Donghyuck didn't want to wake up as Dongsook again yet there wasn't any other way.
He felt the need to get up earlier, knowing that Johnny was staying in another room. The first thing the boy did as soon as he woke up was to look up at the chair which was still holding the door with a vase placed on it for protection, so uncomfortable surprises won't happen. It was in the same position he left yesterday, informing the boy that no one tried to barge in.
Donghyuck collected new clothes and ran to the personal bathroom he had in the room. He got rid of the wig that seemed to be glued on his head after the incredibly hot night. The boy threw it on the floor and looked at the mirror, examining his appearance after yesterday's meeting. His messy hair was terribly long and Donghyuck started to think that maybe he should shave his head bald if he would be Dongsook much longer. His scalp felt like it was on fire when he wore a wig during this intense heat.
After shower Donghyuck dressed in neat clothes and sprayed much of the perfume he had - it smelled like strawberries and white chocolate, Donghyuck's favorite scent. He took a few strands of his fake hair and combined it into a small ponytail in the middle. He then put some glitter eyeshadow on his eyes and gave his eyebrows a brighter shape although they were already pretty enough.
He looked like Dongsook yet he wasn't her at all. Who is Dongsook anyway?
Donghyuck took a deep breath and pushed the chair out of the way. The house was strangely silent when Donghyuck peeked out of his room. Well, Donghyuck knew that his uncle was pro to look non-existent, almost like a ghost. No wonder he was good at shooting people in the middle of the day. However, it was the house of Taeyong, Johnny's brother, so he did not have to hide or stay low. Donghyuck always noticed how comfortable Johnny acted around, considering this house as his. Why didn't Donghyuck heard his loud voice?
All of sudden the boy felt the happiness that maybe the uncle already left and he would be able to relax a little bit. He didn't want to meet his uncle and act all innocent when he knew that Johnny had someone in his car. By the way, those bosses of the mafia are always busy and have a lot of work to do. It doesn't matter if his job was to shoot and kidnap people or taking care of his gang, he still had his life as a human being too. So, maybe he left earlier than Donghyuck woke up?
The boy excitedly hopped the stairs down and was ready to go to the kitchen. He jumped off the last step and turned to the kitchen, ready to attack the fridge, but instead of heading right there, he ran back upstairs like a tornado. Why? He got excited too early he almost ran into Johnny who was having breakfast together with Taeyong. Donghyuck was lucky that they both had their backs turned and didn't see him freaking out. Donghyuck put his hand on his chest to calm his breath and decided to come back to his cave and planned to not come out until he hears Johnny leaving.
However, he stopped in his tracks when he heard Johnny talking in a low voice as if he avoided speaking louder which made Donghyuck feel that something was hidden from him right off. The boy looked at the bedroom door which was really close to him but then turned back to the kitchen. He was kind of curious about what both adults talked about. He guessed that Taeyong didn't say everything he heard from Johnny to his son, there must be some parts that he was hiding from Donghyuck too. So, Donghyuck being a curious brat, slowly went down again and stopped in the middle of the stairs, keeping a safe distance if he would be forced to run back all of sudden. He crouched down and brought his ear closer to hear the suppressed voices of the adults.
"Kids sure grow fast," Johnny said with a chuckle. "I never knew Dongsook will be going after me with that height."
"She's not that tall..."
Well, for a boy, Donghyuck could grow more, but for a girl, he was like a mountain. Either way, Donghyuck felt the tension that he might find out that he wouldn't like.
"She is," Johnny disagreed. There were a few seconds of silence. Donghyuck heard the sound of the creaking chair and guessed that Johnny just leaned closer to his dad. "Say, does Dongsook have a boyfriend?"
"She has a few male friends she's really close with. I don't interfere with her personal life, but I think I would know if she has," Taeyong responded not giving too much attention to the question.
"Did she ever have a boyfriend? Maybe a girlfriend if she hangs out with boys more than girls?"
"No, she likes boys, but as I already said, they're only friends."
"So, she's, you know, still not popped down there?"
"Of course, you know how innocent she is," Donghyuck didn't see his dad, but knew that he probably was nervously playing with his fingers under the table. "Why are you asking that? Is there a problem? I protected her as you wanted, I did everything so, she won't get hurt by the guys around. I don't want to see our neighbors disappearing every time you visit us."
If we pretend that one boy didn't go missing after Johnny saw him throwing sand at his precious niece, Donghyuck could say that Johnny didn't do much fuss around the neighborhood.
