Mathan was almost through Bangtan's door, hand on the door handle, ready to push in when he heard raised voices coming from within.
"He's a monster, Kim Seokjin," came Namjoon's all too familiar voice. "Just as I've said all along."
"He isn't!" Jin insisted, his voice high pitched with uncertainty.
A derisive laugh. Yoongi maybe?
And overwhelming silence.
Mathan pushed his ear to the door to see if they had lowered their voices or if the conversation had come to an end.
"Say that when he's pounding you into oblivion, hyung."
Definitely Yoongi.
"He isn't like that!"
Jin again.
Mathan's heart almost broke at how resolute the man still was. But was it because he had faith in the words he spoke or because he was clinging to a false ideal to help him through?
~oooOooo~
Inside the room, all six members were in a tense verbal stand-off, five to one.
Jungkook forced himself to be quiet even though he was burning up inside. That Jin could even think about trusting Mathan confused him as much as it enraged him. Did he not see what the man had done to Namjoon? Did he not see what happened to Jimin in the aftermath? His poor, sweet Jiminie - how badly had he been hurt? Jungkook couldn't tell and it drove him mad. It was all because of that bastard Mathan, the one who gave them false hope, the one who tricked them into thinking that he cared, the one who tore his brother to shreds.
Jungkook clenched his jaw when his hands balled into fists, hoping he could keep it together.
"Don't be foolish, hyung," Hoseok said. "You saw him...he enjoyed what he did."
"He's - all of them - they're just fucking with us," Yoongi growled. "Mentally. Physically. They get their rocks off all the same."
"Ani," Jin said, shaking his head. "There's more to it than that. Mathan-ah... he-"
"Mathan?" Taehyung said suddenly, his voice, laced with disdain, rising above the rest. "Listen to you, hyung. It's like you don't realize how you sound. Drunk on a crush. You sound like his fan, defending him even when you know he was wrong, yet expecting apologies from all of us for offenses that are far less."
"E-what?" Jin asked as he shook his head in confusion, his eyes seeming to roll in his head beyond his control.
"Just admit you have a hard-on for him, hyung," Yoongi purred, so much hatred flowing from his tongue. "That's what keeps you up at night. You like that monster. I bet if he offered you his hand you would take it and never look back. All for one, and you for yourself."
Jin stood up from the table, intent on walking away from this fight he wouldn't win, didn't wholly want to win, truth be told - when he felt the ominous thunder rumbling in his head once more. Time slowed to a disorienting crawl, Jin blinked, his body swayed, and as he grabbed his head, he collapsed to the ground.
"Hyung!" His brothers screamed in horror, all of them frozen, even as Mathan burst through the door.
Mathan moved lightning fast, reaching Jin's side in three long strides, a look of terror etched upon his face.
"Seokjin?" he asked, shaking the man lightly. "Kim Seokjin???"
Mathan looked up, his eyes pleading with the others to tell him what was wrong.
The rest of Bangtan Sonyeondan looked at their eldest hyung in horror. Each of them was assaulted by the reality of their eldest brother on the floor and what that could mean. And it terrified them. They knew that there would be only one way to bring Jin back to them.
While Bangtan flitted around Jin, rolling him on his side, making his head comfortable, begging him to wake up, pulling at their own hair, Namjoon remained eerily silent.
"Hyung," he whispered to Jin, his eyes filling with tears that he would not let spill before Mathan when he didn't get a response.
They were yelling...
Mathan was yelling...
Jin wasn't moving...
"I think..." Namjoon said softly. "You need to...page the doctor..."
Moments passed but nothing happened.
"Call a doctor," Namjoon said again, his voice low at first and then louder as he repeated the directive over and over like a mantra. Locking eyes with the man who held his brother's fate in his hands, he hissed, "Do this for us. Do this for Seokjin."
~oooOooo~
Coming out of his brother's quarters, Carl hurriedly made his way to Sven's door. This latest bit of news was not going to sit well with the Russian. Carl himself was furious that his brother was also going back on his word about Jungkook and his temper threatened to erupt as he thought back on the conversation he had just taken part in.
