by Con Template
Ji Hoon's once opaque expression became transparent. “A small-time gang is nothing,” he answered without delay. His eyes landed onto Jae Won before he returned his focus to Ju Won. He didn’t seem the least bit impressed.
“An up and coming gang that gained much recognition from our world,” Ju Won corrected. “And as I fondly recall, Jae Won here was trained by someone very revered in our world. Doesn’t that alone merit your respect?”
Something shadowed over his expression and a bitter looking Ji Hoon said nothing.
Satisfied, Ju Won returned his focus to Tae Hyun.
The King of Serpents was looking more and more impatient by the second.
“I would like to commend you, Tae Hyun,” he started warmly. “A couple of weeks ago, Ji Hoon managed to secure more than a couple of recruits when he had his men murder those rival gang members in Echo district.”
Yoori instantly recalled the news segment she saw long ago. Goose bumps ran through her when she remembered that the corpses were found with their cheeks carved into the shape of a skull.
Seconds later, it also became clear that Yoori wasn’t the only one remembering such a signature.
“His only mistake was showcasing this to the media.” Ju Won averted his disapproving eyes to Ji Hoon. “You know how much our world values secrecy. You being the head of one of the more powerful crime families should know that.”
Before Ji Hoon could reply, another voice had already spoken for him. “Ji Hoon secured more than 10 dozen new recruits after that news segment hit the waves,” proclaimed a proud Jung Min. “His methods, though dissimilar with our idea of confidentiality, shows the outside world how powerful we are.”
“It goes against our unwritten laws,” Dong Min chimed in. His voice teemed with disapproval.
“It caused an updraft of talent for our world,” continued Jung Min, who looked amused with his brother. “One measly little news segment will do little to threaten our livelihood.”
When Dong Min was about to say something as a retort, he was silenced by Ju Won’s raising hand.
“Quite distasteful in my book but impressive nonetheless,” Ju Won concluded. Sighing, he then turned to Tae Hyun. “But of course, not as impressive as our King of Serpents here.” He gave another dramatic sigh, a theatric prelude to his disapproval of Tae Hyun’s actions by far. “Tae Hyun, you would be in a much better standing if you didn’t have people barging into my home every night.”
Ah yes, Yoori knew he was going to bring up Jae Won and Kang Min sooner or later.
“Jin Ae and her men need to be punished,” Tae Hyun answered purposely, his expression never faltering from the anger that was writhing through him.
The sound of Jin Ae and her men shuffling uncomfortably could be heard after his bold statement.
Ji Hoon scoffed. He couldn’t believe how stupid Tae Hyun was being. “I’m sure whatever it is, you can get over it, Tae Hyun.”
“I’m sure you’re the master of getting over things right, Ji Hoon?”
Yoori didn’t understand what the double meaning of that question might be. Yet when she saw Ji Hoon clench his fists, she knew it was something that hit a sensitive nerve.
“What did Jin Ae do?” Ju Won asked, bringing them back on topic. When he asked this, the eyes of the three Advisors fell onto Yoori for a quick second.
Though it was subtle and short, Yoori knew they were dying to meet her. Everything they were doing, all the things they were taking care of – they wanted to resolve everything quickly so they could finally deal with her.
Ji Hoon smirked at Ju Won’s inquiry about what Jin Ae did. It seemed as though he had mistaken Tae Hyun’s wrath toward Jin Ae as pertaining to her cheating on Tae Hyun with him.
“I gave her what she deserved,” Jin Ae reasoned, her eyes glaring in Yoori’s direction.
As Tae Hyun bestowed another intimidating glare at Jin Ae, Ji Hoon had already begun to furrow his brows in confusion. He glanced at Yoori, quickly realizing that Jin Ae was referring to Yoori as “her.” It took him a couple of seconds yet as his eyes enlarged in comprehension, he returned his gaze to Jin Ae. His expression hardened.
“What did you do to her?” he asked, his demeanor losing all composure. He already looked livid.
