"And I'm gonna stop crying, stop feeling,
Stop thinking 'bout you, my babe."
- Holo by Lee hi
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Jihyun's eyes flutter open slowly. She smiles to herself, feeling warm after remembering the night before. She turns to her side and her smile falls when she sees an empty space.
Just as she's about to close her eyes again, she notices a foot in the corner of her vision. She looks up and gasps loudly when she finds Yunho sitting on the bed beside her, cross legged. He smiles and stares straight at the girl.
"Good morning!" he exclaims. A light chuckle escapes her. "You scared me! Were you staring at me sleep again?" she asks, recalling his habits from the cages.
"It's not my fault you look so pretty when you're asleep," he mumbles. The girl's eyes widen and she opens her mouth to shoot a remark back, but before she gets a chance to say a word, the boy swoops down and plants a light kiss on her lips. This gesture shuts her up and paints her cheeks red.
"What..." Jihyun breathes while in a state of shock.
"Let's get up, today is going to be quite busy for the both of us!" Yunho hops off the bed, completely ignoring the stunned girl. He smirks to himself while entering the bathroom. He loves seeing her flustered. Her shy face is a complete contrast to how she usually presents herself and he wants to see it as much as he can.
Who knows what will happen after their plan today?
Jihyun stares blankly at the ceiling for a while, trying to gather her thoughts. Finally Yunho's last words click with her and she remembers about their plan. It's a simple plan, but there are plenty of potential risks.
If either of them are caught trying to find a way to escape, their miniscule chance will even be snatched.
Yunho will spend the day with Yeosang and hopefully find out about an escape route. Jihyun will try to question Seonghwa. While that sounds easy in theory, Seonghwa's mood is too unpredictable. Jihyun prays in her mind that he won't lose his temper and hurt her again. She's sick of all the pain.
The pair get ready seperately and walk to the dining room together. This time Yeosang is sitting alone. He appears to be deep in thought and picks at a plain slice of toast.
"Sangie!" Yunho hops in his spot and quickly scurries over to the doctor. Yeosang also looks up and his facial features relax.
They start some small-talk and that's the signal Jihyun needed. Their plan has finally commenced.
Yunho turns back to her and gives her a slight nod with a small smile as good luck. She returns the gesture and leaves the room. She'll have to skip breakfast today, not that it's a huge deal at this point anyway. She's already pretty used to skipping meals here.
Where could Seonghwa be? The girl thinks hard. She decides to check the lower floors first even though she has a feeling he's in the garden again. Her feet automatically guide her to the stairs. Her mind is already familiar with this mansion and although it's an advantage to her, it brings a wave of sadness. Has she really been here for that long?
She shudders under the piercing gazes of the guards while walking past them up the stairs. Her mind automatically travels to a scenario where she attempts to escape in front of the armed guards and her heart jumps, causing her feet to move up the stairs even faster.
She scuttles through the hallway until she reaches the giant library doors. It seems like the obvious answer to open the doors and enter, but the garden doors beside her invite her enticingly.
She decides to check her favourite part of this mansion first. She steps out into the crisp, chilly morning air and peeks over the slight balcony and sighs out of relief at the sight of Seonghwa standing at the bridge.
He seems to be there quite often and Jihyun can guess it's his favourite spot to go to when he's feeling troubled.
After hurrying down the stairs as fast as her legs will take her, she finally reaches the bridge. Seonghwa doesn't even notice her standing beside him. He smiles softly to the koi fish swimming around the river while leaning over the edge.
She quietly joins him. It feels strange to see him being so peaceful but she'd rather not change that.
"You must feel so carefree as fish. I can't help but feel jealous," he gently speaks to the fish. The girl simply silently watches him with awe.
"I wish I was as beautiful and innocent as you. I bet you haven't killed any people," he giggles to himself.
At last, he brings his attention away from his fish friends and turns to walk back into the mansion before leaping backwards when he comes face to face with Jihyun.
"Did you see all of that?" he asks, his face growing more and more pink. She smiles awkwardly and nods. The man lets out a tired sigh. "Oh well, I've already humiliated myself in front of you yesterday," he groans, his face getting even hotter. Her mind travels back to when he vented to her in his drunken state at the bar.
"You didn't humiliate yourself. It's healthy to confide in other people when you feel stressed," she comforts. She notices a slight smile grow on his face. "Thank you for that. You know, I don't hate you anymore. I genuinely am sorry for all the pain I've caused you," he apologises to her while turning to face her. She can actually see and hear the sincerity from him this time but can't find it within her to forgive him at all. She responds with a tense nod and she avoids saying any words, afraid of provoking him. He accepts this answer with a smile. "Did you come here to see me?"
Jihyun starts picking at her fingernails while thinking of how to bring up her queries in a natural way.
