VI: Cause

Taeyeon could feel her heart beat wildly against her chest with anticipation, her hands becoming increasingly sweaty as she clasped and unclasped her hands, waiting for Eunjung to speak. Her eyes flickered at the short-haired girl who was tugging on the sleeve of her cardigan as if unsure of what to say. Taeyeon couldn’t stop wondering what was so bad about this place that had both Jessica and Eunjung so fearful. She had already had a bad experience here, but what could possibly be worse than being kidnapped and locked away?

Sitting closer to the other two girls, Taeyeon also noticed how both Jessica and Eunjung’s clothes were void of any ties, laces or belts, even the girls’ trainers, which required laces, had none. She didn’t know why, but she found it strange since Yuri’s clothes had been untouched. She thought she might ask later, once the two had finished explaining about this place.

Jessica tugged on the edge of her jumper unconsciously, her eyes on her friend, waiting for her to talk. She hated having to talk about the place, but it was something they had to do. She could feel a tingling sensation on the inside of her wrist, but she resisted the urge to scratch there. She needed to keep a stable mind and not have a breakdown, especially not in front of the two newbies.

“What we’re going to tell you,” Eunjung began, “isn’t nice. Both of us have experienced, heck, everyone here has, some more than others.” Her eyes flickered at Jessica for the briefest of moments. “It’s not easy to talk about either, but you need to know.”

Both Taeyeon and Yuri nodded. They were both apprehensive, wondering what Eunjung was going to tell them.

Eunjung looked past the two girls, at the far wall as she began to speak once more. “It’s not so bad when you first arrive. They let you settle down before anything really happens.” She let out a short unamused laugh. “Being in here is already bad enough, abandoned by the people you thought cared about you. Just left like an unwanted animal.” She paused and both Yuri and Taeyeon noticed the tears that filled the girl’s eyes, but neither said a word. “You think the people here help you, but, well, not everything is as it seems. They put up an appearance, make this place look welcoming, but it isn’t. All you have is yourself and your friends if you’re sad enough to have them. Most in this place don’t. They strive on their own, keeping their distance because they know.” She turned her head, looking directly at Yuri and Taeyeon. “They know what this place is, what it does.”

Jessica lowered her head, burying it between her chest and legs, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. Eunjung looked over at her friend. Jessica had already suffered so much in this place, much more than what she had and she wrapped her arm around her, comforting her. Jessica let out a stifled sob.

“Don’t listen,” Eunjung whispered in her ear. “Think of your dancing.”

The girls could see the top of Jessica’s head move slightly, indicating that she was nodding at Eunjung’s words. The brunette nodded in response and turned back to Taeyeon and Yuri, keeping her arm around her friend. Both Taeyeon and Yuri had remained silent, barely daring to breathe and Eunjung was grateful for this since it made the whole story-telling process easier if she pretended they weren’t there.

“Don’t get me wrong, some of the people in this place are nice and try and help us overcome our problems. They aren’t like the others, but I don’t know if they actually know what happens to us…” she trailed off with the shake of her head. “Everyone in this place keeps quiet about it. No one wants to admit what happens, but we all know it does and when it does happen, we always know to whom.” She stopped again with a shudder. She took a breath and glanced up at the ceiling momentarily for looking back past Taeyeon and Yuri. “The people in here, the staff, they take advantage of us. The more vulnerable you are the more–”

The door to the dance room opened and Eunjung instantly stopped talking as the sound of metal squealing echoed throughout the room. Jessica’s head instantly shot up, fear covering her face while Taeyeon and Yuri turned around as a young man, in his earlier twenties with short dark hair and dressed in a white nurse’s uniform appeared.

“Mr Kim,” Eunjung muttered with an inclination of her head. She stood up, pulling Jessica with her.

Mr Kim nodded in response. “What are you girls doing in here? You know no one is allowed in here.” His expression and tone were harsh and frosty and Taeyeon couldn’t help but wince.

“Sorry Mr Kim,” Eunjung replied with an inclination of her head. “We were just showing Miss Kwon and Miss Kim around. Jessica was feeling a bit sick so we came in here for a brief sit down.”

Mr Kim’s expression softened instantly. “It’s alright,” he replied. “How are you feeling now Miss Jung?”

Jessica, who was now more relaxed, gave him a small smile. “I’m feeling a little bit better, thank you.”

“You girls had better head out before anyone else catches you in here,” Mr Kim told them, giving them a pointed look. He moved to one side, giving the girls enough space to pass through.

