GANGBUSTER CHAPTER SIX: THE GODFATHER
Several weeks later..
Rafiel stood in the gym, delivering heavy blows to the mannequin while wearing weighted bands.
"Looking good there, kid!" Jae-Sun called out, whistling. "Finally starting to show some real muscle!"
Rafiel, now with a larger head of hair and a more muscular physique, wiped the sweat from his brow. "About damn time. I think I'm finally getting used to moving in these weights!" He began to shadowbox, pretending to be a pro.
"Great! That means we can start the actual training now that you're almost through the tutorial!" Jae-Sun replied, his enthusiasm palpable.
"Heh. You know, before I started my training with you, a sentence like that would have scared me. But you know what? Bring it on!"
"Ha ha! Now that's what I like to hear. How's Hana holding up?" Jae-Sun inquired.
Wiping off more sweat with a towel, Rafiel shrugged. "She's good. She hates that most of my time is spent training. Since we start college in a few weeks, I think she really wanted to spend the summer hanging out with me."
"I take it that means you finally settled on what school you're attending?" Jae-Sun asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Grand Seoul University," Rafiel replied. "We'll both be freshmen, but I'll be taking special honor classes." He paused briefly. (I never went to college in America, but before I left South Korea, I was easily in the top five of my school, so it was a given that even as a foreigner, my grades would be sought after. And while there are much better schools to choose from, Grand Seoul University is the one Hana chose. So in order to keep her safe, that's where I'll go.)
"Good for you, kid!" Jae-Sun exclaimed. "Unfortunately, that means our time will be cut in half to work around your new studies, plus the distance to travel back and forth."
"I think it will be fine. Now that I'm finally getting stronger, I'm sure I can take Ji-Ho if he tries anything," Rafiel replied confidently.
Jae-Sun tossed Rafiel a water bottle. "It's been weeks since I scared the piss out of him. Has he made any moves since then?"
Rafiel caught the bottle, shaking his head. "Nope, but when he does, I'll be ready!"
Outside the gym...
A goon was spying on Rafiel and Jae-Sun.
He pulled out his phone. "Her bodyguard is at the gym working out with some old dude. How's it on your end?"
On the other side of the line was a man spying on Hana at a café, he replied, "Park Hana is at the café down the block, Seo-Jun. Now's your best time."
Park/De La Cruz household...
Seo-Jun nodded. "On it." He picked the house lock. (Ji-Ho better be grateful for this shit.)
Meanwhile in a local brothel...
Ji-Ho was lost in his own world. "Hana! Hana! Hana! My sweet Hana, soon we'll be together." Ji-Ho was sweating heavily while face-fucking a woman wearing a light brown wig similar to Hana's hair color. "Hana! HANNAAAAA!!!" Ji-Ho climaxed with a grin of absolute horror incarnate.
Later that day at the Park/De La Cruz household...
Hana and Rafiel had just entered the house.
"I just got great news!" Hana exclaimed.
Rafiel untied his shoes. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Jung Dae-Eun! She said she's gonna go to Grand U too!" Hana replied excitedly.
"Ugh. Seriously?" Rafiel groaned.
"What's wrong?" Hana asked, tilting her head.
"Dae-Eun was so annoying when we were kids! All she ever did was tug on my hair and call me her 'horsey.' She's the reason I shaved it that year."
Hana whispered under her breath, "Worst. Year. Ever."
"Oh, calm down! Like you said, we were kids! Now we're adults! She says we should attend the freshmen dinner mingle before classes officially start. That way we can make some friends before the semester kicks off."
Rafiel continued taking off his shoes, thinking, (That sounds like a nightmare.) As he was sitting down, he looked down and noticed the slight imprint of a boot mark on the floor.
"And let's be honest, Rafi, you absolutely need more friends," Hana said, crossing her arms.
"Hana…" he said in a calm tone to avoid alarming any listeners, "get out of the kitchen…"
"Huh? What did you say?" she asked, confused.
Suddenly, a random goon grabbed Hana from behind.
"Hana!" Rafiel shouted, alarmed.
As he charged, a man who hid around the corner knocked Rafiel out with a wooden bat.
As Rafiel began to fade in and out of consciousness, he heard Seo-Jun's voice. "Get her to the hotel. Ji-Ho will guide you from there."
"What about you?" another goon asked.
"I'm heading to the Golden Stag. I'm not needed, so I'm grabbing a drink. God knows I need one, dealing with Gim Ji-Ho," Seo-Jun replied dismissively.
Rafiel blacked out completely.
Some time later..
Jae-Sun was smacking Rafiel's cheek. "Hey kid! Wake the fuck up!"
