1 is Greater Than 7

5 Years Ago Part 1

*above is pic of Luna*

Taliah POV

I thought the ride home would have been full of laughter and conversation, mixed with questions about what I got for everyone, but it was quiet. I was quiet. I just stared out the window, zoned out the whole ride. The guys kept asking if I was okay, and I would just nod my head and chalk it up to being tired. Once we got back to the dorm, I headed straight for my room and fell asleep. I was mentally and physically exhausted.
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I thought a nap is what I needed to refresh myself, but I feel even more drained. I heaved a hefty sigh. I left my room and headed to the kitchen and got a glass of water. All the guys were sitting around in the living room with somber expressions on their faces; they reflected my own mood well. I gotta tell them. I thought. They need to know, deserve to know. I hated digging up my past, but I promised myself a long time ago that I would no longer stand by passively, while the ones I value and love got hurt. If that is truly who I saw, the boys are in danger. I let out another sigh when Jooheon called out to me, and beckoned me over into the living room. I took a seat on the floor near Hyungwon, and he scooted himself closer so we could share a blanket. We were right across from Shownu on the couch. "So what are we talkin about?" I said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, but it didn't help. "Taliah..." Shownu said, "We need to talk."
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Shownu POV

Talk. The hardest thing to do is talk. "Talk about what?" she asked confused. I just let out a sigh. I had told the guys about who I saw at the airport this morning. I wish I could say my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I'd never forget that face. "This morning, there was someone you recognized at the airport right?" I saw all the color drain from her face.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask about him, but there was someone with him. Someone I never wanted to see again. When you first arrived here, we did not receive you with the friendliest welcome, and you had quite a rough time because of us, especially me and Jooheon, but it was because of what we went through with a woman named Luna." I saw recognition in her eyes at the name. "Yes. That Luna." I continued.

"5 years ago she lived here, with us, much like you do now. Unlike you, however, she did not get put here by mistake. She's a hacker. She hacked her way into the Starship system to present herself as a long term employee, and then placed herself into our dorm and played it off as an honest mistake in the system. We were just starting out then, and didn't think anything of it. At first, it was awkward, but gradually things got better, and we started to trust each other. She would cook for us, come support us at our shows and other events, and hang out with us when we were free. She took a very special place in our hearts."

I took a deep breath before continuing, "The living arrangements were only suppose to last until she could be correctly placed somewhere, but that never happened. We lived together for 3 years before she started to change. They weren't big differences at first. Jooheon and I started receiving bigger portion sizes than the others. We would just joke about how she liked us more. More sarcastic comments started being directed at I.M. and Wonho, but they would brush it off or be sarcastic right back. She started showing favoritism, and then her jealousy started to kick in.

We had gained more popularity at the time, and were around many more artists. We would try to be polite to everyone, but when we directed our attention to another female, whether artist or staff, she would interrupt and pull us away. She would be mean to the girl, or somehow cause harm to herself to bring the attention back to her. It was a little unsettling. We noticed these changes, and tried to talk to her about them, about how we were worried and concerned, but she would just snap on us, always saying we were never on her side. That we were suppose to be her 'guys'.

After that, she just started to get mean. The unfair treatment intensified to the point where she would straight up yell at certain members for no reason and other members would barely receive anything to eat while others received more than enough. This sweet girl that we had known for so long, did a complete 180. After so much mistreatment, we could no longer put up with it, and told her she had to leave. It broke our hearts to do so. On the outside, she was the same Luna we had always known, but on the inside, that girl was no longer there."

"She screamed and cried and threw a fit, telling us that she knew she was wrong. Telling us to change our mind. That we didn't mean it. She was angry, but now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing any signs of her being hurt at all. All of a sudden, her rage of emotions stopped. She calmed down, and gave a weak smile. 'Maybe I do need some help.' she said. She agreed to leave, but wanted one last meal together. It wasn't unreasonable, so we agreed, but we should have kicked her out right then."

"We sat down for dinner like usual, and she prepared a feast, enough for all. She told us to dig in, and I should have known there was something off about it the minute I didn't see her join us. One by one, everyone started to pass out. My surroundings started spinning, and then it hit me. I looked down at my food, and then back at her, and she had the most twisted, crooked smile on her face. She was truly a crazy sociopath. I hazily saw her walk over to me. I was slipping further and further away, and I'll never forget those words she whispered to me, 'Until death do us part.' and I was gone."

I looked down and my hands were shaking. I tried to stop them, but it was no use. Taliah took them in hers hands instead, and I felt the same comfort that I did this morning. It gave me a little bit of strength to carry on.

"The next time a woke up, I was in an abandoned warehouse. I could hear seagulls and the sound of waves, so we were by the water somewhere. Jooheon was across from me, and he had woken up first. I could see the scared expression in his eyes. We were both tied up with our arms behind the back of a chair, and our legs tied to the chair legs. Our mouths were gagged so we couldn't scream for help. Not long after that, Luna came through the doors. She was giggling the whole time, and it sent shivers up my spine."

"She wouldn't shut up about how she couldn't believe she was alone with her two 'favorite people' and all the 'fun' we would have. I asked her why, why would she do this, and it was like a switch flipped in her head. She turned to me with the most haunting expression and said, 'You were going to leave me. For 3 years I gained your trust just to be abandoned? Can't have that, no can't have that.' Then she came sickeningly close to me, 'You're my favorite of favorites Shownu. You can't just leave that easily. Actually, I think I'll play with you first.' and then she smiled that demented, crooked smile." I couldn't bring myself to talk about what she did to us, the things we had to endure and go through, it never needed to be spoken of again.

"We were trapped with that crazy saesang in that dreaded place for 2 months! It only ended because she got 'bored', but vowed that she'd come back for her 'prized possessions'. She turned our location over to the police and went on the run. She tried to flee the country but the airport tagged her getting on a plane to Somalia. They delayed the flight, and she was caught. She was sentenced to 20 to life at a maximum security prison psyche ward. I had hoped she had got the help she needed over the years, but it looks like she hasn't changed at all, and has a renewed want for her 'playthings'." Shownu spat out.

"However, her eyes surprisingly weren't on us Taliah, but on you. I'm worried she's going to try something to harm you or even 'remove' you from the situation. Luna, whether masquerading, or in full sociopath mode, was not one to share."
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Taliah POV

I let the last of his words slowly sink into my brain as I processed everything. After hearing that, I couldn't hardly blame them for the cold shoulders they gave me at the beginning of our relationships. I took another moment of silence before speaking, "I appreciate you being willing to tell me this, especially when it's so hurtful for you. I'm glad you're concerned about my safety, afraid something might happen to me, but I can assure you that you don't have to. Luna won't harm me."

They looked at me as if I was dumbest person on this earth. "Are you fricking kidding me!?" Jooheon shouted, "That woman drugged us, kidnapped us, abused and tortured us because she LIKED us, and you think you're going to be okay!?"

I let out a hefty sigh. There's no way to avoid it now. "You all shared a deep part of yourselves with me today and honestly, I need to do the same. You're right Shownu, I did see someone I knew at the airport today, someone I thought I'd never see again. But it is because of this someone, that I know Luna won't harm me, because if she did, it'd be her own head. His name is Cole Daniel Reeds and he is my Ex from 5 years ago. He's suppose to be dead."