So. It has been a while since I updated. In most cases, it has been because of writer's block. In this instance, it was a little bit of that, but mostly I just had absolutely NO TIME to write anything because of other things going on. Every moment I attempted to sit down and write, I had something else pop up. Primarily it was work-related things and LOTS of time at work with no time at all to do anything creative. Because of how long this chapter got, I actually added an additional chapter (for now) to the end of this story because I don't know if I can fit the rest of what I want to do into a single chapter and the epilogue. Hopefully there are still people reading this story.
"So Yi Jeong, if you do not stop pacing I am going to strap you to a chair," Jun Pyo finally snapped as Yi Jeong walked past him yet again. Since they had arrived at the Song mansion to discuss how best to find Ga Eul, Yi Jeong had been doing nothing but pacing for the last half hour.
"You can try," Yi Jeong snarled. "I can't lose, Ga Eul. We just told each other how we-."
"Don't," Jun Pyo said, lifting a hand. "You are not the only one worried. I just got my sister back as well after years of my father and sister thinking she was gone. I can't lose her either."
"Stop measuring who's grief may be worse if something happened," Kim Ju Won said as he stepped into the room where the others were. Woo Bin had been effectively ignoring Jun Pyo and Yi Jeong as he worked beside Saeng Jun to go over any clues that they had. "None of us will lose Ga Eul."
Jun Pyo couldn't help but sigh as he ran his fingers through his curly hair in frustration, his gaze falling on where Ji Hu sat nearby, his phone to his ear and his face screwed into a look of concentration. "What is Ji Hu doing?" he finally asked.
"He's attempting to see if he can learn anything else from the message that Miranda managed to leave," Ju Won said. "Just on the chance that it can give any extra clues to where we can possibly find Ga Eul."
"You don't think Sung Ho would have found her phone and gotten rid of it?" Yi Jeong asked.
"It's very possible," Ju Won said. "I think Saeng Jun is trying to find a way to ping it, but I doubt it will get us to their location."
"Unfortunately, you are right," Saeng Jun said as he came over to the men. "I was able to ping the phone, but when I sent someone to the location, it was tossed on the side of the road."
"So Ji Hu continuing to look isn't going to do any good," Jun Pyo said. He frowned when Ji Hu sat up quickly and pulled his phone from his ear and started moving his finger as he scrolled.
"Ji Hu?" Ju Won questioned as he also noticed the man's attention. Ji Hu was quiet a moment, to the point that Jun Pyo was starting to get frustrated before the man unfolded his long frame and walked over to them.
"Hyung, try pinging this number as well," Ji Hu said, showing his phone to Saeng Jun. The older man took Ji Hu's phone and showed the number to his men as they got to work.
"Ji Hu?" Ju Won questioned again.
"I had started ignoring texts I knew came from Miranda," he explained. "After that, I started receiving text messages from an unknown number, but based on sentence structure and syntax, I knew it was here so I ignored them."
"Are you trying to say that Miranda may have had a second phone?" Jun Pyo asked. "She's smart enough for that?"
"Smart enough or calculating enough, it could be what we need if it is in fact her phone," Yi Jeong said.
"Only if Ginger didn't know about it," Ji Hu said. "If she knew about it, it's possible it could prove to be a dead end because she most likely told Sung Ho and he got rid of that one too."
"When did you get messages from that number, Ji Hu?" Ju Won asked.
"Shortly after we thought that Yi Jeong had slept with Ginger due to her lies and drugging him," Ji Hu said. "Why?"
"A theory," Ju Won said. "I'm wondering if she suspected Ginger was not honest about what happened and attempted to reach out more because of that?"
"She actually is smarter than she is given credit," Saeng Jun said as he walked over. "Not only did I find out the number is registered to her, but we managed to ping the location. She must have had it hidden somehow and on silent, so if any calls or texts went through no one would hear and no one would detect its presence."
"The ping was nowhere near where her public phone was discovered, was it?" Jun Pyo said.
