Magnificent Vexation || Winrina

ten

Jimin held Minjeong by her hand tightly towards one of the agency's safe houses. Located in a hidden area, guarded and fenced, Minjeong was left in hazed for her current situation.

"Where are we?"the younger woman asks as Jimin pulls her towards the elevator. The older woman keeps her silence, and it makes Minjeong more confused.

When they stand right in front of a unit specific front door on the eleventh floor, Jimin put her thumb on the doorpad before it goes unlock. The two got inside of the apartment.

Minjeong stepped inside with utter confusion. Jimin still didn't answer her question. She looked around the house for a moment, realizing all the necessities were there.

"Do you live here?," Minjeong asked out of curiosity. But then, Jimin immediately shakes her head, denying it. "You will live here from now on, with me."

"What?", Minjeong got startled. "I got a home at Bundang. My older sister is there, probably waiting for me to come back-- wait. Does she even know that I'm back?", the you ger woman questioned as her brows furrows.

Jimin tried to shrug the questions off for a moment, looking somewhere else than Minjeong's bothered expression. But when she called for her again, Jimin just knew that she needed to explain.

"Jimin, did she even--"

"This is a safe house under NIS", Jimin cuttted her before she continue, "and you are here, under the NIS protection", she halts, "and I'm in charge for your safety".

"What?", Minjeong expression just got even worse.

"Minjeong...", Jimin sighed, "You just don't know what's the darkness your captor holds".

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ten:
the safe house

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"Jimin-- I don't understand. I know, he is a criminal on the run, but-- safe house? NIS? What is actually going on?", Minjeong's hand in the air, trying to get every bits of explanation from the other woman.

Jimin closed her eyes shut, sighing heavily in distress. When she slowly opened her eyes back, greeted by the same distraught expression of Minjeong, she walked closer to her and rested both her hands on the younger woman shoulder.

"Listen to everything I'm going to tell you, okay?", she asked with her assuring voice. Thankfully, Minjeong expression softens, even a bit.

"My name is Yu Jimin, and I'm publicly known as an actress. But what people don't know is that my codename is Karina, a spy for the NIS", Jimin starts, and Minjeong brows start to furrow again.

She squeezes the younger woman's shoulder, asking for her understanding. "I'm currently investigating a drug dealing case, and apparently, your captor was one of the buyers. So, I go to his house to investigate further", Jimin continued, and Minjeong reacted none, trying to listen to her story.

"But soon, I realized that someone was being held inside the house. Later, when I knew that the person was you-- Kim Minjeong. Do you think I would keep my silence and do nothing?", Jimin voice starts to shake, feeling the pain for whatever happened to the woman in front of her right now.

"Minjeong, you-- he hit you. I could hear your scream! He-- he raped you! I couldn't--", Jimin trembles. "I just need to get you out from that house", Jimin pulled Minjeong into a hug, stroking the back of Minjeong's head gently.

"I saw how broken you are. How hurt he makes you. How lifeless you became. I just can't, Minjeong. You are someone important to me, and I couldn't leave you alone".

When Minjeong slowly pulled away from the hug, looking deep into Jimin's eyes that showed nothing but pure sincerity and assurance, Minjeong wonders, "but why keeping my presence a secret? Why am I here?", Minjeong asked with her tiny voice.

"You took the drugs outside the house that day, right?", Jimin questioned before Minjeong eyes got wider. "You did, right?", she asked again, and soon enough, Minjeong nodded her head slowly.

"He had guns on his back?", Jimin questioned again, and Minjeong nodded.

"Don't tell me he took them before abusing you that day", Jimin asked with her warm gaze, and Minjeong nodded again at her question.

"Shit", Jimin cursed between her words.

When Minjeong expression goes from distraught to clueless, Jimin pulls her back into her embrace. "He is extremely dangerous, Minjeong. He would come back and take you again, anytime. He posessed a gun, and he got mens behind his back, "Jimin explains.

"I will bring your sister here soon to meet you, and we'll also provide her with another safe house, just in case. Your captor, he--", Jimin sighed, "He might be darker than you've ever imagined, Minjeong. "

When Minjeong answered none of Jimin claims, her attention was brought back to the younger woman before she pulled out again. "Do you remember Huh Yunjin?", Jimin asked.

"Yes, she is my friend. We go to the same college", Minjeong nods, and her expression shows confusion again.

"She was held captive together with you, right?"

"Huh?", Minjeong brows furrows again. "Yunjin? Being held captive with me?", Minjeong asked. "I was all alone inside the house for two years. No one other than me was there. "

Hearing her claim, Jimin eyes widen in shock. "Wait-- Minjeong. What do you mean? Yunjin was there, with you, inside the house", she stated.

"No! Yunjin wasn't there! What kind of nonsense are you trying to tell me right now?".

Jimin was shocked by Minjeong's strong claims, and there's only one reason for her to do so even if she knew that Yunjin was actually there with her, for one and a half years. There's only one reason for Minjeong to give an answer like this.

"Minjeong... did he kill her?"

"NO! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING--"

"Kim Minjeong! Look into my eyes! You are the sole witness to what happened to Yunjin. Tell me, did he killed--"

"I DON'T KNOW! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!", Minjeong swatted Jimin's hand away from her, running away towards one of the empty rooms in ulter confusion and desperation. Jimim could hear how the younger woman was sobbing and crying inside there.

She sighed heavily, knowing exactly why Minjeong was like that.

"It must be too painful for her that she doesn't want to remember...".

Dissociative amnesia.