Author's POV: 

You stared at the calendar in front of you. 2 months and 3 days left. The past 2 days in the house were weird. Taehyung was home all day. You both crossed paths quite a few times and bickered. But you tried to keep the distance between you both. 
As much as his constant and patient replies melted a part of you. You were supposed to hate him. 

The dialogue of how much you hated him and those cursed thoughts about him were rare nowadays. Especially after the day, he saved you. You did have a conscience. 

You often remembered the telephone booth. Somewhere, you felt guilty. Even though you were mocked for sneaking out quite a few times, Taehyung didn't entirely blame you for anything. He mostly said it was Joel's fault. Jo was also nice. He was—in fact—thankful that you didn't try to escape and mess up stuff.

Little did he know about the telephone booth. You wondered what would've happened by now if the gunshot was never heard. Would you be home? 

You were in deep thought but nearly flinched hearing Jo's voice, "Miss?" 
"Oh.. yeah?" You asked. He looked at the time before looking up at you and said, "It's 5 pm right now. The doctor is here to do a checkup. Please show your wrists and your foot."
"But I'm fine." You said.
"Mr Kim wanted this." You frowned a little but nodded, not knowing what to say. 

Soon, the doctor was in front of you, doing the checkup while you sat there awkwardly. You saw Taehyung exiting his room and entering his office. He didn't even glance in your direction like the other times. He seemed to be in a hurry. 
Jo noticed Taehyung and frowned. He seemed to be wondering something too. 

Jo went inside Taehyung's office leaving the doctor with you. 
"You're fine. Taking some painkillers for a few more days would be good. And your condition of the foot is improving. The swelling in the wrists is almost gone as well." 
You nodded as he got up saying, "I'll go then." 

As soon as he left, you stared at the door of Taehyung's office. Was something wrong? Both of them looked tense.

Should you go and ask? Wait no—why would you? That wasn't anything you had to bother about. You shrugged off any nosy thoughts and gulped.
"Accepting but within a limit." You reminded yourself and turned around, walking inside your room.

"I'm kidnapped. But does he ever treat me like a hostage?" You asked yourself, wondering again. No, he never did. 
"If I put it plainly, I was just forced in here. I'm living in luxury though I don't think I have freedom." You sighed and shook your head. You heard a chuckle from behind and turned around to see Jo. 
"You?" You asked as he nodded saying, "Sorry, didn't mean to overhear. I was going to call you for dinner... it's been an hour since the checkup. But you made me laugh."

"I wasn't being funny." You said.
"Right... you weren't. But you're also right. You do get quite a few luxuries." He chuckled. You frowned and said, "I don't get a lot."
"Well... sorry for that. But we don't have a choice. It's the mafia business."
"Heartless enough."
"Since we've become closer, can I tell you something?" He asked as you nodded. 

"I hope you know that we're not abusers. Like... yesterday I read a random article about kidnapping and honestly, I don't think we're like that. We're in the mafia... of course. We won't be the best people to interact with but... we don't want to torture you mentally or physically or in any way. But, there are restrictions. We cannot let you get 100% freedom because if we do, it'll be a risk to not only us but to many other people. Maybe our country as well."
"Country?" You asked. He nodded and said, "Well, you see. You weren't kidnapped for any self-gain. Mr Kim only wants to establish peace in the industry but... your uncle is against him. But, Mr Kim needed a way to persuade your uncle into cooperating and kidnapping was the only option left to do."

"But my rights being taken away for a cause I do not know about is wrong. And I don't think uncle's a bad man... I'll ignore it." You said. He looked down and nodded, "I apologize for it. Mr Kim feels sorry too. That's why he doesn't bother you much."
"Doesn't bother me? He kept Azure for 2 weeks!" You complained. Jo frowned, confused. 
"2 weeks? But she's coming in tomorrow."
"What?!"
"Yeah... I talked to the vet a while ago as well."
"He said-"
"He was scaring you. He isn't all that heartless."

