LFD | Chapter 1.4

“Hey, you crazy bastard. After the shit you pulled, I almost jumped outta the car mid-drive. I’m holdin’ back from breakin’ you in half.”

“You didn’t jump though!”

Yoongyeon thrashed, yelling and struggling to free his arms. Hyunggu’s face twisted into a scowl.

“Didn’t, huh?”

“…Sir!”

“This brat’s got a real short lifespan, I swear.”

Hyunggu sighed deeply, shaking his head, then gestured for them to follow. The men dragged Yoongyeon toward the sedan. “Dragged” was an understatement. His feet barely touched the ground as they carried him. Kicking and flailing, Yoongyeon was helpless.

“Let go! No! Let me go!”

“You blowin’ a trumpet with that mouth?! Shut the hell up!”

At Hyunggu’s sharp order, one of the men clamped a hand over Yoongyeon’s mouth. Muffled whimpers and wheezes escaped between fingers.

Dragged backward toward the car, Yoongyeon resigned himself. I’m really gonna die now. And in his head, he cursed Minhyuk. If it weren’t for that bastard…

“Hyungnim.”

The car window rolled down. Dojae, who’d been staring at the back of Yoongyeon’s head, jerked his chin. The men hesitated before turning toward each other—

“Aah! You tryin’ to fold me in half?!”

Yoongyeon’s arms twisted behind him, his back bending unnaturally. Chest forced open, he flapped his hands wildly.

“It hurts! Stop!”

Hyunggu, watching nearby, grimaced.

“Ya, you dumb fucks! How’s spin-doin’ him gonna help?!”

Finally snapping, Hyunggu smacked one guy’s head. Only then did they adjust their grip properly.

“Put him down! Just turn him around!”

At Hyunggu’s shout, the men faced away from Dojae, released Yoongyeon, and turned back.

“What is this, a damn sitcom?!”

Hyunggu stared in disbelief. Dojae, equally unimpressed, pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Hyunggu.”

“Ah, yes, Hyungnim.”

“You can’t even control your guys properly?”

“My apologies, Hyungnim.”

Hyunggu bowed his head. Dojae’s sharp gaze shifted to Yoongyeon, who was still puffing angrily, clearly displeased with the situation.

“Ahjussi!”

Dojae’s eyebrow twitched at the term.

“…Ahjussi?”

“Just give back the wallet already!”

Dojae’s eyes narrowed to slits at Yoongyeon’s defiant tone. It was rare and oddly refreshing to see someone look him dead in the eye while talking back.

Leaning his elbow on the window frame, Dojae slowly stroked his chin.

“…Wha… What… Why… Ugh!”

Thwack!

A dull sound rang out as the back of Yoongyeon’s head stung. Hyunggu, who’d been silently observing, had smacked him. Yoongyeon glared and yelled.

“Why’d you hit me?!”

“You got no respect, brat! Where’re your manners?!”

“Hyunggu.”

Dojae’s calm voice cut in. Hyunggu immediately stepped back. Yoongyeon, still rubbing his throbbing head, kept glaring. He wasn’t the type to back down easily.

“Bring him.”

With that, the window rolled up, and the car drove off. When Dojae said “bring him,” Yoongyeon tried to bolt, but another car pulled up, and the men shoved him inside.

“Help, someone—mmpf!”

They forced him in as he struggled. Yoongyeon braced his hands against the doorframe, kicking to resist.

“Mmmph!”

But Hyunggu struck the inside of his elbow, bending his arm and easily subduing him. The men pushed him into the car, sandwiching him between them, arms crossed. No escape now.

“Damn, this one’s loud.”

“Mmmph!”

Hyunggu, in the passenger seat, turned to look. His sharp glare made Yoongyeon’s muffled protests die down.  Though his eyes still burned with defiance, the noise stopped.

“Kids these days got no discipline, I swear. No fear of their elders.”

Yoongyeon shot him one last glare before slumping in defeat. Escape was impossible now. He was stuck being dragged wherever they were taking him.

One of the men, who had been covering Yoongyeon’s mouth, finally lowered his hand. Yoongyeon shook his head, freeing his face, but his arms remained pinned. He tried twisting his shoulders, but they didn’t budge.

The sun had fully risen by now. If things had gone according to plan, Yoongyeon thought, I’d be on the highway by now. But if they were taking him to where he thought, Kim Minhyuk would definitely be there.

The car drove for a long time. The warm sunlight and the cool AC breeze lulled Yoongyeon into drowsiness. He hadn’t slept all night, too busy running. I can’t fall asleep here, he thought, but his eyelids grew heavy anyway, slowly closing.

‘Ah, no… If I sleep here, my kidneys… no, everything’s gonna—’

Mumbling inwardly, Yoongyeon jerked his head violently, shaking it side to side like a madman. One of the men watching snorted in disbelief, but Yoongyeon was already too far gone to hear.

“Is he… seriously sleeping right now?”

“Seems… like it.”

Hyunggu was at a loss for words at Yoongyeon’s audacity. He turned back, staring at the kid’s bobbing head before clicking his tongue and looking away.

