"I'm going to go home."

"What?" Jae-hwan squealed as he whirled around, having gotten up to throw away the empty bowl of soup he had finally managed to get him to eat. Won-shik sat up determinedly, the blanket that Jae-hwan had wrapped around his shoulders pooling around his waist.

"I'm going to go home today. While you were asleep last night, I-I called Won-hye. I'm going to go home today."

Jae-hwan hurriedly threw the bowl into the sink before running back to Won-shik's side, fretting around him but also looking afraid to touch him. He eventually placed his hands in his lap while biting his lip, his eyes staring at Won-shik's face in worry. "Are...are you sure? Do you think you can handle it?" He gave the other a shaky smile, nodding his head, and that was all it took for Jae-hwan to grab him in a bear hug, shuddering as he held him close. He wrapped his arms around his hyung's thin frame and hugged him back just as tightly, despite the confident tone he was terrified.

He had wallowed for days on Jae-hwan's couch, his thoughts only on his mother and how he had missed her death only because he had been so stubborn. He had gone through and thought of what would have happened if he had never left; he imagined his mother would be fine, that she would have pulled through, that everything would have been resolved. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have been so angry, if he had just stopped and thought about it, it was stupid to run away the way he did.

He should have stayed.

He was afraid to go back, afraid to see and hear the accusations on his father's and older brothers' faces, on Won-hye's face, that he had killed his mother. That it had been his fault. His mother had called for him, and he hadn't answered.

But he couldn't be selfish, not anymore, after seeing how much his self-pitying had taken a toll on Jae-hwan. The elder tended to Won-shik like a mother of his own, bringing him blankets and food, making sure he ate and didn't die. At times he would wake up in the middle of the night to find himself in Jae-hwan's bed, the other cuddling him fast asleep. He was touched, thankful that he still had someone who loved and cared for him so unconditionally, yet it made him feel terrible.

Even now, as Jae-hwan held him, he could feel how exhausted the other was.

"I can drive you there," Jae-hwan said softly, and when he pulled away he could see the other's eyes were red, his lashes wet. "I'll be there for you Won-shik ah."

He smiled sadly. "Thank you hyung."

The drive there was quiet. Won-shik stole glances at Jae-hwan every so often, swallowed when he saw how tight his face was and how his knuckles on the steering wheel were bright white. He knew Jae-hwan, as much as he pushed him to go home and said he should reunite with his family, really wanted him to stay. He knew, had seen, how much Jae-hwan depended on him, and knew that Jae-hwan would really just want him to stay with him forever. He bit his lip, knowing there was nothing he could say to make the other feel better.

It wasn't long until they got to his house, just the sight of the looming building bringing back terrible memories and shivers that ran down his spine. Jae-hwan parked a little ways away before looking at him, fighting to keep his everlasting smile on his face.

"You can do it Wonnie," he said gently, his voice barely above a whisper. "If you ever need anything, call me and I'll be here right away."

"Thanks."

"And if your dad hurts you, just let me know. I'll come and-"

"Hyung, it...it'll be fine. I promise. Won-hye said they're excited to see me. I'd like to believe that's true." Jae-hwan nodded, sniffling, before crushing him in another hug. He could feel teardrops fall on his shoulder.

"Be careful Won-shik." His voice was trembling.

"I will. I...I don't know when I'll be home, but I'll call you. I'll be back. I promise."

"Make sure you call. I want to hear that you're alright."

"I promise."

Jae-hwan had grabbed his hand at some point, rubbing his thumb over Won-shik's fingers. "I'm...I'm going to go see Saet-byul. Hyukkie's been saying she's having problems again. She's not far from here. If anything happens I won't be far, okay?"

"I'll be fine. If Saet-byul's getting worse, you should check on her." He struggled to keep his voice steady to calm the other, ignoring how his heart was ramming against his chest. Jae-hwan gave him one last hug before Won-shik stepped out of the car, him giving his hyung one last wave before walking to the immense gate that stood out in front. He didn't have to wait long before the gate beeped open, the gatekeeper waving him in. He swallowed, sending Jae-hwan one last, longing look before stepping inside.

"Won-shik oppa?" He looked up to see Won-hye step outside, and for a second he could only stare at what had been his little sister. The little girl he remembered had grown up and was so, so beautiful; he could only stare. Her whole face lit up at the sight of him, brushing her long hair behind her ears as she blinked, almost as if she couldn't believe she was really seeing him. Her infectious, bright smile grew as soon as she realized it was really him, laughing as she hurried down the steps and ran to him.

She jumped into his arms the moment she reached him, wrapping her arms around his neck, sobbing loudly. "Oppa, it's really you. You're really here."

He soothed her as he ran a hand down her back, burying his face in her shoulder, sobbing just as loudly. He never thought he would see her again, to hold her in his arms like this. "I'm here Won-hye ya," he choked out, refusing to let go. "Oppa's here." 

