by Con Template
“Shut up!” Tae Hyun hissed, severely pissed off that she even remotely mentioned her involvement in hurting Ju Won’s beloved niece. It was apparent that Yoori’s safety was the sole priority on Tae Hyun’s list.
“It was me,” he said into the phone. “She had nothing to do with it.”
He took the blame for it without hesitation.
His gallant words fell on deaf ears.
“I should’ve known,” she heard Dong Min state with spitefulness.
If he was standing before her, then she was sure Dong Min would’ve beheaded her with a butcher knife. She did not blame him. If she had someone who was screwing with her advisee’s future—especially when this advisee was Tae Hyun—she would behead that person as well.
“Tae Hyun, come over to the mansion now,” he ordered, manufacturing a calmer voice to better get his point across. Dong Min was raised to be a crime lord, but he was a politician by nature. He was acutely aware that the only way to get anything done was to remain levelheaded. There were times to be enraged and there were times to get things resolved. Tonight was a night to get things resolved. “Ju Won will be there, and he always has a soft spot for you. Talk to him and keep him calm until his damn party.”
“I’m not apologizing to him.”
“You will,” Dong Min told him with simple resolution. Residual anger throbbed in his voice. He kept the fury contained, but only barely. “You know as much as I do that power is the only thing that will save you and that girl of yours. You’ve placed her above everything else; now you have to do everything in your power to keep her alive. Giving Ju Won the opportunity to turn the Underworld against you will not help in that endeavor. And trust me, he will turn everyone against you unless you fix things. So come right now, humor him while acting like you care enough to calm him down, and then we’ll figure out the rest.”
Without waiting for Tae Hyun to utter a response, Dong Min hung up.
The moment Tae Hyun smothered a curse under his breath, Yoori knew that it meant he was planning to go. If they had killed Jin Ae, then they wouldn’t have had to deal with this. Since they both chose to keep her alive, the consequence was graver for them. It was a consequence that Tae Hyun had to mend if he wanted to keep power in his corner and keep Yoori safe by his side.
He tucked the phone into his jacket and locked his eyes with her firm ones. The inferno from his gaze dispersed like fire under water. If the conversation with Dong Min was useful for one thing, it was reminding Tae Hyun of his priority when it came to her safety.
He placed a gentle hand under her chin and lifted it up.
“I know how angry you are right now,” he pacified, having simmered down since his conversation with Dong Min, “but you’re not going after Ji Hoon. Jin Ae was one thing, but Ji Hoon is a completely different ballgame. I won’t risk anything happening to you. I can’t and I won’t.”
Yoori could barely contain her scoff. The concern she had for him was replaced with scorn. Her rage was still at an all-time high and she was getting tired of being told what to do—especially by him. He was her boyfriend; not her master. She refused to be ordered around like he was her King. “I’m going and you can’t stop me.”
Tae Hyun expressed no indication to back down. “We will deal with everything when I come back. In the meantime, you will stay here.”
Yoori raised her chin up in defiance. Her grave expression dared him to challenge her. “You can’t make me.”
“I’m making you.” His voice on her was still tender, but she did not miss the ominous undercurrent in his tone. He was dangerously powerful. Even the deep core of her body knew that Tae Hyun would easily overpower Soo Jin’s fighting instincts if he chose to. “I’m giving the orders to Kang Min and the rest of the Serpents. None of them will let you go without my command.”
“Bastard,” she cursed when she saw that all the roads had been blocked now. Tae Hyun was a force to be reckoned with when he was on your side, but he was a much bigger force to be reckoned with when he wasn’t. Unfortunately for Yoori, on this matter, Tae Hyun wasn’t on her side. He was the principal roadblock in her way.
“That’s enough, Yoori,” said Tae Hyun, knowing well that between the two of them, he had to be the coolheaded one. There was controlled strain in his voice. It was a rarity for Tae Hyun to demonstrate this much restraint, especially considering that he was accustomed to people bending to his will at the snap of a finger. Yoori was his exception and his only weakness.
