POV: Baekho

I feel like I can't go on, like I'll crumble apart with every step. I struggle with each breath. I can hardly even keep my eyes open. But we have to continue. We have to escape. We don't even know where to, but we have to.

JR is barely conscious. Ren tries to carry him, but he can't handle his weight. I go to his other side to share the weight. JR lets himself fall against me immediately after and I feel like all the bones in my body are about to break. Tiny pinches of pain spring up over all of my body, shortening my already difficult breaths.

            POV: Ren

We continue walking. The bag feels heavier with each step I take and I'm starting to note the head injury I'd gotten earlier, as well as each and every bruise on my body. I try to let JR lean more on me but Baekho's the one taking the blunt of his weight. I don't like that Baekho has to carry him but I wouldn't have been able to on my own for very much longer... Why do I have to be so weak?!

I see the pained face he makes no matter how much he tries to hide it... why doesn't he trust in me? If I was stronger, maybe he wouldn't pretend in front of me...

            POV: Baekho

"Are you alright?" Ren gives me a worried look, anxious. I can't let him worry about me so much.

I nod, my head about to explode just from that movement.

"Let's keep going." I tell him.

I start to walk, pulling on them, following Minhyun and Aron, until they stop and Min turns around.

"Where to now, Baek?"

I don't know... don't ask me... I'm unable to open my mind, I can't do it, I can't feel anything other than this pain...

Make an effort, Baek. Look for guards, look for an exit, a safe place. Search.

Ah! It hurts... I can't, I can't, don't ask me to continue...

"Left." I say at random.

I hope there are no guards, that I'm not leading them to another trap. Please, no more guards, no more fights, no more pain...

            POV: JR

Step. I tremble. Step. I tremble. Step. I tremble.

Bit by bit, I return to awareness of my surroundings. Someone is holding me up, and there's a strange taste on my lips, one that's not at all unpleasant...

My head doesn't hurt as much and my mind is clearing slowly, but everything is still fuzzy. My eyelids are heavy, my whole body feels like lead.

            POV: Baekho

It seems like hours have passed when, a few halls later, I hear JR mumble from beside me.

"It smells sweet..." He says softly.

Is he delirious from the fever?

"It's true," Ren says, "It smells weird..."

"It's like... My food smelled like this. The drugs..."

That's why there's not a single guard out in the halls!

"Put on the masks!" I yell at them.

They're not going to send any more guards. They've evacuated the place and tossed us paralyzing gas, like the drugs they gave Minhyun. They'll wait until we're all down because of the drug and then come to look for us.

But we won't fall. The masks we stole with the uniforms have a filter. It'll protect us.

I put on mine and then turn to JR to help with his. And then I realize that Ren doesn't have a mask.

I don't hesitate for even a moment. I rip off mine quickly and place it in front of his face.

"What are you doing, Baek?" He exclaims. "No!"

"Put it on!" I order him.

"But you'll be left without one."

"PUT IT ON!"

Ren still hasn't grabbed the mask. How else should I say this to him?

"I won't put it on. Either you take it or it stays here."

"But, Baek..." Tears spring to his eyes. He's going to make me feel guilty on top of everything else?

I toss it to him and continue walking, dragging JR with me, feeling thousands of needles stab at me with each movement. And that insistent twinge in my chest continues with each breath...

But I don't stop. I can't. I have to be at one hundred percent. Or pretend to be. For them.

            POV: Ren

I angrily dry my eyes and put on the mask reluctantly. I know I'm weak! But... do you have to keep sacrificing yourself for me when you're worse off than I am? Baekho won't last long with this gas. We need another mask! Let's see, another mask... Oh! A cloth, or a piece of fabric could work! , where am I going to get more fabric right now? Ah! My pants! They're made of linen or something like that. It'll work. I rip off a piece from my leg and run to cut off Baek and JR.

"Wait!"

He stops for a moment and turns and I take advantage of it to put the cloth in front of his face, knotting it in the back of his neck. I move back a bit and observe it with a critical eye. It'll work.

            POV: Baekho

Ren's small gesture fills me with warmth. Even at a moment like this, he tries to take care of me. Seeing his encouraging smile with those teary eyes is the best medicine for all of my wounds.

