Chapter Text
TIMESTAMP: 04:37 (4:37 AM)
Location: JNX Warehouse 21-2YS
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Yeosu-si, South Korea.
A calm coastal city, the second largest in South Jeolla Province. Perfect for those wanting to maintain a slow-paced living. Each to their own devices to enjoy the salty breeze of the surrounding bodies of water.
Statistically speaking, the offense rates were low, though that mostly pertained to petty crimes. Not the big timers that operated under layers of protection thanks to shadows.
JNX Warehouse complex.
A substantial amount of land in the area was bought and converted into a warehouse storage complex for one of South Korea’s most influential.
Despite the sun not yet rising, it was the perfect location and time for business to be done.
Warehouse 21-2YS.
Its roller doors already opened, as people dressed down in black and armed with tactical weaponry, aimed at something, rather, someone.
Lee Dae-Ho. A shipping coordinator for many in the criminal underworld.
Instead of being in his usual business attire, a slicked-back hairstyle and a co*cky, damn near, arrogant smirk most shady negotiators held, Lee Dae-Ho found himself battered, sporting cracked and bleeding lips, swollen eyes and his designer suit muddled down to shreds, and filth.
His head, which throbbed in pain, hung low, not bothering to lift it at the sound of thick and numerous footsteps echoing inside the warehouse.
“Silence for the incoming boss!” a deep, masculine voice sounded, breaking the uneasy silence and prepping everyone for the approaching nightmare that took the form of the boss.
While the majority of the footsteps had ceased once they were in, another pair continued ahead.
A quiet click of a mechanism sounded before the automatic rolling door of the warehouse began to close, finally shutting with a heavy thud.
“I hope you aren't dead yet, Lee.” an even deeper voice sounded, some parts sounding enthusiastic, “We still need to talk.”
“There…” A gasp fell from Lee shutting one eye but still not looking up, “There's not much to talk about.”
Next thing he knew, a fistful of his hair was grabbed and his neck snapped upwards, as he let out a choked gurgle.
No longer faced with the sight of his tattered pants, but now making eye contact with the man himself.
Dressed down in tailored, all-black with matte leopard print along his suit, and fitting polished dressed shoes was the boss.
In spite of the chaos of breaking official rules, there was somewhat of an established hierarchy.
And this man stood at the pinnacle of it all, like a king.
Like an Emperor.
Joo Jaekyung.
Jaekyung had what could be considered the body sculpted by the gods themselves, at a staggering height of 6’4 (193 cm), and his well-trained muscles were evident even with the perfectly tailored suit he wore. On his left and right arms respectively, he donned a devil mask tattoo with a traditional Korean pattern and a rolling clouds tattoo. His hair was a deep jet black, with thick eyebrows seemingly almost always arched in a state of annoyance and sharp gray eyes to compliment.
The Joo name was one highly respected and highly feared. With widespread control of many territories even outside of South Korea, from the mountains to the sea for many generations. It was only until the arrival of Jaekyung did the Onyx Devil Mafia found its notoriety to explode in the underworld.
Joo Jaekyung found himself to be a man of little words, preferring to see action over anything else.
He was a man who worked with money, for money.
May the divine ones bring mercy to those who interfered with his work.
“There isn't?” Jaekyung hummed, clicking his tongue, “You f*cked up, Dae-Ho. You f*cked up my domestic shipment.”
“Some of my sh*t was seized by authorities yesterday morning, even though you had no problem pocketing my money and promising up and down it'd go through without a hitch.”
“Look, I didn’t think this would happen…” Dae-Ho hiccuped painfully, “That’s why I notified you right away when I received word of the incident, honest!”
Jaekyung shook his head, squeezing tighter of his hair, “Lies. You were too busy catering to the needs of others before informing me, and that’s just not what I’m paying you for.”
A heavy slap sounded, followed by Dae-Ho’s chair falling onto the warehouse’s concrete.
A thick sigh escaped Jaekyung’s lips, his jaw clenched as the stoic expression he attempted to maintain was beginning to falter.
“Out of the projected 23 million won, I lost 10 million because of your ineptitude.” He stated, his fury evident despite his tone, “Though, I should take some of the blame.”
“I always thought you looked like an airhead wanting to be a big shot, but I still worked with you because I needed to clear out quickly.”
Reaching inside the inner pocket of his suit jacket, he pulled out a .45 caliber pistol, followed by a black silencer piece, “That won’t be a mistake I intend on making again.”
Placing the attachment on, everyone watched in absolute silence as their boss took away the remaining life of their now ex-shipping partner.
The eerie silence, combined with the tenseness in the air and the slowly forming pool of blood along the concrete slab of the warehouse would’ve been enough to make anyone sick.
But for someone like Jaekyung, what he had done was the equivalent of eating his dinner.
Start to finish, unbothered as ever.
He turned away, snapping the safety of the gun back on as he approached his personal guard, Jeong Yosep.
A 37 year old man. Almost the same height and build as Jaekyung, with tanned skin, a slightly scruffy beard with long taupe brown hair that was placed into a messy low ponytail.
Yosep was the perfect match for Jaekyung, as the man just understood his boss even without needing to talk. He acted more like an uncle than he did as head of security.
