Y/n POV
The day drags on as I keep checking the time.
My anxiety grows along with the ticking clock.
6:58 PM.
Finally time for dinner. A few more hours left to freedom.
I take a deep breath & check myself in the mirror.
Put on your best mask Y/n ah. You need to convince them that you've given up.
Carefully, I step down the stairs towards the dining room & see that Abeonim is already sitting down at the head of the table as usual.
His eyes lift up from his plate when he notices me coming. Jimin is standing near the wall behind Abeonim & he too looks up at me.
Heart beating fast, I keep my head low & walk to Abeonim's side.
"Do you have something to say?" Abeonim frowns & asks.
"Abeonim, I've thought long & hard about my action yesterday & I regret saying those hateful words & being disrespectful towards you. I've come to understand that everything that you do is to protect me. Please forgive your foolish daughter, I promise I won't do it again." I go down on my knees & bow down to the floor.
The deafening silence in the room perturbs me.
Didn't he hear me? Why is he not saying anything?
"Get up. I think you've really learnt your lesson, so I'll accept your apology." Abeonim sighs & pulls me up.
Pheww.. He bought it.
"Thank you very much, Abeonim." I bow at him again.
"Everything I do is for your own good. Keep that in mind. Now, sit down & eat." He instructs.
"Yes, Abeonim." I nod & take a seat beside him.
I can feel Jimin's gaze on me, but I pretend not to notice.
Ugh, just seeing him makes me so mad. I'm glad that I won't have to see him ever again after tonight.
We eat the dinner in silence as always. Nothing seems out of the ordinary.
"Y/n ah.." Abeonim suddenly calls.
"Yes, Abeonim?" I nervously swallow my food & reply.
"What's your schedule for tomorrow?" He asks without looking at me.
"Oh. I have class from 9 AM to 3 PM as usual, if you allow me to go out that is."
Well, tomorrow I'll be far away from here, but you don't need to know that.
"You may go to class as usual, just make sure that you don't disappear again like yesterday." He wipes his mouth with a napkin & nonchalantly says.
That's it? He forgives me that fast? Wow, my acting must have been very convincing. I smile & inwardly pat myself on the back.
"Thank you Abeonim." I pretend to be understatedly ecstatic & bow at him.
"I have some work to do in the office. You may go up to your room once you're done. Jimin ah, accompany her." He throws his napkin on the table & rises from his seat.
"Yes, Sajangnim." Jimin obediently bows.
"Yes, Abeonim. Have a good evening." I stand up as well & wait until he exits the dining room before sitting back down.
"Did you mean what you said earlier? That you've realized your mistake? That you won't repeat the same mistake again?" Jimin approaches me & asks.
I pretend not to hear him & continue eating.
"Answer me, Y/n- I mean, Miss." He urges.
"Y/n? Who allowed you to call me by my name? And what I said to my father is none of your business." I shoot him a death glare & leave the table.
"Miss, please don't do anything that you'll regret." He says to my back.
"The only thing I regret is not firing you on your first day." I turn around & snap at him.
His sad eyes unsettle me, so I quickly avert my gaze & walk away.
Don't let him bother you Y/n ah. Just focus on tonight. You'll get out of this prison soon.
I lock my bedroom door & take my phone out of the drawer to text Taehyung.

01:48 AM.
I bite my nails restlessly as I check my watch & glance down at the backpack at my foot.
Two more minutes.
Once the minute turns fifty, I carry the backpack & tiptoe to the door. I put my ear on the door & listen carefully. No sound is heard.
Here we go.  I inhale deeply & slowly turn on the door knob.
The hallway is dark in quiet. I keep my gaze on Jimin's closed bedroom door & quickly walks backwards to the stairs.
Thank God he didn't hear me. I huff once I've reached downstairs.
Time to disable the alarm.
I know exactly where the control panel Taehyung told me about, so it takes me less than a minute to find it.
"Ok, so what do I do now?" I mutter to myself as I open the panel & stare at all the buttons & switches.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps from inside of Abeonim's office & my heart instantly stops.
Shit. He's still in his office? I have to hurry then.
I frantically flip all the switches on the panel & dash towards the staff's exit at the back of the house.
It feels like my heart is about to explode when I reach the door & turn the knob.
Freedom, here I come. I think to myself as a huge smile curves my lips.
However, the smile is completely wiped off my face when I pull open the door.
Someone is standing right in front of me with both hands in his pockets, like he's been waiting for me to come.
"J-Jimin?" I stutter.
He keeps looking down at the floor as I stagger back into the house.
"Where are you going Y/n ah?" The voice echoing from behind freezes me to the core.
"A-Abeonim?"
"You haven't answered my question. Where are you going?" He sneers.
"I- I- I was just-" I struggle to form an answer.
"You were just what? You were just trying to escape?" He strokes my hair & smile.
"No! Absolutely not! I was only trying to get some fresh air." I hastily deny.
"You want to get some fresh air at 2 AM in the morning? Hahaha! Y/n ah, you're not a good liar. Do you think that I have no idea about your sneaky little plan?" He laughs out loud.
"W-What plan? I don't have-" I shudder.
"Tsk tsk tsk.. I told you that you're not a good liar. Bring him in." He exclaims loudly, his face changed in a split second.
The back door swings open & Jimin steps in while two other guards follow him from behind. Another person is wedged between them.
My eyes widen in shock & fear when I see who the person is.
It's Taehyung.

The guards push him down on his knees, his hands tied behind his back.
He looks up at me with his dark orbs, a mix of frustration & fury clouding his handsome face.
