Chapter 1. Gateway
Your back feels cold against the walls of the windowless cellar you're locked up in.
How long have you been trapped inside it? How long since you last saw the rays of light? You're not quite sure. One thing is clear though: you've been abducted.
By who? You still can't provide an answer to that question. Last you remembered the faces of the men involved in your kidnapping were masked.
"Fucking Cowards," you mumble in annoyance but as much as you want to punch the air to let out your frustration you can't, you're tied up. And blindfolded. And Angry. And dear lord of all things food, you're hungry, stomach grumbling due to the lack of food and water.
Who knew attempting an escape overnight from your house would have resulted in an even more tragic loss of freedom.
"I know you're awake, babygirl" a voice purrs.
Startled by the sound you tens up. Then, a strong hand rips the blindfold off your eyes. And so you finally see him.
A sadistic cold smile forms on his flawless face, "The others are waiting for you."
At that point, there is only one word that comes out of your mouth.
"...FUCK"
"Oh, you don't have to ask," the man purrs again with a mischievous smirk.
The hell did you get yourself into now?!
•••
Earlier that day...
"Yo, Raeee! Get your ass off the bed, you lazy bitch" yells Haneul from downstairs, your annoying older brother. You roll your eyes in response and take off your earbuds, hair still in its perfect bed head condition from the 2-hour nap you indulged in.
He really had to go and ruin your responsibility-free day, didn't he? Good for nothing little bitch. That's it. That's the day you're officially going to kill him. No big deal, you've done that before.
"WHAT?!" you scream back but don't get a response making you flustered, a frustrated grunt leaving your mouth as you officially roll out of the bed and rush outside of the room, feet stomping on the hardwood floor. You look like a maniac.
"Someone better died or I swear I'm pushing you down the stairs" you hiss at your brother, who is standing on top of the staircase, unfazed by your feistiness.
He's donning his signature leather jacket with the family crest of our Gang drawn on the back, his coal-black eyes awfully resembling your father's, making you shiver with hate.
While you, in contrast, are still in your pajamas, too lazy to change or too lazy to give a fuck, you are still yet to decide. It didn't really matter anyway, since you weren't required to go on the mission that day for... whatever reason.
Your hair resembles a tangled mess of black wires, ears are fuming in fury, lips curled into a snarl. In short, you look like a furious beast of sorts. But your brother doesn't budge. He's seen worse, at least you're not throwing daggers at him like last time he interrupted your afternoon nap.
"Tsk.. as if" the boy scoffs, lips creasing into a mocking smile. "You wouldn't do that. You're too much of a sissy " he grins after a short, breathy chuckle, cowardly avoiding your gaze.
"You're right," you grin maliciously.
"What?" he asks due to your outlandish response.
As if a switch has flipped, a sickly saccharine smile forms on your lips, eyes burning in excitement "If I'm killing you, might as well kill everyone right? You know what they say, the more the merrier!" you exclaim and then turn to stare at the passing maids in the room.
"E v e r y o n e" you spell out, your lunacy jumping out, causing the poor servants to quiver in fear.
Your tone is bright and cheerful, haunting to hear on its own. But its threatening undertones make it worse causing a symphony of erratic heartbeats to fill the now empty hallways, as the maids run away in fear. Alas. Now is not the time to commit mass murder.
"Sike," you say as a crooked smirk replaces the sweet one you once had, your tongue trailing the shape of your pointy canine.
"You crazy bitch" Haneul mutters, heartbeat slowly going back to normal. You tilt your head to the side as you begin questioning him, your lips still curved into an evil smile.
"So, what are you here for? Be quick, I have work to do." a Lie. You've been putting off your college assignments so much, there's a pile as tall as an Egyptian pyramid laying on your desk.
But Haneul takes his sweet time before responding, leading you to believe he's probably planning to smother you in your sleep. Then, he finally speaks.
"Father wants to talk to you"
Your heart sinks upon hearing these words.
"F-father... what does he.." you are staggered, your initial confidence cowering to whatever hole it came from.
Hearing your stuttering mess it's now his turn to smirk. "He's been waiting for you in his office. Go, before he gets mad" he says, teasingly.
Gets mad.
These words ring in your ear like a warning: you have to follow Haneul's orders or else who knows what might happen.
Your father, Chang Beomsoo is a monster. He won't hesitate to hurt you or the people you care the most about (aka your friends) just to prove a point.
"Fine" you mutter, emotionless. "But I'm not done with you" you threaten your brother one last time and then you're on your way to meet that psychopath of your father.
•••
"What do you mean I have to get married?!"
Your high-pitch yell echos through the walls of the ancient mansion you were born and raised in, eyes bulging out of their sockets as you drink in the image of your father, elbows resting on the hands of his great leather chair, a satisfied look on his face.
Asshole.
At this point, you don't even care if you'll get grounded for disrespecting him. You just can't stand him anymore.
