Chapter Text
NUTHANG:
- Choi Seunghyun - T.O.P - 28
- Song Kyungil - King - 28
- Lee Soohyuk - Gwi - 27
- You - Yeung Xiulan - Miri - 24
You’re pretending to look busy at your teller window of First City National Bank, a very delicate operation that involves you doodling a frame of stars and flowers on the edge of a piece of scrap paper, when three bank robbers burst in.
One moment, the bank was quiet and everyone looked almost sleepy; and in the next moment, there was an explosion of mayhem and chaos. People are yelling, screaming and crying while guns are being flashed and things are getting smashed and tipped over.
The robbers all wore zombie masks, complete with mottled skin and sunken eyes, business suits and leather gloves. There were only three of them, but they moved with military precision, it seemed as if they were everywhere. You were frightened for your fellow workers and the small amount of customers that had the misfortune to visit the bank at that moment. You didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but a tiny part of you also felt dark glee that somebody was attacking the bank you hated so deeply. This was the institution that had ruined your family and it would bring you so much joy to watch it destroyed. You wanted to see the robbers succeed.
The robbers command all seven of the tellers to “put up your hands so none of you could push any silent alarms or panic buttons.” You smile softly to yourself as you think about how not one of the tellers working for FCN of Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea didn't hate the bank owner, Roy Kim, with a passion. Any of you would have loved to see the bank implode, explode, or just crumble into the river, preferably with Roy Kim and the rest of his family still inside. You, however, were the queen of the Bring-Down-Roy-Kim Movement. You had more Kim-inflicted wounds than all your other associates combined.
The robbers give you the job of cleaning out the drawers and putting money into a bag, either because you were on the end or because you look friendly and cooperative ( and Lord knows you were definitely planning to cooperate to the highest degree). Two of the other robbers order the other tellers to march around and join the patrons on the floor, while one watches you with piercing brown eyes.
“Touch anything else and you’re dead.”
“Don’t worry, Dude.” You reply, heart racing a million miles an hour, which so happens to be one of your favorite feelings in the world. The excitement and adrenalin pumping through your veins reminds you of being on top of a ski jump.The delicious point where you take off and you’re careening out of control. “I’ll do anything you want.” You say breathlessly. “Anything at all.”
The robber’s gaze intensifies.
‘I didn’t mean that sexually’ You almost add, but stop the words from coming out of your mouth at the last minute. The idea of doing anything he wanted sexually has a sudden thrilling appeal. You can tell from the energy and directness in his gaze that he had heard it in exactly the same way.
Shivers crawl up your spine as you quietly chide yourself. ‘Temporary insanity. Nothing to see here. Move along.’
You grab all of the money out of the drawers as you hear more yelling out on the floor. “Down! Fingers knit or I blow your heads off!” As if to emphasize his point, one of the robbers kicks the coin counting machine over onto a glass table, making a terrific crash. You shake your head in disapproval as you hear the sound of somebody whimpering. Yes, you are vibrating with excitement at the entire situation, but the patrons and your coworkers are good people that don't deserve to be frightened.
“Send us off with tracking devices or exploding dye packs and you’re dead,” the guy next to you growls. “We’ll come back and mess you up.”
‘Okay then!’
You move to the next drawer in the line. “I’m telling you, don’t worry. I’m into it. Tell Scary Spice out there to not shoot anybody and we’re all good.”
The robber’s brown eyes blaze. “I make the rules here. Not you.”
Your belly tightens as you think about how hot the words he just said were. You wonder if he realized how those words came across and if he was doing it on purpose. “Ten-four.”
His eyes lock with yours and he looks right into your soul. It was as if he could recognize you, not personally, but like he knew exactly how excited you are. Your breath speeds up as you give him back the bag.
“The safe.” His gaze glows underneath the mask. “Who can get us in?”
Your eyes light up and you smile brightly. “Oh, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised on that count. It’s open.” Roy had left for the day and the rest of you weren’t exactly conscientious when he was gone.
“Gwi!” He waves his gun at one of the other two robbers.
A guy in a blue zombie mask jumps over the counter with startling athletic grace. “Three minutes twenty.”
“Lead us back.”
You turn, walk them straight into the walk-in, and pulled open the money safe. Your robber rips the camera from the wall and tosses it to the floor like it was nothing.Then he pulls bundles of money off the shelves with fast, efficient movements while Gwi holds the bag open. These men had done this before, of that you could tell. The scene was fabulously badass and it would most definitely become a staple in your sex fantasies for weeks to come - never mind, make that months.
“Three five” Gwi presses a finger to his ear and you realize he has ear buds in. ‘Is he really listening to music at a time like this?’
“What?” the other robber asks.
“Nothing. Traffic.”
As you realize he was listening to the police scanner, you suddenly come to your senses. You were missing a couple of major destroy-Roy-Kim opportunities.
You catch Gwi’s eye and hold up a hand to tell him to stop. You then put the finger on your lips to indicate for them to be quiet as your other hand points towards a listening device. It was put there to catch employee grumbling and no one was supposed to know about it, although you all did.
“T.O.P.” Gwi points to it.
“Please don’t shoot me,” you warble out in your best fake scared voice. “Please.” You point to a section of 10 thousand won bills. You rip off the seal, displaying the trackers for them to see. These were the notes you were supposed to give away in case of a robbery and they were all marked with little red dots. You start to feel a little like a lady on the shopping channel demonstrating the features of a new product as you point out all of the bundles that had trackers on them.
T.O.P and Gwi exchange glances back and forth holding a silent conversation with each other. You expect them to toss the trackers aside, but T.O.P pockets them instead. It took a brief moment for you to realize what it was he planned to do with it. ‘Clever’ You think as you realize you have one last thing to show them.
The Kims had started investing in gemstones as a hedge against the economy. Roy and his sister had recently acquired a collection of loose diamonds at an auction. They were supposed to bring them to one of the branches with safety deposit boxes, but if there was one thing anybody could count on, it was Roy’s laziness.
Your gaze falls on the strongbox shoved in the back of the lowest shelf. You hesitate knowing that if you showed them the diamonds out of the blue, the Kims would know you’d gone out of your way to help the robbers. Yet, you want so badly to hand them off to the robbers. This was the Kim’s private property and the diamonds wouldn’t be FDIC insured.
