'I bet you taste as sweet as you look, kitten.' The dream version of Kang sneered hands roaming all over her, breath hot on her neck. She wanted to move, to hit him but she was paralyzed. She opened her mouth to scream and as she did, the nightmare broke. She was in her own bed, sweaty and shaking. She heard a rustle in the dark room and tensed. Soon she could make out Yeji and Yuna's concerned faces in the dimly lit room. Feeling like a child but not caring, Eisa reached out to them. Both girls sat on her bed with her, wrapping her up in their arms.
"You're safe. You are home and we are here." Yuna said softly as she ran a comforting hand on Eisa's arm and back.
"I...I need to shower. I need to get him off me." Eisa whispered and Yeji, without a word, helped her up and to the bathroom.
"Will you be okay by yourself?" Yeji said as she turned on the shower. Eisa nodded weakly. "I am going to talk to the boys, they are worried, but Yuna will stay here in your room with you."
"Can you see if Felix or Han can come back up with you?" As Eisa said this, Yeji smiled nodding her head. Before she left the bathroom, Yeji turned around.
"Minho...he's really worried about you. He came to see you while you were sleeping. I have never seen him look so, broken. When you feel up to it, I think he would like to see you. Only when you are ready though." Eisa looked a bit shocked but nodded. Yeji left closing the bathroom door behind her.
Eisa stripped off her PJs, wincing slightly as the cloth brushed the bump on her head and her bruised face. Once the clothes were removed, she stared in the mirror, which had not been disrupted by the steam from the shower yet. The cheekbone and eye on the left side of her face were bruised, a cut on her bottom lip hurt and as she turned to check her back she saw another bruise that must have been from when her body and head hit the lounge wall. She shivered as she stared at a broken, terrified version of herself. As the steam obscured her view, she shook herself and moved into the shower.
The water was warm, but she needed it to be hotter. She moved the shower dial to the hot setting hissing slightly as the water hit her skin. She picked up the body wash and a loofah, furiously scrubbing her body. She scrubbed her leg, the one he had touched, and her neck where his lips, his tongue had touched her so hard that it felt raw. She spent much longer in the shower than she normally would have. She let the hot water fall over, hoping to burn away the feeling of him touching her. She had seen situations of sexual assault when she was in the ER, broken battered women with haunted looks in their eyes. She always thought she was strong enough to not become one of them. She didn't blame Chan or SKZ. She didn't blame anyone but herself and that devil, Kang. She should have been stronger. She should have used the drugs Seungmin gave her for this type of situation. She could have spiked his drink and he would have passed out as they entered the lounge. She was careless. Stepping out of the shower and wrapping a large towel around her, she resolved to bury her pain. She would not worry about her new family. They were all strong and she resolved to be strong as well. Was this a smart thing to do? No. She knew this would catch up with her if she buried it but she hated how weak it made her feel.
Taking a deep breath, she exited the bathroom only to be greeted by a very worried-looking Yuna. Yuna opened her mouth to speak but then closed it, seeming to struggle for the right thing to say. Eisa gave her a small smile before throwing on some shorts and an oversized hoodie.
"I'm okay. Last night was a lot but I'm okay." She looked at Yuna who moved toward her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
"We were so scared when we couldn't find you." Yuna pulled away looking at Eisa's face, searching it. Eisa could tell she was assessing how she was feeling so she tried her best to slip on a mask. A mask that would make everyone believe she was alright. "They are going to want to know what happened. I can tell Chan you aren't ready though if you need more time. " Eisa shook her head at this.
"No, I am alright. They need to know in case this leads to Kang trying to retaliate." Eisa took a deep breath, toweling off her wet hair. Yuna looked like she wanted to protest but then nodded.
"There are a few people who have been waiting for you," Yuna said a bit louder which caused the bedroom door to open slowly revealing a very worried-looking Felix and Han. They moved cautiously into the room until they saw Eisa open her arms, signaling that it's okay to hug her. They both rushed at her and basically tackled her on the bed. Yuna looked angry for a moment before her face softened. She could hear Han and Felix sniffling and see Eisa smiling as she consoled the two men.
"We were so worried. It's all our fault. We should have been watching more closely." Han whimpered. Felix sniffed next to him, and tears were in both their eyes.
