Jungkook hasn’t talked to me since the incident last week. I’m genuinely ok with that. I need space from him. The squad comes home today. I’m really nervous because Mr. Kim is throwing a party for their return. It’s not as fancy a party as last time, but I still have to Jungkook hasn’t talked to me since the incident last week. I’m genuinely ok with that. I need space from him. The squad comes home today. I’m really nervous because Mr. Kim is throwing a party for their return. It’s not as fancy a party as last time, but I still have to dress up a bit. I don’t need Sakura’s help this time. I hop into the shower and stand under the steaming hot water. I let the water run through my hair. I stand there for a few more minutes before washing my body and hopping out. I dry myself off, put on lotion and moisturizer, and then put on my outfit for tonight. I chose a miniskirt with a matching spaghetti strap crop top. A leather jacket to top it off and black combat boots. I put on neutral makeup and I put my hair into half up half down space buns.
After checking myself out in the mirror, I grab my phone.
It’s nearly time for the party. I take a deep breath and walk to the door. Then I hear a knock and I open it.
“They’re here.” Sakura says. I nod and follow her into the hall. “Are you ready?” She asks me.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I reply. She gives my hand a small squeeze before we walk downstairs to the party. It’s held in the same room that my birthday party was held in. We entered the room and surprisingly, even though we’re an hour early, we weren’t the only people in the room. We walked in and started walking to a table. Suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around me, lifted me up, and spun me around.
“Akari, I missed you so much.” Taehyung says, turning me to face him. He hugs me. At least it’s not him that was killed. I scoffed.
“Don’t do that.” I push him off me and walk to the table. I sit next to Sakura.
“Don’t do what?” He asks, sitting next to me.
“Just leave me alone.” I snap at him.
“Akari what-“
“I said go away.” I turn away from him.
Taehyung’s POV
We finally arrived at the house. We only had a few hours to rest. But I don’t want to rest, I want to see Akari. I missed her so much. It was hard leaving her like that, but it was for the best. I can’t wait to see her again. I adjust my tie before walking into the party room. Only a few people are here. I hope Akari comes soon. I sit at the bar and open my phone. I see all the missed texts and calls from Akari. I’m not sure why she texted me so many times if she knew I didn’t have my phone. I shrug it off and look up. Sakura and Akari walk into the room. A smile spreads across my face as I walk towards them. I snake my arms around Akari’s waist and lift her up, spinning her around. I set her down, facing me, and pull her into a tight hug.
“Akari, I missed you so much.” I say into her shoulder.
“Don’t do that.” She pushes me away harshly and walks to the table Sakura’s at. I follow her and sit beside her.
“Don’t do what?”
“Just leave me alone.” She snaps. What did I do to her? Is she still mad about our argument?
“Akari I-“
“I said go away.” She turns from me. I nod and slowly stand up, walking away. I don’t know what’s wrong. She’s mad at me for something. Is it possible that she didn’t read the note? I shrug it off and walk back to the bar. I’m just glad to be home.
End of Taehyung’s POV
I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the party. Not after what Taehyng said to me. Did he really miss me? And if he did, why did he leave me the way he did? Why did he ignore my texts and calls? Finally, Mr. Kim let us leave the party room. I immediately went to my room, hoping he wouldn’t follow me. Disappointingly, he did. I roll my eyes and keep my back to him.
“What do you want?” I snap at him.
“I want to know why you’re mad at me.” He says.
“Are you stupid?” I turn to face him and cross my arms. He looked hurt.
“I-I don’t know.” He says quietly, looking to the floor.
“You literally just left me here for nearly a year. You didn’t say bye and when I texted you, you didn’t answer. Then you had the audacity to break up with me without saying anything. So you wanna still say ‘oh I don’t know why you’re mad at me?’“ I roll my eyes. He chuckles. “And now you’re laughing-“
“Akari listen-“
“No!” I yell at him. “I’m not going to. You-“
“Just listen. Please.” He says, silencing me. “I’m not laughing at you. I just can’t believe you didn’t read the note.” He sighs.
