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"Do you want coffee?" Hyungwon stopped going through the pile of papers before him, turning his head toward the other leader. He then glanced at the clock, biting his tongue slightly before nodding. A cup wouldn't hurt, it wasn't that late.
Hoseok stood up without asking anything else, walking toward the coffee machine in the corner of the office. The younger just lowered his gaze to the papers. Hyunwoo had given them to the two leaders, finally revealing the true form of Ilsang's organization. Oblivion, as they had figured out weeks ago, was a cover-up for Vortex. That's where the whole storm symbolism came from as far as Hyungwon could tell.
Though the whole thing had gone to shit ages ago, remaining dormant for years as Ilsang had been in hiding after faking his death. What made it crumble? Multiple agreements were being pulled, including some made between Ilsang and the fathers of the two younger leaders.
Basically, Hyunwoo had handed him a stack of finance logs and said "Good luck". It wasn't anything they could use to conjure up a plan going ahead. It irritated Hyungwon beyond belief and he wanted to scream at the guy and demand something more useful. Like floor plans or information on Ilsang's up-and-coming jailbreak mission. However, before he could get too heated, Hoseok had stepped in and shut him up.
Hoseok snapped him out of it by placing a mug on his desk. "Are you okay?" the older asked, once again sitting down on the edge. Chairs, apparently, still didn't exist. Hyungwon sighed, grabbing the mug with both hands. "I'm okay," he replied shortly, rubbing his face into his hands.
"You're about to rip your hair out. What's up?" He held the urge to roll his eyes, leaning back in the chair and finally looking up at the other. "There's nothing useful there." he signaled at the papers he'd been going through for the past few days. "And I just have to sit here in suspense whenever your phone rings, expecting it to be that shithead. It's been too long for them not to have made a move yet..."
As if on cue, the elder's phone rang and the man dug it out. Hyungwon observed the man for a moment, a tense feeling in his chest that eased only when the device was set down. "I will tell you when it's time, I swear," he said, grabbing the younger's hand gently though Hyungwon sighed again, shaking his head slightly before pulling his hand away.
"Whatever," he muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. He hadn't been able to relax, and while that was in general nothing new, it had reflected on the atmosphere in the room. Both of them, no, all of them had been on edge since the court hearing.
When the phone rang again, Hoseok sighed heavily, grabbing it only he tensed up instead of picking the call up. "What?" Hyungwon huffed at the man, eyebrows furrowing when the other turned it around and showed Shownu calling him. Swallowing slowly, Hyungwon looked away fighting the urge to grab that darned phone and toss it through the window.
He wanted to just say: "Fuck the plan; we can kill that fucker when he gets out." but the rational part of him knew that it would just be a bigger mess to clean up at the end of it all. And he had to listen to that rational part of himself otherwise the whole business would be a shit show.
He had no idea what Son Ilsang could be stirring up but if that shit stain was to succeed with his plans, one thing was for sure and it was that Hyungwon would be in the ground by the end of the month. Which, truthfully, wasn't in his personal plans, not at least in the next twenty years or so.
Hoseok pulled the phone back when the call ended but it didn't take long for the ringing to start again, signaling that it was important. "I'll go answer and I probably should also check up on my men. And hey, if it's that bad, take a break from the paperwork. It won't disappear." Now Hyungwon actually rolled his eyes, scowling a little bit. "That's the problem. It won't disappear, just seems to poof into existence every other second."
"You'll live." Hoseok chuckled, brushing a hand through Hyungwon's hair gently before heading for the door. The younger just stared after the man, swallowing lightly. When the door fell shut he set down the coffee mug and brought two fingers to his neck, feeling his pulse. Biting his tongue he shook his head. "I need to stop drinking caffeine so much..." he muttered, turning back to the papers before frowning.
Grabbing a stapled stack he flipped through it quickly before just tossing it aside. "This is useless," he muttered, taking out his phone. It wasn't like there was any more interesting stuff on there either, but reading the news would give him the sufficient break he needed.
After some time, the office door opened again, this time without a knock. "You just missed him," Hyungwon said, keeping his eyes on the phone whilst reaching for the coffee to take a sip. "Okay. So where did he go?" Kihyun's voice grated his ears but the leader just shrugged, taking another sip. Immediate regret ran through his body as the now lukewarm liquid hit his mouth. How long had he been doing nothing?
