21st✯

"D-dad?" Sanha stammered, gulping his saliva.

I was equally as shocked as Sanha was. What did he mean Dad? Since when was Mr. Yook Sanha's dad?

"What do you mean dad? My dad died years ago!" Sanha told him. "My mom told me. He died in a car accident when I was young."

I looked at Sanha, surprised to hear his story at this time. There was still so many things I didn't know about him, sadly. Especially the fact his dad died. 

Mr. Yook was chuckling, but it was far from a normal chuckle to when you're having fun or simply laughing at something funny. It was dark, grim, filled with so many secrets. "You don't know the truth, Sanha-yah. I don't blame that wench for not telling you. She must hate me that much."

"Don't you dare call my mom a wench! You're the wench here, ahjusshi!" Sanha screamed at him. 

I gave Sanha a concerned look but he didn't bother to see it. He was too busy glaring at Mr. Yook. Rocky and I exchanged worried looks. We were both afraid of what would happen to Sanha if he continued screaming at Mr. Yook. 

"Sanha-yah," I whispered, calling his attention. I didn't care if Mr. Yook was staring at me, I just wanted Sanha to calm down. 

Sanha's eyes shakily moved away from Mr. Yook's before landing onto mine. Once our eyes met, those shaky eyes of his slowly calmed down and his breathing became normal. "A-Aerim..."

My head angrily whipped at Mr. Yook's direction, slowly forcing my legs to stand up. Chaebong's men came dashing to me, holding my arms tightly so I wouldn't move, but did they think it would stop me? No. It won't. 

"You..." My voice was raspy and I did my best to sound harsh and scary. "Stop messing with all of us! Do you think this will make a difference in any way? It's like you staring at your untied shoelace. You throw it around, you touch it but all of that won't tie that shoelace. Stop it. I don't care if it's disrespectful yelling at an elder right now, just stop it!"

Mr. Yook's face turned darker and it evolved into something far more scarier. It was like awakening a dragon from the storybooks. "Chaebong-a? Lock them in the cage."

"What?" I breathed for air. "No! Wait— Oppa! Oppa!"

"Aerim-a!" Jeonghan screamed, trying to stand up from his seat but the ropes that tied his arms and legs prevented him from doing so. "Aerim-a! Yah! Stop this! Stop this, I say! Stop!"

I couldn't see Jeonghan anymore. I continued to be dragged away by them, farther and farther from where we were once kneeling on the floor. Rocky and Sanha squirmed around as well but to no avail. We were trapped, stuck, probably doomed to rot inside this abandon warehouse. 

MJ

"No replies?" asked MJ, leaning closer in to peek over Eun Woo's shoulder. 

Eun Woo shook his head and lightly threw his phone onto the table. "Nope, nothing. I think our plan's failing, hyung."

"Aniya! We can't let that happen. Rocky needs us. He needs Aerim," MJ said. 

Eun Woo stated facts, "I think Aerim doesn't want to get involved with us anymore, hyung. Rocky has to move on now."

MJ leaned back in his chair, pouting. "We can't let Rocky hurt alone, though..."

All of a sudden, the door flipped open, revealing an out of breath Jin Jin by the door frame. His eyes scanned around the room until they landed on both Eun Woo and MJ. He shuffled into the room, taking a seat on the empty chair. 

"Mwoya? What's with you, Jinwoo?" asked MJ, eyeing the younger one weirdly. "Did you eat something wrong or did a wild dog chase you into the entertainment?"

"Yah, have you two seen Rocky and Sanha?" Jin Jin asked. 

The two members exchanged looks before they shook their heads. 

"Ani, waeyo, hyung?" Eun Woo asked. 

"They went missing!" 

Both MJ and Eun Woo's eyes enlarged by the sudden news as they chorused together, "Mwo?!"

"Are you sure?" MJ asked, worried. 

