N was lifeless as she brought him back to her old bedroom, her promising to buy him more clothes as she sat him on the bed. He didn't answer her, eyes blank and body limp, and no amount of kisses or hugs received any reaction from him. But she ignored that, was elated as she changed for the night, pulling back the old blankets and guiding N to lay down. She could barely contain her excitement as she jumped in right next to him, wasting no time snuggling into his side. He made a small whimpering sound when she moved his arm to wrap around her, and when she looked up she found him staring blankly at her, his eyes wet.

"Don't worry N," she reassured, craning her neck to kiss him lightly on the lips. A tear trickled down his cheek. "Soon you'll forget all about them. You don't need them. Hong-bin didn't care that it was an accident, hated you anyways. But I would never hate you, no matter what you did I would never hate you."

He was crying now, his teeth embedded into his bottom lip as his body shook in silent sobs, small gasps escaping his lips. She reached up and brushed his hair from his face, cupping his cheek and shushing him softly. "Don't cry, N. It's alright, I'm here." She shifted to prop herself up on her elbow, pulling N's head into her and running a soft hand through his hair. He didn't make a move to hold her back or respond, merely leaning into her arms and crying. She shushed him patiently, was willing to hold him and let him cry for the rest of eternity.

"I love you, N," she hushed, voice barely above a whisper. "I will always love you. You will never have to worry about me hating you. Never."

"My Binnie..." he choked out, heaving. "I didn't...he loved Seok-jin...I knew...h-he...he would..."

"Shh," she kissed his forehead, her thumb running over his cheek in the same way he used to comfort her so many years ago. "He had to know someday, you couldn't keep it from him forever. But it's good, you've learned now how he doesn't actually love you. He wouldn't have run away if he really loved you."

"N-no," he tried weakly, his eyes glossy with tears. "H-he loves me...he loves me..."

She laid back down, N's head still held against her , her hand still gently running through his hair. "Only I will love you unconditionally N," she said determinedly, kissing the crown of his head. "No one can or will love you as much as I do. Just stay here with me, I will love and care for you." He didn't respond, not even so much as a whimper escaping his lips, and when she looked down she found that he had fallen asleep. Tenderly, a loving smile on her lips, she reached over and wiped away his drying tears with her thumb, kissing the pain away from his eyes and pulling the blanket up to cover his shivering body.

"You're mine, N," she whispered into his ear, her hold on him tightening. "You're all mine, and I'll make sure you never leave me again."

She held her breath the moment she opened her eyes, momentarily stunned by the utter beauty that was her N, the soft morning sun illuminating and softening his features. Tenderly, hesitatingly, she reached over and ran her fingertips over the bridge of his nose, trailing down to his lips and moving to cup his cheek. He was so beautiful, so perfect. She didn’t want him to wake up; he was so peaceful, his eyelashes fluttering as he dreamed. When he was asleep there was no worry on his face, no sadness or heartbreak. He let out a small breath in his sleep, shifting closer to her, and her whole body shivered at the mere brush of his skin against hers.

She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against his forehead, lamenting when N’s eyes fluttered open. Confusion passed over his face for a second before his eyes blinked at her, his whole face falling at the sight. She tried not to think about how unhappy he looked, her hand going under the blanket to find his, squeezing his fingers.

“Good morning N,” she breathed. It took him a long moment to respond, his voice barely audible as his lips moved.

“Good morning Saet-byul.”

“Are you hungry? I can make you something.” His eyes trailed down to where their hands were intertwined under the blankets, his lips pursed and face so sad. “N? Are you okay? Do you feel sick?”

“Saet-byul…would you reconsider? Letting them go…would you please?” He looked so uncertain, so fearful, and she both hated and loved that she made him this way. She brushed his hair from his face and fought the urge to shower him with kisses, to claim him as hers and never let anyone else’s disgusting lips touch him. He looked up at her hopefully and she couldn’t help but smile. Everything about him was so, so beautiful. Even now, with his hair in her hands and him pressed against her with fear and hope in his eyes, he was so beautiful.

