Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jihoon rubbed his eyes, trying to keep the exhaustion at bay. He'd been working on their newest comeback album for over 8 hours now with no breaks safe for a few toilet runs. The title track was as good as finished but the b-sides still needed some work, he wouldn't hand in anything short of perfection. Fiddling some more with different elements he attempted to create that extra kick the song needed before a groan escaped him. It just wasn't working, for some reason he had hit a wall. No matter what he did it just didn’t sound right. Stretching to try and get rid of the ache in his back, his eyes glided over to the clock on the bottom of his screen. 03:06. Great. He was getting scolded tonight, or rather, this morning as it was already past midnight. After having snapped at the other members one too many times and fainting due to overworking too often for his members’ comfort, the members had decided to instate a new rule saying he had to be back at the dorms at the latest at 3 in the morning, as it was already past 3 he had obviously failed to arrive in time. The first time after the new rule had been put into place he hadn't taken them seriously and had ignored the rule, needless to say, he would never make that mistake again. A man can only handle so much embarasment, and being lifted up by their tallest member and dragged towards a van like a misbehaving child would surely help you reach that limit quite quickly.

Once again glancing towards the clock, he contemplated just continueing what he was working on until one of the members came to drag him out of his studio, he could use every extra minute they'd give him after all, but ultimately he decided against it. He was already beyond exhausted and with this wall he had all but slammed face first into, he knew there would be nothing productive flowing out of his fingers any time soon. Sighing again, he saved his progress and began turning off all the equipment. The moment he took off his noise-cancelling heaphones, he frowned in confusion. He could hear sounds coming from outside of the room. The noise was very faint thanks to the newly installed isolation pannels so he couldn't tell what exactly it was but it must've been very loud as he managed to hear it all the way in his studio. Shrugging he decided to not pay too much attention to it, he was sure he'd find out whatever it was once he left the building and would inevitably pass the source of the noise. He was certain it was nothing dangerous like Sasaeng fans as, if that were the case, the guards would've alerted him to stay in the studio and not let anyone in.

Sending a quick text to Jeonghan-hyung, the most likely one to still be awake, he informed him that he was on his way home. Tucking the phone into his back pocket, he began packing his bag, making sure to not accidentally leave anything behind. Hearing footsteps coming closer, he had to express his nth groan of the day, of course his members were already here to take him home. Grumbling to himself he made a mental note to lecture Wonwoo on how to quietly move about in buildings at night. No other member could have such heavy footsteps except for their rapper and his newfound combat boots obsession. Slinging his bag on his back, he made his way over to the door.

"I know, I'm sorry I lost track of time hyu-" The moment the door opened he was met with the barrel of a gun to his face.

Fuck, he definitely wasn't going home any time soon. Seungcheol was going to kill him.

Jeonghan was just about ready to have an aneurysm. Not only were they all exhausted due to preparations for their newest comeback, a certain producer of theirs was once again neglecting his own health to work on the album. Jeonghan had no idea how the younger was planning to continue his job if he ended up working himself into a hospital bed, or worse, an early grave. While Jihoon was an adult and more than capable of taking care of himself, the moment something affected the other members or Jihoon's own health, they had to step in. Lord knows Jihoon would sooner work himself into an early grave than take a break. Throwing a glance towards the clock he took note of the time, 03h08. He'd given the smaller idol the benefit of the doubt, maybe he'd gotten stuck in trafic or his chauffeur wasn't ready yet, but Jeonghan was quite sure that wasn't the case. Jihoon always made sure to wrap up around 02h30 so that even if traffic was bad, he was still home in time so the ones waiting up for him wouldn’t have to wait “too long”. The younger was considerate like that.

Pushing himself up from the couch, he heard a moan come from the half asleep boy who had been leaning against his left shoulder. When the clock had strucken midnight, Jeonghan had convinced their leader to just go to bed and catch up on sleep. He'd promised the older he'd make sure Jihoon got home safe, hearing Jeonghan's plans to wait up for the other, Soonyoung had offered to wait with him. Their resident tiger had been drifting in and out of sleep for the past two hours, having spent the first hour watching random kdramas. Jeonghan knew that the both of them should've already been asleep, tucked deep in bed, it was the reason he'd sent off everyone else. They had schedules starting at 7 in the morning and couldn't afford to lose any sleep. However, after having seen Woozi collapse 3 times this week alone, he wasn't taking any chances. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to one of the members while he was just peacefully sleeping the night away, ignorant to their suffering.

"I'm going to go get Jihoonie" The words had barely even left his lips before the other had shot up and was stumbling over to the hall, mumbling about how he would come with him. Jeonghan had half a mind of telling him that no, he was staying in the dorms, but one glance at the other man's determined gaze made him shut his mouth. It was the same gaze that had convinced Jeonghan to let Soonyoung stay up with him. Silently gathering their keys, they went over to their shoes, ready to put them on when the older's phone lit up with a notification. He was about to ignore it and continue putting on his shoes when he noticed it was from their smallest vocalist.

'Lost track of time, omw home now' -Lee Jihoon

Jeonghan could feel some tension leave his shoulders. His younger brother was okay, he'd just lost track of time and was on his way home. Noticing Soonyoung stare at him, he wordlessly lifted his phone up to his face, showing him the text. They both took off their jackets and made their way back to the couch. They could probably go to bed now, knowing Jihoon would be home soon, but Jeonghan didn't want to just yet. Waiting a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, just to make sure the younger arrived home safely. 2 minutes later however, he felt his eyes slide shut.

Chapter Text

Jihoon hadn't been able to lift his eyes from the gun, too terrified of the weapon to even consider the possibility of looking elsewhere. The one holding the gun had lead him towards the reception area, where they were gathering every employee still in the building. After directing him towards a specific wall, taking away his phone and tying his hands the person with the gun stepped away from him, their firearm still pointed in his general vicinity but no longer trained on Jihoon specifically. The idol felt like he could finally breath again, at least for a little bit. Slowly lifting his eyes he began scanning his surroundings.

The front doors seemed to have been barricaded by the couches that were usually placed in the center of the room, Jihoon assumed they were used to keep the doors locked so the police couldn't easily get in after the criminals had broken the actual lock to get inside. One armed man was standing near the doors, anxiously glancing outside every few seconds, probably to see if law enforcement had arrived yet. Another man, one with a ponytail was standing behind the front desk, staring at the computer screen, a terrified employee next to him. Probably looking at camera footage. Jihoon felt bad for the IT guy, what horrible luck to come fix some technical issues the one night there's an actual hostage situation.

Standing in the center of the room was a broadly build man, who Jihoon dubbed Mr. Muscle in his head, next to him a crumpled form lied on the floor. Noticing who it was, the vocalist felt his breath hitch in his throat. One of the security guards was laying facedown on the floor, a puddle of blood surrounding his head. Mr Muscle must've hit the guard over the head with his gun. Or at least Jihoon hoped so, he couldn't see a gunshot wound so that should be a good sign right?

Next to the ginger haired male, the one who had taken Jihoon from his studio, stood another armed man, this one slightly smaller yet for some reason just as, if not more intimidating. The man wasn't necessarily tall nor muscled, but he had an air of power surrounding him. Jihoon was guessing that man must be the ring leader as the ginger whispered something to him while he nodded before giving Ponytail an order with a simple hand movement. With a quick nod, Ponytail leaned back towards the computer and began furiously tapping away, the IT guy nervously standing next to him, not knowing what to do.

Jihoon allowed his eyes to glide towards his right where the other hostages were. There were 5 others besides Jihoon, the unconscious guard and the IT guy. One of them being the other guard that had been sharing a shift with the unconscious one, the man kept staring wide-eyed at his partner's form on the ground. The idol knew the guard should probably be the one the rest of the hostages depend on, but Jihoon couldn't blame him for being shaken, hell, he himself was terrified. Next to the guard were two young women, curled up together, the younger of the two seemed to be shaking. Jihoon felt his heart bleed for them, he recognised them as two of the company's stylists. He'd worked with the older woman a few times but the younger girl was an intern and had only been with the company for 4 months. He’d only met her once during those 4 months but she'd been extremely kind to Chan when the young man had accidentally ripped his shirt. Maybe it was because of his fondness for Chan and his appreciation for her not getting mad at him, but he had put in a good word for her. The company had considered giving her a permanent placement if she managed to succesfully get through her next assignment. Said assignment was the reason as to why the two stylists were still in the building. During this morning’s coffee run, before he had locked himself in his studio, Jihoon had ran into the older woman. She had mentioned to him that tomorrow fromis_9 had a concert and the intern was terrified of messing up, so as her senior she had offered to stay behind with her to make sure everything would go smoothly.

A meter from them sat an older woman whispering comforting words towards the two crying women. She was one of their cleaning ladies, and would be retiring next week. The cleaning crew had had a retirement party two days ago to celebrate her years spent working for the company and to wish her the best in the future. He'd stumbled upon them when he'd gone on another coffee run. The old lady had beckoned him in and pushed a plate with cake into his hands, a man on her crew placing a party hat on his head. Normally he would never take a break longer than 5 minutes but she'd been like a mother to him the past few years. She'd been on the night shift for as long as he could remember and every night, without fail, she would show up with a homemade meal and a motherly rant about how he needed to take better care of himself, knowing full well the idol hadn't had anything to eat since setting a foot in his studio. That morning Jeonghan hadn't gotten mad at him when he came to drag Jihoon home. Seeing his normally isolated dongsaeng actually willingly abandon his work for something like a party must've moved something in him because with minimal prompting from the older lady he'd joined them. Catching his gaze, the woman threw him a reassuring look but he could see her fear underneath. Jihoon hated that all he could do was look back at her with tears welling up in his eyes.

The last hostage was Jihoon's driver. Jihoon wondered what the man was doing here. Normally he would wait outside in the car for the producer to come so he could drop of the man at home before getting to crawl into his own bed. Although the acidic smell and wet patch on the driver's trousers made him think that the man had probably gone inside to look for a toilet when the armed men had burst in, terrifying the older man.

Sounds of someone stumbling and an annoyed voice telling the person to hurry up was all the indication he got that people were approaching from his left before someone fell on top of him, knocking his head against the wall, a groan leaving his lips. The person got pulled off of the idol before being unceremoniously shoved onto the ground next to him.

Sitting up slightly dazed he looked to the person who'd fallen on top of him only to feel his breath hitch into his throat. All trainees had been ordered to go home before ten in the evening, so why the hell was one lying on the ground next to him? The armed man who'd dragged the boy here was one Jihoon hadn't seen yet, he was bald and currently in the process of tying the trainee's wrists behind his back. For a second he wondered how many more armed men there were but the question was quickly answered when the bald man spoke up.

