─── chapter seven.
❛ WOW, HE TALKS ❜
OF COURSE, only kil deok-ja could come home with a grin on her face after getting painfully injured.
and of course, all kil deok-su could do was sigh heavily and usher her inside, quickly and quietly thanking the teen who had brought her home with a small bow.
its not the first time, and clearly not the last either.
"so, you took a knife wound even when you could've easily broken the stalker's wrist and avoided it?" deok-su recapped deok-ja's explanation as he unwrapped her bandages to asses the wound on her arm.
"i could've, but that part-timer and zoe were behind me, and i didn't want them to get hurt." she shrugged in response, wincing as deok-su placed healing ointment on her arm.
"you're so reckless..." deok-su murmured under his breath.
she only smiled cheekily in response.
SOMETIMES, deok-su unwillingly found himself in the middle of something he'd rather not be involved in.
mostly it was because of his overly reckless sister or the company the twins kept, but today it was because of a boy named zack lee.
after the incident at the convenience store (deok-su would rather not recount it — he's pictured the scene far too many times in both his dreams and in his mind), the bespectacled teen tried to steer clear of absolutely any conversation regarding his gel-haired seatmate.
however, luck was never on his side as the boy seemed adamant on discovering his most well-guarded secret.
"i didn't know you could fight. what do you specialize in? are you a spy? do you work for the government? i'm a boxer too, so if we ever fight don't break my arm, i need it —"
"can you please stop asking me questions? i just finished being interrogated by zoe on the wellbeing of my sister." he groaned lowly, turning to glare at zack.
he wasn't one to let emotion take over him, but the boy beside him wouldn't let him catch a break and it was ticking deok-su off.
"huh, why? is there something wrong with her?" zack ignored the chill that went down his spine at the sight of deok-su's haunting eyes boring right into his own.
deok-su had almost forgotten that deok-ja was acquainted (although quite bitterly) with zack, judging by their challenging glares and slightly less mean — but still mean enough to make someone cry — words. he debated on telling him that it was nothing, but settled on just spilling the truth. it wasn't like the two were close enough to worry about each other anyway.
"she got stabbed." was his simple and blank response before turning to snuggle his head further into his arms for a nice long nap. it wasn't like their teacher was in the classroom long enough to care whether or not he was sleeping.
zack had no time to process deok-su's words before his attention was distracted by a rather beaten up namsoo, who he had earlier asked to find a pair of shoes for him.
after a brief explanation from the heavily bruised boy, deok-su raised his head at the same time zack gave a long sigh.
"you must've been scared. shit, i knew i should've gone." he muttered, catching deok-su off guard. "its my fault..."
was zack lee, the prideful boxer, really being kind?
his expression then morphed to a slightly angry one. "i hope you aren't lying to me."
just then yui walked up to them, her gaze falling right onto deok-su. he always felt like he was being watched when she was around, but it wasn't as though the girl was doing anything bad so she let her be. maybe she was just grateful for what he did for her (if she wasn't, that'd just make deok-su feel even shittier for breaking his pacifism for someone who didn't better themselves after).
"just contact them using a photo of someone that looks weak." deok-su murmured to no one in particular, stifling a yawn and adjusting his glasses.
"you sure know a lot about this..." namsoo said suspiciously, but received no answer in response.
i learned it from that ungrateful purple haired brat, deok-su scowled to himself.
after yui chimed in her agreements and fully explained the way to get the scammers to meet up, all the while using jiho's picture to lure them in. sure, deok-su felt bad for the unsuspecting boy, but he wasn't one to speak up (or speak much at all) so he just kept quiet.
the less involved he was in this, the better.
"let's go then." zack stood up, before casting a glance down at deok-su. "you, glasses. come with us."
"huh, why him?" one of the goons that was going along with zack asked as deok-su's head snapped to the boxer so quick he almost got whiplash.
"can he even fight?" another asked.
"maybe take his sister instead." one shivered.
"no, i want him to come along." zack said firmly.
yui glanced back and forth between them, remembering the completely different person deok-su became when he fought.
"i'll tell everybody the truth unless you come along." he smirked.
"are you... blackmailing me?" deok-su asked incredulously, his voice soft yet his eyes tundra cold.
in the background, deok-su heard the audible laugh of some random person. "wow, he talks. it's the first time i've heard him say something."
"depends on your answer." zack shrugged.
deok-su gritted his teeth in annoyance, yet stood up anyway. shadows flickered over his face as he walked over to zack, staring him down with that blank face. it was always so devoid of emotion — so lackluster — that zack often times forgot deok-su was human and not a robot.
"next time you think about joking around with me, remember that we're not close like that." he muttered under his breath, squeezing the breath out of zack's lungs at the animalistic glint in his otherwise empty eyes.
zack had never met anyone with a presence that terrifying in his life.
