Being quiet and reserved wasn't the answer to living a peaceful life. Life itself is a rollercoaster with tosses and turns you do not expect to see. And apparently it was Joo ri's turn to take the ride. But with her fear of heights, it was not going to be a smooth and pleasant one.
She was now sitting in front of a two-way mirror that revealed an interrogation room laying beyond it. Shaking out of her wits, Joo ri bounced her knees up and down, petrified. "You ready?" Yangyang stepped into the room.
Muscles compressed and agitating. The sheer overwhelming emotions took over her.
She was not the slightest bit ready. The raw enticing feelings of wanted to escape reality hit her like an animal pleading to be set free from a cage. She wished to have the ability to just freeze time or teleport to another location.
But life is just not easy
"No" she honestly spoke with no ounce of serenity in her eyes.
A soft smile adorned over his features. Sitting on the table, he tilted his head to the side as he observed her down casted expressions that looked up from her seated position on the chair.
"You'll be fine" he reassured. Though he thought his consideration and comforting words worked on her like a charm. The male was oblivious to the truth. The smile she masked on was nothing more than simply being a mask. Pressing a button, Yangyang stood up straight. "Mr. Lee you can let them in"
Raising his hand, Yangyang gestured to the interrogation room where 4 men began to walk in. Making their way further into the room they all turned towards the mirror with a chalkboard in their hands. Each with a number labelled from 1 to 4.
This kind of scene was something she had only watched on TV; like Brooklyn 99 when the culprits were singing "I want it that way" by Backstreet Boys. It was so much more fun to let your delusions experience it then actually forthcoming to such an event.
"Do you recognise any of them?"
Glancing over to him, Joo ri faced the culprits once again before pondering over her own thoughts.
Tell the truth or lie
○
As soon as she read that a message had come through from Eun tak, Joo ri wasted no time opening it. But you should always prepare yourself for the worst in life. Because you never know what is thrown at you.
At that moment a photo was thrown to her. One with Eun tak tied to a chair with masking tape sealing her mouth shut. An unmistakable scene that screamed "kidnapped".
Letting out a shriek, she dropped her phone onto the hard floor. Hands placed over her mouth, Joo ri lost all control of her body and limbs. She couldn't think straight nor move to her will.
Hyperventilating she sensed a turbulence of her nerves shaking like tremors. A chill ran over her skin as if all eyes were on her. A few judged while others worried. But before any of them approached her, Joo ri hysterically grabbed her phone and ran out the station.
The last thing she needed was an officer to see the photo and take the situation to another level. She was blind to what these people had to offer and she couldn't trust them wholeheartedly. The best thing was to approach this clever and safely.
Softly stroking the screen of her phone that presented the photo, Joo ri felt a delicate coolness glide down the warmth of her cheek. She was unable to hold back the trickle of a tear being released.
Biting her bottom lip she contemplated on whether to do what she was planning. Letting out a shaky breath she hit the call button and placed the phone to her ear.
Honestly speaking, she was confident that it would dial through and send a voice message informing that the person she was calling is not available. However, to her surprise, only 2 rings went through before it was picked up. Within an instant, they spoke. She did not even have the chance to take a breath.
"Are you alone?"
A closed question. Not even that difficult to answer. But she struggled. The authority his voice held was profuse. The raw strength and power stunned her. So deep and dark at the same time. It made her quiver in terror.
With a wavering breath, she attempted to grasp air to even speak as her voice was stuck at the back of her throat.
"Go somewhere quiet" he ordered. Obediently, walking further from the station, Joo ri unlocked her car and sat in the driver's seat.
"Alone?"
"Y-yes"
"Good"
Biting her bottom lip, she shut her eyes momentarily waiting for him to continue. She did not know what to expect.
"Lee Eun Tak. We have her as a hostage. We won't do anything to her as long as you do as we say"
Her chest tightened. All she could feel was a numbness of her lungs protruding out. She was in a blank state where she couldn't think anything properly. Her mind was all over the place wanting to escape this traumatic situation.
"It's nothing too difficult that a clever girl like you can't handle."
Flattery? She hated hearing such adulations in general. People tend to scatter and throw them around only when they need something. The cruel reality of human desires and selfishness.
It may charm some but never to Joo ri. And just like always it was not working.
Despite saying that, unlike usual where she ignores them with ease, it was not the case right now. Instead, her fear heightened aggressively. Just the tone of his voice and the confidence that oozed from every world was more than enough for Joo ri to understand that this stranger was up to no good. With the knowledge that she is talking to a person that is capable of committing crime, she instantly grew an impression of him.
He was one to not follow rules but to make them. One that does not value authority or morality.
She was going to be placed in a dangerous position
"One of our men has been arrested and all you have to do is release him"
Ridiculous. How is that not difficult? On top of that it's against her values and the law. Completely immoral.
"T-that's impossible"
She heard a sigh from the other side of the phone. He was getting impatient
"You can do it. And once you know how to, it will be easy . . . You'll do this for us won't you sweetheart?"
She wanted to say no. She did not want to commit a crime. But with Eun tak's life at stake she seemed to have no option. She saw what they were capable of last night and the last thing she wanted was them to hurt her.
But what bothered her the most was whether Eun tak really is ok. She couldn't trust them. They could be merely using her for their own benefits.
"We will send a photo of him and an address. After he is set free you are going to have to bring him to us safely."
"W-why am I supposed to bring him?"
"How else are you going to get the antidote?"
"Antidote?"
"Happen to feel an itch at the side of your neck?" she could hear his chuckle through the call. It instantly made her stomach hurl in disgust.
"You were injected with Ayquina neurotoxin with an additional poison. I would tell you the name but I don't want you going to the hospital . . . do I? And even if you did, they won't be able to help you because it's hard to detect in the body. For diagnosis or cause of death. So if you die . . . no one will know why"
Instinctively her hand reached up to her neck and she began to feel queasy in her stomach. Her view began to blur with tears filling up. She felt physically sick and faint. Like she initially thought she really had no choice to begin with. Whether she agreed with their terms or not, she would die if she refused.
He planned it all. He needs Joo ri to come to them so that she doesn't report to the police after releasing the man in custody. Therefore, she was poisoned. But also that she agrees no matter any circumstances.
"This stuff is nasty. You may feel fine now but it really eats up your insides slowly. The pain will just build up gradually and after 3-4 days, kaboom . . . you're dead."
Her cries could be heard through the call and sadistically it made him joyous at her agony.
"Don't worry sweetheart, I'm giving you a time limit. Bring him back before the end of tomorrow. Otherwise, the symptoms will start to kick in and you'd struggle. Do as I say or no antidote and dead Eun Tak beside your own dead body. . . Understand?"
A bullet pierced through her. Hand clutched onto the steering wheel, Joo ri gritted her teeth to stop herself from screaming her aching heart out loud.
"Understand?!"
"Yes"
She croaked out.
"Good girl. . .Now rescue our damsel in distress"
○
I have to do this. . . for Unnie's sake
She faced him head on. The criminal she had to help escape. As soon as the photo of him came through to her phone, she acknowledged him from elsewhere.
She learned that number 4 - the criminal, was also the same one from the toilets last night.
"Do you recognise any of them?" Yangyang repeated once again. Slowly nodding she kept on a stoic expression with lifeless orbs. They were dead, like a corpse.
But the truth is, that's also how she felt.
Dead inside.
"Are you sure it's him?" Yangyang confirmed as he followed the direction of her finger. Clenching her jaw, Joo ri nodded slowly.
"It's definitely him"
⚠️
This is a fictional book, therefore, symptoms and causes of the chemicals that are mentioned are not real