The next week went by in a blur. The mansion had obviously not been used very much and needless to say, it was huge, so there was quite a lot of cleaning work for you to do. It was probably a good thing that you sank into a routine, because it took your mind off a lot of things including your father, your future, and of course, the attack.

Jungkook had been training you every evening after dinner, and you had to say his training was helping because you definitely felt stronger. His teaching methods were rough and unconventional. He mostly gave you a task and let you figure out how to complete it.

The first day you only needed to hit him once. The second day, he wanted you to be able to dodge only one of his own hits. That lesson took especially long and you were sore and full of bruises the next morning. Jungkook never aimed for your face, which you appreciated. And you could tell that he was holding back on a lot of his punches, but that still didn't stop your stomach and arms to be black and blue.

He had finally taught you a real technique one day, instead of just throwing you in the pit. He had been trying to get you to punch harder. According to him, your punches were too weak and would never help you defeat someone because they wouldn't put a mark on your opponent.

"Look, if an attacker comes at you, you have to use what you have to your advantage. You're tiny, so you really don't have a lot to work with. So what do you do?" Jungkook stood next to you as you hit the punching bag with everything you had. His mouth tilted at the corners in response to your hit, so you knew that the punch wasn't hard enough.

"Do something they wouldn't expect?" You offered. Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

"Give me an example." He nodded at the bag and you exhaled hard before punching it again. Jungkook scoffed and moved to correct your form.

"Well, they wouldn't expect me to fight back, would they?"

"Sure, but they could easily recover if you started to attack. Come on, think about this. What could you use that could hurt them?"

You sighed and dropped your fists. You looked down at your hands and legs. What did you have? Your fists weren't strong enough, according to Jungkook, so what else could you use?

"My elbows?" You offered suddenly. You bent your arm up and mimicked elbowing someone hard. You ran your hand over the bony joint. You could do some damage if you tried hard enough. You looked at Jungkook who was smiling. He nodded.

"Yes. You're small, so you don't have enough strength. But you can use your elbows and knees to inflict sharp damage. Now let's say the attacker comes at you, what it the first thing you do?"

"Raise my fists?" You offered meekly. Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"Protect your head. The easiest place for him to aim will be your head and your chest. Don't let him land the first blow. Come here." He gestured to the mat in front of him. You obeyed and squared up in front of him.

Jungkook simulated coming at you to attack. You raised your fist above his head as his fist swung down toward your face. You swatted his hand away and jumped to the side, out of his strike zone. Jungkook straightened and nodded.

"Good. Now, you've thrown him off balance. So what do you do next?"

"Attack him."

"Right, because he won't be expecting it. So you're using your elbows and knees. What is the most vulnerable area on your attacker?"

You gulped and blushed slightly as you pointed at Jungkook's crotch. Jungkook nodded.

"Right, his groin. So what I want you to do is get up in front of him, put both hands on his shoulders and knee him right where the sun doesn't shine in one swift movement. Do not hesitate, don't let anything distract you. It has to be one clean move."

Jungkook imitated the move in the air and then nodded for you to come at him. You blushed again, but obeyed anyway. You stepped up to him, grabbed his shoulders, and simulated a knee to the groin. Jungkook's hand blocked your knee before you could actually hit him and he nodded. You released him and stepped back.

"You can't hold back. You have to give it everything you've got because if you do, he'll be down for the count."

As much as it pained you to admit it, Jungkook was a pretty good teacher. His methods may be aggressive and a little ridiculous, but they worked because even though you ached all over, you felt so much more prepared for another attack, if there ever was one. And he wasn't too much of a depressing company either. He was slowly starting to relax around you, and you partially handed that to how fast you were improving. Maybe he linked fighting strength with trustworthiness.

Other than your daily lessons with Jungkook, there had only been one other instance where you talked to the other boys. The day had been creeping up and you were increasingly more nervous to ask the boys a very awkward, but important question. You had putting it off, but finally, you knew you had to suck it up and ask them. So that day at breakfast, you gathered your courage.

You finished serving the pancakes you made to Suga, Jungkook, and Jimin when you decided to ask your question. You took a deep breath and cleared your throat. Suga looked up from his papers, Jimin turned his head to you, and Jungkook's eyes panned to you without moving the rest of his head.

"Um... I need something." You said awkwardly, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. Suga put his papers down and gave you his full attention, narrowing his eyes. "It's nothing bad." You said, trying to banish his suspicious gaze.

"Are you okay?" Jimin asked, concerned. You took a breath and clenched your fists.

