**Warning: Contains strong use of coarse language**

It was around 10 at night and the rising star, Byun Baekhyun, the new leader, the pride of the clan, the one who twinkled the brightest from above, the one who brought the trophy with such dignity, have fallen to the pits of inferiority and embarrassment.

“It’s not her.”

“I-I beg your pardon?”

Begging for pardon was futile when he knew could be pleading for a lie. Those three simple words slapped right across his face and swore that moment, his innards turned into a twist like how twisted those words were to him. The memory of the last hour reversed back and forth in his head:

“You know how important this is to us, Capo Baekhyun,”

Baekhyun and his partner, Chanyeol stood like statues, bowing their heads. Both were regretful and stunned. The same sleek black-attired man loomed before them fuming with the same but darker charisma. And in the same room, the bearded Underboss walked in circles with a lit cigar on his mouth.

Con continued, “But we all know that this is most important to a particular person... and the irony is that ‘person’ didn’t let that happen.”

Tightly he clenched the breath-fogged glass of his third round of intoxication, close to his gritting teeth. His eyes vectored to raging blankness and body slouched like a snail on a vex-painted corner. Beside him were two or three queuing rust-red bottles, ready for consumption. Other two already consumed and emptied on the other side. While, on the opposite corner were two of his concerned mates, who could only watch from metres afar of their friend’s brim catatonic state.

“This does not look good.” Suho muttered on his thumb touching his bottom lip, uncomfortably witnessing the misery that floated over poor Baekhyun. On the moon-lit window ledge, leaned the red-haired D.O who looked down, nodding in dismay, infected by his brother’s puzzlement.

Suho finally took the courage to approach his drunken friend as he carefully suggested, “Baek, you know, maybe there were some…”

He crouched down directly in front while making the conscious effort in what to say most wisely.

“Some… holes?” his voice went a tad higher and continued, “Holes that may have led to well… this. That this girl you’ve captured is… not her.”

The drunken Byun boy, shifted his sight from the blank space onto his crouching companion. His aggravated dark eyes reflected Suho’s attempt of comfort which sounded rather despicable and non-sensual to him.  

Baekhyun murmured groggily yet struck with conviction, “Not…her?”

Suho’s tightened his lips knowing that he could’ve have kept his mouth shut as Baekhyun uneasily stood up, knocking down emptied bottles nearby his feet. Suho shot up, preparing his arms in case of a fall even if he knew that he was going to get lashed out.

 “Not her?? How could it be not her??” Chugging several more alcohol down his throat, barely keeping himself balanced, Baekhyun blasted with much slur, “I was on the lam 24/7 – had spare more to provide some goods!” 

(*"On the lam": Moving around in places to places, constat changing of address to avoid getting arrested)

Baekhyun really was certain that they had enough time- no, he ‘controlled’ time. Night and day, day and night were close to same. Time became indefinite for him. Time ran on his convenient pace, or so he thought.

His whole body was like a rocking boat, leaning side to side, almost bending backwards at times. But he had too much conviction in his chest to make himself topple. Suho grimaced how helpless their brother looked while D.O watched cautiously.

Baekhyun continued, “And for 24/7, I made goddamn associates*, Suho! I had eyes everywhere, everywhere!”

(*Associates: It is a mafia term meaning they have connections to outside parties and make business negotiations for the good of the clan)

He had eyes everywhere; yes, everything was more than crystal clear. He did more than he saw. He showed his target the way to triumph his goal. He had strings of hidden networks almost anywhere to track down the victim.

So how in the world does this perfect set out plan and action led him to the result everybody least expected?

“How, Suho? How is it not in’ her?” he grabbed his brother’s shirt, yearned for an answer and leaned to the side to face D.O and howled the same question, “HOW?”

If Baekhyun was astounded by this outcome, so as the other two along with him. They too, never expected to encounter this type of situation. Although, the ultimate nerve-thickening fact was that Baekhyun had to face a clan worth of embarrassment; made pre-determined conclusion that never happened at all.

