You weren’t left alone forever. After crying for so long, you fell asleep on the floor in front of the window. Only pure exhaustion kept you from staying awake, from staying out of your dreams. If you’d had the ability, you would have never fallen asleep again. Because you already knew how cruel your own mind could be.

It was no surprise to you that the same reoccurring dream came back in full force as you slept on the cool carpet. The warmth you felt being in Junmyeon’s arms again wasn’t real – and it might never be. But you let yourself relish in the dream that you knew would bring more tears once you were awake. Though you couldn’t make out what he was saying, there was a comfort in Junmyeon’s whispers as he ran his fingertips down your cheek.

The softness you’d grown accustomed to was back in his eyes. Those brown eyes that tonight had looked at you with such cold emptiness, distancing himself from you were back to their familiar loving glow. How easy it was for him to just let you go on that balcony, to turn around and walk away, leaving you with the very monster he swore he would protect you from. But that was a different Junmyeon.

No.

That was Suho.

The real Junmyeon was the one your mind was conjuring up behind your closed eyelids. The one who spoke about his mother like a loving son. The one who made you tea and carried you to your bed after you’d fallen asleep on the couch. The one who kissed you and held you close, saying how much he loved you over and over again so you would never forget it. That was the truth you so desperately wanted to hold on to.

But that truth was ripped away from you once more by the slamming of your bedroom door against the wall as it was shoved open.

With a gasp, you shot up, heart pounding in your chest. Junko stomped towards you, his signature wicked grin on his lips. In one swift motion, he pulled you to your feet and pinned you up against the window. The cold glass stung at your exposed skin, but your focus was on the monster who was just a hair’s breath away.

“You’ve gotten very good at games,” Junko sneered. His grip on your wrists was tight, making your fingertips turn blue. You didn’t struggle against his hold, knowing it was useless. “Such a far cry from the timid deer at the casino. Too bad Junmyeon already knows his place. I might have to teach you yours.”

You swallowed thickly, fearful of what exactly it was that he had in mind. But to your surprise, he let you go and took a step back. The flash drive was still in his hand as he held it up, inspecting the shiny plastic in the dim moonlight.

“Leave it to your father to come up with something like this,” he murmured. Pocketing the drive once more, Junko his heels and marched out of your room. He paused only for a split second to turn to the guard posted at the door. “Make sure she stays in here.” The door slammed shut behind both of them, making you flinch.

Now you really were trapped. All hope of being rescued was gone and you simply needed to be resigned to your fate. Sliding down the wall to the floor, you sighed.

Welcome to your new prison.

**

You felt like Mr. Winchester’s mad wife, locked away from the world as you slowly went more and more insane. But your own spiral was quieter, more internalized. To the household staff, you were simply not talking, staring out the window day after day, unmoving, barely touching your meals that were brought to you, only showering if one of the maids coaxed you out of the chair and to the bathroom.

You’d failed. You’d failed your father, someone who had believed in you without really knowing you. Junko now truly had all he needed to expand his empire and hurt even more people that you cared about. And there was nothing you could do about it. You were locked away where you couldn’t even try to find out what your husband was planning next. At least he’d left you alone.

That was the one silver lining in your sentence. Junko hadn’t come to check up on you since that night. You were hardly sleeping so you knew he wasn’t coming in when a normal person would have gone to bed. The space next to you remained empty night after night. Truly, your only saving grace.

“Madam.”

It took effort, but you were able to peel your gaze away from the window to look at the maid who’d whispered to you.

Tian was a sweet girl, always approaching you cautiously, never forcing you to take a bite. She’d draw you a bath when she felt it was time for you to wash again rather than just closing the bathroom door behind you and hoping you’d take the next step and start the shower head. None of the other maids were cruel to you, Tian was simply the kindest.

But when you met her eyes, expecting her to say a bath had been drawn and you’d better get in before the water turned cold, she simply pointed to the tray with her eyes. You frowned, unsure of what she was referring to. The food was more or less the same as it always was-

Wait.

Tucked underneath the steel rice bowl was a folded piece of paper. Before you could even reach for it, Tian was already out of the room.

Ignoring the food, you ripped the paper away from its hiding space and quickly unfolded it with clumsy fingers, desperate to see what secret it held that Tian deemed worthy of the risk.

