"it's strange what desire would make foolish do."

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Water splashes on my face and I gasp out loud, my mind waking up from my unconscious state.

"You gave her more than necessary drug," I hear distorted voice of someone. It's a man. I can't recognize his voice though.

"I didn't know her drug tolerance would be so damn less," someone answers to him and I  could recognize this voice well.

My forehead creases as my eyes twitch to open. My lips part to take in deep breathes as my throat constricts. Where am I?

"She's been out for almost twenty hours, you dumbfuck," the unknown voice speaks, irritation filled in his grumpy old voice and I try to open my eyes to see. Who is he?

There's no noise again, everything goes silent.

I feel my head being touched before I feel my hair being grabbed. His hold is harsh on my hair as he Yanks my head up.

I whine out loud in pain as I try to fight the force but I can't. I can't feel my legs and my hands. They're tied up. I'm sitting on a chair, I can feel it but I'm so much tied to my place, I can't even shift a little.

"Wake the fuck up," the man growls and I open my eyes, slightly.

The place is already dark enough. Very little light in here. My gaze needed a few seconds to move from blur to see everything clearly.

I blink my eyes to clear my vision. My chest rising and falling at higher speed. I can't really comprehend what's happening here, what's happening with me.

I try to think.

I was at a party last night with Jungkook. We danced there, then I went to restroom with him.

At the thought of restroom, my mind rings up. It aches as I remember what happened after I stepped out.

My eyes are wide open now, all clear, as I look at the man who's standing in front of me, holding my hair tightly.

He's a middle aged man. I don't know him. He looks down at me with angry eyes. He's almost bald and his grip is tightening on my hair.

"Finally," he murmurs as he looks at my conscious state.

My heart pounds in my throat, I can feel it tearing through me skin and bones to jump outside of me. My breathing turns frantic and my brain starts hurting like it used to hurt almost month ago. My eyes brim with tears as the realisation dawned upon me.

I'm kidnapped.

I take in shuddered breathes as I try to not cry in front of this man, I don't know anything about. I can't show him that I'm weak. I won't let him do whatever he wants to do with me. No, I can't. I shouldn't. I shouldn't cry.

Still, involuntarily, a tear slipped past my eye and I see this man's gaze following the tear until it fell down on the cloth that I'm wearing, on my thigh.

"Jungkook literally went out to choose a weakling for him," he mocks me, looking at my trembling body.

I'm afraid. I'm helpless here. I can't even help myself. The state of helplessness is enough to make my eyes tear up even more as I start crying, more than before.

Another man chuckles behind him and this man in front of me leaves my head to move away.

My eyes fall back behind him on the man who just laughed at me. Though my eyes are filled with tears right now, I can still see who he is.

The one who did this all. The one who betrayed not only me, but Jungkook. The one I saw right before I was drugged and lost my consciousness before they took me to this place.

Michael stands there with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, an amusing smirk on his face. I can't even look at him. His face disgusts me. His smirk even more.

Why would he do that?

"Give her water. We don't want her to die," the old man orders and then turns around to look at me again, "Yet."

I look around and register that we're in a very shabby looking place. It resembles the old warehouses where Jungkook and the gang's players box against each other, but this place looks even scarier. I  don't know if it's because of the very fact that I'm here kidnapped or this place is actually just scary.

This very room looks like a hall. There is no window in here. There is a door I can see in front of me, I have no idea what's behind me though.

There are a dozen of men in this space, excluding this old man and Michael. The space is very dimly lit and the light that's  in here is from the old lamp posts attached to the walls around me. With my weak eyesight, I can only see enough even though I'm wearing my lenses. It's still hard.

I don't even know if I'm in my country. The place is very humid. I can feel myself sweating. It can be because of fear too, but I feel hot. Like I'm in the June's sun. It's not impossible that they might've flown me to a whole different country. And the thought is even scarier.

On the order of this older man, another man- probably a guard here, walks towards where I'm tied up. I look at my own self. I'm sitting on a metal chair, it feels so heavy like it's stuck to the floor. My hands and feet are tied tightly to the arms and legs of the chair. There's not at all room for me to even feel them. They're really tight.

