fic: A Hundred and One little Complications, Chapter 8
Title: A Hundred and One Little Complications, Chapter 8
Length: chaptered
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13 for subject matter
Genre: AU
Pairing/Characters: DooSeob, Junhyung/Gayooon, implied-one-sided Hyunseung/Dongwoon, implied past Yoseob/Gayoon, ofc's of the grandmotherly and children types
Warnings: RPS, Violence
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: Partially inspired by snb123's spy prompt and this picture.
Surprise, surprise~ My beta was still up after all! ^_^ So new chapter, yay~
That said, understand that action is not my forte. :x If I could avoid it entirely, I would. Sadly, this kind of fic does not allow for that.
Previously: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Side Shots: Second Chances | Guardian | Aftermath
Summary: Doojoon is a gay reporter with too many enemies in too many places, the divorced father of a beautiful little girl. Gikwang is his deceased ex-wife’s last husband and the closest thing he has to family since his blood relatives disowned him. When an assassination attempt almost kills them all, Gikwang calls in a favor.
As if Doojoon's life isn't already complicated enough...
~*~*~*~
Only the indomitable spirit and will of a little girl with a promised a day of shopping could keep the momentum of the morning going after such a serious and vaguely depressing lunch.
By the time Yoseob pulled Doojoon’s car into the small parking lot behind Yunja’s restaurant that evening, everyone was smiling again.
Doojoon wasn’t sure what Yoseob had told his grandmother about their relationship, but it was obvious he’d said something about the change. When she greeted them, she eyed Doojoon speculatively. Her regard was even more unnerving the second time around than it had been the first. As ridiculous as it was, she made him feel like he was a cad for not asking her permission to date her grandson.
She called someone over to take them to a large reserved table before pulling Yoseob off to the side. Doojoon nodded his thanks to the young woman as he helped Cheon get settled on his left and absently gave their drink orders as Gikwang went around to sit in front of Cheon. Most of his attention was still with Yoseob and Yunja.
Their conversation was hushed, but whatever she said irritated Yoseob. He was scowling and gesturing widely, but whatever it was, she just shook her head and gave him the half-scolding, half-disappointed look he was sure mothers and grandmothers the world over had perfected.
Though obviously unhappy about it, Yoseob sighed and waved a hand in defeated exasperation.
He settled down in the empty seat on Doojoon’s right. “When I called Nana about having a family meal together, she apparently took that to mean it was time to introduce you to everyone. They should be here shortly so we’ll just wait to order.”
Gikwang glanced up at him with a confused look. “But Seobie, isn’t Gramama the only-”
Sighing, Yoseob shrugged. “When did we ever consider blood to be what makes family here, Kwangie?” Then he glanced at Doojoon with an uncertain look. “Besides… There is one other.”
“But, who-”
The bells above the door jangled, but no one really paid the sound any attention until a smug voice interrupted them. “Well, well, well… Little Kiki finally came home.”
As he rounded the table, the newcomer ran his fingers through GIkwang’s hair, completely ignoring the scowl that had settled on the man’s face. Doojoon recognized him as the boy leaning over Yoseob’s shoulders in Yoseob’s school photo though he was older and somehow sleeker, all predatory grace and smooth confidence. “Still pretending you’re straight, Kiki?”
“I don’t know,” Gikwang ground out through clenched teeth as he swatted the hand away. “Still pretending you’re sane, Seungie?”
The stranger smirked before settling into the seat next to Gikwang, snorting in amusement as the shorter man scooted away. He propped his elbows on the table and settled his chin on them, staring across the table at Doojoon. “So, you’re what all the fuss is about?”
Doojoon fought the urge to squirm as curious eyes practically undressed him. Instead, he tilted his head in greeting. “I’m Doojoon.”
The staring went on for another endless moment before the man beamed at him and stuck a hand across the table. “You’ll keep, I think. Hyunseung. I’m the one who stayed around to put the pieces back together after Kiki broke him all apart.”
After sparing a glance at the pale, guilt pinched look on Gikwang’s face, Doojoon hesitantly reached out to return the shake. Hyunseung used his hand to pull him closer, though he made no effort to quiet his voice. “If you hurt him, they’ll never find all the pieces of you.”
“Aish, knock it off, Seungie. There are kids present.” Doojoon didn’t manage to turn to see who’d interrupted before another voice broke in and a gangly form bowled into Yoseob from behind.
“Yopa~!”
Yoseob’s lips curled in an almost shy smile as he patted the arms that had a strangle-hold on his neck. “Hey, Soonlee.”
The girl wasn’t nearly as little as Cheon, nine or ten and obviously hitting the first of her bigger growth spurts. She had that look of almost too thinness and stretched skin as her body weight tried to keep up with her height. She only loosened her grip slightly to scramble up into his lap like a colt with too many limbs and not enough balance an impression added to by the long pony tail and floppy bangs. Her resemblance to Yoseob was even stronger with her face right next to his and Doojoon turned to his lover expectantly.