"We searched the whole building, that's the last of them" Jihoon thought there was a bit too much resentment in his voice but the blossoming bruise on the gun man’s jaw, and the defiant glare in the trainee's eyes quickly were all the clues he needed to figure out what had happened. Great, not only did he have to worry about getting out of here alive, now he also had to worry about a reckless trainee possibly getting himself, and everyone else killed. Blame his older brother instincts but he couldn't help but feel responsible for the younger trainee, not only because he was his elder, but because the boy reminded him too much of Chan. For a second he imagined what it would be like if Chan, hell, if any of the other members were in his position instead. If he were the one safely at home. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to be the one going through any of this. If only he hadn't stayed behind, if only it were someone else in his place, if- But the mere thought of any of the others being in a situation such as this sent shivers down his spine. He didn't want to be here, but he'd rather be the one suffering if that meant none of his friends had to.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the trainee readying himself for something, he didn't know wether the younger man wanted to yell something or if he wanted to attack one of the gunmen again, but Jihoon wasn't taking any chances. Lifting his left leg up, he quickly threw it over the trainee, the action paired with his piercing gaze serving as a warning. 'Don't do anything stupid.' The younger boy must've received the message because he just pressed his lips together and leant back against the wall. He stayed silent for just a few seconds before speaking up "I'm sorry about your head." Those words made Jihoon more aware of the throbbing in his temple but he merely smiled at the trainee to reassure him, the fact that the boy just raised an eyebrow signaled to him that he wasn't being very convincing.

"Don't worry about it." Yet the trainee merely continued staring at him.

"Now then" All the hostages' heads shot towards their captors' leader the moment the man opened his mouth. "I don't derive any pleasure from killing, but I also will not hesitate to take a life if it benefits me. So here is my offer, you do exactly as I say and you will get to leave here alive, you defy me or annoy us and you will die." Woozi felt as if his entire body was engulfed in flames yet frozen at the same time. He was certain the man wasn't exagerating, these were no mere threats that he was uttering, they were just mere facts he shared with them. He had the power to kill them and would do so if he so desired or deemed it necessary. After observing the hostages for a bit with a face splitting grin, the man turned towards his colleagues.

"The press and police have arrived, let us continue. Line them up."

Chapter Text

The shattering of glass hitting the floor tiles was what abruptly woke Jeonghan up. Disoriented and with his heart racing way too fast, he glanced behind him trying to locate the source of the noise. His eyes landed upon the frozen form of Soonyoung, the man was staring wide eyed and with a gaping mouth towards a spot behind Jeonghan, the shards of what was once a water glas decorated the floor, surrounding the dancer in an tragic halo. The blond man was ready to lecture him about keeping quiet whilst the other idols were sleeping, but the horror-strucken expression painted on his face made his mouth snap shut. Following the paralysed man's gaze, he turned around only to freeze himself. The television showed footage of their company’s main building surrounded by police. Citizens were kept at bay by regular officers while special forces had their guns trained on the front doors. At the bottom of the screen were white letters written upon a dark blue strip, the standard format of titles shown during news reports, 'Hostage situation at Pledis Entertainment' was written in bold. The red box above the title indicated it being a live news report of their workplace. Numbly, Jeonghan extended his hand towards the television remote, his thumb pressing on the volume button. Allowing the rest of the other members to sleep, which had seemed so important mere minutes ago, which had been the reason they had watched the dramas with subtitles and low volume, seemed insignificant now. One glance towards the hall where one pair of shoes was noticeably absent was enough of a reason for him to not even spare a thought towards wether or not he would wake the others.

"-ecifics are still unknown. The police have confirmed that a hostage situation is currently ongoing. The exact number of hostages as well as the motive of the perpetrators are still unknown. One of our correspondants on the scene has informed us that the police are currently trying to establish contact with the hostage takers."

"Hoshi, has Jihoon come home yet?" Rationally he knew that there was a very small chance of this being the case. The lack of traces that Jihoon had come home, the terrified look in Soonyoung's eyes, the fact that it hadn't been so long since Jihoon texted them that he would be leaving soon, all hinted at a darker reality. Yet Jeonghan still hoped he was wrong. He hoped Soonyoung had also fallen asleep and had missed Jihoon coming home, even though their smallest member always made sure that whoever stayed up to wait for him also went back to bed. He hoped Jihoon had just been too exhausted to take of his shoes and jacket and had just stumbled straight towards his room, even though he was aware that the man would never be that disrespectful and made sure to leave his dirty shoes in the hall. Oh how he hoped that was the reality and he could just scold their producer about informing someone when he came home and being more mindful of who cleaned their dorms. "I've been awake the whole time ... he hasn't ... Hyung what if he's still in the building?!" Hoshi was shaking, a haunted look in his eyes. Jeonghan felt the need to gather the man in his arms and comfort him but he knew he couldn't, not yet, trying to comfort him now wouldn’t work. Nothing could settle their worry except for knowing Jihoon was safe.

"Go get Seungcheol." He didn't even register the lack of honorifics, all he could focus on was the fact that one of his younger brothers was possibly being held hostage. "But hyung-" "NOW Soonyoung!" Jeonghan didn't even look towards their resident tiger for long enough to see him round the corner to their rooms, he was too focussed on watching the news report, he needed to gather any information he possibly could.

"Eye witness reports state that the armed men stormed the building around 5 past three this morning, no people have been seen leaving the building since that time." Jeonghan felt his breath hitch in his throat. The armed men entered the building 5 minutes before he received Jihoon's text, there was no way Jihoon would've been able to make it out of there. The man probably didn't even know what had been going on in the building, the studio was mostly sound proofed after all. Oh how Jeonghan hoped Woozi was staying hidden within his studio. The door had a lock on it so not just anyone could enter. If one of the gunmen encountered a locked door at night they might assume no one was inside, Jihoon could possibly still be safe. Yeah, that's it, Jihoon was probably staying hidden in his studio. But if that were the case ... then why wasn't Jihoon texting them? After all, he'd texted them not long ago saying he was just about to leave the stu- Jeonghan's breath hitched, Jihoon had just been about to leave the studio, what if he ran into the gunmen? Before his thoughts could spiral any further, he registered two pairs of feet rapidly approaching the living room. Barely a second later, Soonyoung barreled back in, launching himself on the couch, eyes locked on the television screen only to anxiously flicker away towards the hall and then towards his own and Jeonghan’s phones. Half a minute later, Seungcheol entered the room. The man clearly wasn’t happy about being abruptly woken up. His hair was tousled, eyes almost crusted shut, pure exhaustion was just dripping off of the young man. Jeonghan couldn’t find it in him to care. Getting a decent night sleep seemed so unimportant right now. “Soonyoung-ah what the hell do you think you’re doing?! You can’t just make this much noise at this time of night, how selfish could you be? We’re all exhausted and need every second of sleep we can get. Why did you just barge into my room only to run away? Was this some silly prank? Whatever it was can wai-“ Seungcheol’s whisper-yelled rant was cut of by a soft, choked up voice. Jeonghan didn’t know when exactly the tears had started but he was currently very aware of the tears streaming down his face. His choked up exclamation of Seungcheol’s name had the desired effect of shutting the other up, if only for a second, before the man burst again, this time, into concerned rambles rather than angry ones.

“Hannie what’s wrong? Are you alright? Do you need something? Did something happen?” The leader had made his way across the room in record time, falling down on his knees before the vocalist, carefully taking a hold of his hands. “'Cheol, it’s Jihoonie, he hasn’t come home” A frown burried itself between the leader’s eyes before the man could stop himself. Jeonghan didn’t blame him, he knew he made no sense to the rapper, this wasn’t the first time Jihoon stayed at his studio for way too long, but never before had it reduced Jeonghan to tears, especially not to this agonising state. Even so, Jeonghan couldn’t get his mouth to function properly, the brief relief his brain had experienced when Seungcheol showed up was long gone, his thoughts once again racing, coming up with different scenarios, all of them ending in their producer never making it home. “Hannie I don’t understand? Jihoon will be home soon, you know how he is. He just got distracted by his work and lost track of time.” Even though the rapper didn’t understand Jeonghan’s panic, he wouldn’t belittle the man. He didn’t know why Jeonghan was so upset about that particular fact but he would try his hardest to comfort the other man.

“He’s not coming home. He’s not coming home. Omg, he’s not coming back” the words left him like a mantra. He couldn’t stop them from spilling out. It was all he could focus on. Jihoon was stuck in a building with armed men, he had definitely run into them on his way out. The armed men had violently broken into the bulding and would shoot everyone. They would shoot Jihoon. Jihoon was going to get shot and they’d never see him again. Jihoon wasn’t coming home. If Jeonghan’s breakdown happening right in front of Seungcheols eyes hadn’t been indication enough of something being seriously wrong, then Soonyoung’s horrified and insulted yell of Jeonghan’s hyung title would’ve confirmed that his unsettled feelings weren’t merely an unfounded sense of foreboding. Seungcheol had turned his head, ready to reprimand the dancer. What Jeonghan said had also shocked the rapper but screaming at the singer while he was in the midst of a breakdown was anything but a good idea. The words however died on his tongue the moment he faced the third member present in the room. When Seungcheol had entered the room, he’d been too frustrated with Soonyoung to focus on anything but the younger man, he hadn’t even noticed Jeognhan sitting on one of the couches, until the exclamation of his name had been what had made him aware of his presence. Seeing the tears stream down his face, his eyes reflecting his shattered heart, Seungcheol had immediately fallen down on his knees before him, too worried about his best friend to even think about paying attention to anything but him. So when his head had eventually turned in Soonyoung’s direction and his eyes had consequently landed upon the tv behind the dancer, his world came to a screeching halt. On the screen was live footage of their company building being surrounded by police. Seungcheol was no fool, the news coverage, the fact that Jihoon was not yet home, the emotional state he found Jeonghan in, it all pointed towards one grim reality, Jihoon was inside that building.

Unconsciously his hand gripped Jeonghan’s hands tighter, the singer returned the grip tenfold. Seungcheol would’ve loved to say that this was merely to comfort the singer but they both needed it equally as bad. The television showed a hostage rescue expert breaking down the current situation in an interview with one of the news anchors, trying to draw a clear picture of the situation for the viewers, when suddenly the other news anchor spoke up.

“I’m so sorry for having to interrupt this interview but I am just getting word that there has been movement on the perpetrator’s side. It appears the police have established contact. Eunji, could you shine some light on the situation?” As soon as the woman had started speaking, the camera switched over to an airborn one, a clear view of the police scrambling around played on the screen. The moment the anchor was done speaking, a different female voice filled the room and the camera angle changed once again, this time to one pointing directly towards the entrance. “It appears the captors are making their move!” As the woman was describing the events, the idols watched them unfold on their television. Through the glass doors they could see a row of 8 people kneeling down, behind them stood the armed men, their guns trained on the hostages. Seungcheol’s eyes barely had to spend any time scanning the kneeling people before his eyes locked onto a familiar head of black hair. The idol didn’t need to see the younger man’s face to know it was in fact Jihoon, he could recognise his close friend from merely the top of his head and if the gasps leaving the other two were any indication, unsurprisingly, so could they.

