Running (Chapter 28)
Title: Running
Pairing: Yoosu, ChangKi, Yunjae
Rating: PG-15
Genre: Angst, Comedy
Quotes:
"There is no such thing as [running] forever."
Yoochun eyed the numbers on the calendar and crossed out another box. He walked over to the window of the condo. It was an expensive condo. After all, he’d received a lot of big money from Bae in the past two months. And it was a condo just three blocks from the police station. Just to give Bae a little scare…among other reasons.
Yoochun had been living a live of secret luxury in the past two months. He kept his identity a secret, didn’t talk to his neighbors, and lowered his head when he walked pass the nearby police station, but living nonetheless.
Yoochun wondered where Changmin and Kibum were. He wished he could talk to Changmin; wished he could laugh with Kibum. He missed someone who could talk some senses into him; he missed being called ‘Chunnie’. But at least Yoochun knew that they were still together. Changmin would take care of Kibum and Changmin would take care of himself for the same reason.
Yoochun wondered where Junsu was. He wished he could hear Junsu’s voice, see Junsu’s smile, listen to him laugh, watch him sleep. He missed Junsu…a lot.
Yoochun reached into his pocket and took out a green lollipop. He assumed that Junsu had already eaten the homemade Bunny-shaped lollipop (since Yoochun never saw it again after the birthday party). Yoochun didn’t eat this green lollipop though.
Junsu, Changmin, Kibum…even Jung Yunho and his companion, Kim Jaejoong, were safe for now. But they can’t hide like this for the rest of their lives.
And the other people that had helped Yoochun, people like Boa. They had been forced into the mafia and wanted out, wanted to escape and live a normal life. But it’s not possible to escape the mafia…at least, not unless you destroy the whole empire.
Yoochun clutched the green candy in his fist.
Yoochun would set them all free from Bae. All he needed was time.
Five of the smaller gangs had been knocked out by the police. With less competition, this would bring in more business for Bae. He didn’t have a reason to suspect Yoochun…yet. But Yoochun knew that Bae was ready to use Yoochun as a scapegoat whenever he needed.
Bae was a man who had everything he wanted: money and power. Unlike the five sects, Bae would be able to escape if the police ever found evidence against him. He had the money to hire the best lawyer, and he had the money to hire someone to take the blame for him. Money can easily make a man lie in court, under the eyes of blind justice. If money didn’t work, Bae could easily kidnap a loved one and use Blackmail as his weapon.
So why is Bae still so concerned about the microchip if he already has a defense to keep him out of jail?
The microchip would cause his biggest business partners to be put in jail and without them, he would lose money. If he lost money, he would lose power altogether. Bae didn’t just want to stay OUT of jail; he wanted to keep the money and the power.
Greed is Bae’s weakness.
Greed is Yoochun’s weapon.
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“Another one?”
“Is, but this is a different model. The listening device is missing again. It might just be like the previous set…except the listening device must be attached to another sect of the mafia,” Donghae predicted.
“Could it really be Yunho? But…how is he doing all this?” Kyuhyun frowned. “The little girl who gave this to me could only describe a man wearing a cap. That could be anyone.”
“At least we know it’s a man. The first package was found in the waiting area and the security camera couldn’t even see who put it there. All it had was your name and after it was cleared of suspicion, the department sent it over to us,” Donghae reminded.
“Go have Eunhyuk set it up. If it’ll help us bring down more sectors of the mafia then it’s a good thing.”
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“Maybe you should go back to the station and try…”
“No, my supervisor would only try to keep me away from the case,” Yunho closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The Chief only wants to crack big cases. Because Junho was just another member in the mafia, he didn’t find it worthy of taxpayer’s time. I can’t go back until I find Micky Park.”
“But we don’t even have evidence to prove that he killed Junho. There…there isn’t even a corpse,” Jaejoong reminded sadly.
“We have Xiah as witness and…I’ll keep trying to find evidence. Junho was my best friend, a brother. I won’t let his death drown in the injustice just because my supervisor was a son of a…”
“I understand,” Jaejoong wrapped his arms around the younger man.
Yunho sighed. He’d changed so much in the past months. He’d been obsessed with finding Junho’s murderer that he’d lost himself.
“I’m sorry, Jaejoong.”
Jaejoong smiled and touched the ends of Yunho’s hair. “Don’t be. I wouldn’t love you if you weren’t so dedicated to your loved ones.”
Yunho took Jaejoong’s hand away from his hair and held it in both of his own. “How’s Xiah?”
“Good, I think he finds comfort in working at the flower shop. He says that he’s learning a lot about flowers from his employer and it gives him somewhat of a connection with Junho.”
“Connection? How?”
“Junho liked flowers.”
“Since when?”
Jaejoong tried to remember. “About three weeks before his death.”
Yunho blinked. He didn’t know that. Another reason why he had been such a horrible friend…and he wanted to make up for neglecting his best friend by avenging his murder.
