I awoke to the sun shining onto my eyes from the window. My hand went straight to my aching head as I groaned and covered my eyes with the other. Where was I? I sat up and realized that I was in someone's bed...whose bed..? And then what happened last night hit me. Was this Jiyong's house? Was I in his room? I quickly got up and searched my pockets for my phone and then sighed in frustration. Of course he would have taken it away. That's probably what they learned in Kidnapping: 101. "Make sure you remove electronic devices that could connect them to the outside world." I cursed under my breath as I looked around the room trying to see if I could escape in any way. The window caught my attention and I stepped towards it cautiously. I frowned seeing that Jiyong had the place guarded heavily. What was I going to do? I was sure that Joon and the rest were told of what had happened. This was obviously a hostage situation; this is what they had all feared.

I heard the door open and turned to see Jiyong walk in, an almost victorious smile on his face. I rolled my eyes at him and sat down on the nearest chair.

"What do you want with me, Jiyong?" I snapped at him.

"Aw, why are you being so cold to your best friend?" he said mockingly and pulled up a chair in front me, flipping it so that he was sitting on it backwards as he rested his arms on the back rest.

"Listen, whatever it is, I'm sure it can be solved with words. Why not just let me go and we'll all have a talk about this over coffee or something?" I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to give it shot. I had no idea what had happened between Joon and Jiyong, but it was clearly something serious and Jiyong wanted his revenge.

"I'm not sure I want to kill you in a coffee shop, honestly. Doing that in my basement with your boyfriend and his little friends around to see seems like a much better plan. Don't you think?" he smiled and studied my shocked face.

He had to be lying. Jiyong wouldn't kill me...I mean, take me hostage and get some kind of revenge, that made sense, but to kill? I knew what gangs were capable of, I knew the things that they could do without being caught (and killing happened to be one of them), but Jiyong couldn't be like that as well. As much as he hated Joon, he wouldn't kill an innocent person. Right? Maybe this was a way of making myself feel less terrified with Jiyong in front of me. The look in his eyes was unreadable and that probably scared me more than anything.

"Don't be scared, little Chaerin. I promise you won't feel a thing. It's not you I'm mad at; it's your boyfriend, so the more pain for him, the happier I am."

"Just because you're mad doesn't mean you have to kill. You can resolve it some other way," I couldn't understand how I was keeping so calm talking to him about my life. He was literally telling me that he was going to kill me and yet I couldn't have cared less. I was scared, yes, but what was on my mind more than my life was trying to figure out what happened to Jiyong. Why had he changed like this?

"You mean you don't know why any of this is happening? Your ‘family’ didn't tell you?" Jiyong seemed amused. He let out a chuckle as he scanned my face to see if I knew anything, "This is too good. So your boyfriend hasn't told you probably one of the most important things that's happened in his life."

I shook my head lightly and Jiyong scoffed. Now I was really curious. What is it that he knew that I didn't? I'm sure someone would have told me about what had happened...right? But then, as I thought back, I realized that I was only vaguely told what happened. And to put it in G.O's words, "There were problems, then misunderstands and finally, hate between Joon and GD." But they had never told me specifically what this misunderstanding was.

"Then how about I tell you my side of the story?" at this point, I didn't care whose side of the story I heard. I just wanted to know what happened. Why did Jiyong hate Joon so much. What in the world could have happened that he wanted to kill someone to exact that revenge?

"Go ahead," I answered him and braced myself for what I would hear next.

"Much like Joon's family, my family is a gang as well. But of course no one goes around talking about that kinda crap because it's not something to boast about. You're a gang, so you live like one and if it’s necessary, then you tell someone who you are and what you can do to them if they try to mess with you or your family. You remember my little sister, right?" I nodded and he continued, "Well she and Joon started dating. She had no idea what kind of family he was from, he had no idea she was from mine. From what I gathered, Joon's father wanted to start some beef with mine and so he had Joon go on his first assassination drill. And who do you think the person on the list was? Yup, you guessed it: my baby sister," he stopped for a few seconds to let me process all that he was saying.