"Everything is okay, brother. You did a good job it's just me that is thinking..." Johnny made an annoying pause. "Dongsook is nineteen, right? Fuck, I made a clown of myself by giving her a barbie doll."
Taeyong tried to ease the guilt Johnny felt by saying that Dongsook put the barbie doll in his beautiful collection when in reality, Donghyuck still had that doll in the box. The whole box, the ribbon and, of course, Barbie, in short, all those things were bought by money Johnny earned by killing people. Weird, because yesterday Donghyuck thought about a new dress he wanted Johnny to buy with the same dirty money.
"Coming back to the topic... Nineteen is a quite good age for a new beginning, don't you think?"
Donghyuck's breath hitched and he knew that Taeyong's did too. Johnny's said beginning meant the only one thing which made Donghyuck's stomach twist out of the tension.
"We already talked about that, Johnny. I don't think Dongsook could take it after you. She's too weak to control all those people," Taeyong quickly took his position and that was to do everything to beat that thought of Johnny's head.
"I know, that's why I want to have her closer," Johnny said and leaned back on the chair, Donghyuck guessed it by the sound of the crack again. "Some of our personal information leaked and I'm scared my enemies will find out about Dongsook and you."
"Oh my God. I hope they won't because I don't want any of them near Dongsook," Taeyong gasped, sending shivers down Donghyuck's spine. Although Donghyuck learned some basics of Taeyong, he knew that they sure won't fight a bunch of mastered killers after them.
"I have a suggestion!" Johnny said a bit loud, causing Taeyong to shush him. If only they knew that Donghyuck was already listening to it. "Since Dongsook is an adult now and needs protection, why don't we think about marriage? Even in this century people think about marriage in advance and plan it."
A minute of silence filled the kitchen though the same silence was coming from the stairs. Donghyuck sat there with his hands on his mouth, trying so hard to not let out any betraying sound. What the hell was wrong with his uncle? Donghyuck was just nineteen, still in the year of youth in which people need to do everything just to have good memories to remember when they would have a bunch of kids. He didn't even know the word "wedding" as the right word since he only had freedom on his mind. He didn't want any responsibility at all.
On top of that, Donghyuck was a boy, not a girl as everyone believed. Well, he didn't have anything against marrying a guy in the future but now... It was too early and knowing that the poor hetero guy would mostly expect a girl and unfortunately would find a DongDong was kind of harsh. Donghyuck sure would be a widow the next day.
"You're joking, right?" Taeyong awkwardly laughed. "I hope it's not true..."
"I'm really serious about it," Donghyuck knew that Johnny wasn't lying as his voice also sounded serious. "The better way to protect Dongsook is to have a strong man next to her."
"She's too young for that! And where the hell would we find a dude that would like to make her his wife instead of playing around and throwing her away?"
"I have a bunch of my men."
"..."
"Why is your expression like that?"
"That's not going to happen, Johnny. Forget it."
"Wait, let me explain everything in detail."
"I don't want any skilled killers next to my baby."
"So, you want killers after the both of you?"
Taeyong let out a groan.
"Oh Lord, why is it so hard? Why can't we live a peaceful life?"
Johnny probably stood up as Donghyuck saw the long shadow on the floor. He went to hug his brother. Kind of sweet, knowing how strong of a bond the two had.
"Just do as I say. Everything will be alright. I'm going to take care of it."
"I don't like it, but I trust you," Taeyong sighed and Donghyuck nearly bashed his head on the wall. "Do you have any specific guy that would be good for Dongsook?"
"Yes, you won't believe how long was I planning all of this only to pair her with a proper man."
"Who is he?"
"Mark."
"..."
Donghyuck wanted to bash his head again, but this time he nearly did it. He controlled himself in time and only facepalmed.
That pervert? Heck no!
"Five years ago, I saved his ass from the police when he was caught stealing comic books from the store. Not for reading, but to throw them into a fire and warm himself. It turned out that his family is poor and, at that time, he was the only one who had the guts to steal something. I kept an eye on him for some time and realized that I just found an unpolished diamond. I liked the way he was taking care of his family and looked like he could do everything for them. So, I asked him to join me and you know what, his parents sold him to me. At first, I looked at him as if he's an animal. That boy didn't know what bed was and slept on the carpet, he kept stealing the food from the fridge although I made it clear that the food was his already. Weird, because now I think of him as my son. I turned him into a killer out of the thief, but then I made sure to turn the cold-blooded killer into a human for the past two years so that he could be a good husband for Dongsook."
