I'm not actually Mars and I don't know if I like daisies. I write a lot, sometimes on Tumblr. I'd add a masterlist but it'll be blank anyway, enjoy your iced teaš„¤.
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Marslovesdaisies - Mars - Tumblr Blog
I swear the next chapter really is in the works. Like, really. Really.
cute
Look what you made me do || P.SH
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Minors do not interact.
WC: 3.9 k
Pairing: Mafia!Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: This is not a single parent!au, rest assured.
Chapter 5
A child.
Hundreds of pictures of a young little girl lined up her phone's vault. It was encrypted, but they were still there. The kid became younger and younger the more I scrolled down to reach the end, and there was nothing else in it. Only the girl. Fuck. Every milestone was there, recorded forever. There were videos too, probably of her first step, her first words, and whatever shit parents liked to record of their children. Iseul was still sitting across me on the chair, pale faced and looking defeated. Her eyes were shining, and she was probably going to cry. She hadn't moved ever since Yeosang had come in. There was nothing else on the phone, he had confirmed. No wonder she didn't want to give her phone away.
I kept staring at the child, trying to look for any facial similarity between Iseul and her. There weren't any stark features, though I couldn't help but think about her eyes. I had seen those eyes. I turned to the stunning woman sitting in front of me, horrified beyond end. "Iseul, you have a child?"
Seonghwa kept staring at me. I didn't answer. I didn't want to. After a moment's pause it was Yeosang who spoke. "Well, I'll leave you both to it then. Remember you're supposed to be down in the meeting room in ten." The door shut behind us, heavy, expectant silence returning. I got up unsteadily as well, fully ready to follow the man out. Not two steps later my hand was wrenched back, legs hitting a small table. Glasses shook with the sheer force of the contact, rattling hard.
"Where do you think you're going?" Seonghwa stepped even closer, invading all the space in front of me and peering down into my face.
"The meeting room, as your boss told us to." "Like hell you are. Answer my question Iseul. Who's the father?" Anger blossomed into my chest, deep and burning. I pressed forward, almost snarling into his face. "That wasn't your question now, was it Park?" "Don't fuck with me right now Iseul. Answer the damn question." "What if I say yes? Huh, Park. What if I say yes? It's my child. I'm the mother. I gave birth to that little bundle of joy." I let it sink in, seeing his expression lose a lot of his anger. "But that isn't what you want to know, is it Park Seonghwa. Why don't you ask me your actual question? Go ahead, admit it. Say it out loud. Ask me what you really want to ask." I jabbed at his chest with my finger. "Ask me, or I won't tell." He quietly stared at me, not a muscle moving on his face. Then a very soft, uncharacteristically vulnerable sound from him. "Is...is she-" "Is she what, Park. Be loud. I can't hear you." His jaw clenched. "Is she mine?" I looked at his face. He looked so fragile and in pain, like he didn't want to hear the answer. "And what if she was?" His face lost all remaining colour. "Fuck, Iseul. Don't fucking kid arou-" "Shut up, Park." I snapped. He actually shut up. The Park Seonghwa actually listened. "What if I say she isn't?" His expression darkened, his grip on my hand tightening. "Don't lie to me Lin." I twisted my hand to shake his grip off, but he held on even more. "Hands off, Park." "Tell me the truth, Iseul. And be very mindful of what you're saying." "Because you won't like it? Can't bear the thought of me sleeping with someone else? Maybe I did. I fucked someone who wasn't you, while I was fucking you. How does it feel, Park? Knowing I opened my legs for someone else? Imagine me screaming their name-" He snarled. Actually snarled. "Shut the fuck up, Lin. Stop fucking talking." He grabbed me by both hands and shook me once, the small table hitting me below my knees as he did. I was heaving, my outburst leaving me without air. But I wanted to see his reaction. I wanted him to lose his cool. I wanted him to feel the terror. I peered at him, and then I laughed. Laughed at his face, his expression, his confusion that was now his main emotion.
"No, Park. She isn't yours. How lucky for you, huh?" "Iseul if you're lying I swear I'll find out and-" "-and then what? Ruin my life? Ruin someone else's life? Ruin her life?" "Don't test it, Iseul. What we had was simply a mutually beneficial arrangement. And it was you who broke it off, might I remind you. Three years later you bring a two year old girl who looks eerily similar so don't you dare be mad at me for thinking I was the father." "As if I'd have a child with you." I quipped. "And shut up, Park Seonghwa. The world doesn't revolve around you, as unbelievable as it may sound." "I'll ask this once. Who is the father, Lin?" "Why do you want to know?" "Just asking." "No thank you. She isn't yours, its one burden off your shoulders. It doesn't affect you in any way who it is, so drop it." "No." I seethed. "What the fuck is your problem, Seonghwa? I said she's not yours. You made it clear that we weren't anything more than and I quote, 'a mutually beneficial arrangement.' She does not concern you. So fucking leave it at that. Take my word for it that you aren't involved, it is someone else's problem. Now leave me alone. I have bigger problems than this." I breathed deeply, pausing my outburst. "Your biggest problem right now is me, princess. I suggest you don't forget that." And he was back to his cold, unforgiving persona. "Don't think that Hongjoong's fake hospitality will save you, Iseul. He isn't a giver." I jerked out of his hold, and this time he let me. "Suggestion duly noted." I massaged my hands a bit, applying pressure on all points that had suffered in the last few hours. He walked to the chair, picking up his suit jacket that he had dropped off earlier in one hand. I stood where I was, waiting for him to get ahead. Seonghwa had suddenly gone unusually quiet, taking quick steps across the long hall while fiddling with his phone. I walked behind him, lost in my own thoughts. There was a ping on his phone that made him pause. I took a step ahead of him outside when an arm suddenly pulled me back in.
"What the fuck, Park?" I yelped as I crashed into a solid chest, feeling the heat radiate off him. He twisted me back so I was facing him, and I was ready to go at him again when I caught his expression. His eyes had darkened, jaw set, face triumphant as he held his phone held in one hand.
"You aren't the mother, are you Iseul?" I took a step back as he walked closer to me, ready to bolt at any chance. "What?" He looked terrifying in his cold, merciless, beautiful smile that spanned his face. My hands tried to reach back, finding the door knob, my flight or fight response choosing the former. "I said, you aren't the mother of the child. She isn't mine, but she's not yours either, is she?" I froze. "Why would you think-" "Shh. Just shh." He whispered softly, his tone sending shivers down my spine. His breath caressed my neck as he walked closer and closer into me. "Don't talk, Iseul. Not right now." He breathed in a low tone as his lips crashed into mine, hands caging me completely as the sheer force made me go flat against the wall.
The meeting room Hongjoong had ordered us all into was more of a sitting room, sofas lining up in the center and similar chairs scattered in strategic positions. I walked behind Seonghwa. Neither of us had said a thing since leaving the chamber. I could still feel the ghost of his touch on my lips, which I was trying my hardest to forget. I had spent the walk here collecting and reorganizing myself, trying to think of a plan of action. Given my current state of mind and inability to look at Seonghwa after what had happened, it was safe to say that I was miserably failing in my attempts.
We had been the last ones to enter the room. Park hardly gave me a glance as he picked a spot, pointedly away from his boss. I claimed one as well, six sets of eyes on me. Seonghwa wasn't looking at me, and Kim Hongjoong was looking at his underboss.
"Where are we?"
"Still in the city, rest assured." A new yet familiar voice spoke up as Jaemin entered, glancing at his watch. "I apologize for being late, my lady." My lip curled. "Bang! You had me believe that you'd died in the hallway." Jaemin laughed. "Aah Lin. You don't give me enough credit. Remember what I told you back in the holding room?" I did. His warning hadn't left me, though things had changed a lot now. "Sure. So do you answer my questions today or...?" I froze, hoping nobody would notice. I turned my attention back to the eight. "Well?"
"How long before the twins are unleashed?" The little humour left my face. "Do you mean the twins, or do you mean my uncle?" The question about Daesung and Daewon had been asked by Yunho, meaning the others were also involved now. His face didn't change. "Isn't it the same?" No, it wasn't. But they didn't have to know that. "Depends. How long have I been here?" "You don't need to know that to answer the question, princess." "Watch it, Jeong. You're taking it too far." He stared back, one second. Two seconds. Three. "Answer his question, Lin. You can be out of here sooner." I looked at Seonghwa, who still hadn't said anything. "Alive?" I taunted. His muscle twitched, sign that he was indeed aware of what was happening. The twins hadn't probably been alerted yet. Especially since that dickhead Renjun was involved. He must've done something to delay their response. I cursed internally. That little shit had taken it too far. You are taking it too far, his voice echoed back. Maybe I was, who knew.
"Lin." This time it was Seonghwa. "You can do it the easier way by cooperating, or the hard way." He reached into his pocket, getting a flashdrive out. "This has all instances of your family and their men following my members. Proof and footage of your cousin discussing deals with port operators on our territory. One of your fuckbuddies picking up informants off the street. Footage of you trespassing on Lee's property, listed under sealed government zones. Do you want me to go on?" "What proof do you have that you haven't done the same?" I raised my brow. "Well, I am not the one caught red handed being in places I shouldn't be in." "He sent me an invitation." I shot back. "You forged it." "What? No why would I-". It all clicked in place for me in an instant. It all made sense now. Why those men outside the door yesterday hadn't been surprised to see me, the crispness of the text. Seonghwa had forged it all on my behalf, including the text. "You fucker-" I seethed. "You're blackmailing me. Surely that's an offense in everybody's book, regardless of which side you are on. And my only crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can't hold me here for that. You don't have any proof against me." "Sure. Lets propose an exchange offer then. Tell your family to give up the culprit. I'll let you go in return for having the actual perpetrator in this chair." I almost blanched. Seonghwa knew he had got me. In no alternate reality was my family going to give up one of our own. He'd planned it all. It sounded ridiculous, even in my head. Who was going to propose a swap? If I was innocent, my family could demand retribution. But Hongjoong could simply use the flashdrive to demand other culprits, mainly Jun. I gripped the chair harder. Maybe I should give him up, he'd survive. I glanced back up. "How do I know that the drive isn't empty?" "Are you denying the contents then?" "That wasn't my question. What if it's a bluff from your side? I don't really trust you, given the circumstances." An emotion passed his face, quick to vanish underneath his mask. "It is filled, I can assure you. Getting proof of your lies is easier than you'd think, as you have already found out." I clenched my teeth. "I have years worth of material, Lin. You don't have the upper hand here." "We'll see about that." I muttered. But he was right, I was most likely stuck here. Especially with the proof attached, uncle and father both would be stuck trying to figure out how to deal with it. I couldn't concede more ground than we already had. "Why me then? You could've gone after anyone. You could've taken one of the twins, even both. You could've taken even Jun. Surely he's a more attractive catch than me." "Downplaying yourself, Lin?" My eyes turned to Wooyoung. "Woo, come on. You must know of all people that I am not involved. Tell your second-in-command here," I motioned at Seonghwa, "that he's grossly overestimating things here." Soenghwa's face twisted with malice. "Woo?" He turned to Wooyoung. "Come on Woo, tell me what she wants you to." Wooyoung gave him a blank look. "If you have something to say, out with it Hwa." Hongjoong still was looking at Seonghwa. They clearly weren't seeing eye to eye right now, but that was a fact I was going to exploit later.
"You didn't answer my question. Why pick me?" Seonghwa finally spoke to me, still not looking at his leader. "Do you remember the enchantress?" I shuddered at his question. "The broker? Of course. Who doesn't?" Seonghwa nodded. "How much do you know about her?" This was clearly a bait. "That she was guessed to be a woman. Apart from that, as much as the other person. Nobody knows much about her." I looked at Jaemin. His warnings had started to make a lot of sense. Fuck, I hadn't realized that the woman was involved in this. "What does she have to do with this?" "You already know, most of Jong In's confidence in himself came from the sheer amount of information he could obtain." It was true, but I waited for him to continue. "Well, his confidence grew with each passing day, and he made a gamble he could not sustain. He faced a lot of fallouts and had to give up some especially heavy leverage, breaching a lot of his contracts including yours and ours. Then there was the 'incident' with his son. But you already know all of this." I nodded slowly, seeing clearly where this was heading.
"Now, Iseul. " Seonghwa's voice deepened even further. He was almost growling at me, his face reflecting an unknown victory. Warning sirens played in my head like ominous music. "Your uncle decided it was adequate for the traitor to be tried for his dishonour. But he never managed to live till his judgement, did he?" I kept my face blank. "What are you implying? I did something? I can swear on my life that you had ordered a hit on Lee Jong In before I even found out where he was that night, Park Seonghwa. You wanted him dead, whatever the method might have been." He pursed his lips. An awkward silence had engulfed us, all of them giving surprised glances towards the man of the moment. It was however Jongho who spoke up, the youngest man having been silent the whole time I had been here. "How do you know that?" I didn't want to think about how I knew. Seonghwa and I knew each other years ago, under very different circumstances. I'd happened to overhear a phone call that he did not know about. However, I wasn't telling them that. "It is my job to know everything about a potential hostility." "Is that how you really found out?" Hongjoong sounded silently amused, his gaze occasionally darting back and forth towards Seonghwa and me. "What does the Enchantress have to do with this?" "Patience, princess. I was getting to that. Tell me, your uncle wanted Lee to be stripped of his credibility, a sort of character assassination. But someone from your upper ranks wanted it to be more brutal and final. Was that Renjun or you, and more importantly, why?"
I kept silent for a moment. This was no longer about me. "You have some balls, Park Seonghwa, for assuming for one fucking moment that I was going cooperate with you, proof or not." I hit back at him. "Do whatever the fuck you want, but I promise you this. I'll enjoy seeing you try to get answers out of me."
"You mean none of you went after him as an organization, but you took him out on your own."
San had spoken up. Of course he had. He must have been bidding his time, trying to find an opportunity to fuck me up at the worst possible moment. Now that he had started that line of questioning, Seonghwa would soon find out about Mirah. My hand started trembling slightly and I gripped it tight to stop it from showing. There was no doubt that Seonghwa had noticed it, along with the others. Thankfully, for the time being he didn't comment on it.
"As I was saying," Seonghwa continued, seemingly ignoring San's jab, "the Enchantress disappeared soon after Jong In did. Can't say I miss that demon, but the incidents are clearly related. Word on the street-" he pulled his sleeve down on his wrist in a theatrical manner. "-is that he was her last contract, after which she left. Or got killed. Whichever. Nobody knew how she looked like so it was even worse. But you, Iseul, you know who she was didn't you?" I was going to have a heart attack. Just how much resources had he spent spying on me? Nobody knew. Nobody could have betrayed me. But he wasn't yet done speaking. My stomach dropped. "But it is expected of you isn't it, Lin Iseul, as the third in command?"
"How long have you known?"
Seonghwa looked at me. "An answer for an answer." "Oh I'll give you an answer-" I half rose from my chair but Jaemin's hand gently but firmly pushed me back down. "I suggest you don't fight this one, my lady." I kept glaring at Seonghwa, who was smug and gleeful in this stature. There had been a few involuntary gasps when he first gave away my identity but all of them had recovered fairly quickly, now eyeing me as a threat instead of a prisoner. His taunting eyes had flames dancing in them, not taking his gaze off me.
"Let me get this straight, Park. You spent years worth of organization's resources tailing me, hunted down my methods, collected evidence for blackmail, forged a plan with a dead man to lure me into a trap, all because you couldn't be careful with your business in the first place, and right under your boss's nose? " I laughed. "Park Seonghwa, are you in love with me? I can see why you wanted to have this conversation alone. Getting all vulnerable, admitting mistakes, your ego could never."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you princess?" His voice brought back memories. Memories of him when he was a bit more kind. No, scratch that. He'd always been ruthless. He'd been kinder to me. Kinder and closer, but I had lost all of it when I'd lost Mirah. I pursed my lips at the memory of her, haunting images of broken skulls threatening to undo my composure. Seonghwa had walked closer to me while I was lost in my head. He picked up a spot and lounged on a chair, head thrown back. His neck muscles strained, the column of his throat exposed. He looked just as delicious as I last remembered him. I shook my head internally, realizing I was staring. He looked back up.
