Work Text:
“Great job, Changkyun!” Changkyun was finishing up his solo shoot when the manager walked in.
“You never disappoint.” He chuckled as he handed the other a water bottle. “It is my job after all.” The manager scoffed and took out his phone.
“Alright well you are done for the day so go change and then I will take you home okay?” Changkyun nods and walks back to the dressing room.
He threw on a black hoodie and black pants with a pair of white vans. Not forgetting to pop in his earbuds since his manager’s taste in music was just… let’s say different. Changkyun walked out of the dressing room to look for his manager when a few staff approached him.
“Changkyun? We just talked with your manager and he had an emergency he had to take care of so he asked us to provide a car for you.” They both had staff lanyards around their neck and he remembered them from the shoot; they sat in the back with the computers.
He didn’t think much of it and let them guide him to the van waiting outside. The van was located towards the corner of the building… where there were no security cameras. They led Changkyun around the van and he noticed the licensed plate was missing. They opened the door, but didn’t press him to get in. There wasn’t much light, but he could tell that the van looked odd. From where he was standing it looked like there were no seats. But why wouldn’t there be seats?
“Are you guys sure my manager wanted you to take me home?” He was about to turn around when he felt something knock into the side of his face. His vision went dark for a minute and his body fell to the ground. There were hands wrapped around him and he felt himself being dragged into the unknown vehicle. His head was killing him and once the door closed, everything went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How long till Changkyun gets back?” Jooheon asked, wandering into the living room.
Shownu, who was sitting on the couch reading a book, looked at the time. “His shoot should have ended 10 minutes ago. They're probably on their way here now.”
Once he said that Shownu’s phone buzzed from the coffee table. He picked it up. “Hello? Okay give me a moment.” Shownu lifted the phone out and set it on the table, putting it on speaker. “Jooheon go get the others.”
The others soon arrived in the living room looking confused, but Shownu gave them an equally confused shrug. “We're all here manager-nim.”
“I have some bad news and I need you all to stay calm and not panic, okay?” There were a hoard of yes’s as everyone started to get more confused. Shownu spoke up again, “Is there something wrong?”
There was a small silence. “Changkyun has been kidnapped.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changkyun felt his mind come back to him as the feeling in body slowly returned. His eyes opened, but there was nothing but black. That’s when he felt something touching his face. He was blindfolded. His hands were behind his back. They were tied with a rope. His legs too. The only thing he could feel was the cold floor underneath him. His hoodie wasn’t there anymore and neither were his shoes. He was left with a tank top, his pants, and his socks.
“Hello! Is anyone there?” He called out, hearing his voice echo through the room. “Anyone!”
“Well well look who’s awake?” There was a deep voice that entered his hearing. Footsteps that grew louder. And a slow clap as he talked.
Changkyun did his best to sit up despite the restrictions of his limbs. “What do you want?”
He tried to remain calm. He knew he shouldn’t panic at a time like this.
“What do I want from you?” Changkyun subconsciously nodded.
“Well good news. I don’t want anything from you.” He heard another clap and he grew more confused. “Then why did you take me? You obviously need something from me.”
He felt a presence in front of him when his legs were being touched. He kicked the person away, but they were grabbed again, with a much tighter grip. The ropes around his legs suddenly loosened and his legs were plopped back down Hands then wrapped themselves around his arms and lifted him up. He stood up and they started guiding him a couple of feet away. He was suddenly pushed down into a chair.
“What are you doing?” “Just shut up and cooperate.”
The ropes around his hands were taken off. “Since you've been so compliant I will leave these off. However, if you think about doing anything they will go back on.”
“And the blindfold?” “It stays on.” Changyun nodded and situated his body a bit more comfortably in the wooden chair. “You know you're not very violent for a kidnapper.”
He heard a small chuckle. “That’s because I’m not a kidnapper. This is just a one time thing.”
Changkyun was even more confused. He had been kidnapped, yet they wanted nothing from him. They took off his restraints and if it weren't for the blindfold he would have at least tried to run. He didn’t think there were that many in the room. It echoed as well meaning it was a large room so maybe a warehouse?
“It’s ready, boss.” That was a new voice. No, he had heard it before. It was the staff from before.
Changkyun’s memory had been a bit hazy, but he did remember a face. The face of the two staff that accompanied him in the car. Had they done this? Were they in on it?
“Someone better explain to me what the hell is going on?” He wanted to stand up, but he knew he shouldn’t. If at all possible he needed to stay calm and free from the restraints.
“Well then let’s get started.” That was the last thing Changkyun heard before he felt something crash into his head and black out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The manager had someone bring the members over to the building where Changkyu was taken. Once they arrived it was not a pretty sight.
“Are you sure he was taken? He didn’t walk somewhere or maybe he went out with a friend.” Minhyuk quickly questioned the manager as they exited the vehicle.
“Guys I know this doesn’t seem real, but it’s the truth. There is video footage of Changkyun leaving the building with two unidentified staff and going around the corner. There weren't any cameras, but there was a van that pulled there and it pulled out a few minutes after. His phone was left lying on the ground.” He explained.
