Johnny liked to see family photos whenever he visited Taeyong and Donghyuck. He stared at the proud father and cute little girl with a wide smile but when he saw the mother his face quickly changed. He rolled his eyes and turned to Taeyong, who was standing behind the mafia leader.
"Don't you think it's time for you to find someone else?" he asked and leaned on the wall. "I mean, how long are you planning to be single? Dongsook is already an adult. When she leaves you, you will be all alone."
"Who said she will leave me?"
"After marriage, I will buy her and Mark a new house. You will no longer be with her," Johnny turned to the photo again and pointed at the woman's face. "Do you still love her?"
"No," Taeyong's answer sounded firm. "I don't know if I ever loved her. It seems just an illusion."
"Then what's stopping you?"
Even if they were close, Taeyong still felt like there was a thick wall between them. He couldn't say that he prevented himself from any romantic relationship just because he was scared of rejection or even worse - a loss. He didn't feel like he was ready for a hard life, protecting someone who would be new in this cruel world of his. In short, the reason why he avoided starting a new relationship was because of this mafia business.
"I think... I'm not ready yet and I don't want Dongsook to think of me as a man whore."
"You're funny," Johnny mocked, smacking the wall, nearly knocking off the photos. "How could she think of you like that if she never saw you being someone? She'll be happy for you. It's not like she loves that bitch so much she doesn't let you see someone."
Taeyong realized that he just put the trap for himself. Johnny sure could do anything just to prove that he was right and maybe that's why he was a good leader of the mafia.
"Well, you're right but-"
"Let's do this," Johnny leaned to Taeyong as if he was ready to say a secret. "Since it takes so long to find someone and I don't want to see my brother on Tinder, why don't you start dating one of my guys?"
"Johnny!" Taeyong groaned and walked away by facepalming.
He kind of guessed that his step-brother will try to match him with them. His eyes were sharp as hawk's and Taeyong shouldn't be surprised if he saw how Doyoung and Jaehyun were looking at him.
"Listen to me-"
"No!" Taeyong cut him off. "I don't want to date your guys."
"Don't pretend that you're straight, Taeyong. I always thought you were flexible in that field," Johnny caught him up and wiggled his eyebrows.
"It's not because of that."
"Then why?"
"Johnny," Taeyong turned to his step-brother. "I don't want to be seeing killers."
"Doyoung isn't a killer and neither is Jaehyun."
"Really?" Taeyong crossed his arms and stared at Johnny with a gloomy expression. "I know that Doyoung is a hacker and Jaehyun is a robber. What can you say about that?"
"How do you know?" Johnny laughed, impressed by his brother's intelligence.
"I'm observant," he told with sarcasm in his tone. "By the way, Doyoung hacked himself in our house while Jaehyun used a window to invite himself two times. Isn't that obvious? Oh, and don't say that they never killed someone. I'm pretty sure they're carrying guns to their missions."
"Okay, there were several happenings when they had to kill but believe me, they're good guys. They came to me way older than Mark, so they have a better perspective of the world."
Taeyong didn't felt like listening to Johnny more. The thought that he and Donghyuck will be matched with mafias meant that they will be mafias themselves even though they were running from them all these years.
"So, what do you think?" Johnny was stubborn. "Can you give one of them a chance?"
"Speaking of windows," Taeyong skillfully changed the topic. "Dongsook saw one bad guy through her bedroom window." he turned his head to the assassin who, despite his boss being already here, was still sleeping. "Mark killed him and we buried it in the backyard."
"Good job, now let's get back to the dating-"
"No, I said this to you because I want the body to be far from my territory in 24 hours. I don't want to get arrested when I still need to take care of Dongsook."
"Mark will be here for her," Johnny shrugged.
"If I end up in jail, I will drag Mark with me."
"When should we take the body?"
That was fast.
"At night, of course," Taeyong chuckled. "During day time, I would like to install a better system to protect windows."
"I will get Doyoung to you. Be sure to spend time with him."
"Stop."
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Donghyuck put the fried egg on the plate and glanced over the backyard, which now had Johnny pretending to take care of the flowers while secretly checking out a dark hump under the fence.
When he turned around, his eyes met with Mark's, who was smiling at him, looking a bit stupid to be this happy when he just woke up. He was waiting for the food more than anyone else. Donghyuck heard how his stomach growled but pretended that he didn't. Mark wasn't embarrassed by it, though.
"So, you never cooked for yourself?" Taeyong asked when he saw how Mark hungrily munched the food.
"No, I can't cook."
"You can't?" Donghyuck questioned in a teasing tone. "Not even eggs?"