Jihoon was kneeling down in between a young male and an older woman whom Jeonghan vaguely remembered from the retirement party. The younger man kept subtly glancing upwards while Jihoon and the woman kept resolutely staring at the floor. Behind them stood a burly man with his weapon trained on their friend, one step closer and his gun would be digging in Jihoon’s neck. Never before had Seungcheol wanted to punch a man so badly. To the left of the hostages stood a man dressed in all black with a headset on, the man’s body language screamed confidence. Seungcheol was certain that he was the leader. The man began talking into the microphone connected to his earpiece, his voice booming out of the speakers set up by the entrance. “Our demands are very simple. We demand the release of Kim Dowoon and a safe passage out of this country.” The man calmly made his way over to the hostages until he stopped behind a familiar kneeling form, grabbing the man’s black hair and harsly tugging at the strands, making the singer face upwards. Jeonghan sucked in a sharp breath, A red bruise covered nearly the entire right side of the producer’s face, the colour making it obvious that it was very fresh. Jeonghan could deduce from Seungcheol’s clenched fists that said bruise enraged the rapper and the singer couldn’t help but wish that he felt the same way. He wanted to feel the anger coursing like fire through his veins, yet all he could feel was the terror crawling under his skin. His mind coming up with a million possibilities of how their beloved vocalist could’ve gotten injured. Every single possibility worse than the previous one. “You get 12 hours to fulfil our demands. After the deadline has passed, for every hour that our demands are not met, we will be killing one hostage” After said words had rang through any awake household within South Korea, a smoke screen started to fill up the lobby, shrouding the hostages and hostage takers from view.

Chapter Text

While Jihoon was aware of the voice above him, none of the words registered. All he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears. He was painfully aware of the camera’s trained on him. A foolish part of him hoped he was unrecognisable. Perhaps the giant throbbing bruise obscured his features, or maybe the cameras were all too focused on the hostage takers. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he couldn’t help it. The thought of his brothers seeing him like this scared him. He didn’t want the last sight they ever had of him to be that of a bullet piercing his skull.

He wondered if they were all up watching this broadcast. He couldn’t stop naive feelings from welling up, hoping that they had all gone to bed, they had schedules early in the morning after all. Though those would certainly be cancelled. The singer doubted that they’d get the building back by tomorrow morning. What state would it be in by then? Would it be riddled with bullets? He couldn’t imagine this ending any other way. Whenever he closed his eyes he saw gruesome images flashing by. Bullets raining down upon him and the other company members, their blood splattering on the walls and pooling on the ground. Its tendrils slowly making their way towards the door, traumatising the poor witnesses gathering outside the doors. He just hoped the cameras wouldn’t catch it happening. He didn’t want his members to witness his death. The thought had barely surfaced before his traitorous brain took the chance to show him another image in his mind’s eye. One of a bullet piercing his skull, his blood dying its surroundings red, the other seventeen members standing mere meters away, horror in their eyes.

His eyes shot open. The police's lights were still flashing outside, blinding him, but he’d rather face a sea of blinding lights than see such an image again. He knew he had zero control over this situation, but he still felt a pang of guilt at the thought of his members witnessing such an event. He knew they would never be the same afterwards. Every single one of them was too kind-hearted to be able to brush such a thing off. What if they showed up tomorrow morning, ready to face another day of exhausting schedules, only to come across his body?

No. The police wouldn’t allow that. No matter how panicked he was feeling, he knew he should be thinking logically. His brain is all he had. He needed to stay level headed long enough to not lose his mind and make sure he’s able stay alive long enough for the police to save them. He knew they were his only hope.

If the worst came to happen, he knew that the police would block the scene from view, even if his members were here, they wouldn’t be able to see inside the building. Their managers, too, will make sure the others are safe. There was no doubt that all of them had already been informed of the current situation. He knew that just like their work never ended, neither did their manager’s. One of them had definitely seen the news by now and informed all others if they were unaware.

Would the managers tell the remaining members? He wasn’t so sure. On one hand, they had the right to know. Jihoon knew that if someone else were here instead of him, he would want to know immediately, but on the other hand, he also knew that their managers would want to prevent spreading any panic. Perhaps they would prohibit the members from watching the news, though he knew, without a doubt, that even if they did do that, the others would somehow find a way to watch anyway.

The sudden downward push of his head and the consequent release of his hair pulled Jihoon from his musings. The fog screen that now filled the room reminded the idol of all the times they had used a layer of artificial mist during their many performances. The fog screen now however was a lot thicker and severely impacted his ability to see, he knew this was meant as a tactic to impair the police’s ability to survey the situation and plan accordingly. After all, the less information they had, the harder it would be for them to formulate a rescue plan.

A harsh grip enclosed around his upper arm and pulled him onto his feet. A rough “move” was uttered by the owner of the hand before he was being dragged away from the flashing lights and deeper into the building. “If the police can’t see you clearly, neither can the criminals and they wouldn’t want to risk you attempting an escape.” His mind helpfully provided.

Soon he was shoved into a practice room. There were no windows connecting them to the outside. No material or furniture for them to use as weapons or to hide behind. The only thing there was an abundance of were mirrors on all the walls making it possible for the hostage takers to see every single movement they made. In short, no clear escape or rescue possibilities.

The other hostages were also dragged into the practice room, all of them huddling together in the corner the furthest from their captors. None of them dared to utter a single word, too afraid of drawing their abductor’s ire onto them. Quietly they all observed the hostage takers’ movements. The ginger haired man positioned himself near the group, eyes trained onto them but gun pointed downwards this time. He was soon joined by Mr. Muscle who was dragging the unconscious guard behind him. The man deposited the other man in front of the group before he took his position next to his ginger colleague. As opposed to the man stiffly standing at the ready however, the muscled man leant against the wall behind him. His body language screaming confidence.

Jihoon was certain that even if they all suddenly rushed towards the two, the muscled man would have them on the ground within seconds. The man certainly was powerful enough to take a position that would supposedly be vulnerable yet still be in control somehow.

A tense few seconds passed where no one dared to move before the other guard couldn’t take it anymore. At a snail-like pace he made his way over towards his fellow guard. When the two captors merely stared at them, the man quickened his pace, soon reaching his coworker and pressing two fingers to the side of his neck. At seeing the guard’s shoulder lose some tension, Woozi let out a breathe of relief. The other must still be alive. The guard dragged the unconscious body towards the rest of the group and propped him up, partly against the wall and partly against his own body. The older stylist wasted no time approaching the two men and trying to clean off some of the blood with a handkerchief.

Jihoon allowed his eyes to drift over towards the other side of the room where Ponytail and the leader were setting up the computers they had taken from the lobby. The anxious man and the one who had dragged the trainee to the lobby were nowhere to be seen. The vocalist had no idea where they were but based off of the knowledge he had about hostage situations, which admittedly was lacking and only based off of fiction, he assumed they were probably standing guard outside or keeping an eye on the police. Even though the producer really didn’t want to be in the same room as the leader, he still felt grateful that the angry one wasn’t in the room. The man was undoubtedly looking for any excuse to shoot the trainee after having been punched by him.

“The police will come for us right?”

Before looking towards the source of the whisper, Jihoon glanced towards the two hostage takers stationed near them. They however didn’t react, seemingly not minding them talking. Jihoon had almost expected the trainee to have been the first to break the silence. The boy seemed to be the only one who dared take risks in this situation. Whether it was brave or foolish, he couldn’t say. Yet the whisper had come from the younger stylist. The poor girl looked absolutely petrified. Her skin a ghostly white colour, tear tracks making their mark on her cheeks, tremors wracking her body.

The cleaning lady, who was situated in-between the girl and Jihoon, began rubbing her back, whispering words of comfort. Jihoon watched the two for a bit. While the woman seemed to be calming the girl down somewhat, her own hands were trembling. It was clear that even though she was doing her best to be a support for others, she herself was filled with terror.

Wordlessly the singer grabbed her unoccupied hand, hoping to at least be of some help. The older woman shot him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand tighter. Even though his initial reason for taking her hand was to offer her support, he couldn’t deny that the action comforted him as well.

“While I don’t know who Kim Dowoon is, the fact that they’re doing all this to get him released from, what I assume is prison, makes me quite sure he’s not some petty criminal. Would the police really be willing to release someone who could possibly be a risk to national security? If you ask me, we shouldn’t rely on them.”

The older stylist quickly began lecturing the trainee. Mentioning that they should have more faith in the police and to not do anything crazy like attempting an escape. Jihoon however couldn’t help but ponder his words. He knew that the police were supposed to protect South Korean citizens and would hopefully be doing everything they can to solve this situation, but what does “everything they can” entail? Would they be willing to release a dangerous criminal in exchange for 9 lives? He wished he could confidently say “yes”, but he wasn’t sure. To him and most other citizens, the decision would be easy, after all, we were talking about 9 lives. The ones in charge however may think differently as they have to consider society as a whole.

He couldn’t help but wonder, does his status as an idol hold any weight? Would they try harder knowing he’s one of the victims? Once again he didn’t know for sure, but what he did know was that it would be best to keep his identity hidden. He knew for certain that once the hostage takers found out that he was a well-known idol, they’d use him for their cause. Either by using his presence to enhance the pressure on the government, or as a way to spread their message.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, the older woman gave his hand another squeeze. While he had been thinking about their situation, the older stylist had moved away from the unconscious guard after tying her shawl around his head and was now comforting the young intern, giving the cleaning lady the chance to focus on the idol.

“It’s going to be alright. We’re going to make it out of here. Don’t fall into the trap of catastrophising the situation. Thinking of the worst possible scenarios won’t bring us any good. I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to free us.” Even though they were empty promises, her attempt at cheering him up warmed his heart.

A movement he noticed out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Ponytail had motioned the leader to come over and both of them were now kneeled down in front of the computer. Soon, a grin split the face of the smaller man in two, shivers immediately started running down Jihoon’s spine. He could practically see a twinkle enter the man’s eyes. Whatever had the man so delighted couldn’t possibly spell anything positive for them.

“So” the man’s voice cut through the air like a knife. “Which one of you is Lee Jihoon?”

Chapter Text

A pregnant silence filled the room. It weighed heavily upon the occupants. They all knew what this meant, yet, they couldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it. None of this felt real. Of course they knew that hostage situations happened in real life, but they happened to other people. It didn’t happen to them, never to any of them.

Events like these were things they heard about on the radio, evoking some feelings of sympathy which were then quickly forgotten about as life demanded their attention. That was the reality they knew, not the one that was staring them in the face right now. It felt like somewhere down the line, reality had gotten split into two and they had been sent hurdling into some darker alternative universe.

How could they fix this? Was there even a way to fix this? If this were a movie, they would be jumping into action right now, devising a plan on how to get their smallest member out of there. One of them would reveal a tragic, secret military background before they would go on to infiltrate the building. Ultimately , it would all culminate in them sneaking their way into whatever room the hostages were holed up in to take their captors by surprise. Perhaps a small battle would break out before they’d inevitably take out the gunmen and heroically save their friend.

But this was no movie. None of them had any military or secret agent background, they were just idols. Singing, dancing and acting was all they knew, all they've ever know. There was no way they would be able to actually save their friend. Not that the police would even let them get that close to the building to begin with. There was absolutely nothing they could do to help. All they could do was sit there and wait for news about their friend.

