Chapter Twenty-Five

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Jisung stared at the wall. Authorities hadn't been able to pull much out of any of them about what had actually happened – as far as they were concerned, the entire thing had been nothing but an accident.

He huffed under his breath, leaning on the crutch propped under his arm. He'd left shortly after his conversation with Hyunjin – his mother had returned, and he felt as though he'd been intruding on their moment. He closed his eyes with a sigh.

This side of the hospital was nearly deserted; he was the only one walking down the barren, sterile halls apart from the few guards his father had placed outside of Hyunjin's room. None of them acknowledge him as he passed, though that didn't surprise him.

His father's men were loyal to him and him alone, and unless it was strictly necessary, they pretended like he didn't exist the vast majority of the time. Frankly, Jisung preferred it that way; he didn't want to talk to men like that, either.

They were all bad people – which might have sounded a bit ridiculous coming from him – but if they ignored him, they ignored Jeongin, too, and that was all he could ask for. The further Jeongin stayed from his world, the better.

He frowned, stopping just before the elevator. It was in use. He closed his eyes and leaned back, sighing softly. His ankle throbbed dully beneath all the bandages wrapped around it, and he opened his eyes again, staring at the elevator button with keen interest.

Had he... really been that obvious? He didn't think it had been clear how he was feeling, and yet... Hyunjin's words bounced around inside his head: what's wrong? He couldn't remember the last time someone had asked him that.

A small smile lifted the edges of his lips as the elevator finally dinged open in front of him. He tensed, someone already standing in there. His father hardly even looked up, walking right by him without so much as a nod in acknowledgment.

The silent treatment didn't come just from the guards, after all.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he entered the elevator, standing tall despite the crutch poised under his arm. The moment the elevator doors closed behind him, however, he slumped against the wall, sucking in a tight breath, ignoring the choked feeling in his chest.

He didn't let himself think what he wanted to – he ignored his own thoughts just as his father ignored him. He cracked a small, bitter smile. How ironic. His sardonic smile quickly turned into a frown as he turned his stare to the ceiling.

Grimacing, he pressed a hand to his chest. He took a deep breath, shaking himself. He had no room for feelings – he hadn't since he was a child. Feelings were the type of thing that would distract him from what was really important: protecting Jeongin.

He couldn't afford to feel anything else.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Jisung stared at Hyunjin from the corner of his eye.

They were cooped up in a nearby hotel, a small desk stationed in the corner of the room. It was spacious – obviously –, but inconspicuous enough not to draw any attention to them. Until the manor was rebuilt, they'd probably be staying here; his father hadn't even offered to let them stay at the Han family manor.

Figures. He hadn't expected anything else, really.

His ankle still throbbed with each beat of his heart, but it was easy enough to ignore with everything going on around them. They finally had a lead. The Moonbeam club had been shut down in the early 2000s, but it had been rumoured to be a grounds for all sorts of illegal activity. Of course, it was nothing but a rumour, but given their... field of expertise, they figured quickly enough that there was some truth to it.

Hostage {ℍ𝕐𝕌ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾} -- DISCONTINUEDWhere stories live. Discover now