"Cereal is the only food I can cook."
"You don't even have to cook it, though," Taeyong chuckled. "I guess Johnny was cooking for you all this time then."
"No, it was Doyoung. He's like mom. He nags a lot too."
"If that's the case, it means he cares about you," Taeyong explained. "I nag Dongsook too but because I love her. In short, when someone is angry at you, it means they care for your sake."
Mark's eyes shifted on the younger and Donghyuck nearly rolled his eyes.
He dug onto food, pretending that he didn't see that look. Mark just grinned at that and kicked Donghyuck's leg under the table. The boy jumped from that and gave his dad a shy smile when the latter weirdly stared at him.
Donghyuck put his feet away from Mark's reach like the last time. He didn't know that Mark predicted that. Rather than stopping it or kicking Taeyong instead of Donghyuck, Mark decided to play around. Donghyuck was unaware of the attack and turned in a sweating mess when he felt Mark's feet next to his crotch.
Donghyuck squeezed his thighs and pushed Mark's feet away with his knees.
"Put the dishes to the sink when you're finished," said Taeyong and stood up with a plate. "I have to make a call."
Taeyong walked away, leaving two boys alone.
Donghyuck put away the chopsticks and looked at Mark with a smirk. Mark seemed confused, expecting to see flushed and angry Dongsook instead of a playful one. He smiled when he felt Dongsook's feet on his chair too.
"Go closer, don't be scared," he said, encouraging Donghyuck to massage him.
Donghyuck positioned his feet in the middle of the chair, causing Mark to impatiently growl. The boy learned once again that Mark was indeed a pervert. What amazed him the most was that as a mafia he should have fulfilled his sexual fantasies whenever he went, like fuck with a hostage or simply find a girl on the corner of the street.
Donghyuck innocently fluttered his eyelashes and kicked the chair with all of his strength, making Mark fall on the floor.
When the boy quickly stood up with shock, Donghyuck was already doing dishes.
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When Donghyuck finally came out of his room, it was already mid-day. He still heard Johnny's voice, so he tried to stay upstairs as long as possible. He watched some movies and then did makeup when he thought about going down. Donghyuck wanted to be pretty. For who, though?
He walked down the stairs, feeling that something wasn't right. The house seemed lively, the smell of cologne was everywhere and it didn't remind Johnny or Mark's.
He realized it only when he went into the living room and saw that it had more mafias. He saw Johnny on the couch while Doyoung, together with Mark, was working on wires. Donghyuck stopped mid-way and thought about turning away but bumped into another guy, who appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry, Dongsookie," from the deep voice, Donghyuck recognized him as Lucas.
After Lucas, went Jungwoo and a tomato hair guy. Donghyuck just stared at how a silent and calm house turned into the meeting room of mafias. He spotted his dad in the kitchen and quickly ran there to ask what was going on.
"Dad!" he shouted. "Why are they-"
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw that Taeyong wasn't alone in his oasis. Indeed, he was with Jaehyun, cooking something together.
Donghyuck quickly changed his expression before Jaehyun could see it and walked to them, acting as if Dongsook was curious about what they were doing. He even asked what was it, and manipulatively looked at Jaehyun, forcing him to answer the question. While the robber was talking, Donghyuck was glaring at his dad.
It was a secret glare that had a hidden question and also swearing words.
Taeyong didn't even look at his son. He had his eyes on the dough he was kneading.
"That will be delicious," Donghyuck said and spared one last glance before leaving the kitchen.
He came back to the living room and was noticed by Johnny. The latter quickly jumped on his feet and went to Donghyuck.
"Do you want to go to the beach?" he asked so carelessly, though Donghyuck as too smart to find it fishy.
"I didn't think about it yet."
"Maybe you should," Johnny turned to his guys, who were busy working on some electric box with many wires. "You know, they will be here all day, cursing while working on your new security system."
"Security system?"
"I heard what happened yesterday. Just for you to be safe, we will install an alarm system. If someone breaks the window, you will get alarmed. We also plan to install cameras to watch what's happening outside."
"Thank you, uncle Johnny. I already feel safe when you're here."
"With security like this, you will always feel safe, my dear," Johnny smiled and hugged the boy. "Well, coming back to the beach, why don't you take Mark with you?"
"I didn't say I will go."
This guy really should be awarded as a matchmaker or even get paid by the Aphrodite for doing a better job than Cupido.
"I thought we already agreed on this."
Johnny stared at his niece or rather a nephew, trying to persuade and pass the mood to go to the beach. Little did he know, that Donghyuck was a manipulator himself and hardly anything that Johnny did was working on him.
