After Lily finished her story, no one said a word. Seonghwa gently guided her back up into his room and told her to rest. She still tried to protest, but he shot down every excuse she had. Eventually she ran out of excuses, especially when her head hit the pillow.

The softness lulled her into a sense of peace, and she curled into her ball, inhaling the sweet pine scent coming from the hoodie she still wore.

She was asleep in minutes.

Seonghwa slowly walked back down the stairs. He was exhausted, but there was still much to talk about. His seven friends were still in the living room, waiting for him to return.

Jongho still looked like he was in shock. Most of the others had pained expressions. But Wooyoung, he looked like he might explode at any moment.

"Alright." He sighed as he sat in front of his friends. He could see they were all waiting to say something, but all he did was hold up his hands, asking for patience. "We need a game plan. Mingi, Joongie, has there been any movement outside?"

Both men shook their heads in response.

"Hwa," Yunho said quietly. "What are we going to do? What if he finds her again? Wha- "

"Don't start going down that path. We don't know what's going to happen now. All I know is we need to do the best we can to protect her. She put her faith in us by telling us her story..." He ran his hands through his hair again, staring at the floor. "She could stay here for now. I don't think she should go back to campus any time soon. That would be the first place he would look for her."

"It's too close." Wooyoung said.

"I agree." Jongho added. "We are only a block away from that monster's house."

"I know... But I don't think he saw who any of us are, so we are safe for a couple of days at least. She needs time to recover and rest. Then, maybe we can talk about moving her to a new location." The others nodded slowly.

"She could go to our place." Hongjoong spoke up. "It's just me, Wooyoung, and Jongho there. And we live on the other side of town."

Wooyoung nodded quickly. He wanted to get her as far away from that man as possible. "We should turn him into the police. He needs to be behind bars." His words felt like they were laced with venom.

"I thought about that too," San said quietly, sitting to wrap his arms around Wooyoung. "The only thing that worries me, is how scared she is of him. What if the 'eyes' he has are part of the police."

"True..." Mingi said. "Who knows what kind of people he is associated with. If he was able to get away with it for this long, someone must be able to cover for him."

"What about an anonymous tip?" Yeosang spoke up from the corner of the couch. "People do that all the time. Then we could see if anyone actually goes to the house to investigate. That would give us an idea as to the kind of power he has."

"That's a good idea, I'll leave you in charge of it." Seonghwa said quietly. He leaned back in his chair.

"Is no one going to talk about what she said about her friend...?" Yunho asked hesitantly.

He got his answer when no one responded.

---

Lily spent the next two days in Seonghwa's bed. She slept for a good portion of it, but it was fitful and teaming with nightmares. She woke up more than once screaming, causing whoever was closest to come running into the room to check on her.

The house was always occupied by at least three of the boys. They took turns skipping their classes, and all of them skipped their dance class. That one they could get away with since they were still supposed to be working on their team project.

Jongho had taken up a vigil outside her room, feeling anxious if he got too far away.

Every one of them was careful when leaving the house. They tried to remain casual, but their eyes were constantly scanning for any sign of movement.

Yunho walked by her house every day. Slowing his pace and watching out of the corner of his eye for a clue, a sign, a hint that the man inside was still there. It was silent and dead every time. There was also no sign of the police coming to follow up on their anonymous tip...

When Lily finally felt up to leaving the room, she was overwhelmed by Seonghwa's mothering nature. He made sure she ate, drank plenty of water, had clean clothes, and that she was always comfortable. She liked it though. It was the first time in a long time someone actually cared about her.

She loved being around the group too. She could tell it was hard for them to act normal, and she appreciated how hard they tried for her sake. They still took time to dance in the backyard as a stress reliever, and she would watch from a patio bench, not feeling up to the extra movement.

Her bruises slowly started to heal and fade as the day's past. Even the bite marks on her thighs were healing, making it easier for her to walk, even though she was used to the pain.

One night, everyone was over at the house again watching a movie. Lily wasn't paying attention to it, so she had no idea what they had picked. Her eyes were closed as she was nestled into Wooyoung's lap, her nose tucked into his stomach. His hands ran through her hair, soothing her. She also had a hand gently rubbing her lower legs, as they were resting on Yunho's lap.

