VI: Trapped

Yuri didn’t know how long she lay there, sobbing as she listened to sounds of rain and of the screaming and maniacal laughter from the other girls. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. This wasn’t right. None of it was. This shouldn’t have happened.

She had no sense of time, so she had no idea as to how long she had been lying there. It was almost pitch black outside, so she guessed that it was night time, but other than that, she had no idea. At some point, her suitcase and bag had been shoved into the room and a short time later, a tray with a plain bread roll and something in a bowl had also been shoed in her room. But she had no appetite. She couldn’t fathom the thought of eating something from them. Not after what they had done.

How could they have done that? How could they have torn her apart from Yoona like that?

She remembered the look on Yoona’s face. She hadn’t been expecting it any more than what she had. She was determined never to forget that look of pure horror on her face. She was going to make sure that it stayed with her, because then it would give her something, something to make this place, this ‘rehabilitation centre’, pay for.

Images of Jessica’s face when she was left alone with Mr Lee also coursed through her mind and she worried about the blonde haired girl, about what could happen to her. Apparently she had said something she shouldn’t of, but Yuri had no idea what that was. But the look on her face… it was one of sheer fear and she dreaded to think of what Mr Lee had done to her.

She shivered, clutching her arms more tightly to her as she wrapped herself into as tight a ball as possible, her knees almost touching her chin. The room was cold, but she refused to move under the thin covers of her bed, knowing that they wouldn’t add any extra warmth. felt parched and sore, while her eyes felt dry and still burned slightly from the tears she had shed. She could feel where they had dried on her skin.

The sound of footsteps could be heard outside of her door, but she ignored them, whoever it was wasn’t going to offer her any comfort. She was slightly curious when she realised that there were more than one set of footsteps outside her room and as the door was unlocked, she could hear a man talking to someone, but the other person didn’t (or couldn’t, she thought) reply.

The door to her room was thrown open and Yuri quickly scrambled to sit up, moving as far back from the door as was possible. The harsh light blinded her for a moment since she had been lying in the dark and she closed her eyes before opening them and blinking a few times to try and make the black spots she could see disappear. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Mr Lee standing in the doorway and her heartbeat increased in panic.

“Your roommate has finally calmed down,” he informed her, as he stood to one side to reveal the petite woman, dressed in a loose, ill-fitting beige outfit with long brown hair, being forcefully held by two security guards, , but the girl was hanging limply between the two men, her hair completely covering her face.  Yuri recognised one of the security men as having been the one who had taken Yoona away from her earlier and she felt a surge of anger. Mr Lee noticed this in her expression as a thin smile formed on his lips. “I wouldn’t get any ideas Miss Kwon,” he said, almost laughing. “No one has ever fought their way out of here and I highly doubt that someone like you would make it past, well, me.” He laughed loudly and stepped to one side, indicating to the guards who pushed the girl into the room.

Yuri leapt to her feet, catching hold of the smaller girl before she hit the ground. She looked up at the three men, feeling the hatred and rage burn in her eyes. She had never this angry before, not even with her family. What she felt was more than what she had ever felt for them. What she was feeling now… she couldn’t explain it, but she knew it was more than anger, more than rage…

“Treat Miss Kim nicely now, won’t you?” Mr Lee laughed once more before leaving the room, the two guards directly behind him.

As the door was closed and locked, Yuri helped the girl onto the other bed, resting her head on the pillows. The girl was either unconscious or sleeping and showed no signs of stirring. She wondered who the girl was, why she was here. She moved back, sitting on her own bed. If the girl had been screaming so loudly, then something terrible must have either happened to her or she had done something. She then noticed that one of the girl’s hands was bandaged and it caused more thoughts of curiosity to enter her mind. How had she hurt her hand? Had she done it here or before she came? She thought about the other girls who were trapped her, what their stories were. With a heavy realisation that sent a chill through her entire body, she realised…

She was one of them now.

She was trapped.

