A/N this is going to be a quick side story because I'm soft for TXT. In the grand scheme of things this chapter doesn't really matter. Other than a few nods here and there.

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It didn't take long for Huening Kai and Beomgyu to find the others. They met at a small post near the coast. Ironically, it wasn't a large town yet it happened to be a usual pit stop for giants and other big creatures. So it easily catered to them and they were able to get a few supplies for their long awaited journey.

Not that either of the younger teens were in their larger forms. It could be draining sometimes after being human for so long. So they decided to keep all growing and shrinking to a minimum. Unsurprisingly, that annoyed their hyung's since they weren't too fond of humans or their antics. When Huening Kai was worrying about it, Beomgyu told him they'd just have to "Suck it up and deal with it", and left it at that.

"It'll take a few days to get to the base." Soobin informed everyone. "Once we get there, chances are we will just have to fight our way in, grab Taehyun then go." The others nodded along, then with that being said, began their journey.

It was difficult for the shifters to keep up with Soobin and Yeonjun. Seeing as even at their slowest strides, they still had to run in order to go at the same pace.

Eventually, they had to call for a break just to catch their breath. Yeonjun sighed as he watched Beomgyu and Huening Kai lay under a small tree (it was small to him at least). "You wouldn't be so tired if you just came up here." He said matter-of-factly.

Just as expected. Beomgyu let out a groan and shook his head. "We're perfectly fine down here, thank you very much!" He shouted up at them. Soobin arched his brow and bent down to their level. Even crouched to one knee, he still towered over them. Not that they had minded, it was just extra protection from the harsh rays of the sun.

The giant examined their tired state, simply shaking his head before he scooped the two of them up and gently placed them on his shoulders. "Much appreciated Hyung." Huening Kai said thankfully.

Meanwhile Yeonjun only scoffed, his arms crossed and a pout on his face. "Soobin-ah! If you treat them like that they'll never learn!"

"Learn what? They enjoy being tiny, leave them be. We don't have time for this anyway."

"Why so agitated Hyung? Is your marriage falling apart?" Beomgyu's laughter was quickly halted when a hand yanked him into the air.

Soobin held him in a firm grip, nearly choking him as the giant glared down. "I'm not in the mood Beomgyu, and I won't hesitate to throw you back to Gwacheon where you can serve your human pest all you want."

Huening Kai let out a sigh as he rested his head on Soobin's neck. He watched as Beomgyu promised not to make any more trouble and was forced to walk.

Family road trips. What a joy.

It was silent for a good hour. Soobin was uncharacteristically agitated and no one wanted to risk angering him further. So they just stayed silent. That is until Beomgyu, now riding Yeonjun's leg said "You never answered my question Hyung."

Both giants stopped walking. Yeonjun plucked Beomgyu off his leg to hold him in the center of his palm. Soobin then sighed as he ran his hand through his dark purple hair. "I'm just worried about Taehyun..." he admitted. "You know how much they love their spells. Those two had much too much fun testing them on me. I'm not entirely sure, but I there was some sort of vex of aggression thrown in, and it's been tiring trying to fight it off."

"And you didn't think to tell us sooner!" Yeonjun shouted. Beomgyu and Hyuka winced at his booming voice and the giant quickly apologised. "I should've known, you're usually such a baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Whined Soobin in a loud exclamation. The shifters cringed yet again but this time the pair didn't seem to notice. "I didn't want to worry you!" Soobin continued.

"Well congratulations! You failed! Now I'm worried and I'm angry!"

"Yah!" The other three turned to look down at Huening Kai. He stood up, holding Soobin's neck for support, and glared at his hyung's. "Focus guys!" He told them. "It has not even day one and we're already fighting! We all know what Chanyeol and Baekhyun are like and for all we know, Taehyun might be feral right now! So can you all calm down so we can just get him back?"

The other three froze. Each of them shared a brief look of concern before it turned to 'Great you made the maknae stressed! This is all your fault'! Huening Kai could clearly see that they weren't going to get anywhere and let out a long sigh.

So to avoid the angry spits of his Hyung's, Huening floated down to the ground and just continued walking. They'd notice eventually.

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"Day 115 of our rescue mission. We've lost all our rations. All we have left are two salt rocks that keep attracting hungry deer and I'm honestly not sure where they're coming from! Yeonjun Hyung looks hungrier by the second and I'm afraid he may just snap. My bet is that he eats Hyuka first-"

"BEOMGYU!"

"If anything I'd eat you first!"

"Hyung! Oh my lord!"

