Chapter 47
I’d barely managed to get the energy to sit up when Sungmin received a call.
“Hi, Father–” Sungmin started, but he was quickly cut off. A shiver ran up my spine when Sungmin greeted the caller with “father”. Han Jungho and his gang had already peeled off, and Sungmin and I had been alone for some time now.
“Where are you?” Even though he didn’t have the phone on speakerphone, I could hear Han Jungho’s stern, commanding voice.
“I’m still at the dock,” Sungmin replied hesitantly, as though he already knew the answer would anger his father.
I couldn’t hear what Jungho replied, but Sungmin winced.
“Yes, he’s still with me.” Sungmin noticed me looking at him. That other him could only mean me. But what did Han Jungho want with me now? Dread fell on me like heavy chains. I didn’t think I had the energy or willpower to survive another encounter with Jungho so soon.
“You want me to bring him?” Sungmin was saying. “But why?”
Bring me where? I quieted my thoughts so I could try to hear what Han Jungho was saying to his son.
“... is important. I don’t need any loose ends dangling around tonight. He can go back to whatever rathole…”
I couldn’t hear any more, but I didn’t need to. I just groaned. So my ordeal with the gang tonight wasn’t over. The thought of another encounter so soon almost had me reaching to my phone to call Taejun to intervene. I suddenly realized that I had no idea where my phone was. They must have taken it from me at some point.
Sungmin spoke with his father a little more before ending the call. We exchanged looks; his was nervous, mine was wary.
“What does he want?” I asked. My voice rattled out of my painfully sore throat in a rasp that made Sungmin wince sympathetically.
“You’re going to have to come with me,” he said.
“To where?!” If I wasn’t home by the time Taejun was, there would be hell to pay. But that might be a good thing. If one of Han Jungho’s goon’s had taken my phone…
“To Daegu,” Sungmin said.
I didn’t have the strength to argue, let alone resist, as Sungmin lifted me to my feet and helped me stumble to his car. As we moved, the slight breeze of air flowing over us felt to me as chilling as a gale wind. I was still dripping wet.
Sungmin helped me wring my wet clothes somewhat drier before we went into his car, but they were still uncomfortably damp. Sungmin noticed me shivering uncontrollably and cranked the heat up in his car. It helped a little in driving away my bone piercing cold, but still I shivered thinking about what was going to happen to me tonight.
I had no idea what Han Jungho wanted me in Daegu for or what was going to happen when Taejun, who I couldn't contact (and I doubted Sungmin would let me borrow his phone to call him), inevitably returned home to find me missing. I didn’t know who I dreaded to see more, Han Jungho or my brother.
I didn’t feel an ounce of remorse as I slumped soggily on Sungmin’s car’s leather seats. I just felt mortally exhausted. I watched the passing lights of the city as Sungmin drove. Despite my anxiety, exhaustion overcame me and I succumbed to sleep.
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The car stopped, and for some reason the slight jerk of the car being put into park was enough to wake me up. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, and for a few moments I was too disoriented to figure out where we had stopped. When I did, I realized we were at the Tigers’ hangout (not Daegu, thank god).
“Why are we here?” I asked weakly. I hadn’t slept long, and the rest in the car seemed to have made me even more exhausted rather than reviving me.
“Just need to get something,” Sungmin replied. Despite saying so, and despite having turned off the car already, he was hesitating to step out.
“What are you doing?” I croaked, wincing at speaking again so soon. My throat felt swollen and sore, like I was ill. Inside my nose and throat still burned.
“That’s Eunsoo’s car,” he said.
I looked over. That was indeed Eunsoo’s BRZ. So? The Blue Tigers came and went to the hangout. Sungmin had never forbidden anyone from being here. Him acting dodgy now could only mean that he didn’t want Eunsoo to see whatever he was picking up.
Which meant it probably wasn’t legal.
“Come back for it later?” I suggested hopefully. I didn’t much want to be sitting in a car filled with incriminating things while also being somewhat abducted to Daegu.
“Can’t,” Sungmin said. Being reminded of some threat from either his father or someone else higher up in the gang must have given Sungmin the final push he needed, because with a deep breath, he unbuckled himself and got out of the car while muttering to himself under his breath.
