The car ride was rather in complete silence, meaning Kang Soo Cheol wasn't anywhere near me, at least for now. My breath was stuck deeper and deeper inside my lungs the more I imagined what was happening to Jin or to the others. The blindfold was preventing my tears from streaming down as darkness securely surrounded my cowardice. I couldn't make any noise either with the cloth still tight in between my lips, and my wrists were firmly tied with ropes instead of a handcuff.
Surrounded by six men in a huge van, I was afraid to inhale in a single drop of their smell.
"I thought we already got her?" I started hearing whispers from upfront.
"This is another one."
So they really got 2016 me.
"Can we-"
"Shut the fuck up. We have to wait for orders."
I gulped in fear as I seemed to understand the meaning behind those sentences.
Jimin, where are you?
After what felt like an eternity, I was dragged outside violently with a gun glued to my head. My legs were wobbling and I couldn't walk as fast as them. Metals clanging were heard after a short walk, but still no Jin in my auditory.
I was led inside a place that stank like blood and moss. It sounded old and creepy enough to give me goosebumps all over my body. Door opening, door closing, pacing, gun clicking, I wish I heard more than just that. At this moment, I could only rely on my trembling hearing.
Then, they forced me to stay inside somewhere before taking out the blindfold and the cloth in my mouth.
The light wasn't on, thus the surrounding area was too dark that my eyes hadn't gotten used to it. Those strange men walked away after warning me, "Don't bother to escape," leaving me behind in this deepest abyss.
The ground below felt like dirt so I didn't want to sit down just yet. Letting my eyes comfortably adapt to this new environment, I was petrified while the scene around me one by one being unfolded in my vision.
"Is it a prison cell..." I muttered as I tried to touch the steel bars that separated me from the outside world.
Should I call out someone for help? Was Jin near here? But if they let me speak freely, it meant that there shouldn't be anyone around...
Crying myself to nowhere, I squatted down and buried my face in between my knees. After a long while and when my legs began to feel numb, I heard the door sliding open and closing again. Thinking it might be someone, I quickly stood up and hid in the darkest corner of the cell.
"Y/N, there you are."
As I expected -- Kang Soo Cheol.
The dim white light in the hallway was turned on as my eyes squinted in annoyance. Kang Soo Cheol was standing outside the steel bars, smiling all sweet like candies at me. He was wearing a simple hoodie with torn black jeans, face twisting in pride.
Disgusting.
"No need to hide, Y/N." He smirked. "Oh wait, one more thing, you didn't tell me that we couldn't die in this timeline."
I stayed silent, not stepping out of the shadow.
"Then it's a benefit for me, for us." I almost vomited when he emphasized the word 'us.' "We're invincible, nobody can do anything to destroy us."
He continued. "I've missed you, Y/N, to the point that I had to kidnap your past self to distract that Park Jimin. Don't worry, I won't do anything to your past self. You know I love everything about you."
Shut the fuck up, that ugly piece of sewage, I mentally cursed.
"Jimin will probably have to find your past self first, even if he doesn't want it." Kang Soo Cheol was amused. "You can choose right now, Y/N, since nobody will be here to save you soon. You can choose me, tell me everything you know about our condition in this timeline, and walk out of this cell freely with me. And the other choice, I don't have to explain, right?"
Then, he propped his hands on the steel bar, spitting out angry words. "That Park Jimin, how dare he shot me right in the head. It hurt like shit."
Hurt? Was that hurt comparable to the hurt he caused me?
"Luckily, I knew some people in the Bloodtub and they are very willing to help me. After all, who doesn't want to take down Park Jimin and his family?" Kang Soo Cheol said.
I decided to speak up with a hoarse voice. "You've always been a Bloodtub, haven't you?"
"Oh no. I met some great friends when I went back to 2016 with you. They promised me with a great life ahead." Kang Soo Cheol chuckled wickedly. "If you have trusted that I would make you happy, none of this would have happened."
I stayed silent, letting him finish his frantic monologue.
"Jimin must have liked you a lot. He was willing to do anything to get you back... even though you weren't even his." His voice lowered.
Hearing Jimin's name again, I could feel a few drops of tears rolling down my face.
But then, I saw Kang Soo Cheol pulling out some keys, opening up the steel bars. I instantly started to panic but had nowhere else to hide in this tiny cell. That trash approached me, towering above me dangerously. "So choose now, Koo Y/N. Me or Park Jimin?"
--
It hurt, although it had been almost a day.
