Chapter Text
It was hard to believe it was still raining even after two days. Not that she cared. She just felt it was curious how the weather had seemed to match her mood. Masking her annoyance had been easy, but once she was given the full details of what had happened her annoyance had turned into anger.
Having to come down here was a nuisance.
To find out something was actually wrong was infuriating.
The door opened and closed behind her.
“Everything is ready, Ma'am.” Moonbyul sounded tired.
“Good.” She walked away from the window, turning around to face her second in command. “Has he talked?”
“As much as someone can in his… state. But we got what we needed.”
She wasn't surprised. Moonbyul was more than efficient. “And the child?”
Her second in command sighed. “We have been told he is still in surgery.”
It could go either way then. Her anger increased. She turned towards the door. “Okay. Let's finish this.”
The warehouse they were currently in housed most of the cargo they transported, legal and not. It was a perfect spot for them. Isolated, hard to reach unless you knew the local terrain, and with a built-in basement to store long term cargo.
Making it perfect for situations such as these.
As she moved through the busy warehouse, most of the workers ignored her but a few scurried out of her way while they kept their heads bowed. It was to be expected, most of them didn’t know who she was or why she was there. She preferred it that way.
The basement was mostly cement walls and floors. Once she had descended the stairs, she walked down a straight hallway, with doors on either side. It was cold all year round, no matter what they stored there. She made her way to one of the rooms on the far right, a man and a woman standing on either side. They both bowed their heads as she neared.
“Boss,” they said in unison as Moonbyul moved in front of her to open the door.
The room was dark, a dim glow coming from a small lamp was the only source of light. Two men stood on the far side of the room, standing at attention, their chests heaving, as if they had just been doing strenuous exercise. A third man was crouched down on the other side of the room. Unlike the other two, he wasn’t wearing his jacket, only his shirt which was splattered with blood. He looked up as she entered, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
“Boss,” he drawled. “He’s ready for you.”
He pointed at the figure kneeling in the middle of the room as if he was a gift he had prepared.
She looked at the man kneeling and raised an eyebrow. “Did a number on this one, didn't you, Hongjoong?”
Hongjoong stood up slowly, his smile never faltering. “It was taking a while for him to talk. I didn’t want you to have to wait.” He spoke in a menacing tone, his expression showing he was more than glad there had been a reason for his services.
She nodded and kept her eyes on the kneeling man. He wasn’t moving, but she could still tell that he was breathing by the gasping sounds he was making. His hands were tied behind his back, the rope biting into his skin and blood trickling down his fingers. He was still wearing his suit, but it was ripped and covered in mud. The patches of his skin she could see were covered in blood.
It was obvious the torture had lasted for quite some time.
And yet, she felt no guilt over it.
Moving to stand right in front of him, she stared for a few more seconds before she spoke. “Mr. Jo?”
The man shuddered but said nothing.
That wouldn't do. “Hongjoong?”
Hongjoong grinned with malice. “Use your words, little piggy.” He spoke in a sing-song voice as he crawled towards Mr. Jo, a demented look on his face. Mr. Jo flinched away, whimpering uncontrollably.
“No! Get away! Get away! Please!”
She raised her hand. Hongjoong stood up, his eyes brimming with excitement as he looked at the man trying to get away from him.
“You were supposed to keep people from asking questions. I told you to convince them. To work with them. You didn’t do that,” she stated simply, because it had been simple.
Or so she had thought.
Mr. Jo looked up, a desperate look in his eyes. “I did as you said! I tried to convince them! But they were stubborn! They insisted on fighting, especially that man! I told him I would give him everything he needed to work but he denied me! Told me he would go to the police!”
“You should have informed me. Should have let me know before you decided to kill someone.”
“I’m sorry! The boy was never supposed to be hurt! But he fought my men! He wouldn’t let them take him! They had to knock him out!”
Her expression hardened. “They didn’t knock him out. They broke his bones, pierced his skin, ripped his hair off.”
She took a step forward and her hands balled into fists, her composure slipping with every word he spoke. Trying to control herself was harder than she thought.
“Please! It wasn’t my fault! It wasn't my fault!”
“Up,” she growled.
Hongjoong and Moonbyul moved simultaneously, hauling Mr. Jo to his feet and keeping him there, since it looked like one of his ankles was broken completely.