“What note?” I ask judgmentally.
“I figured you’d still be mad at me the next morning so I wrote a note and left it by your pillow. I guess you didn’t see it.” He walks towards my bed. “But I don’t know where it would be.” He looks under my bed and I stand there watching him in awe. He stands up with a piece of paper. “Here.” He hands it to me. I hesitantly grab it from his hand.
“But-“
“Just read it. Please?” He asks. I roll my eyes and open the note.
Akari,
By the time you read this, I’ll be halfway to America, if not already there.
When I was chosen as squad leader, I had to make a choice. As you know, I had to choose four other people to be on my squad. It was a very difficult decision. And although I really don’t want to leave you for as long as I have to, I didn’t want any harm to come to you on this mission either. My father told me that this was the most dangerous mission that he had ever been alive to witness so I couldn’t choose you. I hope you’ll understand. Since I’m going to be gone for a while I wanted to make sure nothing happens to you. First, I’m gonna leave my phone here so that the other Mafia can't track my location. They won't find out that I left for a few weeks, hopefully months. They’re the freaking Mafia so of course they’ll find out that I’m not home with you. I know you said you were capable of defending yourself, but you know me, overprotective. Second, I’m telling my father to tip off the press about two months into the mission. He’s gonna tell them that I broke up with you because again, the Mafia will eventually find out that I left you. And, like last time, they might use you to their advantage. I can’t lose you.
Remember when I told you I had two fears? I told you I’d tell you when I was ready. Well, I’m ready now. I’m afraid of losing people I love. It’s happened to me too many times. And I swear if I lose you, I don’t know what I’d do with myself because I love you so much, Akari. I’m sorry I never got to tell you in person, but I want you to know how much you mean to me. I would do anything for you. I hope you understand. I’ll miss you so much while I’m gone.
I Love you,
Taehyung
I look up at him with tears in my eyes. Guilt floods over me. Then that guilt turns to anger and I glare hotly at him. I ball my fists, crumpling the note. Then all the anger subsides and turns to pain as a tear slides down my cheek. He takes a step closer to me and wipes the tear with his thumb. I look at the floor.
“That doesn’t excuse the fact that you left me without saying goodbye.” I reply.
“I know. It was stupid of me.”
“Yeah. It was.” I scoff.
“But, Akari, what I wrote was true. I love you.” He says. I look up at him. He takes both of my hands in his. “I will never leave you again like that. I promise.”
“T-Taehyung.” I stutter.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I should tell you.” I pull my hands away from his, guilt devouring my body.
“What’s wrong?” He looks concerned. I take a deep breath.
“When you ‘broke up with me’ I was heartbroken because, I mean I didn’t know you weren’t actually breaking up with me. I was angry and resentful and hurt. So I started talking to Jungkook a lot. He kind of distracted me from being depressed. And one night he came into my room-“
“What!?” He raises his voice. “So I leave and you sleep with Jungkook?”
“I never slept with him!” I yell. “You didn’t even let me finish.”
“That sentence won’t end well anyway.”
“YOU left ME! Without saying anything!” I retort.
“So just because I leave means you make out with Jungkook?” He crosses his arms.
“Well you shouldn’t have left me without saying bye!”
“I thought you’d still be mad at me!” He yells
“How would you know? You didn’t ask?!”
“So you cheated on me?”
“I thought you broke up with me. I thought you didn’t care about me anymore! It was your fault for writing that stupid note. How were you positive that I was even gonna get it? I clearly didn’t and now you’re blaming this on me!? That’s not fair!” The tears welling up in my eyes threaten to spill over. I blink to keep them from falling.
“At least I tried to protect you!”
“What a comeback.” I roll my eyes. He grunts in frustration.
“You are so…”
“So what?”
“I don’t even know!”
