Chapter 07
Zero Gravity
The helicopter landed on the open space where Joon and Krystal had fought earlier in the week and a man jumped out of the aircraft while a figure ran across the compound from the house.
"How is she?" Sulli shouted above the loud noise as Joon carried the unconscious Amber to the house. "What happened to her?" Sulli guided him to a room once they were in the house and he laid Amber on the examination table. "Her left leg got hit," He stood aside as Sulli hover over her. "She won't stop bleeding." He looked at his blood stained hands and went to the sink to wash off the blood while Sulli checked her eyes. "She lost a lot of blood."
"I have to get the bullet out to stop the bleeding," Sulli cut open the pants and wiped away the blood around the wound to get a better look. She wore a set of surgical gloves and proceeds to extract the bullet from her leg. Joon was standing awkwardly by the door and tried to keep himself from puking from the sight of blood.
"You can leave the room if you want to," She said to him without turning her back. "Got it!" Joon heard the sound of metal against another when she dumped the bullet into a metal basin. The bleeding stopped soon after and she was busy cleaning the wound. "If you're still there, grab a bag of blood type B. It's in the small refrigerator next to the cupboards."
He forced himself off the wall and went to the refrigerator. "Oh my god." The refrigerator was filled with blood bags and the sight of blood was bringing back his previous nausea as he was searching for the wanted blood type from the pile. "Here." Sulli took it from his shaking hands and checked to make sure it's the right one before applying it. "Thanks." She inserted a needle into Amber's arm and he turned away from her only to see a pile of blood soaked cotton wads. I think I'm gonna vomit, Joon went to the sink, the smell of blood is too strong.
He tried to keep the bile from coming up but he ended up leaning his whole body into the sink, heaving. "Are you okay?" Sulli washed her hands in the next sink and dried them before rubbing his back. "What do you think?" He heaved for the last time before sinking down onto the floor. "I told you to leave." She handed him a box of tissue and went back to Amber. "Why so many blood bags?"
"We kept them just in case of an emergency like this," she explained while checking the drip. "Feeling better?" He gargled to get rid of the aftertaste. "Yeah." Joon wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at her bandaging Amber's leg. "Has this ever happened before?" Sulli placed the small metal clips on the bandage to secure it and started cleaning up the place.
"It happened once." She threw the waste into a black garbage bag. "The bullet went through her arm." She went to the cupboards and brought out a blanket and pillow. "But most of the time it's just cuts and bruises." She lifted Amber's head lightly and slipped the pillow under. "When is she going to wake up?" He spread out the blanket and laid it over Amber as Sulli took her arm with the needle and placed it above the blanket. "I'm not sure." She turned to look at her. "Unni doesn't look so scary when she's asleep, huh?"
Joon followed her gaze and stared at Amber. "Yeah," he laughed to himself. "This beats the one who whacked my ." Sulli took a damp towel and wiped Amber's face. "She's not as bad as you think," She rinsed the towel and went to her hands. "It's just that she has something against men."
He tilted his head. "Why?" He sat on the stool next to her. "Her dad was abusive towards her and her mother. She said he would always come home drunk and dragged her mom by the hair and hit her for no reason." Sulli put the towel aside and touch Amber's short hair. "Unni used to have waist length hair that she cherished a lot because her mom loves it but one day he took hers and chopped off her hair. He cut it until it was almost an inch long and she never grew her hair long after that."
"What happened to her parents?" He spun around in his chair. "Since she's here and all of you here are without family."
"Her parents are dead. Her father got knocked down by a car." Sulli switched off the lights and lighted up a small table lamp, filling the room with a soft ember glow. "Her mother died trying to save him." They both exited the room. "She swore she'll never forgive her father."
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"Hey," Kibum looked up from his computer game. "Aren't you supposed to be on your way?"
"Yeah," Victoria closed the door behind her. "I came to see her before leaving." She sat down on the bed and brushed Amber's hair out of her eyes. "How is she?"
"She just went back to sleep after eating." Krystal said as she flipped her magazine. "And you'd thought after being unconscious for two days, she'd be sick of sleeping." Amber stirred slightly under her thick comforter as Victoria touched her forehead. "Her temperature seems to be going down."