--

"Baek-hyun! Baek-hyunnie! Please come out, please!" The whole house was shaken when Chan-yeol started running down the hallway, screaming as he opened and slammed every door in a panic. Hak-yeon nearly had a heart attack when Chan-yeol burst into their room, Hong-bin clinging to him as Chan-yeol ripped their closet open. "Baek-hyun?" he cried, his voice hoarse and raw. "Where are you? Please stop hiding. Please!"

"C-Chan-yeol?" Hak-yeon asked, jumping and pulling Hong-bin close to him when Chan-yeol turned around, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Baek-hyun, h-he-- missing. Baek-hyunnie is missing. N-not here." Chan-yeol couldn't wait any longer, shooting out of the room and continuing to scream Baek-hyun's name. Hak-yeon kissed Hong-bin quickly on the forehead to calm him down before crawling out of bed. He could hear everyone else coming out as well, Chan-yeol's screams having woken everyone up.

"Chan-yeol, calm down. What happened?" Joon-myeon limped out of his room, having run right out at the urgent tone in the other's voice. Chan-yeol didn't stop to answer him as he ran down the stairs, still screaming as he began to ransack the kitchen. By then everyone was awake, all gathering around Joon-myeon and watching Chan-yeol carefully, confused.

"Did something happen to Baek-hyun?" Kyung-soo whispered out, jumping at the sound of glass breaking. Joon-myeon cursed as he hobbled down the stairs, the rest of them close behind. By the time they got to the kitchen, Chan-yeol's hands were covered in blood as he panted heavily in the middle of the room. Tears streaked his cheeks, each breath causing his whole body to shake and tremble with inconsolable anguish. Joon-myeon was the one to take a step forward, his hands up as he spoke slowly.

"Chan-yeol...can you tell me what happened?"

Chan-yeol didn't move for the longest time, his face scrunching up as he whimpered, his bloody hands coming up to try and wipe his eyes. When he turned to them, his tears had turned red. "Baek-hyun...Baek-hyunnie is missing. He's missing hyung." His voice broke, suddenly exhausted as he collapsed to the floor. Yixing and Kyung-soo rushed to help him, though Chan-yeol didn't do anything to fight them, only crying.

"Please tell me hyung...please tell me she didn't touch him. Please tell me he's alright...please..." Joon-myeon faltered, for once looking at a loss for words. Chan-yeol looked up at him, his expression so lost and his eyes tear-filled. "Please hyung...he's alright...right? He's going to be okay..."

"I...I don't know Chan-yeol..." That wasn't the answer Chan-yeol had wanted, burying his face in his hands as he cried, Baek-hyun's name the only coherent word.

"Baek-hyun hyung..." Hong-bin whispered next to him, his eyes locked on Chan-yeol's sobbing form, "...did Saet-byul get him too?"

Hak-yeon immediately tapped his lips in gentle chastisement. "You don't know if it's Byullie." Hong-bin looked surprised Hak-yeon had hit him, pulling away slightly as he pouted.

"I told you," came Jong-dae's voice behind them, and Hak-yeon turned slightly to see the other hovering by the doorway, his eyes scanning over the mess in the room and locking on Chan-yeol crying. "I told you she was coming for us. She's going to kill us all. She killed Se-hun, killed him in front of me. She's going to kill all of us. She-"

"No!" Chan-yeol roared, the grief and pain now contorting into unbridled rage. "Baek-hyun is not dead. He's going to be alright. Don't you dare try and say that again!" Jong-dae opened his mouth to retort, eyes wild, until Joon-myeon grabbed his arm firmly. The younger immediately pulled back, though he didn't look any less nervous.

"Everyone needs to calm down," Joon-myeon said authoritatively, letting out a large breath. "Baek-hyun-- he's probably alright. He's strong, he wouldn't let her hurt him. Until he comes back, let's clean this up and eat breakfast."

"B-but-" Chan-yeol whimpered, but Joon-myeon wouldn't let him speak.

"You know he's going to make so much fun of you for crying like this when he comes back. Come on, let's get up and clean up your hands." He limped forward and held his hand out, Chan-yeol sniffling at him before tentatively taking it. "Yixing, why don't you and Kyung-soo work on breakfast?" Kyung-soo nodded while Yixing started picking up the broken glass with his hands. Joon-myeon frowned. "Yixing?" He reached down and touched the other's shoulder, causing him to jump, the glass in his hand tinkling to the floor. Yixing looked at him sheepishly, his cheeks tinted red.

"I'm sorry. My ear has been hurting lately. It's been hard to hear."

