Part 21
Ji Won walked down the aisle looking at the 5 new candidates. He nodded his head as he studied them.
“Pretty good,” he said to them. “Alright,” he clapped his hands for attention. “All of you know how it’s done. Jae Jin and Jae Duc will jump each of you in. If you’re still standing after 5 minutes, then welcome to SechsKies.”
Only 2 of the 5 guys lasted when Jae Jin and Jae Duc were done beating them up. “Okay,” said Sung Hoon. The two newest members to join is—“
“Wait!” shouted a voice, interrupting Sung Hoon. Everyone looked over to see who it was.
Ji Won stared at the young boy who was walking towards them. ‘What the hell? This kid looks like Mina!’ he thought. ‘I must be losing it. How come I keep seeing her today?’
Sung Hoon looked at the new boy curiously. “Yes? What do you want little man?”
I looked at Sung Hoon. ‘Gosh, he developed an attitude’, I thought. I took a deep breath. This is it. “I want to join SechsKies.”
A guy I recognized as Jang Su Won busted out laughing. He placed his hand on top of my head. “You? How old are you boy? 15? 16? And how tall are you now? 5’?”
I moved his hand for him. “No. I’m 18 and I’m not 5’, I’m 5’3.” That remark made all the other members laugh, except Ji Won. I looked at him curiously and realized he was checking me out.
‘Oh no’, I thought. ‘Please don’t recognize me’.
Ji Won held up his hand for the others to stop laughing. “Hey, if he wants a chance, then we’ll give it to him.”
Then he turned to face me. I felt my heart thumping loud and prayed he couldn’t hear it. He placed his hand on my shoulder. Dang, he smells good, I thought as I tried to suppress a smile.
“Look kid,” said Ji Won to me. “You have to be jumped in to join. These 2 guys (pointing to Jae Jin and Jae Duc) will kick the crap out of you for 5 minutes. If you’re still standing, you’re in.”
I nodded my head. I knew I had to last because I’m doing it all for Ji Won. I stood there as Jae Duc and Jae Jin began to hit me. Jae Jin threw the first punch and it gave me instant pain. He’s even stronger than my stepmom, I thought. Jae Duc kicked me and I was knocked to the ground but I kept pulling myself up.
Ji Won looked at the helpless boy who was struggling to stand up. He doesn’t understand why but when he looks at the boy, images of Mina replaced him. Right now in his eyes, it looked like it was Mina being beaten up by Jae Jin and Jae Duc. He couldn’t help it.
“Stay down!” he yelled to the boy. Everyone stared at Ji Won. Both Jae Jin and Jae Duc stopped hitting the boy because they were surprised that Ji Won was being nice out of nowhere.
I heard Ji Won yelling for me to stay down. My ears listened but my legs wouldn’t. I refused to stay down. No matter how many times they hit me or how hard, I managed to get up. Finally 5 minutes was over and I was still standing.
“Am I in?” I asked in a weak voice. I saw Ji Won staring at me with a surprised expression.
“Yes, you’re in.” he said patting my shoulder. I smiled and fainted into his arms.
Ji Won held the boy, surprised. He realized the boy had fainted. Usually he would have let go if someone fainted on him, but this time he held on tight.
The other 5 Kies members looked and the 2 new recruits looked at Ji Won with queeried eyes. “Uh, hyung,” said Sung Hoon, as he patted Ji Won on the shoulder.
“What?” asked Ji Won, as he continued holding the boy.
“What should we do about the new recruits?”
“Give them instructions and show them to their rooms. We’ll have a meeting tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
They all left but once in a while, they all would glance back looking at Ji Won, who was carrying the boy in the other direction.
Part 22
Slowly I began to regain my consciousness and I woke up. I looked around and realized I was in the biggest room in the Nam Hotel. The Presidential Suite.
“What am I doing in here?” I asked myself. Then suddenly the chair in front of me spun around. Ji Won was sitting in it. I stared at him with wide eyes. I started to panic because I was all alone with him in the room.
Ji Won gave me a sideways glance. “You okay?” he asked. I nodded my head. Ji Won got up out of his seat and walked towards me. He sat down on the bed next to me and looked at me straight in the eyes. “So what’s your name?” he asked.
“Mi-“ I began but instantly cut myself off. ‘Stupid, I thought to myself. You almost said your real name!’ I saw Ji Won’s eyes grow wide.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Min-Sung,” I answered him quickly.
“Oh,” he said and backed away from me.
Ji Won stood up and walked towards the window, looking outside. He knew the new recruit was a boy but somewhere inside him wished Min Sung would say his name was Mina. He let out a sigh.
“There’s a meeting tomorrow. Be there okay?”
I looked at Ji Won with his back facing me. It had only been 2 years but I felt as though I couldn’t read what was going on in his mind anymore. I let out a sigh myself. “Ji Won, where do we meet later tomorrow?”
