7th November
2011
Hongjoong and Seonghwa sit in the living room of the SS house together, the TV on full blast in front of them. The two had decided to watch Hongjoong's favourite movie to have a small celebration for his eighteenth birthday, as Hongjoong didn't want any big celebration.
And honestly, lazing around like this is something the two enjoy quite a lot from time to time.
In the last five years, nothing huge happened. The two boys simply worked as usual, slowly getting more advanced tasks as they grew more skilled. They got to make plenty of connections with other big gangs, and to Seonghwa's shock, some politicians as well.
He grew to find out that there's way more corruption behind the scenes that he thought.
Amongst all of this, Hongjoong has been conducting regular searches for his sister. For some reason he can't find her anywhere, making him even more suspicious that she's moved to another country.
SS and MX have been having petty gang fights regularly, luckily nothing too big happening between them. Hoseok and Hyungwon have decided to stay quiet.
But none of these things have been too difficult for the two. What truly became an obstacle for them was school.
Jaehyun forced the two to get some home-school education. Only in May of this year have the boys finally completed their second level education, which proved to be a great hurdle. They were both much more suited for physical activity.
Ever since school has finished, lazing around became a precious hobby for the two of them. Of course their duties still hold priority to them, but they'll never miss their "school days".
Now, a horror movie plays in front of them both. No matter how much gore shows up, or how many jump scares, or how gruesome the image, neither of them flinch even once.
"We should make a horror movie and show these guys what it should really be like," Hongjoong utters while chewing his popcorn. Seonghwa glances at his friend's relaxed face with a giggle and shakes his head. "Every day is a horror movie for you, is that not enough?"
Hongjoong shoves more popcorn into his mouth and shrugs. "Scaring people is fun, don't act like you don't do it all the time," he playfully scolds. Seonghwa's cheeks heat up. Hongjoong is right, scaring people is entertaining but it's not like he does it intentionally. He still stays quiet as the climax of the movie begins.
As soon as it's over they stretch and Seonghwa sits up before his eyes flick to the door to the living room. "What should we do next? Should we buy nice food or something?" Hongjoong wonders out loud. Seonghwa smiles awkwardly but his eyes are still on the door.
"What are you-"
Hongjoong is interrupted when the door flies open. Jaehyun storms in, holding a small cake on a plate in his hands. "Happy birthday!" he exclaims while setting the cake and knife down. Hongjoong blinks blankly at the sight in front of him and he shares a glance with Seonghwa as Jaehyun struggles to place eighteen candles onto the cake and light them.
"Make a wish and cut the cake," he instructs, aware that Hongjoong has never done this before. The man always insisted every year, but Hongjoong never accepted it. So this time Seonghwa and Jaehyun decided to plan this as a surprise so Hongjoong can finally experience this at least once.
Hongjoong takes a look at his friend and the other man and raises his eyebrow. He could complain, or he could get this done and over with quickly. He closes his eyes and thinks of a wish.
"I wish that I can find my sister."
At last he blows out the candles, feeling ridiculous. The hairs on his arms rise when Seonghwa flicks the lights of the room on, before he and Jaehyun both start singing happy birthday to Hongjoong off key as he quickly cuts the cake. "You guys are so embarrassing," he sighs.
Jaehyun looks a little deflated at Hongjoong's reaction but Seonghwa smiles widely. "That was a better reaction than I was expecting!" he beams.
Hongjoong flashes him a look of disgust, but then Jaehyun clears his throat. "I don't have a present for you Hongjoong, but I have news for both of you boys," he begins. He succeeds in captivating their attention as they straighten up and turn to him.
"Now that you're both adults, I want you to know that I will put you into my will. If anything ever happens to me, I want you to work together to keep SS going and to provide for all the gang members. I trust you the most out of everyone and I hope everything will be enough," he explains, his voice cracking a little as he gets to the end of his news.
This causes both boys to gasp. They look to each other and smile. "We will do our best!" Seonghwa shouts enthusiastically. Hongjoong jumps a little at the volume in his friend's voice and clears his throat. "Yeah, thanks," he says with much less energy.
He's happy with this. But a part of him wants everything right now. He knows that the gang leader won't perish for a long while, and he can't wait much longer. For his plans to work out, he needs everything he can get. And now that he's being offered everything, he fights himself to stay patient.
"There's one more bit of news. Come in!" Jaehyun calls out. Once again, the boys raise an eyebrow.
A girl shyly walks in, not daring to lift her head. She makes her way to Jaehyun's side and stands there silently. "This is Harin and she is a new member to the gang. We haven't had a new girl in the gang in years and I only trust you guys, so please teach her well and take good care of her."
Seonghwa judges her silently. "Why did you accept her? Did she come here herself?" he wonders. Jaehyun shakes his head and smiles fondly. "She was being attacked by MX when I found her. I saved her and found out that she's trained in many martial arts and other techniques, but couldn't use them as she was outnumbered. I explained our gang to her and she liked the idea."