“If you can convince me you’ll stay, I’ll let them go,” she finally said, and the thankful, relieved smile that broke out on his face had her inwardly gushing at the sight. She pulled her hand from his hair as she snuggled deep into his chest and pressed her face against his shirt, inhaling his scent. “You don’t need to kiss me yet, we have all the time in the world for that. But I don’t want to worry about you leaving me again. I want to know you’ll stay with me forever.”

“I promise,” he whispered, earnest. “I’ll never leave your side. I’ll stay here with you forever if you let them go.”

She growled, her hand around his digging its nails into his skin. “I don’t want you mentioning anyone else when you promise. I want me to be the only reason you stay, because you love me and only me.”

“Saet-byul-”

“That’s enough,” she snapped, annoyed and upset that he was ruining her perfect morning. She threw the blankets off and got out of bed, glancing over her shoulder to see him watching her, eyes wide as if afraid of what she would do. “I never want to hear any of their names from your mouth again. I should be the only one you worry about.” She didn’t give him another chance to say anything before she stalked out of the room.

----------------------

Hak-yeon swallowed as he sat up, the blankets pooling around his waist, eyes staring forlornly at his hands in his lap. It had taken him so long to fall asleep the night before, images of the others in the basement so vivid and prominent in his mind. He let out a long, shaky breath at the memory of Hong-bin flinching away from him, screaming at him to stay away. His eyes clouded at the memory, his hands gripping tightly into fists.

He should have guessed this would happen, knew from the beginning that no one could possibly have accepted him after knowing he killed his brother. No one would. Hong-bin hadn’t, his baby Binnie, and he couldn’t even bring himself to see what Taek-woon had thought.

Saet-byul called him from the other room, her voice happy and light, and he didn’t waste any time hurrying to follow her. It didn’t matter what he thought, what others thought of him or what she wanted to do with him; he would do whatever he could to save the others, to free them and spare them from the torture she was putting them through because of him. He knew Jae-hwan and Won-shik would be okay as long as they were together, and Taek-woon could take care of Hong-bin and Sang-hyuk. They would be okay. The others would be okay too—they would all be okay so long as he was out of the picture. As long as he kept her far away from them.

All he had to do was convince her.

He came into the kitchen to see her stirring something in a large pot, her back to him as she cooked. Steeling himself and pushing down any thoughts to run away, he silently shuffled behind her, pausing for a split second before wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. She squeaked at the sudden contact before laughing happily, turning her head slightly to meet his eyes, smiling brightly.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you,” he apologized gently, watching carefully at how her expression relaxed.

“That’s okay,” she reassured, patting his hand. “I’m not that upset. You can sit down if you like, I won’t be done for a little bit.”

“Would you like me to help you?” He whispered into her ear, swaying softly, and she laughed exasperatedly.

“Go sit down N, I can’t cook with you like this!” The moment he pulled away and she turned back around his forced smile fell away, swallowing heavily to keep the cries he so badly wanted to let out hidden. He waited a few more seconds before going over to the table and sitting, watching her the entire time. He tried to tell himself that this is what he would be doing for the rest of his life, that he would spend it every day with Saet-byul, but found his eyes welling up at the thought.

He couldn’t…

…but he had to.

She brought over the rice and soup to the table when she finished cooking, her apologizing for not knowing how to cook better. She promised to ask Taek-woon for more tips, to figure out how to cook Hak-yeon’s favorite foods. He bit his tongue from pleading her to leave Taek-woon alone, to stay away from him, and forced himself to only nod his head. She didn’t seem to notice anything wrong, excitedly offering to feed him as she spooned him a clump of rice.

“I know this won’t taste good, but just wait. Soon I’ll be making you the most amazing food ever.” He could feel his eyes starting to water as he slowly chewed, shivering. He remembered the few times Taek-woon used to feed him when he got really bad, remembered how Taek-woon’s face reddened when Hak-yeon had offered to feed him once. He should have done more to show how much he loved his Taek-woonie.