"Not even close," Saeng Jun said. "But it is located where a property owned by Park Ki Bum."
"Meaning a place where Sung Ho could have Ga Eul," Jun Pyo said.
"We can't know that for sure," Ju Won admitted. "But it is a potential place to start."
"Text me the address," Woo Bin said from the doorway. The others turned to see him standing there. "I'll send my men to meet us there. Let's go."
Miranda thought that perhaps everything she had experienced was nothing more than some horrible dream, to hear that Ginger had been working with Sung Ho to drug Yi Jeong and had potential knowledge of the kidnapping of Gu Ga Eul and Sunny being shot. As she started to come to, she heard two distinct female voices arguing with one another and once she realized it was Ga Eul and Ginger, she knew that what she had experienced was not a dream, but reality.
"You are psychotic, you know that right?" Ga Eul was saying as Miranda's eyes opened.
"You have ruined everything, you commoner bitch!" Ginger snapped. Miranda could hear a scuffle of feet before the smack of flesh was heard and after a moment, she heard someone hit the floor. As her eyes cracked open, she saw it was Ginger, who was struggling to get back to her feet.
"Please, do try and fight me again." Ga Eul said. "I will knock you on your ass continuously."
"Bitch!" Ginger snarled, trying to lunge at her, but Miranda kicked out, causing her to trip. "Miranda!"
"Haven't you caused enough chaos?" Miranda asks with a soft moan. She felt hands wrap around her upper arms before she was getting to her feet. She looked to see Ga Eul helping her stand.
"Are you all right?" Ga Eul asked. "How's your head? You took a pretty bad blow."
"My head is throbbing," Miranda admitted. "What the hell was I hit with?"
"A gun," Ginger snapped. "Should've shot you in-."
"Ginger, shut your mouth," Ga Eul snapped. "Do you not understand the situation we all are in right now? Sung Ho is crazy, he has some damn hit man on his side who shot Sunny while kidnapping me and has added kidnapping both of you to their list of sins."
"If you had just known your-," Ginger started as she scrambled to her feet, only to stop as Miranda managed to spin and shoved her fist into Ginger's jaw. "You bitch!"
"Just shut up, Ginger!" Miranda said, wavering. Ga Eul steadied her. "Ga Eul is right. You really do not understand what is going on! Sung Ho had no issues with kidnapping Gu Jun Pyo's sister, not to mention helping you drug So Yi Jeong, plus shooting Sunny!"
"So Yi Jeong just needed..." Ginger slowed as Miranda lifted a finger.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Miranda demanded. "You are actually trying to justify your own insanity and obsession, but you lost! Don't you even get that? So Yi Jeong has never had any desire to be with you, drugged or not! He was never yours and would never be yours, even if Ga Eul wasn't in his life!"
"Oh really? And what about you and Yun Ji Hu, huh?" Ginger snapped as she got into Miranda's face. "Do you think he honestly wants you? You are just as delusional as I am!"
"Do I wish that Ji Hu saw me and wanted me? Yes, I do. Does that mean I will go to any lengths, including drugging him, to get what I want? Hell no! It may break my heart, but I understand when I am not wanted."
"And yet you continued hanging around me and Sunny when we never wanted you around to begin with," Ginger said snidely.
Miranda scoffed, shaking her head, immediately regretting to movement as she swayed. Ga Eul kept her from falling over. "You really are psychotic."
"How dare you!" Ginger tried to rush forward but stopped as the door unlocked before opening to reveal Saeng Yu, gun in hand, staring at them coldly.
"I see you haven't bothered shutting up since arriving," Saeng Yu said to Ginger.
"Sung Ho better let me out of here," Ginger snapped at him.
"Or what, exactly?" Saeng Yu asked, leaning against the doorframe. "You'll turn him in? Right now, even if you got out of here, all you are known as is someone who drugged So Yi Jeong."
"Miranda is a witness to you kidnapping us!" Ginger said.
"Easily handled if you ask me," Saeng Yu said, lifting his gun. "Or did you forget about this?"
