How did this happen each and every time? She wore sunglasses such that the piercing rays of light would not bother her. They didn’t help much. She moaned when she reached the final step of the staircase. Also, how was it that they needed to live at the top of this dumb building where even the elevator couldn’t reach? When she finally stood at the front of the gold plated door, there was a small voice that urged her to leave now. She didn’t know how to deal with the constant headache from both Hoseok and her hangover.

                    She knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again a little bit louder. It was strange to be standing here for such a long time without Kim Taehyung tackling her in an embrace or without smelling the cooking of Kim Seokjin, their leader.

                    She punched in the usual security code to their penthouse. It beeped and flashed an angry colour of red. Staying there, she punched in several different combinations before discovering the correct one that would earn her access. The door swung open and she was greeted with absolutely nothing. The penthouse was clean. The boys were messy people, a generic assumption of males, but Seokjin had always been cleaning around the house. It wasn’t the cleanliness per say that bothered her but the fact that she couldn’t even find a single item that told the onlooker somebody was living there. There were neither articles of clothing, food in the refrigerator nor garbage. It was strange.

                    She searched through all the rooms and ignored the slight feeling of disappointment that rose in her stomach when her efforts turned out to be useless. As she was leaving, she found an envelope that had her name scrawled on it. She recognized immediately it to be Hoseok’s writing; a small note was attached to it.

                    “Here’s your payment from last time. Also taken the fact that you’re reading this must mean you’ve got in. Did you like our new code?” Daeun stared emotionlessly at the question. 0612. That was her birthday. “Anyways, we’re out on a job so don’t bother to find us. Guess I couldn’t keep my promise from last time.”

                    “You’re back early,” she commented and flipped through the textbook was reading. Seohyun may have had an addiction to drugs, but that did not stop her from following her dream of becoming a nurse. There were cotton balls stuffed between her toes and the fan was to help the polish on them dry faster.

                    Daeun coughed slightly as her body reacted to the new smell of acetate mixed with the usual smell of weed. “There isn’t much to do outside,” she muttered and threaded her way through Seohyun’s mess towards her bedroom. She jumped in place when Seohyun smacked the textbook down on the table.

                    The other girl was sitting straight on the couch and looked into the distance, a newly manicured finger to her lips. “Oh my gosh. You know what I’ve just realized? You need a makeover!”

                    Daeun had actually been curious to know what had changed Seohyun’s demeanor in a manner of seconds, but once hearing the exclamation she turned quickly to her room. She didn’t anticipate Seohyun to move as quick as she did when the other female blocked her pathway. She still had the faraway look in her eyes which told Daeun that she was getting over her recent high. With her face still looking at Daeun’s, Seohyun shut the door to Daeun’s room and dragged her friend into her room.

                    Daeun tried to break free from her grasp. “Seohyun,” her voice was tired.

                    It happened so often. Daeun was always dragged into doing something she didn’t want to do. That was how she got involved with Hoseok and his friends in the first place. Seohyun had brought Hoseok home as one of her new boy toys one night but half way through, he had left. This allowed him to bump into Daeun as she was returning home. She had felt an instant dislike towards him and had meant to brush past him but he grabbed her hand instead. She was about to return the favour by slapping him when he said, “You’re pretty. Wanna ?”

                    She changed her mind. She kicked him instead.

                    Their second encounter happened outside work for her. It was a busy night and the usual hired boy to wash the dishes had not showed up to work while Daeun had on one of her rare good nights. She had been given the role of being dishwasher instead which included as the name suggested and taking out the garbage. The trash bins were tucked near the end of an alleyway and the manager had told her that she could leave early once she finished this last task. Without a thought, she accepted the request such that she could hit the bar with her early leave.

                    Initially, she thought that there were racoons rummaging through the trash when she went out with the garbage, but the sounds slowly become more audible and she found four figures were indeed in the alleyway and not animals. In the dark shadows, she recognized the familiar silhouette of Hoseok. The other person with him that evening was Jeon Jungkook as she would find out later. Hoseok and his friends were a “gang for hire” who tracked down suspected rats and dealt with them as seen fit. Their expertise was well known along with their extremely persuasive technique. They had worked for so many people that their diverse connections allowed them to never be needed to associate themselves with a larger gang for protection. Their voices were loud as they argued. She wanted to back away from this problem but as she did, knocked over a glass bottle that some drunk had left. She was immediately found out.

