words: 6731
rate: PG13
(2nd Epilogue of the Brotherhood series)
Dedicated to all the readers who read this series and continue to reread it.
18 years old
"Oppa!"
He sighed heavily as he didn't even turn away from the stove. Instead, he continued stirring the contents of his pot. For the past hour he had heard that name in that tone every ten minutes. He learned that despite how desperate the tone the situation was never so dire. And, so, he ignored the sprite of a young girl who came bounding to his side and grabbed his free arm in a tight clasp.
"Oppa -"
"You know better than to attack me while I'm cooking. Kitchen accidents are serious, YooMae," he warned, his pale blue eyes flashing,
"Kyuhyun!" She exclaimed in exasperation.
He sighed again and set the stove to a simmer as he led her away from the stove. If she reverted to calling him by his name, then he knew she was being serious. Well, as serious as she could be while being dramatic, "What?"
"Tell Kangin-oppa to stop it!" She complained,
"What is he doing?" Kyuhyun questioned, leaning back against the counter that stood like an island in the kitchen,
"He's sitting in the living room -"
"That's a crime now?" Kyuhyun quipped,
"He's sharpening his arrows!" YooMae cried as she tugged at his arm,
"It's nice knowing he still has time to do archery," Kyuhyun mused, knowing his non-compliance to her troubles would annoy her.
"But - but - but!" YooMae let out a yell of frustration, "He lives in Ulsan! That's like four hours away!"
Kyuhyun rubbed at his temples with both forefingers, "YooMae, calm down. You're wearing down my control. I'm getting annoyed and I don't know if it's because you're annoyed or because you're annoying me."
"You and I both know he's doing it to scare away my date!" YooMae accused,
"Your date isn't even here yet," Kyuhyun said dryly,
"He's practicing! He's sitting there practicing different menacing expressions," YooMae insisted, "If only Sungmin-oppa wasn't working... I'm sure he'd be able to take on Kangin-oppa bodily."
"Why am I the last to know we're having a sibling reunion?" A voice demanded.
YooMae and Kyuhyun turned to watch Donghae entering the kitchen from the front hall. Dressed in black slacks and a black suit-vest over a long-sleeved, white button-up, it was clear he came straight from his office. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows as he approached them, dropping a kiss to his sister's forehead as he reached them,
"Siwon comes up to me and asks if I'm heading over soon. Where to, I ask him and he says, why, to Kyuhyun's because Kangin is driving over from Ulsan. How does he know, I ask and he says Eeteuk told him," Donghae narrowed his eyes at his younger siblings, "Now, tell me why I had to find out in a round-about way."
"It wasn't planned," YooMae insisted as Kyuhyun went to check on his cooking pot, "I made the mistake of telling Kangin-oppa I had a date tonight and then he rushed over after he was done teaching. Now he's sitting in the living room and -"
"Wait, wait, wait," Donghae held up a hand and he turned his attention to Kyuhyun, "When we let YooMae would live with you, it was under the assumption that you could handle it."
Kyuhyun raised a brow, "I can and have been for years."
"Let me live with him? I'm eighteen! I have almost complete control of my powers already!" YooMae argued,
"If you've been doing your job then why is Kangin in that living room?" Donghae questioned,
"Because our brother is crazy," Kyuhyun stressed with enough drama that his sister beamed at him.
"Not the fact that he's there, how could you let her go on a date!?" Donghae demanded,
"She hasn't gone on it yet," Kyuhyun replied, "He's due to pick her up any minute, though."
"I think I should go stand in the front hall in case the doorbell rings," Donghae announced as he immediately strode out of the kitchen,
"Why would you tell him that!?" YooMae cried, not knowing if she should rush after Donghae or attack Kyuhyun. Realizing she lived with the latter and, thus, any consequences should she attack him, decided to follow Donghae out, "Ugh, you're so annoying sometimes."
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, "Wait," he said before she could storm away. He held out a long wooden spoon with a bit of broth in it, "Taste."
She took a sip of what he offered, "Needs pepper," she replied, momentarily forgetting her annoyance with her brother.
"Was that the doorbell?" Kyuhyun mused, averting his eyes to hide his amusement.
YooMae let out a high-pitch squeal as she bolted from the kitchen.
Kyuhyun merely continued cooking, all the while chuckling to himself.
...
19 years old
"Ah, there's my favourite sister," He laughed as he dropped a kiss to her head before slipping into the other side of the booth.
He had ordered a coffee the moment he stepped into the small cafe and a waitress came and brought him his drink as he pulled off his coat and laid it beside him in the booth.
"So," he began, eyes sweeping over his sister who was watching him anxiously, "What has you so distraught that I had to leave work in the middle of the day to see you?"
"Donghae-oppa, he says he loves me!" YooMae blurted before clasping both hands over his mouth,
"Now I know why you called me," Donghae sighed as he settled into his seat, "Kangin would send you off to a convent and Kyuhyun would tease you mercilessly. Okay, so why does this boy's declaration warrant an impromptu meeting with your second-favourite brother?"
"Second-favourite?" YooMae blinked,
"Kangin and I are resigned to it," he waved off her words before prompting, "The declaration?"
"What if he doesn't mean it?" YooMae explained, "What if he says it just to... to... you know."
Donghae blinked before he took a deep sip of his coffee and shook his head, "No, no, no... I don't want to know."
"Oppa!" YooMae cried quietly, "I'm serious!"
"You're my baby sister - there are some things I don't want to know about your life," Donghae grounded out, his aquamarine eyes reflecting the calm before a storm,
"I just want to know if I should read his thoughts or not," YooMae explained, "Like... so then I know if when he says it, he really means it and isn't thinking about other things."
"I say read that bastard's mind," Donghae replied, eyes narrowed. Then, he sighed and took another sip of his coffee. When he put his mug back down on the table between them, he continued, "Unfortunately, Siwon would kill me if he heard I told you to do that."
"So, do I just trust he means it?" YooMae asked,
Donghae nodded, "Unfortunately, that's all you can do. You have to think about... him... what you know about... him... and decide for yourself whether or not you believe him."
"You hate that I'm dating him, don't you?" YooMae looked at her brother amusedly,
"I hate that you're dating, period," Donghae snapped,
YooMae laughed lightly, melodically before she sighed, too. "But what if I'm wrong? What if I trust him and I'm wrong?"
"Then you learn from it and move on," Donghae said ruefully, "That's all you can do. Life is all about leaping and hoping you fly."
"I knew I should've called Aunt AhMae. She could've seen my future and told me if I should trust him," YooMae muttered,
"You know her future sight is blocked to us because of Mom," Donghae reminded lightly, "And don't you dare think about introducing her to him. It's not right to use our powers against people for our own gain."
"But, Oppa!" YooMae argued,
"You've only been with powers for a year. I've had to deal with it for 21 years," Donghae reminded gently, "With telepathy, you have to be careful because you can easily use it selfishly. I learned the hard way that I had to trust people rather than rely so heavily on my telepathy. You have to do the same now."
YooMae sighed, "Yeah... I understand. What do you mean you learned the hard way?"
Donghae glanced away, "With Siwon."
"You used your telepathy on him?" She hissed quietly,
"It wasn't like I could control my telepathy," Donghae defended, "This was during the first year after Mom and Dad died. My power was running wild and Siwon happened to be around me often."
Donghae took another small sip of his coffee, "It was because of my telepathy that we got in a fight. I would catch parts of his thoughts and kept prompting him into telling me himself. He realized what I was doing and got upset - rightly so. We're supposed to trust people. If and when they want to confide in us, it should be their choice, not manipulated by us."
"Was it a big fight?" YooMae inquired.
Her brothers' partners had been in her life for almost as long as her brothers. It took her a few years to realize that their relationships weren't always accepted by other people. However, she took their relationships as the norm in her life and had never questioned how they all met and fell in love. They simple were.
"Yes," Donghae spoke quietly, looking into his coffee mug, "It could have potentially been the end of us. Indeed, at the time I thought it was."
"But you two got over it, obviously since you're always on one another," YooMae noted with a slightly disgusted tone. As much as her brothers' relationships were normal to her, they were still her brothers. There were some things she would rather not know about their lives.
"Don't tell him I told you, but Kyuhyun is a key component to Siwon and I getting back together," Donghae looked at her with a small smile, "He talked to me just like how I'm talking to you. Eventually I hunted Siwon down and we made up."
She took a sip of her own drink before glancing at her brother hesitantly, "Do... I do I have to say it back to him?"
Donghae, who had been taking a swig of his coffee, nearly choked at her words. He swallowed hard before having a coughing fit. Once he got the spasms under control, he cleared his throat and stared at his sister, "What?"
"Do I have to say I love him back?" YooMae asked,
Donghae blinked. With anyone else, he would have said she should know the answer. However, she wasn't anyone else. She had grown up without parents. She had grown up with three brothers who acted as both parents and siblings. She had grown up with an aunt who she loved, but wasn't exactly a parent. She should know the answer, but her dating was a first for them all and they had never discussed the particulars of relationships. After all, she was still their baby sister. They still had hopes she'd become a nun instead of dating boys.
"You only say it if you mean it," Donghae answered finally, "If you don't, then you don't say it."
"I like him," YooMae stated, "But... like what I see from you and Siwon-oppa, I don't feel that way about him."
"Good," Donghae replied as he shot back the rest of his coffee, "Damn it, YooMae, I can't believe I'm talking to you about dating boys and love. Ugh, you're my baby sister."
"But you still love me," YooMae grinned, throwing her brother a brilliant smile,
Donghae laughed, "Yes. Yes, I do."
...
21 years old
"That bastard isn't worthy of the ground you walk on!" He roared when he burst into her bedroom. "The moment I met him I knew I didn't like him and he's only proved me right. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like your first boyfriend, but at least I knew he was a good guy. This one always rubbed me the wrong way."
He began to pace before her bed, rubbing his palms over his close-shaven head, "You know what, though, YooMae, you don't need him. Indeed you do not. You just forget about him because he's not even worth your time. He was never worthy of you and never will be. All your tears are wasted on that bastard."
He turned to the bed when he realized she had stopped her wailing - which had been stiffled by her pillow and had sat up in bed to glare at him,
"Ready to go downstairs? The others are worried," he said,
"Kangin, can you stop being my parent for just... for just five minutes?" She questioned, her voice still shaky as she wiped at tears that couldn't seem to stop.
"What?" Kangin blinked,
"For as long as I could remember whenever something serious happened you would act the parent. Even if it wasn't for me but for Donghae or Kyuhyun, you'd play the parent," YooMae stated, "But you're not my parent. You're not, Oppa, you're my brother."
"But... YooMae, Mom and Dad aren't... I have to because -"
She held up her hand to silence her older brother and then reached over and grabbed another tissue. She blew her nose hard before continuing, her nose a bright red, "I'm not saying I don't appreciate all you've done. I know it's been hard on you to be both brother and parent but... but right now I don't need the rational words of a parent. Right now I want my brother to sit with me and... and... just be there for me."
"I... I'm always there for you, YooMae," Kangin said softly, his hands at his side. "I... I'm not trying to play the parent. It's just... that's all I know how to be. I took more responsibility for all three of you after their deaths, but that doesn't mean I stopped being me."
"Then talk to me like you, like a brother. Don't try to be rational, just... just be strong and overtly protective," YooMae said, "I don't need rational right now. Maybe after once... once I've calmed down. Right now, I need sympathy and... and a shoulder to cry on. Especially since... especially since... I can't stop crying."
Kangin watched helpless as YooMae burst into more tears, burrowing her face into the pillow she hugged. He sighed heavily as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his embrace. She turned into his embrace, crying into his shoulder as she clung to him. He had never seen her so sad before. One of the victories he claimed was ensuring that YooMae smiled often and laughed easily. That wasn't to say she was never sad. She had her share of disappointments, but this was the first time she seemed so shattered and he felt helpless to piece her back together.
Secretly, he swore at his brothers for voting him as the brother to enter her room. After her conversation about love with Donghae 2 years ago, they had all decided they would do a vote to decide who would talk to YooMae whenever she had relationship questions. After she and her first boyfriend had broken up, they had breathed easier. When she got another boyfriend a year ago, they reinstated their voting system. They never anticipated they'd have to vote on who would talk to her out of a broken heart after she was cheated on.
He tightened his hold on her as he dropped a kiss to her head, "Well, you just tell me where that fool lives and I'll go and kill him."
YooMae snorted an unexpected laugh before crying some more.
"You know... if I killed him now, we wouldn't have to be rational later," Kangin stated in the most matter-of-factly tone.
That garnered another laugh from his sister. He waited as her cries were reduced to loud sniffs and the occasional hiccup.
"You know, the others voted I be the one to come in here and talk with you," Kangin admitted, "I didn't want to at first because I had no idea what to do or say but I'm glad I was the one."
YooMae sat up, swiping away her tears, "Really?"
"Really," Kangin nodded, "With you living with Kyuhyun, I hardly get to see you as much. Even Donghae lives in the city. I guess... I guess the reason it's hard for me to be the brother to you is because growing up I was the parent. Now that you're older, I'm not around to be the brother."
"You don't have to be around to be my brother, Oppa," YooMae insisted as she hugged him fiercely, "Just... just when you are around, don't act like my parent anymore."
Kangin sighed heavily as he hugged her back, "Fine. Just give me his address and I'll be on my way."
YooMae laughed lightly before she sighed also, "How could he do that to me? We were going to celebrate our one-year anniversary later this month. He said he loved me and I did, too... I... I still do love him. But if he loved me, how could he cheat on me?"
"Then what he felt for you isn't love. You don't cheat on people you love... You don't do things that'll hurt the people you love," Kangin insisted, "He'll probably give you explanations as to why he cheated, but they're not excuses. There's no excuse for cheating."
"I'm stupid for loving him then, huh?" YooMae asked quietly,
"No, it just means you have a big heart and there's nothing wrong with that," Kangin insisted, "You see the best in everyone, even if perhaps they don't deserve it. So, maybe what you saw in this guy was some good, but it wasn't the whole package."
"I don't want to love him anymore," YooMae muttered, "How long until I stop loving him?"
"I have no idea," Kangin answered, "You can't... you can't put boundaries on love. If you can, then it's not love. But if you really do love him, then it'll take some time for you to fall out of love with him."
YooMae sighed, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
"I could probably quicken the pace if I killed him?" Kangin offered,
YooMae shook her head, "No, it's okay." They sat there in silence, just hugging one another before she asked, "How did you know Eeteuk-oppa was the one?"
Kangin laughed, his indigo eyes twinkling, "I didn't know. Donghae was the one to tell me I was in love. But once it was labelled, it was clear that it was true that I was in love. I knew he was the one because I couldn't imagine not having him in my life. I couldn't imagine my life without him there, without him to talk to, lean on and just... just be. The time we spent apart was horribly painful for me and part of it was because he wasn't there."
"What was the other part?" YooMae inquired,
"I had forgotten everything about Mom," Kangin admitted simply, "But that's a story for another time. This is about you and your problems."
YooMae sighed, "I'm so tired of crying but it's all I feel like doing," She stated, sitting up straight and slipping from his embrace, "I don't want you to kill him... but can you hurt him really, really bad?"
"As long as we keep it secret from Eeteuk," Kangin stated seriously,
YooMae laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and knelt on her knees so she could rise above him and kiss his crown, "I love you, Kangin-oppa."
"I love you, too."
...
23 years old
"Can't you save that for the bedroom?"
Kyuhyun immediately slipped out from between the kitchen island and Sungmin. He strode purposefully to a bunch of grocery bags by the fridge and began stocking the food, "We were just kissing. And you could have knocked."
"To come into the kitchen?" YooMae questioned, "I just have a quick question and then you two can... well... you know."
"What's the question?" Sungmin prompted as he leaned an elbow on the island and propped his chin in that hand,
"Well... erm... when did you two decide to... well... you know?" YooMae asked tentatively, her previous boldness immediately gone,
"Ow!" Kyuhyun yelped as the cantalope he had been holding dropped onto his foot. Leaving the offending melon rolling on the floor, he hopped over to the island, balanced himself with a hand on the counter and directed the other hand at her in a pointing gesture, "You are not allowed to think about you-know-what!"
"I'm 23!" YooMae defended,
"No se - I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT IN RELATION TO YOU! No s... no se... no you-know-what until you're married!" Kyuhyun exclaimed,
YooMae raised a defiant brow and crossed her arms over her chest, "When did you two decide to first do you-know-what?"
Kyuhyun opened his mouth to retort before closing it.
"She has a point," Sungmin said pleasantly,
"It's not my fault," Kyuhyun defended, "Sungmin jumped me. I was an innocent lamb until this wolf came along!"
Sungmin rolled his eyes, "I remember you being a willing and active participant. You showed a lot of initiative."
"SUNGMIN!" Kyuhyun and YooMae exclaimed in unison. The former had his face a bright red as the latter had her face scrunched up in disgust,
"Not in front of YooMae!" Kyuhyun scolded just as YooMae stated, "Not in front of me!"
