Chapter Text
“I can't believe I slept in this morning and I'm still tired,” Saehyun mumbled to himself before running a hand through his dishevelled red hair. It must have come undone from the gel he had coated it in this morning. Now it was a mess and covered in dried up flakes of the hair product. He needed to shower when he got back.
He adjusted his glasses slightly before letting out a loud yawn and stretching his arms over his head. He forgot he was holding his messenger bag and it ended up smacking him in the side of the face. He laughed at his clumsiness, chalking it up to being much more tired than he originally thought.
He was currently walking home from his last shift at the clinic he worked at through the summer until the next semester started up again. He had a car mind you, but he felt walking was much healthier and the clinic was not that far a walk from his apartment anyway.
It was dark out and stars twinkled in the sky as the moon peeked out behind the clouds that were now dispersing from a short drizzle that had occurred earlier in the day. He took some of the fresh air into his lungs before letting it out slowly. Walking by shops and restaurants as he made his way home. The warm light that the passing cars and street lamps emitted, calmed him.
He stopped when he noticed a woman looking around herself, seemingly quite distressed. It was as if she lost something important to her or maybe she was lost herself. Their eyes met and she instantly began to calm, which confused him. Maybe she was desperate to find someone to give her directions? He decided he'd wait for her to cross the street and ask. He didn't want a woman to be wandering around at night by herself. Maybe he would also offer to walk her back. Or was that creepy? Nevermind, don't ask to walk her back.
“Saeyoung!” She called, he turned and looked around him but no one else was there. Maybe she was mistaking him for someone else? Or maybe they were not in his line of sight? Well, either way, she found the person she was looking for and it was not him, so he turned and continued walking. Why did she look as if she wanted to talk to him then?
“Wait, Saeyoung where are you going? Don't just walk away!” He continued walking, it was none of his business. “Or Saeran? Saeran is that you? What are you doing out here?” For some reason, he stopped and turned to look at her. She was running to catch up to him and she let out a breath when she finally did, gripping his arm to steady herself. He immediately ripped his arm away, confused. Why was this stranger touching him? She must be drunk. “Saeran?” Her voice seemed laced with concern. Man, she must really be out of it. “I'm sorry I mixed you up with your brother, are you upset?”
“Do you need me to call you a cab?” He asked, unsure of what to do in this situation.
“Call me a cab? We live together. Saeran, did you and Saeyoung fight again or something?”
“Not that I know of, because I don't know any Saeyoungs and my name is not Saeran.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You're mistaking me for somebody else, my name is Saehyun.” He replied, crossing his arms over his chest as his tone of voice became slightly irritated. He didn't really want to deal with a drunk woman right now, his day was stressful enough.
“Saehyun? Are you joking around right now? Haha,” her voice seemed unsure. “Oh and I like your new glasses, you look good without your contacts. Are you out here buying new clothes?” She scanned his form quickly before smiling at him reassuringly.
“No, and I'm not the person you're looking for. Let me call you a cab and get you home. I don't want you wandering around drunk in the middle of the night.”
“Drunk? I'm not drunk. What's going on with you?”
“Nothing, I don't know you,” he drew each word out slowly as if speaking to a child.
“What?” Panic crossed her eyes as she stepped back, away from him. “Did you hit your head? Do you have amnesia?” Her phone suddenly went off, the catchy ringtone filling the silence that surrounded them. She pulled out her phone from the purse slung over her shoulder and tapped a spot on the screen before bringing it to her ear.
“Sorry babe, I got distracted and lost track of you. I'm with Saeran right now, I'm coming to get you. Stay where you are, okay?” Could be heard from her phone’s speaker.
“Wait, Saeran is with you? Then who's…” she was giving him a look like she had just seen a ghost. Almost as if she was about to be the next victim in a horror movie; just now noticing the monster standing behind her as she looked in the mirror. “Who's standing in front of me?” Her voice shook, and Saehyun could feel himself become nervous at her strange response. What was her problem?
