radioactive ; 1/1 {part two}
The rest of the day passes by relatively well for Inati. He has his money back, and there hasn’t been anymore attacks on his turf. He’s still worried about Youngwon, though, who still hasn’t shown up or called, and that gang from Busan is clouding his thoughts.
He practically jumps from his desk when Jisu comes bursting through the door of his office. Before he can even prompt Jisu for information, the boy starts talking at lightning speed, with great urgency. “Inati, that gang you had me find more about... They have Youngwon.”
“What?” Those words seem to stop the world around him, almost like it’s become a giant block of ice, and Intae actually feels the room go a few degrees colder. “What do you mean ‘they have Youngwon?’”
“They took him, basically kidnapped him. And it’s not just our gang they’re after. You know that informant in neutral territory? His name’s Kevin, and he was telling me something about his boyfriend being missing too, and how they made him give his brother’s gang - what’s the kid’s name? Chunji? I think he’s from Minsoo’s gang - false info. Y’know, to set them up. I don’t know what they’re trying to pull, but they sure are-”
Intae doesn’t really care about whatever else Jisu has to tell him. He stopped caring after the part where he said that they had Youngwon. “So... they have Youngwon?” Saying that aloud causes the giant block of ice around him to break, to crash down around his shoulders and onto his chest, suffocating him. The ice is pressing a weight onto his chest, and he thinks he may not be able to breathe soon. “Where is their base?”
Jisu shakes his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then find out, and quickly,” is Intae’s sharp reply. Before Jisu has a chance to nod his head or say okay, Intae orders him, “Go.” He doesn’t have to tell him twice, because Jisu is out of his room faster than the speed of sound.
With a great sigh, Intae stands in front of the window, staring down at the cityscape of Seoul. There are thousands of buildings in this city, but only one of them has Youngwon. Only one of them matters right now, and Inati can’t even think straight long enough to figure out how the hell to find it. He’s pissed off, at Youngwon for letting himself get taken, and at himself, for letting him walk out of his apartment this morning. They must have taken him after he left, so if he stayed, could this whole mess have been avoided?
He’s freaking out, because this block of ice on his chest has become a hand made of ice, squeezing his heart. It’s like winter herself is tugging at his heartstrings, and he can’t handle it. He can handle a lot of things, like getting shot or bruised up; he can handle getting thrown into the back of a cop car or spending the night in an empty jail cell. But this kind of pain and punishment is beyond what he can deal with. Not knowing what could be happening to Youngwon at this very moment is so far beyond the threshold of what he can handle that he feels physically ill.
He takes a deep breath, then another, and is about to take another calming breath, but the door slams open again. He nearly jumps out of his skin at the noise because he’s still on edge, and because winter still hasn’t released her grip. When he turns around to see who the intruder is, he’s only somewhat relieved to see David.
“You don’t look so good, Intae,” he says, arms crossed over his chest and a frown set deep into his face. He was going to say something else, was going to ask him what the hell they should do about Youngwon, but upon seeing his boss’s face, he decides against it.
“I’m just worried about Youngwon.” Inati admits, trying to relax the muscles on his face so he doesn’t look so damn tense.
“Worried about him? Shit, Inati. You know what that kid’s capable of. He won’t go down without a fight.”
Inati nods. “I know, I know.” He’s not just trying to shut Day Day up; he really does know. Youngwon is as ruthless as ruthless gets, and he doesn’t lose fights easily. He figures it probably has to do with him being brought up on the streets of Busan and- “Youngwon’s from Busan.”
David furrows his eyebrows, not entirely sure how that has to do with anything. “And I’m from the States, and you’re from Seoul. What does that have to do with getting Youngwon back?”
Normally he probably would have gone off on Day Day for being such a smart ass, but right now he chooses to ignore it. “That gang who took him is from Busan.”
There’s a look of understanding that crosses David’s face, like the flash of a light bulb turning on, and then he’s cocking his head to the side, thinking over what Inati just said. “So you think they’re connected? That maybe he knew them before? But then... why are they going after other gangs too?”
