Yuqi woke up like she always did, groaning softly as she stretched out. Something felt off, but she put it out of her mind. There was no use worrying about anything before she got out of bed. At least, that was her philosophy, and served her pretty well so far.

Opening her eyes, she froze. The bed she was in was a lot bigger than the one she fell asleep in, and the log walls were a vast change from her apartment's fading plaster. There was no windows, the only light coming from a dim lamp in the corner. Other than that, the room was plain, only featuring a tall bookshelf against one of the walls, packed full with novels. A small dresser stood at the end of the bed, shorter than her own, but much wider.

"Where...where am I?" she asked herself, voice barely above a whisper. She pushed herself to her feet, relieved she was at least still wearing the same flannel pajamas as she went to bed in.

As soon as her feet touched the floor, she nearly jumped back into bed, surprised by the freezing hardwood. She didn't know how the air could be warm but the floor cold, but somehow this room managed it.

Yuqi scampered over to the door, trying to ignore her cold feet, only to find it locked tight. There was no other way out of the room. She was trapped.

Feeling rising panic start to to clog , she snatched up a random book from the shelf and ran back to the bed, burying herself in the blankets. She drove all thought from her mind and focused on the words, ignoring the tears pricking her eyes. She was trapped, she knew, but there was nothing she could do about it. Not yet.

After what felt like hours, though it was more likely to be about twenty minutes, the door opened. Yuqi backed herself into the corner, heart hammering in her chest, fingers shaking so hard she nearly dropped the book. Surprisingly, a face she was very familiar with stepped in, sad eyes looking at her.

"Unnie!" she cried, launching forwards to wrap her arms around the older girl. She knew she was crying, but there was little she could do to stop it.

Yuqi met Soyeon on her first day at the University of Seoul. She was a lost and terrified freshman who wandered into the wrong class, laughed out by the older students. Soyeon had taken pity on her, ditching the lecture to show her around the campus. They had been close friends since then, often going out for lunch or dinner when the stress from her classes became too much. To be honest, Soyeon was pretty much the only friend she had in Seoul, after leaving everyone she knew in Beijing.

"Soyeon-unnie, where are we?" she practically begged, keeping her face hidden in the older girl's neck. She didn't want her to see her cry. "Please, tell me you came to rescue me!"

Soyeon hesitated, and Yuqi drew back, confusion clear. "Not exactly..." she trailed off, averting her eyes.

"W-what do you mean?!"

She sighed, pulling away from Yuqi. Yuqi wrapped her arms around her middle, feeling impossibly small before Soyeon. "I told you to stop looking into the Jo-Pok. I was ordered to kill you. I only barely got away with bringing you here, instead."

"What? Where is 'here'? Why did you have to kill me? What do you mean 'kill?!"

Soyeon straightened, her infamous eagle-eyed glare rising prominently until Yuqi fully believed the girl was capable of killing her on the spot. She had never seen Soyeon look quite this dangerous before, and it scared her.

"My name is Jeon Soyeon. I work under the Cube family of the Jojik-Pokiyeokbae as the leader of Idle, their assassination unit. For digging too deep, and getting too close, you have been sentenced to death. In order to remain alive, you must remain here until Cube ceases operation."

Yuqi stumbled back, falling to sit on the edge of the bed. Soyeon didn't move, staring into space. "That means..."

"Yes. You are a prisoner, for an indefinite period of time. You will have free range of this house, but you may not leave, and you may not use any form of internet to communicate with the outside world."

Yuqi gave up trying to act strong. She sobbed, drawing her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. She should have listened to Soyeon months ago. Now, she'd never see her family again, never get to live her life. She was screwed, and it was her own fault.

She never heard Soyeon's whispered voice as the older girl backed out the door.

"...I'm so sorry, Yuqi..."