His Bodyguard (Boy x Boy)

Where There's Smoke There's Fire

Later in the evening, I took my father and  Hari to go 'shopping.'

When we to Jihoon's restaurant she was pleasantly surprised to have a VIP room set up for her. Jihoon even had time off so that we could celebrate her discharge.

It made me forget about my own worries even for a brief moment... 

"Dad, we should try this... Oppa! They have this too!!" I smiled, and watched the three of them talk animatedly. When we were finished dinner, Jihoon escorted us back to our car.

"Jihoon, I thought you didn't have to work tonight..." I closed the door for my father, who was sitting in the back seat. I watched Jihoon lean in to hug Hari.

"I have tomorrow off, remember? We can hang out the whole day" Hari smiled and hugged Jihoon one more time before walking over to the passenger side of the car.

I waved briefly at Jihoon before we drove off. Moments later I realized I forgot my wallet. I pulled over and told them it would be faster for me to run back. They agreed to wait for me...

When I got back to the restaurant, I saw Jihoon taking out the garbage. I smiled, about to announce I had come back, but a few thugs seemingly out of nowhere surrounded him and started roughing him up.

"Hey! HEY!!!" I raced over kicking one of them to the side and then threw off another one off of Jihoon, who was on the ground. I tried picking him up.

"Hyung!!" Jihoon shouted. I turned to see a man race at me with a 4X4 and I ducked a little before launching upwards into a spinning kick.

"Stay over there!" I pushed him away and cracked my neck from side to side.

I waved them over and they advanced. I bent my body around them a few times, landing a few front kicks and a jumping back kick, which pushed onto them into the garbage container, rendering them unconscious.

"Who the hell are you?! Just let us speak to that bastard and we'll let you go!!"

"What do you want from him? What has he done?" I shouted back.

"He owes us money"

"What?"

"Boss is gonna be pissed... get him..."

What was going on?

The thugs advanced at me a little more desperately and I dodged many of their punches. They weren't amateurs, but they weren't martial artists either. When one of them wasn't looking I caught him off guard by kicking off from the wall and landing a kick towards his chest. He stumbled into the other guy and when I regained my balance, I finished the other guy with a side kick.

When they were disoriented I grabbed a hold of Jihoon and ran out of the alleyway and into his restaurant, where the owner called the police. I called my father and told him to drive Hari home. 

After the police arrived they took our statements. 

Those thugs were long gone by then.

"Who the hell were they, Jihoon?"

"Hyung..." I sighed...

I let him finish his shift, waiting for him at the bar. When he finished, we sat to talk together.

"I... promise... promise me you won't tell Hari..."

"What did you... what happened?"

"I... took out an advanced loan"

"You did what?!" I shouted, and people were looking at us. I waved at them apologetically.

"... 6 months ago when Hari was in the hospital... when she was... you know, Hyung... I knew how you and father were struggling so I... they said a donor helped you pay for treatments, but I got an advanced loan at... a place I found"

"A loan shark?"

"Something like that..." I sighed, thinking I needed a drink.

"How much?"

"Just a little over 10K, but even though I've been making payments they inflated the interest at their own will... so now it's over 30K... Hyung, I'm sorry, but Hari-"

I patted the top of his head a few times and reassured him that he didn't have to do that, but that I know what it must have felt like because I was close to going to the bank too.

"Don't let this become your own burden, Jihoon. You're family now, alright?"

"Hyung..." when he started tearing up I patted his shoulder again while he cried.

"It's going to be okay..."

I needed to get us a lawyer. There's no way I could take these bastards down myself... when I thought of where to turn to, I flushed red in the face. 

President Chae.