Eunjung nodded and pulled Jessica forward with one hand before gently pushing Taeyeon’s shoulder with the other, telling the two girls to stand up. The two newcomers quickly did and the four quickly exited the room.

“Thank you,” Eunjung whispered to Mr Kim with a small grateful smile.

“Any time,” Mr Kim replied with a curt nod.

Jessica and Eunjung led them quickly back down the corridor which was now slightly more busy as they passed tall, bulky men dressed in the dark blue security uniforms, positioned at intervals down the corridor. The two lead girls quickened their pace and led them back to the Home room which was bustling with girls, some reading, while others were playing games. The four sat down at a table in the middle of the room.

“I can’t believe we got caught,” Eunjung moaned, placing her head in her hand. She was filled with a mixture of annoyance and relief. She was annoyed that they had been caught, but at the same time, she was grateful that she didn’t have to talk about it anymore, but also that it was Mr Kim that had found them.

“I’m just glad it was Mr Kim,” Jessica replied, feeling the same emotions. “Imagine what would have happened if it had been someone else.” She quickly stopped talking and looked at Eunjung, both of them knowing exactly what would have happened.

Yuri and Taeyeon cast confused looks at each other. They had been so close to finding out what really happened in this place. Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders at Yuri’s look and the taller girl turned to Jessica and Eunjung.

“I take it you can’t tell us now?”

Eunjung shook her head. “There’s too many people. It’s better to explain to you in private. If we tell you now, your reactions, they’ll give it away.”

Both Taeyeon and Yuri nodded in understanding at this.

“But who was that back there?” Taeyeon asked.

“Mr Kim? He’s one of the nicest people here, staff wise,” Jessica explained with a slight dreamy expression on her face. “No relation, I take it then?”

Taeyeon shook her head.

Eunjung rolled her eyes at her friend. “He helps us out a lot, but he’s particularly protective of Jiyeon. He helps to take care of her.”

Yuri’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Jiyeon? You mentioned her name earlier. Who is she?” she asked, remembering how they had said in passing that the girl spent a lot of time in isolation, the same place Taeyeon had been.

Eunjung let out a sigh. “If we took the time to explain every single person in this place to you, we’d be here forever.”

Jessica frowned at her before looking at the two girls. “Jiyeon’s a special case,” she explained. “She’s one of the most vulnerable in this place. Her problem is pretty severe, so she spends most of her time in Isolation. She’s a bit unstable.”

Eunjung nodded. “But if we want to know more, they you should probably ask her roommate, Sooyoung. She knows her better than the rest of us.” She turned around in her seat, her eyes scanning the room. “There she is.” She pointed across the room.

Taeyeon and Yuri leaned around, looking in the direction Eunjung was pointing. Their eyes rested on a tall girl with long black hair that was slightly shorter than Yuri’s which was pulled into a high ponytail and who was dressed in a faded denim one-piece suit with a white t-shirt.

Jessica rolled her eyes at Sooyoung. “Still as fashionable as ever,” she mocked with a grimace.

“Be nice,” Eunjung scolded, turning back to face them. “If you want to know who Jiyeon is, then that’s the person you need to ask.” She pointed a finger behind her, at Sooyoung.

Taeyeon looked past Jessica and Eunjung, at Sooyoung, who was talking animatedly to a girl with long blonde hair, lighter than Jessica’s, and who was considerably shorter than Sooyoung and was wearing dark grey three-quarter length jogging bottoms with a pale yellow crop top and white hooded jacket. She bit her lip. She didn’t know whether or not to ask about Jiyeon. She wanted to know more about Isolation, the place she had supposedly been when she had first arrived and apparently Jiyeon, whoever she was, spent most of her time there. Surely, then, that meant Sooyoung must know about the place? She cast her eyes at Yuri, but the black haired girl didn’t meet her gaze.

“I think we should talk to Sooyoung,” Yuri said. “I want to know as much as I can about this place.” She looked at Jessica and Eunjung. “It’s best to know as much as we can, right?”

“Yes…” Jessica replied almost hesitantly, wondering where Yuri was going.

“There’s only so much you can tell us, since you only know certain things.”

Eunjung let out a snort, rolling her eyes. “We’ve been here for a while. There isn’t much that we don’t know.” Her tone was accusatory. She didn’t like the idea of Yuri thinking that they didn’t know what went on in this place.

Yuri nodded. “I know, but you probably don’t know much about Isolation, right?”

