Sasaeng Sister [In big roles: Sunghoon, Lee Know, skz, Ateez, Jungkook]

Chapter 40

"Is this for real?" Jungkook muttered.

He had followed me to the other side of the pool to maintain distance from Hari.

Jungkook glared at the plague doctor, raising his hand like a school kid ready to give a cocky answer to a teacher's question.

"Excuse me, birdman. I need to talk to my manager and Ahn Joo-Wan. This is not what I signed up for."

The rest of us exchanged glances. Challenging the kidnappers was not a wise move, but Jungkook hadn't tasted the fear of narrowly escaping death like the rest of us, so he didn't know.

The plague doctor chuckled, his laughter as dark as Darth Vader's.

"Ahn Joo-Wan?"

Jungkook placed his hands on his hips.

"Yeah. Ahn Joo-Wan. The director of Real Talk."

The masked man hummed amusedly, reminding me of the kidnapper boss from our previous encounter. Perhaps it was him.

"That show doesn't exist. There is no Ahn Joo-Wan," he declared.

Jungkook's brow creased slightly, and his eyes darted from each of us to the plague doctor.

"Well, this is bullshit. You can't do this," he said, lifting his shirt to tear off what appeared to be a heart rate monitor belt but was likely a system connected to a small microphone taped to his chest.

"Don't take that off," the kidnapper warned.

"I'm not taking part in this," Jungkook stated, continuing his search for a buckle that could open the belt.

Suddenly, sizzling and crackling sounds emanated from his metal collar and bracelets. Jungkook's muscles contracted uncontrollably. He ceased fiddling with the belt, not by choice but because electricity pulsed through his body, momentarily paralyzing him.

After the shock, Jungkook took a shaky breath, steadying himself and finding support from his knees.

The plague doctor tapped on the railing around the pool.

"If you attempt to remove any gear or resist our instructions, you will be punished. Every time you get tased, the electric shock intensifies. You'll probably want to avoid too many punishments because, eventually, the power will be lethal."

Hari sprung up from the floor.

"Hey! Before you start the show, get me out of here. I'm not an idol! I'm not supposed to be here!"

The plague doctor sighed.

"The show has already begun."

He gestured behind us. There was another enormous screen in addition to the one in front of us that had played clips of Ateez and Stray Kids members from the last abduction. This additional screen showcased a large picture of us accompanied by smaller close-up frames of each person on the side. Viewers could observe all our reactions in real-time, along with the main video capturing the most significant events unfolding at the moment.

I scanned the cameras around the pool and peephole cameras in the walls, attempting to identify which one focused on me, but the task proved impossible. There were too many cameras.

Hari wasn't done complaining.

"I'm not supposed to be here! Do you know who I am?" she whined.

Hari opened her mouth to say something more, but suddenly dropped on the floor, screaming.

"Anyone else want to test the electric shock, or shall we continue?" the plague doctor asked.

Getting tased must have hurt already the first time because Hari wiped tears as she stood up. Her legs shook, and I almost felt sorry for her.