Jeonghan had never felt so helpless before in his life. The helplessness he had felt back in the day when their debut had gotten pushed back for the nth time hadn't even come close to how he felt right now.

He had always been the one to take care of the younger members, listening to their woes and offering advice, comforting them whenever they felt homesick, … But now he was powerless to help in any way. He wanted to gather the younger in his arms to make sure no one ever touched him again. No matter how much the producer claims to hate physical touch, Jeonghan knew his younger brother well enough to be aware that in situations such as this one, Jihoon would find comfort in it. While the composer wasn’t fond of sudden physical contact, when it was initiated by Jihoon himself or came from a genuine place as opposed to fan service, he didn’t mind as much.

Looking over towards the other two, he noticed they must be having similar thoughts. Seungcheol still had his gaze trained onto the television, although the interview that was currently playing on the screen didn’t seem to actually be registering. The look in his eyes was intense, his body posture stiff. Jeonghan could only imagine how their leader must be feeling. The other always felt responsible for his younger brothers, not just because he had been given the role of leader, but because he genuinely cared about them a lot.

Out of all the relationships he had with his younger brothers however, the one he and Woozi shared was special. The two of them had been together the longest out of all of them. Together, they had experienced all of SEVENTEEN’s highs and lows since pre-debut. No matter what happened, they had always been able to depend on one another, had always been there for each other, were always able to depend always on the other. Now, however, Jihoon was living through the worst experience of his life, and their leader was couldn't even be there for him. He was absolutely powerless. Not only could he not do a single thing to get him out of there, he couldn’t even hold the younger and tell him everything was going to be okay. He would give anything to be able to pull the producer out of there and make it all better again.

Hoshi didn’t seem to be faring much better. The usually cheerful member was glaring holes into the ground, his hands clenched into fists. The dancer had always been the closest to Jihoon. No matter how annoyed the younger may sometimes act when faced with his antics, it was all-in jest. Hoshi was always able to coax genuine laughter out of him. The two truly loved one another. The producer had once confessed that the member he trusted the most was Soonyoung. There was no doubt in Jeonghan’s mind that the dancer would be feeling some type of guilt knowing Jihoon trusted him so much yet there was nothing he could do to help. If you asked the older vocalist, it was a ridiculous notion. Soonyoung wasn’t responsible for this situation at all, but Jeonghan understood, after all, he too was feeling guilty.

“We should’ve dragged him home with us.”

If Jeonghan hadn’t been paying attention to the younger idol, he wouldn’t have caught his muttering. Abruptly, Hoshi stood up, the movement pulling Seungcheol out of his musings. He parted his lips, preparing to say something, but a sudden bang cut him off. All three heads swiveled towards the entrance.

“Turn that off!”

Their managers stormed into the dorms, one of them grabbing the television remote, which Jeonghan had abandoned on the couch, and pressing the power button. All three newcomers looked how Jeonghan was feeling, a mess. Manager Jeon’s hair looked like a bird’s nest, the man had obviously been running his hands through it repeatedly. Frustration and desperation were rolling off of him in waves.

Manager Kim didn’t seem to be doing much better, the older man looked like he had aged 10 years since the last time they had seen him.

Their third manager, manager Lee, had obviously been dragged out of bed by one of the others. The man’s shirt was inside out, his socks mismatched, and he hadn’t even bothered switching his pyjama trousers out for regular ones. In contrast to his state of dress however, the man looked very alert.

“What do you mean turn it off?! This is the only way we can find out what’s even happening!”

The anger had been coursing through Hoshi’s veins like boiling lava from the moment he had found out what was happening to his best friend. There was no one he craved to let his anger out on more than the ones holding the vocalist hostage, but that was impossible, so he let it out on the next best ones. When the managers had ordered them to turn off their only source of information, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He had always been a friendly person, and although he was an emotional person, he rarely let negative feelings like rage get the better of him, but all of that flew out the window when one of his members was in danger, especially when said member was Jihoon.

“We want to prevent the spread of panic, news reports pull in viewers through sensationalism. We just want to protect you guys.”

“Sensationalism?! That’s your excuse?! Who cares about any of that right now! Do you think that us sitting here, not knowing what’s happening inside of that building is going to make us feel any better? That won’t prevent any panic at all! All we can do right now is wait. None of us are going to be able to think about anything else, we need to know what’s going on!”

Hoshi couldn’t believe the kind of backwards reasoning that was being given. Did they really think keeping them in the dark would somehow help? The tear tracks seared into Jeonghan’s cheeks were proof enough that leaving them with their imagination was anything but a good idea. They needed to know what was going on, they deserved to know.

“We understand how you feel, but this is for the best. We truly are trying to protect you guys. Do not worry, you’ll still be kept in the loop. The police are keeping us updated, we’ll tell you guys more as soon as we can.”

Hoshi couldn’t stop the bitter laugh that left him. He scoffed before spitting out the man’s title, addressing him respectfully was the last thing on his mind right now. “Really Hyung? You have no idea how we feel! This isn’t just about our workplace being occupied, this is about Jihoon!”

The dancer once again clenched his fist, his brows furrowing while his gaze slid down towards the ground. He continued in a whisper: “Jihoon, our Jihoonie, is currently stuck inside that building with a bunch of violent men carrying guns and could be doing who knows what to him right now. He must be terrified while we’re stuck here, unable to do a single thing.”

Manager Jeon stepped forward, trying to place a hand on Hoshi’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, but the idol immediately took a step back, avoiding the hand and glaring up at its owner.

“I know you’re upset, but please trust us on this. You’re right, we can’t understand how you must be feeling, but, I promise you that we also care for Jihoon and we understand how important you are to each other. That is why-“

“No, you don’t.” Hoshi’s small moment of vulnerability was over as quickly as it began, rage once again welling up inside of him. All of it sounded like bullshit to him. “None of you understand. You think you’re helping us? Don’t make me laugh! You’ll just keep whatever information you receive from the police a secret the moment you deem it damaging to our emotional wellbeing. We won’t know a single thing about what’s going on until they let Jihoon go, or they kill him!”

“That’s enough Soonyoung! The decision is final.”

“You can’t be serious!” This time it was Seungcheol who had spoken up. As a leader he was supposed to keep things from escalating but so far he had been silent. He couldn’t deny that he agreed with Hoshi, he too found the whole thing ridiculous. He understood that all the managers wanted to do was protect them, but this was in no way helpful. They deserved to know what was happening out there. They weren’t children who needed protecting from the cruel outside world.

Jeonghan had also remained silent. He knew that as the older one he was supposed to help keep the young ones in line and Hoshi was definitely being disrespectful towards the managers, but he couldn’t get himself to speak up. He agreed with Hoshi. This wasn’t something they could just wait out. None of them would be able to focus on anything but Jihoon.

It made Jeonghan wonder, would they have told them anything if none of them had been awake? Would they have just told them to stay away from the TV and hand in their phones with the excuse of Sasaeng fans? Would they have kept it all quiet until it was over?

He desperately wanted to speak up, he wanted to support his friends and demand they turn the news back on. But he couldn’t. Because speaking up would mean speaking about what was happening to Jihoon. Speaking up would make it real.

“What’s going on here?”

The groggy voice of a barely awake Seungkwan froze everyone in their tracks. With the managers desperately wanting to keep the situation contained, and the members worried about how to break the news to the others, no one knew what to say.

Seungkwan had never been a particularly light sleeper but with all the screaming that had been happening, it’s no surprise he woke up. The young idol, either not noticing the tension in the room or intentionally ignoring it, continued when he didn’t receive a response.

“I could hear you all the way in my room, it wouldn’t surprise me if you woke up any of the others on the floors below us.”

“Sorry about that Seungkwan. Could you go get the other members? There is something urgent we need to share with you all.”

Seungkwan gave their manager a weird look, but, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible he made his way over to the front door. The sooner he got the others in here, the sooner he would be able to go back to sleep.

“Look,” manager Lee started the minute the youngest vocalist was out of earshot. “I’m aware we can’t keep this situation from everyone, but please don’t mention any sensitive information to the others for now.”

Hoshi just stared at them for a bit before making his way back towards the couch. He made it a point to take the seat farthest from the managers. The two oldest members followed suit, sharing the spot next to hoshi, Seungcheol’s arm slung around Jeonghan’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing comforting circles into his upperarm.

The tension between the six of them grew thicker the longer they were left to stew in it. By the time the other members made it to their floor, the atmosphere almost felt suffocating. Jeonghan didn’t miss the way they shot him concerned glances upon noticing his bright red eyes, quiet tears still making their way down his cheeks. He knew they must’ve also noticed the tears of frustration in Soonyoung’s eyes as well as their tense postures. Their managers demanding that they hand in their phones the minute they entered the room certainly didn’t help either.

“What’s going on?” Mingyu, the last one to enter the room, couldn’t help but ask upon seeing the state his three friends were in. All of them had been confused, and slightly annoyed when Seungkwan had shown up, telling them that the managers demanded their presence. Most of them had the same thought of ‘Couldn’t this wait until tomorrow morning?’ running through their heads, that was, until they entered the room. Even though they still had no idea what was going on, they were all aware that it must be something serious, and so they were trying to wake themselves up some more. Most of them noticed Jihoon’s absence but decided not to ask about it, waiting for their managers to speak.

“We’re very sorry for waking you guys this early.” Manager Jeon began. “But due to an incident earlier this morning your schedules will be cancelled for the foreseeable future.”

Confused murmurs filled the room, the sudden cancellation of their schedules made no sense to them. What could have happened to not only ended up resulting in all of their schedules being cancelled but for the duration to be of an unknown length of time? It can’t be something as simple as an interviewer they were supposed to meet having fallen ill nor could it be some technical issues making their practice rooms unavailable. Was it Sasaeng fans? It would surely explain having to hand in their phones, although the cancellation of their entire schedule still didn’t make sense.

“A group of armed men had been on their way to Seoul Central District Court but due to an encounter with the police they had to chance direction. They ended up seeking refuge in our Pledis Entertainment building. The CEO decided it would be safest to cancel everyone’s schedules until the situation is under control.”

A few of the idols were nodding along thinking the explanation made sense. They were still half asleep and hoping to be able to return to their beds as soon as possible, the situation didn’t sound all too serious anyway, they were sure the police would be able to deal with it. Most of them were just glad that it had happened during the night and not during the day. Who knows what would’ve happened if any of them had been present. Four of the members however had noticeably different reactions.

The first three of course being the ones who knew the truth. Hearing the way their managers were phrasing it rubbed them the wrong way. None of them could resist balling their hands into fists. Jeonghan let his chin fall towards his chest, hoping his hair would hide his face from view.

The fourth noticeably different reaction, was Seungkwan’s. He wasn’t completely sure what was going on, but he knew that there was some information he was privy to. Something wasn’t right.

