On the night when a half-dead Mark appeared on my doorstep and started talking about the lack of proper food in my fridge, I was terrified that he might've done something that he shouldn't have. I was the older twin, but I still saw him as my hero and he always took it upon himself to protect me. I wanted to be strong enough to do that for him, but I was always one step behind him. Even after mom left us and dad went a little crazy, there was still nothing that I could really do for him. Whenever we both fell, he was always the one who picked himself up first, just so that he could hold his hand towards me and help me up from the ground too.
'' Shit! What's the time? Is it really already three in the afternoon? Shit, shit, shit! '' The late afternoon sun was shining through the shutters and illuminating the dull hospital room. Nurses were chattering out in the hallway, while they were pushing their pill carts from one patient to another and the jumps on Mark's heart monitor became more frequent while he was watching me scroll through my text messages and panic. My short hair was ruffled and I still felt a little drowsy from sleeping, but I was quickly coming back to my senses. '' Why didn't you wake me up? Were you staring at that cute nurse and spacing out again? Mark! That's it, I'm telling her that you have a crush on her! ''
'' Don't you dare! '' Mark's face was instantly bright red from embarrassment and he raised his hands in defense. He tried to sound stern, but he was already stumbling over his words and stuttering. '' I t-tried waking you up, but then you started mumbling something about a certain Sehun and I was so disgusted that I had to wash my hands and go outside for a breath of fresh air. ''
'' Did you see this? '' I asked and showed him my flip phone, which was full of text messages from one of the members of the mafia. ''There are twenty text messages and the last one just says that I better call this guy back in ten minutes or he'll rip me a new asshole... Do you think that he was being serious? ''
Mark cringed at the vivid image that his imagination created in his head, then he pointed at the screen of my phone. '' Let's hope not. That sounds painful. You also got this text a good hour ago. Who's this Ten guy anyway? ''
'' I don't know, but he sounds like a psycho. He kind of reminds me of Chittaphon. '' I shuddered at the memory of my old high school rival and closed my flip phone with a loud snap.
The upperclassman never got over my intrusion in the drama club, where I instantly took over his position of the self-proclaimed queen, without ever actually getting any lead parts in the school plays. One day, he gave me a spoiled peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I was forced to spend a week on the toilet, while stole the tree number two role that I was supposed to get in our club's adaptation of Hamlet. After that - it was war. It lasted up to his graduation and all of our friends - both his group of buddies and my nonexistent squad - hated the pranks that we were always pulling on each other. '' Remember him? I fucking hated that guy. I still do. I wonder where he is these days. It wouldn't surprise me if he ended up in jail. He's the type of psycho that remembers to floss two times a day. ''
Mark raised an eyebrow and carefully asked: '' So... A psycho with really good dental hygiene? ''
'' Mork! I'm serious! ''
'' And I'm impressed. Remembering to floss two times a day? Wow, '' he mumbled and tried to hold back his laughter.
I smacked Mark's shoulder in annoyance and grabbed my jacket. Mumbling something about how I would pay him a visit the next day, I rushed out of his hospital room and hurried down the hallway. Mark's condition was stable and the doctors said that he would recover, but at this point, he still needed a lot of painkillers just to get through the day without suffering. I came up with a whole cover story about how he got shot by a street mugger, but he messed it up every time that someone asked him about it and we were both worried that one of the nurses would call the cops and tell them to come for an official interrogation. A part of me thought that perhaps it would be a good idea, but he was firmly against it. He kept saying that he couldn't remember what really happened and it hurt because I knew that it was lying. For the first time ever, my twin brother was keeping secrets from me.
Upon entering the elevator, I quickly texted this Ten guy, who was oddly descriptive and violent through his threatening messages and surprisingly - he happened to be close by. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when his convertible stopped in front of the hospital building and I recognized the person that was sitting behind the wheel.
Oh no.
Honking the car horn and waving in my direction was no one else than Chittaphon.
I suppose he goes by Ten now.
His hair was bright red, there was a pair of sunglasses on his nose and he looked completely different from how I remembered him to be. He went through a lot of weird phases during high school, always changing his looks and himself, but it looked like he finally settled on who he wanted to be. A member of the mafia. The strangest thing of all was that he didn't seem to recognize me.
