The Calamity Continues

“Hey, it took you long enough,” Jinsu grumpily admonished her best friend's tardiness as she hopped into the car. 

“Where are your pants? Why are you hurt? Did you drink and get into a fight again.” Jinsu got a shiver down her spine when she heard that voice. 

“Sup hyung*, I'd rather not be on camera right now, I'm indecent” she closed her legs together, shifting her body to the side to try and cover up her pantslessness. Her eldest brother was glaring at her from the screen in between the driver and passenger's seat. Taeyun sighed and shook his head, Jinsu sent her friend; Gijeong who was sitting next to her in the passenger's seat, a nasty glare accusing him of friend-code betrayal. 

“Gijeong, please just get her home safely. I won't press for answers now, we'll talk over brunch when you've sobered up. Goodnight” Taeyun said before ending the call. 

“Where to sir?” Gijeong's driver asked.

“You heard the man, take the lady home.” Jinsu leaned her head against the window and looked out at the passing streetlights as they sped through the city. By the time they reached her luxury apartment she'd fallen asleep and Gijeong had to carry her all the way to bed. On his way he was greeted by the night shift security guard who was getting ready to head home. Gijeong had asked his driver to head home since he'd be staying at Jinsu's today to make sure she was alright. While he entered the keypad combination on her door she stirred awake and he let her down. He didn't bother to turn the lights on in the apartment and was taken by the hand and led straight to her bed for cuddles.

 “Jinsu, wash your face first at least, you look like a raccoon that has gone dumpster-diving behind a stripclub” he pointed out, altering her course towards the bathroom. “Also you stink of smoke and booze” he added as he turned the water on for her. “Sit down in the shower so you don't fall over, I'll get you some pajamas” he said as he helped her remove her jacket and left, trusting her to remove the rest. This wasn't the first or even the tenth time Gijeong had taken care of Jinsu like this, he knew his way around her place better than his own. He went to her dresser and took out some comfortable looking underwear and then picked out one of her oversized sleeping t-shirts and brought them to the bathroom where he found her half asleep on the shower floor. “Jinsu... Jinsu.. Jin-Jin'” he cooed at her to wake up. She lazily opened her eyes, realising where she was.

“Man, adrenaline crashes suck” she mumbled as he helped her get up. He noticed she had several new bruises and a couple of scrapes on her arms and legs. 

“Sit here and dry off, I'll get the first aid kit, I'll clean the cuts” he said as he reached for the top shelf in the bathroom's medicine cabinet and fished out the disinfectant. It didn't take the medically skilled Gijeong long to patch her up and get themselves both into bed. As usual Jinsu was stuck to him with her head resting on his chest as her pillow, listening to his heartbeat. She'd already gone back to sleep and he was left staring at her glow in the dark stickers which were scattered across pretty much the whole ceiling of her bedroom. 

So the dark does still scare her. He thought to himself with the sinking feeling inside his gut and made sure to hug her a little tighter before he too joined the land of dreams.

“Morning sleeping beauty, I thought I should wake you up since you're soon going to have brunch with Taeyun.” Jinsu groggily looked up at her doting friend Gijeong who was unlawfully bright this morning. She gave him a caveman-like grunt before curling up under the covers. Gijeong looked at her shape under the sheets and deadpan said “I will tickle you if you do not get up now.” As if she were a magical door who heard the magical words she shot out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. 

“Did you already shower” she called from the bathroom, noticing that it was warm and humid inside. 

“Yeah you were stuck to me all night so I smelled of cigarette and other party crap” he replied as he moved towards the kitchen to start up the smoothie maker which he'd held off on until now so as not to unpleasantly wake Jinsu up with the ear-bleeding sound. 

When she got out of the shower her hair was still dripping wet and she was leaving a trail behind her. “You're not meeting your brother like that right?" he jokingly asked, referring to her attire which consisted of underwear and a towel hanging over her shoulders, strategically covering up her boobs. 