After choosing to stay here and wait for god-knows-what, Kang Soo Cheol began to beat me ruthlessly, just like what he did to me when we were still in a relationship. I felt more disappointed than surprised when I was trying to cover my body up from his kicks and punches, knowing that he would act like this if I disobeyed him.
Luckily, the wounds were healing by themselves, but the pain still lingered. Although the physical pain could be erased, the mental pain that had been imprinted in my mind would only grow stronger.
I was hungry, thirsty, and crazy.
I wondered how was Jin doing. Did he rescue himself and tell the team? Or was he still in captivity?
What was Jimin doing at this time?
Sobbing in quietness, I suddenly heard some talking from not so far away. I raised my head up to see what was coming; to my incredulity, a group of men, all have their faces covered like usual, paced rapidly toward my prison cell.
I moved back reflexively, but those men continued with their work by opening the steel bars and forcefully covered my face with a bag. The inner voice of mine was trapped under an iceberg within my throat. As much as my heart was screaming for help, my mouth decided to zip itself in fright.
Kang Soo Cheol and his Bloodtub friends must have changed their minds to let me out of here.
Taken back inside a car, I sat in one position while my fingers were fidgeting. I hoped I was going somewhere better than that dark prison cell that I never knew existed.
But how stupidly hopeful I was, I didn't expect everything to become a tub full of blood.
"Ah-" I let out a yelp when a person shoved me forward. Stumbling on my own feet, I tripped and fell on my side.
Fuck, that hurt-
The ground beneath was made of concrete and the small voices and sounds were echoing so I thought I was in another enclosed place, assumingly in the legendary 'abandoned warehouse' where all the gang fights happened.
"That Park Jimin got one hostage out." I heard a whisper.
"I don't know why Boss keeps insisting us on doing this... Why did he want to fight with the son of the bitch anyway?"
One hostage out? If it was me, then Jimin would come to me now?
"Do you realize that she looks quite good, especially from this view." Then came a small, evil giggle.
"Kang Soo Cheol must be so lucky to have-"
Before I could mentally kick both of those mouthful asses, I heard the door being opened again. Many footsteps were coming toward this way, but since none of the guys surrounding me were moving or displaying any signs of alertness, those new guys must be from their own group.
Would I be stuck here forever?...
"Where's Kang Soo Cheol?" A man grunted irritably.
"S-sir, I-I don't know where he went-"
A 'thud' followed as that person was punched down, causing me to jump.
"Trash! I told you to keep an eye on him." That man who asked my ex's whereabouts roared. "Now he's nowhere in sight and Park Jimin is coming to us."
"Di-did you contact Mr. Jang?"
"He said he was looking for Kang Soo Cheol, but..." That man sighed. "Anyway, Boss is furious, and he wanted to find that trash who was mainly responsible for all the casualties. I knew it, we shouldn't have trusted Kang Soo Cheol in the first place. He appeared out of nowhere!!"
Did Kang Soo Cheol run away? What was happening?
"S-Sir, wh-what if we lose-"
"Shut up. If Boss hears this, your body will be devoured alive by wolves."
There were chatterings among those groups of men until one of them noticed my trembling and vulnerable body.
"She is Park Jimin's mistress, isn't she? The one he had an affair with?"
"Now I know why Park Jimin went crazy over her."
"Boss said we could do anything to her because Kang Soo Cheol is still out of sight. If we have to lose, we will not give the woman back in good health."
Wh-what did he just say? Do anything?
"Should we? Park Jimin had already caused us lots of problems. Fucking his woman will be an act of honorable revenge."
Honorable, what the- No!
No, what the hell were they discussing? Weren't they aware that I could hear everything?
Suddenly, I could feel their steps approaching. Panicking, I jerked back quickly as my tears were dying to burst out. Those memories of Kang Soo Cheol raping me came back all at once while I internally yelled out for Jimin. Those disgusting hands were reaching for me as a few of them trapped me in their circle. Just in an instant, I already felt many pairs of hungry eyes darting up and down my struggling body.
"N-no! Please, no-" I kicked and punched whatever I could, but they easily held me down to the ground.
"Don't try to break free, young lady." A guy said as his stinky breath touched the surface of my ear. "You're making all of us hard."
"If I was Park Jimin, I would fuck the shit out of her every day." Lascivious chuckles were heard in the air.
No...
I didn't want history to repeat itself.
No, please...
I would rather be beaten up by Kang Soo Cheol than being in this fucked up circumstance with no escape.
--
A/N: When do you think we can all get the COVID vaccine? 😭😢