“Why are you yelling at me? This is all your fault!” I turn away from him. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Fine! Maybe it’s better that we don’t talk. We always end up fighting!” He slams the door behind him.
Taehyung’s POV
I slam her door and pace back and forth in the hallway, breathing heavily. I don’t know how I feel. She kissed Jungkook. Without regret. Who knows what else happened while I was gone. I turn around and nearly knock Sakura over.
“I’m sorry.” I say quietly.
“Are you ok?” She asks me. I turn away from her so she doesn’t see me crying.
“No.” I reply. “She..she kissed Jungkook.” She places her hand on my shoulder.
“Taehyung?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you listen to the full story?” She asks me.
“What else is there to hear? She kissed him.”
“No. He kissed her.” She says. “She did kiss him back, but then she realized that it wasn’t right and pushed him away. Haven’t you noticed the awkwardness between her and Jungkook? It’s because she rejected him. You didn’t even bother to let her explain, I’m sure,”
“You’re right. I didn’t let her explain.” I sigh. “But she just exploded. Like this was all my fault.”
“But you did leave her without saying bye. I don’t think you understand how heartbroken she was. She wouldn’t come out of her room for days. She barely talked to me and she cried herself to sleep a lot. I don’t think you realize how much your decision affected her.” She informs me.
“I feel horrible. This is all my fault. I wish I had said bye to her that morning. None of this would’ve happened.” I say. “Thank you Sakura.” I hug her quickly.
“You’re welcome. I hate it when you two fight.” She chuckles. “Now get some sleep and we’ll figure this out in the morning.” She walks to her room. I really need to apologize to Akari but after our fight, I highly doubt she’ll want to hear me out. I walk back to her door and stand outside it. Then I slowly open the door and peek my head through. She’s curled up in her bed, crying into her knees. How I longed to open the door and pull her into a tight embrace. She would push me away though. I respected her request to not talk to her and went back to my room. I snuggled with Yeontan in my bed as I layed down.
“I missed you buddy.” I say, petting his head. He licked my hand. “So you think Akari will forgive me?” He barks. “I hope so too, buddy.” I scratch behind his ear. “Well goodnight.” He locks my face and curls into a ball next to me.
End of Taehyung’s POV
“Akari and I aren’t really speaking. She barely talks to me and when she does it’s only to ask me to pass the salt or what time practice is. I miss her. Every time I try to stop her to apologize she stops for a second, smiles at me sarcastically, then says: Sorry. I’m busy.
It's partially my fault, so I understand why she’s so bitter towards me. I just wish she wouldn’t be.” I sigh after hearing Taehyung talk to his dog about his problems. It's kinda cute to be honest. I’ve been too upset to listen to him but it’s been long enough. I should stop being stubborn. He suddenly opens the door and I stand up straight.
“What are you doing outside my door?” He asks quizzically.
“I was umm..I don’t know.” I say, defeated.
“Ok.” He clears his throat. “I was just going to-“
“I miss you.” I cut him off, walking into his room. “A lot. And I’m really sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“I’m sorry for being so stubborn. And for yelling at you the other week.” I reply. He chuckles.
“I’m sorry too. For everything.” I slowly lift my gaze to his. “Will you forgive me?” He asks.
“Only if you forgive me.” I smile. He engulfs me into a tight hug and I wrap my arms around his neck. I bury my face in his neck. I definitely missed this. “I hope we never fight like this again.” I say.
“Me too. I missed this.” He says. I chuckle, then pull away from him.
“I couldn’t sleep and I had to talk to you.” I admit.
“Of course.” He laughs. “You felt too guilty?”
“Yup.” I reply, sitting on the edge of his bed. He sits down next to me.
“Are you not gonna go to sleep? It’s nearly midnight.” He asks me.
“I am.” I say, crawling under his blanket.
“Oh, you’re staying in here?” He says.
“Why not? I missed cuddling with you.” I shrug.
“Ok then.” He replies. “But I still have to shower.”
