It was all over the newspapers.

You tried returning to bed after Bambam left for the gang headquarters, but you couldn’t sleep. Your heartbeat was thudding too fast at the thought of the events that were rapidly progressing. The newspaper lying on the doorstep had an enormous headline. “Mafia gang leaders arrested” it screamed. “Police crackdown on colossal human trafficking ring!”

It made your heart sink. You sat down on the couch with your coffee to read the article. It talked about how BTS were accused of selling hundreds of girls into ual slavery to buyers in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia. You felt nauseous. You hadn’t known that their ring was so large. Had there been other rooms in that dark basement where more girls were locked up? How many basements like that did they have across the city? Across the country? How many poor, innocent girls had run away from their terrible family lives just to be trapped by these horrible men and sold for profit?

Your hands trembled in anger.

But what’s the use in getting angry? A tiny voice whispered in your head, almost mockingly. You’re not going to do anything about it. You had your own saved and then you sat and did nothing. At least Bambam risked his life to rescue you. What did you ever do for any of those girls? When did you ever do anything to help them?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You sat here and cried about being a victim while girls were being tortured and enslaved and killed. You only ever looked out for yourself.  

You threw the newspaper aside and ran into the bedroom to find your jeans from the previous night. The business card was still there in the pocket. You took a deep breath before turning it over. Maybe you should at least find out more about the investigation. How many other girls like you did they have as witnesses? Did they really not have sufficient evidence to convict BTS? You realized that you knew nothing about what was going on. Can my testimony really make a difference to this case? You took a deep breath and dialed her number.

“Hello?” the lawyer answered.

“Hi,” you greeted hesitantly. “It’s, uh… it’s me. From the strip club last night. You gave me your business card.”

“Of course. I remember,” she replied simply. It bothered you that there was almost no emotion to her voice. She sounded extremely business-like. “Have you changed your mind? Do you want to be a part of the witnesses?”

“I don’t… I don’t know yet. I think I have some questions first.”

“Okay. Well you can come down to the gang headquarters because I’m here right now-“

“No! Bambam can’t know about this. He doesn’t want me to have anything to do with any of it,” you insisted. You couldn’t even imagine how upset Bambam would be if he found out that you had called the lawyer despite him telling you not to. “I’m not… I’m not sure what I want to do yet so can we maybe meet in private?”

She took a deep breath and sighed.

“Okay. Let’s meet at a café at 8 pm tonight. I’ll text you the address.”

“You won’t tell Bambam, right?”

“Trust me, I have no interest in doing anything that will jeopardize this case.”

–

The lawyer was much scarier in clear light.

You hadn’t noticed her poker face or the sharp look in her eyes the last time you met her. The dim lighting of the club had protected you from her cold expression. But as she sat across from you in a well-lit café and sipped her black Americano, you felt rather small and insignificant. She was a powerful woman and something about her aura was both admirable and intimidating. 

No wonder Jaebum had fallen in love with her. Maybe there was something about powerful people that drew them to each other.

“It’ll be a short while before this whole matter goes to trial and witnesses are brought before a jury,” she explained to you calmly. Her tone was as business-like as ever. “But this case is on high priority and it’s going to move faster than most. The media has taken a particular interest since the underworld is involved. The prosecution and the judges don’t want to give organized criminals the leisure time to mess with evidence or spread their influence. The arraignment is over. I talked to the prosecution. They have no interest in granting BTS any sort of plea bargain. This case will go to trial in a matter of weeks. They’re going after BTS hard.”

You nodded, blinking. “Right.”

“Here’s the situation,” she told you, placing her hands on the table. “The prosecution doesn’t know that you exist. There’s nothing about you in any police records or investigation since none of the escaped girls ever went to the police. I only found out about your escape because Jaebum let something slip a few days ago. If the prosecution learns that there is a group of girls who managed to escape BTS’ custody, then you’re going to be subpoenaed. Do you know what that means?”

You had watched a good number of crime dramas while Bambam was out on business trips, you had a fair idea of how things worked. “It means that they’re going to force me to testify, right?”

