radioactive ; 1/1
Title: Radioactive
Pairing: Inati/Youngwon
Rating: R
W/C: 10,980
Summary: Gang AU || Intae's not a hero, never has been. But when it comes to Youngwon, he'll do anything he can to save him.
A/N: Once upon a time, I wrote a Teen Top gang!fic called Panic Switch, which spawned this fic. They're set in the same AU, but it's not necessary to read Panic Switch. Only a few small details cross over, so everything will still make sense. This fic has been sitting in my documents since August of last year, and I've literally never been so glad to finish something. .____.
LJ made me split this into three parts. >8| My apologies!
"In the night your heart is full, and by the morning empty."
Radioactive - Marina And The Diamonds
The day starts out like every other.
Intae sits up in his bed with a groan, one hand rubbing at his head. He’s not sure how much he drank last night, but if the slightly dull, pulsating pain behind his eyes is any indication, then it wasn’t very much - normally his headaches are worse. He probably only had a bottle or two of soju at the most, and for that that he’s glad. He has a busy day at work today; one of the clubs in his territory was robbed last night. He’s not looking forward to the mundane task of tracking down whoever did it - he is looking forward to making that fucker give his money back, though - but the thought of being relatively hangover free makes work seem a bit more appealing.
When he glances at the left side of his bed, he’s not at all surprised to see that it’s empty. There’s a very human like imprint in the sheets, but no sign of the man who had made said indent. There isn’t any sign of him anywhere, to be honest. Clothes are scattered across Inati’s bedroom floor, but the clothes are his own. The only proof that last night actually happened is in his memories, filed away in the do-not-forget section.
With a sigh, Intae heaves himself off the bed, wanders over to his closet, and pulls on a pair of jeans that he grabs out of the closet at random. There’s a sinking feeling that fills his stomach when he looks back at the empty bed. (Intae reasons that it’s nausea, despite his lack of a hangover.)
It’s always like this. It’s almost a daily occurrence. They grab a drink or three after work, somehow always ending up at Intae’s place. They’ll stumble through the door, a giggling mess of intertwined limbs, then they’ll make it to the bed or the couch - sometimes the kitchen counter, if they’re too impatient. And though they always come into the apartment together, Intae always wakes up alone.
Youngwon never stays the night.
Inati’s used to this, but every now and then, he thinks it might be nice to wake up next to the younger boy, just once. That’ll never happen, though. It goes against the unspoken rules of their relationship. This thing they have is strictly casual, nothing serious. They’re there for each other when one needs to relieve some stress - which is pretty often, because damn, does gang life give you a lot to worry about - but that’s it.
They never talk about the nights that they’re together. At the gang’s headquarters they only ever talk business, avoiding all personal subjects. It’s not that they don’t want to get to know each other - they know each other plenty well, Intae thinks. It’s more out of safety than anything else. You get too close to someone out here on these streets, and you’ll end up regretting it. People get hurt all the time out here, and there’s no guarantee that the person you care about will be an exception. In fact, if you do get attached to someone, they’re more likely to get hurt. ‘Round here, fate has a pretty damn twisted sense of humor.
So why risk all of that pain? If you keep everyone at a distance, then you don’t have to worry about getting hurt when they do. Maybe it’s selfish... but out here, it’s each man for himself. You live to survive. You don’t get luxuries or leisure out here. Peace? That’s cute. It looks really nice in story books and on TV screens, but it’ll never happen. Love? That’s a far-fetched idea. The streets of this city are filled with so much corruption, the alleys stink of death, and the dirty sidewalks are tainted with sin. There’s no room for love around here. Inati can trust his gang; they’re his family. But love... that’s the farthest thing from his mind.
Besides, Youngwon and him... they have a good thing going. It’s nice, no strings attached. Why ruin it with emotions?
After Intae throws a shirt over his head, he makes his way out of his bedroom, kicking the clothes on the floor as he passes them. He’s halfway to kicking his shirt to the side of his room when he realizes that it’s not his. Was Youngwon really in so much of a hurry to leave that he grabbed the wrong shirt? With a smug grin, he picks up the piece of fabric, folds it, and then throws it atop his dresser.
On his way to the base, he entertains himself with the thought of Youngwon drowning in the fabric of his too-large tee.
Something is off.
Intae isn’t sure what that something is, but he knows something is... wrong. Nothing catastrophic, but something off enough to have him on edge. Something slightly off that is tugging at the back of his mind, and swirling around him, filling the atmosphere of the base. He’s not even sure why he feels ill at-ease, because, as he walks around the headquarters, there’s nothing wrong.
Everything is where it should be. Everyone is where they should be.