"Well what do you expect when you ask a question like that?" Sungmin shrugged as he walked over and picked up the melon from the tile floor, "I'm not going to be modest especially when Kyuhyun's playing the prude. Heck, that first night he did things that made me blush."
"Oh my God... I am going to pretend I never heard any of that!" YooMae exclaimed, pressing her hands over her ears,
"It's your own damn fault for asking that question!" Kyuhyun exclaimed, "No you-know-what until marriage!"
"Why do I have to wait when you didn't?" YooMae questioned, "I bet Kangin and Donghae didn't wait either, did they?"
"That's different," Kyuhyun said,
"Why? Because I'm female?" She demanded,
"Yes," Kyuhyun answered bluntly, "And because you're our baby sister. You're not allowed to be doing you-know-what until you get married! No, no, you should never do you-know-what! We should just send you off to the convent!"
"You three didn't wait!" She argued,
"It's not like we can get married anyway," Kyuhyun rolled his eyes as Sungmin continued putting the groceries away,
"And what do you mean I should never do it? It's going to happen eventually, Kyuhyun," YooMae stated, glaring at her brother from across the kitchen island, "Whether you or the others like it or not, it's going to happen eventually. If not now, then at some point in the future. Many times, even, once I feel I'm with the right person."
"No," Kyuhyun replied, "No, no, no. I am not having this conversation with you."
"I'm going to have sex, Oppa, you can't stop it," YooMae said lightly, now enjoying her chance to tease her brother,
"Ugh, Min, make her stop," Kyuhyun threw up his hands as he took over the groceries and pushed Sungmin towards YooMae, "I can't have a conversation with my sister about... about..."
"Sex?" Sungmin piped mischievously before turning to YooMae. He pulled up one of the stools to the island and sat down facing her as she did the same, "Alright, if you're asking the question it means the topic's come up between you and your boyfriend."
"That horny bastard," Kyuhyun swore quietly but loud enough for them to hear,
“Not really,” YooMae admitted,
“Oh thank God,” Kyuhyun muttered as he continued with the groceries,
“It’s just that we’ll be –”
“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Kyuhyun croaked, hitting his forehead against the fridge door,
“Doing stuff and it’ll get kind of hot and heavy –”
“Are you trying to give your brother a heart attack?” Kyuhyun hissed,
“But then we’ll stop,” YooMae explained, throwing her brother an exasperated look, “I just don’t know when it’ll be the time to… you know… not stop.”
“There will never be a time when you don’t stop!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, waving a cucumber threateningly at her, “In fact, you should never have started! Ugh! I cannot be having this conversation with you!”
“And you think I like having this conversation with you?” YooMae shot back, “It’s not like I can talk to my friends because they’ve all done it in high school and it’s none of their business anyway. All of you are gay so I don’t have any females to talk to and there is no way in hell I’m going to ask Auntie about this. I just need a little advice because I don’t want to be make the wrong decision especially after my last boyfriend.”
Kyuhyun sighed heavily, lowering the cucumber. Her annoyance and anger were obvious to him even without use of his empathy. It was her fear, however, that pierced through his thinly-guarded powers. Controlling his empathy had become second nature, so his barriers were never as strong as they could be. Her fear easily slipped past his guards and flew straight to his heart. He would forever hate her last boyfriend who had cheated on her.
Walking over to her, he tossed the cucumber onto the counter and crossed his arms, staring hard at her, “Fine. We’ll have this conversation and then, I will continue on in life as if this conversation never happened, as if I am not cruelly aware of my sister’s… relations. Understand?”
“If it helps, I’m none-too-pleased with the fact that I only have brothers to ask about this,” YooMae muttered,
“Take it or leave it because in about five seconds I’m going to forcibly forget this moment and you can go ask Donghae or Kangin about it,” Kyuhyun stated,
“Well, I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to Sungmin-oppa. He’s more open to the subject than you,” YooMae huffed,
“Not really. Blood or not, you’re my little sister, too,” Sungmin confessed, “But I also know if we can’t answer your questions then you may never get the right ones. So, I’m sacrificing my sanity – along with Kyuhyun’s – in order for you to get your answers.”
“So what’s the answer?” YooMae inquired,
“When you feel it’s the right time,” Sungmin said simply as Kyuhyun repeated, “After marriage!”
YooMae narrowed her sapphire eyes and crossed her arms again, “It seems like a lot of things have a time line based on instinct.”
Sungmin nodded, “It is. Not all instinct is good, as your brother would tell you, but if you have the right information to support your instincts, then more often than not, you’ll be right. Especially if the concerning topic is love.”
YooMae raised a brow at her brother, “What did you do?”
“Oh, you know… this and that,” Kyuhyun said flippantly as he grabbed the cucumber and headed back to the fridge. He belatedly muttered, “And accused Sungmin of cheating.”
YooMae, who perfectly heard his utterance, gasped, “How could you!?”
“How could you indeed?” Sungmin smirked as he turned on his stool to follow her outraged gaze at Kyuhyun.
“Hey! We’re not talking about me here, we’re talking about you!” Kyuhyun retorted, swinging around and pointing the cucumber at her again, “Look, if you want to have… you-know with that bastard of a boyfriend of yours, then you’re going to have to look deep in your heart. If you feel it’s right and he’s the right person, then it’ll be right. But, if you have doubts, if you’re not ready, then don’t do it. The right person will be worth waiting for and won’t mind waiting for you.”
YooMae scrunched up her face in thought as she contemplated his words. Eventually, she nodded, her expression brightening, “Thank you, Oppa.”
“Why are you thanking me?” Kyuhyun questioned, throwing her a narrowed gaze,
“Because you helped me with –”
“Before you finish that sentence, just know that I have completely forgotten the past ten or so minutes of my life. Now, if you excuse me, I have groceries to organize,” Kyuhyun huffed as he turned back to the fridge and finished putting away the groceries.
Sungmin stifled a laugh as YooMae freely giggled.
…
24 years old
“I don’t see why we have to help her pack. She has telekinesis, she can do it herself,” Donghae muttered as he closed another box, taping it shut with thick, silver, duct tape; “In fact, why the hell isn’t Kangin-hyung here helping?”
“Because he lives in Ulsan,” Siwon rolled his eyes as he picked up the newly closed box and headed out of the bedroom just as YooMae entered it,
“I don’t like this. Have you even told him about your powers?” Donghae questioned,
“Yes,” YooMae replied as she pulled out more clothes from her closet and began folding them neatly and handing them to Donghae to pack,
“How’d he take that?” Donghae inquired bitterly as he tossed a folded sweater into the empty box beside him,
“He freaked out,” YooMae admitted, “After that we talked about it though. He’s fine now, although he gets this wary look whenever I get angry. I think he’s scared I might use my powers on some unsuspecting person one day.”
“You should’ve used it on him,” Donghae stated from his seat on the floor as YooMae handed him another folded article of clothing,
“Oppa, what’s wrong? You’re never so upset,” YooMae stated, “Is it because I’m moving in with him? Is that why you’re upset?”
“Yes, because after you move in with him it won’t be long before you two… before you two… do other things,” Donghae said disgustedly as he accepted another piece of folded clothing from her,
YooMae averted her gaze as she quietly continued to fold her clothing.
Donghae, his instincts picking up on her silence, immediately stared at her, his eyes flashing like jewels. He took in her quiet demeanour, her reddened cheeks.
“YOU’VE ALREADY DONE IT, HAVEN’T YOU!?” Donghae exclaimed, jumping to his feet and glaring down at his sister,
“I thought you knew,” YooMae retorted, locking gazes with her brother. She was 24-years old, after all. No need to play timid with her brother.
“How would I know that!?” Donghae questioned and then added, a little hysterically, “Why would I want to know that!?”
YooMae shrugged, “I don’t know, I thought Kyuhyun would’ve told you.”
“Kyuhyun? Oh, hell…” Donghae strode to the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, “KYUHYUN! GET UP HERE NOW!”
When Siwon appeared a few seconds later, Donghae stood akimbo, “Where’s that little brat of a brother of mine?”
“He was called to the restaurant for an emergency. Something about a big-name critic walking in,” Siwon shrugged, “Why, what’s wrong?”
“We allow innocent, sweet YooMae to live with him and he lets her get into all sorts of who-knows-what!” Donghae exclaimed,
“Did you say ‘allow’? I’m 24-years-old,” YooMae defended, “I don’t need anyone’s permission to do anything!”
“Siwon! She’s having… relations, with that boy!” Donghae exclaimed desperately,
Siwon blinked before looking at YooMae and then looking back at Donghae, “Well, one would assume as much, especially since they’re going to be living together.”
“WHY ARE YOU SO CALM!?” Donghae demanded as he stormed back to the box he had been packing and plopped back down on the ground. Who knew one of the leading producers in Korea could be so ungraceful.
“Because we went through this with LiWon and I was the hysterical one,” Siwon reminded with a shrug of his broad shoulders, “And, while I consider YooMae my sister, too, I’ve already had experience with this situation.”
“Ah, damnit!” Donghae glared up at his sister, “Guard your thoughts!”
YooMae blinked down at him before throwing a shirt at his face, “I shouldn’t have to! Guard your telepathy!”
“I am! You’re forcing your thoughts on me!” Donghae exclaimed,
“Why would I do that!?” She retorted,
“Because you make it your life’s purpose to drive your brothers insane!” Donghae countered,
“If I wanted to do that, then I would have described in explicit detail what my boyfriend and I do in bed!” She argued,
“ARGH!” Donghae jumped to his feet and stormed out of the room.
Siwon watched Donghae leave before stepping into the room and taking up his seat on the floor beside the not-so-empty box. He accepted the folded clothes as YooMae handed them, her gaze averted. Eventually, he asked,
“Do you want to talk?”
“I just don’t see why he has to make this day so miserable,” YooMae muttered bitterly as she did up the buttons on one of her blouses to fold properly, “It’s supposed to be a happy day because I’m moving out, being an adult and… and he has to ruin it by being a jerk.”
“He’s being a brother, not a jerk, although those two things seem to cross often for sister,” Siwon laughed lightly, “It’s because you’re moving out and being an adult that has him acting so… jerk-like.”
“But I’m 24 –”
“Yes, but you’re still his baby sister,” Siwon stressed, “LiWon’s just a few years younger than me and I still want to beat up her husband whenever I happen to see them kiss.” He accepted a pair of jeans from her, “This is a happy day, don’t let your brother ruin it because he’s being grumpy. But, also, you have to understand that this is a sad day for him and all of your brothers and brother-in-laws. We’ve all watched you grow, YooMae and the fact that you’re going out into the world on your own scares us all. We can’t protect you as much now. It’s a sad thought.”
“Well, then, he’s got to understand that no matter where I go or what I do I’m still going to be his baby sister,” YooMae stated, “And he’s going to have to come to terms with the fact that I’ve slept with my boyfriend.”
“I’ll come to terms with it after I get my hands on Kyuhyun.”
YooMae and Siwon looked over to the door. Donghae stood with his shoulder against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.
“Is what everything Siwon-oppa said true?” YooMae questioned, hands on her hips,
Donghae rolled his eyes, “Perhaps.”
“You and everyone else are still my big brothers even after today,” YooMae said firmly, her eyes narrowed,
“I know,” Donghae sighed,
“And despite popular belief I do not have a favourite brother,” YooMae informed as she turned away to continue folding clothes and handing them to Siwon.
“But… Kyuhyun –”
“Always smelled like delicious food,” YooMae admitted, “As a little kid, I remember him smelling like cake. Often.”
“So you don’t have a favourite?” Donghae questioned slowly and seriously,
“No,” YooMae insisted firmly. She stared at her a brother a moment as expressions of relief crossed his face; “Will you help me finish packing now?”
Donghae rolled his eyes as he pushed off from the doorframe, “I suppose –”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get that,” YooMae said, a little too happily for Donghae’s taste.
“No, no. You stay and keep packing. I’ll answer the door,” Donghae insisted as he turned and left.
YooMae ran into the hallway just in time to see him descending the staircases, “Be nice to him!”
“Sorry, can’t hear you. I guess I can’t be nice to him,” Donghae called back, “Guess you should just unpa-AH! YOOMAE! PUT ME DOWN!” Donghae glared over his shoulder.
YooMae stood at the top of the stairs, “Promise you’ll be nice and I’ll let you go.”
“YooMae!” He warned,
“Hurry and promise. My powers aren’t as strong as Kangin’s. I might let you fall any minute,” YooMae countered,
“Fine! Fine, I’ll be nice to the bastard,” Donghae growled.
Gently, YooMae allowed her brother’s feet to touch the stairs again, “Thank you.”
“Humph. You’re too good for him,” Donghae muttered darkly as he proceeded down the stairs.
YooMae stifled her laughter as she waited at the top of the stairs and listened. She heard the door open and heard her boyfriend greet Donghae.
“So,” she heard her brother reply, “I hear you’ve had your wicked way with my sister!”
YooMae sighed heavily as she shook her head and returned to packing her things.
…
25 years old
“You look beautiful.”
“Ah, you don’t look to bad yourself, Oppa,” YooMae grinned up at her eldest brother as he stood by her side.
They could hear the organ play and the double doors that led into the cathedral opened, allowing the start of the procession into the inter sanctum. The solemn yet light notes of the organ echoed from within, setting the atmosphere of what would be one of the happiest days of her life.
“I can’t believe this day’s finally come,” He said seriously, eyes narrowed out of sadness rather than anger, “I still remember the day we brought you home from the hospital.”
“Now is not the time to go down memory lane,” YooMae scolded even as her voice wavered and her eyes began to sparkle with unshed tears, “If my make-up gets ruined, I’ll blame you, Kangin!”
He chuckled softly, “In my defence, I didn’t have as much time with you as the others. They had a few months more of time with you than I did.”
YooMae blinked, startled, “What are you talking about?”
“For the first few months of your life, I never held you,” he confessed quietly, suddenly preoccupied with adjusting the veil that fell around her like a lace fountain. “I never held you, rarely touched you at all, if possible.”
“But… but why?” YooMae questioned,
“Because you were so tiny and so precious,” Kangin replied, his indigo eyes like the velvety night sky, “Because you were light borne from a horrible night and my powers were unstable. I couldn’t risk hurting you, couldn’t risk… killing you.”
“But I’ve seen pictures of us together and I couldn’t be more than a few months old,” YooMae replied as the first of her bridesmaids walked out into the chapel.
“There was a time when I had forgotten everything about Mom,” Kangin said as he turned to face towards the open, chapel doors,
“Yes, I remember you mentioning it once,” YooMae said as she slipped her arm through his, her bouquet held firmly in her hands,
“I forgot all about Mom because my telekinesis had been sealed away,” Kangin explained, “I didn’t know the consequences of that decision and I was devastated to realize I had lost all I had left of Mom.”
She squeezed his arm tightly in comfort, “Oppa –”
“But once again, you were the light borne from another horrible night. Without my powers, I wasn’t afraid to go near you, to hold you,” Kangin said with a smile, “When I got my powers back, I could control them, so I never had to fear hurting you or worse.”
“I wish we had more months together, too, then,” YooMae offered as her maid of honour, her cousin, walked slowly and steadily into the chapel. She and her brother would be next.
“I’m sorry if I’ve made you a little sad on your wedding day,” Kangin apologized sincerely, “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know, but, no, I won’t be sad about the past. Instead, I’ll be happy because I know a little bit more about my big brother,” YooMae smiled brightly up at her brother,
Kangin laughed softly as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek, the soft lace a thin barrier between them, “No one can ever be worthy of the light you bring into people’s lives, YooMae,” he straightened, “But your husband-to-be is as close as it gets.”
She laughed quietly, melodically, “I should hope so, especially considering I’ll be spending forever with him.”
They received the signal from the wedding planner and, together, they stepped into the chapel. Canon in D major played then as all in attendance stood and turned to watch the bride walk down the aisle, her eldest brother at her side to give her away to the groom.
“Kyuhyun wanted me to tell you that there’s always a place at his house for you,” Kangin said as they slowly progressed down the aisle,
YooMae stifled a laugh, “Is that a thinly-veiled warning to my husband that I can leave him at any time?”
“Yes. Donghae is worse. He told me to tell you that he has a lot of influence in Korea should you ever need it,” Kangin grinned, glancing down at her,
“I’ll be sure to warn him then,” YooMae grinned back,
“Of course, none can beat me,” Kangin said solemnly, “I can still hit a moving target from 100 paces away.”
YooMae bit down on her lip hard to stop from laughing out loud. Instead, she nudged him hard in the ribs with her elbow.
“He’ll make you happy, I think,” Kangin said quietly as they came closer to the front of the church, the groom watching with a smile for his bride and a wariness for his soon-to-be brother-in-law,
“He already does,” YooMae agreed simply,
“And will keep you happy, too?” Kangin prompted,
“He will,” YooMae insisted, a light happiness in her tone,
“Then I give you away with a happy mind,” Kangin replied as they reached the groom.
