far from you | oneus

sixteen. 28-08-20

"Dongju, I'm home."

The five of them froze outside the door to the basement, afraid to look at each other for fear of the silent confirmation of who that voice belonged to.

Because the only other male Xion lived with was his father.

"ACCESS GRANTED."

The unlocking of the basement door was loud in the still, dead silence, jolting them for a second before all five of them burst into action.

"Get in," Ravn said quickly, nudging the others. "Get in right now and hide."

They stumbled through the door, letting it shut behind them. The basement was a gray wood-panelled room with a relatively high ceiling, opening out to a second smaller room to the right.

There he was.

A figure clothed in gray and black patched with dark, browning crimson, crumpled in on itself in the far corner.

"Don't touch him yet, he might come down here," Seoho reminded them, stepping carefully through the doorway. Four of them tucked their way into the space behind the ceiling-height cabinet, pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the small area. Leedo, who'd been the last to enter, stuffed himself into the space under a small sidetable on the other side of the room.

The seconds stretched endlessly as they waited, dreaded anticipation hanging in the air, and then the sound was heard.

Footsteps on the staircase.

"Be quiet."

The voice granting access to the room was muffled through the closed door, becoming louder a second later when the door swung open.

"Dongju?"

The figure on the couch seemed to shift slightly, the movements cautious and jerky like he was trying to avoid moving an injured limb.

"...Dad."

"Hello, Dongju."

Xion didn't reply, remaining in his collapsed position in the smaller room.

"Your mother isn't going to help you anymore, you know."

"I took her to Paris. She's there right now, thinking you're staying with friends while we go on a short holiday. No one is going to help you."

"And by the time we come back, there'll be nothing left of you. Understand?"

Xion was silent again, and the man kicked something at him.

"Understand?"

"Yes."

"I brought something for you."

Ravn steeled his nerves and peeked out from the edge of the cabinet. The man standing in the doorway held a sleek, black hand pistol, glinting with dangerous shine in the fluorescent lighting of the basement.

"Your easy way out. It makes things easier for all of us here. For me, for your mother..."

"After all, you'd hate it if she was blamed for your death, right? Charges against her for parental neglect, child abuse..."

He lifted the gun in his hand, pointing it toward the collapsed figure of Xion, and in the next second Ravn was out from behind the cabinet, facing the man.

"STOP!"

The remaining three swarmed out from behind the cabinet as the man turned, the gun clicking in his hand as his finger moved over the trigger.

"And why am I not surprised?"

Ravn put his hand up, shoulders set as he faced Park Jihwan down. "Put the gun down," he said calmly, his voice betraying none of the panic that was speeding through his veins with pounding ache. "We aren't here to hurt you."

"So, I suppose that boy decided to mouth off about everything, then," the man replied, equally calm, not lowering the gun pointed directly at Ravn's chest. "Expected, if I can say so myself. Typical of a weak-minded, selfish child like him. It's embarrassing, really."

"Embarrassing?" Hwanwoong's glower was terrifying as the disbelief painted his voice. "You don't know anything. You don't know how strong he is, you really don't."

"Do I look like I care what you think about him?" Jihwan answered tiredly, tilting his head slightly. "It won't matter what you think about him, or what you think about me. Not anymore, at least."

"Because, don't you see? I can't let you leave this room alive."

"You can't take all of us," Keonhee countered quickly. "Don't you think you're a little outnumbered here?"

"Are you forgetting I have a gun?" he laughed, the sound startling and disjointed in the still, tangible tension. "Silly of you to think you can escape this. You can't."

In the second after, Seoho exchanged a look with Leedo across the room, and the younger boy was out from under the sidetable, bringing it down with all the force he could over Jihwan's head.

The movement in the next few seconds was so fast neither of the others could fathom what was happening, and when Jihwan stood back up his arm was around Leedo's neck, the barrel of the gun pressed tight to the side of his head.

He smiled, sadistic and twisted and cruel, eyes wild. "You move, and he dies. You try to touch me, he dies. You try to touch Dongju, he dies."

"Your turn, boys."

Keonhee, Hwanwoong, Seoho and Ravn stood, still as ice in their positions, the panic threatening to engulf them as the man disabled the safety lock of the gun. One pull, and it would blow Leedo's head to shreds.

Before either of them could move again, thunderous pounding sounded on the staircase leading to the basement.

"SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY, PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

As the doors swung open for the third time that day, a deafening gunshot rang, echoing against the walls of the basement, ringing in their ears as the bang filled their heart with overwhelming fear.

Liquid seeped, dark and fast and flowing and wet and warm, sickeningly warm, leeching into the white of his shirt, bleaching the paleness of his fingers as his hands brushed across his stomach.

"Seoho-hyung!"

─

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