A Deal (1/1)

"Spared from?" Seungji asked, willing herself to look into the man's eyes. "From a long and painful death." The man smiled, flames flickering in his eyes, indicating how deranged he actually was. "Long and painful." Seungji muttered. "We'd still die." "You're smart, I'll give you credit for that." The heavy accent filled Seungji with dread. "You're not hiding your faces. You're not afraid of us knowing what you look like." Seungji gulped. "You never intended for us to live." "Very well." The man nodded, as if he was amused by the whole situation. "But if I were you, I'd choose a short, quick mercy killing instead of a long, painful one carried out by a maniac."Seungji struggled against the ropes, only to feel her ribs being compressed. Calm down, she told herself. She had to calm down now. She can't die like this. More than that, she would not let her brother and mother die like this. "What do you want? Shoot." Seungji produced a feral growl.Taehyun sat in front of the television, flipping channels. Soap operas, variety shows, none of them interested him. He looked up at the clock. There was still hours before M Countdown would be broadcasted. He looked around, bored. Should I ask Jinwoo out for a drink? Taehyun looked at his phone. Forget it, what a bother.Taehyun couldn't help noticing Butler Yang pacing nervously back and forth. "Ahjusshi, what happened?" Taehyun asked. "Nothing." Butler Yang stopped his pacing about and headed to his room. Taehyun noticed something off, but shrugged it off.Butler Yang couldn't shake away the guilt biting away at him relentlessly. Thought he'd tried not to, he'd liked the cheerful, polite and considerate Seungji. He could not bear the thought of Taehyun being in pain, it would hurt him as much as seeing his son in pain. More than that, was that no matter how much he told himself he was doing what was necessary to protect his son, he couldn't shake away the dreadful feeling that he was committing a sin.A grave sin, indeed. Indirectly sending a young girl and her family to die."Hongseok," Butler Yang called his son. "Appa, why? I'm preparing to go out, so I can't talk for long." Hongseok said as he stacked his files together. "What kind of father am I?" Butler Yang asked. "What? Appa, really, you called to ask me that?" Hongseok laughed. He thought that Butler Yang must have felt very lonely. "I'm not kidding. Tell me, what kind of father am I?" Butler Yang pressed. "Hm... you're strict, you don't express your love openly. But I can always feel your love." Hongseok smiled, setting aside whatever he was packing to talk to his dad. "You're the best dad ever. You're a dad I'm proud of." "My son," Butler Yang choked up. "Eung?" Hongseok smiled, thinking how adorable his father was. "Thank you." He got the confirmation he needed. He needed to do the right thing. "Hongseok, I'll call you again. Wait for my call."Butler Yang didn't know how to start. He looked at his phone as if it was cursed, thinking it might be bugged. He was at a loss. He decided to call General Shin to test the waters."General. The operation is going smoothly." Butler Yang answered. "I see. Keep an eye on the men, assist them if they need. Don't contact me unnecessarily." General Shin hung up. Butler Yang took this to mean General Shin wasn't interested in spying on him at the moment."Hongseok, do what I say. Don't question me, just trust me. Go somewhere safe, preferably a friend's house and stay there until I tell you to leave." Butler Yang instructed. "Dad, why—" "I'm a dad you can trust, right?" "But dad—" "Son, please. Do as I say, don't question me yet. I will tell you everything when I can." "Dad, what happened? You're scaring—" "Everything will be fine, just do as I say, please." "Okay, okay, I will.""What do you know about our country and our great leader?" The man asked. He instructed the other man to remove the duct tape from Seungyoon and Mrs Kang's mouths. "You filthy beings." Seungyoon barked, earning a kick to his gut. "Seungyoon, stop." Mrs Kang sounded surprisingly calm. "We know nothing." Mrs Kang answered. "Do you think I'll believe you so easily?" The man scratched his ear seemingly nonchalantly. "We really know nothing, but you don't believe us. What can we do?" Seungji's act of defiance resulted in the other man striding towards her. "Is it here?" The man cooed, his hand hovering dangerously near Seungji's chest, before settling on her abdominal area. "Don't touch her!" Seungyoon shouted, looking like a wild animal. The man shrugged and felt for the rib which felt off. He gave it a light punch, but it was enough for Seungji to feel a scorching pain. She bit down on her lower lip to try to keep from screaming. "Don't try me." The man smiled."Why do you want to kill us?" Seungji challenged. "Because you know too much." The man returned as swiftly as Seungji had fired. "What do we know?" Seungji cried. "About our country. Our secrets. Our plans. General Kang held an important position in the military. He knew so much. Too much. So you have to be killed. We can't have these important secrets leaked." The man smirked. "Why do you want to know what we know?" Seungji challenged. She could have sworn the man's smirk was momentarily wiped off his smug face.The man recovered quickly, assuming his role of the cruel, deranged kidnapper again. But he had no comeback. "Why don't you just kill us?" Seungji gulped at the severity of what she just said. One wrong move could bring them to their graves. "Seungji!" Mrs Kang scolded. Seungji ignored her. "You don't know what are the secrets and plans of the military too, do you?" Seungji took a deep breath. "With that information, you have more power. And with more power, you can do more things." Seungji forced herself to look into his eyes again. "Of course I know the secrets. I found a note from my father detailing the plans and operations—with blueprints." Seungji was lying. "He knew we had to protect ourselves." The man laughed. "You're indeed smart, but you have no choice except to tell me all that you know. I'll make your deaths quick." The man promised. "Not so easy." Seungji swallowed. "Grant my dying wish." "What is it?" The man snapped impatiently."Let me make a call to my boyfriend."