Clearing his throat, Hyungwon set down the mug. "Shownu called him, so... Go figure.." He didn't get a verbal response, only a low grumble of curses. For once Hyungwon could say he was glad he wasn't alone in his immense displeasure.
"Is this how you spend your free time?" The phone was suddenly grabbed from his hand and set, tossed, onto the desk which made Hyungwon look up from his now empty palm to meet Yoo's gaze. "You're supposed to keep an eye on him." he huffed, crossing his arms. The leader made a face. "What is he? A child?" he retorted, shaking his head a little bit. He wasn't here to babysit another grown man. "You can probably find him on the floor where your men are."
"Do you have to act so insufferable?" Kihyun then scoffed, practically glaring at the younger. If they weren't tied to a contract, Hyungwon guessed his brain would be painting the room red. "I'm just matching the energy," he replied calmly, although he was just as annoyed at the interaction.
"Listen, you can either walk away, because I am simply not in the fucking mood for this today, or we can act like adults until Shin comes back," Hyungwon stated, setting down the now empty mug with a heavy thunk. Kihyun's jaw tightened, clearly holding back some insults but thankfully, he made the smart decision to shut up and walk over to Hoseok's desk.
"Besides, why do I have to keep an eye on him? It's weird if you can't trust your boss to do the right thing." Hyungwon spoke up when the other stayed silent. There was a bitter chuckle before the man spoke up. "Well, he made a shit decision that he purposely tried to hide from us, so... Pardon me if I am a little on edge right now." he paused, sitting down. He then crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the leader. "Besides you wire trapped him."
Hyungwon couldn't help the small grin that appeared on his face. "That is totally different," he stated with a slight chuckle. "How so?" Kihyun spun the chair to face him. "We're talking about a man who, just a while back, would have jumped at the opportunity to screw me over in an instant, Yoo. But you've worked with him for... How long, now?" he stated, amused by the childish argument. At least it would distract him for a bit.
"Well..." Kihyun inhaled sharply through his nose. "I guess you're right, asshole." he then muttered to which Hyungwon just hummed slightly. Of course, he was right; why wouldn't he be?
An awkward silence fell into the office and Hyungwon on reflex reached for some more papers to flip through just to distract himself. "Hey, uh.." Kihyun started up, clearing his throat. "I never said this, but I'm sorry for your loss. I know we didn't know him for long but the guy was important to you." the words came out of the blue which made Hyungwon pause momentarily.
"Thank you," he replied scratching his head a little bit. That just reminded Hyungwon that he never apologized to Minhyuk for screaming at him. He needed to do that. "And he was," he added quietly, glancing the other's way shortly.
"I have no idea how it feels. I mean, sure, I technically lost my dad, but it's not the same." Kihyun chuckled lightly, rubbing his hands together. The leader just nodded his head. "He still talks about you, you know?" The words just slipped from his lips, surprising the leader just as much as it visibly did Kihyun.
"I mean... We don't talk a lot since he is on desk duty now but... Before my father's death, he was usually assigned to be my superior on missions. Sorry, this is none of my business." he rambled toward the end, shaking his head a little bit. Kihyun furrowed his eyebrows, but there was a strange look in his eyes that felt way too emotional for Hyungwon to quite understand, or hell even question, considering their history. "What has he said?"
Hyungwon cleared his throat a little. "Well, most recently he mentioned how proud he was to see how you grew up. I think he's been a bit more distant now that you are actually here. You should talk to him yourself." a low chuckle came from the other and it was clear he wasn't believing a word the leader had just spoken. Well, not that Hyungwon would be any more trusting if their positions were switched.
"You know that I just think of you as one of Wonho's men and not a traitor, right? You never worked for me, therefore we have no past business." he then spoke up, noticing the other cock an eyebrow at that but he didn't speak up so Hyungwon felt like he could continue.
"I genuinely have no intention of luring you back here; you've made it clear as to who you stand by. If you're going to blame someone for "brainwashing" your family, blame my father; I just continued where he left off. Most of the people here? They're mine, not his in the slightest" he explained, somehow feeling that the air needed to be cleared between them. Maybe it would make them less prone to attack each other so quickly. "So, go kick the dirt at his grave."
There was a difference between him and his father. Hoseok had been right, he did lead with his emotions but that didn't mean he was incompetent. Closing his eyes, Hyungwon exhaled deeply. "I'm not the best leader, but fucking hell, I've done my best with what I know."
