Inspector Yeol's Ultimatum

“~~~~-ah?!”

You couldn’t do anything but gape at the tall boy standing in front of you. How? How could this happen? I’m doomed! It’s all over now! Goodbye INFINITE! Goodbye Sunggyu!

“~~~~-ah--” Sungyeol repeated. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. “Y-you are our masked fan?...” He was stuttering, still in the process of recovering from the shock of the revelation. You couldn’t utter a sound, much less speak. In your mind, visions of your forthcoming doom flashed one after the other. You could imagine Sungyeol telling the other members that you were their rabid fan all the while. You could imagine Sunggyu screaming at you, telling you to get lost, telling you that he never wants to see a liar like you again. You could imagine INFINITE’s judging glares as they tell you how awful you are for fooling their hyung just to get close to them. You could imagine—

Suddenly, you found Sungyeol’s face inches from yours, bringing you back to reality. He was examining you closely, verifying your identity. Flustered, you moved away from him and kept your eyes on the ground. You braced yourself for the worst as you waited for him to speak.

“I can’t believe it,” Sungyeol muttered, more to himself than to you. “I actually can’t believe that Sunggyu hyung’s newfound friend and our mysterious masked fan is the same, single person.”

Here it comes. He’ll definitely lash at me for lying about not knowing INFINITE. You stole a quick glance at him, expecting to see a fuming Sungyeol. Instead, you were greeted by the sight of his amused, albeit baffled, face. He had on an excited grin, and mischief danced in his eyes. What the heck? What could be so amusing about this situation?

“So, uh, I can explain myself….” you started.

“No need. I know exactly what’s happening,” Sungyeol cut in smugly. “You’re our fan. You came here to see us. You knew it wouldn’t be so simple, so you tricked our clueless and gullible Sunggyu hyung into believing that you had no idea who we are.”

“A-actually, no, that isn’t the whole story—” you tried to explain, but was silenced as he held up a hand to stop you from speaking.

“Don’t.” He wagged his index finger and shook his head, eyes closed. Instead of looking serious, he only succeeded in looking silly. “Look, do you really think you can fib your way out of this mess? You’re busted, ~~~~-ah. Just admit it...” He looked at you square in the eyes. “While I’m still being nice…”

You gulped when you saw his menacing expression. There’s no telling what this guy could do. You wanted to tell him that he was mistaken, that you didn’t leech off Sunggyu’s trust just to be close with them. But what he said wasn’t entirely untrue either. You couldn’t deny that the main reason why you didn’t tell Sunggyu the truth in the first place was that you wanted him to treat you as a friend, not just a fan. And that, somehow, wasn’t too different from what Sungyeol was saying. Your shoulders slumped as you sighed in resignation.

“So, I guess you’re going to tell Sunggyu oppa and the others about this?” you said regretfully.

“Maybe…”

Hearing his reply, your eyes widened and you looked up at him hopefully. “Then… you wouldn’t tell on me?”

“I said, MAYBE. You’re not off the hook yet, young lady,” he scoffed. You think you’re going to get away with it so easily? Not while I’m here.

“What do you mean?” you asked cautiously.

“Well, let’s just say that, in exchange for my silence, you’d have to do something for me.”

“S-something?” You gulped nervously. “What exactly?”

“Hmm… I need time to consider my options,” he said seriously. You got a sinking feeling at the pit of your stomach when you saw a devilish grin spreading on his face. “We still have schedule, so I need to go now. But I’ll give you an ultimatum. Do you want me to tell him or not?”

“No, no!” you furiously shook you head. “Don’t tell him yet. I’ll tell him myself, one of these days, so please don’t do it.” If he learns of this from another person, things would end up really really messy.

“Fine, then you’ve got yourself a deal,” he smirked. “I still don’t know what I want in exchange. I need time to think about it thoroughly. I’ll be sending you a message later. But first…” He handed you his mobile phone. “I’ll need your number.” Having no choice, you dialed your number and handed him back his phone.

“Hmmm… I wonder what name I should save this in. Oh, I know!” He typed some words and showed you the screen after. “Perfect, isn’t it?”

Your eyebrows furrowed upon reading what he wrote:

Two-faced chinggu <3

Calling me two-faced and putting a heart next to it too? This guy is just… bipolar. You sighed wearily, watching his retreating back as he walked away from you.

