Whisper of the Silencee

2

"We are running late!" A voice shouted. "Remember! Only five minutes!"

The same voice then entered the car, switched on the air-con. He didn't notice her nor her shadow. By right, he should. Because there wasn't anything, hindering him from doing so. Furthermore in the car, the back seats weren't joined together, making Clover easier to be noticeable. They were separated, one on the left while another two on the right, leaving a wide gap in the middle for the owner to reach the boot without having to open it from behind.

The man in front took it for granted that there wasn't anyone else in the car other than he himself. He totally fixed his eyes on tuning the radio channel, to one that had a good reception. And he stopped adjusting the button the moment he reached a well-played channel. Surprisingly, it was one of the few Clover enjoyed listening to when she was a kid. When her happy family was still perfect in shape. GZ Golden Music, FM 102.7.

Similar feels, similar background music.

But nothing remained the same anymore.

Nostalgia struck her down so badly. The tip of her nose was turning red and her pearl-black eyes were already accumulated with tears. Memories came flooding back at the back of her mind, reminiscing the good times that once she had.

Running to her dad innocently, she screamed on top of her lungs,"Dad! Look! It's a rose!"

"Wow! Beautiful!" He cupped her up in a move, placed her at the back of his neck, allowing the breezing air to embrace her smooth and fair skin thoroughly. "Where did you get it, honey pie?"

Giggles filled up the lovely atmosphere surrounded by the greens, "Magicccc!!" She said, "I casted a spell and this flower appeared within my grasp."

"Really?" Obviously it was a lie, but he put on an act to keep up with his one and only daughter. "Then make me a house!"

"Don't wanna," She tipped her tongue.

"Don't wanna?!" He plucked her from his neck and trapped her within his cuddle, "I'm gonna eat you. ROARRRR!!"

"Wahahahha!" Sensing the playful 'danger', Clover bared her baby teeth and planted them deep into his exposed arm, "Ouch!Clover! That's not fairrr!"

Clover sneaked away forcefully and dashed for escape, "Waaaaaa!! Hahahaha!Help!!"

All it took was the sound of her tears, dripping onto the car mat drop by drop, for the vision to be transited back to the present, to the current dreadful situation. The biggest regret of hers was not about living her life in this way. But it was- wanting to grow up fast when she was a kid. She thought growing up was fun, amazing.

However, it was just a thought, that was never meant to come true.

Sucking in a deep, long breath, she blinked a couple of times, gently tapping on her face to wipe away the stains. No time for this, Clover, she monologued.

Looking through the small hole at the corner of the seat, she peeped and saw the man was still in the car. He let the song played on its own and the seat door was left hanging halfway open with his right-tattooed leg dangling in the air. She increased her head level slightly, not wanting to be reflected by the rear mirror. Studying every direction out there, instant relieve hit her when those bad men were nowhere to be seen.

On the other hand, the crowd was still there, increasing rather than dispersing. Clover could see Kyle was struggling finding his way out. His hands were covered by so many fan gifts of different sizes. He shoved them to the side of his hips a little to see the road in front. The guards that were supposed to be guiding him out, ended up mixing among the people. Despite being entangled in a chaotic situation, Kyle was still shining so brightly, emitting his presence everywhere. That's what we call as, the magic of an idol. If you are born to be a star, then you are destined to shine bright no matter where you are.

"Oh goddd. Kyle. Can you be any slower?" Her attention shifted back to the smoking man in the car. He blew off his last smoke, fingered away the tobacco ashes stuck at the end of the cigarette before smashing it against the rocky ground.

Kyle? She thought.

The man poked his head at the mirror, combed his curly blonde hair with his five fingers and jumped off the car, slamming the door with a loud thud. He dashed furiously towards the idol that was being drowned among the sea of fans.

Squeezing his hand into the crowd, "Sorry, lovelyz. Kyle gotta go!" he said as he pulled Kyle away from the group as gentle as possible. A single mistake could get him fired.

"Noo...So fast?" One of the girls said, holding onto Kyle's shirt, refusing to let go.

"Don't go, Kyleeeee..!"

"Aww....Stay a little longer.."

"I'm sure we gonna meet again very soon," Kyle said. "Wait for me." Once again, the screamings pierced through the tinted windows of the car as Kyle sent his flying kisses while making his leave.

Clover was enjoying watching the love between the idol and fans when suddenly she bugged her eyes. The sweet dazzling in her eyes was slowing evaporating away.

