Shadow Dancing | K.TH

Tzuyu

"I was born with this," All seven heads whip toward me in unison when I say that, and I shrug, trying to seem nonchalant when my heart was tearing itself inside.

"Just thought that you should know."

"Alright, then." Yoongi pinpoints as he crosses his arms. "Why were you running? Who were those men chasing you? And how did you end up with these wounds?"

Wounds were an understatement.

"It's a long story." I say, my boldness slowly melting away into timidity. "And  not one you probably want to hear."

"We've seen more blood than you ever have," V remarks, his tone relaxed like he'd just commented on the sunny weather instead of ending lives. "And we have plenty of time."

There was no way to back out now, with all their eyes fixed on me. I would have better chance of escaping the compound again than to escape having to talk about my terrifying past.

So as briefly as I can, I describe my illness— and how my father was desperate to use it to his advantage. To address the countless marks made on my skin, I explain the experiments he forces me to do— trying to keep the details as bland as possible.

"You made a mistake bringing me here," I say, fingers squeezed tightly together underneath the blankets. "My father will chase me to the ends of the earth to get me back."

By now, his men would be crawling all over the capital city of Seoul— desperate to recover their master's  prize guinea pig. My father had connections everywhere, and sooner or later, he would find me.

"We're professionals," Jungkook remarks, his expression unconcerned. "Unless we want them to, there's no way they're going to find us."

I doubted his confidence— my father seemed to have an uncanny ability of finding people that wanted to stay hidden, no matter how skillful they were.

Seeing the skepticism on my features, Namjoon— the one that bled an aura of control and composure— reassures me.

"Jungkook is right— for once."

"Hyung!"

Their attempt to make me feel more relaxed works, drawing out a soft giggle from my clamped throat. With every passing second, I can feel my heart rate gradually slowing down.

The violent fade from a moment ago decreases into nothing but an occasional flicker as the anxiety seizing my heart slowly melts away. Somehow, these strangers had put me at ease faster than the sleeping drug my father injected into me every night before bed.

Or else I wouldn't be able to fall asleep and get enough rest to face the next day of torture.

"When did V leave?"

Prompted by Jin's question, I look up to see the side of the wall empty— devoid of the man leaning against it just a few minutes ago.

"He must've gone to finish up." Yoongi remarks in disinterest as he waves at the slightly open door. "Didn't he say that he abandoned his assignment?"

"Yoongi hyung, V hyung never leaves a job unfinished." Jungkook says as he scans the dark red streak made against the white of the wall.

It hadn't been there before.

"That's blood," Hoseok concludes everyone's suspicion as he points at Jimin. "Go check on him and make sure he isn't collapsed somewhere— the blood must've soaked through the bandages."

Guilt makes my fingers tingle as I remember the said man had been keep fidgeting earlier. It must've been the wound that was bothering him— the wound that I'd inflicted. And to hear that he'd spilled enough blood to soak through the thick layers of gauze made me sick to my stomach.

How I wished I could turn back time.

"Hey, hey." The eldest— Jin— pats my head as if he was comforting a somber puppy instead of a person. "You're flashing again. Don't worry— any of us would've done what you did if we suddenly got grabbed while being chased."

Then why did I feel so terrible?

"Yes," I whisper, trying to convince myself that he was right. But whenever I even attempted to, I was taken back to the darkened alley— my knife lodged tight into his shoulder blade.

"She needs more rest— exhaustion might be also making her fade." I recognize the voice as Hoseok's as he waves the others out of the room. "Everyone out! The girl— oh, we never got your name."

With the room already darkened and only Hoseok's head poking out from between the doorway, I have no reason to be timid and shy.

But that's exactly how I sound like as I voice the name that I'd nearly forgotten over the bloodstained years.

"It's Tzuyu. Chou Tzuyu."