Now With U (Living In The Past - Book 2) (WheeByul)

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

WheeIn couldn't stay still for more than a few seconds. She kept pacing while staring at her phone, waiting for any kind of news from anyone. Since the team would be busy and would need to focus on their plan to get Ji Soo and rescue Ha-eun, she had texted Xiumin, asking him to relay updates regarding the operation along with Byul and Ha-eun's conditions. But there had been no news so far and it left her extremely restless.

The remaining members of the team - Won-jae, Seulgi and Jimin - were restless too but they knew that it must be at least a thousand times more torturing for WheeIn so they tried to act as normal as they could.

Nearly thirty minutes into the excruciating wait, a familiar cheerful giggle suddenly reached WheeIn's ear, making her turn around at such speed that the phone in her hand accidentally slipped, landing on the floor with a loud clatter. The back cover fell off, separating from the device thanks to the impact.

WheeIn didn't even pay attention to her phone as her eyes widened with shock when she saw Ha-eun walking towards her, looking happy and excited, escorted by a woman in uniform whom she recognized as Officer Choi.

"Whee!" shouted the girl.

"Oh my..."

She finally snapped out of it and opened her arms, running towards the girl and scooping her into her arms - hugging her tightly.

"You're okay. Thank goodness you're okay," she mumbled into Ha-eun's small shoulder with tears streaming down her face.

Ha-eun's smile disappeared when she heard the sobs. She wriggled free, pushing WheeIn back. "Why are you crying?" she asked with a confused expression on her face.

WheeIn kissed the girl's cheek over and over again until Ha-eun caught her face and held it by the cheeks.

"Whee..." Ha-eun cutely protested then tilted her head to observe WheeIn. She didn't understand what the woman was doing or why she was crying.

"Where were you, Ha-eun-ah?" asked Won-jae from behind WheeIn since the woman was still too overwhelmed to even say a word.

"With Grandpa."

"Where did he take you? Who brought you here?"

"Grandpa did," answered Ha-eun innocently. "He took me to the amusement park and bought me new clothes!" she said, pointing at the clothes she was wearing. "I rode everything! It was so much fun!"

"Wha... amusement park?" Seulgi remarked in shock.

Ha-eun turned her head when she heard Seulgi and saw the neck brace. "Auntie Seulgi, what is that?" She pointed at the brace.

"Oh it's called a neck brace. Kinda like Uncle Jimin's cast but for my neck."

"Oh? You're hurt? Can I draw on it too?"

That made Seulgi chuckle. "I don't think you can draw on this. It's not hard like Uncle Jimin's cast and I won't be wearing it for long." Her expression then turned serious as she approached the girl still in WheeIn's hold. "Grandpa picked you up from school, didn't he?"

Ha-eun nodded. "Then he took me to the amusement park!"

"I see. Why did you go with him? Why didn't you wait for Byul or WheeIn?"

"He said they had to work and... and... I..." Ha-eun suddenly realized something. She turned her head and looked at WheeIn. "Did I take too long at the amusement park?"

WheeIn shook her head and hugged the confused girl again.

"A man dropped her off?" Jimin was talking to Officer Choi who had picked up WheeIn's phone.

"Yes, Sir. He was in quite a rush. He just came in, said that he was Miss Jung's father then asked whether I knew Inspector Moon or Miss Jung and whether any of them was here. When I said yes, he immediately handed Ha-eun over to me and told me to give this to his daughter." She showed Jimin a folded piece of paper.

WheeIn heard that and quickly approached the woman, holding out one hand, asking for the paper.

The officer gave WheeIn her phone and the paper, answered a few more questions from Jimin and left.

WheeIn hastily unfolded the crumpled paper and read the messy handwriting.

"I'm sorry. He made me do it. I understand if you can't forgive me but please know that I never want to hurt you, Byul or Ha-eun. I'll make up for it. I'll make sure you don't ever have to pay for my mistakes again. I do love you, WheeIn. Please believe me."

Seulgi's sudden gasp startled everyone.

"Crap!" said the tall inspector. "If Ha-eun's here then... Oh no." She scrambled for her phone and dialed Solar's number.

WheeIn also realized it. "Oh no. It's a trap, isn't it? He never had Ha-eun with him in the first place!"

"Come on! Pick up pick up pick u-... Yong!" Seulgi shouted into her phone. "It's a trap! Don't let Byul go in there! Ha-eun's here!"

"What?!"

"Ha-eun's here! Mr. Jung returned her to us. Ji Soo never had her! It's a trap to get Byul! Pull out!"

