"Gotta go insane to stay sane."
- On by Bts
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Trigger Warning: Blood, Violence.
"-and then he dropped the syringe and the green stuff spilled everywhere! Jongho gave out hell to him that day!" Yunho laughs loudly while telling Jihyun stories of what's happened in this lab since the moment he arrived here at first. They both woke up a couple of hours ago and have been sharing stories for the whole time.
"No way! I wouldn't have thought such an advanced scientist would make a rookie mistake like that!" Jihyun also laughs along. The pair face each other in their jail cells, sitting as close to the bars as they can so it feels like they're not separated.
"Are you close with anyone in the gang?" she asks. "Yes! I'm quite close with Jongho and Sangie. Jongho told me that if we both met in different circumstances he'd want to be my friend," he proudly states, puffing up his chest. Jongho's name sends a shudder through Jihyun's body, but she just nods and smiles along.
"Both Jongho and San are kind enough, but sometimes San loses his temper and it's really scary. He gets too determined to perfect his serum and stops treating anyone with respect."
Jihyun can honestly imagine that. Her expectations of each of these men have lowered down to the core of this planet. Moments like now are when she misses Mingi and Wooyoung the most. She silently prays that they're okay.
"What about you? Did you have any close friends before you came here?" Yunho's voice pulls Jihyun back to the present. She can only think of two people she can call close friends.
"I'm actually an agent...a secret agent for the government. My two closest friends were my partners. We've been doing missions together for years and I really miss them," she explains while her heart aches. "You are a spy? That's so cool!" Yunho excitedly bounces up and down like a child. "An agent, not a spy! Although that is exactly what I did...I guess you could say I'm a spy then," she giggles, feeling a new sense of pride in her job.
"Did you come to this gang to spy too?" he curiously asks. Jihyun forces a pained smile. "That was the original plan, but I ended up getting dragged into this mess instead. If we manage to escape though I might get a promotion because this seems like a huge job."
Butterflies swarm Jihyun's stomach as she watches Yunho get excited over everything she says. He seems so full of joy to have a new person to talk to, she can't help but feel happy with him.
However, an unsettling feeling returns to her when she remembers that something will happen today. Will she also lose her memories the same way Yunho did?
As if on cue, the door flies open. Hongjoong storms inside with Seonghwa trailing behind. They both carry straight faces, making it impossible to guess their intentions. "We're here to borrow you for a little while," Hongjoong mumbles while unlocking her cage. Before she can even consider escaping, Seonghwa snatches both of her arms and grips them tightly. He smiles maliciously to her face while shoving her towards the door.
She panickingly turns back to look at Yunho, who also leans forward against the bars of his cell with a confused expression. Quickly enough, the three of them reach the stairs that lead to the mansion.
"Where are you taking me?" she shrieks while using the tiny amount of energy she has to thrash around in Seonghwa's grip. His hands don't budge even a millimetre, as if they're made of concrete. Either that or Jihyun has lost a lot of her strength.
"We just need to talk to you for a few minutes, don't worry too much," Hongjoong states in an exhausted voice. They drag her up the stairs roughly and stomp down the hallway until they reach a door. Hongjoong unlocks it before they push her in strongly.
Jihyun whines as she falls to the ground, her abdomen acting up again. The gang leader flicks the light on and Seonghwa grabs her arm again. The room is tiny and dimly lit with only enough room for a table and three chairs. One chair sits in the corner of the room while the other two are pushed in neatly at the table. The gunman places her onto one of the chairs at the table, ties her down tightly and then he takes a seat on the other. Hongjoong takes his place on the chair at the back corner and observes.
"I'm going to ask some questions. Answer them properly and quickly to avoid getting hurt," Seonghwa deadpans. Panic starts to rise in Jihyun. Are they interrogating her? She nods slightly out of pure fear.
"First of all, how many partners did you have in total in your little spy group?" he begins. They want to hurt Mingi and Wooyoung? Her palms grow sweaty and she firmly keeps her lips shut. "I'm giving you one last chance to answer. How many teammates did you have?"
Jihyun stays quiet, only her rapid breaths escaping her. Seonghwa sighs loudly and massages his temples. "I really don't want to do this," he groans, standing up. He turns to Hongjoong, who pulls a bag out that was sitting beside him from the shadows. The leader hands the older man a long riding crop. He stretches his arms and neck, letting his neck crack twice before turning back to Jihyun.
She bites her lip and her head starts spinning at the sight of the whip in his hand. They wouldn't actually hurt her...would they?
He slams his hands on the table in front of her and grinds his teeth. "How many." He doesn't sound like he has too much patience left in him. Jihyun stares at him with pleading eyes. She tries to silently communicate with him, begging him to have mercy.
His eyebrows furrow out of frustration and he lifts the whip high. Jihyun notices him hesitating and she gets a bit of hope that he'll decide against it.
She is wrong.
