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In-ah and Miyoung's fingers typed furiously away on the keyboard of the laptops. Pages of inscrutable codes flashed across the screen as Soo-ji and Yoongi looked on over their shoulders.
Taehee rested her head on Taehyung's shoulders while the others nervously bit their nails as they huddled around the laptops.
After four hundred tries of entering data and extracting codes, their attempts to hack into the electronic billboards on the rich side of the city were always blocked by the government and the KSI.
On the other end of the church, Yeonjun was bound and tied up on a church bench. Until they found out what exactly was going on with Chanyeol, they decided the best thing to do was to keep Yeonjun there. Much to Yeonjun's delight, however, Jungkook was in charge of watching over him.
"You know... you don't really have to tie me up." Yeonjun said, ogling Jungkook's handsome face for what seemed like an eternity. "I would've gladly sat here like a good boy, even stay for dinner too if you guys wanted."
Jungkook flashed him an intimidating glare. From the tight muscles on Jungkook's jaw, Yeonjun could tell that he was a man of not much patience.
"Jungkook hyung."
Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut, his perseverance and willpower tipped over the edge just when the word 'hyung' left the boy's tongue. In response, Jungkook couldn't give him the time of the day to reply verbally. Instead, Jungkook reached over to Seokjin's toolbox, pulled out the duct tape and sealed Yeonjun's lips shut.
Jungkook breathed a sigh of relief, finally being able to have some peace and quiet as he placed himself next to a wiggling Yeonjun on the bench.
"WE'RE IN!" Miyoung yelled out excitedly, making everyone jump.
On the right hand side of Miyoung's laptop, a small pop up box showed the map of the entire city. On the left, another pop up box showed CCTV surveillance of the Blue House, along with the blueprint of the governmental building's layout.
Miyoung navigated around the middle of the screen, enlarging the video footage that was being blared across every electronic billboard on the rich side of the city. At the bottom was an endless list of where the footage was being shown and it gave Soo-ji the chills to know that this feed was being broadcast on all sky high buildings, all subway stations, all television channels. The blinking red light in the corner of the footage confirmed that this was a live video feed.
Taehee gasped, choking back a sob just as she slapped a shaky hand to her mouth.
Soo-ji felt sick to the stomach.
Chanyeol was chained up from metres above the ground by his two arms. Like an animal ready for slaughter in the market, he was hung in the air in a dark room. His bones protruded oddly in the shoulder area and Soo-ji knew instantly that his bones were wrenched out of their joint. His clothes were ripped and dirty and much to Soo-ji's heartbreak, they were the exact same clothes he was wearing when she last saw him at the dinner in the XV Club with Yoongi. Chanyeol's head dipped forward into his chest, his bed of hair hanging lifelessly. It wasn't clear where he was exactly by the plain walls surrounding him, but Soo-ji felt her guts churning at the thought that his demise was being broadcast to the whole nation like a show, an entertainment for everyone to see.
"Is he at the Blue House?" Soo-ji swallowed hard, but her throat became as dry as a desert.
Miyoung remained silent, her fingers moving the mouse to the left hand side of the screen to infiltrate the Blue House's feed. After several minutes of hacking into the Blue House's control room, she shook her head.
"I can't find him in any of the surveillance in the Blue House."
"Track the live feed. Find out where it's coming from." Soo-ji ordered before turning to Taehee.
The muscles in Taehee's jaw were clenched in a tight lock. Her chin shook, but the tears brimming at the edge of her eyes was evident that Taehee was trying to remain strong in a situation like this. It softened Soo-ji's heart undoubtedly, to see her dearest friend like this, but Soo-ji knew Taehee wasn't the strongest person emotionally.
Soo-ji reached forward, embracing her best friend in a hug. Taehee quickly latched onto her, burying her head into Soo-ji's shoulder.
"I'll find him for you, I promise." Soo-ji whispered to Taehee whose body violently shook in response. Knowing that Taehee finally broke down, Soo-ji cast Taehyung a look, mentally telling him to be there for her.
