Third Person POV
13 years ago
"Take this", a lady pushed a ward of cash in a young boy's hands. "And leave. Leave right now", she warned in Mandarin.
"But Mom—", a then 19 year old Yifan tried to resist. "Come with us. Please. Come with us"
"I cannot", the lady pleaded. "Go. Take your brother and leave Guangzhou. Give this money to Shen on the port and he will take you out of the country"
"Mom—"
"Go", she cried and pushed him before turning and running away. Yifan yelled and cried as he tried to run behind her. But someone stopped him. He looked to the side to see his younger brother holding onto him.
"Lets go brother", the younger pleaded. "If they find us, they will kill us too"
Yifan paused for a second. Calming himself down, he took one more look at their house in the distance. A sudden gun shot followed by a flash of light made him attentive.
"Find the boys! They must be here somewhere", someone yelled in the distance.
Without a thought he grabbed his younger brother's hand as they ran. Away from the loan sharks who were behind his family. Ran until their feet were bloodied. Until they reached the port. Until they saw the ship they were supposed to board.
"Uncle Shen!", his younger brother Wei called for a man in the distance. The said man came running towards them. Yifan handed him the money and they were quietly ushered into the ship.
Onboard The Anji, headed to South Korea.
———•••———
12 years ago
In a small dingy room lived the two brothers. Yifan ironed his janitor suit as he waited for his brother to get home. Wei said he was going to get a job today. He didn't mention where but the now 18 year old said he had been approached by some people who were willing to give him work.
Yifan, 20 used to work an illegal job cleaning an office complex with which he had managed to make enough to rent themselves this small room in the underprivileged part of the city.
"Brother", a voice made him look up as he saw his brother walk in, a smile perched on his face.
"Wei", Yifan enthusiastically smiled. "How did your job hunt go? Wait, you must be hungry right? The workers at the office where I clean ordered a lot of meat for lunch. Some was left and they gave it to me. I got it home so we could eat together"
"I got a job brother", he said.
"What!", Yifan was surprised. "You did? Where? What is the work? Is it construction like you were saying two days ago?"
"No brother. Its—", Wei hesitated. "The job is protecting an important Mafia boss. I don't remember the Mafia's name because they were speaking in Korean. But I think the leader's name was Namjoon. Kim Namjoon"
Colour drained from Yifan's face as he heard this. "Wei", his voice was laced with worry. "You don't have to work in Mafia. Its dangerous. No. I am not going to let you do it"
"Its, its not dangerous brother, trust me", Wei sat down beside the older. "There are a few Chinese people too. And they said work is very easy. Accompany the boss in a car along with the other men. And then occasionally transport some bags which they ask to. They will also teach me how to drive. I even saw the Boss. He is not very old. Even younger than you. He is the same age as me"
"But Wei—"
"Brother! Stop worrying. It pays well. Plus I made a new friend. He joined today itself. He speaks a little bit of Mandarin. His name is Leo. He said we can earn $2500 a month. And then we can move out of here and live in a better part of the city. You always wanted to become an engineer right? And once we have enough, we will go back to China and live well there"
Yifan would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. So he did not speak further but just nodded his head.
"It will be okay. Everything will be okay", the youngest clapped happily before hugging his brother. Yifan hugged back, closing his eyes as he cherished his brother.
But everything was far from okay.
———•••———
10 years ago
Yifan was eating lunch when the door slammed open. Wei came running in, looking extremely disheveled and out of breath. He had a bag in hand which Yifan did not recall seeing before.
"GET UP BROTHER, WE HAVE TO RUN"
"What—", the older did not have any idea what was happening or why the younger was so panicked.
They lived a relatively better life though they hadn't earned enough to go back to China. But they were able to move to a better place and also eat proper square meals a day. They even spared some money to be able to buy things they like or new clothes. It was better than they had ever been.
"GET UP! THEY WILL FIND US—", Wei stopped in his words as he saw something outside the window. Something that made his blood curl and eyes widen.