Master Lee is planning something. You need to get out. Door will be unlocked.

Planning? Of course he was planning something. You already knew that. But what could you do?

The note said the door would be unlocked. Was she giving you a chance to escape? Or to discover what exactly Junko was preparing?

Ripping up the paper, you flushed the pieces down the toilet to get rid of the evidence. A new surge of energy was coursing through your veins. The motivation that had been missing for the past week was now back and stronger than ever. Screw Junmyeon. You didn’t need him to stop Junko.

With quiet steps, you tiptoed to the door, pressing an ear against the painted wood to listen for anyone who might be in the hallway. Nothing caught your attention so you slowly opened the door, only poking your head out to see if the coast was clear. It was completely deserted, so you took the chance and left the room completely.

You knew exactly where you wanted to go first. It was the biggest risk and you’d already been caught there once before, but you didn’t care. You were ready to face the consequences if you were discovered. That room was the only place you knew you could find something – anything ­– to help you get inside Junko’s head.

By a miracle, the study door was open and the room empty. At a quick glance, everything seemed to be in perfect order; nothing laying around, the computer was locked, and the flash drive was nowhere in sight. Maybe some of the drawers would hold new clues.

Just as you rounded the desk, however, voices reached your eyes, signaling that someone was coming. You were self-aware enough to realize that hiding directly under the desk was incredibly stupid, but you only had a split second to make a decision and that was the one you went with. You shoved yourself back under that cramped space as far as you could go and prayed that you wouldn’t be caught.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Junko snapped, his voice very close to where you hid. You could see his shadow creeping under the desk, making your heart race.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” you heard Quan ask. Brave him to question his boss. If it were anyone else… it certainly wouldn’t have been pretty.

“I have no choice,” Junko growled back. “With what was in those files… this will just be easier. Taking out Junmyeon and his men will be easy enough. Just ambush them at the warehouse they think is still secret, light up them up with bullets and drive away.”

“The others… they’ll know it was you.”

“I dare any of them to try and touch me.”

Quan didn’t answer for a moment, just letting Junko’s declaration hang in the air. That arrogance was going to come back and bite him some day. At least, you hoped it would.

“When do you want it done?” Quan finally asked.

“Tonight.”

Footsteps alerted you to Quan’s departure, but the shadow indicated that Junko was still in the room. The floor squeaked wherever he stepped. Someone was really looking out for you as he never crossed the threshold that would give him the perfect view of your hiding spot.

Eventually, Junko left the room and you could breathe at a somewhat normal rate again.

He was going to kill them. He was going to kill them all. Gone was the talk about having Junmyeon watch as his hard work and family’s legacy crumbled into dust. He was just going to wipe them all out. Even if Junmyeon had abandoned you, neither he nor any of the others deserved to be slaughtered.

You needed to do something. A distraction, maybe? Something that would occupy everyone’s attention and maybe give you more time to figure out how to warn the boys about Junko’s change in plans. But what could you do?

Fire.

How that solution popped into your head, you didn’t know, but that hard to control element should be enough to put off Junko’s plans. Not to mention, you would enjoy watching this place burn to the ground.

Now the tricky part would be getting to the kitchen. That would be the easiest room to start the fire in-

No. Maybe just once source would be quickly subdued.

Crawling out from underneath the desk, you started searching the drawers. The liquor was easy enough to find in the bottom drawer, the glass rattling together when you pulled it open. You took out one of the more full bottles of brandy and went searching for a source to start the fire.

Gotcha.

Right in the other bottom drawer was a case of cigars and a box of matches to light them with. Wasn’t that the rule of cigars? Matches only to preserve the taste?

You didn’t know if that was right or not, but you were thankful that Junko didn’t hold his throat or lungs in very high regard.

After uncorking the brandy, you poured a good amount on the corner of the rug. You splash some more around the room to give the fire a little more fuel and then you turned to the matches. Your hands were shaking slightly as you pulled out a match and closed the tiny box back up.

The first two strikes failed to result in fire. Taking a deep breath, you calmed your system before trying again.

And you had fire.

Careful to be a good distance away so you didn’t get caught in the flames, you dropped the blazing match onto the soaked rug. Almost immediately the flame transferred to the carpet, lighting it up. And then you ran.