"But no, that is not why I took the efforts of dedicating so much time to you. I did it because you, my darling Iseul, went rogue." "Huh?" "Don't play dumb now. You went off the rails after the son died. You went after anyone and everyone at random, starting with Lee. You sabotaged deals under truce on your whims. Your father and uncle protected you, but that wasn't your greatest strength, was it? You had the Enchantress doing all your dirty work. Nobody else could get in and out of such situations without leaving a trace. And then the demoness disappeared. Most people still believe that the broker took one last stand before going down, but it wasn't her at all. It was you." He stared at his nails for a second before continuing. "Now, I'd like to believe that someone as smart as you wouldn't just forget her senses in a hotel room, so I did a bit of digging. And guess what, I found something very interesting." I think I had already dissociated from reality. I looked up at him, and for a moment I could see surprise lighting up in his eyes. Not being able to bear eye contact, I looked away again. Of course he had found out, and of course he'd be disclosing it. There was no point asking him to shut up.
"A buried report."
My world tilted on its axis. My stomach felt like it was upside down. Lee's son had died for that bundle of papers. I had died for that bundle of papers. Seonghwa had made a grave mistake. I was going to come at him, even if it cost me my life.
"A report that you spent a fortune making sure did not exist, along with the existence of the person who filed it. A report on the supposed car accident of one Cheon Mirah, declared dead on the way to the hospital." There was a sudden spike of another presence in the room. I knew who it might have been, though I just hoped that Wooyoung would manage to calm San down.
"Upon further enquiry, you made them declare her dead prematurely, while in actuality she had been alive for a few hours after the said time of death. Sadly, another woman had to die in the same night later on, but she didn't even exist, did she?"
Seonghwa moved towards me, getting a small bunch of papers from his jacket again. But he was interrupted in between, the copy of the file I supposed snatched from his hands by a seething Choi San. Pure, unadulterated fury marred his face as he read and reread every page in his hands. And then he looked at me.
"How, dare you." Was all he said before his gun was out in his hands, aimed straight at my head.
A/N: I'll edit this later. Happy reading!
Chapter 5 is around halfway done, I think it'll come out soon
Maybe I really should make a masterlist, just to feel nice about myself
Watch me as I become MIA for months after posting this
Look what you made me do || P.SH
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Minors do not interact.
WC: 3.1 k
Pairing: Mafia!Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: No thoughts, only Park Seonghwa wearing black.
Chapter 4
"Aren't the others going to follow? "
I looked at Seonghwa with a raised brow, my voice slightly more spooked than I would have wanted. I didn't want to admit it but being alone with him unsettled me. I knew exactly what he was doing. Hell, I had done that to people myself countless times. Isolation from comfort zone and putting unease in the subjects' bones. I sure wasn't liking it when I was the subject though. Not one bit.
The man who had brought me here had left immediately, none of the others following in. It was pitiful how desperately I wanted Jaemin or Wooyoung to be here with me. I would take even Kim Hongjoong over Seonghwa here. He had been silent this whole time, reclined on a chair, his eyes closed. He looked ethereal, and one would say also serene, but I knew better. All of the faux playfulness he had shown before was gone, replaced by tension and murderous intent. That was what I was most scared of, the anger and malice that rolled off of him in potent waves.
The chamber itself was simpler than I had expected. It probably was some backup office. No extravagance hung from the ceilings, and the chairs looked pretty normal. The curtains had been drawn and the space wasn't very brightly lit, but I could guess that it was almost early morning.
I walked towards where he already was, picking a comfortable chair similar to his and sat down.
"Tell me, princess. How good is your memory?" His voice startled me and I sneaked a glance at him. He had opened his eyes, but he wasn't looking at me. Far from it. His attention was on some decanter next to his chair, but his face looked like he was lost in some memory that only he could remember. I could tell he didn't mean the question with regard to what had happened with Lee Jong In. He ran a long finger over the rim, strokes tender. Then he brought his eyes towards me. His eyes had an odd glimmer, face unreadable.
I didn't answer his question. In fact, I wasn't planning on answering any of his questions. I simply continued looking at him with a blank expression. I had walked into enough traps for today and wasn't planning on adding to the number. If he was annoyed, it didn't show. He let out a long sigh and straightened in the chair.
"Here is the deal, Lin. I don't have any time to spare for your futile attempts of trying to act innocent or stubborn. You clearly haven't realized the gravity of the situation you are in, and it's showing. I am not going to keep entertaining your brattiness forever. " He stared deep into my eyes, devoid of warmth. "I don't make idle threats, and I don't make futile threats. You're going to be a good fucking girl and say yes sir, no sir, I understand, sir to all of my questions if you want to escape with your fragile illusion of an intact life, well- intact."
I glared at him again, not liking the threat. But he was right. I hadn't managed to grasp just how fucked this situation was for me yet. I needed to know, and right now only he could help me out of this mess. I needed him to be as amicable as possible, because I knew the rumours about him were true. He actually was dangerous, even if I was no pushover.
I sighed. "What do you want to know?" "You already know my question." "Why?" My tone was honest. "It doesn't concern you. He shouldn't concern you. I can promise you that your organisation is not a part of it. He-"
"Are you innocent?"
His question caught me off guard, my rambling coming to a stop. "What?" "I asked if you were innocent in all this." I pursed my lips. "If you are, then I don't see why you are so hellbent on keeping your mouth shut. Unless you are protecting someone. Is that so?"
I kept silent yet again. It was answer enough. No, I wasn't. Far from it, and he already knew it.
"Thought so. Now, I don't like doing this but I am going to ask again. Tell me what your deal with Lee Jong In is."
"He was someone I didn't like." "And his son?" "An accident." Something changed on his face. If I wasn't wrong, there was a flash of disappointment. I couldn't explain why but I didn't want him to be disappointed with me. "You killed him by accident?" "I didn't kill him." I sighed. His son's face started resurfacing in my mind, and I gulped it down before I could throw up. I looked away. "I saw him, but I didn't kill him." He made a sound of affirmation. "Then why did you call him an accident?" "Because I saw him that day as one. It wasn't my intention to." "Where did you see him?" His questions refused to stop, and I knew he was trying to catch holes in my answers. "I'm not very sure. It was years ago."
"You know what I think, Iseul?"
He reached into his pocket. "That you are lying."
He threw a few pieces of paper on my lap. I looked at them without wanting to and went pale from inside. Not because I had been caught, but because I hated being reminded of that day. Pictures of my father's men 'escorting' Lee's son into our hotel with a time stamp, taken by a camera. Pictures of Jihun discussing something with the security. Men carrying small boxes inside, others with a couple of briefcases. A certain picture caught my eye. One of me entering inside, a lot later than others. He dropped a last one, of me exiting with the twins, my expression looking haunted. Pictures of the young boy coming out were noticeably absent. These weren't from the cameras around the building, these were taken by someone. Which meant I had been followed. Years ago. And I had no clue.
"Not quite accidental, now don't you think?" "I still didn't kill him." "But he died under your watch. You might not have pulled the trigger, but you loaded the gun." "That is not what happened." "Then tell me what did." "I can't." A hand suddenly grabbed my face, forcing me to look upwards. His face came into view, and I tried to look away again. "I don't care what you can't do, Lin. If you think holding off till daddy interferes will get you out of here, you're sourly mistaken." Anger seethed from his expression, but I couldn't bring myself to care. He had made a huge mistake with the pictures. He really shouldn't have shown them to me.
"You listen carefully to me, Seonghwa. You can threaten my life all you like. I. Am. Not. Saying. A. Thing." We stared at each other for a few more moments. He didn't look disturbed at the fact that I had taken his name so casually. "We'll see about that." He dropped my face and I battled the urge to massage my jaw. His grip hadn't been gentle, not in the least. He walked to the chair, taking his suit jacket off and draping it over the backrest. Meanwhile I couldn't help but keep staring at the photos resting over my jeans, trying to rake my brain to remember if I'd ever felt like I was being followed. Or photographed, as evidence suggested, but I came up empty. I couldn't help but keep wondering what plan did he have to deal with my family. I had been taken against my will, but they couldn't take me as a captive. That would mean war. They couldn't risk that, and our families weren't enemies. Kim Hongjoong shared stable relations with my father and uncle. There had to be something I was missing here, which could answer the reason behind my situation.
I escaped from my trance to see that Seonghwa was staring at me intently. Or more likely, gouging my reaction to the photos. I decided to be the one asking questions, just to answer a few of mine. "How did you manage to pass our security at our own property to get these?"
"I had someone follow you." Huh. I couldn't help but blurt, "Me?"
"Who else? Did you really believe that I wasn't aware of your men following my every move? I'm merely returning the gesture."
"I hadn't realised that The Park Seonghwa kept an eye on someone as low and unimportant as me." "Don't play dumb, Lin. Don't think I am unaware of who you are. Your dear uncle may pretend to have all the trust in the world over Hongjoong's friendship, but Lin Baek Ho is a suspicious old man. I let it happen out of respect for his experience and giving him the benefit of the doubt. I could and would pull out a list of offences you've committed that warrants your detaining without having a single brow raised at me." He took a seat on the same chair, leg folded above the other. "Hongjoong is limited by the woes of his position. I am not. If you think that I don't know you have your fuckbuddy tailing my every move in the city even now, you aren't as smart as I had given you credit for." So he knew about Daesung. He wasn't my lover, but the fact that Seonghwa thought so made alarm bells go off in my head more urgently than before. I shrugged. "I call it enquiring." "You can call it whatever you want. Do not for a moment expect me to believe you're not a part of your family's infernal dealings." I stayed silent for a moment, trying to process just how much he already knew. He knew more than I had thought possible. Fuck.
"I....left that world behind. I was never fully a part of it anyway. I only look after the commercial investments. "
Seonghwa stared at me for a full minute. And then he laughed. Laughed. A full blown genuine laughter that shook his body. The sound bounced off the walls and went straight to my bones. "Iseul love, you don't escape this world. The door burns itself to ash the second your body crosses the threshold." My cheeks heated at being called love. Fuck me, I liked how my name rolled off his tongue. But if this casual conversation was going to keep him off the actual question, I was willing to play along. "Come on princess, tell me what I want to know and I'll let you walk out of the building alive." His implication was subtle. "Is that a threat, Park Seonghwa?" "It's a promise." "You say you know who I am. So, Mr. Park, are you confident enough to walk out of this unscathed if it comes to blows against me?" He stayed silent, expression one of contemplation. I knew what he was seeing on mine, a mocking question. "You're dragging this conversation." He said. "I'm having this conversation." I countered. He didn't miss a beat. "I want to have Jong In's conversation." "There is no conversation to be had." "A Lin ordered a hit on him and four hundred people saw you talking to him in Perles D'argent. You executed the hit on him, Lin Iseul. Everybody in our world knows that. Then his son was found dead. Don't pretend this isn't something personal. You might have distanced yourself from the news and acted like it didn't happen but an important link in our world was wiped that week and he took crucial information with him."
I looked at Seonghwa then, properly looked at him. His breathing had deepened, breaths becoming longer. His eyes were focused, not missing a single action from my side. The shirt fitted his form well, clinging to his sides with some sweat. He was leaning ahead on his elbows. A vein popped out near his temple, inviting me to press my lips-fuck. He was just as droolworthy as he had been back then. But he had given away one thing, his unbridled curiosity. I could see an opening in his technique. "Was Lee perhaps, working for you?" Seonghwa blinked. "So what if he was?" Let me guess, Lee took something from him. Knowing the rumours about Seonghwa, he did not take such transgressions lightly. Nobody did, but he was harsher than a lot of them. "He has something you want. Or even better, he has something of yours." Interesting. "Who would've thought, the infallible Park Seonghwa had a loose end running around the city showing off his wealth. What a time to be alive, don't you agree?" His expression didn't change. Clearly, he wasn't as amused as I was.
"Your family took something from him, something that doesn't belong to you. It is in your personal best interests if you hand it over. I will not hesitate to bury you six feet under, Iseul. Pretty or not. War or not." I took something from Lee Jong In alright, but this was not it. And he thought my family was involved. "Have you considered asking my family for it?" "I am asking you." "Ask my uncle." "He didn't take it, you did." "Are you sure?" "I have enough reason to believe so." "I'll say this again, Seonghwa. I am not my family. I have no reason to take anything from anyone. You said it yourself, I am the most normal person with Lin blood. I am just a member of the board in our real estate holdings." "Don't give me that crap, Iseul. Anybody who believes you aren't heavily involved in your family's not so clean businesses is blind." "So almost everyone from our world is blind?" "You can fool them all, you can't fool me. Hell, you have more sway and power than that greedy piece of shit Renjun. You sanction almost every port deal of your family. Deny it, I dare you." Show your face, I dare you. San had said that to me two years ago. I shook my head. "I have no idea what you think you know." Seonghwa was about to counter, but there was noise at the door. Both of us glanced at it, and Kim Hongjoong walked in towards us. He took a moment to absorb the scene, a look at the photos on my lap, Seonghwa sitting on the opposite chair, and the expression of calm fury on our faces.
"Seonghwa, can you come out for a moment?" Hongjoong's voice was tight, something I hadn't expected. Park, however didn't even move from his seat. "I'm busy, as you can see." "With our lovely guest, I already know. It's an order, soldier." Seonghwa visibly straightened, clearly not liking having rank being pulled on him. They were almost equal in power, everyone knew that. If not confirmation enough of his distaste, his expression soured even more. He got up with a last look leveled at me, before heading outside with his leader. The door closed firmly, effectively locking me inside with nothing to do whatsoever.
I took the opportunity to get a better overview of the situation. From the looks of it, Seonghwa was acting on his own. The fact that he was insistent on hearing the story from me either meant he wanted to verify something, or he genuinely hadn't been able to get his hands on some information. I was almost sure it was the former. I had no reason to protect what had happened between me and the Lees. But I couldn't let them discover about Mirah, the two incidents were too close. I had made a promise to my friend and I intended to keep it, however twisted my methods were. I closed my eyes. I hadn't slept in more than twenty four hours and I was starting to feel the fatigue. Seonghwa did not know about Mirah. It was obvious. He wouldn't have been so complacent with me otherwise. Atleast I had that going on for me.
The door budged and footsteps walked in. A very displeased Seonghwa, unreadable Hongjoong and a calm Yeosang followed . Kang gave me a weird expression, but it was fleeting and he quickly looked away. My heart sank. I knew what that expression meant. He had gone through my phone. I kept looking at him, hoping there was some way I could sign him not to say anything. It would be futile though, and the sinking feeling in my stomach deepened.
"This has to be addressed in front of everyone," Hongjoong was saying to Seonghwa in a low voice. They clearly weren't done discussing things, or to be specific Hongjoong wasn't. Seonghwa's expression was clear indication that he did not want to be a part of it. "Let me deal with it." Hongjoong didn't like the response. "You didn't tell me who she was Seonghwa, are you out of your mind? You know who she is. You can't make those allegations without proving them." He got nothing from Seonghwa in response. I clearly was not expected to be a part of said conversation, and all I could do was intently listen. "Don't act rash, Park. A lot can be at sake here if she wishes." "I said leave it to me, Joong. I don't want anyone involved. It is between me and her." "Is this your ego or you talking?" "I have it under control." "I am calling everyone. This is not your call to make." "No you're not. She's mine." My spine jerked at that. Hongjoong gave me a glance, before looking back at his second in command. Heat threatened to rush to my cheeks and I fought to keep it down. I was sure they knew who I was, and Hongjoong hadn't liked what Seonghwa had done. That made two of us. "Fifteen minutes, Seonghwa. You can have fifteen minutes with her before I involve the others." His underboss clearly did not like the decision, but he pressed his lips shut. Hongjoong left without looking at Yeosang, who was waiting to talk to Seonghwa. Well, this was the end of it. Yeosang whispered into Seonghwa's ear, showing something in his hand. My phone. Horror increases on Seonghwa's face with each passing second, his face actually losing some color. He looks...horrified.