His arms settling around Soonlee as if he wasn’t quite sure they were welcome despite the girl’s exuberant greeting, Yoseob took a deep breath and met Doojoon’s eyes. “Soonlee, this is Doojoon and Cheon.” She managed a small wave of acknowledgement without letting go of the tight grip she had on Yoseob’s neck and Doojoon realized that this must be why Cheon’s own enthusiasm was always accepted without question. Yoseob probably thought that all little girls behaved in such hoyden fashion.
“She’s been getting antsy as hell, Seobie. You know how much she hates it when she doesn’t know where you are.” The man nodded to Doojoon before ruffling Yoseob’s hair. “Bout time you brought him around officially. I was starting to wonder if you were having delayed hallucinations in the form of imaginary friends.”
Yoseob’s scowl lost something with a little girl clinging to him like a limpet and his hair sticking up every which way. “We’ve only been dating for a couple of days, Junhyung.”
Snorting, Junhyung shook his head as he pulled out a free chair for the woman with him and settled down next to her. “Oh please. You haven’t had eyes for anyone else in years.”
“When was the last time you got laid, again?” Hyunseung asked with a knowing smirk.
“Stop teasing him.” Both men quieted instantly with mumbled apologies as Yunja joined them at the table. She eyed the pair for a long moment, then nodded in approval when they appeared properly cowed. Her piercing gaze swung back to Doojoon.
Hyunseung didn’t remain quiet for long. “Where’s DW? I thought he was coming, too.”
A gleeful look settled onto Yoseob’s face, but before he could say anything, Yunja’s frown turned on him. “Don’t even think about it, Yang Yoseob. There will be no more teasing until dinner is over. And DW called to say that he’ll be late, so we’re going to start without him.”
There was a fair bit of chaos directly after that as Yoseob managed to get Soonlee to let go and sit in an actual chair and everyone talked at once trying to agree on what to order. Cheon was a little piqued at there being a second young female to compete for Yoseob’s attention, so she was louder than usual and Doojoon caught her trying to sneak out of her chair and around to Yoseob’s more than once. Gikwang seemed happy enough to see Junhyung, trying to chat with him while ignoring Hyunseung who was having none of that at all and kept interjecting his own input into their conversation. The woman was introduced as Gayoon eventually, though she didn’t speak up much. She seemed nice enough for all that she spent most of the appetizers alternating between keeping Soonlee from crawling back into Yoseob’s lap and glaring icy daggers at Gikwang.
It was nothing like the sedate, stately affairs Doojoon’s parents had called family dinners and he couldn’t help but flash Yoseob a smile, grateful to have been included in this happy chaos.
Yoseob smiled back and leaned closer to press a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth.
Around them, everyone stopped and stared, making Yoseob blush slightly as he glared at them. “Oh, shut up.”
The teasing started back up after that and Yunja just sighed and shook her head, opting to stay out of it. It was all in good fun and Yoseob gave back as good as he got, teasing Hyunseung about his apparent crush on DW and Junhyung about being whipped. Gayoon stopped Junhyung’s reply by putting her hand over his and smirking at Yoseob with a smug comment about Junhyung not having any complaints. If the man did, he was smart enough not to say so.
It was easy to see that these were people knew each other well and loved each other because of (or in spite of) it.
More than once, Doojoon glanced over to find Gikwang watching the others with a quiet wistfulness that didn’t really suit him at all. Gikwang was meant to be smiling. Doojoon kicked him lightly under the table and arched a brow in question when his friend turned to look at him, but Gikwang just smiled sadly and shrugged.
Doojoon thought he understood, though. This was the family that Gikwang had cut himself out of when he’d run away from his guilt over Yoseob. This was the family that he’d been missing for years - even Hyunseung - and though they were accepting him back, it was just as obvious that his position here was a delicate one.
He’d failed them once, horribly, and they were only giving him a second chance because Yoseob was. They’d close ranks around Yoseob and exclude Gikwang in a heartbeat if they thought it necessary.
Conversation turned towards Soonlee’s school and she frowned at Yoseob severely. “The dragon lady said you came by, but you didn’t stop in to say hi.”
“Seobie,” Junhyung groaned and put a hand over his eyes in an expression of long suffering. “How many times have I told you not to call her that around Soonlee?”
Yoseob held up both hands in surrender. “I can’t help it! She’s too scary to be called anything else!”
Leaning across Doojoon with wide eyes, Cheon ‘whispered’ at Yoseob. “You mean… Mrs. Lee?”
“Ha! See? Even Cheon knows who we’re talking about. That woman is a dragon.”
But Soonlee was having none of it. She slapped the table to drag attention back to herself. Her scowl was just as adorable as Yoseob’s. “You. Didn’t. Come. See. Me.”
“Aw, baby, I’m sorry. I was working.” Yoseob actually looked kind of wretched and contrite as he held up one hand, pinky out to loop around her smaller one. “I promise that it won’t happen again, okay?”
She seemed satisfied with that.
“So are they in danger at the school? Should we be adding new security measures?” Gayoon asked quietly as she brushed Soonlee’s hair back.
Yoseob shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think so. Snatch and grabs at schools are too complicated and this guy isn’t that smart. I almost wish he’d try something there. It’d make him a lot easier to catch.”
