❝ BEHIND YOUR BROADWAY SHOW, I HEARD A BOY SAY, 'PLEASE DON'T HURT ME' ❞
The House of Kim was beautiful in a way Lothlórien of the Lord of the Ring would have been. White marble walls, white marble floors, white crystal chandeliers and white marble ceilings. Everything was sparkling, polished and well-maintained.
I liked the vibe here and this was probably somewhere I'd study at, but I had a faint feeling the Kims didn't particularly like me. For what strange unknown reasons though? I've never acted out against any of them.
"You called?"
The said White Room was pretty tough to find, to be honest. Every room here was either cream or white.
Dong Sicheng looked up at my arrival, inclining his head in acknowledgment. "We gather today to discuss how to attack the Lee Clan," he gave me pointed look. "I figured you'd be interested to be a part of the discussion."
The smallest of smiles quirked at my lips, "I have good feelings about our future collaborations, Dong."
He mirrored my expression, "I see you brought Minghao."
The boy behind me bobbed his head at Sicheng politely, then eyed the single chair left at the round table.
I gestured with my eyes for him to take the seat, but he shook his head, mouthing something that looked like 'It's for you' in Chinese. I gave him a hard look now. Sit, I tried to telepathically tell him. Sit or else.
The idiot shook his head again.
"Sit, I'll sit on your lap or something," I whispered, pulling a fist back threateningly. "Sit down. Now."
The boy caved reluctantly and occupied the space, patting his thigh.
Sicheng looked between us with raised brows, but said nothing, a sort of dubious question in his eyes that I couldn't quite get a good read on.
"There are more chairs, you know," Yangyang, who I noticed for the first time was sitting next to Soyeon, said airily, making some gestures at one of the Kims outside. "This may not be a chair shop, but we don't lack chairs, y'know."
Soyeon cleared her throat when someone came scurrying in with another chair, placing it beside me. The circle about the round table shifted to make room for me and Hell, that was the most awkward three seconds.
I was currently situated between Choi San who purposely knocked his shoulders against mine when I sat down to announce his presence, and Minghao who was sitting next to the Kim heir.
"Now that we're all here, let's talk."
..
Bae Irene loved the French. She loved their culture, loved their food, and loved their wines- Rosé des Riceys, in particular.
Rosé des Riceys was an intimate wine. One you sipped in small portions and enjoyed with those who could appreciate. One that was full of passion and made with love. Every drop of it was precious, just exactly like blood.
The Bae-Jeon leader twirled her delicate wine glass, smiling as she watched the city bustle, unaware of the full chaos that had just erupted the night before, unaware of the destruction that was coming this very night. They were all so unaware. So blissfully, happily unaware. It was funny. Almost a joke. How could all these people be living in the same world she was yet knowing so so little about it? How could they be reading the same newspaper she was and not feel the same amusement at the absurdity and complete nonsense the media were spinning out of very obvious signs of Clan activities and illegal Underground movements?
She let out a short laugh under her breath, lifting the glass to her lips to take a second slow sip, still smiling.
Knuckles were rapped against her mahogany doors and she hummed a 'come in'. From the light tapping footsteps, she guessed it was Wonwoo and unsurprisingly, she was right.
"A gunman came for Choi San today," the Jeon boy said quietly, stepping through the doors and making himself comfortable on one of her couches. "And killed the boy Yilin was close to."
The Bae woman made a low sound of content. Rosé des Riceys never failed to disappoint. Pinot noir, it sure was. It stood out with its high-pitched aroma, smokey, earthy complexity, and open freshness. This isn't your average grocery rosé, which is tart and severely acidic. It's a different, more delicate, more stylish. Just how Irene liked it.
She could feel the boy turn to her with a sort of deadpan in his eyes. "How do you still have any sort of mood to get drunk? We're literally in the middle of a bloody war."
She made a sound of agreement, turning to face the boy at last. "We are in the middle of the war," she agreed. "But it is not our war."
