Blood Brothers II Chapter 11
Title: Blood Brothers II
Pairing: KyuTeukChul, HanChul, YeWook, EunHae, SiChulfriendship, MiMin (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.
Chapter 10 < ----- > Chapter 12
---
Heechul slipped the key into the apartment door and turned. He was relieved that it had been locked and he’d needed a key in the first place. It meant that Hangeng and Zhou Mi hadn’t been too distracted and had remembered to lock the door.
Had remembered that they were still in danger here, even after everything.
Heechul knew very well that even if he’d never see Kyuhyun and Leeteuk again it would have made little difference. They would never be able to live a normal life, not after all they’d done to get the revenge in the first place.
There were mafia that could come after them at any time, hired assassins from businessmen who had felt cheated…it was never-ending.
Heechul closed and locked the door behind him and was met with a chorus of two very surprised voices.
“Xi Che ge!”
“Heechul!”
“Aish. I keep telling you to call me Xi Che, idiot.” Heechul glared at Hangeng, but it was a very weak glare, and a drunken one. He simply stumbled to the couch and sat down.
Hangeng wasn’t sure what to say, so he smiled softly. Heechul seemed back to normal, which meant he’d gotten his anger and frustration out of his system-with the help of alcohol which Hangeng wasn’t too pleased with.
“You shouldn’t be drinking. It doesn’t go well with your pain medication.”
“I haven’t taken that stuff for weeks. It isn’t even in my system.” Heechul waved his hand dismissively. “But I could really use something for my headache.” He winced, “And my back.”
“Back?” Hangeng caught on, taking a step forward. “What happened to your back? Last time I checked, back pains weren’t caused by excessive alcohol.”
“They are if you’re drunk and fall down some stairs.” Heechul announced.
“Ah, but you’d never admit to that unless you had something to hide. And The Kim Heechul does not get drunk enough to make an ass out of himself in public.” Hangeng leaned against the wall and sighed, “What happened?” As calm, cool, and collected as he sounded, he was inwardly panicking. What could have happened? Why was Heechul injured?
“Oh you caught me. My pride proves my downfall once again.” Heechul grinned drunkenly. “Maybe if you mix me another drink I’ll tell.”
“Ge, you’ve had enough.” Zhou Mi finally spoke. He’d been silent through all of the exchange for fear of bringing attention back to himself and what he’d done. He was still frightened that Heechul was angry with him.
Heechul’s eyes swiveled to where Zhou Mi was sitting at the kitchen counter. His gaze was a bit unfocused before it cleared and he let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch.
“Zhou Mi, you’ll need to be careful at work now. I saw Cho Kyuhyun and now that he knows I’m here, they may try and track us down through the company in desperation.”
Zhou Mi barely heard what Heechul was saying because well…he’d said his name. Heechul never called him Zhou Mi. It was always Seasonings. He’d refused to call him Zhou Mi until the revenge was over and he could finally accept that he was Chinese now and not Korean.
Zhou Mi knew that the revenge wasn’t over, simply because Park Jungsu and Cho Kyuhyun were in China and he knew his ge…was still very much in love with them.
But he did know that by calling him Zhou Mi…Heechul was trying to tell him it was alright.
And that was why Zhou Mi walked across the room and was hugging him, crying into his hair.
“Ya, idiot, why are you crying? I just told you that you’re probably in danger!”
“I know.” Zhou Mi sniffled. “Ge…xie xie.”
“You met with Cho Kyuhyun.”
Both Zhou Mi and Heechul turned-Zhou Mi was still blatantly smothering the elder-to see Hangeng looking at them seriously. He was pale, and it was very easy to tell he was angry.
“I didn’t have much of a choice. He punched me and threw me against a wall.” Heechul said calmly, “I was almost ravished.”
“What?”
“Kidding.” Heechul stopped Zhou Mi’s tirade before it began and sent Hangeng a warning look. “I’m fine and he’s probably running around China somewhere so everyone wins, right?”
“Xi Che ge…” Zhou Mi began, “He found you? That isn’t safe for you either…”
“He doesn’t know where I work or he would have gone there first.” Heechul replied, “So that means he will probably go to the old Hong Kong Trading building to find out more.”