“I told you who I am,” he replied, glancing to his side for a second before focusing back on her. This was such a strange encounter.
“What do you mean, who's in front of you?! I'm almost there, I'm coming as fast as I can. Don't you dare go anywhere!” a very expensive looking car suddenly came to a screeching halt next to the woman causing him to jump and adrenaline to pump through his veins. The call had ended but the woman in front of him still stood there, phone next to her ear while she gaped at him. He had a feeling he shouldn't stand around there any longer, as he turned to leave. What if this woman was about to be attacked or mugged? He hesitated as he turned to look at her, someone exiting the vehicle. Shit, if he was going to get her out of here, he needed to get her out of here now! He grabbed her arm and started running as he pulled her along with him.
“Hey, what are you-!” Her phone could be heard dropping onto the ground with a clack. He would replace that for her later; it was better than walking away when she could very well be hurt by someone, even if she was weird.
“Come on, stop struggling! They're going to attack us!” He yelled as he continued to drag her along, but she wouldn't let up and kept dragging her feet across the ground as if he was the one she was trying to avoid.
“Attack us? You're the one attacking me!” She yelled, trying to rip herself from his grip.
“Stop that! I won't let you be an idiot and get hurt!” He was out of breath, it wasn't like he ran very often. He would exercise enough to stay healthy and that was it. He was gulping in air now as they ran. It seemed she had calmed down somewhat after he explained himself more and she began to follow him.
“What do you mean?” She asked between breaths as they ducked down into an alleyway.
“They're trying to mug us, I don't know.” He slowed down, now unsure of his motives. Maybe they were the people she had called? Great, now he looked like a kidnapper.
“Mug us?” She laughed, he could feel his cheeks warm up in embarrassment.
“You knew them?” He stopped completely, feeling utterly embarrassed now as he tried to catch his breath. “Sorry, I just thought you were in danger…” he trailed off as he quickly let go of her.
“It's fi-” she was cut off as the world seemed to flip on its axis. He could see the walls of the buildings flying by him as the back of his head hit concrete. His arms were pinned to the ground and he could feel someone hold his body down with their own. He paid that no mind though as his ears began ringing and his vision blurred. He let out a wheeze as all the oxygen he had been trying to get into his lungs, left them.
“Saeyoung, stop! It was a misunderstanding!” He could just barely make out the woman's voice as his mind tried to get the world back into focus. It was like he was underwater and everything around him was happening above the surface.
“Like hell it was!” The man yelled, drawing his fist back to launch a punch directly in his face. His eyes focused just in time to see it flying forward, straight towards his nose when it suddenly stopped. The man seemed stunned by something as a street light that had once been off seemed to flicker on in that moment, lighting up the whole alleyway. Like a light shining down from the heavens.
At first, Saehyun was confused, was he looking into a mirror? Maybe he had died and was now looking back on himself. Perhaps all his memories would fly by, one by one and he could regret never achieving his dreams of becoming a doctor. Dying in an alleyway for some girl who mistook him for her lover or sibling. But then his look-alike moved away; almost as if he had been burned. In that moment he knew he was still alive, as he slowly sat up.
“What the fuck?” his look-alike mumbled.
“I thought you said Saeran was your only brother?”
“H-he is…” he sputtered, their identical pairs of golden eyes staring back at each other in horror. Neither of them seemed sure of what to do as the street light suddenly went out again, covering their surroundings in darkness once more.
The voice of another man makes its way towards his ears from behind the petite woman, “What the fuck?” His gaze shifted towards the figure, another look-alike. Had he been cloned? What was going on? He could feel his heart rate pick up as he began to back away from the three of them. Please tell me this is a nightmare, he thought as he could feel a layer of sweat begin to coat his skin. Maybe he would wake up from this dream soon and realize he had just fallen asleep at work. That was just hopeful thinking, however, as reality hit him harder than a ton of bricks. This was very much real.
“What the fuck…” he whispered, he could feel tears well up at the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t above crying and right now he wanted nothing more than to hold onto something and do just that. “Who are you, people? Why do you look like me?” His voice cracked as he tried to hold back his tears.
