Archive of Our Own

Terror.

It’s pure, unprecedented terror.

It’s a shock when the peace of the car is disturbed by strangers forcing their way in, and it’s terror a split second later when it’s obvious that something is wrong with the situation, something really bad. Hoseok and Jungkook, who are the only ones on the side that the strangers enter from, are both panicking within seconds.

“Phones away, everybody put your phones away,” one of the men demands.

“Relax, relax, people,” another guy says.

They can’t relax. Namjoon is tense and scared as fuck, with Hoseok plastered to his side, panicking. In front of him he has Jungkook and Taehyung, and while Jungkook is panicking, Taehyung is confused as he’s jolted awake by the sudden action. Behind him, Namjoon has Jimin, Yoongi, and Seokjin, who all seem confused by what’s happening. And whatever it is that’s happening, it’s pure terror, which only worsens when the third guy in the front seat starts driving the car, leaving behind their own driver and their manager.

As people wake up and realize what’s happening, the phones are slowly put away and placed on the front passenger seat.

“Just relax, boys,” the guy next to Jungkook says. He sounds pleased with himself.

“Namjoon-hyung, what’s happening?” Jimin asks quietly from the backseat. He’s probably asking Namjoon because Namjoon is the leader, and the only one who’s fluent in English. He’s probably wondering if he misunderstood or missed something. But no, he didn’t. And Namjoon has no answer for him, so he just shakes his head.

“Hyung, say something to them,” Jungkook pleads, but Namjoon doesn’t know what to do or say.

But something does change when Jungkook speaks.

The man next to Hoseok looks around at them. Namjoon can’t entirely make out his face in the darkness, but he’s pretty sure that the man looks confused. Not surprising. They’re speaking Korean.

“Who are you guys? Where are you from?” he asks.

“We’re from South Korea,” Namjoon answers. He’s proud that his voice doesn’t shake.

He doesn’t want to immediately tell these guys that they’re a music group, that they’re famous. He doesn’t know yet if it’d be an advantage that the men know or if it would just put them in more danger.

Because they are in danger now.

“You’re Korean?” the man next to Jungkook asks, sounding shocked. “Shit.”  He turns to look at the man next to Hoseok. “What do we do now, man?”

“We keep going as planned for now,” the man says. “We go to the hideout and take it from there.”

“Where are we going?” Taehyung asks in English. His accent is heavy, but he’s understandable.

“No place you need to know,” the driver says. “Don’t look at the streets. Keep your heads down, everyone.”

That’s definitely not a good thing, Namjoon thinks. He’s watched enough crime shows to know that in a situation like this it’s a good idea to make sure people don’t know where they’re going, so that they can’t tell anyone where they were taken to. That’s a smart strategy for this.

This being kidnapping. Because they’re definitely being kidnapped.

~

The car ride seems unendingly long and at the same time incredibly short. They’re herded out of the car, leaving their phones and bags behind, and pushed through the doors to a concrete building. It doesn’t exactly look run down, but the neighborhood in general doesn’t look like the nicest, maybe. Inside the building is an apartment with no windows. The main room with the living room and kitchen is long and narrow, and in the middle is a couch and some armchairs across from a TV. There’s a staircase to one side leading to an upstairs landing.

“Sit over there,” one of the men says and pushes Yoongi towards the couch, making Yoongi stumble a little. They all sit down silently, and Namjoon watches as one of the men rummages around in the kitchen like he’s looking for something, while the other two start pacing in front of them.

“Yo, we got any rope?” the man in the kitchen asks, and Namjoon tenses up even more.

“No, we don’t just have rope lying around,” another man says, irritated.

“Try the bottom drawer, there might be some zip ties there,” the last man says. He sounds more calm than the other two.

The man in the kitchen rummages around a little more, then lets out a triumphant shout.

“You found some?” one of the other men asks. His friend holds a bundle of zip ties in the air, and Namjoon’s heart sinks, because he knows what this means, and he doesn’t like it.

It becomes even more terrifying when that Namjoon first imagined when one of the men pulls Yoongi over to the radiator on the other side of the room and ties his hands to the pipes, because this means that they’re not even just being tied up on the couch. One by one, they’re pulled to somewhere else in the room, somewhere far more uncomfortable, and tied up.

Jungkook joins Yoongi at the radiator, tied to the same pipe, and Seokjin and Hoseok get tied to the pipe on the other side. Jimin and Taehyung are tied to a water pipe by the wall next to the couch. Namjoon himself is tied up on his own to the railing of the staircase.

He’s on his own, separated from the others, and it makes the whole thing even more terrifying than it already was. He can’t comfort the others, and they can’t comfort him.

At least some of them can comfort each other, he thinks, looking at the way they huddle together. It’s better that Namjoon is on his own than the rest of them, because they can’t even understand the language and Namjoon can at least understand what the men are saying when they talk. As confused as he is, he’s probably less confused than the others are, but at least they can comfort each other a little.

And even if this wasn’t the case, he’d still rather be the one on his own if someone had to be. He’d be heartbroken to see one of his brothers alone in this situation.

He’s heartbroken to see them in this situation at all.

“Do y’all speak English?” one of the men asks, snapping Namjoon’s attention back to the kidnappers.

“I do,” he replies. His voice still isn’t shaking, which is a good thing.

“You’re gonna translate for us when we say so, okay?” the man says.

Namjoon nods, too scared of how much his voice might shake if he speaks to give a verbal reply. The man seems satisfied enough with his nod, thankfully, and turns back away from him again.

“Hey, Pete,” says the man that had found the zip ties. The man who had spoken to Namjoon looks at him. “What are we gonna do with these kids?”

“Exactly the same as we were gonna do with anyone else,” Pete says with a shrug. “Nothing’s changed, the plan’s still on. Chuck, go put the car in the shop.” The guy that had been driving nods, picks up a set of keys, and leaves. “Ross, go call our guy, tell him we’ve got seven for tomorrow night.”

Ross also nods and leaves the room. Namjoon has no idea what they’re talking about, but whatever it is, it’s not good.

~

Pete doesn’t say anything during his time alone with the seven of them. He just looks at all of them calmly, something almost calculating in his eyes, and Namjoon finds himself wondering how much Pete has done this before.

Ross comes back first.

“Jason wanted a discount, cause we got more than he expected,” he says.

“You better have told him where he can stick his discount,” Pete says menacingly.

“Don’t worry, I did. We’ll get our money,” Ross assures him.

Namjoon’s eyes move between the two of them nervously. He’s stuck in between wanting to know what they’re talking about and not wanting to know anything at all. On the one hand, he could be prepared for whatever’s going to happen to them all, could maybe even figure out some desperate way out of this horrible situation. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to know what’s coming, what these men have planned for them, because whatever it is, it cannot be good. Most of all, he doesn’t want to have to relay any horrible information to the others, and if he doesn’t know anything, then he can’t translate anything.

Chuck comes back later with a bag that he throws on the ground by the door.

“Cellphones,” he says. “Someone’s been calling them a lot.”

That would probably be Hobeom, Namjoon thinks. He has no idea how much time has passed since they were kidnapped, but it’s been long enough that their manager and their driver have seen that the car is gone, and the members along with it, and that means that the police must also have been contacted.

He doesn’t think they’ll get away without help from the police. They’ve all been tied up, and even though they could make plans without their kidnappers having a clue what any of them are saying, they can’t do anything. They’re stuck.

And besides, Namjoon isn’t sure how well the three men would take it if they started speaking Korean in front of them. They seem like the kind of men who’d be pissed when they were confused or not in control.

“You better have turned them all off,” Ross says. “The police’ll be on us if they can trace the phones.”

“Of course I turned them off, I’m not a fucking idiot,” Chuck snaps.

“Well good, because if you hadn’t –”

“Calm down, both of you,” Pete says sternly. “The phones are turned off, no one’s gonna find us, and we got seven people for Jason, with no extra effort, so we’re gonna cash in a lot tomorrow.”

It sounds very ominous. Namjoon isn’t at all sure what they’re talking about, but it sounds ominous.

His mind travels to dark places, to things he’s seen in American movies and TV shows. He has an idea what the men are talking about, and it’s not good. It makes chills run down his spine, makes cold sweat break all over his skin, because if he’s understanding them correctly and his guess is right, then, in some way, in some form or another, the plan is to sell them.

Exactly what else it means for them, he has no idea, because he doesn’t know what this Jason will want with them, but this is where his mind goes to even more terrifying places.

“Was there anything valuable in the car?” Pete asks.

“Yeah, it looked like it. We should definitely go over everything before we sell the car,” Chuck replies.

Given their current situation, Namjoon can’t manage more than a slight irritation at the prospect of losing all their stuff. Stuff is replaceable. They themselves are not.

“When are we selling the car?” Ross asks.

“My contact’s in Amsterdam right now, so not for a few days,” Chuck says with a shrug.

Ross sighs impatiently, but he doesn’t say anything.

Pete stretches. “Well, I’m beat. Let’s head out. These guys aren’t going anywhere.” He sends a smug grin Namjoon’s way, and Namjoon tenses up. His heart beats a faster and his face heat up with anger at Pete’s expression, like he’s extremely pleased with himself. He probably is, and Namjoon wants to punch him. Punch him hard and then run away with the others, as far away as possible.

But his wrists are still tied to the railing with a ziptie and he can’t do anything.