Solar swore under her breath. "It's too late. Byul's talking to him right now. He just told her to discard her comm device and throw it away. How can I pull her out safely?! Dammit!" She then hung up.

Seulgi groaned. "This is bad."

"Please tell me Byul's okay?" pleaded WheeIn as her grip around Ha-eun tightened. "They can still pull her out, right?"

Seulgi could only shake her head. "Too late. It's all up to Byul now."

"What? Surely there's something they can do? Something we can do?" WheeIn was at the brink of tears, gripped by the fear of losing Byul. "Can I borrow a car?" she blurted out.

"What? You don't even have your license yet!"

WheeIn put Ha-eun down. "I need to go there and get Byul out."

"You'll just hurt yourself," said Seulgi. "Besides, it's dangerous. He must not see you."

WheeIn almost raised her voice but since Ha-eun was there, she thought better of it and tried to be as calm as she could. "I can help the team. Besides, it's me he wants, not Byul. Maybe seeing me would not be as bad as you think."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Inspector Kang," Won-jae spoke up. "I don't think it'll be safe. There's no telling what he would do to Byul if he sees you. He has become unpredictable, I'm afraid. The way he bluffed his way through even though Ha-eun wasn't with him... that's new. He was a coward, remember? One who hid behind thugs or his uncle's power. He manipulates, that's true but this is too reckless even for him." The man never took his eyes off WheeIn. "So either he's desperate with nothing to lose or he has something else up his sleeve. Either way, you going there might mean game over. He'll have Byul and you."

"So I'm just supposed to wait here while Byul goes in there? Alone? Risking her life for nothing?!" WheeIn shook her head. "No. I'm going there. And I won't let anyone stop me."

Seulgi exhaled, knowing that she couldn't stop WheeIn. "I'll notify Yong. You stay hidden, okay? Go find Yong first and listen to her," she told WheeIn.

"I'll drive you," Won-jae said. "Is there a car I can borrow?" he asked Seulgi.

"Here." Seulgi took out Hwasa's keys from her desk drawer. "Take Hwasa's car. But what if Ji Soo sees you?"

Won-jae shrugged. "I have nothing to lose, Inspector Kang." He then began running towards the exit.

"Ha-eun-ah," WheeIn squatted down. "Stay here with Aunt Seulgi and Uncle Jimin, okay? Don't go anywhere."

"Where are you going?" Ha-eun asked. All cheerfulness had evaporated from the little girl, replaced by worry and confusion. She sensed that something was wrong but she didn't know what it was.

"I'm going to help Star with work." WheeIn kissed the girl's cheek. "I love you. Be a good girl, okay?"

"O-kay," said the girl hesitantly.

WheeIn released Ha-eun and was about to go after Won-jae when she felt a tug at her hand. She looked down and saw Ha-eun holding her fingers, looking up at her with a frown.

"Is Star alright?" asked Ha-eun.

WheeIn could feel her stomach twist anxiously at the thought of Byul but she tried to smile and hide the uneasiness. "Yeah. She's just busy working. I'll see you later." She looked at Seulgi, silently pleading for her to take good care of this small person she had grown to love so much.

"Don't worry, Whee," said Seulgi, completely understanding the meaning behind the look WheeIn was giving her. "I'll try to trace your father's phone. Maybe he has switched it back on. Will keep you posted."

WheeIn nodded. "Okay. Bye."

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Byul took one last deep breath before stepping out of the car.

She walked as calmly as she could towards the abandoned warehouse while keeping her eyes and ears open, aware of everything around her. She didn't want to be caught off guard in case there was a surprise attack.

Inside, she cursed Ji Soo for the umpteenth time that night for choosing such an area. It was an old, shabby factory district in Sungsoo-dong and the abandoned factory was well hidden from the main street.

Half of the building's front side was covered by another building, leaving only a narrow driveway towards its main entrance as a way to enter and exit. There was a small alley on her right that led to a side door but that alley was littered with dumpsters and rusting junk that blocked the small door. Plus, a plain clothed officer who pretended to drive past in a delivery van just reported that there was a wire fence at the end of the alley, making it impossible for anyone to use that back door - just like they had initially predicted.

At the other side of the building was another, larger warehouse that stretched higher and wider than the one Ji Soo was using.

There were snipers and officers placed on the roof of that building and the others around but no one could get in or out without Ji Soo knowing. It was the perfect hideout.

Byul took another deep breath, clearing her mind and focusing while trying to get her anxiety and adrenaline under control.

Although she trusted her team and the plan, she was just human and humans fear death. They also fear losing their loved ones and Byul found herself struggling with both.