“Your back…he threw you against a wall? And he punched you?” Hangeng swallowed. Cho Kyuhyun had attacked him? It took all of Hangeng’s willpower not to leave to hunt down the offending Korean boy. Heechul had met Kyuhyun…and he didn’t seem angry.
That had to mean something, and whatever it meant, Hangeng felt he was not going to like it.
---
Leeteuk was tired. He’d planned on getting back to the hotel and sleeping because right now he didn’t want to deal with anything else. He’d been through countless meetings since earlier that day with little success.
News of Yumyeong Industry’s downfall had reached China, apparently, and trying to find someone to give a loan was proving to be very difficult. Also, Leeteuk didn’t doubt that Hong Kong Trading’s reach and influence were playing a part in it as well.
But…if Heechul was sending them secret funds, he wouldn’t try and stop them from getting help in China, would he?
Kangin opened the door with a grunt, “I need something to drink. And a steak. What do you want for dinner?”
Leeteuk continued reading over the file he’d been given by one of the loan companies, fiddling with his glasses. “Hm, I’m not sure…maybe we could all go out to eat tonight?”
“What…?”
Leeteuk blinked at the sound of Kangin’s shocked exclamation. He looked up from the file and froze. Siwon was sitting on the couch, holding his head as he hissed and groaned. Sungmin was trying to stand and had fallen back against the couch, head thrown back in agony.
“Drugged…Kyuhyun drugged us…” Sungmin groaned, “He’s gone.”
Leeteuk stared. “He’s…he’s gone…?”
“You can’t mix alcohol with that kind of medication!” Siwon continued clutching at his head, as if the world was spinning. “What if Sungmin hadn’t woken up? What if…”
“I’m fine.” Sungmin was not. He’d made his way across the living room and was holding himself up with the coat rack. “We need to find Kyuhyun.” His words were slurring and his eyes were unfocussed.
“Sit him down.” Siwon sounded a little less drugged than Sungmin. “He can’t go anywhere right now.”
Kangin had already gotten the pink-loving man in an arm lock and was dragging him toward the couch, despite Sungmin’s attempts to fight back. “Fu-ck…ou…” Sungmin slurred, going limp for a moment before coming back to life a second later. “Kyuhyun’s…’n China.”
“We all are, genius.” Kangin drawled, “I think what you meant to say was that Kyuhyun is all alone on the streets of Hong Kong.”
“Bassard.”
“Love you too.” Kangin chirped in a tone eerily similar to Sungmin’s usual one. “Siwon-ssi, what can I give him to make him better?”
“Nothing. The last thing we need is to give him more drugs.” Siwon hissed. “Don’t let him fall asleep again though. We’ll just have to wait till it’s out of our systems. It shouldn’t take much longer for me, but Sungmin’s could take a few more hours because of the alcohol.”
“Can we just give him a lot of water and have him pee it all out?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Siwon sighed, “it’s in his bloodstream and-Leeteuk hyung what are you doing?”
Leeteuk paused from where he’d been heading to the door with his coat.
Kangin looked up from where he was trying to keep Sungmin from falling off the couch. “Leeteuk! You can’t go out there on your own to find him.”
“But he’s missing!” Leeteuk pleaded. “And unlike Sungmin, he can’t defend himself. Someone has to go find him.”
“Then I’ll go.” Kangin snapped. “So sit down and help Siwon-ssi.”
Leeteuk swallowed, looking like he was going to protest. He took a step toward the couch at the same moment the door to the suite was thrown open and Kyuhyun stumbled inside. “He’s here! I saw him!”
“You little idiot! You could have killed Sungmin!” Kangin roared, advancing toward him, but Sungmin grabbed his arm. His grip was strong, despite how weak he seemed.
“Don…touch ‘im…”
Siwon was trying to focus and when he’d heard that, he knew immediately who Kyuhyun was talking about.
“What?” Leeteuk, however, did not. He was still trying to get over the shock of hearing that Kyuhyun was gone to him suddenly appearing again.
“Heechul. I saw him.” Kyuhyun looked angry and excited and broken all at the same time. “I saw him…he’s alive.”
