#also hwang yeji...............my first wife

[twicessana]

ryujin said no thanks to your micro-managing, midzy

[kim-miyeon]

Hell Above-Epilogue

PAIRINGS: Hwang Hyunjin x Female Reader

WARNINGS: MafiaAU! 18+ Content Reader Discretion Is Advised. Graphic scenes, torture, implications of death.

WORD COUNT: 1.1K

Previous |

May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight

The dripping sounds of the water splashing against the concrete from the edges of the sunken room of the little shack was all that could be distinguished besides the soft breathing of the man who sat in the chair. Hair disheveled, dirt stained upon his face, mixed with sweat and blood. Three men stood by, cold stone and watching the man and heavily armed. A slow but sharp clap broke into sound as the man slowly brought his head up to see the source of the new sound. Eyes widening in surprise at the woman who clapped slowly each time she approached the man. Her long dark hair streaming down the sides of her face, accentuating the sharpness of her eyes and the piercing cold look to her face. Much like her mother, he thought.

The woman continuously clapped until she was now face to face with the man in the chair. The only thing keeping him in place was himself as no restraints were placed upon himself. She smirked and looked down before breathing in to speak.

“Hwang Hyun-Woo, you are being charged with your involvement with your son Hwang Hyunjin and his wife Hwang Y/N and their disappearance. How do you plea?” The whole accusation rolled off her lips in disgust as she felt the urge to maintain her sense of peace while speaking the names of those she despises.

“Yeji..” HyunWoo mumbled watching his daughter. Events of what occurred earlier played in his head as he began to understand the meaning of why he was in this position. The information he had given Y/N and Hyunjin. The news of your grandfather’s death set off a fire, one bigger that HyunWoo could not put out. So it burned. And the once quiet organization that was known as the network, emerged in the place of your grandfather.

But it was different.

Because before this moment, HyunWoo had been informed of an allegiance between the two families above and below.

So while you and Hyunjin formed an alliance with each other in the light, the network formed their allies in the dark.

Where Hwang and Lee blood saw eye to eye for the first time and the mission was to make sure that a child born of the blood of both never saw the light of day. That you and Hyunjin were punished for the crimes you two had committed against your families. And with that information, came the name of the new leader of the network.

His only daughter, Hwang Yeji.

“I asked..” Yeji began as HyunWoo failed to realize that in his deep thought Yeji had acquired a crowbar that she had gripped tightly as she swung back and struck her father in the knees with.

HyunWoo yelped out in great pain at his new injuries, and Yeji flipped her hair back and she smiled and continued, “how do you plea?”

“GUILTY!” HyunWoo cried out and Yeji squinted her eyes at him as he held his knees. She clicked her tongue a bit before she swung the crow bar up and struck her father in the back and he shot up in pain as she walked closer.

“A crime like this is subjected to torture and eventual death.” She softly said to him and he nodded in his agony and she scoffed.

“You already fucking know.” She spat as she walked back to face him.

“Tell me where they are, father and I can spare your life.” Yeji stated sharply and HyunWoo gritted through his teeth trying to find a breath to speak.

“I.. DON’T… KNOW.”

“BULLSHIT. You're protecting them and I know you are.”

HyunWoo knew where this was headed. He knew that he would be the first person to ask about your whereabouts. He also knew that Chan hid you two. And he knew that he’s the only one who had that information. And if the dream was to bring peace and happiness to his son, HyunWoo knew what needed to be done.

Yeji grew angry and she looked at the guards. “Proceed”

One of the guards turned and grabbed a metal stick that had been placed in the small fire behind them. Blazing red as the tip indicating that the metal had reached an extreme point of heat. The other two guards walked to HyunWoo and held his arms back, ripping open his shirt.

“What are you… No… NO!” HyunWoo screamed and the man brought the metal over to HyunWoo’s chest and placed it down, a sizzle sounding off as HyunWoo screamed at the pain and the man pulled the metal back ripping the skin and looked at the branding that Yeji issued.

HyunShiks cries and pain felt like joy to Yeji’s ear. Years and years of being neglected by this man, and always placing second in his heart only led Yeji to hate. No remorse for what she was about to do to him.

“Is it worth it, father?”

HyunWoo gritted his teeth as he was still held back and trying to get through his pain.

“Is Hyunjin really worth the torture you’ll endure. Your death?”

