The next day was nothing special. Someone different would come in to check on me every couple of hours. Jhope was first, then V, then Jin. None of them talked to me, especially not V. They merely fed me then led me to a bathroom that I just discovered was behind me.

         The bathroom was tiny. It held a shower that barely held one person, a toilet and a sink that was broken in areas. No warm water. Afterwards they would tie me up again and leave. My mind was going insane. There was nothing to do, nothing to say, and nowhere to go. I wanted to so badly to be let out.

         ‘What’s that?’ My eyes caught a sharp metal pipe that stuck out of the wall. I had never noticed before, because I was too focused on the window.

         “It’s too far.” I muttered. What if they came back and caught me trying to escape? Surely they would kill me then. Just then the door opened, revealing Jimin.

         “O-oh, hello.” I looked down at my feet. He was the one I was most nervous to be around. I wasn’t sure why exactly. Maybe it was the way he was gentle with me, or maybe it was the fear that he could snap. He was after all the one who had my life in his hands.

         “Hello sweetie. You look exhausted. Did you sleep?” He asked as he untied the rope.

I shook my head, “No.”

         “Hmmm.” He hummed. “Well, I brought you dinner, so you should eat up.” I would almost go as far as to say that his smile was beautiful, if it wasn’t for the fact he has me hostage.

         “It’s already dinner time?” I looked out the window to see that sure enough, it was getting dark.

He chuckled, “You really don’t have a sense of time down here, do you?” I shook my head again before munching on the bread that was served.

I looked up at him slowly, “J-Jimin?”

         “Yes, sweetie?” He seemed happy that I had called him by name.

         “What time is it?”

         “It’s 8pm.”

         “Is that the same time Jungkook fed me last night?”

         “Why yes. We try to keep a routine to things. Don’t get too mad if we forget sometimes though.” He laughed at his own words. That told me something though. If there was a routine, that means there will always be some hours that they don’t check on me. That gives me something to work with.

        “How old are you?” I asked.

        “22…I heard you are 21?”

        “That’s correct.”

        “Ah, that means I’m older than you.” He was grinning. For what, I’m not sure.

        “Um…is there a reason why you…do what you do?” I questioned. I wasn’t really sure what I was trying to word. I just wanted to know more about them. Maybe with enough info, I could trick them into releasing me.

Jimin snickered, “You mean, why do I kill?” I shrugged in response. “Hmm, let’s see…I was about 17 when I met Namjoon. Jin and Suga were already in the group with him. V and I went to school together since we were young. None of us met Jungkook until a couple years after that.” He seemed deep in thought as he spoke; recalling history, “Honestly, I didn’t exactly choose the life of killing. It’s not that I enjoy killing either, but I do enjoy the look on their faces when they beg to live.” His dark chuckles sent shivers down my spine. This man seemed to be the kindest out of the group, but the way he spoke about life said otherwise.

         “W-who do you like to see suffer?” I couldn’t look him in the eyes. Jimin grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

         “Those who cross me.” Maybe it was the cold stare or the blunt words, but I could now feel how cold and white my face had gone. I was in the lair of murderers, no justifying that. He patted my cheek softly, “You shouldn’t ask so many questions sweetie. Haven’t you ever heard ‘ignorance is bliss?’”

         “I may have heard it somewhere.”

         “I suggest you remember it. The less you know the longer you get to live.” I was tied to the chair once more.

         “Before you go,” I stopped him as he was leaving, “Can you at least tell me where I am?” He paused for a moment, shutting his eyes to think. Finally, he looked at me after what seemed forever.

         “We are currently on the outskirts of Seoul, deep in a forest.” With that, the door was closed.

 

 

          No one came back for the rest of the night.

         ‘They must be asleep.’ I thought to myself. ‘I can’t see anything though, so I’ll have to either move with the plan in the morning or afternoon.’ With those thoughts I drifted to sleep. It was uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as the first night. The fact that I was getting used to sleeping in a chair, told me that I needed to leave soon.

 

         Like on cue, Suga came in the morning to feed me and let me do my business. Crazy as it may seem, I counted the minutes till the next person came in. It was Jimin. He followed what Suga did, then left. Then I counted again. The next person to come in was Jin. He followed the same procedure. Once again, I counted the painful minutes. Finally, V came in to feed me dinner. He left. Then I was left alone once more for the third night. It may seem insane to count all those minutes, but not only did it give me something to do, it proved what Jimin had said. I had exactly four hours between each interval. More than enough time to escape.

