Crook | K.th

Crook 5: The Yong

/ Taehyung K's POV /

Taehyung woke up that next morning to his phone ringing off the hook. His body couldn't take it, he groaned as he crumbled into a ball. The obnoxious bell from his landline pulling him out of his slumber and drawing him to open his eyes and get out of bed.

Early mornings were normal for him. Normal because in prison he had spent many nights wide awake, anticipating for the prison guards to burst through the doors flashing their flashlights and blowing their whistles at Taehyung and the other inmates as if they were a rapid pack of dogs. Sometimes, Taehyung figured that a lot of the things he had adjusted to throughout life came from his time spent in prison.

Sluggishly, he glided through the halls of his high rise. Bare feet hitting the cold, marveled floors as he makes his way over to the telephone. Taking the phone off the hook, he placed it up to his ear.

"What?" He mumbled, voice deep and heavy with sleep.

"Now Taehyung, is that anyway to speak to your father?"

Sighing, Taehyung ran his hand down his face. It was never a good sign when his father called so early in the morning.

"I'm sorry, father. What is it?" He replies respectfully, holding on to the last ounce of proper Korean etiquette he had saved for his father. The man wanted his respect from everyone. Especially Taehyung.

"Better. Good morning. I hope you're about ready to wake up and get a move on for the day. I wish to meet with you later on."

"About?"

"I'll tell you once we meet. I will be at the Japanese restaurant downtown at around noon."

"Donburi?" Taehyung looked around.

"Yes. Don't be late."

And that was it. No safe travels, no I love you's. It was cold and cut short.

Taehyung kissed his teeth and placed the phone back on the hook. He thought about calling Hoseok for this, but he realized that the man served a good enough purpose helping me navigate around the red room. Which, Taehyung assumed that this is what this meeting was all about.

•••

Taehyung was at the restaurant at 11:59 sharp. By 12:00, he was walking through the doors and searching around for his father. There was a specific section downtown in most densely populated cities such as Chicago. Outsiders called it "Chinatown", which , Taehyung found extremely racist and passive aggressive. Because there were many mixtures of east Asian cultures in this area.

Some Korean restaurants, some Chinese, some Japanese. Donduri was a Japanese restaurant that Taehyung's father had enjoyed eating at ever since Taehyung was a boy. Taehyung didn't understand it back then, but he now knew that most of the man's enjoyment sprouted from an affair he had with a waitress.

Her name was Chiyo, yo-yo is what they called her. She was about ten years younger than Mr.Kim. Around 46 now. Just like all of the other waitresses, she had been told to dress as a geisha to match the theme of the restaurant. She no longer worked here. But Taehyung suspected that his father kept returning in hopes to find her one day.

Which is, the only thing Taehyung knew of his father to do in a romantic sense.

"Son, over here."