LFD | Chapter 1.3

As footsteps approached, his heart threatened to burst. Slowly lowering himself from the chair, Yoongyeon began crawling on the floor.

“Hey now, raise your head, would you?”

“What the—?!”

A customer being turned roughly snapped angrily.

“Damn it.”

“……”

The man raised a fist threateningly at the displeased customer. Yoongyeon didn’t wait to see more, he needed to escape now.

While the man argued with someone in the far corner, Yoongyeon crawled flat on the floor toward the back door.

“Where’s that little bastard hiding?”

The man’s annoyed mutter faded as Yoongyeon kept crawling.  Just as he reached the back door, the man shouted:

“Hey! You!”

“……”

“Stay right there.”

Yoongyeon froze, hand on the door handle. He could feel the man approaching. Standing still like a statue, he cursed under his breath.

“…Fuck this.”

Before the man could grab him, he flung the door open and dashed outside. The big guy quickly chased after him.

“Stop right there! Get that bastard!”

Yoongyeon wasn’t slow enough to get caught. But after dashing forward, he suddenly skidded to a stop.

The door he’d burst through wasn’t a proper emergency exit. It was a flimsy metal platform meant for smokers. Wind whipped past him. He blocked the door with his body and looked for a way out. But there were no stairs. No way up, no way down.

“Ha, these gangster bastards are insane, seriously!”

He threw his whole weight against the door to keep them from coming out.

“Hey! You! Not opening up?! Just wait till we catch you. We’ll snap your legs clean off!”

“Fuck you! You think I’ll open up when you say that?!”

Yoongyeon’s body shook from the force against the door. He strained every muscle not to give way, gritting his teeth with the thought that if he lost here, it was all over.

Angered by Yoongyeon’s words, the man pounded on the door and shouted:

“What?! Fuck?! You little shit, better pray you keep your head today.”

Beside the dialect-speaking man, another voice chimed in:

“Go and make sure they can’t report this.”

Thud! Thud!

The door rattled violently, jolting Yoongyeon’s back with each impact. It was about to give way. Holding it by force was no longer possible. Yoongyeon hooked his foot around a nearby brown cleaning supplies bucket, pulled out a mop, and wedged it between the door and wall. That should hold for a while.

Bang! Bang bang!

“Come out while we’re being nice, you little shit!”

“Hey! We just want to talk! Come out quick!”

“Bullshit!”

Even in this situation, Yoongyeon retorted to everything they said while scouting escape routes. But when he looked over the dizzying railing, his legs trembled. It looked even higher than when he’d jumped into the river earlier.

“Ha, caught and I’m dead, jump and I’m dead too.”

He frantically checked below and beside the railing. Behind the building seemed to be a market, with tent-covered stalls visible. Meanwhile, the mop handle began to crack.

“Ah shit, whatever. All or nothing.”

Yoongyeon couldn’t hesitate anymore. One more hit from the dialect-speaker’s massive body and the mop would snap in half. He stepped over the railing and grabbed a gas pipe with his hand. Carefully moving sideways, he regretted his choices.

“Haah, really, ha… should’ve listened to Minhyuk…! Ugh!”

Hanging onto the metal pipe with bare hands, he slowly slid down. Now he understood why Minhyuk had warned him. Until now he’d been lucky. Today his luck had run out. Completely.

He wasn’t sure what kind of person Dojae was, but if he sent thugs like these after him, he clearly wasn’t ordinary.

“Haah, what kind of director runs around with… ugh!… thugs like these?”

His hands slipped, the burning pain sharp. Just then, the wedged door slammed against the wall with a crash as the mop snapped with a sickening crack.

“Brute strength, nothing else.”

“Is this crazy bastard insane?!”

“Hey! Get up here now!”

The men above waved their arms, trying to grab Yoongyeon. But he moved down faster.

“No way! You think I’m crazy?!”

“Crazy. That lunatic bastard.”

“What are you doing?! Go catch that little shit now!”

Yoongyeon was drenched in sweat. What kind of mess was this in the middle of the night? Clinging to the pipe, he panted as he descended. It was harder than he’d thought.

“In movies… haah… it looks so easy. Ha, this is why… ugh!… you shouldn’t watch too many movies! Ugh!”

His hand slipped again. It felt like he’d gotten small cuts, but being caught would clearly be worse. Just as he was nearly down, a crowd of people came pouring out of the building.

“Even if you get down, our guys are waiting below, you idiot!”

“Looks like a complete moron. What’s he thinking, trying to climb down there? Tsk tsk.”

At their words, Yoongyeon looked down. Men were already waiting beneath his feet. He stared blankly downward before looking up.

