Daehyun was violently thrown to the cell, his body hitting the bar with a loud thud. Daehyun let out a whimper, followed by a fit of cough, his lung burned with the lack of air and throat screeching. The cell was neither small nor big, but enough to kept Daehyun confined between its cold metallic columns. It was a cage used to keep a wild untamed animal, the one that did not earn enough trust nor love from its owner to be given the privilege for some choices of its own . A chain was cuffed strictly to his left leg, slimmed his chance of escaping, or even moving around. 

He was trapped, confined and suffocated in the cage built up by his own mistake. 

Daehyun shivered, the chill air seeping into every corner of his weak body. It wasn't too cold, but Daehyun no longer had the luxury for fine clothes, nor food to keep him fueled to battle the cold. 

He could barely registered what happened around him.  

"Stay in there you little poison." A voice cut through the air, a familiarity laced with the coldness harsher than the winter's wind. He wasn't alone. It would be fine if he was left alone, rotting and dying slowly in the loneliness, but that would be too much mercy for a such a huge mistake. 

Two boys, not much younger or older than any high school students, stared down at him with hatred. If look could kill, Daehyun would be dead by now. Daehyun shivered. He was scared. He was really scared. But not of them. He was scared of facing his past. 

Because two years ago, they were his family. 

He had lost them. 

He had betrayed them. 

And this was what he got in return. 

Karma is a . 

The boy with a cotton candy hair kicked him hard in the shin, and Daehyun cried out in pain. It would sure leave a bruise, painting his body with shade of red and blue, the evidences of days of torture. Another boy grabbed his hair and yanked him up, delivered a blow across his face. Daehyun head snapped back and he could felt the copper taste invaded his taste bud, overwhelming his senses. 

"You ing betrayed us." The tall cotton hair boy growled. "You little er." Daehyun whimpered. Another kick was delivered to his stomach, and Daehyun screeched, feeling sick. He had endured the beaten for a week, and it took a heavy toll on his body. He was barely given any water, let alone food, so the feeling of wanting to throw up was worse, since he basically had nothing in his stomach. He looked up to the other boys with teary eyes, only to received two pairs of eyes that lack any emotions other than hatred. 

"Don't look at us like that." Jongup growled. "We trusted you. And you played with us like we're your toy." A powerful blow hit his leg. Daehyun heard a crack, and he screamed in tears, unable to bear the pain. A rain of hits fell on his legs, mashing against his bones. 

"J-Jongup. Z-Zelo." He cried. "P-please."

"Don't you dare call us that ." The pink hair boy, Zelo, hissed. "You don't have the right." Daehyun trembled, feeling hurt at the harsh words, although he knew he deserved it. He was dragged up by his collar, the metal chain clanking mockingly, echoed in the emptiness of the dark cell, a reminder than his life depend of the mercy of these people. 

"We hate you so ing much Daehyun." The other boy, Jongup, said. "And we want you to pay."

"Karma is a isn't it." Zelo twisted his knife in his hand, muttered. "But you brought this upon yourself Daehyun."

Jongup slowly closed his eyelids, and Daehyun felt fear built up in him. He knew Jongup and Zelo. The kids were brutal, unpredictable, and dangerous. He couldn't tell what they would do. 

Jongup leaned toward his ears and muttered sweetly. "Goodnight Daehyun." And with that, the knife went through his shoulder. 

"You're done?" The black hair boy asked, seeing the two maknaes of the group got out of the cell. There was blood on their shirts, and he knew too well what they were doing. They all knew. "That was pretty loud." 

Zelo shrugged. Jongup just smiled sweetly to the older. "It's nothing Himchan hyung. Sorry that we bothered you." 

Himchan nodded and went back to cooking. Zelo skipped over and inhaled the delicious scent. "Yay. Kimchi stew." He cheered. Himchan smiled softly and patted the maknae's head. "Go take a bath Junhong. You smelled a little nasty." He, as the motherly figure of the group, had the privilege to call the maknae by his real name. Others used his nickname, Zelo. 

Zelo pouted. "It was the er's blood. I didn't want it on my body. It's filthy." But he nodded and complied anyway. "I'll go wash myself. Lets go Uppie." 

Himchan watched the maknaes ran away and let out a sigh. 

"He really hates Daehyun doesn't he??" 

Himchan looked at the other sadly. "Yeah. I know you do too, Yongguk. We all do." 