“I could ask the same of you!” Saeyoung replied, clenching his fists at his sides. “That's a pretty good disguise. Who do you work for?” His voice was filled with anger and spite. “I'm surprised they didn't send someone a little better at this job. They must really be low on agents.” He took a step forward and Saehyun let out a shaky breath. What the hell was this guy talking about? A spy movie? Because he wasn't in the mood. He was now standing above Saehyun as he moved his hand forward to grab a fistful of his hair before tugging extremely hard. He swore he could feel some strands get ripped straight out of his scalp as his head moved with Saeyoung’s hand.
“Ah!” He let out a pain filled noise as tears began to roll down his cheeks involuntarily.
“Saeyoung, stop! You're hurting him!” The woman suddenly pushed her companion away, before bending down in front of Saehyun to inspect the damage.
“MC, get away from him!” Saeyoung and the other man, who had previously been standing behind her, said in unison. Though the woman ignored them as she ran a hand soothingly through his unkempt red hair and traced a finger across his cheeks to wipe away the tears. Removing her hand from the back of his head she noticed it was now covered in blood and she gasped before quickly helping him up.
The world spun the moment he was back on his feet and he felt he would either retch or pass out. He did neither as he steadied himself on a nearby garbage can. He gazed into it just in case anything came out. He could hear the three of them arguing now, but he paid it no mind as he tried his hardest not to collapse into the trash receptacle. His breathing was ragged as he placed a hand on his chest to try to calm it down. He would definitely throw up at this rate.
“We'll take him back with us and figure out what to do with him there,” Saeyoung's voice suddenly came back into focus for him as he calmed himself down somewhat.
“We can't kidnap him!” Was the woman the only voice of reason those two men had?
“We don't know who he's working for, we don't know why he's here. Everything is too risky to just let him go and you're trusting him way too much.” Was that jealousy? Seriously? “Come on!” A hand suddenly gripped one of his arms, pulling him to the side. He stumbled and fell forward before just barely catching himself.
“Wait-wait!” Saehyun exclaimed as he was pulled along to the car the two men had stepped out of not even a few minutes prior. He let his feet drag against the ground; maybe if he made enough noise someone would find them and catch these criminals. They didn't answer him as they continued dragging him along. “Please-”
“Make any more noise and I won't hesitate to kill you,” Saeyoung turned his head slightly to give him a piercing look. It was as if he's done this multiple times before.
“I'm going to throw up,” Saehyun whispered. When they ignored him he made sure he waited until they were at the front of this guys car before retching all over his passenger door. For some reason this caused the other man to start trying his hardest to hold in a laugh as Saeyoung came extremely close to punching Saehyun straight in the face. Luckily the woman of reason, MC, stood between them to prevent that exact thing from happening.
“Are you okay? I have some bags in case you get sick along the way,” MC’s voice was laced with concern and kindness. He didn’t know what to say in response to that. Thanks for being a considerate kidnapper? You’re still kidnapping me.
He realized he had dropped his bag at some point as he looked around frantically for it; his eyes landing upon the other man who he guessed was Saeran. He was holding both his bag and MC’s phone, the screen of which was now cracked. He was not paying for that anymore, not after this.
They all entered the vehicle, MC binding his hands with a rope while the other two got in the front. Saehyun watched as Saeyoung turned the keys in the ignition before driving off. Any shred of hope he had of escaping, diminished in that moment.
Before they had gotten in he had witnessed Saeyoung and MC fight about who got to sit with him, with Saeran occasionally piping in. MC eventually won the argument, however, with a smile of victory plastered on her face.
Now tugging slightly at his bindings, he realized he could probably easily get them undone and it’s not like he was a professional at escaping these situations. He glanced over at MC who smiled at him. Was she crazy? You just kidnapped someone who you considered dangerous. If Saeyoung was so concerned, maybe he should have been the one to bind his hands. Though then again, MC probably put more slack on them so he wouldn’t hurt his wrists; maybe he shouldn’t complain too much about who did it.
