[ gif set credit: https://yongguks.tumblr.com/ ]

Because it's really good to see him smile.

“What’s the damage?”

JB’s eyes scanned the list in front of him. “Nothing we can’t handle. Two clubs in Apgu-jeong. We had to close for repairs, but everything should be up and running again tonight. Oh, and some of Jackson’s boys were jumped, but no lasting damage.”

Hanbin raised his hand. “Some of mine too. They were having a night out and some Red Eagles just came in and started a fight.”

A few other voices chimed in about similar altercations.

Nara nodded and scanned the table, where the leaders of the various factions in the gang were seated. “That’s to be expected. We hit them without warning. They’re bound to take revenge. Tell your boys to be more careful when they’re out. And for those who needed medical treatment, send the receipts to Youngjae. We’ll take care of it.”

“We’re also looking at opening up a couple of new clubs,” Himchan said stoically. “The number of orders for all the party drugs are up this month, and we can’t be supplying so much in each one. If any of your guys feel like they can handle managing another joint, let me know after the meeting.”

“Is that all?” Nara asked, looking around. “Anyone has anything else to add?”

Daehyun looked up from his laptop, where he was taking notes. “That’s about it. Surveillance is the last item.”

“Ah, right,” Nara nodded. She turned to look at the man she’d placed in charge of the task. “How’s that going?”

“We’re still tailing Kim Tae Song and his family,” Zico reported. “I’ll send you a document detailing his daily activities, but he doesn’t seem to do much. He rides with his chauffeur every morning to send his two kids to school, and then he golfs or stays home. At night, he goes with a few guys to check on a few joints, but that’s it. The Red Eagle leaders don’t seem to meet up very much.”

Eunkwang scoffed. “I’ll bet. How can they trust and work together with that snake? He sacrificed his own gang in exchange for a spot among their leaders. I heard they only gave it to him because most of their leaders died in that clash with us.”

Nara’s face darkened visibly at the mention of the historic clash that changed both gangs forever. While the Black Dragon was luckier not to have their entire leadership decimated in the firefight, they had lost their Number 1, and she’d lost her father. JB kicked Eunkwang under the table.

“His kids,” Nara said after a pause. “You said he sends them to school. What about after? Does he pick them up?”

Zico shook his head. “No. The chauffeur comes alone. When the kids get home, a stay-in nanny takes care of them. Their mother usually spends the day shopping or at the country club with other wives of Red Eagle leaders.” The corner of his lips quirked up in a smirk as he looked at his phone. “She’s also having an affair with one of the bell boys at the club. That’s some useful information we can use.”

Daehyun snorted. “I did wonder how an attractive woman like her could stand being with a man twice her age. I guess she’s getting her needs satisfied elsewhere.”

Nara shook her head. “Not the wife. I’m sure he’ll have no problems killing her with his own hands when he finds out. If we want to hit him where it hurts, we need to focus on the kids. Run background checks on the chauffeur and the nanny. I want to know if they can be bought.”

Zico nodded and made a note on his phone. “Got it. Will let you know when I find out.”

“Um, not to be disrespectful,” Christian spoke up hesitantly. He was a new addition to the group, having been promoted only recently, and he rarely spoke up during the meetings. “But is it wise of us to go after his family? I mean, I get that the guy did some pretty bad , but to target his children? That doesn’t sit right with me. I mean, there are rules in the underworld against this, right?”

Everyone at the table bristled. The tension in the air crackled like electricity.

As usual, Himchan was quick to shut things down when they went awry. “If you knew that was going to sound disrespectful, you should have just kept your mouth shut. Now, if nobody else has anything of more importance than their personal opinion—”

Nara’s fists were clenched when she placed them on top of the table and leaned forward to take a closer look at Christian. She knew he was raised overseas, so he probably needed time to get used to the propriety expected of him at such meetings. “Oh, you know that he ‘did some pretty bad ’, don’t you? Has Junhong filled you in on what exactly that is?”

Junhong, who’d suggested that Christian be promoted, was quick to bow in apology. “I’m sorry, noona. He spoke out of line. Won’t happen again.”