Leeteuk slumped to the ground, as if he’d never fully believed it until Kyuhyun told him so. “He’s…alive? Is he…doing well?” Does he look good? Is he healthy? His chest isn’t hurting him, is it? Leeteuk wasn’t sure if he was more relieved that Kyuhyun was safe and sound or that Heechul was. He hadn’t known he was so stressed until he’d heard the news and everything had just…come undone.
“Hyung?” Siwon had somehow managed to stand and had made his way over to Leeteuk. “Are you alright?”
Kyuhyun was staring at Leeteuk for different reasons. He swallowed, “He’s doing…aish, why do you care?” He snapped, angrily, before heading for his room.
“Ya!” Kangin shouted after him, “Come back in here and apologize, you little shit! If you don’t I’m gonna come and kick your ass!”
“You can’t kick my ass, I’m your boss!” Kyuhyun yelled back through the closed door.
“Your dad is my boss, smartass.” Kangin shot back. “And what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, but it’ll definitely hurt you,” he made for the door but Sungmin grabbed him again, though his grab was a little sloppier this time.
“Youngwoon,” Sungmin grunted, “Leave him alone…s’not easy for him right now.”
“It’s not easy for anyone. Look at Jungsu!” Kangin shouted, “That little kid is making a mess of things and worrying all of us to death! We came here together and we do things together. If he pulls one more solo stunt I will seriously…” He cut himself off and headed for the door, “I’m going to get my steak. What do you want Teuk?”
“…nothing. I’m not hungry.”
“Steak. Good choice.” And Kangin slammed the door behind him loudly, causing them all to wince.
Siwon sighed, standing. “Hyung, I’m going to go and have a talk with Kyuhyun. Can you stay up with Sungmin-ssi?”
Leeteuk blinked up at the younger man and simply nodded, slowly pulling himself to his feet. That’s right, he had to stay focused. He had to stay strong. Kyuhyun was confused from his encounter with Heechul. He was probably angry and frustrated and hurt and from the way Kyuhyun looked, it didn’t bode well for Heechul’s reception of the two of them.
Not that Leeteuk had expected anything different, but it hurt to know that Heechul hated them both so much.
He simply headed toward the couch where Sungmin sat, staring wearily at the door to Kyuhyun’s room that Siwon had just entered.
“…Jungsu-ssi.”
“Hm?” Leeteuk settled himself down in a chair and grabbed the remote, flipping on the TV.
“What will you do when you see Kim Heechul?”
Leeteuk, who had been absently flipping through channels, paused for a moment. He looked down at his lap before he fixed his gaze on the empty scotch glass on the table. “I’ll clean these up.”
“Leave them for room service.” Sungmin answered quickly. “Jungsu-ssi, you didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t know.” Leeteuk offered honestly. “I’m mad at him too. He hurt us. A lot. But I feel like our parents hurt him a lot more.” He shrugged. “So I don’t know. Kyuhyun doesn’t think that way. Kyuhyun just knows that Heechul betrayed and lied to him and that’s all he sees. He won’t look beyond that. I just want everything to turn out alright.”
“Is that all you want?”
No. “I want to believe that Kim Heechul is a better person than Kyuhyun thinks he is.” Because if he really isn’t that cruel…I’ll feel less guilty about still being in love with him.
---
The airport was busy that morning, as Eunhyuk and Donghae stood awaiting Henry’s arrival. Donghae seemed excited, while Eunhyuk continuously jumped at every person he saw, imagining that it was someone coming to kidnap Donghae.
Kim Heechul had called and told him that they’d be safe, but that didn’t keep him from worrying. He’d become much too paranoid over the last week.
“Hyukkie, I’m worried.”
Eunhyuk looked over from where he’d been staring at the arrivals/departures screen. “What do you mean?”
“My hyung…he hasn’t called all week.”
Eunhyuk knew that Donghae was talking about Heechul, the frightening man that had come to the coffee shop when Donghae had been helping out part time. He’d been terrified of the pretty man who had looked like he could eat him alive. Especially after the last few phone calls.
He didn’t doubt that the older male had full control of the power of the underworld. He still couldn’t understand how such an evil man would know his innocent Donghae.