Good.
“If you had let me know as soon as it had happened. Something could have been done. Instead, you hid it from me. My men had to recover the boy and take him to the hospital.”
“It wasn't my fault! I did as you said! I did as you said!”
Her eyes stared into his with disgust as she leaned forward. “No, you did not. If you had, none of us would be here.” She turned around and walked away. A scream resonated in the small room as Moonbyul and Hongjoong dropped him.
Moonbyul moved to open the door for her. “Want me to finish it, Ma'am?”
She hesitated. Moonbyul was asking if she wanted to be merciful and put a bullet in his head. She could do that, she sometimes did. But at the moment, it was hard to feel merciful.
She closed her eyes, the picture of the boy lying broken on the side of the road was all she could see. Her eyes opened, glaring at the door.
No, it wasn't a night for mercy.
She turned slightly. “Hongjoong.”
Hongjoong laughed, a terrifying sound followed by Mr. Jo's pleas.
She stepped outside and heard the door close behind her, muffling the screams of agony that would probably go on for the rest of the day and into the night.
Outside the weather remained the same; rain still poured down, making the roads unsafe for her to go back home.
“We have arranged transport to a nearby city, Ma'am. A hotel reservation has been made there for-” Moonbyul paused as she took out her phone. “Excuse me.” She answered, putting it back in her pocket seconds later.
She looked relieved.
“The child?”
Moonbyul nodded. “Recovering. The doctor at the hospital said he will wake up in the next few days.”
She nodded, her expression unchanged. “Go to the hospital and make sure things are settled. I want this over before you join me at the hotel.”
“Yes, Ma'am.” Moonbyul opened the car door for her.
Minji stepped inside. Before Moonbyul could close the door, she turned to her. “Oh, and Moonbyul? Do hurry up. I want to go have tea at that cafe near the station.”
“Yes, Ma'am.”
~~~~~
“Can we get ice cream afterwards?” Joohyun blinked at the question.
“What?”
“Could we go for ice cream when I'm done?” Yeri asked, her eyes hopeful.
Joohyun sighed. They really couldn't. Her bank account was in the negative and soon she needed to pay rent. Ice cream was not a good idea.
But instead of mentioning any of it, she smiled. “Sure, you've been very brave these last two treatments.”
“And I will be brave today too! Thank you!” Joohyun was careful as Yeri turned to hug her. Her little sister's body was sore, she knew.
“Don't worry, I'm okay,” her sister tried to placate her, noticing the gentle way she hugged her.
Yeri might be turning ten years old, but she was very mature for her age. And observant. Joohyun forced a smile as she looked at Yeri. “I know you are. You are the bravest kid I know.”
“Then stop worrying. Remember, mom said you would get wrinkles if you worry too much.”
A pang of sadness made Joohyun flinch, but she masked it quickly. “True. I'll try not to.”
Yeri smiled, satisfied, and sat back down to wait her turn.
A nurse came to get her soon after and Joohyun said her goodbyes as her sister walked away. She sat down, taking out her phone while she waited.
“Miss Bae?” Joohyun turned to see Yeri's doctor walking towards her.
“Oh! Hello!” She stood up and bowed. “Is everything okay?”
He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. “I need to speak with you. If you could come to my office-”
Panic began to rise up in her. “Is Yeri all right? Did something happen-”
“Your sister is all right. She is receiving her treatment without any issues,” he placated her. “But I must speak with you about another matter.”
She nodded, a little more relaxed but still worried. Bad news was a lot more common for her nowadays. They went to his office and she waited for him to speak, trying hard not to be impatient but the panic was beginning to return.
He took a deep breath and tried to smile at her. “I think the best thing after today's treatment would be to send your sister to the clinic we discussed.”
The doctor tried to maintain an optimistic tone. He didn't manage it.
“But this is the best hospital. Her doctors are here. She needs to stay.” Joohyun knew she sounded desperate, but she couldn't help it. Her sister was doing so well, changing her hospital and doctor would only set her back.
The doctor hesitated. “We cannot provide further care until at least the last two invoices are paid for.”
She knew this, and she was trying her hardest to come up with the money. Even if right now she was nowhere near close to getting it.
“Look, I'm giving a payment next week. And after that I will try to give another as soon as I can,” she lied.
