Although the car hadn’t been too damaged when Zhang started driving, after three hours the gears started to stick, causing a loud grinding sound to come from the gearbox. Had they been in a city or close to any sign of civilization, Zhang would have pulled over and stolen another vehicle, but he had taken the back roads, and could only continue driving at a constant speed to change gears as little as possible. Speeding through the dark roads, Zhang was able to push the car to its absolute limits for five more hours, until a loud bang came from the engine. Zhang didn’t know what the loud bang was, but he could feel the speed of the car decelerating despite his foot pushing against the pedal. Zhang could have pulled the car over immediately, but he decided to let the vehicle coast until it was absolutely necessary to stop. After a couple of kilometres, Zhang was forced to finally pull over, and once the car was parked safely on the side of the road, Nakai spoke up from the backseat

 

“You know, for once I would like to have it easy. Just one day where everything goes to plan.”

 

Zhang agreed before letting out a long sigh. There was no point in keeping the car running, and after Zhang removed the keys from the ignition, he threw them onto the floor by his feet. Before they could start hitting the road by foot, Zhang pulled out his phone to check the map again, hoping to find a nearby town they could walk to quickly. However, when he looked at his screen, his face fell from the long highlighted line on the map. Without saying the number of kilometres they would need to walk, Zhang said in a dull voice.

 

“We still have a long way to go until the next town.”

 

Nakai let out a long groan as he felt his body cramp up from the small space, but he didn’t linger too long on trying to make himself comfortable, and he replied to Zhang after sighing.

 

“Well let’s get out and hit the road, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to find another vehicle on the way.”

 

Zhang stepped out of the car first while Nakai woke Luka up. After stepping out of the car, Zhang helped Luka with his bag straps around his waist, as he was still half asleep. The sky was only beginning to lighten as they walked along the baron road silently; because of Luka’s sleepiness, both Zhang and Nakai held onto his small hands while they walked, until he had woken up enough to walk properly. Luka had been enjoying the amount of times Zhang and Nakai had been holding his hands, since it gave him some much needed comfort; when he felt Zhang pull his hand away, followed by Nakai, Luka couldn’t help but frown. All Luka wanted to do was reach out and hold Zhang’s hand, but he wasn’t sure if it would make him uncomfortable, instead, Luka grabbed onto Nakai’s large hand firmly with a wide smile on his face. Looking down at Luka, Nakai could see how happy he was, and he squeezed Luka’s hand before saying.

 

“When we get to the next town, we’ll get something to eat first.”

 

. . . . . . .

 

When Wang Bao woke up, the only thing he could feel was a heavy thumping in his head. The memory of the three men taking them came a few seconds later, and Wang Bao tried to force himself up, but the painful headache caused him to fall back. Once on his back again, Wang Bao forced his eyes open, and found he was lying on a small bed with Mika asleep beside him. Although keeping his eyes open was making his headache worse, Wang Bao wanted to see where they had been taken, as well as find a way to get back to the forest to find Alo. Forcing his body back up, Wang Bao looked around with his aching eyes and saw they were in a simple room with wooden floors and plastered walls. The bed Wang Bao and Mika were squished on was along the back wall with a small window, but when Wang Bao tried to look outside, the bright light hurt his eyes too much, and he could only continue to look around the small room. Aside from the bed, there was one large dresser and nothing else. Seeing the lack of items in the room, Wang Bao knew they could only rely on his strength to get them out, but before he could come up with a plan of attack, Wang Bao felt Mika begin to stir beside him. Like Wang Bao, Mika’s head was thumping and he couldn’t open his eyes because of the pain. Wang Bao didn’t want Mika to make too much noise since he didn’t know where their captures were, and he slowly laid down on the bed while comforting Mika softly.

 

“Mika, Don’t worry, I’m here. I won’t let anything bad happen, but I need you to stay quiet.”

 

The last thing Wang Bao wanted was for Mika to start having a breakdown, and he felt Mika begin to tremble after remembering what had happened. To try and keep Mika calm, Wang Bao pulled Mika close to his chest and held him tightly, his hand rubbing along Mika’s back softly. After a short while, Mika was able to stop trembling and regulate his breathing, while Wang Bao started to wonder why no one was coming into the room yet. Wang Bao was on high alert, and he had come up with a plan of action, but he was surprised no one had come to talk with them or worse. To try and prepare for when someone would come into their room, Wang Bao gently told Mika to switch places with him, allowing Wang Bao to be by the edge of the bed while Mika was against the wall. The change of positions caused Mika to become scared again, and Wang Bao went back to holding him tightly, but the sound of heavy footsteps heading towards their room didn’t help Mika’s condition.