“We’ll be back in the morning, boys,” Ross says.

“I suggest you get some sleep,” Chuck says with a mean laugh, and the sound grits on Namjoon’s nerves. The other members look extremely unnerved by the laugh.

The thick door is closed and locked after the men, and then they’re alone in the room.

“What the hell is happening?” Yoongi asks. His voice is shaking a little, but it’s also hard and angry.

“We’ve been kidnapped,” Namjoon says grimly.

“Who are they? What do they want?” Hoseok asks, panicked.

“I don’t know,” Namjoon replies quietly. “I just know their names. Pete, Ross, and Chuck. I don’t know what they want, not exactly anyway, but.” He licks his dry lips, swallows a lump in his throat, and he looks around at his members. They all look as terrified as he feels, and even more confused. “They – I think they talked about selling us to some guy named Jason.”

His words are met a couple of gasps, but otherwise just stunned silence and wide, terrified eyes. Jungkook curls himself into Yoongi as well as he can, and Jimin and Taehyung curl into each other, while Seokjin and Hoseok both look like they’re about to have full blown panic attacks and Yoongi looks like he’s about to either explode or cry.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he eventually mumbles. “Selling us?”

“That’s what they talked about,” Namjoon says, voice shaking a little. He hates having to tell them this, hates being the one to bring the terrifying, horrible news, but he has to.

“What’s gonna happen to us?” Jungkook asks in a small voice.

“I don’t know,” Namjoon replies, because it’s the truth. “They didn’t say anything about who Jason is or what he’d want with us. They just said that they’d get a lot of cash tomorrow by giving Jason seven people. What happens after that, I have no idea.”

“Hobeom-hyung has definitely contacted the police by now,” Seokjin says firmly after a beat of silence. “They’ll be out looking for us, and they’ll find us. We’re gonna be okay.”

It’s a comfort to hear those words from the oldest, because Seokjin’s voice is soothing on Namjoon’s frayed nerves, and it’s easy to believe him. There’s no way Hobeom hasn’t contacted the police yet, so they’re definitely out looking for them, and believing that they’ll be found in time is a lot better than imagining all the things that can happen if they’re not.

~

They all manage to fall asleep, even if they didn’t want to. The time difference from Korea to America is significant enough that they can feel it, on top of that there’s jetlag, and they’ve all had adrenaline pumping through them since the car got hijacked. They’re all beyond exhausted when the immediate threat is removed, and despite the terror they all feel, and despite the desire to be alert and ready, they all eventually nod off.

It’s not a comfortable night’s sleep for any of them.

They have to sleep in awkward positions on the cold concrete floor of the apartment, with their wrists bound and aching, and fear still keeping them on edge even in sleep. Namjoon wakes up at the slightest noise, and he’s pretty sure the others have woken up several times during the night either.

Namjoon wakes up with a start when he hears the voices of Pete, Ross, and Chuck outside the door. The others seem to have been rattled awake by it too, so clearly none of them were sleeping that deeply.

He has the worst pain in his back ever and a horrible crick in his neck from sleeping upright leaning against the stupid staircase. From the groan Yoongi lets out, he’s probably feeling about the same. He also slept sitting, leaning against the wall, with Jungkook’s head in his lap.

The door slams open and the men step in.

“Good morning people!” Ross shouts.

“Okay, so here’s what’s gonna happen today,” Pete says and closes the door again. He points to Namjoon. “Blondie, you translate afterwards.” Namjoon just nods a little. “We have a little deal tonight with a buddy of mine. A transaction, if you will. But we’re busy men, so you’re not gonna be seeing us very much today.”

“We’ll come back, though, so don’t do anything stupid,” Chuck says. Then he smirks at them. “Not that you can go anywhere or do anything, though.”

Namjoon’s hands clench into fists on instinct.

“We’re gonna come and check up on you during the day,” Pete says. “And we expect everything to be the same. If you behave well, we won’t have to punish you, and things will go so much smoother for everyone, got it? So just sit tight. You have a big night tonight.”

“You got all that, blondie?” Ross grunts, and Namjoon nods again. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Namjoon looks away from Ross and translate what they’d said to his members. The more he says, the more Hoseok and Taehyung start shaking, and Jungkook looks like he could cry. Yoongi looks like he could punch someone. Namjoon wants to punch someone. As much as he’s still scared shitless of what’s going on and what will happen, he’s also angry as hell about what these men are doing to him and to his friends, his family.

Pete, Ross, and Chuck stay long enough to watch an episode of American Chopper, and then Pete leaves. Halfway through the next episode, so does Chuck, leaving just Ross. Not that it means much how many of their captors are present, because they can’t move. They have no way of attempting escape, not even when Ross leaves after an episode of Deadliest Catch.

The door locks loudly and heavily after him, and they’re left alone again.

“What’s gonna happen tonight?” Taehyung asks immediately.

“I have no idea. They still didn’t say,” Namjoon replies.

“What are we going to do?” Jimin says, yanking on his bonds. It doesn’t do him any good, just makes him grunt in pain when the ziptie digs into his wrists harshly.

“Be careful,” Yoongi says. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Taehyung manages to grab hold of Jimin’s hand despite the restraints and keeps a tight hold on it.

“But what are we gonna do?” Jungkook asks in a small voice.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if there’s anything we can do,” Namjoon says, heart breaking for the hundredth time in the past 18 hours.

“So all we can do is wait for tonight and see what happens then?” Yoongi asks, sounding like he hates the idea of not being able to do anything else. Namjoon doesn’t blame him. He also hates that they can’t do anything but sit there and wait for whatever their fate is, but they don’t really have much of a choice.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he says.

~

All three of their captors come to check in on them during the day, just like they’d said they would. Namjoon has no sense of time, so he has no idea how long there is between each time they come back, or even if it’s before or after noon, really. The room they’re in has no windows, so he can’t tell by sunlight how late in the day it’s getting. It’s incredibly disorienting and unnerving to not know something as basic as the time of day. Namjoon is pretty sure it’s making him even more afraid than he already is.

The second time Pete comes back, he’s alone and he looks incredibly smug, and it makes Namjoon lean back instinctively. Whatever is making him look that happy can’t be good for them.

“Hello BTS,” Pete says.

Namjoon’s breath catches in his throat. Pete has found out.

He’s thought about it several times, about what might happen if their kidnappers find out who they are. He’s had a sort of vain hope that they might panic and just try to negotiate a ransom, instead of whatever other plans they had. Realistically, he knows that it might not change things much. Maybe they’ll demand a higher price from this Jason guy, and maybe what Jason does with them might change, but what Pete and Ross and Chuck do probably won’t. His worst nightmare is that they panic and kill them instead.

He’d only had that thought for a few seconds before he had to stop thinking about it or he’d have a full-blown panic attack.

Now the thought is back again, because Pete has found out and he seems all too pleased about the discovery.

“Now why didn’t you tell me that you guys are celebrities?” he asks. “Pretty little idols from South Korea. You made the news and everything.” At least that means that the police is looking for them, but other than that, Namjoon can’t see a positive to this. Pete approaches him and crouches down in front of him. Namjoon scoots back as far as he can, in a silly attempt to put as much distance between them as possible. “That’s the kind of information I’d have liked to know. I can charge my buddy even more for letting him and his friends beat up your pretty, famous faces.”

Holy shit.

Namjoon’s heart speeds up and he can hear blood rushing in his ears.

Beat up. That’s what tonight is about. That’s what Jason wants with them. He wants to beat them up. They’re essentially going to be sold as punching bags. That’s the plan, that’s the deal, and there is absolutely nothing they can do to prevent it. They can’t run away. They’re stuck.

He doesn’t want to show Pete how scared he is, but he can’t control his face. He can’t control his harsh breathing. Judging by the look on Pete’s face, his fear is obvious.

Thankfully, Pete doesn’t stay very long. He probably just came back to tell them that he knows who they are, and once he’s gone, Namjoon looks at his members, and he knows he has to tell them.

“He knows who we are,” is what he starts with. Easing into it seems like the best option.

“Is that a good thing?” Jimin asks.

“No, not really,” Namjoon replies. His voice is getting a little strained. “He found out because he saw it on the news, so at least we know that the police are looking for us.” He tries to make it sound as optimistic as possible, but he doesn’t think he succeeds very well. “But it might make it worse for us tonight. I’m not sure, but it probably won’t mean anything good.”

“How do you mean?” Seokjin asks warily.

“They, um… I – I found out what’s gonna happen tonight,” Namjoon says. They all look at him, curious and cautious and scared all at once. He takes a deep breath. Quick and painful, like ripping off a band aid. “This guy, Jason, is going to pay them to beat us up.”

Just like the night before, when he’d told them that they were going to be sold in some way, his words are met with complete silence.

“What the fuck,” Yoongi says eventually. “They’re gonna beat us up?”

“Him and his friends, apparently,” Namjoon says. Taehyung whimpers. He looks ready to cry and scoots closer to Jimin, who just looks lost and equally ready to cry.

Jungkook actually does cry. It’s the worst thing that could happen. If the maknae cries, they all cry, but they try to hold it in while Jungkook curls up into Yoongi’s side, and Seokjin and Hoseok reach out to touch him and comfort him as well as they can.

“Shh, don’t cry,” Seokjin croaks, voice shaky. “It’ll be okay.”

