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WARNINGS: MDNI, Kidnapping, references to sexual assault, graphic violence, graphic character death, attempted murder, physical assault, strangulation, blood and injury, pregnancy-related peril, psychological trauma.
Previous Chapter
Ch 13
“Mingiya…Mingiya!” The warmth of Yunho’s hand slapping against his wet face stirred Mingi into consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly and groaned, his unfocused gaze roaming aimlessly until it settled on Yunho. Yunho fell back onto his haunches and let out a slow, even breath. He had to blink a few times to shoo away the tears that had been running down his cheeks only a moment ago; he had been so sure that Mingi wasn’t going to wake up. Mingi eased himself into a sitting position and propped himself up against the tree that had taken him down.
“Where is she? What happened?” Mingi asked; a sharp pain in the back of his head answered and he clapped a hand over the sore spot, remembering that he had fallen.
“We didn’t find her, Mingi.” Yunho’s voice was gentle as he shined the flashlight into Mingi’s eyes. “How’s your head?”
“It’s fine,” Mingi responded dismissively, waving him off weakly. “We have to keep looking.” He tried to stand up, using the tree beside him as support, but he was still unsteady on his feet.
“No,” Yunho countered, watching Mingi sway from side to side. “You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. I’m worried you might have a concussion.” He continued shoving the light in Mingi’s face. “Look at me.”
“I’m ok, Yunho. Let’s keep going.” Mingi shielded his eyes and began to hobble away.
“I said no!” Yunho shouted, his foot stomping the wet ground beneath him. Mingi turned back to look at him, his vision blurred. “This is your blood.” Yunho shot his hand out and Mingi could see that his palm was red. He brought his own hand up to his face and saw that it too was covered in blood.
“Oh.”
“We have to go back,” Yunho grabbed his arm. “You need to see a doctor.”
“I can manage.” Mingi attempted to pull away, but Yunho had a firm grip on his sleeve. “Yunho!” He snatched away and nearly went toppling over again. Yunho lunged forward to catch him.
“You can’t even walk in a straight line right now, Mingi! I’m sorry, but we have to get you to a hospital. If you pass out or hurt yourself even more, I can’t carry you out of here on my own.” Mingi looked down at the ground. He knew that Yunho was right, but he couldn’t just leave. It would feel too much like he was abandoning you.
“Yunho…please. Just a little further. I’ll be careful. I…I can’t just let her go. We’re close. I know it.” Yunho looked over his best friend. He almost couldn’t recognize him. He looked beyond tired. His skin was sallow, his hoodie seemed far too large for him, his shoulders were narrower than they had been only two weeks ago, but the worst part was his eyes. Mingi had always had a light in his eyes. A spark that never dulled. But as Yunho looked into those same eyes, the light was gone. He bit at his lip, knowing that he should keep insisting that they turn back; but Mingi wasn’t going to go easily.
“We’ll come back,” he said. “We’ll get you checked out and we’ll come back.”
“I’m not leaving.” Mingi turned away from Yunho and put his hands out in front of him. He moved more purposefully, making sure to pay attention to where his feet were and using the trees in the vicinity to keep himself upright. Yunho looked after him as he disappeared into the trees, sighing before he reluctantly followed close behind. If he fell again, Yunho would be there to catch him.
You lay in the bed twirling your braid around your fingers, wondering if your hair had grown any longer since you’d been down in the bunker. It needed a good wash. When you made it back home, you were going to schedule a sauna day and make Mingi go along with you. He wouldn’t object, he loved a good sauna. Ooh, and we’ll get some good food too.
You heard what sounded like banging around above you and sat up, closing your eyes so that you could focus on the noise. You almost thought your mind was playing tricks on you again when you heard a voice. When the bunker door began to screech open, you froze in place, realizing that it was real. They’re here! You scrambled up from the bed in a panic, eyeing the hallway as you went. I won’t make it to the stock room in time! You dove under the bed and retrieved the tarp that you’d stowed under there before retreating to the corner nearest the hall.
“Bitch,” the door closed with a thunk and you could hear Dae Gwan clambering and clanking down the stairs. “She always makes me do the dirty work. She’s gonna pay for this one day. I’ll fix her good… one day.” He was muttering to himself, complaining about Chae Yi again. You rolled your eyes.
Poor Dae Gwan. Always the victim. Right. You got yourself into position, spreading your legs apart to keep your balance, and lifted the tarp up just past your nose, leaving only your eyes unblocked so that you could see the instant Dae Gwan appeared in the main room. The hall was silent for a moment, then you could hear him fumbling around in the stock room. You were so glad you hadn’t hidden in there.
“Where is it?” he growled. “She said it’s in here. Fucking where? Fuck!” You could hear him pressing buttons on his phone. “Hello? I don’t see it in here. Are you sure it’s not at your house? Maybe you lost it. Well, don’t get pissy with me, I’m doing what you asked me to! Why don’t you just get down here and do this part yourself since you’re in such a rush for it to be done? You left me to deal with this girl by myself for almost 2 weeks, you could have at least helped me carry some of this stuff… yeah well, just get here fast, ok? And maybe you should bring something else with you, a rock or something. I know you don’t want to turn around and have to find another blade, but I really don’t see the hatchet anywhere in here.”
You gasped. The hatchet! He was looking for the hatchet. You glanced over at it on the bed and cursed, dropping the tarp and shooting over to grab hold of it, positioning it in your hand so that you could grip both it and the tarp. You silently thanked the gods that you’d found the hatchet before Dae Gwan had come back. You could only imagine what mad plan he and Chae Yi had concocted with it in mind. And where was Chae Yi? By the sound of it, she was in the area, but what was she up to?
Her voice came crackling through Dae Gwan’s phone to answer your question. He must have put it on speaker so he could have both hands free to search. “I’m taking care of evidence that you left behind, you idiot! Why would you just leave rope laying around in the woods? It’s like you’re asking for us to get caught!” Chae Yi sounded like her usual bossy self. “Listen, the hatchet has to be there. That’s where I left it. If you can’t find it then just rip them off or something. I know you’re strong enough.”
“I can’t literally rip the fingers off of someone with my bare hands. That’s what you said the hatchet was for!”
“Didn’t you bring a knife like I told you to? If not, just bite them off then! Either way, they have to go!” She abruptly hung up, leaving Dae Gwan fuming in the middle of the stock room.
“I hate her,” he seethed. “I bet she’s going to tell me to just bite through the bitch’s arms and legs to dismember her too, huh?”
Dismember? You trembled at the thought of your body being hacked apart and morbidly wondered if they would do it while you were still alive and conscious and could feel every slice. With Chae Yi, you were almost certain that would be her preference. She was a demon.
You could hear Dae Gwan moving around again. His heavy footsteps slapped ominously on the concrete floor as he moved towards the main part of the bunker. You sucked in a breath and silently revved yourself up. Ok, I can do this. I can do this. I’m ready. The air seemed charged with electricity. The sound of your own heartbeat thrummed in your ears, and you could feel your entire body vibrating in anticipation. Come on.
“Shit!” Dae Gwan sucked in a breath and turned around just as he was coming into view, and you felt your stomach drop. Had you gone to toss the tarp over him in that moment, you would have surely missed, and he would have overcome you in an instant. You shrank back into the corner, not sure anymore whether you were predator or prey in that moment as you listened to him clatter around in the stock room again. What was he doing?
Mingi was struggling, Yunho could tell. He wasn’t moving as quickly as he had been. His feet seemed to drag in the mud a bit with each step. “Mingiya, you ok?” he asked, already knowing that Mingi would lie.
“I can keep going.”
“You can’t keep this up, Mingi.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
Yunho pressed his lips into a thin line and grabbed the back of Mingi’s hoodie. “You’re being unreasonable.” Mingi let out a heavy sigh and turned to face him. Yunho’s jaw was set.
“Yunho…”
“Mingi, no. Just look at yourself. You’re obviously not doing alright. I know you’re in pain. Are you so insistent on pushing forward that you don’t care if you die in the process? What good are you to Y/N if you’re dead? You think she wants to know that you killed yourself trying to find her? Don’t you think that would destroy her?” He put a hand to Mingi’s chest and gave a light push, watching as Mingi stumbled back and struggled to right himself again, grappling for a tree trunk for support. “See? You’re off balance. You need a doctor. I’m not asking anymore, Mingi.”
Mingi wanted to argue. Wanted to tell Yunho that he was wrong. That he could keep going. But the truth was that as he stood there looking at Yunho, his head was pounding, his vision was still swimming, and he was pretty sure that he’d twisted his ankle somewhere along the line. Yunho’s words echoed in his mind. You think she wants to know that you killed yourself trying to find her? “I just,” he started, “just let me make a call first. Then I’ll decide.”
“Decide what? We’re leaving. The police can handle this.”
“Just let me make a call first!” Mingi had a hard time focusing on the names on his phone screen, but managed to find Jinwoo’s number. He answered almost immediately.
“Hey!” Jinwoo sounded better than he had the last time they’d spoken. “I was just about to call you. I’ve got news.”
“Is it good news?” Mingi asked.
“More or less. I got permission to put together a search party, but not until the rain lets up. I convinced my boss that finding Y/N was more important than preserving evidence that might not even exist after the rain.” Mingi’s breath hitched in his throat. He had been so sure that Jinwoo was going to tell him that he’d failed.
“Really?”
“Yeah, so with any luck we’ll have boots on the ground by the end of the day… or tomorrow morning.” Mingi clapped a hand over his mouth, stifling the sobs that threatened to rake his body. “But, I wanted to tell you…” Mingi heard the sound of a door creaking shut on the other end of the phone. “Officially, we’ve got to wait for the rain, but unofficially, I’ve got two friends on the force that are willing to go out with me in a little bit and start looking ourselves.”
“Won’t you get into trouble?”
“Sometimes you’ve got to bend the rules a little. Anyway, once we find her, the captain will be too happy about that to want to penalize me. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m… I’m so glad to hear that.”
“I told you I’d try, didn’t I?” Mingi could hear the smile on Jinwoo’s face. “Anyway. I just wanted to call you and let you know. I’m rounding my people up now. You’re more than welcome to join the actual search party too when it forms. I know you’d want to be there.”
“Yeah,” Mingi chuckled a little. “You’re right about that. Just uh, just let me know what’s going on. I’ll see you soon. And thanks again, Jinwoo-ssi.”
“No problem at all. I’ll be in touch.”
Mingi hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. “Well,” Yunho said, “who’d you call?”
“Jinwoo.”
“And what did he say?”
“They’re going to search for her once the rain lets up. Him and a couple guys from the force are coming in a little while, though”
Yunho closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, thanking God for Jongho’s cousin. If it hadn’t been for Jinwoo’s tenacity, Yunho probably would have had to drag Mingi out of the woods by his toes. “So, will you let me take you to the hospital now?” Mingi nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Yunho was almost grateful for the rain as they made their way back to the car. With the terrain being so muddy, it was easy to follow their tracks. Yunho never let go of Mingi’s hand as he led him through the trees. Mingi followed behind slowly. Yunho suspected he was back there sulking. He imagined Mingi’s sad eyes filled with tears. Yunho didn’t necessarily feel good about making Mingi leave. He knew it was best, but in the back of his head he worried that if the police didn’t find you, Mingi might never forgive him.
As they neared the area where they’d initially come across the piece of rope, Mingi glanced around to see if he could spot it again. It was gone. Mingi sucked in a breath, noticing a new pair of footprints pressed into the mud beside theirs.
“What?” Yunho asked, craning his neck to look back at Mingi. “What is it?”
“…Nothing.” There was no point in telling Yunho at that moment. It would likely only serve to panic him; but Jinwoo would be the first person he told when the detective arrived.
You fought to steady your breathing again when you heard Dae Gwan making his way back into the main room again. He emerged from the hall peering down into a burlap sack that he had spread open and was muttering to himself as he dug around in it. The sounds of metal clacking together gave you terrible visuals of knives and saws and all manner of sharp things. He didn’t even look over at the bed as he moved. For a split second you wondered if you shouldn’t just make a break for the stairs and forget the tarp entirely. He was occupied with his murder bag. He wouldn’t notice you, right?
Your feet were glued to the spot. Instead of running or throwing the tarp, you stood quietly in the corner and watched as Dae Gwan pulled out what appeared to be a shower curtain and lay it down in the middle of the floor. He then sat the bag down and knelt down beside it, pulling out a box of plastic bags, a few kitchen knives, and a bottle of bleach. Your stomach churned.
“Hey!” He called. Your head snapped from the items he’d laid out back to him. You hadn’t even realized that you’d spaced out. He still wasn’t looking at the bed as he began to climb to his feet. “Wake the fuck up.”
Now or never! You didn’t waste another second on thinking. You cleared your mind as best you could and lurched forward with the tarp outstretched in front of you. You threw it over his hunched frame, not bothering to make sure he was fully covered before you spun around and broke for the exit. You could hear his confused shouts as he fought to get the tarp off, but the sound of your bare feet on the concrete seemed louder still.
“What the fuck!” You took the steps two at a time just as you’d practiced and were at the door in no time. No amount of prep could have prepared you for how heavy the door actually was. You gripped the latch and tried to use your shoulder to force the door up. A few weeks ago, it would have been easier, but you were so worn that it felt like you were trying to move a car. Where was the strength that adrenaline was supposed to give you?
The thunder of Dae Gwan’s steps pushed you harder, and you pulled out every last bit of strength you had, screaming as the door finally gave way to the rain drenched forest. You didn’t give yourself even a second to take anything in before you turned to try and get the door closed, hoping that it would deter him just long enough for you to put some space between you.
You saw his hands before his face. He reached out with both hands and wrapped them around your ankles, yanking so hard that your feet came from under you and you slammed to the ground. “Bitch!” he foamed, “stupid bitch!” You could feel the small rocks and sharp twigs digging and tearing into your back as he dragged you back into the bunker. You threw your arms up to shield your head from banging the stairs and suddenly realized,
I still have the hatchet! You were suddenly grateful that he was so blinded by his own malice that he hadn’t noticed you were armed.
Once he’d gotten you to the bottom of the stairs, he grabbed you by the hair and wound your braid around his arm. “Where the fuck did you think you were going?”
Home! You swung the hatchet as hard as you could, the dull thud of it connecting with his thigh sent a shiver up your spine and elicited a howl from his lips. He didn’t release you, though. His grip on your hair grew tighter and his fist drove into your face. You could feel the blood pouring from your mouth and nose almost immediately. He tossed you to the floor and towered over you as you lay motionless.
“I’m actually going to enjoy taking you apart,” he said through clenched teeth. You didn’t move, didn’t react at all. You needed him to think he had you right where he wanted you. You kept the hatchet clenched to your chest, hidden from sight, hoping that he thought you’d dropped it. He leaned down to look into your face. “That’s all the fight you had in you?” he asked. “Worthless.” He gripped your shoulder and shoved you over so that you lay on your stomach. “Women are really only good for one thing, huh?”
You could feel his hand creeping up your nightgown and began trembling. Not fear. Anger. Rolling over onto your back, you swung the hatchet again, this time hitting him in the arm and slicing off a hunk of flesh. He reared back, yowling and clutching at his arm. You jumped up, ignoring the twang of your ankle, and went for the stairs again. He followed close behind, bloody and limping, but still gaining on you. He grabbed hold of your ankle and pulled you back down again. You jumped to your feet immediately and swung wildly, hearing the thunk and feeling metal connect with bone. You looked and saw that the hatchet was in his head. He appeared dazed, if nothing else, but still, he moved in on you.
You swung again. And again. When he fell, you went down with him. Still swinging. His pained gurgles turned quickly into rattles and the dull thunks into wet squelches. You didn’t stop. I’m going home! I’m going home! It wasn’t until the hatchet bounced off the concrete and sent the vibrations up your arms that you finally opened your eyes to the scene before you. You didn’t look down, not wanting to see what had become of Dae Gwan. All you knew was that he wouldn’t be coming after you again, and that was enough. You climbed off of him slowly, feeling the weight of your blood soaked nightgown pulling on your shoulders. As you climbed the stairs, you could feel blood and something else, something spongy, squishing between your toes.
Emerging from the bunker, the first thing you noticed was the feel of the cool rain on your skin. You drank it in, spreading your arms out and craning your head towards the sky. The droplets kissed your eyelids, your cheeks, and ran down your neck. You sighed, the beginning of a smile spreading on your lips, overtaken by the sudden need to vomit. You placed a shaky hand on a nearby tree and hurled your guts out onto the forest floor. When you were finished and pulled your hand from the tree, a bloody smear was left in its place. You stared at it in silence. I’m not free yet. I’m not safe.
You cast your eyes downward, looking for some kind of sign to tell you which way you should go. The trees towered over you, stretching for what looked like miles in each direction. It was disorienting. You spotted footprints in the mud. Dae Gwan. Glancing down into the bunker, all you could see were your bloodied footprints on the stairs. The irony of Dae Gwan’s prints being the ones that would lead you to salvation wasn’t lost on you. Without another thought, you headed off into the woods, keeping your eyes on the tracks in the mud.
When Yunho and Mingi broke through the trees back into the field, Yunho could see that there was a car parked directly behind his. Two men stood outside the car talking amongst themselves. The other man leaned against Yunho’s car with his arms crossed over his chest. “Is that-”
“Jinwoo,” Mingi shuddered. He had really been hoping that he and Yunho would make it back to the car before Jinwoo showed up. But part of him had known better. Once Jinwoo had a plan, he executed it quickly. “I’ll talk to him.” They moved slowly across the field, Yunho still taking care to make sure Mingi stayed upright. As they closed in on Jinwoo, the disappointment on his face quickly gave way to concern as he noticed the dried blood on Mingi’s face.
“What happened here?” Jinwoo asked as he and Yunho both helped Mingi cross over the ditch.
“He fell,” Yunho explained. “He hit his head on a tree and I’m sure he’s concussed. I need to get him to a hospital.”
“You shouldn’t have come out here alone,” Jinwoo growled as he checked Mingi, immediately finding the gash on the back of his head. “That was foolish of you.”
“I had to try to find her,” Mingi said unapologetically. “I didn’t know if you were going to come through. I didn’t want to take the chance.”
“I’m here. You need to go to the hospital. My men and I will take it from here.”
“We really appreciate this,” Yunho said, offering a bow.
“I’m just doing my job,” Jinwoo responded.
“Please,” Mingi clung to Jinwoo’s arm. “Please find her.”
“You guys should be careful in there,” Yunho looked towards the woods. “It’s treacherous in there.”
“It won’t be my first woodland search in the rain,” Jinwoo reassured him. “We’ll be fine. You two on the other hand,” he looked directly at Mingi. “You two need to leave. Now.” Yunho opened the passenger door for Mingi and helped him lower himself into the seat.
“I’m fine, Yunho. I can sit down by myself.”
“Shut up.” Yunho shut the door and went to the drivers’ side. Jinwoo met him there.
“Here,” Jinwoo said. “Let’s exchange numbers. Regardless of what we find out here, I’ll keep you updated.” He glanced into the car at Mingi. “I think he needs a minute to rest. Is it ok that I contact you instead?”
“Yeah.” Yunho locked Jinwoo’s number into his phone. The sound of a car door opening drew both of their attention. Mingi was climbing back out.
“No,” Jinwoo said. “Get back in the car.”
“I just have to tell you something!” Mingi leaned over the roof of the car.
“What is it?”
“We went west when we got in there. I’m sure we were going the right way because I found some rope. Don’t worry, we didn’t touch it; but on our way back the rope was gone, and there were newer footprints in the mud. Smaller ones…” Mingi watched as the pieces clicked together in Jinwoo’s mind. “Be careful out there.”
“I have my service weapon,” Jinwoo stated. “I’m ready for whatever is in there. Thanks for the heads up.”
“What’s in there?” Yunho asked, thinking back to the rustling in the trees. “That wasn’t an animal we came across earlier, was it?”
“I told you it was foolish to go in there alone,” Jinwoo said. “Get your friend to the nearest hospital.”
The rain beating down on you made you feel waterlogged and blurred your vision. You were sure you would have gotten lost a while ago if not for the tracks in the mud that showed you the way. Initially, you had been following only Dae Gwan’s footprints, but after a while, they merged with more prints. What appeared to be two or three more sets. It was hard to tell. You idly wondered if these other prints were evidence of there being more people to be afraid of, or if someone was looking for you. Maybe they had nothing to do with me at all. You looked down at your own feet coated in mud and grime and wished that you had your hiking boots. Hell, you would have settled for a pair of those flimsy foam flip flops that the nail salons gave out when you got a pedicure. Anything would have been better than stepping on sharp rocks with your bare feet. You couldn’t wait to get back home.
The sound of rustling came from behind you and you turned quickly, eyes scanning the area. The prickling feeling of anxiety climbed up your body and settled in the hairs on the back of your neck. You gripped the hatchet tightly in your hand and began moving backward, not letting your eyes leave the spot where the sounds had come from. You hoped it was an animal, hoped it was just a deer trying to make its way back home, same as you. I wish it wasn’t so dark in here.
The rustling came from your left, and you snapped your head toward it. It wasn’t a deer. Whatever it was was watching you, tracking your movements. Do I run? You turned to face forward again, deciding that running would be a bad idea with everything being slick with rain and mud. You knew you’d be likely to fall and hurt yourself. You couldn’t afford that. Instead, you took quiet, calculated steps, keeping the hatchet at the ready just in case. After a second, you could hear what sounded like footsteps behind you. You itched to turn around, but you were afraid of what you might see. What if it was Dae Gwan, somehow having come back one last time to make you pay for what you had done to him? Don’t be ridiculous, you chided yourself. Just look. You squared your shoulders, sighing heavily. You were so tired.
The moment you turned around, you were met with a flurry of hair and nails. Animalistic wails and shrieks escaped a mouth full of bared teeth that snapped and tore at you. You fell to the ground, and as your vision focused, you saw your attacker. Chae Yi? She was relentless in her attack, but you quickly noticed that she wasn’t armed and shoved her off of you, brandishing the hatchet.
“How are you here? Where is Dae Gwan?” she spat. You said nothing, keeping your eyes focused on her as she moved around you erratically. “He’s such an idiot! I’m going to tear him a new one. But you!” She crept closer, her gaze never leaving yours. “You need to get back down there.” She tore her eyes away from you for a moment to focus on the hatchet in your hand. “That’s mine,” she said, reaching out for it. You swung it at her and she retreated back, only then noticing that you were covered in blood. Her eyes darted around your body, searching for injuries, confused when she found none. She looked back at the hatchet. “Did you?” Your eyes narrowed as you watched the smug look disappear from her face.
Chae Yi stood there for a moment, just looking at you. You couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Had she figured out that Dae Gwan wasn’t about to come bursting forth from the woods to take you captive again? Did she have a contingency plan? Were there others waiting in the wings to do her bidding? “This isn’t right,” she muttered, more to herself than to you. “You have to go back.” She took another few steps in your direction.
There’s no chance in hell I’m going back, you thought. You didn’t want to, but you were fully prepared to use the hatchet again. You couldn’t give up, not when you were so near to the finish line. You held the weapon out in front of you.
“Give me back my hatchet!” she shrieked swiping for it again. You snatched it back and she leapt at you, clawing at the hand that held the hatchet. “I’ll fucking kill you!” She bit down hard on your hand and you had no choice but to drop the hatchet. She snatched it up and shoved you back down. “I’m in charge,” she huffed. “You’ll do what I say.” You lay there, propped up on your elbows and glaring daggers into her. The smug grin was back. “Get up.” You didn’t move. “I said get up!” Upon being met with more silence, she shrieked and rushed towards you, hatchet raised.
Shit! Your eyes quickly scanned the area for something you could use to protect yourself and saw only a soggy, hollow long. A forest full of rocks and branches, but nothing that I can use. You shifted focus back to Chae Yi. She was mere inches away from you. You could see the malice in her dark eyes as she charged towards you. You did the only thing you could. Lifting up your leg, you shot your foot out as hard as you could, simultaneously hearing the crack in your ankle as you kicked her squarely in the stomach, succeeding in knocking the wind out of her lungs.
She flew backward, her feet slipping and sliding from up under her. She screeched as she fell, hitting the ground on her side. The hatchet flew from her hand and rested a few feet away from her. You climbed to your feet, looking at her. Waiting for her to get up and attack you again. She didn’t move. She wasn’t dead, you could hear whimpers and cries coming from her as you inched closer and picked up the hatchet. Why wasn’t she getting up? She hadn’t fallen that hard.
Feeling braver now that you had the hatchet back, you got even closer to her. You reached a hand out to touch her and saw tears pouring from her eyes. “I… I can’t move,” she sniveled. “I can’t move.” Confused, you took her shoulder and rolled her over onto her back. It was then that you saw what she had landed on. A rock jutted out of the ground right where she had landed. The blood on the rock and the blood on her neck told you what had happened. You took hold of one of her arms, picking it up and watching as it dropped back down limply.
Her neck… she broke her neck. You picked up her arm again, wanting to see if it was real. To see if she was just waiting for you to turn away before she jumped on your back and clawed out your eyes.
“Get your hands off me!” You let her arm go, not caring when her own hand slapped down on her face, but unable to hide the tiniest smile from creeping up on your lips. Noticing a rectangular lump in her back pocket, you felt a twinge of excitement. A phone! You dug into her pocket and pulled it out. It was yours, puffy yellow case and all. Flipping it over, you groaned. The screen was shattered. You tapped it aggressively, willing it to turn on. Nothing. Fuck!
You winced as you stood back up; you were sure that your ankle was broken this time. You were going to have to limp your way through the rest of the woods. You slipped your phone into the little breast pocket of your pajama dress, sure that you’d be able to get it fixed, and located the footprints in the mud again. This way.
“Wait!” You turned your head to look back at Chae Yi. Her eyes were wild with panic as they met yours. “Don’t leave me here! Don’t you fucking leave me here!” You stared at her for a second, incredulous, before you turned back around and limped away. “Come back! Come back!”
Yunho settled himself into the drivers’ seat, placed both hands on the wheel, and sighed. Jinwoo had told them to leave ten minutes ago, and Yunho wanted nothing more than to do that. But Mingi… Mingi begged Yunho to just give him a minute. He didn’t want to leave until he saw Jinwoo and the other officers actually go into the woods. He wanted to make sure that they weren’t saying that they’d go just to get Mingi to leave. Yunho had tried to tell him that it made no sense, but Mingi was insistent. “Not yet.” So, Yunho indulged him.
Mingi was nearly plastered to the window as he watched Jinwoo and the officers strategizing. He wished he could make out what they were saying, but they were too far away. He glanced up at the sky. The rain seemed to finally be moving away. The drops weren’t coming down as hard as they had been when he and Yunho had been in the woods, and he was glad for it. Less rain meant it would be easier for Jinwoo’s team to follow the prints, and hopefully find you at the end of them. His stomach was in knots. He wrung his hands and pulled at his bracelets, bouncing his leg so hard that he was shaking the whole car. “Mingi,” Yunho breathed. “You must calm down.”
“I’m sorry, Yunho. I’m sorry.”
“How is your head?”
“My vision seems a little better.” He wasn’t lying. It had admittedly taken a while, but his vision had finally begun to focus again. His head, on the other hand, was still pounding.
“Well, at least there’s that. Look, as soon as they get over there, Mingi, we’re leaving. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you, Yunho.”
“Good.” Together, they watched as Jinwoo and his team started across the field. Jinwoo glanced back at the car and gave Mingi a thumbs up. “Are you ready?” Yunho turned the key and the engine revved to life, startling Mingi.
“Huh?”
“It’s time. We’re leaving.”
“Yunho.”
“We’re leaving.” Mingi placed his hand on the handle of the door, but Yunho locked it immediately. “No. We’re going. Jinwoo can handle this.”
“Yunho…” Mingi spoke quietly, almost a whisper. “What if he doesn’t find her?”
“I’ll be here for you.”
The crunch of the gravel under the tires was deafening as Yunho pulled away from the ditch. Mingi swallowed the lump in his throat, his teary eyes still glued to the woods. Out of his peripheral, he could still see Jinwoo and the guys making their way across the seemingly endless field, but their bodies were growing smaller in the distance. Then something caught his eye. Something came tumbling out of the trees. He looked on curiously, what kind of animal was that? He squinted his eyes and gasped. “Stop the car.”
“Mingi…”
“Yunho stop the fucking car!” Mingi flung the car door open before Yunho could come to a complete stop and tumbled out of the car.
“Mingiya!” He jumped out of the car and ran around to help Mingi, who was already on his feet and stumbling in the direction of the field. Yunho looked past him to see that Jinwoo’s team had stopped moving. They were observing the small frame of what looked like a woman in a red dress. “Mingi, wait!” He jogged to catch up to Mingi, who was still moving as fast as he could towards the field.
The figure in the red dress moved strangely, leaning more to one side than the other as they limped across the field. One of the officers with Jinwoo ran in the direction of the stranger and was stopped in his tracks when the stranger actively moved to get away from him. Mingi dropped down into the ditch and quickly hauled himself up, there was no time to waste in trying to clear it when he knew he wouldn’t be able to, stopping at the edge of the field. He looked on at the figure in the near distance, noticing something yellow sticking out of their dress pocket. The person swept tangled wisps of hair out of their face and Mingi’s heart nearly burst.
“Y/N!” He broke into a full run, ignoring the pain in his ankle. When he face planted in the mud, he climbed back up and continued towards the girl in the red dress. She couldn’t even tell what he’d said, but upon hearing the hoarse cry she looked up at the man that was dashing right towards her. “Baby!”
You stopped in your tracks, not sure if what you were seeing was real. There was no way it could be, but when he stumbled again, you knew it was him. You dropped the hatchet. “Mingi!” Your throat was still on fire, your ankle shattered, but you didn’t care. You cried out his name again and dragged yourself across the field towards him. He ran to you, and when he slammed into you, he wrapped his arms so tightly around you that you almost couldn’t breathe.
Neither of you said a word. He held you tightly, arms wrapped around your waist, yours around his neck. You breathed in his scent, relished the feel of his skin on yours, and melted into him. You finally felt it. The safety that his touch always afforded you. The peace that having him near provided. Neither of you wanted to let go. He pulled you away, taking in every detail. He saw that what he had mistaken for a red dress was actually a blood-soaked nightgown. Your hair was a mess, your skin dull, your eyes sunken. But it was you. God, it was really you. He kissed you all over your face, tears streaming down his cheeks. Every time he tried to speak, he could only sob.
As you took him in, you could see that the stress of you being gone had really done a number on him. But he was still as handsome as ever. He was still your Mingi. “You came for me,” you hiccuped.
“I can’t believe you’re really here.” He pressed his forehead to yours. “I knew you were alive. I knew it.” The sobs raked his body. You let his tears fall on your face to combine with your own.
“I tried to get back to you,” you whispered, “I tried so hard.”
“I’m sorry.” He wiped the tears from your face and kissed you, pressing his body into yours. You wrapped your arms back around him and kissed him back, tongues dancing. He tasted like sweat and tears and mud, but you didn’t think you’d ever tasted something so delicious. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Baby… baby, what happened?” He asked the question you knew would be coming.
“A lot. I’m not ready yet.”
“I understand.” He wrapped you back up in his arms. “I’ll never let you go. Never.” You searched for words. Something to express how much you’d missed him, and how every moment away from him had been torture, but there were none. You threw your hands up into his hair, immediately pulling them back when you felt the matted, crusty patch on the back of his head. He was hurt.
“Are you ok?” you asked, alarmed. You looked at your hands, seeing dried flakes of blood. “Mingi?”
“I’m ok. We’re ok.” He kissed your forehead. “We’re going to be ok.” You smiled at him, believing every word.
“Um, excuse me.” You flinched at the sound of another voice. You had completely forgotten that there were other people around. A man approached you, with two others on his heels.
“This is Jinwoo,” Mingi explained. “He’s the detective that’s been helping me look for you. He’s Jongho’s cousin.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jinwoo said. “I’m glad you’re alright.” He quietly assessed you in the moment. Your overall disheveled appearance: your bloodied gown, your facial injuries, your discolored, swollen ankle. “I’m sure you’ve been through a lot these past couple weeks.”
“Y/N,” another voice called. You looked over to see Yunho walking towards you and Mingi.
“Yunho, you’re here too.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll call medical,” one of Jinwoo’s friends said, stepping away from the group. He returned a moment later. “The ambulance, Cha, the chief, and half the squad are on the way.”
“Ok, you two,” Jinwoo said, turning to you and Mingi. “When the ambulance gets here, get in and get to the hospital. There are going to be people wanting to question you immediately, but I don’t think this is the proper setting for that. Get to the hospital, get cleared, then when you’re ready to talk, we’ll have officers come up. If you like, I will come too.”
“Please,” you answered.
“And me?” Yunho asked.
“You? You go home. You were never here. You get me?”
“Yes, sir. Mingi,” Yunho turned to him. “You’ll be ok now?”
“Yeah, I’m ok now.”
“Listen to the doctors, ok.”
“I will.”
“You and Y/N take care of each other. I’ll see you up at the hospital.”
The strobing blue and red lights washed over the field before the cars came speeding down the road faster than you thought they would. Mingi still held you close, refusing to let you go even as the EMTs assessed the two of you. They loaded both of you up onto separate stretchers and settled you in the back of the ambulance. Before they could close the doors, you called for Jinwoo. He climbed into the back of the ambulance and you motioned for him to lean down. He obliged. “There’s a girl in the woods… Chae Yi. She can’t move, but she’s alive. And the man in the bunker… Dae Gwan… he’s not. They did this.” Jinwoo sat up slowly, nodding.
“I understand. Thank you for the information.” He climbed down from the ambulance and shut the doors, tapping twice on the bumper. You watched through the windows as he turned and disappeared into the sea of lights.
Mingi reached across the truck to clasp your hand in his while the various medical devices beeped and chimed, signaling that the two of you were still alive despite it all. You’d never really liked hospitals or ambulances, they usually always meant that something horrible had happened. But with Mingi there beside you, you knew that the horrible part was over. That the time to heal had come. That whatever came next, you’d face it together. And that even if something tried to pull the two of you apart again, you’d be drawn back together, like roots seeking water. Without thought, without hesitation, and against all odds, simply because that was how it was meant to be.
EPILOGUE
You lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to IV drips and monitors, the beeping the only sounds. Mingi slept soundly beside you, his body curled around you like a shield, hand resting gingerly on your stomach. The doctors had tried and failed to get him to lay in the bed that was directly beside yours, but he’d refused, and you’d ensured them that he was exactly where you wanted him to be, so they didn’t press the matter.
Mingi had skated by with his testing, coming away with a sprained ankle, a mild concussion, and stitches in his head. You on the other hand, had been taken for multiple tests, and the doctors had to pry Mingi away from you each time. They’d given you a psych evaluation, checked you for internal injuries, infections, head injuries, and upon your request, pregnancy. When your test results came back, you weren’t surprised to have such a long list of issues. There was of course the acute stress, but also a broken ankle, a nasal fracture, multiple contusions, severe rope burns, a bruised larynx. They also told you that you were severely dehydrated and mildly malnourished, which were the most pressing matters to them. You were pregnant, and neither of those things bode well for the baby.
When they’d informed you and Mingi that the baby’s heartbeat was weaker than they’d like it to be, but that it was still there, and that a few weeks of rest and rejuvenation would undoubtedly remove you from the high-risk category, you burst into tears. You clung to Mingi, who was equal parts shocked and overjoyed at the news, and sobbed like a child. You had spent so many days convinced that the baby was gone. But they were still there. They were still fighting. The doctor exited the room quietly, giving you and Mingi a moment alone to absorb the news. Mingi placed his hand over your stomach as he looked at the ultrasound pictures over your shoulder. “They’re strong,” he beamed, tears in his eyes. “Just like you.”
“I wanted to tell you first,” you’d said, explaining to him that you’d found out the night you were kidnapped. That you thought the pregnancy was the whole reason you’d been taken in the first place. Mingi hadn’t been so sure. He seemed to think that Chae Yi had been plotting long before she’d discovered the pregnancy test photo.
The detectives had come and gone. They pressed you about the timeline of events, the roles that Dae Gwan and Chae Yi had played, and the circumstances that led to what they described as a brutal scene in the bunker. You spared them no detail, giving them a full account of the last two weeks of your life. Jinwoo stood in the corner of the room while you told the story, only cutting in to remind them that you were the victim when he felt like the officers were getting too aggressive. You were grateful for him. He had been there to help Mingi, and now he was there to help you. You’d have to make sure to give Jongho the greatest of thanks.
Once the officers had taken your statement, they left, and it was just you, Mingi, and Jinwoo. “So,” you asked, “what’s going to happen to Chae Yi?”
“Oh, she’s officially in custody,” Jinwoo replied. “She’ll be being guarded twenty-four seven until she is released from the hospital, and then she’ll be under the care of the Ministry of Justice. Don’t worry, she’s going away for a good long time. Even if she doesn’t get as much time as she deserves, she’s serving a life sentence either way.”
“What do you mean?” Mingi asked.
“She’s paralyzed from the neck down. If you ask me, that’s a fate worse than death.”
You sat with that for a moment. After everything you’d been put through, Dae Gwan was dead, and Chae Yi would never be able to hurt anyone else again. It didn’t necessarily feel like justice to you. It felt more like peace. No more need to worry, to look over your shoulder, to feel trapped. Just peace. Jinwoo stood up to leave and you grabbed his arm. “Thank you for everything.”
“No need to thank me. I was just doing my job. If you want to be grateful for someone, it’s Mingi. He never gave up on you. Not even for a second.” You looked over at Mingi, who had gone back to smiling at the ultrasound pictures.
“I am,” you said quietly. “Every day.” You watched Jinwoo sling his jacket over his shoulder and turn to leave.
“Mingi, take care of her, alright?”
“Absolutely.” You closed your eyes, feeling Mingi wrap himself back around you, cooing softly in your ear. “Get some sleep, baby. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” You felt yourself drifting off, comforted to know that Mingi would always do everything he could to protect you; but also knowing that if the day ever came again when he couldn’t, you were strong enough to survive on your own.
End.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. I TRULY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE! STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT FIC
WARNINGS: MDNI, Kidnapping, references to sexual assault, graphic violence, graphic character death, attempted murder, physical assault, strangulation, blood and injury, pregnancy-related peril, psychological trauma.
Previous Chapter
Ch 13
“Mingiya…Mingiya!” The warmth of Yunho’s hand slapping against his wet face stirred Mingi into consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly and groaned, his unfocused gaze roaming aimlessly until it settled on Yunho. Yunho fell back onto his haunches and let out a slow, even breath. He had to blink a few times to shoo away the tears that had been running down his cheeks only a moment ago; he had been so sure that Mingi wasn’t going to wake up. Mingi eased himself into a sitting position and propped himself up against the tree that had taken him down.
“Where is she? What happened?” Mingi asked; a sharp pain in the back of his head answered and he clapped a hand over the sore spot, remembering that he had fallen.
“We didn’t find her, Mingi.” Yunho’s voice was gentle as he shined the flashlight into Mingi’s eyes. “How’s your head?”
“It’s fine,” Mingi responded dismissively, waving him off weakly. “We have to keep looking.” He tried to stand up, using the tree beside him as support, but he was still unsteady on his feet.
“No,” Yunho countered, watching Mingi sway from side to side. “You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. I’m worried you might have a concussion.” He continued shoving the light in Mingi’s face. “Look at me.”
“I’m ok, Yunho. Let’s keep going.” Mingi shielded his eyes and began to hobble away.
“I said no!” Yunho shouted, his foot stomping the wet ground beneath him. Mingi turned back to look at him, his vision blurred. “This is your blood.” Yunho shot his hand out and Mingi could see that his palm was red. He brought his own hand up to his face and saw that it too was covered in blood.
“Oh.”
“We have to go back,” Yunho grabbed his arm. “You need to see a doctor.”
“I can manage.” Mingi attempted to pull away, but Yunho had a firm grip on his sleeve. “Yunho!” He snatched away and nearly went toppling over again. Yunho lunged forward to catch him.
“You can’t even walk in a straight line right now, Mingi! I’m sorry, but we have to get you to a hospital. If you pass out or hurt yourself even more, I can’t carry you out of here on my own.” Mingi looked down at the ground. He knew that Yunho was right, but he couldn’t just leave. It would feel too much like he was abandoning you.
“Yunho…please. Just a little further. I’ll be careful. I…I can’t just let her go. We’re close. I know it.” Yunho looked over his best friend. He almost couldn’t recognize him. He looked beyond tired. His skin was sallow, his hoodie seemed far too large for him, his shoulders were narrower than they had been only two weeks ago, but the worst part was his eyes. Mingi had always had a light in his eyes. A spark that never dulled. But as Yunho looked into those same eyes, the light was gone. He bit at his lip, knowing that he should keep insisting that they turn back; but Mingi wasn’t going to go easily.
“We’ll come back,” he said. “We’ll get you checked out and we’ll come back.”
“I’m not leaving.” Mingi turned away from Yunho and put his hands out in front of him. He moved more purposefully, making sure to pay attention to where his feet were and using the trees in the vicinity to keep himself upright. Yunho looked after him as he disappeared into the trees, sighing before he reluctantly followed close behind. If he fell again, Yunho would be there to catch him.
You lay in the bed twirling your braid around your fingers, wondering if your hair had grown any longer since you’d been down in the bunker. It needed a good wash. When you made it back home, you were going to schedule a sauna day and make Mingi go along with you. He wouldn’t object, he loved a good sauna. Ooh, and we’ll get some good food too.
You heard what sounded like banging around above you and sat up, closing your eyes so that you could focus on the noise. You almost thought your mind was playing tricks on you again when you heard a voice. When the bunker door began to screech open, you froze in place, realizing that it was real. They’re here! You scrambled up from the bed in a panic, eyeing the hallway as you went. I won’t make it to the stock room in time! You dove under the bed and retrieved the tarp that you’d stowed under there before retreating to the corner nearest the hall.
“Bitch,” the door closed with a thunk and you could hear Dae Gwan clambering and clanking down the stairs. “She always makes me do the dirty work. She’s gonna pay for this one day. I’ll fix her good… one day.” He was muttering to himself, complaining about Chae Yi again. You rolled your eyes.
Poor Dae Gwan. Always the victim. Right. You got yourself into position, spreading your legs apart to keep your balance, and lifted the tarp up just past your nose, leaving only your eyes unblocked so that you could see the instant Dae Gwan appeared in the main room. The hall was silent for a moment, then you could hear him fumbling around in the stock room. You were so glad you hadn’t hidden in there.
“Where is it?” he growled. “She said it’s in here. Fucking where? Fuck!” You could hear him pressing buttons on his phone. “Hello? I don’t see it in here. Are you sure it’s not at your house? Maybe you lost it. Well, don’t get pissy with me, I’m doing what you asked me to! Why don’t you just get down here and do this part yourself since you’re in such a rush for it to be done? You left me to deal with this girl by myself for almost 2 weeks, you could have at least helped me carry some of this stuff… yeah well, just get here fast, ok? And maybe you should bring something else with you, a rock or something. I know you don’t want to turn around and have to find another blade, but I really don’t see the hatchet anywhere in here.”
You gasped. The hatchet! He was looking for the hatchet. You glanced over at it on the bed and cursed, dropping the tarp and shooting over to grab hold of it, positioning it in your hand so that you could grip both it and the tarp. You silently thanked the gods that you’d found the hatchet before Dae Gwan had come back. You could only imagine what mad plan he and Chae Yi had concocted with it in mind. And where was Chae Yi? By the sound of it, she was in the area, but what was she up to?
Her voice came crackling through Dae Gwan’s phone to answer your question. He must have put it on speaker so he could have both hands free to search. “I’m taking care of evidence that you left behind, you idiot! Why would you just leave rope laying around in the woods? It’s like you’re asking for us to get caught!” Chae Yi sounded like her usual bossy self. “Listen, the hatchet has to be there. That’s where I left it. If you can’t find it then just rip them off or something. I know you’re strong enough.”
“I can’t literally rip the fingers off of someone with my bare hands. That’s what you said the hatchet was for!”
“Didn’t you bring a knife like I told you to? If not, just bite them off then! Either way, they have to go!” She abruptly hung up, leaving Dae Gwan fuming in the middle of the stock room.
“I hate her,” he seethed. “I bet she’s going to tell me to just bite through the bitch’s arms and legs to dismember her too, huh?”
Dismember? You trembled at the thought of your body being hacked apart and morbidly wondered if they would do it while you were still alive and conscious and could feel every slice. With Chae Yi, you were almost certain that would be her preference. She was a demon.
You could hear Dae Gwan moving around again. His heavy footsteps slapped ominously on the concrete floor as he moved towards the main part of the bunker. You sucked in a breath and silently revved yourself up. Ok, I can do this. I can do this. I’m ready. The air seemed charged with electricity. The sound of your own heartbeat thrummed in your ears, and you could feel your entire body vibrating in anticipation. Come on.
“Shit!” Dae Gwan sucked in a breath and turned around just as he was coming into view, and you felt your stomach drop. Had you gone to toss the tarp over him in that moment, you would have surely missed, and he would have overcome you in an instant. You shrank back into the corner, not sure anymore whether you were predator or prey in that moment as you listened to him clatter around in the stock room again. What was he doing?
Mingi was struggling, Yunho could tell. He wasn’t moving as quickly as he had been. His feet seemed to drag in the mud a bit with each step. “Mingiya, you ok?” he asked, already knowing that Mingi would lie.
“I can keep going.”
“You can’t keep this up, Mingi.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
Yunho pressed his lips into a thin line and grabbed the back of Mingi’s hoodie. “You’re being unreasonable.” Mingi let out a heavy sigh and turned to face him. Yunho’s jaw was set.
“Yunho…”
“Mingi, no. Just look at yourself. You’re obviously not doing alright. I know you’re in pain. Are you so insistent on pushing forward that you don’t care if you die in the process? What good are you to Y/N if you’re dead? You think she wants to know that you killed yourself trying to find her? Don’t you think that would destroy her?” He put a hand to Mingi’s chest and gave a light push, watching as Mingi stumbled back and struggled to right himself again, grappling for a tree trunk for support. “See? You’re off balance. You need a doctor. I’m not asking anymore, Mingi.”
Mingi wanted to argue. Wanted to tell Yunho that he was wrong. That he could keep going. But the truth was that as he stood there looking at Yunho, his head was pounding, his vision was still swimming, and he was pretty sure that he’d twisted his ankle somewhere along the line. Yunho’s words echoed in his mind. You think she wants to know that you killed yourself trying to find her? “I just,” he started, “just let me make a call first. Then I’ll decide.”
“Decide what? We’re leaving. The police can handle this.”
“Just let me make a call first!” Mingi had a hard time focusing on the names on his phone screen, but managed to find Jinwoo’s number. He answered almost immediately.
“Hey!” Jinwoo sounded better than he had the last time they’d spoken. “I was just about to call you. I’ve got news.”
“Is it good news?” Mingi asked.
“More or less. I got permission to put together a search party, but not until the rain lets up. I convinced my boss that finding Y/N was more important than preserving evidence that might not even exist after the rain.” Mingi’s breath hitched in his throat. He had been so sure that Jinwoo was going to tell him that he’d failed.