~oooOooo~
"Congratulate me, Carl," Dorian chuckled, his tone smug as he looked at his younger brother. "I just brokered a deal that will net us one hundred million dollars. Who would have thought that seven Korean pretty boys would be worth that kind of money?" Dorian couldn't contain his laughter as he twirled around in his chair. "That stupid Russian only paid us a measly fifteen million. I'm sure he'll understand if we retract our offer."
"What about my songbird?" Carl asked. "I still get him, right?"
Dorian frowned at the question his brother asked, wondering if the man had in fact taken one too many blows to the head.
"Are you deaf?" he asked as he stood from his desk, walking around to stand almost toe to toe with Carl. "I am telling you that some desert oil sheikh is willing to pay us one hundred million dollars and you are still thinking with your dick."
Pivoting around, Dorian began pacing the room as he berated Carl.
"We collect the money, deliver those boys to this sheikh relativity untouched, and leave Sven to rot; here or in Russia...I don't care. With that kind of money, little brother, you can buy a thousand Jungkook's. So, leave the boy alone and do as I say. As soon as the weather breaks and the snow clears, we are out of here with those boys."
~oooOooo~
Now Carl was running to Sven to tell him what his brother was planning. He just prayed that it wouldn't lead to too much bloodshed. The Ivchenko's were infamous for how they dealt with betrayal.
When he got to Sven's door, Carl took a second to steady his breath and calm his racing heart. By telling Sven what he knew, Carl was betraying his brother for the first time. But when he pictured Jungkook in his mind, his body hardened, and his blood felt like it was liquid fire. There was no way in hell he was giving up on having that beautiful boy as his own, brother be damned.
With Jungkook firmly in mind, Carl summoned his courage and finally knocked on the door.
He was a little surprised when the female guard Misha answered the door. She was something of an oddity as she was the only female that Sven had in his inner circle of trusted guards. Carl had heard rumors that she was his half-sister, trained by former KGB agents to be Sven's personal bodyguard. All Carl knew was that she was completely and utterly loyal to Sven, willing to do whatever he asked of her. And that made her a large threat.
Carl was also surprised by the absence of Jimin.
"Where's your pet today?" he asked, as he tried not to fidget and look around.
"Collect the doctor and escort him to Bangtan Sonyeondan's quarters," Sven said, ignoring Carl's presence as he hung up his phone and directed his orders to his female guard.
After watching Misha bow and leave, Carl turned back to Sven to find the man peering at him intently. Swallowing nervously Carl repeated his question.
"Where is your pet today?"
"Jimin is in the next room having a moment of reflection due to his recent misbehavior. But I am sure that you did not come here to check on the welfare of my jewel, unlike your nephew, did you?"
"What was that about Dr. Hans?" Carl asked, trying not to sound too interested.
"It seems that Kim Seokjin has suddenly collapsed. I do hope that it isn't serious. Out of all of them, he was the least damaged and the most valuable, next to my two dolls." Sven sat back sighing. "What can I do for you, Mr. Foley?"
Figuring that it was better to just get it over with Carl blurted out, "Dorian sold BTS to some sheikh for one hundred million dollars and plans to deliver them when the weather clears up."
"Really, Mr. Foley? Is your brother planning on refunding me the fifteen million I paid for them?" Sven asked, his voice calm.
"Yea, he sold them and no, returning your money isn't part of the plan," Carl said as he shook his head.
Sven withdrew one of the thin cigars that he favored and lit it.
"I see. Well, I'm afraid that we just cannot have that, can we?"
"Look, no bloodshed, okay? This storm just moved in and we are going to be stuck here for weeks, plenty of time for things to change. Right?" Carl pleaded.
The last time he had stabbed someone in the back, they had gotten killed and he had lost a lover. If he hadn't been the scared piece of shit that he was, it would have been him and not Aaron six feet underground. Carl was afraid of dying, had bluffed his way out of war because he didn't like the side effects, and he would be damned if he left this world before he had a taste of his sweet songbird in it.
Sven just smiled and nodded his head.