When he had first been woken up by the screaming, he had been quite disoriented. They were in the middle of preparing for their comeback and it left all the members absolutely drained. The sheer exhaustion, paired with abruptly being woken up, had meant that the man needed a few moments to gain his bearings. Once he had done so however, he still hadn’t been able to make out the exact words. His room was too far away and the walls had done a good enough job at hiding the exact nature of said words, it had barely done anything to stop the volume from reaching him though. He had been quite frustrated while making his way towards his door and down the hall. He had had no idea as to what the arguing had been about, but had been very determined to hit whoever was involved over the head. What kind of idiot started screaming in the middle of the night? If even he had been woken up, there was no doubt that an incredibly light sleeper like Jeonghan had been as well. It wouldn’t even surprise him if the loud arguing had somehow managed to wake up Minghao two floors down. Speaking of Jeonghan, the younger vocalist hadn’t been able to help but wonder why his hyung hadn’t put a stop to it yet. He received his answer soon enough though when the words that were being yelled registered seconds before he had stumbled upon the tense standoff between the managers and three of his members.

Looking back on it now, the words should’ve made alarm bells go off in his head, but he’d been so focused on stopping the needless screaming that he hadn’t truly thought about what exactly Hoshi had yelled. Until now that is. Now, he couldn’t get them out of his head. ‘until they let Jihoon go, or they kill him!’

He wanted to slam his own head into a wall. It all made sense now, why his hyungs had been so furious, why the managers were acting so weird, why one of their strongest hyungs who would do anything to help and comfort the younger ones had been reduced to tears. Armed men had infiltrated the building, and Jihoon had been in there when it happened.

“Hyung” His voice betrayed none of the horror he felt, it cut through the air like an arrow, determined to hit its target. He was going to get the information he needed out of the managers no matter what. “Where is Jihoon-hyung?”

A gasp left their youngest member. “Hyung, you don’t mean …” The youngest’s words trailed off, he had no idea how to finish that sentence.

“Seungkwan is right! Where is Jihoon-hyung? Did he get stuck in traffic because of what’s going on at the office? Don’t tell us he got hurt and is on his way to the hospital now, is that why you gathered us?” Seungkwan couldn’t fault Dokyeom for his innocent questions, after all, the other didn’t have the information he did nor did the way the managers were phrasing their answers allude to the truth.

He could see the worry pooling in their self-proclaimed happy virus’ eyes and couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Even now, the older singer was so optimistic. The news was surely going to break his heart. He had always been one of the more sensitive members, someone with a lot of love to give, but also in possession of a heart that bruised easily.

A choked sob from their oldest vocalist pretty much confirmed Seungkwan’s suspicions. Even though he had already expected himself to be proven right, he still felt his heart sink.

Jeonghan hadn’t meant for the others to hear his sob, but his attempt at stifling it had been unsuccessful. He himself was unaware of the effect said sob held as his head was still turned downwards, but Seungcheol caught the moment reality was starting to set in for the smarter members. Wonwoo’s eyes began to grow wide, disbelief building up in his eyes but being squashed so quickly Seungcheol would've begun doubting whether it had truly been there had he not known the man for years. Wonwoo had always been a rational person, and even during emotionally heightened situations, he managed to keep a cool head. Mingyu, too, seemed to be piecing everything together.

“Jihoon was indeed in the area when everything happened, but there is no need to worry. He’s alright and the police have everything under control.”

Those were the wrong words to say.

Hoshi once again felt his anger rear its ugly head. The managers were making it sound like their small vocalist had been near the building but not directly impacted by the events. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The police didn’t have a grasp on the situation at all, and the producer definitely wasn’t okay. Had they even seen the footage? Their beloved brother being forced to kneel in front of the cameras, a hand roughly tugging at his hair, the painful looking bruise covering half his face, and that look in his eyes; Hoshi was certain he wouldn’t be able to forget that look any time soon. It was going to haunt him for the rest of his days. His best friend had looked so terrified. Throughout the years, the dancer had learnt how to read the singer like an open book. He was able to decipher exactly what was going on in Jihoon's head within seconds.

The vacant look in his eyes had been an indicator of the fact that the vocalist had been trying to zone out, a habit Soonyoung was more than familiar with. Whenever Jihoon was feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable, he would try to suppress those emotions, pushing them down under a layer of indifference until he was in a place he deemed safe enough where he would be able to let them all out. Often times Soonyoung was that safe space.

Throughout the years, he had learnt how to peek into the depths within those brilliant eyes. He had figured out where the keyhole to the truth behind those layers of indifference lay, and often used it to help him in subtle ways when they were in public.

A supportive hand on his shoulder when they were on stage, leading him towards a more secluded area when they managed to get a small break during busy photoshoots and so on. Never before had it been so easy to read him though. Hoshi knew that it could only mean one thing, the emotions were so intense that Jihoon was unable to hide them. Looking into his eyes only confirmed his suspicions. Many emotions had been swimming within them, uncertainty, pain, helplessness, but the most prominent one had been fear.

Hearing manager Jeon claim that Jihoon was fine enraged him and so, with a scream of frustration, he stood up, grabbing a candle holder from the coffee table and throwing it against the wall above the television. Joshua’s undignified shout of his name followed suit, but no further reactions were made. Everyone was too in shock at what their usually cheerful tiger had just done.

Hoshi, too, did not move for a second. Guilt gripped his heart as he stared at the candle holder. It had been one he and Woozi had made together. The two of them had both taken time off together and the dancer had suggested attempting to paint on glass. They had struggled a lot at first, but after some hours of practice, and dozens of questionably painted glasses, they had both made a final product they were more or less happy with. Jihoon had proudly shown him the painting he had done of himself and Hoshi as the Black Panther and Spiderman respectively. In turn, Hoshi had shown him his creation, and the younger had made a show of rolling his eyes, although the small smile on his face betrayed his true feelings. Hoshi had made a small, cartoonish painting of a tiger and a rice bowl, underneath it, in his best attempt at clear handwriting, stood “호랑해♡” “우아해♡”. The two of them had swapped candle holders and kept them to this day. Hoshi had given the avengers themed glass a spot on his nightstand, always being careful not to break it. Woozi on the other hand had given his glass a spot in the dorm’s living room. With him rarely being in his room and it being a fire hazard in the studio, he had decided to place it in a room he also spent a decent amount of time in, the little tiger and rice bowl ready to watch any Marvel movie with him.

Now, however, that glass had met the same fate as the one Hoshi had been using less than an hour ago. Slowly approaching the shards, he picked up a painted piece, not caring if he got injured along the way. By some miracle, the drawings had survived the crash and were still in one piece, although they were not unscatched. A crack had made its way from the top of the piece of glass, to half way across the rice bowl drawing, not yet splitting it in two but very clearly on its way there. Hoshi couldn’t help but find it ironic, Woozi and his rice bowl were currently suffering, while he and his tiger were safe from harm.

“Alright?” The first word left his lips in a whisper but was still heard clearly throughout the room. None of the other occupants knew how to react.

“You think Jihoonie is alright?” This time his voice was louder, more demanding. He wasn’t yelling just yet, but it was obvious that his next sentences would be. Seungkwan, Mingyu and Wonwoo were staring at him in a mixture of surprise and understanding. Seungcheol’s gaze on the other hand had slid back down towards the member in his arms, still whispering words of comfort. Jeonghan had mostly calmed down, sobs were no longer escaping his lips and he was doing his best to right himself. He was clearly trying to be a support pillar for the others who were now bound to find out what was really happening, although a stray tear did manage to slip out every now and then. Chan was just staring at the dancer with a look of apprehension, the outburst had clearly surprised him. The managers wanted to stop him but none of them knew how, too unfamiliar with this side of the idol. The other members were just looking on in pure confusion.

“We both know you saw the footage. Tell me what part of that was alright?! Was it the part where Jihoon was forced to kneel on the floor, hands bound behind his back?! Or was it the part where that man” He spat in disgust “Was digging a gun into his neck?! Or maybe even the part where he grabbed a hold of his hair, forced his head backwards and showed-“

Hoshi went on and on, ignoring the small ‘what?” Jun let out as well as the different exclamation of horror and surprise that left the others. Not even Dokyeom’s ‘I think I’m going to be sick’ stopped his tirade. He was too angry to think about how this news should be shared delicately with his friends. All he knew was that his friend was suffering and the managers didn’t even seem to care. It was manager Jeon’s furious shout of his name that stopped him in his tracks. He felt a little bad about having the others find out this way, but not enough to fully stop himself.

“You weren’t going to tell them were you? You were just going to make them think Jihoon was safe and isn’t currently stuck in that building with those monsters. What if he dies? Tell me hyung, what would you have done if he died and none of us knew the truth?! Tell us ‘Remember how we said Jihoon was safe? We kind of lied’?! You are so focused on not spreading panic that you’re ignoring the very real fact of Jihoon being in danger. There is a very high chance that he may die, and if he died while you made us think he was perfectly safe, I would have never forgiven you!”

Within two steps, Hoshi once again stood in front of the coffee table. With a loud bang he slammed his phone down, the two eldest and him had been the only ones who hadn’t handed them in.

He spat out the word “Here” before turning on his heel and marching towards the bedrooms, instead of entering his own however, he opened the door to Jihoon’s instead and loudly slammed it shut behind him.

Chapter Text

Jihoon kept his eyes locked onto the man as he made his way over towards the group. He wasn’t sure on what he should do. Every single nerve in his body was screaming at him to keep quiet. Whatever the man wanted him for, he knew it couldn’t be any good. Yet, it wasn’t as if he could stay silent forever. The man was bound to find out the truth. If he were to do that through hurting the others, Jihoon doesn’t think he’d be able to life with himself.

Two sides of his brain began waging war, one wanting to make sure the others remained unharmed, whilst the other just wanted to stay unnoticed and out of harm's way. He didn't know what to do. He knew what the morally right choice was, but he just couldn't get himself to speak up. The fear was paralyzing. Yet, he knew he had to. If he didn't, every single one of the hostages would pay. So why couldn't he raise his hand? Why did he feel nothing but dread when imagining speaking up, keeping the others safe? The decision was taken out of his hands when the trainee stood up.

“It’s me. I’m Jihoon.”

Jihoon wanted to yell at him to sit down. This was the stupidest thing the trainee had done all day, and looking at today’s track record, that was saying a lot. He didn’t know what exactly the boy’s aim was, whether he was doing this out of some misplaced attempt to help, or if this was a part of some ridiculous plan, but he knew he couldn’t let him go through with it.

His mouth opened, the words ready to fall from his lips, but before they could, his breath hitched. Heavy, studded boots had come to a halt right next to him. The leader of the armed men was now standing right in front of the trainee.

“You’re Woozi?” The man’s voice made the hairs on his body stand up straight. His body knew it was in danger. His synapses kept firing, sending him a plethora of signals, begging him to run, to hide, to get away from this man.

“T-that’s right.”

A terse silence hung between the two before the leader’s hand suddenly shot out, grabbing a hold of the trainee’s hair and harshly tugging his head downwards.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” the hiss, although quiet, was clearly heard throughout the entire room.

“N-no sir!” For the first time that day, Jihoon saw the trainee’s confident façade falter. Fear was etched into his face.

