Where were you all my life? 49/?
Chapter 49 - Aim! Fire!
Pairings: Yunjae, little hints of Yoosu
Warnings: mention rape and abuse, some violence, smut.
Summary:
Kim Jaejoong is forced to do business with the mafia who keep threatening him. Changmin, Junsu and Yoochun are responsible for his security. Jung Yunho is a cop investigating a paedophile/mafia man named Kim Jaejoong and the mafia is blackmailing him to do one job for them: kill Jaejoong. And so their paths collided. A week later, Jung Yunho is more than a prisoner in Kim Jaejoong's house and both mafia and cops are getting near the two men. Now Taemin is back and there's a race to find him first.
Chapter 47 - Today Is The Day, Chapter 48 - Anxiety
Siwon was entertaining himself imagining his next few days. He was going to play a lot with Taemin, even making sure not to damage the kid too much, too soon. He was also going to keep helping Ri Ho take over Top’s empire and then, off course, have Ri Ho mysteriously disappear and become the one controlling the city. He smiled just thinking of all the things he could do with such power. Getting control of Jaejoong’s company and the properties it owned would be ridiculously easy, for example. Also, there was the detail of Jaejoong himself. Just two weeks ago he had agreed to send people to kill the business man but now that he had seen him again, and worse, now that he suspected that Jaejoong was cheating on him, oh, he had other plans for him. Very specific plans that meant the pretty man would share a similar fate with Taemin.
Checking his watch, Siwon grew impatient. The men following Taemin’s friend still had nothing to report but he couldn’t help notice how the boy seemed to be getting further away from the square, as if he was getting ready to go away. Leaving the one man tailing the girl Joon-gook had requested for, the lawyer called some of the men to close in on Jonghyun. He was getting suspicious. Too much time had passed already. His driver was almost about to go on another tour of the back streets when Joon-gook called.
-Boss, just found a surveillance van. At least it looks like one, it seems to be broadcasting radio. Doesn’t appear to be from the cops, maybe it’s that Kim Jaejoong and his pretty models?
-What? Have you seen inside it?
-No. I’m just calling to ask if you want us to take it out. If it’s them, they’ll know were here.
-Get rid of it. If it’s them, then they already know I’m here and why. But get your ass back here. I want you near me. Leave everything ready for some of the men to blow that thing up and have all of them come to this damn square. If Jaejoong’s bodyguards really are here, then Taemin must be here for sure.
…
Taemin took deep breaths to relax. He vaguely remembered that Ren had mentioned that Kim Jaejoong had a large team of bodyguards because he had received threats from the mafia. If the team was as big as Ren had made it seem, then as soon as he reached them, he would be safe. Siwon wouldn’t catch him. With a final deep breath, he stepped back into the market confusion, unaware of the man who was following him.
…
Jung Il Woo called Captain Rain to inform him about what Taemin had said.
-You mean the kid saw Choi Siwon kill the guy? That not only absolves Yunho of any suspicion and gets him back on active duty but will also put away Siwon for a long time. Even without any hard evidence other than the kid’s testimony it will still allow a better investigation and maybe we’ll be able to get more dirt on the guy besides the evidences of money laundering that Lee Jun Ki, Shin Hye-sung and Jun Jin have managed to come up with.
-Donghae and Kim Junsu both think that Siwon is here.
-Caught in the act. That would be even better. Keep following the bodyguard’s plan but get ready to step forward. Things have been too quiet for long.
-Yes, Captain.
…
Jaejoong waited out of sight for any sign of Taemin. Yunho was right behind him and the slim man sighed. Having the cop nearby made him feel calmer. Even knowing he had nearly all his men around the square, Changmin, Jun Ki and Eric right behind him as well, it was Yunho’s presence that reassured him.
Out of hearing distance Changmin had taken Jun Ki to the side. The assistant had agreed to a private talk with a confused look at how angry the tall bodyguard seemed to be. It made no sense to Jun Ki. He couldn’t understand just what the big deal was. It was messing with his patience. He was seriously getting tired of being ordered around by the younger man.
