$ e i g h t $
The group of six were gathered at Yifan's house that day. They had only been in Korea for a couple of days and had already met up with The Pack--the group of organized crime they had left over five years prior. They never wanted to leave, but it had been Yifan's decision and they always considered him their leader. They were loyal to Junmyeon, as the leader of the pack, but to them there was the unspoken leader who had the authority without the title.
When he left, they decided to go with him. It wasn't even a question in their minds. They organized in China, in the capital of Beijing, where they could network and work their way to the top.
They had all been confused when Yifan decided to buy out a struggling casino in Seoul a year prior. Now it was all coming into perspective for them. They weren't sure how he knew Junmyeon would go there and lose so much money that he would be indebted to them, but it had happened. Now they were sat around a table, planning for a possible gang war to ensue.
"Do you really think he's going to bet Hani?" Lu Han asked, his words full of a doubt.
Yifan replied confidently, remembering the events of earlier in the day. "She already promised herself to me if he loses." Even through his satisfaction at getting what he wanted, he still felt bitter about the fact that she loved Junmyeon so much.
"He's never going to allow that. He loves Hani more than anything." Minseok commented. After Yifan, he had known Junmyeon the longest. He had been the first person to join them when they were starting out.
"He doesn't have a choice." Yifan responded firmly.
"He never lost to you at poker before." Yixing reminded him.
When they would younger, and didn't have much money yet, they often played poker and bet for reverse bragging rights. Most of the time Junmyeon would win and Yifan was forced to go around the rest of the day, praising everything his best friend did as his punishment for losing. Not once did Junmyeon ever lose to Yifan at cards, or even in love. He had gotten Hani, the woman they both fell in love with.
Yifan sighed, beginning to get frustrated. "Today's the day. I can feel it. If he were still as lucky as he used to be, he'd have never fallen into debt in the first place."
"When are we dismissed from this meeting?" Lu Han asked, impatiently looking back at the clock. There was no more than four hours before their meeting with The Pack. "I want to go back to the hotel and spend some time with Mei Lin, since there's a high chance we might all have to fight to our deaths tonight." Mei Lin was his wife, who he met when he returned to China with Yifan and the others. She had been an athlete, a female footballer, who left everything to be with him. He had always been grateful to her for it.
"Just say it with balls, hyung." Jongdae wiggled his eyebrows at him. "You want to go fuck her one last time. Its okay. We understand you have a wife--you and Minseok hyung are the only ones who have gotten married."
Lu Han rolled his eyes.
"Fighting!" Jongdae encouraged him with a laugh.
"I'm gonna fight you if you don't shut up." Lu Han said with a glare, but he knew that his friend meant well and a small smile formed on his lips despite his threat. "You might want to get yourself laid now that you're so worried about my love life. You might not live past tonight either."
As the words sunk in for him, Jongdae's eyes widened at the sudden realization.
Yifan cleared his throat to get their attention. "Fine, you're dismissed. But remember what we planned. If something goes wrong, you shoot all of them. Except Hani."
-
Junmyeon clenched his jaw, suddenly angered that Yifan would even dare to visit Hani. To enter his house--his territory--to talk to his wife was a direct challenge. His rage subsided just enough for him to ask her a question. "What did he want? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" His hands cupped her face as his eyes searched her own for his answer.
She placed her hands over his gently, trying to calm him down. With a shake of her head, she informed him, "He didn't touch me, I'm fine. But he told me something...about you." She gulped back her emotions, keeping them at bay for the moment.
"What did he say?" He asked, through desperate words. His mind was racing with thoughts. "He probably tried to poison you against me."
"No." She quickly shook her head. At that moment there was a fine line to cross before something would set him off. Hani had to choose her words carefully. She didn't want to start out by telling him that she had offered herself in his place. "He told me about the debt that you owe him. He wants his money back tonight. He says he will kill you if you don't pay it back."
"I will pay it back." He gave her false assurances that even he couldn't guarantee. He pulled his hands back from the warmth of her face and gripped both her hands in his. Bringing them up to his lips, he promised her, "He wanted to play a game of poker against me tonight, and I offered my head as the prize if he wins. We tried to round up the money in time. All we got was not even enough to pay off ten percent of the fucking debt."
His wife was quick to reject even the thought of letting her husband die to clear a debt. "I told him he can have me if he wins. I know he would make the rest of your days miserable. But if he takes me...he will never hurt me. Besides," She paused for a moment, forcing a smile onto her face as a sign of mild optimism. "Isn't it true that you've never lost to him in a poker game? Luck has always been on your side. Hopefully it will be tonight as well."
"I can't risk it." He said with a firm shake of his head. "I won't lose you."
"You won't." She told him with the forced smile still remaining.
But he saw right through her.
"I won't bet you." He said firmly, his voice full of seriousness. "You're a person, not an object. You're going to stay here--where he can't hurt you--and you're going to wait to hear news from either me or Light."
She figured the latter would happen if Junmyeon were to lose the card game. But just as he didn't want to take the risk of losing her, she didn't want to take the risk of losing him.
-
once again, i did not post the two updates that i promised. but that was because i was waiting on there to be a tie breaker in the poll i posted. for kyungsoo or sehun. at first there was a draw. but early this morning someone voted for ksoo, so he's the one who wins. and for the other part of the poll, everyone voted on before. so its gonna happen next chapter, as opposed to my planned event happening in the next five chapters.
thank you loads for reading, and i hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. only nine more days until christmas! so exciting.
i will upload another chapter in a couple of minutes.
-clary xx