NOT HAVING A TEACHER, while stupid when the environment was a school, was a blessing in disguise. deok-ja hardly did anything in class but mess around, and there was no one to reprimand them when she, jace, and vasco snuck out to the small garden vasco had created.
deok-ja was dressed in her burn knuckles letterman jacket (another present jace had ordered for the crew apart from the leather jacket) and casual clothes, her bandages hidden behind the warm jacket.
after her uniform ripped, she had to throw it away (the blood didn't seem to want to leave the fabric, and walking into school looking like she just killed someone wasn't the type of attention she'd like). it seemed like the jacket was a gift from above to compensate for her torn uniform, so she wore it over her clothes in appreciation.
"vasco, what seeds did you plant?" jace asked as the three watered the plants (it was just dirt at the moment, but deok-ja was excited to see what would soon sprout).
"fruits." he responded. "i bought them 'cause they're tasty."
"we'll share them after the harvest." he smiled to himself, making jace tear up.
"vasco! what kind of fruits?"
"durian. they call it the king of the fruits."
deok-ja almost laughed at the statement, had jace not been signaling her to be quiet from behind vasco.
"i'll give you two, jace. and you too, deok-ja." he hummed.
"sure, vasco." deok-ja replied, lips pressed together to suppress the laughter threatening to escape her throat.
tropical fruit can't be grown in korea.
"oh, daniel!" vasco's attention was drawn to an approaching crowd, and deok-ja followed his line of sight.
she was surprised to see deok-su among them, looking very much as if he was forced to be there.
"deok-su?" deok-ja poked her head from behind vasco's tall frame, peering over his shoulder.
after a quick explanation of the situation, the burn knuckles trio nodded along thoughtfully.
"so, why's deok-su going with you?" deok-ja asked zack, suspicion in her tone. there was no way her reserved brother would ever get himself involved in trivial things like these.
"i was blackmailed." the bespectacled teen said, anger seeping into his otherwise straightforward tone. his glare landed directly on zack.
"wow." deok-ja glanced at zack, and for a moment the boxer thought she might kill him. instead, she patted his shoulder rather harshly. "i'm surprised you're still alive."
he gulped. that had to be a joke, right?
"if deok-su's going, so am i." she added, inserting herself next to her brother.
"aren't you still injured?" vasco asked worriedly, glancing down at her healing arm.
"i can use my legs for today." deok-ja shrugged.
"aren't you supposed to be stopping her?" zack raised an eyebrow at the unbothered deok-su.
"she's fought way worse. plus, it's not like she'll listen even if i ask." deok-su sighed in response. honestly, he felt less burdened about going along if his sister was going to be there.
even then, it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.
"i'm going too. jace, you stay here and plant the seeds." vasco announced.
that was how the five of them got together for the sake of getting zack's money back (well, deok-ja was just itching to fight and deok-su was there against his will, but it's the thought of these five together that counts).
GIAN STATION, the place where they were meant to meet the scammers, was rather crowded with cocky guys. especially in the cafe the five resided at for the sake of killing time, glares and looks of admiration alike were shot in their direction.
in fact, each of them had earned themselves a nickname from the group of glaring guys across from them.
deok-ja's, believe it or not, was slut (wow, how original).
deok-su's was pushover, probably because of his glasses and maybe due to the fact that he was boredly chewing on the straw of his drink like a child (seriously, it was disgusting and should be against the law).
zack's was grease can, for the absurd amount of hair gel on his now probably rock-solid hair (this one made both siblings amused, because they currently held a slight grudge towards him — deok-su more than his sister, though).
daniel's was pretty boy, arguably the best and most fitting name for the teen. not even they could find something to insult the boy with.
vasco, who was arguing with zack and asking him to buy him more milk, earned himself the name tattoos, for the designs protruding from under the sleeves of his rolled up jacket.
nobody but zack spared them a glance, annoyance seeping into his face. however he excused himself once he caught sight of some familiar faces outside the cafe window, only to return with blood coating his face half an hour later.
"wow, you really got your ass handed to you, ouch." teased deok-ja as they followed him out to where the scammers were waiting for them.
"shut it." zack snarled, wiping the blood off his face with a napkin deok-su had so graciously thrown at his face.
they were met by some teenagers in wannabe burn knuckles uniform, lead by a guy in a headband. deok-ja almost wanted to scoff at the sight, but sensing that the tension was high, she kept her mouth shut.
vasco stepped up to give the thugs a piece of his mind, but zack's hand held him back.
"just a sec." the boxer called, "i'm first."
"you three... come here."
AFTER POKING FUN AT THEIR MAKESHIFT GROUP, the scammers ended up getting their asses handed to them. the kil siblings didn't even get a chance to raise their fists (deok-su thanked whatever higher power that had interfered), and daniel had simply cowered in the background.
zack, to deok-su's surprise, had single-handedly taken down all of the guys despite his obvious fatigue. the bespectacled boy couldn't tear his eyes away from the fight no matter how much the sight of blood made him uneasy, too mesmerized in the teen's dance of fists.
