“NO!” an anguished voice echoed again. I closed my eyes and balled my fists. I can’t bear to look at the pest right now. I’m pretty sure his eyes are far worst than his voice. I wanted to cry but I guess my tears are all dried up now. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again, staring blankly ahead. I slowly walked in front of the pest, keeping a two-feet distance between us. “I’m ready,” I said to no one in particular.

 

“Dara, listen to me! You don’t have to do this! He’s going to kill me anyways!”

 

“No, I wouldn’t. You know me, Jiyong. My words are my life.”

 

“To hell with your words, Sang Won! You might as well rot in hell!” the pest hissed.

 

But Sang Won just gave him a sweet smile. “Heechul, hold this gun, just in case our little guest here change her mind.”

 

Heechul silently followed, replacing Sang Won. Then, the latter slowly walked towards me.

 

“Lie down,” he whispered in a slow, sweet voice. With my fists balled tightly at my sides, I complied.

 

“No,” someone cried. “Dara. . .”

 

“You can still stop this, JIyong. If you know where it is, tell me.”

 

No answer. I closed my eyes as I saw Sang Won descended on me. I felt half of his body on top of me, his face buried in my neck, breathing me in.

 

“ you, Sang Won!”

 

A hand was on my waist, the other on my arm, crawling up to my shoulder, then to my neck. I wish the pest would close his eyes. I don’t want him to see this. A nip on my earlobe made me shiver from disgust. But he misinterpreted it.

 

“You’re so smooth,” he whispered as his other hand went up inside my shirt. “I want to see you,” he said with urgency. He slowly pulled my shirt up, deliberately taking his time.

 

“Stop!” someone cried. “I’ll tell you where it is!”

 

Sang Won pulled back, looking very disappointed. “Too bad,” I heard him say as he went to his feet. I quickly scrambled up, pulling my shirt down. I felt cold, very cold. “So, where is it?” Sang Won asked.

 

“It’s in the Parks’ residence.”

 

“We stripped the whole place already!” Sang Won spat.

 

“It’s in the mini library, under the cushion. Tap the floor three times, and you’ll see a descending staircase.”

 

Sang Won paused for a moment. “Very well,” he then said. “I shall see to it myself. Heechul, stay behind.”

 

“But I want to. . .” Heechul started protesting but the others were already going out. Heechul followed them, closing the door behind him. I heard a click; a lock, I presume. Now, it’s only me and the pest.

 

“Kitten,” he whispered. I stayed in my place. “Come here.”

 

I didn’t move.

 

“I need your help.”

 

I looked up but I can’t quite meet his eyes, so I focused on his lips instead.

 

“My arms are kind of straining, can you lower the chains?”

 

I nodded silently and walked behind him. I loosen the chain out and heard a rattling sound. As I turned around, I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth to cover my cry while the other went to my chest. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at his back. “Oh God!” I cried. No, words aren’t enough to describe how horrible his back was. I can’t even think of the words to describe it! I ran in front of him, crying.

 

“Thanks,” he grinned. I bit my lower lip down, not wanting to go into hysteria. “I want to lie down,” he said. “Is it okay?”

 

“But your back. . . .” I choked out.

 

“I’ll lie on my side,” he said. I don’t know why he’s asking for my permission but I nodded. “Do you mind if I rest for a while? I just need to regain my strength so I can get you out of here.”

 

“Put your head on my lap,” I offered and positioned myself beside him, my legs outstretched in front of me. He slowly put his head on my lap and sighed.

 

“How’s my back?” he asked.

 

I hesitated for a moment. “Pretty bad,” I finally answered.

 

“Does that turn you off?” he chuckled.

 

“No,” I softly answered and started his hair.

 

“That really feels good,” he whispered. “I’m sorry by the way.”

 

“What for?”

 

“I really feel a bit drained right now, I’m afraid I have to delay your escape first.”

 

“My escape? What are you talking about? We’ll escape together!”

 

We turned silent for a while. I even thought he fell asleep but the occasional sighs told me otherwise. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

 

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “You should have told them earlier where the microchip was. You didn’t have to suffer. . . .” I stopped as my voice broke.

 

“I lied to them,” he said.

 

“What do you-? Oh my God! Sang Won’s going to kill you!”

 

“Sang Won!” he scoffed. “I’m not scared. I’ll wait for him. I want to kill him for touching you.”

 

Fear gripped my heart painfully. “But Jiyong! We-”

 

“Don’t worry. He’ll be pissed, sure and he’ll punish me. But he won’t kill me yet.”

 

“How can you be sure with that?” I hissed.

 

“I know him. He likes theatrics, slow torture.”

 

“How did you know?”

 

“It’s because I know him.”

 

“You know him?” I asked in disbelief.

 

“Yes. He’s just like me and Seohyun before but he quit along the way.”

 

“Why did he quit?”

 

“I’m not really sure. But according to Seohyun, he was jealous of me.”

