𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐬 | 𝐡𝐡𝐣

seventeen.

Soft...

Fresh...

Warm...

Silk...?

Hyunjin shoots up, arm reaching up to shield himself from the golden rays pouring into his vision. It's just like when he woke up at the hospital, except now he's surrounded by expensive, designer silk sheets and dozens of soft, fluffy pillows. At his bedside, a metal tray with a silver cover.

A pounding fills his head uncomfortably, thumping getting louder and more painful the longer it's there. With sharp breaths, he clutches his head, clenching his eyes shut. Flashes of the room appear in his mind.

Minho in front of the window, climbing in.

Areum sitting on the bed, smiling at him.

His father angrily slamming the door.

His mother glaring at him.

"Go to your room!"

Go to your room.

His room.

This is his room. He's in his house. His parents' house.

Right, he was in your apartment, in his bed. Then the banging began, and he'd been rushing to your room—

His fingers tug on his shirt, tracing his shoulder with his finger in search of—found it. There's a small, fresh scab on his delicate skin, where what he assumes was a dart penetrated him. Then everything faded to darkness, your muffled sounds of surprise and fear humming quietly in his ears as he lost consciousness.

If he's here, where are you? Surely they brought you as well. Leverage against him would be too great to pass up, right?

Crawling out the bed, he wobbles toward the door, his head still throbbing from what he assumes is the tranquilizer. He has to find you. Before they hurt you.

Blond locks dangle outside is door when he peaks his head out, glancing around the posh halls for anyone who could pose as a threat. Really, that can be anyone—a lanky, pretty much hungover twenty-year-old in skinny jeans that were not meant for fighting—but he scans the area nonetheless.

He thinks the coast is clear for a moment, before a larger, broad figure appears before him, grabbing his shoulder with one of the man's large hands. Hyunjin can feel his bones shaking beneath his skin in fear, because this guy could break him like a popsicle stick without breaking a sweat.

"So you're awake," a hoarse voice asks from behind the man in black, one that even Hyunjin's memory can recall. "It's nice to see you again, son."

——

"Will you stop squirming?" Minho hisses from behind you.

You huff in annoyance, tugging your wrists apart as much as you can. "No. I need to get out of here. They could be hurting him, and I don't want to be stuck in here any longer."

"They're not going to hurt him. They'll let us go soon too, so just relax and wait," he sighs, leaning his head against your shoulder, his shoulders slumped. The one night he doesn't sleep over and you two get kidnapped. What's even better is that the moment he shows up to your house in the morning, something is thrown over his head and he's tossed into a truck aggressively. And now he's tied up in what he's pretty sure is the Hwang Manor's basement, where he can be no help to you or Hyunjin.

You decide to give escaping a rest for now, relaxing your posture. The two of you sit in silence, until something about Minho's words finally strikes you. "How do you know they won't hurt him? Or that they'll let us go?"