“No shop talk at the dinner table,” Yunja scolded, a prim look on her face. “You’ll give me indigestion.”
The four friends looked at each other before bursting out into laughter.
“You’re as bad as anyone else,” Yoseob said, flicking a piece of paper in his grandmother’s general direction with a grin.
“You’re not too old to be turned over my knee, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Yoseob’s voice was all mock seriousness, but his eyes fairly sparkled with mischief.
“DW!” Before he could say or do anything else to get himself into trouble, Hyunseung interrupted, standing up with wide eyes. He hurtled around the table, and after twisting to see what he was looking at, Yoseob was right on his heels. They caught the wavering form before Dongwoon could collapse onto the floor.
Dongwoon tangled a hand in Yoseob’s shirt and pulled the blonde closer, the hoarse whisper of his voice just barely audible as Doojoon crouched near Yoseob’s shoulder. “Have to… have to warn you… said he was coming. That the… bitch couldn’t just… replace him.”
“But-” Yoseob shook his head and stared at Dongwoon in confusion as the younger man let go of him and relaxed more fully against Hyunseung. “How could he even know?”
“Every man has a price, Seobie, be it money or blood. He probably found Taec and traced his way back to DW.”
“But even Taec doesn’t actually know me. Just one of my more prolific alias’.”
Hyunseung shrugged and brushed Dongwoon’s hair back with a look of fond exasperation. “No, but that’s enough to lead to DW and now he’s gone and led them right here.”
Yoseob sat back with a sharp hiss, his gaze sweeping over the restaurant. The only customers were their ragtag, mismatched family. Either Yunja had closed the place for the night or else Sunday nights were particularly slow. “We’ve got to get everyone out of here.”
“Do you really think we have time?”
The question proved to be rhetorical as the squeal of tires and a revving engine sent Yoseob into action, scrambling across the room. “Everyone get down! Behind something if you can! Gayoon, Nana, take the girls back into the-”
Glass exploded under the violent rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire.
Both little girls screamed, but Gayoon and Yunja had them well in hand, getting them both down and behind the protection of the counter. Hyunseung pulled Dongwoon away from the doorway, crouching over him as the gunfire seemed to go on forever.
Doojoon’s knees scraped in the glass painfully. When he shifted around, trying to find clear floor, he raised his head just a bit too high, yelping as another spat of bullets exploded a pair of nearby vases.
Strong hands jerked him back down and Yoseob knocked over a table to give them some cover. “Idiot. When someone’s shooting at you, you don’t just stick your head up as an invitation for target practice.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Doojoon grumbled, comforted by Yoseob’s presence by his side. He could still hear the sounds of little girls crying and as much as that bothered him, it also calmed him a bit more. They had to be alive to cry, after all. “Where’d you go?”
Yoseob held up the gun he’d retrieved from somewhere. His head was tilted slightly and there was tight concentration in his expression. The sounds had changed and bullets had stopped raining into the restaurant. “That’s return fire… Probably Kim’s guys. Hey, Seungie-”
“Yeah, I’m on it.”
There was crunching glass, then the jingle of the bells above the door as Hyunseung slipped outside.
Leaning back against the table, Yoseob surveyed the damaged restaurant with a sigh. “Nana is going to kill me.”
“It wasn’t really your fault,” Doojoon offered, brushing a bit of glass out of Yoseob’s hair.
“I promised her a long time ago I wouldn’t bring trouble back here.” He gave Doojoon a sardonic look. “I’ve managed to keep this life completely separate up til now.”
Doojoon looked away, guilt gnawing at him. “I’m sorry.”
Gentle hands tugged him closer for a soft kiss. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault, either. I should have dealt with this before I brought you home.” Yoseob pulled back just far enough to grin at him and Doojoon had to grab ahold of his arms to keep his balance. “Of course, if I’d put it off, they’d have probably just shown up at your place en masse, so six of one, half a dozen of another, I suppose.”
Doojoon didn’t even realize that all sounds of gunfire had ended until the door swung open and Hyunseung returned with Choi and Lee in tow, all three tucking away guns.
Yoseob pocketed his own before standing up with a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Are they gone?”
Hyunseung snorted and moved directly to Dongwoon, but Kim’s men seemed to buy it. The big one patted Yoseob’s shoulder once he was near enough and smiled with easy charm and confidence. “The gunman fled, but we’ve already called the police. Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll have him in custody soon. Is everyone in here okay?”
Behind the counter, Yunja and Gayoon stood, the little girls clinging to them. Cheon didn’t stay there for long though. As soon as she saw Doojoon standing, she darted away from Yunja and ran straight for her father, crying. “Daddy! Daddy!”
“Stop!”
She froze at Yoseob’s yell, staring at him with big frightened eyes as he strode across the room towards her. She didn’t flinch when he scooped her up, though, so Doojoon thought the fear was just residual from the entire incident rather than fear of Yoseob.
“You have to watch for the glass,” Yoseob scolded softly as he carried her the rest of the way to Doojoon.
