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At first glance, it looked like Leon would win the fight easily. Tristan rarely partook in hand-to-hand combat, even though he was the one in the group with the love for sports. And on top of being physically weaker than the black-haired male, he also had a broken leg and wore glasses. No one would ever think he would stand a chance against the raging male.

Tristan's tactic was simple: get Leon as mad as he could. Push him over the edge. He could tell from the accident Leon was already barely hanging onto the side of the cliff. One more nudge or in this case, one more hard stomp on his hand would do the trick.

Anger made someone like Jaehyun deadlier but strangely enough for Leon, it made him weaker. Had he been fighting to protect his brother instead of vengeance, he would've snapped Tristan's neck or beat him to death by now. Tristan knew this, and he was going to take full advantage of that fact. He had little care for much in life but even he didn't want to die. At least, not now.

He narrowly side-stepped a heavy blow that came his way, whipping his hair across his face with a rush of wind. But he didn't completely dodge it since he was still unused to wearing a bulky cast. Leon's fist clipped his lip, shooting a sudden gush of pain through his skin. The force snapped his head to the side and knocked him back into the wall.

This doesn't look good. Tristan wiped the blood from his mouth and settled back into a defensive stance. His eyes darted away from the raging black-haired male, at the obnoxious Kieran who had lost interest in the fight and was busy chatting (Y/n) up. At the empty spot where Jaehyun used to be, now only a knocked over chair. That didn't look very reassuring.

The gears inside his head began to whir. If this keeps up, he knew he'd wear out long before Leon would; Leon always had the most stamina in the group with all the odd jobs he did to support himself and Conan, including construction work. And the tight space didn't help either. Tristan didn't have the freedom of movement he wanted, and that too could lead to his untimely demise. That meant he needed to lure Leon downstairs where he could rampage all he wanted.

"Where the f*ck do you think you're going?!" Leon yelled as Tristan suddenly broke free and burst out of the room with such speed it was like he never broke his leg to begin with. He ignored the burning sensation that erupted in his cast and clawed up his skin, raking bloody streaks down his leg.

"Where am I going?" Tristan retorted with a mocking scoff. He paused long enough at each flight to let Leon catch up. "Somewhere I can't see you, of course. No, did you think I'd stay in one place for you to pummel me however you like? Don't answer that. That was a rhetorical question."

Tristan Knight is learning. That's...not good to say the least.

"F*ck you!"

"I'd prefer not to."

He burst down the last flight of stairs and skidded to a stop. His stomach ached from the blows he hadn't been able to avoid, and his chest felt tight from the effort of running so fast with a compromised leg. Bloody hell, he's built like a goddamned animal, he cursed inside his head as he placed his hands on his knees to take a quick break. A shot of pure agony ripped up his leg and made him reel back and stumble into the broken elevator.

I can't stay here, he thought as he stumbled towards the living room, the largest open space in the manor, almost dropping to the ground from the sheer pain as he did so. I can hear him coming closer.

And he was; Leon was only a floor above the male, so blinded by his anger he was destroying things on the second floor before he realized Tristan must've gone downstairs.

"F*cking scumbag! You coward—stop running and let me kill you!"

Tristan liked a little competition; it made his dull life more fun. That was also why he enjoyed sports, but by sports, he meant basketball, soccer, and the sort. Not duels to the death. That wasn't enjoyable when he no longer held the upper hand.

...Though, perhaps he usually wasn't one for taking risks, but since he's already been doing a lot of that lately, why not turn it up a notch? Why not partake in this final gamble, only this time with his life and authority on the line? He was no Kieran but neither was he one to back down from an interesting game like that.

And if he won? One less competitor to deal with. Saves him the trouble of having to waste time on the black-haired male in the future.

Tristan heard the said person approaching, and fast. Leon's steps were leaden with rage, each step an echoing clap of thunder that enunciated his wrath, exposing his carmine and sable emotions for all to see. Tristan supposed that was the one thing he admired about the other male out of the many things he despised about him. His ability to be so transparent. The same was true about Jaehyun, but perhaps the latter was so transparent that it made him even murkier.

His tongue was soaked in the metallic taste of blood. His body no doubt sported a fair share of bruises, but he felt like there were far more than the eye could see. Claret bruises that ran deeper than his skin, all the way down to the reaches of his very being and painting it mottled red and purple. He ached every time he moved and his leg being injured didn't help; it smarted sharply from even the tiniest of movements.

