You kept your ear glued to your door, wondering if the boys were finally asleep. Ever since Hoseok and Jin had brought you to your room, it was like the entire house was silent. They made you promise to stay in your room until somebody came to get you. Of course, you had sworn not to leave your room, mainly because you didn't want to get in any trouble. But at this point, it didn't look like anyone was coming to get you.
About two hours ago, you found a dinner tray resting just outside your door. Nobody was in the hallway, and the food was still warm, so you pulled it into your room and ate. It didn't take you long to finish your food at all. So now you were sitting awake in your room, waiting to make sure that everyone else was asleep.
You quickly found that there was a big problem with staying up so late. Everybody else had to think that you were asleep too. All of the lights in your room were off except for a single, dimly lit lamp. The light from the hallway seeped in from the gap beneath the door.
You rubbed your eyes underneath your glasses and yawned. You put your hand back on the door to steady yourself. You took a deep breath and slowly blinked your eyes. It was getting hard for you to keep yourself awake.
You glanced over your shoulder at the window. The land outside of the light brown curtains and white frames was completely dark. The sun had set ages ago. At this point, you were either ensuring your safety or wasting time. The only problem was, you weren't entirely sure which one you were doing.
I can't just wait around any longer. I could be ruining my chances of getting to Jiyong.
You pushed yourself off the door and planted yourself firmly on your feet. You set your hand on top of the doorknob and listened carefully. The house was completely silent. You slowly pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. You searched the hallway for any sign of the boys. When you were sure you were safe, you closed the door and descended the stairs.
As you went down the stairs, you pressed yourself close to the railing. You searched the first floor for any sign of the boys. For now, it seemed like you were in the clear.
"She's on her way down right now."
You stopped in your tracks and held your breath. You could feel your heart pounding dangerously in your chest. You quickly pressed yourself up against the wall and whipped your head around, looking for the source of the voice. It didn't take you long to realize that the dining room light was on. From where you were, you could see three different shadows on the floor.
They know I'm down here.
"Are you certain she's going to be here?" Another voice asked.
You watched as the three boys in the kitchen shuffled around, and got closer to the door. You could feel your legs shaking as they all paused just in front of the doorway.
"We're both certain," the third voice chimed in. "A few minutes ago, I got a few reports that a group of black vans was speeding through Wonju. It seemed a little suspicious."
They're not talking about me? That means that they don't know I'm down here--I can still sneak past them.
You tiptoed down the remaining stairs, not daring to make a sound. Your eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the room, making it easier for you to dodge the chairs, couches, and tables. You edged yourself closer and closer to the lounge, but you paused every time you heard the boys start to shift again.
"Does she know where we want to meet her?" The second voice asked.
"At the old bridge about sixteen kilometers from here, the day after tomorrow just after sunset," the first voice replied. "I made sure that the letter specified when and where."
Are they sure that "after sunset" is specific enough? I wonder who's on their way here.
Soon enough, you were standing just beside the door to the dining room. You held your breath and pressed yourself into the wall. You were so close that you could hear each of the boys breathing and see the small movements their shadows were making.
"So, how much money is she bringing?" You could hear Jin's voice cut through the silence. "Do you think it's a good enough price?"
"I wish," Namjoon chuckled sadly. "As far as I know, she's only bringing two million. I'm going to wait to push the price until the day of."
"She might not bring anything more with her," Hoseok added. "That might not be a good strategy."
"Something tells me that she's going to have more than two million with her," Namjoon said. "I know how business works."
Once you were sure that the boys were distracted, you slipped past the open doorway. You steered clear of the light to keep yourself from being seen. Once you were past the door, you didn't stop walking. You could hear the voices of the boys get quieter and quieter as you got farther and farther away from them.
There's no going back now.
* * * *
You paused just in front of the door to Jiyong's cell, the keys dangling from your fingertips. Out of nervous habit, you adjusted your glasses. You stared at the door, your heart beating loudly in your chest. You looked down at the keys and started flipping through them until you found the ones that matched with the locks on the door to the cell.
I'm so nervous, but I don't know why.
You slid one of the keys into the first lock and listened for the tumblers as you turned the key. You brought the next key up to the lock on the doorknob and pressed it into the thin metal slit. You turned the key, and the door was completely unlocked. You placed your hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open.
The worst that he could say is no, right?
The light from his cell flooded into the dimly lit hallway. You could see his dark, blurry figure resting in the middle of the room. You smiled and waved your hand at him. You saw him raise his arm as if to wave back at you. As you stepped into the room, he quickly threw his arm down and sent something flying at you.
"Stay the hell away from me, you bitch!"
His shoe slammed into your cheekbone, sending your glasses flying out into the hallway. You smacked against the wall just inside the doorway and brought your hand up to your face. He had an unbelievably strong arm. You looked up at the blurry figure sitting in the middle of the room, waiting for him to do something else.
"I don't have any more fucking answers for you," Jiyong spat, moving to untie his other shoe. "I don't even understand why you bastards are keeping me here anymore. I'm damn useless."
"P-Please, don't throw it," you begged, bringing your hands up to cover your face. "I'm not here to question you."
"Like hell, you're not," he barked. "I can't believe I didn't see it last time. You've been working for them. You're just their bitch."
"Jiyong, please, I want--"
"I couldn't give a fuck about what you want," Jiyong said, holding up his other shoe, ready to aim again. "And who said that you could call me Jiyong? Namjoon and his cronies may love it when you call out their first names, but I--"
"Would you shut the hell up and give me a goddamned second?!" You yelled, heaving yourself off of the wall. You could feel the tears running down your cheeks as you felt your way out into the hallway.
