Going home

Jae Hyun's men cheered loudly as the fleet of SUVs drove away from the wreckage. Minho shrank in the passenger seat staring sightless out the car's heavily tinted windows, processing the shock and dread Jae Hyun had unleaded earlier. 

Jae Hyun took the driver seat, his veiny, strangely attractive hands holding the steering wheel as he drove along a winding road and onto the tarmac. Classic Jae Hyun was everything but bothered. However, he sensed that Minho was the opposite. 

"That was quite the show back there, eh?" he broke the silence that was beginning to become uncomfortable. "Had you going on for a bit, right?"

Minho couldn't bring himself to respond, because he was masking his dread while trying to stay calm before having a heart attack. He continued staring blindly into nothing. 

"Silent treatment now huh? Please tell me you're not still spooked about that little demo back there." He taunted him in mock disappointment.

"Well, congratulations." Minho finally managed to say, his voice barely above a strangled mumble. "You have officially lost your mind."

"You know you'd do well watching that mouth," he threatened. "Unless you have a sudden wish to walk all the way back"

Minho swallowed thickly, remaining silent and stifling whatever response the stupid part of his brain had formed. 

"That's what I thought." Jae Hyun said, curving his thin lips into a sneaky smirk as he turned his eyes back on the road. 

The rest of the drive was a tense, uncomfortable stretch of silence, the only thing they could hear was the revving engine sounds. When they finally came to a ranch-style home in a small valley, the SUV slowed to a halt. It was a serene place, surrounded by hills and groves of trees budding with pretty emerald shoots. 

"We're here." Jae Hyun finally broke the silence with a sense of forced delight, like some suburban dad coming from a softball game unlike the criminal he actually was.

Before the boy could do so much as ask where 'here' was, Jae Hyun had already hopped out of the car and was striding jovially towards the front porch. A few seconds later, an old couple opened the door beaming with smiles, as the woman opened her arms.

"Jae Hyun ah!" the woman cried out happily, forgetting her cane as she shuffled her way towards his grandson in a warm hug. "Look at you," she said, peppering him with kisses. "Your halmeoni missed you so much!"

"Halmeoni, Harabeoji…" He replied warmly as he hugged them back. This was another side of him that Minho never thought in a thousand years that he would see. "You didn't have to go through the trouble to come today baby."

"Pish posh!" The man―Jae Hyun's grandfather― waved his hand dismissively. "It's no trouble at all when my sweet grandson comes visiting, you are welcome here any time."

It was almost dreamlike to Minho that Jae Hyun would let someone pat his head and pull him into a hug. He was tender, and sweet, considering this was the same man who had just gladly celebrated blowing up an entire warehouse with a few houses around it like it was nothing. It was all too surreal for the still traumatized Minho to process. 

Jae Hyun didn't strike him as someone with actual human capacity, let alone being drawn out for such emotional greetings.

"I brought someone to meet you both."

With a wave, he signalled Minho to join him over at the porch. He took a step back away from his grandparents' view of the captive. Minho swallowed hard before making his way over, forcing a smile to hide the sheer terror he had built up in their wild ride.

"Halmeoni, Harabeoji, meet Minho."

That was the first time Jae Hyun ever called him by his name. Minho must have admitted there was something intriguing about it. Jae Hyun spoke with such ease that left Minho questioning a lot. Just who was this man?

"He's… ah…" he hesitated for a bit like he was thinking. "My business associates. I thought I'd tag him along halmeoni's barbecue"

Business associate? It just kept getting better. 

Did they even know their grandson was a kidnapper? 

The couple was happy, and their wrinkled faces beamed with happy smiles, as they gestured Minho to come closer to them, with the tender warmth of grandparents. 

"Oh you, poor dear," she cupped Minho's cheeks. "No need to be shy dear." She soothed him, patting them gently. "We don't bite here… Unless Jae Hyunnie has been misbehaving again." She turned to Jae Hyun with an almost stern face and smiled, shooting him a sly wink. 

"Is it the barbecue ready, I'm starving," Jae Hyun said jokingly. "I think we all are?"

"Oh, it's almost, almost… come inside, sit, sit!" she said, shuffling back into the house, waving her hand as she went through the doorway. 

Jae Hyun chuckled, and with a gentle shove, he led Minho up the porch steps through the door and into the house. If only Jae Hyun was human enough, he would know that this gentle side he was faking right now was the hospitality Minho needed when he first took him from the casino. 

 Not long after, the lady came back carrying a large tray filled with platters of grilled pork, beef, chicken and assorted vegetables

"Here you go, my dears… come on, eat." She said as she set the tray at the table. "I made all your favourites, Jae Hyunnie."

"It smells great, and looks good as always, halmeoni, thank you." Jae Hyun said, and for a second there Minho caught a sense of someone else beneath the tough criminal kingpin―a glimpse of the sweet little one this raging monster must have once been. 

"Minho, let's eat. I promise this barbecue isn't like any you've ever had before. He pulled out a chair, showing Minho to sit. 

Who was he fooling though? If only they had started like this from the beginning, a ton of things might have played out a lot differently. Minho almost bought his gentle charade, knowing it would disappear almost as quickly as it surfaced. 

"Well, dig in before it gets cold," Jae Hyun said. 

Minho eyes darted between him and the meal in front of him, dumbfounded at his duality. Finally, he reached out and scooped up a few skewers of grilled pork and a tiny serving of rice. 

Deep down, he was fighting the urge to make eye contact with Jae Hyun's grandparents, deeply humiliated by his own circumstances. Just how could he look these sweet humans in the eye when he knew just how twisted their grandson was?

Minho was still hesitant when Jae Hyun lifted a skewer to his lips, and the boy took a lazy bite of the tender pork with smoky seasoning.

One bite was all it took. 

Unaware, Minho let out a moan of satisfaction, the bold flavours taking him by surprise.

"Hah! Told you! Nothing beats halmeoni's barbecue." 

Still chuckling, Jae Hyun reached to ruffle a strand of hair off Minho's face in an almost warm gesture, completely ignoring how the boy flinched. 

"Go on, eat up some more." He kept urging him, something that felt like a false sense of warmth to Minho. It was almost like a parent encouraging their picky child to clear their plate. Was it an attempt at putting a show of how good he was, and for what?

"You know you never know when we'll come back to see Halmeoni again…"

This entire charade Jae Hyun was pulling was fake, or so it felt, but Minho couldn't hide the fact that he was hungry. And truly, the food tasted heavenly. It was easily the tastiest he could ever recall eating in a long time. 

So, he began to eat, slowly at first but with the hunger pangs kicking in, he kept reaching for the food with less restraint by the minute. 

"I almost forgot how good halmeoni's barbecue tastes." Jae Hyun said, "It's been a while since I last visited." 

The comment made his grandma light up with a smile as she got up to clear the table, but Jae Hyun waved her off. It was only in order, despite them being guests there.

"Let me help with those. Get some rest now, I'd like to have a little chat with my friend here."

As they walked off, Jae Hyun turned at Minho, smiling. They kept looking at each other shortly after which Jae Hyun broke the silence. What was he smiling for anyway? Over the past few days, Minho had come to learn that nothing good came with that smile, and he couldn't help but think he was up to something shady again.

"You know," he slumped back into his seat, twisting his hair into a bun. "Tell me, do you think I chose this life?"