'' So, you're the new recruit, huh? '' Ten said, took his gaze off the road and glanced at me. The wind was blowing through his red hair, his eyes were glimmering in the light of the setting sun and there was an odd smile on his lips.
I nodded, struggling to hide how nervous I was. Getting in cars with strangers was one thing, but what about your mortal enemies? '' Where are we going? ''
'' We need to fetch Baekhyun from Gampo's police station. ''
My eyes grew wide with surprise. '' What did he do? ''
'' I have no idea, but he better have a good excuse. This is the third time this month that he got himself arrested. I already warned him to be careful. I'm supposed to be watching over him and if he gets himself arrested again, his father will probably hang my head next to his other hunting trophies. ''
Ten parked his convertible right by the entrance of Gampo's police station. It was late in the afternoon, but most of the cops were still at work. Instead of worrying about getting a ticket for leaving his car on the curb, Ten kept glancing at the three reporters that were waiting at the entrance of the building. '' Why does the press always show up when I'm having a bad hair day? ''
He stepped out of his car and tried to put on his sunglasses, only to accidentally poke himself in the eye. I had to bite my lower lip to stop myself from laughing, while he glanced at me and quietly asked: '' Mark, how many people saw that? ''
'' Just about... Everyone, '' I seriously replied before one of the reporters suddenly ran towards me and started waving his voice recorder in front of my face. He was unusually handsome for someone who worked in that business. With blonde hair, a nice smile and a toned physique, he looked like someone who belonged in the spotlight instead of forcing the attention on others.
He rolled up the sleeves of his red jean jacket and loudly exclaimed: '' Are you mister Byun's new employee? I heard that you were there when detective Taemin broke into that illegal gambling house! Did you help him arrest those criminals? Amazing! ''
'' Oh, that? That was nothing big... '' I dismissively waved with my hand and let out a nervous laugh. I was acting modest for a whole two seconds before I dropped the charade and eagerly asked: '' Where should I sign my autograph? ''
Ten rolled his eyes, took a hold of my wrist and dragged me away from the handsome reporter. '' Calm down, superstar. Or is your ego already in Hollywood? He's being nice to you just because he knows that you're new and he thinks that you'll help him get a scoop on Baekhyun or his father. Don't believe a single word that he says. Especially if he's being nice. Let's go. ''
We walked into the small police station and were instantly greeted by detective Taemin, who was standing in the reception room and punching a vending machine that had Baekhyun's mugshot hanging on it. I cringed at the sight, while Ten leaned towards me and explained: '' I heard that their vending machines always get jammed, so the trio of traffic cops got the bright idea to do this. Smart, right? It puts Taemin to use, since most of the time, he just sits at his desk, eats snacks and watches anime. It also helps him manage his anger issues. ''
Once we got to Baekhyun, he was sitting on the side of the police station's holding cell and staring at the wall in anger. My eyes grew wide with surprise when I saw the dark red bruise that he had on the side of his lips. His knuckles were also scratched, swollen and red. It seemed like he fought somebody and judging from the way that he and Taemin glared each other, I guessed that it had to be the detective.
'' I must say, you live a very dynamic life, '' I thoughtfully mumbled to Baekhyun and crossed my arms on my chest. '' You're always on the move. ''
Taemin unlocked the holding cell and angrily corrected me: '' He's always being a pain in my ass. ''
'' You're the one who keeps appearing wherever I go! '' Baekhyun instantly protested, pointed at him in accusation and narrowed his eyes. '' Tell me the truth, detective. You're interested in me, aren't you? Don't try to deny it! That must be the reason why you keep following me around! ''
The detective gasped and his cheeks slightly reddened in embarrassment before he snapped back in response: '' So, you're really not going to apologize for what happened last night? ''
'' Why would I? You're the one who made a mistake! If you want to investigate something, do it correctly! ''
I took my eyes off the arguing duo and looked at Ten, who just pulled his phone from his pocket, dialed someone's phone number and raised the device to his ear. Baekhyun was about to get into another fight and get himself kicked right back in the holding cell, but it seemed like the mafia member had more important matters to deal with. Once someone finally answered his call, he seriously annnounced: '' Code corgi is settled. I repeat, code corgi is settled. I'm at the police station and I took care of the problem. You can report to the boss that everything is okay... While you're at it, can you steal the sword artifact that he keeps in his home office? He's always polishing it when he calls me to talk to him and it's starting to seriously freak me out. ''
Code what?