He shook hands with the young man to marry his sister. He placed YooMae’s hand in the groom’s and turned to his sister. He leaned down to press another kiss to her cheek and whispered,
“You always were and will be a part of the Brotherhood.”
.End.
A/N: Cheers to those with at least one brother. Considering I have several, I feel for you ;D
Showing posts with label PAIRING: Shihae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PAIRING: Shihae. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Friday, July 2, 2010
[spin] Sustenance
rate: PG13
words: 6300
(Last of the Shatter series which is a sequel to the Surrender and Succesion series.)
“YOU BASTARD!” The young guy gripped the gun even harder, his finger trembling on the trigger as his eyes narrowed dangerously, his face reddening with anger.
“You’re right,” Sungmin shrugged as he gripped his daggers. It had been so long since he held them, had to use them, but almost immediately they became an extension of his arms. He was trained for this, he was ready. “I am a bastard. I received orders to assassinate your brother five years ago and I did it.”
“Sungmin –”
Donghae kept one hand on his gun, but stretched out the other to silence Youngwoon, “No… he needs to do this. That look on his face… he has something to prove, something to accomplish from this… he needs to fight this guy or else he’ll continue living with his demons.”
Youngwoon gripped the edge of the bar counter, not believing he was allowing Sungmin to fight alone. They had both been assigned that mission five years ago when they first became real Agents. He remembered it well:
It was morning when they got the manila envelopes and the mission was to take place that evening. If he recalled correctly, he had been the excited one, the anticipatory one. Sungmin, on the other hand, had been nervous, anxious, worried he would fail the mission. They had been together since they both entered the Agency and trained together. They always sparred together, trained together, studied together. They had become fast friends, which ultimately had sealed their fates of being partners once they were Agents.
The mission was to assassinate a young businessman. He was an intern in the governmental buildings of Seoul. However, it was soon learned that information from the government was being leaked to unsavoury characters in Seoul. Worse of all, it was suspected that information was being sent north of the border between the Koreas. The Agency found out that the businessman had gained his information by threatening key people in the governmental buildings. Then, once they gave up their information, he would kill them anyway. After all, he couldn’t have any witnesses to his deeds.
The businessman had to be stopped at all costs. The Agency had tried to arrest him before, but if they made a public arrest, that meant revealing to the rest of Korea the existence of that branch of the government. Their proof was decisive against the businessman and so, they decided to leave his demise to their Assassination department.
Shortly after eight in the evening, Youngwoon and Sungmin had gone to the apartment building, managing to slip into the building after someone was leaving, even holding the door open for the pair of seemingly innocent young men. They had made a beeline to the stairs, bypassing the elevator and barely registering the security camera on the roof. They reached his floor, but stayed inside the stairwell.
Youngwoon had barely glanced at Sungmin as he headed to a window in the stairwell. He pulled it open and began climbing out of it without a backward glance at his younger friend. Sungmin peered out the window, watching as Youngwoon began to inch sideways on the wall, lunging from the windowsill to the closest balcony. He almost missed, gripping the top of the railing with one hand. With a suppressed groan, Youngwoon pulled himself up. He glanced inside the balcony’s glass doors, but the curtains were drawn. He silently hopped onto the balcony, crossed it with all speed to its other side and, without a thought, leapt to the other balcony, his hands grasping the railing securely.
Sungmin had watched until Youngwoon was about five balconies away. Youngwoon finally looked back at him across the great distance and signalled for him to proceed. Sungmin closed the window and left the stairwell, stepping into the corridor with all the confidence that he lived there to dispel any suspicions of his presence should anyone see him. He slowly walked down the corridor, gripping his hands to stop himself from shaking too badly. Then, half-way down the hallway, a door opened and Youngwoon’s bald head appeared. His friend signalled for him to quickly join him. They were in.
The sounds from the bathroom told them where their target was and the running water told them they had some cover for any noises they might accidentally make. From that point on, all it took was a surprise entry on the target and a quick bullet to the head. Soon, the shower’s hot water was mixing with the red liquid seeping from the target’s head. They had closed his door and left, this time, a more direct route than their entry.
BANG!
The gunshot ripped Youngwoon from his memories. He came back to the present just as he saw Sungmin do quick movements with his daggers. He heard the distinct clink of metal on metal. The sound told him Sungmin had intercepted the bullet. The angry red line that was now bleed on the apple of Sungmin’s left cheek told him that the bullet still managed to graze his face. Close, too close. The young man was shooting to kill.
Suddenly, Sungmin lunged at the younger man, crossing his daggers in an X and forcing the top apex beneath the gun, angling upwards to the ceiling. He met the younger man’s eyes directly and could see the anger, the intent. He had killed many people in his career as an Assassin, and he had come across that look before but, this time, it held something different, seemed more personal, more narrowed to just him.
“Your brother was a traitor and a murderer! He was giving information to South Korea’s enemies! There was even proof he was sending information to North Korea! Do you not understand how dangerous that is!?” Sungmin demanded, struggling with the younger man who was trying to free his gun, but Sungmin kept pressing him, pushing him back.
“Then arrest him! You didn’t have to kill him!”
“He had to be stopped. He knew too much. He had to be silenced,” Sungmin stated, his voice deadly flat, all remnants of the bartender Youngwoon and Donghae knew was gone. “He placed himself before the country, before you and your mother.”
“DON’T TALK LIKE YOU GAVE A DAMN ABOUT MY FAMILY!” The young man roared, using his anger to fuel his strength. He managed to shove Sungmin back, aiming the gun at him again, “YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT MY BROTHER’S DEATH DID TO US!”
BANG!
Sungmin shifted his arm. For a moment, it felt as if time slowed down. He wasn’t sure if he was already dead, or going insane, but he was sure he saw the bullet. He saw as it grazed against the dagger he drew up, saw as it sparked from the metal-on-metal friction. It slid along the dagger before continuing, this time, not to his head, but into his forearm. He felt the burning pain right down to his bones, but he bit down hard to stop from crying out.
“SUNGMIN!” Youngwoon cried out. He turned ruthless eyes on Donghae but was startled then. Donghae’s entire body was tense, his gaze focused on the pair. What surprised Youngwoon, however, was that Donghae’s gun was still raised, still aimed at the young man. He could tell Donghae was biting down hard, his jaw stiff and then, realized for all of Donghae’s words, the younger man was having just as much trouble just standing back and watching.
“JUST STOP THIS!” Youngwoon exclaimed then, “What will killing do for you!? You’ll just get arrested afterwards anyway for murder. Is it worth it? Is this all worth your freedom!?”
“DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT FREEDOM WHEN YOU TOOK MY BROTHER’S LIFE!” The young man yelled, swinging his gun towards Youngwoon and shooting wildly.
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, a dagger and a bullet were on the ground, dropping directly from the air where they crashed together. Sungmin immediately stepped between the shooter and Youngwoon. He was down to one dagger, which was all he needed to protect himself, but a second dagger would be more security. However, he didn’t dare risk bending and picking up the other dagger, he’d be too vulnerable, too open to another attack from above.
His left hand, the one with the dagger and the one that had been shot, was burning fiercely and it took a chunk of Sungmin’s strength just to keep holding it up. He had to finish this and do it fast. He watched the young man and could see that he was slowly losing his control on his own anger. If he didn’t finish it fast, the young man would grow unpredictable. The fact that he had shot at Youngwoon so suddenly, despite his intent so centred on Sungmin, only alluded to the damage and chaos he could cause.
“Why don’t you just kill me?” Sungmin questioned, “What’s taking you so long to pull that trigger and shoot me?”
“I have tried to shoot you,” the young man grounded out,
“Then why waste bullets on someone else? Why not try your luck with your remaining bullets on me? I only have one dagger left, who’s to say you don’t get lucky and actually shoot your target dead on?” Sungmin taunted, hoping the little confidence that allowed him to say such words was not misplaced.
“You can still walk away,” Youngwoon interjected, “You can still drop the gun… it doesn’t… it doesn’t have to keep getting worse.”
“I’ve already killed twice, there is no ‘getting worse’ than that. If I drop this gun, I’ll go to prison anyway,” the young man argued, “I might as well make being incarcerated worth it.”
“No, that’s not how it’ll happen,” Youngwoon insisted,
“What are you doing!?” Sungmin demanded, not talking his eyes off the younger man,
“You’ve been so concentrated on him, you forgot about us,” Youngwoon stated,
“Youngwoon, shut up!”
“My friend here hasn’t lowered his gun even an inch,” Youngwoon confessed. He watched Donghae’s eyes widen slightly, but kept them on the young man.
The young man, as if he really did forget about the other, briefly glanced at Donghae to confirm what the bar owner revealed, “If he shoots at me, I’ll shoot too!”
“He won’t shoot unless you shoot,” Youngwoon stated,
“Youngwoon, stay out of this!” Sungmin practically growled, what was his best friend doing, saying?
“And that’s why, you should put your gun down and not kill anyone,” Youngwoon said,
“Don’t listen to him; he’s just trying to distract you from killing me!” Sungmin exclaimed, “You’re wasting time, aren’t you? You should just shoot me, shouldn’t you?”
“If you shoot, this guy will shoot you,” Youngwoon warned, “What good will it do you to be dead?”
“YOUNGWOON, SHUT THE HELL UP!” Sungmin roared,
“I could say the same to you!” Youngwoon retorted angrily, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white.
“You think I give a damn if he kills me? I killed his brother! I was the reason he targeted Yesung. I was the reason Yesung got distracted that night,” Sungmin recounted and then bellowed, “YOU ALREADY KILLED YESUNG, SO JUST KILL ME ALREADY!”
“DO YOU WANT TO DIE THAT MUCH!?” Youngwoon demanded, his fists slamming on top of the counter.
Silence fell amongst the four young men and for, a moment, Sungmin wasn’t sure who Youngwoon was directing that question to. However, he didn’t have to think for very long because the young man broke the silence first.
“STOP TRYING TO CONFUSE ME!” He yelled, taking a step back.
Sungmin tensed immediately. That was the first defensive move the young man had made. Was he really backing down? Or just trying to lure him into a trap? Worse yet, he could tell the young man was descending faster and faster into his own dark insanity. If they waited much longer, he may lose the last of his control and go on a rampage with his remaining bullets. He may have his dagger for some semblance of protection and Donghae may have his own gun but, he was fully aware that Youngwoon was unarmed.
“I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO DO! YOU’RE TRYING TO CONFUSE ME SO I WON’T SHOOT ANYONE, BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” He warned, despite taking another half-step back.
Sungmin couldn’t wait anymore and, he was half-worried Youngwoon would say more, further confusing the young man. He lunged through the air at the young man, his arm raised, holding the dagger upside-down as a shield for his face. The young man reacted as he predicted.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sungmin slumped to the floor, his body hunched over for just a moment before it toppled to the side and he was motionless.
“SUNGMIN!” Youngwoon and Donghae cried in unison.
They waited, prayed for some signal or sign that Sungmin was still alive. However, all they got were crimson trails sneaking out from beneath Sungmin’s body. Donghae felt the onslaught of tears immediately, fought against them, knowing if his vision was compromised, he wouldn’t be able to avenge Yesung’s and, now, Sungmin’s deaths. He gripped the gun even harder, narrowed his eyes and took aim.
Youngwoon felt his heart freeze the moment he heard the gunshots. No, no, no, this can’t be happening. His mind flashed with happy images of his best friend from when they trained together, from later on when they worked together at the bar. No, no, no, it can’t end like this. They couldn’t lose another friend. No, not after fighting so hard for so long. He felt a cold resolve sweep through his body. He didn’t care he wasn’t armed, he couldn’t be idle anymore. He couldn’t keep running from what he was trained to do. Grabbing a knife from the counter, Youngwoon vaulted the bar counter only to freeze,
“I still have one more bullet in this gun,” the young man aimed it at him, kicking aside the lifeless body and stepping towards the bar owner, his shoes leaving bloody footprints on the floor, “I can finish my revenge.”
“Not unless I kill you first,” Youngwoon said darkly, ruthlessly. He was done trying to reason, he was done trying to talk sense. No, not as his best friend lay dead on the ground, the floorboards inked with his young blood. No, he was trained to be an Assassin and so, he would come full circle and kill the brother of his first mission.
“Don’t forget about me,” Donghae replied angrily, “I won’t let you get away for what you’ve done… what you just did… I WON’T LET YOU LEAVE HERE ALIVE!”
“Don’t get into other people’s business… you have nothing to do with this… I just want him dead,” the young man said, his voice rough, edgy and thick with anger, his dark eyes alight with triumph so close in his grasp.
“I tried to save you, tried to save your life but you had to go and shoot…. And kill…” Youngwoon shook his head, “I tried to save your mother some grief this time around, but you wouldn’t let me, would you!? No, you had to go too far!”
“MY MOTHER DIED THE DAY YOU KILLED MY BROTHER! You think she cared about anything – anyone – else after that!? I was sixteen and she abandoned me for alcohol! EVERYTHING MY FAMILY HAS BEEN THROUGH HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF YOU!” The young man roared angrily.
BANG!
A dagger and a bullet dropped to the ground, right in the middle between Youngwoon and the young man. Suddenly, the gun dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The young man fell to his knees, a knife stuck in his chest, just a little left to his sternum, perfectly horizontally between his ribs. Trembling, he slowly looked down at the knife impaling him. It had been thrown, whipped sideways so that it hit him horizontally. The aim had been precise, the impact decisive.
Slowly, he looked up at Youngwoon, whose hand was still outstretched from throwing the knife. “You said… you tried… to save my life,” the young man stammered as pain slashed throughout his body, his strength draining quickly and his vision blurring dangerously, “But my life… ended… five years…”
The young man fell to the ground and spoke no more.
Youngwoon’s eyes travelled from the young man’s body to the floor between them, the dagger and bullet. Suddenly, he ran to Sungmin’s side. The younger man was propped up on an elbow, one arm slung across his abdomen, “You… I thought you…”
“And if you ever trained… with Yesung… you would’ve heard… me breathing,” Sungmin muttered, wincing against the pain that burned in his abdomen and arm.
“Where did he shoot you!? Lay back down!” Donghae cried as he replaced his gun and ran over to his friends,
“Well he tried… for my head… again,” Sungmin said as he allowed them to lay him back down on the floor, “He was still predictable, but I had… a feel his anger would… affect aim. Deflected bullets… two to stomach… one in arm… again.” He squeezed his eyes closed tightly as he gulped for air, “I’m sorry… Yesung… I can’t… join you after all.” He glanced up at the faces of his two friends, “There are… still people who… aren’t dead… Have to live… for them.”
Youngwoon let out a strangled laugh as tears began to spill down his cheeks. His restricted heart suddenly felt free and light. He bent over Sungmin, embracing him as best he could without hurting the younger man. He had almost lost Jungsu once, had lost Yesung already and, to think, he almost lost his best friend… He felt such warm relief that he cried even harder.
Donghae, so affected by the tough bar owner’s tears, had to turn away. He took out his cellular phone, dialled and held it up to his ear, “This is Agent Lee, Department Head for International Intelligence and Defence. I have one agent down and target dead. Location is in Seoul’s former neutral territory…”
…
The lights were dim in the room, a small handful of men and women sitting at a metal table. The metal table between them had many papers scattered before each sitting place. Hanging above the table was a large sheet of glass which acted as a computer screen as Donghae, who headed the meeting, displayed his facts and report, signalling the end of the case.
“It seems that as means for money, the younger brother got into bad business in Japan and began doing the same thing his brother did here in Korea. The Japanese Agency found out and had been tracking him since, even when he returned to Korea to continue searching for Agent Lee Sungmin and former-Agent Kim Youngwoon,” Donghae explained, the large sheet of glass displaying pictures and information he had been putting together. He had left the bar and returned to the Agency and had been there since.
He glanced down at the two folders before him, each with a small photograph paper-clipped to the front. One was Agent Miura and the other was Yesung’s, “His mother has been called and, this time, she’ll be informed of everything that happened, including the case of her older son’s exploits. If she understands the Agency’s reasoning for assassinating her older son and the reason her other son is now also dead, it will hopefully, help her to begin to heal or, at least, to continue living with their ghosts.
“Former-Agent Kim Yesung had been targeted because of his connection to Agent Lee Sungmin,” A picture of Yesung, Shiwon and Agent Miura appeared on the screen, “Choi Shiwon had been targeted by mistake. Presumably, the younger brother had been watching the bar, lying in wait for Kim Youngwoon. When Choi Shiwon exited, he must have assumed it was Kim Youngwoon. However, when it turned out to be Choi Shiwon instead, the younger brother had already killed Agent Miura. Instead of trying to kill Choi Shiwon, he framed him and escaped,” Donghae continued.
