Goddamn it.. God ing damn it. The kid was sick. He wasn’t supposed to get sick! It wasn’t allowed. After all the trouble he’d gone through to bring Seunghyun home, he couldn’t enjoy it because he went and got sick! No matter that he knew the boy hadn’t been sleeping well, and his immune system was already pretty lousy. So now he had no one but himself to blame for his pet’s current condition, what with sticking him in the white room prematurely.

The man chewed a fingernail outside the blackout room, indecisiveness rooting him to the floor. A persistent, nagging feeling had prompted him out of his own bed shortly after one in the morning, telling him that he should probably check on Seunghyun and make sure that he wasn't running a fever. He'd made his way to the bathroom and downstairs in a scant few minutes, eventually ending up with the thermometer from his personal first-aid kit in TOP's mouth. All his self-assurances crumbled when he discovered that the idol's body temperature was nearing 104 degrees C.

Cursing up a storm in the confines of his own head, he'd hastily dressed himself and made the ten minute drive to the closest 24-hour drug store, vaguely telling the pharmacist on duty about his 'nephew' with the fever and the insomnia. He'd taken the recommended supplies in hand and hastily made his retreat and found himself standing in front of the barrier to his pet's holding room with the hall light on.

He was reluctant to open the door to check on his captive and possibly risk undoing what the absolute darkness had already accomplished in only a few hours. Not even a full day, at that. But he was pretty sure the kid had run a fever all night and would probably be too delirious to follow any command he gave to put the blindfold on.

Depending on how long his fever had been so high, Seunghyun would probably not even understand any words he heard.

Damn it all to hell!

He paced in front of the door for a few moments, a dark scowl on his face as he weighed the pros and cons of simply opening the thing and walking inside. The basket of things he’d bought ‘just in case’ smugly sat and stared him in the face each time he turned. As if it knew the decision was made for him already. A foot reared back to kick the stupid thing away, but he managed to restrain himself. Barely.

If anything in there broke, he might not be able to take care of Seunghyun on his own, and his options would be to either hope the kid got better on his own, or take him to a hospital. He was not willing to take his pretty pet to the hospital, which would keep him out of his reach forever. And if he waited to see if he improved on his own, there was always the improbable possibility that TOP could die.

Those last thoughts sped his decision right along, and his hand delved into a pocket to fish out the key to the complicated lock. I can always just re-do the blind conditioning once he’s better. It didn’t make him any happier, but it would have to be done if he wanted to enjoy the boy. As soon as the door was unlocked, he grabbed his basket of supplies and marched in the dark room. Enough light filtered through the doorway that he could see the miserable, sweat-moistened figure curled on the bed.

He set the things on the floor, next to a pile of extra pillows the boy had probably knocked off sometime during the night, and then went about replacing the light bulb in its rightful place. There was no telling how long it would take to give Seunghyun the medicine that would hopefully make him better. His guest whined in discomfort at the abrupt light searing his retinas through his closed eyelids. It seemed the kid was at least half-awake, though it was anyone’s guess whether he was lucid or not. Just in case he was coherent enough to take a good look at him, the man hurriedly pressed his hand over his pretty pet’s eyes.

With the other hand, he reached for the blindfold, fingers fumbling at the boy’s wrist to undo the knot and tug the fabric loose. He grunted, finally pulling it free and sliding it into place back on Seunghyun’s eyes. There had hopefully only been a limited amount of damage, but he wouldn’t hold his breath. Lady Luck apparently thought he had to earn his enjoyment of the willowy body lying in that windowless room.

Seunghyun tossed restlessly as soon as his head was placed back on the pillow and released, forcing the older man to hold him down with a hand on the smooth chest. The other reached for a plastic oral syringe, already filled with the recommended dosage of the thick, syrupy medication. Pausing for a few seconds, he saw no easy way of getting it in his pretty pet without either hurting him, or making a mess while keeping his shifting body still.

Eventually, he thought of a way to do it and patted himself on the back while he got into position. Climbing on the bed, he planted his knees to either side of Seunghyun’s shoulders to leave his calves and feet to pin his lightly muscled arms to his sides. That left both hands free enough to both force his mouth open, and administer the medication. Which he did, having to actually sit on the kid’s chest when he started thrashing and trying to spit out the thick liquid. He wasn’t about to let that happen though, so he gripped his pet’s jaw tightly and forced it to close.

For good measure, he used the same hand to block the boy’s nostrils, hoping to make him swallow. It didn’t work, and he could hear the kid gagging on the thick syrup in his mouth while still trying to breathe through his nose. A vague memory surfaced in his mind, of feeding abandoned kittens as a child with a dropper and massaging the throat to urge the tiny creatures to swallow the nourishment.

He figured the same principle also applied to humans, and he gently but firmly his fingertips down Seunghyun’s throat, persuading the muscles to contract and make the kid ingest the medicine. Just when he thought it wouldn’t work, when it looked like his pet was going to drown in cough syrup, he felt the adam’s apple under his fingers bob naturally as he finally swallowed, the medication thankfully on its way into the boy’s stomach. He snatched his hand back, lifting away from his perch to watch that chest in one deep breath after another.