You clear your throat and, imitating a man to the best of your ability, bark out. “What else is in here?” The two robbers look at you as if you are crazy. You wink and then switch back to your regular voice. “What do you mean what else? There’s nothing else!” You kneel down and pull out the strongbox. You open it to reveal a mound of velvet bags.
You let out a cry. “Ow! Please! What more do you want? What do you want from me?” You’re aware that it seems like you have a split personality, but you didn’t care. You needed it to sound as if they were actually hurting you for the recording. You couldn’t miss this chance to screw over the Kims, not very many of these chances presented themselves.
T.O.P gestures with his gun and you yank out one of the bags and empty it into your hand. You look up in mock surprise as you mouth the word ‘Diamonds.’
Gwi eyes T.O.P, then turns towards you. “You show us everything there is to see now or we’ll kill you! Now! Everything!”
You nod your head. It seems as if Gwi might just be into it.
T.O.P pockets the diamonds while Gwi continues to yell at you. “What’s in that box? You fucking show me!”
“I don’t want to die.” You say in your weepiest voice. You feel like you’re a part of the gang. As the robbers grab the last of the diamonds, Gwi stiffens and puts a finger to his ear. “Suspicious activity, this address.”
The third robber bursts in at that moment. “Guy out there dropped a dime.”
“Fuck.” T.O.P grits out.
The three of them look at you as if they all received the same inspiration at the same time.
“We don’t take hostages,” T.O.P says.
‘What? Hostages?’
“No choice,” the third one says.
“Seconded.” Roughly Gwi grabs your arm.
‘Hostages? Shit!’ You try to think of what happens to hostages in the various movies you’ve seen, if they die or not, before you remember that this isn’t a movie. And you were on their side. Surely they can understand that.
“King!” T.O.P throws two of the bags toward the newcomer.
Gwi tightens his grip on your arm as he puts a gun to your head. The four of you run out of the safe and down the back hall; they seem to know the layout almost as well as you.
“You don’t have to be so … you know…” The gun was freaking you out.
“Yes, I do.” Gwi says as you guys burst out the door. He gives you a shove and you start across the parking lot.
King pulls something out of one of the bags that look suspiciously like a video game controller. He presses a button and an earth-shattering boom rips through the air.
Flames blaze from a car in the parking lot. Another explosion comes from the other side of the lot. Smoke gushes into the air from all directions.
“Yah!” You shout. “Be careful! That bank is full of innocent people!”
“Nobody’s getting hurt.” Gwi says, pushing you along. “It’s called fireworks.”
Under the cover of smoke, you head into the alley toward a white van with Min Hee's Catering emblazoned on the side. Or at least that’s what you assume it says, you can barely see anything. Someone slides open the door and Gwi pulls you into the back seat.
“Eyes shut! Now!” Gwi commands. You comply right away as the doors slam closed and the car takes off. You hear the sound of ripping fabric.
“I’m going to blindfold you. We can’t have you seeing our faces, or we’ll have to kill you.”
“Shit. Okay.” You recognize that this was getting serious, but it still was thrilling. You assume that King and T.O.P are up front; no doubt they had taken off their masks. Definitely less conspicuous to drive from the scene of a robbery sans mask.
Sirens sound as you brace yourself and shut your eyes. The van peels out and turns.
“It’s okay.” Gwi reassures you, knotting the cloth at the back of your head without getting any of your hair caught, an impressive skill for someone who didn’t typically take hostages. He was pretty handy with a blindfold. “None of us wants to kill anyone. So let’s stay strangers. We’ll let you off once we know we won’t need you, got it?”
“Got it.”
“Hands.”
You put your hands out and he binds them together with efficient movements, another impressive skill for someone unused to hostage taking. The sirens grow louder, cranking up the tension in the air inside the van.
“Fuck.” One of them says.
‘Are the sirens coming for us?’ You briefly wonder just as you hear the sirens zoom past the vehicle.
“Okay then.” Gwi mumbles.
Whichever robber was driving, either T.O.P or King, he was driving sanely, which pleases you. You figure the biggest danger danger would come in the form of a high-speed chase at this point.
Min Hee’s was an actual restaurant a few counties over, but you doubt these guys are actually from Min Hee’s. They are much smarter than that.
You hear train crossing bells and your face scrunches up in confusion. You feel the van slow and can barely make out the low voices coming from up front.
“Are we held up by a train?” You ask, feeling the rumble through the seat. A door creaks open. “What’s going on? Did somebody just get out? That’s not necessary. There’s a bridge you can take.”
“You think we’re idiots?” King barks at you. You can only tell it’s him because T.O.P has a deeper voice and Gwi was right next to you. “I think we know the logistics of the area.” he adds.
“Just trying to be helpful.”
“Don’t be.” He responds. “We are awesome at this and we don’t need your fucking input.”
A door slams and soon the vehicle is squealing out again, a U-turn from the feel of it.
Gwi leans over and whispers softly in your ear. “Somebody needed to get rid of those trackers.”
You ‘Ah’, assuming they had thrown them into a boxcar. You sit silently as the van continues it’s path.
“I want you to know something.” You announce, breaking the silence. “I won’t be any trouble. My main mission in life is to screw the owner of that bank. And I’m not talking sex. Even if I saw your faces, which I swear I haven’t, I would never tell. I want you to get away.”
“Can you shut her up?” King asks, then starts up a hushed conversation with T.O.P in the front.
“Fine.” You mutter to yourself, crossing your arms and feeling annoyed, nervous, and excited all at once.
“Don’t worry about him,” Gwi says lowly. “We’ll find a place to let you out and you’ll have fifteen minutes of fame.” You feel the seat depress next to you as Gwi slides closer. He lowers his voice even more to a hushed and sexy tone. “We have to find the right sort of place, though. There’s an art to every part of this.” You like the way he talks to you in a familiar tone, as if he was confiding in you.
You nod your head. You can’t see their faces, but you’re starting to be able to not only differentiate them by their voice, but also by their personalities. Gwi was smart and easy to get along with and he seems as if he’s on the same wavelength as you. He was the one who’d immediately understood why you were talking in different voices in the safe and played along. T.O.P was the silent type that oozed masculine hotness. King was the bad boy techie that had a very high opinion of their smarts. The three of them seemed sane, and even kind of cool, and the excitingly dangerous side upped their hotness levels to practically off the chart ratings.
