FL Chapter 68

“….!”

Eyes wide open, Heewoon barely managed to grab the pot, feeling the cold and hard touch of the pottery against his palm. A small sigh escaped. His heart was beating so loudly that it felt like his whole body was vibrating.

He turned to look at his mother, shaking his hand as if nothing had happened. It was difficult to move in this freezing cold that caused their bodies to become stiff. Yet, Heewoon was doing his best, and his brother and mother were probably doing the same.

Crossing one more wall, and now it was the last house. They almost made a noise after encountering a stray cat, but they managed to pass without incident.

They entered a flower bed with a few withered trees in front of a brick wall. It was as high as Heewoon’s chest. It seemed a bit difficult for his mother to cross.

Heewoon looked around, found a few bricks in a corner, and stacked them against the wall. It seemed possible to step on them and climb up.

“Hyung, hold onto Mom after she crosses.”

Heewoon whispered to Heehyun. Heehyun nodded and looked outside the wall, then easily crossed it.

“Now, Mom.”

Heewoon grabbed his mother’s hand. She lifted one knee to cross. Heewoon, supporting her from behind, saw her trembling leg on the bricks. He bit his lip.

Finally, his mother crossed the wall. Heehyun nodded from the other side. Heewoon wiped his sweaty palms on the ground, then raised his hand to the rough concrete wall. Stepping on the bricks that wobbled a bit on both sides, he exerted force.

As soon as Heewoon lifted his foot, the bricks collapsed sideways. They hit the protruding stones, and the bricks cracked and shattered. Because of the noise, Heewoon turned around, hanging on the wall. However, the unlit house remained quiet as ever.

“Haaa…!”

He sighed and climbed over the wall. Landing lightly, he wiped his hands on the ground and took his mother’s hand.

There was nothing in the narrow alley except for a cat. Once they passed through, a major road would appear. Leading the way, Heehyun stood at the end of the alley and signaled. Heewoon grabbed his mother’s hand tightly and looked back at her. Looking at her face, which seemed like she might collapse at any moment, he raised the corners of his mouth.

“Let’s go, Mom.”

He whispered and walked slowly. Heehyun called a taxi, then squatted and took a cigarette out. Heewoon made a face, but he didn’t say anything.

They would be safe after taking the taxi. The inside of his mouth felt dry. Although anxious, Heewoon added more strength on his grip to his mother’s hand.

As soon as Heehyun finished smoking a cigarette, the sound of a car approached.

“Seems like the taxi is here.”

His mother took a step forward, looking a bit relieved. That’s when it happened. A shadow appeared, and a black van came to a stop, as if it might collide with her.

“M-Mom!”

Heewoon screamed, pulling his mother’s hand. The door of the van opened, and a thick hand reached out, grabbing the edge of his mother’s clothes almost simultaneously. Her body was forcibly dragged.

“Let go! Hyung!”

Heewoon squeezed his mother’s hand and pulled it, looking back at Heehyun. But Heehyun was already surrounded by several sturdy men.

“This fucking…!”

A hand clamped over Heehyun’s mouth with a handkerchief as he struggled with all his might against his captors. Heehyun’s body quickly went limp.

Heewoon jerked his head back in surprise, as if he’s seen something he shouldn’t have seen, and bit down hard on the hand holding his mother’s arm.

“Aaack! This son of a…”

A thick hand struck Heewoon’s temple and head. Heewoon gritted his teeth and withstood it. When blood started to spurt, the man cursed and let go of his hand.

“Let’s go, Mom!”

Heewoon immediately grabbed his mother’s arm. However, a hand appeared from his behind, grabbing Heewoon tightly.

“Help…!”

Heewoon’s attempt to plead for help was also muffled by a handkerchief covering his mouth. His vision quickly blurred. He struggled to twist his body, but a strong force pushed him. The objects in his vision began to overlap.

“Heewoon…”

The last thing Heewoon saw was his mother, with her mouth covered, being dragged into a dark space.

Drrr, thud-!

The door closed. The van left the alley as if nothing had happened. It took less than a minute to load all three of them into the car.

The taxi pulled up late in the alley, where even the suitcases on the ground had disappeared. The taxi driver looked around and made a call. There was a beep and then a cutoff. The call was refused.

“It’s only a few minutes late. If they had hailed me, they should have waited.”

Once the grumbling taxi driver was gone, the alley became silent.

***

His head throbbed. It felt similar to waking up from a terrible nightmare. His temples furrowed, and the noise gradually became audible.

“…Why aren’t any of these three waking up?”

“Maybe we gave them too much meds.”

