Not many people wanted this war between the Privileged and the Rebels; of course, who would want their lives to be in danger? However, there existed groups on both sides who wished for the opposing side to disappear. Those who would stop at nothing to cause turmoil between the groups; hoping nothing more than to see the suffering that would ensue.

    Kim Yongchul sat at his desk that night holding three photos in his hands and a note that had come along with it. His son and a Rebel girl, the daughter of one of the Rebel leaders, caught in an intimate moment.  An embarrassment, an outrage, shameful. That’s what it would be if these photos were leaked to the public; and that’s exactly what was threatened if he didn’t comply with their demands.

    There was a knock on the door before it was slowly opened. He quickly hid the photos under a folder he had on his desk.

    “Father? You wanted to see me?” Taehyung walked into the dimly lit room, a mixture of confusion and worry on his face. He and his father never spoke much, and if they did, it was either about politics or something Taehyung had done wrong. It wasn’t going to be politics this time, he realized, from the look on his father’s face.

    “Sit down,” Yongchul motioned to the chair in front of his desk.

    Taehyung did as he was told, clasping his hands together on his lap as he waited for his father to continue speaking.

    “Is there anything you want to tell me?” Yongchul’s voice was stern. It sounded more like a command than a question.

    Taehyung couldn’t help tightening his hands together, a wave of fear filling his heart. What did he know? He could swear that his father could hear the nervous pounding of his heart.

     “No, there isn’t…” Taehyung began. He saw the exact moment his father’s eyes went from his stoic poker face to anger.

     “Then what the hell do you call this?” he reached under his folder, pulling out the photos and tossing them in front of Taehyung.

    His eyes widened. The photos seemed to have been taken only hours ago when he had given Minah the necklace. Who had seen them? How had they not noticed anyone was around them? He quickly gathered the photos in his hands, wanting to hide them, the shock still evident on his face.

    “You still have nothing to say?” his father’s voice was stern.

    Taehyung thought for a moment before he shook his head. It was true, he didn’t have anything to say. What could he say?

    He flinched when his father stood, slamming his fists on the desk.

    “You aren’t allowed to see her again, do you hear me?” he said through gritted teeth.

    “You can’t make that decision,” Taehyung didn’t know where his newfound confidence came from, but as the words left his lips, he lifted his now unwavering eyes to meet his father’s.

    “What did you say?” Yongchul narrowed his eyes at his son.

    “You can’t make that decision for me. I will see the woman I love as often as I want to,” he stood from the chair, gripping the now wrinkled photos in his hands out of anger.

    “The woman you love?” Yongchul scoffed, shaking his head at Taehyung, who subconsciously stood up taller, not amused with his father’s belittling tone.

    “Yes,” he replied confidently.

    “I won’t let you ruin this family’s name, Taehyung. You will not embarrass me and your mother in front of the whole country,” he pointed a finger at him, never expecting his son to stand against him.

    Taehyung rolled his eyes at his father’s words. Of course the first thought in his head would be their reputation. That’s all he ever heard about from his father.

    “You think if I never see her again, the people who took those photos won’t release them to the public?” he grew up in the spotlight of media and paparazzi. He knew all too well what those pictures would be worth, what they could do, but there was nothing he nor his father could do at this point to stop it.

    “Taehyung,” his father sighed, visibly tired.

           “Are they threatening you with something? What do they want you to do?” Taehyung crossed his arms across his chest. There had to be something that they wanted in order to not release the photos.

    “That’s nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he rubbed his temples, sitting back down at his desk.

    “Then there’s nothing to worry about, right? Clearly it’s got nothing to do with me.”

    “Sit,” his father ordered, giving Taehyung a look he had never seen before. Was it worry? Fear?

Taehyung sat back down in his chair, letting out an annoyed sigh. At already 20 years old, his father still thought of him as a child, withholding, what seemed like, important information from him and assuming that it would be the right thing to do.

“They’re threatening to make you out as a traitor. That you are passing on information to the Rebels about our plans,” Yongchul let out an exasperated sigh.