“I'm sorry, Ms. Bae. But unless the payments are made, she won't be able to come in for her next treatment. At least not here.”
Joohyun sat still, staring at the wall in front of her. If she didn’t pay the amount they asked for, before the next treatment, Yeri would need to move to another hospital. But she didn’t have the money. Even if she worked overtime, she would still not be able to raise all the money in time.
“What am I going to do?” She placed her face in her hands and just stayed like that. Wondering how life could get so complicated so fast. But she could do it. Up until now, her life had been a sheer cliff, Joohyun having to get over obstacle after obstacle. Many times, she had felt like they wouldn’t make it. But somehow, they had. Somehow, they survived.
And this wasn’t any different. Just another problem. Another thing to climb over. “You can do it. You can do it.”
After her treatment was done, Joohyun took Yeri for ice cream. Her little sister was happy as she dropped her off with the neighbor in order to go to work.
“I love you, Yeri.”
“Love you, unnie.”
“Behave, ok!” she yelled as she ran to catch the train.
It was hard to make her way through the busy train station. She huffed and grunted as she moved through the people, trying her hardest to make it to the exit. It took a while and once she did, rain came pouring down, soaking her.
“Can this day get any worse?” Joohyun muttered as she started to run down the street to the cafe where she worked.
Being a waitress wasn't that great, but it was all she could do at the moment. With a sigh of relief, she opened the door and closed it behind her. She took off her sweater which was dripping, hanging it next to the door.
Joohyun's boss emerged from the kitchen, making his way towards her.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Cho. The rain got me as I left the station but my uniform is dry enough,” she said, trying to make light of how messy she looked.
He stood still in front of her, an apologetic expression on his face.
Joohyun stilled. “What's wrong?”
She moved as two people walked into the restaurant. The owner gestured for his daughter to guide them to their seats.
He motioned for Joohyun to move away from the door. He looked sad as he spoke. “I was just told that the rent for the whole building is going up. I am still behind on last month's rent, so I… I'm so sorry, Joohyun-ssi.”
Her stomach dropped and for once, she was glad she couldn't afford breakfast. He didn't meet her eyes as he handed her an envelope. She realized her hands were shaking as she took it.
“Your week's pay until today. Again, I'm sorry for the sudden notice but I can't afford to pay another waitress.”
“I… understand. Thank you for everything, Mr. Cho.” The words were emotionless as she bowed and put on her sweater, which was still dripping wet.
She stepped outside and walked aimlessly in the rain. Trying not to panic at the fact that her only means of earning a living had just been taken from her.
What was she going to do now?
Losing track of time, Joohyun kept walking until she came across the back of a store. A man was unloading produce and taking it into the store. Staring at the truck, she recognized the logo on the side of it. She gasped as an idea came to her.
Moving out of the rain, she got her phone out and dialed a number, not giving herself time to think about whether or not it was a good idea.
Hello?
“Hey, I need your help.”
Sure, that's the only reason you would call.
Seriously? “Please, this is urgent!”
Fine fine. What do you need?
“Remember the guy that you told me about? The one with the club?”
The one you said you didn't want to meet because he looked like a low life? Yes, I do.
Joohyun rolled her eyes. “I… want to meet him.”
Well, damn you must be in some trouble.
“…”
Fine, I'll send you the number.
“Thanks. “
She hung up.
This wasn't how she thought this day was going to go. But she had to do what she had to do. She was getting that money one way or another.
~~~~~
“And the father?”
Moonbyul nodded. “Compensated. All the current and future hospital bills are paid. He actually didn't know you were Mr. Jo's boss, Ma'am. He would have complied immediately. Seems like everyone just thought Mr. Jo was doing it for his own gain, since he didn't bother to explain the reason behind his demands to any of the workers.”
“Is Hongjoong done?” What she was really asking was if Mr. Jo was done.
“He is Ma'am. He is overseeing cleaning procedures right about now.”
“Good.” Minji opened the door abruptly, stepping out into the rain. Moonbyul moved to give her an umbrella, but she declined. “Let's go get some tea and food.”
The short walk to the cafe was enough for Minji's coat to become soaked. The rain was really coming down. Entering the store, she turned to see Mr. Cho, the owner. But instead of his usual smile and welcoming gestures, he gave her an apologetic look and motioned for his daughter to come and greet them.
