Heartless

{22}

There wasn't much she could do right now and it ticked her off. Patience was a virtue she didn't have when every night she lay in bed wondering where Dori was, what hole he crawled into. He and the Yakuza somehow vanished like ghosts. It didn't ease her mind whatsoever to know that the spies her and her brother sent to Japan haven't been heard from either.

After the stunt Aera pulled, Runa made it known to the important figures in the underworld that the Yakuza were treasonous and declared an enemy. She had help from allies overseas in searching for those men, keeping an eye and ear open but nothing has surfaced. Not a picture, not a video, nada.

It's making her think that Jimin was right to worry. This source Dori is working with isn't new to the playing field. He's been on it a while, watching from the sidelines as the others clash and tear each other apart so he's there to pick up the pieces when it's all over. Even though their trade and supplies have been cut off they must have someone helping them on the outside.

It's no shock seeing as they've stayed in the dark all this time, and although it's unnerving, she knows they'll be found soon enough. She has faith in her brother, in Dong-Wook, and Yoongi too. They'll get to the bottom of this and crush the Yakuza. It's the only way to restore peace in a restless world they rule. As she sits in her office and dabs the shade Spicy Affair from YSL on her lips, the thud of boots approach outside her door, and Jungkook comes in with news.

"Your brother got a delivery."

That grabbed her attention, and she didn't waste a second in making her way to the office down the hall. She doesn't bother knocking considering her presence was expected, and she sees Jimin and Dong-Wook standing above a cardboard box placed at the center of the glass table. Her nose scrunches from the sickening odor emitting from it, and the consigliere looks no different than his boss as he puts out his cigarette in the ashtray he holds.

"What the fuck is that smell?" She exclaims in disgust, keeping her distance from the unknown while Jungkook remains standing idly by the door.

Jimin rubs his forehead, his eyebrows wrinkling together with a frown pulling at his lips. He clears his throat, opening the flaps to show her, and the pungent smell wafts heavily through the air, hitting them all square in the face. Runa held her breath as she moved to hover over the unwelcome surprise, seeing someone's head lying inside with flies buzzing around.

Chopped clean off not too far below the jawline, those piercings and the half-up bun indicated that this was Dori, the man who had suddenly gone missing and now they know why. Somebody killed him and intentionally sent this to them. Jimin more specifically. Yet another warning. First her and now him.

"Who did this?"

The reason she seeks an answer from her brother is because he has a certain look of hesitance on his face. He's not surprised to see this and it's painfully clear to everyone in the room that this has just gotten much worse by the realization that befalls him. She stepped away from the head as soon as Jimin closed it, a heavy glance from Dong-Wook indicating he also had some clue as to who this was. The past is coming back to terrorize them. Inescapable.

"Lee Taemin", he let out a sigh, relaxing on the couch while his consigliere moved to place the ashtray on his desk, "A former gang leader of mine. Someone I used to trust but he got power-hungry and flew off the rails. He disappeared and I couldn't find him to tie up loose ends, and it looks like now he's gotten what he wanted. He's the source Dori's been working for and now he's at the head of the Yakuza, meaning he's already here. Hiding."

The information sinks in, swallowing her feet first like quicksand. She got her answer but at what cost? One thing led to another, the dominoes continued to fall and collectively, they knew that her father's assassination and her rise to power were just the beginning. It was known all along but Dori's head at their doorstep means Death has come knocking to deliver it.