Flowers Are Bait

“So Lee-yeon,” continued the voice from the phone. “I have already made this clear on the first day we met.”

Lee-yeon was very confused now. “You have all my support,” said the voice. “I will, of course, send you resources. I don’t care if you have made my brother a hospital employee, a housekeeper or your toy. Just don’t forget what you need to do.”

“I’ll catch the real criminal and put him in your place.”

“Try your best to keep him inside Hwaido.”

Lee-yeon’s face hardened as she remembered his words. She murmured her affirmative looking pale. Kwon Chae-woo glanced at the phone and then at Lee-yeon. He let out a sigh of frustration.

“Why are you ordering my wife?” he said in annoyance. “If you are going to say something as stupid, don’t call her ever again!”

Kwon Ki-seok smirked. His brother’s voice sounded so innocent, so unlike the ferocious and reckless man he used to be before the accident. The youngest son of the feared gangster family. His dear brother that he had raised. Kwon Chae-woo had outright refused any care and resources from his parents. He would always grit his teeth and draw a line between himself and everyone else.

But Kwon Chae-woo sounds like a tamed animal now.

“Director Jo.”

“Yes, sir,” bowed Jo Kyung-cheon. He looked as though there was immense pressure on his shoulders, literally. That hadn’t changed since the time he first visited this place in a school uniform.

A house composed of dozens of hanok.

The black tiles that resembled waves looked as peaceful as a flock of cranes. But the deeper he went, the more suffocating it got. It felt as though he had entered the serpent’s mouth.

The Kwon family. A name that was only whispered in fear.

The Kwon family was one of the three major real estate managers in Korea. An organization with enormous economic power, and the centre of the Blue House that dominated the shadows. It was said that Kwon Ki-seok’s grandfather had created his empire by lending money to small companies in need to capital. The money he invested had double and tripled to tens of billions of dollars.

After 80 years, the Kwon family had become so powerful that they were the forerunners of almost every large corporation that were currently in the Republic of Korea. They had established themselves as an unwavering and authoritative shadow of the country.

The stories about Chairman Kwon giving up an entire site for the Central Intelligence Agency and loaning them his hunting dogs as Blue Falcons were still whispered.

The court became the National Security Agency and transformed back into the National Intelligence Service. The hounds formed a private organization under direct control of the president and has been set up as a group responsible for cleaning up the mess.

The president might be smart, but Chairman Kwon was smarter. He secured his place as a major shareholder. He did all this without ever leaving his mansion.

The influence of the Kwon family, which had been managed unwaveringly for nearly a century, was even stronger than before. Their business was at the centre of their success. Their predominant business was lending loans. Chairman kwon enjoyed his dirty work. He also nurtured the elites more than anyone else.

He thirsted to expand his influence and his power beyond this place to the outside world. He also supported children from poor families who had the potential to do something great. Kwon family, in this way, raised many children and provided top-tier education for them to dominate every facet of society. It was how the kwon family maintained their power.

Jo Kyung-cheon had been one of those children.

“Director. I apologize for what happened.”

“No, sir. It is I who must apologize. I didn’t know Hwang Jo-yoon would cause such trouble.”

“I heard that he was your favourite student.”

“I once entertained the idea of training him because he showed potential. That is all.”

Jo Kyung-cheon had caught Hwang Jo-yoon in his undergraduate studies cultivated illegal drugs. He had though he could train the young man enough to entrust him with the drug cultivation in Hwaido. All his efforts had gone down the drain and just because of Hwang Jo-yoon’s reckless behaviour. When he had found out Hwang Jo-yoon had gotten involved in a mess related to Director Kwon, he had cut him off from his business.

“Is it going well?” asked Kwon Ki-seok.

After Chairman Kwon’s death, Kwon Ki-seok’s father had broken the family tradition and revealed himself. His company swallowed the Hydrangea Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. which was in a difficult circumstance at the time.

“Yes. It’s all going very smooth.”

“No one must know about the rare plant.”

“Yes, sir. I will keep that in mind.” Jo Kyung-cheon bowed. A face flashed through his mind. Kwon Ki-seok had made the researchers disappear one after another. It was to keep things confidential. Sweat beaded Jo Kyung-cheon’s forehead.

“Hwaido is very important.”

There was no place on the island where the power of Kwon family did not reach. The entire Hwaido was a useful incineration spot for the family’s mess.

“You have to win the Hwaidome project,” said Kwon Ki-seok.

Jo Kyun-cheon knew that it wasn’t a request, or a wish for his well-being. He knew he had to win.

* * *

“Have you been treated like that all this time?” asked Kwon Chae-woo, caressing her hand that he held. Lee-yeon’s face was very pale. “Why do you even bother with them?”

Kwon Chae-woo didn’t understand why Lee-yeon lowered her head at that man’s words and try to be extra polite to him. He wasn’t even her boss.

“I… just…. He has never come here. He has also never said anything bad to me. He only calls about once every month. Don’t worry about it.”

Kwon Chae-woo let out sigh. “This is all because of me, isn’t it? Just because I don’t remember anything.”

“What?’

“My family looks down on you because they know I don’t remember anything. I just… feel like I have failed you. I am so sorry, Lee-yeon.”

She felt a prick of her conscience. She wasn’t in a place to accept his apology. Now when she had brought this on herself by all the lies she had created.

“Did you already know my family was like that?” He asked.

“I… didn’t know in the beginning,” answered Lee-yeon slowly. She avoided his gaze.

“Did I… hide my family background when I approached you? I can tell from just his voice that my brother lacks a lot as a human being.” He looked at her questioningly. “Did I deceive you to get you to marry me?” he asked.

“No…,” said Lee-yeon. She wanted to reassure him but didn’t know how to. “We didn’t know much about each other’s families when we got married. And I… I didn’t bring it up…”

Kwon Chae-woo squeezed her hand comfortingly. Is face looked sad. “I feel like I owe you a lot.”

“Why?” asked Lee-yeon.

“I feel that I am somehow responsible for all the hardships you are facing,” he said. He lowered his forehead to the back of her hand. His heavy breath melted on her skin.

Kwon Chae-woo wasn’t wrong. Lee-yeon had gotten involved in many crazy incidences after she had met him. She had lived her life in fear. But still, she felt her eyes water as she heard him admit it.