"Chan, take care of that mess." Jae Hyun bellowed, storming away from the scene and heading to his car. "And bring him along," he said, pointing at Minho who had zoned out, his shirt now soaked and staring into nothing.
Lee opened the door and he got inside, shooting his arm up to glance at his watch.
"What time did Choi want us to meet?"
"Eleven, sir," Lee said, glancing at his watch. It's just past 9:15 pm."
"Would you want us to stop over at the convenience store first, maybe for… you know, a change of clothes?"
"Fuck that," Jae Hyun said, shifting on his seat, and throwing his coat over him. "Take me to him first. Damn slobs need to be kept on their toes. We can't afford to have them getting comfortable."
"Ok, sir," Lee said, starting the car and driving off.
A few minutes drive later, Lee pulled over behind a bustling market, where Choi's office was located. Jae Hyun jammed an earpiece in. Granted the nature of their jobs, it only made sense that they were secure and had eyes everywhere to keep safe.
"Eyes open." A voice pierced through the earpiece as they headed towards the back entrance.
Given his position, Jae Hyun knew all the entrances and exits of the building and had always come in through the front entrance―which was possibly what Choi and his squad would expect. They would take that to their advantage and get into the building through the backdoor without getting noticed.
They made their way in so easily, barely turning their heads.
Jae Hyun almost regretted not stopping at the convenience store even for a cigar, as the pungent smell of fish was now choking him in a way he did not at all fancy. He was however relieved when they got to Choi's office.
But just before he could turn the door handle, he heard muffled voices talking.
"A friend of mine told me told me that three of his girls are missing. Apparently, one of them was fished out of the canal yesterday evening, and the other one was found in the dumpster with her throat slashed open."
"And?"
"That's now the third case in two weeks. I know it doesn't bother you much, but I have people to protect, and I got no time for this shit." the other voice said.
"Look, I don't know what you want me to do about that. It's not like I have any connections with the cops."
"This was surely a bad idea, coming to you. I have never raised an alarm and now I'm here telling you we have a problem and the best you can do is blow me off?"
"Sorry if it's coming across like that, but man you just sprang on me with this… come on, it's your department, and sure I'm not interested in talking about hookers at this hour of the night."
"I am." Jae Hyun said, making an entrance.
Startled, Choi peeked at his wristwatch, as they all shuffled to maintain their composure knowing they had been caught discussing grave matters red-handed.
"You came early, Jae Hyun, I thought we didn't have a meeting until 11 pm?"
"Well, I'm here now." Jae Hyun said, pulling one of the seats and making himself comfortable.
Jae Hyun's attention shifted to the man in the office with Choi. His initial intent was to speak with Choi but that faded as soon as he realized that this man had a much more interesting business proposal.
"Well, what do we have here, if it isn't Jae Hyun Park, the man of the Park family in flesh?"
"That would be me. And you are?" Jae Hyun asked.
The man was dressed in a black suit, tailored with precision almost like Jae Hyun's. His make-up and manicure were also fully done, and he looked more feminine. This was a new face that he had never seen before. He strode slowly towards Jae Hyun, clicking his tongue.
"Well, hello… turns out you're just as handsome as they say out here."
Jae Hyun smirked. "Well, if you know me like you claim to, then I bet you'd know I'm not one to waste time with niceties. So, what do you say we skip the intros and get straight into business? Who are you?"
"Well, I'm Jae Won." He said, rather keen. "And I'm a lot of things, but most people know me as the owner Magna.
"It's a club," he grinned, "but I guess you'd know that already because I think I've seen you come by once…twice maybe, don't know. It's been a while."
"I don't remember." Jae Hyun said. "Are you sure you're not mistaking me for someone else?"
"No, I'm sure it was you. I mean everyone at my bar knows you… you'd hardly step in unnoticed." Jae Won crossed his arms in his chest. "You're a ladies' man, and they talk…you know…"
"Alright, I get it. So, what has you all worked up, what's the issue?"
"They don't feel safe." Jae Won answered, shooting Choi a disdainful look. "Yet we pay for protection."
"Sorry, is that part of the territory?" Jae Hyun asked, looking almost too concerned for the matter.
"Well, bruises I'd say, and occasional black eyes… and maybe a few more nasty things, but nothing like what we're witnessing now."
"Like what?"
"Like fishing them out the canal with slit throats you know…"
Jae Hyun began to understand where this man was coming from. Choi, manned some operations that he didn't see up to task. Jae Won was a paying customer who had things to complain about, yet Choi had been ignoring him since he stepped foot in his office.
"Well, you have my attention now. Fill me in."
"Ji Hoon, whatever his name is. He's dangerous, he can't be trusted. Ever since he took up the clubs, most, if not all the new girls go missing, only to wind up dead somewhere in a dumpster. Sure, Ji Hoon was a slob, but he never did anything like this. Hosting little parties and having the girls wind up with black eyes―"
Choi shot up from nowhere. "That was inevitable, I mean what would you expect of someone too cheap to give his men free gir―"
Jae Hyun yanked his gun from the holster and shot through the window behind Choi, missing his head by mere inches, something that made him shriek.
"What were you saying?" Jae Hyun turned back Jae won.
"They are now leaving the clubs for the streets, which is a problem because these girls are green and they are flooding the places they shouldn't because we aren't authorized to go beyond those places."
"Then just let the cops round them up. Or how do you expect them to learn?"
Jae Hyun shot him a glare that didn't need a translation. Shut up before you give me a reason to put a bullet in your head. Chan was another one who didn't know when to shut up. He was terrible at his jobs and the best he could do was yammer where and when he wasn't supposed to.
"Those girls look up to me, and if I can't guarantee their protection, I'm afraid this isn't going to end well."
Jae Hyun was a tad bit stunned when the man mentioned girls. He narrowed his gaze at him.
"Like I said, I am a Jack of all trades. The girls pay a little commission and I provide the basics. So technically, the Magna is a cover for street jobs… and money laundering."
Jae Hyun dipped his chin in acknowledgement, while also impressed at the man's cleverness. At least he could pick that compared to the slobs he had been working with lately.
"Jae Won," Choi began dismissively. "Whatever you expect us to do her―"
"He wants us to work it out, and that is what we're going to do, or do you have a problem, Choi?"
Choi shifted uncomfortably. He was getting every last one of his ideas thrown out for how foolish and impractical they were.
"They're a good investment you know… the girls, but they aren't being run properly, and it will be chaotic real soon. We don't want that now, do we?"
"But we provide protection." Choi blurted out.
"Barely." Jae Won retorted.
Jae Hyun shifted his attention to Choi. "Look, whatever you got going on here is not my problem, but since you do a whack job, I'm going to have to relieve you until you are ready to work again." He turned to Jae Won. "Let's meet tomorrow morning to discuss and review your financials."
Jae Won nodded in agreement. Jae Hyun turned to make his leave, with Lee fast behind him when Choi rushed after them.
"Jae Hyun, what of our meeting?"
"Get yourself together, maybe then we can have a meeting." He shifted his attention to his new partner. "If there's still any of your girls in those clubs, get them out and let me know then. We'll give you new protection."
"We'll be handling everything from today onwards. Leave your details with Lee." He said, extending a hand to Jae Won. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
They both took their leave, and he instructed Lee to drive him home, not sure if it was something to look forward to with Minho's little tantrums. But what if?