“How did you find out who the murderer was?” One of the other agents present questioned,
Donghae pulled up images of Yesung and Agent Miura’s wounds on the screen, “If you pay attention to the abdominal wounds of both former-Agent Kim Yesung and Agent Miura Haruma, you’ll see that there is a coarse jagged pattern in the way the wounds are formed. Agent Lee Sungmin was examining the photos when he realized the familiarity of the wound patterns. He matched it to the wound patterns of victims he had seen five years prior, the assailant being the older brother who was Agent Lee Sungmin and former-Agent Kim Youngwoon’s first Assassination mission.”
“How did you manage to trap the younger brother? It seemed easy – too easy,” another agent commented, no suspiciousness in his tone, just a simple stating of the facts,
“Myself and Agent Lee Sungmin approached former-Agent Kim Youngwoon and told him our findings. Together, the three of us devised a plan. Former-Agent Kim Youngwoon would open his bar, presumably after days without business while I and Agent Lee Sungmin waited in the back for our murderer to appear,” Donghae shrugged, a little grin breaking his solemn expression, “It did seem too easy, but it was our only plan at the time and we had nothing to lose. Fortunately, the plan worked and we were able to ambush the younger brother… In this case, the easiest solution was the right one.”
“You’ve all read the reports by myself and Agent Lee Sungmin,” Donghae stated, “Are there any other questions?”
When all answered ‘no’, Donghae turned to one of the agents closes to him, his vice-head, “Status on Agent Lee Sungmin?”
“He was treated in our infirmary and ready for discharge,” she answered,
Donghae blinked, “Really? He was shot four times and he’s ready to leave? Lucky bastard!”
Some agents stifled their laughs as his vice-head explained, “Bullet extraction was successful. He was put on blood transfusions and antibiotics immediately after. He’s still healing and still weak, but he’s refusing to stay put. He threatened to kill our doctors and nurses if they didn’t release him from the infirmary by day’s end.”
Donghae laughed softly as he turned off the computer, the images dissolving from the hanging glass sheet. The lights turned on as he stacked his files together and then enfolded them in a dark-brown folder, large, red print on the front reading ‘Complete’. “Status on Choi Shiwon?”
“Released from holding,” his vice-head answered swiftly,
“Status on Agent Park Jungsu?”
“Apparently he’s being released later today,” his vice-head said uncertainly, glancing at the other agents who were equally surprised,
“Any information as to why he was put on lockdown or why, suddenly, he’s being released?” Donghae questioned,
His vice-head shook her head, “None, sir. These are just the reports being released from the Chief from just before the meeting.”
“Very well… take the reports and the transcription from this meeting. Make three copies, one for myself, your files and deliver the last to the Chief,” Donghae instructed. He glanced to the other agents, the Head and vice-Head from the Assassination Department and the vice-Head from Covert Investigations. “Meeting adjourned.” Donghae handed his brown folder to his vice-Head, “Leave this on my desk for me, please.”
He waited until the room was empty and then, slowly, he sank to his chair. He propped his elbows on his thighs and then arched downwards, his head curling to his chest as his hands laced over the back of his head, holding it down. So much had happened and he was exhausted. Everyone had been affected from one plot for revenge. All it had taken was one young man’s desire for revenge to change all of their lives. Yesung had been murdered, Shiwon had been framed and even Jungsu had been placed under lockdown. The last one couldn’t have been in the young man’s plans and yet, Donghae had a feeling all three were connected to the mission.
He had been trained to never get emotionally involved in a mission and yet, last night, it had happened. It was hard enough to push away his feelings after Yesung died, but last night when he saw Sungmin drop to the floor, his hold was slipping. In that moment when he believed – truly, in his soul, believed – that Sungmin was also dead, he stopped caring about the mission. He didn’t care if it was ever resolved, or if he went against any Agency policies. All he cared about was killing that young man and getting his own revenge. Donghae shuddered then, could he enact revenge as that young man had been doing on him and his friends?
Warm, large hands cupped his shoulders, slowly spinning his chair to face the side. He felt a warm presence before him and, slowly, raised his head. Shiwon was kneeling before him, a smile dimpling his cheeks.
“It’s over,” Shiwon said simply, softly.
That broke the last of his hold. He was so tired, so very tired. He was physically, emotionally and mentally drained from the entire mission, from all the events. He cried heavily, gasping for gulps of air as Shiwon wrapped him in a firm embrace. Donghae cried into his shoulder, held onto him tightly as if he were Donghae’s last grasp on reality, on the present, on life.
“You always were a cry baby,” Shiwon teased lightly, gently, trying to soften the mood.
Somehow, through his tears, through his purge, Donghae managed, “Shut up or I’ll kill you.”
…
Sungmin left the infirmary with silent and scared doctors and nurses behind him. He had threatened them and was still wondering if he was serious or not. He entered the waiting room outside of the Agency’s infirmary looking for Youngwoon, knowing his best friend was waiting for him. He was wearing black slacks and he only managed to slip on his short-sleeved button-up onto his arms, not bothering with an undershirt. His abdomen was bandaged heavily, as was his left forearm. As he spotted Youngwoon talking to a middle-aged woman, he tried to button his shirt with just one hand.
The sound of a slap was crisp in the waiting room.
Sungmin froze, his right hand loosely holding the halves of his shirt together. Youngwoon slowly straightened from his ninety-degree bow, his cheek red. The older woman slowly collapsed into a nearby chair, crying hysterically, her sobs echoing in the waiting room and radiating down the halls and even into the infirmary.
Youngwoon murmured more words to her, but he doubted if she heard any of them. He wasn’t even sure she heard most of what he said before she slapped him. What he did know, without a doubt, was that she heard him say he had been the one to kill both of her sons. Slowly, he turned and walked away, leaving other Agents to finish the explanations. He spotted Sungmin and walked over,
“That’s their mother… isn’t it?” Sungmin asked, beginning to button his shirt again,
Youngwoon nodded. He glanced over his shoulder before continuing to walk away, “I saw her and recognized her from the first son’s funeral… I thought perhaps she should know who it was that ended the lives of both of her sons.”
“That was… brave of you,” Sungmin stated,
“I had to attempt to make peace with her… I can’t do any more than that,” Youngwoon shrugged. He was a silent a moment before glancing sideways at the younger man, “I can’t believe you actually convinced them to let you go after only a few hours after surgery.”
“I was very convincing,” Sungmin replied swiftly,
“Very threatening more likely,” Youngwoon shook his head with a soft chuckle, “You’ve changed so much since our training days… to think how blasé and confident of an Agent you are now.”
“I had to change,” Sungmin shrugged, “If I was to continue as an Agent after you left… especially after you left. That first mission… I wouldn’t have succeeded if you weren’t there.”
“It was both of our first times,” Youngwoon shrugged, then added, “By the way, why did you tell that kid yesterday that you were the one who killed his brother? You and I both know it was me who did it, despite what our reports say from five years ago.”
“You weren’t armed, Youngwoon. If he was going to kill one of us, he might as well focus on the one who can actually fight back,” Sungmin stated, “And in the end you still killed him…”
“And you put in your report that I didn’t and told Donghae to do the same, why? Again?” Youngwoon questioned,
“We may know who really killed the brothers… but in the eyes of everyone else, I’d rather have the mark of the Assassin, than you,” Sungmin replied, “You left the Agency after our first mission, I didn’t want the stain of blood to follow you.”
Youngwoon was silent a moment before stating quietly, “Thank you.”
Sungmin smiled at him, genuinely smiled at him. They were silent before Sungmin asked, “Where are we going?”
“Down to the holding rooms… Jungsu’s being released,” Youngwoon stated, eyes narrowing and hands fisting at his sides,
“Do you know why he was put on lockdown in the first place?” Sungmin inquired,
“No, the Chief didn’t say a damn – wait… those are their voices,” Youngwoon stopped immediately from turning the corner. He and Sungmin stood there, silently listening.
“You better put everything to right, Chief!” Jungsu’s voice stated, “The whole Agency probably thinks I deflected! Must I go through the strife you put Yesung through!?”
“Stop being so dramatic. I’ll release a statement and everything will go back to normal,” the Chief replied flippantly,
“It’s that easy to just control everything? You do things, decide things on your own without a damn care for anyone else involved! Do you have any idea what your decisions have done to people!? It ruined Yesung’s life – he was almost assassinated a number of times – not to mention recently and now my own reputation is damaged –”
“Damaged, but not irreparable. It can be fixed,” the Chief interrupted.
“And what if this case hadn’t been solved!? What if it continued on for longer? Would you have continued to lie to everyone? Huh? Would you have kept it all to yourself as the rest of us suffered!?” Jungsu demanded angrily,
“Watch your words, Agent Park. I am still the Chief here,” the older man’s voice cut like a physical blade.
“Yes, sir,” Jungsu grounded out.
Youngwoon and Sungmin rounded the corner. Both Agents turned to them, both involved in the conversation, neither sensed the presence of others. “What have you been lying about now?” Youngwoon demanded of the Chief, approaching them with Sungmin at his side.
“Sungmin!” Jungsu called suddenly,
“You’ve been lying to me? About what?” Sungmin looked at the Chief, confused.
“Yesung’s still alive,” Jungsu stated, throwing a hate-filled gaze at the Chief.
“WHAT!?” Youngwoon roared at the middle-aged man,
“That… that can’t… I saw him… I saw him!” Sungmin stammered,
Jungsu shook his head, “We moved away, remember? We didn’t… not really, but we just assumed he did! I got reports from financing and saw that the Agency was sending money to Seoul General Hospital in steady payments since Yesung’s presumed-death day. When I was arrested, I was sneaking into the Chief’s office to find out more information.”
Sungmin was silent, too stunned and startled to say anything. Youngwoon, sensing his silence, glared angrily at the Chief, “We saw his body at the funeral!”
“A body double,” the Chief said flippantly, “Very easy to arrange with my position and power.”
“Just as easy as to manipulate the lives of your Agents!?” Youngwoon demanded. He went to lunge at the Chief when Jungsu restrained him immediately, “Let me go, Jungsu. He deserves what’s coming to him! After all we’ve been through! Sungmin, for God’s sake… everything the Chief’s made him suffer!”
“You’re all making a mountain out of a molehill,” the Chief brushed aside their angry words and expressions, “I did what I had to do. I knew that if Agent Lee thought Kim Yesung was dead, then he would dedicate himself to the mission and that it would be resolved even quicker. And look, I was right.”
“By chance,” Sungmin grounded out, “What if I had killed myself instead!? WHAT THEN!?”
“You wouldn’t have killed yourself,” the Chief waved aside his hostile words,
“You don’t know what the hell I would have done!” Sungmin exclaimed. Quick as lightning, his fist made fierce contact with the Chief’s jaw.
The Chief stumbled backwards, even falling onto his behind, clutching his jaw, “AGENT LEE!”
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you,” Sungmin spat darkly, icily. He turned on his heel and began walking back from where he came, “Consider this my resignation.”
Jungsu, throwing the Chief a grinning look, followed, a fuming Youngwoon at his side.
…
They opened the door to Yesung’s hospital room. Late afternoon sunlight poured into the private room and onto the single bad. The body in the bed was someone none of them believed they would ever see again. The room was silent, save for the soft beeping of the heart monitor. Wires connected Yesung to different machines that monitored his vitals, and an IV line was sending him an assortment of medication to keep his health stable as he recuperated.
Slowly, Sungmin stepped into the room, tentative, scared, as if any minute this dream would fade away and he would wake up cold and lonely and Yesung would still be dead. Donghae and Shiwon (who they got on their way out of the Agency) and Jungsu and Youngwoon, waited by the door, silently slipping just inside the doorway as they watched. None dared to breathe, dared to make sudden moves, dared to even hope, even with the proof right before them.
Sungmin felt so many emotions at once, he couldn’t name them all, couldn’t acknowledge them all. His anger at the Chief slowly faded from his mind, replaced by the astounding relief that Yesung was, in fact, still alive. Endless hours and countless days of never-ending tears hit Sungmin again with full force as he reached Yesung’s bedside. He cried, the tears pouring from his dark eyes as he barely repressed the sobs that threatened to choke him.
He stood there, willing Yesung to open his eyes, to wake up, but he didn’t hope too much. The nurses told him that Yesung had been unconscious since he was brought in, that they weren’t sure if he would ever wake up despite his miraculous victory over a close death. He swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat as he reached out with trembling hands, grabbing the hand nearest to him, the one without the IV line in it.
He held it gently at first, simply relishing in the warmth, in the feel of Yesung’s hand that he was sure, so sure, he would never feel again. He was angry at the Chief for lying to him and angry at himself for never realizing, never suspecting. So caught up in his own grief, in his own sorrow, that his mind had been clouded, fractured, unable to see the clues before him, not even able to see past the disguise of the body double at the funeral. He should have known. He should have sensed. His grief revisited him anew and he realized how blinded he had been.
Slowly, ever so slowly, as if scared to break the dream reality before him, he tightened his hold on Yesung’s hand. He fell to his knees at the bedside, pressing the back of Yesung’s hand against his tears, imprinting the feel and allowing himself to finally – finally! – believe that Yesung was not dead.
He cried then. Cried real, soul-deep, heart-wrenching cries that shook his small frame. They echoed in the room, touching, enveloping everyone there. He cried out of relief, cried out of happiness, cried out of love. He cried for regaining his light, his happiness, his love. He cried for regaining the other half of his life, his soul, his heart.
Everything that had happened, melted away, briefly pushed from his mind as all his thoughts, all his emotions, all his intentions focused on the man lying before him. His heart beat again, slowly at first, as if it hadn’t beat in so long. He felt it beat strongly, surely and knew, just instinctively, that it was in time with Yesung’s.
He clutched Yesung’s hand, pressing trembling lips against it, reverently, lovingly. Suddenly, he felt the weak pressure of his hand being squeezed back. His eyes darted to Yesung’s, but they were still closed and his vitals had all remained the same. But he had felt it, he was sure. He laughed quietly through the tears as he stood, leaning over Yesung.
With his free hand, he brushed the hair back from Yesung’s forehead. He brushed his lips against the other’s, “Wake up, Yesung… Come back to me.” Then, he whispered, breathed the words from the first night he surrendered to Yesung, “It’s just about you and me.”
First, he heard it, the deeper breaths rather than the shallow puffs of slumber. Then he watched as awareness slowly slipped into every line of Yesung’s face. Then, slowly, slowly, his eyes opened, their dark depths cloudy and dull before, eventually, lighting with recognition. Distantly, Sungmin could hear the collective gasps of his friends, but he was concentrated on Yesung.
Yesung locked gazes with him, his dark eyes searching, reading and understanding the emotions playing across Sungmin’s face and eyes. Finally, he attempted a small smile as he promised, “You and me.”
“Always.”
(Epilogue)
words: 6300
(Last of the Shatter series which is a sequel to the Surrender and Succesion series.)
“YOU BASTARD!” The young guy gripped the gun even harder, his finger trembling on the trigger as his eyes narrowed dangerously, his face reddening with anger.
“You’re right,” Sungmin shrugged as he gripped his daggers. It had been so long since he held them, had to use them, but almost immediately they became an extension of his arms. He was trained for this, he was ready. “I am a bastard. I received orders to assassinate your brother five years ago and I did it.”
“Sungmin –”
Donghae kept one hand on his gun, but stretched out the other to silence Youngwoon, “No… he needs to do this. That look on his face… he has something to prove, something to accomplish from this… he needs to fight this guy or else he’ll continue living with his demons.”
Youngwoon gripped the edge of the bar counter, not believing he was allowing Sungmin to fight alone. They had both been assigned that mission five years ago when they first became real Agents. He remembered it well:
It was morning when they got the manila envelopes and the mission was to take place that evening. If he recalled correctly, he had been the excited one, the anticipatory one. Sungmin, on the other hand, had been nervous, anxious, worried he would fail the mission. They had been together since they both entered the Agency and trained together. They always sparred together, trained together, studied together. They had become fast friends, which ultimately had sealed their fates of being partners once they were Agents.
The mission was to assassinate a young businessman. He was an intern in the governmental buildings of Seoul. However, it was soon learned that information from the government was being leaked to unsavoury characters in Seoul. Worse of all, it was suspected that information was being sent north of the border between the Koreas. The Agency found out that the businessman had gained his information by threatening key people in the governmental buildings. Then, once they gave up their information, he would kill them anyway. After all, he couldn’t have any witnesses to his deeds.
The businessman had to be stopped at all costs. The Agency had tried to arrest him before, but if they made a public arrest, that meant revealing to the rest of Korea the existence of that branch of the government. Their proof was decisive against the businessman and so, they decided to leave his demise to their Assassination department.
Shortly after eight in the evening, Youngwoon and Sungmin had gone to the apartment building, managing to slip into the building after someone was leaving, even holding the door open for the pair of seemingly innocent young men. They had made a beeline to the stairs, bypassing the elevator and barely registering the security camera on the roof. They reached his floor, but stayed inside the stairwell.
