Hostage {ℍ𝕐𝕌ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾} -- DISCONTINUED

Chapter Four

 Jisung drummed his fingertips against the leather of the steering wheel, his headlights the only thing to be seen along the long, winding road ahead of him. As he'd originally thought, the location – a strange number of coordinates he'd managed to unearth prior to his little escapade – was in the middle of nowhere.

It was best that they remained hidden, right? Wouldn't want anyone calling the authorities if things got hairy. He sighed, reaching for the radio before pausing, shaking his head, returning his hand to the wheel. The silence was filled with nothing but the thud, thud, thud of his hands, and he would most certainly be lying if he said that he wasn't nervous.

He may have been a genius, but that didn't mean he was psychic; he had no idea how the night would progress, or how badly things could turn. He had no idea what his father had told the Hwangs – whether or not they'd be shot and killed if he wasn't the person they'd agreed to exchange.

It was a little too late to think about all that now, though, wasn't it? The important thing was that Jeongin was safe. He might be a little angry and upset when he woke up, but at least he would still be safe.

That was all Jisung cared about.

Soon enough, he pulled up to the meeting point, a large field hidden by a large hill. He was the only one along the road; he wasn't surprised they'd chosen this place. Leave it to his father to be an expert in sneaking around in the middle of the night, unseen from prying eyes.

The car slowed to a stop at the end of a long line; the Hwangs were already there, as were the members of the Han family that would serve as protection for his father throughout the exchange. Nerves bubbled up in his stomach as he turned the ignition off, heaving a heavy breath before he pushed open the door, stepping out, gun still pushed into the waistband of his pants.

"Sorry I'm late," he called, slamming the door behind him. "Heavy traffic." He grinned as he approached his father, who stared at him, unimpressed, though strangely unsurprised. Again that pit of dread formed in his stomach, screaming that he was missing something.

He turned his attention away from his father, eyes quickly scanning the Hwangs. There were seventeen of them in total, some behind steering wheels, others with their hands to the guns strapped to their waists. Then there was Hwang Hyunjin, who, really, was quite hot, actually. Damn. He was not expecting that.

Their eyes met for a moment, and the Hwang family boss narrowed his gaze into a cold glare; Jisung couldn't help but grin dangerously. His gaze flickered over towards the older-looking woman standing beside him, frail and thin. His mother, then.

He was really pulling the short end of the stick, wasn't he? It was clear from the way he stood defensively in front of her that he really did love his mum. He probably had no idea that to his father, both him and his brother were nothing but just another member of the organization – especially his brother.

Sucked for him.

"It seems your son finally bothered to show up," Hyunjin said, ice dripping from his tone as his eyes followed Jisung. "Let's just get this over with." He turned towards his mother and said some soft words none of them could hear. She nodded and smiled reassuringly at him.

For a moment, Jisung's own heart ached, memories of his own mother flashing through his mind. It had been a long time since she'd died, but sometimes it still felt like it had only been a day.

Both he and Hyunjin's mother met in the middle, one guard beside each. The Hwang guard roughly grabbed his arm. "Your guns," he said lowly, and Jisung's heart stopped, his eyes widened.

His own hand lashed out without him even realizing it, grabbing onto the man's hand and twisting it back and away from him. "Don't touch me," he hissed, dropping his wrist. He quickly regained his composure, plastering on the best smirk he could. "All you had to do was ask." He reached for his gun and pressed it into the man's undamaged hand.