Mask

• T E N •

You know that feeling of emptiness that washed over you like a giant wave?

That is my current mood.

For the past few hours, I've been in a cell, my hands attached to the ceiling by thick iron cuffs with my toes just grazing the floors. The room is spacious, maybe about the size of a large living room. Yet, the only things in here are me, this chair, and a sink and mirror. The rest is consumed by cobblestone.

It's maybe around 7 o'clock at night, so I've been here for about 10 hours.

That's a long time without a bathroom break.

On my way here, I recieved dirty looks from everyone I knew, everyone I didn't know, and my fighting instructors.

I feel like a misplaced child. Like I shouldn't be here, like I don't have the right to be here after what's happened. For all they care, I betrayed them and turned my back on them.

I am now their enemy.

It's funny, because I used to be the one to torture and kill those who were locked in these god-awful cells, now I'm in their place.

My, how the tables have turned.

The door opens and I look up rapidly, probably pulling a muscle.

My unnie's walk into the room with a cart stocked with weapons and torture devices. They all have blank expressions, almost as if their souls left their bodies. I gulp and try to move backwards, my toes flicking the dirty floor. When they were taking off my jacket and bulletproof vest, they also took off my boots. So, now, the grimy, muddy, floor is coating my feet in dirt and dried blood.

"U-unnie..." I stutter.

Rosé crosses her arms and gives me a cold stare. "Don't 'unnie' me. You know what you did and it's unforgivable." She scowls, her thick lips turning downwards into a menacing frown.

I feel my shoulders hunch over slightly, and my eyes grow teary. "Please, you have to understand—"

"Lisa." Jisoo interrupts me with a sad frown filling her expression. "Please don't make this harder than it already is." I swear, I heard her voice crack slightly at the end.

Jennie picks up a small pointy tool that looks vaguely like a screw driver. It gleams in the sunlight coming from the tiny window.

She turns to me. "Lisa, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way." She sighs, slowly walking closer to me. She holds up the tool and examination it carefully. "Personally, I'd rather have it the easy way."

I purse my lips and watch her twirl the shiny objects between her fingers effortlessly, her eyes slowly shifting onto me.

She places the tool down and crosses her arms. "What the hell happened, Lisa?"

I bite my lip and look away.

The four of us had been best friends since I was five, and we always took each other's side. We always did everything for each other, and shared everything. We loved each other.

But now they hate me. Because I betrayed them.

"I was captured." I whisper.

Rosé nods. "We know. Taeyang told us."

I shake my head. "But that's not all."

Jisoo sits down in front of me. "Tell us then, Lisa."

I look at her, and find that her eyes filled with softness. To her, she wasn't interrogating a menace or any criminal. She was interrogating a friend.