-You’re returning to the mansion right now.
-Look here, Shim Changmin, you are not my boss. You can’t tell me what to do.
-Damn you, this isn’t safe. There are way too many Ri Ho’s men around here and now even Siwon’s men are here too. We’ve already had a recent gun fight with them and this might turn into another. You may be a good fighter but you’re not ready for that.
Jun Ki stopped glaring at the taller man, startled to finally realise that Changmin was simply worried about him. His heart fluttered. This was a side of the younger man he had missed so much the last days.
…
At Park Ri Ho’s club, one of the men had finally dared to go check on his boss, only to discover the man was long dead, shot to the head during his sleep sometime during the night. After the initial two seconds of shock he was envisioning dreams of taking Ri Ho’s place. Even if he didn’t carry on with the plan against Top, just taking over Ri Ho’s position would already be amazing. He returned outside, careful to lock the door so no one else would find too soon. He needed to do things right.
Outside the club, a huge number of cars surrounded the place. However, only Top and some of his closest men got out of the cars. He strolled inside, no one daring to stop him and went right to Ri Ho’s office.
Top smiled to notice that Ri Ho’s death was still unknown. He wondered if any of the men already knew about it and was planning to take over. Most of Ri Ho’s men were eyeing him with some fear. These were the ones in the inner circle, the ones who knew all that had been hidden from him. And yet, it had been so easy to find everything. Some well-placed bribes and all of Ri Ho’s secret operations were an open book. Top was still finding it hard to digest that it had taken Jaejoong’s insinuations to open his eyes. Even harder to digest that so many men who should respect and fear him, had chosen to side with Ri Ho. He could understand that some had kept silent in fear of their boss but they should fear him more.
Before today was over, Top was going to make sure no else was more feared than he was.
…
Siwon decided to take matters into his own hands when he noticed that Joon-gook was back to the square. That meant that the van had been taken out or was being taken out. With determination, he opened the car door and walked up to where a statue stood in the middle of everything. Going to the higher steps and walking around the pedestal, he could look around the market, the bus stops, the parked cars, the people resting on the garden benches, the cars driving by and the people in the nearby streets. He took his time, making sure that he was perfectly visible.
…
High up in a building, Junsu wondered if he should just shoot Siwon. He was feeling seriously tempted. Siwon’s actions were too weird. The lawyer always made sure to hide his tracks, it made no sense that he was now standing in the middle of a crowd for everyone to see him. Keeping quiet, Junsu pointed his gun at Siwon and waited. He didn’t try to alert anyone on the radio, they would easily spot the man.
Jonghyun knew he was supposed to wait until Taemin was safely with Changmin but as soon as he saw his friend start to cross the street, he practically started running to get back to where Yoochun was. He was feeling more and more scared. There was just too many Ri Ho’s and Siwon’s men following him, they even outnumbered the men he knew worked for Jaejoong.
Taemin was at a traffic light, ready to cross the street. The signal wasn’t green yet so he looked around and to his horror found Siwon almost looking in his direction.
Jaejoong had noticed with a sigh of relief that Taemin was at the traffic light but he frowned when the boy suddenly seemed to freeze.
Yunho and Eric were both eyeing the crowd, wary of the increase in men around the square. They seemed to be going all out in trying to find Taemin. Then they heard Jaejoong’s intake of breath.
-Siwon.
-What?
-He’s right there.
Both men looked at where Jaejoong was pointing and were surprised to find the lawyer in front of the statue, right in the middle of the square.
Yoochun noticed how Jonghyun was getting more and more nervous and gave up. It was time to remove the young man out of harm way. No point in hanging around. The others would make sure to take care of Taemin. He had to take care of Jonghyun. As he approached the young man he noticed Siwon in plain view.
-Shit! Jonghyun, run!
Changmin had gone silent, staring hard at Jun Ki. He felt uneasy. Something in his gut just kept telling him he had to take Jun Ki far away.