Kihyun stayed quiet for a moment again, hopefully considering his words carefully. "I read your file, a few times to be exact..." Whatever a few meant. "You were studying to be a doctor, right?" He then asked and Hyungwon just nodded his head a little bit. "Father was against me taking this position, or being involved at all, so that was the goal, yes, a way to separate myself from crime; to live a normal life." he paused, chewing his bottom lip gently before exhaling sharply. "But you know the rest of the story... So I wasn't exactly taught the nitty-gritty of all this."
"Oh.." Kihyun mumbled. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." Hyungwon just shrugged a little bit before chuckling. "That's the point. I don't know why I even told you, it's not like you needed to. Just... There's no room for needless bickering now." he joked lightly, even getting a smile out of the older guy. Hoseok's deal with Ilsang had caused more than enough conflict to fill his day-to-day schedule. "Right..."
"How long do you think he'll take?" Kihyun huffed after another moment of silence, slumping in his seat with an exaggerated sigh. "Who knows," Hyungwon mumbled, tapping the desk with his finger for a bit before turning to his computer, waking it up.
"What is it?" Kihyun asked to which Hyungwon just shook his head slightly. "Shut up, I'm thinking," he muttered, furrowing his eyebrows a little bit as he scrolled through the files of the people under him. He brought a hand to his mouth, biting down on his thumbnail. He stared at the list of names thoughtfully, reaching for his phone with the other hand. He opened the device, sending a quick message.
"I think I found our little mole."
Who else would it be but someone who worked for his father; someone who also knew Son back in the day?
"What are you going to do about it?" Kihyun asked as Hyungwon stood up. The leader grinned a little, brushing his hair back. "I should send a message," he replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. "When Wonho comes back, tell him I'll be gone for a while." he turned back to Yoo who just shrugged. "Sure. Just this once, though, I'm not your messenger bird."
"Got it."
The door opening let a sliver of daylight into the glum room as two people dragged a third one in. Hyungwon raised his gaze to the two-way mirror on the wall, raising his eyebrows a bit. They caught them surprisingly fast, Hyungwon thought with a small chuckle, pulling on a pair of black leather gloves before crossing his arms and turning around. "Leave us." he requested and the two men let go of the poor soul about to meet his creator before exiting the space.
Well, death wasn't guaranteed, it all depended on the man himself.
"Hyungwon... Why the sudden meeting?" The man must have been almost in his seventies by now and it was starting to show. Hyungwon? Ha, the guts on this bastard. The leader smiled, signing toward the table between them. "Take a seat, Mr. Kim." Thankfully, his request, demand, didn't go unheard as that would have been the straw that broke his character.
Hyungwon stayed up himself though, crossing his arms once again. He dropped the smile quickly but didn't reveal his true agitation. "And I'm sorry if I interrupted something. You must be busy nowadays even though you're retired... Your first grandkid was just born, right?" Hyungwon spoke calmly, watching how the anxiety grew on his guest's face.
"Yes, it's been a crazy few years." Mr. Kim smiled lacing both his hands on the table. Hyungwon followed his actions with care. He shouldn't be armed, he at least trusted his men enough to search a prisoner when bringing one in. "Right. What else have you been doing? I heard you've moved?"
"Oh yes, we wanted a change of scenery with my wife so we moved out from the city. I also took up gardening, your father always told me I had a green thumb." The man laughed, running his fingers along the surface of the table. Hyungwon just nodded his head along as he listened. "So I've heard..." he paused before clearing his throat and moving closer.
Hyungwon stopped behind the man and sighed softly, before leaning over his shoulder, one hand leaning on the table. Instead of looking at the man, he stared straight at the reflection on the opposite wall. "You're such a busy, busy man now, that I'm surprised you have the time to visit our archives. Though, what I'm wonder-" Before he could finish what he was saying the man sprung up from his seat, pushing Hyungwon back a few steps.
The leader rolled his eyes, straightening his shirt out before focusing on the man who was already at the door, pulling on the handle. "Do you take me for a fool?" Hyungwon asked with a huff, striding to the door and grabbing a hold of the shorter by his collar. "Now, you are going to tell me everything you've blabbering about to Son Ilsang." he hissed, pulling the man up onto his tiptoes. "Unless you want to end up six feet under, alright?"
