Hostage | 전정국

Eleven

When the train pulled to a stop inside Busan's outdoor station, police raided the cars. They were highly decorated with bulletproof vests and large guns. A few officers entered the control room to find Victoria and Jungkook sitting before Jin's dead body. They took them out where a few ambulances were to treat the injuries of any people.

Jungkook was amazed at how they could get ambulances right next to the tracks like that. What was even more amazing was the few hundred people waiting just behind those ambulances. They were being kept behind with caution tape and a few officers standing by them. He figured they were the people waiting for the rest of the passengers. His heart ached thinking about how many of them would never get to see their loved ones again.

He received medical treatment at the ambulance while having his account of the ride taken. He gave names—except Yoongi. Victoria gave her account at the same time Jungkook did. Since their phones were taken, they gave the officers their emails in case they needed to be contacted again. Jungkook's ex ran up to him as he ventured outside the caution tape. Victoria noticed this and shook her head but she didn't have very much time to be disappointed because her sister was waiting in the crowd for her. Her belly was swollen as she opened her arms wide for her older sister.

"I'm so glad you're okay, unnie!" she exclaimed as they hugged, the same thing happening all around them.

Victoria hugged back tightly. She hadn't seen her little sister since she eloped right after high school and ran away to Busan with her creative new husband. He was a freelance background artist as well as a digital background artist for Studio Ghibli. He was Japanese but agreed to stay in Korea because it made her happy. Victoria liked him. She just didn't like that he went away to Japan for a few days while his wife was pregnant.

"Sophie," she said fondly as they pulled away. She placed a hand on her bulging stomach and laughed. "You're huge! Look at you." Victoria sighed contently staring at her beautiful baby sister that had semi-foreign features not much unlike her own. They looked very similar even though they were five years apart.

A few feet away, Jungkook tensed under Haemin's touch. She pulled away with a frown and reached up to touch his face, but he backed away.

"Oppa, what's wrong?"

He cringed internally—as he usually did when she called him that. He didn't even know what he was doing with a younger girl, anyway. That was it. He had to take Victoria and Jimin and Hoseok and Yoongi and that guy from airport security's advice and end things.

Jungkook sighed. "Haemin, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly. Normally she was pretty hostile toward him, but the situation seemed to warm her cold, dead heart.

"You don't love me," he said matter-of-factly. "And I don't love you."

Haemin recoiled, seemingly hurt. "Are you...are you breaking up with me?" She had always been the one to break things off in the past.

"Yeah, pretty much."

She looked down at the floor before looking back up at him innocently. God, how that turned him off. He hated her puppy eyes. It was only cute when Jimin did it. "Can we still be friends?"

Jungkook thought about it for a moment, head tilted slightly as he stared down at her short and petite figure. Haemin was aggressive, she was domineering, she was controlling, she smothered him, she treated him like a child. He wanted to be taken care of, not treated like he was five. Even when they were friends she stifled him.

"Honestly?" he said suddenly. "No."

Before she could protest, he turned on his heel and walked away at a brisk pace. He wanted to be as far away from that bitch as possible. He used his height to scan the crowd for Victoria. Coincidentally, she saw him first and beckoned him over.

"Hey!" he greeted her warmly when he reached her and the—very young-looking—pregnant woman in front of her.

Victoria put a hand on Jungkook's back and gestured to her sister. "Jungkook, this is my sister, Sophia. Sophie, this is Jungkook. He saved my life."

"Oh." Jungkook brushed it off, hanging his head in embarrassment as a shy smile tugged at his lips. "It was nothing, really..."

Sophia lit up. She extended her hand and shook him softly. "Wow! Any man who saved my big sister's life is welcome in my house! Would you like to come over for some coffee and dessert? I'm sure you're starving after all that."

He was unsure if he should accept the offer, though he had nowhere to stay. His eyes flickered to Victoria's with uncertainty, but she only smiled at him with a fondness he had only seen in his hyungs toward him. He sighed, letting his shoulders relax before smiling at Sophia. "I would love to."

But then her face fell. She was staring at something behind them. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God. Is that—is that Namjoon?"

Victoria stiffened at the name and Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. They both turned around to see Namjoon being led away in handcuffs by the police, his left leg limping from when Jungkook had shot him in the thigh. A news crew was shooting him closely, broadcasting his shameful face to the entire nation. "That creep? That's Nine."

"He knew the entire time," she murmured to herself. But then she turned back to her sister and shook her head. She had seen enough that day. "Come on, guys. Let's go eat an entire cake."

Outside of the station, Sophia offered to get a taxi and stepped away to call a service. Jungkook and Victoria were left alone with people streaking past them. A heavy silence hung between them. It was hard to pretend that they hadn't just experienced something traumatic together. Even so, Jungkook wasn't thinking about the train. He was thinking about their conversation in the bathroom.

"How'd it go with Ms. Right, by the way?" she asked before he could speak up.

He shrugged, wincing from the strain in his shoulder. "I thought about what you said earlier and decided to end things for good." Victoria found herself smiling at this. She was glad she could impact him positively. "I've actually been thinking about it a lot," he continued, catching her off-guard. "And, um, I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to get a drink sometime." His eyes moved from her to the floor and back. "Not as a date, but as a 'you're really cool and I won't fake my death only to show up years later and try to kill you'."

Victoria laughed, relieved when he joined her. It was probably the most he'd ever heard her laugh and it was music to his ears. "Are you even old enough to drink?" Jungkook narrowed his eyes playfully and stuck out his tongue. "Yeah," she agreed. "That would be nice."

"Are you sure?" he confirmed. "Because I don't want to—"

"No, really." She smiled at him. "I want to."

So Victoria and Jungkook went to Sophia's house with a whole cake they picked up from Paris Baguette. The three of them ate it with forks, Jungkook being the one who ate the most, and talked about everything and nothing. And for a few hours, it felt like everything was going to be okay for a while.

Jungkook was worried about Yoongi, still. He wondered if he had been taken away in handcuffs like Namjoon. He wondered if Taehyung was alive. He wondered how Jimin was doing and if he was worried. There would be a lot to fix once he got back to Seoul.

When Victoria went through her bag that night, she found that Namjoon had somehow snuck the envelope inside because there was a few million won now in her possession. She had mixed feelings about it, as it was clear he had been in the organization with Seokjin the entire time. He knew all of the dark secrets. She wondered morbidly if the leader would take him out. Then again, he was probably going to be behind bars for a long time.

It was the end of the terrifying train ride, but problems for the two of them were far from ending.