"No bloodshed, Mr. Foley, I promise. However, I will have to throw a wrench into your brother's plan. I have no intention of losing my perfect jewel to Dorian's misguided greed."
Taking a long draw on the cigar Sven leaned his head back, blowing a steady stream of pale smoke towards the ceiling. Letting out a small laugh he gazed back at Carl.
"I believe in rewarding those who do me a service. And you, Mr. Foley, have done me a great service, so you shall have a reward. You shall have the beautiful Jeon Jungkook for an evening before your final payment...a taste, if you will. Providing that the boy remains pure, in that manner. So, until I am satisfied that your services are complete, you, Mr. Foley, will keep your dick out of that boy...understood?"
"Tonight?" Carl asked with excitement.
"Such impatience, Mr. Foley... I will let you know when. First, the wrench in your brother's plan, then you shall have your reward. Now if you will excuse me, I must go check on the condition of my property."
~oooOooo~
The moment that Misha informed Dr. Hans that he was needed in the cell of Bangtan Sonyeondan the man was on his feet grabbing his medical bag.
Any chance to see the exquisite Kim Seokjin was a great plus of being in this place during the storm. From the moment that Dr. Hans had seen him and the equally attractive Jung Hoseok the doctor's imagination had been set afire. He had not felt so alive in decades and the recent playthings that Sven allowed him had barely held his interest.
As he and Misha entered the cell the doctor could feel the anger and tension in the room. However, it was the sight of Mathan Foley cradling an unconscious Seokjin that had the doctor moving into overdrive.
"What has happened?" The doctor asked Mathan.
He took note of the fact that Mathan did not answer, only continuing to hold the man and whisper words that could not be heard.
Namjoon glanced at Mathan before reluctantly giving the doctor an answer.
"Sometimes he gets these headaches; migraines from stress. They used to be so bad but...he hasn't had one for months now..."
"His medicine!" Jungkook said as he remembered. "He...he hasn't had his medicine since..."
"Medicine?" the doctor asked, one eyebrow raised. "What was it for?"
Namjoon looked at Yoongi, unsure of what to say.
"His headaches," Yoongi supplied. "I don't know the name of it. He just...called it his Thor pill."
"We used to rush him to the hospital," Namjoon said, his mind filling with the memory of the last one - the worst one. Jin was cooking when it happened, had almost burned his hand on the stove as he fell. Namjoon had been in the other room laughing - laughing - at something stupid, some variety show. He had his back turned and never saw what happened. But Hoseok saw - was so afraid when he described it, his terrified eyes darting to and fro - Namjoon would never forget how pale he looked. He would never forget the heavy weight of Jin's head on his shoulder as he ran and ran... One of the managers thought they should wait for an ambulance but she didn't see how gray Jin looked - how lifeless. Namjoon and Hoseok carried Seokjin to the hospital, buckling under his weight but doing it anyway because they had to save him... Seokjin had to live...
"All they would do was give him fluids and stick him in a dark room somewhere quiet," Namjoon croaked, his voice stressed from the memory and the fear it evoked. "They just let him sleep it off."
"Mr. Foley...you will have to release Kim Seokjin so that Dr. Hans can examine him."
Sven's voice coming from the door froze everyone except for Misha and the doctor.
"Over my goddamn dead body will that freak touch any of these boys," Mathan hissed, tightening his grip on Seokjin.
"Really, Mathan," Sven purred. "Is that any way to address a man of such prestige? All he wants is to help. Surely you do not wish for the young man to suffer needlessly."
Mathan was torn between getting the man in his arms help and letting the freak show doctor put his hands on him.
"Fine," he growled, laying Seokjin down softly and moving far enough away for the doctor to examine him.
Dr. Hans tried to keep a professional look on his face. He feared that if any of his eagerness to touch Seokjin showed, Mathan Foley would not hesitate to beat him to death. If looks alone could kill, the doctor had no doubt that he would have dropped dead the moment he stepped into the room.
Taking his equipment from his bag Dr. Hans took the young man's vitals, checking Jin's pupils, taking note of how they reacted to light. He noticed with some concern the twitches Seokjin made at any loud noises, even in his unconscious state.
