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The twentieth minute was approaching rapidly and Jin could barely stay up right. His head hung low, hair drenched in sweat and covering his bruised face. The sticky coat of blood on my knuckles made me more and more nauseous. Guilt overwhelmed me. Not only would Jin never forgive me - and for good reason, but I feared Yurim would never see me the same way again if she found out about this mess.
She's safe and far away from here, I repeated in my head like a mantra. I needed at least one thought to draw strength from. Something to keep me focused.
"You..." Jin rasped, his voice barely a whisper. I looked around to check if anyone else was aware of his speaking. They weren't. Everyone in the building lost interest in the scheduled beat downs more than ten minutes ago. Jei was droning on about how he was planning on spending his share of the money when he got it. "You can't stay by her side and theirs."
My jaw clenched as hard tightly as my fists as I imagined a life where I traded her for the animals that surrounded us. Unfortunately, one had few choices when it came to surviving around this bunch. And besides, after this it was possible she wouldn't want to be around me anyway. The thought made my chest feel hollow.
"I know," I said.
In the middle of Jei's arrogant monologue, one of his friends whispered something in his ear bringing a wide grin to his face. "Already? Where did the time go? Little Jin here almost had an extended vacation. In fact," the unhinged man leaned down into the camera's view, "I think he's had it too easy up until now. I'm thinking maybe that's why you obviously don't understand the seriousness of this situation Mr. Kim. What do you think, shall I give this thing a go?" Jei slapped the metal pipe provokingly into his palms, a laughed danced in his throat.
A new bead of sweat dripped down my face.
It's been too long. Is it too late? Is this it?
"It's a high amount, these things take time and multiple steps of security!" Mr. Kim defended.
"Ah, he's so cute," Jei chuckled, "he thinks we care. Ya, Seokjin-ah, any last words before I splatter your brains on the ground?"
Was he serious? It wasn't smart to kill the one thing that will get him what he wants, but Jei wasn't smart. He was power hungry and right now he was running on a high.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" The CEO's voice came through the phone speakers garbled.
An intense beating drummed against my chest, my head was spinning. Jin's breathing became labored - his teeth bared, preparing for what was coming. What do I do? If I go against him now on my own, I'm dead. Jei flipped the pipe in his hand before winding it back - it's trajectory aimed for the back of Jin's head.
Shit!
I had just bent my legs to spring into action when a shout came from outside. Everyone's heads turned, including Jei. His eyes were wide with paranoia. "W-what was that?"
A sound of a crash followed then a revving engine.
"YA!" Jei screamed at the room of mobsters. "GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON!"
The men inside rushed out of the garage door but was met with a flurry of masked people in black. All skilled and organized. They didn't look like police. They spilled in like a flock of angry bees. Some wore black masks while others - those with female builds - wore purple. I sighed in relief. Better late than never.
"Aishibal!" Jei growled then grabbed one if his men by the shirt, "get my car and meet me at the back!" The towering gangster strutted toward a nearby opponent, forgetting about me and Jin. Quickly, I fished out a knife from my pocket and cut the rope from his hands.
I remembered the phone that was still pointed toward us. Mr. Kim strained to see what was going on while seemingly being on the move. Maybe Uncle Kwangsoo was there with him. I hopped towards it and kicked the stand it was on before removing my mask.
"Hey! Over here!" I called to one of the men I could tell worked for my uncle. The man's eyes widened when he recognized both of us. "Help me get him out!"
"Okay, there's a car out front!" he rushed to Jin's other side to support his body.
The man shouted at his fellow security guards to cover them from the dirty mobsters trying to stop us. The clash of both sides had people bumping into us from all over. The air was rank with sweat and body heat, curses and threats blaring in our ears.
Finally we reached the cool fresh air of the open night before approaching a black car. The hood was still warm. As we were helping Jin into the car something caught my eye. By the corner of the building a gray motorcycle lay on it's side. My heart dropped.
"No..."
"I got Seokjin in a car," the guard reported aloud. He must've had an ear piece on. After a brief pause, he replied, "understood." The man got straight into the driver's seat and started up the car. I left him to it and returned to the building, my eyes searching for that idiot.
"Min Yoongi, you bastard, you better not have brought her."