If everything worked out in your favor, you wouldn’t be caught on your way down to the kitchen on the first floor. But just as you were reaching the bottom of the steps, a whole group of guards were running by. One that you hadn’t seen much of before stopped and looked at you. It was over.

“Madam, please go back to your room,” he asked nicely but authoritatively. “It’s not safe out here.”

You frowned. What was going on? What did he mean it wasn’t safe? They definitely weren’t running towards the fire. “Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s under control,” the guard insisted. “Please, go back to your room.” He didn’t wait to see if you obey before following the others out. Strange, but you didn’t have time to stop and think about what had the guards on the move.

You made it to the kitchen without any other run-ins. Tian was at the sink, rinsing off dishes when you entered in.

“Madam, what are you doing here?” she gasped. She ran up to you, grasping your shoulders. “You should be long gone by now.”

You shook your head. “I couldn’t just run away. But Tian, you have to. And take as many of the others with you as possible. I started a fire in the study and I’m going to start one in here.”

Tian looked at you with glossy eyes. “Oh, madam….I wish I could be as brave as you.”

“You already are,” you replied honestly. Taking her hands, you shoved her towards the exit. “Now, go!” Thankfully, she didn’t need to be told twice.

Alone once again, you looked around the kitchen. The stove would be the best place to start and a grease fire would be the hardest to put out in a panic. As quickly as you could, you turned every knob to the stove top on the highest setting and then searched the cabinets for the oils. When you found the vegetable oil, you unscrewed the cap and started pouring it all over the heated surface. Then you got as far away from the oven as possible while still staying within the kitchen walls. You hovered around the doorframe, watching as the oil started to bubble and then smoke. The first few flames were small, dancing against the smooth black top to an unknown rhythm. Then the flames burst into a creature that terrified you. Panicked but satisfied, you ran out of there.

In the hallway, you found a frantic Tian.

“What are you still doing here?” you yelled.

“I can’t find Lorie!” She was crying and shaking. You should have had the staff evacuate before you started the fires, but that would have alerted Junko and the guards. “There’s gunfire outside! I don’t know what to do!”

“Gunfire?” You held Tian’s face in your hands. “Tian, I need you to breathe. What do you mean there’s gunfire outside?”

Tian pointed towards the back of the house with a trembling finger. “I don’t know, but all the guards ran out there and I heard loud pops! Everyone else went out the front!”

Did he really-

You shook that thought away. Junko had plenty of enemies that might try to strike against him. There was no reason to follow that hope.

“Go join the others outside,” you ordered. “I’ll go find Lorie.”

Reluctantly, Tian agreed, nodding before running towards the front door. You made your way up the stairs. Smoke was already filling up the hallway and flames out from the study. It was spreading fast and you needed to hurry.

“Lorie! Lorie!” There was no answer. You headed for your bedroom first, knowing that she was often the one who changed your bedsheets. But the room was empty. Each room checked after that was also void of life, only filling up with smoke as you opened the door. Your voice was becoming hoarse after calling out to the young maid over and over again. Every intake of breath was making you cough, your lungs screaming for uncontaminated air. But you had no choice. You needed to check the other side of the hallway, closer to where the fire was.

It had now spread to the walls and the smoke was thicker, blacker, making you bend down just to be able to keep going. Your eyes stung. Little droplets of water started sliding down your cheeks, but you wiped them away and headed forward. You only made it about halfway through the hallway when your legs gave out. Your mind was starting to fog up and shut down due to the lack of real air. A few more crawls forward and you slumped down to the floor.

**

Junmyeon sat on the couch, fingers folded in a way to support his chin as he stared down at the swirling pattern in the rug he’d picked out when he first moved into this penthouse. The feel of your arms around his waist still haunted him nearly a week later.

God, he wanted to hold you back so badly. But he couldn’t. He had to keep up the façade that he’d given up, that he was conceding to Junko. That was the only way he could think to get Junko to not focus on him and instead keep his eye on his plan, his suspicion kept to a low level. It was hard to not reach out and take the drive that you held out for him, his prize he’d been working towards all these months. But the real torture was walking away from you, leaving you hostage to that bastard. He wanted to rip you away, hide you in a place that Junko would never find you, but that was no way to live. He needed to make both of you free from him forever. He just hoped that you’d understand.

“Junmyeon?”

Torn from his mindset of self-hatred, Junmyeon looked to find a very determined Chanyeol all strapped up with weapons and ready to go.