I pull him to me and hug him for an instant, still holding JR with my other arm. Having his small body against mine gives me strength. He's so small, so thin, he seems so fragile... I pull away and return to holding up JR. I have to be strong.

I take a deep breath to prepare to keep walking, and the pain in my chest is horrible. I try to take shorter breaths, only taking the air I need, but with the cloth... with something over my mouth, it's hard to breathe. I have to take more air and with each inhale I feel small stabs at my ribs.

I almost prefer the gas.

But it was such a kind gesture from him... If I take it off, I'll have to explain why. He'll just worry more. So I swallow my tears and the pain and continue on.

            POV: Aron

We walk slowly and I'm thankful for it. My head is spinning and my vision is blurry. I've lost a lot of blood. The white walls, the grayish floor, and the dark doors... Everything mixes together. If it weren't for Min guiding me, I'd have run into something a long time ago. Actually, if he hadn't helped me, I wouldn't have been able to get up from the floor.

My arm is still hurting a lot. It almost manages to make me forget the pain from the other punches and electric shocks I've received and that cover my body in bruises and burns...

I look at Min, who is walking beside me and letting me use his shoulder to lean on as we walk. I would have never thought that he'd be able to carry that bag on top of part of my weight in his state. He walks with difficulty – sometimes he wobbles and I can hear him gasp softly – but he stays firm and continues forward. I don't know where he gets the strength from. It's weird to me, because until now I've been the one to take care of him, and now he's the one taking care of me. And I like it.

I can still feel the taste of his lips and remember the touch of his tongue. That kiss has been the best thing I've ever felt. When I heard him cry and scream my name, my heart raced. It's wonderful to know that he also likes me, that those lips are mine, that I'm the only one who can taste them.

We'll get out of this. We have to succeed. Min has to survive and I want to by his side. Forever.

            POV: JR

I'm getting better by the second and I can feel Baekho getting weaker at the same rate. He can barely even breathe. He staggers with every step and the expression on his face is tense from the pain.

Ren is staring at him worriedly, no, more than that, anxiously. And I, now that I'm stronger, try to walk on my own, to stop leaning against them, especially on Baekho, and then I'm not so sure who's helping who.

Aron and Minhyun are in front of us. The older of the two stumbles a bit too, exhausted, and the bandage around his arm is starting to stain with blood. The younger looks at him with worry, turning every now and then to makes sure we're still following and pulling us forward with an anxious 'come on...'.

And then suddenly Baekho falls. His legs fail him and he collapses with a howl. He tears off the cloth and gasps, clutching at his chest.

Ren bends down beside him. He's about to take off his mask, but Baekho orders him not to do it with a choked yell.

"Enough, Baek! Stop torturing yourself! Do you think we're not worried when you act like this?! Do you think we don't see that you're suffering??! Please..."

Baekho looks away, like a little kid found guilty, but who's much too proud to admit he was wrong.

I kneel at his side, ignoring the dizziness and concentrating on not losing my balance.

"Let us help you," I say gently, "we're a team, and we all have to get out of here. What do you win from carrying everything on your own? Sacrificing yourself this way? You've helped us all, you've done enough, let the rest of us take care of you now."

He looks between Ren and me, like he's debating something, but in the end he nods and let's Ren put the mask on him, tying the piece of pant leg over the blonde's mouth. He leans on him to get to his feet.

I stand as well and everything spins. I lean against Baekho, not on him, and not helping him either. Just using him as my point of balance.

And, this way, we walk. Let's see how far we get...

            POV: Ren

We've only taken four steps when a voice calls out to us.

"Hey! Over here!"

We turn around. It's a guard. In the uniform, with the mask, the weapons... I feel hatred and anger. I hide Baekho behind me. I won't let them hurt him.

Minhyun looks to JR, like he's waiting for him to decide something. Baekho and Aron seem to both be mostly unconscious. The lunatic shrugs and nods. I assume they're going to attack and prepare myself to jump in to help them. No matter how bad of a shape we're in, we'll have to try. It's just one. We can handle him.

But they don't attack. They keep walking calmly to him. What the hell are they doing?! Have they gone insane?!

"Could you tell me what the hell you're doing? It's a guard, we'll be killed!"