"Unghh… Sah Bum Nim? What're you doing here?" Rafiel mumbled, still dazed.
"A punk like Ji-Ho would only go quiet after an embarrassment like what he went through if he was secretly planning to get some big-time payback. I try to always keep an eye on you whenever you leave the gym to see if anybody's trying to sneak you. After you left, I noticed some little punk tailing you. He tried blending in, but he stuck out trying to constantly keep pace with you. Dork probably thought he was Ezio Auditore. Ha ha! I decided to close early and come check up on you and Hana. It's good fortune that I did, but I definitely didn't see this coming…"
Rafiel looked around, panic rising in his chest. "Wait… wait… wait! Where is Hana?!"
"Calm down," Jae-Sun urged.
"Calm down? He's got my fucking sister! We have to find him. Before I blacked out, one of the goons said something about a hotel."
"That doesn't really narrow it down. Think, kid. Was there anything else?" Jae-Sun pressed.
"One of them mentioned something called the Golden Stag. Said he was gonna grab a drink," Rafiel recalled.
"The Stag? That's a bar just a few blocks down," Jae-Sun confirmed.
"Then let's go!" Rafiel shouted, determination filling his voice.
The two ran out into the night.
Meanwhile with Park Hana...
Hana was waking up from being unconscious, startled to find Ji-Ho kissing her.
"HMMF!!!" she protested.
Ji-Ho smiled down at her. "And the princess awakens through true love's kiss from her beloved prince charm—"
Hana cuts him off by spitting into his eye.
"Get the fuck back!" Hana yelled, trying to push him away.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ji-Ho screamed, stepping back in shock. He quickly calmed down. "Hana, I want you to know just how much I love you."
"Let me go, you fucking psychopath!" Hana yelled, struggling against her restraints.
Ji-Ho sighed, shoving a rag in Hana's mouth. "This will go a lot quicker if you don't interrupt me." He walked off the king-sized bed. "Hana, since the first day of middle school, you were all I could think about. Not just beauty, but intelligence and grace. A real woman. Nothing like the prissy, braindead fugly bimbos that roamed those halls. I knew all those years ago that you and I were meant to be!" His smile shifted to a look of scorn. "But then HE got in the way… that fucking monkey, Ggamgoongee, hanging around you all the fucking damn time!"
He slammed the air, veins bulging on his neck and forehead. "What about him was so interesting?! Huh?! I was taller, stronger, I had more money, better clothes… Do you even know how many girls wanted to fuck me?! DO YOU FUCKING KNOW?!"
He flexed his balled fists toward her. "Do you fucking know how many options I fucking had?! And I chose you… over everyone! I chose you out of every woman, and you didn't choose me back… Why? Is my love not enough for you? What's the reason you will choose that fucking AIDS monkey over me?! Tell me! Say it!!"
Hana was muffled, struggling to respond.
"Oh… sorry." Ji-Ho removed the gag.
Hana coughs and spits out the taste of the rag. "You really wanna know why?" she asked, chuckling.
"Rafi cares about me. He has always looked out for me, and even when he's scared or angry or tired, I know deep down he loves me. But with you, you just want me because you don't want anyone else to have me. You just want to feel like you're getting your way again.
That moment when I almost gave myself to you? That would have been the worst decision I could've ever made. It wasn't out of love; it was out of a painful belief that the one person who I thought loved me pushed me away."
Tears rolled down her face as she smiled. "But thank goodness that even in that moment, he proved me wrong and showed just how much he loved me. So if you wanna know the difference between you and him, here it is: the difference between you two is… I love him. I love Rafiel."
Ji-Ho's expression turned angry.
Crying heavily with a wide grin, Hana continued, "And there's only enough room for one man in my heart, and unfortunately for one of us, that man will never be you…"
Ji-Ho merely stood in silence.
"Fine… have it your way…" Ji-Ho said, grabbing Hana by her throat and beginning to squeeze tightly.
"Coughing and gasping," Hana struggled.
Ji-Ho began lifting her off the bed. "I tried to be nice. Remember that." He slammed Hana back on the bed, barely loosening his grip.
Hana wheezed, struggling to move with her arms and legs bound.
Ji-Ho leaned in close, continuing to choke her. "I was hoping it wouldn't end this way. I want you to know that. But if you aren't willing to give me your love…"
Hana looked up in horror as she felt his hand slide into the front of her panties.
Ji-Ho ripped off Hana's panties with a tear so hard that it left a red imprint on her waist. He kicked off his pants, standing with a bulge in his briefs. "Then I'll just take it…"