Taegong: Kidnapping

The last person Gong-gi expected at midnight was his former manager, Flo Glitz knocking at his front door. Not much had changed in Flo Glitz apart from the fact that her nose was half the size. Why couldn't she knock at a reasonable time?

Gong-gi stumbled around the hallway with an empty can in his hand. His manners crashed with his head against the door. As the door was about to slam on Flo's face, she jabbed the door.

"What are you doing here?" Gong-Gi whispered. "It's so late."

Flo dragged him out of his apartment. "You're coming with me."

"Why?"

"Don't question me," Flo Glitz pulled a gun out of her peacock feathered jacket. She aimed the trigger at his forehead. "You still belong to me."

"I don't understand." All he could do was stare at her. She had the face of an angel and the body of an anime pin-up girl. Her laughter only heightened Gong-gi's anxieties. One wrong move could kill.

With Flo Glitz, it had always been her way or the highway. Hearing the sound of Flo's fingertips rubbing against the trigger was like walking the plank. She whipped him loads of times before he graduated as an idol. Nightmares triggered by Flo Glitz, tearing his ligaments so he could perform splits on stage never left him.

Gong-gi considered himself one of the lucky ones: Flo Glitz had never pulled a gun to his head...until now.

"Of course you don't understand," Flo said, tilting her head. "You clearly don't understand anything. You owe me money!"

He squinted. "Eh? How do I owe you money?"

"You broke the rules!"

"I'm in the band anymore, it doesn't matter."

Flo cackled. "It matters to me. You had a girlfriend. That's against the rules. All your other bandmates from VALENTINE COOKIE returned to me expect you. To top it all off, you had the nerve to start a family and not pay your fees."

"I worked eighteen hours a day with little pay," Gong-gi snapped. A part of him wondered if it was wise to backchat an armed woman. When Flo's hands moved towards the handle, Gong-gi could see that the gun was a toy. The famous manager of Flo Glitz Entertainment would never let herself be seen carrying a weapon in public. "I owe you nothing."

"I will shoot."

"Go ahead," Gong-gi smiled. "I bet it's just water in there." Flo jolted back as water sprouted in Gong-gi's face. For a few moments, the two stared at each other in silence.

"How did you know it was a toy?"

Confiscating the weapon, Gong-gi knocked on the hollow plastic. His fingers rubbed against the heart-shaped logo. "Your friend, Fanny Bru, has a brand of toys."

Flo's face sunk with a sullen stare. With her hands on her hips, she glared at Gong-gi with disdain. "It still hasn't changed the fact that you breached your contract, now you have two choices..."

Gong-gi tossed the gun by Flo's feet. "I don't have time for this. Can we discuss this in the morning?"

Flo shook her head. "You know me when I want something I want it now."

"...Fine," Gong-gi muttered. "What do you want?"

"You owe me ten billion won."

"I don't have that money." Gong-gi was the lead singer of VALENTINE COOKIE, but only earned a fraction of the money that the band made. They had moderate success, not as big as BTS, Blackpink or SHINee, but enough to be recognised in the street. By the time Gong-gi had finished his military service, BLACK VALENTINE had dissolved.

"Then you'll have to come back and work for me."

"Why do you want me?" Gong-gi questioned Flo's desire to have him back in the music industry. "I'm thirty. It's not my type of music anymore, and I have a family to look after."

Flo shrugged her shoulders. "You're full of excused. I'm sure your family don't want to be burdened with your debts..."

He couldn't stand the thought of his wife and kids having to live with the burden of billions being owned by him. They deserved better. At times where he questioned his ability as a husband, father and man, alcohol was his crutch. "Are you trying to reform VALENTINE COOKIE?"

"Hell no," Flo replied, waving her hands in the air. "The last two records were such flops. And nobody likes them anymore. You're gonna be in a new band called Taegong." Looking down on at her platinum heels, she picked up her toy gun. "Anyway, we're wasting time! We've got a plane to catch in the morning."

"Huh?" Gong-gi had lost his passport ages ago. Even if he did want to travel, he didn't have the money or the documents to travel. He had lost his passport ages ago, and he was happy about it. He had seen the world once, he didn't need to see it again. After being a slave to the ever-growing music industry, a peaceful life with his family was all he ever wanted.

"I got your passport here. I even renewed it for you," Flo explained. "You have another five years on your contract. So you should really come with me."

"Aren't you going to give me a chance to say goodbye to my family?"

Flo grabbed Gong-gi's arm and dragged him to the elevator. Don't worry, they're going to read all about it in the newspaper tomorrow."

"WHAT?"

"Like I said, you are property of Flo Glitz Entertainment. You've been a very naughty boy, and you deserve to be punished."

"You know what you are doing is kidnapping, right?"

She shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't care. I'm above the law. My husband is an outstanding lawyer, and my brother is a politician. You can't disobey me."

"You can at least tell me where we're going?"

"We're going to Italy to film our music video."

"Don't we need to learn the song first?" Everything Flo had done made no sense. How was he meant to learn a song and dance routine without preparing?

"We can learn it on the plane."

What hurts the most was not being able to say goodbye to his loved ones. They're gonna assume that he just got up and left. All the stupid mistakes he had made as a teenager came back to haunt him. Why did he pursue such an impossible life of fortune and fame without acknowledging the dark side? When the elevator doors opened, he saw a black limousine with two bodyguards waiting for him. It wouldn't surprise Gong-gi if they were connected with the mafia.