Sang-hyuk shivered in the cool spring air, mood high and his bag light, deciding to give Saet-byul a surprise and visit her at work after his classes unannounced. It had been a little over a week since they'd all had dinner over at Saet-byul's, and he hadn't gotten a single message from her. While it wasn't too strange to not hear anything from her for a few days, she had never gone this long without even a call. Sang-hyuk had always been the one she would go to when she was struggling or hurting. 

He figured she was still in pain from seeing Hak-yeon; she had been acting strange throughout the whole dinner, what with her snapping at Hak-yeon and bringing out her brother. The way her brother had been was suspicious, and the way she had acted with him just as strange, but Sang-hyuk was pulling back now. He was regarding her as a friend and nothing else, and that included stopping from over-thinking things that Saet-byul didn't want him looking into.  

And as a friend, he was able to give her a surprise visit with no other intention than to brighten her day. It would probably be a long while before he would be able to be completely rid of his feelings, but he was proud of himself for his progress so far.  

He grinned as he swung the door open to the little café, the smile vanishing when he noticed that the one standing at the counter was not Saet-byul. He looked around confusedly, wondering if she was cleaning or busy doing something else. He eventually went up to the counter, the guy watching him with a raised eyebrow and disinterested look.  

"Can I help you?" he asked, eyes looking him over. Sang-hyuk felt his face flush in embarrassment, and he shifted uneasily. 

"I was wondering if Saet-byul was here today." 

"Her? She was fired yesterday." 

"Fired?" he asked in astonishment. "W-why was she fired? What happened?" 

The guy shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "She hasn't come in for over a week and wouldn't answer calls. We don't tolerate that kind of behavior and fired her. We left her a call but she didn't respond to that either." 

"She didn't answer?" He let out a shaky breath when the cashier only nodded, running both hands through his hair. What happened? Saet-byul had been doing so well; she hadn't had to have therapy or pills in over a year and a half, had actually started to take steps to move on before Hak-yeon reappeared. She hadn't reverted to this kind of behavior in so long-- it was partly why Sang-hyuk had been so against her meeting Hak-yeon again. He had seen her at her lowest, and now that she had been moving up, the last thing he wanted to see was her falling again. 

Thanking the cashier, he quickly ran out and dialed Saet-byul again, praying for her to pick up. There was no answer, and while he had just told himself he wasn't going to bother himself in things related to her that she wanted to keep hidden, he dialed Jae-hwan. Besides himself, Jae-hwan was probably the only person she would allow to see her when she was like this. It took a couple tries before Jae-hwan picked up, his voice tired.  

"Sang-hyuk?" the other asked, and Sang-hyuk wondered what was bothering Jae-hwan, the other very rarely calling him by name alone.  

"Hyung? Have you heard from Saet-byul recently?" He could hear a shuffling on the other end as Jae-hwan mumbled something to someone else, more than likely Won-shik. It was a couple minutes before he responded, his voice still detached as if he wasn't truly paying attention.  

"No, why?" 

"She hasn't responded to any of my calls for over a week, and when I went to see her at work they told me she was fired because she hasn't come in. I'm worried about her. She's never gone this long without contacting me." 

"She what?" Jae-hwan cried, Sang-hyuk finally having his attention.  

"Hyung, I'm coming over. I'm worried about her but I'm afraid I'm the worst person to talk to her right now." 

"Wait, Hyukkie, I don't think-" 

"I promise I won't be long. I'm just really worried." He could hear Jae-hwan talking again, sounding like he was begging, and Sang-hyuk frowned. "If...if you really can't have me over, it's okay-" 

"What? No sorry, it's just-- ah, can we meet somewhere else Hyukkie? Here....right now it's not a good idea." 

"Yeah...is everything alright?" 

"Yeah, I'll explain later. Hold on, I'm heading out right now. Give me a couple minutes." Sang-hyuk could hear Won-shik say something quietly before the line went dead, and Sang-hyuk pocketed his phone, confused.  

"Sorry," Jae-hwan said after they had found a small little shop to eat a late lunch, Jae-hwan insisting despite Sang-hyuk saying he wasn't hungry. Not that he refused; Sang-hyuk wasn't about to turn down free food. Sang-hyuk looked up from his phone to see Jae-hwan wipe his nose, looking apologetic. "I didn't mean to make you think I didn't want you over or anything. Won-shik...he's been struggling." 

"What happened?"  