Youngwoon had barely glanced at Sungmin as he headed to a window in the stairwell. He pulled it open and began climbing out of it without a backward glance at his younger friend. Sungmin peered out the window, watching as Youngwoon began to inch sideways on the wall, lunging from the windowsill to the closest balcony. He almost missed, gripping the top of the railing with one hand. With a suppressed groan, Youngwoon pulled himself up. He glanced inside the balcony’s glass doors, but the curtains were drawn. He silently hopped onto the balcony, crossed it with all speed to its other side and, without a thought, leapt to the other balcony, his hands grasping the railing securely.
Sungmin had watched until Youngwoon was about five balconies away. Youngwoon finally looked back at him across the great distance and signalled for him to proceed. Sungmin closed the window and left the stairwell, stepping into the corridor with all the confidence that he lived there to dispel any suspicions of his presence should anyone see him. He slowly walked down the corridor, gripping his hands to stop himself from shaking too badly. Then, half-way down the hallway, a door opened and Youngwoon’s bald head appeared. His friend signalled for him to quickly join him. They were in.
The sounds from the bathroom told them where their target was and the running water told them they had some cover for any noises they might accidentally make. From that point on, all it took was a surprise entry on the target and a quick bullet to the head. Soon, the shower’s hot water was mixing with the red liquid seeping from the target’s head. They had closed his door and left, this time, a more direct route than their entry.
BANG!
The gunshot ripped Youngwoon from his memories. He came back to the present just as he saw Sungmin do quick movements with his daggers. He heard the distinct clink of metal on metal. The sound told him Sungmin had intercepted the bullet. The angry red line that was now bleed on the apple of Sungmin’s left cheek told him that the bullet still managed to graze his face. Close, too close. The young man was shooting to kill.
Suddenly, Sungmin lunged at the younger man, crossing his daggers in an X and forcing the top apex beneath the gun, angling upwards to the ceiling. He met the younger man’s eyes directly and could see the anger, the intent. He had killed many people in his career as an Assassin, and he had come across that look before but, this time, it held something different, seemed more personal, more narrowed to just him.
“Your brother was a traitor and a murderer! He was giving information to South Korea’s enemies! There was even proof he was sending information to North Korea! Do you not understand how dangerous that is!?” Sungmin demanded, struggling with the younger man who was trying to free his gun, but Sungmin kept pressing him, pushing him back.
“Then arrest him! You didn’t have to kill him!”
“He had to be stopped. He knew too much. He had to be silenced,” Sungmin stated, his voice deadly flat, all remnants of the bartender Youngwoon and Donghae knew was gone. “He placed himself before the country, before you and your mother.”
“DON’T TALK LIKE YOU GAVE A DAMN ABOUT MY FAMILY!” The young man roared, using his anger to fuel his strength. He managed to shove Sungmin back, aiming the gun at him again, “YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT MY BROTHER’S DEATH DID TO US!”
BANG!
Sungmin shifted his arm. For a moment, it felt as if time slowed down. He wasn’t sure if he was already dead, or going insane, but he was sure he saw the bullet. He saw as it grazed against the dagger he drew up, saw as it sparked from the metal-on-metal friction. It slid along the dagger before continuing, this time, not to his head, but into his forearm. He felt the burning pain right down to his bones, but he bit down hard to stop from crying out.
“SUNGMIN!” Youngwoon cried out. He turned ruthless eyes on Donghae but was startled then. Donghae’s entire body was tense, his gaze focused on the pair. What surprised Youngwoon, however, was that Donghae’s gun was still raised, still aimed at the young man. He could tell Donghae was biting down hard, his jaw stiff and then, realized for all of Donghae’s words, the younger man was having just as much trouble just standing back and watching.
“JUST STOP THIS!” Youngwoon exclaimed then, “What will killing do for you!? You’ll just get arrested afterwards anyway for murder. Is it worth it? Is this all worth your freedom!?”
“DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT FREEDOM WHEN YOU TOOK MY BROTHER’S LIFE!” The young man yelled, swinging his gun towards Youngwoon and shooting wildly.
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, a dagger and a bullet were on the ground, dropping directly from the air where they crashed together. Sungmin immediately stepped between the shooter and Youngwoon. He was down to one dagger, which was all he needed to protect himself, but a second dagger would be more security. However, he didn’t dare risk bending and picking up the other dagger, he’d be too vulnerable, too open to another attack from above.
His left hand, the one with the dagger and the one that had been shot, was burning fiercely and it took a chunk of Sungmin’s strength just to keep holding it up. He had to finish this and do it fast. He watched the young man and could see that he was slowly losing his control on his own anger. If he didn’t finish it fast, the young man would grow unpredictable. The fact that he had shot at Youngwoon so suddenly, despite his intent so centred on Sungmin, only alluded to the damage and chaos he could cause.
“Why don’t you just kill me?” Sungmin questioned, “What’s taking you so long to pull that trigger and shoot me?”
“I have tried to shoot you,” the young man grounded out,
“Then why waste bullets on someone else? Why not try your luck with your remaining bullets on me? I only have one dagger left, who’s to say you don’t get lucky and actually shoot your target dead on?” Sungmin taunted, hoping the little confidence that allowed him to say such words was not misplaced.
“You can still walk away,” Youngwoon interjected, “You can still drop the gun… it doesn’t… it doesn’t have to keep getting worse.”
“I’ve already killed twice, there is no ‘getting worse’ than that. If I drop this gun, I’ll go to prison anyway,” the young man argued, “I might as well make being incarcerated worth it.”
“No, that’s not how it’ll happen,” Youngwoon insisted,
“What are you doing!?” Sungmin demanded, not talking his eyes off the younger man,
“You’ve been so concentrated on him, you forgot about us,” Youngwoon stated,
“Youngwoon, shut up!”
“My friend here hasn’t lowered his gun even an inch,” Youngwoon confessed. He watched Donghae’s eyes widen slightly, but kept them on the young man.
The young man, as if he really did forget about the other, briefly glanced at Donghae to confirm what the bar owner revealed, “If he shoots at me, I’ll shoot too!”
“He won’t shoot unless you shoot,” Youngwoon stated,
“Youngwoon, stay out of this!” Sungmin practically growled, what was his best friend doing, saying?
“And that’s why, you should put your gun down and not kill anyone,” Youngwoon said,
“Don’t listen to him; he’s just trying to distract you from killing me!” Sungmin exclaimed, “You’re wasting time, aren’t you? You should just shoot me, shouldn’t you?”
“If you shoot, this guy will shoot you,” Youngwoon warned, “What good will it do you to be dead?”
“YOUNGWOON, SHUT THE HELL UP!” Sungmin roared,
“I could say the same to you!” Youngwoon retorted angrily, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white.
“You think I give a damn if he kills me? I killed his brother! I was the reason he targeted Yesung. I was the reason Yesung got distracted that night,” Sungmin recounted and then bellowed, “YOU ALREADY KILLED YESUNG, SO JUST KILL ME ALREADY!”
“DO YOU WANT TO DIE THAT MUCH!?” Youngwoon demanded, his fists slamming on top of the counter.
Silence fell amongst the four young men and for, a moment, Sungmin wasn’t sure who Youngwoon was directing that question to. However, he didn’t have to think for very long because the young man broke the silence first.
“STOP TRYING TO CONFUSE ME!” He yelled, taking a step back.
Sungmin tensed immediately. That was the first defensive move the young man had made. Was he really backing down? Or just trying to lure him into a trap? Worse yet, he could tell the young man was descending faster and faster into his own dark insanity. If they waited much longer, he may lose the last of his control and go on a rampage with his remaining bullets. He may have his dagger for some semblance of protection and Donghae may have his own gun but, he was fully aware that Youngwoon was unarmed.
“I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO DO! YOU’RE TRYING TO CONFUSE ME SO I WON’T SHOOT ANYONE, BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” He warned, despite taking another half-step back.
Sungmin couldn’t wait anymore and, he was half-worried Youngwoon would say more, further confusing the young man. He lunged through the air at the young man, his arm raised, holding the dagger upside-down as a shield for his face. The young man reacted as he predicted.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sungmin slumped to the floor, his body hunched over for just a moment before it toppled to the side and he was motionless.
“SUNGMIN!” Youngwoon and Donghae cried in unison.
They waited, prayed for some signal or sign that Sungmin was still alive. However, all they got were crimson trails sneaking out from beneath Sungmin’s body. Donghae felt the onslaught of tears immediately, fought against them, knowing if his vision was compromised, he wouldn’t be able to avenge Yesung’s and, now, Sungmin’s deaths. He gripped the gun even harder, narrowed his eyes and took aim.
Youngwoon felt his heart freeze the moment he heard the gunshots. No, no, no, this can’t be happening. His mind flashed with happy images of his best friend from when they trained together, from later on when they worked together at the bar. No, no, no, it can’t end like this. They couldn’t lose another friend. No, not after fighting so hard for so long. He felt a cold resolve sweep through his body. He didn’t care he wasn’t armed, he couldn’t be idle anymore. He couldn’t keep running from what he was trained to do. Grabbing a knife from the counter, Youngwoon vaulted the bar counter only to freeze,
“I still have one more bullet in this gun,” the young man aimed it at him, kicking aside the lifeless body and stepping towards the bar owner, his shoes leaving bloody footprints on the floor, “I can finish my revenge.”
“Not unless I kill you first,” Youngwoon said darkly, ruthlessly. He was done trying to reason, he was done trying to talk sense. No, not as his best friend lay dead on the ground, the floorboards inked with his young blood. No, he was trained to be an Assassin and so, he would come full circle and kill the brother of his first mission.
“Don’t forget about me,” Donghae replied angrily, “I won’t let you get away for what you’ve done… what you just did… I WON’T LET YOU LEAVE HERE ALIVE!”
“Don’t get into other people’s business… you have nothing to do with this… I just want him dead,” the young man said, his voice rough, edgy and thick with anger, his dark eyes alight with triumph so close in his grasp.
“I tried to save you, tried to save your life but you had to go and shoot…. And kill…” Youngwoon shook his head, “I tried to save your mother some grief this time around, but you wouldn’t let me, would you!? No, you had to go too far!”
“MY MOTHER DIED THE DAY YOU KILLED MY BROTHER! You think she cared about anything – anyone – else after that!? I was sixteen and she abandoned me for alcohol! EVERYTHING MY FAMILY HAS BEEN THROUGH HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF YOU!” The young man roared angrily.
BANG!
A dagger and a bullet dropped to the ground, right in the middle between Youngwoon and the young man. Suddenly, the gun dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The young man fell to his knees, a knife stuck in his chest, just a little left to his sternum, perfectly horizontally between his ribs. Trembling, he slowly looked down at the knife impaling him. It had been thrown, whipped sideways so that it hit him horizontally. The aim had been precise, the impact decisive.
Slowly, he looked up at Youngwoon, whose hand was still outstretched from throwing the knife. “You said… you tried… to save my life,” the young man stammered as pain slashed throughout his body, his strength draining quickly and his vision blurring dangerously, “But my life… ended… five years…”
The young man fell to the ground and spoke no more.
Youngwoon’s eyes travelled from the young man’s body to the floor between them, the dagger and bullet. Suddenly, he ran to Sungmin’s side. The younger man was propped up on an elbow, one arm slung across his abdomen, “You… I thought you…”
“And if you ever trained… with Yesung… you would’ve heard… me breathing,” Sungmin muttered, wincing against the pain that burned in his abdomen and arm.
“Where did he shoot you!? Lay back down!” Donghae cried as he replaced his gun and ran over to his friends,
“Well he tried… for my head… again,” Sungmin said as he allowed them to lay him back down on the floor, “He was still predictable, but I had… a feel his anger would… affect aim. Deflected bullets… two to stomach… one in arm… again.” He squeezed his eyes closed tightly as he gulped for air, “I’m sorry… Yesung… I can’t… join you after all.” He glanced up at the faces of his two friends, “There are… still people who… aren’t dead… Have to live… for them.”
Youngwoon let out a strangled laugh as tears began to spill down his cheeks. His restricted heart suddenly felt free and light. He bent over Sungmin, embracing him as best he could without hurting the younger man. He had almost lost Jungsu once, had lost Yesung already and, to think, he almost lost his best friend… He felt such warm relief that he cried even harder.
Donghae, so affected by the tough bar owner’s tears, had to turn away. He took out his cellular phone, dialled and held it up to his ear, “This is Agent Lee, Department Head for International Intelligence and Defence. I have one agent down and target dead. Location is in Seoul’s former neutral territory…”
…
The lights were dim in the room, a small handful of men and women sitting at a metal table. The metal table between them had many papers scattered before each sitting place. Hanging above the table was a large sheet of glass which acted as a computer screen as Donghae, who headed the meeting, displayed his facts and report, signalling the end of the case.
“It seems that as means for money, the younger brother got into bad business in Japan and began doing the same thing his brother did here in Korea. The Japanese Agency found out and had been tracking him since, even when he returned to Korea to continue searching for Agent Lee Sungmin and former-Agent Kim Youngwoon,” Donghae explained, the large sheet of glass displaying pictures and information he had been putting together. He had left the bar and returned to the Agency and had been there since.
He glanced down at the two folders before him, each with a small photograph paper-clipped to the front. One was Agent Miura and the other was Yesung’s, “His mother has been called and, this time, she’ll be informed of everything that happened, including the case of her older son’s exploits. If she understands the Agency’s reasoning for assassinating her older son and the reason her other son is now also dead, it will hopefully, help her to begin to heal or, at least, to continue living with their ghosts.
“Former-Agent Kim Yesung had been targeted because of his connection to Agent Lee Sungmin,” A picture of Yesung, Shiwon and Agent Miura appeared on the screen, “Choi Shiwon had been targeted by mistake. Presumably, the younger brother had been watching the bar, lying in wait for Kim Youngwoon. When Choi Shiwon exited, he must have assumed it was Kim Youngwoon. However, when it turned out to be Choi Shiwon instead, the younger brother had already killed Agent Miura. Instead of trying to kill Choi Shiwon, he framed him and escaped,” Donghae continued.
“How did you find out who the murderer was?” One of the other agents present questioned,
Donghae pulled up images of Yesung and Agent Miura’s wounds on the screen, “If you pay attention to the abdominal wounds of both former-Agent Kim Yesung and Agent Miura Haruma, you’ll see that there is a coarse jagged pattern in the way the wounds are formed. Agent Lee Sungmin was examining the photos when he realized the familiarity of the wound patterns. He matched it to the wound patterns of victims he had seen five years prior, the assailant being the older brother who was Agent Lee Sungmin and former-Agent Kim Youngwoon’s first Assassination mission.”
“How did you manage to trap the younger brother? It seemed easy – too easy,” another agent commented, no suspiciousness in his tone, just a simple stating of the facts,
“Myself and Agent Lee Sungmin approached former-Agent Kim Youngwoon and told him our findings. Together, the three of us devised a plan. Former-Agent Kim Youngwoon would open his bar, presumably after days without business while I and Agent Lee Sungmin waited in the back for our murderer to appear,” Donghae shrugged, a little grin breaking his solemn expression, “It did seem too easy, but it was our only plan at the time and we had nothing to lose. Fortunately, the plan worked and we were able to ambush the younger brother… In this case, the easiest solution was the right one.”
“You’ve all read the reports by myself and Agent Lee Sungmin,” Donghae stated, “Are there any other questions?”
When all answered ‘no’, Donghae turned to one of the agents closes to him, his vice-head, “Status on Agent Lee Sungmin?”
“He was treated in our infirmary and ready for discharge,” she answered,
Donghae blinked, “Really? He was shot four times and he’s ready to leave? Lucky bastard!”
Some agents stifled their laughs as his vice-head explained, “Bullet extraction was successful. He was put on blood transfusions and antibiotics immediately after. He’s still healing and still weak, but he’s refusing to stay put. He threatened to kill our doctors and nurses if they didn’t release him from the infirmary by day’s end.”
Donghae laughed softly as he turned off the computer, the images dissolving from the hanging glass sheet. The lights turned on as he stacked his files together and then enfolded them in a dark-brown folder, large, red print on the front reading ‘Complete’. “Status on Choi Shiwon?”
“Released from holding,” his vice-head answered swiftly,
“Status on Agent Park Jungsu?”
“Apparently he’s being released later today,” his vice-head said uncertainly, glancing at the other agents who were equally surprised,
“Any information as to why he was put on lockdown or why, suddenly, he’s being released?” Donghae questioned,
His vice-head shook her head, “None, sir. These are just the reports being released from the Chief from just before the meeting.”
“Very well… take the reports and the transcription from this meeting. Make three copies, one for myself, your files and deliver the last to the Chief,” Donghae instructed. He glanced to the other agents, the Head and vice-Head from the Assassination Department and the vice-Head from Covert Investigations. “Meeting adjourned.” Donghae handed his brown folder to his vice-Head, “Leave this on my desk for me, please.”