“Their friend is going to pay them to beat us up?” Yoongi asks Namjoon. Namjoon just nods. He doesn’t trust his voice to actually make a sound. “Oh fuck.”

“And we can’t even try to escape,” Taehyung says, yanking on his bonds in frustration.

“Careful, you’ll hurt yourself,” Namjoon says, just like they’d said to Jimin earlier.

“They’re gonna hurt us later anyway,” Taehyung comments, but he does stop.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Hoseok says, but he doesn’t look or sound optimistic at all. He’s pale and shaky and looks frightened out of his mind. It’s a terrifying thing to see, because Hoseok is always optimistic. Seokjin also doesn’t seem too hopeful, which makes the whole thing even more terrifying somehow.

“Fucking assholes,” Seokjin mumbles. “They won’t get away with this shit.”

It’s not often that Seokjin swears. He prefers a cleaner language, and the fact that he’s swearing now, twice even, is not a good sign.

“Namjoon-hyung, what are we gonna do?” Jimin asks in a small voice. Namjoon looks around at everyone. They’re all scared, maybe even angry, and they’re all tied up tightly. They can’t do anything to escape.

And he can’t do anything but say, “I don’t know.”

The way Jimin bursts into tears at that is utterly heartbreaking.

~

No one comes back after Pete’s second visit until all three of them return at once. That’s not really a bad thing, because Jungkook and Jimin cry for a long time, and eventually the rest of them cry as well, even Yoongi. But by the time Pete, Ross, and Chuck come back, they’ve calmed down again, thankfully. Namjoon still doesn’t know what time it is, but he guesses it’s evening and that they’ve all finished work now, or whatever it is they’ve been doing all day. Ross has what looks like bandanas in his hand.

“It’s time to go, boys,” Chuck says, sounding far too smug.

Both Namjoon’s heart and his breathing speeds up.

It’s time. It’s happening now. They’re going to be sold like punching bags to some psycho and his friends, and they’re going to be beaten up by them. There’s no way they’ll be found in time to prevent this. Namjoon has been praying all day that the police would turn up and save them, that they wouldn’t get to this point and have to go through what comes next, but it hadn’t worked. The police haven’t shown up to save them yet, and Namjoon really highly doubts they’ll turn up at the eleventh hour and save them right before they can be sold or right before they can be beaten.

There’s nothing they can do. It’s happening, and it’s happening now.

“To make sure none of you attract any unwanted attention,” Ross says and holds up the bandanas, “we’re gonna shut your mouths for you.”

“No, please, no,” Namjoon begs, scooting backwards. He can’t go very far, but he moves as far back as he can with his hands tied to the staircase and presses his side against the steps, letting them dig into is ribs painfully just to create more distance between himself and the men. “We’ll be good. I promise.”

“Nice try, kid,” Pete says. Chuck rolls his eyes in the back and Ross gives a few bandanas each to him and Pete. “But we’re not taking any chances.”

“You got about ten seconds to tell your little friends what we’re doing now, blondie,” Ross says.

“Guys, they’re taking us to Jason now, and they’re gonna cover our mouths to make sure we don’t shout,” Namjoon says quickly, eyes flittering between his members while Ross advances on him. “Don’t struggle.”

Ross crouches down in front of him and ties a bandana tightly over his mouth. It hurts a little, but Namjoon doesn’t care, not when the others are making noises around him as their mouths are covered as well. He wants to cry again.

Once they’ve all had a bandana tied over their mouth, they get cut lose, only for new zipties to immediately be tied around their wrists again, and then they’re dragged to their feet.

“Behave, and this’ll all go smoothly for everyone,” Pete says as he roughly pushes Yoongi towards the door. “Put up a fight, and we’ll plummet you to the ground.”

Namjoon isn’t sure he needed to say that. They’re not in any position to fight or try to run away right now. Too many things could go wrong.

They’re herded out of the apartment and out of the building with shoves and pushes, and into the back of a van. As soon as they’re all in and the doors are closed, they huddle together in the corner farthest from the driver’s seat. It’s an incredible source of comfort just to have everyone physically close, to be able to reach out and touch any of them. They’re still in deep trouble, and things are still about to get even worse, but at least they can be there for each other now. Namjoon has been craving physical contact with his brothers since they were split around the apartment and he was left on his own.

From the way the others stick together, he doesn’t think he’s the only one.

Jungkook is crying again, silently this time, leaning his head on Jimin’s shoulder. Namjoon wishes there was something he could do to stop the tears, but there’s not.

It’s dark outside, so whatever time of day it is, it’s at least evening. The car ride is uneventful, which is good because they’re not strapped down; one sharp corner and they could all fall over. That doesn’t happen, though. All that happens is that they bounce and bump around a little as the car turns and stops and starts.

Namjoon isn’t sure how long the ride is, but it feels short and slow. Like they’re not driving for very long but time is dragging as they do.

Eventually they come to a halt, and Namjoon’s heart is beating fast and loud enough that he wonders if other people can hear it as well as he can.

This is it.

The doors at the back of the van open, and one by one they’re dragged out, roughly, and pushed into a new, nondescript concrete building. It kind of looks like an old factory, and Namjoon is even more sure that’s what it is when he sees the inside.

They’re taken through what looks like it used to be part of the factory work floor and into what looks like an old office. It has a desk, a filing cabinet, a few chairs and a couch, and there’s a door at the opposite corner from where they enter, but that’s it, and everything looks old and dirty. Once they’re all standing in the room, Pete leaves, but not for very long. He comes back just a few minutes later with a guy following behind him.

The new guy is big and muscular, and he looks violent. When he sees the seven of them, he looks positively gleeful.

This must be Jason.

“Oh yeah, these are great,” he says. A chill runs down Namjoon’s spine. He’s pretty sure he’s shaking.

“And famous, too,” Pete says. “They’re idols. From South Korea.”

“I have no clue what that means,” Jason says.

“Whatever. But since they’re famous, the price goes up.” Pete looks smug. Jason looks glares at him for a moment, but then sighs and holds out a hand for Pete to shake.

“Sure. You got a deal. These are some great offers. I’ll pay the extra for them,” he says.

The way Pete and Jason are talking about them, like they’re objects, makes Namjoon furious. They’re not objects. They’re people. But these guys don’t even care about that. They just care about money, and satisfying their violent urges. They clearly don’t give a shit that they’re talking about seven human beings.

“First payment now, and I get a cut of what you get for them in there,” Pete says and holds out his hand.

Fucking hell, the more Namjoon hears about what’s planned for them, the more terrified he becomes.

Jason walks over to the desk and crouches down behind it. Namjoon can’t see what he’s doing, and he doesn’t care either, but Jason stands up again quickly, this time with a thick wad of cash in his hand. It’s a lot of money, and it looks like at least some of the bills, if not all of them, are $100 notes.

At least they’re not cheap. Not that that’s any kind of comfort whatsoever.

Jason hands the wad of cash to Pete, who quickly flips through it and then puts it in his pocket. Then he gestures to where the members are standing with a wide smile. “Take your first pick,” he says.

Namjoon is shaking so much he’s surprised his knees haven’t given out under him.

Jason looks at them all, evaluating. Then he grins and points at Hoseok.

“I’ll go with him first,” he says.

Namjoon freezes, because oh fuck.

He’s not sure if he had hoped to be the first one, to get it over with and be able to reassure his members that everything will be okay, even though they probably all know that it won’t. Seokjin hasn’t tried to reassure them very much, which definitely means that they all know how bleak the situation is. Seokjin always tries to reassure them when something seems to be going wrong. But Hoseok is picked first, and Namjoon can’t do anything but make a lot of muffled, protesting noises with everyone else.

There’s commotion when Chuck cuts Hoseok’s wrists free and removes the bandana around his mouth. They all try to say something to make them stop, Hoseok pleads with him in a mix of Korean and very broken English, and Yoongi and Seokjin even try to step in front of Hoseok, while Namjoon tries to pull him back, out of Chuck’s grip, but it doesn’t work. They’re all pushed back and Hoseok is pushed towards Jason.

“Enjoy,” Pete grins.

“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Jason says, smug, like he’s having the time of his life terrifying seven boys like this.

He probably is.

Namjoon doesn’t like his use of plural. It’s not a good sign.

Jason pulls a crying Hoseok out of the office and the door slams shut behind them, and that’s it. They have no idea what’s happening out there, or what Hoseok’s going through. They just crouch together on the ground, as close as they can get.

And then they hear it.

Hoseok and Jason have been gone maybe five minutes when they hear what sounds like laughter. It’s faint, like it’s in the opposite end of the building, but it’s there, and it sounds harsh and cold and cruel. It makes Namjoon shiver all over.

The laughter dies down, and not long after there’s what sounds like applause, and then a sound that makes Namjoon freeze all over and frantic at the same time, a sound that makes him scared and angry, a sound that makes him want to puke. Preferably all over their kidnappers.

Hoseok screams.

He’s in pain. He sounds like he’s crying too.

Namjoon wants to cry just hearing it, and he probably would if there wasn’t something in him holding back. It’s like there’s a part of him that’s trying to remain defiant in the face of their captors and strong in front of his members.

The kids are crying.

Seokjin is crying too, but he looks enraged more than he looks upset. Yoongi looks terrified.

