Blood Brothers II Chapter 7
Title: Blood Brothers II
Pairing: KyuTeukChul, HanChul, YeWook, EunHae, SiChulfriendship, possible SungMi (Is that the name for Zhou Mi x Sungmin pairing?) possible other pairings in the future.
Rating: M
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, action, thriller
Summary: The cycle of revenge is never-ending, unless someone learns to forgive.
(A/N: Random comment, but I made a discovery while looking over the Miracle site. Everyone is listening to SHINee. Everyone. Why I ask? Why? I know the answer, of course. I’m listening to the album too…I don’t feel guilty for doing so either because it is an addictive track list. Up Down is my favorite. :D So yeah, just a little observation…but I have another comment to make: Key, get your hair back. Do it now. Borrow some of Taemin’s if you have to but DO IT. Ok, I’m done now
Actually, I lied. One more thing, I made an OST for Blood Brothers in an earlier post, found here. Just in case you wanted a list of songs. :D.)
Chapter 6 ------ Chapter 8
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“…you’re alive…” Siwon swallowed, as if he couldn’t believe it, even after doing the surgery himself. Because at this point it wasn’t Gam Xi Che that he’d saved. It was his hyung, back from the dead and standing right in front of him.
It didn’t take long for Heechul to come to his senses and give a comeback as he leaned in the doorway. “Living is a subjective term.” Heechul murmured, still holding the stack of papers he’d finished grading for his class. “Mr. Choi Siwon, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
“…do you remember me?” Siwon asked timidly, trying to find the brash little boy he once knew inside of the shell that was now Kim Heechul. Heechul seemed to be taking Siwon’s appearance better than he’d thought. He’d expected him to attack, or maybe run. You were never part of the revenge plan, so why would he feel threatened by you? You even saved his life. He waited for an answer.
“How could I forget little Siwonnie?” Heechul laughed, and the sound reminded Siwon of broken glass. “Always tagging along behind Teukie and I, always able to keep up.”
“Unlike Kyuhyun.”
“Unlike Kyuhyun.” Heechul agreed, but the name left a bitter taste in his mouth. “he was too small. You,” Because Siwon was a safe topic, “You were like a horse.”
Siwon smiled, and the dimples reminded Heechul of Leeteuk and he suddenly didn’t want to look at Siwon anymore. He busied himself with his papers. “Besides coming to reminisce about the good old days I’m assuming there’s a better reason for you coming to China?” You came with the others, didn’t you? It can’t just be a coincidence.
I wanted to ask why you are giving money to Leeteuk hyung and Kyuhyun…and why you saved Kyuhyun’s life. “I have a medical seminar at the University tomorrow.”
“Really?” Heechul laughed, “Are you lecturing?”
“I’ll be opening for a senior professor.” Siwon nodded, not sure where this was going. He couldn’t understand why he felt so oddly at ease around the older boy, as if the years and all that had happened before was stripped away to reveal the two as young children again. Friends. When Heechul had spoiled him and laughed and given him the cherries from his banana splits.
“What time?” Heechul was looking over the book underneath his stack of papers. He felt that Siwon wasn’t a threat. In fact, he doubted Siwon would even tell the others that he’d seen him. Siwon had always been that way-the mediator, the neutral party. He wouldn’t want to stir up any problems. It was a refreshing sight, and a welcomed one, if he really wanted to admit it.
“2:00.”
“I’ll come.” Heechul smiled, and Siwon felt himself at a loss for words. Heechul was a stunning individual and as Siwon looked at how delicate and fragile he seemed, Siwon couldn’t find it in himself to be angry at the elder. He knew he should have been but the anger dissipated, not allowing itself to fester or build up strength before it faded under the gaze of those deep eyes and that small smile.
“Why are you being so nice?” Siwon asked suddenly. Even if Heechul was being kind-like the hyung he remembered from his childhood-he still remembered the pain that Leeteuk and Kyuhyun had suffered because of him.
Heechul suddenly looked much more tired than before. “My revenge is over and it never involved you.” Heechul finally answered, opening the book in his hands and closing it again a few moments later. “Although your father helped cover the deal up he didn’t kill my father. If I hunted down everyone involved, half of Korea would be dead.”
