Hyunjin
Trying to fall asleep knowing Taei is lying in bed next to me is hard. I shouldn't have asked him to stay. I've only made things worse for myself. He should have left when I gave him the opportunity. Why didn't he?
Of course — because he felt sorry for me. After that nightmare, he saw me as weak. That's why he stayed. I look at him sleeping peacefully. I can't convince myself, that he stayed for any other reason. At that moment, he saw me as just a scared little boy, who had dreamt about murdering his friend.
When I close my eyes, I can vividly see it again. Staring at the ceiling, I think about Taesung lying within arm's reach next to me. I have to get out of here.
I climb out of bed and hear a faint sound behind me. I turn around and see that Taesung has rolled over to the middle of the bed. Is he the type of partner, who takes up space for himself?
I carefully open the door, slip quietly into the hallway and close it carefully again. I go downstairs and head for the kitchen. I open the fridge, take out a bottle of cold water and lean against the kitchen counter. I twist off the cap, open the bottle and drink its contents in a few gulps.
I am intrigued by the movement of a shadow in the moonlight outside the window. Are they watching us again? I put the empty bottle on the table and move closer to the window. I peek outside, but there is no one there. I hear dogs barking by the front door.
I have déjà vu.
Overcoming my uneasy feeling, I head into the hall. Suddenly, I hear the shattering sound of glass coming from the kitchen behind me, followed by the sound of a flashbang grenade hitting the floor. I didn't react in time, the explosion illuminated the room with a blinding flash of light and the pressure wave enveloped my eardrums. I am left without my senses. I cannot see or hear anything. I can only feel the blood flowing from my ears.
I am disoriented for almost a minute and only begin to regain my senses, when I see men dressed in black filling my house. Hanil, Janil and Taeju are already on their feet, trying to fight their way towards me.
I blink to dispel the tears and try to focus on the black figure heading towards me. My vision is still blurred, but I can see well enough to notice, that he is holding something in his hand. I defend myself. I hold out my palm, and a sharp pain shoots through it as his knife pierces it.
I feel a strong blow to my chest as he kicks me. I fall to the ground, sliding across the floor and burning my bare back. My opponent rushes at me again. I quickly get to my feet and try to dodge his blows while waiting for my vision to improve.
I bump into something sideways but manage to dodge his lunge. He swings the knife in his hand and cuts my forearm as well as my palm, but I manage to hold on. I glance around the room and still only see the Kang brothers and Taeju. Taesung is nowhere to be seen and I start to worry.
I dodge the attacker's lunge and attempt to hit him back. I hit him in the face, then take advantage of his momentary distraction to rub my eyes and clear away the remaining fog. Finally, I can see something. I lunge at him, jump up and kick him in the chest with both feet, but he only staggers. I get up.
He swings his knife-wielding hand at me, but I successfully dodge it. I turn my back on him, grab his hand and twist it into an unnatural position. I slam his hand against the corner of the wall, breaking a bone in his forearm and causing the knife to fall out of his hand. Without waiting, I break two more of his fingers by bending them the other way. The bastard behind me growls, grabs my hair, and throws me backwards into a chair which tips over with me.
I scramble back to my feet, ready to face the bastard with broken fingers, but another hooded man rushes at me from the right and takes me down. I don't bother with him for long — he's not as big as the hulking figure in front of me. I break his leg with two kicks to the shin, then punch him and knock him unconscious.
I return to the fistfight with my original opponent. We block each other's punches until he makes a mistake in a brief moment, which I take advantage of to knock him down. He falls to his knees and I stand behind him, holding him in my arms and trying to choke him unconscious.
He tries to break free, but I can feel his grip slowly loosening. Next to us, the body of one of the men dressed in black falls onto the stairs. I look up to see Taesung leaning against the railing, a bloody gash marring his face and a stab wound marring his shoulder.
I jerk my hands sharply to the side and hear a crack as I break the man's neck. Taesung smiles, and the feeling warms my chest. Then I just see him fall to the ground.
„Go get him!" I order Janil, heading to my study to get my gun.
„How? The stairs are broken." I stop as I walk past him. I frown. The architect who designed this house probably didn't anticipate a mobster moving in one day and a fight breaking out.
„Finish them off. Aim for the heads." I give the order to finish off the other hooded men who are still alive with a blow to the head. I look at the stairs and work out how to get past him. The hole is small enough to jump over. I just have to hope the glass will support my weight.
I run, jump and leap over the missing part of the staircase. I grab the railing in case the glass fails and I fall. It looks like I've made it, so I run up the rest of the stairs and head for Taesung, who is lying on the floor. I check his vital signs and breathe a sigh of relief when I find that he is alive. But he may not be for long.
Looking back into my bedroom, I see one of them lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I run to the bed to get my mobile phone and call the cleaning crew from one of my units.
I grab the first T-shirt and pair of sweatpants I can find. I pull out a set of clothes for Taesung and go back to him. The only thing left to do is figure out how to get him down, load him into the car and take him to hospital. We all need medical attention.
... ༺༻ ...
BLOOD DEBT (피의 빚)