The reaction was instantaneous. Wonwoo leaned forward, fingers interlaced, "We're no longer supporting the Kims?" A tinge of surprise inked his voice, underlaid with an undertone of hopeful eagerness.
"We are," the Bae woman dashed his hopes dismissively. "But the Kims are not prominent players in the game this time, so we're pretty hands-off."
He shrank back in disappointment, flinching when the feline resting on the arm of the chair adjacent to his leaped at him. "I think the Kangs might pull an Italy, Kang Daniel is a family man. He'd not sit still after hearing that his brother was almost gunned down by the Lees."
Her finger nails clicked against her wine glass thoughtfully as the cogs in her mind spun. Things were going too awfully well for it to be fate. "This feels almost orchestrated." Like someone is pulling the strings here. "It's too smooth. Things are going too favourably on Dong Sicheng's side."
Wonwoo glanced up at the woman, eyes thoughtful. "You're implying that there's someone behind all of these? Behind the rumour, behind the war, behind all these chaos?"
She nodded. It was a slight movement, not an affirmative one, more of just acknowledgement. "There must have been someone behind the wheel driving this storyline forth. Someone who wanted to bring the Lees down from the very start." She was silent for a good minute, processing how everything had unfolded right from the beginning. "Someone had fed Lee Taeyong the idea that a war had already been declared on him, that if he didn't respond, he'd be on the losing end. Might be more than one person at play. Maybe a group? Or a duo? A planner and an executor. The planner wasn't very good at his job though, mustn't be too experienced in this field. There were too many loopholes in his plan, but things fell through exactly as he or she wanted it to, so the executor must be experienced. Someone with brains."
Now it was Wonwoo's turn to laugh. But it wasn't a laugh of mirth, more of one wry and pained. "I can't believe this," he mused. "I actually lived to see the day Dong Sicheng gets used."
Irene pursed her lips, "Knowing Winwin? He probably has this figured out already. There's something bigger at play he's planning and that's what I'm more worried about."
..
"Let me get this straight, we're doing all of these by tonight?" Daniel inhaled extremely sharply.
San fought the urge to do the same because the information and battle plans laid out were indeed high-calibre and... tricky to accomplish within such a short period of time. They literally only had one or two hours of arms and manpower preparation time before they had to get to action if they were intending to finish everything Dong Sicheng had just suggested.
The worst part of it all was that everyone else around the table seemed to be absolutely fine with the plans. Liu Yangyang he could understand, the boy was experienced in these type of things. San was sure he could probably single-handedly pull all of these off if given a few more hours even, but Yilin? Even Yilin wasn't the slightest bit fazed about this. This left him with a great sting to his pride.
Oh wait right, she singlehandedly planned a revolt before! He suddenly remembered. No wonder she looked so seasoned to this.
The entire round table turned to his siblings and him, a quizzical brow raised. Damn all these high calibre, elite folks. He was starting to feel like an ant here.
"Preferably," Sicheng nodded his head affirmatively. His piercing grey contact-lensed eyes went one by one from Daniel to Seulgi to San, reading through them like they were made of glass. "For the best outcome, of course."
He was probing the answer out of them, as if he didn't already know it himself. It wasn't possible. Things were going to fall through on the Kang's end. There were too many things on their plate.
"I can vouch for the fall of Yongsan-gu, that's for sure," Daniel said carefully, "But Gwangjin-gu, I cannot. It is too far from my home base. I will not risk my men entering an attack with nowhere close to fall back on. The Lees might have people stationed in Seongdong-gu on the look-out especially now you're no longer sitting on the high throne. When the cat goes away, the mice come out to play."
The beautiful Dong boy's lips quirked. "You give me far more credit than what's due, really. He's not afraid of me. He's afraid of finding his look-outs dead at his door the next day." He moved on from that without another word, turning to the girl who'd been unexpected silent but still catching up throughout the discussion. "Yilin, do you mind doing the honours?"
A mirthless smile stretched across the girl's lips, as lazy as fat cat, "It'll be my pleasure."
