Chapter 45: Chaotic boys

“Have you heard any news from Seul?” the very first question that he inquired as soon as he slid into the black SUV startled the man at the front seat. Ever since the plane landed, his phone never left his side. Every second was crucial, he wouldn’t give up on Seul even knowing it would direct him straight to the voice mail.

“Not yet, but we have searched through the places that she usually visits, her home, workplace, her friend’s house but we still couldn’t find any trace of her” said the man behind the wheels.

“Hyung-nim have you tried to look for her at our apartment or the company?” he pressed his lips together, while he had his eyes fixed on the phone screen. Going through the last messages that they exchanged two days ago, there was no sign of distress or fear.

Just where on earth was Seul? She was last seen in a prestigious party; how could she disappear without trace? Unless, the things that Jin assumed a day ago in regard to Mr Kwon involvement in her disappearance was true.

Would it be wise to confront him? He squeezed the thought out from his head and brought his attention back to his manager.

“Dorm? Why would she visit there during your tour? She barely came to clean when you guys are not around.”

“So, you haven’t looked for her there?” his brows furrowed deeply looking bewildered over his manager’s response.

“We did but there’s no sign of Seul“

“Have you searched the whole place?”

“Yes, but not really since the studios were locked we couldn’t get in. Your home studios are off limit”

“Then bring me back to our place”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, she could be there. I have my faith in her” he replied softly.

“I will find my way home because you are my home” her sweet voice echoed in his ears. It felt so far yet close. Call it absurd, but his heart was convinced that Seul would be there. He only had to prove his intuition was true.

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The same eerie darkness and pain came knocking onto her dreams again. As if her sleepless night was meant to be intruded by the vivid image of those horrifying night. Seul found herself clenching onto her chest to squeeze the pain away. It suffocated her to be reminded by this again. She had enough. She wished to wake up from this darkness and finally allowed the light in.

It was suffocating to hold this pain alone.

Yoongi’s presence was all she needed.

She whimpered his name under her shallow breath.

Forcing herself out from the nightmares, her breathing was ragged as Seul regained her conscious. Gasping for air, her breathing was slow now, shallow. Her vision misted at the edges, but she assumed another day was wasted in the dark room.

Seul let out a long sigh, caressing her bruised lips gently. What was she expected to see when she opened her eyes? Min Yoongi? It seemed like she regretted her decision for not reaching out to any of the members especially her boyfriend. Seul feared that her issues might distract them from work. Hence, she had to suffer alone without Yoongi’s presence.

Unlike few hours ago, she was able to move her frail body on Yoongi’s favourite couch. The pain started to subside slowly, but she would eventually feel it attacking her again if she made a big move. Contrary to her strong mental persuasion, the numb on her body didn’t reciprocate to it.

Once again, she scanned the room finding any sign of her phone, Seul couldn’t recall where she last saw it. She let out a soft huff in annoyance “How am I going to reach Yoongi”

Seul was gathering her energy to stand up however the sound of hurried footsteps beyond the doors stopped her. She could feel a surge of fear in the pit of her stomach, what if they found her?

What if it was Kwon?

What if she was forced to be with that stuck-up billionaire again?

The thoughts of seeing his face made her shudder in terror.

They would find way to keep shut knowing how she barely got away from him few nights ago. Not to mention, the fight was not pretty. She left a deep scratch on his ugly face as a self-defence. She swore to god his deep voice, threatening to kill her was still loud and clear.

Panickily, she clawed onto her dress as she hurried to find place to hide in Yoongi small studio. Without thinking, she pushed the chair off from the table and crawled underneath it.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks, as she brought her knees close to chest in hope to not be seen by the intruder. The horrible scene of the night she was assaulted came rushing back into her thoughts, and she found herself sobbing silently.

At that instant, she heard the swinging door open and ignored the obvious fact that someone had entered the passwords to Yoongi’s studio. If there’s any possibility of anyone entering the studio, then it would be Yoongi.

Apparently, only Yoongi and Seul knew the password to the home studio.

Seul had no time to think of the obvious though, all she knew was the presence of someone in the apartment intimidated her. Just as the door closed, she heard a clear foot shuffling towards her direction.

“Seul-ah, is that you” she snapped her head in sheer surprised, upon hearing the familiar voice. Yoongi switched on the light to have a better view of his studio. As the light finally illuminated the room, Seul then sobbed, partly in horror, partly in relief that the intruder was actually Yoongi.

Alert by her audible sob, Yoongi knelt straight away at Seul’s level, reaching out his hand to his girl underneath the table. “Baby, I am here. Are you alright?” Seul flinched at his touch, but it didn’t take long for her to rush herself into Yoongi’s warm embrace startling the man.

