Chapter 5

The dimly lit corridor of the asylum felt like a maze, the walls closing in as time ticked away. Jungkook, his face determined yet tinged with desperation, was at the center of it all. His hyungs—Yoongi, J-Hope, Namjoon, Seokjin, Jimin, and Taehyung—had each played their part, setting the stage for a daring escape.

The air was thick with tension as a bomb exploded in one of the holding rooms, sending a deafening roar through the building. The walls shook. Chaos erupted. Inmates screamed, some dashing down the halls in panic, others cowering in corners. The explosion had blown open the metal cages that held the most dangerous patients, giving them a fleeting taste of freedom but also creating a storm of confusion.

"Go, Jungkook!" Y/N urged, gripping his arm tightly. With all his records in hand, Y/N pushed forward, knowing they only had moments before the asylum's full alert systems kicked in.

Meanwhile, Yoongi and J-Hope had already infiltrated the security system. Their fingers flew over the hacked terminals, overriding the lock-down sequences and disabling the alarms. The building’s lights flickered, warning of the breakdown.

"Almost there," Namjoon’s voice came through the earpiece, his tone steady even in the chaos. "We're locking the corridors. Just stay focused."

Seokjin, Jimin, and Taehyung had positioned themselves near the security offices, causing deliberate distractions to keep the guards off balance. Taehyung's soft footfalls were nearly silent, while Jimin threw strategic objects, misdirecting attention, allowing Seokjin to quietly incapacitate the remaining guards with sleeping pills.

Through the chaos, Jungkook’s heart pounded. He had never been this close to freedom, but the fear of being caught was real, and his anxiety flared with each step.

“Stay with me, Jungkook,” Y/N said, her voice steady despite the chaos. Her eyes locked with his, and he found strength in her gaze. They were almost there.

With the records in hand, Y/N kept a hand on his back, guiding him toward the final exit. As the sounds of distant alarms grew louder, they reached the door, where the final line of security stood, only to be met with the sight of Seokjin’s quick, quiet work—another guard now asleep on the floor, his duty no more.

Jungkook let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Ready?” Y/N asked.

Jungkook nodded. The door opened, revealing the night beyond—freedom.

They sprinted for the gate, knowing that behind them, his hyungs had covered their tracks well, buying them precious time.

The moonlight hit Jungkook’s face as he stepped out, blinking as if seeing the world for the first time in years.

The plan had worked. They had escaped.

The moonlight cascaded softly through the broken windows of the abandoned house they had sought refuge in. Jungkook and Y/n stood in the center of the dim room, the air thick with unspoken words. Their escape from the asylum had been swift, but as the adrenaline faded, the weight of the night pressed in.

Y/n’s breathing slowed, her heart still racing from the chaotic moments just moments before. She leaned against the dusty wooden wall, the coolness of it grounding her. The silence between them felt heavier now, but it was Jungkook’s presence—his proximity—that felt unnerving.

He stood a few feet away, his dark eyes gleaming with an unreadable intensity. There was a dangerous, almost possessive air about him that she hadn't noticed before. He took a step closer, and another, until he was right in front of her. His gaze flickered over her face, his lips barely curving upward as if in amusement.

“You did it, Y/n,” he whispered, his voice low and husky. “You helped me escape. You gave me freedom.”

Her heart clenched at the thought, a sense of pride mixed with confusion. He was free, and yet… she was still here. What did this mean for her?

“I did what I had to,” Y/n replied quietly, avoiding his gaze. The weight of his stare was too much, too heavy.

Jungkook reached out, his hand brushing against the side of her face, his fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary. The touch sent a shiver down her spine. He leaned in closer, his breath warm against her ear.

“You don’t get it, do you?” he murmured, voice laced with an odd tenderness that sent a chill of fear through her. “You think you helped me because you wanted to be free. But you’re wrong.”

Her pulse quickened, unease creeping up her neck. “What do you mean?”

He pulled back slightly, looking down at her with a sly, almost predatory smirk that she hadn’t seen before. His eyes darkened, no longer the soft gaze she had grown used to in the past days. “You helped me, Y/n, but your freedom doesn’t exist without me. You’re mine now. And no one—no one—can separate you from me.”

Y/n blinked, a cold shiver spreading through her. “What… are you talking about?”

Jungkook’s smile widened, his smirk more pronounced, a hint of something darker in his eyes. “Not even you, Y/n. Not even you can leave me.”

His words echoed in the silence of the room, and she felt her heart drop. The freedom she thought she had? It was an illusion. His grip on her wasn’t just physical. It was something deeper, something that tightened around her chest like a vice.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the words caught in her throat as he stepped closer again, the air between them thick with tension. He was no longer the man she thought she knew—he was someone else now. Someone she couldn't read, couldn’t predict.

“You’re mine now,” he repeated softly, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. “And no one—not even you—will take that away from me.”

The smirk on his lips was all she could focus on, the dangerous promise hidden beneath it. And in that moment, she realized something chilling: She had helped him escape. But in doing so, she had unknowingly trapped herself in his world. And now, there was no way.

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