Meanwhile, in another corner of the dimly lit city.

It was a gloomy night. The clouds hung low against the ground. Only a few stray pedestrians pave the streets. The air was damp around the city. However gloomy and dark it is, a bubbling warmth remains gentle in one of the many apartment units scattered around the city.

Within the simple apartment, two men sat in the living room, each of them having their laptops in front of them on the coffee table. A third laptop was on the table, although its owner was away from it.

A short figure came out from the kitchen. He was holding a bowl of hot seafood noodles. Walking with a little trance, he reached to the unmanned laptop.

"I made supper! Do you want some, Jong Kook hyung?" The scratchy voice that belonged to the man with the noodles was the only voice around the quiet house. One of the man beside him, the muscular man going by the name Kim Jong Kook, lifted his head from his undergoing research. Taking off his reading glasses and setting them on the table, he turned towards his partner, who looked extremely cheerful, considering this time of night.

"Dong Hoon ah, how many times have I told you that I don't eat supper?" Jong Kook was exhausted, but he refused to eat something to ease away the fatigue. Self-control is his way of life and nobody is changing that. Not with good purpose and reason. The man named Dong Hoon, also more commonly known as Haha, shrugged before offering some of his noodle to another man who was facing his laptop, clearly falling into a light sleep.

The other man's name was Kang Hee Gun, but he called himself Gary. He was nodding sleepily against the laptop screen, and Haha's voice as well as the fragrance of the soup noodles woke him up. He stared blearily and hazily at Haha before his senses truly awaken at the bowl of noodle. Gary did not hesitate to slurp loudly when Haha handed the bowl over to him. Jong Kook took this chance to shut his eyes and have a brief rest.

But his rest was not long-lived, for Haha began to ask about their task on hand.

"Jong Kook hyung, what's our plan, now that we've already decided on a target?"

Jong Kook sat up, heaving a huge breath before clicking something on his laptop. Ji Hyo's profile was displayed on the screen. "This is our target. The daughter of Chief Song, Head of the SBS Police Department." 

"She is 25 years old and is still pursuing her Masters. She studies in Running University, which was quite the prestigious academy around here. Information about her was scarce. Her father protected her well. Actually, we've dealt with her cousin before. I take that the both of you still remembered Song Joong Ki?"

"Oh, the little kid," Haha was the one to spoke, reminiscing the times when they had to deal with a hot-headed victim. They tried to not hurt him, really, but he was too active, struggling with every ounce of energy he could summon, so they had to take some action to stop him from making things hard for them. "I still feel bad for dumping water on him when we tied him up in the sack after you knocked him unconscious."

"It had to be done, Haha." Jong Kook grunted, no mercy in his words.

"We're basically traumatising him for life," Gary whispered against his bowl. The buff man turned to glare at him, which made him shut up immediately. "I'm just saying."

Jong Kook looked at Haha, who was already having conflicting emotions written all over his face. "I understand if you don't want to do this, Dong Hoon. You don't have to follow my brutal ways of doing things."

"Really?" Haha's eyes were hopeful when he said this, but then he was remembered Jong Kook's mother, sick in bed. If only his mother did not fall sick and needed money for the operation as soon as possible, then they won't have to plan this abduction for money. Haha shook his head, shaking away the thoughts that persuaded him to put the blame onto Jong Kook's mother.

"I know that you think doing all this is pathetic. That we should not live like this," Jong Kook continued, seeing the conflict building up in Haha's expression. Gary watched, eating away on the bowl of noodles. "So I'm giving you the option to opt out of this. You know I always do."

"No, that's no need to do that," Haha smiled, a smile that Jong Kook had seen enough to understand the underlying meaning behind it. Haha and Jong Kook had gone a long way with each other, starting from their school days. They met Gary when they were in the streets, when he was homeless and moved from city to city because his father spent all the money on gambling. Now that they've formed a trio and joined a gang, they worked hard to achieve what they have now that they didn't in the past - recognition, riches, and respect. Haha knew better than anyone to let Jong Kook down.

They've done everything together, this is just another case of easy cash to help Jong Kook's mother through her situation. "I'll be with Jong Kook hyung till the end."

Although he had heard this countless times, Jong Kook was still touched at Haha's loyalty. It wasn't just the undying loyalty to the leader, it was the promise to stay by each other's side, no matter what happened. Gary was blunt to emotions, but he could still feel the deep bond that was shared between the two. He was sometimes jealous of them, and sometimes felt out of place, but they always made him feel like family, and how could he possibly push them away for that?

"So are we in this together?"

"Of course! What say you, Gary?"

"In the name of tasty seafood noodles, I'm in."

~TBC