Chapter 10

Having breakfast usually wasn’t a silent occasion for Hyomin. She always chatted with her mother every time they sat down for breakfast whenever her father was not around. But then again, this wasn’t what you would call a normal everyday breakfast. The food was delicious though. Not as good as mom's cooking but it still beat the stale energy bar she had before by a mile.

The two women sat on their own individual bed, eating quietly in the awkward silence. Hyomin could feel the kidnapper's eyes boring through her as she chewed meticulously on her scrambled eggs. She dared not to look at the woman on her left. Instead, she busied herself with her own meal and stared at anything else other than the woman she failed to knock out a few minutes ago.

Damn it all on her fear. She had the perfect chance to subdue her foe, and it all ended in vain. Wasted. Hyomin mentally cursed at her lack of courage to just bring an end to this once and for all. And she blew it. Ruined it. Just because she couldn't do it.

'What if that was the only chance I have left? I don't even know if I can even escape from her now. Damn it!'

"You already cut that sausage."

Hyomin whipped her head up towards the woman in a daze, and then back onto her plate. Apparently, her knife had been trying to cut right through her plate without her noticing. She hated it when she thought too much. Her mind could go into full overdrive and she wouldn’t even know what was happening in her surroundings. Keep the loud voice in her head soft, she once said. Keep the thoughts simple and they will never overwhelm you. And yet, Hyomin already broke so many of her own rules ever since she got stupidly caught by the damn shorty beside her. It was hard not to keep over-thinking in a situation like this, when all she could think about was getting the hell out of here or from that...woman. She glanced over at the kidnapper and saw her taking a bite out of the maple-coated waffles. Those dull brown eyes locked onto Hyomin’s once she started chewing on the food. Hyomin immediately went back to looking at her plate, now minding her own business of eating her last sausage.

The woman still scared her, despite knowing that her job was only to bring Hyomin to the mastermind of this whole scheme. The mastermind was still an enigma to Hyomin. She wanted to know the reason why this person took so much trouble just to get her. To even hire someone just to abduct and transport her somewhere else. Whoever this person was, one thing was clear about him. He was desperate. He would use any means to get what he wants. And then, a thought struck Hyomin. What if this perpetrator wasn’t someone she knew? What if it was someone who knew all about her through someone else? Her mother was a humble housewife so it wouldn’t make any sense.

‘Maybe...it’s because of my father?’

Her father. A notorious businessman. Business was a cunning industry known for bringing  envy, greed, and blatant back-stabbing amongst colleagues. The chances of this whole crazy situation being linked to her own damned father weren’t far. He had a reputation for always reaching his goals by any means necessary. She’d heard of all the rumors. Hyomin had always been curious. In this age with its evolving technology, you can always know about someone just by typing in their name into a search bar, and hope the results will be the ones you’re looking for. Years before, a young Hyomin would search her father’s name up and a list of results would pop up on the screen. Some articles wrote about him in a shining light; someone who has the potential to even top the richest people on earth and topple the whole ranking on Forbe’s magazine. Other articles fouled him. Negative words of mouth can spread very quickly. They said he was involved in criminal activities in order to climb his way up. But no credible proof ever surfaced, so they were debunked as quickly as when they popped up.

And that was how the only child of the Park family dropped the whole ‘being curious about her cold father’ phase because Google didn’t know the answer to the real question which plagued her mind.

Why couldn’t her father love her like how all her other friends’ fathers love them?

Hyomin finally finished off her hearty breakfast though the atmosphere was anything but hearty. She placed the plate back onto the trolley and hesitantly looked at the woman beside her again. The waffles which were previously on her plate were almost devoured, leaving a small trail of maple syrup stagnant on the white plate. The shorty kept on eating, quirking a brow over at Hyomin when the girl blatantly took to staring at her.

"Are we at a hotel?" Hyomin took her chances, asking the stuff she knew would be left unanswered no matter how hard she tried. As expected, the petite woman kept mum about their whereabouts, finishing off the last bits of her breakfast. The abductee examined the room they were in. Clearly, it was a hotel room. More specifically, a motel room. She made that judgement according to what she had seen and picked up from her surroundings while she had been taken on this terrifying joyride by her kidnapper. Hyomin wondered how far she was from the city. How far was she from her home and loved ones? It had been several hours since her world took a drastic 180 degree turn. Surely someone would have noticed by now about her being missing.

A clink disturbed the student’s train of thoughts and she darted her eyes back to the aloof woman. She had finished up her meal and returned the plate onto the trolley as well.