“Right. I’m just a defense lawyer and I can’t control how the prosecution goes about their methods. If they want to serve you a legal notice then you’ll have to testify or you could go to prison. They don’t care about the consequences of your testifying or how it’ll affect you. If they find a witness then they will make sure that witness testifies to help build their case against the accused. Do you understand?”

You took a deep breath and nodded. “O-okay.”

“I don’t want to ruin your life, and I’m not going to take responsibility if this causes problems in your relationship with Bambam or anything else. I don’t know the extent to which you are involved in GotSeven’s other criminal activities. You need to make this decision by yourself. I won’t tell the prosecution about you. You had better go and offer yourself as a witness to the police on your own accord. That way, you can at least rehearse what you want to say with the prosecution and you won’t be blind-sided if you suddenly receive a subpoena.”

You blinked at her in silence. You hadn’t thought about the fact that this was a criminal investigation, that you could be legally forced to testify if the prosecution wanted you to. No wonder Bambam had begged you to lay low and not talk to anybody about your past. The mere discovery of your existence would lead to you being dragged into court by the authorities.

“I know this is scary,” the lawyer said softly. You looked up at her in surprise. She looked tired and a little sad. Maybe she had noticed how white your face had become. “But you need to think about this. The stakes are extremely high. I’ve managed to stall the trial against Jaebum solely because the prosecution is choosing to go after BTS; the bigger group. You know what happens if BTS don’t get convicted of this, don’t you?”

You bit your lip. “GotSeven ends up taking responsibility for it?”

“The trafficking ring exists. There’s solid evidence to prove that. The only question is who is responsible. If BTS are acquitted of this crime then I can guarantee you that they’ll go after Jaebum with their guns blazing. I don’t have the confidence to stop that from happening. Nobody wants to see GotSeven go to prison for the human trafficking ring. Not even the prosecution.”

“So it’s us or them,” you whispered.

She hesitated for a long moment, before nodding. “It’s us, or them.”

–

Bambam was in the kitchen and the apartment smelled heavenly.

“Hey!” he greeted you cheerfully when you entered the apartment. He had an apron tied around his waist and he was chopping vegetables at the kitchen counter. You couldn’t hold back a small smile at the sight of your boyfriend. 

Bambam looked great in an apron and he looked even better with his pale hair messy and brushed back from his face. Bambam paused his knife in the middle of cutting vegetables and grinned at you. “Where have you been, beautiful?”

You froze and tried to sound casual. “I just went to get some groceries,” you replied lightly. Luckily, you’d stopped by the grocery store on your way back home and there was a plastic bag with bread and eggs in your hands. You set it on the counter. “Mmmm, something smells good. What are you making?”

“It’s a surprise,” Bambam told you, sweeping a handful of chopped carrots off the cutting board and into a pan. “You poor thing. You must have been starved of my cooking all the time I was gone.”

You pouted and went up to him, wrapping your arms around him tightly from behind. Bambam was slim and your arms went around his waist easily. You pressed your face into his back and took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. It’s all going to be okay. You can work this out. Bambam’s here. He’ll always be here. You’re not going to lose him.

“Babe, let me breathe,” Bambam chuckled.

You loosened your grip and smiled. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re back home. What happened at headquarters?”

“The police and the prosecution are hunting for as much evidence as they can find on BTS to build a solid case. The ongoing investigation is really intense, and we have a couple of deals that we conducted with BTS in the past. Jinyoung was stressed out because he thought they might lead the police back to us. So we spent all day getting rid of evidence and erasing all our links to BTS.”

You sighed. “Jinyoung must be stressed.”

“He is. And Jaebum is still on bail with a cast on his arm from the bullet and everything, so he can’t move around as he pleases. Too many eyes on him, so we need to do all the work. The only trouble is…”

You paused. “What?”

Bambam removed your arms from around your waist and turned to face you. Despite the cheerful smile on his face and his casual tone of voice, you could see the worry in his eyes. He had never been able to hide his pain from you.

“I feel like destroying our links to BTS might backfire,” he admitted quietly. “If they don’t go to prison for the trafficking and then come after us… well, we’d just be making things easier for them. Since they could accuse us of anything and we’d never be able to drag them down with us. We’re deleting all our share of the transactions. These are documents and records we kept safely in case BTS ever us, but… we have nothing to use against them anymore.”

