by Con Template
She lowered her window to speak to him.
“Where are you headed, miss?” the officer inquired, motioning her to move to a quiet side of the street.
“Is the entire street blocked off?” Yoori asked, her eyes straying toward the horizon. All she continued to see were cones, flashing orange lights, and caution signs.
“We have a situation up there,” he answered her. “What street do you need to get on?”
“Jin Street,” she replied, wondering to herself how she was going to get home if the entire street was blocked off.
He nodded. He pointed to a dark adjacent street ahead. “Just go ahead and drive straight, make a left at the end of the street, and keep going until you hit a curve. After that, follow that road. You should be able to find the unblocked portion of the street and eventually find your way back on to Jin Street. It’s pretty dark up ahead and the signs are small. Be alert while you’re driving.”
Despite how easy that sounded, Yoori felt edgy. She attributed this to the fact that she always hated taking unfamiliar routes to get home.
“Okay,” Yoori said unsurely. It did not matter how much she disliked having to take a new route home. It was either chance a new route or be trapped in this traffic for God knows how long. Yoori wanted to get home soon. She did not want to sit in traffic all night. “Thank you for your help.”
“No problem.” The police officer stepped aside to allow a hesitant Yoori to drive through. “Drive safely.”
Through the veil of snow twirling around them, Yoori could’ve sworn she saw a scar on his left cheek when the flashing orange light hit his face. Throwing the fleeting observation aside, she carefully drove through the blocked off road. She was careful to not run over any cones or get herself stuck in any big potholes.
Yoori eyed her rearview mirror. The two cars behind her, which were filled with Serpents, were stopped by the police officer.
Nervousness clawed at her.
“Hope they don’t have anything illegal in those cars,” she whispered.
Cops and gang members were never good combinations.
She mentally wished the other cars well and followed the directions the officer gave her. She initially debated on waiting for the other Serpents, but decided against it. If shit were to go down, she was afraid of getting in trouble with the cops if those Serpents were arrested.
The last thing I need is more trouble, Yoori thought as she disappeared into the night.
Yoori followed the officer’s directions without deviation. With every block that she passed, the nervousness within her evolved into full-blown paranoia. The night snow poured furiously onto her car, and Yoori couldn’t help but think that something wasn’t right.
She surveyed her surroundings. Yoori observed that she was in an unfamiliar, desolate area of town. She kept looking for Jin Street, yet she found no familiar streets signs that would help her off this scary road. Her heart rate quadrupled in speed when it was evident that she wasn’t about to find Jin Street, or any familiar street, any time soon.
“Crap,” Yoori muttered, already knowing that she was in trouble. Was it possible that the officer gave her wrong directions, or was it something else? Also, where were the Serpents who were supposed to be following her? Did they get arrested? More importantly, where the fuck was she?
Her stomach twisted in dreadful knots.
She had to get out of here.
Yoori instinctively locked her car doors and stepped on the gas pedal. She sped out of the block in hopes of getting to the end of the street. From there, she hoped that she could hop on to the freeway or something. Something about this street scared the hell out of her.
Her fast speed was short-lived when out of nowhere, a loud pop sound exploded in the air.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Yoori’s screams accompanied the Mercedes when it suddenly dropped to one side.
Screech!
Two of the tires on the right side had popped out at once. The metal wheels shrieked in the night as Yoori struggled to steady the car. With no other options in sight, she hastily stepped on the brakes. The car squealed to a stop, sliding over the curb and nearly hitting a street sign in the process.
Silence collapsed over Yoori as the car’s engine hummed loudly. Once the shock passed, she unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed the car door open. The smell of burnt tires swarmed her nose when she stepped outside.
“Damn it!” Yoori cried after she examined the damage.
She quietly cursed when she discovered that she had not only damaged Tae Hyun’s beloved car, but she had also screwed up her chances of getting home. While snow collected on the pavement and piled over her, Yoori raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. Curious as to what she ran over to cause such destruction, she looked around frantically. Her heart stilled when she saw what had destroyed the Mercedes’ tires.
“What?” she whispered in disbelief.
Barbwires that were more than sharp enough to puncture holes into the tires sat on the abandoned street.
Yoori crouched beside the barbwires to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. No matter how much she blinked, the barbwires remained.
This . . . is not good, Yoori thought uneasily.
Who could’ve placed this here? Was it specifically set up for her or was it just placed here by some hoodlums? Ice dripped into Yoori’s bloodstream. Either answer was not a favorable one for her. Shit was hitting the fan in her life, and she needed help.
Yoori withdrew her black flip-phone from her pocket and tried to dial for help. She was flustered when the phone refused to pick up reception. Goosebumps chased after one another on her trembling body. Stranded in an unfamiliar street, Yoori gauged the world around her in fear. Her eyes narrowed onto a club in the distance where music pounded fiercely from its closed doors. She mulled over her options. Stay stranded outside or go into a club filled with people for help?
The choice was easy.