Mr. Kim glared back at him. "You good for nothing brat." Hyungwon's eye twitched a bit at the harsh words. Though before he could even as much as slap the bastard there was a sharp sting at his wrist, forcing him to let go of the man's collar. He looked down at his arm, staring at the sleeve that started turning a dark red at a slightly concerning rate. "Good for nothing, huh?" he repeated, looking back up and biting his tongue.
The old man went for another attack with his knife but Hyungwon grabbed his arm, easily twisting it behind the man's back. The knife fell to the ground with a clank and Hyungwon kicked it further away, just to be sure. "You can't use the same attack twice in a row, moron." he spat, now easily pushing the other against the cold table. Well, it was more like he shoved harshly, but there was no need to worry about that. "Now start fucking talking," he demanded, grabbing a hold of what little hair the old man had left with his injured arm.
"I'm not telling you shit." he spat back, fighting back in Hyungwon's hold. For a man double his age, he had kept his body in good shape and retained some strength considering Hyungwon struggled a bit to keep him in place. However, if you asked the leader, he would chuck it up to currently bleeding out from his wrist.
"I've always hated stubborn people." the leader muttered, mostly to himself, slamming the man's head against the surface. "Shall I start with your family then? Your wife knows your past but do your kids? Your son has a pretty respectable company so how about I make it crumble like the sand castle it is? Would they let a former gangster near their newborn child?"
Hyungwon cursed under his breath when Kim's lips stayed sealed, slamming his head on the table again a few times. "Still nothing?" he asked, now extremely annoyed. He glanced at his arm which was now dripping blood onto Kim's head, mixing with the man's own. "You're just spitting out empty threats, Hyungwon."
Hyungwon, Hyungwon, Hyungwon. God, I should rip his tongue out.
The leader just chuckled, cocking an eyebrow. Sure, empty threats came in hand at times, but stakes were high right now; he had no time for such things. "Hey, I don't use these rooms unless I want an audience." he then said, bringing a hand to the man's jaw and forcibly turning his head toward the mirror. With the other hand, he moved Kim's hand, waving with it as well.
"You fucking freak!" He couldn't help but actually laugh this time. He'd never been called that. Insane, yes, and most definitely crazy. But not a freak. "Yes, yes, the gang leader's out of his mind, blah blah. By the way, it's Mr. Chae to you." He mocked, blowing a few starts of hair out of his eyes before pulling the old man up a bit and slamming him down again. This time, Hyungwon was pleased to get a pained grunt out of him.
"They can't hear this so right now it just looks like I'm beating you up for nothing like the freak I am. But it takes one press of a button to change everything, I'm sure you know, or we can keep things like they are." Hyungwon paused, letting go of the man's head finally. The injured arm was going numb already and he honestly didn't know how long he could keep the facade up because it hurt like hell.
"All you have to do is talk and I'll let all of you go and you can finally run away."
"Next time, make sure the prisoner doesn't have a hidden knife, you useless fucks." Hyungwon hissed at the two men standing guard as he stepped out of the room. "Sorry, sir." the two said in unison, bowing their heads but the leader just snarled lightly, walking away with his other hand grasped around the still-bleeding wound. "Sorry, my ass," he muttered.
It didn't take long to reach the medical wing and find what he needed to stitch himself up. He could have done this in the office as well, but like hell would he show up with a gushing wound in there. Hyungwon was pissed at himself for letting his guard down just because of a few words. If he'd just stayed cool he could've seen all of this coming.
There was a knock on the door just as Hyungwon finished stitching the cut. He cut the thread before moving to the door and opening it. "The guys said you came this way," Jooheon stated, pushing his way into the room. "You didn't need to check up on me, I had it under control."
The younger turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think having your wrist slit open is having it under control, Hyung. What if it had been worse?" he pointed at the cut before sighing and sitting down. "How did it go?"
"Fine, well apart from, this." He muttered, raising the injured arm a bit. "I got what I wanted and paid a good sum to have him out of the picture," Hyungwon explained, moving to the cabinet to find some gauze. He would have killed the man had he had no family. He wasn't cruel enough to kill someone who might have gotten his life somewhat on track if you ignored the selling information to the enemy part. It was just easier to pay the family to move out of the country. "That's... Surprisingly nice of you."
"Oh, it's like I'm letting him off for good. One wrong move and bang." Hyungwon made a finger gun with his hand and brought it to his temple before "pulling the trigger". He then finished wrapping up the wound and started cleaning the room up.
