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"Thirty Nine„

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Kun woke up and the house was empty. It seemed that way, at least. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning. 

He shrugged it off. Maybe they were still sleeping. They celebrated the Lunar New Year last night so, everyone's probably hungover. 

He went down the the kitchen to start cooking. He met Hendery halfway there. 

"Hey, Ge, where is everyone?"

Kun just shrugged, "Probably hungover. Do you feel like helping me make hangover soup?" The younger nodded, hoping to get the first serving.

While walking down to the kitchen, Kun briefly noticed Sicheng staring out the window. When they got to the kitchen, Hendery had to pull the older back to stop him from stepping on broken ceramic. 

"What the fuck?" Hendery's eyes scanned the kitchen. There was definitely a broken plate on the floor, spilled water on the counter, and uneaten food everywhere. 

"What happened?" Kun wondered out loud before he heard Sicheng calling for everyone. 

The two of them were met with only the China line staring wide eyed at something in the back garden. 

They gaped when three bodies came into view. 

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"Are you okay?" Jaemin moved closer to Mark.

"Do I look okay? I'm covered in my best friend's blood." He laughed bitterly, eyes red from crying. 

Their short conversation was interrupted by someone calling out their names. More specifically, their leader's name. 

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the fierce Lee Taeyong." A man clad in a plain black suit crouched in front of the huge cage they were being kept in. "I expected something more... intimidating," he sneered. 

Taeyong remained quiet, choosing not to say anything, only staring back. "Quiet day, huh? Well, you'll talk eventually." The man smiled maniacally, looking at everyone.

"You guys aren't so bad when you're under control." He took out a small, gold pocket watch at looked at the time, his smile getting bigger. "My dearest son should be waking up soon. I'm sure he'll find the present I've prepared for him."

Just like that, he left them all there. The only thing going through their heads was how they managed to get there and God, they felt so pathetic. 

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Lucas slapped the rubber against his wrists. He bent down to inspect the body. "He was first stabbed in the stomach. Then, his throat was cut, making him bleed out."

"Why the stomach first?" Yangyang asked. 

Lucas shrugged. "To subdue him? They probably went after Kitty and the snakes in the first place because they're big animals. They could have been threats."

"But why them and not the cats or the dogs?" Chenle held Daegal closer to him. 

"Because they were in our rooms..." Ten remembered checking on Hendery and seeing Bella curled up in the corner of his bed. Chenle always had Daegal in the room at night and the cats were always in his own room.

Lucas nodded. "We should check out the other rooms. We'll start from the attic and move down to the second floor."

When they got to Mark's room, they saw the covers thrown onto the floor. "So, he got up in a hurry, why?"