How long has it been? Days? Months? Years? I don’t know. I can’t see the outside world. I don’t even know when it’s night or day anymore. There’s no window in this room I’m staying in. The only light source I have is from the little lantern sitting in the corner of the room that casts a dim orange light. Without that light, this room is pitch black. Not even a spider lives in here with me.

I’m sitting on the cold cement floor. I have no socks on, so my toes are freezing. My black jeans are starting to smell, and so is my long sleeved black t-shirt. My hair is starting to be oily and smelly. My breath probably smells horrible. I haven’t showered in so long. I want to climb into a tub and drown my body in clean warm water. I want to clean the dirt off my face. I feel so dirty.

[Knock knock]

It’s her again. She is going to slide the small window open. She is going to sweetly smile at me and ask me how I’m doing. Then, she will offer me food.

The window opens, and a small white light beams into the room. A girl with short black hair greets me with a smile. “Hello,” she sweetly says. “How are you today? Did you wait long? I’m sorry. You must be hungry. Here.” She slides in the platter of food. “Please help yourself. I worked very hard to prepare this for you. I know you’ll enjoy it. Who doesn’t enjoy their girlfriends cooking right?” She chuckles sweetly “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Finish your food by then. I love you.” She closes the window, and the white light is now gone. The room is back to a dark orange again.

I crawl to the window and grab the food. I take a bite and chew.

The first time that I was in here, I begged and cried for her to let me out, but she showed me no sympathy.

“Why do you want to leave me,” she asked me. “Don’t you love me? I love you so much. The reason why I’m keeping you in here is because of my love for you. Now that I have you in there, you won’t be able to leave my side.”

“Why can’t you let me go,” I cried. “If you really love me, you’d let me go. Not keep me as a prisoner.”

“I’m not keeping you as a prisoner,” she chuckled. “I’m keeping you as a lover. If I let you go, so many other women would want you, but now, I have you all to myself.” She softly laughed at the thought of never letting me go. “Now they won’t interfere with our love anymore. We have nothing to worry about. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

I’d ask her to set me free a few more times, but she would always reject. Sometimes, she even got mad and yelled at me.

Now.

I swallow the food in my mouth.

I don’t show her any emotions.

I take another bite.

That doesn’t mean that my desire to get out of here is gone. I’ve tried many times to escape, but the door is metal. I can’t break it, and I think she’s locked the door pretty well. There’s no way for me to be free. I’m actually afraid of her. She hasn’t done me any harm yet, but to think that she had the courage to do this to me makes me afraid of her.

[Five months ago]

My members and I were in the practice room practicing our new dance moves for our comeback. The music was blasting, and we were all dancing. The room was hot with our body heats emitting into the air, and we were all covered in sweat. The door opened and our manager walked in.

“Turn the music off,” our manager commanded.

We stopped dancing, and Jimin turned off the music.

“You guys have an interview tomorrow morning,” the manager informed them. “Get up by five, and be ready by seven. The interview is at nine and will last for three hours. Keep practicing, and then go home and rest. Understand?”

“Yes,” we answered.

Our manager walked out, and we continued to practice again. We practiced until midnight, and then we headed to our dorm. We took turns taking a shower, and finally drifted off to bed at around two.

The alarm went off. Everyone was still tired, No one wanted to wake up, but we forced ourselves up anyway because if we don’t, our manager will lecture us. We got ready and headed to the interview. Our manager was driving the car. When we were in front of the building, our manager parked the car.

“Wait here,” our manager told us. “I’m going to go see if your room is ready.”

“Yes,” we answered.

He climbed out of the car and left the key behind.

My team and I talked. We laughed and told jokes to pass time. Then, the driver’s door opened and a girl climbed into the car.

“Who are you,” Nam Joon asked.

She turned around and smiled at us. “Hello,” she greeted us. “My name is Kyun Soo Jin. I do valet parking here. There’s a problem in the building, so the interview is being held somewhere else. Your manager told me to come drive you to the new destination.”

“Really,” Nam Joon asked. “Why didn’t he come instead? Why did he send you?”

“He’s helping out inside, so he asked me to come get you instead. He’ll meet you at the interview. Don’t worry. I’ll take you to your destination. You won’t have a scratch on your body.” She turned around and started the car. “Seatbelts on!”

We put on our seatbelts.

“Will we be okay,” Jimin whispered. “We don’t have our phones, so we can’t even call the manager.”

“The manager gave specific orders to her,” Nam Joon said. “Everything should be fine.”

She drove the car to our destination. Soo Jin parked the car in the parking lot, and told us to get out of the car. She took us to the building and showed us to our waiting room. Soo Jin even offered us water. We took it, and drank from it.

I could tell everyone was nervous. Everyone was gripping the water bottle tightly, and they were continuously drinking the water. So was I.

“Guys,” I said. “I don’t feel so well.”

“You’re just nervous,” Jin said. “This is our first big interview. Just take some deep breaths.”

I did so.

“I know everyone is nervous,” Nam Joon said. He gave us a pep talk.

Soo Jin walked in. “They want you now,” she said.

Nam Joon stood up, so we all did.

“You guys head out first,” I said. “I have to use the bathroom.”

“Be quick,” Nam Joon said.

They left to the interview room while I headed to the bathroom. While I was in the bathroom, my head was swaying. I faltered, but I caught my balance. I walked to the stall, and I felt my body falling. That was the last thing I remembered. When I regained consciousness, I was already in this room.

