Hongbin couldn’t do this anymore. Spitting blood out onto the pavement next to him , he turned to check if they had followed him.

It had almost been a week, since the house had been destroyed and his dad had contacted Mr. ‘Han’. The problem was it was more difficult to get in touch with that person then they had anticipated, so as his father worked on talking to this ‘Han’ person, he had asked both Hongbin and his mother to lay low for a bit. So to not raise much attention, they had moved from neighbors’ guest rooms to hotel rooms, every night. Never staying in one place for too long.

Hongbin had tried meeting up with his friends but only found himself instantly surrounded by a group from the gang. After being chased for a couple hours, they had left him in an unfamiliar suburb, thanks to his speed they hadn't been able to catch up to him. The place was on the other side of the town so Hongbin could only guess it was perhaps the territory of a different gang…

His father also ran into a couple thugs as he wanted to go back to the house to fetch some stuff they had forgotten. There had been hope that they had would leave the house alone, so they could get their things, alas. They had beat him only a little bit, 'for fun'. Though it was thanks to their 'fun' that he could barely move his hand. They had left saying it was a 'warning'.

How nice of them, Hongbin was furious.

After guilt eating away at him, he thought an attempt to go back to school wouldn't harm. There was no way in hell that they would try something outside a public building. Soon it became clear to him that he had no chance, there were a group of five standing at the gate, and before he could make a break for it, like the last time, there were suddenly another two standing in the way of his escape route.
“Got to be careful with him, he’s a runner!” one of them chuckled, the others closed in on almost immediately. Hongbin braced himself, it was true his strength was in running but with his long limbs and reflexes he wasn’t too bad in a fight. His friends and he did get into the odd scuffle at the bar or on the street, it was not unusual for him. They even won a few fights. 
But those times, he had his friends to back him up, and wasn’t facing seven people by himself.

To his own surprise, he lasted their onslaught quite a while, the pain was so overwhelming it almost didn’t hurt anymore. He had been struck in the side numerous times and only with difficulty had he been able to protect his legs, he would be needing them. Every kick aimed at them, he blocked with his arms, however as the beating dragged on it was getting harder and harder to fend off the blows. He didn’t even have the chance to think of striking back, it was all about just not falling, not letting them near anything vital and letting them finish him off.
They were merciless from either side, from what he could tell two were standing watch while the rest had their ‘fun’, an elbow to his back made him cough violently, breaking his train of thought.
“Oi, what are you doing?!” a voice of authority sounded from the general direction of the school, a teacher maybe, not that Hongbin cared, all he was aware of was the split second the group was distracted by the voice in the distance and he bolted.
“!” “There he goes!” “After him!” “We’re not done, Lee!!”

Back to his present situation, he stared at the blood on the floor like it didn’t belong to him. He couldn’t let mother see him like this... where were they even meeting today?
Clutching his throbbing side, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket, it had somehow made the pummeling.
                Café on main street!

Father

Okay, that wasn’t far from where he was now. Taking out a tissue, he wiped his mouth not even surprised when he saw there had still been some blood. At least they didn’t have knives… well this was also just a ‘warning’.
And he had thought he had a chance, Hongbin had to laugh at his own naiveté. He might be a good fighter but not like this, not against so many and definitely not if they had weapons. Not to mention, the group was indeed famous for their bloody stabbings, victims never stood a chance against their number and their knives. Now he slowly began to realise why his mother cried out of fear so much...

The way to the café wasn’t so hard to find, within ten minutes he was there already.  His father was sitting in the furthest corner from the door, and jumped as Hongbin approached him. He felt his father examining him, "They got you too... this isn't getting better... have a seat..."

Wordlessly, Hongbin sat down and looked at his father, it was pretty clear to see that he was a nervous wreck. Not that he had been any better during the gambling addiction. Looking at him now like this, Hongbin went through his memories and tried to remembere the time where his dad was calm and collected, really old memories. In the end, he had gotten his height and long limbs from his old man. If said person stood to his full height he towered over any person they knew. He used to have an aura of authority that no one could touch. Not like.... now… not anymore, now he was just a shadow of his past self.

The gambling, debt and working with the gang had really taken the wind out of his sails.

“Dad, who is this Mr. ‘Han’?” curiosity got the better of Hongbin, since the mention of the name the first time, the family had been so preoccupied with running from the gang that Hongbin had completely forgotten to ask. Maybe his father wouldn’t tell him, chances of his parents falling back into the habit of keeping him in the dark were high. On the other hand after all they had been through the past week...and seeing the reaction of mother, he knew his mother definitely knew this person, so it only seemed fair to also be told. After all they only had one another, in a time like this it would be pointless to keep things form one another.

His father sighed, “I guess given our situation… I should tell you. Your mother said she would need a bit to get here, so we have some time.

Now where to start?

Mr. Han and I were school friends, of sorts. More accurately, we happened to be in the same class. So you could call us acquaintances, if you wish.

