25 You Dog (1/2)

The pleasant expression on Jim's face was short lived, for he heard Park call him a dog. He looked up at the old guy amusingly, and then waved him in. ”Well, hello there, old friend,” he greeted. Mr. Park almost rolled his eyes.

He walked towards the young master's bed and then sat at the edge of it. ”I guess a congratulations is due, now that you are to be a married man?” he asked.

Jim raised his brows. ”You were eavesdropping?”

”Learnt it from you.”

Jim gave him a broad grin, and then lay back on the bed, satisfied. He had expected it to happen, but the actuality of the situation felt like drugs to his brain. It was relieving.

”I guess there's no chance of you letting me smoke, eh?”

”Not in this condition, sir.”

”Even if I tell you I've had a hard day?”

”No.”

Jim looked at Park grudgingly, and then sat back up, albeit with a little difficulty. He turned around and glanced at the bed.

”It's so hard, lying on this bed,” he remarked. Park didn't reply. After a moment though, he said gravely: ”We'll have to watch the girl, Jimmy.”

Jim's expression immediately turned serious. He nodded.

”You know you're my only confidante, Park,” he then said in a neutral voice, ”And that I'd forgive you most things. Tell me though, this time, how did you f*** up so bad?”

Mr. Park's gaze steeled.

”You know it isn't my fault. I warned you against it since the very beginning.”

”Two men,” Jim breathed, ”Two men from her past. Scare her, but zero violence. One bullet, directed at me. How hard was that to understand, my friend?”

”And you think I didn't give the exact same orders?”

”Then why weren't they followed?”

Mr. Park's face turned foul.

”Because you're a naïve fool, Jimmy Hunter. And the next time you order negotiations with a thug, make sure you learn something from your father.”

Jim's face blackened at the words. If there was one man in the entire world who could say this without facing dire consequences, it was Byeong Park.

”What actually happened?” Jim asked coldly.

”After I sent you the preliminary investigation report on her,” Park began, ”I received a 'Contact them all' text from you. I had to make some insane connections, but we found out about the men who were assaulted by the girl. As it turned out, there was never any record, because her fight was always with rogues. They wouldn't approach the police, because they for one, were all wanted. The reason for these fights, I couldn't find out. Now, I used a third party to get all these thugs together, as you had wanted.

By then I received your further orders, that you wanted only two men, the least harmful ones, to pop out of nowhere and scare her a bit. I told you then, fifteen times at least, that it was a bad idea. These were criminals. They don't have rules.”

”That's the difference between you and your old man. He for one, doesn't think that money alone makes the world turn. It's money and power, Jim. That was your lesson number one. Yes, I offered money to two men, but revenge turned out to be more gratifying to them than the cash. And this girl has a lot of enemies, Jim. The two must have contacted others who turned up as well.”

Jim's face was so dark, so twisted, he seemed like a monster. In all the years of his doing business, he had never been betrayed by those who took his money. His mind went back to that Robert guy, who had first appeared and sworn at Miya.

Wait…

Now that he thought about it, the man had tried to hold her hand, but Miya had been the one to kick him first. Maybe it wasn't the thug's plan to not follow orders. Maybe, Miya had just pissed him off by attacking outright.

Jimmy's face turned colder. His eyes were steel, his gaze cutting. How the f*** had he made such a stupid decision? Why the hell did it not cross his mind that the woman could turn out to be that demonic a fighter? Just like that, he had assumed that the frail, tiny girl before him would be scared by the appearance of her enemy. How did he not think, that she might have defeated all her enemies single-handedly in the past? He had naively assumed that Miya must have been a third party in the assaults reported against her, that she must have gotten her enemies attacked through someone else.

Park was right. He was a f***ing fool.

Jim remembered Miya's bloody face, her scarred arms and feet, and how she had ripped off her sleeve to cover his wound. Guilt roiled within him.

But what he had done was necessary.

The next part of his plan was simple and dramatic. He was to step in, of course and defend her – in the process get shot at. The bullet was to graze his hand, and the goons were to leave. He had seen it happen in third grade movies, and had known it would work with her. What he absolutely couldn't forgive though, was the shot that was aimed at the kid instead of him.

”One of them shot at the boy,” Jim stated, and a flicker of emotions ran across Park's face. He hid them well.

”I know,” he said, ”That's what can't be forgiven.”

Jimmy sighed, unable to get rid of the rising suffocation in him. If the kid had been hurt, he would never have forgiven himself. In the end, what he had planned had indeed happened, but only because he got lucky enough.

”I told you to at least use fake guns,” Park said faintly, aware of the tumultuous emotions that would have been rising within the young man.

”I would have,” Jim sighed, ”But I figured she'd know. Now I'm happy I didn't. You should have watched her fight, Park. If she ever knew this sh*t of a plan was mine, she'd bury me so deep under the earth, even you wouldn't be able to find me out.”

Despite himself, Mr. Park chuckled.