Exposed Truth | Jeon Jungkook

Chapter 26

Jungkook || Wednesday, June 24

I wish I could do something to save Nari. Even with the ringing in my ears, I still hear her distressed cries. Her screaming pains me as much as my head does. I wish I could say something, anything, but my throat is dry. All I can do is moan. I try to sit up and reach out to her, but I'm too weak. Agonising pain surges throughout my entire body; it feels as if my bones have turned to jelly.

Even though my head feels so painful, I know the strike wasn't powerful enough to cause brain damage, or at least I hope not, when I don't feel any blood.

Tears well up in my eyes, and black spots dance before me, causing my vision to become hazy. Stay awake, I tell myself. Yet, it takes too much effort to keep my eyes open, and numbness washes over me. I feel myself begin to lose control of everything.

"Hey?" I hear a low voice beside me say, and I feel a hand nudging my arm. "Can you hear me?"

It's the man who I assume is an acquaintance of Jay's. I cannot speak. My body is too fatigued, I cannot move an inch. It hurts too much; everything hurts. I just want to sleep, but the man keeps nudging me and incoherently muttering something. It takes a lot of exertion to keep my eyes open, and I soon manage to choke out a grumble.

"Let's get you up," the man whispers with a stern expression. "We have to hurry before Jay comes back."

I don't have time to react before the man takes a hold of my arm and places a hand on my back to heave me up. I feel so dizzy and cough from the rough action. He wraps his arm around my torso, and I put an arm around his shoulders for support. I exert my entire body weight onto him. My eyelids want to shut and I feel as if I'm going to fall back to the ground.

As the footsteps coming from the other side of the room is getting louder and louder, the hastier the man becomes and the tighter his grip gets. His pace quickens as he seemingly drags me along with him. I can't seem to feel my legs as we walk; all I want to do is lie down.

"We have to go," he says through heavy breathing.

Even though my eyes are focused on the door just a couple of metres away from us, it feels as if it'll take forever to get there. Just a couple more steps, I can do it. The pounding in my head grows with every second that passes. Yet, every second feels like an hour as we make our way to the door with heavy steps.

"Ryan," an enraged voice startles us, causing the man's grip around me to loosen, and I immediately fall to the floor. "What do you think you're doing?"

I groan as I lose my balance and stumble to the ground. Time seems to have momentarily stopped as Jay glares at the man whose name I just learned is Ryan. Jay's eyes are cold and emotionless as he clenches his fists so tightly that they turn white.

"I... I was..." the man mumbles hesitantly. "I was just..."

Everything happens so quickly. There's no time for me to comprehend what's happening when I'm suddenly pulled up to my feet from the collar of my shirt. Then without warning, a punch comes straight to my face. What the hell just happened? Shock takes control of my body as my trembling fingers reach out to touch my face on instinct.

Sharp pain instantly flashes to my head and shoots up my body when Ryan lets go of my shirt, causing me to make contact with the hard ground. My entire body trembles and my mind goes blank. My eyes start to water and I'm all of a sudden gulping for air. I feel warm, thick blood oozing from my nose. Is my nose broken? I think so. It's becoming difficult for me to breathe.

"I'm sorry..." Ryan mutters to me with a sorrowful gaze.

Before I can recover from the sudden blow, another fist violently rams into the right side of my face, causing me to cough out a mix of saliva and blood that splutter onto the floorboards. This time, all I feel is soreness and my jaw feels so weird. It's as if it has become detached from my face. I don't know how to react; I feel like my body is shutting down and I'm losing control of my senses.

I don't know how I'm still awake after all of the blows I've taken to my head and face. I'm so nauseous, I want to throw up. Yet, I can't do anything as Ryan pulls me up again and the hits don't stop coming. Why is he doing this? I thought he was on my side; didn't he want to help me? I feel a punch to my abdomen, then a kick to my right leg before he hurls my frail body to the wall by our side.

My body hurts all over and I feel as if my bones are cracked, yet my brain seems to have stopped functioning. The tears just fall from my eyes and the blood drips from the wounds. I don't react as I endure the hits. There's nothing I can do. Ryan stomps towards me and lifts up a fist, ready to strike me once more. I close my eyes and lean against the wall, preparing for the impact to come.

But before his fist can collide into my face, a voice yells, "Enough!"

Jay grabs the man and pulls him away from me, so I just slump and my knees buckle. My back is against the wall as I watch Jay forcefully grip onto the front of Ryan's shirt. Jay's muscular frame and tall height towering over him. I try to keep my eyes open as I focus on the two men in front of me. Their voices are hushed, but I still make out what they're saying.

"He was trying to escape, so I was just trying to stop him and give him a lesson," Ryan attempts to explain his actions.

"Whatever," Jay ignores him and says irritatedly, before he drags Ryan towards the window beside me, then discreetly pulls away the curtain as he says, "There's a car behind that tree over there. You can roughly make out two figures inside. I want you to bring them here."

Oh no. Jimin and Lisa. Please be okay. You two are our only hope of survival. They have guns and they can fight, they can protect themselves, I convince myself with the little hope I have left... yet the fear still lingers. How did Jay even see them? The car was camouflaged by the trees, so it can't be seen easily. He must have great eyesight to even be able to make out two people inside the car.

"You know what will happen if you don't do as I say," Jay growls with a threatening smirk as he grips onto Ryan's shirt tightly and brings a dagger to his throat. "If you don't want your sister to die, you better bring them back here within ten minutes. Go."

Ryan gulps, his expression showing terror and agitation before turning his back and leaving the place. As soon as he's gone, Jay turns to me with an empty look on his face. I shudder when he kneels down in front of me and his hostile eyes scan my body.

"Nari..." I say with difficulty as I cough out blood, so it just sounds like a groan. "Nari... she..."

Before I can say a complete sentence, Jay interrupts me and says, "Your little girlfriend is fine. At least for now, she is. But, she won't be if you don't listen to me."

Even though my entire body feels so heavy, it still feels like a weight has lifted from my shoulders. I forget about the throbbing pain that's attacking me. I don't care about the bruises and cuts inflicted on my body. I sigh, and a small smile makes it's way too my lips. I'm just relieved to hear that Nari's okay. That's all I want to know. I don't know what I would do if she wasn't. For now, I'm just glad that she's alive. That's all that matters at this moment.

I've been tolerating the pain and fighting the fatigue for too long. My eyelids start to droop and they feel so heavy. I have no more energy to keep them open, so I let them shut. I allow myself to be lulled into unconsciousness.