“But I don’t know anything about your plans…” Taehyung’s eyebrows knit together as he tried to think of a moment when he was told of any plans from the government.

“That doesn’t matter. These people want the war to begin, Taehyung. They are not to be taken lightly. Either I start the war or they release these photos with the false story behind it. The war will begin either way.”

“I have to tell her…” Taehyung immediately thought of Minah. He had to let her know what might happen. He had to warn her.

“I will not allow you to see her anymore. Do you know what happens to traitors in governmental official’s families? You will be made an example of! Have you not paid attention to anything that goes on in this world?” Yongchul was getting irritated with Taehyung’s naivety.

“So you’d rather start a war because of some people that aren’t even brave enough to face you personally? You’d rather let them control your timing than you doing it yourself? You couldn’t fight a simple rumor like this?” Taehyung countered, still fuming with anger about the whole situation. How could his ‘all-powerful’ father fall weak in front of a group of people he didn’t even know? People who were afraid to even show themselves?

Yongchul was taken aback at his words. Always seeing Taehyung’s care-free spirit and lifestyle, he had never expected to see him angry about anything.

“It’s not that easy, Taehyung. I wouldn’t mind getting rid of all the Rebels sooner than later anyway; especially after what they did to you.”

“You can’t mean that. Why can’t you just come to an agreement with them? Why does there have to be a war? Why do people have to die?” Taehyung was thinking of Minah and her family. He didn’t know what kinds of weapons the Rebels had, but he knew a little bit of what the government was capable of and it terrified him to think about what would happen to her family and friends.

“Because that’s how change happens,” Yongchul responded coldly.

“That’s not right...not everything has to end in war…”

“But this does, Taehyung. There is no other way. The government will get their point across to all those who want to defy the laws once and for all, whether they die in the war or turn themselves in and do time for their rebellious ways. We let them get too confident. It’s time to put them down.”

“‘Put them down’? You talk about them as if they’re animals. They’re people just like us!” Taehyung stood, angry once again, hearing his father speak so coldly about them, even now knowing that Minah existed in his life.

“With the way they live and fight, they might as well be treated like animals,” Yongchul’s voice was monotonous as he shrugged and began straightening out the papers on his desk.

“I won’t let you lay a finger on her,” Taehyung spoke through gritted teeth, knowing now that Minah would be his first target.

    “Have it your way, then. Leave,” Yongchul motioned to the door, giving his son a stern look, who his heel and left the office, slamming the door shut in the process.

    Yongchul sat at his desk, sighing angrily as he picked up his phone, dialing a number he knew by heart.

    “Find her.”

---

    Minah stared at her phone in disbelief. It was past 12AM and Taehyung wanted to meet her. What could be so urgent that he had to see her face to face and couldn’t tell her over the phone? He refused to call and only told her that he needed to see her when she asked what was wrong.

Quickly changing into some jeans and a sweater, Minah left through her bedroom window again, hoping that no one noticed this time. Meeting Taehyung had become such a habit that she didn’t even need the light of the sun to know where she was going. Moments later, she was approaching their spot and saw Taehyung wave to her.

“Tae? Is something wrong?” she was immediately filled with concern when she saw the look in his eyes.

“Only a little bit…” he pulled out the photos he had taken from his father’s office, handing them to Minah.

“...what the hell?” Minah flipped through them, looking up at Taehyung with confusion.

“Someone took those and sent them to my father…” he waited for the words to sink in, anticipating her reaction.

“Your…” she pointed at him, eyes wide with shock, not able to finish her sentence.

In the past month, too many people had found out about them. It was not something either of them had been too fond of but at least with her mother and Jimin, they were accepting of the relationship. His father finding out was not something they wanted. If someone had secretly taken photos of them and sent it to his father, who’s to say that they won’t send it to her’s as well? What would happen if anyone else found out? Would she be gotten rid of? Taehyung was too high-profile so he would be safe. Would someone try to hurt them?

“You’re letting your mind wander again, stop it,” Taehyung snapped her out of her thoughts, placing his hands on both of her shoulders.

