The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

82| Die Another Day

trigger warning: things get dark, violent and graphic, again

They left Hwangssabu's jacket behind. In her heart, Jennie had already said goodbye to Hwangssabu yet it felt all the more heart-wrenching to leave the very last remaining part of him behind, for good. She was sure she wasn't going to see the jacket again.

Jinyoung returned after briefly leaving the room Jennie was in to do god knows what—Jennie didn't care very much. But all too soon, he came strolling back in, cut the ropes tying her to the chair and hauled her to her feet, giving her time to adjust because her legs had gone numb. Her hands were still tied behind her back so the jacket slipped off her shoulders.

Jinyoung didn't even look at it. Jennie didn't ask about it. She closed the lid on the memories and turned away towards the door.

She tried guessing how close to the arena they were as they walked, but it was impossible to tell—though she did catch muffled shouts and sounds of an ongoing boisterous fight, they sounded distant, like thunder rolling over on the horizon of the vast ocean. Jinyoung had pulled no punches in renovating the entire Slammer and employing noise-cancelling techniques in the infrastructure.

But Jennie barely paid any mind to such design choices. Her mind and heart were bruised and beaten, warped beyond recognition. What remained was a shard of sanity still clinging on desperately, stubbornly refusing to give in to Jinyoung and collapse in on itself.

"Keep moving," Jinyoung prompted, prodding the gun in her back.

Jinyoung pushed her through dusty, half-lit passages without otherwise saying a word, unnerving her. No Jays were around. She still had her hands tied behind her back, wrists chafing with circulation blocked. Her arms ached from being twisted behind her back for so long, especially her healing shoulder. Jinyoung pressed the muzzle of the gun in her spine whenever her pace flagged.

According to him, they were going to see Jisoo.

Jennie's guts twisted into knots. She wasn't sure if he was messing with her to draw out her torture before finally killing her or worse.

She didn't dare let her anticipation of finally seeing Jisoo rise. Her fears were returning, together with her guilt. How was she going to face Jisoo? How was she going to face her and tell her about her parents? And in what state would she find her girlfriend?

She didn't have to brood for much longer once they arrived in a passage with many barricaded heavy metal doors situated on either side. Jinyoung pushed her towards the third one on their right. The doors looked new, though dusty. There was a sliding panel just above Jennie's head, which she could reach if she stood on tiptoe.

Jinyoung startled her when he unceremoniously slid the panel back with a bang and nodded at Jennie.

"Take a look. She might be groggy though. We kept them sedated."

Heart thudding and her mouth drier than a desert, Jennie swallowed and warily approached the door, her attention divided between the panel and Jinyoung.

Bright light flooded out from the opening, making Jennie squint. A sour stench of sweat and piss made her stagger back before she could peek in. It was hard to balance on tiptoes with her hands still tied behind her back.

Jinyoung simply stood next to her, waiting and watching.

Jennie forced herself to look again, holding her breath and scanning the bare room desperately. Her field of vision was limited, but her eyes landed on the crouched figure huddled up at the furthest corner of the cell, hunched up and hissing fearfully.