Teach Me How To Love [mxmxm]

XIII

[Jae Lim]

I hated this house, this damned grand old house. It was better now that it was silent inside but the very place dug up memories I wanted to forget so badly. It was one of those grand traditional houses with wooden doors and steps and stone paths. It was gated off from the world, tall black metal cut it off from visitors. I couldn't enter from the front anymore—not after what I did here. Somewhere along the line, I was happy for what I did here but that annoying nagging feeling kept pricking the back of my head.

Why are you still here? What makes you think you have the right to live? The right to be here?

Ah, these fucking annoying thoughts in this damn head.

I earned my right to live here when I rose to the top of the family. There wasn't a single person alive anymore to challenge my right and yet these damned thoughts kept running free. Those fucking people—no wait, can I even call them people anymore? At least animals don't treat their children like that. 

I pulled up to the back of the site where a hidden entrance to the back of the complex lay unknown to the rest of the world. The towering trees behind the complex cast their long shadows over me, never failing to bring goosebumps down my arms. I opened the wooden door that served as the hidden entrance and walked into the complex, the eerie quietness making me want to leave as soon as I even saw the wooden building.

But I had a mission and I was going to finish it no matter what. My feet padded along the wooden floors, taking me to the only room I visited when I was forced to come here for business. The door slid open silently, one polished sitting table was at the center of the square room while the space in front sat a floor mat and cushions. There was a floor chair behind the table. Walking to the table, I took my seat where only the most powerful could sit.

The feeling of pride, of satisfaction, filled me, replacing the repulsive thoughts of the people that used to sit here.

Without a word, I picked up the black mask on the left-hand side of the table, clipping the two straps on behind my head. There was a singular white telephone sitting beside two computer monitors: one to change my voice and one to hide my calling location. It was a small simple setup but it was frightfully efficient.

I put in the first number and was pleased when I only had to hear two rings.

"Who is this?" His voice was easily recognizable, low and unshaken, as any man of his status would.

"Gal Min-Ki."

"How do you know me?"

"You will go to Haneul's Circle in five days' time. 5 PM. No sooner, no later. Unless you want pretty little Hae-won to be delivered to your house in a box."

"Who are you to—"

"Bring your people, but if I see a single weapon or I see that you're committing foul play, she'll be dead before nightfall."

"You—!"

I hung up before he could even end his insult.

Only 20 more people to go.

It was well into the night before I finished giving calls. Each person always ended with curses and threats, but I just came to love the power of blackmail even more. I whipped out my phone and found several messages from Valeriya, all of them consisting of her whereabouts and what she was doing.

I put in noona's phone number and my mood immediately rose when I heard her phone being picked up on the first ring.

"Jae."