MPK Ch 17
by soapa“You fucking homo…!”
The one holding me erupted, apparently just realizing I had been awake the whole time. He took out his embarrassment by shaking me by the collar.
“Alright, alright, calm down. Even in this situation, you’re fearless. Is that a trait of people who work out?”
“Hardly. It’s just…”
I looked past him at the dilapidated cabin, seemingly abandoned for years. It looked eerie, as if it would be swallowed whole by the mountain’s shadow as soon as the sun set.
“I doubt you have the guts to do any real harm. The statute of limitations has expired; do you want to add new charges?”
“Ah, that.”
“And I also have a question.”
“Hmm?”
“You said you cared for Baekyeon when he was young. That didn’t seem like a lie.”
“It’s still true.”
“…Okay, so, the kidnapping. I can understand snapping and resorting to kidnapping. But why did you hurt his hand?”
“Is that what you’re curious about?”
“Yes. The uncle who visited my cafe didn’t seem like that bad of a person, so I was hoping you didn’t directly injure him.”
My uncle smiled enigmatically.
“You can tell me now that the statute of limitations has expired. It would help me care for Baekyeon’s wounds.”
“…….”
“I’ll be by his side for the rest of his life.”
He looked at me coldly, then jerked his chin towards the cabin.
“It’s too cold to talk outside. Let’s go in.”
The cabin, which I had expected to be a dilapidated mess like a haunted house in a movie, was surprisingly furnished. But everything looked at least twenty years old, and nothing seemed to be in working order, except for an old kerosene heater in the corner.
As I walked inside, I noticed dried, dark stains on the floor. Bloodstains. Very old ones.
“Why do you think I brought you here?”
“Who knows? I heard you snapped after seeing Baekyeon and me living happily ever after. Why? Is Baekyeon living too well for your liking, despite all the trouble you went through, even resorting to stealing my phone?”
“…….”
“Ah, was I wrong? My bad. I’ve led such a clean life, I don’t understand the mind of a kidnapper…”
Whack!
“Ugh…!”
I reflexively blocked the wooden plank that came swinging at me from behind, but I couldn’t deflect the follow-up blow. I stumbled and fell to the ground.
Thud!
“Hey.”
“Ugh…”
“Aren’t you giving a little too much credit to a guy who kidnapped his own nephew?”
“…….”
“Now that the statute of limitations has expired, as you said… if our delicate, sensitive Baekyeon doesn’t recover from his mental illness, I’ll have no choice but to take his place. He can’t possibly run the company like that. Ah, I’m not trying to steal Baekyeon’s position. I’m just trying to take it first, cultivate it, and hand it over to my beloved son in a better state.”
“…Hey.”
“I really wanted to reconcile with Baekyeon when I came to Korea this time, but look how things turned out. But to get along from now on, it’s important to see each other often, right? Since you’re here, a bad influence on him, I might as well…”
“…….”
“I’ve already done his hand, and you said his shoulder was injured, so… I guess it’s the legs, then.”
What?
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”
The agonizing pain in my shin was followed by the thud, thud, thud of repeated blows. The pain intensified.
Even as my mind threatened to shut down from the pain and terror, I clearly remembered his words before the attack.
‘I’ve already done his hand.’
“You did this to a child!”
This man was the one who had stolen the night from Woo Baekyeon.
“I told you, one was born a black sheep for being left-handed, and the other a genius.”
My uncle yanked my hair, his left hand gripping my scalp.
“You shouldn’t have run your mouth. You could have gotten away with less. My original intention was to just injure you slightly. Like, cut off one finger.”
His feigned sympathy was disgusting. He slammed my head against the floor when I glared at him. My chin hit the ground hard.
“I won’t kill you. I can’t. I’d be in jail for life.”
“…….”
“But assault… that’s a minor offense. And afterwards, I might have some difficulty leaving the country, you know. Even the chairman can’t fix that.”
“…….”
“A few months in jail, and then I can be with my son in Korea forever.”
“Don’t call him your son, you psychopath! Woo Baekyeon doesn’t need a family like you! Get out of his life!”
“Huh.”
“Ugh!”
