Tick Tock, Tick Tock

I.

The Ice Princess and the Almighty, one known for her prim and properness, yet cold front and the other for his professionalism, yet often seen cockiness. Two polar opposites that were undeniably similar yet cruelly born into the rival family of the other. Born with silver, no, gold, spoons in their mouths, what did they have to worry about?

Not wealth.

Not friends.

Not family.

Not image.

Yes, the forbidden word, something that was not as easily executed under their circumstances; love.

It was almost a taboo word, something that was taken lightly by the richest families; including The Jungs and Kims. The Lees had easily set their son, Lee Donghae, in an arranged marriage with the daughter of the owner of Korea's largest oil company, and also the precious daughter of the Ims, Im Yoona. And recently breaking news had it that the Cho family married their only heir, Cho Kyuhyun, to the Choi family's youngest daughter, Choi Sooyoung. Their grand weddings and banquets must have convinced you that it was all planned very well and that the children had been mentally prepared to spend their lives with someone so similar to them yet so far away. Well, the scariest part comes now. It could all happen overnight. Right, maybe it was well-planned and everything had been set in place, but did these heirs or heiresses know? No. Absolutely not.

The best out there had been taken off the market, why? Not because the Jungs were too slow, neither were the Kims. It was the mere fault of Jessica Jung and Kim Heechul. The most stubborn brats you could find. But who could blame them? Who would want to sell their lives to someone they didn't love... when they had someone they love? An illegal lover.

Now these same two stubborn brats, where could they be? Enjoying life, maybe? Or no, stressing over work? Oh, how about shouting commands at servants? No? How about a scenario you'd never expect. How about the heir and heiress of the richest families in Korea, staying, no, suffering, in a musty-smelling, dimly lit, abandoned hut?

"Go alone before the clock stops ticking."

Her eyes cast another glance in his direction, inching closer to the wall and trying to maximise the space between them (not that there was a lot of space in the first place). Her fingers twitched as she tore her eyes away from his, that stared back at hers equally intently. They had broken it. Broken the taboo word. That one thing that freedom had no say in. That one thing they should have avoided. It brought them here; clothes drenched(in blood, if you may ask) and whimpers broken.

Oh, Ice Princess. Oh, Almighty. Are you regretting it only now?

Tick Tock.

The ice had been broken, no cocky remarks spoken. How else did they expect to survive this cruel fate? His facade broke. He wasn't alright. Who was he kidding to be saying he's alright? The Unspoken had made them watch their lovers catch a glimpse of hell. Pure torture. Voluntarily, Heechul propped himself on his knees and took careful, painful steps to the girl whose, he swore, eyes flashed fear as she watched him closing the gap between them. The emotion quickly flickered back to the emotionless expression she always held, but by the clenching and unclenching of her trembling fist, he knew she was afraid.

"It's all going to be alright."

That had to be the greatest lie ever spoken. He knew it wasn't true. She did too. But maybe self-indulgence in lies would make them feel a tinge, just a tinge, better. His arms hesitantly made his way around her, pulling the smaller into an unsure embrace. They were alone, that's true. But the CCTV watching them was more than enough of an invasion of their privacy. And Kim Heechul would never act like that in 'public', he was the Almighty. And she was the Ice Princess. But he wasn't heartless. No, definitely not. His cocky remarks may not always be false, actually.

"Away. S-Stay away."

It took her great efforts to let those three words roll from her tongue. The irony in her words made him release a maniacal chuckle - almost similar to that of 'his'. But he didn't let go. No, he wouldn't. Yet, it was because of the same reason of not wanting to let go that lead him here.

You could have gone, been out of here, without worries, oh Almighty. But you felt into 'his' trap. Because he knew there was one thing you couldn't resist.

Oh Almighty, shouldn't you have been smarter? Than to waste your life on a worthless girl. Tsk.

Tick Tock.

With his free hand, that wasn't occupied in embracing the girl, he clutched onto his head, selfish thoughts infiltrating his mind.

Jessica knew this was the chance. The chance to push Heechul away before more evidence was gathered by him. Before they continued to fall deeper into his trap; The Unspoken's trap. But she couldn't. Her whole body betrayed her as they listened to her heart before her mind. Instead, she held a firm grip on his shirt, almost, ironically, pulling him closer. Her small hand reached up, keeping a hold on Heechul's bigger one. At the action, the boy's eyes flickered open, glancing down at the girl with surprise evident in his expression.

"We'll make it out of this together. We don't have to go alone."

Tick Tock.

Her words were all he needed to pull him back on his feet as he lunged at the chained door for another painful attempt at escaping. This time, though, she held him back, having seen enough of him hurting himself the past few days. It had been painful enough to see the blood that stained his pale skin, the cuts that scarred his once flawless skin. And the feeling was mutual. Because they had to watch their lover go through all that, it hurt even more. Because she had to watch Heechul go through torture, and he had to watch Jessica whimper in pain. Because it hurt them as much as it had hurt each other. She had enough.

"Why don't you come out instead of hiding behind that filthy monitor, you bastard." Her shout was aimed at the CCTV, still staring down at them.

Tick Tock.

Immediately, a hand clamped over the mouth that had spouted out the declaration of war. Who knew that Jessica Jung, the Ice Princess, would be capable of saying such filthy words?

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

2,

1.

Tick -

...

Silence ensued.

With arms wrapped around her in too quick an instant, he never planned to let go.

"We'll meet again. Because I.."

A faint smile played on his lips, one that she wished she could see again.

"Because.."

He struggled to continue as her screams got louder and realisation struck her.

"I.."

But he wouldn't let go. Never. Even if the clock stopped ticking.

"Love you."

Oh Ice Princess, didn't I tell you you had to go alone before the clock stopped ticking?

Don't believe his lies. The story never takes too long to end.

He was an illegal loverboy from the start, wasn't he?

Your secret shall remain a secret.

But a secret isn't a secret without Kim Heechul anymore, is it?

What secret is there now that your illegal loverboy, the Almighty, is gone.