"Absolutely not," the pink-haired boy interjected, giving Sicheng a look as cold as Russia's winters. "No. You're not sending her into Gwanjin-gu by herself, have you gone mad?"
"She'll not be by herself, I assure you," Sicheng replied, voice as silky as the sheen black top he was wearing. "Because for one, my Underbosses would be with her."
The boy beside Yilin waved at Yangyang, "She'll come back in one piece even if I don't."
The Chinese girl gave her best friend a pointed look, kicking him under the table, saying something in Chinese that San didn't quite catch.
"I'll live. I need to vent my anger, anyway," Yilin turned to Yangyang now, "I'm more worried about you."
San really couldn't tell if this was just some sort of disgusting lovey-dovey sentiment or if she really didn't know about how the Lius came to power because what she said was extremely amusing to say the very least.
"He'd taken out five different places in one night before, two is nothing, sweetheart," the Choi boy said in exasperation. "You should be more worried about me."
The girl looked over indifferently. "No, you can die for all I care."
He heard Seulgi from his other side choke on a laugh, which she quickly disguised with a few coughs faker than her personality. He could almost bet a mocking Cheshire smile was stretching over his sister's lips at this very moment.
"Doesn't seem quite so, Wang. Didn't you knock me out of a bullet's way just a few ago?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "I was in the mood to be a Samaritan, don't take it personally. I'd have done the same for anyone else."
"If you say so."
Yilin's brows knitted, "I just did."
"Yeah sure."
She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again and said in a tone so calm San nearly mistook it for some sort of kindness, "Is this you picking a fight, Choi?"
The said boy stretched his hands and tilted his head. "Come at me, bro."
San swore he'd never seen such unisonal and swift head-turning until there and then. These people could give KPOP groups a run for their money coordination-wise.
"Oh yeah?" Yilin missed no beats, on her feet now much to the flurrying panic rippling over the entire round table.
The Kim heir was swiftly standing between the two now, hands raised to push them apart in case they actually fought. "Guys, let's all take a step back-"
..
"You missed?"
The beautiful Lee heir exhaled out a long deep breath, foot tapping rhythmic beats on the ground. The oversized white button-up he was in had been unbottoned to his chest, exposing the intricately well-defined body underneath. He walked the same way swans glided on water, with that strange peculiar grace. The exact same grace Winwin adorned when he fought. There was just something unexplainably satisfying about it that had your eyes glued.
The man was on his knees, fingers fisted at his sides as he set them against the concrete floor. He could smell the blood of his now dead comrade from right next to him, could feel the bone-chilling, heart-racing, real fear numbing his body. "I'm... I'm sorry, sir. This wouldn't happen again." He wanted to add more, say more, but what was there to be said? Any excuses would have him shot through the heart like the man beside him and a single bullet from Lee Taeyong was going to be the death of you. While he wasn't as strong as other Clan leaders and heirs at hand-to-hand combat, he was the best marksmen of them all.
"I know," the Lee heir's voice was velvety, ridden with cold amusement. The barrel of Taeyong's gun was pressed against the man's Adam's apple and the latter gulped, eyes blowing wide.
"S-sir?" he breathed. "I-I-"
The metal was dauntingly cool against his skin, mocking him for his fear.
"Because if you fuck up tonight's procedures up, the one who'll be killing you-" Taeyong's lips curved. "-will make you wish you'd died here and now instead."
..
"No."
The table occupants turned to me, surprised I was actually participating.
"Lee Taeyong likes being at the edge of glory," my voice came out steadier than I'd expected. "He loves the heart-race, the panic and the feeling of adrenaline pulsing through his blood vessels. Sending him a random heart is way too mainstream and boring for him."
They stared at me like I grew an extra head right in front of their eyes. Damn, was I the only one who figured that out? Didn't more than half the people here either worked or have been friends with that guy before? Did no one ever question or dig into his strange kink for danger?
San's sister whistled lowly, "Playing with fire? Careful there."
I nearly laughed aloud at that.