"Chang Mirae" the man in front of you calls your name in a stern voice, giving you a look so glacial you freeze in place.
"You're turning eighteen tomorrow.. so it is only fair for you to marry one of our.. "friends" the old man explains ever-so rationally, no trace of emotion in his voice.
Friend. More like the son of another renowned mobster in order to strengthen some old family alliance and rule together over Seoul.
Name? Jackson Wang.
Eek. His name alone was enough to make you barf.
"How can I marry someone I don't even know!" you shout, rage coloring your cheeks. But your dad won't budge, as you're just a hysterical child in need of her bottle in his eyes.
"You and Mr.Wang will get married and that's final. You've already stained the honor of our family enough, by being a reckless, psychotic brat. Perhaps... this will be your chance to make up for it, to finally make your father proud" he recoils in a resolute tone, looking straight at you.
Honestly? He kind of had a point. You had caused a whole lot of trouble over the past few years, always doing your own thing and never following your father's orders. But was it your fault you liked messing around so much?
It was all clear now. He wanted Haneul, his perfect, obedient son, to become the heir of his criminal empire and you to turn into a useless housewife. And that did not sit right with you.
You see, you were born for the gangster life. You grew up being used to hear people getting shot in your basement and to the pleading cries of your enemies begging for mercy. Now any sane person would find these things gross and scary but you? You reveled in that lifestyle. It was all you knew and everything you thought you'd even know.
Though, for some reason, your dad saw you as nothing but a whimsical, rebellious child, not diligent enough to fulfill your duties and thus fully take part in your family business which had been running for generations.
As a matter of fact, your father is the head of one of the most influential criminal gangs in the entirety of Seoul. The so-called "Seoul Union", making you the legitimate heir to the empire. Or so you thought.
Cause apparently everything you did for your family still wasn't enough for him. Literally, the only thing that was keeping you anchored to your roots at that point was just the tattoo carved on your nape, a Scythe, symbol of Death.
Funny how your "normal" friends always mistook it for a crescent moon. Looks can be deceiving, but we all already know that, right?
So, you eventually end up leaving your father's office in tears, crying being something that rarely occurred. He'd abso-fucking-lutely crossed the line this time.
Little did he know though, you were one step ahead of him.
•
[A/N: hi guys! thanks for reading the chapter, leave a vote if you liked it :) a special thanks to @_bunnymochi_ for helping me revise/edit the chapter, ily bub ❤️; can you guess who the boy in the beginning is? 😏]
How long have you been trapped inside it? How long since you last saw the rays of light? You're not quite sure. One thing is clear though: you've been abducted.
By who? You still can't provide an answer to that question. Last you remembered the faces of the men involved in your kidnapping were masked.
"Fucking Cowards," you mumble in annoyance but as much as you want to punch the air to let out your frustration you can't, you're tied up. And blindfolded. And Angry. And dear lord of all things food, you're hungry, stomach grumbling due to the lack of food and water.
Who knew attempting an escape overnight from your house would have resulted in an even more tragic loss of freedom.
"I know you're awake, babygirl" a voice purrs.
Startled by the sound you tens up. Then, a strong hand rips the blindfold off your eyes. And so you finally see him.
A sadistic cold smile forms on his flawless face, "The others are waiting for you."
At that point, there is only one word that comes out of your mouth.
"...FUCK"
"Oh, you don't have to ask," the man purrs again with a mischievous smirk.
The hell did you get yourself into now?!
•••
Earlier that day...
"Yo, Raeee! Get your ass off the bed, you lazy bitch" yells Haneul from downstairs, your annoying older brother. You roll your eyes in response and take off your earbuds, hair still in its perfect bed head condition from the 2-hour nap you indulged in.
He really had to go and ruin your responsibility-free day, didn't he? Good for nothing little bitch. That's it. That's the day you're officially going to kill him. No big deal, you've done that before.
"WHAT?!" you scream back but don't get a response making you flustered, a frustrated grunt leaving your mouth as you officially roll out of the bed and rush outside of the room, feet stomping on the hardwood floor. You look like a maniac.
"Someone better died or I swear I'm pushing you down the stairs" you hiss at your brother, who is standing on top of the staircase, unfazed by your feistiness.
He's donning his signature leather jacket with the family crest of our Gang drawn on the back, his coal-black eyes awfully resembling your father's, making you shiver with hate.
While you, in contrast, are still in your pajamas, too lazy to change or too lazy to give a fuck, you are still yet to decide. It didn't really matter anyway, since you weren't required to go on the mission that day for... whatever reason.
Your hair resembles a tangled mess of black wires, ears are fuming in fury, lips curled into a snarl. In short, you look like a furious beast of sorts. But your brother doesn't budge. He's seen worse, at least you're not throwing daggers at him like last time he interrupted your afternoon nap.
