One Plus One

The room was devoid of any light. The pungent smell of urine and feces was so overwhelming that it would make anyone feel nauseous. It was locked from the outside and there was no other way to exit the room. It was sealed shut; not even a fly can escape.

In the corner was a bed for one person. It was unmade and unkempt, stained with blood and food. The walls were drawn with random scribbles of different colors. A new doodle was being designed on it by a man in his fifties.

He was rigorously coloring the wall. His appearance was daunting. His beard was almost white and reached till his stomach. Strands of grey hair hung on his head as if they were being ripped every now and then. The eyes were bloodshot red, as if he had not slept for days.

"One plus one is two," he mumbled. "One plus one is two."

He kept on repeating his gibberish as he drew on the wall. Suddenly, his pencil broke. He let out an ear piercing wail and began to beat his hands against the wall. He ripped out his hair so hard that his scalp was bleeding. The guards outside heard the screams and the pounding of fists against the walls.

One of the guards was new to the facility. The whole building had only one patient, who was given the highest security. Yet, the patient was also ruthlessly tortured.

The guard turned to his senior.

"Mr. Shin," he said nervously. "Are we not going to stop the patient from harming himself?"

"Our orders are simple," the older guard replied. "We are not to let him die. He can hurt himself as much as he wants but dying is not allowed."

The man's screams echoed throughout the area.

"We should help him," the younger guard insisted. "He is a patient, after all."

"He is not a patient," Lee sighed. "He is a prisoner."

The young guard was confused. The man was tormented beyond belief. What sort of crime did he commit to have brought upon such a punishment unto himself?

Lee seemed to have read the younger guard's thoughts. Before he could elaborate more, he heard footsteps approaching their way. A tall, elegant man with blue hair was emerging from the shadows.

Lee instantly bowed down.

"Master Joonjae," he greeted.

Joonjae did not say anything but acknowledged him with a nod. He held out his hand. Lee took out a key and put it in Joonjae's palm.

"Leave us," he ordered. Lee bowed again and gently pulled the younger guard away, who was still confused.

Once out of earshot, the younger guard asked, "Who was he, sunbae?"

"He is Hwang Joonjae," Lee replied. "The owner of this building."

"Hwang Joonjae…" the young guard wondered. The name sounded awfully familiar to him. Then it struck him.

"Is he...is he THAT Hwang Joonjae?" the young guard whispered. Lee nodded.

"But I thought he vanished?" the young guard exclaimed. "Didn't he disappear two years ago?"

"He is back," Lee said.

"He left his vast empire behind at a time when he was basically running the country," the young guard said in awe. "And now he suddenly came back. Isn't that strange?"

"It is," Lee admitted. "But we have no say in this. It's best to stay away from his matters. Otherwise, the consequences will be terrible. You saw how that man in there is being tortured."

"I wonder what he did which pissed off Hwang Joonjae this much," the young guard squirmed.

"I don't know," Lee said. "But from what I heard…"

He peered around to see if there was anyone around. Lowering his voice, he said, "I heard this man was a driver of a hit and run. He ran over a girl and instead of helping her, he left her to die."

"That's horrible!"

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "She could have been saved, if he had just taken her to the hospital. But…"

A loud scream interrupted them.

"If it's true," the young guard said. "Then that girl must have meant something to Hwang Joonjae."

"Who knows," Lee sighed. "All I can say is this. Whoever will anger the most dangerous Mafia lord of this country, is bound to a life worse than death."

….

Inside the room, the bearded man cowered in fright. The handsome man towered in front of him, unaffected by the pungent smell or state of the room. The sight of him made the bearded man shiver.

"How are you doing, Mr. Kang Jaeho?" Joonjae asked calmly. The man, Kang Jaeho, did not answer but whimpered.

"One plus one is two," he mumbled. He was crying and covered his head with his hands. "One plus one is two…"

Joonjae leaned forward, glaring at him. "I know you can understand me," he snarled. "Do you still not remember what you did?"

Jaeho backed of further, confused. His memory was wiped everyday. All he knew was from his instincts that the man standing in front of him was his worst fear.

"Let me remind you," Joonjae said. "You...you took the life of the person I cherish the most. Do you still not remember?"

"One plus one is two," Jaeho repeated in terror. "One plus one…"

"It's what you were teaching you daughter, weren't you?" Joonjae smirked. "Before my men snatched you away from her?"

"One plus one is two…" he cried. "One plus one…"

The man's eyelids began to get heavier. He was exhausted and collapsed on the floor, falling on some feces.

"Doctor!" Joonjae called. One man in doctor's uniform came rushing.

"Yes, sir!" he answered.

"Take him for another shock therapy," Joonjae ordered. "Increase his voltage but don't let him die. He does not have permission to die. Not until I order it. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the doctor said in obedience. He called for the nurses to take Jaeho to the shock therapy room. Joonjae watched with a cold expression, as they carried the unconscious man away.

The two guards watched as their boss came out of the room. Even though he was in a filthy place, his elegance shone through. There was not a single filthy spot on him.

"Thank you for your hard work," he bowed down to them politely. His earlier cold expression was replaced by one of genuine gratitude.

The young guard was taken aback. Was this really the man who was talking about torturing another person only seconds ago?

Lee motioned him to bow back. Perplexed, the young guard returned the bow. With that, Joonjae walked away.

"If I didn't know he was Hwang Joonjae, I would have thought he was a regular law abiding citizen," the young guard commented.

"Hwang Joonjae is a complicated person," Lee sighed. "He will either protect someone with his heart or make a person's life hell."

The young guard stared at Joonjae's retreating back, feeling both admiration and wary of the man. He prayed that he never got on the bad side of Hwang Joonjae.

From one of the distant rooms, the shrieks of Kang Jaeho rang throughout the facility.

…..

Upon exiting the building, Joonjae checked his phone. A picture of a twelve year old boy with his arm around a ten year old girl with amber eyes was in it. They were smiling as they waved at the camera.

Joonjae gave a sad smile. "Fates really fucked us up badly," he said, stroking the picture of the girl. He felt his eyes getting a little misty.

Shutting his phone, he decided to buy some beef ramyun on his way back home that night.