to his throat and his eyes widened. "really!?" 

"yes!, let's go" the chief urged and Minho followed running back to where the department gathered. 

Baekhyun watched them get everything together and enter their cars, driving away, speedily down the dirt path. They found out where the others were? He hopes they're okay. He was retreating back into his mind when he saw Mina sitting alone, head in her hands. Baekhyun couldn't begin to understand what she might be going through. He gets up and goes over to her.

Mina felt a soft hand on her back and looked up, into the soft face of a beautiful boy. Mina only knew Baekhyun from her and Chanyeol's brief stay at Jeongsuk's. He was a nice boy.

"are you okay?" he asked sitting down. Mina knew it was only an act of kindness because both of them new she wasn't okay. She couldn't help the set of sobs the came for her body again. 

Why Chanyeol? Why the boy she loved as her own son of all people? He was nothing but kind and joyful, the world worked in such cruel ways. 

"I wish I could've saved him, he was all I had and I was all he had, I already miss him so much, what am I supposed to do now that he's not here?" she was leaning into Baekhyun crying. 

"he didn't deserve that, he did nothing to deserve that" she says "he always protected me, even being down there for days he was the one to take most of the hits and lashes so I wouldn't need to, it always broke my heart seeing him beaten bloody and not being able to do anything about it"

"it's not your fault, it's no ones fault but his dad's, all you can do is live on, live for him if you have to, you know he wouldn't want you killing yourself over this, he'd want you to be happy" Baekhyun said. 

Mina knew he was right. 

"Baekhyun!" he turned around at the shouting and saw a group of adults running in their direction, two of them branching off to go towards Jongdae and Jongin, swooping them into big hugs. They must be their parents, the others went to the officers who was still here to probably ask where the rest of them were. 

Jeongsuk and his pregnant mother kept running for him until he was soon engulfed a large hug squeezing him until he finally broke down again, crying in their embrace. 

-----------

Sehun has a broken arm from the blunt force they were attacking them with, he had stood in front of Junmyeon so they would hit him on account of he was too injured already. But they still tried to chain his hand together making him cry out in pain. 

It was a blurry mess, the swinging of pipes coming from every direction, hands grabbing you to twist your arms behind your back. 

"stop" the man in the red suit instructed and abruptly the hits and manhandling stopped.

Sehun and the other released breaths of relief wincing when the action hurt their chests. 

"I don't think they are repenting hard enough" he states "let's try harder. Bring them to the line up" he turns and walks over the shades spot and flicks a switch with illuminates some stacked crated and a row of nooses hung over the edge. There was even a set of steps that took you on the top of the crates. 

"set them up" the leader informed. 

And before the group of boys can try to crawl away they are hoisted and dragged up the steps. They still tried to struggle somehow but it was futile when you were up against bulky men. 

Sehun couldn't believe what they were going to do to them, and he could say he wasn't scared either, he was terrified. He didn't want to be hanged and I'm sure the others felt the same. Please someone come save us he pleaded to whoever could answer his prayers. 

"now you guys will know the true meaning of repenting. Know not to meddle in affairs that aren't yours just for the sake of 'friends' you will only end up on the short side of the stick.

They stuck their heads through the rope so now they were slightly teetering off the edge of the crates, so one push or one wrong step and you can slip off and get hanged. 

" you" all five of them said in odd unison. They were met with a hysterical laugh.

He felt a hand on his back and panic rose in him but luckily in that moment all hell broke loose. 

A thug came in shouting "cops! cops!" 

The read suit man has whipped around exclaiming in anger and disbelief "What!?" 

"they are outside!" the thug stated and soon the others were in a frenzy, running around, gunning for the exists only for them to burst open and and loads of cops and SWAT bursting in opening fire. 

Some thugs went down instantly but other had sense to scurry and hide, even the red suit man was frantic. They also took out their guns and started retaliating making it a shoot out from one of those action movies. As the cops came more into the light, Sehun noticed one in particular. 

"Minho!" he heard Junmyeon shout. They were all trying to keep steady so none of them dropped over the edge. 

The cop looked up "Junmyeon!" he exclaimed "hang in there guys, I'll be right there" . 

The reality of that pun was terrifying. 

They watch as he ducks behind things trying to stay out of any flying bullets line of fire as he got closer to the steps he gets up and sprints for it, but Sehun saw as the red suit man also stood and lined his shot.

"Minho, watch behind you!" Sehun shouted. But it was too late as a crack sounded and Minho goes falling to the side.

"NOOOO!" Sehun heard Junmyeon yell, gunshots were still flying but you could see that the thugs were losing against trained SWAT and cops. 

Sehun's throat closes as he sees Junmyeon's feet teeter and without a thought he knew what was going to happen next. His feat slips off the edge of the crates and he falls but only to be strung around the neck by the rope. 

