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Everything had gone to absolute shit.
After their failed attempt at a rescue they had returned to the warehouse where In-beom had been strung up and unwavering, going as far as biting off his own tongue to not betray his beloved boss. That ended up in them having to call an ambulance and their plan on finding Meyong-gil’s slush funds went down the drain faster than In-beom’s blood could leave his mouth.
They had returned to their apartment, hopeless, defeated and so fcking tired.
Nari just wanted to sleep everything away, all their worries, all their discontent. She wanted to go back to when her smile was easy on her face. When she could walk into the restaurant, disgruntled for a day’s work but Mr Kwan’s smile would console her and they’d team up to tease their boss. Du-yeong would stroll in through the doors with his wrinkled smile and crescent eyes. They would argue and then make up and be on their way to repeat the day’s events all over again.
She missed the easiness of it.
Of having Mi-kyung’s arm linked in hers as they strolled down the streets, pointing at clothes too big for the baby to be. She would then settle at Ms Yoon’s cafรฉ, order her usual drink and watch the older woman smile and take care of her customers as if there was nowhere else she would rather be.
Nari sucked in a harsh breath at the tightening of her chest at the recollection. She would never be able to go back and her fondest memories were the only thing she could cling to so their memory would live on. But then again it was just that wasn’t it- memories.
She’d never again fuss over Mr Hwang’s sushi he’d force down her throat, she would never again hear Mr Kwan’s rants or Du-yeong’s jokes. She would never again have mother- daughter times with Mi-kyung. She could never go back to life before Kim Myeong-gil.
Nari stood up rather abruptly, catching the attention of the others in the small apartment who paused at the heaviness in her movements. Nari felt the apartment suffocating.
“You okay?”
Nari barely coaxed a hum at Woo-jin’s concerned question. Geon-woo and Woo-jin sprouted matching pyjamas, familiar red shorts and matching marine shirts accompanied by slightly damp hair. Da-min peered over the balcony of her loft, brows knitted in confusion at the chair scrape that pulled her attention from the photo in her hands of her grandfather and herself. Hyeon-ju was in the shower when Nari felt as if she spent another moment in the apartment she may explode.
“I’m going to get some air” she said, her tone off and strained. Her life would never again be the same. The wound on her stomach flared with phantom pain, a reminder of those she had failed to save, and she had spent more times than she would’ve liked sat on the floor of Mr Oh’s far from huge bathroom, back pressed against the cold wall and legs bent because the bathroom was that small. She would stare at the white line across her stomach and wished it had actually finished the job. She had clawed at it, red flaming lines burning her skin until Geon-woo had found her in panic and had stopped her. They did not scar, merely disappeared after a few days and healed unlike the wounds in her heart.
“Nari?” Geon-woo tried to reach for her hand but she smiled, almost unnaturally and forced.
“I’ll be fine” she said, noting his worry at the prospect of her being out and alone and without back up especially in a time like this. “I’ll stop and get food on the way. What would you like? I could use some Chinese?” she said but the frown on Geon-woo’s face did not waver.
Hyeon-ju had approached him, late into the night upon their return voicing her worry for her friend. Geon-woo listened, his memory flickering to the times he too began questioning her stability. He knew they were all far from perfect, they wouldn’t ever get back to that level of normalcy again but what had happened had broken something in Nari and they had all picked up on the signs. He had done what all good boyfriends do, he stayed by her, he helped her and all the while (unlike what good boyfriends do), tried to justify her questionable and ruthless actions as fits of grief. Geon-woo would be a hypocrite if he stopped her because in simple terms had he not had self restraint for her, he may have very well been in her shoes, maybe a bit more uncontrollable as well. But his worry for his girlfriend had been at an all-time high when Hyeon-ju told him what she had witnessed the previous night and his gut twisted at the idea that maybe their self-righteousness was wavering. But while he fought to maintain it, Nari started drifting from it. He didn’t want her to do something she would regret.
The thing was, Nari was done regretting. She was going to take action. And it would start now.
“Nari” Geon-woo pressed, but she was already tugging on her jacket and grabbing her phone, her feet carrying her backwards just as Hyeon-ju emerged from the shower.
”Take someone with you at least.” Geon-woo insisted. “Give me a minute I’ll change” he told her and went to grab a fresh shirt, but Nari was already one foot out the door.