He'd had to change that fast, since Satan incarnate had reached him, practically ripping the door off its hinges in his attempt to reach the stoic male.

Tristan pinched the bridge of his nose which was, fortunately, still in one piece.

Bloody hell. Humans are not a part of my dogs' diet, but I suppose I'll have to make do.

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"You never fail to piss me off, do you, Kieran?"

(Y/n) was saved—that part was arguable—from Kieran's unrelenting invitations to his secret room where he stored the manor's stock of wine. Why a bunch of adolescent guys needed a storage room of expensive wine, she didn't know.

Actually, when she said that slowly in her head, she did know. Nevermind.

Her "save" came in the form of a fair-haired angel who looked perfectly calm on the surface, but she knew better. His angelic mask was only a cover for the murderous tendencies he kept hidden underneath, which peeked out from time to time in the gashes in his mask.

Someone get this boy some gorilla glue because that mask doesn't look like it was about to stay intact for much longer.

Kieran, being the cheeky troublemaker he was, either saw the signs and chose to ignore it or simply remained oblivious, grinned widely at the blond and spread an arm. "Heyyy, Jay. Didn't see you there. You look like someone replaced your shampoo bottle with a mustard bottle but you only realized at the last minute, and then you learned that you were actually allergic to mustard and you broke out in hives."

He should make a living off provoking people, (Y/n) groaned internally.

Jaehyun's eye twitched and his pupils dilated, but that was the only indication he gave that he was affected. "That's weirdly specific. Did it happen to you before?"

"Nah, just a wild guess—"

He didn't get to finish. In the next second, Jaehyun's fist had connected with Kieran's fast with a sickening crash, nearly snapping his nose into a grotesquerie. Then he threw something at him as the injured male stumbled back with a hand to his face in shock, something that flashed under the ceiling light. Kieran threw up a hand to defend himself and it bounced off his arm before crashing into the ground with an explosion of silver-white glass shards.

Two sets of eyes followed the crash, landing on a half-broken glass bottle surrounded by little glass fragments. (Y/n) canted her head and lifted her eyebrows in surprise. So he's into throwing things like Leon now?

Kieran stared at the broken bottle. Shock, fear, and then guilt dawned onto his face. Recognition flashed in his bright eyes and Jaehyun's innocent smile twisted into a sneer.

"Recognize it, do you?" The blond seethed. "Well, I do too. Obviously, I would since this is clearly one of my family's prototypes. I have no idea how you got your hands on it but that's not the point. Point is, this is what you used on my (Y/n) to get her to like you, you 씨발새끼."

Kieran's smile faltered and for once he looked at a loss. "I-I don't understand. How did you—"

"Find it?" Jaehyun laughed. It was a cruel and bitter sound. "You people aren't very good at hiding things. Or maybe I'm just too good at finding them. I'm pretty good at that game, after all. You should've known. But no, everyone thinks the poor, little Kim Jaehyun's just a sorry pushover. And I'm tired of that."

Uh, I don't think you're a pushover, (Y/n) thought warily. I've seen enough of your, uh, violent tendencies to say that with confidence.

He flipped his scowl into a bright smile towards the (h/c)-haired girl who stiffened under the attention. "I said I would save you, didn't I? Do you finally see how everyone just likes to lie to you? I'm the only one who hasn't hidden anything from you, you know. I can show you more examples if you like!"

The blond leaned against the wall and began ticking off a list on his fingers while the two watched him cautiously. (Y/n) felt like he was a bomb that could go off at any time and Kieran's nose has seen better days, though fortunately for him, it wasn't broken. Just bruised.

"Tristan's dad is a scumbag who likes stabbing his friends behind his back," Jaehyun said in a sing-song, his ruby eyes clear of the darkness that had been in them when he laid his eyes on the white-haired male. "He's ruined so many families that it's hilarious. Leon's dad is actually a super nice guy who's trying to get revenge on Tristan's dad for sleeping with his wife but, haha, he failed and now he's dead, and Tristan's dad managed to cover up another one of his crimes."

"Oh, and Leon doesn't know any of this, of course!" He giggled. "Isn't that funny? He killed his only parent that cared about him! And now his little brother is in the hospital. He really has a knack for ruining his own family, doesn't he?"

(Y/n) winced at the harshness in his words. Even though she doubted he was lying, the way he phrased everything was uncalled for. "Okay, I'm not an advocate for the guy or the president of his fan club, but he's a bro-con who puts his brother above anything else no matter what. You can't shame him for being so selfless when you've put in nowhere near his amount of hard work for another person."

