After being manhandled (womanhandled?) a good deal, a good deal being: dragged out a vehicle, tossed over someone’s shoulder, stomach bouncing on said shoulder with every step, (it’s a miracle she hadn’t thrown up yet), Dahyun gathered that she was brought to some unknown location where she would most likely perish.

Her kidnappers set her onto what seemed to be a steel chair. Dahyun could feel the cold metal even through her jeans. Her wrists were sore from trying to fight against her restraints and the gag at was disgustingly damp with her saliva.

The playlist of doom was almost on its fourth loop when the earbuds were pulled out.

Dahyun then felt warm breath against her ear. It tickled. “Hey,” a voice whispered. So soft, almost as if Dahyun was the only one meant to hear it.

The pretty girl. It was the pretty girl. The ing traitor.

“Relax,” she said, real gentle about it. “I’m going to take everything off.”

Wait.

Everything off.

Everything?

Should Dahyun be concerned that she didn’t wear her y today? Should Dahyun be concerned that, given the current situation, her underwear choices took a sudden precedence in her priorities? Before she could freak out about it more, the blindfold was removed. Though the lights weren’t that bright, they still hurt to look at. At this point, all she could make out were blurry shadows and then blown up patches of light. Where the was she? She shut her eyes again and groaned.

A pair of hands rested on Dahyun’s lap. “Relax, relax.” The pretty girl’s palms lightly rubbed up and down Dahyun’s denim-covered thighs. “Relax,” she said again.

Oh, try as she might, but Dahyun was far from relaxed. How was she supposed to relax with someone feeling her up like that? Poor Dahyun.

She opened her eyes and blinked until things came into focus.

There the pretty girl was, crouched in front of her, looking up at Dahyun with a smile. “Like what you see?” She tilted her head to the side and batted her eyelashes, somehow making her eyes shine even more since the last time Dahyun remembered.

“No,” Dahyun lied. Of course this pitiful untruth was muffled by the soggy cloth between her teeth.

The girl laughed and was all, “goodness me. Let me take that off for you.” She reached behind Dahyun and untied the gag. As soon as the cloth hit the floor, Dahyun started twisting her head this way and that, soaking in her surroundings. She looked to be in some kind of warehouse. “Help! Help! They’re going to kill me! ! ! Anybody, please!” she yelled, all the while surveying the area for windows and possible escape routes.

A hand clamped over and put a stop to Dahyun’s passionate yelling. She saw that the girl had a tiny frown on her face. “We don’t appreciate the noise you’re making.” With her other hand, the girl cupped Dahyun’s cheek and it softly with her thumb. Dahyun willed herself to stay firm and to not betray how affected by the girl’s touch she actually was. “I’ll untie you if you promise not to scream, okay?”

Dahyun nodded.

“Good,” the girl said, releasing her hold on Dahyun’s mouth. She quickly pinched Dahyun’s nose like she was some misbehaved kid.

Dahyun pulled her head back and scrunched her nose in annoyance. “What the do you want?” Dahyun asked, trying to keep her voice level.

“Honestly?” the girl said, walking behind Dahyun to undo the knots at her wrists. As the ropes came undone, the girl leaned over Dahyun’s shoulder and stuck out her cheek. “How about a kiss?”

Really now?

Dahyun squirmed, almost snapping her neck, as she tried to get her face as far away from the girl as possible. Dahyun didn’t want to be the subject of this girl’s absurd kinks. “ off.”

The girl hmpfed in disapproval. She hmphed! Like a little angry sneeze! God, this girl was like a ing cartoon. “If you’re going to keep talking like that, I’m going to have to gag you again.”

Dahyun chose to keep shut. Since she couldn’t get creative with her defiance, she resorted to sulking in her seat, crossing her arms once her wrists were freed. The last of the binds were those at her ankles. Dahyun’s captor made her way to the front again and gave Dahyun a stern look, a warning not to do anything stupid, before squatting down to grasp the ropes that dug into Dahyun’s socks. As the girl was untying these, Dahyun formulated a plan in her head. Despite being cautioned against it, she was deadass going to kick the girl right in her pretty face and make a run for it. Seconds ago, she spotted an open window with what looked to be a fire escape just outside, teasing her. That was her out.

Dahyun finally felt the ropes loosen, enough so that she could wiggle her feet now. Okay, this was it. Jesus take the wheel! She was going to find out if those Taekwondo classes for primary school PE were worth . The binds came off and Dahyun wound her leg back, ready to strike with all her strength.

Before Dahyun could even flinch in her seat, something cold and hard pressed against the back of her skull. She heard a gun .

“Don’t even think about it.”

The thief.

“Sorry, kid, but if you try anything, and I mean anything, we’re going to have to mop up your brains here tonight.” The thief didn’t sound sorry about it at all.

Dahyun’s leg slowly fell back into place. Save for that, she didn’t dare move a muscle.

The pretty girl then gave Dahyun a look. This look was half apologetic and half I-ing-told-you-so. “Stay still will you, babe?” The pretty girl gathered all the fallen ropes and stepped back. “Do it for me.” She tapped Dahyun’s cheek in a teasing manner and shot her a bright grin.

She drove Dahyun insane.

“What do you want?” Dahyun was hysteric, desperate for answers.

It was at this moment that a woman chose to dramatically step out of the shadows, clad in colors of the night, like an ominous black cat. With the posture of a princess, the air of an aristocrat. Like the pretty girl and the thief, this third woman was just as stunning. She had those faces which were hard to forget, blessed with charming beauty marks. An untouchable, sinister beauty.

This was her, their leader.

“What we want… is to find out the extent of your abilities.”

Her voice was soft. Deep. Made you crane in closer to hear her.

Which was exactly what Dahyun did to make out what the leader had to say. And once Dahyun got it, she shot it down instantly. “No,” she said. “You’ve got the wrong person.” Dahyun shook her head furiously and in her intense state of denial, made the mistake of standing up.

Pooogshhh! A booming crack thundered through the whole floor.

Dahyun ducked, hands to her ears, with the clearly shocked out of her. Her body shook and her heart went ballistic in her chest, it almost hurt.

Oh, right. There was a gun pointed right at her. How was she still alive again?

“Sit,” the thief ordered.

Dahyun toppled back into her seat. Her knees refused to work anyway, reduced to trembling weak s.

The leader sure took her sweet- time as she stepped towards Dahyun. She ing knew how to crank up the anticipation, knew exactly how to make Dahyun’s anxiety levels skyrocket out into infinity and beyond.

“This is a mistake,” Dahyun said.

The leader’s lip twitched in amusement. She calmly clipped her hands behind her back. She said to Dahyun, “oh no, Miss Kim. I don’t make mistakes.”

Dahyun swallowed hard.

“You cooperate with us for the next eight hours then maybe, just maybe, you’ll be