Daniel and Dari are slacking off as usual - Inati doesn’t really mind, though. Jisu is screaming into the receiver of his cellphone, and Inati only feels vaguely sorry for the poor soul who pissed off that loose cannon. He feels a little better, seeing everyone going about their business like normal.
It’s when he passes by Youngwon’s office that the unsettling feeling resurfaces. The younger man’s room is empty, his things in the same exact spot they were yesterday. It doesn’t look like he came in at all today, and that confuses Intae. Youngwon always shows up, is always in his office whenever Inati walks past it. He shouldn’t be so concerned about it, though. Something probably just came up. He’ll call, or he’ll come in later. With that thought as a small comfort, he shoves his feelings of unease to the back of his mind.
Walking out of Youngwon’s empty office, he stops by David’s room on the way to his own. His second-in-command is on the phone when he enters. Day Day holds up a finger, mumbles a quiet “hold on a sec,” and continues to speak into his cell. Leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest, he listens to the one-sided conversation. Intae’s not really sure what it’s about, but he hears a lot of uh-huh’s and four letter words. That’s normal, too. Typical Day Day behaviour.
As soon as David hangs up his phone, Inati asks, “You seen Youngwon around at all?”
“Nah, boss.” The younger shakes his head. “I don’t think he’s been by headquarters yet.” He sounds so care free when he says this, and Inati thinks that maybe he really is worrying for no reason. Daniel’s come in late before plenty of times, and Dari’s skipped working for whole days. Youngwon not being here shouldn’t be an issue.
He pushes himself off the wall, his arms falling to his sides as he does so. “So what was that all about?” He nods his head towards the cellphone still in Day Day’s hand, eyebrows raised.
“I’m glad you asked,” the other grins cheekily. “I figured out who robbed our club last night. It was just bunch of punks from Busan who wanna start trouble.”
“Well then,” Inati starts, a smirk curling on his lips. “Let’s go teach them a lesson, hm?”
Like every other morning, Youngwon trudges up the stairs to his apartment. He was half awake when he got dressed this morning, and because of that, he’s wearing Inati’s shirt. It’s pretty damn big, and he’s glad that the older man isn’t here to see him in it, because he’s sure he would just laugh.
Stopping in front of his apartment door, he reaches into his pocket to pull out his key. He raises his hand to put the key in the door, but stops short. It’s slightly ajar, a small crack of light from his apartment shining out into the hallway. An alarm goes off in his head, tells him that something is definitely wrong. When he left yesterday he knows he locked his door. He always locks his door. Youngwon plays a pretty big hand in some of this city’s crime, and he’s not stupid enough to leave his home unprotected.
He opens the door slowly, cursing himself for not having his gun with him. It’s in his bedroom, and that won’t do him any good if the intruder is still in his house. His guard is sky-fucking-high as he steps into the living room. Nothing is out of place, but he knows he’s not in the clear yet.
“No need to be so tense, buddy,” a voice says from behind him.
Youngwon turns around instantly, watching as a figure steps out of his kitchen. His eyes widen in surprise, but he quickly tries to mask his shock. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Aw,” the other man taunts. His lips curl into a sly smirk, and it takes all of Youngwon’s self-control - which isn’t something he has much of - to not punch it off his face. “Is that really the first thing you want to say to me? I don’t even get a ‘how are you today?’ or ‘hello, Dongjun’?”
His guard is still way up, but he relaxes his shoulders the slightest bit. Dongjun won’t hurt him, that much he knows. He’s lucky, though, that it’s Dongjun in his apartment and not one of the others. They’re a lot more like him - hot-tempered and not afraid to resort to violence. “You guys fucked me over, practically ruined my life. You think I’d really be glad to see you?”
“Well when you put it that way...” He takes a step forward, smirk still plastered on his face. “It really does sound awful, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t have time for games, Dongjun.” His patience is running low; Youngwon has a short fuse, especially when it comes to them. He doesn’t want to deal with this kid right now - or ever again. He didn’t have a choice about leaving Busan, but it still did him a lot of good. When he moved to Seoul, he thought he’d finally be free of their bullshit and games. “Tell me what you want, then get the hell out.”
The younger boy lets out an airy chuckle, takes another step towards Youngwon. Youngwon stands his ground. “I’ll only be leaving if you come with me.”
“No,” Youngwon argues. He really fucking hates the tone of voice he uses with him, hates how the younger boy is arrogant and talks down to him despite Youngwon being the older one. “You’ll be leaving now, without me.”
