A/N ~ The song has nothing to do with the chapter, I just really love it too much...🌚😅

A cold shiver slid down my spine as I laid my eyes on the man in black in front of me. Mirroring my surprise on his face, Jungkook stood with a demeanor screaming of sundry emotions. I wanted so bad to scold him for willingly disregarding my warning but I couldn't suppress the urge to hug him either. It was almost five days that I had been stuck in that dungeon with no tinge of anticipation what so ever. At the moment, I was in desperate need of some affection, at least some assurance that I wasn't alone anymore.

And as if hearing the cravings buried in the deepest parts of my heart, Jungkook quickly walked up to me and engulfed me in his arms making me break down right there and right then, like a delicate carving of glass.

"I missed you..." my voice came out as a dull, fragile chime but for the first time in forever, I didn't try to hide it behind a layer of loud, hoaxed indifference.

Previously, every time I felt sad or broken, I used to conceal my emotions behind a thick façade of nonchalance only to prove to myself and to the world that I was strong enough. I felt scared to show my vulnerable side to anybody because I thought if I exposed my weaknesses, people might exploit it, they might label me as a coward, unworthy of my resolutions. And the burden of such thoughts were heavy enough to close me off even to my own family. I started believing that I was incapable of feeling intense emotions such as anxiety, heartbreak, or even happiness. I fed myself facts that with no feelings there won't be any pain but eventually I ended up paining myself more.

However Jungkook changed all that for me. I was there, standing in front of him, being the most vulnerable I've ever been and I didn't even have a tiny bit of desire to hide myself. I felt so free.

"I missed you more than you can ever imagine Y/N-"

"We all did"

The charming voice of my best friend caught me by surprise and I broke the hug with Jungkook to look behind him and there he was, a smiling Jimin standing right by the metal gates, along with a teary Taehyung.

"You came too?" a sad smile broke on to my face as the bliss of seeing all those friendly faces after so long was too much to contain and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Even though the entire situation was quite hostile, the little reunion still felt worthy of some opulent moments.

As Jungkook removed his arms from around my waist I ran up to Jimin, giving him a tight, bone crushing hug while the later picked me up and spun me around as if I were a little kid. Nonetheless, he did make me giggle like one.

"We had to..." Jimin pulled me closer and I buried my face into his neck, not caring if I was getting him all filthy with my greasy clothes. I felt comfortable after a very long time, I didn't wanna let go just yet.

"You have no idea how miserable we were without you" Taehyung's baritone voice sounded so soft under the weight of his hefty tears and I patted on Jimin's arm, asking him to drop me down. I then walked up to Taehyung before wiping the drops away from his cheeks making the aforementioned smile wide and beautiful, "but now it feels so relieving to finally know that you are okay"

The moment was no doubt a precious one. It spoke the worth of true friendships and it bestowed us with the gratitude of being so lucky to have true friends. But like every other euphoric juncture, this too ought to pass and I knew that, just didn't realize it'd be so soon.

"Guys, I think we should leave. No matter how ecstatic we may be right now, we are still dwelling inside enemy territories. We nee-"

"Awe, you are cutting off your stupid little drama already?"

Catching us all off guard, Min Jun abruptly spoke through his heightened pitch making the blood in my veins run cold and even before I could bat an eyelash, three men appeared out of nowhere and took Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook hostage, with guns placed on each of their temples.

Oh no

Even though Min-Jun's words brimmed with a sarcastic amusement, his fierce stance was reeking of copious fury.

"How dare you hurt my dad, and kill our men?" this time however he roared with sheer indignation, letting the world know of his soaring annoyance and dumbfounded by the entire ordeal, I just stood there, too shocked to even utter a single syllable.

"How dense are you guys?" he continued with his oration while I was still stuck in some kind of trance. No matter how much I tried to retaliate, all I could do was wheeze with overwhelming dread. What if he hurts any of my friends? I wouldn't be able to ever forgive myself if anything happened to them.

"You seriously thought it would be so easy to just barge in with that stinky plan of yours and rescue your little birdie? Huh? You bunch of pathetic losers!" Min Jun addressed his hateful words towards the three before turning to me, "You see Y/N, you didn't think our plan would work. But now instead of one, we have three, guinea pigs. Oh how much fun it'll be to hurt each one of them while you sit there watching, unable to protect a single hair on their heads. Tsk tsk, so sad-"

"No-oh..."

A croaked gasp fled my trembling lips as I could feel a blazing flood of tears thrashing at the walls of my eyes. "Please..." and I could feel my face burning to crimson, being clogged with fervent sentiments.

"Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt them" I could hear their voices behind me but they felt so distant. I could hear my name being called out but it was so faint.

"Y/N, please listen to me, don't worry about us, we'll be fine. But please don't be intimidated and do anything stupid, please" this time I heard it loud and clear, but I chose to ignore their pleads. I knew I'd have said the same things if I were in their shoes and I also knew if they were in my shoe, they'd do exactly what I was about to do.

"Bring the papers Min Jun, I'll sign them right away" and with that, I heaved a deep sigh which I didn't know if was of disappointment or of defeat.

I had no emotional attachment with this mafia whatsoever, all I had was memories and even most of them were sad. Yet I was trying to protect it because I knew if Sang-Ook got a hold of the business, he would exploit it so bad that it'd leave a deep scar in walls of history. He had this sick, barbaric fantasy of being in power and once he got what he needed, he'd surely render Korea under sheer terror. I didn't want that to happen. Even if our group traded on illegal lands to feed our needs, we never unnecessarily hurt innocent people. But leaving Kim Mafia with Sang-Ook would guarantee exactly that.

There was a reason why Appa didn't give him the leadership in the first place and I knew now that this was it. He might have had gotten a glimpse of what Sang-Ook's true nature and intentions were. And he lost his life protecting his people.

But I'm sorry Appa, I couldn't be as considerate as you had been. All my life I'd been lonely and sad. But then I finally got this one shot at happiness, at love. I finally had some genuine friends that cared about me and I couldn't just lose them. For once, I had to be selfish. I couldn't help it appa, I'm sorry. If the mafia is the cost for my friends' lives, I'd rather pay it. I knew I was being greedy but so be it, because for the first time I was gonna choose myself over everybody else and I only hoped you understood how much it mattered to your daughter...

With the pen in my hand, and my decision shining bright in my head, I signed my name on the contract, there by transferring everything I and my family had under Sang-Ook's name, even the mansion that I practically grew up in. Honestly it was breaking my heart to give away my childhood home, that held every memory I had with my parents but then again, I tired to make myself understand, that no matter how much I thrived to keep them with me, they were still in the past. I couldn't just let go of my future in order to save what was already gone. House or not, my parents would still be there with me, in my heart, won't they? And what significance would a house even hold, if there's nobody in it to make it feel like a home?

"Here" I handed over the papers to Min Jun. "It's all yours, now let my friends go" I was about to turn around and make my way to where Jungkook and the others were held down but the next words Min Jun spoke rendered me motionless and utterly distressed.

"What's the rush, baby? I thought we'll have some fun..."