Attempting to make things right between them before he departed, Tae Hyun sighed and wrapped one arm around her waist. He pulled her closer to his body. He stroked her cheek with his fingers, his eyes searching for hers. It was a caring gesture that earned nothing but a glare from an embittered Yoori. In spite of her ire, he continued to show his affections.
“I’m leaving now,” he whispered, trying to get through to her before he made his exit. He did not want to end this conversation with her begrudging him. “We’ll talk about it when I come back. Until then, get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
Desperate for a heartfelt remembrance of her before he left, Tae Hyun leaned in for a kiss. Yoori heaved her head back, giving him the cold shoulder while denying his kiss. It saddened Yoori to do this because she wanted to kiss him too. Nevertheless, she was too incensed to succumb to it. He needed to be punished for not giving her what she wanted. If she couldn’t punish him by beating the fuck out of him, then she would punish him by giving him the cold shoulder. She knew what hurt him more and it was not the prospect of getting beaten.
A modicum of pain reflected on his face before it became shadowed with stubbornness of his own. His voiceless stare said it all: he wasn’t giving in even if she was planning on not talking to him for the days to come. For her safety, he would endure her punishments.
With no more to discuss, he gave her one last lingering look before he unhooked her from his arms, pulled his once caressing fingers back, and then disappeared out of their bedroom.
She could hear him give firm orders to his Serpents to keep her safe in the apartment and then heard the door slam shut.
Just like that, he was gone.
■ ■ ■
It took Yoori a little over thirty minutes to soak in that room alone.
The only thing that existed in her world was the need for answers and the desire to rip off Ji Hoon’s head. She buried her face in her hands, feeling her sanity disintegrate. Her frantic mind ran over the prospect of Ji Hoon being the mastermind behind Chae Young’s rape. She could not fathom how someone she placed so much trust in could do something so deplorable. He had been nothing but kind to her since they met. Why would he do such a thing? What did he have to gain from getting eleven gang members to rape her friend? Yoori felt herself tremble. Despite her anger, a huge part of her hoped that it wasn’t him. She hoped that somehow, he wasn’t involved in it. It was a hopeful wish that did little to quench the uncontrollable firestorm within her body. A dark and violent cancer had spread through her, and Yoori could no longer contain it.
She lifted her head up, her resolve set.
Fuck waiting around.
She had no time to marinate in her own thoughts. The only way to get answers (and vengeance) was to go after it.
Yoori pulled the door open.
She knew what to do to leave this apartment.
“Kang Min,” Yoori called out from the bedroom.
Kang Min, who was wearing a black t-shirt and brown pants, was sitting on the living room couch with a dozen other Serpents. He popped his head up after hearing her voice. He rose from his seat, maneuvered himself around the crowd, and came to the door. He barely stopped to greet her before Yoori dragged him in and closed the door behind her.
“Boss?” Kang Min asked, noting how odd she was behaving. His eyes glimpsed over at the dried splatters of blood on her body. He knew the blood didn’t belong to her.
“I need to leave now,” she informed him at once.
His brows lowered in apprehension. He already regretted coming into this room. “Boss Kwon doesn’t permit it.”
“Tae Hyun doesn’t own me,” Yoori bit out, the urge to leave mounting inside her. It did not help that her anger was on the verge of rising as well. Kang Min reminding her of Tae Hyun’s “orders” only worsened her mood. “I can do as I please.”
“He’s protecting you,” Kang Min respectfully disagreed.
“He’s keeping me caged.”
Yoori could see the confliction in his eyes. Kang Min wanted to adhere to her wishes, but he also wanted to adhere to Tae Hyun’s commands.
“Boss, he’ll be back soon,” Kang Min started to compromise. “We can deal with it then—”
“I’m your boss,” she snapped, surprising both Kang Min and herself with her authoritative tone of voice. She had never used that tone with Kang Min before, but it could not be helped. She was sick and tired of people telling her what to do. She was not going to allow Kang Min to dictate what she could or couldn’t do, even if he was only doing it as a proxy of Tae Hyun’s. “Not Tae Hyun. My orders will always supersede his.” She pointed at the door, prepared to set her plan into motion. “Now we’re going to walk out together and you’re going to tell the Serpents out there that you’re taking me to see Tae Hyun. After that, when we’re in the clear, I’m going to leave in the Mercedes and you’re going to leave me alone.”
