Blast from the PAST (winter 98/99): Never Again United: Prologue

You know what the weirdest part was? I pumped out at least one chapter every couple days… Hah. Just thought this would make some interesting reading. :)~

Long Island, New York.

Hee Jun rolled over on the bed and looked at his wife of two years. He grimaced,
wondering what had made him marry her. Shaking his head, he sighed and rolled
back over onto his side to the edge of the bed where he faced the wall. Trying
to get back to sleep was impossible, but he would try anyway.

Finally, he had to get up. He could scarcely stand the shallow breathing of the
vile creature next to him anymore. As he got up, Hee Jun could barely suppress a
groan as his heart beat with the tiny exertion. Slipping on his slippers, he
shuffled to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

Walking down the narrow halls of his apartment, he looked around at the pictures
on the wall. He had told Yuri that he would help decorate the house, but she had
stubbornly disagreed with him, saying that he could never do anything like the
properly. Narrowing his eyes, a slight wave of anger boiled, making his face
feel hot.

At careful inspection, the pictures were mostly of Yuri in the days when she was
a girl in Fin.K.L., a singing group similar to his own, H.O.T. He shuddered as
he stared at a certain picture of her that he had never seen before.
“How could I have thought I loved her?” he asked himself softly. Suddenly, the
realization hit him like a flying brick. He had never loved her. His heart
started beating rapidly, and he leaned over, grasping the wall and clutching his
chest. The dizziness was overwhelming, but he shut his eyes and squeezed
everything around him out. He thought of good times, and happy jokes. The pain
and dizziness slowly evaporated, leaving the usual disorientation and black
splotches in his vision.

He treaded on towards the kitchen, angry that he had caused himself pain because
of mere feelings. The dizzy spells had been hitting Hee Jun a lot recently, yet
he did not know why. Before, they used to only come when he got in a fight with
Yuri, but now, they came all the time.

As he went around the kitchen, making breakfast and coffee for himself, he
thought about the revelation he had just come to. He marveled that he had never
thought of it before. Shaking his head, the thought that he had never loved Yuri
ran though his head.

The more he thought, the more he realized that the witch on the stairs above him
had tricked him. She had tricked his pure heart into thinking that she needed
him, that she loved him. “No matter what happens,” she had said, “I will never
stop loving you.” It was then that she had smiled that smile.

Hee Jun scowled. That smile. He should have known that it was as false as
everything else about her was. Of course, at the time he did not know that she
was artificial at all. It had not been long after his marriage to her that she
had shown him what that smile really meant. She never smiled in that manner
unless she was about to harm someone.

He shuddered, thinking of how she smiled that smile on their honeymoon. Hee Jun
closed his eyes and buried his head in his arms. How was he to know that signing
an autograph in the streets was against the rules after you were married?
Like a little boy, he flinched as if he could still feel the angry arms flailing
at him, hurting him. Over time, those flailing arms had found a target, and with
much practice, they became stronger, and much more accurate.
He had just finished testing the bottle on his wrist as the little wail erupted
from the baby intercom. He smiled as his one joy in life cried for him. His son
was awake. Hee Jun wiped his wrist on his apron and stepped with a lighter step
to the room of his son, Chin-Woo.

Outside, silent eyes followed his every move.

**

Chicago, Illinois.

He crouched down again as he heard another pair of footsteps. He was not afraid,
but it was better to avoid as many people as possible. At least, that’s what the
boss had taught him. As the steps echoed away, and finally disappeared, he
relaxed his shoulders and got up. Woo Hyuk straightened out his suit, making
sure it was spotless. Then he bent over and picked up the bag.

Woo Hyuk heaved the bag over his shoulder, the familiar weight and feel of a
human body not bothering him anymore. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, a
voice whispered that it was wrong. Quickly the voice was squished into oblivion.
He idly wondered why, if he was the second hand man, he had to do these trivial
jobs.

He snarled, knowing the answer. Whenever the boss told him to do something like
this, it meant that he thought Woo Hyuk was getting soft. Already, the boss was
talking about casually removing Jae Won.

As he walked to the body drop-off point, his normally emotionless face took on a
different kind of hardness as he thought of Jae Won. His younger partner had
followed him after the group had broken up. Woo Hyuk had tried his best to
protect Jae Won from the horrors of this kind of life, but the younger one had
insisted. Jae Won seemed worshipped Woo Hyuk for his strength and coldness.
His duty finally done, Woo Hyuk began the trek back home, casually looking into
windows as he walked by them in the streets. He grinned sarcastically to
himself, as he thought of how clueless everyone else was. For all they knew, he
was just another businessman walking home from work. In truth, his particular
suitcase carried one of the most powerful handguns ever created.