Jessica and Eunjung exchanged a quick glance, confirming Yuri’s words. Neither of them had spent much time in Isolation. Only certain people with certain problems went there, or if you caused too many issues or were too violent.

“Taeyeon was there when she arrived, but she can’t remember it. She has questions about that place and seeing as Sooyoung’s roommate spends a lot of time there, then surely she must be able to help.”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened. She had no idea that Yuri had been concerned for her. She was genuinely surprised that her new roommate wanted to find out about Isolation not for herself, but for her.

“You can try,” Jessica replied, looking across her shoulder at Sooyoung, “but I don’t know how much she can tell you.”

Yuri nodded once more before standing up. “There’s nothing wrong with asking.” She looked down at Taeyeon, telling the girl to stand up and once she had done so, Yuri flicked a strand of dark hair over her shoulder before walking across the room towards Sooyoung, who was still talking to the other girl, Taeyeon following closely behind.

As they walked across the room, Taeyeon could feel the eyes of the other girls watching them. She bit her lower lip nervously again, keeping her own eyes fixed on the back of Yuri’s head. She knew that the other girls were wondering about her and Yuri, the same way she wondered about them, who they were, why they were here, but she determinedly kept herself from looking at them. She realised that she actually didn’t know anything about Yuri, about her roommate. They had only known each other for barely a few hours, yet they had already been thrown in the deep end in regards to this place, on the brink of discovering its secrets, but they still knew nothing about each other. Taeyeon found it strange and resolved to get to know more about her roommate later.

“Eh, excuse me.” Yuri’s voice cut through Taeyeon’s thoughts and she blinked, her eyes focusing on what was in front of her. They had reached Sooyoung, who was still talking to her blonde-haired friend, who stopped talking upon hearing them being addressed.

Sooyoung turned to face the two, raising a quizzical eyebrow at them. She towered over Taeyeon, but was only slightly taller than Yuri, though Taeyeon noticed that her roommate seemed to cower slightly under the girl’s gaze. “Who’s asking?”

“Uh…” Yuri inwardly grimaced, hearing her voice stutter. She wasn’t usually nervous. That was Yoona. She was the strong one, but the taller girl’s stare caused her to falter in her words.

Sooyoung folder her arms against her chest and tapped her foot against the floor, showing her impatience. She cast her friend a bored look, rolling her eyes, which was met with a short giggle from the other girl. She looked back at Yuri and Taeyeon, her foot continuing to tap. “I don’t have all day.”

“I’m Yuri and this is Taeyeon,” Yuri eventually said, pointing a finger at her roommate.

A look of realisation crossed over Sooyoung’s face. “Ah, the new girls.”

Yuri quickly nodded.

“What do you want?”

“Well, since we’re new, we thought you could help us,” Yuri replied, hearing nervousness creep into voice.

Sooyoung raised her eyebrow once more, though this time it was out of interest, though she still kept her arms folded against her chest. “Go on.”

Yuri cleared . “Apparently Taeyeon was in Isolation for a bit,” she began, noting how the blonde-haired girl cast a quick glance at Sooyoung at the word ‘Isolation’, “but she can’t remember anything about being in there…”

“You’re the girl who was shrieking for days on end, keeping us all awake?” the blonde-haired girl directed her question at Taeyeon, her voice one of accusation.

Taeyeon quickly nodded, not seeing the point in lying.

“Hyoyeon!” Sooyoung almost snapped at the girl before turning back to Yuri. “And?”

“W-we heard that your roommate spends time in there and thought you might be able to help us and tell us about that place.”

Sooyoung’s expression instantly changed. Her features darkened. Her body tensed. “Who told you that?”

Both Yuri and Taeyeon trembled at the tall girl’s tone. It was if she grew considerably, towering over the pair, looking down at them with an expression of pure fury.

“Uh… um…” Yuri unintentionally looked back at Eunjung and Jessica, who had been watching them. The two girls quickly turned around, acting as if they were in the middle of a conversation. Yuri realised what she had done and turned around, her head lowered with embarrassment.

Sooyoung scowled and let out a sound similar to a growl. “I should have known.” She looked at Taeyeon and Yuri. “You think that because Jiyeon is my roommate that I know everything about Isolation, is that right?”

“We just thought you might be able to help,” Taeyeon mumbled, looking at the clear blue sky through the barred windows, trying not to look at the towering girl.

