This...this began with a simple desire. To be loved. Jumin had seemed so perfect when they were talking. It felt like this was absolutely meant to have happened, and Jaehee had been the one to insist she go to him, help him feel better and try to get him back to work. How could those things end up this wrong? She had no idea how long it had been, and it was a guarantee that she had missed the party, but he certainly didn't. He probably offered some vague excuse about her absence, and he had taken her phone and put it out of her reach, no way to get ahold of anyone to say what was going on. Who knew Zen was right? He was a man, and men were absolutely dangerous, though she supposed that was no longer something for her to worry about. He still seemed set on the relationship experience, so once a day, he let her out, handcuffed to the table so she couldn't leave. He was at least kind enough to feed her, and when they finished? He brought her to the bed, somewhere between loving and kind and uncaring, intense. That part hadn't taken more than a few days of living together, he had decided she was his, and in this case? That meant she belonged to him, for him to decide what best to do with her.
The last time someone had tried to come check on her had been a long time, maybe weeks, who could say? The guards at the door had turned Jaehee away again, insisting she was fine, but she had shouted for her help. That was a mistake, when Jumin returned from work that night, the guards had reported her distress, and he...he was furious. Now, when he left, he did so only after stuffing her mouth with one of those oh so expensive ties he had, her hands bound so she couldn't try and remove it herself.
"I've tried to make you happy, I've given you everything, why don't you love me?" he questioned angrily as he locked the cage.
She wanted to tell him this wasn't love, that this wasn't right to do, and most of all that the problem was that she did love him. Aside from the fact that there was no hope of escape, she had long held out hope that he would one day let her go and go back to the loving man he was at first.
And then, one day, he made a mistake. He saw her off lovingly, that familiar Jekyll/Hyde routine, he decided she could go without the gag for one day, to test her obedience. Her eyes fell to the dresser nearby, close enough to reach, but just barely. He had left her phone there, by accident, she was sure. There was no way she could talk in the messenger or even call without him knowing, but if she could at least send a text, she was sure he didn't know her password enough to check that much. Crawling awkwardly to the edge of the cage, she slipped her bound hands through the narrow space between the bars, barely fitting through, despite certainty that she had lost a fair bit of weight. Her fingers fumbled to pull at the phone, drawing it closer. It teetered dangerously on the edge, and her heart raced at the thought that it might fall, the sound surely loud enough to draw the attention of the guards who would report to Jumin if it did. She clumsily caught it, pulling it through, quickly unlocking the phone, her movements slow after.
Her heart throbbed uncontrollably, concerned that he might be watching her from his office. Who was she supposed to tell? Jaehee had already tried to check on her a few times, and had always been turned away, Judo or not, there was no way she was willing to risk her safety against the security to get her out. Yoosung was sweet, but he was small too, he wouldn't be able to face them. Seven might be able to help, to hack in to the feed and at least maybe get the word out that she wasn't okay. Zen seemed the most promising, but even so, she didn't want to prove he was right from the start, that she was a fool not to listen to him and leave when she had even a small chance to do so. Frowning, she navigated to her texts, pressing it anyway, keeping the message short when she noticed her battery was dangerously low.
'Zen...you were right. I'm not safe, I'm locked away...help me, please…' she sent.
She had ignored his warnings, and there was a limit to human kindness, he might even refuse outright to help her. Even if he somehow did manage to get in and help her, where was she supposed to go that Jumin Han could not reach? There was one place, she supposed, but that depended heavily on whether Seven or V were willing to help there too. She had no choice but to go back to the apartment, it was the one place Jumin didn't know the location of, unless someone told him, she could stay there safely without problems.
"That bastard! Has he hurt you? If...if he has, I swear, I'll kill him!" the first reply.
"You're still at his penthouse, right? I'll talk to Jaehee and Seven and see if I can find away, there has to be away to get you out...Wait for me, I'll save you…"
"I have to go. Jumin can't know I did this...please hurry…" she sent, quickly turning her phone off, struggling once more to replace it as exactly as she could on the dresser.
There was nothing to do but to wait. If they somehow came up with a way to get past the guards, she might still have to wait. The only thing she could do was try to soothe Jumin's furor enough to convince him that she had changed, would absolutely obey him, and hope for the best. There was no waiting, she had to begin that process now, she had no patience to wait several hours for him to return home.
"Excuse me, guard?" she called out hesitantly.
The head of security wasn't on the shift right now, so this was someone she had no inkling what his name was. The door opened slowly, and he peeked in curiously.
"What is it?" he asked.
"C...can you call Jumin? I...I know he's really busy, but I'm so lonely, I want to see him…" she begged softly.
"Well...he did say not to bother him, but for this, maybe...Yes, it will be taken care of." he finally agreed.
"Thank you!" she said, forcing cheerfulness.
He closed the door, but she could still hear his voice, quietly muffled through the thick door. "Mr. Han, I'm sorry to bother you, I know you said not to, but the lady...what? Oh, yes, she's still fine. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The lady wanted me to call you, she says she's lonely and wants to see you. Shall I? Yes, alright. I'll tell her."