The second time Hoseok screams, Taehyung’s hands fly up to cover his ears, eyes squeezed shut even as more tears stream down his face. Yoongi and Jungkook follow his example with covering their ears. Jimin tries to, but his hands are too small to reach both his ears when they’re tied together, and something that would normally be cute makes Namjoon choke on a sob. Thankfully, Seokjin reaches out and covers Jimin’s ears with his own hands, and when Hoseok cries out again, Namjoon can’t handle it anymore and covers his ears as well, tears finally falling down his cheeks.

Time seems to drag on forever as they wait. Every muscle in Namjoon’s body is tense and his spine is so rigid it actually hurts. He feels like his breathing is heavy, and his heart is definitely fast. He’s scared shitless.

Eventually the door opens again, and Namjoon sees the most horrific thing he has ever laid eyes on.

Jason walks in and he’s dragging a bloodied and bruised Hoseok by his armpits.

Namjoon’s heart leaps into his throat and he leaps forward, along with the rest of the members, making loud, distressed, muffled, noises, because Hoseok is bleeding and bruised and hurt. Jason dumps him on one of the couches, and the rest of them are crowding around him immediately.

Any fear of their captors is forgotten in the face of this, so Namjoon yanks down the bandana that’s over his mouth, and the others follow his example immediately.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” he asks. He feels stupid, because obviously Hoseok isn’t okay at all, but he can’t think clearly.

“It hurts,” Hoseok whimpers. He’s clutching his sides, like it hurts to breathe or talk.

“Those bastards,” Taehyung chokes out, grabbing one of Hoseok’s hands.

“I’m gonna fucking kill them for this,” Yoongi seethes.

“Calm down, Yoongi,” Seokjin says, but he’s not looking at Yoongi. He’s looking at Hoseok, his eyes wide and sad and scared. “Don’t get into any more trouble that we’re already in.”

“Look at what they did to him!” Yoongi hisses. He’s furious, and so is Namjoon, but Seokjin is right.

“They’re gonna do that to all of us, don’t make it worse that it will be,” Namjoon says. It hurts to say it, but they already know. Pete said it earlier, and Namjoon translated to the rest of them. They’re all going to get beaten up.

“Alright, next one,” Jason says. They all whirl around to face him, but they keep crouching in front of Hoseok. Jason reaches out and grabs Taehyung’s arm.

What happens next is chaotic.

Yoongi shouts and wrenches Jason’s hand off Taehyung, making both of them stumble a little. Jason shouts, “What the hell?” and pushes Yoongi so roughly he falls back onto the couch and onto Hoseok, who lets out a cry of pain, making all of them turn to look at him again.

“Shit, Hobi, are you okay?” Yoongi asks. His voice is shaking, probably from the anger and the fear of possibly having hurt Hoseok further. Hoseok nods, but his face is still a grimace.

“I guess I’ll take this one now, then,” Jason growls and yanks Yoongi up from the couch. Yoongi nearly falls from how rough it is, but Jason pulls him to his feet properly, cuts his wrists free, and then pushes him out of the door, which he slams shut behind them.

And then once, again, all they can do is wait. Except this time it’s worse, because now they’ve seen on Hoseok what will happen to them when Jason drags them away, so they know what Yoongi is going through now. They know he’ll come back looking like Hoseok, if not worse. Namjoon wouldn’t be surprised if Yoongi fights back, and that could get him an even rougher beating.

He hardly even wants to think about it, but it’s hard to think of anything else when Yoongi is gone and Hoseok is breathing harshly on the couch, curled up in pain, bruised and bloodied and living proof of what Jason is capable of.

Taehyung keeps one of Hoseok’s hands between his own, still bound ones the entire time they wait. They hear the laughter and the applause again, but they don’t hear Yoongi screaming. Namjoon doesn’t know if that’s better or worse.

Seokjin sits next to Hoseok and checks over his injuries as well as he can when his hands aren’t free.

And then eventually the door opens again, and Jason drags Yoongi back in like he dragged Hoseok.

Yoongi looks even worse.

He’s more bruised and more bloody than Hoseok, and he looks barely conscious.

Jason dumps him on the couch next to Hoseok, but Yoongi can’t remain upright at all, so he ends up lying on his side, half curled in on himself. He looks a mess, and more importantly, he looks like he’s in a lot of pain.

“Holy shit, Yoongi-hyung,” Namjoon whispers. They’re all hovering around Yoongi now.

“I’m lowering that one’s price,” Jason says in the background. “He fought back too much for my friends’ liking. He was hard to sell, so you’ll get the regular rate for him, not the celebrity bonus.”

Namjoon throws a quick glare over his shoulder, because these men are infuriating. They’re talking about Yoongi as if he’s an animal or an object, not a person, a human being, someone who probably needs a hospital now, someone who fought back because they hurt his friend and were hurting him. But Namjoon turns back to Yoongi and Hoseok quickly, because they need and deserve his attention far more than Jason and Pete do right now.

“’m okay,” Yoongi mumbles, his voice weak and slurred.

“No, you’re not,” Seokjin says shakily.

“And now I’ll take this one,” Jason says and grabs Taehyung again. Jimin and Seokjin both try to protest, but it doesn’t work, and Jason drags a crying, frightened Taehyung with him out the door.

They tend to Yoongi as well as they can while they wait, which isn’t very much. They have no painkillers or bandages or anything that would actually help, so mostly they hold his hands and stroke his hair, because they don’t know what else to do. Their attention flits between Yoongi and Hoseok and the door, waiting to see in what state Taehyung will be brought back.

Taehyung screams once. It’s short, but it’s loud. It hurts to listen to.

Taehyung is also dragged back in by his armpits, and he’s also bloody and bruised, but thankfully he looks more like Hoseok than Yoongi, and Namjoon is counting his blessings where he can. Taehyung is dropped in one of the chairs in front of the desk, and Jason doesn’t even pause or say anything before he grabs Namjoon’s arm and pulls him away. The zip tie around his wrists is cut, which feels nice, finally having that off, but there’s no relief, because Namjoon knows what comes next.

Jason drags him through a few rooms before stopping in what looks like it used to be a staff breakroom.

It’s full of people.

The only thing all these people seem to have in common is that they’re all men. Other than that, it looks like they’re from varying social classes and they have varying skin colors. They’re standing around the sides of the room, leaving the middle and the end by the door completely clear.

There’s blood spattered on the floor, and some of it looks fresh. It makes Namjoon want to throw up, because that blood came from Hoseok, Yoongi, and Taehyung.

His own is about to be added to it, he knows.

His heart beating wildly, stuck in his throat, and he’s shaking in fear. This is it.

Jason holds him in a tight, bruising grip by his elbow. They stand just a few steps inside the door, everyone’s eyes on them. “Another special specimen. Who wants this one?” Jason drawls.

The room is silent for a while, only interrupted occasionally by someone humming thoughtfully or mumbling something Namjoon can’t hear. He can both see and feel the way the men look at him, like they’re evaluating a piece of meat. The longer the silence stretches, the more Namjoon shakes. He doesn’t want this to begin at all, but since he has no way out, he just wants to get it the fuck over with.

“Time’s up. Who wants him?” Jason asks. A few hands go in the air. “Great. What’s your bids?”

“300,” one man says

“350,” another one counters.

“375,” a third says.

“That’s weak. Only 25 dollars more? C’mon,” Jason goads them.

“400,” the first man says.

“450,” the third man says. The one who had bid 350 shakes his head and takes a step back.

“480.”

“490.”

“500.”

The third man hesitates. He looks Namjoon up and down again, and Namjoon just wants to curl up so they can’t look at him like that.

“525,” he says.

“550.”

This time, the third man shakes his head and steps back just like the second man had done. The first man smiles gleefully. It looks cruel.

“Congrats, you got yourself a punching bag,” Jason says. He shoves Namjoon to the middle of the room. Namjoon nearly trips over his feet from the force of it, and from how much he’s shaking, but he manages to keep himself upright.

The man that won walks over to Jason and hands him a thick wad of cash. Then he turns to Namjoon.

It happens so fast that Namjoon doesn’t even see the first punch coming.

The man doesn’t say anything, doesn’t move a muscle in his face, just suddenly swings his arm back and punches Namjoon’s cheek before he even has a chance to realize what’s happening.

That’s probably part of the point. That way he can’t defend himself.

The punch is enough to send Namjoon down on all fours from the force, and before he can get up, the man kicks him in the side, hard, and knocks him all the way down. He kicks Namjoon in the stomach, making him curl up in pain, and the next kick lands on his arms, curled in front of his stomach, and it hurts so much. Namjoon cries out, but he tries to keep it quiet enough that it won’t reach the others. But the man picks him up and punches him again, in the face, the stomach, turns him around to punch and kick his back, while the other people in the room laugh and cheer, and it’s just too much. It hurts so much more than anything he’s ever experienced before.

Namjoon screams. He can’t stop himself. It hurts so fucking much, and it doesn’t stop. It feels endless.

Eventually, though, it does stop. The man stops hitting and kicking him, but the pain is still very much there, and Namjoon is too exhausted and it hurts too much for him to get up from the floor. The man steps back, though where he goes Namjoon can’t see.

Jason grabs him by the armpits and drags him back through the factory. It hurts, being dragged along like that, but he’s in so much pain already that it hardly registers.

When they get back to the office where the others are, he’s dumped on the floor in front of the couch Hoseok and Yoongi are still occupying, and Seokjin, Jimin, and Jungkook are around him immediately, checking on him. He feels like he probably doesn’t look at bad as Yoongi, which is something, at least, but they all three still look worried sick and terrified out of their minds.

