Author's Note: This is the last chapter. I never intended it to be too long. More like a snippet story. I changed the rating on the story because I didn't want to get in trouble for a couple of scenes that took place.
Rioh braced herself for the blow, back bending as the metal rod crashed into her shoulder blades. She gripped Woo Bin's shoulders and leaned in to the blow to ease the sting that would follow.
There was a stunned silence that followed it. Stinging pain greeted her when she lifted her head. Rolling her shoulders, she got the full effect of the damage. Nothing was broken but she was going to be bruised for a few days. Metal was no joke.
Keeping her head averted from the men she was trying desperately not to kill, she crouched in front of the two battered men. Hwan smiled through bloody teeth but wisely didn't say anything before his eyes closed and he dropped into unconsciousness. She surveyed the damage done to him, making mental notes to bash the heads in of every man who dared lay a hand on this kid. Bin was going to kill them; she was going to get the first blows in. They had always had an unspoken rule amongst them. Never lay a hand on the significant other of any member. The bite marks, hand marks, bruises, cuts and damage done to his genitals were unforgiveable.
She met Woo Bin's gaze only when her anger boiled hotly. He held it as he searched for something. When he found it, his mouth dropped slowly as his eyes widened in recognition.
"Dr. Hwang," he muttered. "I've met you before. You were at the chapter meetings before the Triad was disbanded. You followed the former master to Seoul, but you never said a word."
His eyes trailed over her exposed flesh, widening even more as he recognized the tattoos. "You're…"
She held a finger to her lips as she slowly stood. Now he understood the authority had wielded when she had housed him. It didn't come from standing around people. No, it came from leading the triad quietly from the shadows. From the looks on everyone's faces as they stood around, no one knew who she was. She had kept her identity a secret.
"Hwan!" Bin slid across the floor until he was hovering over the young man. He took his shirt and dabbed at the blood encasing his mouth. "Hwan?"
"He's alive, but he's finally succumbed to the fatigue and pain," Rioh muttered. Bin looked up at her, his eyes roving over her bared skin but not seeing. She nodded. "It's exactly what you're thinking."
Bin surged to his feet, but Rioh held him back. The siblings stared at each other, matching eyes coming to the same conclusion. Bin had to look down to understand what she was trying to say. He saw the dragon head covering his sister's chest and moving along her back. It matched the tail that moved along his back and chest as well. Together they were the head and tail of the dragon, the two pieces that formed a whole.
"Yin and yang," he muttered. "Two halves of the same whole. Master signed the business over to you. Now it makes sense. Now I know why you never took an interest in things. You didn't have to. They were yours anyway. Why did you hide this from me?"
Rioh smiled tightly and turned around. Unashamed that she was exposing herself to fifteen men, she strode across the room. The men dropped their eyes and shuffled uncomfortably. She looked between them, eyes settling on every one of them for a long period of time.
"What? You're not going to take me? I'm standing half naked in front of you and not one of you is going to touch me?" she mused.
"We can't, master. It would be unwise," one of the underlings muttered.
Rioh licked the edge of her mouth as she nodded. "Ah. So you can't touch me because I'm the Dragon Head. Do I have that correctly?"
"Yes, Master."
"Then why in the hell do you think it's okay to lay a hand on the Dragon's Heart? Look at me!" Eight heads snapped up as the quietest person they had ever known demanded obedience. Rioh pointed at Hwan. "That boy is the heart of this dragon. He is my little brother by choice and the beloved of your second in command, the man who has led you for two years. Yet you torture and abuse him as if he means nothing to you."
"He has no ranking," Noah argued.
Rioh's smile was hard and mocking. "And neither do you. I'm stripping you of your rank. You're the instigator behind all this. I know it's you because your trademark was at all the locations I visited. You and Kim thought you were going to get away with it. You never lay a hand on someone else's wife or lover. You know this."
Noah laughed. "I don't think you have any grounds to stand on. You're not even married or dating anyone."
"That's not true."
A petite woman stepped from behind Jun Pyo. It was Bora, the triad's Vanguard or operations officer. From behind her came a man with brightly dyed red hair. It was Jin, the Deputy who was in charge of everyone below deputy, admin and liaison.
"Jin and Rioh have been in a relationship for the past ten years. Only a select few knew about it because any relationship is scrutinized. Master Jun had blessed the relationship because it kept the couple level headed. Bin and I are the only ones who have known about it," Bora tossed out as the two moved to Rioh's side.
"Just like Bin, I waited patiently for Rioh, and I've done what I could to make sure my relationship worked. I'm the only one who knew Master Jun selected Rioh as the new master and it was my job to make sure that stayed a secret. I'm also the one who delivered the information about Kim and Noah's deceit," Jin added.
With a yell, Kim and Noah charged the man. But Rioh was faster. She caught the metal shackles that had adorned Woo Bin's wrists when Bin tossed them and wrapped the chain around Kim's neck as she kicked Noah back. She tightened the chain until Kim's face turned red.
"How does it feel to be at the mercy of someone else?" she demanded. "Attack him again. Attack any lover again and you'll never be able to fulfill your desires. You'll be taking it from behind with no way to find release."
"Rioh, you made your point," Jin cajoled. A hand on her shoulder eased the tension that had built up there.
She loosed her hold on the chain but didn't fully let go. "Other than power, why did you attack Song Woo Bin and Hwan?"
"Does it make any sense to you to be a mafia when there is nothing illegal going on? That just makes us a gang with morals," Noah protested.
