"In the end that was the choice you made, and it doesn't matter how hard it was to make it. It matters that you did it."

I.M’s shoes patted the ground gently as he walked forward, his eyes never leaving Minhyuk’s gaze. The smaller boy crossed his arms over his chest and his bottom lip. He could feel the eyes of the other two males in the room, peering between them.

“I thought you were dead,” Minhyuk stated.

“Do I look dead to you?” I.M countered, arching his eyebrows. “You left me to die. Do you know how hard it was to get myself out of the mess that you created?”

“Well…you got out of it,” Minhyuk spoke slowly.

“Unbelievable,” I.M muttered. Shownu suddenly cleared his throat rather loudly. The tall male was awkwardly holding a closed fist up, as though he had coughed into it. He lowered his arm and rocked back on his feet, clasping his hands behind his back.

“You two know one another?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately.” Whereas Minhyuk’s tone was hurried and somewhat calm, I.M seemed less than impressed. A frown was creased in on his face as he stared at Minhyuk, his eyes burning with a mellow anger.

“How?” the male probed. Minhyuk rubbed the back of his neck, drawing in a breath, exhaling it gently. “Did you know?” Shownu snapped his head around to Kihyun.

“No,” he replied softly. “I think I would’ve said something by now if I had known.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Changkyun’s father is the don of criminal organised that has multiple connections worldwide. They’re based in Japan, aren’t they?” Minhyuk directed the question to I.M. The younger boy glared at him coldly, his jaw twitched as he gritted his teeth together.

“I thought you said you were on the run from the police because of vandalism and property damage you did to your school,” Shownu said.

“That’s not quite true,” I.M responded. “I assisted Minhyuk in acquiring something from my father. Needless to say, he wasn’t too impressed and my father isn’t a forgiving man. Even towards me. I came here to hide from him and took refuge in The Void. It was well established that I could hide from the police, but not large enough that attention would be drawn to it.”

“You used The Void as a safehouse?”

“Isn’t that essentially what it is? Isn’t small enough that it flies under my father’s radar, but large enough that it provides protection,” I.M replied. Shownu recoiled in shock, a small sound leaving the back of his throat. He didn’t reply to the younger male. “As for the vandalism and property damage, I’m only on the run from the police in Osaka. They’re not exactly happy with me. Neither is the NYPD.”

“New York? What happened in New York?” Shownu questioned. “Why were you in New YorK?”

“You don’t want to know what happened in New York. Besides, I think we’re getting a little off topic,” I.M responded. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned with what you’re going to do about Jeong? That seems to make priority over my life.” Minhyuk gritted his teeth together and exhaled gently.

“He’s right,” he grumbled, “How long before he manages to break through the coding?”

“I don’t know. It could be a few hours,” Shownu answered, his eyes still trained on I.M. “What is it that he’s after? What’s on this so-called chip that he wants?”

“Leverage,” Minhyuk answered, “The information on it is powerful enough to warrant overthrowing the government.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t used it then,” Shownu said, turning his head in Minhyuk’s direction.

“It’s not exactly something that you want to draw attention to. There aren’t many that know it’s in my family’s possession. How Jeong found out about it is beneath me.”

“He had men within our ranks, one of them could’ve possibly found out,” Kihyun uttered.

“Speaking of which, where’s Jooheon?” the Blooded Shadows leader asked.

“Right where you left him. He’s still detained. I didn’t want to do anything without an order from you,” Kihyun stated.

“Because you’re so good at following instructions,” Minhyuk retorted.

“Minhyuk…about that,” Kihyun began, “I’m sorry, I only did what I thought was best.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Minhyuk replied. “Your orders come from me. At this point in time, we’ll hold off having that discussion. I have more pressing issues to deal with. In my absence, things only seemed to have become more troublesome.”

“With all due respect, I do think you owe Yoo Kihyun some gratitude. You’re lucky to have him as your second in command. He performed to the best of his ability. And no one was hurt under his watch,” Shownu informed. Kihyun was surprised that the leader of the opposing gang was standing up for him in front of MInhyuk.

Minhyuk didn’t seem to be too impressed by Shownu’s sudden bout of words. He wasn’t used to people talking back to him; he liked being in control of a situation. That much was evident with his short temper fuse, that was expressed explosively. Everyone in the near vicinity knew when Minhyuk had lost his temper.

“I don’t think it’s your place to say how effective his leadership skills were,” Minhyuk muttered.

“I do believe I have a right,” Shownu said, “He made sure that your members were as safe as possible, he formulated a plan in which didn’t draw attention and kept your disappearance confidential within this sector. His main goal was getting you back. Despite his dalliance with Wonho, I believe he is quite loyal to you.”

Minhyuk had been struck into silence. His eyes flickered towards Kihyun who seemed just as taken back as he did. The dark-haired male ran his fingers through the back of his hair. He cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling the eyes of his friend and leader on him.

“I was just trying to maintain stability,” Kihyun murmured. “I’m sure whoever was left in charge would’ve done the same thing.”

“Kihyun,” Minhyuk started, looking away, “I need to speak to Shownu privately. Can you and Changkyun both leave. I’ll request your both in as soon as we’re finished.” Kihyun his lower lip and stepped back towards the door, not even opening his mouth to argue.

I.M on the other hand appeared reluctant to leave Shownu alone with Minhyuk. Shownu though was quick to order him to leave. The younger boy only then slinked out, heaving a heavy sigh. The two short males left the room, closing the door behind themselves.

“So, you’re the son of –”

“I don’t want to hear it. I put that life behind me,” I.M interjected.

“Did you really? As far as I can tell, you’re still involved in criminal activity. If you were putting this lifestyle behind you, wouldn’t you have chosen to life a simplistic life?” I.M slid his hands into the pockets of his pants and twisted his body to face the older man.

“I tried leaving it. I ran from my father nearly three years ago. I’ve been with The Void for two years. Think about what I tried doing with that first year of solitude. You’re right, I am the son of a don. It’s not easy for someone like me to change. I was raised like this. I was taught how to properly reload, clean and fire a gun before I was a teenager.”

I.M shook his head to himself and peered do