Then I register that I'm not wearing the dress I was wearing last night. Instead I see a plain white cotton nightgown. My stomach falls at the realisation that someone amongst these men might've changed my clothes.

But why? Did they do something to me while I was unconscious?

I breathe out as the man stands in front of me holding a bottle of water for me. My tear filled eyes look up at him. His face is covered with a black mask. He's wearing a full black Gunmen clothes. He looks huge, all the guards here look like that. They're really strong men.

Do I even have a chance to run away from here on my own?

The thought rises the bile to my throat. What have they done to me? What will they do?

"Drink," the old man commands. The guy in front of my eyes open the cap of the bottle to bring it to my lips. I can't hold it, my hands are tied. But still, I don't listen to him.

I'm not drinking this. I never know what this bottle contains. The water might be spiked. I don't feel anything wrong with my body for now but I don't know if that means that nothing happened with me or not. But I'm not losing my consciousness again for these men to do anything to me.

I look down at my lap, tears falling loose as I don't listen to him. I'm not letting him do anything to me.

"Fucking bitch," I hear the man curse out as he storms towards me.

He takes the bottle from the guy in front of me. The water splashes out from the mouth of the bottle, wetting the floor beneath my bare feet.

He again Yanks my head up by my hair, very harshly. He has no sympathy towards me. His eyes lack any emotion. He's desperate for whatever he has me here for. And I'm not giving him the satisfaction of being any more of a weakling, like he called me.

My scalp hurts at how tightly he's holding my hair as my lips part. He's harsh as he joins the mouth of the bottle with mine. The water pours down onto my face, some into my mouth.

"Drink, I said. I don't want you to die of dehydration. You are needed here for now  don't you fucking understand?!" he yells at me.

I close my eyes shut as water pours into my face. The amount which is going into my mouth, I try to drink it up.

I won't admit but my throat was burning dry before. It feels a little better to feel it flow down my throat but it's not the right way. My body hurts, my head hurts and now my eyes hurt.

I thrash in the chair, I can't breathe and this man isn't stopping.

Seeing my thrashing state on the rattling metal chair, he finally stops. I suck in a loud gush of air as I cough out. Drool and water flows out of my mouth, down my chin, wetting the white cloth I'm wearing.

"You better fucking do what you're told to if you want to have easier future ahead," he says, gritting through his teeth.

What does he mean by my future?

Looking up at him with red eyes because of all the coughing, I straighten up.

I finally feel my throat and my voice too which was stuck somewhere at the back of my throat.

" Who are you?" I ask him, glad my voice didn't shake, panting slightly.

I need to put on the mask. I've always done this. Look better from outside though from inside, I'm shaking like a leaf for sure. But all the men in here don't need to know that. I can't look like that easy of a target.

The old man in front of me scoffs.

"So Jungkook's little whore does have a voice in her other than all the pathetic crying huh?" he asks me, then looks back at Michael who scoffs at the remark.

I look at him, not wearying away.

"I'm Owen," he tells me, "Michael's father. I think that's enough for you to know."

I squint my eyes, "What do you want from me, Owen?"

He chuckles, "It's not you we want something from. It's Jungkook. You're just the key, probably first step stone of our way, little girl."

I don't understand what he's talking about. What's the actual deal?

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

He sighs like he didn't expect me to ask questions. I'm here, kidnapped, not knowing what's going to happen. I can't be stuck here and to think of something, I need to know this all.

"I want to ruin Jungkook. Ruin it all for him, burn his whole world down to ashes if I have to, if it means I get what I want," he says, still nothing makes any sense to me.

He looks down at me as he says, "Do you think it feels nice to be the second best?"

"First me and then my own son when I very well know who deserves what in this whole system?"

Michael comes to stand behind this father. I don't even look at him, it disgusts my stomach enough.

"Everything! Everything that Jae sung has now, I deserved it. You know why? Because I was better than him. All this bullshit about the gang being hereditary is fucking useless! He made it up to win the throne when I was the second best in the game, Hana. After your father, it was me. "

He tells me and my face frowns. Dad was member of the gang Jungkook is currently a part of? Why had he never told me?