“Really?”
“Yeah, so with any luck we’ll have boots on the ground by the end of the day… or tomorrow morning.” Mingi clapped a hand over his mouth, stifling the sobs that threatened to rake his body. “But, I wanted to tell you…” Mingi heard the sound of a door creaking shut on the other end of the phone. “Officially, we’ve got to wait for the rain, but unofficially, I’ve got two friends on the force that are willing to go out with me in a little bit and start looking ourselves.”
“Won’t you get into trouble?”
“Sometimes you’ve got to bend the rules a little. Anyway, once we find her, the captain will be too happy about that to want to penalize me. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m… I’m so glad to hear that.”
“I told you I’d try, didn’t I?” Mingi could hear the smile on Jinwoo’s face. “Anyway. I just wanted to call you and let you know. I’m rounding my people up now. You’re more than welcome to join the actual search party too when it forms. I know you’d want to be there.”
“Yeah,” Mingi chuckled a little. “You’re right about that. Just uh, just let me know what’s going on. I’ll see you soon. And thanks again, Jinwoo-ssi.”
“No problem at all. I’ll be in touch.”
Mingi hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. “Well,” Yunho said, “who’d you call?”
“Jinwoo.”
“And what did he say?”
“They’re going to search for her once the rain lets up. Him and a couple guys from the force are coming in a little while, though”
Yunho closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, thanking God for Jongho’s cousin. If it hadn’t been for Jinwoo’s tenacity, Yunho probably would have had to drag Mingi out of the woods by his toes. “So, will you let me take you to the hospital now?” Mingi nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Yunho was almost grateful for the rain as they made their way back to the car. With the terrain being so muddy, it was easy to follow their tracks. Yunho never let go of Mingi’s hand as he led him through the trees. Mingi followed behind slowly. Yunho suspected he was back there sulking. He imagined Mingi’s sad eyes filled with tears. Yunho didn’t necessarily feel good about making Mingi leave. He knew it was best, but in the back of his head he worried that if the police didn’t find you, Mingi might never forgive him.
As they neared the area where they’d initially come across the piece of rope, Mingi glanced around to see if he could spot it again. It was gone. Mingi sucked in a breath, noticing a new pair of footprints pressed into the mud beside theirs.
“What?” Yunho asked, craning his neck to look back at Mingi. “What is it?”
“…Nothing.” There was no point in telling Yunho at that moment. It would likely only serve to panic him; but Jinwoo would be the first person he told when the detective arrived.
You fought to steady your breathing again when you heard Dae Gwan making his way back into the main room again. He emerged from the hall peering down into a burlap sack that he had spread open and was muttering to himself as he dug around in it. The sounds of metal clacking together gave you terrible visuals of knives and saws and all manner of sharp things. He didn’t even look over at the bed as he moved. For a split second you wondered if you shouldn’t just make a break for the stairs and forget the tarp entirely. He was occupied with his murder bag. He wouldn’t notice you, right?
Your feet were glued to the spot. Instead of running or throwing the tarp, you stood quietly in the corner and watched as Dae Gwan pulled out what appeared to be a shower curtain and lay it down in the middle of the floor. He then sat the bag down and knelt down beside it, pulling out a box of plastic bags, a few kitchen knives, and a bottle of bleach. Your stomach churned.
“Hey!” He called. Your head snapped from the items he’d laid out back to him. You hadn’t even realized that you’d spaced out. He still wasn’t looking at the bed as he began to climb to his feet. “Wake the fuck up.”
Now or never! You didn’t waste another second on thinking. You cleared your mind as best you could and lurched forward with the tarp outstretched in front of you. You threw it over his hunched frame, not bothering to make sure he was fully covered before you spun around and broke for the exit. You could hear his confused shouts as he fought to get the tarp off, but the sound of your bare feet on the concrete seemed louder still.
“What the fuck!” You took the steps two at a time just as you’d practiced and were at the door in no time. No amount of prep could have prepared you for how heavy the door actually was. You gripped the latch and tried to use your shoulder to force the door up. A few weeks ago, it would have been easier, but you were so worn that it felt like you were trying to move a car. Where was the strength that adrenaline was supposed to give you?
The thunder of Dae Gwan’s steps pushed you harder, and you pulled out every last bit of strength you had, screaming as the door finally gave way to the rain drenched forest. You didn’t give yourself even a second to take anything in before you turned to try and get the door closed, hoping that it would deter him just long enough for you to put some space between you.
You saw his hands before his face. He reached out with both hands and wrapped them around your ankles, yanking so hard that your feet came from under you and you slammed to the ground. “Bitch!” he foamed, “stupid bitch!” You could feel the small rocks and sharp twigs digging and tearing into your back as he dragged you back into the bunker. You threw your arms up to shield your head from banging the stairs and suddenly realized,
I still have the hatchet! You were suddenly grateful that he was so blinded by his own malice that he hadn’t noticed you were armed.
Once he’d gotten you to the bottom of the stairs, he grabbed you by the hair and wound your braid around his arm. “Where the fuck did you think you were going?”
Home! You swung the hatchet as hard as you could, the dull thud of it connecting with his thigh sent a shiver up your spine and elicited a howl from his lips. He didn’t release you, though. His grip on your hair grew tighter and his fist drove into your face. You could feel the blood pouring from your mouth and nose almost immediately. He tossed you to the floor and towered over you as you lay motionless.
“I’m actually going to enjoy taking you apart,” he said through clenched teeth. You didn’t move, didn’t react at all. You needed him to think he had you right where he wanted you. You kept the hatchet clenched to your chest, hidden from sight, hoping that he thought you’d dropped it. He leaned down to look into your face. “That’s all the fight you had in you?” he asked. “Worthless.” He gripped your shoulder and shoved you over so that you lay on your stomach. “Women are really only good for one thing, huh?”
You could feel his hand creeping up your nightgown and began trembling. Not fear. Anger. Rolling over onto your back, you swung the hatchet again, this time hitting him in the arm and slicing off a hunk of flesh. He reared back, yowling and clutching at his arm. You jumped up, ignoring the twang of your ankle, and went for the stairs again. He followed close behind, bloody and limping, but still gaining on you. He grabbed hold of your ankle and pulled you back down again. You jumped to your feet immediately and swung wildly, hearing the thunk and feeling metal connect with bone. You looked and saw that the hatchet was in his head. He appeared dazed, if nothing else, but still, he moved in on you.
You swung again. And again. When he fell, you went down with him. Still swinging. His pained gurgles turned quickly into rattles and the dull thunks into wet squelches. You didn’t stop. I’m going home! I’m going home! It wasn’t until the hatchet bounced off the concrete and sent the vibrations up your arms that you finally opened your eyes to the scene before you. You didn’t look down, not wanting to see what had become of Dae Gwan. All you knew was that he wouldn’t be coming after you again, and that was enough. You climbed off of him slowly, feeling the weight of your blood soaked nightgown pulling on your shoulders. As you climbed the stairs, you could feel blood and something else, something spongy, squishing between your toes.
Emerging from the bunker, the first thing you noticed was the feel of the cool rain on your skin. You drank it in, spreading your arms out and craning your head towards the sky. The droplets kissed your eyelids, your cheeks, and ran down your neck. You sighed, the beginning of a smile spreading on your lips, overtaken by the sudden need to vomit. You placed a shaky hand on a nearby tree and hurled your guts out onto the forest floor. When you were finished and pulled your hand from the tree, a bloody smear was left in its place. You stared at it in silence. I’m not free yet. I’m not safe.
You cast your eyes downward, looking for some kind of sign to tell you which way you should go. The trees towered over you, stretching for what looked like miles in each direction. It was disorienting. You spotted footprints in the mud. Dae Gwan. Glancing down into the bunker, all you could see were your bloodied footprints on the stairs. The irony of Dae Gwan’s prints being the ones that would lead you to salvation wasn’t lost on you. Without another thought, you headed off into the woods, keeping your eyes on the tracks in the mud.
When Yunho and Mingi broke through the trees back into the field, Yunho could see that there was a car parked directly behind his. Two men stood outside the car talking amongst themselves. The other man leaned against Yunho’s car with his arms crossed over his chest. “Is that-”
“Jinwoo,” Mingi shuddered. He had really been hoping that he and Yunho would make it back to the car before Jinwoo showed up. But part of him had known better. Once Jinwoo had a plan, he executed it quickly. “I’ll talk to him.” They moved slowly across the field, Yunho still taking care to make sure Mingi stayed upright. As they closed in on Jinwoo, the disappointment on his face quickly gave way to concern as he noticed the dried blood on Mingi’s face.
“What happened here?” Jinwoo asked as he and Yunho both helped Mingi cross over the ditch.
“He fell,” Yunho explained. “He hit his head on a tree and I’m sure he’s concussed. I need to get him to a hospital.”
“You shouldn’t have come out here alone,” Jinwoo growled as he checked Mingi, immediately finding the gash on the back of his head. “That was foolish of you.”
“I had to try to find her,” Mingi said unapologetically. “I didn’t know if you were going to come through. I didn’t want to take the chance.”
“I’m here. You need to go to the hospital. My men and I will take it from here.”
“We really appreciate this,” Yunho said, offering a bow.
“I’m just doing my job,” Jinwoo responded.
“Please,” Mingi clung to Jinwoo’s arm. “Please find her.”
“You guys should be careful in there,” Yunho looked towards the woods. “It’s treacherous in there.”
“It won’t be my first woodland search in the rain,” Jinwoo reassured him. “We’ll be fine. You two on the other hand,” he looked directly at Mingi. “You two need to leave. Now.” Yunho opened the passenger door for Mingi and helped him lower himself into the seat.
“I’m fine, Yunho. I can sit down by myself.”
“Shut up.” Yunho shut the door and went to the drivers’ side. Jinwoo met him there.
“Here,” Jinwoo said. “Let’s exchange numbers. Regardless of what we find out here, I’ll keep you updated.” He glanced into the car at Mingi. “I think he needs a minute to rest. Is it ok that I contact you instead?”
“Yeah.” Yunho locked Jinwoo’s number into his phone. The sound of a car door opening drew both of their attention. Mingi was climbing back out.
“No,” Jinwoo said. “Get back in the car.”
“I just have to tell you something!” Mingi leaned over the roof of the car.
“What is it?”
“We went west when we got in there. I’m sure we were going the right way because I found some rope. Don’t worry, we didn’t touch it; but on our way back the rope was gone, and there were newer footprints in the mud. Smaller ones…” Mingi watched as the pieces clicked together in Jinwoo’s mind. “Be careful out there.”
“I have my service weapon,” Jinwoo stated. “I’m ready for whatever is in there. Thanks for the heads up.”
“What’s in there?” Yunho asked, thinking back to the rustling in the trees. “That wasn’t an animal we came across earlier, was it?”
“I told you it was foolish to go in there alone,” Jinwoo said. “Get your friend to the nearest hospital.”
The rain beating down on you made you feel waterlogged and blurred your vision. You were sure you would have gotten lost a while ago if not for the tracks in the mud that showed you the way. Initially, you had been following only Dae Gwan’s footprints, but after a while, they merged with more prints. What appeared to be two or three more sets. It was hard to tell. You idly wondered if these other prints were evidence of there being more people to be afraid of, or if someone was looking for you. Maybe they had nothing to do with me at all. You looked down at your own feet coated in mud and grime and wished that you had your hiking boots. Hell, you would have settled for a pair of those flimsy foam flip flops that the nail salons gave out when you got a pedicure. Anything would have been better than stepping on sharp rocks with your bare feet. You couldn’t wait to get back home.
The sound of rustling came from behind you and you turned quickly, eyes scanning the area. The prickling feeling of anxiety climbed up your body and settled in the hairs on the back of your neck. You gripped the hatchet tightly in your hand and began moving backward, not letting your eyes leave the spot where the sounds had come from. You hoped it was an animal, hoped it was just a deer trying to make its way back home, same as you. I wish it wasn’t so dark in here.
The rustling came from your left, and you snapped your head toward it. It wasn’t a deer. Whatever it was was watching you, tracking your movements. Do I run? You turned to face forward again, deciding that running would be a bad idea with everything being slick with rain and mud. You knew you’d be likely to fall and hurt yourself. You couldn’t afford that. Instead, you took quiet, calculated steps, keeping the hatchet at the ready just in case. After a second, you could hear what sounded like footsteps behind you. You itched to turn around, but you were afraid of what you might see. What if it was Dae Gwan, somehow having come back one last time to make you pay for what you had done to him? Don’t be ridiculous, you chided yourself. Just look. You squared your shoulders, sighing heavily. You were so tired.
The moment you turned around, you were met with a flurry of hair and nails. Animalistic wails and shrieks escaped a mouth full of bared teeth that snapped and tore at you. You fell to the ground, and as your vision focused, you saw your attacker. Chae Yi? She was relentless in her attack, but you quickly noticed that she wasn’t armed and shoved her off of you, brandishing the hatchet.
“How are you here? Where is Dae Gwan?” she spat. You said nothing, keeping your eyes focused on her as she moved around you erratically. “He’s such an idiot! I’m going to tear him a new one. But you!” She crept closer, her gaze never leaving yours. “You need to get back down there.” She tore her eyes away from you for a moment to focus on the hatchet in your hand. “That’s mine,” she said, reaching out for it. You swung it at her and she retreated back, only then noticing that you were covered in blood. Her eyes darted around your body, searching for injuries, confused when she found none. She looked back at the hatchet. “Did you?” Your eyes narrowed as you watched the smug look disappear from her face.
Chae Yi stood there for a moment, just looking at you. You couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Had she figured out that Dae Gwan wasn’t about to come bursting forth from the woods to take you captive again? Did she have a contingency plan? Were there others waiting in the wings to do her bidding? “This isn’t right,” she muttered, more to herself than to you. “You have to go back.” She took another few steps in your direction.
There’s no chance in hell I’m going back, you thought. You didn’t want to, but you were fully prepared to use the hatchet again. You couldn’t give up, not when you were so near to the finish line. You held the weapon out in front of you.
“Give me back my hatchet!” she shrieked swiping for it again. You snatched it back and she leapt at you, clawing at the hand that held the hatchet. “I’ll fucking kill you!” She bit down hard on your hand and you had no choice but to drop the hatchet. She snatched it up and shoved you back down. “I’m in charge,” she huffed. “You’ll do what I say.” You lay there, propped up on your elbows and glaring daggers into her. The smug grin was back. “Get up.” You didn’t move. “I said get up!” Upon being met with more silence, she shrieked and rushed towards you, hatchet raised.
Shit! Your eyes quickly scanned the area for something you could use to protect yourself and saw only a soggy, hollow long. A forest full of rocks and branches, but nothing that I can use. You shifted focus back to Chae Yi. She was mere inches away from you. You could see the malice in her dark eyes as she charged towards you. You did the only thing you could. Lifting up your leg, you shot your foot out as hard as you could, simultaneously hearing the crack in your ankle as you kicked her squarely in the stomach, succeeding in knocking the wind out of her lungs.
She flew backward, her feet slipping and sliding from up under her. She screeched as she fell, hitting the ground on her side. The hatchet flew from her hand and rested a few feet away from her. You climbed to your feet, looking at her. Waiting for her to get up and attack you again. She didn’t move. She wasn’t dead, you could hear whimpers and cries coming from her as you inched closer and picked up the hatchet. Why wasn’t she getting up? She hadn’t fallen that hard.
Feeling braver now that you had the hatchet back, you got even closer to her. You reached a hand out to touch her and saw tears pouring from her eyes. “I… I can’t move,” she sniveled. “I can’t move.” Confused, you took her shoulder and rolled her over onto her back. It was then that you saw what she had landed on. A rock jutted out of the ground right where she had landed. The blood on the rock and the blood on her neck told you what had happened. You took hold of one of her arms, picking it up and watching as it dropped back down limply.
Her neck… she broke her neck. You picked up her arm again, wanting to see if it was real. To see if she was just waiting for you to turn away before she jumped on your back and clawed out your eyes.
“Get your hands off me!” You let her arm go, not caring when her own hand slapped down on her face, but unable to hide the tiniest smile from creeping up on your lips. Noticing a rectangular lump in her back pocket, you felt a twinge of excitement. A phone! You dug into her pocket and pulled it out. It was yours, puffy yellow case and all. Flipping it over, you groaned. The screen was shattered. You tapped it aggressively, willing it to turn on. Nothing. Fuck!
You winced as you stood back up; you were sure that your ankle was broken this time. You were going to have to limp your way through the rest of the woods. You slipped your phone into the little breast pocket of your pajama dress, sure that you’d be able to get it fixed, and located the footprints in the mud again. This way.
“Wait!” You turned your head to look back at Chae Yi. Her eyes were wild with panic as they met yours. “Don’t leave me here! Don’t you fucking leave me here!” You stared at her for a second, incredulous, before you turned back around and limped away. “Come back! Come back!”
Yunho settled himself into the drivers’ seat, placed both hands on the wheel, and sighed. Jinwoo had told them to leave ten minutes ago, and Yunho wanted nothing more than to do that. But Mingi… Mingi begged Yunho to just give him a minute. He didn’t want to leave until he saw Jinwoo and the other officers actually go into the woods. He wanted to make sure that they weren’t saying that they’d go just to get Mingi to leave. Yunho had tried to tell him that it made no sense, but Mingi was insistent. “Not yet.” So, Yunho indulged him.
Mingi was nearly plastered to the window as he watched Jinwoo and the officers strategizing. He wished he could make out what they were saying, but they were too far away. He glanced up at the sky. The rain seemed to finally be moving away. The drops weren’t coming down as hard as they had been when he and Yunho had been in the woods, and he was glad for it. Less rain meant it would be easier for Jinwoo’s team to follow the prints, and hopefully find you at the end of them. His stomach was in knots. He wrung his hands and pulled at his bracelets, bouncing his leg so hard that he was shaking the whole car. “Mingi,” Yunho breathed. “You must calm down.”
“I’m sorry, Yunho. I’m sorry.”
“How is your head?”
“My vision seems a little better.” He wasn’t lying. It had admittedly taken a while, but his vision had finally begun to focus again. His head, on the other hand, was still pounding.
“Well, at least there’s that. Look, as soon as they get over there, Mingi, we’re leaving. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you, Yunho.”
“Good.” Together, they watched as Jinwoo and his team started across the field. Jinwoo glanced back at the car and gave Mingi a thumbs up. “Are you ready?” Yunho turned the key and the engine revved to life, startling Mingi.
“Huh?”
“It’s time. We’re leaving.”
“Yunho.”
“We’re leaving.” Mingi placed his hand on the handle of the door, but Yunho locked it immediately. “No. We’re going. Jinwoo can handle this.”
“Yunho…” Mingi spoke quietly, almost a whisper. “What if he doesn’t find her?”
“I’ll be here for you.”
The crunch of the gravel under the tires was deafening as Yunho pulled away from the ditch. Mingi swallowed the lump in his throat, his teary eyes still glued to the woods. Out of his peripheral, he could still see Jinwoo and the guys making their way across the seemingly endless field, but their bodies were growing smaller in the distance. Then something caught his eye. Something came tumbling out of the trees. He looked on curiously, what kind of animal was that? He squinted his eyes and gasped. “Stop the car.”
“Mingi…”
“Yunho stop the fucking car!” Mingi flung the car door open before Yunho could come to a complete stop and tumbled out of the car.
“Mingiya!” He jumped out of the car and ran around to help Mingi, who was already on his feet and stumbling in the direction of the field. Yunho looked past him to see that Jinwoo’s team had stopped moving. They were observing the small frame of what looked like a woman in a red dress. “Mingi, wait!” He jogged to catch up to Mingi, who was still moving as fast as he could towards the field.
The figure in the red dress moved strangely, leaning more to one side than the other as they limped across the field. One of the officers with Jinwoo ran in the direction of the stranger and was stopped in his tracks when the stranger actively moved to get away from him. Mingi dropped down into the ditch and quickly hauled himself up, there was no time to waste in trying to clear it when he knew he wouldn’t be able to, stopping at the edge of the field. He looked on at the figure in the near distance, noticing something yellow sticking out of their dress pocket. The person swept tangled wisps of hair out of their face and Mingi’s heart nearly burst.
“Y/N!” He broke into a full run, ignoring the pain in his ankle. When he face planted in the mud, he climbed back up and continued towards the girl in the red dress. She couldn’t even tell what he’d said, but upon hearing the hoarse cry she looked up at the man that was dashing right towards her. “Baby!”
You stopped in your tracks, not sure if what you were seeing was real. There was no way it could be, but when he stumbled again, you knew it was him. You dropped the hatchet. “Mingi!” Your throat was still on fire, your ankle shattered, but you didn’t care. You cried out his name again and dragged yourself across the field towards him. He ran to you, and when he slammed into you, he wrapped his arms so tightly around you that you almost couldn’t breathe.
Neither of you said a word. He held you tightly, arms wrapped around your waist, yours around his neck. You breathed in his scent, relished the feel of his skin on yours, and melted into him. You finally felt it. The safety that his touch always afforded you. The peace that having him near provided. Neither of you wanted to let go. He pulled you away, taking in every detail. He saw that what he had mistaken for a red dress was actually a blood-soaked nightgown. Your hair was a mess, your skin dull, your eyes sunken. But it was you. God, it was really you. He kissed you all over your face, tears streaming down his cheeks. Every time he tried to speak, he could only sob.
As you took him in, you could see that the stress of you being gone had really done a number on him. But he was still as handsome as ever. He was still your Mingi. “You came for me,” you hiccuped.
“I can’t believe you’re really here.” He pressed his forehead to yours. “I knew you were alive. I knew it.” The sobs raked his body. You let his tears fall on your face to combine with your own.
“I tried to get back to you,” you whispered, “I tried so hard.”
“I’m sorry.” He wiped the tears from your face and kissed you, pressing his body into yours. You wrapped your arms back around him and kissed him back, tongues dancing. He tasted like sweat and tears and mud, but you didn’t think you’d ever tasted something so delicious. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Baby… baby, what happened?” He asked the question you knew would be coming.
“A lot. I’m not ready yet.”
“I understand.” He wrapped you back up in his arms. “I’ll never let you go. Never.” You searched for words. Something to express how much you’d missed him, and how every moment away from him had been torture, but there were none. You threw your hands up into his hair, immediately pulling them back when you felt the matted, crusty patch on the back of his head. He was hurt.
“Are you ok?” you asked, alarmed. You looked at your hands, seeing dried flakes of blood. “Mingi?”
“I’m ok. We’re ok.” He kissed your forehead. “We’re going to be ok.” You smiled at him, believing every word.
“Um, excuse me.” You flinched at the sound of another voice. You had completely forgotten that there were other people around. A man approached you, with two others on his heels.
“This is Jinwoo,” Mingi explained. “He’s the detective that’s been helping me look for you. He’s Jongho’s cousin.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jinwoo said. “I’m glad you’re alright.” He quietly assessed you in the moment. Your overall disheveled appearance: your bloodied gown, your facial injuries, your discolored, swollen ankle. “I’m sure you’ve been through a lot these past couple weeks.”
“Y/N,” another voice called. You looked over to see Yunho walking towards you and Mingi.
“Yunho, you’re here too.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll call medical,” one of Jinwoo’s friends said, stepping away from the group. He returned a moment later. “The ambulance, Cha, the chief, and half the squad are on the way.”
“Ok, you two,” Jinwoo said, turning to you and Mingi. “When the ambulance gets here, get in and get to the hospital. There are going to be people wanting to question you immediately, but I don’t think this is the proper setting for that. Get to the hospital, get cleared, then when you’re ready to talk, we’ll have officers come up. If you like, I will come too.”
“Please,” you answered.
“And me?” Yunho asked.
“You? You go home. You were never here. You get me?”
“Yes, sir. Mingi,” Yunho turned to him. “You’ll be ok now?”
“Yeah, I’m ok now.”
“Listen to the doctors, ok.”
“I will.”
“You and Y/N take care of each other. I’ll see you up at the hospital.”
The strobing blue and red lights washed over the field before the cars came speeding down the road faster than you thought they would. Mingi still held you close, refusing to let you go even as the EMTs assessed the two of you. They loaded both of you up onto separate stretchers and settled you in the back of the ambulance. Before they could close the doors, you called for Jinwoo. He climbed into the back of the ambulance and you motioned for him to lean down. He obliged. “There’s a girl in the woods… Chae Yi. She can’t move, but she’s alive. And the man in the bunker… Dae Gwan… he’s not. They did this.” Jinwoo sat up slowly, nodding.
“I understand. Thank you for the information.” He climbed down from the ambulance and shut the doors, tapping twice on the bumper. You watched through the windows as he turned and disappeared into the sea of lights.
Mingi reached across the truck to clasp your hand in his while the various medical devices beeped and chimed, signaling that the two of you were still alive despite it all. You’d never really liked hospitals or ambulances, they usually always meant that something horrible had happened. But with Mingi there beside you, you knew that the horrible part was over. That the time to heal had come. That whatever came next, you’d face it together. And that even if something tried to pull the two of you apart again, you’d be drawn back together, like roots seeking water. Without thought, without hesitation, and against all odds, simply because that was how it was meant to be.
EPILOGUE
You lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to IV drips and monitors, the beeping the only sounds. Mingi slept soundly beside you, his body curled around you like a shield, hand resting gingerly on your stomach. The doctors had tried and failed to get him to lay in the bed that was directly beside yours, but he’d refused, and you’d ensured them that he was exactly where you wanted him to be, so they didn’t press the matter.
Mingi had skated by with his testing, coming away with a sprained ankle, a mild concussion, and stitches in his head. You on the other hand, had been taken for multiple tests, and the doctors had to pry Mingi away from you each time. They’d given you a psych evaluation, checked you for internal injuries, infections, head injuries, and upon your request, pregnancy. When your test results came back, you weren’t surprised to have such a long list of issues. There was of course the acute stress, but also a broken ankle, a nasal fracture, multiple contusions, severe rope burns, a bruised larynx. They also told you that you were severely dehydrated and mildly malnourished, which were the most pressing matters to them. You were pregnant, and neither of those things bode well for the baby.
When they’d informed you and Mingi that the baby’s heartbeat was weaker than they’d like it to be, but that it was still there, and that a few weeks of rest and rejuvenation would undoubtedly remove you from the high-risk category, you burst into tears. You clung to Mingi, who was equal parts shocked and overjoyed at the news, and sobbed like a child. You had spent so many days convinced that the baby was gone. But they were still there. They were still fighting. The doctor exited the room quietly, giving you and Mingi a moment alone to absorb the news. Mingi placed his hand over your stomach as he looked at the ultrasound pictures over your shoulder. “They’re strong,” he beamed, tears in his eyes. “Just like you.”
“I wanted to tell you first,” you’d said, explaining to him that you’d found out the night you were kidnapped. That you thought the pregnancy was the whole reason you’d been taken in the first place. Mingi hadn’t been so sure. He seemed to think that Chae Yi had been plotting long before she’d discovered the pregnancy test photo.
The detectives had come and gone. They pressed you about the timeline of events, the roles that Dae Gwan and Chae Yi had played, and the circumstances that led to what they described as a brutal scene in the bunker. You spared them no detail, giving them a full account of the last two weeks of your life. Jinwoo stood in the corner of the room while you told the story, only cutting in to remind them that you were the victim when he felt like the officers were getting too aggressive. You were grateful for him. He had been there to help Mingi, and now he was there to help you. You’d have to make sure to give Jongho the greatest of thanks.
Once the officers had taken your statement, they left, and it was just you, Mingi, and Jinwoo. “So,” you asked, “what’s going to happen to Chae Yi?”
“Oh, she’s officially in custody,” Jinwoo replied. “She’ll be being guarded twenty-four seven until she is released from the hospital, and then she’ll be under the care of the Ministry of Justice. Don’t worry, she’s going away for a good long time. Even if she doesn’t get as much time as she deserves, she’s serving a life sentence either way.”
“What do you mean?” Mingi asked.
“She’s paralyzed from the neck down. If you ask me, that’s a fate worse than death.”
You sat with that for a moment. After everything you’d been put through, Dae Gwan was dead, and Chae Yi would never be able to hurt anyone else again. It didn’t necessarily feel like justice to you. It felt more like peace. No more need to worry, to look over your shoulder, to feel trapped. Just peace. Jinwoo stood up to leave and you grabbed his arm. “Thank you for everything.”
“No need to thank me. I was just doing my job. If you want to be grateful for someone, it’s Mingi. He never gave up on you. Not even for a second.” You looked over at Mingi, who had gone back to smiling at the ultrasound pictures.
“I am,” you said quietly. “Every day.” You watched Jinwoo sling his jacket over his shoulder and turn to leave.
“Mingi, take care of her, alright?”
“Absolutely.” You closed your eyes, feeling Mingi wrap himself back around you, cooing softly in your ear. “Get some sleep, baby. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” You felt yourself drifting off, comforted to know that Mingi would always do everything he could to protect you; but also knowing that if the day ever came again when he couldn’t, you were strong enough to survive on your own.
End.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. I TRULY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE! STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT FIC
⚠️This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI (18+), explicit sexual content, murder, strangulation, serial killer themes. graphic violence, please let me know if i forgot anything
W.C: 2.1k
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
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Chapter 7
Before you know it, the next few months fly by. Somewhere between lazy Sundays together wrapped up in bed, evenings cuddled up on the couch watching a new horror movie you both wanted to see, and weekly trips to the famers market together before the cold settled. You and Yunho become inseparable. You would spend your days working and then without much discussion either one of you would end up at the other’s place where you’d spend the evening attempting a new recipe together. Some recipes would turn out better than others, some would end with you both accepting defeat and ordering takeout.
“I don’t think this looks right.” You say as you tilt your head with your nose scrunched.
“No, no. It’s fine. I’m sure it’ll thicken up once we let it sit for a few minutes.” Yunho says as he scratches his head not sounding too confident. After a few minutes it’s not thickening up and possibly looks worse than before. You cautiously grab a spoon to taste test. Your face immediately turns at the taste causing Yunho to start laughing. “Maybe we should just get some wings instead?”
“Extra crispy, please.” you say laughing as you chug a bottle of water.
There were countless grocery store dates, Yunho brought you to some plant stores you hadn’t been to before, telling you that you needed to “add to your collection.” When work required you to head out of town for a few days you left Yunho with a spare key so he could water your plants while you were gone. Before either of you realized it, there were toothbrushes in both bathrooms, hoodies scattered between apartments, and drawers filled with each other’s clothes. At some point, it stopped feeling like you were visiting one another and started feeling like you simply had two homes.
“Babe, we have to make sure we remember to grab some more dish soap tomorrow when we go to the grocery store.” Yunho says as he places the plate he was just washing in the dish strainer.
“Just wrote it on the list this morning.” You say with a wink as you walk behind him and wrap your arms around his waist. He slightly turns with you still wrapped around his waist as he places a kiss on your forehead.
“You’re the best.”
A week before Thanksgiving, Yunho laughed as he reminded you the last time you were at your parents’ house he went as your pretend boyfriend; he grabbed your hand and said the next time you walk through their door together he wants to be your real one. You said yes before he even finished asking. When thanksgiving finally came Yunho helped your dad with the turkey while your mom and grandma fussed over the side dishes. Laughter echoed through the house, and every time you looked over at him, he seemed to fit there as naturally as if he’d been part of your family all along. At one point your mom leaned over and quietly whispered, “I told you not to let this one get away.”
Your chest filled with warmth as you watched him slip so effortlessly into your life. Christmas arrived a few weeks later. You spent the next few weeks decorating both places, building gingerbread houses and decorating cookies together. You even convinced him to get matching pajamas with you, which you know he secretly loved. He spent the entire evening insisting they were ridiculous but never once suggested taking them off. When you exchanged gifts, you could see the genuine excitement on his face when you got him a limited-edition Spider-Man figurine that he had mentioned wanting before. When Yunho handed you your gift, you couldn’t believe he was able to find a rare plant you had been looking for. Between the matching pajamas, decorating cookies, and binging Christmas movies, he slowly became your favorite part of the holiday.
The holidays came and went, and loving Yunho slowly became a part of your everyday life. There were moments when things weren’t always picture perfect, though. Work sometimes got overwhelming and the stress from work would sometimes follow you home. You’d withdraw and he would notice immediately. When you’d brush it off, he would mention he knows something is bothering you, but he wouldn’t push. You’d end up snapping but would come back an hour later apologizing. He was always so gentle with you he’d give you your space until you were ready to talk about whatever was bothering you. You appreciated his patience with you. Yunho also had a habit of not wanting to ask for help sometimes or admit that he didn’t know something.
“Babe, maybe we should use the GPS. I don’t think we’re going in the right direction.” You said as you look out the window trying to find a familiar landmark to show if you were going the right way or not.
“No, it’s fine I know how to get there.” Yunho said sounding slightly annoyed. He wasn’t necessarily annoyed with you, more so annoyed with the fact that he wasn’t quite sure where you were at. T wenty minutes later, and after passing the same gas station twice, Yunho sighed in defeat. “Okay…maybe we are lost.” You purse your lips together as you try to hold back your laughter.
“That’s what I thought.” Your laughter finally spills over as you pull up the GPS.
By the time spring rolled around, date nights had become a tradition. Every Saturday, one of you would be responsible for planning a date for that night and the other wasn’t allowed to complain about what it was. This week it was your turn. There had been a new slasher film that just recently came out that you were dying to see. Even though Yunho found a lot of the horror movies you watched predictable, he’d always watch them with you and would pay close attention to any theories you had. Halfway through each movie he’d tell you he knew who the killer was already and was right every time.
“Don’t you dare tell me your predictions during the movie because you’re going to be right and I won’t be surprised!” You say with a pout as you fold your arms.
“My lips are sealed.” He drags two fingers across his lips as if he’s zipping them shut, a smile threatening to break through. You playfully smack his shoulder.
“I’m serious! You’re scarily accurate every time. I want to feel the suspense when I find out who the killer is!” You can’t hold back your laughter anymore. You playfully continue your conversation while you wait in line to get your snacks and drinks. On the way to the theater, you’re dramatically telling a story when you accidentally bump into a man. You begin apologizing immediately but the man scoffs and begins to scold you.
“You need to pay better attention to your surroundings! I almost dropped my popcorn. What a fucking idiot!” The man hisses out as he points his finger in your face. Yunho clenches his jaw. His fingers are gripping the snacks so tight his knuckles are white.
“It was an accident sheeesh.” Before you could say anything else he storms into the same theater you were headed for. “Great.” You roll your eyes. You look over and see how angry Yunho looks. It almost scares you since you’ve never seen him this angry before. You rub his arm gently to soothe him. “Hey, babe. It’s fine. Just ignore that jerk.” His his gaze is fixed in the direction the man disappeared in for another moment before he finally blinks, his expression softens as he looks down at you.
“Yea. It’s fine.” He smiles softly at you and you both make your way into the theater. As you settle in your seats, Yunho takes notice that you were seated right in front of the mysterious jerk. You could hear the man scoff when he realizes the same. You try your best to ignore him when the previews begin, but he is determined to make his presence known. During the quietest moments of the movie, he lets out a loud, over the top cough. Every couple of minutes you hear him shuffling in his seat as he adjusts the candy and popcorn around him. You look back and let out a heavy sigh when he shakes the candy box incessantly to get the candy out.
“Could he be any more annoying?” You whisper to Yunho loud enough for the man to hear you. He rolls his eyes at your comment. Yunho doesn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“Just watch the movie.” He says calmly but his jaw is tight. Thankfully, you are able to catch enough to follow the plot. You already know you’ll be watching it again once it becomes available on streaming services to catch anything you might have missed. When the credits roll across the screen you get up with an attitude as you roll your eyes at the man. You don’t want to carry the attitude back home with you so you try and focus on happier thoughts to rid your attitude before you get to the car. The man shoves past people making his way towards the exit. Yunho’s eyes follow him as far as they allow him.
The cool evening air greets you as you walk out the theater. You and Yunho are discussing the movie as you make your way across the parking lot. Yunho quietly locks on to the man outside smoking a cigarette. He continues to watch him as the man walks out of the parking lot towards an alley. You’re wrapped up in your explanation you don’t notice what is happening. When you get a few feet from his car he begins patting his pockets.
“Dammit, babe. I think my phone fell out my pocket when we were sitting in the seat. I’m going to go back and check for it.”
“Of course it did.” You let out a soft laugh. “Go look, I’ll wait in the car. I’m seriously going to Velcro your phone to you in a minute the way you’re always misplacing it.” He kisses your forehead as he unlocks the car for you. He waits until you get settled in the passenger’s seat before he walks away. He walks towards the theater entrance and then looks back to make sure you’re out of site when he walks in the direction of the alley. Yunho quickens his pace, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. The man slows near the entrance of the alley, taking another drag from his cigarette.
“Got an extra smoke?” Yunho calls casually.
The man turns at the sound of his voice; he doesn’t realize who spoke to him before Yunho was reaching for him. With his hand on the man’s face, he pushes him to the ground and is straddling him. He pushes his face into the ground. The struggle is brief. Yunho moves his hand from his face to wrap around his neck. The man fights back at first, but every attempt grows weaker than the last until the alley falls silent. He waits a couple beats to ensure there is no more breathing from the man. Yunho remains still for a moment, listening. Nothing but the distant hum of traffic and muffled voices drifting from the theater. He exhales loudly, smooths the wrinkles from his shirt, runs a hand through his hair, and drags the body out of immediate view beside the overflowing dumpster. By the time he reaches the car, every trace of the man from the alley has disappeared. As he opens the driver’s door, the warmth returns to his eyes, and he’s once again the man you’ve grown to love.
“You’re not going to believe this.” He laughs pulling his phone from his back pocket. “My phone was in my pocket the whole time.” Your jaw drops before you join in the laughter.
“No way! Oh my god.” You say as you dramatically palm your face and drag your hand down. “Velcro isn’t enough at this point.” Your eyes soften as you look at him, unable to fight the smile tugging at your lips. “What am I going to do with you?” He reaches over and grabs your hand.
“Love me.” A smug smile pulls at the corners of his lips. You shake your head as you quietly laugh.
“I think I can do that.” You squeeze his hand and your gaze shifts to look out of the window as he pulls from the parking space. The ride home is a comfortable silence with only the low sounds of the radio filling the air between you. Even though there were some unpleasant moments in the evening from rude movie goers, you enjoyed your date night and as you watched the city lights blur past your window, you found yourself wondering what the two of you would end up doing next Saturday.
“Mingi,” Seonghwa and San still sat on his bed, watching him pace back and forth around his room. He still held his phone clutched tightly in his hand. “Mingi.”
“What?” he stopped moving and looked over at Seonghwa, exhaustion evident on his face. “You can’t stop me, hyung. I’m going.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, turning to face San and Seonghwa. “Jinwoo said he was going to try to convince the department to send out a search party, but he’s not a miracle worker. Even he has limits to what he can do, right?” Neither of them said anything. “But I’m not part of the police. I can go wherever I want to. No one… nobody can stop me.”
“It’s an active crime scene, Mingi,” San said quietly. “Jinwoo said it wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“What isn’t a good idea is waiting around for someone else to find her!” Mingi slammed his hand down on the bed. “I know where she was taken the night she was kidnapped. I can go look for her myself.”
“You’re putting yourself in a dangerous situation if you go out there alone, Mingi. I thought we already talked about this.” Seonghwa’s voice was stern, but not hard. He knew that he stood no chance of trying to convince Mingi to let the police handle it. If Mingi was nothing else, he was strong willed; trying to stop him would only serve to cause friction between them, and he didn’t want that.
“I don’t care.” Mingi sat unblinking as he looked at his members.
“We all just want what’s best for you,” Seonghwa said.
“What’s best for me is finding my girl and my baby!”
“I… you know that isn’t how I meant it. You’re important to all of us. Not just as a member, but as a brother. As family. I… I don’t really know what to do for you in this situation. It’s stressful and scary for all of us, not just you. We’ve been watching you spiral for a while and I just want you to stop and think for a second.”
“There’s nothing to think about!”
“Yes, there is!” Seonghwa rose up from the bed. “Do you really want to be the person that potentially finds her body, Mingi? I know none of us want to say it, including you, but the reality is that we don’t even know what you’d be looking for out there. She might not be alive at all and you’re so blinded by your desire to look for her that you aren’t stopping to consider what you might find. Could you handle finding her in a state like that? You think you’re mad with despair now, but just imagine the irreparable damage that can come from what you’re trying to do.”
San sat wide eyed on the bed, mouth slightly agape. He and Seonghwa had discussed quietly with the other members their thoughts about what had probably happened to you. Of course, they were all praying that you would be found safe, but none of them were blind to the high chance that you were already dead. They had been quietly preparing themselves in case they had to do damage control once you were found. None of them wanted to see Mingi go into that dark place that he had been in before when he went on hiatus. They knew that this time would be far worse, that this time they might actually lose him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Mingi stated. “I’m going.” Seonghwa looked at him mournfully with what looked like tears in his eyes before he quietly padded out of the room and down the hall. They heard his bedroom door close softly.
“Mingi… I’ll come with you.” San said. “You can’t go alone. Let me come too.”
“You can’t come, San,” Mingi sighed. “I appreciate all the support you guys have been giving me, and I understand how worried everyone is. I can’t allow you to put yourself in danger too on my behalf. This is my problem.”
“We’re supposed to solve our problems together.”
“Not these kinds of problems.”
“Especially these types of problems!”
“San, no. Stay here with hyung, ok?”
“Mingi…”
“San, please. Just… leave me alone for a little while.” Mingi turned away from him, signaling that he was finished with the conversation. San studied his back, trying to imagine what his face must look like. Mingi’s shoulders were slouched, his back hunched. The posture of a man defeated. He realized in that moment that Mingi’s decision wasn’t coming from a place of big headedness. He was desperate. San stood and exited the room without another word. There was nothing more he could say.
Mingi stared at the wall for what felt like hours. It was only when the sound of rain hitting the window brought him back to himself that he realized he had a splitting headache. He lifted himself up from the bed and headed for the bathroom to grab a few aspirin. The stress and restless sleep were catching up to him. He quickly screwed the top off of the medicine bottle and popped a couple pills into his hand before slipping into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Once he’d swallowed the pills, he went back to his room to look for a good hoodie to wear. The rain was coming down a bit hard, not to mention he wasn’t sure what kind of plant life was growing around that area; he didn’t want to make himself sick wandering through the woods exposed to the elements.
He found a nice thick hoodie and slipped it on, zipping it up as far as it would go and made his way to the front closet where they kept their shoes, sifting around until he found his pair of combat boots. They had thick soles with good tread, ideal for muddier terrain. He set them by the door and made a beeline for the linen closet. They kept miscellaneous things on the bottom shelf; tools, extra batteries and whatnot. He dug around in the back until he found what he was looking for, a flashlight. With the rain, it was shaping out to be a bleak day, and he knew that the canopy of trees would make the woods even darker; the last thing he needed was to get lost in the woods and become another person in need of saving. He shoved the flashlight in one pocket, opened up the toolbox to grab the hammer, and shoved it into his other pocket. He may have been desperate, but he was no fool, he knew that you simply didn’t go into the woods without some sort of protection. Feeling as prepared as he could be, he moved to the front door to shove his boots on.
A gentle knocking came from the other side of the door and Mingi shot up straight and looked through the peep hole before opening the door. “Mingiya.”
“Yunho? What are you doing here?”
“Where are you going? You aren’t usually up this early.”
“I’m going to look for Y/N.”
“It’s raining outside, you know.” Mingi looked Yunho up and down, he had clearly forgotten his umbrella at his dorm.
“You got rained on, you’re fine. I’m going.” He tried to push past Yunho, who threw an arm up to bar him.
“Mingiya.”
“Yunho, don’t do this. Did Seonghwa call you? Was it San? They always think that if they call you that you can change my mind on things. It isn’t going to work this time, Yunho.”
“It doesn’t matter who called me, and I’m not here to stop you, Mingi. I’m coming with you. And I’m not taking no for an answer.” Mingi took a second look at him. He was wearing the same style of boot and had donned a sweatshirt and jeans. If people didn’t know any better, they would have sworn they coordinated outfits.
“You can’t come either, Yunho.”
“You don’t get to tell me where I’m allowed to go. I drove here. I’ll drive wherever else I want to. If it happens to be in the same direction that you’re going, it’ll just be coincidence.” Yunho’s mouth was set, his eyes determined. That was something they had in common, they were both stubborn as rocks. They stared one another down silently, each willing the other to blink. It was one of the ways they settled disagreements and though he would never admit it aloud, Mingi would often blink first on purpose, just to let Yunho have his way. Mingi sighed. It was easier to tell the others no, but he was never really able to deny Yunho. Until he’d met you, Mingi didn’t think there was anyone aside from his parents and Yunho that held that kind of power.
“Fine, Yunho. Fine.”
“Good. I’ll drive.” Mingi rolled his eyes and glanced back into the apartment. He swore he could see San’s head ducking back into the hallway.
Once they were in Yunho’s car and settled in their seats, Mingi pulled out his phone. “Who are you calling?” Yunho asked.
“Jinwoo.”
“Is he going to meet us there?”
“Well, technically he can’t. His boss told him to back off until forensics finishes collecting everything, but…”
“Ah, well then, it’s probably better that you don’t call him. We aren’t exactly doing things by the book here. If you clue him in and he doesn’t stop us, it could get him into trouble.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Mingi put the phone back in his pocket and lay back in the seat as he looked out the window. The rain was falling hard, pelting the windshield with big droplets that the wipers could barely keep up with. Mingi knew that heading out into the woods in that kind of weather was ridiculous, that if the police knew what he was doing he’d likely be arrested for obstruction, but he couldn’t care less about that. The only important thing on his mind was you.
When they pulled up to the scene, the taxi was still in the ditch. Little yellow evidence markers sat all over the place and Mingi wondered to himself how much of the evidence would survive the rainfall. “By the time they get back here all the evidence will be destroyed.”
“Let’s hope not.” Yunho parked the car near the ditch and they hopped out. “Ok, where to?”
“The footprints the other day led in that direction.” Mingi pointed into the woods. “That’s where I’m going.”
“Ok.” Yunho started towards the tree line and Mingi grabbed his shoulder.
“Yunho, you know you really don’t have to do this.” Yunho looked over at him and placed a hand over the one on his shoulder.
“It’s important to you,” he said quietly. “So, it’s important to me too. I won’t let you go through something like this alone. Now, let’s go find my sister.” Mingi smiled weakly and they moved forward, helping one another to hop over the ditch, Mingi almost fell in when the mud under the heel of his foot gave way, but Yunho held his arm tightly. Side by side, they tramped towards the woods. Mingi’s heart was in his stomach. He was scared, he had to admit, but he wasn’t going to let fear keep him from you.