 

My jaw clenched. “Oh, I see. You three are caught up in a love triangle. Huh! How pathetic!?”

 

The pest laughed weakly. “No, it’s not like that. Sang Won is Seohyun’s brother and she’s pretty much like a sister to me.”

 

I exhaled. I wasn’t even aware I was holding my breath. But then, his words finally dawned on me. “He’s Seohyun’s brother? But how. . .?”

 

“Sang Won,” he slowly said, “is my senior but the. . . . others favored me more than him. Well, you can’t really blame them; I’m better looking than him.”

 

“Conceited,” I mumbled. “Does Seohyun know her brother is. . .?”

 

“Evil?” he filled in for me. “Why do you think she left in the first place and never returned?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, it turned out that Sang Won was responsible for what happened to their mother.”

 

“He shot his own mother?!”

 

“He did. He was forcing her to tell him where Seohyun was and stuff like that. But of course, Auntie doesn’t know but even if she does, she’ll never tell him. But I don’t really think he was planning to kill Auntie, he was just threatening her.”

 

“And why are you telling all of these to me NOW?”

 

“I don’t know. I just thought it’ll turn you off when you get a glimpse of Sang Won’s messed up life.”

 

“Turn me off?! And who gave you the idea that I was ‘turn on’ with him?”

 

“You looked willing enough to give yourself to him,” he answered nonchalantly.

 

I flinched. “I don’t want you to die.”

 

“My life is not worth it to exchange your purity with.”

 

There was a cling and the door opened. Heechul entered, along with two people, grumbling. The pest straightened up in a sitting position. “They left you,” the pest said, sounding amused. Heechul looked at the pest, looking very red. “I think I know why.”

 

“You don’t know anything!” Heechul greeted.

 

“Oh, yes I do. They don’t trust you. They think you’re too weak to do anything.”

 

“Shut up!” he gritted.

 

“Funny isn’t it? You thought that by joining this group, you’ll have the upperhand. But of course, you’re such a coward to be trusted. I bet you can’t even hurt a fly.”

 

“Jiyong!” I warned. I think we’re not in the position to provoke our captors.

 

“I’m not a coward!” Heechul shouted.

 

“Yes, you are,” the pest slowly said. “I bet you can’t even fight me, or even defeat me eventhough I’m already beaten up.”

 

“He’s pretty weak, Heechul. Show him what you’ve got,” one of the guys spoke, mocking Heechul. The pest was telling the truth. They think Heechul is too weak.

 

“Free him,” Heechul ordered the two, to which they happily complied. I glared at them. How can they be so happy watching a fight? But I guess boys will always be boys.

 

As soon as the pest’s wrists were freed, he slowly stood up. “Heechul, did you know that kittens usually run when they sense danger or when they’re ordered to?”

 

I froze. I looked at the pest’s back then at Heechul, who looked confused and bewildered. I slowly stood up and backed up against the wall.

 

“Anyways,” the pest sighed. “Let’s begin?”

 

Heechul looked apprehensive for a while but then, when the two guys snorted, his face turned grim. He held his arms up, fists balled tightly. A slow smile curved the pest’s lips, mirroring Heechul’s stance.

 

With a wild shout, Heechul attacked, which was easily dodged by the pest. But the former was not easy to let down. He aimed for the pest’s face but the latter caught Heechul’s fist in his hand. Then, a smirk formed on Heechul’s lips. I gasped as I heard the pest moaned in pain. I don’t know how it happened but he was now bent over, clutching his- oh!

 

“That’s foul! No hitting below the belt!” I angrily protested.

 

But Heechul was thinking otherwise. He took advantage of the pest’s situation. He grabbed the pest’s shoulders and gave his chest a blow. The pest coughed and it seemed to inspire Heechul. He then dug his fingers on the pest’s back, on his fresh wounds. Then, he elbowed the pest, making the latter fall to the ground on his stomach. As soon as the pest hit the floor, Heechul started kicking every part of the pest hardly and enthusiastically. He stepped on the pest’s wounds, burying the hell of his shoe on his back.

 

I winced. It’s as if I can feel his pain, too. I saw Heechul knelt to on the ground and grabbed the pest’s hair. He lifted the pest’s head up and started punching his face over and over and over again. “Stop!” I shouted and started running towards them.

 

“Dara, no!”

 

My feet stopped on their tracks. There was something in the pest’s voice that held me in my place. It’s like he was saying: “this is my fight and mine alone”. I backed against the wall again and started crying. I feel so useless. I heard a cracking sound. I wiped my tears off my eyes to clear my vision. I saw the pest pushing himself up while Heechul was rolling on the floor.

 

“Stand up!” the pest hissed. My heart swelled with pride as I understood the meaning behind his words. Jiyong wants to fight Heechul fairly. He wants to fight the latter on his feet.

 

It was a while later that Heechul started scrambling up. Despite the injuries, Jiyong was now on his feet towards Heechul, knocking him sideward with a kick. Heechul was sent flying sideways, to the two bystanders watching. The three fell on the floor unceremoniously.