My mind reminds me of my meeting with Jae Sung a week ago where he talked about Dad and his past with the gang too. The reason why he knew something like this so closely was because he was once my dad's partner in the same gang he's leading right now.

"Kim Jiho. He had it in him but I had more than him. More money, more influence, everything that that gang needed. I knew just as skills as him, had just as caliber as him but he was the chosen one. He didn't deserve that. I wanted that, I wanted the leadership in future and I would do anything to get that and your father made it so easy for me didn't he?"

I look into his shining eyes that show evil. What had he done?

" Your father had a weakness. Something that no one in the gang should have and that weakness became the reason of his downfall, Hana. "

My mind runs and I suddenly connect his talk to what mom told me on the birthday night when she was telling me about the dark past of my dad.

When the other members got to know about Jiho having a girlfriend, me, the rivals picked it up immediately as a weakness. As a result, i was once almost kidnapped as a lure in because they knew that he would do anything to get me back. He was one of the bests like i told.

"You were the reason my dad had to choose between the gang and my mom?" I ask him, my voice low almost a whisper.

Owen laughs out loud.

"You are smarter than I thought you'd be," he says between his laughs.

I fight against my constraints. The urge to punch his glowing face increases as he keeps on laughing at my face.

He did it all. Not the rival gang, he was the one who did that.

He was the reason why my parents had to go through all those hard times. He gave my mother all those traumatic nightmares and my father had to lose pretty much the only thing that had his whole life set in front of him.

All that just because he wanted it all.

"I have to say, Jiho was very easy to get away from. He was a lovestruck bird, bullshit. I knew I'd be the next leader but no, Jae Sung had to ruin it all. And I couldn't do anything at all then because his father was the one leading at that time."

"I could tell he sensed what I wanted at that time. He kicked me out of the main politics of the gang after I graduated. I worked as a fucking dog for years because I had no other choice. But I knew that one day, I'm going to take over. And when I'll do, it'll be my blood who'll rule it. For generations to come, my blood will remember it as their grandfather's legacies."

"When Michael was born, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I trained him since the day he got his own conscience. I trained him to be the next leader. Because just like me he had it all. All the money, the influence. All he needs is the power and then he'll rule the underworld business. Everything on his tips and I'll be proud of my blood. I knew it."

Owen explains and then his eyes turn stone cold as anger fills them.

" But then Jungkook came in. That fucking bastard! I don't care how much he deserves. All I know is that I'm not letting that throne go away from me now. I'm not letting it slip away from my son's hand this time. And I would do anything to get what I want this time. I've waited a whole generation to get here, I'm not letting this go now. "

Owen thumps his sons back as he stands next to him. Michael has a very proud smile on his face.

" And you've been doing a very great job at giving us what we want, " Owen tells me and I slump into my seat.

" You've already made Jungkook very incompetent. He's reckless, repulsive and impulsive. He's everything that a leader shouldn't be. Unlike your father, he lacks focus. And it's all thanks to you. You've nicely paved the way for his destruction, Kim Hana," he laughs out and my heart hits the ground.

" There are two scenarios. Either he'll come looking for you, like your dad did, and then he'll follow the same footsteps leaving the gang for once and all. As Jae Sung has no offspring, Michael will get his place. Or, he might move on. There are plenty of women out there for him, aren't there? " he smirks at me and my mind feels numb.

" If he chooses the latter one, we have a plan B too. All the friendship of years has shown how Jungkook has a very weak spot for his family, namely his little sister-Juri," he speaks her name and my blood crawls inside me.

Juri is just a child, she doesn't deserve this. All this dirty game for more power and money, a kid shouldn't be involved in this.

" Don't you dare touch her, "I warn him.

" Or what, little girl?" Owen closes in the distance between me and him as he stands in front of me, dangerously close. I keep on looking into his eyes, up at him.

" You don't even know what we might do to you, " he says, bending down a little so that we're face to face.

