"I'm not changing my mind. I won't join you." I say firmly. Choi smiles as he chuckles a little.

"I know, I can see that you aren't one to be persuaded easily."

"Then what did you need to 'suggest'?" I ask, wanting to leave as fast as I can.

"No need to rush, I'm sure you'll need to be calm in order to make the right decision..."he smiles slyly, swirling his glass.  I sit down, and look towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"So... I'm sure your side has realized that you're here. They've been roaming past their district boundaries, probably to find out more about your whereabouts..." he says, his face becoming more stern.

"I haven't contacted anyone." I respond quickly.

"I don't doubt that. But you see how this will become an issue for me don't you? Nothing has even happened to you yet, and your brothers, as you call them, are already causing us trouble."

"So what do you want me to do?"    Is there even anything I can do warn them now?

"Well... What are the chances of them joining us here?... I know you have made your decision... But would you try convincing them to befriend my force?"    he asks with a hopeful smile.

"No. And even if I did try to convince them, they wouldn't come here." I answer flatly as possible.Is he stupid? Get them to defect and go to his side? No way.

"Mm... Shame. They're a bunch of capable people... Just like yourself." he answers, his smile turning into a grim frown.    Is that all he wanted to 'suggest'?

"... As capable as they are, they wouldn't be able to handle themselves if they were outnumbered 10 to one…  would they?"   he starts again, smirking. Ten to... One? What does he mean?

Choi catches a glimpse of my expression then smiles proudly. He knows he's found my weak point.

"Hm. I guess not. Well nonetheless, as a 'hyung' I'm sure you'll do anything to keep them out of harm’s reach, right?" he smiles again.  My nails dig into my palms as my teeth grind together. I fight the urge to storm up and grab him by the neck.

"This is my suggestion for you, Donghae. Explain to your side that you don't want to leave here and have decided to join me. And while you're at it, try to convince them to join you here as well."    he continues, his voice losing its friendly tone.

I scoff, "And if I don't take your suggestion?"

Choi's eyebrows raise, then purses his lips.

"If that's the case... I'll just have to tell my boys to catch whoever they see and get rid of them. It's quite simple for me to tell them to take action... After some time of just observing them, I noticed some patterns..."  My ears begin to ring because of the increasing pressure of my jaws.

"It's smart really, except, sometimes they venture out alone, am I right?"  he asks, his friendly fake smile reappearing on his face as he tosses a stack of papers to me.

                     I flip through them, it was our schedule. It had my name, and a few others, but that was unimportant, the main things that were noted on these sheets were the times when we each had to make rounds on our own. Choi could’ve already used this information to take us down… one by one.

"It's very easy for me to gather a number of people to give that one person a nice surprise. And after the first time, it could happen again... It'll be like knocking over chess pieces,"  he almost chuckles as he says this. I throw the papers onto the floor, shocking Choi as they scatter all over the floor.

He looks at me with wide eyes, but recovers his smug smile not long after.

"I've been really lenient with you till now Donghae, don't push the limit." he looks at me, smirking still. I glare at him, my breathing and heart began to race, I was getting ready to kill him.

"Need I remind you, you are in my  territory, under  my  terms. Remember it’s not only you who's here, I may have promised you to keep Gaheun safe, but if you keep on stepping on my toes…  I don't know how long I'll be able to keep my commitment."  Gaheun, and now my brothers back home... Damn. Damn it all. I exhale loudly, still glaring at him.

Choi laughs, knowing he's hit the jackpot. My weakness.

"Well, don't worry. If you keep me happy and obey me, nothing will happen to any of them, okay? I swear it. Now, what do you say? You agree?  It's simple, tell your friends that you've had a change of heart, ask them to stay with you, and everybody will be okay." He smiles encouragingly.

"A pact?" A seven year old Donghae asks.

"Yeah. We'll be brothers forever, and nobody can stop us!" Kangin shouts enthusiastically.

"... Hyung... What's a ... pact?" Young Henry asks, confused.

"It's a promise that will never be broken, dummie." the bratty five year old Kyuhyun answered, annoyed.

"Yah! What's the pact about anyways?" Heechul asks, becoming uninterested.

"If we all agree with this pact, we will be brothers forever. Even after we become the old age of 25..." 9 year old Jungsoo confirmed.

"O.O that's OLD!" Little Ryeowook exclaims.

"... That's not good enough. We have to promise to be together FOREVER. Until the day we DIE..." Hyukjae added dramatically.

"Oohh..." the other 14 of us answer in unison.

"... Yes. Even in heaven, we will always be brothers." Siwon nods.

We all nod in agreement.

"So... That's it? That's how a pact is made?" Kibum asks in disbelief.

"Well... I'm not really sure..." Kangin answers, scratching his head.

Yesung quietly stumbles around, pushing everyone into a circle. He puts his hands in the centre of all of us.

"Just put your hands in, and grab the first one you touch."  He commanded. We all obliged without hesitation, he sounded like he knew what he was doing… for once.

"I, Yesung, swear to be the new blood brother of these people gathered with me today."  He begins, his face facing down to the floor. "And I promise to care about them, and protect them, and play with them..."

"And share with them, and love them..." Henry added, chuckling quietly.

"Yeah, that too," Yesung concludes. "Amen."

"Amen." the rest of us say in unison. We stayed in position for a few moments longer, in our own moment of silence and reflection to our new bond.

"... And any who dare to break this pact and ditch us will be punished by God and be damned to the fiery pits of-"

"SIWON!!!" all of us shout, he always got so worked up whenever we referenced to something religious.
Siwon coughs. "Ahem. You know what I mean."

We all laughed. And like that, we became brothers. Never to separate since that moment.

                    If I do what Choi tells me to... I'll break the pact. I know it seems dumb, and we were so young, but... We've all taken it to heart, they’re my real family now. But their lives are on the line... They shouldn't have to suffer because of my actions. What kind of brother would I be to let them take some of the heat? I wouldn't be able to call myself one of their brothers if I let them do that.

"... So? What do you say?" Choi asks, observing me.

"It's not like I have a choice. I'll do what you've asked"

"Haha, I knew you'd see my way. And don't worry, your defection to me is only fake, at least you know that, right?  So technically, no harm done."  That idiot. He doesn't understand anything, does he?

He holds his hand out in front of me,

"I'm glad this deal has come through. Thank you for being so understanding." I push his hand away and walk out of the room. Some deal.

                    My fist crashes to the wall as I recall the memory of the deal. Even if I honestly haven't broken the pact, does it make any difference? Because even though I know, the 14 of them don't.  They believe I actually had a change of heart, that I've transformed into some stranger. Kyuhyun's words ring through my ears. I shout out at the top of my lungs, trying to push them away.  It worked, for the time being at least.