Jaejoong ran to meet Taemin and this time Yunho didn’t stop him. He simply followed closely behind, taking out his gun, ready to jump into action if necessary. The business man wanted to scream to get the boy’s attention but didn’t dare. The boy’s disguise was still being effective and he was too far away to risk it. And Siwon was obviously counting that the boy would run away the second he saw him standing there.
Taemin was transfixed. Siwon was looking right in his direction. His heart stopped.
Min Joon-gook, with some of his men, was walking slowly, carefully looking at the smaller streets that led to the side streets behind. Ahead of him he suddenly spotted Kim Jaejoong coming out of what looked like a dead end alley and heading into the crowd. Maybe he was going to get the boy? He run up the parallel street, hoping to set up an ambush and suddenly had to duck. The tall young bodyguard that had held him at gun point in the hotel was just around the corner.
Jaejoong tried to keep people in front of him. He needed to arrive near Taemin and keep out of Siwon’s sight. Behind him he felt Yunho’s presence and that was enough. He ignored any fear that his ex-boyfriend caused him and fixated his attention in arriving near the frozen teenager.
Taemin felt that the seconds lasted an eternity. At any moment he expected the lawyer to smile his creepy smile and walk towards him.
Jonghyun didn’t wait to find out why Yoochun was telling him to run. He simply took off, even ignoring incoming cars and kept going, especially when he noticed how Yoochun had taken his gun out. He did not want to stay and find out what had made the older man take out his gun in a place so full of people.
Siwon kept looking around the crowd. His strategy was working. Already he could spot a few of Jaejoong’s bodyguards. Yoochun for example had come out of hiding to help that Jonghyun boy try to escape. The others should be nearby. He kept looking around.
Taemin’s heart still seemed to have died. He couldn’t remember how to breathe. Siwon had looked at him but kept looking around. “He didn’t recognise me.” His brain started screaming at him to run away, just run away. The traffic lights had turned green and were now red again. He anxiously watched the flow of cars.
Changmin tried to calm down. He was tired of knowing that Jun Ki hated when he ordered him around. Determined to get him to safety he went with a different approach.
-Jun Ki, please. I don’t want to worry about you. If I don’t know if you’re safe I won’t be able to be any help to Jae and Taemin. At least go back to where Donghae is. Please?
Just around the corner, Joon-gook smiled to recognise what was happening. He was suddenly feeling very happy. He knew exactly how to get back for being held at gun point.
Jaejoong arrived at the other side of the road and cursed the traffic.
Taemin saw him and Jung Yunho right behind and remembered how to breathe again. However, there weren’t enough people in Jaejoong’s side of the street to block him from view.
Siwon spotted Jaejoong while doing another sweep of the square. He almost had to fight smiling at Yunho who was looking right at him. He tried to figure where Taemin was hiding. He was now really smiling. He had seen plenty of his men circling around Jaejoong. They must have seen him sometime before.
Taemin took one last look in Siwon’s direction while the lights were red. That one last look was his downfall.
Siwon’s eyes bulged when he recognized the scared look the pretty girl was giving him. That face, those scared eyes. It was Taemin.
Yoochun shot a few warning shots at the men who had started running after Jonghyn.
High up, Junsu also took down a few of them.
As soon as Siwon’s men started hiding for cover, Yoochun took off after Jonghyun who was already surrounded by some of his fellow bodyguards.
The sound of shots woke up Taemin from his spell. He stopped staring at Siwon and fought his panic to run blindly into Jaejoong’s arms, almost getting run over by a car in the process. Jaejoong and Yunho immediately surrounded the young boy and ran back to the street where they had the cars.
Changmin jumped when he heard shots. Instinctively, he pulled Jun Ki behind him, took off his gun and moved to investigate. He cursed himself that he got so lost because of arguing with the older man that he didn’t even knew any more where everybody was or what was going on. He called his friends on his ear piece. Nothing. Tried again. Still nothing.
