AN: This is the longest chapter...

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The last time Changmin had been on this street, it was three years ago and he was chasing a petty thief. That event had been long forgotten and he’d not dwelled on whether he was right to let it go or not. Besides he was too busy sorting out his life, dealing with a break-up and job promotion to be thinking of a rainy night long ago.

After the initial attack, he’d spent some time researching and talking to the locals about this particular area in town, and he’d been encouraged to not set foot in here again. The streets here were mainly occupied by the homeless and poor. That explained the horrible state of infrastructure and general unhealthy living conditions of the street. The council had no interest in improving the living conditions of the occupants nor wanted to bother attempting to shelter them. There was nothing of interest for them in this little place and they were too busy up to the richer parts of society. Parts that he lived in where new buildings, shopping centres and works were being carried out regularly. It was very very rare to find someone so unfortunate where he lived.

The only area he’d found sanitary was the park, and the only reason he’d remembered that was because it was in the park that he was attacked with a knife. For the first time in his life. Though attack wasn’t even the right word. But whatever, argument’s sake.

He’d been determined to not set foot here unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, right now it was absolutely necessary for him to be here.

A large scale road accident had cause all roads to his workplace to be closed and he’d already been caught in the traffic jam so couldn’t escape. He couldn’t afford to stay and wait for the road to clear, a point made consistently stronger by the number of phone calls he got from his friend to “Get your into the meeting room on time or so help me I will destroy all your games collection!”. Yoochun’s words, not his.

He’d had to leave his car in the care of his assistant and run back down the road. He was heaving by the time he got the familiar street, thighs burning as the burning sun shone down. He bought a bottle of water from one of the stores as he called the taxi, and was about to go and wait at the location he’d be picked up from, when he heard the yelling.

He wasn’t going to investigate, already almost late for the meeting, but the increase in volume piqued his curiosity.

He hesitantly followed the noise along the pavement and was led to and all-too-familiar avenue. He cringed at the memory, not really sure whether to go on or not. One last look at the side told him his taxi wasn’t here yet. Oh well, may as well see what was going on.

He slowly poked his head into the alleyway, not sure what to expect. There was a large group of people all squeezed in to the tiny place, facing away from him. And if the smell was anything to go by, Changmin assumed they did not have the privilege of showers.

As tall as he was, he couldn’t see over the heads to figure out what the fuss was about. But he sure hoped someone wasn’t getting beat up…

That thought chilled him. What if it was the boy from that night? Or worst, the one on the wheelchair?

 He stopped peaking and forced his way into the group. As he shoved the first few out of the way, he noticed some not-so poor people amongst them too. They clearly had money, but what were they doing here? It also occurred to him that none of the spectators looked at him weirdly. He was dressed in a dark blue suit, clearly coming from money. He’d expected at least a side-ways glance from them, but no. Nada. The most they did was shove him back when he tried to move them out of the way, or just glare at him. But they were all too engrossed in the scene playing before them to pay him much attention. After all, he wasn’t the only one in a suit, he noticed. That was weird.

When he crossed the last line of people he was conflicted. First, he was happy to know that nobody was getting beaten up. Second, he wasn’t sure what to make of the scene in front of him.

A boy was sitting on the floor crossed legged with three paper cups I front of him. The cups were lined up upside down. On his right was a shoe box containing notes and coins.

They were gambling?

Oh, great. Just great!

Before he could make his way out, the boy loudly asked the crowd “Any more bets!?”  And looked up, immediately locking eyes with him. Now Changmin was not a ert, nor was he easily impressed. But the look he received from those dark eyes accentuated with the badly cut long hair had him staring back. He noticed the boy’s eyes growing larger as he continued to stare at him, with a panicked look taking over. It seemed like he was expecting Changmin to do something, but he wasn’t sure exactly what.

The staring didn’t last long, as the bodies behind him got louder and pushed him forward. That seemed to distract the boy. He shook his head and looked at the mass of people before nodding his head and removing the cups one by one.

Under the last one to his right was a white pebble. As soon as it came into sight, the shouting got louder. Changmin felt like his eardrums were going to explode.

“Give me back my money!”

“You ing fraud!”

“You lying bastard!”

All types of names were thrown at the sitting boy, whom only rolled his eyes and gathered the cups together again. Changmin thought he was avoiding eye contact with him.

