o s c a r
OPERATION: LOVE
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Make sure to read the update from yesterday and feel free to leave comments. Enjoy~~
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Youngjae quickly made his way out of the building in a sour mood. The doctor was going to see Jaebum, but he didn’t expect to have an emotional reunion with Suzy. Losing all the mood to meet Jaebum, Youngjae decided to just head home.
But he didn’t go home.
Instead, Youngjae parked his car in front of a high-class pub. The tired man entered the place and slid himself in the corner seat in front of the bar. Youngjae didn’t have to wait long before a mid-twenties Korean, with bright platinum hair and clad in a bartender uniform, smoothly approached him.
“Long time no see, Doctor Choi, the usual?”
“Hello, Seungri, what was my usual?”
“Malbec, sir.”
“Yeah, the usual,” Youngjae ordered in a distant voice.
Seungri raised an eyebrow before turning to the rack of expensive liquors behind him. Pulling out a bottle of Bodega Noemíade Patagonia, Seungri expertly uncapped the bottle and poured a decent amount in a wine glass, maybe a little bit more than he’s supposed to but that’s just because Youngjae has always been Seungri’s favorite customer.
“Thank you,” Youngjae said as the glass was being put in front of him.
“You are always welcome,” Seungri smiled. “So what’s the special occasion today? You surely haven’t been around much. I was starting to miss you.”
“’s complicated,” Youngjae replied after a sip of his wine.
“Well, damn, what’s up, buddy? You all right?”
“No, I’m not all right.”
“Love problems?”
The doctor glanced up at the bartender, a bit surprised at how accurate the uniformed man’s guess was. Seungri just shrugged, knowing from Youngjae’s reaction that it was, indeed, "love problems.”
“You’re not one to open up, Youngjae, so I’m just going to offer a random, universal, advice,” the bartender sighed, “when it comes to feelings, it’s best to be honest. When it comes to heartbreaks, it’s best to let go of things that will only hurt you more if you held on. When it comes to pondering whether you should move on or not, it’s best to ask yourself what is it that you want, what is it that you need.”
Seungri and Youngjae shared a long stare.The doctor couldn't help the blood rush of his cheeks. Seungri smiled sympathetically, “it’s one of those, isn’t it? Well, tell me if I helped.”
“I don’t know, but thank you. It kind of made me feel better,” Youngjae returned the smile with his own broken one.
“Legit, anything for a cutie like you,” Seungri winked playfully.
Youngjae chuckled softly before bringing his wine glass up to his lips.
“I hope you’re not hitting on the Choi Youngjae, Seungri-ssi,” an unfamiliar voice with a bit of an accent welcomed itself next to Youngjae.
Rolling his eyes, Seungri scoffed, “of course not, Jackson. Youngjae and I have known each other for quite awhile now. It’s normal for me to call him ‘cute.’ Plus, he’s cute, so why not?”
Ignoring what the bartender had to say, Jackson turned to Youngjae with a wide grin, “hey, I’m Jackson, Vice Captain of E.C.I.” The agent didn’t missed the opportunity to flash the badge, proving his identity.
At first, Youngjae, on the instinct of a partially trained soldier when he was overseas, had his guard on high alert as to how did this stranger knew his full name. He only calmed down once he saw Jackson’s badge and mentally confirming that it’s real. Youngjae knows fully well what's a real badge and a replicate looked like.
“That means you work alongside Mark-hyung?”
“Yep, also, with his husband, your best friend, and his best friend, your boyfriend,” Jackson added, didn’t fail to notice the faint blush on Youngjae’s cheeks as he mentioned “boyfriend.”
“WOAH, WOAH,” Seungri butted in, “BOYFRIEND? Since when?! Is that why you’ve been ditching this place? Because you got yourself a boyfriend to hang out with? Wow, I’ve never been so hurt.”
“Stop being dramatic, Seungri. The world does not revolve around you,” Jackson said with unsubtle savagery.
“Shut up, Jacks,” Seungri rolled his eyes, “so why are you here, Youngjae? Is it because of your boyfriend? Oh, my God. What kind of bastard dares treated my Youngjae like this?! Bring him to me and I’ll-“
“Sure, you’re all well prepared to kill Im Jaebum,” Jackson interrupted, each word paired with new-found sarcasm, “and Youngjae is not yours, so drop the possession.”