"hey, scammer." words left his panting lips, and deok-su could see the tiredness behind his stance. "the nationals are nothing."
the male kil forgot about his burning desire to see zack crumble for forcing him into this mess, a newfound admiration for the boxer's courage replacing his initial dread.
too bad the fleeting feeling was too short to last, sunken by the newly formed pit in deok-su's stomach. they were surrounded by even more thugs, and if the maniacal glint in his sister's eyes was anything to go by, they were certainly in for a load of blood.
deok-su almost felt bad for the group. almost.
"you did good." vasco spoke up as he threw his jacket off, revealing his toned body underneath.
"now rest. i got this."
"don't try to act tough." zack said through ragged breaths.
"why don't both of you step down and let the true pro handle it? my bones have been aching lately, so i need a little warm up to keep me in shape." deok-ja interrupted the two with a grin, eliciting an amused chuckle from the thugs around them.
"what's a girl like you gonna do? scold us?" one of them sneered.
"don't underestimate girls." vasco said seriously, and deok-ja nodded.
with a wild look in her eyes, she charged towards the thug that opened his mouth first, her body twisting expertly as she landed a kick right into his stomach. he spluttered and kneeled in pain, saliva mixing with blood leaving his mouth through loud coughs.
"hey, didn't i tell you not to go around fighting, vasco!? you too, deok-ja! you need the rest of the crew!" motorcycle engines revved as the rest of the burn knuckles arrived in their uniforms.
"oh, guys! hey!" deok-ja grinned at them, and the guy with the headband finally took notice of the insignia printed on their clothes.
"jace, how'd you know i was here?" vasco asked.
"our friendship is so strong that we can communicate through telepathy!" he lied, and deok-ja ducked her head to hide her silent laughter. telepathy, as if.
"gotcha!" some yellow mushroom haired guy grabbed onto vasco's shoulders when his attentions was diverted elsewhere, squeezing harshly.
"tell them to stop before i crush your shoulder!" he yelled triumphantly.
with ease, vasco lifted the thug's arms and turned to face him.
"shoulder? don't screw around." and with one hand, brought him down to his knees.
suddenly the headband boy ran out towards deok-su and daniel, judging them as easy targets. warning alarms blared in the bespectacled teen's head to dodge the strike, but mira and yui were directly behind him and would take the attack.
and that wasn't really cool of him, so he braced to feel his poor glasses get the blunt of the attack. deok-su didn't dare flinch or even wince when knuckles collided with his face, effectively sending his now broken glasses tumbling to the floor.
the girls behind him screamed at the impact, backing up at the hungry look on deok-su's eyes. his face stayed the same as ever, face muscles only moving to talk.
"wow, hitting the visually impaired," he spit the blood running from his nose to his mouth onto the concrete. "that's not cool."
"i cant see anymore because of you, so i'll return the favor. level the playing field, right?" deok-su hummed nonchalantly before raising his hands and lightning speed and slamming the other's face onto his knee.
the onlookers only watched in shock at how boredly the (now bloody faced) boy was repeatedly slamming the headband guy's face into his knee. he was just as wild as his sibling counterpart, yet the way he completely destroyed his appointment with the blankest look on his face and empty eyes sent the hairs on their arms on edge.
only deok-ja could manage a grin at the sight of her brother's true nature, shackle-free and unrestrained.
sure, deok-ja was wild, but deok-su took it to the next level.
"oh. he passed out." deok-su let the lifeless body in his grip fall to the floor.
a pretty blondish brown haired girl came to his aid, tears streaming down her face at the sight of her probably boyfriend's now messed up face.
without another word, deok-ja bounded over to her brother, picked up his glasses, and tugged him away from the uneasy stares in his direction.
"i'll catch you guys later, i guess." she called over her shoulder to the burn knuckles, ignoring the way their faces twisted in shock.
nobody in the crowd other than zack lee could believe their eyes.
# LOVE, RAY !
mostly equal scenes involving the twins!!
i feel like giving deok-su this much fight scenes when he's supposed to be a pacifist is kinda contradicting but he'll soon fully give up on that in order to protect himself and occasionally his sister bc the arcs are gonna get tougher and bloodier
also the progression of the fashion dept and deok-su's friendship is slowly but surely showing some results!! tbh i wasn't sure who his love interest was gonna be or if he was even gonna have one, but i settled on zack in the end (it might change in the future as more is revealed ab the twins though, the only promise i can make is that deok-ja and vasco are fully set in stone)
this chapter covers up till ep 38 btw!!
next chapter will be about studying for the midterms, the midterms, and whatever else in between (of course it will also include some cute scenes as well 😉)
please vote and comment, i love interactive readers!! love y'all and stay safe<33