Beomgyu's head hung low, blood dripping steadily from his mouth, pooling under the chair. His wrists were raw, skin torn where the ropes bit in. Kai was tied across from him, limp and barely conscious, his face bruised and wet with tears.
A door creaked open slowly.
Mingyu stepped in — slow, almost theatrically — licking a lollipop like a child playing pretend. His smile stretched unnaturally wide.
"Good morning, sunshine~" he cooed, crouching in front of Beomgyu and tilting his chin up roughly. "You're not dead yet? That's impressive."
Beomgyu could barely look at him.
Mingyu dropped the lollipop to the floor. "I have to say, I really missed this." He stood and spun around, arms wide. "This feeling of control. Watching you both fall apart, limb by limb, scream by scream."
"F…fuck you," Beomgyu muttered weakly.
Mingyu turned, delighted. "Ooh~ There's still fire in there! That makes it more fun."
He grabbed a wrench from the table. Kai whimpered.
Junhui leaned against the wall, watching coldly. Vernon sat nearby, sharpening a knife just for show — the metallic screech slicing the silence.
Mingyu walked over to Kai and crouched down. "Remember when you screamed for help six years ago?" he whispered. "You begged. I remember the exact sound you made. It was… beautiful."
"Don't you fucking touch him!" Beomgyu cried, thrashing violently in his chair. "I'll kill you!"
Mingyu's eyes flickered with excitement. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he said, sauntering back over and leaning in close to Beomgyu's ear. "But you're not the one in control here. I am."
He dragged the wrench across Beomgyu's arm — not enough to break skin, but enough to make him flinch. "And I want you to remember this. Every second. Every sound Kai makes. Every scream. This is the hell you should've gotten six years ago."
Then came the blow — sharp, cruel, and intentional. Mingyu grinned like a man unhinged.
Kai let out a broken sob. Beomgyu cried out, body jerking violently in pain.
"I'm going to make sure you both never forget me."
+×+
Soobin stood outside, his phone pressed to his ear.
Still no answer.
"I don't care how long it takes," he muttered into the phone. "Get me anything. Traffic footage. City records. Warehouse activity. I need to find them before they die."
Taehyun watched from the doorway, arms crossed, eyes filled with worry.
Inside, Yeonjun sat motionless, staring blankly at a map spread across the table.
Every minute that passed, the silence screamed.
They were running out of time.
+×+
The house was dimly lit, silent aside from the tapping of Taehyun's fingers on his phone. Soobin paced restlessly, while Yeonjun sat on the couch, his knee bouncing uncontrollably.
It had been three days since Beomgyu and Kai disappeared.
The police weren't doing enough. No witnesses. No leads. Nothing.
Suddenly, Taehyun froze. His brows furrowed.
"Guys…" he said slowly, turning the phone around. "Look at this."
He held up a grainy screenshot from a local security camera footage forum he followed for fun — one where urban explorers and locals posted odd clips from abandoned or restricted sites.
The image showed the rear of a van — poorly lit — parked outside an old textile warehouse in the outskirts of town. Barely visible were two struggling figures being dragged inside.
It had only been posted two hours ago.
Yeonjun shot up. "Where's that?!"
Taehyun's voice was steady, but his hands were shaking. "That warehouse was shut down ten years ago. I know it. My cousin used to work there before it closed."
Soobin's eyes narrowed. "Coordinates?"
"I can get them," Taehyun said, already typing furiously.
Yeonjun grabbed his coat.
"We're going."
+×+
The ride was silent at first, tension slicing the air.
Then Yeonjun whispered, "You think it's them?"
"It has to be," Soobin said, his grip on the wheel tightening. "No one else would drag them out of the blue. No one else would know exactly how to hurt them like this."
Taehyun muttered, "If it's really Mingyu and those bastards… they didn't come back for a visit. They came back to finish what they started."
Soobin's jaw clenched. "Then we finish it first."