He threw the bag away and pulled Yifan up. Both of them ran towards the door when was a noise of footsteps outside and Wei halted. He immediately latched the door close. Yifan watched in fright not sure what was happening.
"Find that motherfucker, he lives somewhere here", muffled yet dangerous words were heard from outside.
Wei dragged Yifan towards the window and without a word, pushed him outside the window as the older fell. Luckily they lived on the ground floor and the fall just gave him a sore back.
"Run brother. Run from here. Don't stop. Just run", the younger said with tears rolling down his eyes before he shut the window. If he escaped, the men would chase after and in process kill both him and Yifan. But the boy didn't want anyone harming his older brother.
"Wei—WHAT ARE YOU DOING? OPEN UP!"
From their house, the thud of a door was heard. "Yedam Hyung please listen to me..", Wei's voice was heard. Yifan didn't understand what was happening at all. He stood up in panic to open the window but he couldn't as Wei had pressed his body against the window.
There was silence.
After a few shouts and yelling, gun shots were heard. And familiar screaming.
Wei's screams.
Yifan fell to his feet as he heard this. His entire world stopped as he heard the younger one shriek before everything went still. Inside the men looked at the body in front of them before one of them scoffed. "Thought he could steal $20,000 from Bangtan and get away. Fucker. Thank god Sakura snitched on him"
And then the footsteps receded. Yifan mustered courage as he opened the window and got in. An ugly cry left his mouth as he saw his brother's dead body riddled with bullets.
His hands stained red as he picked up the younger's head and put it in his lap. Tears rolled down from his eyes and fell on Wei's face, diluting the blood stains.
"Wei.. Wei.. WEI... WEI", he yelled as he cried and shook the younger's body. "Wake up please..."
A limp body lay in his arms. Yifan cried his eyes out as he shook his brother desperately. Tears fell from his eyes as they landed on Wei's cheeks, distorting the splotch of red. Yifan screamed as he fell to the hard wooden floor but the body beside him stay lifeless. No amount of his brother's wailing reached Wei. And that is how Yifan lost the last of his family.
———•••———
9 years ago
"Wash it again properly", a man yelled as he hit Yifan on the head. The 23 year old Yifan stumbled ahead but continued to wash the glasses at the back quietly. His eyes were tired and he rubbed them, wincing in pain when soap entered.
After he was done, he headed outside to collect more of the glasses. This part of the club reeked of alcohol, cigarettes and sweat and Yifan hated it. He moved from table to table as he picked up the used glasses and placed them in a basket to take them back and clean them.
"Move out of the way fucker", a guest kicked him to the side. "Can't you see the match is going on"
He bowed in apology before quietly leaving the space. His eyes fell on the match happening ahead. A Mixed Martial arts match. In the ring situated at the center of the club, was a tall and well built man. On the other side,
A woman?
He narrowed his eyes and it indeed seemed like a woman. Her face was covered. She was wearing a mask and only her eyes shown. But her hair was in a tight braid.
"You know who this bitch is Chasun?", from behind two guests talked. Yifan pretended to collect glasses and the trash but his ears were on them. "She must be really brave to challenge AllKill"
"I have heard things about her Hyung", the man named Chansun replied. "She is 19 years old. Got out of prison last year for attempted murder and extortion. Runs a small time group called EXO with some other kids the same age as her. She came here today to challenge AllKill. Got into a bet with the club owner Hyunsuk. If she wins, he will give her $50,000. If she loses, she becomes his personal whore"
The older unnamed man laughed. "When woman act too smart in this business, they die or end up getting trafficked. No way she is beating AllKill. She is going to end up in Hyunsuk's brothel few weeks from now after he is done enjoying her. Bitch deserves it for acting too smart. Too bad the ring is caged. She won't even be able to escape when the man beats her to a pulp"
And at that Changsun laughed.