You’d gone through the routine several times and you felt like you had it down. It was simple enough, a two step plan, but you’d messed up a couple times too. You’d accidentally stepped on the tarp while trying to throw it once and even fell as you were trying to take the steps a few at a time to get to the top quicker. Now you sat on the bed nursing the new injury to your knee. It was a bit swollen, but you were grateful that at least you hadn’t cut it on the stairs. You could feel your eyes getting heavy while you sat there rubbing your knee; all the running back and forth had exhausted you quicker than you thought it would, but you wouldn’t dare lay down to sleep. Any moment could be the one where the monsters came to devour you. You reconciled with yourself that you wouldn’t sleep another wink until you were home. Now was the time for action.
You’d slid another tarp under the bed, just in case you were caught by surprise and were unable to get to the one in the stock room. It made you feel more secure to have a backup. You nervously fingered your tangled hair, pulling out knots and snarls as you went until it was all detangled and you were able to gather it into a braid. You didn’t want it getting in the way while you were trying to escape. You were as prepared as you could be, and you felt as confident as anyone else in a similar situation might feel, but you were still terrified. With all the practicing, there was no telling if the plan would even work. Anything could happen, you knew that, but there wasn’t anything else you could do.
The hatchet lay beside you on the bed; you hadn’t let it out of your sight since you’d found it. There was something reassuring about having it with you, even with knowing how reluctant you were to actually use it. Better to be armed and not need it than to need it and not be armed.
Laying back, you placed a ginger hand onto your belly. The nausea was back. You supposed that it was from the nerves. In the back of your mind though, you wondered how soon morning sickness started for pregnant women. You couldn’t wait to get back to the world, to go to the hospital and get checked out. Not knowing what was going on inside you was really bothering you. All you wanted was a yes or no to whether or not your baby was still growing, if it was still there at all. In due time, you told yourself. In due time.
Your thoughts brought you to Mingi. You still didn’t know if he knew about the pregnancy, but you speculated that if he did, he was probably tearing his hair out about it. You brought your other hand up to cover the one that rested on your belly, pretending that it was his hand atop yours. You missed him terribly, and with freedom within arms reach, the feeling was only getting stronger. It was like whenever you had to pee and it wasn’t urgent, but as soon as you got to the bathroom the urge was overwhelming. You chuckled silently at the analogy. He would have thought it was funny too.
As you lay there quietly, you could hear the rain coming down heavily above you. You had heard what you thought was thunder a little while before, but you hadn’t been positive until the drop had begun pelting the inside of the pipe from the hidden grate above. You struggled to remember the last time you’d heard the rain. The only time that came to mind was that first night that Mingi had walked you home and it had rained all over the two of you. The night that he had finally revealed his true self to you. You had been so grateful for the rain that night.
Your stomach began to growl loudly and you sighed, glancing over at the silver bags of freeze dried food. You were so tired of it and would have given a kidney to get some of your boss’s wife’s freshly made chicken stew or Mingi’s tofu jeyuk bokkeum. He said it was his mother’s recipe and it was one of his favorite comfort foods. You’d tried to replicate it once, only to end up throwing the entire batch away. He had offered to help and you rebuffed him, saying that you could do it yourself. He’d laughed so hard at the way your face contorted in disgust at the first bite and promised that if you wanted, he would ask his mom to teach you how to make it. You remembered the way you had blushed so hard at the thought of meeting his mom. Seeing how bashful it made you gave him cuteness aggression and he’d snatched you up and planted kisses all over your red face. You smiled at the memory, hoping that you’d actually get the chance to meet the woman that had raised such a perfect human.
“Mingiya, slow down!” Yunho called from behind. As soon as they had broken into the trees, Mingi had taken off. Even with his long-legged strides, Yunho was barely able to keep up with Mingi as he tore through the woods.
“It’s this way!” he yelled back to Yunho. It was hard to hear one another over the rain beating against the canopy of trees and the wind whooshing through the branches. He held the flashlight out in front of him, the light bobbed around wildly, mimicking his equally wild footfalls. “She was this way!”
“How do you even know where we’re going?” Yunho slapped a low hanging branch out of his way, wincing when it swung back to thwack him on the back of the head.
“Her location pin was around here! She’s here!” Mingi refused to slow. He couldn’t ignore the pull of whatever it was that was telling him he was on the right path. He was so close. He'd memorized the screenshot he'd taken the night you were kidnapped. Pulling up the map now only confirmed what his instincts were already screaming. There was still a long way to go.
“Be careful!” Yunho couldn’t help but notice the clumsy way that Mingi was traversing the forest, he was paying no mind to the rocks and fallen branches that lay in his path, Yunho feared that he would hurt himself before it was all over. Yunho was preparing to shout at him again when Mingi stopped in his tracks, looking down at something Yunho couldn’t see yet. “What is it?” Yunho asked, coming up behind Mingi and putting a hand on his shoulder. He almost didn’t want to look for fear of what he might see, but when he did, he saw it was just a bit of rope. He felt the tension in his body ease and heaved a sigh.
Mingi didn’t say anything, he stood staring down at the rope, hope and horror fighting for a place in the forefront of his mind. He really was on the right path, but seeing the rope made him uneasy. He was sure it was part of the rope that had been found in the trunk of the taxi. The rope that had almost surely bound you up. He couldn’t think of a reason why your kidnapper would have untied you in the middle of the woods. Unless… no. He wouldn’t let himself think that way. “Mingi?”
“…Let’s keep going!” Mingi shouted over the rain. He glanced back at Yunho, eyes wild. “We have to keep going!” He thought about picking up the piece of rope, but decided against it. It was evidence and he didn’t want to mess up the scene…just in case.
“Maybe we should call the cops, or at least Jinwoo!”
“They’ll only tell us to get out of here!” Mingi shot back. “No cops!”
“But-”
“I said no! If you want to go back to the car then go back!” Mingi shouted, turning around to face Yunho. “Here, I’ll even give you the flashlight. I’m not going back without her.” He thrust the flashlight into Yunho’s hand. “Go on!”
You sat on the steps with the door propped up as much as it could go, gulping in the cool air and reaching your fingers out to feel the rain. You couldn’t tell what time it was; the storm had wiped away any traces of sun and the animals that would normally be skittering around the forest floor had all gone into hiding. It was just you and the timeless expanse that surrounded you. Your foot tapped impatiently on the step beneath you. You had done the practicing. You had tried other methods of escape and found none. All there was left to do was wait, and you didn’t know how much longer you would have to. You bowed your head, confused at your own feelings. You were terrified of the moment when Dae Gwan and Chae Yi would reappear, but you also couldn’t wait. Their return was your opportunity. Your moment to put your plan into action. Come on, you fuckers. What’s taking so long?
Your ears perked up and you froze in place. You thought you could just make out the sound of voices out in the woods somewhere, but it was hard to tell, and you supposed maybe the rain was playing tricks on you. You recalled when you were little and told your mom about the voices that would come out of the water whenever you would turn on a faucet of any sort; you could never quite make out what the voices were saying, but you knew you could hear them. She had been alarmed immediately and took you to a pediatrician, who told her that you in fact did not have any form of child psychosis and that the phenomena you had described actually had a name. Auditory Pareidolia. You remembered being so embarrassed that she had taken you to see a doctor that you didn’t talk to her for almost a full day that week. You really wished you could talk to her now.
You scrunched up your nose, sighing to yourself. The brain really was a strange, complicated hunk of meat. You cursed it for making you think that you could hear people out there when you knew nobody in their right mind would be hiking through the woods in the middle of such a downpour. They’d have to have a death wish. Or a desire to kill… You strained your ears, wanting to be sure that it was actually a trick of the mind and that you weren’t mistaking firing neurons for flesh and blood voices. But there was nothing. Whatever you’d thought you heard had been swallowed by the rainfall. You sighed, squeezing your eyes shut tight against the sting building behind them. You wouldn’t cry.
Shutting the door to the bunker, you made your way back down the stairs to sit cross legged on the bed. You weren’t about to drive yourself crazy with hallucinations. You needed to be clear headed for what was coming next. You wondered when the rain was going to let up. You really didn’t want to be running through a downpour if your kidnappers came back while it was still raining. You didn’t have any shoes on and the pajama dress that Dae Gwan had given you was barely any protection from the elements. But rain or no rain, when the opportunity came to run, you were taking it without a second thought.
You played around with the hatchet in your hands, turning it over and over, trying to get better acquainted with the feel of it in your grasp. You idly wondered how long it had been in the trunk in the supply room, and what it had been used for. Looking at the rusted blade, you remembered hearing that dried blood could cause metal to corrode over time. You’d learned that while watching an episode of Forensic Files in high school and for some reason it stuck with you. You set the hatchet down beside you, suddenly not crazy about keeping it so close. You remembered when Chae Yi had mentioned that she knew about the bunker before bringing you down there and shuddered to think what horrible things she might have gotten into when no one was around. She was clearly a mad woman, and to contend with her, you felt like maybe you’d have to be a little mad yourself. You reached back over and wrapped your hand back around the handle of the hatchet. I’ll do whatever I have to. I’m going home.
Mingi and Yunho stood face to face, rain running into their eyes. Yunho looked down at the flashlight that Mingi had shoved into his hands and sighed. He was being irrational. Giving away the only real source of light and telling Yunho to leave without him. He looked back into Mingi’s eyes. It wasn’t anger or stubbornness staring back at him. It was panic. He glanced down at their feet, shoes covered in mud and leaves; it had been the right choice to go with the combat boots. But even with the right shoes, his socks were still wet. Mingi hadn’t even laced his own boots properly, so Yunho knew that his feet had to be soaked too. They were definitely going to get sick. “Mingi,” he said softly, “you’re not thinking clearly.”
“Yes, I am!” Mingi wiped water from his face. “Y/N is out here. I don’t care if you believe me or not!” He spun away from Yunho and pushed off of a nearby tree to launch himself forward. Yunho could hear twigs snapping underfoot as he bowled through the trees.
“Mingiya! Mingiya!” Yunho shot off after him, keeping the flashlight as steady as he could so that he wouldn’t lose sight of his best friend. He’s going to kill himself.
“Y/N!” Mingi screamed into the rain. “Y/N! Baby, please!” He was barely paying attention to where he was going anymore. All he knew was that he had to keep moving forward. Forward. He thought that if he could just do that, he would find you. He had to. He swatted branches out of his way and leapt over hollowed logs, cursing to himself whenever his boot would get suctioned to the mud and he’d have to fight to get it out.
“Ya!” Yunho shouted, “be careful!” Mingi paid him no mind. He could feel the panic burning in his chest, forcing his heart up into his throat. He had to move faster. He had to keep going. Then he stopped dead. Something was rustling up ahead and for a moment he could swear that he had seen a sliver of something dip into the trees. He narrowed his eyes, determined to discern what it was. “What is it?” Yunho asked breathlessly.
“Something’s up there,” Mingi said.
“Where?” Yunho shined the light in front of them. “I don’t see anything.”
“I saw something.”
“It could be an animal,” Yunho replied. “It could be a boar.”
“I don’t think so…”
“Mingi, look, we’ve been out here a while. Maybe we should just wait-”
“I already told you I’m not leaving without her!” Mingi spat. “What don’t you understand?” The trees rustled again, Mingi and Yunho both snapped their heads in the direction it came from. Whatever it was, it seemed to be moving parallel to them. They looked at one another. Mingi’s eyes said that he wanted to keep going, the furrow in Yunho’s brow begged for them to turn back. Mingi pulled the hammer out of his pants and started forward again. If it was a wild animal and it attacked them, he would take care of it. If it was something else, well, he would take care of that too. Yunho stuck close behind him with the flashlight, keeping it trained on the area where they’d seen the trees moving.
Having an unidentified thing in the same area did nothing to quell Mingi’s determination, or slow his pace. He still tore through the woods like a man on fire. He decided that as long as whatever it was didn’t come after them, he wouldn’t worry about it. Yunho meanwhile, kept his eyes trained on the trees where the rustling had come from. Most animals would be taking shelter in a storm, especially one as bad as the one they were in. He had a hard time convincing himself that the unknown entity wasn’t a threat.
“Baby! Y/N, can you hear me?” Mingi shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. He hardly expected you to answer him, but he hoped that you could hear him. That you would know he was coming. The only response to be heard was the rain beating down. “God dammit!” he cried, pushing himself to move ever faster. He was so focused on speed that he neglected agility and by the time he noticed that his foot had caught under a rock he was already hurtling towards the ground. He spun around, grasping wildly for a branch or Yunho’s hand and found neither. His body tensed reflexively, bracing for impact. When it came, it still took him by surprise. He could hear his head crack against a tree and the forest grew darker around him. He saw Yunho running towards him before everything disappeared.
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⚠️ This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI (18+), explicit sexual content, oral sex (m & f receiving), unprotected sex, fingering, tribbing/scissoring, praise kink, dirty talk, choking/strangulation during sex, breath play, rough sex, possessive behavior, obsessive behavior, emotional manipulation, panic attack/anxiety, fear of commitment, crying, graphic violence, murder, femicide, dismemberment (mentioned/implied), serial killer themes. please let me know if i forgot anything
w.c: 4.9k
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
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Chapter 6
The rest of the week passes in a blur. You try to bury yourself with work, convincing yourself that everything is the same as it was before. But the truth is it isn't. Every time your phone lights up, you find yourself hoping it's him. Little things in your daily life that used to mean nothing to you, start to remind you of him. Even the flowers sitting in the middle of your kitchen table seem determined to remind you of him. You tell yourself you're overthinking things. You tell yourself it's because your mother spent an entire evening treating him like he was already part of the family. None of those explanations seem to make the knot in your stomach go away. Which is exactly why you're standing outside Yunho's front door on Friday night trying to calm down the butterflies forming in your stomach.
It is just a movie night. That’s what you tell yourself over again before you knock on the door. Yunho comes to the door with a warm smile as he pulls you in for a hug. The smell of cedarwood and juniper berries calms you as you melt into his touch. You quickly catch yourself and slowly pull apart from the hug.
“The fact that you haven’t seen Scream should be a crime in itself,” you said as you make your way inside taking your shoes and jacket off. “Hands down the best slasher franchise known to man. Thankfully, you have me in your life because I’m going to have to show you what you’ve been missing in life.”
“If you’ve seen one slasher film, you’ve seen them all. It’s always who you least expect.” He says with a smug grin. You make your way into the living room where bowls of popcorn, candy, and drinks are already waiting on the coffee table. A soft blanket is draped over one end of the couch, and the lights have been dimmed just enough to make the room feel cozy.
“You got snow caps?” you ask with excitement in your voice. “These are my favorite.”
“I remember you mentioned them before.” You pause for a moment as your heart flutters at him remembering something you don’t even recall mentioning. You can’t remember the last time you’ve been around a man who paid this much attention to detail and it feels like a breath of fresh air. The small details someone usually forgets or doesn’t pay attention to, Yunho has shown time and time again that he does. Yunho notices and remembers the small details that make you, you.
You settle on the couch with your legs tucked beneath you as you naturally lean into Yunho’s side. He pulls the blanket over you both before he drapes an arm around your shoulders as you start the movie. You didn’t realize that you had your hand placed on Yunho’s thigh until mid-movie when you subconsciously gave it a gentle squeeze. You could feel his thumb brushing lightly against your skin. The movie continues to play in the background, and you realize you haven’t been paying attention for some time. You steal another glance at Yunho. The glow of the television dances across his features as he watches the movie intently. Realizing you've been staring for a few seconds too long, you quickly turn your attention back to the screen.
By the time the credits roll on the screen your mind has played this scenario over and over in your head. You find yourself thinking about how you wouldn’t mind this becoming a regular thing. You can picture yourself watching holiday movies together, sappy rom-coms or even those really bad horror movies that you can’t help but watch and laugh at. You notice how comfortable you begin to feel around him. Like you don’t have to put up a façade when you’re together. Theres a level of comfort you haven’t felt around someone in a while. You’re pulled from your thoughts at the sound of Yunho’s voice.
“You don’t have to stay any longer if you’re sle-”
“No!” You answer almost immediately. You blink, surprised by your own response. “I…” you look down at your hands before you meet his gaze. “I want to stay.” You bring your hand up to gently caress his cheek, the air between you filled with everything neither of you knows how to say. You continue to hold his gaze as you lean in to place a soft kiss to his lips. You then place a second kiss to his lips with more passion. You bring your legs around to place on either side of his thighs as you straddle him, deepening the kiss. His hands wrap around you as he stands from the couch wrapping your legs around his waist. He carries you to the dimly lit bedroom, lips not parting from yours.
He gently places you on the bed before he takes his shirt off. You lay back holding yourself up with your elbows as you take in all his features. He truly is a work of art. He leans down to kiss you as he pulls your shirt off, only pulling back to get your shirt over your head. His hands trail your body, charging the room with an energy that has been waiting to spill over these last few weeks. Tonight feels different. Neither of you are in a rush, so you both take it slow, letting each other feel every sensation.
His lips move from your mouth down to your neck as he places soft open mouth kisses, his tongue gently moving across your skin. Chills cover your body as you begin to crave him in ways you never did before. A moan slips from your mouth as your head falls back. You place a hand in his hair gently grabbing a handful. He moves his mouth down further placing soft kisses along the center of your chest before he removes your bra letting your breasts fall naturally. He licks his lips as he grabs them in both his hands. His gaze moves back to your half-lidded eyes.
“You’re so perfect.” He whispers giving them a gentle squeeze before he places one in his mouth. Your back arches off the bed as he swirls his tongue slowly across your nipple. The sensation sends waves of heat to your throbbing core. He continues to lap his tongue over your nipple switching from dangerously slow licks to gently sucking. Moving his free hand to your other breast he places your pebbled nipple between his fingers, matching the same pace of his mouth causing you to moan out. You’re slowly grinding into him chasing any friction. He switches sides and continues with the same attention he showed the other. Once he feels like he’s worked you up enough he moves his mouth down, placing a trail of soft open mouth kisses down your stomach. He reaches the hem of your pants and then unbuttons them before pulling them off. You lay there in just your underwear, the sound of your breaths filling the room. He moves down lower so he’s eye to eye with your clothed core. He takes his thumb and gently brushes against your clit moaning at how you’ve soaked through your panties. He leans down and licks over your clothed clit causing you to moan before he pulls your panties off.
He brings his thumb back to your clit and rubs slow circles as he uses his other hand to spread open your lips. He lets out a breathy moan as he watches how your pearl glistens from your arousal. He takes his thumb and runs it between your folds gathering your slick. Once he has you in his mouth his movements are slow and precise and before you know it, he’s drinking every drop of your release. He wipes his face as he makes his way back up to place a kiss on your lips. You grab his face and pull him in deeper, tasting yourself on his lips. He lines himself up, rubbing this tip with your arousal before he gently slides in. The sound of you both breathing heavily in unison fills the room as he slowly moves in and out of you. His strokes are deliciously slow as you grind in unison with his strokes.
“Just like that baby. You feel so good.” You moan out as you look up at him meeting his gaze. Your eyes begin to well with tears as you begin to take everything in at the moment. You realize you’ve never felt so connected with someone as you physically and mentally do in this moment. You’ve fucked your share of men, even had your share of boyfriends, but you can’t even think if you’ve ever felt so emotionally connected to someone while being physical. This feels more than just fucking. You feel like this is your first time making love to someone. Every move you both make while your bodies are connected is intentional. His strokes are slow, but they are charged and send jolts of electricity through your body with each deliberate stroke. The overwhelming amount of pleasure you feel in this moment causes the tears to spill over. He leans down to kiss you, his tongue dances with yours as he continues to pump into you at a slow but steady pace. He pulls apart from the kiss but doesn’t move too far as he maintains eye contact watching as you fall apart for him. This feels like love. The realization crashes into you so suddenly it steals the air from your lungs. No. It can’t be. You promised yourself you wouldn’t let this happen again. And yet, looking into his eyes, every excuse you’ve been clinging to quietly falls apart. The words fall from your lips before you catch them but in this moment you don’t even care.
“I love you, baby” you moan out. Yunho’s pace falters for a moment before he continues his pace.
“I love you too, babygirl. You’re so perfect for me.” He lifts back up and places his thumb on your clit drawing tight circles matching the pace of his thrusts. He picks up his pace pulling moans from your lips. “Be a good girl and cum for me, baby.” He says, voice smooth as honey. As if you were waiting for permission your high comes crashing down immediately soaking you both. After a few more pumps he follows behind filling you with his release. He doesn’t pull out right away as you both catch your breath. He leans down and pulls you into a kiss. Your eyes find his as you study his face. He places one last kiss on your forehead before he slowly pulls out and lays himself to your side pulling you into him. Your back is pressed against his bare chest as you breathe in sync with him, relaxing into his arms. You’ve never felt more safe with someone as you do in this moment in his arms. It’s not long before you both are sound asleep.
The sun peaks through the curtains onto your face causing you to slowly wake. You blink a few times, eyes still heavy with sleep. For a second, you forget where you are. You hear the sound of pans clanking together and smell the scent of maple syrup and bacon. This is the first time you had stayed over. You throw your clothes on and make your way in the direction of the sound. You find your way to the kitchen and see Yunho in a black tank top and grey sweatpants plating up some food. He turns when he hears your footsteps and a smile lights up on his face instantly.
“Good morning, beautiful. I hope you’re hungry.” His eyes crinkle as he smiles. You try to take in what is happening right now. Your mind is still fuzzy from trying to wake up so you’re slowly processing this moment. “You want some coffee?” He asks as he pulls his mug from the cupboard slowly reaching for a second as he waits for your response. You slowly nod your head, and he begins to make your coffee for you. You notice you don’t even have to tell him how you like it, he just makes it automatically, remembering how many creams and sugars you get. You hesitate as you make your way to the table to sit as he carries both plates. He sets your plate in front of you and places a kiss to your forehead before he sits in the chair to your right. You look at him and try to calm your nerves, but you feel yourself begin to panic. You don’t regret anything you did or said last night, but now that it has begun to really settle with you, everything feels like it’s getting too real, too fast. You were supposed to be enjoying your newfound freedom, you weren’t supposed to be falling in love and playing house again. You’re giving yourself whiplash with the back and forth your mind is doing right now. One moment you’re perfectly fine with how things are playing out but then the next moment you’re ready to run for the hills. Currently, you’re ready to run. Yunho can see the panic on your face.
“Hey, is everything ok?” he asks gently. He reaches his hand out to grab yours, but you snatch it away quickly.
“I-I’m fine. I need to go.” You say as you quickly stand up and grab your keys. You don’t even bother putting your jacket on, you just grab it and rush out to your car. Before Yunho can process what is going on, you’re in your car and speeding out of his driveway. He shouts as he flings the plates off the table causing the plates to shatter. Your breathing is labored as you drive away trying to calm yourself. No, no, no. This is NOT supposed to be happening right now. You repeat over in your head. Fuck, how could you have let things get this far? Get. It. Together. You just want to get home and wash off the night before. Wash off any memories of him from the night before. As soon as you get inside, you walk past your table and immediately spot the flowers that Yunho had got from the farmers market for you previously. You shake your head and continue setting your belongings down. You walk past the table a few more times as you get yourself situated at home, eyes glancing at the flowers every time you pass by. You snatch them off the table and walk towards your garbage can. You pause as you hold the flowers above before you throw them in the with a huff. They were dying anyways but you weren’t ready to toss them just yet. You enjoyed that silent reminder of him. But right now, you don’t need anything that will remind you of him in your house. It’s time to get back to the regularly scheduled program of enjoying your freedom.
You spend the rest of the day doing everything to push Yunho from your mind. Unfortunately for you, everything seems to be a reminder of him. A silly meme you see while scrolling your phone, a song playing on the radio, even something as simple as watering your plants makes you think of him because you remember he mentioned a new plant store that opened up around your neighborhood that he felt you should check out since he knows you love plants. A part of you wants to just call Yunho and let him know what is going on but you decide to call Vivian instead.
“I need a distraction tonight, can you come over? I have wine.” You say as if she needed any convincing to come over. She lets you know she’ll be there in 45 minutes. You hang up and let out a groan as your rest your head on the back of the couch.
On the other side of town Yunho has been doing everything in his power to let out his frustrations. He worked out until his muscles burned. He hit the punching bag until his knuckles stung. Hell, he even masturbated. Nothing seemed to scratch the itch. He was growing more frustrated as the day went on. He paced his living room replaying the mornings events trying to figure out what went wrong. You were perfectly fine last night but something seemed to change once you woke up and he wasn’t sure what that could have been. It had been a few weeks since the last time he’s killed someone. He told himself he didn’t need to do it. As a matter of fact, he spent the entire afternoon trying to convince himself of that. But his thoughts kept getting away from him and he couldn’t silence the noise any longer. You were happy last night. You told him you loved him. Something happened that made you change your mind and someone had to pay for that. Finally, he gives up trying to reason with himself. He grabs his jacket and heads out the door.
With it being a Saturday, the bar has filled up already. Yunho walks in and squeezes past people making his way to the bar. The bar is alive with conversation. A couple of billiards games are underway in the back while groups squeeze between tables, drinks in hand. Others sway absentmindedly to the soft rock drifting from the speakers. Yunho orders a drink and his eyes begin to scan the room. He sees a woman with the same hair color as you and then she smiles. Nope. Not the one. He hears another woman laugh near him. Too tall. Plus, that laugh wasn’t soft enough. After crossing a couple more off the list, he finally spots someone who resembles you. Though he feels no one would ever be able to compare to your beauty, he’s always surprised when he finds anyone remotely close to matching your features. He makes eye contact with the woman and winks. She puts her head down trying to hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks. He finishes the last of his drink without taking his eyes off her. She smiles back at him. With his eyes saying more than words, he made his way over to her. His eyes never leave her as he weaves in and out of the crowd between them. When he finally makes it over to her, he leans down to whisper in her ear.
“You look way too beautiful for me to not introduce myself.” His lips brush the shell of her ear as his deep voice sends a chill down her spine. She smiles shyly before she introduces herself. They spend the next hour and a half laughing and getting to know each other. A couple of rounds of darts and four drinks later, Yunho convinced her to leave with him all while making her believe like it was her idea. She follows him out of the bar without a second thought.
You pour yourself and Vivian a glass of wine as she sits on your couch with her feet tucked under her. The sounds of soft R&B quietly fill the living room as the warm glow of your table lamp and a flickering candle light the room. There is light chatter between you two as you catch up on new life events that have happened since you last spoke.
“I know it’s not a boy that has you needing a distraction.” She says playfully. You sigh and start laughing.
“Ugh, yes. But I don't even want to talk about it tonight." You let out a frustrated laugh, staring into your wine. "If I start thinking about him again, I'm going to end up driving to his house." You finish the rest of the wine in your glass before placing it down on the coaster. "I just need my brain to be quiet for one night." You look over at Vivian and she’s already looking at you. She doesn't say anything right away. She studies your face for a moment, as if reading the words you aren't saying aloud.
“I know what you need right now.” She says quiet enough just for you both to hear. She crawls forward on the couch leaning into you. You lean back allowing her to slot herself in between your legs. She looks down in between you both as she watches her hand trail up your thigh. She brings her gaze to yours and closes the distance between you both. Her soft lips press gently against yours at first. She slowly pulls back looking at you with eyes half lidded. “Turn your brain off. Let me take care of you tonight.” She says before kissing you more urgently. You grab her face to deepen the kiss.
Her tongue slides into your mouth when you let out a moan. She brings her hand down the curve of your body placing gentle squeezes along the way. Her hand finds the waistband in your pajama bottoms and slides inside. She moans into the kiss when she feels how wet you are. She brings her middle finger to your clit and begins to draw tight circles pulling moans from both of you. Your eyes close as your head lolls back. She brings her finger down lower and her two middle fingers slide in instantly from how wet you are. You begin rolling your hips forward fucking yourself on her fingers. The sounds of your moaning and the squelching of your wetness drown out the music. Vivian is breathing heavy and the sounds of your moans go straight to her core. She’s soaking her panties just from how fucked out you look right now. She pulls her fingers out and then places them in her mouth to suck your juices off.
“So sweet.” She moans out before pulling your bottoms off. She places herself in between your legs and holds your legs by the backs of your knees as she licks a strip from your hole to your clit. Your back arches off the couch instantly. She laps her tongue up and down your clit as you bring your hand to grab a handful of her hair. You rock your hips up and down her tongue, but when you look down Yunho’s face flashes over Vivians. You close your eyes instantly to get rid of the image, but when you look back down at her you see his face again.
When Yunho got back to his house, the girl wasted no time pulling his pants down and placing him in her mouth as soon as he closed the front door. Yunho grabs her hair and makes a makeshift ponytail guiding her roughly on his length. She doesn’t seem to mind as she brings her hand down in between her legs. She slides a finger in and begins fucking her finger while she gags on Yunho’s member. Yunho’s eyes roll back as he keeps hitting the back of her throat. He holds her there for a minute while she works her fingers on herself. He lets out a groan as he hears her squirting on his floor. He grabs her face roughly as he pulls her up into a sloppy kiss. He carries her into the bathroom and turns on the water in the stand-up shower. He doesn’t want to have her taint the last place he had you, so he wants to take her in the bathroom. He removes both of their clothes with force in between kisses and once the temperature is right, they get in the shower.
Yunho stands behind her and grabs her breasts. He squeezes them before he brings his fingers to both nipples and pinches them. She lets out a moan as he begins to roll them between his fingers. Switching back and forth from pinching and gently rubbing her nipples, slick is building between her legs again. He then slides his member up and down her folds before slamming into her. His thrusts are harsh and she reaches for the wall to hold herself up. After a few thrusts he wraps his hand around her neck and places her back against his chest and continues his harsh thrusts. Tears fall down her face as she feels her orgasm quickly approaching. Yunho brings his free hand around to find her clit and quickly runs his hand over causing her orgasm to spray all over them both. His thrusts come quicker and his hand tightens around her neck. He slams into a few more times before releasing inside her. She begins to pull at his hand around her neck as she notices it’s becoming harder to breathe but his grip seems to be getting tighter. Her hands slowly begin to weaken as his grip around her neck continues. After a couple minutes and he sees there is no more resistance from her, her hand falls from his arm. He pulls out of her lifeless body and lets her body slam to the shower floor so he can begin to wash her off his body. He moves around her in the shower as he finishes his shower routine like this was a normal occurrence. He turns the water off and wraps the towel around his waist. He brushes his teeth and then heads to throw some sweats pants and a tank top on. Once he’s dressed, he brings her body to the basement so he can dismember her body later. He wants to focus on cleaning his house to make sure there are no traces of her left.
You try to keep Yunho off your mind while Vivian had her mouth on you, but every lick and every touch brought you back to the night before. You came three times just from the thought of Yunho between your legs. You tried to take control over your thoughts when you climbed on top of her and slide her leg in between yours as you thrust your clit on hers. She reaches up to roll your nipple between her fingers causing you to buck harder. The wetness from both of you made it easy to slide back and forth on her clit you were both cumming again in no time. You dropped down in between her legs to catch her release on your tongue as it forcefully sprayed out of her, making sure to drink up every drop. Her legs were shaking from how powerful her orgasm was. You kissed her thigh before making your way up to place a firm kiss on her lips. You couldn’t tell her the only reason you were able to cum tonight was because you were thinking about the person she was trying to keep off your mind, so instead you just thanked her.
When she leaves you get yourself in the shower. As the hot water falls on your body you close your eyes to try and finally get Yunho off your mind. As you scrub the soapy rag across your body you can’t help but think about him. Could there be a reason you can’t get him off your mind? Things seemed to be moving too fast, which is what scared you, but could things be moving at the pace they’re moving at for a reason? If this is meant to be, why would you try stopping it because it’s moving faster than you’re used to? Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong, maybe everything felt right and that scared you. Why would you push someone away that could possibly be meant to be in your life? What harm could come from possibly finding your person? You shake these thoughts off as you finish your shower. You get yourself dressed and head to your kitchen to get a snack. You open the fridge to grab a drink out and see the jam you got from the farmers market in there and you sigh. No more running. You grab your jacket and put some crocs on and head out the door.
Yunho is just finishing cleaning his house and was about to head to the basement when the sound of knocking comes from the front door. He pauses for a moment as he wasn’t expecting anyone and then he hears more knocking. He hesitantly walks to the front door and looks through the peephole. His shoulders relax before he opens the door. The front door opens and you look up at him and your eyes brim with tears. Neither of you speak for a minute before you finally wrap your arms around his neck and you pull him into a passionate kiss. You pull back as the tears fall from your cheeks.
“I am so sorry.” You say as you frantically kiss him some more. “I shouldn’t have ran. I was just so scared I didn’t know what else to do.” He pulls you inside and wraps his arms arounds you and tightens the hug.
“Shhh. You don’t have to apologize. Everything is fine now.” You pull back as the tears continue to fall.
“No. I shouldn’t have ran. That wasn’t fair to you. I should have talked to you and told you the fears I was having.”
“You’re here now and that’s all that matters.” He says as he rubs your back. “It’s late, let’s go lay down and we can finish this conversation in the morning.” You nod and make your way to his bedroom together, Yunho thinks about the body downstairs. That can wait til tomorrow.
⚠️ This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI, dark themes, explicit sexual content/smut, friends with benefits, stalking, obsessive behavior, serial killer AU, graphic violence, murder, blood, dismemberment, kidnapping, hostage situation, physical restraint, manipulation, drug use (MDMA/ecstasy), alcohol use, anxiety/panic, toxic relationships, possessive behavior, cursing, reader discretion advised, please let me know if I forgot anything.
w.c: 2.5k
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
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Chapter 5
Sunday rolls around and you spend the day finishing the household chores you weren’t able to get to yesterday. By the time you finally settle onto the couch with a glass of wine and a horror movie, you’re exhausted. Halfway through the opening scene you get up for a refill, only to stop in front of the bouquet sitting in the middle of your kitchen table. Without thinking, you reach over and straighten one of the roses that had started to lean against the vase. A smile tugs at your lips.
“Get it together,” you mumble to yourself before grabbing your wine and heading back to the couch. Twenty minutes later you’re back in the kitchen for popcorn. Your eyes drift to the flowers again. You catch yourself smiling. Again. With a quiet groan, you shake your head and force yourself to look away, pretending the warmth spreading across your face has everything to do with the wine and absolutely nothing to do with the man who left them on your doorstep. Just when the movie is getting good your phone rings. You look down at the caller ID and see it’s your mom calling. You sigh before you answer.
“How’s my wonderful mother doing on this fine Sunday evening?” You let out a soft laugh. You love when your mother calls. You’ve always had a good relationship, but it feels like you grew closer the older you got.
“I was just calling to remind you about family dinner on Tuesday. I know you wouldn’t want to miss that!” She says teasing. Fuckkk. That’s this week? You knew it was coming up soon but didn’t realize it was this close.
“I’ll be there.” You say with a forced smile.
“You know, I was thinking of inviting Chris to come as well. It’s been so long since we’ve seen him. Plus, maybe you two can finally talk things through and get back together. We loved you two together.” She pouts into the phone.
“No! You can’t invite him. My boyfriend is coming.” The words leave your mouth before you have the chance to catch them. You covered your mouth as soon as you said that knowing it was too late to take them back.
“Boyfriend?”
“Y-yes. I was planning on surprising you with bringing my boyfriend.” You continue digging the hole deeper for yourself.
“Okay, honey. Well, he must be something special if you’re bringing him to meet us. You never brought anyone around for us to meet except Chris and you two were a serious item for 3 years. I’m looking forward to meeting him sweetheart.” You can hear the sincerity in her voice which makes you silently groan. As soon as you get off the phone with her you call Yunho.
“Y/n? Is everything ok?” Concern fills his voice.
“Uhhh...yea. Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?” You ask suspiciously as you try and play it off.
“You just normally never call so I just wanted to make sure you were fine.” He still doesn’t sound convinced, but he lets it go. You were about to try and have small talk with him before you dropped the bomb on him, but you couldn’t hold it in anymore. There are a few beats of silence and next thing you know the words were spilling from your lips.
“I told my mother I was bringing my boyfriend to our family dinner this Tuesday. And I know what you’re going to say “y/n you don’t have a boyfriend.” And while that is true, I still told her I did. I don’t know why I lied I just panicked when she said she wanted to invite my ex so we could hopefully work things out.” The words were coming out so fast you don’t think you even stopped to take a breath. You begin to pace around the living room with your arms flailing as you continue rambling on. “And I just really don’t want to do that or see him or be around him. He cheated on me he doesn’t deserve to be around me anymore and I wish she understood that, but she’s stuck on him and she needs to move on like I did.” You huff out of frustration and stop dead in your tracks before you continue. “So, what I’m trying to say is will you come to my family dinner with me Tuesday as my boyfriend?” Yunho laughed in the phone as he answered.
“Yes, I will be honored to be your fake boyfriend for the night.”
Before you knew it Tuesday night was here. You told Yunho to meet you at your house so you could drive together and get into character before facing your family. You’re still finishing up getting ready when Yunho arrives. You let him in and he sits on your couch as he watches you scramble to add your final touches. As you’re moving from room to room, putting an earring in and putting a shoe on simultaneously you realize you look insane by now.
“I’m sorry. I’m just super nervous. I’ve changed my outfit three times already. I don’t know why I even care about that right now. This is my family. They’ve seen me in my ducky pajamas.”
“Tonight is going to be great. Don’t worry about it. Plus, you look beautiful.” He says softly, the corners of his eyes soften as he looks at you, the small smile on his face somehow managing to settle the nervous energy buzzing through your chest. You finish getting yourself together and head to his car. You see a bottle of wine and some cheesecake in the passenger seat.
“You seriously brought wine?”
“Your mom spent the whole day cooking. It was the least I could do.” He says with a wink. When you arrive to your parents’ house you try and shake your nerves as you stand outside the front door before you knock. You adjust your shirt and run your hands through your hair. Yunho watches as you try and calm yourself down. He reaches over and tucks a stray piece of hair behind your ear. His fingertips barely brush your temple as he tucks the loose strand behind your ear. The gesture is over almost as quickly as it started, but you still find yourself staring at him for a second too long. “There, perfect.” Your mother opens the door and pulls you into a hug immediately.
“Y/n, it feels like it has been too long since I’ve seen you.” She says as she squeezes you tightly.
“Ma, I was literally here last week.” You laugh as you squeeze her back.
“Well, that’s too long for me.” She looks over at Yunho and before you know it, she pulls him in for a hug as well. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Yunho.” She pulls away from the hug, still holding his arms and gives him a warm smile. He hands her the bottle of wine and she thanks him excitedly. Your dad walks by and sees the wine.
“Ahh, a man with taste. Welcome!” He leans in and kisses your cheek and gives Yunho a firm handshake. "Any guy who shows up with good wine is already off to a solid start."
"I'll try not to ruin my lead." Yunho laughs. Once you both take your jackets and shoes off you head inside and introduce Yunho to everyone. Your aunt and uncle pull him in for a hug and exchange pleasantries and your two younger cousins barely glance away from the game they’re playing on the PlayStation as they say hi. You find your grandma in the kitchen with your mom and her eyes light up when she sees Yunho.
“Y/n where on Earth did you find such a handsome man?” She says as she palms his face with both her hands and take in his appearance.
“I am pretty lucky, aren’t I?” You say with a teasing smirk. Yunho looks over at you and squeezes your hand.
“I’m the lucky one.” You meet his gaze and for a moment it feels like you are the only two in the room. After a moment you put your head down to try and hide the blush creeping up on your cheeks. Your grandma smiles at your mom as they watch the interaction. The warm smell of lasagna and garlic bread fill the house. You finally sit at the table ready to eat. The conversation starts out slow at first. Your mom asks Yunho questions about how you met and how long you have been dating. He answers them perfectly each time. Doesn’t seem rehearsed or like he could be lying. You watch him in awe as you see how effortless he makes this seem.
“I had seen her first. She had caught my eye; I remember it like it was yesterday. It was pouring rain outside, and I had just walked in our work building. I was waiting for the elevator to make its way down to the lobby when I saw her run inside covering her hair with her jacket. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Even with being soaked from the rain I thought she was absolutely beautiful.” He looks at you and smiles. You remember this day he is talking about. It was your first day at your job. You didn’t check the weather, so you had no idea it was supposed to rain, so you left your house without an umbrella. You feel warmth all over your body and your heart feels full as you continue watching him talk. “She stood next to me on the elevator, and I still remember the way her perfume smelled that day. When we got off at the same floor I realized she was a new employee and felt like luck was on my side. But honestly, it took a week to convince myself to finally introduce myself to her.” He chuckles a little grabbing your hand and rubbing the back of your hand gently. Your mom and grandma are both wearing heart eyes at this point.
“It’s like straight out of a movie.” Your mom says as she clasps her hands together in front of her heart with a pout on her face. The rest of dinner goes smoothly as Yunho talks to your dad about his favorite baseball team and he also earns some points from your younger cousins as he talks about his ranking on Valorant. The room is filled with genuine laughter as the conversations continue flowing with ease. Your eyes soften as you watch how Yunho handles all these interactions. You feel the heat bloom in your chest as you can picture moments like this becoming a regular occurrence. Just as quickly as the thought happens, you try and push it to the side. You have to keep reminding yourself this is a fake date, you and Yunho are only casually seeing each other, and you are not ready for a relationship.
Once dinner is finished Yunho helps carry the dishes into the kitchen before he heads in the living room with your younger cousins. They wanted him to watch them play so he could give them pointers on the map they’ve been playing lately. While everyone settles down you head into the kitchen to help your mom clean up. She’s washing the dishes and you’re drying them. She looks over at you and silently smiles.
“What?” You laugh a little at how she’s looking at you.
“He’s good for you, sweetie.” She says gently.
“Mom, stop.” The blush creeps up on your cheeks.
“I’m serious. You smile more with him around.” You put your head down as you try and hide your smile. “We haven’t seen you this happy in a while.”
“He makes me happy.” As you say this, you feel like you’re not lying. You think about how you’ve been smiling nonstop lately anytime something makes you think of him. About how comfortable you’ve felt around him. About how things have been feeling…right. You feel like you can honestly say that he makes you happy and that absolutely scares you. You make your way into the living room to see how everything is going. Before you even make your presence known, you take in what you see. You watch your cousins and Yunho laughing at something happening on the screen. Your dad is relaxing on the couch with his eyes closed while your grandma watches the boys from her recliner with a smile. Nobody is treating Yunho like a guest anymore. They're treating him like he's always been here. Everyone seems relaxed. Comfortable. This feels real. As the night quiets down, you help your mom pack up leftovers. Yunho wanders into the kitchen and immediately offers to help. Your mom looks over at you with a knowing smile, as if she just found yet another reason to like him.
“Please make sure she eats this. She has a habit of forgetting to eat sometimes.” Your mom winks at Yunho.
“Yes ma’am.” He smiles back.
“Please don’t encourage her.” You scoff out a soft laugh as you teasingly push Yunho’s arm. You and Yunho grab your coats from the closet near the front door and put your shoes on before you hug your parents. Your mom gives Yunho a hug and your dad shakes his hand once again.
“It would be great to have you back again young man.” Your dad says as he places a firm pat on Yunho’s shoulder.
“Yes, honey. It was great having you around. We should do this again real soon. Please don’t be a stranger.” She says as she squeezes Yunho’s hand before turning towards you. “Don’t let this one get away.”
“Mom!” Your cheeks turn a bright red as Yunho tries his best to hold back a laugh. The car ride home is a comfortable silence. Once you reach your place you both sit in the car taking in the night’s events. You look over and see Yunho deep in thought.
“Thank you again for doing this.”
“For what?” he shifts in his seat turning towards you.
“For tonight. For everything. You didn’t have to but-”
“I wanted to.” He cuts you off. He walks you to the door and he cups your cheek with his hand. “I had a great time tonight. Thank you for letting me in your life, even if it is as a fake boyfriend.” He chuckles lightly. The smile on his face is soft. Before you can respond he leans in and places a soft kiss on your lips. It’s brief. Sweet. Yet it somehow leaves your heart racing more than any heated moment you’ve had before. You stand there for a moment after he leaves smiling as you fingertips brush your lips. The ghost of his kiss lingers there as you watch his taillights drive away. You can only think about one thing. Keeping things casual is proving to be a harder task than you initially imagined.
Warnings: MDNI, language, anxiety, mentions of blood, law enforcement interactions, wounds
Previous Ch
Ch 11
Jinwoo sat down for all of two minutes before he leapt back up and strode towards the ditch. He pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his back pocket and began casing the car. He peered into the nearly shattered windshield, wanting to get an inventory of everything he could see before forensics came and started touching things. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the forensics guys, but he surely had more faith in himself. He knew his own capabilities. His shrewd observational skill and ability to connect dots others might overlook was what got him promoted in the first place, and he didn’t plan on easing up.
He spotted what looked like faint traces of blood on the dashboard of the car, and a little bit more in the back seat. Droplets, nothing that would suggest that the people in the car at the time had been severely injured. “Probably just glass cutting them,” he said to himself, continuing to peek through the windshield. “I’m sure we could get DNA samples with that.” He started to climb out of the ditch, satisfied enough with himself. He wasn’t going to be able to get much more information than that without opening the door and climbing into the car itself. He couldn’t do that without interfering with the evidence. “That’ll suffice until they get here.” He stood over the car now, hands on his hips, and looked into the back seat where he saw what appeared to be a scarf of some sort. He noted how thick it looked, mulling over what someone could possibly want with such a thing in the scorching heat. “Was it used to conceal someone’s identity? Maybe it was used to tie her hands. Hm. Maybe both?”
Jinwoo cast his eyes down, checking out the ground around the ditch until he spotted a section of depressed grass to his left. He kept his distance, choosing to observe it from afar. He could see other smaller sections where the grass had been flattened, but the larger patch was far more interesting to him. “Someone lay there for a while.” He looked around the rest of the area, his eyes resting on a sliver of wood peeking out from the taller grass. He slid over to it quickly, trying to block Mingi’s view; Mingi had been quietly watching him work. He figured that he was probably trying to put the pieces together too, but Jinwoo didn’t want to worry him with the discovery of the wooden slat, which upon further inspection he could see was nearly split in half. The likelihood of it being related to some other unsavory act was extremely low, and blood would be sure to freak Mingi out, even though it was only a little.
Jinwoo took a mental inventory of everything and wandered back over to the flattened bit of grass where he could see footprints leading away from it towards the trees. “Ok,” he threw his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. “Ok, ok.”
“Did you find anything useful?” Mingi called, seemingly having lost his desire to be patient. Jinwoo opened his eyes and walked over to his car again and sat down wordlessly. Mingi looked at him expectantly, hoping that he had gleaned something from all his wandering around the scene that he’d told Mingi to steer clear of. Once he realized that Jinwoo wasn’t going to say anything, he turned his focus back to the woods.
Mingi couldn’t take his eyes off the trees while they sat waiting for the forensics team to arrive. The footprints he had seen looked like they had been going in that direction, but it had truthfully been a little difficult to tell once the prints disappeared into the taller grass of the field that separated the road from the woodlands. That aside, the tread of the smaller prints hadn’t looked anything like the bottoms of the shoes you usually wore to work, so he couldn’t be sure that they even belonged to you.
