Chapter Text
Chapter 6
Mujin was relaxing on his sofa with a glass of scotch in his hand while Taeju stood over the tv, inserting the disc from the cctv footage obtained from the Karaoke bar. Suri was in her room studying so Mujin knew he wouldn’t be interrupted when he watched the tape. Taeju finished fiddling with the tv and handed the remote over to his boss before taking his place, standing behind Muijn.
Mujin watched silently through the black and white tape, Taeju cringing inside after having already reviewed it to make sure it was the right tape for the right room Suri was in.
Taeju and Mujin saw Suri obviously moving away from the boy who looked drunk and how she repeatedly refused the drink being pushed towards her before suddenly the boy pushed Suri when she got up and wrapped his hands around her neck. Mujin’s fist tightened around his glass, his knuckles white from the pressure he was holding it in, before they then saw Suri take out her pocketknife and aim it at the boys abdomen and they smirked when the boy’s face dropped.
“That’s my girl.” Mujin whispered proudly with a smirk before finishing watching the tape where the police burst in, and Suri hid her knife away before she was spotted with it in her possession.
“Taeju, find the boy. I want to know everything about him and where he is right now.” Mujin sinisterly told his right-hand man. Taeju nodded dutifully and left Mujin alone to re-watch the tape.
--- Line Break---
“Suri.” Mujin called, hovering in the doorway of her bedroom where Suri laid on her bed with her laptop on and study papers spread out around her. Suri paused when she heard Mujin call her name.
“Is this the part where you tell me off now?” Suri asked seriously when she met Mujin’s eyes although she couldn’t see any visible anger on his face anymore.
“No,” Mujin told her with an accompanying shake of his head “This is where I tell you that I watched the tape and that you did the right thing when it came to that boy.” Mujin finished, walking further into her bedroom. Suri didn’t say anything for a moment, too surprised to come up with a usual witty comment of hers.
“You watched the cctv tape?” Suri questioned in confusion. “Why?” Suri further asked. Mujin twitched his nose, thinking about how to answer.
“Because I needed to see it. I am glad that you turned down the offer of the alcoholic drinks and that you defended yourself against the boy but please don’t disappear again without either myself or Taeju knowing where you are. I thought one of my enemies took you.” Mujin replied, surprised with how much he shared with Suri.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” Suri promised, not realising Mujin had jumped to conclusions of her being kidnapped.
“Good, now I want you to know that I am only pushing your studying because I want you to do better than me and your father combined. You could have a really great life away from this world.” Mujin told her, surprising Suri.
“I don’t want to have a life away from this world. This is where I belong.” Suri retorted with a frown. Mujin sighed uneasily.
“This is not where you belong, Suri. You deserve a better life than this and I’ll make sure you get it.” Mujin told the girl before walking away before Suri could argue with him.
Suri huffed in annoyance. Dongcheon is where she belongs, she thought to herself. Suri just needed to prove it to Mujin.
---Line Break---
The next day Mujin accompanied her to school although Suri had a feeling that he had ulterior motives for this other than just keeping an eye on her. Suri proved herself right when Taeju opened the door for Mujin to get out of the car. As usual Suri’s fellow students avoided eye contact with Mujin but still watched him from the corner of their eyes.
Suri watched Mujin walk over to the police car still sitting outside her school with Taeju following him 1 step behind. Suri edged forward so that she was only 5 feet away from the group.
The two police officers got out of their car at Mujin’s presence, one of them being Jeon Pil-do, the detective from last night. Jeon Pil-do briefly made eye contact with Suri before focusing his attention on Mujin.
“Gentlemen, don’t you think it’s a little… suspicious that you are perched outside a school full of young boys and girls day in day out? As a guardian to Kim Suri, a student here, I am letting you know that it does not reflect well on you.” Mujin told the two men. The two men gaped in surprise; unsure what Mujin was getting at.
“I assure you that we are not doing anything with nefarious intent-“ Jeon Pil-do stuttered to defend themselves.
“That may be the case, but I think the school governors and board would not be best pleased to hear that two grown men have been watching young underage boys and girls going to and from school every day, day in and day out.” Mujin painted the picture he wanted the men to understand.
Suri gaped at Mujin in surprise.
The men were shocked at what Mujin was implying and tried to defend themselves.
“Yah we are police officers on police business.” The other man with Pil-do retorted in anger.
“What police business do you have at a school?” Mujin asked with a wide grin, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to say it to his face.