Seonghwa looks at me, eyes widening to emulate soccers.
"Iseul, you have a child?"
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
A/N: It's late late! I know. But it's here I guess.
Look what you made me do || P.SH
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Minors do not interact.
WC: 3.1 k
Pairing: Mafia!Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: No thoughts, only Park Seonghwa wearing black.
Chapter 4
"Aren't the others going to follow? "
I looked at Seonghwa with a raised brow, my voice slightly more spooked than I would have wanted. I didn't want to admit it but being alone with him unsettled me. I knew exactly what he was doing. Hell, I had done that to people myself countless times. Isolation from comfort zone and putting unease in the subjects' bones. I sure wasn't liking it when I was the subject though. Not one bit.
The man who had brought me here had left immediately, none of the others following in. It was pitiful how desperately I wanted Jaemin or Wooyoung to be here with me. I would take even Kim Hongjoong over Seonghwa here. He had been silent this whole time, reclined on a chair, his eyes closed. He looked ethereal, and one would say also serene, but I knew better. All of the faux playfulness he had shown before was gone, replaced by tension and murderous intent. That was what I was most scared of, the anger and malice that rolled off of him in potent waves.
The chamber itself was simpler than I had expected. It probably was some backup office. No extravagance hung from the ceilings, and the chairs looked pretty normal. The curtains had been drawn and the space wasn't very brightly lit, but I could guess that it was almost early morning.
I walked towards where he already was, picking a comfortable chair similar to his and sat down.
"Tell me, princess. How good is your memory?" His voice startled me and I sneaked a glance at him. He had opened his eyes, but he wasn't looking at me. Far from it. His attention was on some decanter next to his chair, but his face looked like he was lost in some memory that only he could remember. I could tell he didn't mean the question with regard to what had happened with Lee Jong In. He ran a long finger over the rim, strokes tender. Then he brought his eyes towards me. His eyes had an odd glimmer, face unreadable.
I didn't answer his question. In fact, I wasn't planning on answering any of his questions. I simply continued looking at him with a blank expression. I had walked into enough traps for today and wasn't planning on adding to the number. If he was annoyed, it didn't show. He let out a long sigh and straightened in the chair.
"Here is the deal, Lin. I don't have any time to spare for your futile attempts of trying to act innocent or stubborn. You clearly haven't realized the gravity of the situation you are in, and it's showing. I am not going to keep entertaining your brattiness forever. " He stared deep into my eyes, devoid of warmth. "I don't make idle threats, and I don't make futile threats. You're going to be a good fucking girl and say yes sir, no sir, I understand, sir to all of my questions if you want to escape with your fragile illusion of an intact life, well- intact."
I glared at him again, not liking the threat. But he was right. I hadn't managed to grasp just how fucked this situation was for me yet. I needed to know, and right now only he could help me out of this mess. I needed him to be as amicable as possible, because I knew the rumours about him were true. He actually was dangerous, even if I was no pushover.
I sighed. "What do you want to know?" "You already know my question." "Why?" My tone was honest. "It doesn't concern you. He shouldn't concern you. I can promise you that your organisation is not a part of it. He-"
"Are you innocent?"
His question caught me off guard, my rambling coming to a stop. "What?" "I asked if you were innocent in all this." I pursed my lips. "If you are, then I don't see why you are so hellbent on keeping your mouth shut. Unless you are protecting someone. Is that so?"
I kept silent yet again. It was answer enough. No, I wasn't. Far from it, and he already knew it.
"Thought so. Now, I don't like doing this but I am going to ask again. Tell me what your deal with Lee Jong In is."
"He was someone I didn't like." "And his son?" "An accident." Something changed on his face. If I wasn't wrong, there was a flash of disappointment. I couldn't explain why but I didn't want him to be disappointed with me. "You killed him by accident?" "I didn't kill him." I sighed. His son's face started resurfacing in my mind, and I gulped it down before I could throw up. I looked away. "I saw him, but I didn't kill him." He made a sound of affirmation. "Then why did you call him an accident?" "Because I saw him that day as one. It wasn't my intention to." "Where did you see him?" His questions refused to stop, and I knew he was trying to catch holes in my answers. "I'm not very sure. It was years ago."
"You know what I think, Iseul?"
He reached into his pocket. "That you are lying."
He threw a few pieces of paper on my lap. I looked at them without wanting to and went pale from inside. Not because I had been caught, but because I hated being reminded of that day. Pictures of my father's men 'escorting' Lee's son into our hotel with a time stamp, taken by a camera. Pictures of Jihun discussing something with the security. Men carrying small boxes inside, others with a couple of briefcases. A certain picture caught my eye. One of me entering inside, a lot later than others. He dropped a last one, of me exiting with the twins, my expression looking haunted. Pictures of the young boy coming out were noticeably absent. These weren't from the cameras around the building, these were taken by someone. Which meant I had been followed. Years ago. And I had no clue.
"Not quite accidental, now don't you think?" "I still didn't kill him." "But he died under your watch. You might not have pulled the trigger, but you loaded the gun." "That is not what happened." "Then tell me what did." "I can't." A hand suddenly grabbed my face, forcing me to look upwards. His face came into view, and I tried to look away again. "I don't care what you can't do, Lin. If you think holding off till daddy interferes will get you out of here, you're sourly mistaken." Anger seethed from his expression, but I couldn't bring myself to care. He had made a huge mistake with the pictures. He really shouldn't have shown them to me.
"You listen carefully to me, Seonghwa. You can threaten my life all you like. I. Am. Not. Saying. A. Thing." We stared at each other for a few more moments. He didn't look disturbed at the fact that I had taken his name so casually. "We'll see about that." He dropped my face and I battled the urge to massage my jaw. His grip hadn't been gentle, not in the least. He walked to the chair, taking his suit jacket off and draping it over the backrest. Meanwhile I couldn't help but keep staring at the photos resting over my jeans, trying to rake my brain to remember if I'd ever felt like I was being followed. Or photographed, as evidence suggested, but I came up empty. I couldn't help but keep wondering what plan did he have to deal with my family. I had been taken against my will, but they couldn't take me as a captive. That would mean war. They couldn't risk that, and our families weren't enemies. Kim Hongjoong shared stable relations with my father and uncle. There had to be something I was missing here, which could answer the reason behind my situation.
I escaped from my trance to see that Seonghwa was staring at me intently. Or more likely, gouging my reaction to the photos. I decided to be the one asking questions, just to answer a few of mine. "How did you manage to pass our security at our own property to get these?"
"I had someone follow you." Huh. I couldn't help but blurt, "Me?"
"Who else? Did you really believe that I wasn't aware of your men following my every move? I'm merely returning the gesture."
"I hadn't realised that The Park Seonghwa kept an eye on someone as low and unimportant as me." "Don't play dumb, Lin. Don't think I am unaware of who you are. Your dear uncle may pretend to have all the trust in the world over Hongjoong's friendship, but Lin Baek Ho is a suspicious old man. I let it happen out of respect for his experience and giving him the benefit of the doubt. I could and would pull out a list of offences you've committed that warrants your detaining without having a single brow raised at me." He took a seat on the same chair, leg folded above the other. "Hongjoong is limited by the woes of his position. I am not. If you think that I don't know you have your fuckbuddy tailing my every move in the city even now, you aren't as smart as I had given you credit for." So he knew about Daesung. He wasn't my lover, but the fact that Seonghwa thought so made alarm bells go off in my head more urgently than before. I shrugged. "I call it enquiring." "You can call it whatever you want. Do not for a moment expect me to believe you're not a part of your family's infernal dealings." I stayed silent for a moment, trying to process just how much he already knew. He knew more than I had thought possible. Fuck.
"I....left that world behind. I was never fully a part of it anyway. I only look after the commercial investments. "
Seonghwa stared at me for a full minute. And then he laughed. Laughed. A full blown genuine laughter that shook his body. The sound bounced off the walls and went straight to my bones. "Iseul love, you don't escape this world. The door burns itself to ash the second your body crosses the threshold." My cheeks heated at being called love. Fuck me, I liked how my name rolled off his tongue. But if this casual conversation was going to keep him off the actual question, I was willing to play along. "Come on princess, tell me what I want to know and I'll let you walk out of the building alive." His implication was subtle. "Is that a threat, Park Seonghwa?" "It's a promise." "You say you know who I am. So, Mr. Park, are you confident enough to walk out of this unscathed if it comes to blows against me?" He stayed silent, expression one of contemplation. I knew what he was seeing on mine, a mocking question. "You're dragging this conversation." He said. "I'm having this conversation." I countered. He didn't miss a beat. "I want to have Jong In's conversation." "There is no conversation to be had." "A Lin ordered a hit on him and four hundred people saw you talking to him in Perles D'argent. You executed the hit on him, Lin Iseul. Everybody in our world knows that. Then his son was found dead. Don't pretend this isn't something personal. You might have distanced yourself from the news and acted like it didn't happen but an important link in our world was wiped that week and he took crucial information with him."
I looked at Seonghwa then, properly looked at him. His breathing had deepened, breaths becoming longer. His eyes were focused, not missing a single action from my side. The shirt fitted his form well, clinging to his sides with some sweat. He was leaning ahead on his elbows. A vein popped out near his temple, inviting me to press my lips-fuck. He was just as droolworthy as he had been back then. But he had given away one thing, his unbridled curiosity. I could see an opening in his technique. "Was Lee perhaps, working for you?" Seonghwa blinked. "So what if he was?" Let me guess, Lee took something from him. Knowing the rumours about Seonghwa, he did not take such transgressions lightly. Nobody did, but he was harsher than a lot of them. "He has something you want. Or even better, he has something of yours." Interesting. "Who would've thought, the infallible Park Seonghwa had a loose end running around the city showing off his wealth. What a time to be alive, don't you agree?" His expression didn't change. Clearly, he wasn't as amused as I was.
"Your family took something from him, something that doesn't belong to you. It is in your personal best interests if you hand it over. I will not hesitate to bury you six feet under, Iseul. Pretty or not. War or not." I took something from Lee Jong In alright, but this was not it. And he thought my family was involved. "Have you considered asking my family for it?" "I am asking you." "Ask my uncle." "He didn't take it, you did." "Are you sure?" "I have enough reason to believe so." "I'll say this again, Seonghwa. I am not my family. I have no reason to take anything from anyone. You said it yourself, I am the most normal person with Lin blood. I am just a member of the board in our real estate holdings." "Don't give me that crap, Iseul. Anybody who believes you aren't heavily involved in your family's not so clean businesses is blind." "So almost everyone from our world is blind?" "You can fool them all, you can't fool me. Hell, you have more sway and power than that greedy piece of shit Renjun. You sanction almost every port deal of your family. He slowed down. "Deny it, I dare you." Show your face, I dare you. San had said that to me two years ago. I shook my head. "I have no idea what you think you know." Seonghwa was about to counter, but there was noise at the door. Both of us glanced at it, and Kim Hongjoong walked in towards us. He took a moment to absorb the scene, a look at the photos on my lap, Seonghwa sitting on the opposite chair, and the expression of calm fury on our faces.
"Seonghwa, can you come out for a moment?" Hongjoong's voice was tight, something I hadn't expected. Park, however didn't even move from his seat. "I'm busy, as you can see." "With our lovely guest, I already know. It's an order, soldier." Seonghwa visibly straightened, clearly not liking having rank being pulled on him. They were almost equal in power, everyone knew that. If not confirmation enough of his distaste, his expression soured even more. He got up with a last look leveled at me, before heading outside with his leader. The door closed firmly, effectively locking me inside with nothing to do whatsoever.
I took the opportunity to get a better overview of the situation. From the looks of it, Seonghwa was acting on his own. The fact that he was insistent on hearing the story from me either meant he wanted to verify something, or he genuinely hadn't been able to get his hands on some information. I was almost sure it was the former. I had no reason to protect what had happened between me and the Lees. But I couldn't let them discover about Mirah, the two incidents were too close. I had made a promise to my friend and I intended to keep it, however twisted my methods were. I closed my eyes. I hadn't slept in more than twenty four hours and I was starting to feel the fatigue. Seonghwa did not know about Mirah. It was obvious. He wouldn't have been so complacent with me otherwise. Atleast I had that going on for me.
The door budged and footsteps walked in. A very displeased Seonghwa, unreadable Hongjoong and a calm Yeosang followed . Kang gave me a weird expression, but it was fleeting and he quickly looked away. My heart sank. I knew what that expression meant. He had gone through my phone. I kept looking at him, hoping there was some way I could sign him not to say anything. It would be futile though, and the sinking feeling in my stomach deepened.
"This has to be addressed in front of everyone," Hongjoong was saying to Seonghwa in a low voice. They clearly weren't done discussing things, or to be specific Hongjoong wasn't. Seonghwa's expression was clear indication that he did not want to be a part of it. "Let me deal with it." Hongjoong didn't like the response. "You didn't tell me who she was Seonghwa, are you out of your mind? You know who she is. You can't make those allegations without proving them." He got nothing from Seonghwa in response. I clearly was not expected to be a part of said conversation, and all I could do was intently listen. "Don't act rash, Park. A lot can be at sake here if she wishes." "I said leave it to me, Joong. I don't want anyone involved. It is between me and her." "Is this your ego or you talking?" "I have it under control." "I am calling everyone. This is not your call to make." "No you're not. She's mine." My spine jerked at that. Hongjoong gave me a glance, before looking back at his second in command. Heat threatened to rush to my cheeks and I fought to keep it down. I was sure they knew who I was, and Hongjoong hadn't liked what Seonghwa had done. That made two of us. "Fifteen minutes, Seonghwa. You can have fifteen minutes with her before I involve the others." His underboss clearly did not like the decision, but he pressed his lips shut. Hongjoong left without looking at Yeosang, who was waiting to talk to Seonghwa. Well, this was the end of it. Yeosang whispered into Seonghwa's ear, showing something in his hand. My phone. The frown in his eyebrows increases with each passing second, his face actually losing some color. He looks...horrified.
Seonghwa looks at me, eyes widening to emulate soccers.
"Iseul, you have a child?"
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
A/N: It's late late! I know. But it's here I guess.
Chapter 4 is done, I'll put it up today!
The accounts have been removed and now I'm back to having no reminders
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I haven't even gotten to the actual gore and there is already a community label on the chapter, I think I really may have to create a masterpost for the story. As for the story, I haven't even finished half of it and my mind is writing spin offs lol š
Tumblr just told me that this blog turned 1 today, and I can't put into words what I'm feeling š„ŗ
My baby is fucking 1 year old!!
I'm a dirty, dirty liar
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
If anyone has any sort of hidden technology that translates thoughts into well edited chapters overnight, please contact me š
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I'll finish this story, I promise
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I've had far too many porn accounts follow me this week as a reminder of my still not updated chapter. I have an exam this Monday though, so I guess what's the harm in 5 more followers?
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I know what I said, but I'm seriously busy watching the world cup
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
Busy this weekend, but the chapter does feel like it will be up by next week.
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
Again, I've just started writing chapter 4. I plotted it out while I was still writing this one and originally planned to combine the two chapters but decided against it. Anyways, happy reading!
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I'm still surprised I even finished this chapter
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the sweat tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even grace my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Minors do not interact.
WC: 2.6k
Pairing: Mafia! Seonghwa x Mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut.
A/N: The question isn't am I late or am I late. It's what are you gonna do about it?
Chapter 3
2 years ago:
I had blood on my hands.