When Woo Hyuk got home, he collapsed on the couch and tried to recall all the
events of the day; as he always did when he got home. Soon, Jae Won came home
and grinned at him.

“Hey, Woo Hyuk, how was your day?” he put the bundles of grocery bags on the
table and began to unpack.

Getting up to help Jae Won, Woo Hyuk grunted, “You don’t want to know.”

Jae Won winked, “Oh, the boss sent you to kill another one of those BITCHes huh?
Man, I wish I were like you. I wish the boss would let me kill people!”

A flash of anger and hatred flashed over Woo Hyuk’s eyes as he said harshly,
“Never say that again Jae Won! NEVER!” With that, he got up and went to his
room, leaving Jae Won to finish the groceries by himself.

Shrugging Jae Won finished the job. Woo Hyuk was always like that when the boss
sent him on one of those assignments. Jae Won, himself, had never met the boss.
Even though Woo Hyuk had made him take lessons in self-defense, and had taken
him to gun ranges so that he could take care of himself and other things; Woo
Hyuk had never taken Jae Won to see the boss.

There were many times that Jae Won had gotten Woo Hyuk to promise him a meeting,
but for some reason or other it was always canceled. Woo Hyuk didn�t want him
meet the boss, he knew it and Jae Won knew it. There was nothing Jae Won could
do about it, though. Jae Won shrugged to himself, thinking, “Maybe it’s because
Woo Hyuk thinks I’m not good enough.” With that, Jae Won promised to himself
that he would try his hardest at his fighting, and, perhaps, he would practice
his shooting on some real targets.

**

After Woo Hyuk had left Jae Won, he lay in his bed, wondering why life had given
him such a gigantic responsibility. He wanted to tell Jae Won everything. Wanted
to tell him so badly. But, he could not. There was no way that he would let Jae
Won ever meet the Boss. It would be too tiring. He had to protect Jae Won. He
was all that Jae Won had left now.

The reason that Jae Won had followed him to the States wasn’t just because he
wanted to follow Woo Hyuk’s footsteps. It was also because he had nowhere else
to go. Right before the group broke up, everyone’s family in H.O.T had been
brutally murdered. It was quietly covered up, but those who knew, lived in fear
of becoming close to anyone in H.O.T.

Woo Hyuk wanted to scream. How had life turned to this? It was so wonderful, and
then, suddenly everything happened. Hee Jun’s new wife, the killings, Tony’s
disappearance, and then Kang Ta’s. Kang Ta’s face ran through Woo Hyuk’s mind.
Woo Hyuk bit his bottom lip until he could taste the coppery taste of his blood.
There were times he wondered why he loved Kang Ta so much.

**

Long Island, New York.

“It’s okay Chin-Woo, don’t worry,” Hee Jun cooed softly as he picked the little
squirming person up. “Shhh,” he whispered, as he picked up the bottle with his
other hand and put it to Chin-Woo’s little mouth.

As the little one started suckling the bottle, Hee Jun marveled at the little
person in his arms. He touched the little hands holding the bottle so tightly,
the little tuft of hair on Chin-Woo’s head with gentle lips. Staring into those
big, innocent eyes, he had no doubt that the child was his.

Suddenly, Hee Jun’s heart began pumping faster, as the feeling of suspicion
raised in his stomach once again. Putting Chin-Woo down gently, as not to hurt
him during this moment, Hee Jun clutched at his chest as he had done many times
before.

Hee Jun shook his head. This would not do, he would have to go to the doctor.
Grimacing once again, he remembered that he could not. Yuri, his wife, always
said that health was only the state of mind. The only reason a person could
hurt, was if someone was thinking something wrong. She thought that someone only
hurt if they thought they hurt. If he went to the doctor without consulting her,
she would kill him. Steeling his shoulders, Hee Jun stood up straight. Why did
he have to follow the ideas of someone he didn’t love? Didn’t even like? He
grinned in truth for the first time in more than two years.

Suddenly, he heard a cough and remembered Chin-Woo. He picked Chin-Woo up,
without looking down. It was then that he felt the lukewarm milk spill onto his
hands. Looking down in alarm, his eyes widened.

Chin-Woo’s mouth was filled to the brim with the bile and milk that babies often
regurgitated. Only, this time, it was not normal. Hee Jun’s little, perfect baby
boy was turning blue. His heart beat, and the splotches suddenly showed in his
eyes again, but even in that condition, he could only think of the good of
Chin-Woo. It was only Chin-Woo who was important.

Picking up the phone, he called 9-1-1, and promptly blacked out.

**

San Francisco, California.

