Hostage {ℍ𝕐𝕌ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾} -- DISCONTINUED

Chapter Thirty-One

Jisung regained his place among the group, casting a quick look over his shoulder. From where he stood, it was almost impossible to see the man's slumped, unconscious body. Without having known it was there, it was almost impossible to make out in the darkness that shrouded them.

He pulled the cap further down over his forehead, keeping his eyes on the ground. "Nothing there," he mumbled. The man hissed, pacing back and forth. Jisung watched him through his eyelashes, eyebrows furrowing.

The man seemed almost... familiar. But he couldn't place where he'd seen him before. His eyes narrowed, scanning every inch of his face that he could without exposing his own. However, he doubted this man would recognize any of his own men anyway, judging from the way with which he held himself; it was too much like his own father.

The door opened silently – the hinges were well-oiled, though, that wasn't shocking due to the... likely nature of the business that went down here. The man once again emerged from inside, his face cold and stony. "You may enter."

Jisung brought up the rear of the group, and they all stepped through the door. He couldn't really hear the music, only feel the vibrations that passed through the floorboards. So this room – or even this section of the club – was mostly soundproof. The sounds of gunshots and screams would probably be very detrimental to the business, after all. He took note of that being an expected occurrence here.

He glanced down at the watch which was mostly concealed by the long, black sleeves of the man's clothing. He could only hope that nobody would look too closely at him, at how the clothes didn't fit quite right, some areas too tight, some too loose.

The door swung shut behind them, and just as quickly another one opened. A big, buff man walked through, about five different guns strapped onto him. Jesus, overkill much? "Guns. Now." Jisung bit the inside of his lip; he knew they might have to get rid of their guns, but he couldn't just get caught having one on his person in the case that they would pat him down.

Unless... A subtle grin broke out across his face as everyone, including the leader of this little party, started removing their guns from all sorts of places and putting them down on the ground. Jisung followed suit, standing upright once he'd gotten rid of every piece of weaponry on his person... except for one.

He knew that small gun in Hyunjin's box would be useful, no matter how much Hyunjin scoffed at him for picking such a weak weapon. It may be weaker than, say, the typical handguns they carried along with them, but it would do enough damage to get him out of a tricky situation, should need be.

He could only thank his past self for having the good sense to tuck it deep into the thick leather boot he wore, despite the fact that it was uncomfortable as living hell. The man who'd lead them inside collected the guns, arranging them in a locked metal drawer in the corner of the room while his buff assistant patted them down.

Jisung had always disliked pat-downs; they were uncomfortable and, frankly, humiliating. They made him feel weak and powerless – and that was one thing he hated feeling more than anything.

Once everyone had been thoroughly searched – though not thoroughly enough, clearly (he wasn't about to complain) – they were lead through the second door. The music was a bit more audible in the hallway, and he kept his head ducked, following the rest of the group as they walked silently.

It was a bit perplexing; the leader of this gang seemed almost like a kicked puppy. He followed every rule to a tee without so much as a word of complaint or shock. It was... uncharacteristic of any the gang leaders he'd seen so far. Where was the pride? Where was the strength?

Though, maybe the fact that he wasn't immediately recognizable played a factor in that; maybe he was the leader of a small, irrelevant gang, one not strong enough to worry the big players. Still, it nagged at the back of his mind, that he should know this man. But how?

His attention was driven away from the thoughts that swirled endlessly about his head when they came upon a third door. Inside, he was sure to find the leader of the Lee gang. His stomach twisted in anticipation, his hands clenching into subtle fists.

This would be a man he'd known about for a long time, and yet he had never seen his face.

From here on out, he'd have to figure out what to do on his own; they had no idea what to even plan for beyond the doors of the club. He had to buy him – and Hyunjin – enough time without exposing who he was, any way that he could. Hopefully, Hyunjin would be able to figure something out on his end, or at least make his way to this damn room.

~#~#~#~#~#~

The music was seriously starting to give him a headache. He'd never been a fan of clubs. It all seemed so pointless. What was the point of joining writhing masses, jumping up and down like wild monkeys as you drunk yourself into an oblivion you would definitely regret the next morning?

Maybe it was because Hyunjin had always preferred the peace of his office over the loud raves his father attended to conduct some business occasionally. Or maybe it was that he preferred to spend time with the people he knew and cherished – no matter how few they were – rather than dance with people he would never see again.

His opinion certainly didn't change after having walked through that sweaty mess. He tugged at his collar again, the accumulated heat in the room still clinging to his skin like an intolerable third layer.

Tossing a few pieces of hair out of his face, he straightened his walk. Each step was cautious; this was uncharted territory. He would never have nearly enough information about the Lees to be able to confidently launch any sort of attack, but it wasn't like he had a choice, now was it? It would have been preferable for him and Jisung to stick together, but given who they were dealing with...

At least they knew, with some degree of certainty, that Jisung would be able to find the gang leader. Well, that was what they'd theorized was going on in that shady little corner. Hopefully Hyunjin would be able to find him, too.

It was always better to have at least one ally to guard your back. And dealing with people like the Lees... they would definitely need it.

He snuck along the barren halls, eyes quickly narrowing because it was a bit too quiet. The hallways of clubs were almost never deserted, typically plagued with a various array of couples making out in one corner or another.

It shouldn't have come as much as a surprise – this club was just a front for some more sinister, illegal activity, it made sense that they wouldn't want any unfortunate souls to stumble upon them in the middle of any such discussion.

Though, it also helped that the vast majority of their patrons were so intoxicated they couldn't even stand straight. He snorted under his breath as he peered along the seemingly endless hall. Seriously, when did this end? The club wasn't that big.

He peered down at his watch; he was running out of time. He had to make it there before Jisung's new group left the premises. They didn't need this to be any more complicated than it already was. He was beginning to wish he'd just called the guy and tried to set up a meeting.

Sighing under his breath he continued to walk along. That wouldn't have worked and you know it. It would have been highly suspicious for him to try to affiliate his gang to the Lees when he – nor his father – had ever shown any interest in partaking in business such as this.

There were some things even he wouldn't do.

Footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway, and his eyes widened. He should've expected this to come from a hallway such as this one. There was nowhere to hide in case he did get spotted. This is just great.

Tonight was really going in a direction he wasn't expecting – or wanting. 

A/N: I'm actually reading Pride and Prejudice and it's a lot better than I thought it was gonna be, I'm not gonna lie. I've been talking about it... a lot to those who know me BAHAHAHAHA 

Lots of love,

~Emilie