Chapter Text
April
Kim Ji-Su’s head was swimming. She must have had too much to drink at the bar. The window her head lightly bounced against was cold, but it didn’t do much to rouse the intoxicated girl. Was she in a car? She didn’t remember getting into a car, but then again, she didn’t remember a lot after she’d accepted the drink the tall, handsome, blond man had given her while they were dancing. Had he put something in her drink? He must have, since she’d never felt like this when she’d drank before, even when she had drunk a little too much. The car came to a stop and the engine cut. Ji-Su heard the man get out of the car and a minute later, her door was open and she was lifted out of the car and slung over the man’s shoulder.
The air was cold and her dress was riding up, but she couldn’t will her arms to move to fix it. The slight bounce and sway of every step the man made caused her stomach to roll, making her almost empty her stomach. Soon the air turned warm and she dazedly rose her head, looking around to find that they were now in a cabin, one that you would find in the mountains. The mountains? Had this stranger taken her into the mountains? The last thing she remembered was being in a club in Sokcho where her family had been vacationing. She’d snuck out to go dancing to spite her parents, her fake ID tucked into her little, black purse.
A door opened and they entered a dark room. She was set down on her feet, unsteady in her stilettos, and she was pushed back against something narrow and cold. Somewhere in her fuzzy brain she realized that it was a metal poll. The man let go of her and she slid down the poll, her ankles protesting as the rolled under her full weight. She looked up and saw a camera on a tripod pointed at where she now sat on the cold, stone floor. Was he going to take photos of her? Why would he do that? To blackmail her family? She was suddenly regretting sneaking out that night. The man crouched in front of her and lifted the gold heart locket off from around her neck. Her parents had given it to her for her thirteenth birthday, one of the only times they shown that they did love her, and she always wore it. She was fiercely protective of it.
“Thas mine…,” she slurred, anger bubbling in her still churning stomach, “Give it back…!”
The blonde man smirked and said, “Must be valuable.”
She tried to reach for it, but she couldn’t. She tried again but still, her arms wouldn’t move. She twisted her wrists and flinched at the burn she felt. Her wrists were tied together behind the pole with a rough rope. When had her wrists been tied? Panic started to rise in her chest and she knew something bad was going to happen to her. Why hadn’t her brother answered her call? She’d called him before going to the club but he hadn’t answered. She’d left him a message but he hadn’t called back. He always answered her calls, and if he had, she wouldn’t have gone to the club. He always kept her from doing stupid things. He always saved her.
“You stay here,” the blonde said, catching her attention again, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He left the room and Ji-Su let her eyes close, her head still swimming. What felt like hours, but was in reality only a minute, she heard footsteps. She pried her eyes opened and looked up at the silhouetted figure in the doorway. The man entered the room and walked behind the girl. Suddenly, a scratchy, rough rope wrapped around her neck and her breath caught. He pulled and she couldn’t breathe. A strangled gurgle left her throat as she tried to scream, but it was all she could do. The man pulled harder and the edges of her vision began to blur.
‘I’m going to die…!’ She thought, tears stinging her eyes.
Her rother always saved her, but not this time.
One Year Later
Taekwoon sighed lightly as he shoved the last bag into his faded red 1992 Hyundai avante. All his gear and other stuff hardly fit, but there was still enough room for his best friend’s things. Well, if she hadn’t packed her entire closet that is. His phone began to ring and he smiled. Speaking of his best friend.
“Hello?” He answered.
“Hey you,” Lexy sang, “Are you almost done packing your stuff? I can’t wait to get started on our trip!”
Taekwoon laughed and replied, “I’m almost done. I just need to get gas and then I’ll be on my way. I’m still surprised that your parents are letting us spend the week up at the cabin with your boyfriend.”
“Well…,” she started.
“I knew it,” Taekwoon exclaimed, “What’s the catch?”
“Shep may or may not be coming along to chaperon us….”
Taekwoon’s eyes widened. Shep…. Shepherd was Lexy’s older brother. And Taekwoon’s ex-boyfriend. They had dated for around six months, starting about a year ago, but had broken up in November the year before. It had been a rough break up. Shepherd was supposed to come home for Taekwoon’s birthday, but had called last minute and said he wasn’t coming. They had argued and Shepherd had dumped him, effectively breaking his heart.
“Shepherd is… coming?” Taekwoon asked slowly.
“My parents are forcing him to. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to see him. I tried to convince them to let you keep an eye on us, but they wouldn’t go for it.”
Taekwoon shook his head, even though she couldn’t see it, and said, “No, it’s alright. It’s been six months and I'm over him. It’s no big deal.”
He hoped he sounded blasé about the whole thing. He doubted it though as he heard his friend sigh.
