Chapter 4 - (1.8K Words)

You were glad to finally be out of the airport. It had taken you an unbelievably long time to get through customs, mainly because there were so many people on your plane. You had all flooded in through the gate about the same time, so you were stuck in the middle of a large group of people.

You were waiting around in lobby of the airport, trying to figure out which bus you needed to take to get to your aunt's place. Of course, you were doing your best to try and read the Hangul signs, but the address you were working with was entirely in English.

I guess I didn't do enough studying.

It wasn't long until a member of the airport staff came over to help you. Luckily for you, she spoke both Korean and English, unlike some of the staff that tried to assist you earlier. You were caught up in how fast and professionally they were speaking that you had forgotten how to properly respond to them. You tried to respond to them, but you got too flustered too quickly. So, they sent over one of their better English speakers.

After you showed her the address, she pointed you through a large set of glass doors that lead you out to the street level. She made sure that you were waiting for a bus from the red line, the only line that went far enough to take you out to your aunt's house. Once she was certain that you didn't need any more help, she bowed to you and went back inside the airport, leaving you all alone.

You watched her go back inside, and you sat down on the bench nearest to you. You looked at the bus ticket in your hand, and let go of your suitcase. You took your backpack off, and placed it next to you on the bench. You put the address paper in the pocket of your sweatpants.

She said that the bus would be around in about five to ten minutes. You checked your watch, and the time read 3:24 PM. You noticed as more people filed out of the airport, and came to wait for their buses. You grabbed your suitcase and scooted it closer to you, nervous of the new horde of people.

You pulled out your phone and pretended to be busy. In the end, you decided to use your phone as a mirror, and you did some self grooming. Besides, you don't always feel like you're at your best after you spend half of a day on a plane.

Your phone had died not long after you had left the plane, so you couldn't listen to music while waiting. You couldn't even let your parents know that you had landed safely. You would have to wait until you got to your aunt's, and got some charge on your cell. Which might take a while. You didn't know how far away your aunt lived from the airport.

Several buses came and picked people up, but none of them were from the red line. You saw buses from the yellow line, the orange line, and the blue line, but not a single bus from the red line. The crowds of people left just as quickly as they came.

You checked your watch again, slightly more annoyed than before. The bus was taking its time getting here. It was now 3:31 PM.

Just a little bit longer, you calmed yourself. I'll get to see auntie really soon.

Only a few seconds later, you heard the sound of a bus slowing down. You looked up to see another bus coming to a stop, right in front of the bench where you sat. It was finally a bus from the red line.

You looked around, and noticed that not all of the crowd had gone away. There were about four other people waiting all around, waiting to board the same bus you were. They looked just as annoyed as you were.

You threw your backpack across your shoulder and grabbed the handle of your suitcase, pulling it closely behind you. You lined up behind everybody else, and waited for our turn to get onto the bus. You had been waiting the longest, but you weren't the quickest to get in line.

You handed the bus driver your ticket, and then picked a seat towards the middle of the bus. Two women were seated together at the front of the bus, and then there were two hooded men sitting in the back of the bus. The bus driver didn't waste time on any stragglers, and took off almost immediately after you sat down.

You weren't going directly to your aunt's house. You were getting dropped off at a bus station that was near where she lived. Hopefully, she would decide to come and meet you there.

You smiled to yourself as you watched the scenery through the safety of the bus window. You watched the tall buildings as they went by, and you watched people as they walked along the streets, shopping bags in hand.

Suddenly, a rush of excitement came over you. After ten years, you were finally going to see your aunt. After ten years of seclusion in a foreign country, she was finally opening back up to you. You were excited to see who she was now. This was the closest you had been to her in the past decade.

As the ride went on longer, the space between the buildings became narrow. You stopped seeing people on the streets, and those you did see didn't look very friendly. You felt like you were closed in by the dark and short buildings on either side of you. It was all very shady.

Don't tell me that she lives here...

The bus turned a corner, and came to a screeching halt. Your head mashed into the seat in front of you, and it hurt even though the seat was padded. You looked around, trying to find out why you stopped so abruptly.

You saw three man standing in front of the bus, blocking the rest of the road. You turned your head, and saw that two more of them were standing behind the bus, blocking its only other escape. Five mysterious men were trapping you in an alley in a foreign country.

The two men in the back of the bus stood up, and pulled down their hoods. Your stomach knotted itself, and your mouth went dry. It was the two men from earlier, the ones that were scanning the room. How didn't you notice them??

You heard a loud pounding noise, and the bus door opened. On stepped one of the five men that was keeping the bus in the alley. This one had pink hair, and was even taller than the man with the shoulders. He was lanky, but he still looked fairly strong. You wouldn't be able to get away with anything. In his hand, he held a devilish piece of metal with a barrel and bullets.

"Alright, ladies." He said, his voice filling up the entire bus. "Get off the bus, and nobody gets hurt."

In an instant, the girls before you grabbed their belongings and hurried off the bus. You made sure that you had everything, including the address paper. You fumbled with your backpack, and grabbed your suitcase. You quickly walked down the aisle towards the front of the bus, keeping your eyes down, but a figure stepped out in front of you.

"Where do you think you're going?" The guy with the pink hair stepped out in front of you, uncomfortably close. In your fear, you found his voice oddly entrancing. You kept your eyes glued to the ground, too afraid to look up.

"I asked, where do you think you're going?" He said again, this time in English. You gulped, and slowly looked up at him.

"I'm going to get off the bus." You said quietly, in the best Korean you could muster. "I'm leaving, just like you told me to."

He was silent for a minute. He yanked your chin upwards, and moved his face uncomfortably close to you. He let out a twisted smile, and you heard a dark chuckle escape his lips, causing your spine to shiver.

"Oh honey, you're the exception."

The exception?!

The four other boys that were in the alleyway beside him were now climbing onto the bus. One of them pulled the driver out of his seat, and pushed him out into the alley, along with the two girls.

"Taehyung, you know the fastest way to get back, so you drive." The pink haired man started barking out orders at the six other men. "Jin, Yoongi, start rolling the blinds down. The less people that see us, the better. Jimin, Jungkook, go through her bags. If you find anything suspicious, bring it to me."

You watched as the men from earlier started rolling the blinds down, shielding your view of the alley. Two more of the men came up and forcefully took your suitcase and backpack.

"Sorry, sweetie." The one with orange hair said, pushing you down into one of the seats and giving you a flirty smile. You fell back and hit the seat hard, causing your glasses and beanie to fly right off. "I hope you don't have anything embarrassing packed in here..." He said, eyeing your suitcase suggestively. The man next to him laughed and started unzipping your backpack, moving down the aisle.

He walked farther down the bus and sat next to the man who had taken your backpack. You felt your face go red as you thought about those two going through your underwear at their own pleasure. You hoped that they wouldn't find the emergency stash of pads and tampons you always had when you traveled.

"Hoseok?? Where are you with that goddamned bag?!" The pink haired one screamed, filling the bus with noise again.

"Right here, sorry." A new, quieter voice said. He held up a brown bag, and a few different segments of rope.

You gulped as he blocked your escape into the aisle, the bag and rope in his hands. He gave you a cheeky smile, and pulled the bag over your head, tying it shut with one of the pieces of rope. He yanked tightly on your wrists, and you could feel them being bound together with the other piece he had.

You heard him plop down in the seat beside you, and he draped his arm around you, pulling you close to him. You squirmed and wriggled under his touch, but all he did was pull on you harder until you couldn't move at all. You could feel his warm breath on your neck as he whispered into your ear.

"Now that's a good girl."