Dara

 

I cried myself asleep and I stayed in that state until I heard the door open and footsteps coming from the stairs. Painfully
awakening, I saw an unfamiliar face.

 

"I'm going to untie your hands," he said. The man roughly grabbed at the ropes of my hands and started to untie them. "Do
anything funny and you'll get it."

 

"Why? What's going on?" I asked, unable to comprehend what's going on from my exhaustion.

 

 

Instead of a reply that I was waiting for, the man let go of the rope. With his right hand, he slapped me. His force sent my
view from straight ahead to the floor at my right. The quick movement sent pain up and down my neck and I groan in
response.

 

 

"Don't talk unless I tell you to, you filthy ," he spat, "If I was Kyesang, I wouldn't give an YG food."

 

 

The sound of food made my stomach lurch. Mentally, I was hungry. Although, when considering the beat-up state I was in, I was sure that my body was going to reject solid foods. The man finished untying my hands and arms, leaving the ropes at my chest, torso,legs, and feet strapped. He, then, left the
basement.

 

I debated with myself. I would be crazy to give up an opportunity like this, but I'd be absolutely mad to try and attempt at an opportunity like this. If I was able to untie myself, where would I even go? How far will my body be able to take me? How many people are in this house that I'd have to go through? The odds were against me. Knowing my helpless place, I stayed still and waited for him to come back.

 

 

As he said, he came back with a plate and a bottle of water. On it was rice, chicken, and cooked vegetables. It was better than I expected, mushy, unrecognizable gray slime that I see on television. He set the plate on my bare lap and the water on the
armrest part where I didn't have my arms on.

 

 

"Eat," he said, stepping back but staying to watch over me.

 

 

I twisted the cap off of the bottle and noticed that it has been already opened. I lifted the bottle to my lips and hesitated. I looked at the man in front of me who was watching my every move. I closed my eyes, prayed that this drink was not in any way poisoned, and drank it. At first, it was at tiny sips, then big gulps. I was dehydrated and the cooling water sent relief down my throat. The water filling my stomach made me long for actual food.

 

 

Giving no eating utensils, I picked at my chicken . It was still hot. Given that I was not having any breakfast food, I
concluded that it must be noon. I formed a ball of rice and placed it with the piece of chicken I've torn and brought it to my mouth. I chewed, forcing myself to go through the soreness of my jaw.

 

Before the food even went down, it was bringing itself up again, along with bile and blood. I started coughing and spat out
the food.

 

"Why did yo-" he angrily started his question.

 

 

"I-i can't eat," I said, jumping to explain myself. "I need something liquid. I think a rib of mine is broken."

 

 

For the second time, I was slapped and this time it was on the right side of my face.

 

"If Kyesang gives you this, this is what you'll get. If Boss says you eat, you eat." The man grabbed my hair and yanked it
downwards, forcing me to look up.

 

 

"Ow!" I yelped. I felt pressure on my thighs and I could tell he was grabbing food from the plate with his free hand. He
brought up the mix of chicken, rice, and vegetables against my closed lips.

 

"Open," he said, pulling harder at my hair. The man smirked and wiped his hands with my hair, leaving leftover food on my
head.

 

I lifted my hands to wipe it off but he was quick to catch them. He forcefully brought them down to restrained them with ropes
again.

 

"I'll be back with dinner," he said, walking away an empty water bottle and a polished plate he had made me  clean.

 

 

He was finally gone and I couldn't hold in the food anymore. I turned my head to the side of me and emptied my stomach.
By the time I was done, my throat was burning and my eyes began to droop. Then this sudden sleepiness took its toll on me.

 

 

Jiyong

 

 

Jooyeon walked out of the room with everyone's eyes on her. Right as she disappeared from sight, everyone turned to look at me. Deciding on what to do next, the silence in the room became awkward with tension.

 

"Everyone, out," I said, choosing to just end the meeting here.
I sat down in one of the empty seats and waited for everyone to file out.

 

Staying with me and sitting down were Jinwoo, Chaerin, Taeyang, and Top. On the table space in front of me, my phone buzzed several times. I grabbed it and unlocked to see what an unknown number had sent me.

 

The first picture was hard to make out. It was taken in a dark room, the flash  only revealed a silhouette of a person slumped in a chair. The second photo was taken closer to the object. It was a woman wrapped in ropes to a chair, barely wearing any clothes with bruises and cuts running up and down
her body. She appeared to be alseep, most of her unbrushed hair was covering her face.

 

 

In the third picture, the woman was looking at the camera, squinting from the flash, looking as if she had woken up.
Seeing the face of the women clearly in the last picture shook me. It was Dara.

 

I shot straight up from my chair on to my two feet. My friends around me flinched out of surprise.

 

"What?" Top asked.

