by Con Template
“Just take her home safely,” Ji Hoon bit out to Tae Hyun before drawing away to diverge his Advisor’s attention.
As Ji Hoon melted into the distant darkness, Tae Hyun turned to Yoori. His eyes softened upon holding hers. “We have to go now. I think we’ve gotten into enough trouble tonight.”
Yoori flickered her gaze to her brother. The overwhelming urge to simply speak to him took over.
“I . . . I actually want to talk to him,” she began, returning her gaze to Tae Hyun. “Can you give us a moment?”
Tae Hyun deliberated her request. If he wanted to object, then he showed no sign of it. He nodded before turning to Young Jae. Tae Hyun stalked to him, and when he was close, he stood before Young Jae. He was a bit taller than Young Jae, but their respective presences were equally intimidating.
Staring at Young Jae dead in the eyes, he said, “At the end of the garden, as I think you already know, there’s a path that leads into the driveway. When you’re done speaking to her, head in that direction. I’ll be in the limo waiting for her.” His voice became more inflexible. “I trust with how we settled things, you won’t take her away. Because you know I’ll tear this city apart to find you. And when I do, I will rip you apart and bury you all over this country when I’m done with you.”
Young Jae heaved a bored sigh and blinked as his silent confirmation. “Keep her safe, Tae Hyun. For tonight, she’ll stay with you, but I’m not done with this argument. Not by a long shot.”
“Fair enough,” Tae Hyun replied just as tightly.
He moved away from Young Jae, took off his jacket, and wrapped it over Yoori’s shoulders. She didn’t even realize she was cold until the warmth of his jacket thawed her freezing skin. After draping the jacket over her, Tae Hyun allowed his fingers to trace her cheek before saying, “Take all the time you need.”
Butterflies quaked in her tummy. She stared up at his handsome face and nodded.
Smiling at her briefly, Tae Hyun turned to the brothers.
They were as quiet as mice. They stared around the gardens, looking at anything and anyone but Young Jae. Yoori could see that they were still shocked that their old King had returned from his three-year disappearance.
“Do any necessary greetings and give them their time alone,” Tae Hyun told the brothers. “I’ll be in the limo.”
The brothers and Yoori’s eyes expanded at the unexpected order from Tae Hyun. He understood the complexity of loyalties when it came to switching gangs, and he essentially gave them permission to greet Young Jae as their “King” if they wished. Tae Hyun revealed to Yoori that he already knew that Kang Min and Jae Won were former Scorpions. He also shared that he knew they were brothers. It was one thing to have him reveal this to her, but it was completely different when he subtly revealed this to the brothers, who still looked stupefied beyond words. It was obvious to them now that there weren’t many secrets one could keep from Tae Hyun, especially when he had people like his assassins watching out for him and letting him know the ins and outs of the people surrounding him.
Without another word, Tae Hyun imparted one last rigid stare in Young Jae’s direction, one last reassuring glance at Yoori, and then disappeared into the darkness with his Blackberry held to his ear. Once he did this, movement began in the brothers’ corner. They were about to get down on one knee when Young Jae extended his hand out and motioned for them to stop. Concern plastered on their faces, they did as they were commanded.
“Your loyalty was never to me,” Young Jae said severely. There was no forgiveness in his voice. “You were given the option of leaving with the rest to Japan, yet you chose to stay here. As far as I’m concerned, you are no longer Scorpions. Don’t bother greeting me by kneeling. There’s no point. I don’t deal well with ingrates.”
“They’ve been watching over me,” Yoori interrupted, refusing to allow anyone to label Kang Min or Jae Won as ingrates when they, along with Tae Hyun, had been taking care of her since the beginning.
“I know they have,” Young Jae replied, his voice always gentler when speaking to her. “That is why they still have their heads.”
Young Jae exhaled breathily, noting the expressions on their faces once the brothers turned their attention back to Yoori. They not only looked shocked, but they also looked stunned with happiness.