Was that one of the embarrassing nicknames that Baekhyun told me about?
Outside the police station, Ten suddenly grabbed Baekhyun by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against his car. He narrowed his eyes in warning and angrily hissed: '' What the hell, Baekhyun? I thought that you learned your lesson the last time that this happened. You know that the boss wants you on your best behavior, right? What were you even doing this time? Why did you leave the house on your own? Where did you go? What happened before you ran into the detective? ''
Ten was holding him by the collar of his shirt and with each question, he was shaking him more violently and raising the volume of his words. His voice began to crack and you could clearly hear how much he disliked the heir, who was one of the main reasons why he was going grey and bald at just twenty-three years of age. '' Would you get an allergic reaction if you wouldn't get in trouble for just one day? Would you?! Because I'm starting to get allergic reactions whenever I hear someone even say the name 'Baekhyun'! ''
Baekhyun mockingly scoffed and replied: '' You don't have to pretend like you really care about me. Why do you gain from this anyway? Are you trying to get on my father's good side? Do you think that if you keep me under control, he'll finally promote you and make you the boss of the operations on west Gampo? Is that what you two agreed on? ''
I raised my hands in defense, nervously smiled and tried to step between them. '' Guys, you might want to stop screaming about being criminals while we're still right in front of the police station. Are you trying to advertise to the whole neighborhood that you're gangsters? ''
They were yelling at each other until my agitated stuttering finally annoyed them enough to make them turn their heads towards me and simultaneously shout: '' Stay out of this, Mark! ''
My eyes widened and I opened my mouth in a silent scream, then I quickly raised my hand and pointed behind them. Ten was the first one who realised that someone was listening to their argument. He made sure to smile before he slowly turned around and looked at the same reporter that was trying to sweet-talk me earlier. '' You were listening? You know, you should ignore the things that Baekhyun said. This kid is a little crazy... ''
The handsome reporter slowly lowered his voice recorder and started backing away, while Ten let go of Baekhyun and took a step towards him instead. He cracked his knuckles, smiled even wider and cheerfully continued: '' Pay his words no mind and don't put any of this information in your next article- ''
That was when the reporter turned on his heels and broke into a sprint. Ten spat out an angry curse, while Baekhyun hollered: '' Mark! ''
'' Already on it! '' I yelled and ran after the blonde reporter. He didn't expect for someone to chase him, so I easily caught up with him and knocked him off his feet. We rolled over the asphalt and the voice recorder flew from his hands. Ten was going to pretend as if he destroyed it on accident, but the soles of his shoes didn't do enough damage, so he quickly threw it under the wheels of the car that just drove past us. Once he turned back towards the reporter, he still had the audacity to blurt out an innocent 'oops'.
'' The timing isn't ideal but let me say hello. '' I slowly raised my head from the someone's hard chest and looked at the reporter that was laying under me. He suffered most of the damage during the fall, but he was still smiling. Up close, he looked even more handsome and I barely resisted the urge to just tell him everything that I knew about the Byun family, without him even having to ask me about it first. '' I'm Kim Jongin, but my writing pseudonym is Kai. ''
'' Mark, '' I quietly mumbled, before I realised that I was still laying on top of him and with my hands on his chest. My eyes slightly widened and I could feel my cheeks heating up, then I quickly picked myself up from the ground again.