They look back at me, confused.

The druggie smiles hysterically.

"Ren, we're easy targets at the moment. If he wanted to kill us, he'd already have done it."

"We're being called over. We can try to trust him. He'll help us either way."

"Help us? I don't care what you think; it's a ing guard and we can't trust him! It's a trap!"

I don't understand. How can they seriously be thinking of trusting one of those monsters?

How can they even come up with the idea that it could be a good person? It's a guard. He doesn't deserve to even be considered a person. They don't consider us people, why would they deserve any better?

"Ren, not all the guards want to kill us. Some want to help us."

"Help us to die!"

"The uniforms we have were given to us by a guard. She helped us look for you when you were captured. This might even be her..."

A guard helped them? That's not possible. The guard must've gotten something from it. She must've planed to betray them or trick them but it didn't work. Nothing more can be expected from this scum! They're murderers, torturers. Not charitable souls!

"Let's go!" The white mask peeks into the hall again.

"We don't have any other option."

"Let's try it." Baekho whispers from next to me.

Fine, I guess we can try it... With our bad conditions, we can't last much longer anyways. I won't trust in that guard, but I'll trust in Baekho.

            POV: Minhyun

I guide Aron in the guard's direction, who calls to us by poking his head around the corner. I hear Ren mumble pessimistic words. I don't think he's very confident about this but he follows me. Baekho and JR along with him.

I'm not completely sure either, but we don't have many other options. We'll have to try it. If we keep wandering around, sooner or later they'll catch us.

The guard leads us down a narrow hall that end in a discreet, grayish door. With a key, it opens. The guard then invites us in with a gesture. We obey. And then we find ourselves in a small, empty, white-walled room. It's only content is a well sealed hatch in a corner of the floor.

The guard shuts the door and turns to speak to us in a... feminine voice? It actually surprises me.

"They won't look for you here. At least not at the moment. You can rest for a bit. It looks like you need it."

Baekho stumbles and instantly collapses to the floor with a groan. He's lost consciousness. Ren throws down the bag, let's himself fall beside the blond and softly touches his hair without taking his eyes off the guard. JR leans against the wall and slides to a sitting position. He rubs his forehead with a hand and closes his eyes. He still looks dizzy.

I help Aron lay down. He seems more asleep than awake. And I sit by his side. When I let him go, he squirms uncomfortably, like he's missing something. His eyes open half way and he looks around. Then he sees me and drags himself to me to place his head on my lap. Again, his eyes close with a smile. It looks like now he's comfortable. And I'm blushing like a tomato.

Ren's voice distracts me from my thoughts.

"Hey, you! Who are you?! What do you want?!"

The guard removes the mask and hood to reveal a female face. Her features are delicate and her hair is short and blue.

"My name is Lime. I want to help you because I don't like what they've done to you. You can trust me. We'll have time to talk later, but right now we can't stay here for too long. You should take care of your friends."

She's right. Right now we can't do anything more. Ren doesn't seem very convinced, but he stands with a "tsk!" and starts to dig through the large bag. I place Aron's head on the floor carefully, he whines with a grimace, and I go to Ren to help.

The first thing we find is a pack of cookies. We look at one another with shining eyes. It's food! I almost can't believe it! How long has it been since I've eaten? We rip open the packet with a fierce tug and gobble up its contents like a pair of animals. When we're done, I continue on to an apple, a small loaf of bread, two tangerines and even a piece of raw meat. Raw meat? Who thought to grab this? Well, I guess they thought we could cook it with my power. But right now I don't care either way, there's no time to think of that.

Ren doesn't stay far behind and swallows everything he finds. Until we can't eat any more. I think my stomach's about to explode... But it feels wonderful!

", druggie, you should see how you eat..."

"Look who's talking..."

Alright, now we really should take care of our comrades. JR still looks pretty bad, but right now we can't do much more for him. On the other hand, Aron is bleeding again because his wound has reopened and Baekho looks to be in a pitiful state.

"Blondie, try to do something for Baekho. I'll take care of Aron."

Ren nods and heads over to his guy.