 

Wang Bao whispered to Mika to trust him and stay quiet, before the door slowly swung open. From the sound of the footsteps, Wang Bao could hear only one person enter the room. Wang Bao knew that if he acted fast enough, he could potentially use the art of surprise to get a good enough hit in, allowing him and Mika to run out of the room. Wang Bao didn’t know what they would do once they were in the other part of the house, but he didn’t have time to think that far ahead, as the man made his way across the room with soft steps. Wang Bao wasn’t sure how he would be able to tell if the man was behind him or not, but to his surprise, the stranger rested his hand against Wang Bao’s shoulder gently. Without hesitating, Wang Bao shoved his right elbow back, swiping across the man’s nose, causing it to break and gush blood. The man groaned from the sudden attack, and he grabbed his bleeding nose while Wang Bao rolled off of the bed, sending a side kick to the man’s knee. With the man on the ground groaning in pain, Wang Bao wanted to knock him out with another strike to the face, but two other men quickly ran into the room. Although Wang Bao was somewhat in defending himself, one man against three was above his level. Despite this, Wang Bao knew that if Mika could get out, then he would hopefully be able to find Alo.

 

The two men in front of Wang Bao looked at him with wide eyes, their gaze darting towards the groaning man behind him every few seconds. Wang Bao didn’t want to strike first again, but the two men were refusing to get closer, as if they were unsure on how to continue. Quickly thinking of a plan, Wang Bao darted forward and punched the man closest to Mika in the crotch, before swinging his left elbow towards the other man’s ribs, but his second attack was swiftly blocked, and his arms were pulled tightly behind his back. Wang Bao struggled violently before looking towards Mika. The man Wang Bao had punched in the crotch was groaning as well, but able to stand up and with a serious nod, Wang Bao watched as Mika jumped from the bed and sprinted towards the door. To keep Wang Bao from struggling more, the man holding him pressed against his knee until he was kneeling on the hard wooden floor. 

 

At the same time, Mika kept his wild eyes on the open door but before he could reach the frame, a pair of large hands grabbed him from behind and pushed him to the ground. Feeling the large man push him down to the floor sent Mika back to a time he didn’t want to remember, and violent memories flooded Mika’s mind, causing him to let out a guttural scream. The man behind Mika instantly jumped back from the sound, and he looked back at the other men with a scared expression. Wang Bao didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew he couldn’t let anyone touch Mika, and he shouted across the small room with a hoarse voice.

 

“Leave him alone you bastard!”

 

Wang Bao continued to struggle despite being on the ground, before his arms were suddenly released. Despite the ache in his shoulders, Wang Bao crawled forward and knelt beside Mika; he wasn’t sure if he should touch him, or not but Wang Bao didn’t want him to stay on the ground. Wang Bao could see Mika was trembling once more, and he thought it would be safe to hold Mika’s hand to comfort him, but as soon as Wang Bao touched Mika’s hand, Mika let out another blood curdling scream. Once the screaming stopped, Mika’s hoarse sobbing could be heard while Wang Bao could smell the strong scent of urine. Everyone in the room was at a loss at what to do. 

 

Since the three men behind him weren’t trying to fight, Wang Bao turned back to glare at them, about to interrogate them as to what was going on, but he wasn’t able to say anything since the man with the broken nose shouted sadly; as if the large man was emotionally hurt over having his nose broken.

 

“We weren’t gonna do anything. I only came in to see if you two were hungry!”

 

Hearing this confused Wang Bao even more, but no further explanation came, leaving Wang Bao to sit beside Mika in confusion and helplessness. While looking down at Mika, Wang Bao saw two people walk towards the room without entering. When Wang Bao looked up, he was surprised to see two tall women; the woman standing at the front had long brown hair and dark brown piercing eyes, while the other woman had an icy appearance, with her white hair and grey eyes. Without looking in Wang Bao’s direction, the woman with brown hair narrowed her eyes at the three men, who refused to leave their corner, and said in a stern voice.

 

“Get out. Go make yourselves useful somewhere else.”

 

All three men turned their heads towards the floor as they trudged out of the room. Hearing the men walk past them, Mika couldn’t help but whimper, his body already curled into a ball. Once the three men were gone, the brown haired woman tried to step forward, but her movements caused Mika to flinch away. The woman with blonde hair never said a word or stepped forward, and the woman with brown hair backed away to the doorway, before finally explaining to Wang Bao; her voice was still stern, but wasn’t as harsh as when speaking to the three men.

