“Wait, stop!”

The taxi’s wheels screeched to a halt as Won Jin slammed on the brakes. Junsu immediately exited the vehicle and ran off down a side street. 

“Junsu! Wait!” The others called as they exited the vehicle, following after him.

Junsu stopped in front of an old brick wall by a dumpster. 

As soon as Jaejoong caught up, he asked what Junsu was doing. All he could see was a crumbling brick wall. But much to his surprise, Junsu pulled a white piece of paper from a small gap in-between bricks of the wall. Jaejoong wondered how on Earth Junsu could have seen that from the taxi.

Junsu swiftly unfolded the paper and read the words printed on it out loud.

"If you want to see your brother again, follow these directions…"

As he read on, Won Jin confirmed that the place they were being directed to was not far away. Jaejoong patted Junsu on the shoulder reassuringly. They all bundled into the taxi once more and set off at top speed to find Junsu’s dear brother.

The taxi took a few lefts, some straight-ons at small roundabouts and a sharp right before it came to a stop once again. Won Jin turned to face every passenger with a sharp seriousness upon his face; straight lips and intense focus. He retrieved a baseball baton from the taxi’s boot before leading them, single-file, towards an old, abandoned building.

“Don’t wander off, OK? Follow my lead,” Won Jin said. 

Moss and ivy crept up from the overgrown shrubs surrounding the entrance side of the building but had been recently cut away from the door. Jaejoong and Yunho stood at one side of the door whilst Junsu guarded the other. 

Slowly but surely, Won Jin readied the baton in his strong right hand as he pushed the old wooden door aside. The creak of the door sent a chill up everyone’s spines, a rotten stench filling their nostrils as they cautiously entered the building.   

The room inside was dark due to no electricity and damp from a roof leak, causing an incessant drip which eerily echoed far and wide throughout the large building. Junsu grimaced as he stepped over the corpse of a dead rat. His heart was beating rapidly, though he couldn’t be sure whether his anger or anxiety was causing it to do so.

Won Jin was the first to reach a crumbling archway. As soon as he looked around the corner into the other room, he quickly signalled for the others to stop. Then he turned the corner with his baton hidden behind his back. Jaejoong would have successfully chased after him if it weren’t for Yunho who sensibly tugged on Jaejoong’s arm and insisted that he wait like Won Jin had signalled. Voices could be heard from the other room.

“Who are you?” A gruff voice grunted.

Won Jin laughed, cooly making his way over to the man. “Santa,” he replied dryly.

Won Jin’s humour wasn’t amusing the grumpy man in the slightest. The grumpy man sighed impatiently as he took a puff from his cigar and blew smoke into the air.

Won Jin cut to the chase. “Where’s Junho?”

“Where’s the brother?" The grumpy, bald man countered.

Won Jin chewed on his lip, trying to control his irritation - he hated when people evaded answering questions with questions. 

An awkward silence ensued as both Won Jin and the grumpy, bald man tested each other’s patience: who would break first?

“Here!” A voice abruptly called. Junsu stepped into the room.

"Where’s Junho?” Junsu spat, hatred evident in his eyes.

Won Jin turned to Junsu, giving him an unimpressed look for ignoring his command to wait.

In the other room, Yunho was having a hard time trying to convince Jaejoong to stay hidden and quiet. Yunho pushed Jaejoong up against the wall and held his hands together firmly. 

“Don’t,” he whispered. 

“Let go! Aish!” Jaejoong whispered loudly as he tried to free himself from Yunho’s grasp. 

Yunho lessened his grip, allowing Jaejoong to turn and face him. Jaejoong was ready to escape into the other room but was stopped when Yunho's fist came slamming down next to his head. Jaejoong’s eyes widened as they met Yunho’s. Yunho’s eyes possessed a frightening gaze that Jaejoong had never seen before in all the years they had known each other. They looked serious and confident yet protective, and sparkled with desire. 

“Yunho…” Jaejoong whimpered, his throat beginning to close up on him.

Then an inexplicable moment was shared between them - they remained silent yet it was as if their eyes were trying to communicate something; something they mutually felt toward one another.

Yunho realised that he was scaring Jaejoong and pulled away. 

Jaejoong cleared his throat and straightened up the collar of his jacket. 

“Money?” Junsu scoffed, almost amused by this guy’s cocky, demanding attitude. “You want money?”

The man took another puff and shrugged. “Your brother owes us money.”

“Us?” Won Jin questioned.