cold hearted | lee minho (discontinued)

23

"You ready y/n?" Felix asked you, patting your shoulder to see how you were doing."You don't have to come ya know. It'll be really dangerous, and you could stay here if you want."

"No, I'm coming!" You immediately replied, looking him in the eyes as you were filled with determination. "I promise I won't hold you back, that's the last thing I want to do..."

Your hands clench and form into fists as you bit your bottom lip harshly, drawing a small amount of blood. The members watched you with soft gazes. Almost everyone one was here in the living room, two members being somewhere else in the house.

"Shouldn't you guys be resting... Your wounds are still fresh and they haven't recovered the tiniest bit! I hate how you're all protecting me when you're in a worser condition!!" Small tears fell down your cheeks as your head hung low but you didn't care.

They meant so much to you but were they really going to risk their lives for you and your brother? You never gave them anything in return despite how many times they've rescued you, treated you with kindness, or simply just made sure you felt comfortable.

"Y/n, we'll be fine. You're a part of our family now. Stray kids's family," Felix smiles, warming your heart.

You looked at the others in the room and they nod their heads, all with the same look on their face.

Happiness.

"Oh, that reminds me. We never got the chance to thank you," Chan spoke up.

"Thank me? What for?" You furrowed your eyebrows at his statement.

"For helping Minho."

Your body froze and you blinked in confusion. "Helping.... Minho?"

You didn't quite understand what you did that made them all so glad, but whatever it was, you knew it meant a lot to them.

"He was walking a dark path for so long that we were afraid he might actually try to..." Chan gulped, voice getting smaller. "...commit suicide."

You were taken aback by the new information and your lips quivered at the thought. Would he really... take his life? No, you wouldn't allow that. Never. As long as you were here and by his side, he wouldn't ever have to make that choice.

"After all the things he's been through, all the people that left him, he chose to not trust anymore. To close out everyone from what he was really feeling on the inside, and just be cold. Even to us. We tried to bring him back to his normal self, but he was too far gone. Atleast, that was what we thought," Chan paused before meeting your eyes. "But then you came. You seemed to want him to open up aswell, despite the fact that he held you captive here."

You listened to him intently, ears perked at what he was telling you.

"I don't know what it was about you, maybe you were just stubborn," he chuckled, earning a nose scrunch from you. "But after constantly trying to get him to talk to you, it finally worked. The wall he built around himself was starting to break, and he was able to be himself. It could've been through small gestures or simply the tiniest grin, but he was happy. Happier than he's ever been for a while. So thank you for that."

Chan walks over to you and pulls you into a hug. Everyone else soon joins in after for a group hug and you instantly smiled at the warmth.

When you pulled away, you took a deep breath as you grazed your fingers over the gun you carried in your pocket. You can do this.

"Where's Minho and Jisung?" You asked, and just then, the two boys appeared from one if the hallways.

They were laughing together, shoving eachother around or having the other in a headlock while ruffling their hair. Adorable smiles on their face as they teased eachother, playing like little children.

The scene was something you've never seen before, and it made butterflies flutter in your stomach. Minho's eyes twinkled like millions of stars, as if they held the universe in them. He truly looked like he was having fun. This was something new, and you really loved seeing him like this.

"Sorry for taking so long. I did my best to treat Minho's wounds and they look like they'll be fine for now," Jisung said as you nodded.

"You remember the plan right?" Chan looked at you.

Simply giving him a thumbs up, off you went to fight Ji Hansol. That was, until Seungmin spoke up before anyone could do anything.

"Hold on," his eyebrows creased as he stared at the screen of his high-tech computer. "We received a message from somewhere."

"Oh? Let's take a look at it," Changbin suggested as you all went over to see what it was about.

It was an email with a video attached, the words "Play me" written on the file. The sender was unknown and there wasn't much information you could find, so hesitantly, Seungmin clicked on it.

The screen was filled with colorful pixels, glitching effects and noises coming from the odd recording, until a dark room was shown. The light was dim but you could make out a figure of a person, locked in a cell as his back rested against a wall, limbs sprawled across the floor. He wasn't moving, he wasn't talking, he was just there — injuries over his body as his head tilted downward, hanging from invisible strings.

You gasped and your hand went over to cover your mouth, body shaking at the scene of your younger brother. He was bloodied and bruised, beaten unconscious like a punching bag.

"W-what is this..." you stuttered, heart clenching at the horrific sight.

The members were quiet, taking in what was happening in the video.

Someone else suddenly appeared on the screen, holding the camera to face him instead of Sunoo. You recognized that face, and his serious expression only made you more scared.

"This is your brother, isn't it y/n? You want him back, don't you? Then come and meet me at XXX. I'll hand him over once we talk, but no one can come with you."

The corners of his lips curve up, into a sweet and innocent smile, hiding the sinister intentions and evil grin behind the mask. He seemed so friendly and normal at the moment, easily covering up any bloodlust he had.

"I'm guessing you remember me. After all, you saved my life. I was going to thank you, but it seems like you've done something that I can't accept. So come here in an hour and my guard will lead you in, or this family member of yours won't be living any longer. I hope to see you soon."

And like that, the video cut off, leaving you and the others frozen.

"Ji Hansol," Minho growled angrily. "That sick fucker!!"

He clenched his fists and slammed the wall, just like many other times he's done that when he's mad.

"Y/n," he turned to you. "You're not going."

Your chest stiffened and you took a step toward him.

"But what else am I supposed to do!? I can't just let him kill my brother!!!" You yelled, worry and stress building up. "He wasn't lying when he said he wanted only me, so if you guys come then he'll do it!! He'll t-take Sunoo's life!!!"

You held back the tears that threatened to fall, legs feeling numb as you didn't know what to do. Arms softly wrapped around you, holding you tight as you allowed yourself to melt in his comfort.

"Shh, we'll come up with another plan," Jisung caressed your head. "But Minho's right, there's no way you're going in there alone. You have us, and we'll sneak in or something. Right Seungmin?"

He asked the smarter boy to assure you, as he was the one whos calculations were almost always perfect.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll think of something."

You sighed quietly and hugged Jisung tighter. Were you ready to do this? On the outside you said yes, but in reality, you were lying to yourself. Fear was an understatement of what you felt, and it'd only get worse once you actually had to face Ji Hansol in person.