Sungmin had no idea what was happening around him. He knew not whether it was night or day, morning or evening, sunrise or sunset. He had no idea that he had been lying in the same position for over a week, his body slowly recovering. His memories of the night when he had been violated five times over burned clear in his mind.
He had no strength to even try to bother moving. This had caused Jiwon to check if he was remotely alive once or twice and when he found out that Sungmin was still alive, breathed in relief because he wouldn’t have a body to dispose of and answer for.
His back hurt the most. The last man to torture him had brought a whip and had beaten him with the whip countless times, for some reason getting a sadistic pleasure out of the entire ordeal. In fact, Jiwon himself had taken a turn with the whip. Sungmin felt utterly destroyed when he realized that the man that he had once loved was gone.
Throughout the nightmare, Sungmin had at first thought of his friends that he had so carelessly abandoned. Then, as the torment continued, he had thought of Jiyong and Seunghyun, and how they had been so kind to him. Those two had morphed into one person. Kyuhyun.
As soon as Sungmin thought of him, everything suddenly grew lighter somehow. His situation was still terrible, people were still torturing him but somehow it seemed easier to bear. He remembered the feel of Kyuhyun’s lips on his forehead and neck and remembered the sensation of their lips together. Using that distraction made it slightly more bearable for him.
Sungmin could no longer speak. He had lost his voice between the second and third person and could only make hoarse whispering noises. He longed for the power of speech so he could quietly curse that night to hell.
He couldn’t believe that Jiwon, the one who had been so loving towards him, had done something like this. It made him cry silently into the night. Sungmin had been moved to his own room after the torture. Jiwon hadn’t wanted his bedsheets to get all bloody and immediately asked to have Sungmin relocated to his own bedroom.
He wanted to ask Jiwon why he had done this but he already knew the answer. He was simply an outlet for Jiwon for sex and for violence. There was a fine line between love and hate and Sungmin had crossed it. He didn’t hate Jiwon but he felt nothing towards him anymore. He simply lost whatever he had previously felt. Perhaps it was never love. Perhaps it was simply lust. Sungmin didn’t know. Nor did he care.
What he really wanted at this moment was Kyuhyun. He wanted the gentle touch of the younger one, he wanted the kind, caring voice and the soft kisses that Kyuhyun placed on his forehead. Sungmin wanted to hate himself for being so selfish but had no energy left to do so. Instead he longed for Kyuhyun.
What he really wanted to do was pull on the thread that combined them and bring Kyuhyun to him. But he couldn’t risk Kyuhyun that way. He knew for a fact that Jiwon would kill him. It had happened to two other people that Sungmin had befriended. Their names had been Zhoumi and Henry.
Both of them had been extremely kind to Sungmin. He could remember Henry’s adorable hamster cheeks and Zhoumi gently kissing his boyfriend with tenderness. He had been envious of their amazing relationship but he had gotten over that, telling himself that once Jiwon was out of his drunken phase, things would get better.
He hadn’t been careful meeting them and one of Jiwon’s henchmen had stalked him. Jiwon was a member of a large gang that terrorized the city streets at night. He was a higher ranked member for reasons that Sungmin really didn’t want to know. He had found out about this when Jiwon was drunk and telling him that if he didn’t behave, he would have the entire gang go after him.
Jiwon was protective of him and overly so. Therefore, when he had gone to meet Henry and Zhoumi one day, he hadn’t seen them. He had gone home confused about the entire situation. Zhoumi and Henry were always there. It was practically tradition.
When he had walked through the door, Jiwon had knocked him into the opposite wall and told him that he would never leave the house without permission again. Sungmin had obeyed meekly and then Jiwon had told him that if he ever met anyone else without his approval or permission, that person would be shot, no questions asked, like his little friends, Henry and Zhoumi.
This was the reason that Sungmin stayed with him. After learning that the pair Zhoury had been murdered and it was pretty much his fault (told to him by Jiwon) he vowed never to meet anyone else again. This was why he had left to go back to Jiwon. He wanted Kyuhyun alive. He didn’t want to be a murderer anymore.
The only people safe from this were Siwon the florist and Shindong the baker. This was because Jiwon had decided that these two people were not a threat. Jiwon found it hard to be threatened by a florist who found spirituality through flowers and a large but friendly baker who enjoyed baking bread. Therefore, Sungmin spoke to them freely.
Sungmin blinked, his eyes hazy with pain and looked down at his arms. Little bits of the colour of his original flesh showed here and there. The rest was covered by large purple bruises. Sungmin wondered if these would ever fully heal. Or at least to an extent where he could cover them.
Sungmin sighed. Even this little action tired him out and caused him great pain. He turned over painfully, his body objecting to every movement he made. He was lucky that his breathing wasn’t affected. Something clicked in Sungmin right then. The more he went back to Jiwon, the more he harmed himself. Kyuhyun…just wait a little longer. I’m coming back for you.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
“Eeteuk-umma?” Ryeowook asked. Eeteuk turned around to see his youngest child standing there.
“Yes, Wookie-baby?”
“I’m worried.”