“Hey! You ers know the drill! You lose, there’s no complaining!” He shouted at the group, getting on his feet. He was considerably shorter than Changmin, but there was a certain type of bulk to his frame and a dangerous glint in his eyes that had some of the assembly grumbling and shoving their way out of the alleyway, while others had different ideas.

“Give me back my money, you little ! Or I’ll you over!” One of the bigger guys from the back came forward with a threatening stance. To Changmin’s surprise, the shorter male didn’t back down. Instead he squared his shoulders, ready for a fight. Damn, he thought. Street people sure were easy to wind up. Though he’d probably get violent too if someone dared threaten him.

“Take a hike, Kangin! You always have been a sore loser.” The boy sneered at the man, moving past Changmin to face his opponent. Changmin felt uneasy with the turn of events. Perhaps this kind of thing happened all the time, he didn’t doubt it. But there was a very big difference in size between the two rivals, making him worry for the boy’s bones.

“Break it up you two! I’m getting sick of your Kangin! Shindong get him out of here. NOW!” Everyone dispersed, including the Kangin dude and the two big guys by his sides, one of which Changmin assumed must have been Shin-Whatever. The boy that was shuffling the cups previously had visibly relaxed turning to face the newcomer. A woman!?

Changmin was more than surprised to see a woman – beautiful woman at that – standing there glaring at Kangin as he stomped away. Changmin wondered how a woman was able to so easily dispose of dangerous-looking people on the streets. She clearly wasn’t from amongst their ranks if the black leather adorning her body was anything to go by. She clucked her tongue at the boy as she came forward, thigh-high boots clicking on the floor. Before she said anything to him, she turned her attention to Changmin, a calculating look in her eyes.

“I haven’t seen you around here before.” She said, placing one hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow in question.

Damn y.

Changmin just shrugged his shoulders, as if to say “So?” He looked at her defiantly, her heels not high enough to catch up to his height.

“You should scram when I say so.” She turned away from him dismissively. He wasn’t worth her time. Like , he wasn’t! He was Shim ing Changmin! Women fell on their knees for him. Who the hell did this snob think she was?

Changmin was about to give her a piece of his mind, when the boy spoke up interrupting him.

“It wasn’t me. He’s always an .” He crossed his arms stubbornly.

“JJ, how many times have I told you to not rile him up? Unless you have some masochistic kink, then I suggest you take my advice! I’d really hate to clean your remnants off the floor.”

What the hell? And why was the boy’s voice so familiar.

That question was quickly answered with the arrival of a smiley boy on a wheelchair. Oh . If that was the wheelchair-bound person from that night….then was this pale looking boy the thief?

“Noona, don’t blame hyung. Kangin is always looking for a fight with him. You know he’s still bitter that you picked hyung over his sorry behind.” He pushed his wheelchair (well, a sorry excuse for one, anyway) forward, looking at Changmin curiously. “Is he one of yours?” He asked the woman.

Three pairs of eyes looked at him, making him fidget on the spot. He was now more uncomfortable than he was at the start. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act. He should have just left instead of letting curiosity get the better of him. Did the teenager remember him? Or had he robbed too many people to remember one face? Had he even seen his face? Damn it! Shim Changmin never got nervous over such small matters. He didn’t like this.

“No. And perhaps it was my mistake to pick him over Kangin from the start.” The woman glared at the dark haired boy, once again ignoring Changmin’s presence.

“No.” JJ glared back at her, in answer to some silent question that Changmin didn’t seem to understand.

“There’s a lot of money in this JJ. You’ll regret it.” She threatened him.

“CL, for the last time I’m not dealing for you! Hire Kangin if you want, I don’t care. I’m not getting my hands dirty for you.”

Whoa! Hold up! Hold the up! Dealing? As in drug Dealing!? What the ? Were they seriously discussing this in front of a stranger? Wasn’t that dangerous for them?

It suddenly occurred to him that if this CL wasn’t afraid to discuss this in front of random people, then perhaps he should steer clear. Indifferent people like her were dangerous to mess with. They expected you to keep your mouth shut without warning, or you won’t even live long enough to regret it. He didn’t want to be here. .