HyunWoo groaned and tried to speak.

“He is the heir… of my family…”

“But he has left you.” Yeji replied quickly.

“No.” HyunWoo retorted and Yeji sighed, closing her eyes.

“Just once, I would have liked to see you turn on your son. Perhaps if you had shown me what you shown him, we could have avoided this.” Yeji looked at her fingertips and shook her head.

“You were an immature girl. I had tried to raise you to work side by side but you were self centered and cared for the glamour that our life provided. Hyunjin never thought of himself. Only how to better his family. You could not have led this family.” HyunWoospoke a bit stronger and Yeji smirked.

“You’re right.” Yeji spoke and looked at her father, “Which is why I lead the network now.”

Yeji turned and began to walk before stopping and turning her head slightly over her shoulder.

“I hope your son is worth it. Take him.”

The men lifted HyunWoo up and Yeji heard grunts and resistance from HyunWoo as the men beat him to be obedient. Yeji turned to the last man and he looked back at her.

“Make sure he’s hung high. In the city. I want the world to know. I want to find those two.” Yeji felt the fuel of the idea of broadcasting her fathers death for all to see. A wake up call to his beloved son and a warning to those who cross her path.

“As you wish, Madam Hwang.”

To be continued...

A/N : heheheh THAT’S IT. No more surprise chapters and what not. THIS IS THE END. Thank you lovelies hope you enjoy our epilogue and it leaves you craving for more as usual. As always let me know what you think. I’m on vacation at the moment so responding back may take a hot second! But I love you so much see you soon with EVERLASTING!

Taglist:   @hyunfeji @zenzedana @datura-inoxia @ninjaleeknow @beethiin @hyunsxle @hwangful @huntressfrost25 @exonations @p0t4t0don14ll l​ @beaann @minaamhh

[neokids]

Fortune's Fool: Act XI

Masterlist (read previous and future ones here!)

Act XI

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

“Miss Hwang,”

Yeji turned around to see a messenger awkwardly standing, he was oddly keeping his distance as if she carried the contagious madness.

“Yes?”

“Your parents ask for your presence in their office. They would like to speak to you right now.”

And they didn’t even bother to check what had happened downstairs in their own house, how thoughtful.

“Regarding what?” Yeji asked, anticipation building up causing her to fiddle with her fingers behind her back. “They did not say. They just asked for your presence. Immediately.”

Yeji let out a sigh as she made her way upstairs, she glanced back at the pool of blood all over the living room, how on earth would they clean this up. She also noticed her relatives talking so casually amidst the scene, as if nothing happened. As if it wasn’t contagious.

As she approached her father’s office, the door immediately opened. Yeji was taken aback by the sudden appearance of her father holding the door for her, it was as if he was waiting for her all along.

“You asked for my presence? Are we to discuss recent matters?” Yeji asked as soon as she sat across from her father and mother. Lord and Lady Hwang only looked at each other as Yeji noticed something in her father’s hands. He held a creamy white envelope sealed off in a rich gold stamp. She eyed it as well before glancing back to her father.

“How are we going to get rid of the bloodstains downstairs?” Yeji asked again, leaving her first questions unanswered.

“We’ll call for someone to clean it up.” Her mother said, dismissing Yeji’s current worries.

“Mama, it’s the madness. It’s in our house now, who knows who else will suffer. It could be a viral contagion, we should ask the other servants if they made contact with the ones who tore their throats out.” Yeji explained, ultimately regretting the decision seeing as her father narrowed his eyes at her in confusion while her mother eyed her quizzically.

“What made you assume it was viral?” Lady Hwang asked simply, no tones of suspiciousness in her voice.

Yeji froze as soon as she realized she blurted out a piece of information she found out from Jeno, but she had to remain calm. Her mother wasn’t the type to stay silent when she finds something suspicious, she was the type to confront someone directly.

“Hearsays,” Yeji replied calmly, “At this point, anything is possible.”

“Moving on,” Lord Hwang said firmly, clearly wanting to dismiss the current topic. “Summoning you here to talk about this madness wasn’t the reason we called you here.” He pushed the thick white envelope he was holding towards Yeji.

“What is this?” She took it, observing the intricately written gold letters curve with elegance. It was heavy as well.

“An invitation,” Lady Hwang explained, “To a masquerade ball from the Chinese.”