The shocked look on Seungri’s face was evidently astounding. Jackson had never seen anything more hilarious the whole day. Youngjae shifted awkwardly in his spinning chair; his delicate fingers rapidly tapping against the foot of the glass; his teeth slightly biting down on his bottom lip. Seungri quickly reached across the bar and grabbed Jackson’s arm, dragging the agent all the way down to the other end. Jackson yelped in surprised and struggled to hold onto to something before he lose his balance.
“What the actual ? I thought Jaebum was with Jiyeon??” Seungri whispered, still in disbelief.
“They broke up like a long- time ago, besides, Jaebum didn’t love her anyways,” Jackson replied in an equal quiet voice.
“Seriously? Im ing Jaebum is probably the straightest motherer I know, how?”
“Well, he found Youngjae, and believe me when I say it’s true love because, God, Jaebum loves him so much that it hurts me to watch sometimes.”
Seungri gawked, can’t seem to process the sudden information, “this is why you should have called me more often, you ! I didn’t even know you were in the country until you visited last week! I’m missing out on all the juice!”
“Not my fault Jinyoung doesn’t like you,” Jackson shrugged.
“Okay, that was an accident. I didn’t know,” Seungri sighed heavily, “Jinyoung is scary as .”
“Yeah, accident, my . So, you’re saying you excitedly bouncing your on top of Mark’s lap was an accident? Please, you’re lucky Jinyoung didn’t secretly chop off your head and feed it to the wolves. Seriously, though, I know Mark is gorgeous as hell, but if you’re gonna get him drunk just so you can have a bit fun with him, couldn’t you be smart about it and do it in a way that weren’t perfect for Jinyoung to walk in on it? Jesus, Seungri, don’t let beauty cloud your judgement.”
“Except it did, besides Jaebum, who was taken at that time, Mark is an eye-candy. Those ten seconds of me grinding on his lap was a blessing,” Seungri smirked dirtily.
Jackson grimaced, “ew, so you actually admit that it wasn’t an accident.”
“It was! Kind of… I mean, I was still half-sober because I managed to slip in something before he drank-“
“Oh, my ing God, you’re unbelievable,” Jackson gaped in horror. “Don’t ever talk to me ever again.”
Seungri rolled his eyes at Jackson’s childish command, “why exactly are you here, Wang?”
In a split of a second, Jackson’s eyes went dark, “since you’re the owner of this place, it’s only right for you to know somewhat.”
“What is it?” Seungri turned serious. Anything that has to do with his pub means life-and-death to him.
“I’m on an investigation of something extremely important, and my suspect was last seen sitting at your bar,” Jackson informed slightly, just so Seungri could get an idea.
“Seen by who?”
“Yugyeom and Bambam.”
“Oh, my God, those two were just here before Youngjae came in.”
“Where are they now?” Jackson asked.
“They left in a hurry,” Seungri said, remembering the two kiddos chugging down their lemonades in one gulp before thanking him and dashing out the door like they’d seen a ghost.
“Were they following anyone? Do you remember who?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” the bartender looked genuinely concern. “Is everything okay?”
“No,” Jackson looked down, “everything is a mess. Jaebum is a mess. Jinyoung and Mark have been very commanding. And Youngjae is in danger, so I-“
“WHAT?! Youngjae is what???”
Sighing Jackson decided to leak this bit out, trusting Seungri, as an old friend, to not pass it on to any soul, “the suspect I’m after is targeting Youngjae. That’s all I can say, but I was so surprised to find Youngjae here when I walked in. Honestly, I was scared that-“
“Jackson,” there was a slight shook in Seungri’s normal playful voice. “Where is Youngjae?”
The agent turned towards the direction where the doctor had seated. The chair was empty. Any trace of Choi Youngjae was gone. There was only a wine glass with red liquid still halfway filled. Something nasty churned inside Jackson’s stomach, making him sick.
