[FIC] Our different pasts, Our intertwined present Chap 27
Chapter 27
“I’m not sure you are the best person he would want to see right now….”
“But I still wish to make sure he is alright.”
Jaejoong just shrugged and sighed as he followed Yoochun into the lift at the Seoul General Hospital.
Yunho, Yoochun and Jaejoong had run out after Junsu at the office but the latter was too fast for them. He had already driven off in his car. Yunho then told Yoochun and Jaejoong to go after Junsu while he went home to pick up some clothes for Junsu and his mother.
Yoochun did not understand why Kang-In would attack Junsu’s mother all of a sudden. He had been missing in action for three months now and Yoochun had not been able to go very far on the money laundering case. Nor did he uncover any more activities that Kang-In had going on. Why the sudden attack? What was Kang-In trying to protect?
As he thought about the questions he had, he found himself looking at a worried sick Junsu sitting outside the operating theatre. Despite himself, he stopped dead in his tracks. Jaejoong was right. Would Junsu want to see him now? Would Junsu think that the accident had something to do with him?
“Chun? Hey… why are you standing here? Aren’t you going to go over?”
Jaejoong asked in a whisper as he noticed Yoochun rooted to the ground.
“Maybe you are right… I’m not the best person he should see right now…”
“But since you are already here… why don’t you just go over… he might need your concern now…”
Yoochun swallowed hard. He wanted very much to go over and console Junsu. He had never seen the other man so worried and pale. But yet, he was afraid of what the other thought of him. Would Junsu hate him now for ever bringing Kang-In into the picture? Yoochun’s fists were tightly clenched. He took a deep breath before he finally decided to take steps forward.
Jaejoong just followed quietly behind.
“Ju… Junsu? Are you alright?”
Junsu visibly tensed at Yoochun’s voice.
When Junsu received the message from Kang-In that he had harmed his mother, he felt so angry that he was sure he would kill that bastard if he appeared in front of him Then, Junsu could not help but recall it was Yoochun who started their feud with Kim Kang-In. As much as he knew Yoochun did not want things to end up this way, he did not know if he wanted to speak to him at all. At the same time, he was trying really hard to ignore what his heart wanted at that moment.
“What are you doing here?”
Junsu’s cold, hard voice worked like a sword through Yoochun’s heart.
“I heard about what happened… I just wanted to make sure you were alright…”
“I’m not alright…. And I cannot talk to you right now… please leave…”
Yoochun’s throat turned dry. His fears had come true. Junsu was indeed mad at him. Yoochun did not blame him for feeling that way.
“I will leave… I know you don’t wish to see me… but… I just wish to say… I’m sure Mrs Kim will be fine. I’ve called Changmin and he’ll be here shortly. Take care of yourself.”
Yoochun waited for just one second, hoping that Junsu would have some response. Instead, the other man just held his head low and did not even bother looking up at Yoochun. The taller man just sighed and left. Jaejoong just silently followed.
It was only till Junsu was sure Yoochun had disappeared around the bend, before he sat up and leaned his head against the wall. It was a little colder after Yoochun left.
***
“Are you crazy!”
A voice reverberated in the empty warehouse. The question was directed at a young man with thick eyebrows, sitting with one leg up on the other.
“This is the only way to get your attention.”
“This was NOT what we agreed on! You promised no one will get hurt!”
“And you promised I would get what I wanted! Since you did not keep your side of the bargain, why should I?”
“Kim Kang-In, YOU!”
A loud snigger could be heard sounding through the empty place.
“You cannot beat me at this game, partner… I’ve been at it since I was born.”
The other man paled.
***
“I don’t understand, hyung… what is Kim Kang-In trying to do?”
Yoochun mumbled as he downed his second bottle of beer. Hyesung just shrugged.
“You got me. I don’t know either…. I mean… all this is getting too much attention. Wait…”
“What hyung? Did you think of something?”
Jaejoong asked as he took away Yoochun’s third bottle, causing the latter to frown at him.
“Maybe that was his intention… to get attention… but not everyone’s… someone crucial to his plan…”
“You mean… that someone whom we suspect is helping him in Kim Enterprise?”
Jaejoong spoke again, this time, while pushing a half-drunken Yoochun away from snatching the beer bottle. The older man ended up smacking Yoochun on the head.
“Boys… could you stop playing? Yoochun, that is pretty enough… stop drinking! And yes… someone in Kim Enterprise must be helping Kang-In… and from the looks of the lack of activity for the past three months… maybe the partners aren’t seeing eye to eye anymore…”
“Yoochun, get off me! You are almost drunk already! Hey! We are analyzing the problem here… are you even listening!”
“Yes I am…. Give me that!”