“I really am sorry.” She said, sounding regretful.
“It’s fine, really. Anyway, let me get gas and then I’ll come get you.” Taekwoon said, closing the trunk.
“Ok. I’ll see you soon Taek. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He hung up and sighed deeply. He was not over Shepherd in the least. It was still a relatively open wound. He shook his head again and tried to put it out of his mind, getting in his car. He drove to the gas station and corner store by his place and stopped. He filed his tank before entering the store to browse some snacks.
“Good morning Taekwoon!” The cashier said.
Taekwoon often came to this corner store when he ran out of something and was too lazy to go to an actual store, so the staff knew him by name. he smiled to the girl and went about looking for a snack. There was one other person in the store, a tall man with silver hair, but Taekwoon didn’t pay him much mind. He was so focused on finding something to nibble on that he didn’t notice someone walk up behind him until they cover his eyes.
“Guess who?” A smooth voice said.
Taekwoon stiffened, knowing that voice all too well. It was Shep.
“Give me a hint.” Taekwoon said, praying that his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he felt.
“Rich and a playboy.” Shep said, a grin in his voice.
“Then I’m going to have to go with Shepherd Clark?” Taekwoon said flatly.
“Right!” Shep said, uncovering Taekwoon’s eyes.
The younger man turned to face the brunet and he looked him over once, holding back a sigh. He was still as handsome as the day he left for KAIST almost a year ago; the last time he saw him.
“So, what’s with this trip you and Lex are taking,” Shepherd asked, casually resting his arm on one of the shelves, “Didn’t take you as the camping type.”
“We’re not camping, we’re backpacking.” Taekwoon said, almost defensively.
At least, that was the plan. But knowing his best friend, the closest they’d get to backpacking was a few short hikes in the forest surrounding the Clark’s family cabin in the northern Taebaek Mountains.
“My sister backpacking in the mountains? Yeah right.” Shep laughed, showing off his perfect teeth.
“You don’t have to come if you’re gonna be a jerk about it,” Taekwoon murmured, slightly irritated, “Besides, I argued against you coming you know.”
“Why? Got a new boyfriend that wouldn’t like it?” Shep asked, an almost serious look on his face.
Without even thinking, Taekwoon shot back, “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Yeah right. Lex would have told me if you did.”
Taekwoon frowned and said, “Believe it or not there are some things Lexy doesn’t tell you.”
“Really,” Shep said, raising an eyebrow, “Who is he then?”
Taekwoon swallowed and said, “You don’t know him. He’s new in town.”
“Too convenient.” The older man said, shaking his head.
Again, without thinking, Taekwoon blurted, “That’s him right there.”
He gestured to the other man in the store who was now near the counter. Without skipping a beat, Shepherd turned and walked towards the other man, causing Taekwoon to break out in a nervous sweat. He hid behind a shelf and prayed that his humiliation would be over quickly.
“Hey,” he said, catching the stranger’s attention, “I hear you’re dating my ex.”
The stranger eyed him curiously for a moment before Shep spoke again.
“You know, your boyfriend, hiding behind the chips over there?” He said, jutting his thumb towards Taekwoon who was peeking over the shelf.
Taekwoon stood to his full height and swallowed, trying to find words to say but coming up short. He tucked a strand of his long, black hair behind his ear and looked down, cheeks flushed.
To Taekwoon’s utter shock, he heard the man say, “Yeah, my boyfriend, Taekwoon.”
Coffee brown eyes widened and Taekwoon’s head shot up, his mouth slightly agape. He knew his name?
“Oh, sorry,” Shep said, blanching slightly, “I’m Shepherd Clark. Taekwoon’s… ex.”
Shep outstretched his hand for the stranger to shake, but he just eyed it.
“Ravi.” The stranger said, introducing himself.
He crossed the small store to where Taekwoon was standing and kissed his cheek, causing him to flush more. A few flirty sentences were exchanged between them before Shepherd cleared his throat.
“Shouldn’t you be heading out Teak?” He said, looking less than amused.
“R-right,” Taekwoon said, swallowing again, “I’ve still got get Lexy before we head out. We’re going backpacking, remember Ravi?”
The silver haired man nodded and said, “Right. How long will you be gone again?”
“All week.” Taekwoon answered.
He nodded and said, “I’ll miss you.”
Taekwoon’s cheeks heat up again and he said shyly, “I’ll miss you too.”
Ravi grinned and said, “I’ve gotta go, but don’t for get to call me when you have service.”
Taekwoon nodded and his breath hitched when Ravi ran his fingers through his long, black hair before cupping his chin.