"I already told you about your predicament earlier," the kidnapper said as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Sooner or later, you're going to be in the hands of the person who wants you. If you get in the way of my job, I'll start to be more aggressive against you. Simple as that. You can try it now. Do something to me like what you did to my nose. And that's how you cross the line. We can do this the easy way." The intimidating woman then shot a glare at Hyomin. "Or we can do this the hard way."

The threat did not do much to chill the bones of the abductee, but it did let her know that her kidnapper meant business when she needed to be. However, no matter how threatening she may be, it still didn’t hide the fact that the woman was exhausted.

“You’re tired,” Hyomin pointed out. “I can tell by your eyes.”

That statement brought out a small smirk by the criminal. “Very observant. Next thing I know, I’ll get knocked out and wake up to an empty room. That is what you want to do the most right now.” She then stood up from the bed and walked towards where Hyomin was sitting, towering before her. “And that would be the worst decision you will ever make.”

Hyomin stared defiantly up at her kidnapper. She feared her but at the same time she slowly came to realise that whatever this woman did were all orders by someone higher up than her. Crazy as it was to know something like this can happen in the real world, but even crazier was the thought which sprung in her mind as she looked into the brown orbs of the woman in front of her.

Maybe...just maybe...she could change her ways. Make her not take Hyomin away to god knows where. Change her mind and talk her way out of this predicament she was in. Hyomin already knew how caring this woman could be. If her luck wasn’t as good, she’d probably be in the hands of someone who was even worse. It was far-fetch of a plan. Getting her way with her kidnapper would prove to be difficult, but this was the only escape she could think of which wouldn’t jeopardise her own life.

“You need to sleep.”

“Who will watch over you then?”

“I won’t do anything.”

“Liar.”

“I’m serious. I won’t do anything.”

“Can you prove that to me?”

Hyomin stalled. And then, she blurted out, “I’ll sleep with you.”

The usually stoic woman blinked. “Run that by me again?”

She gulped. “I’ll. Sleep. With. You.”

Nobody said a word for a few seconds. The kidnapper trying to process the absurdity that just came out from Hyomin’s mouth.

“Is there a screw loose in your head?” the woman furrowed her brows as she squatted down and leaned closer to Hyomin, much to the latter’s nervousness.

“No, I’m serious…”

“You’re ing messing with me. That’s it. I’m getting the wires.”

“No!” Hyomin latched on to the shorter one’s shoulders, holding her in place. “Don’t tie me up again. Give me a chance to show you that I won’t do a single thing. Not even when you’re at your most vulnerable.”

“That’s not making it any better. You almost broke my nose. What makes you think I’d let you do what you’re suggesting right now?”

‘Because you’re not like other would-be criminals that does this for a living.’

Hyomin kept that thought to herself. Instead, she whispered in a soft voice almost inaudibly. “You’re tired and you’re gonna fall asleep anytime soon. I don’t think the person who wants me would be pleased if he finds out that I’m dead due to you dozing off while you’re driving me to him.”

“You’re being a lot more sensible now, though it raises my suspicions of you.” She narrowed her eyes.

"Think whatever you want, but I'm still going to stand my ground about this."

"You're crazy."

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'And I'm crazy for accepting her offer.'

The agent cursed endlessly in her mind as she slowly laid her heavy head on the pillow. Her senses were on high alert, ready to lash out at the woman if she dared to go break this ‘offer’ she made. Eyes trained onto her like a hawk, Sunny cautiously said, "If I feel something is wrong while I'm resting here, then forget about having a smooth trip to where I'm taking you."

Her victim, already laying down next to her on the small bed, nodded timidly after hearing the warning. They both shared an awkward yet tense moment as they rested on the mattress next to each other, with no signs of closing their eyes whatsoever. "Aren't you going to sleep?" Sunyoung asked her, unsure.

"What's with the eagerness for me to fall asleep?

Sunny observed her heaving an exasperated sigh before continuing on again. "What do I have to do for you to believe me that I won't try to escape from here?"

"If there was something tied around your hands and feet right now, I might believe you a little bit."

"Please don't."

Sunny ignored the plea and slight whimper from her victim, looking up at the ceiling to avoid looking at that pitiful face again. She pinched the bridge of her nose to her forehead, doing a rather feeble attempt at getting rid of the dull but annoying ache which resided in her head. And having to ensure that this woman beside her doesn't do a single thing as they lay there together wasn't making her skull any better.