Nara ignored him, now focusing her anger solely on Christian. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and he was now regretting speaking out in front of everyone. “He touched my family first. All rules were off when he killed my father, and if I want to kill his kids just so he knows what it feels like to lose the most important people in his life, I will damn well do it. Are you going to invoke the rules of the underworld and try to stop me?”

“N-no…” he stuttered. “That’s not what I meant.”

Nara scoffed and turned her attention to the rest of the table, who were sitting straight in rapt attention. “I mean exactly what I said, though. If anyone of you or your men come across Kim Tae Song or his family, I want you to walk away.” Her voice was hollowing and menacing, and despite the men in the room being some of the most ruthless and dangerous in the country, it sent chills down their spine.

“Nobody is to touch a hair on his head because when it’s time for him to die, it’s going to happen slowly and painfully by my hands.”

Jongup was coloring with Howon in the living room when the front door opened and the rest of his family streamed in. Himchan was berating Junhong loudly, and everyone seemed to be in a bad mood generally. He waited quietly for all of them to sit down around him before whispering to Daehyun, “Did something happen?”

Daehyun quickly shook his head, before his eyes widened dramatically, his voice rising in pitch. “Wow, Howon, did you color that? It’s beautiful!”

Youngjae quickly chimed in, trying to lift the mood. “Wah, is my nephew a genius? How can you create a work of art like that?”

Even Himchan stopped his nagging as he sat down in front of Howon. Nara sat down beside him, rubbing her temples to soothe the beginnings of a headache. He opened his arms, smiling widely. “Are you not going to greet your appa?”

Howon giggled as he grabbed his stuffed toy and ran around the coffee table, leaping into Himchan’s arms. “Appa!”

Himchan ruffled his hair. “Did you have fun with Uncle Jongup today? Where did you guys go?”

“We played games!” Howon declared happily. He held out his stuffed toy. “Uncle Jongup bought me this.”

“Oh, did he?”

Beside them, Nara stiffened as she sat upright. She took a look at the toy her son was holding. It was Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh. She snatched it away from her son’s arms, glaring at Jongup. “You bought him this?”

Jongup blinked, not understanding why he was suddenly on the end of her rage. Her tone held venom for reasons he couldn’t fathom. “Yes. I let him choose a toy and he chose this. Is there a problem?”

Behind him, Daehyun’s foot nudged him in warning.

“Of all the toys you could have bought, you bought him this?” Nara questioned, eyes flashing. “What’s up with everyone today? Is this some ing nightmarish version of Throwback Thursday?”

“Nara, language,” Himchan warned, covering his son’s ears as the boy started to frown.

Howon reached out towards his mother, trying to get his toy back. “I like Tigger.”

Nara wrenched it away from him. “You can’t have this. I’ll buy you something else.”

“But I like Tigger!” Howon cried, starting to sniffle. “I don’t want something else.”

“I said no!” Nara snapped harshly.

Himchan turned to her, his temper flaring too. “What’s wrong with you? You’re scaring him!”

At the sound of both his parents raising their voices, Howon started to bawl. Junhong jumped up quickly, pulling him from Himchan and carrying him in his arms. “Umma and Appa don’t mean that. They’re just tired from work. Let’s go play in your room, okay?”

As Junhong left the room with Howon, the rest of the room fell into silence. Himchan sighed, calming his tone. “We said we wouldn’t bring this home. What are you doing in front of our son?”

Nara ignored him, grabbing the toy and standing. “I don’t want this thing in my house.”

Jongup stared curiously after her as she stormed off. “I still don’t know what I did wrong. Why does she hate the toy so much?”

Daehyun shushed him, eyeing Himchan. “It’s nothing.”

Himchan’s jaw was tensed, and it was clear he knew, even though nobody said anything. It’d been years, and they’d managed to build a strong family unit, but the memory of him still lingered, like some ghost they couldn’t exorcise. He subconsciously fiddled with his wedding ring, and was deep in thought for a good few seconds before he realized that the rest of the boys were staring at him.

“Pull yourselves together,” he said, standing. “A lot of things are happening now, but we agreed that no matter what happens outside, none of it will be brought into this house. Outside of the gang, our first priority is making sure Howon has the most normal childhood he can have, you hear me?”

Youngjae, Daehyun and Jongup nodded mutely.

