Thursday, 2nd. April. 2015.
A girl is bound to a wooden chair by ropes in the center of the underground room. Her cries reach and clench at the depths of my soul. She is scared for her life. Yet, they are all standing there. All seven of them.
The girl's horrific sobs pierce my ears.
Jin raises the gun in his hand and presses it to her temple. He cocks back the safety with no hesitation.
In slow motion, the loud crack of the gun firing echoes. A splatter of red hits the concrete floor on the opposite end.
Her body falls forward, limp.
An eerie silence follows, one of death.
I'm finding it harder to breathe.
Desperation overtakes.
My heart pounds dangerously fast in my chest. The cold concrete under my palms, the ache in my heart. No control over my sobbing. It pours out and is choking me.
———————————-
The memory floods back in, drowning me in fear, trepidation.
Jin had shot a girl while the others stood around. I'd been there. I'd seen it with my own two eyes. The bits and pieces fit together perfectly, making up the entire memory. It was vivid, but didn't make any sense.
It left my chest aching and hollow. They shot her. Did they shoot me too?
The caring and kind boys I knew were monsters.
My world shattered around me as I gasped, waking up from my unconscious state. My head felt foggy, but the memory stayed with me.
No matter how badly I wanted to forget it again, I couldn't. Where to begin? What the hell was I supposed to do with this? Was I living a complete and utter lie?
More importantly, where the hell am I? It looks like an expensive high-rise apartment.. in a modern bedroom.. in a very plush bed. That I don't know. Beyond the glass window panels that line a wall lie an overheard view of the city. The sheets touching my skin were satin. Everything about it smells rich.
My mind struggles to remember what happened before I passed out.
I found a gun, then Jin had caught me red handed looking at the gun, which I'm assuming is his.
Then he.. tried to kidnap me? Wait, no? They all tried to kidnap and lock me away in their room.. but I escaped out the window.
Fuck, I can't even believe that the window was unlocked..
Then.. I ran to the police..
My stomach dropped when I recalled walking into the police precinct and asking for detective Kim.
They'd said there wasn't anyone by that name. But then the last thing I remember was getting a call from him..
I snapped my attention back to reality when I heard a knock on the door. It caused my heart rate to rise. I did not know where I was or what had happened between that moment and now, and I was scared. I stared at the tall doors as they cracked open. The ceiling was higher than usual, which only made the place feel more luxurious, like a penthouse.
The guy who carefully entered had black hair. He looked to be around the same age as me. Was this his place? His head tilted ever so slightly as his gaze found me over in the bed. Step by step, he came closer, but I could tell he was being cautious.
"Hi there," he greeted gently. "How do you feel?"
I was stunned. I'd thought maybe some crazy creep had kidnapped me or something off the street, but this guy looked very unthreatening and not scary at all. But, in my overwhelming confusion, I really needed to stop assuming stuff and get solid answers.
"I feel ok," I lied. "Where am I? And who are you?" I asked, at hearing my voice I sounded raspy. I held my breath as I waited to see if he was willing to answer or if this was going to turn ugly. The moment of truth.
"My name is Koh. I'm Mr Kim's personal assistant. And you're in a spare room in his apartment. He brought you home after he found you unconscious on the street.."
He spoke with soft eyes, and it was really throwing me off. I didn't know this person at all. But, at the mention of the name Kim, the fog in my mind cleared a bit.
"Oh.. So.. Where is he? Also.. who is he?" I asked but hesitantly. Still trying to gauge what kind of precarious situation I was in right now. I truly had not the faintest clue, but what I knew was that he wasn't who he initially said he was. And neither was Bangtan. Everything was a mess.
"He's in his office finishing up some work. Hmm.. perhaps it'd be better if you spoke with him yourself. That's if you're up for it yet." Koh continued, "If not, rest as long as you need. We were really worried about you. It's such a relief that you appear to be feeling a little better." Even though I didn't get the feeling he was lying, I couldn't just believe him, either. But there's no way I could fall back asleep right now. I needed answers and my intuition was screaming at me that this Mr. Kim had them.