"Okay," he agreed, only because pretended to be a naive girl who will always end up influenced by others. "But in one condition."
"What?"
"Can I invite my friends?" Donghyuck asked with so much joy, making sure that Johnny would be affected by it and eventually agree.
"With who?"
"Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin. Always the same ones, uncle."
"I don't know," Johnny doubted. "I heard bad things about one of them."
"Come on, uncle. The more people, the more fun it will be!" Donghyuck chirped, staring right at Johnny's soul, ready to do everything so he doesn't need to spend time with the assassin alone.
"Okay, just... stick to Mark."
"Yay!"
Donghyuck ran past mafias who were looking at him with adoration and went back to his room. He jumped on the bed and grabbed his phone to call Jaemin. He knew that it didn't matter whenever he calls Jeno or Renjun because they were always together and will share the information.
"Hello? Who is this?" he heard the boy answering the phone.
"I see you still don't have my number. It's Donghyuck, you-"
Before Donghyuck could say something offensive, Jaemin rejected the call, leaving only the beeping sound on Donghyuck's ear. The boy tried to call again, knowing damn well that he will get what he wanted. Of course, he could call Jeno or Renjun, but Donghyuck's ego was hurt and he wanted to deal with Jaemin only.
He made four more calls before Jaemin answered again.
"Listen, I have a dead body in my backyard. If you decline one more time, I guess your boyfriends will see you behind bars," he joked but knowing that he was mafia's nephew, it sounded so real and scary.
"What do you want?" Donghyuck heard Renjun's voice. "Don't you understand that we don't want to have anything with you right now? The last time I agreed to play with you, that animal of yours found me and poured gasoline on me. Luckily, he broke all of the matches since he was bad at lighting them and gave up, threatening me that he will find me again. He didn't because I guess he got lost in the neighborhood but I don't want to see him ever again."
"On top of that, he stalked all three of us the next day after that boyfriend act, taking photos while standing right in front of us," Jeno took the phone and continued. "That dude didn't even hide! When he went to the cafe to hide from him, he came up to the table next to us, sat there, sipped coffee and continued the photo session."
"He broke into my car," lastly Jaemin made his confession. "He found condoms and poked them to make holes, so we couldn't use the protection. He also ate my gummy bears and..."
"Say it!" Jeno's voice was heard. "Donghyuck needs to know that."
"He found our photo... The one that we're all guys. He took it."
"He did what?" Donghyuck stopped yawning and jumped from the bed. "Why the hell did you even have that in your car?"
"It's the polaroid photo we took in the amusement park. Of course, I have a photo of my friend in my car because we used it to take us there!"
"You shouldn't have left it in there."
"How should I know he would break into my car, Donghyuck? Am I a mage or what?"
"Okay, let's calm down," Donghyuck took a few deep breaths and heard his friends doing the same. "When did that happen? When did Mark was in your car?"
"I think it was yesterday."
All images from yesterday flashed through Donghyuck's mind and he recalled that Mark had a sleepover in their house. Practically, he was always there as far as Donghyuck could see. But then he remembered that he spent a lot of time in his room and at that time Mark could do anything he wanted. He probably left and got into Jaemin's car during that time.
"Any details?" Donghyuck tried to search for something to grasp on.
"I don't know. The window of my room is facing the street while the car is in the back yard."
"Just say that you fucked all day that you didn't even hear what was happening in your back yard," Donghyuck rolled his eyes.
"We're not like bunnies."
"You're the bunny, though," Donghyuck chuckled. "Like to be fucked and get to fuck."
"I'm hanging up," Jaemin threatened and Donghyuck quickly stopped joking.
"Wait, I have something to ask," Donghyuck gulped down the nervousness, knowing that his question will sound dumb. "Can we four go to the beach today?"
"Four?" three voices came from the other side.
"With Mark."
"You should know that what you're asking is impossible," Jaemin sighed. "Let's meet when you end this masquerade."
Jaemin hung up, leaving Donghyuck stressed as never. Not only he failed to make his friends hang out with him, but he also pulled them into this madness. In short, he just lost his friends for the hell knows how long since Johnny doesn't seem to leave.
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Donghyuck was familiar with saying "know your enemy". He knew that learning about your enemy and keeping him close might be useful in the future. That was exactly what he decided to do after nothing worked out for him.
He went with Mark to the beach. Only the two of them. The purpose was obvious - if Mark had that photo, he shouldn't be hiding from Donghyuck for too long. Donghyuck expected him to give away that he knew about him being the boy and when that happens, Donghyuck wanted them to be far away from others, just in case.