I look into his eyes. My tears brimming up. My heart is beating in my ears but I still look into his eyes.

"He will find me. And the moment he'd do that, you'll regret doing any of this to me," I tell him, basically barking every word at him.

I trust Jungkook. I know he's looking for me. I know he'll do anything to find me. By now, my dad must've known too. He must be looking for me too. All these scaredy talk is just to make me weak, but I won't be that.

Without my brain constantly telling me about how this is all my fault and nagging me for what I've done to me, I don't feel negative about this.

Owen and his traitor of a son can try their best to shake my insides, but I won't let them know.

"You're so sure of it, huh?" Owen asks me, his eyes looking down at my lips and my stomach churns in a bad way.

His hand goes up to touch my cheek, his finger tracing my skin and I yank my head away from him but his finger follows me, constantly touching me.

A smirk adorns his face as he speaks, "No one knows where this place is except us, Hana. It's a maze of sorts. Before he could come in, he'd be found by the thousands of guards around this building. And you know what?"

He speaks to me as his finger travels towards my lips, slowly. Disgust rises in my stomach.

" It's better if he comes here. It'll be so great when he'll see you die in front of his eyes. Then he'll die right here, the chapter will be closed for once and all. Graves next to each other."

His finger reaches my lips, slowly tracing my lower lip. My hands fist in anger. His eyes linger on my lips in a very perverted way.

Just when his fingers start feeling up my lip, I speak," It wouldn't happen. "

And then I bite on his finger. Hard. Hard enough to draw out blood.

Crimson red poured into my mouth, my tongue tasted copper as I bite down on this pervert's finger.

"AAH! You fucking bitch!" he curses at me, screaming out.

His other hand comes up to my face and he slaps me. The contact of his hand on my cheek was so hard, my mouth leaves his finger and my face flies towards my other side. I see stars at how hard he hit me.

No one has ever slapped me. But he did it. And I don't feel bad, because he did deserve that bite.

Yes it does sting on my cheek and in another second, I feel something flow down my chin, from one corner of my lips. It's blood. He hit me hard enough to draw out my own blood.

"If you bark in front of a bitch, she'll have to bite," I say, lips trembling.

He grabs my face by my jaw harshly, yanking my face to face his own. His bloody finger dirtying my own cheek.

I'm crying at the sudden pain his hold gave me.

"You don't know what I'm capable of, little girl. You'll literally be of no use to us in few days if you last here. I can throw you into the black market where they'll put badges on your body, bid on  how much you cost. You'll be sold off, many would want to have a taste of Jungkook's used whore. You don't have any way out of here and if you don't want to be some other man's whore, you need to fucking behave, "he warns me.

" These men here hadn't felt a pussy in fucking weeks. They'll pounce you the very moment they're allowed to and if you have more dignity than being a fucking bed warmer, stop with these fits. You get that?" he continues, his eyes angry as he pours hate into me through them.

I  don't want to believe him but something in me knows that he ain't lying. He can do anything to me.

All these warnings about this place, which is completely unknown and these men, who are just waiting for a moment to get their way with me, feel real enough to have my body trembling.

Just then, Owen's phone rings and his gaze turns away from mine. He leaves my jaw and I wince out. I think the cheek where he slapped me must be bruising by now, or must be swollen too.

Owen stands to his full height and takes his phone out of his suit pant's pocket. He checks the screen and sigh.

"Look after her," he commands his son and then after one look at my paling face, he turns around to walk out of the room.

I don't have it in me to look at his retrieving body so I just look down at the floor getting hazy because of the tears that are accumulating in my eyes. The sudden wave of fear washes upon me as I register every single word that he told me.

There's so much of an act I can put on. There's so much of this strong woman act I can act on. Now that he's away, all my masks fall down. There are still these dozen men in here and there's Michael too. But I don't care.

I simply let the wave wash over me as I cry. I start sobbing loudly, looking down at the floor. I break apart from the branches of the hope only to hit the coldest ground, I can feel my bones physically crushing as I just let the tears run out of me. Wailing loudly in hope that someone hears me and I am saved out from here.

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It's been hours.