"Eisa..." Felix looked at her with a trembling lip. Eisa touched his cheek and smiled.
"I'm okay you two. I am fine. It's not your fault. If anyone is to blame it's Kang." And me. She kept that part to herself. She knew they would argue against it being her fault. She would carry her guilt silently. "Let's go see everyone else. I have a briefing to give Chan."
Felix and Han refused to let go of her hands, each one holding one as they walked down the hall to the stairs.
As they descended the stairs, Eisa could hear raised voices coming from the dining room. She looked at Han and Felix questioningly.
"Jungkook and Yoongi are here from BTS and Chan are not really holding back on how effed the mission was," Han said softly. Eisa nodded then headed straight for the dining room despite the boys holding her hand protests.
Two men sat at one end of the table, a laptop in front of them. One had a small face, a lip piercing glimmered in the light. He was wearing a t-shirt so she could see the tattoos coving his arm and hand. The other was concentrating on the computer in front of them, typing furiously. His hair was pale, and he had a permanent sleepy expression despite the concentration. Chan's face across from them was hard. He had a cold hard look in his eyes that she had rarely seen since moving into the mansion. Minho stood behind Chan with a look of pure anger. His jaw was clenched, and his hand was balled into fists at his side. He wasn't speaking, just glaring down at the brown-haired, tattooed man. Eisa cleared her throat which caused all but the pale-haired man to jump slightly. Chan and Minho's faces softened upon seeing her. Minho looked like he wanted to move over to her, but he remained where he was. His face held a sense of relief at seeing her, she could see his body relax. Chan stood up and moved to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to push yourself. You should be resting. We can always talk later after," He glanced at the two men at the table. "They have left." His voice was a bit harder after he spoke this last sentence. Han and Felix detached themselves from Eisa, moving to stand near Yuna who hovered at the edge of the room.
"I'm fine, Chan. If they are from Bangtan, it might be best for them to hear this too." She looked over at the brown-haired man who was looking at her with intense interest. He poked the pale-haired man which caused him to scowl before realizing new people had entered the room.
"I'm Jungkook and this, " He motioned to the other man, "Is Yoongi. So, you are the new member of SKZ?" His eyes held curiosity while Yoongi gave a small smile, nodding before turning back to the computer. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Stray Kids is lucky to have such a" Jungkook glanced at Chan then back at Eisa, "lovely new doctor." He gave her a smile that was a bit more predatory than Eisa would have liked but she forced herself to give him a warm smile in return.
"My name is Eisa. A pleasure to meet you both." She turned to Chan, breaking eye contact with Jungkook. "Yuna and Yeji said you wanted my side of the mission? I am ready if you are." Chan took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair before nodding, and motioning for her to sit.
Eisa went through every detail of her part in the mission. She kept her face calm even as she described the assault. As she finished the last of what she remembered, she finally allowed herself to look at Chan, Minho, Han, and Felix. Chan's face was back to his cold mask. Not at her but at what she had said. Minho looked like he would like nothing more than to squeeze the life from Bu Kang-Dae. Felix and Han's faces switched between anger and pain. She spied Jungkook whose face flashed from neutral, to something close to shame before shifting back to neutral. She couldn't be sure if she had imagined it or not.
"He will pay," Minho growled. This surprised her for a moment, and she couldn't keep the surprise off her face. Minho's eyes flicked to her face, to the bruise on her cheek and the bags under her eyes before looking over at Jungkook. "Your intel. Where did you get it?" His voice was curt. Yoongi who had been silent the entire time sighed heavily and looked up from the computer in front of him.
"We have connections with BlackPink. They are working as double agents for us in the YG Syndicate. Kang has ties to 17 and their circle so they fed us the information." He looked at Minho and then Chan. "And before you bitch about them, their intel was solid when we verified it ourselves. Everything lined up. The files you copied show that Kang got paranoid and ordered the locks to be changed a week before the mission. We had no way to know of this." He went back to the computer.
"We didn't feed you bad info, Chan." Jungkook stood up and walked closer to Chan and Eisa. "Our lead was good but we didn't foresee Kang getting squirrely about everything." His eyes flicked to Eisa then back to Chan. "We have already sent a copy of the files to our server. Feel free to use any information you found." He turned to Eisa. "I am truly sorry for what happened to you. If you need anything, Bangtan will be there to help." He took a card from his pocket and placed it in Eisa's hand, allowing his hand to linger in hers for longer than needed. "Yoongi. We need to head back to Namjoon and the others. I hope to see you again soon, Eisa." He gave her a smile before exiting the room. Yoongi collected his laptop and moved out of the room as well, giving Eisa a small genuine smile before leaving.