“What did he say?”

“The typical ‘you’re not allowed to see her anymore’ stuff,” he shrugged.

“And…” she knew he had to have said something more.

“And then I came to see you,” he smiled widely.

“Kim Taehyung, don’t lie to me,” Minah pointed a finger at him. She knew that there would have been more talked about. He wouldn’t have wanted to meet her so urgently if everything was okay with his father finding out.

“It’s not a big deal; we’re just not seeing eye-to-eye at the moment. It’s nothing--”

“Taehyung.”

“I’m serious, Minah --”

“You dragged me out here in the middle of the night, which is pretty dangerous I have to add, just to tell me that ‘it’s not a big deal’?” Minah crossed her arms across her chest, raising a brow at him.

He looked at her for a moment before sighing, running a hand through his hair as he tried to think of how to word his thoughts correctly.

“They’re...the people that took those photos...they’re threatening to make me look like a traitor unless my father starts the war…” he confessed.

Minah’s eyes widened in shock. These people are blackmailing because they wanted the war? Why would anybody want the war started? Why would anyone want to witness the horror that comes with war in the first place?

“Why are you here, then?! What if they’re around to take more pictures? What if they get more evidence of us together?!” Minah exclaimed quietly, pulling her hood on quickly as her eyes darted to every corner of the woods.

“I doubt they’re the biggest problem now…” Taehyung’s voice trailed off as confusion filled Minah’s eyes.

“What do you mean?” she asked, now focusing on Taehyung instead of their surroundings. She saw he was also wearing a sweater and instinctively pulled his hood onto his head as well.

“My father...I know the way he thinks...and he’s probably blaming you for this,” he started, not knowing how to continue. He started to slightly busy himself by fixing the hood that was now on his head, biting his bottom lip out of nervousness.

“Okay, and? What’s he going to do, kidnap me and throw me in jail?” she scoffed but seeing Taehyung’s unsmiling expression, she added, “you’re not serious, are you?”

“I don’t know, Minah. He knows who you are now. He knows who your father is, too. What better way to start something than to kidnap a Rebel leader’s daughter?”

“So what now? Do I just go home and wait?”

“I don’t know...I don’t know what to do,” Taehyung was looking to the ground, “if anything happens to you, I...I can’t imagine what I would do…”

“Tae, nothing is going to happen to me, okay? The worst thing might be, I don’t know, jail time, don’t think like that,” Minah held his hands, making him look at her.

“How do you know that? If my father wants to start a war, he’s going to do anything he can to start it,” Taehyung sounded defeated.

Minah had never seen him so helpless. He was normally the one who would give her hope and motivation. It was her turn to now try and cheer him up; even if she wasn’t feeling very sure of the words coming out of herself.

“Do you really think your father would hurt me even after knowing about us? I doubt he would want you to hate him,” Minah smiled, placing a hand on his cheek.

“Then you don’t know how much my father doesn’t care,” Taehyung let out a cynical laugh, holding her hand and pulling it down to hold it over his chest.

“I can’t believe I’m going to actually defend your father right now, but he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it if he didn’t care for you. And with his idea of what we Rebels are, of course he’d be angry and worried. But if he believes that you love me, do you think he’d get rid of me and push you away even more than you two seem to be?” Minah stopped, waiting for a reaction or an answer from him.

“I don’t know; you’re probably right,” he sighed, “I guess I’m the one over-thinking now,” he laughed. Minah smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze.

“We should probably get back home,” she began to look around the woods, dropping her hand from his chest, still holding his.

The woods were never a safe place to be in, in the first place, but after seeing that they were found out about while they were there, Minah began to feel even more unsafe. Not only were there trees and shrubs that could hide anyone, but there was also the fear of wildlife. Being there at night where the moonlight struggled to shine through the trees was even more terrifying.

“Yeah, before anyone realizes we are gone. I should walk you home,” Taehyung began to look around as well, tightening his grip on her hand.

“And then walk all the way back to your house? No way, that’s too risky for you,” Minah exclaimed quietly.