“Really?” Dongjun takes yet another step forward. He reaches towards his pants, and Youngwon only has a few seconds to hope that he doesn’t have a gun with him, because then he’ll be at a disadvantage. But luck really isn’t on his side, because a short moment later, the other boy pulls out a gun from where it was holstered in the waistband of his jeans. “Because this little beauty right here,” he taps the machine with his index finger, “says that you’re coming with me.”
“You wouldn’t shoot me.” His voice is confident - it doesn’t waver one bit - and he doesn’t back down, even as Dongjun points it at his head. It’s just an intimidation tactic, he’s sure of it.
“What makes you so sure of that, huh?” He pulls the safety on the gun, and as much as Youngwon hates to admit it, his heart beats just a fraction faster. “You don’t know me at all anymore.” His voice wavers a bit, and he sounds truly upset now. Anger is easy to deal with, but when someone is unstable, that’s the worst. You can never know what you’re up against, can never know when or why they’ll snap. All Youngwon can do is rely on smooth talking and hope that Dongjun really doesn’t shoot him.
“Five years can change a person. You know a thing or two about that, don’t you?” In one quick motion Dongjun moves the gun away from his head, aims at the wall just behind him instead, and shoots. Youngwon can feel the wind from the bullet buzzing right past his ear. “What makes you so sure that I wouldn’t put a bullet in your pretty little head, Dongrim?”
“Because that’s not the kind of person you are, Dongjun.” He’s at a huge disadvantage right now, and talking his way out of this situation is his only choice. “The Dongjun I know isn’t like this. He runs around and does what people tell him to do just because they tell him to do it, not because he wants to.”
A bitter laugh escapes his throat. “The Dongjun you knew was a weak boy who didn’t know who he was or where he wanted to go with his life. But he’s dead now, and I’m here in his place. I know who I am; I’m exactly this kind of person.” As if to accentuate his point, he waves his gun around like it’s an extension to his hand.
Youngwon would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about him actually pulling the trigger and firing the gun. “Dongjun-”
“I don’t want to hear what you have to say. Just walk back out that door, and do what I tell you to.” He points the gun towards the apartment door, and Youngwon is pretty sure he isn’t going to take no for an answer. His eyes flicker from the apartment door, to Dongjun’s face, to his bedroom door. Dammit, if he could only grab his gun... “Let’s go, Dongrim.”
With a heavy sigh, he opens the door to the hallway of the apartment complex.
It’s kind of ironic, Youngwon thinks. Last night he almost stayed with Intae for the morning. If he had just stayed he wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
“Either those were just lackeys,” Daniel starts to say, grinning, “or those Busan bastards aren’t as tough as they pretend to be.” He finishes what he’s saying with a laugh.
“Who cares?” Dari asks, leaning against the sofa. “Either way, we got the money back. We hardly got scratched!” He says animatedly, adrenaline from their win still pumping through his veins. “But them... I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again.”
While those two joke around, Inati sits back, mulling over Daniel’s words. If those were just lower ranks, then...
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Day Day asks, noting the way Intae’s eyebrows furrow and a firm frown covers his lips.
There’s a reason Day Day is his second command - they’re always on the same page. Every thought that crosses Inati’s mind passes through his as well. “That if those were just lackeys, then the higher ups might try something again?”
“Yeah,” David nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
Rubbing a hand over his face, Intae sighs. If that’s the case, he’ll have to beef up the security at his clubs. He’s not even sure what their motives or reasons are, though, so it’s difficult to predict their next move. What if they’re after something other than money? “Jisu, I want you to find out everything you can about that gang from Busan.”
A small look of concern crosses the younger’s face when he sees how stressed out Intae looks. He gets up from his seat immediately, heading for the door of the headquarters. “I’m on it, boss.”
Youngwon comes to in what looks like a basement. He doesn’t know when he passed out, but the pain in the back of his head lets him know why he did. Dongjun must have hit him before bringing him here. That surprises him, but it shouldn’t. The younger boy really has changed, he realizes. It’s upsetting how much five years of living on the streets can change a person, but that shouldn’t be his main concern right now.
His main concern is getting the hell out of here. His hands are tied behind his back, but his legs are free. Taking a quick survey of his surroundings, he notices that he isn’t alone. There’s another person laying on the floor, and as the man wakes up, he realizes who it is.
“Eli?” He calls out tentatively, unsure if he’s correct about who it is. Eli is from Soohyun’s gang, so why is he down here? Youngwon thought they took him because they had some unfinished business, but what about Eli? Were they going after other gangs?
Eli sits up slowly, blinks once, twice, three times before his eyes are used to the dim light down here. “Youngwon,” he says, more of a statement than a question. “They’re after you guys, too?”