It didn’t take Yoori long to understand what they were thinking: their boss, An Soo Jin, had been with them all along.
“Let me guess,” Young Jae hypothesized. “By the looks on their faces, you still haven’t told them that even though you have amnesia, you already know that you’re An Soo Jin?”
She fretfully shuffled her feet, nodding in confirmation.
Yoori guiltily turned to the brothers and approached them. They were staring down at her like she was a living angel.
“I’m sorry for lying,” she began hesitantly, holding Tae Hyun’s jacket to her shoulders to keep it from falling. She hadn’t prepared herself to have this conversation with the brothers. She was feeling extremely nervous. However, now that it was all out in the open, she had to address it. “It was a lot for me to handle—the only person I told was Tae Hyun. I was too afraid to tell anyone else. I hope you guys aren’t too upset with me for lying. If I were brave enough to tell you, then I would’ve told you. I just didn’t want to believe it myself . . . ‘cause you know . . . you guys know how I feel about her.”
“You even told us stories of what you were like as a kid when you grew up in Taecin,” Kang Min mumbled quietly, staring at her with glistening eyes.
Yoori smiled awkwardly at the emotions spilling out of Kang Min. It was always Jae Won who was adamant that she was Soo Jin in the beginning. She was sure that over time, Kang Min convinced Jae Won that he was wrong, that Yoori wasn’t Soo Jin. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now as he stared at the girl he was once so sure wasn’t his boss.
“I told you so,” Jae Won whispered to his brother, his eyes still on Yoori. “I told you she was our boss.” He smiled in disbelief and shook his head. “I can’t believe you had me doubting it too.”
There was a companionable silence that fell between the three before the brothers fell to the ground on one knee. They respectfully lowered their heads.
“Please don’t,” Yoori quipped feebly, taken aback by their display of respect. “This is completely unnecessary, you losers.”
“Boss,” Kang Min started, calling her that for the first time (and truly meaning it). Beside him, Jae Won stared at her with admiration in his eyes. They continued to kneel before her as if making up for all the years she went missing. “Even if you don’t remember, it’s great to be in your presence again.”
Yoori swallowed convulsively, bowing her head slightly. This was all too emotional for her and she had other emotional things to deal with. She had to make them leave before she started to tear up.
“Now hurry and get up,” she urged. “Go to Tae Hyun, please. I need to speak to my brother alone.”
Unable to wipe the smiles off their faces, they nodded. They gave her another respectful bow before they stood up, walked past Young Jae, and bowed their heads in the same manner of reverence for him. They departed the garden, finally leaving Yoori alone with Young Jae.
“When we were kids and found them in the alley, an inch away from death, I remember telling you that you’d regret recruiting them because they were fated to be cowards.” Young Jae smirked self-mockingly. “It seems that I have to eat half my words tonight. They weren’t loyal to me, but they’re still nothing but loyal to you.”
Yoori smiled uncomfortably at her older brother. It felt strange that she was more relaxed around him when she first “met” him and danced with him. Now that she was alone with him again, and after realizing that he was actually her brother, she didn’t know what to say. What could you say when you had amnesia and you just met the brother you had never seen? Yoori didn’t know how to react, but it didn’t matter. Young Jae knew how to react. As
the wind rustled the leaves in the garden, he pulled her to him and held her in a tight embrace. It was an embrace that only an older brother could give to his younger sister.
“I’ve missed you, little one,” he murmured, resting his chin on her head. When he did this, Yoori felt her heart ache at his breaking voice. “I know that you don’t remember anything right now, but the only thing you should know is that I love you.” He inhaled sharply, his eyes glistening with tears. “I thought you died in that fire. I thought I lost you . . .” He held her tighter against him, painfully closing his eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too,” Yoori uttered, truly meaning it. She returned the embrace with the same intensity. She wasn’t certain if it was her own emotions or if it was Soo Jin’s emotions fighting through, but she could feel the adoration she had for her brother. Though she couldn’t remember, she could also feel the lifetime of memories they had while growing up together.
