The next two weeks were pretty bland. Yixing was avoiding me at all costs, I assumed it was because of guilt. The only time I saw him was when I took his stitches out, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Before I could try to talk to him, he was pulled away by Jongdae for something important. ‘Planning about the next move’, whatever that meant. Jongdae seemed to sense that I wasn’t happy, since he did pat my shoulder and told me ‘he’ll get out of his own head eventually’. I got the feeling that he does this often. Everyone got so busy that the only times I saw them were at breakfast and dinner, which were pleasant. The only two people who kept by me consistently were Baekhyun and Jongin.

In the day when everyone was busy, I walked around the place. Few rooms filled with weapons, a basement that was locked, few other rooms that were like living rooms, with a tv and things like that. One particularly adventurous day, I climbed up the stairs in the clock tower, only to be met with a locked door.

From my adventuring, I noticed that the reason they didn’t eat meals in the huge student dining room was because it was made into a training area. Jongin told me it was because the gym of the school was a building over and the roof was unstable. So they took all they wanted out of it and put it there. Baekhyun insisted that it was rather comical since the exact moment they finished, the roof finally caved in.

I found myself there some days, in workout clothes running on one of the five treadmills that were there. I didn’t necessarily like running, but since I wasn’t allowed to leave, this was the only way I’d get my body moving. The room had stereotypical gym items. Weights, work out machines, punching bags. The other half, however, looked like cross between a parkour dream and a gymnast’s fantasy. Tons of stuff to jump on, climb and swing from. It went from the floor all the way to the ceiling. There were balance beams, a huge trampoline that looks like the kind they have at the Olympics. In the center of the room there was a wrestling mat, separating the two sides.

A wrestling mat that was currently being used.

“What’s the point,” Sehun pouts, looking up at Minseok who had, for the seventh time in a row, forced him to the ground.

The older man laughs, “Sehunnie, you’re getting better. I used to be able to throw you around like you were a noodle. Now you’re actually a bit of a challenge… like an uncooked noodle now.”

Sehun sits up, giving his hyung a playful glare, “Besides Kyungsoo and his super strength, you’re the strongest member, so I hardly see why you make me embarrass myself my wrestling.”

Laughter fills the air, “Well, to be far, I’m fairly certain that Baekhyun is the weakest member now.”

Sehun crosses his arms, “Hyung, that’s not really a compliment, since Baekhyun hyung probably couldn’t even rip wet paper.”

I stop the treadmill as they both are laughing from what Sehun said. I try to leave the room quietly, attempting not to disturb them any longer. As I got to the door, a gust of wind rushes past me and shuts it. Turning back, I see Sehun with a smirk.

“Did you really think you’re walking out of here that easily,” He says, his arms crossed.

I sigh, walking back towards them, sitting on the edge of the mat. “What is it that you want?”

“Nothing really,” He says, standing up.

Minseok hits him on the arms, “Sehun. Be kind.”

Sehun pouts, “I’m just treating her like I treat all of you.”

Minseok ignores him, “Do you know how to fight, y/n?”

“Well,” I say, “I know weak spots on the body. Actually hitting them effectively is a different story altogether.”

Sehun smirks, “So what you’re saying is that there are now two people here I could beat at wrestling?”

“Sehun, don’t be proud of that, she has literally no fighting experience. If you didn’t win that would be an embarrassment!” Minseok gives him a glare. He looks at me, with a smile, “You’re probably like your Mom then. More of a lover than a fighter.”

“Well,” I say, opening my water, “That’s why we both went into medicine in the first place.” I take a sip of my water, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“So all I’m hearing is that it’s Kyungsoo hyung, Minseok hyung, then either Junmyeon Hyung or Yixing Hyung, Which who knows since they’ve always been back and forth. Then Chanyeol hyung, Jongin hyung or Jongdae hyung, Me, Baekhyun hyung, and them Y/n,” He says, before running a hand through his hair. He puts a hand on his chin, “Actually you’d probably be able to beat Baekhyun hyung…”

“What are you talking about,” I ask.

“How strong everyone is,” Minseok explains, “Baekhyun isn’t a fighter, so if you two fought, who knows what would happen-”

“They’d probably stop and have tea or something in the middle of the match,” Sehun mutters.

Minseok shakes his head at Sehun, “It’s a bit of a matter of pride around here for those of us who are not Kyungsoo. I’ve been helping Sehun, and he’s getting better. I think he could beat maybe Chanyeol, but we’d have to have another wrestling tournament to find out.”