She took Moonbyul and her to a table and asked what type of tea they wanted.
“Daechu-cha. Two please,” Minji answered politely.
She moved her head around, trying to work a kink out of her stiff neck. The girl Mr. Cho had been speaking with left and he made his way towards their table.
He bowed deeply. “Hello! Welcome back, ladies.”
Minji inclined her head. “Thank you. It's nice to be back. How are things around here?”
Minji was more than happy to talk to him about anything, really. After all, his problems were nothing compared to hers.
His face fell. “Things are a bit slow, and the rent has increased. Just now I had to let one of my waitresses go.”
“That's… too bad. I'm sorry, Mr. Cho.” Minji meant it, she knew this was his family's only source of income.
He shook his head and smiled. “Please, don't worry. I shall bring you your drinks right away.” He walked away and Minji stared after him.
“I hope he doesn't close. I like this tea,” Moonbyul commented.
“Me too. All I want is to have a sip and relax-”
Her cellphone rang.
She looked at the screen and took a deep breath. “Yes, Dahyun?”
“Hello, Ma'am. I needed to talk to you, and I was told you were at the warehouse in the mountains?”
“Yes, we are still here because of the rain. I will probably make it home by tomorrow.”
“Actually, I'm already in the city. Do you think I could meet with you, Ma'am?”
Dahyun was not one to be insistent. Something must have happened. Minji closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Fine. Meet me at the cafe that's on the main street.”
“Yes, Ma'am.“ She hung up.
Not ten minutes later, Dahyun came into the cafe. Bright yellow umbrella in hand, accompanied by two of her men.
She walked to their table and bowed before sitting down, taking a tablet out of her bag. She placed it on the table, sliding it slightly towards Minji. “We have a leak, Boss.”
Minji chuckled without humor. “Of course we do. Where?”
Dahyun adjusted her glasses. “It's my fault, Ma'am. When it comes to the two main accounts I monitor them personally. The problem is with one of the smaller ones. Specifically, the one with the Choi brothers. Business has been going well, but money is missing. I figured it out once I looked closely at last year's figures and compared them with the ones for the current year.”
“How much is missing?”
“120 million won.” Dahyun spoke in a quiet voice, the shame evident in her voice.
Minji straightened. Moonbyul frowned at the accountant. “That is a very large sum, Dahyun.”
She nodded, her expression tense. “I made the mistake of letting someone else oversee that account. He is no longer employed, of course. But I should have known sooner, except I only glanced at the reports. The figures matched, therefore it took me longer to figure it out.” She bowed, her face almost touching the table. “I accept the consequences of my failure.”
Minji drummed her fingers on the table. “Was he involved? The other accountant?”
Dahyun remained bowed. “Not to my knowledge. Before hiring him, I ran all the checks on him. He just wasn’t meticulous enough.”
Moonbyul shook her head and sighed. “Background checks don't help weed out incompetence.”
Minji reached forward, until her hand was visible to Dahyun who continued to bow. Gently, she used a finger to raise Dahyun's head. “I trust you completely, and I can't fault you for having made a mistake in choosing someone, when I myself just came from dealing with such a mistake of my own making.”
Dahyun still looked ashamed. “I'm very sorry, Boss.”
“I accept your apology. I know you are spread pretty thin but, for now, go back to monitoring all accounts, not just the main ones.”
“Of course, Ma'am.” Dahyun agreed easily. Minji didn't like giving her so much work, but she didn't have a choice. Her accountant was hard to replace.
Minji was about to speak when she noticed Dahyun looking at her with worry.
“What is it?”
“Who will take care of the other accountant's dismissal? Miss Moonbyul or… Mr. Kim?”
Minji smiled. “Don't worry, Hongjoong is pretty busy right now. It will be Moonbyul dealing with him.”
The relief on Dahyun's face was obvious. “Thank you, Ma'am.”
Minji waved her hand in dismissal. “Go ahead and go back home. Send everything we need to Moonbyul. I'm dealing with this as soon as possible.”
Dahyun nodded and stood up. “Right away, Ma'am.” She turned to leave but she hesitated, turning her head back around. “Ma'am, is there any chance that you can get those two to not follow me, please?” She pointed at the men that had come with her.
Minji raised an eyebrow as she shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry, Dahyun. You are too valuable. And just so you know, if you try to get away from them, I'll assign Hongjoong to you.”