He waited until the room was empty and then, slowly, he sank to his chair. He propped his elbows on his thighs and then arched downwards, his head curling to his chest as his hands laced over the back of his head, holding it down. So much had happened and he was exhausted. Everyone had been affected from one plot for revenge. All it had taken was one young man’s desire for revenge to change all of their lives. Yesung had been murdered, Shiwon had been framed and even Jungsu had been placed under lockdown. The last one couldn’t have been in the young man’s plans and yet, Donghae had a feeling all three were connected to the mission.
He had been trained to never get emotionally involved in a mission and yet, last night, it had happened. It was hard enough to push away his feelings after Yesung died, but last night when he saw Sungmin drop to the floor, his hold was slipping. In that moment when he believed – truly, in his soul, believed – that Sungmin was also dead, he stopped caring about the mission. He didn’t care if it was ever resolved, or if he went against any Agency policies. All he cared about was killing that young man and getting his own revenge. Donghae shuddered then, could he enact revenge as that young man had been doing on him and his friends?
Warm, large hands cupped his shoulders, slowly spinning his chair to face the side. He felt a warm presence before him and, slowly, raised his head. Shiwon was kneeling before him, a smile dimpling his cheeks.
“It’s over,” Shiwon said simply, softly.
That broke the last of his hold. He was so tired, so very tired. He was physically, emotionally and mentally drained from the entire mission, from all the events. He cried heavily, gasping for gulps of air as Shiwon wrapped him in a firm embrace. Donghae cried into his shoulder, held onto him tightly as if he were Donghae’s last grasp on reality, on the present, on life.
“You always were a cry baby,” Shiwon teased lightly, gently, trying to soften the mood.
Somehow, through his tears, through his purge, Donghae managed, “Shut up or I’ll kill you.”
…
Sungmin left the infirmary with silent and scared doctors and nurses behind him. He had threatened them and was still wondering if he was serious or not. He entered the waiting room outside of the Agency’s infirmary looking for Youngwoon, knowing his best friend was waiting for him. He was wearing black slacks and he only managed to slip on his short-sleeved button-up onto his arms, not bothering with an undershirt. His abdomen was bandaged heavily, as was his left forearm. As he spotted Youngwoon talking to a middle-aged woman, he tried to button his shirt with just one hand.
The sound of a slap was crisp in the waiting room.
Sungmin froze, his right hand loosely holding the halves of his shirt together. Youngwoon slowly straightened from his ninety-degree bow, his cheek red. The older woman slowly collapsed into a nearby chair, crying hysterically, her sobs echoing in the waiting room and radiating down the halls and even into the infirmary.
Youngwoon murmured more words to her, but he doubted if she heard any of them. He wasn’t even sure she heard most of what he said before she slapped him. What he did know, without a doubt, was that she heard him say he had been the one to kill both of her sons. Slowly, he turned and walked away, leaving other Agents to finish the explanations. He spotted Sungmin and walked over,
“That’s their mother… isn’t it?” Sungmin asked, beginning to button his shirt again,
Youngwoon nodded. He glanced over his shoulder before continuing to walk away, “I saw her and recognized her from the first son’s funeral… I thought perhaps she should know who it was that ended the lives of both of her sons.”
“That was… brave of you,” Sungmin stated,
“I had to attempt to make peace with her… I can’t do any more than that,” Youngwoon shrugged. He was a silent a moment before glancing sideways at the younger man, “I can’t believe you actually convinced them to let you go after only a few hours after surgery.”
“I was very convincing,” Sungmin replied swiftly,
“Very threatening more likely,” Youngwoon shook his head with a soft chuckle, “You’ve changed so much since our training days… to think how blasé and confident of an Agent you are now.”
“I had to change,” Sungmin shrugged, “If I was to continue as an Agent after you left… especially after you left. That first mission… I wouldn’t have succeeded if you weren’t there.”
“It was both of our first times,” Youngwoon shrugged, then added, “By the way, why did you tell that kid yesterday that you were the one who killed his brother? You and I both know it was me who did it, despite what our reports say from five years ago.”
“You weren’t armed, Youngwoon. If he was going to kill one of us, he might as well focus on the one who can actually fight back,” Sungmin stated, “And in the end you still killed him…”
“And you put in your report that I didn’t and told Donghae to do the same, why? Again?” Youngwoon questioned,
“We may know who really killed the brothers… but in the eyes of everyone else, I’d rather have the mark of the Assassin, than you,” Sungmin replied, “You left the Agency after our first mission, I didn’t want the stain of blood to follow you.”
Youngwoon was silent a moment before stating quietly, “Thank you.”
Sungmin smiled at him, genuinely smiled at him. They were silent before Sungmin asked, “Where are we going?”
“Down to the holding rooms… Jungsu’s being released,” Youngwoon stated, eyes narrowing and hands fisting at his sides,
“Do you know why he was put on lockdown in the first place?” Sungmin inquired,
“No, the Chief didn’t say a damn – wait… those are their voices,” Youngwoon stopped immediately from turning the corner. He and Sungmin stood there, silently listening.
“You better put everything to right, Chief!” Jungsu’s voice stated, “The whole Agency probably thinks I deflected! Must I go through the strife you put Yesung through!?”
“Stop being so dramatic. I’ll release a statement and everything will go back to normal,” the Chief replied flippantly,
“It’s that easy to just control everything? You do things, decide things on your own without a damn care for anyone else involved! Do you have any idea what your decisions have done to people!? It ruined Yesung’s life – he was almost assassinated a number of times – not to mention recently and now my own reputation is damaged –”
“Damaged, but not irreparable. It can be fixed,” the Chief interrupted.
“And what if this case hadn’t been solved!? What if it continued on for longer? Would you have continued to lie to everyone? Huh? Would you have kept it all to yourself as the rest of us suffered!?” Jungsu demanded angrily,
“Watch your words, Agent Park. I am still the Chief here,” the older man’s voice cut like a physical blade.
“Yes, sir,” Jungsu grounded out.
Youngwoon and Sungmin rounded the corner. Both Agents turned to them, both involved in the conversation, neither sensed the presence of others. “What have you been lying about now?” Youngwoon demanded of the Chief, approaching them with Sungmin at his side.
“Sungmin!” Jungsu called suddenly,
“You’ve been lying to me? About what?” Sungmin looked at the Chief, confused.
“Yesung’s still alive,” Jungsu stated, throwing a hate-filled gaze at the Chief.
“WHAT!?” Youngwoon roared at the middle-aged man,
“That… that can’t… I saw him… I saw him!” Sungmin stammered,
Jungsu shook his head, “We moved away, remember? We didn’t… not really, but we just assumed he did! I got reports from financing and saw that the Agency was sending money to Seoul General Hospital in steady payments since Yesung’s presumed-death day. When I was arrested, I was sneaking into the Chief’s office to find out more information.”
Sungmin was silent, too stunned and startled to say anything. Youngwoon, sensing his silence, glared angrily at the Chief, “We saw his body at the funeral!”
“A body double,” the Chief said flippantly, “Very easy to arrange with my position and power.”
“Just as easy as to manipulate the lives of your Agents!?” Youngwoon demanded. He went to lunge at the Chief when Jungsu restrained him immediately, “Let me go, Jungsu. He deserves what’s coming to him! After all we’ve been through! Sungmin, for God’s sake… everything the Chief’s made him suffer!”
“You’re all making a mountain out of a molehill,” the Chief brushed aside their angry words and expressions, “I did what I had to do. I knew that if Agent Lee thought Kim Yesung was dead, then he would dedicate himself to the mission and that it would be resolved even quicker. And look, I was right.”
“By chance,” Sungmin grounded out, “What if I had killed myself instead!? WHAT THEN!?”
“You wouldn’t have killed yourself,” the Chief waved aside his hostile words,
“You don’t know what the hell I would have done!” Sungmin exclaimed. Quick as lightning, his fist made fierce contact with the Chief’s jaw.
The Chief stumbled backwards, even falling onto his behind, clutching his jaw, “AGENT LEE!”
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you,” Sungmin spat darkly, icily. He turned on his heel and began walking back from where he came, “Consider this my resignation.”
Jungsu, throwing the Chief a grinning look, followed, a fuming Youngwoon at his side.
…
They opened the door to Yesung’s hospital room. Late afternoon sunlight poured into the private room and onto the single bad. The body in the bed was someone none of them believed they would ever see again. The room was silent, save for the soft beeping of the heart monitor. Wires connected Yesung to different machines that monitored his vitals, and an IV line was sending him an assortment of medication to keep his health stable as he recuperated.
Slowly, Sungmin stepped into the room, tentative, scared, as if any minute this dream would fade away and he would wake up cold and lonely and Yesung would still be dead. Donghae and Shiwon (who they got on their way out of the Agency) and Jungsu and Youngwoon, waited by the door, silently slipping just inside the doorway as they watched. None dared to breathe, dared to make sudden moves, dared to even hope, even with the proof right before them.
Sungmin felt so many emotions at once, he couldn’t name them all, couldn’t acknowledge them all. His anger at the Chief slowly faded from his mind, replaced by the astounding relief that Yesung was, in fact, still alive. Endless hours and countless days of never-ending tears hit Sungmin again with full force as he reached Yesung’s bedside. He cried, the tears pouring from his dark eyes as he barely repressed the sobs that threatened to choke him.
He stood there, willing Yesung to open his eyes, to wake up, but he didn’t hope too much. The nurses told him that Yesung had been unconscious since he was brought in, that they weren’t sure if he would ever wake up despite his miraculous victory over a close death. He swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat as he reached out with trembling hands, grabbing the hand nearest to him, the one without the IV line in it.
He held it gently at first, simply relishing in the warmth, in the feel of Yesung’s hand that he was sure, so sure, he would never feel again. He was angry at the Chief for lying to him and angry at himself for never realizing, never suspecting. So caught up in his own grief, in his own sorrow, that his mind had been clouded, fractured, unable to see the clues before him, not even able to see past the disguise of the body double at the funeral. He should have known. He should have sensed. His grief revisited him anew and he realized how blinded he had been.
Slowly, ever so slowly, as if scared to break the dream reality before him, he tightened his hold on Yesung’s hand. He fell to his knees at the bedside, pressing the back of Yesung’s hand against his tears, imprinting the feel and allowing himself to finally – finally! – believe that Yesung was not dead.
He cried then. Cried real, soul-deep, heart-wrenching cries that shook his small frame. They echoed in the room, touching, enveloping everyone there. He cried out of relief, cried out of happiness, cried out of love. He cried for regaining his light, his happiness, his love. He cried for regaining the other half of his life, his soul, his heart.
Everything that had happened, melted away, briefly pushed from his mind as all his thoughts, all his emotions, all his intentions focused on the man lying before him. His heart beat again, slowly at first, as if it hadn’t beat in so long. He felt it beat strongly, surely and knew, just instinctively, that it was in time with Yesung’s.
He clutched Yesung’s hand, pressing trembling lips against it, reverently, lovingly. Suddenly, he felt the weak pressure of his hand being squeezed back. His eyes darted to Yesung’s, but they were still closed and his vitals had all remained the same. But he had felt it, he was sure. He laughed quietly through the tears as he stood, leaning over Yesung.
With his free hand, he brushed the hair back from Yesung’s forehead. He brushed his lips against the other’s, “Wake up, Yesung… Come back to me.” Then, he whispered, breathed the words from the first night he surrendered to Yesung, “It’s just about you and me.”
First, he heard it, the deeper breaths rather than the shallow puffs of slumber. Then he watched as awareness slowly slipped into every line of Yesung’s face. Then, slowly, slowly, his eyes opened, their dark depths cloudy and dull before, eventually, lighting with recognition. Distantly, Sungmin could hear the collective gasps of his friends, but he was concentrated on Yesung.
Yesung locked gazes with him, his dark eyes searching, reading and understanding the emotions playing across Sungmin’s face and eyes. Finally, he attempted a small smile as he promised, “You and me.”
“Always.”
(Epilogue)
[spin] Shatter Series Epilogue
Epilogue: One month later…
Yesung & Sungmin
“I look stupid.”
“You look adorable!”
“That doesn’t help my disposition.”
Sungmin pursed his lips, hands on his hips as he stood in the shallow end of their veranda-pool. Clad in just blue swimming trunks, he stared up at Yesung who stood on the veranda, glaring down at him. He thought Yesung looked great as always. Especially since Yesung had been out of the hospital for just a week and half. Clad in black swimming trunks, Yesung’s abdomen still displayed a silver scar spanning his entire abdomen in a slight-jagged pattern.
“But I think you look good!” Sungmin argued,
“Fine… I feel stupid,” Yesung muttered,
“That’s fine with me, just get in the pool already,” Sungmin stated, “And don’t you dare take off your water wings!”
Yesung glared at Sungmin and then the neon pink, blown up floatation devises on his biceps. “WHY DO I EVEN HAVE TO WEAR THESE!?”
“You heard the physiotherapist! You have to do water exercises to help rebuild the strength in your abdominal muscles. Doing it in the water will help lessen the strain of weight as your muscles get used to bending and stretching first,” Sungmin chided,
“I know THAT, what about THESE!” Yesung exclaimed as he slowly walked down the steps into the shallow end, walking towards Sungmin until the water reached just below his chest.
“You’re still recovering. Those are just in case you slip and I don’t see you,” Sungmin replied, talking as if he were talking to a five-year-old rather than someone two years older than him, “They’ll help stop you from drowning.”
Yesung narrowed his eyes at the other, “Or I could, you know, stand up.”
“FINE! I don’t even know why I try to be helpful sometimes!” Sungmin exclaimed, turning to leave.
Yesung sighed heavily, rolling his eyes just before he reached out and grabbed Sungmin. He turned the younger man back to look at him, “I know you’re just worried about my safety.”
“Not worried, obsessed, I know and I am working on not being that way,” Sungmin insisted, looking away because his eyes were shining with unshed tears. “It’s just… half the time I’m scared you’re not really alive and that this is the lie and… and…”
Yesung sighed as he brushed away Sungmin’s threatening tears with the pads of his thumbs, “I know… I know… look, I’ll wear the damn water wings if it makes you feel better, okay?”
“And the snorkelling mask?” Sungmin asked hopefully,
“No.”
“What about the inflatable tube?” Sungmin inquired,
“No. The water wings and that’s it,” Yesung muttered, “Geez, couldn’t you at least get a different colour? Neon pink, really?”
“Studying is very time-consuming! I apologize if I was too busy to stand in the store and sift through the different colours of water apparel!” Sungmin exclaimed angrily, arms crossed defiantly over his chest.
“Right, because making drinks is difficult,” Yesung rolled his eyes,
“It is if I want to be versatile! And stop rolling your eyes at me, I know you did it before, too!” Sungmin accused. He let out a frustrated sigh, turning and storming through the warm water, “You’re so irritating sometimes! I hope you drown! With or without the water wings!”
Yesung barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes again. Instead, he watched Sungmin’s retreating back, slowly folding his arms just above his scar. He waited, mentally counting in his head the seconds before – and it happened. Sungmin turned back, eyes filled with tears again.
Sungmin waded back to him, “I’m sorry, I don’t hope you drown!”
Yesung merely opened his arms for Sungmin to walk into, folding him in an embrace. That’s how it had been between them for the past month. He and Sungmin would argue over a trivial thing, somehow Sungmin would – every time – wish or hope for his demise and then come back apologizing. He knew it was because Sungmin was still on edge, still sensitive about the entire issue. Sungmin was like a constant fuse and Yesung was constantly stopping him from blowing up. It was as if, since Sungmin was perpetually scared that Yesung really wasn’t alive – he would wake up several times a night to make sure the older man was beside him – he was easily giving up on all of their arguments, cutting them short and ending them in unfounded anger.
“Are you done being petulant?” Yesung asked, as he had gotten used to asking, knowing the straight-forward question broke through to Sungmin and bringing him back from whatever dark corner was sucking him in.
“Yes,” Sungmin sighed, “I really don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Stress from ‘studying’… and the Chief,” Yesung rolled his eyes, “You know, more Agents called today asking for you to help them plan their missions.”
“I know,” Sungmin shrugged as he began to play with the water’s surface, “But I quit for a reason.”
“You wouldn’t be working with the Chief, just those Agents… and they said they’d pay you commission,” Yesung shrugged, “I say do it. If not for the extra cash, then at least to rub more salt in the Chief’s wounds that missions are suffering without you as head tactician for the Agency.”
“Like we need extra cash,” Sungmin gestured to their penthouse apartment behind him, “But if it’ll annoy the Chief even more, I’ll consider taking commissions.”
“Good, now let’s do these damn exercises,” Yesung grinned at him.
He began to slowly bend at his waist when, somehow, he lost his balance, his feet slipping from beneath him. He began to flounder from being startled when Sungmin immediately grabbed him and pulled him up again.
Yesung tore off the water wings and whipped them at the water (although they just bounced and floated away), “See! These do nothing in real-life scenarios!”
