─── chapter sixteen.
❛ THE PRINCESS
& THE FROGS ❜
IF THERE WAS ONE, very stark, difference between kil deok-ja and kil deok-su, it would be the ability to keep their feelings in check. deok-ja was a bomb waiting to detonate — deok-su was a predator calmly waiting and watching his prey.
that was one of the things chairman choi quite admired about deok-su. he was one of the only pawns at his display that actually thought before acting. deok-su was not wild like goo, or got off a fight-high like gun. he was not deceptive like eugene and the workers, nor was he completely reserved and closed off like DG.
deok-su was in a caliber of his own. a quiet beast with retractable claws, hidden in plain sight and just waiting patiently for his prey to land in his trap. the only problem was, he was almost entirely impossible to get ahold of.
chairman choi would empty his entire bank account before kil deok-su ever agreed to become a part of his group — and, of course, a part of the ten geniuses. however, there was always one variable that could coax the teen into giving in for a small amount of time, and that would be his twin sister, kil deok-ja.
undoubtably the fool in the family, deok-ja was easy to sway — especially where money is involved — much more than deok-su would ever be. so chairman choi played on her downfall, her greed towards what she couldn't get enough of, and pointed it like a weaponized canon to her brother, who could not deny the safety of his little sister.
and when presented with the choice of having to do the one thing he abhorred (fighting) with the people he despised most in the world (gun and goo), or having his sister do it in his stead, the choice was rather simple.
he'd have to suck up smelling expensive fumes and seeing hideously pricey clothes that looked disgustingly nice and fitted for a few hours. oh, the lengths he would go to for his little sister.
she really owes him a relaxing summer vacation.
WITH THE PROMISE OF A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS, deok-su moodily stood outside the padlocked warehouse within ARU ENT, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.
the black and blonde duo were running 'fashionably' late, and the teen, clad in his baggiest clothes, hoodie over his tousled
hair, was growing increasingly frustrated. i mean, how long does it take to kick some ass so he can go home?
deok-su supposed both older teens had to give the heaps of hair gel stacked on their heads sufficient time to dry before it became barbie ken-like quality.
with the longest eye roll his heavy and tired eyes could manage, deok-su sighed heavily and leaned into the door, listening to the intermingling yells on the other side. from what he had heard, somebody was being threatened and the other — five, from what he could hear — voices were protesting against it.
"are they doing their makeup or what?" deok-su muttered venomously to himself, seething at this complete waste of time. he could've gotten this done and over with by now, but he had to wait for those two knuckleheads that lacked the brain cells to do anything but land hits on moving targets.
"we have to look good for our dramatic entrance!" a high pitched, sing-song voice interrupted his grumbling (it sent literal shivers down deok-su's spine. how he hated goo's voice, or just goo in general).
deok-su was really starting to regret his decision in coming here when he was grabbed around the shoulders and squeezed tightly, feeling the piss blonde's lips inches away from his face.
"disgusting. get off — !" the bespectacled teen shoved goo off of him, fixing his hood farther over his face. he wished that some otherworldly being struck down his glasses so that he could no longer look at the deformity standing in front of him.
"stop wasting time. crystal won't stop bitching — hurry up and break down the door." gun's much deeper voice interrupted the childish bickering, motioning to deok-su. goo made a protest, his eyes shining towards the thick metal door (he badly wanted to knock it down like a cool movie character, but of course gun would choose deok-su to do it instead).
deok-su mimicked him quietly and, fed up and in the mood to use both their skulls to break down the door, forcefully kicked it open.
this was not worth a few thousand bucks.
"cool..." deok-su heard goo mutter jealously from behind him.
"shut up or else the only thing you'll be kicking is the bucket, piss head." deok-su growled lowly, stepping into the room.
there was a multitude of cameras set up, as well as groups of gangsters. in the middle were a few familiar faces that deok-su struggled to connect a name to. daniel, duke, crystal, vasco, and other youthfully unfamiliar faces.
"let's get this over with." deok-su muttered, glancing behind him at both gun and goo. "deok-ja thinks i went out to buy something."
and with that, he rolled up his sleeves and launched towards the nearest gangster.
what a waste of his precious time.
AFTER A LONG, and deok-su meant long day, the only weight he wished to carry was his fat stack of winnings that chairman choi had provided (in deok-su's dreams — he received a pitiful little wad of crisp hundreds, the cheap bastard) and take a nice nap.
of course, things never go his way and he was the unluckiest person to ever exist, because upon entering the convenience store in hopes of wasting some of his winnings on a well deserved snack, deok-su found himself face to face with his seat mate, zack lee.
it really was the worst timing, as there was a cut on deok-su's lip and his glasses were smeared in dried blood — thanks a lot, goo! — not to mention the fact that his clothes were a good three sizes too big and made him look rather unproportional. the boxer, however, was wearing that one tracksuit he wore religiously every weekend, with a pair of chunky-like shoes.
for once, his hair was not gelled, and instead was pushed down on his face by a baseball cap that said some random words in english that deok-su couldn't bother to sound out. it made his face look slightly more chiseled, and deok-su wished zack would start leaving his hair down because he was tired of seeing that hideous updo.
the taller teen took one look at deok-su, his eyes roaming the boy's face, before nodding his head in greeting. deok-su only offered a weak head bob in response, far too tired to even bother to greet him properly.
