Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars - Safe and Sound

  I wake up with the sack still covering me. The back of my head hurts, but I can't do anything to relieve the pain as my arms are tied against the chair I'm sitting on. I attempt kick my feet, but even they are tied.

  "He's awake," I hear a gruff and unfamiliar voice point out.

  Heavy footsteps approach me. The sack is thrown off my face. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust at the lamp that is pointing at me. I can make out three figures around me. One is standing next to me with the sack in his hands. Another is in front of me. And the final one is standing behind an old desk. As my eyes adjust, I find myself being surrounded by empty space and a high ceiling. The walls are made of thin metal while the ground is concrete. Why am I here? Who are these people? Slowly, I can make out the features of the men surrounding me, but only one in particular catch my eyes.

  I freeze.

  "Jaebum?" I in a breath. What is he doing here? Why is he with these two other men?

  The two men look at Jaebum who is standing in front of me. His expression is stoic, but deep in his eyes, I can clearly see sadness and guilt. He says nothing and turns his head to the side.

  The man behind the desk strides up to me. He's wearing an all-black suit with a black tie and black watch. His hair is slick back and he is clean shaven. His dark eyes are menacing. My body trembles as all I can do is watch. There's a strange presence that I recognize, but I know I have never met this man before.

  He towers over me and his eyes never leave me. I can't help but look away in which he responds by grabbing my cheeks between his fingers and forces me to face him. My breathing becomes ragged. I flinch. As he lets me go, I catch a glimpse of his hand and see that same tattoo from my dreams. It's the exact same as Jaebum's. What makes me almost lose my breath is not because the tattoo is the same, but because he is the one in my dreams. Then, my eyes trail up above his head. He, too, has an infinity symbol just like Daehyun."Who are you?" I question with a shaky voice.

  The man remains stone cold. "So this is who you've become." Even his voice causes me to shiver.

  What does he mean by that? I give Jaebum pleading eyes to explain everything to me, but he keeps his head low. I trust him, so why is he doing this to me? I want to call out to him and yell. The man's gaze is the only thing holding me back. I bite my tongue.

  "Don't worry, boy. We are not going to harm you. We're simply trying to lure someone here." He rolls his sleeve back to check the time. “He sure is taking his time. Jaebum, are you sure this is the boy?”

  "Yes, Sir," he replies in a soft voice. "He even has the pendant."

  My pendant! I look down. I'm not wearing it. I hope they didn't take it whenever they captured me. It means too much to me. "Why?" I ask, directing my question towards Jaebum. What is he trying to do by having me captured? Who the hell are the other guys? Why is he with them? There are so many questions to ask, but I know I will not get the answers until I escape from here.

  Jaebum can't even look at me while he answers. "I'm sorry, Youngjae. This is what I have to do."

  "What do you mean?" It doesn't make sense. I trusted him. I even believed Daehyun was wrong for treating Jaebum badly. Now I know why Daehyun warned me about him, but I can't accept that he's doing this willingly.

  "It's my job. The reason why I got close to both you and Daehyun was because of this. We need him here. He deserves to be punished."

  "What? What does Daehyun have to do with anything?"

  "Enough," the man interrupts. "You are not to tell any more to this boy."

  The final, third, man leans against my armchair. His tattoo is etched on his neck. "Are you sure we can't do anything to this boy? Daehyun will appear quicker if he hears his scream."

  The man with the tattoo shoots him a look. "No. We are not to tamper with this boy. It is not part of our job. Not this time. I brought you here because you are my assistant. If you have any problems with my instructions, I can easily terminate you and find a new assistant."

  "Sorry, Sir," he mutters.

  I want to escape. This whole situation is confusing and no one seems to want to inform me about anything. With every question, I only get vague answers that cover the surface. What is with all these secrets? I just want to scream and let it all out, but before I can do so, a loud bang comes from behind me.

  "Sounds like he's here."

  I hear a few more bangs until a loud thud hits the ground

  "Where the is he?" It's Daehyun. His voice is deeper than usual and there's this strong anger I never expect to come from him.

  The man with the tattoo on his hand manages to spin the chair around with ease. "Are you referring to him?"

  Daehyun's eyes are blazing and he clenches his fist tightly. "I knew I shouldn't have let him get near you, Jaebum. Let him go."

  "We will as long as you agree to come with us," the man states while squeezing my shoulder. My body stiffens as his grip is strong. "You have extended your stay longer than what is permitted. It is time to receive punishment."

  "I am not leaving until I fix the damage I've done." Daehyun looks straight into my eyes. "I'm not going back until then."

  "It is too late. You cannot do anything to change his fate."

  "You're wrong. I will figure it out no matter how many lifetimes it takes. Release him. I am not going with you."

  Jaebum steps up. "Daehyun, you need to-"

  "You don't have a say in this, Jaebum. If you truly cared about Mi Sun and Youngjae, you wouldn't have done this. But I know why you're doing this and the only way you can move on is to capture me.” He furrows his eyebrows and chokes on his next words, “I thought you were better than this."

  "Enough," the man shouts. "We'll just have to take you by force." He nods to his assistant.

  The man with the neck tattoo lunges towards Daehyun and takes a swing at him. To my amazement, Daehyun parries and jabs him in the stomach. The man doubles over but continues to counter Daehyun's advancements with his own.