I could vaguely feel its stickiness gently running down my fingertips, like some sort of forgotten, korean version of lady macbeth. Though I didn't know who hated it more, me or her. A small voice inside me said it had to be her, she most likely did not know just how heavy the price of a life is. As if I did, I mused. I had thought I had. I had paid it regardless.
I numbly walked out of the hotel room and brought myself to find the bathroom ensuite. Purely mechanical movements got the water running. I washed the pigment off, rubbing my skin till it was redder than the blood. I registered feet shuffling outside the door and a knock. "Boss, should we clear out? The work here is done." I let a second pass. "Yes." "As you wish." With that, he walked off and muffled orders were now audible, no doubt to the others outside. The words as you wish kept playing in my head like a broken record, an irony that refused to leave me alone. As you wish. It really was as I wished it in this city, wasn't it? I had always loved to play god. I got off on the thrill of infallibility it brought me. Of course, my fall was long. And if matters were any indication, I was yet to hit the ground. I hardly tried to stop the shudder that went through me at the thought. Images of crashed skulls and swollen bones kept flashing through my mind, but the face wasn't mine. I retracted my hands, the automatic tap turning off. I dried them and opened the door.
The room was empty save for the smell of disinfectant. I walked to the entrance, my uncle's men all waiting for me to exit. None of them spoke a word to each other as I marched on and out of the suite, them following some distance behind. "Jihun." I called out his name without looking back. "Keep this under the covers. Exclude it out of your report to my uncle or father. If he asks, I was out moping." "Whatever you say." And there it was again. Words that usually stroked my fragile ego into contentment had the opposite effect today. They made my hackles rise, if anything. "Leave the twins behind with me." Jihun, the man this group of people answered to grunted his acknowledgement. We parted ways at the main foyer of the hotel, Jihun's group heading to the parking lot and my steps turning towards the main entrance, the twins following.
I threaded through the throng silently, the buzzing nightlife of the city greeting me and the two men accompanying behind. The twins, Daesung and Daewon tailed me often, so my asking for them to stay wouldn't increase my father's already uncountable worries. They were both lithe, dressed casually to blend in.
"Get two cars. I'm driving myself back later." I got along well with the twins. They were battle hardened, years of military service and habit of discipline obvious. Both specialized in close range combat, but were decent marksmen too. Physically, they were in their late twenties but death had aged their mind. They moved silently, didn't ask questions and had no issue omitting things I asked from their reports to my family. Unlike Jihun, who I was sure would last a week before his sense of loyalty made him confess everything he previously hadn't once shit hit the roof. The twins moved as a unit, and anyone hardly ever used their individual names. They were simply the twins.
Two minutes later, I heard heard two cars coming towards me. I got into the first without looking. It was Daesung. He kept his eyes on the road, the radio connected to his younger brother's car 2 metres behind. "Where to?" Daewon asked, the red blink of the radio coming to life. I thought the question over. Where did I want to be now? Definitely not home. Not in my penthouse either. Currently silence scared me more than my mother did. "Wherever there's life." I sighed.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of a party. Some daddy's princess was having her 21st birthday bash, and the noise was almost deafening. I knew this bar and I knew the girl, though only barely. I had no intentions of gatecrashing, so I entered the gates without attaching my tab to her bill. I didn't drink either way.
The lone chairs were scarce, and lone tables nonexistent. The twins followed suit, getting to keep their weapons after a hushed discussion with the security and pointing a finger at me. Understanding the situation, he let them in.
The bar, Perles D'argent was a rare french investment on this road otherwise lined up with buildings owned by various Korean families from the underworld. The investors and owners both had formal relations with all of us, which made it a neutral venue. Both Daesung and Daewon took their places in the crowd, seemingly deciding to enjoy their nights because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood. They immediately turned heads in their direction as they went, their height and build drawing attention to them. I gave Daewon a knowing look, and he just shrugged with a half smile. I shook my head in return. My mother had always liked the twins, especially the younger one. She had once tried to set us up. Daewon had been horrified, not used to my mother's matchmaking endeavors. He had avoided me for a week later. I hardly felt sorry for him though.
In reality, I had asked the twins to follow only because I knew that would buy me more time till Jihun ran his mouth. He trusted his two subordinates and probably thought I was sleeping with one of the brothers. It usually played into my favor as people didn't enquire further when I asked for the twins, and both of them knew it.
I snagged an empty stool from a leaving patron and dumped myself unceremoniously on it. My mind had stopped registering my surroundings hours ago, the static of numbness the only sound I heard. My head was pounding. A lone shake of my head had the bartender look elsewhere. The day had been tough and my body ached without actually feeling pain. I was completely content with silently shutting every thought out and ignoring everything going wrong in my life, when I took a fleeting glance at the bar's occupants.
I saw him then.
Lee Jong In, sitting at a corner table, surrounded by two blondes and a brunette with his head resting in the blonde's lap. Completely oblivious to what was taking place in our city. There must have been a world record for the speed with which one could see red, and it must have had my name on it.
I was off the stool and walking in his direction without second thought. A hand grabbed me from nowhere and my temper soared, already having slipped twice in eight hours. It was one of the twins, who had followed my gaze and figured out where I was going.
"Leave me." I seethed at Daewon. His grip only tightened in response, dragging me out of the noise and into a less crowded place. " Let me go, soldier. You do not call the shots here." The younger twin didn't even blink.
"Iseul. You're far from in your right mind. Don't do something you'll regret in a week." A laugh escaped my throat at that, cruel and mirthless. "We're 72 hours too late for that, don't you agree?" His jaw tightened and he let go of my hand.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"Absolutely."
His expression said he knew I was lying, but he didn't say it. Instead, a snap of his fingers and Daesung was with us, looking at his brother and then at me, then back to his brother and finally towards the man that had started this conversation, now lapping at the brunette's shoulder. It clearly disgusted Daesung as well, because his expression soured instantly.
"What do you want to do?" "I want him to suffer," I looked at my hand, ghosts of the blood I had washed off still making it feel warm. "And I want him gone."
"That is hardly a call in your paygrade, Iseul." "Gone." I repeated with finality. The twins sighed in exasperation, Daewon running a hand through his dark hair. Daesung pulled his brother aside, clearing a path for me. "You know we have your back, right?" I nodded my head. What people didn't know was that I was friends with these two. Their loyalty was primarily with me, and my uncle or father second.
"We'll clean up after you. Just don't dig a bigger hole than you already have, Lin." He didn't need to remind me just how big a mess I had orchestrated, I wasn't forgetting it anytime soon. Still, with that warning echoing between the three of us, I made my way towards the shitty excuse of a man and a shittier father whose innocent son's blood I could still feel on my hands even hours later. And it was all his fault.
My mess could be dealt with tomorrow.
4 hours later:
I unlocked my car and got in. The party had long since finished, and I was far from the city. Lee Jong In was gone, a wet, soggy bed he had made for himself. The twins were gearing up to leave, their shared car behind mine.
A screen lighting up had me reaching inside the cup holder, my phone showing a power low reminder. I hadn't checked it for more than a day, I realized. I unlocked it, simply because I had nothing else to do. I had a series of texts that I ignored, but the latest two names were the only ones that actually mattered.
Wooyoung: Iseul call me back. [today, 2:02pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT THE HELL LIN [today, 1:32pm]
Wooyoung: Lin this better be a fucking joke [today, 1:29pm]
Few from San, minutes prior to his friend's texts.
San: You're. fucking. dead. [today, 1:23pm]
San: SHOW YOUR FACE. I DARE YOU. [today, 1:23pm]
San: Iseul, I am going to ask once. Where is she. [today, 1:17pm]
San: You're sick in the head. Fucking sick. You and your fucking need to control everything like the self-absorbed shit you act like [yesterday, 11:30pm]
Wooyoung: WHAT KIND OF A SHITTY PERSON ARE YOU??!!? [yesterday, 3:45pm]
Wooyoung: YOU BURIED HER??? [yesterday, 3:44pm]
Wooyoung: You have 23 missed call(s) from this user [received yesterday, 12:24pm]
San: You have 87 missed call(s) from this user [received today, 9:40 pm]
Wooyoung: Last call(s)- today, 6:14pm
San: Last call(s)-today, 9:00am
Every text was more desperate than the last, and my heart ached some more with every word I read. I didn't know if she would have forgiven me. The one person I had done all of this for. Someone whose secret I would die protecting, especially from Choi San. And someone she had now left behind, someone I would love enough for both of us.
Distractedly, I scrolled up some more. The older messages didn't even make sense, gibberish strung together by no doubt shaking hands. I closed the chat midway, not wanting to read further. It was no use anyway. Choi San may have loved my best friend, but this was my call to make. I switched the device off and threw it back in the cup holder. The gates of the cemetery outside glinted like a sharp knife, and I was tempted to get out of my car to see if it actually did draw blood. I deserved that pain at least. It would serve as a good reminder of my mortality.
My head leaned against the steering wheel, eyes closing for some time. The thought of the incident which had started these three days of absolute horror refusing to now stay suppressed in my head. My hands had started shaking on the sides of the steering wheel and I could feel the salty tears lining my eyelids as I opened them again, now freely flowing which I had held in for a long time.
Mirah was my gentle half. My closest friend. My confidante. The only one who kept me in line, my everything. And now she was gone.
I had buried my now dead best friend less than 24 hours ago.
Present:
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
Seonghwa's question echoed through the room as he himself lounged on the chair, relaxed and looking totally in control.
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the question, Lin. I am not a patient man."
I gritted my teeth. Who did he think he was? "Listen, Park. I don't know what you want. I don't want to know what you want. I don't know what Lee Jong In wanted when he sent me that invitation. I have no idea what happened to his son," I took a look at everyone in the room. "And I am not going to speak a single word or answer any further questions before I get out of this chair. So spare me this stupid display of power. I want no part in whatever game you are trying to start."
He stared me dead in the eye for what felt like an eternity. "Twenty minutes. I will give you twenty minutes to gather your bearings before my man escorts you."
"The way I see it, you want information that only I can provide. So, Mr. Park," I leaned forward, tone completely serious. "I would be far more accommodating to me than you are currently being. "
He didn't even dignify my outburst with a response, he gracefully got up from his chair like it was some throne, buttoned his suit and left the room without a glance in long strides. I watched him go with hooded eyes, massaging my wrists and running my hands through my hair in an effort to civilize them. Yunho and Mingi left next, the latter saying something in a hushed voice.
I got up on shaky legs, steadying myself against the chair as I buttoned my shirt, the hints of a tattoo on my torso that Seonghwa had been staring at vanishing underneath as I finished dressing. San's furious expression had turned into unreadable, Wooyoung nudging him to move with his own jaw clenched. Kang's face was closed off as usual as he averted his eyes to give me privacy. I scoffed internally. He had my phone casually in his pocket while he offered slivers of mercy to me, acting like some Victorian gentleman.
"Iseul."
Kim Hongjoong was still inside, his expression one of contemplation. I raised my brow at him.
"Have you met Seonghwa before?" Huh. I met his question with silence as I started to walk out. His extended hand stopped me, but his expression was what made me want to find out more. "I know who he is." I said to him after a pause, not understanding what he meant by his question. He nodded, making way for me to leave.
Hongjoong fell into some silent discussion with Yeosang, and I took the opportunity to get out of the room. The guard near the door immediately fell into step ahead of me.
With a forlorn sigh and resignation in my bones, I followed the man to whatever grave I had dug for myself with this man.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
A/N: This is shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to end it on some lame note. Happy reading!
I've started writing the 3rd chapter too, (just putting it out here so my procrastinating brain gets the motivation to continue)
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1
Minors do not interact.
WC: 4.2k
Pairing: mafia!Seonghwa x mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut. I'm new at this lmk if I have missed anything.
A/N: After going through fifty different life altering events I have somehow managed to finish this chapter. It was in my drafts for 7(!) months begging to be completed. Everyone pray to whatever god you believe in for my continued writing inspiration.
Chapter 2
I didn't know what woke me up.
I remained still, not wanting anyone who may have been monitoring me to realize that I was awake. Slowly, very slowly I moved my head enough to get in more handful breaths of air while trying to recollect my memory.
There was a dull, twisting ache in my arms, my head was groggy, and I felt my cheek burning. I could remember what had happened recently, with Lee Jong In and Jaemin rushing back to me all at once. I gently wiggled my toes, trying to get back sensation. I still had my socks on, which was a good sign and better cover.
After determining that I hadn't indeed broken anything in my body, I raised my head to see where I was.
I regretted it soon though, as I suddenly heard a pair of legs coming near me. Someone gripped my hair and tugged hard, a groan escaping my mouth. My head fell forward as they let go, revealing a set of feet walking in front of me from behind. I looked up at a woman's face peering down at me, distaste written on it in bold letters. I looked around instead, letting my surroundings sink in.
It was clearly an interrogation room, plain walls on three sides with a giant glass on the left. I was sitting on a chair, my hands locked behind me. An array of chairs was strewn in front of me, all of them unoccupied though I had a rough idea who would sit in them.
"Shouldn't yo-" I started but fell short, my dry throat causing me to cough. I swallowed twice, trying again. "Shouldn't you get your boss?" I motioned to the glass panel to my left, which I was very certain was see through from the other side.
"You're a cocky one, aren't ya?" She responded in a dull voice, taking a step closer. I looked at her, properly. "You're beaten up, tied to a chair in an enemy base, and you still make demands. You're cocky."
I wanted to retort, but didn't. My throat was extremely parched and I felt it would tear and bleed if I tried to say anything again. I had become vaguely aware that most buttons of my shirt were open, most likely to check for weapons. My nose curled in distaste at the thought of being touched, but there weren't any visible bruises. Before I could examine my situation a bit more thoroughly, I was yanked by my hair again.
"Yo-you.." I panted. My throat was closing up, most likely an effect of the drug I had been injected with. " You've to stop..." She gripped my face next, fingers almost digging into my flesh. "...stop doing that."
She peered into my face, and I held her gaze as much as I could. Suddenly, the door behind her opened, and I could hear feet shuffling in. The woman took a step back, and Jaemin stepped into view. He signaled the woman to leave, and with a last lingering glance in my direction she did.
He kept staring at me, waiting for me to break the silence. I took a daring glance to my left instead at the glass, as I reclined slightly and stretched. Jaemin's gaze followed mine and he smirked, voice low and very suggestive as he said, "Hoping to see someone there?" I refused to answer, though he was looking at me like he could read my mind, knew what had happened before. I wouldn't be all that surprised if he did know. Jaemin was a powerful, influential man.
There was a familiar ringing in the room, and I followed the noise to see my phone on a corner table, ringing. I could think of a lot of people who would be calling. I didn't know how much time had passed since i had left my house, I realized with a jolt. My first guess was Jun, since I had tried calling him before. Jaemin though did not look like he had any intentions of picking it up. I noticed a bottle of water beside the device, and a shiny black object. It was my gun.
"What do you want." I managed to grit out. "From you, Iseul? I could list a lot of things actually." I glanced up. He was still smirking, eyes glinting. He knew I understood what he was implying. I glanced away, and he laughed. "What were you doing at the warehouse though? It looks like you know Jong In quite well." Again, I didn't answer. My hands were aching horribly, and my eyes could tear up any moment. I shifted in my chair, slightly easing the pain. He picked a chair and sat in front of me. "Lin, I will ask you again. Why were you at the warehouse?"
"Why does your boss want me?" He didn't answer, choosing to give out a long, dragged out sigh.
"Jaemin," I breathed. "You understand that taking me has consequences, right?" "Oh darling," He leaned in close, voice losing a few octaves. "I know who you are. " My blood chilled as he continued, "You're not that discrete about it." I dared to look at him, dreading his expression. Jaemin though looked unfazed.
"Lin." He waited till I looked back up, hesitant. "You may not realize it, but it is very important that you have an explanation for why you were at the warehouse when you were."
I weighed my options carefully. I didn't want to sound suspicious, but I couldn't give up a lot of information either. I didn't have to in the end, because just as I was about to say something, the door opened, and-
"Iseul?"
