✓ UNLIKELY MATCH | HEESEUNG

53 - The Silent Aim

SENA'S POV

I never wanted him to know. I never wanted him to rescue us because I know the truth about my father. He's not just a controlling man; he's a monster with power and connections that reach far beyond what Heeseung can imagine. He's ruthless, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I shiver at the thought of what he might do to Heeseung if he doesn't play along with his twisted game.

The sound of footsteps echoes through the warehouse, each one a hammer blow to my fraying nerves. I strain against the ropes, desperate to find some way to warn Heeseung, to tell him to turn back. But the gag in my mouth muffles my cries, and all I can do is watch as he steps into the lion's den. He strides into the room and his eyes lock with mine, the fear and chaos melting away even for a moment. Because I know that, once Heeseung is here, nothing could ever happen to Steph and me. His presence alone brings me comfort and I know he will find a way.

I hate that my own father is the one who's putting us in this situation. He's the one who's behind all this, the mastermind pulling the strings. And when Junseok appears from the shadows, his smile a smirk that curdles my blood, the realization of what's about to happen hits me like a cold shower. I know that things are about to get a whole lot worse.

"Isn't it quite the reunion?" Junseok's voice makes me want to scream. The way he saunters into the light, so sure of himself, sends a chill down my spine. I don't want for him to be in the same room as Heeseung and my father. The last thing I want is for them to meet. I know what my father is capable of, and I fear for Heeseung's safety. "To have your beloved fiancée tied like a Christmas present?" finishes, his voice dripping with venom. His eyes glint with a cruel satisfaction as he takes in my horrified expression. If my mouth wasn't taped, I would have spat at him. 

"You're sick," Heeseung growls, his voice low and dangerous.

Junseok laughs, a harsh, grating sound. "Maybe. But you're just stupid." When he takes a step closer and aims a gun directly at Steph's head, I scream silently, my body thrashing against the ropes, but the gag muffles my cries. "Let's start with her." I watch as she closes her eyes so tight and trembles while a single tear rolls down her cheek. My heart shatters into a million pieces. I can't bear to see her like this. I want to protect her, to shield her from this nightmare, but I am powerless. Utterly powerless.

"What. Do. You. Want." Heeseung demands and takes a step forward, his hands clenched into fists. "Tell me, and I'll give it to you. Just let them go."

My father's smirk falters for a moment, replaced by a flicker of surprise. But then it's back, wider than before. "Ah, the hero complex. So noble." He gestures to the masked men, who close in, their guns raised. "You see, it's not personal. It's business. I want to destroy you and Junseok wants to see you lose. Our hunger aligns perfectly and there's one thing you can do to satisfy this hunger of ours."

My heart drops when Junseok walks to Heeseung, dropping his gun with a clatter on the cold concrete floor. He looks at Heeseung with utter hatred, and then he smiles. "Beat me up." I know what they're planning. It's a trap. When Junseok looks up at the camera placed in the top corner of the place, I know they're setting Heeseung up to look like he's the one committing violence.

The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. It's a perfect setup, a damning piece of evidence that will destroy Heeseung's reputation. My father's malevolent plan is becoming painfully clear: they want to destroy Heeseung's reputation, frame him for a crime he didn't commit, and break him beyond repair. And as I stare at Heeseung's white knuckles, I know he's about to walk right into their trap.

I look at Steph, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. She's terrified, and so am I. We're trapped, helpless, at the mercy of these monsters. I try to think of a way out, a way to escape this nightmare. But there's nothing. We're surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned. But before I know it, the sound of car tires screeching outside makes everyone halt and a tense silence falls over the warehouse. I expect a group of large men to burst through the main entrance and save us, but the person who steps towards us is the last person I would ever think of. Mother.

"What do you think you're doing here?" My father is undeniably surprised and furious by her presence, but all I can think of is whether she's here to witness my end. It cannot be true, but the way she's dressed, so elegantly, so out of place in this chaotic environment, sends a shiver down my spine. She looks like she's stepped out of a fashion magazine, not into a war zone. "Ah, you're here to watch."

She steps closer, her heels clicking against the concrete floor, the sound sharp and deliberate in the heavy silence. Her composure is unnervingly calm, her face a mask of cool detachment despite the danger we're all in. She carries her bag as if it's the most normal thing in the world to do, and her presence only adds to the tension in the room.

"Come on, Lee Heeseung," Junseok taunts, his voice dripping with malice. He steps closer to Heeseung and I fear that he'd lose his control and end up killing him. Because the look on his face is one of a man hungry for blood. His eyes are filled with a dark intensity, and his knuckles are white from gripping his fists. "You've always wanted to do this so why are you hesitant now? Hit me. Gosh, you can even aim for my face." He knows that Heeseung won't hit him, not in front of everyone, not with the cameras. It's a trap, a psychological torture.

"Hit you?" I hear Heeseung scoff and his voice is not as calm as usual. It's laced with anger, with a dangerous undertone. "I will kill you—" The sentence is cut short by the sound of a gunshot echoing through the warehouse and I close my eyes, my heart leaping into my throat. The bullet flies past the two, lodging itself right into my father's heart, making me gasp at the sight of blood spraying across his white shirt. He stumbles back, his hand clutching his chest, a look of disbelief and shock on his face. 

My father is heartless, and yet, when I turn to find Mother aiming a gun at him, the sight is both surreal and devastating. She stands with a composed, almost detached expression, her hands steady despite the chaos. My father is heartless, but she's something else entirely. Her cold, unflinching gaze meets mine, and in that moment, the veneer of calm she wears feels like an icy mask over an abyss of emotion I can't quite fathom. Her elegance seems to clash violently with the brutality of the situation, making her presence here even more jarring. Her face remains expressionless, almost serene, as though she's merely completed a routine task rather than ending a life.

"He's dead," She states, the way she says it is devoid of any emotion, her voice as calm as the still waters of a lake. "The money he paid you to dirty your hands instead of his, I'll pay you ten times as much to kill him." My heart drops to the deepest pit of my stomach when she points at Junseok and he, of fear, aims his gun at us. Steph and I. 

"You think you can just get rid of me?" He laughs hysterically, his voice filled with chilling confidence. "One wrong move and your sweet daughter will be nothing but a memory," He steps closer to us, his hand hovering over the trigger. The masked men look at each other, their faces a mixture of fear and confusion. They don't know who to trust, who to shoot. And all I do is sit there with my hands tied and my heart hammering against my ribcage. 

I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know whether I'd live another minute, another second. Whether I would be able to see the sunrise tomorrow. All I know is that I am terrified.

"Fucking stop—" Heeseung's voice is all I can hear before Junseok smirks and pulls the trigger, sending the bullet flying towards me, only for my chair to be pushed away and for me to land on the cold, hard floor with a thud. The world seems to slow down as I look up to see Steph lying on the ground with her ropes untied and a bullet wound blossoming on her delicate shoulder. A raw scream escapes my lips as I try to scramble to her side but I'm tied and helpless and God, I feel so small, so insignificant in this terrifying world. 

I watch in horror as Heeseung moves with a speed I didn't know he possessed, his body a blur as he runs to her. I watch as Junseok's body falls to the ground before a pool of blood forms around him. And I watch as Steph, my best friend, my sister, gives in to the darkness that engulfs her. 

I can't breathe. I can't move. I can only stare at her. She's hurt because of me. 

The world is ending.