The Hostages

The SM Entertainment building was brightly lit and music poured out of every window. Baekhyun leaned out of the car. “Looks like the after party's already going strong,” he yelled.

“Try not to fall and break your neck before we can get in there,” Suho teased.

“Baekhyun!” Tiffany called, coming over to them. “Nice solo performance! Taeyeon really liked it,” she whispered, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“You're never going to let this go, are you?” he groaned. Tiffany laughed. “Never!” she pronounced. She ran back to her friends, waving back at him.


******


“Look, it's my favorite NCT members!” Chen announced, sitting down next to them. Yuta shook his head. “I'm pretty sure you say that to all of us,” he reminded him.

“Though we are the best ones,” Taeyong agreed, elbowing Yuta in the ribs.

“You guys did really well tonight,” Sehun yelled over the music. “You deserved that award.”

“Thanks,” Taeyong said, reddening. “That means a lot coming from you.”

“What's up guys?” Jonghyun called, walking over to them. He fist bumped each of them, even Yuta. “Have you seen Amber? She owes me a dance.”

They all shrugged. “Ask Victoria, I think they just got here,” Chen said, nodding at the leader across the room. Jonghyun bounded away and he leaned back in his seat. “When are the others getting here?” he asked, looking over at Sehun.

“Any minute now,” Sehun replied, sipping his drink.


******

D.O sat up stiffly, feeling dizzy. He couldn't see or hear anything except for the pounding in his head. His eyes began to adjust and he saw that he was in a dark room made of stone. Moonlight filtered in from a high window and he could make out iron bars where the door should be. Beyond the bars was pure blackness.

He looked around the room again, blinking rapidly. He saw several people lying on the floor, scattered around the room like broken toys. One of them groaned. “Is that you, D.O?” a voice croaked. D.O leaned forward. “Who's there?” he demanded.

“It's me, Taemin,” the speaker said, coming into the light.

“Taemin?” D.O echoed. “What's going on?”

“I don't know. I woke up just before you did.”

D.O looked around. “Who are these people?” he asked, gesturing at the others. Taemin crawled over to one of them. “I think this is Amber,” he said, brushing her hair back from her face. He went to the next one. “And this is Mark,” he continued.

D.O lurched forward, joining the search. “Taeyeon,” he said disbelievingly. “Can you hear me?”

Taeyeon didn't respond, but D.O could tell she was breathing, so he moved on. “Here's Jeno,” he called, gently shaking the young boy's shoulder. Jeno groaned and his eyes flickered open. “D... D.O?” he asked. “Yeah,” D.O replied softly. “Lie still for a minute.”

The girl beside Jeno sat up groggily. “Where am I?” she asked, rubbing her head.

*Wendy?” D.O squinted in the darkness. “Is that you?”

“Who's there?” she asked fearfully.

“It's me, D.O,” he said soothingly. “You're alright, I think.”

Taemin went to the last one. “D.O, it's Chanyeol!”

D.O got up quickly and stopped, the room swaying like a ship. “What is wrong with me?” he muttered, bracing himself against the wall. The swaying slowly abated and he was able to walk over to them. “Chanyeol,” he said, patting his cheek gently. “Wake up.”

Chanyeol groaned. “I don't remember drinking that much,” he murmured, “but my head's killing me.”

“How did we get here?” Jeno asked, sitting up.

“Is this some kind of prank?” Wendy asked.

“Let's make sure the others are okay,” D.O said, helping Chanyeol to a sitting position. One by one the others came to and sat up, clutching their heads. “If this is someone’s idea of a joke, they’ve got a twisted sense of humor,” Mark growled. Taeyeon went to the door. “This isn’t funny, guys!” she shouted. “Let us out!”

No one replied and she folded her arms. “I’m going to kill whoever did this,” she said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Does anyone remember anything?” Taemin asked.

“We were all at MAMA,” Amber said, hugging her knees to her chest. Jeno nodded. “I was on my way to the bathroom with Mark. Someone grabbed my arm and…” he shrugged. “I don’t remember what happened next.”

“Yeah, someone grabbed me too,” Mark confirmed. “They put something over my nose and I passed out.”

“I was looking for my manager,” Taeyeon interjected, “and a stagehand took me to a back room. Someone shut the door behind me and I smelled something strong, then I fainted.”

