This is your *only warning* to leave a vote before I kill you all... 😡🔪 ...jkjk but do vote pls! 🥳

A light grin tugs at his lips while dark locks sweep over his smoky eyelids. His white shirt collar remains unbuttoned to expose his chest.

"Morning, baby girl."

My eyes bulge even more. Please tell me this is a nightmare...

"Bad dream?" He brushes some ruffled hair from my shoulder before running his finger down my arm, the physical contact making me flinch with shivers. It's then when I realise I'm wearing nothing but a pink satin camisole and matching shorts. My hands are still chained together tightly, only now not behind my back but in front of my stomach.

"W-w-w-what's going on? Why am I wearing this?? How long have I been here??"

"Relax baby." Jaebum hushes and rolls out of bed to pour himself a glance of wine. "I bought you five days ago. To keep you safe from all those old perverts. Nice hair by the way, Kim really thought cutting it would make it harder for me to find you. How cute."

He raises the crimson to his lips, licks them, then hums before lowering the glass like he remembered something. "Oh and don't worry. I had my assistant change you out of those old ripped up clothes, I didn't touch you. I want you to be awake for that." He winks.

My head slumps back into the pillows when I try to curl up, the weakness of my muscles getting the best of me. "I don't understand how this happened... I want to go home..."

He snickers behind the glass before finally putting it down. "We're too far away for that."

"Huh?"

Jaebum walks in my direction, making me quickly move back on the bed with cycling legs to get away from him. He takes a key from his pocket and pulls my wrists, casually unlocking the handcuffs. I stiffen with raised eyebrows and a gulping throat.

As soon as I'm freed I notice the deep red prints carved into my skin. The cold blood rushing around my bones makes me feel slightly lightheaded. Jaebum then walks over to the large window on the left and holds out a hand,

"Take a look for yourself."

With furrowed eyebrows, I hesitantly rise from the bed and stand beside him with barely enough energy to hold myself up. When I look out at the view my eyes enlargen.

We're definitely not in the city anymore.

Beyond the large mansion front are nothing but trees, hills and water.

"W-where are we...?

"Somewhere your friends and boyfriend have no idea about. Waiting for help will be pointless."

"Then let me go yourself." I turn to him, "I won't tell Taehyung where you are, it's not like I work for the man. I don't care if you have to put another sack over my head, just please take me home. I won't say anything."

He tilts his head in amusement. "Now, where would the fun be in that?"

My body tenses when he inches closer to me. I back away until my back somehow meets the wall and the space between us is narrowed.

"I have Lilo Hanson, right here in my mansion, hundreds of miles away from home..." He pins my wrists to each side of my head, forcing a small yelp out of my mouth before he licks his lips.

"Now that sounds like fun."

Just then, a guard opens the door. Both of our heads whip to him.

"Mr. Lim, your meeting begins shortly."

"I'll be there." He kisses his teeth and releases me in dissatisfaction. Jaebum looks back at me once more and pinches my chin, lifting it to meet his dark gaze and speaking in whispers.

"I spent a lot of money on you. That's two hundred million dollars I've lost now. You better pray your worth that kind of money baby girl."

With a sadistic smirk on his face, Jaebum brushes my lip with his thumb and leaves the room.

Even when he's gone, my body remains pinned to the wall from shock. His touch felt like a burning flame from hell I couldn't escape. And those sinister eyes... Oh God.

Once the room is empty I scan my surroundings. The bedroom is huge, round and white with flowy, milky curtains. It's like something from the towers of heaven, ironic to the aura Jaebum gives off. The bed behind me is also large and round and rests on a foundation of two steps. All furniture in the room gravitates to the walls to leave more space in the center.

Other than the tall double doors on the right, there is a regular door across the room. I release a sigh and enter it to find a bathroom. After making sure nobody is in the room to spy, I lock myself in, strip down, turn on the faucet and step into the shower.

I need to not only ease my wrists from days of being chained, but wash away some of this stress. This is all so surreal... I got auctioned? How can a human buy another human? How is that normal? How did such a nice man like Mr. Bang have any business is this?

—TWENTY MINUTES LATER—

I step out of the steamy glass box and wrap myself in a towel that was within reach... But then I realize I don't have any other clothes.

I search the bathroom from head to toe but there aren't any robes around. Crap.

With an irritated sigh, I hold the towel to my chest and head back into the bedroom, hoping I can put back on my pyjamas for the time being. When I enter the bedroom my body goes still.

There's now a girl in the room making the bed beside a line of clothes laid out on the sheets.

The girl is tall and slim with long black straight hair and bangs, her makeup is very dark and smoky and as for the outfit, she wears all black with tall heeled boots. She reminds me of Winter, but slightly edgier.

When she spots me gawking at her she stands straight and links her hands in front of her.

"W-who are you? What are you doing in here?! Are you with that maniac?"

She looks down to sway her hair and scoffs amusingly, "You finally woke up. I am Seulgi, Jaebum's assistant."

"Assistant?"

"Assistant... Goon... Whichever. I was told to come up here and bring you these clothes. This is your room after all."