It didn't help that the warehouse reminded her of the last time she was put in a similar situation, when she lost him.

"We see you, Byul."

Solar's voice faintly echoed in her ear, through the small inconspicuous device.

Byul didn't reply but felt a bit better when she heard Solar, knowing that she wasn't alone.

A bright light suddenly switched on from the top of the main entrance, blinding Byul, who had shielded her eyes with her arm, for a few seconds.

There was a noise like that of a large piece of metal being dragged before she heard a voice.

"Good evening, Inspector."

Her hand went to her side by reflex, to get her gun. It wasn't there, of course, and she silently cursed that fact.

A man emerged from the dark shadows of the building's entrance, slowly walking towards Byul.

"I know you're not alone," he said. "But if you still want to see that little girl alive, I suggest you take out whatever communication device you have on you."

"I have nothing on me," replied Byul, squinting so she could see the man.

"Don't lie, Inspector. I'm not stupid and I'm serious about that girl of yours. And I'm not gonna tell you twice."

"Don't, Byul. We can't help you if you-..."

Byul didn't hear the rest of Solar's sentence as she pulled out the tiny device from her ear while silently apologizing to her team.

"Good. Now throw it to the ground and kindly step on it," ordered the man.

With gritted teeth, Byul reluctantly did as she was told, stomping on the small device.

"How many guns do you have on you, Inspector?"

"None." Byul parted her blazer, lifted it and slowly spun in place, showing the man that she had nothing underneath it.

"Roll up your pants, Inspector."

Byul squatted down and rolled up both pant legs, doing everything as slowly as she could to buy more time.

"For your little girl's sake, I hope you have nothing else hidden there. Oh and by the way, should something happen to me, there's someone inside, ready to pull the trigger. So don't try anything funny."

"I won't." Byul stood up and lifted both hands in the air. "Now that I'm here, let her go."

"Oh it's not that easy and you know it. Now then. Walk towards me slowly and keep your hands right where they are."

Byul took a very slow step forward and another, and another. By her fourth step, a man came out from behind Ji Soo and grabbed her hands, tying them behind her back with a zip tie.

She gritted her teeth when she finally saw Ji Soo's face, smirking at her. There were minor changes to his face, making him harder to recognize, but there was no mistaking that arrogant sleazy look in his eyes.

The man behind her pushed her shoulder to make her start walking but she held her ground, not taking her eyes off of Ji Soo even for a bit.

"I'm not going with you if you're not releasing Ha-eun," she said. "And since you know that I'm not alone, you better release her fast or your forehead will be decorated with some pretty nice bullet holes."

Ji Soo took out a phone and pressed a button before placing the device to his ear.

"Have you released her?" he talked into the phone. "Good."

Byul watched him end the call then dial another number.

"Good evening, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency? May I speak to Inspector Kang Seulgi, please? I'm Doctor Kim's assistant from the hospital. It's about her check-up appointment tomorrow," he said, smirking arrogantly at Byul the whole time. "Of course I'll wait. Thank you."

"What are you playing at?" hissed Byul through her gritted teeth. She was glaring at the man but inside, she had begun to panic a bit. The plan was to attack when the exchange took place but now she realized that there wasn't going to be an exchange after all. Her brain started to spin, hoping to be able to come up with a new plan to get herself out of this.

Ji Soo didn't reply, merely lifting a finger to his lips, signaling Byul to stay quiet. He then beckoned her closer with his hand.

Byul felt a hard shove from behind and stumbled a few steps towards Ji Soo before regaining her balance.

"Hello? Inspector Kang Seulgi? You have ten seconds to put the little girl I just returned to you on the line or you can say goodbye to your short team leader. Countdown starts now. Ten."

The man then placed the phone next to Byul's ear.

"Hello?"

She heard the small voice and couldn't help but exhale in relief. "Ha-eun?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's me. Star."

"Star! Where are you? Are you still working?"

"Yes, I am. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Grandpa took me to the amusement park!"

"The amusement park?"

"Yes! I rode everything! He even bought me new clothes!"

Byul looked at Ji Soo who was signaling for her to wrap it up.

"That's great. You can tell me all about it later. I have to go now. Bye, Ha-eun-ah. Love you."

"But St-..."

Ji Soo took the phone away and ended the call. "See? I kept my word," he said as he pocketed the device. "Now kindly step inside my office. I'm expecting another guest." He stepped back, not taking his eyes off of Byul as he moved inside the building.

She was pushed yet again and had no choice but to begin walking. She could only hope that the team knew what was going on and had come up with a different plan because even their backup plan didn't include Ha-eun being anywhere else but at that warehouse.

