Lee Know POV
I forced myself to sleep. I took a melatonin and passed out on Felix's couch. Seungmin had dropped Hyunjin back off so that his family didn't get suspicious.
Everything was set in motion for the next day. Felix would spend the day with Changbin. Seungmin would pick Hyunjin up around 5. Jeongin would get there around 8:30.
Hyunjin and Seungmin would watch the cameras to see when Jeongin left, and they'd notify me once they made the ransom call to his parents. They'd then drive him far enough out of the area to inconvenience the Hwangs and their security.
Then, I'd sit by and wait for the SUVs to roll out so that I could break in and save Han.
Easy.
I packed a bag for Han with extra clothes and things I thought he might need. I included plenty of medical supplies, too.
"I'm off to spend the day with Changbin," Felix said. I looked up at his face, and it was full of nerves.
I crossed the room to pull him in for a hug. "I'm so so sorry for what you've been through," I said.
"You too," he whispered. "Stay safe." He had tears in his eyes, but his voice didn't shake. Felix was stronger than any of us.
I simply nodded, and he headed out the door to do his part.
I had hours to kill before I would be able to do anything. Hyunjin had left the footage for me of Han's room and, as adamant as I had been about wanting it, I couldn't bring myself to watch.
It was bad enough to have been tortured by the Hwangs myself, but seeing them torture someone I...it would be too much.
My phone buzzed, making me jump. It wasn't from anyone involved in the extraction though. It was Mrs. Seo, asking for another update on Han. I was grateful I had banked some photos early on so that she hadn't seen everything I'd found.
"We got pizza last night and spent the evening watching movies. He's doing much better," I texted her.
"Thank you for keeping him safe," she replied.
I set my phone back down. I felt a bit guilty about lying, but I had no other option. I twiddled with my fingers and stared at the flash drive sitting across from me. Hyunjin had left the footage of Han for me, but I'd yet to bring myself to even take a peak.
"If I watched, I'd at least know what medical supplies to bring more of," I convinced myself.
I picked it up and plugged it into my laptop. I set it up on the table and opened the folder titled "Jeongin Cams".
My heart dropped at the amount of thumbnails alone. Pictures aside, there were just so many videos...nearly 40 and all of Han. I felt like I was going to be sick.
I put my head in my hands and focused on breathing. He'd need me, and I needed to be prepared.
I clicked on a random video. Han was strung up in chains by his wrists. There were marks all over his chest.
"Who are you working for?" Jeongin asked him.
"I tell you the same answer every time," Han mumbled. His head hung and he looked exhausted.
"Say it then."
"Myself," he answered.
And Jeonging jabbed him with some sort of metal rod. Han cried out, and I paused the video.
I burst into tears as I stared at his pain-stricken face. This video was nearly a half-hour long. And there were over 30 others. I wanted to run over there right now and take out guard after guard until I got to him.
I clicked out of it and opened a more recent one. I needed to know how much the wounding had progressed.
Han was still chained by his wrists but he looked so much thinner. His ribs were very visible and he was now only wearing boxers.
"Ready to tell the truth today," Jeongin asked him.
Jeongin looked up at him with so much hate, "You might as well just go ahead and burn me, Jeongin. I've told you the truth every day,"
"Maybe I'll burn your face today, Han," Jeongin threatened. My heart stopped. Was I about to watch Han's face get burnt?
I skipped ahead a few minutes. I stopped when I saw Jeongin drawing on his leg with the metal rod. He dragged it from his upper thigh down to his ankle.
Han barely let out a whimper this time. He'd changed drastically already.
"You've got a mouth on you now," Jeongin told him. "What happened to the Han that Lee Know wrote about? How had he described you? Fragile? Weak? Easily manipulated?"
I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Of course, they'd find access to our files, too. I hated that Han was hearing that. I wrote it after our fight and never intended for him to hear it.
I looked up and Jeongin had moved towards Han. His hand was on his cheek. "You're really so pretty, Han," he told him. I paused the video.
I didn't know if I wanted to know what was about to happen. I fast-forwarded through the video and stopped when I saw Jeongin pull down Han's boxers.
He had a knife to his dick. "If you don't tell me by tomorrow, I will cut your dick off and make you eat it."
I looked at the title of this video. It was from yesterday. I paused it and clicked into the folder to see if there were any more recent videos, but this was the last one.
I began playing it again.
"Who are you working for?" he asked him again.
"Say something," I whispered to Han, who was standing there silently.
"Answer me," Jeongin demanded.
"Nobody." I sighed. Han had told him the same answer over and over. To get out he'd have to lie to Jeongin, and I didn't think he was capable of that given the limited knowledge he had about the world he'd accidentally stumbled into.
Jeongin burned him again and Han stared straight ahead.
But then the door swung open behind him.
"Jeongin. What the hell do you think you're doing," a voice boomed. My entire body froze.
Mr. Hwang.
My mind was immediately taken back to my first job with Seungmin. We'd been tasked to monitor Mr. and Mrs. Hwang. I'd gotten caught.
I withheld information for as long as I could and eventually shared the passwords at the time to access their databases and the time and drop point of a shipment. He had let me go, but not before leaving marks of his own.
Mr. Hwang, while evil, was not wasteful.
Jeongin looked fearful of his father. "I'm working," he told him.
"Do you realize who this is?" he asked him, clearly furious.
"It's Changbin Seo's best friend. And he was stalking Lee Know. He is obviously working for someone, and it isn't us. I intend to find out who," Jeongin said. He sounded so determined.
"You are a disgrace to our family," Mr. Hwang spat as he kicked Jeongin's leg out from under him causing him to fall. He walked calmly over to his son and placed his heel across his neck.
Jeongin was struggling to breathe.
"He is Mrs. Seo's son. Did you know that?"
Jeongin shook his head under the pressure of his foot and I looked at Han. His eyes were wide and his jaw was open. Chained, nude, and burnt. That's how he discovered his real mother.
"And do you think Mrs. Seo is going to appreciate her son being burned from head to toe?" he grunted as he stepped harder.
"Fix it. Or I'll make sure you end up worse," he said releasing him. Jeongin gasped for air and Mr. Hwang left the room.
The video cut off, and I stared at the screen. Han had gone through this for over three weeks.
I wanted to call Hyunjin to ask if he could find any videos that were more recent but decided against it in case his phone wasn't with him.
He'd be with Seungmin soon enough.
And then, I'd be able to rescue Han.