“Gimme a sip” she ignored his comment and snatched his smoothie glass from him to drink the delicious blend of berries. “I have to head out for work soon but I'll drop you off at brunch first, Taeyun already sent me the address” he diligently presented her with this morning's schedule. Jinsu let out a loud groan 

“I don't feel like getting chewed out, especially for something that wasn't my fault” she whined. 

“How is getting wasted and running around the city in your underwear not your fault?” Gijeong couldn't wait to hear a tall tale of her adventures. 

“Seriously though, I ended up in some real sketchy shit you know. Some wannabe gangsters were trying to kidnap me when this guy from the Downtown Animals came literally crashing from the sky.” Gijeong's ears perked up at the mention of the gang.  

“Those freaks who wear animal masks and run rooftops at night?” Jinsu nodded. “Everyone called him Wolf, I suppose it was cause he wore a wolf mask. Apparently the guys trying to kidnap me were doing it as some kind of gang initiation for the Downtown Animals so that Wolf guy tried to take me too but then... things... eh... happened” she scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she thought back to the whole ridiculous situation on the car hood that had occured. “Anyway, Wolfie was being chased by some street thugs and I shot one of them and he threw a knife in this one dude's eye and then shit went down, I was in a car chase where I wasn't in a car but like chased by a car, then Wolfie picked me up and jumped across buildings like he was fucking Spiderman. Oh! And one of those thug bastards ripped my skirt which was how I was left in just my underwear.” Gijeong was having a hard time following her absurd story of last night's events. 

“Wait. What? You shot someone? He threw a knife? More importantly though, those animal heads are like terminators, they don't just stop chasing someone they've locked onto, how did you even escape?” He was more than just a little bewildered by the whole situation. 

“I dunno, I swiped his phone to message you then I just left” she shrugged. 

“And he just let you leave?” he asked and she nodded in return. 

“Did you like... give him a really good blowjob or something?” Jinsu bonked him on the head. “Seriously what the fuck did you do to make him just let you go like that? Did he like die or something?” Before the conversation continued Gijeong's phone rang, it was his driver who had messaged that he'd arrived and was ready to pick them up. 

“You shot someone.... And outran a car, then got carried around by the Downtown Animals’ Wolf and then he just let you go…” Just like Gijeong, Taeyun was having a hard time believing her story. 

“I'd never lie to you hyung*” she lied as she ate a croissant. “Except for when I do of course but not this time” she added between her voracious chewing. Taeyun shook his head and sighed heavily. 

“Do you know who specifically wanted you from the DTAs? Or the names or descriptions of those three that tried to kidnap you. Anything?” he asked his younger sister. 

“One of the guys had long hair with a bad blond dye job, then this cowardly guy but they weren't that problematic, it was the big asian guy that was kinda dicey, he was geo powered. Just look at my poor hand, this is what happened when I punched him in the face! she held up her injured hand which Gijeong had bandaged for her last night. 

“I'll look into those three and find out more about the DTAs, their presence is becoming problematic and especially since they've started increasing their numbers. Stay far away from them, their extreme pack mentality and overly bold and violent provocations are becoming dangerous. I will hire more guards for your apartment until this matter is resolved and until it is Tae Min is to stay with you at all times. I hope the guest room is in good condition for his stay?”

• Hyung (형) : Korean honorific for older brother (typically used by males)

Taeyun had completely taken over the conversation. Jinsu glanced over at Tae Min; her bodyguard, who was standing near the cafe's entrance, guarding it. “Can't you give me Daehee, you know Tae Min and I don't get along. Also Daehee isn't as... talkative as Mr. Selfimportant'” she whispered to her brother. 

“No, Tae Min will remain by your side at all times and this is not a negotiation. But I can have Daehee come over every-now-and-then to check up on you.” Taeyun looked at the cafe's clock and announced that it was time for him to leave. He called over his bodyguard, Daehee and left with him after bidding his little sister goodbye and paying for the bill. Jinsu sighed and to her dismay Tae Min came to sit down opposite her while she finished her brunch. 

