Saved || A Jungkook fanfic

44.

Surprise was an understatement.

"Kai, how did you find us?"

"Easy," he said with an almost bored expression, like we had asked him something obvious. "When Mother and Father were distracted in the banquet room, I left. Finding three hulking, creepy men standing guard outside a random supply closet wasn't exactly rocket science. I waited until two left, and the third got a sudden urge to relieve himself." He shrugged as if it had been the simplest thing in the world.

Jungkook, Jia, and I exchanged unimpressed looks.

Kai's gaze flickered between our faces. "What?"

Jungkook scoffed, crossing his arms. "Wow. I was hoping for a badass, fight-to-the-death type of story."

Kai sighed, rubbing his temples. "You've clearly been watching too many action movies, Brother."

"Actually, he's been reading way too many angsty fanfics," I corrected with a smirk.

Jungkook's head whipped toward me, eyes wide with betrayal. "You promised you'd never tell anyone!" he whined, sounding utterly scandalized.

Kai choked on a laugh, poorly disguising it as a cough, while Jia looked between us with exasperation.

"Are you two seriously bickering right now?" she deadpanned, arms crossing over her chest.

Jungkook let out an annoyed huff before refocusing on the real issue. "The bigger question is—why are you helping us, Kai?" His voice was wary, skeptical.

Kai held his gaze for a long, unreadable moment before looking down at the floor, his expression unreadable. Then, with a clipped nod, he turned sharply on his heel. "Speech now, discuss later. Let's go."

Without another word, he led us through the dimly lit hallways, his movements precise, purposeful. His face was unreadable, but his sharp eyes darted constantly, scanning for any sign of our captors.

I followed behind, thoughts swirling. Kai really helped us after everything... Maybe he does have a heart after all.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Kai stopped abruptly, his hand snapping up in a silent command for us to halt. I nearly crashed into his back. Peeking around the corner, he stiffened before quickly retreating. His face remained calm, but the flicker of tension in his eyes told me we were in trouble.

"One guard," he whispered. "The other two aren't back yet."

Jia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What kind of idiots did Mother hire? The Grumpy Old Troll from Dora the Explorer did a better job guarding."

Kai sighed, his tone grim. "Clearly she thinks her whole plan is fool proof."

Silence settled over us as we scrambled to think of a plan.

Jungkook exhaled through his nose. "I got nothing—whoa! Ails, don't—"

Too late.

Steeling my shoulders, I stepped into the hallway, my head held high. If I was going to serve myself up on a silver platter, I'd at least do it with some dignity. The guard—a burly, thick-necked brute—was halfway through a bag of chips from a vending machine. 

A sting rippled across my cheek as I remembered the roughness of his grip from earlier, the way he had dragged me like I was nothing. Anger burned through my veins, sharpening my resolve.

"Hey, you ugly fucker!" I yelled.

He startled so hard that his bag of chips slipped from his fingers. Recognition flickered in his beady eyes, his lips curling into a sneer. "How the hell did you get out?!" he sputtered, scrambling upright.