 

“This is a safe house. Trust me, no one here will hurt you two. You two can stay in the room until you’re a little more settled. Once the both of you are ready, you can come down stairs, there will be warm food waiting for you.”

 

Wang Bao had a long list of questions to ask the woman, but he didn’t have the chance to say anything since both women turned around, and walked down the staircase. Wang Bao knew his questions could wait for later, and he returned his focus to Mika, who was still sobbing. The smell of urine had gotten stronger since it had been sitting for a while, and Wang Bao looked around but couldn’t find any rag or towel to help clean up the mess. Peeking out into the hallway, Wang Bao could see an open door leading to a bathroom, and he turned back to Mika while saying.

 

“There’s a bathroom across the hall, Mika. I’m going to run you a bath, then I’ll be back.”

 

Mika didn’t say anything or try to move, but Wang Bao left anyway with rushed steps. Once in the bathroom, Wang Bao ran the taps to start filling the long tub, then crouched in front of the sink to check in the cupboard below. As he was hoping, there were large bottles of various cleaning products, and Wang Bao stepped back up to fill the bath with shower gel before heading back to the bedroom. Once inside the room, Wang Bao could hear Mika had stopped crying; so as to not scare Mika, Wang Bao spoke in a soft voice while moving closer.

 

“Mika, I’m going to help you up now. We need to get you bathed.”

 

Mika nodded slowly as he allowed Wang Bao to reach under his armpits, lifting him up from the ground slowly. When walking to the bathroom, Wang Bao had to make sure he had a firm grip around Mika’s waist, since Mika’s body had gone weak and he could barely keep himself up, let alone walk on his own. Once they were finally in the bathroom, Wang Bao helped Mika to hold on to the door while he turned the taps for the bathtub off, happy to see there was a large white cloud of bubbles sitting on top of the water. Next, Wang Bao wanted to start undressing Mika, but his hands paused before moving in closer. Wang Bao wasn’t sure how comfortable Mika would be with this, and he pulled his hands back slowly before asking.

 

“Do you want me to help you undress and get in, Mika?”

 

The entire time, Mika avoided Wang Bao’s eyes, as if he was ashamed of his reaction to what happened in the bathroom. Mika was struggling to stand despite holding on to the door, and he knew that if he were to undress himself, he would only end up falling to the floor and injuring himself. Although Mika was reluctant to accept Wang Bao’s help, he threw his pride away and replied in a hoarse whisper.

 

“Yes please.”

 

Wang Bao moved in slowly to remove Mika’s shirt while Mika continued to hold onto the door. When Wang Bao went to remove Mika’s underwear and pants, he could feel Mika shrink away from his touch, causing Wang Bao to apologise repeatedly while pulling the soiled clothing down. With Mika fully naked, Wang Bao threw the pile of clothes into the sink, before squatting down a little to pick Mika up by his waist. Although his grip was awkward, Wang Bao felt this was the easiest way to hold Mika, without triggering him too much. Once Mika was finally in the bath, the bubbles were so high they almost swallowed Mika’s body whole, but before Wang Bao left Mika to bathe alone, he bent down to gather some cleaning products while talking to Mika in a light voice. 

 

“I’ll leave the door open in case you need anything, Mika. I’m going to clean up now.”

 

There was no reply but Wang Bao didn’t mind, and he carried a bottle of disinfectant in one hand, while carrying a small bucket with a couple rags and hot water inside. Although Wang Bao was both mentally and physically exhausted, when he entered the bedroom, he got on his knees and started scrubbing the wet section of wood. While scrubbing the floor tirelessly, Wang Bao couldn’t help but think back to his life in the palace; his entire life was filled with staff that would do these messy jobs at the simple wave of a finger, but now he was on his hands and knees cleaning his friends urine. Wang Bao had never been one to abuse his power over the staff in the palace, but it didn’t mean he was the one doing all of the messy jobs either. Wang Bao didn’t know if it was the heavy scent of the disinfectant or the fact that he missed Mr Liu greatly, but tears suddenly filled Wang Bao’s eyes as he continued scrubbing the wooden floor. Wang Bao wasn’t sure if Mr Liu was well or if Queen Mother had punished Mr Liu badly for his disappearance, but Wang Bao silently hoped that the old man would be okay, and that they would be able to meet again soon.  