Jinwoo had laid his seat back and was apparently resting his eyes; Mingi had to fight the urge to shake him awake and pelt him with questions. He wanted to know if Jinwoo really felt confident that they were getting close to finding you, or if he was simply feigning it for his sake. He hoped it wasn’t the latter. Mingi himself was still a wreck. He forced himself to look away from the trees and pulled out his phone and stepped out of the car, gently shutting the door behind him. He dialed Jongho and waited. “Hyung? What’s going on? Are you ok?” Jongho sounded like he had been asleep.
“Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s ok. What’s going on?” Mingi leaned against the trunk of the car, scanning the road ahead for any vehicles that might be headed in his direction. What was taking Cha and his guys so long? He wondered.
“I just wanted to thank you, Jongho,” he said. “I really appreciate you calling your cousin for me. He’s been such a big help already. He found the license plate number of the guy that took Y/N, and we found the taxi.”
“That’s great!” Jongho’s voice was a little more alert.
“Yeah, but it’s on its side in a ditch near the mountains. There’re footprints, but I don’t think either of them belong to Y/N.”
“I see. So where is Jinwoo now?”
“He’s napping in the car. We’re waiting for a forensics team, I guess.”
“Ah, and then what are you going to do?”
“I don’t really know. I want to ask him, but I don’t want to wake him up.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t disturb him if I were you. I doubt he’s actually sleeping. I’ll bet anything he’s thinking.”
“I think you mean dreaming,” Mingi chuckled for the first time in days.
“No. He isn’t the kind of guy to sleep on the job. He’s probably trying to piece something together in his mind. He used to do the same thing when we were younger. There’d be some kind of problem, and Jinwoo would lay down somewhere and close his eyes for a while and pop up later with a solution. I used to think it was so cool. He was born to be a detective.”
“If that’s the case, I hope that is what he’s doing.” Mingi looked behind him through the rear windshield to see that Jinwoo was still leaned back in the drivers’ seat. He had thrown his hands behind his head and was even more slumped into his seat. Mingi wanted to believe Jongho, and he did; Jinwoo had been nothing but professional and had already yielded great results. All Mingi had to do was continue to trust him. “Well, either way, I just wanted to call and say thank you. I’ll be sure to thank you properly once this is all over.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jongho yawned. “I’m glad to be able to help.”
“I’m sorry to keep you. Get yourself some rest.”
“You be sure to get some rest too, Mingiya.”
“Yeah… I will.” Mingi hung up the phone and went to sit back in the car.
“Did you tell my cousin I said hello?” Mingi jumped so hard he hit his head on the roof of the car. He looked over at Jinwoo, bewildered.
“You really are awake.”
“Those footprints,” Jinwoo started, “did you get a good look at them?”
“As good of a look as I could, I guess. I didn’t recognize the shoe prints, though.”
“The larger set likely belonged to a man, so we can assume that was Kwan.”
“But the other ones… they weren’t Y/N’s shoes.”
“You said that a girl had been terrorizing Y/N; I’d assume those other prints belonged to her.”
“Then what about Y/N? I didn’t see a third pair of prints!”
“We’ll have the investigation team check the trunk to be sure, but I’d be willing to bet she got carried off. Most likely by Kwan.”
“So, you think he’s the girl’s accomplice?”
“Yes.” He sat up, looking into the rearview mirror. “Where the hell are these guys?” Almost as if his words had summoned them, the caravan of vehicles came speeding down the road. Jinwoo lifted himself out of the car and waved them down. They pulled up behind the car in a flurry of dust and several uniformed officers stepped out. Mingi recognized Cha and offered a respectful bow. Though he wasn’t super fond of the man, he was still his elder. Cha completely ignored him, instead going straight up to Jinwoo with his arms crossed and three men at his back.
“This isn’t your investigation, Choi,” he grumbled. Mingi could see that his ears were turning pink.
“I’m part of the investigation,” Jinwoo replied coolly. “I was personally asked by Mr. Song to look into this matter. That’s what I’m doing.”
“Don’t you have other cases to work on? This isn’t even your city.”
“All of my assigned cases have been resolved.” Jinwoo had the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I hope to add this one to the list.”
“You’re a smug little prick, you know that?” Cha’s entire face was flushed. It reminded Mingi of the way San would go completely red after a few drinks. As he watched the interaction, he got the feeling that there was more between Cha and Jinwoo than the investigation and decided that he would have to ask Jinwoo about it later.
“There’s a missing woman,” Jinwoo said, voice still cool. “I’m sure there are better ways to be spending this time than whatever this is that you’re doing, sir. Why don’t you have your guys search the car, for starters?”
“Don’t tell me how to run my team,” Cha glowered, turning his body to face the other men behind him. “Go check the car,” he said quietly. The officers immediately scurried away towards the ditch, each man pulling black latex gloves out and fitting them onto their hands.
“At least they came prepared,” Mingi elected to watch the officers that were overlooking the car. They searched the interior first, coming up with a winter scarf and a stainless steel water bottle. When they did finally get around to popping the trunk, Mingi sat with bated breath; he half expected to see your crumpled body shoved into the too small space. To his relief, there was nothing more in there aside from a length of rope and a shovel. His eyes rested on the items as the cops took photos. He noted that the shovel didn’t look like it had been used yet, but the rope had clearly been severed. “They tied her up,” he mumbled to himself.
Jinwoo was stood beside him, elbows resting on the trunk as he was watching the events unfold with an intense expression on his face. “If they did tie her up,” he said, “that’s a good sign for us.”
“How is that a good sign?” Mingi snorted.
“It means she was alive after the crash,” Jinwoo said. “There’s no need to tie up a dead person. Dead people pose no threat.”
Mingi looked over at him to see him still watching the others. “You think she’s still alive?”
“I think there’s a strong chance that she is.”
Mingi’s eyes shot over to the trees in the distance. Jinwoo thought you were still alive, and that was enough to give Mingi hope. Jinwoo lifted himself up from the trunk and strolled over to Cha, who was stood at the edge of the ditch. “So, what have you come up with so far?” Cha glanced over at him and Mingi could see the distaste on his face.
“There was obviously some sort of issue with the taxi,” Cha stated. “One of the tires is flat. I’d assume that’s why the car went off the road.”
“Oh, really? A flat tire caused all this?” Jinwoo waved a hand out at the scene before them. “That’s your working theory? And what about the footprints?”
“The prints? Clearly two people escaping the wreckage.”
“Ah, yes.” Jinwoo clasped his hands behind his back. “I suppose that makes sense. I have a working theory here.”
“Of course you do,” Cha huffed.
“I did a little poking around the scene- don’t worry I didn’t touch anything- but, I did a little looking around. I saw a bit of blood in the car, not much, but I think we could get DNA from that. There was also a scarf or something that’s likely to have DNA on it as well. I also found a broken bit of wood with blood on it near that area of smushed grass over there.” He pointed, “and with the discovery of the rope and shovel in the trunk... I think what happened was there was some sort of altercation in the car, maybe a fight or an attack between Y/N and her captors. I think the fight caused the crash. Everyone survived by the looks of it. There wasn’t a significant amount of blood anywhere or drag lines in the grass, which tells me that everyone was still able bodied at least.”
“Uh huh,” Cha groused.
“I think maybe the wood was used to somehow incapacitate her and she was likely tied up, hence the cut bit of rope and the flattened grass. The shovel was probably meant to dig a grave to dispose of her body, but the accident threw off the plan. The foot tracks lead into the woods by the look of it. I’d be willing to bet she’s stashed somewhere in the woods if anything. A shed or something like that. I don’t think she’s dead, yet. But time is ticking for sure.”
“And what makes you think we aren’t looking for a corpse here, huh?”
“A person wouldn’t go though all the trouble of kidnapping and bringing a person out here if they just wanted to kill them. That could have been done in the city. This seems different. Maybe the kidnappers want to toy with her first. Again, this is just a theory. What do you have so far?”
“Look here Choi!” Officer Cha had spun to face him directly and was poking a sharp finger into his shoulder. The shouting drew the attention of Mingi, who had again been gazing off into the trees. “Just because you were promoted to inspector doesn’t mean that you get to parade around and take over every case that you fancy! And don’t you forget, I was your boss! You owe me respect!”
“Of course, sir,” Jinwoo replied smoothly. He turned his head, eyes resting on the finger that was still poking into his arm. “Senior officers do deserve respect. I guess I just have a hard time when it comes to people that think age should outshine results. I got promoted over you because I was the one that solved that serial murder case we were assigned to. I kept telling you to look into that man and you brushed me off so many times that I had to go over your head. If you’d just listened to me instead of treating me like an idiot because I’m younger than you, maybe you’d be the inspector and I’d still be working under you.”
“You got promoted because you went behind my back with information and tried to make me look like a fool.”
“I didn’t have to try too hard, sir. Now, if you’d please excuse me.” Jinwoo spun on his heel and strolled back towards his car, leaving Cha fuming, and sat down in the drivers’ seat. “Mr. Song, please join me. And close the door.” Mingi slid into the passenger seat and gently closed the door.
“Are we leaving?”
“Yes, there isn’t anything more we can do here for now.” Jinwoo started the engine.
“Do you trust Cha to gather the right evidence from the car and the prints?” With the argument he’d just witnessed, Mingi wasn’t too sure that Cha and his men should be the ones processing the scene.
“I do. Cha may be an asshole and mostly only good at ordering people around, but he’s got some good, dedicated officers under him. They’ll make sure to get everything from the scene. Once they update everything in the system, I’ll be able to take a look and see what I can glean from it all.”
“I just want to go into the woods and look for her,” Mingi sighed.
“There’s a number of reasons why that wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Yeah,” Mingi lamented, propping his elbow up on the window and peering out the window at the trees as they passed by. “I know. I just want to see her again.”
Ok, let’s see. You stood in the middle of the supply room with your hands on your hips, eyes sweeping across everything in view. On the shelves directly in front of you, you saw there were first aid kits, folded blankets, bottles of water, and more lanterns like the ones Dae Gwan had brought to you before he’d turned on the generator. You snatched one of the first aid kits off of the shelf and popped it open, digging around until you found the antibiotic wipes, ointment, gauze, and an ace bandage. You leaned against the wall and tore open the wipes to dab at the cracking burn around your wrist before you squeezed out some ointment and gently spread it around the wound. Once the ointment was evenly spread, you wrapped the gauze and ace bandage your wrist and immediately dug into the next box to retrieve the bandage to replace the torn sheet around your ankle. That’s better.
Feeling more put together than before, you focused your efforts on locating something that could potentially help you break the lock on the vault. A search of the top shelf yielded nothing but dust covered boxes of gloves and what appeared to be tarps. Useless. You scrunched up your nose, turning away from the shelf to look around the rest of the room. A large rectangular trunk sat across from the shelf; there was a latch on the lid, but no lock in sight. You walked over to it cautiously, hoping that there weren’t any bugs or rats in it. Flipping it open, you leapt back, waiting for whatever was in there to jump out at you. When nothing did, you heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled at yourself before you took a peek inside the trunk. There was a hammer and a small spade, and something wrapped up in canvas cloth. You took a corner of the cloth and peeled it back, revealing a wooden handle; peeling it back further showed you that it was a hatchet.
Oh, hell yeah! You dove into the trunk feverishly, pulling the hatchet out. The wooden handle was only a bit malformed, you assumed it was from years of being in the dank bunker with no one to care for it. The metal head had definitely seen better days too; the bevel had a layer of rust along it and upon closer inspection, you could see that the cutting edge was a little dulled. But still. You looked down at the item in your hands, clutching on to it like you were afraid it was going to disappear. Is this gonna be what gets me out of here? This tiny hatchet? You headed back for the door hopefully, heaving it back open as much as it would go, and attempted to fit your hand through the crack along with the hatchet. You hadn’t realized it earlier, but the gap in the door was quite small; you couldn’t even fit your hand through, much less the hatchet. Sighing, you sunk down onto the steps, peering out at the bits of grass that you could see and inhaling the scent of the surrounding woods. The air out there smelled so fresh. Sweet, even. You closed your eyes, just taking it all in, trying to remember the feel of the sun on your skin, the breeze through your hair.
The sudden sound of movement through the grass startled you out of your day dream and you leapt up from the step, ready to shoot back down into the bunker and hide; when you saw the dainty hooves of a deer pass by, you shook your head, disappointed with yourself. If that hadn’t been a deer and had actually been someone, Dae Gwan or Chae Yi, you weren’t so sure that you wouldn’t have been prepared to make a break for it. Even after the deer had disappeared back into the trees, your hands couldn’t stop quivering around the hatchet handle and your nerves were still firing off.
You eased yourself back down the stairs again and stood at the bottom looking around the area. From the base of the stairs, you could only see a little into the stock room and almost none of the main part of the bunker; the bed that you’d been tied to didn’t become visible until you were halfway down the hall and passing the storage space. Even though Dae Gwan was quite a bit taller than you, you were sure that his viewpoint was the same. You stood there at the end of the hall, contemplating how you could potentially use the obstructed view to your benefit. Maybe the next time him or Chae Yi come, I can hide in the stock room and slip past them and get out! Neither of them knew you had managed to escape your bonds, so they wouldn’t be expecting you to be hiding out in the room; but you worried that they might decide to visit the stock room before coming to the main room and you’d not only be discovered, but cornered as well. I’d be done for at that point. That’s gonna be a no.
You ambled back over to the bed and plopped down, tearing open another pack of food and tearing into it. Whatever it was, it was sweet. You savored the flavor, missing the hotteoks back at the stall near your job. You idly wondered if you’d get the chance to eat one again while you once again scanned the area. I wonder if I can fit myself in the trunk I found the hatchet in. Making your way back into the area with the trunk, you climbed into it and attempted to crouch down into it. It barely came past your knees, and you couldn’t help but laugh at yourself for thinking it would work. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Your father used to say that to you a lot when you were young. Every time you would be afraid of trying something new, he would palm the top of your head, ruffle your hair, and say his favorite phrase. You asked him what it meant when you were about eight, and he simply said that it meant you have to at least try. You always carried the philosophy with you after that.
Your eyes drifted back to the pipe that you had abandoned all hope of getting through before. You jumped up and went back over to it. You inspected the outside of it, wondering if you might be able to climb up using the thick bolts that held it together. You threw your foot up to rest atop one of the bolts and wrapped your arms around each side of the pipe before attempting to lift the rest of yourself up. The pipe began to creak and your foot slipped off of the bolt. You leapt back to the floor, peering up the length of the pipe with your hands on your hips. Ok, so the pipe is definitely a no go. What to do?
Back in the storage room, you began going through everything you could find again. You were meticulous about it, making sure to replace whatever you moved just in case when one or both of your assailants came back they wouldn’t be made aware of the fact that you’d freed yourself. You felt like you were going in circles. You’d already looked through the area once, twice, and you knew you weren’t going to find anything else. Third time’s the charm, right?
While the search didn’t provide anything new, it did give you a minute to consider your options. There was no other way out of the bunker aside from the door, and you couldn’t even reach the lock to try to break it, so you would have to wait for someone to come in. You weren’t sure if it would be Chae Yi or Dae Gwan, but either way it went, you were going to have to be prepared to fight your way out if need be. You snatched a tarp off of the top shelf; it was larger than you thought it would be, but you could still hold it up without it touching the floor. Ok, I can throw this over their heads when they come in, you thought, studying the weight of the thick plastic. That’ll give me a chance to run. But, your thoughts faltered as a twinge shot from your ankle up your leg. But if they get it off fast, they’ll catch me for sure, wont they? You set the tarp down and sat atop it, eyeing the hatchet beside you. You picked it up, turning it over in your hands. I might have to…no. I can’t. I couldn’t.
You set the hatchet back down, wringing your hands together. You wanted to get out. You had to get out. But you didn’t think you’d be able to hit anyone with the hatchet. You were the kind of person that felt bad when you killed a bug, always saying that they probably had a family they wanted to get back home to; a person was definitely a much bigger deal than a bug. You could barely even stand the sight of blood. Maybe I just hit both of them once. In the ankle or something. Slow them down so I can get away. Yes.
You stood up and had to grab hold of the shelf to steady yourself when your head rushed. The room spun for a moment and your stomach turned, suddenly queasy. You rushed out of the storage and aimed for the closet bucket in the bunker space, releasing all the freeze dried foods you’d been inhaling. You heaved violently, back hunching every time you gagged. Tears streamed down your face; the pain in your throat was like white hot fire and you thought you’d pass out from the sheer agony of it, but it was over almost as quickly as it had started. You rose up slowly and wiped your mouth. Your stomach still felt uneasy, but you didn’t think you had to throw up anymore. What the hell is that about? You rubbed your stomach gently and prayed that the nausea would dissipate. This is the last thing I need right now. You wondered if maybe the food you’d eaten was spoiled, going over to check the dates on the empty wrappers. They were still good. So, what the hell?
You dismissed the thought, resetting your focus on your game plan. You went back into the storage room and grabbed the tarp again, tossing it out of the room as if you were draping it over someone and took off up the stairs, ignoring the pain in your ankle. Too slow. You went back down the stairs and gripped the tarp again, throwing it and shooting up the stairs again. You felt a little silly doing it, but you told yourself that you only had one chance to get it right. If things didn’t go according to plan, there wouldn’t be a do over. Again!
The car ride was quiet on the way back to the dorm. Jinwoo seemed to be deep in thought, and Mingi didn’t want to break his concentration, but the anticipation was getting to him. “Jinwoo-ssi… what are you thinking?” he asked quietly, almost shyly. Jinwoo didn’t say anything immediately and Mingi almost thought he didn’t hear him until he spoke up.
“I think your girl is in the woods,” he said. “I’d bet on it. We really should wait for forensics to come back on the scene…”
“But?”
“No but; we should wait. I could be wrong.”
“And the forensics will tell you if you’re wrong or not?”
“Well, no. Not really. But it’s poor taste to pursue a lead without everyone being on the same page. Just in case something happens.”
“Have you ever been wrong?”
“Not since I first joined the force. Back when I used to follow Cha around like a puppy. I used to want his approval so bad, until I realized he’s not the most helpful tool in the shed, if you get what I’m saying.”
“I don’t care about the politics of the police force. I need her home with me. Time is ticking,” Mingi said. “I can feel it winding down. I’ve been looking into those woods all afternoon, I know she has to be in there somewhere. You saw the footprints; they were going in that direction. That’s a big clue, isn’t it? Why not ask Cha and his guys to search the woods? It can’t be hard to assemble a group, right?”
“It shouldn’t be hard to, no.”
“So, let’s do that. Tomorrow morning. We can get some people together by then, right?”
“I’ll make some calls.” Mingi watched Jinwoo for a moment, he was beginning to notice when Jinwoo’s mind was working and wondered what he was contemplating in that moment.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I uh,” Mingi stumbled over his words. “I just wanted to thank you. You didn’t have to get involved in this; I appreciate that you did.”
“It really isn’t a problem,” Jinwoo replied. “I didn’t have any other pressing matters to attend to. I’m glad to help.”
Jinwoo dropped Mingi back off to the dorm with the promise of calling him in the morning to let him know whether or not he’d gotten clearance and assembled a group to comb the woods. By the time he got to the dorm door, Mingi was feeling a lot more hopeful than he had been when they’d found the cab in the ditch. He knocked lightly on the door, unable to focus long enough to recall the code for the lock. When it swung open, Seonghwa stood on the other side. When he saw the look on Mingi’s face his eyebrows raised curiously. “Good news?” he asked, a twinge of relief in his voice.
“We got a lot of evidence, actually,” Mingi answered as he slipped out of his shoes. “We found the cab that Y/N got into crashed in a ditch and what looked like footprints in the grass that were headed for the woods. Jinwoo is going to get a search party together so we can go look for Y/N tomorrow. He thinks she’s still alive and being held somewhere. She’s out there in those woods. I can feel it in my bones, hyung.” Seonghwa moved aside and let Mingi pass by, following him with his eyes.
“That’s good,” Seonghwa said. He was glad that Mingi wasn’t sulking anymore, but he worried. He hoped that if Mingi and Jinwoo did find you in the woods, that whatever state they found you in wouldn’t alter Mingi’s brain chemistry for the worse. “I hope you find her soon.” Seonghwa stood in the middle of the living room, still watching Mingi as he nervously moved around the space, relocating the remote from one side of the coffee table to the next, fluffing the already fluffed accent pillows on the couch. Once he finally sat down on the couch and began picking at his cuticles, Seonghwa went and knocked on San’s room door. “San, he’s back.”
San flung his door open, popping his head out to observe Mingi on the couch. “Mingiya, how did it go? Did you guys find anything?” Mingi peered up from his hand at San.
“Yeah.” He went back to picking at his cuticles. San and Seonghwa looked at one another knowingly. Mingi wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. They could tell that even though he seemed excited about the potential of finding you, that he was also extremely nervous about something.”
“Mingi, what’s bothering you?” Seonghwa asked.
“Nothing.”
“It’s something. You’re going to make yourself bleed if you don’t stop picking at your hand like that. What’s wrong?” San had come out of the room to stand beside Seonghwa, looking at Mingi with worry in his eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
“Mingi…”
“What if we don’t find her?” Mingi blurted out. “What if we don’t find her at all? Or worse, what if we do find her and she’s… she’s…”
“Mingi, you can’t think that way,” San said. He moved to sit beside Mingi on the couch and Seonghwa followed behind. “You have to think good thoughts.”
“I know, and I’m trying to. I think I’m just scared now because it feels like she’s within reach, but I don’t know what to expect.”
“I know it must be scary, but you shouldn’t worry too much,” Seonghwa placed a careful hand on Mingi’s shoulder. “We’ll face whatever happens tomorrow. Together.”
Mingi rubbed at his eyes so hard that he saw stars behind his lids. “It’s hard not to worry.” He dragged his hands down his cheeks and sighed before standing up from the couch. All I’ve been doing is worrying.”
“Mingi,” Seonghwa said, “go get some sleep. There isn’t anything more to be done until tomorrow.”
“It’s hard to sleep without her,” Mingi hung his head. “I haven’t slept well in what feels like a long time.”
“Do you want to borrow Shiber?” San asked. “Shiber always helps when I can’t get to sleep.”
“It’s ok, San. Thank you, though.” Mingi moved toward his own bedroom. “I’ll be ok.” He shuffled off into his room and gently closed the door behind him, leaving his roommates sitting on the couch in silence. He peeled off his clothes and threw himself into bed, rolling up into the blanket and tucking his head underneath a pillow. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized just how exhausted he really was. His body felt the same way it usually did after a concert, sore and heavy. He sighed and brought his knees up to his chest, turning onto his side. With his head still planted under the pillow, he grabbed hold of the other pillow and hugged it tightly to his chest. Silent tears slid from his eyes, dampening the sheet beneath his face. He wanted to find you; more than anything in the world, he wanted to find you, but he was no fool. He knew that the likelihood of finding you alive dwindled down more and more with each passing day. It wasn’t the idea of not finding you at all that was getting to him. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, willing sleep to come to him and ease the tension in his brain.
The next morning, he woke with a start. He bolted up in bed and snatched his phone off the charger. He had fallen asleep without putting it on the charger, so he assumed that one of the members had come in and done it for him. They really did always look out for him. He unlocked the phone and saw that he had a missed call from Jinwoo from an hour prior. “Fuck!” He flung his legs over the side of the bed and dialed Jinwoo, shaking his leg anxiously as he waited for him to pick up.
“Hey,” Jinwoo didn’t sound like his usual confident self and Mingi could feel panic prickling at the back of his neck.
“What’s wrong?”
“My captain says I can’t put together a search party yet. I guess forensics isn’t done processing the scene.”
“What!” Mingi jumped up from the bed. “That’s ridiculous! The scene by the road doesn’t have anything to do with the woods over there. We should be able to go look for her. We wouldn’t be interfering at all!” He could hear feet shuffling out in the hall, Seonghwa and San coming to see what all the fuss was about.
“Well, the scene by the road and the woods are connected by those footprints, which means part of the crime scene could be in the woods as well. We can’t have people tramping around.” Mingi opened his room door before San even got the chance to knock and he and Seonghwa came to sit quietly on the bed.
“They’re dragging their feet!” Mingi bellowed. “They probably think she’s already dead and that they’re looking for a body!”
“I understand your frustration,” Jinwoo said with the even tone Mingi was sure he’d been perfecting for years. “I can’t disobey direct orders. What I can do is get on forensics and push them to speed up the process and we can maybe set up a search for tomorrow.”
“You and I both know that tomorrow could be too late. I can’t keep waiting. She can’t keep waiting.”
“I’m sorry.” They both sat on the phone quiet for a moment, neither of them having anything else to say. After a second, Jinwoo spoke up again. “I’m going to give the department a call and see if I can’t convince them to search for her.”
“Thank you.” Mingi hung up the phone and threw his head back to look at the ceiling.
“What happened?” San asked.
“He can’t do the search yet. The police aren’t finished processing the scene.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure th-”
“Stop telling me not to worry!” Mingi barked, immediately feeling horrible for shouting. “I’m sorry you guys. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok,” Seonghwa assured him. “We know you didn’t mean it.”
⚠️ This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI, dark themes, explicit sexual content/smut, friends with benefits, stalking, obsessive behavior, serial killer AU, graphic violence, murder, blood, dismemberment, kidnapping, hostage situation, physical restraint, manipulation, drug use (MDMA/ecstasy), alcohol use, anxiety/panic, toxic relationships, possessive behavior, cursing, reader discretion advised, please let me know if I forgot anything.
w.c: 2.4k
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
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Chapter 4
The next morning you wake up feeling like you didn’t get enough sleep. Your body is aching, so you try and stretch and relax in the shower before work. You throw yourself together and pack extra water bottles since you know you’re going to need it today to recover from the previous night. Thankfully your head isn’t hurting too much, but you pop some ibuprofen as you head out the door to prevent it from getting worse. Today is Amina’s day to grab coffee so you don’t have to make a stop before work. Once you’re at work you set your stuff at your desk and try to mentally prepare yourself for the workday. Thankfully it’s Friday so you’re hoping it flies by.
“Happy FriYAYYYY!” Amina says in her too chipper voice. You don’t know how she has so much energy all the time. She looks you up and down as she walks into your cubicle. “You look like shit this morning, oh my God. Here, you clearly need this.” She says with her face scrunched up with disgust as she hands you your iced latte. “I take it you and Viv had a good time last night?”
“Yea, it’s always a good time with Viv. I just can’t bounce back like I used to I guess.” You let out a strained laugh as you rub your hands over your face. You give her a brief run-down of how your night went before you shoo her away so you can get started on your files for the day.
After about an hour of working, you take a pause to close your eyes and rub your temples. You get lost in the moment as your mind goes back to the night before. You see Vivian dancing in front of you with the sapphire lights bouncing off her body, you can feel her hands on your body and how it sent electricity through your whole body with every touch. You remember how the music flowed through your body and moved you with every thump of the bass. You truly felt free and you can’t remember the last time you felt like that. You’re suddenly brought back to work when you hear a voice behind you.
“How was The Sapphire Vault last night?” Yunho’s voice sends a chill down your spine.
“How did you know I was there last night?”
“I was there last night as well. I would have stopped to say hi, but I was a bit preoccupied.” He walks up behind you and brings his lips to your ear. “You looked happy. I must say, it looks good on you.” You begin to blush at his words. You can’t help but wonder how much he saw. Before you can find the words to say back to him, he walks away. The rest of the day was a blur of files and meetings, but your mind kept slipping back to Yunho’s quiet confession and the way his voice dropped just to send heat through your body.
The day came and went as Saturday morning creeps up and you’re greeted by the sunlight peeking through your curtains. You take your time getting out of bed as you scroll through your phone. You open your curtains throughout your apartment to let the natural light in as you make your rounds watering your plants. Once you get some of your weekly chores done, you get yourself ready. You recently found this cute little café a few blocks from your house and have been making it a routine to go every Saturday morning. You put your AirPods in and head out the door. You’re busy taking in the beautiful scenery on your walk, you don’t even realize that Yunho is following behind you. He of course waited until you were far enough ahead before he started following behind.
After you’ve gotten your drink and pastry, you find a spot at an empty table and sit down so you can dive into the book you’ve been reading. After a few minutes of reading, you look up and see a familiar face sitting near you reading a book as well. You close your book and pick up your belongings before making your way to their table.
“Hey stranger, is this seat taken?” You smile innocently and Yunho looks up from his book, returning the smile.
“Hey! Funny running into you here. I’d love your company.” His smile is warm and welcoming as always. You try and ignore the butterflies forming deep inside. You take a seat across from him. “This your first time here?” he asks as he places the bookmark in his book and setting it down next to his plate.
“No, I’ve been coming here almost every Saturday since I first found the place two months ago. It’s got such a cozy vibe I love coming here to turn my brain off.” You look down and see what he was eating. “Oh, their croissants are to die for. Have you tried their Cheese Danishes?” He shook his head. You pick yours up holding your free hand underneath to catch any crumbs, if need be, and bring it to his mouth. “Here, take a bite.” You lock eyes with him as he opens his mouth and takes a bite of your Danish. You watch him intently waiting for his review of the pastry.
“Mmm. That is delicious.” He says, covering his mouth while he chews.
“I knew you’d love it.” Your smile reaches your eyes causing them to disappear. “I was actually about to head to the farmers market around the corner if you’d like to join? Only if you’re free of course. I don’t want to intrude on any plans you have for the day.”
“I was planning on just sitting here reading until I got too bored. I’d love to join you.” You both get up and get rid of any trash before heading out. You hear the birds chirping as the sun shines down on you through the trees. The warm air kisses your body as you walk side by side to the farmer’s market. It doesn’t take long to get there since it was only a few blocks away. The sounds of the live music drifts through the market as you hear the chatter of friends and families walking together. You walk up to a fruit stand near the entrance that has peaches. You grab a few peaches and after inspecting them you place them in the reusable bag that you pulled from your purse.
“Peaches are one of my favorite fruits.” You say as if you could taste the peach on your tongue. “What’s your favorite?”
“Hmmm. I’m a strawberry kinda guy. I love fruit in general, but it’s something about a nice, juicy strawberry.” He says as you pay for your peaches and then continue walking through the market.
“Ooo, this is my favorite jam. I only buy from this vendor.” You scan the various flavors until you find your favorite one. You look up at the vendor in excitement. “I’m so glad you finally got this flavor back. You know it’s my favorite! I’ve been going crazy waiting for it’s return.” Your voice filled with pure joy as you spoke to the vendor.
“I couldn’t keep you waiting too long. I know how much you enjoy it.” The sweet older lady says to you. Yunho watches the way your face lights up as you speak to the vendor about your favorite jam. The sounds of the market fade and all he can hear is your laugh as he looks at you in awe. He doesn’t think he’s seen you look more beautiful before. You look over at Yunho and see the way he’s looking at you and you silently melt inside.
“You’ve got to try this flavor. So good. Matter of fact.” You reach down and grab another jar. “The first one is on me. And if you don’t like it, I will gladly take it off your hands.” You say as you hand the vendor the second jar. Once you pay and the vendor bags up the jars of jam, she goes to hand you the bag. You and Yunho both reach for it at the same time, hands brushing against each other. You both start laughing a little as you apologize. He grabs the bag from the vendor.
“You know you don’t have to carry that, right? I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own bags.” You say teasingly.
“I know.” He looks down at you and smirks as he continues to carry the bag. You make your way through the market, stopping at each stand, collecting various fruits, vegetables, herbs, and everything in between. Yunho watches as you look through each stand, the small interactions you share with each vendor, and the way your face lights up with each interaction. One stand after the next, you look over and realize how many bags Yunho has accumulated. As you’re nearing the end of the market you stroll upon a flower stand. Beautiful bouquets of roses, lilies, tulips, and a few bouquets of an assorted mix fill the table and the display. You walk up to each bouquet and admire how beautiful each one looks and lean in to smell each one. You don’t realize that you keep going back to an assorted bouquet of lilies, roses and baby’s breath in different shades of pink. It’s such a beautiful bouquet you can’t help but be drawn to it. After a couple of minutes, you decide to make your way to a bench nearby to rest your feet and to snack on some peaches. You grab two out and hand one to Yunho.
“Something about coming here feels so peaceful.” You say looking off into the market. You sit in a comfortable silence for a moment as you both eat your peach and people watch a bit.
“My mom used to bring me with her to the farmers market near our house every Saturday when I was a kid. She preferred getting as much as she could from local vendors compared to big corporations. She would always tell me that these are the back bones of the community, and we should always buy locally if we’re able to. I’m ashamed to say it’s been so long since I’ve been to one.” He looks down like he’s disappointed. You reach over and grab his hand and give him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t feel bad. If you every want to tag along with me, you’re more than welcome. I wouldn’t mind the company.” For the next 30 minutes you both continue taking in the scenery in front of you. You tell stories of your childhood and the many things your cousin dragged you into and he tells you how he accidentally asked the wrong girl out in middle school.
“How on earth did you manage to ask the wrong girl out?!” you can barely get the words out from laughing so hard.
“I got their numbers around the same time and just never saved their numbers. I was texting both of them and thought I was flirting with the girl I had a crush on. Turns out it was the other girl I was flirting with and asked out.” He says covering his face in embarrassment. His face turned a shade of pink as he laughs. “I can laugh at it now, but I was so shocked back then. I stayed with her for a little bit out of guilt but after a month we broke up.”
“That’s exactly what you get, trying to talk to multiple girls at once.” You say as you continue laughing.
“Alright, alright. You’re laughing too hard at my pain and suffering.” He says as he gently nudges you, trying to hold his laughter back himself. You look at the time and decide it’s best to head back home now. Yunho grabs the bags again as you both stand up and make your way to the exit. By now the sun is higher in the sky. There is a gentle breeze that aids in cooling you down on your walk home. You walk side by side down the sidewalk, arms lightly touching as you walk. You look up at him and smile. You can feel things shifting between you two more now than you did before. Before you know it, you’re in front of your house. You grab the bags from him as you thank him for carrying them.
“I meant it when I said you’re more than welcome to join me whenever. I truly enjoyed your company today.” You gently kiss his cheek before you head inside. Once inside you begin to take everything out of their bags and place them on the table. You gather all the fruits and veggies so you can wash them before you store them away. After you have everything put away you sit for a moment as you take in the events from the day. You catch yourself smiling as you’re thinking about the way he was looking at you when he thought you weren’t looking. The warmth you felt from his smile, the way you were slowly feeling more comfortable around him. Something settles in you that feels like you could do this every day. You could see yourself doing these mundane tasks with him. Just as quick as the thoughts appear, you quickly try and get rid of them. This is not supposed to be happening right now. You try and talk yourself out of these feelings.
“Get it together, y/n. This is just something casual. You cannot afford to catch feelings for someone right now.” It’s beginning to feel like a much harder task than you expected. You snap out of your thoughts as you hear a knock on your door. You walk over and look out the peep hole but there’s no one there. You open the door and see the bouquet of flowers you kept eyeing at the market on your welcome mat. You bend down and grab them and then walk towards the kitchen to grab a vase. You find a note in the bouquet, and you instantly start blushing. Whatever walls you put up before were beginning to get knocked down one by one. You place the flowers in a vase and set it in the middle of your table. The rest of the day, you can’t help yourself from smiling whenever you walk past the flowers. The simple note is etched into your brain at this point, and you can’t help but reread it whenever you have the chance to.
Warnings: MDNI, language, anxiety, mentions of blood, law enforcement interactions
Previous Ch
Ch 10
You sat cross legged on the bed, yanking at the rope that constricted your ability to move around the bunker. You had been at it for thirty minutes, pouring as much effort as you could muster into loosening it. Only once you realized that all your attempts were in vain and had given up did you notice the rope burn. The raw, red and weeping ring around your wrist where your skin had been torn away was shiny with plasma, and you could feel the heat emanating off of it. You let out an enraged scream and flung yourself back on the bed, immediately regretting it when the inside of your throat burned in protest. This is fucking impossible! What the hell, was Dae Gwan in the navy or something? You looked around the bunker hopelessly, in search of what, you didn’t know. I have to figure something out. I’m running out of time.
Your eyes landed on the bucket. You hadn’t paid the smaller details of it any mind since you’d been using it as a toilet; but looking at it now, you saw that not only was the bucket itself metal, but the handle of it was as well. The parts of the bucket where the handle connected to the body had begun to rust a bit. I wonder if… you leaned over and snatched it up, settling it between your legs. In retrospect, I’m glad he emptied this out. Squeezing the bucket between your knees, you gripped the handle with both hands and pulled, disappointed when it didn’t snap off right away. You thought that if you could just get the handle off, you might be able to use it to somehow tear the rope with it, but no matter how hard you pulled, you couldn’t get it to separate from the bucket. Dammit. You set it back down. What do I do?
Swinging your legs over the side of the bed, you stood up, wanting to see just how much pressure you could put on your ankle. You knew that even if you managed to untether yourself from the rope and break out of the bunker, you’d be an easy target for a bear or a boar if you couldn’t manage to move quickly enough. The pain shot up your leg, but after everything you’d been through, it was childs play. I can stand it, you surmised, but I’ve got to give it some support. Your eyes panned the area and you decided on the blanket that Dae Gwan had brought you. It was thin, more of a sheet than a blanket, really.
Plopping back down onto the bed, you took an edge of the blanket between your teeth, gnawing at it until you had poked a good enough sized hole and shoved two fingers from each hand into it, pulling in opposite directions until it ripped into a long strip. YES! You repeated the process twice more until you had three long strips of it laid out on the bed. You took the first piece and wrapped it around your ankle and heel of your foot, not too loose, not too tight. You didn’t want to risk cutting off the circulation, but you needed to make sure it was going to do the job that you needed it to. You tucked the loose end into your makeshift bandage and reached for the second strip to reinforce it, checking to be sure that it was still comfortably snug before attempting to stand on it again. It still hurt, but you felt much more stable on it.
Ok, good. That’s one thing taken care of. You turned your mind back to the rope, glancing at your already injured wrist and sighing. You had already injured it pretty badly and didn’t want to risk making it any worse. I’ll take a minute to think before I try tackling the rope again.
“You left without saying anything to us, we didn’t know where you went!” Mingi pulled the phone away from his ear, he hated when Hongjoong scolded him. “You should have at least told us so we weren’t worried about you.”
“I’m sorry. I thought a text would be good enough.”
“You didn’t text us until you landed back in Korea, we were calling you the whole time you were on the plane! We missed our flight back because we were looking for you.”
“I’m sorry, hyung.” He hadn’t meant to cause the members such trouble, he honestly hadn’t even considered that they wouldn’t go to the airport without him. “My mind has been all over the place. Forgive me.” There was silence on the other line, and then Hongjoong sighed.
“I understand, Mingi. We all understand. Nobody is mad at you… just… you have to think before you do things, ok? You can’t just run off like that.”
“I understand,” Mingi unrolled the windows of his car, letting the wind toss his hair around as he drove. It was hot. Almost too hot. He initially hadn’t been too sure about where he was going, but once he’d hopped in the car he’d almost instinctively started in the direction of your job. “Did… did Jongho already speak to his cousin?”
“Yes, he called him already. Jongho!” There was a rustling of fabric, and in a second Jongho was on the line.
“Hyung?”
“Hey, Jongho.”
“You left us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I called my cousin and gave him Y/N’s name. He was able to find two reports in the system. One that you made earlier this week, and one from a few months ago. Does that sound right?”
“Yeah. She made a report when she started getting threats.”
“He said that he wanted to start out at her job, since that was her last known location before she disappeared. Said he wanted to check security cameras.”
“I’m headed there now.”
“I can tell him to meet you there. Or actually, do you want me to just give him your number?
“That would be fine with me.” Mingi ran a hand through his hair and sucked in a deep breath. He did feel bad about leaving the boys behind without telling them, but he wouldn’t apologize for deciding to look for you himself. He hadn’t gotten a call yet from the officer he had made the report to, so he wasn’t even sure if someone had been assigned to the case yet. Either way, he knew that every second counted and that if he was going to find you, he had no time to waste. “Have your cousin call me when he gets to her job. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
It took about forty minutes, but eventually a white sedan pulled up behind him and a man in a collared navy polo shirt and blue jeans slid out. Mingi wasn’t sure if he was Jongho’s cousin until he watched the man pull his phone out, put it to his ear, and Mingi’s own phone started ringing. He turned off the engine and stepped out. “Hey, are you Choi Jinwoo?” The man looked up at him and slid his phone back into his pocket.
“I am,” he said, walking toward Mingi. “And you’re Song Mingi?”
“Yes.” Mingi bowed, “thank you for coming.”
“I read the files on your girlfriend,” Jinwoo said. “Is there anything else you want me to know before I start the investigation?” Mingi ran through everything in his head, unable to pick out what he thought was most important and decided that telling the full story again was the best choice of action. Jinwoo stood there looking at the ground while Mingi recounted everything for what felt like the millionth time, nodding slowly and tapping his foot. After Mingi was done, Jinwoo crossed his arms, still looking at the ground with his eyebrows crumpled together.
“You said the last time you spoke to her she was here, right?” He gestured towards the mini mart. Mingi peered into the store, where he saw an older woman behind the counter sitting atop a stool as she rung out a customer. Must be the owners’ wife, he thought, Y/N told me about her.
“Yes, this is the place. Y/N was getting into a cab when we hung up the phone though, like I said. I doubt the woman that’s in the store right now would probably know anything. She’s usually home ill. The husband is the one that comes to replace Y/N in the mornings.”
“I’ll want to see the camera footage if they have any. And I’ll check the other businesses and ask to see their camera footage as well. We’ll start there.” He started for the door of the mini mart, and Mingi followed close behind with his eyes on the back of Jinwoo’ head. If the detective was going to get more intel on what had happened to you, Mingi wasn’t about to be out on even a drop of information that could possibly lead to where you were. Jinwoo faltered at the door, looking over his shoulder at Mingi. “You aren’t going to interfere with my investigation, are you?”
“No, sir, but I do want Y/N found as soon as possible. I’ll do whatever I need to to make sure that happens.”
“I want to make sure she’s found too,” Jinwoo replied. “Jongho told me this was important to him and I don’t want to let him down.” Mingi gave him a faint smile as he made a mental note to thank Jongho when everything was over. He couldn’t have been more grateful to have Jinwoo’s help, and he knew it likely would have been impossible without Jongho harping on the importance of Y/N being missing. “When we get in here, let me do the majority of the talking, ok? We want to make sure the right questions are being asked.” Mingi nodded and quietly followed him into the store.
Things moved quickly once they’d gone into the mini mart. Jinwoo had explained to the woman behind the counter that Y/N wasn’t ditching work; that she had actually gone missing and that he was there to see if he could gather any evidence that could help lead him to her whereabouts. When he requested to see the security camera footage, the woman was more than glad to help. She was horrified to hear that you had gone missing and called her husband immediately. Mingi could hear the old man on the other end of the phone start sobbing when his wife recounted what was going on, saying that he knew he should have had you working days instead of nights and he should insisted on it. He asked if he needed to come up to the store to help with anything Jinwoo might need, but Jinwoo kindly declined, replying that all he really needed to do was see the camera footage.
The old woman was kind enough to bring them cold water to drink and asked Mingi if he was a rookie officer. When he explained to her that he was your boyfriend and had filed the missing persons report on you, her eyes grew big and watery and she placed a warm hand on his cheek and tearfully expressed how sorry she was that something so horrible had happened to you. Mingi thanked her for her kindness, chugging the water down in an effort to choke back tears. Jinwoo, paid them no mind, slowly sipping at his water while he viewed the security footage. When he sucked in a sharp breath Mingi turned his attention to him to see what had caused it, but Jinwoo had already cut the video off.
“So, what did you get from the footage?” Mingi asked a few minutes later when they exited the store after thanking the woman for her time.
“The footage was clear,” Jinwoo responded. “I saw Y/N waiting at the curb and she climbed into a taxi. The taxi pulled away going north east.”
“Well, did you see the license plate number?” Mingi asked hopefully.
“No. But if that store over there has security cameras, I’m sure they caught it.” He pointed over to a beauty supply store a few doors down and across the street from the mini mart. “I think I see cameras outside the building there.” He moved with purpose, weaving through the crowd of people on the street. Mingi had to put a little extra pep in his step to keep up. He appreciated the man’s quiet professionalism, it made him feel like things were actually going to get done. Like he could place his trust in him.
The young girl behind the counter at the beauty supply store had to call for her manager when Jinwoo asked to see the security tape. Mingi twiddled his thumbs, shifting his weight from one leg to the other as they waited. Every second was agony for him. In a few moments, a tall man in a pair of dark rimmed glasses was at the counter asking how he could be of service. Jinwoo reiterated that he needed to see the footage from the cameras and showed his police ID card. The man was agreeable enough and ushered them to a small room in the back of the store where they had two small televisions sitting on a white table. The manager informed them that there were cameras inside the store as well as on the front of the building and asked them which footage they would like to see, eyeing Mingi suspiciously as he did so. Mingi took no offense, offering the man a kind smile that was not returned; he didn’t know if it was the presence of police during business hours that had the man disgruntled or the fact that Mingi didn’t look anything like a cop in his sweatpants and band t-shirt.
Jinwoo took a look at the footage from both cameras just to make sure he was covering all his bases. Mingi saw him lean in a little closer to the tv as he watched the footage from the front of the building, and a car appeared, sliding over to the side of the road when the timestamp on the video was a little past three a.m. He leaned in as well and caught a view of the plate numbers on the car, trying hard to fight against the tears that were just waiting for a chance to spill out when he saw the figure on the curb that he knew was you climb into the vehicle. He fretted quietly to himself, hoping that that wouldn’t be the last time he ever saw you. Jinwoo quickly snapped a photo of the plate and stood up from the table. Without anyone noticing, Mingi snuck a photo as well. They each thanked the manager for his time, offering a polite bow, and immediately headed out of the store, making their way back to the cars.
“Was that a good find?” Mingi pressed. “Is it something you can use?”
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Jinwoo responded. “It’s everything I think we’ll be able to find around here. I need to go run this plate number through the system so I can see who the car is registered to. Hopefully they’re an independent driver so I don’t have to go asking questions at a cab company.”
“Are cab drivers difficult or something?”
“All people can be difficult. Everyone else has been cooperative today, so statistically speaking, the cab company would probably give me trouble.” Mingi nodded knowingly, he’d dealt with his fair share of difficult people. “I’m going to go to the station and see what I can pull up on this plate number.”
“Ok, I’ll-”
“You should go home for a while.”
“But I-”
“You don’t look well. Go home. Shower, eat, rest. You’ll need to be at your best to be able to take care of Y/N when she gets back.” Mingi hadn’t even thought about what he must look like to everyone. Hair disheveled, lips dry and scabbing over, eyes red from a combination of lack of sleep and tears, outfit hastily thrown together.
“Ok,” he agreed sorrowfully. “But you’ll let me know when you get a hit, right?”
“As soon as I know something, you’ll know. Don’t worry.” Jinwoo offered a warm smile before he climbed into his car and pulled away. Mingi stood there for a moment, willing his body to stop shaking. “I’m coming, Y/N. I promise,” he said, balling his hands up. “Hold out for me.”