Cheon sniffled and nodded as she reached for her father.
Lee had helped Gikwang back up, though the shorter man waved off the concerned attention he was getting over the blood at his temple. “It’s nothing. I just hit my head.”
Doojoon carried Cheon over so that he could see for himself. Head wounds, he knew, tended to look worse than they actually were. Gikwang looked more aggravated than anything else. He even managed a smile for Cheon and let her snag his fingers with her bad hand. She smiled back when he kissed her fingers, reassured that he wasn’t hurt badly.
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” Lee hissed in sympathy with Gikwang as he poked at the bruise that was already forming. “That looks pretty bad… There should be an ambulance coming with the cops.”
“Thank you,” Yoseob replied with a grateful smile before Gikwang could insist he was fine.
“You should get that checked out too.” Choi nodded at Yoseob’s shoulder. “You might need stitches.”
The mercenary blinked down at himself as if he hadn’t quite realized he was injured. As many scars as he had, maybe he hadn’t. He didn’t seem overly concerned about it as he shrugged and tugged his sleeve out of the way to see it better. “I think it’s just a scratch.”
“Yopa!” Soonlee pulled away from Junhyung and Gayoon to pick her way over to Yoseob. Her tone brooked no argument as she got a chair upright and crawled up on it. She was tall enough on her own that the chair actually put her a bit over his head. “Let me see.”
He stood, quiet and obedient, as she made him take his shirt all the way off so that she could get a better look at the wound herself.
Choi smiled and waved to his companion. “Well, it seems like you guys have the situation in hand. We’ll wait outside for the police.”
“Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Hyunseung gave Yoseob a questioning look as he passed by, getting a slight nod in return.
He waited til they were gone before sighing again. “We really should go to the hospital. DW needs it even if we might be able to scrape by without a doctor. And really, after all of that, it’d look suspicious if we didn’t go, or at least let them check us out.”
Doojoon couldn’t help but start a little, giving Yoseob an incredulous look. “I think the cat’s sort of out of the bag here, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but probably not.” Yoseob pulled out his phone and sent off a text. “He was looking for the assassin, not you. And if he needed DW to lead him here, then he probably doesn’t actually know who I am. And Hyunseung was the one who went outside.”
“But-”
Yoseob waved away the protest as his phone buzzed with a returning text. “Hyunseung is in the business, too, and his face is more well-known than mine. It’s not that much of a stretch for everyone - including Choi and Lee - to assume that he’s the second assassin.” He shrugged. “At the very least, that’s how Seungie is going to try to spin it.”
With a sigh, Doojoon nodded. He could see plenty of problems with that, but he trusted Yoseob to understand how these people thought better than he did.
In the end, Dongwoon was the only one who ended up being taken away by the ambulance. The paramedics seemed satisfied that Gikwang was only mildly concussed and they fixed Yoseob’s arm up with butterfly bandages and sound admonishments to avoid doing anything that might disrupt it for a few days.
The police were a little more solicitous this time around. Apparently actual bullets were harder to explain away than cut brake lines. Or maybe it was the way that Yunja glared and scolded, making everyone feel like they were two year olds in the face of her motherly aggravation. Hyunseung and Kim’s men answered most of the questions and though everyone but the girls had to give statements, the officers focused on the men who could give them the most information.
By then, the neighbors had descended. As soon as the officer’s gave permission, everyone set about a quiet, orderly clean up.
Before they left, the police promised that there’d be extra patrol cars in the neighborhood, just in case.
Gikwang, Doojoon, and Cheon had settled near the counter and watched in silence. Eventually, Yoseob wandered over, his expression both sad and serious as he watched.
When Yunja passed by, he caught her up in a hug. “I’m sorry about this, Nana. I’ll have it fixed up, I promise. You can take a cruise or something and it’ll be good as new by the time you come home.”
She sighed and patted his cheek. “It was bound to happen eventually, no matter how careful you were. I’ve never really wanted this kind of life for you, but I can’t deny that it makes a difference, keeps people safe. Too much like your father, I guess. This? This is just stuff. As long as you don’t make me go to any more funerals, I can live with a little broken glass.”
Yoseob sighed and held her tighter for a moment.
Doojoon was pretty sure he heard a whispered I love you before Yoseob finally let her go.
She just smiled and ruffled his hair. “I love you, too. And I trust you and Seungie to deal with this man. If he comes back here, I will show you that you’re not too old to be turned over my knee.”
Laughing, Yoseob stepped back and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t think I won’t be taking you up on that cruise, either.”
“Of course not.”
Cheon yawned and slumped against Doojoon’s shoulder, her eyes slipping closed. It had been a long day and an even more stressful evening. He was surprised that she’d lasted as long as she had. Yoseob smiled and brushed a hand over her cheek. “Let me go say good night to Soonlee and the others, then we can go. I need to swing by the hospital to check on DW, make sure everything is taken care of there.”
“All right.”
He waited, Cheon heavy against his chest, Gikwang curled up against his side, and sighed. He still had questions and things had gotten more dangerous instead of less, but more than anything else, he just wanted to be home safe in bed with the people he cared about close by.