Satisfied and with a big smile, Siwon walked back to his car and told his driver to go.
Yunho was forced to fire warning shots to the men following them. From the street Eric and a few of the men did the same, trying very hard not to hit anyone innocent.
The panic was installed. Everyone was running across the square, screaming in fear.
High up Junsu was helping to cover for both sides, trying to make sure Taemin and Jaejoong arrived safely and also to prevent too many men to go after Yoochun. He kept trying to call Yoochun but his radio seemed dead. He couldn’t reach anyone, not even Donghae or the cops.
Changmin turned the corner and cursed even more. Telling the assistant to stay put, he ran to help Eric. Jun Ki watched anxiously. Fortunately they were all soon under cover, Jaejoong and Taemin moving to the cars.
Joon-gook approached carefully. He had the men with him ready to shoot the car’s tires but made sure they waited until he caught his prey. With his gun ready, he attacked.
Jun Ki didn’t even have time to yell.
There was a strange muffled sound. Changmin looked behind him but saw nothing more than Jaejoong and Taemin running to the cars, Yunho following close behind and shooting to cover their escape. But he frowned. Jun Ki wasn’t joining them. He was sure the assistant had finally agreed. Warning Eric that he was going to check Jun Ki, he ran carefully, having to shoot his way. When he turned the corner, he was faced with his worst nightmare.
…
Back in Ri Ho’s club, Top figured out who was the guy to talk to. It was the one too eager to please. He sent the others out and with a smile, asked the man to be showed the youngest kid they had in the club. He dismissed the man’s attempts to pretend he didn’t understand what he was asking.
-Spare me. You think I don’t know you have kids here. But relax. I’m not here to pull Ri Ho’s ears because of it. I… Well, I’m here as a client. So, I hope for the best. And I’m sure the younger the better. So… lead me to the youngest you have to offer. Boy or girl.
Top studied the man’s face as he processed. Then the man smiled and signalled him to follow, not even batting an eyelash when Top’s men also followed. He was led through several doors until he felt almost lost in a maze. Some doors were open and Top could see young boys and girls, trying to keep hidden. From behind some doors there was unmistakable noises. Top forced his face to remains neutral but signalled his men. A few stayed behind. Finally they stopped at another unmarked door. Ri Ho’s man smiled proudly.
-These are our youngest. One boy is a bit out of shape because he was entertaining a regular client yesterday but the others are ready for you to pick. You can even have all. I’ll be back at Ri Ho’s office if you need me.
Top nodded to the man and waited until he was out of ear shot before addressing his men.
-Call the other men. Get them inside this fucking place now. Make sure no one gets away. And I mean no one. Also give the go ahead to our men outside the other clubs that Park Ri Ho managed.
-Yes, Sir.
Top took a deep breath and tried to open the door. His hand shook. He grabbed his phone instead.
-Cheryl? How are you, my blondie?
-What is it, baby?
-Had a sudden need to hear your voice. How are the kids?
-Trying to get cookies and chocolates for lunch.
-Daddy? Please, please! We promise we’ll eat all the soup after.
-Darling, you can only have chocolates for desert. Never before.
-But Daddy…
-You know what? You can all have a big bag of cookies and chocolates instead of lunch.
-Yes! Mommy, Daddy says eyes!
-But I will make sure you all eat soup for dinner. You hear me?
-Yes, Daddy. We will.
-Choi Seung-hyun, you better have a good explanation.
-They deserve to be kids. You can pull my ears later.
-What is happening?
-Ri Ho’s club. I think it’s worse than I thought.
-Oh…
-Have to go. Just needed to hear you all. Love you.
-We love you too. Take care.
-I will.
Top turned off his phone. Behind him, he could already hear his men dragging clients outside and making sure the kids remained in their rooms. Further away, there were distinct sounds of gun fire. With a sigh he opened the door, closing it behind him.