Yeji opened the envelope recklessly, wanting to get it over as soon as possible. She read that it was indeed an invitation from the Chinese, specifically signed by a man named ‘Xiao Dejun’

“It’s going to be held next week in the gazebos,” Lord Hwang added as he redirected his attention to the other stacks of paper on his desk. “They want to celebrate the joined forces and powers of Korea and China!” He recited flatly as Yeji read the exact same lines on the invitation.

We are extending our warm welcome to all of Viper-gang members, it reads in royal blue ink.

Yeji heard her mother scoff, causing her to tear her attention away from the invitation and towards her mother. Lady Hwang had a clear expression of distaste on her face, obviously not buying whatever the Chinese had written on the invitation. “If they wanted to celebrate, then they should start remembering that this is our country, not theirs.”

“However,” Lord Hwang added, as if he didn’t hear what his own wife had to say, “If they wish to celebrate, then let us celebrate.” Her father said sternly, he looked up to his daughter staring at him with a mouth opening and closing, finding the right words to say. “Also I believe there is another invitation somewhere in that envelope?”

Yeji rummaged through the invitation to reveal another card, this one bright red in color and had silver lettering,

It was from the Lius.

But it wasn’t for Yeji, it was for her father. Mr. Liu was requesting another meeting despite how many times they have been turned down. A few weeks ago, Yeji turned him down only for her to turn down his son as well. She didn’t know why they were so adamant about selling their product, they weren’t prominent nor known whatsoever. In fact. Nobody knew who they were or where they came from.

“Well,” Yeji said as she slid the envelope back to her father’s hands, “Why should this concern me?”

Something about the silence irked Yeji, the silence contained unleft words from both Lord and Lady Hwang’s mouths. They were waiting for something, an answer, a follow up.

“Well,” Lord Hwang began, “I would greatly appreciate it if you were to go with me,” He finally said as he folded his arms against his chest.

“You’re not certainly making me go to this ball, right?” Yeji asked to confirm, eyes shifting to her father who had a serious expression on his aging face to her mother who looked like she wanted to end this conversation immediately.

“It’s always your choice, Yeji.” Her father said flatly. Something to know about Lord Hwang is that he never took no for an answer, especially when it came from a family member. Better yet, his own daughter. “But I prefer if you would.”

“Appa,” Yeji whined, “I did enough partying in America to last me the rest of eternity. Surely the Chinese could discuss and bargain all they want, but in the end we always know they will never have the final say in this country.”

“Yeji,” Lady Hwang scolded.

“What?” Yeji retorted, righteous.

“No, she has a point.” Her father said as he raised a hand to stop Lady Hwang, “They only wish to mingle and propose their products to me, I would let you go if it weren’t for a certain someone requesting your presence.”

Lord Hwang had his gaze pinpointed on her. Yeji however, remained silent. She blinked once, then twice. She already knew where this conversation was heading towards.

“I see,” Yeji decided to say plainly, she didn’t want to press on whoever requested her presence. Judging by the sent invitation from the Chinese, and a separate invitation from the Lius, it was already a dead giveaway.

Yangyang Liu.

“We need all the power we can get. We need the forces, the allies, the security and comfort knowing that we will continue our reign in this city. I need you to be my little translator when they mutter something in Mandarin, thinking I can not speak their mother tongue.”

Yeji made a disgruntled groan from her throat. “As you wish, appa.” She stood up and took the letter from her father’s hands once again. “I’ll go as you wish!” She exclaimed as she tried to walk outside Lord Hwang’s office. Just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, her mother suddenly spoke up. “Wait,”

So. Damn. Close.

Yeji turned around as she cocked a brow, “This….Yangyang,” Lady Hwang started “Why is he requesting you?”

Lady Hwang said his name as if it held meaning to her. Lady Hwang thought that it had some effect on her, she didn’t know that that effect would be her getting annoyed more than anything.

Yeji pursed her lips into a thin line, “He is Mr. Liu’s son, obviously.” she replied, apathetic. “I believe the main reason why they requested for another meeting is because they are still trying to sell their product to us.”

“Is he handsome?” Lady Hwang asked, curious for herself rather than her own daughter.

“My god, mama.” Yeji replied as she tried to stop herself rolling her eyes. She walked towards the door again, hopefully able to leave this time. “He is just using me, this is just business. If you would excuse me, I have to–what the hell are you doing?”