“That’s why I got you a snorkelling mask and inflatable tube!” Sungmin stated, watching the neon pink water wings float around them,
“I don’t need any of that,” Yesung scoffed as, with one arm, scooped Sungmin to him, holding him securely against himself, “See, I have you to save me.”
Sungmin grinned up at him, accepting Yesung’s kiss.
Yesung remained in the hospital for two and a half weeks, before being discharged. Afterwards, he found the Chief and promptly punched him on the other side of his jaw. According to all records, Kim Yesung had already died, so, Yesung took on another identity, feeling his chance to truly start anew. He continues to work for Youngwoon as an accountant, wear amazingly expensive suits and, more than once, Sungmin still finds spy tools in them. His identification card now reads Lee Yesung. He took Sungmin's last name.
Sungmin never returned to the Agency. Instead, he began to study more about drinks – alcoholic and non – even going so far as to studying to be a barista. One day, he suggested something to Youngwoon and they are now partners in their business. However, he’s still a bartender, now adding non-alcoholic drinks to his menu. Every once in a while, he takes requests from Agents to assist in tactical planning for missions. The Chief constantly tries to get him to return to the Agency.
…
Shiwon & Donghae
“She’s beautiful,” Donghae grinned, staring down at the little baby in his arms, wrapped in a pink blanket, her little hands fisted and eyes barely open. “I bet she’ll have my eyes.”
“How the hell could she have your eyes?” Shiwon shook his head as he sat beside Donghae in the hospital room.
“I hope she does! Donghae has very nice eyes and Shiwon – no swearing around my baby!”
Shiwon grinned sheepishly at his ex-wife and one of his best friends, “Sorry DoHae.”
She shot him one last reproving look before turning her gaze back to her daughter in Donghae’s arms, “At least you two aren’t crying. My husband practically created a lake in this room when I handed her to him.”
“I would too if she were my kid,” Donghae insisted, “To think that people can create such beautiful beings. The miracle of life would definitely require for me to have my own dam.”
“Get a uterus and we can have our own kids,” Shiwon suggested lightly,
Donghae narrowed eyes at him, “Why do I have to have the uterus? You get one! I can’t be pregnant while working at the Agency!”
DoHae laughed melodically as she leaned back against her pillows on her upraised bed, “Oh, I do love that you two visited me. I only gave birth last night, how did you two learn so fast I was here?”
“Your husband called last night crying,” Shiwon stated solemnly, “I couldn’t tell if you were having the baby or if you already had the baby.”
DoHae laughed again, “Really? Oh, I do love him! And I love that he called you both so immediately.”
“He indulges you,” Shiwon agreed,
“He does!” DoHae smiled, a mischievous glint in her almond-shaped eyes, “In fact, he even allowed me to name our daughter!”
“Oh, is it something really pretty?” Donghae asked excited as he handed the little bundle to Shiwon, “It has to be so she’ll grow up pretty too. Not that she won’t, what with you as the mother.”
DoHae had to laugh again as Donghae winked at her playfully, “Oh Donghae, I’m sure you’ll most certainly approve of the name. After all, she’s named after her godfather.”
“Who’s her godfather? Do I know him?” Donghae inquired, confusedly,
“You,” DoHae beamed at him,
“You’re naming her Donghae!?” Shiwon demanded, thick eyebrows narrowing,
DoHae rolled her eyes, “No, don’t be silly. I’m naming her Bada!”
“I approve! One hundred percent!” Donghae exclaimed as he jumped from his chair and pulled DoHae into an embrace, “And I accept status as godfather, too!”
“Wait, wait, wait… Donghae gets godfather and a namesake?” Shiwon slanted a look at his ex-wife, “That’s a little biased, isn’t it? I’m your best friend!”
“Donghae’s my best friend now, too. Not to mention, he saved my life when your cousin decided to go axe-murderer on us,” DoHae stated,
“I’ve saved your life plenty of times when we were married, you just weren’t aware of it and Kyuhyun wasn’t an axe-murderer… just a normal murderer,” Shiwon defended,
“I was in danger when we were married!? AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME!?” DoHae demanded, all gentleness and lightness gone from her as her eyes narrowed dangerously and she crossed her slender arms, “I WILL KILL YOU CHOI SHIWON!”
Shiwon snorted at her before dismissing her by turning his gaze to the little baby in his arms, “I love you, too, DoHae.”
“I want to strangle you,” she retorted, bitterly, “That’s it, I’m naming my second-born Donghae.”
Shiwon snapped his gaze back to her, jaw dropping, “DoHae! That’s not fair!”
“And not telling your then-wife she’s in danger, is fair?” DoHae countered,
“Fine,” Shiwon sighed, “If we’re ever married again, I’ll tell you whenever you’re in danger. Although, I can’t see that happening.”
“Because I’m not going to die anytime soon and DoHae has a husband?” Donghae questioned, towering over Shiwon, arms crossed over his chest,
“No,” Shiwon looked back down at Bada, “Because I’m not a mob boss anymore.”
“Then, if we’re ever married again, I’ll name whatever children from that union after you,” DoHae conceded,
“That’s all I ask for,” Shiwon looked at her, smiled and nodded.
Donghae glared back and forth between Shiwon and DoHae, “I hate you both, you know.”
“Fine by me,” Shiwon and DoHae replied in unison.
Donghae threw up his arms in the air exasperatedly as he plopped back down in his chair. Suddenly, Bada began to cry and, instinctively, DoHae held out her arms, knowing why her daughter was crying. Shiwon stood and carefully handed over the bundle before sitting back down. DoHae reached to her bedside table and picked up a tiny bottle of milk and began to feed Bada.
“She’s already on the bottle?” Shiwon raised both eyebrows in surprised,
“Well, not by choice. I don’t know, she just won’t…” DoHae paused and looked up at him, “That is, I tried and she… You know, there are some things I just can’t say directly to you.”
“Why? We were married, it’s not like I don’t know you,” Shiwon said nonchalantly, ignoring the glare from the seat beside his own.
“That’s why!”
“Well, we’re best friends,” Shiwon stated,
“No, the first reason out-rules the second reason,” DoHae shook her head before looking back down at her daughter, “Besides, I’d rather Donghae not kill you.”
“Donghae knows I love him,” Shiwon insisted, reaching over for his hand, only to get his own hand slapped away. He looked over at him, “Hae…”
“Sometimes I hate you more than DoHae,” Donghae muttered, crossing his arms again,
Shiwon sighed as he forcibly took Donghae’s hand into his own, “Fine, I can be the one to have the uterus.”
DoHae stared at them, “You… I thought… You two are kidding… right?”
“Of course,” Shiwon laughed as Donghae deadpanned, “Dead serious.”
Shiwon turned to Donghae, “Hae! I’m not being serious!”
Donghae let go of his hand, pulling his chair closer to the bed, “You’re just upset because I got godfather and namesake.”
Shiwon continued to lead his business group, turning it into a type of sponsoring company, helping other, smaller companies fulfill their full potentials. Other than working with other companies throughout South Korea (many being former gangs his group convinced to legitimize themselves), he also helped support Youngwoon and Sungmin in their business venture. He and Donghae soon began the process of their own venture: adopting a child.
Donghae stayed with the Agency, despite the Chief’s lies. He became one of the most respected Department Head in the Agency for his policy of need-to-know-basis missions. In his policy, it was made required that all parties involved in the missions – including any familial repercussions on the other side – be fully informed after mission’s end of reasons for any casualties. Unbeknownst to him, his efforts would place him in the lead to succeed the current Chief. And, despite all past arguments, when he and Shiwon received their child (and the second child they adopted afterwards) he was the motherly figure. They named their daughters DoHae and ShiHae.
…
Jungsu & Youngwoon
“Youngwoon, sometimes I feel like I made a mistake.”
Youngwoon, standing in the middle of a large room under construction, dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes and arms crossed over his chest, watched the progression of the building, “About what?”
“Leaving the Agency,” Jungsu stated as he came and stood beside Youngwoon,
“Why? You couldn’t stand to even look at the Chief after what happened,” Youngwoon reminded before calling out, “Hey! Watch the measurements on the bar! If it’s too small I’ll get yelled at by Sungmin and then you’ll get yelled at by Sungmin!”
“But I think the Agency is the lesser of two evils,” Jungsu said,
“Compared to what?” Youngwoon glanced at him before glancing away and doing a double take. “Oh. Dear. God.”
Jungsu stood before him in a duck costume. Not clothes with duck-print, and not a costume where there was a large duck around his middle. No, the costume was an encasement around Jungsu’s entire body, his face visible in the duck’s mouth. At the moment, two yellow wings were akimbo (if ducks had hips) and the face in the duck’s mouth was glowering at Youngwoon.
Youngwoon laughed then, heartily and loudly. The construction workers around them stifled laughs as Youngwoon repressed the urge to double over or – heaven forbid – fall to the floor from his mirth. He held his stomach, beginning to ache from his enthusiastic response to Jungsu’s costume, “Oh, please tell me there’s no rational reason you’re wearing that. Please tell me you’re wearing it to be whimsical or something.”
Jungsu’s stare grew even harder, “Far from likely. I was undercover and – believe it or not – this was the most inconspicuous cover I could use.”
“What? Was the suspect eating at a burger joint or something?” Youngwoon questioned, his laughter slowly dying as he signalled for the construction workers to keep working,
“I’m dressed as a duck, Youngwoon, not some striped bee with a chef’s hat,” Jungsu stated,
“Eh?”
“Never mind,” Jungsu waved a wing at him, “No, a seafood restaurant. This is their mascot. Although I wish their mascot was something… different. Something more manly… like a crab or a lobster. Oh! Or a shark!”
Youngwoon laughed as he reached out and petted the duck’s head, “Jungsu, no matter what sea creature the mascot is, it’d never be manly. But you do look cute!”
Jungsu scowled at him, swiping at Youngwoon with a wing, “I don’t want to be cute! I’m a private investigator for goodness’ sake. Not to mention I’m older than you.”
“Well, you left the Agency to start your own business,” Youngwoon shrugged, “You have to make some sacrifices as you start out and, if dressing up like a cute duck is one of those sacrifices, then so be it.”
“You’re insufferable,” Jungsu hissed,
“And you love me for it,” Youngwoon stated matter-of-factly as he took out his cellular phone and took a picture of Jungsu in the duck costume,
“BASTARD!” Jungsu lunged at him,
Youngwoon managed to withstand the force – and bulk – of Jungsu the duck, holding his beloved back with one hand on the duck’s bill as he turned his attention to his phone, “I love it when you call me pet names. I’m sure the other guys would love to see this picture.”
“Youngwoon, don’t you dare!” Jungsu exclaimed, wings flailing as he tried to hit Youngwoon or, at least, disconnect Youngwoon’s hold on the beak,
“Or what?” Youngwoon inquired as he dared right in front of Jungsu, sending a multiple picture message to their friends,
“I’ll sabotage your restaurant!” Jungsu threatened,
Youngwoon scoffed, “You wouldn’t dare,” he glanced around at the construction before replacing his phone in his pocket, “If you did that, you’d piss off Sungmin too.”
“I won’t let you sleep in our bed!” Jungsu warned,
“I don’t need a bed,” he raised an eyebrow at the older man, “I’ve proved that several times… last night being one of them.”
Jungsu, face flaming now, then stated darkly, “I will take a flame to all of your pinstriped suits!”
Youngwoon’s jaw (and hand) dropped. His eyes narrowed dangerously, “You’re just evil!” Before he could say more, he felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, he opened it, “Actually, maybe I’m the evil one.”
“What? Why!?” Jungsu cried, trying to get a closer look at Youngwoon’s phone,
“Shiwon just sent the photo to his gang – I mean, his coworkers,” Youngwoon laughed.
Then, Jungsu flung himself at Youngwoon, this time effectively taking the bar owner (and future restaurant owner) to the ground. He straddle Youngwoon, his yellow wings crossed as best he could over the duck’s round body, “I refuse to get off until you apologize.”
Youngwoon raised an eyebrow before moving his arms, linking his fingers behind his head like a pillow, “Fine by me, but the longer you stay there, then tonight, the longer I’ll wait until I let you get off.”
Jungsu’s eyes widened to saucers, immediately scrambling off Youngwoon. It was clumsy and difficult with the large duck costume, but he managed it after four tries. Youngwoon chuckled softly as he slowly got to his feet, taking care to brush off the sawdust from his suit. He looked at Jungsu and smiled softly at him,
“Are you done with your investigation for the day?” Youngwoon asked,
“I have to write some reports and figure out if I can solve this case yet,” Jungsu said, crossing his duck wings once more, “So, I’m going to my office after here.”
“Alright, are you still coming to the bar tonight?” Youngwoon inquired, “The others will be there.”
Jungsu nodded.
“Oh, and don’t wear the duck costume,” Youngwoon stated, reaching out to pat the duck’s large, yellow head again,
“Why? I thought you’d want to give everyone a good laugh,” Jungsu scowled at the younger man,
Youngwoon smirked before grabbing the duck’s lower bill and pulling Jungsu as close as possible. He peered into the duck’s mouth, the top bill pushing against his forehead, “But I can’t kiss you when you’re in this.”
“Ugh, always the sweet talker,” Jungsu muttered, fighting the blush from his face. He had to keep some kind of dignity, after all.
“And you always liked it rough,” Youngwoon shrugged. He winked at Jungsu, “I knew it from the first time you flipped a drunk onto a table for trying to feel you up.”
“Yeah well… you remember that the next time you tease me,” Jungsu warned. Then, duck bill held high, walked out of the restaurant-in-the-making.
Jungsu left the Agency after training his vice-head to take over his position. However, knowing no more than the life as a Cover Investigations Agent (the others, save Youngwoon, still called it Stalking) he decided to set up his own private investigation business. With his former connections with the Seoul Police Department, he was able to establish his business fairly quickly. Eventually, he would go on to receive assignments from the Police Department themselves and sometimes, even his former co-workers at the Agency.
Youngwoon began to want more from life than just his bar. Fortunately, Sungmin approached him with the idea of opening a restaurant, combining Sungmin’s skill behind the bar and Youngwoon’s surprising skill in the kitchen. They became partners, but Youngwoon decided to stay out of the kitchen, choosing just to approve of the restaurant’s menu instead. He was destined for suits, not aprons. The restaurant, having a prime location in the heart of Seoul, became popular and soon, he closed his bar. His former customers, however, became regulars at his restaurant, indulging in the food and non-alcoholic drinks. In his office, there is a picture on his desk of Jungsu in the duck costume.
…
Fin.
Yesung & Sungmin
“I look stupid.”
“You look adorable!”
“That doesn’t help my disposition.”
Sungmin pursed his lips, hands on his hips as he stood in the shallow end of their veranda-pool. Clad in just blue swimming trunks, he stared up at Yesung who stood on the veranda, glaring down at him. He thought Yesung looked great as always. Especially since Yesung had been out of the hospital for just a week and half. Clad in black swimming trunks, Yesung’s abdomen still displayed a silver scar spanning his entire abdomen in a slight-jagged pattern.
“But I think you look good!” Sungmin argued,
“Fine… I feel stupid,” Yesung muttered,
“That’s fine with me, just get in the pool already,” Sungmin stated, “And don’t you dare take off your water wings!”
Yesung glared at Sungmin and then the neon pink, blown up floatation devises on his biceps. “WHY DO I EVEN HAVE TO WEAR THESE!?”
“You heard the physiotherapist! You have to do water exercises to help rebuild the strength in your abdominal muscles. Doing it in the water will help lessen the strain of weight as your muscles get used to bending and stretching first,” Sungmin chided,
“I know THAT, what about THESE!” Yesung exclaimed as he slowly walked down the steps into the shallow end, walking towards Sungmin until the water reached just below his chest.
“You’re still recovering. Those are just in case you slip and I don’t see you,” Sungmin replied, talking as if he were talking to a five-year-old rather than someone two years older than him, “They’ll help stop you from drowning.”
Yesung narrowed his eyes at the other, “Or I could, you know, stand up.”
“FINE! I don’t even know why I try to be helpful sometimes!” Sungmin exclaimed, turning to leave.
Yesung sighed heavily, rolling his eyes just before he reached out and grabbed Sungmin. He turned the younger man back to look at him, “I know you’re just worried about my safety.”
“Not worried, obsessed, I know and I am working on not being that way,” Sungmin insisted, looking away because his eyes were shining with unshed tears. “It’s just… half the time I’m scared you’re not really alive and that this is the lie and… and…”
Yesung sighed as he brushed away Sungmin’s threatening tears with the pads of his thumbs, “I know… I know… look, I’ll wear the damn water wings if it makes you feel better, okay?”
“And the snorkelling mask?” Sungmin asked hopefully,
“No.”
“What about the inflatable tube?” Sungmin inquired,
“No. The water wings and that’s it,” Yesung muttered, “Geez, couldn’t you at least get a different colour? Neon pink, really?”
“Studying is very time-consuming! I apologize if I was too busy to stand in the store and sift through the different colours of water apparel!” Sungmin exclaimed angrily, arms crossed defiantly over his chest.