“Fuck, I’m screwed.”

Hearing Yoongyeon, the men above burst into laughter. They mocked him, saying it was pointless anyway. Whether he went up or down, he was trapped in their palm.

Sweat made his hands keep slipping. Stuck hanging mid-climb, unable to move. Yoongyeon swallowed hard and racked his brain.

“What do I do…”

“What’s there to do? Come down, you shit. Know that if we catch you, you’re getting a beating from me first.”

The man’s cheeks twitched as he grinned. Yoongyeon burned with determination not to take a single hit from that bastard. He looked around for another escape, but it was all concrete walls, nowhere to go.

“Haah…”

“Scared? Huh? Then come up.”

“Hey, he’s clearly just a kid, stop messing with him.”

While the two bantered mockingly, Yoongyeon took a deep breath and suddenly leaped sideways.

“Huh? Hey, hey!”

“Hey!”

Crash. Thud.

“Ugh!”

He landed on the blue tarp of a fruit stall. The tarp tore, dropping him onto wooden display stands. The men immediately charged toward him. Yoongyeon twisted, rubbing his aching back, then took off running without looking back.

“Ah! Fine! I’ll give it back! Just stop chasing me!”

As he ran, he grabbed an orange plastic sign and threw it behind him.

No Unauthorized Entry.

“Fuuuck! It says no entry! Don’t come! Please fuck off!”

Yoongyeon ran like mad. The men didn’t give up either. His breath came in ragged gasps. After sprinting through the long market alley, he reached a main road. Too early for traffic.

Just as he exited the market to cross the road, a black sedan stopped in front of him.

Screech.

“Whoaa!”

His momentum carried him uncontrollably forward. Thud. His body hit the car’s side. The dark tint hid the interior. Yoongyeon braced against the hood, waving his hands.

“Huff, sorryyy!”

Yoongyeon circled the hood to cross the road. The rear window rolled down as the man inside raised a hand toward the pursuers. They immediately stopped. The front passenger turned to ask:

“Should we go catch him?”

“Let him be.”

The rear passenger was Dojae. He was smiling. Manager Park in front watched Yoongyeon’s retreating back. Despite having him right there, Dojae let him go.

“Huff, huff, hyungnim. That little bastard’s crazy fast, whew.”

“Sorry about that. Haa…”

The two men from the internet cafe approached. Dojae’s gaze followed Yoongyeon. After a silent moment, he spoke quietly:

“Hyunggu, bring me that runner’s friend.”

“Yes, understood, hyungnim.”

“And Sehun, you’ll need to visit the site this time.”

“Yes, Director.”

Kim Hyunggu was the dialect-speaking man. Still unable to drop the “hyungnim” habit, he kept using it instead of “Director.”

After giving orders, Dojae raised the window as the men bowed. The car slowly pulled away.

“Seems like I picked up a hell of an entertaining kid.”

Dojae’s eyes sparkled with interest. A soft chuckle escaped. He was thoroughly amused.

***

“Hah, hah, hoo.”

Gasping for breath after running wildly, Yoongyeon looked back. The sudden car appearance seemed to have made his pursuers lose him. Thankful for the narrow escape, he gradually slowed.

“Really thought I’d die this time. Whew.”

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Yoongyeon shook his hand dry. His t-shirt was already soaked and clinging.

“Ah shit, can’t even go home…”

Discomforted, he flapped his shirt. The summer night was unbearably hot. Just standing made sweat pour as if the heat clung to his skin. Fanning himself, he processed his situation.

Suddenly, Yoongyeon stopped dead. He pulled out his phone and checked call logs.

“Ah…”

Seeing Minhyuk’s number, he remembered the ringing in the internet cafe. It hit him. Minhyuk had been caught by them.

Yoongyeon, lost in thought for a moment, stood still before biting his lower lip. Then he started walking again.

“Sorry, Minhyuk. I gotta survive too, right?”

As if he’d made up his mind, Yoongyeon even nodded to himself and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

He told himself there was nothing he could do. It was a terrible, unforgivable thing to do to Kim Minhyuk, but he couldn’t just waltz into the den of a pissed-off beast.

“Sorry. Really.”

Muttering another apology no one could hear, Yoongyeon quickened his pace. After a while, a bus stop came into view. Checking the time, it was still too early for buses. After waiting about ten minutes, he flagged down a passing taxi.

“To the express bus terminal, please.”

Inside the taxi, he stared out the window, cooled by the AC breeze. There was no telling when they might show up. Just as Minhyuk had told him earlier, Yoongyeon planned to flee Seoul for the countryside. He prayed Minhyuk wouldn’t die. If he did, Yoongyeon would feel pretty damn guilty. Not that he had any intention of going back to save him.