"What about you? What have you been up to?" Hyungwon asked, throwing bloody tissues into the trash and whatnot. "Well, I got off the phone with Detective Song a bit ago. He has a few guys inside prison who keep him up to date... Anyway. Apparently, Ilsang's been weirdly easy there for the past few days..."
Hyungwon frowned, nodding his head a bit. "So they must have a way to get him out, then. Shownu called Wonho earlier..." He muttered, checking around him to see if there was anything else to clean but everything seemed to be in check so he just nodded to ward the door. Jooheon walked out ahead of him, taking course to the elevator.
"We have to come up with a counter plan and quick. Anything from my moth... From her?" Hyungwon asked, keeping the injured wrist elevated as they walked. "Nothing much. We have to plan how we get her son out as well... Who would've thought this is what would unfold?"
The leader bit his cheek, stepping into the elevator when the doors opened. "Right now I'm assuming Son is keeping him alive for something. Probably to kill us both at the same time so he can enjoy killing me twice." the thought was twisted but not out of Ilsang's league looking at his past record.
"So in a way, we need to get Wonho inside as soon as possible?" Jooheon asked, leaning on the elevator wall as the leader pressed the button for the top floor. "Yes, but we still need to keep it cool. If we rush things this whole mission is a bust and Wonho's head will be first on the platter... And not by my hand." the other man chuckled at his statement, kicking Hyungwon in the shin gently. "Still talking as if you want to kill him? Why not just drop the act and admit you like having those guys around?"
"I have no clue what you're talking about, Lee. Anyway, could you tell Minhyuk to pop by the office sometime when Wonho's out?" He could imagine the grin on the other's face at his denial "Sure. Just don't yell at him." "Wasn't intending to."
The elevator dinged and Hyungwon stepped out. "If Song calls, tell me. Right now I need any clues I can get." Jooheon gave him a thumbs-up, pressing another button in the elevator. "Be careful with the wound!" he yelled as the metal doors fell shut and the leader just chuckled to himself.
Now, all that was left for the day was talking to Hoseok about what Shownu said. Then he could crash and hopefully get a few hours of sleep.
When Hyungwon entered the office, he was met with silence. He stopped after the doors fell shut behind him, blinking a few times. Normally, it wouldn't have weirded him out, but nowadays there was something. Whether it was Hoseok hacking away at his keyboard or the said man on the phone, it had become a norm over the past weeks.
Looking around, Hyungwon found the cause of the silence. Hoseok was asleep but not only that, he was on the couch. In Hyungwon's spot. Sighing softly, Hyungwon oddly enough felt himself relax at the sight of the man in the office. At least he hadn't run off after the phone call which meant there was no immediate urgency for a plan of action.
Hyungwon changed his shirt quickly, trashing the now-ruined one. He walked over to the couch where the other was soundly sleeping and crouched down in front of his face. "Hey.." he called shaking the man by his shoulder a bit. "You're in my spot." he then muttered, frowning.
Like hell, he was going to sleep on that air mattress.
Unfortunately, Hoseok had been blessed with immaculate sleeping habits so a little bit of shaking was going to stir him awake. Hyungwon sighed, sitting down on the floor and rubbing his face. "You're a pain in the ass, you know?" a part of him wanted to add the word literally in the mix but he'd save that joke for when someone was present to actually hear it.
Hyungwon watched the sleeping man for a moment in total silence before carefully reaching out a hand and running it through the dark strands. This too, didn't seem to wake the man, but this time Hyungwon was glad for that. "I hate that you agreed to that bastard's deal, honestly," he muttered inching a bit closer so that he could lean his arm on the edge of the cushion.
"Mostly because I don't want to know what he does if this fails..." he continued, playing with the older's hair gently. It was mostly smooth but some knots caught on his fingers which Hyungwon carefully smoothed out just to keep this moment all to himself. He had no intention of voicing this ever to the other man when he was conscious.
"But also because I just want to keep you all to myself."
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hello and happy new year and easter and uhhh has there been other holidays???
i've been busy with school, mostly so i apologize for the radio silence
99% of me is pleased with this chapter while the 1% kinda hates it but i just wanted to release something bc it's been a while (again...)
other than school I've not been doing much bc my art block (and partly writer's block) is going strong once more. started adhd meds and saw the rose in march and that's about it when it comes to interesting stuff.
anyway :p hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
'til next time and stay hydrated!