But still, he didn’t doubt that Kim Heechul cared for Donghae, and he also knew that Donghae was worried something had happened to him. Donghae never told him how he’d come to know Heechul, or why he seemed to believe he was in danger, and Eunhyuk had never asked. It seemed to be a sensitive subject.
“I’m sure he’s fine. He didn’t call you every week when he first moved to China, did he?”
“Not at the beginning.” Donghae acknowledged. “But he didn’t have enough money for a cell phone then, or to pay for the long distance calls. But when he did, he called every week to check up on me.” Donghae swallowed. “Hyuk…my hyung is sick. I’m worried maybe he got worse.”
“Your mom called the other day,” Eunhyuk cut in, trying to get Donghae’s mind off of Heechul and what could be wrong with him. “She was asking if you’d gotten her package. I said we got it that morning.”
“She always made those cookies for hyung when he wasn’t feeling well.” Donghae continued, “…maybe I’ll send some to him. We still have some left, right?”
Eunhyuk nodded, a little annoyed that his ploy to distract Donghae hadn’t worked. “Yeah. We can send them.”
Donghae grinned, and that was when a loud, “HYUNG!” was yelled across the crowded airport. Donghae turned and Eunhyuk followed his waving to a young boy waving back.
“Henli!” Donghae continued yelling, grinning from ear to ear as the boy approached. Eunhyuk watched him warily. He looked innocent enough, with a cute face that Eunhyuk found endearing and childlike. He felt a moment of relief and ease.
Then Henry turned his attentions from Donghae to Eunhyuk.
Henry grinned, and Eunhyuk’s heart stopped. “Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you from hyung.”
He found himself staring into the eyes of the devil.
---
Siwon wasn’t expecting much when he arrived at the University the next morning, still feeling a little drowsy. He figured that Heechul wouldn’t be there. He would have run away now that Kyuhyun had seen him, wouldn’t he? Would he think that Siwon had told and that Kyuhyun and Leeteuk were coming to the University to look for him?
But when he’d checked in at the front office they’d said that Professor Kim Heechul had arrived earlier that day and was lecturing.
Siwon had breathed a sigh of relief. Had Heechul decided that he didn’t care? Or had he, deep down, been hoping that Siwon told Kyuhyun and Leeteuk and that they would come? Siwon doubted it. It was probably just because Heechul didn’t care.
He found him walking out of a lecture hall behind a large crowd of chattering students. He was dressed smartly again, in a sweatervest and tie. He was scanning some papers but unconsciously looked up to see Siwon standing a few feet away.
Heechul blinked upon spotting Siwon. He gave a small smile, though it looked a little tired and strained. “Hello Siwonnie. I thought you’d have left after your lecture. Or have they wrangled you into teaching a class?”
“Ah. No. I was looking for you hyung.” Siwon murmured.
Heechul raised an eyebrow. “Looking for me?” He didn’t look worried at all. He didn’t look like someone that had talked last night with a boy who had sworn revenge against him.
Or did things like this simply not scare Kim Heechul?
“Come on, my horse of a dongsaeng, let’s go and get something to eat, since you came all the way here to find me.” Heechul grabbed Siwon’s arm and steered him down the hallway, seemingly completely at ease with the taller man.
As if they really had never been anything but the best of friends.
Siwon stared at Heechul, stopping them both and almost getting trampled by a group of students. “I still don’t know why you’re so nice to me after everything, hyung.”
Heechul continued, looking nonplussed. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a bitch to everyone I meet, just to the ones I don’t like.”
“Or the ones you love.”
Heechul stiffened, and the smirk on his face dropped. “Let’s talk in my office.” Heechul finally muttered. “Before you say something else stupid in front of a student.” He nodded at a group of students coming out of a nearby lecture hall.
Siwon followed, knowing that the cold tone that Heechul was addressing him with was his own fault, but the words had come out without a second thought. As soon as the door was closed behind him, Heechul continued talking.
“You came here with the others…I’m assuming they came for revenge?”
“To talk.” Siwon knew that Kyuhyun really couldn’t hate Heechul, could he? “Just talk with them, hyung.”
