~<*>~ Pain in me ~<*>~

Chapter 32

"Shit, shit, shit!" Woojin curses as he slams the front door shut behind him. Aylen is sitting at the kitchen table, guarding the door towards the basement where Dino is in. Jisung is storming down the stairs, a worried and confused look on is face.
"What is it?" Jisung asks hurriedly while Aylen couldn't care less. She just stares at her phone, not even bothering to look up. It hurts Woojin, he wishes Aylen would care more about him. 
"Tell me!" Jisung demands and Woojin blinks surprised. 
"I..., they figured it out", Woojin mumbles and his face gets red.
"What?" Jisung asks.
"They figured it out!" Woojin repeats frustrated.
"How the hell did they discover?" Jisung asks a bit angry. Woojin presses his lips in a thin line, he's quite nervous about this part. He realizes he fucked up real bad.
"Scoups is still alive", Woojin blurts out and Jisung's look is killing him.
"What!?" he yells while Aylen looks up surprised.
"He is?" she asks hopeful, her eyes are even sparkling. Woojin nods embarrassed and Jisung lets out a deep sigh.
"I can't believe you. Who did you kill then?" he asks and Woojin takes a deep breath while he rubs his arm.
"Another team mate. There was a funeral for him today, where Scoups and Joshua have revealed me for the whole group", Woojin says and he knows how bad this is. Their cover is gone, from now on it will be harder to succeed.
"Seriously, you had one job. One fucking job!" Jisung shouts furious while he runs off into the basement. Woojin knows Jisung will give Dino some torture to cope with his own anger and he strangely feels a little sorry for the brunette. 
"I can't believe Scoups is still alive", Aylen mutters and Woojin can hear a slight bit of happiness in her voice.
"Not for long, so don't start hoping", Woojin snaps and Aylen throws him an angry look.
"If you don't fuck it up again", she answers rude. Her phone suddenly buzzes and her face lights up when she reads whatever she just got. Woojin wants to go to her and read it as well, but she quickly stands up and walks away. Woojin exhales frustrated, why can't he do anything right around here? Is it seriously that hard to befriend someone? Also wanting to cope with his anger, Woojin goes into the basement. Dino can expect a lot of pain today.

~<*>~

Scoups is running towards the adress that he's given. He's surprised that Aylen even sent him the location of her house, he didn't realize she still cares about him. Scoups, this might be a trap. Yeah, but what if it isn't? Then he can get revenge for Jun. He knows Aylen lives together with Woojin. Scoups knows he will probably regret this later, but his anger is taking control. He can't bear the thought of Jun being slaughtered. And besides, he's getting more and more sure by the minute that Dino isn't safe. Woojin did something to him and Scoups gets furious not knowing what it is. When he arrives at the house, Scoups takes a second to breathe. He thinks about a plan, but gives up and just angrily starts to kick the door. He will break through, even if it takes him a full day to kick this door to pieces. Like a maniac, he keeps on kicking and kicking until suddenly, the door opens. Aylen is standing in the doorway and Scoups stares at her speechless. She looks happy to see him, genuinely happy. Before Scoups can even react, Aylen runs to him and hugs him tight.
"You're alive", she whispers, but Scoups pushes her away from him. He can't let his mind get troubled by his first love. He storms inside with Aylen following him and soon, he's standing in the kitchen. 
"Scoups!" Aylen's words make him stop his tracks, but it hurts Scoups to be in this position. Why does this girl always make him feel like this? Scoups scans the room, but there's no sign of Woojin. Not able to take revenge, Scoups focusses on Dino.
"Where is he?" Scoups asks, his back still facing Aylen.
"What?" Aylen asks with her soft, sweet voice. She sounds so innocent Scoups would almost believe it.
"You know what I mean, where is he!?" Scoups yells angry while he turns around to face her. Aylen looks shocked and even a bit scared, but Scoups doesn't mind. He has to save his friend. 
"I...", Aylen wants to speak up, but her words die down. 
"Do you love me?" Scoups suddenly asks and Aylen seems to be taken aback by the question.
"Why are you suddenly asking?" she questions surprised, but Scoups holds on.
"You said you still loved me. Is that true or were you lying?" Scoups asks and Aylen waits a few seconds before she responds.
"Of course I still love you!" she exclaims desperately.
"Then show me you're the Aylen I remember! Help me this once to save the person I care about!" Scoups yells and he feels that he's getting desperate as well.
"But what's the point? You don't love me", Aylen mumbles and her eyes look at the ground.
"You know I never stopped loving you", Scoups mutters. Aylen looks him in the eyes, her face lights up immediatly.
"Seriously?" she asks and a smile forms on her face.
"It's just like you still love me. We are each other's first love, we will never forget what we had. But that doesn't mean we can be together again", Scoups says slowly, making sure Aylen understands what he wants to say. Aylen looks down again and Scoups starts to fear that she doesn't want to help him when she suddenly points at a door which seems pretty locked up.
"In the basement", she mutters before she walks away, leaving Scoups behind baffled. But then, he focusses again. He has to save Dino, right now. Using a little bit of his brain, he quickly sends his location to Joshua. He has faith that the leader will understand him. Then, he walks towards the door. Feeling powered up, Scoups kicks the door hard. The wood trembles under his force, but it doesn't break yet. Scoups kicks another time and some more, until the door finally snaps. Without thinking, Scoups steps inside and he still sees Dino laying down on the ground. The look of the brunette laying there, looking up at Scoups as if he's seeing a god, will always stay in Scoups' memory.