"I'm alright, can I please speak with him?" I slowly edged closer to the side of the bed and threw back the covers. When I passed out, I was wearing the same clothes. "How long was I unconscious?"
Koh moved carefully, approaching me, as though to help, but not too quickly in case I startled. But I didn't feel scared of him. It was weirdly comforting. Like he was an old friend or something.
"Since last night. It's about 3pm at the moment," Koh said. He'd easily answered everything I'd asked, which I just wasn't used to. Usually, the boys never gave me straight answers... but then again, they weren't quite who I thought they were. I pushed it aside for now and focused on taking Koh's hand as I slid off the bed. It was high up.
After I stepped out, he let go and said to follow him, so I did. As we stepped out of the bedroom, there was a white marble hall which led to more open living space. The entire wall was a glass panel that overlooked the city. This was a beautiful apartment, the kind that someone very successful and prestigious might live in.
Koh noticed I was staring around with wide eyes.
"This is one of his smaller ones. See that building over there" he slowed down and pointed out the window to a skyscraper on the left. I nodded as I spotted it.
"He has a much nicer place over there. It's where I live with my twin brother." He flashed me a small smile, but I didn't know what to say to that, so I just said nothing. He proceeded down another hall, and we came to a stop at the door at the end of the corridor.
"Hey um.." for a moment he looked unsure, struggling to say something before entering, "If at any point you feel anxious or unwell, I'll be right here. You can call out for me and I'll come get you.."
I didn't know why he was saying this. I already felt anxious and unwell about this entire situation. My stomach was in knots, my head thumping in a dull way. I was brimming with uncertainty, on the verge of it overflowing.
"Um.. thanks?" As much as I didn't know this guy from a bar of soap, I just couldn't bring myself to knock him back. With that, he gave a small smile and pushed open the door for me.
The study room came into view. A large, dark wooden bookcase lined the high wall. It had a huge flat screen built into the centre. Then a matching wide desk. The wall to the left was another tall glass window that overlooked the city. It was all so chic.
Seated at the desk was Mr. Kim. He looked up from his computer at the sound of my entrance. I'd only taken a few steps in, unsure of what was going to happen next.
"Miss Park, you're awake. How are you feeling? I was worried when I found you'd collapsed on the side of the road." He stood up and walked around to the front of his desk, revealing the clean cut black suit he wore.
"I guess I'm okay. Not really, but we need to talk," I forced myself to be brave in the moment and took a seat in the armchair he gestured at for me to take.
"I can't say I blame you. This must all be very confusing for you. So, where shall we begin?" He settled into the other armchair across from me and gave me his full attention. Something I wasn't quite expecting. That intimidating air about him was being nullified by an odd, empathetic feeling that came from him. Was it also a lie?
"Who are you? Last night, when I went to the police station they told me you weren't a detective. And why did you bring me here?"
"Yes. Well, it seems I have some explaining to do." He gave a soft sigh as he sat back and crossed his legs. "You're right. I'm not a detective. But, I ask that you hear me out until the end before drawing any conclusions. How does that sound?"
"Okay"
"I'm an underground figure. An important one. When I first came to you I was investigating the fire at your place in regards to some criminal activity. But, not as a detective. As you can imagine, I couldn't exactly outright tell you this, so I did lie."
"I thought Bangtan set the fire. Do you know them?"
"I know them, but no, they didn't start it. It came from YG. I'd been following their movements for a while. So, when the incident happened, I was a bit perplexed. You seemed like a regular girl. Totally uninvolved in any kind of gang or crime related business. It made little sense at the time."
"YG? Why would they want to kill me?" I scoffed, my mind began swirling. There was no way, no reason. "It doesn't make any sense" I shook my head as though it would somehow ease this horrific thing I was being told.
"At first it didn't, but after it became apparent you were close with Bangtan, I assumed it may have been a ploy to get to them using you as the medium. Basically, you're an innocent who just became collateral damage."
"Collateral..." The words escaped my lips in disbelief.
"Honestly, I feel terrible for you. By the looks of it, you're just a normal girl trying to go about her life. Certainly not deserving of being pulled into their gang wars" he gave a frown.