Saet-byul misunderstood his tears, apologizing profusely as she grabbed a handful of napkins and wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry, the food must taste terrible. I’ll go out and buy something later, I-”

“I-it’s fine, Saet-byul,” he mumbled, silently taking the spoon out of her hand and eating on his own. He couldn’t have her feed him, not today. Not when his heart hurt so badly at the thought of Taek-woon. She suspected nothing, just smiling as she ate her share, her eyes never leaving his face.

----------------------

She left him sitting on the couch by the fire, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders to keep him warm. He had initially protested, saying the house was already hot enough without the fire, but she insisted and wouldn’t let him get up. He didn’t say anything to her, only watched her sadly as she went back down into the basement. She didn’t want to leave him, wanted to just cuddle the day away, but the voices were calling, and she had to do whatever it took to quiet them.

The voices whispered excitedly in her head as she opened the door, turning on the light and feeling all eyes glance up at her curiously. Since N came back, the voices had been happy, only occasionally asking her to hurt or kill someone. They were sated, content; they liked N and were happy he was back. She was happy too, so, so happy.

She ignored the way everyone stared at her as she went to the table and grabbed the keys, clicking them in her hand before going over to Hyuk’s cage. She unlocked the door, Hyukkie only able to glance at her. He would be able to move soon, would return to being her wonderful Hyuk again.

‘Stab him.’

‘Hurt him.’

‘Torture him!’

‘Destroy him!’

She grimaced as she sat across from him, pulling his doll from her pocket and helping him to sit up. He refused to look at her, his eyes sad, and she hesitated. “Hi…Hyukkie…” she whispered, watching how he looked her over before sighing.

“Hello Saet-byul.”

An awkward silence filled the room, only the sounds of Hong-bin clinking his chains heard before she finally managed to speak again. “I…I didn’t know N never told you…I thought he told you about the dolls…”

“Saet-byul…” he interrupted, voice breaking, “is this why Hak-yeon hyung left you? Because of this?”

“My mother tortured him, not me,” she gushed, wanting Hyuk to understand. If anyone, she wanted Hyukkie to understand. “I never wanted to hurt N. I loved him.” He scoffed, looking away from her, and she started to cry.

Hyuk…she had only wanted to say goodbye. Hyuk was too wonderful of a person for her, too amazing; he didn’t deserve living a life waiting for her, calling every day and asking desperately for her. She had only planned to meet him to say goodbye, to tell him never to call her again and to stay away. To say she had found N and was going to live happily with him, moving so far away Hyukkie would never be able to find her again. It had taken her a long time to convince herself it was only right to break his heart, that it would spare him. If the voices had seen Hyukkie curse her and run away, they would have forgotten about him, would turn their attention to the dolls she already had. Hyukkie would have been safe. Hyukkie would have been okay.

But then he had to be talking to N, had to look at her strangely.

And she had to have jumped to the conclusion N told him about the dolls.

“I’m sorry Hyukkie,” she wept, grabbing his hand and running her thumb along his palm. “I originally was going to tell you to stay away, make you hate me so you would stay away.”

“Hak-yeon hyung doesn’t love you,” Hyuk whispered, his chest rising so softly he barely looked like he was breathing. “This isn’t-”

“He does love me,” she snapped; it didn’t matter if this was Hyukkie, no one was allowed to say anything bad about N. “Just earlier he said he loved me, he said it himself.”

“You’re forcing it. Saet-byul, when you told me you didn’t love me, I accepted that. I was going to move on; I didn’t want to hurt you or make you uncomfortable. But Hak-yeon hyung…by forcing him-”

“I’m not forcing anything!” she screamed, jumping to her feet, gasping for air as the voices started to grow louder, demanding her to punish him for daring to speak back to her.

‘Teach him!’

‘Insolent child!’

‘Beat him to show he’s yours!’