~<*>~

When Dino looks up, it's like he's looking at a god. He can't see the person clearly, he can only see his contour, but he's sure. Scoups is standing in the doorway. The only problem is that Woojin and Jisung are also inside and are also looking at Scoups right now. Dino wants to yell to warn Scoups, but he's too tired and his voice doesn't want to work. For the second time, he has to watch while both Jisung and Woojin scream in anger and jump on Scoups. It doesn't take long before Scoups is unconscious and Dino can only watch in despair.
"No...", he whispers in a raspy voice. He's afraid of what might happen, what they might do to Scoups. But also, Dino seems to live in a fantasy. Scoups is alive? But before Dino can think about this longer, he too gets knocked down and everything turns black.

When Dino opens his eyes again, he feels a cold shiver rushing past his spine. It's also really dark, even darker than in the basement. He feels someone else next to him and it's like he's in a tight space. When his hand touches the ground, his heart skips a beat. He realizes that he isn't in the basement anymore, but inside the freezer. 
"Shit", Dino whispers scared. He's cold and he's hungry, how long will he hold on?
"Oh, you're awake", a familiar voice says and Dino could almost cry out of hapiness.
"Scoups," he whispers in disbelief, "you're alive." When he doesn't get an answer, Dino blinks his eyes confused.
"Or am I dead?" he asks softly and a chuckle echoes in the small, cold room.
"No, you're not," Scoups answers, "and I'm not either. And I'm not planning on dying just yet because I will always be there to protect you." The words give Dino confidence and comfort. He knows Scoups means every word he says. 
"We're in a freezer", Dino mumbles in response, not really knowing what to say.
"Oh, I thought we were in an oven", Scoups says dryly, causing Dino to giggle.
"But seriously, I'm glad you're okay. Or at least alive", Scoups adds in a more serious tone.
"I didn't even know you were alive," Dino murmurs sad, "they said you were dead." Dino can't see that well in this darkness, but he knows Scoups' eyes are darkening right now.
"That's because they thought they killed me", Scoups answers in a tone as cold as the freezer they're in. A silence forms and Dino doesn't know what to say. After a long breath in, he finally finds the courage to ask.
"What happened then? If they thought they killed you but didn't?" For a while, Scoups stays silent. It causes Dino to wonder whether Scoups doesn't want to answer the question, fell asleep or froze to death. Right when Dino wants to make sure if Scoups is still alive, the older answers.
"Woojin was about to succeed, he almost got me. But I was 'lucky enough' to bump into Jun. He pretended he was me and took my bullets." Dino can hear the sadness in Scoups' voice, but he can't get himself to join his mourn. Dino is really thankful for Jun to save his true friend, although Dino still finds it sad of course. 
"I'm sorry to hear that", Dino mumbles while a cold shiver rushes through his spine. He's fealing really weak.
"It's not like we can turn back time, so I guess we just have to live with it. That's what Jun would have wanted", Scoups answers and Dino exhales deeply.
"It's not going to help, but you can try", he says and almost immediatly after, he regrets it. 
"It sounds like you want to get something off your chest", Scoups slowly suggests, but Dino shakes his head.
"No, now is not the time", Dino objects.
"What are we going to do otherwise? And besides, it will help us stay conscious", Scoups reasons with him and Dino eventually gives in. It hurts him to talk about it, but maybe Scoups is right.
"Once, long ago, I used to have a sister", Dino begins to talk.
"Really?" Scoups asks interested.
"Yeah, but she died. And it's my fault. Winter had arrived and it was snowing everywhere. My sister and I loved snow and especially ice skating. So we asked to go to the lake, where we could skate. My parents gave in, but I wish they hadn't. When we were ice skating, my sister and I got in a fight. Angry and stuborn as I was, I ran away, leaving my sister behind. She wanted to follow me, but she fell through the ice and when I noticed, it was already too late. She died because I was too stubborn. I still feel guitly about it", Dino says and he feels Scoups' hand on his tigh.
"I'm so sorry for you. Is that why you hate the winter?" he asks kindly.
"I hate it ever since. There is no winter that passed without me thinking about her. Sometimes, I really miss her." Dino can barely see it, but he believes that Scoups nods understanding. 
"How did your parents react?" Scoups asks and Dino sighs deeply.
"At first they were angry, but they soon realized that I was mourning too. Let's just say that my parents have been protective over me ever since", Dino says and Scoups lets out a chuckle.
"I noticed", he says amused and Dino knows his roommate is thinking about the first time Dino got kidnapped. Dino chuckles as well, but a cold shiver interrupts him. 
"Are you okay?" Scoups asks worried, noticing that something is wrong.
"I'll be fine", Dino answers, but he isnt sure. He prays someone will rescue them before they freeze to death.