"This is way harder than I thought it would be." You muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"Spit it out." Jungkook snapped. You shot him a glare and then met Suga's gaze again. You swallowed and took another deep breath.

"It's almost my time of the month." Suga's eyes clouded with understanding almost instantly. "And I need... stuff... from the store." His cheeks tinged pink slightly and you saw a muscle in his jaw jump.

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?" Jimin said in confusion. You gave him a blank look and waited for him to get it. "What do you mean your time of month—oh..." He caught himself and blushed. "Right... that time of the month."

All three boys stared at you as you pursed your lips and rocked back and forth on your feet. Jungkook looked extremely uncomfortable, while Jimin just looked embarrassed. Suga's expression was unreadable as he surveyed your face.

"So, yeah... I kind of need stuff so it doesn't get... messy." You regretted the words as soon as they slipped from your mouth. Jungkook made a retching sound and stood up from the table.

"Yeah, I'm out." He said tersely, before walking past you and out the door without even a look back. You watched him go in slight amusement. Suga started to chuckle and you turned to look at him in surprise. Laughter was not the reaction you expected when you had asked.

"Don't mind him. He's still a little immature when it comes to this sort of thing." Suga said lightly.

"You mean natural bodily functions?" You muttered under your breath. Suga's raised an eyebrow and you and you swallowed. He shook his head and smiled before nodding at the door.

"Write down the products you need and we'll get them for you next time we get groceries." Suga said. You nodded in thanks and retreated quickly from the room. That had both been not as bad as you thought, and still ten times worse.

That day Suga had asked you to meet him in the gym where you and Jungkook had your lessons. You weren't sure why, he hadn't said. He'd only asked you to meet him there after lunch. So there you were, waiting in the gym. You were wearing your gym clothes and you weren't going to be surprised if Suga asked to fight you. To be honest, you were kind of expecting it. Suga had asked you earlier how your training sessions were going. He probably wanted to find out for himself.

You heard the door to the gym open and you turned to see Suga walk in. He was wearing a tight compression tank top that painted his chest and abdomen and a pair of worn black sweatpants. You had to force yourself not to stare and instead wrung your hands together. He approached where you were standing and instead of beckoning to the ring, like you had been expecting, he gestured for you to follow him through a door in the back of the gym that you had noticed before, but had never thought to ask where it led.

"I thought you wanted to see how the training was going?" You asked as you followed him to the door. Suga gave you a passing glance and smirked before opening the door and allowing you to enter.

"I'll be training you today." He said tersely as you stepped through the door. Your mouth dropped open when you saw what was behind the door. A shooting range... like for guns...

There were five cubicles and the range stretched about a hundred feet. Behind the cubicles, an array of guns were displayed on a table along with several headsets. Your hands started to tremble as Suga walked over to the table and picked up a small handgun. He grabbed a box of bullets and loaded the small gun with a satisfying click before grabbing two headsets and walking back over to you.

"You've been training in close combat, but most of the time it never even comes to that. This is your bread and butter. You know how to use one of these and you may never have to throw a punch again." Suga grabbed your trembling hands and placed the gun in your fingers.

You stared down at the metal object and swallowed hard. The last time you held one of these weapons was when you were fearing for your life. The only reason you would pull the trigger was to protect yourself. How did Suga expect you to just start shooting all willy-nilly after something like that?

"I-I don't think I want to do this." You said, your voice shaking slightly. Suga gave you a sympathetic smile, but you could see his annoyance in his eyes.

"Listen, you're a part of this life now. Either you learn how to defend yourself, or the next time something happens, you'll be the first to die." Suga said harshly. You flinched at his words, but you knew he was right. You needed to face your fear of these weapons and learn to defend yourself. You knew you may never get the chance again.

Suga placed the headset over your ears and led you to one of the cubicles. He took the gun from your and held it up, showing you how to hold it. He moved one of your headset ears to the side so he could speak to you. His fingers brushed over your neck and you had to force yourself not to shiver.

"Okay, always hold it with both hands. Don't take anything from the movies, they're all wrong." You nodded as he handed the gun to you. You took it and placed your hands in the same place as he did.

"Okay, now arms straight, muscles flexed, both eyes open." Suga said, pointing at the target in front of you. You pointed the gun in front of you and suddenly, Suga's hands were on your shoulders. He ran one of his hands over your arms to adjust their position. You shivered at his touch and tried to focus on what you were doing. He was so close now, you could feel his breath on the back of your neck.

"Don't pull the trigger, squeeze it, and exhale when you do. Don't hesitate, and be ready for the kickback." He whispered next to your ear. Your eyelids fluttered and you felt your heart thud in your chest. From how close he was, you wouldn't be surprised if you accidently pulled the trigger, he was so distracting. He replaced the headset over your ear and stepped back as you lined up the shot.