“I don’t know.” Youngwon has never told him anything about his past, and he’s never asked. You don’t tell anyone too much about yourself out here, so Intae didn’t think too much of it. Everyone has secrets, but dammit, if that secret is going to come back and endanger your life, then you better fucking tell someone. “I don’t know anything. Don’t know why they have Youngwon, don’t know where they have Youngwon... We’re at a complete disadvantage, Day Day.”
“Jisu is damn good at getting information out of people. He’ll find out what we need to know,” David says slowly. It’s not like Inati to be so unconfident, and to be honest, it’s freaking him out a little bit. “We’ll find Youngwon, and we’ll take those bastards out while we do it. We always pull through, boss. Don’t stress too much.”
An airy laugh escapes Intae’s lips. “Yeah, well,” he says, turning around to face the window again. Winter is back again, tugging at his heart gently enough that he can try to ignore it, but just hard enough that he has to work to keep his breathing even. “That’s easier said than done.”
The gun is pressed right up to his head, the cold metal kissing his temple. “I’ll make you a deal,” Youngwon says, looking Taehun straight in the eye.
“Ain’t interested in deal making, Youngwon,” he says, his grip still tight on the gun. Is he ever going to move the gun away? “Cute try, though.”
“Just listen to me, Taehun.” He doesn’t want to push the other male too far. Maybe if it were just him, he wouldn’t hold back from pushing the man’s buttons, but he’s not just looking out for himself. There’s Eli, too, and dammit, he’ll do whatever he can to make sure they both get out of here. “Listening never hurt anyone, right? I mean, I know you guys aren’t really fond of hearing me out but-”
Taehun jerks the gun forward, pressing it into his skin further. “There was no point in hearing you out back then,” he says, shaking his head. “Junyoung and I knew what we saw. You were hanging around Ryeowook, that guy from our rival gang. Our enemy. We know what we saw, Dongrim, and you can’t convince me otherwise. But by all means, if you want to dig up the past, go ahead. Tell me what happened that day, Youngwon. Tell me your side of the story, and I’ll tell you how great I think you are at spewing bullshit. How does that sound for a deal, hm?”
“What you think you saw and what actually happened are two completely different things. You guys never listened when I tried to tell you what happened.”
“Because you couldn’t get your story straight. A little tip the next time you try to lie to someone - pick a lie and stick with it.”
Youngwon blinks once, twice, three times, but still doesn’t know what to say. He can’t set his story straight because that means he’ll have to rat out Hyungshik, and dammit, he won’t do that. Back then he was stupid, was too good of a friend to the younger boy, and he paid his price for protecting Hyungshik’s secret. He’s not going to let everything that happened be in vain.
“You’re right,” he says, holding his hands up in mock agreement - or surrender. “The past is the past, so we’ll leave it alone, focus on the now, y’know? Right now,” he pauses, puts his hands back at his sides, “I want to make a deal.” Before Taehun can cut him off and deny him the chance to at least say his piece, he says, “You let Eli go. Keep me here the rest of my life for all I care,” he glances back at Eli. “But let him go.”
If Youngwon can get Eli out of the picture, it’ll be easier for him to get himself out of here. He knows these guys - they were family once - knows which buttons to push, and as long as Eli is around, he can’t push them. And maybe, just maybe, if Eli gets out, he can get Soohyun’s gang to go after them, as revenge for taking him. Youngwon doesn’t have high hopes of Eli helping him get out of here after he leaves, but there’s still a chance. At the very least, he can get word to Inati on where he is. Soohyun’s never been one for violence within the gangs, as odd as that sounds, so maybe he’ll help them out. Just this once.
“It’s me who you want, right?” Youngwon continues. He’s taking a blind leap here. Of course he doesn’t know what Junyoung and the guys are doing, but he can only guess. “He was leverage, right? He’s probably been here long enough that you’ve already gotten what you want. So why keep him around?”