"Wait, Johnny... Did you just say two years? Don't tell me the information that leaked was two years ago."
"Is there something wrong?" Johnny asked in confusion only proving that it was true.
"EVERYTHING! At this point, your enemies know about us a long time ago now! No wonder we received some disturbing letters on Dongsook's birthday."
"You did? Why didn't you say anything to me?" Johnny raised his voice.
"Why didn't you say about all of this earlier?" Taeyong joined too.
They probably were fighting with their eyes, Donghyuck saw them doing that from time to time. It feels like they're talking with their eyes and no real words are needed.
"Okay, let's calm down," Taeyong controlled himself as always. "Just... that took me out of surprise and the marriage thing... I need to talk to Dongsook."
"Don't. If you tell her, it will turn out into forced marriage. Well, technically it is, but she doesn't need to know that. She will think of me as a monster and we don't want her to know about my position."
"If she marries that guy, you think she won't find out?"
"Of course, but then she will have a whole squad protecting her," Johnny talked with so much passion in his voice that Donghyuck started to think that soon he will convince Taeyong. "Moreover, if she will be in love with Mark, she will forgive him and stay by his side."
"Okay, whatever, but that guy of yours is still an animal. Did you see what he did yesterday? He had his hands under Dongsook's skirt!"
"It's pretty normal for my gang, especially for Mark. He had been working for me when he was still a kid. It's obvious that he has some needs."
"Why are you even defending him? Dongsook doesn't need that pervert."
"Listen, Mark is like a son to me. I want him to be happy and what could be better than have a woman like Dongsook? I want them to give me the prettiest kids in the world."
Donghyuck couldn't help but chuckle. It came out a little louder than he thought, but both adults were too focused on the topic they had. There was no way Donghyuck would let Mark that close.
"Mark is an assassin. One of the stronger guys I ever had. I taught him all by myself. He's loyal to me like he was to his family because his fate is in my hands. He will protect Dongsook as needed. Mark knows how much I care for her."
"Don't you have a guy who counts your money or someone like that?" an annoyance was heard in Taeyong's voice. "Not a killer, I mean."
"I do, but he's an old fart and his hands tremble too much."
"What about others?"
"Taeyong, they're all old. There are only two guys, but Mark is the one I would like to see with Dongsook."
"Fuck."
Same.
"Dongsookie will like him if you tell her to. Just tell me some tricks that would make her fall for Mark easier. Say what she likes, so Mark would appear like a gentleman. He lacks some skills in relationships and, obviously, doesn't know what dates are."
Donghyuck quietly crawled down the stairs and peeked. He saw Taeyong sighing and taking a small piece of paper. The sight of Johnny with a widening smile on his face, made Donghyuck annoyed.
"Here, I wrote all of the things Dongsook likes," Taeyong gave the paper to Johnny. Donghyuck sensed the possible leaving of his uncle and crawled to his room. "Make sure that he follows the things I wrote. I don't need any problems."
"No sex before marriage?" Johnny read out what was written and Donghyuck stopped crawling. "That's harsh for my boy."
"I care for Dongsook's innocence more than your said son's dick."
"Okay, I'll tell him that," Johnny chuckled. "But what about a blowjob?"
"Read the next thing I wrote. It's a NO from me."
When Donghyuck heard clashing plates, he knew the breakfast just ended. He held in his breath and sneaked back into his room at the same time Johhny went to an exterior door. He watched through the small space of his door to make sure that the uncle left before storming into the kitchen.
"What the heck, dad? Am I a bride now?"
Taeyong just facepalmed and let out a long sigh. Donghyuck was fuming that his dad just agreed to give him to that pervert and was hating him with all his heart. However, later that day, he realized that if he would be in Taeyong's shoes, he couldn't do much too. He didn't have a choice. Maybe it was better to have a perverted assassin close to him than guess which day was the last for him to walk on this ground? Though the assassins are known for their sneakiness and so Donghyuck knew that his secret wasn't so safe.
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Donghyuck sneaked out of the house that day. He kept looking behind his shoulder to make sure that no one was following him. When no visible body was caught by Donghyuck, he quickly ran to his safest spot on the island - the forest with the tree, which saw Donghyuck's worst and best moments. He didn't know which moment was it then. It was between good and bad. The boy hated that the day was already ruined just because he eavesdropped on Johnny and Taeyong's conversation. But maybe it was good that he was aware of it. Either way, it helped him to calm down and create the plan.