Six years later

The Underground

AERI

Funny, how things can change.

How people can change.

The man chuckles slowly as he shrugs his shoulders, leaning back down onto the leather couch. He licks his lips, eyes roaming up my figure before picking at his teeth with a half-broken toothpick.

"Eh. I don't know, sweetheart."

"Don't know if that service was worth a grand."

People change.

But I know this too well. I know it better than I do myself.

I give him a cold, tight-lipped smile as I tug my jacket back over my shoulders. He blows out a puff of smoke, returning my smile.

"So feel free to leave," He drones, the corner of his lips tilting upwards.

"Or if you want to stay, then I certainly won't be stopping you. You do know that for loyal girls that satisfy me, I never fail to reward—"

"You can go fuck yourself."

I hear him sputter. But by then I'm already gone, my smile turning venomous as I touch the cold, smooth surface of gold in my pocket.

In there I had valuables worth over ten thousand, things I'd stolen from him when he was too distracted. I always made sure to get what I came for, whether they were willing to pay me or not.

Ignorant bastards.

_______________________________

V

I taste the metallic tang of blood on my tongue as I step off the ring, the bloodlust still wild in my eyes. I can hear the screaming and roaring of the spectators all around me.

"One more!"

"Encore!"

"You will definitely not be doing one more."

I look up into the disapproving expression of Jungkook. He tosses me my hood, and I pull it over my shoulders. He shakes his head.

"It's been seven years. Aren't you tired of street fighting, hyung? And in the Underground, as well. This place is full of scum."

I sigh.

"Why are you here?" I murmur, giving him a narrow glance. "I know you hate coming down to this place."

"You wouldn't answer your phone." He replies lightly, making my brows furrow. "And Jimin hyung has been trying to reach you all morning."

His jaw flexes.

"He sent me all the way down here, and I'm going to kill him for it."

"...what?"

He turns.

"The girl."

"Hyung thinks he might've found her."

________________________________

AERI

I usually push back returning home for as long as I can.

I shouldn't even call the place I live home.

"Another." I call to the bartender, giving him a tilt of my head and a glimpse of my drink. "With more vodka. Too weak."

And my gaze turns back to stare aimlessly at the flickering television screen in front of me. There is a group of guys sitting near me talking loud as hell, and that's forcing my mood even further down than it already is.

I can't even seem to get drunk anymore. 

"Your drink." The bartender says, catching my attention. He slides down a glass of dark blue towards my direction.

"Thanks."

I'm about to take a sip when one of the men, an annoying ginger that's been pissing me off the most with his thin, high-pitched voice, yells to try and talk over his buddies.

"What? No! He's been beating every single fucking challenger that's ever tried to go against him, and you damn idiots are always betting on the underdog like they're actually going to change a single thing!"

I growl under my breath in annoyance.

"Exactly," One of the other guys drone. "Didn't you hear? Apparently he's killed people in the past too."

He lowers his voice.

"You ever know what happened six years ago? When a bunch of poor kids got murdered in that University?"

"From what I've heard, he's involved in that too. As one of the killers."

I jerk up from my seat. The chair tips, crashing to the floor. And suddenly everyone's eyes are on me, silence over the entire pub.

Slowly, I bend down. Then I pick up the wooden chair, placing it back on its feet. My eyes turn to fix on the exact man who had just spoken that sentence.

"You."

He blinks. Then he looks around wildly for a few seconds, until one of his other friends elbow him with a look. He points at himself with a dumbfounded expression.

"...you talking to me?"

I stride over to the group of men. I can hear their murmurs of alarm as I reach into my pocket, their own hands going to their pockets as well.

But they all freeze when I drop a pile of gold and silver jewelry on top of the wooden, dirty table. It's everything that I'd stolen from that bastard earlier today.

I lower myself to their eye level.

"Tell me everything you know about this guy," I whisper, offering him a coaxing smile. "Everything. Who he is, where he is."

My fingertips push the stack of valuables towards his direction.

"And this is all yours."

______________________________

V

My heart feels like it might just split apart.

I can't take my eyes off the dim photograph, pulled up on the screen. The quality of the picture is horrible, but I still recognize her.

Jimin finally breaks the silence.

"So...uh, is it her? I know it's kinda blurry, but—"

"It's her."

I can't believe this.

I lean closer to the computer, as if I'm almost getting pulled in. Jimin makes a slight noise when I confirm his doubts. Jungkook stands by the door, his eyes searching my expression.

"It is? Holy crap, I was so unsure. It has been six years, Tae. And you do know where this is, right?"

I know.

It's the Underground.

I feel my head grow light. All this time, so many suspicions. So many thoughts I'd made about her, to where she had disappeared. She had disappeared like the night wind on that day six years ago.

And she had been down there. The one place where I could only think the worst things could've happened to her— surrounded by the worst kinds of people.

Just from the look on her face, I see that she is nowhere near the Aeri I used to know.

Her dark hair has grown down to her waist. She has grown, well over the height she used to stand slightly above my waist. Her eyes are hardened with steel.

The things she must've gone through to have that look in her eyes.

I grip the edge of the desk, knuckles pale.

"Jimin, when was this? And where?"

"It's not...not really recent." He murmurs. "This is just a clip from a security camera—"

My head hurts viciously.

"Jimin."

"When and where. Please."

He sighs softly. "This was taken at the Southside Pub in the Underground, approximately two weeks ago."

"I don't have anything else. This is it."

But it's enough.

It's enough.

"Thanks." I whisper, my eyes still fixed on the photograph. "Thanks, Jimin."

Jungkook grips my wrist as I leave the room, his eyes alert. His voice is tight, full of warning as his gaze roams across my face.

"Hyung. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go down."

"Where. The Underground? You just came back." He hisses, frustration now evident in his tone. "And the photo was taken two weeks ago. Do you really think you can find her down there now when you've never caught a glance of her for the last six years?"

"He's right, Tae." Jimin mumbles, tapping his fingers against his side. "The Underground itself is huge. Unless we can—"

I shake my head.

"I'm going to fight. Put on an entire damn show, just for her. I'll have to hope it'll be enough to draw her attention. I'll have to hope she'll recognize me."

My words turn bitter.

"And if not, whatever. I'll just do it over and over again until she comes. Until she finds me, or I find her first."

It's a reckless plan. I don't need Jungkook and Jimin looking at me like I'm out of my mind to know that this was absolutely ridiculous. Fighting continuously in the ring was dangerous, even with my experience.

There were no rules. Nothing to keep me alive if I made a single mistake.

That was just how the Underground was.

But Aeri was down there. And I needed to get her out before she made a mistake like that. Before she decided on something that she would never be able to make up for.

I needed to get to her before that really happened.