She felt at peace for the first time in a long time. She was growing accustomed to the light touches the men gave her, always making sure to be gentle, keeping to her hands, shoulders, and head when they could. They were slowly breaking her out of her shell.

They treated her like a delicate flower; and she was ok with that.

---

After two weeks of hiding out in the house, Lily started getting anxious again. She didn't like that nothing had happened. Her father hadn't tried to call her or make it known that he was looking for her, even though she knew he was.

She finally convinced the boys to let her return to class, but they insisted on driving her and she had to duck down until they were in the parking garage on campus.

Yunho went with her to her first class since they had that together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He would walk her to her next class, and Jongho would pick her up on the way to the following one. They all met for lunch, then went to the dance studio together.

On Tuesdays and Thursday, Mingi would take her to her first class, San and Yeosang to the next, and Wooyoung would be waiting for her when class was over.

They had a schedule, and it made all of them feel much more comfortable. They had even decided to keep her at Seonghwa's, feeling that the routine was the best thing to help them keep their guard up.

One Friday afternoon, Professor Lee said that the next week she would be grading their group projects, and that she had a surprise planned for competition day. Everyone started talking to their teams, expressing their nerves. The stress meter rose to an all time high. She kept her speech short and dismissed them to continue working.

"Alright," Yunho said leaning in. "We can do this. We know these moves backward and forward." He stuck his hand into their circle of five. Everyone placed their hands on top of his and they shouted team together before breaking down their dance moves, perfecting each second of it.

"I think that was our best run through yet." Lily panted, lying on the floor. It was the first time she had worked out that long in weeks. "But I feel like I'm still not sticking the spin in the fifth frame."

"It's probably your short legs." Yeosang said, not even batting an eyelash as he picked up his gym back.

"Daaaaang," San said, slapping the other on the shoulder. At this, Yeosang dropped his façade and started laughing before offering Lily a hand to pull her up.

"I'm just kidding. You're doing just fine, Lily. You're a better dancer than me and San, that's for sure."

"I object to that statement." San said, crossing his arms and pouting slightly.

"No, Sangie's right." Yunho said bluntly, patting San's head before smiling brightly.

"Hey! What is this, pick on San day?" He cried.

"Yes." His four friends said at the same time. They all looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

When the other team walked into the room, Seonghwa couldn't help but smile when he saw Lily leaning against Wooyoung as they laughed. His dolphin laugh echoed through the room, and Lily's was pretty close to matching his.

After the laughter died down, Jongho turned to the eldest and said, "Can we go out to eat tonight? I'm tired of being stuck in the house..." He said, trailing off a bit.

Lily felt her happiness fade a little bit as she stared at her friends. She didn't want them to feel trapped in their own home.

She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She looked up to see Yunho staring at Seonghwa, waiting for a response. He was trying so hard not to look at her, she wondered if he knew what she had been thinking.

"I don't see why not. We all need a break after all."

Cheers erupted and they all ran out of the room, heading to their cars.

They ended up settling on a Brazilian buffet. They sat around the long table while waiters walked around carrying large skewers of meat that they carved table-side for the diners.

Everything tasted so good! The group fell into their routine of sharing everything, even though there was enough for everyone to have their own serving each time the waiters came around.

"Open! You have to try this!" Wooyoung said, turning to Lily. She smirked before opening her mouth, accepting the piece of meat. It melted in her mouth and she felt herself moan slightly at the taste.

"How did I miss that one?" She said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You were too busy trying to steal Jongho's pork." Wooyoung winked and then turned and offered San the same thing.

Lily felt a blush creep into her cheeks when the other turned away and she played with the piece of chicken on her plate for a moment.

"Steak!" Seonghwa cried when the aroma blew over the table. Everyone started laughing again, knowing his obsession with the meat. He turned red before hiding his face behind his hands and shaking his head back and forth.

For a long moment, Lily sat back and just watched her friends. Each one special to her in their own way. They had turned their lives upside down to take care of her, even though she never wanted them to. She just hoped she could repay them one day.

It's what you do for your family, after all. She smiled to herself, playing with her charm. I did it, Micah. I found a family. I just wish you could meet them too.