The Nylon Thread

*banner used by nabi_chi

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DARA’S POV

A swirling shade of different colors revolved around my mind. My head felt so heavy and swollen. I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy so I stopped trying for a while. Instead, I focused on remembering what happened and what’s going on. I remembered walking with Kevin towards the GOSFI field when TOP called. i got pissed when he started ordering me around to stay away from Kevin so I ended the call and started complaining to Kevin about what TOP said. I was ranting and ranting until I felt something heavy and hard hit the back of my head.

The swirling shade of different colors in my mind started to clear up. But then, a sudden jab of pain hut my temples, making me groan. The groan seemed to alert my other senses because my ears started hearing dull and continuous droplet from somewhere. I suddenly became aware of the position I was currently in: I was sitting in a chair with my wrists tied behind me with what felt like cold chains. I started breathing heavily. I really don’t have a good experience with chains so I can’t help but think something bad is waiting for me once I opened my eyes. But good or bad, I know I don’t really have a choice. Gathering my strength together and ignoring the heaviness of my lids, I forced my eyes open. I frowned. There was a dull, blurry white light from up ahead. But I can’t make the most of where I am since my vision wasn’t clear yet. I squeezed my eyes shut and blinked several times. But still, all I could see was the blurred light. A shadow of a person then came into view, blocking the blurred light. I tried to open my mouth to speak but even before I could even utter a word, water splashed into my face. The coldness of it bit and stung my skin, making me gasp. As the surprise subsided, I realized that the water helped to clear my vision. I looked up.

“Kevin!” I gasped. My first instinct was to ask him to free me but there was something at the look on his face that stopped me from saying anything.

He smiled after a while. But it wasn’t his usual warm and friendly smile. It was cold and calculated. He reminded me of someone, though I can’t really remember who. “Have you looked around, Dara? See anything familiar?”

A few questions jumped to my mind at once but instead of asking them, I looked around. My eyes widened as I saw at my far right side a wall with familiar-looking chains on it. I took a better look at my surroundings. At first glance, there was nothing familiar with the place. It was just too dark, too dirty, too cold and too empty but I know this was the same place where Sulli brought me. “This place was caved in! I saw it happened!”

Kevin laughed. I stared at him. No, this couldn’t be the Kevin I knew. There must be some kind of a trick here or a mistake. Maybe this is some kind of a sick joke? It’s just too impossible. “Oh yes, the whole place did cave in” he said. “I think some even attempted to set the place to burn. But you see, this particular chamber holds so many traces of different curses from the games she played that it. . . . but still, the place was cracked”

“I don’t understand” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t understand any of this!”

He grimaced in disgust. “Of course, you don’t” he said. “I heard a lot of things on how. . .your brain works. You’re not really bright, are you?”

“Who are you? Why are you doing this? Is this some sort of a prank?” I asked, unable to stop myself. My heart was beating frantically inside my chest. I mentally prayed for help. Please, let it come. Please. . .

“No, this isn’t a prank” he said. “And my name’s really Kevin Woo. I didn’t lie about that. As for the other question. . . why do you think I’m doing this?”

“HOW WOULD I KNOW?” I shrieked. I don’t like this. I’ve never really paused to assess if I was brave or not. The last time I was in here and facing a threat to my life, I wasn’t alone. Jaejoong, Bom, Seungri and Youngbae were here with me. Even my parents and Jiyong were here. But now, I’m alone. I felt an intense fear.

“You really are slow, huh?” he taunted. “Oh wait, is that fear I see in your eyes?”

I didn’t answer. I was scared my voice would break if I dare speak. Yes, I am afraid. I won’t deny that but I won’t give him the satisfaction, either. Who wouldn’t be scared anyways? The last time I was here, my parents were killed in front of me, my friends were hurt and I DIED. My eyes widened. “How did you know about this place?” I asked in a whisper. “She told you, didn’t she? Sulli told you”

I saw the sudden change in his face at the mention of Sulli’s name. He looked like a crazed person, a blinded one. “She tells me everything” he quietly said. “I told her I’ll go with her but she didn’t let me because of that ing darn Jiyong!”

“You. . . how did you know Sulli?”