 

“Now!” the pest shouted and sent himself on top of the three. Without thinking, my feet jolted towards the door. I opened the door and went out of the chamber. With the will to survive kicking in, I ran and ran. I didn’t even pause to think on which path to choose. I went into every path I saw. Then, I heard a shout of pain echoing through the walls. I suddenly paused and started breathing heavily.

 

Jiyong!

 

I started tracing my way back but I always end up in a dead end. Oh God, is this some kind of a labyrinth? I was panting already, sweat covering my whole body. As I turned into another corner, I found a wide hallway. I slowed to a walk when a set of arms suddenly grabbed me from behind. I was pulled in a tight spot; the walls too close on each other. “I told you to run away, not to walk and turn back!”

 

“Jiyong!” I gasped and reached for his lips.

 

But he pulled back quickly. “Kitten, this isn’t really the right time for-”

 

With a growl, I cut him off and kissed him torridly. I don’t care where we were or if this isn’t the right time. All I know is that I wanted to feel him; to feel that he’s alive; to feel that he’s with me right now. If this is the end, so be it. As long as I had this stolen moment with him, I’ll be fine.

 

“Okay,” he pulled back, breathing heavily. “As much as I enjoy your enthusiasm and show of affection, we should really get going.” With our hands intertwined, he peeked and looked left and right. “Let’s go,” he whispered and stepped out, pulling me with him. We started running. I can’t help but notice how his steps seemed quieter compared to mine. Ugh! We’re going to get caught easily with this.

 

After a few minutes of running and seeing no one in our way, I started feeling relieved. We’re gonna make it out! I glanced up at the pest and saw that he was sweating and there was a look of suffering on his face. Then I realized he’s not really in a good shape yet.

 

We turned into a corner and saw a door up at the far end. We looked at each other briefly and started running towards the door when it suddenly opened, welcoming a good number of guys in suits. We turned around but Heechul and the two guys were going our way. A wave of déjà vu washed my body. But this time, there’s no space to escape. It’s final. We’re trapped.

 

“Oh God!” I breathed. My head went back and forth, unaware that the pest let go of my hand. I jumped a little when I heard something dropped to the floor. I looked around and saw Jiyong looking up at a hole at the wall.

 

“Get them!” I heard someone said. The pest suddenly scooped me up, bringing my feet at the opening of the hole. I found out it was some sort of a tunnel.

 

“Stay alive, Kitten,” he whispered. My body went very still as I remembered my dream. With sheer panic shaking my body, I commanded my arms to move. I grabbed on tight on his shoulders.

 

“No”! I shook my head. “No. I’m staying with you. No,” I sobbed, trying to hold on to him. Half of my body was now inside and the bad guys were nearing. With his strength, he removed my hands off him and pushed me down. “NO! Jiyong!” I shouted as I plummeted down. I screamed for his name again but I continued sliding. I tried to stop myself by putting my arms and feet on the wall but I didn’t succeed.

 

It seemed endless, I didn’t really notice. All I could think of was Jiyong. A burst of light suddenly blinded me as I felt I was thrown into the air. I screamed again as I started falling. Just like before, it felt like my insides went up to my throat, threatening to go out.

 

Then, something hit my head. Belatedly, I heard a splash just before I went down, down, down. Deeper and deeper I went. I can’t seem to feel my body anymore. There was something poking at the side of my mind: it was dark yet very painless. I started going there when a voice echoed in my head. It said, “Stay alive, kitten” over and over again. With that, my eyes snapped open. I started swimming towards the voice. I swam and swam until I started feeling everything again.

 

The water became shallower and shallower until I finally reached the banks. I crawled out of the water, coughing and catching my breath at the same time. I rolled onto my back, filling my lungs with air. I lay there for a while, quite unable to move. When I already got sufficient air for my lungs, I pushed myself up quite weakly and slowly. As soon as I was on my feet again, a pain somewhere at the side of my head started throbbing. I felt dizzy but survival instincts got the better hold of me. I started walking and walking, unsure of which path is the right one.

 

Well, if you’re surrounded with trees with no trail, that’s not really surprising. I leaned on a tree once and took a rest. But I didn’t spend much time resting as I continued walking.

 

It felt hours when I finally saw the trees clearing. And then, I saw a road. I started going to that direction, even stumbling along due to my haste. I was almost out when I saw a car past by. I frantically ran and started shouting, chasing the car. “Wait!” I shouted. “Please! Help me!”

 

I tried to run faster but I was too weak that my knees finally gave in.

 

“STOP!” I screamed desperately. By some miracle, the car stopped and started reversing. The compartment was a few inches from my face when I forced myself up.

 

“Miss, are you al-? Dara!”

 

“Wooyoung oppa!” I breathed in relief and threw myself in his arms. My mind finally gave in, so did my body. I fainted.