“But weren’t you supposed to take him home? Why would he just walk out with the staff?” Kihyun asked.
“I don’t know. I told him to go get dressed and I would meet him to take him home. I was talking with the director, when I noticed he was talking a bit so I went to check on him. He wasn’t in the dressing room so I asked if anyone had seen him. Another staff member said he was walking out front so I assumed he went to the car already. I went to the car and he wasn’t there so I went inside and asked for help looking for him. That was when someone notified me of his phone being left and I immediately called the police.”
The members stood shocked. Their maknae had really been kidnapped. And they had no idea where they could have taken him.
“Excuse me, you are getting a phone call.” A police officer strolled over holding a phone and he handed it to our manager.
“Hello? Who is this?” The manager asked. His eyes instantly widened, “Who are you?”
This caught the attention of a few of the police as they walked over. “What do you want?” His voice was laced with rage. “Don’t you dare touch him!” He yelled into the phone before it hung up.
“Was that the person who kidnapped him?” Shownu asked. “Yes, they said they will keep him hostage until we meet their demands.”
An officer pulled out a notepad, “Did he tell you what those were?”. The manager shook his head. “No he just said to meet his demands or that Changkyun would face the consequences. He also said something about a video recording that will be sent through. I don’t know what of, but I think it will be the demands.”
Hyungwon shrank down to hugging his knees as everyone couldn’t believe what was happening.
“We will do everything we can to trace the call and try to see if we get that video. For now you should head back to your dorm and we will place a security guard outside for your safety.” The officer said, taking the phone and heading back.
“We can’t just leave. We have to find him!” Jooheon cried out, but Shownu grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. “I know you do, but we can’t do anything right now. The best thing for us is to wait until they come up with a lead.” Shownu calmed him down and the manager led everyone into the van and they returned to their dorm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changkyun didn’t know how long he was out, but he felt himself wake back up and he was still sitting in the chair. The blindfold was still attached, but now his hands were tied in front of him. The rope was much tighter and it honestly hurt a bit.
“Are you awake now?” “How long has it been?” “Just a couple of hours. I already called and told them we expect demands. And now we finally hacked into your leader's computer.”
This guy was playing with him. He wouldn’t tell him what he needed him for now and now he was just stating what he was doing with no explanation. Changkyun was getting impatient.
“Chnagkyun, you're a famous idol.” He paused, then continued. “You are precious to your team. To your manager. To your fans.” “What are you getting at?” He heard a few steps towards him and suddenly there was a breath reaching his face. “You are going to make me a lot of money Mr. Im Changkyun.”
At that, Changkyun knew what he was for. He was the hostage for a ransom. A ransom this guy knew the company would pay for him specifically because of his sudden popularity boost.
“You have seen movies, right? You know this almost never works out for the bad guy.” Changkyun smirks knowing the guy was in his face.
A sudden pain went through his cheek as his head forcefully turned. “Keep talking like that and there will be more.”
“Start the video.” Changkyun gasped as he swung his head up. “Oh see I knew you were smart. They're going to witness what will happen if they don’t give me my money.” His voice lowered causing a shiver to run down Changkyun’s spine.
“It’s on sir… and now it’s connected.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The members were back in the dorm with a couple of police to debrief them on anything that they are getting updated on. Everyone was sitting in the living room with a deadly silence. “Why don’t you guys get some rest? I will stay here.” Shownu shook his head. “No, I am staying. “Me too.” “I’m not leaving.” “I’m fine.” “I want to stay.”
After a minute Shownu’s computer made a small beep. He looked towards it and then to the manager. “What does that mean?” Hyungwon asked. “I don’t know, its never done that before.”
He grabbed it and opened it up, but the screen was black. He pressed a few buttons, but it didn't turn on. “That’s weird.” There was another beep and the screen was suddenly lit up. “Oh my god…” His tone took a 180 as he stared at the screen in horror. “Shownu wh- Oh my god!” Minhyuk went over and looked at the screen only to scare the shit out of everyone. At his shout the rest of them crowded the computer to see what was going on.
It was Changkyun. He had a blindfold on and he looked like it was bleeding a bit. He had a black tank top with black pants and his hands were tied as he sat in the chair. There was a man, who wasn’t very tall, but his shoulders were broad and he definitely had a little muscle. He had his hands on both of Changkyuns shoulders and a grin on his face. There were two other men with masks on their faces standing to the side as well.
“Hello~” The man suddenly spoke. The police stood in front of the boys talking over the radio. “Before you start talking this is a one way call so don’t bother shouting at nothing.” He walked around the younger to where he was standing beside him still holding onto his shoulder. “I contacted your manager not too long ago. I have a few things I want if you want your precious member back unharmed.” He grinned wider, gripping Changkyuns shoulder harder causing the other to shrink back and let out a small whimper of pain.
“Don’t hurt him!” “He can’t hear you Jooheon.” Kihyun comforted him.
“My first demand is ₩653,900,000($500,000). You have 2 hours and for every minute you are late, our little boy here gets a small punishment.” He gestured to one of his men and they walked over, slapping Changkyun across the face. He let out a small groan. The members had to contain themselves before destroying the computer.
