Another update before I go back to school, /sob/.

As the gang led you towards the warehouse, you were greeted by two familiar faces. Yongguk and Zelo were already waiting, leaning their backs against the big metal door. When they saw you approach, they straightened up and walked towards you, Zelo was throwing a black memory stick from hand to hand. You looked to Yongguk and he gave you a small wink so that only you could see. A tiny wave of reassurance washed over you and you hoped this would all end well.

“Well, well, well, long time no see, Yongguk” the leader smiled.

“Kris” Yongguk nodded, putting his hands in to his pockets as they arrived opposite each other.

“Just you and the bratty maknae today then? None of the other idiots you call a band of pirates?”

“Just us” he smiled calmly.

You looked over at Zelo and he looked you up and down before turning his attention back to Kris.

“So, do you have what I asked for?” he smirked.

“Give us Min and we’ll hand it over.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” he laughed, “Memory stick and then we give you the brat. You shivered against the slight cold breeze that blew, still trying to keep your weight off your injured foot. One of the men holding you shook you to get you to stay still and you ended up putting all of your weight on your foot, causing you to hiss in pain. You bit your lip and closed your eyes to try and cope with it.

“Very well” Yongguk sighed, looking over at you and noticing how much pain you were in, “Zelo, give him the stick.”

Zelo nodded and walked forward, handing the memory stick to Kris and he snatched it off him.

“Check it” he commanded, handing the stick to the baby faced boy. He pulled out a laptop from his backpack and began loading it up.

“Give us the girl.”

“Wait” he snapped, “Is it all there?”

“Seems to be” the baby faced one nodded, skimming the files.

“Very well” Kris said, motioning for the two men to let you go. They unlinked their arms from yours and the one with the gingery hair pushed you forward sending you stumbling towards Yongguk and Zelo. Zelo caught you before you could fall and steadied you. You hopped on one foot, regaining your balance and Yongguk took your shoulders.

“Are you OK?” he asked, searching your eyes.

You nodded even though you weren’t. You were aching all over and the pain in your foot was becoming unbearable.

“Come on, let’s go” he nodded, taking your arm. His grip was so much lighter than the other guys, he supported you rather than yanked you and he helped you hop away.

“We’ve got about five minutes before they notice” Zelo whispered to Yongguk. He nodded and helped you hop faster, you neared a corner and as soon as you did, you saw Daehyun waiting with a gun in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw you and he rushed over.

“Min, are you OK?”

“I’m fine” you winced, really wanting to take the pressure of the one foot you were using. It was starting to ache too now under all the hopping you had done on it.

You all stopped and looked up when you heard shouts emerging back from the warehouse.

“They’ve found out” Zelo nodded, “Can you run?” he asked, turning to look at you. You shook your head apologetically and he nodded, turning around.

“Get on” he commanded.

“Are you sure?” you asked, not wanting to slow anyone down.

“Just get on” he snapped. You did as he said and Yongguk helped you on to his back where you fastened your arms around his neck, holding on tightly.

“OK, let’s go” he said, taking off. You all ran as fast as you could, turning corners around the town to try and confuse and lose the enemy. You were soon rejoined by Himchan and Jongup and you were all sprinting across the town towards the dock. You could hear the shouts of the enemy behind you.

“You think we won’t find you?” Kris yelled. You could just about hear him but he was closing in, none the less. The dock was in sight and you could see the boat with Youngjae on board, looking out. He saw you nearing and ran inside, starting the boat up. You got nearer and nearer to the boat and Zelo was panting heavily beneath you, obviously completely worn out from carrying your weight too.
“I can run from here” you said, you knew you couldn’t but he really seemed like he was struggling to keep on carrying you.

“No, it’s OK” he breathed.

“No, really, I’ll run” you insisted, trying to get down. He didn’t let you at first but you eventually won, putting both your feet on the ground. You were in excruciating pain but you ran anyway. The ground hurt your bare feet and numerous little rocks stuck in them making you hiss in pain. You also almost fell at one point but Zelo held on to your arm and helped you along. You approached the boat and you all jumped on just as it was starting to sail away. Youngjae picked up the speed and by the time Kris and his gang got to the dock, it was already too late for them to get on board.

“We’ll find you!” he screamed throwing the memory stick after you. “And when we do, we’ll kill you all!”

“Yeah, of course you will, that’s what you said last time” Daehyun laughed waving to them with a huge grin on his face. Zelo quickly shirked his arm out of yours as soon as he noticed that they were still linked and Youngjae ran out on deck.

“Min!” he cried, rushing over to you, “Let’s get you cleaned up” he said, noticing the dried up blood on your face and in your hair. You tried to walk forward but you almost collapsed. The pain in your foot was made ten times worse than it already was and you cried out. Zelo ran over and stopped you from falling and tears cascaded down your cheeks in pain. He picked you up bridal style and carried you inside, everyone following after you. He walked inside, kicking the doors open until he got to the living room where he placed you down on the sofa. Youngjae immediately went to the kitchen where he returned with a glass of water and handed it to you. You took it without hesitation and gulped it down within seconds. It was so good to have water again, you were so thirsty, especially after running, you thought you were going to die. He laughed at how quickly you drank it and went back to the kitchen to fill it up and get a cloth to wipe your face.