"Ginger, shut up," Ga Eul said, her eyes on Saeng Yu. "What are you doing here?"
"Sung Ho wants to see you," Saeng Yu said. "All of you. Let's go." He waved his gun to encourage them to leave the room. Ginger opened her mouth to protest but yelped when Ga Eul kicked her leg. Glaring at the woman as she walked by, supporting Miranda as she went.
As the three women turned the corner, they saw Sung Ho waiting, sitting casually on a loveseat that looked out of place in the otherwise box-stacked warehouse room. His posture gave the impression he did not have a care in the world, as if he had not kidnapped three people and shot a fourth.
"Ladies," Sung Ho said. "I hope you watched your mouth, Ginger. My fiancee doesn't need to hear your vitriol."
"My what?" Ginger asked as Ga Eul simultaneously commented: "Fiancee my ass."
"Such language, darling," Sung Ho said to Ga Eul, ignoring Ginger's question. "It's inevitable you know."
"Gu Jun Pyo will never allow you to marry his sister," Miranda said. "You'll be lucky to escape death once he finds out you are responsible for kidnapping his sister."
"Not to mention Woo Bin learning you and your lackey are responsible for shooting Sunny," Ga Eul said.
"They are a bit busy at the moment, I am sure," Sung Ho said with a smirk. "Figuring out how to keep their fathers out of prison, if they even can, for the murder of Kang Hee Soo."
"What are you talking about?" Ga Eul asked.
"Oh... right," Sung Ho said as he got to his feet. "You don't know. Surprised Ginger didn't tell you. Kang Hee Soo is dead. And currently, your father and uncle were arrested for her murder."
"They would never," Ga Eul said.
"Even I know that," Miranda said. "Despite what Song Lee Bin is known for, committing murder is not one of those things."
"You bastard," Ga Eul breathed out. "You framed my father and uncle?!"
Sung Ho smirked. "Who said I framed them? Your uncle's ties to organized crime are well known."
"Regardless of what you think you know of my uncle, neither of them would dare to murder Kang Hee Soo," Ga Eul said.
"Ga Eul's right," Miranda said. "They wouldn't do anything like that."
"You think Gu Bon Hyeong didn't want Kang Hee Soo's head on a platter after discovering the truth?" Sung Ho said. "Learning about how she was instrumental in him thinking Ga Eul was gone and how she had a hand in your mother's death? Or that she had a hand in Ga Eul's attack, which is what escalated the discovery of who she was?"
Ga Eul's body went cold. "How do you know any of that?" she asked. "None of that information is public knowledge."
"Not unless you had a hand in something," Miranda said. "Or knowledge from Kang Hee Soo yourself."
"You two are so dumb," Ginger said. "Of course, he knew! He often had meetings with Kang Hee Soo. His grand plan has been to seduce this commoner trash-."
Before Ginger could finish her sentence, Sung Ho pulled a gun from beneath his jacket and shot Ginger between the eyes. Miranda and Ga Eul both screamed as they watched the woman fall backward and her blood began spreading out around her head.
"I warned you," Sung Ho said through gritted teeth as he stared at Ginger's twitching body. "Do not call Ga Eul that."
Miranda slowly slipped her shoes off as Sung Ho ranted and Saeng Yu watched him. She slowly reached over and managed to grab a board and swung it wildly, hitting both men and managing to knock them to the ground. She quickly turned to Ga Eul. "Run!"
The two women quickly turned and started running as quickly as they could away from the men, who were cursing as they scrambled to their feet. Ga Eul flung her legs out to rid herself of her own heels. Both women ignored any sharp objects in their path, more focused on getting as far away as possible before they were caught.
"Ga Eul! Miranda! Get back here!" Sung Ho called.
"Go," Miranda encouraged Ga Eul as they both paused. Both of the ran around some of the boxes, seeing a nearby door that they both headed towards. Ga Eul screamed as she heard a gunshot. She turned as Miranda fell with a pained grunt and blood started coming from the wound near her back.
