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Behind the naivety of his exterior, a cunning and sinister glint sparkles in Hongjoong's eyes; it was barely noticeable, but just as deadly. Although, he only carried that look as a burden, the burden of his family and legacy.
Hongjoong liked to believe he escaped that life, but that was very untrue and he knew that deep inside.
His father-Kim Minseok-was a lenient man when it came to Hongjoong. The boy carried an innocence his father never appreciated, yet Minseok allowed it to blossom despite the intent to toughen Hongjoong up. Minseok didn't understand the concept his son supplied, it didn't mean he wasn't impressed though.
It is true, Hongjoong is pure and naive, but no one was truly sure what spun through the boy's mind.
So, with the intention of never living up to his pressured legacy of becoming the next mafia boss, Hongjoong moved out as soon as he turned 18 and applied for university, completely ignoring his father's protests. Although Minseok allowed this, there were still restrictions. Such as his apartment being only ten minutes away from the gang's base, he must visit regularly and must partake in urgent missions. Hongjoong has only ever taken part in one mission, which was kind of like an initiation process. It wasn't a success, but it was the last straw for Hongjoong to decide he wanted nothing to do with the mafia.
With this in mind, Hongjoong was mildly surprised to notice a car subtly following him while he was on his way back from the bar he worked at some evenings. He wasn't stupid, and neither was the person following him. They were discreet, but it was like they wanted to be seen. Hongjoong took note of this as he stupidly stopped in his tracks. An idiotic move if he didn't know exactly whom it was tailing him.
The car eventually parked up next to him, the back window rolled down revealing an overly-smug face. Hongjoong remained facing the north and continued to walk slowly after displaying that he had noticed the presence of the other party. The car followed next to him at a slow pace. "Not even going to acknowledge your own father? I'm truly hurt." Hongjoong could practically taste the sarcasm seeping through Minseok's words.
"What do you want? It's 11:00pm and I have school in the morning." He didn't need his father's presence in his life right now, it was usually followed by bad news.
"Get in." He ordered.
Hongjoong stopped when the vehicle did and sighed. He knew not to disobey his father, it usually ended with punishments that Hongjoong didn't want to go through. So, with much reluctance, He walked around and hopped into the backseat next to Minseok.
Minseok instructed the driver to continue a long route before turning to face his son. "You know I wouldn't come to you personally unless it was important."
Hongjoong sat with a high posture and his knees pressed closely together. His father intimidated him to no end, which is ironic considering how much he has defied him already. "Apparently so." He replied formally, "But what does it have to do with me? You never come to me about business."
"That's because this matter deeply concerns you."
Hongjoong's blood froze at that sentence. Surely he isn't going to make him take over already, right? He's only 21, it's only been 3 years since he left, that's not enough time. "Dad, I don't want to be involved in this stuff. At least not yet." He spoke, finally meeting his eyes.
"You don't have a choice this time, Joong. The agreement stated that you'd take part in any urgent matter, this is as urgent as it gets." The authority in Minseok's voice caused Hongjoong to obey instantly.
"Fine." He groaned. "What is it?"
"You'll be marrying the heir of a new ally."
Hongjoong didn't know whether to laugh over the stupidity of that sentence or cower at the sternness of his father's tone. His eyes widened and his mouth was left agape as he processed what was just spoken. "M-marry?"
"Don't be too upset. It is about time for you to find a spouse instead of being as introverted as you are."
"You're asking me to marry a stranger!"
"I'm asking you to commit to the gang." Minseok retorted.
"I don't want anything to do with it. You know that." Hongjoong was now trembling with anger.
"You never had a choice in the first place. Just because I let you attend your little school and move into that pesky apartment, doesn't mean you have escaped the sole purpose you were put on this earth for." With each word that left the man's mouth, Hongjoong received a poke in the chest, further proving to him that he was trapped into this life; his very own prison. When Minseok was sure that Hongjoong wouldn't retort, he leaned back and spoke again. "The wedding is this friday. You have 3 days to pack your things."
"What?! Why so early, and why do I have to move?"
"It's for the sake of the marriage. This alliance means a lot to us and we are all counting on you and Seonghwa to unite the legacies."
Seonghwa...that must be his name, although it was awfully familiar. At least his father took his sexual preferences into consideration. "What's his last name?"
