“This world is… The game of life is… It’s nothing but a cruel game. We sit on the sidelines, watching those around us play and waiting for it to be our turn. Sadly, even when it’s our turn, there are times when we continue to sit on the sidelines, watching, and waiting. For those that are allowed death, I’m not sure whether that makes me feel better or envious that, as each day goes on, there is as least one less player in the game. It gets me closer to my goal – whatever that goal may be- at the end of this whole thing, but sticking around and being able to see those that lose at the game of life is honestly a burden. In the end, no matter how long you play the game, it seems inevitable that us players never really get what we want before it’s actually over.” ~ Minho

(Jonghyun’s POV)

I had to be honest. I felt uncomfortable. I really don’t think that there’s any other way to describe how I felt about the whole situation.

I was stuck with this little twerp helping me find the current girl that I’d fallen for – who was kidnapped. I was also helping the love of my life from my past help another girl track down the love of her life – who had also been kidnapped. So far, it seemed that the two missing people were taken by the same person. A dark figure that suddenly appears without a sound or anything and the can disappear just as quickly, but with a cloud of electric blue smoke is just not common.

“Where do we start,” Kimberly asked, moving from the front door to the couch in my living room. She was followed by, Jin Kyong, the girl that had come to her in search of help finding her missing boyfriend.

“Food~” Taemin cheered, running from his seat on the window sill over to the girls. The little redhead took the bags of food, setting them on the table in the center of the living room and searching for his in particular.

Kimberly smiled, watching Taemin for a moment before looking at me, finally taking the seat next to me on the couch, “So, where should we start?”

I rolled my shoulders, “I think the best thing to do is try to see if Jae and… Jinki, right…?” When Jin Kyong nodded, after sitting down next to Taemin on the floor, I continued. “I think it’s best to see if there was anything in common between them. Why else would someone kidnap them both?”

Kimberly smirked at me, nudging me with her elbow, “It seems like you’ve gotten smarter~”

“You’re so mean,” I whined, getting a full smile out of her.

“That’s a very good idea though,” she stated, still smiling, turning her attention to the two stuffing their faces, “Jin Kyong-yang, tell us about Jinki.”

Jin Kyong was quiet. It looked like she was trying to find the right words to say, or at least something at all to say. “We worked in a bookstore that he opened. We’ve been best friends since we were little, really…” Her eyebrows slid together, “He’s always been kind of reserved and very clumsy…but there’s always been something special about him…”

“What do you mean by ‘special?’”

The girl shrugged, staring at her chopsticks, “It’s… It’s just something really different about him. I actually wonder a lot if he might be an angel or something.” I watched her blush from her own words.

“Hyung? Is Jae-noona an angel,” Taemin’s eyes showed that he was very serious.

“What makes you ask that,” I asked in return, raising a brow. That was something that I hadn’t even considered myself.

“There’s something special about her, too,” he frowned, looking down at the floor, “I know I don’t know her very well, but you get that feeling from being around her.”

I hadn’t realized the room had gone silent until Taemin had cleared his throat and there was a serious blush on his face. I smiled at him, “Well, it’s something to think about.”

“So, let’s say that they are angels then, I still can’t think of anyone hunting angels,” Kimberly spoke up, picking up a pair of her own chopsticks and simply playing with them, “Not in my district, at least.”

“Angels each have some kind of special ability, right,” Jin Kyong asked, “What if whoever took them just needed their powers?”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I definitely knew someone like that.

Was that why he wanted Jae so badly? There’s no way he got her himself…did he?

“Jonghyun-ah! What’s wrong with you,” Kimberly shook me, “You’re spacing out again.”

“No-Nothing…”

“All right~ Well, can you tell some things about Jae?”

(Jae’s POV)

“Jae-ah~! Jae-ah~! Get up~!”

I cringed, feeling someone shaking me. I opened my eyes a little, peeking over my arms, which I had tucked under my head. I saw the eyes of the guy that I’d seen however long ago, who was taking residence in the cage next to me. “How do you know my name,” I asked, hearing sleep clouding my voice. I watched him, actually awaiting his response, but one didn’t come.

“Come on~ Get up~” The stranger’s voice called, shaking me gently again.

I sighed and sat up slowly. Going to rub my eyes, to help clarify my vision, I realized that my wrists were bound to the front of me with a very thick and strong rope. “What the—“ Sleep was still thick in my voice. “Yah~ What the heck is going on?!”

The stranger, whose wrists also seemed to be bound together, was placing a finger to his lips, politely shushing me. “Weren’t you just yelling at me,” I whined, a bit too loudly for my own ears.

He shook his head, “I’m sorry. I guess I was too close.” He frowned, eyes focused on the bound joints now resting in his lap as he now say on his knees.

It took a moment for me to realize that we weren’t dangling in the air in our cages anymore. We were now on the floor below, the cages gone already. The room was much better lit and I had been right about it appearing to be a dungeon. On the ground and in better light, that’s exactly what it looked like.