Returning to the fight, I weaved through the violent break out only engaging when absolutely necessary. I made it all the way back into the warehouse but I still hadn't found him.
Suddenly a pair of hands seized my neck, squeezing my windpipe. One of Jei's men jumped at me out of nowhere. I picked at his hands and kicked at his shin trying to work out a way to counter him - but the lack of oxygen was starting to overpower my focus.
Red specks began forming over his face before his head jerked to the side by something powerful. Next thing I knew his body toppled over unconscious and I was coughing with my hands clawing at my collar. I gasped for air and blinked away the strange spots - my thoughts gradually finding their way back towards me.
"Hoseok-ah, are you okay?" I knew the voice but I knew there was something urgent I was looking for.
"Yurim. Yoongi," I wheezed.
"That's right they're here." The woman spoke clearly, knowing I was a bit out of sorts. "I told them to stay outside but Yurim barged in looking for you. I told Yoongi to take her outside through the back. There's too much going on out here."
"The back? That's a bad idea. That's where he said he'd go. Noona, we need to find them!" I shook my head since a few specks still lingered in my view then ran toward the back of the warehouse.
"Who?" Heejae asked, but I didn't answer. I could only think of finding her before Jei did.
We burst through the back door out into an open area. The ground was covered with gravel which sprouted weeds in between. Surrounding the open area was a wall of tall grass. On the other side of it: a steep but short hill leading into a river. Metal posts with connecting chains in between peeked out from the unkempt brush.
Also in view was a car with it's doors left ajar, a man with Yurim trapped in his arms, and Yoongi being beaten by Jei thanks to another faithful dog who held the former bully still.
"STOP!" came a shriek. The sound of Yurim's distress nearly made my knees give out.
"Noona!" I bolted toward my best friend.
"Got it," said Heejae sprinting off toward Yoongi.
Unfortunately I couldn't depend on the element of surprise. The man who held Yurim, saw me and quickly turned so she'd be in between us. Her eyes shone with surprised relief when our eyes me, "hoseok-ah!"
She caught on to the cowardly man's tactic and struggled against him. Once she got him to move his arm closer to her face she bit down hard.
The man yelped and threw her to the ground, leaving himself wide open. Without hesitation I dashed toward him and swung a low kick at his leg. He dropped. Before he could regain his footing, I jumped forward slamming my knee into his face and he was out.
When I was sure that he was unconscious, I hurried over to Yurim. "Yurim-ah, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine but Yoongi..."
We looked toward the others and found Jei's henchman cry in pain on the ground - blood gushing from his nose. Yoongi had been on the side, trying to regain his senses. Jei hissed something about his friend being a weakling before avoiding a roundhouse kick from Heejae. He had a better look at her when a light of recognition gleamed in his eye, followed by a smile.
"Hey, I know you..." he chortled. Jei looked between her and I as he finally understood. "You've been working with them! You really are dead this time, Hoseokie. After this, Hyung can't protect you anymore."
"Aioosh!" Heejae sent a high kick at his head which he barely dodged. "Why do low-lifes talk so damn much!" Noona continued at him, taking the offensive ground - something she didn't do often with those bigger than her.
Yurim went to Yoongi's side and helped him toward the wall of the building where they waited safely for the last standing fighter. When I turned my attention back to Heejae, Jei landed a left hook and upper cut. She stumbled backwards to put space in between. I could tell she was dazed - blood smeared at the corner of her mouth.
Damn it! He got her good.
Jei knew he had the upper hand and he didn't hide it. He played with her, closing in and faking her out. Mocking her. I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to back down from an arrogant idiot like him. Still...she needed some time to get her head back.
Noona ducked when he faked then swung a miss before he got her in the stomach. She let out a gutted sound.
I took a running start and tackled him. Keeping my arms locked around his waist, each of us struggled to gain control. With difficulty I was able to shrug out of his attempts at turning the tables on me. When he got his feet on the ground, I used my legs to trip him up. I couldn't let him find his footing. At the right moment I lifted him up and over my shoulder. I'd never done a suplex on gravel before but I wasn't a fan. My only hope was for Jei to be in enough pain to give up.