***

The sound of birds singing echoed in Taeyeon’s mind as she slowly awoke. Her head felt heavy and fuzzy. She let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. Looking up at the ceiling, she instantly knew that she was no longer in that small dark room she had been kept in for the past few… she realised that she had no idea as to how long she had been, wherever she was. The last thing she could remember clearly was being carried out of her home and then everything had gone black. After that, she could only remember flickers… being in a small dark room… the thin, moustached man who had taken her towering over her… screaming… crying… pain…

She lifted a hand to her head in an attempt to stop the fuzziness and let out a loud groan. Her arm, her entire body, felt heavy and ached. She felt the thick roughness of fabric against her skin – her hand was still bandaged, but it no longer hurt as much as it did before.

“You’re awake.”

The broken voice of another girl startled Taeyeon and she quickly sat up, wincing as her a fire coursed throughout her body from the movement and her brain thundered painfully against her skull. Closing her eyes until the pain subsided, her bandaged hand still against her head, she opened them to see another girl with jet black hair and dark almond eyes was sat in front of her, peering cautiously at her. She let out a gasp and pushed herself as far away as she could, her eyes wide and fearful.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” The black haired girl’s voice was calm and soothing and Taeyeon could see the sadness in the girl’s brown eyes.

Taeyeon blinked and looked around. She was in what appeared to be a bedroom with a deep green metallic door and bars on the window. Where was she? She looked back at the girl, who was carefully watching her. Whoever she was, she was in the same position as her.

“Are you alright?” the girl asked, worried.

Taeyeon gave a slight inclination of her head, not wanting to move it too much. “Yeah.” Her voice came out as a croak and felt dry, her tongue heavy. She didn’t know who the girl was or where she was, but since they were together, she thought that she might as well talk to her and try and find some answers.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to wake up.” The girl stood up and walked across the small room, sitting down another bed.

“Ergh. Where am I?” She looked down at her legs, seeing that rather than the jeans she last remembered wearing, she was now dressed in loose, beige, cotton trousers with a matching loose white t-shirt which made her think of hospital attire.

The girl looked at her for a moment before replying. “White Leaves Rehabilitation Centre.”

“Rehabilitation Centre?” Taeyeon’s heart began to pound. No, it wasn’t possible…

The girl nodded. “But I think a better word would be asylum. This place is for insane people.”

Insane people? Her heart skipped a beat. Her parents had done it. They had actually done it. They had sent her away. She took some staggered breaths. She couldn’t believe this was happening, that her parents had actually fulfilled their threats. She had never thought they would do it, but they had. Whatever she had done must have been the last straw and they had decided that they couldn’t cope with her anymore. She shook her head. They had actually sent her away. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away.

“I’m Kwon Yuri by the way,” the girl spoke, ignoring Taeyeon’s silence, though she had noticed the girl’s tear as she continued to watch her. “I take it you’re Kim…”

“Taeyeon,” she muttered. “Kim Taeyeon.”

Yuri nodded. “I never expected to end up in a place like this.” She was trying to form a conversation with the other girl, though she could sense her reluctance. If she was going to survive this place, then she would need to make friends and her new roommate seemed a good place to start.

“Me neither,” Taeyeon muttered in response.

Yuri nodded. “I hate this place. This isn’t right. I shouldn’t be here.” She turned her head, looking up at where the ceiling met the wall, trying not to think about her life just a couple of days ago and trying especially hard not to think about Yoona, though she couldn’t stop her voice from breaking as she spoke.

Taeyeon lifted her head, looking across at the black-haired girl. She looked so normal. It was hard to believe that she was in an insane asylum, but then again, on the outside she looked normal too. No one would even believe she was a towering inferno of rage, capable of doing the unthinkable. She wondered what the girl, Yuri, was in for.

Yuri lowered her head and Taeyeon quickly turned her own, staring at her bandaged hand, picking at a stray strand of fabric. She bit her lower lip. She didn’t feel upset at her predicament. She wasn’t surprised, not that she was in an asylum, that thoroughly shocked her, but the fact that her parents had actually done what they had always threatened to do: send her away. She hadn’t gotten on with them for a very long time. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had a friendly conversation with them and now that they had deliberately sent her away without a second thought, that didn’t surprise her. But she still couldn’t believe that it had actually happened.

There was a loud knocking on the girls’ door, sending reverberations throughout the room. Both girls jumped at the sound, turning their heads towards the metal green door.