Selfless people made (Y/n) appreciate and pity them at the same time. Appreciate the fact they were so bold to stand up against all odds for other people, but pity them because they will never get the recognition they "deserve." They'd never get the credit; only the corrupt and powerful will. It reminded her of the folklore of the foolish traveler who gave away everything—the clothes on his back, the literal skin on his bones, and even his flesh for the demons to eat. And for what?

Jaehyun shrugged, not thinking much of her words. Obviously, since the only lawyer in the White family was the father. "Hmm, maybe. But I think he's still stupid. Leon's too passive in that regard. If he'd only been more direct in his approach maybe he'd find out the truth sooner. Maybe then he wouldn't have wasted so many years of his life. If you ask me, a family is worthless. Why do anything for a group who'd do nothing for you? It's stupid."

"Anyway, I still want to know." He stepped closer to Kieran who had been listening to their conversation with a strange look in his eye. "How did you get that prototype? It hasn't been released to the public yet and only a dozen have been made, I think." Jaehyun frowned. "Did you steal it?"

"That's...complicated," Kieran began hesitantly, his eyes flickering over to the (h/c)-haired girl for a brief second before darting back to the shorter boy. "Okay, fine. I was over at the main hospital branch to pick up my meds a few days ago and your dad gave me a sample. Told me to test it. See? No big deal."

"Meds?" Jaehyun frowned and pulled back. "You can't be cured."

Kieran winced at his bluntness and leaned back against the wall. He wiped the last of the blood from his nose. "Yeah, not with today's medicine. There are still ways to treat me, I guess. Just not a cure."

"Why would he try to cure you?" The blond furrowed his brow, looking befuddled. "Maybe he's trying to put your parents in his debt? No, that's impossible. He has no gain from that. He doesn't care about money. Only his stupid 'research.'"

"W-well, who knows." For some reason, Kieran had lost all of his easy-going and flirtatious attitude and looked uncomfortable. Maybe he doesn't like talking about his condition? (Y/n) thought. But that doesn't make sense. He openly expresses how much he enjoys putting his life on the line. "Your entire family's just as whimsical as you are."

"I'm not whimsical," Jaehyun scowled. "When I want to kill someone I never change my mind. Wait...hey! You're trying to distract me again!" He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and lunged for the other male. "I don't care how you got it anymore but I won't ever forgive you for using it on (Y/n)!"

"This is what I mean by whimsical!" Kieran shrieked as he stumbled back away from the boy's furious swings. "One moment we're chatting like old buddies and now you're trying to kill me again. Can a guy catch a break?!"

"You can when you're in hell, you bastard! You're still not taking this seriously!"

(Y/n) scrambled back to avoid the fight as Kieran threw himself to the side to avoid the blond's deadly precise strike. "Believe me, I'm always serious." He grabbed what used to be a leg of a chair and brought it up to stop Jaehyun's next strike. The knife slammed into the wood with a hammering force and got caught there. "Maybe you're the one not being serious. Have you thought of that?"

"I hate it when you shift responsibilities," Jaehyun scowled. With a hard pull, he was able to wrench his weapon free from the wood. His nails dug into his palm, adding another cut to the patchwork of those still healing on the pale skin. He barely felt the pain when the object of his fury was right in front of him, close enough to touch or even better, strike down. "You guys are all hypocrites, pretending not to care or only care about something else when again and again, you keep trying to take the only thing I want from me!"

"I should sign you up for public speaking class," Kieran drawled flippantly. "Your arguments are growing old—"

Without bothering to retort, the blond let loose the coiling energy that had built up in his legs and sprang forward. He slashed and stabbed with the pocket knife. He missed on some occasions but on others, his aim was true. The blade buried itself into the flesh of the white-haired male's shoulder, side, and chest.

Kieran let him come dangerously close to his heart before dishing out a vicious swipe with his leg that knocked Jaehyun's out from under him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

"Pity you refused," he sighed, tossing his hair out of his eyes. "It would've done you a whole lot of good. But playtime's over, Jay. It's time for the naughty kids to go to bed~"

With that, he pulled out a gun he'd concealed under his jacket and aimed it at the boy, his smile dangerously calm the entire time. "Well, I guess it's one you'll never wake up from," Kieran shrugged as he pressed his finger down lightly on the trigger. He waved the barrel tauntingly. "See this? It's a big boy toy. I outgrew the whole emo knives and blades stage. When will you?"

