46: THE COUCH OF TERROR

"Adult," by Choi ye_geun Band

                “AISH!”

                Something was jabbing into Naeil’s stomach. Something heavy was draped across her legs, preventing her from untwisting out of the awkward position she was in. She was pretty sure her head was sitting on someone’s knee, and her hands, tied behind her back, kept on brushing up against someone’s hair. It was pitch black in that room, and quickly getting unbearably warm and humid. The amount of bickering and chatter in the room had reached the point where no actual communication could occur—except, everyone was aware that everyone was uncomfortable.

                The sharp pressure in Naeil’s stomach suddenly increased, and Naeil jerked to the side, toppling onto the cool floor. It was a relief, despite the slight stink and the dust on her skin.

                “What the—”

                “Who was that?”

                “Someone was trying to stab me in the stomach!”

                “Oh was that you?”

                An exasperated sigh. “Yes.”

                “Sorry. That was my elbow.”

                “Jungkook?”

                “…yeah, sorry.”

                “Where are you?” It was Yoongi’s voice.

                Naeil wiggled her way toward the voices until she could feel the warmth of their bodies again.

                “Here, on the floor next to you.”

                “Is everyone okay?” Seokjin.

                “Yeah.”

                “I think so, yes.”

                “What the heck just happened?”

                “I think we got discovered.”

                “But so quickly? It wasn’t even morning yet. Or was it?”

                “I bet it is now.”

                “Heh, I could go for a nap right now.”

                “Nothing better to do.”

                “But what’s going to happen to us?”

                “Who knows? Might as well get some rest.”

                Naeil didn’t know how anyone could sleep at a time like this, but as the minutes trickled on, and then the hours, she began to feel her eyes grow heavy. Somehow her head ended up on something warm and firm, but a little soft. The only sounds were quiet snores. She could feel her own breathing smoothing out, slowing down, drifting into a steady lull…

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                It was blinding, the light that woke Naeil up. Her eyes automatically scrunched up, and she was so disoriented it took her a while to realize she was being pulled onto her feet by those men in black clothing who had brought them there in the first place. She was doing her best to rub at her eyes with her shoulder when she heard a gruff voice say in thick satori, “Who’s your leader?”

                Naeil’s eyes cracked open just enough to get a glimpse the confused looks on the faces of the boys.

                “We don’t have a leader,” said Seokjin, finally.

                After an awkward silence, they were promptly dropped to the floor again. The lights turned off, and all the men filed out just as they had come. About fifteen minutes later, they returned.

                “Alright, let’s go. All of you.”

                Each captive was dragged out of the room individually, led down cramped hallways with concrete floors, grayish walls, and dim ceiling lanterns. No one attempted to escape. Naeil could only see Jungkook’s profile from her walking position. He looked terrified. She wondered how Seokjin and Yoongi looked. None of the men guiding them said a word.

                There was some confusion when they finally arrived at their destination—a spacious office, with cushioned seats, flowery floor mats, warm sunlight, and the gentle smell of tea and cinnamon. They were shown to the large sofa and all squished down together on the one seat. Naeil found herself wedged between Seokjin and Jungkook. She cursed Seokjin’s big shoulder, which was presently invading her nose’s territory. She scrunched herself together and tried not to be bothered by how much her personal space had been recklessly disregarded in the past…ten hours, maybe?

                The door slammed open suddenly, making them flinch badly from the couch where they sat. Naeil looked down and found her hand gripped by Jungkook. He obviously didn’t notice. He was too busy staring, wide-eyed, at the new figure. Naeil followed his gaze, her eyes growing wide as well.

                She had thought the other men were big. No, this dude was big. He is shoulders could make Seokjin look like a child, and his face could make a child cry. He was missing one eye, but he apparently hadn’t bothered to cover it, so the empty, fleshy socket was visible for all to see. He had big lips and a big nose with nostrils that flared like a bull’s with every breath. All his hair was shaved, replaced by numerous black tattoos that disappeared beneath his shirt’s collar. Probably one for every enemy he’s killed or something like that, thought Naeil. She tried to laugh at her own imagination, but it came out more like a whimper.

                He approached the couch like a soldier performing a duty, stopping at the first one from the right, Seokjin. He pulled out the big black satchel he had lugged in and reached inside, pulling out a tiny bottle of banana milk. Carefully, with artful precision, he took the straw and punctured a whole precisely in the middle. He repeated this ceremony bottle by bottle, until every captive had banana milk in hand. Jungkook received it with reverence and began slurping down the liquid as if it was going to save his life. Then, the (very) big dude removed himself from the couch’s general area and stood against the wall with his hands to his sides, at attention.

                They sipped at their milk in silence for a while, too afraid to ask any questions. Finally, he arrived: the man they were waiting for. They could tell he was the man they were waiting for because all the other thugs in the room straightened at once and looked to him, awaiting any command. He didn’t look very intimidating, though. He was rather short, with a thin hair and an ambitious balding spot on the top of his head. He wore a smart brown blazer and slacks, with polished leather shoes to finish the outfit. They clicked a little on the hardwood floor, then padded softly as he reached the floor mats. Taking his seat across from them in a large, over-cushioned armchair, the man sized up the couchful of young people before him.

                “So. You’re the crazy kids who were unfortunate enough to get caught up amidst this…nasty little situation here, eh?”

                Nobody answered. The man in the cushion chair didn’t seem to like that very much. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the large men around them shuffling forward.

                “Excuse me, um, sir…”

                Yoongi’s voice brought Naeil’s attention back to the conversation at hand.

                “If I’m not mistaken…that tattoo on your chest…”

                Naeil caught a glimpse of what appeared to be an elaborate ink pattern, barely peeking out from the collar of the man’s dress shirt. Then the man looked down, chin bulging a little from the floppy skin of his neck, hiding the bit of tattoo she could see.

                “Hrm?” grunted the man. “What about it.”

                “That’s…you’re not—you’re not Sa Hyeo Pa, are you?”

                Suddenly the man’s gruff face broke into a big, toothy smile, and he started laughing like he had heard the best joke he had heard in a long time. Needless to say, it was a little disconcerting to Naeil.

                When he had calmed down a little, he choked out, between guffaws, “Sa Hyeo Pa? Ha! Kid, you’re on Buk Gil Pa turf.”

Author’s Note

TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DICKENS IS GOING ON KIDDOS BWAHAHAHA

Oh wait, I think I mean next-next time. Because don’t forget, Namjoon and Tae are still in a holding cell right now.

p.s. I kinda named this chapter on a whim I am well aware that the title is estupido (that means stupid in Spanish, friendos [but friendos does not mean friends in Spanish, amigos {but amigos does}])

………………………..on an entirely different topic ohmifreakingoodness ddaeng is so cool and the rap line is so swag when they perform it like talk about sassy but please just oh my goodness