Jin Jin nodded. "They're not in the dorm, in any part of the entertainment or with any of our managers or staff! I can't reach them by their phones, either! I think they switched them off. Do you think they sneaked out to visit Aerim?"

MJ gave it a thought. "I can understand if both of them did that, but why on earth would they turn off their phones? It's as if they're fighting secretly."

"I don't think so. They're close, I don't think they'd let a girl tear that apart," Eun Woo told MJ. 

"What do you think happened, then?" Jin Jin asked them. 

Eun Woo thought deep and hard about it but couldn't seem to find a clue. That was until Moonbin walked into the room, interrupting the quiet, thinking moment. 

"Oh, hyung! There you are!" Moonbin said, approaching Jin Jin with his usual smiley face. He noticed everyone's faces and asked, "What's with the atmosphere in here?"

"Aniya," Eun Woo replied, shaking his head. 

"Sanha and Rocky disappeared," MJ blurted out. Before he could take it back, he realized it was too late for it. He smacked his own head. 

Moonbin's eyes widened as he sat on top of the table. "Mwo? They disappeared?"

MJ ruffled his hair in frustration as Jin Jin shot him a look. So much for keeping it a secret, Myungjun...

"Oh, well. Since Bin already heard about it, best to just tell him. It wouldn't be fair to exclude someone on information like that." Jin Jin turned to look at Moonbin to fill him in with information he still doesn't know about. "Rocky seems to like Aerim, which is why he's acting stranger these days. We tried to set them up to resolve things but Aerim isn't replying and now both Rocky and Sanha are missing."

Moonbin's eyes widened. "Huh? Jinjja? How do we find them, then?"

Jin Jin shook his head, just as unsure as the other members. "I don't know. If we tell our managers, they might tell CEO-nim and I don't know how everything will turn out after that. For now, we should just remain mum and crack the mystery ourselves."

"Wait, Sanha mentioned something before. Something about... Aerim facing scary things alone," Bin contributed to the group. 

Everyone's attention shifted to Moonbin. 

"What do you mean by scary things?" asked Eun Woo, raising an eyebrow. 

Moonbin replied with an unsure shrug, "I'm not too sure. He just said something about it and I was so confused. There must be something Aerim's going through that makes Sanha feel concerned with her."

"He never told us about that?" MJ asked, feeling bitter that the youngest didn't bother telling the hyungs about these things. 

Moonbin slowly shook his head, pouting at his hyung. "Mianhae hyung."

"It's not your fault," MJ told him, patting him on the shoulder while giving him a smile. 

Once silence seeped in, everyone thought that was the end of the conversation. That was until Eun Woo spoke up, "Call Aerim."

Everyone's attention went over to him as they chorused, "Nae?"

"Call Aerim, I said!" Eun Woo shouted. 

Everyone was too afraid to disobey so they quickly followed his instructions. 

MJ took his phone out and dialed Aerim's number. He tapped the loudspeaker option and rested the phone on top of the table. It was ringing. 

Aerim

Once Chaebong's men left us after caging us behind bars, silence took over us. All of us avoided eye contact, probably ignoring each other's presence. Or we were still trying to let the information sink in. 

I secretly glanced at Sanha and saw him staring at the ground, probably shocked from the information. Poor him. He must have it worse since it's his own dad that has been the bad guy behind this whole scheme. Whatever game Mr. Yook was playing, he will never win. I will make sure of that. 

But, wait. Mr. Yook. Yoon Sanha. I don't understand the connection there. How could he be the father of Sanha if Sanha's family name is Yoon? 

Before I could question the name, my phone that was tucked inside the pocket of my sweatpants began ringing. I would have fished it out to answer but there's one thing preventing that from happening—ropes. 

Tied behind my back with tight ropes were my hands that wouldn't be able to reach out for my phone. But that might be the only way to escape so I had to try. Alas, to no avail. 

Rocky, snapping out of a daze, heard my phone ringing and immediately approached me. "That could be someone who can help us!"