“Talking isn’t going to solve anything.” Heechul shot back. “There is no quick fix.”
“But it’s a start.” Siwon continued pleading. “Hyung…I know you don’t hate them. They don’t hate you…why are you hurting everyone by staying away?”
“Why do you want me to talk to them so badly?” Heechul sneered. “What do you gain from all of this?
“I get to see everything go back to the way it should be.” Siwon said truthfully. “When we were all friends.”
Heechul stared at him thoughtfully, before letting out an irritated sigh. “I’d rather talk with Kyuhyun than Leeteuk. And I already have so you can stop feeling guilty about trying to get all of your hyungs and your dongsaeng to be friends again.” He sat down on the plush couch beside his desk and closed his eyes.
“Why?”
“I can meet with Kyuhyun because he hates me.” Heechul told Siwon simply, as if there wasn’t anything else to say.
He doesn’t. Siwon thought immediately, Well, maybe a little.
“But Leeteuk doesn’t.” Heechul whispered, “And I can’t survive that. I can stand hatred. Forgiveness is another story. No one should forgive what I’ve done.” Forgiveness was never part of the plan and I’ve been planning this for fifteen years. There’s no way I’m letting something like this ruin it. Not after spending my entire life waiting for this moment.
“So you just want the cycle to continue?” Siwon asked incredulously. “You want Leeteuk and Kyuhyun to get revenge on you? Then your friends will get revenge for that and others will get revenge for that. It will never end that way, hyung. Forgiveness-”
“I’m not a member of your congregation, Father Choi, so don’t preach to me about forgiveness.” Heechul growled out.
“Hyung-”
“And stop calling me that!” Heechul snapped, eyes flickering open as he glared. “I’m not your hyung. When have I ever acted like one to you, huh?”
“The day at the park.”
“Don’ talk about that,” Heechul hissed.
“If Kyuhyun knew he wouldn’t hate you-”
“Don’t you dare tell him.” Heechul sounded more afraid than angry now. “He doesn’t remember so don’t say a thing.”
“You still care.” Siwon announced.
“Don’t be absurd.”
“You saved Kyuhyun’s life. He would have been shot. If this were really just about revenge, you would have let him die.”
“The only people I planned to kill were their fathers.” Heechul snorted. “I simply wanted those two to feel the same pain and betrayal I felt tenfold. That is revenge, pure and simple.”
“Stop lying to yourself-”
“If you hadn’t noticed,” Heechul drawled, slipping on his glasses, “Lying is what I do best. Now please, Mr. Choi, I have a class to teach. If you will excuse me, I’m sure you can find your own way out.” And Heechul was gone, leaving Siwon alone in the office.
---
Zhou Mi had gotten a relatively good sleep the night before. After Heechul had returned the three had crashed on the bed. Hangeng had seemed to want to argue but Heechul had stopped him, saying he was too drunk and that he didn’t want to talk about it. That they’d talk later.
Zhou Mi didn’t want to be there for that talk, because he assumed it would deal with more things than just Heechul’s meeting with Cho Kyuhyun.
Heechul had already left for the University by the time Zhou Mi woke up-the last of the three to do so. Hangeng had been making breakfast and told him that he’d just gotten off of the phone with Henry and that Henry had gotten to the airport safely and would be flying to Korea soon. He’d also said that he would pick up Heechul later that day and that the two of them would probably be late getting home that night.
Zhou Mi knew better than to ask any more.
He’d just finished transferring a large sum of their money into another account. He was late for a meeting with the head of Beijing Corp., and he was trying to hurry as fast as he could. The elevator ride had seemed to take ages and he spent most of the time staring down at his watch as his secretary hurriedly briefed him on everything that the meeting entailed.
He was halfway to the front door when a cheerful voice spoke and caught his attention, causing him to stop.
“Zhou Mi-ssi!”
Zhou Mi’s secretary paused with him and seemed genuinely horrified that someone had called her boss so intimately. The rest of the workers who heard seemed to think the same and everyone was staring in shock at the two men standing in front of their Director.