A bewildered tone from another familiar voice rang, and I looked up at Jung Wooyoung who was already staring at me. Despite myself, I smiled. A short, clipped, pained smile which had nothing to do with my aching jaw. "Hello, Wooyoung."
"Why are you here?"
"Jaemin here," I cocked my head towards the sitting man. "was just telling me that."
Wooyoung looked at his colleague, waiting for an answer. Jung Wooyoung was, for a lack of a better word someone I would go as far as calling a friend. Outside of business, obviously. He was easy to get along with when he wasn't working. Said friend's voice broke me out of my haze as he said,
"When Yeosang said Hyung caught an interesting fish, I hadn't expected to come see a Lin tied in our building. Iseul even more so."
So the other person in the warehouse waiting in the shadows had been Kang Yeosang. Another chill threatened to run down my spine. Just what had I gotten myself into? I definitely regretted going alone. This looked serious. It didn't help that I could still feel a sharp gaze on me from somewhere. Wooyoung's face showed slight confusion, and something else which he quickly covered with nonchalance.
He gave Jaemin a look, to which the latter simply shrugged. "Park's orders. I had no say in it."
"Wooyoung?" I asked tentatively. He spared me a glance, willing me to continue. His expression had changed after Jaemin's words. It was clear he did not want to do anything that could go against Park Seonghwa's wishes. I swallowed, indicating at the table. "Could you get me some water?" He looked visibly relieved at my request, and moved to get the bottle. Kneeling in front of me, he held it to my lips.
"Why do you want me?" I whispered in his ear so low, even he would have trouble hearing it. But he refused to answer, jaw clenching ever so slightly and with good reason. I sighed, focusing instead on getting the liquid down my parched throat. He stepped back, screwed the cap shut and threw it at Jaemin, who caught it easily. Without looking behind, he went out of the door, expression grim and rapidly conversing with someone who must have just arrived outside.
Their tone suggested they weren't happy about something, but my connection was lost as the door shut off completely, leaving me alone with Bang Jaemin who kept staring at me with a closed off expression.
I decided to ignore him, closing my eyes instead. I was tired. Beyond anything, I was tired and aching. Tear were threatening to form at the back of my eyes so I kept taking long subtle breaths through my mouth to let the feeling pass.
"Lin."
I remained still, not having the energy to look up. Jaemin took this as an invitation to go on. "Listen up, Lin." His voice was low, slight urgency in it. It felt like he did not want the others outside to hear us. Jaemin was definitely older than the eight of Ateez, and that too by a lot. He was also almost as powerful as them, and definitely had half of the criminal side of Seoul quaking at his name. Very few knew why he hadn't tried becoming a kingpin, and a lot wondered including me. His power was second only to Kim Hongjoong and his circle. Men in Ateez respected the fuck out of him, and his word was usually law. He had a lot of assets to his name as well, it wasn't as if he didn't have interest in amassing power. Quite the opposite was true, if you knew about him at all. Yet, he refrained from going after the highest spot. He was truly a confusing man, if not more so than his boss.
"A word of caution for you," he started. "whatever you've done, cut your losses and move on. Seonghwa is not very forgiving. Don't rub him the wrong way, given your history. He won't hesitate to put a bullet in your skull, Lin blood or not."
I said nothing. Its not as if I didn't know that already. I had met the man before, after all. Jaemin pulled back, seemingly done with his caution. My phone rang again. I looked at it and then at the man in front, who this time actually did get up from the chair and walk towards the device. With a glance at the screen, he declined the call.
The door opened yet once more, the woman from before walking back in. A man followed her in, whispering something in his boss's ear before taking his place at the wall near the door. Jaemin looked ready to leave. Someone tall walked in again, this time with a chair in hand.
Excluding the newly brought in chair, there were six lying around the room. The woman strutted towards me, with a sway to her walk that definitely wasn't there twenty minutes ago. She grabbed my face again, making me look up at her. She was enjoying this, clearly. This show of power over me. Her smug face made me see red. I yanked her right leg to the side with my left leg, and kicked her kneecap hard with heel of my foot. An audible pop echoed with her scream, and a masculine curse from the man who had brought the chair in.
"I'd told you not to do that. I will break your leg if you do it again." I gritted out. "Know your place."
She got up, her leg wobbling from the harsh impact. A sharp sting reverberated through my cheeks, probably because she must have punched me again. She was strong. But now I was madder. I prepared to kick her again, this time with the intention to break.
"Jen, you should leave." The man said in a tone that exuded gentle finality. She stepped back, not liking the order. I looked at the man, recognizing another face. Jeong Yunho. Whatever gentleness he had in him disappeared as he looked at me. He took a seat, looking relaxed as he eyed me up and down. His gaze didn't even bother stopping at my exposed torso.
"I have to say, when Wooyoung said Yeosang brought a Lin I didn't really believe him at first. Looks like he really did drag the princess out of her castle."
I pointedly ignored his last jab. The man at the door held it open and a few more bodies lined up, taking up places on the empty chairs. I watched Wooyoung come back in, followed by a person I did not want to talk to. I wouldn't know what to say anyway.
"Holy, that really is her." I looked at the latest man to say that, who seemed to be saying it to Yunho. So that was Mingi, I mused. He wasn't really seen outside much. He took a seat beside the former man, looking at me with slight curiosity. My gaze veered left, making contact with a set of eyes who looked like they wanted me to catch fire.
"Long time no see, San." I addressed him, knowing he wouldn't like it. Jaemin had warned me about not provoking Seonghwa, but he hadn't said the same about anyone else.
Wooyoung held his friend's arm, silently asking him to not take my bait. I smiled widely, despite myself. I was sure my eyes would be gleaming. The looks on the other's faces was confirmation enough.
"My my, it really is true." I groaned at the voice, knowing fully well whom it belonged to. "Yeosang was right, Seonghwa has brought in an interesting little bird."
I looked at Kim Hongjoong, the leader of Ateez. He was dressed like he had just travelled here, a black coat over his no doubt immaculate clothes underneath. "Really, Kim? You are calling me little?" I was taller than him.
He gave a smile, "Really, Lin? You are provoking me?" "Dragging me here has consequences, Kim. You know that just as well as your right hand. You can't hold me here, not like this. Not without an explanation." "I'm here to simply watch, princess. I trust my right hand enough." I gritted my teeth. "And where is this right hand of yours? Fashionably late?"
I wondered if I shouldn't have said that, because like a summoned creature the doorway darkened with two shadows, Kang Yeosang and Park Seonghwa himself.
Yeosang took a chair without any looks in my direction, face cold as always. I finally forced myself to look at the last person who had come in. He was already looking at me, a smirk on his face as he brought a chair forward to occupy it. I didn't fail to notice how the others were simply spectators, clearly not a part of this ploy. Except for Yeosang, but he didn't seem to be inclined to join the conversation anytime soon.
Park Seonghwa was......an enigma. An undeniably handsome enigma who was currently wearing a perfectly tailored black pinstriped suit and looking at me with eyes that looked like a predator enjoying watching his prey squirm.
"I'm hurt, princess. You don't give me enough credit for the beautiful trap I set for you. So when you ran your mouth asking for explanations, I'd have them all ready waiting at the warehouse. You bruise my ego," he fake pouted.
"Don't call me that."
"What? Princess? But it's the truth. Don't like what you are?"
I said nothing. Like clockwork, my phone's ring came back, and Seonghwa's expression changed from smirking to annoyed.
"Shut that damn thing off, it has been going off since the warehouse."
Yeosang got up silently, covering the distance in long steps. He picked my phone up and held it for Seonghwa to see, most likely to show who had been calling. He slid the ringer toggle down, and pocketed it. He must be planning to go through it later. He wouldn't find anything, except for photos- shit.
"What do you think you're doing with my phone, Kang?"
There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, he was going to look at the gallery. He was going to find out. Shit, Shit. There was nothing I could do. Dread started to settle over my already clouded mind and I was already looking for ways to explain what he would definitely deduce from one look at my photos.
"Going through it." He said matter-of-factly. I tried not to show any fear. There was no use asking him back for it, he wouldn't even entertain me.
Seonghwa was observing me with a cold calculation, and I decided to drop the issue for now. He would catch up with my fear if I continued so instead, I decided to focus on him, popping the million dollar question.
"Why am I here?"
He gave me a once over, eyes lingering on my torso. I knew what he was looking at, and I didn't want him to. "Eyes up here, Park." His gaze travelled upwards, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?"
"Well, you tell me, princess. Why was Lin Iseul, the only child of Lin Baek Ho, the owner of everything in Seoul's underworld, the forgotten heir to her father's throne, the hidden queen on her uncle's chessboard, the owner apparent of every club in Gangnam, the most normal person from your family, at Lee Jong In's warehouse, talking to that man like you knew him for ages?"
He counted every title he gave me on his fingers, making a performance out of it. He looked utterly delectable doing that, and I shoved that feeling deep down.
There was silence in the room after his impressive monologue of my resume, and the guard at the door was gawking at me. I glared at Seonghwa, who looked like he had got me where he wanted. With the ball in my court. My next words would decide my future with these people. His eyes bore into mine, waiting for me to speak.
I stretched my feet a little, his eyes not missing the action. Testing the binds on my hands that had the guard touching his weapon, I took some more time to get comfortable.
"I want my phone back." I said in a final tone. A few eyebrows were raised, but I kept my gaze steady.
"No."
"Then I have nothing to say to you."
Seonghwa's lip curled. "Nothing?"
"Nothing." I repeated.
He was silent for some time. He was waiting, I realized quickly for me to break the silence. Well, he had a thing coming for him then. I knew techniques of intimidation better than anyone. I wasn't going to fall for this one. I waited with him, a challenge glowing in his eyes and boredom showing on my face.
"Why do you want it back, surely you aren't stupid enough to keep classified information on it?" I gave him an are-you-serious look.
"Why wouldn't I want it back? Its my phone after all. Wouldn't you feel weird if I went through your phone?" Come on, take the bait, take the bait. I kept my features normal, looking at him inquisitively. Hopefully he wasn't hearing my heartbeats rise.
He reached inside his jacket and fished out his own phone. One of many, I assumed.
He looked at me. "If you wanted me to untie your hands, you should have just asked."
I gave him a sheepish smile. "Now where's the fun in that?"
He threw the phone on my lap. "I know your left hand is free, princess. You are good, but you underestimate me."
I stared at him. Slowly, I brought my left hand in front. The cuffs were strong and locked, so I had simply pulled apart the chain that connected it to the other loop. My hand was sweaty and red where the cuff cut, and Park was unapologetically staring at the bind, eyes dark.
"Do cuffs entice you?"
Someone behind choked on a laugh. We had a audience, I remembered with a start. They had been so silent all this time, it was easy to forget them.
Seonghwa's eyes though were still on my wrist, unblinking. "Sometimes."
He leaned back in his chair, adjusting his sleeves.
"Do you enjoy seeing me tied up, Mr. Park?" I asked slowly, letting my voice deepen a bit. His eyes met mine, an arch in his left brow.
"Seonghwa is enjoying this more than he's letting on, Iseul." Wooyoung said with a smirk from behind. I kept staring at the man, coaxing him to admit it.
"Depends. Would you do something if I did?" His response was clipped, and I knew I was getting to him.
"What do want me to do, Mr. Park?" My voice came out lower than I wanted it to. His nostrils flared. With a shake of his head, he laughed. "You're good at this, Lin. Almost had me there. You're quite the manipulator." My spirit dampened at being caught, and I was now hoping he wouldn't read too much into it. I still kept my smile, trying to get him back to his state seconds ago.
"Almost?" I asked with a tentative smile. His gaze hardened, all humour gone. "Don't push it." My smile dropped, along with my facade. He had caught on. I shouldn't try again so soon. I held the phone instead, unlocking the device. It was password protected, and I raised a brow at him.
"7 3 2 1 5 4." I punched the code, and the screen clicked open. Making a show of looking around the device, I checked if it had a sim. I couldn't type messages, it would be too obvious. But I had a hunch I needed to confirm. One digit at a time and taking gaps in between, I dialed my cousin's number. I nonchalantly lowered the volume to minimum so the ring wouldn't be heard, and pressed exit. I glanced up at Seonghwa, who was looking at me like a hawk, sizing up my every move. I had a sinking feeling that he knew what was going on but let me continue anyway, wanting to see what I would do.
With a resigned sigh to distract my audience, I hit the call button. Now it was time for the show to start.
Kim Hongjoong leaned ahead, Yeosang and the guard following. Seonghwa put up a hand, asking them to pause.
The call connected in two rings as I put it on speaker.
Lin Renjun's voice reached my ears, familiar and lilted. "Park. I hadn't expected another chat so soon." That was all the confirmation I needed.
I leveled a scorching look at Seonghwa, which usually had lesser men spilling their guts at my feet. Literally. But he just blankly stared at me, giving away nothing. "Park, are you there?" My cousin was still on the other end of the line. "Is this about her?"
I cut the call. I didn't need to hear more. I threw the device at Seonghwa's head, and he caught it without hassle. He put it back in his pocket, massaging his neck. His next words were crystal clear, like he was unbothered about the revelation.
"Now that you've confirmed how you got here, lets move on to the why."
"What do you do, Lin?"
I titled my head up at Kim Hongjoong, who had asked the question. "What do you mean?" "Where do you work, since you're the normal one?" I gulped. My gut told me I wasn't going to like where this was heading. "I have a degree in business development." "Yes, we're aware of it. But where do you use that brain of yours?" "I handle the commercial properties we own." "I see." I waited for him to contradict me, but he seemed done with his questions for now.
I returned my gaze at Park Seonghwa, who was still sitting in front of me.
"Twenty seven men." He abruptly said. Seonghwa's deep timber travelled my body, leaving tiny tingles all over my skin.
"Twenty seven men have gone missing under suspicious circumstances in the past two years ever since Lee Jong In's apparent death." I waited for him to continue. "Your family has also lost men, princess," "Everyone has."
"Exactly. Every family, organisation, everyone who has secrets to hide have lost men." He took a pause, and I held my breath waiting for him to finish.
"What secrets was Jong In hiding that you had to try to kill him?"
"I didn't try to kill him, but whoever did attempt it didn't do a really good job, obviously. Considering that vile man is still alive."
"Obviously." He repeated the word, like a robot.
"What does this have to do with me here?"
"Be patient, princess. I am getting to that. Do you agree that you had been with Jong In hours before he went missing?" Dread settled low in my stomach. I contemplated lying, but decided against it. He must have already been told what I had said to Lee at the warehouse. I was sure my skin had paled visibly. Slowly, hesitantly, I nodded. I knew what the next question was going to be, and I absolutely did not want to answer it. There were too many holes in my story. With a sinking feeling, I gathered enough strength to look at the man occupying the place opposite to mine as he asked the one question I had refused to answer for so long.
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
A/N: I may add a moodboard later, depending on my mood. Happy reading!
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Minors do not interact.
WC: 4.2k
Pairing: mafia!Seonghwa x mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut. I'm new at this lmk if I have missed anything.
A/N: After going through fifty different life altering events I have somehow managed to finish this chapter. It was in my drafts for 7(!) months begging to be completed. Everyone pray to whatever god you believe in for my continued writing inspiration.
Chapter 2
I didn't know what woke me up.
I remained still, not wanting anyone who may have been monitoring me to realize that I was awake. Slowly, very slowly I moved my head enough to get in more handful breaths of air while trying to recollect my memory.
There was a dull, twisting ache in my arms, my head was groggy, and I felt my cheek burning. I could remember what had happened recently, with Lee Jong In and Jaemin rushing back to me all at once. I gently wiggled my toes, trying to get back sensation. I still had my socks on, which was a good sign and better cover.
After determining that I hadn't indeed broken anything in my body, I raised my head to see where I was.