 

         “Jhope?” I called. He was the one to great me in the morning. “You look sleepy. Is anyone else awake?” Jhope looked over at me lazily.

         “Not yet. I was told last night that it was my turn to serve you in the morning. None of us are morning people.” He sprawled out on the floor, looking bored out of his mind.

         “I see. I’m sorry you were troubled by me.” Jhope pointed his sleek gun at me.

         “If that’s the case, why don’t I just kill you off right here?” The barrel pointing directly at my face scared me beyond words, so I didn’t move. He sighed. “It’s not like I can anyway. Unless you do something stupid that-is. Jimin is the only one who has the power to end you.”

         “What do you mean by stupid?”

He shrugged, “If you leaped and tried to grab the gun, if you smart-mouthed me one too many times, if you tried to run.” He glared at me. “Why do you ask so many questions?” It was my turn to shrug.

         “I guess I’m just curious. I don’t exactly know anything. I’m stuck in this room with nothing to do. The little contact I get with humans makes me curious, I suppose.” He didn’t say anything, rather, he grabbed my dish, tied me up, and left without a word.

         ‘Alone once I again.’ I thought. ‘Now’s my chance. If it’s just Jhope that’s awake, I might be able to escape.’ I shifted my gaze to the broken pipe. ‘And you are going to help me.’ I slowly started to shift around in my chair. It wasn’t nailed into the ground so it started to skid, scraping against the floor.

         ‘I have to be quiet!’ I screamed in my mind. Slowly, I tried making as small as noise as possible, moving the chair closer and closer to the pipe. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump

         Any moment they could return. They could surprise me, or maybe they would hear something. I started to get a cold sweat. Finally, I made it to the pipe. It was lower to the ground than I thought. So I took what little chance I had and tipped the chair back and forth until it fell over.

SMACK!

         My head slammed into the wall as the chair slid down, finally hitting the floor. I scooted as much I could till the pipe was at wrist length. I could suddenly hear someone walking around the room above me. It made me more paranoid. I scooted carefully up and down, over and over again as the pipe cut into the rope.

         ‘No need to rush Lucy. Take your time. There’s no room for mistakes.’ I kept repeating to myself. Then I felt the pressure release. I gasped in surprise as my hand was freed from the restraints. I carefully untied the other rope, then the ones at my feet.

I was free.

         I slowly crept my way to the door, listening to the footsteps above me. I was surprised when the door knob turned in my hand. It opened.

         ‘They never locked it?’ I smiled to myself, confusion present but vanished quickly; The feeling of adrenaline rushing through my heart. I made my way up the stairs carefully, making sure to step on the outer-rim of the stairs—I didn’t want to make it creak. When I reached the head of the stairs, I realized that I was in a mini hallway. I could see light; a living room close by. There were two white, leather couches diagonal of each other. The room looked open and bright. Nothing like a lair. To the right, I could slightly see that there was a dining table on wood that was right next to the living room. Besides the mini dining room, everything else sat on plush carpet. I slowly crawled closer to the living room.

         ‘A living room means there’s a front door close by.’ As I inched closer, I could see a mop of black hair on the couch. I held in my gasp. It was Suga. There was nowhere to hide in this hall, so I kept myself frozen.

         “Hyung!” That was V’s voice. “You just woke up, why are you just laying there?” I could hear Suga sigh.

         “Because, I didn’t want to be woken up. We aren’t doing anything today, so you guys should have just let me sleep.” He grumbled as he got up. They were both standing up now. I could clearly see both of their faces, but neither one of them had notice me yet.

         ‘Stay still.’ I warned myself. There was no turning back now.

         “Suga, don’t scold V. He has a point. You can’t sleep the whole day. Now both of you come over and help me figure out where are little friend has traveled to now.” That was Jin’s voice. Suga and V both turned and walked towards the dining area. Just as I was about to crawl farther, Namjoon jumped into view from another couch and walked casually past me. One arm was in the air as I almost had a heart attack at the sight.

         “He’s not in Gwangju anymore?” He asked.

         “No, it appears he has traveled and I can’t figure out where. We’re missing something here.” Jin sighed. As Namjoon left my sight, I gently placed my hand back on the ground, grateful for not being caught. I slowly crawled forward, leaning to the right to see that the four of them were sitting at the table looking intensely at a map. I could see the front door to my left.