+

INFINITE wrapped up their activities for that day and headed back to their dorm. Sungyeol had long since forgotten his mission to keep an eye on the leader, and was, instead, deeply absorbed on his thoughts about what he would ask from you in exchange for keeping your secret. Should I ask her to clean my room for me? Or maybe I can ask her to do all my chores instead... Better yet, I could ask her to dress as myself and make her attend the rehearsals so I’d have free time. Kekekeke~!

“Yah, Sungyeol! What’s wrong with you? Why are you laughing by yourself?” Woohyun interrupted his daydreaming.

“Yeah, hyung. Don’t be like that… You’re acting weirder than usual…” Sungjong muttered.

“Wae? Is a man not allowed to have fun by himself?” Sungyeol said defensively. He picked up his phone and headed to his room, closing the door securely behind him. Lying in bed he continued weighing his options. Aisshhh… Why is it so hard to pick? I want to get as much fun as I can from this, but… If only I could make her do EVERYTHING I say. Isn’t there a way to --- Suddenly, his eyes lit up and another mischievous grin started to form itself on his lips. I know exactly what I want her to do.

+

After coming back from the fan event, you couldn’t completely push away thoughts of your confrontation with Sungyeol. A feeling of dread washed over you everytime you remembered your ‘deal’ with him. What could he be planning? What would he make me do?

With all the thinking and overanalyzing, it wasn’t surprising that your energy was drained even before the day ended. By 8, you were already lying in bed, mentally beaten to a pulp. It took minutes of tossing and turning before you finally relaxed and started to feel sleepiness creep into your system. Just when you reached dreamland, your phone started to ring.

                Niga isseoya man yeogi ga paradise

                Eojiro neorul gadwo beorin paradise, oh oh…

You groaned wearily and picked up your phone with your eyes still closed, hoping that you could still go back to sleep.

“Yoboseyo?” you mumbled.

“Annyeong chinggu!!!”

Upon hearing the overly cheerful voice, you instantly sat up in bed. All thoughts of sleeping left your mind, and you clutched the phone nervously.

“A-annyeonghaseyo S-Sungyeol-sshi…”

“Why do you sound like that? Aren’t you glad I called?” You could hear him snickering over the phone. Not knowing what to say, you just remained silent.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I already know what I want in exchange.” He paused for effect. “Dugundugun dugundugun dugundugun….”

Despite the situation, you rolled your eyes at his silliness. “What is it?” you asked.

“I want you to be… MY SLAVE!”

You almost fell off the bed when you heard his words. A slave? Then I won’t only have to do one or two things for him… I have to follow EVERYTHING he says! ANDWAAAAEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! OTL

“Yah! Why aren’t you saying anything?” Sungyeol nagged. “Do you have any objections? Or would you prefer that I tell  Sunggyu hyung everything instead?”

“N-no! Of course not. I-I can do it…”

“Good, ‘cause you’ll be starting tomorrow.”

“M-mwoh?! Tomorrow???”

“Yes, what do you expect, next week when you’ve already left the country?” Sungyeol answered sarcastically. “Be ready to come running when I call for you. And you have to follow my rules, arasso?”

For a second, you were tempted to just drop out of the deal, but the thought of Sunggyu hating you made you stop.

“A-arasso…” you replied meekly.

“Okay then. Expect a call first thing tomorrow. Every 3 seconds that passes without you answering my call would get you a punishment,” he warned. “Anyway, good night chinggu!” he laughed merrily.

What is he, a sadist? Ottoeokae??? What did I get myself into? TT___TT

+

You were with Sunggyu, drinking coffee together in the Namsan cable cars. He started singing “Because” to you, and his hand was slowly reaching out to your face. Reaching out… Reaching out… Reaching out…

Suddenly, the hand was holding a handkerchief with a long slit in the middle. Your eyes widened and you recognized the piece of cloth.

“Two faced chinggu…” a voice which was not Sunggyu’s said. You looked at the face of the person in front of you and screamed when you saw that it was Sungyeol. He grinned devilishly, and his eyes shifted to sneak a glance at the glass pane behind you. Slowly, you turned around, only to see a hurt and betrayed Sunggyu staring back at you. Realizing that he was outside the cable car, you banged on the glass and called out to him. As you pounded your fist on the glass, though, the wall of the cable car disappeared and you fell out of the cabin. You frantically tried to grasp at Sunggyu, but he only looked at you sadly and entered the cabin. Sungyeol looked at you through the glass, which had magically appeared again, and waved goodbye, handkerchief still in his hand. As you plummeted to the ground, Paradise started playing in the background.