“Then sit down, and shut up. You’ve annoyed quite a few of my men, and with every word you spew, I’m getting more and more tempted to let them have their fun with you. Let me warn you, they quite like the sight of blood. You better think twice before speaking up again, or it might be the last thing you ever do. Understand?”

The trainee timidly nodded, unsure on whether or not he should say a ‘yes sir’, too scared of the consequences.

“Good. Now then … Sit. Down.” The moment the man let go of his hair, the trainee slumped to the floor, his legs incapable of holding him up any longer. It seemed as if the situation had finally caught up with the poor boy. Jihoon wondered if perhaps none of it had seemed real to him until now.

The leader’s body quickly switched from tensed up to relaxed. The man turned on his heel until he ended up face to face with Jihoon. A serene smile that looked too peaceful for the situation settled on his face. The dichotomy was striking to Jihoon, never before had he seen a facial expression so misplaced.

“Now then, Lee Jihoon, how about the two of us go for a walk?” Jihoon could see the cleaning lady shake her head from behind the man, tears welling up in her eyes. Although the sentence was phrased as a question, he knew he didn’t have a choice.

Standing up, he ignored the shaking in his legs, or was it his entire body? He wasn’t sure. Taking a hold of his upper arm, the leader began guiding him to the door. Although the man maintained a relaxed posture, the tight grip on his arm betrayed his real feelings. He was clearly frustrated. Jihoon wondered what he and the police had talked about. Through his behaviour it was clear that nothing was going the way he wanted. The harsh tugging of his arm pulled at his bound hands, the rope chafing his wrists raw. Slowly but surely he felt the skin being rubbed off, blood starting to trickle out. The movement, paired with the sudden added liquid made one of his hands slip free. His eyes shot up in fear so he could watch the man’s reaction, but he barely spared the idol a glance before simply continuing forward.

As the door swung shut behind him, Jihoon didn’t know whether he should be less or more nervous. On one hand, not only were his hands finally free again, none of the other armed men were with them either. The ones he had expected to be standing guard outside weren’t there, likely keeping an eye on the police outside instead. For the first time since this nightmare had started, he had a bit more control over the situation, no matter how little it was. On the other hand, he was now the only hostage in the vicinity, meaning he had the man’s full attention. He couldn't blend into the background as he had before. He was certain the leader wasn’t to be underestimated. His posture showed signs of professional training. Perhaps he had been a part of South Korea's armed forces or some form of private militia. The way he methodically and unconsciously surveyed the area told Jihoon the man had fought his way through situations of life and death before. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the man was still armed, holding a firm grip on his gun.

The producer couldn’t help but wish he’d asked Jun or Minghao for some martial arts classes. He wondered, if they had been in his situation, would this have been an opportune moment for them to escape? He doesn’t think he ever wants to find out. Once again his brain had wandered off to imagine movie scenarios. He doesn't think just anyone with the smallest amount of martial arts background could fight off the man. Even if he had received some lessons from their Chinese members, it surely wouldn't have helped him turn the tables. He wouldn’t have the years of training they did. He'd lack the knowledge, skills and experience. It wouldn't be second nature to him like it was to them. Still, in the very least, it would have helped him feel at least a little better.

The two men took a couple more turns before Jihoon’s captor deemed the conference room they had just stumbled upon as adequate. Dragging the idol inside, he pushed the man forward towards the table as he himself turned around to close the door.

Jihoon's eyes minutely widened before he tried to settle his features back into his previous nervous expression. He knew exactly where in the building they were. Less than a week ago, Seventeen had been gathered in this exact room. It had been where their monthly meeting had taken place. His eyes glided over towards one of the cupboards stood against the wall. If he remembered correctly, management had stored some of the company phones in there.

It was protocol for most of their Weverse lives to be held through company phones as it was both easier to manage as well as helped protect the idols' privacy. Jihoon couldn't remember why exactly the phones were stored here, whether they were spare ones, or they were stored here in preparation for a GOSE episode, it didn't matter. All Jihoon knew was that he needed to get a hold of one of them.

The idol kept a close eye on the armed man. Although the two of them were the only occupants in the room, the man didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually. He had deemed Jihoon anything but a threat, even going so far as to turn his back to him, instead, opting to stare out of the window.

Jihoon had barely taken two steps towards the cupboard before the man spoke up.

"Come here." Knowing it was best to play along for now, he did exactly that. Not wanting to stand too close, he stayed a couple of meters away from the other, watching the man's every move.

"Look down there." Turning his head to look out of the window, he saw the people gathered in front of the building. To keep the company meetings confidential, Pledis had special windows installed. With the flick of a switch, an electrical current could be sent through the windows, turning them from normal windows into tinted ones. This allowed the people inside to still be able to see what was going outside, whereas everyone else’s view of the meetings was obscured. Upon entering the room, the armed man had switched the tinted setting on, likely not wanting to risk getting sniped down.

As his eyes traced over the many figures, he couldn't help but notice how many civilians there were. Although the police were trying to keep everyone at a safe distance, the group continue to grow.

"You have quite the dedicated fanbase. How do you think they'd react if you left this building in a body bag?" Jihoon's nerves were shot, with how calm the man had been once they entered the room, he had almost forgotten how dire the situation was.

"I must say, having so many people adore you must be a blessing. It certainly is for me, I can't thank them enough for informing me of who I had within my grasp."

Jihoon could hear his heart pounding in his own ears. He should've known. Of course the media and their fans would immediately be talking about how he was one of the hostages. His captors weren't idiots, naturally they would be monitoring the press, and perhaps even the public's opinion.

Not knowing how to react, Jihoon simply watched as more police arrived, the new agents forcing the crowd to disperse.

The sound of retreating footsteps filled the room. The producer, on guard, turned his head so quickly he almost felt as if it gave him whiplash.

The armed man plopped down in a chair at the head of the table. With his legs spread and his head propped on his hand as he casually leaned backwards, the image reminded Jihoon of those fictional mob bosses.

"Your presence has made all of this a lot more interesting." As he said this, the man gestured towards the other chairs, directing the idol to take a seat. Not one to miss any chances, the producer sat down right in front of the cupboard. As the man continued his speech, Jihoon slowly began inching his way closer.

"You see, my men and I actually weren't planning on entering this building. A few civilian lives wouldn't get us any closer to our goal.” Jihoon wanted to cry. Just his luck. Of course he’d end up in such a situation when it wasn’t even meant to happen.

“In fact, when we realised we’d been driven in a corner, we knew there was no way out of this for any of us. We were ready to make a message out of whoever we would find in this building. And guess who wandered right into our grasp.”

Jihoon shifted slightly in his chair, making sure his back would cover the opening doors.

“When I found out there was a famous idol amongst the hostages, I knew I had to look further into who exactly you are.”

Not wanting the man to catch on, Jihoon kept the cupboards slightly ajar, suppressing a hiss as the skin of his hand rubbed against the cupboard doors when he forced his hand through the gap.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out that not only were you quite famous even outside of South-Korea, you’re an ambassador for UNESCO.”

Jihoon blindly felt around, his heart hammering, threatening to force its way out from behind his ribs. He almost flinched as he touched something cold, the brief moment of surprise was soon followed by relieve as he realised it was the cold, hard surface of a cell phone screen.

“With you here, not only will the pressure from the public be worse than usual, there will also be pressure coming from other countries."

Jihoon tried to stretch his fingers further, hoping to pull the phone closer. His fingers kept slipping off of the smooth surface. Frustration began to well up but he kept his facial expressions under control. He never expected that he'd have to make use of his years of idol training in a situation like this. Though rather than keeping his professional mask from slipping to avoid scandals, it was now to avoid losing his life.

“The others however, are disposable.”

The nail of his pointer finger finally caught onto the border between the phone and its cover, dragging it closer, he slipped it out between the gap of the cupboard and up his sleeve.

“You’re a smart man, I’m sure you understand what I’m getting at.”

A shiver ran down his spine as he noticed the man’s eyes locked onto him. Not wanting the man to notice what he was doing, he had kept his eyes pointed in his direction, but with his intense focus on getting a hold of the phone, they had slowly started to drift downwards.

Watching the other rise, he unconsciously held his breath. He was hyper aware of the small device hidden in his sleeve. Had he not known the phone was turned off, he would've sworn he could see its light shining through his sweater, almost as if it was begging to be discovered.

“My men and I were prepared to get rid of every single living soul in this building, just to spread our message, and they are still very willing to do so if I demand it. So, do not. Piss. Me. Off.”

The man had already managed to reach Jihoon’s seated form by now and grabbed a hold of his face with just one hand. His nails harshly digging into the idol’s cheeks.

“I’m leaving you and your colleagues alive because you are still useful to me, but the moment you, or anyone else, pisses me off, I will get rid of them. The sole reason red hasn’t dyed these halls yet, is out of the sheer goodness of my heart. Know that if it ultimately happens, it will be down to you.”

Jihoon couldn’t do anything but frantically nod, wanting to assure the other he understood. He couldn’t risk drawing the man’s ire, not when everyone else’s life depended on him.

“Good. Now, to give the dear old police a little incentive, stay perfectly still for me.”

The soft caressing of his cheek came in stark contrast to the harsh grip the man had on his face a mere second ago. Unfortunately, the small gesture didn’t last long as bright hot pain flared across his cheekbone and his head was forcefully swung to the side. Jihoon could taste blood flooding his mouth as his teeth pierced his own lip, unprepared for the punch the man had just thrown.

Jihoon vaguely registered a flash of a light as his hand flew upwards, cupping his own cheek. If felt as if his skin had been set ablaze, the sharp stinging pain was quickly joined by an underlying burning sensation.

“Say, Jihoon-ah” the producer hated the way his tormentor was addressing him so casually. “I’m having a hard time deciding. Should I send this to Yonhap News, MBC News or YTN?”

Even with the throbbing pain enveloping his face, the panic flaring up within himself was what caught his attention. He felt sort of ridiculous for panicking over the fact the public would see him in this state. Right now, making it out alive and relatively in one piece should be his priority, yet he couldn’t help but worry about his image. It had been drilled into him since he was a young teen, an idol should always put their image first. He couldn’t imagine what the fans would feel upon seeing a picture like that of him. He’d always been someone who brought others joy with his music, he didn’t want to be the cause for any sadness or rage. But even more dire was his fear of his friends seeing him like that. There was not a doubt in his mind that it would hit them hard. He knew them well enough to be aware of the fact that they would be blaming themselves.

“Get up.” Jihoon almost felt ashamed at how quickly he complied, not wanting to give the man any more reason to hurt him.

The trek back to the room felt like an eternity, yet at the same time it was almost over in an instant. The dread of being back there, surrounded by those gunmen made the time go by slowly, but not slow enough.

Right as they were about to turn the corner, a sign further down the hallways caught his eye, giving him an idea. He nervously licked his lips before opening them.

“Could we stop by the toilet?” His legs shook as they held him up. So many things could go wrong. The man silently looked at him. It felt as if his piercing gaze was seeing right through him, able to figure out his plan with just one look. Stripping him bare for all to see. The hairs on his body stood upright once more, he wondered if the man knew about the phone after all.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever, until the leader just turned around, dragging the idol over towards the lavatory. A sigh of relief almost left the producer, but he held it in, not wanting to arise any suspicion.