“He,” Seungri swallowed, “Jackson, I know the way Youngjae drinks. He'd never leave without finishing his Malbec. It’s his favorite, Jackson. No matter what kind of mood he’s in, Youngjae would never left a glass full of wine like that.”
Without another word, Jackson ran out the pub’s door, his gun nestled tightly in his hand.
*
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“I can’t believe I’d let you talked me into this,” Yugyeom groaned. “This is ridiculous! Wait until Jaebum-hyung finds out, our neck would be separated from the rest of our body.”
“Can you chill for a sec? You’re overeating, we’ll be fine,” Bambam reassured, half-done with his partner’s nonstop complaints. “Jackson-hyung got our backs.”
Yugyeom scoffed, “let’s not forget that Captain is a much higher rank than Vice Captain. And since when are you this trusting towards that E.C.I. Vice Cap?”
“We were on an overseas undercover mission together. He’s a trustworthy person. Plus, he got Mark-hyung to back him up. Think about it; when Mark-hyung is involve, with a kiss, and our Vice Captain, Jinyoung-hyung, will get dragged in. And when Jinyoung-hyung is in, all Mark-hyung has to do is make cute faces and Jinyoung-hyung will automatically listen. And if Jaebum-hyung decided to kill us, Jinyoung-hyung will fly to our defense. See? No big deal, man,” Bambam punched Yugyeom’s shoulder in mischief.
“Or Mark-hyung could just directly talk to Jaebum-hyung since they’re best friends anyways.”
“Oh, well, that works, too.”
“Right. What if Captain Tuan decided to turn his back on us?”
“Then we’re screwed.”
Yugyeom glared at Bambam. The taller of the duo started to regret this whole spying thing. He only tagged along because Bambam was guilt-tripping him, throwing tantrums and . The agent still thinks it’s ridiculous that they both don’t even know why they’re spying; they, mainly Bambam, were just doing it because Jackson needed some agents with skills. And Bambam is easily persuaded by the use of free tickets to a famous fashion show.
Kim Yugyeom was still clueless as to why Bambam and him are still friends.
“We probably lost the guy, Bambam-ah. Can we go home now?” Yugyeom whined as he pulled his coat tighter around himself as the wind starts picking up. Annoyed with the rude intrusion of nature’s chills, Yugyeom rolled up the car’s window.
“We can’t. He was just around the corner-Yugyeom?” Bambam’s words were caught in his throat as his eyes witnessed a huge figure dragging another figure of a “lifeless” man that’s much smaller into a parked van. “Holy ! Yugyeom, that’s him!”
Yugyeom whipped his head towards the direction of Bambam’s vision and a gasped escaped his mouth. Even though it was dark, Yugyeom’s trained eyesight could make out some features of the dragged body, “isn’t that… Oh, God, Bambam, that’s Jaebum-hyung’s doctor boyfriend!”
But before the two young agents could move another finger, the van took off in full speed down the road. They rushed out of their hiding spot and proceed to chase the vehicle down. Bambam, being the driver, pressed on the gas so hard, causing Yugyeom to plunged forward in the passenger’s seat. Good thing he had his seatbelt buckled tightly. There was no hesitation when Yugyeom pulled out his phone and dialed for the E.C.I. Vice Captain.
The van, obviously notice that another car was trailing close behind, swerved left and ran over a red light. Bambam had no choice but to slammed on his brakes, anxiously muttering “come on come on” as he stared deadly at the traffic lights, urging it to change color faster.
“Sir!-“ Yugyeom shouted as soon as he heard a click of the other end being received.
“Where the hell are you two?! What’s going on?!” Jackson’s voice boomed in panic.
“We’re chasing down the target right now, but he has Choi Youngjae, sir!”
“WHAT?! ! I KNEW IT! Put me on speaker!”
Yugyeom pressed the speaker option and Jackson’s screamed through it, “BAMBAM YOU BET YOUR ING THAT YOU WON’T LOSE THE BASTARD YA HEAR ME??!! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOUNGJAE!!”
Instead of replying, Bambam sped up even more, going about 145mph, since they’re already so behind due to the red light. Determined to find that van, the agent skipped a couple more red lights. It was the government’s car anyways, surely, they wouldn’t charge themselves. Yugyeom held on tight to the grab handle as his body violently turned along with the car whenever Bambam make a sharp turn, completely ignoring all road rules. Rules were meant to be broken anyways.