"I say go big or go home," Sicheng cut in swiftly in my place. "But the war has begun and the dice has been rolled, if I don't play on, if don't go big, I'll soon have no home to go to." He turned back to me. "Go on." There was something in his eyes. A spark of madness and something looked like a good mix of approval and surprise.
What? Surprise I've actually got some brains? Surprise I'm actually thinking straight right now? Yeah, you ain't the only one actually.
"Send him a heart dosed in Sunmi's blood and one of Sunmi's fingers dosed in someone else's blood. Two separate deliveries, but make sure they reach him at the same time," I interlaced my fingers, face a placid blank. "Don't leave any notes. Keep things interesting for him. Let him figure which is real and which is fake." I internally revised through the timeline and flow of events. "Make sure it reaches him by evening, our action flow wouldn't make sense otherwise."
There was a slight smile on the Dong boy's face as he tossed the ring of keys oh-so-coincidentally hooked at his belt. "We're running pretty short on manpower here, hope you don't mind doing a little DIY."
"Mind?" I scoffed, catching the keys with a single hand, basketball flexes coming to play instinctively. "Oh no, I'll do it with pleasure."
The curve of his lips seemed a little knowing now. "Get a good courier company."
"Goes without saying."
"If this is all," Yangyang spoke up, rolling his stiff shoulders back, checking the time on his phone. "I'll be taking my leave. Forget the Lees and the Dong-Huangs, my grandmother is going to have my neck."
..
The train ride from Seoul to Daegu took Guanlin approximately one hour and forty minutes, which was equivalent to almost two lesson periods in Gangwon.
The Lai boy knew Daegu almost as well as he did Seoul. Every street, every nook, every corner, he etched all of them in his mind. He was what people in the Underground would call a Street Rat. The type of people you would probably not be able to outrun easily. If they were asked to find you, you should probably start digging your grave, before you die in a sad ditch somewhere you don't even like, y'know.
Stepping off the train, he exhaled a shaky puff of breath and pulled his coat collar up. The last of spring winds still lingered here, turning the apples of his cheeks a faint pink from the cold.
He was here to look for someone. Someone who'd permanently resided in the Underground Market as another faceless, nameless informant but was very much far from that.
The Underground Market, also known as the Daegu Thieves' Market, was a place catered for the desperate, the foolish, and the entrepreneurs. Selling everything under the sun from information to remodelled weapons to live exotic animal to suspicious vials and drugs, it was the Number One go-to spot for the Underground runners and informants. Sometimes, just sometimes, Clan members and random innocent civilians would stray in too, but neither stayed or stayed alive in there for long.
The Market didn't have a fixed location, and they rarely ever repeated locations, but it was always somewhere in the shady low-ends of the damned city. Go figure.
Guanlin didn't know where the misconception of the Market only ever operating in the night sprung up from, but that was definitely false. The Market operated at any time of the day really. As long as your guy is there and you can find the Market, you're all good to make a deal. There were no rules in the Underground.
Guanlin padded down the make-shift 95% rotten steps into a dark tunnel, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light. Today, the Market resided in an abandoned underground tunnel that was clearly too small for everyone.
The Lai boy heard the last time it had even been here was a mid-autumn in 2011, and to be extremely honest, he wasn't that surprised. For a very long period of time the Dong-Huangs had occupied this spot for shipment checks. How he knew? Dong Sicheng's communication system was way too easy to hack into. Too little firewalls, too little security. It was practically screaming at hackers like him to hack into it, which was why he was really surprised the Dong-Huangs had never been caught by the police before. What are the White Hat Hackers doing?
Shoppers and merchants filled the crammed space, pushing and shoving to get through to the other end. The familiar pungent stink of sweat, grime and all sorts of strange chemicals choked up the air, doing all sorts of wonky things to his head.
When he finally pushed through, cap lowered to shadow over his face, he approached the ambiguous white tent third from the end. There was nothing particularly indicative nor attention-seeking about the tent. In fact, it was so plain and regular it was almost suspicious.
Lifting one of the tent flaps, Guanlin bent and stepped forth, removing his cap and making his appearance known.