“One more thing,” he said, almost seductively, “Be careful. The mountains are dangerous this time of year.”
Taekwoon nodded, unable to speak as he watched him leave after another kiss to his cheek. This sexy stranger had just saved his ass and Taekwoon couldn’t believe it.
“I thought you were lying.” Shepherd said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Taekwoon cleared his throat and said, “As pleasant as this conversation’s been, I've gotta go get Lex. I’ll see you up there.”
He turned to leave without waiting for his response and got in his car. He drove to his best friend’s place and after an hour of car tetris, started their long drive to the mountains.
“Was it supposed to rain?” Lexy asked, frowning at the dark sky.
“No, it was supposed to be clear skies….” Taekwoon said, frowning as well as small drops of water began to drop on the windshield.
The roads up the mountain were steep and dangerous already, but add in rain and an old car and they became even more dangerous. As they drove on, it began to pour, to the point where Taekwoon could hardly see where he was going. He slowed down and put on his hazards, his palms starting to sweat with nerves.
“Maybe we should pull over?” Lexy offered, just as nervous.
Taekwoon nodded and pulled as far to the right as he could, but the shoulder of the road was so small he was positive that they were still mostly in the road. He turned the car off to preserve gas. As they waited, the rain quickly turned to snow, the temperature dropping quickly. Luckily, they brought their coats into the car with them instead of packing them, and put them on as they got colder. Lexy grab her bag from the backseat and starting digging in it for her gloves, and as she searched, something fell out. Taekwoon picked it up to give it back to her, but he recognized it.
“Isn’t this your brother’s?” He asked, looking at the CD holder in his hand.
“Oh, yeah,” Lex said, only glancing over at her friend, “I took it from his car when he stopped by my place this morning. A little pay back for him being a dick.”
Taekwoon nodded and unzipped the case, curious about what CDs he had. When he opened it, a folded paper fell out into his lap. Confused, he set the case aside and unfolded the paper, seeing that it was a map of the mountains. Notes and hand drawn landmarks were scribbled in English all over it, and Taekwoon was grateful that he’d studied English since he was a kid. He hadn’t really tried too hard to learn it until he’d met Lexy, whose family was originally from the US. She’d helped him a lot over the years they’d known each other and he had become fluent in the language by high school. He looked over the map once more and decided to keep it for now, as it might be useful later. He’d give it back to Shepherd eventually, but after he’d made up for breaking Taekwoon’s heart. He carefully folded the worn map and tucked it into his back pocket.
“Damn, no signal.” Lexy said, catching Taekwoon’s attention.
She was holding her phone, frowning. Taekwoon checked his own phone, but found much the same; no signal. They couldn’t call for help.
“Maybe we should have rented a better car for the mountains….” Lexy said, sounding nervous.
Taekwoon knew it wasn’t a jab at his old car, just his friend being scared.
“We can get through this,” Taekwoon said, trying to sound confident, “We can’t be too far from the cabin. We’ll just go slow.”
Lexy didn’t look too thrilled with the idea, but nodded anyway. Taekwoon turned the car back on and carefully began to creep along the road. An hour later and they hadn’t made much progress, and Taekwoon was worried that he might have made a wrong turn. It was highly possible as the snow had turned into a full-on blizzard as they drove, cutting visibility down to almost nothing and covering the signs on the road. When the tires began to skid and lose traction, Taekwoon finally stopped the car again.
“Maybe we can wait it out?” Lexy asked, chewing on her lip.
“Maybe….” Taekwoon answered, just as unsure.
They sat in the car for over an hour, the snow only getting worse.
“There’s got to be a cabin around here somewhere.” Taekwoon said.
“So?” Lexy asked, rubbing her cold hands together.
“So, we can go for help.” He said, looking over at her.
Lexy looked panicked as she said, “You mean get out and walk in this weather?! Are you crazy?!”
“Well, we can’t stay here,” he said, shaking his head, “We’ll freeze to death.”
“We’ll freeze to death if we get lost out there!” Lexy argued.
Taekwoon sighed and said, “Look, we’ll walk for half an hour, and if we don’t find anything we’ll some back to the car, ok?”
Lexy squirmed in her seat for a minute before reluctantly agreeing. They got out of the car and linked their arms together so as not to get separated in the blizzard. The followed the road as best they could and half an hour passed quickly, and Taekwoon decided to push it to an hour. Finally, an hour after leaving the car, they saw lights.
“A cabin!” Lexy exclaimed, her teeth chattering.
They ran through the snow as best they could and began to pound on the door. It took a few minutes, but eventually the door was wrenched open. The man standing the in the doorway was silhouetted for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the light. When Taekwoon could finally see, his breath hitched.
“Ravi…?”