I regretted it soon though, as I suddenly heard a pair of legs coming near me. Someone gripped my hair and tugged hard, a groan escaping my mouth. My head fell forward as they let go, revealing a set of feet walking in front of me from behind. I looked up at a woman's face peering down at me, distaste written on it in bold letters. I looked around instead, letting my surroundings sink in.
It was clearly an interrogation room, plain walls on three sides with a giant glass on the left. I was sitting on a chair, my hands locked behind me. An array of chairs was strewn in front of me, all of them unoccupied though I had a rough idea who would sit in them.
"Shouldn't yo-" I started but fell short, my dry throat causing me to cough. I swallowed twice, trying again. "Shouldn't you get your boss?" I motioned to the glass panel to my left, which I was very certain was see through from the other side.
"You're a cocky one, aren't ya?" She responded in a dull voice, taking a step closer. I looked at her, properly. "You're beaten up, tied to a chair in an enemy base, and you still make demands. You're cocky."
I wanted to retort, but didn't. My throat was extremely parched and I felt it would tear and bleed if I tried to say anything again. I had become vaguely aware that most buttons of my shirt were open, most likely to check for weapons. My nose curled in distaste at the thought of being touched, but there weren't any visible bruises. Before I could examine my situation a bit more thoroughly, I was yanked by my hair again.
"Yo-you.." I panted. My throat was closing up, most likely an effect of the drug I had been injected with. " You've to stop..." She gripped my face next, fingers almost digging into my flesh. "...stop doing that."
She peered into my face, and I held her gaze as much as I could. Suddenly, the door behind her opened, and I could hear feet shuffling in. The woman took a step back, and Jaemin stepped into view. He signaled the woman to leave, and with a last lingering glance in my direction she did.
He kept staring at me, waiting for me to break the silence. I took a daring glance to my left instead at the glass, as I reclined slightly and stretched. Jaemin's gaze followed mine and he smirked, voice low and very suggestive as he said, "Hoping to see someone there?" I refused to answer, though he was looking at me like he could read my mind, knew what had happened before. I wouldn't be all that surprised if he did know. Jaemin was a powerful, influential man.
There was a familiar ringing in the room, and I followed the noise to see my phone on a corner table, ringing. I could think of a lot of people who would be calling. I didn't know how much time had passed since i had left my house, I realized with a jolt. My first guess was Jun, since I had tried calling him before. Jaemin though did not look like he had any intentions of picking it up. I noticed a bottle of water beside the device, and a shiny black object. It was my gun.
"What do you want." I managed to grit out. "From you, Iseul? I could list a lot of things actually." I glanced up. He was still smirking, eyes glinting. He knew I understood what he was implying. I glanced away, and he laughed. "What were you doing at the warehouse though? It looks like you know Jong In quite well." Again, I didn't answer. My hands were aching horribly, and my eyes could tear up any moment. I shifted in my chair, slightly easing the pain. He picked a chair and sat in front of me. "Lin, I will ask you again. Why were you at the warehouse?"
"Why does your boss want me?" He didn't answer, choosing to give out a long, dragged out sigh.
"Jaemin," I breathed. "You understand that taking me has consequences, right?" "Oh darling," He leaned in close, voice losing a few octaves. "I know who you are. " My blood chilled as he continued, "You're not that discrete about it." I dared to look at him, dreading his expression. Jaemin though looked unfazed.
"Lin." He waited till I looked back up, hesitant. "You may not realize it, but it is very important that you have an explanation for why you were at the warehouse when you were."
I weighed my options carefully. I didn't want to sound suspicious, but I couldn't give up a lot of information either. I didn't have to in the end, because just as I was about to say something, the door opened, and-
"Iseul?"
A bewildered tone from another familiar voice rang, and I looked up at Jung Wooyoung who was already staring at me. Despite myself, I smiled. A short, clipped, pained smile which had nothing to do with my aching jaw. "Hello, Wooyoung."
"Why are you here?"
"Jaemin here," I cocked my head towards the sitting man. "was just telling me that."
Wooyoung looked at his colleague, waiting for an answer. Jung Wooyoung was, for a lack of a better word someone I would go as far as calling a friend. Outside of business, obviously. He was easy to get along with when he wasn't working. Said friend's voice broke me out of my haze as he said,
"When Yeosang said Hyung caught an interesting fish, I hadn't expected to come see a Lin tied in our building. Iseul even more so."
So the other person in the warehouse waiting in the shadows had been Kang Yeosang. Another chill threatened to run down my spine. Just what had I gotten myself into? I definitely regretted going alone. This looked serious. It didn't help that I could still feel a sharp gaze on me from somewhere. Wooyoung's face showed slight confusion, and something else which he quickly covered with nonchalance.
He gave Jaemin a look, to which the latter simply shrugged. "Park's orders. I had no say in it."
"Wooyoung?" I asked tentatively. He spared me a glance, willing me to continue. His expression had changed after Jaemin's words. It was clear he did not want to do anything that could go against Park Seonghwa's wishes. I swallowed, indicating at the table. "Could you get me some water?" He looked visibly relieved at my request, and moved to get the bottle. Kneeling in front of me, he held it to my lips.
"Why do you want me?" I whispered in his ear so low, even he would have trouble hearing it. But he refused to answer, jaw clenching ever so slightly and with good reason. I sighed, focusing instead on getting the liquid down my parched throat. He stepped back, screwed the cap shut and threw it at Jaemin, who caught it easily. Without looking behind, he went out of the door, expression grim and rapidly conversing with someone who must have just arrived outside.
Their tone suggested they weren't happy about something, but my connection was lost as the door shut off completely, leaving me alone with Bang Jaemin who kept staring at me with a closed off expression.
I decided to ignore him, closing my eyes instead. I was tired. Beyond anything, I was tired and aching. Tear were threatening to form at the back of my eyes so I kept taking long subtle breaths through my mouth to let the feeling pass.
"Lin."
I remained still, not having the energy to look up. Jaemin took this as an invitation to go on. "Listen up, Lin." His voice was low, slight urgency in it. It felt like he did not want the others outside to hear us. Jaemin was definitely older than the eight of Ateez, and that too by a lot. He was also almost as powerful as them, and definitely had half of the criminal side of Seoul quaking at his name. Very few knew why he hadn't tried becoming a kingpin, and a lot wondered including me. His power was second only to Kim Hongjoong and his circle. Men in Ateez respected the fuck out of him, and his word was usually law. He had a lot of assets to his name as well, it wasn't as if he didn't have interest in amassing power. Quite the opposite was true, if you knew about him at all. Yet, he refrained from going after the highest spot. He was truly a confusing man, if not more so than his boss.
"A word of caution for you," he started. "whatever you've done, cut your losses and move on. Seonghwa is not very forgiving. Don't rub him the wrong way, given your history. He won't hesitate to put a bullet in your skull, Lin blood or not."
I said nothing. Its not as if I didn't know that already. I had met the man before, after all. Jaemin pulled back, seemingly done with his caution. My phone rang again. I looked at it and then at the man in front, who this time actually did get up from the chair and walk towards the device. With a glance at the screen, he declined the call.
The door opened yet once more, the woman from before walking back in. A man followed her in, whispering something in his boss's ear before taking his place at the wall near the door. Jaemin looked ready to leave. Someone tall walked in again, this time with a chair in hand.
Excluding the newly brought in chair, there were six lying around the room. The woman strutted towards me, with a sway to her walk that definitely wasn't there twenty minutes ago. She grabbed my face again, making me look up at her. She was enjoying this, clearly. This show of power over me. Her smug face made me see red. I yanked her right leg to the side with my left leg, and kicked her kneecap hard with heel of my foot. An audible pop echoed with her scream, and a masculine curse from the man who had brought the chair in.
"I'd told you not to do that. I will break your leg if you do it again." I gritted out. "Know your place."
She got up, her leg wobbling from the harsh impact. A sharp sting reverberated through my cheeks, probably because she must have punched me again. She was strong. But now I was madder. I prepared to kick her again, this time with the intention to break.
"Jen, you should leave." The man said in a tone that exuded gentle finality. She stepped back, not liking the order. I looked at the man, recognizing another face. Jeong Yunho. Whatever gentleness he had in him disappeared as he looked at me. He took a seat, looking relaxed as he eyed me up and down. His gaze didn't even bother stopping at my exposed torso.
"I have to say, when Wooyoung said Yeosang brought a Lin I didn't really believe him at first. Looks like he really did drag the princess out of her castle."
I pointedly ignored his last jab. The man at the door held it open and a few more bodies lined up, taking up places on the empty chairs. I watched Wooyoung come back in, followed by a person I did not want to talk to. I wouldn't know what to say anyway.
"Holy, that really is her." I looked at the latest man to say that, who seemed to be saying it to Yunho. So that was Mingi, I mused. He wasn't really seen outside much. He took a seat beside the former man, looking at me with slight curiosity. My gaze veered left, making contact with a set of eyes who looked like they wanted me to catch fire.
"Long time no see, San." I addressed him, knowing he wouldn't like it. Jaemin had warned me about not provoking Seonghwa, but he hadn't said the same about anyone else.
Wooyoung held his friend's arm, silently asking him to not take my bait. I smiled widely, despite myself. I was sure my eyes would be gleaming. The looks on the other's faces was confirmation enough.
"My my, it really is true." I groaned at the voice, knowing fully well whom it belonged to. "Yeosang was right, Seonghwa has brought in an interesting little bird."
I looked at Kim Hongjoong, the leader of Ateez. He was dressed like he had just travelled here, a black coat over his no doubt immaculate clothes underneath. "Really, Kim? You are calling me little?" I was taller than him.
He gave a smile, "Really, Lin? You are provoking me?" "Dragging me here has consequences, Kim. You know that just as well as your right hand. You can't hold me here, not like this. Not without an explanation." "I'm here to simply watch, princess. I trust my right hand enough." I gritted my teeth. "And where is this right hand of yours? Fashionably late?"
I wondered if I shouldn't have said that, because like a summoned creature the doorway darkened with two shadows, Kang Yeosang and Park Seonghwa himself.
Yeosang took a chair without any looks in my direction, face cold as always. I finally forced myself to look at the last person who had come in. He was already looking at me, a smirk on his face as he brought a chair forward to occupy it. I didn't fail to notice how the others were simply spectators, clearly not a part of this ploy. Except for Yeosang, but he didn't seem to be inclined to join the conversation anytime soon.
Park Seonghwa was......an enigma. An undeniably handsome enigma who was currently wearing a perfectly tailored black pinstriped suit and looking at me with eyes that looked like a predator enjoying watching his prey squirm.
"I'm hurt, princess. You don't give me enough credit for the beautiful trap I set for you. So when you ran your mouth asking for explanations, I'd have them all ready waiting at the warehouse. You bruise my ego," he fake pouted.
"Don't call me that."
"What? Princess? But it's the truth. Don't like what you are?"
I said nothing. Like clockwork, my phone's ring came back, and Seonghwa's expression changed from smirking to annoyed.
"Shut that damn thing off, it has been going off since the warehouse."
Yeosang got up silently, covering the distance in long steps. He picked my phone up and held it for Seonghwa to see, most likely to show who had been calling. He slid the ringer toggle down, and pocketed it. He must be planning to go through it later. He wouldn't find anything, except for photos- shit.
"What do you think you're doing with my phone, Kang?"
There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, he was going to look at the gallery. He was going to find out. Shit, Shit. There was nothing I could do. Dread started to settle over my already clouded mind and I was already looking for ways to explain what he would definitely deduce from one look at my photos.
"Going through it." He said matter-of-factly. I tried not to show any fear. There was no use asking him back for it, he wouldn't even entertain me.
Seonghwa was observing me with a cold calculation, and I decided to drop the issue for now. He would catch up with my fear if I continued so instead, I decided to focus on him, popping the million dollar question.
"Why am I here?"
He gave me a once over, eyes lingering on my torso. I knew what he was looking at, and I didn't want him to. "Eyes up here, Park." His gaze travelled upwards, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?"
"Well, you tell me, princess. Why was Lin Iseul, the only child of Lin Baek Ho, the owner of everything in Seoul's underworld, the forgotten heir to her father's throne, the hidden queen on her uncle's chessboard, the owner apparent of every club in Gangnam, the most normal person from your family, at Lee Jong In's warehouse, talking to that man like you knew him for ages?"
He counted every title he gave me on his fingers, making a performance out of it. He looked utterly delectable doing that, and I shoved that feeling deep down.
There was silence in the room after his impressive monologue of my resume, and the guard at the door was gawking at me. I glared at Seonghwa, who looked like he had got me where he wanted. With the ball in my court. My next words would decide my future with these people. His eyes bore into mine, waiting for me to speak.
I stretched my feet a little, his eyes not missing the action. Testing the binds on my hands that had the guard touching his weapon, I took some more time to get comfortable.
"I want my phone back." I said in a final tone. A few eyebrows were raised, but I kept my gaze steady.
"No."
"Then I have nothing to say to you."
Seonghwa's lip curled. "Nothing?"
"Nothing." I repeated.
He was silent for some time. He was waiting, I realized quickly for me to break the silence. Well, he had a thing coming for him then. I knew techniques of intimidation better than anyone. I wasn't going to fall for this one. I waited with him, a challenge glowing in his eyes and boredom showing on my face.
"Why do you want it back, surely you aren't stupid enough to keep classified information on it?" I gave him an are-you-serious look.
"Why wouldn't I want it back? Its my phone after all. Wouldn't you feel weird if I went through your phone?" Come on, take the bait, take the bait. I kept my features normal, looking at him inquisitively. Hopefully he wasn't hearing my heartbeats rise.
He reached inside his jacket and fished out his own phone. One of many, I assumed.
He looked at me. "If you wanted me to untie your hands, you should have just asked."
I gave him a sheepish smile. "Now where's the fun in that?"
He threw the phone on my lap. "I know your left hand is free, princess. You are good, but you underestimate me."
I stared at him. Slowly, I brought my left hand in front. The cuffs were strong and locked, so I had simply pulled apart the chain that connected it to the other loop. My hand was sweaty and red where the cuff cut, and Park was unapologetically staring at the bind, eyes dark.
"Do cuffs entice you?"
Someone behind choked on a laugh. We had a audience, I remembered with a start. They had been so silent all this time, it was easy to forget them.
Seonghwa's eyes though were still on my wrist, unblinking. "Sometimes."
He leaned back in his chair, adjusting his sleeves.
"Do you enjoy seeing me tied up, Mr. Park?" I asked slowly, letting my voice deepen a bit. His eyes met mine, an arch in his left brow.
"Seonghwa is enjoying this more than he's letting on, Iseul." Wooyoung said with a smirk from behind. I kept staring at the man, coaxing him to admit it.
"Depends. Would you do something if I did?" His response was clipped, and I knew I was getting to him.
"What do want me to do, Mr. Park?" My voice came out lower than I wanted it to. His nostrils flared. With a shake of his head, he laughed. "You're good at this, Lin. Almost had me there. You're quite the manipulator." My spirit dampened at being caught, and I was now hoping he wouldn't read too much into it. I still kept my smile, trying to get him back to his state seconds ago.
"Almost?" I asked with a tentative smile. His gaze hardened, all humour gone. "Don't push it." My smile dropped, along with my facade. He had caught on. I shouldn't try again so soon. I held the phone instead, unlocking the device. It was password protected, and I raised a brow at him.
"7 3 2 1 5 4." I punched the code, and the screen clicked open. Making a show of looking around the device, I checked if it had a sim. I couldn't type messages, it would be too obvious. But I had a hunch I needed to confirm. One digit at a time and taking gaps in between, I dialed my cousin's number. I nonchalantly lowered the volume to minimum so the ring wouldn't be heard, and pressed exit. I glanced up at Seonghwa, who was looking at me like a hawk, sizing up my every move. I had a sinking feeling that he knew what was going on but let me continue anyway, wanting to see what I would do.
With a resigned sigh to distract my audience, I hit the call button. Now it was time for the show to start.