“Boss,” he continued, concern for her lining his voice. He was hesitant, not because he was afraid of Tae Hyun, but because to him, her plan was pretty much to endanger herself. “Whatever it is you’re doing, it’s not safe—”
“How far does your loyalty go, Kang Min?”
It was a question that Yoori dreaded asking. She knew how far Kang Min’s loyalty went. It was infinite. If worse came to worst, he would die for her without hesitation. This was why her heart ached when she asked him that horrible question. The look on his face was one that spoke of shock and hurt that she’d even ask such a question. Yoori felt awful, but it was what worked on him—it was what broke him and convinced him to adhere to her every command.
Pretty soon, they were walking out in the darkness, and Yoori was feeling free. Free to do what she wanted; free to allow her murderous rage to run amuck. She sprinted for the Mercedes, mindlessly thanking Kang Min and telling him that he could go.
Before she could get far, his hand clamped over her arm.
“Boss, I’m not afraid of death,” Kang Min told her, the confliction never leaving his eyes. Wind roared in resistance, brushing their hair every which way. He was still troubled that he disregarded Tae Hyun’s orders and followed hers. “I told you once before that my loyalty for An Soo Jin—for you—will supersede my loyalty for Boss Kwon. But my job is to protect you and in a time like this, Boss Kwon is the only one who could keep you safe.” He cast a sideways glance at the car and then returned his curious eyes back to her. His gaze questioned her motivation for acting so bizarrely tonight. “Why are you doing this? What is so important that you have to leave now? Why can’t you wait for him to come back?”
Yoori considered lying to him. She swiftly decided against it. So many people had lied to her, and it broke her. She did not want to perpetuate this cycle with Kang Min. He had a right to know why she was so against Tae Hyun tonight and why she had to leave in such an underhanded fashion.
“I have to find Ji Hoon,” Yoori replied, no longer finding it necessary to hide things from him.
Bewilderment stole his face. He did not expect to hear this answer. “Why?”
“He sent those eleven gang members to rape Chae Young,” she revealed bluntly, her impatience berating her to just leave and go find Ji Hoon. However, the desire to tell Kang Min the truth eclipsed her bloodlust. It was only right that Kang Min knew who had been torturing his older brother and his older brother’s girlfriend. It was only right that she left with him understanding why all of this was happening. She wasn’t losing her mind; she was seeking retribution.
The conflagration that flared in his gaze mirrored that of Yoori’s.
“What?” he asked even though he heard exactly what she said.
“He was behind it all,” she elaborated, growing angrier with every spoken word, every reminder of what a bastard Ji Hoon was. “At first, Tae Hyun and I thought it was Jin Ae because Chae Young mentioned that a girl was there at the diner. It turned out Ji Hoon was framing Jin Ae. It was him. It was Ji Hoon all along, and I have to find him. I have to find out why and I have to make him pay.”
The rage that engulfed Kang Min’s baby-like face was chilling. He no longer cared about following Tae Hyun’s orders. The only thing he cared about was revenge. “I’m going with you.”
“No!” Yoori objected, only expecting him to stay behind and understand her reasoning. The last thing she wanted was for him to come along and endanger his life. She believed that she had a fighting chance with Ji Hoon. Kang Min, on the other hand, was no match for him. “You’re not going with me.”
“If you’re not waiting for Boss Kwon, then I’m going with you,” he said resolutely. “I don’t care what you say.”
Her face hardened like steel. “Don’t you dare—”
“Chae Young is like a sister to me!” Kang Min shouted, finally losing his cool with her. The muscles in his jaw bunched while his breathing grew harsher. “Do you think you’re the only one affected by all of this, boss? Do you think you’re the only one who wants vengeance for her?” He raked a hand through his hair and breathed out in slow breaths, trying to regulate his overwhelming anger. Once he calmed, he clasped his hands together and gazed at Yoori with angst in his eyes. “I know you killed all those gang members, and I pray to God everyday that I could have my chance with one of them so I could avenge Chae Young and my brother. This whole thing broke them. It broke Chae Young and my older brother. Jae Won should be the one to go after Ji Hoon. But since he’s not here, I’m going for him. I’m going for Chae Young, and I’m going for you. It would only help you if I’m there with you.”