Taehun thinks this over, chews his lip in consideration. “Huh. Good point.” The gun is lifted off of Youngwon’s skin, and is instead pointed at Eli. Taehun still has his eyes trained on Youngwon, though. “I could just kill him instead. No point keeping him alive.”
“Fuck you,” Eli spits out. It’s the first thing he’s said since Taehun’s been down in this cellar, and apparently the older man is surprised.
Eyebrows raised, his eyes wander curiously over to Eli, who’s standing off to the side, almost in the corner. “Almost thought you didn’t know how to speak.” He keeps his gun pointed towards Eli, but turns to speak to Youngwon. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill him right now.”
Swallowing thickly, Youngwon takes a chance and breaks eye contact with Taehun, looks over at Eli. The younger male has a look on his face that probably means something along the lines of ‘you got me into this, now get me out of it.’ Youngwon isn’t really sure how to get him out of this situation. He thought he could make the deal and get Eli out of harm’s way, but that was stupid, wasn’t it? How did he expect Taehun to agree? “Junyoung doesn’t like when things get messy.” All he can do is hope that everyone is the same as he had remembered, hope that Junyoung is still the same old Junyoung. “Shoot him, hell, shoot me for all I care, but if you kill one of us, I bet Junyoung is going to mighty pissed.”
Taehun laughs, smiles a bit, and for a second it actually hurts because Youngwon remembers times when he and Taehun used to laugh like that, used to smile and joke around. “You win this time, Dongrim. I’ll take him back, but you have to be stupid if you think I’m gonna leave you alone down here. I’m going to get someone to watch you.”
While they’re leaving the room, Eli nods at Youngwon. Youngwon’s not really sure what he’s affirming, but it’s a good sign, he supposes. Taehun and Eli climb up the staircase, and a few moments later, someone else is climbing down it. Someone named Hyungshik.
“Oh thank god,” Youngwon breaths, visibly relaxing at the familiar face.
Hyungshik walks into the center of the room and stands in front of Youngwon. He looks at him with a mixture of pity and concern, and after a tense moment of silence, he shakes his head and mumbles, “You should have just ratted me out back then, when you found out about Ryeowook and I. You shouldn’t have let me explain, and you sure as hell shouldn’t have covered for me.”
“I was too good of a friend, I guess. And stupid, too,” Youngwon agrees. “But I don’t regret doing it. Besides,” he shrugs, “it was kind of cute, you know. You two were straight out of a harlequin romance novel.”
“I can’t believe you’re joking around right now,” Hyungshik shakes his head in disbelief, but there’s a small smile gracing his lips.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I’m just so glad it was you who Taehun got to guard me. Looks like Lady Luck doesn’t hate me too much today.”
Hyungshik smiles sadly, a look of guilt or shame - maybe both - crossing his features. “If you didn’t cover for me, none of this would have happened, you know. Junyoung wouldn’t have run you out of town like a traitor, and you’d be back in Busan right now. You’d be back home.”
Home. Youngwon thinks of the boys here, thinks of Inati, of his touch, and Busan just doesn’t seem like home anymore. “Nah,” Youngwon shakes his head. “Seoul is home to me now.”
In Hyungshik’s eyes, there’s a flash of what Youngwon thinks is hurt, but it’s gone before he can figure out what exactly that emotion is. “I’m glad to hear that, then,” he says quietly. “Now let’s get this over with, okay?” He grins a little, his quiet demeanor from before gone. “Make it hurt.”
Chuckling a little, Youngwon takes a step forward. “‘Dunno if I’m okay with punching you or not. If you were Taehun or Junyoung, maybe.”
“C’mon,” Hyungshik urges. “Pretend it’s 2006 and you’re mad at me for everything that happened.”
“Mad? I was a bit more than mad. I was fucking livid.”
“You were really that angry?” The other male asks, looking guilty again.