I look through the bag again until I find the anti-hemorrhagic cream and bandages. I kneel beside Aron and unwrap the bandage I'd put on him before. With the same ones, I clean up his wound a bit. He whimpers when I touch him and makes pained faces, although he's half asleep. Endure, Aron, you'll be well soon. Then I smear a lot of the off white cream on it and the clean bandages. By the end of this, I'll be an expert in this bandaging...

            POV: Ren

I still don't trust that girl. If it were up to me, I wouldn't take my eye off her for even a second. Who knows what she'll do if we don't keep alert.

But there are more important things to worry about. Baekho is struggling to breathe. It's obvious that he's in a lot of pain. Is it because of the gunshot? I haven't seen any blood but...

I have to check if he has any grave injury. I'll have to take off his clothes... Wait, take off Baekho's clothes? I can't do that, I'll do something strange... My hands tremble. , Ren! Calm down! It's just to heal him and NOTHING MORE. I take a deep breath and pull apart the straps of his jacket. One by one, slowly. I can't help but be extremely nervous. I finish with the straps and try to take it off without hurting him, with an infinite amount of care, but I can't avoid the look of pain on his face.

Now all that's left is his shirt. , my hands are trembling again! It' just Baekho's chest. Nothing more. I grab the hem of his shirt. It's very low, way too low... I lift it carefully, trying not to touch his body. Gradually, his abs are revealed... , he's so... why are all these erted thoughts in my head? Enough, Ren! Calm yourself!!!

I finally manage to push away the crazy ideas from my mind and finish getting his shirt out of the way, leaving his chest out in the open... but this time I don't look at how pronounced his pecs are. I just look for any injury, a cut or something, but I don't see any.

Okay, Ren, think. Where did the bullet hit him? In the back, right? Well then clearly his chest won't be hurt. I concentrate on thinking with my head and not with my hormones and pull him onto his other side to look at his back. He groans and looks like he's about to wake up but doesn't. And as soon as I look, I'm left breathless. A huge black bruise covers from his shoulder blades to his waist.

That has to hurt... . What do I do? What do I do?!? Okay, Ren, think again. Cream. There has to be something in these strange creams for this.

I run to the huge bag and empty it carefully, tossing to the floor everything that doesn't interest me. The only thing I want right now is something to cure his bruised ribs. Anything. Quickly. He must've been suffering this whole time without saying anything... As soon as he's awake, I'm going to pick a fight that'll have him freak out! Finally, I find a bottle of cream labeled 'anti-inflammatory: sprains and fractures'. Awesome. I run back to Baekho and smear his whole back with the cream. I use all of it, leaving his back nearly white while I try not to press too hard. I hope it works. I have no idea how to heal a broken rib if this doesn't work...

            POV: JR

I look around, analyzing the situation.

Minhyun and Ren are busy caring for their respective... boyfriends? It's slightly shocking.

I want to help them, but I can't even get close to Aron. He's covered in blood again and... I close my eyes. I can't look.

The guard with turquoise hair, Lime, goes to help them and smiles kindly at Minhyun to calm him. She reminds me of Alice...

Just thinking of Alice sends a pang of guilt to my chest. I've killed other guards. Why do I feel more guilty when it comes to her? Because I knew her? Because she spent half a year caring for me? Because she was the only kind and affectionate person I've met in here? Is she alive? Does she hate me?

I shake away the thoughts and go to help Ren. He looks desperate, the way he's spreading liters of off white paste over the back of our wounded guide.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I think he has a broken rib." He responds with tears in his eyes. "He's not waking up. I don't know what to do..."

Wow. A broken rib. It seems serious... In the places where the coat of cream is thinner, I can see the purple skin and it doesn't paint a good picture.

"How did it happen?"

"The bullet... The vest protected him but..." They shot him? Vest?

I touch the fabric of the jacket that I also have. Is it bulletproof? Now that I think of it, it does seem like that kind of fabric... And we're lucky for it, because a bullet there would've been fatal.

"He'll be fine." I say, petting his head to calm him down. "These medicines are miracle workers. You'll see how fast he'll heal." I'm really not sure if I'm trying to convince him or myself. I wouldn't be able to handle it if he died after everything he's done for me, for everyone. "We can give him a pill for the pain in the meanwhile." He nods, sniffling. "And... should we bandage him?"

