warm like a gun | ot23 nct; ot5 red velvet

Chapter 23

!! HEY! MORE WARNINGS! This chapter contains non-graphic depictions of rape!!!! as in the actual rape is not depicted because this is not an explicit work but like literally everything else, including depiction of trauma, IS shown. PLEASE proceed with caution!!

He knows he came to the decision rather quickly. That's what Ten said when Taeyong told him. He was angry; Taeyong expected this.

"How would you feel if it was me?" Ten asked.

"Upset," Taeyong replied honestly. "But it can't be you."

"Why not?" Ten muttered.

"Your mother needs you," Taeyong replied, and Ten fell silent for a moment. They sat in the still air of Taeyong's kitchen, not quite looking at one another.

"But why you? Why not anybody else?" Ten finally asked.

"I'm the best option," Taeyong said heavily. "I've already thought it over. They won't take Jaemin to the facility. They wouldn't take Johnny. Most of our friends aren't small or pretty or docile enough to be considered. And others we need, or wouldn't be taken because of their parents. The only other option might be Hyuck, but I'm not sending one of the young ones. How could I? They're still children, almost. And we certainly couldn't send one of the girls. You know it would be worse for them."

"We shouldn't have to consider it at all," Ten argued. "We can find another way."

"It'll be safe," Taeyong tried to assure him. "Dr. Rim said he would do whatever he could to keep me safe. And we know the man who's posing as the buyer. No one will actually hurt me."

"You'll be in the night market for at least a day or two," Ten said. "Anything could happen to you there."

"They wouldn't want to risk harming such a profitable product," Taeyong pointed out. "I'll be fine, Ten. I'm not as fragile as I look. And it's important . Don't you want to leave?"

"We don't even know yet if we can," Ten said. "Is it worth it?"

Taeyong held his gaze. "It's worth it to me," he said.

Ten hadn't spoken to him for the whole day, but Taeyong knew he was just taking time to process it. And he knew it wasn't fair. Ten had just lost his little sister, and now he would be forced to lose Taeyong, too. It wasn't like really losing him—Taeyong should be fine—but it would be difficult nonetheless.

That night, Ten had held him in bed, stoic. "It's your choice," he said tightly. "I can't stop you. But you have to survive it. You have to. I don't want to be in a world where you don't exist."

"I promise," Taeyong said. "I will find my way back to you."

It had taken a week or two to make the preparations. Taeyong wished he could've said goodbye to his family, but he knew better than to risk it. As much as he did not want to cause them pain, he knew he had to keep them in the dark for their safety. Ten said he would look after them, and get them out when the time came. Taeyong could only hope he would see them again.

And so Taeyong allows himself to be kidnapped; Dr. Rim knocks him out with a sedative and transports him to the night market. He spends most of the first day in and out of consciousness. They keep him drugged the following few days, though awake. Foggily, Taeyong listens as they tell him he's actually a droid, one that malfunctioned and was "upgraded." Any memories he has are implants, he's told. It would be convincing if Taeyong didn't already know what he knew. He can see how they manage to cow their victims into silence.

On the fourth day, a familiar face comes and picks him out of a lineup—Dr. Rim's friend, Sato Ibuki, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze as they take him out of the market. The other sex droids—some droids, some not—watch Taeyong dully as he leaves. I'm so sorry, he thinks. We'll fix it soon.