“You’re new, so I’ll let you off,” Sooyoung said to them. “You new friends should get their facts right before telling stories.” Her eyes flickered towards Hyoyeon, who was smiling, on the brink of laughing, knowing that her friend was an expert at exaggerated story-telling.

Yuri looked up nervously. “You’ll tell us?”

The taller girl shrugged her shoulders. “There’s not much that I know and I doubt that what I do know will be of much use to you.” She looked at two quizzically. “What exactly is it that you want to know?”

Yuri wasn’t sure. She had never set foot in Isolation. All she would want to know about the place is what it was like. Taeyeon on the other hand… She looked across at the small brunette.

Taeyeon stood silently, looking down as she bit her lower lip with nervousness. What exactly was it that she wanted to know? They were saying that she had been screaming for days when she arrived, but why? There were only flickers that she could remember; the towering moustached man, feelings of immense pain. But not much more. She didn’t know how anyone would be able to give her the answers she wanted.

“Can you remember anything?” the blonde-haired girl Sooyoung had referred to as Hyoyeon asked.

She slowly nodded, raising her head slightly. “Little bits.”

“Start there. Tell us what you know,” Hyoyeon told her. “We can help you then.”

Taeyeon felt a shudder run though her body as the images, the memories, coursed through her mind. “I just remember being in a small dark room and there’s a man with a moustache standing over me. I can feel pain. My arm hurts. My throat hurts because I’m screaming so much.” Her voice was low barely above a whisper but the three girls heard every word. Her body continued to tremble and she shook, remembering the moustached man. There was something about him, the way he had looked at her, that filled her with a complete and utter sense of fear. She shook her head. She didn’t want to see his face.

“Moustached man…?” Yuri muttered. She looked across at Sooyoung and Hyoyeon who were wearing identical looks of dread. “Is she talking about Mr Lee?”

“It’s never good if Mr Lee is involved,” Sooyoung said in a hushed voice. She swallowed. “Jiyeon doesn’t talk about Isolation. When she is back…” she paused for a moment, thinking over her next words. “Jiyeon loses herself more and more. I don’t think she knows what’s real and what isn’t anymore…” her voice trailed off and she looked away.

Yuri frowned, a feeling of anger building up inside of her. How could a man fill so many girls with such a deep sense of fear? She looked over at Taeyeon, but the brunette had her eyes tightly shut. Yuri looked at her with worry.

Taeyeon clenched and unclenched her hands, feeling her nails digging into her palms, digging deeper and deeper. The face of the moustached man continued to consume her mind. She couldn’t rid herself of his face. His sneering look. How his eyes looked at her with a sense of desire and anger behind his glasses. She could hear his smug laughter in her ears and it wouldn’t go. She couldn’t think of anything else. She felt as if her mind was being consumed by him. She shook her head, begging the image to go away but it wouldn’t. He continued to sneer at her, his laughter getting louder and louder.

“Taeyeon?” Yuri looked at her roommate wearily, almost taking a step away as the girl continued to shake her head, her movements becoming increasingly violent.

“Stop her,” Sooyoung told her, also looking at the brunette apprehensively, “before anyone sees.”

Yuri grabbed Taeyeon’s shoulders in an effort to calm her down. “Taeyeon.” She looked around for help, as the girl struggled against her. Her eyes met Eunjung’s who happened to be looking across at them and instantly she and Jessica were approaching them. Yuri looked around at Sooyoung and Hyoyeon. “Help me,” she pleaded, not knowing what to do.

“We have to get her out of here without them noticing,” Sooyoung said, talking about the nurses and security guards, as she looked around. “Hyoyeon, can you distract them?” She pointed across the room at one of the exits where a female nurse and male security guard where positioned.

Hyoyeon smiled widely. “Of course.” She almost skipped across the room.

“What happened?” Jessica and Eunjung had arrived, positioning themselves either side of Taeyeon and Yuri who was still struggling with the small girl as she continued to shake. Muffled cries were coming from the young girl.

“We need to get her out of here,” Sooyoung informed them, becoming increasingly concerned that Taeyeon’s cries would gather attention, noticing that the girls close by where looking at them with concern. She looked across the room to see that Hyoyeon was talking the nurse and guard, diverting their attention away from the door. She let out a grim smile. “Come on.”

Yuri put her arm around Taeyeon’s shoulder in a new attempt to comfort her while Eunjung grabbed Taeyeon’s other arm, pulling her forward while Jessica pushed the girl carefully from behind. They followed Sooyoung out of Home and down the corridor, Taeyeon continuing to struggle against them as she moved blindly.