“Fine with me.” I close my eyes and lay down. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
“And you know I sleep shirtless, right?” He smirks at me. I hide my face in the pillow so he can’t see me blush.
“I’ll probably be asleep before you get back, though.”
“Sure, sure.” he says, walking into the bathroom. I roll my eyes and try to go to sleep. Yeontan jumps onto the bed and curls next to me. I stroke his back. A few minutes later, Taehyung comes out of the bathroom. I peek my eyes open and see him, with his back towards me, lip syncing a song with his hairbrush. I think he thinks I’m asleep so I try to keep my laughter in. He dances and starts actually singing. Then he has a major voice crack and I laugh.
“Ha. I knew you weren’t sleeping.” He smirks. He is shirtless and without realizing, I check him out. “Why are you checking me out?” I widen my eyes and blush.
“I wasn’t.” I say quickly, looking away.
“You were.” He gets into bed next to me.
“Anywho…goodnight.” I say, facing my back to him.
“Nice try.” He grabs my arm and flips me around to face him. “I missed you, babygirl.” He says. My heart quickens when he hovers over me.
“W-what are you doing?” I say nervously.
“Just admiring you.” He caresses my cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes move from my face down to my chest.
“Stop it.” I chuckle, playfully hitting his chest.
“Why?” He smirks. “I missed teasing you.” He presses his lips to my neck.
“Taehyung, stop.” I demand. “It’s too late for this.”
“Says who?” He starts sucking my neck. Then he gently bites it. I put my hands on his chest and try to push him away but he grabs them and pins them above my head.
“Taehyung-“ he cuts me off by smashing his lips against mine. He slides his hands down my body and to my waist. I reluctantly wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back.
“You better not let anyone touch you again.” He demands against my lips.
“I’ll try not to.” I reply jokingly. He bites my lower lip pretty hard.
“Oww. Stop.” I whimper. Instead of stopping, he tugs on the bottom of my shirt. I chuckle because I know he’s doing this out of jealousy.
“I love you so much.” He says, pulling up my shirt. Welp, there goes my beauty sleep.
The next morning….
I wake up to a snoring Taehyung. His arms are wrapped around my waist and his head resting on my bare stomach. I brush my fingers through his hair. Last night was fun. The most fun I’ve had in a while. I just don’t want to tell Sakura or she’ll tease me until I die. Suddenly, someone aggressively knocks on the door. Taehyung stirs and wakes up.
“Who is it?” He yells, groggily.
“Your Father would like to speak with you.” A voice says from outside the door.
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Yes sir.” Taehyung sighs and sits up. He looks over at me and smirks. I cover myself with the blanket once I realize that I’m only in my undergarments.
“Did you sleep well?” He asks, grinning at me.
“Shut up.” I blush. “Doesn’t your father need you?” I remark.
“He can wait.” He says, rolling on top of me.
“Stop. I’ve had enough already.” I laugh, pushing him off me.
“How are you gonna walk across to your room?” He asks out of nowhere.
“First, I’m gonna take my clothes from the ground, and then put them on. Magic I know.” I say sarcastically. I hop out of bed and grab my clothes. I put them on quickly. “See. Not that difficult.”
“Ok then.” He chuckles. I hug him.
“Thank you.” I say.
“For what?”
“Such a fun night.” I smile at him.
“Well then.” He grabs my waist and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck.
“I think you should go to your Father now.” I say, pulling away from him.
“No I-“
“Go.” I push him away from me.
“Fine.” He grabs his phone and walks out of the room. I roll my eyes and chuckle. I walk into the hallway and see Sakura grinning.
“Hey.” She says.
“Hi.” I look at the floor.
“What’s that on your neck?” She asks. I slap my hand over my neck. “It’s too late. I already saw it.” She chuckles.
“Well uhh…” I look at the floor.
“Don’t tell me he…” I nod slightly. “Akari, really?”
“Sorry.” I shrug. “We got carried away.”
“Yeah, way too carried away.”