"I believe these young men are correct," the doctor said as he looked back at Sven. "It does look like a migraine. I would recommend having him moved to a room where I can treat him with fluids and medication. I will keep the room in darkness as I monitor his condition."
"He can stay in my room," Mathan said with a glare. "It is the only other room in the compound with no windows and no unnecessary sound."
Standing in the doorway Sven smiled at Mathan's words and the doctor's pout. His gaze moved around the room taking note of the appearances of the other members of Bangtan Sonyeondan.
"My...my... Has my property been fighting?" Sven mused as he stepped further into the room. "That simply will not do. So, before I allow Kim Seokjin to be treated...I want to know what happened. Anyone care to tell me?"
The only answer was a harsh, "FUCK YOU!" from Yoongi.
"Watch your mouth," Namjoon hissed, glaring daggers at his hyung.
The lot of them should know by now what happened when they talked back to these pain dealers who required little ammo to attack.
"We had a misunderstanding. It's been taken care of," Namjoon said firmly, standing up in his place as leader, Hoseok glaring at the man from Namjoon's side.
"I think the boys need a time-out, don't you, Mr. Foley?" Sven gave Mathan a cold, dead smile. "After all, every second we stand here is a second longer that Kim Seokjin must suffer."
"Their last time-out almost killed them," Mathan said coldly, his jaw twitching in his agitation.
Every time this asshole came to Bangtan's cell he was playing another game, and after Namjoon's caning, Mathan had realized he would have to play along. He knew there were some things he could get away with while there were some things he could not. Mathan had a fine line to walk between devil and angel and in times like these he almost lost his balance completely.
"Why can't you let boys be boys?" He challenged as he tested the conditions of this game. "Did daddy not let you play with others? Or could he not afford to buy you any friends?"
"Those seconds are ticking away, Mr. Foley."
Sven refused to let Mathan see the rage growing inside him.
"I'm not an idiot like your father," Sven continued. "I'm not going to compromise their already questionable health."
Mathan narrowed his eyes for a moment before he nodded. There was no give in this scenario either. Sven was going to punish these men whether Mathan liked it or not, and with the options before him, Mathan could only take this as more of a draw than a win.
Sven smirked as he nodded to Misha who left the room to carry out his silent instructions. Three guards entered taking up positions by the door just behind the Russian.
"And I will not take all of them, Mr. Foley...just the troublemakers. Mr. Min for his disrespect and foul mouth. Mr. Jeon and Mr. Kim for the fight they obviously had. Kim Seokjin will go with you to be cared for...Jung Hoseok will go and be made ready for his evening with the doctor. Kim Taehyung will spend the evening with me."
"Fuck you," Mathan spat, his posture changing noticeably.
These conditions were a loss after all. Being sent to separate rooms was one thing. Being spoon fed to mad scientists with a perversion for the young and beautiful was another.
"The doctor has no need for Hoseok and you have a pet already," Mathan said firmly. "And Namjoon? He was just doing his job as a leader to keep his crew in check. Maybe he could teach you some lessons on how to control your dogs."
"Oh, believe me, Mr. Foley...I have learned some new tricks. In fact, one of my guards has a tranq gun trained on you right now. Five seconds and you are out for the next twenty-four hours. I doubt that you could get to all three before one got to you. So, the choice is yours...time-out for them or sleepy time for you and whatever I choose for them."
"Mathan!" Namjoon cried out as Jin suddenly reared off the bed screaming and clutching his head, the fear forming on the periphery of Mathan's mind at the prospect of being knocked out, unaware of their fate, wiped away instantly.
Mathan looked from Seokjin to Namjoon, obviously torn at the decision. Was he to sacrifice all for one? It killed him that he had to do it again.
'You will die for this,' Mathan vowed, the words tumbling around in his head as he agreed to the terms, looking at the boys as his eyes begged them for forgiveness for yet another transgression against them.
The look that Sven gave Mathan in return seemed to convey a response to the unspoken words, as if their old friendship had resurfaced and the other could understand his very thoughts. Sven's eyes looked amused, almost playful.