Yoochun tried to jump at Jaejoong for the bottle, only to miss and hit his head on the bar counter top.
“Ouch! Hyung!”
“You’ve had enough! Be serious will you… we are trying to figure out YOUR problem…”
Jaejoong was now keeping Yoochun away from him by using his leg to push against Yoochun’s waist.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Hyesung could not help asking upon seeing Yoochun’s drunken stupor.
“Junsu is mad at him for his mother’s accident… refused to even look at him at the hospital…”
Hyesung just raised a brow.
“I want one more!”
Yoochun slurred as he made another jump at Jaejoong for the beer.
“Stop it will you! Be SERIOUS!”
Jaejoong shouted as he gave Yoochun a hard push, causing the drunken boy to hit his head on the bar counter a second time.
“Ow… I am being serious…. I’ve been listening… Hyesung hyung is suggesting that Kang-In hurt Mrs Kim deliberately in order to make his partner do his bidding…”
Yoochun said in an almost slur, as he massaged the part of his forehead which made two hard impacts with the bar counter top. The knocks seemed to have sobered him up a little.
“Doesn’t that mean… this partner could be close to or even related to Mrs Kim?”
Yoochun finally looked like he was deep in thought as he considered Jaejoong’s comment.
Hyesung thought about it and seemed to have come to a conclusion.
“Not necessarily… Kang-In was probably trying to prove that he was unstoppable.”
***
“What has Mrs Kim got to do with all this? Why must you involve her?”
The young man in the warehouse spoke again.
Kim Kang-In sniggered again before he spoke.
“I wanna show you I can hurt ANYONE… So you had better start giving me what I want…”
“I told you…. Your plan is not going to work if Park Yoochun is working in Kim Enterprises!”
“Who gives a fuck about Park Yoochun! He can do nothing to me!”
“At the rate that he is investigating, he will find out what we are doing sooner or later. And when Kim Junsu finds out, that spells the end of our plans!”
“No…”
The frantic young man looked up at Kang-In’s calm tone, holding his breath for what was to come next from the cold blooded man.
“When Kim Junsu finds out, that would be the end of YOUR plans… but my plans for Kim Enterprise will still be underway… yes…. Things would be a little difficult without you… but I can always find another replacement.”
“FINE! Find yourself another replacement! I’m out of this!”
The young man yelled in Kang-In’s face as he stormed towards the exit of the warehouse, but only to be stopped by Kang-In’s men.
“Get the fuck out of my way!”
“I’m sorry pal…”
The young man turned at Kang-In’s voice.
“It is entirely up to me to replace you and the only reason I would do that is if you… DIE…”
The young man paled once again.
“I know you have not been responding or doing anything for the past three months because you wish to break our partnership. Threatening to spill my beans will not work for me… It will only get people around you hurt… You’ve already seen what I am capable of. The reason why you’re still alive is because you are still of use to me… Don’t spoil that…”
As Kim Kang-In was speaking to his partner, he had taken out a revolver and was twirling it in his hands, occasionally pointing the weapon at the tall young man. The man could feel his legs wobble though he was not showing it in his face.
***
“Are you the patient’s family?”
Junsu and Changmin jumped out of their seats immediately.
“We are… how is the patient?”
Junsu asked anxiously.
“The patient had a hard impact on her head, causing a blood clot. As a result, she is currently in a coma. We would need to run more tests to determine her current comatose condition but I am not hopeful, considering the age of the patient. Please be mentally prepared that the patient may remain a vegetable for the rest of her life. I am truly sorry.”
The doctor gave a regretful bow before he walked past Junsu and Changmin.
Changmin could not believe what he heard and he was worried about his hyung. Junsu was as still as a statue. Changmin did not dare speak. He took in a deep breath before he walked over to Junsu.
“Hyung…? Are you alright?”
Silence.
“Hyung…?”
“Argh!”
“Ow! Hyung!”
Junsu gave a sudden shout of agony and pushed Changmin out of his way as he ran like a madman down the otherwise quiet corridor. Nurses and doctors were throwing him dirty looks for breaking the tranquil of the place. Changmin quickly ran after his hyung, not knowing what he would do in his current state of mind.
***
“You’re crazy…”
“It’s a little too late for you now…”
The young man swallowed, fully regretting his decision to work with this character four years ago. Now, he had no way out of it. He was trapped.
As if reading his thoughts, Kim Kang-In laughed sickeningly in the hollow warehouse as he stood up to walk up to the man.
“You have no way out of this partner… I can easily replace you… but I cannot possibly believe you would not rat on me… so you will only be replaced when you are dead… So it’s either I kill you… or Kim Junsu does… ha… But trust me… Kim Junsu would not live for long from the day he realizes your involvement in all this. I like to play things safe. I cannot have you telling Kim Junsu all that we have done now…. Can I?”