Contrary to what Beomgyu had said - It was only day two. Yet they felt like they had been travelling for ages. Huening Kai and Beomgyu were back to walking since the Yeonbin duo insisted on snuggling every step of the way. Soobin was slowly reverting back to his usual soft self, meaning he was much more open to Yeonjun's constant affection. The younger two wanted to keep their lunch so they opted to just walk by the giants feet, trying their best not to get crushed since they weren't necessarily paying attention to anything but their partner. It seemed as though they couldn't go five minutes without kissing each other.

Gross.

Or at least Beomgyu and Huening Kai thought so. "Can you two get room?" Beomgyu whined as he heard his hyang's kiss for the 100th time. Yeonjun stuck his tongue at him and kissed Soobin again just to spite the shifter. 

"Oh please, as if you aren't the same with Taehyun." He remarked.

"I am not!" Beomgyu exclaimed a little too quickly. Huening Kai wiggled his brows and made kissing noises to tease him.

"Ooh~ Is that why you were so pressed to do this Hyung? Do you think Taehyun will reward you with a kiss?"

"Hyuka, I swear on Prince Seokjin, I will feed you to Yeonjun if you don't shut it!" Yeonjun growled. The only thing holding him back was Soobin, who wasn't too keen on losing another member of his team.

"For the last time - I don't eat people!" The two shifters looked between each other, then back at Yeonjun, clearly unconvinced. Offended, Yeonjun gasped. "Seriously?"

"I don't trust you to not eat me." Huening Kai said, crossing his arms with a pout. "Not after last time!"

"It was an accident and you know it!" Yeonjun whined. He stopped his foot like a toddler, causing the ground and shifters below him to shake. "It was the middle of the night, I was tired and you were sitting in the bread basket! If anything, it's your own fault!" Huening Kai only scoffed, mumbling something under his breath. He ran ahead of everyone, skipping and humming to himself as he weaved between the trees just to entertain himself.

"Huening-ah, don't go too far! I still want to be able to see you." The youngest of the group heard Soobin call. He replied with a salute and sarcastic Yes eomma, before carrying on anyway.

"Do not stress so much hyung," chuckled Beomgyu. "What's the worst that can happen?" Yeonjun arched his brow at this and the silver-haired shifter yelped as the giant suddenly lifted him in the air, greeting him with a deadpan stare as he said:

"You could be kidnapped, killed, torture, be found by humans who will not hesitate to do all of the previously mentioned, fall down a ditch without anyone noticing, get stuck in quicksand, be greeted by a guard from Exodus or, and the most probable one: trip over your own feet."

Beomgyu only blinked at him before scoffing. He kicked the giants fingers away and lazily floated to the ground with his arms crossed. "Do you truly think so little of me hyung?"

"Yes." As the two of them continued to jab at one another, Huening Kai had noticed something on the ground. The symbol of a pentagon had been burned into the ground with an 'x' in the centre of it. The brunette stumbled back with a gasp, immediately fighting the tears threatening to trickle down his cheeks.

We must be close.

He thought to himself. Huening Kai composed himself when heard the others approach. The shifter forced a smile and turned back to them. "Is everyone alright?" He asked. Kai noticed Soobin's face scrunch up for a moment but the giant had quickly brushed it off, so he chose not to comment.

"Hyung's!" Beomgyu whined. "Can we please stop and rest? I'm so tired!"

The bright-haired giant glared down at him with a scoff. "After you mocked me so profusely? You can suffer for all I care." Not long after that, Soobin started to frown and stopped to roll his shoulder and do away with his sudden stiffness. "Something wrong?" Asked Yeonjun.

"Yes, just a bit tired."

"Oh it's okay baby! Let's stop and rest!"

"I- SERIOUSLY?" Yeonjun only ignored the sputtering shifter below him and sat down next to his partner. "The level of disrespect and disregard I am experiencing right now!" Beomgyu grumbled.

Once they got a little deeper into the forest they were in, Soobin leaned against a large tree. It was big enough that it wouldn't break on impact but he still tried his best to be careful. The giant winced as he sat down. Yeonjun noticed and asked what was wrong. "I think I sprained my ankle at some point," Soobin told him. "I guess I only just noticed..."

Yeonjun sighed and tried his best to help his partner but warned him not to get too comfortable since he could see a village up ahead. The last thing they wanted was to cause any trouble.

As he inspected the wound, Yeonjun noticed something odd about it. Dark green veins and vines had appeared on Soobin's leg, slowly growing higher. "Dammit," Yeonjun cursed. "It's poison ivy. Thank goodness you're huge, it'll get tired and disperse eventually, but it'll take a good hour or so..."