Sirens sound once more in the distance. “Oh no!” You say before you could stop yourself. You aren’t very good at keeping quiet, you never have been. It’s not how you are wired. You’ve always been known to speak your mind.
“It’s fine.” T.O.P says and you can imagine him there in the front, utterly in control of everything.
“Why don’t you tell me why you hate your boss so much.” Gwi says.
You rest your head back on the seat, trying to figure out just where to start.
“That bad, huh?” You turn slightly towards the direction of Gwi’s voice.
“If it wasn’t for Roy Kim, my parents would still be around.”
The silent in the car is palpable.
“I’m sorry.” Gwi says softly.
“It’s been five years.” You say. “I’m….” getting used to it wasn’t quite right. More like struggling to live with it. “I’m okay.”
You tell them about how the whole thing started with the Kims’ quest to take your family’s farm, run you off the land, and lease it to a company that mined frac sand, which was way more lucrative than the mortgage their bank held. You tell them about how amazing your mother and father had been, standing so strong against the Kims because that farm had been their entire life.
You take a shuddery breath. “Right after I graduated from high school, we had a mysterious fire in one of the barns and missed some payments, and that let Roy Kim change the mortgage terms. He doubled the payments. We got so behind, we were in so much debt.”
You tell the guys about your parents leaving for a two-month gig on a fishing boat in Gye-do. “The money from it would have gotten us caught up. My two younger sisters, my Unnie and I were old enough to run the place over summer.”
You swallow, remembering the last time you had seen your mom and dad. “Two weeks in, the boat went over. They were killed.”
“I’m sorry.” Gwi says.
“Thanks.” Such a small word for how much you miss your parents. “There was a bit of insurance money that let us catch up, but…”
“Your parents were gone.”
“Right.” You whisper.
“And you stayed.”
“We had to keep it going.”
Back before all of that, you had plans to leave Boseong-gun to start your life. You had this whole round-the-world bungee jumping and rock climbing trek dreamed up. You wanted to visit the place your mother had grown up in China. You were going to pick up odd jobs along the way and maybe finish college somewhere with mountains, or at least near a ski jump. But after, it was all about keeping the farm and not letting the Kims win. You usually tried to not think about the life you had planned before the boat accident. But the secret truth was that you’d always hated the plodding predictability of farm life.
“Bungee jumping is pretty dangerous.” Gwi mentions.
“So are guns.” You counter.
Gwi laughs lightly. “So you managed to keep it?”
“Sure did.” You smile proudly.
“Good for you.”
You nod smugly. “We expanded and started making these awesome wool comforters that we sell online.”
“Maybe I’ll buy one,” he states.
“Oh, please do. And may I suggest the organic Shin Jimin Deluxe comforter?”
“Yeah?”
You snort. “I’m just kidding. That costs twenty million won. It’s kind of a pie-in-the-sky product that we made to cheer ourselves up. Like maybe Shin Jimin of AoA would buy it. Our normal comforters are a few hundred-thousand won. They’re very well made.”
“Yah! You two exchanging phone numbers back there?” King grates. “Can it.”
Wistfully you picture nights sitting around the kitchen table with your sisters, freaking out over the latest vet bill or whatever. Times like those, one of you would say, “It’s okay because Shin Jimin will be buying these comforters for every room in her house soon, including one for her dog. Isn’t that great?” It was your favorite inside sister joke.
“So why the hell are you working at his bank?” Gwi murmurs, interrupting your thoughts. “If you hate him so much?”
“Buying time. There’s a balloon payment coming up that we’ll never be able to handle. Roy said it could be delayed if I worked at the bank. But he was talking about me performing extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean, wink wonk. Which I’ve avoided because, let’s just say, ew.”
“I’m glad we hit his bank.” Gwi asserts.
“Oh, me, too. It’s the best thing ever. Did you notice how nobody pulled the silent alarm? Everyone there hates him.”
“Wouldn’t’ve worked anyway.” King says from the front. “We took it out.”
“Would you say that’s true for all FCNs?” T.O.P asks. “Wanting to bring down that owner?”
“Not as much as the branches Roy Kim visits. They have 132 branches across South Korea. Kim can’t terrorize them all. Hey, you know what would be awesome?” You fumble for Gwi’s arm and clutch it. “If you game me one of those diamonds. That could go a long way toward helping us protect the farm. I could pay the entire balloon with one of those!”
Gwi laughs lightly. “I don’t think so.”
“What’s so funny? I showed you where they were. I could have it cut up and fenced or whatever. Isn’t that what you guys’ll do?”
“But the difference is that you would never get away with it, and we will.” Gwi states.
“Oh, you will.” You let go of his arm, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. “I won’t, but the big, bad, robbers will.”
“That’s right,” he says. “Because we’ve got skills, baby.”
You smile mockingly. “You’ve got skills.”
“Amazing skills.” Gwi adds. “Like you’ve never seen.”
Something goes taught in your belly. You find Gwi extremely sexy and you didn’t even know what he looked like. Maybe the unknown was part of it. “And you’re unable to impart these skills?”
Gwi lowers his voice to a silky rumble. “We don’t impart them to just anybody.”
“Because your skills are so very god-like?”
He shifts next to you. “Very.” His breathes fans across your neck.
Your face goes red. “And you would never deign to impart to the likes of me?” You weren’t sure if you were flirting with this man or not, but you were enjoying yourself none-the-less.
“And why would we ever do that?” He breathed, this time into your ear. “Why would we ever, ever do such a thing? What would persuade us?”
You know you’re no longer talking about diamonds. “Perhaps because you are benevolent gods.”
“Well, we can be benevolent, it’s true. But we can also become quite wrathful.”
Heat spears through your core and somebody warningly clears their throat up front. Gwi straightens up, almost immediately. Causing you to wonder if T.O.P or King are the boss of him.
You straighten up too. Because, well, you were blindfolded and flirting with one of the robbers who’d taken you hostage.
Gwi asks you more questions. It was so easy to talk to him and soon you find yourself describing the book of humorous essays you were writing, ironically entitled “Adventures in Farming,” about life on a farm. Someday you wanted to have real adventures and write about them, but it didn’t seem quite the thing to divulge at the moment. “Maybe ‘Adventures in Farming’ will be a bestseller and save the farm,” You joke. “You never know.”
