The worst way of waking up from a nightmare is probably waking up and realizing that it's not a nightmare.

The sharpest pain I've ever felt pricked my head as I woke up on a cold hard floor with no recollection of how I got there. My eyes felt heavier than usual and a feeling of nausea took over my senses when the rancid smell lurking around in the room caught up to me. The feeling of unease was hefty and I slowly opened my eyes, all while preparing myself for the horrors around that might prevail.

The darkness that fell against my open eyes wasn't very different from the one that was previously gracing my closed ones. And along with that murk came an agonizing silence, the one where your mere breathing can pose as a raging thunder storm.

Where the hell am I?

It wasn't long after I started ransacking my brain for answers that a metallic clutter could be heard against the unnerving silence and it felt like the click of a couple pairs of heavy boots on the wooden floor. Immediately my adrenalin kicked in and I shut my eyes closed to disguise my awareness. However, my act couldn't procure much success.

"Is Miss Brute playing drama nowadays?" an oddly familiar voice spoke with its hoarse weave. "We know you are awake so just quit the game Y/N..." he spoke again but this time, he sounded way more arrogant.

Stirring from my position I struggled to sit up as I had finally realized that my upper limbs had been confined to each other with strong, rough ropes that were digging into my skin. The glare I hence bestowed on them was raining daggers but it did little to no harm as my captor only returned it with a sinister grin.

"There's the fire I had been missing all this while" he remarked staring deeply into my eyes, not breaking the contact even for a trivial blink. There was corruption smeared all over his vile gaze but there were stronger intentions in mine, way stronger.

"What the fuck do you want Min Jun?" I barked at him making his gaze go all grave and irked. I knew he would crave revenge after what we did to him back at the warehouse but there was no way he could have built himself up this high without someone's assistance. And the one that was assisting him definitely had bigger plans than just a stupid reprisal.

"Oh....I want so much from you Y/N-ah, so much.....but for now, I'll just have my father deal with you. I can have my way with you later, after all....you ain't going anywhere"

His words disgusted me and there was nothing I wanted more that to just rip that filthy mouth of his right off. However, I had to bury that thought deep in me as the only action that would possibly help me right now was staying calm. So I stayed quiet and waited for this so called father to reveal himself.

A similar clutter rang through the hall and through the open doors appeared a new face, well, maybe not very new. My eyes widened to the greatest expanse as I laid them on the figure, a man possibly in his fifty-s, standing with his full glory. Clad in a white Ralph Lauren suit and grey pants, amidst the crowd stood my father's most beloved friend, his right hand man, Uncle Sang-Ook.

"Hello darling" with so much love he said and just like that, memories came crashing back.

"One day, when your appa retires and I take over the Kim Mafia, I'll make you my little assistant, just like I am to your father"

"Really? Will then I be your best friend?"

"Yes, yes of course"

"Ajhusi, now that you are my best friend, can I tell you something?"

"Anything princess"

"I want to be a painter, just like Miss Yuna"

"Jinjja? That's great princess. I am sure when you're grown up, you'll create beautiful, beautiful art and make us all proud"

"And what do you wanna be, Ajhussi?"

"I?...I wanna be just like your father. The way hyung talks, the way he holds his resolute personality, I admire all of it. Your appa inspires me and one day, when this mafia is my responsibility, I want to lead it just like he does today"

"I'm sure you'll make a wonderful leader. I wish you all the best!"

"That's so sweet Y/N dear..."

The time I spent with Sang-Ook, the moments I stayed in his arms, playing with the man with buoyant juvenility came crashing down the walls of my brain and a voice kept ringing in my ears saying, no! this can't be true...

I absolutely didn't wanna believe what I was seeing. Sang-Ook had always been a second father figure to me and my heart wasn't ready to accept the possibility of him having any contribution towards my messed up life.

But when the memories brought back a sudden realization, my solidity relapsed.

"You wanted appa's position in the mafia, didn't you? That's why you killed him?" tears began rolling down the side of my cheeks and I didn't bother to tend to them. I have resisted them enough already, today I allowed them to break free.

"You are smart, Y/N dear" Sang-Ook passed me a satisfied grin and the fake stretch on his sick face disgusted me even more but he continued with his monologue anyways.

"Of course I wanted your father's position. You do know how your father became a gangster, don't you? Your grandparents were killed in a car crash when we were still at school and your father was left all alone with his little sister, Seokjin's mother. That time I was the one who helped them survive. I helped Myung-Dae steal his first bread to feed his little sister. Without my help he would have been no gangster, just a beggar. I provided all my support to the siblings and what I wanted in return? Just to be his successor. But guess who he chooses as the heir of this freaking mafia, an immature girl who has no interest in such life what so ever. Pathetic!"