“I just don’t want you walking back alone…”

“Tae, you know I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about you walking back alone. This was a terrible idea; why did you make me meet up with you this late?” Minah joked, receiving a light chuckle from Taehyung.

“Fine, you’re right once again. Text me when you get home, okay? I love you,” he pulled her in and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I will and I love you, too,” Minah laughed and pinched his cheek, receiving a pout in return.

As they parted ways, Minah couldn’t shrug off the nervous feeling in her stomach. She began to quicken her normal pace, hoping that Taehyung was doing the same. She kept her ears open for any out-of-the-ordinary noises as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

She saw the moonlight shining on her house through the trees and let out a small breath of relief, taking her phone out of her pocket and quickly opening her messages to let Taehyung know that she had gotten home safely. As she walked out of the woods and towards her house, she heard the one thing she had been afraid of.

Footsteps.

How many were they? Three? Four?

She began to slow down her walk, not wanting to lead them straight to her house where her family was sound asleep. Who knew what they would do?

“Whoever you are, just leave me alone and no one will have to get hurt,” Minah hoped that her threat would work. It’s not that she was lying about being able to hurt them. She was trained well enough to do so. The only problem was that she didn’t know how many they were and if they were sent by Taehyung’s father, they were definitely trained much better than she was.

She heard one of them chuckle. Of course they thought she was bluffing. Sighing, she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her knife, quickly turning and pointing it at them.

She came face-to-face with 5 large men, dressed head-to-toe in black with only their eyes showing under their masks.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered, keeping her hand steady and slowly walking backwards away from them.

“Listen, you’re going to end up with us anyway so you can either come with us quietly or we’re going to force you,” one of them said, as the 5 of them began to move away from each other, creating a circle around her.

“Yeah right, I’m not going down without a fight,” Minah scoffed, taking note of their distance from her and from each other.

Did they think she was afraid of them? She had fought men their size countless times and won. The only difference this time was that she didn’t know their fighting style. Nor did she know what kinds of weapons they possessed. They were Privileged so she knew they would have weapons much more advanced than what she was used to.

“Have it your way, kid,” the one who spoke began to move in on her, clearly annoyed with her stubbornness, underestimating what she could do.

He tried to disarm her from her knife but Minah quickly dodged him, sneaking under his arms and placing a swift cut on his thigh. This was life or death and she was not going to let them win.

“You little --” the man placed his hand on his thigh where the blood began to show.

“I’m not just some girl you can kidnap easily, you know,” Minah smirked. She could tell they were reassessing the situation and their plans. She’d have to get ready for a stronger attack now that they saw of glimpse of what she could do.

“Just get it over with; we don’t have much time,” one of them motioned to the one behind her and before she could turn, she felt a sharp pain on her back.

Her body went numb as her legs gave out. She knew she was on the floor, but she couldn’t feel the coldness of the dirt beneath her. Her breathing became shallow and her eyes felt heavy.

Don’t sleep! She tried to keep her eyes open as she saw one of the men above her and suddenly she was lifted and placed over his shoulder. She heard them laugh about something as they spoke with each other. Why couldn’t she understand what they were saying?

Her eyes began to feel heavier and every second she tried to keep them open, the more they seemed to fight to close.

I won’t go down without a fight.

She repeated those words to herself but she didn’t know how much longer she could fight whatever they did to her. Maybe sleep wasn’t such a bad idea. She saw them stop moving and she was put in, what she assumed, a car. Where were they going to take her?

“Tae…” she whispered, her eyes looking around the car. Was he okay? Had he gotten home safely? At least whoever they were, they were leaving and not going after her family as well.

The men were all seated and looked as though they were talking. What were they saying? What had they done to her that she couldn’t understand them?

All she could feel now was the pain in her eyes from straining them to stay open. At least she was starting to feel something. She could close her eyes for a moment though; just for a moment so that the pain could go away. She wasn’t going stop fighting. She’d open them again in a second.

Just for a moment, she thought and closed her eyes.