When Mingi was brought into the training room, the first thing he noticed was Hongjoong standing in the corner of the room.

He didn't know why, but he found himself drawn to the older male like he had never been drawn to someone before.

It almost scared him, but he had fun teasing the younger too. He was cute when he got flustered.

When the door opened again he was surprised to see Jongho being brought in too. The younger male was intimidating with his toned arms and scowl.

"Are the others coming too?" He asked, glancing at where Hongjoong and Yunho were whispering to each other.

"No. It's just you two today." Yunho said, glancing at them. "We are starting in groups to get a feel for your abilities. This isn't going to be a one and done process." He explained as he walked over.

Yunho motioned for Mingi to lift his wrists and he unlocked his right manacle but kept the special gloves they forced him into whenever he left his cell. It just made him smirk. All it took was one time for him to pickpocket a guard.

The bracelet was slipped onto his wrist and then Jongho's before they were released from their chains.

"Like we said before, this is something you won't be able to take off yourself. Only Hongjoong or myself can. Now before you, you'll see a variety of locks. This test is more for Jongho's sake than Mingi's but we still want to see what you can do."

Mingi shrugged and walked over to the table. Piece. Of. Cake.

All the locks there were something he could pick in seconds.

But he did notice Jongho staring at them with wide eyes. The younger picked up one of the locks and studied it for a moment, turning it slowly in his hands. His lips were pushed forward in a slight pout as he studied it. "You can actually open this?" He asked, looking up at Mingi.

Without saying anything, Mingi took the lock from him, picked up a paperclip and twisted it to his liking before inserting it in the lock. It was like he could feel every little piece of the lock through the metal pick in his hand as he twisted it around.

In just a couple of seconds, the lock clicked open.

Jongho's eyebrows rose in surprise as Mingi clicked the lock shut and handed it back to the younger. "How did you do that?" He asked, taking the paperclip and inserting it into the hole.

"Lots of practice." Mingi chuckled. Then he looked over his shoulder. "Do either of you know how to pick a lock?"

Yunho and Hongjoong exchanged a glance before they walked over.

"It's a useful skill to have with what we will be doing." Mingi said as he picked out three other similar locks and handed them to the two officers. "It's all about small movements and feeling the pressure of the lock. If you push the pick too much, it could bend or break. Watch."

Mingi tested out the lock in his hand, closing his eyes. This one was a little trickier, but he still had it open in a matter of seconds.

He watched as the three of them worked on their locks. Jongho broke two paperclips before he managed to pick it. "Good! You just need to be a little softer in your touch." Mingi praised, handing him another one.

Yunho also managed to pick his as well. He moved to lean over Jongho and watch him work on the new lock.

Mingi took advantage of this moment to move a little closer to Hongjoong. The older had his head tilted to the side and his tongue was trapped between his teeth as he worked at the lock.

"Here." Mingi said, gently placing his hands over Hongjoong's. "You're being rough. Like this." He moved in a little closer and slowly guided Hongjoong through picking the lock. It was a little strange not being able to directly feel the lock himself, but he felt his heart start to beat faster as he stood there with the chief.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He could feel Hongjoong tense at his touch and expected him to pull away, but for some reason he didn't.

When the lock clicked open, Hongjoong jumped a little and a slight blush came to his face. "See? Easy. You just need to be gentle and work with the lock, not against it." Mingi whispered before taking a step back. "No you try on your own."

"Ok." Hongjoong nodded in determination. He picked up a slightly larger lock and a metal pick that looked like a file on one end but had a sharp slightly pointed hook on the other. He worked it slowly back and forth, doing exactly what Mingi had walked him through doing the first time.

After a couple of minutes, the clock clicked open again, before Jongho's second lock, and Hongjoong cheered.

Mingi felt a burst of pure joy run through him at the sight of Hongjoong's and he cheered with him, stooping down to pick him up and spin him in a circle. "You did it!"

That drew the attention from the other two and he heard Yunho snap at him.

Hongjoong also cried out at his feet suddenly not being on the ground and yelled, "Put me down! What on earth are you doing?" He slapped at Mingi's hands and fumbled with his own wrist right as Mingi set him down and back up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, I-" He felt a sharp prick to his skin and looked down at his bracelet. Then he looked up at where Hongjoong was hiding behind Yunho and Jongho was standing off to the side.

Mingi's vision started to blur, then his world went black.

.

.

.

.

San glanced up when he heard the lock to his prison door click.

Steady.

A couple of guards came in, eyeing him nervously as they attached all sorts of chains to his body.

He knew he deserved it, but he hated the feeling all the same.

Just take this slow. We need to test the waters. We will get our chance.

San whimpered and nodded, earning a couple of looks from his guards as they led him from the room.

