At his scream, the drooping sound of four pair of knees thrashed against the floor. Jin Ae led the pack as her bodyguards kneeled beside her. Her face was shaking with anger. She wasn’t happy with what she had to do, but she feared the repercussions from her uncle even more to combat the kneeling.
As all of this occurred, Yoori’s own eyes widened. Jin Ae wasn’t the only one staggered by what was happening.
“Choi Yoori,” Ju Won started diplomatically, his tone of voice returning to the cool tempo he always employed. “My deepest apologies for my niece’s stupidity. Jin Ae, Woo, Tony, and Ken are young and inexperienced. They do not know any better. They will be punished accordingly under the family bylaws but until then, I hope that having them kneel before you would merit your forgiveness?”
“Uh…” Yoori nodded stupidly at his request. She was honestly at a loss for words. Contrary to popular belief, it didn’t feel good to see people kneeling before you – at least it didn’t feel good for Yoori. She actually found herself feeling bad for Jin Ae and her men. But only slightly.
Ju Won smiled at her fervent nod of agreement. “Good.”
With a simple gesture of freedom from his hand, the bodyguards standing behind Jae Won and Kang Min took out knives and freed the brothers from the ropes that bound them. As Kang Min and Jae Won prepared to make their way to Yoori, Ju Won reached behind his chair and pulled out a gun.
“Kang Min,” he said clearly.
Kang Min, as well as everyone else in the room, instinctively turned toward Ju Won. He was now standing in front of his seat. Yoori froze when she saw that Ju Won had Jae Won’s gold gun in hand.
“I believe this is yours,” he said casually. Before giving Kang Min a chance to absorb the content of his words, he tossed the gun in the air. It landed squarely in Kang Min’s outstretched palm.
Gazing at the gun and then to his brother with uncertainty, Kang Min only placed the gun behind his back after Jae Won gave him a stiff nod of approval. It seemed to Yoori that Jae Won didn’t want to deal with saying the gun was his until they left the room. It was a desperation that Yoori empathized with; she couldn’t wait to get out of the room either.
She looked around surprisingly. She couldn’t believe it. Was it going to be this easy for her just because she resembled Soo Jin?
As if hearing her silent question, Ju Won had already begun to speak. “Now that Jin Ae’s, Kang Min’s and Jae Won’s punishment has been resolved, it’s time to deal with the common denominator.”
The air was knocked out of her after she heard Ju Won’s menacing words. He wore a serious countenance as he spoke to her, his eyes suddenly breeding an unforgiving fire that she had never seen before.
“Tell me, Choi Yoori. You weren’t properly initiated into the Underworld, were you?”
“Wha –” Yoori could scarcely utter a word when she was distracted with the widening fear in Kang Min and Jae Won’s eyes.
“Boss –” they whispered urgently, staring at her with abrupt horror.
It was then that she sensed that there was something—or a couple of things—on her head. Holding in her breath, she slowly turned around. She caught sight of the same horror written over Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon’s pale faces.
She gasped when she caught it as she turned, the glimpse of a red laser light being pointed in her direction.
Yoori understood now why the meeting room was so huge and so dark. It wasn’t for show or for Ju Won’s guests to be intimidated by him. It was built for his bodyguards, or his snipers to be precise. Just in case he ever needed their assistance, they would be there to deal with whatever it was that he needed resolution for.
Yoori thought back to the uneasy feeling she had when she walked in, the constant need of gazing up into the darkness. She wasn’t paranoid or crazy. She gazed up because she could sense that the snipers were up there, breathing as they watched her in the darkness. Fear swallowing her whole, her body became more alert under the scrutinizing cold. She knew that there were at least six snipers. Six snipers who all had their guns pointed on her, the laser red dots of their aim forming a halo around her head.
Shit.
What a horrible way to die.
“Ju Won” Tae Hyun began unsteadily, his focus still on Yoori, whose eyes were now welling up with heightening fear. “Take those lasers off of her.” To her, he reassuringly said, “Yoori, it’s okay. I’ll take care of this. Just don’t move. They are trained to shoot if you move.”