Anticipation submerged her while they hugged. She was finally in the presence of the one who could enlighten her. She was finally in the company of the one who could shine a light on all the mysteries that shrouded her past.
Yoori couldn’t resist the temptation to finally uncover the secrets of her life.
“Why did you leave for three years?” she asked, slowly pulling out of the embrace. She peered up at him with curious eyes. A string of other questions escaped her lips. “Why did Soo Jin want to commit suicide? What happened in that club? I knew you were there with her. What happened?”
Despite his sigh, she saw in his gaze that he anticipated these questions from her. The unshed tears from his eyes started to dry under the cool night. “Wasn’t it just moments ago that you were determined to not remember anything?”
“I don’t want to remember, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
Yoori chewed on her lips, staring at him pleadingly. She shouldn’t tempt herself with the forbidden fruit, yet it was so enticing. She fought between keeping herself in the dark and stepping into the light. Her curiosity soon won out. She knew that out of all the people who could shed some light on this (and protect her at the same time), it was Young Jae.
“That formula that Ji Hoon gave me, the one I gave you to ‘kill’ me with,” she prompted. “It gives me dreams . . . dreams that I don’t know are memories, scrambled memories, or just figments of my imagination. I’m alive, yet in the dark. I’m stuck between wanting to freeze my life as it is and wanting to know what happened to me.” She bit her lips harder. “What happened in that club is the key to everything, and I need to know what brought me to this moment in time. That’s all I want to know. I don’t want to remember anything else.”
“You wanted to end your life because of what happened that night. I know I was angry earlier and spoke about wanting to help you remember so that you would leave Tae Hyun, but I can’t risk you going back to the way that you were. I can’t risk you wanting to kill yourself again. What happened that night will be your trigger to remember.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to relive any of that pain. You came from hell and back—literally. I won’t be your trigger. I won’t.”
“Will you do what you can then?” she bartered desperately. “Without recounting anything that you feel may be a trigger? I just need to know why that family was chosen, why I killed those people, and if possible, why we were there in the first place.”
“You’re playing with fire right now, lil sis.”
“Hwang Hee Jun,” Yoori launched, knowing that the names would be the pendulum that would sway her brother in the direction she wanted him to go in. “It was Hwang Hee Jun’s family that was there. All thirty-four of them. I have to know why.”
A flash of emotion elicited from his eyes.
“No one but Soo Jin, myself, and a couple of Scorpions would know that information. How did you know?”
“Please tell me something, and I’ll tell you how I know.” She could see in his eyes that knowing who told her wasn’t as important as keeping her in the dark. Anticipating his hesitation, she hastened to add, “I need to know who I killed . . . and why I killed them. They haunt me every single day. They make me hate myself even if I can’t remember what Soo Jin did to them. They make me hate Soo Jin. Despite all the remorse she felt at the end, I still can’t help but hate her because I can still feel her guilt.” Yoori took in a deep, preparatory breath. The hardest person to forgive is always yourself. “I want to close a chapter in my life so I can move on.” She bit her quivering lips, her eyes pleading. “Please oppa . . . give me something.”
Young Jae considered her request for a few seconds. When Yoori saw the surrender in his eyes, she knew he had given in. She was elated, for she knew from this moment forth, there would be no more hearsay, no more assumptions.
For the first time, she was going to get a first-hand account on what really took place at the infamous “Club Massacre.”
“If you are weak, then you are not fit to be a Royal.”
13: Blood Secrets of the Siberian Tigers
“We were interrogating them to find Hwang Tony,” Young Jae disclosed after a long moment of silence.
“Hwang Tony?” Yoori confirmed, grateful that her brother finally heeded her request. Her heart rate gathered speed at this information.