"I know!" I said. "But I can't grab my phone. We might lose our chance."

"Wait, I'll try to get your phone. Hold on." Rocky briefly turned around and used his hands to reach inside my pocket, feeling around until he finally grabbed a hold of the electronic device. He fished it out and handed it to me but I kept forgetting my hands were tied behind my back. 

Turning around, I grabbed the phone with my hands and carefully placed it on the floor. I turned back around to face the phone and tried to swipe the answer button with my knee before pressing it on loudspeaker. 

"Y-yeobosaeyo?" I stuttered, feeling overwhelmed. I couldn't even help with Sanha—who was still in his own world—right now. 

"Aerim-a?" I felt so relieve to hear MJ's voice on the other line. I hope that Chaebong's men won't return until later because we need to save our butts right now. 

"Oppa!" I yelled, panting heavily. "Oppa, listen to me carefully. We're kidnapped and we can't explain to you what's going on but please, help us! We're in this old abandoned warehouse, probably on the outskirts of Seoul. Please, call anyone! The police! Tell the entertainment! I don't know, just get us out of here!"

"Wait, Aerim. Calm down! Who's there with you?" I heard Jin Jin's husky, low voice ask. 

"Rocky oppa and Sanha! They're here with me!" I heard light footsteps and cursed in my mind. "Oppa, we have to stop this call right now! Please, just save us!"

I used my knee to tap the end call button frantically and requested Rocky to help me with putting my phone back into the pocket of my pants. I tried to act natural, but I was still panting like crazy. 

One of Chaebong's men came back to check on us. He had a huge scar on his left eye and it was as big as the usual scars you'd when you fall down on the rough ground. How far did they go just to kill someone? 

He smiled wickedly at the three of us and gripped onto the metal bars. He made whistling sounds and circled our small cage as he continued to stare at us. 

Our eyes followed him and every second he was standing there, watching us, continued to accelerate my heart. He suddenly ran up forward, starling all except one—Sanha.

I ignored the guy with the scar and let all my attention focus on Sanha. I was getting worried with the way he just sat there, as if he was slowly disconnecting from the world. He wasn't saying anything. He was moving. I bet he wasn't even living after what he found out. 

I crouched down and tried to get Sanha's attention, since I couldn't put a hand on his shoulder. Once I had his attention, I gave him a smile and whispered, "We'll get through this and we'll definitely find all the answers to this confusing puzzle piece."

Guy with scar ended up snorting like some pig. "You think you'll find out things that easily? Wow, you must have gotten an A in the idiot exam."

I glared at him and stood up, approaching the guy with the scar. We met, face to face, with only the iron bars separating the both of us. "You think you're smart, too? Hey, for all I know, you barely went to school and that's how you ended up here, killing people for money. Gotta say, though. You got some skill to stay hidden and not get arrested. What's even better? If we somehow managed to escape," I took a step forward, trying to threaten him even more, "you're going to be the first one that will be thrown behind bars."

His eyes twitched a little, as if he felt fear travel through his veins for a quick second but immediately shrugged it off as he violently gripped onto the bars again. "I'm not scared of you, little girl."

"Never said you were." A smirk crawled its way onto my lips. "Just be cautious from now on, okay?"

He was laughing darkly. "You mean, you be careful, girly. Your words won't do anything to me."

"Okay then," I replied, disinterested. 

"Yah, you!" He pointed at me with his index finger shaking. He stared at me for a few more seconds before breaking gazes and punching the iron bars. 

I ignored him to tend to Sanha, who was still stuck in his own world. I wanted to shake him awake but I kept forgetting that my hands wouldn't be as helpful to me as of now. 

I shouldered him, hoping he would wake up from whatever he was trapped in. He blinked once, twice, before it continued multiple of times. He looked around, confused to who he was and why he was here. Then his eyes settled until they met mine. I smiled. 