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Despite knowing that I should wait in the car, Sungmin hadn’t cracked any of the windows and the car was stifling after running the heater. I knew I also had a change of clothes upstairs that I sorely wanted. I followed him up.
“Hey Sungmiiii–” Eunsoo’s cheery greeting snapped short when he noticed me following him Sungmin. “Jae?”
Eunsoo and Ryu (of course he had to be here too) were lounging comfortably on the couch set while the TV was playing some game stream with an overexcited announcer. But the moment Eunsoo noticed me, both of them sat up sharply and stared at me. I didn’t really feel like dealing with either of them at the moment.
“What’s he doing here? What’s going on?” Eunsoo asked in a surprised voice.
I ignored him and retrieved my change of clothes. I headed to the bathroom to change (only because I wanted to use the towel I knew was in there too) but I could feel their eyes staring at me, and I could still hear them outside.
“Why are you guys here?” Sungmin asked tiredly.
“It’s Worlds final today. The TV here is better than the one at home– fuck, don’t change the subject. Sungmin, why are you with Jae?” Eunsoo asked.
“Mind your own business, Eunsoo,” Sungmin snapped at him. “Just watch your damn game thing.”
“Ssi-bal, you’re awful touchy,” Eunsoo complained. “Was just wondering.”
“We’re just getting something,” Sungmin growled.
I wondered if Sungmin would be willing to wait for me to take a shower. Though the ride over had somewhat dried me, everywhere I was dry my skin was covered in flaky white stuff that I discovered was some sort of salt residue. It was even under my damp clothes. It felt wrong to put on fresh (relatively) clothes while I was like this.
“HOLY FUCKING HELL,” I heard Eunsoo shout from outside. As quickly as I could manage, I shoved myself into the new clothes, filthiness be damned, and stepped back out.
“Get the hell away,” Sungmin snarled.
“You were just keeping all this here?!” That came from Ryu, who hadn’t said anything until now.
Sungmin didn’t reply. He had produced a storage box from somewhere which was absolutely packed with nondescript packages whose contents I didn’t even want to guess. I didn’t know if he had been keeping such a sizeable stock here long term, but I doubted he had. More likely, he had had to resort to using the hangout as a temporary hiding place after I had visited him and threatened to turn him in.
“What the fuck?” Eunsoo cursed hoarsely. “We come here all the time man, you can’t just keep shit like that here without telling us! That’s some serious fucking stock!”
“Yeah? Tell you so you could dip into it, you addict?” Sungmin snapped back. He was trying to move it but the damn thing looked heavy.
“I’m not an addict,” Eunsoo said hurtly.
“What are you going at him for, Sungmin?” Ryu snapped. “This is damn serious. Any of us being caught around that kind of volume could have sent us to prison for life!”
I just stood back, taking in the entire scene. With this new development, both of my old teammates seemed to have forgotten that I was back without an explanation. I felt maliciously vindictive that Eunsoo and Ryu seemed to be as upset as I was finding out just how serious of a dealer Sungmin was.
“Quit staring and come help me,” Sungmin snapped at me. I considered siding with Ryu and Eunsoo and making a stand against Sungmin. I definitely did not want to get my hands anywhere near that amount of whatever drugs were inside, but I also didn’t want to take my chances with bailing on Sungmin and risking the gang’s ire again. The threat of Jihoon coming back to wreak vengeance on my family was still too freshly engraved. I shuffled over obediently.
“What the hell does Jaehyun have to do with any of this?!” Ryusuke exclaimed. “Don’t tell me he’s working with you on this shit?”
“Yeah, he is,” Sungmin said. “Now you two can fucking leave this alone and go back to minding your own damn business.”
Of anyone there I think Ryusuke was the one most aware of how averse I was to any sort of gang related activity, especially drugs. I knew how badly he had taken me cutting the Tigers out of my life trying to make my life more normal, less dangerous. I don’t know what tipped him off about the situation, but somehow he immediately grasped the gist of it.
“What the hell did you do, Sungmin?” Ryusuke demanded.
“Ryu–” Sungmin started threateningly.