The moment he was left alone in a stall, he scrambled to pull out the phone, sliding down to the ground. With the door being closed he was unable to see any physical part of the other man, but his shadow peeked out from under the smallest gap between the floor and door, showing him the man was waiting just a few meters away.

He desperately held the power button as he kept mouthing the words “Come on, come on, come on.” Not daring to actually whisper them.

All that met his eyes was his own reflection staring back, no light or animations indicating the phone was starting up.

Tears of frustration began to well up in his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. The small flicker of hope that had tentatively been lit in his chest was quickly extinguished.

Not willing to accept this course of events, he firmly pressed down onto the button once more. He didn’t dare blink, needing to see the phone screen light up, not wanting to even risk missing it, no matter how unlikely that was.

As the screen finally flickered to life, he felt like he could breathe again. Never before had he been so happy to see a device come to life. His muscles lost some tension as some of the fear receded. No matter how small this victory may be, it was a victory nonetheless. They finally had a way to contact the outside world.

Resolutely staring down at the device, he wondered who he should contact. He didn’t even know how much battery there actually was. How many calls would he be able to make? What about duration?

A small voice whispered to him to call his father. There was no one he wanted to see more desperately than his parents. He felt like a small child again. He just wanted his mum and dad to come and make everything better. He wanted his mum to tend to his wounds as she did in his childhood. Carding her hands through his hair as she gently applied ointment. Telling him how the pain would be gone in no time, how proud she was of him for getting through it, how it would all be alright. Telling him how much she loved him. He wanted his dad to come chase away the bad men, the way he had chased away the older boys in his neighbourhood when they wouldn’t stop tormenting. He wanted to cling onto his dad’s dependable shoulders and hide behind him, as he made sure nothing bad would ever happen to him again.

But then there were his brothers, the ones he had only gained in his teenage years but couldn’t imagine ever living without. He thought about Seungcheol's reliable presence. The man who always put his members before anything else, who didn't even hesitate to go against the company, who was more than willing to argue with them, to risk making them angry, if it meant his members were happy and safe.

He thought about Jeonghan's comforting presence, the man always being a reliable shoulder to lean on. Offering them a listening ear, making sure they felt cared for and ready to do whatever it took to make them feel better.

He thought about Joshua and his supporting presence. The man playful and borderline crazy in nearly every situation, but ready to turn serious at the drop of a hat. The man was always there for every single one of them. Even during moments their cultural barriers showed up, he was more than ready to tear those down, trying his hardest to understand where they were coming from no matter what.

He thought about the silent yet firm presence of Jun. Although the man was on the more quiet side, he never failed to show how much he cared through his actions. Back when their language barrier was keeping them apart, the older man still managed to reach out, making them food to show he cared. Even now that they could talk, he still showed his love through his actions, if it wasn't through making foods, it was through comforting touches or silent acts of support.

He thought about the obnoxious but safe presence of Hoshi. The member he trusted the most. Although the man was an emotional person, he always thought about the other members. The dancer was almost perfectly attuned to the smallest of changes in behaviour, always knowing when one of the members needed cheering up or to be left alone.

Then there was the quiet but strong Wonwoo. Although he wasn't one to be overly emotional, he was also more than ready to support and protect the others. He was the member they could most depend on in emotional situations. They could always trust that he would not let his emotions guide him, instead making the correct decisions that would be the best for every single one of them. Even when the worst had already happened, he was always a firm presence next to them, assuring them it would all turn out okay, never once abandoning them.

Even though the others were younger than Jihoon himself, it was impossible not to include them. They too each had their own ways of showing support. There was their happy virus, Dokyeom, the one with a heart of gold. The member most capable of putting himself in their shoes. The one who was in pain when they were, who cried when they cried, who was filled with joy when they laughed. Since he truly understood their pain, there was nothing he wanted more than to see them laugh once again. Although Jihoon appreciated everyone's efforts whenever they tried to comfort him, there was no one who was as comforting as Dokyeom. The man was somehow able to find the perfect balance between grounding yet not too stifling, giving the perfect hugs without making him feel trapped.

Jihoon couldn’t help but miss Mingyu, the one who could look so level-headed, rap so intimidatingly yet was a giant puppy on the inside. Although the man was squeamish and scared of more things than he could count, he was still one of the first to be by the side of any member that needed it. Any worries he may have had always ended up thrown out the window the minute one of his friends needed his support.

Jihoon thought about Minghao, the dancer with sharp moves and an even sharper tongue. The man was no push-over, he faced everything head on and this too translated in his actions when one of the others was suffering. If there was a physical obstacle, their youngest Chinese member wasted no time doing whatever he could to get it out of the way. If their pain was purely emotional, he didn’t allow them to wallow in their self-doubt for even a second longer.

Then there was Seungkwan. Their Jeju islander with such a sensitive soul. The man couldn’t stand seeing his friends in pain, always trying his hardest to cheer them up and get them to laugh once more. He was one of their most chaotic, yet simultaneously softest members. Always ready to lend a listening ear.

Vernon, although one of the more solitary members, would still waste no time keeping his brothers company when they were hurting, even if it meant sacrificing his alone-time and staying the night. The man was incredibly observant and noticed within seconds whenever someone’s mood. The man may be one of the youngest, but he was also one of their most reliable members. No matter the age difference, he was always a rock the others could lean on.

Dino, too, never let his age stop him. If one of his older brothers was hurting, he did whatever he could to make it right. Seventeen was a group that had long since moved past the norms of age differences. Despite the fact that society demanded that younger people respected the older ones and did not get involved with their private matters, Seventeen was a group of equals. While the older members took care of Chan whenever they could, there was no shame in Chan doing the same for them whenever any of them needed it.

Jihoon had always been a more solitary person. He had learned to depend on himself a long time ago, but, somewhere along the line, Seventeen had managed to break through every single one of his carefully built walls and burrowed themselves into his heart. They had become his closest circle, the ones he could blindly trust with his own life. Although the thing that had initially connected them was their job, they had long since moved past being coworkers. Even friends felt like too light of a descriptor, they had truly become a family. Jihoon doesn’t think he’d ever be able to go back to a life without a single one of them.

Having thought about it, Jihoon knew exactly who he had to call. Staring at the screen that had lit up, he watched as the logo appeared on the screen, the starting-up tone began to play as the idol paled considerably. A single note had barely managed to ring out before Jihoon desperately shoved the phone into his own stomach, burrowing the speaker in his sweater, hoping the fabric was enough to muffle every single following note the phone let out.

Not moving a single muscle, Jihoon stayed impossibly still. Every single one of his senses were locked onto the man hidden behind the door. His eyes watched every miniscule movement of the man’s shadow as his ears were pricked up, taking in his heavy breathing and the tapping of the man’s fingers against the sink, waiting for the sounds to come closer.

As the seconds ticked by, he slowly lowered his gaze back down from the shadow to right in front of him. The man outside the door didn’t make a single move indicating he had heard what was happening. His hands slowly unfurled from the death grip he had on the phone as he brought the device back up to his face. The phone had finished starting up and was now displaying the log-in screen for its SIM card. Not knowing the password, all Jihoon could do was continue on, knowing he’d be unable to use the call function. He wasn’t out of options yet though. Seeing as Pledis used the same passcode for all their fan interaction related company phones so the idols could have easy access, he managed to unlock the phone.

Swiping through the home screen, he soon found the Kakaotalk app. Opening it, he quickly logged into his account. He was glad that in the past he had not only linked his account to his phone number, but to his email address as well.

The icons of his friends and family members stared right back at him, a lump appeared in his throat as his lips quivered. What he wouldn’t give to be safely back home with all of them.

Finding the icon he was looking for near the top of his chat history, he opened their messages before quickly tapping onto the other’s profile, immediately followed by a press to the call button.

He lifted the phone to his ear and waited with baited breath as the dial tone rang out. The waiting lasted for just a few seconds before the dial tone was interrupted with a click, indicated the other had picked up. A panicked voice rang through the phone’s speaker, the words leaving the call’s receiver in a hurry.

“Jihoonie! Is that you?”

Hearing his brother’s voice was what finally broke the dam, unable to hold it all in any longer, he burst out into sobs. Tears flowed down his cheeks, drops of the salty liquid hanging onto the edge of his jaw for a second before falling onto his lap as loud weeping rang through the stall. His body shook from the force of the sobs as he desperately attempted to suppress them. No matter how hard he tried, it was all in vain. The anguish too much to hold back.

Oh, how he wanted to crawl through the phone right into his brother’s protective embrace. The crackling that signalled a bad connection was intertwined with his friend’s voice, just another stark reminder of how much distance there truly was between them. Never before had he felt so alone. He wanted to speak up, to tell the other how much he missed them, how badly he wanted to be with them, but if his sobs hadn’t made speaking impossible, then the fact that one of his hostage takers was right outside the door was more than enough incentive to keep quiet.

As if sensing his thoughts, harsh knocking reverberated against the stall’s door. The speed of the knuckles hitting the surface a clear indication of the level of annoyance the armed man was feeling.

Clamping a hand over his own mouth, he tried to stay quiet, choking on another sob as if his body just hadn’t registered the current situation yet. He buried his forehead into his knees and firmly kept the phone pressed against his ear. Closing his eyes, he desperately begged whatever higher power was out there to not let the man enter.

Chapter Text

The door had barely slammed shut before the room was plunged into total anarchy. Different voices rang out, each trying to be heard above the others. Some were trying to demand answers from the managers, about what had happened, about how they could dare try to cover it up, whilst others remained absent. Their owners just sitting on the couches, too shocked to say anything, too shocked to even move.

Taking in a shaky breath, Jeonghan rose to his feet. Even though it felt like a storm was raging in his heart, demanding to be let out, whether through a screaming fit or bursting into tears once more, he knew now wasn’t the time for either. Lashing out or breaking down wouldn’t aid him, it wouldn’t aid the others, and it wouldn’t aid Jihoon. No matter how desperate he was to help their vocal leader, he knew there was nothing he could do for him. And although that fact broke his heart, he knew he had to focus on what he could do, on the people he could help.

Gazing around the room, he could see that the horror had set in amongst majority of the other members. Jun had yet to move from his seat. The younger man had always cared so passionately for the others. Although he did not speak as often as some of the more active members, his care was still deeply felt within the group. Jeonghan fondly remembered when Jun used to cook for the younger ones during their trainee days, to show the care he couldn’t express through his lack of Korean. Now, however, one of his fellow members, no, one of his brothers was fighting for his life, and he had been none the wiser. Jeonghan could see the self-blame swimming around in the Chinese man’s eyes. It was an emotion he himself knew quite well, often seeing it reflected in the mirror. There was no chance he would let the other wallow in the undeserved self-hatred.

Sitting down next to the dancer, he carefully took a hold of the other’s hands. The skin had been turning a stark white, the pressure his clenching fingers were exerting on one another intensifying by the second. As the oldest vocalist spoke up, his fingers attempted to untangle the younger man’s.

