- - - - - Lost & Found

“How long has she been sleeping for?”

“Maybe she is just tired?”

“Did Kikwang decide what he wanted to do with her yet?”

“Junhyung is going to be pissed when he sees her here…”

“Pissed sounds like an understatement.”

I opened my eyes and three hazy brown pairs of eyes came into my vision.

So, without hesitation, I screamed for my sanity.

 ❖  ❖ ❖

Ugh. My head was throbbing.

My eyes quickly looked around the dimly lit space in front of me. My hands were tied together against a wooden pole in the corner of the small room. No windows, no light. A row of candles on the wall facing me was all the light there was. The air smelled of sweet and engaging fragrances. The contrast between the sweet scent and the uninviting space was enough to throw anyone off. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dark, I saw their gleaming pale faces looking at me.

I had to be dreaming, how did I end up here? That was all I wanted to know. The last thing I remembered was lying down safely in my sleeping bag. Or at least, I thought I was in the clear? I remembered his grim face as he told me to run. Did they call him Junhyung?

“Do you guys have any idea where Junhyung might be?” Yoseob asked as he tossed his silver hair. His facial features were so delicate and round. His eyes stared at me and shifted to the others when no responses came from the others. I was a sitting duck as the other two scanned me. “You guys are honestly scaring her.” He muttered and then both of them turned and looked at him confused.

“So what?” Doojoon snarled as he got off the wall he was leaning on and walked over to where I was sitting. His appearance wasn’t as inviting as Yoseob, but he had similar soft eyes and full lips. He was definitely the most guarded out of the three. He pointed his long finger at me in disapproval. “We can’t keep doing this. The longer she’s missing, the target on our backs grow bigger.” When I looked up at him, he met my gaze for half a second before he quickly turned his head away. Frowning, he walked back a few steps and looked toward the door hoping for someone show up.

Yoseob sighed as he leaned back on the leather couch. “You can’t blame Junhyung though. He completely changed. And Kikwang did push him harder than anyone else.”

Dongwoon nodded with his pitch black hair blending in with the darkness. “I miss the times when we could sit together and laugh about the same things.” His features were sharp and strong. Dark eyebrows framed his deep-set eyes.

“Give Junhyung more time,” Doojoon muttered. “They can’t keep going at each other like that forever.”

As soon as his voice faded into the room, the door slowly opened and my eyes met his dark violet eyes. He smiled genuinely and greeted the other guys in the room.

“So you guys did bring her safely.” His eyes lit up with his smile as his full lips perfectly formed a crescent shape. Despite our horrifying first encounter, there was one thing I could say about all of them. They were all so... beautiful.

I felt my body tense up as he walked closer to me. “So tell me, Junhyung told you to run right?”

His soft voice whispered in my head again. Taking a deep breath I shook my head. “I ran when he wasn’t looking.” If I played this smart enough, there was a small chance that I could somehow make it out alive. I wasn’t the fastest runner, but I did have a year of track training. My mind flashed back to encounter in the dark forest and how fast each of them moved.

Why me.

Kikwang’s right eyebrow arched up questionably. “So you are telling me Junhyung couldn’t even catch up to you?”

“I grabbed whatever I could find and I threw it at him.” My voice rushed out of my dried lips. Lying wasn’t my specialty, but I crossed my fingers in hopes that it sounded at least convincing.

“Really?” He smiled, not amused. “Not exactly what I had heard, but I see.” He crouched down on the floor by my legs. The sweet scent was really confusing and getting on my nerves. “Well, there must be someone looking for you by now right? At least attempting to tell me the truth will help you get out of this alive.”

Both of my parents passed away when I was 10 in a car accident and I had been living with my grandma ever since then. I bit my lips as I tried to block out how worried she might be. I had no grasp of time in here. It could have been days… weeks. Keeping his last comment to speak the truth in mind, I answered. “I don’t have anyone.”

I could have sworn that his eyes looked sad for a second. Not the kind that felt bad for me like my friends showed me when I told them the news, but the kind that understood a similar pain. He watched me closely and the longer his gaze remained on me, I felt my heart accelerating beneath my rib cage. He looked at me curiously as I saw his eyes move around my face trying to find a trace of someone. Meanwhile, my heart pounded so loud that it made me wonder if others could hear it too.

“Don’t protect him in front of me,” Kikwang said back with a sharp and defensive tone. “I really have no intention of hurting you. Plus, we already ate our meal for the week.”

Chills ran down my spine as he turned and got up from the floor.

“Don’t scare her like that Kikwang.” Yoseob’s melodic voice said in a rather hard tone. Then the sound of the door sto