It was only matter of seconds that the familiar van finally came into view. Yugyeom smirked, proud of his partner’s skills.
Bambam grinned widely, “you’re my now.”
The van picked up its speed again, accelerating at a dangerous rate. Of course, Bambam followed suit. The agent focused on the vehicle ahead, refusing to trail his unwavering eyes away. Bambam switched lane and slammed on his gas pedal. His car is now side-by-side with the van. Yugyeom let out a sigh next to him, bracing himself for the impact. Bambam, on cue, swerved his steering wheel harshly to the right, colliding with van. A loud irritated screech echoed through the empty street. He was about to going in for a second collision, but the van quickly dodged as it swiftly shifted further to the right.
“Hold on tight, Yug,” Bambam breathed out, anger bubbling up inside him. With a smooth aim, Bambam steered head on into the van, cornering it. Streaks of sparkles ignited between the contact of the agent’s car and the van. Biting down his bottom lip, Bambam pressed the gas in full speed, pushing the van and skidding it against the stone wall of an alley.
The man inside the van gripped on the steering wheel and made a one-eighty with it, a desperate attempt to get out of the trap. Being in the van, which is quite larger in size compared to the government’s bulletproof black SUV, the advantages were in his hands. The van continued to skid along the wall until they were all out of the alley and there was no wall left. Taking the chances, the van crashed against the SUV, sending the black vehicle spinning frantically out in the open street. Such a shame, but there were no other cars around. However, with the other car spinning wildly nonstop, the van managed to sped away, making turns all over the place in hope of losing the agents.
Inside the car, Yugyeom held onto his dear life as Bambam tried to stop the spinning. It only came to a stop when the car crashed right into a utility pole. The airbags popped open, preventing the two from plunging forward and smashing their heads on the windshield. Groaning at the temporary pain, Yugyeom looked over at Bambam. The young driver unbuckled his seatbelt in a hurry and exited out into the quiet street of some neighborhood. Yugyeom came out moments later after regaining some energy.
“Hey, are you okay-“ Yugyeom opened his mouth.
“God-ing-damnit,” Bambam cursed angry and kicked the front wheel of the banged up vehicle.
“Bambam, it’s okay-“
“No, it’s not! I ALMOST HAD HIM! …” Bambam ruffled his hair; his face was red with fury. “Son-of-a-.”
Yugyeom sighed and looked around, observing their surroundings. At least we’re okay, he thought. He then takes out his phone and called Jackson, informing what had happened. A string of Mandarin and Cantonese, which Yugyeom could only assumes were curse words, stumbled out of the Vice Captain’s mouth.
“All right, it’s good that you guys are okay,” Jackson sighed, “stay put. I’m on my way.”
“Yes, hyung,” Yugyeom replied and hung up. He glanced over at his partner, best friend, who’s still grumbling under his breath in Thai. Yugyeom sighed, again. “This is going to be a long night."
*
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*
The clicking of a firearm reloading woke Youngjae to his conscious. The doctor slowly cracked his eyes open. Confusion washed over him when he tried to move but only to find himself bind to a chair by wet ropes. He struggled to loosen the ropes, but the more he moved, the tighter the ropes constricted against his frail body. Giving up, Youngjae looked around, he’s clearly in some sort of abandoned warehouse. He remembered drinking wine at Seungri’s pub and mildly talking with Jackson. How the hell did he ended up here? Another loud click of a gun snapped Youngjae towards the noise. In front of him, some distant away, sat a middle-aged man with a creepy smile.
“Hell, there, Doctor,” the kidnapper greeted.
“Who are you? And why am I here?” Youngjae spat, already feeling disgusted.
The man laughed, his forehead crinkled and the sounds that came out of his mouth send chills down Youngjae’s back. Those chills people get when they’re sensing danger. After a while, his laughter dies down, what was left upon his dried lips was an arrogant smirk. “Who I am is not important. But you, you’re very important.”
