Play it Cool - Soonhoon

14

It was like being under house arrest. Soonyoung was not to leave for the next two days, not even for class. His teachers were notified and Minghao would bring his assignment and it was all over the top if you asked Soonyoung. He settled with laying on his bed, hoping maybe Jihoon would see how bored he was and let him go back to class.

"Should have listened to me." Wonwoo said matter of factly, dropping off lunch. Soonyoung scowled as he unwrapped the burger the man had brought.

"Nothing I can do about it now."

"He was really worried, you know." Guilt ate at him.

"Well maybe I am too." He tried to hold his own, but he felt small suddenly, and he sighed. "I want Jihoon to depend on me."

"He does depend on you."

"No, he doesn't. He uses me. All I'm good for is a quickie." Wonwoo's face fell and he went to sit beside the boy.

"I know dating Jihoon is... hard, to say the least. Jihoon is not used being in relationships. There's social norms he doesn't understand. But he tries. He really does. I've seen it. In his own way, he really does love you." As much as the words were nice to hear, Soonyoung found himself unconvinced. He nodded though, so Wonwoo would leave. He just wanted to be alone.

It was starting to really bother him, that feeling of almost unrequited love. Sure he was with Jihoon and Jihoon cared for him, but it almost felt one sided. Like Soonyoung gave more than he got. Which, when getting down to schematics was very wrong. Jihoon provided him with a home and safety, but even those things felt like nothing. They were tangible where Soonyoung was looking for intangible. There was an emotional toll that Jihoon was creating on Soonyoung and he hated it.

And so that night, he stayed in his own room, not at all bothered with the time Jihoon arrived that night. The next morning went the same. He had no intention of leaving his room and Jihoon made no move to check on him. His heart hurt more.

By the third day, he assumed he was free to leave as he pleased and got ready for school. What he wasn't expecting was the abundance of men in the kitchen, all of which looked at him like deer caught in headlights.

"What's going on?" Mingyu was among them and he stood, the rest of the men doing the same.

"Just having a meeting." He offered. Everyone nodded, but it all felt forced and Soonyoung wanted to slap one of them just so he could get answers. Before he had the chance, Jihoon came in, looking just as startled by his appearance as the rest of them. He took note of the clothes.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I thought we agreed only two days of skipping school." Jihoon looked momentarily lost, but a sharp jab by Mingyu had him reeling.

"Ah, yes, well. Shall we make that three?" Soonyoung's fist clenched.

"No, I'm done being ordered around! What reason do you have to keep me here?" Soonyoung didn't expect a reply, but it hurt more that Jihoon made no intention to try. "I thought so." He adjusted the straps of his bag. "I'm going to school, if you'll excuse me." He made to leave, but Jihoon called his name. His heart stopped. Was this it? Was he finally going to be given an explanation.

"Take Wonwoo with you. He should be outside." Just like that, Soonyoung's heart shattered. He didn't bother with any more conversation. He went on his way. Wonwoo wasn't out front and Soonyoung could care less. He left without protection. He was tired of it anyway.

Minghao had left early that morning, which meant that he would be out earlier. Soonyoung had a gap between classes and he thought he and Minghao could grab lunch. Right when he went to text him, he crashed into a body.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." When he saw who the person was, he stepped back. Standing before him was the man from the other day. He looked just as he had that first day, all smouldering good looks and soft smiles. He was less awkward though, more sure as he stepped forward.

"If it isn't Soonyoung, my what a pleasure it is to see you." He almost went for a hug, but Soonyoung placed his hands on his chest.

"Nice to see you, but I'm running late for class so..." The man still smiled, not looking like he was going to let Soonyoung leave anytime soon.

"You know, I never formally introduced myself. My name's Minhyun." Pleasantries aside, the dread Soonyoung had felt when he first met him was rising and he felt the urge to run. Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong. "I know a lot about you. About who you know." The soft smile grew wider, almost sinister. Soonyoung was wishing he had brought Wonwoo right about now. "See, I know that your boyfriend is a very influential person. Said boyfriend happens to owe my partner a lot of money." Soonyoung gulped. "He had a deadline, one he missed by the way." He was moving closer, zeroing in on Soonyoung until he had him pinned against a tree. "My partner isn't very happy about it, so he sent me on a mission. He told me to find the most valuable thing Jihoon owned." His face was centimeters away. "Do you know what that might be?" Soonyoung might have an idea.

In a matter of seconds, more men had arrived, ones that bound him and gagged him and ran past the school grounds to a runaway car. It felt like deja vu, but a hundred times worse. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

"Are you done with classes for today?" Jun asked as he and Minghao walked across the campus. Minghao had a smug smile on his face.

"I am. How about a lunch date? I know this great sushi place-"

"Maybe it's best we go home." Minghao rolled his eyes. Jun was always rejecting his advances. One of these days, he was going to get him to accept. A phone call interrupted their conversation, Jun answering right away. A few words were shared, Jun eyes going comically wide as he shouted into the phone. "What do you mean he left again?! Is no one doing their job?! Yes, I'll take care of it." He started dialing a number.

"What's going on?"

"That little friend of yours decided to leave on his own again. At least this time they knew where he went." The phone rang and rang and rang and Jun tried again. "He's not picking up." Frustrated, he pushed hard against the phone screen, cursing as he messed up the numbers. Minghao took his hand.

"Hey, calm down. Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you. Let me try." Seeing as they had no other choice, Jun let him do the honors. Minghao dialed his best friend's number and they waited. They waited and waited and- "Well that's weird, he usually always answers." He tried again. This time, when the phone call went through, something was heard in the distance. Minghao picked up on it first. "Do you hear that?" Jun strained his ear, a muffled melody heard. "It sounds like- like-" An eerie feeling crept up his spine as Minghao rushed to the noise. He found Soonyoung's phone on the floor, the boy nowhere in sight. Jun picked it up, assessing the scene with careful eyes. He found nothing and Minghao grew worried. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I can tell you now, it's not good."

It felt like hours, hours of going in and out of consciousness until finally, Soonyoung was blinking his eyes open enough to see- nothing. The room he was in was dark and no matter how hard he tried to make out shapes it all meshed together. He groaned when tried to move, hands cuffed and behind his back making it all the more uncomfortable. He found that he could sit up, crying out when his legs hit against something. He tried to push himself upward, only to fall when his head hit metal framing.

Left helpless, he sank back down, tears on the verge of falling. He had no idea where he was. He wished Jihoon was there. He wished he had listened to him.

A ray of light blinded him as the door was pushed open, Soonyoung catching sight of just exactly where he was. More specifically, what he was in. "You're awake." The voice said, the light behind him not allowing Soonyoung to make out his features. The man crouched down studying him like one would an animal. Fitting, as Soonyoung happened to be trapped in a cage. "My are you a sight." Soonyoung hated the way his voice curled around the words, like he was trying to be sexy. Soonyoung tried to be brave.

"Let me go!"

"Silly boy, you're my grand prize. I could never." He chuckled lowly, standing to his full height and towering over Soonyoung in a way that made him feel extremely small. "You'll be the reason Jihoon crumbles." No more was said, the man leaving without having revealed any of his face. Soonyoung fell back, sobbing as he realized his fate. All because he couldn't be bothered to listen.