 

"Get a ing car, we are going to get Dara right now." 

 

 

"What? Why?" Chaerin questioned, getting out of her seat.

 

 

"Do you want to get her or not?"

 

"Did Kyesang send you something? What does it say?" Chaerin bugged, reaching for my phone.

 

"Nothing, I just made my mind on going to get her right now," I lied. My phone buzzed, in my hand, once more. It was a typed text from the same unknown number who had sent me the pictures. It read: I like the way she screams.

 

"ing bastard." I cursed.

 

 

Stefan

 

"Red light," I said, pointing to the traffic light that had turned from yellow to red. 

 

"I don't care," Herman said. He accelerated rather than slowing down. He quickly got us out of the intersection, cutting cars off and making them jolt to a halt. I frowned, my silent disagreement went with the honking of the angry drivers who had barely avoid hitting us.

 

"Next time, let me drive, eh?" I said.

 

Herman only smirked at my remarked and continued driving, unsafely. I shook my head and looked outside my passenger
window. I saw a familiar guy in the driver seat and couldn't pinpoint where I've seen him.

 

 

"Herman, you know that guy? I felt like I've seen him somewhere."

 

Herman glanced out my window as I sat back in my seat to give him a clear view.

 

"I think that's Jiyong's cousin, Jinwoo... Top... something like that. Who else is in the car?"

 

"I don't know. The rest of the windows are too tinted. You think they coming to our den?"

 

 

"Maybe, let's get there before they do."

 

 

Herman said, pressing down on the accelerator.

 

 

"We're not going to get there before them if we get pulled over by the police," I said.

 

"Who said I was going to stop for them?" Herman asked.

 

 

I shook my head, chuckling at his wild spirit. I couldn't help but feel anxious. There was an uneasy, unsettling feeling forming at the pit of my stomach.

 

Dara

 

Kyesang stood in front of me for the second time of my unpleasant stay. With him stood about 10 people. My anxiety ran high as I mentally prepared myself for what the ten people in the room could possibly do to me. My nails itched at the
armrest of the chair, engraving scratches in the wood. They were gathered around Kyesang, talking with hushed voices and
occasionally glancing at me.

 

 

After their discussion ended, some of the people exited the room while others walked towards me with Kyesang.

 

 

"You served your purpose." Kyesang said, stopping right in front of me.

 

"Huh?" I asked, unsure of what he meant.

 

"I could have killed you the second you got here, but I kept you alive. Upon giving information, you were useless. However,
using you as bait was a great plan," Kyesang explained. "My men told me they spotted your friends driving in the direction to
here with about five other cars."

 

My ears perked up. Was I hearing right? Jiyong coming for me?

 

 

"Yet, that makes me wonder. Looking at you and listening to your claims made me really confused upon understanding the situation I am in. You're a doctor in organized crime who only help the wounded criminals in your famiglia and does not take part in selling illegal drugs and weaponry. Tell me, why would they come for you? Why would they come if they can so easily replace you?"

 

"I believe that I'm a good friend to the members of YG." I answered.

 

 

"I find that hard to believe. You think they care enough to come and risk dying to rescue you because you are just a good
friend? We are mafia people. Our morals are different. Although, I can think of a reason as to why they decided to come. Perhaps you know something that they didn't want to get out?"

 

 

"I don't," I said.

 

"I knew you were going to say that. Doesn't matter now. They can come, but I'm prepared for them. It's whatI wanted." Kyesang smirked.

 

 

He turned around to the people standing behind him and spoke into Italian. He left the room with the majority of the people. Stefan and a woman stayed behind. Stefan began to untie the ropes around my feet while the woman pointed a gun to my head. I stared at the gun that was held inches away from my face and moved my gaze to the holder.

 

 

She was the first female I've seen since hostage. Envy sparked
within me as I examined her. She was fully clothed in a black shirt with dark colored jeans, standing tall with her black heels. Her skin was olive, one shade all over. From where she stood, I could smell the clean fragrance of peaches. I looked down at myself, since I was already putting myself down mentally, and saw everything I that the woman in front of me wasn't.

 

 

"Claire, can you ing help?" Stefan asked as he struggled with the knots.

 

"What if she thinks of doing something?" Claire defended.

 

"What is she going to do?" Stefan questioned. "Run?"

 

 

Claire pocketed her gun and united the ropes at my hands.

 

 

", you smell," she said, turning her head away from me as far as possible. I looked down in my lap, shamefully. I was covered in my own waste. The skin around my crotch and thighs were red and slightly burning due to the rash caused by the chemicals from my urine.

 

"Did you yourself?"

 

 

"I peed," I answered, "I can't necessarily get up and find myself a bathroom."

 

I looked at Stefan. He had finished untying my feet and helped Claire with my right hand since she was taking a while with my left.

