Two
Remnants Of The Heart
*banner by SuJu-LoVe
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Jiyong paused and tattooed the plate number in his mind. “Great,” he snorted to himself as looked down from the top of the building. “I hate high places,” he added, grimacing to himself. With a sigh, he took all of his things away and tied a black rope around his waist. “I really hate high places.”
He secured the other end on a post nearby. He then climbed off the edge and faced the wall of the building, placing his feet against it firmly. As he started going down, he sang along to the tune of a nursery rhyme he heard from a show called Jack and Jill. “Kwon Jiyong went down the wall to chase after Sandara. . . Kwon Jiyong will point his gun and the girl will die after. . . falalalala. . .”
After reaching the ground, he untied the rope off of his waist and went to his motorbike. He kicked it to life and drove off to the corner where he had last seen the van. “Ah. . . where am I going to look for that van?”
He looked left and right. As far as he can remember, the van went to the left direction. With a shrug, he drove off of to the left direction and searched for the any white van that was running. If anyone would be able to see his face through the helmet he was wearing, he could be reported for driving at such a young age. Good thing his body does not look like a teenager’s.
There were many intersections that greeted him and he was not really sure which direction he should go. Just as he was about to take the right road, he caught a glimpse of a white van going to the opposite direction. He smirked to himself victoriously. “Bingo!”
He turned his motorbike to the other direction and trailed after the van, trying not to be obvious. When the van started heading to the direction outside the city, it became more difficult for him to follow it so he gave them a twenty-minute heads up before driving again. As he drove down the road, he thought of how impractical it was for him to wear a leather jacket as the sun was high up in the sky. He couldn’t help but think that those people were kind of impractical as well for snatching the girl in daylight and in the middle of a festivity.
Curiosity filled him as he wondered why would someone want to snatch the girl up or why would someone want the girl dead. Could it be the same person or could it be not? He wanted to know the answer but he knew his Uncle does not really ask his clients why such actions are needed to be done. He had never been curious before until now. Maybe it’s because the person involved was someone he knew from before. But of course, knowing the target would not change anything. He knew better than that.
He could just target the van, he knew that, especially now that there won’t be that much witnesses around. But he had been bored for months that he wanted to just play a little bit. He wasn’t sure as well as to how many he was up against with. Although he would consider himself good at things like these, he was not invisible and he was not even wearing a bulletproof vest.
As the endless road seemed to go on forever, the van finally turned into a corner and drove off track. Jiyong paused for a moment and waited for the van to get another few minutes of heads up. He then followed the trail after a few minutes. He stopped upon seeing a silhouette of what seemed to be a warehouse, or what’s left of it. With silence, he drove around and went back to the city.
-o=o=o-
Teddy, who was driving the van pulled to a break in front of an abandoned warehouse and took his mask off, and so did the others. It was so typical, just like how it was in movies but they were given specific orders to bring the girl to this place. “We’re here,” he announced, although of course the others knew already. Maybe it was just his way to ease off the tension all of them were feeling. To him, they’re not really bad people, well at least technically. It just so happened that they needed money, of course for various reasons. And eventhough there are still other ways for them to earn money, for them who were not able to finish their studies, earning even ninety-nine cents was an achievement already.
The others then climbed off the van with Seunghyun and Seungri carrying the girl towards the warehouse.
“What’s wrong with Seunghyun?” CL asked Teddy as they watched the two disappear into the warehouse.
“Why’d you ask that?” he asked back.
“He seemed a bit. . . strange, especially after the photo of the girl were given to us.”
Teddy tried to remember but he wasn’t really paying attention to anyone’s reaction at that time as he was preoccupied staring at the photo of the girl. Well, who could blame him? The girl was a looker, anyways.
“Strange in what way?”
“I don’t know,” the girl shrugged. “He just seemed. . . tensed or something.”
“Well, we –”
“Hey!” Hanbin’s voice cut Teddy off. “Are you two coming or what?”
“That kid. . .” CL snorted, shaking her head. “Oh well, never mind that. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”
“We could ask him later,” he suggested.
“Yeah. . .” she absently nodded.
As soon as Seunghyun and Seungri placed the girl in a small and worn out flat bed, Seunghyun then instructed the younger guy to get him a bottle of water from the supplies that were provided to them by Teddy’s friend, Dong Wook. As he was left alone, he took out the cloth covering the girl’s face and caressed her face, brushing the strands of hair that went to her face. She looked like an angel while sleeping that he could not help but smile. You’ve grown up quite beautifully, he thought.