His foot connected with my head. I tasted blood. He grabbed my wrist over my jacket. I tried to wriggle free, but another man pinned me down. They took the phone from my inner jacket pocket.
“Is this your grand plan?”
“…!”
The recording app was open on the screen. My uncle held the phone close to his mouth.
“I’m the one who dragged that brat away and crushed every single joint in his hand.”
“You son of a bitch!!! You’re not even human, you…”
Whack.
The phone hit my head.
“Oh, it didn’t break. Woosung Electronics makes good phones.”
The screen was cracked, but the recording was still playing. I reached for it, but someone stomped on my hand. The screen went black, the components beneath irreparably crushed.
“Ah…”
As I went limp, their grip loosened. I crawled towards the broken phone and pressed the power button. Fuck, turn on. Please. Seemingly satisfied with my desperation, my uncle knelt in front of me.
“So, what? Were you going to record me and ruin me socially? Upload it to YouTube with a title like <The Truth About the Woosung Group>?”
“…….”
“Do you think that would work? How many people would even care? And do you think I’ve just been twiddling my thumbs while stuck overseas?”
“What did he ever do to you? Just leave him alone…”
“Good Baekyeon did nothing wrong, of course. He just happened to have a bad first love during his adolescence. As a father, I understand.”
“Fuck…”
“First love never works out, so this will be a stepping stone for his growth. I’ll be there to soothe his wounds.”
“I told you to stop with the crazy talk!”
I shoved the man off my back, the pain in my leg shooting up my body as soon as my foot touched the ground.
I stumbled towards the old kerosene heater, using the sofa for support, and kicked it towards the approaching men.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
The lit wick tumbled across the floor, igniting a trail of fire.
Whoosh!
The spilled kerosene fueled the flames, quickly engulfing the dust-covered table.
“That… that crazy bastard!”
I threw a wilting potted plant through the window and climbed out. I scrambled to my feet in the dirt, just as my uncle casually strolled out of the burning cabin.
“I told you I wasn’t going to kill you. You’re quite dramatic. It was fun. Now, you can be rescued looking like that. Hurry up and go down there and tell them I did it. The settlement will be generous, so don’t worry.”
“…….”
If I reported it to the police, Woo Jonghun would be stuck in Korea. If I didn’t, I’d be suffering the same fate as Woo Baekyeon, his abuser going unpunished. Wow… no matter which choice I made, Woo Baekyeon’s trauma would deepen. Brilliant.
“It was nice meeting you. I’ll be going now. Hmm, I should probably go see poor, heartbroken Baekyeon.”
I hadn’t come here to let it end like this. I limped away from the burning cabin, retreating into the darkness of the mountain.
“Hey.”
He turned to look at me as he was about to get into his car.
I glanced at the steep slope behind me and smiled crookedly.
“Our country’s laws are great. When a poor child is victimized, the statute of limitations is suspended until they’re old enough to run to the police station themselves.”
“…Oh, really?”
“Fuck, even knowing that, there’s absolutely no evidence. If there was, our brilliant Baekyeon would have found it already.”
He sneered.
“Of course. The chairman himself made sure to get rid of…”
“Then I’ll just have to make some.”
I smiled, pulling a voice recorder from my inner jacket pocket.
“Try and catch me.”
It contained a perfect confession.
Where did he think he was going? He needed to stay with me. After this, he would never be able to go near Woo Baekyeon again. I wouldn’t allow his torment to continue for even a single day.
We would meet again in the interrogation room. Not just for assault, but for Woo Baekyeon’s kidnapping as well. Woo Jonghun’s face contorted in disbelief. Feeling a surge of satisfaction, I turned and ran.
Several men chased after me as I tumbled down the slope. Even though my body screamed in protest, I managed to escape their reach.
“Go down there and get him!”
The sound of footsteps rustling through the leaves grew closer. At the same time, I faintly heard sirens from below. I grabbed onto a tree and pulled myself up, my body covered in dirt.
“Yeah, let’s see! Let’s see if Woo Baekyeon saves you, or if I find you first and leave you speechless!”
Neither I, with my injured leg, nor my uncle, caught in my trap, could escape this mountain.