“I'll be sure to take care of you and keep you safe so please do not make my job harder by running away” he asked with a charming fake smile on his face.

I'd rather go on another rooftop rollercoaster than stay with you, you slimy fucker she mentally cussed him out. 

“Can you believe this Gi?! Tae Min! Tae Min is going to live at my place! I'm going to throw myself out of the window before I have to live with that sneaky rat fuck!” Jinsu had been confined to her apartment until further notice and was now pacing her room while in a video call with Gijeong. 

“Yeah, he has a terrible personality but I do understand why he's tasked with being your bodyguard, he is undeniably good at what he does... well as long as you don't constantly give him the slip.” Jinsu smacked her hands down on her desk.

“Don't defend the enemy Gi! He is an awful bastard through and through!” Gijeong sighed and agreed with her if only to appease her anger. As she vented to him she got another call, “It's Ji-hyung, I'm going to take his call, sorry about that. I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye Giiiiiiii!” she waved him goodbye before answering her other older brother's call. 

“Took your sweet time to answer me.” She saw Jisuk's bandage-covered face appear on her screen. 

“Wow, I don't remember giving a mummy my number” she said in astonishment. “Fuck you, some dumbasses from Qīnglóng picked a fight with some of my guys so I had to teach them a lesson” he scoffed. 

“Looks like you got the lesson though” she teased. "That's cause five more guys jumped me while I was dealing with the first four. Fuck, I wasn't even allowed to use my powers cause dad and hyung have really been hounding my ass lately cause of last months incident.” Jinsu flashed him a cheeky smile and told him she'd avenge him if he was too pussy to fight them without his powers. After some banter and getting to say hi to Subin, Jisuk's best friend and bodyguard.

Jinsu’s brother told her he was going to be doing some digging on her attempted kidnapping case. “Hang tight, I'll get those pricks who think they can get away with messing with our family. I'll teach them a thing or two about looking down on us.” Jinsu was touched by his words but she wasn't going to tell him that 

“I'll believe that... that Subin will get the job done since she's actually reliable.” Jinsu heard Subin cackle in the background and even tease Jisuk about her comment. Jisuk began yelling back at her then he begrudgingly ended the call. Jinsu leaned back on her bed and looked up at her constellation of glow in the dark stickers. 

This was when she heard a sudden knock on her window. Surprised by the sound since she was on the tenth floor she looked out of her bedroom window to see a wolf mask staring back at her. Jinsu jumped back upon her discovery of the mystery knocking. 

This motherfucker! 

Jinsu immediately drew the curtains shut but as she walked away from the window the loud knocking turned into banging and she quickly re-opened the curtains and motioned for him to be quiet. She glanced over at her door, it would be bad if Tae Min heard him banging considering the situation. She turned back to him and waved him away but he wouldn't budge. “Fucking leave, my bodyguard is in the livingroom!” She hissed angrily at him but he held his hand up to his ear to gesture that he couldn't hear her. Immediately she switched to english sign language and signed for him to fuck off but he just stared at her in confusion. Jinsu hung her head low in exasperation. She weighed the options of ignoring him, letting him in and calling Tae Min. If she ignored him Tae Min would come in and they'd fight and she really wasn't interested in remodeling her apartment. The other option would be to let him in and talk but this option could lead to a brawl but she had a feeling that he wasn't here for a fight. She decided to go with her gut and opened the window ever so slightly while staying on guard. “Stay out there, I'll listen to what you have to say from here” she warned him but he didn't listen and shoved his hand between the opening and slid the window wide open and hopped inside of her room. Jinsu slammed her window shut and was about to yell at him but bit her tongue, she would still rather deal with him than Tae Min. “What the fuck do you want?” she demanded in a hushed snarl. 