That was sure to slow them down which none of them were all too keen on. So that was when Huening Kai got an idea. "Why don't we go into town and get some herbs?" He suggested. "There's always a witch hidden in villages. A bit of medicine, and it'll be a quick fix!"

"A bit risky don't you think?" Beomgyu muttered. "I mean, with how loud Yeonjun hyung is, they'll find us in a second."

"Yah!"

"See what I mean? Not everyone is too keen on giants, Hyuka. Besides, it is not wise to split up."

"Fine," said Huening Kai. "I'll just go on my own. It'll be faster anyway." Yeonjun let out a frustrated sigh. He told him to be quick and for Beomgyu to go with, just so he wouldn't be alone. So off to the village they went. It was a small town and relatively quiet. Based on the slight glares and untrustworthy looks the duo were getting, it was safe to assume they didn't get many visitors.

Just as Huening Kai suspected, hidden in a cramp alleyway towards the middle of town, was the witches store. The front door was covered in vines with a purple crescent moon hanging from the door. A confirmation of it belonging to a witch.

The duo entered the store, carefully and cautiously. "Anyone there...?" Yelled Beomgyu. A loud thud was heard from the front desk, scaring the shifters into quickly summoning their weapons.

"Ouch..." a small voice muttered. Arising from under the desk was a tall, thin man with white hair which complimented his lightly tanned skin and crystal eyes. "Didn't mean to scare you!" He said nervously as he glanced down at their weapons. The man cleared his throat and stuck out his hand. "A pleasure to meet you! I'm BamBam!"

Beomgyu snickered. "BamBam?"

"Well, my full name is Kunpimook Bhuwakul. Does that work better?"

"...Yeah let's just stick with BamBam." Huening Kai jabbed his friend in the stomach for being rude. While he pouted, Hyuka put his weapon away and finally shook BamBam's hand.

"Likewise BamBam." He said politely. "I'm Huening Kai, and this is Beomgyu." He tilted his head towards his sulking friend. "We need a few herbs for poison ivy. A rather large dosage if that's possible."

BamBam hummed and began searching the shelf behind him. "How large exactly?"

"Large enough for a fully grown giant. It's a leg injury." Beomgyu told him. BamBam turned back to them, his brow arched.

"Ah, so that was your group?" The witch mused, almost annoyed by the fact. "I say, you caused quite a ruckus. Everyone in town could hear your friend's footsteps from a mile away. Best be careful on your way out. You have no reason to worry though. As long as the ivy doesn't reach any vital organs or body parts, your friend should be just fine."

"We've got to be somewhere as quickly as possible! We're in a rush!" Hyuka exclaimed. BamBam only rolled his eyes at him, saying that he was just going to have to be patient.

That wasn't the answer Beomgyu wanted to hear. He slammed his first against the table, making a loud bang echo through the store. "Is it not your job to give us what we need?" He growled. "Money is money, is it not? My friend is hurt and we would like a quick fix. We both get what we want in the end. Giant or not, us super naturals should stick together."

BamBam scoffed. "What do you mean by us? You humans are just so desperate to be included and feel special, aren't you?" Huening Kai noticed Beomgyu's eye twitch.

"Humans?"

So much for not causing trouble.

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"Binnie, are you okay?"

Soobin let out a sore grunt. Yeonjun looked back at his leg and gasped. "Soobin-ah! How much of that poison ivy did you step in?"

"I'm not sure...why?" By now, the ivy had spread to his upper thigh. Soobin winced as he felt the vines constrict around his leg.

Yeonjun tried his best to pull it off, but his fingers were too large to do so. He let out a frustrated groan and reached for his partners hand. "Hang in there baby, Beomgyu and Hyuka will be back any minute..."

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After a pleasant conversation and angry demonstration of their powers, the shifters had BamBam give them the herbs. With a small sack the two of them rushed through the village and back to the forest.

"Did you hear there are giants in the forest?" They stopped. Huening Kai and Beomgyu glanced over at a table where several men were sitting. Hunters no doubt, judging by the spears at their sides.

"Yeah, I could feel them too. How much do you think we can get for one of them?" Asked one of the men.

"Hundreds," another said with a sick grin. "I say there are two. How about we sell one and kill the other?" His friends nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Beomgyu stuck out his hand to summon his weapon, but was quickly stopped by his friend. "We cannot start a fight!" Huening Kai urged. "Has Prince Seokjin taught you nothing about restraint?"