Kai raised himself in a sitting position, smiled in amusement and tilted his head to the side. '' Oh really? What an interesting name. ''
'' Be careful of Kai, '' Ten explained after the reporter picked up what was left of his smashed voice recorder and directed himself across the parking lot. '' He's an outsider. He came from Hamyang, the neighborhood right next to ours. He might look innocent, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Once the sun sets, he turns in to a demon. Legend says that if you look in a mirror at 3:33 in the morning, say his name three times and make a face that is sexy enough, he'll appear in nothing but a crop top and-... Stop looking at me like that, I'm obviously joking. What are you, an idiot? Don't try to answer, that was a sarcastic question... But you really shouldn't let him catch you on your own. He's too good at tricking idiots like you. A chairman from his neighborhood - our boss's biggest competitor to become the mayor of Seoul - employed him to find trash on the Byun family, so he's always lurking somewhere in the shadows. ''
Ten was quiet during the car ride back to Baekhyun's villa and he left as soon as we reached our destination. I was planning to follow him, to see if there was anything else that I needed to do before I could go home, but once I passed the pink-haired mafia heir, he suddenly grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me towards him again. I stumbled for a few steps, leaned back and raised my gaze, only to see Baekhyun looming over me and smiling. Something about seeing him smile made me feel a chill through my veins. I could already tell that he was planning to drag us in another dangerous situation and it turned out that I was right. '' Shut up. I can tell that you are trying to think and form a sentence, but I have something important to tell you before my brain puts your voice on mute again. ''
The previous night, Baekhyun left the house, so that he could investigate something that he learned from a noodle stall owner at Gampo's one and only subway station. The old cook was often working late into the night and lately, he kept seeing strange men that were arriving a little after midnight and leaving briefcases in the coin lockers. He thought that they looked very suspicious, so he told Baekhyun about them and of course - the heir being himself, he couldn't say no to a good investigation that didn't really have anything to do with him.
'' Last night, before Taemin rudely interrupted my fun, I was waiting to see who would come to pick up the latest briefcase. Do you know who it was? ''
I rolled my eyes at his dramatic pause, crossed my arms on my chest and seriously mumbled: '' How am I supposed to know? You know that I wasn't there. ''
'' It was a police officer! '' Baekhyun exclaimed, put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. His voice was filled with determination. '' I don't know what's happening, but I'm going to find out. I feel like our police chief might be accepting bribes from someone who isn't my father and that could turn into a real problem. Tch. I really don't like how some people are doing things around here. ''
'' When you put it like that, I don't like how you- '' I began, but Baekhyun already turned around started walking up the driveway. I stared after him with my mouth still opened and the next word ready to roll off my tongue, then I let out a defeated sigh and kicked one of the wheels of Ten's car. Why does he always walk away while I'm still talking?
I slowly headed after Baekhyun, only for Ten to suddenly step out of the shadows of another car that was parked on the driveway. Instead of going straight to the house, he stayed behind and eavesdropped to our conversation. Baekhyun didn't tell him the truth earlier, so this was the only way for him to find out what really happened the previous night.
My eyes slightly widened in alarm, while he tilted his head to the side, smiled and took a step closer. '' Looks like our Sherlock finally found his Watson. You should've never accepted his first job offer. Now you're stuck with him forever. Or at least until you die and he finds a new partner to torment. ''
I was backing away until I was up against a car and Ten stopped advancing only when he was standing right in front of me. '' You're gonna do me a favor. ''
'' S-Sure. ''
Ten rolled his eyes and angrily snapped: '' How can you get intimidated so easily?! Are you trying to be a gangster or not?! You're gonna die at this rate, Ohseong! That's right, I know who you really are... Seriously, you need to stop making these weird faces whenever you're surprised. I can't tell if you are constipated or if your brain is just trying to process the new information. I had fun watching you try to act, since you're still just as bad as you used to be, but now it's time to have a serious conversation. ''
My heart was hammering in my chest and I struggling to find the right words to say. '' Ten, I- ''
He raised his hands and started shaking his head. '' Don't even try to win me over by being emotional. You're wasting your time. For that to work, I'd have to have a heart - which I don't. Not since the day when you pulled my pants down in front of my whole class. ''
Shit, I was hoping that he wouldn't remember that.
Ten agreed to keep my real identity a secret, but I knew what his promise meant. I was under his mercy now and I could only hope that he wasn't as petty as me. I knew that if I would be in his position, I would probably try to exploit the newly obtained power and get revenge for everything that I did to him in high school.
