"W-what is g-going on?" Areum muttered as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her right hand and followed suit as Baekhyun held her by her wrist in a grip which was way to rough, but she was still too exhausted to protest, even if he was the one who planted a tight slap on her face just a day ago. "Where're we going to?" she half yawned-half said earning a disgusted look from the boy leading the way.

"Getting you cleaned up." he scrunched his nose up and pushed a door open. "You stink."

"It's not my fault there's no water in the useless toilet you have down there." she complained and scuffled closer to Baekhyun who instinctively moved further and pulled her into a room closing the door behind her.

"You!" Areum pointed an accusing finger at Sehun who sat idly, legs crossed like the boss he was as he swiping his hand over his touch screen phone. Son Areum was many things, she was smart, witty, persistent. One thing she was not... Weak. Clenching her fist, she stepped forward with her fist in the air, ready to strike when Sehun easily caught her hand, mid-air and snickered at her failed attempt.

"There's no need for such violence Miss Son." he smirked. "We're not here to hurt you." he said and clicked his tongue, suddenly a familiar pair of eyes came into her eyesight and she frowned. The familiar looking person handed her a towel and a set of new clothes. Including a pair of lingerie.

"Change into these." the deep void said and she realized the voice immediately.

"Y-you were the one!" she murmured, suddenly feeling stiff and suddenly out of breath. "You were the one who grabbed me." taking a few steps backward in fright, she bumped into a hard object, which she later realized was Baekhyun. She didn't necessarily like the said boy but he posed lesser threat than the person before her. The person with those dark orbs, hauting her in her nightmares, every night since the kidnapping incident.

"Shh" Baekhyun plucked her away and planted a firm finger on his lips. "Go on and get cleaned up."

Although she was dazed, confused afraid. She obediently grabbed the towel and headed towards the door  at the right, trying to get away from the man with dark eyes as soon as possible. She convinced herself that a cool shower would give her a piece of mind and awake her from this shock. Which was the reason she accused for her being not herself. If that even made sense.

"You bet she'll be alright?" Baekhyun asked as he lay his arms on the round table, with his eyes on  Sehun who sat across the table with a phone between his hands. "I mean... She won't go report us or something?" he asked cautiously, keeping a close eye on the maknae's  expression, afraid to piss him off.

"No. She won't." he said with much confidence that made Baekhyun raise his eyebrows. Locking his phone and pushing it away, Sehun stood up, swinging his jacket over his shoulder. "Send her to the lobby once she's done." he said, not waiting a second to hear Baekhyun protest.

Sehun leaned against his car, scrolling through the messages on his phone, deleting the unnecessary ones. His eyes lifted up as he heard the front door of their 'office' swing open to bang against the wall with a loud thud and a girl in black slim fit dress with straight brown locks cascading in a gentle flow against her right shoulder.

Sehun was impressed.

Clearing his throat once to remind his presence to the oblivious girl who stood at the stairway with a bedazzled expression plastered over her pretty face.

"Hop in. We'll be late." he snapped loud enough for her to hear as he slipped himself inside the driver's seat with a small doubt in his mind, whether she would obey or not, but to his pleasant surprise, she stood at the door, gaping at the way the door of the car floated in the air.

"Get in!" Sehun said rather irritated at her constant delay. Without thinking further she stepped in and swallowed hard to no salivate at the expensive interior of the car. It was nothing like she'd seen before. Areum almost jumped when the doors closed itself and the motor illuminated in blue.  The car plunged forward with a loud purr, making her take a deep breath and squeezed her eyes close in fright.

"Don't speak unless I ask you to."

Areum whipped her head towards the boy who just spoke and furrowed her eyebrows together. "What?"

"Do not speak unless you're spoken to, or unless I ask you to." he repeated in a firm voice and Areum found herself repeating it to herself in a hushed whisper. Then it dawned to her.

"Why should I do what you say?" she spat spitefully, "You're not the boss of me."

Sehun laughed.

He laughed so hard that Areum almost wondered if she'd said something funny. What surprised her the most was not his laugh, but the way her heart thumped against her chest with the sight of his happy face. It was such a contrast to his cold-expressionless look, yet it suited him perfectly.

