For Love's Sake || Jeno

06: Come clean

One thousand two hundred and ninety-eight.

One thousand two hundred and ninety-nine.

One thousand three hundred.

Naeun exhaled slowly when she reached that number in her head. It had been approximately twenty-two minutes since she had been lying on the damp floor, curled up in a ball in an attempt to fight off the cold. Her world was dark, owing to the blindfold on her eyes. Her hands were still tied behind her back with a rough hempen rope that chafed the soft skin of her wrists. Fortunately, they did not gag her again. Not that they needed to. She had not spoken a word since telling them Jeno's name. They had been so busy with their conversations that they had not heard her sobs in the van. When they finally let her out of the van, they dumped her in another room and tied her to a fixed structure - that did not allow her to move past five feet - closed the door, and left her alone. The last part, she was grateful for.

When Naeun had entered middle school she had begged her parents to take her to a haunted house, claiming that she was old enough to go to one. "But all my friends have been to one." She had argued with her dad when he refused. Eventually, her parents had yielded. No sooner had they stepped inside the haunted house than Naeun's fear caught up to her. She had not let go of her father's hand even for a second and had closed her eyes when the monsters neared them.

Two years later, her father abandoned their family to make another one for himself and her mother gave herself up to alcohol to drown her sense of loss instead of cherishing the family she had left. And now, Naeun did not have a parent whose hand she could hold whenever she was afraid. And no brick walls to protect her from the big bad wolf. Even closing her eyes and hiding under a blanket would not keep the monsters away.

She had to protect herself.

She did try. Tried and tried to break free, but after doing nothing but hurting herself further she lay on the ground and started counting to stop herself from sobbing and driving herself crazy with fear and anxiety.

She concentrated on the sounds around her. There was a steady dripping sound somewhere. As if the ceiling was leaking and the drops were falling into an overflowing container. She could hear the muffled sound of voices from the other side of the door. Then she heard the rumble of an engine, growing louder before stopping completely.

There was a loud bang as if a door was blown off its hinges. Naeun sat up straight, her heart hammering against her ribcage. The bang was followed by a series of shouts. Loud voices pierced right through the door but the words were still incomprehensible.

After a few minutes when everything had quieted down, Naeun heard the click of her door and her breath caught in her throat. Hurried footsteps were coming her way then someone pulled her up roughly. They freed her from whatever was holding her in place but kept the blindfold and the hempen rope on. "Start walking," a rough voice said, pushing her forward. Naeun didn't need to be told twice. They walked out of the room and were still walking.

A gasp escaped her lips as she was suddenly shoved forward. But instead of falling, someone in front caught her. They removed their hands from her shoulders and took off her blindfold. Naeun blinked rapidly. There was only one flickering bulb in the large dark room but there was no mistaking him.

Tears of relief blurred her vision. Jeno had a busted lip but otherwise, he looked fine.

Jeno was not looking at her. His eyes were murderous as they glowered at the people behind. She heard a chuckle from them which seemed to be the switch, making him push Naeun gently, guiding her out of the place that she saw was a warehouse upon getting out.