Niga isseoya man yeogi ga paradise

Eojiro neorul gadwo beorin paradise, oh oh…

Just as you were about to hit rock bottom, your eyes fluttered open, and you woke up panting, all drenched in sweat. You heaved a sigh of relief as you realized that it had all been a dream. Oddly enough, Paradise still continued to play even when you were already awake. Looking around, you realized that it was coming from your hand phone.

It’s not even 8 am yet. Who would be calling this early in the morning—

Crap! He how many seconds had it been already? You frantically sat up, recalling your conversation with Sungyeol last night. You hastily picked up the phone and answered it.

“Yoboseyo, Sungyeol-sshi?”

“Huh? Sungyeol-sshi?”

Your eyes widened in shock when you recognized the voice. Dang! It’s Sunggyu oppa! Otteokae? Ohmygodohmygodohmygod---

“~~~~-ah, are you still there? It’s me Sunggyu oppa.”

“I-I know. Annyeonghaseyo, Sunggyu oppa.”

“I’m sorry, but were you expecting a call from Sungyeol?” He sounded a bit suspicious.

“A-aniyo… Why did you say that? When did I ever mention Sungyeol-sshi?” You laughed nervously.

“But, just now… You said…”

“Aigoo, you must be hearing things. I said Sunggyu…” You cleared your throat. “So, uh… Why did you call?”

“Well… I was just checking up on you… I ummm…” You smiled inwardly as Sunggyu suddenly started t become awkward again. “I ummm… do you have, uh… Do you have some free time later?”

Omo! Did he just… O_O

Right then, you heard a beep. Looking at your phone, you noticed that there was another call on the line. You gasped when you saw the caller ID: Sungyeol.

“Ummm… Sunggyu oppa, there’s someone on the line right now. Can I put the call on hold? I’ll be back right away, I promise,” you said hurriedly. Three seconds, three seconds… As soon as he [confusedly] said yes, you immediately switched the line to Sungyeol’s.

“Yoboseyo, Sungyeol-sshi…”

“Yah, why did you keep me waiting so long? It took you exactly 8.5 seconds to answer!” Sungyeol whined. “You need to be punished!”

“I-I’m sorry… I was on the line with someone…”

“Tchh… I bet it was Sunggyu hyung,” he muttered. “Anyway, meet me at Café Latte in an hour. We’ll discuss the specifics of our deal. And I’ll give you your first assignment as my slave.” You could almost see him grinning wickedly over the line.

“A-arasso…” Dread was starting to form at the pit of your stomach as you imagined the things he would make you do. He’ll make me his servant for sure… You wearily hung up the phone and pulled yourself out of bed to prepare for the “meeting”.

+

Maybe she didn’t want to go out with me today. That’s right. She was just pretending that there’s someone on the line so she can avoid talking about it. Otteokae?

Sunggyu was uneasily pacing back and forth around the room. You had put him on hold right after he asked if you were free for the day, and all sorts of paranoid thoughts were going through his mind. He nervously waited for you to finish your call on the other line. However, after a few minutes, he heard beeping over the line.

Crap. She hung up on me. I knew it! She just didn’t want to go out! T_T Why did I even ask in the first place? Why am I being like this? Sunggyu, she’s your precious dongsaeng, but that doesn’t mean you should see her every single day! Oh wait, maybe I should send her a message? I look pathetic right now…

Satisfied with the message he composed, he clicked send. There. Now I won’t look like I was rejected. Sighing, he lay down on his bed again. The truth was, aside from the regular rehearsals, INFINITE didn’t have any schedule lined up for the day. He planned to have some fun with you, but unfortunately, you didn’t seem to like the idea. There are only 6 days left before she leaves! Arrrggghhhh!!! Sunggyu thrashed around his bed in frustration.

+

After washing and prepping up, you checked your phone to see if Sungyeol left any messages. And there was, indeed, a message. But not from Sungyeol.

Oh no! Sunggyu oppa! I totally forgot all about him! Otteokae? And he was asking me if I had free time… T_T He must think I’m avoiding him.

You quickly opened the message, but it wasn’t like what you were expecting.

From: Sunggyu oppa

You don’t have time, right? I just wanted to ask because I’m so busy today myself. Waaahhh today will be a VERY busy day for me… I guess I can’t send you a message because I’ll be too busy.