Hongjoong looks indifferent, and that's because he is. He doesn't care for teaching someone anything. He doesn't care if someone joins this gang or not.
But Seonghwa smiles to her. "Are you hurt?" he asks with a sweet voice. Hongjoong glares at his friend. He doesn't care what the girl supposedly went through, he can't trust someone this fast. Yet Seonghwa can, somehow.
Harin lifts her head slowly and looks Seonghwa right in the eyes before looking elsewhere instantly, her face growing pink. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," she mumbles.
Jaehyun stands up abruptly. "I'll leave you three to get more familiar with each other. Don't worry Harin, these boys are very welcoming and kind," he announces. A loud laugh escapes Hongjoong. Welcoming? Who?
Jaehyun leaves the room and Harin sits down on the couch beside them. Her eyes roam around the room and over the big bowls with a few popcorn kernels lying in them.
"Don't worry Harin, I'll guide you well. If you need anything then you can ask me or Hongjoong," Seonghwa smiles. Hongjoong's eyes widen a little and he turns his head to the girl, face as serious as ever.
"Don't come near me. And don't think Seonghwa has time for you either."
Seonghwa fake laughs loudly and playfully slaps Hongjoong's shoulder, causing the other to whip his head around with fire burning in his eyes. "Joong, you shouldn't make jokes like this to someone who's new! Sorry Harin, Joong here likes to joke around but doesn't realise when he goes too far!" he chuckles.
Hongjoong's expression tells Seonghwa that he will need to pray for his life later.
"Thank you both so much, really! I wish everyone in this world were as sweet as you guys," she sheepishly utters. Seonghwa keeps his hand on Hongjoong's shoulder as he grins. However, Hongjoong shoots up with a huff and storms out of the room wordlessly.
Seonghwa nearly rolls his eyes. One thing his friend is not good at is relationships. He can't blame him though, he knows very well that Hongjoong has had way too many bad experiences and has severe trust issues. He can sense that Hongjoong hates Harin already even though he has no real reason too.
He's been like this with every new member they've had. But this time Seonghwa feels a little more sympathetic towards the girl. His heart aches at the thought of her being helpless while being attacked. He feels grateful that Jaehyun saved her.
"Were you in the middle of your studies before coming here?" he asks the confused girl. She stops nervously staring at the door and returns her attention to Seonghwa. "I dropped out of college a few days ago since I struggled with money. I know I shouldn't have, but I took some loans and didn't think I wouldn't be able to pay them back. That's who the men who were hurting me were, I didn't realise they were in a gang until it was too late," she sadly admits.
Seonghwa's heart pains for her, to his surprise. Feeling sympathy or empathy is something he's given up long ago, these emotions only coming in the way when he needs to kill someone. He can only feel these things with Jaehyun and Hongjoong at this point. So he feels shocked that he's still capable of feeling these things, especially for someone who is basically a stranger to him.
"Is Hongjoong okay? He seemed a little upset just now," she changes the subject. Seonghwa snaps out of his trance. That's right, Hongjoong was probably a little annoyed that Seonghwa could trust someone so fast. But the boy knows for a fact that his friend was also feeling jealous. He loves attention, especially from Seonghwa. And it's not only that, but it's Hongjoong's birthday today too.
"Ah I'm sure he's fine! But I'll go check up on him now anyway. Would you like to come?" Seonghwa states while standing up. Harin senses a lie in Seonghwa's words and bites her lip nervously.
"That's okay, I want to rest in my room first. Jaehyun already showed me so you should check up on him yourself," she declines, feeling guilty for being the reason Hongjoong is upset. Seonghwa nods hesitantly and leaves the room.
He heads straight to the basement, the place where Hongjoong always goes when he's distressed. The shooting range acts as a form of therapy for both of the boys.
As expected, Hongjoong is there firing multiple bullets into the target. His aimis slightly off and that tells Seonghwa that he's very mad.
"Hey Joong~" he sings while creeping up to his friend. Hongjoong flashes him a sour look. "What do you want?"
Seonghwa flinches. "I'm sorry for earlier. I just felt bad for her, but I don't trust her as much as you think."
Hongjoong laughs bitterly. "How long do you plan on teaching her for?" he asks. Seonghwa's mind spins. Hongjoong is several steps ahead. This isn't even something Seonghwa has begun to think of.
"Until she knows how to defend herself properly. Don't worry Joong, it won't be long! I'll only teach her in my free time, I won't stop doing anything with you," he assures. Hongjoong turns back to his target silently.
"Do you think I'm jealous or something?"
Seonghwa freezes and refuses to answer that question. Was he wrong to think so?
"I just don't get a good feeling from her so I hate her. If she lays a finger on anyone in this gang then I'll kill her," Hongjoong replies truthfully. Seonghwa's eyes largen and he gulps. "I didn't realise, I'm sorry," he hurriedly apologises.
Hongjoong shows a small smile. "It's alright, Hwa."