Chapter 69 - Two Choices

Mirae quickly read the text from Ash. Hyun Jung, who was also there, frowned.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The headlight above EXOTIC's concert stage almost crashed on Dasom," she replied. "It was done deliberately."

Hyun Jung froze. "What?" he asked. "Why would someone do that?"

"That's not all," Mirae said. She showed him Ash's last message. Hyun Jung read it and nodded in understanding.

"I'll secure the footage from the police then," he said. "I'm placing the request since it was done abroad. It will take a few days, so I'll also send word to our men there. They'll be able to secure the footage in a few hours."

Mirae nodded. Hyun Jung rushed out of the room. So, the Cartel is now targeting the people around Jiwon, he thought as he got into his car. 

Speeding off into the distance, Hyun Jung reflected back on the time when Jiwon started to warm up to him as a friend…

...

Jiwon ran through the corridor. The nurses and patients were startled by the thirteen year old rushing past them. He did not even stop and apologize to the nurse he almost toppled over. Finally, he came to a halt. Hyun Jung was standing a few feet away, stone faced.

Panting heavily, he approached the nerdy boy.

"Hyun…" he called, reaching out to touch his shoulder but Hyun Jung brushed him off.

"Leave me alone," Hyun Jung said in a quiet tone.

"Hyun Jung, your mother-"

"Just leave!" Hyun Jung threatened. "I don't want any pity! I just want to be alone."

His words made Jiwon fume in anger. He grabbed Hyun Jung's collar and pushed him towards the wall. Startled by Jiwon's ferociousness, Hyun Jung struggled to break free.

"No one is pitying you, moron!" Jiwon shouted at him. 

"I don't care!" Hyun Jung yelled. "Just leave me alone!"

"Fine!" Jiwon exclaimed. "I'll leave you alone. But hear this. If I leave you here today, the next time, you'll be taking your mom out of here in a coffin! You really think she will survive in that house? She won't! She'll wither away and die."

Hyun Jung stopped struggling after hearing those words. His eyes were getting teary but he would not shed any.

"The cops won't help," he said solemnly.

"We'll do this our way," Jiwon said. "I've made the arrangements already. All I need is your word. Are you in or out?"

He put forward his hand for Hyun Jung. Looking at Jiwon's stretched hand, Hyun Jung hesitated before shaking it.

"I'm in," he said. "What do I have to do?"

…..

There was no one at the house when they entered. Jiwon and Hyun Jung slipped in through a window in the latter's bedroom. They were wearing full face masks and black clothes to camouflage themselves in the dark.

"What time does he usually come home?" Jiwon asked in a whisper.

"Around eleven o'clock," Hyun Jung replied. Jiwon checked his watch. It was almost 11 PM. 

"Let's wait in the living room," he ordered. 

Stealthily making their way to the living room, they took their positions. Jiwon stood behind a tall cabinet while Hyun Jung positioned himself behind the kitchen door. A few minutes later, the front door's handle turned.

Bursting in were two people, one man and one woman. Both were inebriated and were laughing. 

"Oh honey!" the lady exclaimed. "Isn't your wife home?"

"She's not gonna be home for a while," the man said. He was wearing a police uniform. "If I get lucky, she won't come home alive at all!"

Hyun Jung's blood boiled at those words. Jiwon could tell he wanted to leap at his father, Lee Minhwang, and beat him right there, but it was too dangerous. The woman might bring attention to them. 

Please don't act rashly Hyun, Jiwon prayed. Thankfully, Hyun Jung did not act on his impulses.

"Darling, go and have a bath," Minhwang cooed at her. "I'll prepare our room."

"Alright," the woman winked. She took off her shoes and headed for the shower. Minhwang stumbled his way to the bedroom and began to undress. He had a portly belly and balding hairline. He checked out his yellow teeth and put in some spraymint in his mouth.

After undressing completely, he got into the sheets. He heard the bedroom door open and close. 

"Are you here already, my love?" he asked lecherously. Suddenly he felt a pair of hand grab him and pin him down.

"What the-"

His words were met by a blow, making his head feel dizzy. He tried to scream but his mouth was shut by a cloth. He struggled to get free but the hands holding him were strong. A strange smell crept to his nostrils before he was knocked unconscious.

Jiwon and Hyun Jung checked behind them, to make sure the woman was still in the bathroom. She seemed to have not heard the noise as the door to the bathroom was shut and the shower was running.

"Let's carry him out," Jiwon ordered. He grabbed the unconscious man's hands while Hyun Jung held the feet. Lee Minhwang was very heavy but they managed to sneak him out of the house, while trying not to make any noise.

Once outside, they heaved him into a car which was waiting for them. Jiwon knocked the driver's window. The window rolled down to reveal Secretary Lee Sian.

"I'll join you in a while," Jiwon instructed him. "Keep him locked up till then."

