“He’s my best friend,” Jong Up spoke without hesitation. “Why?”

“Have you ever thought about mating him?” Dae Hyun kept his eyes in the opposite direction.

Jong Up shrugged, “I haven’t really thought of him like that.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know,” Jong Up admitted. “I guess I see him more as a friend.”

“And how do you see Young Jae?” Dae Hyun gave a sideward glance.

“I can see him as a lover and being the mother of my children.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know I just can picture it so clearly.”

“Do you think it’s because he’s already pregnant and from watching him interact with Jun Hong?”

Jong Up shrugged again, “Maybe I don’t know, but… I actually can see him more with you.”

Dae Hyun looked to the younger with questioning eyes. The brunette took this as a sign to continue, “He’s much more comfortable with you and you two seem more fitting as a couple.”

“But I don’t see him as my mate,” Dae Hyun said flatly. “I only see him as a friend.”

Jong Up winced internally, was it his fault that Dae Hyun couldn’t see Young Jae as a suitable mate? “Why is he only a friend to you?”

“I don’t want him to only want me because he’s carrying my child.”

Jong Up looked to Dae Hyun in shock. The elder continued, “Yong Guk told me what Him Chan had come to a conclusion on. I had the same thought since we were both in the same program, but I didn’t know for sure. Yong Guk told me I’ll be able to tell when he reaches three months… and apparently Young Jae is actually in his third month already…”

“When?” Jong Up asked silently, glad that the elder didn’t know the he already knew the possibility of the child being his.

“He just turned three months yesterday…” Dae Hyun looked down sorrowfully. “I’m going to have to leave once we reach the village.”

“Why?” Jong Up couldn’t believe the elder was thinking of abandoning Young Jae. The same hyung that lost his mate and child not too long ago, the one who wanted a family more than anything was now willing to let go of another.

“Since I’m rejecting Young Jae and the baby I can’t be around them,” Dae Hyun shrugged. “If I do I’m risking both of their lives.”

Jong Up shook his head in confusion, “how are you risking their lives?”

“Yong Guk warned me that it would be in my instincts to kill them…”

Jong Up’s mouth dropped. Tear gathered in his eyes, “then don’t reject him. He depends on you already. Are you really just going to let him go like that?”

“I have to…”

“No you don’t,” Jong Up protested. “You just don’t want him because he’s who you were going to be force to mate with. Now that you met him you can't deny that you actually like him, but you’re too damn stubborn to admit it.”

“Jong Up,” Dae Hyun warned. “Why is it that you can lecture me about Young Jae but can’t see how you treat Jun Hong?”

“Young Jae is pregnant, Jun Hong isn’t.” Jong Up's voice was stern. “Young Jae needs you more than anything right now, Jun Hong's feelings can change in time, and we’re still young.”

“I’m not that much older that you two.”

“No, but you have more experience.” Jong Up couldn’t stop glaring at the elder. “I thought you of all people would be willing to accept him even if he was forced to carry your child.”

Dae Hyun sighed, “would you be able to protect him while I’m gone?”

“You don’t have to ask,” Jong Up folded his arms. “How long will you be gone for?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted softly.

“What are you going to tell Young Jae?” the brunette asked. “You can’t just disappear on him.”

“I have to just tell him the truth.”

“Have you even considered his feelings?”

Dae Hyun shook his head, “He’ll be fine, and it’ll pass soon enough.”

“He’s in love with you, you know,” Jong Up’s tear slowly breaking past his barrier. “He probably won’t say anything and doesn’t fully realize it, but you can see it in his eyes. Are you really that willing to hurt him?”

“I don’t want to hurt him,” Dae Hyun voice thick with emotion. “That’s why I have to leave-.”

“I don’t see the difference.” Jong Up scoffed. “He’ll feel like he’s dying once you tell him that you don’t want him or the baby, you may as well just kill them. He'll probably prefer it.”

“Jong Up!”

“No, Dae Hyun,” the younger got to his feet, “you don’t see how hard it’s going to be on him. Without you around then what are we supposed to do to protect him from others who want to hurt him? You know that many will be attracted to his fertility.”

“And you don’t see what Jun Hong feels for you,” Dae Hyun deadpanned. “I don’t have to accept Young Jae as my mate nor do I have to kill him and the child.”

“Whatever then,” Jong Up pushed passed him heading back to camp.

“What do you think he wanted to talk to him about?” Young Jae asked.

Jun Hong shrugged, “It could be about anything at this point.”

The blonde hummed softly in response. The maknae scanned their surroundings out of boredom in hopes of finding something interesting. He sighed loudly. “Hey Young Jae?”

“Hmm?” the blonde responded.

“How do you feel about Jong Up?” Jun Hong wasn’t sure if he couldn’t face Young Jae out of fear for his answer or shame for being so jealous.

“What do you mean?” Young Jae cocked his head to the side.

“I mean do you like him?” Jun Hong decided it was probably best to elaborate a bit more, “I mean like him enough to mate with?”

Young Jae smiled sadly, “no, I don’t see him in that sort of way. I only see him as a friend.”

“Well… what about Dae Hyun?” Jun Hong turned to the elder.

“You’re not mated?” Seo Gu asked. Jun Hong cursed himself for forgetting that he was still there. Young Jae shook his head in a silent ‘no’. The elder sighed, “did something happen to your mate?”