“Your boss won’t be foreclosing on your farm today.” King snarls, somewhat threateningly. You liked him, if not for any other reason than at this moment his threatening attitude seemed aimed at Roy.
“Why not?”
“That would look pretty fucking bad in the media. You get kidnapped from this guy’s bank and he decides to yank the family farm? You’ll be able to milk this for at least a few weeks.” King supplies.
You sit up and lean forward towards the front. “You’re right.”
“Fuck.” Gwi yanks you back and pushes you down. “Stay low or I’ll put you on the floor.”
“Sorry,” You mumble, feeling happy and hopeful for the farm. You could milk this hostage thing.
In a matter of minutes, these three had accomplished what you’d been dreaming of doing for years: they’d royally messed with Roy Kim and derailed the foreclosure.
“Or what if I stayed gone after you released me?” You wonder aloud. “Get a job in nowheresville and make them sweat. As long as I’m gone, that farm would be safe.”
“Yeah.” King says sarcastically. “You’d be picked up in about two seconds.”
“Well,I guess once you let me go, you don’t really have a say. Maybe I’ll try to stay hidden.”
“Don’t play games.” Gwi’s voice sounds soft, but sumbly. A silky kind of gravelly. “This shit’s not as easy as it looks. You’ve been cool, so that’s the advice I’m giving you. Staying out of jail is worth more than money or a farm. We’ll dump you somewhere and you just play your hand straight.”
It was at this point that you receive your next idea. “Okay, this might sound like a radical notion, but how about I tag along with you guys?”
Laughter comes from the front and you think it belongs to King.
“No way.” Gwi says. “It’s just...no way.”
“I could be the wheelman. I’m a freaking amazing driver. Let me stay your hostage.”
Gwi chuckles gently as you imagine the media. If you disappeared indefinitely, the Kims would never be able to touch the farm. Folks who disappeared always got famous. People would probably send money, maybe they’d even start buying the Shin Jimin comforter. Maybe, just maybe, Shin Jimin, herself would.
You could secretly get word to your sisters that you were okay, somehow. Though you knew in your heart it wasn’t enough. They’d want you back. At that thought your entire mood deflates. You didn’t want to go back, you were having too much fun exactly where you are.
“You don’t have a wheelman.” You repeat. “What kind of gang doesn’t have a wheelman?”
You receive no reply in return and ponder if you had hit a nerve.
Your head swims with visions of adventures with a bank robbery gang. Maybe just a few months. You’d split the money and it would be awesome. You’re not the kind of girl who enjoys stealing money from other people, but if you only hit Kim-owned banks, you’re feel pretty damn okay with it.
You feel fingers lightly graze your forehead, brushing a lock of hair off of your face. “There are rules to being in our gang.”
Your face scrunches up in confusion. “Rules?”
You didn’t know if it was the way he was touching you or the rumbling intimacy of his voice, but warmth flooded through you at the idea of these rules, like they might be sexy rules.
You were not all that sexually adventurous in the real world, but this wasn’t the real world. You were a hostage now. It was like a holiday from the farm life you secretly wanted out of. You swallow, senses humming. “I have no problem with rules.”
“You might with these rules.” Gwi says.
“Why would I have a problem?”
“We are a very well-oiled organization,” he says, “demanding total obedience to the group.”
Excitement surges through you. You begin to lean forward to put your chin in your hands before remembering Gwi’s earlier words and staying where you are. “You don’t say.”
“I do say.”
“That’s enough.” T.O.P snaps.
“Right. Fine.” Gwi says. “Nothing personal,” he mutters to you. This was the second time Gwi had been reprimanded. Like he was the misbehaving ward of the two more surely robbers.
“Is this about the scene in the safe room? Because I was just performing for the microphone. I don’t do that in real life. You know, different personalities talking to each other.”
“Put a sock in it. Trouble.” King says, tensely.
The van seems to slow down. And Gwi’s telling you to get down. Before you can comply, he’s pushing you down on the seat himself and you feel a scratchy blanket being thrown over your body. The metal door vibrates against the top of your head and you know something was wrong.
You can tell the guys are arguing, but you can only make out random words because the blanket and music muffles the words. You imagine Gwi leaning forward between the front seats. In your mind, they all look like gods. Angry, windblown and impossibly muscular.
‘Please let us get away,’ You think, wondering when you started thinking of the bank robbers and yourself as ‘us.’
Somebody mentions a bridge and you feel the vehicle turn and speed up. ‘Have we hit traffic? Has there been a change in plans?’
You stay down, wanting to show them you can be trusted, and also as to not distract them. They drove in tense silence, motor gunning and your pulse racing.
After a while, you hear more arguing up front. You feel the van slowing down again. Gwi swears and King barks at him to shut up. T.O.P barks at both of them to shut up. It’s then that you know what has happened.
You speak up, voice coming out slightly muffled through the blanket. “You hit festival traffic, didn’t you?”
“Crap!” Gwi says. “Festival?”
“And you decided to take the bridge and it’s worse.” You add.
You feel the blanket get yanked off of you. The cool air was nice and you wish you could see.
“It was supposed to be yesterday,” T.O.P says accusingly.
“It got rescheduled for today because of rain.” You inform the men. You can hear helicopters sounding above you and sirens in the distance.
“There was no notice of that. There is no fucking official policy of that. Nothing written.” King asserts.
“It’s just assumed. Everyone in town just knows.”
“We’re stuck with a hostage in a traffic jam.” Gwi states.
“We should have dumped her at the train.” King declares.
“No, we should have known about this reschedule.” T.O.P retorts.
“Fucking small towns.” King says.”So, we smash out. That’s what God made hostages for.”
“No. We sit tight. They don’t know our van.” T.O.P replies.
“They’ll figure it out. They’ll come down the line and fucking look in, and do you think a tied-up, blindfolded girl is going to give us away? I’m going to go with a yes on that.” He mumbles something about bailing.
“Shut up and let me think.” T.O.P grumbles, power radiating through his every word and the other men shut up.
“I’m guessing we’re on the Yanghwa Daegyo. FYI, boys, that river’s shallow right now. In case you’re really thinking about bailing. You’ll crack your heads.”
You hear more mumbling from the front.
