Under My Skin

Everything was numb. The essence of my being seemed to tremor and coil in on itself. A shrilled ringing pulsated in my eardrums. The life I had was slowly slipping away. I felt my legs lose circulation and falter as the ability to move them both, had been lost. My eyes had a haze over them. Darkness spread from the corner of my eyes, my vision fading. It was as if someone had held a sheet in front of my face. As I lay here on the cold hard ground, the flashing memories of what happened to me, materialized back into my brain.

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**(FLASHBACK)**

Kai walked up to the blond laying on the floor and crouched down in front of him. He lifted Taemin's chin up with his index finger so he could look him in the eyes.

"B, how's about we shoot him in the other leg and leave him to die on the floor, while facing the corpse of his rotting loyal dog Hangyeom? It will be the last thing he sees before he kicks the bucket." Kai laughed maniacally. Baekhyun stepped to the side, smiling wide.

"Sounds like music to my ears. I hated that goody two-shoes." He laughed, cocking his gun as he stepped back forward to stand near Kai.

"Always sucking up to Taemin for every little thing. Being there for his every whim. Like a newly born child still attached to its mother's womb. Fucking disgusting."

Kai let out a chuckle.

"It sure is." He reached down to flip Taemin over, but the leader had a trick up his sleeve. He had pulled out a hidden knife from one of his pockets and attempted to stab Kai, but he grabbed it, stopping Taemin's feeble attempt to attack him. However, in doing so, caused a copious amount of blood to spill out of the cut on his palm and down the blade, his fingers, and onto the floor. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Tsk. Tsk. I don't think that was very wise." Within a split second, he ripped the knife out of Taemin's hand and kicked him in the ribs. He fell onto his back, and let out a pained groan.

"F-fuck you!" He forced out through gritted teeth. Kai laughed, standing back up and throwing away the weapon.

"Sorry, dear, you're not my type." He laughed and looked over at Baekhyun. "Shoot him and leave him. We've got work to do."

"My pleasure." He smirked and aimed his gun at Taemin's other leg, lining up the shot. Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, a tall individual came through the door. He was younger, had light brown hair, with one thick metal ear ring in his left ear and several earrings in the other.

"Kai, we've got an issue."

Kai whipped his head around to see who had come in. Baekhyun lowered his arm to look back as well.

"Oh? Luka, what is it?"

Luka looked down and saw that they were currently dealing with Taemin. His eyes went directly to Kai's bloodied hand which automatically sent his survival instincts to maximum overdrive.

"S-sir, your hand-" He moved to run over to Kai, but Kai merely waved him off.

"No need. This is nothing. I'll get it treated later. Now, what is the emergency?"

Luka stopped abruptly and sighed. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, it looks like we've got another rat in our sights. It seems that not everyone here got the gist of our demands and refused to take the threats, seriously." He shrugged. Kai wiped the blood from his hand, onto his pant leg and turned over completely to face Luka.

"A traitor in our midst, huh? Who is it?"

"Yeah, I'm curious to know as well. I've got a lot of pent up frustration I'd love to take out on someone. My trigger finger is itching." Baekhyun said slyly and coldly. Luka folded his arms in front of him.

"Kang Seulgi."

Kai scoffed, shaking his head.

"Are you sure about that? She's a quiet one. Sticks to herself. She's like a ghost."

Baekhyun hummed softly, tapping the bottom of his boot onto the ground.

"Yes, that is true. But she's friends with Taemin. They are close. That bitch is more loyal than man's best friend."

D-did they say Seulgi? N...no. I c-can't let them hurt her.

Taemin thought to himself. He tried to turn his body, but his leg throbbed so much from the bullet wound. It was painful. It was extremely difficult to move an inch. Luka huffed.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I do think her loyalty lies with him. She was in a hurry. She was frantic and panicky. Besides that, I believe she saw something she wasn't supposed to." He smiled from ear to ear, feeling proud of himself.

"Caught her running away from this area. I think she saw what you did to her precious friend and is probably going to contact someone on the outside." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. Kai's lips curled up in an evil grin.

"I see. Very unfortunate, but we must weed out the bad eggs no matter what cruel a method we have to utilize. B, go with Luka and fetch our little black-haired vixen."

"No!! Don't you fucking touch her!"