Yoori bit her lower lip and blinked in confirmation, her breathing growing heavy with anxiety.
“You know the bylaws of the initiation in our world,” Ju Won said sternly.
“She is not a gang member,” Ji Hoon found himself blurting out as he gazed at her, his face filled with the same worry that Tae Hyun possessed.
Ju Won laughed. “Regardless, she’s heard enough standing there. If she’s not ‘in’ our world then she’s an intruder. We spoke about the importance of confidentiality. If she’s privy to our secrets then we must initiate her. It’s part of the bylaws that govern our world.”
“Fuck the bylaws,” Tae Hyun growled angrily.
“Don’t be rash, Tae Hyun,” scolded Jung Min. “The bylaws are what got you to where you are today.”
Tae Hyun fell silent at the comment.
“How do you plan on initiating her into the Underworld?” Ji Hoon asked, fear dancing in his voice.
“Blood in,” Ju Won said purposefully.
The boys froze at the term.
Ju Won went on. “You’re either born into this world, forced your way in by killing another gang member or spilt your own blood to get in.” He lowered his stare onto her. “Tonight, Choi Yoori will meet the third criteria.”
Tae Hyun darted his eyes to Ju Won in disbelief. “And you think I’ll stand by and watch as you beat her senseless?”
“Of course not,” Jung Min answered. His face now just as unreadable as Ju Won and his brother’s.
“You’re all leaving,” Dong Min added, his stare firmly placed on Tae Hyun. “It will just be us and Choi Yoori.”
Tae Hyun glowered at Dong Min, his expression burning from the betrayal on his mentor’s part.
“Five minutes,” said Ju Won. “All she needs to do is spend five minutes with us. She can run around the meeting room throughout the allotted time for all I care, but she will go through with this initiation or we’ll fill her head with bullets right now.”
“It is better this way, Tae Hyun," Dong Min said softly, interrupting Tae Hyun who was about to utter words of retort. "With us, it is guaranteed she’ll make it out alive. If anyone else conducted the initiation, you know that she’ll die within the first two minutes.”
And again, before Tae Hyun could utter words of retort, another softer voice had already interrupted him.
“I’ll do it,” Yoori found herself stating, her hope for survival appearing more viable with going through five minutes worth of initiation rather than chancing it with the snipers and their bullets.
“Yoori,” the boys stated at the same time, their faces fearing for her survival. “You don’t – ”
“Five minutes,” Yoori stated, ignoring their cautious call.
“Five minutes,” Ju Won confirmed. He sat down, his face pleased with her decision.
Tae Hyun was outraged. “You don’t know what you’re getting into!”
“I’ll do it,” she repeated firmly, staring at Tae Hyun dead in the eyes. She shook at his last statement. “Just trust me. I can do this. Five minutes. I’ll – I’ll just make sure to keep running.”
“You know there’s no other way for her to come into our world than this,” Dong Min added upon seeing the uncertainty on Tae Hyun’s face.
Tae Hyun closed his eyes when it was evident to him that they have been backed into a corner. Then, as if realizing something, Tae Hyun advanced to Yoori, the back of his body taking half of the red lasers that were still being pointed at her.
“Tae Hyun!
What are you – ”
Cupping her face, he leaned in, effectively interrupting her. His eyes were still rife with concern. “There’s weapons hidden in the further right corner, behind their chairs,” he said in a hushed whisper. “When you run, run in that direction and get one of those weapons. Don’t be afraid to hurt them.”
Yoori nodded in understanding, the heaviness of her heart lifting just fractionally with his near presence.
“And for the love of God,” Tae Hyun added earnestly. “Run fast.”
He withdrew his hands from her cheeks and averted his attention to his mentor. He gazed up at Dong Min. He didn’t say anything but she could tell from his eyes that Tae Hyun wanted validation from Dong Min that Yoori will be alright. Dong Min took a few seconds to gaze back before giving a stiff nod of affirmation. At his nod the red laser encircling Yoori and Tae Hyun vanished.