Frankly, none of them knew what a normal childhood looked like, but they knew they owed it to Nara to try to give it to her son.

“Yongguk ahjusshi!”

Yongguk broke out into a smile as he neared the playground in front of his building, waving his arm vigorously to mimic the actions of the little girl in front of him. “You’re here, Yoomi?”

“Come play with us!” Yoomi called out.

As Yongguk approached, he could see a tired out Sleepy standing at the bottom of the slide with Tigger running around in circles and yapping at his heels. He nearly tripped over the leash as he handed it to Yongguk. “Tag, you’re it.”

Yongguk chuckled as he took the leash. “Your wife still in the hospital?”

Sleepy nodded. “Between work and visiting her, I’m barely surviving. I don’t know why I have to play tag and walk this dumb dog three times a day. You like him, don’t you? I’ll sell him to you for 30, 000 won.”

“You can’t!” Yoomi yelled from the top of the slide. “I’ll tell umma!”

“And I’ll tell her you ate pudding for lunch!” Sleepy yelled back.

“She’ll be angrier that you let me!”

Sleepy shook his head in exhaustion. “I can’t. I’m too tired to argue with a 4-year-old. You take over, okay? I’ll just sit down at that bench there and close my eyes for a second.”

Yongguk laughed at his friend. “Hey, you know what? Just go upstairs and take a nap. I’ll watch your daughter and your dog, and bring them both home when they’re done.”

Sleepy looked at him with gratitude. “You will?” He eyed the duffel bag that Yongguk was carrying, which he knew contained his work uniform. “Did you just finish a shift? You must be tired too.”

Yongguk shook his head. “Yeah, but I’m fine. I had a day shift, and those are pretty quiet. Go ahead.”

Sleepy clasped both his hands before him. “Thank you so much. I owe you.”

Frankly, Yongguk probably owed him more. Ever since Sleepy and his family came into his life, he’d been rediscovering what it meant to be normal. He was smiling more, drinking less, and he’d even gone back to work. Having people to talk to and share meals with gave him back the feeling that he actually mattered. He didn’t say any of this, though. He just grinned. “No problem, man. What are neighbors for?”

He looked up at Yoomi as Sleepy retreated towards their apartment building. “Yoomi, you mind playing with ahjusshi instead?”

“Of course not!” Yoomi called down happily. “Appa was a bad tagger anyway! He didn’t catch me even once!”

Yongguk laughed. He could imagine Sleepy pretending he was trying to catch her. “Well, ahjusshi makes a living out of catching people, so you better watch out!”

Yoomi squealed happily as she ran away from him, and Yongguk couldn’t help laughing along as he tried to catch her. Was this why people had children? Just the fact that he was able to make her laugh was making his heart feel full.

“Officer Bang?”

Yongguk stopped in his tracks when he heard someone calling out for him. Turning, he saw Section Chief Kang Minshik standing at the edge of the playground, looking quizzically at him. His smile dying, Yongguk straightened to face the older man squarely. The sight of his former direct superior brought back nothing but bad memories. Not having to see him was one of the perks of being stationed in an outpost. Cautiously, he bowed as a mark of respect for Chief Kang’s rank. “Are you looking for me?”

Chief Kang nodded to acknowledge his greeting and paused to wave at Yoomi, who was looking curiously at him. “Do you perhaps have a moment? I promise I won’t take long.”

Swallowing, Yongguk nodded. He handed Tigger’s leash to Yoomi. “You two play first, okay? Ahjusshi will only be a minute.”

He gestured towards a bench under the shade of a tree, and both he and Chief Kang sat down side by side. He made sure Yoomi was still within sight before turning to face Chief Kang. It was strange, seeing him here. When they used to work together, many precautions had to be taken when they met. Being seen out in the open like this was unimaginable. “Is something the matter, sir?”

“You look well,” Chief Kang said, ignoring his question. “It’s nice to see you smiling.”

Yongguk looked away and said nothing. He was no longer angry at the older man, but the trust, once broken, could not be salvaged. He was sure Chief Kang hadn’t come all the way here to exchange pleasantries with him.

“I’ll cut to the chase,” Chief Kang said, noting Yongguk’s coldness. “I’m sure you already know this, since you’ve been working the ground, but the Black Dragon is staging a comeback.”