“How did I know Sulli?” he asked bitingly. And if I heard him right, there was a tinge of bitterness in his voice. “She’s everything to me” he answered. “She’s my teacher, my lover and my sister”

“Y-your sister?” I gasped. I don’t know if my brain could cope up with this. It’s like my mind snapped close on its own, refusing to take in anything he says.

“Yes” he said, smirking. “It’s funny, isn’t it? She knew everything about you but you don’t know anything about her. You’re supposed to be her friends but you don’t know me or my siblings”

I’m still on denial. “I don’t understand. You’re the same age as I am and your name’s Woo. . .”

“We’re not really related to blood” he said. “She adopted us, you know. I can still remember the day she went to our doorsteps. She put the rest of the family under some sort of trance or spell. My father was mentally strong so she killed him even before he could make a run for it. Huh, like he can. She controlled every move my mother and siblings made. But she spared me. She let me have my own mind, my own decisions. I witnessed how she played and experimented with my family. That’s why my siblings were always sick. She loves games, you see. She was so strong, so evil at such a young age that I feared her. I feared her so much that I didn’t dare defy her. But as time goes by, I started to get amaze with her abilities that I started worshipping her”

I stared at him in disbelief. He looked so alive, so animated, so electrified that a shiver of fear ran down my spin. Sulli meant everything to him. That, I can see. “You just let her do all those things to your own family?!?”

“Sulli’s a powerful creature” he simply said as if that’s all that mattered to him. “And I told you, I feared her at first”

I shook my head. “But why did she keep you in secret?”

“I wasn’t a secret!” he suddenly screamed. “She needed me to keep an eye on my family. Sulli loved me, adored me and trusted me. She taught me everything, EVERYTHING! She even told me EVERYTHING! Even small ones like being bored of going to school to big ones like observing Kwon Jiyong! She loves me, you hear that?!?”

“She doesn’t know how to love! She’s an emotionless creep and-”

He backhanded me. “Don’t” he gritted. “She loves me!”

“No, she doesn’t! She only wanted Jiyong!”

His face darkened. “Jiyong” he snorted. “If I weren’t a simple human, I could have killed that guy already!”

“And what does Jiyong got to do with this, anyways?!” I screamed. “He didn’t want Sulli in the first place! He just went through with what she wanted because he wanted her to turn him into a masked shadow. And I can see that she didn’t turn you one as well”

“That guy has got to do with all of this!” he said. “You didn’t see how. . . how Sulli talks about him. She’s always, excited, elated, euphoric. She revered and feared Jiyong. She said she could smell and sense some deeper evil in Jiyong but his emotions kept the deeper evil at bay. But of course, he wasn’t aware of it. Only Sulli knew. She was crazed by the fact that someone is almost as evil as her. Jiyong was like an aphrodisiac to her. She enjoys smelling the deeper evil reeking of his skin and aura, it energizes her. She also feared him because she didn’t know how powerful Jiyong could get once he let that deeper evil out. She decided to observe him and she noticed how his eyes stray to your direction ever since you became neighbors. She didn’t understand that, though. Then she set up a game. She used the game to let the deeper evil out from him and she also enjoys watching all of you suffer. But her game backfired. She was trying to release the deeper evil from Jiyong but instead, the opposite happened. She said it was as if you were purifying Jiyong’s soul. And the fact that she can’t get into you that easily the way she did to my family infuriated her more. You should have seen how pissed she was. She was so beautiful!”

My mind reeled at the look on his face. I wanted to puke, my head was spinning that I closed my eyes to stop the dizzying feeling. Sulli, what have you done to him? it’s obvious that Sulli only knew one thing: to ruin a person’s soul. “Sulli said. . . she said she planned everything. She was pissed with me because I was too. . . friendly and. . .”

He laughed. “Did you really believe that lame reason? Well, here’s the truth: it’s all because of Jiyong”

I closed my eyes, refusing to believe anything he’s saying. It doesn’t make sense! There were just too many lies put into my head that I can’t make sense of anything anymore.