“Get up!” A masculine voice shouted at them. “Breakfast is in Home. I’d get up now if you want anything.” The sound of footsteps could be heard thundering away shortly followed by more banging and shouting as the man pounded on the other doors down the corridor, yelling at the occupants.

Yuri turned to Taeyeon. “Maybe we should go. I’m a bit hungry.” She was beginning to regret her decision not to eat the previous night.

Taeyeon bit her lip, chewing on it. “I-I guess.”

Yuri ran her fingers through her long hair. “It wouldn’t hurt. We can meet the other girls and maybe it would put us in their good books.” By ‘their’, she was referring to the staff since she had gathered that her roommate hadn’t had the best of starts with them either. She looked down at her clothes before looking across at Taeyeon, seeing the other girl’s attire. “Maybe we should get changed first.”

“Yeah.” Taeyeon nodded. She looked around the room for her bag but could only see ones that weren’t hers. “I don’t have any bags though…” her voice trailed off as she looked across at Yuri.

“You’re a bit shorter than me, but you can borrow something of mine. Anything’s better than what you’re wearing, right?”

Taeyeon gave a quick short nod. This place, it wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to be here, but she hoped that as long as she stayed on the right side of the staff, as long as they did nothing to enrage her, then she would be fine. Maybe she would be able to find out some answers as to what she had done. But for the time being, she was trapped here.

***

Taeyeon followed Yuri down the corridor towards ‘Home’, whatever that was, where breakfast would be. She was wearing a pair of Yuri’s jeans which were way too long for her with a plain white t-shirt and a pair of Yuri’s trainers which were slightly too big, but she wasn’t going to complain. It was better than the thin pieces of fabric she had been wearing before.

The corridors were quiet, something which surprised Taeyeon considering the amount of doors they had heard the man banging on and she guessed that their occupants had either already left their rooms or were still inside. At the end of every corridor, however, stood a security guard, each one ignoring them as they walked past. This unnerved Taeyeon as she shied away from their cold, icy stares, keeping as close to Yuri as she possibly could as the other girl’s presence comforted her.

Yuri led Taeyeon down the cold corridors, thankful that she had put on her black cardigan which she wore with a grey vest top, black trousers and a trainers, though she realised that she should have probably have given the other girl a jumper or cardigan as well. The corridors were the quietest she had heard them and she was thankful that no screaming or crying could be heard since she could tell that Taeyeon was already frightened about the whole situation and though she felt the same way, she thought it best that she push her feelings to one side and be the strong one by focusing on trying to settle in before thinking of a way to get out.

The two girls could hear a bustle of activity before them as they entered ‘Home’. They stood in doorway for a moment, watching as the other girls lined up at a hatch situated on the wall opposite them. Some girls were already sat down, talking and eating. The air smelt of toast and eggs.

“Come on.” Yuri grabbed Taeyeon’s un-bandaged wrist, pulling across the room to the back of the line where they waited for their food.

Once they had their portions of burnt toast and thick, sticky porridge (both girls had decided to avoid the eggs), they sat down at an unused table and began to slowly eat their ‘breakfast’. Around them, they could feel the eyes of the other girls on them, boring into them, but they both remained silently, focusing on trying to eat the food in front of them.

“How was your first night?”

Both girls jumped at the sound of the feminine voice and they both looked up to see a girl with long blonde hair standing next to their table. Yuri recognised her as Jessica, the girl she had met the previous day. She remembered what how Mr Lee had cornered her, locking her in her room, but as she looked at the girl, other than the fact that she was tugging at the sleeves of her jumper, the girl looked pretty much unscathed.

“Yuri, right?” The girl ignored their shocked silence as she looked at Yuri, who nodded in response. She then turned to Taeyeon. “You must be Miss Kim, then.”

Taeyeon nodded. “Kim Taeyeon.”

“I’m Jessica,” she replied. She looked over her shoulder and beckoned someone over. A girl, slightly taller than Jessica with chocolate coloured hair cut into a bob just below her ears came over. “This is Eunjung. She’s my roommate,” she told them.

Eunjung gave them a smile. She was entirely in black; black jeans, black vest top with a black netted long-sleeved top over it and black trainers.

“She’s probably one of the most sanest people here,” Jessica added.