Woo Hyuk held the knife ruthlessly to the woman’s neck. He smiled as the knife
cut through the flesh and the woman opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. As
he let go of her, it was all he could do to resist kicking her over and over
until every bone in her body was broken. Instead, he spat on her.

“That’s what you BITCHes deserve,” he went to the fountain and washed off his
hands, as if the filth of her made him feel dirty.

After the deaths of their families, H.O.T had split up, but Woo Hyuk was one of
the only ones who ever followed the path of revenge. Very closely following the
tragic murders, Woo Hyuk had been drawn into the seductive world of the Mafia.
Soon after his joining, he had earned high rank within this new group he had
joined.

A short while after he had joined, with some research and asking around, he had
found out who had killed their families.

It was another underground group, called BITCH. The group allowed only women,
and the women allowed in were almost always the most talented of their sex. The
numbers were few and elite, but those who were there were more malicious and
cold blooded than even the oldest family of the mob blood.

Though not known to the public, the BITCH were almost legendary in the
underworld. The first Mafia of only women, they had a reputation of hating all
men, and swore revenge to all. Though they had a giant dislike for men, the men
that they disliked most were the famous ones. These women felt that they had
always been ignored and that women should always be number one.

There were many killings of men in high seats, which were assassinations paid by
the BITCHes for even the tiniest of chances that a woman would come to take the
seat. They preferred it if it was one of them, but it would be acceptable if it
was any other woman.

Woo Hyuk had a dangerous look in his eyes as he walked home to yet another
apartment that he and Jae Won lived in occasionally. The boss had paid for an
apartment in almost every big city in the states, and many in other parts of the
world.

Apparently, hunting down BITCHes was an important job to the boss.

“Hn, Brilliant Intelligent Treacherous Chicks of Hell, what a stupid name,” he
muttered.

**

Long Island, New York.

When Hee Jun woke, he found himself lying in a slightly lumpy bed in a room that
was quite bright. He squeezed his eyes shut again, then opened them again
slowly. That was better. Recognizing he was in a hospital, he tried to remember
moments before he blacked out, tried to figure out why he was there.

The memories hit him like a mallet in the head. Chin-Woo! Where was Chin-Woo?
Hee Jun began to panic as he looked around the room. There was a nurse standing
with her back to him.

“E-excuse me…?” he said quietly.

She turned around with a large syringe in her hand.

“Cou� Could you tell me where Chin-Woo is? That’s my son. Chin-Woo Moon?”

She smiled as she lifted the needle up and pressed it a little so that the
bubbles would be out of the syringe, “Oh, you won’t have to worry about that,
Moon Hee Jun.” She said his name as if it was a death sentence.
In the few moments before Hee Jun blacked out, the last thing he saw was a
strange person with Yuri’s smile. The smile he had learned to fear.

**

When Hee Jun woke again, he was in an ICU room. He could tell because he had a
lot of machines around him and there was a window to the side showing only the
hall, so that he could see the people who would come to see him. Inside, he
laughed at the irony. Who would come to see him? Certainly, not his wife, his
son was still a baby, and all the rest of his family was dead. Inwardly, he
chuckled like a madman.

A doctor walked into the room, looking at his clipboard, frowning. When he
looked up and saw that Hee Jun was awake, he put a warm smile on his face and
sat down next to him.

“Hello, Hee Jun,” he said, with a voice that matched his smile, “I’m very sorry
about the nurse that did this to you. We have dispatched of her.”

Hee Jun looked at him, questioningly. The doctor looked suddenly nervous, and
began to sweat. “Actually, we have a person here to see you. He’s says he’s
someone from the FBI.”

The more that this went on, the more confused Hee Jun got. A thousand questions
rushed through his head. Why was the FBI coming after him? He hadn’t done
anything wrong. Where was Chin-Woo? Was he okay? Did they save him?
To his shock, the person who stepped in was no FBI agent. It was Kang Ta. The
look on Hee Jun’s face was of pure horror. It was the feeling of seeing the
ghost of a long lost friend.

Kang Ta nodded at the doctor and waved his hand in a casual dismissing motion.
Then, he turned to Hee Jun.

“Hee Jun,” he said, with tears in his eyes, the poise that he had had before was
gone, replacing it was a little boy, “Hee Jun, I hate seeing you this way. I was
hoping that you could be happy with your wife. I always had suspicions about
her, but I never knew things were this bad.”

Hee Jun blinked, “What are you talking about?”

Sighing Kang Ta picked up the clipboard the doctor had left, “Hee Jun, you’ve
been having heart problems lately, right?”

Hee Jun nodded.