I don't know how many but it had been more than a lot of hours since Owen showed his face in this hall.

Since he told me all those things, warned me with shit tons of warnings and left me crying out my helpless tears.

And since then, I've been thinking.

Is anyone out there looking for me? Is Jungkook looking for me? Is my dad looking for me?

Does police know? Are they involved?

If they are, would it make any difference?

I know by certain now that all these security institutions sit down on their knees in front of these dangerous filthy money men. So even if anyone had involved police into this, they'd never find me. If they did find me, they wouldn't help me out.

Like Owen told me, there are many men around here, guarding the place. There's no chance police will find me here, at least alive. Even if they did, I'm sure they'll be given millions of dollars to keep their mouth shut.

And if not police, Jungkook is himself finding me, how long will he take? Does he have any clue?

My father doesn't have the underground connections. Mom and Dad must know about my abduction by now, right? It breaks my heart to imagine what they must be going through right now.

I know for certain that they  won't give up. But I don't know for how much time they'll keep going until they'll find me.

What if it's too late when they'll eventually locate me? What if these men find out that I'm of no use and they sell me into the black market like Owen warned me?

No.

I can't sit here, waiting for someone to  come save me. I need to escape. I need to do something on my own.

It scares me, It does. A lot, even. There are so many what ifs but trying to escape is still somewhat better than just sitting here and watch my fate roll in front of me. I need to think wisely, plan wisely.

I need to do something for my own self.

I look at Michael. He leaves the room every now and then but he's here right now, sitting in  front of me, a few feet apart near the door to some dark hallway I can't see.

He's looking at me. His eyes shining like he can't wait for whatever he's been thinking in his mind to happen. Like he can't wait to see his plan unfold out perfectly and be the next powerful man. I can fantasies behind those eyes.

I see anything but remorse.

I can't believe he did that to Jungkook. I don't know him well but I do know how Jungkook treated him like his own brother, trusted him like one. He even let Michael near his family, mainly Juri. It boils my blood to think about that.

Michael is an evil person, someone who's so blinded by the desire to have the power that he would follow whatever command his father gives. He might just be nicely manipulated by Owen too. What can you expect from a child  who's raised to take revenge?

If I try to allure him in, would he help me? Would he see it all finally that this hunger for power is useless?

It seems unlikely. He's a puppet, he just doesn't know it.

By the way he's looking at me right now, I can't even fathom the fact that he was the one who saved my life back then.

To think of this he did that, didn't he?

I sigh out as I speak, "Do you feel guilty, even a little bit?"

His smirk widens as he scoffs, "Why would I? All those years of sticking next to him are finally paying off. This was what I've always wanted."

"But he trusted you. Like his own brothe-"

"That's his problem," he cuts me off, "He shouldn't do that, you know. He's part of a gang, was a future leader apparently, he should know better than to trust anyone in there."

"Is this all even worth it?" I mumble.

"Of course it is!" he laughs out, though his smile staggers at the end.

I keep on looking at him but he steals his gaze from me for a second before looking back at me.

"I don't feel any remorse, Hana. For all I know, I  want him to come here so that I can blow his mind out with my gun. I could've done that way longer, but I'm not that impulsive," he scoffs.

"Were you the one who sent me that photo?" I ask him.

"What photo?" he squints his eyes, thinking but then his eyes widen in amusement.

"Ahh, that photo of Mia and Jungkook? Yeah I sent it, who else would?" he tells me.

"I've always had my eyes on him, especially since the day Jae Sung started having a liking towards him. I have far more than a few photos of him doing his stuff. It's easy to know weaknesses and then catch on them."

"Why would you save me that night? You could've left me for dying, you could've achieved your goal," I ask him.

"Yeah, I might've. It would've been a sight to see Jungkook lose his fucking mind but you know, that wasn't the plan. You dying might also lead him to madness. That wasn't what I needed. His thirst for revenge might've increased and he wouldn't have left the throne. So, killing you wasn't a plan at that time. It was far better to see him losing his track," he answers.