 

"We have to hurry and get her to the garage before YG gets here," He told her.

 

"Where am I going?" I asked, trying to make sense of what was happening.

 

 

"We are moving you," Claire answered.

 

"Where?"

 

"Somewhere where your friends can't find you," she chuckled.

 

 

I was freed from the ropes. Indentations of the thick twine were imprinted on my skin which was red from rope burns. Hearing it unravel and drop to the ground brought me a sense of relief and misery.I was now freed from the ropes but how exactly am I going to escape in this state?

 

There was no way I could get a step in.

 

"Let's get going," Stefan said. He grabbed my right arm, just above my elbow, and yanked me upright.

 

 

Immediately, the nerves in my body reacted, sending signals that begged me to stop moving. Stefan moved forward and dragged me, leaving me stumbling behind him.

 

 

"Please, stop!" I screamed as we got to the stairs. The pain the stretched all over my body was intense. I wasn't sure sitting;
however, now standing, I was certain that I had problems regarding my ribs and lower spine.

 

 

Stefan didn't stop and I pulled back as hard as I could. I managed to get out of his grasp but couldn't stabilize myself
and crashed to the floor. The landing was rather harsh but after I felt the impact and got to station myself still, little relief
soothed the soreness of my wounds.

 

"Stefan, we aren't going to get to the garage at this rate," Claire complained.

 

"I'm going to knock her out, you can carry her to the car when she's limp. It'll be easier that way. If we're lucky, she'll be out for the whole car ride."

 

 

Before I could get my world of rejection in, Claire ringed hand met my face, sending the world spiraling. Overwhelmed with the pain that enforced upon me and having the lack of strength to overcome it, I out.

 

 

Jiyong

 

I felt the car stop to a park and slowly arose from my sleep. I looked over to my left in the passenger seat and saw Eric
turning off the engine.

 

"This is not the house," I said.

 

"Jinwoo stopped somewhere 'cause Seunghoon had to take a leak. We need to wait for the rest to catch up,"

 

 

Stretching, I looked over my shoulder to see the situation in the backseat. Chaerin was already out of the car, stretching her
legs and getting a good look of the area we were in. Taeyang and Top were still snuggled up together, sleeping.

 

I got out of the car and opened the door behind me to wake up the two. I shook them but they held on to each other tighter.

 

 

"Five more minutes," Taeyang begged as he moved his leg to wrap around Top. 

 

I rolled my eyes and smacked them both on the head.

 

"Ow!" They both yelled in unison, immediately letting go of each other to rub the pain away.

 

 

They got out of the car and right as Eric popped open the trunk, other cars carrying other members of my mafia arrived. We all grabbed our guns and waited for people to gather around. When everyone did, I went over the small unprepared plan.

 

 

"Kill anyone who gets in your way. If we are lucky enough to get Kyesang, don't kill him because I want him alive. Find Dara. When you do, tell me right away," I said, pointing to the earpiece designed to keep us connected. "Any questions?"

 

 

"Let's go. The house is a block down," I said. We all went back into the cars that brought us here and rode to Kyesang's house
down the street. "Top, right as we get there, go to the garage. There might be a chance they try to leave with Dara, prevent
that."

 

"Yes, sir," Top replied, saluting me.

 

"Everyone else, right as we stop, get out of the car and start shooting at windows. They are expecting us so keep your
guards up."

 

 

The second we arrived there, the plan was in action. My predictions were right, they were waiting, Just as fast as we
aimed at the people in the windows, they were shooting back at us. Seunghoon and I made it to the front door while others held their ground in the lawn.

 

"This house is pretty dope," Seunghoon said as I tried to open the door. "We should get a house in this neighborhood ourselves." 

 

"Stop admiring the structure and help me kick down this door," I told him. We lifted our legs and took down the door within a
few tries.

 

Behind the door, standing in the living room were three men already in shooting stance.

 

"Where is she?" I asked aiming the gun at the biggest guy who stood in the middle.

 

"She's not here," He chuckled.

 

"Where's Kyesang?" Seunghoon questioned.

 

"He already left. You just missed him," The man on the far right said.

 

 

A moment of hesitation was caught in the corner of my eye. The guy on the far left had slightly moved his figure to pull the trigger of hismoved his figure to pull the trigger of his gun. Immediately, I moved my gun and shot him in the chest before he could
shoot. Seunghoon aimed at the middle man in front of him, taking him out by the forehead. The third and last guy managed
to get some bullets out of his gun but missed entirely. Seunghoon got his chance and put an end to him. 

 

 

"You scout the upper floors, I'll check this one and the basement," I told Seunghoon.

 

"Really? I get the stairs?" Seunghoon whined.

 

"Yesterday was leg day and I'm sore."

 

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