"Why hello," came the silky, fluid voice from within. The speaker slittered a finger over the corners of his face, sealing the mask he had artfully decorated onto his face. It was a different one everytime. A different persona, a different voice, a different dressing, that was his way of staying under the radar. "I hope you're not here to deliver bad news." The man eyed the Lai boy through the mirror, working expertly with an eyeliner. "You know what they say: ill news is an ill guest."
Guanlin opened his arms, "Then isn't it fortunate I come bearing good news?"
..
"You should get going, y'know," Sicheng said mildly, checking the time on the clock in his ward. "You don't have much movement time left."
I ignored him, folding my arms. "Who is Taemin?" The question had been bothering me since I heard Sunmi mention this name while repeatedly apologising, but I'd forgotten to bring it up earlier.
After the meeting disbanded, San and his family went on their merry way, Minghao had excused himself to freshen up, Yangyang had scurried home to tend to his customers and Soyeon had busied herself with her own Clan matters, making preparations for the night.
It was just the two of us in Sicheng's ward where he was back on unofficial ward-arrest at.
He looked at me like he couldn't quite believe I was asking him something like that, like I was asking him something really really straightforward and in my face.
"I forgot the only Clan you're well-informed about is my own," he sighed after a moment, the disbelief in his eyes fading back into a placid blank. It had always been like that with him. Flashes of humanity and then a solid blank again. "Taemin. Lee Taemin. The fourth of the leading Lee Clan family's six children."
I choked. "Six? There was once six?"
Sicheng cocked his head, "Is that really surprising?"
"My God, the fight for the throne must have been bloody."
I tried to picture four other Taeyongs, petty, ruthless, sharp-tongued and... and dude, the gene pool. Lee Sunmi and Taeyong were ethereal looks-wise. Another four more like them? The modelling industry is yodelling.
The grin on his face was slightly wry, "You've no idea."
"Did they all die?" I said, stunned. "Like for real?"
Damn, I always knew the Lees were hardcore and competitive but this hardcore and competitive? Boy. Thank the Lord I was no Lee.
He side-eyed me, "I know Lee Taemin died, for sure. Taeyong's markmanship is impeccable."
"And the others?" I pressed on.
He said nothing in response to that.
Fine fine.
"What's the back story leading up to Taemin's death?" I asked instead. "Taeyong may be no living Buddha, but he doesn't kill without motive."
The Dong boy sank further into the comforts of his ward bed. "Would you believe me if I said I don't know?"
No. I gave him a pointed stare.
"I've only heard rumours," he said eventually, eyes staring up at the cream ceilings wistfully. "What really went down between them, only Taeyong knows." He stroke his chin. "Actually Soyeon might too, you can try asking her."
"Does it look like I'm close enough to her to?" I deadpanned. "Plus how am I supposed to ask? 'Oh yeah, so do you know how your friend's brother Taemin died? I heard you knew some haha'? Bruh, no."
He clicked his tongue. "It's not like we're incredibly close either, Wang," he pointed out. "Why are you asking me?"
I threw my hands into the air. "You know what? Fine," I announced. "Let me go ask Guanlin instead."
He huffed out a short laugh, "And what? Spill the beans that you know what his double identity? Don't be a dumbass."
"Fine, fine, then spill some, will you?"
I was met with silence once again and I stabbed the boy in arm with a finger repeatedly.
"Ow," he complained after five jabs. "Stop it, bitch. I'm a resting patient."
"Yeah, and if you don't say any soon you'll be a resting-in-peace patient," I threatened, holding an imaginary knife to his throat.
He slapped my hand away, "Lame."
"Tell me, hoe," I complained. "What's so secretive?"
"I told you I only heard the rumours!"
"Then tell me the rumours!" I scooted closer. "You know I love rumours! I'm a hoe for gossip. Tell me, tell me, tell me."
He finally sat himself up properly, propping a plushed pillow up behind him. "What do you want to hear about?"