Not that it was any shock, but he got back up again. We continued a tiring series of jabs and kicks. Jei, delivering more effective hits. He tried to grab me to take me to the ground again but I wasn't confident I could take him on like that. I was lucky the last time and with his long limbs, I had to proceed with caution. Like Heejae, I was at a disadvantage due his reach when it came to strikes and kicks. I was barely hanging on.
From the corner of my good eye, I could see that one of the henchmen came to and made his way toward Yurim and Yoongi. Yurim, found a slab of wood and stood in defense, but I couldn't go to her. I couldn't just leave Jei to Noona. I just had to trust her and Yoongi to have each other's backs.
Jei spat at my feet, demanding my attention. "Don't worry, I'll take care her in when you're dead. I got a collar and leash with that bitch's name on it!" Suddenly Heejae flew in, unexpected by either of us. She lept up, using Jei's body as a step and slammed her knee into his chin. She landed and swung her shin into his ribs. Noona then looked at me,
"His chest!"
I nodded. At the same time we hopped forward and kicked him in his sternum. Jei flew back and rolled on the ground. We watched him as he lay unconscious in the high beams of his still running car. Yoongi then came into view. He threw the man from earlier against the car with a big bang. As I thought, it was the same man who held him while Jei was beat him.
"How about I hold you and she takes a few more swings?" Yoongi growled.
"Okay, okay, okay!" The man pleaded, fresh blood dripping from his head. I looked for Yurim and found her with eyes wide with the same slab of wood as before - only it had a spot of blood on it.
"I'll leave you alone! Just let me take the car and leave!" Heejae and I joined them.
"Will you be taking your boss too?" I asked him pointing toward the front of the car.
The man peeked over to see Jei laying unconscious then gave us a look of reluctance, "do I have to?"
"Maybe it's best to leave him here for the police to find him. In fact, you kids should go before they get here. Especially you," Heejae indicated toward me. "I'll stay and explain what happened."
"And what happened?" I asked.
"A client was kidnapped for ransom. As a security team, we did our job to retrieve him back. You three were never here," Heejae cocked an eyebrow at us. Yurim pressed her lips. Yoongi just looked tired. "And the women I train and asked for help were never here either."
I chuckled weakly, "I wondered why I saw new faces in there."
The engine of the car suddenly died.
"No! Why?" The man who had sneaked into the car turned the key over and over with no luck. "Why now! You were running this entire time, you piece of shit!"
Yoongi scoffed, "so karma does exist."
But there was no time for anyone to smile when something hit the hood of the car. Or rather who.
Jei used the vehicle to get back on his feet. While doing so he caught a glimpse at the man in the driver's seat. "What the hell d'you think you're doing? You were gonna leave me?" He pounded at the hood with his fists, making the man inside flinch.
"What is this guy?" Yurim stared at him in horror. With a irritated huff I stalked toward him once again.
"Hoseok-ah, there isn't time. Just leave him. You all need to leave now."
"Not this guy, Noona. He's too dirty to let go and he's the one person who knows I had something to do with all this. If he tells Woobin, I'm done for."
"Still..." she tried to counter my point.
"GET AWAY FROM THE CAR!" It took me a second to realized it was Yurim who had just shouted. I'd never heard her yell so loud. Before I could look to see what was wrong, I felt Heejae tug me backwards.
The moment my feet went airborne was when I saw the car jaunt forward, smacking Jei off his feet and into the tall grass. I hit the ground and searched the scene for what had happened. There was another car. It's front was mangled and bent. Someone had rammed into the gangster's car, hitting Jei in the process.
The henchmen from before was barely visible under the airbag. And from the other car, someone came out from the driver door.
"JIN!" Heejae and Yurim both exclaim. Though, Heejae seemed more pissed if anything. I was equally surprised to see him show up of all people. Everyone came and gathered near him. I, on the other hand, kept a little distance out of guilt.
"You're supposed to be on your way to your dad!" Noona scolded.
"Yeah well, since when have I done what my dad wants?" he mumbled with a swollen cheek.
230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRrsaCcXCe
Thank you for reading my story and being patient with my monthly updates lol. If you started this story a lot later than when I first started, you're lucky xD I can only imagine I put my OG readers through agony! I know, consistency is not my forte but nonetheless it means so much that my story is getting reads at all so THANK YOU!!!!!!! <3<3<3
YOU'RE AMAZING!!
230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVXpJFoE5j