“I didn’t think they were after my gang, just me,” he answers, looking away from Eli and instead at the walls. There’s a stairwell that is definitely off limits for escape - it’ll be locked or guarded, for sure - and a few windows that are up too high for him to reach without help. “But since you’re here too...” He chews his bottom lip, wondering what that might mean. “God, Junyoung, what the hell are you doing?” He mumbles the last part, unsure if he wants to know the answer. It’s clear that Junyoung is after something besides Youngwon now, but what?
“Junyoung?” Eli asks, staring at Youngwon. “You know these pricks on a first name basis?” Scoffing a little, he continues, “I’ve heard a lot of awful stories about you, you know. I’ve never really cared for gossip, but if you know these guys, then maybe they are right about you. You really are a good for nothing bastard.”
Youngwon’s heard some of those stories, and a good deal of them are true. He really did shoot a guy for selling drugs on Inati’s turf - to be fair, nothing went right that night. But for every true story, there are ten that aren’t true. He never burnt down a church - he just walked by it the night it was set on fire, that’s all - and he’s never mugged anyone. The stories are ridiculous, but they can’t be helped. When he showed up in Seoul five years ago, he had no idea how the gangs in this city worked - in Busan there were only two main gangs - and no idea how to join them. So he wandered, did his own thing for a few months, and ended up becoming an anomaly of sorts before Inati picked him up.
“Even if I did know them,” Youngwon answers carefully, ignoring the insult, “does it look like we’re on friendly terms right now?” He lifts up his bound hands behind his back, for Eli to see.
Eli considers this for a moment, before nodding. “So... why did they bring you here, then?”
“I don’t know...” Youngwon shrugs, once again glancing at the window. If they helped each other up, they might be able to get out of here. “Why? You know why you’re here?”
The other male nods. “I’m leverage. They’re going to use the fact that they have me to try and goad some of my people into doing what they want. Damn, I really hope Kevin isn’t stupid enough to fall for it.”
Youngwon doesn’t know who Kevin is and doesn’t really care, so he ignores that. It probably wasn’t meant for him to hear, anyways. “I’ll take your cuffs off if you get mine,” he says, changing the subject. They need to get out of here, and soon. He’s not really sure what Junyoung’s planning, or what he’s going to do with them. Knowing his old leader, though, it’s probably something big.
“Alright,” Eli nods, scooting closer to Youngwon. “But you take mine off first. I still don’t trust you.”
The blue haired boy grunts in agreement, leaving forward to pull at the zip tie handcuffs with his teeth. “If I chip a tooth doing this,” he remarks, “you’re paying for the dentist bill.” He gives the plastic another tug, and the zip slides up a bit. “Fuck,” he curses, pulling away from the makeshift handcuffs. The zipper won’t move anymore. “It’s stuck.”
“Then you better make sure it unsticks,” Eli says, frustration and venom lacing his words. It’s an empty threat; Eli wouldn’t try anything, not when they need each other to get out of here. “Try using something besides your teeth to unzip it.”
“That’s your great advice? My hands are tied behind my back just like-” Youngwon stops short, an idea forming in his head. He scoots forward some and turns around so that he and Eli are back to back. Grabbing the zip tie, he pulls it upwards with what little movement he can do with his hands. It unzips with ease, and Eli pulls his hands forward, rubbing at his wrists.
“Here,” he grunts, untying Youngwon’s hands. There’s no struggle with the zip tie this time; Youngwon’s hands are freed quickly. “So what now? We can’t go up the stairs, they’d expect that.”
Youngwon stands up, ignoring Eli’s comments. He walks away from him, stopping once he’s in front of the window. The ceiling on this basement is oddly high, and the thin window is up far on the wall, probably six or seven feet. “Help me up,” he nods towards the window. Eli makes a small noise - it was probably the beginning of a question - but the blue haired man cuts him off before he can say anymore. “If I can get up, then I can open the window and pull you through.”
Eli agrees, bends down a little bit so that Youngwon can place his foot in his hand. He lifts the older, albeit smaller, boy up, and when Youngwon is high enough, he grabs onto the edge of the window. Eli starts to move away, to leave Youngwon hanging from the edge of the window, but Youngwon stops him. “Don’t move yet,” he instructs him, still needing Eli to hold him up while he unlocks the window.
After he unlocks it, he pushes the glass pane out and is about to pull himself through, but freezes when the door to the basement opens. Someone walks down the stairs, someone who Youngwon recognizes as Taehun. “Leaving so soon?” He asks, taking another downwards step into the cellar.
The world seems to freeze for a minute, before Eli mumbling “shit!” breaks the ice that is the world around Youngwon and it all comes crashing down to suffocate him. A hallow echo of what Eli said escapes his throat. “Shit.”