He really wanted this deal to work. Dying in this prison is no something he wanted to do with his life. They said he killed someone with a bat... He didn't remember doing it but it would make sense.

He never remembered what he did.

Not if they didn't want him to.

Don't be such a pussy. We block out those memories for you sake. You should be grateful.

"I am..." San whispered, looking down at the floor.

"You are what?" One of the guards asked, making San flinch and shake his head.

He was grateful. They protected him. They kept him safe and led him to food. They blocked unhealthy memories. They cared for him when no one else did.

San blinked several times as he was pushed into a room.

Hongjoong Yunho were waiting for him, and he noticed the boy named Wooyoung was there as well. The boy was looked around the room but his eyes kept darting to the table where an array of knives had been set up.

So willing to trust us.

San felt his head twitch and his mind to fuzzy for a second before he shook it and looked back at the officers.

Yunho looked nervous. His large hands were shaking as he took a sip from his cup. No, several sips. Then he set the cup down and walked over to Wooyoung first. "You're getting your bracelets today. Again, you won't be able to break them, pick them, or unlock them."

We'll see about that.

"We are trusting you. If you want your freedom, you7 have to earn it. We are just providing you with the first step." He said.

Wooyoung eagerly held up his hands and accepted the bracelet. As soon as his chains were unlocked, he kicked them away and took a few steps back, an instant look of relief crossing his face.

Interesting. Pretty boy doesn't like being contained. We can use this.

"Leave him alone."

"What was that?" Yunho asked as he approached San.

His head flew up in response and he shook his head quickly. "N-Nothing." He held up his hands slowly and looked back down.

Yunho's fingers were... Gentle... As they worked at his wrists. And again when he slipped the bracelet on, then unchained him fully.

"Ok, show us what you can do."

San turned toward the table. Wooyoung was already there, carefully running his hand over the blade of a knife he had picked up.

An almost... gleeful look was in his eyes as he held the knife. Then he picked up three more and threw all four in quick succession at the far end of the room. San watched as they all landed on or near the center of the target.

Show them what we can do.

San bit his lip and reached for a knife. It melded to his hand perfectly, like it was made for him.

That's it. Show them.

"But I'm supposed to get them to trust me." San whispered, moving to put the knife down.

Don't be a weakling.

San's head shook again as a fog seemed to cross in front of his eyes.

Then he glared at the target and picked up four of his own knives. He copied Wooyoung's movements almost perfectly, except his knives all landed at the center of the target.

"Wow, you're good." The younger said, his mouth open slightly as San threw five move. Two at the head, two at the groin, and one more at the center.

Then Wooyoung did the same, focusing on matching the targets that San had hit.

Suddenly it was a competition between the two.

San sneered and laughed darkly when Wooyoung slipped up and his last knife, number twenty, fell to the floor after not hitting a target.

"We win." He said, twirling a knife between his fingers.

"We?" Wooyoung turned to him and tilted his head.

San could see the cops watching them from the corner of his eye but chose to ignore him. "You think you're hot stuff, don't you? But you've shown your weakness today." He hissed, making sure only Wooyoung could hear him.

The younger looked stunned and his forehead creased. "What are you talking about?"

San smirked again, wanting nothing more than to test the limits of the boy and see what it would take to make him snap.

So he leaned forward and whispered. "The chains. We saw how you reacted to having the chains taken off."

Wooyoung paled and reached for the table. Picking up a knife and turning back to the targets. He was starting to shake.

"We know you don't like being contained. Why is that?"

He didn't get an answer. Instead Wooyoung tried throwing a few more knives at the targets. They hit with deadly precision.

So rage fueled him. Good to know.

"Have you been imprisoned before?

The younger flinched and started to turn toward the cops.

"We think you're nothing but a sniveling little whore to be afraid of chains like that." San hissed.

The air in the room seemed to change as Wooyoung's back straightened.

"Is everything ok over there?" Hongjoong asked, stepping forward slowly and pulling up the screen on his own bracelet.

San swayed and clutched at his head. Then he looked down at the other end of the room and saw the targets filled with knives.

Did he do that?

There was a scream.

San looked up just in time to see Wooyoung spinning around, holding a knife high above his head.

Jump to the side!

He obeyed, jumping out of the way and into something solid but soft.

Wooyoung's scream became strangled as he fell to the floor and didn't get up.

San whimpered and clung to whatever he was leaning against and felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Are you ok? What happened?"

It was Yunho.

"I don't know..." San said, burying his face in Yunho's chest. He could feel the older tense a little, but he didn't remove his arms as San started to sake. "What did you make me do?" He whispered.

"What?" Yunho asked, craning his neck to look down at him.

We have to find out how to get out of here. We are working to protect you. We are always working to protect you. We love you, San.