They say it's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop.
It came hard and fast when Yunhee struck something solid, but it was not the painful impact of bone smacking concrete. She was folded in half at an awkward angle, her knees hooked over a bicep while another curled around her back.
'Jesus fucking Christ!' a hoarse voice panted. 'Are you okay?'
When Yunhee's eyes fluttered open, she found herself nose-to-nose with a terror-ridden Jimin.
He'd caught her just in the nick of time, sprinting to the base of the water tank faster than you could say Usain Bolt. Thankful didn't even cut it, but with the relief that her mafioso boyfriend had saved her arse yet again, came a smog of panic and confusion as they stared at each other.
Seconds felt like hours, all sounds lost in the ghastly silence of what had just happened until another bullet caromed off the tank.
Jimin blasphemed and ducked, hurriedly tucking Yunhee beneath the parapet as an alarmed Tae and disgruntled Jin and Joon scurried over to take cover.
'Please tell me that's not who I think it is,' Jimin seethed as Yunhee spared a glance at the water tank.
The stone was still up there, unobtainable as a third bullet flew above their heads and rebounded off the hatch. Someone was stopping them from opening the portal, and it didn't take an astrophysicist to figure out who.
Dread churned in Yunhee's gut as Tae - face stonier than a mausoleum crypt - rose to his haunches to glimpse over the wall.
'Shit,' he spat. 'How the fuck did he find us?'
'Our plan didn't work, then,' Joon said as he peeped over the ledge.
'I told you,' Jin tutted while glaring at Tae. 'You should have sent me to talk to him instead.'
Swayed with a sudden grip of anger, Yunhee scrambled out of Jimin's strong arms to peek over the parapet herself.
It was exactly as she feared.
Six storeys below in the tranquil street, a brigade of armed men filed into the building through the main entrance, while Taehyung - leaning calmly against the bonnet of a black Sudan - toked on a cigarette and tapped a smoking Raptor against his thigh.
'No...' Yunhee's heart seesawed when his icy gaze - tapered and cold - flicked up and locked onto hers.
Unable to tear her eyes away, she watched Taehyung cock his head in a quizzical manner before his morose pout arched into a diabolical smirk and he sent her a taunting wave.
'No, no, no.'
In the midst of the sadistic whispers swooping through air, Yunhee was aware of Jimin shifting to the base of the water tank. He was going for the stone, eager to grab it before they became trapped, but her heart skipped numerous beats when Taehyung released a wicked laugh and angled his Raptor up at the roof.
'Get down!' Joon hollered as the bullet flew through the air and bounced off the metal structure.
Jimin dropped from the ladder, landing in a crouch before yanking the hypnotised woman away from the parapet.
'You need to get off this rooftop now.' Jimin's voice was ragged, but it broke the spell, the whispers dissipating as he ushered Yunhee to the fire escape. 'Go. Don't stop until you reach the bottom. Then you run, you hear me?'
'What about you?' Yunhee shrieked.
'We'll hold them off, darling,' Jimin said as he helped her onto the staircase. 'Just go.'
A gentle shove from the mob boss, and Yunhee belted down the steps two at a time, but she stopped dead when she saw a gang of brawny men running along the alley directly below.
'You've got to be kidding me...' she muttered while leaning over the handrail to take a closer look.
Taehyung's dogs were swarming the building, their boots clomping on the grilles as they invaded the base of the fire escape.
'The window!' Jimin screamed from above as he and his comrades fired at the advancing men. 'Use the bedroom window!'
Peering through the metal grates beneath her shoes, Yunhee saw the muslin drapes billowing from inside the apartment one floor below. Taehyung's cronies were coming right for her, but they were still only a couple of flights up.
Knowing she could make it before they did, Yunhee bombed it down the remaining steps and clambered through the bedroom window.
'Jinnie!' she screamed as she tumbled onto the floor with her ankles tangled in the curtains. 'Joonie? Mee!'
Detangling herself, she sprang to her feet and darted into the living room, clutching the sofa armrest when she realised the place was deserted.
Had they taken refuge after hearing the gunfire? If so, where had they gone? There was no way out. The fire escape was teeming with men, while Satan himself blocked the main entrance.
They had to be somewhere inside the building.
Hoping to find her friends hiding in a neighbouring flat, Yunhee vaulted over the coffee table and hastened to the apartment door, but when a double shot pierced her eardrums and the jamb splintered at the hinges, she skidded to a standstill.