Yifan begged to differ. He saw that woman and he could see the fire in her eyes. She looked like she came here to win. And now he was worried about the male.
The match began. It didn't even take the girl 5 minutes to reduce AllKill to dirt. One spinning kick, one punch to the nose, one headbutt and a last knee to the groin and AllKill fell, bleeding and bruised.
Everyone in the club was stunned. It looked like someone took a giant vacuum and stuck all their breaths out. The girl scoffed before putting her leg on AllKill's head.
"What did you say to me before the match fucker?", she loudly spoke, tightening her fists and her voice echoed in the whole club. "That an ugly whore like me was gonna wish she hadn't crossed you?"
"Well now let me tell you what happens when people cross me", she spoke dangerously. And with that using all her force kicked AllKill in the head. The man hit the ring with a thud as his blood flew everywhere. "Men. Stupid men", she scoffed before wiping the blood on her lips.
The referee came running in before bending and checking his pulse. He was stunned as he looked at the woman. "ALLKILL IS DEAD! QUEEN BECOMES THE NEW UNDEFEATED CHAMPION OF THE CLUB"
With that she walked out of the ring. Yifan's eyes sparkled as he saw this. He had found the one person who he was going to use to take his revenge on Bangtan.
———•••———
"Fucking asshole ruined my beautiful face. I wonder when this scar will go? I am going to have to buy one of those expensive creams", Hyelin talked to herself, looking at her face in a mirror. "Wait, why even buy it? I'll just have Baekhyun steal it from the expensive department store"
Yifan's ears perked up as he heard this voice. He was going to throw the trash in the back of the alley right now as he heard this.
The girl looked at him and she did not have a mask. Hyelin seemed to be taken aback as well as she looked at the man looking at her.
"What the fuck you looking at. Have you never seen a pretty girl before jerk—", she immediately covered her face with the mask, cursing herself for being reckless.
"Wait here", Yifan said and ran back to the club. Hyelin felt stupid but she waited there. He came back later and handed something to her. The girl looked at his hand and grabbed what he gave her. A shudder went down in her body as her fingers made contact with the ice.
"Its for your bruise", Yifan quietly added.
Hyelin nodded and lowered her mask slightly to press the ice. At that time barely any body knew her, so she wasn't really that strict with always wearing her mask. And this guy had seen her face anyway, so there was no point hiding it.
"You are Queen right? I saw you fight today. You were impressive"
Hyelin nodded, acknowledging his compliment. With that she threw the ice and turned to leave.
"You run a group called EXO?"
She stopped at the mention of the gang name.
"I heard in the club"
"Yes I do", she nonchalantly answered. "If you are here to shit talk about it like the others and call us a bunch of kids, don't. I would hate to beat up a helpless man like you"
"No I am not going to talk trash. Just—", Yifan breathed out. "Please take me into your group"
Hyelin was taken aback for a second. Why did this dish washing guy want to be in EXO? So she asked the same thing to him.
"Some bad guys killed my brother. And the only way I am taking revenge is by becoming like them"
Hyelin contemplated for a second before nodding.
"Come along then"
"What?", Yifan was surprised she said yes.
"Yeah, why not. We need people anyway. You are tall, well built. I'll train you to fight. Plus you are Chinese right? I could figure out from the accent. We already have a Chinese member. His name is Luhan. We will add you too. If you have anything to take, get it. We better hurry. The last bus to our house leaves in 20 minutes. And yes before you ask, we travel in bus. That is only for now though. We are a little short on cash. But once Hyunsuk sends the money, we will get a van"
"I don't have anything to take", Yifan raised his hands slightly.
"Lets go then", she pulled him along. "Also Yifan. Your name's not going to be Yifan now. You cannot go around with that name. Other gangs will beat you up if they know you are Chinese. Lets call you umm, Peter? Nah. Jason? Nah. Kris...hmm. Alright, your group name will be Kris now"
"Then what is that guy Luhan's alias name?", Yifan asked as they walked to the bus station.