“Yoon..gi…” she murmured weakly.

“Seul-ah..what happened to you?” clueless, he wrapped his hand around her securely while her hair. He took the chance to examine Seul, her ripped dress and there were visible purple bruises on her arms made his eyes enlarged. He pulled away immediately, cradling her head in his hand “Baby, what in the world.. happen to you?” he her hair aside, wiping her tears.

“Where did you get these bruises?”

“Why are your clothes ripped?”

“Ji Seul, answer me”

Yoongi was silently fuming at the image of Seul and his heart ached to see those scratches and blood on her pale skin. She sniffled in his hold, and Seul held onto his hand tight “Yoong… I..am sorry” she mumbled between her tears apologetically.

Confused by her sudden apology, he gazed into her eyes trying to read her mind. It was empty, and he could only see fear.

He squished her close in his arm careful not to hurt her in any way, “Oh god Seul, what did they do to you?” his sigh was a mixture of pain and relief. It was not the perfect time to pry answers from her instead she needed a medical assistance. Only god knew how long she had been hiding in his home studio in this state.

He had to be rational, and as much as this fury him, Yoongi thought it was wise to not let his anger clouded his judgement. Plus, Seul was shaken enough and he didn’t want to scare the girl even more.

“Baby we will get you help okay? Let’s go to the hospital” he soothed her with a , taking off his sweater to be wrapped around her cold body.

“Can we just stay home?” said Seul in her monotone voice.

His jaw clenched holding back the anger bubbled inside him, as if the sight of wrecked Seul was not enough to drive him mad. Now, his girl was scared to be outside in public.

What the did those bastards do to her?

“You can’t because we need to get you examine and lodge a police report baby”

Her eyes rounded at the name of police and she shook her head frantically, “Wait no! Please Yoongi no police. I am- afraid. They are coming for me..They will kill me” she pressed her body harder against him in her obvious fear.
“T…hey will fin..d me. He..will hurt me..Please..dont..”

“Just what on earth happened to you Seul? Who did this to you? ..” one of his hands was around her waist, and pulling her into him as she buried her face into his chest.

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It was past midnight by the time Bang PD rushed into their apartment. He went straight to meet Yoongi upon receiving the heart-breaking news pertaining to Seul. Then, agreeing to Bang PD’s suggestion, they decided to call up Bangtan’s personal doctor to ensure Seul’s injury wasn’t life threatening.

Oh well, considering Seul broken state at the moment, there’s no way to expose her to public eyes. They had zero idea what happened to her even though a mere assumption could be made from the bruises on her body, her ripped clothes and how scared she was. They were convinced it was more than just a physical assault.

As much as Yoongi wanted to deny the idea of his girl had been ually assault by an irresponsible beast, his heart wilted every time he saw her forehead creased in her sleep. It must be a painful two days for her to be alone in the studio fighting the pain and terror.

His eyes were glued on Seul’s weak body on the bed, as his anxiety of losing Seul again came hunting him every second. He ran his fingers in her hair softly, tracing her soft cheeks down to her arm and interlacing their fingers together. He wished to replace Seul so she would not have to fight the pain alone. She has been sleeping for few hours now after the doctor made it clear she needed rest.

“I am sorry Seul-ah. I should have come sooner” he muttered under his breath.

The older man finally made his way inside the room after a long discussion with his legal team. Yoongi looked at his way with a hopeful look “It has been confirmed that she met Kwon a day before the ball took place. Our team is still investigating what kind of leverage that he has, in order to convince Seul in attending the balls and bail on the trip. But Yoongi are you aware Seul and Kwon have history together?” he brows furrowed in guarded curiosity as he stared at the rapper.

“Yes, it was complicated. Seul’s mother was assaulted by Kwon and his friend twenty-four years ago at a college party. It happened a month before she got married to his husband. After the incident, she got married, and she found out that she’s pregnant. Her mother was convinced Mr Ji is not the father. She kept the secrets from him for years afraid she might lose the love of her life. He found out about Seul’s identity and did a parental test. He disowned her afterwards. Ever since then, Seul’s family was a real mess. Her father-well Mr Ji ruined the family with his addiction for gambling and he’s in big debt. He sold her off to Kwon, and that time they had no idea Kwon was the father. Neither Kwon nor Ji knew about it. Seul’s mother told no one about the secrets” Yoongi took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before he continued.

Bang PD was all ears to Yoongi’s story and tried his best to digest the ed-up history of Seul’s family.

“Seul was sold to Kwon and tortured physically and mentally for months. Kwon’s nephew