Time was ticking.
And with each passing second, she was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable, her hands at her sides, itching to grasp any sort of weapon.
All because she had been stupid enough to actually enter the house. She should have just tried to escape when she had the chance, but she'd gotten so caught up in the alluring and mysterious charm these boys held that she'd missed her window of opportunity.
Rina hadn't been lying when she thought to herself that if she played her cards right, these boys would be her way out of the prison. They were, and it was almost pathetic, how easily Mark and Lucas had allowed her to tag along.
Or maybe they did have their reasons, but of what use she could be to them, she was clueless about.
Ten must've sensed her discomfort, gesturing for her to take a seat on the couch while the others went about their business. She could almost feel a cold gaze on the back of her neck as she made her way to the couch, chills running down her spine as she turned and made eye contact with the dimpled boy who had been smiling less than a second ago. She almost snorted.
At least one of them was careful. Jaehyun didn't seem to trust her yet, and she had no reason to make him do so. She wasn't planning on staying with these boys for very long, possibly just long enough to get a bit of food, clothes and perhaps some money, before she was out of here.
She glanced up again from the carpeted floor, noticing that Jaehyun's gaze was off her and now on the blue haired male he conversed with, whose name she had learned was Jungwoo.
Ten sat beside her, stretching much like a lanky cat, smiling.
"It's been a while since you've been out, right?" He asked her, brightly. All she could do was nod awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with him.
There's was something distinct about him, a feeling or a characteristic that she couldn't quite identify, that made her feel like she had known from somewhere before.
"What's your full name?" He asked her. Instantly, her eyes narrowed, fingers lightly clutching the orange material of her jumpsuit.
"Come to think of it, I don't even know your name." Jaehyun spoke up, walking over to them. He was staring down at her, she could tell.
"So what is it?" He demanded. She didn't answer. "Answer." He said.
"Her name is Rina." Lucas answered, Rina looking up as the man re entered the room.
"I didn't ask you, Lucas." Jaehyun said, raising an eyebrow as he shifted his gaze from her to him. "She can't talk, so there isn't any point in asking her." Lucas replied, taking a seat beside her.
Jaehyun fell silent, before saying, "Do you even know anything about her?"
"No." Lucas said, shrugging. "And yet," irritation and incredulity underlying in every syllable that slipped out of Jaehyun's mouth, "You brought her here, to our home."
Lucas hummed in affirmation, and when Rina glanced at him, arrogance glimmered in his eyes, a cocky smirk playing on his face. "She's harmless." Lucas waved a hand in her direction.
Harmless?
She wanted to scoff, and had she had her voice, she would have asked him whether he remembered the time she attacked him for trying to inject her.
"Weren't you in third level of the prison?" Jungwoo spoke softly. "And wasn't she in your cell?"
Rina understood the implication, and merely sat up straighter, frowning in the blue haired's direction.
"Ah, sorry." The blue haired said, a sheepish smile crawling onto his face. She became even more confused at that. Why was he apologising for that?
Jaehyun looked visibly angry, but said nothing. "Is there any way to communicate with her?" He asked, after a small pause.
"Paper and pen." Lucas answered immediately, to which she nodded. "I know sign language to a certain extent." Ten offered, making Rina jump slightly as she had forgotten the black haired's presence beside her. "We all do." Lucas rolled his eyes.
"I'm not talking about miming, idiot." Ten said snarkily in return.
"Well, what is her full name?" Jaehyun asked, raising an eyebrow.
All four men turned to her, and she pursed her lips, before shrugging.
"What does that mean in sign language?" Lucas turned to Ten with narrowed eyes.
"Universal sign for I don't know, you sarcastic little-" "How do you not know your full name?" Jaehyun interrupted Ten before he could complete his sentence, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Another shrug, and he looked ready to claw out her eyeballs.
She motioned to Ten, mimicking motions of wanting to sleep, because, in all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to just get away from these people.
The boy nodded, turning to the others. "She wants to sleep." "I'm telling you, he doesn't know any sign language, even I could tell that." Lucas protested with wide eyes. "I will literally slap you." Ten snapped. "That's only if you can reach my face, you sprout." Lucas stuck his tongue out childishly at Ten, and quite unfortunately, Rina was stuck in between them.
Hence, she stood up, folding her hands as she attempted to rearrange her features into an expression that conveyed one of pain and practically pleaded with Jaehyun.
The man stared at her blankly, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "You always cause so many problems," He muttered to himself, and Rina guessed he was talking about Lucas.
"She can use my room," Jungwoo offered softly. "I'll share with Yuta."
"Or mine." Lucas said, standing up as well.