"Prince Seokjin isn't necessarily around right now, now is he? Besides, I'm not going to let them get away with this!"

"Nor will I, but we need to be tactical about these sorts of things," Huening Kai turned to the group of hunters and cleared his throat, beckoning for their attention. "Pardon me," he started calmly. "I highly doubt there are actually giants in this area. I'm sure it was just a small earthquake of sorts."

The hunters looked at them and scowled. "Are you new around here pretty boy? Keep to yourself!"

Huening Kai sucked in his breath. Rude people were always the hardest to talk to. "New or not, we were just in the forest. There's nothing special in there. Other than ravenous animals and poison ivy of course."

One of the hunters eyed him suspiciously. He stood up with his weapon and the others followed suit. "We never mentioned the forest."

"A-Are you sure? I could've sworn you did..."

Beomgyu sighed. He moved his friend back, glaring angrily at the hunters. "Negotiation is dead," he hissed.

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Yeonjun perked at the small sound of crunching grass and harsh breaths. Beomgyu practically tossed the bag at his feet then tried to run right back out. "Hang on there," Yeonjun lifted the shifter to eye level by the collar of his shirt.

"Let me go!" Shouted Beomgyu while he thrashed uselessly in Yeonjun's grip. The giant rolled his eyes at this, unamused.

"Where's Hyuka?"

Beomgyu chuckled nervously. "So we may or may not have run into a group of hunters who were planning to come in here and capture you guys."

Yeonjun narrowed his eyes. "Mhm..."

"I was going to stop them but Hyuka insisted he do it himself and...well... you know how he is, he wouldn't hurt a fly. So now he's in his larger form being repeatedly stabbed."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?!"

"Didn't I just-"

"Soobin," Yeonjun said as he turned to his partner. "Take the cure, we'll get Huening Kai." Soobin nodded, but raised his brow at the tiny sack.

"Beomgyu," He said slowly. "I don't think this will be enough- Agh!" Soobin let out a pained cry as the poison ivy began to wrap tighter around his leg. Beomgyu's eyes widened.

"Oh...that's a lot more than before..." Any longer and the ivy was going to amputate his leg. Yet again, Yeonjun sighed in frustration then grabbed Soobin's hand for support.

"Just hang in there Binnie, we'll be right back." He placed a kiss on Soobin's forehead. Yeonjun smiled before glaring back towards the village.

While they ran back, Huening Kai was trying his best to handle the situation with the hunters. On the bright side, they no longer wanted Soobin and Yeonjun. On the not so bright side - they were after him instead.

Huening Kai let out a groan as they tied him down right in the center of the town square - like they were trying to make a spectacle out of it. "We can still talk this out!" He cried as they tied down his arms and legs. Conversation seemed to be the last thing on the hunter's minds, throwing a large pile of cloth in the shifters mouth to shut him up. Huening Kai was well aware that he should have been able to handle this, but didn't want to risk hurting the locals.

The same locals who were cheering and thanking the hunters.

"Gosh Hyuka, this is almost depressing." Huening Kai wanted to both cheer and groan at the sound of Yeonjun's voice.

"You sound like Taehyun." He tried to say but because of the gag, only came out as muffled sounds that made Yeonjun roll his eyes.

"We've got another one, boys!" One of the hunters cheered. Together, they all inched towards Yeonjun, their weapons at the ready.

"You're all so annoying," the giant said irritably. He tossed Beomgyu to the ground, letting him float down to safety. Yeonjun cracked his knuckles, his brows lowered in annoyance. "The quicker you suffer the quicker I can get back to my partner. So let's get this over with, shall we?"

Beomgyu slipped past the hunters and over to Huening Kai. Locals were scowling at him and throwing things at his face. "I'll be right back, Hyuka. Are you okay?"

"Mmff! Mmm!"

"Wonderful, see you in a second!" Beomgyu was quick to leave the square and find his way back to BamBam's shop. The witch was annoyed to see him to say the least.

He was currently sitting at the front desk trying to stabilise the room from crumbling at Yeonjun's quaking footsteps just outside. "Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, yeah it's me! I need more ivy cure!"

BamBam scoffed. He was about to say something but nearly tripped over at another wave of earthquakes. He quickly pushed back his falling shelf and groaned whereas Beomgyu was used to this feeling and hardly faltered. "That was the most I had! Maybe if your friends were smaller, you wouldn't be in such a mess and would watch where they were walking!" BamBam stumbled once again. "By Taemin's name, could you all be any less inconsiderate!"