“Don’t drag Jaehyun into this shit. Whatever the hell you’re doing with that, leave him out of it,” Ryusuke interrupted. For such a small guy, he really overcommitted to making his stands. I didn’t know if he had any ability to follow through with it though.
“You think I want to do this? I don’t have the choice not to,” Sungmin seethed. He was shaking a little, but with his face turned towards Ryusuke, I didn’t know what emotion it was.
“Of course you do,” Ryu snapped.
“No. No, I don’t, Ryu. You think I ever had any choice in all of this?” Sungmin dropped the box with a dull thud and gestured angrily at it. “I never had a damn choice in my entire damn life!”
Eunsoo stepped back from Sungmin’s threatening, but Ryu didn’t.
“Let’s go,” I whispered hoarsely. There was no way this burgeoning tension would end well. I tugged at the box and dragged it to the stairs. Sungmin and Ryu glared at each other for another moment before Sungmin turned back to me.
“You always have a choice, Sungmin,” Ryusuke said quietly.
“Just leave it Ryu, please,” Eunsoo said.
Sungmin didn’t say anything. Together we managed to heft the box down the stairs to the garage. We dropped it into the trunk of the car (not the best hiding spot, but there wasn’t any other option for something so big). Sungmix’s WRX seemed to groan as it sank slightly from the weight of it.
Ryu had followed us despite Eunsoo trying to tug him back.
“You don’t have to do this, Sungmin, come on,” Ryusuke insisted. Sungmin didn’t listen to him and opened the driver door to get in. But I hesitated and Sungmin shot me an irritated look. Ryu saw me hesitating and eagerly jumped in. “You don’t have to go,” he pleaded.
“Let’s go, Jae,” he growled at me.
“You make him get in that car with you, Sungmin, and I’ll– I’ll…” Ryu rambled.
“You’ll what?” snarled Sungmin, snapping his gaze over to Ryu finally. “Get your head out of your ass. He doesn’t have a choice either, you naive little prick!”
Ryu swallowed. He stuttered, “I’ll … I’ll call his brother. The police.”
I was alarmed at Ryu’s threat. I didn’t know Sungmin’s record, if he had one, but I knew that turning him in now after what I’d told Taejun would mean that Sungmin could go to prison for a very, very long time. Even though I’d narced on him to Taejun in a fit of anger, it was hard for me to fathom Ryusuke doing the same to his friend. Ryusuke held his friends closer than his own blood. Unlike me.
“You won’t,” said Sungmin tiredly. Clearly he believed the same that I did, because he started getting into his car.
“I will,” Ryusuke said, suddenly more resolutely. “If you won’t do the right thing, I will. Jae’s 19, man. He doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this. I’ll tell them everything I know, Sungmin. I’ll–”
“Ryu, fuck’s sake,” Eunsoo pleaded. But Ryusuke shook him off.
Sungmin stopped getting into his car. For a moment he just shook angrily, then the next moment he had stormed over to Ryusuke and seized him by the shirt. “No you won’t,” he snarled into Ryusuke’s face. “Because if you do, I’ll make sure you go down with me.”
“Sungmin!” said Eunsoo unhelpfully. It was almost amusing to me that Eunsoo didn’t seem to be able to do much else in this scene other than say names in an alarmed tone.
“Go down with you? For what?” Ryu’s eyes were filled with fury. He struggled to shove Sungmin off of him, but he was no match for Han Jungho’s son. “I haven’t done shit!”
“Your family thinks differently,” Sungmin seethed.
“Fuck you, Sungmin! For once in your life, don’t be a goddamn coward and stand up–”
There was the sound of a heavy blow landing and suddenly Sungmin was storming back into the car, leaving Ryu sagging limply in Eunsoo’s arms.
“Fucking hell, Sungmin!” Eunsoo exclaimed. He stuttered awkwardly in place, torn between going after Sungmin or supporting his now knocked out friend.
“Let’s go. Now,” Sungmin growled at me. I met Eunsoo’s shocked eyes for a moment. He stared at me like a fish out of water, unsure of what to do or say. I didn’t wait for him to figure it out. I just got into the car with Sungmin.