Kim Hongjoong leaned ahead, Yeosang and the guard following. Seonghwa put up a hand, asking them to pause.
The call connected in two rings as I put it on speaker.
Lin Renjun's voice reached my ears, familiar and lilted. "Park. I hadn't expected another chat so soon." That was all the confirmation I needed.
I leveled a scorching look at Seonghwa, which usually had lesser men spilling their guts at my feet. Literally. But he just blankly stared at me, giving away nothing. "Park, are you there?" My cousin was still on the other end of the line. "Is this about her?"
I cut the call. I didn't need to hear more. I threw the device at Seonghwa's head, and he caught it without hassle. He put it back in his pocket, massaging his neck. His next words were crystal clear, like he was unbothered about the revelation.
"Now that you've confirmed how you got here, lets move on to the why."
"What do you do, Lin?"
I tilted my head up at Kim Hongjoong, who had asked the question. "What do you mean?" "Where do you work, since you're the normal one?" I gulped. My gut told me I wasn't going to like where this was heading. "I have a degree in business development." "Yes, we're aware of it. But where do you use that brain of yours?" "I handle the commercial properties we own." "I see." I waited for him to contradict me, but he seemed done with his questions for now.
I returned my gaze at Park Seonghwa, who was still sitting in front of me.
"Twenty seven men." He abruptly said. Seonghwa's deep timber travelled my body, leaving tiny tingles all over my skin.
"Twenty seven men have gone missing under suspicious circumstances in the past two years ever since Lee Jong In's apparent death." I waited for him to continue. "Your family has also lost men, princess," "Everyone has."
"Exactly. Every family, organisation, everyone who has secrets to hide have lost men." He took a pause, and I held my breath waiting for him to finish.
"What secrets was Jong In hiding that you had to try to kill him?"
"I didn't try to kill him, but whoever did attempt it didn't do a really good job, obviously. Considering that vile man is still alive."
"Obviously." He repeated the word, like a robot.
"What does this have to do with me here?"
"Be patient, princess. I am getting to that. Do you agree that you had been with Jong In hours before he went missing?" Dread settled low in my stomach. I contemplated lying, but decided against it. He must have already been told what I had said to Lee at the warehouse. I was sure my skin had paled visibly. Slowly, hesitantly, I nodded. I knew what the next question was going to be, and I absolutely did not want to answer it. There were too many holes in my story. With a sinking feeling, I gathered enough strength to look at the man occupying the place opposite to mine as he asked the one question I had refused to answer for so long.
"Then why don't we start by you telling us what exactly happened between you and Lee Jong In's son two years ago?"
A/N: I may add a moodboard later, depending on my mood. Happy reading!
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
I don't even know if someone even cares about this, but I'll update the latest chapter soon. It's almost done, I'm just extremely busy
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Summary: Lin Iseul is a formidable woman. Born in a family considered royalty in the underside of Seoul and armed with intellect to match her reputation, she moves in the city controlling her family's deals and breaking suspects. But when a man from her past comes back to haunt her, it sets off a chain of events far too grand for her to comprehend. People that she had buried with her dead friend's ashes have come to life, and at the center of it all is the most feared man in the city, Park Seonghwa. Can Iseul escape the dead's longing calls while keeping her own emotions at bay, or will she be sucked back in time to relive the worst moments of her life?
Minors atleast pretend to not interact.
WC: 3.2k
Pairing: mafia!Seonghwa x mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut. I'm new at this lmk if I have missed anything.
A/N: This looked fun, if you have any feedback I am willing to listen. Also I am horrible at naming this and my beta reader was no help either, so if you can come up with a name I will give you my firstborn.
Chapter 1
I looked in the mirror once again.
It would have been unnecessary, I knew I looked nonthreatening enough. I had picked my clothes accordingly. I cannot take any chances, I thought. I ticked off my mental list of all the things I needed. Normal jeans and shirt, check. Moisturized skin, check. Details about the location, check. Information about the wimp, check. Red lipstick, check. Running boots, check. Gun. I looked at the black beauty lying on the dresser. Stuffing it under my jacket, I moved to the windows. Check.
I looked at my watch. 9:03pm.
The outline of Gangnam was something that always calmed me down, the floor to ceiling glass panels far too extravagant to showcase a modest view. But this city hadn't disappointed, not in the least. The lights were kind enough to reach me this high up, a canvas of florescent stars. I inhaled it's magic as much as the separation allowed me to, aligning my thoughts.
This wasn't meant to happen like this. Two years ago, I had made sure that it wouldn't. My memory served me well enough to remember the events, but a few details were sketchy. Still I was convinced that I hadn't forgotten something important, so I would be fine. Hopefully.
The wimp I was supposed to meet tonight wasn't exactly strong, and he wasn't very important. Two years ago he may have been, but he was supposed to be dead by now. Yet here he was, alive if not well. Annoyed at the potential sloppy job I may have done on him, I breathed a huffed sigh and gave my bedroom a once over before proceeding to move out.
Too many thoughts. I was having too many thoughts about this. Calm down, Iseul. I breathed once. twice. One more time.
The soles of my shoes were soft and silent on my carpet. The hallway was the same as always, the wall a pale cream shade of my mother's choosing. I switched off the lights as I went, not looking back. There was no need to, I thought with a wince. Nobody would be there anyway.
The main foyer could not have come soon enough. I hated passing the closed bedroom door on the way. It had been closed for a while, a fact that did not forget to strike me everytime I saw it.
I enjoyed living without my parents around, who lived in a bigger house further away. Mother had hated my moving out as much as I had expected her to. It was unnecessary for her, but necessary for me. And I had liked this penthouse. Bought it with my own money. She had called me arrogant then, but had taken up on my offer to decorate it nonetheless. The house reeked of her choices, and I wondered if it could have been a little different only if the door to the bedroom had been open a little longer, just enough. I shook my head and moved on. Now wasn't the time. The time was never going to come.
I took the stairs to the parking, and decided to walk to the location. I would think on the way to the house the moron had suggested. I smiled to myself, noticing my insults for him changed every minute.
I threw the jacket I had brought down in the backseat of my car. Now, to the task at hand. I checked my phone for the directions. A dilapidated house, previously in possession of Lee Jong In. The man himself was supposed to be dead for two years, but the house had not been passed on. His son was dead, wife had disappeared.
I should have noticed this before, I cursed. Father would kill me if he found out, and so would Jun. The signs had been there for two years. Too perfect to be accidental. The man had disappeared and I was the last one seen with him. Had everything gone according to plan, he would be found at the bottom of the river. I had specifically asked for it.
Still a month later he had been pronounced dead, body not found. Not a lot of noise had been made, people had expected him to die sooner or later.
Then the signs had started. I had heard rumours about people looking for a woman. Lee Jong In was a vile man, moving around Seoul picking up shady girls and making shadier deals. A freelance negotiator, he called himself. Him being missing had sent a message in the underworld, of which my family was an integral part. Most had ruled it as a deal gone awry, especially with secrets being let out so easily those days. It was when a particular spy had been very active. Jong In made deals with gangs and suppliers on behalf of other people, with an almost exorbitant commission for himself. But since he managed to make the deals to turn out to be the most profitable for his clients, the money he pocketed didn't look like a lot in the long run. He worked for anyone who was willing to pay, and had no qualms. A lot of people wanted him to get dirt on others, and more often than not he was the suspect behind leaked information. It was all false, of course. But not many people knew that. Jong In was loyal to his employers, and proud of the fact. Which was why he hadn't taken the accusations very well.
When he had gone missing, with the last person spotted to be a woman, people had assumed it to be a crime for revenge or saving face. Then his son had turned up dead three days later. He had been tortured, face bruised and swollen. He was missing patches of hair, a few nails and with a lot of internal bleeding. It was later informed that he was alive when he had suffered. The boy had been seventeen then. I winced at the thought. He had been innocent.
I reached the house he had specified, taking a look around. I knew it was trap. But I also knew the man who had set it wanted me to know that it was. It wasn't obvious, but the opposite. Far too elaborate to have been set up by one single person supposed to be dead for two years, and too remote and particular to have small, unorganized groups working together like it looked out to be.
I could see a few men at the entrance. The house itself was more of a barn, the living area minimum and the space used to make a miniature room to make deals unspotted. Too over the top. I calculated my chances. If I waited for the men, I would be searched. Weapons weren't an issue, but I did not want their hands on me. I wasn't planning on jumping in through the window either.
The area was remote. I couldn't help but think I had underestimated the situation. Surely Lee Jong In wouldn't be that active under the radar? I almost turned back. Called Jun, got backup. It was getting later than I wanted it to, but curiosity got the better of my judgement. I had to see who was so determined to set a trap especially for me. Not a lot of people knew what I did.
Sighing, I approached the door. The door must have been open if there were guards, so I walked straight ahead. The guards looked at me approaching, bracing themselves to talk to me but I moved past them and pushed the door. It swung in, just as I had expected it to. The guards may have said something but I didn't hear, choosing to move inside.
The man in question was sitting on a chair at the far end. Of course, I thought. The room was like any other closed room would be, unused and decaying. I took a few steps, and then stopped.
Something was wrong here.
I subtly looked around. The guards outside were unimportant clearly, the man at the far end hadn't so much as moved, and it was silent otherwise. Too silent. Thinking about it, Lee Jong In had his head falling to a side, like he was asleep. There were rafters above. Someone must be hiding there, I thought. The actual one in charge, who had set this trap. His men as well.
I checked my watch again. 9:47pm.
It was dark enough for the power players to come out. Why not have some fun then?
"Nice trap you've set here." I commented, walking to the almost lifeless Lee Jong In. My voice echoed in the hall harshly.
A soft groan, and movement of his head. So he was alive.
Something moved behind. The trap was being set in motion, I guessed. I halted a few steps behind the man. They must have wanted to catch a fly with all the nets they have hidden inside, I mused. I was confident there would be guns on the rafters, currently aimed at my head. Or knee, depending on their intentions. Two could play a game though, and I was more than willing.
"Lee, tell me. How did the water taste from Han river?"
The chair moved around, and I could finally see the man resting on it. I knew what to expect, but it still made me smile coldly. His eyes opened, trying to adjust to the light around. He blinked a few times, and finally seemed to register me. I could pinpoint the exact moment he recognized who I was, and his face contorted in pure rage. "You witch. You fucking witch, you're dead. You understand? Fucking dead." His voice was raspy, broken and coarse. He had likely been screaming. I couldn't shake off the parallel it brought back, with the younger Lee boy two years ago.
The man was tied to the chair. That explained the lack of movement. He was an old man, in his fifties. He looked haggard, stubble growing and eyes swollen. He had been beaten up worse than I had initially thought. The bruises were almost gone, but the ghosts remained. He looked at me with pure venom.
Something was even more wrong.
Perhaps I had been too cocky. I hadn't told anyone I was coming here, and my car was back at my penthouse. This ruined any chances of an immediate escape. A slight cold settled in my stomach. This could very easily blow up in my face. I took a deep breath once more.
"You look better than you did two years ago, Lee."
His eyes shone with the memory I was referring to, and another bout of rage gripped him.
"You witch, you did this. Didn't feel satisfaction with almost killing me for a wench?" A cruel laugh, interrupted by wild coughing. He must have a dry throat. "You know Lee, I do want to know why you think I am magical enough to be labelled a witch." I looked at his state, and then his face. "But I did not do anything."
He tried to hold my gaze but doubled over again, coughing what looked like blood. "Don't act so saintly, I had done nothing to you. You sent those men after me, yo-you...." What was he on about? We clearly weren't on the same page. I remembered the men outside. They hadn't so much as blinked at me. One had tried to say something but I hadn't paid attention. An idea began to form in my head. Had they beaten him up thinking I had hired them for it? Slight discomfort was beginning to form in my gut. I didn't like this situation. This was a better trap than I had anticipated. There were people using my name around. I had to get out, but I was sure my chances getting slim.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket to call Jun. Keeping one eye on Lee who was blabbering something, I dialed the number of my cousin.
After the third time, I realized that he wouldn't be picking up. The reception wasn't that good either. I shot him an emergency message with the address to the location, and pocketed the device.
I looked at the insolent brat in front. "Why did you come back." He didn't respond. My patience was wearing thin, and I wanted to get out fast.
"Who asked you to come back??" He spit more blood, this time intentional. "You can hardly breathe, Lee but you still want to act difficult." I seethed. "Doesn't harm you much to listen to me now, so start fucking speaking."
He smiled at my tone. Probably knew I was getting unsure, the audacity. I grabbed his head, forcing his face to focus on mine. I was beginning to lose my temper. "ANSWER ME YOU DIMWIT!" He looked like he was planning to spit again, but I was quicker. A hard strike across his cheek. His head went flying left, the chair moving a little. I held his face once more. My fingers were visible imprinted on his right cheek, and my ring had carved a bloody slash across the bruises. He groaned without holding back. Must have hurt, I had hit him where the swelling was worse. I could see tears in his eyes. I pushed the small feeling of satisfaction at the back of my mind and asked him the same questions again, with no answer from him to my annoyance. He didn't look like he was fully processing his surroundings, probably was hallucinating. What was he so adamant for anyway?
I needed to change tactics to get him talking, and I needed them fast. I exhaled slowly and gave him a thorough look, assessing his situation.
"You know, your son was far more vocal than you are. Kid broke like a stick, whined all the way to his grave." He stiffened, as I had expected. I knew his son. His death had been a mess. "You don't know what you have done, bitch. I-" a splutter of blood. He must have a beaten lung or something. "-I " God I had missed this. Breaking people when they were down. They looked so helpless, they spewed empty threats, and loaded secrets. My blood was singing. This would have been interesting some other day, but I did not have much time.
I yanked his hair a little more harshly, deciding to press harder.
"Come on Lee, speak up now. The son was better, you know. Cried like a baby for his father to come save him and begged for his life. Told me everything I wanted to know, and I let him out."
"Don't speak about him, you witch." He managed to grit out in a threatening tone. Another illogical response, I noted. What was happening?
"Does it pain daddy so much? To know that his little boy screamed for him to save him while daddy was drunk, passed out on some whore's lap?"
He paled. I had hit the right spot.
"He did, you know. The boy who hated you so much wailed for you like a wounded dog. It was a pitiful sight," I shook my head, breathing in once, long and deep. I gripped his hair harder, and he whimpered. "his face was swollen and you could see how he looked nothing like your wife. She left you, didn't she?"
A hysterical sob gripped him. He was close. Close to breaking. His sanity was singing to me, begging to be shattered. One more blow. One more blow and he would be gone. "Come on now, Lee. Changie must expect better from his father. Tell me who brought you back," I went closer to his ear, a gentle whisper meant only for him. "tell me, and I'll tell you your son's last words."
And moments later when I finally heard a sound, it wasn't Lee Jong In who was openly weeping but a voice from behind me, one I had heard before. Many times, as I had spied on his men, broken them for information, broken them for fun. A terrible man working for an even more terrifying man. My blood ran cold as his voice echoed,
"I did."
A few seconds went in silence, before I felt a cold object at my head.
My body moved on its own, fight or flight instincts kicking in. I could feel everything in slow motion, a gun slowly being pressed to my skull as I tried to whirl and twist away from the barrel.
"Don't move." This was a different voice.
I didn't pay attention, trying to get myself in a better position when a leg kicked me hard enough to lose balance and fall. Two hands grabbed mine quickly, and struggling wasn't of much use.
I could still sense eyes on me from afar. Someone else was watching.
Lee was still sobbing, saying something, pointing at me. People were getting him out of the binds, dragging him to some dark corner. He wasn't my problem now, I had a bigger mess. I knew it had been a trap, but I hadn't expected these people to be involved. Fuck, only my phone was traceable. Once switched off, it would mean nothing.
Too many thoughts again. I had too many thoughts to think clearly.
