Hostage Handbook

Chapter Seven | Quicker Blood

YEOREUM

Jungkook begins to absorb himself in work. He still visits me a couple of days a week but holds back from having intercourse with me.

I blink my eyes to the bright warm blur of the lamp beside me. My eyelids feel light even though I slept deep enough to have a dream during my nap. I am still the Empress in my dream, bickering with Taehyung while Yoongi guarded beside me. I can't recall anything that happened in the dream in my conscious state, but the vignette of Taehyung and Yoongi accompanying me is enough to put a smile on my face.

I sit up and slip my bare feet into the wool slippers beside the lounge. As I bend my body, the bead chain around my neck dangles at my motion, reminding me of its existence.

My teeth clench with resentment, emitting a quiet crack that ricochets against my tightened jaws. I undo the toggle clasp and hurl the necklace across the room as hard as I can, as if the jewellery is a version of Jungkook. The diamond pendant shines star-white against the chandelier shade before it strikes the ground beneath a wooden table next to the door.

I stroll to the necklace, and my eyes dim at the engravements on the pendant. Suddenly, I don't know why I'm chasing after it. My arms dither to retrieve it while my feet itch to step on it. Both urges are equally reasonable.

The sound of two maids talking emerges from the hallway. I shift closer to the door to hear their conversation clearer.

"I heard that Miss Song's father is not doing too well," a maid says with a sigh.

"Who did you hear that from?" the other one says.

"Kang Hongbin, he took one of Junho's shifts to surveil Miss Song's family members, and he saw Miss Song's father cough up blood," the first maid says.

I slam my hand over my mouth to stifle a shriek. My head feels faint, like the walls of my mind have crumpled into the tears on my cheeks.

My father can't be described as a good father. Fuck that. He can't even be called a good person. But he wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for me. I need to get out of this place, and I need to contact Yoongi for him to save my father.

The only people from the outside world I know are Jungkook, Doctor Wei and the beautician who visits me weekly to give me facial treatments. My mind instantly cancels out Jungkook and Doctor Wei. Jungkook is too hard to trick, and Doctor Wei is too loyal to herself. Neither of them will work out.

My only hope lies in the beautician, Noh Mina, whom I don't even know the face of because a mask always covers it. According to the maids, she is a plastic surgery addict who constantly gets dermal fillers, meaning that no one has a clear idea of what she looks like because her features change according to her new fillers. That's something I can exploit to sneak out of the castle.

The only problem with that plan is Ms Kim. She usually watches me with a pager that can immediately alert the security guards when I receive my skin treatments. I need to eliminate her effectively but subtly—for example, with a stroke.

A loud knock disrupts my musing. I race to kneel next to the bookshelf to seem as if I am looking for something.

The door clicks open, and Ms Kim enters with a cup of tea on a platter. She examines me with suspicion thinning her eyes. "Miss Song, what are you doing?" she says sternly.

"I am looking for my necklace," I utter while I look around the empty floor. "Can you help me, Ms Kim?"

"Of course, Miss Song," Ms Kim says. She puts the platter on the table near the doorway, where the necklace fell. "But before I do that, I would like to give you some advice."