“Everything’s set?” Junmyeon asked. Chanyeol replied with a hard nod.

“Finally!” Jongdae yelled as he jumped up from the armchair.

“Let’s go.” Junmyeon slowly rose from his own seat and headed for the door, all eight men behind him and ready for a fight. They’d already been over the plan a hundred times, there was no need to voice it again now.

There was a road that crossed behind Junko’s mansion with plenty of trees for coverage and a hiding spot for Sehun. He was the most skilled with a rifle and Junmyeon needed his trusted sniper. Instead of taking the two SUVs, they opted for the blendable, less operative looking compacts. Of course, that meant less room for them to maneuver if they ended up in a shootout while still in the car, but they couldn’t risk being spotted too far out.

The car ride was long, grating at Junmyeon’s nerves as they went along. But irritation and the drive to get to you only increased once Jongdae pulled over to the side of the road and cut the engine. No words were spoken as they all filed out of the car. Each of them were dressed in black gear that resembled the special force’s uniform. It certainly felt like they were going to war.

Spread out in a line, they trekked through the woods in the direction of Junko’s house. As the trees began to thin, they slowed, regrouping to prepare for what they were about to do.

Looking at each of his men, Junmyeon sighed. They weren’t all fighters, killers. Yixing’s job was to heal, not harm. Kyungsoo preferred to be behind a computer screen and Baekhyun was the clown of the group, playing tricks and mocking the others. But everyone was quick to agree when Junmyeon proposed going after you and ending this. They hated Junko and they hated the idea of you suffering even more.

Without being told, Sehun climbed up a sturdy-looking tree, finding a comfortable branch to lay on and set up his long range rifle. Into the small microphone on his wrist, Sehun whispered, “All sights aligned. Three guards are wandering around the back from what I can see.”

Junmyeon didn’t hesitate as he brought his own comm up to his lips. “Do it.”

Bang. Bang. Bang.

It wasn’t like the movies when that rifle when went off and only a soft snip was heard. While it wasn’t exactly a sonic boom, it was still enough to make Junmyeon flinch. He never got used to the sudden sound of a gun being used. Several minutes went by as they waited for more possible opponents to arrive.

“They’re headed out now.”

“Take out as many as you can,” Junmyeon ordered. “Chanyeol will help.”

All too eager to get started, Chanyeol loaded up the magazine into his own, specially made rifle and called out to Sehun which one he was aiming for in his comm so they didn’t waste time hitting the same guard. When six others had been taken down and no more came out, it was time.

Junmyeon turned to the rest of them. “Remember, whoever finds (y/n) first, you get her the hell out of there, no matter what. I’ll find Junko and end him.” Everyone nodded. They knew Junko was his.

At his signal, everyone took off across the backyard, guns out and ready just in case more guards arrived. However, the real party was waiting for them inside.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, bullets began to rain. They barely found cover in open rooms to avoid being hit. Junmyeon fired back, hitting one guard in the leg, taking him down. It was a good thing the covert part of his plan ended back in the woods.

“Junmyeon! Look!” Jongdae pointed down the hall past the guards. Smoke and flame was leaking out of one of the rooms. What the-

“Well, look who decided to bring themselves to me!” Junko shouted as he pushed his way past his men. The firing had stopped as almost everyone present was either running low on ammo or out completely. Junko crossed his arms, pride smeared all over his face. “That was very kind of you. Saves me the trouble of going to your little warehouse to take you out.”

The warehouse? How did he- the files. That must have been in the files. That warehouse had been secret since his father first bought it, well before Junmyeon was ever born. How did your father find out about it?

Looking down, Junmyeon recounted all the shots he’d fired off. One bullet left. And he knew exactly where he wanted to put it. “Tell me, Junko, did you set your own house on fire?”

Junko frowned. “What are you talking about?” When Junmyeon pointed in the direction of the flames, Junko followed with his gaze. “What the hell? Quan! Go see what’s going on?”

But the guard didn’t make it two steps when the room exploded. The force sent them all to the floor. Cracks formed in the walls and bits of plaster and wooden splints from the beams fell from the ceiling. Junmyeon couldn’t help but laugh.

Junko didn’t take to kindly to that, randomly firing the gun in his hand towards Junmyeon.