Hyukkie didn’t know yet to be afraid of her, stared at her with a hard gleam in his eye. “You’re forcing it on him, Saet-byul. You have to move on, find someone else-”

“Shut up!” she howled as she squeezed his doll’s head as tightly as she could, the voices roaring excitedly when Hyuk screamed in pain. She twisted it once before letting go, watching dispassionately as he spluttered and coughed, gasping for air. Tears coated his cheeks as his gasps turned into sobs, his teary eyes looking up at her in horror. The voices filled her head with reassurances and demands, clouded her mind so her heart wasn’t moved by the sight, only smirking. “You may be Hyukkie, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want. You’re mine now, my doll, and you’re not allowed to say anything against my N.”

“B-Byullie…” he tried, hiccupping, but she silenced him with a hard pinch to his side. He yelped before dissolving into loud cries. She left the cage before her guilty conscience had time to eat at her, locking Hyuk’s door behind her. His cries rang in her ears as she pulled the keys out of the lock, turning her head to see everyone glaring at her, Taek-woon’s piercing stare unnerving. She swallowed as she went back to the table, placing the keys down and taking a deep breath.

She didn’t need anything else down here, the voices pacified with Hyuk. It didn’t satisfy them as much as killing one of them would have, but it was enough. She knew N didn’t like killing, hated blood and death, so she would never kill again. She would never do anything to upset her N.

She was about to head up when Hong-bin’s small whimpering voice called out, pleading, “H-Hak-yeon hyung…where is Hak-yeon hyung?”

She whirled around, the voices goading her on as she made her way over to Hong-bin’s cage, watched how the other squirmed under her gaze. “N is upstairs.”

“C-can…can Bin…Bin wants to apologize, miss Hak-yeon hyung. See, see hyung, p-please-”

“He doesn’t want to see you,” she growled, inwardly grinning at the crest-fallen expression on the other’s face, enjoying seeing the agony in his eyes. “Do you even realize how much you’ve hurt him? He’s been crying because you broke his heart. You did.”

“N-no! S-sorry, Bin is sorry! Bin wants Hak-yeon hyung—please, let Bin see Hak-yeon hyung! Bin is so sorry!” Hong-bin reached out to try and grab her, begging, but she stumbled back, wouldn’t let him touch her. “Please, Bin doesn’t want to make Hak-yeon hyung sad—please let Bin say sorry!”

“Nothing you do will make him happy. You crushed his heart, and I will never let you touch him again. I will keep you far away, locked down here where all you’ll be able to remember is how much you hurt him.”

She was amused at his tears, laughing as she ignored Taek-woon’s angry shouts and headed upstairs, immensely enjoying destroying anything that could possibly try and take her N away.

----------------------

He greeted her the moment she came back upstairs, not having moved from the spot she left him. Hak-yeon knew better than to do anything without her specific approval, knew how unstable she was. She laughed the moment she saw him, running and jumping into his waiting arms, rubbing her face happily into his chest. She sat him back down and wrapped the blanket around the both of them, sighing contently.

He stared at her face as she settled, his whole being b with unbridled curiosity, desperate to know what she had done in the basement. The floorboards were thin, Sang-hyuk’s screams clearly audible even from where he sat. He had heard his Binnie too, could hear him scream and cry. He wanted to know, wanted to know what Saet-byul had done to them, though he was terrified of possibly setting her off with the question. He had realized any mention of anyone other than her from his lips only infuriated her, pushed her to hurt more.

Finally, he managed, “S-Saet-byul?”

“Yes, N?” she asked, eyes still closed as she pulled the blanket around them tighter. It was so hot, he was burning, but he didn’t dare say anything. He couldn’t chance it.

“Bi—ah, Hong-bin…I heard him. Did he…did he say anything about me?” He braced himself for her to start screaming at him, was ready to hold her back from running downstairs and taking her anger out on the others. But nothing of the sort happened, her instead looking up at him with a sad expression, her hand reaching out to take his. She pat it comfortingly.

“I’m sorry N. I tried to ask him about you, even though it made me angry to even say your name in the same sentence as his. But he doesn’t want anything to do with you. He’s still angry about Seok-jin.”