The color drained from her accountant as she nodded frantically. Leaving soon after, followed by the two men.
“Find out where they are.” Minji pushed the tablet towards Moonbyul. “I want to pay them a visit as soon as possible.”
“It is a lot of money.” Moonbyul picked up the tablet.
Minji tilted her head as she looked outside. “Could have been 100 won, Moonbyul. They would still be dead men walking.”
~~~~~
“This is your uniform.” The lady shoved the clothes at her, making Joohyun have to catch them.
“Follow me,” she said in a clipped tone, walking away without another word.
Joohyun hurried to keep up while trying to pay attention to everything the lady was saying.
“-this is only temporary. Mr. Choi tells me you will only be doing this until he finds you something else, since you refused to work at the club. Stupid, if you ask me.”
“I’m not stupid,” Joohyun muttered, not loud enough for the lady to hear.
“This is your unit. You are expected to make all the deliveries on time and in a safe manner. Do not stop anywhere else besides your loading and unloading sites. If you do, we will know, and you will be sorry.” She made it sound more like a threat than an instruction. “Here is your information. Once you arrive there, you will give this to the person at the delivery place.”
She gave her one single page which only consisted of two addresses and two sets of times.
Joohyun frowned. “Excuse me. What is it I'll be transporting?”
The lady looked at her with anger. “You are not allowed to ask. In fact, you don't even speak if you can help it. Just take the load from point A to point B. That's all. If you can't wait a table, can you at least do this?” She shoved a finger towards the sheet of paper.
Joohyun tried hard not to let her anger show. “I can wait tables. But they wanted me to do other things as well. Things that are not right.”
The lady scoffed. “You’re a piece of work. Either that or you’re stupid. Listen, you either do this like I told you to do it, or you can go back to being decent and unemployed. People in your position don't get to choose.”
She turned and left, leaving Joohyun standing there next to the truck. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to will the tears away.
“Hey,” someone called to her.
Joohyun turned to see a boy waving at her from another truck. He was about to leave the patio.
“Yes?” She answered cautiously, not having any idea if he was normal or an asshole like the lady from before.
“Don't feel bad. You're new, right?”
She nodded.
“My name is Woojin.”
“Joohyun.” She bowed.
“Nice to meet you, Joohyun.” He smiled. “You'll be fine, just keep your head down and do as you're told. It gets easier and we get paid for it.”
“Thanks.”
He inclined his head and waved as he drove out.
Shaking her head, she got in her truck and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. “Just do it. You need the money. Beggars can’t be choosers.”
Turning in the ignition, she turned the wheel and began to drive.
~~~~~
“Are you sure they will be there tonight?”
Moonbyul nodded with confidence. “Yes, Ma'am. They will be there to collect the earnings and do a checkup on the whole site. I have already put together a group to help us go in without too much trouble.”
It had taken her second in command a mere 12 hours before she had the plan all laid out and ready to be executed.
“We will be coming in light. No need to break anything.”
“They stole from us. They should lose everything.” Hongjoong was back from his task at the other warehouse. He had been more than ready to jump in on the next one.
Minji kept her eyes on her computer. “You are right, Hongjoong, they should lose everything. And they will. But that site is valuable. I'd rather not destroy it.”
“What about them.” Hongjoong asked, disgust in his voice.
Minji smiled. “Don't worry, Hongjoong. Them you can break.”
Not half an hour later, they were inside the gate of the warehouse patio. Hongjoong led the way with most of the group, as was his habit. Moonbyul stuck close to Minji, as it was also her custom. They were adamant one of them stayed with her at all times. With Hongjoong in the lead, the warehouse was essentially theirs in less than an hour, and there had been minimal damage or losses. Some of Choi’s men were dead but that was fine. Minji was planning to replace them all with people she trusted anyway.
“Good job,” Minji said, loud enough for every one of her people to hear. They were inside the offices, where the Choi brothers currently sat, restrained to their chairs, a gun pointed at their head each.
“Ms. Kim? What is the meaning of this?” Jinhyuk asked, the fear making his voice tremble. He sat still, not attempting to escape in any way.
The same couldn't be said about his brother.
