—JJK
7:51 AM KST

jungkook was tired.

he had already used his strength to break the zip tie restraint, pulling off the blindfold as instructed. the man who had talked to him beforehand wasn't joking—there really was a candle burning, and the whole place—including his body—was covered in gasoline. it slightly burned the ends of his nose.

jungkook hissed when he tried to remove the shackles from his ankles, using what was left of his strength to open the shackles back up; he gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed tight in concentration. he could feel the beads of his sweat run down his jawline and his neck.

when he got himself free, he stumbled forward, nearly knocking over the small safe with the candle placed gingerly on top. his heart pounded in his chest when he realized that he dodged a bullet there.

he was too distracted to even realize that his palms were bleeding. jungkook yelped when he did look down, though. his eyes were tearing up in pain as he began to wipe the blood ebbing out from the scratches onto his shirt. he swallowed nervously as he looked at the floor; broken glass shards were scattered around on the ground. he looked up, only to find thousands of numbers scribbled in red on the brick walls. he looked back down at the safe, squinting to see in the dim candle-light.

words were carved into the metal, but it was only a shallow cut; it wasn't deep enough to peek into the contents of the safe.

"the combination to the safe is written somewhere on the walls...but watch out for that candle and the glass," he read out loud, his voice trembling out of nervousness and fear.

jungkook took a moment to calm himself down and to suppress the overwhelming emotions that he felt; he blinked for a few times, before slowly turning the lock on the safe. he could try smashing it open with his chair, but he didn't know what was inside, or if the key was fragile.

he closely observed the lock on the safe, the six-digit code set at '000000'. he then swept his eyes across the walls; the man wasn't lying, the combination had to be written somewhere; but it was just the matter of where, since random numbers written in red cluttered the walls, making it impossible to find the actual code.

jungkook wanted to cry. he could try all the combinations possible—but that would be 604,800 of them, and the candle would burn out before he could even reach a hundred or so.

his fingertips grazed over the safe, swallowing nervously before he tried the combinations that he could think of. maybe it had a significant meaning to it—maybe it didn't. all he had to do was find out.

he was so immersed in trying to find the correct code that he didn't even notice the painting in front of him. jungkook frowned, pursing his lips in frustration and confusion.

the oil painting was a full-shot of a beautiful lady in a flowing gown; there was nothing too outstanding about it. jungkook sighed as he was left to wonder what purpose it served.

then, he got an idea.

he looked at the bust, the waist, and her hips; maybe her measurements were the code to the safe. if he got his estimates right, then maybe he could get out of here...for good.

"36...24...36," he breathed out, his throat dry and his voice ragged. when he heard the safe click, the tension in his shoulders and heart loosened. he carefully picked up the small key inside. he was relieved that he didn't go with the 'smash the safe' option, because it seemed as if it could break in half.

he walked to the door—well, he slid his feet towards it, since the glass didn't do any justice, fit the key in a hurry, and closed it behind him; hopefully, this room wouldn't burn along with the other one.

jungkook sat down, exhausted from all the alleviated tension. he sat down on the floor, closing his eyes briefly before opening them back up again, looking at his phone and a bottle of water laying on the table along with a lamp, providing a dim light source. he grabbed the bottle and his phone, glad that he could quench his thirst.

jungkook's heart dropped, but he anticipated something like this anyway. no service. of course. but a few messages had popped on his notifications—he found it...strange.

unknown number :
if you're reading this...
you're alive! don't worry,
this room won't burn along
with the other room.

unknown number :
but...i never would've guessed
that you would make it out
of here alive. well! congrats. you
did. but did you really think this
was all over? if you did...you're
wrong.

unknown number :
watch your back, jungkook.

a/n ;
a lot of you figured out
the easy codes :')))) i'm
so proud of you my babies.
i just ask that you don't
make it obvious/tell other
people what the codes
mean and etc. thank you ♡