At the disappearance of the lasers, a gesture that was good enough for Tae Hyun, he breathed a quiet sigh. Giving Yoori one last look, he speedily took off toward the exit. The impatience in Tae Hyun was evident: he wanted to end the inevitable as soon as possible. Surmising that having Yoori wait any longer for her five minutes will only screw her up in the end, he left without another word.
Heeding Tae Hyun’s lead, Jae Won and Kang Min had also begun toward the exit, but not before stopping beside her. Their faces were shrouded with nothing but fear for her life.
“Boss, are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” she reassured with a small smile. Then, she said, “Please go so I can get this over with.”
With a slight push from Yoori, the brothers limped out of the meeting room, worry still set in their faces.
“Jin Ae, get the hell out,” ordered Ju Won.
Still kneeling, Jin Ae’s eyes teemed with hatred as she glared at Yoori. At her uncle’s order, an indignant Jin Ae clambered up and flew toward the door, a string of curses and her bodyguards following her as they exited the left side of the meeting room.
This left Ji Hoon as the final one in the room.
“Be careful, Yoori,” he said faintly before heading toward the exit in which Tae Hyun left. His eyes avoided hers. It was then that Yoori deduced that Ji Hoon was afraid. He was afraid of showing the Advisors that he cared about her. She didn’t know if he was afraid of being seen as weak or if it was for another reason. All that she knew was that he didn’t want to show that he cared for her – even though it was quite obvious.
After Ji Hoon disappeared into the hallway, both doors slammed shut, leaving only Yoori and the Advisors. A deafening silence crawled above them as Yoori stood before the Advisors, their eyes on her like hawks.
“The rules are simple,” Ju Won began, very much entertained. “All you have to do is spend five minutes with us. You can run around the room, you can fight us, or get attacked by us. How you want to try to spend those five minutes is up to you.”
“Okay,” Yoori said nodding, her legs itching to take off already. She was pretty sure she could outrun three old men.
Ju Won smiled at her reply. He placed his elbow on the armchair of his seat and rested his chin on his right knuckle.
“You know,” he prompted, his eyes inspecting her. “You remind me of someone…” He smirked at the reminder. “Which is too bad because she didn’t leave being on my good side.”
Yoori’s eyes grew huge at his insinuation. Before she could think anymore of it, she was distracted when both Dong Min and Jung Min rose from their seats. Rolling up their sleeves, they cracked their knuckles in preparation for the things to come.
“I forgot to mention,” Ju Won added with a whimsical tone. “In the course of these next five minutes…my snipers will be firing at you as well.”
Yoori’s spine stiffened at the unexpected condition.
When she was about to respond with horror, she felt something flaming hot fly past her ear. Her heart plunging into her stomach, she jumped at the deafening sound of the bullet hitting the hard pavement of the meeting room.
Shit, was the only thing going through her mind as she gazed up at the various red lasers that were being pointed at her once more.
Ju Won smirked, his eyes promising blood. He was ready to enjoy the show to come.
With a simple wave of his hand several things happened: the elder brothers had raced toward Yoori, more than several bullets were shot in her direction and with her survival instincts alive and well, Yoori’s legs had taken off in a frenzy.
As she dodged a bullet that flew past her right shoulder, Yoori knew then that this five minutes was going to be a lot tougher than she gave it credit for – especially when Jung Min caught her by surprise and served her with a powerful kick to the stomach. The assault stole every breath of air from her body, leaving her to violently slam against the wall.
She gasped for air as she slid down, pain present in every fiber of her shaking body.
No doubt, she thought in horror, catching sight of the laser beam that was being pointed straight at her heart, a bullet ready to follow its lead.
Her blood would definitely be spilled tonight.
“Terrible how unjust this world can be.”
33: Five Minutes
Her stomach writhed in agony from the unsuspecting attack. In this bout of pain, pandemonium found her. Her heart panicking at the prospect of impending doom, Yoori, amidst all the chaos, subconsciously found herself lunging straight for the floor before the bullet befriended her heart.
When she landed on the ground, Yoori heard the swiping sound of the bullet entering the wall behind her. It landed in the exact same place her heart would’ve been if she had not slid out of the way in time.