Afraid that she’d be a sitting duck for gang members if she continued to loiter in the quiet street, she sprinted over to the blaring club. She hoped that someone in there could help her. As she ran, Yoori noted that there were several cars on the streets and in the parking lot. She felt more comfortable knowing that she was going into a club that had lots of people partying within it.
What a strange place to party though, Yoori thought in the back of her mind.
She dashed closer to it. The sounds of her trotting boots echoed in the snow-veiled night. She approached the two-story building and reached for the door. A wave of air-conditioned breeze and heavy hip-hop music thrashed upon her once Yoori pulled the door open.
She stopped in her tracks after she entered the club.
Yoori’s eyes scanned over the vicinity. With the exception of the flashing blue and red strobe lights dancing off the walls, the club was considerably dark. Yoori was momentarily caught off guard. She hadn’t expected the room to be this cold, especially considering the weather outside. Eager to find a phone so she could leave this neighborhood, Yoori raced onto the dance floor with the hopes of borrowing a cell phone from a patron.
Shock assailed her when she found that there was no one else in the club.
Her eyes charted the room, confusion blurring her vision. The darkness and heavy music drowned her senses, nearly driving her crazy. Where was everyone else? Why was this club empty?
A cold chill hit her, and she painstakingly acknowledged that perhaps this club wasn’t as empty as she thought.
Silence descended over the room.
Akin to waiting for her grand entrance, the earsplitting music was switched off. Nothing but the multitude of swaying lights filtered into her senses. The sudden hush frightened Yoori. Now that the music was gone, she concluded with certainty that she wasn’t alone.
She could hear them.
She could hear all of them breathe around her . . .
“Well, if it isn’t the Queen herself.”
The voice
that originated from the upper level of the club scared the hell out of Yoori.
She whipped her head upward, alertness engulfing her.
A dark canvas greeted her eyes. Although she could not make out the silhouette of the owner of the voice, it was clear to her that whoever was in here with her had been waiting a long time for her.
Her senses livened.
Initially, she couldn’t hear them over the music. Now that the distracting sound was taken away, she could hear people breathing and moving on the balconies of the club. Every now and then, as the strobe lights lit up the world above, she could see figures standing on the balcony’s circular curve. She could literally feel their eyes on her.
Cursing under her breath for the terrifying situation she was in, Yoori made a move to run out. She halted when she noted that there was a tall figure standing in the hallway she had walked through. Like an imposing statue, he blocked her path. Darkness pooled over him until the swaying light hit his face.
“You . . .”
Yoori backtracked when she realized that he was the same “officer” who redirected her and eventually brought her here. She exhaled knowingly, everything becoming clear to her. All along, it had been planned for her to enter this deserted club.
Yoori moved through the darkness, nearly tripping over objects she couldn’t see in her quest to find another exit.
Footsteps followed her, causing her fear to amplify.
She wasn’t dealing with ordinary gang members. Considering the big production they put on, it was evident she was dealing with a group of highly trained individuals. They were well accustomed to redirecting and inconveniencing an entire city to get to the target they wanted. And tonight, she was that target.
Yoori nearly stumbled over a chair as she continued to navigate through the sea of darkness. From what she could gather from the swaying club lights, the furniture all around her were covered in white cloth. The dust from the cloth collected on her fingertips. The club was abandoned and from the amount of dust that lingered on her fingers, Yoori surmised it had been abandoned for quite some time.
The white cloth slid off the table as she moved by. When the blue and red club lights landed on the surface of the table, it revealed intricate engravings that had bullet holes in it.
Yoori’s head started to pound at the sight of the bullet holes.
Screams from a distant past filled her head.
Visions that didn’t feel like her own inundated her mind. In those visions, she saw amputated fingers, pools of blood, and corpses piled atop one another. The screams and the vision shook her, nearly causing Yoori to collapse. She struggled to breathe amidst her fear.
She inspected the room, speculating about the significance of this place. Leaving became second priority. The only priority was figuring out why she was lured here in the first place.
“What do you want?” Yoori cried, trembling after several figures jumped from the balconies above.
Eight of them fell onto the dance floor, landing on the pavement like cats. They crouched down, like they’d done this many times before, and with ease, stood up. The man who impersonated a police officer strolled onto the dance floor to join them. Now, there were nine of them in total—five men and four women.
“Aw,” a mocking female voice piped up from behind Yoori. “She looks scared.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” said a male voice to the right side of her.
“You guys have the wrong person,” Yoori gritted out. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that these people were Soo Jin’s enemies. It also didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Yoori was going to be executed in this club unless she saved herself. “I have no idea what’s going on and—”
“It’s a bit poetic isn’t it, my Queen?” the same male voice from the balcony drawled. Scorn throbbed in his voice. He didn’t deign to listen to her words nor did he relent on his hatred. He edged closer to her, moving with such predatory speed that he was only inches from her now. He went on, circling her like a shark. “It was in this very club where you murdered that poor family, and it was in this club days later where you overpowered all ten of us, killed one of us, and marked our humiliation with scars that would last us a lifetime.”