He choked, biting his lip as he tried desperately not to cry. He can’t risk showing tears in front of her, to show how much of what she said dug a knife straight into his heart. He let out a shaky breath as he nodded, closing his eyes in an attempt to hide away his wet lashes. “D-did…did he really say that?”

“I tried to explain to him what happened, for real this time,” she added, looking down at her lap. “I’m sorry about lying that one time. He just makes me so angry every time I see him. But for you, I went to explain the truth.”

“…and he still…?”

She shook her head. “He still blamed you. He screamed at me to stay away, to keep you away. I’m sorry N, I really tried.” A couple tears trailed down his cheeks despite his best efforts, and Saet-byul reached up to brush them away. He didn’t stop her.

“…and Taek-woon?”

“I didn’t ask, but he avoided me. I’m not sure N, most of them looked upset when I talked about it.”

----------------------

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his cheeks, kissing away his tears and worries and whispering promises to always love him. She could see how devastated he was at the news, how his face broke at the thought Hong-bin hated him. It filled her with so much pleasure, to feel him leaning on her for support and holding her so tightly. She wanted to erase the presence of anyone other than her from his heart, to mold him in a way that would only look to her. That would only love her.

He leaned into her touch, her name whispered from his lips, and her whole body shivered in delight at the sound. No one would ever be able to say her name the same way as him, to make her feel the same way N did. She paused, eyes roving over his face, tracing the shape of his eyes, the bridge of his nose, the fullness of his lips—her fingers stiffened, not allowing him any time to react before she gently pressed her lips against his. He jerked initially, weakly tried to push her away, but she wouldn’t let him. She pressed harder, on his lip until he whimpered.

“I love you, N,” she whispered breathily, gasping shortly before kissing him again. “I love you so much.”

“Saet-byul-” he tried, but she slammed her lips on his to shut him up. Her hands moved up to tangle her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer until their bodies were pressed tight against one another.

“Kiss me,” she mumbled in between breaths, her fingers latching onto clumps of his hair and pulling excitedly. “Kiss me, N, kiss me-”

He cut her off by pressing back just as forcefully, his own hands grabbing her face and on her lips until she gasped. She let out a small laugh as she kissed him again and again, reveled in the feel of him responding and reciprocating, no longer resisting as he kissed her back just as passionately. She moaned his name before finally pulling away, ignored his empty, half-lidded eyes as she crushed him in a hug.

“You’re mine, N,” she growled possessively, the taste of his lips still heavy on her own. “I won’t let anyone touch you again. You’re mine and mine alone.”

“I am yours…” he murmured back, his voice soft and empty, and it filled her with happiness.

--

Won-shik awoke to find his head in Jae-hwan's lap, the other absentmindedly running a hand through his hair. He looked up to see Jae-hwan nodding off above him, his head hanging limply to the side as a soft snore escaped his lips. He chuckled lovingly as he lifted his cuffed hands to try and brush Jae-hwan's cheek, grunting when he could barely lift them above his own head, his wrists burning. The movement did, however, wake the other up, Jae-hwan's head shooting up as he hurriedly looked around.  

"Ken hyung," he whispered soothingly, all the tensed muscles in Jae-hwan's body laxing the moment he heard his voice.  

"Won-shik ah," Jae-hwan laughed, running his cuffed hands over Won-shik's chest and face to check if anything was wrong. "Are you okay? You're not hurting are you? Do your wrists hurt? Tell hyung, is there anything wrong?" 

"I'm fine hyung," he tried to reassure, though when he was only met with a reproachful glare he sighed. "My wrists are hurting, but it's probably just from the chains. She put them on pretty tight-" 

"L-let me see them," Jae-hwan whispered, holding his hands out and wrapping them tenderly around Won-shik's wrists. His touches were so light he could barely feel them, his lips trembling. "D-do you hurt anywhere else? Your head?" 

"Not really...hyung, what's going on? I promise I'm okay."  

