??? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ; Haobin .?

────୨ৎ────

Hanbin, too shocked to respond at first, slowly untangled himself from Hao and stood up, his legs shaky from the cold and the lack of movement. "Hyung? How did you find us?"

Jiwoong glanced between them, his eyes lingering for a moment longer on Matthew, before settling on Hanbin. “I tracked your phone. When I realized you weren’t answering, I knew something was wrong. I’ve been looking for hours.”

Matthew stood up, wiping the dust from his hands. “Good timing hyung. We weren’t sure how much longer we’d last in here.”

Hao, still weak but trying to stand, smiled faintly at Jiwoong. "Thank you… I thought we'd never get out."

Jiwoong's expression softened as he moved toward Hao, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You’re safe now. Let’s get you out of here."

Hanbin immediately rushed to Hao’s side, helping him stand as they all made their way toward the exit. Jiwoong led the way, his pace quick, but every few moments he glanced back, checking on Hao’s condition. There was something intense in his eyes—something more than concern. But Hanbin was too preoccupied with Hao to notice.

Once they were outside the building, the cold wind of the night hit them, but it felt different from the icy confinement of the room. It was freedom, and they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Jiwoong turned to Hanbin, his voice still laced with urgency. "We need to find out who did this to you, who sent those fake texts. This wasn’t random."

Hanbin nodded, but his attention was still on Hao, who was leaning heavily against him, shivering slightly. “We will. But right now, we need to get him somewhere warm.”

Jiwoong’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, understanding Hanbin’s priorities. As they made their way to the car, Jiwoong walked beside them, his protective gaze never leaving Hao, though there was a storm brewing behind his eyes—a storm that Hanbin, focused only on Hao, didn’t yet notice.

────୨ৎ────

As the car sped away from the scene, leaving behind the cold, dark room and the fear that had gripped them for hours, Hao rested his head against Hanbin’s shoulder, exhausted but relieved to finally be safe. The warmth of the car heater was starting to chase away the chill that had settled deep in his bones.

Hanbin kept a protective arm around him, glancing at him every few minutes to make sure he was okay. The tension hadn’t fully left his body, but now that they were heading home—Hanbin’s home—he allowed himself to breathe a little easier.

Hao, still dazed, finally pulled out his phone, which had been buzzing in his pocket for a while. When he looked at the screen, his eyes widened.

“Miscalled by Taerae? Oh no,” he mumbled, scrolling through the endless list of notifications. There were at least ten missed calls and several frantic messages, all asking the same thing:

Taerae: Bitch! Are you okay?

Taerae: Call me RN????

Taerae: Where are you?? I’m worried.

Hao’s chest tightened as guilt washed over him. In the chaos, he hadn’t even thought to check his phone or let anyone know where he was. He typed out a quick message to Taerae, trying to ease his friend’s panic.

Hao: I’m okay, sorry. Got caught up in something. I’ll explain later. Please don’t worry.

He stared at the phone for a moment longer, knowing Taerae would still be anxious. It wasn’t like him to go silent for so long. As he hit send, Hanbin looked over at him.