Eisa looked at the card in her hand. BTS said on the front in purple lettering with what looked like some sort of symbol below it. On the back in the same purple lettering was a number. She pocketed the card and looked up when she heard a snort from Minho's direction.
"Do you believe them?" He spoke to Chan, but his eyes were trained on Eisa. She met his gaze and she saw that Minho had not been happy about the exchange between Jungkook and Eisa. His mood recently confused her but she pushed it back, rationalizing that he was concerned because she was a member of SKZ now. She also couldn't forget how much he doubted her, no matter how justified that doubt was it still left a sour taste in her mouth. No amount of concern or anger at her situation would wipe that from her mind. Chan moved back to his seat, motioning for the rest to be seated as well.
"It doesn't sit well with me but we have no real evidence that the information they gave us was intentionally bad. I would say we need to tread carefully from now on, especially where Bangtan is concerned." Chan turned to Eisa. "Thank you for sharing your side with us. I know that can't have been easy and I am sorry you had to relive that."
"As I said before, I'm fine. I knew what could go wrong when I volunteered for this mission. I was able to avoid anything worse and I don't believe Kang can trace this back to us." Eisa's voice was steady and strong. Stronger than she truly felt.
"I want you sticking close to the mansion for a while just to be safe. We will keep you off missions for the time being. Seungmin can cover any medical needs we might have. " Eisa held up a hand at Chan's statement.
"I understand sticking close to home but I am FINE. I can handle my role as a doctor. I am perfectly capable of doing my job, Chan. As much as I appreciate your concern, I don't want you to tip-toe around me like I am some fragile doll that's about to break. " She was firm when she said this but she held her temper.
"We know you are, Eisa. We were not questioning that. " Yuna spoke up from where she sat next to Han.
"We can help with any new missions as well, Chan," Yeji said coming into the room to sit next to Eisa. "I just spoke with Hongjoon as well and he agreed that we will need to all stick close together. "
Chan looked tired, too tired to argue. He just nodded and stood up from his seat.
"We are still going through all the data we collected but we believe there is some useful information on 17 and their affiliates in those files. I need to make a few calls. Let's have a meeting tomorrow evening to go through what we have. For now, everyone takes some time to rest and recover." Eisa knew the last statement was directed at her. He left the room heading toward his office, looking like he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders.
Han and Felix left to go work on the data that was collected, while Yeji and Yuna moved to take Eisa into the kitchen. Minho moved and put a hand on Eisa's shoulder stopping her. Eisa looked at Yeji and Yuna, nodding at them to go on ahead. She turned to face Minho.
"Can we talk?" He said in a quiet, soft voice. The voice sounded alien coming from him. She was used to angry, cold, or sarcastic Minho. All she could do was nod at him.
"I..." Minho tried to say something but then looked down at his feet struggling to find words. The way he had been acting since she returned had Eisa confused. She thought his mood swings were due to her being a member of the group, the worry, and anger because she was a part of SKZ. Standing here watching him struggle to speak had her questioning if there was more to it. He had been cold, annoying, and condescending to her since she got here. Now looking at the man in front of her, it was like he was a separate person entirely. He took a deep breath, looking her in the eyes this time.
"I was worried." He said in a quiet voice, so quiet that had he not been facing her, she would have questioned if he had spoken. "When we couldn't find you...I..." He took another breath and Eisa noticed his ears went from their normal pale skin tone to a flushed red. His hand moved like he wanted to grab her hand but then dropped. "I'm glad you're okay. If you aren't and you are just trying to put on a brave face, don't. I...We care about you. Pushing off your feelings, hiding them." His hand brushed hers slightly causing Eisa's breath to hitch. "It can eat you alive." They stood there staring at each other. After what felt like an eternity, Minho's face changed to its normal blank neutrality. "You should get some rest. " And with that, he left. Eisa stood there feeling very confused. Among the confusion, she couldn't ignore her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she thought back to his concerned words and the way their hands touched for the briefest moment.