“Oh quiet down already,” Jonghyun told his grumbling stomach as he stood in front of the stove, stirring a pot of noodles in the kitchen.  He’d mostly slept through the afternoon after the beating he’d received and it had helped, but it made him quite hungry when he woke up.  Most of the food in the fridge was Minho and Taemin’s and he didn’t want to interrupt them to ask if he could have some in the meantime.  Nor did he wish to be that friend who continued to mooch just because he could.  So noodles it was…

At least they were filling and tended to stay with one for a bit if nothing else.  Fortunately, Minho liked to cook and try new things so there were lots of different seasonings he could try so that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t taste the same every time.  Steaming bowl in hand, he made his way back into the living room to plop down in his recliner and turn on the television.  There really wasn’t much else he could do at the moment since he was quite broke and didn’t actually want to do anything as he was still sore.

“Ayah!” he hissed, spitting out the mouthful of noodles when he tried to take a bite too soon, scalding his tongue.  “Really?” he sighed, setting the bowl aside on the side table and leaning back in his chair, head resting on the top cushion.  “What is there on tonight?” he asked himself, flipping through channels errantly.  There were plenty of movies playing on a Saturday evening, but none of them really struck his fancy.  Partially zoning from the rhythmic action of channel surfing, he almost missed his phone ringing in his room where he’d left it.

Grumbling with having to get up, Jonghyun set the remote down and hustled to retrieve it, just missing the phone going off as he picked it up to answer.  He felt his stomach drop to his feet when he saw the number though…  “,” he cursed, running his hand nervously through his hair as he chewed the uninjured side of his lip.  What was he doing calling him?  There was nothing new he could tell him right now.  With numb fingers, he dialed the number back, knowing it would be worse if he didn’t do it soon.

“Jonghyunnie!  There you are,” the owner of Fortune’s Haven smiled over the line, smooth voice confident and pleasant…for the time being.

“You called?” Jonghyun asked, trying to be short but not outright rude as he gripped his ribs with his free arm and leaned against the doorframe.

“Oh, I did didn’t I?” he chuckled, apparently quite amused with himself.

“What do you want?  I paid you what I had today,” he explained tightly.  There was really nothing else he could tell him.

“That’s right.  You did.  Only you and I both know that wasn’t nearly enough, Jonghyunnie.  Which leads me to why I was calling,” the other answered in a mildly concerned tone of voice.  “The boys noticed that you needed a ride today, which leads me to believe you don’t have your car anymore.  Am I correct?” he asked pointedly, waiting for an answer.

Jonghyun took a steadying breath and finally bit out, “Neh.”

“Oh dear, Jonghyun.  Now that has me concerned,” the other explained, his tone soft and dangerously even.

It didn’t take Jonghyun more than a moment to figure out what he was insinuating and he hurried to allay that worry, “I’ll get you your money.  I just need some more time.”

“Aww.  Jonghyun.  You have nothing left.  How are you going to get me the other four thousand you owe?”

“Hey!  You said three thousand earlier,” Jonghyun growled into the phone, feeling panic and anger well up within him.

“Did I?” the owner asked naively, playing dumb.  “I can’t really remember, so we’ll just go with my number shall we?”

“That’s not fair!” he retorted.

“Then you shouldn’t have borrowed the funds with no way to pay them back,” was the other’s even response, tone quiet and serious.

“Hey!  I will pay you back.  I just need a little bit of time.  Can’t you give me that?” he demanded, pushing off the doorframe and pacing agitatedly in the hallway.

The other sighed over the phone and murmured in response, “I don’t know, Jonghyunnie.  I gave you a couple weeks to come up with the paltry amount you gave me today.  I’m not sure you can come up with the funds,” he stated evenly, his tone taunting.

“I got you some of them didn’t I?!” he demanded heatedly, feeling his temperature rise as the owner continued to needle him.

“Oh Jong,” the other sighed, obviously shaking his head on his end.  “I make it a point to know those who I allow to borrow money from me.  You, Jonghyun, have nothing.  No job, no savings as we’ve proven, and no resources.  But,” he paused, holding an invisible finger up in front of the frowning Jonghyun, “you do have connections.  Why is a reason that continues to baffle me, but given your predicament, I think we may have to do you the favor of collecting your funds for you.  Perhaps then we can call it even.  Neh?”

“What?!  Hey!  Hey!” Jonghyun yelled a second time when there was no response from the other end.  “!” he grumbled as the call was dropped.  His appetite completely gone, he was concerned about what the owner had meant about collecting the funds for him...

He didn’t have any to collect and they could take it out if his hide but then they’d never get their money and that was definitely what they were more concerned about.  So where would they get the money from?  The probable result struck him like lightning and he nearly fell down with the realization as he dialed Jinki’s number.

The line connected and he heard, “Hey Jong.  What’s up?”

“Oh thank god,” he breathed, feeling his heart race in his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Jinki asked immediately, his tone very concerned.

“I thought something might have happened to you is all,” Jonghyun admitted, spitting out the first thing that came to mind.  “Listen.  Are you at home?” he asked worriedly, still pacing in place.

“Neh.  Kibum just headed out to do some shopping.  I don’t know when-”

“You need to get out of the house now,” Jonghyun cut him off.  “I might just be imagining things and I hope I am but I think you’re in danger.”

“Eh?  Why?” Jinki asked, completely baffled.

“Because I still owe the Angel money and I think he’s going to you to get it,” Jonghyun wailed, disgusted with himself and terrified for Jinki.

Silence met his response as Jinki mulled it over, putting the pieces together himself.  “There was a strange car outside our house after I picked you up today,” he admitted softly.  “Alright.  I’ll get in touch with Kibum and we’ll head out for a bit.  I’ll let you know where we end up, neh?” he asked, shuffling through the house.