You slipped your hands into his and squeezed them. “But that won’t happen, right?”

Bambam chuckled. “Right. Come on. There’s so much evidence against BTS, they can’t wriggle their way out of this one.”

You forced a smile. “Right.”

“That lawyer Jaebum-hyung used to date walks around our headquarters all day with this really serious expression on her face. I swear I’ve never seen her laugh once,” Bambam joked lightly. “I’m sure she has something up her sleeve, though.”

You hesitated. “That lawyer woman…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you trust her?”

Bambam’s expression became a little grim. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at you with a small frown. “Do you want me to be perfectly honest?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think she has any bad intentions. Jaebum-hyung trusts her and I can tell by the way they interact that they honestly really love each other. But there’s something off about her. You know? She’s not one of us. Sometimes, I feel like she’s not on the same page as our gang. She loves Jaebum but I’m not sure she would care of the rest of us went to prison.”

“Hmmm.”

Bambam pouted. “She looks at the rest of us like we’re dirt, sometimes. Especially me and Yugyeom. Which is totally unfair because we weren’t even a part of GotSeven when that whole drama with her and the Russian gang happened.”

You gasped playfully and reached up to pinch Bambam’s cheeks. “Oh no! How dare that big, bad lawyer lady be mean to my boyfriend? Should I go and teach her a lesson? I could probably take her, couldn’t I? You taught me those moves last year.”

Bambam chuckled and swatted your hand away from his face. “Don’t baby me.”

You smiled and stepped back to let Bambam turn to the stove and attend to his cooking. You stared at him for a long moment, admiring his handsome profile and the small smile on his gorgeous lips as he stirred the noodles.

Bambam was the best thing in your life. He hadn’t just rescued you from BTS, he had showed you what it was like to live and what it was like to be loved. Bambam had taught you how to laugh and how to see the good in the world. He was selfless and beautiful and pure, the most kind-hearted and passionate man you had ever met. Bambam had done so much for you.

How could you not even do one little thing for him?

“Bambam,” you whispered.

He turned and blinked at you innocently. “Hmm?”

You pulled him down towards you and kissed him softly and passionately. Bambam deserved the world. You couldn’t see him and the rest of GotSeven go to prison for BTS’ actions. How could you sit quietly and let that happen, when you had the power to help stop it? Shouldn’t you be doing every tiny thing in your power to help the man who had given you a new chance at life?

Somebody as selfish and useless as you would never be worthy of Bambam, but you had to at least try.

He pulled away from you gently, smiling. Bambam’s hair flopped down into his eyes and he lifted a hand to your cheek, it lovingly. He could see the adoration in your eyes and he wondered where it was coming from. “Are you okay, babe?” he asked.

“I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you,” you admitted quietly.

His smile dropped and he pulled you into a hug, holding you tightly against his chest as you inhaled his warm, familiar scent.

“You won’t lose me,” he told you firmly. “I promise.”

And so do I, you thought to yourself silently. I promise too. I’ll never lose you. I won’t let that happen.

–

You kept scrolling on your phone throughout your shifts at the nightclub, checking for news articles on BTS. It seemed like there was one every couple of hours. They talked about how the case was going to appear before a superior court. The members of BTS were to be tried collectively, and they had turned down the opportunity for a jury trial. The last fact was understandable. Considering how the media was painting them, they would have a tough time garnering any sort of public sympathy. However, that also meant that the trial would proceed faster.

The clock was ticking and you needed to act fast if you wanted to do something about this. You thought about it, day and night, but you couldn’t gather the courage to take the first step.

In the end the police officer came to find you first.

She turned up at the strip club one evening and approached you just as your shift was ending. You had no idea how she found out about you; the lawyer had promised that she wouldn’t get involved anymore but maybe she had gotten frustrated with your cold feet. To be perfectly fair, you had been secretly biding your time and hoping that all your problems would disappear.

“Come with me after your shift is over. There’s something you should see,” the police officer told you gently. She was more soft-spoken and seemed a lot nicer than the lawyer. But still, there was something firm about her tone. Both women had the same aura somehow. Was this how all powerful and strong women were? You felt pathetic and useless compared to them. These were women who were working day and night to put BTS in prison. And you couldn’t even gather the confidence to walk up to the prosecution and tell your story.