…
Chapter 50 - Flight or Fight?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Pst, Chi, I did say I'd give you Top. ;)
Pairings: Yunjae, little hints of Yoosu
Warnings: mention rape and abuse, some violence, smut.
Summary:
Kim Jaejoong is forced to do business with the mafia who keep threatening him. Changmin, Junsu and Yoochun are responsible for his security. Jung Yunho is a cop investigating a paedophile/mafia man named Kim Jaejoong and the mafia is blackmailing him to do one job for them: kill Jaejoong. And so their paths collided. A week later, Jung Yunho is more than a prisoner in Kim Jaejoong's house and both mafia and cops are getting near the two men. Now Taemin is back and there's a race to find him first.
Chapter 47 - Today Is The Day, Chapter 48 - Anxiety
Siwon was entertaining himself imagining his next few days. He was going to play a lot with Taemin, even making sure not to damage the kid too much, too soon. He was also going to keep helping Ri Ho take over Top’s empire and then, off course, have Ri Ho mysteriously disappear and become the one controlling the city. He smiled just thinking of all the things he could do with such power. Getting control of Jaejoong’s company and the properties it owned would be ridiculously easy, for example. Also, there was the detail of Jaejoong himself. Just two weeks ago he had agreed to send people to kill the business man but now that he had seen him again, and worse, now that he suspected that Jaejoong was cheating on him, oh, he had other plans for him. Very specific plans that meant the pretty man would share a similar fate with Taemin.
Checking his watch, Siwon grew impatient. The men following Taemin’s friend still had nothing to report but he couldn’t help notice how the boy seemed to be getting further away from the square, as if he was getting ready to go away. Leaving the one man tailing the girl Joon-gook had requested for, the lawyer called some of the men to close in on Jonghyun. He was getting suspicious. Too much time had passed already. His driver was almost about to go on another tour of the back streets when Joon-gook called.
-Boss, just found a surveillance van. At least it looks like one, it seems to be broadcasting radio. Doesn’t appear to be from the cops, maybe it’s that Kim Jaejoong and his pretty models?
-What? Have you seen inside it?
-No. I’m just calling to ask if you want us to take it out. If it’s them, they’ll know were here.
-Get rid of it. If it’s them, then they already know I’m here and why. But get your ass back here. I want you near me. Leave everything ready for some of the men to blow that thing up and have all of them come to this damn square. If Jaejoong’s bodyguards really are here, then Taemin must be here for sure.
…
Taemin took deep breaths to relax. He vaguely remembered that Ren had mentioned that Kim Jaejoong had a large team of bodyguards because he had received threats from the mafia. If the team was as big as Ren had made it seem, then as soon as he reached them, he would be safe. Siwon wouldn’t catch him. With a final deep breath, he stepped back into the market confusion, unaware of the man who was following him.
…
Jung Il Woo called Captain Rain to inform him about what Taemin had said.
-You mean the kid saw Choi Siwon kill the guy? That not only absolves Yunho of any suspicion and gets him back on active duty but will also put away Siwon for a long time. Even without any hard evidence other than the kid’s testimony it will still allow a better investigation and maybe we’ll be able to get more dirt on the guy besides the evidences of money laundering that Lee Jun Ki, Shin Hye-sung and Jun Jin have managed to come up with.
-Donghae and Kim Junsu both think that Siwon is here.
-Caught in the act. That would be even better. Keep following the bodyguard’s plan but get ready to step forward. Things have been too quiet for long.
-Yes, Captain.
…
Jaejoong waited out of sight for any sign of Taemin. Yunho was right behind him and the slim man sighed. Having the cop nearby made him feel calmer. Even knowing he had nearly all his men around the square, Changmin, Jun Ki and Eric right behind him as well, it was Yunho’s presence that reassured him.
Out of hearing distance Changmin had taken Jun Ki to the side. The assistant had agreed to a private talk with a confused look at how angry the tall bodyguard seemed to be. It made no sense to Jun Ki. He couldn’t understand just what the big deal was. It was messing with his patience. He was seriously getting tired of being ordered around by the younger man.