“What do you want?” Youngjae asked. He’s been in this situation before. Being kidnapped as a hostage isn’t something entirely new to the doctor. Usually in this kind of situation, it’s best to try to negotiate.
“Simple,” the man leaned forward in his chair, “tell me what you know, and I’ll let you go.”
Youngjae tilted his head, confused, “what I know? What are you talking about? What do I know? I don’t understand-“
“Cut the bull crap! You do know! Stop pretending you don’t know .”
“Even if I do know something, after I tell you, you’re going to kill me anyway.”
“Don’t play smart with me, kid,” the guy sneered, “your life is currently in my hands. I can choose to do whatever with you as I like. Either you tell me and I’ll spare your worthless self or you can sit there and wait until I trade you off to the mafia for couple of millions.”
The mention of the mafia had Youngjae’s eyes bulging out of its sockets. , the mafia? God, please, don’t tell me it’s them. Youngjae clenched his jaw. There’s no way in hell was he going to go back into the hands of those Russians. Those eight months were like living in hell. It’s fortunate that Youngjae didn’t caught any mental damages. But it didn’t stopped Youngjae from NEVER wanting to be involved with them ever again.
“Bull’s eye, huh?”
“I don’t know anything,” Youngjae said. His voice was controlled and steady. No sign of submission or uncertainty.
“I am so tired of you lying!” The man suddenly stood up, pulled out a revolver. “How about,” he placed a single round, “we play a game?” And spun the cylinder. “You know this game, right? Isn’t it your favorite, Choi Youngjae?”
Youngjae knows exactly what his kidnapper was doing. Russian roulette. They were going to play Russian roulette. If there’s anything the doctor had learned from the Russian mobs was that they loved torturing their victims with this psychological game of guessing-when-you’re-going-to-die. Youngjae could not count the times he was put under as an active player; those moments were the ones Youngjae would close his eyes and puts his life in the hands of the God of Luck.
The man walked over to Youngjae and grind the muzzle against his temple. Youngjae let out an irritated sigh.
“Let me ask you, again,” the cruel tease in the man’s voice was evident, “what do you know?”
“Nothing.”
The trigger was pulled. A loud click resonated throughout the warehouse. A laughter erupted snobbishly. Youngjae held his heart in place. He hated this.
“What are you hiding, Youngjae?”
“I told you I don’t know anything.”
Another pull of the trigger. And another loud click of the revolver.
“Tell. Me. What. Do. You. Know.”
It came down to a fifty-fifty chance. The man was holding a 4-shot cylinder. The next pull of the trigger could blow Youngjae’s brain out right there and then.
“There’s nothing for me to tell you, because I don’t ing know anything.”
Smirking viciously, the man didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Youngjae closed his eyes, waiting for the right side of the coin to flip. The click of an empty round echoed against the walls, scaring away the little critters of the night.
This was it. The last round is where the bullet snugged comfortably, ready to end Youngjae’s life.
“Nice,” his kidnapper smiled, a nasty smile, “you got fortune, kid. But not for long.”
Youngjae scoffed, “they love me, I know.” Although now isn’t the perfect time to make snarky comments, Youngjae couldn’t help but sass. If he was going to die, the doctor wanted to make himself as someone who didn’t give into fear.
“You know, before you go,” the muzzle of the revolver was removed from the side of Youngjae’s head. The man walked his way out to face Youngjae. His grin was so wide and ominous that Youngjae couldn’t help but gulped softly. “I’ll tell you something you do want to know.”
“What an honor,” Youngjae smirked.
“That boyfriend of yours,” the man began, “do you actually know him?”
The doctor stiffen in his seat. No, don’t, don’t involve Jaebum into this. Please, don’t do it. Jaebum has nothing to do with this.
The man took Youngjae’s silence as a cue to continue, “you think he loves you.”
“What?” Youngjae glared at his kidnapper, eyes sharpen with pure hatred.
“He doesn’t love you, Youngjae-ah,” the man cooed softly as if he’s trying to make a baby stop crying for their mommy. “Im Jaebum never loves you.”
“What are you saying? You don’t know-“
“He’s only with you because he’s on a mission, you naïve child.”