"M-my room?" I re-scan the large room. "Is this a sick joke? You people can't just go around kidnapping girls and habilitating them!"

"It's not kidnapping if he paid for you." She takes a seat on the bedside and tosses me a robe. "Here."

My cheeks sting rouge before I clutch the fuzzy material to my chest. "W-well turn around or something!"

Seulgi breathes out with one hand digging into the bed and the other now covering her eyes and she swings one of her crossed legs. "So... Let me guess. You got scouted to work at the bluebell restaurant."

"...How'd you know?"

"That old creep Mr. Bang gets paid a shit ton for abducting girls and bringing them to the underworld. All the branches do it. I'm surprised they haven't been closed down yet."

"You can look now." I secure the robe around my waist. "So the underworld is where Mr. Bang brings girls to the Lim's?"

"No. Mr. Bang doesn't know the Lim's, that's just my knowledge. The underworld is where all the crooks of the city gather. Drug dealers... Mob bosses... Once you're thrown down there you're pretty much eligible to be bought by any of them. The whole thing is disgusting."

"If it's disgusting then why do you work for Jaebum?"

"You gotta do what you gotta do to survive." She shrugs. "I used to be in your situation, a long time ago. But I turned that around and joined what I couldn't beat. He must like you a lot to give you your own room, Jaebum doesn't usually do that for his women..." She looks at her swinging foot for a while before standing up and heading to the door, "But it won't matter in the end. You'll just end up like the others."

"Wait what do you mean? What's going to happen to me?"

She stops and looks over her shoulder with a serious expression.

"Word of advice, don't escape. Don't even try. And if you do try well... Just be sure that you don't get caught. It's easier to hand yourself over and let him have his way with you than risking everything. Good luck."

Her words make me stiffen with parted lips. By the time I open my mouth to ask further she leaves the room and locks the door.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 🌙
—MINA'S POV—

Damn this place looks fancy as fuck.

"Reservation, Madame?" A tall and slender man asks behind the podium when I enter Bluebell.

"Oh uh, no. I was coming to check if Lilo was in today? She should be working about now."

"I'm sorry but I wouldn't know when she works. If you are not requesting or checking into a reservation I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Dude, I just took three buses to get here, the least you could do before shooing me off is check—"

"Is there a problem?" A short, round man in glasses and a suit approaches us cheerfully.

"This girl is not here for a reservation yet refuses to leave."

"What the heck?! I never even refused anything all I asked was a question!" I swear, snobs boil my blood more than anything, always treating you like some animal for no reason if you're not up to their status.

"Now now Francis, the young lady is just asking a question. Can I help Ms...?"

"—Mina." I shake his hand.

"Mr. Bang." He smiles.

"Hello Mr. Bang. I just came to check if my friend Lilo is around, I haven't heard from her in almost a week."

"Ah, Lilo! My favorite worker. She's in the kitchen working right now but I am afraid the diner is vey busy, she won't be able to talk as of this moment."

"That's fine, I'll just wait until after work—"

"M-my dear, we do not close until midnight. Don't you think that will be a long wait?"

"I don't mind, she's my best friend."

"But I hear these streets get highly dangerous at night. You really should take better priority in your safety. Waiting out in a foreign area does not sound safe for a teenage girl."

"Hmm..... Maybe you're right. Well would you at least tell Lilo I stopped by?"

"Of course. And here." Mr. Bang hands me a pamphlet. "You seem very healthy. Fit body, perfect nails... You should consider working here."

"Fit? Really? Damn I haven't been to the gym in forever but if you say so! That sounds great!"

"We'll be in touch. Have a good night." He smiles and nods. I wave to Mr. Bang before exiting the restaurant and making my way to the bus stop.

I wonder what's going through Lilo's mind right now...

I mean I get that she's taking this new job seriously, but the girl couldn't even shoot a text?

...She's still hurting from her boy problems Mina. Maybe this is her therapy. All you can do is give her time to distract herself and she'll contact you when she's ready.

I hum to myself, sitting on the bus stop bench and patting the rolled up pamphlet against my lips in long thought.

Something seems off...

—LILO'S POV— 

I can't take this anymore. What could that madman possibly be getting out of locking me away in this room all day? When is he going to let me go home?

It's almost midnight and I've literally been in this room on my own since morning, no phone, nobody to talk to... I can feel myself going crazy.

What if my parents have been calling and are worried about me? How much longer do I have to sit in here?

"I used to be in your situation, a long time ago. But I turned that around and joined what I couldn't beat.  

What did Seulgi mean by that? Does the same go for me? Will I have to decide between joining Jaebum or letting him do whatever he wants to me?

No. I refuse to do either.

I won't help the Lim's nor will I be a helpless little victim who didn't even try to save herself. I know Seulgi warned me, but I can't take just wait here like a sitting duck knowing nobody is coming to my rescue. Taehyung doesn't know about this area and even if he did, there's no reason to rely on him. I'm done with him. And he's done with me.

For once I need to think for myself without dwelling until it's too late. I need to do what my heart says.

I have got to get out of here. Tonight.