“Then she died” he whispered so quietly and brokenly that I opened my eyes. “So I swore to seek revenge. So I went on working to earn your trust, trying to lure you away from Jiyong’s clutches. I even joined that stupid GOSFI thing just so I have an excuse to say to you. But you were pretty clingy to Jiyong, you don’t want to do things without his permission. But I should admit, you’re a good person Dara. Too bad you got yourself involved with Jiyong. Huh! You wouldn’t even be here if not for him. You don’t know how many times I tried to get you alone. But all eyes were on you. Some shadows were silently watching you from afar and that TOP guy has never looked at anyone but you. It’s pathetic actually. I don’t really see anything special in you. I tried to seek revenge on that store but TOP was there”

“That was you!” I gasped. “You stabbed me and you-!”

“Yes, that was me” he said. And lucky for you that TOP guy was there. And since I was just a human and he was a shadow, I ran away. Then I tried attacking Jiyong but he was stronger that I thought. I did knock him out, though but he landed in front of that TOP guy again! I hate that guy! And oh, I did push you off that rooftop!”

“No. . .” I denied, shaking my head. “That’s not true. . .”

“Are you really this STUPID?!” he barked then laughed out loud. “Sulli was right; you’re too trusting and friendly for your own good. It’s the truth, Dara”

“That’s why the crows attacked you that time!”

“Well. . . I must give credit to your boyfriend. He always kept you on guard with those pathetic pet birds of his. But I couldn’t care less about them. I just wanted to kill you. If it weren’t for that TOP guy, you could have been dead already. And Jiyong didn’t trust me that much because he started following me everywhere and so, I had to tone it down a little. I was very patient. And so I waited. The truth is, I was actually enjoying your company. I never had that much friends to talk to but when you told about the phone call you received from TOP hours ago and how he warned you of staying away from me, I was reminded of my purpose. And that led you here”

With everything that’s been going on, I felt a stab of guilt. TOP saved me twice from Kevin’s attempts of killing me. He even saved Jiyong in a way. And just a while ago, he was trying to save me again but all I ever said to him were unkind words. If I survive this, I’ll apologize to him. Oh please, someone help me!

Out of nowhere, a sharp pain hit my scalp. It was then that I realized that Kevin grabbed a handful of my hair and used it to pull my head back up. “Now tell me, how did Jiyong do it?” he asked, his face turning inhumanly evil that I couldn’t bear looking at him for a long time. “Tell me, what did Jiyong do to wipe her face off like that?! TELL ME!!!”

“Jiyong didn’t do it!”

“LIAR!” he screamed and backhanded me so forcefully that I thought my head would snap off my neck. “I know it was him!”

“NO! I’m telling the truth! It-!”

He backhanded me again. I bit my lower lip to stifle a scream of pain. But it didn’t stop the tears to fall down. Maybe I’m not that brave after all. He pulled my hair again, forcing my head up to him. Then he slammed his lips on mine. Everything inside me screamed in disgust and protest. I tried to pull away from him but his hold on my hair was too strong. A sob was starting to shake my shoulders. He pulled my hair again, making me gasp in pain. He took advantage of it. He slid his tongue forward. I was so disgusted that I grounded my teeth on his tongue. I suddenly tasted something salty and was given the satisfaction when he pulled away and cursed out loud. I spat the foul taste of his blood to his own face.

The look on his face made me fear desperately for my life.

“You’re a feisty little one, aren’t you? But not for long”

“I hate you!” I hissed. But he only laughed.

“I’m flattered” he mockingly said. “But you already used all my patience up”

Fear reigned inside me. “What are you planning?”

“I’ll kill you, of course. I should have done so before now but since waiting to get a chance to seek revenge gave me an idea. So, before I kill you, I’ll give Jiyong a dose of his own medicine first”

My heart thumped painfully. “What are you-?” I started again but he stepped back and walked behind me. I tried to look back but my body won’t cooperate anymore. I started breathing heavily when I started hearing an irksome sound, like a metal being rubbed against another metal. Not long after that, Kevin came into view again with a pushcart and a large mirror. He placed the mirror at one side and worked through with the things I couldn’t see in the pushcart. Then, he lifted a nylon thread and a large black needle.

My eyes widened at once, understanding what he meant when he said he’s going to give Jiyong a dose of his own medicine. “Oh my God!” I cried.