It hit him. It hit Youngjae hard. During this whole time, Youngjae was trying to be strong. He was calm and collected like how he was trained to do in situation like this. But with just one sentence from his creepy capturer, Youngjae’s walls came tumbling down. “W-wh-what are you talk-talking about?” His voice was shaking violently.
“Hit a nerve, didn’t I? Of course, you wouldn’t know about this because Jaebum is the best agent that’s sent to retrieve information from you or to kill you, whichever one works.”
“You’re… You’re lying,” Youngjae said through gritted teeth. Part of him. Part of Youngjae still wants to trust Jaebum. Still wants to believe Jaebum. Youngjae wants to believe that Jaebum loves him. And that everything Jaebum had said were truths.
Laughing in satisfaction as he managed to shook the persistent doctor, the man started walking in circle around his hostage. “Sadly, I’m not. In fact, I have proof.” Pulling out a small recorder, the man pressed a button.
The voices that came from the device rang deeply within Youngjae’s heart. It was Jaebum’s voice:
“Sir, I came here to report my investigation so far.”
“Agent Im Jaebum of Chief-Commander Park’s sector, you may proceed.”
“Yes, sir. There isn’t much to say, sir. Choi Youngjae is still in normalcy. I haven’t gotten anything out of him yet.”
“Will you be getting something out soon?”
“Of course, sir. I abide to my mission.”
“Agent Im, if things get too bothersome, I want you to take him out.”
“Sir?”
“Get rid of him, Agent Im, is what I mean.”
“If that’s the new orders, then yes, sir. I hereby follow it.”
“Good. You may be dismissed, Agent Im. We’ll be waiting for your accomplished results.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Youngjae didn’t move nor say anything. His head hurts. His heart hurts. As much as he doesn’t want to believe it was real, he knows better than pathetically denying concrete evidences. God, he felt so stupid. So dumb. He felt so disgusted at himself for falling into Jaebum’s pit of bull. He felt so bad for himself for finally allowing himself to love back. Youngjae fell. He fell for Im Jaebum.
And right now, Youngjae just wishes that the man would just pull that final trigger already, so he wouldn’t have to go through the pain of a heartbreak a second time.
“Poor you,” the man shook his head, his eyes are faking sympathy, “are you going to be okay?”
It took a moment for the doctor to regain his composure, but when he did, he lifted his head up with pride and smirked, “I heard your voice; so you’re working for K.N.S.S. How fun, since you’re also connected with the mobs.”
The kidnapper froze in his track for a bit. But quickly covered his weakness up with an intimidating smile, “doesn’t matter if you know. You’ll die anyways. And dead man can’t speak.”
“Right,” Youngjae sighed, “yet you still wouldn’t get anything out of me. What makes you think you can when the best agent couldn’t?”
The man laughed, “see, Jaebum thought pampering you would make you talk, but he’s wrong. He’s horrible at this job. He failed his mission. But me, I like to resort to fear. Say, Choi Youngjae, what are your last words?”
I love you, tell Jaebum that I love him, Youngjae wanted to shout, to scream, to yell out those precious words he held so dear for someone special. He was planning on confessing tonight. That’s why he had went out his way and drove to Jaebum’s workplace. And now, knowing that Jaebum’s feelings are fake, Youngjae just wanted to laugh. But at the same time, he wanted Jaebum to at least know that the result from the agent’s wonderful performance was the doctor’s hope for true love.
Instead he said, “Pat Jaebum in the back and tell him that he’s a great actor, such an Oscar-worthy performance.”
“Wasn’t planning on killing you, but you’re supposed to die anyways,” the man raised his arm, the revolver in his hand, he aimed for the Youngjae’s forehead, “and sure, I’ll do you that last favor, since I still have somewhat of a heart, after all.”
“Good,” Youngjae said, closing his eyes, going back through all his memories of Jaebum’s blinding sweet smile, a streak of tear rolled peacefully down his cheek. Youngjae softly exhaled and prepared himself.
“Goodbye, Choi Youngjae.”
The roaring of the revolver as it fired its round interrupted the silent night, sending chills down the mice’s spines as they scurried off to their filthy nests, hiding away from the monsters.
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