The call of his real name made Ji Won suddenly look up. He ran over to where Min Sung was sitting and grabbed him by his shoulders. “How do you know my real Korean name? No one knows me by that. Everyone calls me Matthew.”
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Oh no, I thought. I had completely forgotten that Ji Won had changed his name to Matthew but I thought fast. “I didn’t know your name as Ji Won. All I said was, ‘Gee, wanna go out later tomorrow?’
I felt Ji Won’s grip on me loosen. He had bought the story. When he was looking, I let out a sigh of relief.
‘I’m losing it,’ thought Ji Won. “We’ll meet in the main dining room tomorrow,” Ji Won told Min Sung. He nodded his head and left. Ji Won walked out to the balcony and looked up at the sky.
“I love you Mina, that’s why it hurts so much that you’re not here.”
But the real Mina had left before she could have heard those words
Meanwhile back in the hotel lobby…
After Sung Hoon and the others gave the new recruits instructions and about the meeting, they all went back to their rooms.
“You think there’s something wrong with Matthew hyung?” asked Jae Jin.
“Yeah,” said Jae Duc. “Did you see the way he held the new guy?”
They began to shudder.
“No, it’s nothing,” answered Sung Hoon.
“You think maybe Matthew is losing it??” asked Ji Yong.
“You’re the one who looks like he's lost it,” said Jae Duc, jokingly.
“Shut up!” yelled Ji Yong as he punched Jae Duc lightly.
The others began to laugh. Then Su Won said, “Could be though. I never saw him ‘be’ with a girl before.”
Sung Hoon lets out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll tell you guys the real deal. But don’t let this get back to Matthew okay?” They all nodded and leaned forward to hear the story.
“It was like 5 years ago when Matthew hyung met this girl named Nam Mina….”
“She a babe?” asked Jae Duc, interrupting.
Sung Hoon gave him a look. “Yes, Duckie, she’s a babe.”
“Oh, okay,” said Jae Duc. “Continue.”
“Anyways, Matthew knew her before he met me. It turns out that she was the first person who ever really cared about him and Matthew fell in love with her. But you know how hyung is. He could never tell anyone exactly what’ s on his mind or how he feels. Instead of saying he wants Mina to be his girlfriend, he said he wants her to be his dongsang—“
“That’s stupid!” yelled Jae Duc, interrupting Sung Hoon. “Why did he say that for? She’s a babe!”
“Sh..!” yelled Jae Jin, Ji Yong, and Su Won at Jae Duc.
Sung Hoon continued. “Well, Matthew ended up having this blood ceremony with her. They scarred each other’s back with their initial. It looks like a blood tie but later on I found out it was his symbol of promised love-“
“Ow..that must have hurt,” said Jae Duc, as he hugged himself. Jae Jin smacked him on the head for interrupting again.
“I think they knew each other for a year before they met me. At first I thought Mina was cute, but then by the way Matthew acts, I can tell she was off limits. See, Mina had this heart condition where air would suddenly be closed off and she couldn’t breathe. The only way to get air in was by this respirator—“
“The one hyung always carry?” asked Jae Duc.
“Yes Duckie,” said Sung Hoon, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, it was either that or mouth to mouth. Once when Matthew went collecting shells for Mina, I was walking along the shores with her. One of her attacks came on. I freaked out of course, but I knew what to do. I laid her down and I was about to give her CPR but then Matthew ran the speed of light and knocked me into the ocean and he gave her CPR.”
The others started laughing.
“Dang, ain’t he a Romeo?” said Jae Duc, laughing.
Sung Hoon smiled. “It’s cause he loves Mina and didn’t want any other guy touching he. I mean, during school, if any guy talks about wanting to date her, Matthew made sure he didn’t. Oh yeah, Matthew hyung hasn’t always been Matthew. His real name is Ji Won. The ‘M’ scar on his back stands for Mina, not Matthew.”
The others opened their mouths in shock. They never knew Ji Won had been this much in love before.
“How romantic,” whispered Jae Duc.
“Shut up hyung,” said Ji Yong. “Quit interrupting!”
“Okay, okay,” said Jae Duc, blocking himself from Jae Jin’s hand.
Sung Hoon began talking.
“If there are no more interruptions, then I’ll continue.” He paused for a second and then continued. “The day before Matthew and I made it to Korea, he and Mina were supposed to get married. Matthew didn’t like his dad and there was this feud in their family on who gets the grandpa’s inheritance. Matthew got it, of course, and he took it all and left Hawaii. He took me and he was planning on taking Mina too. When he went to her house though, his uncle’s men were guarding the place and he couldn’t take her. He ended up leaving Hawaii without saying goodbye to Mina.”
All of them remained silent.
Then Su Won spoke. “Last year hyung sent me out to get some news on Nam Mina. She had died drowning.”
