RANSOM - 3RACHA

Six

69 days before Chan was taken:

"Are you sure this won't hurt?" Chan looked at the two boys above him with nervous eyes. The grins on their faces weren't making him feel anymore at ease.

"Well..." Jisung started and moved so he was straddling Chan's chest on his bed, "it hurts a little."

"Yeah, but it'll be fine in a few seconds," Changbin agreed, "you can hold my hand if you're scared," he teased.

Chan took a deep breath. "And you've done this before?"

"Of course, do you really think I could afford to get my ears pierced!?" Changbin asked and smiled as he watched Chan squeeze his eyes shut.

"Just do it," the eldest instructed.

Jisung lowered the needle and with hands as steady as they could be after 4 coffees, he pierced it into the flesh of Chan's ear. Chan yelped from the sudden pain and grabbed Changbin's hand, squeezing it tightly as Jisung removed the needle and replaced it with an silver stud earring. When Chan opened his eyes, his surroundings were blurry due to the tears that had flooded his eyes but they had dried in seconds and he was able to see Jisung and Changbin chuckling at him.

"Aw, you're so brave!" Jisung giggled and dived onto Chan, smothering him with a suffocating hug.

Chan let out a shaky breath, "if I'm fired by my dad for this, it's your fault."

-

"I feel homeless again," Jisung mumbled as he walked down the dark streets beside Changbin, a backpack on his back and his hands freezing cold.

"We are homeless again," Changbin stated. Jisung gulped at the thought. "Don't worry, we're going to save Chan though," he added when he noticed the younger boy had tensed up. He knew how much Jisung hated being homeless but who wouldn't?

"Yeah," Jisung nodded and hugged his coat closer to his body. "It's freezing," he muttered and hid his face in collar.

"Here," Changbin stopped walking and unwrapped the black scarf from around his neck. He didn't know why Jisung didn't bring a scarf in the first place, he'd told him to but Jisung insisted he'd be fine. He started to wind the fabric around Jisung's neck and the younger shook his head.

"No, you'll get cold."

Changbin scoffed, "I'm a bad bitch, the cold can't hurt me." And Jisung smiled. It was a smile like the one he always had around Changbin, and Chan too. Anyone could make Jisung smile, he was easily amused and more than often happy, but only Changbin and Chan could make him smile like that. "Come on," Changbin intertwined his fingers with Jisung's, "we have places to be and baddies to beat up."

---

When it reaches 3 am, Jisung was falling asleep on Changbin's shoulder as they walked down the streets. Changbin didn't know how he was still standing and his original plan was to walk to the address and drop of the money, but as they'd already been walking for 3 hours, he started to realise they should have gotten a taxi. The idea hadn't come to him at first because he was so used to living without money, but now he had millions of it on his back and a bit extra in his pockets. It was a strange feeling.

"Jisung," Changbin whispered to the boy who had his head drooping against him and his eyes starting to flutter shut. "Jisung," he repeated and stopped walking.

Jisung abruptly shot up and looked around in a panic, "what happened?"

"You fell asleep while walking," Changbin laughed, "you were sleep walking."

Jisung rubbed his eyes with his hands and frowned, "I don't like being out here so late, last time..." he trailed off. He didn't want to bring it up, but the memory of a man mugging him while another held a knife to his throat still haunted him.

"I know, sweetheart," Changbin took Jisung's hand in his own again, "which is why were going to stay in a hotel, ok?" He said and pointed to the grand building that was behind Jisung.

He turned to face it and gasped, "that's too fancy! We can't afford that."

"You have £1 million on your back and extra in your pockets, I'm pretty sure we can afford it," Changbin said and led Jisung into the pink and gold coloured hotel.

Jisung took a seat in one of the gold chairs near the door while Changbin went over to the desk and booked them a room. He was almost asleep again by the time Changbin returned, but he was then offered a hand and lead down the hall by him. "Did you not sleep last night?" He asked as he reached room 217 and unlocked the door.

Jisung shook his head. "I haven't slept properly since Chan was...taken," he admitted.

Changbin walked over to the furthest bed and pulled away the covers, letting Jisung climb into it. He was falling asleep again within seconds so Changbin undid his shoes for him and took his coat and scarf off. "Goodnight, sweetheart," Changbin whispered and placed a kiss on Jisung's forehead.

"Goodnight, Binnie..."

-

Blood splattered out of Chan's mouth as he coughed. Another blow was dealt to his chest and he went toppling onto the floor. Another one and he felt he could die. "Please..." He begged and curled himself up into a protective ball, "please stop. It hurts so much."

"Miss Everwere said we can have some fun," a man with large muscles said, "so that's what we're doing."

Everwere... Chan knew he had heard that name somewhere. He started to mumbled the name, hoping it would ring a bell but before he could reach a conclusion, another man had kicked him in the back and sent him rolling a distance until his head collided with the metal leg of a table. Sharp pain shot through his head and he could feel blood starting to spill, dripping to the cold floor he was now sprawled across.

"That's enough, thank you," the lady, who must have been Miss Everwere, said as she walked into the room, "we need him alive, remember?"

-

A/N: Read between the lines too deeply for my own fricking writing with the flashback and now I have...unholy symbolism. I'm so- ??? what.