The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

68| Last Girl Standing

previously:  jenlichaeng headed to Rkive and met yang where all sorts of secret were revealed, lisa made a run for it but chaennie were apprehended.

Jinyoung was in a good mood today, Dahyun noted. He had brought her food and she salivated at the smell of noodles.

He didn't stop humming as he swirled the noodles and forked it up, feeding her like a toddler. Thankfully, he didn't humiliate her by attempting some silly aeroplane tactic but she didn't care. She was too hungry to care about her pride and hungrily scarfed down what he gave, past caring that it could be poisoned. The spices made her blistered tongue scream but it invigorated her as well, pushing up the lever on her alertness meter. 

"What's up?" Dahyun wondered, after he gave her a glass of water. "You're very cheerful tonight. Or is it morning?"

"Night. Or very very early morning, which way you look at it," Jinyoung said pleasantly. "I've been busy so hopefully, the fruits of my labour will soon bear us fruit." He was in a plain red shirt and jeans, very unusual for him.

"More kidnappings? Child trafficking? Illegal drug deals? Business shams?" Dahyun snarked. He had the audacity to laugh.

"Already forgotten the reason you're down here and missing some fingernails?"

She gritted her teeth. The pain had dulled, but by no means had she forgotten. It flared up when he mentioned it, after she had so carefully and painstakingly pushed it to the edge of consciousness. Thankfully there was no threat of infection; Jinyoung had taken care of it, but he hadn't opted to provide her with anything else to dull the pain.

Because he was sadistic bastard getting off on slowly killing her and driving her insane.

Jackson had never come to see her. In a way, she was glad because she was sure she'd simply erupt and bring down all the curses she knew on his head. But a small secret part of her wanted to see him again. Wanted to peer into his eyes, wanted to see if regret and guilt were eating him alive, wanted to see if deep down, he had cared. Because if he had cared, that kernel of guilt might be the reason she survives this mess and escapes.

But maybe that's why he never came back, because seeing her would cause him conflict. Jinyoung, that bastard, he knew what he was doing.

A sudden burst of sound had Dahyun frown as she lifted her head and tried to locate it. It sounded like gunshots. And it seem to come from behind the wall on her left.

Jinyoung heard it too. "Ah, the show has started. I hope they don't rough up my Jays too badly."

"What show? What's going on?" Dahyun demanded. She strained to hear. Strangled shouts and urgent barked orders filtered through the walls, muffled and incoherent.

Jinyoung stood up and looked down at her, his eyes shining with manic energy by the light of the candle. Dahyun looked up at him, wary.

"Would you like to meet Tiger King?" Jinyoung smiled.

>

Rosé's heart had taken up residence in her throat and refused to be swallowed down back in her chest. She was barely breathing over the thundering dread that overwhelmed her as they emerged from Rkive.

Headlights from cars surrounding the area illuminated the grounds around Rkive, their bright glare making Rosé  squint. But she still spied Lisa's unmistakable figure standing frozen in the centre of the circle that cars had formed, hemmed in from all sides by Jays aiming their guns at her.

Why wasn't she running or fighting?

The unexpected answer came in the form of a terrified, high-pitched voice, horrifyingly familiar.