Chapter 163 - Sunny Daze (9): A Dent in the Plan

"Riggs, something feels wrong," Mirae said. They saw on the monitor that Teppei went to the third floor and minutes later Hyun Jung also entered. But Hyun Jung did not emerge from that room for almost half an hour. 

"He's been in there for quite a while," Riggs frowned.

"Go and check," Mirae instructed. "See if they're still in there."

"Yes, CEO," he said and scurried off. Mirae returned her attention to the monitor. KJ and Ash had entered the club. They separated on the entrance. KJ went off towards the third floor while Ash ventured off to the isolated spot where they had planned to subdue Teppei.

She scanned the crowd to see if Somi was around but even she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone had agreed not to contact each other at all in case the Cartel members catch them. Mirae had no way to know what was going on.

Suddenly the screen turned black.

"What the-"

Mirae frantically tried to turn the screen back on but the power was completely cut off. There was no other way to monitor the others. 

"Come on, come on!" she desperately pleaded, pressing the power button. She checked the wires for any defect but everything was in place. What is going on? She wondered. 

But the computer would not come back on. Their plan was busted and the Cartel was on to them. 

"CEO!" she spun around to see one of her men entering the room. 

"What is it, Sim?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, we can't find KJ anywhere," he informed. "We were trailing him as his shooting crew but he went off somewhere on his own and-"

Mirae did not wait for him to finish the sentence. Teppei found out about their plan and was going to harm KJ. She darted out of the room to look for him.

Please be safe, she prayed.

Suddenly, a small, ginger creature stopped jumped in front of her.

"Ahh!" she tripped forward and fell on her stomach.

"Agh!" Mirae groaned as an agonizing pain shot through her midriff. Struggling to get up, she noticed that the orange thing blocking her way was Jade. The cat was tugging on her wrist.

"Jade?" she m.o.a.ned. The cat kept on tugging at her.

"How did the cat get here?' she wondered out loud. "Forget it. I have to find KJ!"

She waved him off and stood up to step towards the elevator but Jade was persistent. The cat was circling around her feet.

"I'm trying to find your owner!" Mirae exclaimed. It was weird. The cat was usually obedient but he was trying to pull her towards the other direction.

"Jade, we'll play lat-"

"KJ is in trouble!" Jade blurted out. He had been trying to lead her in the right direction but she kept on going the wrong way.

Mirae froze. Did the cat just...talk?

"Yes, I'm a talking cat!" Jade yelled impatiently. "But forget about that! KJ is in trouble and I know where he is going!"

"How-"

"Just follow me and we'll tell you everything later!" he shouted, motiong her to follow him. Mirae, still stunned by the turn of events, trailed the cat.

….

Eli watched KJ heading off towards the parking lot. She carefully tailed him, keeping enough distance to let herself be unnoticed.

Where is he going? She wondered. His expression looked troubled as he headed for a room off the parking lot. She carefully stepped aside and hid behind a wall. 

KJ looked around before entering the room. Once he was inside, Eli came out of her hiding spot. She went around the room and noticed a small window near the ceiling. There was a pile of unused cargoes nearby. Eli picked them up and stacked a few on each other. Carefully climbing the boxes, she peered in through the window.

….

KJ entered the dark room. He could not see anything but his senses were on high alert. The enemy did not underestimate him; he could not sense anyone standing behind him. They knew a sneak attack was useless against him since Ms. Sohee had prepared him for such attempts.

Instead, he relied on his senses to fish out any movement. He knew there was someone standing a few meters ahead of him.

"Your senses are still keen, I see," came a lazy voice. The lights were turned on. Junhyung was standing in front of him. Next to him was…

"Hyun Jung!" KJ exclaimed. Hyun Jung was unconscious and tied up to a chair. 

"Why are you doing this?" KJ whispered. "Why are you still working for the Cartel? For money? Fame? Didn't they kill your dad?"

"You really don't listen, do you?" Junhyung said, rolling his eyes. "I told you. My dad was an idiot for not aiming higher within the Cartel. He was simply happy with the money they gave him. But I...I want more. Working for Ziko was not enough for me. I wanted more."

"You see, after I was released from juvenile prison," Junhyung went on. "I wanted to get more power. All those years in jail made me realize that as long as you have power, no one can touch you. I studied your rise to success. I monitored your every move. I saw how you lived your life while I rotted away in a cell…"

A manic obsession marred his features. "I plotted to destroy you," Junhyung went on. "You...you who had everything. A loving family, a teacher who died for you, fans who support you...While I lost everything. That too because I couldn't deliver you to the Cartel…"

Loud footsteps approached their way. KJ saw Teppei coming out of the shadows.

"So we finally caught the undefeatable Kwon Jiwon," he sneered. "Wait till Ziko hears about this!"

Junhyung did not say anything but smiled. 

"How did you know I will be here?" KJ demanded.

"Doesn't matter," Teppei said slowly as he took out a gun and aimed at KJ. KJ did not flinch. There was not an amount of fear left in him. All he wanted was to save Hyun Jung. His eyes briefly flickered towards a face on the window above them. Hyun Jung's partner was seeing all of this.

Eli, too, saw KJ glance her way. She was shocked to see her partner tied up like that. These guys are dangerous, she realized. Are they from the Cartel?

She could not hear what they were saying. There was a fourth man in the room, facing KJ but she could not see what was happening.

"Let Hyun go," KJ ordered. 

"We might," Teppei said. "We don't care about him. But you...we want you dead."

Junhyung was simply observing as Teppei held KJ at gunpoint. 

"Abyss will not let you go," KJ calmly pointed out.

"The CEO of Abyss will come on their own," Teppei stated. "After all, she will come to protect a friend."

KJ felt his blood go cold. They figured out the CEO's gender! He did not voice it out in case it was a fluke.

"We turned off her surveillance monitors," Teppei went on. "She'll look all over for you now. And soon, we'll have her cornered."

KJ's mask of nonchalance fell. They did not lure him into a trap; their ultimate goal was Mirae!

"And now…" Teppei said, holding the gun higher. "Time to die."

He loaded the gun and placed his finger on the trigger. KJ closed his eyes, ready for the pain to pierce him through.

A loud gunshot tore through the night. 

KJ, who was prepared to take the hit, was stunned. He opened his eyes to see that he was unscathed. Stunned for a few moments, he looked sideways.

Standing at the doorway was Ash. He was holding a gun in his hands.