“Sorry.” I say again. “But it’s not like I have to worry about teen pregnancy.” I roll my eyes.
“But still. What would Father think?”
“Sorry to break it to you, but Father’s not here.” I remark, walking away from her. I was not expecting that reaction. I shook it off as I entered my room. To my surprise, Mr. Kim was sitting on my bed.
“I thought you wanted to speak to Taehyung.” I say, walking in.
“He’ll find out sooner or later that I’m not in my office. Good thing it’s on the complete opposite side of the house.” He chuckles eerily.
“Why are you here?” I demand.
“I just wanted to warn you.” He says.
“About what?”
“Taehyung’s not what he seems.” He replies.
“What are you trying to do? Get me to break up with him? I think the person I should be warned of is you. You’ve done nothing for me and my family since I ‘ve been here. In fact, I’ve lost almost all of my family. And it’s strange how they all start disappearing when we’ve arrived here. Now I don’t know what’s going on but-”
“You’d better stop sticking your nose in places it doesn’t belong.” He cuts me off and walks towards me. “Now I'd suggest that you stop playing detective before someone else gets hurt.” He pushes past me and walks out of my room. I have to find out what’s going on here before it’s too late.
Disturbing Discovery
The more I trained the stronger I became. I was always the top of the class but was never able to beat our instructor. Today, I finally beat him, though. I was so proud of myself. After training, Sakura, Aera, and I celebrated by going out to get ice cream. Taehyung couldn’t come with us because he had a fever. He had been out the night before on a mission. He was outside the whole time so he got sick. Taehyung told me that he never ended up meeting with his father that day. I was tempted to tell him why, but decided against it. I can’t trust that there aren’t security cameras all over the house. There’s gotta be something I can do about the Mr. Kim situation. Everything seems off and I don't know who to trust anymore. I can’t talk to anyone about it because Mr. Kim will somehow find out and who knows what will happen after that. I don’t understand how no one else thinks he’s creepy. Maybe he’s just picking on me and no one else. I gotta find out what he’s hiding. I walk towards his office. There’s gotta be something in there that will explain things. When I get to his office, the door is cracked open. I stand by the door.
“Did he get the code from her?” Mr. Kim asks.
“I don’t know sir.” Another voice says.
“Well I need that code. Their vault has a large amount of money and I need the code to open it. We couldn’t get it out of Mr. Kimura so Akari and Sakura are our last bets. Once we have the code we can dispose of them. But Taehyung needs to get me the code quickly. Akari’s onto us. She knows something’s up and it’s only a matter of time before she finds out the truth.”
“But sir-”
“No buts. You tell Taehyung to hurry his ass and get the code from her. He’s the only person she trusts around here.”
“Yes sir.” The man walks towards the door and I duck around the corner. The man walks down the hall towards Taehyung’s room. Taehyung’s just using me? How did I not see this coming? I scoff and roll my eyes. Mr. Kim finally walks out of his office and I sneak in, closing the door behind me. I rush over to his desk and open the first drawer. I rustle through the papers to see if there's anything important. I stop when I see a file with my last name written in red. I full out the file and take a deep breath before opening it. I decided not to open it here. I walked towards the door and peeked my head out. I looked both ways before running into the hall. I hurry back to my room and lock the door. I grab kimchi and hop on my bed. There’s gotta be something in here that’ll clear things up for me. I slowly open the file. There was a report about each member of my family. I start with mine. My name, my age, my phobia. I mean I never told anyone about my fear of snakes before. The only person I told was Taehyung. So this whole time, he only ‘dated’ me to get information about me. I roll my eyes and keep reading.
I read through the entire file. They knew everything about us. Stuff that I specifically told Taehyung not to tell anyone. I can’t believe I forgave him, just to find out that he never really loved me. I wasted my time on him. Suddenly, another paper falls from the file. I pick it up. A kill list. My entire family is on this list. I gasp.
Kimura Kenzo: We have him detained.