“The last remaining heir to the Siberian Tigers’ gang,” Young Jae explained solemnly. “Hwang Hee Jun’s younger brother.”
Yoori canted her head with intrigue. “Wasn’t he killed when you exterminated the gang five years ago?”
The trees in the garden rustled when a cold breeze flew through them. He shook his head.
“We thought he was killed, but he survived. I was told that he spent two years recuperating after the attack. It wasn’t until an informant of mine caught sight of him in Seoul was I made aware of his existence. I didn’t like that he was alive. Word had already gotten out that I had exterminated an entire lineage. His existence threatened that belief. I didn’t care if the gang was already broken. I knew I had to kill the last remaining heir.”
A muscle worked in his jaw when he recalled what transpired three years ago.
“Word got around to Tony that I was looking for him, and he fled. While we were searching for him, we found out that there was an extended family that existed and had been in hiding. Determined to find Tony, I had several Scorpions kidnap them and bring them over to the club I had just purchased. The area was completely secluded and perfect for what we needed to do.”
Yoori did not need to ask who the main Scorpion that led the abduction was. She did her best to swallow past the remorse and dread that boiled in her stomach.
Slowly, she said, “The plan all along was to kill the entire family after we found out the information?”
Young Jae nodded, watching her warily. He was careful with making sure she could handle what was being told. “The only ones I was willing to even entertain sparing were the mother and her twins. Out of the extended family members, they were the only ones purely unrelated by blood, and they were the only ones I cared to take pity on.”
“But An Soo Jin was the one who handled them?”
Young Jae looked up at the moon as his confirmation. “In the nature of interrogations, I handed things over to Soo Jin because as my right hand, she was known as the enforcer and the interrogator. Soo Jin’s reputation in the Underworld had always been a vicious one, which was for good reason because it had always helped her in procuring the information we needed. Her favorite form of interrogation, and one of the most effective ones, was to cut off fingers each time they refused to give her the answers she wanted. Apart from the twins and their mother, all thirty-one people were tortured as we pried for information on Tony’s whereabouts.” He stared at her worriedly. He assessed the fear that bubbled in her eyes. “Is this too much for you to hear?”
Yes, she answered in her mind.
“No,” Yoori lied, fighting back the rising nausea she felt. She was finally g
iven a flashlight for the darkness she lived in. She refused to let this opportunity pass her by. She would deal with the guilt later. Now was the time for enlightenment.
“So, the family was killed,” she prompted as her way of telling Young Jae to continue with the story, “just to find out where Hwang Tony was?”
Young Jae nodded, finally confirming Yoori’s suspicions that Young Jae knew about Ju Won’s request. “That night, we had two things we were interrogating them for. We found out Tony’s whereabouts after Soo Jin shot and killed sixteen of the family members. After that, we were trying to find out something else . . . something else for Ju Won.”
An uneasy feeling twisted inside Yoori. She knew it was the Soo Jin in her recalling the familiarity of these words and the scene Young Jae was about to paint for her.
“Why were you guys helping him?”
Young Jae had a faraway look in his eyes as he recounted memories from a distant past. He continued to speak, finally shedding light on to a mystery that had eluded Yoori for so long. He finally told her what happened during the fateful “Club Massacre.”
■ ■ ■
Three years ago . . .
“I don’t trust him,” Young Jae whispered as they stood on the balcony.
His eyes roamed over the dimly lit floor that was covered with writhing bodies. The people below had been beaten so viciously that their faces were barely recognizable. The floor was littered with blood, amputated fingers, torn flesh, and the stench of death. They had just killed sixteen of the stubborn family members and had found Tony’s whereabouts. In spite of this success, they had no luck in procuring the information Ju Won requested from them.
The remaining family members groaning on the dance floor were either good at keeping secrets or they simply didn’t know what the hell Young Jae and Soo Jin were talking about. Young Jae was betting on the latter as he lowered his gaze to his sister.