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Nari grinned, her shoulder was leaned against the wall, her fingers wiggling into a malicious wave, legs crossed and careless as three figures, the middle one being a rather pallor Yang Jae-myeong who slowed his pace at her stance.
Now that Mr Moon was on their side, he would’ve been no matter what they had said, their next target was wringing Jae-myeong dry for information.
Jae-myeong stilled, his hand lifting to stop the two men at his side when Nari jutted her head behind him. Jae-myeong turned, so slowly and fearfully, Nari found him amusing.
He cursed at Geon-woo’s figure who had blocked the corridor behind them. Jae -myeong took a startling step back before Woo-jin’s figure emerged from behind and Hyeon-ju creeped in front of them from the shadows.
The two men at his side split after a rough shove from Jae-myeong who nervously took a step back. The two men glanced at Woo-jin and Geon-woo’s big frames and rather cowardly, charged after the two women.
Nari’s eyes lit up, her hands nestled in her pockets as one of the men stalked towards her. Nari merely raised her brow, her stance unwavering and head tilted while his arm reeled back. Her grin further widened when he was suddenly pulled back roughly, his feet sliding from underneath him when he was yanked away from her and with one swift punch, both men were collapsed to the floor.
” Cute” Nari said, smiling rather bashfully at Geon-woo who stood before her, the man sprawled unconscious between their feet.
“You let him get too close” Geon-woo muttered and Nari hummed, stepping over the man’s limp body as Woo-jin and Hyeon-ju joined them to face Jae-myeong’s cowering frame.
” You wouldn’t let him get closer” she mused, brushing past him of which he huffed and followed as the four of them cornered Jae-myeong who glanced at them fearfully, backing against the wall in hopes it would engulf him.
” Long time no see” Woo-jin said, his lips upturning into a sinister grin.
Jae-myeong glanced at them and his fear shone clear as day. His throat bobbed and his tone came out sceptical ” Hey. I’ll tell you everything. Just don’t hit me yeah” he said and Nari pursed her lips sympathetically. He flinched as she patted his shoulder before guiding him into a spare room where Woo-jin and Geon-woo dragged and tied up the two men, and Hyeon-ju finished taping Jae-myeong’s hands behind his back while Nari pulled up a chair before him.
“Speak” she ordered and Jae-myeong’s confessions tumbled out of his mouth quicker than sand.
“Word got around amongst the homeless, so we’ve been going around facilities for the disabled to steal IDs. ” Nari bit back a harsh remark at their lack of humanity but opted to remain silent.
“We weren’t talking about you. What’s going on at Smile Capital?” Woo-jin derided, tone clipped in agitation as the three of them sat before him, Hyeon-ju standing idly by the other two captives who wriggled beneath the tape before receiving a harsh kick to silence them.
“Oh, well then you should’ve been a little more specific” Jae-myeong sulked, a frown etching onto his face . Nari raised her brow, and Jae-myeong’s complaints sealed shut.
“Has the casino opened, sir?” Geon-woo asked, rather politely considering their situation. Nari wanted to smile at his politeness. It seemed even though he looked intimidating, his morals were so deeply ingrained, it didn’t deter from his upholdment of character. Woo-jin glanced at the pair before ushering them to the door.
”Give us a second will ya” Nari said before Woo-jin dropped his head in a whisper.
“Can you maybe try a tough guy act?” Woo-jin asked Geon-woo while Hyeon-ju slithered up to them, eyebrow arched in question while Nari huffed, rather amused.
“That’s like asking a golden retriever to suddenly turn into a pit-bull. ” Nari scoffed and both boys turned to look at her. “Sorry babe” she grinned sheepishly, her boyfriend looking offended and Woo-jin fed up.
”Can you not” Woo-jin muttered and Nari merely grinned a toothy smile in return causing the eldest of the four to sigh.
“How do I do that?” Geon-woo asked, genuinely baffled and they divulged into hushed whispers. Hyeon-ju eyed the two, exasperated, before sharing a humoured look with Nari. Nari nodded at the silent question in her eyes and Hyeon-ju smirked, turning on her heel. She startled Jae-myeong when the chair squeaked against the floor, catching the attention of the others.
Woo-jin went to interfere but Nari just raised her hand not daring to miss the scene before her, which halted him in place. The three of them watched as Jae-myeong gulped rather nervously.
“Hiya” she said, her arms resting on the backrest. “So, this is how this will go. I need you to open that useless mouth of yours and finally do something worth your while and answer everything we need to know. Or, we can make this friendly conversation, not so friendly anymore” her tone dropped into a whisper at the end. She reached in her jacket and pulled out her taser, it lit up, electric sparks seemed to illuminate in his eyes. “So, what do you say, will you cooperate?”
Nari was impressed. Hyeon-ju really did take after her grandfather in more than one aspect. A pang pinched her heart at the thought but she brushed it aside when Jae-myeong nodded frantically.