"Tsk.. as if" the boy scoffs, lips creasing into a mocking smile. "You wouldn't do that. You're too much of a sissy " he grins after a short, breathy chuckle, cowardly avoiding your gaze.
"You're right," you grin maliciously.
"What?" he asks due to your outlandish response.
As if a switch has flipped, a sickly saccharine smile forms on your lips, eyes burning in excitement "If I'm killing you, might as well kill everyone right? You know what they say, the more the merrier!" you exclaim and then turn to stare at the passing maids in the room.
"E v e r y o n e" you spell out, your lunacy jumping out, causing the poor servants to quiver in fear.
Your tone is bright and cheerful, haunting to hear on its own. But its threatening undertones make it worse causing a symphony of erratic heartbeats to fill the now empty hallways, as the maids run away in fear. Alas. Now is not the time to commit mass murder.
"Sike," you say as a crooked smirk replaces the sweet one you once had, your tongue trailing the shape of your pointy canine.
"You crazy bitch" Haneul mutters, heartbeat slowly going back to normal. You tilt your head to the side as you begin questioning him, your lips still curved into an evil smile.
"So, what are you here for? Be quick, I have work to do." a Lie. You've been putting off your college assignments so much, there's a pile as tall as an Egyptian pyramid laying on your desk.
But Haneul takes his sweet time before responding, leading you to believe he's probably planning to smother you in your sleep. Then, he finally speaks.
"Father wants to talk to you"
Your heart sinks upon hearing these words.
"F-father... what does he.." you are staggered, your initial confidence cowering to whatever hole it came from.
Hearing your stuttering mess it's now his turn to smirk. "He's been waiting for you in his office. Go, before he gets mad" he says, teasingly.
Gets mad.
These words ring in your ear like a warning: you have to follow Haneul's orders or else who knows what might happen.
Your father, Chang Beomsoo is a monster. He won't hesitate to hurt you or the people you care the most about (aka your friends) just to prove a point.
"Fine" you mutter, emotionless. "But I'm not done with you" you threaten your brother one last time and then you're on your way to meet that psychopath of your father.
•••
"What do you mean I have to get married?!"
Your high-pitch yell echos through the walls of the ancient mansion you were born and raised in, eyes bulging out of their sockets as you drink in the image of your father, elbows resting on the hands of his great leather chair, a satisfied look on his face.
Asshole.
At this point, you don't even care if you'll get grounded for disrespecting him. You just can't stand him anymore.
"Chang Mirae" the man in front of you calls your name in a stern voice, giving you a look so glacial you freeze in place.
"You're turning eighteen tomorrow.. so it is only fair for you to marry one of our.. "friends" the old man explains ever-so rationally, no trace of emotion in his voice.
Friend. More like the son of another renowned mobster in order to strengthen some old family alliance and rule together over Seoul.
Name? Jackson Wang.
Eek. His name alone was enough to make you barf.
"How can I marry someone I don't even know!" you shout, rage coloring your cheeks. But your dad won't budge, as you're just a hysterical child in need of her bottle in his eyes.
"You and Mr.Wang will get married and that's final. You've already stained the honor of our family enough, by being a reckless, psychotic brat. Perhaps... this will be your chance to make up for it, to finally make your father proud" he recoils in a resolute tone, looking straight at you.
Honestly? He kind of had a point. You had caused a whole lot of trouble over the past few years, always doing your own thing and never following your father's orders. But was it your fault you liked messing around so much?
It was all clear now. He wanted Haneul, his perfect, obedient son, to become the heir of his criminal empire and you to turn into a useless housewife. And that did not sit right with you.
You see, you were born for the gangster life. You grew up being used to hear people getting shot in your basement and to the pleading cries of your enemies begging for mercy. Now any sane person would find these things gross and scary but you? You reveled in that lifestyle. It was all you knew and everything you thought you'd even know.
Though, for some reason, your dad saw you as nothing but a whimsical, rebellious child, not diligent enough to fulfill your duties and thus fully take part in your family business which had been running for generations.
As a matter of fact, your father is the head of one of the most influential criminal gangs in the entirety of Seoul. The so-called "Seoul Union", making you the legitimate heir to the empire. Or so you thought.
Cause apparently everything you did for your family still wasn't enough for him. Literally, the only thing that was keeping you anchored to your roots at that point was just the tattoo carved on your nape, a Scythe, symbol of Death.
Funny how your "normal" friends always mistook it for a crescent moon. Looks can be deceiving, but we all already know that, right?
So, you eventually end up leaving your father's office in tears, crying being something that rarely occurred. He'd abso-fucking-lutely crossed the line this time.
Little did he know though, you were one step ahead of him.
•
[A/N: hi guys! thanks for reading the chapter, leave a vote if you liked it :) a special thanks to @_bunnymochi_ for helping me revise/edit the chapter, ily bub ❤️; can you guess who the boy in the beginning is? 😏]