I was scared to find out what happened next. I knew Jiyong's sister as if she were my own sister. She was the sweetest girl and always had a smile on her face. I knew Joon would have had many girlfriends before me, but to know that one of his girlfriends was almost like a sister to me? I remembered Jiyong's sister talking about her new boyfriend and how much she loved him and how he was such a great person. I felt my heart clench as I thought of what probably happened next. It hit me then that I hadn't seen Jiyong's sister since he came back. I assumed it was because she was still with their parents but...my mind began to think of numerous scenarios. Bad scenarios. Jiyong took a breath and stood up, walking around. I knew he was going to continue. I took a breath and looked at him, waiting for him to start speaking again.

"So, you would think at that point, Joon would try to do something about his girlfriend being on his father's hitlist, right? He supposedly loved her so of course he should fight for her frickin life, but you know what he does? This is the good part, he just lets her get killed. He doesn't have the balls to call up his old man and tell him that the girl he wants dead is his girlfriend. He was a damn coward and let the 'woman he loved' get murdered. He broke up my family. He ruined my family. And for that, he deserves to be punished. I'm going to kill everyone around him one by one and make him feel useless and worthless. I want to give him so much pain that he surrenders himself and wants to die. And when he begs me to kill him too, I won't. He's too proud to do it himself so he'll live the rest of his worthless life in misery --" I didn't know what came over me, but I suddenly stood up and wrapped my arms around Jiyong, pulling him into a hug. I felt him stiffen at my sudden embrace but he didn't move to push me away. I took this chance to speak to him.

"Jiyong-ah...I'm so sorry," as soon as the words left my lips, I felt my eyes sting. I'm sure Joon had a reason for why he did what he did. Or maybe he was just too young and scared to do anything, but for Jiyong to have to deal with his sister's death? I couldn't imagine what he would be feeling. He was just so...heartbroken and angry.

"Apologizing for Joon won't --"

"I'm not apologizing for Joon," I cut him off, "I'm apologizing from me. Jiyong, I'm so sorry for not realizing how hurt you were. I was so, so selfish and stupid. All I thought about was having my best friend back. I never even...I didn't even ask about Dami when I saw you," he took in a sharp breath when I mentioned his sister's name.

"I was gonna tell you...when I told you a while ago that I needed to see you...I was gonna tell you all of this. But I guessed that's when you found out from Joon who I was and what my "intentions" were," he pulled away from me and placed his hands on my shoulders, keeping me at arm's length, "I don't blame you for listening to them. You're infatuated with their lifestyle and clearly in love with Joon...I'm sorry for using you but I don't take back any of what I said I'm gonna do."

"Don't you...don't you think Dami would want you to live your own life? Do you really think she would want you to dedicate your everything into killing people?"

"You have no idea what it was like," he turned away from me, putting his hands into his pockets.

"I know, Jiyong, I'm so far from understanding your pain, but I knew her as well and I know she wouldn't want you to be living like this," I felt my eyes sting again and this time I felt the tears hot on my cheeks. How could he have dedicated so much time into revenge and forgotten what it was like to actually live?

"I've already come this far, Chaerin...I can't exactly turn back now..." he still had his back towards me.

"So what are you going to do? Kill half a dozen people? Maybe more? Jiyong, this isn't you; I know this isn't what you want to do," I walked closer to him and placed my hand on the back of his arm. He pulled away and walked further away from me towards the door.

"I have to do this, Chaerin. Sorry," and with that, he left before I could reply to him with anything else.

I sighed as I saw down on the bed. I could tell Jiyong was conflicted because he knew that his sister wouldn't want him to live in hate. But he had dedicated so much time into this and who would want to back down after making the start of their final movies? I wished that I had asked about Dami sooner. I wished that I could have found out about the event another way. Maybe I could have prevented all of this? I could have talked Jiyong out of his plans and he could have moved on. I laid on the bed on my side and pulled my knees to my chest. What was going to happen now? I buried my face in my knees and let the tears fall again. Today was probably going to be my last day...