Kang-In spoke, the whole time raising his revolver at the man’s face. The other young man could not believe what he has gotten himself into.
“So… I would expect you to go back and resume our business. If you make me happy, I might consider not killing you when I achieve what I want. But as of now… you do not have a choice… have I made myself clear?”
The young man gave Kim Kang-In a dirty look. He could not believe he allowed himself to be manipulated by this monster. He had to work something out to get out of this mess. At the present moment, he could only give in to Kang-In’s demands.
***
“What kind of plans could Kang-In possibly have with a company like Kim Enterprises?”
Jaejoong thought out loud as he kept the warm towel on Yoochun’s face. The latter finally decided he had enough when he felt the bumps on his forehead forming.
“Well… if he is as ambitious as we give him credit for… maybe he wants to be a shareholder or something.”
“You mean run a legal business?”
“Bastard…”
Came a curse from the vicinity of the warm towel.
“Is it even possible, hyung?”
“Well, that would explain the money laundering. First, he gets rids of his dirty money through Kim Enterprises, then he would find a way to transfer the money back into his own pockets once he holds the reins to the company. Kim Enterprises is a listed company. All Kang-In has to do is to buy in the shares and that is probably what his partner is helping him with.”
“I’m really starting to wonder who his partner is… to be able to do so much for him…”
“Bastard number two…”
Yoochun cursed as he handed the towel back to Jaejoong.
“I’m sobered… Now I need a cold one for my bumps…”
“Must you always be so grouchy and demanding when you are drunk?”
Jaejoong lamented as he made his way over the bar counter to get ice.
“I’m not drunk!”
“You’re not sober either!”
“Stop it you two!”
Hyesung said in disbelief. He could not believe his two dongsaengs are still as childish as ever. But he did kind of miss it.
“Hyesung hyung… he started it!”
“Why am I even doing this for you!”
Jaejoong complained once again as he threw the towel filled with ice at Yoochun, successfully hitting the latter in the face with it.
“OW! Hyung! I already have two bumps on my head!”
“You asked for it!”
“Okay! That’s pretty enough… you guys are quarreling a lot tonight! I’m getting a headache. Nobody say anything!”
“Just because Kim Junsu…”
“Jaejoong, I said that’s enough!”
Hyesung regretted thinking that he missed it. He had forgotten how irritating his dongsaengs could get. Now they were just making faces at each other.
At this moment, Hyesung’s mobile rang. He gave both Jaejoong and Yoochun a stern look to stop their squabbling before he fished out his phone to answer it. The moment his head was turned, he could hear ice being thrown around his bar. He made a mental note to get them to clean up the mess later.
“Are you sure?”
The urgency in Hyesung’s voice finally snapped the ice throwing figures back to reality. Both Jaejoong and Yoochun turned to look at Hyesung.
“Alright. I owe you one. Thanks.”
“What’s wrong hyung?”
Hyesung looked disapprovingly at the pieces of melted ice on his pub floor and gave both Jaejoong and Yoochun a smack each on their heads. The two younger men just accepted it as they rubbed at the spot.
“A friend of mine called. Said his men discovered Kang-In.”
“Really? Where is he?”
“Apparently, he had been hiding at the emptied warehouses at the end of town. That piece of land belongs to Kim Enterprises… no surprise there. No one is allowed entry. My friend’s men managed to find out because he overheard Kang-In’s men talking and then followed them.”
“So he had been hiding ther…”
SLAM!
“What the hell?”
Jaejoong’s sentence was cut off by a loud slam of the pub door. Yoochun went over quickly to find out who or what it was.
“Who is it, Yoochun?”
“It’s Junsu…”
“What?”
Jaejoong and Hyesung said at the same time as they looked to Yoochun for more answers. The latter was looking at a cell phone in his hand.
“This is Junsu’s phone… what was he doing here?”
At that moment, Junsu’s phone rang. The caller was Changmin. Yoochun quickly answered the call.
“Hello, Changmin? This is Yoochun. Junsu just dropped his phone outside Hyesung’s pub. What is going on?”
“Yoochun hyung? Did you see Junsu hyung? I was following him after he ran out of the hospital but I could not keep up with his driving and lost him. Auntie may stay in a coma and hyung just rushed out when he heard the news. I’m worried about what he may do because he looked really angry. What is he doing at the pub anyway?”
Yoochun’s breathing quickened and he could feel his heart in his stomach. Junsu must have overheard their conversation and is on his way to confront Kim Kang-In.
Alone.
“That idiot!”
“Yoochun!”
Hyesung and Jaejoong could not comprehend what was happening as Yoochun swore and took off in a rush.