"Really?" Joon-myeon pushed some of Yixing's long locks to the side to check his ear, frowning. "I'll give you some medicine later. How's your other side?" Yixing just shrugged, shifting his head over so Joon-myeon could check his other ear-- Hak-yeon blinked when all he saw on the side of Yixing's head was a large puckered chunk of skin where his ear was supposed to be. It was red and swollen, and as Hak-yeon watched it flare up when Joon-myeon brushed it, it had probably been stitched together by the doll. "It's not too bad today. If it starts hurting I can give you a heating pad."

"Thanks Joon-myeon," Yixing said sincerely, letting the other help him up. As he pushed him and Kyung-soo to start breakfast, Joon-myeon went to usher Chan-yeol to the bathroom. As they passed by, he stopped by Hak-yeon and Hong-bin, his face exhausted and shoulders slumped.

"Why don't you two wait in your room? It'll probably be best to stay out of the way until we clean things up." Hak-yeon's hold on Hong-bin's shoulders stiffened, looking down to see Hong-bin's eyes locked on Chan-yeol's bloody hands.

"Hong-binnie?" Hak-yeon asked gently, kissing his cheek to get his attention. Hong-bin glanced at him briefly before looking back to Chan-yeol's hands. Hong-bin refused to leave Chan-yeol's side, following behind and watching as Joon-myeon cleaned the wounds, picking out some glass shards and wrapping them in gauze. Chan-yeol smiled sadly when he noticed Hong-bin hovering at the door, ruffling his hair fondly.

"I'm alright Binnie, don't worry about me."

"Hurt," Hong-bin whimpered out, pointing to his hand.

"It doesn't hurt, Joon-myeon hyung took care of it." Hong-bin didn't look convinced, glancing behind at Hak-yeon before tentatively reaching out and taking Chan-yeol's hand in his own. His motions hesitant, he brought Chan-yeol's hand to his mouth, pressing his lips lightly onto the gauze. They all looked down at him in surprise, and he quickly let go and melted into Hak-yeon's side.

"Bin..." Chan-yeol whispered, touched, and Hong-bin buried his face into Hak-yeon's shirt.

"Hak-yeon hyung...hyung always kisses Bin to make me feel better. I-I always feel good when Hak-yeon hyung kisses me..." Hak-yeon beamed down at his little Binnie as he planted a firm kiss on his forehead, so very proud of how much he had grown. A small smile grew on Hong-bin's embarrassed face, and he couldn't help but give him another kiss.

"Thank you Bin, I feel much better already." Hong-bin's whole face lit up, and Chan-yeol gave a genuine smile for the first time that morning.

"Are you alright?" Hak-yeon asked softly when he found Joon-myeon sitting in his room with his head in his hands, his crutches thrown down at his feet. The other flinched at the sound of his voice, his face guilty as if being caught doing something bad.

"H-Hak-yeon, what are you doing here?"

"Hong-bin fell asleep with Chan-yeol." Joon-myeon glanced behind him at the closed door down the hall, gulping as he looked back to Hak-yeon.

"You should be getting some rest then. I know how much work it is to watch Binnie, you should take some time to relax." Hak-yeon's lips pursed, unhappy with his answer, and Joon-myeon faltered. "Don't look at me like that, you make me feel self-conscious." When Hak-yeon still didn't say anything, Joon-myeon sighed, patting the bed next to him. Hak-yeon sat down with a little distance between them, and the other sent him a sad smile.

"I promise I'm alright. I'm just a little tired."

"You don't need to exhaust yourself so much for them." Joon-myeon swallowed heavily as he looked back down at the floor, his hands folded. "They love you and rely on you, but you can't be killing yourself like this."

"I'm the only one that can." His voice was so defeated, cracking slightly. "Now that Chan-yeol is like that, there's no one else here that can lead and keep everyone together. You've seen Kyung-soo, and if no one's watching Jong-dae can be dangerous. Yixing can't hear well and..." He trailed off, but both knew who he was referring to.

"If I don't do something, everything would fall apart. It's why...no matter what...I can't stop for even a minute. I can't let that happen to them." His shoulders shook as he fought against crying right there, and Hak-yeon reached over to gently pat his back. "I'm the oldest, they look to me for help. I've watched each one of them tortured and hurt in front of my very eyes, seen them at their worst. How can I think of that and ignore my duty as the eldest?"

"Joon-myeon-"

"And now that they're starting to disappear, everyone's paranoid and afraid. Someone...someone has to keep order. I...I'm doing at least that well...right?"

"Of course. You're doing a wonderful job."

The thankful smile Joon-myeon gave him then was the last time Hak-yeon saw him-- later that evening he was gone, his crutches still strewn across the floor.

--

Her eyes widened in shock and pain the moment the next one knocked on the door, tears already springing to the edges of her eyes. He stepped inside the moment she opened the door, his right leg trailing limply behind him, and she closed the door behind him in a daze.

'Kill him!'

'Punish!'

