Chapter 70 - Budding Friendship

Hyun Jung was impatiently waiting outside the Operation Theater. His mother had sustained heavy injuries on her hands. She would not be able to use her hands properly ever again. 

He was in a deep dilemma. His father was her only source of income and now that he was out of the lives, his mother would be left with no money. How will she survive?

Burying his head in his hands, Hyun Jung cursed his luck. Even after being freed from that monster, his mother was in no better state!

"Why the long face?" 

Hyun Jung looked up to find Jiwon leaning against the wall, sipping mango juice. He held up a bottle for him. "Drink up," he offered.

"No thanks," Hyun Jung refused quietly. "I'm not thirsty."

"Suit yourself," Jiwon shrugged and took a seat next to him. They sat beside each other in an awkward silence.

"Thanks for your help," Hyun Jung said, breaking the ice. "If it wasn't for you, we couldn't have escaped his clutches."

"I didn't do it for you," Jiwon said simply. "I just didn't want someone to face that sort of torture for the rest of their lives."

"Still, you helped me and my mother," Hyun Jung said, his tone filled with genuine gratitude. "But...I think I'll take it from here."

"What do you mean?" Jiwon asked. Hyun Jung looked down, his fingers twitching nervously.

"I-I have decided to drop out of school," he blurted out. "My mother's hands are completely damaged. She can't earn a living on her own. I'll have to work for the family. I'll take up some odd jobs to support her. She needs me."

Jiwon stared at him while sipping on his drink. He finally finished the juice, crushed the bottle and threw it in the bin.

"Suit yourself," he yawned. It had been a long night and he was extremely tired. "I'll head back to the motel."

He was about to walk away when he doubled back.

"I forgot something," Jiwon said.

"What is it?" Hyun Jung frowned.

Jiwon took out a paper from his pocket and handed it to Hyun Jung. The latter took the paper and read it. His eyes widened in shock.

"T-this is…" he stammered.

"Your father's will," Jiwon said. "He left all his money and properties to you. He had been secretly investing in businesses and real estate. His investments led to him making a small fortune which he was spending on his mistress and lavish lifestyle. All this while, he did not spend a single penny for you guys. Before we sent him away, I made him sign this deed and hand over all his listed properties and wealth over to you."

Hyun Jung stared at him in disbelief. Even if it was not a lot of money, it was enough to make his mother live comfortably for at least ten years!

"How did you know about this?" Hyun Jung asked in astonishment. "Even we weren't aware of his secret stash!"

"All I had to do was ask Secretary Lee to dig into his dirty laundry," Jiwon smirked. "It wasn't hard. He wasn't exactly hiding it from everyone. Just from you two."

Hyun Jung felt the words stuck in his throat. He could not muster the courage to talk. This person went to great lengths to help him even though they disliked each other. 

"I-I…"

"Cannot thank me much?" Jiwon put the words in his mouth. Those words made him snort. "If you really wanna thank me, then man up and take care of your mother. Don't give in to abuse anymore. Achieve your dreams and make her proud. You won't get anything by sulking in a corner and complain about your life. Man up!"

Hyun Jung felt a little ashamed hearing those things. Jiwon was right. He always cursed his fate for making him poor. It never occurred to him that he can make his own fate. Seeing other happy families made him painfully aware of his unhappy life. Instead of making himself a better person, he acted sour towards other people's happiness.

"You're right," Hyun Jung mumbled. "I was complaining about other people's success. It was my jealousy which drove me away from everyone. I...I was wrong."

Jiwon sighed.

"You weren't wrong," he said. "You were just being human."

He smiled at Hyun Jung. The latter returned his smile. 

"If you don't mind," Hyun Jung said. "Can we still be roomies?"

He extended his hand. Jiwon smirked and took it. 

"Fine," he said. "But you gotta keep your side of the room clean!"

"Done!"

They burst into a fit of laughter. The other doctors and nurses looked at them, feeling annoyed but they did not care. They were lost in their own world, chattering and laughing at random things.

….

Hyun Jung returned to the present. He was driving at a ferocious speed, not caring about the traffic rules. He already sent a message to KJ's men who were near the concert's area. They worked fast and secured the footage. The police would have taken a few days to gather the evidence and frankly, Hyun Jung had no faith in them. The Cartel had spies everywhere.

He drove towards Incheon where the Kwon family had one of their numerous secret hideouts. Pulling up in front of a rundown building, Hyun Jung headed straight for the entrance. He placed his fingerprint on the scanner. A retina scanner popped out, which scanned his eyes before clearing him for entry.

Hyun Jung went towards the basement of the building. Opening the door, he was greeted by five men, who were busy scanning the files they received ten minutes ago.

"What's the update, Seunghoon?" he asked a scrawny kid in his early twenties. 

"We went through the CCTV footage which were received from the concert," he informed as he typed away on the PC in front of him. "You were right, the rope of the headlight was cut off."

"Can we see who the culprit was?" Hyun Jung asked.

"We caught the person on camera," Seunghoon replied. "It's strange that the Cartel was not very careful with their plan. Coz the person who cut off the rope was seen clearly on the camera. Ash was right. It was that girl who bumped into him before the concert."

He showed Hyun Jung the video where the girl was seen cutting the ropes of the headlight.

"It is strange," Hyun Jung frowned. "Why would the Cartel send an amateur to do this work?"

"Maybe they didn't care about getting caught," Seunghoon shrugged. "Maybe they did not want to kill but rather send a threat. There might be another possibility."

"What's that?" Hyun Jung asked.

"EXOTIC may be very popular but they too have their fair share of haters," Seunghoon continued. "What if it was an anti-fan?"

"That is a possibility," Hyun Jung mumbled. Were they wrong then?

"It may not be an anti-fan," Siwan, another hacker piped up. 

"How can you tell?" Hyun Jung frowned. 

"Look at this," he pointed at his screen. Hyun Jung peered into the monitor and gasped. Just moments after the attack, the girl who cut the ropes was knocked out by an unknown figure in an empty corridor. The figure carried her out of the area and hoarded her on a minivan, which sped away.

"Zoom in and show me the number of the van," Hyun Jung ordered. Siwan zoomed the video.

But they could only see the last part of it.

"782," Hyun Jung muttered. There were probably hundreds of thousands of cars ending with this number. But he had little choice. He must find the Cartel no matter what.