+×+
The smell of damp concrete and rust filled the air, mingling with the tension that hung like a storm cloud. Deep within the abandoned warehouse, Kai was tied to a metal chair, bruised and bleeding, his eyes swollen but still burning with defiance. Beside him, Beomgyu sat slumped against a support beam, his arms bound and lip split, trying to stay awake despite the pain and blood loss.
Mingyu stood in front of them with a maddening grin, sweat-slick hair clinging to his forehead. He dragged the edge of a knife along Beomgyu's cheek—not deep, but enough to draw blood.
"Six years," he hissed. "Six damn years I've waited for this moment. And now… look at you. Pathetic, just like I imagined."
Beomgyu breathed heavily, glaring through the pain. "You won't get away with this."
Vernon laughed in the shadows, flicking his lighter open and closed. "That's what you said last time, remember? And yet here we are."
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor outside.
"Shit," Junhui muttered. "We've got company."
Mingyu clicked his tongue. "What?!"
The doors burst open with a slam. Soobin, Taehyun, and Yeonjun entered like a wave of fury, weapons in hand. Soobin's eyes locked immediately onto Kai, and he roared his name as he lunged forward.
Chaos erupted.
Taehyun tackled Vernon first, both crashing into stacked crates. Soobin charged at Junhui, rage consuming him as he threw punches fueled by panic and love. The fights were brutal—no neat choreography, just raw desperation. Blood, groans, and the sound of shattering wood filled the warehouse.
Yeonjun locked eyes with Mingyu, who had grabbed Beomgyu by the hair and pressed the knife against his throat.
"Don't come any closer," Mingyu barked, dragging Beomgyu to his feet.
Yeonjun raised his hands. "You don't want to do this."
"Oh, I really do," Mingyu sneered. "You weren't even part of this, but maybe I should carve you up too, since you're so eager to play hero."
"I don't care what happens to me," Yeonjun said, voice shaking, "but you're not taking him."
Then, in one lightning-fast move, Mingyu shoved Beomgyu aside and lunged with the knife—
Yeonjun moved faster.
He threw himself between them, arms outstretched. A sickening shhk! echoed.
Beomgyu's eyes widened in horror as he watched the blade plunge deep into Yeonjun's abdomen.
"Yeonjun!" he screamed.
The world slowed down. Mingyu yanked the knife back, stunned by Yeonjun's reckless move. Beomgyu caught Yeonjun as he collapsed into his arms, his blood soaking Beomgyu's shirt.
Soobin, hearing Beomgyu's scream, broke away from his fight with Junhui and charged at Mingyu, knocking him unconscious with the butt of a pipe. Taehyun followed, subduing Vernon with a brutal kick to the ribs.
But Beomgyu wasn't watching anymore. He was cradling Yeonjun, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Why… why did you do that?!" Beomgyu sobbed, shaking.
Yeonjun coughed, a smile breaking through the pain. "I… I couldn't let him hurt you. Not again. I couldn't—live with myself… if something happened to you."
Beomgyu's heart shattered. "You idiot. You're bleeding too much, we need to stop the bleeding—Taehyun! Soobin, help!"
"I'm so sorry," Yeonjun whispered, reaching up to touch Beomgyu's face with a trembling hand. "For everything. I never stopped… loving you."
"Don't you dare say goodbye," Beomgyu choked. "You're not dying. You can't. I just got you back."
Soobin and Taehyun rushed over, Soobin immediately applying pressure to the wound as Taehyun called for an ambulance.
"I didn't do anything to deserve your forgiveness," Yeonjun said weakly. "But thank you… for letting me protect you this time."
"Shut up and stay awake," Beomgyu whispered through tears, clutching Yeonjun's hand tightly. "You're going to be okay. I'm not letting you go. Not this time."
The warehouse was a mess of blood and broken memories—but amidst the pain, something else bloomed. Not forgiveness yet, but the start of something fragile and real.
A second chance, hanging on the edge of life and death.