At Ji Hoon’s unexpected reaction, the Advisors gazed at one another, thrown off balance by the situation before them.
Kang Min, who had the same glaze forming over his eyes, instantly parted his lips, understanding what he needed to do to turn the situation in their favor. “She had her men attack Yoori while she was walking home.”
Yoori’s chest constricted at the terrible reminder.
Responding the same way at Kang Min’s reminder, Tae Hyun shut his eyes in anger. It was reminiscent of the calm before the storm. He was tempering his anger and saving it for the opportune time. Once that time came, all hell was going to break loose.
At the precise second Tae Hyun closed his eyes, Ji Hoon’s eyes had enlarged even more from disbelief. Everyone in the room saw it. Both of the gang leaders were at the brink of their tolerance.
Jae Won’s eyes lit up at what his younger brother was doing. Adding gasoline to the fire, he shrewdly added, “Jin Ae had also instructed her men to rape Yoori once they were done assaulting her. It was luck that Kang Min and I arrived on time before they got to tear her clothes apart.”
That was what did it.
Opening his eyes with incredulity, Tae Hyun’s unblinking eyes fell onto Jin Ae and her men, all of whom had already begun to shrink away in fear. It appeared as though that Tae Hyun was only informed about the assault, not the attempted rape.
At the same instant, a rage of fire burned in Ji Hoon’s eyes.
There was no more bottling of their anger.
“Fuck kneeling…” Ji Hoon began severely, his breathing growing heavier.
“I am going to rip all of you to shreds,” Tae Hyun finished dangerously, already inching closer to Jin Ae and her men.
Terror in their eyes, Jin Ae and her bodyguards were already inching closer to Ju Won. It was a well-known fact in the Underworld that the two Kings were a force to be reckoned with when they were alone, but when they both agree that they want your head, you know you’re a breath away from death unless you had some serious protection.
“Ji Hoon,” Jung Min spoke warningly as Ji Hoon and Tae Hyun advanced toward Jin Ae and her men. Bloodlust brimmed in their eyes.
After hearing his mentor’s voice, Ji Hoon stopped in his tracks, his breathing still heavy from relentless anger.
Tae Hyun, whose legs were still taking off, only halted in his tracks at Dong Min’s voice.
“Tae Hyun,” he called sternly. “All will be resolved. Please calm down.”
Tae Hyun laughed disbelievingly. He stood in the center of the room, in between Ji Hoon and the Advisors. His patience had long vacated the room.
“If Jin Ae was someone else’s niece, I would’ve had her head already. She should’ve died the moment I heard she had her minions assault my girlfriend.” He gazed irately at Ju Won. “But because she’s your niece, I lessened the punishment to merely having Jin Ae and her men kneel before her.” He scoffed again, biting his lower lip and recalling Jae Won’s words about the attempted rape. “But as we all heard, the intentions of their assault went further than merely beating her. I have the utmost respect for you.” He glanced at Dong Min and Jung Min. “All of you.” His face then grew stern. “But I have more respect for myself and my girlfriend.”
A warm feeling ran over Yoori when she heard this.
Tae Hyun continued. “So with that said, how do all of you plan on resolving this little conflict?
Before Ju Won, who was seemingly impressed with Tae Hyun’s speech, could answer, Jung Min had already interjected with an unimpressed observation.
“It is not the brightest tactic to reveal your weakness, Tae Hyun,” he stated frostily. “Girlfriends...as entertaining as they may be, are just as disposable as th
e minions that kneel at your feet. I’d advise you to watch your mouth in the future. Bad relations in our world are a bit more unforgiving than other worlds.”
“What an interesting observation, my dear brother,” Dong Min commented before Tae Hyun could reply with what Yoori could only guess as angry retorts.
Dong Min’s voice was rife with sarcasm as he went on. His eyes landed on Ji Hoon. “It seems that Ji Hoon here has taken a liking to Tae Hyun’s girlfriend.” Dong Min smirked upon seeing Ji Hoon stiffen up at this observation. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was ready to embark on some bad relations with hopes of impressing her as well.”
