“Power? Power can have a different definition for each person asked. For me, it’s simply control. The control I have of my own abilities, of others’ abilities, of others, in general… And, for the record, I’m not power hungry. I just know what I want and how to get it. I take the time to think through the necessary components, the possible consequences, and, of course, the various outcomes. When you actually work for what you want and think things through, power can become one of the easiest things to make yours.” ~ Kibum

(Taemin’s POV)

CRACK!

“Wait, Jin Kyong-ah! Stop it,” Kimberly was attempting to hold back said girl’s arm while she went for another swing at Jonghyun’s jaw. Jin Kyong eventually slipped out of the hold and—CRACK! CRACK!

She was stronger than she looked.

Kimberly didn’t have time to react before Jin Kyong was holding Jonghyun up in the air by his throat, her eyes practically slicing him open with the daggers being thrown from them. “So, help me, if anything happens to my Jinki,” her hold on his throat visibly grew tighter, making him choke to get any air at all into his lungs at that point.

“If you’re not careful, noona, you might kill him now,” I stated softly, watching her narrowed eyes turn to me, but only briefly. I figured she must have considered what I said since she dropped him to the floor within the next second.

Jonghyun was hunched over on the floor, wiping the blood that was spilling from his mouth, in a considerably continuous stream, from the broken jaw he’d just received, with the back of his hand. He cringed when he, apparently, wiped too hard, the broken structure actually creaking a bit. Kimberly knelt down beside him, gently placing her hands on the sides of his face. A whisper of ‘Brace yourself’ could be heard before the audible cracking of her resetting his jaw. She kept her hands in place, appearing to be focusing on something. He ended up giving her a grateful smile. “I didn’t know sirens could heal,” he noted softly. She smirked and stood up, helping him up as well, “There’s a lot that you don’t know about me.”

Jin Kyong looked prepared to attack him again. She looked at me when I took hold of her wrist, “Noona, please~” She sighed, looking resigned, and then grinding her teeth. “So, you knew what was going on from the beginning,” she questioned him through clenched teeth.

“It’s not that simple… I really didn’t know what he was planning.”

“Wait~ He, who?” Kimberly cut in.

Before Kimberly had arrived, Jin Kyong had brought me over, having picked me up on my walk over to Jonghyun’s apartment. He had explained to us, vaguely and briefly, about what he’d discovered about Jae and Jinki’s kidnappings.

“I’ll tell you more about it when Kimberly gets here, but I can tell you that I know where they both are,” he began.

“You found out where they were that fast,” she’d asked.

“Yeah, I know some people…” He frowned and looked like he’d been punched in the gut, which hadn’t happened, yet, at least.

“What do you mean, you know people? You know who took them?”

He didn’t have to answer. His reply was written on his face, the way his features twisted uncomfortably.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You had a hand in them being kidnapped, didn’t you?!”

When he didn’t answer again, he did get hit his gut, after a clear punch to the jaw.

Kimberly had come in not too long after Jin Kyong had honestly begun beating the out of Jonghyun. It was long enough after though that there was a puddle of blood to be cleaned near the wall, that he’d vomited after being hit in the stomach a second time.

She was a lot stronger than she looked.

“We’re talking about Kibum,” Jonghyun muttered, finally replying to Kimberly’s question.

Her eyes widened immediately in response and he just directed his eyes to the floor.

“You—You mean to tell me… Seriously? H-He has something to do with this…?”

“You know who he is,” I asked, keeping my eyes on Jonghyun and Jin Kyong, making sure she didn’t make another attempt to kill him.

“Kibum’s not the worst, but he’s not the best around either. He can be really sneaky when he wants to be. He’s really nice and sweet until it comes to getting something he wants,” Kimberly sighed, running her fingers through her hair, “If there’s something he wants, he has no problem stepping on and kicking to the side whatever or whoever gets in his way.”

“Yah! Why would you help someone like that,” Jin Kyong blurted out, glaring at the man standing in front of her, again.

“He helped me with something a long time ago. I was repaying a favor, but I wouldn’t have helped if I knew it was going to turn out like this.”

“You keep saying that… What exactly is going on,” Kimberly seemed like her emotions were battling between compassion and fury.

He looked up at me and Jin Kyong, “You two were right with those suggestions of yours.” A weak, desperate, and forced smile spread across his lips, “Jae and Jinki are angels.”

I had an awful pain churning in the pit of my stomach, “Why does he want them then?”

“I think—Kibum might strip their powers…”

CRACK!

(Jinki’s POV)

I felt guilty. I really did. Although I didn’t have a hand in anything that was happening to me or my sister, I still felt extremely guilty.

“You shouldn’t feel bad. This isn’t your fault.”

I swallowed, too loudly for my own ears. I grimaced and nodded once, “But it feels like it is.”

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s that bastard, Jonghyun Oppa,” Jae had practically spit the words out onto the floor.

At the time, we had been left alone. Our host, whose name we learned to be Kibum, was off making “preparations” somewhere. Undoubtedly, he wasn’t too far away. We were still in the same room, and instead of being bound with ropes and swinging from the ceiling in cages, we were standing against one of the walls, our wrists hanging from the walls by shackled chains.

“How do you know even know him?”

“He found me one day and helped me out. It meant a lot to me, so we kind of stuck around each other.”

“His help meant that much to you?”

“I was really down on my luck. If it wasn’t for him, yeah, I wouldn’t be in this situation… You probably wouldn’t be either, actually, but…but I really have no idea where I’d be if it wasn’t for him.”

I sighed. I guess I could understand her connection to him, and maybe it was brotherly instinct kicking in, but, for whatever reason, I didn’t approve of it at all. The only thing I could think to muster in response was a ‘Remind me to thank him.’

“All right, dears, everything is set. Are you ready,” Kibum had returned to the room. I wasn’t exactly sure how to read the look in his eyes. Part of me wanted to think that there was actually some possibility whatever he had planned wasn’t as bad as I was thinking, but the pit of my stomach and natural common sense told me otherwise.

Our wrists were released from the wall, only to be bound by another set of restraints that looked like some type of hostage device from an alien movie. The new sets of shackles kept our wrists in front of us and were attached to each other by a strange looking chain. I sighed, looking down at the floor.

“Don’t look so defeated, Jinki,” Kibum glanced back at us as we were forced to follow behind him, with the help of a couple of very large henchmen, “What I have planned for you two shouldn’t hurt…too much.” There was an evil glint in his eyes that made my stomach churn.

My prayer was more for my sister than for myself: Someone, anyone… Save us…