"Aerim?" Sanha asked. 

Rocky looked away, trying to look as if he was trying to find a way out but I knew he was just doing that to try not to look jealous. It was too bad, it was already obvious. 

Shaking off Rocky, I concentrated on trying to help Sanha. "Are you okay?"

His eyes wandered around the floor, unsure. "I— I don't know... I... All these times, I thought my dad died. My mom told me stories about him, making me believe in him but finding out he was alive, finding out he was like this, I feel like I've been lied to my whole life."

My gaze dropped, feeling sorry for him. I guess when I thought I was having it hard, there was still Sanha, struggling because all these times, he's been lied too, as well. 

"Aerim," he called. 

I looked up. "Hmm?"

"He's the one who tried to kill me, isn't he?"

I paused. "W-what?"

"Don't lie to me this time, Aerim. He's the guy who tried to kill us when we were kids, wasn't he?" By now, Sanha's eyes slowly turned glassy and red, but not a single drop of tear fell. At least, not yet. 

"I— uh..." I choked on my own words, unsure if it would be healthy for Sanha to know the shocking truth. He didn't deserve this. Neither did I. 

"Aerim..." Tears began rolling down his eyes but he couldn't care less for them. "Tell me. Please, I want to know. No, I need to know."

"Mwo?" I wanted to slap his chest but my hands were still useless. "Pabo! Why would you want to hurt yourself? Look, you're already crying. Don't hurt yourself this way, Sanha."

"No, I have to know. What is it so hard for you to tell me?" Sanha asked, blinking the tears away. "It's true, isn't it? From the way you're not replying, it's obviously true! I always believed in my dad when I was young. I thought he was some kind of hero! Now... now I find out he's a villain? A freaking mafia! How would you feel if you were in my position, Aerim? How would you react?"

I looked away, feeling my eyes flood with unwanted liquid. He had no idea what I found out as well. He had no idea that my dad used to be one of them. 

"Oh, boo hoo," the man with the scar said. "So what if you find out your dad's hyungnim? That should be an honor, you know? He's paid millions to get rid of unwanted human beings."

My eyes glared up at him. "I guess I'm right. You never went to school. You never learned morals! Are you even human? You dare call yourself human? Killing someone isn't something human. Killing for money is even worst! I hope your family is ashamed of you. You dirty lowlifes."

"How dare you—"

"Down, Hyu Bong," a voice said. 

Our eyes turned to where the sound came from and saw Mr. Yook approaching with an inviting smile. 

No one said a word—not even the guy with the scar, uh, I mean, Hyu Bong. 

"What a sight to see here, eh?" Mr. Yook asked, circling the cage like we were his prey. "I wonder how hyung will react when he finds out I have two of his children. One more and I'll have my complete set."

Wait, if Mr. Yook called Dad hyung as in hyung, does that mean...

Mr. Yook is my uncle?

"...what was his name, again? Daeul? A cute boy, isn't he?" 

I snapped back to my senses and glared at him, shouting, "Don't you dare touch him! If you do, I will set your warehouse on fire and watch your body burn in front of my eyes!"

Mr. Yook laughed like what I said was the craziest thing ever. "You? Burn my place down? Daring words for a girl locked behind bars."

I was inwardly growling. I just wanted to bite his arm off, if that was even possible. "Touch him and you'll die. I'm serious."

"Woah, I'm shaking in my boots," he sarcastically said. "Watch that mouth of yours, Yoon Aerim. You might actually dead if you continued this."

As Mr. Yook was about to leave with Hyu Bong, a voice then asked, "Dad?"

That made Mr. Yook halt in his steps. 

My eyes wandered to Sanha, where his attention was only focused on Mr. Yook. 

"Sanha, what are you doing?" Rocky whispered. 

"How could a dad... How could a dad just leave their son and wife? How could a dad have intentions on killing their son? What kind of father are you?" Sanha screamed the words out. 