“Hyung,” Sehun says, “Um… we should probably teach her how to fight. Since we dragged her into all of this, if something happens, she should probably know how to defend herself…”

“That’s true,” Minseok agrees, “We’ll have to talk about it. I’ll bring it up at dinner tonight.”

Sehun smirks, turning to me, “Go on. Hit me.”

“What? Why,” I ask, shaking my head. “Why would I hit you? I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Minseok says, before he shrugs. “Well… you don’t look like you could hurt anyone. Even Baek.”

I pout, glaring at Sehun. “Where?”

He turns, pointing at his left arm, “Have a go, and at least try to make it hurt. Don’t curl-”

“My fingers around my thumb, I know,” I said, getting up. Standing to his side, put my fists up, “I’m a doctor, I’ve treated idiots who’ve fought before.” I let out a deep breath, twisting my body. I swing my fist with momentum and it hits his upper arm. My fingers hurt, as I pull my hand away after Sehun barely even moved. “Ow!”

“So, how was it,” Minseok questions, looking over at Sehun’s arm, “Looks like there could be a bruise there soon. A little one, though.”

“Little because her fists are so tiny, like her,” Sehun counters, smiling playfully.

“Hey,” I mutter, “Really? Height jokes? Ugh.”

“Honestly,” Sehun begins, ignoring what I said. “That stung quite a bit. Better than I expected. Be a lot better if your stance wasn’t all ed up, but you’ve got potential.” He crosses his arms and smirks, “Though, I’d suggest that if you want to be at least a little intimidating, try not to say ‘ow’ after punching someone.”

“Maybe this’ll help,” Minseok says, placing his hand where I hit Sehun.

“Hyung no,” Sehun whines, “Stop, you’re so cold!”

In a puff of smoke, Jongin appears, looking around. He was in all black, from his jacket to his shoes. They normally wear all black if they were out raising some chaos, as it’s easier to hide in the middle of the night. His hair was all in his face and drenched, dripping. His eyes land on me, “Y/N, we need your help!”

“What happened,” I panic, “Is Yixing hurt again?”

“No, oh no, not that” He replied, seeming a bit apprehensive. “Um… you’re needed for your power, actually.”

“No,” Sehun says, the playful smile fallen off his face almost instantly. “Are you talking about the man in the basement that we’ve brought in yesterday? Don’t drag her into that!” He walks over, putting himself between be and Jongin. His back taking up all of my view.

“We need to know if what he’s saying is real or not,” Jongin argues back, “I know… I know it’s bad but if we’re going to risk our necks on this then we need to make sure it’s the truth.” He looks over to Minseok as he walks over, “Hyung, please.”

“I agree with Sehun,” He states, his voice colder than before. “Once she sees THAT, she’ll never be able to unsee it. She’ll hate it, you know that.”

“You don’t know that hyung,” Jongin argues back. “She isn’t weak like some of you all think!”

I roll my eyes, “SHE can also speak for herself!”

“You see,” Jongin says, pointing. “Besides, it’s someone who is connected to her mother’s killer.”

Everything else falls away as the three men before me continue to argue. I tighten my hands into fists, feeling tears form in my eyes. I get tunnel vision as memories of my mother and I flash in my mind. If it’ll help them, I’d want to do it. If it help find my mother’s killer, then I’d absolutely want to help. “Take me,” I say, my voice void of all emotion.

Minseok looks at me, “Y/N, are you sure? Because this will change you forever if you see this and It’s not a decision that should be taken ligh-”

Before he finishes, I was teleported away. The room was dingy and some of the lights flickered. The walls were unpainted cement blocks, completely bare with some missing bits and pieces. To the left was a table with items and weapons, some of them completely drenched in blood. I move my eyes and see a man tied to a chair, bruised and bloodied with his hands bound behind his back. His hair was red, as red as the blood coming from his lip and other cuts from the body. There was a drain under him, and a steady stream of blood and water fell, screaming this echoing sound that filled the air. There was a portable blow torch to the side, and a man with his back facing me, who held a metal rod to the flames. It was glowing a bright orange color. He was wearing dark jeans, running shoes and a white tank top, all of which was completely covered in blood.

“Please stop,” the man in the chair begs, his voice hoarse from screaming. “I have a family, would you really take a father away from their kids?!”

“Why should I care, you helped to take a mother away from her daughter,” the man with his back to me responds, running his hand through his black hair. A chill runs up my spin, recognizing the voice, but not the anger and hatred that came from it.

I found my voice, it was very tiny in comparison to the rest of the noise in this room. “He’s lying.”

The man in the chair looks over at me. Bile rushes up, but I manage to hold it off for now. He glares at me, “No I’m not, you ! You couldn’t pos-” He stopped talking and started screaming as the bright metal was placed in the middle of his chest. The man in the chair screamed in agony and when the metal was removed, some cooked skin came with it. The smell was absolutely vile and his screams pierced my ears.