I could do this. I could outrun them, make it down the mountain, and hand over the evidence to the police…
I pushed the recorder deeper into my pocket and took another step, disappearing into the foliage.
💍
Don’t worry and wait, my princess.
The note was stuck to the most visible spot inside the cafe, on the counter where Jung Hankyung always stood.
Baekyeon’s breath hitched as he received the square sticky note. His hand started trembling, mirroring the crooked, messy handwriting.
“We are also considering the possibility that Mr. Jung Hankyung… intentionally allowed himself to be abducted.”
The security guard, watching Baekyeon’s reaction carefully, reported.
“The vehicle carrying him was last seen heading towards Paju.”
“…Paju?”
“…….”
Both Shin Kanghee and Baekyeon thought of the same place. Jung Hankyung had been taken to that black cabin. Baekyeon’s vision darkened. Jung Hankyung, why… why…?
“Director, I’ll go to the cabin. Please stay at home.”
Even in the brightly lit penthouse, darkness clung to his feet. Then…
“…I’ll go too.”
Baekyeon stepped forward. Secretary Shin looked at him with concern.
“Director, the sun will set soon.”
“It’s already night for me, wherever I am.”
“…….”
Whether the sky was dark, what time of year it was, how much time I could endure outside…
He had spent half his life calculating these things daily. Now, all of that was erased, replaced by a single, desperate thought: Jung Hankyung.
Years of ingrained fear made his legs tremble as he stepped outside. The car, its interior lights blazing, departed Seoul.
Baekyeon looked at the crumpled note in his hand, the ink smeared. He pressed his fist against his forehead, closing his eyes, like praying to a god he had never believed in.
The road was shrouded in darkness. The interior lights and several flashlights, kept in the car for emergencies, were all turned on. Despite the light, Baekyeon’s breath grew ragged.
As the mountain’s shadow began to creep over them, he covered his mouth with both hands, his left fingers twisting and clenching. He swallowed some pills, suppressing a whimper. The medication, long since ineffective due to his tolerance, did little to quell the intensifying phantom pain.
“I’ll go. Stay here!”
They finally reached the foot of the mountain. Secretary Shin jumped out of the car and ran.
Baekyeon, who had been hunched over in the back seat, bit his lip and forced himself to look out the window. A black mountain. A mountain? No, it was a massive, dark shape, its boundaries blurred against the darkening sky. A hand reached out from the blackness, pounding against the window.
“Agh…!”
He instinctively grabbed a flashlight. He knew. There was nothing outside but dirt. It was all a figment of his fear-addled imagination. Yet, he couldn’t even look at the window, let alone step outside. The recent incident had exacerbated his symptoms.
While he trembled helplessly in the back seat, a dozen cars surrounded them. Baekyeon’s security detail, the people sent by the chairman, and police cars.
“Are you sure the statute of limitations hasn’t expired?!”
Baekyeon gasped.
“Someone suddenly filed a report, saying they found evidence! I’m about to retire anyway, so I had nothing to lose!”
He recognized the man who emerged from the police car. An older detective, the one in charge of his kidnapping case, the one who had raged at the chairman in the hospital, frustrated with the botched investigation…
He had learned that the statute of limitations hadn’t expired.
That’s why he went after Woo Jonghun.
Jung Hankyung…
Jung Hankyung, don’t.
Just your presence had saved me.
Please.
He couldn’t breathe. Then…
“The kidnappers and the target are in a standoff on the mountain!”
“Mr. Jung Hankyung has disappeared into the bushes!”
“…!”
Baekyeon struggled to speak, but no sound came out. All he could manage, his lips trembling with the urge to ask what was happening, was…
“…Jung Hankyung.”
Just his name. Baekyeon’s fingers twisted further, a grotesque contortion. He saw an image of his bloodied hand, his screaming self, overlaid with the image of Hankyung, pale and trembling, clutching his injured shoulder.
No…!
The hallucination made him fling open the car door. He stumbled out, chanting Hankyung’s name. Miraculously, he was able to stand outside the car. But the moment his foot stepped beyond the reach of the headlights…
“Ah… ah…”
Nausea welled up inside him, blurring his vision. It was a learned fear, a conditioned response to the pain in his hand. Stepping into the darkness would be worse than death.
