Bad Blood || K. Jongin

26| Allied

∘∘☥∘∘☥∘∘☥∘∘
(Lyra)

My eyes sting, my vision blurry. My legs scrape against the floor as I'm dragged towards my holding cell.

I hear the men mumbling something, but I can't make it out over the pulsing of my own blood.

My head feels like it's about to implode as I'm thrown recklessly into a stall.

I whimper out in agony, but instead of cement, my hands grab fistfuls of hay. I glance up as the gate is bolted shut, locking me inside.

The Kkangpae members laugh at my welted face before turning around and leaving, shutting the one light off behind them.

I touch my face, feeling the welts on my forehead and cheekbone. I can't see out of my left eye, the pain is immense and agonizing. There's dried blood crusting at my nostrils, and I try to wipe it away to no avail. Also my nose feels incredibly tender, but it doesn't seem broken.

My whole face is swollen.

I want nothing more than to rest on the grimy, dirty, cot shoved in the corner. It looks like it could be infested with lice, but it's better than the ground. I stand up weakly, all my strength pouring into a few simple movements.

But before I can lay down, I'm snapped back into reality by the sound of a hoarse voice.

"Are you from America?" A feminine tone asks quietly in broken English.

I turn to my left, to find a dirty looking woman around my age. She looks more curious than terrified.

"Yes." I respond back in Korean, her eyes widening as she realizes we can speak the same language.

"Why are you here?" She tilts her head, probably satisfied that she finally has someone to talk with.

"It's a long story." I hang my head, I must look disgusting with my black eye, a bloody lip, and scratches all over my face.

"You must have done something bad." She refers to the excessive blunt force trauma.

It hurts so bad, I've never felt this much pain in my life. It feels like a permanent headache. Like someone is squeezing it with pliers.

"Y-yeah." I manage to choke, every breath like a knife. I just want to lay down and sleep. I don't know what kind of rest waits for me tomorrow.

Her next sentence astonishes me. "Are you the girl who killed Chinho?"

I look up surprised. "How do you know?"

"A good guess." She laughs sadly. "I didn't think you would be here though."

I pause for a moment. What does that mean? How does she even know about Chinho?

"Why are you here?" I ask, wanting to take the attention off me.

Her eyes glaze over with sadness. "Wrong place at the wrong time."

"Tell me about it." I try to keep myself from crying. I may have been around people more than she has, judging by the lack of light that fills the building. Her skin looks sickly and her cheekbones are sunken. Even in the darkness I can see how beautiful she must have been. She doesn't deserve this.