“Go on, you can start praying now because once I start, all you’ll do is scream”

“You can’t do this. . .” I cried. “Please don’t do this. Jiyong would-”

“I know he’ll hunt me down. I don’t care, as long as I kill you first. Then, maybe I could kill him, too”

“BUT JIYONG DIDN’T KILL SULLI! IT WAS-!”

“SHUT UP!” he roared so loud that the whole chamber trembled.

“It was a bird! It-!” I insisted but he backhanded me so hard that it shook all my courage away.

He freed one of my arms. “Oh, what’s this?” he softly asked as his fingers went to my ring finger. “What does this K stands for? Kevin? Yeah, I think it does stand for Kevin. I’ll take this then seeing that it’s mine”

“No!” I cried and started struggling with him with just an arm but he suddenly twisted it. I screamed even before I felt he pain and heard something snapped broken. He then took the ring off my finger.

“Try fighting me off again and your arm won’t be the only broken part of your body”

I started crying, really hard. And when he started sewing my fingers together, I could only scream and cry. He then went to my other hand, sewing my thumb to my forefinger, then he sewed my forefinger to my middle finger, so on and so forth.

He straightened up as I slumped on my chair weakly. He stretched his arms out and yawned lazily. He went to the pushcart and grabbed a fresh set of nylon thread. Then he went in front of me. With his fingers, he tilted my head up.

“N-no. . . no. . .” I croaked as his hand bearing the needle with the nylon thread lowered down. Instinctively, I closed my eyes. But it was a wrong move because I started feeling the needle piercing through my eyelids. He’s sewing my right eye close!

My throat was already taut and dry from crying after he was finished with my right eye. My voice sounded hoarse already. As fresh tears started rolling down again, it stung the wounds at the lower part of my right eye.

“I love hearing your scream” he chuckled. “But I have to keep your mouth close from now on”

I desperately begged for death to claim me when he went on sewing my mouth closed. Death was better than this slow torture. I just want to die. I WANT TO DIE!

After some time, Kevin step back. I opened my left eye and saw him went to get the mirror. He placed it in front of me. Unable to stop myself, I stared at the mirror. I burst into tears again as I saw my face. I can barely recognize myself. There were bruises and hand marks on face. My broken arm looked pathetic. My right eye and mouth were swollen and badly sewn. There were a few traces of dry blood on my right cheek and at the base of my mouth and contrary to that, I looked pale. My left eye was wide open in fear. And I had a feeling that he’ll sew it close anytime now.

When I thought all hope was gone, I heard a screech from up ahead. Kevin cursed and whirled around. With my left eye, I saw a crow diving towards Kevin, the scar on its eye looked pale under the light. It was Seungri. Seungri came for me.

Then, there were different screeches from somewhere. Another crow was now helping Seungri in attacking Kevin. I don’t know how he did it but Kevin managed to ward off the attacking crows. As the two creatures fell to the floor, they turned back into their human forms – Seungri and Youngbae.

Kevin walked towards them but then, he suddenly stopped. His body arched forward. He threw his head back as a bloodcurdling scream escaped from his mouth – a scream of pain. Amidst Kevin’s scream, I heard Youngbae hissed to Seungri. “Don’t let Jiyong see her face! It’ll only make him lose control!”

So Jiyong came for me. He’s here. my pancake came for me. And despite everything, my lips tightly smiled. All is well, all. . . . a strong invisible force suddenly whipped through the air that I was suddenly flung backwards together with the chair I was sitting on. The chair hit the floor and broke into piece while I landed to the floor with a loud thud. Somewhere, I also heard two consecutive thuds with grunts. Something odd was happening; I could almost feel it in the air. I felt so cold and weird that my hairs rose up from unknown threat, danger and fear.

“!” Seungri hissed. “He saw what that freak did to her!”

“Let’s get her out of here” Youngbae urgently said.

I wanted to protest but I could only make incoherent sounds. Seungri pulled me into his arm. With a swoosh, we suddenly transported into a living room I’m so familiar with.

“Oh my God!” I heard Bom gasped.

“My goodness!” Sohee followed.

“Shouldn’t anyone do something about this already?” TOP’s blanched voice entered my ears. He’s here? Why didn’t he go and help the boys to save me just like what Seungri and Youngbae did? I tried to look at him but I was slowly losing hold on to my consciousness.