I was...I was too young to die. That's all that went through my brain. I was only 22, there was still so much I wanted to do in life. So much I wanted to do for my family and...and to actually create a family of my own. I wanted to live a normal life with no excitements. When did it all go so wrong? I stopped myself from thinking anymore. If I actually answered that question, I would start blaming Joon. I couldn't let myself blame him for the situation. I didn't want to blame him. I pulled a pillow from the bed and pushed my face into it and let out a muffled scream. Everything had gone so wrong...just when everything was starting to look up. I began to sob, still holding the pillow to my face. Everything had gone so wrong.

----

"Where the hell is my daughter, Joon."

Chaerin's father had shown up in front of MBLAQ's house, fuming with anger and worry. They had reluctantly let him into the house to explain to him what was going on. They were almost 90% sure it wasn't the smartest thing to do to fill in a detective about feuding gangs, but since his daughter was the one who was in trouble, they had no choice but to do so.

"Mr. Lee, we--"

"Joon, I have a house full cops searching for ways to bust all of your asses, you better get to the truth before they get every information I have on you all," Chaerin's father cut Joon off. He didn't have time for excuses. All he needed to know was what had happened to his daughter and how to get her back safely.

"She was taken by G-Dragon, sir," Seungho spoke up quickly. Chaerin's father sat on the couch, head in his hands as he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"And what are you planning to do to get her back?" Chaerin’s father spoke sternly, not letting his guard down.

"We're...um...we're trying to come up with a plan now..." Seungho didn't know what else to say. Her father had been so lenient with them and had lied on his daughter's behalf, and they had let her get into danger. They could only imagine how he might have been feeling. The room was silent as no one wanted to speak up. They let her father take in the information and think about it all. Maybe he would even help them before turning them in.

"I know where Jiyong lives; he moved back in to the same house that his family owned before. I'll be sending the police after him and we’ll rescue my daughter. And I'm giving you all that time to run away from here. Get lost, get hidden, because when that's all done and over, I'm sending them after you. I can't have my daughter living in these conditions. I won't allow it," he stood up from the couch and began making his way to the door.

"I can't let you do that," Joon spoke up and walked towards him, "This isn't something for the police to handle. This is something that I have to do on my own. If I need your help, I'll call for you. But if you want this to end, you have to let me handle it the way I have to. This isn't just some small gang fight that can be locked away. You don't know what this is even about. So let me handle it."

"Let you handle it? How have you been handling anything so far? All I see in the records that I've gathered is a shaky gang that's about ready to implode. Let you handle it? Over my dead body, Joon. I don't need to understand what this fight is about. All I need to do is put a stop to the both of you and get my daughter to safety," Chaerin's father had no fear in putting these boys in their place. They needed to realize that every action had a consequence. Even if that consequence came year later, they would still be liable for everything they had done. He was going to make sure that they understood that and if he had to put them all in jail to make them understand, then he would do so.

"Mr. Lee, please. Sending the police is just going to make everything worse. G-Dragon has been planning this for years, you don't think he's got every hole covered? He was the smartest person I knew when we were younger and I know how he thinks. He won't hesitate to kill any and every one in his way. Just let me handle this the way it’s supposed to be handled," Joon was going to resort to pleading if he had to. He didn't want to see anyone else get hurt or even killed. He knew he had to do this on his own. Even s were too much to come along with him. This fight was and always had been between Joon and Jiyong. And they were the ones that were going to have to put an end to it. Only them.

Chaerin's father carefully studied Joon's face. No one could make out what he was thinking. No one made a sound.

"I'm giving you until the end of today to have my daughter back. If I don't get a call from you by 12AM, I'm sending in the police and detectives. Get to work," and with that, he walked out, leaving the boys and Bom silent as they thought about what they could possibly do to get Chaerin out of Jiyong's grasp. It was already 6pm, how were they supposed to figure it out so quickly?

