Chapter 78 - The Trapdoor

Sohee and Taewon rushed to their car. Taewon revved up the engine and they sped off into the night, desperately hoping that they find Jiwon.

"I shouldn't have left the school!" Sohee lamented. She did not want to think of the worst. Even if Jiwon was trained, he could probably only take down a few men by himself. If an entire group ganged up on him, then his chances of survival were low. 

"It's not your fault!" Taewon assured her. "We did not know that he'll sneak out."

"But I did!" Sohee revealed, her eyes tearing up a little. "I forbade him from going! I should have stayed at school instead of taking his word. I should have known better!"

"He's a teenager who made a wrong judgement," Taewon sighed. "Teenagers tend to make a lot of silly decisions. But it's not the time for regrets. We need to find him. Where did Hyun Jung say the place was again?"

"It's on the opposite of the forked road which leads away from the school," Sohee informed him. "But he did not give the exact location."

"What do we do now?" Taewon asked. He was getting tensed. They must find Jiwon at any cost.

"There is one way," Sohee said. 

"What do we do?"

Sohee creased her forehead. She did not want to use this method unless it was for emergencies since it was slightly unethical of her. But this situation was counted as an emergency.

"I-I put a bug on Jiwon's bracelet," she admitted. 

"You what?" Taewon exclaimed. "Sohee, that was extremely unethical!"

"I know!" Sohee admitted. "But I was always worried about Jiwon. He is very impulsive and I was afraid that he'd get into some kind of trouble! And I just...I had to be sure. I wasn't going to spy on him! I just wanted to use this device to locate him if he ever got caught by the enemy. We can use the tracker to locate him…"

Taewon let out a sigh as he increased the speed of the car.

"Locate him," he ordered. "Now."

….

Junhyung towered over Jiwon's unconscious body. He was nervous about the whole thing. The men who had his father hostage ordered him to keep an eye on Jiwon while they are on their way to the cabin. 

He was not the brightest of the lot, but Junhyung had planned this kidnapping for a while. He falsely directed the others to his party while he brought Jiwon to his second cabin. It was not a difficult job. Jiwon trusted his friends with his life. It was one of his biggest flaws which Junhyung took advantage of. 

"Sorry Jiwon," he said to the unconscious body on the floor. "It's nothing personal. I only want to save my father."

He heard the screeching of a car in front of the cabin. Looking outside of the window, he saw a group of five men exiting the vehicle. Their leader was a tall, well-built man with grey hair. 

The men walked up to the front door and knocked. Junhyung quickly opened the door. The grey haired man entered the cabin. He looked down on Junhyung, scrutinizing him. The latter was intimidated by the man's dangerous aura. There was something devious about him, which would make anyone buckle under his glare.

"Where is he?" the man asked in a quiet and dignified tone. It was devoid of any emotions.

"T-there," Junhyung pointed towards the unconscious Jiwon. "Where is my father?"

The man ignored him and walked over to Jiwon's still form. He knelt beside Jiwon, studying him.

"Does anyone else knows about this place?" the grey haired man asked.

"I don't think so," Junhyung said. He did mention to Jumyeon once that he has a second cabin but he never mentioned where the place was located. However, he did not dare to voice that fact out loud.

The grey haired man stood up and walked towards the exit. His back was turned towards Junhyung.

"You sure, no one knows about this place?" the man repeated.

"I'm sure," Junhyung insisted.

"Good."

Suddenly, the man turned around. His hand was holding a pistol which was pointed towards Junghyun.

"It'll be easier to deal with you then," the man smiled.

"What are you-"

But his last words were interrupted by a loud gunshot. Junhyung swayed upright for a few seconds before falling to the ground. Blood flew out of his chest as he lay on the ground. 

Junhyung writhed in pain as he saw the grey haired man stepping over him as he was no more than a piece of trash.

"W-why?" he manage to question.

The grey haired man replied in a gentle tone, "Because you were a dangerous witness. That's why."

"M-my...fa...ther…"

"He's already dead," the man said in a sadistic tone. "We killed him as soon as we caught him. You were just a pawn who could catch Kwon Jiwon for us."

The grey haired man gave him a sinister smile before moving back to Jiwon's body.

"Take Kwon Jiwon to the boss," he ordered his men. "Use him as a leverage to keep old man Kwon in bay. Kill the kid if you need to."

"Yes sir!" his subordinates obeyed. They picked up Jiwon by the limbs and carried him outside. 

They carried Jiwon and hoisted him into the car parked outside. The grey haired man followed suit, not even glancing at the child crying for help but in vain.

Junhyun watched helplessly as the men took Jiwon away. He regretted his choice for betraying his best friend.

Another car came to a halt in front of the cabin. Taewon and Sohee got out to investigate the cabin. They stepped inside, only to find Junhyun lying on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding him.

"Junhyung!" Ms. Sohee cried. "What happened?"

"Ma'am...I...b-b-trayed...Jiwon," Junhyung managed to say. "P-please s-save…"

"Dear, call an ambulance!" Ms. Sohee said as she held the child in her arms. "Where did they take Jiwon?"

"Th-they'll...k-kill him…" Junhyung managed to say. "The C-c-cartel."

"Hush, don't talk anymore!" Sohee ordered him. "Honey! Where's the ambulance?"

"They're coming," Taewon replied.

"You'll be fine, Junhyung," Sohee cajoled him as she pulled him out of her embrace. "You-ll."

But Junhyung was not listening. The life had gone out from his eyes.