“Oh yeah,” Youngwon laughs. “I was pissed at Junyoung for being so hard headed, pissed at you for sneaking around with one of Leeteuk’s guys, and pissed at myself for covering your ass when I didn’t really know what you were doing. I don’t think I can ever get that pissed off again.”
“You’ll have to try then, so this looks a bit more realistic.” He taps his cheek. “C’mon, right here.”
Youngwon hesitates for a moment before lifting his fist, and in an instant his knuckles connect with Hyungshik’s jaw. There’s an audible crack, and for a moment Youngwon worries that he broke Hyungshik’s jaw.
But then Hyungshik is grinning, and Youngwon knows that he’s worried over nothing. Hyungshik is strong as hell - being in one of the two most powerful gangs in Busan will do that to you - and besides, he’s not a kid anymore.
“Once more,” Hyungshik says, this time pointing at his stomach. “Have to make this convincing, you know.”
Again, Youngwon hesitates. Hyungshik’s not a kid aynmore, he tells himself. Besides, they’re not in the same gang anymore. Youngwon has no reason to want to protect him anymore, no need. Still, they were friends at some point, and by a very thin stretch of the imagination, he thinks maybe they still are.
Either way, Hyungshik is right. One blow isn’t enough to knock him out (hell, two aren’t either) and if they’re going to pull this off, Youngwon needs to punch him. Now. The window of time Youngwon has to get out of here is limited. Who knows when Taehun will be back, or if someone else will come?
Without another moment’s hesitation, his fist collides into Hyunshik’s stomach. The younger boy staggers a bit and curls inward.
“That’s more like it,” Hyungshik breathes out. “You still have a mean punch. Glad you haven’t lost your touch.” Then he’s unclipping his gun from his belt and handing it to Youngwon. “You took my gun,” he says, sliding down to the floor. “You took my gun and ran.”
Youngwon takes the gun, eyebrows furrowed. Hyungshik is giving him the gun in case he runs into any trouble, and in this case trouble is his gang. His family. His friends. Youngwon wants to ask him if he’s sure, and he almost does, but instead the only thing he says is, “Thanks.”
“You better go soon. Taehun just wanted me to watch you ‘till he’s back from taking Eli back into his gang’s territory.” Hyungshik looks up him, a trace of a smile on his face, and Youngwon thinks it’s too bad that everything that happened, happened. Hyungshik is a good kid, and he thinks it’d be nice if they could still talk, if they could still be friends.
“Just... answer a question for me first? Just one?” Back to business, Youngwon thinks. He’s not a sentimental person, and now definitely isn’t the time to start being one.
Hyungshik looks back at the staircase and nods. “Make it quick though.”
Quick. Youngwon can do that. “What does Junyoung want?”
Hyungshik looks conflicted at the question. Youngwon can understand - he’s in a tight spot. Hyungshik has already disobeyed his orders by letting him go, and now he has to decide whether or not to spill confidential secrets with Youngwon, the enemy. Youngwon is asking too much. He knows he is, but he doesn’t care - he has to know what Junyoung is up to.
“Seoul,” Hyungshik says dryly. “He wants to make Seoul his.”
There’s a noise coming from above them, and they both stare at the ceiling. Footsteps. Youngwon looks back at Hyungshik, and his eyes are pleading. “Go” they seem to beg. Hyungshik doesn’t need to say it aloud; Youngwon hurries over to the window, only to realize that dammit, he still can’t reach it. Hyungshik is crumpled on the floor on the other side of the tiny room, feigning defeat, and they can’t risk someone walking in on him helping Youngwon out the window. Well, Youngwon can risk it. He has nothing to lose. But Hyungshik... Hyungshik would literally be risking everything.
Hyungshik says something, and Youngwon nearly doesn’t hear him because he whispers it so quitely. “The corner. To your left.”
Youngwon’s gaze lands on the corner of the room, where a box is sitting. It’s not huge, but it should be enough to give him the boost he needs to reach the window. He kicks it towards himself, and soon enough Youngwon is climbing up and out of the window.