 

Although the job of cleaning the floor could have been finished in a few minutes, Wang Bao didn’t finish for quite some time, and when he finally stood up from the hard floor, his knees and back hurt terribly. There was no time to take a break though, since he had to help Mika out of the bath, as well as wash Mika’s clothes. While lugging the cleaning products back to the bathroom, Wang Bao softly called out to Mika, to inform him he was coming in, this time earning a light hum in response. When walking into the room, Wang Bao took a quick peek at Mika and was glad to see the young man had wet hair, meaning he had at least been able to wash himself properly without assistance. Putting away the cleaning products and washing out the bucket, Wang Bao then worked hard to wash the rags and Mika’s clothes. Wang Bao could do general cleaning well enough, but he had never washed clothes by hand before and he struggled to find the best way to wash the items, rather than just squishing soapy water through them. In the end, Wang Bao could only repeatedly rub the soapy clothing together until there was no more pungent smell of urine, then rinse the clothing out one by one. Once Wang Bao was done, he used the shower curtain rail to hang the clothing to dry before grabbing a large towel off of the towel rack for Mika. Before Wang Bao could ask, Mika declined Wang Bao’s offer to get him out of the bath by whispering.

 

“I’ll get out by myself. You can go back into the bedroom, Bao…Thank you.”

 

Wang Bao wanted to insist that Mika get out of the bath since the water would start to get cold, but he also knew he couldn’t force Mika, and slowly left the room while saying.

 

“Okay, call out if you need anything.”

 

Keeping the door to the bathroom open, Wang Bao walked back to the bedroom alone. Although Wang Bao was exhausted, he wasn’t in the mood to lie down on the bed, and chose to sit on the floor instead. All Wang Bao wanted to do was call Nakai, and tell him everything that happened, but he knew there was no point; he knew the chances of Nakai actually picking his phone up would be rare, and it would only risk someone to listen in on their conversation as well. To pass the time, Wang Bao thought about his brother, and what would happen once they met again. As Wang Bao continued to think to himself about various things and people, he didn’t realise how much time had passed until Mika finally walked into the room, his lips slightly purple. Seeing Mika, Wang Bao knew Mika had stayed in the bath despite the water turning cold; even if Mika’s lips weren’t purple, Wang Bao’s numb buttocks were a tell-tale sign of how much time had passed. Wang Bao was about to hurry Mika to get dressed, but he realised they didn’t know where their bags had been put. With Mika standing in the middle of the room with his large towel wrapped around him tightly, Wang Bao walked around the empty room, until he found their bags pushed under the bed. 

 

Wang Bao crouched down quickly and pulled out both bags, pulling out a change of clothes for himself while Mika did the same. Keeping the towel wrapped around his chest, Mika slid his underwear on, before rummaging through his bag to find a specific item. Wang Bao was curious as to what was taking Mika so long, but when Mika finally found what he was looking for, Wang Bao saw Mika pull out a large knitted sweater that belonged to Alo. Wang Bao didn’t know how or why Mika had one of Alo’s sweaters, but he let the young man be. Grabbing his change of clothes, Wang Bao walked towards the door while talking to Mika gently.

 

“I’ll go bathe, Mika. Once you’re dressed, it’ll be best for you to get into bed and warm up, it won’t be good if you become sick from the cold.”

 

Unlike Mika, Wang Bao showered quickly then returned to the room once he was dressed in more comfortable clothes. Seeing a small mound under the blankets on the bed, Wang Bao was glad to see Mika had listened to him, and he sat on the floor with his back leaning against the wooden frame of the bed. Although they were both starving, Wang Bao knew Mika wouldn’t be up for joining the rest of the people in the house for a meal, and he wasn’t too keen on the idea either. Before Wang Bao’s stomach could begin growling like a wild animal, the blonde woman from earlier walked up the wooden stairs holding a metal tray with two warm meals. Wang Bao smelt the delicious scent before he saw the woman, and as soon as she stopped in the doorway, his stomach grumbled angrily. The loud sound rang clearly through the silent room, causing Wang Bao to chuckle out of embarrassment, but his awkward laughter was cut short when the blonde woman didn’t come into the room, instead she stood there silently while holding the tray. Wang Bao didn’t know why she wasn’t coming into the room, and he decided it would be best for him to grab the tray, in case the woman’s presence scared Mika. 

 

After thanking the woman genuinely, Wang Bao carried the heavy tray back to the bed, but decided against eating the large meal on the bed, in case they dirtied the bedding. While putting the tray on the floor, Wang Bao could see Mika had poked his head out of the blanket thanks to the delicious smell. Wang Bao gently set the two large bowls of stew on the floor, leaving the homemade stuffed bread on the tray while saying to Mika.