Another two shots, and the joints buckled before the door burst from the frame and crashed inwards into the hallway.
Falling onto her backside in fright, Yunhee retreated along the floor, a cry of horror lodging in her throat when Taehyung stomped over the destruction with a duo of military men flanking his imposing figure.
'There you are, precious.'
Fuck no.
Yunhee was on her feet in a split second, dashing back through the living room and overturning all furniture she could get her hands on.
Ornaments smashed in her wake, lamps shattering and books splattering, but Taehyung - undeterred by the chaos she created to slow him down - stalked after her without a care in the world.
Tripping her way back into the bedroom, she made a desperate break for the window, but it was too late.
The dramatic sigh from Taehyung when he caught up with her was deafening, his prickly tsk of disapproval sending shivers down her spine when he clasped the back of her neck and spun her around.
'Why, look,' he purred as he languidly surveyed the decor around them, 'it's our first bedroom.'
Keeping her gaze trained on the wafting drapes, Yunhee jostled to rid her neck of his ruthless hold, praying that Jimin would hurry as bullets continued to pelt the rear of the property. But Taehyung was adamant, snagging her chin and forcing eye contact as the scar on his cheekbone twisted with his devilsome leer.
'Would you like me to punish you on this bed? Or shall I wait until we get home?'
'Don't answer him, Yunhee!'
'J-Jinnie!' Yunhee gasped, her heart sinking like an anchor when one of Taehyung's men pushed him into the bedroom. Joonie trudged in next, a gun glued to his sweating temple while Mee - wincing beneath the grasp of the second guard - was dragged in behind them. 'Let them go!'
'Spare me the histrionics, Hahm,' Taehyung murmured as he freed her neck and nudged her towards the fire escape. 'Perfidious ladies first.'
'Taehyung, wait-'
'Move,' he rumbled with a sharp pat to her arse.
Yunhee ground her teeth together as she begrudgingly manoeuvred to the window.
Of course, Taehyung wanted her and the stone, but he couldn't obtain the latter without her help, and the only way to the rooftop was via the staircase.
There was not a charlatan's chance in hell she was going to hand it over, but disobeying him and acting rash would get her nowhere.
Protection came in the form of the four men in the heat of a crossfire, and so instead of punching the facetious bastard in the face, she did as she was told and climbed outside.
Stiffening in the cold night air, Yunhee's gaze elevated to the scene playing out above.
On the next flight of steps stood Tae, Jin and Joon, incensed as they fired round after round at the oncoming adversary. Just below them and hotfooting it down to the apartment, was Jimin.
She wanted to run to him, but Taehyung was keeping her on a short leash, fisting her sweater as he took a pew under the sash window and stretched his legs along the sill.
'Yunhee!' Jimin screeched as he barrelled onto the landing. 'What the-?'
If berating glares could slaughter, she'd be dead at his feet.
She could see it in Jimin's eyes when he snatched her by the biceps, the sheer bewilderment as words failed him. He wanted to shake her silly for leaving the safety of the building. He was about to, but he stalled when she shook her head and subtly shifted her gaze over her shoulder.
With a knotted brow, Jimin glanced behind her, his features turning to marble when he saw his archenemy lounging like a cat beneath the window pane and his friends held at gunpoint inside the bedroom.
'Oh, crap...' Tae whispered as he, Jin and Joon slewed to a breathless stop behind him.
'Crap doesn't even cut it,' Joon rasped.
'Try poo on a stick,' Jin grumped. 'How'd the bloodclaat get up here so fast?'
'Very witty, gentlemen,' Taehyung drawled while Jimin slowly raised his gun above his head. 'I must say, I'm impressed. The lengths you went to to get her back. And you,' he mused as his arrowlike gaze homed in on his doppelgänger, 'awfully nice try, but...'
Scrunching the prominent bridge of his nose, Taehyung slid a smartphone from his tux pocket and jiggled a tracking app in their faces.
'I like to keep a close eye on my dogs.'
'For goodness' sake!' Jin griped as he elbowed Tae in the ribs. 'He tracked us! I told you to ditch Hoseok's phone.'
'No you didn't,' Tae hissed through the side of his mouth. 'You said-'
'Do be quiet.' Lazily drawing his Raptor, Taehyung directed it into the bedroom and pointed it at Mee's head with a charming smile. 'Why don't we lose the weapons, boys?'