~*~*~
on to Chapter 9
Length: chaptered
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG-13 for subject matter
Genre: AU
Pairing/Characters: DooSeob, Junhyung/Gayooon, implied-one-sided Hyunseung/Dongwoon, implied past Yoseob/Gayoon, ofc's of the grandmotherly and children types
Warnings: RPS, Violence
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: Partially inspired by snb123's spy prompt and this picture.
Surprise, surprise~ My beta was still up after all! ^_^ So new chapter, yay~
That said, understand that action is not my forte. :x If I could avoid it entirely, I would. Sadly, this kind of fic does not allow for that.
Previously: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Side Shots: Second Chances | Guardian | Aftermath
Summary: Doojoon is a gay reporter with too many enemies in too many places, the divorced father of a beautiful little girl. Gikwang is his deceased ex-wife’s last husband and the closest thing he has to family since his blood relatives disowned him. When an assassination attempt almost kills them all, Gikwang calls in a favor.
As if Doojoon's life isn't already complicated enough...
~*~*~*~
Only the indomitable spirit and will of a little girl with a promised a day of shopping could keep the momentum of the morning going after such a serious and vaguely depressing lunch.
By the time Yoseob pulled Doojoon’s car into the small parking lot behind Yunja’s restaurant that evening, everyone was smiling again.
Doojoon wasn’t sure what Yoseob had told his grandmother about their relationship, but it was obvious he’d said something about the change. When she greeted them, she eyed Doojoon speculatively. Her regard was even more unnerving the second time around than it had been the first. As ridiculous as it was, she made him feel like he was a cad for not asking her permission to date her grandson.
She called someone over to take them to a large reserved table before pulling Yoseob off to the side. Doojoon nodded his thanks to the young woman as he helped Cheon get settled on his left and absently gave their drink orders as Gikwang went around to sit in front of Cheon. Most of his attention was still with Yoseob and Yunja.
Their conversation was hushed, but whatever she said irritated Yoseob. He was scowling and gesturing widely, but whatever it was, she just shook her head and gave him the half-scolding, half-disappointed look he was sure mothers and grandmothers the world over had perfected.
Though obviously unhappy about it, Yoseob sighed and waved a hand in defeated exasperation.
He settled down in the empty seat on Doojoon’s right. “When I called Nana about having a family meal together, she apparently took that to mean it was time to introduce you to everyone. They should be here shortly so we’ll just wait to order.”
Gikwang glanced up at him with a confused look. “But Seobie, isn’t Gramama the only-”
Sighing, Yoseob shrugged. “When did we ever consider blood to be what makes family here, Kwangie?” Then he glanced at Doojoon with an uncertain look. “Besides… There is one other.”
“But, who-”
The bells above the door jangled, but no one really paid the sound any attention until a smug voice interrupted them. “Well, well, well… Little Kiki finally came home.”
As he rounded the table, the newcomer ran his fingers through GIkwang’s hair, completely ignoring the scowl that had settled on the man’s face. Doojoon recognized him as the boy leaning over Yoseob’s shoulders in Yoseob’s school photo though he was older and somehow sleeker, all predatory grace and smooth confidence. “Still pretending you’re straight, Kiki?”
“I don’t know,” Gikwang ground out through clenched teeth as he swatted the hand away. “Still pretending you’re sane, Seungie?”
The stranger smirked before settling into the seat next to Gikwang, snorting in amusement as the shorter man scooted away. He propped his elbows on the table and settled his chin on them, staring across the table at Doojoon. “So, you’re what all the fuss is about?”
Doojoon fought the urge to squirm as curious eyes practically undressed him. Instead, he tilted his head in greeting. “I’m Doojoon.”
The staring went on for another endless moment before the man beamed at him and stuck a hand across the table. “You’ll keep, I think. Hyunseung. I’m the one who stayed around to put the pieces back together after Kiki broke him all apart.”
After sparing a glance at the pale, guilt pinched look on Gikwang’s face, Doojoon hesitantly reached out to return the shake. Hyunseung used his hand to pull him closer, though he made no effort to quiet his voice. “If you hurt him, they’ll never find all the pieces of you.”
“Aish, knock it off, Seungie. There are kids present.” Doojoon didn’t manage to turn to see who’d interrupted before another voice broke in and a gangly form bowled into Yoseob from behind.
“Yopa~!”
Yoseob’s lips curled in an almost shy smile as he patted the arms that had a strangle-hold on his neck. “Hey, Soonlee.”
The girl wasn’t nearly as little as Cheon, nine or ten and obviously hitting the first of her bigger growth spurts. She had that look of almost too thinness and stretched skin as her body weight tried to keep up with her height. She only loosened her grip slightly to scramble up into his lap like a colt with too many limbs and not enough balance an impression added to by the long pony tail and floppy bangs. Her resemblance to Yoseob was even stronger with her face right next to his and Doojoon turned to his lover expectantly.
