Yeonjun was very careful not to touch the frighten boy who was a shaking pile of mess. But once he tried getting up only to fall back down again, they had to say something.

"hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Beomgyu raised his voice at the young boy, the one giving him a glance before finally mustering enough strength to get up. the other 3 looked at him as he waddled to the door.

kai knew it was wrong, he knew he needed to leave. take care of himself. how unbelievably dumb would he be if he expect help from others? he took his wobbly legs and did his best not to make eye contact with the strangers, afraid that he was already crossing so many lines. he chose to run away, he chose this pain. it was his fault after all so he'll manage on his own.

"hey get back in here!" a voice said from behind.

"get back in here 001!"

a flashback hit him and he stopped in his tracks.

"please I'm sorry.." he sobbed quietly begging the men to stop shocking him.

"please I'm sorry... it hurts." he chocked as another shock wave hit his back. he pulled on the metal chains in despair.

the man didn't even respond to his pleading, he laughed.

"boss, his vitals are speeding. should I give him another dose?"

"that's great news. no need for another dose, that only means the experiments are working." he grinned and looked at the boy who was now half conscious and shaking on the floor.

kai's breathing soon turned ragged as he pressed his hands to his ears, trying to drown the voices.

"please stop! it hurts..." he sobbed now fully collapsed on the warehouse floor, backing his body into the wall behind him. crawling into a ball with his knees tucked to his stomach

"what's wrong with him?!" Taehyun's face showed how frightened he was by the heartbreaking sight.

"I'm done with him, get 001 back in his cage."

"get back in your cage! back in your cage!" Kai screamed fearfully.

"please...please I can't take it anymore......" he gripped tightly on his hair doing his best to stop the scarring memory. fat, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

he looked around but his vision was blurry, he could hear voices but couldn't focus on what they were saying. his throat started closing up as his breathing turned more static, his chest burning while he choking on his own tears.

"he's having a panic attack." Beomgyu said calmly as he tried reaching out for the scared boy. engulfing him in a warm hug, trying to ignore the unpleasant smell coming from him.

"how do we stop it then?" Taehyun asked, obviously shocked from the boy's sudden meltdown.

he may seem like a tough guy but as the youngest in the group, Taehyun was tender hearted and caring. the intimidating aura of his was contrasted by his soft heart and all four knew that behind the sarcastic comments and cold appearance he was just a soft soul.

"hey, calm down. he's going to be fine." Yeonjun saw the worry and panic in his younger brother's eyes and reassured him.

Taehyun pressed closer towards Yeonjun for comfort. not daring to take his eyes off the scene.

"breath in.... and breath out" Beomgyu was now making progress with the boy.

"yes, there we go..." he said when he saw the boy was regaining awareness. "you're doing great Kid ...just focus on my voice, alright?"

the boy nodded and kept staring at Beomgyu, his eyes were now puffy and red.

kai was extremely tired of everything, barely managing to keep his heavy eyes open. he did not want to fall asleep in a room filled with strangers.

he knew that much, that he shouldn't trust anyone but himself. no matter who, they all wanted to hurt him. it's not safe for him to stay there, he knew that too. but god was he exhausted.

"you are safe now." Beomgyu said softly. "we don't want to hurt you."

liar. raging liar. they all wanted to hurt him eventually, if not now then soon enough he'll find himself in pain again.

kai looked up with a devastated look, as if he wasn't already carrying the world weight on his shoulders. his eyes glistened in hatred as he stared down the long haired stranger, why was he so angry? because he was lied to? because he was hurt when he wasn't at fault for anything? maybe he was angry at the world for punishing him because he was different. maybe he hated the stranger for making him feel for even a second that he deserved to be taken care of.

he shouldn't dwell on things that aren't his, that'll never be his. he does not deserve anything from anyone. he doesn't deserve to be loved, worried for, nurtured.....he knew that. but does he really deserve to suffer this bad?

"your name?" the stranger pulled him out of his thoughts. kai's expression turned confused.

"would you mind telling me your name? I'd feel bad calling you " kid" or "hey you" if you're going to stay with us." the chestnut haired boy joked.

his name? the name that hasn't been called by anyone since he was a kid. did he even carry that name anymore? was he going to be 001 for the rest of his life? that seems fitting... in the most twisted way possible, to be carried by a number.

if he doesn't have a name is he even human?

the boy spoke for the first time, giving his long awaited identity.

"Huening kai" he revealed. the name lingered on his lips, he didn't expect it to feel so good. returning back to his old name, his real name, the one kept hidden all these years.

"Huening kai, that's a pretty name." Beomgyu patted the boy on his back in a calming motion. "Would it okay if we called you kai?" he asked softly. the boy hesitated and eventually nodded yes.

"it's nice to meet you, my name is Beomgyu, you can call me Beom." the elder said, turning back to his friends.

Taehyun still in Yeonjun's arms looking at Kai like he is a wounded animal. while Soobin to Beomgyu's surprise seemed absolutely pissed off, like anyone can blame him.

Soobin didn't like strangers, not even in the slightest. especially after what happened last year, Soobin swore he will never befriend another person again. his current friends were more than enough for him.

"hey kiddo....I'm Yeonjun, I hope we can get along." Yeonjun introduced himself.

"unbelievable.. " Soobin blurted out, rolling his eyes at the boy.

"Soobin-ah." Yeonjun warned him, but Soobin just stared at him angrily before storming off to another room.

the sudden loud bang of the door shutting made Kai flinch in fear as he buried his face in his knees, it's not your fault.. it's not- its not your fault

he tried calming down his heartbeats.

Yeonjun went after Soobin to try and get some sense into him, while leaving Taehyun frozen in his place.

"Taehyun-ah...." Beomgyu said while staying on Kai side. "do you want to come closer? it's fine, he doesn't bite. he's just scared."

Taehyun came a few steps closer, very slowly. not to make any sudden moves.

"kai-ah, there's no need to be afraid. this is Taehyun...." he paused for a moment. "he's a very kind boy, he won't do anything." he whispered to the boy who still had his head buried in his knees.

"umm...hey.." Taehyun said awkwardly, he did not know how to approach the situation, afraid that he'll break the fragile boy if he came any closer.

"kai-ah.... hey buddy, can I know your age?" Beomgyu kept asking the boy attentively, he knew that baby steps were needed so he didn't push him to answer.

silence..

the boy kept his head down

"well..." Beomgyu smiled softly "that's fine if you can't tell us.."

Beomgyu sent a warm smile towards Taehyun who was now sitting at the other side tempted to touch the boy's hair.

"there's a shower head in the other room. it's not exactly an ideal shower but do you want to get cleaned? you're looking rough."

the boy kept silent.

Beomgyu felt a little frustrated but before he could let out a sigh, the boy got up, struggling to keep on his bare feet. he stared at Beomgyu with expecting eyes.

"it's that room on the left.. let me know if you need any help. I'll bring you clean clothes, what do you say?"

kai nodded despite his confusion as to why the stranger is acting in such a gentle way towards him. he shouldn't like the sweet feeling he's feeling right now. he knows if he gets too addicted, it'll hurt more when he loses it.

..............................

author's note

due to the very overwhelming amount of comments on this story's opening, which is a staggering number of 0 comments!:) I decided to make this a tyunning au..yayyyy!!

anyways tell me what you think about the plot so far and have a great night..or morning:)