It was almost 2 am when your shift ended but the police officer was still waiting for you. She ushered you into a black car and then started driving.

“Do you need to call anyone?” she asked. “We’re going pretty far out of town.”

You took a deep breath and clutched your cellphone tightly in your hand. Should you call Bambam? He had been spending nights at the headquarters recently. He looked constantly stressed and even though he told you that everything would be fine, you could tell that he wasn’t himself. Either way, he probably wouldn’t even notice that you hadn’t come straight back to the apartment after your shift. You couldn’t even imagine how you would begin to explain that you were going god-knows-where with a police officer.

“I’m okay,” you reassured her. “What is this about?”

“I looked you up,” she admitted honestly. “You don’t have any criminal records, and you ran away from home because your father was abusive. He worked for the government so you were probably too scared to complain about him, am I right? That’s why you ran away and landed in the clutches of BTS where you were barely 17? And then Bambam and Yugyeom rescued you?”

You stared at her. “How do you know so much about me?”

She bit her lip and frowned. “A member of GotSeven might have let slip about you.”

“Who? Jaebum-oppa?”

“No. That’s not very important. I know you’re probably conflicted about everything that’s going on. I hear that Bambam doesn’t want you to testify or go anywhere near the BTS trial. But that’s not his decision. It should be your decision. You can choose not to testify, you could leave town right now to avoid this whole mess and I couldn’t stop you. There’s no right or wrong decision as far as you’re concerned. But you know what the worst kind of decision is?”

You stared at her silently.

“It’s a decision made without knowing all the facts. So I’m here to show you some facts about this trial. At least then, whatever decision you make will still be an informed decision.”

You fell silent and glanced out of the window as the car drove off into the outskirts of the city. At one point you could barely see any buildings anymore. There were just trees and vast acres of farmland. Finally, after driving through a bumpy dirt road for almost twenty minutes, you arrived at a small house in the middle of an orchard. There were two security guards at the gate but they bowed politely the moment the police officer flashed her badge at them.

“Follow me,” she ordered you. “Stay quiet. You’re about to meet the other witnesses involved in this case.”

What?

You entered the small living room hesitantly. Your initial thought was that it was empty; there was nobody sitting on any of the couches or armchairs. It was only when the police officer turned that you noticed them.

Two girls, sitting huddled together on the floor of the room and clutching each other. They were trembling as they stared at the both of you. Their eyes were bloodshot and they looked weak as they hid from you and clutched each other for comfort. There were red marks around their wrists. One of the girls had a black eye.

Both of them had a deep, haunted look in their eyes.

The sight made your stomach turn in horror. Something about the two girls was horrifying, yet familiar. You remembered the nights you had spent in BTS’ custody, clutching the other girls out of fear that one of them would be next. You remembered the fear that had shot through you every time that door had opened. Was this how you had looked? Had this been what Bambam had seen when he opened that door that lucky morning and seen you huddled along with the other girls in the basement?

You wanted to puke.

“It’s fine,” the police officer told them gently. “She’s here to talk to you. She was a victim, just like both of you were. She escaped a few years ago. Will you talk to her?”

The two girls turned and looked at you suspiciously. One of them let out a small whimper and shook her head, while the other only stared at you dully. Could they even understand what the police officer was saying? You took a shaky step closer to them, but they both flinched and you froze. They squeezed their eyes shut as though they were bracing themselves for a hit and you could only step back, away from them. Your stomach twisted and you could feel your heartbeat pounding.

“Let’s leave them alone,” you whispered. “I-I think I’m scaring them.”

The police officer nodded. She led you into an adjoining room and closed the door, before gesturing you to sit down. Your hands were trembling as you sat. All you could think about was that dark, musty basement and the fear you felt when you were trapped in it. You could almost smell it again, see the damp walls around you, hear the muffled sobbing of the other girls…

“These are the only two witnesses we could get,” the police officer told you bluntly. She leaned back and lit a cigarette, before offering one to you. You shook your head silently and she simply took a long drag herself. “You see how they behave with strangers? They’re ten times worse when they’re in the same room as a strange man. The prosecution lawyer is male and he could barely get these girls to string two comprehensible sentences together in his presence. We have a counselor coming to see them regularly, but it’s slow progress. These girls have been through too much.”

