Don't Wait Too Long | Ryeji (reworked)

chapter one

- present day -

Ryujin leaned her back against the building of a strip club and took a drag from her cigarette. She closed her eyes trying to get rid of the headache she gained from the loud music and musty men cat calling the female staff.

She hated coming here but had to because of her job. Her boss co-owned this club with another boss from a different clan. The whole concept of selling their workers for sex to gain money made Ryujin uncomfortable. She didn't really like the idea of prostitution.

She's seen several girls blindly apply to work there for the exceptional pay and for that reason she could understand why they've chosen to sell themselves. But she's also seen their innocence slowly fade the longer they continued to work and that made Ryujin feel terrible for them.

The best she could do for them was to make sure their clients don't cross any lines and that they managed to get home safely. She was basically working as security there.

Ryujin couldn't wait until she could go home. She sighed at the thought of kicking out another drunken man trying to have his way with one of the girls. As small of a build she had, Ryujin never feared to take on anyone. She thanked her father for forcing her to take taekwondo classes as a child.

Going down the road of being in a gang wasn't what younger Ryujin would have expected. But she felt like she had a family and purpose again. Her father worked at a fishing company that was owned by her boss.

Mr. Takanashi. Ryujin was vaguely familiar of him before they properly met.

He immediately took Ryujin under his wing after she graduated from school and treated her like his own. After her father went missing she didn't have anywhere else to go expect Chris' home. Yeji was also there for her too but things happened and they fell apart around the time Ryujin got accepted into the Takanashi Clan.

Mr. Takanashi didn't have any children or a spouse. Ryujin made sure to always work hard to satisfy him and make him feel proud just like she used to do for her father. In the back of her mind she thought about her parents and their demise. If anyone could get to the bottom of her unanswered questions it was Takanashi himself.

Ryujin's gut had told her so.

Ryujin and Chris were like a packaged deal. He refused to watch his friend join without him. He made a promise to Ryujin's dad years ago that he would always protect her. So instead of applying for universities he followed Ryujin down this path. He couldn't live with himself if he let Ryujin go on with it alone.

"Hey". A soft voice caught the attention of Ryujin.

"Hi". Ryujin replied and then put her cigarette out on the ground. She placed her hands into her suit jacket pockets and turned her attention to the person next to her.

"I'm pretty new here and just wanted to thank you for what you did before". The girl explained with a warm smile.

Ryujin eyed the girl up and down and shrugged her shoulders. Ryujin thought she was definitely good looking. Just her type. But she won't cross any boundaries.

"It's no big deal". Ryujin dismissed and gave the other a subtle smile. There was always that thrill when it came to fights and Ryujin lived for it. Her "opponent" didn't have chance and it wasn't because he could barely stand on his own feet from being drunk.

Along with the cool nights air there was awkward tension between the two. Ryujin gained a lot of confidence after being recruited but she still would sometimes become shy like her old self.

"I'm Karina". The girl introduced herself with her hand out.

Ryujin watched Karina's hand for a few seconds before taking it.

"Ryujin". She gave Karina a wink.

"Hey you! Hurry up, you have another client!". A man shouted to Karina. It was one of the other members. Ryujin noticed the fear in Karina's eyes and gave her a sad smile.

"Uh bye Ryujin". Karina quickly waved before she walked off back inside while at the same time fixing her skirt.

Ryujin pursed her lips. Every other night she would find herself in her own bed with a different woman. Ryujin never committed to a proper relationship though. She never felt like she wanted anything more than just a one night stand. By doing so it satisfied her needs.

After a couple to more hours went by, she was dismissed. Usually she would find herself in a random bar looking for her next hook up but instead she just wanted to go grab something to eat.

She hopped on her motorcycle and zoomed to one of her favourite restaurants. Coincidently enough it was owned by Chris' wife Sana.

The restaurant door chimed when she entered. She took a in deep breath to smell the flavourful air. Ryujin loved the lively atmosphere the four walls of the restaurant held. She scanned the room to see families and couples enjoying their meals.

"Aunty!". A young voiced shouted towards her. Ryujin smiled and knelt down to engulf the younger boy into a tight hug.
Chris and Sana's son, Jaesung.

"How's my favourite little nephew?". Ryujin asked rubbing his hair playfully. He babbled on to tell Ryujin all about a new game he played on his Nintendo Switch. Ryujin watched him attentively with adoring eyes. She never liked kids but this one won her heart.

"Ryujin come sit down!". Sana said cheerfully and ushered to the chair she pulled out for her. Ryujin greeted her with a hug too and sat down. Sana almost immediately served Ryujin's usual order of Jajangmyeon.

Ryujin mindlessly would find herself thinking about Yeji whenever she felt content. Even though she was a text message or a phone call away, Ryujin didn't want to push her luck. Yeji made it very clear that she no longer wanted anything to do with her.

That never stopped her from fantasising about her. Not in a weird sexual way but in a morbidly curious way. Ryujin never had any social media so she didn't really have an idea on what Yeji was up to. She'd stop herself once she thought of Yeji being in a relationship. Ryujin hated that her blood would boil by that thought. She was Ryujin's friend and friends don't think of each other in that way.

Well, they aren't friends anymore. And Ryujin still couldn't stop herself from seeing Yeji that way.