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“This was a bad idea,” Dongmin muttered for the fifth time in the time span of an hour. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and sighed. “How are we supposed to get through Korean security?”
“You got through the Chinese security just fine,” Jinwoo responded, keeping his eyes trained on the flight schedule in front of him, watching the big, red letters pop up and disappear with various times. “We’ll get through the Korean one easy, too.”
Dongmin sighed again. Jinwoo wanted to throttle him. “But now aren’t they on the lookout for Minhyuk and me?”
Jinwoo shook his head. “Only a few select government officials know about Minhyuk’s existence. No one else does. The security personnel at the airport won’t recognize him, and he’ll be able to bypass the metal detector if I wave my government pass at them. It’ll be fine.”
He hated having to present a calm and comforting demeanor to Dongmin. He truly wanted Dongmin dead. Dongmin was the reason behind all of Jinwoo’s problems. Dongmin was the reason behind Myungjun’s kidnapping. Dongmin was someone Jinwoo did not care for.
However, he needed Dongmin’s help in order to find Myungjun. Minhyuk had already narrowed the location down to a general area, and in case it was wrong, Jinwoo would need the robot and owner for clarification.
He glanced over at the android, sitting beside Dongmin. The android stared back at Jinwoo.
“Have I mentioned that I don’t trust you?” Jinwoo asked Dongmin. “I don’t trust you or your pet robot.”
Dongmin slumped over in his seat, dejected and miserable. “He’s not a pet robot. Stop calling him that.”
“I guess you’re right. Most people wouldn’t sleep with a pet or a robot.” Jinwoo raised his eyebrows. “A realistic fuck doll, then?”
“My relationship with Minhyuk is none of your concern,” Dongmin snapped.
“It became my concern when you kidnapped my boyfriend,” was Jinwoo’s retort.
He could see Dongmin ready to respond, mouth opening and eyes flashing with anger, but Minhyuk suddenly broke in, leaning over Dongmin to look at Jinwoo. “Dongmin has done nothing wrong,” he mentioned. “Blame me for ruining your face and breaking your arm. Blame Sanha for kidnapping Myungjun. But Dongmin has done nothing at all to deserve the blame.”
Though Jinwoo knew that was all partially correct, he also knew that those issues stemmed from Dongmin’s criminal activity in the first place. Had Dongmin never placed human characteristics onto a soulless machine, then Jinwoo wouldn’t have needed to go looking for him. It was Dongmin’s fault, and Jinwoo would place the blame where it belonged.
“You’re just a robot,” Jinwoo grumbled, rolling his eyes. “You don’t know shit.”
Minhyuk sat back in his seat, but then said, loud enough for Jinwoo to hear, “I do think we should’ve taken him up on his offer to kill him.”
“Just…” Dongmin sighed and slumped over in his seat. When Jinwoo spared him a glance, he saw the face of defeat and fear and anxiety. The week or two Jinwoo had been stuck at his house had been weighing heavily on him. Jinwoo hoped he regretted his actions. Jinwoo hoped he was saddled with overwhelming guilt.
“Can we all just be quiet until we get to Korea?” Dongmin asked. “I can’t deal with the arguing at the moment.”
That was fine by Jinwoo. With a scoff, he stood from his seat and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I’m going to take a walk. We still have a few hours until the airplane is in. I...I can’t be around you two right now.”
Dongmin said nothing in return, likely abiding by his self-imposed rule of silence. Jinwoo didn’t care at all that he received no response; he would take a walk regardless of what Dongmin had to say.
It was Minhyuk who spoke up. “Remember not to tell anyone, or—”
“I got it,” Jinwoo fussed, and he left quickly before Minhyuk could finish that sentence.
Remember not to tell anyone or we’ll kill you.
Remember not to tell anyone or we won’t help you find Myungjun.
Remember not to tell anyone or Myungjun dies.
His life had become overwhelming. His life had dissolved into ruins. All he wanted was for things to go back to how they once were.
He was slow in his walk as he struggled to make sense of all that had happened. His arm throbbed and he regretted that he left his painkillers back with Dongmin and Minhyuk, but he refused to go back.
