Hostage Handbook

Chapter Eleven | Paper Roses

YEOREUM

Jungkook was right about how easy it is for him to obliterate my scar. Now that I know his so-called feelings for me go beyond my physical appearance, I discard all my plans to ruin it.

Something in my mind clicked when Jungkook ravished me that day after the incident. My mother didn't give birth to my pretty shell for it to be tormented. I need to protect myself no matter what. Sure, it'll be hard and frustrating, but if I die now, I will die as Jungkook's prisoner. That is true death.

Miss Kim gestures for me to move towards the white indoor bistro set next to the window.

"Miss Song, the tiramisu and coffee you requested are ready," she says.

I sit down and set my gaze on the back garden that is abloom with the dazzling summer spirit.

"Thank you," I say. "Also, I want to apologise to you, Ms Kim. I am sorry for dosing your tea."

Ms Kim lifts her gaze in surprise. "That is okay, Miss Song," she says. "I'm sorry if I upset you, but may I tell you something?"

"Sure, go on."

"His Highness really loves you, Miss Song. While you were gone, he worked from home to curl on your side of the bed. Once, I even heard him sob in this room."

"That's sad." I roll my eyes. "Is that what motivated him to play that video?"

"His Highness only wanted to irritate you into returning. He already destroyed all copies of that video now," Ms Kim says keenly. "Furthermore, the faces and voices were distorted to prevent people from recognising you, Miss Song."

"But I know that's me. I was the one who made those sounds and got beaten and assaulted. No matter how much Jungkook distorts that video, my memory would never distort the pain I experienced," I say, stabbing the tiramisu with a fork. "Think of the situation this way, Ms Kim. What if I arranged for Jungkook to get gang-raped, recorded it, kidnapped Kim Taehyung and Victoria the Second to blackmail him and imprisoned him to keep him as a sex doll? What would you do to me if that were the case?"

Ms Kim prims her lips. "I would want to shred you into pieces."

"That's precisely how I feel about Jungkook."

Ms Kim sighs. "Miss Song, even regular relationships can have turbulent starts, so why can't you try and accept His Highness?"

"Have you ever been raped, Ms Kim?" I say. "It's the most agonising thing in this world, and it can't be breezily labelled as turbulent. Perhaps to everyone else in this world, Jungkook is perfect, but to me, he is merely my kidnapper, someone I should run away from no matter what. Do you know how frightening it is to wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare only to realise that I'm sleeping next to the director of it?"

"His Highness had an incredibly rough childhood, Miss Song. You must learn about his past to understand why he is the person he is today."

I put a piece of tiramisu into my mouth. The coffee powder on the first layer is bitter, but the sweetness of the cream underneath soon sinks in. The sweet flavour relieves some of the bitterness, but it fails to cancel it out fully.

"But I never did anything wrong to Jungkook. I have no reason to understand him. His traumas don't excuse him from laws and morals."

Ms Kim lowers her gaze. "After you told His Highness you wanted to have his child, he was so excited that he began to shop for a nursery. I've never seen His Highness that happy before."

"If my acting gave Jungkook such happiness, he should repay me by freeing me, right?"

"His Highness is giving you the best," Ms Kim utters.