Hostage {ℍ𝕐𝕌ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾} -- DISCONTINUED

Chapter Ten

Jisung awoke the following day, significantly calmer; his memory of the previous night seemed skewed. Hyunjin chose not to comment on it – there wasn't any particular reason behind it other than the fact that he knew what it was like to display weakness in front of rivals in their world.

He wasn't a complete asshole, contrary to popular belief.

Still, though – he wanted to get to the bottom of it; his sole goal was to make sure his mother was safe there – or, well, as safe as she could possibly be surrounded by members of a gang that wasn't his, where he wasn't there to protect her.

That was where they were headed right now, Jisung trailing behind him, hands shoved into his pockets as he kept his gaze on the ground. He wasn't nearly as annoying or energetic as he'd been in the short days they'd known one another, and that was another cause for suspicion.

He didn't seem thrilled at the prospect of seeing if his father had made it out of the attack unscathed. His lips were pulled in a frown, his brows furrowed; it was like he was in deep thought, barely aware of where they were even going.

Hyunjin tore his gaze away, focusing on the backs of the suited guards walking in front of him. It was taking every ounce of self control he had not to break into a run right then and there, his nerves to see if his mother was alright nearly getting the best of him.

She was the only thing he really cared about in this world – he would do anything to keep her safe, and not knowing was killing him. They were all each other had left – all of their friends and family were either dead or gone.

Soon enough, however, the room they were set to meet in came into view. He couldn't help it when he started walking just a little bit faster, the door getting closer and closer with every step. The guards knocked in the pre-established pattern, and it swung open.

The group of them – four guards and the two of them – walked into a well-lit room. It was scarce apart from a few chairs – which was to be expected; it was a last-minute meeting, and it would really become a problem if anybody saw them meeting one another like this.

Not only would it alert the Bangs, it would also arouse suspicion from the authorities, which they somehow always managed to evade. However, Hyunjin wouldn't have been satisfied with a simple phone call.

The moment he stepped into the room his mother rushed over towards him, cupping his face between her hands as she observed the shallow cuts and bruises he'd gained throughout his little adventure.

"Oh, my baby," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "You're not too hurt, are you?" Her eyes searched his face as he smiled softly, shaking his head.

"The real question is... are you okay?" His face turned serious as his eyes fell upon the Han family head, barely so much as glancing at his son who stood a few feet away, arms crossed. He lowered his voice before he spoke again, meeting his mother's gaze. "Are they treating you alright?"

She blinked at him and nodded, a small smile gracing her features. "I met his other son, Jeongin, I think his name was. Such a sweet boy – he helped me get settled." Some of the tension in Hyunjin's shoulders melted away, only to come right back again when her eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't seen him lately, though..."

Hyunjin's eyes swept over towards Jisung and his father, who didn't seem to be engaging in much conversation at all. The dread returned to his stomach, suspicion twinging in his heart; something wasn't right about this family – but what?

~#~#~#~#~#~

Jisung really didn't want to see his father's face – especially with his shoulder still aching from that damned gunshot wound. It was healing well, but it would take a little while longer before he would be able to move it properly.

That meant his usual nighttime workouts were off-limits unless he wanted to inflict some permanent damage on his shoulder, which he definitely didn't want to do. He watched his father through narrowed eyes; the man hadn't said a thing yet, the room filled only by the quiet chatter of the Hwangs across from them.

Despite himself, a sharp stab of jealousy rang out in his chest, his fists clenching discretely from where they remained hidden by his crossed arms. He remembered a time when his mother did such things before she'd been killed in a freak accident.

To say that he had suspicions that it was the furthest thing from an accident would've been an understatement.

"Where's Jeongin?" he asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable, hostile tension between him and his father. His voice was low, barely above a murmur, but his father seemed to have understood what he'd said, though he didn't so much as grace him with a glance.

"He doesn't want to see you." His father said it plainly and without remorse. Jisung's throat dried, his arms slowly falling to his sides, his gaze landing on the ground. His knuckles turned white. He supposed... it was to be expected, but – the fact that Jeongin was mad enough at him that he wouldn't even come to see him after he'd been shot at – and, effectively, injured...

It hurt. It really did.

All Jisung wanted was to protect his baby brother from a world too dark and dangerous for anyone to live in properly. A world Jeongin would hopefully never fit in with – a world he shouldn't have known anything about.

He'd protect Jeongin from the things nobody had protected him from, he'd let him live a life free from dreams of blood and death, a life without the stain of the lives of others forever imprinted on his hands, haunting him in his sleep—

Even if it meant that his brother would hate him.

So long as Jeongin was safe, Jisung didn't care what happened to him. 

A/N: I might not be able to update next week (again), my boss scheduled me for 33 hours >:( and school starts a week after that so HHHHHHH I deadass am not happy but what can I do about it. I might be able to update depending on how quickly I can write -- I'm really excited for this story to start picking up steam OHOHOHOHO

Q: What do you like to do when you're bored? (courtesy of Iamspecial23)

A: Well, other than writing and reading, I like to colour. Yeah, I know, but, for real, it's so fun and relaxing! I've also started writing short stories/oneshots in my bullet journal, which I don't really do often because handwriting things takes a lot longer, but when I'm super bored it makes me feel like I'm closer to the words somehow, like these are my words. Idk if that makes sense but there you have it 

Feel free to drop some questions if ever you think of any! You guys come up with way better questions.

Lots of love,

~Emilie