"T-" I'm about to call out but he shakes his head lightly, signaling me to stay quiet.
"Do you know this guy?" Abeonim turns to me & asks.
It's such a simple question but it makes me so scared that I want to throw up.
Should I say no so that Abeonim won't find out about us? But then what will he do to Tae? I should protect him.
"I- I do. H-He's that tattoo guy from church. Kim Taehyung." I finally stammer.
"Ahhh so you do know him. Did he ask you to run away with him? What sickly sweet promises did he tell you?" Abeonim lifts Taehyung's chin with his forefinger & scoffs.
I glance anxiously at Taehyung & gulp, my breath hitched in the center of my chest.
"You don't want to talk? Fine. You answer for her then." Abeonim stoops down in front of Taehyung and pats his cheeks.
"Get your hand off me." Taehyung snarls at him & shakes his body to release himself from the guards' grips.
"Apparently, none of you want to talk. Alright then. Bring him out & beat the answer out of him." Abeonim flicks his hand as he instructs the guards.
"No! Please don't, Abeonim. I beg you. It's not his fault. I was the one who begged him to get me out of here so if you want to punish someone, punish me." If yI kneel down in front of Abeonim & pleads, tears of panic streaming down my eyes.
"It has nothing to do with her. I forced her to run away with me. Beat me all you want." Taehyung intercepts.
"Ommo, are you trying to protect each other now? What makes you think that I'm going to punish only one of you?" Abeonim snickers.
"Please, Abeonim. If you let him go, I promise I won't see him again & I will do everything you say." I bow my head down to the floor & cry.
"Y/n ah, don't do that. Please.." Taehyung calls out, but I ignore him & keep my head down.
"Tsk tsk tsk.. First you got down on your knees, then you lay your head down for him. Do you like him that much?" Abeonim clicks his tongue.
"I do. I love him. But if you let him go, I'll bury my feelings forever." I look up at Abeonim & say with a heavy heart.
"You love him? Y/n ah.. Y/n ah.. How long have you actually known him? A month? Two months? Do you even know what he is? Did you just swallow everything he said to you without thinking? Are you truly that dumb?" Abeonim shakes his head.
"I know he's a good guy & I trust him. That's all that matters." I persist.
"A good guy, huh? Ok then, let me show you how good a guy your beloved Kim Taehyung is."
Abeonim fishes out his phone from his trousers' pocket & taps on it. While he does that, I turn my head around at Taehyung to ask him what's going on, but he looks as confused as I do.
"How much are you willing to pay me? Ten million won? Fifty million won? No Sajangnim, that's not anywhere near enough." Taehyung's voice booms through the loudspeaker.
My heart drops to the floor as I stare right into Taehyung's widened eyes.
"Y/n ah, please don't listen to that. I didn't mean-" Taehyung frantically says.
"Do you think that I know nothing about your indecent relationship with him? I've known it for a while but I let you because I thought that you were smart enough to see through him, see through his evil intention on your own. But apparently, I thought too highly of you. Thus, I tried to offer him money to leave you alone, but he's such a greedy man so he wouldn't let you go until I matched his price. Maybe he plans to blackmail me for a huge sum of money after he convinced you to run away with him." Abeonim's revelation hits me hard.
I'm too shocked to speak. All I can do is gape at Taehyung while my mind runs chaotically all over the place.
So he lied about everything? He lied about loving me, caring about me? No, that can't be. The look in his eyes were genuine. But then, what do I know about men? He's my first. He could tell me that the sun rises from the west & I would believe him because I'm too stupid. That recording is an irrefutable proof. And Abeonim's lost watch. He must have taken it as well. All he wants is my father's money. He never loves me, he only wants to use me.
The insurmountable pain in my heart suffocates me. It feels like someone takes a knife & carves my heart out.
"Please don't listen to him Y/n ah. What I feel for you is genuine. I love you! I said those words because-" Taehyung explains, panic written all over his face.
"Because it is the truth. You approached my innocent daughter & tried to use her to extort money from me. Plain & simple." Abeonim intercepts.
"You bastard! Y/n, please listen to me. I admit I had an ulterior motive when I first approached you, but it wasn't-" Taehyung spits at Abeonim & turns to me again.
"Stop. I don't want to listen anymore. I was too infatuated by you that I couldn't discern between lies & truths. But now I know.." I cut his sentence & slowly stands up.
"Y/n ah, wait! Please don't leave. I'll tell you everything, ok? That guy- your father, he-" Taehyung calls out but I continue walking back towards the stairs.
"Kim Taehyung, that's enough. Stop making up lies, no one will believe you now. What do you want me to do with him, Y/n ah?" Abeonim asks me.
I halt my steps & exhale deeply. The only thing I want now is to turn back time to the night I first met him & choose to walk away instead of staying, but it's impossible, isn't it?
"Do whatever you want with him. I don't care." I mutter before I continue walking up the stairs.
"Y/n! Y/n ah! Wait! Don't leave. Please! Let go of me! Y/n!" Taehyung shouts.
I cover my ears to drown his voice & run faster to my bedroom. The room that I desperately wanted to escape from has never looked so safe & welcoming.
My knees give out as soon as I slam the door shut. Then, everything comes crashing down on me all at once, breaking my bones, crushing my heart.
I howl my lungs out to ease the pain to no avail. The ache has left a permanent bruise on me that nothing will ever make it go away.
That moment, I pray to God sincerely for the first time in forever. I pray that He would make me disappear from this world so that my suffering would end.