Above and Below // SeongJoong

17. Venturing Downward

DISCLAIMER: I have limited knowledge of the law, so please excuse any mistakes or inaccurate representations of reality. This is fiction, and everything that happens does not reflect any real events.

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Hongjoong whistled along to the song that he had playing in his car as he slowly pulled up to the curb. His favorite part was coming up, and his body reacted by lightly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel and bopping his head to the rhythm. But before he could open his mouth and sing along to the chorus like he was all ready for, a different tune blasted through his Bluetooth earpiece and drowned out the climax.

Instead, he got to listen to his junior colleague's lovely voice, which at the moment sounded very much like that of a whiny child at the back seat during a family trip. "Hyung, are you there yet?" He smiled incredulously into the side-view mirror. Just ten minutes had passed since he departed from his home, where he and Jongho worked out the details and gathered all the documents needed to properly confront Seonghwa – and possibly the Salguem gang – later on. "Maybe it'll be better if you waited outside instead of going in. What if the passcode is wrong, and an alarm sets off? What if Mr. Park isn't there at all, and you end up being arrested for breaking and entering? Or worse, what if the gang is spying on you right now and plans to abduct you!"

"Relax, I can practically hear your teeth chattering at this point." Hongjoong stepped on the hand brake, switched off the engine, and leaned back in his seat to stare out the windows. It was almost seven, and the last bits of sunlight were sinking under the dark cobalt sky, sending golden fiery streaks winking off the glass façade of Pets Park. "Have you forgotten that it was Yunho who told us the passcode? He's the last person in the world who would lie to us. Besides, he doesn't know the real reason I'm here. I just told him I want to give Seonghwa a surprise and asked him to make sure he'll be at the salon." He blew out a cheek full of air and reached over to the passenger seat for his briefcase. "I've got this, okay? Don't worry about me so much."

Jongho responded with a heavy sigh of his own. "You're right, hyung. I'm sorry, I'm just a little paranoid... But you'll still call the police, right?"

Despite everything, Hongjoong failed to suppress a chuckle. "I will, once I get inside and find enough signs that can convince me and the police that there is indeed illegal activity going on." Before the associate lawyer could say anything else that might change his mind, he quickly added, "It's not my first time dealing with this sort of people, remember? I know what I'm doing, and I think I'd like to go now, before it gets fully dark." He unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open the door, letting the cool night air seep into his car. "Would that be alright with you, Mr. Choi Jongho, great-nephew of Chairman Choi?"

In the past, it had always been the younger who made the jokes, so he was relieved to hear the smile in the man's answer for a change. "Of course, Attorney Kim. Take care of yourself. I'll be waiting for your calls."

It felt odd walking into the pet salon without the usual jingle of the bell to announce his arrival, Yunho's warm greeting from behind the front desk, and the passionate yowling of canines and felines alike as they rattled against their cages or scratched their long nails against the floor to welcome him at the entrance. Not to mention, he did not exactly have the authorization to enter this property tonight.

How ironic, he mocked himself in the dark, hoping that filling his mind with silly thoughts would suffice to calm his heart, which was racing faster the closer he approached Seonghwa's office. I'm a lawyer, supposedly a servant of the law. Yet he realized now that he was breaking the law, in order to shed some light on whatever was going on behind the forbidden door that no one ever had access to, safe for the owner himself, and bring real justice to everyone involved. At least, that was what he believed to be the purpose he'd set out to fulfill tonight.