Black & White [COMPLETED]

Chapter 20: Jiho

Junsu didn't leave my side for the days that followed. Every day became so repetitive. I would get fed, go to the bathroom, then go back to my room to stare at the walls. I started getting more used to Junsu's eyes staring at my every move. I would answer all of Junsu's questions about my wellbeing with simple 'yes's or 'no's. I didn't try to hurt myself anymore, but it didn't mean that I stopped thinking about it. If killing myself meant I could escape all of this, then so be it.

[Junsu]

I didn't think the news of her father was going to affect her this much. She did as she was told, which was a plus for me, but everything else about her broke. Whenever she looked at me, she was looking right through me.

Honestly, I wasn't the one who murdered her dad. Jiho, my right-hand man, took care of it. I didn't consider many people as my friends. But Jiho was my best friend. Whenever I had something important to pull off, the two of us would think of a plan and execute it. He was shockingly smart. He could hack into any kind of system anywhere on the world. Honestly, I wasn't sure why he did everything I told him to, but I wasn't complaining.

Jiho grew up in an orphanage for many years. He got adopted by a couple a year ago. He wasn't the type to tell me about his personal life, so that was all I knew about him. He didn't tell me whether he liked his new family or not. He never told me how his school life was like. But somehow, Jiho was always there for me. Even now, he supplied the tranquilizing drugs to me so that I could give it to So Young whenever she acted up.

Although Jiho was about two years older than I was, to me it felt like he was the younger brother I never had.

[So Young]

One day the blond guy named Jiho came back into the room. He went over to Junsu and whispered something in his ear, which made Junsu get up and leave. Jiho stood next to me and looked down at me.

"You seem to be in a tight spot," he said, smiling at me.

I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm and didn't reply.

"You won't be staying here for much longer," he continued in a lower tone, "Just try to hold on a bit."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, "Junsu's going to let me go?"

"That's not what I said." He turned his back for me. "Someone else will help you escape. Junsu's not stable right now. He has those moments, but it's never gotten this bad before. But you need to promise me you'll stay put until then. No more jumping out of windows or any of that. Understood?"

I nodded.

"Taking too many tranquilizers isn't good for you. I can't keep giving these to you whenever you act out."

Who was this guy? Why was he trying to help me? The guy went on his knees so that he was more on my level.

"Your dad..." he whispered, "Don't worry about him."

I frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?" And then I gasped. "Is he okay? Is he alive?"

He didn't say anything but smiled. He glanced at his watch and stood up again. "My time's up."

Junsu opened the door almost a minute later. What did he mean by his time was up? Jiho walked up to him and told him that he gave me today's tranquilizing shot. Junsu nodded in response, and Jiho left again. Was there one good apple in this building? Was Jiho really a good guy? Could I trust him? Or was he playing some kind of sick joke on me?

"Hey Junsu," I said a few hours later.

"Hm?" he replied.

"How many people did you get rid of... for my sake?" It disgusted me to ask that, but I had to know. Even if this meant pretending to like his motives. If Jiho was right and I would be escaping soon, I had to know exactly what was up so that I could tell the police about it. I wasn't scared of Junsu anymore.

"How many?" He grinned. "So you suddenly want to know? How come?"

"I mean... I suppose I understand why you did it," I lied, "You wanted what was best for me."

"Exactly." He sat on the bed and turned to face me. He hooked his finger around the ropes at my ankles and started tugging on it. "Well... The first one was Somi. I didn't want her bullying you. That was supposed to be my job after all. I guess this was when I started falling for you as well."

Once again, he was mixing his love for me with murder. But no matter how annoyed I was at this, I remained quiet and seemingly emotionless.

"I wasn't directly involved with her kidnapping, but I did threaten to expose a few things about her. That bitch seduced a teacher once and thought that no one was going to find out about it."

Seeing as she was such a die-hard fan of Mr. Kim, I could actually see that happening. Was one of the pictures in her locker that one?

"Come to think of it, I also had a... little talk with one of those friends of hers. Did she ever apologize to you?"

Who was he talking—Oh. So that was why she apologized. Somi's friend who blamed me for Somi's disappearance. I kept asking myself why she had a change of heart and suddenly told me she was sorry. Apparently, she was forced to do so by Junsu.

I grimaced. "Yeah."

"Good." Junsu took the ropes off slowly. "You know about Byung-wook... I wasn't planning on doing anything to him, because we were in the same gang. I always despised him, but that had nothing to do with why I blew him up."

I cringed at his choice of words. He traced his fingers over the blisters on my ankles.

"Does it hurt?" he asked in a low tone.

"Of course," I replied. His eyes snapped to mine, and I knew that the way I said it was wrong. "I mean, yes, a bit."

"If you promise to behave, I'll take the handcuffs off too."

"I can't go anywhere anyway," I lied again, "I'll behave."

He smiled at me. "Good girl." He leaned over me and took out a small key that was in one of his pockets all along. He unlocked the handcuffs, and sure enough my hands were finally free. This was the best feeling I've had in a long time.

After positioning myself to my liking on the bed, I looked at him. I pretended to be interested in what he was telling me so that he could continue spilling the beans.

"I know you didn't want me to do anything to Mr. Kim, but..."

I gasped. Did he really...?

"I couldn't let him live his life normally as if nothing ever happened. You weren't eating well. You didn't go to school anymore. He had no right. So I got rid of him too."

He was nuts. I also hated Mr. Kim, but not to the extent where I would put an end to his life.

"And my dad?" I asked, doing my best to compose myself.

"Oh, I wasn't the one who killed him. It was Jiho's doing."

Wait, what? Wasn't Jiho the one who told me not to worry about Dad? Who could I believe now? Was Jiho keeping Dad alive somewhere and trying not to let Junsu in on his secret? Or was Jiho just messing with me?

"Is Jiho a friend of yours?" I asked him, genuinely curious now.

Junsu nodded. "He's my only friend."

He told me a bit about Jiho's sad past and how he grew up in an orphanage. Junsu told me that he got to know him when Jiho was seven years old. He was always a bright kid, apparently.

"He seems like a nice guy," I said, looking at Junsu's reaction.

"He is," he admitted, "Sometimes."

"So you do have friends," I teased.

"Oh shut up," Junsu replied, rolling his eyes. But he smiled. I could tell that he was genuinely fond of Jiho. I couldn't help wondering though... What was truly going on here?