"Park Jimin, who are you to come into my room like that?"
"What's new?"
"What were you planning to do to that kid?"
"I don't know him. Wouldn't it be right to kill him? What if he's a member of another organization?"
Taehyung laughs and looks at her. The gag is gone. Her eyes look as if she's about to burst into tears, but she's staring at them with her mouth tightly shut. "Don't cry. There's no point in crying now." Taehyung chuckles and lets go of the man's hand.
“Ewha.”
"..."
"When I investigated, I found out that he wasn't part of any organization or anything."
"So? What are we going to do now? Bring in some civilians."
Jimin put his gun away and looked at her. She felt as if those two eyes were pressing down on her. It was only natural, since they could easily kill her. Her life depended on those two. She averted her eyes.
"It looks somewhat useful."
"Don't touch it."
"Well, you want to keep the good stuff to yourself?"
"uh."
Taehyung moves closer to her and grabs her chin. Is he going to kiss her again? She purses her lips and looks at him. Those eyes again. Eyes that look like they're about to cry. Taehyung feels a pang in his eyes. Tears threaten to spill over. Taehyung looks into her eyes and then covers them.
"I'm thinking of using this kid as my secretary."
"Well, so suddenly? Without any agreement?"
"It's my heart. I'm the boss anyway, right?"
"Are you the only boss?"
Jimin tilted her head. Seeing him smiling with such an innocent expression, Taehyung felt a pang in his eyes. She couldn't see anything because Taehyung was blocking her view, but judging by the way his hand was shaking, she suspected he might be a little angry. When Taehyung released his hand, Jimin was looking at her with a completely different expression. His face was a little less guarded. A smile that melted the ice a little. She felt as if she was being swept away by another person.
"I'm Park Jimin. Please take care of me."
"..."
"Why don't you say anything? Can't you speak?"
Jimin's smile seems to reveal something eerie. Are there many people like this in this world? She opens her mouth.
"I didn't say I was working."
"Just do it. You can't get out of here anyway."
Taehyung sits down at his desk and says. She lowers her head. I don't want to work. I don't want to work here. The very idea of having to live like this is utterly depressing. She clenches her fists and lets tears fall. Jimin sees this, sitting down in front of her and looking at her.
"Uni?"
"..."
"I can't help it. You saw everything, right?"
"I can't say anything. So let me go."
"How can I trust you? Huh?"
"I'm tight-lipped."
Jimin chuckles and shoves her shoulder. She falls back, tears streaming down her face as she looks up at him. Jimin had something to say, but pauses for a moment, staring at her crying. Did Kim Taehyung bring her here because of this face? "Well, then it makes sense." "Yeah." Jimin laughs, then decides to tease her a little more, whispering in her ear.
"Choose. Do you want to work here, or do you want to get shot by me?"
She stops crying. What's wrong with her? How can she say such things so easily? She feels goosebumps. Yes, her life depended on them. She clenches her mouth shut, then opens it.
"I'll do it."
"Yeah, you chose well, girl."
Jimin smiles, stroking her hair. "You're so obedient, pretty girl," he says, wiping away her tears. Contrary to his expectations, his hands are gentle, even when they're doing hard work.
"I told you not to touch it."
"Let's share the secretarial skills."
Taehyung glared at Jimin, but Jimin shrugged and untied her. "Oh, I can live now." Her wrists and ankles were red and swollen. "How could you tie ropes around such thin, pale wrists?" "Oh, what a merciless person." Jimin stroked her wrists.
"You should have let me go sooner."
"Who knows if he'll run away."
"I won't run away because of you, even if I don't want to. Right, her?"
She remained silent. Jimin watched her silently, then gripped her wrist tightly. It made his already sore wrist even more painful. She nodded. Taehyung watched her and sighed.
"Let go."
"I'll take you and train you."
"Okay, I'll do it."
The tension is already high. She listens quietly and then joins in.
"By the way, where is my room?"
Taehyung and Jimin both stare at her at the sudden statement. Even though she's his secretary, there's no need to use formal speech. Jimin bursts out laughing. Taehyung, too, finds it amusing and tries to hold back a laugh. Her face flushes, but she stubbornly looks at him. Taehyung meets her eyes.
"I'll tell you the building. I'll reserve a room for you there, so stay there."
"..."
"Park Jimin will wake you up."
"Is that allowed?"
"Just wake me up."
Taehyung glares at Jimin. Jimin shrugs again and smiles at her.
"Okay, I'll pick you up."
"Let's go together for now."
Taehyung grabs her wrist and leads her out. Jimin follows. When they boarded the elevator, the space felt even more suffocating than before, and something felt like it was squeezing her. Taehyung wouldn't let go of her wrist, so she waved a little, but his grip only tightened. When she let out a "ugh," Jimin scolded Taehyung from behind.
"His wrist must hurt."
"Stay still."
"I think he's asking me to let him rest because his wrist hurts."
Taehyung looked at her wrist, saw it was red and swollen, and relaxed it slightly. When she tried to gently pull it away, Taehyung looked up.
"Stay still."
"Why do you say that so frighteningly? She's scared."
Before she knew it, she was trembling. Jimin must have seen everything, as he places a hand on her shoulder. Her body froze the moment his hand touched hers. What do these two want from me? She simply followed Taehyung wherever he led her, without any resistance.
"It's close to our building. So, commuting to and from work will be easy."
"..."