"did you get beat up or what?" the boxer chuckled lightly, knocking his shoulder accidentally against deok-su, who didn't feel like moving at all.
"as if." the latter scoffed. tiredness rubbed off of his eyes, and they were marked with the beginnings of dark eye bags.
every word he spoke was laced with yawns and laziness — zack noticed it at once. deok-su looked like a stray puppy, blinking heavily to keep his eyes from drifting shut. it made an involuntary feeling pool into his chest, which he chalked up to be some sort of cuteness aggression.
"you're bleeding." he pointed out, making the bespectacled boy muffle out a small laugh.
"really? i hadn't noticed." deok-su grinned, rolling his eyes.
honestly, zack was way better company than those two stick-in-the-ass dickheads. at least he was nice to be around. deok-su didn't get the urge to slam his fist so far into his face that it left a dent, which was definitely a good thing.
deok-su liked feeling at peace, and at the moment, the one who brought that feeling to him was none other than zack lee.
"ugh, deok-ja's going to murder me." the bespectacled boy muttered as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, realizing that the sun was setting and he'd told his sister he would only take a while. still, he didn't answer. deok-su would face deok-ja's wrath when he got home.
zack hummed in acknowledgment, handing the shorter teen a bandage packet. "what are you hiding from her?"
"nothing you should know." desk-su shot back, snatching the bandages and leaving the boxer's side to pay for his things.
he followed behind, placing his own items next to deok-su's array of different flavored noodles, drinks, and bandage pack. the part timer was not deok-ja's friend, but a rather annoyed looking kid.
"i'll pay." zack offered, handing the cashier the money before deok-su could protest. the cashier looked up, and his eyes grew wide and ducked back down to the floor.
"no thanks." deok-su brushed him off.
"what? come on, don't make me look bad." zack nudged the shorter boy, giving him a look.
"i guess, since you insist..."
"cool, let's go!" the boxer snatched the receipt and the bags, smiling cheekily. "you owe me now."
deok-su rolled his eyes.
"are you seriously trying to blackmail me?" he scoffed, remembering a time when he had said similar words. although this time, they held no malicious intent behind them, only an airy tone trying to conceal a growing smile.
"it worked once for me." zack shrugged, grinning down at the teen.
"give me those —" deok-su grabbed his bags, turning away from the boxer before he ended up spending the rest of the day losing more brain cells.
"wait! you look like you just murdered somebody," zack called after him, snakily grabbing the bandaid pack and pulling out a single bandaid.
"that's a good thing. helps me avoid people." deok-su smiled, but felt it drop when the boxer swiped a gentle thumb over his bloody lip.
"what the —" he began, but found he didn't have any words to finish the sentence he had begun to form.
"you'll get an infection and your lips will look like fillers if you don't disinfect it." zack snickered to himself, fixing the bandaid over deok-su's lip. he ignored the warmness in his ears at the earnest gaze in the shorter boy's eyes.
"gee, thanks." deok-su said dryly, moving his bottom lip in discomfort. "i always wanted to know what convenience store bandaids tasted like."
the boxer rolled his eyes. "you're very welcome. now get the hell out of here."
the bespectacled boy shot him one last smile and raised his hand in farewell, turning to walk back home.
zack had asked no unnecessary questions, and deok-su was glad for it — he'd have to save all his explanations for his devil-incarnate sister as soon as he got home.
well, sweet things always feel like seconds to deok-su, who found himself wishing that they were just the slightest bit longer.
# LOVE, RAY !
surprise, another update!! very short, i know 😞 but i rlly rlly wanted to write ab deok-su and zack
also, i almost entirely skipped over the ptj arc bc i couldn't incorporate the twins into the storyline (also i got rlly lazy and didn't feel like writing ab an arc that doesn't involve that much fighting).
the only thing i added was deok-su fighting w gun and goo bc he absolutely hates them which means i have lots of fun stuff to write about!! also idk if yall can tell but i absolutely adore zack and deok-su, they are just the cutest<33
next arc is gonna be the stalker arc but i think imma just do like one short chapter ab it in order to get through the eps quicker bc i want to write ab the hostel arc and olly wang bc that is one of the BEST arcs imo
pls vote and comment, i love interactive readers<333 hope u enjoy the chapter and lmk if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes pls !!
love y'all and stay safe<33