Taemin snarled out from behind the three vagrants. His rage had boiled over. He couldn't let another one of his friends die. "Don't hurt her, or so help me god!!"

Not again...

Kai turned back and shot a quick glance at the blond.

"Ah, you haven't passed out yet, huh? A pity." He walked back to Taemin and bent down, roughly grabbing him by the back of the collar.

"Go on you two. I'll take this one somewhere... private." He smiled down at Taemin. Taemin's face lit up with blind rage as he watched Baekhyun and Luka, two of the men whom he once trusted and took in all that time ago, left the room. He writhed inside of Kai's tight hold, trying to get free but Kai wasn't about to let him gain any strength back. He knew just how bad Taemin's psychotic fits were. When he was mad, no one was safe from his warpath. That alone is what made him a formidable adversary.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER! DON'T YOU DO IT!"

Kai threw his head back with laughter.

"If you love her so much, you can die alongside her and fuck her as much as you want while you're burning in hell." He leaned down and punched the side of Taemin's head, and happily watched as he passed out. The room was now filled with silence. He cracked a mischievous smile.

"Oh what is that? What was it that you used to say? Music to my ears."

He began to drag Taemin's unconscious body out of his office and to one of the unused captivity cells they had on the level below them.

**(END FLASHBACK)**

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It was all coming back to me... about what happened. They dragged me out and threw me in here. I was powerless. Weak. I couldn't get up to my feet and stop them. Why? Why was I so damn weak?! I hate myself. There are no excuses for how useless I have become. Perhaps they were right. I... have become soft. After this, no one will fear me. No one will follow me. Everyone will leave me one by one. Until all is gone and nothing has been left behind. I am my own enemy. My head hurts, my leg feels as though it has been set ablaze, but no amount of pain I feel from my wounds will ever be measured to the pain I feel in my heart. It is heavy with hardships and uneasiness. My future is bleak. My life will never be the same. I close my eyes, awaiting the sweet kiss of death.

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[Seulgi's P.O.V.]

I gripped onto my head to relieve some of the pain of my hair being pulled by Luka. I tried to hold back my tears. It was hard. It took everything I had to keep all of my emotions inside. I whimpered and kicked my legs. Before, I wasn't going to fight him. But now, my body forced my survival instincts to switch back on. The need to stay alive had definitely gotten to me. I shot out a hand to try and grab anything I could to stop myself from being dragged away, but it was pointless. Nothing was within reach. A soft sob accidentally escaped from my lips. It caught Luka’s attention. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Sorry, love. I hate having to do this but, I have to."

"Shut up! I d-don't want to hear your stupid excuses!" I cry out, purposefully thrashing my body around to get it loose from him. Unfortunately, Luka was not letting up whatsoever. This was useless. I was only hurting myself. As we approached the stairwell I had run up, he yanked me up to my feet.

"You are only making this worse for yourself. Either cooperate and walk, or you are going to be in a world of hurt when I pull you down three flights of stairs. Your choice."

"Fuck you! I'd rather die!" I aimed my foot at the side of his left leg. I remembered overhearing him say that he had surgery on it one day. It was an injury he suffered during a mission. I kicked it as hard as I could from this angle I was situated in. He froze briefly and slightly crumpled towards the ground but he caught himself before he hit the cement.

"G-goddammit! I was trying to be nice." He stood back up after gaining his composure once more. He yanked me forward and threw me down the stairs. Like a ragdoll being tossed around, I felt my limbs crash and smack into every step and every rail on the way down. I crashed hard on the landing below before the next set of stairs. I was disoriented and my body was battered. Perhaps... this is what I deserved.

"Hey, B! Come get this cunt and take her back to Taemin's office. You can deal with her. I gotta go take care of some other business." Luka called out into the hall. A few seconds later, Baekhyun peeked in to see what all the commotion was about.

"Hmm? Can't handle her by yourself?" He laughed and leaned down to grab me by arm. I did my best to pull myself away. The thought of being left alone with Baekhyun was absolutely terrifying to me.

"N-no! I don't want to go w-with him! A-anything but that!" I whimpered out. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I continued trying to fight against Baekhyun's hold, but it was impossible. His grip on my arm was just too strong. There's no way I could take him on in the current condition I was in.