“If his limbs are still intact, then maybe…”

Yoongyeon trailed off and shook his head.

Burdened with guilt over the suffering Minhyuk would endure, he arrived at the terminal. Checking Dojae’s already dwindling cash, he bought a ticket.

The thick wad of money had already halved, and with this expense, he knew there was no turning back now. Still, hiding out in the countryside for a while seemed doable.

Carrying this much cash in 50,000 won bills was suspicious enough, but Yoongyeon was in too good a mood to even consider that.

Sitting on a bench in the waiting area, he propped his elbows on his knees, running his hands over his face and pressing his forehead. Anxiously, he waited for the first bus.

“Why is time moving so slow?”

Checking his phone every minute, he jiggled his leg. Every now and then, he scanned his surroundings, making sure they hadn’t come looking for him. But the quiet terminal was empty except for him.

Unable to calm down, he got up and paced. It felt like time was dragging, the need to leave Seoul before they found him pressing heavily. He gnawed at his thumbnail before spitting out a broken piece.

Sitting back down, he pulled out his phone and suddenly wondered how they had found the place earlier.

“What the hell? Are they watching me somewhere?!”

He glanced around again. Aside from a middle-aged couple, a man in military uniform, and what looked like a pair of lovers, no one else was around. Still uneasy, he stepped outside where the buses were parked, hiding himself in a corner.

Something felt off. Tipping his head, Yoongyeon looked down at his phone.

“No way…”

A memory surfaced something Minhyuk had once said.

I’ll find you no matter where you are, you little shit.

Recalling those words, Yoongyeon sighed softly and cursed under his breath.

“That bastard Minhyuk, haah…”

Turning on his phone, he began scrolling through his apps. Flipping through the screens, he found one he hadn’t installed. Just as he feared, a couple tracking app he’d desperately hoped wasn’t there.

~Ding ding ding!~ We secretly track your lover’s location for you!

“What do you mean secretly?! This is stalking!”

Furious at the notification, he deleted the app immediately. So this was how Minhyuk kept showing up unannounced. Like today, when they had come to the PC bang. That bastard must’ve installed it when he casually mentioned such apps existed.

Yoongyeon gripped his hair and screamed. The rage was unbearable.

“Aah! That bastard Minhyuk ruined everything!”

Still clutching his phone, he clawed at his head, slumping to the ground in a fit of anger.

Truthfully, Minhyuk probably didn’t have some grand reason for installing the app.

“Did you hate me eating good food alone that much?!”

He punched the air as if Minhyuk were right in front of him. Huffing, Yoongyeon stood up. The men would definitely come here now. With his location exposed, he decided to ditch the bus idea and take a train instead. Now that he understood the situation, he felt calmer. Quickly, he left the terminal.

The sun had begun to rise, casting a bluish light. Scanning his surroundings, Yoongyeon headed toward the taxi stand. Then, his phone vibrated.

At this hour, the only person who’d call him was Minhyuk. And sure enough, it was.

“…This better not be that damn Minhyuk.”

Suspicious, he hesitated, staring at the screen. He glanced around. No one approaching, no one suspicious. Taking a short breath, he swiped to answer.

“…You bastard Minhyuk?”

[…….]

His own voice sounded tense. He steadied his breathing, trying not to give himself away. The area was still dead silent. Then, a loud car horn blared.

Not far away, a car sped down the empty road, honking loudly.

“Ah, that crazy—!”

A curse slipped out before he could stop himself. Cutting off mid-sentence, he pressed the phone back to his ear. He could’ve sworn the honk had come from the call too.

Body stiff, he scanned the area with just his eyes. A creeping sense of dread made him slowly walk toward the taxis. Then, a deep, rough voice came through the phone.

[Not that way. Left.]

Every hair on Yoongyeon’s body stood on end. His legs froze. He’d only heard that voice once before, when someone had called the hotel. Yet it was unforgettable. That icy, cavernous tone.

His body moved reflexively, creaking like rusty hinges. Turning his head left, he spotted a sedan parked on the shoulder. Yoongyeon stared blankly before slowly, cautiously backing away despite the distance.

[Tsk tsk. Keep that up, and scary hyungs will punish you.]

Yoongyeon couldn’t even retort, retreating until he spun around only to find black-suited men swarming toward him. Two at the front grabbed his arms.

“W-What the hell?!”

“Aigoo, this little shit. Finally gettin’ a good look at ya.”

“L-Let go before I call the cops!”

Hyunggu burst out laughing at that. He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard tears might’ve spilled. His laughter echoed through the terminal at dawn.