CHAPTER 19: THE LION’S DEN

 

 

Walking down the stairs into the tunnel felt more thrilling than anything I had done in my life. I had to take deep breaths every few steps because I was so thrilled and excited – and not in a good way. The nervousness was tearing my heart in two as it kept pounding like crazy. I closed my eyes for a second while going down the stairs and accidentally kicked a rock that had rolled down the stairs. It flew against the tunnel’s wall and the sound echoed in the tunnel. With wide eyes I stared in front of me. It was almost weird – nobody seemed to be there. Nobody was on a guarding duty. Frowning a little bit, I continued my way. Soon the tunnel separated into two different, smaller tunnels. I took the right one without hesitation.

Suddenly I heard footsteps from behind me and let out a breathy gasp as someone grabbed my wrist. I turned around with the speed of a lightning just to see a very familiar face of my beloved previous unit leader, Park Jinwoo. His blonde hair had become darker and shorter and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. It hadn’t even been that long, what the heck had been going on in the tunnels?

“Aeri.” His eyes were wide and he looked very confused.

“Jinwoo…”, I said his name.

“What are you doing here?” the boy asked, looking hesitant. Should he catch me or not?

The urge to just hug him and say that I missed him was huge, but I couldn’t. I was on a mission; I needed to lie. I sighed and looked down at my shoes. “I came back. I can’t stand the thought of Chanmi being tortured.”

I saw a flash of pain in Jinwoo’s eyes. He understood me. He believed me. And he didn’t want Chanmi to be hurt either. Of course, he had always known her, and she was in his unit. He probably acted very similarly towards my sister as he had acted towards me when I was still a part of the gang.

“I don’t know what I should do”, the boy said quietly. “I think I should report you to Yikyung. But I don’t want to do it, at least not yet.”

My eyes grew larger. Wow. Even if this boy was always very loyal to his chiefs, he still had the same respect towards me he had always had. He respected my dad so he respected me and Chanmi as well. I felt a bit proud but had to put the feeling aside since I wasn’t here to actually return or stay.

“For now”, Jinwoo said. “come to the commune. Sanha and Eunwoo probably want to see you too.”

I nodded and followed after Jinwoo who lead me through the tunnels, into the main tunnels that was my usual jogging route. As we arrived at the commune, I felt some sort of homesickness hitting me. I hadn’t been away for that many weeks but seeing the familiar space and furniture made me feel very lost. But after living in the apartment with Myungjun and his unit, I couldn’t help but to notice how old fashioned and shaggy everything was. I hadn’t known of better while living here.

“Noona?”

I recognized Sanha’s voice calling my name from the door of his and Eunwoo’s room. I turned to look at him. His eyes were enlarged, his mouth slightly open. He looked so surprised I almost chuckled.

“Hi, Sanha”, I greeted the boy.

“Did you come back for good?” he asked.

I sighed and looked down. “I had no other chance.”

Lying to my friends felt to bad I was sure my heart would burst any moment. I was about to sit down on the sofa when I heard a door opening and closing and someone stepped into the commune. I knew without a doubt, who it would be. I closed my eyes. This was the hardest part for me.

“What are you doing here?” Eunwoo’s voice sounded deeper than it had before.

I slowly turned around, my eyes turning into narrow lines as I frowned in agony. “I came back.”

The boy looked somewhat angry for a moment before he actually understood my words. His expression slowly changed into hesitation and then confusion. He blinked his eyes. “Are you serious? You’re not lying, right?”

I’m lying. “Of course I’m serious”, I sighed. “When have you seen me lie?”

The boy took a step closer to me. He stared into my eyes and I could see the distressed look in his eyes. He had a battle of emotions fighting inside him. In a way I just wanted to hug him but I knew I couldn’t. I didn’t want to hurt him more.

“What are we going to do?” Sanha asked, breaking the silence.

I turned to look at Jinwoo who looked very puzzled. “Yikyung seemed to be very serious about the deadline of your return… She might not accept you in here anymore. But we could try to talk with her. She has given second chances before too.”