"And what's wrong with that?" Jun Pyo demanded. Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong grabbed at his clothes to get him to shut up but he shrugged them off. "There are plenty of gangs who are strictly good and only take on trustworthy jobs. It doesn't make them evil. It just makes them different."
"And what would you know?" Kim challenged.
He gagged when Rioh tightened the chain again. "He's the president of Shinhwa Group. Last time I checked your grandfather still worked for that company."
His face blanched at the mention of his grandfather whom he loved dearly. Things could be done out of spite because of his actions. Rioh was the Dragon Head. She could order anything.
"Rioh." Bin's voice was haggard and hollow.
She dropped her hands and the chain fell to her feet. "Ji Hoo-ssi, I need help moving Hwan. Bora, help Woo Bin. Jin, make sure the other two get out without getting hit."
She stopped by her brother. "Do what you wish, but do not kill them. Henceforth their titles are stripped. It's up to you if they stay or leave, but do not kill them. They have families as well."
Woo Bin stood with Bora's assistance as Jin escorted Yi Jeong and Jun Pyo out. It was a slow trip just across the room, but it was slower for Rioh and Ji Hoo as they gently carried Hwan out. Bin waited until the door was halfway shut before he let out a strangled cry and ran across the room. The last thing Woo Bin saw was two men fall, but he could hear the screams down the hall.
After a brief hospital stay and multiple phone calls to ease his parents' minds, Woo Bin was finally able to travel. JFK was packed full of travelers waiting on their flights. Many others were coming in from overseas for various reasons. He was just happy to be going home.
He and Hwan had gotten closer during the hospital stay. He had found out how young the man truly was. Woo Bin was eleven years older than him, but age hadn't mattered for Bin as he had waited two years to even start dating the young man. Though it was hard on him, Hwan had made a home with the siblings.
He had also found out that Rioh was the daughter and niece of the two founders of this charter. Her uncle had been the previous Dragon Head and her father the Dragon Tail. The two men had wanted to keep the top two positions in the family so they had secretly made it possible for Rioh to take over. They had had to keep her ascension secret because any person who had ambitions to take over would kill her. Jin had been proven worthy enough to keep the information since his long standing relationship with Rioh was more important than his job.
They all sat quietly as they waited for their flight to be called. There wasn't much to be said since the entire issue had been resolved. Court cases weren't pending because it wasn't the entire group who had attacked him and things had been settled within the group. But that didn't mean people weren't still upset.
"Hyung!"
They looked down the walkway to see Hwan walking as fast as his booted foot would allow him. Bin followed close behind, talking nonstop about what the young man should and shouldn't do. Hwan didn't bother listen to him. Rioh and Jin followed them at a much more sedated pace, content to follow hand in hand.
"Hwan! You can't move that fast. You're still injured," Bin scolded when they were finely within earshot.
"Ignore him," Hwan ordered. "He's still mad he can't get any for the next month and a half."
"Hwan!"
"Hwan, no one wants to know your kinky sex life. Please shut up," Rioh managed. The kid pouted but she ruffled his hair gently. "He'll be fine. He waited two years once. Two months won't bother him."
"Thank you for coming," Woo Bin tossed out before the family could start bickering once again.
Rioh smiled at him, hand still entangled in Hwan's blond locks. "It's not a problem. We would have insisted anyway."
Her face became serious quickly. "Things have been taken care of. Noah and Kim have been kicked out of the group. The others were given the choice of either leaving or staying but losing their ranks. Two left. The others gave up their positions and have returned to Blue Lanterns. It will be a long time before we even consider trusting them again."
Jin nodded in agreement. "We also reached out to the main charter in Seoul. Rest assured that no one there has any intentions of offing you. They know we have your back here in the States. Like them, we have family there who would gladly step in for us. You always have friends here even though we didn't start off on the right foot."
Rioh laughed. "You didn't have your arms elbow deep in blood."
He smiled and pulled her to him, nose buried in her hair.
"I've been wondering something," Yi Jeong said. The couple tilted their heads at him. "How did you keep your relationship so strong even when the burden of being the master was so great?"
"We always made it a point not to let the organization get between us. We kept an open line of conversation. Nothing was off limits. We fought a lot, but at the end of the day, we were more important than the group. If Rioh wanted to walk away, I was going with her," Jin explained. Beside them Hwan elbowed Bin and muttered something.
"Did you know I was in her house?" Woo Bin asked.
The other man nodded. "She emailed me as soon as you were patched up. I was supposed to come over, but when she recognized Kim's handiwork, she got me on the hunt and warned me away. Whenever she did something behind the scenes, I was never allowed to come over because she didn't want me in any trouble that would get me beaten and kicked out."
Woo Bin looked at Rioh then. For the first time, he saw her for what she was. She was a mob boss, she was a lover, and most importantly she was a friend. She had proven that with her actions more so than her words.
He extended his left hand since his right one was still bandaged. "Any time you want to visit South Korea, you always have a place to stay. And if I haven't said it, thank you for saving my life. Without all the work you put in, I'd be dead."
Rioh took his proffered hand and squeezed it gently. "Jin was right. You're always welcome here. Any time. And if you need help, feel free to call. We'll do our best to do whatever we can."
Hwan hugged Woo Bin tightly, much to Bin's chagrin and Rioh's amusement. They said their pleasantries and goodbyes as the four's flight was called. Woo Bin looked back at the four who had risked everything to save his life then back at the three who had had enough sense to trust them. He was probably not going to return to New York for a while but he was content with the fact that he would have friends if he did.
THE END