Sung Hoon nodded. “Yeah but Matthew and I think she committed suicide. He think it’s because Mina can’t handle living with her stepmom, who always abuse her. If you ask me, I think Mina committed suicide because Matthew left her without any reason. I think hyung thinks that too but he won’t say it. I think he blames himself for her death and since then he hasn’t been the same. He used to be nicer and not this touchy. Also that’s why he’s never been with another girl. I mean, we see him flirt with other girls but none of us actually see him ‘be’ with another girl right?”
The others nodded in agreement. Sung Hoon continued. “About this new boy today. I think Matthew is losing it. He probably thinks when he sees the boy he is see—“
Sung Hoon stopped talking as he looked up. He finished his sentence with a “—See you later!” and he ran off.
Part 24
The others looked up surprised. Jae Jin smacked Jae Duc on his head.
“What?” asked Jae Duc. “I didn’t interrupt!”
“It’s not Duckie’s fault,” said Ji Yong. “Look.” Ji Yong pointed to where Sung Hoon ran off too.
“Aie,” said Jae Jin. “It’s that same waitress babe.”
“See?” said Jae Duc. “It’s cause of a girl, not me. You hit me by mistake.”
“No, it’s not a mistake. I still wanna smack your head cause it makes this cool hollow sound,” replied Jae Jin as he smacked Jae Duc on his head again.
“So, wanna go out sometime?” Sung Hoon asked Kyung Hee, leaning near her. She rolled her eyes at him.
She answered flatly, “No” and began to leave.
Sung Hoon held onto her arm. “Come on babe. X-mas is next month and don’t be a scrooge.”
Then suddenly, Kyung Hee gave him a seductive smile. “I guess. How about we go out on November 31st then?”
Sung Hoon gave her a sexy smile back. “It’s a date then,” he answered, letting her go. The other 4 walked up to him.
“How’d it go Mickey?” asked Su Won.
“Hey, hey, what can I say?” answered Sung Hoon cockily. “I’m the man!”
Jae Jin gave him a high-five.
“Alright!” yelled Jae Duc. “When you 2 going out?”
“November 31st,” answered Sung Hoon.
“Uh, Mickey,” said Ji Yong. “Sup Ji Yong?” said Sung Hoon.
“November doesn’t have a 31st.”
“What?” asked Sung Hoon, surprised. He looked at the calendar. November ended on the 30th. He looked around but Kyung Hee had already left. He started cursing while the others tried to hold back their laughter.
November 23, 1998
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“This meeting of SechsKies is now in session,” announced Ji Won to the main members of the group, along with the new recruits. His voice got their attention and they quickly focused their attention on Ji Won.
Ji Won looked to see if Min Sung was there. He was. Ji Won gave a little smile to him. He didn’t know why but when he looks at Min Sung his mind would replace Min Sung’s face with Mina’s.
“So any new business?” he asked the members.
“Yes,” answered Jae Jin. “The Black Dragons have killed some of our members and took away some of our businesses.”
“Dang it!” yelled Ji Won as he pounded his fist on the table. “We’ll just have to see that this Black Dragon matter will be solved. Mickey you, Ji Yong, Su Won, and the 2 new recruits deal with the businesses. Jae Jin, Jae Duc, and Min Sung will come with me.” Everyone looked at Ji Won strangely.
Sung Hoon began to speak. “Uh, hyung. You want to take Min Sung along?”
Ji Won glared at him. “Yeah. Anyone here have any objections?” No one answered. “Meeting adjourned,” announced Ji Won and everyone went to work.
Part 25
I followed the Black Kies to a dark alley. I was surprised Ji Won wanted to take me along, considering I was one of the weakest members. I thought I would get to work with the White Kies in businesses.
“Hey kid,” said Jae Duc to me. “What is it?”
He handed me a gun. “Use this to protect yourself.”
My eyes widened as I held the cold metal. ‘Please don’t let me use it’, I prayed silently.
Ji Won walked over to Min Sung. “Okay, the co-leaders of Black Dragons are meeting around here. You’ll recognize them by the dragon tattoos on their arms. If you see them, just shoot them as they come out.”
“But Matthew hyung, I—“ but my words were cut off the sound of gunshots.
POW
“Get down!” yelled Ji Won as he covered me. Then he started firing. I covered my ears and watched Ji Won in disbelief. He had shot 4 people and killed 3. Ji Won stood up smiling.
I couldn’t believe it. I was in love with a cold-blooded killer. Jae Jin and Jae Duc killed some other members and Ji Won told them to kill every single Black Dragon member.
One Black Dragon member lay hurt on the ground. Ji Won pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and pointed a gun to his head. “Tell me who’s your leader punk or else I’ll blow your brains out.”
The young boy was whimpering. I felt sorry for him. “Please don’t kill me. My leader is Eun Tae Won.”
