Gone To Hell | Seventeen

XXV.

Hearing the floor creak was the scariest feeling I had experienced in a while. The knowledge that he was approaching me, and the fact that I knew what he was capable of, was worrying and horrifying. I wanted to scream and get up to run, but that would do me no good.

I decided to play dumb, and show my fear so he'd think I was weaker than I actually was. Of course, playing innocent didn't work the last time we encountered each other, when he killed our friend on the farm. But I didn't have a whole lot of options today.

"Where am I?" I asked with a shake to my voice. It took a moment for me to realize that the shake was real. I wasn't acting. I was actually afraid, and it wasn't a surprise.

"You're in Bucheon, Girly."

You got shit aim, girly. You're fucking crazy.

This was the same man that killed Chaeji, killed Gyeongha, forced us away from our own home, kidnapped me, and scared us all so much we were afraid to live for months. This man was the devil himself.

I felt the sense of him coming nearer. His hands touched the sides of my head, gripping the blindfold and pulling it off. I saw his face, Hyunjoon crouched in front of me, but he didn't look like the same man that did all those things. He just looked like a man who lost his family and desperately wanted them back. He looked like any other normal survivor, maybe even more hurt than normal. But deep in me, I knew he wasn't a normal survivor. He was a maniac, murderer, abuse father. Hyunjoon couldn't guilt trip me.

"Why am I here?" I questioned more. He stared at me with an unreadable gaze, something along the lines of 'are you serious' and maybe guilt.

That look stayed straight on his face as he gave a single chuckle and stood tall again, never once breaking eye contact. "You're here because we need you here."

"Well, you wanted me here around three months ago and I'm finally here. Why do you need me here?"

"There's multiple things." He began to list different chores, pacing around the room, "Cleaning, cooking, gun training, and maybe, if you're worthy enough, you can be of service to some of the guys around camp."

I rolled my eyes and held in the snarky comment I had, then spoke back, "Is that really it? You just want me as a worker?"

"No, there's more, but I'll save it for later." He informed me, walking toward me with a fast pace. He pulled a knife from his pocket, and I was sure he was going to cut me or stab me. I winced and braced for the pain, but opened my eyes to see him looking at me in concern. "What're you doin'?"

"I thought-"

"I didn't bring you here to take my anger out on you." He said, and took my joined hands. Holding them at a specific angle, he pulled the knife through the rope and did the same to my feet. "You're a smart girl, Raejin. I don't know you well but I know enough that I'm sure you aren't as scared as you're putting on. You can cut the innocent act again. It may fool some of the others, but not me."

I had mixed feelings about the situation. I definitely didn't trust him, and I didn't feel safe, but he said he wasn't going to hurt me. He even untied me. I guess he just wanted me to be part of his group.

I didn't agree to it, but I couldn't do anything else.

"You said there's more reasons for me being here." I pointed out, "I'd like to know them now before I even think about getting cozy here."

"Fair enough." He took the two cut ropes and put them into his hoodie pocket. "You're gonna get a job or two around here, maybe three. That's usual for anyone in our camp, but then there's something a little extra for you. We're working on perfecting a cure."