The Contract

Incident at the Wall

Y/N's POV

Mark was breathing hard but Y/N was only starting to feel a burn in her legs.

"You walk too fast, slow down." She just gave him a look.

"This is me going slow..." She replied.

"Oh, dear god." He was starting to rethink this whole excursion. He wanted her to get out and see some of the beautiful sites in Korea, since her husband didn't, but he should really work out more if he was going to keep doing this.

She didn't talk much, just bit her lip as she looked at the scenery. Her thoughts were swirling. On the one hand she finally had a bit of a routine and she clung to that normalcy like butter to pancakes. On the other hand...everything reminded her of her prison. Her lack of freedom.

Some people would give anything to be married to a pop star and living in an expensive apartment in Seoul, not having to work. At least at the moment. But she knew, given the opportunity, she would give it up, she would give up him, in a heartbeat. As kind as he was, these shackles were a raw reminder that the thing most precious to her had been stolen.

She had fought so hard to obtain it. And she had lost it again.

Thinking that was enough to send her into a downward spiral but she shook her head, shoving those emotions down deep inside her. Feeling them wouldn't change anything. And she was afraid of what would happen if she acted on them. Keep herself in line, don't take his music away. She was a trapped person, not a cruel one. That's why it had been so hard to escape the first prison in her life...

"Y/N, are you hungry?" Mark snapped her out of her thoughts, slightly disturbed by the clouds that had been swirling on her face.

"Um...yeah." She plastered on a smile. For her it was fake, for him it was reassurance. When given even a speck of lie in a wasteland of honesty, humans often choose willful blindness over facing and confronting the truth.

"This is good." She licked her ice cream cone and snapped a photo of the wall in front of them. Maybe she would send it to her husband along with today's selfie. He was making an attempt to make their circumstances tolerable and she should try too. They weren't enemies, they were unlikely friends....

"Hey Mark, can you take a picture of...." Her voice trailed off as someone stepped directly in front of her, forcing her to come to a complete stop or get ice cream all over the rude person. Her attempt was for naught though, Mark didn't see she had and walked into her back. Her ice cream got on the person's black suit. She looked up. And up.

"What the..." Mark cursed as he walked into her.

"Excuse me." She said to the man standing in front of them. "You're in my way." She walked too fast to have patience for that.

"Mrs. Min, your presence has been requested." She felt her heart sink. No......no, she didn't want to deal with this. She shook her head.

The hand on her arm was non-negotiable, the rough squeeze caused her to drop her ice cream cone in discomfort.

"Hey!" She protested, trying to step to the side and away. She couldn't, the grip was too tight.

"You can come willingly or we can make you." It was then that she noticed the other men milling in the area, watching her small group. She tugged again. "We can also take him if you don't cooperate."

"Get your hands...."

"Mark, don't interfere." She cut him off sharply. The last thing she wanted was yet someone else involved in this mess. "Fine." She relaxed, her head hanging. Animal. Cage. And for the first time since coming to Korea she really wished Yoongi was by her side so she didn't have to face whatever was coming alone.

Mark said nothing as he watched her led away.  Should he call the police?

He decided against it.  He got the feeling ignoring her command could have disastrous consequences.