Cold metal bit into his wrists. A gasp caught in his throat as his eyes snapped open, blinking against the harsh, amber glow of recessed LED lights. Slippery, cold white silk rubbed against the raw flesh of his inner thighs, whispering of wealth and captivity. Where was he? Disorientation washed over him in cold, heavy waves, making his head spin. Memories rushed back in a chaotic flood—the pitch-black laundry chute, Gyuvin's suffocating grip, the sound of the killer's blade scraping against the metal, and then a sudden, sharp pinch in his neck. Sedated. They had drugged him. Lifting his head, he tried to sit up, but the heavy gold chains draped around his collarbones clinked loudly, pinning him to the plush, velvet mattress. Gold links looped around his wrists, his ankles, and his neck like a delicate, suffocating web. Looking down at his own body, a whimper escaped his lips. Red, angry marks painted his skin. Dark bruises shaped like fingerprints lined his collarbones, his hips, and his inner thighs. Bite marks, swollen and violet, marred the soft flesh of his shoulder, a violent signature of ownership. Someone had claimed him piece by piece while he lay unconscious. Bars of polished brass rose from the floor, curving upward to meet a domed ceiling twelve feet above. It was a birdcage. A gilded, floor-to-ceiling cage positioned directly in the center of a massive, ultra-modern bunker. Sleek concrete walls surrounded the enclosure, lined with banks of humming servers, weapon racks, and glowing monitors showing multiple camera feeds of the hotel above. Deadly luxury dripped from every corner. Plush leather sofas sat just outside the perimeter of his cage, facing him like front-row seats to a private exhibition. Footsteps echoed across the polished concrete. Two figures emerged from the dim light of the server racks, their footsteps perfectly synchronized. Gyuvin wore a tailored black suit, his tie slightly loosened, his dark eyes shining with a feverish, manic intensity. Ricky walked beside him, clad in a crisp white shirt splattered with a single drop of fresh blood, his blonde hair immaculate. "Awake at last, my beautiful angel," Gyuvin murmured, taking a slow step toward the bars. His fingers brushed against the brass, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the metal. A soft, reverent smile curved his lips, completely detached from the horror of the situation. "Let me out," Yujin choked out, his voice raw, dragging his body forward. Gold chains rattled violently, scraping against the velvet mattress as he reached the limit of his tether. "Please, Gyuvin, Ricky... what is this? Why are you doing this to me?" "We are saving you, Yujin," Ricky answered, his voice smooth, devoid of any guilt. He stepped closer, reaching through the bars to cup Yujin's cheek. Cold leather gloves slid against Yujin's burning skin, making him flinch away. "Do not shrink from me," Ricky whispered, his eyes darkening to a dangerous, midnight hue. "We built this sanctuary for you. The world outside is burning. Your friends are dying. But in here, you are perfectly, beautifully safe." "Safe?" Yujin spat, tears of anger and terror welling in his eyes. He pointed a trembling, chained hand at the deep purple marks covering his chest and thighs. "You locked me in a cage! You drugged me! Look at what you did to my body!" Gyuvin's gaze drifted down Yujin's body, his breath hitching. "Beautiful," Gyuvin whispered, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips. "We had to mark what is ours. We had to make sure the killer—and anyone else—knows you belong to us. Only us." "You're insane," Yujin gasped, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. "Both of you are completely insane. Matthew... Hao... where are they? Did you kill them?" Ricky chuckled, a soft, chilling sound that echoed off the concrete walls. "We didn't have to," Ricky said, walking over to a massive, wall-sized control console. "Our masked slasher is doing a wonderful job of cleaning up the clutter. We merely guided them in the right direction." "No..." Yujin whispered, his world spinning. "You let them die? You helped him?" "Those pests were distractions," Gyuvin explained, his voice dropping to a dangerous, intimate purr. He pressed his face against the brass bars, staring at Yujin with an intensity that felt like a physical weight. Growing up, Yujin had always been invisible. His parents had left him in a hollow, empty house, craving any sign of warmth. Desperately, he had craved someone's eyes on him. But not like this. Never like this. "You will learn to love your cage, Yujin," Gyuvin growled, his breath hot against Yujin's lips. Escape was impossible. "We spent three years designing this place," Ricky added, his fingers dancing across a sleek holographic interface. "Every inch of this bunker was built to accommodate you. The air filtration, the water purification, the security systems... all of it is designed to keep you alive for the next fifty years if necessary." "Three years?" Yujin whispered, his throat tightening as a wave of nausea washed over him. "You... you planned this? Before we even came to this hotel?" "Of course we did," Gyuvin said, his hand softening as he stroked Yujin's cheek, his