Hostage Handbook

Chapter Fourteen | Past is Prologue

YEOREUM

The elevator emits a crisp ding before it reveals an extravagant hallway. Jade sculptures of dragons and flowers extend across the tall walls.

There are a lot of doors, but all of them are hefty with bulletproof panels, requiring passcodes and security cards to unlock.

A woman in a gold gown strides toward us with quick strides, smiling as she meets Jungkook's gaze. She bows at Jungkook like he is a godlike statue that requires additional signs of respect.

"Good evening, very important people," the woman extols. "My name is Jang Alyssa, and I am the manager of Fever Moon. It is such a pleasure to be able to meet you all."

"Miss Jang is as beautiful as always," Mr Ahn says, peering at Alyssa's half-exposed breasts. "You're going to make me lose my self-control."

"My Goodness, I'm blushing," Alyssa says. She curls her acrylic nails around Mr Ahn's tie. "You flatter me too much, Mr Ahn."

"Am I?" Mr Ahn says. He arches an eyebrow as he squeezes Alyssa's breasts. "Your body is a piece of art, Miss Jang."

I look to the marble floor that is polished enough to project a clear reflection of my grimace. As I steel myself, Jungkook leaves a hickey on my cheek.

"Are you scared already?" Jungkook says. "I don't think that'll fly well with your future customers."

I glare at him. "Fuck you."

Jungkook chuckles and turns to Alyssa with a slightly more serious expression.

"Alyssa, stop stealing your employees' customers."

"Fine then, Mr Jeon," Alyssa says.

Alyssa pulls herself away from Mr Ahn and jumps to me. The expression on her face is as bubbly as ever. Her smile hasn't collapsed at all. It has shifted, sure, from courteous to sultry to gentle, but it never disappears.

"Song Yeoreum is your full name, right?"

Jungkook guards me away from Alyssa with a smile. "Yes, that's her full name," he says. "She is still a little shy, so be mindful of that."

"That's fine. We're all friends now," Alyssa says. She leads us towards a booth at the end of the corridor and giggles. "I'll take you all to the booth where everyone else is."

Mr Ahn whispers something to Jungkook and enters a sound-proof, curtained area. Jungkook looks at Alyssa with a grim stare as soon as Mr Ahn disappears.

"Alyssa, don't recklessly arrange people for Mr Ahn. I've warned you many times about that," Jungkook snaps.

"Don't worry, boss," Alyssa says, winking. "I got the perfect girl for Mr Ahn. He will love her for sure."

"Mr Ahn is not an easy person to please. You're getting way too complacent these days."

"Mr Ahn likes innocent, breathy ones, right?" Alyssa says. She pokes her tongue out. "The chick I hooked up for him is a high school virgin with asthma."

My legs itch to chase after Mr Ahn to stop him from assaulting the poor school girl. But I can't. I am merely a hostage myself.

Jungkook frowns. "Are you sure the kid won't run around and say things she shouldn't?"

"Yeah, don't worry, boss." Alyssa nods. "That chick signed multiple NDAs. Plus, if she does anything cheeky, we can take the tubes out of her half-dead mother."

"Stop hurting innocent people," Jungkook utters. "Make this girl your last street recruit and sponsor her mother until the end."

"Excuse me, boss?" Alyssa shrieks. A smile still hangs over her lips, but it is apparently brighter when discussing that school girl's unfortunate situation. "Okay, sure."