Siwon nodded, looking uncomfortable. Talking about the revenge made him uneasy, especially when he remembered that Leeteuk and Kyuhyun were both in China now, searching for the man in front of him. Siwon wasn’t certain what they would do when they found him. He knew he couldn’t forgive Heechul for what he’d done but at the same time he felt that the older man wasn’t completely at fault.
And as he looked at the man in front of him, he felt he was more broken than Leeteuk and Kyuhyun combined.
---
Hangeng was trying to decide what to make for lunch when Zhou Mi returned home. He heard the door open from the kitchen and knew that it wasn’t Heechul. He wouldn’t be back till later when they went out to eat. And it couldn’t be Henry because he was in Shanghai.
Zhou Mi walked into the kitchen looking tired and holding a drink he’d mixed at the bar. He sat on one of the stools lining the high counter and propped his elbows up, staring lazily. “Ge?”
“Mm?”
“What are you making?”
“I don’t know yet.” Hangeng answered truthfully. “What do you want?”
“Let’s go out to eat.” Zhou Mi sipped his drink. “I have something to talk to you about.”
“But Heechul planned for us to go out later tonight.” Hangeng called back, skimming the contents of their kitchen cabinets, “We don’t want to go out twice in one day do we?” he gave a small smile but it faded at the serious gaze directed at him. He swallowed, “…what is it?”
“We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Xi Che ge.” Zhou Mi placed the glass on the counter and the ice clinked against the sides loudly. He stared down at the amber liquid disinterestedly. He waited for Hangeng’s reaction.
It happened just as he expected.
Hangeng stiffened, and his entire stance became defensive. His eyes darkened and his grip on the cabinet handle tightened. “Oh?” His voice was tight.
Zhou Mi sighed. “Yeah.” He slipped off the stool. “Come on…it’ll be on me.”
“Are you planning to lecture me in a public place so I can’t get angry in front of a crowd?” Hangeng asked with a smile, but it was a dangerous, warning one.
Zhou Mi simply smiled back, tiredly. “That’s about right. I’ll drive, ok?”
---
Knocking on doors was proving to be extremely unproductive. In the end they’d had to make Kyuhyun and Kangin wait in the car because they were intimidating everyone. All of the residents of the neighborhood seemed to believe they were mafia.
No one was telling them anything about Gam Xi Che.
Anytime someone seemed close to telling, they’d stop themselves, looking fearful.
Kangin and Kyuhyun had been ready to kick down doors, but luckily Leeteuk had managed to calm them down and tell them that well, that was illegal and then the rest of the neighborhood would think they really were mafia thugs.
In the end they’d taken a lunch break to recoup and regroup over their next plan of attack.
Kyuhyun was glaring down at the noodles in front of him, poking them with his chopsticks.
Sungmin was happily munching on his dumplings and exclaiming loudly about how good they were, all the while smiling at the other occupants of the restaurant. The waitress had already tripped three times because she’d been paying more attention to the four handsome men at the table than to where she was walking.
“I bet that first old lady called the rest of the neighborhood. She warned them somehow, I’m sure of it.” Kyuhyun grumbled, stabbing the noodles.
“That would be impossible.” Sungmin chirped. “She would have had to call every single home within ten minutes.” He was greeted with a withering glare from Kyuhyun who went back to eating in silent anger.
Leeteuk took a bite of his dumpling and chewed. He smiled to himself as he imagined that this was what Heechul at on an everyday basis. Had he come to this very restaurant before? Maybe he’d eaten the dumplings and smiled the same way Leeteuk was smiling. No…no he wouldn’t do that. Heechul probably didn’t eat at small little restaurants like this and if he did, he wouldn’t be smiling over the food like a lovestruck idiot.
“Ya, idiot, are you going to sit there and grin or eat your dumplings?”
Leeteuk opened his eyes at Kyuhyun’s snap to see Kangin sneaking the tasty morsels off of his plate and popping them into his mouth. Kangin stared at Leeteuk for a moment before swallowing what was in his mouth.
“…it was good…”
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, Leeteuk smiled, and Kangin cracked a small grin. Sungmin continued to drink his pepsi, moving the straw around his mouth with his tongue as he surveyed the restaurant. For some reason his was drawn to the window at the front of the restaurant and he lifted his gaze.
