By the Will of Love (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

Chapter Seventeen

Over the next few days, the distrust between the boys and Blondie substantially reduced in size. She began making regular visits down to the basement and had small conversations with them while her partners were out of the house. 

Jongin found it rather odd how they were having those conversations with one of the people who kidnapped them, but he knew it was better than any form of torture they could be receiving, so he didn't think about it too much. Kyungsoo was the one who seemed the most interested in talking to her, but Jongin chose to remain on guard for the both of them. He was careful to not make any rash decisions though, so he just kept quiet and scrutinized her with a close pair of eyes. 

She was making one of her regular visits to drop off more snacks. She and Kyungsoo were conversing quietly while Jongin sat against one of the stone pillars, using his feet to play with the deflated soccer ball lazily. She glanced over at him before clearing her throat and speaking.

 "I, uh, got you these, Jongin," she said, earning his attention as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her jacket pocket. She tossed them over to him and he caught them, giving her a confused look afterward.

"How did you know that I smoke?" he asked.

"It was a guess based on experience," she replied. "You seem anxious a lot, so I thought maybe you were going through withdrawal or something. I've been there. Still am I guess."

"Ah," he said slowly as he nodded. He gave her a small and quick smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. "You just have to be careful of when you smoke. I don't know what the guys would do if they caught you." There was a brief silence that passed between the trio before Kyungsoo sat up straighter and posed a question. 

"How did you get involved with them anyway?" he asked. For a second, she just sort of gazed at the young boy and silently stared off. Then she adjusted her sitting position and spoke.

"Daeyoung, the main guy," she started with a big exhale, "he used to be my boyfriend. It was the typical good girl who thinks she can change the bad boy tale. I actually loved him a lot, but he doesn't know how to love anything but himself. He tried to steal from my parents one time and when my dad caught him, he lost it and threw him out. I tried and tried to make them give him another chance, but they refused, rightfully so. When I took his side, they cut me off, emotionally and financially. After that, we just kind of went off on our own and Jungho just joined us somewhere along the way."

"Wow..." Kyungsoo said in awe, completely transfixed with the story. "How did you manage to survive?"

"We mostly just robbed small stores and banks here and there," she said with a shrug. "But when we tried to rob one of the largest banks in the city, we got arrested and had to spend six months in prison. God, that was awful. I swore I would never do anything to get myself back there, but then Daeyoung proposed this whole thing and I don't know...I felt like because I had already come that far, I had no choice but to go along with it. I guess you could say he emotionally blackmailed me if that makes sense."

"Do you still love him?" Kyungsoo asked. She made eye contact with him for a few seconds. 

"I don't know," she said lamely. "I mean, I know he isn't perfect, but sometimes people just mess up so much that it's no longer about forgiveness or love. It's about the will you have to stick with them." 

Another moment of silence flowed through them as the boys let her words sink into their minds, but they were startled when they saw her head snap up. 

"I can hear his car from here," she said, the panic starting to settle into her voice. "Make sure you hide those, Jongin." Jongin looked down at the cigarettes and then back at her and nodded quickly. "I'll come back as soon as I can," she said as she rushed to stand up. She jogged over to the basement door and left the room, the door slamming a little as she and her steps disappeared up the stairs.