Inati is so damn frustrated, so fucking angry, because he has no idea what to do. He always has a plan. He always knows what to do. Granted, he’s never faced anything quite this life changing. There’s violence between the gangs, yeah - he and Sunggyu have a pretty damn big rivalry, probably because they’re the bosses of the largest gangs out of the four main ones - but nothing like this.
He’s seen people die (who hasn’t, in this city?) but he’s never had to deal with anyone being held hostage. Even Jisu can’t find out where they’re keeping Youngwon, and without that piece of information, they literally can’t do anything.
The way he’s sitting around feels a lot like giving up, something that Intae doesn’t like doing. He’s given up without even trying anything. He’s given up on Youngwon. That hurts. That frustrates him. That is every unpleasent feeling he’s ever experienced wrapped up into one realization.
He’s attached to the stupid blue haired boy, even though he knows he shouldn’t be.
Youngwon is the most important thing to him.
Youngwon means the world to Inati, and he’s given up on him.
The window ends up opening right onto the sidewalk. Youngwon climbs out, and squints at the sunlight, unused to the brightness. How long had he been in the basement for, anyways? There’s a commotion further up the street, and like a fool, Youngwon turns around and catches someone’s eye. Junyoung’s eye, to be specific.
Youngwon runs.
Just when Inati feels like all hope really is lost, a miracle happens.
Intae doesn’t believe in God - hasn’t, since his mom died when he was six, and he can’t start believing again when he sees the shit that he does everyday - but if there were one, he figures this must be what an act of God is. Eli Kim - one of Soohyun’s men - shows up on his doorstep.
“Youngwon,” he breathes out, before Inati can even question him. “I know where Youngwon is.”
Inati doesn’t think twice. Against his better judgement, he lets Eli into the base. (Which he’d never, in a thousand years, dream of doing. Soohyun’s boys aren’t known to be overly aggressive, but this is still a peek into the way his gang runs that he’s giving him.)
“Talk.” Intae says, a little harshly. “What happened?”
Eli tells through the story in a rush, starting at the very beginning. They were both brought to some warehouse’s basement by “a bunch of thugs from Busan that your boy knew by fucking name.” He and Youngwon almost escaped, but someone stopped them before they could. Youngwon negotiated with him (the asshole’s name is Taehun, if that means anything.) and was able to get Eli out, and that’s why he was here.
“They’re in neutral territory, about ten minutes past the Wonhyo Bridge.”
“They didn’t blindfold you when you were in the car?” Inati furrows his eyebrows. If he wasn’t blindfolded, it could be a trap. Jang Intae doesn’t walk into traps.
“They’re not that stupid,” Eli says, shaking his head. “But neither am I. I counted how long it took and how many turns they made.” The younger male smirks, looking entirely too pleased with himself. It’s kind of annoying, Inati thinks, but he has to admit that that was good thinking.
“Anyways,” Eli mumbles, looking around a bit nervously because their exchange has drawn the attention of Day Day and Daniel, who lean against the wall, watching like guard dogs. “Soohyun is sending some men over there to take those assholes out. We want you to help. It’s the only way we can bring them down.”
Intae considers this. “How long ‘till we move out?”
“‘Bout an hour or two?” The other man says, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Soohyun likes things organised, no rushing in like an uncivilized brute.”
He ignores the obvious dig at the way he runs his gang and shakes his head. “That’s too long.” He can’t make Youngwon wait any longer. Who knows what they’ve done to him, what they will do to him? Finding Youngwon isn’t some far off horizon anymore - he knows where the boy is, and dammit, he’ll run in head first if that’s what he has to do to get him back.
He pushes past Eli and slides out of the door.
“If you leave now,” the other gang member yells after him, “this whole plan is fucked. Shot to hell.”
Day Day is calling after him too, but Inati doesn’t care.
Youngwon, he thinks over and over again, like some private mantra.
He only cares about Youngwon.
Part III