When he got to the dorm, he didn’t bother showering first. He went straight to the kitchen and popped open the box of chicken that he had purchased on his way. He ate slowly, taking small bites, afraid to shock his stomach and make himself sick. Jinwoo had been right, he needed to take care of himself so that when they found you, he would be well enough to take care of whatever needs you might have. He was glad that Jinwoo had used that word, when, not if, Mingi didn’t know if he had done it on purpose to make him feel more confident about the direction the investigation was going in, but it had definitely helped.
After he had eaten a few pieces of chicken and managed to keep them down, he hopped in the shower. He stood there staring at the wall for a bit while the warm water pelted his back and ran down his arms to drip from the tips of his fingers. He was thinking about the morning after the first time the two of you had slept together and how the water had been pattering on his back while he helped you wash up, how red your cheeks had been. He couldn’t help but think about you. Getting you off his mind was already hard enough before you had gone missing, but it had only gotten worse over the last few days; everything, even the most mundane and inconsequential things brought you to the forefront of his mind now. “I miss you.” He hung his head and finally let the tears that had been begging to be released all day spill from his eyes.
As he was getting out of the shower, he heard his phone ringing in his room where he had left it to charge and shot through the apartment to answer it, nearly tripping over his own feet as he went. “Hello? Jinwoo?”
“Hello, is this Song Mingi? This is officer Cha down at the station.” Mingi felt his heart sink a little. It was just the cop from when he had filed the missing persons’ report.
“Hello.”
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve assigned a few officers to your girlfriends’ case and they’re looking into it as we speak.” Mingi sucked in a breath through his teeth. Jinwoo had already found a lead, meanwhile the other cops were just getting started.
“Thank you so much,” Mingi said, forcing himself to sound pleased. What was taking them so long? How hard is it to get a few guys to look for a missing woman? He shook off the anger, supposing that maybe he was just upset because of the way officer Cha had seemed so unfazed when he’d initially filed the report. He was grateful for the extra help, but he knew he was going to lean more on Jinwoo than anyone else. He toweled himself off quickly and got dressed. Jinwoo had told him that he should get some sleep, but Mingi didn’t know how he was supposed to do that. Rest was the last thing on his mind.
He knew that Jinwoo was looking up info on the plate number, but he wanted to go search for the cab now. He knew the chances of seeing that exact cab driving around were slim to none. He didn’t care. He was tying the laces on his shoes when he heard the front door opening. San walked in first, followed by Seonghwa. “Oh, hey guys,” he said quietly.
“Where are you going?” San asked as he set his bags and suitcase down. “We brought your suitcase.”
“Thank you, I’m sorry I left the way I did.”
“I probably would have done the same thing if it were my girl.” San placed a gentle hand on Mingi’s shoulder. “Just don’t scare us like that again.”
“I won’t.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Mingiya,” Seonghwa said. He had set his luggage down and was already sitting on the couch with a bag of puffed corn balls. “Where are you going?”
“Well, I was… Jinwoo found the license plate number of the cab that Y/N got into that night she disappeared.”
“And?”
“And… and I’m gonna go look for it around Hongdae.”
“Mingiya!” Seonghwa stood up quickly, letting the bag of snacks fall to the floor and startling both San and Mingi. “You aren’t a cop. You have no police training. You don’t have any military training yet. What are you thinking, huh?” He wasn’t shouting, but Mingi could hear the tension in his voice. “What are you going to do if you do happen to find the cab driver?”
“I-”
“Whoever took Y/N is clearly not a good person. You’d be putting yourself in danger unnecessarily. Let Jinwoo and the other police handle it.”
“Hyung, I can’t just sit around and wait.”
“Mingi…”
“Look, if I do find the cab, I’ll call the police, ok? How about that? I won’t try to talk to the driver myself. I already told Jinwoo I wouldn’t interfere with the investigation. But I’m not just going to sit here and wait for something to happen.” Seonghwa looked at Mingi for a moment as if he had something else he wanted to say but instead turned his attention to the bag on the floor. He picked it up and sat it upright on the couch before silently picking up the colorful balls that had spilled out and carrying them over to the trash. Mingi went back to lacing his shoes and headed for the door.
“Mingi,” San caught him in the hall, grabbing hold of his wrist. Mingi turned quickly on his heel, ready to defend his decision, but the softness in San’s eyes told him that he hadn’t followed him to fight. “Mingi, you know Seonghwa hyung is just worried about you. We all are. Yunho and Wooyoung were quiet the whole flight home. Not a joke, not a laugh. Nothing. Hongjoong hyung, Seonghwa hyung and even Jongho cried in the hotel when we couldn’t find you, and Yeosang forgot to take his vitamins. I don’t think he even did his skin care. We’re scared for you.”
“I have to find her, San.”
“I know. Please just be careful.”
“I will.” The second San let go of him, Mingi shot off to go get in his car. Settling himself in the drivers seat, he pulled out his phone to look at his wallpaper. It was the same as yours, the two of you making funny faces in bed together. He smiled woefully at the screen and sighed, “where are you, baby?” Baby. His mind went to the photo of the pregnancy test, followed by a million questions he wished he could ask you. How long had you known? Were you going to tell him? Had you been afraid when you found out? Did you want the baby? Was there even really a baby at all or was it all some sort of sick game the person that had kidnapped you was playing? He clapped a hand to his forehead, trying to clear his jumbled mind. Almost as soon as he felt clear headed enough to drive, he slid the key into the ignition and put the car into gear. His phone began to ring and he snatched it back up into his hand to answer it. “Jinwoo?”
“I’ve got a hit.”
Mingi nearly hit the roof with excitement, “you did? What did you find?”
“The license plate number is registered to a Kwon Dae Gwan.” Jinwoo sounded satisfied. “He’s an independent cab driver; his taxi permit is registered here in Seoul.”
“Anything else?” Mingi sat picking at his cuticles. He didn’t want to rush Jinwoo, but he was beyond anxious.
“I found the address he resides at. It’s just outside Mapo Gu in Seodaemun Gu according to his ID.”
“What would he be doing slinking around Hongdae?”
“Honestly, some criminals like to operate in busier neighborhoods.”
Mingi leaned back in his seat and threw a hand over his face. He had been so certain that the girl from the store had snatched you, but now there was another person involved in the mix and he wasn’t so sure anymore. Who was Kwon Dae Gwan? And did he even know the psycho that had been terrorizing you? “Do you think this was a crime of opportunity?” He asked. There was a pause.
“I’m not ruling that out as a possibility.”
“So, you don’t think the girl I told you about has anything to do with it?”
“I wouldn’t say that either. I need more information. I’m going to go pay Kwon Dae Gwan a visit at his house and see if I can get him to tell me something.”
“I want to come with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I wont cause trouble. I swear. I just want to see who he is for myself.” Jinwoo sighed on the other end of the phone.
“Mr. Song, I understand how you must be feeling, that’s why I let you come with me to view the security tapes, but I absolutely can’t let you go with me to talk to a suspect. Please just wait for me to call you with more information.” Mingi groaned. He knew that Jinwoo was right. He couldn’t stand it, but he knew it was the right call. With things as they were in that moment, he knew that if he were to come face to face with Kwon Dae Gwan he wouldn’t be able to hold back the urge to attack him for whatever part he might have played in your disappearance.
“Fine,” Mingi said, pulling up the image of the license plate he’d taken earlier. “Let me know when you have something.” He hung up the phone and put the car in gear to tear off down the road.
Come on, come on! You were back to tussling with the rope. You’d decided to try untying it from the bed rather than from your wrist; the plasma had begun to dry, creating a sticky crust that adhered the fibers of the rope to the raw flesh of your wrist and you knew that if you messed with it anymore that it would probably bleed and definitely get infected with something that would require antibiotics. The rope was tied around the bed post similarly to the way it was tied around your wrist, only it wasn’t as tight, you sucked in an agitated breath and cursed in your head when you realized the bedframe had been welded to the floor. Why the fuck would they weld the bed to the floor like this? Afraid someone was gonna steal it or something? You rolled your eyes as you kept at the rope, holding back angry tears. You just needed the rope off. You knew that if you could at least do that, you’d stand a chance. And a chance was all you needed.
You bit at your lips nervously, beginning to feel powerless. When you’d bitten off too much skin and your lip began to bleed, you remembered that you had teeth. Why didn’t I think of that before? you thought. I bet I could do it. You took the rope in your hand and brought it to your mouth, using your teeth to grind down on it, nipping at the individual fibers that created the thick restraint. The rope tasted the way mildew smelled, musty, and you had to resist the urge to throw up. You stayed biting at the rope for a few minutes, really focusing on grinding the rope between your teeth at just the right angle. When you pulled it from your lips to check your progress, you were disappointed to see that all you had managed to do was leave it wet and frayed. What the hell is this rope made of?
You threw the rope down, frustrated, and grimaced when it jostled around your wrist. Fuck, that hurts! Your eyes scanned the room again, once again landing on the bucket. You snatched it back up, holding tight to the lip with both hands, the bottom firmly pressed against your chest. You lifted your good leg up and hooked your foot onto the handle, pushing the handle one way while leaning back and pulling the bucket in the opposite direction. It still wouldn’t budge, but you refused to give up. You gave it all you had, gritting your teeth, and felt the handle start to shift as the ends that were hooked onto the bucket began to give way. Yes! Yes! You were pulling so hard that when the handle finally detached, you bashed yourself in the face with the bottom of the bucket and slammed back against the bed. Sitting back up, you tossed the bucket to the floor and grinned, wiping away the blood that poured from your busted nose. The handle had torn away just the way you had hoped it would and sat perched on the bed, displaying its jagged, rusty ends.
You wasted no time in snatching the handle up and ensuring you had a firm grip on it before you started sawing into the rope with one of the jagged ends. When you saw the first fiber tear, you picked up the pace, joy swelling in your heart. I’m doing it, oh my God, I’m doing it! It was surprisingly easy to get through the rope using the handle, and you were annoyed with yourself for not thinking of the idea before. You cursed all the days you’d spent wallowing in your sadness instead of trying to change the outcome. Salvation had been right at your fingertips the entire time.
You took a short break to open some of the freeze dried food that you’d tossed to the floor and crammed it in your mouth, chewing and swallowing as quickly as you could. You were going to need energy if you were going to get out of there. You didn’t even bother to look at what it was you were eating, it didn’t matter. The only important thing was getting yourself to safety. You threw the empty wrappers to the ground and wiped your mouth, turning back to the rope and getting back into your rhythm. When the handle tore through the last fiber and your arm was finally free, you stared in disbelief at the severed rope. It had really worked. You bowed your head and sighed. You had escaped your restraints, but that was only one piece of the puzzle. Ok, now what?
You looked around the bunker with new eyes. Being untethered meant that you were free to move as you wished. Standing up from the bed, you limped to the middle of the room and looked around, trying to think of how you were going to manage to actually break free. You peeked over at the big pipe that lead to outside and an idea popped into your head. Maybe I can fit in there and climb out. It was a far fetched idea, you knew it. Even if you could fit in the pipe, which was possible with the amount of weight you’d lost over the last few days, you weren’t positive you’d be able to climb through the inside of it to make it out; it ran horizontal to the ground before shooting up at a ninety degree angle and back to horizontal towards the top. You knew that the horizonal parts wouldn’t be a problem, but there as no way you’d be able to climb the portion that went straight up, with or without a busted ankle. But it’s worth a try.
You hustled over to the pipe, getting down on your knees. Prying the grille off was easy enough and you stuck your head inside the opening to see what the inside looked like. It was dark in there, and you could hear the panicked scurrying of a creature you presumed was your rat friend. So, this is where he lives. You tried to fit more of yourself into the vent, forcing one shoulder in, but being unable to get the other one to go in as well and feeling claustrophobia begin to overtake you, you jerked yourself out of the vent and plopped down onto your bottom. Well, time to trash that option.
You continued searching around the bunker, hobbling up the stairs to see if perchance Dae Gwan had left the door unlocked. When you pulled on the latch and attempted to push it open, it gave way just enough for you to get a glimpse of grass at your eye level. You sighed, letting it bang shut and eased back down the stairs. Your ankle had started to throb some, so you sat back down on the bed and elevated your leg to let it rest a little. During that time, you picked up the metal handle and looked it over, wondering if there was a way for you to use it to somehow open the bunker door. It’s not an all purpose tool, dingbat, you chided yourself. Get a grip; I’ve got to figure out what I’m supposed to do now.
Mingi received another call from the police station while he was driving around the Hongdae neighborhood in search of the cab with the license plate number that would match the photo on his phone. It was officer Cha again, letting him know that they had spoken to the owner of the mini mart and that the old man had mentioned already showing a cop the security footage. He asked Mingi if he had hired a private detective to investigate the case. “Yes,” Mingi replied matter o factly, “I just wanted someone that I knew would be solely focused on finding Y/N.”
“We are focused on finding her, I can assure you. Sometimes having too many hands in the pot is a bad thing.”
“I don’t think this is one of those times. Maybe you guys should collaborate on the search. Maybe you’ll find her faster that way.”
“We’re working as quickly as we can.”
“I hope so. I’ve got to go, I’m getting another call,” he lied, hanging up on officer Cha before he could respond. He really wasn’t in the mood for a dick measuring contest. If Cha was upset about Jinwoo working the case and was afraid of being outshined, he could discuss it with his superiors.
Mingi searched around Hongdae for a little while longer before expanding the area of search, moving into the neighborhoods surrounding Hongdae in the hopes of finding something, anything. He’d been searching for over an hour when he pulled over to the side of the road and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He aggressively wiped at his tired eyes and lay his head against the driver side window, staring off into the distance. He was getting nowhere, and he didn’t know what else to do. “Dammit,” he cursed, “god dammit!” He slammed his hands down on the steering wheel, wrapping his long fingers around it and gripping so hard that his knuckles turned white. He glared expectantly at his phone, willing Jinwoo to call him with news. After five minutes, he picked up and dialed him himself.
“Hello?”
“Did you find the cab driver?”
“I spoke to his wife; Mr. Kwon wasn’t home.”
“Did she say where he was? Did you ask her about Y/N?” Mingi could hear Jinwoo sigh and imagined him clapping his hand to his forehead in exhaustion.
“The wife is unlikely to know about any of her husband’s extracurricular activities that may involve kidnapping young women off of the street. In scenarios like this, the spouse is often in the dark about it.”
“Well, did you ask?”
“No, I didn’t ask.”
“So, what happened?”
“The wife told me that her husband has been disappearing a lot recently and acting cagey. She suspects he’s having an affair and kicked him out of the house. She said she doesn’t know where he’s been staying.”
“So, you have nothing?” He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling. It was as though anger and despair had mixed together and settled in his chest. He went into the photos on his phone and pulled up the screenshot he had taken of your location the night he’d gotten the picture of the pregnancy test, wondering why he hadn’t thought about it before. “I’m going to where I saw her location the night she went missing,” he said decisively. “I can make it to the mountains.”
“You didn’t mention you had that.”
“I kinda forgot about it ‘til just now, if I’m being honest. I searched all around Hongdae and the surrounding neighborhoods for the cab earlier. I didn’t find it. If Dae Gwan isn’t working, he’s probably with Y/N right now. Who knows what he might be doing to her? I’m going to stop this.”
“You shouldn’t go alone. It could be dangerous.”
“Then meet me there!” Mingi replied, sounding harsher than intended. “I’m going. I’ll send you the screenshot.”
“Just go back home and I’ll come pick you up. We’ll go together.”
“I don’t-”
“I didn’t say you shouldn’t go. But it’s safer to have me with you.” Mingi thought back to Seonghwa and San’s words, they wanted him to not act recklessly.
“I’ll meet you at my place then.” He hung up with Jinwoo and sent him the address to the dorm before heading there himself. Jinwoo showed up shortly after Mingi arrived and he quickly hopped into Jinwoo’s car and told him what direction to go in. “It was in the area of the Magic Garden near Baekseokdong 2 gil. Do you know where that is?”
“I’ve got gps.”
Jinwoo drove fast, bobbing and weaving through the traffic with ease. Mingi stared unblinking out of the window, hoping to see something that would help them to know they were on the right track. As they neared Magic Garden, Mingi thought he saw something off on the side of the road. “Hey wait! I think I saw something back there.”
“What was it?”
“A car. It was in the ditch there.” He pointed through the rearview window. “Back up for a minute.” Jinwoo obliged, rolling backward until they were side by side with the car Mingi had seen. He hopped out before the car even stopped moving completely and ran over to the ditch to peer down at the car. “It’s a taxi!” He exclaimed. Jinwoo moved to stand beside him with his phone in his hand, the photo of the license plate pulled up.
“Even better,” Jinwoo said. “The plates match.” Mingi gasped. They did match! That was the cab that had stolen you from him. He peered down into the vehicle, looking for blood or clothing or something to tell him that you’d truly been there, but he didn’t see anything straight away. “I’ve got footprints over here!” Jinwoo said, slapping his leg. It was the first real show of emotion that Mingi had seen from him.
“Are they small?” Mingi asked, shooting over to take a look himself.
“Be careful,” Jinwoo warned. “I have to call CSI. We don’t want to contaminate the scene any further.” Mingi took a few steps back. Jinwoo was right. He stared at the footprints, noting two separate sets of prints, one small and the other quite a bit larger.
“A man and a woman,” he said under his breath, following the prints with his eyes as they went in the direction of the tree line in the distance. “That’s got to be them.” Jinwoo was on the phone, arguing with someone about him interfering with an ongoing case that he wasn’t a part of.
“Well, I’m here now and we have a crime scene. Tell those slow assholes to get here with a forensics team now! We don’t know how long this car has been here and we have a missing woman that may be in the area!” He paused as the person on the other line said something to him. “Look, the person that did this isn’t that smart. It took me a day and a half to gather the evidence I have. Those other fools on the case were just getting started. Now, the sun will be going down soon, get that forensics team out here as soon as possible.” He hung up the phone and went to sit back down in his car. Mingi followed suit, settling down in the seat beside him.
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Previous Ch
Ch 10
You sat cross legged on the bed, yanking at the rope that constricted your ability to move around the bunker. You had been at it for thirty minutes, pouring as much effort as you could muster into loosening it. Only once you realized that all your attempts were in vain and had given up did you notice the rope burn. The raw, red and weeping ring around your wrist where your skin had been torn away was shiny with plasma, and you could feel the heat emanating off of it. You let out an enraged scream and flung yourself back on the bed, immediately regretting it when the inside of your throat burned in protest. This is fucking impossible! What the hell, was Dae Gwan in the navy or something? You looked around the bunker hopelessly, in search of what, you didn’t know. I have to figure something out. I’m running out of time.
Your eyes landed on the bucket. You hadn’t paid the smaller details of it any mind since you’d been using it as a toilet; but looking at it now, you saw that not only was the bucket itself metal, but the handle of it was as well. The parts of the bucket where the handle connected to the body had begun to rust a bit. I wonder if… you leaned over and snatched it up, settling it between your legs. In retrospect, I’m glad he emptied this out. Squeezing the bucket between your knees, you gripped the handle with both hands and pulled, disappointed when it didn’t snap off right away. You thought that if you could just get the handle off, you might be able to use it to somehow tear the rope with it, but no matter how hard you pulled, you couldn’t get it to separate from the bucket. Dammit. You set it back down. What do I do?
Swinging your legs over the side of the bed, you stood up, wanting to see just how much pressure you could put on your ankle. You knew that even if you managed to untether yourself from the rope and break out of the bunker, you’d be an easy target for a bear or a boar if you couldn’t manage to move quickly enough. The pain shot up your leg, but after everything you’d been through, it was childs play. I can stand it, you surmised, but I’ve got to give it some support. Your eyes panned the area and you decided on the blanket that Dae Gwan had brought you. It was thin, more of a sheet than a blanket, really.
Plopping back down onto the bed, you took an edge of the blanket between your teeth, gnawing at it until you had poked a good enough sized hole and shoved two fingers from each hand into it, pulling in opposite directions until it ripped into a long strip. YES! You repeated the process twice more until you had three long strips of it laid out on the bed. You took the first piece and wrapped it around your ankle and heel of your foot, not too loose, not too tight. You didn’t want to risk cutting off the circulation, but you needed to make sure it was going to do the job that you needed it to. You tucked the loose end into your makeshift bandage and reached for the second strip to reinforce it, checking to be sure that it was still comfortably snug before attempting to stand on it again. It still hurt, but you felt much more stable on it.
Ok, good. That’s one thing taken care of. You turned your mind back to the rope, glancing at your already injured wrist and sighing. You had already injured it pretty badly and didn’t want to risk making it any worse. I’ll take a minute to think before I try tackling the rope again.
“You left without saying anything to us, we didn’t know where you went!” Mingi pulled the phone away from his ear, he hated when Hongjoong scolded him. “You should have at least told us so we weren’t worried about you.”
“I’m sorry. I thought a text would be good enough.”
“You didn’t text us until you landed back in Korea, we were calling you the whole time you were on the plane! We missed our flight back because we were looking for you.”
“I’m sorry, hyung.” He hadn’t meant to cause the members such trouble, he honestly hadn’t even considered that they wouldn’t go to the airport without him. “My mind has been all over the place. Forgive me.” There was silence on the other line, and then Hongjoong sighed.
“I understand, Mingi. We all understand. Nobody is mad at you… just… you have to think before you do things, ok? You can’t just run off like that.”
“I understand,” Mingi unrolled the windows of his car, letting the wind toss his hair around as he drove. It was hot. Almost too hot. He initially hadn’t been too sure about where he was going, but once he’d hopped in the car he’d almost instinctively started in the direction of your job. “Did… did Jongho already speak to his cousin?”
“Yes, he called him already. Jongho!” There was a rustling of fabric, and in a second Jongho was on the line.
“Hyung?”
“Hey, Jongho.”
“You left us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I called my cousin and gave him Y/N’s name. He was able to find two reports in the system. One that you made earlier this week, and one from a few months ago. Does that sound right?”
“Yeah. She made a report when she started getting threats.”
“He said that he wanted to start out at her job, since that was her last known location before she disappeared. Said he wanted to check security cameras.”
“I’m headed there now.”
“I can tell him to meet you there. Or actually, do you want me to just give him your number?
“That would be fine with me.” Mingi ran a hand through his hair and sucked in a deep breath. He did feel bad about leaving the boys behind without telling them, but he wouldn’t apologize for deciding to look for you himself. He hadn’t gotten a call yet from the officer he had made the report to, so he wasn’t even sure if someone had been assigned to the case yet. Either way, he knew that every second counted and that if he was going to find you, he had no time to waste. “Have your cousin call me when he gets to her job. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
It took about forty minutes, but eventually a white sedan pulled up behind him and a man in a collared navy polo shirt and blue jeans slid out. Mingi wasn’t sure if he was Jongho’s cousin until he watched the man pull his phone out, put it to his ear, and Mingi’s own phone started ringing. He turned off the engine and stepped out. “Hey, are you Choi Jinwoo?” The man looked up at him and slid his phone back into his pocket.
“I am,” he said, walking toward Mingi. “And you’re Song Mingi?”
“Yes.” Mingi bowed, “thank you for coming.”
“I read the files on your girlfriend,” Jinwoo said. “Is there anything else you want me to know before I start the investigation?” Mingi ran through everything in his head, unable to pick out what he thought was most important and decided that telling the full story again was the best choice of action. Jinwoo stood there looking at the ground while Mingi recounted everything for what felt like the millionth time, nodding slowly and tapping his foot. After Mingi was done, Jinwoo crossed his arms, still looking at the ground with his eyebrows crumpled together.
“You said the last time you spoke to her she was here, right?” He gestured towards the mini mart. Mingi peered into the store, where he saw an older woman behind the counter sitting atop a stool as she rung out a customer. Must be the owners’ wife, he thought, Y/N told me about her.
“Yes, this is the place. Y/N was getting into a cab when we hung up the phone though, like I said. I doubt the woman that’s in the store right now would probably know anything. She’s usually home ill. The husband is the one that comes to replace Y/N in the mornings.”
“I’ll want to see the camera footage if they have any. And I’ll check the other businesses and ask to see their camera footage as well. We’ll start there.” He started for the door of the mini mart, and Mingi followed close behind with his eyes on the back of Jinwoo’ head. If the detective was going to get more intel on what had happened to you, Mingi wasn’t about to be out on even a drop of information that could possibly lead to where you were. Jinwoo faltered at the door, looking over his shoulder at Mingi. “You aren’t going to interfere with my investigation, are you?”
“No, sir, but I do want Y/N found as soon as possible. I’ll do whatever I need to to make sure that happens.”
“I want to make sure she’s found too,” Jinwoo replied. “Jongho told me this was important to him and I don’t want to let him down.” Mingi gave him a faint smile as he made a mental note to thank Jongho when everything was over. He couldn’t have been more grateful to have Jinwoo’s help, and he knew it likely would have been impossible without Jongho harping on the importance of Y/N being missing. “When we get in here, let me do the majority of the talking, ok? We want to make sure the right questions are being asked.” Mingi nodded and quietly followed him into the store.
Things moved quickly once they’d gone into the mini mart. Jinwoo had explained to the woman behind the counter that Y/N wasn’t ditching work; that she had actually gone missing and that he was there to see if he could gather any evidence that could help lead him to her whereabouts. When he requested to see the security camera footage, the woman was more than glad to help. She was horrified to hear that you had gone missing and called her husband immediately. Mingi could hear the old man on the other end of the phone start sobbing when his wife recounted what was going on, saying that he knew he should have had you working days instead of nights and he should insisted on it. He asked if he needed to come up to the store to help with anything Jinwoo might need, but Jinwoo kindly declined, replying that all he really needed to do was see the camera footage.
The old woman was kind enough to bring them cold water to drink and asked Mingi if he was a rookie officer. When he explained to her that he was your boyfriend and had filed the missing persons report on you, her eyes grew big and watery and she placed a warm hand on his cheek and tearfully expressed how sorry she was that something so horrible had happened to you. Mingi thanked her for her kindness, chugging the water down in an effort to choke back tears. Jinwoo, paid them no mind, slowly sipping at his water while he viewed the security footage. When he sucked in a sharp breath Mingi turned his attention to him to see what had caused it, but Jinwoo had already cut the video off.
“So, what did you get from the footage?” Mingi asked a few minutes later when they exited the store after thanking the woman for her time.
“The footage was clear,” Jinwoo responded. “I saw Y/N waiting at the curb and she climbed into a taxi. The taxi pulled away going north east.”
“Well, did you see the license plate number?” Mingi asked hopefully.
“No. But if that store over there has security cameras, I’m sure they caught it.” He pointed over to a beauty supply store a few doors down and across the street from the mini mart. “I think I see cameras outside the building there.” He moved with purpose, weaving through the crowd of people on the street. Mingi had to put a little extra pep in his step to keep up. He appreciated the man’s quiet professionalism, it made him feel like things were actually going to get done. Like he could place his trust in him.
The young girl behind the counter at the beauty supply store had to call for her manager when Jinwoo asked to see the security tape. Mingi twiddled his thumbs, shifting his weight from one leg to the other as they waited. Every second was agony for him. In a few moments, a tall man in a pair of dark rimmed glasses was at the counter asking how he could be of service. Jinwoo reiterated that he needed to see the footage from the cameras and showed his police ID card. The man was agreeable enough and ushered them to a small room in the back of the store where they had two small televisions sitting on a white table. The manager informed them that there were cameras inside the store as well as on the front of the building and asked them which footage they would like to see, eyeing Mingi suspiciously as he did so. Mingi took no offense, offering the man a kind smile that was not returned; he didn’t know if it was the presence of police during business hours that had the man disgruntled or the fact that Mingi didn’t look anything like a cop in his sweatpants and band t-shirt.
Jinwoo took a look at the footage from both cameras just to make sure he was covering all his bases. Mingi saw him lean in a little closer to the tv as he watched the footage from the front of the building, and a car appeared, sliding over to the side of the road when the timestamp on the video was a little past three a.m. He leaned in as well and caught a view of the plate numbers on the car, trying hard to fight against the tears that were just waiting for a chance to spill out when he saw the figure on the curb that he knew was you climb into the vehicle. He fretted quietly to himself, hoping that that wouldn’t be the last time he ever saw you. Jinwoo quickly snapped a photo of the plate and stood up from the table. Without anyone noticing, Mingi snuck a photo as well. They each thanked the manager for his time, offering a polite bow, and immediately headed out of the store, making their way back to the cars.
“Was that a good find?” Mingi pressed. “Is it something you can use?”
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Jinwoo responded. “It’s everything I think we’ll be able to find around here. I need to go run this plate number through the system so I can see who the car is registered to. Hopefully they’re an independent driver so I don’t have to go asking questions at a cab company.”
“Are cab drivers difficult or something?”
“All people can be difficult. Everyone else has been cooperative today, so statistically speaking, the cab company would probably give me trouble.” Mingi nodded knowingly, he’d dealt with his fair share of difficult people. “I’m going to go to the station and see what I can pull up on this plate number.”
“Ok, I’ll-”
“You should go home for a while.”
“But I-”
“You don’t look well. Go home. Shower, eat, rest. You’ll need to be at your best to be able to take care of Y/N when she gets back.” Mingi hadn’t even thought about what he must look like to everyone. Hair disheveled, lips dry and scabbing over, eyes red from a combination of lack of sleep and tears, outfit hastily thrown together.
“Ok,” he agreed sorrowfully. “But you’ll let me know when you get a hit, right?”
“As soon as I know something, you’ll know. Don’t worry.” Jinwoo offered a warm smile before he climbed into his car and pulled away. Mingi stood there for a moment, willing his body to stop shaking. “I’m coming, Y/N. I promise,” he said, balling his hands up. “Hold out for me.”
When he got to the dorm, he didn’t bother showering first. He went straight to the kitchen and popped open the box of chicken that he had purchased on his way. He ate slowly, taking small bites, afraid to shock his stomach and make himself sick. Jinwoo had been right, he needed to take care of himself so that when they found you, he would be well enough to take care of whatever needs you might have. He was glad that Jinwoo had used that word, when, not if, Mingi didn’t know if he had done it on purpose to make him feel more confident about the direction the investigation was going in, but it had definitely helped.
After he had eaten a few pieces of chicken and managed to keep them down, he hopped in the shower. He stood there staring at the wall for a bit while the warm water pelted his back and ran down his arms to drip from the tips of his fingers. He was thinking about the morning after the first time the two of you had slept together and how the water had been pattering on his back while he helped you wash up, how red your cheeks had been. He couldn’t help but think about you. Getting you off his mind was already hard enough before you had gone missing, but it had only gotten worse over the last few days; everything, even the most mundane and inconsequential things brought you to the forefront of his mind now. “I miss you.” He hung his head and finally let the tears that had been begging to be released all day spill from his eyes.
As he was getting out of the shower, he heard his phone ringing in his room where he had left it to charge and shot through the apartment to answer it, nearly tripping over his own feet as he went. “Hello? Jinwoo?”
“Hello, is this Song Mingi? This is officer Cha down at the station.” Mingi felt his heart sink a little. It was just the cop from when he had filed the missing persons’ report.
“Hello.”
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve assigned a few officers to your girlfriends’ case and they’re looking into it as we speak.” Mingi sucked in a breath through his teeth. Jinwoo had already found a lead, meanwhile the other cops were just getting started.
“Thank you so much,” Mingi said, forcing himself to sound pleased. What was taking them so long? How hard is it to get a few guys to look for a missing woman? He shook off the anger, supposing that maybe he was just upset because of the way officer Cha had seemed so unfazed when he’d initially filed the report. He was grateful for the extra help, but he knew he was going to lean more on Jinwoo than anyone else. He toweled himself off quickly and got dressed. Jinwoo had told him that he should get some sleep, but Mingi didn’t know how he was supposed to do that. Rest was the last thing on his mind.
He knew that Jinwoo was looking up info on the plate number, but he wanted to go search for the cab now. He knew the chances of seeing that exact cab driving around were slim to none. He didn’t care. He was tying the laces on his shoes when he heard the front door opening. San walked in first, followed by Seonghwa. “Oh, hey guys,” he said quietly.
“Where are you going?” San asked as he set his bags and suitcase down. “We brought your suitcase.”
“Thank you, I’m sorry I left the way I did.”
“I probably would have done the same thing if it were my girl.” San placed a gentle hand on Mingi’s shoulder. “Just don’t scare us like that again.”
“I won’t.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Mingiya,” Seonghwa said. He had set his luggage down and was already sitting on the couch with a bag of puffed corn balls. “Where are you going?”
“Well, I was… Jinwoo found the license plate number of the cab that Y/N got into that night she disappeared.”
“And?”
“And… and I’m gonna go look for it around Hongdae.”
“Mingiya!” Seonghwa stood up quickly, letting the bag of snacks fall to the floor and startling both San and Mingi. “You aren’t a cop. You have no police training. You don’t have any military training yet. What are you thinking, huh?” He wasn’t shouting, but Mingi could hear the tension in his voice. “What are you going to do if you do happen to find the cab driver?”
“I-”
“Whoever took Y/N is clearly not a good person. You’d be putting yourself in danger unnecessarily. Let Jinwoo and the other police handle it.”
“Hyung, I can’t just sit around and wait.”
“Mingi…”
“Look, if I do find the cab, I’ll call the police, ok? How about that? I won’t try to talk to the driver myself. I already told Jinwoo I wouldn’t interfere with the investigation. But I’m not just going to sit here and wait for something to happen.” Seonghwa looked at Mingi for a moment as if he had something else he wanted to say but instead turned his attention to the bag on the floor. He picked it up and sat it upright on the couch before silently picking up the colorful balls that had spilled out and carrying them over to the trash. Mingi went back to lacing his shoes and headed for the door.
“Mingi,” San caught him in the hall, grabbing hold of his wrist. Mingi turned quickly on his heel, ready to defend his decision, but the softness in San’s eyes told him that he hadn’t followed him to fight. “Mingi, you know Seonghwa hyung is just worried about you. We all are. Yunho and Wooyoung were quiet the whole flight home. Not a joke, not a laugh. Nothing. Hongjoong hyung, Seonghwa hyung and even Jongho cried in the hotel when we couldn’t find you, and Yeosang forgot to take his vitamins. I don’t think he even did his skin care. We’re scared for you.”
“I have to find her, San.”
“I know. Please just be careful.”
“I will.” The second San let go of him, Mingi shot off to go get in his car. Settling himself in the drivers seat, he pulled out his phone to look at his wallpaper. It was the same as yours, the two of you making funny faces in bed together. He smiled woefully at the screen and sighed, “where are you, baby?” Baby. His mind went to the photo of the pregnancy test, followed by a million questions he wished he could ask you. How long had you known? Were you going to tell him? Had you been afraid when you found out? Did you want the baby? Was there even really a baby at all or was it all some sort of sick game the person that had kidnapped you was playing? He clapped a hand to his forehead, trying to clear his jumbled mind. Almost as soon as he felt clear headed enough to drive, he slid the key into the ignition and put the car into gear. His phone began to ring and he snatched it back up into his hand to answer it. “Jinwoo?”
“I’ve got a hit.”
Mingi nearly hit the roof with excitement, “you did? What did you find?”
“The license plate number is registered to a Kwon Dae Gwan.” Jinwoo sounded satisfied. “He’s an independent cab driver; his taxi permit is registered here in Seoul.”
“Anything else?” Mingi sat picking at his cuticles. He didn’t want to rush Jinwoo, but he was beyond anxious.
“I found the address he resides at. It’s just outside Mapo Gu in Seodaemun Gu according to his ID.”
“What would he be doing slinking around Hongdae?”
“Honestly, some criminals like to operate in busier neighborhoods.”
Mingi leaned back in his seat and threw a hand over his face. He had been so certain that the girl from the store had snatched you, but now there was another person involved in the mix and he wasn’t so sure anymore. Who was Kwon Dae Gwan? And did he even know the psycho that had been terrorizing you? “Do you think this was a crime of opportunity?” He asked. There was a pause.
“I’m not ruling that out as a possibility.”
“So, you don’t think the girl I told you about has anything to do with it?”
“I wouldn’t say that either. I need more information. I’m going to go pay Kwon Dae Gwan a visit at his house and see if I can get him to tell me something.”
“I want to come with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I wont cause trouble. I swear. I just want to see who he is for myself.” Jinwoo sighed on the other end of the phone.
“Mr. Song, I understand how you must be feeling, that’s why I let you come with me to view the security tapes, but I absolutely can’t let you go with me to talk to a suspect. Please just wait for me to call you with more information.” Mingi groaned. He knew that Jinwoo was right. He couldn’t stand it, but he knew it was the right call. With things as they were in that moment, he knew that if he were to come face to face with Kwon Dae Gwan he wouldn’t be able to hold back the urge to attack him for whatever part he might have played in your disappearance.
“Fine,” Mingi said, pulling up the image of the license plate he’d taken earlier. “Let me know when you have something.” He hung up the phone and put the car in gear to tear off down the road.
Come on, come on! You were back to tussling with the rope. You’d decided to try untying it from the bed rather than from your wrist; the plasma had begun to dry, creating a sticky crust that adhered the fibers of the rope to the raw flesh of your wrist and you knew that if you messed with it anymore that it would probably bleed and definitely get infected with something that would require antibiotics. The rope was tied around the bed post similarly to the way it was tied around your wrist, only it wasn’t as tight, you sucked in an agitated breath and cursed in your head when you realized the bedframe had been welded to the floor. Why the fuck would they weld the bed to the floor like this? Afraid someone was gonna steal it or something? You rolled your eyes as you kept at the rope, holding back angry tears. You just needed the rope off. You knew that if you could at least do that, you’d stand a chance. And a chance was all you needed.
You bit at your lips nervously, beginning to feel powerless. When you’d bitten off too much skin and your lip began to bleed, you remembered that you had teeth. Why didn’t I think of that before? you thought. I bet I could do it. You took the rope in your hand and brought it to your mouth, using your teeth to grind down on it, nipping at the individual fibers that created the thick restraint. The rope tasted the way mildew smelled, musty, and you had to resist the urge to throw up. You stayed biting at the rope for a few minutes, really focusing on grinding the rope between your teeth at just the right angle. When you pulled it from your lips to check your progress, you were disappointed to see that all you had managed to do was leave it wet and frayed. What the hell is this rope made of?
You threw the rope down, frustrated, and grimaced when it jostled around your wrist. Fuck, that hurts! Your eyes scanned the room again, once again landing on the bucket. You snatched it back up, holding tight to the lip with both hands, the bottom firmly pressed against your chest. You lifted your good leg up and hooked your foot onto the handle, pushing the handle one way while leaning back and pulling the bucket in the opposite direction. It still wouldn’t budge, but you refused to give up. You gave it all you had, gritting your teeth, and felt the handle start to shift as the ends that were hooked onto the bucket began to give way. Yes! Yes! You were pulling so hard that when the handle finally detached, you bashed yourself in the face with the bottom of the bucket and slammed back against the bed. Sitting back up, you tossed the bucket to the floor and grinned, wiping away the blood that poured from your busted nose. The handle had torn away just the way you had hoped it would and sat perched on the bed, displaying its jagged, rusty ends.
You wasted no time in snatching the handle up and ensuring you had a firm grip on it before you started sawing into the rope with one of the jagged ends. When you saw the first fiber tear, you picked up the pace, joy swelling in your heart. I’m doing it, oh my God, I’m doing it! It was surprisingly easy to get through the rope using the handle, and you were annoyed with yourself for not thinking of the idea before. You cursed all the days you’d spent wallowing in your sadness instead of trying to change the outcome. Salvation had been right at your fingertips the entire time.
You took a short break to open some of the freeze dried food that you’d tossed to the floor and crammed it in your mouth, chewing and swallowing as quickly as you could. You were going to need energy if you were going to get out of there. You didn’t even bother to look at what it was you were eating, it didn’t matter. The only important thing was getting yourself to safety. You threw the empty wrappers to the ground and wiped your mouth, turning back to the rope and getting back into your rhythm. When the handle tore through the last fiber and your arm was finally free, you stared in disbelief at the severed rope. It had really worked. You bowed your head and sighed. You had escaped your restraints, but that was only one piece of the puzzle. Ok, now what?
You looked around the bunker with new eyes. Being untethered meant that you were free to move as you wished. Standing up from the bed, you limped to the middle of the room and looked around, trying to think of how you were going to manage to actually break free. You peeked over at the big pipe that lead to outside and an idea popped into your head. Maybe I can fit in there and climb out. It was a far fetched idea, you knew it. Even if you could fit in the pipe, which was possible with the amount of weight you’d lost over the last few days, you weren’t positive you’d be able to climb through the inside of it to make it out; it ran horizontal to the ground before shooting up at a ninety degree angle and back to horizontal towards the top. You knew that the horizonal parts wouldn’t be a problem, but there as no way you’d be able to climb the portion that went straight up, with or without a busted ankle. But it’s worth a try.
You hustled over to the pipe, getting down on your knees. Prying the grille off was easy enough and you stuck your head inside the opening to see what the inside looked like. It was dark in there, and you could hear the panicked scurrying of a creature you presumed was your rat friend. So, this is where he lives. You tried to fit more of yourself into the vent, forcing one shoulder in, but being unable to get the other one to go in as well and feeling claustrophobia begin to overtake you, you jerked yourself out of the vent and plopped down onto your bottom. Well, time to trash that option.
You continued searching around the bunker, hobbling up the stairs to see if perchance Dae Gwan had left the door unlocked. When you pulled on the latch and attempted to push it open, it gave way just enough for you to get a glimpse of grass at your eye level. You sighed, letting it bang shut and eased back down the stairs. Your ankle had started to throb some, so you sat back down on the bed and elevated your leg to let it rest a little. During that time, you picked up the metal handle and looked it over, wondering if there was a way for you to use it to somehow open the bunker door. It’s not an all purpose tool, dingbat, you chided yourself. Get a grip; I’ve got to figure out what I’m supposed to do now.
Mingi received another call from the police station while he was driving around the Hongdae neighborhood in search of the cab with the license plate number that would match the photo on his phone. It was officer Cha again, letting him know that they had spoken to the owner of the mini mart and that the old man had mentioned already showing a cop the security footage. He asked Mingi if he had hired a private detective to investigate the case. “Yes,” Mingi replied matter o factly, “I just wanted someone that I knew would be solely focused on finding Y/N.”
“We are focused on finding her, I can assure you. Sometimes having too many hands in the pot is a bad thing.”
“I don’t think this is one of those times. Maybe you guys should collaborate on the search. Maybe you’ll find her faster that way.”
“We’re working as quickly as we can.”
“I hope so. I’ve got to go, I’m getting another call,” he lied, hanging up on officer Cha before he could respond. He really wasn’t in the mood for a dick measuring contest. If Cha was upset about Jinwoo working the case and was afraid of being outshined, he could discuss it with his superiors.
Mingi searched around Hongdae for a little while longer before expanding the area of search, moving into the neighborhoods surrounding Hongdae in the hopes of finding something, anything. He’d been searching for over an hour when he pulled over to the side of the road and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He aggressively wiped at his tired eyes and lay his head against the driver side window, staring off into the distance. He was getting nowhere, and he didn’t know what else to do. “Dammit,” he cursed, “god dammit!” He slammed his hands down on the steering wheel, wrapping his long fingers around it and gripping so hard that his knuckles turned white. He glared expectantly at his phone, willing Jinwoo to call him with news. After five minutes, he picked up and dialed him himself.
“Hello?”
“Did you find the cab driver?”
“I spoke to his wife; Mr. Kwon wasn’t home.”
“Did she say where he was? Did you ask her about Y/N?” Mingi could hear Jinwoo sigh and imagined him clapping his hand to his forehead in exhaustion.
“The wife is unlikely to know about any of her husband’s extracurricular activities that may involve kidnapping young women off of the street. In scenarios like this, the spouse is often in the dark about it.”
“Well, did you ask?”
“No, I didn’t ask.”
“So, what happened?”
“The wife told me that her husband has been disappearing a lot recently and acting cagey. She suspects he’s having an affair and kicked him out of the house. She said she doesn’t know where he’s been staying.”
“So, you have nothing?” He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling. It was as though anger and despair had mixed together and settled in his chest. He went into the photos on his phone and pulled up the screenshot he had taken of your location the night he’d gotten the picture of the pregnancy test, wondering why he hadn’t thought about it before. “I’m going to where I saw her location the night she went missing,” he said decisively. “I can make it to the mountains.”
“You didn’t mention you had that.”
“I kinda forgot about it ‘til just now, if I’m being honest. I searched all around Hongdae and the surrounding neighborhoods for the cab earlier. I didn’t find it. If Dae Gwan isn’t working, he’s probably with Y/N right now. Who knows what he might be doing to her? I’m going to stop this.”
“You shouldn’t go alone. It could be dangerous.”
“Then meet me there!” Mingi replied, sounding harsher than intended. “I’m going. I’ll send you the screenshot.”
“Just go back home and I’ll come pick you up. We’ll go together.”
“I don’t-”
“I didn’t say you shouldn’t go. But it’s safer to have me with you.” Mingi thought back to Seonghwa and San’s words, they wanted him to not act recklessly.
“I’ll meet you at my place then.” He hung up with Jinwoo and sent him the address to the dorm before heading there himself. Jinwoo showed up shortly after Mingi arrived and he quickly hopped into Jinwoo’s car and told him what direction to go in. “It was in the area of the Magic Garden near Baekseokdong 2 gil. Do you know where that is?”
“I’ve got gps.”
Jinwoo drove fast, bobbing and weaving through the traffic with ease. Mingi stared unblinking out of the window, hoping to see something that would help them to know they were on the right track. As they neared Magic Garden, Mingi thought he saw something off on the side of the road. “Hey wait! I think I saw something back there.”
“What was it?”
“A car. It was in the ditch there.” He pointed through the rearview window. “Back up for a minute.” Jinwoo obliged, rolling backward until they were side by side with the car Mingi had seen. He hopped out before the car even stopped moving completely and ran over to the ditch to peer down at the car. “It’s a taxi!” He exclaimed. Jinwoo moved to stand beside him with his phone in his hand, the photo of the license plate pulled up.
“Even better,” Jinwoo said. “The plates match.” Mingi gasped. They did match! That was the cab that had stolen you from him. He peered down into the vehicle, looking for blood or clothing or something to tell him that you’d truly been there, but he didn’t see anything straight away. “I’ve got footprints over here!” Jinwoo said, slapping his leg. It was the first real show of emotion that Mingi had seen from him.
“Are they small?” Mingi asked, shooting over to take a look himself.
“Be careful,” Jinwoo warned. “I have to call CSI. We don’t want to contaminate the scene any further.” Mingi took a few steps back. Jinwoo was right. He stared at the footprints, noting two separate sets of prints, one small and the other quite a bit larger.
“A man and a woman,” he said under his breath, following the prints with his eyes as they went in the direction of the tree line in the distance. “That’s got to be them.” Jinwoo was on the phone, arguing with someone about him interfering with an ongoing case that he wasn’t a part of.
“Well, I’m here now and we have a crime scene. Tell those slow assholes to get here with a forensics team now! We don’t know how long this car has been here and we have a missing woman that may be in the area!” He paused as the person on the other line said something to him. “Look, the person that did this isn’t that smart. It took me a day and a half to gather the evidence I have. Those other fools on the case were just getting started. Now, the sun will be going down soon, get that forensics team out here as soon as possible.” He hung up the phone and went to sit back down in his car. Mingi followed suit, settling down in the seat beside him.