"No...no, you're not okay..." Jae-hwan in a large breath of air before turning his teary eyes to him, and Won-shik wished he could move more so he could wipe those tears away. "Saet-byul...she put you in with Taek-woon at first. Taek-woon's not a doll, so you reacted...just like how we did to Hong-bin..." Won-shik glanced back to see Hong-bin staring at them, the churning in his stomach matching the little voice in his head that screamed to run away. He swallowed before turning back to Jae-hwan.  

"...I did?" 

Jae-hwan nodded, hiccupping as his shoulders trembled. "You were hurting yourself so bad...Taek-woon had to stop you. I was so scared Won-shik ah...I was so scared..."   

"I'm sorry hyung," he apologized, the pain in his wrists and arms stopping him from lifting his hands any higher than his lap. Seeing the tears on Jae-hwan's face, he settled for holding his hands. "Hey, hey, don't cry."  

"I told Taek-woon to knock you out," he sobbed, his large, painful tears shocking Won-shik. "I didn't want to, I never want to hurt you Wonnie... but you were hurting yourself. They said you'd break your wrists-" Jae-hwan's chains rattled as he pulled his hands back, running his nails down his face and leaving long, red welts on his skin. "I'm so, so sorry. I would never want to hurt you. I-" 

"Hyung!" Won-shik snapped, cutting him off and despite the overwhelming burning sensation shooting through his tired arms, he reached up and yanked Jae-hwan's hands away. He held them tightly, squeezed tighter and tighter until the other looked at him. "None of this is your fault. You did nothing for god's sake! You saved me! If it wasn't for you my wrists would have been broken!"  

Jae-hwan sniffled, on his bottom lip.  

Won-shik took a deep breath to calm down, knew he wouldn't get anywhere if he continued to shout. "Look, hyung, don't blame yourself for this." 

Jae-hwan stared at him for the longest time, so still and calm Won-shik was about to ask if he was okay when, so softly Won-shik could barely hear, he whispered, “I should have let you quit tutoring.”

"What?" 

"When you wanted to quit being Saet-byul's tutor. I should have let you."  

He blinked in surprise, never having heard such a vindictive and bitter tone in his hyung's voice. He swallowed carefully, thinking over the best way to say anything without upsetting him. "No, you were right. I started as a tutor, and I should finish as one. It helped me pass school without too many demerits-" 

"And look what that's gotten you? I...I even yelled at you for being mean to her. I shouldn't have done that. I should have pulled you away."  

How long had he been thinking this? Been torturing himself for something he couldn’t have predicted?

"Stop saying things like that. It's not you, hyung. You’re sweet and while sometimes it’s a pain in the , it’s who you are and I absolutely love that.”

“B-but-”

“Neither of us had any idea Saet-byul would turn out like this. We had no way of knowing she was going to snap and turn us into her personal slaves."  

"But if I hadn't persisted and let you quit, we wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be under the risk of breaking your wrists and I..." he paused, eyes downcast as he lowered his head in shame, "I wouldn't be such a mess."  

"You're not a mess, hyung," he growled. "Don't ever let me hear those ing words out of your mouth again, do you understand?" Jae-hwan blinked confusedly at him, his eyes rimmed red from unshed tears, and it infuriated Won-shik to no end. "Saet-byul definitely ed you over and if I ever got the chance I would beat the out of her, regardless if she's a girl." He could hear Sang-hyuk grunt objectively, but he couldn't care less about that. "But that doesn't mean we can't fix it. There's got to be a way we can make you hear your name again, to make you smile again. If we ever get out of here, I'll help you get better, hyung."  

Jae-hwan didn't react for a few, long seconds, staring uncomprehendingly until the tears in his eyes spilled over and dripped down his chin. Then, slowly and painstakingly, the corners of his lips curled up as he pulled Won-shik into a tight hug, thanking him profusely.  

Won-shik hugged him back.

Hello!

Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been really stressed the past few weeks and decided to take a short hiatus. But I've relaxed over the holiday and was finally able to finish this chapter. Updates will be constant again and should be done soon!

Also Happy New Year!~