"Y-You're hurting me" I whisper, afraid on how he would react to it but the only thing I receive are jungkook's faint yells asking tae to let me go from a distance yet the older guy doesn't care and continues to stride forward.
"If anything happens to jimin, you won't see daylight again, trust me on that one" he says in a hoarse, strained voice and as if on purpose, bangs my elbow on one of the door handles to which I hiss in pain.
But that wasn't the thing that bothered me anymore, my physical pain no longer mattered because what I truly wanted to know was where could jimin be?
And why was hoseok so lost in his state of mind? Will anything happen to jungkook once I get locked in the chamber?
As several questions start popping in my head, I feel a sense of frustration wash over me.
The sight of jeon jungkook being held down, looking so powerless was honestly heart wrecking. What did he really do to the extent that his own gang member pressed a gun down his throat?
Drained of all the leftover energy I owned, I gawk around at the same surroundings I came across so many times tonight.
The same rooms, same people, same floor, same hallway and same carpet but this time things were so much different because I knew jungkook wouldn't be able to help me anymore.
I had to get out on my own, it all depended on me now. Earlier when I was getting dragged by the two agents, I atleast had some hope that the raven haired would come for my rescue but this time, he would not be able to; not when four hitmen were restraining him.
"Get inside"
Clicking myself back from my thoughts when taehyung's grip on my waist loosens before he proceeds to open the metallic gate that hung on it's hinges at a jaunty angle, I swivel back to see the room we just came out from get silent.
No sounds, no yells or murmurs, everything had gone silent in no time.
"What?" Hesitantly gulping, my eyes wander around the dark basement kind of place with no lights except the one empty space where builders had forgotten to add a brick or maybe just left it for oxygen to enter.
"I said get inside" taehyung repeats himself and forces me in but when my foot comes in contact with a puddle of liquid, I nearly shriek in fear and immediately grasp onto his jacket for support.
Huffing out shallow breaths, I squint my eyes to look at the pool of blood which I'm assuming agent D had left when he got shot by jeon.
"Stop acting, you're a mafia's daughter" the angered guy says and pushes me back in, this time with more pressure that makes me almost trip down on a slab of wood originally meant for taking rest.
"N-No! Wait please, don't leave me here" I plead, palms joined together in fear.
I didn't want to be in this chamber because I knew the thoughts that would flood in once I was left here alone.
All the vivid dreams, faces of the men who tried to do dirty things without my consent, fragments of my past, everything would come rushing in at once and it would be too much to take in for my brain.
However, when I see taehyung's lips curl upwards in an evil smirk, I regret pleading him immediately.
"Once jimin comes back home safe and sound, I'll set you free" he replies and pulls out a ring full of keys from his pocket, "thank me for not using handcuffs to stick you to the wall, you'd get bruises by tomorrow otherwise."
Cleching my fists tightly, I feel tears drip down my eyes after realising how much of a heartless person taehyung was.
No actually I wasn't crying because he was being heartless to me, I was crying because I was thinking about what he must have gone through to become this heartless, how much of hate he must have collected for me.
And that is exactly what defined me, the past and the hate.
My focus has always remained on other people's past yet when someone asks about mine, I don't recollect a single thing.
"And where actually is jimin?" I question, my tone scaringly monotenous.
"Boss kang kidnapped him" is all tae says before pulling the gate back close, leaving me with a head full of questions.
"What- what do you mean?" I shout, my feet moving by themselves towards the gate which he was busy locking but I don't get any response in return, just a deathly glare to send shivers down my spine.
"Taehyung, I need answers" I insist on making him speak.
"So do I" he mumbles.
Confusedly punching the ragged gate which creates a loud sound in the air, I furrow my brows and watch the male leave, his gait normal like he was returning back home after a regular workday.
"Such a bitch" I heave out a sigh and gently press my thumb down on the injured thigh before aggressively using both my hands to grab on the bars in an attempt to shake it and create some more noise.
This chunk of metal was barely hanging, almost just a frame at this point. It looked like a rotting heap, bowing down, subservient to the elements but still refused to break down even when I applied all my body pressure on it.
Swallowing thickly once I realise that there is literally no hope for me to escape whatsoever, I turn back and slowly limp to sit at a corner of the chamber.
On bare floor, yes.
"Ugh" I scoff, scooting down as my entire body shudders from the sudden contact of the cold ground.
Did dad really kidnap jimin because he couldn't get his hands on me? But...why? I'm only an adopted daughter, a liability. Why is he chasing me so much to the extent where he is ready to kidnap someone? I bet he knows he can go to jail for it.
My stomach shifts uneasily and I notice that the hands that I am hugging myself with are pinching into my skin. I release my hands but then I can't figure out what to do with them, so instead they clasp and unclasp each other as if in constant need of touch and reassurance.