Taehyung didn't need telling, of course. And it broke his heart to see the love of his life like this when there was nothing they could do at this minute until they ascertain Chanyeol's exact location.
After Taehee finally let go of Soo-ji, no time was wasted when Soo-ji decided to turn her attention to the tied up boy sitting beside Jungkook.
She stomped over to them, clenched fists at her side and fixed her glare at Yeonjun.
Stopping just before him, she reached forward, ripped the duct tape from his mouth with no care whether it would rip his lips off.
"OW!" Yeonjun cried, squeezing his eyes shut just as the first tear came rolling down his cheek.
Soo-ji didn't care. That one tear of pain from him didn't even compare to the tears from Taehee.
She reached forward, curled her fingers at the front of his shirt and pulled him upright to a standing position.
"You knew..." She seethed, barely able to get out a sentence, "you knew Park Chanyeol is captured by the KSI, that he is being tortured on live TV, and you never thought to tell me?!"
Yeonjun swallowed hard, the lump forming at the back of his throat was making it hard for him to breathe. He knew he would be in so much trouble if Soo-ji ever found out that he tried to hide it from her for this long.
"I was afraid, noona." He mumbled, "I was afraid to tell you because that meant you and Yoongi hyung wouldn't come fight at the Death Ring."
Soo-ji squinted her eyes at him, blinking fast as if she heard wrong. She looked at him closer, giving the few seconds of silence afterwards for his words to sink in.
"You're unbelievable..." She could only breathe out, shaking her head slowly. "You wanted me to fight in the Death Ring all the time because that meant more bets against my name. That meant more money for Wang's gang. More money for you! Every second we're wasting is at the expense of Chanyeol's life!"
Yeonjun looked down to his feet shamefully, unable to keep his gaze level with hers. "If I didn't bring people back to Mr Wang, he would beat me."
The silence in the small gap between them was suffocating. Soo-ji's breathing became harsh and sharp, almost like someone had dragged a broken glass down her airways.
Yeonjun continued, "in the poor side of the city, where everyone is weak, hungry and dying, where can I find good fighters for Mr Wang? Everyone who came through our doors couldn't even last two minutes, but you can last ten. Yoongi hyung even showed everyone he can beat a big guy twice his size into a pulp. Plus I knew you and the gang must have been hungry for you to keep coming back for food."
Soo-ji shoved him back down onto the bench. With regretful eyes where betrayal and hurt glimmered against the light, she grabbed Yoongi's switch knife and flicked the blade open.
"Soo-ji ah." Jungkook's low voice warned. He held his breath, the air in the small space between them becoming more tense by the second.
Soo-ji raised the knife. The blade glinted in the light above them.
Yeonjun squeezed his eyes tightly shut again, bracing himself to feel a gush of blood pouring out of his body. But he didn't feel a single prick. He expected for the sharp jagged edge of the knife to slice through his skin, instead the ties around his arms were slashed into pieces before dropping to the floor.
"Go home." Soo-ji told him through gritted teeth, "and don't come back. I don't want to ever see you again."
***
Miyoung and In-ah worked tirelessly through the night. Retrieving data and hacking into surveillance cameras were already hard itself, but added with the fact that they had no idea where Chanyeol was meant that they had to decode every camera's location on the rich side. There were thousands of cameras and so it was disappointing, to say the least, when they successfully hacked into one camera only to find Chanyeol wasn't in that specific location.
With the knowledge that their location could have been revealed, putting them at risk, Seokjin, Jimin, Jungkook and Namjoon were patrolling around the church and the fields, ensuring the safety of the area.
Taehee was devastated, her sniffles and sobs could be heard all night and Taehyung could do nothing more than offer his shoulder whilst he and Hobi comforted her.
Yoongi found Soo-ji on the porch steps. Her shoulders sunk lowly as she sat alone and the emptiness in her eyes told him that this was affecting her more than she was letting on. Ever since she let Yeonjun go, she hadn't said much for the rest of the night.
Yoongi placed himself on the step next to her. He remained silent, deciding that no words could actually ease the ache in her heart so he decided to just be there for her, let her know of his presence.