“I’ll be fine” she said. “Be back in a few. I’ll text you and you let me know your order” she said and the blew him a kiss and disappeared with an I love you.
“Where did she go?” Hyeon-ju frowned, her eyes flickering to them but Geon-woo’s eyes remained fixated on the doors and then he turned with a deep sigh.
Nari may of very well began her decent into darkness and she would embrace it when it came calling.
Nair trailed down the city centre. Seoul had always been such a fast-paced city. She had never really taken her time to admire it. Her eyes slightly burned at the bright neon lights of signs and stores that remained open despite the late hours of the night. People were still flocking on the streets, crowding walkways and the occasional car whizzing past. People were continuing about their day and it made her think just how insignificant her hellish life was compared to others. They did not understand what she’d gone through, what she had lost and gained. They didn’t understand the conglomerate they were excited for was a murderer and someone who enjoyed robbing and deceiving innocent people. They didn’t see just how much she was breaking.
In her arm hung a bag of fresh food she had picked up and the cool air nipped at her nose found herself occasionally wiping it with the end of her sleeve. She was dragging her feet, taking in the loud sounds of the people and the cars and the faint hum of music coming from a bunch of different directions in hopes the loud noise would drown her obnoxiously loud voices in her head.
They were calling in all different names at her, voices that blurred into familiar ones. They would feed on her grief, on her despair, on her anger and her violence. Nari would do anything to get it to stop but the only way that could happen would be for her to personally put Myeong-gil’s head on a spike.
Nari could vaguely see the apartment up ahead, a part of her not really wanting to return but knowing she’d have to and that Mr Oh was waiting on her and them all really to rescue him. She could only imagine what they were doing to him. Myeong-gil was no stranger to the art of
prey v predator. He knew that toying with his prey before ending their lives would be better and far more enjoyable than a simple one and done job. He’d put them on a leash and make them run in circles. He’d tease and mock them until they beg for death because that’s what kind of sick bastard he is. It would be her last wish to have his life at her hands.
Nari felt a rather unpleasant shiver run down her spine. Something creeped at the back of her neck and she turned her head over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of a shadow. Her heart began racing, a sudden chill making the cool air feel freezing, and dread began filling her veins. Uncertainty pooled in her gut and her footsteps started picking up pace that she didn’t realise how quickly she cleared the remaining distance until she grabbed at the door.
But before her fingers could reach, Nari was tugged harshly back. The bags of food slipped from her grasp, crashing to the floor as it began seeping from the white plastic bag. Strong arms latched around her struggling frame, tussling her into their chest as his hand came round to place a cloth over her mouth.
Nari jerked in their arms as she caught a whiff of the chloroform lacing the material. She rammed her arm back and into his side. The man hissed lowly in her ear and her movements became frantic. She managed to elbow the man in his nose and he temporarily left her. Nari kicked his knee and the cloth fell from his hands. She only managed to turn before another pair of hands grappled after her.
She was not prepared as he slammed her into the wall, hands reaching to grab another cloth before pressing it firm against her nose. Her legs flailed and her nails dug like claws into his flesh, drawing blood but the man stomached it, pressing the clorophomed cloth harsher. Her eyes were wide and fearful and nothing had ever prepared her for something like this. Her thrashing grew but the dizziness overcame her quickly and her movements became less frantic and more fatigued. She continued digging her nails into his arm, trying to claw at his face too until her eyelids began to droop, her arms tiring and then she succumbed to the fatigue. She fell limp against the wall and the man nodded to his companion who brushed the blood from his nose and the two yanked her to her feet and dragged her to the van that lured behind the corner in waiting.
The door slammed shut but they hadn’t noticed the cell phone on the floor that had fallen after her attack, next to the now cold and spoilt food.
It would only be minutes later when the phone screen lit up and then faded and footsteps approached and the phone was picked up by a concerned boyfriend who felt his entire world slip from beneath his feet when he pressed the power button and a picture of himself and his girflriend stared him back in the face with a smile on each of their own.
MORE ANGST!!!!!!! ALWAYS ANGST!!!! NEVER PEACE!!!!!
Low-key miss the core four of Mr Kwan, Yang-Jung, Du-yeong and Nari๐ย Damn why did they have to die ๐
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