"Park. Your fiance's name is Park Seonghwa."
Hongjoong's face remained stationary, he had briefly heard of the name mentioned before, not good things were said. But Hongjoong wasn't scared, discouraged, not scared. Of course Hongjoong could handle himself, a lot more than people presume.
"We have provided you both with a penthouse to live in together. You don't necessarily have to get along, I honestly couldn't care less how you act toward each other." He faced Hongjoong, a grave look in his eyes, warning the boy, "Just don't kill him."
"And if he kills me first?" Hongjoong raised a brow, not fearing for his life, more for his sanity.
Minseok gave him a tight-lipped smile, "No son of mine is weak enough to get himself killed. We Kims either die by our own hand or old age."
Remaining quiet, Hongjoong nodded, pretty much used to the mental pressure his father relayed on him. "What are you even gaining out of this? How important can this alliance be to even consider selling your son off?" There was no bitterness in his tone, he knew not to openly show how displeased he was with this decision.
"Other than a hefty dowry, I guess you could say we are pulling out of a decade-long war. Park and I have decided to put our past behind us due to this marriage." Minseok was staring into space as if reminiscing old times. "But mainly it is to protect you."
"Me? What have I done to need your protection? I thought we came to the conclusion that I can take care of myself." Hongjoong felt disregarded in a sense.
Minseok met his son's fierce gaze. To others, they may cower at the boy's expression. "You have a target on your back, Hongjoong, you always have ever since your first mission. Not only that but our enemies want to demolish our family's legacy, and the only way to do that is to get rid of you. Look what they did to your brother. Do you want to end up like that too?"
That was Hongjoong's cue to shut up and do as he was told. His first mission was a disaster and eternally labelled him as a monster. His face wasn't known in the mafia world, but his name certainly was. With this marriage, the Park family are the ones with the advantage.
"You're not going to make me wear a dress, are you?" He tried to make light of the situation, which succeeded, despite his grumpy voice.
Minseok chuckled and ruffled his son's hair roughly. "Cheer up. You should just be glad I didn't set you up with a psychotic killer."
Hongjoong sent a glare his way, "Tell me that after I get stabbed in my sleep."
"Oh shut up whining, you don't even have to talk to him, just be on your best behaviour."
Hongjoong didn't say anything else while he was driven back to his small one-bedroom apartment. He stood in the middle of his bedroom for a moment to just soak in its familiarity before it's all sucked away from beneath him.
He was going to be a married man in three days, and there is nothing he can do about it.
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"You what?!" Seonghwa exclaimed to his father who was sitting in his armchair while calmly skimming through some files. Meanwhile, Seonghwa was standing with his hands on his hips."I've literally just walked through the front door and the first thing you tell me is that you're forcing me to marry a stranger!" To say Seonghwa was in disbelief would be an understatement.
His father sighed, his eyes narrowing as he met his son's. Park Chanyeol may not look intimidating, but his aura catalysed his cold expressions. "You don't have a choice. I need you to do this."
Seonghwa raised a single brow as he crossed his arms. "Why? What do you get out of this?"
His father smirked, feeling somewhat proud that Seonghwa had clocked on to his inner intentions. "This new fiancé of yours isn't one to mess with, so I need you to be careful."
Seonghwa scoffed, clearly he didn't know much about his own son. This boy may be dangerous, but Seonghw can be much worse. Trust me. He won't let a stranger take control of him, he was willing to make sure this fiancé of his knew who was in control of this stupid marriage. "Yet you're going to use him to become an insider. Gain his trust, make him fall in love with you, I don't know-just make sure they can trust you."
"And then what?"
"You'll kill the son." He stated simply.
"Who is this kid anyway?"
"His name is Kim Hongjoong." A name heard by many, including Seonghwa himself. He'd got himself a feisty one. "Disclose everything you've heard about him, apparently it's all false. This kid is weak and vulnerable, but I have a feeling he has a thing or two up his sleeve."
Seonghwa nodded his head, "I won't let my guard down."
"Good. The Kims are expectant of this alliance. Little do they know what they are getting themselves into, they will know my wrath."
"Don't worry, father. I will destroy the heir in more ways than one." Seonghwa spoke with a smirk.
Beware, little Hongjoong. "My face will be the last thing he sees before I drain all life from him."