"He's the one that cause JB's death and Jr's disappearance." Yongguk, the leader, growled. "He killed our friends, our family." Himchan felt anger boiled in him hearing that, but he still felt a little sympathy for Daehyun. "He ing betrayed us, while we took him in and treated him like family. He could have die like a rat in that filthy alley, and that ungrateful brat decided that it was fun to take out several of us. He tramped on our trust. He ruined it all." His voice raised with every words, emotions overwhelmed the logical side of his brain. Yongguk was trembling with anger, and for that moment, he wanted nothing more than to put a bullet through Daehyun's head, feeling the heat coming out from the gun and the rush of blood splattering everywhere.  

Yongguk was a collected man, but when the image of JB's lifeless body flashed before his eyes, all he saw was red. 

Himchan stirred the kimchi stew. "I know. I know Guk. He hurt us. He hurt us a lot." He was significantly more calm than Yongguk, partly since Himchan didn't resort to much physical violence. 

The game of emotion was what he played. 

Yongguk rubbed his temple. "I hope Youngjae would get over this soon. He was the one who got affected by it the most. JB and Jr were his best friends. And Daehyun..." He trailed off at the end. 

"Was his lover." Himchan finished. "That poor boy. Got his heart broken by the one who was supposed to love him the most.  

Youngjae lied on his bed, spacing out. He didn't know what or how to react, the eerie calmness made him feel uneasy. They finally got Daehyun. They finally caught him. They were all going to make him suffer, return back to him what he gave them, but ten times worse. 

Youngjae didn't know. 

Part of him felt satisfied and happy. 

But part of him felt heart broken seeing Daehyun being tortured, being beaten to the ground, treated worse than an animal. 

Every time he looked at Daehyun, seeing blood and bruises cover his fragile body, the need to laugh out loud came to him. He needed something to distract him, to assure him that he did not love Daehyun anymore. 

But every time he came back from the basement, indulge in the silent of his own room, his heart would beat violently, and tears would stung his eyes, reminding him of the once happiness time together, and the harsh reality of the presence. 

But he didn't love him anymore, definitely not someone who broke his heart to a million pieces. 

Youngjae sighed. 

If only he doesn't feel. 

"Oh god I'm starving." Zelo jumped on the table and immediately stuffed food in his mouth. Himchan scolded him for having no table manner, but the maknae couldn't careless. He grinned mischievously while shoving more food in his mouth, and moaned in appreciation of the taste. 

"God you're disgusting Zelo." Youngjae groaned, smacking the taller boy's head. The other gave him a glare while rubbing his head, and he just shrugged. 

They joked their way through the meal, with the maknaes line fighting for the last piece of meat, and Himchan scolding both, threaten to cut down their meal proportion for tomorrow. 

They were cleaning up, when realization dawn Youngjae's mind. 

"Should we give Daehyun food, hyung?" He asked. Jongup scoffed. "Why? He's not our guest. We don't have the responsibility to feed him."

Youngjae didn't think so. "But we still need to give him something. He hasn't eaten anything for days."

Himchan nodded. He looked through the fridge, and then put some frozen food in the microwave. "We ate all the meal today, so he'll have to live with frozen food. That's good enough." 

Youngjae hummed. He didn't want to go too soft on Daehyun, but as much as he felt Daehyun needed to pay, he didn't want him to die. He was happy that they actually agreed to give him food. Daehyun would go through that faster than lightning speed. He had always had a big appetite. The memory brought a sad smile on his lips. 

The microwave machine went "bing", and Himchan took out the box. "Still somewhat cold, but I guess it's good enough. Who's gonna take it??" He asked. 

Zelo lazily stretched on the sofa. "Not me." Jongup chimed in, "I second", falling on the maknae with a laugh, and a string of curse from the boy lying underneath. 

Himchan looked at Yongguk. The leader shrugged, pointing to the black laptop sitting on the table. 

"I'll take it hyung." Youngjae said. Himchan looked hesitated. "Are you sure??" Youngjae nodded. It wasn't like he was afraid or something. Daehyun had never been much of a physical threat when going one on one, and with his condition now, Youngjae would be surprised if he was able to throw a punch. He grabbed the box and walked down to basement where they kept Daehyun. It was dark, cold and dirty, and Youngjae shivered with every step. The weather was getting colder lately, and it was much worse down here. He should wear a jacket next time. 

"Daehyun??" Youngjae called, but there was no reply. "Daehyun?"

He stepped down the last stair and walked toward the cell, flicking on the light on the way. "Daehyun??" His heart dropped when he spotted the other boy lying in the middle of the cage in his own pool of blood. He immediately ran toward the other and crouched down, examined him. Daehyun's body was covered in bruises and cut from their previous beating and Zelo and Jongup's before diner. The sharp blade was still on his shoulder, and Youngjae in a breathe of air. He didn't expect the maknaes to be this heartless. The knife cut deep into the pale and shallow flesh, the result of a deathly accurate throw aiming for it. Blood was oozing nonstop from it, and it would get infect soon if left untreated. Daehyun's chest barely lifted up anymore, and his breathe was shallow and weak. 