Wolf walked around her room, checking it out, “This really isn't what I thought your room would look like.” Jinsu was about to rip her own hair out in frustration but took a few deep breaths.

“Why are you here? Surely you're not dumb enough to try and kidnap me from my own room while there are guards everywhere in and around my apartment complex? Or you know, my powered personal bodyguard just outside my door.” Wolf looked at her, the mask's cut out holes for the eyes were completely obscured and resembled two black abysses. 

“Actually I came to warn you that the bunch from last night found out who you are and they're currently staking out the clubs and bars that you frequent, waiting for you to show up. It’s not like they can find a guy whose face they’ve never seen.” Jinsu circled around him, she was still on edge with him here and stopped next to her door to give herself and easy escape if he tried anything. 

“Why would you care about them coming after me, even if you were worried about me ratting you out, I literally know nothing more about you than them. Besides, do you really believe they'll be able to get away with hurting me? Hell do you think they'd even be able to get to me? Especially since I'm under house arrest.” Wolf looked at her, she could almost see a smile on his simplistic wolf mask. 

“Well you see those guys were recently swallowed up by the El Culebrón cartel which if I recall correctly have some beef with one of your brothers. Basically they see you as an easy target compared to the Shin-guk heir or the Ripper.” Jinsu felt like he was laying out a trap for her, he was sewing seeds, trying to entice her to take the bait which was whatever he was going to ask of her. “See, my group has some issues with the cartel as well, they recently... crossed us-” Jinsu stopped him right there. 

“Get to the point, you're being all skeevy, it's creeping me the fuck out.” Wolf commended her for being straightforward and to the point. 

“Be bait for the DTAs, lure the El Culebróns out of their streets and into Downtown. If you do this you'll no longer be hunted by us which will give you back your freedom.” His offer was now on the table for her to take or leave.

So Wolf wants to dangle me in front of the cartel to draw them into his group’s home territory. It’s not a bad idea to bring the fight where he has the home advantage. “They'd never expect DTA to be in collusion with Shin-guk, especially since they're probably aware of the tension between our two groups.” Jinsu was mulling things over in her head. She was well aware that this could all be a trap to kidnap her, or to use her as both bait and hostage which would be the worst case scenario. She understood however why the group wouldn't want to start a war with Shin-guk, at least not yet since it wouldn't be advantageous for them to do so while warring with El Culebrón which had recently started dealing tainted drugs outside of their own territory. “I understand the benefits for your group in this, as well as for mine but your people win far more than mine in this and we risk a lot more. This deal isn't favourable.”

Wolf sat down on her bed and laid out the second half of his proposal. “We're not interested in the cartel's territory, we are trying to make an example out of them for crossing us. If we succeed and the El Culebrón falls, well then their territory is all yours to take. Surely this sweetens the pot for your side a little bit? And if that isn't enough DTA will owe you one.” The moment he finished his last sentence Jinsu realised something, “Me, yeah, you'll owe me but not my group. You don't want an alliance with us but with me specifically, while it's true my family won't listen to you after your failed kidnapping attempt and will probably seek to destroy you over the cartel. Neither my father nor brother would agree to these terms as they represent the group…” things were starting to fall into place now. The one who was on bad terms with El Culebrón was Jisuk, fighting the cartel for his personal vendetta wasn’t enough to make a group as large as her father’s to make a move. “Make the deal with me and become indebted to me. Succeeding in this will greatly increase my standing and value in the group and the higher my standing in the group the more freedom I get!” She exclaimed euphorically. 

“Jinsu are you alright in there?” Tae Min asked, knocking on her door after hearing her outburst. 

“Don't come in! I'm undressed right now, also if you hear loud noises it’s cause I’m watching porn! So don’t you dare come in okay?! I’ll be locking my door now!” she loudly announced herself to keep Tae Min out of her hair. 