“Good. Now tell us everything you know about that casino?” Hyeon-ju said and Nari rounded to her side, squeezing her shoulder before taking a seat again.
“I happened to overhear the director talking on the phone” he started and the four of them furrowed at the mention of a director.
“Director? What’s his name?” Woo-jin interjected and a sinking feeling settled in Nari’s chest.
“Kim Jun-min sir” Jae-myeong answered dutifully and Nari took in a surprised breath. Dread creeped up her bones, burning and melting. Jun-min was alive? There was no way. All four of them were startled by his answer.
“Some piece of shit slashed his neck with a knife and he-”
With the familiar dread in her veins and the anger pulsating in her blood, Nari didn’t stop herself from lunging at Jae-myeong when he uttered that sentence. The chair screeched back forcefully as her body lurched forward, her hands fisting around his high visor vest with a furious glare.
“Take that back you son of a bitch” Nari spat, an uncontrollable anger expelled any self-restraint in her. He was mocking Du-yeong, he was speaking ill of her uncle.
“Nari, Nari stop. He can’t breathe” Nari didn’t realise she’d been holding him so tightly that she had cut off his airways, his face was turning blue, lips spluttering with fear in his eyes.
“It’s okay, he didn’t mean it” Geon-woo nurtured softy, gently settling her back down onto the rightened chair while the others looked on concerned.
“Isn’t that right?” he said to Jae-myeong who was wheezing for breath but nodded just so.
“Sorry, sorry” he wheezed, his colour slowly seeping back into his cheeks but his throat was still croaky. “I understand now, you’re all working together. My mistake” he apologised.
When Nari settled, Hyeon-ju spared her friend one more worrisome glance before prompting Jae-myeong to continue.
“I fcking hate Jun-min” he continued. “That guy’s a fcking asshole. Smile Capital’s also a bunch of motherfckers” Nari rolled her eyes behind tense posture.
“Just get on with it” Hyeon-ju hissed and his mouth clamped shut in return.
“Okay” he nodded. “Based on what I heard on the phone, they’re fighting with Lil Group over the contract so Kim Myeong-gil is really pissed off lately. ”
”And?” Woo-jin pressed. They were finally getting somewhere.
“Kim Jun-min is tight with this guy, Im Jang-do. He’s an asshole too. ” recognition flickered in their eyes as he continued.
” He was in charge of dealing with the cops, but he just disappeared one day. And recently, Kim Myeong-gil was drinking at a hostess bar and got into a fight with some dude and ended up breaking his wrist. So, the cops were called in and it was a whole scene, but they swept it all under the rug. That doesn’t usually happen when the police are called to the scene. So from what Kim Jun-min said, Kim Myeong-gil had found a guy to replace Im Jang-do. Apparently, he hasn’t told anyone about it yet” he tittered at the end.
They hid their surprise behind stoic eyes, and they hid it well, especially when he started looking at them for what seemed to be approval or was that fear of being hit like his two buddies.
“Why?” Geon-woo asked and Jae-myeong leaned forward to the best of his ability.
“Because he doesn’t trust his own men.”
“Anything else?” Hyeon-ju insisted and Jae-myeong paused, his face contorting wearily before he lit up. “Oh, there’s also plans on taking over a golf course in Gyeonggi-do. That’s the reason why we’re busting our balls out here. We get paid shit but they practically work us like mules. ” he suddenly erupted before falling silent at Hyeon-ju’s glare.
They had gotten a good lead with Jae-myeong. Nodding to each other they stood up, Jae-myeong looking at them expectantly before Hyeon-ju ushered Woo-jin forward.
“One last thing” Woo-jin said, grabbing Jae-myeong’s face and lifting it so he could snag a photo. Stars dotted Jae-myeong’s eyes at the flash before his cheeks were relieved of his vice grip.
“You’re fcked if we send this to Kim Jun-min ” Woo-jin said gesturing to the picture in hand. “So keep your mouth shut”
Jae-myeong nodded, assuring them that he’d never and that he was always available if they needed him.
They nodded, satisfied before Hyeon-ju turned, her finger raised in the air and the others paused in their step when she suddenly tuned to Jae-myeong. Before any of them had the chance to stop her, her fist collided with his nose and Jae-myeong’sย head whipped to the side, his body following. Woo-jin and Geon-woo both winced as his body collided with the floor, his groan vibrating through them.
She turned back to face them, smiling wide and relieved and shaking out her hand.
“He deserved it” Hyeon-ju shrugged when she saw their questioning stares. Nari gave her a grin, slinging her arm around her shoulder as they walked out, the two boys trailing behind.
“How long were you keeping that in?” Nari chuckled.
“Since I first set my eyes on him” Hyeon-ju replied.
“Did you have to do that?” Woo-jin asked and Hyeon-ju gave him a half-hearted wave.
“I needed to sell it” she said.
” After we took the photo?” he questioned and Hyeon-ju merely grinned in response.
“Whoops” she smiled, leaving him stunned as Nari’s laugh echoed through the desolate corridor.ย
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