Y/N
I sat in the room, my heart filling with hope as I could hear the police sirens approach. "Jinhwan, thank you," I sobbed. I realized that the whole time, I was holding back tears, and the thought of being rescued felt like a weight being lifted off of my shoulders.
"Shh, it's okay, Y/N." Jinhwan pressed his ear against the wall, straining to listen to what was happening. For now, it seemed like it was just silent.
At that moment, the door burst open, revealing Jinhwan's angry parents. His dad fiercely glared at Jinhwan. "I expected that you would bring company, so I don't know why I am so angry at you right now, Jinhwan." He raised his arm menacingly, threatening to slap Jinhwan. I think he would have slapped him if the phone in the hallway didn't ring. He glanced at his wife before nodding his head slightly.
She ventured out to take the call, and the silence blanketed the room once again. Tension between Jinhwan and his dad still didn't dissipate, and I felt my tears threatening to fall once again.
Jinhwan's mom came back after an agonizing minute and quietly said, "they want to negotiate. The hostages get out alive, and they will lessen our sentence."
Jinhwan's dad shouted in anger and rage before he shoved his wife against the wall. "NO NEGOTIATIONS. NOT UNTIL WE GET OUR MONEY." He sauntered out of the room and came back a few moments later with the phone. I could barely make out what was being said on the other line, but I understood enough.
"Let them go," a fuzzy voice on the line demanded. "Let them go, and we will put in our reports that you cooperated with law enforcement."
Jinhwan's dad grit his teeth. "Where is my ransom money, huh? No one's getting out of here alive until I get that money." As he finished his sentence, his gaze settled on me, as well as his gun.
"You have 5 minutes. Don't call me again," Jinhwan's dad spat before throwing the phone to the ground and crushing it under his feet violently.
"Dad," Jinhwan huffed. "Just let her go, and you can do whatever you want with me."
"Jinhwan, no!" I involuntarily scooted forward to show my unapproval. "They want me. I'm the only one who can give them what they want."
"Y/N, please," Jinhwan begged. "Let me do this."
Jinhwan's dad angrily pushed his wife towards Jinhwan and forced her gun on him. "Stay like that, honey, okay?" She nodded quietly in obedience. "If he says anything else annoying, just shoot him. Do it in the leg so he lives."
He walked back over to my spot before lowering his weapon at my head. "I'll watch for this one," he sneered.
"Don't you dare hurt her, Dad," Jinhwan angrily seethed, despite the gun being pointed at his body.
I let out a quiet sob before I heard a knocking coming from the hallway. "Shit," my captor muttered under his breath. He turned to his wife and gestured with his head to the door, signalling that he wanted her to check it out. She promptly left her post with Jinhwan and disappeared.
Silence.
Jinhwan's dad glanced around nervously, gun still pointed at me. He leaned down so close that his breath fell upon my hair, sending shivers up my body. "You know wha-"
BOOM.
The door burst open, and before I could even see what was happening, gunshots were fired, making my ears ring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jinhwan
The blinding hospital lights made me uneasy as I sat in the waiting room anxiously. I was numb and thankful for it, too.
I just don't even know what I would feel at this moment. Stressed and exhausted, I let my face fall into the palms of my hands, but every time I closed my eyes, the images from the day kept coming back.
I remember feeling so helpless. I watched in disdain and anger as my father pointed his gun at Y/N. She must have been so scared.
I pressed my ear against the wall tightly, trying to listen to what was going on outside. I could hear my mom's muffled voice and a strange clicking noise. I could faintly hear my mom let out a soft groan.
Light footsteps approached the door, and before I could process anything, the door swung open, revealing members of SWAT followed by the police.
I shivered and let out a small sob remembering what happened next.
My father turned his head around in surprise briefly before turning back to Y/N with his gun. It felt like time stood still as everything happened in slow motion. The gun shots that I heard will forever haunt my memories.
I sighed deeply, feeling my breath shake with each inhale and exhale before dropping my head slightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Y/N
"Okay, Y/N. It looks like you are good to go, but you must drink the pills until they are all gone. It will help with the pain and bruises."
I nodded and thanked the doctor before slipping out of the room and finding Jinhwan with his head buried in his small hands in the waiting area.
I smiled weakly as I made my way over to him and tapped his shoulder gently. "Jinhwan."
He looked up at me with eyes full of concern and worry, but it was soon washed over with relief. He jumped up from his seat and embraced me into a large bear hug, squeezing our bodies together. I winced a bit in pain but wanted to savor the moment.
We stood like that for a while, and I could feel my shirt becoming damp. Jinhwan's body was shaking slightly. I pushed on his shoulders so he could face me eye to eye. "Jinhwan... are you crying?"
He looked away from my gaze before sniffling, "I-I really thought I lost you there, Y/N."
Tears welled up in my eyes, too, as I thought of how lucky I was to even be alive and breathing. "It's okay, Jinhwan," I said before engulfing him in a nice hug again.
I sighed into the hug and closed my eyes, remembering what could have been my last moment alive. The blood soaking my clothes will always be my reminder.
At the time, I couldn't process anything that was happening at all. Looking back, I was able to realize how lucky I was after remembering what had happened.
The door swung open, revealing a SWAT man with a large gun. Panicked, Jinhwan's dad turned to me and shot his gun, and I closed my eyes tightly. I am thankful that I closed my eyes because the warm liquid I felt on my shirt and neck was enough to make me burst into tears almost immediately. Was it mine?
"Y'N!" Jinhwan's cry rang out, and I could hear all the pain and agony in his voice at that moment.
Another gunshot rang almost simultaneously, but I felt nothing except a slight rush of wind next to my head.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Jinhwan's dad on the floor in pain, with a decent amount of blood beginning to pool out of his arm. I looked next to me, to find a bullet lodged into the wall a few centimeters away.
The room began swarming with police officers and paramedics, but my gaze was fixated on Jinhwan's dad before looking down at myself. Everything seemed intact and normal except for the blood stains. Someone must have shot his arm and threw his aim off balance when he tried to shoot me.
I remember breaking into even more tears as someone untied me. I sniffled out, "J-Jinhwan. Please help m-my friend." I glanced over at Jinhwan's corner, but someone was already there. I could still hear him sobbing.
Before I could even speak or process anything, I was ushered away into an emergency vehicle, where all my vitals were being checked.
"Y/N! Are you okay, sweetie?" The familiar voice of my mother tethered me back to reality, where I was still in Jinhwan's soft and plush arms. My cheeks were damp, and I just now realized that I have been crying the whole time.
I burst into a steady stream of more tears as I ran towards my parents. "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry this happened to you," my dad sobbed as he cupped my face. "We're here, now, Y/N."
After some more crying and reassurance that I was okay, I walked back to Jinhwan who had returned to his seat. "Jinhwan."
He looked up at me with a blank expression.
"Are you going to be okay? My parents want to take me home soon."
Jinhwan nodded slightly. I placed my hand on his shoulder lovingly before bending down and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," I whispered. "When you're done, just let me know, and I can send the maid to come pick you up."
Jinhwan glanced at me with a warm look before giving me a small smile that was equally warm. "I am the maid, Y/N."
I was able to muster a small, sad laugh and playfully nudged his shoulder with mine. "I'll see you in a bit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~