The warmth of my boiling blood spread across my damp skin as the images of appa's last struggles took shape in my head. His fate wasn't very different from mine after all. And that made me respect him so much more.

"It's true that your father did most of the hard work in forming the mafia. He trained himself and then others in fighting skills, collected capital through overseas trades, increased connections, he did them all and hence, when the group appointed him leader, I didn't object. But didn't I deserve a position after him? Was I so incapable that he chose you over me?"

By now, Sang-Ook was so close to me that I could almost smell the rotten alcohol in his breath. With his stubbly cheeks and sunken eyes, he looked nothing less than a monster and to top that off, the fowl scent of his lingering breath added to the horror.

"He to-" "With such hatred and greed in your heart, you still think you deserved to be a leader?" I cut him off, making him glare at me with resentment.

"My father was never as greedy as you are. He was a great person and he always cared about others. The only restraint that held me back from ever fully accepting him was his unfair business but that too has now fled, because now I know it wasn't his faults, it was yours. The goodness that you are implying to posses, if you even had a fraction of it, you would have helped my father stand up on his feet and be independent, not propel him to the world of treachery. My pathetic life, my messed up childhood was your fault all along, all of it-" a hard slap on my face shut my blabbering mouth but ignited my raging heart even more.

I looked up to see Min Jun hovering over my seated form while breathing heavily. Clearly, he was the one to rain the blow.

"Mind your tone bitch, don't forget where you are" he spat drawing a scoff out of me. "in hell that is..."

Sang-Ook chuckled at his son's pathetic attempt at being savage. However, I kept shut, just showing my annoyance through my eyes and not mouth. I wanted to make them think that they rendered me speechless, that they managed to break through my shell. After all, I had to hide what I was doing behind their backs, well, my back.

Slowly and as quietly as possible I lifted my shackled wrists up in the air and slipped my right fingers inside the rope, searching for a metallic touch. And soon I found it when my fingers brushed past the large, round dial of the watch wrapped around my left wrist.

All while staring at the men with a feigned intimidation, I used my nails to dig open the dial lid and soon enough, a small razor blade dropped on my palm. Jackpot!

The ride after that was quite easy actually. As Sang-Ook kept whining about the ill treatments inflicted on his poor ass, I kept rubbing the shank against the coarse fabric of the restraints until I had sliced my way through. And then, all I had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity.

"So you see Y/N-aah, all you gotta do is sign on this little piece of paper and you're free to go. Once this mafia becomes mine, I'll be far away from your way and you can live a happy, peaceful life without any worries" the expectations on Sang-Ook's face was amusing and I couldn't help but let out a little snigger.

"Are you dumb or something?" Min Jun once again raised his hand in offence before being stopped by his father, but I didn't give a damn about it. "You really think I'm gonna give you something my father left me, his legacy?"

"I don't need you to give it to me dear, I can get it myself. I have my ways" saying so he leaned in towards me, boring his crimson stare deep into mine, thus giving me the perfect opportunity to strike a point.

Without wasting more I placed my now free hands on the floor and propelled my body up, aiming for my head to clash against his already crooked nose. A satisfactory crack echoed in the room followed by an ear wrenching shriek and I used the moment of everyone's surprise to stand up tall on my feet.

Sang-Ook, who was now on the floor, looked up at me with disbelief.

"My father taught me to always be prepared"

From the corner of my eye I could see one of the guards charging at me and just as he was about to lunge at my form, I ducked making him stumble down. In a swift gesture I kicked his legs rendering him completely on the floor. And just like that, the battle began.

A sudden touch was felt on my shoulder from behind and as my reflexes kicked in, I grabbed the hands and flipped the man over my shoulder making him land directly on the previous guy. Two hunks down, three more to go.

A third individual came dashing from the front and started raining punches on me. He managed to bruise my stomach with a rough blow but that only enraged me more and I grabbed his egg shaped head and brought it down forcefully to my knee. A notable purple patch started forming on his forehead and he fell to the floor with a defeated sigh.

The remaining two took a few minutes for planning their hit against me. One thing was for sure, they wouldn't dare to shoot me or fatally injure me. After all Sang-Ook needed me alive. If I were dead, he wouldn't ever get the mafia. So I took this to my advantage and made a break for the nearest window.

However, I still kept an eye on the two attackers and when I noticed them charging at me at the same time, I elbowed the one behind me hard in his stomach and kneed the one at front in the groin before resuming my run.

"You won't get through with this Y/N..."

I heard Min Jun saying but I hardly payed attention. I should have though because just as I was about to escape through the window, a wave of intense electricity coursed through out my body yielding me motionless. I fell to the floor, trying my best to keep my tired eyes open but it wasn't long before darkness started consuming me and the last thing I saw was Min Jun looking down at me with a taser gun in his hands.