'You and I will burn in hell together for our sins, my friend. I am certain of that,' the look seemed to say.
"I will keep my word," Sven continued. "...simple isolation for the night, warmth, bedding and food provided. Just time to think and reflect..."
Misha returned, whispering in her master's ear.
"If Kim Taehyung would be so kind as to join me here," Sven indicated the spot next to him. "My guards will escort those who have misbehaved to their rooms for the night. Once Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, and Jeon Jungkook are settled then you, Mr. Foley, are free to take Seokjin with you. Dr. Hans will follow you to assist in taking care of Kim Seokjin. And I will have my stylists come and prepare Jung Hoseok for his time with the doctor."
Mathan narrowed his eyes at the monster before him, nodding slowly, looking at each of the boys as well, trying to make brief but meaningful eye contact with them all.
"It'll be okay," he whispered into Hoseok's ear as the boy stepped forward to stand beside him. "Whatever happens... Just endure it and...return here safely, okay?"
Hoseok nodded back numbly, not really aware that he was moving at all. Instead, his eyes were slowly filling with the lascivious grin on the doctor's face, his skin anticipating the heat of his breath. He shuddered and didn't care that everyone saw.
"I hope you all use this time to reflect on what you have done, and I hope you all have enough sense to agree to never do this again," Mathan said aloud, with a firm tone he hoped Bangtan could see through.
He had tried and failed, to warn them about the consequences of their actions time and time again. Now here they were, suffering one more punishment because it wasn't in them to submit. Mathan couldn't help but admire that, regardless of how difficult it made his task. He only hoped this time they would take heed of his words, understand what he was trying to say.
Mathan had become a puppet, just as he had sworn to never do, and in these moments when he acted too rashly - flew off the handle too quickly - his actions and emotions almost always clashed and he was left in a situation where the signals he gave off were often lost in a mix of chaos and harsh words.
"I expect you to play nice or I will not fight your master next time he comes to punish you for your appalling lack of manners and decorum."
Understanding the silent message that Mathan was sending, Namjoon gave the man a quick nod as he pulled Yoongi away from the wall; his eyes daring the other to say anything as Jungkook joined them to stand in front of Sven. He couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder at Hoseok and mouthing, "Saranghae, Hobi-ya."
"I am glad to see that you three understand the seriousness of your actions," Mathan said quickly, hoping the relief he felt at them understanding his message didn't reflect in his voice. "I think this night apart will do you all some good."
He waved the three out to the hallway where Misha and another guard were waiting.
Several stylists moved into the room as the boys were led away.
Sven turned back to Mathan.
"And that means you are free to take Seokjin to your quiet, dark room. Make sure you take care of him, Dr. Hans. He is precious to someone. And you have your time with Mr. Jung to look forward to."
Mathan wanted to vomit. He wished with everything in him that he could free these boys here and now, but he knew that he could not.
Gently picking Seokjin up, he carried him to his room where he laid him down under the cool sheets, tucking him in and grabbing a wash cloth before turning off the lights and plunging the room into total darkness.
Growling at the knock on the door which made Jin whimper in pain Mathan cracked the door open. It was the doctor.
"I have the I.V. and medicine for Seokjin, Mr. Foley." Dr. Hans made sure to keep his voice soft as he felt like he was bearding the lion in its den. "I will need the light turned on briefly so as to administer the medicine and set the I.V. line. I would suggest a cool cloth over his eyes while the light is on. It should only take a couple of minutes."
"I can do it myself," Mathan hissed, intent on not letting the sicko touch his angel. "I do have field medic training you know."
"Very well, Mr. Foley, I will leave this with you. I have a dinner to prepare for." Dr. Hans couldn't resist giving the man a wide smile.
"Touch him and I will gut you," Mathan growled before shutting the door in the doctor's face and turning to the bed.
Carefully making his way to the bathroom he blindly prepared a cool washcloth, laying it over Jin's eyes before turning the light on.
"This might hurt a bit," Mathan said softly as he tied off a vein and prepared the i.v. "I promise you will feel better soon."