Yong Guk sat up in a start. He gasped for breaths and wiped away the sweat that formed on his forehead. The nightmares came back.

Each day Na Ri was gone, the more he was growing uneasy and desperate. And like how he was feeling, the nightmares only got worse and more fearsome.

Yong Guk looked around the dark room and noticed the others still sleeping on the ground in different parts of the single bedroom. There were only five of them, now that Daehyun was gone. But tonight, he could only see the three youngest slumbering away. Someone was missing and it was obvious who it was. The missing person hadn’t had much sleep either.

The door to the room burst opened and the light were flicked on. Yong Guk looked at the doorway to see Him Chan and the kids started at the sudden intrusion to their rare peaceful sleep. “Wake up, we need to talk.” Him Chan’s expression was grim as he held onto the doorknob tightly.

The boys sat up and rubbed away their sleepiness. They haven’t been sleeping well while trying their best to hide and think of ways to bring Na Ri and Daehyun safely home at the same time. That also wasn’t including plans to take down whoever was planning Yong Guk’s and the boys’ demise.

Him Chan hesitated on telling what was going on and stuttered with his words. “Jung Woo sent over this file he got just now.” Him Chan says uneasily. “I need everyone to remain calm and meet in the living room.”

That did it. The boys jumped up and followed Him Chan outside.

Him Chan took a deep breath and showed the boys what he had been hiding on the laptop.

“Who is that?” The boys stared at the screen, puzzled. By the look of the long hair and small body, it was obvious that it’s a woman but only a small fraction of the side of her face was shown. Dirt covered her arms but it couldn’t cover the bruises and blood. It didn’t stop there though, with her shorts, they can see the black and blue marks that lined her thighs and calves.

“Hyung, why are you showing us this?” Youngjae ruffled his hair. It wasn’t something that he wanted to see as soon as he woke up.

Yong Guk stood silently. He peered closer at the screen, for some reason, why did the person look so familiar. “Do we know her?” He asked after some minutes of scanning the photo. Despite not recognizing the woman, nervousness bubbled at the pit of his stomach.

Him Chan shifted uneasily. “It’s Na Ri.”

The boys immediately tensed and no one says a word.

“That’s not her.” Yong Guk mumbled. There was no way it was his Na RI on the ground in that state. It wasn’t Na Ri that looked so tattered in the photo. “It has to be another girl.” He was saying it more for himself. He wanted to believe that it wasn’t his Na Ri.

Without another word, Youngjae calls up Jung Woo. There was no way they were going to be sitting on the sidelines any longer.

***

I laid there on the ground, trying my best to breathe through the pain. Every single part of my body stung and one small movement would send a shock of pain up my limbs.

“Did you do what I told you?” Gi Bum asked one of his men. “Good, they should have seen it by now.”

I didn’t even bother to decipher his words. It was already hard to control the pain that washed over my body.

“What are we going to do now? She won’t be able to work.” Gi Bum had the nerve to say after his men beat me up until I was in this state. “Call Jae Ho here.”

Within minutes, Jae Ho met with the sight of me ragged. “What…happened here?”

I couldn’t look up from the position I was but by hearing his voice, I could tell he was trying his best to sound unbothered.

“It’s called training, Jae Ho.” Gi Bum answered nonchalantly. “She’ll learn to stay in her place.” Gi Bum clicked his tongue after eyeing the bruises that ran up and down my legs and arms. “Take her back to her room.”

Jae Ho walked over and gently helped me up.

I heard the door open again. “What the hell happen?” Daehyun tried to smirk but he felt himself getting shaken by the sight after he walked through the door. “God, you got her good.”

Gi Bum chuckled. “Sorry I didn’t let you in on the fun. Did you need something?”

“Yeah, you wanted to know some of the places Yong Guk could be hiding right?” Daehyun walked over and tore his eyes from my beaten body. Despite Jae Ho’s best efforts to help me on my feet, my legs hurt too much to hold me up. I let out a small