The car jolted hard at one point, but Yoongyeon didn’t wake. Instead, his head lolled to the side, landing on one man’s shoulder. The man gave him a weirded-out look and nudged him off, only for Yoongyeon to slump onto the other guy’s shoulder instead.

Eventually, the car arrived at an abandoned construction site. Rusted steel beams stuck out like skeletal remains, the project long since halted. The men got out, dragging Yoongyeon with them.

Dojae, watching the still-unconscious Yoongyeon with his head lolling back, clicked his tongue in disdain.

“Wake him.”

“Yes, hyungnim.”

Hyunggu signaled to the others. One of the men leaned into the car and shook Yoongyeon roughly.

“Hey. Brat. Wake up.”

“Mmm…”

“Hey. Hey!”

No matter how hard he shook, Yoongyeon wouldn’t wake. He just swatted weakly at the man’s hands, muttering. Fed up, Hyunggu barked,

“The hell?! You tryna wake your damn loverboy or what?!”

The loud shout startled the man. And finally, Yoongyeon’s eyes snapped open. His bleary gaze landed on Dojae, who was watching him coldly from outside the car.

“Guuhh…Huh?!”

Yoongyeon jolted upright, eyes wide. The man who had been shaking him gave him one last glare before stepping out of the car. Slowly, Yoongyeon followed.

“Kid’s got some nerve, I’ll give him that.”

Yoongyeon swallowed dryly, wiping the drool from his mouth. Dojae studied him for a moment before shaking his head and turning away, heading inside.

The men dragged Yoongyeon after him. There was no escape. The guys who had brought him here were bad enough, but this place was crawling with more stone-faced enforcers scattered like pebbles underfoot.

Now, the tension began to set in. Every time his steps slowed, the men shoved him forward, their sidelong glares pushing him onward.

“Hah… ha… Can’t we just talk here? The stairs… huff…”

Yoongyeon’s whining earned him another rough push. By the time they stopped, he had lost count of how many floors they’d climbed. His lungs burned.

“Hah… ha… Ugh, I’m gonna die…”

“Yoongyeon! Yoongyeon!”

Between gasps, he turned toward the voice. There, curled up like a shrimp on the dusty floor, was Kim Minhyuk. His ankles were bound with cable ties, his arms tied behind his back.

“You!”

“Huff… Hah… Knew you’d… come…”

“Who the hell told you to put that damn app on my phone?!”

Any relief Yoongyeon might’ve felt was drowned out by rage. He lunged forward, only for the men to yank him back. Minhyuk blinked back tears.

“Tch. Knew it.”

“I got caught because of you!”

“Like hell that’s my fault! You’re the one who stole the wallet!”

The two snarled at each other, too busy arguing to notice the metallic clang from the other side of the room. A heavy steel door creaked open, and Dojae stepped out of the elevator.

“Wait… There was an elevator?!”

“Shut it, brat!”

As Dojae approached Minhyuk, one of the men dragged a chair over and placed it beside him. The massive frame of Dojae creaked the chair as he sat, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

The tip of his sharp dress shoe tapped the floor, annoyingly so. Yoongyeon found even that irritating and narrowed his eyes. The men shoved him closer.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Yoongyeon barely listened, glaring instead at Minhyuk. He should be groveling right now, yet here he was, holding onto his pride. Minhyuk caught on and gave him a pleading look.

Kneel. Now.

Yoongyeon saw it and snorted. What era do you think this is? You think you can just kill someone and get away with it? He scoffed.

“You must hear ‘clueless’ a lot.”

“He’s… he’s a good kid.”

At Dojae’s words, Kim Minhyuk answered in a small voice. Dojae’s gaze shifted to him, then he smirked slightly and leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee and propping his chin on his hand.

“Dung puppy.”

“……?”

Yoongyeon looked around, turning his head left and right, trying to figure out who Dojae was calling that. But no one reacted. His eyes eventually returned to Dojae, and he tilted his head in confusion.

“……Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“I have a perfectly good name, you know?”

“Hah.”

Dojae laughed out loud, amused by Yoongyeon’s defiant attitude. Yoongyeon, in turn, glared back at him, unimpressed.

‘Is he out of his mind? Calling me a dung puppy?’

But voicing his complaints was out of the question. Dojae was just intimidating enough that Yoongyeon could only pout slightly.

“What happened to my wallet?”

Dojae finally cut to the chase. Yoongyeon carefully pressed his lips together, then lowered his eyes, thinking. He’d probably spent more than half of the money inside. What was he supposed to do if Dojae demanded it back right now?

“You haven’t sold it yet, right?”

“I-I still have it!”

“Oh?”

Dojae jerked his chin toward Hyunggu, who immediately strode forward. Yoongyeon scrambled back, throwing his hands up.

“W-Wait! Don’t come closer! Stop!”

Hyunggu halted mid-step and glanced back. Dojae waved him off, signaling for him to move aside.

“That guy’s scary! He already hit me earlier!”

“……Guess I’m not scary, then.”

Dojae stood up as if giving up, but Yoongyeon shouted again.

“You stay back too!”