Your throat closed up. “R-right.”

“They’ve been to the brink of death and back. They both claim that they want to testify but I’m not confident about how things will go down in the courtroom. The prosecution is trying to get permission for them to give their testimonies through a video-link so that they don’t need to look the accused in the face or see them at court. But BTS has the best lawyers. These girls still need to face a strong and possibly ruthless cross-examination.”

“Oh.”

“Now you see why we need you?” the police officer asked, a hint of desperation to her voice. “The only witness-victims I have are terrified out of their minds. We need somebody who can stay calm up there and state the facts. I tracked down a few other girls who escaped along with you but they’re all underage. You’re the most reliable, trustworthy witness this entire case has.”

You stared at her in horror. “That’s it? This case is relying on me?”

She took another drag of her cigarette. Her hands were shaking and she ran her fingers through her hair before looking at you with sharp eyes. “Well, no. We have found some backup evidences to show BTS’ involvement in come illegal arms trade and how they’ve sold explosives to enemy countries. But we haven’t acquired those documents through legal means so we’re not sure how they’ll hold up in court. They might do some time for those crimes .But as far as the human trafficking charges go… BTS will probably go free due a lack of evidence on that count. And you know what happens then-“

“Then GotSeven get framed for it, I know.”

The police officer leaned back and nodded. “Good. So now you have all the facts. What do you want to do? The trial starts in less than a week.”

You took a deep breath.

“I want to go home.”

–

When you entered the apartment, Bambam threw his arms around you and hugged you tightly.

You nearly choked and pushed him away from you, only to see that his eyes were red and his face looked pale. Your heart clenched in fear. Was something wrong? Why did he look so upset? You placed your hands on his cheeks as tears brimmed in his eyes.

“Bambam? What is it, what’s wrong?”

Bambam stared at you, his voice cracking. He sounded panicked. “What’s wrong? You were supposed to be back from your shift two hours ago! How can you stand here and ask me what’s wrong? Your phone was out of service, I was about to call Jaebum and send the entire gang out looking for you. Where the hell have you been? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

His hands were patting your face and shoulders, desperately searching for any injuries on you. You took a deep breath and pushed his hands away from you, forcing a smile to reassure him that nothing was wrong. “Bambam, I’m okay. I’m sorry that my phone was out of service, I didn’t realize. I thought you were going to spend the night at headquarters so I… I didn’t call. I’m sorry.”

He took a deep breath and pressed his fingers to his temples, as though trying to digest the information that you were safe and fine. He looked at you for a long moment and then nodded, allowing you to step inside the apartment and take off your shoes.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“Sit down, let’s talk.”

Bambam gave you a wary glance, but he sat down on the sofa and waited for you to sit down beside him. Your hands were trembling in your lap and he noticed immediately. He reached out to squeeze them and then brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Baby, tell me. I’m worried out of my mind-“

“I’m going to testify at the BTS trial.”

There was a long silence and Bambam’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? No, you aren’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t let you,” he replied firmly. His dark eyes were searching yours, confused. “Where is this coming from? Babe, we talked about this already. That trial is going to be a mess. I won’t let them use you. Those guys don’t care about us, they only want to see BTS go to prison and they don’t care at what cost. You’ll have to sit in a courtroom, you’ll have to look guys like RM and Jin in the face-“

“I can handle it-“

“No, you can’t!” Bambam cried. His grip on your fingers was tight and he was shaking. “Trust me, you can’t. You shouldn’t have to. I know how traumatized you were after everything they put you through. I know how you’ve been living carefully for the last three years, I know how you always double-check if the doors are locked and carry a knife in your purse. I know you’re scared of those men. I know you.”

You clenched your fists. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. I saw the other witnesses today, Bambam. That female police officer showed them to me. Those girls are terrified. They’ve been through much more than I have. They’ll clam up when they have to testify, I guarantee it-“

“That doesn’t mean you need to go testify in their place! Let the prosecutor and the cops handle the trial-“

“They can’t handle the trial, that’s why they keep asking me for help!” you cried.