"No. No no no no no." Youngjae chanted as he quickly opened the cage and crawled inside. 

"Daehyun. Daehyun. Wake up." He shook the brown hair boy lightly. The other didn't reply. Youngjae unchained his leg and picked Daehyun up. His weight was worryingly light, and Youngjae immediately ran straight up the floor. He banged the door open, startled the others. 

"What the hell??" Yongguk said, staring at him. He looked at the boy in Youngjae's arm. "What is he doing here?" His voice dropped lower than it usually was. 

"H-he's barely breathing anymore." Youngjae grasped in some air. "W-we need to save him."

"Why??" The maknae line whined. Youngjae stared at them sharply. "Don't be childish. He's dying." He growled. Jongup suddenly turned serious, and Zelo's mouth went lightly open. Yongguk, in a brief glance, looked calm, but his hands were shaking, and a bit of color drained out of his face. 

Only Himchan stayed perfectly calm the whole time. "Take him to the spare room." He instructed. "I'll go get the aid kit."

Youngjae nodded, wasting no time to follow to order. 

Half an hour later, Himchan and Youngjae came out, looking worn and tired. 

"How is he?" Yongguk asked, worry evidenced in his voice. Himchan sighed."Not so good. He was beaten, you know. Bruises and cuts were everywhere on his body. I'm surprised he didn't die from blood lost yet, but he's a strong boy. He's  dehydrated and malnourish, and his blood sugar level is too low, so I gave him a dose. I also removed Junhong's blade. It was pretty deep, and likely would leave a big scar." Zelo looked guilty, his head hung low.  Himchan took a breath. "That wasn't the worst. His leg bones are also shattered. Broken. Ruin. Hopeless." He sighed. "He lost them forever. The legs are goners."

The rest of the group fell into silence. The maknaes shared a guilty and pained glance. Were they being too much on Daehyun?

"So what are we going to do next??" Jongup asked. 

"He's back in the cell, if that's what you want. He'll get to eat something." Himchan said. "We'll feed him daily, at least once a day. He'll die if we don't. I probably has to do some medical examine occasionally for him, like changing his bandage or make sure his blood sugar level doesn't drop terribly again." He stopped. 

"Or we could put a bullet through his head and end it all." 

The others' hearts dropped. As much as they hated him, deep down inside, even if they didn't know or just wanted to deny, they still cared for Daehyun. They didn't want him to die.  They wanted him to pay, but now that they got him back, they weren't sure if they want to loose him again. 

Youngjae walked back to the spare room. It was Daehyun's old room, before that happened. He pushed the door, and it creaked a little.Youngjae walked toward the bed and looked at the figure on it. Daehyun's face look peaceful while sleeping, like a little child, and Youngjae couldn't help but smiled. He smoothed the elder hair, it lightly. 

"Daehyunnie." He muttered softy, caress the other bruised skin. Then his hand trailed down the bare chest and on the long ugly scar that was hidden behind the bandage. He and Himchan found it, both confused why Daehyun got it. Before he left them, Daehyun had absolutely no scar that was this big. He must got it after that, and Youngjae couldn't help but shuddered. What terrible thing had happened that inflict such an ugly scar on Daehyun's body. 

Daehyun stirred a little, and he moaned in pain. Youngjae jumped in surprise, and sighed in relieve when he saw the latter still deep in sleep. He quietly and carefully picked Daehyun up. It wasn't just because he was asleep now, or in pain, that Youngjae had to carry him. 

It was because he could never walk again. 

He would be lying if he said he wasn't mad at the maknaes line. They crossed the line ruined Daehyun's legs. But all of them had beaten the boy. All of them had tortured him to near death. Daehyun wasn't the only devil.

They were. 

He walked to the living room. The maknaes were playing video game, although they didn't make any obnoxious sounds like they usually did. Yongguk was silently working through his stuffs, while Himchan was cleaning up the kitchen. He went down the dark and eerie cell, flicked on the light, and surprise to found a small bed in the corner of the room. The cage was on the side, locked and unwelcome. Youngjae let a small smile decorated his lips. So the others still cared for Daehyun after all. 

He placed the sleeping boy on the bed. They didn't chained him anymore to prevent him escaping. 

They didn't need to. 

He kissed the boy's forehead softy. "Goodnight Daehyun." 

He wasn't sure if Daehyun heard that, but the boy's lips curved up into a soft smile. 

[the plot is easy cause I finished it since forever. But the ending I guess it'll depend on you. Comment?]