Yoori’s world tilted on its axis at the barrel of information that slipped casually from his lips. It rocked her world so hard that she was sure blood stopped pumping in her veins.
“Club?” she breathed out.
She gazed around the room. Her eyes blossomed when the realization hit her. This . . . This was the infamous location of the “Club Massacre.” She shook violently, horrified that she was in the very place where she not only murdered an innocent family, but also killed two children in the process. The ghastly visions and screams besieged her again. All the while, the guilt thrashed into her consciousness, nearly suffocating her as she fought to steady her stance.
Yoori attempted to bring herself back on point.
She was about to be attacked by unknown enemies and she was allowing the guilt to handicap her? Yoori wanted to get her priorities straight and gather her strength. Such an endeavor felt impossible when she processed his words again. She not only killed the family in this club, but she came back days later and killed one of them as well?
“Scars?” Yoori asked shakily.
Who were these people? What scars were they talking about?
In lieu of verbally answering her, the rest of the eight individuals took slow steps onto the dance floor. They moved onto the area where the flickering lights were the most prevalent. Their faces were gradually revealed.
Nine intimidating people surrounded her. Two of them, a girl with red hair and the police impersonator, leaned against the white pillars in the club. Three guys leisurely sat against the cloth-covered tables on the side of the dance floor. One had a shaved head, the second had a Mohawk, and the third that completed the trio had an eye-patch. Two women, one blonde and the other with a pixie haircut, were crouched down. The last two, a man and a woman, whom Yoori assumed were the leaders, stood before her, their eyes breeding raw, unadulterated hatred. They all wore dark hooded jackets and cargo pants. Yoori could see the number “57” scar on each of their left cheeks.
The significance of the number was not lost on her.
Branded, Yoori surmised quickly, realizing now why they were here for her.
An Soo Jin had branded them as her victims.
Yoori was absolutely thunderstruck.
What could you say to the people you’ve victimized in the past? Especially when you couldn’t remember victimizing them?
“We thought you died a year and a half ago, An Soo Jin,” the female leader whispered. She tilted her head in amusement. Her hair was tied up in a bun. Her features were cold and angry—just like the man who stood beside her. His pierced lower lip glinted in the light when he smirked frostily at her.
Yoori’s mind ran amuck. A year and a half ago? She creased her brows in confusion. The math was wrong. Surely they meant three years ago?
Then, the answer came to her.
The math was not wrong.
They truly meant a year and a half ago.
“The fire,” she said incredulously, recalling the mysterious fire in her “hometown” that killed her adoptive family. Her adoptive mother had sent her shopping. From what the firefighters told her, she had missed the fire by mere minutes. If she had stayed any longer, she would’ve perished in that inferno as well.
“Yes, the fires in Taecin,” the woman with the pixie haircut replied smugly. She moved to sit on a table next to the Mohawk guy. She played with her silver gun. “Our handiwork.”
Yoori was astounded. It wasn’t an accident after all. These people set her home on fire and killed her adoptive family—her adoptive parents and her cousin.
“You killed—”
“It’s unfortunate the people we killed,” the leader started bitterly. “All the houses we burned down in hopes of killing you once and for al
l. But we should've been more careful and actually checked out who died in those fires. It was unfortunate that your adoptive parents' actual daughter died with them as opposed to you.”
Yoori’s breathing became shallower.
Finally, the truth.
Her “cousin” was the real daughter all along . . .
The leader continued, his voice becoming more acidic. “We were kicked out of our gang because we went rogue to get rid of you, to kill the last shred of our humiliation and avenge our sister.”
Yoori bit her lips, processing all his words. A disturbing truth dawned on her. His voice echoed in her mind: “All the houses we burned down in hopes of killing you once and for all . . .”
The homes in Taecin were spread apart. She couldn’t have known there were fires all around the city unless she actively sought out the news, which she didn’t do because she left almost immediately after the fire. The fog in her mind became denser. Nothing was making sense. Soo Jin humiliated them and got them kicked out of their gang? She killed their sister, drove them over the edge, and caused them to set fires to homes all over Taecin? She ran her eyes over them. Who were these people?
“What gang?” Yoori finally asked, confounded with everything she was learning.
The man leaning against the pillar, the one with spiky hair and a pierced left eyebrow, spoke. Yoori recognized him as the police impersonator. “Because of you, we were kicked out of the very gang we grew up in. Because you humiliated us to such a degree where we couldn’t tell our own boss who fucked up our faces, why we went rogue and spread those fucking fires in Taecin.” He scoffed resentfully. “We should’ve been braver and killed you when we saw you walking around that shop in Taecin.”
“Yet, you somehow survived the fire,” a girl with dyed blonde hair spoke. She was crouched down, staring at Yoori with venomous eyes. “And it appears that you either have an amnesia of sorts or you’re faking it. Regardless of the true reason behind your ‘I’m so innocent’ act, you somehow managed to infiltrate our gang and seduce our King in the process. You are a skilled bitch, I’ll give you that much.”
In light of all the revelations thrown at her today, Yoori couldn’t help but freeze in disbelief.