I snorted. “This would be like the 4^th chance for me… I’m not that hopeful.”

“But you came back”, Eunwoo stated. “You heard Yikyung’s threats earlier. You wouldn’t have come here without knowing you won’t be hurt. Right?”

I looked into the boy’s eyes. “I didn’t think of anything but Chanmi.”

The serious looks everybody had on their faces and the suffocating silence that fell upon us was close to driving me crazy. It felt horrible to lie to my friends, the people I had grown up with. I felt my knees shaking a little bit. Right now it wasn’t as dangerous as the mission where I had to chase someone or steal something, but it still felt the hardest mission I had ever been on.

Jinwoo decided to let me stay for a while before reporting my return to Yikyung. He seemed to know it somehow that I’d get in trouble when the chief would hear about me and wanted to keep me close for at least some time. We ate dinner together and there was a conversation flowing with no awkwardness. It was almost like before I had left the gang. Only one important thing was missing – Chanmi. I couldn’t help but to keep glancing at the clock. It was getting close to 8pm and Myungjun and I had promised that I’d send them a sign to enter before 9pm. I had barely an hour left. I felt so nervous I stopped eating.

“Aeri, you have to eat”, Eunwoo said and put some more food to my plate. “You have to be strong when you meet Yikyung.”

It almost amazed me how gently Eunwoo treated me. He had basically begged me to return the last time we met and made it clear that he wanted to have me to himself, but I couldn’t help but to think about that one phone call – the one that broke my heart, the one with Eunwoo calling me a traitor.

“I’m just so worried of Chanmi”, I sighed.

Jinwoo frowned. “I’m sorry I let her go. I was supposed to protect her but I couldn’t decline the higher-ups.”

“It wasn’t your fault”, I said quietly. “But do you know where they keep her?”

I felt Eunwoo staring at me from the side. Had I been too obvious? Had he caught on? I felt myself swallowing as I continued looking at Jinwoo.

“I don’t know the exact place, but I’d believe they keep her in the older part of the tunnels. There are not many people there”, Jinwoo said. “And I believe she’s been guarded very carefully.”

I sighed. “Of course…”

Not even realizing, I glanced at the clock again. The minutes were passing and I was running out of time.

“Aeri”, Eunwoo said suddenly. “I want to talk to you. Come.”

The boy gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room that had once been me and Chanmi’s. He closed the door behind us and crossed his arms on his chest. His expression was dead serious and I couldn’t help but to fear for the worst.

“I wondered why you’re looking at the clock every other minute”, he said. “So, why?”

I couldn’t answer. I was starting to panic. I couldn’t come up with any new lies. He had probably caught on. He was, after all, the best friend I’d had for the majority of my life – he knew me too well. He tilted his head a little bit.

“Eyeing at the clock, asking where Chanmi is kept at…”, the boy sighed. “Don’t tell me you have something planned.”

I let out a breathy cough. “Of course not. I’m just nervous – “

“Stop!” the boy shouted. “I know you too well. You’re a bad liar.”

I frowned and looked down. I didn’t find the words to say to the boy.

“You’re on a mission, right?” he asked quietly. “You’re trying to save Chanmi.”

I looked up at the boy. It seemed like he had grown a couple of centimetres during the time I hadn’t seen him. He looked down at me with a disappointed, somewhat angry expression.

“I hate to do this”, he stated. “But I have to take you to Yikyung.”

My eyes widened. “No”, I gasped. “Eunwoo, please.”

His expression darkened. “You didn’t listen to me when I begged you.”

With those words been said, he grabbed me from my arms and shoulder and walked me out of the room. I couldn’t get rid of his hold, no matter how hard I tried to wriggle and resist. I let out distressed sounds, sniffs and snorts and I tried to fight back.

Eunwoo was so concentrated on going forwards with determination, he didn’t pay that much attention to me wriggling in his hold. It was uncomfortable but I also had a chance to push my other hand down into my jeans’ pocket and press the speed dial number. It would call to Myungjun and they’d hopefully proceed to get in before I’d get killed. The mission was quickly going towards a failure – because of me.