He looked at the black mountain. Hankyung had gone there to save him, like this. But he couldn’t even take a single step.
Please, let me go.
If something happens to Jung Hankyung, I can’t live either. It’s all pointless.
“Please…”
For the first time since losing the darkness all those years ago, he reached out, a desperate plea.
“Over there!”
“Is that a fire? That’s a fire, right?”
Bright orange flames erupted from somewhere on the mountain.
“…Jung Hankyung.”
Light piercing through the darkness. It felt like Jung Hankyung.
If Jung Hankyung was there, he didn’t care if his left hand was severed.
With that thought, his feet moved.
His limp left hand twitched, then slowly rose, pointing towards a spot on the mountain. Even in the darkness, his name, tattooed on Baekyeon’s wrist, was clear.
Jung Hankyung, you’re there.
He could see a path, drawn by fragments of light in the gaping maw of the darkness.
Just as Hankyung had approached him without hesitation, hidden behind the closed door of his penthouse room, Baekyeon pushed off the ground and entered the mountain’s shadow.
💍
In movies, people get shot and still manage to fly around, effortlessly jumping through bushes.
In reality, I was inching forward, using trees for support. My entire body was drenched in sweat, despite the early March chill. My leg was swollen, the fabric of my pants stretched taut.
‘Even I’d get traumatized by this.’
Every time the lights went out, I’d probably feel a phantom ache in my leg.
The once quiet mountain was now filled with noise. Fire trucks responding to the blaze, police officers answering my call, the confused security detail, and the shouts of the kidnappers. It was like a scene from a crime movie. I guess it was kind of similar.
Thankfully, the commotion masked my ragged breathing. I used my uninjured leg for support, my injured foot groping for solid ground as I descended. I was grateful that I still had some feeling in my toes.
My eyes, after wandering through the dark forest, had adjusted to the lack of light. I was sliding down a slope when the ground suddenly disappeared beneath me. It was a sheer drop, the bottom invisible in the darkness.
Hmm… I knew it was a life-or-death situation, but I couldn’t actually die and go back… I climbed back up a bit and started traversing the mountain again, towards the sirens. I leaned against a chest-high branch, gasping for breath.
There was a time when I believed I was lucky.
That I had innate talent, that I could become someone special.
After that childish, arrogant delusion shattered, I lived a perfectly ordinary life. Working, meeting friends, having meaningless relationships.
Then, life threw me a curveball. Someone so fascinating, lovely, and vulnerable that I fell head over heels.
Even after falling in love, I hadn’t expected to feel this way at my age, jaded by the world…
But once again, I felt confident.
I would be lucky this time too.
Because you saw me as a savior, because I was so smitten with you, my shoulders and chest puffed up with pride, I felt like I could do anything.
“Woo Baekyeon.”
Even whispering his name gave me strength.
“Baekyeon. My… princess.”
I started walking again. The commotion grew closer, but my exhaustion and the throbbing pain in my leg made it sound distant, like tinnitus.
Then a clear voice pierced through the haze.
“Mr. Jung Hankyung! I’m here to rescue you, Mr. Jung Hankyung!”
“!”
“Mr. Jung Hankyung!”
My exhausted legs, having reached their limit, gave way at the thought of rescue. I stopped and grabbed a tree for support.
“Fuck, you’ve been a bodyguard for a long time; you don’t fall for that.”
“…….”
I almost did. If I hadn’t been in so much pain, I might have walked right into their trap.
I froze, holding my breath, until the sound of footsteps faded away.
“…Ha.”
My head spun. I could no longer tell where the sirens were coming from. The pain and injury were rapidly draining my remaining energy.
‘…Keep moving.’
I could still move. For now.
I could do this.
I knew I wasn’t actually special, not anymore. The recklessness that made me charge at the kidnappers’ van ten years ago was long gone. And yet, now…
“…Ah.”
No, let me correct that.
I was special once again. Filled with reckless courage, fueled by the absurd affection of the most lovable person in the world. The anticipation of punishing the one who hurt him made me fearless.