                    In order to save her own life, she had stayed (against her will that first time) to listen to the whole conversation and offer her expertise on whether this man was telling the truth. She never fully explained the extent of her ability but the other party always trusted her.

                    The next times they had met, she had wanted to resist but they offered her cash and she could do with the extra money. She hoped that if she saved enough, she could buy another apartment and maybe have another shot at life.

                    When Daeun refocused back to the present, she saw that Seohyun had fit her into an extremely revealing outfit. The neckline of the black top plunged to the spot where she swore was the top of her belly button. Where her body was exposed, the material of the top criss‐crossed and hugged her whole body. A short miniskirt was the only thing that covered her legs. Daeun took one look and immediately shimmied out of the skirt.

                    Seohyun came out of the bathroom wearing something similar, although she sported it in a sultry red instead of the generic black. “Aw, unnie. You looked hot,” she picked the skirt off the floor.

                    “What am I wearing?!” Daeun could only stand in spot in front of the mirror, looking back at a person she did not recognize.

                    “It’s a bodysuit,” the other girl rummaged through her closet again, “Here, try these on. You might not have the top rack but you’ve got a sweet .” She accentuated her thoughts by slapping Daeun on the .

                    Daeun cringed but put on the pants. They were black to match her top and squeezed her thighs in its leather‐like material. While Seohyun loved the style of cheap clothing, Daeun knew that nothing in her closet was actually cheap. In fact, once she had the bottoms on, Daeun found that she enjoyed being in them. She walked to the corner of Seohyun’s room and threw on a black pair of stilettos as well. She felt pretty badass.

                    Seohyun tutted her approval. “You’ve definitely got an eye, picking out my favourite pair shoes. You can dance three hours in those babies. But fine - since you’re agreeing to go with me tonight.”

                    Alarm filled her body. There was no buzzing this time after those words. “I did not agree to going out in this.”

                    Daeun didn’t know why she hadn’t agreed to this sooner. Music had always drowned out the buzzing and headaches at home so why hadn’t she thought that being at a club would do the same?  They had been here for over an hour and not once did she feel the need to complain any type of pain. She was in such bliss it was as if she was intoxicated.

                    The stranger’s body moved against her and his hands grabbed her waist, pulling her even closer. She allowed his fingers to roam her body as she was just too happy to be free from the cage she had been held to stop it. She turned and placed her lips on his. He hungrily drew her in while her fingers dug into his back and hair. She didn’t know his name, what he was wearing or even how he looked. All she cared about was how great she was feeling. Maybe this was the reason why Seohyun was always on a high.

                    A hand grabbed her arm and she was pulled apart from him. She caught a flash blonde hair. Spinning, she came face to face with Seohyun. She screamed into her ear, “Let’s go now. The guys are so grabby here.”

                    “But I like it here,” her own voice came as barely a whisper. Her body was on fire but so relaxed; it was a paradox her mind could not wrap itself around.

                    Seohyun huffed and left her standing there. She didn’t even care. She let herself meld back into the crowd and found herself in the arms of another person. Ten minutes passed. Twenty. Half an hour. By now, Daeun had retired from the dance floor and was sitting at the bar sipping a girly drink that somebody had bought for her. It was unlike Seohyun to abandon her. She would have thought that her roommate would at least return once to tell her she was leaving. Tipping the bartender, she threaded her way out of the club. It was a maze and she followed the first exit sign she could see.

                    She stepped outside around the back of the building and a blast of cold air sent chills down her spine. Goosebumps formed on her arms as the sweat evaporated off her body. It was very late into the night and she had no idea where she was. She needed to get back into the club and find the proper exit. The door handle in her hand did not budge. Exasperated, a sigh escaped her lips and she slowly made her way to the lone street light at the end of the street. If her memory served her correctly, that would be the street that could loop back to the front of the building. Her steps wobbled in the unfamiliar shoes.

                    She had barely made it out the alley when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. They placed a cloth over to muffle any type of scream as her body snapped to attention. She scratched her attacker and struggled violently. However, it was over as soon as it started as the chloroform took its action on her body.