I, once again, fought off the urge to vomit that burned the back of my throat. Blood and gore, I was use to. I wasn’t use to torture and seeing someone I know as a kind individual doing the torturing.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Yixing threatens, a glare on his face so dark and dangerous, it even scared me a bit. There was specks of blood on his face, dried and fresh. He looked like a completely different person. He turns, look at Jongin with that same glare. His voice was dark and deep, “I told you not-”

“You were getting nowhere,” Jongin explains, before disappearing in a puff of smoke once more.

Yixing shakes his head, turning to look at the man, not even daring to look at me. He places his hand on the man’s arm, and I watch as all his wounds heal as if time is sped up. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was perfectly healthy once more.

It made sense, now that I think about it, to have Yixing torturing someone. If someone didn’t want the person they were trying to get information out of to die, they would have to stop after a while and go easy on them. If you could just heal them instantly, the torturing never has to stop.

The man glares at Yixing, “I told you, I have no more information to give you.”

The warm cloud hit me once more. My mind feeling like someone placed a blanket over it. “He’s lying.”

The man glares at me, his eyes wide with hate… it’s unsettling.

“I knew it,” Yixing says, placing the metal in the torch’s flame once more, setting it down, taking off the glove we wore to protect himself from the residual heat. Yixing purposely moved slowly, showing that he could do this all day and patiently wait as he kept searching for answers. He picks up a knife from the table, crouching down to look up at the man. “Tell me. Who hired your men to kill Nayeon,” His words dripping with so much hatred it was unsettling. All traces of the kind man I know weren’t there. Just coldblooded disgust.

“Why does it matter,” He says, “He said he just wanted her gone to see if we can get the ing job done like he wanted. It was a practice run to see if he wanted to use us again for the future. He said he just picked someone at random from the street.”

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the smell and what was happening before me. My stomach was rolling, it was hard to keep everything in my stomach down as I spoke, so I only said a word. “Lying.”

A scream echos in the room, piercing my mind. Taking a deep breath, opening my eyes. I see that Yixing stabbed him in the thigh, his knife resting there.

“What are you,” The man screams at me, “Some Inhuman freak just like these guys?!”

A fist slams into his face, snapping his head to the side. “You’re talking to me,” Yixing growls, “And I said NOT to talk to her like that.” He twists the knife, making the man scream out once more.

“Who cares,” He bellows, “She was nobody! No one even knows she was killed because we covered it up so well! Hell, no one even noticed she was missing for days! All the while screaming for help from you all and someone named ‘Y/N’! Apparently you freaks and Y/N didn’t care enough to go looking for-”

My feet moved on my own. I was a few feet away, then I was standing in front of him, my left fist aching as he yelled out in shock. Before I could hit him again, clouded over in rage, I feel a hand grab the fist I was about to swing at him.I turn, seeing soft brown eyes looking into mine.

Yixing shook his head, and, for the first time since I entered this room, his eyes were the soft caring ones I knew. “Stop,” He murmured, “I can’t let you… you can’t become that. Please.”

I lowered my fist, gulping as my throat was suddenly dry. I look at the man in the eye, “Who. Did. It.”

“You know what,” He says, “ it. He has his own force of Inhumans protecting him. You’ll never touch him. Kim Hyunshik.”

I knew the name. He is a wealthy businessman who makes money off his Inhuman testing facilities. Hypocrite at it’s finest.

Yixing looks at me as if none of this is happening, like he’s waiting to hear what’s been decided for dinner. Full of worry.

“Truth.”

He nods, “Finally.” He turns, walking to the table, looking for something. Probably something to finish the job with. He knows where this is, so they can’t just let him go, after all “You should leave,” Yixing says, “You shouldn’t have to see this part.”

I turned, looking at him, before I sigh. I knew he’d say this, and truthfully I’m thankful. I don’t think I could stomach watching anyone die… or watching him kill. I hear movement behind me, and before I could turn, I feel an arm pull me close against a hard chest and a knife at my neck. I gasp, “Yixing!”

He turns, his eye widen. He takes another bladed weapon off the table. A look of pure loathing on his face, “Let. Her. Go.”

The man behind me laughs, “Do you really thing I’m so ing stupid? We did recon, you know. We know that this,” He says, dragging the blade against my skin to form a thin cut, “Is her daughter, Y/N. We also know she is Inhuman. I also know I won’t make it out of here alive unless I do something drastic. Now, you let me go, or she will die. Be a shame, since she’s pretty, in a freakish kind of way.”