fingers tracing the curve of his jaw. "Did you really think this trip was an accident? We bought this hotel, Yujin. We leaked the location to the killer. We set the stage so we could finally bring you home." Shivers ran down Yujin's spine at the sheer scale of their madness. "You let Hanbin die," Yujin choked out, his voice cracking. "You let him get butchered just so you could lock me up?" "Hanbin was getting too close to you," Ricky remarked casually, not even looking up from his screens. "He kept touching your shoulder. He kept looking at you with those soft, pathetic eyes. He had to be removed." "We did it for us," Gyuvin whispered, his face pressing against the brass bars, his eyes dilated with a terrifying, worshipful lust. "Look at you, Yujin. You look like a god in those chains. Our personal god. We will worship you every single day, and you will never have to worry about the cruel, ugly world again." "I hate you," Yujin screamed, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "I hate both of you! Let me out! Let me out!" He lunged forward with all his strength, throwing his weight against the bars. Gold chains snapped taut with a deafening metallic clang, jerking him back violently. Pain flared through his collarbones and wrists, but he didn't care, clawing desperately at the brass bars, his nails scratching against the polished metal. Ricky watched him with a calm, analytical gaze, though a hint of dark amusement danced in his eyes. "Save your energy, sweetheart," Ricky murmured, adjusting his cuffs. "The brass is reinforced with titanium. You couldn't break them if you had a sledgehammer." Suddenly, a sharp, high-pitched alarm pierced the quiet sanctuary. Red emergency lights began to pulse against the concrete walls, casting long, bloody shadows across the bunker. A massive projection screen on the main wall flickered, static cutting through the surveillance feeds. "What is that?" Ricky muttered, his composed facade cracking as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "Someone bypassed the outer firewall. That's impossible. The security protocols are military-grade." "Fix it," Gyuvin ordered, releasing Yujin's hair with a rough shove. He turned his back on the cage, his shoulders tense, his eyes scanning the monitors. Yujin collapsed back onto the mattress, panting, his neck throbbing where Gyuvin had gripped him. He watched them, his mind racing through the haze of drugs and terror. If the security was breached, did that mean help was coming? Or was the killer inside the bunker? A loud beep echoed through the room. Static on the wall-sized screen cleared, revealing a live video feed. Yujin's breath hitched in his chest. Matthew appeared on the screen. His face was unrecognizable, covered in deep, jagged cuts and smeared with thick, dark blood. Wild, bloodshot eyes stared back at them with a desperate, manic energy. He was standing in a cramped, metallic room—the primary life-support vault of the hotel's underground system. "Matthew!" Yujin screamed, throwing himself against the front of the cage. Gold chains yanked him back, but he ignored the pain, stretching his arms through the bars as if he could reach through the screen. "Matthew, please, help me!" Yujin shrieked, his voice cracking with sheer desperation. Gyuvin and Ricky froze, their eyes locked onto the screen. A low, venomous growl escaped Gyuvin's throat. "How is he still alive?" Gyuvin hissed, his hands clenching into tight fists. "He found the auxiliary maintenance shafts," Ricky analyzed, his voice tight. Bypassing the physical locks was easy for him. On the screen, Matthew breathed heavily, his chest heaving under a torn, blood-soaked shirt. He looked directly into the camera, his gaze piercing through the lens, locking onto the bunker's control room. In his right hand, he held a heavy, metallic device wired with tangled red and blue cables. An industrial-grade detonator sat in his palm, its digital screen blinking with a countdown sequence. "I know you can hear me, you sick bastards," Matthew spat, his voice cracking with a mixture of rage and agony. Searching the schematics paid off. "I know you're down there in your little rat hole. I know you have Yujin." "Step away from the console, Matthew," Ricky said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy register as he stepped toward the primary control panel. He opened a glass casing, revealing a glowing red override button. "You are out of your depth. If you trigger those charges, you will collapse the entire upper structure." "I don't care about the building!" Matthew screamed, a manic, desperate laugh bubbling past his bloody lips. He raised the detonator higher, his thumb hovering over the primary trigger. "No, Matthew, wait!" Yujin shrieked, lunging forward with every ounce of strength he had left, the gold chains screaming in protest as he slammed against the brass bars. Ricky's face hardened into a mask of pure, murderous intent. Matthew's blood-splattered face appears on screen, holding a detonator wired to the bunker's life-support systems, screaming: 'I'm going to free you, Yujin, even if I have to blow us all to hell!' as Ricky raises his hand to press the override button.

Chapter 8: The Beautiful Cage