“Namjoonie, are you okay?” Seokjin asks.

He’s not, but Namjoon nods anyway. He doesn’t feel like he could speak.

Jason grabs Jungkook next.

Namjoon wants to protest, he really does, because Jungkook is just a kid, but he can’t move, and it wouldn’t help, anyway. Jimin and Seokjin still protest, Seokjin especially ferociously, pulling Jungkook back. It gets him shoved to the ground, narrowly missing landing on Namjoon.

Nothing they do is going to stop Jason.

“Take me,” Jimin says, words thick and desperate, but his English is understandable.

Jason scoffs. “You’ll get your turn, don’t worry,” he sneers, and then he drags Jungkook out.

Because he’s now had his own beating, Namjoon is less aware of the time that passes while Jungkook is gone. He can still hear Jungkook scream twice, though. All the pain in his body is preferable to hearing that. He’d take the whole beating over again if it would save him from hearing Jungkook scream like that.

Namjoon isn’t aware of how long Jungkook is gone, but he’s very aware of when he comes back, looking just as bad as Taehyung and Hoseok, probably as bad as Namjoon looks himself. Jungkook is dropped on the floor next to Namjoon, so Namjoon can reach out and put one arm around him. Jungkook is crying, and Namjoon can’t do anything but hold him, because he can’t make the pain go away or get them out of this situation.

He has never wanted to punch anyone as badly as he wants to punch Jason.

Jason grabs Jimin’s arm and yanks him up from where he’s crouched on the floor in front of Jungkook. “Now you get your turn, kid,” Jason says.

Seokjin flits between the rest of them while they wait for Jimin to come back. His body is wound up tight with how tense he is, and Namjoon doesn’t blame him. Seokjin is the only one left now. He’ll be the last one.

They have no idea what will happen when it’s all over. Namjoon hopes and prays to every deity he knows that Pete, Ross, and Chuck won’t want to do anything violent to them, because he doesn’t think they could take it. He doubts that they’re just going to be dropped off at a hospital, but if they’re just dropped back at the hideout they were in first, then they can have a rest at least until morning, probably.

Jimin screams a lot. It makes Jungkook cry a lot.

Namjoon wants to puke, not because of the pain he’s in physically, but because of the pain he’s in hearing those sounds.

Jimin comes back looking not as bad as Yoongi but worse than the rest of them. Jason dumps him on the ground by Namjoon and Jungkook’s feet, and they’re bent over him almost immediately, despite their own pain. Jimin’s breathing is slow and ragged, he’s crying, and his eyes are barely open. He looks like he’s teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, and also like he wouldn’t mind tipping over that edge.

“Last one,” Pete says.

“I’ve been looking forward to this one,” Jason says. “Pretty face like that is gonna make me a lot of money.”

Namjoon has to fight the urge to get up and stand between him and Seokjin, because it won’t lead to anything good, and besides, he can’t get up fast enough. He’s still in too much pain.

Taehyung reaches out for him, whining “No,” but nothing else happens.

Instead, they just watch, helplessly, as Seokjin gets dragged away. Seokjin struggles less than the rest of them had, almost follows compliantly. He’s clearly still scared, but he’s less panicked and more resigned.

“What happens when they’re done?” Hoseok asks quietly.

They haven’t talked much in the time they’ve been here. Namjoon doesn’t know if they’re allowed to, or if their kidnappers will shout at them (or worse) for talking, especially since they’re speaking Korean, but Pete, Ross, and Chuck all look like they couldn’t care less that Hoseok said something.

“I don’t know,” Namjoon replies. “They haven’t said anything about it.”

“Do you think they’ll let us go?” Taehyung asks, wincing in pain.

“They got their money,” Yoongi comments. His voice is still a little slurred, but he looks more awake now.

“Yeah, but I doubt they’ll just let us go,” Namjoon mumbles. He knows that they’re all hoping for the nightmare to end, for their time in captivity and the pain they’re all feeling to just be over, but he doesn’t think it’ll be that easy. Nothing so far has been easy.

The crowd in the other room sounds rowdy, the noise of their voices reaching them for a moment, but then it dies down again, and it’s quiet for several minutes. Then Seokjin cries out in pain, and from then on, his screams get more frequent. It doesn’t last very long though. He must have gone through half his beating or more without making enough noise for them to hear, because his screams die out quickly, and a minute later, Jason is dragging him back into the room.

Seokjin looks worse than Namjoon feels. He’s shaking, and when Jason dumps him on the floor, he clutches his left hand to his chest gently.

“Hyung, are you okay?” Namjoon asks, voice shaking. He can’t take much more of this.

“I’m okay.” Seokjin’s voice is strong, but it also might be shaking more than Namjoon’s.

“Is your hand okay?” Taehyung asks.

Seokjin doesn’t answer. He moves his right hand so they can see the left, and Namjoon gasps. It doesn’t look good. It’s bloody and swollen, and it looks like it’s bent just slightly in a direction that it shouldn’t be bending.

“Oh my god,” Jimin whimpers.

“I’m okay,” Seokjin says again, and this time his voice doesn’t shake nearly as much.

“Time for the last payment,” Pete says, directing all their attention back to their kidnappers.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jason pulls seven large wads of cash out of his pockets and drops them on the table. “Gotta do the math first, though.”

He takes a seat behind the desk and starts counting the money. Chuck begins tapping his foot on the ground impatiently, but Jason doesn’t seem fazed at all. He continues slowly counting the bills, tapping on his phone, probably to calculate percentages or something.

He’s about halfway through the money when it happens.

With a loud BANG, the door to the office bursts open and a group of men in black uniforms with guns raised swarm into the office, shouting “FBI! Don’t move! Hands in the air!”

The noise is a shock but as soon as Namjoon realizes what’s happening, he feels relief so strong he collapses onto the ground.

The police.

They’re saved.

Pete, Ross and Chuck were standing close to the doors. Chuck’s hands go in the air immediately, while Ross tries to run away but is grabbed by a man with the word SWAT printed on his back before he can take more than three steps. Pete moves backwards slowly, but he raises his hands behind his head nonetheless.

Jason is a different story.

He jumps up from his seat behind the desk so fast the chair topples over. He’s further away from the police invading the office, so they can’t grab him immediately, and Jason takes the chance.

He grabs Jimin’s arm and hauls him up in front of him.

Any relief Namjoon had felt disappears immediately.

“Wait! Help me!” Jimin cries out, reaching out for them, and Namjoon and Jungkook both reach to him.

“Jiminie!” Namjoon shouts as Jason pulls Jimin further back, towards the other door in the office.

Namjoon scrambles to get on his feet, adrenaline pumping and making him forget any pain he’s in at all, but before he can move towards Jimin, an agent gently but firmly grabs his arm and starts pulling him back.

“No, Jiminie!” he shouts. Jimin is still reaching out, and still being pulled away from them.

“Help me! Help me!” he screams. His voice is high pitched and panicked.

“Freeze! Don’t move!” several of the agents and SWAT members shout, but Jason just keeps moving backwards. He has one large hand around Jimin’s neck, the other wrapped around his torso so hard it looks like it hurts.

He’s using Jimin as a human shield.

The police won’t shoot as long as they risk hitting Jimin, and Jason uses that to back towards the other door.

Jimin is struggling as much as he can, but it’s not much. He’s a lot smaller and weaker than Jason.

The agent holding Namjoon keeps pulling him back, no matter how much Namjoon struggles.

“Come with me,” he says. “Come on, we need to get you out, we need to get you to safety.”

“No, no, Jimin, no!” Namjoon can’t say anything but that, reaching out to Jimin’s outstretched hands.

He’s not the only one. In all the noise and chaos, and with his vision tunneled in on Jimin, Namjoon can hear the other guys shouting for Jimin too.

“Jimin! Let him go! Jiminie!” Yoongi shouts.

“Hyung! Jimin-hyung!” Jungkook cries.

Jason makes it to the door and wrenches it open just as Namjoon makes it to the other door, despite his struggling.

“No! Help me! Hyung, help me!” Jimin screeches, panicked, and then he’s gone.

Jason pulls Jimin through the other door, away from them, away from the police, and the agent pulls Namjoon out of the office.

With Jimin no longer with them, Namjoon slumps. He doesn’t struggle or fight the agent, who swiftly pulls him out of the factory and out onto the street. It’s dark out, but the street is lit up by headlamps and the flashing lights of ambulances and squad cars. He can hear everyone else, except Jimin, following right behind him, and he looks back to see that they’re all being escorted by their own agent.

Namjoon is dropped off at an ambulance, where a kind-looking paramedic checks his injuries. Taehyung is put down next to him, and he can see the others being checked over by other ambulances.

“Hyung,” Taehyung says, voice shaking. “Hyung, Jiminie –”

He can’t finish whatever he intended to say, and Namjoon can’t think of anything to say either. He wraps his arm around Taehyung’s shoulders, glad that neither of the paramedics checking them protests that.

“You need to go to the hospital and be treated for your injuries,” the paramedic checking Namjoon says. He’s speaking Korean, Namjoon realizes.

“We’re not going anywhere until Jimin comes out,” he says.