[Present]

I finish the food that Soo Jin had given me. Now I'm sitting in this room with nothing to do. All I do is sit here and think to myself. I talk to myself. I feel like I've gone mad. I don't feel like myself anymore. I want to go out and socialize with people, but I can't. I want to be with my members again, but I can't. I miss them. I miss home. I miss my parents. I want to talk to all of them. I want to make more memories with them. If I stay in here any longer, I think I'm really going to go insane. I might even forget how to speak. I might even forget how to express my feelings. I don't want that to happen! There so many things that I want to do and still haven't done. I want to drink so much alcohol to the point where I'm so drunk that I can't remember anything. I want to travel the world. I want to be able to provide for my family. I want to date and find my true love. I want to start a family with my true love. I want to see my parents face when they see their grandchildren. There is so much I want to do, but I'm restricted in doing so.

I wake up lying in bed. The lantern is still on. I stare at the plain ceiling. My mind is blank. All of a sudden, I hear a crash, and Soo Jin screaming.

“Where is he,” a male voice shouts.

“He's not hear,” Soo Jin yells. “I told you already!”

“Taehyung,” another voice shouts.

“Kim Taehyung!!”

I recognize the voice.

“Taehyung!”

“Stop shouting,” Soo Jin says.

I hear more commotion and more of Soo Jin’s screaming.

“Kim Taehyung!!”

“Where are you?!”

I run to the door and start pounding on it.

“Seok Jin,” I shout. “Is that you? Nam Joon? I'm here! Help me!”

I hear footsteps running towards the door. The window opens, and I see Seok Jin staring back at me.

“Taehyung,” Seok Jin cries.

“Seok Jin!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I'm so glad you're here! That woman has locked me up in here for so long! I'm scared and cold!”

“Don't worry. We'll get you out of there. The guys and I caught the girl already. Our manager is coming here with the police. Just wait a little longer. We'll get you out of there.”

Seok Jin never closes the window. He is sitting outside the door talking to me making sure that I'm okay. I look around, and I see the other members around the house. Nam Joon and Suga are keeping their eyes on the girl while Jung Kook and Jimin are looking around.

Soon, the police arrives. They take that girl, Kyun Soo Jin, to jail, and they help me out of that cell that I've been locked in.

My members and I cry in tears of joy as I walk out of the room. They hug me and I hug them.

“We missed you so much,” Jung Kook cries.

“We thought you would never return,” Jimin adds.

“I'm so glad we finally found you,” Nam Joon says. “Did anything happen?”

“No. She didn't do anything to me. She just kept me locked up,” I reply while sniffling.

Our manager walks over to me and pats my shoulder. “I'm glad you're fine.”

“Thank you for coming to rescue me,” I say.

We leave the premises.

Upon my return to the real world, so many people greet me with smiles, but mostly greet me with questions and a camera. My picture is all over the news, and I'm the only thing the world can talk about it.

I haven't done any interviews about me being kidnapped. All I've done is tell the police what happened, and I don't plan on telling anyone what happened to me. If I do, the rest of my fans will be hurt. It's best I don't say anything, and my company agrees with me.

“Keeping this a secret is the best,” says my CEO. “It'll be good for you, and it'll be good for everyone else. Plus, if we tell no one, it'll be a mystery. Keeping the people in suspense will make them wonder about you, and this will make you more popular.”

I've visited my family. I've told them everything. They were so happy for me to be back safe and sound. They were also angry at the company for not keeping me safe, but I persuaded them to not sue.

I'm in the comfort of my dorm. The members are all beside me helping me feel better. We are talking and catching up in the living room.

“Apparently that girl is your stalker,” Seok Jin says. “She's broke into the dorm before and took pictures of you when you were sleeping. The police searched her house and saw pictures of you, our merchandise, and some of your items.”

“Scary to think that a person like that was in our room,” Jung Kook says.

“How did you guys know where to find me,” I ask.

“After kidnapping you, the police and the public were all over this case,” Nam Joon says. “One day, a person saw her in town in a market. That person reported it to the police, so the police put their guards up. They placed a policeman at every store until they found her. When they did, they followed her to the abandoned cabin in the woods, and that's how we rescued you.”

“Thank you,” I say. “If it weren't for you guys, I'd still be stuck in that room. I felt like I was going insane.”

“You're welcome,” Seok Jin says.

“We're just glad you're okay,” Jimin adds.

After resting for a few days, I finally gained the energy to practice the dance moves again.

“Since you've been gone,” Suga says, “we've halted the promotions.”

“The fans are waiting for us, so let's make sure to work extra hard.” Jimin says.

“Are you sure you can do this,” Nam Joon asks. “Do you remember the dance?”

“Of course. The fans have been waiting. Let's put our all into this,” I reply.

After practice, our manager pulls me to the side.

“Are you ready,” he asks me. “You look so unstable. Maybe we should get you a counselor.”

“I'm fine,” I reply. “I can do this. The fans have been waiting for us. We can't let them wait any longer.”

Our manager smiles. “You brat. You sure have matured. Okay. But if you feel any discomfort, come to me right away.”

“I will.”

“Plus, it looks like you’ve put on some weight. Do whatever you can to lose that weight before we release the album.”

“I will. While I was being held captive, all I did was eat and sleep. I was restricted from doing anything else. I’ll work three times as hard as the others to stay in shape.”

“Good for you. I’ll check up on you again.”

I nod my head.