He looked up, and through the tint of his pink sunglasses he saw a flash of a pinstripe jacket. He blinked. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be this easy, could it? He felt adrenaline begin to pump through his system as he stood, heading for the door.
“Sungmin?” Kyuhyun called after him.
“Sungmin-ssi?” Leeteuk shouted next, sounding frightened.
Sungmin had already pushed past the couple coming in the door and began running down the street.
---
The ride had been relatively quiet. Hangeng had been tense, trying to predict what Zhou Mi was going to say. He wasn’t sure if it dealt with the company or just about Heechul himself. Zhou Mi had been hard pressed with managing everything while Heechul pursued teaching. Hangeng had been helping as best he could but he, unlike Zhou Mi and Heechul, had not gone to business school. He didn’t know enough to be of any real assistance to Zhou Mi, and Zhou Mi and himself had made an unconscious agreement that Hangeng should be with Heechul at all possible times. That made helping Zhou Mi difficult as well.
Had something happened to the company?
Or was this more personal? Was it about his relationship with Heechul? He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that that was the answer.
Zhou Mi pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine. There was another moment of silence.
Hangeng cleared his throat, “Do you want to have the talk in the car or inside?” And he opened the door, stepping out. Zhou Mi followed a second later, his gaze guarded as he slipped on a pair of sunglasses.
He opted for a smile, wanting Hangeng to feel more at ease. This wasn’t going to be a lecture, he just wanted to give some advice, after all. They walked up the sidewalk toward their destination. “They sell the best dumplings-” Zhou Mi stopped outside the window of the restaurant.
Hangeng had already gone to the door, fingers resting on the handle. “What is it?”
Zhou Mi continued to stare inside…at Park Jungsu, Cho Kyuhyun, and their bodyguards sitting inside the quaint restaurant.
Hangeng’s gaze followed Zhou Mi’s and he stiffened, before his hand wrenched the door open. Zhou Mi grabbed him just in time, pulling him back and dragging him out of sight of the full-wall windows.
“You idiot!”
“Let me go in there.” Hangeng growled. “They came to kill Heechul. I won’t let them-”
“We don’t know what they came here for.” Zhou Mi pulled him down a side street, his grip like steel, leaving no room for Hangeng to break free. What if someone saw us? Dammit! What if-
And that was when a roundhouse kick connected with his head and he went crashing into a trash can.
---
Heechul stumbled into the apartment and immediately sensed that something was wrong. The place was eerily quiet and Heechul knew that both Zhou Mi and Hangeng were supposed to be home. He’d barely managed to escape from Siwon’s constant badgering, but talking to him made Heechul feel comfortable. Siwon was like a portable conscience that plugged into your brain whenever he was near and made you feel guilty about everything.
Heechul sighed, throwing his bag on a chair and stumbling to the couch. “Baengshin…” He groaned as he flopped down beside the small cat. “You and Heebum are the only ones I can talk to. Ya, Baengshin.” He opened his eyes to see the cat staring at him intently. “When your appa talks you should talk back-actually, don’t. If you start talking I’ll really think something is wrong with me…” He closed his eyes again and felt a firm weight land on his back.
Soon something was licking his ear, and he knew for certain Baengshin hadn’t moved from his spot. “I really hope that’s you, Heebummie.” He muttered. “Because if that’s you, Hangeng, I'm going to hit you.”
No response, and the licking continued, so Heechul suspected it was the cat. “…you were too light to be Hangeng anyway.” And he dozed off for the first actual sleep he’d had in what felt like forever.
---
Siwon arrived at the hotel and learned several things.
1. The Hotel Staff hadn’t been able to get in touch with the rest of Choi Siwon’s party and they had not arrived.
2. It was probably Kyuhyun’s doing that they hadn’t arrived yet.
3. It was getting dark and they probably couldn’t find their way to the hotel anyway. And none of them spoke Chinese.
He let out a sigh and took the room keys and headed up to the suite they’d booked. He placed his luggage against the wall, not sure if he should put it in a room yet. Chances were that Kyuhyun would want the room he’d settled in and would whine until he moved anyway, so it was safest this way.
He was about to call Leeteuk to ask if they needed any help in getting to the hotel when his phone began ringing in his hand and Leeteuk’s name and number flashed across the screen. He pressed the ‘answer’ button and put the phone to his ear. “What is it?”