“We’re on the bridge in a traffic jam, right?” You ask, wishing they would just take off the blindfold. “With cops and a checkpoint up ahead?”
“Yup.” Gwi responds.
“It could be a drunk check.” You say.
“No. They’re looking for us.” Gwi supplies.
“And it’s too late for me to leave the now? I could stumble around and play dumb.”
“Too many witnesses to see you leave.” T.O.P grumbles.
“We’re basically fish in a barrel,” Gwi says.
“Wait, they’re looking for three guys with a girl hostage, right?” Your pulse races. “What if I wasn’t a hostage? Take my blindfold off. I’ll sit in front and be like ‘Hey boys! We’re heading to the festival!’”
T.O.P snorts. “No go. What’s to stop you from giving us away?”
“The fact that I’ve literally been on your side this entire time!”
You’re met with silence.
Your hopes soar as you realize that they’re thinking about it. “Here’s the deal. If the next bank we rob is a First City National and we split it four ways, I’ll put everything I have on the line to get us out of this. I mean it. You’re either shooting your way out of a traffic jam with a hostage or you can let me in on it.” Your voice sounds strange to your ears.
“Even if you mean it, you can’t bluff us out. They’ll have your picture. They’re looking for you.” Comes King’s voice
“I’m a woman. I can change my look. I can change my hair in two seconds if we have scissors. How much time do we have? They’ll never know. Anyway, they’re looking for me the hostage. They’ll have my bank photo and it already barely looks like me. Besides, I just dyed the tips of my hair green. My hair is red in my bank photo. I’ll talk us out of it, I know I can.”
“Let’s go with it.” You smile in the general direction of Gwi, glad he was agreeing with you.
“She thinks it’s a game.” T.O.P growls.
“You like our odds better in a hot exit with choppers above us? And she showed us the diamonds. Hell, she tags along for a week. It’s better than a hot exit.”
“Hot exit.’ You giggle to yourself. You definitely like the outlaw lingo a lot.
“I’m going with Gwi on this one.” King agrees.
T.O.P grudgingly groans.
“That’s two.” Gwi was already untying the blindfold from around your head.
“Really?” You smile brightly. “I’m in?”
“Yup.”
They seem to work by a majority vote, whatever two of them wanted, they did it. You like the fact that it shows a healthy sense of fair play.
“You’ll be sorry if we start seeing police sketches of our faces after we let you go, Yeung Xiulan.” T.O.P grumbles.
A look of shock crosses your face as you wonder just how they know your name. Then you remember you’re still wearing your badge and giggle at your lapse of judgement. “I totally get it. Police sketches are so unflattering.” You joke.
Gwi snickered and whipped off the blindfold. It took a while for your eyes to get used to the brightness. And the amazing hotness of Gwi, with his creamy skin and slightly unkempt brown hair. He wore a dove gray business suit, but even so, he looked more like a vampire than a cubicle jockey. You guess the scowly guy with the impeccably styled brown hair with piercing chocolate eyes in the driver’s seat was T.O.P.
The equally scowly guy with the gray hair and beautiful hazel-gray eyes in the passenger seat would be King. And he wore circle, scholarly-looking wire rimmed glasses, much to your surprise. You hadn’t gotten “spectacles” from his badass mode of speech. But the glasses definitely looked beyond amazing on him. All of the guys had the bone structure and facial features of roughly handsome and gorgeous models. You begin to imagine that it would be a great detriment in the robber line of work to be so gorgeous. And King’s strategy for counteracting his runway model appearance seemed to be to swear profusely, seethe with bad boy heat, and act totally disagreeable.
‘Focus.’ You chide yourself, sucking in a breath. You look around and there was cars jammed on the bridge in front and behind of you; some of the people had even gone so far as to get out of their vehicles. In the next lane, a Frisbee flew through the air. Sirens and lights up ahead meant accident or police blockade.
“Cops are going car to car. I see a pair a dozen cars up. We have maybe five minutes. They may interview you. Can you handle it?” T.O.P turns around and looks at you as he speaks.
“So I’m in?”
“Perhaps we should alert her to the rules.” King voices.
T.O.P shoots King a hard look. There’s something hunted and haunted about T.O.P and it makes you curious.
You start taking off your stuffy gray bank teller jacket as you wonder about these oh so mysterious rules. You wore a skimpy, strappy white tank underneath, not necessarily perfect for a festival, but it was the complete opposite of your teller photo. You undo your bra and pull it out from underneath your shirt for added effect.
“We’re all going to the festival.” You inform them. “We’re most excited about the 200 firework display. The three of you, suit coats off. Down to your T-shirts. Are there other pants in here you guys can wear? Nobody wears slacks to a festival.”
Apparently, there wasn’t any pants because they had planned to switch vehicles before everything went north.
“Unless they get suspicious, they’ll probably only pull me out.” T.O.P says and then quickly adds. “And you. They’ll want to talk to you.”
“Shit, this business skirt is so not right.”
“I don’t have a T-shirt.” King says.
“No shirt is better than that one. Take it off.”
Everybody begins to pull of their jackets and shirts. Muscles rippling and sweaty skin gleams as you try to keep your expression at least a little bit neutral. You watch as King takes off his shirt and make every attempt possible to not let your mouth fall open at the sight of his beyond real torso. You school your features, to the best of your ability, to look horrified, as if it was horrible, yes, so horrible to have to watch these men - no, not men, GODS - strip in front of you.
Gwi stuffs their discarded suit jackets under the seat and T.O.P hands hima hunting knife.
“No scissors?”
“We’re bank robbers, not seamstresses.” He bites back.
“I’ll help you.” Gwi offers as you make a face at the back of T.O.P’s head.
You pull your long green hair out of it’s bun and shake your head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I want you guys to remember just how long and awesome my hair is and how far I’m going to stick it to First City. You better be good for your word.” You take a deep breath, gather your hair into a ponytail at the back of your head and shows Gwi where to cut. You cringe as you feel the hair weight disappear with the slice of the knife. He stuffs the hair into the pocket of the door and you say a silent goodbye to the long locks you once knew.
“Avert your gazes,” You start to wiggle out of your business-like black pencil skirt and down to your lacy underwear. When you look back up, Gwi and King are watching you hungrily. Heat spreads through you. Commanding the total attention of insanely sexy bad boys was an off-the-charts turn on.