Nobody said anything for a while, you just sat there with your head back, trying to control your breathing. Youngjae returned and handed you another glass of water and an apple. You drank half of the glass and then he started to wipe the dried blood off your face. You winced at the contact since your nose and all around that area were still very sore.

“What did they do to you?” he whispered, noticing the dried blood trailing from your head too.

You shrugged and let out a small laugh, Youngjae stared at you in concern.
“Zelo, get the first aid kit” he said, pointing towards the door. Zelo was watching with a troubled expression but he nodded and left quickly, returning with a big dark green box with a white cross on it. He handed it to Youngjae and he opened it pulling out bandages and safety pins. He moved to the other side of the sofa where he examined your ankle. You yelped as soon as he touched it and his hand retreated quickly.

“Sorry” he winced, “That looks broken to me. How did you do it?”

“The big one stood on it” you muttered, extending your hand to try and massage the pain away.

He made a face and proceeded to wrap your foot up, trying to be careful not to move it too much. He secured it with safety pins and moved to your arms once he was done. The digging of nails in to your arms had left little trails of blood travelling down them and he took out some wipes from the kit.

“This might sting” he warned, wiping the blood away. He was right, you flinched a little but you didn’t cry out. The pain was much more bearable than the pain in your ankle. Once he was done cleaning them he wiped some cream on the cuts and covered them with band aids.

“Here” Himchan coughed awkwardly, handing you a bag of ice.

“Thanks” you mumbled giving him the smallest of smiles. You reached over to your foot and draped the bag over your ankle. It hurt at first but then the cold was soothing and you sighed in relief.

“We’ve got to up the speed” Yongguk said, breaking the small silence, “They’ll be after us soon enough.”

“I’ll do it” Jongup smiled leaving for the control room.

“Who were those guys?” you asked.

Everyone perked up and looked at Yongguk who nodded. “They’re our rivals, EXO.”

“Why did they want that memory stick so bad?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does.”

“It doesn’t concern you, stop asking questions” Himchan cut you off.

“It doesn’t concern me? I was kidnapped by those psychos for two days where I was beaten and starved and it doesn’t concern me?” You wanted to know why you had been kidnapped again. It was your right to know why you’d been beaten up.

“She has a point” Daehyun said, taking a bite out of the apple that you had left untouched.

“She’s a ransom, not part of the crew, end of discussion” Yongguk said sternly ending the conversation.

You sat back in your chair and crossed your arms over your chest, scowling. You were too tired to argue. Everyone left the room apart from Zelo and Daehyun and you tried to lay down to get some sleep but your back ached and you took a sharp intake of breath at the pain you were in. Zelo rolled his eyes and walked over to you, picking you up again.

“What are you doing?” you asked eyes wide.

“Shut up” he snapped, walking you out of the living room. He didn’t stop until he arrived outside of a door and he shifted his weight so he could take one hand away to twist the knob. He opened the door and flicked the light on. It was his room. You looked up at him in confusion but he didn’t look back. He walked you over to his bed, pulled back the cover and set you down on there, taking a pillow for himself.

“Sleep here” he said, rummaging around in a drawer and taking out a spare blanket.

“What? No, I can’t” you protested, trying to get back up.

“Do you ever just do as you’re told?”

You sunk back and pulled the covers up to your chin, keeping your injured foot out in the open. He grabbed another pillow and put it under your foot to keep it elevated and then turned around to leave.

“Zelo” you whispered, just as he was about to turn the light off.

“What?” he asked, turning his head to look at you.
 

“Thank you.”

He nodded and switched off the light, closing the door behind him. The bed was softer than you had thought. Or maybe it was just because you hadn’t slept on one in so long, it felt like a luxury. You’d always taken advantage of the things you had, but now you appreciated every small luxury you were given, like water and a proper place to sleep. The mattress supported your back and the pillows were soft and you sank in to them falling asleep almost instantly.

__________________

Zelo trudged back to the living room after changing with his pillow and blanket and threw himself on the sofa, exhaling deeply. Everyone had gone to bed after the long day and he propped his pillow up on the arm of the sofa and laid his head back on it. Why did I do that? He thought, he’d never done anything nice for anyone before. Maybe it was just because you were annoying and he wanted you out of his sight. Yes, he thought, that’s why. He nodded, closing his eyes and turning over so he was facing the back of the sofa. He was exhausted too, although probably not as exhausted as you were. He’d stayed awake the night before much longer than all of the other members, ironing out the plans and making sure that everything was good. He wasn’t the cleverest person on the boat and he had no idea why he’d stayed up until ungodly hours in the morning making sure that the plan was legitimate, but he had and he could sleep soundly now that everything was OK and you were back. It’s because we needed the ransom he thought, not because of her, no, that would be stupid. She’s a brat.