I followed him to the main garage of the Byun villa, where a few of the mafia men were just having dinner. Someone greeted Ten by throwing a grape in his voice and his startled shrill made another guy choke on his food. The situation quickly turned chaotic after another one handed his friend a lighter for his cigarette and the tall flame accidentally burned his nose. The angry mafia member grabbed a chopstick and started yelling at his friend, who was trying not to pee his pants from laughing so hard. '' I told you to stop changing the flame size on your lighter! The last time that you did this, I was walking around with one eyebrow for a whole month! ''
Ten cleared two of the wooden stools, pushed me down on one of them and handed me a half-empty plastic box of noodles, then he pointed at the small plastic cups that were scattered next to the soju bottles. '' I'm gonna need a bigger cup than that. I've had a rough day. ''
I got a little too drunk on soju and I ended up walking home with Ten. He had his hands in his pockets and he seemed lost in his thoughts, while I was trying to hold my balance on the edge of the sidewalk until he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the way of the late-night bus that almost hit me. I showed him an apologetic smile before his annoyed frown made me poke the side of his cheek and ask: '' What are you doing here, Ten? How did you end up living this type of life? Weren't you gonna become a doctor? ''
He slapped my hand away from his face and challengingly raised an eyebrow. '' Weren't you gonna become a movie star? ''
I scrunched up my nose and mumbled: '' Tushie. ''
'' I believe the word that you are looking for is touché. The one that you just used is a synonym for butt. ''
My cheeks reddened in embarrassment and I started smacking his shoulder in anger. He let me have my fun until he suddenly noticed something that caught his attention. The reporter Kai was standing in the middle of a nearby convenience store and trying to choose which snacks to buy. It was impossible to miss him, thanks to his bright red jean jacket. '' This is our chance! We destroyed his voice recorder earlier, but I bet that he still has pictures of my argument with Baekhyun... I'm going to force him to delete them! If the cashier tries to get involved, distract him. ''
Kai accidentally dropped one of the energy drinks that he was looking at, the can slowly rolled across the quiet store and landed right under Ten's foot. The reporter picked it up from the ground again, raised his head and looked at the mafia member. His eyes slowly grew wide with surprise, while Ten smiled and eerily murmured: '' Found you. Now... How should I hit you? Should go for a knockout? That would make me look cool. It would also count as payback for the photo that you posted three weeks ago. I understand that you needed something to go along with your article, but you could've just asked me to pose for the camera instead of invading my privacy while I was eating noodles. ''
I glanced over my shoulder and a curse escaped my lips when I saw that the cashier was watching us. His gaze kept darting towards his phone and he seemed unsure if he should call the police or not.
Shit, how should I distract him? Breakdancing? Rapping? I'm kind of good at imitating animal sounds too...
Just as I was about to challenge the cashier to a game of animal charades, Ten dragged Kai out of the convenience store. Outside, the reporter pulled his phone from his pocket, mumbling something about how he'll voluntarily delete the photos that he took outside the police station. '' Whatever. I'll delete the photos from today. You were squinting on most of them anyway. Here. Wait, that's a selfie... Hold on, don't look at that, it's another selfie... You know what? Just give me a second. ''
Kai nervously smiled and started rapidly scrolling through the camera roll on his phone. Ten raised his eyebrows in disbelief and asked: '' How many selfies did you even manage to take?! We were at the police station like two hours ago! ''
It was already way past midnight when Ten and I finally reached our destination. That was where we parted ways and disappeared into our separate homes, which stood right next to each other. They were so close that when I was standing in my kitchen, I could clearly see whatever show he was watching on the tv in his living room. I still remembered how loudly I screamed the first time that I looked out the window and saw my mortal enemy, but the proximity of our homes also resulted in fun things like me telling the whole school about his love for princess cartoons or him always surprising me by putting dead bugs in my lunch box.
Ten was probably the last person that I was expecting to see after I returned to my old neighborhood, but that night, I dreamt about our teenage years, when we were deliberately trying to make each other's lives complete and utter hell. Back then, I hated him more than anything else in the world and that fire still burned strong and bright, but at the same time, I found myself wishing that I could return to those simpler, happier times.