He and I didn’t talk much. He was from a powerful family, his father ran a company with multiple factories all over the country so he couldn’t be bothered with talking to a simpleton from class. I remember always seeing him be chauffeured to school and being picked up. If my memory doesn’t fail me, he had a personal driver from the age of 10. Can you believe that?
At the time I guess I was too young to understand the difference in ‘class’, I thought he was the funniest person I had ever seen.

I thought he wasn’t able to take the subway or the bus to school, like normal people, maybe he was ill. How stupid must he be?”
Hongbin’s dad smiled at a distant memory.
“Anyway, it didn’t stop there, I thought he was too funny, when he refused to sit with us for lunch or was excused from sports because he didn’t feel like it. In the end I had come to the conclusion that he had a terminal illness, and when I confronted him about his sickness and told him  if he needed any help I would be there, I must have shocked him so much.

For the first time since seeing him, he laughed.

He wouldn’t stop laughing. Back then I didn’t understand much of it but it got us talking.
Of course his family didn’t want him making friends, so we hung out only at school. He had his ‘rich kid’ friends, as we called them and I had my other friends too, with whom I hung out with after school. We chose not to call ourselves friends, for our own sake and our families.
We did lots of things, I showed him the cute cartons of milk you could get back then and you should have seen his face when I showed him what instant noodles were!  He taught me about the etiquette of his family, and their rules. They were so strict!! It seemed sureal at the time.
Anyway, we … well we experienced a lot of stuff, stuff that his and my parents never knew about.
In a way we both knew our ‘friendship’ was only going to last for as long as school.

Like a silent contract. So when we ended high school.
We didn’t say big words,

we just parted ways.

He went to go take over his father’s company and I went to become a lawyer, or at least that was the plan.

We did however swap numbers, and in case of dire need we could call the other.
Along with the number he had told me stories of false friends who called him up for money or help, without giving anything in return. Hearing this I didn’t want to be one of those, that's why I swore never to use it... but things changed
But now… we could really use his help…”

Hongbin blinked, he had no idea. His father seldomly spoke of the past. It was the first time hearing this story.

“Will he help us?” was the next question that left him. It had been a week since his father had tried to contact Mr. Han.
“Well, the number is over twenty years old so I thought it wouldn’t even connect, but it got me to a secretary, who said they would inform him. Apparently he was on a business trip that’s why it took so long for him to get back to me.
We met yesturday, and I couldn’t do anything more than just tell him everything that had happened.

Now, he has given me conditions, which we need to talk about before taking action. He does have an image to keep up, so it will be hard to just directly help us… especially with a gang involved.

Hongbin…” his father was now looking directly at him, “I swore never to ask him of his help, especially asking something as big as this...so in return we need to give him in return… Your mother and I already decided, we will do anything to keep you and one another safe... now it is your turn...

how much are you willing to give?”

There was a pause, as Hongbin thought, the question had caught him off gaurd, ‘willing to give’? They didn’t have much to give in return for help, he wasn’t even finished with school so he could hardly give them his knowledge, like his dad or mother could. What on earth could he give?
“I’m not sure-“
Suddenly, his father leapt up from his seat, Hongbin automatically spun around in a defensive pose half expecting to see the gang walking towards them. Only instead of some gangsters it was his mother… something was wrong… and he suddenly wished it had been the gang.

His mother wasn't as fast as him or as big as his father... and had even less luck

In an attempt to quit and cut ties from her waitressing job, she thought it a good idea to go to the restaurant  to say goodbye personally. However as she arrived she was greeted by two more thugs. She didn’t have a chance, they said it was simply another warning, like they had given to the others. But the black bruise that was covering almost her whole eye, just the mere sight made Hongbin feel an uncontrollable rage. Only with force and pleading was she able prevent Hongbin and his father from leaving the café in an attempt to take it up with the whole gang.
“They said, if we try anything they will kill us!! Please, please, I don’t want you to go!! What will I have left if you two leave me?!” the whole place was looking at them by now, her voice boarderlining hysteric. Only as Hongbin’s father managed to collect himself and usher them back into their little corner in the back did it quiet down.
Hongbin had an arm around his mother, looking closer at her, he saw bruises showing from under the sleeve of her shirt and her hair looked like it had been pulled, given he had left her this morning with a neat ponytail and now it was scattered all over the place. His gaze turned to his father’s arm, it was obvious he still wasn’t using it, since the pain must still be there. He wasn't in the best shape either, if he hadn't been able to run away, it would have ended worse then the bruises on his sides.
And this was only a warning…

“Father, " he was thankful his voice sounded more determined then he actually felt, "I’ll give anything, if he’s able to make this go away!”

His own bruises and the ones of his parents, were nothing in comparison what would happen if they didn’t escape.

His parents looked at him, mother tearing up and his father nodding in silent understanding.
“Then it is settled… we leave immediately, a car is waiting for us down the road!”




Next Chapter "Mr Han" Update: changed to 'Young Master' the next one will be "Mr Han"
Hongbin meets a certain someone and it begins...