“That is none of your business.” The other spitted immediately. Jeon Pil-do watched the calculating Mujin with narrowed eyes, realising what Mujin was doing.
“It is unfortunately, as from today I just became a member of the board of the school and when I bring this issue up to the rest of the members, expect an angry phone call from the chief of police.” Mujin said. Suri looked at Mujin’s back in surprise and even Taeju seemed caught off guard by the new information.
“You’ve become a member of the board?” Jeon Pil-do questioned incredulously.
“Yes, I’ve found recently that it should be my upmost concern to protect Kim Suri’s best interests and I believe being a member of the board will do this.” Mujin told them truthfully, leaving out that he liked the added power as well.
Jeon Pil-do looked at Mujin a moment more, not understanding why he cared so much about this Kim Suri, before deciding to cut their losses.
“Let’s go.” Jeon Pil-do told the other man, who looked surprised at Pil-do before complying. Suri waited until the unmarked police car was gone before shooting a confused look at Mujin, who turned around to face her.
“What?” Mujin asked with a raised eyebrow. Suri shook her head wordlessly, not even sure where to start, before leaving for the school gates without a word.
---Line Break---
Suri was back in the gym that night training and avoiding the whispers and eyes of the other men of Dongcheon already there. Mujin would be joining her a bit later on as he had business to attend to. As a result Taeju was with Suri, keeping an eye on her and the other men.
Suri and Taeju were sparring on the mat and despite the man’s quiet disposition, he was a good teacher. The pair were both sweating and aching in different places from the long session they had.
“Your upper cut is good, but you are going to need to increase your power otherwise it won’t do much damage.” Taeju commented after taking a hit. Kim Suri huffed in annoyance.
“I know, strength isn’t my strong point.” Suri replied back after signalling to the man for a break while she took a gulp of water. Taeju relaxed his arms and joined where she was leaning against, stealing her water bottle after she was done. Taeju smirked playfully when Suri put on an annoyed face before quietly laughing herself.
“You don’t eat enough.” Taeju commented while poking a skinny arm as reference.
“I eat plenty. I just have a high metabolism is all.” Suri retorted with a pout that Taeju smiled at affectionately.
“Where is Mujin? He was meant to be here by now.” Suri asked Taeju in worry. Taeju furrowed his eyebrows in thought.
“He may have been delayed, I’ll try and contact him.” Taeju told the girl and gave her a squeeze on her shoulder before walking off to find his phone.
When Taeju found his phone, he saw 3 missed calls from Mujin and a voicemail message. Taeju listened to the voicemail where Mujin in a shaky voice explaining he was wounded and was making his way back to Liber. Taeju didn’t think about much else than getting back to Liber and forgot about Suri. Suri watched Taeju like a hawk and when she saw Taeju running outside, she followed immediately after him and only just managed to slid into the passenger seat of the car before the engine started.
“Taeju what’s wrong? Is it Mujin?” Suri asked. Taeju wasted no time in starting the engine and speeding off, not caring if Suri was with him or not.
“He left me a voicemail and he is wounded and needs assistance back at Liber.” Taeju explained to the girl, not wanting to scare her. Suri sighed in worry and anger that someone would hurt Mujin.
“Put your seatbelt on.” Taeju ordered her after glancing at the girl again. Suri immediately complied as they began weaving through Seoul traffic back to Liber.
The drive wasn’t long with Taeju’s fast driving, and they were soon at the Liber hotel. Taeju called on the way what sounded like a doctor of some kind to come to see Mujin. It didn’t make much sense to Suri who was too worried about Mujin’s state to care. She just needed to see him.
The car was barely stopped before Suri flung her door open and ran out into the lobby, pushing the penthouse button repeatedly before the doors shut, she didn’t bother to wait for Taeju who was likely parking the car.
“Mujin!” Suri called when the elevator doors opened. She didn’t see any usual guard in sight like there normally was in the hallway. Suri jogged down the long red hallway and burst through the double walnut doors where she finally found the man.
Choi Mujin was sitting on the leather couch in a slouched position while his black shirt was unbuttoned and hanging off his torso, an already blood-stained bandage hastily rolled around his waist.
“Mujin!” Suri exclaimed surprising the man and causing him to look up with wide eyes. Suri skidded to a stop next to him and hovered uselessly over him, not knowing where to put her hands and finally deciding on cupping his cheeks, residue of blood on his neck and cheek not scaring Suri. She rubbed her thumbs over the apple of his cheeks, relaxing his body some.