The paramedic looks at him for a moment, then exchanges a glance with Taehyung’s paramedic. They seem to come to some sort of agreement. “Okay. Neither of you are in critical condition. We can wait a little longer,” he says.

“Thank you,” Namjoon mumbles.

“Hyung, I wanna – can we go?” Taehyung asks in a small voice. He’s pointing to where Seokjin is sitting in the opening of an ambulance, getting his left hand and wrist wrapped in bandages. Hoseok and Jungkook are standing there too. Namjoon nods, and he and Taehyung get up and join them. Hoseok pulls both of them in for hugs, but doesn’t say anything.

None of them say anything. Yoongi joins them a minute later, and they still don’t say anything. Seokjin’s paramedic finishes wrapping his hand and leaves, and Seokjin thanks her but other than that no one speaks.

They can’t speak. All they can do is think about Jimin, still somewhere inside that factory, scared and in pain and not safe. They keep looking at the door, hoping they’ll see him emerge.

Each minute Jimin isn’t there drags on forever. Each second drags on for hours, it feels. The more time passes, the more Jungkook shakes and Yoongi bites his nails and Hoseok shifts from foot to foot, and Taehyung wrings his hands together so much they get red from the friction. Namjoon reaches over to hold his hand to make him stop, and he does stop, but he starts rubbing Namjoon’s hand and his own arm instead.

Time drags on and it takes forever, and then the door to the factory finally opens.

A female agent steps out and holds the door open, and Jimin follows behind her.

“Jiminie!” Seokjin shouts, bolting up.

Jimin’s head whips over to where they’re all standing. His shoulders slump in relief and his face crumbles, and despite how tired and beaten he looks, he starts running towards them.

Despite how exhausted and beaten they all are, they run to meet him.

“Hyung!” Jimin cries out.

They meet in the middle in a giant group hug. Seokjin, Namjoon, and Jungkook are the ones who reach Jimin first, and they wrap him up tightly in their arms. Jimin’s own arms go around Seokjin and Namjoon, one hand holding onto one of Jungkook’s. Taehyung, Hoseok, and Yoongi wrap themselves around the hug, with Taehyung taking up the spot right behind Jimin and wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Jimin-hyung,” Jungkook chokes out, burying his face in Jimin’s shoulder.

“Oh my god, Jiminie,” Namjoon mumbles into Jimin’s hair.

Jimin starts sobbing.

It breaks a dam. They all start crying and before they know it they’re all sobbing, and their legs give out under them. They fall to the ground in a messy, hugging heap of entangled limbs.

~

They’re taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.

Namjoon asks if they can all stay in the same room, because he doesn’t want to be separated from any of them right now, but the doctor tells him that hospital regulations won’t allow seven patients in one room, unfortunately. Instead, Namjoon is in the same room as Hoseok, Taehyung, and Seokjin, while Yoongi, Jungkook, and Jimin are in the room next door.

Hobeom is waiting for them at the hospital. He looks close to tears when he steps into the room where Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung and Seokjin are.

“Oh my god,” he says and hugs Namjoon. It’s like being embraced by an uncle, Namjoon thinks, burying his face in Hobeom’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Namjoon mumbles.

“God, I was so scared. I’m so glad you’re okay,” Hobeom says with a sigh.

Namjoon doesn’t correct him. They’re bruised and bloody and beaten up, and who knows what the doctor will find, but essentially yeah. They’re okay now. They’re safe and in good hands, and they can all breathe easily for the first time in more than 24 hours. They’re a little worse for wear, but they are, in the grand scheme of things, okay.

Much to Namjoon’s relief and surprise, the only one who’s broken anything is Seokjin. His left hand and wrist are both broken, but not much. “Someone kicked my hand,” Seokjin explains. Namjoon wants to puke just thinking about it.

Namjoon himself has bruised ribs, just like Hoseok, Jimin, and Yoongi. Jungkook has a lightly sprained ankle, and Yoongi, Jimin, and Taehyung all have concussions. Other than that, it’s all just bruises.

“You were all very lucky,” Dr. Myung says. To make the process easier, they got a Korean doctor, which is nice. It’s probably why the paramedic earlier had been speaking Korean too. “It could have been much worse for all of you.”

Namjoon maybe doesn’t feel very lucky to have gone through all that, but he gets it.

“So they’ll all be okay?” Hobeom asks.

“They’ll all be fine in a few days, so long as they rest up,” Dr. Myung says. “The bruised ribs will take a few weeks to heal, the same with the sprained ankle. The broken hand will take a little longer, probably around five or six weeks, but other than that, the bruises will have gone down considerably in a few days and they’ll be fine.”

The lead agent on their case, special agent Hudson, comes by to ask them a few questions. It’s late, nearing midnight, and he promises not to take up too much of their time, he just needs a little information about what had happened in the factory, because they have a lot of men under arrest, but they don’t actually know who did what, or what even happened. He’s very friendly and patient, even when it takes a while to get questions and answers across, because Hoseok and Taehyung are too tired to even begin any attempts at English, Seokjin gives up after messing up a few simple sentences, and Namjoon is so exhausted his English and Korean gets mixed up several times.

Yoongi, Jimin, and Jungkook are translated by Dr. Myung, because he won’t let Namjoon leave the room to translate for them.

After agent Hudson leaves, a technician steps into the room. The FBI want the evidence to be as fresh as possible, so he needs to take photos of all their injuries and check for possible DNA traces.

Namjoon has never hated having his picture taken as much as he does right then, sitting on a hospital bed in a hospital gown, covered in bruises and bandages, and generally feeling disgusting. He hasn’t had a shower in two days straight, he realizes absently. He keeps eyes down, and his head too for the most part, but he lets the woman do her job and lets her direct him and move him however she wants so she can get the photos she needs. It’s not her fault Namjoon feels vulnerable and disgusting and exhausted and just wants to rest. He’s been given some painkillers, though, and they’re working their magic gloriously, so at least he’s not in pain anymore.

Hoseok, Taehyung, and Seokjin don’t look very comfortable with having their pictures taken either, but they don’t say anything. In fact, none of them really say anything except for when asked. They move when the forensic examiner asks them to, so she can get pictures of all their bruises, including legs, stomach, and back.

Namjoon wants to hold their hands as they sit there, hunched in on themselves as much as they’re allowed to while the examiner takes photos, but he’s too exhausted to move.

It’s a relief when she finally finishes and packs away her camera. She scrapes under their nails for DNA and brushes through their hair for particles, and shines a blue light over their bodies to see if there are any other traces she’s missing.

There’s a spot on Hoseok’s cheek, about the size of golf ball, that lights up white under the blue light.

“What is this?” the technician asks gently.

“She’s asking what that is on your cheek,” Namjoon translates.

Hoseok winces. “This guy spit on me,” he mumbles.

Over the past 24 hours, Namjoon has gotten very familiar with a variety of emotions that he wasn’t very familiar with before. Rage is one of them, and it bubbles up white hot in his blood when Hoseok says that.

Someone spit on him.

Namjoon wants to punch something. Or someone.

The examiner takes a swab of the residue saliva on Hoseok’s cheek, and then she’s done. She thanks them for their cooperation and leaves, and Namjoon falls back against his bed.

“I could sleep for days,” he mumbles. He’s having trouble keeping his eyes open.

“You should definitely rest right now,” Dr. Myung says. “All of you. I’ll keep you all here overnight, at least, okay? We’ll see how you are in the morning.”

Namjoon just nods to show he’s understood and lets himself sink back into the comfort of the bed. He’s safe. His favorite people are safe. They’re being tended to and taken care of by people who know how to make it better. They’re not in any danger anymore. The men who kidnapped them and the men who hurt them are all in police custody. It’s all over.

And Namjoon is beyond exhausted. Mentally and physically. He’s been held captive and beaten up, and he’s watched his friends, his family, go through the same. He is absolutely exhausted from the pain and the fear, from being tense and alert, from the shock and anxiety of everything that’s happened since they were kidnapped. And now he’s in good hands again. His family is in good hands. They’re all okay, they even had a lucky break and weren’t severely injured. So Namjoon allows his eyes to slip shut, and he’s asleep almost immediately.

~

Dr. Myung returns in the morning after they’ve had breakfast. He checks how their bruises and cuts are healing, and he listens to their lung and heartbeats.

“I’d rather not let you go just yet,” he says. “You all still have a lot of healing to do. Another day or two here would be in your best interest. So unless you have to fly back home today, or someone has a good reason or a lot of protests, I’m keeping you all here for at least another day.”

There are no flights, and no one protests. They’re supposed to be in Los Angeles for two weeks, but Hobeom tells them, when he brings them new underwear and contact lenses for those who need them, that they’ll be going home as soon as they can, when they get out of the hospital and when they’re no longer needed for the investigation.

They stay in the hospital a total of three days and four nights. On the fourth morning, Dr. Myung concludes that they’re healing well and that the hospital can’t do anything more for them.

Hobeom leaves after Dr. Myung announces that they can go home and comes back with new clothes for everyone, which is good, because the clothes they were wearing when they came to the hospital are all dirty and bloody.

“Agent Hudson called me while I was gone,” Hobeom says as they get dressed. “He’d like you to come down to the police station to give statements and, if you’re up for it, maybe identify some people from a lineup.”

Namjoon stops, sweatpants halfway up his thighs. “Um,” is all he says.

“Only if you’re up for it. There’s no pressure,” Hobeom says kindly.