Taking his advice to heart, you squeezed your fingers around the trigger and exhaled. The kickback from the gun was hard and you still heard the pop of the gun even though you were wearing soundproof headsets. You gasped at the rush of adrenaline flushed through you a quick spurt. You panted and shook your head, peeling off the headset. You stared in front of you in wonder to see that your bullet had penetrated the target, but was off from the center by about a foot. Suga took his headset off and smiled at your expression.

"How was that?" He asked. You shook your head in amazement and your face split into a wide grin.

"That was amazing." You whispered, awestruck. Suga let out a small chuckle and nodded to the target.

"Again." He ordered. You were too happy to oblige as you put the headset back on and lined up the shot.

You weren't sure how many times you shot the gun, but every time felt more amazing than the last. It made you feel powerful, dominant, in control. It made you feel like you could do anything in the world, and the adrenaline that pumped through your veins was only a testament to that statement.

Eventually, Suga waved at you to stop. You peeled off the headset and looked to see that many of your shots had been close to the target, but none of them had hit the center. You weren't too upset about that, since this was your first time shooting a gun. Your face was a beacon of joy as you turned to face Suga. He smiled and took off his headset.

"I told you you'd be fine." He said cheekily. You raised an eyebrow.

"I don't recall hearing you say anything of the sort." You retorted cheekily. Suga shook his head in amusement and held his hand out for the gun.

You looked down at the weapon, and as your hand mechanically started to lift it to hand it back, something stirred in the back of your mind. Something that had you closing your fingers around the handle and bringing the gun to your chest. Suga's smile faltered as he narrowed his eyes at you. You pursed your lips and looked up at him.

For the very first time since you had been with the Bulletproof Gang, you felt protected and safe. As you faced Suga, you realized that you were the dominant in the room. You held the weapon, and you could easily use it if you wanted to. You could use this to escape. Slowly, but deliberately, you raised the gun and pointed it at Suga's forehead. You wrapped both hands around the handle, like he had taught you, and rested your fingers lightly over the trigger.

"What if I shot you right now?" You said lowly, staring directly into Suga's eyes. His gaze was dark and you saw a muscle in his jaw begin to tick. The warmth and amusement he once had was gone completely and you were now staring at the cruel, ruthless gang leader. His black eyes looked almost hollow as his mouth tilted into a frown.

"Where is this coming from?" He asked gruffly. You saw his hands at the side of his body tense and contract. He was calculating. Calculating your reactions, your stance. He wanted to know if you really had the gut to shoot him. You squared your legs and set your stance to leave no room for doubt. You were deathly serious.

"If I shoot you, I will have killed the leader of the most dangerous gang in the country. I'll finally be free, and my father and I can start a new life without fear of you." You deadpanned. Suga's mouth pursed and he narrowed his eyes.

"If you shoot me, they'll hear it. You'll never get out of here alive." Suga offered.

"They think you're training me to shoot anyway. What's one more gunshot?" you retorted. You saw a flash of color in Suga's eyes, but other than that, his face gave away nothing.

"If you do shoot me, you will die as well. One thing I pride myself on when recruiting people is their loyalty." His harsh statement hit you hard. He was both implying that you had broken his trust one too many times, and that the other men in this house would never forgive you for it. "You kill me and you're as good as dead. They will hunt you down, there will be nowhere for you to hide. Do you want to risk that?"

You swallowed and your determination started to crumble. As much as you wanted to escape, as much as you wanted to leave this place, you knew he was right. If you killed him, you were basically signing your own death warrant. You couldn't let yourself be killed as well. That would defeat the whole purpose of escaping in the first place.

With a sigh, you lowered the gun and slumped your shoulder. Suga breathed a sigh of relief and you realized that he was truly afraid that you would shoot him. You realized then that you didn't know each other at all, not really. He had no idea what you were capable of and he was terrified that you wouldn't care about your own life and take his instead. You held the gun out, handle first and Suga took it sharply. He unloaded the gun and placed it back on the table.

As the two of you left the shooting range, something hard shifted in the space between you. The lightness and familiarity had vanished completely and you were back to square one. Mistrust, suspicion, and doubt now occupied the space. Suga now knew that even though you had started to settle in to your new position, you still had your heart set on escape. That you would betray all of them if you ever got the chance.

And you now knew that you couldn't approach your escape directly. Somehow, you would have to outwit them, because you knew that trying to outbrute them would only land you in a body bag.