"He doesn't have another name", Hyelin replied.
"Why do I need one then?", Yifan was taken aback.
"Because Luhan is very pretty and he can do whatever he wants. Plus he has been around for long to the point he is fluent in Korean. No one suspects he is Chinese. Uhh. Shush—nuh", she stopped Yifan who was about to ask something. "You cannot ask any more questions. Its your first day okay. You only get to ask limited questions"
Yifan didn't question it but walked along with her. A smile formed on his face as he looked at the sky.
'I'll avenge you Wei. Your older brother will avenge you'
And thats how it began.
A pawn using the Queen to end a game.
———•••———
7 years ago
"How are you Wei?", a young man said as he placed flowers on a grave. "Its been 3 years since you left us. Fucker. You said we would one day rule the city of Seoul together. And look at you asshole, leaving your best friend behind", followed by sobs.
Leo wiped his eyes as he crouched down on the stone grave as he cried. A set of footsteps made him pause until a deep voice spoke.
"You come here every week, don't you?"
He looked up to see a man in a black coat with an umbrella looking at him. As his face became visible, a look of disbelief etched on his face.
"You are Yifan, aren't you?", he recognized the other as his best friend's brother.
"Its me indeed", the older replied.
"I thought Yedam killed you the day he", Leo took a pause. "went—went behind Wei"
"He didn't", Yifan's voice clenched. "Wei pushed me out of the window and closed it to save me"
"I came looking for you", Leo said a tear rolling down his eyes. "Wei made me promise him that I'd be there for you if anything happened to him. But you were gone. You left without a trace and I couldn't track you"
"I joined a group", Yifan said as he approached the younger, settling down near the grave as he put a bottle of Soju as an offering to Wei. "Its called EXO"
"EXO!?", Leo was taken aback. "Thats the new group with the female leader?"
"It is indeed"
"Why?", Leo was confused. "Wei said you were the most gentle person ever. He wouldn't stop talking about how nice you were and how you practically raised him"
Yifan smiled, a sad one. "Circumstances change us. If I want to avenge the people that killed him, I have no choice but to be like them"
"Avenge..", Leo's eyes widened. "Will you go against Kim Namjoon? He is powerful. He—he is dangerous"
"I won't. But I have someone who will. Have you heard of Queen?"
"Your female leader!? Are you planning to use her?", a hint of uncertainty was in Leo's eyes.
"I know it puts you off but she is exactly the person to take revenge for us. They have no idea how powerful she is so when we ultimately strike using her, it will be even more surprising for them"
Leo nodded as he wiped his glistening cheek. "They killed Wei over money. Fucking $20,000. He wasn't even the one who stole it. Sakura that bitch did. And that fool was so blindly in love with her, he took the fall. And she so conveniently snitched on him then ran away to Japan. Wei is dead and Namjoon promoted her to higher ranks. Fucking two faced whore. I'll kill her the first opportunity I get"
Yifan's eyes widened as this new piece of information. They killed his brother over something which wasn't even his fault in the first place. He gulped, anger flaring in his eyes.
After a long pause he spoke. "Do you want to join me Leo?"
"You don't even have to ask. I'll do anything to avenge Wei even if that means killing Namjoon myself"
"No", Yifan looked to the other graves in the distance. "Stay put in Bangtan. I want you to be Namjoon's aid. Work your way up to being his main henchman. Make him trust you until he lets you blindly throw knives at him. Become his confidant and his loyal servant. And when he gets most vulnerable, we'll get him"
Leo nodded as he wiped his cheeks. "I'll do anything for Wei"
"It will take us a few years to get justice. Revenge tastes the sweetest when you patiently wait for it. Sakura, Yedam, Namjoon's family, Bangtan and Namjoon. We will get back at all of them for killing Wei ", Kris said, his voice hard and a spark of vengeance lurking in his eyes.