"For the last time, I'm sorry about the hole in your wall! But I need more of those herbs!"

"You'd better listen to him." A deep voice said from outside. BamBam shrieked as the roof of his shop was ripped right from its walls, and tossed away like a mere piece of paper. Yeonjun peered his head into the store. "Your place is a wreck," he chuckled. "So, are you going to give us what we need?"

The witch was still in shock. He glanced at Beomgyu, then up at Yeonjun and grumbled. With a quick snap of his fingers, three large bags appeared in front of them. Yeonjun smiled and threw them into his pocket. "Great! Sorry about your shop."

The giant lifted Beomgyu onto his shoulder and began to walk back to the town square. "What about my payment?"

"I paid with that apology!"

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"God, humans are annoying..." Yeonjun grumbled as they travelled away from the now demolished village. Soobin was walking, Huening Kai was untied, fast asleep in Yeonjun's pocket, and the group was back on their way.

"You like Taehyung Hyung, don't you? He's human." Said Beomgyu.

"He's the exception. He was cute." Soobin raised his brow at that, sending his partner a slight glare. Yeonjun grinned at him and slung his arm around his shoulder. "Aw, don't be like that Binnie! You're the only one for me!"

"Hey careful!" Exclaimed Beomgyu, nearly falling off of Soobin's shoulder. "You're going to knock me off or wake Hyuka with all that!"

Soobin nodded in agreement, but embraced Yeonjun regardless. Beomgyu gagged. "Get a room."

The group figured travelling through the night wouldn't be a good idea since they were all a bit tired. Together, they all sat around a fire Beomgyu had made and took in the silence and clear skies. Yeonjun and Soobin were cuddling with one another, with the younger laying on the others lap, while Beomgyu lazily swung his sword around. The only one without a sense of comfort was Huening Kai.

The young brunette had his brown eyes focussed on the fire in front of him, his expression distant with worry as troublesome thoughts filled his head. He just couldn't shake off what he saw in the forest, it brought back too many memories. "What if...what if they're hurting him?" He inquired quietly yet loud enough for the others to hear.

"Huening-ah, try not to think like that," Soobin told him. "You will only stress yourself out."

"What? Are you not worried? Are you not scared of what they may just do to him?" The young shifter shouted. "Taehyun is the only one of us that didn't go through the torture we did! He must be terrified!"

Soobin curled his lip as he tried to contain any irritation but Huening Kai just kept going. "What on Earth do you think they might be doing to him? Do you think they'll just let him live? Or do you think they'll chain him to a wall, starve him, force him into to something he'll never escape!" Before he finally had enough.

"Huening Kai!" Soobin banged his fist onto the ground, hard enough to startle a few woodenlen creatures and knock both shifters off their feet. Soobin gasped, reeling himself in immediately and apologetically. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice..."

Huening Kai raced to his side. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset hyung." He whispered. Beomgyu put away his weapon and joined him as well. Soobin gently placed Hyuka on his shoulder and Yeonjun did the same for Beomgyu.

There was a long moment of silence before Beomgyu said: "It's strange, I think I love you all more than my own family."

"Are we not your family?" Yeonjun joked.

"Yah, you have done nothing but scold me and pick me up without permission. So I'd say so." He chuckled. "But no, I really mean it. The day I discovered I was a shifter, my mother handed me over to the kingdom of Exodus. Had it not been for your ridiculous plan to break out, I would still be there being trained and whipped to death." Yeonjun grinned at him, then bent down to kiss his head. Though Beomgyu cringed, a slight smile still managed to escape his lips. "So yeah, thank you for bringing with me."

"You should be thankful you were only there for a year. I was there for five." He heard Soobin say, then Yeonjun let out a bitter chuckle.

"Five? Try fifteen. I don't even remember what my life was like before I was sold into slavery." Hyuka gave the giant an odd glance. "It was slavery. I would rather not talk about it. Either way, I think we can all agree that Hyuka suffered the least out of us."

The other's nodded in agreement yet Huening Kai couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It's not a competition," he muttered softly. "It's painful no matter how long you are there. It hurts no matter what."

"Did you ever find out who told them about you?" Asked Soobin, to which Huening Kai shook his head.

"We determined that it was no one from Busan, however that was it. It does not matter now, I am back in the safe hands of the prince and he has assured me nothing of the sort will ever happen again." The shifter cut himself off with a long yawn, causing the others to chuckle. Soobin considered a good time to get some rest and he and Yeonjun curled up to each other, with the shifters placing themselves wherever comfortable.