Neither of the two wanted to answer the man. Afraid of his reaction. They didn’t know the story he was told and they did not want to mess it up. They sighed in silent relief when Seo Gu jumped to his own conclusion, “I’m sorry, I assumed that you were mated to Dae Hyun.”

“What brought you to that conclusion?” Jun Hong felt like smacking the curious blonde in back of his head.

“You are carrying his child aren’t you?” the elder asked. Young Jae shook his head again not understanding why he thought his baby was Dae Hyun’s. Jun Hong really wished that Dae Hyun hadn’t left or that Him Chan and Yong Guk would come back soon. Seo Gu continued, “Well he tends to be very protective over you and you carry his scent.”

“Oh,” was all the blonde could manage. Jun Hong decided to join in, “what does that have to do with the baby?”

“The underlying scent, even if a Carrier takes a new mate while pregnant the baby will keep the father’s scent,” Seo Gu explained. “That’s why a Dominate will kill the child within the Carrier, only a few are caring enough to accept the child as their own. Or if a Dominate decides if he doesn’t want his Carrier he’ll kill the Carrier even if they’re pregnant.”

“Kill?!” both were scared and shocked. Their arms wrapped around each other as if the elder was telling them a ghost story. Jun Hong was really wishing one of their hyungs would return… Soon.

“Were you ?” Seo Gu was truly curious. Were these two so sheltered that they didn’t know the horrors of the world around them? Was this why Yong Guk had chosen to bring his family into the wilderness, to protect them from those who’d want to terminate the child? He watched as the two tried to pull each other as close as possible trying to hide themselves from him.

“What’s going on?” Yong Guk's voice boomed through the air. Him Chan wasted no time running to his babies wrapping his arms protectively over them.

“I was asking him a simple question,” Seo Gu defended lightly. He knew he couldn’t win this argument especially with the two crying in fear. Maybe it wasn’t best to ask them anything, Yong Guk was protecting them from the harsh world and he was just proving to them why the forest was better than a village.

“What did you say to them?” he demanded. Him Chan pulled the youngsters out of camp to let Yong Guk question the man freely.

“I asked Young Jae if he was mated or if he was .” The elder admitted.

“Neither; you happy now? “

“How is he pregnant if he has no mate?” Seo Gu was getting more confused by the minute. “The only other way would be if he was .”

“He was forced to be pregnant, but he’s still a .” Yong Guk shouted. “What else did you say to them?”

“I explained that a Dominate would kill the baby if the Carrier is impregnated by another.” Seo Gu explained.

“Why the hell would you tell them that?!” Yong Guk growled.

“I didn't know that you had them so sheltered from the real world.” Yong Guk sighed in defeat. Seo Gu didn’t know that the kids were raised in the Facility. He sighed, “Him Chan come on back. Bring the kids too.”

Seo Gu looked at Yong Guk in complete confusion, but he didn’t say anything. The look on his face was enough to tell him that he would be told soon enough.

The black- haired man entered camp slowly with the younger two trailing behind him, clenching on to his shirt. Him Chan looked to his mate for an answer but was signaled to take a seat. Yong Guk looked around a bit. “Where are Jong Up and Dae Hyun?”

“They’re at the river,” Young Jae answered. “Dae Hyun wanted to talk to Jong Up.”

The brunette chose that moment to enter camp. His anger dissipating when he felt everyone’s eyes on him. He looked to each of them, “did I miss something?”

“Where’s Dae Hyun?” Yong Guk asked.

“Right here,” the silver haired boy called out as he came into the light.

“Take a seat,” the purple haired man ordered. The two quickly did as they were told. Everyone kept quiet, the silent question that was on everyone’s mind was screaming at Yong Guk to answer. He looked to everyone knowing they were confused as to what he was about to do. What he was about to say, would reveal everything about them. He hoped it was the right thing to do, he wanted to protect his family, but Seo Gu had a right to know who he was taking into his home.

There was no guarantee that the Facility wasn’t looking for them or that they would be able to hide forever and so he had to other choice but to explain why Young Jae was without a Dominate and why Dae Hyun was going to leave. Young Jae needed to know that the father of his child was his new friend, but that the other didn’t not see him as anything more than a friend. there was so much that they were trying so hard to hide that would eventually raise questions and they needed to get a story straightened out or else something was going to slip.

Him Chan was nervous, he had a feeling that he knew what the elder was thinking and honestly he was a little more than afraid. Though the man seemed nice and had spoken about his distrust for the Facility, there was no way to tell how he would react if he found out they were from the Facility. Would he turn them in? Would they be turned away? What then would they do? There was no telling how far they would be able to get? Especially with Dae Hyun needing to distance himself from Young Jae. Would they all go their separate ways?

Yong Guk's eyes met with his mates uncertain ones. Silently debating over their next step. With a nod from Him Chan, Yong Guk sighed, “Seo Gu, there’s something you should know…”

The elder man looked to all of them. Each of them looked frightened, making them appear much younger. What could they possibly be so scared of? Do they think he would turn them away? Were they criminals or something? Okay he figured they had to steal a few things to survive, but they haven’t killed… have they? None of them looked capable of killing anyone…. Except Yong Guk, Jong Up and possibly Him Chan if provoked… Dae Hyun probably could too… but no they didn’t have the look killers had and they certainly wouldn’t have children with them.

“We all once lived at the Facility,” Yong Guk spoke clearly.