He began to run the back of his head across the headrest of the car seat, making sure to smear as much blood as he could on it. Hopefully, when the police find his body in a ditch somewhere they’ll eventually be able to trace it here. This didn’t seem like a car someone would want to get rid of and replacing things looked expensive. Blood wasn’t easy to get out of any fabric. He also secretly wanted to get back at the asshole driving this damn thing.
“Oh my god, Saeyoung do we have a first aid kit? He’s bleeding everywhere!” Her voice seemed distressed as she started searching around her for something to cover his wound. Saeran quickly pulled one out of the glove compartment before handing it to her. She snatched it from his hands like a person dying from starvation, being offered food.
He watched warily as she unzipped it before rummaging through its contents. With a click she undid her seatbelt, crawling towards him and gently tapping on his shoulder as a signal to lower his head so she could examine it. He didn’t protest as he complied to her silent request, tilting his head towards her. It’s not like he could do it himself since his hands were ‘bound’.
She began to clean the wound, gently running her hands through his hair to spread it apart like he was a delicate, porcelain doll. Well at least someone in this car felt that way about him; unlike the person who was currently glaring daggers at him through the rear-view mirror. He was going to go on a whim here and guess they were lovers.
“We shouldn’t be treating him this way, he’s obviously related to you guys,” MC said loud enough for everyone in the vehicle to hear as she covered his wound with gauze.
“I doubt that,” Saeyoung replied, his voice stern as his grip on the wheel became harsher. “There is no way he could be,” Saeran, who was sitting next to him, didn’t have a very pleased look on his face; in fact, he had quite the opposite. “You know what the nature of my past job was like and he tried to kidnap you.”
“No, he didn’t, it was a misunderstanding!” MC suddenly raised her voice as she backed away from Saehyun’s form. He took that as a cue to be able to raise his head once more. “He thought someone was trying to hurt me!”
“MC, You’re too trusting! Not everyone is like Saeyoung!” Saeran suddenly worked up the courage to speak.
“Well, what should we do? A blood test?” MC spat, sarcastically. For some reason, this caused Saeyoung’s eyes to light up as if he had just conjured a brilliant idea.
“Yeah, we’ll swab his mouth and send it to a lab,” Saeyoung explained. Saehyun could suddenly feel his mouth go dry. That would at least take up to a couple days, where the hell were they going to keep him until then? Hopefully, they wouldn’t lock him in a shed, never to see the light of day again until his impending doom when the tests came back negative.
“Wait...” A look of horror crossed MC’s face. “What are you going to do if it comes back negative?” both him and MC waited for a response. Silence spread around them. The tension between the two lovebirds was so thick he could cut through it like butter. Saeran glanced to his side at his twin when his only response was gulping audibly.
“I’d let Vanderwood deal with it, he’s better at this kind of stuff than I am,” he replied after what felt like an eternity of silence; chuckling awkwardly like this was some kind of joke. MC leaned back in her seat, a look of defeat on her face. She did not seem happy with his response at all. “MC, I-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” her voice was stern and subtly laced with anger. He was sleeping in the doghouse tonight, that much was certain. “We're keeping him on the couch,” she suddenly stated when he was finally beginning to think that was as far as the conversation would go.
“What? we can't-”
“I'm not going to let you throw him in some dark room to sleep on the floor!” She yelled. Oh boy, she seemed furious now. “I'll at least set up some pillows and blankets on the couch for him.” Saehyun glanced over at her, prying his gaze away from the window. He had been memorizing the entire route here in case he needed to escape; but now he was memorizing the expression on MC’s face, as it softened the moment they made eye contact. He only looked for a few seconds though, before quickly turning back. He didn't want to lose track of where he was.
Honestly, by the end of all this, if they were confirmed to be siblings, then they would be the first family members he has ever bothered to hate.