"I'll tell you what you need to do when you start tomorrow. Just go and rest today."
She nods. The door opens, leaving her alone in the spacious house. Jimin sees her and says hello, while Taehyung just stares and leaves. Being left alone actually feels a little better. She thinks back to what happened before, and tears fall again. It's so painful to have to work here. I hate the smell of blood. ... I miss my family. She sits on the sofa and lets the tears flow. Crying out loud seems to make her feel a little better, but something still remains in her heart that won't go away.
"I want to go home."
Every word she speaks echoes throughout the spacious house. Lonely, distressed, difficult, hurting. All the negative words swirl around in her head. They seem to convey her current situation. With her aching head, she goes into her room and lies down on the bed. Perhaps just washing up and sleeping would help. She comes out of the shower and lies down on the bed again. Will she be able to sleep? Her parents will be worried. With all her cell phones taken away, there's no way to contact them. She cries again and falls asleep alone in her room.
"Pretty."
Her head is pounding. She opens her eyes and it's already morning. When she wakes, Jimin is sitting next to her, staring at her. In bed, that is. She slowly gets up, staggers briefly, her head pounding, and looks at Jimin.
"Do you have a headache?"
"... yes."
Jimin places his hand on her forehead and tilts his head. She doesn't have a fever. Knowing there's nothing in her house, Jimin lays her back down.
"Wait a minute. I'll have someone bring you some medicine. She said you have to work today. You can't be sick, right?"
Jimin smiles and makes a phone call. For a moment, Jimin's face hardens. She closes her eyes briefly. Seeing her quickly drift off to sleep, Jimin strokes her head. A subordinate quickly brings her some medicine, handing it to Jimin and waking her up again.
"Pretty, wake up. Take your medicine."
Jimin brought her a glass of water, allowing her to take her medicine with ease. Perhaps he was a more affectionate person than when she first met him. She glanced at him as she drank. Jimin must have been staring at her, because their eyes met immediately, and she turned her head.
"Once we're done eating, let's wash up, change clothes, and go out."
She nodded and went into the bathroom. By the time she finished washing and changing, her hair had cleared up a bit. Dressed in a suit, she looked neater than yesterday.
"You're pretty. You can be pretty even in a suit?"
Jimin takes her outside. Outside, Jimin's subordinates are waiting. Following Jimin, she feels strange. It's a really high position, isn't it? Being the boss's secretary must be a huge burden. She swallows hard.
"All you have to do is just let her know our schedule."
"yes."
"And, you're like a member of the organization now."
"..."
"I need to learn how to use a gun and how to fight."
Oh, I hate it. I really hate it. My hands would start shaking if I held a gun.
"Guns and knives. They're easier than you think, so you'll learn them quickly."
Jimin smiles and heads downstairs. The elevator was bright on the ground, but the moment it descends, it dims. Only the light in the elevator illuminates the room. When the door opens, she sees a shooting range. It must be a training ground. Her hands are already shaking.
"I'll help you today. I got permission from Kim Taehyung."
"..."
"Want to try holding a gun?"
She grips the gun. "No." She hates this cold, hard texture. Jimin, seeing her hand tremble, grabs it and lifts it forward. Then he fires. A dead-on target in the distance. She lets go the moment she feels the recoil. "No." She grabs her hand, which is shaking even more than before.
"scared?"
"... it's okay."
It should be okay. Actually, it's not okay at all. How did I end up learning this? It's already exhausting. She picks up her gun again.
"She, if you're scared, tell me."
"..."
"You don't have to do it."
She turned her head. Jimin's face was hard.
"You have to protect your own body, but if you're scared, it's over, you know."
She hears Jimin's cold voice and holds the gun properly. Jimin looks at her and smiles again. Jimin stands next to her and teaches her how to hold it properly.
"This thing has a bit of a recoil, you know. If you don't hold it properly, you might lose it."
"... yes."
"Hold on tight or you die."
It's scary. It's amazing that she can say something like that. She must regain her composure, and her mind snaps into focus. Her hands are shaking, and even when she fires, she can't quite hit the target. Jimin corrects her posture.
"No one is good at something from the beginning."
Jimin's hand, wrapped around hers, was warm. He held her hand until she could get a feel for it, then fired. Jimin, clinging so tightly to her back, felt burdensome. A slight chill ran down her spine when she felt Jimin grab her waist.
"Concentrate."
She nods and looks at the target. Polite. Jimin is a little surprised by her politeness even after letting go of his hand. "You're learning better than I thought. You learn quickly." Jimin smiles and takes her hand.
"Good job. There was someone here who was good from the beginning?"
"Let go of my hand."
"Ah, you're here. What a pity."
Jimin lets go. Taehyung approaches from behind. He snatches the gun from her hand and aims it at Jimin. Jimin raises his hand and laughs.
"This again."
"I told you not to do it."
"You said you could teach me."
"I told you to teach me, I didn't tell you to touch me."
When Taehyung lowers his gun, Jimin also lowers his hand. Jimin and Taehyung stand on either side of her, watching her fire. She seems a little disillusioned, but holds back and fires. Taehyung nods, taking her gun and returning it to its original position.
"Let's go. Just do it that far."
"It hasn't been that long?"
"There's a lot to do."
What else could she possibly order him to do? She was already starting to feel tired. Putting down the gun, her hands began to tremble again. "Someday, I'll leave this place, Mari," she swore firmly. "If I stay among these people, I'll just suffocate and die."