As he stared down at her face, some flashes from the past popped into his mind. They’ve been victim of some rebellion against the government years ago. Their parents were killed along with some kids they knew. They were separated from each other since orphanages could only handle small numbers of kids at that time. If the soldiers have not arrived, he, Sandara and the rest of the people in their place could have died, wiped out. He remembered how upset she was when she learned about her parents’ death. Now, he wondered how she wouldfeel once she wakes up. Would she still harbor the same hurt feelings against him or had time healed those hurt feelings? How would she feel if she found out that he snatched her? But the most important question is, would she still remember him?
“Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Seunghyun jumped a little upon hearing CL’s voice. He turned his head around and saw her standing not too far from him with her arms across her chest and a frown in her face.
“Here’s your water,” Seungri then arrived and then stopped upon sensing the atmosphere between Seunghyun and CL. “Err. . .”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Seunghyun dismissively said and stood up to get the bottle of water from Seungri’s hand. He turned the cap and threw it away. Walking away from the room, he gulped the water down and joined Hanbin and Teddy on the table where they were playing cards.
“How’s the girl?” Hanbin asked.
“Sleeping,” he answered.
“What should we do when she wakes up?” the youngest asked again. “Should we wear mask or should we just let her. . .”
“It would be better if we wear mask,” Seunghyun said.
“That would be inconvenient, though.”
“It is,” he agreed. “But it would be more inconvenient if we end up in jail for this.”
“They could not do that,” Hanbin snorted. “We’re still underage.”
“Most of you are,” Teddy said. “But I’m not.”
“Oh right,” Hanbin mumbled.
CL and Seungri joined them a while later. Seunghyun could just sense that CL would not simply let go of whatever it was that’s bugging her so before she could start interrogating him, he excused himself from the others, saying that he needed to pee. But he didn’t really the urge to pee so he just went back to the room where Sandara was. And to his surprise, she was awake already. And the problem was, he was not wearing any masks.
“S-seunghyun?” she whispered in disbelief, her eyes widening.
-o=o=o-
“You said it will be nice, clean and untraceable! WHAT HAPPENED?!”
“Someone else is on in the job as well,” Jiyong answered. “I was about to shoot her when out of nowhere, a group of masked people surrounded her, made her unconscious and carried her to a van. I think you should talk to your client and verify with them if they hired a different group to do the job as well.”
“If they did, then that group of people should have killed her then and there.”
“Then I think it’s time for us to know the reason behind this in order for us to get the whole view,” Jiyong said.
His Uncle didn’t say anything at first. “And now, we’re at lost as to we don’t know where they brought that –”
“I know,” Jiyong cut off. “I followed them.”
Sanggun paused and looked at his nephew carefully. “You. . . followed them.”
“Yes.”
“And yet, she’s still alive?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask why you didn’t do anything?”
“I have a plan,” he answered. “You know me Uncle, I hate being outwitted. In this case, that group of people snatched something from me so I have to get it back from them first before doing what I have to do.”
The older man remained impassive. “And when are you planning to implement this plan of yours?”
“Tonight,” he said. “When their guards are down.”
“You better make this work, Jiyong.”
“Since when did I ever fail you, Uncle?” he asked back. “But if I do, then you might have to know the reason for this just so we could think ahead of time.”
After the conversation, Jiyong went to his room for a shower. He sighed contentedly as the soft spray of water kissed his warm skin. He already had a plan in mind so after taking a shower, all he needed and wanted to do is to rest and sleep so that he’ll have his energy later.
As he leaned his hands against the tiled wall and bowed his head, the image of Sandara Park leaning against a wall popped up into his mind. A small smile then curved his lips. I knew you’d grow up to a beautiful lady, he thought. It’s like an ugly duckling has finally turned into a swan, except that before, you were already a swan, a cute little swan.
A stray thought crossed his mind. What if. . . ? What if he shows himself up to her first before pulling the trigger? What would her reaction be? Would she grimace again like she usually does everytime she sees him? Would she even give a damn about it if it was him standing in front of her and going to kill her? Would she even notice him or would her attention be diverted towards the gun that he’ll be pointing at her? If that’s what would happen, there’s no difference at all to how they were before, would it? No matter how he kept on bullying her or other kids at that matter, her attention was always diverted towards other things, towards Seunghyun.
But. . . would she even remember him?
Probably not, he thought. He chuckled then and shook her head. What she would think does not really matter.
After taking a bath, he watched some random show first and waited to for his hair to dry up first before going to sleep. But just as he was about to sleep, his phone started ringing. He looked at the screen and saw his Aunt’s name. “Aunt,” he greeted.