There was a protective part of her that wanted to refuse him. She wanted to tell him to stay. The heaviness in her heart was the only thing that prevented her from making him stay behind. Kang Min was right. Jae Won was the one who should be here. Since he wasn’t, Yoori and Kang Min would go in his place. Though every protective instinct in her gut was telling her to leave Kang Min there—where it was safe—she nodded anyway because she was too blinded by ire to know better. If she was waging war on Ji Hoon, then she needed a soldier by her side.
“Do you know where to go?” Kang Min asked, buckling his seatbelt from the passenger side. The Mercedes had been fixed and it was as good as new. It was perfect for Yoori to prowl the violent night with.
“Yes,” Yoori confirmed, staring straight ahead. She floored the gas pedal with the sole of her boot and allowed her instincts to take over. “I know where to go.”
■ ■ ■
How she knew exactly where he was, Yoori wasn’t sure.
While driving the Mercedes and updating Kang Min on what had been going on in terms of her beating Jin Ae, Jin Ae being hospitalized, and Jin Ae ultimately being framed, she just allowed her instincts, or perhaps Soo Jin’s instincts, to take over. Sure enough, after running through a series of red lights, they arrived at Fever, a bar that Ji Hoon owned.
It was early morning and Yoori knew, judging by the other black Mercedes that sat near the curb, that Ji Hoon was at the bar, possibly using it as his private office because the bar was already long closed.
Anticipation mounted in Yoori’s body after she and Kang Min stepped out of the car. She was intensely aware that she wasn’t being herself tonight. If anything, she was far from her usual self. She could feel a splitting headache form in her mind. It was as if a part of her was fighting another part of her, fighting to take over. Despite the internal war inside her, all that continued to prevail was the need to find Ji Hoon. She felt like a predator tracking its prey. She wa
s hungry for blood and that blood was Ji Hoon’s.
“Kang Min,” she prompted quietly, pointing at a group of people standing outside the bar. There were five Skulls guarding the door.
She was about to conjure up a plan on how they should proceed into the club—perhaps starting with her beating the five men into submission—when gunshots went off from beside her. The next second, all five Skulls became nothing but mere memories as they collapsed onto the cement, their eyes wide open while life flickered out of their gazes.
Yoori peered at Kang Min, who was holding his black gun out. Fresh steam fluttered from the barrel of his gun.
The expression on his face conveyed that he wasn’t in the mood to deal with politics. His typically composed demeanor was gone. At the moment, he was rash, just like Yoori.
Good, Yoori thought. The less time that was wasted before she got to rip Ji Hoon’s gut out, the better.
“Did you hear that?” echoed the screams of panic from inside the bar. “Get up! Grab your fucking guns!”
The battle had started.
Yoori and Kang Min exchanged one last look with one another. She felt him drop an object into the palm of her hand. The throbbing of her migraine lessened as she held the weight of Soo Jin’s precious gold gun in her grasp.
A torrent of blissful air flowed through her. It felt like the deep, abysmal part of her had finally taken a breath from the prison she held it in. She had always kept her fighting instincts buried deep inside her, afraid that just one ounce of lost control would release the killer from her body. She released that fighter, if only remotely, when she fought with Jin Ae and now, as she burst into the brightly lit bar with Kang Min, she knew that her control was slipping. She wanted to destroy Ji Hoon but, by God, she hoped she wouldn’t destroy herself in the process.
“Get Lee Ji Hoon out here or I’ll pump metal into your brains!” Kang Min shouted to the dozen of Skulls members in the bar.
They had heard the gunshots outside and fashioned a circular formation throughout the bar to protect their King. Each held black guns in their hands. All the guns were aimed at Yoori and Kang Min.