The door opened once more, and for a moment, her heart sank, realizing he might actually not have bought it.
"Mr. Han is on his way. He says he'll take the day off." he informed her, closing the door once more.
He had been very thorough in his instruction as to how he expected things. They had never even discussed marriage, and honestly, she just wanted to leave, if she had a choice, she no longer fantasized about a life with Jumin Han, had no desire to be his wife. He had insisted that when he arrives home, she was meant to greet him lovingly, as if they were. Even bound and trapped as she was, she could manage that. Arranging for the party long past, she had learned how to be charming, even when she was less than excited to do so, perhaps watching Zen's performances had also helped, his words on the phone calls they shared more than motivating. This was just back stage, the curtains were indeed about to open for her, ready to put on her most convincing performance. Zen had once said he planned to use Jumin as inspiration for his role, and now, now it was her turn to use Zen for her inspiration.
The door again swung opened not long after, Jumin adjusting his cufflinks as he let it close behind him, his eyes, still lovely, though she knew what lied behind them now, expectantly falling to her.
"Welcome home, my love!" she called to him affectionately.
His eyes widened in surprise, that quickly melted to mild pleasure. It seemed as if he were truly relieved to hear it from her. Granted, he had given her no reason to be so sweet, if it helped her cause, she was willing to do whatever it took. He approached slowly, every step graceful and proud, kneeling in front of the cage, his hand reaching through the bars, tenderly stroking her hair.
"I heard you missed me, my princess...I'm sorry, if I had known you felt that way, I would have stayed home from the start." he assured her.
It was all an act. He would actually have stayed home had she asked, but there was no way he understood her feelings on the matter, being locked away, being hurt and treated so poorly? Who would want that, who could be happy about such a thing?
"I did, I missed you terribly. More than anything, I desperately want to spend the night in your arms, can't you grant my one desire?" she pleaded.
It tasted like ash in her mouth, saying such things. Lying was something that didn't come easily to her, but at least it appeared to be convincing. She had no idea how long it would take for those three to come up with a way to save her, but the best plan, in her mind, was to stay on his good side as long as possible. They wouldn't have a long window to get in and get her out, so it was far better if she wasn't in the cage when they did. Jumin stood up, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a gold key, unlocking the door and helping her to stand.
"If that's what you want, then you'll have it. I'm so glad you seem to be in a better mood today, I hate having to lock you up, but what else can I do, if you keep trying to escape and disobey me?" he asked.
He picked at the binds on her wrists, thoughtfully rubbing the reddened tracks on her skin, as if he might actually regret inflicting them on her, but she knew better. He didn't regret it, because he felt it necessary to ensure she wouldn't try to get away from him. She cringed inwardly at the thought of what needed to happen now, she had to reinforce the idea that she really did miss him. Ignoring her own pain, she flung herself towards him, her arms desperately grasping his sides, embracing him tightly with a pleased sigh. He hesitated, but reciprocated, squeezing her gently before drawing her by the chin to look up at him, kissing her hungrily, nipping and sucking at her lower lip, almost crushing as he stole away her breath, letting up after a few moments.
"I...want you, but that can wait. You appear to have lost weight, and since you were so bad, you had to be gagged, I'm sorry for that, but tonight, you will be rewarded, anything you want from the chef, you'll need your strength. First, I think, we'll wash together, and then we'll eat, and...as you so lovingly requested, we'll spend the night together, safely in my arms." he explained, listing his itinerary. "Perhaps not entirely safe, I'm of course going to have my way with you until you can't keep your eyes open a moment longer. How does that sound, my love?"
She wanted to frown, disgusted that he could still think to call her such sweet things after what he had done to her, but she held back. One lapse in her act would simply see her back in the cage, at square one once more, so she forced a smile, nuzzling into his chest softly.
"That sounds wonderful, a night with my Jumin, I can't ask for more." she purred softly.
At the very least, this was the first time in days she'd get a proper bath. When she was 'misbehaving', he simply opened the cage long enough to lead her to the bathroom to wash her hair and sponge her down, as if he didn't quite trust her to be in there long enough for a proper bath, and of course, he was right not to. If he gave her even a slight opening, she would naturally have tried to run away. He didn't wait, his fingers searching for the zipper at her back, tugging it down easily, pulling at her sleeves slightly, just a light pull enough to make it fall away, appraising her with a satisfied hum. At first, it had been whatever she wanted, whatever would make her happy, as long as she stayed at his side, now, it was whatever he wanted, and she had no choice. She felt his eyes boring into her, and as much as she wanted to cover her bared body to his gaze, she refrained, uncomfortable. He had made sure she wore nothing underneath, said it only complicated matters for him, kept them apart unnecessarily. He circled a gloved finger around her nipple, pleased when it stiffened at his gentle touch, exhaling slowly in sick appreciation.
"Come now, princess. Let's get to the bath before I can't hold back from you anymore." he instructed.