Pulling my knees closer to my chest, I rest my chin there, letting the salty drops of water flow down and wetten my freshly changed pajamas.
I want to know who I am, where I belong from. I'm so tired of being treated like a toy, of getting misplaced every now and then. I want to know my place in the world, know the purpose I serve.
Curling my body more when cold air seeps under walls like the tide on a fridgid desolate beach, I shake in my not so suitable for the current weather attire and observe the spiders scurry in dark corners, their old webs flapping in dusty silence, clinging to the wall with their ghostly fingers.
Steadily moving my gaze down the little strings of web, I notice something white flash behind them and stretch my arm out to grab it at once.
"A paper?" I whisper and unfold it, pushing my back against the wall so I don't end up overworking my injured leg.
The paper namjoon passed last night...it's still here.
Fiddling with it's edges while I read the message over and over again, I sigh in disappointment.
"Your parents didn't die they were killed" and behind it read, "kang jinwoo"
Disappointment because it made sense, because I wasn't ready to believe that the reason my family got destroyed was due to mister kang's strategies.
My whole childhood would be a lie if this turned out to be true, I trusted this man with my entire heart and thought the reason I was breathing today was because he was my guardian angel.
I need to get in contact with kang if I want to set jimin free and also get my questions answered, this whole game was fun while it lasted but I cannot risk someone else's life for my enjoyment.
-end of y/n's pov-
"What did you do to her?" Jungkook practically growls once he sees taehyung enter the guest room with a smile carved across his face, his arms beginning to ache from namjoon's ruthless hold on them.
"Nothing" tae laughs in a mocking way, "but I will do a lot if you ever choose her over the gang"
The casual manner of talking that tae was doing as if your life was a game to him makes jungkook boil in anger, his muscles tensing up along with his gritted teeth.
"Hyung, I asked what did you do to y/n? Is she okay? She gets triggered by blood and till where I know, the chamber is completely covered with that liquid since I didn't get time to send the maids for cleaning it after carrying out the dead body"
Without showing much interest, the elder male kicks the door back shut and signals namjoon and jin to set jungkook free.
"She's okay, don't worry. I promise to let her leave once you bring jimin back"
"I told you I'll bring him back tomorrow" the raven haired slightly raises his voice, "what do I need to do to prove myself? I'm the gang leader, I know what my responsibilities are"
"But you don't deserve the title and you know it just as well as all of us do" jin mumbles, to which namjoon nods in agreement.
Knowing damn well in which direction this conversation was going, jungkook's lips turn downwards in a frown, the pulse on his forehead throbbing because he felt hopeless.
Hopeless because there was nothing he could do to save you from that hellhole since doing it would mean going against his own laws which he had to prevent no matter what.
He was supposed to set an example for everyone who looked up to him, he was supposed to but could he when you were in such a troubled state of mind?
With a face contorted into a snarl, jungkook furiously moves towards the bathroom again, his towel hiding the bare minimum it actually should.
"Where are you going?" Joon questions before resting his arm on the main exit doorframe, misunderstanding the gang leader's true intentions.
"You're a rival, stay in your lane and stop pretending to be one of us" jungkook mutters as his hand grabs onto a black tee hanging from the peg nearby, "jin hyung, I'll leave now. Lock all doors starting straight from the main gate and stay armed in case something happens. Inform each one of our associates and instruct them to find jimin's location once I reach gangnam."
"But where are you leaving to? It's past midnight" the eldest says, his tone laced with worry this time.
"I cannot let y/n stay there overnight, I'll go bring jimin right now"
Immediately comprehending how much of a bad idea it was to go at night when everything was draped in darkness and a thunderstorm was taking its toll on seoul, taehyung shakes his head in a no.
"That's a terrible idea" he mutters, attempting to keep his palm on jungkook's shoulder which the other male successfully dodges.
"You don't tell me what to do and what not to. My gang mate is in trouble, I'm gonna save him"
Jungkook replies and slips into the black tee at once before walking into the fog filled washroom to grab his handgun along with a pair of pants, of course.
"Are you fucking crazy? Jeon, I said there's a thundersto-"
"I don't care"
The short answer that slips from the stubborn guy makes taehyung more than angry, he begins to spit under his breath as he sits seething in his seat. A look of pure, unwavering fury settles across his visage. His stare fixates on the fireplace, whose reflected flames dance with malice in his eyes.
A cloud of thick silence hovers over the four men again, very well knowing the reason behind why each one of them was filled with rage.
If anyone dared to go against jungkook's decisions, they knew that would be against the law since he was the leader of the pack, no matter how much older and smarter they were, they were aware of the fact that the decision jungkook took was always finalised.
