The Last Spark | iKON Jinhwan

14

Jinhwan

I informed the police of my whereabouts and a tip of where the house would be. Despite orders from the police to stay in place and wait for police to arrive, I slammed my foot against the car's accelerator and used my surroundings to guide me through the dirt-paved roads. The sun was beginning to set, but I just needed to get Y/N out there.

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Y/N

"Wakey, wakey."

A woman's voice gently fell upon my ears as I felt my body being nudged. I slowly lifted my heavy lids, and the blurry scene before me began to materialize. I was in a dim room with only a candle illuminating the room. I was tied against a rotting bed frame, preventing me from moving against the knot due to the frictional pain.

The rest of the room was empty except for two chairs, each with a large gun resting on top.

"Where.. where am I?" My voice was husky and raspy, showing just how deteriorated my condition was from lack of water and talking. "Wh-who are y-you?"

A figure emerged from the shadows, and I began to recognize some features. "Hello, Y/N."

Realization began to settle as I took notice of her familiar eyes. My eyes widened as my mind finally began to fully wake up. "Y-you're the lady at the mall. And the teacher!" I began to blabber, talking about how it was weird for her to be a teacher and a salesperson at the same time. Like, choose one, lady!

She grabbed a gun and shot it against the wall, causing an area of the weakened wood to crackle and break into small pieces. I involuntarily hunched my shoulders and brought my knees closer to my chest.

"Shut up," she said menacingly before kneeling down so her face was level with mine. "I am Jinhwan's mother."

My mouth gaped the tiniest bit, and I impulsively snorted, "well, you don't deserve to be a mother."

Smack.

Her hand landed across my face with such force that it felt numb from all the adrenaline and anger that rushed into my body at that moment. "I wouldn't anger the people with guns, Y/N," she coyly warned.

A door suddenly slammed shut as another figure stepped into the room. "Oh, she's awake."

I looked up to find a stocky man standing next to Jinhwan's mom. "She's a bratty one, alright. Not sure what Jinhwan sees in her."

Jinhwan.

"Speaking of which, we're going to need more rope," the man, presumably Jinhwan's father noted. "I took your phone," he said, pointing at me while holding my phone in his other hand. "You've been a bad girl to warn Jinhwan of your whereabouts, Y/N."

I nervously shifted under the ropes, feeling guilty at the thought of getting Jinhwan trapped. "Don't hurt him," I pleaded.

The man scoffed loudly as he dragged in another chair. "Hurt him? I wouldn't hurt my son no matter what. The thing I can do, though, is hurt you."

"What do you want?" I choked back a sob as the reality of the situation began to set in. "I'll do anything, I promise. Just let me go."

"You see, Y/N, we no longer need your favors. We've decided that we don't need your favors and can instead use you as bait," Jinhwan's mom piped up.

"Bait?" My voice cracked as I began to imagine the worst. Are they going to feed me to some lions? Piranhas? I really hate piranhas.

"Yes, bait. We've sent your parents a letter and also had it published in all news sources." Jinhwan's dad clicked his tongue as he paced the room, running his finger across a knife's blade. "You're bait for money, Y/N. Ransom, if you will. Your parents have been ordered to pay us their who life life savings if they want you back alive and unharmed."

Jinhwan's mom looked pointedly at me before saying, "and if any rescue attempts are made... well, let's hope there won't be any."

My eyes widened, and I shivered against the bed.

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Jinhwan

The moon's light was guiding me through the paved roads as I tried to navigate myself through the rural roads. I made many wrong turns and even drove off the pavement at one point. The rural area definitely lacked street lighting, only providing one of two for a few blocks. I kept driving past the occasional neighborhood and diner until I finally came upon a little neighborhood that looked run down and broken: a ghost town. I quietly pulled out onto the smaller road, trusting my instincts and my guts to lead me to Y/N.

The roads were thin and deteriorated, forcing me to leave the car at the edge of the small town and trekking on foot. If they are here, there should be another car around here somewhere. The roads are waaaaay too small to support any vehicle.

I looked around briefly for any other sign of a car, but there wasn't any trace that I could see. The town was small enough where I could easily see the majority of the buildings and the layout of the deserted town. My eyes scanned the horizon in the darkness, and the faintest glimpse of light in one of the home's window caught my eye.

Impulsively, I began running towards the house and into the darkness of the town.

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Y/N

The room was cold despite the fact that my captors started a fire in the fireplace to keep out the harsh cool, night winds. The wooden floor creaked under my weight as I attempted to shift under the tight grasp of the ropes.

"Don't even try," a stoney voice warned. "Those ropes are A-grade! Completely thick enough to slice your neck in half with just a bit of friction."

I huffed the bangs out of my face as I sighed. "Just trying to get as comfortable as I can under such threatening conditions," I spat. My fear had turned into anger and resentment over the course of the few hours I had been here. "How long are we staying here?"

"Just long enough to get your parents back in the country so that we know they are serious about your ransom and that there are no negotiations." Jinhwan's mom paced around the room as she looked at me with a stern look.

Boom.

The door to the room flew open to reveal a small Jinhwan being clutched by the neck pressure points with a gun pointed at his temple.

"Jinhwan!" I impulsively choked out in half shock and half relief.

"Jinhwan's been a bad boy," Jinhwan's dad tsked before roughly throwing him onto an empty chair in the room. "Tie him up, honey." The wife obeyed and began to shuffle about.

Jinhwan huffed, lifting his face to meet my eyes, only to reveal his lightly bruised face. "I'm sorry, Y/N."

I gasped in disgust and shock and aimed my anger towards Jinhwan's dad. "You promised you wouldn't ever hurt Jinhwan!" I began to wiggle about against the ropes no matter how much it hurt and abraded my skin.

"Oh, sweetie," his dad said while gripping my chin with his dirty thumb and index finger. "I never promised. I was just keeping you in line."

I tore my face away from his grasp and huffed in anger. "Don't touch me," I hissed.

The man smirked at me before gesturing to his wife with a curt whistle. "Come on, honey. We gotta watch the front. I wouldn't be surprised if Jinhwan brought something along with him."

They both sauntered out of the room, leaving none of their weapons behind. Smart. "Y/N. Are you okay?" I hear Jinhwan's weak voice pierce the silence, soothing my nerves a bit. "I'm-I'm so happy you're okay," he said while mustering a smile. "I've called the cops. They know where I am. I'm going to get us out of here."

"What if they hurt me because the cops come?" If they were willing to hurt their own son, there is no telling what they would do to me if their precious money was threatened.

"Shh, Y/N. It'll be okay. I won't let them hurt you."

Before I could open my mouth to speak, the room was alight with red and blue.

[A/N: Not feeling the plot of this whole story in general, so I hope at least some of you enjoy it. I am debating if I just want to delete this story or not, but I know some of you are still reading, so I am conflicted. Ending it next chapter probably!]