"I need to think alone. I'm gonna go take a drive," Joon stood up suddenly and grabbed his keys.

"Joon, wait. Let me come with you," Seungho stood up as well. Joon still hadn't healed from the gunshot wound. He was staggering on his feet and Seungho was worried. Joon wouldn't be able to do anything in this state.

"No, I just need time to think alone for now. Give me an hour," Joon slowly walked to the door and left.

"I don't know how I feel about him going out alone. He's not in his right state of mind right now..." Seungho thought out loud and the members agreed with him.

"I'm just praying he doesn't do anything stupid..." Bom added, sighing.

"Let's just start coming up with a plan. If he's not back in an hour, we're going after him," G.O said and they all nodded and began to derive a plan to get Chaerin out without anyone getting hurt.

----

The door opened slowly and I looked up from the pillow. Jiyong again. He froze for a second when he realized I was crying but then walked in silently and placed a bottle of water on the desk. I looked towards the other side of the room; I couldn't bring myself to look at his face without thinking about how he would end my life. How he, so calmly, told me that he would do it no matter what. I waited for him to walk out and for the door to close but it seemed that it was taking too long. I looked back to where he was standing and there he was, still standing there, not taking his eyes off of me. I contemplated saying something to him but I couldn't think of what I could tell him. He clearly wouldn't listen to anything that went against what he thought he needed to do. And if I couldn't talk to him about that, then there really was nothing for me to say to him. So I looked away again back to the other side of the room at the window. 

"I'm sorry Chaerin," he began and I scoffed at the statement. Did he really think that would make anything better? I understood his reasoning, I really did. But no matter how hard I tried, I would never understand how murder could solve anything. Maybe that was just me being a detective's daughter and seeing all the pain it causes not only for the family but also for those who are involved in the case. I guess it took me long enough to realize that I wasn't cut out for this kind of life. Too little too late though.

"If you think a mere 'I'm sorry' is going to make a difference after you told me that you're going to kill me no matter what, then you really need to learn some communication skills," I couldn't help the cold tone in my voice. This wasn't the only path he was allowed to take. No one is stuck on one path no matter what is happening. I knew that if he were to finally see that there were so many more options for this, then he would do the smart thing and let it all go. But that wasn't going to happen. I knew that the ending of this story wouldn't be one that I could look back on (if I would even live long enough to look back on it) and say that it was a good experience. Everything about this was wrong.

"You can hate me all you want--"

"I don't hate you, Jiyong, I could never truly hate you. But I'm disappointed in you. So many ways you could have 'taken care' of this situation and you chose the one that causes the most pain for everyone. Even for you," I didn't look his way until I heard him leaving. I stood up from the bed and went to the window, looking out at the clear sky. I guessed that this would be our last conversation and I prayed that he would think about what I had told him. Maybe he would somehow change his mind and nobody would have to get hurt because of revenge.

----

But then, no one can ever commit the perfect crime. It's seen every day on the news; you can only run for so long before you screw up badly and the authorities find you. He didn't want to be on the run forever. The mafia life wasn't the life that he wanted to live in the first place. He had always opposed his father's ways and now, thinking about all that he had planned, he was doing exactly what his father would have done: exacted his revenge and taken many lives that shouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

Jiyong had always wanted to be out of the "family business" but it was hard to fight something that had so easily influenced him his whole life. What would happen if he decided that he didn't want to take revenge? Everything would be ruined. He had to do this. He had no other choice. Maybe it would be easier for anyone else to choose what to do, but for him, he didn't have anything else. All he had was this revenge. And maybe after this was done, he could go back to his parents. This was the last thing his father had asked of him before they left. He wouldn't be able to go back to them if he didn't finish this. What was the point of giving this up if he wasn't going to have any family on his side? He had to do this. He had no other choice.

