.05% | lty

13. Pleasant Exchanges

"Hurry up, he's waiting." Winwin pushed the boy along and directed him into the room at the top floor of the abandoned building. His hands were tied behind his back and he shuffled in nervously. He entered the dimly lit room ahead of the other two men and saw him regally seated on a single chair in the center of the room; Lee Taeyong, right hand man of Lee Soo Man.

His legs were crossed and his hands casually laid in his lap. The single light in the room hung overhead and lit him up like a spotlight amidst the blackness of the room. Two other familiar men stood behind him on each side. Taeyong gave a slight nod of his head to the right and one of them quickly reacted by pulling another chair from the corner and placed it directly in front of the stone-faced man.

"Jisung Park." Taeyong's smooth voice resonated within the concrete walls. "You've grown since I last saw you. I hear your family is under new leadership. I'm sorry for your loss. Even though we are enemies, I understand the loss of a family member very well." Taeyong expressed his condolences for the recent loss of the Sukjeongmun (North Gate) clan's head, Jisung's father. "Have a seat."

Taeyong smiled as he spoke and it gave Jisung goosebumps. Taeyong was a hard person to read. He always seemed nice at first glance, but as part of their rival clan, he knew what he was capable of. His lips smiled but his eyes were cold and steely. Underneath his handsome face, he was harsh and lethal. Despite him being the enemy, Jisung had secretly always admired the way he handled himself. He was level headed and would never strike carelessly. He would listen and consider first before acting, which was a rarity in their world.

"Thank you." He did as he was told, trying to be respectful so as not to make problems worse but careful to not be too accommodating that he would easily bend to the will of his adversary. It was a tricky game of unknown possibilities and he grew more anxious by the minute.

"I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Yes, I can guess." Jisung willed his voice not to crack from the tension and spoke as confidently as he could. No matter what happened, it was his responsibility in this situation to be dignified in the name of his family, whether he was scared or not. "It's not what you think, though."

"Oh? What I think is that one of the North Gate boys scammed me and then stabbed me. I can very clearly feel this pain in my side and I'm am very noticeably missing my product and my money."

"That's true, but he played us too! He betrayed us! Those weren't the orders and hyung had nothing to do with it!" Jisung's emotions were getting the better of him as he nearly shouted in his family's defense.

"I have no interest in your family's problems. I want what is mine. I haven't quite decided yet on what I want in return for this scar, but I definitely want my product and I want my money. If both of those aren't given to me, I will start by taking it from your flesh and your brother Chenle's flesh until I am satisfied."

The actual threat scared him, but it was the calmness in Taeyong's voice made Jisung shiver.

"We've been expecting this. I d-don't think it will be a problem." A stutter slipped from his mouth.

"Well, let's just call up the boy who was supposed to be in charge of that exchange on your end and see what he has to say, shall we? Give me his phone."

Jaehyun, who had been one of the ones to bring Jisung in, patted the young boys frame until he felt the rectangular shape of the phone in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked through it, finding the right name and pressed the button to call. He handed it to Taeyong, who patiently waited with it pressed to his ear.

"Jisung! Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you since this morning! I told you it's too dangerous to go out right now, until we get this sorted out." The voice on the other end seemed frantic.

"You should have warned him better." Taeyong responded. There was only silence for a long drawn out moment.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing yet. If I can avoid it, I don't want him. I want something tangible that I can hold and keep and have use for, not something I can only slice up once and be done with. That's no fun."

"What do you want?"

"My goods and my money. And since my precious body has been maimed, I want the man that did it, without your interference."

"I can return the package and give you the money, but not the guy. He betrayed us. He's already been taken care of."

"Well that's a shame. It's seems as though you will personally remain indebted to me, then. You will owe me a favor, Mark. A big one."

"Fine. Tell me where I can get Jisung."

"Bring the stuff to the abandoned building just outside of town to the west. Come by yourself and I'll give him back. And hurry, will you? I'm getting irritated having to be here, it's dusty."

"I'm on my way."

"It looks like your cousin isn't so bad after all, Jisung. Lucky you. Untie him and take him downstairs to wait" He said as he handed the phone back to Jaehyun who, along with Winwin, took the boy down to make the exchange.

"Weren't you too lenient on them?" Doyoung asked."

"That seemed a little too easy." Ten commented.

"You both are right, but we got enough to appease hyungnim for now. They have a new leader, who is bound to push up against the other families to try to prove himself, though. It's better to not stir the pot too much just yet."

"Ah, that makes sense. As expected of our hyung. You're not only handsome, you're so smart too!" Ten excitedly praised him. A hint of a smile appeared on Taeyong's lips as he looked away shyly from the compliment.

"Both of you hurry up and go down there in case something goes wrong." He brushed over the comment and changed the subject. The remaining two left the room and headed down the stairs.

Taeyong stood up and walked to the window to watch the exchange. Mark made his way there quickly, as instructed, with what he promised. He watched as the boy got out of the car and handed the goods over. He couldn't help but stare at his worried face as he looked around for his younger cousin.

It was strange to see Mark. They had brushes with eachother many times in the past and even though they've come close to ending eachother's lives more than once, Taeyong couldn't help but like the kid. He was persistent and hard working. He was honorable and took his responsibility seriously. It was no wonder that even at his age, he had become second in command in his family, just like Taeyong. He couldn't help but think that maybe if his life was different, they could have been good friends or maybe he would have even treated him like a little brother.

He saw Jaehyun nod as he closed up the suitcase. Winwin took his cue and brought Jisung over. Mark hugged him and checked his face and quickly scanned his body to make sure he wasn't injured. He patted his back and led him to the car. When Jisung was settled in, he closed the door behind him and walked around the front to get to the driver's side, stopping before he got in. He looked up toward the top of the building in Taeyong's direction.

It was impossible for him to see him at that distance through the windows that reflected the glare of the sun, but he still stood there staring, as if he could plainly see him and was looking directly at him. He brought a finger to his eyebrow and gave a small flick upward; a tiny salute, an acknowledgement of his presence and a nod to his uncommonly understanding gesture. Though he couldn't be seen, he copied the gesture back to him and watched him get in the car and disappear down the dirt road, fading into the distance.