PA 23

At Yeongsik’s cautious suggestion that they should go back to Sanghyeon, Yejun got out of the car right there on the road filled with cars. Yejun dodged the cars honking irritably, got off the road, and stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Is that bastard crazy, wanting to die?”

Curses flew from here and there. But Yejun didn’t care about such trivial things. To Yejun, the past two days had truly been like hell. He took a hat out of his bag, pulled it down low, and hid the tears that kept streaming down.

“Yejun, Yejun!”

Yeongsik, looking quite frantic, called out Yejun’s name without any regard for the eyes of others. Yejun turned into an alley with a narrow staircase that the car couldn’t follow. It seemed Yeongsik had pulled the car over to the side of the road and was making a phone call somewhere.

He must have given up on following me.

Yejun sighed and quickly left the area. He couldn’t go back to the dorm where the members were. Because they shared the rooms and the living room, his body, covered in red bruises like measles, would be discovered immediately while he was changing his clothes.

Sigh…

He would rather die than let the members find out what had happened over the past two days. They would probably take his side. And then they would fight alongside him.

Then, then… what would happen?

All the members might have to give up their careers in the entertainment industry. Yejun shook his head from side to side and let out a deep sigh. He took his phone out of his bag and pressed and held the power button. The phone turned on with a cheerful alarm sound. It was then. Junhyuk’s name popped up on the phone screen again. Yejun’s hand trembled slightly.

Sigh…

Yejun flipped his phone over and didn’t answer Junhyuk’s call. No, he couldn’t bring himself to answer it. Even now, he wanted to hear Junhyuk’s voice and be comforted by him.

That’s just my own selfish desire.

Yejun could never tell Junhyuk that he had been raped. He was about to turn his phone off again to avoid Junhyuk’s call. Just then, Hyungyu’s name flashed on the phone screen. At that moment, a sinister premonition washed over Yejun. With a trembling hand, he pressed the call button on his phone.

“H-Hello?”

— Mr. Lee Yejun?

Instead of Hyungyu, a hoarse voice that sounded like it was scraping against vocal cords came from over the phone.

“Who is this?”

— Ah, wait a minute. I’ll put your father on.

“H-Hello! Y-You have to tell me what’s going on…”

— Yejun! It’s me, your father. H-Hurry up and come here. These bastards are trying to kill me… Aack!

“Father, Father!”

Startled by Hyungyu’s screaming-like shriek, Yejun yelled loudly into the phone. He didn’t even have a moment to be conscious of the gazes of passersby. Yejun’s heart pounded, and his legs trembled.

— Hello?

“Who are you people? What are you doing to my father?”

However, Yejun soon calmed his mind.

He borrowed money from the company, and I’m the one who suffered for it.

He hated Hyungyu to death for borrowing money again in the meantime, trying to drag him down into the abyss.

— Aah, we’re owed some money by your father.

“So? Why are you telling me that?”

— If you don’t come right now, this Mr. Lee Hyungyu will be found as a corpse in a few days.

“Do as you please. I have no intention of paying that money back for him. And I don’t care if that person dies.”

This was the man who had even tried to steal his mother’s cancer insurance money and threatened her to die. He didn’t want to get involved with him anymore, nor did he want to associate with him.

— Ha, so that’s how you’re going to play it? You think I’m joking with you, Mr. Lee Yejun?

— Uwaaaaaaah!

Presently, Hyungyu’s desperate scream came through the receiver. Yejun’s hand, gripping the phone, was becoming soaked with sweat. Vibrate. At that moment, a message was sent to his phone. He checked the message with a hand that was shaking uncontrollably.

— You’re still not coming? Want me to cut off the rest and send it?

A photo contained one of Hyungyu’s severed fingers. It was the moment Yejun’s composure crumbled. No matter how much he hated him, he couldn’t ignore his father, his own flesh and blood. He could still hear the voice over the phone, screaming and crying, begging to be saved, begging for forgiveness.

‘He’s still the father who gave birth to you. Please don’t hate him too much.’

The image of his mother, shedding tears as she defended his father, came to mind. Squeezing his eyes shut, Yejun opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I’ll go. Where is my father?”

— I’ll text you the location now. Come alone.

His father, who was hardly a father at all, was in a situation where he might die. Still, Yejun ran out to the main road in sight and hailed a random taxi. Then he checked his phone. As they had said, a text message had arrived. Yejun calmly told the taxi driver the destination.

Before long, the taxi carrying Yejun entered a deserted country road. After driving on for a good while longer, the taxi driver, looking perplexed, pointed at the navigation system and spoke to Yejun.

“It seems to be here.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right. Thank you.”

As Yejun hurriedly got out of the car, the taxi drove away without a second thought, kicking up dust. Yejun looked around, circling the area. It was at that moment. A large man wearing a colorful Hawaiian-style shirt and black pants appeared in front of Yejun, swaggering.