Yongguk nodded. “Seems like it.”

“Then you may also know who’s leading it.”

Yongguk said nothing, but his lack of surprise gave him away.

“So you do know,” Chief Kang mused. “That Choi Nara is alive.”

Just hearing the name from Chief Kang caused a flare of irritation in Yongguk. This man was the cause of all her suffering. He didn’t have the right to say her name. “So what? We haven’t contacted each other, if that’s what you’re wondering. She probably hates me to the bone. There’s no way you can make use of me to get to her.”

“I have no such intention, Officer Bang,” Chief Kang said calmly. “What I intend to make use of is your in-depth knowledge of the workings of the gang.”

“For what?” Yongguk asked bitterly.

“We’re setting up a special task force to investigate the new Black Dragon gang,” Chief Kang informed him. “Anti-Triad is heading it, but we’re recruiting from other departments as well, and the first person I thought of was you.”

“I’m not doing it,” Yongguk said immediately, moving to stand. “Thank you for the offer.”

“Officer Bang, please,” Chief Kang said, laying a hand on his arm to stop him. “Hear me out.”

Yongguk was silent, but he sat.

“We’re not using undercovers,” Chief Kang assured him. “I know how you feel about that. Inspector Yoon Doojoon is heading the team, and you know he feels the same. I’m only on board as his mentor. I will give him my advice, but he decides everything. That, you can be sure of.”

“Why do you need a task force?” Yongguk asked quietly. “You already had enough to charge her. Now that you know she’s back, you can just arrest her.”

“Three years ago, her death made headline news,” Chief Kang reminded him. “You want us to admit that we made a mistake? That we let three of the most dangerous criminals in the country trick us? It’s going to make the whole police force look like fools. I’m sure we can build a new case against them, in their new identities.”

Yongguk snorted. “Right. I forgot. We’re incapable of admitting our mistakes.”

“So you want us to admit our incompetence and corruption,” Chief Kang stated. “For one case. And then risk losing the public’s trust, hence compromising exponentially more cases. I’m not seeing your logic here, Officer Bang. And might I remind you that we had her in custody, and you were the one who let her go?”

Yongguk looked down at the ground. Was he supposed to feel guilty about that? He really didn’t. “And what makes you think I won’t do it again?”

“I don’t know that,” Chief Kang acknowledged. “For all I know, you may do that again. But that’s a risk we’ll have to take, because you’re valuable to the team in other ways. I just have to make sure the rest of the team is capable enough to stop you from making the same mistake twice.”

Yongguk didn’t reply. He had to admit, the offer was tempting. Not because he wanted to harm Nara and her friends, but simply because he’d have the time and resources to actually find out more about what they were up to. Not having any idea despite all the movement in the underworld was killing him. He’d long since made peace with his simple existence, dealing with minor disturbances as a patrol cop, but he felt the big game instinct within him stirring.

“They’re not the same people,” Chief Kang said. “And I’m not talking about their brand new identities. If Choi Nara is the person you thought she was, why would she not have taken the opportunity to run away and start a new life? She’s back for revenge, and if the last few days of bloodshed have been anything to go by, she’s more dangerous than ever. And, Yongguk,” he said, before pausing. Yongguk looked up at him curiously when he used his name, hinting that he was now speaking in a different capacity. “She’s married. To Kim Himchan. And if my guess is right, she did that to consolidate power. Cho Hyewon or Choi Nara, she’s got something big planned and she doesn’t care who she’s going to hurt along the way. We need to stop her.”

Yongguk mulled it over. He knew everything that Chief Kang was saying. He knew there wasn’t anything he could salvage with Nara. If there was anything about the offer that really appealed to him, it was to his sense of curiosity. At one time, they’d been close to him, and he wanted to know what they’d been up to. Whether he wanted to stop them, though, that was another question. “I’ll need some time to consider.”

“Of course,” Chief Kang said with a smile. They both knew that Yongguk not giving him a flat-out refusal was a victory for him. He produced a slip of paper from the pocket of his coat. “This is the temporary office of the Black Dragon task force. If you’re keen to join them, you can report on Monday morning.”

Chief Kang pressed the slip of paper in Yongguk’s hand. “I hope to see you there.”