𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐢 | 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 ✓

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

July 14, 2023

The phone Yunho's mother was holding fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Stunned, she stared in Yunho's direction while her mouth slowly opened.

"Yu-Yunho?" she stuttered. The trembling of her lower lip made it clear how surprised she was. Mingi looked at Yunho, who just stood there. Yunho's mother took a step forward and made an effort to hug Yunho. Yunho immediately took a step backwards and Mingi realized how uncomfortable he felt. Yunho's mother lowered her arms.

"Can we come in?" Mingi asked to break the awkward atmosphere. The slightly older woman nodded and went back into the apartment where she picked up her phone. While Yunho and Mingi followed her, Mingi lightly squeezed Yunho's hand to let him know that he didn't have to go through everything that was about to happen alone. Yunho gave him a grateful yet uncertain look. The door slammed shut behind them.

...

"Do you want a drink?" Yunho and Mingi were sitting on a white couch, opposite them was a woman who was supposed to be Yunho's mother.
A woman who was already declared as dead. Mingi's gaze wandered around the room. Everything seemed quite luxurious.

Yunho stared directly into his mother's face. "Don't you think you should explain something to me first?" he then pressed out. Yunho's mother swallowed audibly and brushed a strand of hair from her face. Her skin was slightly tanned and she was wearing a tight dress. Mingi didn't know why, but he had always imagined Yunho's mother to be very different. Not only did this woman bear little resemblance to him on the outside, her vibe was also completely off, but maybe it was just Mingi's assessment. Yunho and Mingi looked in her direction, waiting. Mingi held his breath.

"I know what you must be thinking, but believe me Yunho, we didn't want to do this." Yunho crossed his arms in amusement. "Don't do what?" Yunho's mother lowered her gaze and fiddled with her painted nails. "You remember the deals your father used to make." Yunho nodded. "Actually, everything always went well and when we borrowed money, we were always able to pay everything back on time with our profits."

There was silence again for a moment and the sound of the sea could be heard from outside. "Just this once, we made a mistake and didn't make enough money to pay it back." Yunho's mother looked up again, her cheeks slightly flushed. "We thought it would work out somehow, but the people we owed money to were not to be trifled with. We first found out later that they were part of the Japanese mafia, otherwise we would never have borrowed money."

Her voice became a little louder and it was clear that she was trying to defend herself. Yunho, however, seemed unimpressed and looked at her silently. Mingi had no idea what was going through his mind.

"They came around a lot. Fortunately, always when you were away. They made it clear what they would do if we didn't pay the money back. Your father and I were so desperate, Yunho." Mingi could see Yunho biting his lower lip when his mother spoke his name. "Then one day, we got a visit. We didn't know these people and only found out later that they were also part of the mafia, but not Japanese. We still don't know how or why they found us, but they made us a deal. Their boss, Mr. Kim, came to our house personally and proposed the deal to us. We also said no at first but..." Her eyes narrowed again.

"The deal was that you get a million in exchange for me, right?" Although Yunho's voice was so cold, his pain was clearly audible. His mother looked up, startled. "How do you know...?" Yunho interrupted her. "Never mind, keep talking," he prompted and Mingi noticed how Yunho's hands dug firmly into the upholstery of the couch.

"We didn't know what else to do. The Yakuza would have killed all three of us if we hadn't paid back the money," she said, trying to justify her actions again. "So you accepted the one million and paid your debts and then?" Yunho got to the point, obviously unable to wait any longer. Mingi also sat there tensely, processing everything.