            POV: Ren

Before I let him help, I make sure he has gloves on and then we bandage him as well as we can, trying not to hurt him too much but pressing hard enough so it'll be of some help. I lower his shirt again, trying not to touch the injury, and his hair with care. My poor Baekho...

I have to turn him over again but with his back this way I don't want to place him directly on the floor. I need something to put under him... The jacket! It's not as cold here and he needs it a lot more. I take it off and fold it on the floor, making something similar to a pillow, and lay him on top of it. The pain is still reflected on his face but I can't do anything more... Ah! Painkillers! There has to be some in the bag.

I stand again and sift through the pile of medicines I'd thrown before. Looking again, I realize that there aren't as many as I'd thought. We'll have to control ourselves or else we'll use them all to treat the wounds we have right now and not have any left.

I find some tablets that look like painkillers. Perfect! I get to my feet but an ankle gives out on me and I fall to the floor. Ouch. I touch it without putting too much pressure. It hurts and it's swollen but I don't think it's anything serious. I guess it wasn't a good idea to go kicking everything... But whatever. I got us wood and I took care of that guard. It doesn't matter. What I don't understand is why it didn't hurt at all before but it does now... Maybe I was too concentrated on other things to notice the pain.

I reach out for the bag and grab a roll of bandages. We'll end up being experts at first aid at this rate. I wrap my ankle as tightly as I can. It turns out messy but I think it'll endure.

I return to my boy's side, trying not to put my weight on my ankle, and sit beside him. And now how am I going to give him the tablet if he's unconscious? This is just like before with JR... Oh, JR, right... Do I do the same thing Minhyun did? Kiss Baekho... , don't blush again! I'm lucky that no one's looking at me right now. Well, if he doesn't want it or doesn't like it, I have the excuse of the tablet. Although if he's unconscious, he won't even notice. So will my first kiss with Baekho be like this? Him unconscious and with a gross tablet in the middle of it?

But that doesn't matter right now. The important thing is that Baekho gets better. I take a deep breath and open the container, taking a moment to check how many there are. There are... two packets of six. It's not a lot compared to the amount of injuries we have. I hope there's another container. I lift Baekho a bit and rest his head on my legs. I take another deep breath and grab the tablet.

"Rennie... are you sick?"

The tablet falls from the scare. He's awake! Now I really am as red as a tomato. What if he woke up while I was kissing him? Wait... No, no, no! It's not a kiss!

"Rennie?"

, I must seem crazy.

"No, no! I'm fine, the tablet is for you. It's for the pain. I... was about to wake you to give it to you! Yeah!"

"Oh, thank you... I am in a bit of pain."

A bit? Sure, I'm sure it only hurts a bit... but fine, at least he admitted that it hurts. We're making progress. I sigh in resignation. It's always the same. I hope this tablet reduces the pain even if only a little. I don't like to see him with that face of suffering. Knowing that he's exhausted but that he's not able to rest because of the pain.

He holds out a hand and I place the small tablet there while I push him up with as much carefulness as I can. But it's not enough. It hurts him, a lot. I manage to lean him against my chest without hurting him more than necessary and hold a bottle of water close to his lips. He takes a small sip and swallows the tablet without trouble, although he makes a disgusted expression. Well, disgust is better than pain. Right after, I help him lay back on the floor. Although it'll only be for a short while and in such an uncomfortable place, I hope he can sleep a bit.

            POV: Aron

The touch of a gentle hand on my face awakes me. As well as an unmistakable voice sweetly humming a song. I open my heavy eyes and find myself once again on the floor with my head resting on Min's lap. He looks at me intently, and when he sees I'm awake he stops singing, waiting for my reaction. It's a shame. I loved to hear his voice... How can he sing so well?

I try to sit up but when I move my injured arm, a crippling smack of pain shoots through my body. A cry escapes me, one I try to hold back as well as I can.

"Aron! Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

Yes, yes it hurts damn it! I look at my arm and see a new bandage. Clean of blood and tied expertly. He's treated me again. The wound has closed and I'm not bleeding. Now I'm okay.

I calm myself bit by bit. The pain doesn't disappear, but with time I've become an expert in differentiating between when the pain is real – from an open wound – and when it's healed and the pain is just in my mind. So I grit my teeth and sit up.