The latter part was directed to Hyunjin, who was standing right in front of her as she opened the door.

“Relax,” Hyunjin smiled a very much fake smile, “I was on my way to the balcony.”

They both knew it was a lie–Hyunjin not bothering to try and make a more believable expression. Yeji closed her father’s door with a loud thud. She waited for her cousin to say something, but he only stared back, his plastic smile not leaving his face.

“Well do you have anything to say to me, Hyunjin?” Yeji asked, crossing her arms. Hyunjin’s smile only grew wider.

“Only one,” He said as he eyed the door, knowing full well that Lord and Lady Hwang could hear their conversation, “I just can’t wait to go to this party, jiāchǒu bùkě wàiyáng.”

Yeji stiffened, satisfied with the reaction he had caused, he turned around merrily and left. He shoved his hands to his pockets as a whistle from a song left his lips.

The family’s shame shouldn’t be exposed.

“Méiyǒu shé me kě jiēlù de,” Yeji muttered. She stomped as she went down the stairs, glaring at the relatives who were still near the crime scene, happily going on with their latest gossip they just had to share. She made a beeline towards the kitchen to see Karina seated on the counter chomping down on an apple. She had no idea how Karina managed to find an appetite when she was seated right in front of a huge stain of blood.

“So?” Yeji asked as she tapped the counter beside her cousin.

“What? Oh, I gave up trying to remove the stains ten minutes ago.” Karina answered as she took another bite of her apple. After chewing for a while, she tilted her heads towards the side as she looked at the stain.

“It kinda looks like a dog, don’t you think?” She asked as she looked at Yeji who looked at her with a concerned look on her face.

Yeji only stared at her as she swallowed her bite. “Too soon?”

“Way too soon,” Yeji replied, shaking her head. “You busy? I need your Rover ties.”

“For the nth time–” Karina answered, rolling her eyes as she tossed remnants of her apple towards the trash bin, “I do not have Rover ties. What am I finding though?”

Yeji grinned, one thing she loved about her cousin was her eagerness to play spy and to go to unknown grounds. “Jinyoung Park’s address.”

Karina only needed to wrinkle her face, not quite surprised for the sudden request. Yeji could ask her to go get the weirdest most bizarre things, and she would still oblige. Yeji didn’t need to reason out her request as Karina leaped from the counter and feigned a salute to her cousin, her lips turning into a quick smirk. “Yes sir!”

…

“Lice?” Jeno echoed in disbelief

“Lice-like,” Kun corrected, head shaking in the process. He examined a strip of skin he collected from the corpse Jaemin and Haechan brought back to them. They could see the tiny bulges of pockets where the dead insects resided. Jaemin was turning pale while Haechan had his fingers placed on his mouth.

“They jump from one host to another like lice through the hair, I believe they only die when the host dies.” Kun went on as he further pressed onto the membrane, beside him was Doyoung audibly gagging from the sudden autopsy they had to perform. Nevertheless, the Neos had seen far stranger things.

“Oh good heavens,” Jaemin suddenly blurted, feeling dizzy as he gripped onto the table. “We could have been infected.”

Haechan made an exaggerated groan, “They’re dead already,” He said as he motioned towards the insects and the dead body.

“And yet you made me dissect that,” Jaemin retorted, recalling the previous scenes. He shuddered, suddenly remembering how disgusting it was. His body was on full vibrate mode, “How–”

“Gentlemen,” Jeno prompted, his fingers drumming the table he leaned on. He suddenly felt like all the oxygen from the lab was being sucked out, he couldn’t breathe. He had already woken up with a throbbing headache since he wasn’t able to get a good sleep. He tried to redirect Jaemin’s and Haechan’s attention back to Kun, but it didn’t work.

“I told you, my hands were full.”

“You were holding two knives, you could have easily slipped them in your goddamn pockets.”

Jeno gave an apologetic smile to Kun, there was no way he could get Jaemin and Haechan to stop. When the two weren’t busy discussing theories or other normal things, they would argue. Most of the time, it would be about nonsense things that shouldn’t be worth debating over. They would get so engaged in each other until you could see one of their faces going red, or vines starting to pop out from their necks.

“As I was saying,” Kun continued, realizing the two men infront of him had no signs of stopping anytime soon, “since we have much more advanced resources in our facilities than all of Seoul, I could try manufacturing a cure, if that sounds good to you.”