“My second demand is a new van to carry my people and I when we get the money. If I do not receive the van within one hour then he gets a worse punishment.” He motioned for the other man to walk forward. The other put out his fist and he punched Changkyun in the stomach. The latter gasps and groans louder as he drops his head forward.
Jooeon looked away, tears brimming his eyes. Shownu was the only one who deadpanned the screen.
“And for my last demand. You know this isn’t so much of a demand, but more of a plea. So Changkyun, why don’t you do the honours?” He turned towards the younger and grabbed his hair lifting his head up. Changkyun whimpered. “Go on, tell them.” Changkyun shook his head, but cried out in pain once the man above him gripped his hair tighter. “P-please! Please h-hurry.”
“Oh that sounded important so you better have heard him. Bye bye!” The screen went dark and utter chaos ensued, Jooheon kicked over a chair and screamed while Kiuhyun tried to calm him down. Hyungwon started to sob while MInhyuk tried to console him while also crying himself. Shownu was the only one who didn’t look fazed at all. He slammed the computer shut and stood up causing everyone to look at him.
“Did you trace it?” He looked over to the officer. The officer nodded and picked up his radio. “Do you have the location?” A few seconds passed and the walkie talkie buzzed in. “Yes, we were able to track it. Sending a team over now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s disconnected.”
The man laughed and let go of Changkyun’s hair. His head flopped as he tried to calm himself from the pain.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be hurt anymore unless they are late.” A hand ran across his face and he shook it away. The hand then tightened, gripping his jaw. “But if you don’t play nice till then I won’t hesitate to tell my men to let loose.” Changkyun didn’t need his eyes to see the man was smiling as he caressed his jaw.
Changkyun thought he could stay strong, but in the end he couldn’t. The pain and the fear started to sink in the longer he was held captive. He didn’t even know who this man was or why he needed the money. He just wanted his members to find him.
“How long has it been?” “One hour.” “Ooh one hour and where is my car? You know what this means?” Changkyun shook his head and repeatedly said no in hopes they wouldn’t do it, but it didn't work. He felt a punch to his gut that almost knocked the wind out of him. He let out a cough and groaned as the hand left his body.
“There’s another minute.” Another punch. And another. 6 minutes went by and so 6 punches to the same spot. Changkyun couldn’t even feel it until the contact was made. But once it left it went numb. He couldn’t catch his breath before another one was administered. He let out a row of coughs and as he pleaded. “P-please stop.”
Before anything could happen, there was a loud bang that echoed throughout the room. Changkyun was too dazed to even figure out where the noise came from or how far it was.
A team of police evaded the building and it so happened that the kidnappers were unarmed. They were arrested swiftly and Changkyun was taken care of by the paramedics that arrived. He did have a small laceration to his forehead and there was definitely going to be a bruise on his upper abdomen, but there was nothing internal so he was grateful.
He was in and out of the hospital within no time and was finally heading back to the dorms where he was to rest for 2 weeks while he healed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Are they here?” Jooheon kept peeking out of the window, waiting for the car to arrive.
“Yes they are and you will not tackle him.” Shownu ordered. Jooheon put his hands up in defense.
“They’re here!” Hyungwon shouted, racing to the door, but Minhyuk beat him to it.
They watched them exit the vehicle and once they were about the door Minhyuk swung it open.
“Changkyun!” Everyone shouted. Changkyun was standing behind the manager and laughed at his members' antics.
“Hurry up and get inside.” Kihyun motioned and they all went in. Changkyun sat on the couch, slowly trying not to bend too far. “Here let me help!” Jooheon reached forward and grabbed the throw pillow to place behind him so he could sit straight.
“Thank you.” He smiled and looked out over the sea of people staring at him. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ us. You know ‘what’s’ up.” Changjyun giggled at Hyungwon. “Okay I’m sorry. And yes I am okay and no please don’t worry I am not lying.” They relaxed and finally they all cuddled up on the couch, carefully maneuvering around Changkyun so he had room.
“So I did a thing.” “Oh no Shownu did a thing.” Shownu smacked Jooheon on the head. “For your and our protection. There is now double security, cameras on every angle of the main buildings, a detailed schedule with all of our stuff and a buddy system created so we all know where each other is.” The other looked at Shownu, who was dead serious, with a shocked look. Jooheon then restarted his comment, but more in a way of fear. “Oh no Shownu did a thing.” Which earned another smack.
“Guys I know what happened was not the best, but I honestly don’t think it will happen again. All of that really isn’t necessary.” Changkyun used his puppy eyes to persuade Shownu, but instead got a glare and he ended up pouting instead.
“I just want all of you to be safe.” They awed at their leader. “Okay cuddle pile!” “Jooheon be careful!” “Kihyun, that's my leg!” “Hyungwon quit poking me in the ribs!” “Shownu I don’t think your head goes there.” “Minhyuk is about to break in half!” “AHH!”
“Hey manager-nim?” “Hmm?” “When do you think they are going to realize I slipped out?” “You never disappoint Changkyun.”