-You’re returning to the mansion right now.
-Look here, Shim Changmin, you are not my boss. You can’t tell me what to do.
-Damn you, this isn’t safe. There are way too many Ri Ho’s men around here and now even Siwon’s men are here too. We’ve already had a recent gun fight with them and this might turn into another. You may be a good fighter but you’re not ready for that.
Jun Ki stopped glaring at the taller man, startled to finally realise that Changmin was simply worried about him. His heart fluttered. This was a side of the younger man he had missed so much the last days.
…
At Park Ri Ho’s club, one of the men had finally dared to go check on his boss, only to discover the man was long dead, shot to the head during his sleep sometime during the night. After the initial two seconds of shock he was envisioning dreams of taking Ri Ho’s place. Even if he didn’t carry on with the plan against Top, just taking over Ri Ho’s position would already be amazing. He returned outside, careful to lock the door so no one else would find too soon. He needed to do things right.
Outside the club, a huge number of cars surrounded the place. However, only Top and some of his closest men got out of the cars. He strolled inside, no one daring to stop him and went right to Ri Ho’s office.
Top smiled to notice that Ri Ho’s death was still unknown. He wondered if any of the men already knew about it and was planning to take over. Most of Ri Ho’s men were eyeing him with some fear. These were the ones in the inner circle, the ones who knew all that had been hidden from him. And yet, it had been so easy to find everything. Some well-placed bribes and all of Ri Ho’s secret operations were an open book. Top was still finding it hard to digest that it had taken Jaejoong’s insinuations to open his eyes. Even harder to digest that so many men who should respect and fear him, had chosen to side with Ri Ho. He could understand that some had kept silent in fear of their boss but they should fear him more.
Before today was over, Top was going to make sure no else was more feared than he was.
…
Siwon decided to take matters into his own hands when he noticed that Joon-gook was back to the square. That meant that the van had been taken out or was being taken out. With determination, he opened the car door and walked up to where a statue stood in the middle of everything. Going to the higher steps and walking around the pedestal, he could look around the market, the bus stops, the parked cars, the people resting on the garden benches, the cars driving by and the people in the nearby streets. He took his time, making sure that he was perfectly visible.
…
High up in a building, Junsu wondered if he should just shoot Siwon. He was feeling seriously tempted. Siwon’s actions were too weird. The lawyer always made sure to hide his tracks, it made no sense that he was now standing in the middle of a crowd for everyone to see him. Keeping quiet, Junsu pointed his gun at Siwon and waited. He didn’t try to alert anyone on the radio, they would easily spot the man.
Jonghyun knew he was supposed to wait until Taemin was safely with Changmin but as soon as he saw his friend start to cross the street, he practically started running to get back to where Yoochun was. He was feeling more and more scared. There was just too many Ri Ho’s and Siwon’s men following him, they even outnumbered the men he knew worked for Jaejoong.
Taemin was at a traffic light, ready to cross the street. The signal wasn’t green yet so he looked around and to his horror found Siwon almost looking in his direction.
Jaejoong had noticed with a sigh of relief that Taemin was at the traffic light but he frowned when the boy suddenly seemed to freeze.
Yunho and Eric were both eyeing the crowd, wary of the increase in men around the square. They seemed to be going all out in trying to find Taemin. Then they heard Jaejoong’s intake of breath.
-Siwon.
-What?
-He’s right there.
Both men looked at where Jaejoong was pointing and were surprised to find the lawyer in front of the statue, right in the middle of the square.
Yoochun noticed how Jonghyun was getting more and more nervous and gave up. It was time to remove the young man out of harm way. No point in hanging around. The others would make sure to take care of Taemin. He had to take care of Jonghyun. As he approached the young man he noticed Siwon in plain view.
-Shit! Jonghyun, run!
Changmin had gone silent, staring hard at Jun Ki. He felt uneasy. Something in his gut just kept telling him he had to take Jun Ki far away.