Someone gripped my hands and yanked me up, not very gently. I collided with his chest, and expensive cologne wafted into my nostrils. "Now now, darling Iseul. Lets not get roughed up now. There isn't much you can do anyway." I tried to tug at his hands to loosen his grip, but he only held them tighter. I stilled a little, gathered my breath. Before he could open his mouth again, I intertwined my left leg with his right and yanked hard. He fell, not expecting the move but dragged me down with him.
A loud thud could be heard, but he rolled on top quickly. I opened my eyes to be face to face with Bang Jae Min, a high ranking member of Ateez. "Why are you here." I managed to grit out. A gentle laugh from his side. "Come on, Iseul. Stop struggling. I am sure Seonghwa would like to pay his regards to you in person."
I stilled. This was the worst case scenario. If Park Seonghwa was the one behind all of this, I was in a huge, huge mess. I already regretted coming here. I had been too confident. If Jaemin was here, it could only mean trouble. Jaemin whispered in the ears of Ateez's eight constantly. His influence was significant. And he represented the will of Park Seonghwa. A powerful, powerful man. Cold dread and horrible sweat was the last thing I felt as a needle pricked my neck and I collapsed in Jaemin's hold.
A/N: I really don't know what I was thinking doing this, but if you read this and would like to continue, make sure you tell me about it. I'll probably add warnings later, I am so new to this I still need to figure out half the stuff myself. Happy reading!
Look what you made me do || P.S.H
Summary: Lin Iseul is a formidable woman. Born in a family considered royalty in the underside of Seoul and armed with intellect to match her reputation, she moves in the city controlling her family's deals and breaking suspects. But when a man from her past comes back to haunt her, it sets off a chain of events far too grand for her to comprehend. People that she had buried with her dead friend's ashes have come to life, and at the center of it all is the most feared man in the city, Park Seonghwa. Can Iseul escape the dead's longing calls while keeping her own emotions at bay, or will she be sucked back in time to relive the worst moments of her life?
Minors atleast pretend to not interact.
WC: 3.2k
Pairing: mafia!Seonghwa x mafia!OC
Warnings: Death, murder, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, mafia themes, weapons, angst, gore, eventual smut. I'm new at this lmk if I have missed anything.
A/N: This looked fun, if you have any feedback I am willing to listen. Also I am horrible at naming this and my beta reader was no help either, so if you can come up with a name I will give you my firstborn.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 1
I looked in the mirror once again.
It would have been unnecessary, I knew I looked nonthreatening enough. I had picked my clothes accordingly. I cannot take any chances, I thought. I ticked off my mental list of all the things I needed. Normal jeans and shirt, check. Moisturized skin, check. Details about the location, check. Information about the wimp, check. Red lipstick, check. Running boots, check. Gun. I looked at the black beauty lying on the dresser. Stuffing it under my jacket, I moved to the windows. Check.
I looked at my watch. 9:03pm.
The outline of Gangnam was something that always calmed me down, the floor to ceiling glass panels far too extravagant to showcase a modest view. But this city hadn't disappointed, not in the least. The lights were kind enough to reach me this high up, a canvas of florescent stars. I inhaled it's magic as much as the separation allowed me to, aligning my thoughts.
This wasn't meant to happen like this. Two years ago, I had made sure that it wouldn't. My memory served me well enough to remember the events, but a few details were sketchy. Still I was convinced that I hadn't forgotten something important, so I would be fine. Hopefully.
The wimp I was supposed to meet tonight wasn't exactly strong, and he wasn't very important. Two years ago he may have been, but he was supposed to be dead by now. Yet here he was, alive if not well. Annoyed at the potential sloppy job I may have done on him, I breathed a huffed sigh and gave my bedroom a once over before proceeding to move out.
Too many thoughts. I was having too many thoughts about this. Calm down, Iseul. I breathed once. twice. One more time.
The soles of my shoes were soft and silent on my carpet. The hallway was the same as always, the wall a pale cream shade of my mother's choosing. I switched off the lights as I went, not looking back. There was no need to, I thought with a wince. Nobody would be there anyway.
The main foyer could not have come soon enough. I hated passing the closed bedroom door on the way. It had been closed for a while, a fact that did not forget to strike me everytime I saw it.
I enjoyed living without my parents around, who lived in a bigger house further away. Mother had hated my moving out as much as I had expected her to. It was unnecessary for her, but necessary for me. And I had liked this penthouse. Bought it with my own money. She had called me arrogant then, but had taken up on my offer to decorate it nonetheless. The house reeked of her choices, and I wondered if it could have been a little different only if the door to the bedroom had been open a little longer, just enough. I shook my head and moved on. Now wasn't the time. The time was never going to come.
I took the stairs to the parking, and decided to walk to the location. I would think on the way to the house the moron had suggested. I smiled to myself, noticing my insults for him changed every minute.
I threw the jacket I had brought down in the backseat of my car. Now, to the task at hand. I checked my phone for the directions. A dilapidated house, previously in possession of Lee Jong In. The man himself was supposed to be dead for two years, but the house had not been passed on. His son was dead, wife had disappeared.
I should have noticed this before, I cursed. Father would kill me if he found out, and so would Jun. The signs had been there for two years. Too perfect to be accidental. The man had disappeared and I was the last one seen with him. Had everything gone according to plan, he would be found at the bottom of the river. I had specifically asked for it.
Still a month later he had been pronounced dead, body not found. Not a lot of noise had been made, people had expected him to die sooner or later.
Then the signs had started. I had heard rumours about people looking for a woman. Lee Jong In was a vile man, moving around Seoul picking up shady girls and making shadier deals. A freelance negotiator, he called himself. Him being missing had sent a message in the underworld, of which my family was an integral part. Most had ruled it as a deal gone awry, especially with secrets being let out so easily those days. It was when a particular spy had been very active. Jong In made deals with gangs and suppliers on behalf of other people, with an almost exorbitant commission for himself. But since he managed to make the deals to turn out to be the most profitable for his clients, the money he pocketed didn't look like a lot in the long run. He worked for anyone who was willing to pay, and had no qualms. A lot of people wanted him to get dirt on others, and more often than not he was the suspect behind leaked information. It was all false, of course. But not many people knew that. Jong In was loyal to his employers, and proud of the fact. Which was why he hadn't taken the accusations very well.
When he had gone missing, with the last person spotted to be a woman, people had assumed it to be a crime for revenge or saving face. Then his son had turned up dead three days later. He had been tortured, face bruised and swollen. He was missing patches of hair, a few nails and with a lot of internal bleeding. It was later informed that he was alive when he had suffered. The boy had been seventeen then. I winced at the thought. He had been innocent.
I reached the house he had specified, taking a look around. I knew it was trap. But I also knew the man who had set it wanted me to know that it was. It wasn't obvious, but the opposite. Far too elaborate to have been set up by one single person supposed to be dead for two years, and too remote and particular to have small, unorganized groups working together like it looked out to be.
I could see a few men at the entrance. The house itself was more of a barn, the living area minimum and the space used to make a miniature room to make deals unspotted. Too over the top. I calculated my chances. If I waited for the men, I would be searched. Weapons weren't an issue, but I did not want their hands on me. I wasn't planning on jumping in through the window either.
The area was remote. I couldn't help but think I had underestimated the situation. Surely Lee Jong In wouldn't be that active under the radar? I almost turned back. Called Jun, got backup. It was getting later than I wanted it to, but curiosity got the better of my judgement. I had to see who was so determined to set a trap especially for me. Not a lot of people knew what I did.
Sighing, I approached the door. The door must have been open if there were guards, so I walked straight ahead. The guards looked at me approaching, bracing themselves to talk to me but I moved past them and pushed the door. It swung in, just as I had expected it to. The guards may have said something but I didn't hear, choosing to move inside.
The man in question was sitting on a chair at the far end. Of course, I thought. The room was like any other closed room would be, unused and decaying. I took a few steps, and then stopped.
Something was wrong here.
I subtly looked around. The guards outside were unimportant clearly, the man at the far end hadn't so much as moved, and it was silent otherwise. Too silent. Thinking about it, Lee Jong In had his head falling to a side, like he was asleep. There were rafters above. Someone must be hiding there, I thought. The actual one in charge, who had set this trap. His men as well.
I checked my watch again. 9:47pm.
It was dark enough for the power players to come out. Why not have some fun then?
"Nice trap you've set here." I commented, walking to the almost lifeless Lee Jong In. My voice echoed in the hall harshly.
A soft groan, and movement of his head. So he was alive.
Something moved behind. The trap was being set in motion, I guessed. I halted a few steps behind the man. They must have wanted to catch a fly with all the nets they have hidden inside, I mused. I was confident there would be guns on the rafters, currently aimed at my head. Or knee, depending on their intentions. Two could play a game though, and I was more than willing.
"Lee, tell me. How did the water taste from Han river?"
The chair moved around, and I could finally see the man resting on it. I knew what to expect, but it still made me smile coldly. His eyes opened, trying to adjust to the light around. He blinked a few times, and finally seemed to register me. I could pinpoint the exact moment he recognized who I was, and his face contorted in pure rage. "You witch. You fucking witch, you're dead. You understand? Fucking dead." His voice was raspy, broken and coarse. He had likely been screaming. I couldn't shake off the parallel it brought back, with the younger Lee boy two years ago.
The man was tied to the chair. That explained the lack of movement. He was an old man, in his fifties. He looked haggard, stubble growing and eyes swollen. He had been beaten up worse than I had initially thought. The bruises were almost gone, but the ghosts remained. He looked at me with pure venom.
Something was even more wrong.
Perhaps I had been too cocky. I hadn't told anyone I was coming here, and my car was back at my penthouse. This ruined any chances of an immediate escape. A slight cold settled in my stomach. This could very easily blow up in my face. I took a deep breath once more.
"You look better than you did two years ago, Lee."
His eyes shone with the memory I was referring to, and another bout of rage gripped him.
"You witch, you did this. Didn't feel satisfaction with almost killing me for a wench?" A cruel laugh, interrupted by wild coughing. He must have a dry throat. "You know Lee, I do want to know why you think I am magical enough to be labelled a witch." I looked at his state, and then his face. "But I did not do anything."
He tried to hold my gaze but doubled over again, coughing what looked like blood. "Don't act so saintly, I had done nothing to you. You sent those men after me, yo-you...." What was he on about? We clearly weren't on the same page. I remembered the men outside. They hadn't so much as blinked at me. One had tried to say something but I hadn't paid attention. An idea began to form in my head. Had they beaten him up thinking I had hired them for it? Slight discomfort was beginning to form in my gut. I didn't like this situation. This was a better trap than I had anticipated. There were people using my name around. I had to get out, but I was sure my chances getting slim.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket to call Jun. Keeping one eye on Lee who was blabbering something, I dialed the number of my cousin.
After the third time, I realized that he wouldn't be picking up. The reception wasn't that good either. I shot him an emergency message with the address to the location, and pocketed the device.
I looked at the insolent brat in front. "Why did you come back." He didn't respond. My patience was wearing thin, and I wanted to get out fast.
"Who asked you to come back??" He spit more blood, this time intentional. "You can hardly breathe, Lee but you still want to act difficult." I seethed. "Doesn't harm you much to listen to me now, so start fucking speaking."
He smiled at my tone. Probably knew I was getting unsure, the audacity. I grabbed his head, forcing his face to focus on mine. I was beginning to lose my temper. "ANSWER ME YOU DIMWIT!" He looked like he was planning to spit again, but I was quicker. A hard strike across his cheek. His head went flying left, the chair moving a little. I held his face once more. My fingers were visible imprinted on his right cheek, and my ring had carved a bloody slash across the bruises. He groaned without holding back. Must have hurt, I had hit him where the swelling was worse. I could see tears in his eyes. I pushed the small feeling of satisfaction at the back of my mind and asked him the same questions again, with no answer from him to my annoyance. He didn't look like he was fully processing his surroundings, probably was hallucinating. What was he so adamant for anyway?
I needed to change tactics to get him talking, and I needed them fast. I exhaled slowly and gave him a thorough look, assessing his situation.
"You know, your son was far more vocal than you are. Kid broke like a stick, whined all the way to his grave." He stiffened, as I had expected. I knew his son. His death had been a mess. "You don't know what you have done, bitch. I-" a splutter of blood. He must have a beaten lung or something. "-I " God I had missed this. Breaking people when they were down. They looked so helpless, they spewed empty threats, and loaded secrets. My blood was singing. This would have been interesting some other day, but I did not have much time.
I yanked his hair a little more harshly, deciding to press harder.
"Come on Lee, speak up now. The son was better, you know. Cried like a baby for his father to come save him and begged for his life. Told me everything I wanted to know, and I let him out."
"Don't speak about him, you witch." He managed to grit out in a threatening tone. Another illogical response, I noted. What was happening?
"Does it pain daddy so much? To know that his little boy screamed for him to save him while daddy was drunk, passed out on some whore's lap?"
He paled. I had hit the right spot.
"He did, you know. The boy who hated you so much wailed for you like a wounded dog. It was a pitiful sight," I shook my head, breathing in once, long and deep. I gripped his hair harder, and he whimpered. "his face was swollen and you could see how he looked nothing like your wife. She left you, didn't she?"
A hysterical sob gripped him. He was close. Close to breaking. His sanity was singing to me, begging to be shattered. One more blow. One more blow and he would be gone. "Come on now, Lee. Changie must expect better from his father. Tell me who brought you back," I went closer to his ear, a gentle whisper meant only for him. "tell me, and I'll tell you your son's last words."
And moments later when I finally heard a sound, it wasn't Lee Jong In who was openly weeping but a voice from behind me, one I had heard before. Many times, as I had spied on his men, broken them for information, broken them for fun. A terrible man working for an even more terrifying man. My blood ran cold as his voice echoed,
"I did."
A few seconds went in silence, before I felt a cold object at my head.
My body moved on its own, fight or flight instincts kicking in. I could feel everything in slow motion, a gun slowly being pressed to my skull as I tried to whirl and twist away from the barrel.
"Don't move." This was a different voice.
I didn't pay attention, trying to get myself in a better position when a leg kicked me hard enough to lose balance and fall. Two hands grabbed mine quickly, and struggling wasn't of much use.
I could still sense eyes on me from afar. Someone else was watching.
Lee was still sobbing, saying something, pointing at me. People were getting him out of the binds, dragging him to some dark corner. He wasn't my problem now, I had a bigger mess. I knew it had been a trap, but I hadn't expected these people to be involved. Fuck, only my phone was traceable. Once switched off, it would mean nothing.
Too many thoughts again. I had too many thoughts to think clearly.
Someone gripped my hands and yanked me up, not very gently. I collided with his chest, and expensive cologne wafted into my nostrils. "Now now, darling Iseul. Lets not get roughed up now. There isn't much you can do anyway." I tried to tug at his hands to loosen his grip, but he only held them tighter. I stilled a little, gathered my breath. Before he could open his mouth again, I intertwined my left leg with his right and yanked hard. He fell, not expecting the move but dragged me down with him.
A loud thud could be heard, but he rolled on top quickly. I opened my eyes to be face to face with Bang Jae Min, a high ranking member of Ateez. "Why are you here." I managed to grit out. A gentle laugh from his side. "Come on, Iseul. Stop struggling. I am sure Seonghwa would like to pay his regards to you in person."
I stilled. This was the worst case scenario. If Park Seonghwa was the one behind all of this, I was in a huge, huge mess. I already regretted coming here. I had been too confident. If Jaemin was here, it could only mean trouble. Jaemin whispered in the ears of Ateez's eight constantly. His influence was significant. And he represented the will of Park Seonghwa. A powerful, powerful man. Cold dread and horrible sweat was the last thing I felt as a needle pricked my neck and I collapsed in Jaemin's hold.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
A/N: I really don't know what I was thinking doing this, but if you read this and would like to continue, make sure you tell me about it. I'll probably add warnings later, I am so new to this I still need to figure out half the stuff myself. Happy reading!