CAPTIVE | JIKOOK

From Bad to Worse

The next few days pass in mostly the same fashion. They eat, sleep and things stay awkward.

Then one morning things are different. But the change is not noticed until it is too late.

Jimin doesn't wake up from the sound of the metal on the wood; he doesn't hear the door open or the footsteps in the room.

Jimin only begins to wake as he feels the sensation of weightlessness. His feet scrape along the rough concrete, but he is too terrified to make a move. They are surprisingly gentle but with a firm grasp on his wrists they hold his body propped upright between theirs.

They stop and one is suddenly gone. He hears the sound of metal on wood behind him. Then the person is back and he is moving.

They carry him up the stairs, his feet scraping along the rough wood. His mind is frozen in fear, his fight or flight instinct stalled by the image of Jungkook's ravaged body. If that's what happens when you cooperate, then what happens when you try to fight or run? So he does nothing.

When they reach the top of the stairs, they push through a closed door and take a left, then another left as they enter a room.

The room has bare white walls and a concrete floor. A bare light bulb hangs in the center of the room. 'Classic,' he thinks. 'Very torture chamber-esque.'

The room is practically empty, except for an old kitchen table, which is pushed against one wall with two chairs tucked neatly under it. On the table is a small TV that shows an image of Jungkook pacing back and forth in their room.

Jimin stares at the tiny Jungkook pacing as a realization hits home; they have been watching them. He doesn't know why this is a revelation but he tucks the thought away for later when he might be able to work something out from it.

Jimin is released and dropped to the floor. He kneels as one of them leaves his side and flicks off the TV. He continues staring at it dumbly as if it would give him more answers. His brain cannot process what is going on around him. It is as if he's left his fear downstairs with Jungkook; like taking off his shoes when he enters the house. He is numb.

The one who continues to stand by him pushes on the back of his head, encouraging him to tilt his face down, which he does. He hears the ripping of fabric but the sound isn't quite right.

His question is answered before he can form one in his mind, as a strip of tape is pressed over his eyes. His head is tilted up, so his face can be seen by his captors. He is slapped across the face open-handed, so hard that his body reels back from the force and his arm has to fly back to brace himself from toppling over.

He is lifted and made to kneel again. One of them moves in position behind him and grabs at the base of his top, roughly scraping his lower back with jagged nails and then roughly pulling the top up and over.

Jimin briefly struggles as they pull the top off his arms.

He feels two sets of hands hook under his armpits and lifts him from the ground as he is placed on his feet. One of them holds an arm and the other roughly removes his trousers, forcing him to do a little dance to untangle his feet from the legs of the trousers.

They chuckle as Jimin modestly covers himself, feeling not just naked, but exposed. He just wants this over like an awkward conversation or a test that he hasn't studied for. He wishes for a moment that the pain would come, so it could be over and done with, so he could go back to Jungkook. His wrists are pulled forward and bound with smooth rope.

One of his arms is pulled and he is forced to walk from the room he could recognize to the next room over. Movements echo in the small space, but mostly it's quiet.