Part II
Pairing: Inati/Youngwon
Rating: R
W/C: 10,980
Summary: Gang AU || Intae's not a hero, never has been. But when it comes to Youngwon, he'll do anything he can to save him.
A/N: Once upon a time, I wrote a Teen Top gang!fic called Panic Switch, which spawned this fic. They're set in the same AU, but it's not necessary to read Panic Switch. Only a few small details cross over, so everything will still make sense. This fic has been sitting in my documents since August of last year, and I've literally never been so glad to finish something. .____.
LJ made me split this into three parts. >8| My apologies!
"In the night your heart is full, and by the morning empty."
Radioactive - Marina And The Diamonds
The day starts out like every other.
Intae sits up in his bed with a groan, one hand rubbing at his head. He’s not sure how much he drank last night, but if the slightly dull, pulsating pain behind his eyes is any indication, then it wasn’t very much - normally his headaches are worse. He probably only had a bottle or two of soju at the most, and for that that he’s glad. He has a busy day at work today; one of the clubs in his territory was robbed last night. He’s not looking forward to the mundane task of tracking down whoever did it - he is looking forward to making that fucker give his money back, though - but the thought of being relatively hangover free makes work seem a bit more appealing.
When he glances at the left side of his bed, he’s not at all surprised to see that it’s empty. There’s a very human like imprint in the sheets, but no sign of the man who had made said indent. There isn’t any sign of him anywhere, to be honest. Clothes are scattered across Inati’s bedroom floor, but the clothes are his own. The only proof that last night actually happened is in his memories, filed away in the do-not-forget section.
With a sigh, Intae heaves himself off the bed, wanders over to his closet, and pulls on a pair of jeans that he grabs out of the closet at random. There’s a sinking feeling that fills his stomach when he looks back at the empty bed. (Intae reasons that it’s nausea, despite his lack of a hangover.)
It’s always like this. It’s almost a daily occurrence. They grab a drink or three after work, somehow always ending up at Intae’s place. They’ll stumble through the door, a giggling mess of intertwined limbs, then they’ll make it to the bed or the couch - sometimes the kitchen counter, if they’re too impatient. And though they always come into the apartment together, Intae always wakes up alone.
Youngwon never stays the night.
Inati’s used to this, but every now and then, he thinks it might be nice to wake up next to the younger boy, just once. That’ll never happen, though. It goes against the unspoken rules of their relationship. This thing they have is strictly casual, nothing serious. They’re there for each other when one needs to relieve some stress - which is pretty often, because damn, does gang life give you a lot to worry about - but that’s it.
They never talk about the nights that they’re together. At the gang’s headquarters they only ever talk business, avoiding all personal subjects. It’s not that they don’t want to get to know each other - they know each other plenty well, Intae thinks. It’s more out of safety than anything else. You get too close to someone out here on these streets, and you’ll end up regretting it. People get hurt all the time out here, and there’s no guarantee that the person you care about will be an exception. In fact, if you do get attached to someone, they’re more likely to get hurt. ‘Round here, fate has a pretty damn twisted sense of humor.
So why risk all of that pain? If you keep everyone at a distance, then you don’t have to worry about getting hurt when they do. Maybe it’s selfish... but out here, it’s each man for himself. You live to survive. You don’t get luxuries or leisure out here. Peace? That’s cute. It looks really nice in story books and on TV screens, but it’ll never happen. Love? That’s a far-fetched idea. The streets of this city are filled with so much corruption, the alleys stink of death, and the dirty sidewalks are tainted with sin. There’s no room for love around here. Inati can trust his gang; they’re his family. But love... that’s the farthest thing from his mind.
Besides, Youngwon and him... they have a good thing going. It’s nice, no strings attached. Why ruin it with emotions?
After Intae throws a shirt over his head, he makes his way out of his bedroom, kicking the clothes on the floor as he passes them. He’s halfway to kicking his shirt to the side of his room when he realizes that it’s not his. Was Youngwon really in so much of a hurry to leave that he grabbed the wrong shirt? With a smug grin, he picks up the piece of fabric, folds it, and then throws it atop his dresser.
On his way to the base, he entertains himself with the thought of Youngwon drowning in the fabric of his too-large tee.
Something is off.
Intae isn’t sure what that something is, but he knows something is... wrong. Nothing catastrophic, but something off enough to have him on edge. Something slightly off that is tugging at the back of his mind, and swirling around him, filling the atmosphere of the base. He’s not even sure why he feels ill at-ease, because, as he walks around the headquarters, there’s nothing wrong.
Everything is where it should be. Everyone is where they should be.