Min gives me a worried look, worried for me, and it's tender. I move close to him and kiss his lips briefly, just a touch, immediately desiring more. I pull away and smile.

"I'm fine... Thank you..."

In an instant, he's blushing and looking away. I love this.

"I... was worried because you weren't waking up... and I didn't know what to do... Lime told me to sing, that it would do you good..."

I grin even wider from how cute he is.

"I liked hearing you sing. Your voice is precious..."

He looks at my eyes, then to my lips, and again to my eyes. I think he wants another kiss just as much as I do. I slowly move towards his face...

"Boys! I see Aron is awake. Come on, we have to decide what to do."

JR and Ren have finished curing Baekho, who is still unconscious. They couldn't have been more untimely. But they are right; we have to talk. I pull away from Min a bit and we turn towards where the others are.

            POV: Minhyun

I await the touch of Aron's lips over mine with my eyes closed, my face burning and my heart racing. But it never arrives.

I open my eyes to see him moving away, distracted by JR's call. Ugh! Was it really so hard to wait a few more minutes before interrupting us? Is it that much to ask?!

It would look bad if I grabbed him and kissed him anyway, huh? , I should stop thinking so idiotically. It's as if I'm desperate to make out with him. I sigh. I know that, in reality, I am. And I know this isn't the moment for that. I have to control myself and pay attention to the conversation.

JR is the one to start talking. He has the making of a leader.

"Alright let's concentrate. Have we all been treated? As much as possible..."

Well all nod.

"And now... we wait?" Ren asks with a hesitant voice.

"Until the gas goes away I guess..." Aron replies. I would've said the same, although I've honestly not thought of it much.

"But if we wait too long, it'll become overrun by guards." JR again, using common sense.

We nod again and fall into silence. For some reason, I feel tired. The stress we just went through with the fight and the escape has dissolved into the relaxation of being in a safe place. And, on top of that, it's been a long time since I've slept. My eyes are begging to close. I have to break this silence.

"Then we better do something or else I'm going to sleep..."

"Umm... should we decide what to do next?" Ren says.

"That's what we're talking about."

"I mean about what we'll do when we leave this room, stupid!"

"Then... we look for another place to hide?"

"And go hiding from one place to another until they find us and kill us? No thank you."

"Man, the ideal thing to do would be to run for the exit, no?" Aron interrupts my discussion with the blond.

"Yes, of course, do you not see our condition?" Ren snaps back.

Long live the pessimistic! Although he's right. We're all in horrible shape. We don't know where to go and there are a ton of guards looking for us that aren't exactly aiming to tickle us...

Silence once again. We all have our heads down, thinking. I really can't figure out what we can do.

"There has to be someplace..." JR sighs. I'm starting to have doubts. We're finished.

            POV: JR
The guard – Lime – interrupts our discussion.

"Storages." It looks like she's about to continue talking, but Minhyun interrupts.

"Storages? What's that?"

"Where is it?"

"Is it a safe place?"

"What are you guys saying? Are you sure you want to keep trusting her? I'll remind you that she's a guard!"

"If you all stay quiet for a second and let me explain..." She interrupts again, and now we all quiet down to listen. She takes a breath and continues speaking. "There's a storage space on the underground floor underneath this one. It used to be for offices until they made the upper floor and then it was supposed to be a storage space, but it was closed off a long time ago because it wasn't being used for that either. There's never anyone down there. They won't even think of looking for you down there because the entrances are sealed. If you can open one, it'd be the perfect hiding place until you've recuperated..."

A safe place, a place to hide. Could it work? Do we have any other option but to try?

I look at my companions and see the same doubts in their eyes.

"And where are these entrances?" Ren doesn't seem very convinced.

"Behind you." She says simply without being able to help the teasing smile.

Ren burns her with a glare. It seems like he's taken it worse than I thought he would. Luckily, Minhyun distracts them before it goes any further.

"So then... let's open it, shall we?"

He stands and approaches the door to inspect it.

"Wait," I stop him, "if they see that it's open, they'll know where we are."

He thinks for a moment and realizes that I'm right.

"Then what?"

He looks to me, as if asking for an answer, but Aron's the one to respond.

"Baekho can open it and close it again..."