"She must still be tired," Kibum defended her. "Or is it because of the morphine for her leg?" He stood up from his seat and stretches his limbs. "Wasn't she out this long like the last time?" Krystal waved her hand as if dismissing him. "That was only a day." She checked her watch and nonchalantly told Victoria. "Unni, you're gonna be late."
"Okay, I'm going." She pointed at both of them. "Take care of her. And don't be too absorbed with your stuff." Kibum opened the door and pushed her out of the room before she could say anymore. "Yeah. Yeah. We know. Now go on." She opened to say something but gave up in the end when Krystal pointed at her watch. "Your date."
"She's really like a mom," he sighed. "I should call her umma rather than nuna. It's like we're kids or something."
"You are the kid." She turned a page. "Look who's talking. This coming from a little girl," he emphasised. "Who still plays with Barbie dolls." She glared at him from above her magazine. "It's a Barbie collection. And I don't play with the dolls, you idiot."
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"I'm sorry for being late," Victoria sat in chair opposite him. "Were you here long?"
"Nope," Nichkhun waved his hand to get the waiter's attention. "My shift just ended ten minutes ago." The bored waiter passed them a menu and took out a notepad and a pen. "Do you want anything in particular?" She shook her head. "Up to you." He nodded and scanned through the menu before ordering in fluent Mandarin. She took that moment to observe him. His eyes are so big, she looks at his eyes, and they turned into a crescent shape when he smiles. She stopped staring at him when he sent the waiter away.
"I'm apologised for not taking you some where else for our date," he poured both of them a cup of Chinese tea. "I'm still new in this country." He cleaned a pair of chopsticks and spoon before arranging it in front of her.
"Thank you," She didn't know what to do with her hands so she brought her cup of tea to her lips. "Where are you from?" Ah it's hot, she smiled as she her scalded tongue.
"Thailand." He was looking at her but his attention was at the old medical hall behind her outside the restaurant. "I came to Korea because of a job opportunity but my contact bailed out on me and ran off with my passport." He shrugged. "Although I've gotten a new passport, I'm still working here because I don't want to let down my family." He continued his well-memorised lines as they both ate. "They think I'm here with a good job and living well even though I'm not. I don't want them to worry about me."
"Thanks," Victoria thanked him as he placed some food onto her bowl of rice. "So, do you have any siblings?" She returned the favour by placing a piece of chicken in his.
"I do. I have seven younger siblings." He said as he continued to observe the shop when she wasn't noticing. "Five sisters and two brothers." He turned back to Victoria when she looked up from her food. "I work many jobs to have decent amount money to send back home. I'm the sole breadwinner of the family." Being polite he asked about Victoria.
"Actually, I'm not a Korean." She smiled as Nichkhun looked surprised. "I'm from China. My family migrated here when I was younger." She didn't want to reveal too much about herself so she stopped right there.
"Siblings?" Nichkhun took a pack of tissue from his pocket and used a tissue to wipe the corner of . Amber would be the one doing this if she was here, Victoria blushed and took the tissue from him and did it herself, and she'll nag non stop too. "I have three sisters and a brother. I'm the oldest too." Silence fell over them.
"Your parents must be proud of you." Victoria said. "Earning to support your family." The man, who Nichkhun was looking out for, came out of the medical hall and looked around before leaving the place. "
"I have to go." Nichkhun stood up abruptly and took out his wallet. "Here's enough money for the food. I need to go and I'm so sorry." He placed the money in her hand. Victoria looked at his retreating back as he left the restaurant, did I say something wrong?
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The man was pacing furiously in an alley away from Chinatown as he waits for someone. He was too busy with his thoughts that he didn't realise a person approaching him and jumped a little when a hand clamped his shoulder. "Hyung! You scared the hell out of me!"
"Keep your nerves intact." Nichkhun said quietly to him, leaning back against the wall while crossing his arms. "So what do you have?"
The man looked around nervously. "There's no one here except us, Changsik." Nichkhun told him. "I've checked out the place." Changsik only went on when Nichkhun gave a reassuring look. "There's a collection the day after tomorrow." A trash can fell and filled the alley with its echo. Changsik was now glancing around frantically. "Hyung, I don't want to die." He kept muttering and started walking away but Nichkhun pulled him back by his arm.