"Everything," I opened my arms. "What were the names of the other three? What happened to them? Why did Taeyong gun Taemin down? How was Sunmi even mixed up in the Taemin affairs?"
He let out an exaggeratedly long sigh, "The Lee family is extremely conplexed so don't you take anything I say for the absolute truth, I don't know everything."
Well, this had to be a first. I propped my chin up on an elbow, "Yes yes, go on."
He pressed a finger to my forehead, pushing me further away from him. "Stop breathing so close to me, brat."
"Oh my God, it's been a full three minutes, stop beating about the bush! Spill the tea, for fuck's sake," I grumbled, scooting away cooperatively.
"Geez, chill. These type of things need a certain sort of mood-"
Jesus.
..
tw: sensitive topics (mental health, etc), bad advice
(skip until the the end of the bold paragraphs to continue)
The Lee Clan family was once-upon-a-time your classic K-Drama chaebol family. Taeyong's father had two wives- wait no, one wife and a little side mistress, my bad.
Both wife and mistress led sad, miserable lives of quick deaths, though. The price to pay for being a crime family boss' woman, I suppose.
There were a total of six siblings. First-born Lee Hyukjae, Third-born Lee Hoetaek, Forth-born Lee Taemin and last-born Lee Taeyong were birthed by their father's wife, and the other two- Second-born Lee Jinki and Fifth-born Lee Sunmi- were spawned by the little mistress.
First-born Lee Hyukjae was a short-lived tragedy. Before even getting the chance to sit up on the throne, he was assassinated via an ambush set up by Second-born Lee Jinki. It was actually really tragic. Hyukjae had apparently showed little to no interest in taking up any position at all, but since he was the first-born he had instantly became his siblings' Number One enemy.
Shortly after Hyukjae's passing, their father passed on as well. Something about a heart-attack, but which dumbass would believe it? No one from the Underground at the very least. Second-born Lee Jinki took up the Clan leader role by force and ruled with an iron fist, but he was always skittish and distrustful. In his opinion, everyone was out to get him and boy, he wasn't that far from the truth. Half a year into his rule, Fourth-born Lee Taemin had enough. Karma was taking too long. He took matters into his own hands and took the long overdue revenge for his oldest brother. Iconic black whip in hand, he taught his second brother the last lesson Jinki would ever learn in this life- do not ever mess with the main Lee family.
He gained the support and respect of the oppressed Clan members without much effort and was perhaps the most successful Lee Clan leader in the crime family's history, but little did everyone know how much he was crumbling away internally everyday.
A Clan leader should never be spotted at a psychiatrist's. It was the unwritten, unspoken rule for them all. Even if they were in serious need of some sort of release, even if their minds were practically ripping them into two. They were not to be spotted at a psychiatrist's. The last time any had been, both the leader and his psychiatrist ended up dead at the trunk of an abandoned car within seven hours. People liked poking into the weaknesses of others, you see. People liked tearing each other down. It was easier to break things down than to build them up, afterall, and everyone liked that powerful feeling of having a hold over someone else.
Lee Taemin was a family guy. He was especially close to his two brothers, the youngest one in particular. He adored Taeyong. Maybe because back then, the younger boy reminded him a little too much of himself. Cold front, soft heart. He told his brothers many things, many twisted, abhorrent and shameful things- like how he felt towards their sister.
Yes, I know. What in the Alabama shit is this, yes, yes concerns noted. But it happened, anyway.
Moving on. There were things he only told Taeyong though, things like how everything he did was eating him up inside and how he had attempted ending his own life. Young Taeyong could only offer a listening ear and a some light words of assurance. He didn't know what to say, having no experience with this and no prior knowledge on how to deal with situations like that. All he had ever learned growing up was that the world was a terrible, cruel place and it was either be the shooter or be the one shot. No one told him that you could be both at once. Killing and killed.
Bit by bit, mentally weak Taemin spiralled into insanity under the crushing guilt of all the lives he'd taken. It got so bad to the point he had to resort to drugs to distract himself from the demons in his mind, taunting and laughing at him. That wasn't what completely ruined him eventually though, it was his forbidden love which had crushed him whole.