"Miranda," Ga Eul said as she ran over to her. She tried to take her hand but Miranda shook her head.
"Leave me," she said. "Go."
"I can't!" Ga Eul said.
"I can't move," Miranda admitted. "You need to go. Run... Ga Eul! Run!" Ga Eul's head jerked up as she heard approaching footsteps. She looked at Miranda apologetically before following her words and getting to her feet and racing for the door. She ran over and jerked on the knob, but it wouldn't move. She looked around frantically, her breath coming in hard pants.
Seeing a hallway, she quickly ran around the corner and ran as fast as she could until she came to what appeared to be a dead end. "No, no, no," Ga Eul murmured. She spun around, looking for any other way out. She heard scuffling from the direction she had come from. She dove behind some of the boxes and curled herself into a ball as tightly as she could. She pressed her fist tightly to her mouth as tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Ga Eul," Sung Ho called in a sing-song tone. "Come out, come out."
Ga Eul tried to curl even tighter into herself, pressing her fist to her mouth even more. The wall behind her suddenly gave way and she could not make a sound as a hand covered her mouth before she was dragged backward.
Ga Eul tried to bite the hand over her mouth, struggling against the hold. Panic started to set in when she saw the wall put into place, obviously by another set of hands.
"Knew my time was going to come to be bitten by you, isachon/i," Woo Bin said softly near her ear. Ga Eul's heart lept in relief as the hold loosened and she turned her head to see her cousin's face near hers. She shifted and launched into his arms as much as she could.
"You scared the hell out of me!" she whispered harshly. "But I've never been so glad to be scared by you."
"Are you okay?" Yi Jeong said from her side. She pulled back from Woo Bin and leaned towards him, feeling Yi Jeong pulling her against his chest tightly.
"Let's get you out of here," Woo Bin said. He immediately turned and led them out to another room of the warehouse where Jun Pyo was with Ji Hu and the others.
The moment Jun Pyo saw his sister, he rushed over and pulled her into his arms. Ga Eul clung to him, her fingers fisting into his jacket at his waist. She felt his long fingers moving into her hair, cupping the back of her head as he held her close.
"We need to get out of here," Kim Ju Won said.
"We also need to handle Park Sung Ho," Yi Jeong pointed out.
"I'm not questioning that, but we need to get Ga Eul to safety," Ju Won said.
"Miranda," Ga Eul said, pulling back from her brother. "She was shot. I don't know if they did more to her."
"Miranda was shot too?" Ji Hu said with a frown.
"They had me, Ginger, and Miranda," Ga Eul explained. "Saeng Yu came and got us to bring us out to Sung Ho. It came down to Sung Ho admitting to having been in league with Kang Hee Soo and that he had something to do with apparently her being killed and framing appa and samchon."
"We did know about that and found evidence to clear them since Sung Ho had a cop in his back pocket," Woo Bin said. "And Sunny's new brother-in-law had a hand in you being kidnapped and her getting shot, though that wasn't a part of his plan."
"Well at least they were cleared," Ga Eul said. "Anyways, Ginger started ranting about how Miranda and I were idiots, that of course Sung Ho was having meetings with Kang Hee Soo and she started calling me commoner trash as she always did when Sung Ho killed her."
"Ginger's dead?" Ju Won asked, shocked.
Ga Eul nodded, tears starting to form again. "I don't know where she found it, but Miranda managed to get her hands on some wooden board and took a swing at Sung Ho and Saeng Yu, knocking them down. She grabbed my hand and we ran, it's why I don't have shoes now. They must've shot at us because she was hit." Her fingers gripped Jun Pyo's arm. "I didn't want to leave her, but she told me to leave her. When I said no, she said she couldn't move and then yelled for me to run. I... I don't know if they..." She choked back a sob and Jun Pyo hugged her close again.
"We are going to need to tread carefully," Ju Won said. "Ga Eul needs to be taken to safety. Jun Pyo-."