         ‘This is my only chance. I need to make a run for it.’ I could feel my body trembling but I mustered up all the courage I could. I got into a running position and made a bolt to the front door. I could hear a couple of gasps behind me as I twisted the door knob. ‘I’m free!’ I thought until I felt two arms wrap around my waist, lifting me up, and swing me away from the door.

         “Woah, woah, woah there.” I heard a laugh. It was Jhope. “And just where do you think you’re going.” He may have been laughing, but his voice held something menacing in it. I didn’t know what to say.

         “Got nothing to say?” V asked as he slapped me across my face. “You were trying to escape weren’t you?” I shook slightly in Jhope’s arms.

         “What a moron.” I looked up to see that Jungkook was sipping at a hot drink at the kitchen counter. “Did you really think we wouldn’t catch you?”

         “I just wanted to go home?” I whimpered. V grabbed my face tightly.

He mocked me, “Aww, the little princess didn’t like her room so she decided to run away.” He was the loudest and had the worst outburst out of all of them.

         “I have family!” I shouted in his face. That only made everyone in the room laugh.

         “I have family! I have family!” V mocked. “Yeah, well I had family once, too. They’re dead now.” I was so shocked by how blunt he had said that, that I almost didn’t notice when he grabbed a fist full of my hair.

         “And just how did you plan on getting back to your precious family, hmm?” he questioned. I had no words for him. “Exactly. There is no way, you stupid foreigner.” He pushed the gun directly to my forehead. “I should end you right now.”

         “Stop. That’s enough V.” Namjoon hadn’t even looked up from when the commotion started. “Jimin, she’s your problem. You fix it.” I heard some rustling come from the couch, where his head popped up. How long has he been there?

         “Yeah, yeah. I got it.” The once gentle smile was replaced with a scornful scowl. I gulped as he approached me. “You’ve been very bad sweetie. Time to learn your place.” He threw me over his shoulder as he spoke to me. Every step he took down the stairs filled me with dread. I didn’t dare speak nor look at the six other men watching.

 

          I felt my back smack onto the floor, hard. It made me wince for a second, but I quickly flinched at the sight of Jimin’s face. He tsked at me as he circled around me.

         “Have I not been nice to you, Lucy? Have I not fed you, kept a roof over your head? You’ve only been here three days and you are already causing my friends trouble.” He bent down to get eye-level with me.

         “I-I’m sorry.” I turned my gaze towards the floor. “I just wanted to go home.” He hummed in response.

         “I know you do, and I got to say, I’m impressed you manage to get out of the ropes.” His gaze trailed off to the metal pipe, causing me to gulp. “You’re pretty smart…stealthy, too. I honestly didn’t hear you come up the stairs.” He was walking to the pipe as he spoke.

         “W-what are you going to do now? Will you kill me?” I couldn’t hide the fear in my voice. Jimin just chuckled quietly. He had yanked the pipe out of the wall, checking to make sure nothing else pokey was sticking out.

         “Oh no. I don’t want to kill you, Lucy. But I do have to punish you.” His face turned into a smirk as he walked back towards me with the pipe.

         “Punish me?”

         “Oh yes, and I do want to punish you.” He gave me a gentle pat on the head. “Now bend over.”

         “W-what? No!” I stammered. He didn’t look pleased.

         “I said bend over.” He grabbed my arm forcing me to bend over his knee. I couldn’t fathom what was happening until I felt the metal pipe swat my harshly. I gasped, crying out in pain. I could feel the tears brim at my eyes. It wasn’t until the fifth slap that they started to free-fall down my face. Pat after pat after pat. He didn’t stop. I couldn’t even feel the slap anymore. My whole body had gone numb, but my screams of pain didn’t. I was sure that the others could hear me from upstairs. The pain didn’t stop coming. I had lost count of the slaps at about twenty. Luckily, they died down quickly after.

         My body slumped to the floor as he finished. He pushed the hair out of my face as I heaved, trying to catch my breath.

         “Now,” He started, “Are you going to try to escape again?” I shook my head no as best as I could. “That’s a good girl.” He sat there my head as I calmed myself. My never stopping stinging. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit for days. After a couple of minutes, he got up, taking the pipe with him.

         “I won’t tie you up anymore. You are free to roam this room and the bathroom as you please. But Lucy,” He walked to the door. “If you try to escape again, I will kill you.” The door was slammed shut again, this time I could hear the lock latch shut. I was left on the floor in pain, trapped for who knows how long.

It’s a lost cause.