The ragged breaths were interrupted by a coughing fit, the kid’s face rapidly turning red. He thought Seunghyun looked like he was about to throw up so he hastily hauled him up by his shoulders and shoved the pillows from the floor behind him. He didn’t feel like cleaning up any vomit, and pouring more medicine down the rapper’s throat didn’t sound appealing in the slightest. I need to get some food and water in him, all he’s had lately is coffee and that was almost 15 hours ago. He’d had his pretty pet slightly over ten hours, and he still hadn’t even started on any of his training!

This isn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. He heaved a frustrated sigh. This kidnapping business wasn’t as easy as movies made it look! Nothing he watched or read about even hinted at what a kidnapper is supposed to do if they screw up and let their captive get sick! Sure, most kidnappers don’t care about the people they abduct, so they end up killing them, but that was nowhere near what he had fantasized about. He wanted Seunghyun to learn to be his pet, to do everything he could dream up without a whisper of complaint.

There was a vague hope in his mind that the idol might even come to love him, some day. It happened sometimes, didn’t it? If only he should be so lucky. But for now, he had to make sure the kid didn’t get worse so he could set his very vague plans into motion. While these thoughts floated around his head, his eyes never stopped roving over his guest’s countenance. The heavy breathing, together with the bright hair clinging to his sweaty face stirred in his mind a different situation that would leave the pretty boy in the same condition.

He couldn’t help but want to be the cause instead of some silly cold, or whatever Seunghyun had caught that was making him sick. At least he’d made the call of leaving the kid shirtless; it gave him ample opportunity to stare at, and caress, the smoothness of his torso to his heart’s content. Unhindered and unrushed. Irritation filled his mind, and he shifted restlessly to eventually reposition himself to sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing his pet’s left side. It didn't seem right, thinking such things when the boy was unconscious and therefore unaware of his desire for things the rapper probably wouldn't approve of.

Almost without thought, his hand lifted to hover over slightly parted lips, ghosting over the overheated flesh reverently then sliding down to feel the smoothness of the uncovered chest. Just to make sure the medicine's working the way it's supposed to. His own reassurances echoed hollowly inside his head and a vaguely guilty feeling blossomed in his chest. There had been a brief tightening in his pants when he first started to run the pads of his fingers over Seunghyun's silky skin, but it went down in a hurry as soon as he realized he was uncomfortable with the underhanded way he'd managed to procure his prize. He pulled back as if burnt.

Maybe he shouldn't have stolen the rapper away. Maybe-

NO! A violent shake of his head scattered the fragile fragments of his conscience. This is happening one way or another. I've fantasized about this too long to forget it now. He stood abruptly, gathering his things and taking himself away from the room. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would come back and check on how Seunghyun was doing with the fever, maybe try to feed him so the medicine didn't get regurgitated with stomach acid. The pharmacist had mentioned something about a meal or some sort of snack being a good idea with the medicine, but he couldn't be bothered earlier to shove any kind of sustenance down the kid's throat.

There wasn't anything more he could do now, so he just re-locked the heavy door and went to deposit his new supplies on the kitchen counter as it was the closest to the holding room. A short look at the clock showed him that he'd spent nearly two hours just forcing Seunghyun to take the medicine and then just staring at him. He heaved a deep sigh, forcing himself to go back to his own bed and get some sleep so as to avoid any uncomfortable questions when he went in to work in about five hours. Hopefully, there wouldn't be much for him to do since his job revolved around the man currently knocked out downstairs.

- - - - - - - - - -

Today's the day.

Even before he rejoined the world of the awake, Dongwook's subconscious mind was focused on the information he and his dongsaengs would receive that afternoon. They would find out if he and Hyunsuk were correct in their assumption of who the culprit was; the one who dared try to take their young friend and coworker away from them and his own band mates. There was a vague hope in the back of his mind that he was wrong, but his intellect and rationale told him they were dead right, all they had left to discover was why their suspect decided to do what he did. It was too early in the morning to be re-hashing this, even in the confines of his own mind.

A muffled groan filtered through the early-morning silence of their bedroom and Hanbyul rolled to her side to face him, her eyes wide-open and alert. She'd been awake longer than he had, apparently, and Dongwook kissed her forehead softly, gathering her to him and delaying the moment of getting up. But he could only put it off for so long, as he had things to do at YGHQ, and she had her own schedules to meet, so they pulled apart and began their individual morning rituals. His consisted mainly of clothes and shoes, considering the stylists at work would take care of everything else.

He could feel her soft, concerned gaze on the  back of his head while he pulled on pants and a plain shirt and he turned to meet it, a serious expression on his face. She offered him an encouraging smile and pulled him down to plant a kiss on his forehead.

“Everything's going to be alright, yeobo.”