"Junmyeon!" Sehun shouts. Knowing he can't do anything or he too with be strung up. 

He watches as Junmyeon thrashes and chokes then whips his head to where Minho lay, he can see the male struggling to get up.

"MINHO GET THE UP!, JUNMYEON! JUNMYEON!" Sehun screamed. 

Minho looks up to see his little brother thrashing a rope tight around his neck. No no no, not his brother. He gets up fast ignoring the cry of pain in his side. He bounds up the stairs and as he gets on the crates he is tackled to the ground, seeing his brothers struggle lessen. 

No! Who was on me? He looked behind him to see Jeonhyung, or as people call him the red suit man, the leader of the Red Force. 

"get off me!" Minho thrashed hard, succeeding in heaving the man off him, and running to his slowly less struggling brother, face red. He looks around and sees a pipe sticking out from the contraption and grabs onto it, using at a hold to lean over and grab the rope around his brothers neck, releasing pressure. He hauls him back onto the crates, takes the knife he had in his belt and cut the rope. The heavenly gasp of his brother regaining breath was music to his ears as he drops to his knees with him. 

"God, I'm so sorry, myeonie, I'm so sorry I was here sooner" Junmyeon was still gasping for breath, shaking from the event he just went through.

Minho got up to go help the others hauling them back on to the platform before they slipped too. But as he untied the last one, Minseok. He heard the click of a gun, he turned to see Jeonhyung holding the barrel of his gun to  and unsuspecting Sehun.

"" Minho cursed. They were facing their back to the set of steps but Jeonhyung was backing them up to the edge of the crates. 

"we are high up enough where if we fall, we'd crack our skull" he smiles. 

Minho instinctively moves his hand to grip his gun. 

"nuh uh, I'll shoot faster than you can whip that out and aim it" and Minho cursed again, he was right. 

"now, why don't you just let me and my men go, and we won't cause no more harm, you already got a good bit of us" he pauses so they can focus back on the slowly diminishing shoot out but yells of thugs going down. 

"why kill us all, when you can just give us a stern warning and lessen your murder rate?" he says smoothly "I mean, this is technically murder" he smiles menacingly. 

Minho had to do something, he knew this man wouldn't hesitate to throw Sehun over the edge. That's when he saw something. Two of the SWAT members slowly making their way up the steps, guns cocked in the air aiming silently at the gang leader. 

"look, if you stop, we can talk about this" Minho said slowly "no one has to die, especially not these kids. They have nothing to do with you".

"oh but yes they do, they are interferring with a mission I let one of my people take" he states. 

"that person is on his way behind bars, for life" Minho said as the the two cops finally make it on the crate. 

"I knew that would happen, he was to hasty, too greedy, I don't care about him, these kids now know of me and I always do good with ridding people who serve no purpose to me" he clicks the gun again and Sehun tenses wanting out of this man's hands. 

"sorry but I'm not going to take any chances" Jeonhyung says now pointing his gun to Minho's head and putting pressure on the trigger, but before he can release the bullet, the two cops pull the trigger faster lodging two bullets one in the man's back and the other in his head instantly killing him. 

He falls back dragging Sehun with him, who's eyes open wide at the thought of falling to his death, but Minho lunges forward and grabs the teenagers arm, stopping him from falling but watching the male in the red suit crash to the ground with a sickening thud.

The five guys walk out in to the cool air, feeling somewhat different than they had this morning. A situation like that can change anybody. They all filed into the the cop cars, Minho carrying Junmyeon who was hurt badly, Sehun cradled his broken arm and followed behind his friends. His mind was playing back all the things that had happened up to this point, he couldn't be more relieved to be saved and rescued but he felt restless and anxious. They rode all the way back to Chanyeol's house, and was bombarded by reportors who were pushed away and paramedics who tended to them, their parents all surrounded them in rushed words and hugs and kisses and then settled horror and worry. 

The friends all reunited, but Sehun knew something was utterly wrong when he saw the blank, emotionless faces of Jongin and Jongdae, Baekhyun had just turned away not baring to look at any of them. And as Jongdae opened his mouth, with each word Sehun was just crushed with tons and tons of bricks as he fell into the grass, his heart ripping in two as the world darkened around him. 

-----------

thank you all for sticking with me through this journey, and all though it's not a completely happy ending all we can do is look forward.

From the very beginning I knew this was going to to be a sad story, even when I made the premise, I know it was vague and made it sound like a love story but this book didn't completely centre around a romance as you can see. It was mostly of blossoming love and friendship/family love. 

For all the subscribers I gained while writing this book, I thank all of you and look out for my next one. For those who commented on this book, I loved reading them, seeing you worry for the characters and the situations they were in were fun to witness. 

Love you all.