"Not a chance in hell am I not getting a piece of Park Sung Ho," he growled. "He kidnapped my sister and probably intended on forcing himself on her over his obsession. Plus he framed our fathers for murder."
"Your sisters need you," Ju Won said.
"And noona is going to need you now that she's pregnant," Jun Pyo said. He snorted at Ju Won's shock. "I'm not entirely oblivious. I put the pieces together when appa was making cryptic comments about why you two were moving back to Korea sooner than anticipated."
"We can't let Ga Eul remain here, and we need to do something fast before Sung Ho finds us," Yi Jeong said.
"I'll keep her safe," So Il Hyun said from behind them. They turned to see him entering the warehouse with Saeng Jun. They saw others clad in black nearby, noting they were Saeng Jun's people as well as Lee Bin's.
"Hyung?" Yi Jeong questioned.
"She'll be my family eventually, I'm sure," he said with a grin. "She's important to you, but I know you have business with Sung Ho. You all do. I'll keep her safe and get her out of here while the rest of you deal with Park Sung Ho."
"I can't-," Ga Eul started.
"Ga Eul," Woo Bin interrupted. "I know you want to have a hand in taking Sung Ho down, but we need to know you are safe so we can handle him. Bon Hyeong-samchon would feel the same way."
"Woo Bin is right," Jun Pyo said. "Please. Go with Il Hyun-hyung and let us handle this. If they have not hurt Miranda further, we'll get her out."
"You also need to get out," Ga Eul said.
"We will," Jun Pyo said. Ga Eul looked at all of them before finally nodding. She gave each of the men a look before going over to Il Hyun, who was looking at Yi Jeong.
"I'll take care of her," was all he said, earning a nod from the younger man. Il Hyun led Ga Eul quickly out of the building to the car waiting outside.
"Let's take care of Park Sung Ho," Jun Pyo said.
Park Ki Bum was not at all interested in knowing the things his son got into. He considered himself an intelligent person, but many knew that Ki Bum was an average businessman who had simply ridden on the coattails of his lineage, who were much more intelligent and business-savvy. It was how their power was built, but his family before him respected the four richest families and never attempted to climb higher unless it was through marriage. Ki Bum had once thought he could climb higher, but his own father and grandfather reminded him that he did not have the ability to take them on, and to piss them off would be his greatest destruction.
Unfortunately, Ki Bum came to resent the Gu, So, Yun, and Song families because he could not overcome them and there was that side of him as he grew up that wanted to be in the same circles as them, but he never knew how to integrate himself with them. His younger brother, who had managed to integrate himself into their lives, had an excess of success that Park Ki Bum would never see. It was his brother that brought glory to his family name, even if it was Ki Bum himself that was now considered the head of the family. His resentment had transferred to his son. He just never envisioned that his son was a very dark soul.
His head lifted where he sat at his dining room table as his front door was slammed open and he heard his butler attempting to stop whoever had entered until he saw the very reason why a number of people truly feared Song Lee Bin, but also why people could fear Gu Bon Hyeong if the man were provoked. The two men advanced on him and for the first time in his life, he was terrified and immediately rose, skittering back away from them.
"Where is Park Sung Ho?" Bon Hyeong demanded of Ki Bum.
"Why?" Ki Bum questioned, starting to find somewhat of a backbone as he lifted his chin in defiance. "What business do you have with my son?"
"Answer the question, Park Ki Bum," Lee Bin said. "Or we'll force it out of you."
"Your threats mean nothing here, Song Lee Bin," Ki Bum said. "Do not use violence to threaten me or my son."
"Your son is responsible for kidnapping my daughter," Bon Hyeong. "And your own niece is in the hospital now fighting for her life after being shot by your son's hired gunman."
Ki Bum paled sharply. "Wh... what do you mean my niece?"
"Your niece, through your younger brother, Young Ja, you remember him right?" Lee Bin said. "Sun Ja? She's in the hospital after she was shot by Kim Saeng Yu because she saw both him and your own son kidnapping Gu Ga Eul."
