Kidnapped

I yawned as I opened my eyes. A new day had dawned, and my flawless skin had a hint of pink. I blushed, remembering what happened last night between Tae (태) and I. Speaking of Tae (태), where was he? I got up, brushed my teeth, and took a shower. I dressed in my usual baggy clothes, purple this time, a hoodie. I hurried downstairs, hoping to find him.

"Your boyfriend went for a jog (조그), and he hasn't been back," Mom said.

My heart sank. I raced out the door. Jiang (지앙) was saying something, but I didn't hear it. I ran as fast as possible and stopped near a street. I saw his phone. It was dusty and cracked. No... no... this can't be happening. Was he forcefully taken? I ran back home, utterly broken, and collapsed into my mom's arms, sobbing.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked, patting my hair. I showed her the phone, and she gasped. "This isn't what I'm thinking, right?" she said in shock.

I stood up and stormed into Hyung's (형) room. He was fully dressed, ready for school. I pinned him against the wall. "Hey, man, chill out... What's going on?" he asked in confusion.

I scoffed. "Still acting dumb, huh?" I said, pressing him harder. He was in pain, groaning as his face turned pale.

"I thought we were cool?" he asked, genuinely bewildered.

"Yes, we were cool, but not anymore! Tell me, where is Taeyang (태양)?" I demanded, my voice laced with impatience.

"Hey, man, how should I know?" he asked, looking genuinely lost and confused. This made me even more furious, and I hit him hard across the face.

"Hey, man, why hit me? What did I do to deserve a punch?" he yelled, his voice rising.

"You dare yell at me after what you've done?" I retorted, as rage consumed me. I punched him again, and his nose began to bleed. He pushed me, and I fell, hitting my head. Now I was bleeding too.

"Hey, I... I'm sorry," he said, bending down to help me up. But to his surprise, I gave him a hard slap and shoved him away. I pinned him again, his back pressing hard against the edge of the wardrobe.

"You're hurting me, Kim... Look, I don't want to fight you," he pleaded.

"What are you afraid of? Hit me, you scumbag!" I cursed.

"Language, Kim!" I heard Jiang (지앙) say, but I refused to back down.

"What's going on here, guys?" she asked, entering the room.

"He kidnapped Tae (태)!" I broke down crying, resting my head on Hyung's (형) chest. He tried to hold me, but I slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me!" I yelled, continuing to cry my soul out.

"Mother, even though I love Kiki, I would want him to be happy. I would never do something like that to him. I only knew that Tae (태) was missing when he barged in and broke my nose," Hyung (형) said, sounding annoyed.

"Kim?" Jiang (지앙) questioned me.

"But he's the only one who knows that Tae (태) slept with me," I reasoned, clinging to that thought.

"Well, if you want to stalk someone, you can get your information," Hyung (형) countered. Jiang (지앙) also nodded in agreement.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"Well, what if someone else wants to kidnap him and has been stalking him, and then saw a perfect time to do it?" he explained. Hmm, that made sense, but who would do that?

"Tae (태) doesn't have money, so why would someone kidnap him?" I said, confused.

"I have to confess now that it has gotten out of hand," Hyung (형) stated, his expression serious.

"I knew you had a hand in this!" I accused, pointing a finger at him.

"No, I don't, but have a seat, let me tell you what I know," he said. Both Jiang (지앙) and I sat down. "Well, the thing is, ever since you got together with Tae (태), he had been receiving threat messages. There was a time that someone almost ran him over with a truck, but I drove as fast as I could and, luckily, I was able to distract the driver, and Tae (태) went home without noticing anything. So, I also want what you love to be safe. I decided to invite him to drink with us and then gradually, buy his house, and he would have no option but to stay with us so that he could be safe. But then he went out this morning, and I'm just finding out now." Hyung (형) explained everything.

"Well, you can't blame me for blaming you, right, Hyung (형)? I'm sorry," I said, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Well, it's okay, because honestly, if it were me, I would think the same, but I would confront you in a more cunning way," he said, accepting my apology.

"But why didn't he inform the police about the messages?" Jiang (지앙) finally interjected.

"Well, it was all my fault for that. You know I'm a hacker (해커), so I hacked into his phone to see if he was cheating on Kim. I stumbled upon the messages and then I deleted them from his phone so that he wouldn't be scared. But I have them on my system," he confessed.

"Okay, now why didn't you tell me?" I asked, annoyed at his secrecy.

"Well, you'd be the overprotective boyfriend, and I hate it. I hate seeing you protect him, so I wanted to do it for you," he explained, prompting Jiang (지앙) to break out laughing.

"You guys are hilarious!" she exclaimed. "So now, let's go search for him!" she said, and we all went downstairs, except for Hyung (형), who wanted to change into casual wear. He had to skip school because of me. It felt good to have people willing to do anything to make me happy.

I froze hearing Old Woo (우) say, "I've asked for the surveillance footage, and here it is... Let's play it and see if we can get a clue." There was no time to argue; we were talking about my love. We could argue later. I took the flash drive from him without saying thank you.

"Father, thanks," Hyung (형) said. We all ran to my room. I quickly inserted it and searched for the video.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Yoona (윤아)? And Yanyan (얀얀)?"

"I had a hunch that Aunt Su (수) had a hand in this, but Yoona (윤아)?" Hyung (형) was also surprised.

"The f*ck, how did she know Tae (태) was here and how the hell did she know when he went out?" Jiang (지앙) finally blurted out.

"That's what I don't know," Hyung (형) and I said together.

"Jinx!" I quipped, a strange moment of lightness.

"Did he tell anyone about him coming here?" Jiang (지앙) asked.