Namjoon looks at Seokjin, Hoseok, and Taehyung. They’re similarly frozen and looking at him.

Namjoon doesn’t ever want to see any of the people who have done this to them again. He never wants to see Pete, Ross, and Chuck, he never wants to see Jason, he never wants to see the group of men that bid on who got to beat them up like they were objects, not people.

“Do they – is it important? Do they need it, or is it just…” Namjoon trails off, not sure how to express what he wants to say.

Thankfully, Hobeom understands. “They have a group of men in custody for partaking in a ring of violence and human trafficking,” he says. It looks like it pains him to say the words human trafficking, and Namjoon realizes with a start that it’s because what happened to them could maybe be classified as human trafficking. They were basically sold at an auction to the highest bidder, and yeah, they weren’t taken anywhere, but they were sold like punching bags and beaten up by the buyer, and maybe that counts as human trafficking.

It’s a horrible realization, to think that you have actually become a victim of fucking human trafficking.

“What they don’t have is a lot of confessions. Finding them at the scene helped, and it seems like the middle man, the one who was in contact with your kidnappers, is giving a lot of names and information to get his sentence lessened,” Hobeom continues. “But they can’t identify each of your individual attackers. That’s what they’d like you to do.”

Namjoon looks at the others again. He never wants to see those men, but he also wants them brought to justice for what they did to his family, not just for being part of a bigger thing. He wants the man who spit on Hoseok to be punished for that specifically.

It looks like the others feel something along the same lines.

“Yeah, okay,” Namjoon mumbles. He clears his throat and raises his voice to a normal level. “We’ll do it.”

Hobeom looks proud.

~

He drives them straight to the station when they leave the hospital.

Sitting in the car is a little strange. It’s similar to the first car they had, the one they got kidnapped in, and Namjoon can’t help but think about that. On top of that, they’re all nervous about going to the police station. The air in the car is full of nervous energy and a little anxiety. They don’t say much on the drive, which is pretty unusual when all seven of them are awake.

Agent Hudson greets them at the station. “Glad you could come,” he says, smiling.

“Of course.” Namjoon tries to sound as calm and collected and in charge as he can, but he’s pretty sure he fails a little.

“We need to take your statements about the events that occurred, everything from when you were kidnapped in the car to what happened in the warehouse until we showed up,” agent Hudson explains as he leads the eight of them through the station to a meeting room. “We’ll be taking your statements individually, so we have a translator ready.”

“I can translate for them,” Namjoon says without thinking. He’s too used to it.

“I’m sorry, but we have to take your statements individually. It’s how this works,” agent Hudson says. Namjoon nods, giving agent Hudson an apologetic smile. “After we’ve taken your statements, we’d like you to identify the men that… well. Performed the beatings.” Namjoon nods again. He can feel himself hunching in just slightly, and he starts fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt. “You’ll be picking them out of a lineup. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah,” Namjoon croaks out. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

It’s not really fine, but he’ll do it. They’ll do it. They need to do it to get justice.

“I also have some good news for you,” agent Hudson continues. “We found the stolen car with all your belongings inside.”

“Oh,” Namjoon says. “Great. That’s great. Thank you.”

He doesn’t really know what else to say. Getting all their stuff back has hardly crossed his mind at all since they were kidnapped. He hadn’t thought about it at all during the day when they were held captive before being taken to Jason, and he certainly didn’t think about it while they were in the factory. It hadn’t even crossed his mind much while they were in the hospital. Just a vague thought here and there, wondering if he’d brought his favorite hat or if it was safe back in the dorm.

But it is definitely good news. It’s good to know that they can have their stuff back, and that they won’t need to replace anything. Especially their work-related stuff, like their laptops full of songs.

“We’re almost done processing it, and when we’re done, I’ll walk it through the red tape so you can get it back and take it home with you,” agent Hudson says.

“Thank you,” Namjoon says again.

With the explanations over, agent Hudson and his colleague, agent Miller, begin taking down statements. They’re led one by one out of the meeting room and into a smaller room by either agent Hudson or agent Miller, and they give their statements.

When Hoseok is done giving his, as the last one, they follow agent Hudson to through the station and stop in front of a nondescript door.

“In here is where we do lineups,” he begins. “You’ll see a row of ten men, but they won’t be able to see you. It’s a one-way window. They will not be able to see you at all, I can guarantee that. I’d like you to point out if you recognize a man as the one who beat you. If you don’t recognize anyone, it’s perfectly okay. Don’t feel guilty about it. Understood?”

“Um, we’ll be going in to see the lineup. We can see them, but they can’t see us, and we just have to point out if we recognize anyone as the one who hit us. If you don’t, it’s okay,” Namjoon quickly translates. The others nod, and Namjoon turns back to agent Hudson. “Understood.”

Agent Hudson nods with a proud, pleased smile on his face, then holds the door open for them and lets them step into the room before following behind them and closing the door.

The room is darker than the rest of the station had been, but it’s not completely dark. It’s a long, thin room, and all along one wall is a dark window.

Agent Hudson turns to them. “I’ll give them the word to get the men in position and then we’ll turn on the light in there so you can see them,” he says. Namjoon nods. His throat is too tight for him to speak right now. Agent Hudson nods back and walks over to stand next to the window. He presses a button on the wall and says. “We’re ready in here.”

“Copy that,” says a voice through a microphone.

Shuffling and movement starts happening on the other side of the window.

Namjoon’s heart starts beating rapidly.

The light behind the window is turned on and Namjoon squints at the brightness for a moment while his eyes get used to it. And then he can see, and he almost wishes he couldn’t.

He can recognize several of the men in the line. He can remember seeing their gleeful, cruel faces in the crowd of the room he was beaten in, can remember the way they’d eyed him up like a piece of meat.

Jungkook grips Namjoon’s wrist so tightly it almost hurts, but Namjoon doesn’t care.

Behind him, Hoseok shuffles a little. “Number eight,” he says quietly. “He’s the one who beat me.”

Namjoon sucks in a sharp breath, rage resurfacing, and glances at number eight in the line.

“Is he the one who spit on you too?” he asks. His voice is steady, but he feels like it should be trembling with rage.

“Yeah,” Hoseok mumbles.

“Agent Hudson,” Namjoon says. Agent Hudson looks at him. “Hoseok recognizes number eight. He beat him and spit on him.”

Agent Hudson smiles at him. It’s a strange smile, both somber and sad and yet also pleased.

“We’ll get a DNA sample from him. Thank you,” he says. “Anyone else?”

“Number two,” Seokjin says in English. “He… hit me. And my hand… kicked my hand.”

“Number five,” Jimin says quietly.

“And is that it? No one else recognizes someone from this lineup?” agent Hudson inquires kindly. They all shake their heads, so agent Hudson presses the button on the wall again. “Numbers two, five, and eight have been positively identified.”

“Copy that.”

The men in the lineup walk out and are replaced by a new line of men.

This time, Namjoon can recognize someone.

The man who had bid on him, bought him, gleefully beaten him, is standing in the line.

“I recognize number four,” Namjoon says to agent Hudson.

“I see number ten,” Taehyung says in English, and Namjoon is a little proud that he’s attempting English even in this situation.

“You recognize number ten?” agent Hudson asks to clarify, and Taehyung nods. “Anyone else?”

Jungkook and Yoongi still need to identify their attackers, but they both shake their heads, and agent Hudson relays the information through the speaker in the wall. The lineup is moved out and a new one is moved in.

There’s also someone Namjoon can recognize in this line. One of the men that had bid on him is standing in the line, directly in front of Namjoon.

Logically, Namjoon knows that the men can’t see them, and that there’s no way this man knows where he is, but as Namjoon looks at him, their eyes meet through the glass, and there’s a part of Namjoon that thinks the man knows he’s looking into his eyes. They’re glaring hard at him, or at the glass he’s looking at anyway. It feels directed towards Namjoon. It makes a shiver run down his spine and he averts his eyes to the floor.

“Number one. I recognize number one,” Yoongi says quietly.

“I recognize number four,” Jungkook says.

Number four is the man that had bid on Namjoon. Figures.

“Numbers one and four,” Namjoon relays to agent Hudson, and agent Hudson nods and smiles at them.

“Numbers one and four have been identified, we can conclude the lineup,” he says into the speaker. Then he turns to their group and smiles warmly at them. “Thank you so much for all your help. We really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” Namjoon says politely. “Is that it?”

“Yes, it is. I’ll walk you out.” Agent Hudson gestures for them to walk out of the room, and Namjoon immediately walks to the door at pushes it open.

It’s good to be out of the room again and back in the lighter parts of the police station.

It’s good to no longer be staring at men that have harmed them.

Agent Hudson walks them to the front entrance and bids them goodbye before he walks back into the station. When he’s gone, Namjoon lets out a loud sigh of relief.

It’s over now.

Hobeom puts a comforting hand on his neck. “I’m so proud of you all,” he says. “I’ll take you back to the hotel now.”

“Yes please,” Taehyung says in a small voice.

~

Hobeom had apparently already checked into the hotel a few days earlier, when they were in the hospital, and had apparently relayed the situation to the receptionist. She smiles sympathetically at them and says she’s happy to see them and happy to see that they’re okay, though Namjoon honestly doesn’t feel like he looks all that okay. They all still have some pretty visible bruises. Seokjin’s hand is in a cast, and Jungkook is on crutches.