"In case you forgot." he said as he tried to muffle his laugh with a fist to his mouth and steering professionally with one hand. "I can do anything to you and you can do nothing about it." He smiled smugly as he eyed her from head to toe slyly which made Areum to jump in her seat and cross her arms before her chest protectively. "Relax. I won't do anything." he said, a smirk still lurking over his handsome face, but somehow, he sounded sincere and Areum felt her tension release as she sat back, feeling somewhat relaxed at being finally set free. 

"Why did you let me out?"

"Did you not hear me earlier? I said you'll only speak when you're spoken to or asked to." Sehun replied rudely, taking a sharp cut towards the left making Areum hold on to her seat for her dear life.

Quietly they reached the destination, a place Areum didn't recognize, yet she wasn't surprised. The fresh air alone was good enough for her, something she'd missed for days.  Following Sehun, Areum trudged behind him as he walked ahead, gesturing with his finger to do so.

They entered a big abandoned factory. Areum's heels echoed as it hit the floor, a silent hush made her lighten her footsteps as she tip toed carefully and glanced around the dark interiors. A sudden clank of a steel door made her shudder with fright as a man, twice. No! Thrice her size emerged from it, holding what she assumed was a gun which she saw people in the army often hold.

"It's him." the large man bellowed as he tilt his head and gestured for the duo to follow him inside.

Without a word, Sehun stepped forward but paused and turned around when he realized Areum frozen in her place. Making an annoyed sound, he took a few steps back and placed his palm on the small of her back, giving her a gentle push. "Don't worry. You'll be safe with me." he assured, which worked, much to his surprise.

"Sehun-ah!" a tall, grey haired man greeted as soon as they entered the room lit with led lights. "This must be Son Areum-sshi." he smiled as he stretched hid hand forward. Areum stared at the hand than at Sehun who gave a stern look, giving her the what-are-you-doing look. Swallowing the lump in , Areum outstretched her hands and shook it, giving it a curt bow before slipping behind Sehun.

"I'm Sehun's father." the tall man said, Areum exchanged glances with a stoic Sehun, who stared blankly at the girl. "I've heard a lot about you, Miss Son." he smiled, his eyes turned into little crescents, just like Sehun's but with more lines under his eyes. "Did my son treat you well?"

Areum scoffed at the question which made the said boy glare at her. "Y-yes." she said. Which was kind of true, minus the fact that she was locked up in a dark room with a barely functioning toilet, they did treat her quite well.

"That's good to hear." Mr. Oh said as he gestured for her to take a seat. He resumed his talk immediately as Areum took a seat beside Sehun. "You resemble your mother a lot." he smiled and Areum's heart almost stopped beating. He knew my mother?

"I see you look quite surprised there." he chuckled. "I was your mother's friend, we went to college together. Although I lost contact with her after she got married." he said, a hint of sorrow in his tone, dismissing it Areum cleared .

"She died a long time ago."

"I heard." Mr. Oh nod his head and snapped his fingers at the bulky man standing at the door, who immediately bowed and closed the door behind him as he walked away. "There's a reason why I called you here today Miss Son."

"What may that be?"

"Since I see that you've taken your mother's maiden name as your own, you are no longer in contact with your father." he said, Areum squirmed uncomfortably at her seat. The mere mention of her father made her blood boil. "Please, Miss Son. I'm not going to harm you and neither will my son and his.... Friends. I'll make sure of it." he affirmed and somehow, Areum found her breath voice again.

"What does all this have to do with me?"

"The reason you've been kept under captive is because.... You're in danger." Mr. Oh said. "Your father has been having you followed around. We needed to protect you." Sehun glanced up at his father with a questioning brow without Areum's notice, but quickly averted his eyes when he felt his father glare at him. "I made a promise to your mother, to protect you no matter what. I'm sorry things had to play out the way it did." he shook his head and sighed. "I wished it'd never come to this. I knew what kind of a man Sejong is, but I never pegged him to be so heartless... So much that he'd even plotted to kill his own daughter to get back what he lost."

Areum's eyes widened and suddenly, she felt all the wind get out of her. She was just a child when her parents separated, although she never really spent time with her father, the only thing she memories she had of him was something that took her innocence away.

"I-I..." she gulped. She couldn't be weak. All these years, she'd spent trying to erase those memories, so many years of hard work. She couldn't let them slip away. "I..." she couldn't finish her sentence as she sprang up and sprint towards the door, everything else a blur.