We stopped for a moment before entering Yikyung office. Eunwoo looked at me with longing in his eyes.

“I really hoped you’d returned”, he whispered before knocking on the office’s door. I felt my heart aching.

The door opened quickly and the devil herself was looking at Eunwoo with a questioning expression before she noticed me. At first her eyes widened but the look quickly changed into a wicked smile. I raised my chin proudly. If I was to die tonight, at least I’d be confident until the end.

“Well, well, well”, she said as she motioned for Eunwoo to bring me in. “Who do we have here? The prodigal girl returns home… too late.”

Eunwoo glanced at one last time before leaving the room. Knowing him, he probably couldn’t bear to see what would happen to me. Our relationship really was tragic. We were so close but now there was a visible gab between us.

“Why did you return now?” Yikyung asked with a mocking tone. “You know you had your last chance already.”

The woman sat down in her chair but didn’t motion me to sit down. To be honest, I was so nervous I probably wouldn’t have been able to even sit in my place. Yikyung snorted as she stared at me.

“You’re weak, as always”, she stated, nodding at me. “You were too scared to continue your mission and you were too scared to return. Now you’re too scared for your sister and your new friends so you return here.”

I couldn’t help but to glare at the woman. I didn’t open my mouth; I didn’t want to anger her more right now.

“So, you’re willing to die in order for your sister to live?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “Such a romantic idea. But you know, once you’re dead… I can just forget about that kind of promises and get rid of your sister too.”

I felt the anger growing inside me and I noticed my eyes growing larger. I flashed the most poisonous death glare I could at the woman, who just smirked at me.

“You were stupid to come here”, she stated. “You should’ve stayed in the new luxury world of yours. It’s not enough that you’re a weak orphan. You’re also extremely stupid.”

“Shut up”, I groaned at the woman.

The moment I opened my mouth she got up and punched me straight to my face. I felt my nose and left cheek burning with pain and I grimaced. I felt blood slowly draining from my nose to my lips and as I tasted the blood, continued glaring at the woman. She responded to my glare with her own for a moment before quickly rushing towards me and before I could dodge, she had kicked me to the ground.

That exact moment the door was shut open and a familiar face rushed into the room. Minhyuk was quick to pull out his pistol and aim at Yikyung. She, anyhow, was an experienced fighter and managed to dodge the bullet that hit the wall but rebound and disappeared into the chair Yikyung had been sitting in earlier.

For a split second I thought the situation would get under control. It was me and Minhyuk against Yikyung. But then Eunwoo rushed back into the office, eyes widened for a second, and before I could cry out a warning, attacked Minhyuk from behind. A powerful kick threw Minhyuk to the ground. He managed to get up but Eunwoo was already aiming punches at him. He kicked the gun Minhyuk had held in his hand to the corner of the room.

Right. The gun. I quickly brought my hand to my holster to grab the pistol but Yikyung was quick to catch on and punched me again before grabbing the gun herself and throwing it away.

“You’ve made a big mistake, missy”, she hissed in my ear as she grabbed me forcefully, making me follow her out of the room, leaving Eunwoo and Minhyuk fighting alone.

I fought back as much as I could and breaking my other hand free of her grasp, paid back for the punched I had received. As my fist hit the woman, she let out a groan that was half of surprise, half of pain. It felt so good to finally hit the woman. I had wanted to do this for the last three years. Seeing blood on her face made me feel satisfied… but not satisfied enough.

“You’re going to die soon”, she groaned. “You’ll die together with your sister.”

Yikyung held me so forcefully it was painful, and as she forced me to follow her into a smaller tunnel that I had probably never entered, it was pretty much impossible to fight back. I guess I had finally met my match. She was the first woman whom I couldn’t defeat that easily.

I could see two armed men standing in front of a very sturdy door. The faces were somewhat familiar to me but I couldn’t name them or the unit they belonged to. This must’ve been where they kept Chanmi imprisoned.

