Secrets Aren't Lies

Chapter 23

Ken P.O.V

I feel the vibration of my phone in my pocket and I groggily pull it out, my eyes half open from the bright light. I see a message from Ravi and instantly sit up trying to wake myself up enough to read it better. I have this foreboding feeling in the pit of my gut. My eyes skim back and forth across the text and stare at the picture. 

"Fuck..." I groan slightly under my breath.

"What's wrong?" Jiyeon asks tiredly, almost in slumber. She turns my way and slowly looks up at me, barely awake.

"U-uh, you might want to see this." I choke on my salvia as I gulp heavily, terribly worried of her reaction. I hand her my phone as she sits up, leaning against the headboard. I watch her eyes read the message multiple times throughly and then opens the picture, a gasp releases from her mouth and her hand covers her lips. Her eyes start to get watery.

"Oh my god. N-no! We have to go help him!" She wails, I take the phone and try to calm her as much as I possibly can, attempting to be soothing. She pushes me away and rises to her feet.

"Jiyeon, stop! The consequences are too ghastly to imagine if we go back. We'll both get killed! It's either him or us." I plead, trying to get her to think rationally.

"I don't want to lose anybody! But, I'm not just going to sit here and let Leo die for me. He has done so much for me already, okay?" She cries silently, but I can see in her eyes deeply that she is trying to stay strong, trying to show willpower and to be brave for the ones she loves. I sigh softly. 

"We need a plan. We can't just barge in there expecting that Ravi will let Leo go, he could kill all of us if he wanted to." I stare at her intently, worried deep down.

"What else do we do? Make him let Leo go first?" She questions sincerely, sitting on the edge of the bed looking back at me.

"Well, I can bet you that Leo won't just leave, especially if you show up. He knows Ravi will kill you and he won't let that happen either." I explain as best I can.

"Then why don't we just kill Ravi as soon as we see him, don't you have a gun or something?" She desperately asks.

"Whoa whoa, I hated killing in the first place and you hated me for it, now you want me to do it again?" I surprisingly ask with an almost too defensive tone of voice.

"Well if it's not him, it's us!" She screams back at me.

"Just calm down, we'll figure it out." I breathe out heavily, rubbing my temples over this trifling situation.

"The longer we wait, the more he is getting hurt. Let's just call the police! Duh!" She exclaims, pulling out her phone.

"Jiyeon, no! If the cops get involved, I could be arrested! If Ravi tells them about the mafia and me being included in it, they'll put me on trial. Stop." I say subtly, but instantly snatch the phone away from her.

"Ugh! What do you suppose we do then?" She looks at me angrily with the look in her eyes of wanting to hit me.

"Obviously, the deciding factor is only because of Leo needs to be saved. That's what we'll do, alright? If we fail then I apologize in advance, but I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe and alive." I nod, getting off of the bed, putting on my shoes. I check to make sure that I still have a knife in my pocket, and it is.

"Alright. Let's go." Jiyeon secretly trembles beneath her skin. I agree and I lead us out of the hotel room quietly, holding her hand tightly. I kiss her deeply full of passion in the hallway of the hotel then pull away and continue moving.