we didn't find a spy. so many people want a war to take place. the west, where the kim family rules, verses the east where the wang family rules. the west wants more materials, more supplies of coal, energy, land. greed was the motive and the east is on the verge of bankruptcy and rebellion.

"how will we know if they're gone or not?" namjoon asks. we're all in the living room, the tv softly playing piano music min yoongi composed. he's still in the hospital and isn't getting better.

"we're one man down." jimin sulks into the leather couch, he's thinking about yoongi.

"suzy and jongsuk know who we are. perhaps we can knock on their door, have a cup of tea?" hoseok suggests.

"we're wasting time!" jungkook complains.

my mind is starting to lose hope, please taehyung you must show us a sign.

🌹🌹

taehyung POV

i'm tied up by sana and suzy again. they say i only have two days before they'll have y/n kneeled before me and beheaded. of course i didn't believe them for one second.

i'm stripped of my shirt and pants, wearing only my boxers my stomach lays flat on the bed. sana is holding a whip and suzy watches from the side on a stool.

"jongsuk wants to punish the prince more, how many spanks do you think he should have?" suzy asks sana.

"i don't know let's ask the prince. how many your highness?" sana plays with the whip circling the tip with her index finger.

i don't answer, i refuse to entertain them further.

"oh he's gone mute." suzy chuckles darkly. "double the punishment." she commands sana.

"ten on each cheek, does that sound reasonable?" sana coos.

"oh yes a number worthy of our prince." suzy smiles.

"make sure to count baby boy." sana says as she prepares to whip him for the first time. the crackling of the whip against the soft skin of the prince makes him whimper but he refuses to count.

"he doesn't want to count, how boring. make him scream sana dear." suzy says.

"how pathetic, a prince is being dominated by two women. let go of your pride and submit to us." sana whispers into taehyung's ear nibbling the lobe.

i don't know where i got the energy but i turn myself around to face sana and head butt her and then she stumbled off the bed. my hands are still bound in front of me but i still managed to grab the whip and smack suzy across the face, she's now bleeding from her perfect cheek. sana gets up to get the whip from me but i'm able to free my legs so i kick her in the knees. i overwhelm the two as i get them to lay on the ground and i free my hands. before they could get up i punch their jaws causing them to hit the ground with a thud.

i bolt to the door, there are no guards. the concrete stair cases lead to a light which i immediately run up to. i'm face to face with a long hallway that has doors on each side but i see a window at the end. i take a look outside, cars surround the mansion, i'm on the top floor so i can't jump out the window. i turn to my right where i see another a door with a star marked in chalk. i open it and see a set of stairs, there seems to be a trail of chalk markings on the wall. i immediately descend them.

i open a door when the stairs come to an end, in a small hallway the back of a painting appears, a light comes from an unknown room. the painting easily slides to the side and i enter a girl's room. i look at the painting and it looks exactly like the one where i was kept. i walk around the room and i see pictures of y/n. she's jongsuk's and suzy's daughter but where is she?

y/n POV

i made a blue print of all the rooms i could think of at the top of my head. i had explored most of the bottom floor so there's no way they'd put him underground, i had thrown away that idea. it's too practical. like the princesses in books, he's locked at the highest "tower" of the mansion. i have a vent in my bedroom that connects to most of the hidden rooms, i remember a vent opening that had bars covering it but something was in the way that i couldn't see what was in the room, i thought it was just a wall. but i think that's where the prince is.

i hope i'm not wrong, i can't risk the lives of the boys.

-

"y/n?" jimin says to me as we're in his room now getting ready for the mission tomorrow night. "you don't think we're walking into a trap right?"

"i doubt they'll see us coming." i try to reassure him but it sounds like i'm tryna to reassure myself. "i... actually have no idea what we'll encounter, my guardians are dangerous."

"y/n? since we could die today, is there anything you're curious about?" jimin asks.

"if you're implying about you and your friends then yes, i want to ask something." i take a look at jimin's eyes, they're very calm right now.

"just what business do you all take part in? look at this house... it's huge and you have each other." i say, jealousy clearly in my voice.

