SADISM

8.2

He missed everything. His personal and social life. His privacy, his freedom, and most importantly; he missed his company. The article from yesterday about ‘Babel Groups’ new acquisition saddened him. The AI company that Hanseok tried so hard to acquire and failed numerous times was now willingly join Hanseo’s
hands. Hanseok had tried at least three times tapping on the acquisition, but every time, the door was slapped in his face. It was one of his biggest failures during his time with the company. Hanseok wonders what kind of wires his brother pulled; if he had help from Vincenzo, dug dirt on the acquisitions – probably! He wondered how the board of directors reacted, or how the
shareholders were currently reacting. Were they thinking of Hanseok a failed Chairman and
Hanseo the new leader? From his time at the company, his shareholders were very loyal to him. Stuck by every word;
Hanseok muses about his return. Will the shareholders still cheer for him and swallow every word
he utters? Or will they be on Hanseo’s side? The stock price is fifteen points away from hitting all time high. After last week’s drop, Hanseok was certain his brother was going to fail the company, but after the news about the acquisition, and
today’s paper about the stock price; the jealousy inside Hanseok soared. He is hating his brother more and more. If he knew Hanseo would take over as the new company Chairman; he would have had a contingency plan written, but alas, here he is, imprisoned in his own apartment. -- Cha Young calls him after lunch. She is coming over with Vincenzo and Hanseok finds it suspicious; they never announce their arrivals, and it concerns him. Hanseok has already changed into decent clothes, so he cleans the place a little to appease the two
monsters. He waits impatiently in the living room, biting his nail and pondering over what the visit is about. After Hanseo’s arrival. Neither of them had come to see him; Hanseok had thought it is because Hanseo took over instead. Hanseok is startled by the thud sound coming from the entrance door. He stands up, swipes at his clothes unconsciously and watches as Cha Young walks in with Vincenzo behind her. Vincenzo is holding a duffle bag, and Hanseok eyes it nervously. A while back, the mafia boss used to walk in with equipment’s to torture him with. Hanseok remembers the iron wires, and the baseball bats. He remembers the rope around his neck and standing on a stool for hours. No rest in sight for twenty-four hours as his life depended on the balance he had over the sturdy stool. Almost, once Hanseok had slipped off of the stool and died by hanging. He remembers trying to balance himself while his knees shivered from fatigue. He remembers the pain from his dislocated knee when Vincenzo had smacked it with an iron baseball bat. Cha Young sits on the sofa; one knee crossing over the other as she removes her sunglasses. “How was lunch?” Vincenzo asks, as he puts the duffle bag down on the coffee table. His eyes are steel as he meets them with Hanseok’s wavering sight. Hanseok nods, “Good.” The mafia boss smirks.
The older Jang brother wonders what is going through Vincenzo’s head. The man is looking at him
up and down and almost sneering. Hanseok’s face burns in humiliation; he knows they know about his ordeal with Hanseo last time. They know how his younger brother violated him. Were they here to laugh in his face? Or to humiliate him further? Hanseok’s searing eyes watch Vincenzo sit next to Cha Young and imitate her position.
Vincenzo’s eyebrows jump and his gaze gestures downwards; Hanseok takes heed and starts to
kneel, “You can sit on the chair.” Vincenzo says, as he sits back and smiles haughtily. Hanseok’s throat tightens, and he does as he is told. “Have you read today’s newspaper?” Vincenzo asks.
Of course, he read the article. Why would he ever miss any news that mentioned his company. Babel Group. “You read about Ji Eun?” Cha Young asks.
There is an article out on Ji Eun – a journalist; apparently, she was sharing insider information on
companies and leaking them to stock boards. She was running a scheme of pump and dump and
was caught. Hanseok had never gotten that feeling from her; he knew she was a snob, but he never really paid attention to her. “Is she one of your people?” Cha Young asks: she means business with her tough voice and stern eyes. Hanseok knows she isn’t to be messed with either; Afterall, he had shot her as well. “No,” he whispers, “she used to stalk me, but that’s all to it. There was never any contact beside a few interviews with her.” They know this already, Hanseok is sure. They just want him to say. “Just so you know, her career is over?” Vincenzo adds. And why would he care about that? Hanseok wonders if the two in front of him has anything to do
with it. She didn’t mean anything to him. All she ever did was flirt with him whenever they met, and she was just an audience when he tried to bring his brother down a notch. Why would Vincenzo even ask him that? The man knew about the people he was surrounded with.
He had done his due diligence, so why ask such a stupid question?
Unless something had happened.
Did she say something? Did she become suspicious? It takes Hanseok thirty seconds to remember the article! The article about Hanseo’s re-introduction
as the new CEO of Babel Group. It was the interview which Hanseo’s walked out of. There were mentions of Hanseok’s disappearance and his baffling whereabouts. Is that the reason why her career ended? Hanseok’s nervous eyes flicker to the floor. She had added speculations about his safety, and it got her in trouble. Did Vincenzo put dirt on her, or did he find dirt on her to end her career? At the time Hanseok had hoped she would investigate his disappearance further, but the thought never crossed his mind again. Was she investigating for real, and it upset Vincenzo and Hanseo? Vincenzo snaps his fingers, and Hanseok startles. He was so lost in thought, he forgot about the two presences in front of him. Both Cha Young and Vincenzo are looking at him suspiciously, and Hanseok panics, “Sorry,” he mutters, “I don’t know much about her.”
Cha Young scoffs, “Oh okay then.”
Really, he didn’t. “Go get changed.” Vincenzo orders, “Put on a nice suit.” A suit? Hanseok flashes a surprise look, but he doesn’t say anything. It’s not a request, It’s an order. He nods and gets up to leave. “Fix your hair too.” Cha Young adds while Hanseok disappears into the halls. Hanseok’s closet remains the same. Except for the expensive watches. All of his ties are gone! He looks up at the camera and remembers the time he tried to choke himself with one of his ties. Vincenzo had sent one of his goons to him and beaten him unconscious. Hanseok takes a deep breath as he opens the doors to where his suits are hung. He almost chokes at the sight of them. It’s been so long since he looked at his work clothes. Usually, he just grabbed
some casual wear and headed out. The cause is lost, and he had no reasons to be looking for his
suits. He remembers how every morning he used to take forever trying to pick out what to wear.
Now, as he pulls one out without a single thought, he realizes how all of them are alike. Why were they asking him to change? The thought hits Hanseok suddenly. After two years of training to be an obedient dog, Hanseok realizes, even his thoughts are becoming submissive towards Vincenzo and Cha Young. When they told him to change, he had automatically gotten up without even wondering about why they had asked him too.

The End