“Junie, look at me.” It took a couple of agonising seconds, seconds Jeonghan spent holding his breath, seconds without Jun blinking even once, but eventually, his eyes slowly rose to meet Jeonghan’s.

“There’s nothing you could have done to prevent it.” Jeonghan knew his members well enough to know that most of them were playing the blame game. There was no doubt in his mind that many of them were actively coming up with reasons on how they could be at fault, and he wanted to stop any of those thoughts from festering. Although the words were directed towards Jun, he said them loud enough for the others to hear as well.

The hands that had had a death grip on one another, suddenly fell limp into Jeonghan’s own soft grip. A pair of disbelieving eyes met his.

“There is so much we could’ve done! Not letting Jihoon spend a second longer in his studio after our schedules ended being the biggest one!” Although Jun’s tone had risen, there was no yelling. Simply a frantic stream of words leaving his lips.

“Because there were criminals headed his way? So he wouldn’t be held hostage?” He could see Jun’s lips parting once more, no doubt so a resolute yes could ring through the room, but Jeonghan didn’t give him the time to reply.

“Because we knew it would happen?” Jun’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, no doubt wondering why he would say something that ridiculous.

“How are we supposed to stop something happening, when that something is so inconceivable? Sasaengs, fires, those are things we can predict, things we can organise measures against, things we already have measures against. But gunmen storming the building? How were we ever to predict something like that?” The tension that had held Jun’s body frozen in its ramrod position seemed to leave him all at once. The man slumped forward, his bangs obscuring his eyes from view.

“As far as we knew, this was just another normal day. Jihoon staying behind in his studio is more so the rule than the exception. He has done it so many times, and always came home unharmed. None of us could’ve known today would be any different. It isn’t your fault, it isn’t any of our faults, the only ones at fault are the men holding Jihoon captive.” Jun remained silent for a while. He couldn’t argue against those words, they were the truth after all. Even so, he couldn’t accept them just like that either. A few simple words couldn’t get rid of the crushing guilt just like that.

Jeonghan’s thumbs kept drawing circles on the back of Jun’s hand, offering the little comfort he could. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the outline of a person approaching, before their second Chinese member sat down on Jun’s other side. Although Jeonghan couldn’t understand what was being said, by the tone he could determine that they were words of comfort. He knew that the one thing that would comfort the two members the most was to have someone to talk in their native tongue with. He patted the taller man on the thigh as a way to excuse himself, and received a grateful smile in response.

During their conversation, a sense of doom had settled over the room. The members who had been yelling at their managers, demanding answers, were now sat down, Seungcheol kneeling in front of them, no doubt trying to calm them down. In contrast to those actions however, tension was still very clearly pulling his muscles taut. Rage was radiating off of him, even though he tried to suppress it. On the couch in front of him, Seungkwan sat in the middle, trying to avoid eye contact with their leader. He had been the most vocal of the ones confronting their managers. He had never cared about the company as much as he cared for his members, though there had always been a feeling of gratefulness for the opportunities they had received. Currently though, all he could feel for them was a burning hatred. He couldn’t comprehend why they would keep what was happening hidden.

Flanking the younger vocalist were Joshua and Mingyu. Although the latter had never really been one for confrontation, all of that changed upon finding out one of their own had been hurt- no, is still being hurt, and there was nothing he could do to help. For a split second, he had felt a sense of guilt, thinking his anger towards Woozi’s captors had been misplaced, but that feeling had left as quickly as it had appeared. Although he was definitely furious at those men, a part of his anger was also purely for their managers. All the rapper could think about was Woozi possibly dying whilst he remained blissfully unaware. He knew that whether he was aware of what was happening or not wouldn’t change anything for Woozi. But, even so, that didn’t mean keeping them in the dark was the right thing to do. Mingyu would rather struggle through the horror, than be oblivious to it all.

Near them were Dino and Wonwoo, the older rapper trying his best to comfort the younger. Vernon stood not too far away from them, looking out of the window, his eyes glazed over, his thoughts no doubt far away. Just as he was about to approach the youngest hip hop member, Seungcheol rose to his feet.

“It’s okay, I’ll handle it here. You should go check on Soonyoung.” With a small nod, Jeonghan turned around and made his way into the hallway. Upon arriving at Woozi’s bedroom, he couldn’t help but pause, his hand resting upon the door knob. He knew that all he would find behind said door was the devastated form of Hoshi. There would be no bright screen of Woozi’s home equipment greeting him, no sleeping form, no music flowing through the room. Ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach, he willed his hand to move. With a shaking inhale, he pushed the door open.

The room had been left plunged into darkness, the curtains still drawn, lights still turned off, exactly how Woozi had left it mere hours ago. In the middle of the room, curled around a hoodie that had been discarded on the bed as the morning had grown warmer, sat Hoshi. Sadness wafted off of the younger man. Growing up together had resulted in all thirteen men growing incredibly close, but none had grown as close to Woozi as Hoshi had.

The dancer gave no signs that he had noticed him, not even the creaking of the floor boards made him look up. Right as the older was about to clear his throat, the younger spoke up.

“I wish I had stayed behind with him. He’s always overworking himself, I could’ve convinced him to leave earlier.”

Jeonghan hummed.

“Even if you tried, you know how he is, he would’ve just insisted on ‘five more minutes’. He’s almost as addicted to his music as you are to tigers.”

A small smile grew on the younger’s face, but Jeonghan noticed the slight trembling. “I’m not sure I agree, I don’t think there’s anything that could stop Jihoon from going to his studio, not even dea-“ Hoshi’s jaw snapped shut, his eyes widening in horror. He clearly hadn’t expected his own words.

“If we get him back, I’m never letting him out of my sight.”

“When.” Hoshi’s head shot up at Jeonghan’s firm tone.

“Not if, when. I know I have no way of guaranteeing it, but, we need to stay positive. I can’t accept any other outcome. I won’t. I know it may seem like wishful thinking right now, but, maybe, if we believe hard enough, if we hope hard enough, maybe the universe will listen.”

A contemplative look flashed through Hoshi’s eyes, before he gave a resolute nod.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll get him back. And when we do, I swear I’ll put a leash on him.” A snort left Jeonghan, he could already imagine the aghast expression on Woozi’s face if he ever got wind of what Hoshi had just said. The solemn but comfortable silence between them lasted only a minute before a familiar tune drifted into the room. Although the sound was quite muffled, there was no mistaking it.

Somewhere along the line, the managers had left, taking the box of cell phones with them. The men had no doubt realised it was best to leave the idols alone for now. But, in their haste, they had forgotten two of the members had yet to hand in their phones, one of which was ringing now.

The two idols barely had time to even register what was happening before both of them were bursting out of the room, coming to a screeching halt in the living room. Seungcheol stood in front of the couch where Jeonghan had last seen him, his phone in hand and his face a ghostly white.

“It says Jihoon’s calling.” As if to punctuate those words, he held up the phone. The familiar icon of Jihoon’s Kakaotalk profile picture was staring back at them. The name struck through the group like lightning.

“Put it on speaker phone.” The words left Seungkwan’s lips in a hurry. They watched with baited breath as Seungcheol did exactly that, the second the call connected.

“Jihoonie! Is that you?”

The answer came quickly in the form of gut wrenching sobs. It felt as if their hearts were being torn apart. They could hear the pure unadulterated fear in his criesµs. Although many had thought their hearts couldn’t possibly break any more than they had when they’d found out what was happening, they had been proven wrong in a matter of seconds.

Seungcheol could sense a familiar feeling rise to the surface. White hot anger flowed through his veins like lava. His jaw was clenched so impossibly tight he would later be surprised to find he hadn’t splintered a single tooth. His hand tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning a pale white. There was nothing he wanted more than to reach through that phone and throttle those who had put that fear into their precious producer. Seungcheol had never been one for violence, although he seemed to lose his temper quite easily, especially when it came to protecting his members, he never once raised his hands against someone. He never once truly wanted to kill someone. He could say with certainty now, that that was no longer the case. For the first time in his life, he truly felt like he could kill someone if given the chance. He supposed, in some crude way, he should be happy there was no way for him to storm into that building, or he would end up being the one carted off in handcuffs.

“It’s okay, Jihoon. Just take a deep breath, you’re going to be okay.” He knew the words he was saying were empty ones, he had absolutely no way of knowing whether or not the other would actually be fine, but it was all he could think of to say. He couldn’t help but wonder which one of them was getting more comforted by the words, though he had a feeling the answer was ‘neither’.

Seungcheol listened as another sob left the singer. Through it’s muffled nature he could tell Woozi was trying his hardest to hide them. Just as he opened his mouth to tell the other it’s okay to let it out, he came to a chilling realisation. The singer wasn’t trying to hide his pain from them.

Seungcheol wished he could say he came to the realisation naturally, but that would be a lie. He had been so focused on finally hearing his friend’s voice, so focused on the fact that the younger had managed to contact them, that he had completely forgotten to consider the danger he must’ve put himself in to do so. Although the noise was faint, there was no mistaking the sound of banging on a door. Wherever Woozi was hiding now, someone was trying to get in. He could see the horror building in the other members’ eyes as they reached the same conclusion.

“Seungcheol” Jihoon’s voice was trembling, its volume barely reaching that of a whisper, yet it rang through the room like a gunshot.

“What is it?” The words left his lips in a rush.

“Seungcheol” The name crackled through the speaker once more. The rapper had to force his tears back into his eyes. The singer’s voice was filled with anguish, he could tell the other was on the verge of panicking.

“I love you hyung. I love all of the members. I need you to know that.” It felt as if his head was being forced into a bucket of freezing cold water. This couldn’t be what he was thinking right? There was no way Woozi was trying to give some kind of goodbye message … right?

“Jihoon, I need you to stop talking like that. Right now.”

“I mean it. I know I don’t say it often … but I genuinely love and appreciate you guys.” The end of his sentence trailed off into a sob once more. Seungcheol couldn’t handle it. His longest friend was genuinely trying to give them some kind of final words. This wasn’t at all how their lives were meant to go. He could still remember when they were just two nervous little kids fighting for their dreams, not knowing where life would lead them, but still greeting the future with open arms. It wasn’t meant to end here, not like this.

“Shut up! Don’t you dare talk like that!” Soonyoung had ripped the phone from Seungcheol’s hand, his chest heaving with the sheer effort of keeping himself calm.

“Don’t you dare. You need to make it out alive, because we can’t go on without you. Please … Just try to stay safe Jihoonie.”

Silence answered them. Woozi’s labouring breaths being the only indication he was still there. The singer gave no sign of agreement, but he also gave no objection. Soonyoung couldn’t blame him. He had no idea how the other must be feeling, but he could imagine it was hard to believe he’d make it out okay.

“Please Jihoon”

Whether the idol was going to respond or not, the other members would never know, because right as the words left Hoshi’s lips, the sound of wood cracking reverberated through the speakers. Soon, it was followed by another cracking sound before what must’ve been the remains of the door smashing into the wall next to it. A rough voice cut through the room.

“Who the hell are you talking to?”