Reasons to Stay // Hyunin

~34~

Right. Hyunjin remembered the conversation he had had around 2 years ago. "Posh" Eun had taken him aside and told him that he had the heart and passion to be a gang leader, and Hyunjin had felt proud and excited. Taking Eun's place? The boss must think highly of him. But no one had thought that they would need a new mafia boss so soon.

"That boy?!" The men outside his door kept ranting. "If it weren't for him, Boss would still be here! Well who's gonna be it because I'm not listening to some shitty little boy."

"But Eun said..."

"What about what he said?! He's dead and he can't do anything about anything we do. Besides, if he knew that Hyunjin was a fake, then he'd definitely have given 'inheritance' to someone else."

Hyunjin, sitting silently in his room, was hearing every word of the argument. If he could actually be the next leader...could he just disband the gang? No, it was two big and worldwide-spread to do that. The men would have nowhere to go. Hyunjin would have nowhere to go. Except maybe those juvenile detention centers that his old gangster friends who got caught were dragged off to? He shuddered. He didn't want to go there.

Hyunjin slowly stood up and walked over to the door, too many thoughts in his head at one time. He banged on the door so that he could be heard above the noisy arguing. The men became silent at the noise. "Lim-hyung. Let me join you," Hyunjin yelled through the door.

They didn't know how to react but Ah-Lim agreed to let Hyunjin out. "Ah-Jong, hold onto him in case he wants to do tricks."

Jong agreed and went to the door, "Hyunjin-ah, you have to give me your wrists when I open." To which the younger humbly responded, "Yes sir." The door was open and Hyunjin held out both hands which Ah-Jong firmly grabbed onto. He roughly took the boy to sit on the couch next to him in the small lobby. "What do you want to say," Ah-Lim questioned.

Hyunjin bowed his head meekly. "I heard that Master Eun is dead," he whispered, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "I'm sorry."

"Because of you, you know that right?" Lim said.

"I didn't know that...I don't know anything about this...but if it is because of me, I am very ashamed. Dongsaeng asks his hyung's forgiveness," and he bowed his head even lower, "and realizes the foolishness in turning from my home. If hyung will kindly accept me back here, my all is more than willing."

Ah-Lim looked at the boy skeptically and sat back, thinking. "And why did you suddenly decide to betray the group?" He knew the answer was that boy, Jeongin, who Hyunjin's love for had drawn him away from his passion for gang life and survival.

"Because...I was...distracted by other things..."

"Or by other people or a specific person, eh?"

"...yes sir..."

"But you're telling me that you won't be distracted anymore!"

"...yes sir..."

"So you don't and you won't love that piece of shit anymore?"

Jeongin's not a piece of-!

"..."

"Hesitation reveals a traitor." Ah-Lim sneered.

"Yes sir..."

"Really. You don't love him anymore."

"No...I don't love him anymore..." Hyunjin whispered hoarsely.

"And who exactly are you talking about?" Ah-Lim mockingly teased the boy, wanting to torture him for making the man look like fool at the noodle shop.

Hyunjin's suffering was covered briefly by a wave of annoyance. He raised his head slightly to glare at Ah-Lim and growled in his anger, "I don't love anyone. I don't know a 'Yang Jeongin' and I never loved him before."

Ah-Lim laughed. "So Eun's boy is back, isn't he?"

Hyunjin looked back down and spoke quietly, "Hyung. Master was like my father, he took care of me until now. I feel very remorseful that my carelessness has brought him down. But I want to justify him. I want to show that I'm his son and that I'm capable to do anything he has taught me and even more. I want to use Master's resources to show everyone how powerful and cunning he truly was and that if it wasn't for a small slip, the world would be his."

Lim raised an eyebrow. "Sounds good. Then as long as you are loyal and you don't act rash, you are part of us once again. I like your words and I forgive you, boy."

"Then let me act on them."

"...what do you mean...? I already said you're back with us...?"

"No, I want to take 'Posh' Eun's position."

Ah-Lim paused for a brief moment, then leaned back and laughed. "You what?!"

"Eun is dead, his position goes to me." Hyunjin was dead serious.

"I mean that was before you ran away and betrayed the team-!"

"You can't change the Master's words," Hyunjin hissed. He turned to look at the man beside him, "Jong, let me go to my room and find proof."

"Yes, sir," Ah-Jong responded and immediately let go of Hyunjin, Ah-Lim looking at the man incredulously, "you just let him go like that? You call the boy 'sir'?!"

Jong spoke quietly, "Ah-Lim, there's no denying it, he's the next boss and we don't have any way to change that. We aren't some small gang, we're a whole mafia organization. We can't just change the rules with one or two sentences. Yourself said he has the passion and your right, he does. He is our boss now."

Hyunjin came back from his room with all the signed documents and proofs in Eun's blood that Eun had indeed given him the role of next leader. And on the bottom of the documents was written with the old boss's own handwriting, Anyone against this can come fight with me or fight with the gods. "Ah-Lim, tell me that I am not the next leader," he challenged.

Ah-Lim looked away and clenched his fists, knowing he couldn't do anything now. "dammit..."

Hyunjin turned to Jong, "Ah-Jong, help me find Master's hidden resources at this base, then we notify everyone that I am the new boss and the whole organisation submits to me or else. The same rules Eun applied."

"Yes sir," Jong said quietly with a slight bow and started looking around where Eun could have hidden secrets.

Hyunjin went back to his room with an air of confidence, but behind the closed doors he sat with head in hands, nowhere near confident or relax.

Although he had gotten the position he had wanted, he was now faking a dangerous role. What if he were caught?

And he had no idea where Innie was or his conditions. Yes, Hyunjin still cared, and Jeongin was the only reason he could think of why he was living now. The only reason Hyunjin would put himself in such dangers. Because he doesn't know if Jeongin is in danger...there were many loyal gangsters who might still be going after the boy.

Hyunjin lie on his bed and hugged his pillow tight. Why had he gotten so angry? He couldn't believe he had so harshly denied his love for Jeongin.

"Innie-yah...I'm sorry for everything...I hope you believe me when I say that, and when I say that I really love you..."

But his Innie was nowhere near to hear his words.