“We can’t find Sungmin. He ran out of the restauraunt and down a street and now he isn’t here.” Leeteuk sounded extremely panicked, and from the labored breathing that blew into Siwon’s ears, he figured that they’d been running.
“Kyuhyun is freaking out. Sungmin doesn’t speak Chinese, what are we going to do?”
Siwon ran a hand through his hair-he regretting it a second later because now his bangs were messed up-and spoke, “Get Kangin on the phone.”
“But-”
“Hyung, I need to talk with him.”
There was a moment of hesitance before the phone was given to the bodyguard and Kangin’s gruff voice reverberated through the phone’s speakers, not as breathless as Leeteuk’s. “Yeah?”
“Bring Kyuhyun and Leeteuk to the hotel. They don’t speak Chinese and Sungmin can handle himself long enough for you to get here. Then the two of us can go out and look for him. We’ll have a better chance than you three running around blindly.”
“You try telling that to Kyuhyun.” Kangin laughed, but it wasn’t an amused sound. “He’d about to go postal. I don’t know if he’s going to cry or try and kill someone.”
“Get them back to the hotel.” Siwon repeated. “It’s not safe to be running around Hong Kong at night, especially if you don’t speak the language.”
“I have a gun.”
“So do the Chinese Mafia.” Siwon countered, “Please Kangin-ssi…bring them back. It’s dangerous out there.”
He heard what sounded like a grudging agreement before the line went dead. Siwon let out a loud sigh and headed for the complementary bottle of wine sitting in a bucket of ice on the table. He was going to need a few drinks.
In the back of his head, a chilling thought appeared.
What if Heechul hyung sent people to get rid of them?
---
Sungmin didn’t know what happened after he’d kicked Zhou Mi. He’d seen the tall Chinese man and acted on impulse-he regretted the decision now-and as he’d turned to grab the man who had fallen, he’d made a huge mistake.
He’d forgotten that there was another person there, and that person just happened to have a gun with him.
Now Sungmin was sitting in a dark underground parking lot, tied to a chair. The back of his head throbbed from where the butt of the gun had slammed into his skull, knocking him unconscious. He could feel the dried blood that had trickled down his neck, and the feeling was uncomfortable.
So was the dread building in his stomach as his vision began to clear as he gained consciousness and there was a man leaning against the wall in front of him. Two men-one? He wasn’t sure because it was dark and his vision wasn’t reliable. There could very well be one or ten and he wouldn’t know.
What he did know was that he was screwed.
He’d jumped into a lion’s den wearing a fucking slab of raw meat.
“So, you’re awake.” The voice was the same sickening calm that Sungmin remembered from before.
“Fuck you, Director Gam.” Sungmin groaned out. Sweat had matted his bangs to his forehead and it was mixing with his eyelashes. He blinked to keep them from touching his eye, but it only made the hair move closer.
The man laughed softly, and as Sungmin watched him, he saw that the second figure was moving away from the wall. So there really were two of them. Of course there were, the second had hit him with a fucking handgun.
He shifted in his chair and felt the raw rub of ropes against his wrists. He tested the knots and realized that whoever had tied him up knew what they were doing. It didn’t stop him from trying to get his hands free, of course.
The one who was moving toward him snapped in Chinese as he stepped into the faint light in front of Sungmin. Sungmin recognized him as Director Gam’s bodyguard. He repeated his question and Sungmin stared blankly.
‘Director Gam’ pushed himself off of the wall but didn’t come any closer. He spoke in his accented Korean. “He asked what you are doing here?”
“You knocked me out and dragged me here.” Sungmin retorted. “How else would I have gotten into this shitty basement?”
Director Gam’s smile didn’t waver as he gave a derisive snort. “Why are you and the others in China, Lee Sungmin-ssi? I don’t want to have to repeat myself.” He turned to his compatriot and said something in Chinese. The other man hesitated and spoke back. Director Gam’s voice was cold the next time he spoke, and finally his partner left the area, going far enough away into the shadows that Sungmin didn’t know if he was there at all.
“My name is Zhou Mi, by the way.” Director Gam spoke, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. “I figured it would be polite to introduce myself before we begin this interrogation.” He held out the item that he’d taken from his jacket, and the light reflected off of the steel knife edge.
“So now that formalities are taken care of, why don’t you answer my question?”
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