After he walked for ten minutes, he sighed and sat down in an available chair. People rushed to and fro, oblivious to the torture he was currently enduring, and he envied their lives. They were likely leaving from business trips, prepared to go home and see their family and loved ones. He saw a few children go by, arms linked with their parents, smiles on their faces. His stomach churned.
He wished all had gone well in China. Hell, he wished he wasn’t even sent to China. That way, he wouldn’t have gone through any of this and Myungjun would be safe.
Poor Myungjun. He looked so fearful in the photo sent to him. Jinwoo wondered what was being done to him. Could he eat? Could he sleep? Could he survive from being cared for by a robot?
Overcome with grief, Jinwoo scrolled through his contacts.
Junnie <3
He felt tears spring to his eyes as he stared at the familiar nickname, and without hesitation, he clicked it.
The phone rang and rang and rang. Jinwoo knew there would be no answer, but still he listened. With each ring came a teardrop rolling across his cheeks.
A voice broke through his cries. Hey, this is Myungjun! I can’t come to the phone right now — leave a message and I’ll get back to you!
He sounded so cheerful. He sounded as if he had naught a care in the world.
The line beeped and Jinwoo sat in silence, struggling to pull his composure together.
“I miss you,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ll find you, babe. When—when you listen to this again, I’ll have found you, okay? Just wait for me.”
He wanted to keep talking, to convince himself that things would be fine once they got to Korea, but he knew it was useless. Fear had taken over his heart and it refused to relinquish its grasp.
He couldn’t believe what Sanha had done to them. He couldn’t believe Sanha had been his enemy the entire time. How on earth could Sanha throw away years of friendship and trust for Dongmin?
Jinwoo’s grief turned into rage, and he ended the call with Myungjun’s phone in order to find Sanha’s contact information.
Dongmin had given him instructions not to tell Sanha anything. “We might still need him,” Dongmin had said. “He might do something more drastic if he knows we’re onto him.” And he might. Jinwoo couldn’t trust Sanha anymore. However, he also couldn’t keep quiet anymore. He had to call. He had to figure out why Sanha took this route.
So he pressed onto Sanha’s name and waited.
Sanha answered after one ring, a stark contrast to the phone call Jinwoo made to Myungjun. Jinwoo’s heart raced, anger billowing up inside of him.
“Jinwoo!” Sanha greeted, as if he had never done a single thing wrong.
As if he hadn’t betrayed Jinwoo and Myungjun.
“Are you doing okay?” Sanha asked. “What’s going on?”
“We’re coming back to Korea,” Jinwoo replied, gritting his teeth down.
Sanha paused. “We?”
“Me, Dongmin and his robot,” said Jinwoo.
He delighted in hearing more hesitation. He hoped Sanha was confused. He hoped Sanha was worried.
“They’ve...they’ve agreed to help?” he asked.
“Dongmin said he didn’t want to be caught up in a kidnapping scheme and so he’s agreed to help.” Jinwoo chewed on his lip briefly, then added, “Dongmin says the kidnapper is someone he knows in Korea. You wouldn’t happen to know who it is, by any chance?”
“Why do you think I would know?”
“I was just wondering,” Jinwoo murmured.
Sanha, however, was smart. Sanha had always been smart. Sanha could catch onto things quickly, and Jinwoo knew he should have taken that into consideration. “You know.”
“Know what?”
“I...I won’t say it. I refuse to say it. But you know.”
Jinwoo was silent. Now, instead of anger, fear gripped his heart again.
“Did Dongmin tell you?” Sanha sighed. “He’s too weak. I knew it.”
“Sanha—”
“I did what I had to do, Jinwoo. If you were in my shoes, you would do the same.”
Jinwoo stood from his seat quickly. “I would never have betrayed you!” he snapped. “I would never have kidnapped someone you loved and allowed a dangerous robot to hold them hostage! That’s psychotic, Sanha! You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’d do the same thing!”
“Jinwoo, you don’t understand.”
“I understand things perfectly.” Jinwoo shook with rage. “You’d better not lay a finger on Myungjun. When I find him, he’d best be in pristine condition, or else I’ll come after you.”
Without waiting to hear Sanha’s response, he hung up. His phone was held loosely in his hand as the screen dimmed and he felt tears spring to his eyes again.
What had he done to deserve any of this?