“This will be hard for you to bear, but stay with me okay?” Hee Jun nodded
obediently. Kang Ta had changed since the last time he had seen him. He was
somehow, he paused to think of a correct word, harder.

Kang Ta sighed, then took Hee Jun’s hands and looked into his eyes; “Do you
remember when our families were murdered?” Hee Jun nodded slowly, “Well, I found
out who did it. It’s a female Mafia called BITCH. The name, meaning Brilliant
Intelligent Treacherous Chicks of Hell, fits them well. I’ll tell you more about
them later.

“Anyway, the reason I left so suddenly was so that I could take revenge for our
families. I knew that if they killed our families, they must have killed many,
many, others,” Kang Ta sighed deeply, “that is why, I started a small
underground anti-BITCH group. In mockery to them, we called ourselves PIMP,
Phyne Intelligent Male Pimps,” Kang Ta laughed, “somehow, the name got stuck,
and now we’re almost as well known as BITCH.”

Kang Ta paused to allow Hee Jun time to let everything sink in. When he felt Hee
Jun was ready, he started to speak again, “Hee Jun, your wife, Yuri, is one of
the Best Seven, better known as BS.” Here, Kang Ta drew in a ragged breath,
“Yuri, your wife, has been feeding you poison, Hee Jun. It’s been a while now,
and only a little at a time, so that it seems as if you gradually got a weak
heart Hee Jun.” Hee Jun started, and then clutched his chest; the machine next
to him began to beep rapidly. Once again, Kang Ta waited until he thought Hee
Jun was ready.

“Your son, Chin-Woo, she had poisoned his milk too. They suspected you at first,
but then they found the poison in you, too. When they searched the house, they
found all of Yuri�s things gone. Chin-Woo’s gone Hee Jun, he died. And Yuri,
let’s just say it’ll be very very difficult to find her.”

It was then, that Hee Jun could not stand the strain anymore and passed out once
again. The nurses who came in gave Kang Ta accusing stares. He just gave them
back an equally cold stare and said in that new commanding tone of his, “Make
sure nothing happens to this man, or I’ll have to deal with all of you in a way
you won’t like.” The nurses didn’t have to ask to know what he meant by deal.
Kang Ta stepped out of Hee Jun’s room and pulled out his cell phone and dialed a
number he called often.

**

Woo Hyuk picked up his cell, “Hyuk,” he said as a greeting.

He pulled a deep breath into his lungs as he heard the voice on the other line,

“They got Hee Jun?

“Yuri is WHAT?

“Where?

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can get Jae Won to pack.

“Take care, boss,” with that, he hung up the phone. He got up and went into Jae
Won’s room. “Pack up whatever you’ve taken out, there’s an emergency. The
BITCHes have gotten Hee Jun. Now it’s even more personal. Family is family.
H.O.T is higher than life.”

**

Long Island, New York.

Kang Ta paced the newly rented condo. In his deep thought, he didn’t notice the
beautiful furniture, nor did he have time to calm himself in the cool woods. All
he could think about was Hee Jun, and how he would have to get them back for
this. Not only had they killed Hee Jun, they had killed Hee Jun’s son. That was
a cruelty worse than all others were. A child, not even a year old, killed. He
growled a growl deep in his throat. Just then, Woo Hyuk and Jae Won walked in.
Jae Won was startled, “Kang.. Kang Ta?”

Raising an eyebrow to Woo Hyuk, he nodded, “Yes, I guess Woo Hyuk hasn’t told
you to save you, but now I know we need you. Jae Won, I am the Boss.”
There was a sharp intake of breath as Jae Won registered what was just
happening. He had finally met the boss. The boss was Kang Ta. Someone he had
been with for many times before that. And yet, he was the boss. Jae Won shook
his head as he stared in wonder. He wondered how he hadn’t been able to guess
that before.

After a little reunion between the three former members of H.O.T, they began to
think of plans on how to have revenge against the BITCHes.

**

There was nothing that could be done before Hee Jun was out of the hospital they
had decided. Kang Ta put two of his best men on guard at Hee Jun’s room. Another
thing that was decided was that they had to find Tony. The three of them were
convinced that Tony’s disappearance had to have something to do with the
BITCHes. Woo Hyuk confessed quietly to Kang Ta that he never worried about Tony
because he thought Kang Ta had been taking care of it.

Now they worried, thought Jae Won didn’t show very much feeling. He had been
getting really good at acting as if he did not care lately. It wasn’t exactly
cold, or commanding like Woo Hyuk or Kang Ta. It was just an air of
indifference, the kind of air that a superior would give.

From the first, Kang Ta took charge; no one ever fought with him. There were
times when he was nervous; Kang Ta wondered to what end this blind worship would
come to.

End Prologue