----

The sun was starting to set as Joon pulled into the driveway. The members were going to be mad at him, maybe even curse at him for this, but he had to go through with this alone. They weren't the ones Jiyong wanted to hurt. He recognized Jiyong's house as he looked at it and memories of him and Dami flooded his mind. His eyes automatically went to where her room used to be and sighed. Joon shook his head as he saw a girl standing at the window. His mind was playing tricks on him...that couldn't be...he looked closer and realized who it was. Chaerin. Jiyong had put her in Dami's room. Joon had to start moving soon if he wanted to get to her in time. He made sure that his phone was on silent before he started walking towards the house. There was no time to take phone calls even though he knew the members and his sister were going to call within in the next few minutes.

Joon took a deep breath as he walked to the door and knocked three times. This was it. He was finally going to face the one person he never wanted to. He was going to face the past that he had tried to hard to run from. He should have done it years ago but he never had the courage. He never had a reason to confront what had happened. Chaerin had given him the motivation to fight it once and for all. She was the reason. She would always be his reason.

The door opened and a woman stood in front of him.

"Joon, he's been expecting you," the woman spoke in a calm tone and moved aside to let his pass. He wasn't surprised that she knew his name and face. They probably all knew his name and face by now. She led him through the house towards, he hoped, Jiyong. They had a lot to talk about. They were both silent as she led him to a room and opened the door, stepping aside again to let him walk in.

"He should be here soon," she said and closed the door behind her as she left. 

Joon walked around the empty room. There was a couch, a few chairs and a table in the middle. Joon chose one the chairs and turned it towards the door. He sat down and sighed. It was time to be done with all of this.

----

"Where the hell is Joon??" Bom frantically looked at the clock and then back to everyone else.

"I knew we shouldn't have let him leave alone..." Seungho sighed and held his head in his hands.

"What do you mean? What is he gonna do?" Mir asked. 

"He's going to face G-Dragon alone. He never wanted us to be a part of his plan. He wants to do it alone because he feels responsible for it all," G.O answered.

"I'm going to kill him. The moment I see him, I'm going to freaking kill him," Bom pulled out her phone and dialed his number. 

"We should get to the house then before he does anything stupid..." Thunder said, "Chaerin's dad is waiting to attack the house in a few hours and we don't even know what's happening."

They began to talk about how they were going to get in contact with Joon since he wasn't picking up his phone. He obviously didn't want to speak to any of them until all of this was over. They had to think and act quickly if they wanted to try and finish this without anyone getting hurt. It seemed that Joon didn't care about his well-being as long as everyone else was safe. They had to get to him quickly.

----

"Joon! So nice to see you finally here," the door opened and Jiyong walked into the room.

"Where's Chaerin? I swear if you've done anything to her--"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, tiger. No one's getting hurt....yet," Jiyong smiled as he looked at Joon's worried face. He was going to take as much time tormenting him as he could. The more pain and worry he felt, the better Jiyong's plan would go.

"Listen Jiyong, I know what you're trying to do, but please, please let Chaerin leave. She's got nothing to do with this," Joon began.

"Oh, she's still got something to do with it. You love her and so that gives me the biggest weapon of all. I'm gonna kill her, Joon. I'm gonna kill her right in front of you," Jiyong had a smirk on his face as he said it.

"You piece of--" Joon stood and pulled out his gun, pointing it at Jiyong's head.

"Let's not get too riled up, okay?," Jiyong smiled smugly, pointing above to the CCTV, "I've got my men watching the security cameras. Once you touch me, your girlfriend dies," he finished in a sing-song voice. Joon put his gun down, defeated by the threat to Chaerin safety.

"She was your friend before she was my girlfriend. And you're still so willing to kill her that easily?" Joon spoke through gritted teeth. How could he be so heartless about this?

"That's the difference between you and me. You care. I don't," Jiyong was still smirking as he realized how easily his plan would turn out. He had changed a lot of what he was going to do, but it would definitely turn out the way that he wanted it to. Angering Joon to the fullest was probably the easiest task he had given himself.

"So is this your plan? To just stand there and talk?" 

"My plan is something you never would have dreamed of," Jiyong let out a triumphant chuckle and took that as his sign to leave. That would leave Joon to think about what it was that he was going to do. Jiyong knew that it would torment him trying to figure out what was going to happen.