“The only thing that sounds good to me is when you finally shut the fuck up!” Jaemin suddenly exclaimed to Haechan, causing Kun and Jeno to turn their attention once again to them.

“Yes,” Jeno pleaded, making Kun smile a boring smile to him. “That would be great. Thank you, Kun–”

“Don’t thank me yet, Mr. Lee.” Kun tutted, “I can’t manufacture anything without you and your friends’ help.” Kun’s last statement effectively made Jaemin and Haechan to stop fighting. They exchanged glances and slowly turned towards Kun, who was serious as a priest giving a sermon.

“Anything,” Jeno promised, making Jaemin quirk a brow as Haechan nudged him to prevent hearing his whining. “I need to run live experiments,” Kun nodded to himself, “Yes, a live victim. You must find me a live victim.”

“A live–”

This time it was Jeno’s turn to nudge Jaemin’s side.

“Noted,” Jeno said quickly, hoping his two friends would stay silent, “we’re on it. Thank you, Kun. Truly.”

When Kun nodded to them, Jeno pushed himself off the table he was previously leaning on. He quickly dragged both his friend and cousin towards the exit. Jeno was rather quite impressed when Jaemin managed to stay silent the whole time they were making their way towards the doors, not hearing a single whine nor complaint leave his lips. It was only when they were under the dark sky clouding the city did Jaemin finally burst.

“Ya! What the hell?! How the hell are we supposed to find a live victim?! Who the hell would be our live victim?! You know what, don’t answer that. I volunteer in Haechan to be the experimental–Ow!” Jaemin’s rant came to a stop once he felt Haechan’s palm smack him on the head. Jeno sighed as he continued to walk, kicking a few pebbles blocking his way. Jaemin, full of energy as always, was bouncing.

“Careful,” his cousin warned. “Might trip on a pebble.”

“You’re giving me a headache.” Jeno replied as he turned around.

“How are we supposed to know a victim is a victim?” Jaemin went on as he ignored them both, “We only know they were infected once they have succumbed to it! Not to mention they only have a solid five minutes left before they die.”

Jeno shut his eyes momentarily, when he opened them again he felt like he could fall asleep that instant. “I don’t know.”

The walk home was just Jaemin and Haechan bickering once again. Jeno barely contributed to their usual debate for his headache only grew worse. Once they reached the entrance of the main mansion, Jeno could only muster a quiet farewell, leaving Jaemin and Haechan to stare at him. They understood him though, they knew Jeno always got silent when he had too many thoughts clouding his head.

Jeno meekly opened the heavy entrance doors. All he needed was a quick nap and maybe a few pills to ease his throbbing headache so that he could come up with a plan for Kun’s–

“Jeno,”

Jeno’s head jerked up to his father looking down on him from the top step of the staircase. His eyes narrowed at him per usual, his lips forming into a thin line.

“Yes?”

Without saying a word, he extended his hand to give Jeno a piece of paper. He thought that his father would come down to meet him midway, but Lord Lee only remained where he stood. This caused Jeno to hurriedly come up the stairs to keep his father from waiting. The piece of paper turned out to be an invitation with a name and address written in reflective silver ink.

“Find him,” Lord Lee sneered when Jeno looked up for an explanation. “I have heard from my advisors that the Rovers may be the center of all this madness.”

Jeno’s fingers tightened on the invitation he held, “What?” He asked, quite taken aback on the sudden request, “But the Rovers have been trying to be on our side for years–”

“Yet we push them away everytime,” Lord Lee refuted, not interested in what his son had to say, “Obviously they are changing strategies, trying to side with the Vipers seeing as we lost them. Before they could do anything we must counter them immediately. Stop them.”

Was it simply the Rovers’ strategy? Were they trying to kill all those in a gang or mafia so that the violence could finally stop? Were they trying to panic the crowd so that the crowd would listen to them? So they could rule over?

“How am I to stop a whole political party?” Jeno murmured quietly, “How am I to–”

Before Jeno continued, his father had slapped him on the head causing him to grip on the stair’s railing to prevent him from falling down the stairs. He moved away from his father, hoping he could avoid a second hit. He shouldn’t have countered his father vocally when he was an arm’s length away.

“I gave you a name and an address, did I not?” Lord Lee snapped, growing impatient with his own son. “Go. See how true the word on the street is.”