“Right, because making drinks is difficult,” Yesung rolled his eyes,
“It is if I want to be versatile! And stop rolling your eyes at me, I know you did it before, too!” Sungmin accused. He let out a frustrated sigh, turning and storming through the warm water, “You’re so irritating sometimes! I hope you drown! With or without the water wings!”
Yesung barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes again. Instead, he watched Sungmin’s retreating back, slowly folding his arms just above his scar. He waited, mentally counting in his head the seconds before – and it happened. Sungmin turned back, eyes filled with tears again.
Sungmin waded back to him, “I’m sorry, I don’t hope you drown!”
Yesung merely opened his arms for Sungmin to walk into, folding him in an embrace. That’s how it had been between them for the past month. He and Sungmin would argue over a trivial thing, somehow Sungmin would – every time – wish or hope for his demise and then come back apologizing. He knew it was because Sungmin was still on edge, still sensitive about the entire issue. Sungmin was like a constant fuse and Yesung was constantly stopping him from blowing up. It was as if, since Sungmin was perpetually scared that Yesung really wasn’t alive – he would wake up several times a night to make sure the older man was beside him – he was easily giving up on all of their arguments, cutting them short and ending them in unfounded anger.
“Are you done being petulant?” Yesung asked, as he had gotten used to asking, knowing the straight-forward question broke through to Sungmin and bringing him back from whatever dark corner was sucking him in.
“Yes,” Sungmin sighed, “I really don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Stress from ‘studying’… and the Chief,” Yesung rolled his eyes, “You know, more Agents called today asking for you to help them plan their missions.”
“I know,” Sungmin shrugged as he began to play with the water’s surface, “But I quit for a reason.”
“You wouldn’t be working with the Chief, just those Agents… and they said they’d pay you commission,” Yesung shrugged, “I say do it. If not for the extra cash, then at least to rub more salt in the Chief’s wounds that missions are suffering without you as head tactician for the Agency.”
“Like we need extra cash,” Sungmin gestured to their penthouse apartment behind him, “But if it’ll annoy the Chief even more, I’ll consider taking commissions.”
“Good, now let’s do these damn exercises,” Yesung grinned at him.
He began to slowly bend at his waist when, somehow, he lost his balance, his feet slipping from beneath him. He began to flounder from being startled when Sungmin immediately grabbed him and pulled him up again.
Yesung tore off the water wings and whipped them at the water (although they just bounced and floated away), “See! These do nothing in real-life scenarios!”
“That’s why I got you a snorkelling mask and inflatable tube!” Sungmin stated, watching the neon pink water wings float around them,
“I don’t need any of that,” Yesung scoffed as, with one arm, scooped Sungmin to him, holding him securely against himself, “See, I have you to save me.”
Sungmin grinned up at him, accepting Yesung’s kiss.
Yesung remained in the hospital for two and a half weeks, before being discharged. Afterwards, he found the Chief and promptly punched him on the other side of his jaw. According to all records, Kim Yesung had already died, so, Yesung took on another identity, feeling his chance to truly start anew. He continues to work for Youngwoon as an accountant, wear amazingly expensive suits and, more than once, Sungmin still finds spy tools in them. His identification card now reads Lee Yesung. He took Sungmin's last name.
Sungmin never returned to the Agency. Instead, he began to study more about drinks – alcoholic and non – even going so far as to studying to be a barista. One day, he suggested something to Youngwoon and they are now partners in their business. However, he’s still a bartender, now adding non-alcoholic drinks to his menu. Every once in a while, he takes requests from Agents to assist in tactical planning for missions. The Chief constantly tries to get him to return to the Agency.
…
Shiwon & Donghae
“She’s beautiful,” Donghae grinned, staring down at the little baby in his arms, wrapped in a pink blanket, her little hands fisted and eyes barely open. “I bet she’ll have my eyes.”
“How the hell could she have your eyes?” Shiwon shook his head as he sat beside Donghae in the hospital room.
“I hope she does! Donghae has very nice eyes and Shiwon – no swearing around my baby!”
Shiwon grinned sheepishly at his ex-wife and one of his best friends, “Sorry DoHae.”
She shot him one last reproving look before turning her gaze back to her daughter in Donghae’s arms, “At least you two aren’t crying. My husband practically created a lake in this room when I handed her to him.”
“I would too if she were my kid,” Donghae insisted, “To think that people can create such beautiful beings. The miracle of life would definitely require for me to have my own dam.”
“Get a uterus and we can have our own kids,” Shiwon suggested lightly,
Donghae narrowed eyes at him, “Why do I have to have the uterus? You get one! I can’t be pregnant while working at the Agency!”
DoHae laughed melodically as she leaned back against her pillows on her upraised bed, “Oh, I do love that you two visited me. I only gave birth last night, how did you two learn so fast I was here?”
“Your husband called last night crying,” Shiwon stated solemnly, “I couldn’t tell if you were having the baby or if you already had the baby.”
DoHae laughed again, “Really? Oh, I do love him! And I love that he called you both so immediately.”
“He indulges you,” Shiwon agreed,
“He does!” DoHae smiled, a mischievous glint in her almond-shaped eyes, “In fact, he even allowed me to name our daughter!”
“Oh, is it something really pretty?” Donghae asked excited as he handed the little bundle to Shiwon, “It has to be so she’ll grow up pretty too. Not that she won’t, what with you as the mother.”
DoHae had to laugh again as Donghae winked at her playfully, “Oh Donghae, I’m sure you’ll most certainly approve of the name. After all, she’s named after her godfather.”
“Who’s her godfather? Do I know him?” Donghae inquired, confusedly,
“You,” DoHae beamed at him,
“You’re naming her Donghae!?” Shiwon demanded, thick eyebrows narrowing,
DoHae rolled her eyes, “No, don’t be silly. I’m naming her Bada!”
“I approve! One hundred percent!” Donghae exclaimed as he jumped from his chair and pulled DoHae into an embrace, “And I accept status as godfather, too!”
“Wait, wait, wait… Donghae gets godfather and a namesake?” Shiwon slanted a look at his ex-wife, “That’s a little biased, isn’t it? I’m your best friend!”
“Donghae’s my best friend now, too. Not to mention, he saved my life when your cousin decided to go axe-murderer on us,” DoHae stated,
“I’ve saved your life plenty of times when we were married, you just weren’t aware of it and Kyuhyun wasn’t an axe-murderer… just a normal murderer,” Shiwon defended,
“I was in danger when we were married!? AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME!?” DoHae demanded, all gentleness and lightness gone from her as her eyes narrowed dangerously and she crossed her slender arms, “I WILL KILL YOU CHOI SHIWON!”
Shiwon snorted at her before dismissing her by turning his gaze to the little baby in his arms, “I love you, too, DoHae.”
“I want to strangle you,” she retorted, bitterly, “That’s it, I’m naming my second-born Donghae.”
Shiwon snapped his gaze back to her, jaw dropping, “DoHae! That’s not fair!”
“And not telling your then-wife she’s in danger, is fair?” DoHae countered,
“Fine,” Shiwon sighed, “If we’re ever married again, I’ll tell you whenever you’re in danger. Although, I can’t see that happening.”
“Because I’m not going to die anytime soon and DoHae has a husband?” Donghae questioned, towering over Shiwon, arms crossed over his chest,
“No,” Shiwon looked back down at Bada, “Because I’m not a mob boss anymore.”
“Then, if we’re ever married again, I’ll name whatever children from that union after you,” DoHae conceded,
“That’s all I ask for,” Shiwon looked at her, smiled and nodded.
Donghae glared back and forth between Shiwon and DoHae, “I hate you both, you know.”
“Fine by me,” Shiwon and DoHae replied in unison.
Donghae threw up his arms in the air exasperatedly as he plopped back down in his chair. Suddenly, Bada began to cry and, instinctively, DoHae held out her arms, knowing why her daughter was crying. Shiwon stood and carefully handed over the bundle before sitting back down. DoHae reached to her bedside table and picked up a tiny bottle of milk and began to feed Bada.
“She’s already on the bottle?” Shiwon raised both eyebrows in surprised,
“Well, not by choice. I don’t know, she just won’t…” DoHae paused and looked up at him, “That is, I tried and she… You know, there are some things I just can’t say directly to you.”
“Why? We were married, it’s not like I don’t know you,” Shiwon said nonchalantly, ignoring the glare from the seat beside his own.
“That’s why!”
“Well, we’re best friends,” Shiwon stated,
“No, the first reason out-rules the second reason,” DoHae shook her head before looking back down at her daughter, “Besides, I’d rather Donghae not kill you.”
“Donghae knows I love him,” Shiwon insisted, reaching over for his hand, only to get his own hand slapped away. He looked over at him, “Hae…”
“Sometimes I hate you more than DoHae,” Donghae muttered, crossing his arms again,
Shiwon sighed as he forcibly took Donghae’s hand into his own, “Fine, I can be the one to have the uterus.”
DoHae stared at them, “You… I thought… You two are kidding… right?”
“Of course,” Shiwon laughed as Donghae deadpanned, “Dead serious.”
Shiwon turned to Donghae, “Hae! I’m not being serious!”
Donghae let go of his hand, pulling his chair closer to the bed, “You’re just upset because I got godfather and namesake.”
Shiwon continued to lead his business group, turning it into a type of sponsoring company, helping other, smaller companies fulfill their full potentials. Other than working with other companies throughout South Korea (many being former gangs his group convinced to legitimize themselves), he also helped support Youngwoon and Sungmin in their business venture. He and Donghae soon began the process of their own venture: adopting a child.
Donghae stayed with the Agency, despite the Chief’s lies. He became one of the most respected Department Head in the Agency for his policy of need-to-know-basis missions. In his policy, it was made required that all parties involved in the missions – including any familial repercussions on the other side – be fully informed after mission’s end of reasons for any casualties. Unbeknownst to him, his efforts would place him in the lead to succeed the current Chief. And, despite all past arguments, when he and Shiwon received their child (and the second child they adopted afterwards) he was the motherly figure. They named their daughters DoHae and ShiHae.
…
Jungsu & Youngwoon
“Youngwoon, sometimes I feel like I made a mistake.”
Youngwoon, standing in the middle of a large room under construction, dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes and arms crossed over his chest, watched the progression of the building, “About what?”
“Leaving the Agency,” Jungsu stated as he came and stood beside Youngwoon,
“Why? You couldn’t stand to even look at the Chief after what happened,” Youngwoon reminded before calling out, “Hey! Watch the measurements on the bar! If it’s too small I’ll get yelled at by Sungmin and then you’ll get yelled at by Sungmin!”
“But I think the Agency is the lesser of two evils,” Jungsu said,
“Compared to what?” Youngwoon glanced at him before glancing away and doing a double take. “Oh. Dear. God.”
Jungsu stood before him in a duck costume. Not clothes with duck-print, and not a costume where there was a large duck around his middle. No, the costume was an encasement around Jungsu’s entire body, his face visible in the duck’s mouth. At the moment, two yellow wings were akimbo (if ducks had hips) and the face in the duck’s mouth was glowering at Youngwoon.
Youngwoon laughed then, heartily and loudly. The construction workers around them stifled laughs as Youngwoon repressed the urge to double over or – heaven forbid – fall to the floor from his mirth. He held his stomach, beginning to ache from his enthusiastic response to Jungsu’s costume, “Oh, please tell me there’s no rational reason you’re wearing that. Please tell me you’re wearing it to be whimsical or something.”
Jungsu’s stare grew even harder, “Far from likely. I was undercover and – believe it or not – this was the most inconspicuous cover I could use.”
“What? Was the suspect eating at a burger joint or something?” Youngwoon questioned, his laughter slowly dying as he signalled for the construction workers to keep working,
“I’m dressed as a duck, Youngwoon, not some striped bee with a chef’s hat,” Jungsu stated,
“Eh?”
“Never mind,” Jungsu waved a wing at him, “No, a seafood restaurant. This is their mascot. Although I wish their mascot was something… different. Something more manly… like a crab or a lobster. Oh! Or a shark!”
Youngwoon laughed as he reached out and petted the duck’s head, “Jungsu, no matter what sea creature the mascot is, it’d never be manly. But you do look cute!”
Jungsu scowled at him, swiping at Youngwoon with a wing, “I don’t want to be cute! I’m a private investigator for goodness’ sake. Not to mention I’m older than you.”
“Well, you left the Agency to start your own business,” Youngwoon shrugged, “You have to make some sacrifices as you start out and, if dressing up like a cute duck is one of those sacrifices, then so be it.”
“You’re insufferable,” Jungsu hissed,
“And you love me for it,” Youngwoon stated matter-of-factly as he took out his cellular phone and took a picture of Jungsu in the duck costume,
“BASTARD!” Jungsu lunged at him,
Youngwoon managed to withstand the force – and bulk – of Jungsu the duck, holding his beloved back with one hand on the duck’s bill as he turned his attention to his phone, “I love it when you call me pet names. I’m sure the other guys would love to see this picture.”
“Youngwoon, don’t you dare!” Jungsu exclaimed, wings flailing as he tried to hit Youngwoon or, at least, disconnect Youngwoon’s hold on the beak,
“Or what?” Youngwoon inquired as he dared right in front of Jungsu, sending a multiple picture message to their friends,
“I’ll sabotage your restaurant!” Jungsu threatened,
Youngwoon scoffed, “You wouldn’t dare,” he glanced around at the construction before replacing his phone in his pocket, “If you did that, you’d piss off Sungmin too.”
“I won’t let you sleep in our bed!” Jungsu warned,
“I don’t need a bed,” he raised an eyebrow at the older man, “I’ve proved that several times… last night being one of them.”
Jungsu, face flaming now, then stated darkly, “I will take a flame to all of your pinstriped suits!”
Youngwoon’s jaw (and hand) dropped. His eyes narrowed dangerously, “You’re just evil!” Before he could say more, he felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, he opened it, “Actually, maybe I’m the evil one.”
“What? Why!?” Jungsu cried, trying to get a closer look at Youngwoon’s phone,
“Shiwon just sent the photo to his gang – I mean, his coworkers,” Youngwoon laughed.
Then, Jungsu flung himself at Youngwoon, this time effectively taking the bar owner (and future restaurant owner) to the ground. He straddle Youngwoon, his yellow wings crossed as best he could over the duck’s round body, “I refuse to get off until you apologize.”
Youngwoon raised an eyebrow before moving his arms, linking his fingers behind his head like a pillow, “Fine by me, but the longer you stay there, then tonight, the longer I’ll wait until I let you get off.”
Jungsu’s eyes widened to saucers, immediately scrambling off Youngwoon. It was clumsy and difficult with the large duck costume, but he managed it after four tries. Youngwoon chuckled softly as he slowly got to his feet, taking care to brush off the sawdust from his suit. He looked at Jungsu and smiled softly at him,
“Are you done with your investigation for the day?” Youngwoon asked,
“I have to write some reports and figure out if I can solve this case yet,” Jungsu said, crossing his duck wings once more, “So, I’m going to my office after here.”
“Alright, are you still coming to the bar tonight?” Youngwoon inquired, “The others will be there.”
Jungsu nodded.
“Oh, and don’t wear the duck costume,” Youngwoon stated, reaching out to pat the duck’s large, yellow head again,
“Why? I thought you’d want to give everyone a good laugh,” Jungsu scowled at the younger man,
Youngwoon smirked before grabbing the duck’s lower bill and pulling Jungsu as close as possible. He peered into the duck’s mouth, the top bill pushing against his forehead, “But I can’t kiss you when you’re in this.”
“Ugh, always the sweet talker,” Jungsu muttered, fighting the blush from his face. He had to keep some kind of dignity, after all.
“And you always liked it rough,” Youngwoon shrugged. He winked at Jungsu, “I knew it from the first time you flipped a drunk onto a table for trying to feel you up.”
“Yeah well… you remember that the next time you tease me,” Jungsu warned. Then, duck bill held high, walked out of the restaurant-in-the-making.
Jungsu left the Agency after training his vice-head to take over his position. However, knowing no more than the life as a Cover Investigations Agent (the others, save Youngwoon, still called it Stalking) he decided to set up his own private investigation business. With his former connections with the Seoul Police Department, he was able to establish his business fairly quickly. Eventually, he would go on to receive assignments from the Police Department themselves and sometimes, even his former co-workers at the Agency.
Youngwoon began to want more from life than just his bar. Fortunately, Sungmin approached him with the idea of opening a restaurant, combining Sungmin’s skill behind the bar and Youngwoon’s surprising skill in the kitchen. They became partners, but Youngwoon decided to stay out of the kitchen, choosing just to approve of the restaurant’s menu instead. He was destined for suits, not aprons. The restaurant, having a prime location in the heart of Seoul, became popular and soon, he closed his bar. His former customers, however, became regulars at his restaurant, indulging in the food and non-alcoholic drinks. In his office, there is a picture on his desk of Jungsu in the duck costume.
…
Fin.
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