“Yeah, there was a smell,” Chanyeol agreed. “It was a chemical, almost metallic. I can still taste it in my mouth.”

“We were getting into a car to go to the after party,” D.O remembered. “I remember the door closing behind me, then… nothing.”

“I was going to the party too,” Taemin said. “Minho and I were going to ride together, but someone told me he’d already left. I took another car and passed out in the backseat.”

Amber nodded. “The lights went out in my dressing room. Before I could walk out someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I don’t remember anything after that.”

“This doesn’t sound like something the others would do,” D.O said, folding his arms. “Especially right after MAMA.”

“So what is going on?” Wendy wondered. Mark looked up at the window. “Maybe this isn’t a joke,” he said quietly.

“What are you saying, that we were kidnapped?” Taeyeon demanded.

“That's not possible,” Amber said confidently. “There's too many bodyguards. Someone would've noticed, right?”

“Maybe not,” Chanyeol said, standing up awkwardly. He started pacing, keeping one hand on the wall. “The arena's always packed with people at MAMA. With all of the parties and stuff afterwards, sometimes we don't regroup until the next morning.”

“So you're saying they don't even know we're gone?” Jeno asked. “But our managers-”

“Won't think about it either,” D.O interrupted. “They'll assume we've gone home or to other parties.”

“Hold on,” Wendy said, holding up a hand. “You're all assuming that we've been kidnapped. I'm with Amber on this. It's just not possible!”

“Look around you!” Mark retorted. “We're obviously in some kind of cell. What else could this be?”

“Everyone just… calm down,” Taemin said in a conciliatory voice. “Is anyone hurt?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Good. The key is to remain calm and united. Fighting is only going to make things worse.”

Mark and Wendy exchanged a glance, but didn't object.

“Let's go over what we know,” Taemin suggested. He sat down between Taeyeon and Jeno and crossed his legs. “We were all at MAMA, right?”

“And we were all about to leave the arena,” Chanyeol added, also sitting down.

“We still have all of our things,” Amber said, holding up her gold necklace, “so we haven't been robbed.”

Taemin nodded approvingly. “What else?”

“There aren't any guards, so we must be somewhere really secure, like a cave,” Wendy said.

“What kind of cave has a window?” Mark asked, gesturing at the small opening. D.O perked up. “Chanyeol, can you see out of that?” he asked. Chanyeol got up and went over to the window, but his fingers barely brushed the ledge. “I can't even pull myself up,” he said, trying to grip the stone.

“Here, let me get on your shoulders,” Taeyeon suggested, getting up. Chanyeol bent down and she climbed onto his back. She sat on his shoulders and he stood up carefully, holding onto her legs. “Can you see anything?” he asked.

“I'm not sure,” she replied, craning her neck. “It's really dark, but I think we're on a mountain. There's a river in the distance, but I can't make out much else.” Chanyeol let her back down and she slid off, pulling her dress down modestly. “We could be anywhere,” she said, folding her arms.

“Why us?” Jeno asked. “Why were we taken, out of all the idols and celebrities at the arena?”

“Could they want money?” Amber asked. Taemin shook his head. “None of us are exactly prime ransom targets,” he said. “There's lots of better choices for that.”

“It must be something we all have in common,” Taeyeon mused. “Think, everyone. What do we all have in common?”

Everyone thought for a while. “We're all performers?” Jeno suggested.

“That's not a good reason for kidnapping,” D.O said dismissively.

“We're all in successful groups?” Wendy volunteered.

“Please, that's not-” Mark stopped and inhaled sharply. “What?” Taeyeon prodded.

“We're all with SM,” he said quietly. “It's the only thing we all have in common.”

“That's it?” Amber said incredulously. “That can't be the reason.”

“What else could it be?” he countered. “It's not gender, nationality or money. It's not social standing, ability or age. It has to be the company.”

“But why?” Taemin wondered. “Why kidnap SM artists? What's the point?”

There was a noise and they all hushed, listening intently. They heard footsteps approaching from some distant corridor. “I think we're about to find out,” D.O said grimly.

Notes

Hey guys!

This is obviously a dark story and a brand new direction for me. I hope you enjoy it and can't wait to hear what you think!