That’s how I knew, instinctively, who was approaching.
“Jung Hankyung.”
I knew it was you before I even heard your whisper.
“I recorded everything, Baekyeon.”
“What happened to your leg?”
The same three syllables, spoken simultaneously. I chuckled, amused, but Woo Baekyeon seemed angry.
“Get on my back.”
He turned his back to me in the darkness.
“I can walk.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Get on. I memorized the way back.”
I couldn’t refuse his cold tone. I leaned against his back, my body slumping against him. His scent, mixed with my own, enveloped me. It was the same scent as when he held me in his upstairs bedroom.
“Jung Hankyung, who… who told you to do this? This was reckless.”
“…I had to let my guard down to get a confession.”
“You always called me crazy, but it’s you who’s crazy. How could you…”
The soft strands of his hair brushing against my cheek, the gentle yet sharp reprimand laced with awkward curses… I knew who was carrying me.
“Woo Baekyeon, I won.”
“…….”
“I’ll put the bastard who hurt you in jail…”
My body trembled violently. No, not my body, but…
Ah, I remembered what I had forgotten in my pain-addled state.
We were surrounded by impenetrable darkness. It was his left hand, gripping my thigh, and his entire upper body that were trembling.
“Woo Baekyeon, you…”
“…….”
“You… your hand…”
His back, supporting my weight, twitched and spasmed. He was taking slow, deliberate steps, his feet digging into the ground.
“Put me down. I’ll walk. Hurry.”
“Stay still.”
“Woo Baekyeon, put me down.”
“Jung Hankyung, I’m not letting you go. I told you… if I can’t even handle this with you by my side… if I lose you here, I’ll never overcome the darkness.”
“…….”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“…….”
“It doesn’t hurt at all. I won’t let you go.”
Tears dripped onto my arm, wrapped around him.
“It… doesn’t hurt…”
It wasn’t directed at me, but a mantra, a desperate attempt at self-persuasion.
I couldn’t speak. I just held him tighter, wanting him to feel my presence even though I was on his back. The fabric of my sleeve, pressed against his chin, grew damp.
Through the haze of pain, I saw a faint light in the distance, down the mountain. Woo Baekyeon, enduring the pain in his hand, carried me, step by agonizing step, out of the darkness, out of the nightmare.
“Young Master!”
We had descended a fair distance when we encountered the head of security, and then Secretary Shin. Woo Baekyeon stubbornly shook his head when the head of security asked him to hand me over. He continued down the mountain until we reached the police.
I handed the recorder to an older detective. Even then, Woo Baekyeon didn’t put me down. The detective took the recorder and glared at the head of security, who had a grim expression on his face.
“The chairman won’t… no, he can’t stop this, not this time.”
“…Of course. If he does… is he even human?”
“…….”
Then, from the distance, I heard the words.
“You are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney…”
“Wow, they really say that. I’ve only ever heard it in movies.”
“…You’re worried about that with your leg in this state?”
In the bright light of multiple sources, Woo Baekyeon’s steps steadied. He finally put me down when we reached a stretcher in front of an ambulance.
I must have pushed myself too hard. The world spun as I lay down. I’d probably lose consciousness before I could count to ten.
“Woo Baekyeon.”
I gestured weakly to Woo Baekyeon, then fumbled at my waist. He looked at me quizzically, and I handed him the recorder I had strapped there.
“Let’s see him try and destroy this one.”
“Jung Hankyung…”
I fumbled some more, handing him another recorder strapped to my forearm, and one from my inner jacket pocket.
“There’s one more strapped to my thigh… you’ll find it when you take off my pants later…”
He looked at me, holding the recorders in his hands, unsure how to react. What? If I was unlucky enough to get caught, at least one would survive.
Looking at his worried face, I wanted to tell him one more thing.
“Baekyeon, I remember you.”
“…What?”
“I remember.”
You were crying, your face as pale as it is now.
And you were desperately trying to save me.
I remembered because your face was exactly the same as it was ten years ago. I would tell him this properly when I woke up.
Sleep pulled me under.