Kimura Aikoku: Kill attempt successful
Kimura Sakura: Have not attempted kill yet
Kimura Akari: Kill attempt unsuccessful
I drop the paper. Mr. Kim killed my brother. And my father’s not dead. I have to show this to Sakura. I’m sure there’s a bug in her room too, though. I rush to her room and barge in.
“Hi, Akari. What’s up?” She smiles at me.
“You’ve gotta read this book.” I hand her the file.
“This isn’t-”
“Just read it.” I walk to her lamp and point at the bug. Her eyes widen but she opens the file and reads through it. Tears fill her eyes as she read through it.
“Wow. Her dad never actually died.” She says, in tears. “And he killed their brother on purpose. And attempted to kill the main character.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna go back to the library later to see if I can find more books like it.” I hope she gets what I’m trying to say.
“Well, I don’t think you should. What if someone’s already in the library looking at the same book?”
“I’m not going back to the library anytime soon. But I’m not gonna rest until I find out what happens to their family.” I take the file from her and storm outside. I can’t believe Taehyung would do this to me. It’s gonna take me a while to take in all this information. My father is still alive. I wonder where they’re keeping him. I also don’t understand how my brother's death was planned. Unless…Jungkook. It couldn’t have been him, right? I mean he saved us that day. I should talk to him before jumping to conclusions. I turn around and see Taehyung walking towards me. I roll my eyes and walk past him.
“Hey, wait. I-”
“I can’t talk right now.” I say to him.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t talk, ok?”
“Please tell me what’s wrong.” He pleads.
“Fine. You really wanna know?”
“Yes I do.” He replies.
“Ok. Fine.” I sit down. “You lied to me.” I start.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t do that, ok? I know about everything.” I cross my arms.
“Akari, I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please, stop lying to me!” I raise my voice. He sighs. “I know you’ve just been using me for information. Please just tell me the truth.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out.” He says quietly.
“Well, I did.” I sigh. “Care to explain?”
“You don’t understand-”
“Then explain it to me.” I cut him off. “What code did your father want?”
“He wanted the code to your vault. He wanted the money.” He explains.
“Well, lucky for me, I never actually knew the code.” I reply. “So you never actually liked me? You just used me?”
“It’s not like that.”
“How can it not be like that? Just tell me the truth.” I demand.
“Look, you’re right. At the beginning, before you came here, my father told me to earn your trust and get the code from you.”
“So you never really liked me?”
“Not at first.” He says.
“Not at first? So you just had a change of heart?”
“I fell in love with you. That’s what happened.”
“Really? And how am I supposed to believe you?”
“You can’t. And I understand that.”
“So when did you actually fall in love with me?” I ask.
“When I saved you from bleeding to death.” he chuckles.
“Right. So everything before that was a lie?”
“Yeah.” he looks at the floor.”
“Even our first kiss?” The tears in my eyes threaten to spill over. He nods. “Taehyung, do you know how real I thought all of that was?”
“I know. And I’m sorry.” He tries to grab my hand but I pull it away from him.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“What are you saying?” He asks, getting worried.
“Taehyung, I can’t trust you anymore.”
“I know. But you gotta believe me, I love you.”
“Really?” I stand up and start walking towards the door.
“Really. And I don’t deserve you.” He says, following me.
“Yeah, you don’t.”
“But I do really love you.”
“Then prove it.”
“Ok. I’ll do anything you want me to do.” He says.
“Look, I just need a break from you. If you really love me then…leave me alone.” I reply, looking him in the eye.
“Done.” He kisses my cheek and walks inside. I wipe the tear sliding down my cheek. It’s better this way.
Three weeks later….
I’m sick for the second time this year. I usually don’t get sick so Sakura’s really worried.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” She asks me for the third time.
“I’m fine.” I reply. “I’m just a little stuffy.” I sneeze.
“And sneezey.” She chuckles.
“I’m ok. Really.” I assure her.
“Ok. But I’m not just talking about your health. I know it was hard breaking up with Taehyung.”