"This is all a lot to take in. Until recently, I thought Bangtan were friends of mine. But.." I stopped.
"I wanted to ask you about that. Last night you mentioned finding a gun and being quite distressed" He questioned.
"Yeah. I.. wait so, you said you're involved in the underground. And so is Bangtan. How are they involved? Are they dangerous?"
"Well," he gave a sigh, "It really depends on your perspective whether they're 'dangerous'. They run one of the most popular, up-and-coming entertainment establishments for idols." He paused, but I didn't know what that meant. Upon noting my confusion, he elaborated.
"To put it plainly, idols are constantly under scrutiny. They can't do much in the public eye without being defamed for it. Therefore, everything is hidden behind the scenes. Confined to these kinds of exclusive clubs. It's a place where idols and people with public images can come and move freely, enjoy doing things that might otherwise have resulted in scandals"
"So.. like.. drugs? Prostitution? Sorry, this is a lot of information." I asked.
"No, no. It's fine. That's exactly what I'm referring to, among other things." His gaze steadied on me. I took a moment for what he was saying to settle into my brain. But it just wasn't. I could hardly believe that I'd actually seen a gun yesterday, but that was only a testament to there being some truth to all of this. He took my silence as a sign to continue. "I don't know if Bangtan is a threat to you or not. But it seems like you've been through a lot. If you need protection, I can provide that for you. If not, you're free to leave here."
I kept quiet, not sure of whether to accept or not. Unsure of what to do. As though he could see right through me he spoke again.
"At the end of these misgivings, I see you as someone who was unfortunate enough to get caught up, and despite my line of work, it still bothers me to see this. You can stay here as long as you need or want. Come and go as you please. It doesn't make any kind of difference for me, but if it gives you a safe place, then by all means."
"So you're not kidnapping me?" My mind had stopped working at this point and I just blurted out the first thing that came to me.
"God no, of course not," he laughed in amusement. "What on earth gave you that impression?"
"I mean.. you did just tell me you were a criminal.." I mumbled.
"I did. But I don't get the feeling you're about to run off and tattle on me. Besides, even if you did, the sad truth is they probably wouldn't take you seriously."
"That's really brutal." I snorted in a laugh. What else could I do at this point? What the fuck was going on?
"I feel like my head is about to implode. I really don't know what to do." I admitted. Holding up my guard for so long was taking its toll on me. I just didn't have the strength to do it anymore.
"Then rest, take as much time as you need, and stay here while you recuperate. If you need anything, clothes, a computer, whatever, ask Koh and he'll get them for you."
"Really? Is this really alright? I.." I rubbed my face hard and groaned. Maybe it's for the best. I really need some time to organise my thoughts and I had nowhere else to go. Bangtan lived across the road from me. I couldn't go there. Not until I knew if they were going to try to kill me or kidnap me or who knows what.
"Okay. Thankyou. I'll.. if it's okay I'll take you up on your offer. I think I need some time to collect myself," I admitted, raising my head to see Mr Kim looking me over before giving a curt nod.
————
After our overwhelming discussion, Koh showed me back to the guest room I'd woken up in where I retreated into the comfort of satin sheets. My mind was a haze. I didn't even know where to begin unpacking all that had happened within the last 24 hours.
Koh insisted I'd need some clothes and a computer and other various things while I stayed here. He said not to worry and that he'd take care of it all. I didn't know what to say, so I just agreed with him and let him do his thing.
As I looked around the room, I noticed a notebook on the end table. It was mine, the one I'd found at the boy's place before I'd found the gun. I remember having grabbed it before escaping out the window. At the time, I was so overrun with adrenaline that I must've been unaware I was carrying it the entire time.
That dull throb in my head got louder, so instead of looking, I just buried my face into the pillow and tried to calm myself down. Too much had happened. It had pushed me to my limit, and I was close to breaking.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I gave into the pain in my head.
Notes:
If anyone has any questions just ask me! I always worry I may have overlooked something..
Thoughts? Predictions?