"It's complicated. But he found out something that's very painful for him, and he's been struggling to come to terms with it. He's not doing too well right now, which is why I felt it wouldn't be a good idea to have you over. I promise you can come over any other time, though." 

"It's fine. I only was going to come over because I thought it would be easier since you were already home." 

"Ah, that's right. You were saying something about Saet-byul. What happened to her?" 

"She hasn't been messaging me since we visited her, and I found out she's been fired from her job because she hadn't come in. I'm worried about her." 

"Have you gone to check on her?" 

Sang-hyuk shook his head, his lips pressed as he steadied himself. "I'm afraid I would be the last one she wants to see. She's probably like this from seeing Hak-yeon again, but...now that she knows how I feel I don't know if she'd want to see me. I did tell her how much I hated hearing her talk about him when with me..." 

Jae-hwan nodded his head with a sad smile, laying a hand on Sang-hyuk's shoulder. "Saet-byul really loves you, as both a friend and a confident. You're right in that she probably doesn't want to see you right now, but it's not because of what you're thinking. I'm sure Saet-byul is just over-thinking again, and is trying not to hurt you. You know how she is." 

"I know," he paused as the waitress came over to put down their plates of burgers and fries, Sang-hyuk pausing in mild disgust at how quickly Jae-hwan started shoving food in his mouth, the elder throwing out a mumbled "Hey, haven't had much time to eat when cuddling a blubbering Won-shik", before continuing, "but I'm still worried. She was doing really well, you saw. She had that job for three months, I thought she was finally getting better." 

"Not everyone can get better that quickly. There's bound to be times when she'll feel like she can't handle it. I'm sure seeing Hak-yeon was the reason. She looked like she was barely hanging on back at dinner." 

"But she always calls someone. If neither you nor I know anything, I'm worried." 

"If it makes you feel better, I'll give her a call. I'd still give her space if she's really doing this to calm herself. I'll give her a couple more days, if she doesn't respond by then I'll go check on her. How's that?"  

It truthfully didn't make him feel that much better, wanting to go and check on her right away, but he knew Jae-hwan was right. This unfortunately wasn't the first time Saet-byul has done this, though it's been the first time she's done it after having improved so much. She had never hurt herself, mostly just hiding away for days and refusing to eat, so there was little reason to be panicking. Not to mention she still had her parents to watch over her. He just wished he had some confirmation that she was okay.

But he was still thankful Jae-hwan was going to keep up on her, and he gave the other a grateful nod.  

--

He missed Taek-woon. He loved his Hak-yeon hyung very, very much, and his whole insides twisted around happily whenever Hak-yeon did something like wake him up or help him bathe. But those were things Taek-woon would do, and as much as he loved loved loved Hak-yeon doing it, he wanted Taek-woon to do it. He liked the feel of Taek-woon helping him wash, Taek-woon helping him get dressed, Taek-woon always there even when Bin would get upset and yell at him.  

He liked living with his other hyungs, but he missed being in Taek-woon's apartment. He wanted to go back, but Hak-yeon said it was dangerous to go back because of the dolls, and while Bin didn't fully understand, he stayed. He didn't want Taek-woon to be touched by the dolls. He didn't want to see him in pain or dying because of the dolls.  

But one thing he missed about Taek-woon, he thought as he gloomily followed Hak-yeon downstairs, was Taek-woon always treated Bin like an adult. He watched as Kyung-soo cried sadly in the corner with Baek-hyun comforting him, Joon-myeon talking quietly with Hak-yeon while Yixing tried talking with Jong-dae. No one would tell Bin anything, whispering to each other and stopping whenever he got close to listen. Hak-yeon did it too, and Bin wanted Hak-yeon to tell him what was happening. Bin wanted to understand, would try his hardest to understand. He wanted to help his hyungs, wanted to make Hak-yeon smile again and go home.  

But Hak-yeon would always kiss Bin's cheek and tell him not to worry, that he would take care of it. Bin's head would always go fuzzy when Hak-yeon did that, and Hak-yeon knew that, would always do it so he wouldn't have to tell him anything.  

He left Hak-yeon talking with Joon-myeon to sit by Jong-dae and Yixing. He liked Jong-dae; even though he said weird things and would scream sometimes, Jong-dae would talk to Bin as if he understood. Bin wanted to understand so badly, so he listened as best he could.  

"Binnie!" Jong-dae called, turning away from Yixing completely to pull him into a hug. "You have to stay safe Binnie, don't let her get you." 