Daniel and Dari are slacking off as usual - Inati doesn’t really mind, though. Jisu is screaming into the receiver of his cellphone, and Inati only feels vaguely sorry for the poor soul who pissed off that loose cannon. He feels a little better, seeing everyone going about their business like normal.
It’s when he passes by Youngwon’s office that the unsettling feeling resurfaces. The younger man’s room is empty, his things in the same exact spot they were yesterday. It doesn’t look like he came in at all today, and that confuses Intae. Youngwon always shows up, is always in his office whenever Inati walks past it. He shouldn’t be so concerned about it, though. Something probably just came up. He’ll call, or he’ll come in later. With that thought as a small comfort, he shoves his feelings of unease to the back of his mind.
Walking out of Youngwon’s empty office, he stops by David’s room on the way to his own. His second-in-command is on the phone when he enters. Day Day holds up a finger, mumbles a quiet “hold on a sec,” and continues to speak into his cell. Leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest, he listens to the one-sided conversation. Intae’s not really sure what it’s about, but he hears a lot of uh-huh’s and four letter words. That’s normal, too. Typical Day Day behaviour.
As soon as David hangs up his phone, Inati asks, “You seen Youngwon around at all?”
“Nah, boss.” The younger shakes his head. “I don’t think he’s been by headquarters yet.” He sounds so care free when he says this, and Inati thinks that maybe he really is worrying for no reason. Daniel’s come in late before plenty of times, and Dari’s skipped working for whole days. Youngwon not being here shouldn’t be an issue.
He pushes himself off the wall, his arms falling to his sides as he does so. “So what was that all about?” He nods his head towards the cellphone still in Day Day’s hand, eyebrows raised.
“I’m glad you asked,” the other grins cheekily. “I figured out who robbed our club last night. It was just bunch of punks from Busan who wanna start trouble.”
“Well then,” Inati starts, a smirk curling on his lips. “Let’s go teach them a lesson, hm?”
Like every other morning, Youngwon trudges up the stairs to his apartment. He was half awake when he got dressed this morning, and because of that, he’s wearing Inati’s shirt. It’s pretty damn big, and he’s glad that the older man isn’t here to see him in it, because he’s sure he would just laugh.
Stopping in front of his apartment door, he reaches into his pocket to pull out his key. He raises his hand to put the key in the door, but stops short. It’s slightly ajar, a small crack of light from his apartment shining out into the hallway. An alarm goes off in his head, tells him that something is definitely wrong. When he left yesterday he knows he locked his door. He always locks his door. Youngwon plays a pretty big hand in some of this city’s crime, and he’s not stupid enough to leave his home unprotected.
He opens the door slowly, cursing himself for not having his gun with him. It’s in his bedroom, and that won’t do him any good if the intruder is still in his house. His guard is sky-fucking-high as he steps into the living room. Nothing is out of place, but he knows he’s not in the clear yet.
“No need to be so tense, buddy,” a voice says from behind him.
Youngwon turns around instantly, watching as a figure steps out of his kitchen. His eyes widen in surprise, but he quickly tries to mask his shock. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Aw,” the other man taunts. His lips curl into a sly smirk, and it takes all of Youngwon’s self-control - which isn’t something he has much of - to not punch it off his face. “Is that really the first thing you want to say to me? I don’t even get a ‘how are you today?’ or ‘hello, Dongjun’?”
His guard is still way up, but he relaxes his shoulders the slightest bit. Dongjun won’t hurt him, that much he knows. He’s lucky, though, that it’s Dongjun in his apartment and not one of the others. They’re a lot more like him - hot-tempered and not afraid to resort to violence. “You guys fucked me over, practically ruined my life. You think I’d really be glad to see you?”
“Well when you put it that way...” He takes a step forward, smirk still plastered on his face. “It really does sound awful, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t have time for games, Dongjun.” His patience is running low; Youngwon has a short fuse, especially when it comes to them. He doesn’t want to deal with this kid right now - or ever again. He didn’t have a choice about leaving Busan, but it still did him a lot of good. When he moved to Seoul, he thought he’d finally be free of their bullshit and games. “Tell me what you want, then get the hell out.”
The younger boy lets out an airy chuckle, takes another step towards Youngwon. Youngwon stands his ground. “I’ll only be leaving if you come with me.”
“No,” Youngwon argues. He really fucking hates the tone of voice he uses with him, hates how the younger boy is arrogant and talks down to him despite Youngwon being the older one. “You’ll be leaving now, without me.”