Mr. Yook slowly turned around with no expressions on his face. "A father who abandoned their title as one."

"You're an embarrassment. It would have been better if I knew you were dead," Sanha hissed. 

"Don't we have the same thoughts then?" Mr. Yook smirked. "You were supposed to be dead, Sanha. Along with your cousin of yours." Mr. Yook briefly eyed me before his attention went back to Sanha. "Life always have other plans. It's fine if I have to kill you off now, but we'll have to wait until the guest of honor arrives."

"You coward! You're inhuman! I can't believe you're my father!" Sanha began shooting words out of his mouth, hoping one would trigger something inside of Mr. Yook but he only walked away without being affected. 

I tried to calm Sanha down but Rocky held me back, telling me he should calm down on his own. 

"This is too much for him to handle," Rocky said. "Leave him be. He needs time to resolve those thoughts in his head."

I inhaled a deep breath before nodding my head. If that was what would help him, I'm willing to do that. I wonder if MJ and the others were searching for us now.

Eun Woo

"Warehouse?" Jin Jin echoed, staring at the others. 

"Kidnapped?" Moonbin asked, his mouth hanging open. "That can't be! Could it...?"

"Whatever is happening, it's happening. We need to move fast now. Come on." Eun Woo stood up and left the room. 

The others exchanged brief eye contact before chasing their member. 

"Yah! Do you think that's a smart idea? To go by ourselves without— without—"

"A plan!" MJ helped their leader finish his sentence. 

"Exactly! A plan!" Jin Jin patted Eun Woo's shoulder. "We don't know what to do, Eun Woo. We should just phone the police."

"Hyung, there's no time. Plus, if we call the police now, we'll have to face reporters and we'll only delay time. We have to do this now," Eun Woo told his hyung. "Before something happens."

Jin Jin sighed. "If you think it's a smart idea, fine. But if we're getting ourselves in trouble, be prepared to be reprimanded from activities as Astro, arasso?"

By the mention of ceasing of their activities, everyone became hesitant. Nevertheless, their schedules didn't mean as much as the safety of their members and their friend, Aerim. Slightly nodding in agreement, the four of them set out to find out where they were being held hostage.

✯~✯ ~ ✯

"Over there!" Moonbin said, pointing at a warehouse not too far from the outskirt of town. There were no cars on this road and only prairies surrounded the lonely road with only a few trees. 

"What do we do after we get there? For all we know, they have weapons and big strong men! I don't think Bin's muscle would save us," MJ said, pinching Bin's muscles. 

"Ouch! Hyung! That hurt!" Moonbin complained, rubbing his arm. 

MJ stared at him with disbelief before scoffing. "Yah! You have muscles! That small pinch isn't suppose to be painful!" 

"I have sensitive skin," Moonbin replied. 

"Look, we have to locate where they keep Aerim, Sanha and Rocky. We can't just rush inside. There's a window," Eun Woo pointed at an open window by the sides of the gigantic warehouse, "over there. Sneak towards it and try to find out where they are. Then see if there are any way to get to that place."

Jin Jin was somehow proud of his member acting as if he were the leader of the FBI. He gave Eun Woo a pat, indicating that he was proud of him. 

Eun Woo smiled back. 

"Okay, let's go." 

The four boys sneaked towards the warehouse and crouched below the window, afraid that someone might spot them. Neither of them moved nor tried to peek through the window. Then, when no one was doing anything, Eun Woo stood up and overlooked the area. He saw a boy with long hair—at least, longer than normal boys' hair—tied to a chair, his face filled with scars and bruises. He didn't see Aerim around. 

"Is she there?" MJ whispered, looking up at the Eun Woo. 

"No, I don't see them around," Eun Woo answered, looking again. 

There was a door leading to somewhere else but he didn't know where. Then one of the many big men started to move and instantly, Eun Woo crouched down even lower but made sure he was still able to see them. They pushed the door and Eun Woo caught a glimpse of an iron cage with people inside them. 