His arms settling around Soonlee as if he wasn’t quite sure they were welcome despite the girl’s exuberant greeting, Yoseob took a deep breath and met Doojoon’s eyes. “Soonlee, this is Doojoon and Cheon.” She managed a small wave of acknowledgement without letting go of the tight grip she had on Yoseob’s neck and Doojoon realized that this must be why Cheon’s own enthusiasm was always accepted without question. Yoseob probably thought that all little girls behaved in such hoyden fashion.
“She’s been getting antsy as hell, Seobie. You know how much she hates it when she doesn’t know where you are.” The man nodded to Doojoon before ruffling Yoseob’s hair. “Bout time you brought him around officially. I was starting to wonder if you were having delayed hallucinations in the form of imaginary friends.”
Yoseob’s scowl lost something with a little girl clinging to him like a limpet and his hair sticking up every which way. “We’ve only been dating for a couple of days, Junhyung.”
Snorting, Junhyung shook his head as he pulled out a free chair for the woman with him and settled down next to her. “Oh please. You haven’t had eyes for anyone else in years.”
“When was the last time you got laid, again?” Hyunseung asked with a knowing smirk.
“Stop teasing him.” Both men quieted instantly with mumbled apologies as Yunja joined them at the table. She eyed the pair for a long moment, then nodded in approval when they appeared properly cowed. Her piercing gaze swung back to Doojoon.
Hyunseung didn’t remain quiet for long. “Where’s DW? I thought he was coming, too.”
A gleeful look settled onto Yoseob’s face, but before he could say anything, Yunja’s frown turned on him. “Don’t even think about it, Yang Yoseob. There will be no more teasing until dinner is over. And DW called to say that he’ll be late, so we’re going to start without him.”
There was a fair bit of chaos directly after that as Yoseob managed to get Soonlee to let go and sit in an actual chair and everyone talked at once trying to agree on what to order. Cheon was a little piqued at there being a second young female to compete for Yoseob’s attention, so she was louder than usual and Doojoon caught her trying to sneak out of her chair and around to Yoseob’s more than once. Gikwang seemed happy enough to see Junhyung, trying to chat with him while ignoring Hyunseung who was having none of that at all and kept interjecting his own input into their conversation. The woman was introduced as Gayoon eventually, though she didn’t speak up much. She seemed nice enough for all that she spent most of the appetizers alternating between keeping Soonlee from crawling back into Yoseob’s lap and glaring icy daggers at Gikwang.
It was nothing like the sedate, stately affairs Doojoon’s parents had called family dinners and he couldn’t help but flash Yoseob a smile, grateful to have been included in this happy chaos.
Yoseob smiled back and leaned closer to press a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth.
Around them, everyone stopped and stared, making Yoseob blush slightly as he glared at them. “Oh, shut up.”
The teasing started back up after that and Yunja just sighed and shook her head, opting to stay out of it. It was all in good fun and Yoseob gave back as good as he got, teasing Hyunseung about his apparent crush on DW and Junhyung about being whipped. Gayoon stopped Junhyung’s reply by putting her hand over his and smirking at Yoseob with a smug comment about Junhyung not having any complaints. If the man did, he was smart enough not to say so.
It was easy to see that these were people knew each other well and loved each other because of (or in spite of) it.
More than once, Doojoon glanced over to find Gikwang watching the others with a quiet wistfulness that didn’t really suit him at all. Gikwang was meant to be smiling. Doojoon kicked him lightly under the table and arched a brow in question when his friend turned to look at him, but Gikwang just smiled sadly and shrugged.
Doojoon thought he understood, though. This was the family that Gikwang had cut himself out of when he’d run away from his guilt over Yoseob. This was the family that he’d been missing for years - even Hyunseung - and though they were accepting him back, it was just as obvious that his position here was a delicate one.
He’d failed them once, horribly, and they were only giving him a second chance because Yoseob was. They’d close ranks around Yoseob and exclude Gikwang in a heartbeat if they thought it necessary.
Conversation turned towards Soonlee’s school and she frowned at Yoseob severely. “The dragon lady said you came by, but you didn’t stop in to say hi.”
“Seobie,” Junhyung groaned and put a hand over his eyes in an expression of long suffering. “How many times have I told you not to call her that around Soonlee?”
Yoseob held up both hands in surrender. “I can’t help it! She’s too scary to be called anything else!”
Leaning across Doojoon with wide eyes, Cheon ‘whispered’ at Yoseob. “You mean… Mrs. Lee?”
“Ha! See? Even Cheon knows who we’re talking about. That woman is a dragon.”
But Soonlee was having none of it. She slapped the table to drag attention back to herself. Her scowl was just as adorable as Yoseob’s. “You. Didn’t. Come. See. Me.”
“Aw, baby, I’m sorry. I was working.” Yoseob actually looked kind of wretched and contrite as he held up one hand, pinky out to loop around her smaller one. “I promise that it won’t happen again, okay?”
She seemed satisfied with that.
“So are they in danger at the school? Should we be adding new security measures?” Gayoon asked quietly as she brushed Soonlee’s hair back.
Yoseob shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think so. Snatch and grabs at schools are too complicated and this guy isn’t that smart. I almost wish he’d try something there. It’d make him a lot easier to catch.”