"Hey!" Nichkhun hit the side of his head. "Your life is not the only one at stake. Mine is too." He patted his cheek. "Boss has been waiting for a chance to nail them. So just spit it out and we're both free from this. Okay?" Changsik rubbed his damp palms on his jeans and nodded. "Yeah."
"We'll be receiving illegal firearms and drugs from the smuggler. We'll probably be bringing a lot of back up because of the amount of stuff we'll be getting. And I heard from the others," He took in a deep breath. "That there will be around 10 new girls for the brothel. There. Can I go now?"
Nichkhun dismissed him and both went their separate ways when a man spoke up. "A mole." Nichkhun turned around and noticed a man, probably the same age Changsik, coming out from the shadows. "I never had a good feeling about you ever since the first day." Changsik was now trembling with fear and didn't dare to look at him in the eye. "Kangsu hyung."
"You are a spy!" Kangsu punched him and spitted at him before turning his attention to Nichkhun who was silently observing him. "And who are you?" As he came closer into view, he was slightly shorter than Nichkun had assumed but has a stocky build and could beat the crap out of anyone. He also had a tattoo of a dragon with its body circling around the arm and ending with its head just above his wrist. "I said. Who. Are You!"
"I'm no one." Nichkhun barely blinked when he said that even though Kangsu was looking at him with menacing eyes. "I'm just a guy working in Chinatown. Someone told me I could get my regular fix of drugs from that dude." He nodded his head in the direction of Changsik.
"Liar! Do you treat me as a fool!?" Kangsu strike him with his fist but Nichkhun moved out of the way and punched him. He staggered back and touched his jaw. He laughed. "The is the first time someone managed to miss my fist and punched me in return, lucky you," He reached inside his jacket. "But sadly to inform you. You're not the first to die from this baby." He aimed the gun at Nichkhun.
"Too chicken to fight with me without the gun?" Nichkhun grabbed a nearby garbage bag and threw it at Kangsu, spilling its contents in the progress. Kangsu aggressively hit the garbage bag away from him and fired blindly at the incoming garbage bags thrown at him. Nichkhun took advantage of his diverted attention and strike him with his elbow aiming at Kangsu's face.
Kangsu dropped the gun in pain but recovered quickly and started punching Nichkhun in his abdomen, ignoring the blood trickling from his nose. He pushed Nichkhun roughly against the wall as Nichkhun tries to free himself. He started punching Kangsu's head continuously until he was freed. He stoops low to get the gun but Kangsu kicked it away and his hands found their way to his neck. He tightens his grip on the neck and Nichkhun's face turned into a dark shade of red.
I can't breathe, Nichkhun scratched wildly at Kangsu's face. His hands grabbed onto the top of Kangsu's head and pulled at his hair. Chunks of hair came out but that didn't loosen his hold on Nichkhun. Every single cell in his body is screaming for air and he was starting to lose consciousness.
His body was surrendering to the darkness when he felt his lungs expand and contract as he took in a sharp intake of air. He fell onto the ground and didn't make a move to get up as he was soothing the pain at his neck. "Are you okay!?" Changsik knelt beside him, helping him to get back on his feet. Nichkhun staggered slightly and looked down at the dead Kangsu with a bullet through his temple. "Yeah, I'm alright." He suddenly took a step away from Changsik. "Why are you touching my face?"
"There's blood on it." Nichkhun grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped the blood away while Changsik sank down onto the floor with his back against the wall. "What are we gonna do with him?" Nichkhun took the gun which was on Changsik's lap.
"We'll do nothing," He offered his hand to Changsik. "I'll take the gun and you'll resume your daily activities." Nichkhun placed the gun into the waistband of his jeans and pulled his shirt over it. "If anyone were to question you," Changsik stole a last glance at the dead body. "You were never here. You were at the Chinese store and I could be your witness if they wanted proof. Nobody will know what happened except the two of us," He paused to think.
"Maybe not only the two of us. We have to inform Boss too." Nichkhun gave him a pat at the back before both of them went their separate ways.
Thank you for your encouraging comments! It made my day happier.. so keep those coming! :D
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