With that, his father returned to his own office, not even bothering to glance back at his son. He gripped the piece of paper tightly, his head throbbing worse than before, Jeno inhaled before muttering bitterly,

“As you wish.”

[neokids]

Fortune's Fool: Act VII

Masterlist

Act VII

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

In just a span of a few days, whispers have already spread. At first, it was only suspicions that it wasn’t something natural or a person but the bible repeating itself. People started to believe that it was something like 10 the plagues of Egypt, this time happening in Seoul.

Then people started to see things.

Couples who had their afternoon strolls reported seeing a slimy creature dive into the Han river. Some Viper workers said they had heard low growling and grumbling noises they thought came from the machines, but when they turned it off, the bizarre noises only grew louder. Fishermen who worked late at night reported to see silver flashing eyes in the water. Perhaps the most terrible “sighting” would have been near the Poculum. A customer was passing by with the intentions of having a drink late at night only to see a panting, struggling creature near the garbage disposal. It was unnatural for sure, the shadow it cast resembled nothing like the creatures and animals that walk the face of the earth today.

“It has eyes of the devil, mama!” Yeji heard the little boy in front of her exclaim. They were currently waiting in line to get hot buns from a fast food restaurant. Yeji watched the boy as he excitedly told his story to his mother, guessing he had heard it from a playmate. “The monster had a spine as sharp as knives” The boy added, causing his mother to look at him disinterestedly. There have been numerous deaths added from the original incident, causing people to speculate. But the more people talked, the more the truth has been twisted.

Yeji would have brushed off the rumors, ruling it as a way to keep children frightened when they were being unruly. But the fear people have been feeling is very real, their lives were in danger. There must be a reason to why people had started talking, speculating.

“Nonsense.” The mother scolded her child, as she fiddled with her bracelet. The mother was obviously scared as well, hearing her son's stories did not help whatsoever.

“They say it is like a modern day dragon!” the boy added, not even bothering to listen to his mother, “It attacks the gangsters at night when it smells their blood. It hides in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time, then boom! It attacks.” The child said, his hand motions accompanying his exaggerated story.

The mother could only look and sigh at her son, “It is not only the gangsters who are dying, nae adeul,” The mother paused, looking at his now terrified son. “No one is safe now.” She continued as she placed a hand on her son’s shoulder.

That’s one comforting mother alright,

The son suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked at his mother, fear replacing the jolly expression he had before. “Am I going to die, mama?” The boy asked.

“Of course not.” The mother said in a defensive tone. She quickly got the two bags filled with steaming buns in front of her and left, with her son still quite scared.

Who wouldn’t be in a time like this?

As they left, Yeji couldn’t help but stare at their disappearing figures. A child, no older than five, was already worrying about whether or not he would live another day. A child like him should be worrying about what flavor of ice cream he should get, or what he should play with his friends. He shouldn’t fear for his life. How much time did they have left until the city of Seoul became nothing but a mass graveyard?

“On us, miss.”

Yeji snapped out from her train of thought to see a bag already in front of her, filled to the brim with steaming hot buns.

“Everything for the princess of Seoul.” The old baker said with a smile. Yeji took a better look at the place, then at the old man in front of her. The bakery was very old, to the point where you could see loose wires everywhere. The man in front of her was also very old, it looked like the bakery was all he had. The only reason why Yeji was here in the first place was because Lia wouldn’t stop bugging her about trying the famous steam buns in Hongdae.

“You have a family, ahjussi?” Yeji asked as she took the bag, the man’s face lighting up immediately.

“I do! I have a lovely wife I come home to everyday and five children! Two girls and three boys!” The baker answered as he perched his elbows on the window.

“I see,” Yeji paused as she took something out from her pocket, it was a red envelope with gold lettering. The man’s face grew in shock. “No miss Hwang, it is in the house! We have been affiliated with the Vipers for a long time now and I owe everything to them. Please it is okay.” The man said as he pushed the envelope back.

“No, please do take it. You have worked hard enough.” Yeji said as she placed the envelope in the baker’s calloused hands. With a smile, Yeji left.

