Treasures of The Damned

25. Exhibit A

Briar had to conceal a yelp when Yeosang let out a pained cry, trying to kick out at Hongjoong as his leader thrust his claws into his stomach and held them against his spine.

"I should kill you just like I did to Wooyoung. I'm sure the little Birdy showed you his body, yes? How mutilated he was? Imagine the same thing happened to you." He purred, almost as if teasing the dancer.

Yeosang chokes, oil dripping from his lips as the wires were cut off and it had nowhere to go. "You-...you're such a monster." He gasped and choked, staring at Hongjoong with both fear and hatred in his eyes. "We all loved you! How could you become so horrible?"

"Become horrible? You made me this way! You were never able to listen. I had to control every one of you!"

"No! This isn't because of us, Hongjoong. You became this way even before we inhabited these animatronic bodies. What happened to you?!" 

"Enough talking. It doesn't matter." Hongjoong snapped, and with that, pulled his clawed hand out. When he pulled it out, it was covered in a dark liquid, which Briar identified as oil when she smelt it and had to stop from gagging. Since the accident, the smell of oil made her sick.

Hongjoong let Yeosang fall to the floor and stood over him, narrowing his eyes and staring at him for a few moments, as if wondering if he should kill Yeosang. "You've been with the girl. Tell me where she is and I'll let you live." He snarled softly.

"You're truly insane if you think that I'm going to give her up that way you can kill her. She's been trying to help us, Hongjoong! We can finally be free! Get out of these bodies!"

"Free? She's going to control us, Yeosang! She doesn't want us free! No one does! We were recreated for other people's pleasure. There is nothing freeing about that."

"Why won't you understand? She's your niece. The one you took in after Mingi and Logan died. The one you protected until you were killed!"

"She stopped being my niece the day I died." He snarled and snapped. "She wasn't my blood niece. She was just someone I took care of because it was in Mingi's will."

Yeosang was silent as he curled up on the floor, but he spared a glance over to where Briar was hidden under the desk. Hongjoong didn't seem to notice, but he slowly took a deep breath, staring down at Yeosang. "What, have nothing to say to that? I bet you never knew about that."

Yeosang took a small, deep breath. "What the hell happened to you, Hongjoong? You were the sweetest, most gentle person I ever knew. You cared about everyone. You hated when I and the others were hurt. And now you're the one hurting us."

Hongjoong stared at Yeosang for a few moments, before snarling. "And you've changed, Kang Yeosang."

There was a few moments of tense silence as they stared at each other. Then, Hongjoong spoke, a little pout on his face as he stared at Yeosang. "Aw Yeosang. You know. You were always my favorite son. So well behaved-..."

"Don't call me your son if you say Briar isn't your niece." Yeosang snarled back, slowly standing, holding his stomach which was dripping oil still.

"There is a difference, Yeosang."

"No. There isn't. Mingi is your son, and she's Mingi's daughter."

"She's not. There's no way she is Mingi's blood."

"Yes! She is! She looks exactly like Mingi."

Nothing else was said for a few moments before Hongjoong took a step back and sent a harsh punch to Yeosang's cheek. What shouldn't have hurt the animatronic, was ripping at his skin, which hung from the intact pieces.

"Yeosang. It's a shame, you know. You really should smile more."

Before Yeosang could react, and to Briar's horror, Hongjoong gripped Yeosang's chin harshly and, with one claw, made two large dashes and both sides of Yeosang's face.

Yeosang let out a cry of pain, but it was soon a mistake when Hongjoong's thumb pressed against his tongue, and with a harsh tug, he yanked off Yeosang's bottom jaw, which made Yeosang's cry of pain cut short.

Briar stifled a scream when Hongjoong carelessly tossed Yeosang's bottom jaw behind him, and it landed only a few feet from her.

Yeosang tried to crawl away from Hongjoong, but to no avail when Hongjoong took his leg in his hands and dragged him back harshly, pinning him to the wall once more.

"I truly am sorry, Yeosang. You were always so obedient."

Yeosang tried to speak, but nothing came out, just small squeaks and gears grinding from his voice box. It wasn't connected to his vocal wires anymore. There fear in his eyes never went away, however, as he stared at Hongjoong, trying to escape his grasp, there was something in his eyes. Something...protective.

He made the small mistake, however, of glancing over to Briar once more, and Hongjoong smirked. "What're you looking at over there?" He purred, letting Yeosang fall to the ground.

He walked over to Briar, crouching in front of her and looking under the desk, he smirked with satisfaction when he saw her there, cowering in the darkest corner under the desk.

"Ah, there you are, little birdy." He reached out for her, but just before he reached her, a hand grabbed Hongjoong's robes at his waist and yanked him back harshly, shoving him harshly against the wall.

Briar looked up at Yeosang slowly stood up and put himself between Briar and Hongjoong, and when he glanced down at her, he waved his hand as he kept Hongjoong pinned to the wall.

Briar got the hint and stepped out from under the desk and rushed to the door. "Thank you, Uncle Yeo!" She called, watching him wave just before Hongjoong was able to free himself and raked his claws across Yeosang's neck.

Before Briar could see anything else, the door between them slammed shut, and she took that as he cue to run away.