 

“Let’s eat on the floor.”

 

Mika didn't hesitate after hearing Wang Bao, and he quickly crawled out of the bed. Because of the size difference of Alo’s sweater, Mika’s body was almost swallowed whole, leaving only his head and below his shins to be visible. Seeing Mika no longer blue removed one of Wang Bao’s worries, with the whereabouts of Alo taking priority. As they ate their hearty meal, Wang Bao thought to himself, how they could leave the house in order to start looking for Alo, or if leaving the house to wander around the forest was a good idea. Wang Bao’s thoughts weren’t able to process fully since the taste of the food was too delicious, and the only thing Wang Bao could think about was eating as much as he could. Taking a bite of the stuffed breads, Wang Bao found caramelised onions inside, which went perfectly with the peppery meat stew. Wang Bao knew it was bad for them to be eating as fast as they were, but they hadn’t eaten in so long that he wasn’t able to control the speed of his hands or mouth. Within a few minutes, both large bowls of stew were empty, and Mika was happily eating the last stuffed bread. Both men wanted to sigh happily from the nice feeling of a full stomach, but their delighted expressions suddenly froze when they heard heavy footsteps moving up the stairs at a fast pace. 

 

The loud sound caused Mika to flinch, and he tried to focus on his bread as a distraction. With Wang Bao facing the door, he was able to see who the person running up the stairs was as soon as they stepped onto the landing. Wang Bao had been expecting to see one of the men from earlier, but his eyes widened from shock as soon as Alo ran into the room. Both Alo and Wang Bao looked at each other with intense relief, and Alo walked towards them while saying breathlessly.

 

“I almost had a heart attack when I couldn’t find the two of you.”

 

Seeing Alo in front of them, Wang Bao couldn’t help but feel incredibly confused, and he shook his head to try and make sense, but in the end he couldn’t. While Alo moved to sit down beside Mika, Wang Bao quickly asked in a shocked voice.

 

“How the hell did you find us?!”

 

Before Alo could answer, Mika flinched away from Alo as soon as he sat down before getting up from the floor, walking back to the bed. Alo watched with a worried face as Mika crawled under the blankets, hiding under them completely. Wang Bao could see Alo was more concerned with Mika’s current condition rather than answering his question, and he waved his hand in front of Alo’s face while asking again.

 

“Alo, How did you find us?”

 

Looking back at Wang Bao, Alo quickly shook his head to clear his mind, then answered Wang Bao’s question quickly.

 

“Right. This is where we were headed. When I returned to the tree, you two weren’t there and I started wandering around frantically looking for the two of you; I was beginning to think the worst had happened when I bumped into Koa, Moa and Roa. They told me they had found two boys that were lost in the forest, but ended up getting wounded when trying to help them. I figured it had to be you two, since you can be quite the fighter.”

 

Wang Bao awkwardly chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck; he couldn’t help but feel a little bad breaking one of the man’s nose, since they were only trying to help. Seeing Wang Bao’s reaction, Alo started to realise why Mika might be more reclusive than usual, and the concerned gaze returned as he looked at the small lump underneath the blankets. To try and find out more about what happened while he was gone, Alo asked Wang Bao while keeping his eyes on Mika.

 

“Did something happen while we were separated Bao?”

 

Wang Bao hesitated to answer since he didn’t know if it was worth explaining or not. Because of Wang Bao’s hesitation, Mika spoke up from the bed, his quiet voice slightly muffled from the thick blankets covering him.

 

“I was only scared when I woke up. I’m fine now.”

 

Alo didn’t look completely convinced by Mika’s words, and from the look on Wang Bao’s face, Alo knew he wasn’t being told something, but he didn’t push for a proper answer from either young men. Instead, Alo started explaining things now that they were in a safer area.

 

“This house is used as a safe house as well as a transporting station for victim groups. Zhang, Ala and I bring people here because the house was built over a secret tunnel; the tunnel leads past the border and into the neighbouring country.”

 

Wang Bao wasn’t sure he had heard Alo correctly, and he looked at the man as if he was crazy before asking.

 

“What do you mean? How long is this tunnel if it’s going to a different country?”

