The Other Happy Hour

The Magna was loud and thick with smoke as Jae Hyun made his way inside, even though it wasn't even dusk yet. Depravity was a round-the-clock business in there and Jae Won's customers didn't care about the time they showed up at the club as long as there was someone to pour them a drink and grind against them. The Magna made it all possible for them.

"Hey, Jae Hyun… over here." That was the voice of Jae Won calling him, not that he even turned to confirm it. He ignored the voice and kept walking. Jae Won rushed after him and popped in front of him, blocking the rest of his way.

"What brings you here?" Jae Won asked, shoving his hands in his pocket and leveling a look at Jae Hyun.

"Looking for Choi." Jae Hyun replied as Jae Won's eyes scanned him like he was running some sort of inspection. Jae Hyun had built a reputation of his own and if the customers were to enjoy their stay without fears of them falling dead at Jae Hyun's slightest inconvenience, their safety was to be guaranteed.

"Choi's a dumbass." Jae Won replied, jerking his head up to Jae Hyun. "With the way he's handling business, he's going to land you into deep shit if you don't handle him real soon."

Jae Hyun knew that Choi was careless and in their line of business, nothing would ever work out correctly with an idiot like him.

He cocked his head like he was waiting for more information from Jae Won.

There were times Jae Hyun could've sworn someone hated Choi more than he did. However, there wasn't much he could do, given Choi was a member of the minor family, and to be in their good graces, Jae Hyun had to put up with Choi.

Jae Won had known better than to try and sever their ties, because the safety of the Magna girls was partly in Choi's hands, leaving him no options. That was just before Jae Hyun swooped in to save him from the mess.

"I'm working on that." Jae Hyun replied, moving Jae Won out of the way heading to the Chester seat, and making himself comfortable.

"You're sure?" Jae Won asked, almost concerned

"Let me worry about that. Just focus on what it is you do here." Jae Hyun replied, helping himself to a cigar. Shrugging, Jae won called one of his waiters over.

"Hey, can you do me a favour?" Jae Hyun asked.

Knitting his brows together Jae Won narrowed his eyes, looking at Jae-Hyun intently for an explanation.

"I want to know who he's talking to, especially about me." Jae Hyun continued in a low tone. "He's been really sneaky lately and right now, I wouldn't put anything past him."

As expected, the line was officially drawn in the sand, because Jae Hyun had humiliated Choi in the presence of his customer. Of course, his ego was hurt, and it made sense that he would seek some sort of retribution for it.

"Whatever you say, Jae Hyun." Jae Won replied, getting to his feet and turning to leave. Jae Hyun also followed suit, getting up and heading towards the basement.

"Jae Hyun," Eungoo, one of Choi's men called, shoving his gun back to its holster.

"Is Choi here?" Jae Hyun asked.

"He just left," Eungoo replied curtly. "He said he'll be back in an hour or two."

Just when Jae Hyun turned to exit the basement, the voices of girls whimpering caught his attention. He made sense of the voices, and anger shot up in his veins. That was the one reason he could never trust Choi with such jobs.

"Tell me those aren't the other batch Choi picked up," Jae Hyun said looking at Eungoo and pointing at the door.

Eungoo did not respond. He didn't have to. One look at him and Jae Hyun already knew it was Choi's idea to bring them over for the so-called training–training that was meant to satisfy his men. Also, Choi wanted to exploit the girls for just enough for his selfish reasons before hauling them to wherever they were supposed to go.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Jae Hyun latched the door and let himself in. Inside were a bunch of girls scattered across the room, some huddled together and some laying on thin soiled blankets that were strewn all over the floor.

"Who's that one?" Jae Hyun asked, pointing at the girl who had huddled herself into a lump in the corner.

"Oh, that one? She's a wild one, I think we finally got through her." Eungoo said, jerking his chin towards the direction of the girl.

The girl barely had any clothes on, just underwear and a torn bra whose straps hung beside her shoulders. Given the gaunt circles under her eyes, she looked like she had been through a rough ordeal. Her eyes were fixed at one point, almost as if she was blankly staring at the ceiling, and drool slid free on the side of her cheek.

That's how Eungoo and his mates 'got through' the ones that deemed stubborn.

"Oh, you like them young? That explains why you haven't married yet. You know…you should have told me earlier. I'll save one from the next batch for you."

"Get out of my way." Jae Hyun said, pushing Eungoo away and walking towards the girl at the corner. The conscious ones were ridden with fear, and they shrieked and hauled themselves as far away from Jae Hyun as they could get.

Perching beside her, Jae Hyun scanned the lump of the girl huddled in the corner. Her wrists had been rubbed raw, and her elbows had track marks and dried blood. She looked dead. But Jae had seen enough to know she was still breathing. At least for now. Whatever huddled in the corner was a shell of a girl that had been used, drugged, and beaten to an unsalvageable point.

There wasn't a thing left to save of her.

Jae Hyun pursed his lips and dragged a piece of a soiled blanket to the girl's tummy. He could hear Eungoo's footsteps approach fast from behind him, but that was the least of his concerns.

"Jae…shit, no." Eungoo called out. Upholstering his gun, Jae Hyun jammed it onto the blanket and fired a round, something that sent the girls screaming and running around.

"Fuck, Jae Hyun what was that for?" Eungoo asked, facepalming himself as he watched Jae Hyun get back up to his feet.

"Don't ask me stupid questions. And you got a day to move the rest of the girls out of here." Jae Hyun said, pointing at Eungoo with his gun.

"Why'd you kill that one?"

"You wanna question me?" Jae Hyun lifted his still smoking gun,, aiming it on the side of Eungoo's head, something that made him whimper and curl himself.

"No, s–sir…I'm sorry." Eungoo said, squirming back cautiously enough to not tip off Jae Hyun's anger far much worse than it had already gotten. He could just as easily have wound up with a bullet in his head.

"That's what I thought." Jae Hyun said, pushing Eungoo out of his way and making his exit.

"What do I do with the dead one?" Eungoo asked, pointing at the corner.

Jae Hyun shot him a stare that didn't need an explanation. Eungoo and Choi were stupid enough to haul a bunch of girls in a basement and rough them up to an unrecognizable point, so how he didn't know what to do with a dead girl didn't make much sense to him.

Eungoo raised his arms in surrender as Jae Hyun marched up the stairs, making his exit. He shoved his gun back to its holster. People cleared out, making way for him as he approached the entrance. It was one of those times that no one could even dare stand in his way.

"Keep me informed on what I asked you." Jae Hyun said to Jae Won, reaching over for a shot on the bar top. "The sooner I know what Choi's up to, the earlier I can get to the bottom of it."

Jae Won looked at him in bewilderment, because given Jae Hyun's look, he couldn't help but think something had gone awry in the basement. However, he didn't dare to ask. Jae Hyun turned heading for the door.

"You're leaving already?" Jae Won asked, evading the question that he intended to ask.

Jae Hyun replied with a curt nod, pushing the door and stepping outside the Magna.