---

I couldn't keep myself from continuously looking out the window. I knew that something bad was going to happen but I had an even worse feeling that someone other than me was going to die. It was the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach and just feel like throwing up. I began to take in deep breaths and hoped that it would calm me down. I looked outside again and saw a familiar car pull up. My heart began to beat faster (if that was even possible) when I saw Seungho walk out. I watched as each person stepped out of the car and noticed one was missing. Joon. Was he already here, then? I saw Bom look up at the house and we locked eyes. I could see the look of relief and horror on her face as she said something to the boys and pointed up to me. All I could think to do was lightly wave at them to let them know that I saw them and that I was still okay. I couldn't tell what was happening (obviously) and just watched on as they said a few more things to each other and took off towards the house. It hit me then, and I should've paid more attention to when I thought, "Where are all the guards Jiyong had?"

---

About three hours had passed by the time the door opened behind me and I almost thought it was the boys and Bom. Of course, I was wrong and it was Jiyong once again. I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning away from him as quickly as I had turned to see who it was.

"Aw, sad to see me and not your friends? I gotta say, having the whole posse here is so exciting. What's gonna happen next??" I was ready to punch him. All that training had taught me that one good punch could potentially knock him out and I could run away. But the taunting tone in his voice meant that he was expecting me to get violent. I wouldn't let him get all that he wanted. He could threaten my life but I would never let him know what I was planning to do next. My plan of escaping was still being thought up, but I knew something would have to come to me soon. 

"Don't you have anything better to do? Or, I don't know, maybe just go sit in your room and cackle to yourself?" if he was going to taunt me, I was gonna let my sarcasm loose. Who knew how much longer I had, anyway?

"Actually, it’s time you come with me. My plans are finally in motion," he was smiling and speaking as if I was on his side. Maybe I could just try to knock him out. What did I really have to lose?

"And if I decide I don't want to go anywhere with you?"

"Well, I really don't want to use chloroform again so either come quietly or you'll just wake up there. Your choice."

"Oh, I have a choice. How lovely," I retorted, giving him an annoyed look, "then let’s go."

---

My hands were handcuffed in front of me and a rope was tied around my torso, binding my arms to my body. We walked through the house and I noticed how everything had stayed the same inside. The furniture, the wall colors, everything. Memories of our childhood together flooded my mind and I couldn't help but smiling at all the good times we had. We passed the living room and I stopped following him. There, on the walls, were pictures of him and his family. I scanned all the familiar pictures and my eyes stopped on one. It was me and him, playing and laughing. His parents had thought it was perfect picture and had framed it.

Joon must have thought I ran off because he came jogging back, a frantic look on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked before he realized what I was looking at. He grabbed my hand and began to pull me away from wall, back to where he wanted me to go, "it’s all in the past now, Chaerin. Don't let those pictures make you think I'm still the same kid from before."

I didn't have a response to that and just continued to follow him. Within those few hours in the room, I had begun to lose hope in anything good happening. Jiyong had changed for the worse and I was almost sure that there was no turning back for him. I glanced at the clock as we walked by. 11:30pm. Had I really only been here that long? I felt as though I had been here for much longer.

We walked for about 10 more minutes before Joon stopped in front of a door and turned to me. He sighed and reached to his side, taking out his gun. I couldn't help gasping and taking a few steps away from him. Was he really going to do it now?

"I'm sorry, Chaerin, I really am. But I can't stop now. I have to see this till the end," he quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him, my back to his chest, his gun at my neck, "I'm sorry." he whispered and pushed me forward, opening the door and walking inside.

We were in the basement and I realized now why he had me in this position. In front of me was Joon and behind him were the boys and Bom unnie. They were handcuffed and tied up like I was except they were tied to chairs and gagged. It was clear that Joon had been in the room for only a minute or two since none of them had been freed and only Bom had been ungagged. Joon was about to walk towards us but Jiyong cocked the gun and moved it under my chin.