“Sanest?” Taeyeon questioned, looking around the room. From what she could tell, they all looked and acted normal. Apart from the nurses and security guards, there were no indications that they were in an asylum.

“You’ll come to understand soon enough,” Jessica replied. “This place isn’t what it seems,” she added in a hushed voice.

“Jessica!” Eunjung warned the blonde, looking round, but no one was in the vicinity.

Jessica waved a hand at her roommate. “There’s nothing that he can do that he hasn’t done before,” she replied, nonchalantly, though Taeyeon noticed a hint of fear in the girl’s voice.

Eunjung didn’t look convinced as she placed her hands on her hips, frowning at the blonde.

Jessica turned around. She placed her hand on the other girl’s arm. “Don’t worry, alright.”

Eunjung opened to reply when Taeyeon interrupted. “Who are you talking about?”

Yuri’s eyes flickered towards the other two girls, noticing how they exchanged a quick glance at each other. She knew they were debating whether or not to say anything.

Taeyeon’s eyes narrowed in confusion as she watched the two girls in front of her, seeing that they were both torn with whether or not to tell her. But as she watched them, she remembered the man with the moustache. Does he work here? she wondered, remembering the flicker of images from when she had awoken. Thoughts of the man and his thin sneering smile frightened her and she hoped that she wouldn’t encounter him again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jessica’s voice cut through her thoughts. “As long as you keep to yourself then you have nothing to worry about.”

Eunjung nodded in agreement. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be on your own, though.” She looked around her. “We’re all friends here, well most of the time,” she added with a small laugh.

“You need friends in a place like this,” Jessica added. “There are things that happen here–”

“Jessica!” Eunjung snapped another warning, looking round once more with fearful eyes, but there wasn’t anyone around.

“We’re all here for the same reason, after all,” the blonde haired girl then said sadly.

“So everyone here is crazy?” Taeyeon asked innocently. Seeing as they were in an insane asylum, it made sense for everyone to be crazy. She was, after all, when she was pushed to far.

Eunjung and Jessica shared another look before both girls laughed. “I wouldn’t say crazy, though some of us are,” Eunjung said. “We all have issues.”

“Issues?” Taeyeon pondered thoughtfully.

“How about we show you around?” Jessica suggested. She looked at Yuri. “I know you’ve seen most of the place already, but your friend here hasn’t.”

Yuri nodded, standing up. “Yeah,” she agreed. She looked down at her half eaten breakfast. “I can’t stomach any more of that stuff anyway.” She stuck her tongue out.

Taeyeon was about to stand, thinking that having a look around and getting to know the other girls wouldn’t be a bad idea, when there was the sound of approaching footsteps from behind her. Jessica and Eunjung shied away slightly as Taeyeon and Yuri turned to see the approaching figure. A tall woman with jet black hair tied in a tight knot on the top of her head, who was dressed in a black pencil skirt with a white shirt underneath a black blazer and high heeled shoes stood behind them. She wore a pair of glasses.

“Miss Kahi…” Jessica and Eunjung muttered, bowing at the woman.

Miss Kahi gave the two a small smile. “Don’t look so fearful girls,” she chastised them before turning to Taeyeon and Yuri. “I am Miss Kahi,” she began, “the main counsellor here at White Leaves. I will be seeing both you today to discuss your situations and how you are adapting to life here.”

Yuri and Taeyeon nodded, both unsure as to what to say to the woman given Jessica and Eunjung’s reactions. Was the woman friendly or not?

Miss Kahi looked down at her watch for a moment before looking back up at the two newcomers. “I can see one of you now.” She looked between the two, pursing her lips. “Miss Kim, how about we start with you?”

Taeyeon froze. Her heart beating from the panic rising within her chest. She had no recollection of the woman and she didn’t know if this was good or bad.

“Come. Come.” Miss Kahi clapped her hands, beckoning Taeyeon to go with her.

Taeyeon remained frozen. She turned her head to look at Jessica and Eunjung, hoping that they could tell her whether or not she should go, but neither girl looked in her direction.

“It’ll be alright,” Yuri suddenly whispered in her ear, making her jump.

Taeyeon nodded and began to follow Miss Kahi as she led her out of ‘Home’. She cast another fearful look behind her, but no one was going to help her.