⚠️ This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI, dark themes, explicit sexual content/smut, friends with benefits, stalking, obsessive behavior, serial killer AU, graphic violence, murder, blood, dismemberment, kidnapping, hostage situation, physical restraint, manipulation, drug use (MDMA/ecstasy), alcohol use, anxiety/panic, toxic relationships, possessive behavior, cursing, reader discretion advised, please let me know if I forgot anything.
w.c: 3.8k
chapter specifc warnings: MDNI, explicit sexual content/smut, BDSM elements, handcuffs/restraints (consensual), praise/degradation, spit play, choking references, obsessive behavior, alcohol use, graphic violence, murder, body disposal, arson, stalking themes, cursing, please let me know if I forgot anything.
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
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Chapter 2
The next morning you walk in to work and spot Amina, your best friend, waiting at your desk with iced coffee in both hands. You and Amina have been best friends for 13 years and you got her the job about 6 months ago. You loved working with your best friend because it gave you more time to spend with her. You let her know the night before that Yunho had asked you on a date, so you were sure she was waiting to hear all the juicy details.
“Good morning my beautiful best friend” You say in a sing song voice as she hands you your iced coffee.
“Someone is happy this morning.” She smirks as you both walk into your cubicle for some semblance of privacy. “Soooo, how did it go last night? Tell me everything!” She whispers as she quietly laughs.
“Amina,” You look around to make sure no one is close enough to hear before you start whispering. “That man is PACKING ok?! He fucked me so good. That was probably the best sex I had in my whole life.” You feel heat pool just at the thought of your escapade the night before.
“I knew it. It’s always the nerdy looking ones who fuck the best.” She says like she just solved a puzzle.
“I think ima keep him around for a while. Can’t let that good dick get away.” You smile. “The only problem is I think he might want more than just sex. I’m not ready for all that. I just need someone to fuck me good every now and again. I’m still trying to heal from Chris, I’m not ready for another relationship just yet.”
“You need to be careful y/n. That could get messy real fast as it is. But we all work together. You know that makes the situation even messier. Just make sure you don’t let things get too far because you don’t want it to affect your work.” She heads to her desk after that. You didn’t notice that Yunho was nearby and overheard your conversation. He heads to his desk without saying anything about what he heard.
Two days go by and things had been pretty busy at work. You’d talk to Yunho when you’d see him, but you’d barely leave your cubicle while at work with how much you needed to get done. It’s finally Friday and you feel somewhat relieved to be nearing the weekend. Your workday goes pretty fast since you’re swamped with files. Although you hate when you’re busy, you don’t mind since it makes the time fly by. You were so swamped you had to eat your lunch at your desk. For your last break you decided to get up and head to the break room since you were just about done with your files for the day. When you walk in you see another news broadcast on the television.
“Another woman has been reported missing. Julia Grainger, age 26 was last seen yesterday evening. She was seen leaving a local bar with an unknown man. Friends and family report not being able to reach her and she did not show up for her shift this morning. If you have any information on Julias whereabouts or the unidentified man. Please call 9-1-1.”
The screen shows Julias picture and the air suddenly feels suffocating as she looks like she could be your sister. You try to brush the thoughts away but you can’t help but feel uneasy. The rest of the shift finishes up and you quickly head to the garage attached to your jobs building. You just want to get home. While in the garage you get this feeling like you’re being followed or like someone is watching you. Aside from the clanking of your heels against the concrete, the garage is fairly silent. You feel like you hear footsteps behind you but every time you turn around no one is there. You feel like you’re walking in circles as you can’t locate your car. You slowly start to panic but try to keep your cool. You try and tell yourself that you’re just being paranoid. The feeling of someone following intensifies as your eyes begin to prickle with tears. You press the panic button on your car alarm to help you find your car and you rush in the direction that you hear the alarm. You turn to quickly head for your car and run straight into Yunho. You let out a yelp and grab your chest when you realize it’s just Yunho.
“Oh my goodness you scared me.” You say as you try to steady your breathing. Yunho laughs a little too hard at you.
“You look like you just seen a ghost.” He continues to laugh but when he’s sees the serious look on your face he tries to stop the laughing but a few more chuckles slip out before he composes himself. “I’m sorry.” He says with a forced serious expression. He clears his throat before he speaks again. “I was just coming to meet you at your car to see if you wanted to go get a few drinks with me at a bar nearby? After today’s work day I could definitely use a drink or two to relax.” You relax your shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief.
“Yea I could use a drink too. I don’t know why my nerves are so bad lately.” I’ll follow behind you and meet you at the bar.” He smiles in acknowledgment. You both get in your respective vehicles and you head to the bar. The bar is in an upscale neighborhood and is filled with men and women in their corporate suits looking for an outlet from their crazy workweek. You both find a seat at the bar and order a couple shots each and some appetizers. After a few more shots you both start to relax. You are joking and telling stories of your pasts as you get to know each other more. His hand rests on your thigh as he watches you attentively while you speak. You notice how closely he’s paying attention, his attentiveness causing your core to pulsate. You stop mid sentence and start to blush.
“I feel like I can’t breathe when you look at me like that.” You say lowly as you put your head down to hide how much it’s affecting you. He begins to caress your thigh. He leans in closer to whisper in your ear, his voice low and gravelly as he speaks.
“I just love hearing you speak.” He gently bites at your ear before pulling back some, bringing his face in front of yours. He looks down at your lips as he slowly licks his lips. Your breath catches in your throat before he leans in and places a soft kiss to your lips. He gently places a hand at the nape of your neck and deepens the kiss. He pulls back from the kiss leaving you feeling breathless. He whispers in your ear again. “Let’s head back to my house so I can taste you properly.” You’re not too buzzed, so you both drive your cars to his place.
Once inside, he picks you up and you wrap your legs around his waist as he kisses you. Your hands tangle in his hair as you moan in his mouth. He carries you like this to his bedroom, pulling your shirt over your head while you undress as much as you can in his arms. He sets you down in front of the bed as you both fully undress.
“Get on your knees.” The seriousness of his tone sends you clenching around nothing. You quickly do as you’re told. He brings his hand to your chin as he brushes your jawline gently before bringing his thumb up to trace your lips. “Open your mouth.” Once your mouth is open, he places his thumb inside and you close your mouth around it as you begin to suck. He places his index finger in your mouth as he slides his thumb out. You show as much love to this finger as you did the last. He opens your mouth with his finger and spits directly on your tongue. He takes his finger and rubs the spit in on your tongue causing you to moan around his finger. He slowly takes his finger further in your mouth causing you to gag. He grabs your face with his other hand. “Don’t move.” Through teary eyes, you look up and nod. He puts his finger back in your throat making you gag around his finger some more, drool falling out your mouth. After a minute he pulls his finger out and licks the side of your mouth as he swallows some of the saliva that was escaping.
He reaches down and brushes his fingers across one of your breasts. Chills cover your entire body from the sensation, and he brings two fingers to your pebbled nub. He begins gently rolling your nipple in his fingers, moans slipping from your mouth. You feel the slick building between your legs as you crave to be touched there. You bring a hand down and start rubbing circles on your clit, needing to satisfy your craving. Yunho then pinches your nipple causing you to moan loudly.
“You’re such a needy little bitch. You can’t wait for me to touch you, you have to fuck yourself?” He grabs your face making you look at him.
“I-I’m sorry daddy. I just need to be fucked right now.”
“Lay on the bed, now.” He says as he releases his tight grip from your face. You get in position, arousal dripping from your core.
“It seems you need to be taught a lesson on how to be patient. You need to be a good girl and not a needy little slut who can’t wait for me to touch her and make her feel good.” He goes to grab a box from under his bed. “Before we go any further, I need to know if you trust me.” Confused by what he means, you slowly nod your head. “I need you to use your words, doll.”
“Y-yes. I trust you.”
“Good.” He smiles as he pulls out two pairs of handcuffs. He shows you the key and places it on the nightstand next to the bed. He grabs your right hand and places a cuff around it and moves your arm gently to place the other cuff on the metal headboard. Your breathing picks up as he does the same for your left hand. With you now cuffed, he walks along the side of the bed and brushes his finger tip along your body causing goosebumps to form sending a chill up your spine. He slides his fingers back to your nipples and begins rolling both in between his fingers. You wriggle your body as you start to moan, the sensation going straight to your clit. Your folds are glistening with wetness, arousal slipping from your hole.
He brings his hand down to where you need to feel him the most. He opens your folds with two fingers, admiring how the wetness glistens. He licks his lips before he looks you in your eyes. “Do not cum until I tell you to.” Your breath hitches but you nod your head in acknowledgment. He takes his middle finger and slowly starts drawing tight circles on your clit. You moan out instantly. You’re not sure how long you’ll be able to hold back from reaching your climax, so you hope he’s feeling generous. He begins to pick up speed as your back arches off the mattress. Your moans fly out as you feel yourself on the brink of an orgasm and before you can even stop yourself, he takes his hand off your clit. You cry out, pleading with him.
“No, no, no! Please Yunho!” He chuckles lightly before he shoves two fingers in your hole pumping them in and out relentlessly. Your moans spill out and you’re feeling like the dam is about to break any second now. Before you break, he pulls his fingers out. You moan out in protest from the emptiness. Your eyes begin to well up. You need to orgasm or you feel like you’re going to lose your mind.
“Mmm. You’re doing so good for me. I wonder how much longer you can hold out.” His laugh is cocky by now. You see the amusement in his eyes and can tell this is going to be a long night. He brings you to the edge 3 more times. The tears are streaming down your face at this point.
“Yunho, please, please let me cum. I’m sorry I won’t do it again. Just please let me cum.” You plead as the tears continue to fall. You see a smug smile on his face. He places two fingers back inside your dripping cunt and slams them in and out. You cry out from the pleasure, and he looks at you as you squirm on the bed.
“Cum for me.” It was like he flipped a switch causing you to gush out your release. Your release sprays all over the mattress and you feel the wetness pool underneath you. He uncuffs you and sits on the end with his back against the headboard. You climb on the bed and straddle him, placing a leg on either side of his thighs. You lock eyes with him as you slide down on his fully hardened member. The stretch causes you to moan out. You lift up and down, quickly bouncing on him as you hold on to the headboard as his hands rest on your ass. Your breasts are bouncing in his face prompting him to take a nipple in his mouth. You throw your head back as you continue bouncing. After a few minutes you turn around to face the other direction while he’s still inside. You grab ahold of his ankles and slam up and down repeatedly. The room is filled with the sounds of both of your moans. With your ass now facing him he grips an ass cheek and then spits on your asshole. He takes his thumb to rub the spit in and then slides his thumb in your hole. The room is filled with breathy moans and the sloshing sound of your wetness.
“You’re taking me so good. That’s right, baby. Keep bouncing on your dick like that. This is your dick.” You clench at his words, wrapping tighter around him. He pushes you forward with his thumb in your hole still. With your face in the mattress now, you crook your neck to look back at him as you arch your back. He slams into you at a harsh pace. You meet his rhythm as you throw it back, matching the pace.
“Fuck! Harder, daddy. Please, you’re fucking me so good. F-fuck. Just like that. Don’t you stop.” You scream out. Your vision begins to blur and with every thrust you see stars. He pulls out and flips you over putting your legs over his shoulders.
“I wanna see your face when you cum for me. I wanna watch when I fill you up, baby.” He grunts as he slams into you, his pace just as harsh as it was from behind. You feel the coil tightening in your stomach with each pump. “Keep giving me this perfect pussy. God, you feel so wet and tight for me. You were made for me. Cum with me like a good girl.” The coil snaps and you release all over him. The way you clench around him milks him dry. His release spills inside you.
You were so drained you didn’t even realize you drifted off to sleep. You wake up confused as you look around the room trying to wake up and remember where you are. You hear the light snores coming from the spot next to you and you look over to see Yunho sound asleep. You quietly try to get out of the bed as you tip toe around the room gathering your belongings. Once you have everything you sneak to the living room and quickly put your clothes on. Once fully clothed you make your way to your car hoping Yunho doesn’t wake up before you leave. You’re not ready for an awkward conversation about why you’re leaving. Yunho stirs from his sleep when he hears the front door close. Taking a minute to adjust his sight, he notices you’re not in the bed anymore. He jumps up and runs out of the room and sees headlights pulling out of his driveway.
“DAMMIT Y/N!” He shouts as he punches the wall in the living room, making a hole in the wall. He looks at the time and notices it’s only 12:30 am. He jumps in the shower and makes his way to the bar. He feels the anger rushing through him and needs to find someone to take it out on.
Walking in the bar he takes a look around and rolls his eyes when he doesn’t see anyone right away that fits his preference, no one who looks like you. He decides to stay for an hour giving it time to see if anyone comes that catches his attention. After an hour and no hits he leaves feeling annoyed.
On his walk back home he notices a woman standing outside of her car on a quiet, isolated street. It looks like she has a flat tire. She notices Yunho and waves him over. His heart beats faster when she gets closer as he notices she fits exactly what he was looking for.
“Excuse me, sir. I’m so sorry to bother you right now. But would you happen to know how to change a tire? I got a flat and roadside said it will take two hours for someone to come and I just want to get home.” She smiles innocently with a quiet laugh.
“Uh, yea I do. Do you have any of the tools for it though? As long as you have the tools I can have this tire changed in no time.” He shoots her a warm smile.
“Yes! Right here. Sorry let me get those out for you.” She grabs the tools from her trunk and steps aside as Yunho gets the tire changed. After a few minutes he has everything changed and the tools and flat tire placed in her trunk. She smiles graciously. “Thank you so much! I owe you big time. Do you need a ride to wherever you were going? It’s the least I can do.”
“I’m not too far from here but if it’ll make you feel better, I will gladly accept the ride.”
“Ok, perfect. Get in.” Yunho gives directions to his place, and they pull into the driveway. “Wow, you weren’t lying when you said you weren’t far. I don’t feel like I’ve done enough compared to what you did for me. I wish there were another way I could repay you and show how thankful I am that you showed up when you did.” Her voice low and seductive as she rubs her hand against his thigh. He grabs her hand from his thigh and pulls it towards his hardening member so she could feel how hard he’s getting. He moves her hand up and down the bulge. His breathing becomes shallow as she unbuckles his pants to free his member.
She leans over to the passenger seat and places him in her mouth. She slowly takes him in her mouth, bobbing up and down at a slow pace. He moans as she hallows her cheeks and sucks on the tip. He grabs her hair and begins to aggressively move her head up and down. She begins to gag around him as he slams into the back of her throat. He pushes her down with his length fully in her mouth. He holds her there for a minute and then pulls her off so she can catch her breath.
“Backseat, now.” His voice rough. She doesn’t speak but follows his directions immediately. Once in the backseat he pulls her pants down as he climbs over her. He spits on her clit and then rubs it in with his tip before sliding inside. He begins pounding into her and she lifts her shirt up, pulling her breasts from her bra. While he’s fucking into her, she plays with her nipples sending waves to her clit. She moans out as he brings his hand to her clit rubbing it at a pace that matches his thrusts. When he looks down at her fucked out face, he can’t help but see y/n. He replays what she said to him.
“Oh...I thought this was going to be something casual. I’m not really looking for anything serious at this moment”
He closes his eyes to get that image out of his head. He continues pumping into her and can tell by the way she’s clenching around him that she’s about to cum.
“Look at me daddy. Watch how you make me cum for you.” She coos. Yunho opens his eyes and he sees y/n again. Your fucked out face, your voice telling him you’re not looking for anything serious, you driving away when you were supposed to stay with him. You were supposed to want to be with him like he wants to be with you. You were supposed to be in love with him like he was you. Anger fills his body once again. His thrusts become rough as he slams into her and she splashes her release in between them both. Covering both of them. He grabs her throat with both hands and continues to slam into her, his grip getting tighter. He can see her face getting red as she struggles to breathe. He grunts out as he finishes inside her, giving her neck one last squeeze. He lets go of her neck and her body goes limp.
He grabs the keys from her and gets in the drivers seat. He drives her car to about 45 minutes out to an empty field. He makes sure there aren’t any of his belongings in his car or anything that can trace him back to this vehicle and he sets the car on fire. He waits until the fire goes before he heads home. He curses himself for not remembering he’d have to walk from wherever he brought the car. He begins walking towards his house. Of course he couldn’t bring his phone, he didn’t want it to ping in this area if anyone looked. So now not only does he have to walk, but he also can’t even call for an uber when he’s a decent distance away from the car.
“Welp I never said I was a professional.” He grumbles to himself as he walks. “Won’t need to work out the rest of the month at this point.” It takes him two hours to get home. The sun barely beats him home. He gets inside and showers before he gets in bed. He sends a quick text to you, asking why you left before he shuts his eyes.
⚠️ This fic contains dark and disturbing themes. The relationship depicted is intentionally unhealthy and should not be viewed as romantic or aspirational. Please read the warnings before continuing.
warnings: MDNI, dark themes, explicit sexual content/smut, friends with benefits, stalking, obsessive behavior, serial killer AU, graphic violence, murder, blood, dismemberment, kidnapping, hostage situation, physical restraint, manipulation, drug use (MDMA/ecstasy), alcohol use, anxiety/panic, toxic relationships, possessive behavior, cursing, reader discretion advised, please let me know if I forgot anything.
w.c: 2.4k
chapter specific warnings: explicit sexual content, graphic violence, murder, strangulation, blood, dismemberment. squirting, unprotected sex, rough sex, spit/saliva, oral sex(m receiving) fingering, hair pulling, slight anal play, please let me know if i forget anything.
a/n: - this fic is on the darker side so please don't read if it's too heavy. please make sure to read warnings! this fic is pure fiction and does not represent any members in this story.
Reposts are always appreciated💕
Chapter 1
The sound of skin slapping fills the dimly lit room as Yunho pumps in and out at a quick pace, pulling moans from her lips with each thrust. His feet are placed on the floor as he has her on the edge of the bed with her ankles in each hand. She runs her fingers over his perfectly sculpted abs. He closes his eyes as he continues to slam into her. She’s wrapped tightly around his member causing mumbled words to fall from his mouth.
“That’s not my name.” She says as she tries to stop the moans escaping her mouth.
“What?” Yunho questions but doesn’t slow down his thrusts. She moans out again before she’s able to speak.
“I said that’s not my name. You called me someone else’s name.”
“Shhhh.” He says as he wraps one hand around her neck, squeezing lightly. She quickly forgets about being called the wrong name as he brings her to her climax, causing her to splash her release over his stomach. His thrusts quicken as he begins to squeeze her neck tighter. He continues pounding her, bringing himself closer to his release. His grip around her neck is beginning to cut off her airway, but he continues his pace. She begins the grab at his hand around her neck trying to loosen the grip, but he’s too strong. He brings up his other hand and begins squeezing tighter until her body goes limp. He reaches his climax as she takes her last breath.
“Your name is whatever I decide to call you.” He mumbles under his breath, annoyance written all over his face from her comment. He pulls himself out of her and the rest of her body goes limp on the bed. Her legs are hanging off the bed as the top half is slouched on the bed. He cleans himself up and then begins his clean up routine, making sure to get rid of any traces of him on her body. He then dismembers her body, placing her limbs in separate garbage bags. Once he has her body packed away, he begins to clean his apartment to get rid of any evidence that she had been there, moving with practiced ease. By dawn, it’s like she was never there. He heads in to work like nothing ever happened.
It’s a regular Tuesday morning for you and your coworkers as you spill into the office at 8:30. Your morning goes by fairly quickly, and before you know it, it’s lunch time. You make your way into the break room to heat up your lunch. You notice a group of coworkers sitting at round tables with all their focus on the news broadcast in front of them, causing you to pay attention as well.
“This morning, we discovered remains buried near a field East of the city. We are awaiting confirmation on an identity at the moment, but they are believed to belong to one of the missing women. 4 women have been reported missing under similar circumstances. With police suspecting foul play, searches have been expanded to surrounding counties, as investigators work to determine if these cases are connected.”
You sit there in an uncomfortable silence as you watch the news broadcast. Something about these missing women sends a chill up your spine. You’re not sure what it is about these cases, but ever since the news first broke out about the women missing, you’d get a knot in your stomach every time you heard about them.
“Y/n, have you ever noticed how they all look eerily similar to you?” one of your coworkers says, pulling you from your thoughts.
“Yea, y/n. better be careful before you’re next on the killers list.” Another coworker jokes and a couple of your coworkers join in laughing and making remarks about the similarities between you and the missing women. Their comments weigh heavy on your mind, but you try and brush them off so you can get rid of the uneasy feeling in your chest. As you’re walking out of the break room, you turn the corner and run right into your coworker Jeong Yunho.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” You say shyly. Yunho smiles at you with his bright smile.
“Y/n! Don’t even worry about it. I was actually on my way to your desk just now. I needed to follow up with you on a file and had a more…personal question I wanted to ask you.” He smiled awkwardly as he ran his hand on the back of his neck. Yunho was a hot, awkward nerd. He had the personality of a golden retriever and just about every girl in the office had a crush on him. He was always a ray of sunshine and had a goofy personality that would make anyone fall in love.
“Yea, of course. Is everything ok?” You ask as you both continue walking towards your desk. Once you’re in your cubicle, he turns to face you.
“Oh, yea. Everything’s fine. I was, uh. I was wondering if you would like to go to that new Italian restaurant that opened recently for dinner. On a date…wi-with me? Tonight?” His ears turned red as he started rubbing the back of his neck again. It had been a few months since you and your ex split because you found him fucking another chick, so you had been feeling a bit lonely lately. You were tired of cumming on your own fingers, plus Yunho was hot as fuck, so you didn’t really have to think long before you gave him an answer.
“I’d love to.” You smile as you rub your hand gently across his arm.
“G-great. Ok, I will pick you up at 7:15.” He says relieved like he expected you to say no. The rest of your shift flies by as you sit at your desk clenching your thighs together at the thought of how the night will end. Once you’re home from work, you get in the shower and start getting ready for your date. You decide on a knee length red dress and matching red open toe heels with your hair styled in an updo with a few curly pieces hanging down. You top it off with simple gold jewelry. Once you add your finishing touches on your outfit, you spray yourself with your YSL Black Opium perfume.
Right on time, Yunho texts you at 7:15 letting you know he’s outside. You walk down and he is standing outside of his car. He greets you with a warm smile and hugs you before opening the passenger door for you. Once he’s in the car and buckled, he looks over at you once again. Admiring how you look.
“You look absolutely beautiful.” His voice lower than normal, sending waves of heat straight to your core. You blush and put your face down as you thank him, his comment making you feel shy suddenly. There is light conversation in the car on the way to the restaurant. You arrive for your reservation at 7:30. The date had gone perfect. You both held great conversation the entire time, the food was amazing, the atmosphere in the restaurant was perfect. You couldn’t have asked for a better date. Once you were back in the car you decide to take things in your own hands. While Yunho focuses on driving, you move your hand to his thigh and start gently caressing it. Yunho doesn’t say anything as your hand begins getting closer to his shaft. You run your hand over his clothed member feeling how hard he is. You feel the wetness pooling in your center at how big he is. You lean over and whisper in his ear.
“I want you to take me to your house so you can fuck the shit out of me.” He moans out in response as you lean back in your seat, pulling your dress up showing that you’re not wearing any underwear. You spread your legs so he can see as you run your fingers through your folds, the sound of your wetness filling the car. Yunho bites his lip as he reaches over to place a finger on your entrance, moving it up and down gently gathering your arousal on his fingers before he dips a finger in. You moan out as his long finger pumps in and out of you before adding another finger. The car is filled with your moans and the sound of your wetness.
“Look at you taking my fingers like a good girl.” He says in a low growl with his eyes half lidded. He continues pumping in and out while he drives feeling you nearing your high. He takes his fingers out and begins rubbing your clit at a fast pace causing you to scream out in pleasure as you squirt all over the passenger seat and glove compartment. “That’s right baby, make a mess in my car. Let me see you fall apart for me.” When you finally make it to his house, you’re connected at the lips in a passionate kiss as you bust through the doors. As you make your way to his bedroom you both are leaving a trail of clothing discarded behind you.
You push him on the bed as you climb on it, meeting him halfway as you smile looking at his long member, making your mouth water. You grab him in between your hands as you spit along the length. Rubbing your spit in, you take him in your mouth instantly. You don’t plan on taking your time tonight as you take him fully; grabbing his balls you begin massaging them in your hand as your throat clenches around his tip. His head lolls back as he grabs your hair in a makeshift ponytail. His hips thrust up as he begins to fuck your throat causing you to gag. He continues to shove your head down while he thrusts into you, tears streaming down your cheeks. You pull him out halfway as you hollow your cheeks and begin swirling your tongue on the tip. You begin bobbing your head again bringing him to his climax as he pushes your head down releasing in the back of your throat.
You swallow instantly and open your mouth to show him that not a drop is left. He grabs your face, pulling you into a sloppy kiss. You grab a handful of hair in the back of his head and pull him away, spitting in his mouth. Latching your lips around his neck, you lick and bite leaving a trail of marks down his neck. You pull your mouth off his neck and smack his face before you pull him in for another sloppy kiss. Not too much force in the slap, but enough to drive him wild. He flips you over, burying your face in the sheets as he lifts your hips off the bed. With your ass in the air, he spits on your second hole before he licks the spit off and then licks you from your asshole to your clit. You don’t even bother to muffle your screams. He puts two fingers in your pussy as he continues licking your asshole. The speed he’s pumping in and out at brings you to your climax in no time. You squirt all over his fingers and face.
“Oh my God, you’re so perfect.” He moans out, wiping his mouth. Before you can even catch your breath from your orgasm he slams into you. You arch your back and meet his pace as he continues to slam into you. He grabs a handful of your hair and pulls you onto all fours. He keeps his hand wrapped around your hair while his other hand grips your hip. The force of his grip is sure to leave bruises in its wake. “Keep taking my dick, oh my God you feel so good.” You begin to clench around him as you near your third climax of the night. He removes his hand from your hair and moves it to find your clit. He begins rubbing tight circles on your clit as he delivers harsh thrusts into you.
“Please don’t stop. I’m right there, daddy! You’re making me feel so good oh my God please don’t stop!” You scream out, a babbling mess at this point. Before you know it, your release pushes out of you covering both you and him again. He continues to thrust in you as he follows right behind you, filling you with his release. You both are breathing heavily as you try catching your breath. He slowly pulls out of you and spreads your cheeks open to watch both his and your arousal drip out of your hole. He goes to grab a wet rag and gently cleans you both up. You stand and place a kiss on his cheek as you grab your articles of clothing that are spread all over the house. He notices you getting dressed, preparing to leave.
“You don’t have to leave, you know?” He says gently.
“I don’t mind. Mama sleeps in her own bed.” You smirk. The disappointment is written all over his face by now. “Oh...I thought this was going to be something casual. I’m not really looking for anything serious at this moment, but we can definitely do this again whenever you’d like.” You say as you rub your hand over his chest, trying to ease the blow. You let him know your Uber is on the way and his jaw clenches. Once you leave, he lets the anger take over. He begins shouting as he flips over the coffee table. He gets himself dressed and heads to his usual bar.
He walks in and heads straight to the bar ordering a drink. He eyes the room, looking over everyone. After scanning the place his eyes land on a woman that matches what he’s looking for. She looks as if she could be related to you by how similar she looks to you and is eerily enough wearing her hair the same as you, even in a red dress like you were that night. He keeps his eyes on her, scoping her out to make sure she is by herself before he makes his way over to her.
“What’s a beautiful woman like yourself, doing here alone?” he says as he smiles his award-winning smile, warming her up instantly.
“I just moved here so I don’t really know many people yet.” She says as she blushes. He reaches out his hand for her to shake.
“I’m Yunho. What’s your name beautiful?”
“Julia.” She says as she grabs his hand and shakes it.
warnings: MDNI, pregnancy loss, fuck boy wooyoung, cheating, depression, cursing, car accident , addiction/alcoholism, please let me know if i forget anything
w.c: 1.3k
a/n: - everything is fictional, nothing in this story represents any of the members. This is the final chapter! Thank you for everyone who read and I hope it doesn't disappoint lol
Reposts are always appreciated💕
Previous Chapter |
Chapter 10
You stand there at the door starting at each other for a moment, neither one of you sure if you should move in for a hug. You awkwardly step to the side to let him in. Once he’s inside you look at him and take in his appearance. His hair is disheveled and his eyes are red and puffy like he had been crying recently. It tore you apart seeing him like this. You were sure you didn’t look too good yourself, but you were certain you would have looked worse if it weren’t for the spa treatment you had. He’s fidgeting with his cuticles which draws your attention to his hands. You notice his hand is wrapped up and concern washes over your face. Wooyoung can see the concern on your face.
“It’s not that bad I promise.” He tries to smile a little to reassure you, but it doesn’t ease any of your worry. You nod your head slightly, and silence falls in the room once again. He runs his hand through his hair, and he eyes the bottles of wine on the table. You glance over and see what he is looking at.
“I am so sorry.” You say as you rush to grab the bottles to put them away. “I should have put these away. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You don’t have to do that, it’s fine.”
“I know, but I want to.” You say gently. You take a deep breath before you try and speak. “I thought I knew what I was going to say before I called you, but now that you’re here, I’m not sure where to even start.”
“You know, when I walked in and saw you with Hongjoong-ah,” He pauses for a moment, “I felt like my heart stopped beating.” He looks down and lets out a soft chuckle, “A part of me wanted to hate you for it, but I knew I couldn’t.” His voice begins to crack. “If I made you feel even half of what I felt last night, then I am so fucking sorry.” He looks up at you with his eyes glossy now. “I am so sorry for making you cry yourself to sleep, for ever making you feel like you weren’t good enough, for choosing anyone but you. You didn’t deserve any of that stuff I put you through, and I never want to put you through that ever again.” You notice the tears silently begin to fall down his cheeks.
“I love you Wooyoungie.” You whisper. It crushes you seeing him so vulnerable in front of you. The tears are nonstop for both of you. “But love isn’t enough right now.” He nods in agreement.
“I know, Jagiya. If you can give me a chance to show you, I promise it will be worth it. You’ve given me chance after chance; I’d be a fool to let you go after one mistake. We’ve been headed in the right direction; I can’t give up on us so easily.” His eyes are pleading with you. Relief sweeps over your body that he’s so willing to work things out with you. Even though you walked out last night, you were nervous that he wouldn’t be because of what happened. You walk up to him and grab his hand. You slowly bring his hand up to your lips and place a gentle kiss on the back of his hand. Your eyes meet his gaze.
“Let’s go home.”
Healing wasn’t immediate; changes didn’t happen overnight. There were still arguments, still tears, followed by apologies. The difference was you were both trying. You both knew this wouldn’t be easy, but you continued pushing forward. You looked at your relationship from a different perspective. If an argument occurred, it didn’t feel like it was you versus him, it felt like it was you both versus the problem. Therapy was hard sometimes. There were times you’d leave at odds with each other and times where you felt closer than ever. Healing wasn’t a finish line you both crossed one day, it was a choice you both continued to make each day.
You were choosing each other. You were choosing honesty and growth. Love used to be painful for you, it was arguments and doors slamming. It was not feeling good enough. You were loving each other in the only way you knew how, but that way was reckless. That version of love was toxic, but you were able to make changes. Before you were leading yourselves down a path of destruction but were slowly able to rewrite your story. You were rebuilding your trust in each other.
Wooyoung was able to stay committed to his sobriety. There were times where his struggles threatened to pull him back into his old habits. Some nights he would sit on the edge of the bed, bouncing his leg uncontrollably while picking at his cuticles as his thoughts spiraled and he’d let you know he was struggling. Those nights you would spend talking to him or going for a walk to get fresh air. You would do anything to keep him busy or distracted to help push through the urges he felt. Some nights you would need to rely on his sponsor if it was a really hard night. These moments reaffirmed that every night without a drink was a step in the right direction.
You were able to find a comfortable flow with work again. Picking up more projects, travelling more often, and rebuilding those connections with your coworkers. Things with Hongjoong were more than awkward at first. The once easy conversations and playful teasing was replaced polite greetings and careful distance. Neither one of you wanted to cross the line that you had both worked to draw. Through time, work events became more comfortable, and you were able to fall back into a safe zone with each other. You were able to laugh with each other and be alone without the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing that could potentially cause harm.
One of the more important moments was watching Wooyoung and Hongjoong slowly work their way back to being brothers again. This healed a part of you that you didn’t realize still needed to be healed. Witnessing this was something that helped you to be able to move forward as well. Although it wasn’t intentional, you hated feeling like you came in between them and were the cause of the downfall of their brotherhood. Seeing them work through this hardship and come out on top together, was incredibly touching.
Three months after you and Wooyoung got back together you felt extremely tired and nauseous. You remembered this feeling all too well. You took a test and called Wooyoung in the bathroom to read the results. When he looked down and saw the test said “Positive” you both froze. He remembered how it felt for you both when you lost your last child. Of course he wanted to have a whole football team with you, but remembering how terrible the last time went scared you both. Wooyoung put on a brave face and told you that everything would be fine and this was life giving you another chance to do things right. You admired how strong he was being, and it helped give you strength as well.
Wooyoung was there for every appointment, bought you every craving, and talked you through any fears and anxieties you may have had. He often reassured you that you were going to be the best mom a child could ask for and let you know you had nothing to worry about. These little moments truly meant the most to you. Even now, as you watched him hold your daughter in his arms as he rocked her to sleep and sang her lullabies. You knew you had made the right decision to choose him. You would always choose him.
PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS! THIS CHAPTER IS HEAVIER THAN THE LAST
Warnings: MDNI, R@PE, NON CON, fingering, masturbation, pregnancy loss, unprotected sex, cyber bullying, public shaming, pregnancy, language, threats of bodily harm, bodily harm, anxiety, strangling, starvation, kidnapping, violence, let me know if I'm missing anything
AUTHOR NOTE: THE R@PE SCENE STARTS AND ENDS WITH ASTERISKS IN CASE YOU WANT TO SKIP THAT PART. Please take care of yourself. Your mental health is important.
Previous Ch
Ch 9
You lay on the bed looking up at the domed ceiling of the bunker. You weren’t sure exactly how much time had passed between when Dae Gwan had come ‘til the present moment, but you at least knew it was a new day; the sounds of the chirrups and hoots from the night critters that you had been hearing through the vent had ceased to make way for the delighted chittering that always came with the daylight. While you lay there you imagined what must have been going on in the outside world. Your boss had probably called you a few times wondering why you hadn’t shown up for your shift; you thought that he’d probably replace you in a few more days. As nice as he was, business was business. The dishes you had left in your kitchen sink had probably begun to stink up the apartment, and the air conditioning hadn’t been turned on, so your trash was probably rank too. You realized quickly enough that none of that would matter once you were dead. “I wonder how long it’ll be before people actually notice I’m gone.”
Your stomach growled loudly, interrupting your thoughts. It had been doing that all day, but you couldn’t bring yourself to try to eat anything. It seemed pointless to you, eating. That was something people did when they were trying to live. You glanced down at all the freeze dried foods on the bed and shoved them to the floor. You had been grateful to see there was sustenance before, but now it all seemed like a cruel joke. Gritting your teeth, you took one look at the bag that Dae Gwan had brought and punted it across the room. It landed on its side, spilling out what ended up being egg bread onto the floor. It’d be a nice snack for the rat that you had seen skittering around a few hours ago. Under normal circumstances, the rat would have freaked you out, you didn’t like rodents, but with things as they were you were really just glad to have the company.
As the day went on, you were unable to keep your eyes off of the blood stain on the blanket. Whether it had been the accident, the violence of the rape, the direct punch to the gut, or the stress of it all, you weren’t sure; but either way it went your baby was gone. Reduced to a stain on a dusty bunker blanket in the middle of the woods. “I’m so sorry little one,” you sniffled, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” You threw yourself down onto the bed to sprawl out and stared up at the ceiling as tears painted your face. You wished that you had at least gotten the chance to see what they would have looked like. To hold them for the first time. To see Mingi bond with them. The mental image of him cradling a small bundle and beaming down at you was enough to make you bawl.
You curled up into a ball and let your sobs rock you as you clutched at your gut, wishing that you knew how long miscarriages took. You knew that it was dangerous to miscarry without medical attention, but that didn’t matter. You’d be dead in a few days anyway, whenever Chae Yi decided to come back to the bunker; waiting for her return was making you jumpy. Every unfamiliar noise you heard above you was her. Every time you closed your eyes you expected her to be standing there when you opened them again, ready to plunge a knife into your chest. It seemed to you like death would be a blessing with all the anxiety you were having. You’d noticed throughout the day that you hadn’t bled again, but the cramps alone were enough to let you know that there was no point in being hopeful. Besides, even if the baby had somehow managed to survive, it wasn’t like Chae Yi planned on letting you carry it to term. She had made it painfully clear that you and the baby were goners. You groaned loudly as you tossed and turned on the bed in an attempt to find the most comfortable position to ride out the cramps.
Once you had cried so much that you were sure you’d completely depleted your body of its’ water supply, you tried to distract yourself from your painful, tired eyes and the reality of your dire situation by counting the number of bolts in the pipe and guessing which animals were running past the vent opening above you. 260 bolts. A squirrel. A deer. A fox. Another deer. A boar. There was no way to know for sure, but you told yourself that you had scored a perfect hundred, it wasn’t like there was anyone around to tell you that you were wrong. By the time the owls outside had woken up to signify that night had come again, you were so desperate for a distraction that you’d started playing tic tac toe with yourself in the dust on the floor, chuckling half heartedly when neither the X nor the O won.
You thought back to when you and Mingi had spent an evening playing games at your apartment. You’d been terrible at them as a kid, but liked to think that you had gotten better with age. You suggested you play a few rounds of Tic Tac Toe and he had suggested Omok instead, saying that it was a traditional game in South Korea and he wanted to teach you to play. It took you a few rounds to actually catch on to the strategy to win, but when you finally beat him, he had been so proud. It broke your heart that you’d never be able to hear the joy in his voice as he praised you again. Mingi… you missed him so much. He was the love of your life and one of your best friends, and you knew you would miss him far past the moment of your death. You prayed that when Chae Yi had brought her awful plan to its conclusion, that your soul would be able to find Mingi wherever he was and be able to give him some sort of a sign. A sign that you would love him past eternity. “I should have listened to you,” you whimpered, “I should have called a cab that night. Hopping in the first cab that pulled up was stupid. So stupid.”
You stayed in the bed the entire next day. You had begun to feel a bit weak and were having trouble keeping your eyes open so, you elected to sleep the day away, praying for good dreams. The universe was kind and each time you drifted off you were in your apartment cuddled up with Mingi on the couch, wrapped up with him in bed or simply conversing with bright smiles on your faces at your little dining room table. You kept waking up with tears sliding down your cheeks, but you’d force yourself back to sleep just so that you could be with him again.
When you heard the sound of the bunker door creaking open again the next day you barely reacted. Your eyes slid over to see who was descending the stairs, almost grateful to see that it was Dae Gwan again and that he was alone. This time he had a bag of bottled waters that he set beside you on the bed and a smaller bag with something wrapped in foil. He glanced over at the stale bread in the middle of the floor, noting that there wasn’t a single bite in it. “Don’t like egg bread?” he asked. He still wasn’t looking at you. In fact, he looked everywhere else but at you as he stood awkwardly at the end of the bed. You didn’t know if he was ashamed to look at you because of what he had done or if he was embarrassed because you were still naked. You would have loved to put your clothes back on, but they had disappeared. You didn’t say anything as you glared at him, wishing that the rope would stretch far enough for you to be able to bash him in the back of the head. “My wife bled,” he said quickly. You stayed silent. “When she was pregnant with our son, she fell down the stairs at home. She bled. Our son will be six in a few weeks.”
“Why are you telling me this, Dae Gwan?” It was a real question. It was almost as if he was trying to give you something to hang on to, a glimmer of hope that maybe your baby had survived. But it made no sense to you. He knew as well as you did, if not better, what Chae Yi was going to do to you. Hope was pointless.
“I brought you some gimbap. You should eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” you lied.
“You have to be hungry; it’s been days. You haven’t eaten any of the freeze dried food and you didn’t eat the egg bread. I know you’re hungry.”
“Where is Chae Yi?”
“She’ll be back.”
“Today?” He didn’t answer you. “Why don’t you just let me go?” you pleaded with him, “she isn’t here now; you can just let me go and say I escaped.”
“If I let you go, my life is over.”
“Please…I just want to go home. My ankle is messed up and I’m miscarrying. I need medical attention. Please.”
“I can’t.” He looked down at the floor. “I have too much to lose here.” You stared at him for a moment, praying that he would have a change of heart, but he just stood there. You grimaced and closed your eyes.
“I’m really never leaving this bunker, am I?” He didn’t acknowledge your question. “What is she going to do to me?”
“I have to go.” He went for the stairs like he was being chased, his feet slapping loudly on the concrete as he ran. You watched after him until he disappeared from your sight, waiting until you heard the door slam to lay back on the bed and stare at the wall, feeling more hopeless than you had before he’d come.
“His life will be ruined,” you grumbled, tracing circles on the wall with your finger. “I have a life and people that care about me too.” You thought about your parents, pondering on how long it would take before they heard that you were missing. Your mother would undoubtedly blame herself for your disappearance. She had never wanted you to move to Korea in the first place.
“It’s too far,” she’d complained. “You wouldn’t have any support over there. What if there’s an emergency? Your father and I wouldn’t be able to get to you fast enough.” You told her that it was ridiculous to think that way. That Korea was safer than home. That you didn’t want to live your life afraid of what might go wrong, and your father had agreed. You were so grateful when he voiced that he would miss you dearly, but that he absolutely supported the move. He thought that it was important for you to experience new things. He and your mother had never left their hometown, and he didn’t want you to get stuck the way they had.
“Go,” he’d told you, chest swelling with pride. “We’ll be cheering you on from here.” You’d thrown your arms around him and thanked him tearfully. It felt terrible knowing that they’d likely never know what happened to you.
You pursed your lips and sat up, picking up the gimbap bag and launching it into the center of the room to rest beside the stale egg bread. After a while you saw the rat again. It popped up from near the pipe, its’ little nose twitching as it looked for food. You dared not move lest you scare it. You watched it intently as it made its’ way over to the food you’d tossed and began gnawing on the bread for a second before it decided that the gimbap was the better option. It tore through the bag and the foil noisily, sitting up on its hind legs to nibble at some rice it had snatched. Once it had its’ fill, it scurried back off to wherever it was that it would go when it wasn’t rooting around for something to eat. You envied the rodent in its’ ability to roam freely in the prison that was sure to become your coffin soon enough.
With your entertainment gone, you were left to your own devices again. Eyeing the rope around your wrist, you found yourself considering that Chae Yi might use it to strangle you. She’d wrapped that scarf around your throat easily enough in the cab, and you’d admittedly escaped that by the skin of your teeth. Maybe strangulation was her method of choice. But she’d planned to bring you to the bunker from the beginning by the sound of it. Perhaps the strangulation in the cab was only meant to knock you out to make it easier to transport you. It had been terrible, her choking you; the pressure in your head had built up to the point that you felt like your eyes would pop out of your head and your brain would spill out like jelly. You didn’t want to feel that again. “Please, not that.”
By the time the next day rolled around you were going stir crazy. How many days had it been? Where was Chae Yi? Why hadn’t she come back yet? You were feeling so weak that all you could do was lay there in the bed and think. About everything. About nothing. That in itself was exhausting. Laying there in the silence of the bunker with nothing but the sounds of your grumbling stomach, your ragged breaths, and life passing you by on the ground above, you prayed for your body to give out. Prayed that by the time Chae Yi returned that you would be nothing but a husk, and she would be robbed of the satisfaction of killing you herself. When evening rolled around, you could hardly stand how thirsty you were and reasoned that having a little water wouldn’t be the worst thing.
You tore into the bag of water bottles, quickly twisting the top off of one and gulping it down greedily. You could feel it coating your stomach, cooling you down and making you feel a little less hazy. You didn’t dare open a second one, unsure of how long Dae Gwan had intended for the ones he’d brought to last. You counted twelve and decided it would be prudent to only have one a day until you had some kind of idea of what was going to happen to you next. “His wife bled,” you said, ruminating on Dae Gwan’s words. You placed your free hand on your stomach, pressing lightly, “are you still there?” Maybe the cramping you had been experiencing had been hunger. Maybe the baby was ok.
The water went through you quickly and you found yourself crouching over a bucket to pee, your ankle panged you the entire time as if it were cursing you for being so stupid as to put pressure on it. As the pee trickled into the bucket, you thought about the fact that you didn’t have any tissue to wipe and realized that you would have to drip dry. “Ugh, gross.” You peered around the area and searched the bags for any tissues and found none. “Of course he didn’t think to bring me any tissue,” you huffed, “I guess I should be grateful he brought me water in the first place, huh.” You knew that he was just trying to rectify his mistakes from the other night, but there was nothing he could do that would erase what he had already done. Even if he had released you and driven you to the police station himself, you would hate him forever. He had claimed that he wasn’t a monster, but to you he always would be.
After he’d told the members everything, Mingi couldn’t hide how distraught he was, and he was glad that he didn’t have to. The whole group stayed in his and Yunho’s room that night, four to a bed. He, Yunho, Hongjoong and Jongho in one while San, Seonghwa, Yeosang and Wooyoung in the other. He’d told them that they didn’t have to do that, that he would be ok, but they’d refused to go; and when San called for room service to bring up more pillows and blankets, he knew he had lost the battle. They all stayed up late, just talking about everything. Yeosang told him that if he had trusted them enough to tell them about you that they would have all willingly taken turns walking you home from your job, the others had all agreed ardently. Mingi explained to them all again that it wasn’t for a lack of trust that he had kept it a secret, but that he didn’t want to cause any trouble. “I just didn’t want to be a burden again.”
“You were never a burden, Mingiya,” Hongjoong said softly. “I just wish you had said something when all the craziness started, maybe we could have figured something out as a team, you know?”
“Yeah,” San cosigned, “we work better together.”
“You know,” Jongho chimed in, “I’ve got a cousin that works for the police in Bucheon. He’s a detective. Maybe we can call in a favor. Ask him to look for Y/N.”
“Wouldn’t that be putting his job in jeopardy?” Mingi asked. “If it’s not an active case in his jurisdiction, can he even do that?”
“He’ll do it if I explain to him what’s going on.”
“It’s worth a try, Mingiya,” Wooyoung sat cross legged on the bed, his face serious. “Anything is worth a try.”
“You’re right,” Mingi nodded. “I’d appreciate if you could call him for me, Jongho.”
“Of course, hyung.”
Yunho rubbed Mingi’s back comfortingly. He didn’t have much to add to the conversation, but he wanted his brother to know that he was there for him.
“And Mingi,” Seonghwa chimed in, “actually, this goes for all of you. If there’s ever something going on in your personal life, don’t forget about one another and try to carry it all on your own. One of the best parts about having a family like ours is that we can depend on each other. Ok? No more secrets.” Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
“No more secrets.”