“You really came alone.”

The man was the owner of the hoarse, scraping voice.

“M-My father?”

“Follow me.”

Yejun followed the man, clutching his bag to his chest. After walking for a while through an alley between abandoned buildings, an open lot appeared, and Yejun saw Hyungyu, his two wrists bound together with a chain and hung from a high place.

“Father!”

As soon as Yejun spotted Hyungyu, he ran over urgently. However, Yejun was caught by the large men and could no longer get any closer to Hyungyu. The large men doused the bloodied and bruised Hyungyu with a bucket of cold water.

“Ye-Yejun… S-Save me.”

Hyungyu, who had barely regained consciousness, managed to open one eye, and as soon as he saw Yejun, he spoke tearfully.

“What sin did my father commit to make a person look like that? Let him go right now.”

Yejun struggled, trying to break free from them and run to Hyungyu. Up close, Hyungyu’s appearance was even more wretched. His left leg was dangling in the air as if it were broken, and his face was so battered and bruised with blood that it was unrecognizable.

“F-Father.”

“This Mr. Lee Hyungyu here borrowed some money from us, talking all big and mighty.”

At that moment, Yejun felt his heart drop.

“The son has to pay it back for Mr. Lee Hyungyu.”

“I’ll pay it back.”

“How? How are you going to pay it back?”

“Garnish all the money I make from now on.”

“Do you know how much your father borrowed from us? A whopping eight hundred million won, eight hundred million!”

“Ah…”

Including what he borrowed from Yeongsik, the total was one billion three hundred million won. Yejun let out a deep sigh.

“We only charged him fifteen percent annual interest. The collateral, his son, was so good. The interest alone is ten million won a month… You think you can handle that?”

“Sigh…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

They snickered and dropped Hyungyu, who was hanging high up, to the ground.

“Ughh!”

Hyungyu let out a monstrous scream from the shock of the fall. Yejun hurriedly tried to go to Hyungyu, but the thugs blocked his way. In front of Yejun, they pressed down on Hyungyu’s shoulders to keep him from moving, then made him stretch out one arm.

“Ah, aack!”

“W-What are you doing to my father?”

Yejun struggled to get past them, but they wouldn’t let him go.

“But what do you know, someone appeared who’s willing to give us the money for you.”

“…”

“If you just accept his proposal, he said he’ll pay it all in a lump sum.”

“W-Who?”

“Here, take the call. Mr. Pretty.”

They held a phone to Yejun’s ear.

— This is Song Changeol, Chief Secretary of Saeil Group.

It was Sanghyeon’s trap. Yejun, with a blank expression, couldn’t say a word. When Yejun showed hesitation while on the phone, they held Hyungyu’s outstretched arm firmly and nonchalantly cut off another finger.

“Ah! Aack! Ye-Yejun! Save me. I was really wrong. I’ll never, never appear before you again.”

“…”

Memories of his past hardships flashed through Yejun’s mind. He hated Hyungyu so much. But he was his father, and he kept worrying, and fear crept in, making him feel confused.

“Ugh… Son. Please… For the last time, I really… wanted to do well. I wanted to live with your mom and be your dependable father…”

A memory of a brief, happy time in his childhood surfaced and overlapped with Hyungyu. Yejun squeezed his eyes shut and hesitated.

‘Yejun, my baby, the prettiest in the world.’

Before he became addicted to gambling, Hyungyu had been an incompetent but affectionate father.

Just as another finger was about to be sliced off Hyungyu’s struggling body, Yejun, who had barely come to his senses at the sight of his father, managed to speak in a trembling voice. Fat teardrops fell from Yejun’s eyes.

“I’ll, I’ll do whatever you say. Just please save my father, my father.”

— Put Jeon Sangup on.

At Secretary Song’s words, Yejun turned his gaze to the man standing there with the most swagger. The phone was handed to Jeon Sangup.

“Yes, yes.”

The men who were about to cut Hyungyu’s finger stopped their actions. They let go of Hyungyu, who had been thrashing about like a madman. Hyungyu, unable to even stand, tried to crawl away like a snake.

“Father, Father!”

Yejun tried to run to Hyungyu, but he was caught again by the men’s hands. Jeon Sangup approached Yejun, and Yejun began to plead with him urgently.

“My father, my father needs to go to the hospital right now!”

“Looks like you don’t grasp the situation. We’ll take care of this Lee Hyungyu’s treatment.”

“What makes you think I can trust you with my father?”

“Ah, fuck! This bastard just doesn’t get it. Fuck, you just listen to the person who’s paying the money for you.”

Jeon Sangup spat out curses as if annoyed. It was then. A gleaming black sedan entered the lot and stopped in front of Yejun. A bodyguard who got out from the passenger side opened the back door and said,

“Please get in.”

“My father, what about my father?”