There was no answer he could give her except a nod; he knew she was right, there was a feeling in his gut that told him this crisis would be overcome with his favorite dongsaeng none the worse for it, but another, darker feeling told him it might take Seunghyun some time to overcome the betrayal of someone he saw so frequently. Someone he trusted without a second thought. Such depressing thoughts, and it's not even ten AM yet! Shaking his gloomy thoughts off, Dongwook gave his girlfriend a kiss before she stepped in the bathroom for her shower and he left the apartment.

Before he did anything, he had his driver take him to Seunghyun's villa, where he knew the rest of the boys were thanks to a ridiculously late-night text from Jiyong. He had a vague idea of why they'd decided to spend the night there, but it stirred a sadness in him that he wasn't sure he could deal with. Taking comfort in their friend's house shouldn't be something those kids had to resort to. Not when they're at the height of their collective careers and almost literally on top of the world. He shook his head, pushing his thoughts in the direction of anything else.

His destination came into view and Dongwook breathed a sigh, he had the driver drop him off outside the gate and go park while he went to retrieve the four boys from inside. A short wave to the gate guard, and he was inside, finger scrolling through his contacts list to call Youngbae as the one most likely to be conscious at the time. It took only three rings before he got an answer, the softly alert voice offering a morning greeting.

“Is everyone awake yet? I'm outside.”

The answer to that was, surprisingly, yes. The youngsters had apparently been up much earlier than he expected, but then he took back the assumption. It would have been pretty hard for them to get as much sleep as they normally tried to with one of their own missing. And they still had to wait roughly five hours before the security tech would be there to let them watch the feed. It wasn't something he was looking forward to, but he could at least distract the boys with work. Seungri met him outside and they walked together to the front door, where the quiet shuffling sounds were barely audible.

Youngbae was the first one to exit the house, followed by Daesung and the leader, Seungri waiting just outside so he could close and lock the door. It almost looked like the younger men were herding Jiyong out of the villa even though he was obviously reluctant. He looked to be the one that got the least amount of sleep, judging by the darkening circles under his eyes and the slightly glassy look in his eyes. I'm sure he'll wake up eventually. He's not one to be like this for long. Nobody said a word while they marched back out to the car that would take them to YG headquarters.

It was going to be a long day.

- - - - - - - - - -

If Jiyong had known how hard it was going to be to concentrate, he would have just stayed at the villa until the security technician showed up instead of letting Seungri wrestle him into getting cleaned up and donning clean clothes. There was no way he could think about lyrics or music or anything else work-related while he knew that it was almost time to see the face of Seunghyun's kidnapper. It was a thought that consumed his mind, blinding him to everything else. Even though he'd slept practically all night, his mind hadn't left him alone, plaguing him with the possible state his band mate and boyfriend could be in.

BigBang's leader had woken up feeling as exhausted as if he'd never gone to sleep at all. But he was at least thankful that his younger friends had been there to comfort him. He refused to let himself think about Seunghyun's greater need of comfort the night before; something told him he'd revert to his useless and depressed state of mind from the day before, and that would completely undo all the progress he'd managed to make in pulling himself together. Stay strong, little dragon. He'll need you.

In spite of what could be troubling their young minds, the boys valiantly continued on their normal schedules, not giving any hint that anything might be amiss at all. Hyunsuk was proud and amazed that they were able to keep their label mates from inquiring on TOP's absence that day, subtly giving everyone the cold shoulder without seeming to. Maybe Seunghyun's not the only actor in the bunch. He watched them push through their activities from behind glass, keeping tabs on everything he needed to know until their distress could be alleviated.

Dongwook had spent the time after his own schedule was completed in the CEO's office, staying out of his dongsaeng's line of sight so they could concentrate on what they were supposed to do at the company. Waiting for news wasn't easy for him, and he didn't want to imagine how much harder it was for his younger friends. He wanted to chew on his fingernails, a habit he'd broken during his teenage years, but the old urge had returned sometime in the middle of the night, and he'd been having some stern talks with himself throughout the day about the appearance of his fingertips if he took up the habit again.

Shortly after 2 PM, his mobile rang, causing both he and Hyunsuk to jump in their seats. It was much earlier than they expected any call to come in. Shakily, he grabbed the device and accepted the incoming call. He kept his words short, eagerness clipping his tone and transferring to the president and he hung up, the short conversation echoing in his head and lighting the hope he'd pondered on abandoning.

"The tech is almost at the villa."

No other words were needed, Hyunsuk immediately reached for the phone cradled on his desk and called the authorities, updating them on what they were going to do and confirming the presence of their officer. He'd neglected to tell Jiyong, but the police had been given both videos and was sending a sort of to see the security feed. They would need the backup if, for any reason, they decided there was a need to immediately extract Seunghyun from where they suspected he was being held. Once that call was completed, he cut the connection and dialed the extension that connected him to the dragon's studio. He picked up almost instantly.

"We're going to the villa now, Jiyong. Get your band mates." Short and to the point, the president hung up and exited his office obviously expecting Dongwook to follow. It was time to see if their assumptions were right.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N

It's late and I'm sorry and there's no excuse and *runs away*

Enjoy?