Vendetta

Chapter 5

    "What have I done to you? I promise I'll never do it again, just please stop doing this to me!"

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    Chaotic yelling erupted as Seungmin laid down his final card, giving Jisung a sly smile as he cleaned up the game and reshuffled to begin a new round. Minho and Chan had gone long forgotten by everyone who had gotten caught up in Seungmin's impressive ability to win the game no matter who shuffled or who he was playing against.

    The shuffling was interrupted when Hyunjin tackled Seungmin, ruffling his hair and tickling him within an inch of his life. Jeongin couldn't help but get caught up in the chaotic and carefree nature of his siblings, all of his worries evaporating as he laughed along with them as the pile only grew bigger. It wasn't long before Changbin practically dragged him into the group until they were nothing more than a wiggling pile laughing until their sides hurt. However, the fun didn't last for long.

    All laughter and playful kicking and punching ended when an ear-splitting scream of agony came from what sounded like the kitchen. All movement came to a complete stand still, everyone exchanging apprehensive glances as if they were trying to gauge whether or not everyone else had heard it or not. The scream, while loud, had still come out muffled as if someone or something was unsuccessfully trying to deaden the noise.

    "Was that Minho?" Jeongin asked slowly and quietly, afraid that if he spoke too loudly he would miss another scream. Felix, who was laying right next to him, glanced at him with a wide-eyed stare, his lips parted in a fearful O.

    Changbin opened his mouth to speak, but the scream resounded again, causing the hair on the back of Jeongin's neck to stand up in alarm. This time, the scream was higher in pitch and died off in a choppy pattern, interrupted by heart-wrenching sobs. Everyone immediately scrambled off of each other, their faces blanched. Now Jeongin knew why Minho had looked so terrified.

    "If...If Chan is hurting him we have to help!" Hyunjin said quickly, though it was easy to tell by his tone that he couldn't believe what he was saying. "Right? We can't leave him there..."

    Hyunjin was met by apprehensive glances, multiple reasons why they shouldn't go down there were running through their minds. Jisung had burst into tears after the second scream, burying his face deep into the crook of Felix's neck. Changbin was desperately trying to shut him up, listening closely for a third scream that never came.

    "We can't help him," Seungmin said, regret and guilt heavy in his voice. "We're not allowed in the kitchen without Chan's permission. Also, doesn't he lock the basement door from the inside when he goes down?"

    Jeongin took a sharp inhale, talking more to reassure himself and try to explain the madness than anything else. "M-Maybe something went wrong with the project. That has to be it. Yeah...Channie is p-probably helping him out now! Just like...just like he did with his leg and his eye."

    Changbin let out a bark of a laugh though his eyes shone with tears that he was desperately trying to fight back. Just like everyone else, he was fighting back terrible thoughts that he refused to believe could possibly be true. However, they couldn't sweep it under the rug any longer. Not after they had a valuable clue of what was really happening behind closed doors thrown at their feet.

    "Think about it, Jeongin," Changbin said, lowering his voice as if he was afraid of being overheard. "Do we even know what the project really is? No. We don't. Chan has only mentioned it with the bare minimum of details and has refused to tell us more about it if we ask. Minho as well. The rest of you haven't had to listen to him cry himself to sleep every night."