You snort to try and distract yourself from the filthy path your thoughts just traveled down. “Maybe T.O.P-ssi is the only one who knows what avert means.”
Gwi smiles wickedly as he settles back into his seat. “We know what it means. We’re bank robbers, Baby. We’ve got no use for other people’s rules.”
You quickly turn away as your face flames red. You put a flattened piece of box across your lap and lay your skirt over it, running the knife along the grain of the fabric, creating a quick miniskirt, and trying not to smile like a mad woman. T.O.P was right, it did feel like this was all a game. And it was the best damn game ever.
“Gwi, see if you can find any cooks’ pants or anything.” T.O.P says.
Gwi twists around to root in the back as you hold up your skirt. The hem was ragged in spots and it was a bit too short than what you were going for, but it would do as a miniskirt. You slide it back on just as T.O.P turns in his seat to face you. He holds a little metal box in his hands. “Bare your teeth at me.”
You bare your teeth and he opens the box and takes out a small brown thing the size of a fingernail and holds it up. He then presses it to one of your front side teeth.
“Smile.”
You smile and King laughs. You look in the mirror at the little thing that makes it look like one of your teeth are dead.
“You have got to be kidding me.” But as much as you wanted to argue, you knew it was smart. Your bank ID shows you smiling and this one small detail changes your entire look. T.O.P shoves some mirrored sunglasses at you. “Put these on your head. The best thing is for you to hide in plain sight. Step out of the van, stretch your legs. Look down the line and see what kind of time we have.”
You push the sunglasses on top of your head and push your now short hair behind your ears, then you climb out into the bright sun.
~ 짱 ~
You and T.O.P stand together for a second as you watch the two police officers proceed to the car behind you. You had did it, you’d fooled the cops.
“Let’s go.” T.O.P says simply, straightening himself back up from where he had been leaning against the driver’s side of the car.
You walk around to the passenger side and stare at King through the window. “I think the girlfriend should sit up front.” You say to him through the window.
King smiles a smile that positively glitters with dark designs. “The girlfriend sits where we tell her to sit. That happens to be one of our rules.”
A slight tingle runs up your spine as the back door slides open.
“The rules don’t apply to Xiulan.” T.O.P says as he positions himself once more behind the wheel.
“Please,” you say. “Call me Miri.”
Gwi’s face contorts in surprise, and both him and King swing their gazes to T.O.P, as if to see what he would do. T.O.P stares ahead grimly and his silence brings a hush over the van.
Not being able to take the silence any more, you speak up. “You all have nicknames. You said I could be in the gang until the next job. I think I deserve a nickname too.”
Gwi pulls himself together. “Thank you, Miri. You are awesome. That was awesome.”
You pull off the dad tooth decoration and King hands you the box so that you can drop it back in.The box was littered with other dead tooth disguises, tattoos, fake scars, and moles. “I can’t believe you go around with a kit like this. Did you send away for it from the back of a comic book?”
King snaps the box lid shut and takes it back. “Worked, didn’t it?”
“We’re not out of the woods yet. But-” T.O.P catches your eye in the rearview mirror and nods. “Thank you.”
The cars in front of you start to move and soon you’ve cleared the bridge and are speeding along at a highway speed, leaving the police and choppers behind.
“What now?” You ask, holding Gwi’s gaze as your insides feel as if they’re vibrating.
“We lay down miles, change license plates and van decal, and then stop for the night.” T.O.P answers.
“And hit another First City? As a gang?”
“You’re staying with us through the next job, we didn’t say you could take part in the next job.” T.O.P says.
You sit back, pouting heavily in disappointment. “I have a question.” You say, swallowing hard. “Why don’t the mysterious rules apply to me? You said I was in. Shouldn’t the rules apply to me as well as you guys?”
More silence meets your question.
Gwi finally turns towards you. “Look, they’re stupid rules we had once when our gang was different.”
“It’s important to me to play by the rules.” You say, mouth going dry.
“You don’t understand.” Gwi retorts.
King makes a derisive sound and turns around in his seat so that he faces you and stares right into your eyes. You couldn’t help but think about just how hot he was. He could slap on all the scars and moles and dead teeth from that box and still be hot.
“What?” You snap, fighting the hypnotic effect of his gaze.
“Forget the rules.” T.O.P says from the driver’s seat. “That’s what. You’re not playing.”
King cocks his head to the side. “She took a name. She wants in. She’s already guessed at what the rules are, or at least their nature.” He pauses, letting that sink in. It was unnerving the way he talked about you while looking right at you. As if he was telling your secrets.
You didn’t know why, and frankly you really couldn’t care, but you liked it, the out of control feel of it all. Like you were giving yourself over to something, the way you do on ski jumps.
“I’d say she has a pretty good fucking idea of what the rules are.” King continues.
“Is that so?” You say as you try not to smile.
“Very much so. And you wouldn’t want it any other way.” King concludes.
You swallow hard. It was as if he was engaging your body in an erotic conversation and it causes you to cross your legs, suddenly aware of the vibrating energy there.
King raises his brown brows, as though you crossing your legs provided further proof to how right he was. You love the way he talked, the way he knew things, and you want him to say more.
Coyly, you speak up. “Well, I’d certainly like to know what the rules are, and to evaluate them for myself.”
T.O.P eyes you in the rearview mirror with his usual stern, bullish power. You feel Gwi’s eyes on you as well, you could practically feel him vibrating beside you.
You become keenly aware of your nipples and how at this moment they’re crazy hard and punching out under your flimsy top. You want to touch them. You want them to touch them.
“Well?” A twinge flares deep in your belly and you feel like you might start panting at any second. “It seems customary that those who create rules would inform others of them instead of asking them to guess.” You say in your bank tell voice.
“Yes that would be customary.” King begins darkly. He nods his head once before continuing. “Fine then. The game is that we’re dissolute, depraved, sex-crazed bandits and the rules are: Firstly, you have sex with all of us at different times and in different combinations.”
King pauses as your pulse flutters. “That’s first?”
“Yes, Miri.” King says as you imagine being pressed between them. You imagine their hands and mouths on you.
“And what might be second?”