There was pretty much nothing but dark grey stone surrounding us; it was what made up the walls and the floors. Small piles of chains lay here and there along the walls. What stood out the most though was the throne-like seating that stood in front of us, made out of a dark stone as well, although unlike the rest of the ones in the room, these were black. “Wha.—What’s going on…?”

“You mean to tell me that you haven’t introduced yourself to your little sister yet?” A voice came from across the room, near where I remembered a door was.

I looked from the corner to the male at my side, who’s thin almond eyes looked as if they had widened beyond possible. There was a fear in his eyes and I could sense it from it so much that I’d almost begun to fear whoever was talking as well.

The figure speaking stepped out a bit into the light, only to disappear and then reappear at the stone throne in front of us, “I asked you a question, Jinki.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, I’ll give you the chance to tell her later,” there was a slightly irritated scoff and a toss of the hand.

The handcuffs were gone from my hands and I began to rub my wrists, realizing now that they were very sore. I stood up only to not be able to move more than that.

It seemed like a vine and a tentacle, but whatever it was, it was coiling around my waist and holding me in place. I cringed, feeling it constrict, almost enough to knock the wind out of me. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember me,” the voice asked. I was beginning to feel the fear from earlier, but as my own, “You do remember me, don’t you?” The room suddenly seemed too dark to see in front of me. All I could make out was something glowing blue and was focused on me. In one swift movement, they glowing orbs were in front of me and I could almost make out features in the face that held the fluorescent lights. There was the shape of feline eyes and high cheekbones, but that was all I could make out and I had to squint pretty hard to see even that.

“I asked you a question,” the figure stated, a bit too cold for my liking.

“No, I don’t.” There was a tremble in my voice that I hadn’t expected, but there was no way it could be taken back.

The mysterious being was circling me now, very slowly and practically breathing in my ears and across the back of my neck and he spoke – his eyes still bright and glowing, “You really don’t remember the alleyway that night? You told me you wanted to run away. I offered you a new life~”

“‘A new life,’” I paused, “I remember…” I muttered. How could I forget? He was the only memory I could ever muster that existed before Jonghyun and Minho.

“Good girl,” I could feel the Cheshire smirk underlying his tone, “I won’t let you get away from me again.” His voice so cold, it could probably chill the air of the impossibly dark room.

The vine-tentacle, as I’d begun to refer to it in my head, stretched up further, twisting around my chest and up the side of my neck. I had no idea if the gasp that I’d released was due to shock or the fact that the tight hold that thing had on me was finally knocking the wind right out of my lungs. “Stop it~ You’re hurting her,” an all-too-familiar voice called out in the darkness. The light was slowly returning to the room. It wasn’t much, but I was definitely able to everything in front of me again.

I couldn’t help but to notice Jonghyun, standing in front of me, next to the black stone seating. The look on his face was but nothing of worry and concern. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her,” he somewhat screeched. The man that had been talking to me earlier was apparently behind me now, his breathing obvious and warm on the back of my neck again. “I don’t remember making such a promise, but you should know that I didn’t intend to harm her anyway,” the man finally replied, his thin finger running across my neck and along my shoulder, “I have no want nor need to do so.”

“Jonghyun-ah,” the words were out of my mouth before I realized it, “If neither Minho Oppa nor Taemin-goon kill you first, I swear I will.” His eyes widened at my statement, his emotions mixed and flying at me from all directions and pretty much drowning me. His thoughts were just as rapid and untamable as his emotions.

“You heard her, Jjongie,” the man was at my side now, making his way towards Jonghyun, who was shivering where he stood. From what? Who knew?

“She actually said she’d kill you,” the man smirked devilishly. He was so close to Jonghyun’s ear as he whispered, but I could still hear him as he continued, “And I think she could do it. The right motivation, like the truth, and I bet she could tear your shape-shifting body to shreds without a second thought, and no struggle. Don’t you think so? I bet you’d be an easy bug for her to crush and brush aside.”

“Kibum, I had no idea what you were planning! You can’t make her believe this is my fault.”

So, the feline-eyed man’s name is Kibum…

Kibum seemed to ignore what Jonghyun has said as he continued to speak, “Maybe her brother over there will kill you first. I don’t think he’d be happy with knowing how you helped me get her. Would you, Jinki?”

Jinki growled, “You helped him?! You helped him capture my sister?!”

Jonghyun swallowed and shook his head, “No—No, it was nothing like that. I didn’t know—“

Kibum smirked, “You didn’t know what? You knew that I wanted her, and you agreed to help me, without even asking me why.”

“Jae…Jae, I’m so sorry,” Jonghyun sounded like he was about to cry.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I heard my own voice echo around the room, “I knew it! I knew you were hiding something from me…”

Why am I not happy that I’m right? Or even hurt?

I’d never been so confused by my own emotions…