CL took a long frustrated sigh, before straightening up. “Suit yourself. It’s a shame to see so much potential wasting away on the streets with pathetic games of gambling. Good luck.” Her heels clanked loudly on the floor as she marched off, clearly pissed off. Damn, JJ had some guts to stand up to such an intimidating person.

“You think she’ll be back?” The boy on the wheelchair asked, amused.

“Of course she will. She’s a stubborn one.” JJ replied, turning around to pick up his items from the floor.

“I think it has more to do with her never being rejected before. You’re the first to turn down her offer. She won’t back down unless she has you under her control.”

“Well she can try all she wants. She’s wasting her time.”

Changmin just stood there awkwardly while the two conversed. He had to admire their indifference to the woman. He was also silently happy that his money hadn’t been used for the wrong activities. The JJ boy must be pretty disciplined to have stayed on the moral path (sort of), considering the life he’d been dealt with.

“Um, was there something you wanted, Ahjussi?”

AHJUSSI? Why the little-

“I’m not an Ahjussi.” He looked down at the still smiling boy.

“Yeah you don’t look like one, really. Have we met before?” Changmin wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Technically they hadn’t met before. But Changmin had seen them. How should he say that his hyung had robbed him a long time ago?

“Dae, stop interrogating the man.” He’d collected his items. Changmin was certain he saw a guilty look in his eyes before he averted his gaze. So he did remember?

Now, usually Changmin was not a petty person. But for some reason, he a strong urge to ruffle the boy’s feathers. He wanted to see what his reaction would be to directly communicating with him. Would he own up to his actions, or would he play dumb, hoping Changmin had forgotten.

“How about a shuffle before we all leave?” He asked, a smirk gracing his features.

“Sorry, game’s over.” JJ replied, not backing down. He clearly had a backbone made of steel. Changmin wanted to test his limit.

“Oh, come on now, JJ. Don’t you think you can spare me a few minutes?” He made sure to add a knowing tone to his voice. And it worked because JJ looked up at him, fire blazing in his eyes. Damn, he had pretty eyes, even if they were glaring holes into his skull.

“We have nothing else to do, hyung. One game?” The younger one suggested, unaware of the situation he was putting his brother.

JJ heaved a sigh, violently dropping his items back on the floor and sat down cross-legged, beckoning him forward. Changmin sat in front of him, not caring about dirtying his pants. His was enjoying this a little too much. Was he being mean? After all, he’d let the whole thing go willingly.

“I’m Daesung.” The boy smiled at him as he joined their circle. “And that’s Jaejoongie hyung.”

“Changmin.” He smiled back at him. There was something really endearing about that smile. Why did he get the feeling that the smile was always plastered on his face? The kid was cute. It made him a little sad to see such a sweet thing on the streets.

“There’s no need to become buddies.” Jaejoong grumbled, preparing the cups and rock again. “Right, I’ll assume you know how to play so let’s get on with it.” Changmin nodded, trying to hide his smile. Why the hell was he smiling? Since when did he become sadist taking pleasure in others’ discomfort? Oh wait, he already did that!

The cups were lined up, the middle one covering the rock and then the shuffling began. Changmin was impressed, that was some skill he had. The cups whizzed around in front of him. His head was itching to look up at Jaejoong’s face, but he was determined to not lose track of the right cup. Changmin never lost a game. As fast as he was with shuffling, Changmin had a hawk’s eye.

“Which one?” Jaejoong sat back, gesturing towards the cups line up in front of him.

Changmin smiled. He knew exactly which one it was under. He was going to point to the last one to his right, when Daesung interrupted him.

“Wait! What’s the wager? Oh right.

“There’s no need for that.” Jaejoong quickly answered the guilty look taking over again. Though, now that Changmin thought about it, it was strange that he would recognise him. It was a rainy and dark night and it had been three years. Jaejoong must have had a good memory to remember from that long ago.

“$50.” He stated. He knew he was right, but once the game was over he wanted to give him the money anyways. He didn’t like the fact that Daesung’s wheelchair had old fraying wheels. They looked like they’d been attached to it from something else. He wondered what they were from.

“That’s not necessary.” Jaejoong remained stubborn. “Pick a cup.”

“$50, and this one.” He stood his ground. He wasn’t going to be intimidated.

Jaejoong glared at him again, rolling his eyes as he removed the cup Changmin was pointing to.