Suho sighed with almost no hope nor find the wit to answer to the unexplainable. He felt his white shirt loosen from the drunk’s grip as Baekhyun’s legs criss-cross him out of the dark-lit room. Automatically, both comrades followed.

***

The echoing sound of the closing rusted-bar cell sent rats swiftly scattering back to their rightful cave holes. Chanyeol along with his younger comrade, Sehun, were in the household’s underground, locking up their prisoner in a cubic cell of no furniture and no ventilation to the outside world. It was only a cubical space of callous, cold concrete wall and floor for the unfortunate victim to lie on.

The two men were right in front of the cell bar, silent; still adjusting to the complexity of the situation. Not knowingly how to respond to it made them all feel new to the oblivious, at the same time, everyone felt the disappointment that turned to pity.

 “Y’know, I really feel bad for Baek hyung.” Sehun spoke. Chanyeol looked to his right and saw the frown on his friend’s face.  

Chanyeol sighed, letting go of the cell lock. He muttered, “It hasn’t been even half a year since the incident. And this was a way to get back on track…”

Sehun pursed his lips as his brother’s warm hand gently patted his back.

After another few more moments they headed out the area and back up to the main, leaving behind the clanking noise of the barred doorway as they exited.

Once again, Han Chunji woke up with no sweet relief that the past memory was a mere dream, instead, her senses of smell and sight was bombarded with unfamiliar, nose-tingling stench and dominating darkness of the location she had no recognition of. The moment she fluttered her eyes open, her whole body flinched and hurriedly moved with four limbs to the very corner of the small cubic space. The obvious sight of the cell bars and closed grey walls, immediately was obvious to her the exact type of place she was in and gave her another round of small headache. She groaned quietly to herself and inevitably squint her eyes.

Alone within that darkness was suffocating, not knowing what in the world was happening to her. Assuming this was some kind of kidnap made her spinal twist. The sudden reappearance of her most recent memories of a young man with flaming red hair, huge googling eyes and flying pillows made her wince. How in the world did she get herself in this situation?

Drowned in puzzlement, her focus jumped back to the same unwelcoming scent that lingered on her nose. It became stronger as the sweeping sound of careless footsteps became closer from the left hand side of the cell block. Her widened eyes cautiously followed the approaching sound even if the whole place was a nearly filled with darkness, with only one light bulb working right outside her block.

She immediately covered with both hands, realising she was panting too loud. For a brief moment her heart skipped a beat when her eyes met a lean but skinny figure of a man treading the path, wearing all white (shirt and trousers). His messy hair was platinum, darkened around the roots, partially curtaining his eyes, exposing his dried, plump lips. He had bronze like brown skin but looked sickly pale. In her eyes, he looked like a dim glowing ghost wandering around.

Painfully, she watched him continue to tread his way slowly, with one small step at a time. Chunji kept herself intact, not moving for few more, breathless second until darkness engulfed his body.

“What was that??” She squeaked to herself, still staying well put on her station, letting oxygen get inside her once again. How frightening to be in such place with not even a sign of natural light. She thought there were only men here but now, she was in the midst of contemplation that ghosts were real too as much as her ‘dreams’ just then.

“Chunji, Han Chunji,” she placed her trembling hands on her chest and whispered with closed watering eyes, “You can do this. You can do this. Just think. Think of a way to get out of this place.”

Breathing in and breathing out, she opened her blurred eyes of tears then used her tiny wrist to wipe them. Heaving a quick sigh, she looked up from her wet hands and saw another pair of darken eyes full of fire, hands gripping onto the cell bar of her block, crouching before her.

She automatically stammered, “W-who are y-you?”

A hideous growl was given as a response, making Chunji start hiccupping on spot. Both of them were eye to eye with not a single blink breaking the contact. The charcoal haired outside sp