The words went through Jaehyun like an arrow. He felt the impact and felt his body move before his mind registered it. His anger was like a maelstrom of hellfire that burst out from his chest. All the chains that he'd wrapped around the other him all these years in an attempt to hide him broke all at once.

And then Jaehyun was gone. It was only the other him now.

He ducked under the first bullet and lunged for Kieran, bringing his weapon forward for a harsh jab. "Almost got me," Kieran laughed mockingly as he sidestepped it. But his glee didn't last long; he stepped away from the first strike and straight into the second, a long wooden stake Jaehyun had fashioned out of the broken chair.

The second try was true.

The stake pierced through his side and his shirt blossomed with unfurling crimson petals on the white. Kieran's laugh was cut short as he felt the uncomfortable sensation of something slicing into his skin, although he felt no pain. A wry grin wrung his lips as he stumbled back.

"This is the part where I say ouch, right?" He chuckled dryly. He ripped the wooden fragment out of his side with the sound of ripping cloth. The blood only began to run faster. "I'm pretty sure this is bad."

"I dunno about that," Jaehyun said with a fake cheery voice. "I think it's pretty good. For me, at least." He wiped his free hand down on his shirt while the other fisted tightly around the bloodstained pocket knife.

"You have no idea how weird this feels." Kieran slumped against the wall and removed his hand from the wound. It was coated in red. "I can't feel sh*t but I can tell I'm bleeding out. And it's hella uncomfortable. Geh."

"Good thing I don't care then!"

Jaehyun lunged for him again but his knife found no mark to collide with. "Woah there!" Kieran leaped out of his path at the last moment. "Are you trying to kill me?! Wait...you are. I'm supposed to be doing that too, aren't I?"

The blond, for one, did not look amused. He stomped his foot. "I said to take this seriously!"

"It's no fun when you're serious all the time," Kieran shrugged. "And rude of you to assume I haven't. You really think I'd let you kill me so easily? Where's the fun in that?"

Jaehyun felt the bullet before he saw it. Kieran had somehow managed to distract the boy long enough for him to forget about the weapon and when he did, he fired. The silver bullet was now nested neatly in his arm, a glimmer of silver surrounded by a frame of vermillion. Blood ran out of the wound and left behind warm trails of red on his skin. And the blade that should've been slashed across Kieran's neck still rested snugly in his palm.

Kieran's eyes filled with an odd sort of interest as he inspected his handiwork. "Self-defense, Jay. It was purely self-defense." He held his hands up for emphasis, still holding onto the gun. "I'm used to being the one shot at but being the one doing the shooting's pretty fun sometimes. Wait, that makes me sound bad. Pretend I said nothing."

"You shot me," Jaehyun said in a small voice as if he couldn't believe the words that came out of his own mouth. "You shot me."

"Yeah, big deal. You're not going to die from that. I had a stick in my side and I'm okay."

But he didn't seem to hear him. Or if he did, he ignored him. The shock and disbelief melted away from his face and Jaehyun began to laugh. Not the happy or excited kind. It was a full-on unhinged sort of giggle, the kind that made others worry for their sanity. He cackled so hard he doubled over and clutched his stomach.

"You shot me!" He repeated with a giggle. "I can't believe you shot me!"

Kieran stifled a sigh, already used to the boy's antics. "Yeah, I shot you. Big deal. Is this the part where I continue shooting you because that would be no fun." Trish-chan, Leo-chan, and Jay are all too amusing to kill off, he added silently.

The laughter died down as the glow vanished from the blond's face. No traces of the normal Jaehyun remained. Only a mere shell encasing an angry, bitter soul. Before Kieran could question his sudden change, the boy slammed a knee into his still-bleeding abdomen, stealing his breath as well as the smirk on his face. Kieran felt something break with a sickening crack.

"Okay, that was uncalled for," the white-haired male scowled as he peeled himself off the now broken nightstand. "Do you even know how broken bones feel like when you can't even feel the pain? They suck. It's worse than papercuts." He shuddered. "Ugh, papercuts."

But Jaehyun wasn't looking at him. He was looking around the torn apart room, his ruby eyes cold and still with a sudden clarity.

He looked towards the door.

"Where did (Y/n) go?"

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Well isn't this great.