"Ah ah, don't come any closer, Joon. I have the upper hand at the moment, don't you think?" I could feel Joon's smile through his voice.

"Let her go, Jiyong. She has nothing to do with this," Joon's voice was surprisingly calm.

"Look around you, Joon. DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD BE GIVING ME ORDERS RIGHT NOW?" I flinched as he suddenly yelled and felt tears streaming down my face. Jiyong hadn't been this angry when he spoke with me. I was scared. Oh, God, I was so scared.

"Okay, Jiyong. You won, okay?? I get it, you're mad, but there's no need for you to hurt Chaerin. She's your friend, she's --"

"SHUT UP!" I could feel Jiyong shaking with anger. Joon immediately stopped talking. I could tell he wanted to say more but didn't. I felt Jiyong take a few breaths.

"On your knees, Joon." he spoke calmly this time; he had regained control over his emotions. Joon narrowed his eyes at Jiyong but stayed on his feet. Jiyong sighed angrily and pushed the gun against my chin, "Get on your damn knees, Joon."

This time, Joon complied. He raised his hands in surrender position and slowly got down on his knees.

"Apologize," Jiyong commanded. Joon seemed confused at first, but remembering the whole reason why we were all here, I saw him realize what Jiyong meant.

"I'm sorry, Jiyong. I really am. I'm so sorry for Dami and the crap you went through because of me and my father. I'm so sorry," Joon spoke in a low voice.

"Now apologize to her," Jiyong commanded again, his voice calmer, mellower. I felt his grip loosen on my arms behind me. Joon's confusion was met with the confusion of the others, as well as me. Apologize to who?

"...who...?" Joon began to ask but Jiyong cut him off.

"Apologize to Chaerin. Apologize to her for ruining her life like this. For bringing her into the world that she never should have been apart of in the first place. Apologize!"

"Jiyong, I --" I wanted to tell him that he had no right to assume that I didn't want this life. Yes, I was forced into it, but as much as I had wished to have never taken that shortcut home, I was glad I had. I was so glad to have met them. I was so glad to have met Joon. 

"Shut up, Chaerin," Jiyong ordered. He pressed the gun harder against my chin. I stopped talking and he almost immediately pulled his gun back as he waited for Joon to speak.

"I'm sorry, Chaerin. I know I forced you into this life and I know you hated me for it, but I don't regret it. Not with what we have now. I'm sorry for what's happening now and if I could be on the other side of that gun, I would do so in a heartbeat, but I can't apologize for falling in love with you. I won't apologize for loving you. But I'm sorry you never got the simple life I know you always wished for. I'm sorry."

I expected Jiyong to yell again, to tell Joon that it wasn't the apology he was wanted. I expected him to threaten my life again and eventually pull the trigger. But all too soon, I felt his grip on me loosen even more and he pushed me forward strongly towards Joon. I fell in front of him and Joon didn't think twice about gathering me into his arms while simultaneously hugging me and trying to untie me. I saw Jiyong let his arm drop.

"Then take her and go. Take all your friends and go. I never want to see any of you again. Not even you, Chaerin."

It was over. I began to cry into Joon's shoulder. Was he really letting us go? Did he really change his plans?

"Thank you, Jiyong," I heard Joon say as he finished untying me and stood up with me. Jiyong threw a set of keys at Joon who immediately knew to use it to unlock the handcuffs.

It was finally over. Jiyong wasn't going to kill anyone. But as I let Joon go towards the boys and Bom unnie to untie and uncuff them, I still had that horrible feeling in my stomach. I looked over to Jiyong and saw he was staring at me. I began to walk to him. I wanted to thank him for changing his mind. But the night took an awful turn in what seemed like seconds. My intuition was right.

The doors to the basement were suddenly kicked in and police stormed into the room; I saw my father leading the group in. Jiyong still had his gun in hand and as he pointed it at them, all I heard were the two noises I had come to know all too well and fear.

Gunshots and my screams.