“We tie you up, etcetera, etcetera.” He says casually, almost bored, as if it was a totally normal thing. “And we give you various commands that you must obey, within reason of course, and completely pleasure focused, or you’ll be punished in various ways. And if you were to refuse your punishment…” He pauses yet again and seems to consider the punishment. “I’m sorry, but if you were to agree to our rules, and then you refused one of your punishments or you refused any activity that we named you would lose your right to a nick name. You would lose your right to Miri. Forever. You would remain just Xiulan for the duration of our association. A simple guest until we pull the First City job and dump you. As opposed to Miri. You would no longer be one of us.”
You feel like you can barely breathe. It was weird to you, but the way they made such a big deal out of the nicknames, it made it a big deal to you as well. You didn’t want to be just plain, old Xiulan anymore. You want to be one of them. You want to be Miri!
“I’m sorry, but that’s how it would have to be.” King says, glancing over at Gwi briefly.
Gwi puts a heavy, warm hand on your thigh and you suck in a breath. “Do you understand why we have to make the ultimate punishment so harsh?”
It was another thing that was weird and surreal and quite frankly you didn’t really understand. “Are you making this up as you go along?”
“That’s not the sort of question we like to hear.” Gwi remarks.
You try not to grin, but it was all so crazy and hot. You see no reason not to go along with the whole thing, aside from the fact that, somewhere back in Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, your sisters are probably worried out of their minds about you, crying. And all it would take was one word and the guys would let you out and you could be reunited with them by nightfall.
Except you wanted this more. And it makes you question whether or not you even have a heart.
“Fuck.” T.O.P shifts lanes and you wonder if his commentary regards the road or your conversation.
“We don’t want to take away your name, Miri, but if we have to, we will. And you’ll be plain-Jane Xiulan again.” Gwi scoots closer. “What do you think of the rules, Miri? Will you abide by them?”
You look up at the reflection of T.O.P’s eyes in the mirror. His eyes never leave the road and you speculate on what his thoughts are on the matter.
“Did Gwi just ask you a question?” King asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.
Your mouth is extremely dry by this point. You know nothing beyond very regular sex and a bit of cartoon porn. They would all laugh about the cartoon porn and so you resolve never to tell them about it.
“What’s the etcetera? You said ‘tie you up, etcetera.’” Your pulse thuds in your ears.
“The etcetera is mutually decided upon as we go along.” King supplies.
Gwi’s face lights up in realization as he stares at you anew. “You’re into it.”
You aren’t exactly clear as to what he was referring to and you didn’t care. “Yes.”
“Wow, Sherlock. Your brilliance is blinding. Did you just figure that out?” King chides.
“We’re into it. Come here.” Gwi pulls you into his lap and you happily settle in. You feel your sex throbbing, wanting so bad for his hands to wander there.
“Say yes.” Gwi says, drawing his fingers over your sensitive nipples, which feel more sensitive through the fabric.
“Just one more thing. Your names. What are your real names?”
“No.” T.O.P quickly says, eyes cutting at you in the mirror.
“Oh come on. You all know my name and I think I’ve proved myself pretty loyal today. I even cut my hair for you guys.” You whine slightly.
King looks at Gwi briefly before flashing a grin in T.O.P’s direction. “She has shown her loyalty.”
“I agree with King-hyung. Besides first names only couldn’t hurt.”
T.O.P huffs softly as he concedes. “Fine, but first names only.”
You grin triumphantly as King goes about providing you with the information you so greatly deserved. “I’m Kyungil. The one with you is Soohyuk and the driver is Seunghyun. Satisfied?”
Your smile brightens even more as you say the names over in head and store them in your memory. “Yes very satisfied.”
“So, are you in?” Gwi - no, Soohyuk - asks.
“Yes, I’m in.”
A look passes from Seunghyun to Kyungil as Seunghyun gives consent of some kind with just his eyes.
“I am going to have to ask you to do something for us.” Soohyuk whispers into your ear. “For us. It must be done.”
Seunghyun had exited the freeway and was now racing down a two-lane highway, heading north along the tracks. You melt backwards into Soohyuk’s lap, as both excitement and fear vibrate through your body. You drop your hands to touch the sides of his solid thighs and hope like hell the request didn’t involve sucking all of their cocks in succession. Even under the guise of Miri, you couldn’t see yourself performing such a feat.
Soohyuk runs his hands down your waist to rest on your bare legs. He soon reverses the direction, sliding upward and dragging his fingers heavily along your thighs, taking your skirt with it.
Your skin feels impossibly sensitive underneath his tough and your breath rasps out heavier as his hard cock presses up against you ass. Your imagination once again runs away from you and you picture yourself discarding your panties, turning and taking him right there in the back seat, while you’re being watched. You had never done such a thing in your life, at least while being watched, and yet you yearned for it with every fibre of your being.
“Please.” You breath out as his hands continue their slow ascension up.
“You have to learn patience, Miri.” he whispers, continuing up your thighs, hands heavy and rough in their slow march to rob you of your skirt. Eventually he has it bunched up around your waist like a belt. It’s slightly demeaning, but in a way that you like a lot. He hooks his thumbs under the elastic of your panties and snaps them. “Off.”
“Right here?”
“Off.” Soohyuk demands once more.
You swallow hard, loving the way he ordered you around, and shimmy your panties down until they pool at your ankles.
Kyungil twists in his seat and reaches back and, taking one of your ankles, dislodges your underwear from your shoe while staring into your eyes.
Soohyuk plays with your nipples, tugging on them slightly as he rolls them in between two fingers of each hand.
Being touched by the two men at once was beyond anything you had ever imagined. It was a lust circuit overload and it has your body trembling with excitement.
You stare into Kyungil’s eyes as he tears your panties from around your ankles with yanks and pulls. You think you hear a rip as your underwear finally comes off, but you can't seem to find the will to care. After he removes them completely, he merely turns back around to watch the road.
You wonder briefly if he can see you through the mirror before your attention is diverts as Soohyuk whispers into your ear. “Go ahead. You know what you want to do.”
“I want to do a lot of things.” You breathe out huskily.
“A hunt, then.” Soohyuk takes his hands from your breast and grabs your thighs from the insides. He pulls your legs up and over his, so that they straddling his legs. Then he spreads his legs, making your legs widen further. You feel completely exposed as your core is presented to the front seat. He presses a kiss just below your ear and returns his hands to your breast. “Show us how you do it.”