They're there.

"I found them. Come on," Eun Woo said, leading the others around the warehouse to get to the other side. 

"This is risky. Really, really, really risky," MJ muttered to himself as he followed the others, tip toeing to the other side. 

There was another window there and they sat below it, once again, awaiting for Eun Woo to peek through it. Though, this time, he wasn't able to because they heard voices. 

People talking. 

"Chaebong."

"Funny, you know my name. Where did you hear that from? If I'm not mistaken, I've never introduced myself to you."

"Sometimes, you just know things."

"Hmm."

"They're there," Eun Woo whispered to the other members. 

"How do we get in? The window's blocked off with wooden planks nailed to the wall," MJ whispered back. 

"Then we have to break them," Eun Woo said. 

"What?" Jin Jin faced Eun Woo. "Break them? Won't that make a lot of noise? Yah, you're crazy!"

"We don't have another choice, hyung!" Eun Woo screamed whisper. 

"Shh," Moonbin silenced everyone else and pointed ahead. "Someone's coming! Hide!"

The members scattered to find places to hide in. A man was trudging his way in. 

Probably one of the men, Eun Woo thought. 

Aerim

Chaebong circled us, just like Hyu Bong and Mr. Yook. I guess it's that addictive to look at your prisoners in every angle, huh?

"What do you want with us? Just because my dad doesn't want to be a lowlife, why are you doing all of these? Is he that special?" I asked him. 

Chaebong let out a chuckle. "So you don't know a lot about your dad's past, huh?"

My lips went dry. I did know a little about it, but not too much. What more have Dad omitted? 

"Seems like you don't."

My eyes moved up from the ground and glared at Chaebong. "Oh, yeah? And what do you know, huh?"

Chaebong stop moving around and stayed in one place, his eyes moving up to stare at the ceiling and his hands were tucked behind his back. "I know way more than you do, Aerim. Care to know a few things about your loving daddy?"

I was tempted once again but I kept silent. 

"You're having a conflict." Chaebong smirked. "Tell you what, I'll do you a good favor and tell you all about your dad's past. How does that sound?"

I stayed silent. I don't think knowing about Dad being an ex-mafia would do me any good. 

Chaebong started without waiting for a reply, "He was a legend, Aerim-a. Killed so many people, earned so much money. It was a shame he stopped being one after an incident. Do you want to know why? The reason to why he stopped?"

I didn't bother to show any interest to him but everything he was saying was starting to scar me. 

No, Aerim. He's no longer like that. He's your loving dad. The hero to you. He's no longer a real life villain.

Once again, Chaebong didn't wait for a reply. "He killed your aunt, Aerim. He killed your mother's sister. Your mother was pregnant with Jeonghan at that time and your dad didn't know who he was supposed to kill until he killed. He was so scared of anyone finding out that he made it look like it was a suicidal attempt. From that day onward, the legend stepped down from his title and became a boring old man raising three kids."

"At least that boring old man has a better shot at happiness than you all do."

My head moved towards the door and saw Dad standing there with his eyebrows furrowed. 

"A-appa!" I squeaked. 

~Author's Notes~

Don't know where this story is going, but I'm just going with the flow. Sorry in advance if this story ended up being crappy xD But ooo, it's a long chapter :3

I'm late on this but that #KpopTwitterIsGoingToJailParty trend is the best thing I've ever encountered as a Kpop fan. That's history, guys. Oh my gosh, all the memes are so hilarious 

Where my EXO-Ls at right now? I CAN'T GET OVER MONSTER, IT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG I'VE EVER HEARD HOLY — EXO's Lucky One one is also really really really really really good but Monster was just freaking slay. The beat. The freaking beat is just wonderful. 

Happy Ramadan to all the Muslim Kimichies :) Late, again, but this update took me days to complete so yeah xD

xoxo

Byun Sang Kyung