 

Before Alo could properly explain, there was a light knock on the doorframe, and Wang Bao looked up to see it was the three men from earlier. Seeing Wang Bao looking at them, the large burly men filtered into the room with their heads down and their hands behind their backs. Because of their size, the open space of the room became quite cramped, and Alo had to spin around to lean against the wall in order for there to be enough room to see everyone, as well as breathe. Alo could see the three men were rather timid which was shocking for him, and he chose to introduce the three men to both Wang Bao and Mika properly, even though Mika was still hiding under the blankets. Because the men looked so similar in appearance, Alo made sure to point to each man while introducing them.

 

“Koa, Roa and Moa are triplets. They were rescued a few years ago, but instead of leaving with their group, they chose to live here with Erin and Lin.”

 

Wang Bao recognised Koa as the man whose nose he had broken, and he was glad to see the bleeding had stopped, leaving only a dark bruise under the man's brown eyes. Looking at Roa, Wang Bao remembered he had been held down by the man; while making these connections, both Koa and Roa suddenly stepped closer to him. Ignoring Alo’s presence, Roa spoke up for him and Koa, his voice almost trembling from their deep regret.

 

“We’re sorry for scaring you. We made these for you in the hopes you wouldn’t hold a grudge against us.”

 

Wang Bao was left speechless as both large men pulled their hands from behind their backs, revealing a long lolly necklace. Each lolly was individually wrapped in colourful cellophane, and appeared to be homemade caramels. Seeing the gift was a big shock for Wang Bao, but he took both gifts anyway and said.

 

“I should be apologising actually; you were only trying to help us but I ended up breaking your nose, Koa.”

 

Alo felt completely out of the loop as he looked between Wang Bao and the two brothers with deep confusion, trying to make sense of what was happening. Hearing Wang Bao’s regret towards his attack, Koa shook his head with a wide grin, then replied.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s not the first time it’s happened.”

 

Now that Koa mentioned it, Wang Bao could see the man’s nose was a little crooked, but it didn’t make him feel any better. Hiding behind his brothers, Wang Bao could see Moa was wanting to apologise to Mika with the same gift, but was too scared to talk to Mika. Moa had originally wanted to pull back the blanket to see Mika, but he didn’t want to scare Mika and cause him to freak out like earlier; in the end Moa could only look at Wang Bao, his eyes wide with fear. Seeing the three large men so timid towards him and Mika was almost giving Wang Bao whiplash, and before Moa could experience any more distress, Wang Bao leaned over and poked Mika’s side gently. 

 

At first, Mika didn’t want to come out, but he knew it would be best to hear what Moa had to say, as well as see what the gift was. Pushing the blankets away, Mika sat up in the bed and saw Moa looking down at him with a sheepish smile, before both men looked away from each other. With his eyes on the ground, Moa held out an extra long lolly necklace while apologising quietly.

 

“I’m sorry for being so rough with you. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

 

Reaching out slowly, Mika took the gift  from Moa. Seeing a large man like Moa, who had been so scary to him earlier, be timid and respectful confused Mika at first, leaving too stunned to speak. Because of his silence, Moa thought Mika wasn’t satisfied with the gift, causing him to tug at his shirt anxiously before Mika finally looked up at him and said.

 

“It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.”

Alo didn’t know why but he felt funny inside seeing Moa and Mika interact, but he quickly \

pushed the feeling away since he was also confused about what was going on. Looking at Wang Bao who was struggling to untie one of the caramels, Alo couldn’t help but ask in a high pitched voice.

 

“What the hell happened while I was gone?!”

 

Before Wang Bao could say anything, Koa, Moa and Roa took turns explaining everything to Alo, and Alo was slowly able to piece together why Mika was so reserved. Once the explanation was done, the three brothers thanked Wang Bao and Mika for accepting their apologies, then quietly left the room. On the bed, Mika slowly unwrapped a caramel lolly then held it out for Alo to take, unwrapping his own lolly next. Once Mika popped the sweet caramel in his mouth, Wang Bao was finally able to unwrap one of his own, and sucked on the delicious lolly before asking Alo.

“Where is the tunnel, Alo? Also, how long will it take to get to the neighbouring country?”

 

Seeing Wang Bao’s impatience, Alo couldn’t help but be reminded of Nakai, and felt it would be good for the couple to spend a couple days apart. Alo knew he couldn’t get away with a simple explanation when it came to Wang Bao though, and he slowly stood up then walked over to the door. Alo expected Wang Bao and Mika to follow behind him, but when he looked back, both young men were in the same spot, staring at him. Nodding his head towards the stairs, Alo said in a light voice.

 

“Well come on. I might as well show the two of you the tunnel.”