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The next two days went by with little conflict. They avoided towns at all costs, only stopping at ones that catered to the giants of the group. Once the terrain and surroundings began to get darker, they knew they were close to their destination.

With the base just up ahead, Huening Kai went to scout the area in case of guards. He came back only minutes later looking confused. "There's no one there," He told them. "No guards, there's no ward up, other than a few servants it's practically empty."

Of course the others were a little sceptical and went to look for themselves. Just as Hyuka said, the place nearly looked deserted. Yeonjun decided it was just a well timed coincidence and took advantage of it instantly. Soobin helped Beomgyu up to the wall surrounding the base, allowing him to take out the few soldiers guarding it and open the gate.

The most logical place for them to check first was the dungeon. Though they were hesitant, they were willing to push their fears aside to find Taehyun. Its entrance was just big enough for the giants to fit through, but just small enough so that they had to crawl to get through. They checked nearly every cell, with some resistance in between, yet they still couldn't find Taehyun. The sound of broken bones and cries of pain was already too much to handle, and they were genuinely hoping not to find their friend in the depths of the torture chamber.

Just as they were losing hope, Huening Kai spotted one last cell towards the end of the hall. Instead of bars, it was one, large, wooden door. Just behind it, the group could hear growling and the clinging of chains falling against each other. Beomgyu wasted no time blasting the door open and rushing into the room. "Taehyun!"

The giant growled at the sudden intrusion and rushed forward, only to be yanked back by his chains. He snarled at them, thrashing around as if staring at complete strangers. Soobin didn't waste any time and rushed behind the red-head, getting behind Taehyun then pushing him down. "What are you doing?" Asked Huening Kai worriedly.

Taehyun moved and thrashed in Soobin's grip, the older having pinned him down by his head. "I don't want to risk him attacking us! Beomgyu, talk to him."

Beomgyu did as he was told and slowly approached Taehyun. "Taehyun?" She said softly. "Can you hear me?"

Taehyun stopped moving the moment he saw Beomgyu. His eyes looked softer as he let out a small grunt. "I-I can hear you..."

The others cheered and Soobin quickly released him, muttering his apology. Beomgyu smiled the brightest, walking over to Taehyun he tried his best to give the giant a hug, but just ended in him pressing his body against his forehead. "B-Beomgyu you-"

SMACK

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? Do you know how worried we were? Why would you run back like that? You gigantic pabo!"

Huening Kai quickly pulled Beomgyu away with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about him Hyung, it's been a long few days."

"I'll say," Yeonjun muttered as he helped Taehyun. "He's right though, stupid!"

"Stop it guys," Soobin scolded.

"No no, I deserve it." Said Taehyun with a sigh. "I wasn't thinking when I ran back to help you hyung. I'm sorry you had to-" Soobin put his hand to Taehyun's face.

"I'm going to stop you right there. We did not just travel four days to hear you feel sorry. Yes, it was stupid and you could've gotten hurt, from the looks of it, you did. But I'm thankful you came back. Apology accepted, don't bring it up again." Taehyun gave him a small nod and smile, then brought him into a hug. Yeonjun quickly joined, with the two shifters still on the ground.

"Hey! Shorty!" Beomgyu called to Taehyun. "We want hugs to!"

"Shorty? You're one to talk ti-"

"Don't argue, just bring them up here." Taehyun rolled his eyes at Yeonjun but picked the shifters up regardless. He pulled them close to his chest, the other two rejoining the hug as well.

"Great, hug time over." Hyuka said. "We need to go before a guard comes." Taehyun only shook his head.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you noticed, but nearly everyone left." Explained Taehyun. "I heard one of the guards talking about some sort of ceremony going on."

"Still, let's not risk it," Soobin untangled himself from the hug and glanced out the door. "Coast is clear. Let's go home everyone."

While unchaining their friend, Beomgyu saw something that caught his attention. "Oh Taehyun...what did they do to you?" Fresh scars littered the giants legs, running across his arms and his cheek. The back of his shirt was slashed from multiple whip lashes and Beomgyu instantly noticed the red-heads limp.

"Don't worry about it..." Was his reply, but how could he not?

"It's okay Taehyun, we'll take care of you and fix this." Taehyun smiled down at him. He lifted the shifter into the palm of his hand then brought him close to his lips. Beomgyu thought he'd explode after his body was pressed against the soft surface and stared up the giant with a bright red face.

"Thank you hyung."

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This is the longest chapter yet, 5,000 words 👽 At this point I should just make a TXT book.