"I won't," he said, trying his hardest to figure out who Jong-dae was talking about. It couldn't have been her, Hak-yeon said she was taken away and would never touch them again. "Bin will stay with Jong-dae hyung."  

Jong-dae shook his head, grabbing onto his hands and squeezing them so tightly Bin winced. "I'm not safe Binnie. She's probably looking for me now, she already killed Se-hun in front of me. None of us are safe, you have to hide alone." 

He pulled his hands away, scooting away while shaking. "I-I can't leave Hak-yeon hyung. Bin...I have to stay with Hak-yeon hyung." 

Jong-dae shook his head again, growling when Yixing tried to calm him down. "No! She hates Hak-yeon the most! It's not safe!" Hak-yeon had heard Jong-dae's shouts, hurriedly running over and pulling him away while Chan-yeol and Yixing worked on holding Jong-dae down. "She's going to kill Hak-yeon, stay away from him! Not safe, it's not safe Binnie!" Hak-yeon shoved Bin's head into his chest, a hand clasped over his ear to block away Jong-dae's cries. He clung onto Hak-yeon tightly, shaking.  

Hak-yeon couldn't die.  

Hak-yeon wouldn't die.  

"Ha-Hak-yeon hyung won't die. W-won't die," he stuttered out, listening to how frantically Hak-yeon's heart was racing. Hak-yeon looked down at him, showering him with light kisses. 

"I won't die," he said reassuringly. "I will never leave my Hong-binnie alone." 

"Won't die," he repeated, focusing on the feel of Hak-yeon's warmth and touch, focusing on how real he was. Hak-yeon wouldn't die.  

They had just gotten Jong-dae to quiet down when the phone rang, and everyone froze as they stared at the phone in fear. Bin was slightly confused why it would be scary; he used it to call Taek-woon sometimes, and he'd seen Taek-woon answer it lots of times without being scared. Hak-yeon didn't seem to understand either, watching everyone curiously as Joon-myeon slowly made his way over, looking as if just picking up the phone would kill him.  

"H-hello?" Joon-myeon asked, his face scrunching up before turning around, looking around the room until he saw Yixing. "Yixing, you'll have to take this. I can't understand Chinese." Yixing hesitated, slowly working his hand out of Jong-dae's grip as he took the phone. Hak-yeon started petting Bin's head as Yixing talked, and he found it very hard to listen when all he could feel was Hak-yeon's hand in his hair. He loved when Hak-yeon played with his hair.  

He was able to hear Lu Han's name mentioned, some other things said before Yixing hung up the phone and turned back to them. Hak-yeon stopped petting his head then, and the world became crystal clear again.  

"Lu Han's gone missing," he said quietly, a grimace on his face. "That was his girlfriend-" 

"Woah, Lu's got a girlfriend?" Chan-yeol asked in wonder, and despite Joon-myeon's exasperated look Baek-hyun joined in.  

"The guy's got some major balls. Super jealous, wish I was able to go out and get-" 

"Baek-hyun," Hak-yeon hissed warningly, hands planted firmly over Bin's ears. Baek-hyun winced and quickly bit his lips, and Bin wondered what the other was going to say. He looked up at Hak-yeon who gave him a sweet smile, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Our Hong-binnie doesn't need to hear things like that." 

"But I don't understand-" 

"His girlfriend called," Yixing cut in, glaring over at Chan-yeol and Baek-hyun, "and said he's been missing for a few days now. He'd given her our number in case anything ever happened to him." That took the smiles off everyone's faces, and Bin fidgeted in Hak-yeon's arms. "All she was able to find was that he'd bought a ticket for Seoul." Bin looked at everyone's sad faces, confused. He still didn't understand who was kidnapping the dolls, only that everyone seemed to know except for him. He wished they would tell him. He wanted to understand.

"Do you think it's the dolls?" Chan-yeol asked quietly. 

"It has to be," Yixing muttered. "What are the odds Se-hun is killed like that, Jong-in goes missing-" Kyung-soo whimpered, "-and Lu Han all vanish like that? It's oddly specific that it's only happening to the freed dolls. It has to be." 

"Is it Saet-byul?" 

"N-no," Hak-yeon cried desperately. "It can't be her. She wouldn't do this."  

"Hak-yeon," Joon-myeon said in a voice that made Bin want to hit him. He didn't like when they talked to Hak-yeon like that. "You know there's a very little chance it could be someone other than Saet-byul. You know that." 