Seonghwa lets the whip fall with full force at her arm, causing her to scream out. Her arm burns into flames and the pure agony spreads from the point of contact to her whole arm. She breathes heavily and tears threaten to fall out of her eyes. Seonghwa stares down at her with no remorse.
He lifts his arm again and whips her on the same spot a second time. This time the tears really start flowing out and she wants to clutch her arm in pain. The sting pulses around in a ripple effect. She imagines Yunho's reaction to her crying again and decides to stay strong for his sake.
Something suddenly snaps in Seonghwa and his arm twitches. He waits for her to speak up one last time. When no words leave her mouth, he storms over to her chair. He rips the tape off that kept her tied to the chair and shoves her to the ground. She cries out again when she feels harsh whips repeatedly raining down on her back. Her fingers uselessly claw at the concrete ground until her nails start bleeding. The sound of the whip causes her anguish both on the inside and out.
At last, she gives up. "Two!" she screams out with all her might.
The attacks stop.
"You have two other partners?" Seonghwa asks one more time to be sure. She nods weakly while trying to lift herself off the floor. Her attempt fails as she falls flat onto her chest. She pants hard as her whole back feels like it's melting off. The pain in her arm is nothing compared to this.
Seonghwa walks around her and crouches down, staring at her right in her eyes. "What are their names?" he demands menacingly. She gulps and her eyes travel up to Hongjoong, who simply sits there with a fascinated expression. She feels like she could throw up just by seeing his face at this point.
"Answer me." Seonghwa's hand grips her hair and he pulls her head up. More tears flow down her face. She has never felt this humiliated before. She remembers how she spat in his face when he first shot her.
A manic smile grows on her lips. Seonghwa raises an eyebrow, but before his reflexes can even kick in, Jihyun spits as hard as she can into his face. He drops her head so quickly that her chin whacks against the floor, causing her to bite her tongue hard and taste blood.
He becomes consumed with rage while he viciously wipes his face. Hongjoong amusingly observes them both, entertained by her resilience and endurance. Seonghwa runs behind her, not letting the whip catch a break from her back. She shrieks loudly again, the pain becoming more and more unbearable.
At this rate, she could die. But honestly she'd rather die than get her two best friends killed.
Right?
Seonghwa keeps going until her vision starts getting blurry, and this time it's not because of the tears. She smiles out of victory. They didn't end up getting the information they wanted after all.
Just as she's about to lose consciousness, a thought flashes through her mind. Maybe she isn't ready to die after all. No, she's certain. She does not want to die yet. Not at least before getting her revenge by watching this gang fall to their doom. The pain causes her nerves to twitch in the wrong way and she loses control over her own thoughts or her actions.
Before she even knows what she's doing, her mouth starts to speak on its own.
"Mingi and Wooyoung," she whispers weakly.
Hongjoong's eyes widen in joy while Seonghwa sits back out of relief. Jihyun's eyes also widen, but in shock. She did not want to say that at all. She prays that neither Hongjoong nor Seonghwa heard her quiet whisper, but her heart sinks when she sees them both satisfyingly sitting back.
"Finally! Thank you." Hongjoong stands up, brushing his trousers off, as if he did anything but sit there. "As a reward for your help I'll get Seonghwa to bring you to the infirmary to get treated. Your back looks like it'd be in nasty shape, no offence," he offers, staring down at her in disgust. Jihyun drags her body forward with her fragile arms, needing to harm Hongjoong's face at least a bit.
Before she even reaches near him, he leaves the room and slams the door shut.
"Sorry, I didn't really want to hurt you but it was Hongjoong's orders and he was watching so there wasn't much I could do. I lost my temper and patience a bit after that, sorry," Seonghwa shrugs while tidying the area up. Jihyun blinks twice in disbelief. Her breathing is too weak to even scoff at him.
He awkwardly stands beside her, trying to figure out a way to bring her to the infirmary. He thinks about carring her bridal style, but then remembers the mess he just made of her back. He finally decides to just slump her limp body over his buff shoulder, paying close attention to not touch her back.
Jihyun's mind keeps fading in and out of consciousness. She faintly sees the floor and Seonghwa's back while being carried somewhere. "What happened?" she hears Yeosang's voice exclaim in shock. "I'll explain later but whip wounds on her back and arms." Is all Seonghwa replies with. He sets her down face first onto the bed. "Treat her well," he says robotically before leaving the infirmary.
"Those beasts never hold back. This is going to be quite some work," is the last thing Jihyun hears before she loses consciousness, finally gaining freedom from the pain.
A/N
OKAY THIS IS UNRELATED TO THIS (dark) CHAPTER BUT ATEEZ JUST UPLOADED (at the time of me writing this chapter) THE EPITOME OF YUNHO IN THIS STORY LOOK LOOK
HIS BIG EYESSSSS
Okay that's all for today, stay safe and healthy <3