“Really?” Dongjun takes yet another step forward. He reaches towards his pants, and Youngwon only has a few seconds to hope that he doesn’t have a gun with him, because then he’ll be at a disadvantage. But luck really isn’t on his side, because a short moment later, the other boy pulls out a gun from where it was holstered in the waistband of his jeans. “Because this little beauty right here,” he taps the machine with his index finger, “says that you’re coming with me.”
“You wouldn’t shoot me.” His voice is confident - it doesn’t waver one bit - and he doesn’t back down, even as Dongjun points it at his head. It’s just an intimidation tactic, he’s sure of it.
“What makes you so sure of that, huh?” He pulls the safety on the gun, and as much as Youngwon hates to admit it, his heart beats just a fraction faster. “You don’t know me at all anymore.” His voice wavers a bit, and he sounds truly upset now. Anger is easy to deal with, but when someone is unstable, that’s the worst. You can never know what you’re up against, can never know when or why they’ll snap. All Youngwon can do is rely on smooth talking and hope that Dongjun really doesn’t shoot him.
“Five years can change a person. You know a thing or two about that, don’t you?” In one quick motion Dongjun moves the gun away from his head, aims at the wall just behind him instead, and shoots. Youngwon can feel the wind from the bullet buzzing right past his ear. “What makes you so sure that I wouldn’t put a bullet in your pretty little head, Dongrim?”
“Because that’s not the kind of person you are, Dongjun.” He’s at a huge disadvantage right now, and talking his way out of this situation is his only choice. “The Dongjun I know isn’t like this. He runs around and does what people tell him to do just because they tell him to do it, not because he wants to.”
A bitter laugh escapes his throat. “The Dongjun you knew was a weak boy who didn’t know who he was or where he wanted to go with his life. But he’s dead now, and I’m here in his place. I know who I am; I’m exactly this kind of person.” As if to accentuate his point, he waves his gun around like it’s an extension to his hand.
Youngwon would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about him actually pulling the trigger and firing the gun. “Dongjun-”
“I don’t want to hear what you have to say. Just walk back out that door, and do what I tell you to.” He points the gun towards the apartment door, and Youngwon is pretty sure he isn’t going to take no for an answer. His eyes flicker from the apartment door, to Dongjun’s face, to his bedroom door. Dammit, if he could only grab his gun... “Let’s go, Dongrim.”
With a heavy sigh, he opens the door to the hallway of the apartment complex.
It’s kind of ironic, Youngwon thinks. Last night he almost stayed with Intae for the morning. If he had just stayed he wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
“Either those were just lackeys,” Daniel starts to say, grinning, “or those Busan bastards aren’t as tough as they pretend to be.” He finishes what he’s saying with a laugh.
“Who cares?” Dari asks, leaning against the sofa. “Either way, we got the money back. We hardly got scratched!” He says animatedly, adrenaline from their win still pumping through his veins. “But them... I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again.”
While those two joke around, Inati sits back, mulling over Daniel’s words. If those were just lower ranks, then...
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Day Day asks, noting the way Intae’s eyebrows furrow and a firm frown covers his lips.
There’s a reason Day Day is his second command - they’re always on the same page. Every thought that crosses Inati’s mind passes through his as well. “That if those were just lackeys, then the higher ups might try something again?”
“Yeah,” David nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
Rubbing a hand over his face, Intae sighs. If that’s the case, he’ll have to beef up the security at his clubs. He’s not even sure what their motives or reasons are, though, so it’s difficult to predict their next move. What if they’re after something other than money? “Jisu, I want you to find out everything you can about that gang from Busan.”
A small look of concern crosses the younger’s face when he sees how stressed out Intae looks. He gets up from his seat immediately, heading for the door of the headquarters. “I’m on it, boss.”
Youngwon comes to in what looks like a basement. He doesn’t know when he passed out, but the pain in the back of his head lets him know why he did. Dongjun must have hit him before bringing him here. That surprises him, but it shouldn’t. The younger boy really has changed, he realizes. It’s upsetting how much five years of living on the streets can change a person, but that shouldn’t be his main concern right now.
His main concern is getting the hell out of here. His hands are tied behind his back, but his legs are free. Taking a quick survey of his surroundings, he notices that he isn’t alone. There’s another person laying on the floor, and as the man wakes up, he realizes who it is.
“Eli?” He calls out tentatively, unsure if he’s correct about who it is. Eli is from Soohyun’s gang, so why is he down here? Youngwon thought they took him because they had some unfinished business, but what about Eli? Were they going after other gangs?
Eli sits up slowly, blinks once, twice, three times before his eyes are used to the dim light down here. “Youngwon,” he says, more of a statement than a question. “They’re after you guys, too?”
