I'm your hope

I shivered in the freezing december weather. The piercing cold wind felt like it was blowing right through my skin and flesh, chilling me to the bone. Last time I was outside it was still pleasantly warm...

I was so happy that I could finally escape him that I didn't even grab anything. I thought about trying to find my phone and wallet but he hid those a long time ago. Hell, he may have even thrown them out or burned them, I wouldn't be surprised. I didn't know how much time I had to run and I didn't want to risk it by putting on shoes or a jacket. So, in the end, I ran out of the apartment in my house shoes, in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

As soon as I got a couple blocks away I looked for a place that I could seek help in. I needed a place that was still open despite it being dark outside, a place full of people, preferably warm if I didn't want to get pneumonia or something of the sort. I saw a Starbucks sign and couldn't believe my luck. It had everything I wanted, it was warm, it was still open, and it was full of people that could be witnesses in case he somehow found me there. I ran in, practically tearing up the front door. I felt everyone's eyes on me, giving me questioning looks, but I could not bring myself to care. There was a long line of people waiting to give their order, but I had no time to wait that out so I went straight up to a barista. The blonde haired boy looked at me with big, shocked eyes, almost as if he knew me and was surprised to see me there, but I disregarded that, thinking it was me being paranoid after being locked up for so long.

Before he could tell me to go back to the end of the line, I spoke, hurriedly, "Please, call the police! A man has kidnapped me, I have been imprisoned in his house for months now! Help me please, he could be here any moment, he always find me!"

His eyes grew even wider, then he looked behind him to search for another barista and told him to cover for him while he was dealing with me.

"Don't worry madam, come with me, I will hide you in the staff room and then I'm calling the police immediately, is that okay with you?"

I nodded weakly as he put one hand on my back and guided me into a small room. He sat me down onto a couch and put a blanket over me, which I appreciated very much after being out in the freezing cold. He went back out for a second and came back with a hot cup of coffee which he handed to me and which I accepted gratefully. I took a big sip from the steaming liquid and hummed in contentment. I was actually a huge Starbucks addict before I met him. Of course the first place I would stop at after being locked up for almost 4 months would be a Starbucks, how typical...

"It's okay, you are safe now. Stay here and be quiet, he won't find you back here, I promise. Only staff can come in. I have already called the cops, I'll go out to wait for them, alright?"

His voice was super calming and I was so tired from running, the cold, and from the weight of the blanket that I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment. I knew I shouldn't, but I just felt so damn sleepy. Must have been the relief washing over me, the adrenaline from my escape slowly disappearing from my system.

"Yeah... Thank you-", I looked at his name tag to thank him by name when I froze.

Jimin.

I suddenly knew why he looked so familiar, and why I felt like he recognized me. Jimin. One of Hoseok's good friends. The last time I saw him his hair was brown and styled completely different, and he was wearing a face mask too, hence why I didn't realize it was him immediately.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but I later realized, all of Hoseok's friends wore face masks when we met. They all knew about his plan to kidnap me and they were all trying to hide their faces in case I ever got out so I couldn't recognize them.