"No," Ki Bum said, shaking his head. "No, Sung Ho would never hurt his family!"
"Really?" Bon Hyeong said. "You better think again, Park Ki Bum. Because your son is the reason that Park Sun Ja was being assaulted in her own school by making everyone think that my son and his friends targeted her. Your son is the reason So Yi Jeong was drugged by someone and humiliated by being made to believe he slept with her without remembering it."
"Not to mention, your son is the reason Kang Hee Soo is dead," Lee Bin continued. "And then arranged to frame us, claiming we murdered her."
"You... you can't prove any of this?" Park Ki Bum said, his voice shaking.
"Can't we?" Lee Bin said. "Tell that to the cop Park Sung Ho had in his back pocket, who is now under arrest for every corrupt thing he was responsible for. Many of those things being in Sung Ho's name, including the first kidnapping of Ga Eul in which her former caretakers were blamed and killed when everything went south."
"Sung Ho saved her then! He was shot for his trouble!" Ki Bum yelled. "He couldn't have possibly-."
"Staged it?" Bon Hyeong wondered. "To look like the hero to get close to my daughter? Think again."
"No," Ki Bum said, shaking his head. "No, he wouldn't... he couldn't."
"Does Ku Yoon Gi ring any bells?" Bon Hyeong asked.
"He... he's a friend of Sung Ho's," Ki Bum said.
"He's also the cop who helped him at every turn, particularly when Ga Eul was initially kidnapped, and the one who thought he could get away with pinning the murder on myself and my brother-in-law," Bon Hyeong said.
"He's not a cop!" Ki Bum said. "He's a business..." Ki Bum took a moment to stop and thought about the man for a moment. He had met him a handful of times, but each time, Sung Ho had simply said he was a business acquaintance but had never gone into any other details beyond that. In all the times that Sung Ho was supposed to be at the office, he had never seen Yoon Gi there or in any business meetings. He had only seen him at the house or occasionally at some of the warehouses they owned.
"He... he..." Ki Bum held onto the back of the dining room chair, feeling his head spinning a bit. He shifted and plopped onto the chair.
"Look," Lee Bin said. "The fact of the matter is, regardless of what you think you know, Park Sung Ho is in over his head with a variety of things that are not good. For the rest of your family's sake, especially your niece who was shot, you need to cooperate and you need to tell us where he is."
"I don't know," Ki Bum said, his tone dull. He jumped as Bon Hyeong slammed his hands on the dining room table. "I don't! I'm not trying to be stubborn, I genuinely don't know where my son is!"
"Look at me," Lee Bin said when Ki Bum cringed away from Bon Hyeong's murderous glare. The frightened man looked at Lee Bin. "Think. Is there any place you can think of that he would have gone or who could possibly assist him further?"
Ki Bum slowly shook his head before stopping. His eyes jerked to Lee Bin's. "He's close with Keng Wook Shi," he said. "If what you are all saying is true, then he is probably connected with the Kengs further than just his relationship with his new cousin-in-law."
"Which means the boys could be walking into a much larger trap," Bon Hyeong said.
"We need to go," Lee Bin said before looking at Ki Bum again. He tossed a card to him. "This is the chief of police's card. He is currently dealing with Ku Yoon Gi's corruption. I highly recommend you give any information you have to him and depending on how bad all of this is, you could maybe get some leniency for your family to keep everyone else from suffering from your son's actions."
"Let's go," Bon Hyeong said, glancing at Park Ki Bum one more time before the two men left the house. Ki Bum stared at the card, his trembling fingers reaching for it. He rose and stared at it, walking over to the side table in the dining room. He ignored any questions from his butler, his ears buzzing as Bon Hyeong and Lee Bin's words floated back and forth in his mind. Images of his life flashed through him, even the years when Sung Ho was a child. He did not remember opening the drawer, nor reaching inside. Any memory faded even as he heard a muffled scream before there was blissful unawareness in the wake of the sound of a gun firing echoed in the large house.