Sorrow, vehemence, frustration.
A handful of the complex emotions that embodied Yunhee as each and every one of her guardians tossed their firearms over the railing and the volley of men they'd tried to fight off surrounded them on all sides.
'Good,' Taehyung grinned as he swung his feet through the window and hopped onto the metal grilles. 'Rooftop party, anyone?'
*
'Can we please slow down?' Yunhee growled when she almost tripped up the stairs.
Why did imperious shit stains such as Kim Taehyung always insist on dragging women around by the arm? She had a decent pair of legs that worked and was willing to use despite the dire circumstances.
'Time is precious, precious,' was Taehyung's ingenious reply, his unforgiving grip leaving finger-sized bruises on her skin as he hauled her up the fire escape.
'Very witty,' Yunhee mumbled while slyly examining her band of friends not too far ahead.
Jimin had yet to take his eyes off her as he climbed the staircase with Tae and his bitter companions. She could see their fists balling, the veins in their temples pulsating as they were forced up to the roof by six armed soldiers.
Plodding up behind them were the others. Jinnie, infuriated and boldly chewing off the ear of the gorilla who had the audacity to put his hands on Mee, and a pale as the moon Joonie, warning his flatmate to keep his trap shut before The Dark Energy picked everyone up and flung them into the alley.
'I'm curious.' Taehyung's mouth was perilously close to her ear as they ascended. 'What did you do with the ruby necklace?'
'I threw it in the garbage.' Lips contorting into a caustic smirk, Yunhee broke eye contact with Jimin to stare at her tormentor. 'Along with the dress.'
'You did?' Taehyung gasped as he quickly searched her face; a flagrant spurt of sarcasm if ever there was one. 'How ungrateful of you.'
'Bite me, you insufferable bastard.'
'Mmm,' Taehyung mulled while gnawing on his red lips, 'when will you learn not to make such hurtful remarks when in my presence?'
'When will you learn how to treat a woman with respect?'
'You wound me, sweetcheeks.'
'Why don't you sod off, then?'
'Because you and I will always have unfinished business.'
Batting her eyelashes, Yunhee flashed him a dazzling grin. 'Can't you see the "fuck you" in my smile, dear?'
Taehyung's smile was equally bright, his demeanour seemingly unfazed as he tugged her up the rest of the fire escape. Naturally, he was enjoying their jocular repartee, and so Yunhee put a lid on it, focusing her energy on coming up with a way to get them out of their conundrum.
Glimpsing skywards, she watched Taehyung's guards shepherd her seven companions onto the rooftop. Even if they were equipped with weapons, they were still outnumbered, and this here Mafia King and his soldiers were skilled.
Taehyung had the advantage, but it wouldn't be difficult to shift the odds. The vortex was their greatest asset, a thousand times more powerful than an armoury of assault rifles, machine guns and grenades.
Reaching the peak of the staircase, Taehyung assisted Yunhee onto the rooftop while she glimpsed at the water tank in the corner and assessed the logistics.
The armed guards were assembled in the centre of the roof now, but Jimin and her friends were lined up against the parapet with a throng of guns targeting their chests. If they retaliated, they would be shot. If any of them took a step backwards, they would fall to their death.
Great, Yunhee thought as Taehyung - intentionally keeping her separated from her allies - brought her to a stop and breathed in a lungful of air.
'What a marvellous view!' he broadcast, admiring the rising sun before sparing Yunhee a scornful glance. 'Not a patch on Lotte World Tower, however. Wouldn't you agree?'
'Enough with your pillory, Taehyung!' Jimin called out. 'It's fucking tedious!'
'It is?' Taehyung's lashes wavered as he sloped his head towards the irked mobster. 'Why didn't you tell me sooner, Jiminie? Do you think I need to work on my people skills?'
To everyone's surprise, Tae began to laugh, swiping his palm over his mouth as he resignedly took a seat on the parapet. 'Jesus Christ, you're never going to stop, are you?'
'Ah,' Taehyung uttered while curiously inspecting his doppelgänger, 'but you said it yourself; Jimin is the core problem. Remove him from the equation, and Yunhee will see where she truly belongs.'
'You actually took that part of our conversation seriously?' Tae snorted. 'You really are deranged.'
'I concur!' Jinnie squawked.