"No, she can use Taeyong's, he's not here." Jaehyun said firmly, narrowing his eyes at her. The room fell silent as they all turned to him.
"You... want her to use Taeyong's room?" Lucas repeated slowly. "Yes, I'm sure he won't mind." Jaehyun said. Ten looked horrified. "But that's where I am supposed to sleep," He protested.
"I don't care, share with Lucas." Jaehyun said, before gesturing for Rina to follow him without another word, making his way down the staircase.
She gave a brief glance of apprehension to the other three. Lucas looked appalled, Jungwoo looked confused and was frowning at Jaehyun's retreating back, while Ten looked at her wide eyed, before making a shooing gesture with his hand.
She weighed her pros and cons, whether she would be murdered by Jaehyun if she followed him, obviously the stern male not having a particular liking for her.
She chewed her lip, her hand making it's way up to her hair, whether the clip Donghyuck had given her was pinned, and she followed him.
She was shocked. It didn't even seem mildly realistic that the place should be so big, but as she stepped down the staircase, she was greeted with a dead end hallway, lined with doors on either side, and a smaller one leading elsewhere.
Her jaw fell open as she stared. Jaehyun, noticing she wasn't following her, turned back and said, "Hurry up."
He stopped outside a door, at the far end of the corridor,before saying lowly, "Wait here."
He went into the room, shutting the door behind him, and Rina could only assume that he was inspecting the room for anything personal that they didn't want her to find out about.
When he came out several minutes later, he looked considerably brighter but no less menacing, as he warned her, "I don't know who you are or what you want, but don't try anything funny. We have the upper hand here."
She didn't make any motion of acknowledgment, just staring at the door with lips pressed in a line, and he moved aside for her, having nothing else to say.
Once she was inside, she sighed, rolling her eyes as she switched on the light. He shut the door, and she was alone once again.
The room was small, decorated with very little. A bed in the corner, a small desk beside it, a cupboard to her left along with a mirror hung up on the pale green walls. Her lips curled in distaste, the colour not being one of her favorites, but she shook her head. She made her way to the bed, checking the covers for anything.
It was in pristine shape, white sheets and a white comforter. No sign of any hidden weapons or anything else.
And then she turned, and took in a sharp breath. On the wall opposite the bed, there hung a pin up board with pictures of the castle, of the prison, of everything.
She glanced to the door, watching it apprehensively for a few seconds, wondering if Jaehyun intended for her to see that and would come barging in now, but nothing happened, and so she walked over to inspect it closely.
Her heart stopped.
There was a picture of the King and Jaemin from recent times, she was sure. Her fingers reached out to brush it, the handsome face of the now teenager making her smile fondly, before the catching a glimpse of the next photo.
Youngho and her.
Waves of nostalgia crashed over her as she saw the face of her smiling brother, with messy black hair, doing a rather weird pose while she look mortified at his childishness, and a lump formed in her throat.
But there was nothing else that gave away anything else, except for small yellow note, with three letters scrawled on it.
N-C-T.
Her blood ran cold as her fingers automatically came up to massage her throat, the area starting to pain as the memories of constant surgery and modification swarmed her. What did they know about NCTs?
She lifted her eyes to the corner of the wall, where a camera stared down at her. That's why he wanted her in this room.
Jaehyun obviously saw the pin up board. And perhaps, he had taken things down as well, judging by the misplaced pins, few in number and not very noticeable.
Had he installed the camera, or did the person who lived in this room keep one to monitor who went in and out of it when he wasn't home?
She continued to stare into the unmoving device, the lens focused, wondering if Jaehyun was staring back at her.
He was perhaps watching for a reaction.
He suspected her of being in league with the King.
She took one more glance at the photos, before balling her fists and switching off the light, glaring at the camera through the darkness as she sat on the bed.
She pulled the clip out of her hair, thumb pressing against the sharp point repeatedly as she chewed her lip, mind racing at a thousand miles per hour.
These people hated the king. If she remembered right, Lucas had mentioned something along those lines as well. She sighed, casting her gaze to the closed door, the vague outline of the handle seen through the darkness as her eyes adjusted.
It was no surprise, for many people hated the King. It didn't bother her, for none would ever know of her relation with the man.
But now that she was out of the prison, existence no longer hidden by layers of cement surrounding her, she was far more vulnerable. Her citizen record would have been wiped out from the Capitol database when she was thrown into prison.
But she couldn't let her guard down. Whoever these men were, they were against him.
And therefore, she was in danger here.
A/N: Hello, Neo Zone is full of bops I'm so proud of our boys, they've done so well! Kick It soty please, and omg Love Song- Haechan's vocals omfg
ALSO THANK YOU FOR 500+ READS I APPRECIATE IT SM