TRAPPED || Taegguk

[ 58 ] Down the rabbit hole

This time, it was Seoyeon's turn to frown. "What do you mean his bitch?"

Jeongguk's hold tightened around the bottle he was still gripping in his left hand. Just thinking about it made him angry, but he knew it would eat him alive if he didn't talk about it. And fortunately for him, Seoyeon was the trustworthiest person he'd ever known, and she was right here next to him, ready to listen.

"He calls me his right hand man but we both know it's nothing that glorious. He just wants someone to clean up after him, do all the things he's too mighty to do. He's got me running dirty errands all day."

"What kind of errands...?" Seoyeon held her breath as she waited for the younger's response.

Jeongguk pursed his lips, mind going blank. He brought the bottle to his lips again and took a generous gulp of the clear liquid before shaking his head to collect his thoughts.

"All sorts of errands. Collecting money from people who owe him, even if it means I have to break in their house and threaten their family. I still sell, of course. And I clean up when things go wrong. I attend all the meetings with Han and I have to help them find ways to destroy more lives. It's only a matter of time before he asks me to pull the trigger myself, Seoyeon."

"And I don't want to." Every word Jeongguk said fueled the anger growing in Seoyeon's chest. And soon, it was too much to fit in her abdomen; it rose up to her throat, keeping her from speaking properly.

"Why the fuck would he ask you to do all that?" Her sultry voice was raspy now, shaking with hatred towards Han. To say she was baffled to learn this would be an understatement: she was flabbergasted. Last time she checked, Han didn't have a speck of trust in Jeongguk. He was incredibly doubtful, always double checking everything the man did and carefully watching his every move. So what had changed, that he now wanted the same guy as his closest partner?

Something felt wrong. Terribly wrong.

"Because I betrayed him." Jeongguk took a deep breath as well as yet another sip of soju before he discarded the now empty bottle. "Well, not really. I told Taehyung about Han, and I don't know. I guess he thought he could help me... he probably said something to Han that pissed him off. Now Han's threatening to hurt Taehyung if I don't do whatever he wants, and I can't ruin the guy's life like that."

It took a while for Seoyeon to process and understand everything the younger was saying, for he was speaking unusually fast, his words barely articulated and his voice faint as ever.

"Taehyung? Is that the guy you told me about?" He nodded, which only confused Seoyeon even more. "Why would he talk to Han?"

"I don't fucking know. He went through my stuff and found his number, so I'm guessing he texted him trying to convince him to be a nice guy of some shit." Jeongguk shrugged.

"Rookie mistake." Seoyeon sighed, shaking her head. "Let me guess, Han tracked his number, found some dirt about him and is now using it to blackmail you?"

"Spot on." Jeongguk grit his teeth together. He knew Taehyung had only intended to save him from a dangerous situation, yet he couldn't help but resent him.

"Fuck." Seoyeon whispered.

"Fuck indeed. I'm done for. This is how I'm going to spend the rest of my life, isn't it? I'm going to die as Han's dog." He spat, each of his word covered in venom. He leaned down to grab the last bottle from the pack and eagerly pried the cap off with his pocket knife. Seoyeon watched in silence as her best friend took a few sips from the bottle, his eyes shut close and his nose scrunched as he downed half of the bottle in a matter of seconds.