It was the first time Taehyung had let go of Yunhee's arm since leaving the apartment, but their disconnection brought only further heartache. He was now three steps closer to Tae, his Raptor levelled and aimed right between his eyes.
'Do it,' Tae voiced huskily as he rose to his feet with a ferocious expression. 'I'd rather spend my days rotting in hell than see Yunhee in your hands.'
'How vibrant your true colours are,' Taehyung sneered as his finger pulsated around the trigger.
'Hey!' Jimin snapped to capture his attention. 'Why don't you let these people go, and you and I finish this man to man?'
'Hmm,' Taehyung pondered while rolling his Raptor from side to side, 'last time you made such an enticing suggestion, you got a little giddy, and I lost two of my best men.'
'Three, now,' Jin threw in, 'perhaps it's time you took the hint.'
'Ah, yes,' Taehyung chuckled without taking his eyes from Tae. 'Tell me, dear brother; how was it you snuffed Hoseok, exactly?'
'It was a Ka-bar,' Yunhee vigorously interrupted. 'Would you like me to go into detail of how satisfying it felt plunging into his stomach?'
Her confession did the trick, distracting Taehyung enough for him to swivel around with piqued brows.
'So, it was you that killed my right-hand man. Very impressive.'
'Glad you agree.' Ensuring his gaze was bonded to hers, Yunhee inched closer to the man who had the power to bring her to her knees.
But their disillusioned state was not a one-sided affair. She too held that power.
Taehyung's Raptor was sinking as she approached, the lure of The Dark Energy drawing him towards her as she cast him a sultry smile. 'Now, how about you let these people go, and you and I finish this woman to man?'
'Oh, I'm more than willing to spar with you "woman to man", precious,' he chuckled as she hopscotched her fingernail along his shirt buttons, 'but there's a time and a place for such activities.'
Abruptly seizing her arm, Taehyung pulled Yunhee towards the water tank, his gaze flitting up the ladder rung before colliding with hers.
'Bring me the stone.'
It was exactly what Yunhee wanted to hear, the window of opportunity she needed to get them out of this hazardous mess, but as she reached up to grab the ladder and hoist herself onto the first rung, the expression on Taehyung's face told her to be vigilant.
He'd already clocked her intentions. He knew the stone could be used as a weapon; she could see it in his blazing eyes as he meandered closer to Mee.
'Let's start with the redhead, shall we?' Taehyung snarled.
A synchronised cry of protest erupted from the group when he snagged Mee's hair and dragged her up onto the parapet to hold over the edge of the building.
'Stop!' Panicked and downright infuriated, Jinnie lunged at Taehyung with an almighty wail, but Jimin and Joon grabbed him before he could intervene, holding his struggling body at bay.
'J-Jinnie...' Mee whimpered, one arm flailing while her other hand grasped the fingers fisting her hair. 'D-don't...'
'Chop-chop, precious,' Taehyung sang as his eyes seared into Yunhee's.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Yunhee glared at him and started to climb the water tower.
The only thing stopping Mee from falling was Taehyung's firm grip.
If she didn't do as he asked, he would let go, and Mee would die.
If she collected the stone and hurled it at Taehyung, they would fall and die together.
But if she did exactly as Taehyung bid, he would throw Mee off the building anyway and order his men to slaughter everyone she adored.
Arriving at the top of the ladder, Yunhee came face-to-face with the stone resting beside the open hatch. She was reaching over to pull it in her direction when a sudden thought struck her, and with that, she paused and glanced over her shoulder.
Taehyung stood on the parapet wall close to the water tank and all of her friends, but his gun wielding apes were still huddled in the middle of the rooftop.
Would the bunch of armed guards be out of range should the vortex open?
'The stone, Yunhee,' Taehyung growled as Mee's crimson locks slipped through his fingers. 'Bring it to me.'
Eurgh, that irritated tone, one that men reserved for women they thought slow or stupid. She was tired of hearing it.
'Hey, big balls?' Yunhee hollered as she slid the stone to the edge of the hatch. 'Why don't we take this bullshit back to that special place of ours?'
Taehyung's arrogant features dropped like lead when he realised her intention. 'Hahm! Don't you dare!'
'Do it, darling,' Jimin rasped.
Holding onto the ladder for dear life, Yunhee smirked and pushed the stone into the water, meeting Taehyung's astonished eyes as the giant globe exploded from the tank and enveloped him and all of her loved ones.
***
21st January 2023