“Open the door”, Yikyung hissed at the men.

As the heavy door was slowly opened, I could already see Chanmi. I was close to gasping. She was tied up into a chair with duct tape on . Her head was drooping; she was clearly unconscious or sleeping. Her arms and legs were full of bruises and small wounds and she had blood smeared on her face. My blood was boiling. I wanted to kill Yikyung right at this moment. She was a monster. I wriggled myself out of her hold and punched her again, almost throwing her to the ground.

“You’re taking an hour off your time to live every time you attack me”, she growled. Then she rushed out of the room. I heard her command the guards. “Leave. Go find the boy.”

As the door slammed shut and I heard the lock turning, I rushed to Chanmi. I gently put my hand on her shoulders and tried to wake her up without hurting her. Slowly her eyes opened. At first she couldn’t recognize me in the dark room but slowly her eyes widened. I removed the tape from as gently as I could.

“Unnie?” she gasped.

“Chanmi”, I whispered. “Yes, it’s me. I’m so sorry.”

The girl let out a sniff. “Why did you come here? Now we’ll both die.”

My eyes widened. “Of course I came! If you were to die, I wouldn’t let you to die alone. But trust me, Chanmi, we’re getting out of here. My unit has a plan.”

She looked confused. “Your unit?”

I sighed. “I mean… my new unit. They will be here any moment now.”

My little sister let out an exhausted hum as a respond. She looked so tired. She had been sitting down, getting tortured for days. I hoped she didn’t have any broken bones – it would slow down escaping, and anyway, take a long time to heal.

The room’s door opened again. This time Yikyung wasn’t alone. She had Jinwoo and Eunwoo with her, and she had a big can of some liquid in her hand – undeniably petrol. The expression on the woman’s face was downright crazy, insane. Her eyes were murderous. Jinwoo looked so hesitant and desperate I couldn’t stand to look at him. Eunwoo had bruises and blood on his face, he had clearly gotten some hits from Minhyuk. Where was he? Has he gotten caught, or was he on a run?

Yikyung started pouring the petrol on the floor and walls of the room and I stared at her actions with wide eyes.

“Chief…”, Jinwoo opened his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“They used to burn women who were suspected to be witches”, Yikyung chuckled. “I believe the same custom will work with traitors.”

“You’re not really going to burn them alive, right?” I heard Eunwoo speaking. Wow. It was him who gave me away.

“Of course I am”, Yikyung stated. “All they cause is trouble.”

Jinwoo stepped closer to the woman. “Chief. Could you please think again?”

Yikyung turned to look at Jinwoo. “No. Do you want to burn with them?”

Jinwoo’s eyes widened a little bit and he looked down. He was clearly struggling, not knowing whose side to stand on. He ended up staying silent. I glanced at Chanmi who was starting to shake in her chair. This was the side of her I hadn’t seen. She was always acting strong and confident, just like me. I grabbed her hand, trying to make her feel better.

Suddenly the door opened again and Sanha rushed into the room.

“Chief!” he shouted. “Some boy was chasing me. I think I got rid of – “

His sentence was cut off as Minhyuk rushed into the room, kicking Sanha from the back, throwing him to the ground.

“You foolish boy”, Yikyung scolded the boy. “You should’ve been more careful.”

Jinwoo and Eunwoo were automatically rushing towards Minhyuk to defend Sanha from him, but at that moment Bin and Myungjun appeared from the hallway and rushed between Minhyuk and the other boys. I stared around me, confused. Everything happened so quickly. Suddenly my previous unit and my current unit were face to face, preparing to fight each other.

For a short moment everything seemed to stop. Like the time stopped passing. Sanha was sitting on the ground, staring at Minhyuk, who was glaring at the boy he had kicked. Bin and Eunwoo glared at each other furiously, more than ready to rip each other’s heads off. Myungjun and Jinwoo, then again, were having the staring battle of the century. They were probably both trying to think of a plan, how to deal with the situation cleverly.

“What are you waiting for?” Yikyung’s piercing voice broke the silence. “Kill them.”