The weather was nice though Donghyuck didn't feel the spirit of summer. They just walked down the shore, letting the waves crash on their feet. But the more further they went, the more questionable other people's happiness started to get. Soon they were the only ones left on the specific side of the beach. Everyone else moved further as they recognized Donghyuck and maybe even Mark if they saw him following the polyamory couple around.
One kid got his ball on the side Mark and Donghyuck were and completely clueless went to take it himself. Donghyuck saw how the father stopped in his tracks when he saw the familiar face of Johnny's nephew and looked at his kid in terror.
Donghyuck stood up and took the ball first before Mark could react. He didn't know what the latter might do, but he wanted the kid to have Mark's filthy hands on the innocent ball the least.
"Take it," he gave it to the kid, slightly glancing over the father to show that he controlled the situation.
The kid happily laughed and ran back to the father. The man picked the young boy up and fastened his pace to leave that side of the beach faster.
"It's boring," Mark said when Donghyuck turned back to him. The boy eyed the assassin's long-sleeved shirt in the warm summer. Weird.
"What do you want to do then?" Donghyuck asked so innocently that you couldn't even see that he didn't care.
"Let's go in the water. That's why we're on the beach anyway."
"I can't," Donghyuck shook his head, pulling the dress down which started to go up, easily lifted by the summer breeze. "I don't have my swimsuit."
"Then swim naked."
Donghyuck nearly rolled his eyes at the boy.
"I'm on my period," he said that as an excuse. Actually, it was the best excuse Donghyuck would pull on Johnny and other men.
Mark stopped for a moment as if he just internally opened the biology book and read something about a woman's body. He seemed awkward, but then quickly fixed his expression when he saw that Donghyuck was staring.
"I'm okay. I like blood."
"You sure like to flirt," Donghyuck sighed and sat on the sand, motioning Mark to sit in front of him. He never saw someone plopping on the sand so enthusiastically. "What's your body count?"
"For what?"
"People you have slept, I-I mean, had lustful intentions with."
"Oh, I thought you saw the basement, hahaha."
"Wait, what?"
"What?"
They were staring at each other and, surprisingly, Donghyuck was the one who looked away. He couldn't look at the boy, who just said about having bodies in the basement by himself. It seemed that those nasty things always slipped from his mouth and Donghyuck was sure that it will be hard to pretend that Dongsook was so dumb to not catch that.
"It's not that much, don't worry, Dongsookie. I like you the most."
"You can't like me, oppa, we're strangers," Donghyuck emphasized the word oppa, staring at Mark, searching if the latter would react to it differently.
"But I do-"
"You can't feel any romantic feelings for me yet, maybe that's the adoration," Donghyuck shyly played with his fingers. "Let's start with being friends, okay?"
"Okay," Mark approved way faster.
"We will grow closer at this state," Donghyuck happily clapped his hands. "Let's start with cuddling."
"Cuddling?" Mark knitted his eyebrows.
"You never cuddled before?"
Mark shook his head and only for a brief second, Donghyuck felt sorry for him. The boy with poor life and distant relationship with his family probably had never felt any care and softness.
"It's an affectionate hug," Donghyuck explained and went for an embrace.
He saw how Mark tensed when he felt Donghyuck's arms around him but soon gave in when the latter started drawing circles on his back.
Donghyuck felt weird when he realized that he found it comfortable. It wasn't just comfy, somehow, he even felt safe although it was the assassin's hands he was in.
"It's warm," Mark murmured and tightened the embrace.
"Of course, it is, oppa," Donghyuck whispered. "It shows that we're getting closer."
Soon the calm moment was ruined by Mark's touchy hands. Even in an innocent hug, that boy couldn't control his hands. Donghyuck felt them sliding down to his butt and groping it at the end.
Donghyuck clenched his teeth and slapped Mark's back, making the latter choke. Unexpectedly, Mark pulled his hand away from Donghyuck's ass and embraced his waist again. Donghyuck smiled in victory and patted Mark's head as if he was his pet.
To have his biggest enemy close was Donghyuck's motive. He didn't know much about Mark, hell, he didn't know if Mark was smart enough to realize that the boy in the photo was Donghyuck or did he found that out but pretended that he didn't? Either way, he knew that if he needs to gain Mark's trust as an innocent girl, to put a charm on him, so there wouldn't even be a thought that the identity of Dongsook was an act. By the time Mark finds out or tries to expose him, Donghyuck will be already aware of his weaknesses and will stab him in the back.