You let out a gasp in disbelief as Jo said, "Trust me, he doesn't want to hurt you. I can see it. I hope you don't hurt him either. Your words are pretty sharp... sometimes." He said, thinning his lips. You just gulped and looked out of the window saying, "Is it a good cause? The reason why my uncle needs to cooperate?" 
"Trust me on that. It is." Jo said, smiling. You nodded and said, "Someday, I should get to know."

"It's a matter of trust, you know."
"The last person you should trust is your kidnapper." You said as Jo sighed, making a confused face. You just sat there and said, "I'll be out in a while." 
Jo nodded and went out as you looked at the door.
"They're weird. All of them." You sighed and got up, going out of the room. 

—Next day 

"Azure!" You said and hugged her tightly as she meowed. You grinned at her as she meowed for minutes near your ear. You guessed she was talking about how annoying her vet was and how she hated it. You giggled and said, "I agree. I can relate!" 
You saw Taehyung entering the living room where you and Azure were. Azure jumped into his arms as he smiled at her a little, patting her head.

You slightly gasped. That was the first time you saw him smile. It was a small smile but it held enough adoration or you to notice from meters away. Azure meowed as he held her, playing with her. 

You stared at them as the memory played in your mind. You also ran into his arms, just as Azure did. Gosh— could you erase it from your mind? You wish you could. It was kind of embarrassing to think about no matter how intense that moment was.

Taehyung sat down as Azure sat between you both. You glanced at the raven-haired guy before looking at Azure and spoke, "You said she wasn't coming before 2 weeks?"
"Jo changed his mind."
"Sure." 

You scoffed slightly and played with Azure as Taehyung sat there scrolling his phone.
"Why do I not get to use the internet?"
"You always use Netflix." He said. 
"I want to use my phone. Give it back to me, can't you?" You asked. He looked at you and said, "Even if I dislocate the GPS location and give it to you, will you stay here for 2 months without chaos?"
"You're trying to sabotage me of my rights. It's wrong." 

"Who said I was right?" 
"So you agree that you're wrong too." You said. He didn't answer, just looked at his phone though he didn't seem to be noticing anything on the screen.
"Can't I get some more freedom?"
"You can. I'll free you from here completely once your uncle cooperates." 
"Why do you need him to cooperate? Why don't I get to know?"
"I told you."

"I have the right to know." You said, sounding down. He sighed and said, "I promise you're safe here. And you'll get out of this hell as soon as we get our necessary information."
"Was kidnapping the only way?" You asked. He just looked at you before looking down, wondering about it. 
"Yes. It was the only way to persuade someone like him."
"Someone like him?" You frowned. He didn't answer, just kept quiet before saying, "You'll know it later on. Maybe.. some other day. For now, just know you're safe because I am protecting you myself. And don't keep asking for freedom. I know you do not trust me but-" He stopped, taking a deep breath as you stared at him.

For a moment he was wondering if he should say it or not.

But he spoke, "But... I do not want to snatch your freedom either. You are innocent and you do not deserve this but... the sooner your uncle listens to us, the sooner you'll be released. And I promise, once you are released, you'll never have to see our faces again. We both will be in two different dimensions like we were before all of this happened." 

You looked into his deep brown eyes. They weren't cold this time. They seemed normal. Not very emotional nor very cold. Somewhere in between. You couldn't figure it out. But you knew he was trying to convince you, he was making a promise. You just gulped and said, "At least let me use a phone. I want to use TikTok. We don't get that on the TV." 
"You'll get what you want... but everything has a time for it. Have patience."
"So am I not getting rejected right now? You're considering my offer?" You asked, pretty baffled by his kindness.

"Only because I have a conscience. If you try to take advantage, you are dead." He said and got up, leaving the room. You couldn't help but smile widely. Was he considering your request? 

From moving you around in handcuffs because you would run away to—actually listening to your requests and considering them and even fulfilling some of them? 

This was progress. Perfect! Acceptance within a limit. Your plan worked. It made you feel better, definitely—way better.