wars and lies: myg + jhs

prologue

Hoseok stood before his father, having to crane his neck to look up at his face. He was tall, but not quite as tall as him. He wondered if he'd ever be that tall. He made a mental note to look up how to grow tall. He was suddenly determined to grow taller, and finally beat his father at something.

That'll show him.

Hoseok was eighteen, and his father was a gang leader. At least, he was right now. In just a few moments, Hoseok would take his place, and oh, he hated that thought so much. The entire gang and younger, soon-to-be gang members were gathered in their bunker to watch the moment where leadership passed from disappointed father to infuriated son. Hoseok just hated his father's stupid gang, and he hated that he had to lead it when he could be out doing something normal. Sitting in a coffee shop, sipping espresso while reading a book. Scanning titles in a record store, puzzling over which one to buy. Pulling headphones over his ears to listen to a song as he sat on the bus to school, like every other introverted teenager in the world.

Like a normal kid.

Instead, Hoseok just had to have been born into a position of power. Not good power, like a king or a president, which ran nations and stopped crime. No, he had to be the idiot that committed the crime instead.

Hoseok looked out at the crowd of faces looking up at him. The gang was one of the two most powerful ones in the area, the infamous Black Serpents. Among the gangs in the area, they were legendary for their tyrannous reign over local criminals, his father even more so. Hoseok scanned the audience for familiar faces, and his eyes fell over a group of three. His friends, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin, were all a few years younger than him, but they would come of age and take their parents' places in the gang soon enough. They were friends with Hoseok because they, too, dreaded the day they would join, but not as much as Hoseok. They came closer to understanding than anyone else he knew, but they still didn't quite get it. They didn't have to lead them, they just had to be another face in the crowd. They pitied him, and he envied them.

"Jung Hoseok," his father boomed, snapping him out of his thoughts. "It is time you become a man." He reached his hands behind his neck and unclasped a necklace. It was a thin golden chain with a delicate charm attached of a matching golden snake. Hoseok had always thought it was ironic how small and fragile and dainty his father's necklace looked, despite the awful thing it symbolized. He stiffened as his father clasped it behind his neck, and finally let go, the tiny charm falling onto his chest. They both turned to the crowd, which had erupted in cheers the moment his father stepped away.

"Don't fuck this up," his father whispered, barely moving his lips. Hoseok's eyes hardened in anger at his predicament, at his father for forcing him into it, and spoke just as quietly and stealthily as his father had.

"Watch me."

-
Seven months later, on the opposite side of town.

Namjoon was beaming with pride as he stood before his fellow gang members. He was so glad he could say that now. Fellow gang members. Well, actually, he couldn't, not quite yet, but in a few short moments he would be able to. His father was standing next to him, just slightly shorter than him. Namjoon knew he was ready to take his place, and he was excited to. He had spent his entire life admiring his father, waiting anxiously, desperately, when the time would come when he could be just like him, when he could rise to power the way he had and rule the people before him, like a small nation.

He knew his people would accept him instantly. It wouldn't be much of an adjustment, considering the fact that, business-wise, he was exactly the same as his father. They had all of the same opinions, and agreed on the best ways to properly run the gang. This was most likely due to the fact that Namjoon had been raised to believe that his father's word was law and naturally found himself agreeing with every syllable to leave his lips. How could he not, when his father was the wisest, strongest, bravest man alive?

He found his eyes sliding to his father's right hand, where a silver band hugged his middle finger. It was tighter than usual, but only because they had gotten it adjusted to fit Namjoon the other day, and his fingers were far slimmer than his father's. It was a plain ring, with nothing of interest on the outside, but Namjoon knew there was an inscription on the inside that read, "The Legacy of the White Devils Lives On."

Namjoon so desperately wanted his father to stop fiddling with the damn ring and hand it over already. They both knew he was ready, why was time moving so slowly? Just let it happen, Universe! It's for the best!

Finally, at long last, his father raised his hands and the chatter in the audience ceased. All eyes were on the two of them.

"We don't need many words," his father announced. "My son, Kim Namjoon, as the next descendant of such a noble line of men, will today become a leader to rival legends." Namjoon smiled at this, but tried not to look too childish. He would rival legends, his father said, legends. His father went on. "You are all to accept him as your ruler, as he knows what is best for all of you and for the gang. I won't say more, but you need to trust him the way you trust me." He wriggled the ring off of his finger and held it out in his palm to his son. Namjoon accepted it and slipped it into his right middle finger, just like his father. It fit his slender finger perfectly, just as he knew it would. The crowd clapped and whooped as Namjoon stood proudly before them. One person in the crowd stood out to him, though. Namjoon knew him as Kim Seokjin. He was older than him and already a member of the gang, and was pursing his lips sourly as he stood with his arms crossed across his chest. Namjoon knew why he looked so annoyed. He thought that because he was older and more mature, he should lead the gang, and hated Namjoon for it. Unfortunately, the gang was a monarchy, not a democracy, so he would just have to watch from the sidelines. Namjoon watched him roll his eyes and push his way through the crowd to leave. He didn't care to stay and watch someone take the place he had thought was his. Namjoon's father spoke to him, shaking him out of his trance.

"Son," he said, "I have faith in you."

A/N

hello everyone and welcome to the piece of shit i humbly call fanfiction. this chapter is kinda shorter than what i'll usually write but i wanted to give a quick little explanation-type thing as to what's going on in this story. to sum it up, hoseok is dreading taking over his father's gang, and namjoon is like "hell yeah son". so yeah, this is my first attempt at publishing ff (key word publishing) so i apologize if i suck at this. i have a few pre-written chapters waiting to be uploaded but i'm kind of slow with writing this one so i'll try to keep my updates regular, i'm sorry if they take too long. i also have another wip waiting to be uploaded that's a lot fluffier than this one but that's for another day. 😉in the meantime, thank you all and enjoy 🙃
ps this author's note is long af whoops🤷‍♀️