The bullet struck his arm and he hissed as the metal tore through his skin and muscle. Blood pored through the wound. Junmyeon tried his best to press his hand against the hole to slow down the bleeding, but he doubted it was doing any good. Hopefully this would end before he lost too much. Either that, or he was dead anyway.

“Where’s (y/n)!” he demanded. He needed to keep his focus on you. That would keep him going, keep him fighting.

“I think she’s the least of your worries right now,” Junko chuckled.

Junmyeon pushed himself up to his feet and made a dumb decision. He fired his last bullet, merely scraping Junko’s side, and then he charged.

Junko was shocked by the wound in his side, giving Junmyeon the distraction he needed to pounce and wrestle the gun away. He wasn’t able to pick the weapon up himself, but he did get a nice punch in to the bastard’s jaw. That’s when it became an all-out brawl.

Putting more brute strength behind his punches than he ever had before, this was one fight he would not lose. Each knee to the stomach, each punch to the face, each hit he took was worth it. He could get back up again. He had to.

Junko was tiring out, but he wasn’t giving up. Losing was never his strong suit. “You.” Hit. “Just.” Kick. “Don’t.” Punch. “Know when to quit.”

Using his height to his advantage, Junko slammed Junmyeon down on the ground and dug his foot on the wound in Junmyeon’s arm. The latter cried out, unable to hold back the pain. Everyone else around them was at a standstill, guns aimed at the opposing side, but no one willing to make a move. They didn’t want to take the risk of a bullet. Besides, this was something to be settled between the leaders.

“This is it, Junmyeon,” Junko gloated. His breath was raggedy, hindered even more by the smoke drifting into the area. “It’s over. And I’m going to enjoy watching you-” He never got to finish that sentence. Deep red began to spread over his white shirt, growing by the second, spreading over his chest. Nothing else left his opened mouth as he fell to the floor, eyes void of life.

Realizing that their leader was now dead, the guards that used to follow Junko’s every order dropped their weapons and held up their hands in surrender.

Yixing ran to Junmyeon’s side, helping him up to a sitting position. Looking around, Junmyeon only saw faces that were just as stunned as his. “Who did that?”

“That would be me.”

Hearing the voice behind them, the guards spread out and Sehun, along with a very terrified looking girl, stepped forward, the barrel of his rifle smoking.

“I thought I said Junko was mine?” Junmyeon growled. The youngest of his friends just shrugged. Oh well, he couldn’t turn back time. And the bastard was dead, nothing else mattered.

“Please, sir!” the young girl shouted, grabbing his attention. “He said you came to find the madam! You have to find her!”

Junmyeon scrambled up to his feet, ignoring the pain in his arm as he ran up to the maid. “Where is (y/n)?”

“S-she went to go look-k for one of th-the other maids,” the girl stammered. “I think she went upstairs, but there’s another fire. She started it in the study.”

Wait… “She… she started the fires?”

The girl nodded.

Taking off towards the stairs, he ignored the warning cries of his men, taking the steps two at a time. “(y/n)! (y/n)! Can you hear me! (y/n)!” He almost turned right on instinct since there was less smoke in that direction, but he just barely made out a figure lying on the ground in the other hallway in the corner of his eye. “(y/n)!”

He ran to the figure, relieved when he saw it was you, but that was quickly replaced by new fear when you didn’t stir at the sound of his voice. Scooping you up, he pushing through the smoke, bypassing Yixing at the bottom of the stairs and heading for the backyard where the air was cleaner.

As carefully as he could, he laid you down on the grass then motioned for Yixing to check your vitals. Your chest was moving, which was a good sign, but you were still unconscious and unresponsive to his attempts to bring you back to awareness. They wouldn’t know the extent of the damage until you woke up. If you woke up.

“You just couldn’t wait for me a little longer?” Junmyeon whispered as he your face.

“You didn’t exactly give her a reason to hold on,” Jongdae pointed out bitterly.

Yixing frowned. “As much as I’d like to add to this conversation, I really need to get her back to the house and to an oxygen tank. I think she’ll make it, though.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Junmyeon lifted you back up and started carrying you to the woods where the cars were waiting on the other side. His arm was screaming at him, but he didn’t want anyone else holding you, so he would take the pain. Now that you were back in his arms, he wasn’t ever going to let you go again.