Correcting him when he didn't abide with his own rules was a different thing and not following his orders was another.
Facepalming himself, namjoon exhales a breath he had been holding for a long time. He could feel his heart pound and his blood pressure rise as he did all in his power to push down the rage, and not break.
Most people suppressed anger by crying, by walking away or by showing violence but namjoon was different.
He liked to play with other's brains in hopes that they would spit out something they weren't meant to because he knew humans always tend to lose control over their mouth when they got angry.
He was smart and he would use that to his advantage at all times.
Pushing his jelled back hair further behind, kim namjoon decides to mess with his frenemy a little.
"Are you done changing yet?" He asks, leaning onto the wall beside.
However, jungkook on the other hand already knowing his tricks doesn't say anything and simply walks out with his black ripped jeans.
"Does this answer your question?"
"Hmm...don't you need some backup in case something happens? You're dealing with boss kang this time, biggest korean mafia"
"I like to work alone"
"Is she really that important to you?"
Caught offguard by an unexpected question, jungkook's brows cock like a blade, tumbling flame seeming like it was gonna rush out of his eyes if no one controlled him soon.
"You know I don't like it when you talk about her, right?"
"Just give me a reply"
Glancing around to see jin's head lowered, letting things happen they way they were while taehyung was still focused on the fireplace, the raven haired cracks his knuckles and nods.
"She is"
"Then can you die for her?"
Clearly getting annoyed by questions being thrown from a person he couldn't care less about, he moves forward, making namjoon back off a little.
"Die?" He laughs mockingly, "dude, I can...I can live for her. In fact, I am living for her even though I know I'm hated by the whole of asia alright? I'm living even when I know all of you hate me from the inside. I act dumb but deep down, I know no one likes me yet I'm continuing my life for her, it's all for y/n because I also know that if I die today, there will be no one to tell her the truth and protect her. Dying is easy, living when you are hated by millions is not"
Surprised by the youngest member's detailed yet straight to the point answer, namjoon smirks and decides to go for another, "would you get back to your normal life if she ever asked you to then?"
"Joon, that's enough" Jin interferes, noticing the way the atmosphere was becoming more and more tight around them.
"No it's alright" jungkook answers, "I am the gang leader because of her, because it would be easier to get in contact with her if I were to be the leader. So, if she ever asks me to get down from the throne, I'm okay with it. The only thing that matters to me is her happiness"
"Then why the fuck did you even kidnap her? She was happy in her big ass mansion" taehyung mumbles, his nails starting to dig deep into the cream coloured couch.
"She wasn't. She just had things which were meant to divert her mind so she could never remember her past. That's not what you call being happy, the reason she is so innocent and naive is because she was never exposed. People might call it stupid at first but if they were ever forced into a situation like hers, they would have died by now. They don't know the pressure that is built upon you when you have to fight to survive and carry the expectations of a grumpy old man just because he pretended to save your life. Being an orphan out of nowhere isn't easy, especially when you are a 6 year old where you can actually remember your parents."
"Why does he talk as if his whole life depends on her?" Tae cocks a brow, "who even is she for real?"
"The love of my life, the girl I can do anything for, the girl whom I want to spend the rest of my life with and teach that there is no purpose she needs to serve in this world...that she doesn't have a specific place she belongs to, she just has to be where I am and everything else will get well eventually....even though I know what I do for her will never be enough compared to what she has done for me"
"And...what has she done?"
"Save my life, twice."
"I thought she is just boss choi's daughter, where did all of this saving each other's life come from"
"There's so much no one knows about" jungkook chuckles, "and I don't want to bother talking about it to you either so the only thing I'd like for everyone in this room to know is that I love her. She belongs to me the way I belong to her and nothing will ever be able to change that"
Namjoon's forehead wrinkles as he rolls his sleeves, thumb trailing down the tattoos on his arms, "and where is the proof that you both are bound to each other? What if y/n is not boss choi's daughter? What if you just carried a random girl from the streets because she claimed her surname to be choi?"
"The tattoo" jungkook says without any hesitation, finger sharply pointed towards his chest, "she has the elite tattoo and so do I, so did boss choi and his wife. I know it's supposed to be a tattoo for divisions of hierarchy but for us, it also stands for love and adoration"
•
"Tattoo?" Hyerin, who had been eavesdropping from outside repeats, glancing at the little butterfly design on her wrist, "why don't I have that then?"
Feeling her blood boil by the way jungkook was talking so passionately about another woman, she pulls out a string of keys from her night gown and stomps down the hallway.
"Let me see the tattoo of boss choi's daughter too then"
.....
Author's note
Q. Do you guys read in scrolling mode or sliding mode?
Please remember to vote if you enjoyed reading and want to motivate me more
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