“Are you ok? What happened?” Suri blurted out, making Mujin look into her eyes despite his tiredness from the blood loss.
“I’m fine, Suri.” Mujin told the girl, hiding the pain in his voice but not his face as he winced at a pull in his injured body when he shifted positions.
“No you are not. Taeju called for a doctor, he should be here soon.” Suri told Mujin who nodded in understanding. Suri didn’t want to lose contact from him, so she decided on stoking his hair whilst they waited for Taeju and the doctor. Mujin relaxed at Suri’s comforting touch and leaned into her who welcomed the proximity, closing his eyes in comfort. About 10 minutes later, Taeju barged into the room with an elderly gentleman behind him. Taeju didn’t even blink at the almost intimate sight the two of them made on the couch.
Suri looked up at Taeju and the doctor and made to move away from Mujin to give them some room to work but Mujin refused to let her completely go and settled for just holding her hand from a short distance while the doctor worked on peeling back the bloodied bandage to have a look at the wound. Suri peered round Taeju to see a deep knife wound still leaking blood, Suri winced at the sight. Mujin stoked Suri’s hand to get her attention on his face and not his torso. When their eyes made contact, Mujin shook his head slightly at her, urging her to not look.
“It didn’t nick any organs or arteries; you just need stitches. “ The doctor told Mujin who nodded in acceptance. Suri let out an internal sigh of relief, relieved that it didn’t look as serious as it looked.
Mujin’s hand squeezed hers every time a stitch went in and once the doctor was done, he had put in 8 stitches.
“He should probably be monitored for the next 24 hours by someone, and rest is essential for recovering faster.” The doctor told the small group before leaving the penthouse.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Suri told Taeju, not even wanting to debate the point. Mujin nearly rolled his eyes as if they weren’t already half shut, in tiredness from the blood loss.
“I’m not a child-“ Mujin started to say before Suri cut him off with a glare.
“No but you are injured, and you will rest like the doctor recommended,” Suri told him firmly before turning to face Taeju “We should move him into his bedroom, he needs to sleep.” Suri almost ordered with a serious face. Taeju nodded wordlessly before coming around to Mujin’s free side to hoist him up, careful of his wound.
“I do not need to sleep-“ Mujin protested however let Taeju stand him up from the couch. Suri huffed at Mujin’s weak protests; his eyes were already at risk of closing.
“Quiet Mujin.” Suri told him, not entertaining his ideas at all.
“Did she really just say that to me?” Mujin slurred to Taeju who was trying to keep his amusement off his face, and he just nodded to his boss. Taeju helped Mujin to his bedroom and sat him down on his massive king-sized bed with red satin sheets before standing up straight.
“Thank you Taeju, are you going to find the person who did this to him?” Suri asked curiously from the doorway. Mujin butted in before Taeju could reply.
“Don’t bother. He is at the bottom of the Han River by now.” Mujin slurred with a confident smirk. Suri rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help a smile popping up at the side of her mouth. Suri nodded at Taeju who passed her, out of the bedroom. Suri soon after closed the bedroom door, leaving Mujin and Suri alone. Suri walked over to Mujin who was still sitting on the edge of the bed and began pulling his black shirt off of him gently, Mujin’s unsteady eyes unable to leave the young woman’s face, leaving the man shirtless with only his visible bandage showing wrapped around his waist, over his fresh stitches.
“Are you sleeping here?” Mujin asked when he saw Suri climbing onto his bed dressed in red satin sheets, still in her black sports bra and leggings from the gym, causing impure thoughts to litter his brain.
“How am I able to monitor you if I am not with you?” Suri sassed with a raised eyebrow.
“Come here.” Suri whispered a moment later when he hadn’t moved to lay on the bed next to her. Mujin carefully manoeuvred his body onto his back and moved up the bed so his head could rest on the pillow, but he winced at how uncomfortable it felt on his body.
Suri noticed and sat up and wordlessly made Mujin sit up so she could shuffle underneath him, so he was now laying on his back but resting on Suri’s body who was now cradling him, and his head rested on her chest, just below her chin. Suri then began to softly stroke his hair again, noticing earlier that it calmed him down.
“This feels like heaven.” Mujin whispered with closed, tired eyes. Suri smiled before planting a light kiss on his temple.
“Get some sleep Mujin. I’m not going anywhere.” Suri whispered back to the man who was now already there. Suri watched the sleeping man for a while longer before she let herself drop off into a deep slumber, relaxed by the movement of Mujin’s chest going up and down in rhythm.