They were coming her way.

"Can't be.." Sweaty hands covering her mouth, she mumbled as she crouched back down in the boot. She scanned the car and there was absolutely nothing related or similar to Kyle! It was just few seats... and.. a box wrapped up beautifully? Putting aside her stained-coat, she held up the box with too much force, almost slipping it out of her care, assuming that it was heavy. But it was not. Sounds of tiny pieces moving could be heard as she shook it carefully. She stroked her fingers along the edges..and...

Crap!

Something was not right. She touched it again, more precisely trying to feel the different texture. She turned it to the side and it fell from her grasp at a stroke when the exact name, similar image she saw a while ago, were pasted securely onto the box that she's holding.

Damn! She was really hiding in his car..!

Keeping back the box at its original place, she scrambled up straight to the car door to flee. However, the moment she reached out to push open the door, Kyle was already standing outside, waving goodbye to his fans. Clover shoved herself to the other side and darn! The men were still there!- Where and when did they reappear? Tension grew in her as the target door slowing creaked open. Before she could even realize, she ended up back in the boot.

"Ughh..So tired..." Kyle said as he entered. Removing his disguising tools, he rested his head on the headrest of his solo seat, elongating himself.

"You could have just gotten in without greeting them."

"Well... they've waited for me. It's just too impolite to not greet them." He lifted up the box lying beside him. "What's this?"

"Fan letters."

I'm so dead. Grappling to stay motionless in spite of the moving car, Clover started to feel nausea and the ache on her hands were deepening. She was burning out. Her eyelids were forcing her to shut down her mind. The discourse that was going on in front between the two could no longer make any sense to her.

"Kyle, can you get my backpack in the boot?"

Boot?! Clover yanked fully awake.

"Sure." He extended his hand to the back. "Where, Brandon?"

She couldn't afford to black out right now. Clover hugged her knees tightly to her chest, avoiding to get in touch with the celebrity. The coat that was left unattended in the middle of the boot, she quickly grabbed it over and dropped it on top of her hands before attracting any of their attention. Anything bloody is very easy to obtain unnecessarily heed. Holding onto the slightest hope that she would not get busted, that she would make it out of this car like a real talented secret agent, she forced herself to stay wide awake throughout this whole journey despite how long it was going to take.

But her hope came crashing down the next moment. "It's at the left end."

Left end? Where? Clover looked around nervously. She was on the left and also at the end. But there was no any backpack near her! Kyle moved his hand to the back and rummaged through the air blankly. She kept pushing her butt backward though she already reached the limit. The distance between his hand and her face was left less than a foot. He must have felt her breath on his palm because- it was when he turned around suddenly, 180 degrees.

He saw her. "B..randon..." Eyes filled with fright and impossibility. "Who's she?"

"Hmm?" He hummed while steering to the left. "Who's.. who?"

Ignoring his question, "Who are you? How...how did you get up here?" Kyle tried to maintain his coolness but his voice totally betrayed him.

He ran his hands along both sides of the doors, checking if the locks have been switched or damaged. "Just... how the heck did you get in here??"

"Are you some kind of stalker? Or .... my hardcore fan?"

"What you talk--" Brandon didn't believe him, until.. her voice came upon.

Clover got on her knees and begged for mercy."... Please... Please don't call the police.. please.. I'll leave. Please...Don't let them capture me again..." She pleaded, salty liquids smudging her face.

That freaked Brandon out. "WHAT?!" Opps. The brake was too sudden, jerking the entire car responding to its inertia.

Kyle who was still inspecting the doors, lost his momentum. "Uwahhhhhhh!!"

Puff! - Wholly onto Clover, pushing away her coat- revealing her unrevealed hands. His legs were stuck in between hers and he had his hand behind her head, securing it from any great impact. None of them moved for the first few seconds, just like how it is in those TV dramas where the lead male character tumbled down on the female lead accidentally. -Which only added more oil to the flaming fire in Brandon.

"Get off her KYLE!" Brandon screamed from the front. Too many cars honking at the back, he had no choice but to continue driving. "I'm gonna call the police." He said furiously while reaching out to his phone.

"No! NO! Please. Please ...Kyle."Clover pleaded, pulling herself out of his wrap. "I swear didn't know who you are before this. In fact, I just got to know you today." She cried, tugging his shirt." This is definitely not a prank, Kyle... J-j-just drop me off somewhere and..I... I will disappear out of your sight! Promise!"