“I didn’t think they were after my gang, just me,” he answers, looking away from Eli and instead at the walls. There’s a stairwell that is definitely off limits for escape - it’ll be locked or guarded, for sure - and a few windows that are up too high for him to reach without help. “But since you’re here too...” He chews his bottom lip, wondering what that might mean. “God, Junyoung, what the hell are you doing?” He mumbles the last part, unsure if he wants to know the answer. It’s clear that Junyoung is after something besides Youngwon now, but what?
“Junyoung?” Eli asks, staring at Youngwon. “You know these pricks on a first name basis?” Scoffing a little, he continues, “I’ve heard a lot of awful stories about you, you know. I’ve never really cared for gossip, but if you know these guys, then maybe they are right about you. You really are a good for nothing bastard.”
Youngwon’s heard some of those stories, and a good deal of them are true. He really did shoot a guy for selling drugs on Inati’s turf - to be fair, nothing went right that night. But for every true story, there are ten that aren’t true. He never burnt down a church - he just walked by it the night it was set on fire, that’s all - and he’s never mugged anyone. The stories are ridiculous, but they can’t be helped. When he showed up in Seoul five years ago, he had no idea how the gangs in this city worked - in Busan there were only two main gangs - and no idea how to join them. So he wandered, did his own thing for a few months, and ended up becoming an anomaly of sorts before Inati picked him up.
“Even if I did know them,” Youngwon answers carefully, ignoring the insult, “does it look like we’re on friendly terms right now?” He lifts up his bound hands behind his back, for Eli to see.
Eli considers this for a moment, before nodding. “So... why did they bring you here, then?”
“I don’t know...” Youngwon shrugs, once again glancing at the window. If they helped each other up, they might be able to get out of here. “Why? You know why you’re here?”
The other male nods. “I’m leverage. They’re going to use the fact that they have me to try and goad some of my people into doing what they want. Damn, I really hope Kevin isn’t stupid enough to fall for it.”
Youngwon doesn’t know who Kevin is and doesn’t really care, so he ignores that. It probably wasn’t meant for him to hear, anyways. “I’ll take your cuffs off if you get mine,” he says, changing the subject. They need to get out of here, and soon. He’s not really sure what Junyoung’s planning, or what he’s going to do with them. Knowing his old leader, though, it’s probably something big.
“Alright,” Eli nods, scooting closer to Youngwon. “But you take mine off first. I still don’t trust you.”
The blue haired boy grunts in agreement, leaving forward to pull at the zip tie handcuffs with his teeth. “If I chip a tooth doing this,” he remarks, “you’re paying for the dentist bill.” He gives the plastic another tug, and the zip slides up a bit. “Fuck,” he curses, pulling away from the makeshift handcuffs. The zipper won’t move anymore. “It’s stuck.”
“Then you better make sure it unsticks,” Eli says, frustration and venom lacing his words. It’s an empty threat; Eli wouldn’t try anything, not when they need each other to get out of here. “Try using something besides your teeth to unzip it.”
“That’s your great advice? My hands are tied behind my back just like-” Youngwon stops short, an idea forming in his head. He scoots forward some and turns around so that he and Eli are back to back. Grabbing the zip tie, he pulls it upwards with what little movement he can do with his hands. It unzips with ease, and Eli pulls his hands forward, rubbing at his wrists.
“Here,” he grunts, untying Youngwon’s hands. There’s no struggle with the zip tie this time; Youngwon’s hands are freed quickly. “So what now? We can’t go up the stairs, they’d expect that.”
Youngwon stands up, ignoring Eli’s comments. He walks away from him, stopping once he’s in front of the window. The ceiling on this basement is oddly high, and the thin window is up far on the wall, probably six or seven feet. “Help me up,” he nods towards the window. Eli makes a small noise - it was probably the beginning of a question - but the blue haired man cuts him off before he can say anymore. “If I can get up, then I can open the window and pull you through.”
Eli agrees, bends down a little bit so that Youngwon can place his foot in his hand. He lifts the older, albeit smaller, boy up, and when Youngwon is high enough, he grabs onto the edge of the window. Eli starts to move away, to leave Youngwon hanging from the edge of the window, but Youngwon stops him. “Don’t move yet,” he instructs him, still needing Eli to hold him up while he unlocks the window.
After he unlocks it, he pushes the glass pane out and is about to pull himself through, but freezes when the door to the basement opens. Someone walks down the stairs, someone who Youngwon recognizes as Taehun. “Leaving so soon?” He asks, taking another downwards step into the cellar.
The world seems to freeze for a minute, before Eli mumbling “shit!” breaks the ice that is the world around Youngwon and it all comes crashing down to suffocate him. A hallow echo of what Eli said escapes his throat. “Shit.”
Part II