The voices were screaming in her head but she couldn't hear them, her eyes trailing over every detail of his face and her insides screaming that it couldn't possibly be him. It couldn't! His eyes blinked as he slowly came to, looking around confusedly before finally settling on her. She could see the relief, curiosity, fear, and regret pass over his eyes in that small glance he gave her.

"J-Joon-myeon oppa..." she whispered, and immediately panicked when he collapsed to the floor in a pained cry. She knelt down next to him and cradled his head, wiping the sweat off his forehead as she waited for the pain to subside. His breathing was labored, his eyes squeezed shut as he gasped for air. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry." It was some time before he was calm enough to open his eyes, a wistful smile on his lips.

"Is that really you Saet-byul?" She nodded quickly, sniffling and trying to wipe away her tears. He let out a small chuckle, reaching up and wiping her tears for her. "You've grown up."

"O-oppa," she whimpered, "it c-can't be you."

'Kill him!'

'You need to figure out how to free him!'

'Tear him apart!'

'Punish! Punish!'

'Don't do it Saet-byul!'

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to block the voices out of her head, barely feeling Joon-myeon's hand on her head. "Are you the one who's doing this?"

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "I...I..."

"Saet-byul...you know this isn't you. You had cried when you saw me as a doll. You're better than this."

"I can't help it...they won't leave me alone."

'Kill him!'

'Rip him to pieces!'

"Jong-in...Lu Han...Baek-hyun...did you really kill them?"

"I..."

'What are you waiting for?'

'KILL HIM!'

"I just want to free N. I want to free him from being a doll." The voices were growing louder in her head and it was getting harder to ignore them. Understanding flashed in Joon-myeon's eyes as he nodded, though he wasn't smiling anymore.

"At least...you haven't been intentionally killing us. I knew you weren't like that."

"Oppa..."

"Is that what you're going to do to me too?" She hesitated. That wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to touch Joon-myeon. She still remembered him, remembered how her mother had brought him home, told her he was a nice man who was visiting. He was really nice to her, he had even whispered conspiratorially to her once when her mother was cooking that he was going to ask her mother to marry him. She had really liked Joon-myeon. He had always been so sweet, even now, even when she was holding him with his doll in her pocket, he was treating her so kindly.

"I don't..."

'You have to!'

'Do it!'

'Kill him! Rip him apart!'

"I won't hate you if you do," he said quietly, almost as if he had given up. "I would rather you do it to me than to any of the others. Just promise me," he grabbed her hand and held it tight, shaking, "you'll stop after me. Please Saet-byul."

"I-I can't...they won't let me...I have to free N. I have to..."

"Please Saet-byul, promise me you'll leave the others alone."

"Oppa...I can't..."

"Saet-byul-"

'Kill him!'

'Don't do it Saet-byul-'

'KILL HIM!'

"Saet-byul-"

'KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM-'

"Just stop!" she screamed as she threw Joon-myeon to the floor, pulling Joon-myeon's doll out and stabbing it with the knife she had prepared earlier. Joon-myeon coughed blood as his hand flew to his stomach, his shirt already soaked in blood. She cried out as she threw the knife down, her hands trying to stop the blood. "Joon-myeon oppa, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Joon-myeon cried out in pain, his hand clutching hers. "S-Saet-b-byul...promise..."

"I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...!"

'KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM-'

"P-please...please...promise m-me..."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Saet-byul...promise me...!"

"Oppa, I can't-- the voices, they won't let me-"

'KILL HIM!'

"Saet-byul-"

"I can't!" she shrieked as she stabbed the knife into Joon-myeon's doll, his gurgled cries ringing in her ears. The voices squealed in delight, crying for her to do it again, to stab him again and again until there was nothing left of him. No, she couldn't do that. Not to Joon-myeon. She looked over to the cleaning chemicals she had prepared earlier, glancing over at Joon-myeon who was struggling to breathe. "I'm sorry oppa," she cried as she opened the bottle and poured it over his doll, using her fingers to brush against the blood as hard as she could.

Joon-myeon screamed, thrashing about as he tried to grab a hold of her, crying for her to promise. Even when he was dying, he was still trying to protect the others.

She had really loved Joon-myeon.

'Keep going!'

'So well! You're doing so well!'

'Again!'

'Again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again-'

'Goddamnit, stop it Yoon Saet-byul! Stop!'

She jerked away, her fingers burning terribly against the harsh chemicals, to see the remnant flickers of the fire that had engulfed Joon-myeon's body, panting heavily. She hadn't even noticed he'd burned. She could feel tears on her cheeks, her whole face burning every time she tried to brush them away with her burning fingers.

The voices were gone now.

But so was Joon-myeon.

"I'm sorry...Joon-myeon oppa," she wept, brushing the ash and bone that was left in his wake. "I'm so sorry...I'm so, so sorry..."

And then the sound of something clattering to the floor grabbed her attention, her looking up to see Jae-hwan staring down at her.