𝒮ℴ𝓊𝓁𝓂𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓈 | 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓃ℊ |

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉ℯ𝓇 XXV

Hyunjin woke up to a throbbing headache, as he squinted his eyes to block out the light coming in through the blinds. He tried bringing his hand towards his face, but couldn't. Confused, he struggled to sit up, looking behind his back to see his wrists handcuffed together. What was happening? He thought back to last night, and it all came back. His unsuccessful attempt in escaping the wrath of this haunted mansion, only to be stopped by a brute force to his head.

Just then the door to his room opened to Minho walking in with a tray of food, "Finally awake sleeping beauty?". Hyunjin sent a glare his way, "Hyung, get me out of these". Letting out a sigh, Minho sat on the bed next to Hyunjin, knowing well an argument was in the making. "Hyun, you have to listen to me-" "No! I'm not gonna listen to you, I'm not gonna listen to anyone just get these damn handcuffs off me!". Minho was now a bit agitated, he was only trying to do what's best for his friend. "If you're not ready to hear me out yet, I'll leave". 

He got off the bed leaving an enraged Hyunjin behind, who let out an infuriated shout as soon as the doors closed. He looked over at the tray of food, getting hungrier by the second. "How am I supposed to eat when my hands are fucking tied together!?" he yelled at nothing in particular, just getting his anger out. 

Around 2 hours later Minho walked back in, seeing the tray of food scattered across the ground and a disheveled looking Hyunjin sitting on the bed with his head held low. He called over one of the maids to clean the mess up and another to get some more food. Walking over to the bed, he took in the sight of his friend, not used to him acting like this. Normally he was a cheerful guy, someone who didn't take things seriously in life, just going with the flow, but he also knew how much he valued freedom, and that's exactly what was being taken away from him. 

"I know exactly how you feel Hyunjin-", "No you don't" the younger scoffed. "You willingly left and came to this hell. I was actually willing to fight back". Minho clenched his jaw, trying his best to remain calm. "I fought for me, I fought for him, and what did you do huh!?". Tears were dripping down Hyunjin's face as his voice grew louder and louder. "At least I wasn't a coward!" his resentful eyes glared into Minho's. 

But Minho had enough. With fisted hands around the other's collar, he pulled him up. "And look where you are now Hwang! It was selfish of you to fight back, think about the things he could do to Seungmin! You put that boy's life at risk by doing what you did, and I did what was best for Jisung. The difference here is I used my brain and you didn't, so before you call me a coward Hwang Hyunjin, ask yourself, would giving your life up for a loved one be something a coward would do?". 

At this, Hyunjin let his head fall down with guilt, regretting every word he had said. After all, Minho was also suffering through all this, and it was foolish to call him a coward when he's in fact the strongest person he'd ever met. "I'm sorry hyung, I shouldn't have said that". Minho gently let Hyunjin's collar go, setting him back down on the bed. "It's just your way of letting anger loose, I understand. It hurts like hell the first few weeks, but as you advised me, stay strong, if not for you then for him". Hyunjin nodded, sniffling away the remaining tears. 

"As you must have guessed, you're not allowed to leave. Instead you'll train to be my underboss for when I take over the company someday". Letting out a sigh, Hyunjin nodded again, not that he had much of a choice. Minho took a pair of keys out his pocket, "Don't worry about him, he'll understand your situation once you meet again". Hyunjin could only hope the part where Minho said once you meet again would actually happen. He unlocked the handcuffs, giving the boy's shoulder a pat before walking to his own room. 

It was now deep into the night, the stars and moon bringing some light into the darkness that settled within them. Hyunjin looked up at the moon from his balcony, "I'm sorry pup, please wait for me". Seungmin looked up at the moon from the window of his room, "I'll wait for you, dummy". Minho looked up at the stars from his balcony, "I miss you so much angel, I'll come back, I promise". Jisung looked up at the stars from his room's window, "I miss you hyung, I'll find you, I promise".