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42. Last Goodbyes

Taeyong threw his blood spattered clothes that he had changed out of into the barrel of flames and got in the car.

"Let's go." He mumbled as he closed his tired eyes and tilted is head back onto the seat. The engine of the car purred and he could feel the ground pass by beneath them.

"That should be all of them." Jaehyun said, glancing out the window at the now unoccupied building behind them.

"Hyung, why did Mark even tell you about all of this?" Winwin asked. "Hasn't he always had it out for you?"

"No way." Doyoung cut in. "It's more like he's always been a lost little puppy, following Taeyong hyung around with his tail wagging just waiting to get some attention."

"You mean like you?" Ten smiled at him through the rearview mirror.

"Or you." Doyoung sneered back.

"Because Joon Suk and Soo Man have been making some sketchy deals and Mark wants to overthrow their family's head."

They all went silent and looked to Taeyong, who still looked as if he had fallen asleep in the car.

"Excuse me, what?" Doyoung asked in confusion.

"You heard just fine." Taeyong answered.

"Wait, wait, wait." Doyoung continued, trying to piece together this new information. "You're saying that the new leader of North Gate is working together with Soon Man hyungnim?"

"Yes."

"And the reason we had to get rid of all those guys just now was not because North Gate was going to crash today's party, but because Soo Man invited them?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand. Our families have always hated eachother."

Taeyong reluctantly opened his eyes and raised his head.

"Not anymore. Money is worth more than their eternal rivalry, I guess."

"So the threat is not from the outside, but from the inside too." Ten's eyes clouded with the realization. "Hyung, even if we got rid of the North Gate guys, that doesn't mean Soo Man wont still be ready to get rid of us."

"Right now, this can go a few different ways." Taeyong turned and looked at each of them. "Maybe Soon Man will do nothing without support and he will act like nothing is different and let us go. Even still, I would guess he and Joon Suk will still think I'm a threat to their new business ventures and eventually come after me anyway, even if I want no part in it."

"I think you can count on that even if we make a clean exit today. The elders hate you and would never support you, but there are a lot others who would. Even if you're taking yourself out of the equation, you are still a potential threat." Doyoung added.

"The other possibility is that we get rid of Soo Man."

"Hyung..." Jaehyun, who was listening quietly, shot Taeyong a look of incredulity.

"It's not possible. We'll die. Everyone will be there. Hyung, that's not something we could just do and come away unscathed." Doyoung warned.

"Maybe if we had help." Taeyong reasoned.

"From who? Mark? Will he come?" Doyoung's tone was heavy with sarcasm and disbelief.

"Maybe..." The doubt was clear in Taeyong's voice. "He wants their partnership to end. He wants Joon Suk gone because he is destroying his family."

"And with you next in line after Soo Man, you'll be a threat to his family too. We can't trust him, hyung."

"Even if we disappear, they will come find us and I can't run forever. This might be the only chance."