As she browsed the streets of Hongdae, she couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief. She was relieved she was able to have a few hours to herself. She had just finished visiting the drug den her father had sent her to, and it was more boring than she thought. She expected a top secret lab, like the ones she would always see in movies. Only for her to be greeted with a smelly and sketchy apartment. When she had collected the money, the man passed it to her half-asleep, he too looked high on whatever he was on that moment. She had only been there for a solid 30 seconds and her duty was done for the day. Hongdae was filled with lovers taking their strolls, family spending some quality time together, friends on dates, and native weirdos too.

“The end is near! The world is going to end! Jeremiah 11:11! There is only one cure!”

Yeji grimaced as she tried to quickly pass the man. She tried to cover her face in hopes of not getting seen by the shouting man, but to her misfortune, the man had locked his eyes on her. The man started to head her way as she quickened her pace. She thought he had lost the man following her, only for him to suddenly jump in front of her.

Does this man not know who I am?

“Salvation!” The man screeched, causing Yeji to freeze in her tracks. The man flailed his arms in the air, as if he was waiting for someone to pick him up. “Spread the word of salvation, miss!” He exclaimed as he took another step towards her.

Yeji was quick to back away, she was getting weirded out by the old man, “I’m not that religious, sorry.” She decided unsure on what to say, the man’s eyes suddenly grew wider until it could pop out from his socket anytime.

“The doctor can give us a cure.” He said. “I’m not quite sure a doctor has found a cure yet,” Yeji said carefully.

“The doctor saved me!” The man further added. This time, Yeji wasn’t sure if he was referring to doctors, or a particular doctor.

“Hey you know what, a doctor saved me too.” she said as she placed her hands on her hip. “I was like what, seven years old?” she continued, amusing herself now. “I bumped my head on my mother’s picture frame and let’s just say she was worried more about the picture frame.” She said, remembering it like it was yesterday. “Ever since then, I started eating apples.” Yeji said as she looked at the man, waiting for him to catch her joke.

“Because you know…” She trailed off, the man only looking at her in a blank manner. “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away!”

The old man only stared at her. He looked at her like she was speaking some sort of foreign language no an on earth had ever heard of.

“Corny joke?” Yeji asked, speaking Korean a bit more slowly for the man to understand. “Come on, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? Come on, I deserve a chuckle at least.”

The man groaned and stomped his foot, signaling for her to take him seriously.

“The doctor is only one person.” he hissed, his face contorting into a weird facial expression Yeji couldn’t quite figure out. “A person of great passion. He gave me the cure and I am now immune to this madness. An injection! I am supposed to be dead! When my friend had clawed himself and lay dead next to me, I should have been next! But I am here! Alive and well!”

Yeji took another step back, one she should have taken before the man had started talking.

“Good for you,” Yeji said, thinking of an escape plan. “But I, uh, have places to be.” Before she could turn around, the man had already grabbed her wrist.

“Salvation!” The man screamed, “Only the doctor could bring salvation!” She quickly jerked her hand back away from the man as she hurried off.

She took sharp turns every now and then, making her route in a dark alleyway. She passed by groups of men who seemed like they were all ready to kidnap the next person they see. She passed by men throwing knives at each other, she also passed by a group of women aiming their guns at each other, but she was not scared. She was in her territory, she was above all.

Just as she was in the middle of another alleyway, Yeji immediately stopped to the feeling of a cold metal pressed against her neck. She knew it wasn’t a threat of any Viper, no Viper dared. Her mind ran wild, thinking of all the possible people who would try such thing,

Until a familiar voice had said: “Don’t make a sound. Keep walking, and I won’t shoot.”

The feeling of uncertainty immediately was replaced by the feeling of rage. Did he really wait for Yeji to enter an isolated place? Until she was far from the crowd? Did he really think that would work on her?

“You don’t know me as much as I thought you would.” Yeji said quietly, maybe Jeno didn’t know her at all when they were still friends. Maybe he never really cared to know about her. Maybe he just agreed to be friends to get information from her, and he did.

“Walk,” Jeno demanded.

Yeji stood still. As she planned, Jeno thought she was scared and so he eased the press of his gun against her neck. She slowly brought her hand to trace Jeno’s gun, her sudden caress took him by surprise. From his gun, her hand trailed to his own. Touching his long fingers, to his prominent veins. Her touch was light and held no danger whatsoever,

Or so he thought.