“And Yunho…,” Jaejoong interrupted his thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“You’ve been going all over the place trying to find Park…and you’ve neglected keeping up with the rest of the world,” the blond man explained as he pulled out a stack of newspaper from the bottom of the coffee table.
Yunho read the headlines on each newspaper and magazine, skimming the most informative ones that Jaejoong pointed out. “Five?”
“Inspector Cho told the media that they had a secret source that they are unable to reveal to the public. What do you think the source is?”
“Or ‘who’ the source is,” Yunho analyzed. He was proud of Kyuhyun. The younger man had been the best on his team. “It doesn’t matter. If they can eventually bring down Bae then that will leave Park with no one to help him stay hidden.”
“I just hope all this controversy with the police will distract Bae from wanting to find Xiah,” Jaejoong voiced.
Yunho sighed. “I’ve been neglecting the both of you. I haven’t even thought about how we can prevent Xiah from having to hide for the rest of his life. Even if I catch Park, Bae would still be out and about. He probably still thinks Xiah has the microchip and will continue to hunt for him.”
“Witness Protection can get him a new identity, right?”
“That means he’ll still have to life a false life and usually…witnesses are taken far away so they don’t have contact with any of their family or friends.”
Jaejoong bit his lower lip. He didn’t like the thought of having to be separated from Xiah. “We could…change our identities with him and go wherever he’s sent to.”
Yunho placed a light kiss on the blond man’s soft lips. “Good idea. Once we bring Park to justice, we’ll leave Seoul and start anew. Xiah can get away from all the bad memories here and we’ll be with him throughout.”
Jaejoong smiled, “Then you better hurry and find Park.”
“It’s difficult. I can’t even go around asking people to look at a picture anymore.”
Jaejoong blinked. “What? You don’t have his picture?”
“I only had that one copy and the last time I remember seeing it was when I showed it to Xiah in the hospital.”
“So…does Xiah still have it?”
Yunho tried to think. “Why would he? He’s not allowed to go out searching for Park.”
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The next day, Bae was making his annual visit to one of the secret warehouses on the outskirts of town. Inside the warehouse was a club that only druggies and mafia members knew about. The music was loud and the place stunk of smoke.
Yoochun was sitting in the corner sipping wine when Bae entered. “Enjoying your wine?”
“Celebrating yesterday’s successful trade,” Yoochun drawled. “Money is always something worth celebrating for.”
Bae didn’t trust him, Yoochun knew. And Bae may never trust Yoochun again. But that didn’t mean he didn’t believe in Yoochun’s greed for the materialistic things in life.
Bae scoffed and turned to walk towards his office. Geun Suk and Kangin followed closely behind. The music suddenly stopped and the DJ shouted, “The police are here! Run!”
Bae’s eyes widened in anger and he glared at Yoochun (easily suspecting). Yoochun pretended to not see the glare and prepared to run. As he ran, he pushed Bae along. “Run!”
Bae ignored his suspicion and started to run, being pushed because of the sea of people trying to escape through the back door. Geun Suk and Kangin made way for Bae, pushing and shoving anyone who blocked them. While they were in the front, Yoochun was in the back pushing Bae forward.
They escaped in time through a compartment that no one else knew about. By the time they were out and hiding in the bushes, the four were sweating and breathless from the running.
“Don’t think saving me will make me trust you,” Bae quipped. “If I find out that you led the police here, I will kill you.”
Yoochun wasn’t afraid to meet him eye to eye. “I didn’t save you. I saved myself. I want the easy money and if you get jailed, I’ll lose that source of income.”
Bae scoffed. “They could have caught me in there and they wouldn’t be able to put me in jail.”
“Better to avoid it. Those assholes are a pain to deal with,” Yoochun reasoned. “I guess you three will be waiting for your ride. I’m off.”
Yoochun walked away into the darkness and they had to wonder how he’d get back home. This club was built far from the city and in the ten years that it had been in business, not a single police officer has showed up to close it down. Someone had to have led them here.
“Do you think he leaked the information?” Kangin spoke.
Bae was silent as he watched Yoochun’s disappearing back.
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The next morning…
“I found out who leaked the address to the police,” Geun Suk reported as soon as he walked into the private office.
Kangin eyed Geun Suk and took a guess, “It wasn’t Park?”
“It was Hwang.”
“The one who provided us with the cocaine?”
“The same one who plays ‘common point’ between the five sects who were taken down,” the tall man added.
Bae slammed his fist on the mahogany desk. “Gather men! I want that bastard begging at my feet before I kill him for costing me millions!”
The invasion at the warehouse had caused many arrests of Bae’s followers as well as the confiscation of millions of dollars in drugs. It also caused a flaw in his reputation as the most successful mafia leader. He wouldn’t forgive anyone who mingled with his money and power.
Chapter 29 // “You’re plotting to kill him!”