"Nice place you got here," Byul said once she had stepped through the metal roll door. She purposefully took a look around, spinning around so that the camera in her shirt button could capture every side and corner of the warehouse. "Could use a bit more lighting and maybe some prettier decorations," she commented after spotting another man leaning against a metal pillar. Only two men? He's running low on resources indeed.

The door slid shut noisily behind her and she realized that she was on her own now. She had to think of a way to get out of here alive or at least find a way to buy time until her team could get in.

"Maybe so but it's perfect," answered Ji Soo as he took a seat on the only chair in the vast space.

The large man came up behind Byul then pushed her shoulders down, forcing her to sit on one of the dirty wooden crates in front of Ji Soo.

"It's so empty and quiet that you can practically hear everything." Ji Soo pointed up to the ceiling. "I even installed a tiny alarm at the door to the roof. Just in case other guests decide to visit unannounced," he said with a smug look on his face. "Now let's all chill for a few minutes."

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"Dammit!" Solar exclaimed as she hurriedly ended the call with Seulgi and spoke into her headset. "Good news. Ha-eun's safe at the station. Bad news. WheeIn's father has gone missing after dropping her off."

"Plan B?" asked Sandeul.

"Can't. Ha-eun's not here," answered Jin Young. "It's a trap. Byul's the one he wanted all along. New plan. Get her out."

"Can we just shoot him now? Ha-eun's not in danger anymore."

"I can't take him out. Inspector Moon's in the way," reported one of the snipers on the tallest roof, somewhere at Byul's left hand side, behind her.

"Sandeul. Your side?"

"It's a not a clear shot from here. The spotlight he put over the entrance is blinding us," said the assistant inspector.

"There's a pillar in our way," said the other sniper on Byul's furthest right side.

Solar stifled a curse. "He's quite prepared," she mumbled. Buy us time, Byul. We'll get you out. Just think of something. Please.

"Roof entry is still our best option should Byul go in," Xiumin suddenly spoke. He was at the back of the warehouse, scouting the perimeter carefully. "No CCTVs. He's on a tight budget, I think. Back door's still not accessible thanks to the fence."

"Fire escape unusable?" asked Dong Woo.

"The windows are barred. The fire escape will lead to the roof and nowhere else," answered Xiumin. "I'm going round front. Side alley."

For a moment, they all went quiet as they waited. Each team member was trying to think of a way to get Byul out safely while keeping a close eye on her movements.

"Crap. They're going inside," Sandeul said from his post on the roof of the next building. He had been observing Byul through his binoculars.

"Let's see how many men he has," replied Solar, eyes glued to the monitor in front of her. Be careful, Byul.

The captain watched Byul spinning, showing her the hazy layout of the warehouse and the amount of men Ji Soo had in there. For a second, she regretted the fact that the camera had no sound feed, especially since Byul had cut off communication with them.

"Okay I see two men and Ji Soo. That's it," reported Solar to everyone. "He's really that low on resources?"

"Yeah, I think so," replied Jin Young. "But I think he's making up for it in some other way so let's not let our guard down."

"Hold up. I see a car approaching," Hwasa suddenly spoke from her post. "Probably another thug?"

"Hold your position. Let's wait and see," ordered Solar. She then looked at Hwasa who was monitoring several screens: one feed from Byul's button camera, one from the street CCTVs at the corner of the alley and a few more from the camera the team had placed on the roof of the buildings next to the warehouse. "Where is it?"

"There." Hwasa pointed at the CCTV feed, at the image of a speeding taxi coming towards the warehouse.

The vehicle stopped at the entrance to the narrow driveway and a man rushed out of it, running towards the warehouse.

"Who is that?" asked Solar.

"Um... I think we've found the missing man," said Hwasa.

"WheeIn's father," added Sandeul.

"What? He's here?!" Solar exclaimed. "And he's going in just like that?!"

"WheeIn won't be happy about this," murmured Hwasa. "It'd be better if he just skipped town."

"This changes things yet again," said Dong Woo. "Now we have a civilian in there too."

"Great. Just great," mumbled Solar through gritted teeth.

The loud sound of the rolled door being opened silenced them and they waited in suspense to see what was going to happen next.

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Here's the update for this week... last Chapter was for last weeks update... I'm trying to double time my proof reading to be able to prepare for next week since My Con is fast approaching....

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter too... and have gone to your expectations as well..

Please don't forget to vote guys... Love you All...

I'm ready... My Con wait for me... I'll be coming for you.... hehehehe...