"How about," Sunyoung spoke softly, "you hold on to me while you sleep so you'll know that I won't do anything or go anywhere."

The agent stopped her previous action and then turned her head towards the brunette. She gave her an incredulous look.

This woman was definitely crazy.

First, the instant noodles, then the ointment on her nose and now this.

Was this Sunyoung girl really in her right mind? None of the other targets Sunny had to deal with had this much courage to try something on her. They were always scared speechless to do anything. Had Stockholm's Syndrome reared its ugly head to ruin her mission this early in the game? Sunny cursed at her lack of forcefulness this time around. Siwon's advice earlier struck home now.

While Sunny battled with her own thoughts, Sunyoung took the opportunity to scoot a little closer to her.

"Whoa, hold on," Sunny guarded as she warily held up her hand between them. "Are you going to sleep too?"

"Yes."

The agent stared at those serious hazel orbs boring right through her, detecting no signs of dishonesty in them.

"It's better for me if you go to sleep first."

"I can agree to that but..."

"What else do you want?" Sunny frowned.

"I have to know too if you're not going to do anything to me while I'm sleeping."

"And that's the reason why you suggested the 'holding each other' thing? "

The brunette nodded.

Sighing for the nth time and with exhaustion engulfing her with every seconds passed,, Sunny finally gave in.

'I am so going to regret making this decision.'

"C'mere,” Sunny reluctantly reached out.

Inviting her over was far too easy. And gaining some much-needed sleep was easy too  when there was a source of warmth to hold on to.

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Darkness surrounded her. Empty pitch black voids. Silence. Nothing. It made her feel blind, deaf, and helpless. There was no wind but the place gave her the chills. Chills which creeped down her spine and swiftly through the tiny hairs on her skin. She didn’t like this place at all. There was no one around except for herself. She felt extremely lonely. The people who snatched her away...they were bad people. Huge shadows in bulky armor-like clothing. Strong and quick. Their grip on her were as tight as a locked shackle. They took her away from her parents, the only people she loved dearly. She screamed her lungs out for them as she tried to fight off the assailants, but to no avail. Their strength were far too superior when compared to her small stature.

They intruded into her peaceful home on an ordinary night. No warning whatsoever. By the time she sensed something was wrong when she woke up in the middle of the night, it was already too late. She did not know what happened to her Mommy and Daddy. They covered her eyes, gagged, and tied her up. She heard her Daddy begging for mercy. And then, the sounds of two gunshots blared into her ears.

Her tears were dried up on her cheeks. She sniffled as she stared into the darkness. She didn’t want to be in this room anymore. Suddenly, a line of light entered her vision and it slowly widened, making her red and swollen eyes squint at the blinding light which swallowed up the dark she feared earlier. Then, a figure of a person towered in front of her. She couldn’t see the person’s identity as the shadow covered his face.

“Hello Soonkyu,” a deep and burly voice greeted her in an almost menacing way.It reminded her of the Boogeyman she’d read about in her storybooks.

She cowered before this monster.

She just wanted her parents back.

She just wanted to return to her normal, happy life.

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Hyomin roused awake. A tight grip on her body interrupted her sleep. She heard some deep breathings too beside her. When she looked up, the first thing she saw were the tears dripping down the contours of her kidnapper’s face.

Hyomin lay there motionlessly, eyes widening as she took in the sight of this stoic woman silently crying as she slept.

‘Is she having a nightmare?’

It was shocking to see the normally cold woman baring all emotions in front of her and in such close proximity. Hyomin observed her, thinking of what to do. If she moved, it might make the kidnapper wake up. But seeing her so distressed pulled on her heartstrings. Heart over mind, Hyomin risked it and released her hold on the petite figure to bring up  one of her hands close to the other’s face. Slowly and gently, she wiped off the beads of tears with her fingers. Thankfully, it didn’t stir the brunette. In fact, it made her calmer. Braving another step. Hyomin then slowly moved her hand to the back of the kidnapper’s head and her luscious locks of hair in a tender way.

It calmed the short brunette greatly, and within a few minutes, she breathed normally and relaxed into the hug they were sharing. Her hold was still tight but it did not bother Hyomin one bit.

Hyomin stared at the slumbering woman before her, wondering what in the world she dreamt about to make her shed tears even in her sleep. It must have been terrible. She didn’t know what resorted her to do this, but she returned the tight embrace they shared.

‘I just witnessed a totally different side of her,and now I wanna know what her story is.’’