Taejoon was also being restrained, but unlike Jinhyuk, he moved forcefully to try and shake off the man restraining him. He eyed her with rage and growled as he kept trying to get free. The gun to his head seemed to have no effect on his demeanor.
Minji leaned her back against one of the desks as she returned her attention to Jinhyuk. “It appears you have been stealing from me.”
Jinhyuk's face was full of confusion. He shook his head vehemently. “That’s impossible. All of the transactions have been made cleanly. I can assure you it is a mistake. It has to be.”
His voice was full of conviction. He was being honest, Minji could tell. But she placed more trust in Dahyun's skills than in Jinhyuk's honesty. Besides, she had a pretty good idea who was responsible.
“It is I that can assure you that it's not a mistake. The accounts have been checked and reviewed. Deposits have been short when compared with your earnings. It seems that you are cutting up a bigger slice than you were told to.”
“It can't be. I-I promise you. I would never presume to take anything that is yours.”
“It's not you I'm accusing.”
“You fucking bitch! You think you can just make us do all the work and pay us almost nothing for it! Fuck you! We deserve to be paid for what we do!”
Horror appeared on Jinhyuk's face at his brother's words. His eyes darting from Minji to Taejoon.
Minji smiled, keeping her eyes on Taejoon. “You get paid what we agreed on, Mr. Choi. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“You fucked us over! That deal you made with my brother is lopsided! You're getting more than 90% of the profits!”
Minji smiled condescendingly at Taejoon.
“Shut up, Taejoon! Shut the fuck up! You don't know anything!” Jinhyuk demanded. He turned to Minji. “Whatever is missing I will pay you back. I promise I will get you every single won.”
Minji knew he would, but that's not how it worked. If someone stole from her, they didn't get to pay her back and be done. She needed to collect something else so everyone knew that there were consequences besides having to pay back what was owed.
She turned to Taejoon. “Your brother owes me more than just profits. You see, before he worked for me, he worked for the Japanese. You do remember what happened right?”
Taejoon stopped thrashing, he locked eyes with his brother.
“Coming into this deal, I didn't just give you money to get this place off the ground. I paid for your whole family to live.”
“What the fuck are you-” Taejoon was about to demand when Jinhyuk cut him off.
“How do you think I paid them back?! How do you think we were able to buy a house and have money to live comfortably until the business ran?! You idiot!”
Taejoon turned to Minji, a new look in his eyes. “So we… you-”
“We owe her everything!”
Minji turned, pretending to look around until she came across a picture on a desk. She took it, eyeing it closely. She smirked.
“I didn't know. I didn't fucking know, okay?” Taejoon's words were still accusing.
“I always thought you were the dumb one, Mr. Choi. I was wrong, you are smart. Though, apparently not smart enough.”
“We will pay you with interest. As high as you want,” Jinhyuk pleaded.
“Oh, you are paying me. That is a fact. But the interest will have to come from somewhere else.” Minji motioned to the men holding Jinhyuk and one of them hit him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.
Taejoon resumed fighting his restraints. It wasn't working. Minji placed the picture right in front of Taejoon, her finger tapping a spot where a boy was. “This is what I want. He works for me from now on.”
“Don’t you fucking dare! He’s barely fourteen!” Taejoon screamed, cursing at her with newfound vigor. But his fury was laced with desperation and hopelessness. He knew there was nothing that could be done.
She looked into his eyes, her face devoid of emotion. “I will send for him soon. If you even think about hiding him, the rest of his family’s lives are forfeit.” She pointed at Jinhyuk. “And since you started this, you get to be the one to tell him how he will pay me interest.”
Minji headed for the door, her business concluded for the time being. She breathed the night air as she stepped outside, wanting to just get in the car and-
“Boss.”
She sighed in annoyance but didn't let it show in her tone as she turned around where the voice had come from. “Yes?”
It was Jinyoung, one of the new recruits from last year. He had proven himself worthy of being assigned to more important tasks, which is why he was the youngest one here. “We did as you said and sent all the women home, keeping only the male workers in the warehouse.”
She nodded. “Were they given the ultimatum?”
“Yes, Boss. A few of them left but most of them decided to stay and keep working for us. The problem is, one of the women refuses to leave. We tried removing her, but she won't budge.”
“Huh.”
She began walking towards the room where they had all the workers. She had decided to give them a chance to either leave and never look back or stay, but only under her command. She always got rid of the women. If anything went wrong, at least she wasn’t taking anyone’s mother away.