That bullet could’ve blasted her heart apart!
Knowing well that being a fast runner was her ticket to survival tonight, Yoori, wanting to waste no more time with tending to her traumatized heart, scrambled back up from the floor and made an unsteady sprint to the further end of the wall to avoid anymore collision with the Shin brothers and the incoming bullets.
When she did this, she glimpsed at another red laser that was being pointed in her direction.
She threw herself into a nearby corner in a panic. The fiery bullet came flying past her, missing her by mere centimeters as it grazed her jacket. Steam flowed out as it embedded itself into the white walls. Yoori gazed at it in horror and made another run for it.
Crap! Crap, crap, crap!
Through the dark corners of the room she ran, her legs stopping, bending, crouching and taking off by itself as it pulled her away from bullets and further away from Jung Min and Dong Min, both of whom she knew were still chasing after her in the darkness.
Her breathing became heavy with shrill. Each inhalation and exhalation acted as a catalyst to give more alertness to her body as she fought against deadly bullets and terrifying crime lords. Essentially anything that was out for her blood.
Yoori couldn’t have been more thankful with how cold Ju Won’s mansion was. The heat exhausting from her running and the rigidness of the cold air had more than helped her become more alert under the blinding darkness.
Tae Hyun’s words repeated in her mind while she ran, crisscrossing her way into the center of the room: “There’s weapons hidden in the further right corner, behind their chairs. When you run, run in that direction and get one of those weapons. Don’t be afraid to hurt them.”
In the direction of Ju Won, that was where she needed to go.
Despite acknowledging the importance of that tip, Yoori also knew that she couldn’t head in that direction yet, especially when snipers were watching to anticipate her moves. She intended to run every which way, revealing herself briefly in the light and camouflaging herself in the darkness. She had to be confusing. This tactic was not only used to throw the snipers off, but it was also used to throw Jung Min and Dong Mi –
Though she had anticipated the attack when her heart leapt in worry, there was not much Yoori could do to avoid it as a strong arm emerged out of the d
arkness, pummeling itself against the core of her throat.
Yoori gasped for air. The pain confined in the core of her throat pounded fervently after the sudden attack. Unable to retain her balance, she fell backward, one hand clutching onto her assaulted throat and the other one pulled out to break her fall.
She was seeing stars because she was in so much pain.
“Ugh...” She rubbed her throbbing neck, trying to swallow her saliva to judge the magnitude of the attack. She twitched in excruciating pain. It even hurt to swallow.
Out of the darkness, she heard soft chuckling.
Gazing up, her acclimated eyes found the tall silhouette that was staring down at her. Judging by the sound of the chuckle, she was pretty sure it was Shin Jung Min who not only kicked her stomach like she was a ragged doll, but also delivered the attack that left her unable to use her throat.
“Get up,” Dong Min’s voice ordered from behind her, stealing her attention.
She craned her neck backward. He was standing behind her with his arms behind his back. She couldn’t make out his facial expression in the darkness but she was pretty sure he was frowning.
“Get up!” he shouted again when she didn’t obey the first time.
Alarmed by the snarl of his voice, Yoori scrambled to her feet, her stomach and throat now rippling in pain. Unknowingly standing as the center point of an elongated triangle, Yoori eyed both elder brothers hesitantly. What were they planning to do with her now that they had her cornered?
“Block,” Jung Min suddenly commanded.
“Huh?”
Without notice, the hand of Dong Min’s that was holding a long block of unshaven stick came crashing down onto Yoori, its aim for her head.
Instinctively following Jung Min’s command, she brought up her hands, crisscrossing her wrists above one another and shielded the top of her head with it, successfully blocking the stick from slamming into her skull.
After burying its splinters into the flesh of her hand, the stick broke apart, falling lifelessly to the floor.
“Fuck!” Yoori shouted, jumping in pain.
She shook the pain off the hand that was most impacted from the attack. Though she was glad the splinters from the stick was buried against the flesh of her skin rather than that of her head, she couldn’t help but count her curses that she somehow found herself in this predicament to begin with.
Welcome to the Underworld (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 1) Page 42