  The man and Jaebum simply watch. The man leans over my ear, "Daehyun made so many mistakes in his life - mistakes that a human cannot comprehend. If you don't stop him now, he will kill my assistant and his punishment will only get worse."

  My eyes widen and I swallow a lump in my throat. Daehyun is clearly winning as the man is thrown to the ground. He gets on top of him a punches him over and over. This isn't the Daehyun I know. The number above the man's head is decreasing rapidly with each punch. I want to say something - anything - but I choke on my words. Stop. That's all I have to say, so why can't I?

  This Daehyun is someone completely different. He's not the happy-go-lucky guy he perceived to be. I may not have known him long, but deep within me I know this is not who Daehyun is. "Dae-"

  I'm interrupted by Jaebum running at the two and throwing Daehyun off. "Enough!" He yells. Jaebum's number flickers and switches to an infinity symbol in a mere second before returning back to 74.

  Daehyun stands and shoots him a death glare. "I am not coming with you."

  "You're making a mistake by staying here, Daehyun. No matter what you do here, you can't change what will happen. Stop being so stubborn and just come with us. I'll find a way to-"

  “Jaebum. Move. I will take care of the rest.” He rolls up both his sleeves as he approaches the two.

  My heart is racing. His movement are familiar. “Ah!” I scream in pain as an image of him flashes before me. He’s rolling his sleeves the same way he did just now, but his hand holds a gun. There’s someone else beside him, but that person is trembling. “Stop. Please, don’t.”

  The man doesn’t hear me and grabs Daehyun by the top of his shirt. “You are a disgrace to your own kind. “You deserve to be locked up.” He punches Daehyun in the face.

  Blood drips down his nose, but he remains conscious. He simply smiles. “I may be a disgrace, but at least I don’t use force to get what I want.” Daehyun throws his head forward and bangs his head against the man’s. The second the man’s grip loosened, Daehyun escaped from his grasp and kicked him across the back.

  I’m sitting there, mortified. With my hands and legs tied. I can’t do anything to stop them. Jaebum is standing in the distance, his body shaking. What is he doing? Why isn’t he doing anything to stop this? As the two throw punches, I pull against the ropes, but they don’t loosen. I’m too concentrated on figuring a way to get out, I didn’t realize the third man coming up to me until he grabs my neck.

  “Daehyun!” I manage to let out before he squeezes my throat.

  It catches Daehyun off guard and I see him slam against the ground.

  No. I don’t understand why this is happening. Tears make my vision blurry. Daehyun. Please, don’t hurt Daehyun.

  I’m gasping for air and my vision goes in and out. No. This can’t be happening. I don’t understand what’s going on. Why is this happening to me?

  Suddenly, the grip on my neck loosens and the man falls to the ground. I cough as my lungs are filled with air again. As I blink a couple of times, I see Jaebum untying my binds. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he repeats again and again. When he gets the last knot on my leg, he utters, “I’m sorry for keeping all this from you, but I had to.” He touches the back of his shoulder. “I’ll distract him. You have to take Daehyun and run. Don’t look back. Just run.” After saying those last words, he charges into the man and knocks him over.

  “Jaebum!” He screeches in anger.

  “Go!” Jaebum blocks a punch and maneuvers his way to counter with his own attack.

  Daehyun doesn’t hesitate and runs up to me. He grabs my arm and turns to Jaebum. “I will fix everything.”

  I'm dragged out of there with questions still spinning in my head. I say nothing for now since I just want to get out of here and I want to be in the comfort of my home. I turn even though Jaebum said not to. I watch as he attacks his own ally. The man glances at me and Daehyun while avoiding a kick. He shouts, "You don't have a lot of time, Daehyun! Once that time is up, you will be back."

  Daehyun keeps running and says nothing in return.

  The sun is still not up, but an orange glow is on the horizon. If I didn't know better, I would've thought everything was a dream just like they usually are. That is not the case because it feels all too real.

  I don't know how far we're running, but I'm getting tired. Daehyun, on the other hand, keeps going while holding onto my arm. He seems to memorize the route within an instant unlike me who doesn't even remember when to turn left or right when going a different way towards my classroom. No matter how much I want to take a break and catch my breath, I keep telling myself that I will get my answers from Daehyun one way or another. I can't be living in the shadows anymore, not after being kidnapped and let go within the same day.

  I finally recognize the streets. I'm almost home. It doesn't take us long to reach my apartment in which Daehyun allows himself in. He's still holding onto me, but the moment my door shuts, I get out of his grasp and look him straight in the eyes. "You need to tell me what is going on. You and Jaebum hid so much from me. I got kidnap and I don't know why, and everything they said made no sense to me. Daehyun, you can't keep these secrets any longer." I'm tired. I'm so tired of guessing and not knowing.

  Daehyun heaves a sigh and rubs the back of his neck. "If you really want to know, then I suggest you take a seat and prepare yourself. Telling the truth is not as easy as it seems especially when it deals with me and your past self, Mi Sun."

Author's Note:

  I'm not sure if everything is so confusing because I'm the one who's writing it, so I know what's going on, so please let me know if you have any questions! But if I feel like they're spoilers, then I won't be able to give you a full answer. >.< I really hope this reveal was sorta expected and not too off from what the story was like thus far. Thank you for reading! We have 6 more chapters left!

With Love,

      LokiCraze123