"I don't think so... But it seems like they've been stalking him for a long time," I said. According to Hyung (형), he was almost run over by a truck. So, let's go hunting.

"How do we find them now?" I asked.

"Well, now that his phone is here, we can track Yoona (윤아)," Hyung (형) said, and we got to work. Not long after, we located their position and headed there. My head was still bleeding, but I cared less. I wanted to find Taeyang (태양).

It was a remote area, the place so deserted that not even insects were present. "How did that b*tch know about this place?" I asked no one in particular.

"Don't forget that she's a bad b*tch," Hyung (형) said. Jiang (지앙) stayed home to provide us with backup. We had already called the police, but they were lying low, waiting for our signal.

We entered the uncompleted building, and to my surprise, it was not as simple as it looked from outside. "Damn that btch of a mother... I really hate to say it, the btch knows how to hide!" I exclaimed. The place inside had complicated stairs; if you weren't careful, you'd either end up falling or in a different place. It was so high, and now, how the hell were we going to know which room Tae (태) was being held captive? Arrghh, I am so frustrated!

"The hell, Kim, your mother is a true villain!" Hyung (형) said, admiring Sulin's (수린) crooked mind.

"Well, I also admire her way," I said, a grudging respect in my voice. Then we decided to split up. I went to the left, Hyung (형) took the right. After what felt like forever of climbing, I bumped into Hyung (형).

"Damn it! How did we bump into each other? This woman is surely a criminal!" I said out of frustration.

"Well then, let's stick together and find him," Hyung (형) suggested, and we took his way. Finally, we found our way to the top building. "Arrgh... Well, we had to skip other floors, and now we're at the last one. I hate these stairs!" I complained. Then we began to search for him.

Bang! I heard a loud bang. "You fool... You think you can steal Kim from me?" I heard Yoona (윤아) yell.

"Yes, 'cause you're not fit to be with him!" Tae (태) said faintly. Only God knew what he was enduring in that room. I had to find him.

"The noise seems to be coming from down," Hyung (형) said.

"How do we get there with these confusing stairs?" I mumbled.

"Let's just not follow where we came from, okay?" Hyung (형) suggested. We began to descend the stairs, but then, fuck, we were back up!

"How could that be possible? The stairs keep on changing!" I exclaimed in disbelief. But then I saw a cat that climbed effortlessly to the place. "Damn, so cool! Hyung (형), follow me!" I said, and finally, we reached the correct spot.

I forcefully pushed the door open, and there was my Tae (태), tied up, helpless on a small chair. He was bleeding; it looked like he had been beaten. Well, I was no man; I was a girl, right? So I could actually hit my fellow girl, right? I slapped Yoona (윤아) hard across her face and pulled her hair.

"Kim!" she gasped in surprise.

"Never knew I would hit a girl, huh?" I asked with fierce eyes.

"Even if you would hit, you wouldn't hit me, right?" she asked in pain as I was pulling hard on her hair.

"Well, I'm also a girl. I have long hair, pale and flawless skin, so I'm a girl... I hit girls who are b*tches," I said, pinning her to the wall. Hyung (형) helped me to untie Tae (태), and the police came in, helping us out.

"Miss Sae (새), I'm sorry, you have to come with us," a police officer said.

"I'm going nowhere!" she refused stubbornly.

"Take her away," I coldly stated.

"Kiki, you can't do that to me!" she whined, clutching my arm. I emotionlessly pulled my arm away, and she fell to the ground on her backside.

"Take her away, and I don't want to repeat myself," I said, hugging Tae (태) tightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you earlier," I whispered, tears building up in my eyes.

"It's okay... It's not your fault... And I like it when you show me this 'weak' side of yours," Tae (태) teased, pulling me into a deeper hug. I blushed.

"Hey, I'm not weak!" I defended. He pulled me for a kiss.

"Then don't cry... At least, I'm alive," he said softly.

"Did she threaten to kill you?" I asked, pulling back slightly.

"Nope, but your mom did. Saying that I have to help her get you, or else she would kill me," he explained, sniffing my scent. "How I thought I wouldn't sniff you again," he added, planting a hickey on my neck.

"Hey, can you be serious for once?" I scolded.

"Well, Yoona (윤아) hit me, but your mom (Sulin) was quick to get out as soon as you entered the building, promising Yoona (윤아) that she would return with a car for us. When Yoona (윤아) wanted to protest, Sulin (수린) said the stairs were complicated and you couldn't find us fast," Tae (태) explained the twisted escape.

We reached home in silence, but we hugged each other tightly. We entered the parlor, and Mom stood there, pacing frantically.

"You're back!" she rushed forward and hugged me, kissing my forehead. Then she turned to Tae (태), who had his head bowed and gaze low. "I'm sorry this had to happen, but rest assured that I will get Yanyan (얀얀) arrested," Jiang (지앙) said.

"Thanks, Mom," Tae (태) said, his voice quiet. Then Hyung (형) came in with a first aid kit.

"Tae (태) will shower before I help him dress his wounds," I suggested, and we went upstairs.

In My Room

I helped him undress, and I couldn't help tears rolling down my face. He was wounded by whipping.

"Who whipped you?" I asked, running my shaking hands over the angry red welts.

"Yoona (윤아) and Sulin (수린)," he said, his voice tight.

"I hate them," I burst out crying, unable to contain my fury. He hugged me close.

"Look, it doesn't hurt now that you've touched it," he said, faking a smile. I knew it was fake, but I didn't want to stress him more, so we had a bath together. We were incredibly touchy with each other throughout. After that, I brought the first aid kit and carefully treated his wounds.