And that was what ended the interjections from the elder brothers.
Unable to respond to his brother’s retort, Jung Min merely bequeathed him a bitter glare before turning away, his resentment still very much intact.
“It’s funny,” Ju Won finally begun, ignoring all “observations” between the two brothers. His eyes latched onto Yoori. It was a gaze that caused the fine hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. “Every time we request to meet someone new, they always end up hiding in the further corners of the meeting room. What is it about us that attract such behaviors?”
“We don’t have a good track record of keeping people alive when they step into the light,” Jung Min joked. Or what Yoori presumed to be a joke.
“Perhaps it’s the fact that we have the wrists of Tae Hyun’s men bound together,” Dong Min stated carelessly. “I think that may be what’s making her uneasy.”
Ju Won nodded, leaning closer to speak to her in the distance, finally acknowledging her existence.
“We’ve been rude. Thank you for politely waiting as we address some business. Now that everything is more or less on the table, I would love to finally meet you so I can start resolving the matters at hand.” He gestured her with his hand. “Please come forward.”
“Stay there,” Tae Hyun ordered, holding his hand out to prevent her from stepping into the light. Not that she was about to step into it anyway. She was perfectly content with hiding in the shadows.
“You requested that I bring her here and I did. But for her own protection, I’d like for her to remain in the shadows.”
Jung Min scoffed as if Tae Hyun had just said the most idiotic thing he’d ever heard.
Though the smile on Ju Won’s face remained, there was clear distaste reveling in his eyes. “We may have misunderstood each other Tae Hyun, but I’m pretty sure I requested we meet her in exchange for Kang Min and Jae Won.”
Tae Hyun raised a challenging brow. “Have we reached a point where threats are presented?”
Ju Won casually shook his head at the insinuation. “As you said, Jin Ae needs to be punished for what she did to your girlfriend. But in the same token, Kang Min and Jae Won should also be punished for what they did for your girlfriend.”
Tae Hyun, along with Dong Min and the tied up brothers, tensed at Ju Won’s reasoning. Yoori herself felt the air escape her when she heard him.
Ju Won went on. “My priority is resolving things tonight so we can move forward to more important matters. I need the common denominator of these conflicts and your girlfriend is it. So I think it would be beneficial for everyone involved if we get to meet her face to face. I’d definitely be more informed about the appropriate punishments once we get introductions out of the way.”
When it looked as though Tae Hyun was prepared to combat that request, Yoori had already stepped foot into the light. She had had it. There was no more point in prolonging the inevitable. She wanted to help Kang Min and Jae Won as quickly as possible and that was her only goal. Whatever happened after that, she would let fate take the reins.
“No, don’t – ” were words that Jae Won and Kang Min were ready to finish until they saw that she had already stepped into the light.
It was too late.
An air of anticipatory stillness hung over the meeting room as Yoori took each dreadful step, closer and closer into the center of the room where Ji Hoon and Tae Hyun stood.
Only four more strides until she reached them, she thought, her breathing growing unsteady. Her heart was beating violently. She didn’t know if it was from fear, or anticipation of her own.
For that split moment in time, everyone breathed in unison while they waited for her.
Stride one.
She could hear Jin Ae scoff in disgust.
Stride two.
She could hear sounds of shuffling from the high ceilings above her.
Stride three.
At the sight of her, two of the bodyguards standing behind Jae Won and Kang Min had already stiffened up in their stance. Several fingers were missing from their shaking hands as their eyes grew wide in shock.
Stride four.
Complete silence.
Naturally filling in the gap that separated Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon, Yoori’s eyes were lowered the entire time as she stood a bit closer to Tae Hyun. Judging by his demeanor, he was already regretting bringing her to Ju Won’s mansion.
Shaking in her stance, she tucked in the loose bangs of her hair behind her ear and with much apprehensiveness, pulled down the hood that lay above her.
The last group to be affected by her presence was the Advisors.