" That night was my first great victory. Jae Sung did see how stupid Jungkook actually is. He punched him right in front of my eyes. Fuck, the satisfaction I felt. There was mistrust in Jae Sung's eyes. Since then I knew that you'll be the perfect bait for his downfall, "he laughs out.

" When Jungkook didn't go on missions, who did? Me. When Jungkook didn't attend the meetings, who did? Me. When Jungkook didn't show up on the selection ceremony this year, who the fuck did? Me! I did it all. I know Jae Sung finds me more compatible. You're the final blow, Hana. It's just so interesting to watch it unfold in front of me, "he continues with his laughing.

They've been planning this all since the fucking start.

I wonder how Jungkook would feel to see Michael being the betrayer. I know he'll probably kill him.

Hell, for the first time in my life I want to kill someone and it's him.

This Michael is not the one I've known, not the one Jungkook trusted with his life. This is a monster in disguise. A worst one on that. The manipulator and the destroyer.

He was the reason I almost killed myself, the reason why I doubted Jungkook that night and then held the glass scrap pointed towards him.

I was getting better, I really was but that incident put me back into the square one of self hating and self harming. I had to restart everything just because of this ugly game of power of which I didn't want to be a part.

I hated Jungkook at that moment, all because of the lies that this traitor showed me.

Has he ever been truthful to any body?

"And what about Emily?" I ask him. Don't tell me she's a part of his fucked up plan too.

"What about her?"

"Don't you love her?"

"Don't I what?" he asks, astonished as he starts laughing again, throwing his head back.

My jaw clenches, my heavy eyes dart staggers straight to his shaking chest as I see him laughing wholeheartedly like this is some joke.

But I know the answer. He has never loved anybody other than this useless fantasy of power.

Another name on his list of betrayers is of Emily because I know that she loved him. I could tell it by the way she looked at him, talked about him, waited for him and smiled at the mention of him. She loved him just because she knew that he loved her too. He claimed it.

But it was all a lie, too, in fact.

"Oh Hana, don't be stupid," he says between his laughs.

"You're fucking pathetic," I spit out and slowly his laugh dies as he looks at me again.

"What did you say?" he asks me, his eyes darkening again.

"You think you'll have it all, Michael, but in reality, you're nothing but a traitor coward who couldn't fight the gang and Jungkook at front so you're taking advantage of a woman to get through him. You're nothing but a damn puppet to your father and having no emotion at all isn't a flex to have, you coward! "I shout at him.

I look at him as he stands up from his chair. His hands ball into fists. His eyes grow red at the corners as he looks at me before his lips twitch is anger.

Just as he takes a step towards me, I see Owen entering the hall again. He looks same, just more composed like he's satisfied and there's something mischievous in his eyes.

His gaze falls upon me as he says, "Take her."

On the command, the guards march towards me.

My heart sinks in as they approach me and horror sets in. What's does he mean by that?

"What?" I whisper as the guards reach me and I start struggling in my chair in danger.

"No!" I shout at them as they start untying me.

I try my best to set myself free, all the while shouting at them to let me go. They keep on doing their work as they untie my legs and wrists, only to tie my hands behind my back and my feet with each other.

"No! Leave me, you bastards!" I shouts at them, screaming on top of my lungs.

"Fuck she makes a lot of noise. Gag her," Owen says and just then I feel a man's hand cupping my mouth, my screams getting muffled as the other men tie me up.

The man's hand lift up from my mouth only to be replaced by a thick cloth which is shoved into my mouth. My teeth bite on the material as my eyes start leaking tears again and my screams get muffled.

My body keeps on struggling but these men hold me tight enough for me to just wiggle in my place but not actually set myself free.

Suddenly my world completely blackens as someone puts a black hood on my entire face, tying it behind my head.

I whine, crying hard, still fighting my best but it's of no use. They're almost six men against me.

"C'mon," Owen says and then my body is lifted up by some guard as he slugs me over his shoulders.

I try to kick his stomach but both his hands hold me in my place as he starts walking to somewhere Owen is leading and I have no idea about.

The only thing I can think of  are the scenarios that Owen warned me about.

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What will happen?

~Aster🌸