A year and a half into Taemin's rule, Sunmi got a boyfriend. A man who was as regular a person as any dude out there, but Sunmi had liked him. A lot. Being the subject of Sunmi's devotion, attention and adoration instantly made this man Taemin's biggest enemy and the jealous man ordered for his assassination.
It came as something out of the blue, cruel and unfair to oblivious Sunmi. She had thought Taemin killed her boyfriend because he hated her being happy and he hated her because she was Jinki's sister. Broken, angry and spiteful, she plotted against him, using his weakness for her, using his insecurities, mental instability, everything she could get a hold on, everything and anything she heard he was in pain over.
Taemin was staggering into a complete nightmare everyday. The agony of living felt like someone had ran a thousand blades running through him, and was twisting them every minute, making sure he never manages to get used to the pain and go numb all over.
Already suicidal Taemin then begged his youngest brother for the biggest favour, the only favour and the hardest one Taeyong had ever granted. End my suffering, please. Taemin had begged. Please, kill me. Please.
Coincidentally when everything was happening, Third-born Lee Hoetaek was out of the loop. He had gone off to God knows where to do God knows what and kept no contact with his family, only returning the very day the worst of things happened: the day Taeyong gunned Taemin down. In front of the entire Headquarters.
He couldn't believe his eyes. No one could. Even Sunmi was stunned. They all thought Taeyong had lost his mind. How was it possible? Sweet, calm, innocent Taeyong? The one everyone thought was no bit interested in Clan matters? Killing the Clan leader? In front of everyone's salad too!
That was the turning point in the remaining Lee siblings' lives.
Hoetaek packed his bags and left the family for good. He couldn't live in the Lee Manor anymore. In his eyes, both Sunmi and Taeyong were murderers. The murderers of his favourite brother and he would hear no reasoning, not that the other parties were willing to offer any, eitherways.
Sunmi had spiralled into on-off episodes of mental instability. She started showing symptoms of psychosis a month after and things got extremely out of hand when she didn't take her pills.
Taeyong was hit the worst of them all. He had a 180 degree change and it seemed almost as if he'd became a completely different person. Occasionally, however, his old self still slipped through cracks of his cold facades, but they went as quickly as they came, leaving those who'd experienced those passing moments wondering if they had simply imagined it.
Three months after, someone caught wind that Lee Hoetaek had taken his own life and the remaining Lee siblings officially announced Lee Sunmi the Clan leader. It was an internal decision no one really knew the reasoning behind. Everyone was just desperate for a leader and Lee Sunmi occupied the place just fine, so no one questioned it.
And that was how the Lee siblings went from six, to two. Voila.
..
"What in the Korean Soap Drama was that?" I frowned. "There's so many unexplained loopholes. I need details."
Sicheng looked ridiculously exasperated, "This is literally all I know, mate. Why don't you ask Lee Taeyong?"
"I should ask Guanlin," I stroked my chin wistfully, and I swore for a minimal second Sicheng had cast me a sharp look that held an element of surprise. "He's a big boy informant, isn't he? This should be something he's heard at least twenty to thirty times before."
"I reckon you not," he said airily, providing no further explanation for his ambiguous statement. "Do get the fuck out now, I want to sleep. Go disturb Minghao instead."
"Nope, I'm going to disturb Lee Sunmi," I announced. "And possibly decrease the number of Lee siblings left. Just possibly, no solid plans made yet."
He rolled his eyes, "Okay whatever, get out."
a/n: vote, comment and share!!
yall into the final 7 chapters of this book btw
coming up next:
"Just passed Jimin on the way up. Why does he look like he's on the literal verge of breaking into tears?" I inquired when I stepped into Sicheng's ward, sliding the door shut behind me. "What did you tell him? That his hair is not on fleek today? Well it's true but you could have perhaps phrased it more nicely, y'know."
// absolutely not related but damn ya girl truly be out here having the worst time of her life this semester lols