Bambam stared at you for a long moment. “I won’t let you do this.”

You took a deep breath and sighed. The words of the police officer came to your mind and you turned to look at Bambam. You loved him. You loved him more than anything and you hated seeing him upset, but this was one thing that he was wrong about. “This isn’t your decision to make,” you told him calmly. You squeezed his hand and looked him in the eyes. “This is my decision, Bambam. And I’m going to do what I think is right.”

He glared at you. “What, so that’s how it’s going to be? You don’t even care about my feelings anymore?”

You frowned. “What do you-“

“The only reason you’re alive today to even testify is because I saved you from that place!” Bambam snapped. His face had flushed red and he suddenly withdrew his hand from yours. He looked furious. “Yugyeom didn’t want to do it. He was scared, he said we should run away. But I came back for you. I saved you from those bastards so that you could have a life, so that you could be happy. Not so that you could go and throw yourself in their path and get killed by them again. Do you know what will happen if this doesn’t work out? They will hunt you down. You won’t be left alive.”

Tears brimmed in your eyes and you blinked at him. “You’re only thinking about my physical safety and about whether BTS could do something to hurt me.”

Bambam ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. “What else is there-“

“Let them kill me if they want. If I don’t even do this much for all the girls that have been hurt, I don’t think I could live with myself.”

Bambam stared at you. You could see the anguish in his eyes, the way his chest heaved as he breathed heavily. He swallowed and then reached for you, suddenly pulling you into his arms. You froze as Bambam wrapped his arms around you tightly and pressed you to his chest. 

“Don’t do this,” he begged you softly, burying his face into your neck. “Baby, please don’t do this. I know you want to help those other girls, but… but please, just forget about all that. You don’t need to do anything for anyone. All you need to do is take care of yourself. I don’t care if BTS go free or if they pay for their crimes or anything else. I just need you to be safe. That’s all I want. So please, for once, can’t you be just as selfish as me?”

You pulled away from Bambam and gave him a small, weak smile. “Can you really look me in the eyes and tell me to be selfish? When you risked your own life for me all those years ago? You could have died trying to save me, a girl you barely knew. You’re the most selfless person I know, Bambam”

He groaned. “I was reckless and I was bold back then. I had nothing to lose. But I do now. I have so much to lose and you’re the first thing on that list. Please. If you’re grateful for what I did back then, then don’t do this.”

“I’m grateful,” you told him quietly. “And I do want to make it up to you.”

“Exactly. So baby, don’t do this-“

“But you know what haunts me more, more than the fact that you saved my life and I couldn’t pay you back? It’s that I don’t deserve you. It’s that you’re an amazing person who would risk his life to save a handful of girls but I’ve never done anything for everyone. I’ve lived my entire life selfishly, thinking about myself. I was so happy that I escaped, so grateful that I found somebody like you to help me stand on my feet and love me. I have never once done anything for anyone else.”

Bambam stared at you silently. You have him a watery smile and then squeezed his hands.

“So for once, Bambam, let me do something that I can be proud of. Let me be a good person who deserves to be loved by you. And let me help you, because you helped me.”

Bambam opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it again.

“I’m going to the prosecution tomorrow, Bambam. Please don’t try to stop me.”

“W-what if it doesn’t work?” he asked, his voice cracking.

You lowered your head to the floor.

“I don’t know. But at least my conscience will be clear. I’d rather be on the run than spend a life filled with regrets because I didn’t do everything in my power to stop BTS from going free.”

Bambam took a deep breath and stepped back from you. You watched as he clenched his fists and paced the room, running his fingers through his hair. You sat on the couch silently and watched him walk up and down. After almost ten minutes of agitated silence, Bambam finally grabbed hold of a stray cup that was lying on the coffee table and flung it against the wall. It broke into small pieces, making a shattering noise. You tried not to flinch.

“!” he yelled. He turned and glared at you. “Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?”

You shook your head quietly. “No.”

“Fine. Then let’s do it,” Bambam said firmly. His eyes were red. “Let’s go testify against BTS. Together.”