Hostage | 전정국

Prologue

The concrete walls were almost completely covered in mold that flourished in the warm and wet environment. It was almost totally dark save for the one lamp barely hanging on above them. The weak shadow it cast on the podium upon the floor seemed to dissipate once he entered.

His intense presence sent a jolt of electricity through the seven other bodies in the room that made them all sit erect. He took his place at the worn podium slowly, watching them all with hawk eyes. A twisted smirk danced its way to his lips as he gazed at them, making a few of them squirm under his intimidating eyes.

"I'm glad you all could join me," he began, his tone light and fleeting but weighed down by the deep pitch.

The only woman in the room looked around and narrowed her eyes. She wondered why he only gathered them among the hundreds—no—thousands of operatives he could have chosen from.

"The reason for this gathering today is probably what you all expected." The man sighed dramatically. "Old man Lee clearly hasn't paid us for all that we've done for him." His fingernails dug into the wood of the stand as he leaned forward menacingly. "I want you to take him out," he hissed, almost as if he wasn't human for a second.

One of the men furrowed his eyebrows before raising his hand. "Um, One? Sir? Why would we kill him when we can just steal his money?"

"Are we called The Little Babies?" One slammed his hands down on the podium, making the other jump in his seat. "No! We are Satsujinhan. Only cowards steal from the weak and old. We will kill Lee Jaeyoung so that his subordinates know that we mean business." The smirk found its way back to his face as he stood upright. "Worry not, Five. I will get that money."

One swept his eyes across the room quickly, taking in the men and woman before him. "This is an important mission. One that I can only entrust to you seven to take care of." Finally, he set his gaze on one man who only returned his stare calmly and handed him a sheet of paper that withheld the mission details. "Six will lead this mission."

"What?" The enraged shout came before Six could even react. It bellowed from her as she rushed to her feet. Her eyes shot daggers, fists balled into themselves as she stared at their leader. "Why Six? My physical capabilities far outweigh his!"

The other leaned over the podium with intent and bared his teeth. "Six has sacrificed the most for this organization! He is my most trusted adviser. Do you question my judgment, Ten?" They exchanged glares for a while longer, but when the female sat in submission, One relaxed. "Good."

"One," Six said suddenly, turning the attention in the room to him. "Isn't it a bit decorative to hijack an entire train just to take out one guy?"

He smirked again. "Oh, it's not just one guy, Six. We are making a statement. We are showing the world that the Satsujinhan is strong and that we won't be pushed around by some puppets in the government! We've already shown that we control Seoul. Why not control the whole country?!"

Six only examined his leader silently. He seemed unfortunately hellbent on bloodshed as of late, which made Six weary. The other knew how Six felt about violence, yet he insisted on making him lead every mission that included it. Although, all missions seemed to include violence those days. Even so, he had to accept it. This was his life now.

He only gave a slight nod. "Understood."