“Jiyong-ah, are you about to sleep?”
“Neh,” he answered.
“Good,” she approvingly said. “You should not stay up so late, neh? And don’t forget to drink some milk and to brush your teeth before going to sleep.”
He rolled his eyes and grimaced but then, he could not help but smile and shake his head afterwards. “I know,” he said.
The woman laughed lightly. “Okay, I won’t keep you up so late. I have to call and talk to your Uncle as well. Goodnight, Jiyong-ah.”
“Hmm. . .”
He sighed and placed the phone underneath his pillow. It’s not that he didn’t like his Aunt but living with her made him feel so much guilty with the things he’d been doing that he decided to stay with his Uncle’s business house. Even hearing her Aunt talk like that made him feel guilty, which probably was the only time he felt such emotion.
Wiping the thought and emotion away, he went lied down and closed his eyes. Not soon after that, he fell asleep.
-o=o=o-
Evening then came, and Jiyong woke up with a start. He glanced at his watch and stood up from bed. He then started preparing everything he needed before heading out of the house. If a while ago, he used his motorbike, this time, he decided to use a car. And since it’s darkly tinted, he would not be that much recognized for being a teenage boy. He carried all of the things he brought to the passenger’s side before walking over to the other side. As he was about to step into the car, a shadow emerged from a corner, in an overall leather get up. No Minwoo, his fellow taker, greeted him with a smirk. “Wow,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of the great Kwon Jiyong failing his assignment.”
Jiyong was so tempted to just shot the guy straight to the head but of course, his Uncle would skin him alive if he does that. If there was one policy that his Uncle implemented in his business house, that’s not to hurt your fellow taker, your colleague. Jiyong considers Minwoo his rival. Minwoo was older and much well-built compared and of course Minwoo could be considered his senior since the other started earlier than him and well, has a perfect record – those things didn’t make him think any less than him.
“It would have been a piece of cake if some people didn’t intervene,” he shrugged.
“If it were me, I would have taken down those people as well,” he said. “But I guess you’re just too young and a bit. . . scared that’s why you’re up and about this late to finish your failed assignment.”
“Wow,” Jiyong sarcastically retorted. “That was touching, thank you! Now if you don’t mind, I have to go.”
“I hope you won’t fail this time!” Minwoo laughed and walked away.
Jiyong could only glare at his back and sighed. Nevertheless, he stepped into his car and drove off quite swiftly.
Since he was able to follow the van a while ago, he knew where to go. As he drove down the road, he his car player and played loud rock music, his head nodding to the beat of it. He would sometime sing along and would even imitate a drummer in drumming his hands on the steering wheel.
When he turned off of the road, he lowered down the volume of the player. He stopped a few good distances away from the abandoned house. He then started to gear up, sliding his hands to his leather gloves and slipped a black gas mask on.
He took out a black bag from the passenger’s side of the car and took out a handful of tear gas cylinders. He also took out two guns and four magazines, placing them on hook on his thigh as well as belt. He glanced at his reflection on the dark-tinted window of his car and could not help but admire the way he looked. “I looked so bad ,” he chuckled.
After admiring himself, he then went on his way, careful not to be seen. But the thing was, nobody’s even guarding at the entrance which only showed Jiyong that the people who snatched Sandara were inexperienced and fools. He sighed in disappointment. “You guys are making this so easy for me.”
Well, he was expecting some action, anyways.
As he neared the metal doors, he found himself more disappointed upon seeing that they were slightly opened. He peered through the doors first and saw nothing and no one so he easily slid himself in without making any noise.
He quickly hid himself in some rotten and rusty pile of metals in one corner. Since the lights were not all , he was able to see at once where the group of people who snatched Sandara was staying. He followed the direction of light; careful to hide himself in every hiding place he could get into.
Slowly, he was able to inch him way towards the group of people who staying in what seemed to be an old office before. He searched for the area for Sandara but found her nowhere. But another door at the end caught his attention and he could see the light coming through the gap of the door and the floor. The most interesting part was that, it seemed that all of them were grouped in the table, playing cards. He counted them of – and he was able to count five people with four men and one woman, or was it boys and a girl? He was not sure but it did not matter. Putting his plan into action, he threw in three tear gas cylinders in. He had the urge to laugh but he tried his best to stifle his laughter upon hearing the chaos he just caused. They reacted as he expected them to be, they panicked at once. He could not really make out what they were saying since he was too busy stifling his laughter. Then, he decided to throw the two remaining tear gas cylinders he had on his hands. And then a while later, there was silence, so he decided to step out from his hiding place and enter the room. Through the smoky room, he was able to see the bodies of the people on the floor, unconscious. He wanted to take a good look at their faces but then, he decided to carry on with his task first. Upon seeing the door at the end, he quickly ran to it and kicked it open. And there she was, unconscious in her bed. He walked over to her and took her in his arms, struggling a bit due to her weight.
