Mute
Mute
He had effectively ended their friendship and had hoped that it would make him feel triumphant. But the image of Mina's tears were distracting him, making him feel even more miserable and also, envious towards his rival. Both of them were trapped in the web of a woman they could not reach.
How ironic.
"Young Master."
Haejong looked up to see Oh Youngdo, his late grandfather's most trusted advisor. Well into his fifties, Oh Youngdo had been by his grandfather, Lin Cheng's side even since he was a teenager. On Lin Cheng's orders, Youngdo had carried out many executions and smuggling. After the Jang's killed Cheng, Youngdo had been the only person Haejong could trust with the daily operations of the business.
"What is it?" he asked calmly.
"I have bad news," Youngdo said in a grim tone. "Eagle was killed by Jang Kanji."
Haejong's eyes narrowed. "Go on," he said.
"Eagle was at a cafe with his girlfriend," Youngdo went on. "And the Jang family men, who were posing as customers, shot and killed him."
He handed his boss a couple of pictures. Haejong took them and saw the bloodied body of Eagle, one of his comrades in the business. They had completely annihilated him to the point that his half his face had been blown up. But there was one particular picture which made Haejong frown.
"Who's this?" he asked, pointing at a woman wearing skimpy clothes.
"That's Yeonjoo, his girlfriend," Youngdo replied. "She owns a few red light places downtown and had been dating Eagle for a while."
"Yeonhoe," Haejong muttered, quoting Mina from the dinner party when they met this girl. Looks like Kanji has been fraternizing with her for a reason, he realized. She was his spy.
"Keep an eye on this girl," he ordered. "Don't do anything to her but tail her. If needed, blackmail her into being a double spy. Use whatever methods needed but make sure she brings us information from the Jang's. If there is anything which ties them to the murder of my grandfather, then we'll declare war."
Youngdo's eyes narrowed. "Sir, won't it be more prudent to kill her?" he asked. "She's a threat to us."
"It is more reasonable to kill her," Haejong agreed. "But we still don't have any proof that the Jang's killed my grandfather and until we get the real culprit, we can't engage in a war. Remember this, Youngdo. We're criminals, not monsters. My grandfather was a cold hearted ass but he never killed an innocent person. And we won't regress to the level of a barbarian either."
"Master Cheng indeed followed his own rules when it came to handling the business," Youngdo replied. "But he was ruthless to his enemies when he needed to be. No one stood a chance against his impeccable judgement. Even though he was a man of few words-"
At that point, Haejong let out a sarcastic laughter. "Few words?" he snickered. "My grandfather had no words. He was a mute who happened to possess the soul of steel. People followed him because he ruled over the underworld with an iron grip. He did not speak, he acted on his orders. That's what made him so dangerous and respected."
"I don't intend to be as frightening as him," Haejong went on. "Our hands are already dirty with blood so it's too late to be saints. But whatever happens, we won't be the monster people want us to be. Got it?"
With that, he dismissed Youngdo and returned to his book. The latter bowed and backed away. Once he was gone, Haejong sighed and put the book away. Mina's words had been echoing in his ears for the past few days. No matter how much he wanted to concentrate on the business, he kept on holding himself back from being as ruthless as he used to be.
"Just start being yourself and the monster will die on its own…"
Was it that easy? Can he wash his hands off the murders he had committed?
He leaned against the couch, lost in thoughts.
…..
Youngdo stepped outside the mansion. He glanced around to make sure that he was out of earshot before placing a call.
"Yosef," he said. "I have news from the Young Master."
"Yes sir," a shrill voice came from the other end. "Did you receive the orders from the Young Master?"
"The Young Master is very upset over the murder of his grandfather," Youngdo claimed. "And now Eagle's death has also angered him. The Jang's have gone too far."
"But if we don't act, they'll kill more of our men!" Yosef exclaimed. "They'll wipe out our entire faction-"
"Which is why Jang Kanji needs to be taken out," Youngdo stated. "The Young Master also agrees however, he doesn't want a bloodshed. If that happens, we'll be doomed. There's another way…"
He glanced at the picture of Yeonjoo and smirked. "There's a girl named Yeonjoo who is double timing us. She is spying on us for the Jang's. I'll send you her picture."
He paused before saying, "Kill her. And frame Jang Kanji for it so that the police arrest him. That way, he's out of our way and our faction will be able to take out their head, Jang Jason."
"Are you sure?" Yosef asked. "This is a big bargain."
"It's what our old boss would have done as well," Youngdo stated. "After all, Lin Cheng was not very forgiving towards his enemies. The Jang's have lived far too long. This time, we'll take them out in one go. If the son is locked up then the father will be vulnerable."
Yosef sighed and said, "Alright. We'll take care of it."
He hung up the phone. Youngdo put his mobile away and grinned. Old man Cheng was probably thrashing in his grave, crying over what had happened. If everything went as per Youngdo's plan, then very soon the Lin family's businesses would be turned over to him.
"You can cry and cry but who's gonna listen to you, you fucking mute?" he spat at his old master.
…..
"Casper, why do you look so sad?" Jina asked. She had noticed that the ghost had been unusually still for the past few days, only responding when she addressed him. They were at her room where she was playing with Yumi while Casper was in a corner, sulking.
"He's sad because no matter how many times he visits his place of murder, he never finds any clue," Yumi sighed. "Old man, you've been dead for over a year now. Do you really think that a clue will be present there? After all this time?"
"Do you remember anything at all, Cas?" Jina asked gently. Casper raised his right hand while tapping the wrist with two fingers.
"A watch which said two o'clock?" Jina frowned. "But loads of people wear watches."
Casper made some gestures at her to communicate what he remembered.
"A watch with a golden dragon in it?" Yumi asked. "Are you sure?"
Casper nodded. For some reason, Yumi looked a little excited. She turned to Jina and said, "I know someone who has one of those watches! I remember him saying that it was a limited edition watch!"
"Who?" Jina asked while Casper's ears perked up as well.
"Ahn Jaewan!" Yumi revealed.