Born To Bleed - KTH FF (BOOK III)

-SIXTY SIX-

PAST

I sat in the back of the car with my dad as we drove through the dark streets of Seoul. I looked to him and he seemed calm as he finished up his crossword puzzle. Every edge of his suit was crisp and sharp. His watch glinted in the mediocre light, and his dark hair was slicked back.

"Relax," he said to me.

With a frown, I leaned back into my seat. "I am relaxed."

"You seem nervous."

"I'm not nervous. You're the one butchering the crossword puzzle," I replied.

He glanced at me, eyebrow raised. "Well excuse me, Mr. Know-It-All, why don't you fix it then?" He handed it to me.

Taking the pen and the newspaper, I shook my head at some of his answers. "A fourteen letter word for a silent killer is Carbon Monoxide. Hundred and eight boats belong to what eight-letter word— the answer is Han River. The answer to four down is Buckingham Fountain, not Palaces, that is why you couldn't fill the space—"

"Show off," he grumbled, as he snatched the paper from me just as we came to a stop. "Move it, we're here."

Jumping out, I brushed my hair back, in an effort to keep it out of my eyes. He put his hat on, and handed his briefcase to the driver. His face became serious again as he glared down at me.

"I promised you for your fourteenth birthday that I would show you what I do. You are not to look away. You will stand there and make me proud, or I will not waste anymore time with you, are we clear?"

"Yeah," I said. Then, as his eyes narrowed at me, "I mean, yes, sir."

With a nod, he walked forward into a bar with flashing neon green lights above the entrance. The place went silent and everyone moved out of his way as he strode forward. Some even got up out of their seats and moved away from the bar and into the corner as we made our way to the back, while others nodded out of respect. I always knew my father was respected, and I had come to understand that the things he did weren't always good. But that was the nature of the family business. If I proved myself, he said I would do great things and I wanted that. I wanted people to respect me, to fear me, to stand when I walked into a room.

We went into basement, and there I saw a man, dripping with sweat and blood, and tied to a chair in the center of the room. The men around him took a step back when they saw my father. He took off his hat and handed it one of the men before doing the same with his jacket. He spent a long time rolling up his sleeves and I knew that he was enjoying this.

"So you're a cop, Mino?" he finally asked. "Usually we'd rough you up before putting a bullet in your brain. I really hate wasting my time on filth. But today is my son's birthday and before we go hunting tomorrow, I'd like to give him some practice."

One of his men handed him a bow and an a few arrows, which my father tested with the tip of his fingers before he walked to the other side of the basement. Mino was pulled to the other end where a glass of beer was balanced on his head.