"And I'm telling you, it has to be someone other than her. She has no interest in dolls. She wouldn't-" 

"If it's not her, then who would it be? Who else would know about the dolls and that you can kill us with them?" Hak-yeon faltered, tears in his eyes, and Bin jumped up to hug him comfortingly. He glared at Joon-myeon for making Hak-yeon cry, and he could tell the other was taken aback. "I'm not saying this to upset you, just that there's very little possibility it's not her. Just think about it, who else could it be?" 

"It's not her! She wouldn't do this! It can't-" 

"You're a special doll," Kyung-soo whispered, and they all turned to face the drawn boy, his one good eye focused on the floor. Bin stared at the bandage on his other eye, could tell it was hurt with the doll. It would never heal. "You're going to defend her regardless." 

"...special doll?" Hak-yeon stared at all of them, noticing how they all looked away, Joon-myeon mouthing frustratingly at Kyung-soo. "What does that mean?" 

Joon-myeon answered, though he looked hesitant and incredibly sad. "Most dolls don't have their maker's blood on it. Yours does...it makes you a special doll." 

"Saet-byul's blood? Y-yeah, her mother cut her arm to get her blood. I-I thought everyone had that-" 

"No, none of us do. There was one doll we've met that had Eun-ji's blood on it. It drove him insane-- the doll would do anything to make Eun-ji even look at him, was desperate to have her even touch him. It...it was horrifying."  

"He was like that even before I got there," Baek-hyun added solemnly. "She used to taunt us that we could end up like that, but none of us ever did. We used to think she would do something that would make us like that, but we figured out it's because she added her own blood to it." 

"It'll work that way, even with Saet-byul's blood." 

Hak-yeon was shaking, his face devastated, and Bin quickly helped him sit down. Everyone moved to help but Bin glared at them until they stepped back. He was angry; why would they tell Hak-yeon about Joong? That doll was changed because he made her angry, had hit her. So she changed him. Called him and he changed. That wouldn't happen to Hak-yeon. He wouldn't let it. He looked back to Hak-yeon, Hak-yeon's eyes unfocused. "Hyung..." 

"Saet-byul...does she know? Does she know about the special dolls?" 

"I...I don't know." Hak-yeon's voice was shaky, and Bin held him tighter. "S-she was having lessons, but she was only learning about h-how to put the dolls together. I-I don't think...I don't think she k-knows..." 

"Then there's a chance she doesn't know. Something has to be done to make you like that, if she doesn't do it you're safe." Hak-yeon shook his head, burying his head in his hands, and Bin started petting his head. He didn't know if it made Hak-yeon as happy as it made him, but he would do whatever he could to stop his hyung from crying.  

"T-there's no way Hak-yeon hyung will be like that," he said stiffly, sticking his lip out determinedly when Hak-yeon looked up at him. "Bin will make sure Hak-yeon hyung won't be like that." 

"Thank you, Binnie," Hak-yeon mouthed, his smile brightening his whole world.  

-- 

"That's too bad." 

"Another, another." 

"The next one will definitely work. Next one." 

She stared sadly at the burnt remains in front of her, little pieces of bone still flickering with the of the flame. She had hoped that using bleach to remove the blood would have worked, was sure it would. She stared down at the two remains in front of her, her lip trembling. She thought she had been so lucky-- two dolls came in this time. She only called one but another was following right behind, calling out confusedly until he saw her. He had been shocked, confused, but she had him then, and she trapped the two of them.  

She bleached the blood on the first doll, but she had only been halfway through cleaning his heart before he burst into flames. She thought she had been too slow, so she drenched the second one completely in bleach. She ignored his choking sounds and how he thrashed around, only sighing when he too started on fire.  

She sighed as she threw the doll into a growing pile of those that had died, reaching over and grabbing another. She had already gone through three of them, and she only had a few more left. She had to figure it out soon. She had to figure out how to free N without killing him.  

She just wished she didn't have to kill these ones to figure it out. 

"Don't worry about them." 

"The more you kill, the quicker you'll figure out to free him." 

"You can do it. It's not that hard." 

"Kill kill kill! Kill all of them!" 

"Kill kill kill kill kill kill!" 

She tried her best to ignore them as she whispered to come to her into the doll's ear. She just had to wait until the doll arrived at her doorstep, absolutely unable to ignore her command.  

She didn't want to kill.  

She only wanted to save N. 

If she saved him, freed him, then he can love her.  

He'll love her. 

She didn't care what that one doll said.  

As long as he wasn't a doll, he could love her.  

She will wait for him.