As she neared the room, one of her men opened the door for her and she stepped in, completely surprised by the sight in front of her.
“Don't touch me! I am not leaving until I talk with Mr. Choi!”
A woman was surrounded by three of her men. She was small and they were huge, and yet, they looked like they had no idea what to do.
Hongjoong appeared next to Minji. “Sorry you didn’t get to break either one.”
“I understand, Boss. Taking the boy will hurt them a lot more.” His singsong voice was back.
She nodded at the woman, who was still arguing with her men. “Control the situation, would you?”
Hongjoong walked directly towards her, two of them man moving away once they saw him approach. The woman, however, didn't have time to react before he had her hands behind her back and forced her to kneel. That finally stopped her yelling.
“Please, don't hurt her! She is new! She doesn't know any better!” One of the male workers yelled from the other side of the big room.
Minji ignored him as she walked towards the girl. She grabbed a chair and sat a few feet from her. “Why do you need to speak with Mr. Choi?”
“That is none of your busi-” Her words died in her throat as Hongjoong tightened his hold on her.
“Respectful. Or I'll yank them right out of you.” He warned her in a sweet tone that made chills run down anyone’s spine.
“Clear the room,” Minji demanded. In seconds, only Hongjoong, the woman and Minji herself were left.
“Now, why do you need to speak with him?”
“I need money. He… he said he would lend me money.” She spoke quietly.
Minji shrugged. “Sorry, but he's no longer in charge. I am. And I don't want you here.”
She actually glared at Minji, even if her tone was completely polite. “Why are you firing me? I did my job. Didn't ask questions. I can keep doing that.”
“I have no doubt. But anyone can drive a truck. So just get your things and-”
“Give me any job. Anything at all. I'll do anything. I really need that money.” Minji didn't doubt it. She sounded desperate. Which made her curious.
“Why do you need money? Drugs? Debt?”
“The second.”
“Who do you owe money to?”
“The hospital.”
That was not an answer she was expecting.
“Medical bills?” She gave her a once over. It had just dawned on Minji that the woman was quite beautiful. “You don’t seem sick.”
“My sister is. She has cancer. Her treatments are working but to continue them, I need to pay what I owe. If I can have that, I'll do anything you ask. Any job you give me. Please.”
The door opened and someone walked to Minji. “Ma'am.”
Minji stood up and turned to her second in command. “Done?”
“Yes. Everything is in order.” Moonbyul looked past her, towards Hongjoong and the woman. “Everything all right?”
“She needs money, so she refuses to be fired. Wants me to employ her.”
“What could we possibly do with a waitress?”
Minji frowned. “What?”
Moonbyul nodded at the woman. “She was at Mr. Cho's cafe. She was fired that day.”
The memory came to her at once. Mr. Cho being too busy with someone to welcome them. Him telling Minji they had to let someone go.
Well, well.
She walked back towards her. She motioned for Hongjoong to ease up. “What is your name?”
The woman sighed in relief as Hongjoong’s hold loosened. “Joohyun.”
“All right, Joohyun. Let's cut to the chase. I assume that besides paying what you owe, you will need to continually pay for your sister's treatments. Otherwise, you’ll be on the same boat as now. Correct?”
“Yes, but I can raise the money. Somehow.”
“Somehow,” Minji repeated with disbelief. “How about I pay for everything? What you owe, and any other treatments and medicine your sister needs until she is healthy again?”
Joohyun's eyes welled up with tears. Her breathing became shallow. “Do you know how much mo-”
“Yes.”
“Why?” That one word was full of incredulity.
Minji smiled. “Because in exchange, you will work for me. You will do as I say, when I say, and how I tell you to do it.” She extended her hand, raising an eyebrow at Hongjoong who let go completely. “Deal?”
Joohyun thought for a second before she spoke. “If something happens to me, while I… work for you, will you still keep your word to pay for her medical bills?”
That wasn't too hard. Minji looked her over again, she was sure she could get her money's worth before Joohyun died, one way or another. “I swear.”
Still kneeling, Joohyun nodded to herself before slowly raising her hand and taking Minji’s. “Deal”.
“Deal.” Minji smiled, as she grasped Joohyun’s smaller hand.
‘You're mine now.'