“I’m heading home,” Jaekyung bluntly stated, “I’m f*cking exhausted.”
Yosep nodded silently, adjusting the black fur jacket hanging on Jaekyung’s shoulders, “Your car has already been pulled around.”
“I’ll follow once everything has been taken care of.”
With an approving silence, Jaekyung walked away outside as the loose gravel crunched under his feet as he approached his idle white Mclaren 720, slipping in and speeding off into the night.
All this, and his real day hadn’t even started yet.
|Meanwhile|
Busan, South Korea.
The virtual opposite of Yeosu-si with its fast-paced living and dense population. Even with it barely being five in the morning, activity had yet to cease.
Approaching one out of the multiple luxury apartments in the area was a white Porsche Carrera. Its owner eagerly made his move to meet up with a friend.
In the business world, time was money. And every second counted.
Passing the underground garage, and up the modernized elevator, He counted the white neon numbers to the 22nd floor, as the contraption dinged open and he strode down the dimmed hall to unit 276.
With a rhythmic tap of the solid white gold door knocker, the sound of muffled footsteps gradually became louder as the door swung open revealing his long-time friend and business partner,
Kim Dan.
“Heesung,” Dan weakly smiled, stepping aside, “On time as always.”
Choi Heesung. The 26-year-old who possessed pale, nickless skin and a well-built body. Shoulder-length pale pink hair and dusty pink irises. He maintained a rather relaxed smirk, overall complimenting his cheeky nature.
Heesung entered the luxury apartment, slipping off his shoes and darting for the kitchen where he spotted two clear mugs with freshly made tea.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Heesung nonchalantly spoke, picking up one of the mugs and letting out a small puff of air, “This is big news, that I have.”
Following in suit, Dan entered the kitchen, gently rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up, “Not at all, it’s not like I enjoy sleeping in.” As sarcasm dripped in his tone as he picked up the other mug.
Kim Dan. A 29 year old with soft and doe-like features. He had short auburn brown hair with thick bangs split down the middle and gentle matching irises. His skin was pale, but not a sickly shade as his body was slender and somewhat toned.
“So, what’s this big announcement that couldn’t wait until morning?” Dan raised his brow in slight intrigue, watching as Heesung gulped down a good amount, placing it back down to the counter.
“Business. It’s always business.” Heesung stated proudly, “Ans at the moment, business will be booming for us.”
Dan tilted his head, unsure where Heesung was going with this, “Go on…”
“While you might not like to get into the nitty gritty details about our competitors, I find that there’s a brand new opening for us if my information is correct.” Heesung began, “Remember Lee Dae-Ho?”
Dan couldn’t help but sigh at the name of their biggest rival. The man never failed to remind, for a lack of better description, Dan and Heesung about his superiority in terms of financial gain and his prominent clientele. And how Dan should be incredibly grateful he’s still being allowed to operate with the menial work he does get.
“That shouldn’t even be a question, of course I remember him.” Dan nodded, sipping at his tea.
“Well he should’ve been wiped off the face of the earth by now.”
Silence.
Immediately followed by the sound of Dan coughing as the tea he sipped on went down the wrong pipe.
“I’m sorry? What?” Dan furrowed his brow, completely taken back, “Heesung, I know you get caught up in weird and shady things, but this is…”
Heesung shrugged, the lack of caring for the more eerie parts of the situation making Dan’s heart race.
“I know you aren’t a fan of me talking like this, but honestly, good riddance,” Heesung bluntly stated, pressing his mug to his lips, “Apparently, he wasn’t doing his due diligence and ended up taking more than he could handle.”
“From what I heard, his Main clientele got fleeced, and they didn’t take to it very well and offed him to make an example.”
Dan looked down at the ground, then back to Heesung, taking a slight sip, unsure if he could finish the rest.
But, he had a good idea where Heesung was going with this. He always had a knack for doing risky things.
“You wanna offer us up to this main clientele?” Dan raised his brow, “Clearly, they don’t care for repeat business if slight mistakes are made.”
“They don’t, but the money they lost was more than pure chump change.” Heesung pushed, “ I’m talking about 5-10 million won.”
“That's chump change to you,” Dan mumbled, “You have money, and you know this business is just like a hobby that pays.”
“True.Too true,” Heesung agreed, as his family lineage had a major wealth to their name, “But, you know, it’s good for you,”
“Not having to worry about other businesses getting in your way, getting paid a lot for this, and you get recognition in the underworld. More respect.”
“All that and the added bonus of potentially getting killed.” Dan murmured, feeling a shiver run down his spine, “Still, what choice do I have.?”
He then eyed Heesung who held the cheekiest grin, knowing he’d gotten his way again.
“Later today, if you haven’t already put in the request for a meeting.” Dan stated, watching as Heesung’s grin grew, “Unless..?”
“They’ve already requested it. We meet at 12:30 for lunch down in Haeundae-gu,” Heesung smugly added, “They’re strategic, and so shall we. That’s why I came so early so we could plan.”
“I agree,” Dan nodded, still feeling a bit unsure, “But there’s no point in strategizing if we’re both exhausted when the time comes.”
“Let’s rest a bit before we start with any more plans.”