Zhou Mi swallowed back a growl as he looked from Lee Sungmin to Cho Kyuhyun. Sungmin was smiling cheerfully, knowing that Zhou Mi couldn’t hurt him when there were so many witnesses. If he did anything rude, Zhou Mi would be the one at fault.
Zhou Mi simply smiled back, swallowing his anger, “Cho Kyuhyun-ssi, Sungmin-ssi, what a pleasant surprise!”
“Well we were in China so we thought we’d stop by to visit our good friend.” Sungmin continued. Kyuhyun simply looking around the large building, glaring from behind his sunglasses. He seemed impatient.
Zhou Mi continued to smile, fearing that his face was going to stretch under the strain. He turned to his secretary. “Set my meeting for another date please? I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.” He turned back to Sungmin and Kyuhyun. “Follow me. We have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”
“We can talk here.” Sungmin announced, gaze flickering to the small elevator. Zhou Mi was already heading to the elevator and Kyuhyun was following him, looking like he was ready to attack the moment the doors closed. Sungmin jogged after the two to make sure nothing happened, annoyed that Kyuhyun wasn't listening.
Besides, if someone was going to kill Zhou Mi, it was going to be him.
Unfortunately there were several employees in the elevator, which made for a very long and very awkward ride up to the top floor. Zhou Mi stepped out nonchalantly, not even looking back to make sure that the other two followed him.
The moment the door closed, Zhou Mi turned to them coldly. “What do you want?”
“We need to speak with Kim Heechul.”
“Kim Heechul-ssi.” Zhou Mi corrected, “You aren’t close enough to be so informal to my ge.” He continued to smile, but it was cold now, “And from what I gathered last night, you already met with my ge, didn’t you Cho Kyuhyun-ssi?”
“You-”
“Calm down, Kyuhyun.” Sungmin grabbed his arm and shook his head. If they got violent they’d get kicked out, and that was just what Zhou Mi wanted. There were several secretaries in the room next door, which meant they had to choose their words carefully.
Zhou Mi’s smile morphed into a smirk as he leaned back against his cheek. “How is your cheek, Sungmin-ssi? I hope it’s healed well. And you didn’t get a concussion from the hit to the head, did you?”
“Fuck you-”
“Sungmin!”
Zhou Mi watched the two silently. He watched as Cho Kyuhyun wrestled to keep Sungmin from attacking and he couldn’t help the grim satisfaction that filled him at the sight of Sungmin’s glare and Cho Kyuhyun’s frustration.
“Where is Kim Heechul?” Kyuhyun continued. “I saw him last night. I know he’s here. Where is he?”
Zhou Mi scoffed, “I don’t feel inclined to tell you anything.” His gaze flickered to Sungmin. “Especially to the person who kicked me in the stomach.”
“After you kidnapped me and tied me to a chair.”
“After you kicked me in the head.”
Well, there wasn’t much Sungmin could say to that. He simply swallowed back his anger and watched Zhou Mi with a level, cold gaze.
“Tell me where he is.” Kyuhyun was getting more and more frustrated. “Where can I find him? Is he here in the building?” Kyuhyun was looking through the glass walls at the room where the secretaries worked. “Is he hiding somewhere? KIM HEECHUL!”
“Be quiet!” Zhou Mi snapped. “There are people working here!” The secretaries in the other room had all gone silent and had turned toward the Director’s office.
Kyuhyun turned toward the door, “I’m going to find him. He has to be here somewhere!” He reached for the handle but was stopped when the door opened of its own accord.
Hangeng paused, before his gaze landed on Kyuhyun. “You.” He started toward him angrily, “You!”
“Hangeng ge!” Zhou Mi called out, but it went unheeded. Zhou Mi only succeeded in making Hangeng stay a few feet away from Kyuhyun. He supposed it was a minor success. At least Hangeng hadn’t attacked.
Sungmin was on edge, trying to get between Kyuhyun and Hangeng.
“Don’t you dare come near Heechul.” Hangeng hissed out in warning. “Don’t you dare.”
“Why should I listen to you?” Kyuhyun sneered. He didn't recognize the man, had no idea who he was. Just another Chinese man that Kyuhyun didn't want to deal with who thought that they had a say in what he did.
“Because he’s mine.” Hangeng answered back levelly.
---