That night, Mingi tossed and turned as he tried to get to sleep. He couldn’t shake the terrible thoughts that flashed through his mind. He didn’t just want to find you, he needed to. If something happened to you, he knew that he would never be the same again.
“Ya, Mingi,” Yunho said groggily, having been shaken from his sleep by Mingi’s flopping about, “it’ll be ok, you know. It’ll be ok. Get some sleep.” He threw an arm around Mingi’s shoulder before he resumed snoring. Mingi held on to his words for dear life and eventually sleep found him.
Mingi hadn’t wasted another second once the group had finished their last leg of promoting the next day. He immediately booked the earliest flight back to Korea for the upcoming morning and was on the plane before the other members had even gotten the chance to rub the sleep from their tired eyes. He knew that they would want to go with him, Yunho especially, but he didn’t have time to spare on waiting for them to all pack up; He hadn’t even grabbed his suitcase, leaving it for his manager to handle. The entire plane ride he sat staring at the picture of the pregnancy test. He knew that it had to be the person that had taken you that had sent it to him, but why? He was so confused. He had to apologize several times to the stewardess when he kept asking her to bring him more bags to throw up in; his anxiety was crushing him. He hadn’t eaten since he’d checked your location to see that you were out in the wilderness somewhere. He had been throwing up nothing but bile ever since. His stomach was in shambles. What he knew was that you still weren’t answering the phone, and that every time he checked your location your phone was pinging you in places you’d never gone before. He’d grown even more concerned when he’d called up to your job and your manager had told him that he hadn’t seen or heard from you in days. Something just wasn’t right. He was sure that you had been taken.
Once he made it out of the airport he hopped into a cab and directed them to the police station in Hongdae. He wanted to get a jumpstart on the investigation, figuring that if he at least got the cops to file the missing persons case, that Jongho’s cousin would be able to access it from his system in Bucheon. He tried your phone again on the way to the station and when it finally picked up for the first time in days his breath caught in his throat. “Y/N?” he nearly shouted, making the driver jump in his seat. There was no sound on the other end. “Y/N,” he said again, his voice pained, “baby?”
“Mingi?”
“Who is this?” he demanded. He knew your voice as well as he knew the voices of his members. It wasn’t you. “Who the hell is this?” There was still no answer. “Where is she?” The call disconnected. Mingi stifled the desire to scream at the top of his lungs and wrung his hands as the anxiety spread though his body again. Someone was playing with him. It had been a female voice on the other end. It was that girl. He knew it for sure now. What had she done to you?
When he got to the police station, he quickly paid the driver and bustled into the station. “Help!” he cried the second he broke through the doors. “I need help!”
“Ya, ya!” An officer bounded over to him, looking displeased. “What’s all this about? What do you need help with?”
“My girlfriend has been kidnapped!”
“Kidnapped?” The officer escorted Mingi over to his desk and settled him down in a chair. He sat down on the other side and looked at him intensely. “What makes you think she’s been kidnapped?”
“Her phone! She won’t answer her phone and her location had her in the woods on the mountain and when I just called her someone else answered the phone and I think she’s pregnant and I’m going to be a father!” Mingi spoke quickly, trying to get everything out. His mind was so jumbled that he didn’t even know if he was communicating effectively.
“So…” the officer seemed far less concerned than he’d initially been, “you think she’s bee kidnapped because she won’t answer your calls and someone else picked up her phone? Could it be that she just doesn’t want to talk to you? Have the two of you had a spat?”
“You aren’t listening to me!” Mingi banged on the desk, the officer gave him a look like he was daring him to do it again. “Her location had her in the mountains in the middle of the night! She wouldn’t go there on her own, especially not at night! She isn’t Korean and she doesn’t really know the areas outside of the city, there’s no reason for her to be out there!”
“What’s her name?”
“Y/N”
“And a description?” Mingi sighed in exasperation and gave a rundown on your physical description. He was disappointed that the cop didn’t seem to be taking him seriously.
“Listen, sir,” he said. “She was taken. I’m sure of it. Not that long ago her phone was stolen, ok. It was stolen and someone was threatening and harassing her through it on her new phone. They stalked her! She was on her way home and was supposed to call me when she got in but she never did. She always calls! That psycho woman took her. I know she did!”
“Psycho woman?” the officer was typing on his computer. “Oh, I see we have a report in the system about your girlfriend being harassed via cell phone. That issue wasn’t resolved?”
“Obviously not, sir.” Mingi was at his wits ends already. “I came here for help. You have to send officers out to the woods to find her. Please. Before something happens and it’s too late.”
“Calm down, son.” The officer finished typing and locked his computer screen. Mingi slid forward in his seat, his arms reaching across the desk to grab the officers’ hand.
“Please. I’m so scared.” The cop looked him over, noting his disheveled hair that hung in his bloodshot eyes, and his lips that had scabbed over in spots because he’d been biting them and sighed.
“We’ll file the report and assign a few officers to the case. Give me as much information as you can and we’ll use it to see if we can find out what’s going on, ok.”
Mingi spent the next hour giving the cop the full scenario. He told him about the girl, describing what she looked like and recounting the way she’d been stalking the mini mart. He told him about how you’d gotten death threats and that he’d found the little recording device stashed on the shelf. He even told him about how the audio of your sexcapade had been sent to everyone in the karaoke bar. He went into his phone and showed him the picture of the pregnancy test when it was sent. When he finished, he realized that he didn’t really have a lot of helpful info. “I need her back,” he murmured. Burying his face in his hands, he couldn’t stop the sobs that welled up from his chest and raked through his body. The officer stood up and moved to stand beside him, awkwardly patting him on the shoulder.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. We’ll do everything we can to find her, ok? Now why don’t you go home and try to get some rest. You look like you’ve been through hell.”
“I’m going through hell!” Mingi cried. “My girl is gone; how would you feel if your wife disappeared? I can’t breathe without her.” The officer stood quietly for a second as though he were truly contemplating how he might feel if he was in Mingi’s shoes.
“Well, hopefully you won’t have to feel that way much longer. Hopefully it turns out she just wanted to go camping.” Mingi looked up at the officer angrily, his eyes communicating that he wanted to hit him.
“Camping?” He knew the man was just trying to soothe him, though he was obviously not the kind of cop that did that sort of thing often. Mingi stood up, wiping the tears from his face. “Please, just find her.”
“We’ll do our best. You take care now. We’ll be in touch.”
Mingi walked into the brightness of the world outside the station and squinted as he looked around at the people walking up and down the streets. They were all just going about their lives as usual and he was falling apart at the seams. It had been too long since he’d heard your voice. He had been looking forward to coming back home to you so much, only to now find himself forced to be without you. “If I hadn’t gone to Japan, this might have never happened.” He wobbled down the stairs, clutching onto the railing as he went, and called for a cab to take him home. He wanted his car. He knew the police officer had told him that they would do everything in their power to find you, and he knew that Jongho would ask his cousin to look into your disappearance, but he knew he couldn’t solely count on that. He needed to look for you himself.
You didn’t know what time it was when Dae Gwan made another appearance. You had been sitting on the bed picking at the dried skin on your lips when he stomped down the stairs with another bag. You ignored him, not at all interested in what he was doing. He peered around the area with his nose turned up. “It smells terrible in here,” he said. He noted the spoiled food in the middle of the floor and huffed, going over to pick it up and shoving it in the plastic bag that the gimbap had come in. “I can’t believe you wasted that food. I spent money on that.” He tied off the bag and tossed it over by the base of the stairs. ‘Why the hell does it smell like that in here?” You could tell that he was irritated and as you watched him search around the bunker for the source of the smell, you speculated that something must have gone wrong in the past few days for him to be so prickly. Or maybe his mask was finally slipping.
“Oh, what the hell! Disgusting!” He was staring down into the bucket that you had been using for your…leavings. You rolled your eyes at him, unsure of what else he expected you to do. Even if there had been a bathroom down there, he had made sure that you couldn’t move more than three feet from the bed. Captive or not, you were still a human being. When his eyes slid over to you, you just stared back at him with no emotion evident on your face. “You think this is ok?” he seethed, “you’re disgusting.”
“There’s nowhere else to go,” you responded plainly. He looked at you like the thought had never occurred to him.
“Well…”
“Want me to piss on the floor next time?”
He snarled at you, clearly in no mood for you and your snarky attitude. “I brought you clothes to put on, but if you want to keep living like an animal, be my guest!” He shot the bag at you and you clumsily caught it in your one free arm. Dumping the contents onto the bed, you saw that it was a nightgown. A flowery, knee length one. You looked up at him and smirked.
“Brought me one of your wife’s nightgowns, huh? Does she know?”
“I bought it,” he snapped. Open up some of those waters and clean yourself up. You’re rank.”
“Oh?” He didn’t respond to you, grabbing the toilet bucket in one hand going over to the stairs, snatching the bag of trash up in the other, and marched up the stairs. You looked over at the water bottles and considered it for a moment. You hadn’t been able to wash in days and the suggestion was tempting. You reached for a bottle and placed it between your legs to unscrew the cap. Wetting your hands, you scrubbed at your face and did you best with your armpits and beneath your breasts. With the water bottle emptied and your upper body dripping, you moved on to your lower half. You sat back down on the bed, leaning back a little and letting your bottom hang off some. This time you used your teeth to unscrew another bottle of water and poured some onto your groin area, letting the water run down onto your vagina. You set the bottle down on the floor and used your fingers to gently rub between your folds, grabbing the bottle to pour more as needed. You swiped through your slickened folds again and moved on to your pearl, wanting to get everything as clean as you could. You’d had your bare privates sat on dusty blankets and sheets in a musty bunker for days, there was no telling what kind of infections that could cause. You let out a quiet sigh. It felt far better than it was meant to and you’d let a finger slip in before you even realized it
“Fucking Chae Yi,” Dae Gwan growled from the top of the stairs. “All this shit is messing with my home life. I don’t have time to go to work, come here and deal with you, and be a husband, much less a father. Seo Yeon thinks I’m cheating on her…she really kicked me out of the house. Unbelievable.” He appeared at the base of the stairs with the emptied bucket and you crossed your legs quickly, breathless. “What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can’t afford to keep staying in a hotel.” You knew he wasn’t exactly talking to you, but you listened intently as he rambled. It was the first human interaction you had had in days, and aside from that, it was giving you a sense of justice that the life he cared so much about and used as an excuse to not let you go was disintegrating in his hands anyway. “Maybe I’ll just stay here for a few days. There are other beds I can sleep in.” You snickered under your breath, finding it somewhat funny that he was looking at the bunker like an air bnb and not the trap that it actually was. He stopped in his tracks, jerking his head towards you. You hadn’t seen that look in his eyes before. “Oh, you think it’s funny?” he rumbled, tossing the bucket to the wayside as he made a beeline for you.
You shoved your back against the wall and brought your legs up, ready to kick him, but he grabbed both of your ankles and yanked so hard that you slid forward with your back flat on the bed. He was gripping your ankles so tightly that the one that was injured throbbed and ached like it had the first day. He climbed atop you, putting his knees onto your thighs and holding your arms down. “I’ve been nice to you,” he boiled. “I brought you food, I brought you clothes, I cleaned out your shit bucket. I even let you have a free arm and told you about my wife so you wouldn’t worry too much about your baby, and this is how you repay my kindness? You laugh at my face?” You looked up at him defiantly. How dare he direct his anger at you instead of the one that was putting you both through hell?
“It isn’t my fault,” you glowered at him, “I didn’t put you in this situation.”
“You’re right,” the pressure on your thighs grew heavier as he leaned into you. “Chae Yi is behind all of this. But she doesn’t listen to me. My wife doesn’t listen to me either. But you,” he grinned, showing all his teeth. “You’ll listen to me, won’t you? You don’t have a choice in the matter.” You scrunched your face up at him and turned it away. He grabbed you by the throat, squeezing tightly. “Look at me.” You pretended you didn’t hear him speak, keeping your eyes focused on the other side of the room. “Look at me!” His hold on your throat tightened. You still refused to look. He took your face in his hand, squeezing your cheeks with his thumb and index finger, jerking it over to force you to be eye to eye with him. You kept your eyes on the wall as he bared his teeth at you.
“I could rip your throat out,” he said, “I could kill you right now if I wanted to. Do you know that?”
“Chae Yi wouldn’t like that,” you countered. “Aren’t you her obedient little dog? You come when she calls you, you do what she tells you to.” You could feel his grip on your throat loosen a bit.
“I’m no dog.”
“Sure you are. Just look at you. You’re about to lose your family because of her and you’re still here doing all this? Why? Because you’re a little bitch boy.” You were angry. He was acting like he didn’t have the power to change the situation. “You’re a dirty fucking dog.”
“A dog, am I?” He shouted, tightening his grip on your throat again. Flecks of spit flew out of his mouth and landed on your face. You turned your face up in repulsion, and that only served to enrage him even more. “Do I disgust you? You think you’re better than me?” He climbed off of you, aggressively flipping you around to rest on your stomach. “You want to call me a dog? I’ll show you a dog!” He slapped you on the behind and it stung the way it had when you were stung by wasps and had to spend the night in the hospital. Taking your free arm, he bent it behind your back, making you cry out. “Shut up!” he snarled, using one hand to press your face into the mattress and the other to force you to prop yourself up on your knees with your behind in the air. He grabbed at one of your butt cheeks, massaging it with his hand. “You’re right, you know,” he said lowly, leaning into your ear. “If I kill you, Chae Yi will ruin me for sure. But I can break your soul.” Dae Gwan spit on your exposed vagina and slapped it hard a few times, he wanted it to hurt.
You fought against him, dropping your legs from under yourself so that you plopped flat back onto the bed, but he just propped you back up. “If you do that again I’ll break your other ankle!” He spit on your butt, smearing it around on your cheeks with his thumb before shoving it into the hole. You could hear the sound of him unzipping his pants and tried desperately to roll over, to break away from his grasp. “Keep the fuck still! Fighting me isn’t going to do you any favors!”
So, there it was. The monster that you had known was in there all along. He’d tried pretending that he wasn’t a bad person, just a good man in a bad position. But you had known better than to trust him, and there he was proving to you that you were right all along. He rammed himself inside you with no regard, using his grip on your wrists that he had forced together behind you to make you slam into him as he crashed into you, keeping the thumb of his other hand firmly in your butt. You screamed into the mattress, crying out for him to stop, but it only made him more aggressive. His hold on your wrist was so tight that you were afraid he was going to snap them and he laughed in response to your shrieks. It was the kind of unhinged laughter that made your insides churn.
“Women always want to be in charge,” Dae Gwan huffed, “my wife runs the house, Chae Yi runs the bunker, and I’m just the errand man, right? But not now! Now, I’m in charge. I’m the one in charge!” He flipped you onto your back and pulled you so your bottom hung off the bed, throwing your legs up onto his shoulders, and positioned himself to reenter you. You took advantage of the fact that your arm was free and he was in such close proximity to you and socked him in the face. It took him by surprise and he reared back, holding his face as blood poured through his nose and seeped through his fingers. “Bitch!” He took the hand that covered his nose and slapped you hard, smearing his blood all over your face and pressed his hand down to cover your nose and mouth. “Fuck this.”
You pulled back to hit him again and he caught your hand in midair, pushing it down onto the bed. He lined himself back up with your opening and plowed into you, banging the top of your head on the concrete wall repeatedly, dazing you. You moved your head around, trying to move his hand from your airways, but he pressed down harder and continued to slam into you. This is it, you thought, this is how I die. What a terrible way to go. You could feel your limbs beginning to go numb as you faded, your vision growing darker and darker by the second. The burning feeling in your chest grew hotter and hotter until you felt like you were on fire. You gave one final attempt at escape, flinging your arm lazily up at him. It barely grazed his face and he laughed at you. The last sensation you could feel was warmth pooling inside you before everything went black.
You woke with a start, sitting straight up in the bed, a scream still in the back of your throat. You searched around the room for Dae Gwan, expecting to see him slinking around somewhere, but you were alone. You sighed heavily and felt pain in your throat. Reaching your free hand up, you lightly pressed your fingers onto the skin of your neck, snatching back immediately when the sensation made you wince. It was swollen, and probably black and blue as well. In fact, your entire body was sore. Your head was pounding and you felt like you’d been hit by a truck.
You checked around the floor, looking for the bottles of water that Dae Gwan had brought before, hoping that a little bit might soothe your aching throat. You found them shoved halfway under the bed, falling out of the bag he had brought them in, and gathered them up to get one open. You lifted it up to your mouth and took small sips, almost letting the water slide down your throat rather than actively swallowing it. It did little to help with the pain. Sitting there with your body aching and your womanhood still stinging, you felt high. Not the kind of high where you could hear colors and everything made you laugh, but the kind of high where your heartbeat was going far too fast, your stomach was queasy and your eyes saw everything as though you were looking through a pair of greased up glasses.
If you were being honest, you hadn’t quite expected him to snap like that. He had been passive before, almost a neutral party in the scenario, and you’d initially thought that maybe you could have convinced him to release you, but he’d revealed his true colors easily enough, and you had to wonder if it had ever really taken much convincing on Chae Yi’s part to get him to agree to help her in the first place; and she hadn’t been there to force him to do what he’d done to you the night before. He’d violated you without a second thought, left you battered and bruised, and likely went on about his day as though he were the helpless one. He was a devil in his own right, and all feelings of the uneasy camaraderie you thought you’d had with him had all but faded.
They’re both monsters, you thought. The overwhelming feeling of darkness that loomed over you like a beast in the night was growing every day, and you felt like soon it would swallow you up. That the next time someone came for you, it wouldn’t be to bring you food and water. If they come back, they’re going to kill me… or worse. You inspected the blanket beneath you, thinking on what had happened the first time Dae Gwan had assaulted you, and were glad to see there wasn’t a new blood stain. You were surprised, but felt a little seedling of hope blooming in your heart. Your memory slipped back to the picture you had seen on Dae Gwan’s phone right after the crash and the story that he had told you about his wife, about how their son had survived the trauma of the fall and was turning six soon. You placed your hand on your stomach and prayed hard, harder than you ever had before and to every god you could think of, that your baby was strong. That it was still growing inside you and would survive this chapter of your life. That you would both come out on the other side in one piece and make it home, to Mingi.
I can’t just sit around and wait for them to come back, you reasoned. I have to try. I have to. You knew that someone was looking for you. They had to be. That Mingi was looking for you, and you had to try to hold out until he found you. You weren’t about to just sit in the bunker and waste away, waiting for help to come, or for the rat that called your tomb home to burrow inside your corpse and make a feast of your insides. You weren’t about to give up. Every nerve in your body was screaming at you to get up and fight like hell. Fight for the life that was awaiting you outside those four concrete walls; and even if there was only a sliver of a chance that the baby that you and Mingi had made of love was in fact alright, you were going to do everything in your power to keep it that way. I won’t just lay down and die. I refuse.
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Warnings: MDNI, R@PE, NON CON, fingering, pregnancy loss, unprotected sex, cyber bullying, public shaming, pregnancy, language, threats of bodily harm, bodily harm, anxiety, car accident, kidnapping, violence, let me know if I'm missing anything
AUTHOR NOTE: THE R@PE SCENE STARTS AND ENDS WITH ASTERISKS IN CASE YOU WANT TO SKIP THAT PART. Please take care of yourself. Your mental health is important.
Previous Ch
Ch 8
When you opened your eyes again, it was still dark. You blinked a few times, trying to force your eyes to adjust to the surroundings and were met with the moon still glowing softly above you. You could hear the sounds of movement behind you and turned your head in the direction it was coming from, only to have a sharp pain send lightning across your vision. “Ah,” you grimaced, trying to reach up and see if you could feel a bruise or any bleeding on your head, but your hands wouldn’t budge. Feeling something abrasive around your wrists, you wriggled your hands around in an attempt to identify what was restraining you. Rope? Your face grew hot, your stomach a ball of nerves. I have to get up. I have to get out of here. You tried to climb to your feet and quickly realized that not only were your wrists tied, but your ankles were too. Fuck. The rustling noises were still going on behind you, so you elected to roll over to get a grasp of the situation behind you.
You could see a figure hunched over by the ditch, whispering down into the car. You watched on quietly, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that you were lucid. The figure grunted as they slowly pulled a more slender shadow from the car. They talked amongst themselves in hushed tones, but with there being no other sounds aside from the crickets and frogs hidden away in the tall grass, their voices carried over to you easily on the breeze. “What the hell happened?” the girl was livid, she snatched away from the man and dusted herself off. “How the hell could you flip the car?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” he argued. “I lost control.” He brought his hands up to cover his face and sighed. “My car is ruined.”
“I seriously can’t believe it.”
“I’m sorry, Chae Yi. It was an accident.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she spat, “fix this!” She swiveled her head around, surveilling the area. “Do you even know where we are? Where’s your phone?” Her eyes lit up as the thought registered in her brain. “Dammit, the phones!” She rushed back over to the car, carefully lowering herself back into it through the open window. You could hear her sifting through the debris for a few moments before poking her head back out. “I found them!” It was a miracle that they hadn’t been lost in the wreck, but you thought that surely they were at least broken. The man helped her out of the car once more and Chae Yi tapped the screen on one of the phones. The display turned on immediately and you could see the picture you had taken with Mingi a few weeks ago while the two of you were lying in bed, faces contorted into silly expressions. The other phone turned on as well, the photo on the screen was unfamiliar to you; a child holding up a small dog and smiling brightly.
“Hey, that one’s mine,” the man said. He stepped forward to take the phone and Chae Yi held it out to him.
“Dae Gwan, you have to fix this. Is there someone you can call to borrow a car or something?”
“Do you think I want to involve anyone else in this scheme of yours?” he guffawed, “absolutely not. Besides,” he added, “the fewer people involved the easier it will be to get away with it.”
Get away with what? You were shaking, terrified. Kidnappings didn’t usually end with the victim being let go and a heartfelt apology. You chanced a glance around you, moving only your eyes, and noted that you were surrounded by almost nothing but fields. There was some sort of structure off in the distance, but you weren’t sure if it was a homestead or not. Wherever you were, nobody was coming to help you. You didn’t know how long it had been since you’d all crashed, and you weren’t sure if either of the others were injured at all; even if you could somehow break out of your restraints, your leg was in a great deal of pain and you knew you probably wouldn’t be able to make a run for it. You sucked your lips into your mouth, stifling a whimper that would have betrayed you. “Anyway, I’m sure I can carry her. She doesn’t look that heavy.”
Chae Yi had begun pacing in a circle, mumbling incoherently to the ground with her hands clasped behind her back. Dae Gwan put his phone away and stood there watching her silently. You eyed him, thinking about what Chae Yi could possibly have leveraged to get him to help her with whatever crazy plans she had in store for you. As if he could feel your eyes on him, he jerked his head over to look at you and you squeezed them shut, feigning unconsciousness, hoping that you hadn’t been caught. Chae Yi noticed him looking at you and sneered, “she still isn’t awake yet? What a weakling.”
“I hit her pretty hard with that wood. Anybody would take a while to recover from that, I think.”
“Are you defending her?”
“I was just making an observation.”
“Maybe you killed her.” She walked over to you slowly, a predator with its eyes locked on prey, and nudged you with her foot. “I think she’s still breathing.” Dae Gwan stood beside her peering down at you and scratching his head.
“So, what’s the plan now? Wouldn’t it be ok if she was dead? Then we could just bury her out here and be done with this.”
“It can’t be that simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she has to suffer!” Chae Yi was nearly foaming at the mouth when she said it. You couldn’t believe that someone you didn’t really know at all could hate you so much. “Pick her up. We have to get out of here before the sun comes up.”
“Ok, but where are we going?”
“We’re getting away from the side of the fucking road, Dae Gwan! I’ll think about the rest when we aren’t sitting out here with a tied up girl in clear view of anyone passing by.” Dae Gwan sighed and bent down to scoop you up into his arms and threw you over his shoulder like fresh dry cleaning. You did your best to remain limp, wanting as much time as possible to hear what they would say when they thought you weren’t listening; hoping maybe one of them would slip up and say something that would help you plot your escape. “Good, now come on. We can stay hidden if we go into the trees over there.” Chae Yi pointed to a thicket of trees off in the distance, they lined the fields on either side of the road and looked like they went on forever. Dae Gwan began to protest and decided against it. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had a sharp pain on the left side of his abdomen and he suspected that he’d broken a rib in the crash. He knew that his companion wouldn’t care and cursed himself for ever getting involved with Lee Chae Yi.
They’d known one another for years, their relationship was… complicated to say the least. Dae Gwan had been a cab driver for about a year when he got Chae Yi as a fare one night, it had been so foggy that he’d had to drive with his bright lights on and the only reason he’d spotted her was because she had been waving her phone around with the flashlight on. When she’d climbed into the car, she thanked him fervently in a thick, sultry voice. He could tell she was trouble right from the start, but her sweet smelling perfume and honeyed words filled the enclosed space and entranced him. He couldn’t resist the desire to look at her in the rearview mirror and stole a glance every chance he got. He thought he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. Within only a few minutes of conversation, he had all but forgotten that he was a happily married man.
Midway through the ride, Chae Yi informed him that she was ever so grateful that he’d pulled over to give her a ride, but that she didn’t have any money on her to pay him for it. That had irritated him beyond belief. He wasn’t into giving free rides, no matter how beautiful the fare. He’d told her that she was going to have to find some money when he dropped her off at her destination and she’d pouted in protest, leaning up in her seat to whisper in his ear to tell him that she was broke until pay day and asked if there was another way she could pay him for the ride. The heat from her breath on the side of his neck had aroused him immediately and when he didn’t respond, she reached around to unbuckle his pants, using her tongue to lick the sweat off of his neck. He hadn’t even realized that he’d closed his eyes until he heard the thud of something glancing off of the hood of his car, felt the tires rolling over the something and heard Chae Yi’s yelp of surprise.
When he stopped the car, they both climbed out together, Chae Yi wiping the evidence of his shame on her shirt, and went around to the front of the car to see what had happened. There had been a large dent on the hood and what looked like a piece of shirt stuck to the grill, blood colored one of the headlights an ominous shade of red, and Dae Gwan could feel himself growing uneasy on his feet. Chae Yi turned her flashlight back on and searched the side of the road, gasping loudly when she discovered the mangled body of a young woman crumpled up in a heap. Dae Gwan had run over to her to see what she was looking at, and shuddered.
When he pulled his phone out to call the police, Chae Yi had nearly smacked it out of his hand, asking him if he was crazy. When he said that it had been an accident and that he needed to call the police, she had responded that if he did that, they might both go to jail and that she didn’t like the sound of that. Within a few minutes she had planned their next plan of action. She helped him get the girl’s body into the car and used her cardigan to wipe the blood off of the hood as best she could so that they could drive on without grabbing unwanted attention. She’d directed him to drive into the countryside, towards the mountains and upon arriving told him to remove all of the girl’s clothes. Once he’d finished, Chae Yi led him into the woods with him carrying the corpse; they walked for what felt like forever, until she told him to put the girl down. When he asked what they were supposed to do with the body, she informed him that they had done all they needed to. That the area was full of wild boars and that they would take care of the body better than either of them would have been able to. She was so cold and calculated that he wondered if she had done that sort of thing before.
His mind had been such a mess that when Chae Yi told him to pull down his pants, he did without question. His stomach was queasy as she sucked him off enthusiastically, telling him with a mouthful of his member that she was so turned on she could hardly stand it. When she eased herself onto his hard dick, all he could do was stare at the body of the girl whose life he had taken only hours before while Chae Yi gripped his ankles, bouncing aggressively on him while she too stared at the body that had already begun to go into rigor mortis. When it was all over, when he had filled her up and they had made their way back down the mountain, Chae Yi demanded his phone number and told him that she would be in contact to help him get his car fixed. That she knew a guy that wouldn’t ask any questions. Dae Gwan remembered just nodding and putting his number in her phone. When he’d finally dropped her off at home, she’d flashed him a toothy grin that made his stomach leap into his throat and told him that she’d had a great time. “Thanks for the ride.” He sat outside of her house for fifteen minutes, mind hazy, before he’d settled on going to a twenty four hour bathhouse. There was no way he would have been able to go straight home and look his wife in the face after everything he’d done.
True to her word, Chae Yi had indeed called him a couple days later to give him an address where he could take the car to be fixed. She was there when he arrived, giddy and still apparently riding on whatever high she had gotten from the accident. She’d taken him to the bathroom in the auto body shop and wrapped her lips around him again, an action to which he had still not found the voice to protest. “If you tell anyone about this,” she said in that sickly sweet tone of hers, “both of our lives will be ruined. You keep your fucking mouth shut, or I’ll tell your wife you’re having an affair before I go to the cops and tell them you forced me to help you get rid of the body.” As he looked down at her, she smiled brightly up at him and milked him dry. He wished he’d had the disposition to get rid of her, but he was no killer.
From that moment on, she would occasionally call on him for “lunch.” He’d meet her at a hotel, she’d ride him until she was satisfied, and then she’d remind him of the secret that tied them together. He knew that was the only reason she kept in touch, to remind him that he had more to lose than she did if he tried to go to the police. She would text him now and again too, asking if he’d seen the girl’s missing posters, telling him how positively soaked she would get when she thought about that night in the woods. She both disgusted and intrigued him, he was too full of her, yet couldn’t get enough. When she’d called on him this last time and asked for a favor, said that she needed him to help her do one thing and she’d leave him alone for good, he jumped at the opportunity to settle the score. And there he was, hauling another poor soul through a field and up into the mountains. As you flopped around limply in his arms, he hoped that you were dead, imagining it to be better than whatever hell the succubus had curated.
You were all a good way into the tree line when Chae Yi stated that she needed to take a break. “My back is killing me,” she whined. She settled herself against a tree and slid down to the ground. “I’d love a hot bath right now.”
“That would be nice.” Dae Gwan followed her lead, pulling you off of his shoulder and attempting to set you gently on the ground; a sudden pang in his gut made him falter, and you spilled onto the dirt, unable to help the grunt that came out when a sharp rock cut into your skin.
“So, you’re awake now, huh?” Chae Yi said, “welcome back.”
“Where are we?” you asked, spitting dirt out of your mouth. “Where are you taking me?”
“I have no reason to answer either of those questions. Now shut the hell up.” Moonlight shined through the trees, casting an eerie glow over her face, making her eyes and cheeks appear sunken in.
This is her true face, Dae Gwan thought to himself. He looked away from her to watch you struggle for a moment before helping you sit upright. You mumbled a halfhearted thank you, glad for the show of humanity, no matter how minor. Chae Yi scoffed and folded her arms in front of her. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep carrying her,” Dae Gwan said.
“What, is she too fat to carry?” You rolled your eyes hard. While you weren’t eighty five pounds, you certainly weren’t anything close to fat. She was just talking out of her ass, and you all knew it.
“I think I have a broken rib or something,” he answered as he gingerly touched his abdomen. It hurts a lot.”
“Well that’s just perfect,” she sighed. “I guess we can make her walk. Untie her ankles.”
My leg hurts a lot too,” you informed them. “I don’t know if it’s broken somewhere, but it hurts.”
“Nobody fucking asked you. You’re still gonna walk, even if you’re in pain. And if you don’t, I will break something on you.” Chae Yi picked up a large rock and turned it over in her hands. “Yeah, you’re going to do everything I say or I’ll bash your fucking skull in. How about that, you little slut.”
“Why are you even doing this?” you questioned. “You can just let me go and I won’t say anything about tonight. I swear.”
“Yeah right. You’ve seen both our faces. I’m not letting you go.”
“What do you want from me? Do you want me to leave him? I will. I’ll leave him and you can have him all to yourself.”
“Don’t lie to me. Anyway, you’re not going anywhere. You or your bastard baby.”
The baby! So many things had happened that night that you’d nearly forgotten the most important thing of all. Yours and Mingi’s baby. You looked down at your stomach, brows knitted in concern. What if I’ve lost him? You had only just found out you were having a baby, and had to deal with the idea that you might also lose it in the same night. You could feel the tears gathering on your waterline and closed your eyes, not wanting to let that monster of a woman see you cry. Please, please be ok. Be strong.
“Where are we taking her?” Dae Gwan asked. “You never did tell me.”
“There’s an abandoned bomb shelter around here. That’s where we’re going. Check our location on your phone and I c-”
“If you’re going to kill me just do it already!” you interrupted. “Why take me all across the world if you’re just going to kill me?” The tears were pouring down your face now. “you’ve already brought me out into the middle of nowhere! Just do it!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Chae Yi shouted. “Half the fun is the journey. Don’t be in such hurry to die. Are you stupid or something?”
“I’m just tired of playing these games with you!” you yelled back. “It’s been months of this foolishness. Just kill me already if that’s what you plan to do.”
Chae Yi reached out and slapped you across the face, sending you careening back down to the ground. She climbed on top of you and leaned in until her nose and yours nearly touched. “You just keep begging for it like you probably begged for Mingi to fuck you.”
“Fuck you,” you spit in her face, “I don’t have to beg for it, you crazy bitch.” Chae Yi’s vision went red, she wiped the spit from her face and used the palm of the same hand to smush your face into the ground. It hurt like hell as she ground you into the dirt, sharp pebbles dug into the side of your face, leaving small abrasions on your cheek.
“It seems like you don’t know your place,” she huffed, jumping to her feet. You glared daggers at her from the ground and she smirked. “You feel superior to me? Think you’re better than me, huh?” She brought her foot back and swung it forward as quickly as she could, the tip of her shoe connected with your chest and nearly knocked the wind out of you. You lay there gasping for air, tears streaming down your face. As painful as it was, you were just glad she didn’t aim for your stomach.
“Hey,” Dae Gwan piped up, “we should probably start moving again now that we’ve got some energy.” You peered over at him; he was looking down at you and you thought that you could maybe see concern in his eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Chae Yi cleared her throat and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Let’s get this show on the road.” She watched Dae Gwan untie your feet and help you stand up. “Did you find out where we are?”
“Yeah.” He beckoned for her to look at the phone and after a moment or two she sighed loudly.
“Looks like we have to walk a bit farther than I initially anticipated,” she grumbled, “but first,” she pulled your phone out of her pocket, “unlock it.” She tapped on the screen and held it up to your face.
“It needs my fingerprint,” you said flatly. “What do you want my phone for? Give it back to me.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” She moved behind you and you could feel her pulling at your fingers to rest one on the unlock button. You heard the clicking sound and Chae Yi letting out an excited breath. “Awesome.” She came back around to you and held the phone back up to your face, the camera facing you. “Smile.” She tapped the phone and the flash of the camera nearly blinded you. You had been in the dark for so long that the light left you disoriented. “Damn,” Chae Yi giggled, “you look like shit.” She showed you the photo she had taken. You really did look a fright. Clumps of dirt and dried leaves were stuck in your tangled hair, one side of your face was swollen and had bits of dried blood where the rocks had pierced your skin, and one of your eyes was completely bloodshot, you assumed that your eye was because of the crash. You jerked your head away. “Maybe I’ll send this and that picture you took of the pregnancy test to Mingi, what do you think?”
“No don’t!” you shouted. “Don’t you fucking dare!” You struggled against Dae Gwan, trying desperately to get to Chae Yi. You wanted to rip her throat out. She was tormenting you just for the hell of it. You’d learned years ago that some predators liked to scare their prey before they killed and consumed them. Apparently, it was a tactic to tire the prey out and minimize the chance of injury to the predator. You wondered if she was doing something similar, trying to fuck with your mind and break down your body so that you’d be easier to destroy when she was ready.
“Ah, so you really didn’t tell him yet?” she smiled, “I thought that maybe you hadn’t since I didn’t see a message to him about it. What, are you scared he won’t want it? Afraid he’ll want you to get rid of it? I would if I were him. You just want to ruin his career.”
“What the fuck is your deal, man?” you growled. “Why are you so obsessed with him? He doesn’t even know who you are!”
“He does know who I am!” she screamed. “I messaged him on Fromm and told him I loved him and he said he loved me too! One day I commented while he was live and he responded to me! I’ve been following him since debut! He knows me!”
“It’s called fan service, you fucking psycho! And if you really knew anything about him, you would know that you are exactly the type of quote unquote fan he doesn’t like! When I asked him about you, he said that you freaked him out! He doesn’t want you!” It wasn’t enough that she was terrorizing you, now she wanted to bring Mingi into it too.
“Your phone has been vibrating in my pocket almost nonstop. He’s probably worried about you, huh? Ooh, what if I send him the test and tell him it’s not his baby? That’ll make him break it off with you.”
“He’d never believe it.”
“Come on, Chae Yi, that’s enough. We have to go. Don’t you see the time?” Dae Gwan said. She checked the time on your phone.
“Oh shit, yeah, let’s go.” She led the way, with you between her and him. He held tight to your wrist restraints and read out the directions as he watched the map. You followed behind Chae Yi slowly, every time you would put pressure on your leg you would feel a shooting pain from your ankle going up to your thigh and would buckle a bit; Dae Gwan wordlessly moved to walk beside you and allowed you to put some of your weight on him. As you walked, you thought of Mingi. About how he was probably losing his mind and blowing your phone up. You wondered if he had checked your location, or if he even could. Chae Yi had probably turned it off once she’d gotten the phone unlocked. Dae Gwan looked down at you, having noticed that you’d begun sniffling.
“Don’t cry,” he said sternly but quietly, of earshot of Chae Yi. “She likes that.”
You’d been walking for a couple hours when Chae Yi announced that she knew where you all were now, and that the bunker was close. You said a silent prayer of thanks, your leg felt like someone had stabbed a thousand red hot needles into it and you would have given anything to be able to rest it for a while. She led you a bit further into the wooded area until you all came upon a patch of grass devoid of trees. She bent down and swept a few leaves away with her hand, revealing a looped handle that was connected to another smaller hoop that had been welded to the doorframe of the bunker door by a rusty lock. “Here we are,” she grinned. She turned around in a circle, looking for something on the ground and settled her eyes on a decently sized rock. Turning back to the bunker door, she began bashing the lock with the rock until it snapped and clattered to the side “Dae Gwan come lift this up.” He let go of your wrists and went to help her, pulling on the handle; a deafening metal creak resounded through the woods as the door lifted open. You stood there, dumbfounded; you’d thought that the bunker idea had been a crock of shit, but there it was, metal mouth agape, just waiting for you.
“How did you even know this was here?” Dae Gwan asked the question before you could. Not that you thought she would give you a straight answer, anyway.
“I just do. Now come on.” She headed down the narrow stairway first, swiping cobwebs out of the way and using her shirt to cover her mouth. Dae Gwan had pulled his shirt up over his nose as well and looked at you apologetically when you started coughing from all the dust. The further you went, the darker and more ominous it became. Chae Yi flicked on the phones’ flashlight, but it did little to help cut through the dust in the air, “It’s gotten so nasty in here,” she mumbled. When you all finally reached the bottom of the stairs, you were met with a short hallway that opened to a much larger room and a smaller room to the left. Chae Yi waved you forward and Dae Gwan gently ushered you into the larger room; your footsteps echoed in the large space despite the layer of dust on the floor. “We have to get some lanterns down here,” Chae Yi said.
“This is a bomb shelter, right?” Dae Gwan asked, “there are probably some in that room we passed by. I would imagine there’s a lot of stuff we could use in there.”
“Go check then,” she snapped. She moved to stand beside you, her hand taking the place of his on your ropes, while Dae Gwan made his way back into the hall to check the storage room.
“You’ll never get away with this, you know,” you commented, side eyeing Chae Yi. “I’m sure Mingi will be looking for me. He’ll hire a private detective.”
“Please, nobody is going to find you here.”
“You can’t keep me down here.”
“Yes I can.”
“Hey, I found them!” Dae Gwan returned with an arm full of lanterns and a blanket slung over his shoulder. “I think I saw a generator in there too.”
“A generator? Nice. We’ll need to charge the phones some way.” Chae Yi took a couple lanterns from him and turned them on before setting them on the ground. With the space lit up a little more, you were able to make out the shapes of what looked like a few beds, some shelving, a table, chairs, and a couple buckets. There was a big, thick pipe along the wall that looked like it led to outside, you assumed it was meant to let oxygen in. In your opinion it looked more like a prison cell than anything else, and you supposed that for you, it was.
“I’m gonna go see if I can get the generator to turn on, so we can get some actual lights in here.” Dae Gwan stated, “I just didn’t want you girls to be in the dark in the meantime.” He put the blanker over your shoulders.
“So thoughtful,” Chae Yi giggled. You didn’t acknowledge him, just looking down at the floor instead, but you could feel his eyes on you. Chae Yi didn’t speak to you, she just stood there staring off into space. You couldn’t tell if she was contemplating something or if she had finally short circuited. You tried to follow her gaze, but it went nowhere. Shifting your weight from one foot to the other, you groaned as the pain shot back up your leg again.
“I need to sit down,” you pleaded. “My leg.”
“Ugh, you complain so much,” she had snapped out of whatever trance she was in to berate you, dragging you over to one of the filthy beds and shoving you down onto it. She took the rope that had been tying your feet and used it to tie your arms to the bed.
“Can, you at least tie them in front of me now? My shoulders hurt.”
“I don’t care. Shut up.” She sat beside you on the bed, grinning. “So, I thought about it, and I’m gonna send him the pregnancy test. You shouldn’t get to do it. You don’t deserve to have his baby.”
“Don’t. He’s working, It’ll only stress him out.” She ignored you, pulling the phone out of her pocket. As if it knew you were there, it lit up and you could see that he was calling again. Chae Yi looked at the screen excitedly, contemplating on whether or not she wanted to answer it. “Can I just talk to him? Please.”
“Fuck no,” she said flatly. “You’ll never talk to him again. He’s mine.” She clicked the side button on the phone, sending the call to voicemail. “But I’ll do you one better.” She tapped on the phone with a devilish look on her face, doing something that you couldn’t see before she stored it safely back in her pocket.
Mingi sat on the bed of his hotel room. He had lost count of how many times he had called you, and he couldn’t imagine why you weren’t picking up the phone. He had been pretty tired when you had hung up the phone as you were getting in the cab, but he was fully alert now. “What the hell is she doing?” he had his hands in his hair and his face buried in his raised knees. “Where is she?”
“Mingi, what’s going on?” He hadn’t even noticed that Yunho had come back into the room. He had been out with the others to get soba, Mingi had declined, stating that he wasn’t hungry. The truth had been that he just wanted some time to talk to you.
“I can’t get Y/N on the phone,” Mingi griped. “She won’t pick up and I’ve called her a million times.”
“Maybe she went to sleep, Mingi.” Yunho had gone into the bathroom, Mingi could see him undressing to climb into the shower. “She was probably tired.”
“No!” He hadn’t meant to shout. “She wouldn’t just go to sleep without letting me know she made it home. She knows I worry after what happened before. She always lets me know she’s home. Always, Yunho.”
“Well, do you have her location?” Yunho asked as he scrubbed his hair. “Just check that.”
“I don’t really check her location unless I need to. It’s meant to keep her safe, not keep tabs on her.”
“Well, if you’re worried about her, I think you should check it. At least you can see if she’s home.” Mingi stood up with his phone in his hand and walked into the bathroom. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he needed emotional support. He and Yunho were so used to seeing one another unclothed that it never bothered either of them to be naked around the other.
“I’m kind of scared, Yunho. What if something’s happened?”
“Just look, Mingiya.” Mingi let out a sigh and pulled up your location on find my friends, immediately feeling like he was going to pass out when he saw your pin in the middle of the mountains outside of Hongdae.
“Yunho.” The tone in his voice immediately grabbed Yunho’s attention. He poked his head out of the shower to see Mingi staring disbelievingly at the phone screen.
“Where is she?”
“The mountains. It says she’s in the fucking mountains, Yunho.” He could feel his entire body vibrating, wanting to rip itself apart. He had known it. He had known that the moment he was gone that you were going to be at risk. That that fucking psychopath was going to use his absence to her advantage. His mind raked through all the possibilities of what could have happened to you, none of them good. Your body chopped up and scattered around the woods, you being tied up and left in a trunk to starve or suffocate to death. He shot up and leaned into the sink, spilling his stomach contents.
“Ya, ya, ya, Mingi. Calm down. Maybe it’s the phone that was stolen? Maybe that’s what it is.” Yunho had wrapped a towel around himself and climbed out of the shower to comfort his best friend. He rubbed small circles on his back, wishing that he hadn’t suggested Mingi check your location. It had only served to make the situation worse, and there wasn’t really anything that could be done while they were in Japan. Mingi couldn’t really leave if he wanted to.
“It’s not the stolen phone, Yunho. That’s her. What the hell would she be doing in the mountains? It’s the middle of the night. It’s dangerous out there. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s been taken?” The phone in his hand dinged. An incoming message from your number. He and Yunho both sat with bated breath as Mingi opened it. “Yunho, what is this?” They both looked down at the image on the phone. A little plastic stick with two blue lines on it.
“That’s a pregnancy test… it’s…positive.” Mingi jerked his head up, his eyes meeting Yunho’s. A positive pregnancy test?
“Y/N… is pregnant?” he whispered. “Pregnant? But why wouldn’t she just tell me? She has to know I wouldn’t be upset! Is this why she won’t answer my calls? Is she afraid of what I’ll say?”
“I… I don’t know, Mingi.” Yunho sat down on the edge of the tub and sighed. “This is big news.”
“Why is she in the mountains? What does her being pregnant have to do with that, Yunho? She should be home resting, not in the woods. Someone has her, Yunho. I know it. There’s no way she’s out there of her own free will.” Mingi could feel his stomach starting to churn again. “I have to call the police. Not only is my girl out there, but she has our baby too. I’m going to be a dad, Yunho.”
“I think… I think we should tell the others,” Yunho picked his phone up off of the back of the toilet and sent out a group text to the rest of the members to come to his and Mingi’s room. Mingi didn’t object, hanging his head as tears began to well up in his eyes.
Forty five minutes and a million questions later, the rest of the members were up to date on the entire situation. San and Seonghwa weren’t anywhere near as shocked as Hongjoong, Yeosang, Wooyoung and Jongho. Wooyoung had had the most questions, asking how Mingi could have kept all this from them, how things had escalated so much. He wasn’t angry, he seemed more hurt than anything else, and Mingi felt more guilty than he already had. Jongho hadn’t had much to say, he sat beside Mingi with his hand on his lap as Mingi recounted the whole affair. Mingi was glad for the silent support. Hongjoong didn’t say anything until Mingi was finished and when he did it was simple. “We’ll do whatever we can to help you, Mingiya. Eight makes one team, remember? Don’t forget we’re your brothers.” At that, Mingi broke down. He choked out tear strained thank yous and apologies, bowing so low that his nose nearly touched the floor. Seonghwa lifted him to his feet, pulling him into a hug.
“We’re here for you, Mingi.”
Back at the bunker, a loud sound had come from the small room that Dae Gwan had disappeared into, followed by a bright light overhead. You squeezed your eyes shut, the light felt almost invasive after spending so long in the dark. Once you’d had a moment, you slowly cracked them open and looked around. The space wasn’t as big as you had initially thought, but it was certainly still dirty. The number of bugs you saw scurrying across the floor and up the walls was enough to make your skin crawl, even Chae Yi let out a shocked yelp when she saw a huge centipede running along the big pipe.