“Did you give the same dosage to all of them? Then this old lady won’t be able to get up.”

The man with the rough voice clicked his tongue. The voice wasn’t unfamiliar.

“Hyung-nim, watching on purpose like this is really perverted.”

“What did you say, punk?”

A dull sound rang out. Heewoon’s eyelids quivered. His forehead scrunched slightly.

“This brat seems to be waking up.”

Someone said. With those words, Heewoon lifted his eyelids. The bright light stabbed his eyes, and he blinked several times. The blurry vision gradually returned to normal. He could only see several pairs of legs surrounding him. He was probably lying on the floor.

“Hey, Woo Heewoon.”

Someone suddenly entered his field of vision. A broad face with a scar below the chin, and a man with a chilling voice that sounded familiar.

Heewoon’s eyes widened. He regained consciousness immediately. His most recent memory flashed back. It was the image of his mother being dragged into the van.

Heewoon anxiously looked around. Behind the men, he saw something. Skinny ankles sticking out from thick fleece pants, familiar sneakers.

“Mom!”

Heewoon screamed, calling for his mom. As he tried to get up, he immediately fell to the tiled floor, hitting his forehead.

“Uh…”

Heewoon realized that his hands were tied behind his back, and both ankles were bound. Upon closer inspection, his mother’s ankles were also wrapped around with tape.

“W-What is this… ugh!”

The man grabbed Heewoon’s clothes and roughly pulled him up to a sitting position. Heewoon, terrified, turned his eyes away. Iron shelves on wheels, medicines, the smell of disinfectant, and machines of unknown purpose. It looked like an operation room.

Someone blocked his sight as he tried to look around. A man who was kneeling down tapped Heewoon’s head.

“It’s been a while. You’re seeing me, but you don’t even greet me, you insolent brat.”

“Uh, ah, hello.”

His words trembled. The man chuckled and echoed Heewoon’s words mockingly.

“Uh, ah, hi.”

Laughing among themselves, the men behind him allowed Heewoon to extend his neck to look for his mother. As he did, someone slapped Heewoon’s head.

“Are you looking for your mom?”

“…W-What happened to my mom?”

“Oh, dear. Look at this. Do you see him? This brat, even though he’s practically dead, he only cares about finding his mom. Poor kid.”

While speaking with a tone of pity, the man was still laughing. Perplexed, Heewoon looked at him and tried to see more by narrowing his eyes through the gap between the men.

“Okay. Give him some space.”

The man pushed other men aside. The operation room with a strong antiseptic smell became clearer. Heewoon’s gaze passed a smooth floor, reached a surgical table covered with green cloth, and then landed on someone lying there. The person was lying half-naked, covered only up to the waist with a green cloth.

“…Hyung.”

Heewoon whimpered like the sound of the wind. Unable to believe what he saw, he stared at the face of the person lying on the surgical table, as if imprinting the image in his eyes. That man, with bruised and burnt skin in various places, was indeed his brother. Under the lights, his skin looked pale.

“What did you do to my brother?”

With a strained effort, Heewoon asked, and the man affectionately patted his shoulder. The oppressive weight crushed Heewoon.

“He’s waiting for an operation, what else? That damn bastard made us wait for years and came empty-handed.”

His breathing slowly became faster.

“B-But we’vs been sending money regularly.”

“That worthless money with not even worth the interest?”

The man chuckled as he tapped on Heewoon’s shoulder.

“Whatever. Now that your brother is back, you have to pay off the overdue interest.”

“How much is it? I-I’ll pay everything. I can pay.”

Heewoon said urgently, but the man sneered.

“Sure, you can pay. Wasn’t that old lady a cancer patient before?”

He asked the man next to him.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Then that old lady won’t have anything valuable, right? Fine, let’s show some mercy. You can pay off the interest with that old lady and that punk. You’ll be used for the principal.”

“W-What…”

“We’re losing a lot too.”

The man clicked his tongue. Heewoon, unable to immediately grasp his words, stared blankly into space. The sight of his brother lying on the cold surgical table came into view.

“Just sell everything that we can find useful from them.”

What is this person saying now?

Heewoon’s gaze shifted sideways. Due to the men stepping aside, the sight of his mother collapsed on the floor became fully visible. Her hair was disheveled, and her face, partially hidden, was pale.

Just like a corpse.

“Aaaah… Please, save us. We, we will work hard to earn money. We’ll definitely pay everything back.”

Heewoon’s body moved uncomfortably. He wanted to grab their legs and plead, but with his hands tied behind him, he could only lean his head against the man’s legs.

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