Ugh! How come she’s so heavy when she’s so small?
He carried her out of the room.
Or is it just because my arm muscles aren’t that developed yet? No, I have arm muscles; she’s just heavy, yeah, that’s right.
As soon as he was out of the warehouse, he placed her at the back of the car and drove off quickly.
An hour later, in a basement of what seemed to be an ordinary vacation house, Jiyong splashed a pail of water to the girl’s face. Sandara woke up with a start and took a deep breath through . She was panting, as if she just ran four an hour non-stop. She shook her head and rapidly blinked her eyes before opening them.
Jiyong waited. He waited for her to notice him, to see him, to finally look at him. And when the moment their eyes met, he could not help but smirk at the familiarity of her brown orbs. “You?!?” she shrieked.
He straightened up, surprised at how she seemed so pissed. “Oh, so you remember me?”
“Who wouldn’t?” she snapped, surprising him. As far as he know, Sandara Park’s a crybaby, not a snappy tigress. “Ugh! First, Seunghyun and now you! What are you guys playing at?!”
He frowned. “Seunghyun? You mean, Choi Seunghyun?”
She rolled her eyes, surprising him again. “Do you know any other Seunghyun?”
His frown deepened as he absorbed the information. So, Seunghyun snatched Sandara. But why? Is because for some reason, he knew of the danger to her life and he’s trying to protect her? Or could it be another reason?
“Why did he take you?”
“Oh well, it’s a joke, isn’t it? He told me that he’s sorry and that he promised nothing bad would happen to me, he’ll make sure of that. He said I’ll be free once my parents agree to the bargain or whatever it was. So tell me, are you going to say the same thing? Or are you just going to stand there and bully me like you always do?”
He sighed. “Not really,” he said. “You see, I was hired to kill you.”
Silence then filled the room. And then, she laughed. “Ah, so you’re bullying me again, huh?”
“It looks like Seunghyun will be breaking his promise,” he said. “He won’t be able to protect you now.”
“Your bullying methods are outdated,” she commented.
Jiyong ignored this and took out the gun from behind him and twirled it around his hand. He took out the silencing device as well before pointing it at her.
“It’s a toy, isn’t it?” she asked.
Jiyong then pointed the gun to the wall above her and removed the silencing device before pulling the trigger. There was a loud noise as the bullet hit the wall. Sandara squeaked and jumped a little from the sound of it. She looked up at Jiyong again and saw him placing the silencing device at the tip of the gun again.
“Oh come on, don’t look at me like that,” he mocked, and raised his arm to point the gun at her forehead and started counting down from ten to one again inside his head.
Ten.
“How did you turn out like this?” she asked.
Nine.
“Turned out what? This bad?”
Eight.
“Yes,” she answered.
Seven.
“When did I ever become nice in your eyes, Sandara?” he asked. Six. “For you, Seunghyun’s always the nicest person, right?”
Five.
“You’re wrong,” she answered. Four. “On my sixth birthday,” she said, “I went to your tree house, planning to bully you that you’re not invited to my birthday.”
His mental countdown paused for a moment.
“But when I climbed to the tree, I saw a letter written in a childish and untidy penmanship. I read it,” she said.
Jiyong’s hand remained steady, however, he looked a little bit distracted.
“The letter said, Sandara, Happy Birthday and I like you. Jiyong. After reading that, I abandoned my plan and went back to our house. When my party started, I waited for you but you didn’t come.”
Jiyong suddenly had a flashback of that time. He actually planned to gatecrash her birthday party. He was already there when he saw her being chased around by Seunghyun. She was laughing, he was laughing. They seemed to be enjoying playing around together. Upon seeing and hearing her laughing, he turned away and left.
“Why?” she asked. “Why didn’t you come?”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m still going to kill you,” he snorted and resumed the countdown again. Three.
“The thing is,” she said. “After that incident, eventhough I had my eyes on Seunghyun, I found my gaze always wandering to where you are.”
Two.
She closed her eyes and a single tear fell from her eye.
One.
Kwon Jiyong looked away and closed his eyes first before pulling the trigger.
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HOWMAYGHAAD!
Kyaaak!
Mwah mwah! Thanks for the warm welcome to this fic guys! Love yah!
TROLOLOLOLOL!
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