Taesung
Yoon Hyunjin. His name. Don't forget that name, I tell myself. If I ever escape this car or this world, it will be the last thing I take with me. While he talks about obedience, something completely different is growing inside me. Something, that cannot be controlled. Hatred? Defiance? Or something more dangerous?
I didn't escape the car. And I feel like I won't escape this world either.
We drove through the iron gate and stopped the car. The sound of the engine was replaced by the regular barking of dogs. I was immediately curious about, where the sound was coming from and how many dogs there were. I wondered if they were locked outside or inside the house. I had never had a good relationship with dogs. From one side the house resembled a large hotel, while from the other it looked like a fortress.
His behaviour towards me changed, after we arrived at his house. He ordered his two bodyguards to pull me out of the car by my neck. Those brothers have a firm grip — I bet it's deadly. I should count myself lucky, that they didn't break my neck, maybe death would have been a relief. They searched my pockets and took my phone and wallet.
„Security measures," said Hyunjin, as if it were normal. I bet it's more than just a normal measure in his world.
The house is enormous — the complete opposite of the dilapidated building where my father lives. Am I going to live here now?
„Welcome to my home. The NABI headquarters," he shouts at me over his shoulder, his head slightly turned, after I follow him through the front door.
„What?" Confused, I stop walking just before I bump into his back. Out of nowhere, he stops.
„That's the name of my gang." He turns to face me.„What does this mean?"
„Nabi means butterfly in Korean." He doesn't say anything else and continues walking up the glass stairs to the upper floor. Taeju nudges me, so I follow Yoon. Taeju seems too young to be a bodyguard, but appearances can be deceiving. Maybe he's older, than he looks. He bears a striking resemblance to a Korean singer from a boy band, whose posters are plastered all over the city.
He directs me to one of the bedrooms upstairs. There are three rooms in total. One is where Hyunjin spends his nights — I refuse to call him as boss. I occupy the second, and the third is empty. Where do the rest of his guards sleep? Do they even sleep in the house? Do they sleep at all?
„This is your room," he says, gesturing towards it. I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that I haven't ended up in the basement wearing a shackle. This will be the most pleasant debt repayment in history. Who else could say they live in such luxury?
The first problem arose tonight. They dragged me here straight from my father's house and took my wallet and mobile phone. I left all my clothes at the hotel where I checked in. Since I got dirty while trying to escape, I need to take a bath.
„Um... I need to take a bath, but I haven't brought my things with me." I say to Yoon, who is still standing in the doorway of my new room.
„Ssibal" he curses in Korean, before disappearing into the hallway. I have no idea, what he just said, but it sounded like an expletive. Taking advantage of the silence, I let my gaze wander around the room that will soon become my new home — a notion that suddenly seems ridiculously foreign to me.
The dominant feature is the large double bed with perfectly and neatly made black bedding. It's as if I'm not supposed to sleep in it alone. This seems disturbing. On either side of the bed are matching nightstands with three drawers each, made of dark wood almost black like ebony, and fitted with lamps. Curtains as black as night cover the tall window. Along the wall to the left of the door is a huge wooden wardrobe with mirrored doors, that look like a portal to another world. In my opinion, there is too much black everywhere. Opposite the bed is another chest of drawers against the wall with a large plasma TV hanging above it.
It's unabashed luxury. A luxury, that ordinary people cannot afford. It's a luxury in which you either get lost or suffocate.
I hear a quiet cough behind me. When I turn around, two items of clothing and a towel land on my face. The T-shirt and trousers are at least two sizes too big. His size. Thankfully, the trousers have drawstrings, so I don't have to worry about them falling down, while I'm walking and exposing me in all my glory. Before I can thank him, he has disappeared from my room.
I walk into the bathroom. It looks just as luxurious as the bedroom. Nothing in this house could surprise me anymore. Everything here screams wealth. There is black marble, shiny metal faucets without a single smudge and a spotless mirror. Yet amidst all this opulence, something is missing — perhaps a soul.
The only surprising thing is, that I can choose between a quick shower in a shower cubicle with a glass door or a long bath in an elegant freestanding tub. I opt for the tub.
I turn on the hot water tap and, within moments, the bathroom is filled with steam that begins to settle on my skin like a soft veil. I take one of the many differently scented soaps from the shelf. Sweet coconut, reminiscent of baby soap. I climb into the hot tub, which seems too big for just one person, and let the water wash away all the dirt and the weight of the day.
...༺༻ ...
I walk barefoot down the glass stairs to the kitchen. I open the fridge door and its bright light illuminates me as I reach for a bottle of cold water. I unscrew the cap and drink half of it in one go. I barely have time to swallow, before I feel someone's firm grip on my neck. Suddenly, I'm bent over at the waist, my chest pressed against the cold marble countertop and my face pressed against it.
„I don't know about the fact, that I gave you permission to move around the house freely," Hyunjin growls behind me. I find this position extremely uncomfortable — I don't trust him, especially after what he said to me in the car. I immediately recall our conversation, about his offer to be his bitch. I close my eyes and pray that he won't try anything with me. I have no desire to find out what sex with a man feels like.
„What are you doing, you asshole? Get off me!" I yelled at him, trying to push him away, with my hands. At that moment, I don't give a shit about a respect for him. He grabs my hair and jerks my head back. He forces me to lean back, exposing my neck, and breathes on it. He brings his lips dangerously close.
„That dirty mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day." He lets go of me and shoves me out of the kitchen. My bare feet get tangled up and I almost fall on the ground. I look back at him, seething with rage. What has happened all of a sudden? I know that my family owes him a debt, but on the way here, he was acting normally. Now he's acting like an absolute arsehole. He points his finger upwards.
„Go to your place," he commands, treating me like a stray dog. I clench my hands into fists and grit my teeth. I try to breathe deeply and, with quite a bit of effort, turn on my heel and march upstairs. I stop on the stairs and turn towards the kitchen. He can't see me, but I feel somewhat relieved, when I stick my middle finger up at him from a distance. Asshole.
...༺༻ ...
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* Ssibal - fuck
BLOOD DEBT (피의 빚)