He stared at her bloody hands for a while before asking his next question. "What happened?" The coldness in his voice was gone. This time, there was actually slight warmth at the edge of his tone. And it was growing.

She heard him. But she was hesitant to reveal her story. Too embarrassed to tell to this person who was adored by almost everyone in this country, that she had been sold here as a s*x slave. "DON'T BOTHER. KYLE!" His manager shouted, failing to believe that he had let an unknown yet suspicious girl into the car, together with Kyle.

"Come on. Tell me. Or else I really would have to hand you over to the police," He said, tapping off the dust on the mat to sit down in front of her, meeting her eye level.

She shook her head, and that was all she did. No answers but only lips trembling.

Kyle stared directly at her and let out a heavy sigh. Digging into his pocket, he took out a sharp needle-like tool, shaped like a hair clip where girls used to clip their hairs to hold them in place. He turned and twisted it a few times before moving to her cuffs. "I've seen people done this in TV. And I'm sure it's not that difficult," he smirked. "Well... it shouldn't be.."

"What the hell are you trying to do Kyle?" Brandon said annoyingly, "You are gonna be so dead if the paparazzi see you doing this."

"We are in a car, Brandon," he snapped, "With tinted windows."

"...S....la...slave," She whispered.

"Sorry?" He placed his ear nearer to catch the words she trying to say.

Calming down her shaky breaths, she begins, "I...I was captured here as a s*x slave." Gluing her eyes on the back pocket of the car seat, her voice was turning thick. "Now that I've escaped...they are searching everywhere to look for me. To bring me to their paradise world. To ....serve them according to their 'daily needs'."

"I needed to run away, Kyle. That was why I sneaked in here without thinking. I didn't know whose car is this. All I know is that, I don't want to be a s*x slave."

Silence grew in the car's atmosphere. The taboo words successfully made the object fell from Kyle's hand involuntarily. He quickly flapped his palm twice in the air to catch, stopping it from kissing the ground. Without demanding any further explanations, he continued his 'professional' way to deal with the cuffs. Even the hot-tempered Brandon who had been noisy from just now ended up driving quietly, zipping his mouth. Clover took a glance at the rear mirror to see his reaction. His thick black eyebrows were furrowed, showing several wrinkles on his temple. Of course, as a manager of a rising superstar, he couldn't let his guard down by simply believing a*********s with no valid proof. After all, if it was nothing related to them, then they shouldn't be asking for any unwanted troubles.

"I'm sorry." Clover heard her cuffs unlocking after a few clicks, and Kyle was removing it away from her prudently, without putting any pressure on the wounds. "I'm...," he repeated, "...Sorry.."

"Don't be," She said pathetically, staring at her free hands damaged by the cuts. "What are you sorry for?"

"For--"

"If you really feel sorry for me..." She interrupted, "Please. Please, Kyle. I don't want to go to the police."

Her eyes were filled with unspeakable hope, and thousands of silent pain. Five fingers toying with the baby strips at the sides of her torn black pants. But when Kyle said nothing to assure her safety, the efforts that she put to hold back her tears came crumbling, pushing through the wall that she built.

Gulping the hunk down her esophagus, "Please, Kyle. I'm not lying."

" I never said you are lying."

"Nor telling the truth," Brandon continued bluntly.

"Brandon, please," Kyle rolled his eyes.

He shrugged and paid full scrutiny to the road in front. All the cars along the same way seemed normal, steering in their own corresponding directions- Until they caught his attention.

Brandon made complicated turns and took narrow alleys purposely, making sure that his instincts were right. Down the hill, up the crooked route. Brandon peaked at his side mirrors from the corner of his eyes to see if they were still behind. And yes- trailing closely indeed. Doing his best to lure them away, he stepped onto the oil pedal with much force, increasing the distance between his car and their cars. But it didn't take too long for them to catch up with his speed.

" So you are really telling the truth," He muttered.

"Brandon?" Kyle asked, clasping the handhold to stabilize himself from hitting every corner of the car. "What's wrong?"

"Kyle..." He pressed it again, dashing forward. "I think we are being tracked."

"T-..tracked?" Clover blurted, turning her head to the back.

"Yeah. Thanks to you I supposed." Brandon tried to sound annoyed, but his energy to do so was all shifted to his driving skills.

She fixed her sight at those cars and when their faces came into view, her legs wavered unconsciously, crashing down her whole body. "How...is this even possible?"