I should've known something like this would happen. That throws a wrench in things.
You dropped to your knees and felt around for your glasses. While you were focusing on finding your glasses, you could feel yourself start to calm down. Your hand hit something familiar, and you wrapped your hand around the frames. You happily wiped the lenses down and slid the frames on over your nose. You let out a sigh of relief when you found that the lenses were completely free of cracks.
You stood up and turned back to face the open door to Jiyong's cell. He was sitting in his chair with his hands folded neatly in his lap, but he was facing another wall in the cell. He had set the shoe down just beside him, but it was close enough for him to grab it if he needed it. You took a deep breath and walked back into the room.
"Okay," you calmly whispered. Jiyong's eyes instantly flickered over to you. You felt your entire body tense, and you looked down at the shoe he had resting by his feet. You gulped and then looked back up at him.
This time, I'm prepared.
"T-Thanks for not throwing your other shoe," you awkwardly stuttered, slowly and carefully crossing the room. "If you don't want me to say your name, what do you want me to call you?"
"What the hell do you want from me?" Jiyong growled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. "Why are you still here?"
Why am I still here?
"I want to help you," you said, stopping a few feet away from him. "That's what I'm here to do."
"I don't like whores, so I'm going to have to pass," Jiyong scoffed. "Although, I might just need some convincing."
You could feel your entire body tense up, and a wave of anger ran through you. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, trying to calm yourself. You could feel yourself relax, and you opened your eyes again.
"That's not what I meant," you shook your head, "and you know that."
"Do I?" Jiyong cocked his head and gave you a dirty smirk. "What kind of help are you offering me then, love?"
"You don't want to be here anymore, right?" Jiyong nodded his head. "I don't want to be here anymore either. We're going to get out of here."
"Why would you want to leave?" Jiyong asked, leaning forward in his seat. "You're clearly the queen of this palace, from what I can see."
"That shows what you know," you rolled your eyes. "It might not seem like it, but I'm a prisoner too."
"I don't believe you," Jiyong dismissed you by turning his cheek. "They're not treating you like you're a prisoner. It's more like you're an ally."
"You're right," you said, running a hand through your hair. "But I can't stay here any longer. I need to get out of here, and I might as well be taking you with me."
"Why can't you stay here any longer?" Jiyong asked. "I don't see how you could have any problems if you're on their good side."
"I have to get home to my family," you said, looking down at your feet. "I can't stay here forever, no matter how they're treating me. It's the same with you too. They can't keep you here forever. I'm going to take you with me."
"And exactly why should I trust you?" Jiyong asked, putting his hand on his chin. "How do I know that this isn't just a trap?"
He's right--he can't trust me.
"I don't have anything that I can tell you," you shook your head. "If it'll get you to believe me, I might have something that I can give you. They took almost everything from me, so it'll have to be something I have on me right now."
"Alright then," Jiyong said, looking you up and down. "I'm waiting."
You quickly looked down and realized that you had nothing to give except for clothing. You had to keep the keys, your glasses, and your shoes, otherwise, the boys would know that something was up. You looked up and saw Jiyong's intense stare as he waited for you to make your decision.
I could give him--oh, wait! I almost forgot.
"This is all that I have to give," you said as you reached down for your shoe. You quickly undid the laces and slid your shoe off of your foot. You reached inside the shoe and pulled out both of the slightly crumpled won bills. You set your shoe down on the floor beside you and unfolded the two bills.
"It's about 100,000 won," you said, holding out both of the won bills. "They might smell a little funky because they've been hiding in my shoes for the past few days. It's all that I can give."
"That's somewhat disappointing, but I'll take it," Jiyong said, pulling the bills out of your fingers and pocketing them both. "I was hoping that you would take something off and give it to me."
"Now you can trust me, right?" You asked, purposely ignoring his last comment.
"I haven't made up my mind yet," he said, pretending to check his fingernails for dirt. "But, something tells me that those bills weren't originally yours. I'll hold onto them for you until we escape. When did you plan on getting out of here?"
Great. He's finally willing to work with me.
"No, they're yours now," you shook your head at him. "We're going to leave tomorrow night, as close to midnight as possible, if that's alright with you."
"Tomorrow is perfect. Do you know how we're going to get out?" Jiyong asked.
"No. The only ways out are the front door and the back door," you said. "I can't find any other ways to leave."
"We can look for more ways to leave tomorrow night," Jiyong said. "If we can't find anything else, then at least we have a backup plan."
"That's a good point," you nodded your head. "Is there anything else that we need to worry about right now?"
"No, there's nothing that I can think of," Jiyong said. "We just need to rest up and be ready to escape tomorrow."
"You're right," you agreed. "I should go back to my room before they realize that I'm not there. I'll come and get you tomorrow, okay?"
"Alright," Jiyong said, softly clapping his hands together. "I just have one more thing that I'd like to say, love."
"What is it?" You asked, shoving your foot back into your shoe.
"I'm sorry that I threw my shoe at you," Jiyong said, purposely avoiding eye contact with you. "And I'm sorry that I acted so rude. You're not as bad as I made you out to be."
"Thank you, Jiyong." You smiled at him and made your way towards the door. "I accept your apology."
I knew he wasn't all that bad.
You stepped out into the hallway and closed the cell door behind you.