Yesung, who was passing the kitchen at the moment, heard what Ryeowook said and ran to his lover, panicking slightly.
“What are you worried about, Wookie? Are you sick?” Yesung asked frantically, wondering what was wrong with his boyfriend. He had been fine last night. He wrapped his arms concernedly around Ryeowook’s body and stared anxiously into Ryeowook’s large doe eyes.
Ryeowook turned faintly pink under the stare of his hyung but managed to stay upright despite the desire to fall into Yesung’s embrace.
“Yah, stop distracting him. Ryeowookie, tell me what you’re worried about,” Eeteuk said, hitting Yesung lightly.
“Wha-? Oh right. Well, Sungminnie hasn’t contacted us at all. We left him a message, a card and flowers but he never responded. I’m worried about him,” Ryeowook said, biting his lip and his eyes widening with unease. Yesung bit back the urge to squeal and hug Ryeowook right there. He settled for placing a gentle kiss on Ryeowook’s forehead.
“Cut the PDA,” Heechul drawled as he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.
“Heechul-sshi, you do more PDA with Hankyung than Yewook and Eunhae combined,” Eeteuk pointed out.
“And you and appa do more than Yewook, Eunhae and Hanchul combined,” Heechul retorted. Eeteuk turned a bright pink.
“Not true. What about the time where you guys made out on the stairs in Kangin’s office building?” Eeteuk countered. Hankyung entered the kitchen and immediately blushed bright red at Eeteuk’s words.
“We aren’t the ones who molest each other while shopping for groceries,” Heechul countered. Hankyung moved to the other side of the kitchen and covered Ryeowook’s ears. Yesung stared at the fighting men in awe. He wondered where he had been when all this had been going on.
“We weren’t the couple to grind into each other against a tree in the park!” Eeteuk shouted, wishing he hadn’t started this battle in the first place.
“We weren’t the pair who had sex in the middle of a field and got caught by a five year old girl who asked why the ‘mommy’ was on top and had a small chest!” Heechul grinned.
A loud silence followed. Yesung’s mouth was hanging open as well as Hankyung’s. Ryeowook, who couldn’t hear anything, was wondering why everyone looked so shell-shocked. Eeteuk gaped as he tried to think of something to say.
“How…how….” Was all he could manage to verbalize. Heechul smirked.
“You were on top?” Yesung asked, sounding astonished.
“Is that such a surprise?” Eeteuk snapped. Yesung nodded, not at all phased by Eeteuk’s temper.
“It really is.”
“I’m still worried you know,” Ryeowook’s voice said softly. Hankyung released his hold on the magnae’s head.
“What is Ryeowook worried about?” The Chinese man asked.
“Don’t worry, he’s probably just busy,” Eeteuk assured the youngest male. Ryeowook still looked worried.
“Yeah, busy with his boyfriend,” Heechul snorted.
“What is Ryeowook worried about?” Hankyung asked for a second time.
“Don’t worry, Wookie. He’s probably fine,” Yesung kissed Ryeowook’s neck reassuringly.
“WHAT is Ryeowook worried about?” Hankyung asked a little louder.
“Don’t let it get you down, okay, Ryeowookie?” Eeteuk comforted.
“WHAT IS RYEOWOOK WORRIED ABOUT?” The Chinese man half yelled.
“Are you still worried?” Yesung enquired concern in his own eyes.
“What is Ryeowook worried about?” Kangin asked who had just got home. Eeteuk sighed. Finally some backup.
“Oh, he’s worried about Sungmin not answering us. He’s probably just busy,” Yesung explained. Hankyung frowned. What had he been doing wrong?
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
Kyuhyun was worried sick. He was pacing around his apartment for the billionth time. Sungmin was gone when he had returned, a note left behind. Said note was held tightly in his hand at the moment. Kyuhyun pulled it out and read it once again.
Kyuhyun,
I’m really sorry for leaving you this way, when you have been so good to me. But I cannot put you in danger like this. I know you didn’t want me to but I have to go back to him for now. I want you to know that I believe your theory of red thread that connects us is real. We had to find each other somehow. I thank you because you are the one person I can turn to. I want to return to you but I want to make sure you will be safe. Please forgive me.
Sungmin.
Kyuhyun felt tears start at the edge of his eyes as he re-read the letter. How could Sungmin have gone back? He had been with Jiwon for three years. After that amount of time, wouldn’t he be struggling to leave? Unless there was a reason that Sungmin had to return.
Kyuhyun could still remember the marred, yet soft skin of Sungmin. He could still taste the sweetness of Sungmin’s mouth and the shyness of their first real kiss. He wanted to know that Sungmin was safe and alive. From what Jiyong told him, Kyuhyun desperately hoped for Sungmin’s welfare.
He couldn’t forget the small episode of pain that he had. What had happened to Sungmin? This was the reason Kyuhyun was so worried. In order for him to feel what Sungmin was feeling, his hyung had to be breaking emotionally. What could have caused that? Kyuhyun was sick with worry but he had no idea where Sungmin was. And he didn’t know where he could find him.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
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