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Jason nodded. “Yeah, it seems like that.” Ji Hoon’s eyes went wide as Jason pulled a box cutter from his pocket and clicked the blade out several notches. “Oh, fucking relax. Unlike you, we’re not murderers.” He walked behind Ji Hoon’s chair and started cutting through the zip ties.
Ji Hoon looked at Tae Hyun with heavy-browed confusion. “I don’t understand.”
Tae Hyun shrugged. “We’re letting you go.”
Ji Hoon’s brows dipped further. “I’m to believe you’ll let me simply walk out of here?”
Tae Hyun nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we?” Then he grinned. “We have more than enough to nail you to the wall.” He glanced at Seong Woo just as he finished with the call he’d been on.
Seong Woo nodded. “Everything’s set.” While Tae Hyun had been talking with Ji Hoon, he explained, his security team had been recording video statements and getting signed confessions from Min Su and all the men they’d rounded up at the salvage yard. They’d send those, along with the recording they’d just made of Ji Hoon confessing to Tae Hyun’s kidnapping and admitting his involvement in Jong Soo’s death, to KBR CEO Pak. “So, the way we see things,” he added, “there’s no reason to involve the police. I’m sure Pak Jun Ho will take care of things for us.”
Tae Hyun nodded. Most of the color had drained from Ji Hoon’s face by then. “But it’s not too late for you to stop all this.”
Jason lifted the thick, plastic zip ties from Ji Hoon’s wrists. “Otherwise, we’ll happily drive you back into town.” Ji Hoon, at a loss for words, simply nodded. So Jason shrugged and walked away.
Min Kyu showed up then with a pair of men from his security team. He briefly spoke with Jason and Seong Woo while his men, still wearing the black suits and ties they’d worn when they stormed the warehouse at the salvage yard, approached and stood on either side of Ji Hoon.
One of the men put his hand on Ji Hoon’s shoulder. “Do you need any assistance to stand, sir?”
Ji Hoon had started his interrogation confident and in control. But he’d probably still believed then that there was a chance to talk his way out of trouble. A much different Ji Hoon inspected the hand on his shoulder and the man it belonged to, his confidence nowhere to be seen. “I, uh–what?”
Tae Hyun shook his head as he stood from his chair. “Don’t give them any trouble,” he warned Ji Hoon, “and you won’t get any in return.” Then he left Ji Hoon behind–hopefully, for the last time.
As much as he wanted to see the whole plan through, it had been a long day, and Tae Hyun had reached his limit. He found a seat on a cheap vinyl loveseat in the small meeting room outside the construction office. Then he leaned back, let his head gently rest on squeaky vinyl that smelled like cigarettes, and waited.
Seong Woo suggested that Jason and Tae Hyun go home and let him handle the rest. While he was involved with everything simply being a partner in Big Hammer, he was personally invested in punishing the forces that had ruined his wedding. The video confessions would probably be enough to scare the shit out of CEO Pak. But they’d still have the full weight of the Cho family’s Imperative Group behind them. Tae Hyun doubted CEO Pak would go anywhere without looking over his shoulder for a long time.
Jason checked in with Tae Hyun after Min Kyu’s men led a sullen, downcast Ji Hoon past him and out the door. “Are you ready to go?”
Tae Hyun nodded. It had been such a long, arduous day. Was it really, finally over? “I’m starving, tired, filthy, and sore. I’m ready to go.” He lifted his head to see Jason’s face. “Do you think someone here would drive us home?”
Jason nodded. “I do. Seong Hyeon and Seong Min are back. They’re outside right now.”
Tae Hyun quickly perked back up. “Seong Min’s here? Is he alright?”
Jason nodded again. “He said he was. But maybe we should go see for ourselves?”
The sky had dimmed, and the air outside had cooled considerably in the early evening, but Tae Hyun was too excited to notice. Seong Min stood beside his brother, amiably chatting with two of Min Kyu’s men. His right arm was in a sling, but he looked surprisingly okay otherwise. “Seong Min!”
The younger Song brother turned to Tae Hyun and smiled. “There you are, sir. You’re looking well, considering.”
Tae Hyun nearly sobbed as he rushed over and threw his arms around the mountain of a man. “Thank you for everything you did, Seong Min. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Careful there, sir.” Seong Min winced and returned the hug with his good arm. “Of course, I’m okay. It’ll take more than a few half-assed wanna-be gangsters like those fucking clowns to bring me down.”
Tae Hyun laughed. “What did you say?”
Seong Min sheepishly shuffled back and bit his lip. “Sorry, sir. They may have given me some pain meds at the Cho family clinic.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jason sternly urged Seong Min. “You’ve earned it. In fact, I’m the one who should be sorry.” He turned to face Seong Hyeon. “And I definitely owe you an apology for how much of an asshole I was today.” To Tae Hyun’s surprise, Jason actually bowed. “I’m sorry, Seong Hyeon. Please accept my apology.”
Seong Hyeon, who most likely hadn’t been given any pain meds, still showed his wide-eyed surprise. “Sir. I, uh–”
Jason chuckled. “Don’t let it go to your head, Song Seong Hyeon.” Then he offered his hand. “I also owe you my thanks for everything you did today.”
Seong Hyeon, who still hadn’t actually accepted Jason’s apology, looked at his hand for a moment. Then he grabbed it and shook. “It was my job, sir. But it was also my honor.”
“Good.” Jason clapped Seong Hyeon on the arm. “Then please don’t quit.”