“No shop talk at the dinner table,” Yunja scolded, a prim look on her face. “You’ll give me indigestion.”
The four friends looked at each other before bursting out into laughter.
“You’re as bad as anyone else,” Yoseob said, flicking a piece of paper in his grandmother’s general direction with a grin.
“You’re not too old to be turned over my knee, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Yoseob’s voice was all mock seriousness, but his eyes fairly sparkled with mischief.
“DW!” Before he could say or do anything else to get himself into trouble, Hyunseung interrupted, standing up with wide eyes. He hurtled around the table, and after twisting to see what he was looking at, Yoseob was right on his heels. They caught the wavering form before Dongwoon could collapse onto the floor.
Dongwoon tangled a hand in Yoseob’s shirt and pulled the blonde closer, the hoarse whisper of his voice just barely audible as Doojoon crouched near Yoseob’s shoulder. “Have to… have to warn you… said he was coming. That the… bitch couldn’t just… replace him.”
“But-” Yoseob shook his head and stared at Dongwoon in confusion as the younger man let go of him and relaxed more fully against Hyunseung. “How could he even know?”
“Every man has a price, Seobie, be it money or blood. He probably found Taec and traced his way back to DW.”
“But even Taec doesn’t actually know me. Just one of my more prolific alias’.”
Hyunseung shrugged and brushed Dongwoon’s hair back with a look of fond exasperation. “No, but that’s enough to lead to DW and now he’s gone and led them right here.”
Yoseob sat back with a sharp hiss, his gaze sweeping over the restaurant. The only customers were their ragtag, mismatched family. Either Yunja had closed the place for the night or else Sunday nights were particularly slow. “We’ve got to get everyone out of here.”
“Do you really think we have time?”
The question proved to be rhetorical as the squeal of tires and a revving engine sent Yoseob into action, scrambling across the room. “Everyone get down! Behind something if you can! Gayoon, Nana, take the girls back into the-”
Glass exploded under the violent rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire.
Both little girls screamed, but Gayoon and Yunja had them well in hand, getting them both down and behind the protection of the counter. Hyunseung pulled Dongwoon away from the doorway, crouching over him as the gunfire seemed to go on forever.
Doojoon’s knees scraped in the glass painfully. When he shifted around, trying to find clear floor, he raised his head just a bit too high, yelping as another spat of bullets exploded a pair of nearby vases.
Strong hands jerked him back down and Yoseob knocked over a table to give them some cover. “Idiot. When someone’s shooting at you, you don’t just stick your head up as an invitation for target practice.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Doojoon grumbled, comforted by Yoseob’s presence by his side. He could still hear the sounds of little girls crying and as much as that bothered him, it also calmed him a bit more. They had to be alive to cry, after all. “Where’d you go?”
Yoseob held up the gun he’d retrieved from somewhere. His head was tilted slightly and there was tight concentration in his expression. The sounds had changed and bullets had stopped raining into the restaurant. “That’s return fire… Probably Kim’s guys. Hey, Seungie-”
“Yeah, I’m on it.”
There was crunching glass, then the jingle of the bells above the door as Hyunseung slipped outside.
Leaning back against the table, Yoseob surveyed the damaged restaurant with a sigh. “Nana is going to kill me.”
“It wasn’t really your fault,” Doojoon offered, brushing a bit of glass out of Yoseob’s hair.
“I promised her a long time ago I wouldn’t bring trouble back here.” He gave Doojoon a sardonic look. “I’ve managed to keep this life completely separate up til now.”
Doojoon looked away, guilt gnawing at him. “I’m sorry.”
Gentle hands tugged him closer for a soft kiss. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault, either. I should have dealt with this before I brought you home.” Yoseob pulled back just far enough to grin at him and Doojoon had to grab ahold of his arms to keep his balance. “Of course, if I’d put it off, they’d have probably just shown up at your place en masse, so six of one, half a dozen of another, I suppose.”
Doojoon didn’t even realize that all sounds of gunfire had ended until the door swung open and Hyunseung returned with Choi and Lee in tow, all three tucking away guns.
Yoseob pocketed his own before standing up with a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Are they gone?”
Hyunseung snorted and moved directly to Dongwoon, but Kim’s men seemed to buy it. The big one patted Yoseob’s shoulder once he was near enough and smiled with easy charm and confidence. “The gunman fled, but we’ve already called the police. Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll have him in custody soon. Is everyone in here okay?”
Behind the counter, Yunja and Gayoon stood, the little girls clinging to them. Cheon didn’t stay there for long though. As soon as she saw Doojoon standing, she darted away from Yunja and ran straight for her father, crying. “Daddy! Daddy!”
“Stop!”
She froze at Yoseob’s yell, staring at him with big frightened eyes as he strode across the room towards her. She didn’t flinch when he scooped her up, though, so Doojoon thought the fear was just residual from the entire incident rather than fear of Yoseob.
“You have to watch for the glass,” Yoseob scolded softly as he carried her the rest of the way to Doojoon.
Cheon sniffled and nodded as she reached for her father.