Jaejoong ran to meet Taemin and this time Yunho didn’t stop him. He simply followed closely behind, taking out his gun, ready to jump into action if necessary. The business man wanted to scream to get the boy’s attention but didn’t dare. The boy’s disguise was still being effective and he was too far away to risk it. And Siwon was obviously counting that the boy would run away the second he saw him standing there.
Taemin was transfixed. Siwon was looking right in his direction. His heart stopped.
Min Joon-gook, with some of his men, was walking slowly, carefully looking at the smaller streets that led to the side streets behind. Ahead of him he suddenly spotted Kim Jaejoong coming out of what looked like a dead end alley and heading into the crowd. Maybe he was going to get the boy? He run up the parallel street, hoping to set up an ambush and suddenly had to duck. The tall young bodyguard that had held him at gun point in the hotel was just around the corner.
Jaejoong tried to keep people in front of him. He needed to arrive near Taemin and keep out of Siwon’s sight. Behind him he felt Yunho’s presence and that was enough. He ignored any fear that his ex-boyfriend caused him and fixated his attention in arriving near the frozen teenager.
Taemin felt that the seconds lasted an eternity. At any moment he expected the lawyer to smile his creepy smile and walk towards him.
Jonghyun didn’t wait to find out why Yoochun was telling him to run. He simply took off, even ignoring incoming cars and kept going, especially when he noticed how Yoochun had taken his gun out. He did not want to stay and find out what had made the older man take out his gun in a place so full of people.
Siwon kept looking around the crowd. His strategy was working. Already he could spot a few of Jaejoong’s bodyguards. Yoochun for example had come out of hiding to help that Jonghyun boy try to escape. The others should be nearby. He kept looking around.
Taemin’s heart still seemed to have died. He couldn’t remember how to breathe. Siwon had looked at him but kept looking around. “He didn’t recognise me.” His brain started screaming at him to run away, just run away. The traffic lights had turned green and were now red again. He anxiously watched the flow of cars.
Changmin tried to calm down. He was tired of knowing that Jun Ki hated when he ordered him around. Determined to get him to safety he went with a different approach.
-Jun Ki, please. I don’t want to worry about you. If I don’t know if you’re safe I won’t be able to be any help to Jae and Taemin. At least go back to where Donghae is. Please?
Just around the corner, Joon-gook smiled to recognise what was happening. He was suddenly feeling very happy. He knew exactly how to get back for being held at gun point.
Jaejoong arrived at the other side of the road and cursed the traffic.
Taemin saw him and Jung Yunho right behind and remembered how to breathe again. However, there weren’t enough people in Jaejoong’s side of the street to block him from view.
Siwon spotted Jaejoong while doing another sweep of the square. He almost had to fight smiling at Yunho who was looking right at him. He tried to figure where Taemin was hiding. He was now really smiling. He had seen plenty of his men circling around Jaejoong. They must have seen him sometime before.
Taemin took one last look in Siwon’s direction while the lights were red. That one last look was his downfall.
Siwon’s eyes bulged when he recognized the scared look the pretty girl was giving him. That face, those scared eyes. It was Taemin.
Yoochun shot a few warning shots at the men who had started running after Jonghyn.
High up, Junsu also took down a few of them.
As soon as Siwon’s men started hiding for cover, Yoochun took off after Jonghyun who was already surrounded by some of his fellow bodyguards.
The sound of shots woke up Taemin from his spell. He stopped staring at Siwon and fought his panic to run blindly into Jaejoong’s arms, almost getting run over by a car in the process. Jaejoong and Yunho immediately surrounded the young boy and ran back to the street where they had the cars.
Changmin jumped when he heard shots. Instinctively, he pulled Jun Ki behind him, took off his gun and moved to investigate. He cursed himself that he got so lost because of arguing with the older man that he didn’t even knew any more where everybody was or what was going on. He called his friends on his ear piece. Nothing. Tried again. Still nothing.