Relief hit Jonghyun and he breathed just a bit easier.  “Neh.  Let me know as soon as you find out.”

“I will.  And Jong.”

“Neh?”

“Take care of yourself,” Jinki wished earnestly, ending the call.

Tears pricked Jonghyun’s eyes.  Here Jinki was, probably in danger himself and he was worried about him.  Pabo…  Okay.  So that was taken care of and he should be out of here soon so what was he going to do in the meantime?  He didn’t really care if they beat him up again, so long as his friends were left alone.  Now all he had to do was find four thousand dollars just lying around somewhere…

Jinki ended the call with Jonghyun and took a deep breath.  Seriously.  What was he going to do with that man…?  With a quick shake of his head, he put his phone in his back pocket and ran upstairs, taking them two at a time to get to his and Kibum’s room where he pulled out a couple travel cases and started tossing clothes into them.  Kibum would probably scold him for making such a mess, but that was alright.  He’d also probably forgive him given the circumstances.

He paused when he thought he heard the door shut downstairs.  A quick glance at his watch showed that not a great deal of time had passed but perhaps Kibum had simply forgotten something and was returning to grab it.  “Kibum?” he called over his shoulder, pulling out his phone to see if he’d missed a text.  Nothing there and no response from downstairs…  “Kibum?” he tried again, just in case he hadn’t heard him the first time.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he realized the front door had been unlocked because Kibum was just running to the store.  If one of them was home, they didn’t usually worry about locking up on the way out…  “,” he murmured under his breath, nervously approaching the doorway to their room.  He looked out the entrance and yelped when he saw three men in the hallway heading his direction.  With a startled cry, he slammed the door shut, bracing it firmly as he fumbled for the lock, fear making him clumsy.

Immediately, he felt the barrier shudder under a concentrated assault from the other side and his breathing increased while his heart raced, pounding against his ribcage.  “Now that’s not very nice,” one of them called on the other side, amidst the shaking blows aimed at the door, jostling Jinki on the inside.  “Try the handle idiots,” the same voice instructed.

Mutely, Jinki braced his shoulder against the door with his hands awkwardly wrapped around the round handle, feet firmly lodged in the carpet in a desperate attempt to keep it shut since he wasn’t able to engage the lock.  With one hand, he fumbled with his phone, trying frantically to type in 911 but his hands and body shook with each blow, making it harder to focus.  “Just go away!” he cried, panic taking root.

“Aww.  You’re cute,” a different one laughed as the door handle successfully turned at the same time another blow was placed against the barrier, knocking Jinki forward with a panicked cry, the phone flying from his hands and over the bed.

Jinki scrambled away as fast as he could, trying to make it over the bed before they came in but he felt two sets of hands grab him from behind and haul him back, throwing him forcefully to the floor, knocking the wind out of him.  He gasped for breath as he saw two men staring down at him, their faces familiar from Fortune’s Haven earlier today.  Frantically, he looked around for the third and saw him at their window, pulling the curtains in place, shutting out the rest of the world.

In the light of the room, his straight red hair was unmistakable and the milky white skin practically glowed as he turned to face him, a confident smirk on his face.  He was beautiful with delicate facial features; nearly perfect save for the split cheek that marred his complexion.  “Now.  Where were we?” he asked smoothly, signaling for the two standing over him to pick him up.

“His phone landed somewhere over there,” the shorter of the two nodded, a fairly distinct black Mohawk crowning his head, facial features intense as he reached down to grab one of Jinki’s arms roughly, starting to haul him to his feet.

“Planning on going somewhere?” the taller and leaner of the pair asked, pale blonde hair framing a delicate and feminine face with full lips and doe eyes.  He did not look like he suited his current role at all as he appraised the bed with open partially filled travel cases on it, assisting his companion in standing their target upright and keeping him immobilized between them.

Tense and struggling with both arms held firmly by either of them, Jinki trembled in their grasp but his voice was surprisingly steady when he asked, “What do you want?”

“Oh.  Here we go,” the redhead smirked, holding Jinki’s phone in his hand, staring at the screen.  “Looks like our little friend gave you a call didn’t he?” he purred, holding the phone out to show the last call received screen.  “Humph.  Too little too late,” he sighed, turning the phone off and tossing it on the bed carelessly while he glanced around the room, obviously looking for something.

Nervously, Jinki pulled against the other two, feeling the wiry strength in their hold, and he swallowed forcefully.  “Are you here for money?” he spoke, his voice clipped.

“Considering who you’re friends with, we figured that would be obvious,” the blonde one smiled, his expression deceptively calm.

“Then take it and go,” he spat, jerking against their hold again, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

“Aww.  Poor baby,” the redhead tsked knowingly, pausing in his surreptitious search to regard him in amusement.  “It’s not that simple,” he murmured, drawing his fingers lightly along the angry mark on his cheek.

The shorter one beside him frowned and looked at his companion.  “Heechul,” he murmured, clearly confused by the statement.  His confusion was shared by the blonde as well who mirrored his expression.

“What?” Heechul remarked, glaring at them both.  “He knows who we are anyway,” he shrugged off their concern and focused his gaze on their captive once more.

Jinki’s eyes widened as he realized what they meant.  “No!” he screamed in defiance, already knowing there was no point in trying to convince them he’d never tell.  With a burst of strength empowered by his fear, he yanked free from the blonde and tried to break away from the one with the Mohawk but the shorter held tight and hip checked him over his back, landing him further in the room and surrounded by the three.  Awkwardly, Jinki scrambled away until his back pressed against the far wall and he clenched his hands into fists as he stared at his attackers, jaw set firmly.

“First things first.  Where do you keep your money?” Heechul asked, stepping up between the other two and using their shoulders as resting posts for his arms, hands hanging limply in front.