“I’m fine. I couldn’t trust him so what’s the point of dating someone you can’t trust.” I shrug. “Plus it’s easier when he avoids me.”
“Ok, well I’ll let you rest.” She walks towards the door.
“Thanks for taking care of me.”
“Of course. Just call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” I smile as she walks out of my room. A little pile of tissues began to form at the foot of my bed. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door.
“Come in.” I call. Jungkook walks in. I haven’t really spoken to Jungkook since the incident. “Oh..uh..hi.”
“Hey.” He replies. “I heard you were sick. I just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m fine. Thank you though.” He sits at the edge of my bed.
“I have a question for you.” He says.
“Ok, shoot.”
“I heard you and Taehyung broke up. Do you mind telling me why?”
“Why do you need to know?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I just wanna know.” He shrugs.
“We just had a fight.” I reply.
“About what?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Why do you want to know? It’s not your business.”
“I just want to make sure you’re ok.”
“I’m fine. Thanks. You can go now.” I say.
“Alright, fine.” He stands up and walks out. Something’s definitely not right. I wish I could go back to Mr. Kim’s office. It’s been three weeks since I went there the first time and I got so much information in the short time I was there. If I could just get more time in his office, I bet I could unravel this entire dilemma. The only facts I know for sure is that my father’s alive and that Mr. Kim is just gonna kill my family off once he gets our money. He’s halfway there. I just have to go back. I drag my sick ass outta bed and slowly walk towards the door. I’m aching everywhere but this can’t wait any longer. I don’t wanna stay here. I want my family back, or at least to avenge their deaths. I walk into the hallway and towards Mr. Kim’s office. I turn the corner and run into Taehyung. He avoids eye contact with me.
“Why are you out of your room? You’re sick.” He says plainly.
“None of your business.” I walk past him, coughing. He catches my arm.
“It is my business. I can’t let you infect the others here.” He says, coldly. I rip my arm away from him.
“Too bad.” I smile sarcastically at him. Then I continue to Mr. Kim’s office. I put my ear against the door to make sure no one’s in there. It’s silent so I carefully open it a smidge. When the coast is clear, I walk inside as quietly as possible. I run over to his desk and skim through the files, again. Suddenly, someone walks down the hallway. *! I hide underneath the desk and pray that no one finds me.
“Taehyung, all you had to do was get the code from her. Is it that difficult?” Mr. Kim says, angrily. “Now we’ll never get the money.”
“I’m sorry. But I told you, she didn’t know.”
“She could’ve been lying to you.”
“Even if she was, she didn’t tell me the code. She doesn’t want to talk to me now so you’ll have to find someone else. I can’t just betray her, again.”
“You’re so stupid.” Mr. Kim says. “Your assignment was to get her to trust you, not to get so attached to her.” He sighs deeply. “But whatever. You’re useless to me.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” Taehyung says sarcastically. The urge to sneeze is haunting me. I can’t or else they’ll find me. Hold it in. I rub my nose trying to rid myself of the feeling.
“Achoo.” It comes out anyway. I slap my hand over my mouth and shut my eyes tightly. I’m dead.
“Who’s there?” Mr. Kim demands. I freeze.
“I’ll check.” Taehyung says, walking towards the desk. He peeks his head under and we make eye contact for a split second.
“Who is it?” Mr. Kim asks. He grabs my arm and pulls me from under the table.
“Don’t say anything.” He whispers, harshly, in my ear.
“Ahh, Akari. Did you find anything useful in here? Besides the files you found the other week?” I listen to Taehyung and keep my mouth shut. “Don’t do that. You’ve always been real vocal about your opinion of me. I try to take a step forward but Taehyung holds me back.
“Let go of me.” I demand.
“Fine.” he raises his hands in surrender. I walk towards Mr. Kim.
“I don’t know why you think I know the code to my own vault.” I say.
“I just assumed that-” A satisfying echo fills the room once my hand made contact with his face.
