“It’s your fault, you know.”

Chaewon flinches as he comes closer to her brandishing whatever torture device was in his hand.

“You’re the reason your mother and sister left, remember? And now, you’re the reason that that girl is in so much pain. You did that to her father; you gave her pain. She hates you, despises you, probably wants you dead.”

Each word is like a knife to her gut.

“You’re wrong,” she whispers meekly.

“Are you sure? I know I’d hate you. Why don’t you think about the last time you met, hm? Did you see the look on her face, the look in her eyes? What did they tell you, Chaewon?”

Flashes of Minjoo’s tortured, betrayed eyes ran through her mind. She remembers all too clearly the fury, the hatred.

“She hates you, doesn’t she?”

He roughly grazes an open wound with the object in his hand. It feels a bit sharp, but she’s not sure. Either way, it hurt.

“Doesn’t she?”

Chaewon inhales sharply in pain as he repeats the movement, this time with more fervor.

She feels more and more broken with each replay of that night.

Maybe she does hate me.

Maybe--I--

He smiles at the clear devastation written on her face as her mind becomes more and more confused.

“You’re terrible, Chaewon-ah.”

And from there, she slowly lost herself to the darkness and despair.

~~~

Five months later

She knew it wasn’t a good idea to take that sketchy, quiet shortcut, but here she was.

Minjoo was coming back from Sakura’s place. It was very late, and Sakura had insisted she stay the night, but she didn’t want to impose considering that the older girl had an important video game… shooter… tournament thing the next day. She promised to shoot the girl a text once she got home safely (“If you don’t get home safely, I WILL kill you.”).

Now, if she hadn’t decided to take this route, perhaps she would have been home safely by now.

Okay, maybe she was a bit lost.

“,” she hisses as she runs around the corner and presses herself against the wall as she tries to hide herself from the silhouettes approaching her.

She hears the footsteps scuff against the pavement and the boisterous laughter as they come closer.

“That dude almost his pants!”

“Easily the funniest thing I’ve seen all week,” the other man guffaws.

Minjoo is hit with a feeling of deja vu as a familiar silhouette passes by her.

That scent, that aura, that way of walking that was solely hers---

Chaewon.

She feels her breath hitch and her heart rate speed up dangerously.

All she can do is stare with unblinking eyes as Chaewon stops in her tracks only a few feet in front of her. She can no longer hear the other guys, the cars, the wind--nothing. All she sees is Chaewon.

The other girl has her hands in her pockets, stance firm but not stiff. She looks comfortable, almost a bit lazy. But Minjoo knows better; she knows how intimidating this girl could get.

Although, something else besides intimidation courses through her as Chaewon turns around slowly and looks her right in the eye. She doesn’t think she made much noise as they walked past her (especially considering she froze on the spot), but perhaps Chaewon could hear the pounding of the heart.

Oh my god.

Those eyes held no emotion. They were blank, cold, hard, devoid of all life. As they stared at her for a moment, Minjoo saw nothing but lifelessness. These were the kinds of eyes Minjoo could imagine beating up helpless innocents, taking from the poor, intimidating the weak. These weren’t the eyes she remembered, even from the last time they met. These eyes scared her.

“Chaewon…?” She whispers hesitantly, unconsciously reaching a hand up.

She was a bit surprised at the way Chaewon’s eyes instantly narrowed at the sound of her name.

She immediately turned around and followed her men instead.

“Chaewon!”

Nothing.

She doesn’t follow. It was already hard enough to keep her legs standing. The girl’s name had slipped out of ; there was no way she could have done anything differently. Even though they had parted on awful terms, even though the look in her eyes sent chills down her spine, the wave of indecipherable emotions that shot through her as their gazes met was anything but indifferent.

A few minutes pass before Minjoo finally slumps to the ground and leans her head against the wall.

She doesn’t know if she’s devastated or relieved.

On one hand, Chaewon seemed to have let her killer instinct run wild, showing herself to be the person Minjoo had accused her of being the last time they met. In other words, Minjoo was correct in her accusations, and perhaps that should make her feel less guilty, right?

On the other hand, perhaps this was the affirmation she needed that Chaewon was, in fact, a monster.

And she found herself struggling with that truth.

~~~

“How’s she doing?”

“Fine, sir. Looks like she came out just how you wanted.”

Chaewon’s father nods in satisfaction.

It took three whole months for them to break her. They had never had someone last that long, especially considering the man in charge; he was ruthless. Her body was one thing--her mind was another. She refused to forsake her ties, particularly with that girl she had been seen with, whatever her name was.

He knows it, surely, but he doesn’t care enough to try to remember. She had been a leech on his side without even knowing it; she brought his daughter down to the lowest level, and he refused to let her remain there.

And so, for those three months, they tore her apart, destroyed her emotions, convinced her that everything was her fault; she was a monster and should behave as such.

Afterall, that’s what it takes to run this gang properly.

It was much harder this time around than when she had been sent there years ago after that incident.

He shakes his head as he recalls the hysterical child crying for her mother and sister. She was so out of it, there was only one path forward.

He dealt with it. She only lasted two weeks that time, something that was still very impressive especially considering her young age. Although, thinking about how she ended growing up, he guesses they should have pushed her into shape a little more. She had behaved for a bit, but clearly she had gotten out of control.

This time, he nods to himself knowing that Chaewon was now exactly where she should be. It was unfortunate the detours they had to take to get to this point, but thus is life.

She had healed well; that man in charge, the most skillful of torturers, knew how to prolong extreme suffering but keep her alive and able to heal to at least a point where she could function physically.

In other words, after a bit of healing, she was back on the job and as efficient as ever. She spent a few weeks lying in bed, just staring up at the ceiling blankly, but after that period, she was where she belonged and doing what she was meant to do. Chaewon hadn’t said a word about anything other than work, and that other girl hadn’t made a peep either.

Another nod of satisfaction.

All was well.