He thanks her anyway.

She hands them three keys.

“So we have three rooms for you guys, and there’s room for someone to sleep in my room, but if you’d rather stick together, then one room has a pullout couch,” Hobeom explains.

They all look at each other for a moment.

“We’ll take the pullout couch. You can have your space, hyung,” Seokjin says. Hobeom smiles softly at them.

Hobeom never minds sharing with one of them. Hell, he lives with them half the time. But when they travel, he typically does prefer to have a little space to himself, to unwind and relax without being in manager hyung mode, and they respect that. They can be a handful, they know.

And besides, they’d all really like to be together right now. None of them want to be separated from the rest of them, even if it’s separated with Hobeom.

They distribute themselves in the rooms so that Namjoon and Hoseok will share, Yoongi and Jungkook share, and Seokjin gets Taehyung and Jimin, because Jungkook needs someone who he feels can protect him, and Taehyung and Jimin need someone who can look after them. Namjoon kind of needs that too, like they all do, but just having Hoseok is good enough for him. They can look after each other, and the kids need the reassurance and comfort of the hyungs more than Namjoon and Hoseok do.

Even though they’ve separated into three different rooms, they spend the rest of the day together in the same room. They want to be near each other right now and make sure that everyone is okay.

It’s kind of ridiculous on some level. They all know that they’re okay. They just can’t help it.

That first night in the hotel, Namjoon has a nightmare.

It’s terrifying and horrible, and it’s like reliving being kidnapped. He wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping (which kind of hurts because he’s got a bruised rib), and immediately turns on the light. There’s no threat in the room. It’s just him and Hoseok.

Hoseok, who is whimpering and writhing on his bed.

Namjoon gets out of bed and walks over to him. He’s sweating and his brow is furrowed, and Namjoon guesses that Hoseok is having just as unpleasant a dream as the one he had, so he reaches out and shakes Hoseok’s shoulder. “Hoseok-ah,” he says gently. “Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

Hoseok wakes up with a sharp gasp and looks up at Namjoon with wide eyes.

“Holy shit,” he says.

“You had a nightmare,” Namjoon says. Not that Hoseok probably doesn’t know that.

“Yeah,” Hoseok murmurs. He shakes his head a little. “Yeah, it was terrifying. Did I wake you?”

“No, my own nightmare did,” Namjoon says, shrugging one shoulder. He’s kind of expecting that nightmares are probably something they’ll all become very well acquainted with here in the aftermath. From what he’s heard, it’s how these kinds of things can go.

Hoseok sits up in his bed and pulls Namjoon in for a hug. It’s nice. They’re mutually comforting each other.

The phone ringing makes both of them jump in surprise. Namjoon picks up. “Hello?” he says.

“Hey, it’s hyung,” Seokjin says on the other end.

“Oh, hey,” Namjoon says, then turns to Hoseok. “It’s Seokjin-hyung.”

“Are you guys both awake?” Seokjin asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“We’ve got Yoongi and Jungkookie here with us, because Jungkookie had a nightmare,” Seokjin says. “We’re planning a sleepover, so we just wanted to know if you two wanted to come join us.”

“Yeah, of course,” Namjoon says immediately. He’s not worried about Hoseok protesting. Hoseok will definitely want to go join the others, too. “We’ll be right over.”

“Great! You should bring as many blankets and pillows as you can.”

The blankets and pillows are used to create a nest on the floor, which Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok settle into first, quickly followed by Jungkook.

Jungkook needs a little help to get down though, since he can’t put weight on his sprained ankle, but he makes it down and snuggles into the blankets, and it’s so adorable Namjoon wants to clutch at his own chest.

It leaves the double bed and the pullout couch for Namjoon, Seokjin, and Yoongi.

“You two take the bed,” Yoongi says. “You know I can sleep anywhere.”

“It’s okay, hyung, you can take the bed if you want it,” Namjoon says, but Yoongi shakes his head and starts arranging a pillow and blankets on the pullout.

“You’ve had a long day, Namjoon-ah. You had to do all the communicating. I’m perfectly happy with the couch. Then you two can cuddle each other and I can have a little space for myself,” he says quietly.

It’s kind of a lot, and Namjoon almost gets emotional over the Yoongi’s care for him as the translator.

Yoongi’s back remains turned to him, and knowing him, he probably won’t want anyone to make a big deal of it, so Namjoon doesn’t.

“Thanks, hyungnim,” he says. Yoongi just shrugs one shoulder.

When they’ve all settled into bed, Seokjin goes around the room to say goodnight to everyone. He even tucks in the kids, and despite Taehyung teasing him for it, Namjoon knows that they all three appreciate it, probably more than they’ll ever say. Seokjin is looking out for them. It’s what he does, and it’s what they need, and Seokjin knows that too, and he knows that they appreciate it. The whole point of their sleepover is to look out for each other and comfort each other anyway.

It’s nice, all of them being together. It’s always been nice, which is good, because they spend almost literally all their time together, but this is a different kind of nice. Being close, being able to see that everyone is okay, is an immense relief and comfort to Namjoon, and he’s pretty sure he’s not the only one who feels that way. Seokjin clearly also appreciates having everyone where he can see them and take care of them, and the same goes for Yoongi. And the kids, no matter what Taehyung says or how much Jimin giggles, clearly appreciate having their hyungs around them, protecting them. Namjoon certainly likes having his hyungs close. It makes him feel safe.

Taehyung drapes himself over Jimin, and Jimin drags Jungkook’s arm over his stomach, while Hoseok curls up to Jungkook’s back. Yoongi has one hand hanging over the edge of the pullout, which Taehyung grabs a hold of. Seokjin and Namjoon tangle their legs together. That’s how they all fall asleep. Cuddled together, warm and cozy and everything they all need.

~

It takes three more days before they can get their stuff back. The police found it the day after they found them, but since it’s evidence, they’ve had to process it and document it, and it takes agent Hudson a couple days to get the paperwork done that allows them to take it home.

But once they have their stuff back, they go home as quickly as possible. They take the redeye back to Korea as soon as they can, because after everything that’s happened, they all just want to go home. They want to see their parents and siblings, and honestly, Namjoon also just wants to put a lot of distance between himself and the town that caused him so much pain and fear. He wants to get away from it, and he wants to go home to what he knows, where he feels comfortable and like he belongs.

Being back in Korea doesn’t magically make everything better, though.

They all still feel the effects of what happened, both physically and mentally. It takes time before they can start dance practice again because of their injuries, and when they do start again, they have to go slow. Jungkook and Seokjin have to sit out even longer while they heal. Jimin and Hoseok especially discover that they can’t move the same way they could before they were kidnapped, and it takes time before they’re healed enough to dance and generally move the way they could before.

Their doctor assures all of them that any effects they feel right now are only temporary. Unless they really screw up their healing, there will be no permanent damage, which is a positive thing, at least.

On top of that, there are other side effects to their kidnapping ordeal that they discover as they go along.

Seokjin keeps rubbing his wrists whenever he wears bracelets, like it reminds him of the restraints. Yoongi keeps looking around whenever the car stops, even if it’s just at a red light. The first time their manager leaves them alone in the car, just for a few minutes, they all immediately tense up. Hoseok and Jungkook nearly panic, and Taehyung grips Namjoon’s arm hard enough to hurt.

They all write songs about what happened, songs that will probably never be recorded or shown to the public, but they write them anyway. They write to work through it, to express how they felt and how they still feel. Like with many other songs, they write to tell their stories. And they do sing some of the songs together, just the seven of them in their dorm or their rehearsal room. Namjoon writes a song that ends up becoming a lullaby for Jungkook that they all sing together if he has a nightmare that wakes up all of them.

Because they all have nightmares. The nightmares are probably the most notable effect that the ordeal has had on them.

Sometimes, the nightmares aren’t too horrible. Sometimes they can’t even really remember what it was about when they wake up, just that it was unpleasant. Sometimes the person who had the nightmare is more tired because he didn’t sleep well, but otherwise the rest of them don’t notice.

And then sometimes, they have nightmares that are so horrible, so terrifying, that they get loud and wake each other up. They wake up in cold sweats, shouting and screaming and thrashing.

But slowly, with time, it does get better for all of them. With time, the nightmares lessen, and they feel less tense when they’re left alone in the car. They stop being afraid of going to America after a few months, and they reach a point where they can make a few brief comments on how terrifying it was when interviewers start asking them about it. When they first return to their schedules, no one talks with them about it on camera. Some emcees mention it very briefly and vaguely in their introduction, but no one talks with them about it for the first few months. Namjoon appreciates that courtesy. For the first few months, he doesn’t think he even could talk about it, if he was asked to.

Slowly, they start being able to put the whole thing behind them and move forward. Their physical wounds heal and disappear, and so does the fear and the mental scars that were left.

It’s not a quick process, but it is a process, and that’s good. It doesn’t all go away, but a lot of it does, and that’s good too.

And eventually, they can continue living their lives without the kidnapping and the beatings having any effect on them whatsoever, at least not unless very special circumstances arise.

They can still remember everything, obviously. They’ll always be able to remember everything, and it’ll always be something that is a part of them and who they are. They’ll always carry it with them, for better or for worse. But it becomes a bad memory that doesn’t bother any of them, and they can all move on from it.

It takes time, yes, but Namjoon knows that time is just what’s needed. Time in general, and time with each other.