            POV: Ren

What? why does he have to do everything?! I refuse.

"Leave him alone! He's done enough. Are we all useless without him?"

"Either way... I don't know if we can get down  from there. There only way down is a metal ladder and in the conditions that you're in..."

She's right about that. Damn guard. Trying to climb down through there in this state is practically impossible. We'd just manage to hurt ourselves more than we already have and it doesn't appeal to me. Honestly. Although I'm sure the prospect sounds wonderful to her.

"But I can take you to the large one."

Ha, now they're calling it a 'large ladder'. I'm sure it's actually an ambush.

"It's a trap."

"Shut up, blondie."

"You shut up, druggie. How can you guys be so oblivious?"

"Alright, enough, stop fighting you two. Let's rest for half an hour more and then we'll go look for the entrance. Agreed?"

Why don't they believe me? How can they trust her? I won't let her kill us by trusting her like a bunch of idiots! I won't lead Baekho into such an obvious trap.

"Yes."

Minhyun accepts it and Aron also nods. I thought Min was smarter than this. Aron doesn't surprise me much.

"No. Baekho doesn't want to either."

"Baekho is asleep."

"But he's on my side."

"That's not a reason..."

"Ren, leave it already!"

"Shut up."

"Ren, come up with a valid option better than this one and we'll listen. Until then, if you don't mind my head hurts..."

Ugh! I'd give JR a response of screams but... I don't know what to say. I guess he's being slightly reasonable. I hate when he gets into leader mode. It makes me feel like a stupid little kid, aish. Although I have to admit that when it's about stopping fights, it's necessary. Especially when Aron picks a fight with Baek.

Okay let's see, a valid option. It can't be that hard, right? Alright, maybe it is... As much as it hurts me to say, we've been totally destroyed and we don't have anywhere to go. We can't ask Baek to constantly analyze the whole building and eventually the guards will find us. I hate to say this but...

"I... well... ugh! Fine, alright. But if it turns out that I was right, don't say I didn't warn you! And I'm not taking my eye off this chick."

            POV: Baekho

"Baek... Baekho..."

I hear Ren calling me and make the effort to open my eyes. It's blurry. Everything is blurry and dim, as if something is over my eyes, hindering my sight. I raise my hand and touch his face. My fingers trace over his eyes, his cheek, his lips... He's so beautiful...

He grabs my hand and kisses my open palm. He looks like he's suffering. His eyes are closed, his forehead is crinkled. What's wrong? Is he hurting?

"Come on, Baek. You'll get better... You'll recover, you'll see..."

And then I realize what's making him suffer.

"Rennie... I'm not going to die." I try to smile. "I promised you that I'd get you out of here. Do you really think I'd leave without completing my promise?"

            POV: JR

Baekho's words surprise me. Not so much his words as his attitude. He hasn't even blushed even though we can all hear him clearly. I guess he's not in the best of conditions to realize it... Ren, on the other hand, looks like a tomato.

I smile. Even in the worst of situations, feelings remain the same. We're still human.

But the magic moment ends. We have to leave. Lime offers to carry the large bag and I grab the small one, leaving Ren and Minhyun in charge of our injured companions.

We put on the masks again. Baekho rejects his again, but this time the blond doesn't allow for any complaints.

And then we abandon our small room and head out into the halls again...

I think that, after this, I'll forever end up dreaming about these damn white halls.

            POV: Baekho

We stop and I struggle to focus my vision enough to look at the large metal door. Silence falls. In some way, it's impressive. In the end, Minhyun is the one to break the trance.

"Okay then? We still have the same problem. How do we open it?"

"If we force it, we'll leave marks."

"It's fine, Baekho can—"

"Leave him alone!"

"Let me try..."

They all stare at me in surprise. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to open and close it again. But it's necessary.

I close my eyes and concentrate on my mind again, on opening it and 'sensing' my surroundings.

It's difficult and it hurts. I've forced my power a lot in the last few hours. One last push, Baekho!

I feel the gears, the heavy bars of metal, and pull them back one by one.

"It's open." I announce in a raspy voice.

Minhyun and Lime hurry to push the metal doors. Upon opening, they reveal a staircase that descends into darkness.

Our refuge.