Behind the Curtain [Seo Changbin ff]

59

We were back in the gym, dancing to the music that echoed through the walls.

After a couple a minutes, I lost track of Changbin's whereabouts, but I wasn't worried, since I knew he was going to be fine and had a lot of friends he might have wonted to say hi to.

Jisung and Minho had joined us a few minutes prior, still embarrassed by the fact that they had been heard while doing sex in the school bathrooms.

We exchanged a few awkward words, mainly apologizing to each other and deciding to never talk about it again.

I turned to look for Changbin, but still saw no sign of him.

I shrugged it off, going to dance with the Hwang twins, Seungmin and Jeongin while Minho and Jisung sat down to whisper cute words to each other.

After a while, I finally saw Changbin emerge from the crowd. Actually, the crowd moved away when it saw him walk through, followed by...

Hongjoong and Wooyoung?

They all emanated such intimidating auras that everybody lowered their gaze when they walked past them.

- H-Hey... - I stuttered out, the rest of the guys as confused as me.

- Ji, can we talk somewhere private? - Changbin asked.

Behind him, Hongjoong seemed annoyed, while Wooyoung had an indecipherable look on his face.

- Y-Yeah, sure... - I muttered out, feeling quite intimidated.

It was going to be bad.

If both Wooyoung and Hongjoong were there, it definitely was going to be.

Probably, Wooyoung had found out that Changbin had sent people to beat Hongjoong, and surely he was not pleased about that.

We went outside, the cold air making me shiver and sneeze.

Changbin promptly took off his jacket and gave it to me, also holding me close to him while I faced the other two guys.

Wooyoung still had a dark glare on his face, a scary aura surrounding him.

- W-What is it? - I asked uncertainly, still shivering.

I turned towards Changbin, who simply kept on staring at Wooyoung, indicating me that he was the one who was supposed to talk.

- Changbin is going to leave our mafia. - He stated while still glaring at my boyfriend.

His gaze only was more than enough to send shivers down my spine.

I remained silent, waiting for more.

- Hongjoong will take his place as a dealer. -

Hongjoong raised his eyebrows, swiftly turning towards the younger.

- This was not the deal! - He protested, raising his voice at his dongsaeng.

- The deal has been broken ever since you decided to be a fucking brainless idiot and not pay the dealers who gave you drugs two months ago, hyung. - The younger shouted in return, Hongjoong suddenly retreating and lowering his head like a defeated puppy.

Wooyoung turned back towards us, but still speaking to his hyung.

- You should be thankful that Changbin sent people to beat you up before I could. - He growled lowly. - If it were for me you'd be at the hospital. -

The rest of us gulped, Changbin holding me closer to him, somehow trying to comfort us both.

- There is a couple of things he must do for him to leave without any real consequences, though. - He kept on speaking, this time to us. - He must tell his poor excuse of a stepfather that he must respond to his fucking phone when we call... - I could feel Changbin nod furiously behind me, arms still wrapped around my waist.

- I will, Wooyoung, I apologize on his behalf. - He said, almost whimpering in fear.

My heart cracked.

It was almost as if he was still the broken and fragile teenager who had just lost his sister and was left alone to care for his mother.

He sounded helpless and desperate.

- One more thing. - The other spoke after nodding in content. - You must find a place for me to live in Busan, because to be honest I'm kinda tired of this shit. -

His behavior and tone suddenly shifted to more human and understanding.

He sounded just like a regular teenager, which made the rest of us tilt our head in confusion.

- I want to quit too, I want to go to university and graduate. - He admitted out of the blue, all our eyes widening. - I'll go to Busan to become an engineer and get out of this wormhole. -

- T-That's nice, Wooyoung! - I exclaimed, unsure on where I had found the courage to speak.

He smiled warmly at me, while Hongjoong and Changbin were still frozen in place.

- Do you think I would make a good engineer? - He asked, almost squeaking in excitement.

- Y-Yeah, if I'm not wrong you are quite good at math. - I stated, still surprised.

- How will you quit without them hunting you down? - Changbin asked feebly.

- I've been in that mafia ever since I was 10, Changbin. Boss raised me as a son, he won't complain too much. - He shrugged his shoulders, starting to feel the cold breeze against his skin, shivering. - Should we head back inside? -

We all mumbled in approval, still processing those past few minutes.

As we set foot back in the gym I felt lighter, and I couldn't help but smile widely.

Changbin was going to be free.