She decides to start off with a different question that has been bothering her for some time now.
"How long has Yunho actually been here?" she challenges. It catches the other off-guard as his eyes widen. "Did he not tell you already?" he nervously shoots a question back. "We both know well that he lost his memory and doesn't even know how long he's been here for. Please answer my question," she demands.
Seonghwa bites his lip and stares down at his feet.
"Two years."
Jihyun stumbles back and chokes on air. As soon as her coughing fit has calmed, she straightens back up again.
"What are you saying?" she spits, taking his answer as a joke.
"Two years ago was the first time Yunho had ever entered this mansion. He lost his memory from one of the trials a few months ago however, which is why he thinks he has only been here for a few months," he explains with a regretful expression.
Jihyun gulps down the lump in her throat. "Then how does he remember what this garden looked like before you planted all these flowers? Unless you managed to make all this stuff in only a few months," she questions.
Seonghwa freezes and raises an eyebrow. "He remembers that far back?" he cautiously asks. Jihyun gets the sense that she has said the wrong thing but it's too late. "Yes," she mumbles in a small voice.
Seonghwa's hand flies up to his chin and he thinks deeply. "His memories might be coming back then..." he whispers to himself. Jihyun's eyes go wider and a smile forms on her lips. "That's great!" she laughs. Seonghwa looks at her bright face and he starts to smile too. "I guess that really is good news."
Suddenly the girl remembers the reason why she approached the gunman in the first place.
"So...I noticed that this mansion is in the middle of nowhere. Is it really hard to drive in and out?" she tries to act casually. She flinches when Seonghwa looks confused.
"Why would it be? Each of the members have their own car in the garage at the front so I don't see the difficulty," he responds. The girl takes a mental note of his answer but his expression tells her that he already suspects something.
"You're not thinking of trying to escape...are you?" he asks while stretching his fingers. Jihyun smiles awkwardly at his gesture. "Not at all!" she laughs fakely and uncomfortably. She doesn't notice a smirk on his lips. He fights back his urge to laugh at her reaction. It's only natural for her to look for an escape and Seonghwa doesn't feel afraid that she'll succeed. There's no chance she'll get out of here, dead or alive.
"I think I'll get going now. Thanks for talking with me," she rushes while turning on her heel. Seonghwa doesn't respond and she storms back to the staircase.
Her eyes automatically flick to the small door in the corner of the garden and she freezes in her tracks. The lock that Yunho had broken and tried to fix by himself has been replaced.
Footsteps click towards her from behind her and she bites her lip harshly.
"Did you and Yunho have fun snooping through other people's business last night?" She hears Seonghwa's voice. She chews the inside of her lip and stays silent. If she says anything she could make the situation worse.
He steps around to face her with his arms crossed.
"You didn't do a very good job at putting the lock back on," he giggles. Jihyun clenches her fist and tries to think of an excuse.
"We just-"
"It's okay, I don't mind that you guys saw that since there's nothing you can do about it. I won't tell Hongjoong either, he'd kill you if he found out," Seonghwa interrupts. Jihyun instantly figures that Hongjoong would really kill her in a literal sense and gets a chill down her spine. Her life is basically in the hands of Seonghwa now and she doesn't feel too safe anymore.
Silence hangs in the air. "Are you not going to beg for your life?" he teases. Jihyun finally lifts her head. "Sorry for being nosy," is all she utters before walking straight past him. She'd rather protect what little dignity she has left.
She dashes up the stairs with her head hung to avoid interacting with the other man anymore. She seems to always find a way to anger him so she needs to be extra careful with what she says to him now. What better way to be careful than to avoid him all together?
Without even glancing back, she re-enters the building. As soon as she's inside she takes a few deep breaths. The tension had her holding her breath outside.
Her eyes travel to the large library doors and her next destination is set.
Her thoughts linger on the fact that Yunho has been kidnapped for two whole years without even realising it. Every other person to be tested on passed away throughout the testing period while he managed to survive two whole years with only two obvious changes in him? He must have some kind of strong resistance and maybe the scientists are investigating this resistance.
What serum could the scientists be possibly trying to make where the subject has to have super strength as well as happy emotions?
She thinks further while pushing open the library doors.
As she looks up, her breath gets caught in her throat. Hongjoong sits upright all alone on a couch with his legs crossed elegantly, face buried in a book.
As much as her legs want to turn around and leave again before he notices her, she knows the leader of the gang could be a goldmine of information. Maybe he can't provide her some clues for her escape, but a lot of her questions can get answered at last.
She takes a deep breath before pushing herself to speak.
"Do you have a moment to speak with me?"
A/N
This story is kind of split into four sections in a way?? But we're nearly into the fourth section and I'm now feeling a bit nervous but also really excited heheheh