She whirled around, faster than Jeno could even process. In a blink of an eye, she had already slapped the gun from his grip causing it to drop on the floor somewhere. She had bent his arm in a way no arm should be bent. She had him quickly pinned to floor, her legs on both sides of his hips with a knife pressed to his throat.

“Let’s try this again, shall we? Like normal civilized people.” She breathed. Jeno too was trying his hardest not to breathe too much, or else his throat would come in contact with the knife. His dilated eyes narrowed at her, as he took a breath.

“Normal civilized people?” He mocked her tone, his voice a bit raspy. “You have a knife pressed against my throat.”

“You had a gun pressed against my neck.”

“Does it look like I have a choice? I’m in your territory.”

Yeji glared at him as she pressed the knife further into his skin causing a drop of blood to appear.

“Stop! Stop!” Jeno flinched. “I’m sorry.”

With one quick motion, Yeji could have sliced his neck open. She had been dreaming of this for four years, she was almost tempted to give it a try. Although she was fighting all thoughts she had of killing him, one thought had crept up in her mind.

Jeno still smelled like he used too. He smelled like smoke and mint, with a hint of his perfume. Noticing this particular detail made Yeji think how possible it was for everything and nothing to change.

“Well go ahead then,” Yeji prompted, “Explain yourself.”

She could feel Jeno trying to fight, but with one press of her blade, he would stop. She could track his every movement just from the tip of her blade.

“I needed information,” Jeno managed.

“Surprisingly.”

His eyebrow arched, “If you let me go, I could explain.”

“Well let’s see…” Yeji said, pretending to think. “How about no? I prefer if you explained like this.”

“Oh, Yeji”

Click.

The sound of someone pressing the trigger echoed all throughout the alleyway. Yeji looked to her left to see the gun she had disabled a while go still in its position. She looked back on Jeno to see him smile, his smile was almost mocking.

“Did you really think I would only bring one?” He asked in a teasing manner. “You don’t know me as much as I thought you would.” He added, mocking her. Famous eye smile a contrast to his actions.

The feeling of cold hard metal suddenly touched her waist. It was as if the gun had started to burn through her clothes and made its imprint on her skin. With no choice, Yeji had to remove her knife against Jeno’s kneck. They both stood up and in unison, put their weapons away.

“The man who died in the Poculum,” Jeno began as he dusted his polo shirt. “Do you remember his mismatched shoes?”

Yeji rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe she was actually having this conversation with the Jeno Lee, then nodded.

“I found the other shoe in the Han river the other day, the same spot where the first men had died,” He continued, “I think he was able to escape, only succumbing to the madness the next day, in your club.”

“Impossible!” Yeji denied, “What kind of science is–”

“This is no longer in the fields of science, Yeji.”

Her hands had quickly balled into fists, bunching up her blouse in the process. Jeno was really on a whole other level of stubbornness when he was focused on something. She let out a sigh as she closed her eyes,

“What do you want?” She asked, opening them again to see Jeno’s serious expression.

“I need to know whether or not if he is indeed the same man. I need to see his shoes, see if they match, if they do, this madness might be even contagious.”

Contagious,

Meaning to say that the man who had died in her club, his blood spraying in a room filled with her people, might be infectious. If that was the case, the Viper Gang is in huge trouble.

Yeji’s panic started to kick in.

“Maybe they were in some type of cult,” Yeji suggested without much persuasion. “Maybe he didn’t want to be apart of whatever they were doing, only for him to decide that he actually wanted to a day later.” But she had seen the terror of the man during his last few moments, he couldn’t speak but his eyes told everything Yeji needed to know.

Oh dear God she knelt beside the man, looked him in the eyes, and asked him what caused it. What were the chances of her getting infected?

“You and I both know that something’s not right here.” Jeno said, breaking Yeji’s small panic attack. “By the time this has alerted departments, many more innocent people will have died.”

Jeno accidentally realized what he had said, causing him to fall silent. Yeji stared at him for a while, her gaze blank, void with any emotion.

“As if you care,” She said quietly, almost inaudible. But he still heard her. “About innocent people dying.” She looked away from him in case he could see the slight water in her eyes.

Every muscle in his body tensed.

He inhaled sharply, “Fine,” he paused, “My people.”

Hearing it from him definitely felt worse. She let out her breath she didn’t know she was holding and turned around.

“Move.” She said, walking away. Only this once would she allow herself to help him, she needed the answers too. “The morgue closes in a few hours.”