“Do you really think you’d get that far,” Yixing questions, glaring at him. His whole body tense, completely rigid but ready to move in a moments notice. He takes a step closer to us, “One of my brothers could be outside right now.”

“Stay away,” The man screams, pulling me closer. “We’re going to the door. If you move one inch, I’ll kill her. Throw your weapon to the ground.”

I close my eyes, trying to remain calm, “It’s… he’s not lying.”

That only made Yixing even angrier at the man. He complies instantly, dropping the knife and kicking it far away, a bitter look on his face. “Just don’t do anything you’ll regret. Don’t hurt her.”

The man and I inch closer to the door, this room was larger than I saw initially as now there was a good 10 meters between Yixing and the two of us, as we now reach the door. He opens it, I feel him chuckle. He looks back at Yixing, but leans down and whispers in my ear, “Look at that fool, how much he cares for you. He’s a ing idiot, thinking that there was an outcome of this that would actually let you live.”

I didn’t feel any pain at first, because of the adrenaline and shock. I felt a pinching from just under right ear to the middle of my neck. He cut the carotid artery, as I see blood just shoot from me. My chest was warm, as the next second I watch him throw the knife at Yixing. He lets go of me and I fall to my knees, my hand reaching up to my throat, trying to stop it as I fall onto my side. My eyes fill with tears as the pain finally sets in. If I could have screamed, I would. The cut was so deep I feel my blood go down my own throat.

The next few seconds feel like decades. The man runs out the room, and I think I remember hearing Yixing yelling out. I turn onto my back, my eyes having trouble staying open.

I blink, and I see Yixing look at me. He looked at me with fear, his eyes tearing up. He then places his hand on my throat and the cool comfortable feeling washes over me. I reach up, touching his face, leaving a smear of blood from it’s path. I can breathe again, finally, though my breaths were quick and full of panic. “Yixing,” I cry out, before coughing up blood. The taste of copper in my mouth was strong. Tears falling from my eyes as he shakes his head. I wanted to tell him it’s ok, that I’m fine.

“Y/N,” He wailed, pulling me up and wrapping his arms around me, not caring that my blood was currently soaking the both of us. “Y/N, I’m so sorry,” He says, just holding me close. His arms tight around me, and I cried, terror still with it’s firm grip on me.

A few moments and I hear footsteps coming down the stairs beyond the door. “Yixing,” Minseok quaked, looking in. His eyes were wide with worry as he scans the room. He looks at us, the puddle of blood under me and all over the room, “What the happened?”

Before either of us could answer, more people show up. “The man has been dealt with,” Sehun says before turning the corner. He looks down, and not a second later does Jongin and Baekhyun come too.

Yixing suddenly stands, pulling me up with him. “Are you ok? Can you stand?” I nod, tears still streaming from my eyes. Before I could thank him, he turns and glares at Jongin. He lets go of me, and in two short steps, the space between Yixing and Jongin is gone. In a flash, Jongin was sent back by the force of the punch that hit his face. His back meets against the hallway wall.

“What the ,” Jongin fumed, wiping blood from his bleeding nose.

“He got loose,” Yixing growls darkly, grabbing Jongin’s shirt and shoving him back against the wall, closing the space between them once more. “Because she was there, she was almost killed. All because you couldn’t have more ing patience! What if I wasn’t there? What then? SHE WOULD HAVE DIED! HE SLIT HER ING THROAT!”

“I’m sorry,” Jongin apologises, “Ok, I’m sorry! I didn’t know! This has never happened before, the people who go there usually stay there until you’re done with them! How did he get free?”

“I don’t care,” Yixing snarled at him. Slamming him back against the wall.

Jongin glared at the older man, “It’s not my fault YOU failed to keep her safe!”

I break myself out of the trance I was in, walking forward. I can’t let this happen any longer. I can’t let it escalate any further.

“Y/N” Sehun says, about to try to stop me, but Minseok grabs his arm, making him stay still. The older man gives the maknae a look, making the youngest stay put.

I place my hand on Yixing’s arm. They both looked at me, their gazes softening at me. “I forgive him.”

“What?”

I looked at Yixing, “I said, I forgive Jongin. So stop. Now. I made the decision to come here. I made the decision to get closer to him. I made the decision to STAY after I was teleported there.” I cross my arms trying to desperately keep my voice still and even, failing miserably. “So, if you want to blame anyone, you can either blame me or the man who did it.”

“Well, Minseok hyung froze him as he was going down the stairs,” Sehun says, “So, well, let’s just say all three of you can each have a piece of him to blame.”