Your face flares from embarrassment at the thought of touching yourself in front of the guys. Yet even as embarrassment roars through your body, you begin to feel lightheaded at the thrilling nature of it all.
You take a deep breath and glide your hand down to your pussy and tentatively stroke a finger through your folds.
Soohyuk exhales sharply in your ear, a gust of heat that tickles deliciously. “That’s the idea.” He says. “Again.”
Soohyuk slips his hands inside of your shirt and takes a hold of your bare breast. He rubs his thumbs over your sensitive nipples causing you to groan and stroke yourself over and over again, feeling the wet, hot heat of your sex. The both of you heave hot breaths as you continue to work yourself up. The fact that you are so exposed, so visible, and that your legs are being held open has you beyond wet as your slick drips down onto your ass and then onto Soohyuk’s slacks.
You close your eyes and concentrate on the feelings over taking your body, on Soohyuk’s hands on your breast, on your own fingers toying with your clit, on the knowledge that every one of your moves are on display to your - yes they were yours now - new gang.You soon begin to develop a rhythym, stroking yourself as Soohyuk continues to play with your nipples.
You shut your eyes, blissing out, as a random scene from your favorite cartoon porn plays in your mind. An elfin cartoon girl is tied up in the forest being ravished by roguish Robin Hood types, one fondling her breast, the other licking her pussy, and a third sitting back and watching. It was almost as if the porn had come to life. You work yourself up further at the thought of you being watched.
Shortly after your mind resonates on that thought some of the heat goes out of you. ‘What if I don’t come? Will they get bored of me?’ You freak out mentally as you think about how your orgasms are very finicky. You open your eyes and whisper, “I might be getting a little stage fright.”
Kyungil turns to you with a dark gleam in his eyes. “Apparently I will have to do everything for this one.” He takes off his glasses and bends his fingers backwards, one after another, as though to limber them up.
Your eyes widen as questions rapidly make their way through your mind. ‘What is he going to do? Why does he he need to take off his glasses and stretch his fingers?’
Kyungil’s smile spreads evilly across his face as if he can read your mind. “Don’t you fucking stop now.”
You didn’t realize you had stopped until he brought it to your attention. You gulp loudly. “What are you going to do?”
“You’d disobey already?” He retaliates.
“No.” You say and quickly start moving your fingers in slow circles over your clit again.
“No, what?”
You stare blankly at him for a couple of seconds before guessing at what it was he wants to hear. “No … sir.”
“Good girl.”
A shiver runs down your spine at the praise and you find yourself craving for him to order you around some more just to hear him say things like that. The sheer weight of Kyungil’s gaze makes the butterflies in your stomach go crazy. You can tell, from his gaze, that he knew the exact effect he had you.
You continue to show them the secrets of how you like to be touched; as you sit bared to Kyungil, Soohyuk’s warm breath heats your ear as his clever fingers continue to work your nipples and Seunghyun sits silent, observing everything.
Your head begins to, once again, feel light. Again, Kyungil smiles his evil smile at you and Soohyuk, as if responding to a silent signal, shifts you forward on his lap and you feel his hand on the small of your back. Then he pushes it past your bunched skirt, down further, to squeeze one of your ass cheeks, then lower. He makes his way underneath your body and presses a finger firmly against your perineum, centimeters away from your sex.
You rub yourself harder over your bud, panting loudly, as a deep need grows for Soohyuk. His fingers, his cock, anything.
Kyungil removes one of your shoes and brings your leg up near his face, forcing you to raise your leg and bend your knee, giving Soohyuk better access. Kyungil presses a kiss to the inside of your ankle just as you feel a slick finger probe at your asshole. You gasp and Kyungil takes that exact opportunity to bite at the flesh of your calf.
You cry out as you careen over the edge. “Oh my God!”
You lose yourself in the sting of Kyungil’s bite, Soohyuk’s fingers, your own fingers, and the explosion of your orgasm. “Fuck!” You scream, as waves of pleasure crash over you, sending a delicious tingle from your toes to the top of your head.
“Ride it, Baby.” Soohyuk breathes, slowing the motion of the hand on your breast and caressing your ass cheek softly with the other.
You loll on his lap, laying completely boneless for a few minutes as you come down from your high.
“And now we know.” Kyungil states, putting your shoe back on your foot.
“Know what?” You exhale as Soohyuk lightly caresses your stomach.
Kyungil puts his glasses back on. “Things, Miri. Now we know things.”
“Like?”
With one last devilish smile, Kyungil turns back to sit in his seat properly. “This will work.” He shifts his gaze to Seunghyun, who continues to drive in stern silence. You can tell unsaid things are being passed, back and forth, between the two and you wish you were able to understand exactly what it was.
You mind begins to wander and you muse over the fact that Kyungil needed to remove his glasses and stretch his fingers for no other reason than to bite you. You try to think if there was anything else he could have possibly planned on doing, before coming to the conclusion that he hadn’t intended to do anything beyond what he did and you realize that Kyungil is the mindfucker of the group.
“Are we done?” You ask as you pull off of Soohyuk’s lap. You straighten your skirt, feeling completely out of place in the situation.
“As much as I would love to take you, we can’t . Not in the van.” Soohyuk responds.
Kyungil twists around once more, smirk present on his handsome face. “You didn’t think we were going to just make you blow us all right here in the van, did you?” He hands you your panties and bra back, looking amused. “And we’d hardly beat off in front of a total stranger. That would be uncouth, don’t you think?”
Your eyes widen and heat starts to creep up your neck. “Shut up.” You grumble and grab your items from his hand. You put them back on then throw yourself back in your seat, arms crossed and face pulled into a pout.
“Our needs are a bit more complex than just jacking off.” Kyungil comments.
Soohyuk touches your hair. “We can wait. We don’t want to freak you out or abuse your generosity.”
“Yes we do. That’s exactly what we want to do. And that’s exactly what she wants. That is how Nuthang works.” Kyungil butts in.
‘Nuthang?’
Soohyuk throws his arm around your shoulders and glares at Kyungil. “Hyung’s just fucking around.”
Kyungil smirks and then turns back to face the front. “You’ll love the way we abuse your generosity.”
You catch Seunghyun’s grave gaze in the mirror. “One week. Nobody does anything they don’t want to and then you go home while you still have plausible deniability. Got it?”
Nothing more was said as Seunghyun speeds through the country.
~ 끝 ~