“I got it!” Dae Gwan came from the room with more stuff in his arms. Cans and boxes of what you assumed was food. You hoped that whatever it was, it wasn’t expired; you were so hungry that you felt like you would pass out. He came over and spilled the load onto the bed, you saw a bunch of freeze dried foods.
“Thank you,” you said, smiling up at him weakly. Now that you’d been sitting for a moment, the pain and exhaustion from the night had begun to sink in. You lay down on the bed and closed you eyes, suddenly desperate for sleep.
“Oh, you two seem friendly,” Chae Yi looked from you to Dae Gwan, who quickly cast his eyes to the floor. “You like her, don’t you? Think she’s pretty?”
“I’m here to help you, Chae Yi.”
“Yeah, yeah that’s right, you are.” She pulled the phone back out. I know just how you can help me too, since you two are on such good terms it shouldn’t be a problem, right, Y/N?” It was the first time you had heard her use your name. You didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Looking at her, you could see that she had that crazed look in her eyes again.
“What do you want?” Dae Gwan sighed heavily, prepared for whatever she was going to dish out.
“Do it!” She turned to you and yanked roughly at your shirt, tearing your collar. You pulled away from her, protesting, and she punched you in the face. You could feel blood leaking from your already swelling lip. She continued to yank at your shirt while you lay there dazed. Once she had gotten it off she looked over to him. “Dae Gwan.”
“I won’t.”
“You will!” She took hold of his hand and thrust it in your direction. “You will.”
“I’m not a monster!” he yelled, unsure if he was trying to convince her or himself. “You can’t ask me to do this.”
“You’re not just a monster, Dae Gwan. You’re a killer. You’re no better than me. Now do what I told you to.” You looked on as he began to cry, his face red and his eyes bloodshot. He was just as tired as you. The only one that seemed to be no worse for the wear was Chae Yi. You felt confident that he wouldn’t listen to her instructions until he climbed on the bed beside you and reached for your pants, hands shaking.
“No!” you yelled. You started squirming, “no, please!” Chae Yi watched on silently as you and Dae Gwan fought for possession of your pants. With your arms tied behind you there was only so much you could do and so many ways you could move without hurting yourself. Ultimately, your pants were removed and tossed to the floor and you lay there sobbing in your underwear. “Please, Dae Gwan,” you begged, “you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do,” he responded. His voice was thick with tears and regret. Chae Yi giggled maniacally, snapping photos of you from all the angles she could get. Once she had gotten the ones she wanted she gave more instructions.
“Now her underwear.”
You started crying harder, your entire body heaving with sobs. You squeezed your legs shut as tightly as you could, crossing your ankles around themselves. Dae Gwan made easy work of separating them. He refused to look at you while he disrobed you, when he was finished your bra and panties lay atop your pants and torn shirt, and he stood up from the bed as if to signify he wouldn’t go any farther.
“You aren’t done,” Chae Yi said flatly as she snapped more photos of your nude body on the dirty bed. You knew it looked terrible, you naked with a bloodied face and arms tied to the bed. You prayed that she wouldn’t send them to Mingi, but you knew that was exactly what she had planned.
“Chae Yi, I can’t do this.”
“Dae Gwan, don’t test me!” She delivered a vicious slap to the side of his face before grabbing a hold of it and kissing him hard on the mouth. You watched on as she fished around in his mouth with her tongue, her hand down his pants, bringing him to unwilling arousal. “Besides, don’t you want her? Look at her, just sitting there waiting for you. She’ll love it, I promise. You’re a great fuck.” She knelt down and unzipped his pants, pulling out his length and shoving it into her mouth up to the base. She gagged on it and you watched Dae Gwan’s face as he let out a moan, pleasure and pain mixed together. “There,” she said, popping his member back out of her mouth and stroking it gingerly, “you’re nice and hard for her. Look at her. She wants it.”
You shook your head aggressively with tears and snot streaming down your face. “Please, Dae Gwan. No. I’m pregnant.”
“Shut up, bitch! Do it, Dae Gwan.” He closed his eyes tightly, his face a mixture of emotions, and let out a deep sigh before walking over and climbing on top of you. The pressure of his body on yours pressed you into the bed and your arms bent at an uncomfortable angle beneath you. You let out a pained gasp.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, aligning his body with yours. “I’m so sorry.”
“Now make it good,” Chae Yi demanded. “I’m recording a nice video.” She settled herself on the floor a few feet away from the bed and made a show of letting you know the camera was on and pointed directly at you. You turned your face away, not wanting to give her the satisfaction but when she commanded Dae Gwan to make you look at her, he took his large hand and snatched your face to the other side, holding it there. You squeezed your entrance shut as tightly as you could muster, but he broke through easily. He tried to be as gentle as he could at first, but with Chae Yi’s chiding, he was made to go harder.
You stifled your cries of pain and lay as still as you could while he pumped aggressively into you. Chae Yi held the phone with one hand, and had the other down in her pants, enjoying every moment as if she were living vicariously through you. “Harder! Faster! Yes!” She fingered herself the entire time, her eyes locked onto yours, her moans of pleasure bounced off the walls and back into your ears. Dae Gwan finished quickly, climbing off of you and turning away to release his load onto the floor. You lay there sore and raw, feeling slimy. What you would have given for a shower. God, did you want a shower.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Chae Yi asked, a smile on her face. I know I did. You took Dae Gwan’s dick like the filthy whore that you are.” She took the fingers that had been in her pants and shoved them in your mouth. You immediately bit down hard, and she screamed in pain, using her free hand to punch you in the stomach. You released her fingers and she backed away from you quickly. “Crazy bitch!” she screamed. “Dae Gwan, come here!” He initially didn’t move, but she called to him again and he turned around to face her. His dick was still hard. “Oh, she wasn’t good enough for you?” Chae Yi laughed, a real, hearty laugh. “Ok, ok, I get it. I’ll handle it for you.” She shot you a dirty look, “I’ll show you how it’s done.”
She pushed him gently down onto the bed and straddled him, sliding herself down onto his dick slowly, releasing a low growl from her throat. He placed his hands around her waist and helped her balance as she bounced up and down on him, throwing her head back and moaning in genuine pleasure. “Oh, you’re such a great fuck, I know you liked it, Y/N. Was he better than Mingi? Maybe we can trade men, huh? Don’t like that?” She looked at you for a moment as she rode him, her face changing to one of disappointment when you didn’t acknowledge her. “Not talking to me?” That’s ok. I’ll get a reaction out of you one way or another. She reached down to your sore and swollen womanhood and shoved her finger inside, thrusting in and out to keep the same pace that she was bouncing in.
You gave her nothing, doing your very best to pretend like you felt nothing. You almost didn’t have to pretend. You felt hollow, like you weren’t even in your own body anymore. Like she had already killed you and you were watching the events unfold from another plane. She brought Dae Gwan to climax and refused to let him finish anywhere but on your stomach. He did so and pulled his pants up, wandering silently into the room where the generator and food were. Chae Yi tidied herself up and opened up a pack of freeze dried squid to snack on while she rewatched the video she’d recorded like it was her favorite show. You brought your knees up to your chest and closed your eyes, willing yourself to fall asleep. Praying that you wouldn’t wake up.
The next day you awoke to an empty room. Just you and the bugs. You sat up and checked yourself over as best you could, noticing a bit of dried blood on the blanket. You felt your stomach rumbling, but you couldn’t think about eating. You stared at the blood on the blankets, anxiety creeping up your neck. You knew enough about pregnancy to know that blood was bad. “My baby,” you whispered, feeling the tears coming. “Not my baby.”
The loud creaking of the bunker door startled you, and you backed up onto the bed, trying to make yourself as small as possible. Dae Gwan came through the hall holding a cup of something hot and a bag. He came to stand by the bed and quietly set the items down on the floor. Without speaking, he went behind you and untied one of your hands, leaving the other connected to the bed. “You should eat,” he said to the floor. “The baby.”
You couldn’t stop the sudden wave of anger that overtook you. “Oh, now you care about my baby? You fuckers! You killed my baby!” You kicked over the cup of what must have been tea and shot your hand across his face. “You murdered my child!” He didn’t say anything, he didn’t even react to the slap. He bent down and picked up the spilled cup.
“You should still eat.” His voice sounded hollow now.
“There’s no point,” you buried your face in your hand. “You killed my baby. There’s no point. You want to keep me alive just to kill me later? Enough of this! What more can you do to me?”
“I didn’t want this to happen.” He wouldn’t look at you, he was faced in the complete opposite direction, talking to the walls.
“You didn’t exactly stop it either! You didn’t have to do that to me! Why? Why would you do that?” You were screaming. “My child is gone! I haven’t done a single thing to you or that fucking crazy woman and you’ve killed me!” You were clutching your chest, the pain you felt at the loss was physical. “You’ve killed me.” You wanted to cry, but you couldn’t. Things had been so different just a few days ago. It felt like it had been forever since you’d seen your apartment, your job. Since you’d felt a loving touch.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Fuck your sorry and fuck you. Just leave me here.” You sank down onto the bed, silent. Dae Gwan stood there for a moment before speaking again.
“Eat.”
You had been being pliant before, not wanting to cause too much trouble so that you could protect the life growing inside of you, but now that it was gone, now that they had taken the most precious things from you, you found you had no reason to care anymore. You just wanted to die. “Kiss my ass.” Dae Gwan sighed, but he said nothing else, walking back out into the hall and up the stairs, leaving you alone once more.
Warnings: MDNI, R@PE, NON CON, fingering, pregnancy loss, unprotected sex, cyber bullying, public shaming, pregnancy, language, threats of bodily harm, bodily harm, anxiety, car accident, kidnapping, violence, let me know if I'm missing anything
AUTHOR NOTE: THE R@PE SCENE STARTS AND ENDS WITH ASTERISKS IN CASE YOU WANT TO SKIP THAT PART. Please take care of yourself. Your mental health is important.
Previous Ch
Ch 8
When you opened your eyes again, it was still dark. You blinked a few times, trying to force your eyes to adjust to the surroundings and were met with the moon still glowing softly above you. You could hear the sounds of movement behind you and turned your head in the direction it was coming from, only to have a sharp pain send lightning across your vision. “Ah,” you grimaced, trying to reach up and see if you could feel a bruise or any bleeding on your head, but your hands wouldn’t budge. Feeling something abrasive around your wrists, you wriggled your hands around in an attempt to identify what was restraining you. Rope? Your face grew hot, your stomach a ball of nerves. I have to get up. I have to get out of here. You tried to climb to your feet and quickly realized that not only were your wrists tied, but your ankles were too. Fuck. The rustling noises were still going on behind you, so you elected to roll over to get a grasp of the situation behind you.
You could see a figure hunched over by the ditch, whispering down into the car. You watched on quietly, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that you were lucid. The figure grunted as they slowly pulled a more slender shadow from the car. They talked amongst themselves in hushed tones, but with there being no other sounds aside from the crickets and frogs hidden away in the tall grass, their voices carried over to you easily on the breeze. “What the hell happened?” the girl was livid, she snatched away from the man and dusted herself off. “How the hell could you flip the car?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” he argued. “I lost control.” He brought his hands up to cover his face and sighed. “My car is ruined.”
“I seriously can’t believe it.”
“I’m sorry, Chae Yi. It was an accident.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she spat, “fix this!” She swiveled her head around, surveilling the area. “Do you even know where we are? Where’s your phone?” Her eyes lit up as the thought registered in her brain. “Dammit, the phones!” She rushed back over to the car, carefully lowering herself back into it through the open window. You could hear her sifting through the debris for a few moments before poking her head back out. “I found them!” It was a miracle that they hadn’t been lost in the wreck, but you thought that surely they were at least broken. The man helped her out of the car once more and Chae Yi tapped the screen on one of the phones. The display turned on immediately and you could see the picture you had taken with Mingi a few weeks ago while the two of you were lying in bed, faces contorted into silly expressions. The other phone turned on as well, the photo on the screen was unfamiliar to you; a child holding up a small dog and smiling brightly.
“Hey, that one’s mine,” the man said. He stepped forward to take the phone and Chae Yi held it out to him.
“Dae Gwan, you have to fix this. Is there someone you can call to borrow a car or something?”
“Do you think I want to involve anyone else in this scheme of yours?” he guffawed, “absolutely not. Besides,” he added, “the fewer people involved the easier it will be to get away with it.”
Get away with what? You were shaking, terrified. Kidnappings didn’t usually end with the victim being let go and a heartfelt apology. You chanced a glance around you, moving only your eyes, and noted that you were surrounded by almost nothing but fields. There was some sort of structure off in the distance, but you weren’t sure if it was a homestead or not. Wherever you were, nobody was coming to help you. You didn’t know how long it had been since you’d all crashed, and you weren’t sure if either of the others were injured at all; even if you could somehow break out of your restraints, your leg was in a great deal of pain and you knew you probably wouldn’t be able to make a run for it. You sucked your lips into your mouth, stifling a whimper that would have betrayed you. “Anyway, I’m sure I can carry her. She doesn’t look that heavy.”
Chae Yi had begun pacing in a circle, mumbling incoherently to the ground with her hands clasped behind her back. Dae Gwan put his phone away and stood there watching her silently. You eyed him, thinking about what Chae Yi could possibly have leveraged to get him to help her with whatever crazy plans she had in store for you. As if he could feel your eyes on him, he jerked his head over to look at you and you squeezed them shut, feigning unconsciousness, hoping that you hadn’t been caught. Chae Yi noticed him looking at you and sneered, “she still isn’t awake yet? What a weakling.”
“I hit her pretty hard with that wood. Anybody would take a while to recover from that, I think.”
“Are you defending her?”
“I was just making an observation.”
“Maybe you killed her.” She walked over to you slowly, a predator with its eyes locked on prey, and nudged you with her foot. “I think she’s still breathing.” Dae Gwan stood beside her peering down at you and scratching his head.
“So, what’s the plan now? Wouldn’t it be ok if she was dead? Then we could just bury her out here and be done with this.”
“It can’t be that simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she has to suffer!” Chae Yi was nearly foaming at the mouth when she said it. You couldn’t believe that someone you didn’t really know at all could hate you so much. “Pick her up. We have to get out of here before the sun comes up.”
“Ok, but where are we going?”
“We’re getting away from the side of the fucking road, Dae Gwan! I’ll think about the rest when we aren’t sitting out here with a tied up girl in clear view of anyone passing by.” Dae Gwan sighed and bent down to scoop you up into his arms and threw you over his shoulder like fresh dry cleaning. You did your best to remain limp, wanting as much time as possible to hear what they would say when they thought you weren’t listening; hoping maybe one of them would slip up and say something that would help you plot your escape. “Good, now come on. We can stay hidden if we go into the trees over there.” Chae Yi pointed to a thicket of trees off in the distance, they lined the fields on either side of the road and looked like they went on forever. Dae Gwan began to protest and decided against it. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had a sharp pain on the left side of his abdomen and he suspected that he’d broken a rib in the crash. He knew that his companion wouldn’t care and cursed himself for ever getting involved with Lee Chae Yi.
They’d known one another for years, their relationship was… complicated to say the least. Dae Gwan had been a cab driver for about a year when he got Chae Yi as a fare one night, it had been so foggy that he’d had to drive with his bright lights on and the only reason he’d spotted her was because she had been waving her phone around with the flashlight on. When she’d climbed into the car, she thanked him fervently in a thick, sultry voice. He could tell she was trouble right from the start, but her sweet smelling perfume and honeyed words filled the enclosed space and entranced him. He couldn’t resist the desire to look at her in the rearview mirror and stole a glance every chance he got. He thought he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. Within only a few minutes of conversation, he had all but forgotten that he was a happily married man.
Midway through the ride, Chae Yi informed him that she was ever so grateful that he’d pulled over to give her a ride, but that she didn’t have any money on her to pay him for it. That had irritated him beyond belief. He wasn’t into giving free rides, no matter how beautiful the fare. He’d told her that she was going to have to find some money when he dropped her off at her destination and she’d pouted in protest, leaning up in her seat to whisper in his ear to tell him that she was broke until pay day and asked if there was another way she could pay him for the ride. The heat from her breath on the side of his neck had aroused him immediately and when he didn’t respond, she reached around to unbuckle his pants, using her tongue to lick the sweat off of his neck. He hadn’t even realized that he’d closed his eyes until he heard the thud of something glancing off of the hood of his car, felt the tires rolling over the something and heard Chae Yi’s yelp of surprise.
When he stopped the car, they both climbed out together, Chae Yi wiping the evidence of his shame on her shirt, and went around to the front of the car to see what had happened. There had been a large dent on the hood and what looked like a piece of shirt stuck to the grill, blood colored one of the headlights an ominous shade of red, and Dae Gwan could feel himself growing uneasy on his feet. Chae Yi turned her flashlight back on and searched the side of the road, gasping loudly when she discovered the mangled body of a young woman crumpled up in a heap. Dae Gwan had run over to her to see what she was looking at, and shuddered.
When he pulled his phone out to call the police, Chae Yi had nearly smacked it out of his hand, asking him if he was crazy. When he said that it had been an accident and that he needed to call the police, she had responded that if he did that, they might both go to jail and that she didn’t like the sound of that. Within a few minutes she had planned their next plan of action. She helped him get the girl’s body into the car and used her cardigan to wipe the blood off of the hood as best she could so that they could drive on without grabbing unwanted attention. She’d directed him to drive into the countryside, towards the mountains and upon arriving told him to remove all of the girl’s clothes. Once he’d finished, Chae Yi led him into the woods with him carrying the corpse; they walked for what felt like forever, until she told him to put the girl down. When he asked what they were supposed to do with the body, she informed him that they had done all they needed to. That the area was full of wild boars and that they would take care of the body better than either of them would have been able to. She was so cold and calculated that he wondered if she had done that sort of thing before.
His mind had been such a mess that when Chae Yi told him to pull down his pants, he did without question. His stomach was queasy as she sucked him off enthusiastically, telling him with a mouthful of his member that she was so turned on she could hardly stand it. When she eased herself onto his hard dick, all he could do was stare at the body of the girl whose life he had taken only hours before while Chae Yi gripped his ankles, bouncing aggressively on him while she too stared at the body that had already begun to go into rigor mortis. When it was all over, when he had filled her up and they had made their way back down the mountain, Chae Yi demanded his phone number and told him that she would be in contact to help him get his car fixed. That she knew a guy that wouldn’t ask any questions. Dae Gwan remembered just nodding and putting his number in her phone. When he’d finally dropped her off at home, she’d flashed him a toothy grin that made his stomach leap into his throat and told him that she’d had a great time. “Thanks for the ride.” He sat outside of her house for fifteen minutes, mind hazy, before he’d settled on going to a twenty four hour bathhouse. There was no way he would have been able to go straight home and look his wife in the face after everything he’d done.
True to her word, Chae Yi had indeed called him a couple days later to give him an address where he could take the car to be fixed. She was there when he arrived, giddy and still apparently riding on whatever high she had gotten from the accident. She’d taken him to the bathroom in the auto body shop and wrapped her lips around him again, an action to which he had still not found the voice to protest. “If you tell anyone about this,” she said in that sickly sweet tone of hers, “both of our lives will be ruined. You keep your fucking mouth shut, or I’ll tell your wife you’re having an affair before I go to the cops and tell them you forced me to help you get rid of the body.” As he looked down at her, she smiled brightly up at him and milked him dry. He wished he’d had the disposition to get rid of her, but he was no killer.
From that moment on, she would occasionally call on him for “lunch.” He’d meet her at a hotel, she’d ride him until she was satisfied, and then she’d remind him of the secret that tied them together. He knew that was the only reason she kept in touch, to remind him that he had more to lose than she did if he tried to go to the police. She would text him now and again too, asking if he’d seen the girl’s missing posters, telling him how positively soaked she would get when she thought about that night in the woods. She both disgusted and intrigued him, he was too full of her, yet couldn’t get enough. When she’d called on him this last time and asked for a favor, said that she needed him to help her do one thing and she’d leave him alone for good, he jumped at the opportunity to settle the score. And there he was, hauling another poor soul through a field and up into the mountains. As you flopped around limply in his arms, he hoped that you were dead, imagining it to be better than whatever hell the succubus had curated.
You were all a good way into the tree line when Chae Yi stated that she needed to take a break. “My back is killing me,” she whined. She settled herself against a tree and slid down to the ground. “I’d love a hot bath right now.”
“That would be nice.” Dae Gwan followed her lead, pulling you off of his shoulder and attempting to set you gently on the ground; a sudden pang in his gut made him falter, and you spilled onto the dirt, unable to help the grunt that came out when a sharp rock cut into your skin.
“So, you’re awake now, huh?” Chae Yi said, “welcome back.”
“Where are we?” you asked, spitting dirt out of your mouth. “Where are you taking me?”
“I have no reason to answer either of those questions. Now shut the hell up.” Moonlight shined through the trees, casting an eerie glow over her face, making her eyes and cheeks appear sunken in.
This is her true face, Dae Gwan thought to himself. He looked away from her to watch you struggle for a moment before helping you sit upright. You mumbled a halfhearted thank you, glad for the show of humanity, no matter how minor. Chae Yi scoffed and folded her arms in front of her. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep carrying her,” Dae Gwan said.
“What, is she too fat to carry?” You rolled your eyes hard. While you weren’t eighty five pounds, you certainly weren’t anything close to fat. She was just talking out of her ass, and you all knew it.
“I think I have a broken rib or something,” he answered as he gingerly touched his abdomen. It hurts a lot.”
“Well that’s just perfect,” she sighed. “I guess we can make her walk. Untie her ankles.”
My leg hurts a lot too,” you informed them. “I don’t know if it’s broken somewhere, but it hurts.”
“Nobody fucking asked you. You’re still gonna walk, even if you’re in pain. And if you don’t, I will break something on you.” Chae Yi picked up a large rock and turned it over in her hands. “Yeah, you’re going to do everything I say or I’ll bash your fucking skull in. How about that, you little slut.”
“Why are you even doing this?” you questioned. “You can just let me go and I won’t say anything about tonight. I swear.”
“Yeah right. You’ve seen both our faces. I’m not letting you go.”
“What do you want from me? Do you want me to leave him? I will. I’ll leave him and you can have him all to yourself.”
“Don’t lie to me. Anyway, you’re not going anywhere. You or your bastard baby.”
The baby! So many things had happened that night that you’d nearly forgotten the most important thing of all. Yours and Mingi’s baby. You looked down at your stomach, brows knitted in concern. What if I’ve lost him? You had only just found out you were having a baby, and had to deal with the idea that you might also lose it in the same night. You could feel the tears gathering on your waterline and closed your eyes, not wanting to let that monster of a woman see you cry. Please, please be ok. Be strong.
“Where are we taking her?” Dae Gwan asked. “You never did tell me.”
“There’s an abandoned bomb shelter around here. That’s where we’re going. Check our location on your phone and I c-”
“If you’re going to kill me just do it already!” you interrupted. “Why take me all across the world if you’re just going to kill me?” The tears were pouring down your face now. “you’ve already brought me out into the middle of nowhere! Just do it!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Chae Yi shouted. “Half the fun is the journey. Don’t be in such hurry to die. Are you stupid or something?”
“I’m just tired of playing these games with you!” you yelled back. “It’s been months of this foolishness. Just kill me already if that’s what you plan to do.”
Chae Yi reached out and slapped you across the face, sending you careening back down to the ground. She climbed on top of you and leaned in until her nose and yours nearly touched. “You just keep begging for it like you probably begged for Mingi to fuck you.”
“Fuck you,” you spit in her face, “I don’t have to beg for it, you crazy bitch.” Chae Yi’s vision went red, she wiped the spit from her face and used the palm of the same hand to smush your face into the ground. It hurt like hell as she ground you into the dirt, sharp pebbles dug into the side of your face, leaving small abrasions on your cheek.
“It seems like you don’t know your place,” she huffed, jumping to her feet. You glared daggers at her from the ground and she smirked. “You feel superior to me? Think you’re better than me, huh?” She brought her foot back and swung it forward as quickly as she could, the tip of her shoe connected with your chest and nearly knocked the wind out of you. You lay there gasping for air, tears streaming down your face. As painful as it was, you were just glad she didn’t aim for your stomach.
“Hey,” Dae Gwan piped up, “we should probably start moving again now that we’ve got some energy.” You peered over at him; he was looking down at you and you thought that you could maybe see concern in his eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Chae Yi cleared her throat and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Let’s get this show on the road.” She watched Dae Gwan untie your feet and help you stand up. “Did you find out where we are?”
“Yeah.” He beckoned for her to look at the phone and after a moment or two she sighed loudly.
“Looks like we have to walk a bit farther than I initially anticipated,” she grumbled, “but first,” she pulled your phone out of her pocket, “unlock it.” She tapped on the screen and held it up to your face.
“It needs my fingerprint,” you said flatly. “What do you want my phone for? Give it back to me.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” She moved behind you and you could feel her pulling at your fingers to rest one on the unlock button. You heard the clicking sound and Chae Yi letting out an excited breath. “Awesome.” She came back around to you and held the phone back up to your face, the camera facing you. “Smile.” She tapped the phone and the flash of the camera nearly blinded you. You had been in the dark for so long that the light left you disoriented. “Damn,” Chae Yi giggled, “you look like shit.” She showed you the photo she had taken. You really did look a fright. Clumps of dirt and dried leaves were stuck in your tangled hair, one side of your face was swollen and had bits of dried blood where the rocks had pierced your skin, and one of your eyes was completely bloodshot, you assumed that your eye was because of the crash. You jerked your head away. “Maybe I’ll send this and that picture you took of the pregnancy test to Mingi, what do you think?”
“No don’t!” you shouted. “Don’t you fucking dare!” You struggled against Dae Gwan, trying desperately to get to Chae Yi. You wanted to rip her throat out. She was tormenting you just for the hell of it. You’d learned years ago that some predators liked to scare their prey before they killed and consumed them. Apparently, it was a tactic to tire the prey out and minimize the chance of injury to the predator. You wondered if she was doing something similar, trying to fuck with your mind and break down your body so that you’d be easier to destroy when she was ready.
“Ah, so you really didn’t tell him yet?” she smiled, “I thought that maybe you hadn’t since I didn’t see a message to him about it. What, are you scared he won’t want it? Afraid he’ll want you to get rid of it? I would if I were him. You just want to ruin his career.”
“What the fuck is your deal, man?” you growled. “Why are you so obsessed with him? He doesn’t even know who you are!”
“He does know who I am!” she screamed. “I messaged him on Fromm and told him I loved him and he said he loved me too! One day I commented while he was live and he responded to me! I’ve been following him since debut! He knows me!”
“It’s called fan service, you fucking psycho! And if you really knew anything about him, you would know that you are exactly the type of quote unquote fan he doesn’t like! When I asked him about you, he said that you freaked him out! He doesn’t want you!” It wasn’t enough that she was terrorizing you, now she wanted to bring Mingi into it too.
“Your phone has been vibrating in my pocket almost nonstop. He’s probably worried about you, huh? Ooh, what if I send him the test and tell him it’s not his baby? That’ll make him break it off with you.”
“He’d never believe it.”
“Come on, Chae Yi, that’s enough. We have to go. Don’t you see the time?” Dae Gwan said. She checked the time on your phone.
“Oh shit, yeah, let’s go.” She led the way, with you between her and him. He held tight to your wrist restraints and read out the directions as he watched the map. You followed behind Chae Yi slowly, every time you would put pressure on your leg you would feel a shooting pain from your ankle going up to your thigh and would buckle a bit; Dae Gwan wordlessly moved to walk beside you and allowed you to put some of your weight on him. As you walked, you thought of Mingi. About how he was probably losing his mind and blowing your phone up. You wondered if he had checked your location, or if he even could. Chae Yi had probably turned it off once she’d gotten the phone unlocked. Dae Gwan looked down at you, having noticed that you’d begun sniffling.
“Don’t cry,” he said sternly but quietly, of earshot of Chae Yi. “She likes that.”
You’d been walking for a couple hours when Chae Yi announced that she knew where you all were now, and that the bunker was close. You said a silent prayer of thanks, your leg felt like someone had stabbed a thousand red hot needles into it and you would have given anything to be able to rest it for a while. She led you a bit further into the wooded area until you all came upon a patch of grass devoid of trees. She bent down and swept a few leaves away with her hand, revealing a looped handle that was connected to another smaller hoop that had been welded to the doorframe of the bunker door by a rusty lock. “Here we are,” she grinned. She turned around in a circle, looking for something on the ground and settled her eyes on a decently sized rock. Turning back to the bunker door, she began bashing the lock with the rock until it snapped and clattered to the side “Dae Gwan come lift this up.” He let go of your wrists and went to help her, pulling on the handle; a deafening metal creak resounded through the woods as the door lifted open. You stood there, dumbfounded; you’d thought that the bunker idea had been a crock of shit, but there it was, metal mouth agape, just waiting for you.
“How did you even know this was here?” Dae Gwan asked the question before you could. Not that you thought she would give you a straight answer, anyway.
“I just do. Now come on.” She headed down the narrow stairway first, swiping cobwebs out of the way and using her shirt to cover her mouth. Dae Gwan had pulled his shirt up over his nose as well and looked at you apologetically when you started coughing from all the dust. The further you went, the darker and more ominous it became. Chae Yi flicked on the phones’ flashlight, but it did little to help cut through the dust in the air, “It’s gotten so nasty in here,” she mumbled. When you all finally reached the bottom of the stairs, you were met with a short hallway that opened to a much larger room and a smaller room to the left. Chae Yi waved you forward and Dae Gwan gently ushered you into the larger room; your footsteps echoed in the large space despite the layer of dust on the floor. “We have to get some lanterns down here,” Chae Yi said.
“This is a bomb shelter, right?” Dae Gwan asked, “there are probably some in that room we passed by. I would imagine there’s a lot of stuff we could use in there.”
“Go check then,” she snapped. She moved to stand beside you, her hand taking the place of his on your ropes, while Dae Gwan made his way back into the hall to check the storage room.
“You’ll never get away with this, you know,” you commented, side eyeing Chae Yi. “I’m sure Mingi will be looking for me. He’ll hire a private detective.”
“Please, nobody is going to find you here.”
“You can’t keep me down here.”
“Yes I can.”
“Hey, I found them!” Dae Gwan returned with an arm full of lanterns and a blanket slung over his shoulder. “I think I saw a generator in there too.”
“A generator? Nice. We’ll need to charge the phones some way.” Chae Yi took a couple lanterns from him and turned them on before setting them on the ground. With the space lit up a little more, you were able to make out the shapes of what looked like a few beds, some shelving, a table, chairs, and a couple buckets. There was a big, thick pipe along the wall that looked like it led to outside, you assumed it was meant to let oxygen in. In your opinion it looked more like a prison cell than anything else, and you supposed that for you, it was.
“I’m gonna go see if I can get the generator to turn on, so we can get some actual lights in here.” Dae Gwan stated, “I just didn’t want you girls to be in the dark in the meantime.” He put the blanker over your shoulders.
“So thoughtful,” Chae Yi giggled. You didn’t acknowledge him, just looking down at the floor instead, but you could feel his eyes on you. Chae Yi didn’t speak to you, she just stood there staring off into space. You couldn’t tell if she was contemplating something or if she had finally short circuited. You tried to follow her gaze, but it went nowhere. Shifting your weight from one foot to the other, you groaned as the pain shot back up your leg again.
“I need to sit down,” you pleaded. “My leg.”
“Ugh, you complain so much,” she had snapped out of whatever trance she was in to berate you, dragging you over to one of the filthy beds and shoving you down onto it. She took the rope that had been tying your feet and used it to tie your arms to the bed.
“Can, you at least tie them in front of me now? My shoulders hurt.”
“I don’t care. Shut up.” She sat beside you on the bed, grinning. “So, I thought about it, and I’m gonna send him the pregnancy test. You shouldn’t get to do it. You don’t deserve to have his baby.”
“Don’t. He’s working, It’ll only stress him out.” She ignored you, pulling the phone out of her pocket. As if it knew you were there, it lit up and you could see that he was calling again. Chae Yi looked at the screen excitedly, contemplating on whether or not she wanted to answer it. “Can I just talk to him? Please.”
“Fuck no,” she said flatly. “You’ll never talk to him again. He’s mine.” She clicked the side button on the phone, sending the call to voicemail. “But I’ll do you one better.” She tapped on the phone with a devilish look on her face, doing something that you couldn’t see before she stored it safely back in her pocket.
Mingi sat on the bed of his hotel room. He had lost count of how many times he had called you, and he couldn’t imagine why you weren’t picking up the phone. He had been pretty tired when you had hung up the phone as you were getting in the cab, but he was fully alert now. “What the hell is she doing?” he had his hands in his hair and his face buried in his raised knees. “Where is she?”
“Mingi, what’s going on?” He hadn’t even noticed that Yunho had come back into the room. He had been out with the others to get soba, Mingi had declined, stating that he wasn’t hungry. The truth had been that he just wanted some time to talk to you.
“I can’t get Y/N on the phone,” Mingi griped. “She won’t pick up and I’ve called her a million times.”
“Maybe she went to sleep, Mingi.” Yunho had gone into the bathroom, Mingi could see him undressing to climb into the shower. “She was probably tired.”
“No!” He hadn’t meant to shout. “She wouldn’t just go to sleep without letting me know she made it home. She knows I worry after what happened before. She always lets me know she’s home. Always, Yunho.”
“Well, do you have her location?” Yunho asked as he scrubbed his hair. “Just check that.”
“I don’t really check her location unless I need to. It’s meant to keep her safe, not keep tabs on her.”
“Well, if you’re worried about her, I think you should check it. At least you can see if she’s home.” Mingi stood up with his phone in his hand and walked into the bathroom. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he needed emotional support. He and Yunho were so used to seeing one another unclothed that it never bothered either of them to be naked around the other.
“I’m kind of scared, Yunho. What if something’s happened?”
“Just look, Mingiya.” Mingi let out a sigh and pulled up your location on find my friends, immediately feeling like he was going to pass out when he saw your pin in the middle of the mountains outside of Hongdae.
“Yunho.” The tone in his voice immediately grabbed Yunho’s attention. He poked his head out of the shower to see Mingi staring disbelievingly at the phone screen.
“Where is she?”
“The mountains. It says she’s in the fucking mountains, Yunho.” He could feel his entire body vibrating, wanting to rip itself apart. He had known it. He had known that the moment he was gone that you were going to be at risk. That that fucking psychopath was going to use his absence to her advantage. His mind raked through all the possibilities of what could have happened to you, none of them good. Your body chopped up and scattered around the woods, you being tied up and left in a trunk to starve or suffocate to death. He shot up and leaned into the sink, spilling his stomach contents.
“Ya, ya, ya, Mingi. Calm down. Maybe it’s the phone that was stolen? Maybe that’s what it is.” Yunho had wrapped a towel around himself and climbed out of the shower to comfort his best friend. He rubbed small circles on his back, wishing that he hadn’t suggested Mingi check your location. It had only served to make the situation worse, and there wasn’t really anything that could be done while they were in Japan. Mingi couldn’t really leave if he wanted to.
“It’s not the stolen phone, Yunho. That’s her. What the hell would she be doing in the mountains? It’s the middle of the night. It’s dangerous out there. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s been taken?” The phone in his hand dinged. An incoming message from your number. He and Yunho both sat with bated breath as Mingi opened it. “Yunho, what is this?” They both looked down at the image on the phone. A little plastic stick with two blue lines on it.
“That’s a pregnancy test… it’s…positive.” Mingi jerked his head up, his eyes meeting Yunho’s. A positive pregnancy test?
“Y/N… is pregnant?” he whispered. “Pregnant? But why wouldn’t she just tell me? She has to know I wouldn’t be upset! Is this why she won’t answer my calls? Is she afraid of what I’ll say?”
“I… I don’t know, Mingi.” Yunho sat down on the edge of the tub and sighed. “This is big news.”
“Why is she in the mountains? What does her being pregnant have to do with that, Yunho? She should be home resting, not in the woods. Someone has her, Yunho. I know it. There’s no way she’s out there of her own free will.” Mingi could feel his stomach starting to churn again. “I have to call the police. Not only is my girl out there, but she has our baby too. I’m going to be a dad, Yunho.”
“I think… I think we should tell the others,” Yunho picked his phone up off of the back of the toilet and sent out a group text to the rest of the members to come to his and Mingi’s room. Mingi didn’t object, hanging his head as tears began to well up in his eyes.
Forty five minutes and a million questions later, the rest of the members were up to date on the entire situation. San and Seonghwa weren’t anywhere near as shocked as Hongjoong, Yeosang, Wooyoung and Jongho. Wooyoung had had the most questions, asking how Mingi could have kept all this from them, how things had escalated so much. He wasn’t angry, he seemed more hurt than anything else, and Mingi felt more guilty than he already had. Jongho hadn’t had much to say, he sat beside Mingi with his hand on his lap as Mingi recounted the whole affair. Mingi was glad for the silent support. Hongjoong didn’t say anything until Mingi was finished and when he did it was simple. “We’ll do whatever we can to help you, Mingiya. Eight makes one team, remember? Don’t forget we’re your brothers.” At that, Mingi broke down. He choked out tear strained thank yous and apologies, bowing so low that his nose nearly touched the floor. Seonghwa lifted him to his feet, pulling him into a hug.
“We’re here for you, Mingi.”
Back at the bunker, a loud sound had come from the small room that Dae Gwan had disappeared into, followed by a bright light overhead. You squeezed your eyes shut, the light felt almost invasive after spending so long in the dark. Once you’d had a moment, you slowly cracked them open and looked around. The space wasn’t as big as you had initially thought, but it was certainly still dirty. The number of bugs you saw scurrying across the floor and up the walls was enough to make your skin crawl, even Chae Yi let out a shocked yelp when she saw a huge centipede running along the big pipe.
“I got it!” Dae Gwan came from the room with more stuff in his arms. Cans and boxes of what you assumed was food. You hoped that whatever it was, it wasn’t expired; you were so hungry that you felt like you would pass out. He came over and spilled the load onto the bed, you saw a bunch of freeze dried foods.
“Thank you,” you said, smiling up at him weakly. Now that you’d been sitting for a moment, the pain and exhaustion from the night had begun to sink in. You lay down on the bed and closed you eyes, suddenly desperate for sleep.
“Oh, you two seem friendly,” Chae Yi looked from you to Dae Gwan, who quickly cast his eyes to the floor. “You like her, don’t you? Think she’s pretty?”
“I’m here to help you, Chae Yi.”
“Yeah, yeah that’s right, you are.” She pulled the phone back out. I know just how you can help me too, since you two are on such good terms it shouldn’t be a problem, right, Y/N?” It was the first time you had heard her use your name. You didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Looking at her, you could see that she had that crazed look in her eyes again.
“What do you want?” Dae Gwan sighed heavily, prepared for whatever she was going to dish out.
“Do it!” She turned to you and yanked roughly at your shirt, tearing your collar. You pulled away from her, protesting, and she punched you in the face. You could feel blood leaking from your already swelling lip. She continued to yank at your shirt while you lay there dazed. Once she had gotten it off she looked over to him. “Dae Gwan.”
“I won’t.”
“You will!” She took hold of his hand and thrust it in your direction. “You will.”
“I’m not a monster!” he yelled, unsure if he was trying to convince her or himself. “You can’t ask me to do this.”
“You’re not just a monster, Dae Gwan. You’re a killer. You’re no better than me. Now do what I told you to.” You looked on as he began to cry, his face red and his eyes bloodshot. He was just as tired as you. The only one that seemed to be no worse for the wear was Chae Yi. You felt confident that he wouldn’t listen to her instructions until he climbed on the bed beside you and reached for your pants, hands shaking.
“No!” you yelled. You started squirming, “no, please!” Chae Yi watched on silently as you and Dae Gwan fought for possession of your pants. With your arms tied behind you there was only so much you could do and so many ways you could move without hurting yourself. Ultimately, your pants were removed and tossed to the floor and you lay there sobbing in your underwear. “Please, Dae Gwan,” you begged, “you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do,” he responded. His voice was thick with tears and regret. Chae Yi giggled maniacally, snapping photos of you from all the angles she could get. Once she had gotten the ones she wanted she gave more instructions.
“Now her underwear.”
You started crying harder, your entire body heaving with sobs. You squeezed your legs shut as tightly as you could, crossing your ankles around themselves. Dae Gwan made easy work of separating them. He refused to look at you while he disrobed you, when he was finished your bra and panties lay atop your pants and torn shirt, and he stood up from the bed as if to signify he wouldn’t go any farther.
“You aren’t done,” Chae Yi said flatly as she snapped more photos of your nude body on the dirty bed. You knew it looked terrible, you naked with a bloodied face and arms tied to the bed. You prayed that she wouldn’t send them to Mingi, but you knew that was exactly what she had planned.
“Chae Yi, I can’t do this.”
“Dae Gwan, don’t test me!” She delivered a vicious slap to the side of his face before grabbing a hold of it and kissing him hard on the mouth. You watched on as she fished around in his mouth with her tongue, her hand down his pants, bringing him to unwilling arousal. “Besides, don’t you want her? Look at her, just sitting there waiting for you. She’ll love it, I promise. You’re a great fuck.” She knelt down and unzipped his pants, pulling out his length and shoving it into her mouth up to the base. She gagged on it and you watched Dae Gwan’s face as he let out a moan, pleasure and pain mixed together. “There,” she said, popping his member back out of her mouth and stroking it gingerly, “you’re nice and hard for her. Look at her. She wants it.”
You shook your head aggressively with tears and snot streaming down your face. “Please, Dae Gwan. No. I’m pregnant.”
“Shut up, bitch! Do it, Dae Gwan.” He closed his eyes tightly, his face a mixture of emotions, and let out a deep sigh before walking over and climbing on top of you. The pressure of his body on yours pressed you into the bed and your arms bent at an uncomfortable angle beneath you. You let out a pained gasp.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, aligning his body with yours. “I’m so sorry.”
“Now make it good,” Chae Yi demanded. “I’m recording a nice video.” She settled herself on the floor a few feet away from the bed and made a show of letting you know the camera was on and pointed directly at you. You turned your face away, not wanting to give her the satisfaction but when she commanded Dae Gwan to make you look at her, he took his large hand and snatched your face to the other side, holding it there. You squeezed your entrance shut as tightly as you could muster, but he broke through easily. He tried to be as gentle as he could at first, but with Chae Yi’s chiding, he was made to go harder.
You stifled your cries of pain and lay as still as you could while he pumped aggressively into you. Chae Yi held the phone with one hand, and had the other down in her pants, enjoying every moment as if she were living vicariously through you. “Harder! Faster! Yes!” She fingered herself the entire time, her eyes locked onto yours, her moans of pleasure bounced off the walls and back into your ears. Dae Gwan finished quickly, climbing off of you and turning away to release his load onto the floor. You lay there sore and raw, feeling slimy. What you would have given for a shower. God, did you want a shower.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Chae Yi asked, a smile on her face. I know I did. You took Dae Gwan’s dick like the filthy whore that you are.” She took the fingers that had been in her pants and shoved them in your mouth. You immediately bit down hard, and she screamed in pain, using her free hand to punch you in the stomach. You released her fingers and she backed away from you quickly. “Crazy bitch!” she screamed. “Dae Gwan, come here!” He initially didn’t move, but she called to him again and he turned around to face her. His dick was still hard. “Oh, she wasn’t good enough for you?” Chae Yi laughed, a real, hearty laugh. “Ok, ok, I get it. I’ll handle it for you.” She shot you a dirty look, “I’ll show you how it’s done.”
She pushed him gently down onto the bed and straddled him, sliding herself down onto his dick slowly, releasing a low growl from her throat. He placed his hands around her waist and helped her balance as she bounced up and down on him, throwing her head back and moaning in genuine pleasure. “Oh, you’re such a great fuck, I know you liked it, Y/N. Was he better than Mingi? Maybe we can trade men, huh? Don’t like that?” She looked at you for a moment as she rode him, her face changing to one of disappointment when you didn’t acknowledge her. “Not talking to me?” That’s ok. I’ll get a reaction out of you one way or another. She reached down to your sore and swollen womanhood and shoved her finger inside, thrusting in and out to keep the same pace that she was bouncing in.
You gave her nothing, doing your very best to pretend like you felt nothing. You almost didn’t have to pretend. You felt hollow, like you weren’t even in your own body anymore. Like she had already killed you and you were watching the events unfold from another plane. She brought Dae Gwan to climax and refused to let him finish anywhere but on your stomach. He did so and pulled his pants up, wandering silently into the room where the generator and food were. Chae Yi tidied herself up and opened up a pack of freeze dried squid to snack on while she rewatched the video she’d recorded like it was her favorite show. You brought your knees up to your chest and closed your eyes, willing yourself to fall asleep. Praying that you wouldn’t wake up.
The next day you awoke to an empty room. Just you and the bugs. You sat up and checked yourself over as best you could, noticing a bit of dried blood on the blanket. You felt your stomach rumbling, but you couldn’t think about eating. You stared at the blood on the blankets, anxiety creeping up your neck. You knew enough about pregnancy to know that blood was bad. “My baby,” you whispered, feeling the tears coming. “Not my baby.”
The loud creaking of the bunker door startled you, and you backed up onto the bed, trying to make yourself as small as possible. Dae Gwan came through the hall holding a cup of something hot and a bag. He came to stand by the bed and quietly set the items down on the floor. Without speaking, he went behind you and untied one of your hands, leaving the other connected to the bed. “You should eat,” he said to the floor. “The baby.”
You couldn’t stop the sudden wave of anger that overtook you. “Oh, now you care about my baby? You fuckers! You killed my baby!” You kicked over the cup of what must have been tea and shot your hand across his face. “You murdered my child!” He didn’t say anything, he didn’t even react to the slap. He bent down and picked up the spilled cup.
“You should still eat.” His voice sounded hollow now.
“There’s no point,” you buried your face in your hand. “You killed my baby. There’s no point. You want to keep me alive just to kill me later? Enough of this! What more can you do to me?”
“I didn’t want this to happen.” He wouldn’t look at you, he was faced in the complete opposite direction, talking to the walls.
“You didn’t exactly stop it either! You didn’t have to do that to me! Why? Why would you do that?” You were screaming. “My child is gone! I haven’t done a single thing to you or that fucking crazy woman and you’ve killed me!” You were clutching your chest, the pain you felt at the loss was physical. “You’ve killed me.” You wanted to cry, but you couldn’t. Things had been so different just a few days ago. It felt like it had been forever since you’d seen your apartment, your job. Since you’d felt a loving touch.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Fuck your sorry and fuck you. Just leave me here.” You sank down onto the bed, silent. Dae Gwan stood there for a moment before speaking again.
“Eat.”
You had been being pliant before, not wanting to cause too much trouble so that you could protect the life growing inside of you, but now that it was gone, now that they had taken the most precious things from you, you found you had no reason to care anymore. You just wanted to die. “Kiss my ass.” Dae Gwan sighed, but he said nothing else, walking back out into the hall and up the stairs, leaving you alone once more.