Lee had helped Gikwang back up, though the shorter man waved off the concerned attention he was getting over the blood at his temple. “It’s nothing. I just hit my head.”
Doojoon carried Cheon over so that he could see for himself. Head wounds, he knew, tended to look worse than they actually were. Gikwang looked more aggravated than anything else. He even managed a smile for Cheon and let her snag his fingers with her bad hand. She smiled back when he kissed her fingers, reassured that he wasn’t hurt badly.
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” Lee hissed in sympathy with Gikwang as he poked at the bruise that was already forming. “That looks pretty bad… There should be an ambulance coming with the cops.”
“Thank you,” Yoseob replied with a grateful smile before Gikwang could insist he was fine.
“You should get that checked out too.” Choi nodded at Yoseob’s shoulder. “You might need stitches.”
The mercenary blinked down at himself as if he hadn’t quite realized he was injured. As many scars as he had, maybe he hadn’t. He didn’t seem overly concerned about it as he shrugged and tugged his sleeve out of the way to see it better. “I think it’s just a scratch.”
“Yopa!” Soonlee pulled away from Junhyung and Gayoon to pick her way over to Yoseob. Her tone brooked no argument as she got a chair upright and crawled up on it. She was tall enough on her own that the chair actually put her a bit over his head. “Let me see.”
He stood, quiet and obedient, as she made him take his shirt all the way off so that she could get a better look at the wound herself.
Choi smiled and waved to his companion. “Well, it seems like you guys have the situation in hand. We’ll wait outside for the police.”
“Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Hyunseung gave Yoseob a questioning look as he passed by, getting a slight nod in return.
He waited til they were gone before sighing again. “We really should go to the hospital. DW needs it even if we might be able to scrape by without a doctor. And really, after all of that, it’d look suspicious if we didn’t go, or at least let them check us out.”
Doojoon couldn’t help but start a little, giving Yoseob an incredulous look. “I think the cat’s sort of out of the bag here, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but probably not.” Yoseob pulled out his phone and sent off a text. “He was looking for the assassin, not you. And if he needed DW to lead him here, then he probably doesn’t actually know who I am. And Hyunseung was the one who went outside.”
“But-”
Yoseob waved away the protest as his phone buzzed with a returning text. “Hyunseung is in the business, too, and his face is more well-known than mine. It’s not that much of a stretch for everyone - including Choi and Lee - to assume that he’s the second assassin.” He shrugged. “At the very least, that’s how Seungie is going to try to spin it.”
With a sigh, Doojoon nodded. He could see plenty of problems with that, but he trusted Yoseob to understand how these people thought better than he did.
In the end, Dongwoon was the only one who ended up being taken away by the ambulance. The paramedics seemed satisfied that Gikwang was only mildly concussed and they fixed Yoseob’s arm up with butterfly bandages and sound admonishments to avoid doing anything that might disrupt it for a few days.
The police were a little more solicitous this time around. Apparently actual bullets were harder to explain away than cut brake lines. Or maybe it was the way that Yunja glared and scolded, making everyone feel like they were two year olds in the face of her motherly aggravation. Hyunseung and Kim’s men answered most of the questions and though everyone but the girls had to give statements, the officers focused on the men who could give them the most information.
By then, the neighbors had descended. As soon as the officer’s gave permission, everyone set about a quiet, orderly clean up.
Before they left, the police promised that there’d be extra patrol cars in the neighborhood, just in case.
Gikwang, Doojoon, and Cheon had settled near the counter and watched in silence. Eventually, Yoseob wandered over, his expression both sad and serious as he watched.
When Yunja passed by, he caught her up in a hug. “I’m sorry about this, Nana. I’ll have it fixed up, I promise. You can take a cruise or something and it’ll be good as new by the time you come home.”
She sighed and patted his cheek. “It was bound to happen eventually, no matter how careful you were. I’ve never really wanted this kind of life for you, but I can’t deny that it makes a difference, keeps people safe. Too much like your father, I guess. This? This is just stuff. As long as you don’t make me go to any more funerals, I can live with a little broken glass.”
Yoseob sighed and held her tighter for a moment.
Doojoon was pretty sure he heard a whispered I love you before Yoseob finally let her go.
She just smiled and ruffled his hair. “I love you, too. And I trust you and Seungie to deal with this man. If he comes back here, I will show you that you’re not too old to be turned over my knee.”
Laughing, Yoseob stepped back and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t think I won’t be taking you up on that cruise, either.”
“Of course not.”
Cheon yawned and slumped against Doojoon’s shoulder, her eyes slipping closed. It had been a long day and an even more stressful evening. He was surprised that she’d lasted as long as she had. Yoseob smiled and brushed a hand over her cheek. “Let me go say good night to Soonlee and the others, then we can go. I need to swing by the hospital to check on DW, make sure everything is taken care of there.”
“All right.”
He waited, Cheon heavy against his chest, Gikwang curled up against his side, and sighed. He still had questions and things had gotten more dangerous instead of less, but more than anything else, he just wanted to be home safe in bed with the people he cared about close by.
~*~*~
on to Chapter 9