"Yes, Young Master," the secretary said. "We have dug into his background. I assure you, he can never escape us."

Jiwon nodded and the car sped off. 

"What are they going to do with him?" Hyun Jung asked.

"Leave that to me," Jiwon assured him. "I promise you, he won't return to this place."

"What about my mom?" Hyun Jung demanded. "Even if he was scum, he was her financial support! What will she do? He beat her up so bad that she can't even use her hands properly."

"Don't worry," Jiwon smirked. "Even without him, she'll do fine."

Jiwon patted his shoulder and walked away, leaving Hyun Jung stunned.

...

Lee Minhwang was in a daze. He could not fathom what was going on around him. His face was covered with a sack and he was desperately trying to break free of the chains binding him.

SMACK!

A sudden hit rendered him motionless. Another hit to the face knocked out some of his teeth. He could feel the thick, salty liquid oozing out of his mouth. Blood.

"Lemme go," he begged. "What did I do to any of you? Let me go!"

But his pleadings were met by more blows. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his arm. 

"ARRGGHHHH!" he screamed in pain as blood gushed out of his hand. It was sliced open. Someone put something in it and was now stitching his bloodied arm. Each stitch was painful, making him yell in agony.

After the painful surgery, Lee Minhwan felt his energy draining. He was about to fall unconscious but the men around him kept on beating the sleep out of him. 

"W...what…" he stammered. "W...what did...I do?"

Amidst his numerous beatings, he heard a pair of footsteps approaching him. Feeling his head being jerked upwards, he heard a cold voice.

"Lee Minhwang," the voice addressed him with contempt. "You are a disgrace to the name of policemen."

The person slapped Minhwang. More blood flooded his mouth.

"Not only do you regularly beat up your wife," the voice went on. "But you have also molested inmates in the jail."

"Th-that's…" Minhwang stammered in fear. How did this person know?

"Not true?" the voice scoffed. "We have all the evidence with us and also sent the copies to the Commissioner. He has issued a warrant for you arrest."

"I-I'm innocent…" Minhwang squeaked. "I swear! I'm-"

But he was hit again. 

"I give you two choices Lee Minhwang," the voice said. "Either hand yourself in to the police. Or leave this country and never return. If you choose option one, we'll send you off to one of our own jails where my men would be more than happy to cater to you, day and night."

It was a threat. Minhwang would never be safe from punishment in their hands.

"If you choose option two," the voice continued. "Then you'll be shipped off to another country. If you try to escape, we'll track you down. We placed a tracker in your blood vessel. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to take it out. If you return to this country, we'll kill you. Understand?"

Lee Minhwang was petrified. Leave the country? Where would he go?

Then again, it was a better option than jail.

"I'll leave!" he said immediately. "I swear I'll go!"

"Good," the voice sneered. "We'll sneak you out tonight. Don't ever return."

Grateful for the opportunity to escape punishment, Lee Minwhang let out a sigh. I can leave, he thought gleefully.

"Oh and sign this."

Lee Minhwang felt a paper being placed in front of him. One of the men untied his right hand and forced a pen into it.

"What is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Your price of freedom," the voice replied. "Sign it and you'll be free to leave this country."

"What if I don't?"

"Then be an inmate at our cell."

Lee Minhwang frowned but had no choice. It was either this or be in jail. 

"I'll sign," he conceded. He felt a hand leading his one to the place on the paper for signing. Hastily, he scribbled his name on to it.

"Good," the voice said. "Now it's time to leave."

….

After ten hours on the ship, Lee Minhwang felt someone carrying him off somewhere. His captors would not let him see where they were taking him. His hands and feet were tied and his eyes were shut by a cloth. He was kept in a large trunk, which he could not escape from.

Finally when the trunk was opened, Lee Minhwang felt a bright light shining on him. 

"Where am I?" he demanded but was forcefully heaved up by strong pairs of hands. They were pulling him somewhere.

"Where am I?" he demanded again. An ominous feeling was dawning upon him as he fought to be freed.

The men threw him on a stretcher. Untying the ropes, they proceeded to strap his hands to his sides. They removed the eye cloth from him.

Lee Minhwang was blinded for a second by the lights surrounding him. Focusing his eyes, he saw he was inside an operation theater. A few people in doctor's garbs were surrounding him. One of them injected anesthesia into his veins.

"N-no!" he protested but to no avail. "I was supposed to be set free abroad! This wasn't part of the deal!"

He felt his body becoming paralysed until he could no longer move. But his mind was alert and aware of what was going on.

"What are we to do with him, sir?" one of the doctors asked.

"Lobotomy," another one replied. "That's the message I received."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Then let's proceed with the surgery," another one piped in. 

No! Lee Minhwang tried to shout but his mouth would not obey him. He could not speak nor move an inch. The last thing he remembered was the scalpel piercing his skin.