The silence in the country night was soothing, the crickets in the high grass chirped excitedly away as a source of comfort to the sombre two.
"When we find him... " Soo-ji began, breaking the silence, "I'm going to save Chanyeol. I hope you understand that."
Yoongi turned his head and looked at her closely.
"Did you think I was going to stop you?" He asked, his voice coming out solemn.
Soo-ji shrugged. Releasing a big sigh, she looked far ahead into the fields, deep in thoughts.
Watching her, Yoongi wondered what she was thinking about exactly. He knew she was worried for Chanyeol, worried for Taehee even. But he would be lying if he said he hadn't wondered about trivial things like her feelings towards Chanyeol. It wasn't the right time to be thinking of useless romantic feelings, but Yoongi couldn't help but think maybe this was why she was affected so much. Was she worried for him as a friend? As a fellow gang leader? Or something more?
"Just to put it out there," Yoongi said, looking ahead too as he thought things through, "I won't be stopping you."
Now it was Soo-ji's turn to look at him.
"Actually, quite the opposite to what you're thinking, we must get Park Chanyeol out alive."
He met Soo-ji's gaze, holding her stare.
"Park Chanyeol was taken after having dinner with us at the XV Club and he didn't spill one bit of information about us. He endured torture for god knows how long to keep us hidden." Yoongi gave Soo-ji a small smile, "I think he deserves saving if you ask me."
Soo-ji blinked at him. Looking at this Yoongi in front of her properly, it had come to her realisation that Yoongi had changed so much over time. He matured, stood by her decisions and was willing to go through thick and thin with her without complaint.
She returned his smile, leaned her head on his shoulder and faced the endless acres of fields in front of them.
Regardless of how all of this would turn out, what would happen to the Hope Gang, what would happen to their relationship, Soo-ji was just glad that she had Yoongi by her side at this moment in time. She cherished every second like it was the last; likewise, he would always watch over her for as long as she would allow him to, just as he promised years ago, as the Swan's Shadow, protecting her till his last breath.
***
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Kim Chung Ha sat crossed-legged in front of Park Chanyeol. Her long fingernails tapped against the wood of the table as she quietly sipped her tea out of the camera's shot.
"Wake him up." She ordered a black suited man next to her. The male nodded once. Without saying a word, he strolled over to Chanyeol and released the thick rusty chains from his arms. Like a slithering snake, the chains clinged and clanged against the floor, slowly losing its tight grip on Chanyeol.
Chanyeol dropped the floor, unmoving but awake and conscious.
With no energy to protest or even cry at the pain, he let the KSI man drag him across the room by the shoulder. Chanyeol knew his shoulders were dislocated, his bones pierced into his muscles like a drill penetrating his tendons and flesh, but his fatigue had taken over. He was worn to the bone and he was so close to collapsing under the torture.
The KSI male spun the camera round to face the table where Park Chanyeol and Kim Chung Ha now sat face to face.
"Smile." Chung Ha ordered him sweetly, "you're live on air."
With a scratchy and grating voice that Chanyeol didn't even recognise as his own, he mustered all of his remaining energy to answer back. "Cut to the chase, you cunning bitch. What exactly is it that you want?"
The sinister grin on Chung Ha's painted lips stretched further upwards, revealing a line of perfectly white teeth. She leaned forward on her chair, tilted her head to admire Chanyeol with adoring eyes.
"Endure it longer, sweetheart. Choi Soo-ji wouldn't stand by watching you die."
Blood splattered across the lens of the camera. Chanyeol wasn't quick enough to decipher what was going to happen. His mind blanked into nothingness. He wasn't sure where the source of the loud distressed screaming was but he was very sure it was coming from his own mouth.
In the few seconds before that, Chung Ha withdrew her beloved sword from its sheath and hacked off Chanyeol's right hand by the wrist in a single strike.
She stood from her chair, sneered at the screaming Chanyeol writhing in pain. She held the sword tightly in her hand, relishing in the satisfaction that Chanyeol's blood dripped drop by drop onto the floor.
With one last look at the camera, knowing fully well that Choi Soo-ji was watching, Chung Ha sent her a spine chilling grin.