With their eyes gradually becoming enlarged, the elder brothers furrowed their brows in overt confusion. Leaning in to get a better view of her, the intensity of the silence surrounding them elevated to the extremes. Though this act of bewilderment was a big change for the brothers, the drastic change in facial expression went toward Ju Won.
His haughty smile faded into oblivion upon the full disclosure of Yoori’s face.
It was then that Yoori knew she was screwed.
They all definitely saw her as An Soo Jin.
Their mouths hanging slightly open, Jung Min and Dong Min gaped hesitantly at Ju Won.
The eldest Advisor still had his full attention on Yoori.
The thick air of silence was becoming suffocating. It was becoming unbearable until...
“Come closer,” said Ju Won, effectively breaking the thick silence. His unblinking gaze remained on her in the distance. The confusion in his eyes said it all. He didn’t believe what he saw.
At his command, Yoori found herself instinctively obeying. Her legs took off, only to be stopped when she felt hands wrap around her wrists. Twisting her neck around, she realized that it was Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon who stopped her. Each had taken possession of her wrists to keep her from inching closer to the Advisors. Neither said anything when they did this.
Tae Hyun, Ji Hoon, Kang Min, and Jae Won – all four were paled with worry.
Unaffected by Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon’s outright objection to Yoori coming closer to him, Ju Won, who no longer had the patience to sit around and wait, stood up and made his way down to Yoori. The eyes of the elder brothers locked onto him as he walked past Kang Min and Jae Won. He slowly approached her.
Yoori shook as she watched him approach her, his eyes poignant and his face blank.
Each step he took, her heartbeat escalated.
Each step he took, her fears multiplied.
After this, there was no turning back.
After he sees her, she’ll never get out of the Underworld.
Stopping approximately three foot away from Yoori, Ju Won’s eyes gazed at her up and down. After what felt like years of inspection, he returned his eyes to meet hers.
“What did you say your name was?” he asked softly. Though his question was purposeful, Yoori had the innate feeling that he really didn’t need to hear her answer. He had already arrived at his own conclusion.
Despite knowing this, she answered because she feared him so. “Ch – Choi Yoori.”
“Choi Yoori,” Ju Won repeated, his eyes now becoming indecipherable. He took a moment to think things over and then just like that, a crooked smile of comprehension curved his lips.
His discerning eyes were still gazing into her – inspecti
ng her.
Yoori twitched uncomfortably. It was clear he was now inspecting her for a bluff – for a lie. She was unsure of the conclusion he came to when he suddenly turned and went back to his seat, leaving her in a tornado of confusion.
Upon reaching his seat, he sat down. His signature smile returning to him, he regarded Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon. They were both still quiet with severe expressions on their own faces.
“Choi Yoori, step forward,” Ju Won said firmly.
At his orders, Yoori felt a strange outpouring of energy run through her. In that split of a second, she was no longer afraid of him. For that brief moment, she knew he wasn’t going to hurt her. No longer wanting to spend her time shaking in fear, Yoori released herself from Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon’s hold.
They both tried to reach for her again but were unsuccessful.
She strode quickly to the center of the room, approximately three foot away from Jae Won and Kang Min and approximately six foot away from the Advisors.
“Jin Ae,” Ju Won called.
“Uncle?” Jin Ae asked sweetly, her face still smug as she noted Yoori’s shaking figure. She had mistaken her anticipation for fear.
“Kneel,” Ju Won commanded at once.
Jin Ae’s eyes flared. “What?” she screamed, her voice bouncing across the room. She was beside herself. She couldn’t believe what the fuck was her uncle doing.
“I SAID KNEEL!” Ju Won hollered at the top of his lungs, his voice equally as loud and much more intimidating. He wasn’t a man accustomed to disobedience and he wouldn’t stand for it even from his own niece.
Though his scream was directed at Jin Ae, it was enough to cause every breathing entity in the room to harden in fear. If people didn’t understand how he became such a powerful crime lord before, then they understood perfectly after hearing his thunderous voice. His authority, even through retirement, continued to exude out of him.
Once a crime lord, always a crime lord.