As the two's argument soon turned into a fight, (Y/n) had snuck out of there before one of the projectiles could hit her. Thanks, but she wasn't keen on dying so soon. And it had worked! They were so preoccupied with each other that they didn't notice her sneak out.

Jaehyun and snowman have a weird kind of chemistry, she mused as she pranced down the stairs towards the ground floor. They get so pissed at each other—well, excited in snowman's case—that they don't notice anything else. Works for me.

As she hit the last step, the loud crashes grew even louder. She could hear the unmistakable sound of Leon's furious voice as he berated Tristan with both an onslaught of profanity and...um, throwy things. She eyed the broken furniture strewn across the floor. Even the couch had busted a spring and was upside-down. He'd be a terrible housemate.

Not that it mattered anymore. Her distraction had worked! Following the night after Leon and Tristan's initial scuffle where everyone believed that she was in love with Kieran, or at least she hoped they did, she had quickly snooped through Kieran's belongings in search of whatever he'd used to drug her. The effects of the drug, though weak on her, were completely gone by that point and she no longer felt woozy.

Crack is wack, kids. Don't do it.

Then she'd planted it somewhere she knew someone would find. It worked out great it was Jaehyun who did, because had it been Tristan, her plan wouldn't have worked. He wasn't the confrontation type. He was the type to slowly plot Kieran's demise, not walk up to him and stab or punch him like Jaehyun and Leon would.

Somehow her top-of-her-head "plans" have all worked. That was kinda amazing in its own way. She patted her pocket to reassure herself that the key was still there. She ignored the sound of more things breaking as she reexamined the ground floor one last time, hoping that there would be something she missed. Something that could make up for the time she'd spent looking for an alternative route to the basement but failed.

It was harder with all the broken furniture around. The cleaners were going to have a field day fixing all of that. She had to watch the ground as she walked, else she might find herself with a long porcelain shard through her foot.

Not a pleasant image. Though it might be for a certain snowman...

Her efforts this time weren't for naught. Something caught her eye. She hadn't noticed it before when she made her rounds before.

(Y/n) stopped in front of the replica of the Guernica she remembered pointing out to Jaehyun the first time she's come here. The precision and absolute accuracy of the painting never failed to make her more envious towards those with talent—I mean, what?

Point is, something looked different now that she's really got a good look at it. Something that had changed from the first time she saw it. Don't get her wrong; she was 100% certain the first time it was 100% identical to the original. But this time...something was off. Maybe it was the colors?

No, that was still the same. She couldn't put her finger on what it was...so that only meant one thing.

She was going to commit one of the worst crimes in the world of art. She was going to put her hands all over it.

And so she did. She began smacking the painting, hoping that there would be a button or a trigger somewhere that would open up a door. (Y/n) knew there was a possibility that even if it did open, it could lead to some other place. But judging from the change in the painting, it had been used recently. And Reese did say Tristan visits him from time to time and the last time she had snuck down there, Tristan had caught her.

But she never heard the elevator come down either, did she?

Exactly! There must be something here! She then proceeded to walk into it. If this was Minecraft, this would work!

But the world isn't Minecraft. So it didn't work and all she got was a sore nose. You can't break a tree with an apple in real life, after all.

Or...can you?

(Y/n) was sure she'd placed her dirty germ-infested alien hands over every inch of the painting, so why didn't anything work? She walked to the side and saw that there were pins holding the painting in place, so she had the great idea of taking them out. Totally wouldn't make the painting fall and ruin Jaehyun's hard work, right?

But guess what? It worked. Apparently, the change she'd noticed but couldn't tell what it was specifically was a darker circle in one corner of the canvas where the metal bolt was placed. One of the pins had been placed deeper in than the others. She couldn't exactly take them out but she could press them.

And when she did, the painting split into two equal halves from a line that had been invisible to her eyes, revealing a staircase that in fact, lead down.

Well, sh*t. She peered into the darkness. I'm kinda cool.

Before she could dive into whatever laid waiting for her in the shadows, a crash from somewhere behind her drew her attention. Several gunshots followed, and then more crashing. But that wasn't the important part. What was important was the large hole in the window. A hole that she could easily climb out of and get the hell out of here to call whatever authorities she needed.

Worse yet, she could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and the sound of Kieran's taunting voice as he lured Jaehyun down to join the other two.

She looked at the window and then at the hole in the wall. Something told her if she didn't act soon, she wouldn't get getting away scot-free this time.

What should I do?

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