“Who the hell is that?” asked Ji Won angrily. “What does he have against me?”
“He’s the godson of Mr. Eun, who’s one of the heirs of the Eun Hotel Empire and he came to get the inheritance back from you.”
I listened to what the boy was saying. I never knew that Ji Won’s uncle had a godson. From what I had heard, Ji Won’s uncle had passed away 2 months ago and he had an heir. ‘The heir is the leader of Black Dragon’, I figured out. “That ,loser” said Ji Won. “He’s dead and he still has someone after me.” When Ji Won wasn’t looking, the Black Dragon boy had pulled out a knife, ready to stab Ji Won.
I didn’t have time to think so I reacted instantly. I shot the boy. He fell back in pain but managed to get up and run away. Ji Won looked at me surprised. He gave me a smile. “Good job, Min Sung,” he said walking over to me and patted me on the back. I was appalled at what I had done. I couldn’t answer him so I just handed him back the gun.
Just then Jae Jin and Jae Duc came back to us. “Got them all hyung,” said Jae Jin smiling as he did fancy handwork with his gun. "Good,” said Ji Won. “Min Sung here just saved my life. I knew it was a good idea to bring him along.”
“Really?” asked Jae Duc. “Nice work kid.” Then he punched me lightly on the shoulder.
When we made it back to the hotel, I ran into my room using my respirator and swallowed a pill. Afterwards, I took a shower. I felt so dirty because what I had done. I knew this was going to be only one of the many dirty work I would have to do to stay with Ji Won.
Part 26
A few months later…
During this time, since I saved Ji Won’s life, he began to trust me more and confided in me with everything. I was like his new best friend. SechsKies continued traveling to many places and recruited new members.
More war between SechsKies and Black Dragons broke out. Many businesses were shut down and more members were killed from both sides. All the blood shed and fighting was getting to me but I held on. All the members of SechsKies accepted me but sometimes I overhear them whisper that I’m not right. I didn’t care as long as I had Ji Won.
April 30, 1999
Finally, after many days of hard work, SechsKies finally got a day of rest. The leaders always hang out together but Ji Won always included me. We were at this fancy restaurant and were all having a good time. Jae Duc was telling us funny jokes. He stopped in the middle of a joke as he saw the Black Dragon leaders enter the restaurant.
Tension was felt by everyone. The Black Dragons sat down across from us. Ji Won and Tae Won were giving each other glares.
Underneath the tables, we pulled out our guns. I knew the Black Dragons were doing the same. We didn’t know which side fired the first shot but before we knew it, bullets were flying everywhere.
Ji Won covered me as we ran out of the restaurant safely. We met up with the other 5 Kies in a dark alley. The Black Dragons were still chasing us.
“Darn it hyung! What should we do?” asked Jae Jin. “Kill them all!” shouted Ji Won.
“There are too many,” Ji Yong shouted back. “Let’s just hide out in this motel.” We all ran and hid in this cheap motel’s restaurant. The Black Dragons lost us and continued searching.
“I don’t believe this!” said Ji Won furiously. “I, Matthew Eun, of SechsKies have to hide down here in this cockroach motel like I’m a dog or something!”
“Calm down,” I said to him gently, patting his back. “It’s not so bad.”
“Yeah hyung,” said Sung Hoon. “It’s only for one night. Besides, we’ll make them pay for this.”
All of us looked around. There was only one bed. I could tell none of us wanted the floor because it was disgusting and reeked of something. “I ain’t taking the floor!” all of us shouted in unison.
“There’s only one bed though,” said Su Won.
“Look on the bright side,” said Jae Duc as he laid out the sheets on the bed. “At least it’s king size.”
I nodded my head. “It’ll be tight but we’ll all have to try and fit in.” Soon it was Jae Jin, Jae Duc, Ji Won, me, Sung Hoon, Ji Yong, and Su Won lying down side by side uncomfortably on the bed. We were laying down one by one and the others looked at me strangely as I ran to be the next person who lie near Ji Won.
Soon everyone fell asleep except me. I made sure everyone was asleep before I made my move. I bent over to kiss Ji Won lightly on the lips. Then I laid my head down on his chest to hear his heart beat. I sighed contentedly.
Then suddenly I felt Ji Won’s leg twitch. Oh no. I knew what he was about to do. His 360. I placed my entire body on top of his because I didn’t want to get kicked.
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As Ji Won did his 360, he kicked everyone except me off the bed. As always when Ji Won was done, he had a huge smile on his face. Then he held onto me tightly. I was overwhelmed with happiness.
The others must have been exhausted because none of them woke up except Jae Duc. He opened his eyes sleepily and said, “Huh?” “You’re dreaming,” I whispered to him. He nodded his head and went back to sleep. Soon I drifted off to sleep too.
