6.

Sanghyuk could only remain still as he watched his two Hyungs stare down in silence. The cellar’s atmosphere had gotten worse, the mood a whole lot darker, but also hot, way too hot, and Sanghyuk knew his eyes weren’t playing on him. He could literally see darkness flowing through both Hongbin’s and Leo’s bodies and out onto the stone floor beneath them.

He felt like he should say something to catch their attention, but what could he say? “Hey, guys, you should really stop your staring contest and make friends again because if you don’t we’ll all die here since we won’t be able to escape, and we’ll perish for all eternity because of witch ”? Yeah...Well, maybe it could work, but he doesn’t have the guts to say it. He really doesn’t want to die yet.

Shaking his head, Sanghyuk concludes that there’s nothing he can do to stop them. He’s still trapped, the vines that climbed up the tree were looped around his ankles and part of his torso, if he was too close to the exit, it would be quick to pull him back. So he turns his back away from the world, and sighs, because this was something he couldn’t fix no matter how hard he’s tried to escape before.

It just wouldn’t work.

...

Hongbin felt it. He felt the anger, the aggression, and the power flowing through his body that was waiting to be released. It felt good to break out of the glass box, the way the glass shattered to pieces made him feel alive because he was finally strong enough to break out. However, he felt like something was stopping him, keeping him from escaping fully, and it made him mad, made him furious because he was so close from escaping, so, so close, but what he didn’t know he was oh so far too.

Leo was the one who’s standing in his way. Leo was the one stopping him from escaping this hell. It was all Leo’s fault that he became this way, not Hongbin’s. It could never be Hongbin’s fault because it wasn’t. It was Leo’s fault, and because it was Leo’s fault, Hongbin knew what he had to do to change the wrongdoing his Hyung had done.

Hongbin quietly laughs as he slowly walks towards the chained fence, tilting his head to a left angle as he kept his gaze locked with his Hyungs, and a small smile graces the younger boys’ features.

“I’m going to kill you, Jung Taekwoon.”

Hakyeon stared, mouth agape, Wonsik glared, one complete step away from not letting this happen if Taekwoon didn’t fight back (it wouldn’t mean Wonsik would have a chance either, if he dies, Hakyeon knows that he’ll be screwed for all eternity), and Sanghyuk just ignored the world, focused on something else that was not this cellar. Taekwoon only laughed, light and silent, it was a breathy chuckle if anything. It seemed to annoy Hongbin, though, because he stopped laughing, and his eyes changed from crazy to just plain evil.

Jaehwan felt like he was the only one still in his right mind in this god-awful place. Sure, Hakyeon had freed both he himself, Wonsik and Sanghyuk (not completely though, that was something Sanghyuk had to do on his own), that didn’t change a thing.

The two people they needed the most were complete strangers, unable to control their minds and were nothing but puppets, set out to destroy everyone including themselves. Their current situation was worse than before.

Jaehwan felt utterly helpless, especially when he heard Hongbin speak those quite, but crazy words. He wouldn’t kill Taekwoon. He couldn’t. That is not their Hongbin. Their Hongbin wouldn’t do it. But there remained Leo, almost smiling as he rests his arms on the chain linked fence as he stares Hongbin down, like he was challenging him to do it.

And Hongbin truly did look like he was going to kill him, Jaehwan finally realised he had no choice. He knew what he had to do.

“Hey, Lee Hongbin, Beanie boy,” Jaehwan’s voice cracks as he speaks, but now he’s up on his feet, tapping on the window of his cell with his finger tips. Hongbin doesn’t seem to acknowledge him, so Jaehwan decides to speak again, this time banging on the glass with a clenched fist. “Pay attention to me you little freak!”

From the corner of his eye, Jaehwan knew the look Hakyeon was giving him meant that he probably shouldn’t be calling Hongbin a freak (or even saying anything at all), but he had to get Hongbin’s attention somehow.

In the blink of an eye, Hongbin was standing in front of the glass that held Jaehwan captive, dark eyes staring coldly into his own. “I’m a freak, now?”

“You’re certainly not normal, are you, freak?”

Jaehwan refused to back down, especially when Hongbin’s expression changed to something near enough to plain crazy as he slowly steps a few feet back before leaping forwards, his forearms connecting with the glass and shattering the barrier to pieces with a scary amount of strength.

Jaehwan shields himself from the broken piece of glass, arms coming up to protect his eyes as he stumbles back until the backs of his calves hit the bathtub. For a split second he loses his momentum and nearly falls back into the tub, but he regains his balance and shoves his way out of his cell and out into the centre of the cellar. He couldn’t relish the small amount of freedom for long, though. He makes a quick beeline to the table, reaching out for the doll and grasping it in his hands tightly and slipping around the table, his back facing Hongbin’s approaching form.

A cold wind gusts into the cellar, the walls barely shuddering. It sends a creepy chill down everyone’s spine. Jaehwan cradles the voodoo doll closely to his chest, a tiny, affectionate small gracing his features as he turns to face Hongbin, the boy had frozen in place, his eyes wide, but they were no longer white and black.

“You mentioned we needed a dolly, didn’t you, Hongbin-ah?” Jaehwan softly asks, his gaze meeting Hongbin’s frozen one. “We already have a dolly right here.” His gaze is warm as it looks down to the doll in his arms, his fingers ghosting the top of the doll’s head.

Hakyeon’s the first to do anything, gently removing Wonsik’s hands from his shoulders as he curiously steps towards Jaehwan. Carefully, he extends his hands out to touch one of Jaehwan’s shoulders. Jaehwan lifts his head to look directly at the older male, and without really controlling himself, Hakyeon goes flying back into Wonsik’s open arms.

Jaehwan chuckles low in his throat as he eyes the entire cellar, doll gripped tightly in his arms. He tilts his head to the side as he makes eye contact with Hongbin, and he smiles brightly with way too many teeth.

“Guess who’s in charge now.”

yikes! it's been a long while, hasn't it? how has everyone been? I hope you didn't forget about the story????? life has been pretty hectic with personal stuff so I kinda lost inspiration to write a whole bunch, i'm sorry! it took me a long while to even come up with this, so, go easy on me, please.

anyway, as for this chapter, what are your thoughts? i know it's short (slaps myself for the crappiness, too), but feedback is great and it means a lot if i have opinions to work with, so, have at it!

i don't know when i'll update again. i'm going to south korea in october and in the meantime i'm kinda just, studying and preparing everything to go. i kinda just don't have the time to really sit down and write good content (most of the stories i write are bad anyway but that's neither here nor there).

you're probably kinda bored with my words, so i'll just leave it here. thanks for reading the update. i don't know when i'll update again, but i know it won't be soon.

until then. ^^