“Well I didn’t know. So now I’m useless to you, huh?”
“Oh you’ll regret that.” He replies.
“I bet.” I chuckle and walk towards the door. I freeze when he cocks his gun. I gulp and slowly turn around.
“You’re right. You’re useless to me.” Mr. Kim says. “So is Sakura. I have no need for you anymore. Plus you’ve found all my secrets.”
“Fine.” I cross my arms. I close my eyes, waiting for the hit. He pulls the trigger. When I feel no pain, I open my eyes and gasp. Taehyung towers over me.
“I told you. I love you.” He whispers and falls to the ground. I glare hotly at Mr. Kim. He drops the guns and runs into the hall. Taking the gun, I run after him and shoot him. Not in a spot that can kill him, though. I’m not heartless. Then I rush back over to Taehyung and sit beside him. He opens his eyes when I cradle him in my arms. It won’t be long before someone comes here and arrests me for shooting Mr. Kim. A tear falls from my eyes and lands on his cheek.
“Don’t cry.” He chuckles, wiping my face.
“Where’d he hit you?” I ask.
“My lower back. Nothing fatal.” He replies.
“Nothing fatal? Seriously?” I scoff.
“So now you talk to me? When I’m about to bleed to death.”
“Don’t say that. You’re fine.” I stroke his face with my hand.
“Don't say what? The truth.” He scoffs. “I knew you still cared about me.”
“Of course I do. I said I couldn’t trust you, not that I didn't want to.” I move my hand to the wound on his lower back. I push on it to stop some of the bleeding and his whole body tenses. His blood gets all over my hands and clothes, but I don’t care.
“Don’t waste your time on me. You should run while you have the chance.” He says softly.
“And leave you here?”
“I’m useless to you.” He echoes me from earlier and grins. I chuckle lightly.
“I love you, Kim Taehyung. I’m not leaving you here.”
“Suit yourself.” He grunts in pain and his breath becomes labored.
“Relax.” I whisper, trying to calm him down.
“It’s no use and you know it.” His words broke me and I burst into tears.
“No.” I close my eyes. “You’ll be fine. Please just…at least try to-“
“Akari, look at me.” He puts his hand on my cheek and I open my eyes. “It’s ok.”
“Don’t-“
“Shhh. I love you, ok?”
“I love you too.” I kiss him. This may be the last kiss we ever have. A few seconds later, someone bursts through the door.
“Her. Right there.” A familiar voice says. “She shot him.” I turn and see Jungkook with four other men. “Take her to the detainment chambers.” Two of the four men rush over to me while the other tend to Taehyung.
“NO!” I scream as they drag me away from him. “WAIT STOP!” I kick my feet. “PLEASE HELP HIM!” I try to get free from their grasp but I can’t shake them off me. “GET OFF ME!” I scream at the men. Then I look to Jungkook.
“Please. Don’t do this.” I beg. “Please.”
“Sorry.” He shrugs. “I tried to give you a chance.”
“TAEHYUNG, NO!” I scream when I see them pick him up off the floor. They drag me outside and towards a large building. Must be the detainment chambers. I continued struggling even though it was no use. They’re too strong for me. They brought me inside, threw me into a dark room, and locked the door. “No. Please don’t keep me in here!” I yell, hitting the door over and over. “Someone help me!” I’m sure no one can hear me. I sink to the ground and sob into my knees. “No.” I say quietly. Taehyung took the bullet for me. He’s probably…gone. I doubt they helped him. And now I’m stuck here and Sakura doesn’t know where I am. She’ll probably be worried. I wish I could rewind this day. If I hadn't sneezed, none of this would’ve happened. I’d be with Sakura on a plane right now, escaping for our lives. Instead, I’m here. In this dark room. Not knowing if Taehyung’s dead or alive. Who knows how long I’ll be here. I wonder if, somewhere in this building, my father’s detained. I crawl away from the door and curl into a ball on the floor, coughing.