"Sorry. You had your chance, love." Luka shrugged and took another route, exiting through a separate door. He had disappeared. Left me behind with a monster. After he was gone, Baekhyun roughly pulled me along through the open door frame.

"Come on now, move it!" He hissed. I was in defeat. I knew my fate had been sealed. I could feel my wrists being bound with plastic ties. It was secured so tightly that my veins could burst.

As we arrived at our final destination, I was shoved forward and forced to the ground. He shut the office door behind him. I yelped in pain as my bruised frame had crashed once more onto the floor. The fear had seeped into me. I heard B's footsteps make their way in front of me. I was lightheaded. Dizzy. I think I hit my head when Luka pushed me down the stairs. Suddenly, I heard a switchblade being ejected. The sound cut through the air and it made me jolt.

"Now, then. While I wait for Kai to come back, how about you and I have a little fun?" I lift my head in time to see his wicked grin. Tears slid down my pale cheeks like a cascading waterfall.

"P-please– B-Baekhyun. . .don't do this." I sobbed. He smiled and yanked my head back by my hair. I cried out.

"Mmm... You begging me for your life is like a serenade. It gives me great pleasure."

My heart sank. "B-baekhyun, please... Please don't. W-we worked together for s-so long."

He scoffed."That means nothing to me now." Without warning, I felt the tip of his blade enter my skin. I cry out loud in agony as he started his torture.

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[RM's P.O.V.]

After the call I had with Seulgi, I stood still and stared down at the table. One hand covered my mouth while the other one balanced on the the edge of the table. It was my clutch to hold me up. Jin was at my side, eyes wide and staring at me like I had offended his ancestors.

"W-what? Excuse me? Why do we need to do that? Who are we rescuing?"

By now, two others had gathered near my side. They were concerned for me. I don't blame them. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I straightened up and glanced at the eldest.

"Lee Taemin. The man who came to Jungkook's funeral."

Jin furrowed his eyebrows. "What? What happened?"

"His base has been compromised. An informant from the hideout called me to warn us. She had been found out. I'm sure by now... she has been killed." Jin stepped back with his hands on his forehead. He walked off to pace around the lobby.

"No. This won't do. This doesn't sound good. What do we do? Our forces have been split. Our best men are out of commission. Taehyung is missing and Yoongi is still recovering. Hell, y/n is still in the training phases. How do you expect us to go in there guns blazing, with no men, no plan, and hardly any info about the situation at hand? Especially since we just laid someone to rest after coming out of our own disaster."

I walk over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, Jin. I understand what you are saying. But we have to help. We are almost obligated to do so. Taemin is Jimin's friend. He is our ally. It is only fitting that we lend our firepower."

Jin tapped his foot against the ground, shaking his head.

"Ugh. I don't like this at all. But I suppose if we have no choice."

"Thank you, Jin. You hold down Epiphany. I'll call Silverhawk and have Park help. Put Ten in charge of Silverhawk while Park is gone. I'll take J-hope with me."

Jin frowned, looking at me solemnly. "Is taking Jimin such a good idea? He was basically traumatized with-"

"Stop! He will be fine. I'm sure by now, he's gained back his spunk. J-hope hasn't had too many missions. I think it is only fitting that he come along too."

"That's only three people. Will that be enough?"

I flash him a dimpled smile.

"If your conscience grows too heavy, you can always hit up that other group for a few more hands. Have them send their secret weapon. Or, I don't know– make them help you with chores around here." I laugh. But maybe clowning Jin wasn't the best thing to do. Because I was suddenly pummeled with one of his shoes.

"Ouch! Hey! Jin!" I rubbed my arm after a series of smacks.

"How the hell could you be joking at a time like this! Huh?! You are impossible! What am I going to do with you?!"

"S-sorry! I was only kidding. But in all seriousness, call them if you feel we need backup."

Jin settled down and slipped his shoe back onto his foot. "Alright. I don't wanna be forced to do that, seeing as how they are crude and wildly unpredictable, but I will keep it in mind." He nodded.

"Thank you." I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. I scroll through my contacts until my finger reaches Jimin's name.

"I'm going to gather up the troops." I press the name I see on my screen and place the cell phone to my ear. I wave Jin off and walk over to the stairs.