"we don't have our parents who cast a shadow over us, we fend for ourself y/n, sure we were born with a golden spoon but it's not like we're monsters." jimin said.

i begin to feel guilty that i judged the boys so quickly.

"and we have a group name. bangtan sonyeondan." his voice is cheery.

i just chuckle at how immature he sounds right now. i take a look at the time, it's 11pm, jongsuk and suzy would have a dinner night out tomorrow. if not i am willing to become the bait.

"shall we?" jimin reaches for my hand waiting for me to take it.

"for the prince." i say as i wrap my hands with his.

-

i've never held a gun before or a knife. but jimin told me my most powerful weapons are my fists. i have only one day to learn as much as i can and he agreed to show me some moves.

in what appears to be a boxing cage jimin and i start sparing. i aim for his face to which he immediately dodges, grabs my wrist and bends my elbow making me lose balance so i'm basically falling down on the floor.

"now you're dead." he says casually. i huff on the ground kicking my legs around slightly in frustration.

"chop chop sweetheart, a tip for you would be to look your opponent in the eye and you'll see their next move. now cmon get up the prince isn't going to save himself." jimin says extending his hand for me to get up but i smack it away, getting up on my own.

it's 12am, an hour or sparing and i've managed to get park jimin flop onto the mat with a thud. i had enough of him doing some crazy neck movements as if he was mocking me so i kicked him in the knees and grabbed his wrists to pin them on the ground. the position making me on top.

jimin growls and i realize our close proximity but i stay in position, i'm quite enjoying the dominance. jimin tried to get out of my grip so i finally get up but he grabs onto my ankles making my body fall forward on my back. i feel his weight sit on my back and i let out a groan, he's heavier than he looks.

"never let your guard down." jimin casually says.

"get... off... m-me fat ass." i say struggling to breathe.

i feel the air come back into my lungs, jimin looks like he's sulking as he walks away from me getting a drink of water.

i start laughing earning a glare from the boy. "are you mad?" i ask. and he just continues glaring at me.

"are you so mad you want to punch me?" i try to provoke him, his knuckles turning white.

"cmon, you may be taller than me but gosh you're still tiny." i say with a smirk.

jimin charges at me but i dodge, using the same technique he did to me the first time. this time he's in my hold, his elbow bent a way it shouldn't be. i look into his eyes and slap his forehead and release him making his body thud against the mat. i'm laughing hysterically at the boy's flustered face.

"did i win?" i wiggle my eyebrows and start to dance around the still laying jimin.

"i guess you're ready." he murmurs.

taehyung POV

i got caught by jongsuk who was accompanied with ten guards, now i'm back in that accursed room.

"you're testing my patience my prince. i didn't want to hurt y/n but it seems like i have no choice now." jongsuk hisses.

i don't say anything my body coughs up blood.

"you really hurt sana and suzy, all they wanted was your attention. now look at you, don't you know the consequences?" jongsuk twirls the whip in his hands.

"i'm reducing your time, be prepared taehyung. you're precious princess will be kneeled before you tomorrow." jongsuk leaves the room.

🌹

-

flashback, narrator POV

y/n is thirteen years old now and she knows jongsuk isn't her father and she knows suzy isn't her mother. with all the lies she was told at a young age, she didn't remember the family that truly loved her. the twin she once had who she is supposed to have a special connection with is no longer in existence, if y/n was told she had a real family but they were murdered by jongsuk's hand she would not believe it. her mother and father who's bodies never had a proper burial, their bodies rotting away somewhere on the bottom of a lake.

jongsuk has planned everything since the beginning he laid eyes on the angelic y/n. suzy is only the means of keeping his empire in check. he's going to war to make y/n his wife. the laws do not let a grown man marry a 18 year old, this war with the wang family would upset the balance of power, this would be jongsuk's plan to make the marriage consent age lesser.

jongsuk watches y/n study on her wooden desk in her room. from the door which he is peaking through he takes mental pictures of the small girl's frame. bobby pins stick from her bun, a bow settling on the top of her head, her bangs showing a little forehead.

the young girl is working on translating korean words to english. every once in a while glancing at the clock then taking a nap for ten minutes before waking up and working for an hour. her little naps helped her focus. jongsuk found it peculiar but fascinating.