The air was still tense as Baekhyun puts an arm around my shoulder to comfort me. Everyone was looking between me and Yixing.

Jongin smiles at me, “Um, I think it’s best if Yixing and I talk this out… alone.”

“Wait,” I start, but then they both vanish in thin air.

Baekhyun sighs, “Well, let’s get you cleaned up, Noona.”

Baekhyun, Sehun and Minseok all stayed close to me as get myself sorted. They waited in the bathroom as I showered and changed, telling stories about one another, trying to give me a sense of normalcy. I held myself together, barely, as they attempted to be a distraction for me for the next few hours.

At dinner, Minseok informed everyone what happened.

“So that’s why Jongin and Yixing are missing,” Junmyeon mutters, rubbing his temples. He glances over at me, “I’m glad you’re ok, though. Is the man gone?”

“After Minseok hyung froze him, I had to carry the pieces out,” Kyungsoo explains. He smiles, looking at the eldest, “You did a real number on him.”

“What we were working on didn’t go too well either,” Chanyeol complains loudly, “Today has been pretty all around!”

Minseok shrugs, “I suppose you could say today really fell apart.”

Junmyeon laughed, making everyone else groan out. Jongdae claps Minseok’s shoulder, “Hyung, I love you like a brother but these lame jokes need to stop.”

After a few minutes, I manage to slip out of the room relatively unnoticed. Walking away from the dinning room, I pretty much bump into Jongin, who’s sporting a black eyes and a split lip.

“Jongin,” I say, looking at his face, “Did he-”

“That was from what you saw in the hall, he didn’t hit me anymore after,” He explains, holding his hands up in defence. “Though he did refuse to heal my face, which , but I suppose that’s what I deserve.”

“Jongin, I’m so sorry,” I explain, looking down to the ground.

He shakes his head, “Don’t be. Yixing was right, I should have waited. He’s always gotten the information we needed from people. I just should have trusted him.”

“Good,” I said, “Because now I can do this.” I swing my arm back and hit him like I did Sehun, putting my full power behind it.

“Ow,” He exclaims, “What was that for?”

“Stop acting, I know I didn’t hurt you,” I yell. “I can’t believe you’d say that to Yixing!”

He shakes his head at me, “What exactly are you angry at me for?”

“About him failing to protect me,” I yell, shoving him. “He already feels so guilty about my mother and then you go and say that ! I’m only alive BECAUSE of him! He’s been avoiding me for two weeks because of that, and now he probably won’t ever speak to me again!”

“I’m sorry,” He sighs, running a hand through his messy hair. “Yixing doesn’t get angry a lot, so when he does… you know you’ve screwed up. This all could have been avoided if I waited, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry that happened to you.” He looks up at me, a small grin on his face, “You could go talk to him. He’s expecting me to bring him some food since I said I would, so he’ll open his door.”

I nod, “But… um… where is his room?”

A few moments later after ending the discussion with Jongin, telling him I meant what I said when I told him I forgave him, I find myself staring at a metal door. The air was colder in the clock tower as I try to settle my nerves. Finally building up the courage, I knock on the door. I lace my hands together, behind my back, playing with my fingers as I hear footsteps from the other side.

“Jongin,” He asks, “I thought you’d be lazy and just teleport here.” The handle of the door shifts as it begins to open. “You hate climbing all these st…”

I look up at his surprised face, seeing him completely clean with wet hair. I quickly step into the room so he couldn’t shut me out. “So… uh, this is what’s up here.”

He didn’t say anything, so I turned to look back at him. He was wearing black sweatpants and a grey tank, looking like he was going to rest or sleep soon. He was tense the moment he saw me, trying not to look in my eyes. I felt awkward, like I’m invading his personal space, but I knew if I didn’t do this now, he’d make it very difficult to do this later.

He finally looks at me, but not directly “Y/N, I don’t thi-”

“No,” I say, my voice as hard as stone. “You’re not going to try to convince me not to talk to you, you’re going to listen to me and not push me away,” I demanded, trying to look confident. “You’ve avoided me for weeks, you’re not doing that this time!”

“I didn’t try to avoid you,” He mutters, looking towards the ground like a dejected puppy.

The second I feel the warm feeling in my head, I throw my hands in the air, furious. “You’re lying. Don’t lie to me, Yixing. Just talk to me. Please!”

A few moments of silence. It was uncomfortable and somehow deafening, as I stared at him and he looked to the floor. He sighs, shutting the door, before going over and sitting on his bed. He looks down at his hands, before looking up to me and finally meeting my eyes. His whole demeanor just screams broken.

“Alright,” He says calmly, “Let’s talk.”