He was now laying on the couch like MC had requested. He had to witness a lot of yelling between the couple before she got her way and he wasn't put wherever Saeyoung first wanted to put him. He didn't want to know where that was. Though now his legs were also bound; those ones were done by Saeyoung himself so they were tight and uncomfortable. It seemed now his only means of escape was to squirm across the ground like a worm.
He turned himself away as they all ate dinner without their new 'guest’. Facing the backrest of the couch, he buried his face in it before letting the first few tears escape. When everyone had left, MC reassuring him it would be okay and Saeyoung getting the DNA he needed for the test they all went their separate ways and the lights were shut off.
Now alone and shrouded in darkness, he began to cry his heart out. He covered the place his head rested against in snot and tears as they ran down down his face. He gulped in air as his body shook with each sob. A few times he went to move his hands to wipe them away only for his current predicament to come crashing back into his mind and cause him to sob harder. He tried to keep it down, however, as he was scared that without MC around he was sure to be killed whether the test came back positive or not.
He could feel a sharp pain travel across his head from the wound on the back of it; now that the adrenaline had left his body. It was almost excruciating and the only thing his mind was left to focus on. Maybe it was so painful because of that reason.
He knew for sure that there was no way in hell he was getting a lick of sleep tonight. Maybe he could beg MC for painkillers the next time he saw her. He hoped that wasn't until morning. The seconds alone felt like hours. Perhaps she would get up to grab a glass of water or go to the bathroom and he could call after her; or mistake her for her boyfriend and get beaten to a bloody pulp. A shiver raced down his spine at the thought and he sniffled loudly.
“Hey…” He jumped, letting out a yelp in fear as he turned slowly to set his gaze on whoever just spoke. He was dead, this was the end. His body began shivering on its own accord and he tried moving in his bonds. It was Saeran, he was shaking slightly as well. “I don't want you to be in pain, here,” He whispered, gulping audibly. He was handing him a glass of water and some pills. Saehyun stared at them helplessly. How was he supposed to take them? Was he just trying to torture him? He probably didn't think this through. “Oh, right…” he lowered the hand that had the pills close to Saehyun’s mouth. If he was anyone else he would have bitten the others hand, but he simply opened his mouth as the medicine was dropped in and he happily drank the water when the glass was brought to his lips.
“Thanks,” his voice came out hoarse as it struggled to make its way through the back of his throat and past his lips. He didn't really know what else to say.
“If you're my brother, I'm sorry,” Saeran’s gaze was casted downwards and although he couldn't really see his expression well through the darkness, he could tell he felt guilty.
“Do you have any tissues?” He didn't feel like replying to that. Had he watched him cry?
“Oh, yeah sure!” He replied, louder than necessary. Saehyun winced, becoming hyper-aware of his surroundings and glancing around himself frantically; before sighing in relief when he didn’t hear anyone else in the building stir. Suddenly the lights in the room were flicked on as Saeran began searching around for some tissues to give to him. No, what are you doing?! He was now internally screaming.
“Saeran?” it was Saeyoung’s voice and it was dripping with worry.
Saehyun listened as the sound of footsteps drew nearer. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he began holding his breath. His eyes focused on Saeran, almost pleading for him to do something; when his kidnapper came around from behind the couch, seemingly concerned.
“What are you doing up, Saeran?” His voice took on a soft and gentle tone; almost fatherly.
“I was just getting some tissues,” Saeran explained. He pulled a few from the flimsy, colourful box nearby to demonstrate.
“Well, let's get to bed. We have a party we're going to, tomorrow, remember? You'll be tired if you stay up too late.” Saehyun watched as Saeyoung coerced his brother to bed. He paid him zero mind like he didn't even exist. For some reason that hurt; even though that's what he should prefer over being beaten for even being in the same vicinity of Saeyoung's sibling. Whether it was by choice or not.
Saehyun turned away as they left and he was once again draped in darkness. He didn't get to wipe the tears and snot off his face but at least the medication would help put him to sleep so he could ignore it. Closing his eyes, he fell into a restless slumber.