The Ringleader | knj

16

It went silent, as if he was still trying to process what was going on. I nervously bit my bottom lip, an ounce of me hopefully wishing that he was still asleep with his eyes open...

Alas, that ounce was instantly washed away when he threw me off of him and across to the other side of the seat.

"Ouch!" I frowned, rubbing my head.

"Care to explain?" he pursed his lips, that same aggravated but kind of attractive, gesture of his.

"Uh..." I dumbfoundedly stated. "Well why don't you explain first, huh? Why am I here?! Is this your second home or something?" I cleverly switched subjects.

"Very funny." He rolled his eyes, glaring at me. "I'm here because somebody wanted to see you,"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering at who it could be.

"Is it God?" I murmured and he scoffed, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"No, not just yet." he said, turning to open his car door. I hesitantly did the same, closely following behind him as he lead me through the deep and dark dumping grounds.

I noticed a familiar car parked up ahead and rolled my eyes as I remembered the owner of it.

My foolish brother.

I glared hard as I watched him lean against the bumper, scrolling through his phone as if making important messages.

I could guarantee you that most of them were along the lines of:

'Since Soyeon's finally gone, where's her half of the inheritance money?'

Namjoon suddenly stopped, grabbing my hands tightly. I quickly shook it off, hiding them into the comfort of my warm pockets.

"I can walk by myself," I hissed, trekking on ahead.

"You won't be able to for long if you don't give me your hands," he sneered at me, snatching them out of my pockets and grasping them tightly.

For such a cold person, his hands were surprisingly very warm.

"Ah Namjoon, what a pleasure," I saw my brother devilishly smirk. Namjoon frowned, pushing me in front of him. I stumbled a little, and hesitantly met my rat-of-a-brother's gaze.

"She's still in one piece... just like we agreed," Namjoon retorted, gesturing towards me. I watched as my brother's smirk grew larger, more demonic looking.

"Shame." he tutted. "I wish you'd finished her off, but unfortunately, my parents would kill you if you did that."

I gnawed along my cheek, my fists clenching as his comments made me grow even more furious by the minute.

"Okay, I'll tell father then. You can hand her over now," he sighed, nearing towards me. Namjoon stepped forwards and pulled me backwards.

"We're not finished yet Damyeon. Where is it?" he glared.

"Hand her over and we'll transfer it to you within the next couple of days," my brother yawned, looking very unbothered by the traumatised state of his older sister who'd been held hostage at the house of one of the most deadly gangs to ever exist.

"I'm not an idiot Damyeon! You either pay up, or you don't get her back," Namjoon scornfully said, gripping my hand firmly. Damyeon bitterly chuckled, crookedly tilting his head.

"And neither are we Namjoon. We've been betrayed many times just as you have, we wouldn't cheat you."

"Huh, that's funny, because the reason we had to take Seoyeon in the first place was because your father scammed us of our money!" Namjoon glared, gritting his bare teeth. "You give us what we want at the same time as we give you what you want. Arrange it with your father, and tell him that's the only way he can retrieve her,"

Retrieve me??

I sadly sighed, realising that my whole being was just a bunch of packaged goods to them.

"Fine." Damyeon spat. "But I'm warning you Namjoon, you and your men better be up to no funny business... otherwise you know the consequences," he threatened.

Namjoon nodded, boldly.

"We'll meet again," he said, watching closely as Damyeon hopped back into his car and swiftly drove away.

He turned around to face me, a displeased expression placed upon his face.

"Unfortunately, we're stuck with you for another few weeks," he frowned.

"Well you wouldn't be if you just let me go," I muttered and he rolled his eyes, trekking back to his car. I groaned, following him like I had no other choice- because I really didn't.

I slumped into the passenger seat and pursed my lips as I saw Namjoon sit down besides me.

"My life isn't just a game of pass the parcel," I frowned as he turned to grab his seatbelt. He halted, his hand hovering over the buckle.

"I know you have some hatred towards me, but don't forget, this was why I was trying to run away." I bitterly murmured. "Because I want to be treated like a human being for once. Not some money-retrieval device,"

He moved his tongue inside of his cheek, avoiding eye-contact as if a shallow feeling of guilt consumed him.
I stared at him blankly, awaiting some kind of response. But as usual, he ignored my words, and began to reverse the car out.

There was an awkward silence between the both of us. I sat there numbly, focussing upon the road he began to turn into, the grey and murky sky overhead aligning to fit with my feelings perfectly.

"I need to make a pittstop somewhere," he said, his words cutting through the thick atmosphere. I said nothing and began to fiddle with my fingers.

"I guess you're playing the ignorance game too now, hm?" He chuckled, dropping one hand off of the wheel and turned into a deserted parking lot. I looked around, confused.

There was no one here.

"Want to come?" he asked, unbolting his seatbelt. I turned away from him, facing the passenger side window.

"I'll stay in the car, thanks." I muttered.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, slamming the car door behind him. I shuddered at the loud thud- this guy seriously had no chill whatsoever.

I sat there silently, growing boarder and boarder.

Until suddenly, I heard the sound of tyres screeching upon the tarmac as a car began to approach my window. I hesitantly looked up, noticing the driver begin to roll down his window, flashing a menacing smirk at me. I bit my bottom lip nervously, trying to ignore him, peering out the direction of the other window.

Suddenly, I heard banging against the glass- my body instantly freezing.