It was obvious that he was trying to make it seem that he didn’t want to ask you out, but unfortunately, he failed miserably. Knowing that it probably took him much effort to muster up the courage to ask you in the first place, you couldn’t help but feel guilty and sorry. Regretfully, you typed back a message.

To: Sunggyu oppa

Oppa, mianhaeyo. I didn’t mean to hang up on you. T_T I’m really sorry. What you were asking about earlier… I originally didn’t have any plans for today, but something suddenly came up. Good luck on whatever you’re doing today. ^^

It wasn’t long before his reply came.

From: Suggyu oppa

It’s fine

That’s it? Oh no. He must be pissed. TT_TT But I can’t do anything right now. I need to meet up with Sungyeol-sshi in… You gasped when you saw the time. 5 minutes! You dashed outside your room and headed straight to Café Latte.

+

As usual, only a few people were at the café. You looked around for Sungyeol, but you couldn’t locate him. Finally deducing that he probably haven’t arrived yet, you settled at one corner and leaned back on your seat. The smell of coffee brewing filled the place, and you closed your eyes as you tried to relax. Suddenly, someone tapped your shoulder. You turned to look and saw a tall, boyish-looking guy wearing a plain white tee and blue jeans. There was something oddly familiar about him, but you just couldn’t quite put a finger on it…

“Yah, chinggu! I was sitting right there, but you didn’t even approach me!” the boy said crossly.

You had to cover your mouth to stop yourself from squealing in surprise. This is Lee Sungyeol bare face??? You continued to gape in awe at him. Thinking about it, he did look the same as the Sungyeol you saw before. But this time, he seemed so much younger. Even without make up, his skin was fair and glowing. Without eyeliner, his eyes were a little bit less intense. It was quite cute, actually. The biggest difference, though, was the eyebrows. It was noticeably less dark than before, and he definitely looked less menacing and threatening. Even with an irritated expression, he still was cute.

“Hey, close your mouth or a fly might get in,” he mocked. “Am I really that handsome?” He sat on the chair in front of you. “You want coffee?”

“It’s okay, thanks.” Wow, he’s quite a gentleman too. He’s not too bad after all…

“What are you thanking me for? Go buy some. Get one for me too. I want caramel macchiato,” he said, a matter-of-factly.

Your face fell. Okay, so I guess that was expecting too much. You sulkily walked over to the counter to order. After getting the coffee, you headed back to the table and set his cup in front of him.

“Good. That was the punishment for the delay in answering my call and for not going to my table earlier.” He took a sip. “Now, let’s discuss the terms of our pact. Ready?” You nodded. “Alright, so here are the rules,” he continued. He brandished a now-crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and set it on the table in front of you. “Go on, read it.”

You cautiously took the piece of paper. Aside from learning how to speak Korean, you also studied writing Hangeul, so reading and writing in Korean script wasn’t a problem for you. However, the writing on the note was incredibly messy and hard to decipher. It seemed like Sungyeol had written the note while he was riding on a car because there were some parts where the writing seemed to jump every which way.

“Umm… Can you just read this to me? It’s hard to read the writings…”

Sungyeol rolled his eyes and took the paper from you. “Aisshh, who’s the slave here?” he muttered.

“Rule 1: Slave is not allowed to say no to Master. What Master wants, Slave fulfills.

Rule 2: Slave shall always answer Master’s call. Answering the call beyond three seconds warrants a punishment.

Rule 3: Slave shall always be available to serve Master.”

Sungyeol set the paper down on the table again. “There, those are the three simple rules that you have to follow. If you do all that, you don’t have to worry about me telling hyung about your lie.” He held out his hand to you. “So, deal?”

Well, the rules aren’t as bad as I expected them to be. You shook his hand. “Deal.”

“Cool. Then I’ll tell you the first thing you have to do,” he said with a grin.

“What is it?” you asked curiously. He leaned across the table and looked at you straight in the eyes.

“Let’s go on a date.”

Date? What's going on? What could Sungyeol be up to again? Hmmm... Is there a love triangle in the making right here? O_O

Finally, new chapter! >w< I hope you keep reading this even if the updates aren't as fast as before. Believe me, if I could, I'd just sit in my room, typing this all day. Sadly, there's this thing called school that stunts my need to write. TT_TT Anyway, thanks for reading this my dearies! You don't know how much you make me happy. Again, comments are much loved! //throws hearts <3