Satisfied and with a big smile, Siwon walked back to his car and told his driver to go.
Yunho was forced to fire warning shots to the men following them. From the street Eric and a few of the men did the same, trying very hard not to hit anyone innocent.
The panic was installed. Everyone was running across the square, screaming in fear.
High up Junsu was helping to cover for both sides, trying to make sure Taemin and Jaejoong arrived safely and also to prevent too many men to go after Yoochun. He kept trying to call Yoochun but his radio seemed dead. He couldn’t reach anyone, not even Donghae or the cops.
Changmin turned the corner and cursed even more. Telling the assistant to stay put, he ran to help Eric. Jun Ki watched anxiously. Fortunately they were all soon under cover, Jaejoong and Taemin moving to the cars.
Joon-gook approached carefully. He had the men with him ready to shoot the car’s tires but made sure they waited until he caught his prey. With his gun ready, he attacked.
Jun Ki didn’t even have time to yell.
There was a strange muffled sound. Changmin looked behind him but saw nothing more than Jaejoong and Taemin running to the cars, Yunho following close behind and shooting to cover their escape. But he frowned. Jun Ki wasn’t joining them. He was sure the assistant had finally agreed. Warning Eric that he was going to check Jun Ki, he ran carefully, having to shoot his way. When he turned the corner, he was faced with his worst nightmare.
…
Back in Ri Ho’s club, Top figured out who was the guy to talk to. It was the one too eager to please. He sent the others out and with a smile, asked the man to be showed the youngest kid they had in the club. He dismissed the man’s attempts to pretend he didn’t understand what he was asking.
-Spare me. You think I don’t know you have kids here. But relax. I’m not here to pull Ri Ho’s ears because of it. I… Well, I’m here as a client. So, I hope for the best. And I’m sure the younger the better. So… lead me to the youngest you have to offer. Boy or girl.
Top studied the man’s face as he processed. Then the man smiled and signalled him to follow, not even batting an eyelash when Top’s men also followed. He was led through several doors until he felt almost lost in a maze. Some doors were open and Top could see young boys and girls, trying to keep hidden. From behind some doors there was unmistakable noises. Top forced his face to remains neutral but signalled his men. A few stayed behind. Finally they stopped at another unmarked door. Ri Ho’s man smiled proudly.
-These are our youngest. One boy is a bit out of shape because he was entertaining a regular client yesterday but the others are ready for you to pick. You can even have all. I’ll be back at Ri Ho’s office if you need me.
Top nodded to the man and waited until he was out of ear shot before addressing his men.
-Call the other men. Get them inside this fucking place now. Make sure no one gets away. And I mean no one. Also give the go ahead to our men outside the other clubs that Park Ri Ho managed.
-Yes, Sir.
Top took a deep breath and tried to open the door. His hand shook. He grabbed his phone instead.
-Cheryl? How are you, my blondie?
-What is it, baby?
-Had a sudden need to hear your voice. How are the kids?
-Trying to get cookies and chocolates for lunch.
-Daddy? Please, please! We promise we’ll eat all the soup after.
-Darling, you can only have chocolates for desert. Never before.
-But Daddy…
-You know what? You can all have a big bag of cookies and chocolates instead of lunch.
-Yes! Mommy, Daddy says eyes!
-But I will make sure you all eat soup for dinner. You hear me?
-Yes, Daddy. We will.
-Choi Seung-hyun, you better have a good explanation.
-They deserve to be kids. You can pull my ears later.
-What is happening?
-Ri Ho’s club. I think it’s worse than I thought.
-Oh…
-Have to go. Just needed to hear you all. Love you.
-We love you too. Take care.
-I will.
Top turned off his phone. Behind him, he could already hear his men dragging clients outside and making sure the kids remained in their rooms. Further away, there were distinct sounds of gun fire. With a sigh he opened the door, closing it behind him.
…
Chapter 50 - Flight or Fight?
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Pst, Chi, I did say I'd give you Top. ;)