“Erm… Alright…” she heard her bodyguard shuffle away from the door and she quickly proceeded to lock it before returning her gaze to Wolf. 

“So what kind of porn are we watching?” Wolf asked as he moved over to her computer and began typing in the name of a pornsite. 

“Shut up, this buys us time, and covers up any noises you make when you climb back out of that window of yours” she snapped irritably but her anger was soon forgotten by a phone call. 

“Fuck, I gotta take this” she said before picking up. Wolf heard the thundering music coming from the call and someone slurring heavily on the other end. “Matt, the fuck? You're already drunk calling me? It's not even-" she turned to look at her clock “Eleven yet. What kind of party starts at nine?” Matvei switched on his camera but it was facing away from his face so Jinsu had to give his drunken-ass some directions to flip the camera.

 “Jinjoooo! My man! You gotta get down here, I'm at a stripclub called 4-Play, you need to come and check it out. They're giving out free drinks for completing challenges!” While this all sounded great to Jinsu she was currently in the middle of something more important. 

“4-Play huh... I was planning on taking you there for our first date” Wolf teasingly interjected himself into the conversation. 

“Wow, Jinjoo, don't turn around but there's a guy behind you with a puppy play mask on!” Jinsu rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

“I already told you that I can't party with you, I'm literally Rapunzel trapped in a tower” she responded. While she didn’t feel like dealing with Matt right now she was worried about him being out partying alone, he had always been the destructive and reckless kind. “Right, right, riiiiiiiight! Don't worry I'll bust Minsie's balls and rescue you, hang in there Jinnie-joop!” He just wouldn't stop calling her by ridiculous nicknames when he was drunk. 

“It's fine, don't worry about me, just take it easy on the drinks aight? By the way, was there something you needed?” She was curious whether this call was simply a drunken impulse or if he actually wanted something from her. 

“Riiiight, see there are some bastards looking for you, they want your number but I told them you're too good for them” he interrupted himself with a hiccup then turned the camera so Jinsu and Wolf could see who he was referring to. 

“Fuck, those are the cartel guys from last night.” She bit her lip nervously while Matt kept on acting the fool and hopped onto the stripper podium so he could join some dancing girls. “Sweeten that pot for me again and take me to 4-Play. Surely those cartel guys won't attack us in Animal territory. I don’t like how they’re keeping tabs on Matt.” While Matt was part of the Russian mob, he wasn’t exactly under their protection.

“My bike is parked near here, what do you say to an evening joyride?” Jinsu flashed him a small smile before telling Matt to stay where he was because she was on her way.

“I haven't spent much time in Downtown so I will be relying on you for directions!” Jinsu began stripping out of her pajamas to Wolf's absolute, unadulterated delight. “Geez, turn around at least” she snapped, throwing her shirt at his face. After changing into appropriate covert attire she connected her speakers to her computer and began playing porn videos loudly. “For the record these terms better be legit or dad’s gonna go on a warpath against you, and my brother is basically just waiting for a provocation to move on your guys.” Wolf was well aware of the power of her father’s group should the worst come to pass. 

“Don’t worry princess, you’ll be safe in my arms” his voice was filled with condescending amusement. 

“I’m really not reassured by that” she sighed in reply while she laced up her signature ball-busting steel toed boots. His demeanor changed and his tone turned more serious for a moment. 

“Waging war with Shin-guk really wouldn’t be ideal for my group just as you mentioned and for what it’s worth I’m not interested in babysitting you should others not agree with me about not using you as a hostage.” She’d finished preparing herself for her excursion and after that little speech of his she felt a slight bit better. Jinsu glanced out of the window from her tenth floor apartment. 

“I cannot fucking believe I am doing this again.... The things I do for that idiot.” 

Wolf picked her up in a bridal carry and jumped up onto the window ledge and asked “Shall we go princess?” Jinsu took another look down below her at the death drop below her once more “Maybe I should bring a puke bag with me.”