Flower ||| Ateez

24

Wooyoung stood in the hallway, sobbing into his hands. He didn't know what to think about what he just saw, and he didn't know what was worse... The fact that she had been branded, or the fact that after telling her story she had retreated back into the cage she had made for herself to try and block out all the bad things that happened to her.

He wanted to tell her that he didn't care about any of that. He didn't care what that monster had put her through. That didn't change the way he, or any of the others, felt about her. He knew it wasn't her choice. He knew she didn't want that life.

That son of a bitch did this to her... If I ever see him again...

The brand flashed before his eyes again and he fell to his knees.

Soon, he heard footsteps running up the stairs. "Youngie!" San called out, running to pull his friend into his arms. "Youngie what happened?"

Wooyoung couldn't stop crying long enough to tell him.

A few other faces appeared over the steps, but they stopped when San shook his head, so they stood there. Their eyes flickered between Wooyoung and the door to Lily's room.

"I'm going to kill him." Wooyoung finally managed to choke out. "I'm going to kill him for what he did to her."

"Youngie..." San said, pulling away a little bit. He could feel the rage pulsing from his friend. The tears had stopped as quickly as he began, and the look he gave San when he looked up stopped his heart.

His lip twitched in a slight snarl and his brown eyes were dark.

"Wooyoung, what did she tell you?" Seonghwa said, finally walking over and kneeling in front of the others. He placed a hand on the other's knee and leaned forward.

That soft touch snapped Wooyoung out of his rage and he bit his lip, trying to fight back the tears again.

"She told me everything... everything that man did to her, and what he let others do to her. I just used almost every clean towel we have rubbing the layers of makeup they had smeared over her entire body... Hwa... she's worse than last time..."

Seonghwa's hand came to his mouth and he glanced at the closed door in front of them.

"He branded her."

"What?" Yunho said, stepping forward. "I didn't see anything."

"It's not anywhere that would be visible if you were just looking at her." He looked at the taller, then extended his leg and placed a hand on the inside of his thigh, the same place her mark was.

Everyone gasped.

"Please tell me you're lying." Yunho said, his tears threatening to fall now. "Please, Youngie." When his friend stayed silent, he fell to his knees.

"I'll join you." Jongho said suddenly. Everyone turned, shocked expressions on their face at their youngest's words. "That man doesn't deserve to live anymore." He snarled, clenching his fists.

"Ok, just wait a moment." Hongjoong said stepping forward and holding his hands up. "We have more important things to worry about right now. Lily needs us. We can't leave her here to go on a man hunt."

"I don't know that she would even notice..." Wooyoung said softly, cutting off his leader.

"What do you mean?" San asked.

"After she finished telling me... it was like there was nothing of her left, she was just..."

"A shell." Yunho finished. "She looked the same way when she first stepped into the room with me. I had to say my name a couple times and pull her too me before she seemed to even recognize me..."