Dojae paused, giving Yoongyeon a sharp look. Yoongyeon shook his head frantically.

“Don’t come any closer! You’ll just hit me too! H-Here, take it from there!”

“……What?”

“The hell’s this brat saying?”

Yoongyeon pulled the wallet from his bag, swung his arm back, and hurled it at Dojae with all his might.

“H-Hyungnim!”

“You crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing?!”

Minhyuk’s horrified scream echoed through the building. Before anyone could stop it, the wallet was already flying toward Dojae. Yoongyeon had thrown it out of fear, but the moment it left his hand, he realized his mistake.

That wasn’t some 100,000-won wallet. Not even a million-won one. This was a 10-million-won wallet.

Hyunggu lunged to catch it midair, but his fingertips barely grazed it. The wallet soared like an excited puppy greeting its owner.

Thwack. Clatter.

It smacked straight into Dojae’s face, splayed open, before dropping to the floor. Strangely, he hadn’t even flinched, almost like he’d let it hit him on purpose.

The atmosphere turned icy. No one dared move under the weight of the silence.

Yoongyeon was no exception. Minhyuk, still sprawled on the floor, muttered a quiet “Fuck,” before pressing his lips into a thin line and squeezing his eyes shut. This is it. My 23 years of life end here.

“……Ha.”

Dojae sucked in his lower lip, clearly pissed. Yoongyeon, sensing danger, slowly shuffled backward, the soles of his shoes scraping against the floor.

“I-I didn’t mean to—”

“Grab him.”

At Dojae’s sharp command, the men seized Yoongyeon’s arms. If they didn’t, they’d be the ones in trouble next. Following Dojae’s gesture, they dragged Yoongyeon toward the railing.

Yoongyeon thrashed as they hauled him to the open ledge.

“Y-You said you’d spare me, right?!”

Dojae stepped forward without a word, then suddenly fisted Yoongyeon’s collar. At his signal, the men released him and stepped back.

“When did I say that?”

“H-Huh?!”

Yoongyeon’s neck twisted painfully as he desperately clung to Dojae’s wrist.

“Hold on tight. Unless you wanna get hurt.”

“Wha—?”

Before he could finish, Dojae shoved him toward the edge. Yoongyeon teetered on his tiptoes, barely clinging to solid ground. A glance down sent his stomach plummeting.

Ten floors. Maybe more.

Crumbling buildings and overgrown weeds stretched below.

“You think you’d walk away from that fall in one piece?”

“Agh! L-Let me go! Please!”

“Last words?”

“I’M SORRY! I WAS WRONG! PLEASE!”

Yoongyeon clung to Dojae’s sleeve, begging for his life.

“That it?”

“Wahhhh! H-Hyungnim! Dojae hyungnim! I messed up! Hyung!”

Dojae didn’t pull him back. Half of Yoongyeon’s body still hung over the edge. Tears dripped down his face as he peeked at the drop below. His figure was utterly pitiful.

“I-I can give you a kidney! Please!”

“…?”

“A-and maybe… not both… but, ugh!”

“You want me to harvest your organs now?”

Dojae gave a dry chuckle. Yoongyeon, still clinging to his wrist, cried and looked up with a miserable face, clueless about his own mistake.

“I-I can spare a little bit of my liver…”

Dojae’s face twisted.

“Yeah, your liver’s probably swollen from all that drinking.”

His voice was icy. Yoongyeon’s attempts to bargain only seemed to dig his grave deeper.

“Go get the wallet.”

Dojae held him effortlessly, not even straining. Yoongyeon’s eyes darted between him and the drop, terrified he’d let go.

One of the men hurried over, carefully holding the battered, dirt-covered wallet. Dojae glanced at it and sighed deeply.

“You spent the money too, huh?”

“……”

“Hm?”

Dojae shook him by the collar. Yoongyeon felt his feet momentarily leave the floor and panicked.

“Agh! Y-Yes! But I’ll pay it back! I swear!”

His desperate excuses made Minhyuk look at him with disdain from behind. It probably would’ve been better if Yoongyeon had just kept his mouth shut.

He clung to life with everything he had, but to everyone watching, it just looked like he was begging for death. Like a moth flying straight into a flame.

“How exactly were you planning to pay it back?”

“I-I think I can get about a hundred? Maybe a bit more. I can pay it off quickly.”

“By stealing again?”

Yoongyeon went silent at Dojae’s pointed question. Seeing him unable to even deny it, Dojae let go and threw him to the ground.

“Cough… Hah…”

Dojae took the wallet, emptying its contents into his pocket before tossing the empty leather at Yoongyeon.

“Pick it up.”

“……?”

Yoongyeon stared at him, confused, before slowly reaching for the wallet.

Dojae pulled out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and clicked his lighter, though he didn’t light it. He stared silently at Yoongyeon.

The sound of the lighter’s wheel made Yoongyeon flinch as he hurriedly picked up the wallet.

Only then did Dojae light his cigarette. He took a long drag, exhaled, and continued speaking.

“I saw you earlier. You throw pretty well.”

“…Huh?”