The pebble was not under it.

“WHAT? NO WAY!” He yelled. He was a hundred percent sure the pebble was under that cup. His eyes were trained on it from the start of the shuffle. How the hell did he…?

A trick. It’s a confidence trick.

“You don’t need to pay. I told you already.” Daesung just laughed at the dazed expression on Changmin’s face, while Jaejoong quickly gathered the cups and other items off the floor.

“Come on, Dae.” He pushed Daesung out of the alleyway. By the time Changmin had snapped himself out of it, they were already heading out onto the avenue.

He quickly caught up to them, his steps speeding up when he remembered he was supposed to show up for his meeting. Crap.

“Your money.” He fished out the sum and held it out to Jaejoong who stared at it with a look of disdain, not making a move to take it.

“Keep it.” He gritted his teeth, continuing to push Daesung forward.

“Wait, hyung! Take the money! You won it fair and square!”

“Shut up, Dae!”

“Fine, you don’t take it. Daesung, here.” Changmin offered it to the kid who grabbed it with a victorious smile directed towards Jaejoong, sticking his tongue out at his hyung.

“I’ll be off now.” He was expecting something from Jaejoong, not sure exactly what. But all he received was a cold shoulder. The shorter male didn’t spare him a glance as he walked away.

***

He was most definitely going to miss the meeting. His phone had died and he’d missed his taxi. Standing on the roadside he was desperately trying to find a solution but his brain came up empty. Yoochun was going to skin him alive and Yunho was going to help him. Great, he was going to become stew.

“Hey!” He was too busy panicking about his life and how much being chopped up and cooked would hurt, to hear him calling.

In the middle of his pacing, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He was about to turn around and shout (or preferably kick) the person, but he was too surprised to do anything but stare.

Jaejoong stood in front of him, shuffling his feet. Daesung was behind him, but was no longer smiling. Rather, he had a scared expression on his face. Eh?

“Um, yes?”

“I have something that belongs to you.” Jaejoong mumbled with his head hung low.

He extended his hand towards him, holding a wallet. Changmin’s wallet. The same one he’d stolen from him all those years ago. Jaejoong refused to look up at him, so Changmin had no option but to take it from him.

“Thanks. But I don’t really need it anymore.” He tried to life the tension but infusing some humour in the air, but the two brothers didn’t seem to find it very amusing.

“I’m sorry.” Jaejoong whispered, still not looking at him. Changmin wasn’t sure, yet again, what to do. How could he reassure him that it was fine?

“Please don’t send hyung to jail!” Daesung burst out, pleading.

“Jail?” Oh. Ok.

He opened the wallet to find the money he’d give to Daesung neatly tucked into the pocket, and on the other side, a picture of him. Ah, yes of course. He’d had his picture in the wallet, which would explain how Jaejoong had recognised him. He was surprised to find the little thing in good condition.

“He’s not a bad person! He did it for me!” Daesung was almost crying now.

“Daesung-ah…” Jaejoong tried to hush his panicking brother to no avail.

Changmin had had enough.

“You think if I wanted to call the police, I would have waited for three years?”

They both looked at him with confused eyes.

“Look, what happened all that time ago is history. I forgive you. I promise I won’t get you in trouble.”

“Thank you!” Daesung yelled, wiping his eyes.

Jaejoong on the other hand, still kept his head stubbornly down. “I would repay you the money, but I don’t have enough.”

“It’s fine.” Changmin tried to reassure again. “But this money” he plucked out the note from the wallet, “it’s yours. You won it fair and square.” This time not even Daesung came forward to retrieve it.

“No I didn’t. It’s a trick. The cup you picked was the right one.”

Changmin knew that, but he still wanted them to keep the money. But perhaps it was better to stop being so insistent.

“Anyway, can you help me with finding a taxi service? I need to go and prepare for my funeral.” That got a smile out of Daesung again, but Jaejoong was still cautious.

“Sure. But if there’s any way I can repay you, that’s within my ability to do, I will.” He turned away after making sure he was understood. Changmin followed, hoping to find transport soon.

It was a sunny day. A complete contrast to the miserable night they met under unfortunate circumstances.

Changmin secretly wondered if they’d meet again.
 

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AN: Your comments are appreciated.xx